Free Republic

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton today rolled out a series of programs designed to reduce the youth unemployment rate, but Clinton, herself, is building out a portion of her campaign with unpaid labor. Clinton’s campaign is establishing a network of grassroots trainees, called “Organizing Fellows,” who are being signed on full-time to work for free. Some, even those who are young professionals with experience in politics, are reportedly being told they need to work without pay for at least the summer months. Some see Clinton’s fellowship program, which is comprised of mostly 18 to 24 year olds likely doing much...

How can Judd Apatow, once ranked the smartest guy in Hollywood be so . . . ? On today's With All Due Respect, big comedy macher [credits include Lena Dunham's Girls] Apatow said it was "ridiculous that anyone thinks that rich people care about other people. When the Koch brothers give a billion dollars, it is not out of a great concern for the masses." To his credit, Mark Halperin twice pressed Apatow as to whether his notion that rich donors don't care about other people also applies to rich Hollywood liberals. Apatow eventually asserted that there's a difference: "Hollywood...

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton says much of the nation's political debate lacks the compassion for the poor she learned in Sunday school. At a rally in Iowa, the Democratic presidential hopeful portrayed herself as a champion for struggling Americans, in contrast to the alleged "mean spiritedness" of others. Without naming names, Clinton asked, "Did they not go and hear the same lessons I did in Sunday school? Did they not sing the same hymns?" She said those who lack compassion make her wonder, "Did they never hear, 'there but for the grace of God go I?'"

This has to be the month's top entry in the "Just when you think you've seen it all" category — and it will be more than a little interesting to see how the nation's press handles it. As the Associated Press reported a week ago, the City Council in Los Angeles, by a vote of 14-1, ordered the drafting of a law mandating a citywide minimum wage of $15 per hour by 2020, noting that "the support of Mayor Eric Garcetti virtually guarantee its eventual adoption." Now that it's almost a done deal, labor unions whose members earn less want...

La Voz del Pueblo: What are the worst evils that beset the world today? Pope Francis: Poverty, corruption and human trafficking. I can be wrong with the statistics, but what will you tell me if I ask you: When it comes to spending, what thing in the world comes after food, clothing and medicine? The fourth is cosmetics and the fifth are pets. That is serious. Pet care is like love that is somewhat programmed; that is, I can program the loving response of a dog or a little cat, and I do not need to have the experience of...

Wading through the daily deluge of Hillary Clinton news, I feel like I’m reading the police blotter. The litany of her shameful shenanigans resembles the litany of neighborhood crimes recorded by cops. There are simply too many to stomach. There is another similarity, too: In both cases, fear and revulsion are the proper responses from honest Americans. More than 17 months before Election Day, Clinton scandals are piling up faster than robberies during a police strike. There is a media feeding frenzy over her shady dealings and the sheer volume of unsavory revelations is approaching a critical mass. The pace...

In a personal and impassioned speech Monday at Lehman College in New York City, President Barack Obama unveiled a new private sector-funded expansion of his My Brother’s Keeper initiative, which seeks to provide incentives and opportunities for young men of color in high-risk areas to improve their lives. The My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, which arrives on the heels of protests and violent clashes with police in Baltimore in the aftermath of Freddie Gray’s death, is a “big deal” to the president.

Gwynnie P is down with the struggle, comrades. She may make $19 million a year, own mansions in London, New York, Brentwood, Malibu and the Hamptons, charge $550 for her Goop.com "travel backgammon set," and fly by private jet, but she feels your pain. OK, it's not as painful as her last $5,200 Thermage session in Santa Monica, but still, she really, really does feel the agony of the ordinary. Last week, the progressive princess celebrity joined the "SNAP challenge." It's basically the ice bucket challenge for bored Hollywood liberals and media-hungry Democratic politicians. For seven days (or at least...

wyneth Paltrow has vowed to live on just $29 worth of food for a week, after agreeing to take on a charity challenge aimed at raising awareness and funds for New York's food banks. The 42-year-old mother-of-two, who founded popular lifestyle wesbite Goop, posted a picture of her $29 grocery shop on her Twitter account yesterday afternoon, showcasing a range of healthy options, including a variety of fresh vegetables, some brown rice and some black beans. 'This is what $29 gets you at the grocery store - what families on SNAP (i.e. food stamps) have to live on for a...

