Free Republic

When he came to office, not unlike other politicians, Obama made many promises. Nearly every promise he made has remained unfulfilled — with one exception: The promise that “change has come to America.” My dad used to tell me that nothing was so good it could not be better or be so bad it could not get worse. Things have indeed gotten worse, much worse, and it would appear that there is no bottom as to how far we may ultimately fall at the hands of an administration and politicians from both sides of the aisle, who only care about...

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker took aim at Hillary Clinton's latest comments on immigration, saying her "full embrace of amnesty is unfair." He's one of the first Republicans to directly respond to Clinton, which is a difficult issue for many Republicans running for the presidential nomination - or considering a run. His willingness to draw attention to the issue by responding to Clinton indicates that he's going to use the issue to separate himself from not only Clinton, the overwhelming favorite to win the Democratic nomination, but more immediately his Republican challengers. On Tuesday, Clinton told a largely Latino audience in...

One of America’s most astute businessmen, known for having expanded the Las Vegas strip of resort hotels and casinos in the 1990s, says the U.S. remains mired in an economic funk and any talk of a broad recovery is “pure fiction. A lie.” Steve Wynn, the 73-year-old founder and CEO of Wynn Resorts, made the comments in a televised interview with Jon Ralston of PBS’ “Ralston Live.” He opened the Wynn Hotel and casino in Macao, China, in 2006, and is known as an international gaming and casino magnate. Wynn’s Macao operation recently reported a 28 percent quarterly loss in...

Many economists expected a rebound after last month’s soft jobs numbers, but the ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday shows little sign of such a turnaround. The domestic economy added only 169,000 jobs in April, according to the Wednesday report, and March additions were revised down from an original 189,000 to 175,000. This is the second consecutive month of sub-200,000 job additions, which previously hadn’t happened in a single month since January 2014. Service-providing firms added 170,000 positions last month, with the most pronounced month-over-month gains seen in the professional/business services and trade/transportation/utilities sectors. But goods-producing jobs shed 1,000 positions...

Get ready for another ride on the economic roller coaster. Last week, we got bad news about the economy when it was announced that the US gross domestic product barely rose in the first three months of 2015. And it looks as though the 0.2 percent annualized growth reported by the Commerce Department for the winter months will turn into a contraction when revisions are made at the end of May. Worse, GDP in the second quarter hasn’t gotten much better. The Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDPNow, which tracks the economy in real time, has GDP growing at a wimpy 0.8...

The nation’s first black President has so poorly served the interests of the African-American population that they are worse off today Commenting on the rioting in Baltimore, the Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Henniger was almost to the end of his April 30 text when he said “On Wednesday morning, the year’s first-quarter GDP growth rate came in—0.02%. Next to nothing. For the length of the Obama presidency, with growth significantly below norm, unemployment for blacks aged 24 and younger has hovered between 30% and 40%. That’s the real powder key, not the police.” Most Americans do not put the state...

WASHINGTON (CNN) —Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush may be the most popular Republican presidential hopeful nationwide, but he trails his rivals badly in the critical state of Iowa, according to a new poll released Wednesday.... The top Republican in Iowa is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who garnered support from 21% of those surveyed. Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz of Texas, Marco Rubio of Florida, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee are tightly packed for second place, each earned between 13% and 11% support. Neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who unveiled his campaign on Monday, tallied 7% of the vote....

In the 2016 presidential race, a new poll shows New Jersey Republicans prefer a governor who isn’t theirs. Their choice would be Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. According to a Monmouth University poll released today, in a matchup between Walker and Gov. Christie, 44 percent of New Jersey Republicans would pick Walker, while 30 percent would go with their own governor. Three months ago, the state’s Republicans had favored Christie over Walker, 51 percent to 30 percent.

Gov. Scott Walker wants to make the most public fight of his administration a national issue should he run for president. In an interview with Radio Iowa, the Wisconsin Republican made the case for a national “right to work” law: “As much as I think the federal government should get out of most of what it’s in right now, I think establishing fundamental freedoms for the American people is a legitimate thing and that would be something that would provide that opportunity in the other half of America to people who don’t have those opportunities today.”Currently, twenty-five states have right-to-work...

I have seen many grim predictions regarding robots taking away human jobs, but one of the most dire predictions comes from a study commissioned by ING-Diba. The study claims that 59 percent of Germany's work force could be replaced by machines and software in the coming decades. The Local asks Robots About to Take Away 18 Million Jobs? The results of the [ING-Diba] study paint an almost doomsday-esque scenario for Germany. Almost two thirds of its workforce will be unemployed. Of the 30.9 million people currently in full or part-time employment in Germany, 18 million will be made redundant...

