Free Republic

If you listen to the Obama administration you might believe the economy is roaring. On some level jobs are being created. The problem of course is that they’re barely keeping up with population growth. Millions of jobs were lost when the recession took place in late 2008-2009. Very few of those jobs have been recovered, leaving millions in long term unemployment. The real unemployment rate, the Federal government’s U-6 number, is 11%. U-6 unemployment counts both the long term unemployed, which the official unemployment rate doesn’t do, as well as those who are underemployed. U-6 used to be the way...

The passionate stand by Americans across the country in protesting the failure of grand juries to indict policemen for killing two unarmed people – both poor, black men – is revving up the demand for a political response from Democrats in Washington. Young people of all colors, but mostly blacks, Hispanics and immigrants, are the primary source of that pressure. Their political agenda extends beyond outrage over the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York. They also want Democrats in Congress to get busy defending ObamaCare. But their rising political engagement is best seen...

America is a mess and the world can barely tear its eyes away from the unfolding train wreck.

You should be amazed with the number of bills, rules and regulations pending. Tens of thousands of other bureaucratically generated regulations are already “eating out the people’s substance” – a term from the Declaration of Independence. Take a minute and read the meat of the Declaration of Independence where the Founders outlined WHY they declared independence: • He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. • He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when...

J.R.R. Tolkien, the British author best known for The Hobbit and his epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, was an astute critic of socialism and utopianism and a passionate defender of liberty, says Jay Richards, co-author of The Hobbit Party, which he calls “a study of the political and economic implications of Tolkien’s thought.” “Certainly anyone that’s seen The Lord of the Rings, for instance, at the movies knows that he was deeply concerned about the dangers and the temptations of absolute power. "The symbol of the one ring, of course. It’s not just a symbol of the sort...

“What would happen to Moses if he arrived today?” Bale pondered. “Drones would be sent out after him, right?”

We have much to be thankful for today. We have come back off the mat after being slammed to the canvas by the 2012 election; but after regrouping and going back to work we have won a stunning victory of a size no one saw coming. Counting our blessings is still easier here in America than in any other country. Even the poorest Americans eat meals many around the world only dream about. This is why people will do anything to get to our shores. We have a Bill of Rights and a full Constitution to protect us thanks to...

As we discard our freedom for the shabby paternalistic embrace of a fuzzy warm Progressive dystopia our newly legalized guests will feel right at home. Now that BHO has decreed that deportations will cease and work permits and other privileges of legal immigration will be granted to those who chose to enter our country illegally, what’s next? In less time than it takes to say “Fundamentally transform America” the chorus of usual suspects, Charles Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and their fellow travelers will start saying “It isn’t fair for all these people to pay taxes and not receive the...

If there is one thing we have learned over the past 6 years in the United States, it is the mutually reinforcing nature of different expressions of freedom. No form of freedom--religious, civil, political, or economic--is of course absolute. But unjust infringements (intentional or otherwise) on one freedom can easily result in damage being inflicted upon other spheres of freedom.This is indisputably true, for instance, of religious and political freedom. All totalitarian and most authoritarian regimes usually end up seeking to severely restrict religious liberty. Sometimes this is for ideological or religious reasons. Some religions, for instance, embody very weak...

Cheating. Bullying. Cybersexting. Hazing. Molestation. Suicide. Drug abuse. Murder. Scanning the headlines of the latest scandals in America's schools, it's quite clear that the problem is not that there's too much God in students' lives. The problem is that there isn't nearly enough of Him. With the malfunction of moral seatbelts and the erosion of moral guardrails, too many kids have turned to a pantheon of false gods, crutches and palliatives. They're obsessed with "Slender Man" and "Vampire Diaries." Alex from Target's hair and Rihanna's tattoos. Overpriced basketball sneakers and underdressed reality stars. Choking games and YouTube games. Gossip and...

Earlier this week, I wrote about the nanny-state government in the town of Westminster, MA, considering a town-wide ban on the sale of tobacco products. A meeting was planned for Wednesday night to hear public comment on the proposed ban. So, how did the meeting go? CBS news describes, “Only a handful of people were able to speak on a proposal that could make the tiny Massachusetts town of Westminster the first in the nation to ban all sales of tobacco products before boos and shouts from the crowd shut down the public hearing Wednesday night.” According to the CBS...

