Free Republic

My car needs washing, and frankly I’d prefer that the losers who think Obama’s “free” community college idea is super awesome get off their lazy hindquarters and wash it for me for free. Sure, I could pay for it myself, but then I’d have to forgo things I’d rather have. It’s cruel and inhuman and, I’m guessing, both racist and phallocentric, to force me to prioritize how I spend my money. So, Mr. President, I need you to direct your minions toward my reserved parking space because, in the words of noted jurist and personal hero Judge Elihu Smails, I...

The theme of Obama’s last campaign was “Forward.” Having thoroughly alienated Republicans in Congress, he is boldly moving forward on his final mission of also alienating the Democrats. It’s no secret that Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader, now loathes Obama. But the conflict between Senate Democrats and Obama is approaching explosive temperatures. Senator Menendez accused Obama of parroting talking points out of Tehran as the Senate approaches a sanctions vote. Obama has threatened to veto bills on Iran and Keystone, along with others, leading to a showdown in which Democrats will have to choose between Obama and electability....

Like walking in a neighborhood full of pickpockets and purse snatchers, living under the Obama administration should leave all Americans worried about what will be pilfered from them next.In one of the most hypocritical moves yet—and that’s saying something—by a man who exhaled a lot of hot air in recent weeks, including during the State of the Union speech, talking about the importance of a college education, President Obama is now proposing to end tax-free withdrawals from 529 college savings accounts, diminishing (or perhaps even eliminating)their attractiveness as savings vehicles and thereby reducing incentives for millions of American families to...

The president was a conservative's conservative. He had campaigned on reducing taxes and made it his legacy. But when a gas tax increase was proposed, it was a different story. In his weekly radio address, he said, "We simply cannot allow this magnificent (highway) system to deteriorate beyond repair." That was 1982. The president was Ronald Reagan. Unfortunately, the disrepair Reagan feared has come to pass. The federal gas tax of 18.4 cents hasn't been raised since 1993, and the Highway Trust Fund is severely underfunded. A 10- to 15-cent a gallon increase would provide enough money to meet the...

President Obama’s refusal to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu when the Israeli prime minister comes to Washington in March to address a joint meeting of Congress is a petulant, juvenile snub — one that couldn’t be more badly timed. The Israeli leader “spat in our face,” an unnamed senior U.S. official told Israeli newspaper Haaretz, “and there will be a price.” An unnamed source “close to Kerry” told the Washington Post the House speech “could blunt Secretary Kerry’s enthusiasm for being Israel’s primary defender.” That’s gangster talk, aimed at one of America’s closest allies — all because the Israeli leader dared...

Political cartoons, if done correctly, are remarkably effective tools for teaching about economics and public policy. In this post from last year, for instance, I put together some of my favorite examples on topics such as Keynesian economics, labor supply incentives, minimum wage, and the welfare state. Today, we’re going to try something different. Using a series of cartoons, we’re going to explain the need for Social Security reform. First, let’s establish that there is a problem. I’ve shared data on America’s long-run fiscal crisis from international bureaucracies such as the IMF, BIS, and OECD. And I’ve explained that demographics...

I received an interesting email today from Geopolitical Information Service (GIS) regarding statements made by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein on European QE by the ECB. Let's compare and contrast what Prince Michael has to say with what economic writer Martin Wolf had to say, also from today. QE a Sign of Helplessness, Will Not Reach Economy Please consider European QE Funds Will Not Reach the Economy by Prince Michael of Liechtenstein. The European Central Bank’s decision to introduce a programme of Quantitative Easing (QE) is not a win-win situation but rather an expression of helplessness ... that politicians in European...

Official PA daily: Israel was behind the terror attacks in France because Israel "was the only one to benefit from them" Israeli Intelligence Service Mossad planned the attacks because Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu wanted - to encourage Jewish immigration from Europe - to take "revenge on European governments... because of their positions on the Palestinian cause" Poll: 84.4% of Palestinians think "Israel behind the murder of French [citizens]"   Nan Jacques Zilberdik    Following the terror attacks against the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish store in which Muslim terrorists killed 17 people in France earlier this month, columnists writing...

Remember how Richard Nixon told us to watch what he does, not what he says? Good advice. Well, Barack Obama — our POTUS who makes Nixon and Clinton seem like Diogenes — thinks like a postmodern agnostic, professes to be a Christian, but acts like a Shiite. During Obama’s presidency the influence of Ayatollah Khamenei’s Iranian Shiite regime has spread across the world like the proverbial wildfire, reaching from North Africa into Iraq, Lebanon (via Hezbollah), Syria (via Assad whose red line on chemical weapons famously faded into invisibility), Gaza (via improved relations with Hamas) and now into Yemen (via...