Baltimore Is Not About Race Government-induced dependency is the problem—and it’s one with a long history. By William McGurn May 4, 2015 For those who see the rioting in Baltimore as primarily about race, two broad reactions dominate. One group sees rampaging young men fouling their own neighborhoods and concludes nothing can be done because the social pathologies are so overwhelming. In some cities, this view manifests itself in the unspoken but cynical policing that effectively cedes whole neighborhoods to the thugs. Opinion Journal Video Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Jason Riley on what prompted the violence and what comes next....

Republican presidential hopeful Gov. Scott Walker teased a new stance on immigration on Glenn Beck's radio show recently: Now, he wants to decrease legal immigration into the United States. Walker's shift brings up several questions about how Americans — in particular, Republicans — think about immigration. Given the more pro-immigration positions of Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio, Walker's move is a likely strategic play for the anti-immigration portion of the party. But public opinion polling data from The Chicago Council on Global Affairs shows that it is unlikely to benefit him politically in the long run. Overall, we find that...

Am I hearing Obama correctly? While speaking at My Brother's Keeper, Obama complained about lack of jobs for blacks. He then called for more investment in black communities to help solve this problem. Strangely absent from his remarks was the impact illegal immigration has had on jobs available to the LEGAL citizens of this country, INCLUDING blacks. Did Obama forget that it is largely because of HIS overturning of our immigration laws that blacks can't find jobs??? Why won't the black community speak out against Obama's immigration policies? Do they fear insulting their soul brother in the White House?

MADISON—Under Republican Gov. Scott Walker, Wisconsin has seen a nearly 12-fold increase in the number of people suspended annually from the state’s food stamp program for fraud.The suspensions for “intentionally violating program rules” are part of a larger get-tough approach to people receiving federally funded nutrition assistance, called FoodShare in Wisconsin. Walker has also introduced new work rules for some FoodShare recipients, and proposes to seek a federal waiver to begin requiring all adult participants of the program to undergo drug testing.In 2011, Walker’s first year as governor, 102 people were suspended from the FoodShare program for violating program rules,...

Wisconsin ranks 40th in the nation for job growth, or so says a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Many in the media and political circles pounced on the release as evidence that the policies of Republican Gov. Scott Walker, a potential presidential candidate, have left the Badger State trailing much of the nation. But the report failed to give sufficient context to Wisconsin’s job growth. The BLS, along with other reports touting similar results, ranked states based on how much private employment increased over a year. Why might Wisconsin’s employment increase seem modest? One reason could be that more...

Under Governor Scott Walker's leadership, Wisconsin will join eleven other states as the newest state to require welfare recipients to pass a drug test before they can receive state welfare funds. While some liberals and liberal-minded religious groups have called out Walker for "targeting" the poor and those with addictions, Walker's response has been spot on: if they're receiving funds from the state, the state should be able to make rules for these people to live by before they can receive a dime. But Walker's drug test isn't simply a play to restrict the number of people who will be...

President Obama's bid for fast track trade authority along with a huge Asian trade deal fell into further trouble Sunday night when a key Republican senator charged that the deals open the door to more immigration and let the administration make future changes without congressional approval. Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions delivered the bruising blow when he raised five questions about the Trade Promotion Authority speeding through Congress and the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal that TPA would help push. "The president has circumvented Congress on immigration with serial regularity. But the TPA would yield new power to the executive to...

Report: Robots replacing human workers at faster pace Robots aren't just for corporate Goliaths -- now even the little guy on Main Street is adopting them. The goal: to boost sales and productivity. But at what cost? Take Sam Kraus, a Hungarian immigrant who founded what became Skyline Windows in 1921. In the early days, the tinsmith traveled around with a small cart to do his roofing and waterproofing work by hand. Fast-forward to today, and the fourth-generation business based in New York City's South Bronx has left the pushcart era far behind. Skyline, which has evolved into a custom...

"............The LIBRE effort, which backers plan to expand into more presidential battleground states over the next several months, has alarmed many Democrats.They are making friends and trying to convince you that the Democratic agenda is bad,” said Matt Barreto, co-founder of the research and polling firm Latino Decisions. He said the group hands out ideological material, collects names, e-mail addresses and phone numbers, and is “laying the foundation for Republican candidates to emphasize the same messages.”Barreto says those behind LIBRE are “playing the long game” and don’t really have to win Republican votes, but rather raise doubts about Democrats to...

WASHINGTON — Wisconsin's Scott Walker has emerged as a force in the 2016 White House contest. It's a position two other Republican governors from the Midwest, lesser known but similarly ambitious, undoubtedly would like to be in. Like Walker, John Kasich in Ohio and Rick Snyder in Michigan have strong resumes and political successes in states where the GOP often struggles. They offer a distinct form of pragmatic politics that differs sharply from that of their combative counterpart in Wisconsin. Kasich has taken steps toward a presidential bid, emboldened by the absence of a clear front-runner and by warm reviews...