Free Republic

Changing geopolitics cannot be managed by leading from behindWhile the media have been focused on the missing Malaysian aircraft, massive alterations in the world’s geopolitical terrain are underway simultaneously. The annexation of Crimea by Russia should not have been a surprise for anyone who suspects that President Vladimir Putin is trying to re-establish a powerful Soviet-style empire. When he aggressively attacked Georgia in 2008 after both Georgia and Ukraine failed to obtain NATO admission at the Bucharest Summit, we should have realized that his goals were not limited to one territory. I suspect that he is now calculating an excuse...

Speech taboos are meant to silence patriotic dissentWhen I was in high school in Detroit, there was a great deal of emphasis on clothing. As I became increasingly interested in fitting in with the “in crowd,” fashion supplanted academic achievement in my hierarchy of importance. My grades plummeted and I became a person who was less pleasant and more self-absorbed. My mother was very disappointed, because she thought I had enough insight and intelligence to avoid the flypaper trap of acting like everyone else. Fortunately, after wasting a year pursuing acceptance, I realized that my dreams went far beyond silk...

Following a standing ovation at his address to the standing-room-only crowd, Dr. Ben Carson said that the current state of our government and institutions are "very much like Nazi Germany." Carson says, “You had the government using its tools to intimidate the population. We now live in a society where people are afraid to say what they actually believe.” Carson warns that our country is in a precarious position, and that political correctness coupled with government intimidation prevents open and honest dialogue.

At CPAC this past weekend, Dr. Ben Carson gave a rousing speech to those in attendance in which he defiantly declared his support for marriage despite the "P.C. police" who he says try to silence that point of view. Here's a snippet of what he had to say [emphasis added]: As you know, I am not a fan of political correctness; I hate political correctness. I will continue ... [applause] I will continue to defy the P.C. police [cheers] who have tried in many cases to shut me up. You know, I actually find them pretty amusing. [Laughter] You know?...

So what do u think. Would you like to see Dr Carson run for president? #RunBenRun— Kira Davis (@KiraAynDavis) March 08, 2014 The CPAC audience loved Dr. Ben Carson’s fired-up speech on Saturday. As always, Twitter buzz shifted to talk about 2016. “@KiraAynDavis: So what do u think. Would you like to see Dr Carson run for president? #RunBenRun”He can actually say things that need sayin— Clarisse Ediss (@ClarisseEdiss) March 08, 2014 Carson-Rubio 2016……that's a ticket I would love to see— Rj Diego (@RJ_Diego11) March 08, 2014 Ben Carson is an awesome advocate for conservatism. There doesn’t need to...

As a child, I was attracted to anything that dealt with medicine. Many stories featured Johns Hopkins Hospital, and eventually I was privileged to spend 36 years at Johns Hopkins working with brilliant and caring colleagues who dedicated their lives to the art and science of healing. After a storybook career that included thousands of operations and many sleepless nights, I looked forward to retirement, thinking it would be relaxing. However, life throws many curveballs, and sometimes the ordering of our steps is not of our own choosing. I now find myself deeply immersed in trying to heal the health...

Thwarting excessive government intervention is keyMost of us can remember feeling that someone had done us a great injustice. On those occasions, we want nothing more than to exact revenge. I remember being unfairly treated as a lowly ROTC cadet by one of the sergeants who resented the fact that my brother had been promoted to captain and company commander over him. I was very ambitious and worked extremely hard, resulting in my promotion in record time to the rank of colonel and city executive officer. This individual was now firmly under my command and I could have wreaked havoc...

We used to characterize the Soviet Union as a godless, evil empire. Like many societies based on communism or socialism, the Soviets saw fit to minimize the importance of God and, in many cases, wreaked unimaginable persecution on religious people. Why is faith in God anathema to such states? It's because they need to remove any authority other than themselves as the arbiter of right and wrong. Interestingly, last year Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized Euro-Atlantic countries, including the United States, of becoming godless and moving away from Christian values. Some may bristle at such an accusation, but when you...

‘Compassionate action’ could usher in a genuinely fair societyAs a child growing up in Detroit and Boston, I had many opportunities to experience the ugly face of racism and witnessed the devastating toll exacted by its mean-spirited nature. I was a victim of the racism of low expectations for black children, but in retrospect, I can see that many of those attitudes were based on ignorance. Large numbers of white people actually believed that blacks were intellectually inferior, and there were a host of other inaccurate beliefs that whites held about blacks and that blacks held about whites. It is...

