Free Republic

One of the most interesting facets of modern economic policy is the sheer number of numbers. There is the unemployment rate. There is the workforce participation rate. There is the debt level. There is the deficit number. There is the foreclosure rate. There is the economic confidence number. There is the interest rate, and the inflation rate, and the money-supply rate. The point is that we Americans are far too busy (and perhaps economically confused) to look at multiple numbers in order to figure out if we can afford a vacation to Disney World. In 2012 we should strongly encourage...

It has been said that there are three kinds of lies in this world; lies, damned lies and statistics. However, sometimes statistics really do tell the full story. When issues of immigration, race and religion are involved, some very awkward questions arise and our political elites in the West are ready to use the full force of their intellect to confront these issues head-on. I'm kidding of course. Our political elite would rather do anything than confront hard questions of culture. How else can one explain President Acorn plumping for an amnesty for 14 million illegal aliens while America suffers...

What if I were to tell you that there is a potential Presidential candidate who has shown an ability to win multiple national elections, consistently stands up in international bodies for America's interests and those of our allies, and had the guts to embarrass the Chinese by refusing to come to the monstrous opening Olympic ceremonies in Beijing, the one which made Nazi "artist" Leni Riefenstahl blush? While in office he has supported the war in Afghanistan, and increased military spending in a dangerous and unpredictable world. He cut aid to the Palestinians when Hamas took over the Gaza Strip....

Putting a Texan on the national ticket is as American as apple pie, and has been so for almost eight decades. Texans instantly add character to any race. Whether it is Cactus Jack Garner who joined FDR and became the first Southerner elected on a national ticket since the Civil War, or LBJ stealing the 1960 election in South Texas for Kennedy, the Texans always make it interesting. Why is that? Well, we are like Americans . . . but more so. Sure the Bush Presidents were not originally from Texas, but at least George W. Bush is a country...

Growing up, it was always amusing to hear liberals sputter their hatred about President Reagan. They would inconsistently argue both that Reagan was a mad genius who was trying to starve the welfare state by overspending on the military, and at the same time Reagan was said to be a doddering old fool who was completely disconnected from reality. It has been exceedingly difficult for conservatives to correctly define the pathology of President Obama. He is neither an evil genius, nor a doddering old fool. Instead, he is an odd bird: an African-American President who has presided over the greatest...

Every people enjoy a favorite holiday. For many Americans it is the yearly celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, or the feast eaten by pilgrims with their Native American hosts. These events mark the beginning of the American people. For many Jews the celebration revolves around the Jewish New Year, when the Lord created the world, or Passover, when the Jews were freed from Egyptian slavery. At that points the Jews truly became a people, as they wandered for forty years after their Exodus. For the made up people known as Palestinians, the big event is Nakba...

I have always believed in the power of giving credit where it is due. This rule is tested when the credit may be due to President Obama, and you disagree with almost everything that he has done in office. It is further tested when one notices how stingy President Obama has himself been with the credit due to President Bush's War on Terror policies. However, President Obama deserves great credit for breaking from his liberal roots and taking a risk to kill terrorist mastermind Osama bin Ladin. President Obama is a professorial liberal who neither understands nor likes what America...

One of the themes of President Obama's foreign policy, heck the only theme to President Obama's foreign policy, is his extraordinary effort to punish America's friends and support our enemies. Examples of this moral inversion are many. Let’s put aside the easy examples of Obama’s shabby treatment of the Queen of England and the Prime Minister of Israel (who does he think he is, Lyndon LaRouche?). Obama refused to say supportive words for Iran's democratic protesters who could have possibly overthrown their stolen election in the terror-state of Iran and replaced the government with something, anything more pro-American. Instead our...

You may remember the tragic story a few years ago about the chimpanzee-enthusiast who got too close to her pet chimp. The owner was known to eat all of her meals with her pet and even sleep in the same bed as the chimp, so confusion was created in his simple mind. She treated her chimp as a son, which also may have created the oedipal-chimp relationship that could lead to a great sequel to the play Equus. Anyway, apparently this bizarre relationship led to such jealously that when a friend visited, the chimp became enraged. Incredibly, the chimp tore...

Abortion is an issue that people tend to have VERY strong feelings about. Over the last few years polling data has shown that Americans increasingly believe that abortion should be rare and only allowed in very few instances. To many Democrats, however, the right to an abortion is not only sacred (like Wicca-level sacred), but to deny access to a woman simply because she cannot afford the procedure is anathema to what America stands for. in case you didn't hear, we now stand for taxpayer-funded abortions. This is how we got to a point where the government will shut down...