Progressive politicians and activists, from President Obama to NBC News, love to talk about “moving America forward.” But what does that mean? Forward into what? They never have an answer to that. Or, more accurately, they are never asked that question. But given how things are going in this country in terms of the economy, national security, race relations, etc., it’s a question worth exploring. On the issue of the economy, President Obama spent a good bit of time in Tuesday’s State Of The Union address telling us how well it’s going. The facts, on the other hand, tell a...

The reporting on the latest Obama-Netanyahu tiff has failed to explore a decisive geopolitical likelihood: Israel has calculated that Iran absolutely will not develop nuclear weapons during the remainder of the Obama administration. For those who closely follow the relationship between Israel and the United States, specifically the tumultuous rapport between Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, it was assumed that the “chickensh*t” fiasco this past October was the climax of the Obama administration’s frustrations with Netanyahu. This assumption was obliterated however when Netanyahu accepted an invitation this week from Speaker John Boehner to address a joint session...

“Metro has a reputation for shoddy service and a history of not learning from its mistakes,” Aaron Wiener acknowledged in a recent column for The Washington Post. He then asked, “Why should we reward such a poorly run enterprise with our business, or place our lives in the hands of a system we can’t trust?” Darn good question. Wiener doesn’t answer it. Instead, he merely asserts that we should double down and commit ourselves to Metro. His is a pure and faithful devotion, as indicated in his headline: “Metro’s a mess. All the more reason to ride it.” Spoken like...

While reading the Washington Post I ran across a column about a proposal by one of my home state’s (CA) legislators regarding people working on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The proposal so appealed to the Left that the proposal (not even a bill yet) was covered on the other side of the country by one of the nation’s most prestigious newspapers. It commanded me to read on to find out what this was about. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez was bemoaning the fact that more and more stores were opening on Thanksgiving and Christmas. When it comes to shopping I agree with Ms....

"I don't believe I'm poking anyone in the eye," House Speaker John Boehner asserted Wednesday. That was after His Speakership told the media that he had invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of Congress about "the grave threats radical Islam and Iran pose to our security and way of life." Of course it was a poke in the eye. Boehner admitted he did not consult with the White House before inviting Bibi. Netanyahu wants Congress to threaten tougher sanctions against Tehran. During his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Barack Obama warned Congress...

Two well known lovelies in Hollywood went in full, Anti-American-Doofus-Mode, this past week over American Sniper; a movie that celebrates our military, patriotism, Christianity and killing terrorists, via a sniper who could bust a jihadist’s noggin at well over one click. Hollywood hates that type of tale and you can tell they do by how rarely such a film like that tumbles from Tinseltown. Indeed, in today’s sassy milieu, Hollywood hails only as a military “hero” someone who turns against our armed forces, steals our secrets and sells them to an albino Australian, then gets a sex change and starts...

**SNIP** Gov. Rick Snyder just signed a new law that says medical retainer agreements are not insurance. What does this mean in plain, non-lawyer English? Under the Michigan law, individuals and doctors may enter into retainer agreements. The customer pays the doctor a monthly retainer and in exchange for that, the customer gets access to a menu of routine services at no additional charge. These agreements, under Michigan law, do not constitute insurance therefore are not subject to all of the laws, rules and regulations that apply to insurance. This is a great idea. For starters, it gets the insurance...

apzzyk12 wrote: As a comrade (progressive Democrat), I would like to remind the author that it was over the very strong objections of the TEA party that the Democrats passsed the Lilly Ledbetter Act , which allows women to sue at any time, if they have been paid less than the males for doing the same work. The the Federal system, one has some idea of what others make by their GS level, so there is very little discrimination in that system, while in the private sector it remains taboo for employees to compare wages.- Mitt Who?Dear Pzzy,Employees in the...

In the wake of the most recent attacks in Paris, the airwaves have been full of myths about Muslim communities in Europe. However, history tells a rather different tale: Muslims are far from alien from European culture; in fact, they are central to it. The links between Europe and Islam date back to the very first generation of Muslims. We know of the famed rule of Muslim Iberia (now known as Spain and Portugal), which created a thriving multi-religious society, something that was then a novelty in Europe. Several hundred years earlier, after Muslim Spain had begun, you might have...

Now that the movie bio of Chris Kyle’s life, American Sniper, is on track to set the record for having the biggest second-week box office for a January release, Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone has come undone. Evidently, the film is so over the target, it’s got some vile, hate-filled progressives running for cover and others like Taibbi doubling down. In Taibbi’s latest Rolling Stone commentary, “American Sniper Is Almost too Dumb to Criticize,” the writer felt compelled to use the “ludicrous and idiotic” politics of the blockbuster film as a springboard for – what else? – a ludicrous and...

I have been a loyal reader of the New York Times for decades, and I rely upon The Grey Lady for the news. Although it is the flagship paper of American Liberalism, it is also the paper of record, and at least in their international reporting their reporters usually get the facts straight. But the editorial pages of the Times are an entirely different story. I read the op-eds neither for edification nor for enlightenment (as their authors surely expect I should) but rather for cheap laughs. And in that spirit I want to offer Townhall readers a weekly...