Free Republic

Since the start of the Trump administration, the calls to reform America’s outdated prison and sentencing policies have grown into a massive chorus that transcends partisanship, race, and class. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and willingness to work with elected officials across the political spectrum, we are closer than ever to passing new policies that will equip inmates with the skills necessary to enter the workforce while also ensuring our communities remain safe. This can be the most significant legislation for minorities since the 1964 civil rights bill Federal prison reform comes right out of Sen. Kennedy’s playbook Of course,...

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In her presidential bid, Hillary Clinton has made job creation a centerpiece of her platform, casting herself as a pragmatist who would inspire “the biggest investment in new, good-paying jobs since World War II.’’ Her argument that she would put more Americans to work has focused on her time in the Senate, when she took on the mission of creating jobs in chronically depressed Upstate New York. As her husband, former president Bill Clinton, put it recently, she became the region’s “de facto economic development officer.” But nearly eight years after Clinton’s Senate exit, there is little evidence that her...

There were 1 million more jobs than unemployed workers in the most recent government count of job openings, according to a Labor Department release Monday. Total available jobs stood at 7.08 million for October, the second-highest level surpassed only by the 7.3 million in August, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed. By comparison, there were just 6.08 million Americans classified as unemployed for the month. The survey shows a tightening jobs market at a time when questions are arising over the broader economy's strength. Most economists are expecting a global slowdown that could infect the U.S., which is...

Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has not yet been sworn into Congress, but she’s already eyeing a seat at one of the most powerful House committees in charge of taxation laws. The Democratic Socialist’s spokesperson confirmed to Vice News that she will seek a seat on the House Ways and Means committee, which is traditionally packed with seasoned legislators with experience in writing tax code. Rep. Joe Crawley, the top Democrat who was unseated by Ocasio-Cortez this year, was among the members of the committee. She is eyeing the exact same seat that is customarily reserved for New York City.

Speculation for the swell in volume and plunge in futures included the news of the arrest of the CFO of the Chinese telecom company Huawei. Traders also speculated that the selling could be attributed to a large fund or funds liquidating a position.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by almost 500 points Thursday morning, the first day of trading after U.S. authorities secured the arrest of a Chinese technology company executive, fueling fears that the trade war with China is heating up. News broke late Wednesday that Canadian law enforcement had arrested Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, a major Chinese tech firm that has been linked to the Chinese military. U.S. officials have requested her extradition, citing a suspected sanctions violation.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Sen. Chuck Grassley says he will not support any Republican challenger to President Donald Trump in the primary ahead of the 2020 election. Grassley said Wednesday he will be supporting Trump.

... [T]he GOP-controlled Senate needs to vote out a series of clean bills on issues that working-class Americans care about in order to show a clear contrast with the Democrats. For example, they should send to the House a number of bills that introduce free market approaches to health care such as Medical Savings Accounts and forcing insurance companies to compete across state lines, a policy that would drive rates downward. Let the Dems vote these bills down and they will. On the immigration issue, the Senate should send to the house a border security bill that authorizes the construction...

As summarized by CNN, below, a new report by climate action advocacy group Climate Transparency confirms the Paris Climate Hoax. Emissions are actually increasing from 15 of the G20 nations. As of now, not a single G20 country is meeting climate targets, research shows. Here are clips from the report’s executive summary:

French President Emmanuel Macron made global warming a central part of his World Economic Forum speech on Wednesday in Davos, pledging to close all of his country’s coal-fired power plants by 2021. Macron’s anti-coal pledge comes as Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot announced France failed to meet its 2016 global warming target to limit greenhouse gas emissions to 447 million metric tons. Hulot said France would revise its global warming targets to better align with its Paris climate accord commitment to go “carbon neutral” by 2050, Reuters reported. Macron has been one of the most vocal supporters of the Paris climate...

President Trump recently took credit for the plunge in oil prices since early October. As I noted in a recent article, it’s true that the President’s actions have contributed to the drop in oil prices, but at a cost that has been largely ignored. This week the President decided to share the credit for lower oil prices on Twitter: (tweet omitted) President Trump thanks Saudi Arabia for low oil prices. How President Trump Affected Oil Prices. Let’s review. The trade war with China resulted in China halting imports of U.S. oil. Prior to that, U.S. oil producers had been shipping...

