Free Republic

Sen. Ted Cruz is launching an effort to push the House into a continuing resolution that funds the government into the next Congress. “It would be a serious mistake for House Republicans to pass a Continuing Resolution that would ensure that Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats would come back to Washington, after many of them will have likely lost their seats, for a no-holds barred lame duck session where they will be free to pass legislation that the American people will never be able to hold them responsible for,” the Texas Republican said in a statement provided to CQ...

While we have seen so many incredible life-changing applications for 3D printing, there are still many concerns which remain on the table when dealing with the possible negative implications of the technology. Whether you believe that the ease in which practically anyone will eventually be able to fabricate a firearm is a good or bad thing, just the thought of 3D printed firearms will send shivers down the spines of law enforcement agencies around the world. There has been an incredibly fast progression of the technology behind the methods of manufacturing guns with 3D printers in the last two years...

There are two 3D printing technologies that are capable of producing products that are almost indistinguishable from those created using traditional manufacturing techniques. These would be Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), and Polymer Jetting technology. The former is widely used by 3D Systems in their industrial level machines, which can cost in the $500,000+ range. The latter is currently used by Stratasys in their patented PolyJet technology, which is utilized in most of their industrial level 3D printers. These printers also cost in the 6-figure-plus range. While these 3D printing technologies are some of the best out there, the price tags...

I couldn’t believe it when I read it. A California Superior Court judge by the name of Paul M. Haakenson ordered Lowes to pay $1.6 million dollars for selling 2x4’s that are not really 2” x 4”. Yes, your read that right! According to the Marin County, CA district attorney's office Lowes "unlawfully advertised structural dimensional building products for sale." To put it a different way, prosecutors say that if products, including building products like a 2x4 or 2x8, aren’t actually 2” x 4” or 2” x 8” when purchased, consumers are being mislead.

Americans for Responsible Solutions Pac, the political fundraising group created to turn Gabby Giffords tragedy into a way to raise money and disarm Americans, made what I thought was a very reasonable offer. I was alerted to the offer by a member of the Arizona Citizen Defense League (AZCDL).   In short, Mark Kelly's group says that they will send you their latest propaganda book for a donation of any amount. I'll tell you more about the book itself in a second, but here's our offer. Contribute ANY amount you think is fair to support our work at Americans for...

There have been many academic studies showing that gun turn in events, also known by the propaganda term "buy back", have little or no known effect on crime.   They are considered a waste of police resources.  They are also a waste because there is no reason to destroy the valuable firearms collected, other than to send the propaganda message that guns are bad and should be destroyed. Several states have enacted legislation to stop this practice.  If those who organize these events wished to make them more effective, they would coordinate with private buyers so that valuable guns would...

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) organized a fast food protest, demanding that their prospective members all price themselves out of a job. So, understandably unable to resist a straight line while filling in as a talk show guest host, pundit Erick Erickson said that if you’re still earning minimum wage at 30, you’ve probably failed at life. It’s easy to blast Mr. Erickson for the tone-deafness of his comment. While certainly true of some, his quip is hardly true of most minimum wage employees. But is that fair? Is it reasonable, or helpful to the national economic and social...

It's official. Chrysler has now wholly-merged with Italian auto maker, Fiat. It had taken a bit over five years for Fiat to gain total control of the bailed out, once-American Chrysler Corporation. Back in June of 2009, President Obama gifted (payment was made in the form of "technology") an initial 20% stake in Chrysler to Fiat as part of his orchestrated auto bailout process. Fiat parlayed that into full ownership and is now showing its gratitude to the American taxpayers who helped fund the deal by relocating Chrysler's headquarters to London ; a move which will lessen the company's...

“Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.” – Thomas Jefferson Histories are generally written by academics. They, quite naturally, tend to focus on the main events: the wars and the struggles between leaders and their opponents (both external and internal). Whilst these are interesting stories to read, academics, by their very nature, often overlook the underlying causes for an empire’s decline. Today, as in any era, most people are primarily interested in the “news”—the daily information regarding the world’s political leaders...

Cleveland held its annual gun turn in "buy back" today, 6 September.   People turned in 270 firearms.  The term "buy back" is a pure propaganda term, because the guns never belonged to the people who are buying them.   From 19actionnews.com: The Cleveland Police Department's eighth annual buyback seemed successful, taking in 270 weapons during the event, including seven shotguns, 10 rifles and 253 handguns. Some of the guns were much more valuable than the $100 gift card given for handguns, or the $200 gift card given for semi-automatic long guns.   Some of the guns, such as the older...

