Free Republic

The latest buzz out of the punditsphere is the news of the campaign warchests amassed by the different candidates. For the Republicans, Duncan Hunter has merely half a million dollars, Giuliani has $15 million, Mitt Romney $20.6 million, and John McCain $12.5 million. It would seem from this that the RINOs do indeed have a commanding lead within the Republican party. For the Democrats, everyone expected a Hillary cakewalk, but instead Barak Obama is holding his own—she has $26 million and he has $25 million, and Obama has collected from far more individual donors than her, indicating a far broader...

The latest news (aside from the SuperBowl) is that the Republicans in Congress have attempted to have their castration reversed. That's right: for some reason, they finally decided -- after the election, and therefore too late -- to act like conservatives: the House has rejected the Stimulus Bill in a bipartisan fashion, with not a single Republican vote. Let me repeat that. Not a single Republican vote. Do you realize what that means? It means that, after the $700 billion dollar "emergency bailout" (Epic FAIL!), the Congress has received such an earful from its constituents, that even after the shellacking...

In a recent vanity, I wrote of some of the temptations which the founding fathers foresaw for our Republic. In particular, the piece treated of the fact that the Constitution has been subverted by two main factors: unaccountable bureaucracies, hiding behind legislators who have (by accident or design) lost their own accountability to the electorate. This piece will follow up and elaborate on that theme, and considers some of the societal fallout. We have seen, quoting from Thomas Jefferson and Alexis de Tocqueville, that the Republic as founded is subject to monetary corruption. That is, the legislators, given the power...

President Obama has decided to take time off from his busy schedule of refusing reporters' questions, nominating tax amnesiacs, and reading children's books to give his thoughts on the financial crisis. One of the ideas he has floated is the concept of limiting executive pay, for companies receiving bailout money, to $500,000 per year, and to control any stock options given so that they vest years in the future. The hue and cry has gone out from both sides. "Socialism, socialism!" cry the conservatives, and "Why not do this for ALL companies?" says Barney Frank. Obviously, the remark has touched...

One of the most controversial topics of the past few years (and yet, one which has flown under the radar of many of the mainstream media) has been the topic of outsourcing, or more specifically, offshoring. This is the practice of major corporations sending large number of jobs to be done in low-cost locales, while laying off thousands of previously well-paid Americans. The reasons given by the companies are many and varied, from “we need a presence in emerging markets” to “the industry is consolidating, it’s no longer a specialized skill” to “no American has a right to a job”...

It seems to be a commonplace, taught everywhere from elementary schools to colleges, that modern Western culture (in particular, America) sucks. We are told that our society is self-indulgent, uninformed, out of touch with nature, and not given to sustainable practices. In this, we are contrasted both with "developing countries" and with primitive societies, whose practices we are supposed to imitate. With this in mind, it might be worthwhile to take a closer look at one of oft-cited examples -- the Plains Indians in the United States, and their relationship to the Buffalo. Indians were (before being cruelly starved, harrassed,...

Most FReepers have heard by now of the seizure of 15 British sailors by Iran. A number of threads have mentioned the possibilty of torture; and it has come out that at least one of the detainees is a woman. With that in mind, I decided to surf over to the website of a well-known group of women activists who are concerned with the treatment of prisoners, to find their take on the matter. Yes, Code Pink. Or as I will call them from now on, Code Punked. “CODEPINK is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to...

With the debate over the "Porkulus" bill in Congress (or, as I like to call it, "Pork and Awe"), there has been a great deal of related discussion over why the bill will work, or won't work, to stimulate the economy and create much-needed jobs and economic growth. However, much of the debate has devolved into partisan bickering. It might help to take a step back, and consider the differences between government and private spending in a more general sense. To begin with, what does the stimulus package claim to do? Apparently, it authorizes the government to spend money, in...

It has been recorded that sometime around the end of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked the question, “Well, doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” Franklin’s reply was both laconic and prophetic. He answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.” There have been a number of threats to our Republic—from the Barbary Pirates (“…to the shores of Tripoli”) to The War of 1812. The growing pains of the early 1800’s and divisions over slavery and State’s Rights, culminating the in temporary dissolution of the Union and the Civil War. World War I...

1 When Hussein saw the crowds, he went up to the podium; and after he sat down, his disciples in the press came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and did teach them, saying: 3 ‘Blessed are the working families, for theirs are the 95% tax cuts. 4 ‘Blessed are those who were ashamed of their country, for they will be comforted. 5 ‘Blessed are the Unions, for they will inherit the earth. 6 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for stimulus, for they will be filled. 7 ‘Blessed are the tax evaders, for they will receive...

