Free Republic

“Social Justice” is a term you hear almost every day. But did you ever hear anybody define what it actually means? Jonah Goldberg of the American Enterprise Institute tries to pin this catchall phrase to the wall. In doing so, he exposes the not-so-hidden agenda of those who use it. What sounds so caring and noble turns out to be something very different. Watch the video:

President Obama wants to toss the sequestration agreement he made with Republcians in 2011 and is proposing an increase of at least $68 billion in the FY 2016 budget. As imperfect as it is, sequestration has been partly successful in reigning in government spending. It could have worked better if Congress wasn't always carving out exemptions. But there's no doubt that there are tens of billions of dollars that would have been spent without it. With tax receipts at an all time high, rather than applying that money to reducing the deficit, the president - as every Democratic president...

Government curricula can thus make children believe whatever they want them to believe through subtle and subliminal brainwashing The Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, wants to have “equity” in education and to replace the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) with a new law that would include government-funded preschool. The sooner the collectivist indoctrination starts, the better. NCLB already cost taxpayers $25 billion in 2014. Government failed miserably with Head Start but the taxpayers’ memories are short. Sec. Duncan wants to throw $1 billion more to the Title I program to low-income school districts with no guarantee that it will make...

President Obama has called on cities and towns to create their own broadband service for their residents to compete with large corporations. Obama was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa touting the plan to get states to relax their rules against municipalities setting up their own networks. Cedar Rapids got an exemption from the FCC to create their own networks a few years ago. Republicans in Congress reacted immediately. The Hill: "In Tennessee we have a term to describe people like President Obama — tone-deaf,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said in a statement. “At a time when Americans think the biggest...

Federal employes will be given at least six weeks of paid leave to care for new children under plans unveiled by the White House to kick-start legislative efforts to close the gap in family benefits offered by the US and other wealthy countries. Democrats have been pushing for better maternity and sick leave rights for over a decade in Congress with little success, but plans by Barack Obama to back the passage of a Healthy Families Act with the executive action for government workers and $2.2bn of new funding for state efforts would be the first time the president has...

[...] Zvyagintsev [a noted Russian film director whose "Leviathan" has recently taken the Golden Globe prize] swims resolutely against the tide. One remark by Russia’s culture minister, Vladimir Medinsky, who, earlier this year, said openly that he did not like Leviathan, seems especially to irritate. “He said: ‘Let all the flowers grow, but we will only water the ones we like.’ After these words he should have been fired, because this is a direct violation of the constitution, a direct violation of human expression. You cannot impose rules on art. Everybody should be equal. Government help, without which art cannot...

Catholic Theologians Protest ‘Deep-Seated Racism’ Of US, Compare Eric Garner To Christ A "statement of commitment to racial justice." More than 400 Catholic theologians signed a statement protesting the “deep-seated racism” of the US and compared Eric Garner to Jesus Christ. Written by St. Louis University Professor of Theological Ethics Dr. Tobias Winright, it is called a “statement of commitment to racial justice.” Advertisement-content continues below What prompted the writing of the statement was the killing of blacks by police officers. The statement reads: The killings of Black [sic] men, women and children—including but not limited to Rekia Boyd, Eric...

Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer is mulling a run for Barbara Boxer’s Senate seat, according to a person close to the former hedge fund trader. “My sense is that he will take a look at it and consider it over the next few days or so,” the person said. The person added that Steyer has been approached by some in the liberal community to run for Boxer’s seat, while others have urged him to run for governor of California in 2018. Another option: running for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat if she retires in 2018. Almost as soon as Boxer announced that...

This year is already seeing a wave of new regulations being published in the Federal Register as the Obama administration unveils 300 new rules in the first seven days of 2015, according to federal data. Federal agencies have published 300 final rules, proposals for new rules and regulatory notices in the seven days since the new year began, according to the website Regulations.gov. The bulk of these new regulations are notices, which can lead to rulemakings, meetings and other government activities. Rules having to do with energy, environment, public lands and agriculture make up the largest share of new regulations....

Remember that no matter what happens, the Creator still helps those with the backbone to help themselves. There is no mystery about why 216 Republicans have thrown in with the Democrats against We the People; no mystery whatsoever about why John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi played platform kissey-kissey when both got to keep their shameful jobs in yesterday’s sickening turn of events. Politicians of all political stripes stopped taking the high road as soon as they arrived in the safe territory where their constituents could do nothing about their going along to get along trek through public office. They are...

