Free Republic

Is it just me or does it seem to me that inthe last 10 years maybe longer that the overwhelming pressure in society is to become a "rental" based economy vs. an "ownership" economy? We see this everywhere, from local businessees offering leasing options for people wanting to buy items like TV's, Furniture, and Appliances, to propsals being made in government to collect "taxes" on miles drven on cars. Over a hundred years ago, Property taxes were the first step to establishing the idea that one doesn't even truly own the land under thier own feet that they may have...

" The number of Americans who live in a household with at least one gun is lower than it has ever been.."

A federal magistrate judge ruled Tuesday that U.S. Marshals will not be able to able to carry out her earlier order to seize a million barrels of Kurdish crude oil unless the tanker carrying the cargo comes closer to the Texas shore. The Wall Street Journal reported that federal magistrate judge Nancy Johnson said that the United Kalavrvta tanker was not within the boundaries of the state or the court's authority. She also said that the matter of who owned the oil should be decided in Iraq, not the United States. "Seems to me this is not a matter for...

New analysis confirms what many already assumed to be true: a sizable number of Americans can no longer afford the American Dream. Inspired by the new book, Chasing the American Dream, USA Today calculated that subsidizing the American Dream costs approximately $130,000 annually, meaning the dream is only within reach for about 1 in 8 American families. The shocking six-figure price tag generated international headlines. But instead of inspiring handwringing about how to make the American Dream more affordable, I hope these numbers show us something else: the American Dream as we know it is dead, and good riddance.

Is it a coincidence that countries with healthy Jewish populations tend to enjoy far greater economic success than those without? King Edward I expelled the Jews from England in 1290. For about two hundred years prior, England's economy had been growing dramatically with Jews playing a significant role in the development of silver mining, currency and banking. With their departure, the English economy went into decline. In his wonderful book, History of the English Speaking Peoples, Winston Churchill explains that as bankers and lenders Jews held the mortgages on a great deal of English land on which they had loaned...

The rich are not the problem, the greedy are not the problem, the crooked are not the problem - the problem is the system that brings them about. If the system is ours, the system means by the people, of the people, for the people, then now it is time to take it back. Now it is time to demand that it would be changed.

... Miami Beach mansion, owned by "Real Housewives of Miami" star Lisa Hochstein, is coming down after a long legal battle....

...A Florida artist is facing criminal charges after deliberately dropping a vase by dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in an apparent protest. Maximo Caminero, 51, was charged with criminal mischief after breaking the $1m (£600,000) vase on Sunday in Miami. Police say Mr Caminero told them he broke the art work in protest at the Perez Art Museum Miami's failure to exhibit work by local artists. Mr Ai said he did not support artists destroying other artists' work.

These days, it’s becoming more difficult for gun owners across the country to find safe haven, as the powers that be on both federal and state levels begin introducing a quagmire of anti-gun legislation hindering the rights of law-abiding citizens. States like Illinois are notorious for their anti-gun agendas, while states like Texas are viewed as a sort of shooters’ paradise. But just how true are those reputations? To provide you, dear reader, with a primer of gun-friendly regions of the United States, we’ve analyzed all 50 states—and Washington, D.C.—and ranked them to find out which are the most pro-gun.States...

PINETOP, AZ - A small town gun shop is creating big time controversy with a sign banning anyone who voted to re-elect President Barack Obama. The Southwest Shooting Authority in Pinetop, Arizona has a sign in the window that reads: "If you voted for Barack Obama, your business is not welcome at Southwest Shooting Authority. You have proven you are not responsible enough to own a firearm." Shooting Authority owner Cope Reynolds made the sign a few days after the presidential election. He also placed an ad in the local paper. Since then, it has exploded in popularity and gone...

Guess what? Firearms ownership by private citizens is at all-time high while violent crimes are near an all-time low. This is not a report from the National Rifle Association, but rather from the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In addition, a recent ABC News Poll showed that nearly three-fourths (73 percent) of the public endorses the Second Amendment, which protects rights of individuals to own guns. This is interesting, the high percentage of ownership, as I know from limited experience there are many gun owners who do not claim ownership as their mate does...

