Free Republic

Thomas Friedman of the New York Times has received many accolades for his column following the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Under the category of “a stopped clock is right twice a day,” Friedman nailed the situation on the head. His column spoke of how Boston should immediately rebuild the area where the bombing was done. He drew the analogy to our younger brothers, the Israelis, and how they immediately cleanup and repair after a suicide bomber kills and maims. They leave no scars for the madmen to praise and the citizens to be reminded of their losses. In that...

About one in four Americans suspect that President Barack Obama might be the antichrist, more than a third believe that global warming is a hoax and more than half suspect that a secretive global elite is trying to set up a New World Order, according to a poll released on Tuesday.

...The Bible’s Place in Society If the Bible has such resonance with television viewers, then it stands to reason the awareness of the Christian Scriptures is high in America. And indeed, nearly nine out of ten (88%) Americans actually own a Bible. Despite such a high number, that’s declined since 1993, though only slightly, when 92% of Americans owned a Bible. On average, American Bible owners have 3.5 Bibles in their home, and one-quarter of Bible owners (24%) have six or more.In terms of demographic breakdowns, about eight out of ten (79%) Mosaics (people aged 18-28) own a Bible, compared...

A study released by the Rasmussen Reports polling firm on Good Friday found that 64% of Americans believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. While Americans who believe in the resurrection remain in the majority, that number is down significantly when compared to a Rasmussen Poll that asked the same question, released a year ago.

Fusion center director: We don’t spy on Americans, just anti-government Americans Law enforcement intelligence-processing fusion centers have long come under attack for spying on Americans. The Arkansas director wanted to clarify the truth: centers only spies on some Americans – those who appear to be a threat to the government. In trying to clear up the ‘misconceptions’ about the conduct of fusion centers, Arkansas State Fusion Center Director Richard Davis simply confirmed Americans’ fears: the center does in fact spy on Americans – but only on those who are suspected to be ‘anti-government’. “The misconceptions are that we are conducting...

Over a third of Americans have a venereal disease, according to the CDC. At the present rate, those who have problems with their personal equipment will surpass those with jobs by the end of Obama’s second term. The CDC finding that 110,197,000 Americans have an STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection) was reported by CNS News. In 2008, the last year reported, 19.8 million Americans contracted STIs. “CDC’s new estimates show that there are about 20 million new infections in the United States each year, costing the American healthcare system nearly $16 billion in direct medical costs alone,” said a CDC fact...

Editor's Note: This column was coauthored by Bob Morrison. Before he became a China scholar, our friend Steve Mosher was an engineer. He likes to say that if you are an engineer whose bridges collapse or whose highways break up, you’re likely to lose your Professional Engineer’s license. But if you are a social scientist, or a history professor and all your ideas collapse under the weight of evidence, you get tenure. And if you are a liberal journalist who gets it all spectacularly wrong, you get promoted. Andrew Sullivan is a case in point. He waxed lyrical about the...

Republicans don't care. Or at least that's the perception of us. President Barack Obama's convincing re-election in November despite a climate of high unemployment, stagnant economic growth and waning American influence around the globe has caused a great deal of soul-searching for the Republican Party. One of the conclusions some of us have come to is that our problem is not the message or the messengers but our own detachment from the needs of struggling working families and our lack of vision and policies that address them. I was struck reading a recent article in which our presidential nominee, after...

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During black history month, we rightly celebrate men like black abolitionist Frederick Douglas and Martin Luther King, Jr. At pivotal points in America's history, these men took a stand for equal rights for black Americans. But it's time we honor the achieving black Americans who have taken advantage of those rights, applied their skills, overcome obstacles, and achieved their piece of the American Dream. Though thankful for their freedom and opportunity, many now rail against the culture of victim-hood that sadly contributes to high black unemployment, black-on-black crime, and the explosion of fatherless families in black America. One such man...

On January 26, 2013, the Librarian of Congress issued a ruling that made it illegal to unlock new phones. Unlocking is a technique to alter the settings on your phone to use your phone on a different carrier. Doing so could place you in legal liability for up to 5 years in jail and a $500,000 fine (specifically the Librarian of Congress allowed the existing exception to lapse). This prohibition is a violation of our property rights, and it makes you wonder, if you can’t alter the settings on your phone, do you even own your own phone? The ruling...