Before I speak about the ominous trends in America to curtail freedom of speech, let me tell you about Dr. Charles H. McVety, president of Canada Christian College in Toronto, whose television program was removed from the air because he had the temerity to preach against homosexuality. Later, he was allowed back on television, but now he has to submit his program to the Canadian Broadcast Standard Council every Wednesday for review by the censors on Thursday, and then, if approved, can be broadcast on Sunday

Eradicating Identity Politics:: By: Larry Walker II ::Those who say that Republican’s don’t like President Obama’s policies, solely because of the color of his skin, tend to forget that he’s also a member of the Democratic Party. In the United States, we basically have a two-party system comprised of Republicans (25%) and Democrats (31%). Even though the majority of us are independents (42%), who may at times be persuaded either way, we essentially have a two-party system with each side on opposite poles on just about every issue, foreign and domestic.Generally, Republican voters stand for lower taxes, limited government, and...

I am a conservative. I believe in the truth of traditional values, of limited government, and free markets. And I believe in personal freedom and that it is not possible without all the above. Our country has been going in the opposite direction and things, predictably, have not been going well. The American people spoke last Tuesday, and I am happy with what they had to say. But I am also happy that we have, once again, proof that America is still a free country. That when the American people are not happy, they can vote for change. This is...

The day after First Tuesday in November is Spin Wednesday when all of the journalists in the mainstream media try to spin the results of the recent elections. That’s what all of the liberals are doing right now in the wake of their crushing defeat at the polls. Crushing defeat is the only way to describe it. They are spinning until their heart is content. The fact is that Republicans took control of the Senate and they now enjoy a bigger majority in the U.S. House of Representatives than they have ever had in the last seventy years. It was...

If Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina isn't already on 2016 GOP VP shortlists, perhaps he should be. His appearance on today's Morning Joe could hardly have been a more impressive audition. When Scott expressed his concern for kids growing up in poverty, Roberts equated such concern with supporting a laundry list of liberal agenda items, implictly faulting Scott for his opposition to them. Scott responded by taking Roberts to school in an entirely undefensive manner. He reminded Roberts that 40 years of Dem congressional rule and a bigger-than-ever government, actually led to a significant increase in black poverty. Individual...

What it will decidedly not be is a nation of equality of rights, representative government, opportunity, and liberty. We can no longer act as if we don’t recognize that the left intends to eradicate the old America forever. We are to be overwhelmed, conquered, and converted, and we are to have no say in what is done to us. Historically, states that fail to see the malice in their neighbors are destined to be defeated and enslaved by those neighbors. Though we usually recognize this in the context of nations, it is time we recognize that such wars are also...

“There are individuals in leadership today, both in the political sphere and in the courts, who believe you do not have the free exercise of religion, you have freedom of worship,” he said. Those people believe the First Amendment applies only to what happens inside the walls of a church, he said. True freedom of religion is the ability to take faith into the public square to influence the culture, he said.

Tomorrow, October 28, Governor Tom Corbett (R) will sign House Bill 80 into law, strengthening Pennsylvania’s firearm preemption statute. This bill takes effect in sixty days. After four years of hard work, your NRA looks forward to this momentous event in a culmination of all the efforts that NRA members, Second Amendment supporters and Pennsylvania legislators finally accomplished. If you are able, please attend the bill signing ceremony with Governor Tom Corbett and pro-gun members of the Pennsylvania legislature. Event details and information is provided below: Bill Signing Ceremony for House Bill 80 Tuesday, October 28 at 4:00 P.M. Dormont...

I will not go quietly. I have not forgotten, nor will I abandon, the values of freedom and self reliance instilled in me, nor will I hush my voice. Socialism be forewarned, I am not going away I published and emailed a short letter the day following the election of Barack Obama for a second term in 2012 in answer to a friend’s question, “What do we do now?” A few asked me if I was going to give up up my fight to help save our Constitutional Republic. Needless to say, I was saddened and very disheartened. I still...