Free Republic

Janet Yellen, Obama, and Bernanke For sixty four years, the world enjoyed some degree of stability, perhaps greater than at any previous period in history, with the United States performing the expensive, but indispensable role of “stabilizer.”  There had been regional wars, and provincial atrocities often localized to sectarian disputes, but most of the world went about its business, criss-crossing oceans and borders to grow trade, or travelling to distant vacations.  9/11 changed behaviors, nevertheless, we continued on our paths, but did so with a little more caution on our air-travels.  Then, with the power of wealthy and powerful senior...

Dear World, How are you? You don’t have to answer. I know. I’ve been reading the news. It’s awful. And I know you’re looking to where the world has looked for the better part of the last century for leadership and moral clarity, to the United States. And I know you aren’t finding it there right now. For that, I am sorry. We Americans elected and re-elected a used car salesman to the most important office on the planet, and everyone got a lemon. The first time was because so many of our citizens have been conditioned to feel guilty...

Young Cons reports: Clint Eastwood’s biopic American Sniper about Chris Kyle, the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history has not only been a smash success at the box office, but has become something of a cultural phenomenon across the country, sparking all kinds of debates and conversations on social media. The movie seems to have cemented Chris Kyle’s place in the hearts of conservatives, making him a hero to many who love our country, our freedom, and the men and women in uniform who sacrifice so much to defend both. Just several weeks before he died, Kyle gave a video...

Imam Obama does not include Islamic terrorism on the rampage among people of all faiths willing to “hijack religion for their own murderous ends” We can hear it now, much closer than ever before, the Islamic call to prayer, not in the far away MidEast, but here in the villages, towns and cities we call home. We’ll be hearing it more often as it begins to drown out the peals of church bells, now that Barack Hussein Obama came out as Imam Obama at Thursday’ National Prayer Breakfast. The president did not formally introduce himself as Imam Obama, not in...

Tuesday on Newsmax TV’s “The Steve Malzberg Show,” Ben Stein, a comedic writer and former speechwriter for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, said President Barack Obama refuses to call terrorists, like ISIS and al Qaeda, “Islamic” because of his friendship and Chicago political history with Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam. ...more (w/video)...

The biggest threat to a corrupt regime is when truth moves away from the "conspiracy theory" fringes and into the mainstream. Which is why we thank Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup, for daring to tell the truth to those who care to listen.Posted first on LinkedInThe Big Lie: 5.6% UnemploymentHere’s something that many Americans -- including some of the smartest and most educated among us -- don’t know: The official unemployment rate, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, is extremely misleading.Right now, we’re hearing much celebrating from the media, the White House and Wall Street...

Sixty-one percent of Israeli Jews believe there is a high probability that US President Barack Obama will approve the signing of a nuclear agreement with Iran, even if Israel expressly states that the deal endangers the Jewish state’s security, according to the newly released Peace Index poll by the Israel Democracy Institute. The US is willing to make concessions in the nuclear talks with Iran in exchange for Iran using its influence to ensure stability in Middle East hotspots such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, Army Radio reported Tuesday. Regarding March’s Knesset elections, 58 percent of Israeli Jewish respondents in...

Two measures of manufacturing sentiment in January matched their worst performance in a year, a sign that sputtering overseas growth as well as the rapid deterioration in commodity prices is hurting U.S. businesses. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index slowed to a reading of 53.5% from 55.1% in December, a reading that was below the MarketWatch-compiled consensus for a reading of 55%. U.S. stocks SPX, -0.41% moved lower in the immediate aftermath of the report. What has been good news for the U.S. consumer — tumbling gas prices — isn’t proving to be as good for U.S. business. That’s...

President Barack Obama will cut short his three-day trip to India and visit Saudi Arabia to pay respects after the death of King Abdullah, U.S. and Indian officials said Saturday. The schedule change, announced shortly before Obama left for India, means the president will skip plans to see the Taj Mahal, and instead pay a call on an influential U.S. ally in the volatile Mideast. The king, who died Friday, was aggressive in trying to check the spreading power of Saudi Arabia's chief rival, Iran. Obama visited the ailing monarch in his desert compound last March. White House spokesman Josh...

Yesterday, the House passed legislation that will put in place a complete ban on taxpayer funding of abortions that ensures abortions are not directly funded in any federal governmental program or department. The president says he will veto it. The legislation combines several policies that must be enacted every year in Congressional battles and puts them into law where they will not be in jeopardy of being overturned every time Congress changes hands from pro-life lawmakers to those who support abortions. The House voted 242-179 for the bill with 239 Republicans and three Democrats voting to ban taxpayer funding of...