I was thinking about the law that allows some felons to vote and some could not, depending on the state ...

A bipartisan group of high ranking House members have introduced legislation to stop the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from codifying a policy that expands federal authority to regulate essentially all areas where water flows in the United States. The proposed change will have the impact of drastically expanding the federal government's regulatory control over state and private land and water resources and limit economic activity for not only the mining industry but a broad section of the nation's job-creating industries, such as agriculture, manufacturing and construction. Urge your Member of Congress to cosponsor...

Bud’s Gun Shop is my go-to resource when I need to figure out a fair price for a gun or if I’m looking to pick a new one up. Even with shipping and transfer fees they have a tendency to beat out the local competition. Turns out a few other people have the same opinion, and the result is that Bud’s currently has five times more orders for guns than they did the February following the 2008 election. You know — the month after Obama was sworn in, an event many blame for sky high firearms and ammo prices. They...

For decades now, gun control advocates have been trying to convince people that the nation needs stricter gun laws, that more guns means more crime. Well, an op-ed on Forbes.com says it is time to put that "myth" to rest. Larry Bell writes that gun ownership is at an all-time high in the United States and a time when crime is plummeting to historic lows: A Gallup poll indicates that “Americans’ preference regarding gun laws is generally that the government enforce existing laws more strictly and not pass new laws.” Caroline Brewer of the anti-gun Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun...

The Ministerial Law Committee is set to consider a law that could put an end to arbitrary demolition of homes in new communities (“outposts”), preventing raids by soldiers and police to force families from their homes in places like Ramat Gilad, as occurred earlier this month. The law would require that a building or caravan placed on land be removed only if a court determined that the land where the structure was located belonged to someone else. Currently, homes in such communities in Judea and Samaria can be demolished by a court order, based on a claim by an Arab...

(CBS News) The face of the American gun owner is changing. More women than ever are picking up rifles, shotguns, and handguns. And target shooting is one of the fastest-growing female sports. But, looks can be deceiving. We're not talking "Dirty Harriet" here, notes "Early Show" contributor Katrina Szish. Female participation in target shooting in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the last decade, growing to nearly five million women since 2001. Pistol-shooting mommas and rifle-wielding yoga instructors may not be the type of woman who comes to mind when you hear about female shooters, but they're dominating the sport....

Top of Chinese wealthy's wish list? To leave China By LOUISE WATT - Associated Press | AP – 1 hour 21 minutes ago BEIJING (AP) — Chinese millionaire Su builds skyscrapers in Beijing and is one of the people powering China's economy on its path to becoming the world's biggest. He sits at the top of a country — economy booming, influence spreading, military swelling — widely expected to dominate the 21st century. Yet the property developer shares something surprising with many newly rich in China: he's looking forward to the day he can leave. Su's reasons: He wants to...

The State Prosecution has submitted a petition to the Supreme Court that leaders of the Jewish Judea/Samaria settlement enterprise fear will cause the loss of many hundreds of acres of Jewish land. The petition, which was submitted in 2008, was heard shortly before the Passover holiday. Arutz-7 has learned that a high-level government meeting is to be held on the matter tomorrow (Wednesday). The petition was filed in the name of the Military Commander in Yesha (Judea and Samaria) against a decision by the Military Appeals Committee, which granted Jewish ownership to land based on the fact that Jews had...

65 Ways That Everything That You Think That You Own Is Being Systematically Taken Away From YouApril 12, 2011 Everything that you own is slowly being taken away from you. It is being done purposely and it is being done by design. Many Americans like to think of themselves as "well off", but as will be demonstrated below, we don't "own" nearly as much as we think that we do. The truth is that most of us have to frantically run around accumulating wealth as rapidly as we can so that we can somehow stay ahead of the rate that...