Has anyone been watching this show? Last nite at 10:00 EST would have been the third installment. I'm curious what others around here think of it but I'd rather not come out and say what I'm thinking just yet. (Hint: Posted in chit/chat maybe for a reason.)

"Those among us who are constantly rhapsodizing about 'change' in vague and general terms seem to have no fear that a blank check for change can be a huge risk in a world where so many other countries that are different are also far worse off." -- Thomas Sowell The reason people who are knowledgeable about our nation’s history are so concerned with following the Constitution, sticking to traditions, and safeguarding our rights is that our country's success is not the rule. For all the bitter railing you hear against "1%ers," if you're living in modern day America, you are...

San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne is fully supportive of the Obama/Feinstein gun grab, and says if lawmakers play it right Americans can be completely disarmed within "a generation." Lansdowne has gone on record saying: "I could not be more supportive of the president for taking the position he has. I think it's courageous with the politics involved in this process. [And] I think it's going to eventually make the country safer." He made it clear that it may take "a generation," but new laws could eventually take all guns off the streets. This is quite a departure from other...

The re-election of Barack Obama hasn't done anything to make more jobs available to Americans, and there is no indication that it will. America now has 23 million people who want a full-time job but can't find one. Obama doesn't think American citizens or businessmen create jobs. His Jobs Czar, Jeffrey Immelt, recently said on a television interview referring to China, where he has outsourced General Electric's light bulb plants, "state-run Communism may not be your cup of tea, but their government works." In his first presidential debate last year, Obama claimed that passage of free trade agreements with...

Because the Communists, Marxists, Socialists, Islamists, and Liberals understand Americans, they will be able to use American virtues against us. They have studied us for decades to learn our weaknesses and our strengths. They have been patient. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain by destroying America. They know that we are trusting, to the point of naivety. True Americans believe in hard work and enjoy the feeling that comes from succeeding, and we believe in honesty and respecting others. We also have a tendency to believe in the truth. Because of our standards, we have a tendency...

The White House is pulling a tactic out of its campaign playbook – and President Obama’s own community organizing past – using the organs of government to enlist average Americans to help Obama advocate for his priorities. In an email sent to people who signed up to receive official updates from the White House, recipients are told to forward the message to their friends, asking them to help promote what is in effect White House propaganda. The White House email list, which government officials began compiling earlier in Obama’s term, is separate from the famed Obama campaign email list, but...

This photograph is actually a video still captured from an Al Jazeera video of the remarkable scene at the U.S. Benghazi Consulate sometime before 11:30 pm, on 9/11/2012. Four additional captioned photos can be found at my Flickr page here: First photos of Americans abandoning Benghazi Consulate emerge . This is the first in a series of photos I will be posting over the weekend. I have added the video clip from the Benghazi compound which you can now watch here: First video of Americans abandoning Benghazi Consulate emerge I want to thank Congressman Issa for releasing the Benghazi compound...

This photograph is actually a video still captured from an Al Jazeera video of the amazing scene at the U.S. Benghazi Consulate compound sometime before 11:30 pm. Four additional captioned photos can be found at my Flickr page below. This is the first in a series of photos I will be posting over the weekend along with some new video. In each instance it is my goal to present information that the U.S. news media has by and large failed to present to the American public. Most of the video and video still images were obtained from Middle Eastern sources....

Young American men continue to slip through a terrorist recruiting pipeline from the homeland to join the ranks of jihadists half a world away in East Africa, with two going as recently as three months ago, according to federal officials. The FBI confirmed a report by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) that in July two young men disappeared from their neighborhoods in Minneapolis and are believed to have traveled to Somalia to join al-Shabaab, the embattled al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group. Under "Operation Rhino," for years the FBI has been investigating what has been described as a recruiting pipeline from the Twin...

Barack Obama is beating Mitt Romney. Wait- Romney and Obama are tied in Pennsylvania. And how about all those bungled calls from the NFL fill-in refs? Americans are seriously pre-occupied as we enter the fourth quarter of 2012. Obsessions about the football season and “Dancing with The Stars” are a pleasant diversion from our present hardship and gloomy future, and frustrations over the logic-defying presidential polls makes for interesting talk show fodder. But after the election – and after the close of 2012 – Americans will need to grapple with myriad problems in our government. Whoever wins the White House...

