Free Republic

Five years after the start of the Great Recession, the toll is terrifyingly clear: Millions of middle-class jobs have been lost in developed countries the world over. And the situation is even worse than it appears. Most of the jobs will never return, and millions more are likely to vanish as well, say experts who study the labor market. What's more, these jobs aren't just being lost to China and other developing countries, and they aren't just factory work. Increasingly, jobs are disappearing in the service sector, home to two-thirds of all workers ... this "hollowing out" of the middle-class...

Frontline examines why no Wall Street execs have been prosecuted for the financial crisis.

WASHINGTON - If you thought President Obama's first term was one long, uninterrupted political brawl, the next four years will make that period look tame by comparison. If you need any evidence for this prediction, Obama's in-your-face, second inaugural address is Exhibit A. It was a speech tailored to make the hearts of liberal Democrats beat faster, cheering what some in the Washington news media called "Obama unbound." It was a speech that sent an unmistakable message to his party's base that this time around, it's no more Mr. Nice Guy. The gloves are off, these are my issues, and...

For months, Jose Godinez had to put his dreams of becoming an immigration lawyer on hold. The 26-year-old passed the Florida Bar exam and earned a law degree from Florida State University. But he had been denied a law license from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners because he is in the U.S. illegally. Not anymore. He now has a two-year work permit, a driver’s license and a Social Security card, after qualifying for a federal immigration program for people who were brought illegally into the U.S. as youngsters

There's a super storm raging over our economy that's been seeded and fueled by the federal government over a period of the past several decades. And it's literally costing the country trillions of dollars in GDP per year. It’s not merely garden-variety government waste that's the problem either. It's monumental stupidity by the government, combined with venial cupidity by voters who think they can get others to pay for their free lunch. This government-created storm has, more than any other factor, contributed to the fiscal crisis; a crisis that is creating more expansive government programs, robbing us of more GDP,...

A centerpiece of President Obama's second inaugural address was a call for greater economic equality, with the president saying that "our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it." But that's precisely what's happened over the past four years, as Obama's economic policies left the majority of Americans falling behind while the wealthy few got further ahead. Evidence of this is everywhere you look.

Thanks, California! Thanks for your monstrous spending and absurd regulatory overreach! America needs you. We need Connecticut and Illinois, too! We need you the way we needed the Soviet Union, as models of failure, to warn us what happens if we believe those who say, "Government can." Moving to California was once the dream for many Americans. Its population grew at almost triple the national average -- until 1990. Then big government, in the form of endless regulation and taxes, killed much of the dream. In the last decade, 2 million people left California. Many of them moved to Alaska,...

Laura Lauria has given the Flagler County School District enough money to cover the costs of keeping a deputy at Old Kings Elementary School for two months. And Superintendent Janet Valentine said Lauria has agreed to cover the costs -- $22,000 through the end of the year. "We want people to come forward and solve problems," said Valentine. "It's the power of one. We appreciate that." There are six resource deputies at the county's high school and middle schools. Officials have considered putting deputies at two elementary schools, but say the costs are prohibitive.

•Hu Songwen built his machine after he could no longer afford hospital bills •He said two of his friends had died after building and using similar machines •Offered Government medical aid after story went national, but says nearest hospital is too far away and too crowded Three times a week, Hu Songwen sits on a small toilet in his home in a rural east China town and fires up his homemade dialysis machine. Hu, who suffers from kidney disease, made it from kitchen utensils and old medical instruments after he could no long afford hospital fees. He was a college...

Smith & Wesson will not attend or support or participate in the 2013 Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Pa. in response to organizers banning the display and sell of tactical-looking firearms often called assault rifles from the show. Smith & Wesson manufacturers a successful line of what it and the industry calls “modern sporting rifles” under the M&P brand name. ... In a news release, James Debney, president and CEO of Smith & Wesson, said: “As a market leader in the firearm industry and an iconic brand that spans 160 years of American history, we believe it is...

Washington-The Obama administration has delayed a decision on TransCanada Corp´s rerouted Keystone XL oil pipeline until after March, even though Nebraska´s governor on Tuesday approved a plan for part of the line running through his state. "We don´t anticipate being able to conclude our own review before the end of the first quarter of this year," said Victoria Nuland, a spokeswoman at the State Department, which had previously said it would make a decision by that deadline. She said the department would take into consideration approval of the line by Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman.

