Free Republic

Obama has actually accomplished quite a bit, and here’s a long list of his accomplishments, so stop bashing, haters! First President to be photographed smoking a joint. First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner. First President to have a social security number from a state he has never lived in. First President to preside over a cut to the credit-rating of the United States. First President to violate the War Powers Act. First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of...

In terms of skills and education, Israel probably has the highest level of human capital per person in the whole world. Yet it’s per capita output is mediocre – in the middle of the developed country pack. Why is that? Because Israel has been slow to adopt capitalism. How do I know that? Because Bibi Netanyahu told me that in an interview in Dallas, several years before he became prime minister. Once he became Israel’s leader, he was been able to do something about it. In recent years Israel has become a center for entrepreneurship, innovation and capitalist spirit. But...

While waiting at the airport for a recent flight, I observed a bright-eyed little girl who came running over into the gate area. She was full of the exuberance you would expect from a six or seven-year-old. Rushing over to the window, she gazed in amazement as the planes took off and landed. I could not suppress a smile as I saw her bright eyes and cheerful face. However, my smile faded as two women came over to grab her hand and lead her back to the seating area. Both women were wearing wedding rings and there were visible signs...

Updated March 27 to include responses from the FBI and the State Department. Emails disclosed by a hacker show a close family friend was funneling intelligence about the crisis in Libya directly to the Secretary of State’s private account starting before the Benghazi attack. Starting weeks before Islamic militants attacked the U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, longtime Clinton family confidante Sidney Blumenthal supplied intelligence to then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gathered by a secret network that included a former CIA clandestine service officer, according to hacked emails from Blumenthal’s account. The emails, which were posted on the internet...

Dear journalists: May I have a public word with you, especially if you edit the Raleigh News and Observer? You probably take a dim view of unsolicited advice from a junior member of the guild, but I think I can save you some grief in the run-up to next year’s presidential election, with an assist from the first official candidate for the Republican nomination. That candidate would, of course, be Senator Ted Cruz. Many of the stories about him are written with the same “Get a load of this guy!” tone regardless of where they come from, but I thought...

[BIG SNIP] ".....Sen. Cruz is America’s last hope for a credible border. By that I mean a border that is controlled by the citizens of America, not the citizens of other countries. I mean a border that is controlled primarily for the benefit of citizens of America, not the citizens of other countries. I mean a border that is controlled by an American population that appreciates and welcomes immigrants, but only when they come here legally, and in numbers that are conducive to their assimilation into the American value system that is based on the principles expressed in our Declaration...

In the coming days, as many Mainers scramble to finalize their tax returns, the Legislature will begin debating what has already become one of the most bipartisan bills of the session. Sponsored by freshman Republican Sen. Eric Brakey of Auburn, this legislation seeks to bring constitutional carry (already the law in Vermont) to Maine. Currently, if one wishes to carry a concealed firearm in Maine, one needs to apply for a permit to do so, through either the Maine State Police or your local police department. This bill would repeal that requirement, allowing anyone who can legally purchase a firearm...

The Boy Scout Motto is "Be Prepared." Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who achieved the rank of Eagle Scout as a teen, has taken that motto seriously. His Eagle Scout status has him so prepared, he indicated this week, he's ready to serve as commander in chief of the U.S. military. The Republican governor and likely 2016 presidential candidate spoke on Wednesday at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Phoenix, Arizona. The event was closed to press, but video of Walker's conversation with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt was recorded by the opposition research group American Bridge and released by the...

It’s early 2011, and an unheard-of candidate for Senate is deciding to enter a race 22 months down the line to replace one of Texas’ most revered senators. He has no money, no prospective sources of donors. He has no establishment credibility. He has chosen to battle perhaps the most establishment of the establishment — the state’s lieutenant governor. Now, it’s early 2015, and a still relatively unheard-of candidate for president is deciding to enter a race 20 months down the line. He faces questions about whether he can raise a consistent amount of money. He has no establishment credibility....

A broad cross-section of Republican officeholders, major donors and conservative pundits are agreed on one thing: Ted Cruz has no chance to be elected president. The junior senator from Texas marked the fifth anniversary of the signing of ObamaCare by announcing his candidacy for the presidency today at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia and no one in the chattering classes thinks he has a prayer of being sworn into office as commander-in-chief in January 2017. Just about everyone thinks his positions on the issues are too extreme and that his advocacy of the 2013 government shutdown and the complete antipathy...

