Free Republic

Francis Murillo, 21, had a job this summer, putting her in the minority for her age group. Getting a job is a less-than-common occurrence, and now that Murillo is back at school, away from home and her summer job, she’s rejoined the majority of her peers who either aren’t looking for work or just can’t find it. “I don’t care where I’m working,” said the Johnson City, Tenn., resident last week while looking for another job in Chattanooga. “It’s really hard.” According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 48.8 percent of those between 16 and 24 had a...

PHOENIX – Police in Phoenix say they've arrested a woman accused of leading an armed robbery gang involving her 12- and 14-year-old sons. Police say 51-year-old Cynthia White Roberson coached some of the four boys and three men who would face charges with her. The suspects are accused of at least 20 armed robberies in Phoenix and Glendale since late April. Police say Roberson lost her job six weeks ago and guilted her sons and some of the others into committing the robberies to pay for rent and a car loan.

Michael Eric Dyson’s tour for his book, Is Bill Cosby Right? (Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost its Mind?) has been busting out all over radio and TV in the past few weeks. In fact there’s been lots of talk about Bill Cosby’s remarks concerning declining morality and poor behavior stemming from a lack of parental responsibility that’s holding black kids back. Mr. Cosby laments the lifestyle of young blacks; from their dress, to their music, their views on sex, their language and their moral ethos in general. He believes that it is the fault of black parents for...

The Prime Minister has always been coy about his early career in rock and roll - and today we found out why.Tony Blair has confessed to serious style crimes in his days as front-man for a student pop band, not least how he shamelessly mimicked Mick Jagger on stage. Mr Blair admitted strutting through renditions of the Rolling Stones' Honky Tonk Woman, one hand on hip and wagging his finger in the Jagger mode. He dressed in "massive flares", exposing four inches of bare midriff under a cropped, hoop-necked T-shirt. And although the venues were only village halls and university...