Obama Jets Off To Delhi As US and India Enter New Era of Goodwill US president to meet Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and attend the Republic Day parade, amid signs of growing diplomatic and cultural and warmth Dan Roberts and Jason Burke Friday 23 January 2015 Official relations between the world’s two largest democracies have come a long way since the new Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was once banned from entering the United States because of concerns over his human rights record. But when Barack Obama touches down in Delhi this weekend to celebrate the two countries’ burgeoning...

Violent extremists killing children and others in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria and other parts of the world may cite Islam as a justification, but the West should be careful about calling them Islamic radicals, Secretary of State John Kerry told an audience of opinion leaders Friday at the World Economic Forum. In a speech calling for a global effort against violent extremism, Kerry said it would be a mistake to link Islam to criminal conduct rooted in alienation, poverty, thrill-seeking and other factors. 'We have to keep our heads,' Kerry said, according to the Associate Press. 'The biggest error we could...

The Obama administration reportedly is fuming over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to address Congress in March regarding the Iranian threat, with one unnamed official telling an Israeli newspaper he will pay “a price” for the snub. House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu -- and the Israeli leader accepted – without any involvement from the White House. In public, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest politely describes this as a “departure” from protocol. He also says the president will not meet with Netanyahu when he visits in early March, but has attributed that decision only to a desire not...

WASHINGTON -- No matter what President Obama said about the state of our union Tuesday night, the economy's prognosis is not good. Who says so? A hefty majority of the American people in a new Washington Post/ABC News poll that sought their opinion about the economy's health. Roughly six in 10 said it was "not so good" or "poor." Six years into Obama's painfully slow recovery, jobs are hard to come by in many parts of the country and wages remain flat. Hourly earnings actually fell last month, the U.S. Labor Department reported last week. It's gotten so bad that...

Envy is much older than any political system or any political ideology. Envy does not exist because socialism exists. Rather, socialism refers to and needs envy.

**SNIP** Obama will ask lawmakers to close a loophole allowing capital gains on inherited funds to go untaxed -- a so-called "trust fund" loophole the White House says allows billions of dollars in capital gains to go untapped by the government every year. The administration’s proposal would exempt the first $200,000 in capital gains per couple plus $500,000 for a home, along with all personal property except for valuable art and collectibles. The rest would be treated for income-tax purposes as if it had been sold. The total amount of money raised for the government by these actions would be...

The Obama administration is historic. That’s something we hear constantly from media elites, from congressional Democrats and, frankly from the White House itself. And they’re right. This administration has overseen a historically slow economic recovery; it has overseen the ceding of more ground to terrorists than ever before; it rung up more debt than every previous administration combined, and so on. It is historic. Another way in which the Obama administration is historic is in its employ of Islamic theologians in positions where such expertise isn’t required. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest has spent the last week explaining to...

On Thursday, the Mexican government began issuing birth certificates to its citizens at its 50 U.S.-based consulates, a move that will make it easier for illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses and work permits and to stay in the U.S. under President Obama’s executive amnesty decision. In the past, Mexican citizens had to obtain their birth certificates from offices in Mexico. Individuals would often have relatives and friends obtain the documents and send them into the U.S. But with the Mexican government’s help, its U.S.-based citizens will receive documents more quickly, which will help them apply for amnesty under Obama’s...

Obama's release of five more Yemeni terrorists from GITMO yesterday, one week after the terrorist attacks in Paris is beyond words. It wasn't outrageous enough that he didn't appear at the anti-terror march in Paris, he had to follow that up with what can only be described as a show of solidarity with Islamic terrorism since Yemen is where the two Kouachi brothers got their weapons training before their brutal attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine. To say the President of the United States is an Islamic extremist let alone Muslim is unfathomable. But how else can his 'no show' or...

Barack Obama is one mean, vindictive bastard. There is no other way to put it. During the last government "shutdown" Obama blockaded the WWII memorial, which is normally is open and ungated. He spent money on personnel and materials to prevent WWII vets from gaining access to their own shrine. The vets requested access to the memorial but were refused by Obama and the Department of the Interior: The White House and the Department of the Interior rejected a request from Rep. Steven Palazzo’s office to have World War II veterans visit the World War II memorial in Washington, the...