World Exclusive: below are the first excerpts from President Obama's speech on Libya, which is scheduled to be delivered Monday. I have a friend who works at the White House (keeping Vice President Biden away from the Oval Office) and he just emailed me some of the key passages from the President's upcoming speech to the nation. I'll post a few quotations, but please keep in mind that the speech will likely be edited heavily this weekend by White House speechwriters. "Critics have said I need Congressional approval for these actions. But I would remind them that some elections have...

Many liberals neither understand nor love America. That does not mean that they hate everything about the US. For example, they love Michael Moore, locally sourced arugula, NPR and the Ground Zero Mosque. However, they hate the fact that America is the most prosperous and successful nation-state in the history of the world. Shouldn't all nations be equal? The problem with this worldview comes into focus when the world needs a leader. Since World War II, only America has had the hard and soft assets to make a positive difference in a crisis. Does Japan call Kenya for nuclear power...

Many liberals neither understand nor love America. That does not mean that they hate everything about the US. For example, they love Michael Moore, locally sources arugula, NPR and the Ground Zero Mosque. However, they hate the fact that America is the most prosperous and successful nation-state in the history of the world. Shouldn't all nations be equal? The problem comes into focus when the world needs a leader. Since World War II, only America has had the hard and soft assets to make a positive difference in a crisis. Does Japan call Kenya for nuclear plant crisis management? The...

It is very easy to get caught up in our day-to-day frustrations. Is it raining on a weekend? Did you get passed over for recognition at work? Did the waitress accidentally give you a cup of decaf coffee? If you take a step back though, you can see the true horror of our existence. At any moment the forces of nature could end your life and the lives of your loved ones. That is an existential threat we all live with, but choose not to dwell upon until we must. The people of Japan feel this threat more keenly today....

In the good old days a person finishing school or military service had two legitimate career paths. First, he could seek employment in the private sector. The pay was good, but there were some sizable downsides. For example, the company you choose could go bankrupt, or simply downsize or innovate your job away. In “employment at will" states they could even fire you for any reason outside of certain illegal ones. For example, in Texas you could not be fired because you are black, but you could be fired for wearing a black shirt to work. Although you had to...

Many Westerners were happy to see the "People Power" of Egypt stand up and demand democracy. No right thinking person can support a 30-year kleptocracy, the rule by thieves. The increased usage of social media made many believe that the Egyptians are just like us. After all, we email each other to discuss politics. We use LinkedIn to stay in touch with former co-workers. We use Twitter to tell people what kind of muffin we bought for breakfast. Most comparatively, we use Facebook to share our interests, and organize and publish our lives. So Egyptians are just like us, right?...

With the recent departure of long-term dictators in Tunisia and Egypt, former President George W. Bush's so-called Freedom Agenda has been winning grudging praise, even inadvertently by President Obama. However, that agenda of spreading American-style democracy (think Iraq and Afghanistan) may be missing a bigger opportunity to truly transform the Arab Middle East from backwater to advanced beachhead. Remember that nations like Algeria were more prosperous than South Korea 50 years ago. Even energy poor nations like Egypt and Tunisia have a core of educated workers and savvy elites who should be on par with a Brazil. For countries like...

With the recent departure of long-term dictators in Tunisia and Egypt, former President George W. Bush's so-called Freedom Agenda has been winning grudging praise, even inadvertently by President Obama. However, that agenda of spreading American-style democracy (think Iraq and Afghanistan) may be missing a bigger opportunity to truly transform the Arab Middle East from backwater to advanced beachhead. Remember that nations like Algeria were more prosperous than South Korea 50 years ago. Even energy poor nations like Egypt and Tunisia have a core of educated workers and savvy elites who should be on par with a Brazil. For countries like...

Writers about the Middle East always seem to think it is key to distinguish between Sunni and Shia, between Persian, Turk and Arab. For example, we were told that the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda could never work together with Iran because the first two are Sunni and Iran is Shia. All of these distinctions have proven to be meaningless, just something people say to sound informed. Iran trains Sunni Hamas thugs and protects Sunni Al-Qaeda members. The only trend worth noting is that the Arab world is increasingly owned by the Persian (Iranian) world. Lebanon is run by Hezbollah, an...

The entire airport experience has been getting worse and worse. That is, until today's important announcement. Sure, the food in the terminals is still awful; honestly, how hard is it to make a fresh pretzel? And yes, the lines of people taking off their shoes at security makes for a fragrant occasion. Sure, you always get stuck behind the elderly, infirm or a family traveling with twenty toddlers. However, things are about to dramatically improve because the Transportation Security Administration is allowing their workers to unionize! Don't let the fact that the TSA's John "Johnny Boy" Pistole released this information...