Free Republic

That's the real message, isn't it? Whether it's the young man or woman who chooses to join one of our military branches or anyone who decides to protect us from harm locally as police or sheriffs or deputies, it's becoming increasingly clear that wearing a uniform makes you a target in today's America. This isn't about the relatively few police officers who knowingly do wrong. Nor is it about past military incursions. The issue at hand is a growing sentiment among an increasing number of Americans that anyone in a uniform is not to be trusted or given a...

"We have police. They arrest girls or women for having bad hijab or not being covered enough. But it's not that we live with the police in our head. You know?" Those famous last words were pronounced by Yeganeh Salehi, an Iranian journalist, in an interview alongside her husband, Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian -- who is a dual Iranian-American citizen raised in California -- for CNN's "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" in 2014. Bourdain offered that the Iranians he met were super-friendly people with a strong sense of hospitality. Rezaian now has police in his head. Six weeks after the...

Most Americans, including most Republicans, do not understand what “conservative” philosophy, principles, and policies are. Merriam-Webster defines conservative as “believing in the philosophy of conservatism,” which it defines as “belief in the value of established and traditional practices in politics and society; dislike of change or new ideas in a particular area.” However, this definition is wrong. The root of conservatism lies in the concept of “ordered liberty” and the fundamental truth that human rights are God-given, not man-made and that individual liberty and freedom are birthrights. Calvin Coolidge, America’s 30th president—perhaps the most conservative president of the last century—emphasized...

A front-page headline in the Wall Street Journal screams out: "Islamic State's Gains Reveal New Prowess on the Battlefield." The article discusses how the Islamic State recently captured Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province in Iraq. The Islamic State victory, according to the report, involved the execution of a complex battle plan "that outwitted a greater force of Iraqi troops as well as the much lauded U.S.-trained special-operations force known as the Golden Division." Flipping to the editorial page, an opinion piece discusses the increasing dominance of Russia, Iran and China in their parts of the world "as the U.S....

The other night on the TV news they did a montage of commencement addresses. Various bigwigs in various robes at various lecterns giving pretty much the same message. At least most of them. Live your dreams, do your best, find your joy, give back. Stuff like that. It was all very nice and probably very quickly forgotten by new graduates who understandably are pretty distracted. But two snippets grabbed me, for their simplicity and their difference. In both, the speaker repeated one word three times. It wasn’t the same word, but it was the same emphasis. One came from television...

Those who think the minimum wage doesn't cost jobs might want to have a chat with unions in Los Angeles.

Health Reform: Looks like ObamaCare premiums will skyrocket for many next year. So what do Democrats propose? New insurance mandates that will drive premiums up even higher. Which one is the stupid party again?

On November 11, 2011, Congress voted to award a Congressional Gold Medal for the 20,000 black Marines of Montford Point, the first blacks to serve as Marines. I write about Staff Sgt. Elder -- and my struggle to understand him -- in my latest book, "Dear Father, Dear Son." On August 13, 2013, Col. Jason Bohm, commander, "Fighting 5th," United States Marine Corps, Camp Pendleton, made the following remarks: "We are honored that you joined us today to recognize the service of one of our own, Staff Sgt. Randolph Elder. ... "In the days leading up to World War II,...

History will be much kinder to the Obama years than it should be, but only because the historians who write about them most likely will be sycophantic progressives unwilling or unable to admit their belief system is a failure. Books will be cooked, data will be cherry picked, and the Obama years will be an oasis after the hell that was the Bush years. In reality, the Obama years will be what may end up being the greatest missed opportunity of the last 50 years. The opportunities missed weren’t economic – President Obama’s rigid adherence to his progressive ideology could...

For a time, reset, concessions and appeasement work to delay wars. But finally, nations wake up, grasp their blunders, rearm and face down enemies. That gets dangerous. The shocked aggressors cannot quite believe that their targets are suddenly serious and willing to punch back. Usually, the bullies foolishly press aggression, and war breaks out. It was insane of Nazi Germany and its Axis partners to even imagine that they could defeat the Allied trio of Imperial Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States. But why not try? Hitler figured that for a decade America had been unarmed and isolationist....

Selfies, followers, likes and the fascination with celebrity anythings (chefs, decorators, stylists, authors, etc.) are just a few of the ways that today's society focuses attention on individuals. It's not enough to be a great chef -- it's better to be a celebrity chef. It's not enough to participate in an event -- it's better to snap a selfie of yourself at the event and then post it online for all to see. This increasing focus on individuals can be seen to increase the potential for narcissism, which the online dictionary defines as "the inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love;...