Emelie is plagued by hallucinations and nightmares. When she wakes up, she's often paralyzed, unable to breathe properly or call for help. During the day she can barely stay awake, and often misses school or having fun with friends. She is only 14, but at times she has wondered if her life is worth living. Emelie is one of around 800 children in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe who developed narcolepsy, an incurable sleep disorder, after being immunized with the Pandemrix H1N1 swine flu vaccine made by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline in 2009.

Obama's First Term by the Numbers Last week, the RNC Research arm released a list of how much President Obama's first four years cost in terms of deficits, regulations, stimulus spending, and the underemployed and unemployed individuals. The following are a few of those figures:

Here are a few highlights from Tiger Woods' Tuesday morning news conference in advance of this week's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. --Tiger agrees with Phil? Well, sort of. Phil Mickelson made news this week when he said he might leave California because of the state's income tax laws. "Well, I moved out of here back in '96 for that reason," Woods explained. "I enjoy Florida, but also I understand what he was, I think, trying to say. I think he'll probably explain it better and in a little more detail." Mickelson's pre-tournament interview is scheduled for Wednesday.

Just a day after Phil Mickelson said he needed to make "drastic changes" in his life because his tax rate was going through the roof, he is trying to walk back his comments. He released a statement through his spokesman T.R. Reinman in which Mickelson apologizes to anyone who may have been offended: "Finances and taxes are a personal matter and I should not have made my opinions on them public. I apologize to those I have upset or insulted and assure you I intend to not let it happen again." This is absurd. There is no need for a...

The effort by François Hollande to get the wealthy to fund his Socialist agenda isn't off to a propitious start, needless to say. The announcement of Hollande's 75% tax rate for high-income earners has panicked the business and investment communities in France that Hollande needs to generate economic growth. It drove France's greatest living actor (and perhaps overall artist) to abandon his native country for the greener pastures of Belgium … or perhaps Russia: Gerard Depardieu, the French actor awarded Russian citizenship this month, is shopping for land near a provincial capital where he plans to settle down after a...

Battles are brewing in New York, California, Minnesota and the nation's capitol over hiking minimum wages. In all three state legislatures and in Congress, Democrats have the votes to ram the hikes through. These politicians are claiming the moral high ground, saying it will help the poorest in our communities. Don't be fooled. Hiking the minimum wage hurts — not helps — the lowest paid workers, especially young black men. A 10 percent hike in the minimum wage causes a 2.5 percent drop in employment among young white men without a high school diploma and a staggering 6.5 percent drop...

"There was no evidence that the chain set out to deceive customers." So why the $700,000 payout? Pamela Geller asks: "So meat producers in the US who are selling unlabeled meat that is halal should be the target of a multi-million dollar lawsuit, no?" And David Wood observes:"Some Dearborn Muslims may have been given non-halal chicken at McDonalds. It could have been worse, however. They could have been thrown in jail for answering questions, as we were at the 2010 Arab Festival. But apparently what happens to Christians doesn't matter in Dearborn." "McDonald's settles Mich. suit over Islamic diet," by...

Dozens of people lined up outside a South Austin gun shop Monday. They fear this new presidential term will mean tougher gun laws. Monday morning dozens of people lined up outside Central Texas Gun Works in South Austin. Some waited as long as five hours to get the chance to purchase a part to make an AR-15. "Lower receivers seem to be sold out throughout the nation so as soon as you find out one's in stock like the line shows, everybody rushes for them," gun owner Jeremy Paul said.

Some big names in the hunting media and vending have stood up to the organizers of the Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show. Following the tragic shooting in December at Sandy Hook School in Connecticut, and President Obama’s sweeping executive orders on gun violence, many states and organizations have themselves pushed for changes in certain gun and ammunition restrictions. Reed Exhibitions, organizers of the show in Pennsylvania, followed suit and imposed restrictions on the display of assault weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines. From their web site: “As a hunting-focused event, we welcome exhibitors who wish to showcase products and firearms...