A 17-year-old girl is fighting the state of Connecticut over her right to refuse life-saving health treatment. Cassandra Fortin suffers from Hodgkins Lymphoma, a relatively treatable form of cancer. She was diagnosed in September 2014. She has resisted the chemotherapy to treat the condition and is now in the custody of the state. Her case is now going before the Connecticut Supreme Court. Under state law, Cassandra is not allowed to make decisions about medical care until she is 18. Here’s what you should know about Cassandra and this controversial medical case:

Congress: With polls showing most GOP voters in opposition to the Speaker's budget deal and saying they would "probably" or "definitely" prefer a new leader, a Tea Party favorite fires a shot heard around the political world. In 2010, House Speaker John Boehner loved the Tea Party. The grass-roots movement, which arose in opposition to manifestations of big government such as ObamaCare and unlimited taxation and regulation, put the GOP back in control of the House of Representatives and made Boehner Speaker. But by December 2013, Boehner loved the Tea Party and other conservative groups not so much. They had...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - El Nopal Mexican restaurant on Zorn Avenue sits empty on Saturday afternoon, but the night before on January 2, the alcohol was flowing for two high ranking Louisville Metro Government employees. The city's Chief Financial Officer, Steve Rowland and Majority Caucus Director, Elizabeth Hoffman were arrested for alcohol intoxication in a public place and disorderly conduct. El Nopal Manager Leandro Reyes told police they drank too much and were partaking in disruptive, provocative, intimate behavior. “Kissing and I mean a little bit too much,” Reyes told WDRB News. So much Reyes says that several families with...

Back to basics. Is the US government republican? If not, what is it? What is the purpose of government? What should be done? What made our plan of government unique? What is the purpose of elections in our existing system? Which body should decide the constitutionality of law? Can the two-party system lead to restoration of liberty?

To combat the Great Recession and its long-lingering aftermath, leading central banks have pulled some $10 trillion out of thin air. Governments of the world’s principal economies have rung up almost $20 trillion in deficit spending. We often hear that the authorities have done too little. Perhaps they have done too much. Not so long ago, the authorities did hardly anything. In response to the severe, little-known economic slump of the early 1920s, they virtually sat on their hands. It is an often forgotten episode that suggests the potential for constructive federal inaction—and underscores the healing power of Adam Smith...

The Obama Boom is finally here. Gross domestic product grew by a healthy 5 percent in the third quarter, the strongest growth we’ve seen since 2003. Consumer spending looks as if it’s going to be strong in 2015. Unemployment numbers have looked good. Buying power is up. And the Dow Jones Industrials closed at 18,000 for the first time ever. All good things. So what happened? Here’s David Axelrod on Twitter: “Note: The quarter before Obama took office, the U.S. economy SHRUNK by 8.9 percent, worst since 1930. Last quarter it GREW by 5 percent, best since 2003.” Note:...

As a New Year’s resolution, I thought I would look at making 2015 the Year of Neutrality.  The idea of Net Neutrality is so absurd that it I thought we might apply it to everything.  Here’s just a few I came up with. Airline Seat Neutrality.  Oh, you bought a business class seat?  Great!  You paid the airline to fund that seat and we’re very proud of you, but there’s a rule saying that the airline has to give the seat to whomever the government tells them.  You get to sit in coach while some schmo is sitting in the...

The Obama Boom is finally here. Gross domestic product grew by a healthy 5 percent in the third quarter, the strongest growth we’ve seen since 2003. Consumer spending looks like it’s going to be strong in 2015, unemployment numbers have looked good, buying power is up and the stock market closed at 18,000 for the first time ever. All good things. So what happened? Note: The quarter before Obama took office, the U.S. economy SHRUNK by 8.9%, worst since 1930. Last quarter it GREW by 5%, best since 2003.— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) December 24, 2014 Note: Contrasting the most severe...

Doctors expect soon to begin sequencing the genomes of healthy newborn babies as part of a government-funded research program that could have wide implications for genetic science. The research, to be conducted at major hospitals around the country, stems from a growing recognition that genome sequencing could someday be part of routine testing done on every baby. Such testing could provide doctors and parents a vast pool of data likely to reveal a wider range of potential medical risks than the traditional heel-prick test, in which a small sample of newborns’ blood is taken to check for more than two...

By Jeffry Bartash Reporter   WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)—To hear the White House tell it, the November elections never happened and 2014 was a super-duper year for President Obama. In a “Year in Review” slideshow, the White House suggests 2014 represented a “breakthrough” for America. The Obama administration takes credit for: • An economy growing at a record pace; • The longest streak of private-sector job growth on record; • The number of Americans without health insurance falling to a near record low; • Concerted action to prevent sexual assaults on college campuses; • The highest high school graduation rate in...