Free Republic

The tense standoff at the Cliven Bundy ranch in Clarke County, Nevada tapped into a wellspring of government distrust that dwarfed Bundy's specific situation. A comparable event from just over 200 years ago, the “Whiskey Rebellion,” suggests the government's efforts to quell small pockets of insurrection like Bundy and his allies can easily cause more political problems than they're worth. Although the 1794 incident was at a vastly larger scale than the standoff in Bunkerville, Nevada, the situations share important parallels including the use of what many people in each situation considered the disproportionate use of force by the government....

George Washington’s rye whiskey going on sale Rye whiskey using George Washington’s own recipe will soon go on sale at the first president’s Mount Vernon estate in Virginia. The presidential home reconstructed Washington’s distillery and will make more than 1,100 bottles of unaged whiskey available beginning April 4. The bottles sell for $95 each. Mount Vernon says the rye is the most authentic version of Washington’s whiskey available. Washington was a detailed record keeper, and distillers used the same grain recipe and fermentation process as it was done 250 years ago. No word on whether it’ll be available online or...

PITTSBURGH—You've probably heard of wine tastings. Now, whiskey tastings are legal in Pennsylvania too. A new state law allows small distilleries to give samples to visitors and sell bottles of their spirits directly to the public. That's big news for Wigle Whiskey in Pittsburgh, which opened to the public on Friday. The distillery is named after Philip Wigle, who burned down the home of a federal tax collector in the 1790s and helped lead the Whiskey Rebellion, a major test of George Washington's presidency. The rebels objected to one of the first federal taxes—on distilled spirits. Revenue from the taxes...

The debate over ObamaCare brings to mind an old dispute exploding national debt brings to mind a defining conflict between two of America's founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Their feud--nicely recounted in John Ferling's A Leap in the Dark: The Struggle to Create the American Republic--has parallels with today's debate, but with an ironic twist.Hamilton, our first Secretary of the Treasury, was a nationalist who had an expansive view of the powers granted to the nascent federal government under the newly-ratified Constitution. A favorite of President George Washington (in whose staff he served during the war of independence),...

EASTON, Pa. (AP) - A man accused of driving drunk said Pennsylvania courts have no jurisdiction over him because he's his own country. After seeing the paperwork that 44-year-old Scott Allan Witmer filed with the court claiming sovereignty, a Northampton County judge said Tuesday he cannot be released from jail until he gets a mental exam.

Dear Lord, There's a young man far from home, called to serve his nation in time of war; sent to defend our freedom on some distant foreign shore. We pray You keep him safe, we pray You keep him strong, we pray You send him safely home ... for he's been away so long. There's a young woman far from home, serving her nation with pride. Her step is strong, her step is sure, there is courage in every stride. We pray You keep her safe, we pray You keep her strong, we pray You send her safely home...