Free Republic

One of the great mysteries of the post-financial crisis world is why the U.S. has lacked inflation despite all the money being pumped into the economy. The St. Louis Federal Reserve thinks it has the answer: A paper the central bank branch published this week blames the low level of money movement in large part on consumers and their "willingness to hoard money."  The paper also cites the Fed's own policies as a reason for consumers' unwillingness to spend. Though American consumers might dispute the notion that inflation has been low, the indicators the Fed follows show it to be running well...

A listless summer is the clearest sign that Obama has lost the clout needed to move his agenda. Just in time for the season's final barbecue, President Obama last week backed off his promise (threat?) to "do something" about immigration reform by the end of the summer if Congress failed to send him a bill addressing the issue. He needs more time, we're told. It's a dumb and uneventful conclusion to a dumb, uneventful summer in Washington politics. Obama's promise to rewrite America's immigration law through a mixture of executive fiat and a kind of officious neglect may have been...

US News and World Report Chairman and Editor-in-Chief and publisher of The New York Daily News, Mort Zuckerman argued that President Obama “has lost the confidence of the business community” on Friday’s broadcast of “The McLaughlin Group.” “[The economy] has...grown by about 2%, 2.1%, for the last five years, which is the lowest rate of growth coming out of a recession we have had ever, since the Great Depression. And what’s more, that only took place, not because of the fact that the economic environment was that good, it's because we have a hugely stimulating monetary policy and fiscal policy....

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S acknowledgment that “we don’t have a strategy yet” in Syria understandably attracted the most attention after his perplexing meeting with reporters Thursday. But his restatement of the obvious was not the most dismaying aspect of his remarks. The president’s goal, to the extent he had one, seemed to be to tamp down all the assessments of gathering dangers that his own team had been issuing over the previous days. This argument with his own administration is alarming on three levels. The first has to do with simple competence.

All through the "I don't have a strategy" speech, it was also, "I have no sense of how to dress appropriately to the seriousness of my duty." Did anyone else notice that natty, cream-colored suit? It made me think of the tropics, of a vacation in Panama. Barack, the girl from Ipanema. I don't believe I have ever seen another president dressed in that manner, like a soot suit, or something from the seventies...

President Barack Obama's message to Russian President Vladimir Putin when traveling to Europe next week is to not "even think about messing around" with the Baltic states, the White House said Friday. Obama is traveling to Europe next week for a meeting in Wales with other NATO leaders. He'll also make a stop in Estonia, where he will meet with the leaders of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in an attempt to reassure allies amid burgeoning Russian aggression in Ukraine. "The two stops are essentially part of the same effort to send a message to the Russians that their behavior is...

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), one of the key conservative members in the House of Representatives, predicted on Fox News on Thursday that President Barack Obama's threats of unilateral amnesty are all smoke and no fire.

Rhode Island is finishing preparations Friday morning for a visit from President Barack Obama. Obama is expected to headline three events in the northeast on Friday. Two are scheduled in Westchester County, New York, and the third is set for Newport, Rhode Island.

President Obama on Thursday sidestepped the question of whether Russia has mounted an invasion of Ukraine, describing the movement of troops and equipment across the border as an "incursion" and "continuation of what's been taking place" in the region. Obama accused Russia of "deliberately and repeatedly" violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and vowed "more costs and consequences" from the United States and its allies. "The separatists are trained by Russia, they are armed by Russia, they are funded by Russia," Obama said. "Russia has deliberately and repeatedly violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and the...

President Barack Obama held a news conference Thursday to reveal important information regarding Russia financing and arming separatists in Ukraine, migrant children in the U.S. and his strategy for defeating the Islamic State in Syria, but all eyes seemed to focus on his suit. The president addressed the press in a pale, khaki-colored suit, and the Internet exploded. . The suit prompted a slew of headlines criticizing the president for his fashion decision.