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has warned Russia may shut its air corridors to Western airlines if the next round of European sanctions hit Russian energy companies. "If there are sanctions related to the energy sector, or further restrictions on Russia's financial sector, we will have to respond asymmetrically,” Medvedev said in an interview with the Vedomosti newspaper, published on Monday. EU ministers will gather on Monday to discuss new sanctions against Russia and are rumored to be introduced on Tuesday. The prime minister promised a strong retaliation if the West slaps Russia with more sanctions. “We could impose transport restrictions,”...

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP)- Gasoline prices in Delaware continue to plummet as the price of crude oil has fallen nearly 70 percent from its mid-summer high. AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price for a gallon of regular in Delaware is $1.71....

Volume two of the project I started writing in 2011, titled Political Order in Changing Societies, hits bookstores later this month. It is an attempt to map out how modern states have evolved out of patrimonial ones, and tries to show how simplistic understandings of how development works can lead to disastrous policy. I have not posted to this blog in almost a year because I have been busy finishing up my book Political Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization of Democracy. The book is now complete and will be published by Farrar, Straus and...

.22 rimfire is starting to become more available, as tremendous demand is being met.   From around the country I am hearing reports of more .22 rimfire being available, though supplies are still not sufficient to keep stores stocked. My friend Jerry needed to purchase some shotgun ammunition for dove hunting, as I was taking his son and friend out as beginning hunters.   We drove to Wal Mart.   Shotgun ammunition has never been in short supply.   Wal Mart was out of dove loads!  Shooting dove with duck loads or buck shot is not a good idea.   I should explain that...

So L3 Communications, the makers of the PEQ-15, have made a civilian-legal Class 1 version, which they call the ATPIAL-C (“C” for “Commercial”). It’s basically the PEQ-15, made on the same production line out of most of the same parts, just without the high-energy mode. Even side by side they’re hard to tell apart. (Look at the laser safety label — the ATPIAL-C has a triangular warning icon, as befits its lower-energy laser, and the PEQ-2 the red starburst of an eye-unsafe laser). What you give up with the -C model is some range on the laser pointer, a lot...

All of the forecasts made by a legion of climate charlatans in the 1980s and 1990s turned out to be WRONG. If I need my car repaired, I do not take it to a dentist. If I am seeking advice about the climate I check out what climatologists and meteorologists are saying, at least those who have not sold their souls to the global warming/climate change hoax. On September 3 The Wall Street Journal published a commentary by Edward P. Lazear titled “The Climate Change Agenda Needs to Adapt to Reality: Limiting carbon emissions won’t work. Better to begin adjusting...

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the Obama economic recovery is a complete sham! Barack the Barista, aided by his media muppets and trusty teleprompter, continues to tout the “common core” 6.1% unemployment rate while shouting “America is back” from the top of Mount Hypocrisy amidst adoring crowds of mindless Kool-Aid drinkers. As expected, our so-called President is excluding one teensy-weensy, minor detail: Over 92 MILLION Americans, more than a third of the country, are not working! Workforce participation is at an atrocious 62.8%, the lowest rate since Carter’s implosion in 1978, and food stamp recipients have...

Over glasses of wine and a disco-spinning DJ, more than a dozen government-funded game developers showcased their products on a Wednesday night in Washington, D.C. Various government agencies have been paying these developers millions of dollars to create educational video games. The games ran the gamut from a Common Core-aligned, Shire-themed math challenge to a “judgment-free” historical role-playing game—and none of them were cheap. One young developer was eager to explain that the government spends more on these programs than most people might imagine. They’re usually funded through the Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR), on which the government spends...

new report shows some 53 million Americans—or 34 percent of the U.S. workforce—are now working as freelancers in some capacity. "This is more than an economic change," asserts the report, a joint effort from the Freelancer's Union and freelance markeplaces oDesk and eLance. It's also "a cultural and social shift" that will "have major impacts on how Americans conceive of and organize their lives, their communities, and their economic power." The first and last time anyone looked at the freelance worker population in the U.S. was 2004, in a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Back then the GAO...

In the wake of the brutal slaying of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, Missouri, locals protested and were faced with law enforcement armed with military-grade weaponry. The night turned chaotic, and protesters looted and then burned at least one store, a local QuikTrip. The video below went viral quickly.(VIDEO-AT-LINK)It wasn’t a great moment for the protesters. The condemnations poured in quickly. After a moment’s thought, I posted this to twitter. Jesse Berney @jesseberney Are you a white person thinking about tsk-tsking the #Ferguson protesters over looting? May I suggest a healthy serving of can u not 10:16 PM -...