Free Republic

The reigning assumption, of course, is that the law Gov. Mike Pence signed and then gutted after the media unleashed its fury is now exacerbating the rift between business- and libertarian-inclined Republicans who favor same-sex marriage and the social conservatives who oppose it. But is it? The reality suggests the opposite. Today the strongest arguments for protecting the right of, say, an evangelical Christian baker to decline baking a cake for a gay wedding are not coming from religious leaders or social conservatives. They are coming from libertarians, many if not most of whom themselves support same-sex marriage.

Utah is considering a bill that would allow patients with certain debilitating conditions to be treated with edible forms of marijuana. If the bill passes, the state's wildlife may "cultivate a taste" for the plant, lose their fear of humans, and basically be high all the time. That's according to testimony presented to a Utah Senate panel (time stamp 58:00) last week by an agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration. "I deal in facts. I deal in science," said special agent Matt Fairbanks, who's been working in the state for a decade. He is member of the "marijuana eradication" team...

WASHINGTON, DC - The National Board of the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) voted Thursday to rescind its endorsement of Representative Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine 2nd CD, after he voted against the repeal of Obamacare. Poliquin was one of only three Republicans to vote against the repeal because, he claimed, "more than 60,000 Mainers have invested their time and energy in choosing health care plans that work for their families." Poliquin said he would only vote to repeal Obamacare if Republicans had a replacement bill ready to vote on at the same time. "We were both stunned and disappointed by Rep. Poliquin's...

Public education has been a slowly degenerating disaster throughout the West, and now it seems we’re exporting it to the rest. At a United Nations meeting 15 years ago, the world’s governments agreed on the goal of enrolling every child on the planet in primary schooling by this year. Indeed, they have nearly succeeded, with 2014’s reports indicating that 90 percent of children in developing regions now attend primary school. Presumably, the numbers for developed countries are above 95 percent. But strangely, this lofty plan did not say anything about the quality of the schooling into which we have now...

Every time a liberal bemoans “big money” in politics, it somehow always invokes the name “Koch” when, in fact, it should invoke the name “Soros”. George Soros, hedge fund billionaire, Nazi sympathizer, also known as the man who “broke the bank of England” despises the idea of “free markets” and capitalism as symbolized by the United States. As such, it’s become his life’s goal to create an “open society” which would, accordingly to Robert Chandler of Accuracy in Meida, “require terminating U.S. sovereignty, disposing of the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights, or at least modifying them...

Hoping some Freepers might take interest in this local race in west Kentucky. My candidate is running for judge executive in Marshall County, Kentucky. His name is Kevin Neal, and he's a decorated U.S. Marine. During his 20 years of service he served security tours in Bosnia and Haiti and three combat tours in Iraq. During his time in Iraq he led five 6-man sniper teams on 50 Guardian Angel missions as a Scout Sniper Sergeant. He was wounded in a mortar attack in 2004. He returned to Iraq in 2006. His medals include the Purple Heart and the USO...

Cop Smiles And Waves To The Camera After Murdering Innocent Man With His Bare Hands

Imagine if I were to tell you there is a large group of government employees, with generous salaries and ridiculously cushy retirement pensions covered by the taxpayer, who enjoy incredible job security and are rarely held accountable even for activities that would almost certainly earn the rest of us prison time. When there is proven misconduct, these government employees are merely reassigned and are rarely dismissed. The bill for any legal settlements concerning their errors? It, too, is covered by the taxpayers. Their unions are among the strongest in the country. No, I’m not talking about public-school teachers. I’m talking...

Tea party-backed Rep. Justin Amash has made enough enemies in the Republican Party so that he shouldn't be surprised when he faces a tough primary challenge. But even by Amash's standards, businessman Brian Ellis's campaign against him in Michigan's 3rd District has been aggressive.

Some of Hillary Clinton’s closest aides blasted the New York Times for what they said was unfair coverage of the former first lady during a recent secret meeting with the paper’s Washington bureau, the Washington Free Beacon has learned.Sources said the meeting included Clinton advisers Philippe Reines and Huma Abedin, as well as Times Washington bureau chief Carolyn Ryan and national political reporter Amy Chozick, who has been on the Clinton beat for the paper.During the closed-door gathering, Clinton aides reportedly griped about the paper’s coverage of the potential 2016 candidate, arguing that Clinton has left public office and not be subjected...

