Free Republic

Despite the fact that I consider the prevailing majority of Facebook posts to be the single largest culprit of wasted broadband, I do hold a certain amount of awe for the internet. Shortly after Al Gore invented the technology, the instantaneous exchange of information became a global phenomenon. (Although, those early dial ups can hardly be considered “instantaneous.”) The internet might be, in most cases, the last beacon of relative freedom. Ideas can be spread, information disseminated, and cute kitten pictures shared… All with a simple click of a wireless mouse. While there is an amazing amount of debauchery...

Another attack on religious freedom is under way in Canada, this time against doctors in the province of Ontario. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is reviewing its human rights code guidelines, and the public response has been explosive. Many people want the College to change its present practice of permitting doctors to opt out of referring or prescribing treatments that violate their ethics or religious faith. This is not a case of liberal intellectuals and unelected leaders reducing our freedoms without the consent of the public. Judging by the slew of negative comments to stories in the...

As John Adams wrote: “It is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue.” Progressive disavowal of the former and laxity on upholding the latter demonstrate that they are ill suited to lay claim to a free constitution governing a free people.

A new Gallup poll finds that fewer Americans are satisfied with the freedom in their lives compared with seven years ago -- dropping 12 percentage points, from 91 percent in 2006 to 79 percent in 2013. During that same time, the percentage of Americans dissatisfied with the freedoms available in their lives more than doubled, from 9 percent to 21 percent. The United States now sits in 36th place among the world in our admiration of the idea of freedom. It's fair to mention that the definition of "freedom" has become increasingly pliable. (It is, for example, regularly argued that...

On the Fourth of July in the United States of America we celebrate freedom. In particular we celebrate freedom from tyranny, freedom from government that is not representative, and freedom from unchecked power and unaccountable sovereigns.Yet as Christians, we cannot overlook that there are ways of understanding freedom today that are distorted, exaggerated, and detached from a proper biblical, Christian, or Natural Law context. Many modern concepts of freedom treat it as somewhat of an abstraction.Yes,  many speak of freedom in the abstract and have a hard time nailing down the details. So let’s talk about some of the details.Most people...

Very few Americans realize there exists a large network of far left philanthropists and foundations in America dedicated to destroying the American way of life, our Christian-based culture and our free enterprise system. They seek to remove America from its constitutional foundations and move it toward a European-style socialism. Much of this effort is coordinated by a little known group called the Tides Foundation and its related group, the Tides Center. Over the course of its 33 year history, the Tides network has given hundreds of millions of dollars to anti-free enterprise groups, gun control groups, anti-private property groups, abortion...

On this Independence Day, it is valuable to revisit this topic. There is no doubt that we on the Right are the followers of the American tradition, while those on the Left follow the French. This alone explains a lot. Here, then, is Sean Busick’s superb essay… One of the many differences between the American and French Revolutions is that, unlike the French, Americans did not fight for an abstraction. Americans initially took up arms against the British to defend and preserve the traditional rights of Englishmen. The slogan “no taxation without representation” aptly summed up one of their chief...

Today there will be both celebration and alarm, joy and gnashing of teeth. Any informed American knows the dangers that threaten our country, and I'll forgo a litany of the unlawfulness and destructiveness that has characterized the last six years. Rather, I'd like to remind everyone of the little events in history that shaped us---and which came very close to either not occurring at all or to turning out much differently than expected. Some will call this providence, others, "good luck," and still others will claim that America made her own luck. Whichever your interpretation, meditate for a moment on...

It was a revealing convergence Monday when the five-member conservative Supreme Court majority delivered the Hobby Lobby contraception decision even as President Obama announced that House Republicans had officially shelved immigration reform. Both disputes reaffirmed the GOP's identity as the champion of the forces most resistant to the profound demographic and cultural dynamics reshaping American life—and Democrats as the voice of those who most welcome these changes. And both clashes captured a parallel shift: While Republicans took the offense on most cultural arguments through the late 20th century, now Democrats from Obama on down are mostly pressing these issues, confident...