Candidates running for election who love to use fear mongering and scare tactics to persuade voters are usually hiding their incompetency. This election cycle is no exception, and it has never been more apparent than when it comes to debating the issue of Medicare. President Barack Obama and the Democrats on Capitol Hill are constantly telling Americans that Republicans want to “End Medicare as we know it.” However, just by saying it does not make it true. Republicans understand that America has a responsibility to its seniors to preserve and protect Medicare and we are committed to our future generations...

President Obama does worry about a mob mentality. It's just unfortunate that he so often thinks he sees it in his own countrymen. The administration's response to the attacks on our embassies and the murder of our diplomats last week was familiar. The president condemned the murders and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice. But he was also careful to add that the "Libyans acted responsibly by carrying Ambassador Stevens' body to the hospital." There is now a video of a mob finding Stevens's body, and it's ambiguous. Some shout "Allahu Akbar" and pump their fists in the air...

Jama'a al-Islamiya leader Omar Abdel Rahman, who is being held in a prison in North Carolina, US, in a 15-minute telephone conversation with his wife Aisha said “the Egyptian revolution achieved the impossible.” His son Mohamed said an officer from the prison called Abdel Rahman’s home on the landline first to make sure that his wife was there, and that her voice matched the registered "voiceprint." He added that a recorded message from the prison’s phone said the line would be cut immediately if any person other than Aisha talked on the phone. He also said that his father was...

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A family [the Gibsons] gathered for a reunion pulled eight Oregon children from a lake with a steep drop-off where two girls already had sunk to the muddy bottom, a fire official said. The family pulled the children from danger by passing each one from person to person until they reached shore. [SNIP] When [Gaston Fire Chief Roger] Mesenbrink arrived, he found the Gibson family huddled with the rescued children, whose parents hugged them and repeatedly thanked the Gibsons between racking sobs. "The kids are doing great, quite well," Mesenbrink said. "I'm amazed."

Obama said hang on, but jobs report shows many Americans aren’tBy Chris Stirewalt Published September 07, 2012 FoxNews.com 368,000 — the estimated number of Americans who, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, left the labor force in August. **SNIP** Biden, who literally used the word “literally” 10 times in his brief speech introducing Obama, accused the Republicans of talking down the country in a bid to gain power. “America is not in decline. America is not in decline,” shouted the vice president. “I've got news for Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan: Gentlemen, never ever — it never makes sense,...

How is it that the party of Lincoln, a party that led the way in opposing slavery, Jim Crow laws, lynching, the KKK, poll taxes, led the way on integration and voting rights for black Americans, and percentage wise, voted for the 1964 Civil Rights Act in greater numbers than Democrats is now only getting about 10% of the black vote? Democrats say racism, but any objective observer would quickly discard that explanation given the significant number of popular black Republicans. If even a large percentage of Republicans were racist, certainly Allen West, Herman Cain, Clarence Thomas, Michael Steele,...

The political parties throw a lot of glitz at us with their made-for-TV spectaculars, which we call conventions. But the bottom line defining the choice facing Americans this year is stark and clear, and these conventions provide no new insights or information. If you think we're struggling because we don't have enough government, then the Democrats are the party for you. If you think the point of government is to protect individual freedom, and the problem is it has gone way beyond that, then Republicans are the party for you. No visual dominates the landscape of our nation's capital like...

My Outlook junk-email option is set to low (filter only the most obvious junk e-mail). Why are Americans For Prosperity emails (I subscribed to) being sent to my junk folder? Anyone else experiencing this? Emails are coming from the domain afphq.org which is not specifically blocked in my junk email settings.

We do not know who will win the White House in November. But we do know that American politics has crossed the Rubicon on spending and entitlements, and these issues will at long last complete the journey from a forbidden third rail to a central element of national politics. Even if Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan lose this year’s battle to Barack Obama, they will win the war on the challenge of our generation. Congressman Paul Ryan is best known for his budget, the Ryan Roadmap, which ties together the two sides of our fiscal-crisis coin: First, the major entitlements...