Maricopa Co., AZ Sheriff Joe Arpaio said that he believes ISIS knows the southern border is not secure and that it is “common sense” that they will exploit the lack of border security on Wednesday’s broadcast of Fox News Channel’s “Hannity.” When asked, “Do you believe ISIS terrorists can cross that border and already have crossed that border?” He responded, “of course, anybody can cross the border. ...more (w/video)...

There are two things happening between Ukraine and Russia right now. First, Russian and Ukrainian leaders are meeting in Belarus to negotiate a peace deal in the Ukrainian conflict that Russia insists it has nothing to do with. Second, Russian military forces are crossing the border into Ukraine in what is clearly a hostile invasion and act of war. That includes Russian artillery, Russian tanks, Russian-trained irregular forces, and even uniformed Russian soldiers who have admitted on camera that they are Russian military ordered to invade by their commanders. But the first piece of that is obfuscating the second. Getting...

Having already lifted the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on gays in the military, the Pentagon “likely will” allow transgendered Americans to serve openly in the military where 15,500 now secretly serve, according to a new report issued by top former generals. Three of the top brass, endorsing the deployment of transgendered troops, also said their effort has the support of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and President Obama. In a statement accompanying the 29-page report issued Tuesday, they said, “Our conclusion is that allowing transgender personnel to serve openly is administratively feasible and will not be burdensome or complicated. Three...

If you want to know where a Democrat stands on the issue of immigration, all you need ask is if they have to face the voters in less than a deep blue state in November.

Challenging times call for extraordinary courage. But at the risk of sounding indelicate, the only cojones associated with President Obama are the ones lined up on the putting green, where his frequent appearances have given rise to a new meaning of the term “stay the course.” You’d think the so-called leader of the free world would at least sound courageous. But at recent press conferences, Mr. President has sauntered in, often late, leaned nonchalantly on the podium, and delivered a lackluster “lecture” in a tone of voice more peremptory than somber. His record for ambiguity and dullness reached a nadir...

Full title: "Cornel West: 'He posed as a progressive and turned out to be counterfeit. We ended up with a Wall Street presidency, a drone presidency'”No, the thing is he posed as a progressive and turned out to be counterfeit. We ended up with a Wall Street presidency, a drone presidency, a national security presidency. The torturers go free. The Wall Street executives go free. The war crimes in the Middle East, especially now in Gaza, the war criminals go free. And yet, you know, he acted as if he was both a progressive and as if he was concerned...

It is hard to fathom what Obama is doing or thinking. No explanation comes close to being satisfactory. With fellow Democrats faulting him, and with threats to America multiplying, it is impossible to excuse his conduct on the grounds of ignorance. If he only knows what the public sees, that would be more than enough to develop a strategy. Indeed, it’s possible his military advisers are going public with terrifying claims about the terrorist group because they, too, are alarmed by his passivity. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, normally low-key, said of the Islamic State: “This is beyond anything that...

Smiling Obama swings into action... but once again, it's on the golf course: President plays again as FBI warn of homegrown ISIS threat and US edges closer to Syria strikes Obama under fire from critics for his hours on the golf course during a two-week break on the resort island of Martha's Vineyard Obama spokesman suggested the president needs to blow off steam with 8 rounds of golf on vacation Obama was slammed this week for grinning and fist-bumping through 18 holes just minutes after delivering somber remarks about James Foley's execution at the hands if ISIS terrorists Secretary of...

The Center for Immigration Studies has used information provided to the office Senator Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) to map out the locations of where convicted killers were let go by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in 2013. The killers were booked out in 24 states and were associated with 96 different cities, according to the CIS report.

Obama’s America Is September 10th America By Andrew C. McCarthy August 22, 2014 Our barbaric jihadist enemies – the ones President Obama repeatedly assured us he had “decimated” and put on “the path to defeat” – are now stronger than ever. Not stronger than they have been in years, or decades – stronger than ever. They have seized a country-size swath of territory (and growing). They have just beheaded an American journalist – which is the sort of thing they do as a matter of routine but has obviously, and finally, gotten our attention. Not to worry, though: The Obama...