There are many ways to lose freedom -- conquering armies, surrendering without a fight. Unfortunately, we are currently surrendering our freedom, not to a foreign power, but to our own government. The growth, reach, and cost of big government is happening before our eyes and eroding our liberty, largely because too many Americans are not familiar with the brilliant system of government our Founders established. Progressives prefer a "living Constitution," which is constantly changing to conform to their ideology. What it is not is the Constitution established by the Founders. In a comprehensive publication, "The Roots of Liberty: Unlocking...

The United States will enact legislation giving European Union citizens the right to sue in the United States if they think their private data was released or misused, the U.S attorney general said on Wednesday. "The Obama administration is committed to seeking legislation that would ensure that ... EU citizens would have the same right to seek judicial redress for intentional or wilful disclosures of protected information and for refusal to grant access or to rectify any errors in that information, as would a U.S citizen," Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters. "This commitment - which has long been sought...

What Is A Right? A right is the sovereignty to act without the permission of others. For full essay see: http://wp.me/p4sKpK-4

Today the Supreme Court denied review in an important First Amendment case, Elmbrook School District v. Doe. But there’s big news in a dissent that accompanied this denial, declaring that big change is underway for religious liberty.

Gabe Luddy, fourth-generation cheesemaker at Vella Cheese Co. in Sonoma, makes his Dry Jack the same way his grandfather and great-grandfather did - he rolls and presses curds into large wheels of cheese, then brines and coats the wheels before sliding them onto wooden racks. There they age, from seven months to several years. A U.S. Food & Drug Administration statement which became public last week puts this 83-year-old practice in doubt. In what the agency is calling a clarification, the FDA has declared that the wooden surfaces that cheesemakers around the world age cheeses on "cannot be adequately cleaned...

Although Obama made no direct reference to that controversy, he did said of D-Day that “in this age of instant commentary, the invasion would have swiftly and roundly been declared, as it was by one officer, 'a debacle.'" He also cautioned against a “race to judgment.” President Obama marked the anniversary of the D-Day landings Friday with a tribute to the servicemen who stormed “democracy’s beachhead” 70 years ago, and the new generation of American soldiers who continue their mission. "America's claim — our commitment to liberty, to equality, to freedom, to the inherent dignity of every human being —...

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” —Martin Niemoller Despite what some may think, the Constitution is no magical incantation against government wrongdoing. Indeed, it’s only as effective as those who abide by it. However, without courts willing to uphold...

Does the United States need stricter gun control laws? POLL IS LOCATED BOTTOM RIGHT VOTE NO

 On this evening’s show, 5/23/2014, Mark Levin talked about the Great Compromise of the Convention of 1787, but he never mentioned how the apportionment of both taxation and representation became the moving parts of the Great Compromise. So, let me fill in the parts Mark Levin left out. During the framing of our existing Constitution the question of how each State would be represented in Congress became a matter of heated debate and deciding upon rules which fixed each State’s representation created an impasse during the Convention. On July 2nd of the Convention Sherman of Connecticut remarked: “We are now...

It's become a tradition. Every Memorial Day, our family goes to the Concord Battlefield, not far from our home, where Americans first fell fighting for freedom. Now The Minute Man National Park, it's 967 acres of winding trails, flower beds, stately trees and the meandering Concord River. This is the place where America began. Words must be spoken or written – as they were in Philadelphia in 1776. But it's cold steel that gives them force. On April 19, 1775, we showed our mettle. Emerson's poem still stirs the soul: "By the rude bridge that arched the flood, their flag...

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…” Even though these truths are self-evident, it’s important that we never forget that they are not self-actualizing. Man was made for freedom, but the vast majority are not born into it. As Ronald Reagan said on Memorial Day in 1983, "I don't have to tell you how fragile this precious gift of freedom is. Every time we hear, watch, or read the news, we are...