Former President Barack Obama said he was “extraordinarily proud of the Paris accords” before, rather ironically, taking credit for booming U.S. oil and gas production. “I was extraordinarily proud of the Paris accords because — you know, I know we’re in oil country and we need American energy, and by the way, American energy production,” Obama said at an event hosted by Rice University’s Baker Institute on Tuesday night. “You wouldn’t always know it but it went up every year I was president,” Obama said of U.S. oil and gas production. “That whole, suddenly America’s like the biggest oil producer...

Former President Barack Obama claimed credit Tuesday for the recent boom in U.S. oil production immediately after praising the Paris Climate Accords, which committed the U.S. to dramatically reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. “I was extraordinarily proud of the Paris accords because — you know, I know we’re in oil country and we need American energy, and by the way, American energy production,” Obama told the audience gathered at Rice University’s Baker Institute on Tuesday night. “You wouldn’t always know it but it went up every year I was president. That whole, suddenly America’s like the biggest oil producer and the biggest...

Obama on Tuesday: "Suddenly America is the largest oil producer, that was me, people ... say thank you." Hahaha. Gasoline prices per gallon on the day he said we could not drill our way to lower prices: $3.91. On Tuesday: $2.73. Thank him? He tried to kill fracking. Last December, The Hill reported, "The Trump administration will take its final step to repeal the Obama administration’s 2015 rule setting standards for hydraulic fracturing on federal land." Hahaha. The man is slowly disintegrating before our eyes. The loss of his socialist policies are driving him to distraction. His plan to weaponize environmental...

WASHINGTON - Exxon Mobil Corp. and other large oil companies are backing a carbon tax proposal put forward earlier this year by a group of former Republican leaders including James A. Baker III, the former secretary of state and a Houston attorney. The Climate Leadership Coalition, a group that includes Baker, former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, and former Secretary of State George Shultz, announced a list of "founding members" Tuesday that includes Exxon Mobil, BP, Shell, Total, General Motors and Johnson & Johnson. "We support @TheCLCouncil as a founding member and are working to support its policy development process," Exxon...

In recent weeks, Trump criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell several times. He doesn’t like that Powell is leading the Fed to raise interest rates.Past presidents avoided such comments so they wouldn’t appear to be interfering. But Trump doesn’t care about appearances.The Fed is somewhat insulated from electoral politics. The chair and board members have fixed terms. Its composition changes slowly... but it doesn’t have to.Tucked away deep inside the Fed’s founding law is a provision Trump could use to completely rebuild the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.Markets should pay attention. I don’t think they are. Breaking Precedent A common perception, even among Fed...

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday suggested the central bank could be close to slowing down the pace of its recent interest rate increases, saying rates are now just slightly below what he considers a “neutral” level. His comments marked a sharp change from his position last month, when he said the Fed still had a “long way” to go before it reached that equilibrium. U.S. stock markets soared on Powell’s comments, as he appeared to signal that the Fed would not move forward aggressively to raise rates much further than it already has. Still, by saying rates were...

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) late Monday released a 297-page tax and IRS package that would address a host of issues some lawmakers are interested in tackling in the lame-duck session. The legislation includes provisions to renew expired tax provisions, make technical fixes to last year's tax cut law, provide incentives for retirement savings, provide tax relief for disaster victims and make improvements to the IRS. It would provide for a resolution of a number of tax issues in the final weeks of the year while Republicans still control both chambers of Congress. The House Rules...

MEMPHIS - Ask Memphis residents and they might say that President Donald Trump got this one right: this is the best job market as far as many in this majority black city can remember. For single mother Latasha Harwell, it has meant finally landing a full time job as a medical assistant, one with the regular 9 to 5 hours she needs so she can care for her kids. Chiquita Clayton says she has an open offer to move from part-time to full-time work at a FedEx warehouse; forklift driver Kendrick Jefferson got $3 dollar an hour more for switching...