Free Republic

Self-styled Catholic critics of the free market and “Americanism” have adopted the term “social Magisterium” to suggest that there is a coherent and morally binding body of papal teaching on politics and economics, from which we can derive specific policy initiatives and firmly condemn alternatives as “un-Catholic” or even (that dreaded word) “dissenting.” Hence defenders of market economics, or opponents of mass immigration, can be tarred with the same brush as those who favor women’s ordination or homosexuality. Indeed, if we accept the premise of a “social magisterium,” we are led to believe that we can actually build up a...

“If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be,” as Yogi Berra once said. If you want to understand what this means, go see The Giver. The Giver is in the great dystopian tradition of Animal Farm and 1984, Brave New World, Atlas Shrugged, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, and so many more. (It also evoked for me memories of the Ring cycle and Lord of the Rings.) It takes place in a “perfect” society that has eliminated war, pain, suffering, differences and choice. They have created a society where everyone is equal (except those who are “more equal,” of...

I have argued before that, in their fullest, libertarianism and Catholicism are incompatible -- but to what degree are they so? Leaders of the libertarian movement have certainly said silly, anti-Catholic things. Ludwig von Mises, for example, compared Christ to the Bolshevists and also said, "..[I]t is the resistance which the Church has offered to the spread of liberal ideas which has prepared the soil for the destructive resentment of modern socialist thought" (Socialism, Chapter 29). Translation: opposition to liberalism of one stripe must be blamed for inspiring liberalism of another. Huh? Much of the conflict between libertarians and the...

Today is the birthday of a man who left an indelible imprint on American history and the history of the free world more broadly. The Englishman John Locke was born on August 29, 1632. Locke was one of the most heralded Enlightenment thinkers — preeminent among classical liberals — developing theories on natural rights, property, government, not to mention law and philosophy more broadly that would influence the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Western civilization itself. His intellectual achievements were so great that Thomas Jefferson identified Locke as one of “the three greatest men who ever lived, without any...

If TJ is in heaven right now, and he’s able to peer through some celestial portal and behold the BS Barack has saddled this nation with -- a country, by the way, that Jefferson labored to make independent from tyrants -- then I would bet that Thomas is more ticked than a boar that just had its balls clipped. How do I know Jefferson would loathe Obama and seek to jettison our Jester-In-Chief? Well, it’s principally via Thomas’ musings -- musings that, for the time being, we’re still afforded the wherewithal to access; principles that also happen to have made...

An Albany area farm which rebuffed efforts by a same-sex couple to hold their wedding at the site has been fined $10,000 and ordered to pay the women $1,500 each for their mental anguish. In New York State Division of Human Rights v. Liberty Ridge Farm, 10157952/ 10157963, Administrative Law Judge Migdalia Pares of the Bronx rejected the owners' argument that the farm, which is their home, is not a place of public accommodation and is therefore not subject to the anti-discrimination provisions of the Human Rights Law. the Giffords are considering their next step, including a possible appeal based...

Welcome to the very first edition of AUSLibertyNews. This is the week's news presented from a Paleoconservative perspective. Hosted by the controversial and thought-provoking Milton Johnson; topics cover Australia's rapidly changing culture, deteriorating race-relations in the US and Israel Folou. Today we are joined by special guest Plato Sandilands (@PlatoSandilands) as he discusses his exciting new internet venture.

As company works up new Liberty development plan, big rig remains sidelined - - - - It’s been five years since BP shipped a gigantic, specially designed drilling rig to Alaska’s North Slope to develop the offshore Liberty oil field. But the rig has yet to drill a well. It’s just sitting there. Exactly what BP plans to do with the behemoth, constructed by Parker Drilling Co., remains to be seen. But one thing seems apparent - it won’t be used for the Liberty project. BP has indicated as much in correspondence this year with the federal Bureau of Ocean...

A convoy of anti-immigration activists touring the border with Mexico to defend the US from “invasion” has cancelled an event in Texas because of alleged death threats. The 30-vehicle convoy aborted a planned rally in El Paso on Sunday over safety concerns, said the convoy organiser, Eric Odom. “We had to cancel that because of death threats against our crew and convoy,” he told the Guardian, speaking by phone from a New Mexico highway. “We’re not into that. We are a very peaceful convoy and we want to show that the border is very dangerous and open.” Odom said the...

KANSAS CITY Mo (Reuters) - President Barack Obama took his criticism of congressional Republicans to a higher pitch on Wednesday, appealing to them to "stop just hatin' all the time" even as Republicans prepared to sue him over charges he has overstepped the bounds of his office. Republicans in the House of Representatives were expected to vote on Wednesday to authorize a lawsuit against the president for exceeding his presidential authority while implementing the Affordable Care Act, his signature health care law.

This morning, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit invalidated a 2012 IRS rule allowing tax subsidies in federal insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. Within hours, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a contrary ruling in a similar, but separate, case, allowing exchange subsidies in both state-based and federal exchanges. Though both decisions are still subject to further review and will have no immediate impact, such “circuit splits” are often considered strong evidence that a case will ultimately end up before the U.S. Supreme...

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...