Free Republic

In politics, intellectual candle power (brains) has no direct relation to reality. Some of the brainiest people who ever lived were (and are) flaming idiot leftists. Some, but not all. A natural sentimentality once inclined me toward leftist thinking. That got checked at age 15, when I read what Einstein said about his famous theory: "If it doesn't match reality [I think he said 'experiment'], it's wrong." That hit me square between the eyes. I'd been thinking you stuck by what "felt right," no matter what. Trust your instincts, trust yourself, if it feels good it's right, loyalty, never give...

Patrick (Old School™ With Patrick Rooney Podcast) interviews long-time friend and popular comedian Marc Yaffee, asking Marc about his professional journey and how he was able to achieve success. This is Part II of a two-part series. For Part 1, go to: https://youtu.be/UBhiuwV4ow0

The United States has assessed that Iran successfully launched a military satellite into orbit for the first time on Wednesday, two US Defense Department officials said, according to CNN. The move is seen as a significant step because the country's space program utilizes the same technology that would be needed to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile, which would increase Tehran's capability to strike enemy targets. US Space Command is tracking two objects in orbit that were launched from within Iran, one of the officials said, according to CNN. One is a rocket body and the other is assessed to be...

In the past, confidence was not my strong suit. Somewhere along the line I lost my mojo. But everyone wants their mojo, so we look for ways to at least feel that we’ve retrieved it. That’s what I did. In my late twenties I read a book you may have heard of called The Art of the Deal, written by a guy you may have heard of 😉 Note: This is not about politics, I’m simply recounting a story that can help anyone—whatever your beliefs. I have never before or since felt such a surge of confidence from reading a...

When I have a little free time, I like to scan YouTube, as so many people do. And lately, I’ve been pulling up and binge-watching Larry Bird videos. What’s that all about? For those of you who don’t know, Larry Bird was one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history. He was also known as the bitter rival of Magic Johnson, with a number of legendary matchups to prove it. The two—who later became good friends—couldn’t be more different—personality-wise. Magic was “Showtime” in L.A. in the 80s. In contrast, Larry was “The Hick from French Lick” (Indiana). But their...

As we start to head deeper into the 2020 presidential election year, there is some very good news for President Trump about how Americans rate their satisfaction; and some very bad news for Democrats who are trying to impeach this success. According to the latest data from Gallup: “Americans’ average satisfaction rating for the 27 issues Gallup has tracked consistently since 2001 is now 47%. This is up three points from a year ago and is the highest since the January 2005 poll.” In the measures of satisfaction covering the first three years of President Trump in office there are...

On Wednesday’s broadcast of Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” anchor Chris Wallace warned President Donald Trump could “grab defeat out of the jaws of victory” in the Republicans’ impeachment strategy. Wallace said, “I want to go back to this question of the trial in the Senate because the Republicans— by that I mean Mitch McConnell, almost all the Republicans in the Senate and frankly the vast majority of top people in the White House, do not want to call witnesses because look, it is headed in their direction. The fact is that in a political sense, the House has not...

FULL TITLE: Winning, Winning, Winning! President Trump Decreases Debt to GDP Ratio Indicating Economy Growing Faster than US Debt! The ratio of debt to GDP is decreasing drastically – from 105.3% when Obama was President to 103.2% at the end of the 2nd Quarter of 2019! (Note that Obama increased the Debt to GDP ratio by 30% over his first two years and more than 40% during his two terms in office. Also, under Obama the Fed kept rates at 0% for his first seven years!

Successful women face special barriers in love and marriage, according to one relationship coach. But that doesn’t mean they can’t still strive for a happily ever after. On October 9, the Washington Examiner published an opinion piece on, “Why super-successful women struggle in love.” Relationship expert and author Suzanne Venker claimed that “few, if any, women” can have both “power in the world” and “power in bed.” While she backed up her arguments, her piece left something to be desired by women: encouragement. Venker began by referencing a Wall Street Journal piece, arguing that “As women have become more and...

“Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.” That’s from President Donald Trump’s last State of the Union address. I’m sure many people found it as encouraging as I did, especially in light of surveys indicating that socialism is gaining popularity here in the United States. And not just at the fringes. One recent Gallup poll showed 4 out of 10 Americans have a favorable impression of socialism. Almost half—47%—said they would vote for a socialist candidate for president. But don’t despair just yet. The same poll also revealed that almost 2 out of every...