Meet Harvey Weinstein: Hollywood liberal and an anti-gun zealot. One of his latest projects (which will bomb at the box office), is a movie specifically targeting the National Rifle Association. They are going to wish they weren’t alive after I’m done with them,” Weinstein told Stern on Wednesday, referring to the NRA’s lobbying and political strength. Weinstein did not go into specifics about the project, but said that Meryl Streep was involved and that it would not be a documentary but “a big movie like ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.'” “I don’t think we need guns in this country, and I...

How to be "Progressive."

Secretary of State John Kerry says he’s in “utter disbelief” over the letter to Iranian leaders led by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and signed by 46 other Republican senators, warning any Iranian nuclear deal reached with the U.S. could be revoked by the next president or modified by Congress. “This letter ignores more than two centuries of precedent in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy,” Kerry said Wednesday at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. “This risks undermining the confidence that foreign governments in thousands of important agreements commit to with the United States.” In his 29 years as...

On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Last Word,” former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean took aim at Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who took the lead on a letter to the leadership to Iran that warns the regime that any nuclear deal made with the Obama administration and not approved by the Congress faces the risk of not being honored by future administrations.

**SNIP** The British couple is hoping to launch a protest movement in the aftermath of a recent tax scandal in the UK, during which it was alleged staff at the Swiss arm of the bank HSBC helped clients avoid hefty bills in Britain. Thompson and Wise hope a mass tax boycott will convince bosses at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the government department responsible for collecting the money, to penalise wealthy citizens and companies who avoid paying their fair share. Wise tells London's Evening Standard newspaper, "I want to stop paying tax, until everyone pays tax... I have actively...

In 2008 then Senator Obama called President Bush “unpatriotic” for adding trillions to the national debt. Bush added about four trillion to the debt in eight years after the 9-11 attacks and mortgage crisis. Barack Obama then added the same amount of debt in less than three years. Via Flopping Aces:

Bill Mefford, Director of Civil and Human Rights at the UMC’s Washington office, used the March for Life last week to mock the event with a sign, and picture he posted on Twitter, saying “I march for sandwiches.” Many are upset a church leader used a solemn event to liken an unborn baby to a sandwich. The next day, UMC Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe General Secretary General Board of Church & Society, issued a statement about Mefford’s “march”: “Affirming human dignity is central to the witness of Jesus Christ. Christians are called to watch over with care the lives of...

The First Family’s 529 Windfall The large contributions the Obamas have already made won’t be taxed. If there’s any silver lining in the President’s plan to end the major tax benefit of saving for college, it’s that at least he’s not talking about taxing money that’s already been saved. This aspect of the Obama plan is particularly valuable to people like, well, Barack Obama. As we noted on Thursday, the President wants to allow the Internal Revenue Service to begin taxing distributions from so-called 529 plans, even if they are used as intended to fund legitimate educational expenses such as...

After Irish-born actor Liam Neeson shot off his mouth about Americans’ fondness for guns — you know, the things he uses in his hit action movies — the company that provided the weapons for the latest installment in the Taken series decided it had had enough: "PARA USA regrets its decision to provide firearms for use in the film “Taken 3″. While the film itself is entertaining, comments made by its Irish-born star during press junkets reflect a cultural and factual ignorance that undermines support of the Second Amendment and American liberties. We will no longer provide firearms for use...

President Obama was not the only member of his household that fought to improve the P-20 education system in 2014. Michelle Obama carried out an impressive education agenda that rivaled her husband's in many respects. It seems that the two are a tag team for the ages, and P-20 education is lucky to have this duo championing it. Michelle Obama spent 2014 front and center for education -- in more ways than one. 1. First Lady endorses arts education. This past spring, First Lady Michelle Obama joined the stage with middle- and high-schoolers who performed in the first ever White...

‘I find it really attractive how successful you are,” my date said, leaning in for a kiss. Sure, it sounds like a line. But it also sounds like feminism. It certainly made him more appealing than the guy who said, “Wow, you’re really ambitious,” like he was surprised. Or the one who asked, “Why do you work so much?” and “Why would you want to work even more?” when I was angling for a promotion. It didn’t work out with any of those men, but going out with them made it all the more obvious to me what I want...