Dr. Benjamin Carson, the former director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital who is considered a possible GOP contender for the 2016 GOP nomination, told Newsmax TV on Monday that he and his family have been personally targeted by the IRS in retribution for his frank critique of President Obama’s policies at the February 2013 National Prayer Breakfast. Carson said audits and other harassment began in May or June of 2013 and gradually expanded to include family members, associates, and his charitable endeavors. "I’ve been quite I would say astonished at the level of hostility that I have encountered,"...

<p>How long is is this going to go on before Republicans in Congress start treating it with the seriousness that it deserve?</p> <p>On Monday, Dr. Benjamin Carson, the former director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, said he and his family were targeted by the IRS in retribution for comments critical of Barack Obama, Newsmax reported.</p>

Minutes earlier, the man ran into a home in the 3100 block of Desatoya Drive where a homeowner opened fire on the man, as he was trying to enter his house. The homeowner pulled out a gun and shot toward the intruder several times. Officials believe the intruder was shot in the leg, but it's unclear if that happened before or after breaking into the home.

When government grows too large, dependency replaces achievementWhen I was in high school in Detroit, I had a job as a biology laboratory assistant. I spent a substantial amount of time in the greenhouse, preparing botany experiments. I had acquired some seeds of an interesting plant and was anxious to use them to produce my own crop of these plants. I planted the seeds in a special container and kept enriching the soil and providing plenty of moisture and sunlight to enhance and accelerate the growth. I was very disappointed with the results and eventually abandoned the project, leaving the...

Earlier this year, one of the mainstream media networks was planning to do a special on my retirement from neurosurgery. They recorded a lecture that I gave at my medical school, as well as one given at a high school in Detroit. They also accompanied me to my old neighborhoods, where many of the neighbors came out to greet me and talk about old times. I was struck by some of the comments I heard, including the notion that I always had lofty dreams that seemed unrealistic, but that others enjoyed hearing about anyway. Someone else told me that they...

Dr. Carson for President in 2016? It's not too early to think about it.The joys of ObamaCare (for  Republicans)The beloved Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Charwoman Chairwoman of the DNC, claimed last month that Democrats should and will run away from on the great succcesses of ObamaCare.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u11UIrAmRg&w=640&h=390] Video linkThey helped to bring ObamaCare to us, they should run on it and I hope they do. Running on the joys of toothaches or even unintentional self immolation might be better, but praise for ObamaCare will also make the 2014 elections "interesting." Byron York notes here that What is indisputable is that the aspects of Obamacare the White...

The lessons learned in youth jobs can pay off laterI vividly remember as a teenager obtaining my first job with a regular paycheck as a high school biology-laboratory assistant. It’s hard to describe how excited I was to be receiving a salary and contributing to the upkeep of my family’s household, but the biggest thrill was doing something important while at the same time acquiring many skills that would prove useful in the future. Through the kindness and interest of my high school science teachers, I gained great familiarity with many scientific techniques that enabled me to acquire a job...

When I was a teenager, my mother broke her own rule of never buying someone else’s trouble and purchased a used car. We were quite excited because it was beautiful and sleek, and it was a convertible. The salesman said the car was practically new and was the deal of the century. Before long, it was discovered that the engine was completely shot, and the car was essentially a beautiful piece of junk. The salesman did not know my mother, and in the end, gladly refunded her money and took the car back. This kind of story is, of course,...

As a child in elementary school, I was the epitome of an underachiever. You could always count on me to get the lowest score on a test, because I lacked even the basic knowledge of an unsophisticated street kid. I secretly admired the smart children in school and wondered how they always seemed to know the answers to any question the teachers would ask. I would have been doomed to failure but my mother, who was a domestic, keenly observed that her employers did a great deal of reading. She determined that my brother and I would become avid readers...

The presidential election of 2016 will be a defining moment for the nation and for the Republican Party. Not so for the Democratic Party. There's no controversy among Democrats about what America should be and what their party is about: big government, welfare state socialism and secular humanism. The only question about the Democratic presidential ticket is which welfare state socialist, secular humanist the party will nominate. The picture for Republicans is more complex, and this makes Democrats happy. They see Republican Party dissension as division and weakness, which, in their view, can only help Democrats. Key issues divide Republicans...

We have all heard the news stories about people so morbidly obese that they could not exit their house or apartment. I remember one story of a person who had to be lifted out with a crane after a wall was removed. These people are addicted to eating, and in some cases, ate incessantly even though they knew that they were jeopardizing their health and eventually, their lives. They grew so large that they were barely able to move and rendered themselves largely useless except as a food-disposal unit. This reminds me of our federal government, which was once agile...