A mysterious group and Twitter account called HRC Super Volunteers has made a big splash lately by e-mailing a New York Times reporter a list of Things Not To Say About Hillary Clinton, crying “coded sexism.” If some of these words were “coded sexism,” it is very well coded, approaching ENIGMA-like levels of encryption. “Polarizing”? “Inevitable”? Really? I’m amazed “nightmarish hag who has recently stopped killing small dogs” was not on the list, which seemed calculated to put as many of these phrases in your mind as possible. Banning words, like banning books, can be an effective publicity strategy for...

iberals have two recurring nightmares about the 2016 elections. n the first, they wake up on Nov. 9, 2016, to find that Americans have elected a Republican who has spent the past year and a half promising to dismantle Obamacare, undo the Environmental Protection Agency’s clean air regulations and cut corporate taxes. In the second, they wake up on Nov. 9, 2016, to find that Americans have elected Hillary Clinton, who has spent the past year and a half promising them absolutely nothing and courting independents and moderates.

I’m tempted to accuse Team Walker of feeding this bit of oppo to MSNBC to take some heat off of their own rolling clusterfark on immigration. But I’m sure author Benjy Sarlin, a smart guy who follows this issue for the network, hit on it himself. (Wouldn’t Walker’s team have leaked it to Fox to maximize Cruz’s embarrassment among conservatives?) To a lefty, the tangle of GOP primary politics on amnesty must be irresistible: Why is Scott Walker taking a beating on the right for supporting legalization when Ted Cruz, Mr. Conservative, also supported legalization in the form of...

Well, theyÂ’re not horrible. But Democrats canÂ’t be too happy about their present chances of replacing outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid with another Democrat in the U.S. Senate could certainly be better than they are right now. Reid was no lock to win reelection even if he decided to run again in 2016. He polls as poorly today as he did in 2010, when the Nevada electorate appeared ready to jettison the Silver StateÂ’s longtime senator, but a majority of voters just couldnÂ’t bring themselves to pull the lever for Sharron Angle. At the yearÂ’s open, veteran Nevada...

Sen. Ted Cruz launched his bid for the Republican presidential nomination this week by promising to "finally, finally, finally secure the borders" and put an end to unauthorized immigration. This will warm the hearts of restrictionists, no doubt. But it should scare Americans who love their pocketbooks and liberties more than they hate undocumented Latino immigrants. Restrictionists accuse many of these immigrants of being welfare queens who come to America illegally and live off taxpayers. Cruz has contributed to the hysteria by proposing bills barring undocumented workers from ever receiving any means-tested benefits, presumably even after they become legal. Accusations...

On Saturday in Los Angeles, following anearlier, similar event at the University of Southern California, Gutierrez joined U.S. Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA) at Panorama High School in what was the last event listed on his cross-country tour. Cardenas, who represents the 29th congressional district, told the audience of DACA and DAPA potential applicants that “unfortunately” many members of Congress think they only represent citizens and voters, but he also represented illegal aliens. As he told the crowd, “I represent all of you.” He added: If you are here as a human being in the United States of America, you have rights,...

WITH 596 days to go before America’s next presidential election, the first serious candidate has announced that he will run (see article). Ted Cruz is an intelligent man with an inspiring life story. His father fled from Cuba with a few dollars sewn into his underwear and settled in the United States. The young Ted made a name for himself in Texas while still a teenager, giving lectures to Rotary clubs about the constitution. By his early 30s he was arguing cases before the Supreme Court—and winning. At 41, he was elected to the Senate, overcoming long odds in a...

Long before Ted Cruz was a big-name senator and conservative rock star, wowing the crowd at Liberty University in the early days of his presidential bid, he was just another lawyer toiling away in virtual anonymity under George W. Bush. While Cruz’s time in the Senate is best known for fiery speeches and high-profile gestures like his 21-hour filibuster, in his earlier time in Washington he demonstrated a wonkish eye for detail and an eagerness to take on powerful industry groups that he saw as stifling competition. Though his efforts ultimately succeeded on a much smaller scale than he’d initially...

(Reuters) - Apple Inc's Tim Cook, one of the most prominent openly gay American CEOs, has joined fellow tech industry chiefs in decrying a controversial Indiana law that opponents say could allow companies to deny services to gay people. Cook, who publicly declared his sexual orientation last year, joined other tech chief executives, including Salesforce.com Inc's Marc Benioff, in blasting the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which could let business and individuals turn away customers by citing "religious freedom." Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed the controversial bill into law on Thursday.

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is readying a gift for President Barack Obama when the two leaders cross paths at a regional summit next month: a petition containing millions of signatures denouncing U.S. aggression. For the past week, Venezuelans have been lining up in plazas, government offices and even prisons to add their signatures to a manifesto against the Obama administration's recent decision to sanction seven Venezuelan officials over human rights abuses during anti-government protests.