<p>Canadians have been flocking to a Costco in Bellingham, Wash., propelled by a strong Canadian dollar and lured by the lower cost of basics like milk and gas in the United States.</p> <p>An unhappy U.S. shopper, bothered by the lines and crowds, responded by creating the Facebook page "Bellingham Costco needs a special time just for Americans." As online dust-ups often do, this one has gotten out of hand, with some making rude and stereotypical remarks about Canadians. Since its debut on July 19, the page has gotten more than 3,330 likes.</p>

Islam is incompatible with American Society. “We don’t have the option of putting unattractive women in burqas. And if it weren’t for alcohol, liberal women might never have children.” Islam is going to take away your Bacon and your Beer.

While Americans might enjoy throwing politically-charged barbs at their neighbors to the north, Canadians now have at least one reason to be smug. For the first time in recent history, the average Canadian is richer than the average American, according to a report cited in Toronto's Globe and Mail. And not just by a little. Currently, the average Canadian household is more than $40,000 richer than the average American household. The net worth of the average Canadian household in 2011 was $363,202, compared to around $320,000 for Americans.

Of the 300+ books on google books using the term, "middle class America", only one earliest is 1971, a few in 1980`s and 95% in 1990`s and 2000`s til now. I never heard the term "middle class Americans" in my youth, not even in college sociology classes in 1960`s. It appears to be a made-up-term borrowed from English social class structure as defined by Webster. These communist sociologists try to force an Englsh social model upon America which is impossible- to make a square peg fit a round hole in an fallacious attempt to define a fluid social dynamic of...

America's rich are renouncing their citizenship at record levels -- just to get richer. Startling new data from Uncle Sam show that defections by Americans are expected to double this year, largely to avoid any stiff tax bills resulting from the proposed 55 percent hike on the rich, as well as the likely Dec. 31 expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts. As many as 8,000 US citizens are projected by immigration officials to renounce in 2012, or about 154 a week, versus 3,805 in 2011, or about 73 per week. "High-net-worth individuals are making decisions that having a US passport...

07/03/12 Laguna Beach, California – In November, millions of Americans will trudge to their local polling places to cast votes in the hope of improving their lives here in the USA. Between now and then, a few hundred Americans will vote with their feet in the hope of improving their lives outside the USA.Last year, nearly 1,800 Americans surrendered their citizenship. In a nation of 300 million folks, 1,800 émigrés is hardly a rush for the exits. But the recent trend is, nevertheless, intriguing.As recently as four years ago, only 200 people checked out of America for good. Back...

BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" (this was written before the decision), the Obama administration has indicated it will move forward with those parts of the unpopular law it can impose on the country. Guidebooks are helpful when going on vacation. The U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS) is the best guidebook for Americans concerned where a nationalized health system might take us. For years throughout the U.K. there have been horror stories about declining health-care services. Last week, NHS doctors threatened a strike over a plan to...

America is on track to go bankrupt. Just like Greece. The signs are all around us. We've lost our AAA credit rating. Trillion dollar deficits are the new normal. The Fed is buying 61% of our own debt. Barack Obama's 10 year budget will leave Americans with “more debt than has been accumulated by all previous Presidents in American history combined.” Nobody on the Left or Right seems to believe we'll ever pay off all of the money we owe. Life as we know it is very close to ending and yet Americans seem to be infected with a tragic...

Two American men, a high-profile dancer & a teenage musician, have been arrested by Tokyo police investigating the murder of an Irish student apparently strangled to death in a luxury Tokyo hotel. Nicola Furlong, 21, was found dead in the early hours of Thursday morning after she attended a Nicki Minaj concert with a female friend, also a 21-year-old Irish student.Dancer James Blackston, 23, and a 19-year-old male musician, who has not been identified by police, have been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting Ms Furlong's friend in a taxi on the way to the hotel. Police are investigating whether...

The 41% of Americans who now identify themselves as "pro-choice" is down from 47% last July and is one percentage point below the previous record low in Gallup trends, recorded in May 2009. Fifty percent now call themselves "pro-life," one point shy of the record high, also from May 2009. Gallup began asking Americans to define themselves as pro-choice or pro-life on abortion in 1995, and since then, identification with the labels has shifted from a wide lead for the pro-choice position in the mid-1990s, to a generally narrower lead for "pro-choice" -- from 1998 through 2008 -- to a...

