Free Republic

At first glance, a lot of the social problems and resource waste emerging from government intervention seem pretty easy to fix: the government should just stop doing whatever it is doing that is creating the problems and the waste. The stubborn persistence of institutions and organizations that keep societies poor is a vexing problem for social scientists. In Political Capitalism, the economist Randall Holcombe takes on this problem by analyzing “political capitalism” as a distinct economic system with its own logic and features rather than as some kind of midpoint between capitalism and socialism. As he points out, people do...

Anyone familiar with my scribbling knows that I separate modern society into two categories: World Turners and The Useless. Me? I’m no World Turner. I’m one of The Useless. What I mean is this: If everyone who does what I do for a living stopped doing it today, the world would keep right on turning. Society would roll along just fine without me and mine — maybe better. Sure, a few people might miss my musings, but only for a little while. And the same is true for anyone who makes a living spewing their half-assed opinions (especially Jonah Goldberg)....

We are entering the age of "Full John Galt." This is a time where society and politicians are rapidly dismantling the rights of ownership. This transfer of rights constitutes a transfer of wealth whether we wish to call it by that name or not. This is a time when people can just walk into a small privately-owned convenience store, then, without paying walk out with an arm full of merchandise with little or no ramifications. This is a time when government deficits have lost all meaning and people are being paid not to work. This is a time when saying...

Tea Partiers should be wary of the ideology underlying a novel popular within the movement. Signs reading “Who is John Galt?” became a common sight at rallies last year. They reference Atlas Shrugged, a novel by Objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand, which is considered an affirmation of individual rights and the free market. However, according to a central advocate of Rand’s worldview, there is a deeper message within the novel which the Tea Party must embrace if it hopes to affect libertarian change. On February 23rd, in a lecture hall at the University of Minnesota, Rand advocate Craig Biddle, editor of...

The American Ho Chi Minh, what's his name - the CEO of Twitter - will have to answer to his board about the hemorrhage of conservative users and their millions of followers. That's just one leftist company of many that we can impact. We don't have to get into a shooting war with them. We have the economic power to bring them down. Starting with Twitter, facebook, etc. Here are my recommendations and alternatives. Please feel free to add yours. Twitter - Dump in favor of Parler. Millions have done so already, especially since last night. Facebook - If I...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE and AMERICA: All Levels of Government, Family, Military, Business, Farming, Education, Churches, Health Care Systems, the News, Media and Social Media, Citizen Keyboard Warriors, Right to Life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 JOHN 5:14Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

Who is John Galt? In 1957 Ayn Rand published her final novel, Atlas Shrugged. This magnum opus describing her philosophy of “objectivism” sought to call attention to the danger of socialism and communism and demonstrate the virtues of freedom and capitalism. Rand came to America from Russia following the 1917 communist revolution led by Lenin, which destroyed the social norms. Who is John Galt? He is the leader of the resistance to the statists of a dystopian United States. Galt has created the intellectual and emotional genesis for unravelling the suffocating government. He has secretly organized leaders of the private...

Sometimes, life really does imitate art. Recent actions by certain members of the Democratic Party remind me of scenes in Ayn Rand’s most famous novel, “Atlas Shrugged.” Take the impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives two months ago. It was as blatantly a kangaroo court as Hank Rearden’s trial in “Atlas.” Rearden had zero chance of being found “not guilty.” Same with President Donald Trump. I mean, what chance did he have of not being impeached when the Democrats refused to identify the accuser, denied the accused’s right to have counsel cross-examine prosecution witnesses, and didn’t allow any witnesses...

Hermine Ricketts and her husband Tom Carroll may grow fruit trees and flowers in the front yard of their Miami Shores house. They may park a boat or jet ski in their driveway. They may place statues, fountains, gnomes, pink flamingoes or Santa in a Speedo on their property. Vegetables, however, are not allowed. Ricketts and Carroll thought they were gardeners when they grew tomatoes, beets, scallions, spinach, kale and multiple varieties of Asian cabbage. But according to a village ordinance that restricts edible plants to backyards only, they were actually criminals. They didnÂ’t think they were engaged in a...

Her novel The Fountainhead is one of the few works of fiction that Donald Trump likes and she has long been the darling of the US right. But only now do her devotees hold sway around the world As they plough through their GCSE revision, UK students planning to take politics A-level in the autumn can comfort themselves with this thought: come September, they will be studying one thinker who does not belong in the dusty archives of ancient political theory but is achingly on trend. For the curriculum includes a new addition: the work of Ayn Rand. It is...