Pro-Crime Policies WorkPosted By Daniel Greenfield On May 28, 2015 @ 12:10 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 7 Comments [1]Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam.Despite a generation in which radical anti-crime policies such as enforcing the law and locking up criminals slashed murder rates, there’s still plenty of debate over whether anti-crime policies work.But no one can argue over whether pro-crime policies work.108 people were shot in New York, Baltimore and Chicago over the weekend. Many of the casualties were saved from that terrible “school-to-prison...

Hope soared for almost 5 million undocumented immigrants when President Obama announced last year that he would unilaterally spare them deportation and bestow work authorizations. It was too good to be true. Federal courts have blocked Obama from making good on his decree, with all signs suggesting that his plan will remain legally dead for the remainder of his presidency. Worse, by high-handedly claiming authority, he infuriated congressional Republicans and doomed any hope of even piecemeal immigration reform.

[Note from Scott Ott: The presidential primary process doesn't help us to decide who's qualified to bear the party standard, and to serve as chief executive, but rather who’s disqualified. It’s just our way of crushing the hopes and dreams of anyone who dares poke head from hole. Because you already know all of the reasons why every candidate, and potential candidate, has no right to expect the nomination, I'm going to write an utterly one-sided series on why each one should get it. If you’re concerned that I’m not providing fair and balanced analysis, I’m sure the folks in...

Opposition to the U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) is now at the point where the bank’s reauthorization is genuinely in doubt. Spurred by accusations of corporate welfare, crony capitalism and outright corruption, opponents believe the Ex-Im Bank’s palpable violation of free-market principles fully warrants its early demise. The Ex-Im Bank’s critics have their economics entirely correct, but they have their geopolitics wrong. Their solution — simply terminating the bank — is appealing but counterproductive. What America should do, under a president with the wit to do it, is negotiate the global elimination of “export credits” (as these subsidies are generically known)....

On Saturday evening, November 8, 2003, I addressed a free-standing feminist “networking” conference of mainly African-American and Hispanic-American women at Barnard College. The conference was sponsored by WERISE (Women Empowered through Revolutionary Ideas Supporting Enterprise), which was described as a grassroots, multi-cultural, multi-generational, and multi-disciplinary organization for women in the arts. The women ranged in age from 20 to 65 and were dressed in corporate business suits, colorful African and ethnic attire, and youthful jeans. A few days before the conference one of the organizers asked me about my most recent book and I told her it was The New...

RUSH: I mentioned that James Clyburn, the former head honcho, the Congressional Black Caucasians in the House of Representatives, he was on the Voice of America last Friday. The correspondent there, Cindy Saine interviewed James Clyburn. He's a Democrat, South Carolina. And they were talking about Obama's nuke deal with Iran. And the correspondent said, "Are you in favor of the nuclear deal with Iran and the right of Congress to review it?" CLYBURN: I will say to my friends, be very, very careful how you treat this president because the turnabout is fair play. And I think that this...

RUSH: Got these two stories here. One is in the Washington Post, and the other is in The Politico, and they're almost identical. "Supreme Court Ruling Puts Obama's Immigration Legacy in Jeopardy." That's The Politico. The Washington Post: "President Obama's Legacy is Increasingly in Legal Jeopardy." Is this not amazing? Two wholly different, separate news companies have lead stories with almost identical headlines and the same premise. Sorry, narrative. And the narrative is that that hayseed judge in Texas, that Hanen, and these three judges at it Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals who upheld that stupid hayseed judge in Texas,...

RUSH: This is the Christian Broadcasting Network, CBN, chief political correspondent David Brody interviewing Marco Rubio late yesterday. Question: "Does your deep faith drive public policy decisions on social issues like traditional marriage." RUBIO: We are at the water's edge of the argument that mainstream Christian teaching is hate speech, because today we've reached the point in our society where if you do not support same-sex marriage you are labeled a homophobe and a hater. So what's the next step after that? after they're done going after individuals, the next step is to argue that the teachings of mainstream Christianity,...

Washington Post reporter Caitlin Dewey’s beat is the Internet. But her big piece on the front page of Wednesday’s Style section is about something broader: “Forsaking monogamy: The evolution of relationships has made affairs less clandestine and less combustive. And of course there are Web sites to help match tryst-seekers.” This being the Post, there is no space for critics of the "evolution" of online adultery Web sites or their users. Dewey promoted the “non-monogamous dating site Open Minded,” where her married female subject, Jessie, advertised, “I’m into building deep and loving relationships that add to the joy and aliveness...