The roar of the propellers cutting the air is what sparks memories for WWII veteran Howard Mann. "The sound is the same," he said. "The sound brings it all back." Mann, 92, was a passenger in the B-24 Liberator "Witchcraft" that took flight from Long Beach to John Wayne Airport on Friday as part of the Wings of Freedom exhibition at the Lyon Air Museum... The last time Mann was in a B-24 was Jan. 3, 1945, flying over the Pacific...

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has accused right-wing Americans of being responsible for the lack of peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Wealthy Americans ousted him from power and derailed negotiations, he told CNN. Olmert said he was committed to reaching peace, “But I had to fight against superior powers, including millions and millions of dollars that were transferred from this country [the United States] by figures which were from the extreme right wing that were aimed to topple me as prime minister of Israel.” Olmert left office amidst accusations of corruption involving several different affairs. His bureau chief...

Excerpt: From A FR 2001 Post: Crazier ...Than You... To those extremists that perpetrated this crime against our nation, I have a warning for you. There are those of us who look at your actions as irrational, twisted, and completely inhuman. By all measures, what you have done can only be seen as insane. I have news for you. We’re more nuts than you, and it should scare you s***less. You may think that when you die for your cause, you go to Paradise with 72 virgins, can leave reservations for 70 members of your family, all your sins are...

Liberal economist Emmanuel Saez has updated his much-referenced income inequality research. Here’s how the recovery is going after the Great Recession: In 2010, average real income per family grew by 2.3%, but the gains were very uneven. Top 1% incomes grew by 11.6% while bottom 99% incomes grew only by 0.2%. Hence, the top 1% captured 93% of the income gains in the first year of recovery. Such an uneven recovery can help explain the recent public demonstrations against inequality. It is likely that this uneven recovery has continued in 2011 as the stock market has continued to recover. National...

Let us begin by defining who we are in terms of convictions and goals; the enemy in terms of how they are manifest. We are a contemplative, geographically disparate coalition of like-minded individuals seeking restoration of our Country by attending the Constitution, a people prepared to sacrifice, using, but not limiting ourselves to the peaceful ballot box, taking as literal the words and wisdom of Jefferson, Adams and Madison. We are humble servants, a conduit for a future generations lifeblood; an arrogant yet factually accurate statement. We are versed in the documents giving birth to our Constitution, namely the Federalist...

The son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is among 19 Americans being referred to criminal trial for allegedly receiving foreign funds illegally and being involved in banned activity in Egypt, several news agencies reported Sunday. In all, Egyptian officials say 44 non-governmental organization workers will be put before the court after investigating judges claimed they had reason to try the democracy and rights workers. The move is likely to further sour relations between Egypt's military rulers and the United States, the Arab nation's chief western backer for more than 30 years. The decision came just after Secretary of State Hillary...

Ignoring a U.S. threat to cut off aid, Egypt on Sunday referred 19 Americans and 24 other employees of nonprofit groups to trial before a criminal court on accusations they illegally used foreign funds to foment unrest in the country.

Four Jewish pilgrims from the United States were arrested before dawn on Friday in Shechem as they sought to pray at Joseph's Tomb. The four, associated with the Bratslav Hassidic group were confronted at gunpoint by Palestinian Authority police and taken into custody before reaching the grave site. They were handed over to Israeli police and taken to the Ariel police station. "Americans are allowed to stay in Nablus and their summary arrest is a violation of international law," a friend of the four detainees said. .....

More than one in five older Americans skimp on health care to save money, says the Employee Benefit Research Group. A significant number of Americans over the age of 50 skip medication or postpone doctors’ appointments to save money, according to a recent report by the EBRI, a private, nonprofit research institute based in Washington. According to the study, 21.5% cut down on their prescription drugs, switched to cheaper drugs or got free samples, and 19.4% skipped or postponed doctor appointments. An even larger number, 27.5 %, reported having difficulty paying their monthly bills. “We know that consumption tends to...

Poll: Americans, 2-1, Fear Obama's ReelectionJanuary 9, 2012 When it comes to how Americans view President Obama going into the new year, there appears to be very little spirit of Auld Lang Syne. Instead, according to the new Washington Whispers poll, many voters aren't forgetting what they dislike about Obama and want him out office. In our New Year's poll, when asked what news event they fear most about 2012, Americans by a margin of two-to-one said Obama's reelection. Only 16 percent said they fear the Democrat won't win a second term, while 33 percent said they fear four more...