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban channeled Ayn Rand in a Twitter tirade Thursday. Earlier that day, Cuban had tweeted an article from The Blaze about net neutrality. When his followers dissented, he hit them with some Atlas Shrugged.

I’ve written many times about how investors, entrepreneurs, small business owners and other successful people migrate from high-tax states to low-tax states. Well, the same thing happens internationally, as France’s greedy politicians are now learning. It’s a lot harder for Americans to escape our tax system, though, in part because of reprehensible exit taxes that are disturbingly reminiscent of some of the awful policies of past totalitarian regimes. But it still happens, and that’s a very damning indictment of Obamanomics and a worrying referendum on the future of the United States. Here are some blurbs from a recent Fortune article....

Barack Obama has already done great damage to this country. He will do much more damage over the next four years John Galt Calling: Had Enough? By Doug Patton Thursday, November 8, 2012 “They believe in free stuff. We believe in free people.” - U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, 2012 vice presidential nominee When I heard Congressman Ryan utter those words during his speech to the Republican National Convention in Tampa last summer, I thought they would define the 2012 race for the White House. No statement so clearly describes the deep division between the earners and the takers in...

Unless you are a dead democrat voter stuck in a graveyard, you will notice an awful LOT of businesses are laying people off right for the last three days. It finally hit me, is Atlas starting to shrug or is it merely shuddering only to fall asleep again? Is this a sign of shrugging or is it a sign of the dragon shuddering only to roll over and fall back asleep again?

Should successful people in Illinois "go Galt"? Posted by Bruce Donnelly on November 7, 2012 at 11:30pm View Blog Successful people in Illinois lost the election yesterday. The future looks pretty bleak, not just because several good Republican candidates lost their races, but because virtually unchecked Democratic power was reinforced in Springfield. A few local wins are small consolation for the continued rise of radical progressives in Washington and Springfield. They now have virtually unchecked power to keep ruining us all economically. The Republican Party in Illinois has failed miserably - again - and it will cost us all dearly....

The global economy is on the brink of collapse. Unemployment has risen to 24%. Gas is now $42 per gallon. Brilliant creators, from artists to industrialists, continue to mysteriously disappear at the hands of the unknown. Dagny Taggart... has discovered what may very well be the answer to a mounting energy crisis - found abandoned amongst the ruins of a once productive factory, a miraculous motor that could seemingly power the World. But, the motor is dead... there is no one left to decipher its secret... and, someone is watching. It's a race against the clock to find the inventor...

I believe conservatives should be preparing for what is less than 3 months away. We need to be in the political fight with our resources, not wasting on entertainment, vacations to blue states and cities, consumer goods like IPhone. One, if Obama is reelected do you think any of those things are going to matter. Two, be preparing for the huge tax increase that is coming so why would you want to buying Christmas gifts with credit cards 20% interest rates especially in October. I'm talking about spending on needs not wants, if something breaks and you have to fix...

Entrepreneurs must take action. Now. And by ‘action,’ I mean protesting the federal government’s unconstitutional taxes and regulations. Or, the guilt is theirs if the economy tanks. Luckily, entrepreneurs have two role models to help them develop action plans: John Galt and Steve Jobs. Last week, I wrote that in order to save our economy and culture we need more entrepreneurs to emulate Ayn Rand’s fictional hero in Atlas Shrugged, John Galt . Certainly, emulating Galt is a challenge as he is a fictional hero who seems larger-than-life. But it is hardly an impossible feat; the late billionaire co-founder of...

When it comes to tax reform heroes, Warren Buffett, that self-made billionaire who pushes for higher taxes on millionaires, is so yesterday. The new champion of the progressive tax movement is a bit more mythical, a touch less law-abiding and frightfully more fashionable. Robin Hood, the fictional outlaw famous for stealing from the rich to give to the poor, has emerged as the face of a new tax movement, one that calls for a 50 cent sales tax on every $100 traded on Wall Street.

SOLYNDRA For Sale Property Size Total building area is approximately 411,618 square feet (excluding mezzanine) o Manufacturing area: 287,448 square feet single story o Office building: 37,210 square feet two-story o Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) area: 86,960 square feet usable o Expandable to 739,232 square feet Building Highlights • Highly visible world class manufacturing facility • Frontage along Interstate 880 and Kato Road • Headquarters style office area constructed to LEED Gold Standards • Construction completed in October of 2010 • The total electrical service: 22 Megawatts • Facility is backed up by 2 diesel generators each with 2...