If I owned all the real estate in the world, I wouldn’t feel so powerful as I do on the streets of this socialist city,” declared former New York City councilman Baruch Vladeck when he arrived in Milwaukee in 1932 for the Socialist Party’s national convention in that city. Norman Thomas, the famed civil-rights and economic-justice campaigner who became the party’s presidential nominee that year, celebrated the fact that he was chosen for that honor in a city governed by Socialists. The success of Milwaukee under then-Mayor Dan Hoan, Thomas said, was proof that the party’s social-democratic “dreams will someday...

With Washington stalled over the debate on the border wall, one country in Europe could show the way to successfully ending illegal immigration. One America’s Pearson Sharp has more. (VIDEO)

(Skip) After our reunion, I wondered if my Harvard [Business School] class — or even just my own friends there — were an anomaly. So I began looking for data about the nation’s professional psyche. What I found was that ... a surprising portion of Americans are professionally miserable right now. In the mid-1980s, roughly 61 percent of workers told pollsters they were satisfied with their jobs. Since then, that number has declined substantially, hovering around half; the low point was in 2010, when only 43 percent of workers were satisfied, according to data collected by the Conference Board, a...

Victor Davis Hanson January 10, 2019 --- 22 minutes (snip) -- “Historically there are three elements to immigration that adjudicate whether it has failed or successful.” (snip) -- "Rome worked when foreigners crossed through its borders to become Romans. It failed when newcomers fled into the empire and adhered to their own cultures."

People too often forget that IQ tests haven’t been around that long. Indeed, such psychological measures are only about a century old. Early versions appeared in France with the work of Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon in 1905. However, these tests didn’t become associated with genius until the measure moved from the Sorbonne in Paris to Stanford University in Northern California. There Professor Lewis M. Terman had it translated from French into English, and then standardized on sufficient numbers of children, to create what became known as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.... The result was a group of 1,528 extremely bright...

The Oval Office is in chaos. Donald Trump is mercurial, scatter-brained, given to changing his opinion every few minutes. Talks all the time. Doesn’t listen. Is opinionated. Often wrong. He is interested only in today, not tomorrow. He lacks caution. It all adds up to a president who clearly is mentally deficient – insane even.

The least educated American workers, who took the hardest hit in the Great Recession, were also among the slowest to harvest the gains of the recovery. Now they are a striking symbol of a strong economy. The unemployment rate for those without a high school diploma fell to 5.1 percent in July, the Labor Department reported Friday, the lowest since the government began collecting data on such workers in 1992. At the economy’s nadir in the summer of 2009, the unemployment rate for high school dropouts hit 15.6 percent, more than three times the peak unemployment rate for college graduates....

Travis Pastrana honored legendary daredevil Evel Knievel Sunday night in attempting three of Knievel’s most dangerous jumps in a row on Evel Live. Pastrana wasn’t just setting out to complete the stunts, however, but to break Knievel’s records. Pastrana’s epic act started with the 50 Car Jump, followed by the Wembley Bus Jump. It ended with the infamous Caesars Palace Fountain Jump — a stunt that almost killed Knievel 50 years ago. “This is the most iconic jump in stunt lore,” Pastrana said. “In the history of stunts, this is the one. It’s the one because Evel never landed it.”

On the heels of President Trump blasting American mega-corporation Amazon over its low tax liability, Sen. Bernard Sanders on Sunday backed up the president and said the company’s “power and influence” in the U.S. economy has grown too large. The Vermont independent said Amazon, which owns The Washington Post and Whole Foods, produces its own TV shows and films, and reportedly could move into the pharmaceutical sector, is at least partly responsible for the sharp decline in American retail. Mr. Sanders was asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” program whether he thinks Amazon has gotten too big. “Yeah, I...

Kids who attend New York City's Success Academy charter schools do remarkably well. "We are No. 1 in student achievement in the state," says founder Eva Moskowitz, "outperforming all the wealthy suburbs." They do. Although they teach mostly poor kids, 95 percent pass the state math test, and 84 percent pass the English test. Pass rates at government run schools are 38 and 41 percent. How does Success Academy do it? For one thing, she keeps kids in class longer. Middle schoolers stay until 4:30 p.m. Is that too much stress for kids, I ask? "China and India are not...