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Grover Norquist, the influential conservative who serves as president of Americans for Tax Reform, thinks there are only six Republicans who can win the 2016 Republican nomination for president. His list, which he told Business Insider in an approximately hour-long interview Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. "There are only six people who can credibly run start-to-finish, and any of them could conceivably win the presidency," Norquist said....

So it wasn’t surprising when, in July 2011, the Fullerton political establishment rushed to the defense of officers who had beaten a 130-pound homeless schizophrenic named Kelly Thomas. The public saw the published photo of Thomas’ horribly swollen and bruised face, yet the mayor went on TV saying he had seen worse injuries in the Vietnam War and that it was unclear what killed Thomas, who died in a hospital days after the whomping. We also learned that police officers confiscated the video camera of a bystander and were allowed to watch the surveillance video of the incident and essentially...

The Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) is spearheading a return to the non-interventionist policies of Robert Taft of the 20s to the early 50s. Taft was defeated at the 1952 Republican National Convention for the nomination by Dwight D. Eisenhower. It is telling that Barry Goldwater attended that convention as an Eisenhower, not a Taft delegate. The neo-non-interventionists are destined for far more success in the Republican Party than any economic libertarian will ever find in the Democratic Party. As usual, history is instructive. Our Wars of 1812, Mexican-American and Spanish-American were strictly imperialistic. Our entry into WWI was engineered by...

Duck Dynasty is one of our favorite television programs. Obviously, we are not alone. Duck Dynasty has been a ratings success for the A&E television network. It averages 14 million viewers an episode. The question the main stream media should really be asking is - why? Maybe, just maybe, if they paid attention, they might learn something about this wonderful Nation and the longing in the human hearts of real, regular folks. Perhaps if political observers paid attention, they might actually recognize a growing resistance movement... I am tired of the agendas of the Cultural Revolution winding their way into...

As more American awaken to the reality of out-of-control government, pastor, veteran and family man Tom Fodi throws his hat into the ring on a pro-Liberty platform: "In light of these egregious challenges facing our community, coupled with my passion for liberty, I’ve become an outspoken advocate for a return to more constitutional form of government. But, the time for mere words is over. Throughout the past couple months many have approached me, each effectively asking the same question, “If not you, then who? If not now, then when?” After much personal reflection and consultation with those closest to me,...

On January 2, David W. Eckert was stopped by police in Deming, NM for running a stop sign. What happened next is extremely difficult to comprehend. Deming Police Officer Robert Chavez had Eckert exit his vehicle, and patted him down. A lawsuit filed by Eckert says this was “without reasonable suspicion.” According to court documents, the officers who stopped Eckert thought he was “clenching his buttocks.” They brought in a dog to sniff for drugs, and the dog “alerted” to the driver’s seat. Two deputies from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Department told Chavez that Eckert was known to insert drugs...

Today in America, we see two kinds of libertarianism, which we might call “Calhounian” and “Heinleinian.” Both kinds believe in freedom, but they are very different in their emphasis—and in their politics. The names behind the adjectives are John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), of South Carolina, and Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988), of California. [Calhoun] was also a proud slaveholding South Carolinian who rose in politics to be vice president of the United States. Indeed, Calhoun spent the last two decades of his life making the case for states’ rights over national unity In particular, he was a passionate advocate of “nullification”—that...

Police used a taser to electric shock a disabled man because he was standing on a bus, as he always does. The man prefers standing because of his spinal injuries, which make it uncomfortable for him to sit.

The case highlights the dangers of marrying policing and profit. “The profit incentive is so incredibly dangerous,” said Scott Bullock, legal counsel for the libertarian-oriented Institute for Justice, which is representing the Jalalis. He told me that officials “set aside policy goals and go after the money,” especially in tough budgetary times. The case also illustrates the inherent problems when a nation’s laws are so contradictory and confusing that well-meaning people can’t easily follow them. One can debate medical-marijuana law. It’s an unsettled matter that is winding its way through the courts. Even the federal prosecutor handling the case admitted...

North Korea might be said to be the exact opposite of the Free State Project. In this talk, north Korea expert -- and Kim Jong Il "autobiographer" -- Michael Malice will give a libertarian perspective on the history, culture, and propaganda behind the world's least-free state.