A lot has been made over the last several years over the economic miracle taking place in India. In particular, there is an impression given within much of the press that the reason India is doing so well is that it is blessed, if not overrun, with a huge contingent of supremely-motivated, highly educated, eager, young, and generally invincible workforce. If this impression were solely from Indians themselves, they might be dismissed as mere bombast. However, this impression is also fostered by highly-placed executives at major Western firms, including household names such as Google, Intel, GE, IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, and...

Obama's eyes are nothing like the sun; Karl is just as red as his lips' red; His mom is white, why then he's a black man's son; If hairs be wires, grey wires grow on his head. I have seen Ayers unmasked, red and white, As thorns on the roses in the stimulus he seeks; And in some perfumes is there more delight Than the cigarette breath that from the Messiah reeks. I love to hear him speak, yet well I know He'll talk our economy into the ground; I grant I never saw a goddess go but Sarah Palin,...

By now, everyone has had their say on the most recent Ann Coulter brouhaha. I say most recent because she has had a history of saying things which offend many on the left, scare away moderates, and allow easy stereotyping of those on the right. Earlier examples of such quotes include her remarks on the proper reaction to 9-11: “We should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity.” Or her opinion of a certain set of 9-11 widows (conveniently chosen by the left to attack President Bush): "I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so...

A few days ago, The Politico broke the story that Democrat consultants, including Paul Begala and James Carville, were working with Rahm Emmanuel to demonize Rush Limbaugh, and present him to the public as the face of the GOP. That Rush is villified within Democrat circles is nothing new, of course. Bill Clinton attempted to link him in the public mind with the Oklahoma City bombing. And President Obama told Congressional Republicans that "You can't listen to Rush Limbaugh and get anything done." But the sophistication and depth of this current effort deserves a little more scrutiny. According to The...

By now, everyone has heard the buzz about Al Gore and his receipt of an Oscar for the movie, “An Inconvenient Truth”. Following close on the heels of this has been the outcry from the blogosphere, particularly from conservative sites, about Gore’s hypocrisy. As it turns out, not only does Mr. Gore travel in a private jet from place to place, not only does he drive a large SUV, but even his own household energy use is extravagant. According to publicly available figures, the electric bill on Gore’s mansion was $1,200. Per month. This is about twenty times the usage...

During the course of last year's Presidential campaign, a lot was made out of Barack Obama's crossover appeal. This included evangelicals (Rick Warren), trust fund conservatives (Christopher Buckley), columnists (Kathleen Parker), rich businessmen (Warren Buffet), and even the the token RINO of The New York Times David Brooks. The recriminations of many of these people have come fast and furious, and the more so as the new Administration has begun to channel the spirit of Jimmy Carter (Dhimmi - GA): and their belated awakening to the magnitude of their own folly is insufficient penance. Did I say recriminations? Yes, from...

This is the final in a series on geopolitics, considering the fate of the West (primarily the United States and Europe), and possible successor powers. In the piece (Vanity) As the World Turns, or The Wild, Wild, East , the issue was introduced; in (Vanity) As the World Turns, Part II, or Back to the Future , I considered the threat posed by resurgent Islam; in (Vanity) As the World Turns, Part III, or, The Year of Lipstick on a Pig the strengths of mainland China were considered, and in (Vanity) As the World Turns, Part IV, or The New...

The Big Story over the past couple of news cycles seems to be the uproar over the bonus payments to some members of the Wall Street crowd. Wall Street has had a long history of paying bonuses, but times are different. In particular, for companies which have not only experienced EPIC FAIL, but have threatened the stability of the global financial system, why should anyone receive bonuses? Indeed, the question is a powerful one, fanned by all of the class-envy that Democrats can muster. Consider some of the following quotes from leading Democrats on this matter:"This is disgraceful, this is...

This is the next-to-last in a series on geopolitics, considering the decline of the West (primarily the United States and Europe), and possible successor powers. In the (Vanity) As the World Turns, or The Wild, Wild, East , the issue was introduced; in (Vanity) As the World Turns, Part II, or Back to the Future , I considered the threat posed by resurgent Islam;(Vanity) As the World Turns, Part III, or, The Year of Lipstick on a Pig the strengths of mainland China were considered; and this article will consider some of the possible challenges facing India. The last part...

There are two major initiatives currently being persued by the crop of liberals in power. One is the ongoing set of bailouts of various groups of voters, and financial institutions, being advocated by those officially in power in DC, and the other, the "green movement" being pushed by powerful special interests, with backing from DC (and the UN, and Brussels, and...). While I applaud their good intentions, and their skill in paving, I'm not particularly impressed with the destination. Let's take a brief look at each of these trends, and see if we can't come up with a counterproposal. First,...