Free Republic

The origins of "political correctness" or "cultural Marxism" can be found in the early parts of the 20th century from the Frankfurt School, which was the headquarters for the Communists scheming in Germany.

For years, the cities have been robbing the suburbs but they now have a scheme that will quickly end in a takeover of the suburbs by a leftist federal government. HUD announced enforcement of its new 377-page rule called the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule which will allow them to move people from poor crime-ridden areas into “wealthy” suburbs. It was announced by leftist Julian Castro Monday. The rule has force behind it. Federal monies will be withheld and lawsuits accusing residents of racism will be filed. Any town that takes federal funds will be transformed. It is not only...

Hillary Rodham Clinton plans later this week to propose raising capital gains taxes for some investors, pivoting from a 2008 pledge not to increase the rate beyond 20 percent. The policy is part of a larger effort by her campaign to encourage greater focus on longer-term economic growth rather than more immediate gains for investors-a priority for the liberal Democrats she’ll need in 2016. The new rates would be pegged to the duration of the investment, with short-term holdings taxed at a higher percentage. In remarks on Facebook, Clinton also expanded on a promise to pursue criminal prosecution of bad...

What, you ask, can be done to address climate change? A controversial, but cheap solution of last resort has emerged known as “solar radiation management.” A geoengineering technique, it would shoot particles into the sky to reflect sunlight back to space. “The central idea is to make the planet a little bit more reflective, which tends to cool it down, because it will absorb less sunlight. And that will partially and imperfectly compensate for the buildup of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, which are tending to trap heat and make the earth warmer,” says Harvard environmental scientist David Keith, who...

It appears to be the obvious answer to the global-warming problem. We suck carbon dioxide out of the air and either recycle it into low-carbon fuel or stick it underground. As solutions go, it's simple, logical, even elegant. Also necessary. "Scientists are increasingly convinced that we are going to need large-scale removal systems to fight climate change," says Noah Deich, founder of the nonprofit Center for Carbon Removal. The key problem apparently isn't technological. Three startups are making significant strides in their efforts to create processes that could "harvest" millions of tons of CO2 from the air around us. The...

At the risk of sounding like Paul Krugman — who returns to a handful of cherished topics over and over again in his New York Times column — I want to revisit one of my hobby horses, which I most recently raised in my discussion of Hobby Lobby. My own cherished topic is this: Liberalism's decline from a political philosophy of pluralism into a rigidly intolerant dogma. The decline is especially pronounced on a range of issues wrapped up with religion and sex. For a time, electoral self-interest kept these intolerant tendencies in check, since the strongly liberal position on...

<p>Long-haul flights are getting longer due to stronger winds caused by global warming, according to a study.</p> <p>Scientists linked a small increase in return-journey times of long-haul flights with an increase in the variation of the jet stream, the high altitude air that flows from west to east.</p>

Full title: "For the record: Pope Francis personally clarifies that he was not offended by Hammer-and-Sickle "crucifix", explicitly acknowledges the Marxism of its Jesuit originator -- and praises him." As expected, Pope Francis held an in-flight press conference on his way back to Rome this Monday. As widely reported by secular media, he made use of this opportunity to personally clarify his thoughts about the Hammer and Sickle "crucifix" (and the medallion, the "Order of Fr. Espinal" featuring a smaller version of the same) that were presented to him by President Evo Morales of Bolivia. Catholic News Agency has, thankfully,...

illary Clinton gave a big economics speech here on Monday, and the snap reaction among Wall Street investors, economists and ardent financial reformers who thrill to the soak-the-rich rhetoric of Bernie Sanders was a collective: “Meh. What’s next?” “She appears to have taken a page out of the Elizabeth Warren book,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment office at BMO Private bank. “I’m sure a lot of polling went into that. But in terms of inequality and profit-sharing and general economic redistribution, she was a lot longer on problems than she was on solutions.” Many conservatives breathed a sigh of relief...

The threat of climate change needs to be assessed in the same comprehensive way as nuclear weapons proliferation, according to a UK foreign minister. Baroness Joyce Anelay, minister of state at the Commonwealth and Foreign Office, said the indirect impacts of global warming, such as deteriorating international security, could be far greater than the direct effects, such as flooding. The report, commissioned by the Foreign Office, and written by experts from the UK, US, China and India, is stark in its assessment of the wide-ranging dangers posed by unchecked global warming, including: - very large risks to global food security,...

Pope Francis on Thursday launched a blistering attack on the “new colonialism” of austerity, describing unfettered capitalism as “the dung of the devil” and apologising for the Catholic church’s role in the conquest of indigenous populations in the Americas. He delivered a powerful mea culpa on the part of the church in the highlight of his South American pilgrimage, “humbly” begging forgiveness during an encounter in Bolivia with indigenous groups and other activists and in the presence of Bolivia’s first-ever indigenous president, Evo Morales.

To my Catholic friends, while I am loathe to criticize that which they hold dear, there comes a time when silence is the wrong answer. When Pope Francis first surfaced, I thought he had the potential to be a great Pope. But with the potential of greatness, also comes the opportunity of infamy. Pope Francis is a Marxist and embodies many, many principles that I stand against, not only as a Constitutional Conservative, but as a Christian. This last week just solidified my uneasiness concerning this Pope. The Bolivian President, Evo Morales (who Trevor Loudon and I have long contended...

A crucifix sculpted in the shape of a hammer and sickle presented to Pope Francis in Bolivia has caused a stir among Catholic commentators. The Pope was given the item, combining Catholic and communist symbols, by left-wing Bolivian President Evo Morales. One Catholic bishop suggested that Mr Morales had sought to "manipulate God". But while some reports said the Pope was taken aback by the present, the Vatican has played down any row. The crucifix was based on a design by Luis Espinal, a Jesuit Priest assassinated in 1980 by right-wing militia to whom Pope Francis paid tribute during his...

Rising sea levels have been mostly measured in inches in the past decades, but scientists said they could increase more than 20 feet in the future as global warming continues to melt ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. The dire projections are based on a look back at the climate record, with scientists finding that increases of 20 feet have happened at least twice over the past 3 million years when temperatures were very similar to what they are today. Peter Clark, an Oregon State paleoclimatologist and another co-author of the study, said that because current carbon dioxide levels are...

They are either championed as brave voices willing to speak out against the scientific majority or dismissed as cranks who lack the evidence to support their arguments. Now deniers of global warming have been dealt a stinging blow by psychologists who found skeptics of man-made climate change tend to believe in conspiracy theories. They say the conspiracist outlook taken by many climate change skeptics is harming the public debate over global warming. Professor Stephan Lewandowsky, an experimental psychologist at the University of Bristol who led the work, said: 'These results add to a growing body of research on the nature...

... Today, the world is looking forward to what we can accomplish over the next 15 years. The UN has established the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Amina Mohammed is Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning. Mohammed notes, “The sustainable development agenda addresses the root causes of poverty, inequalities and environmental degradation. It looks at the links between the social, economic and environmental agendas, and it presents more opportunities than the MDGs, which largely focused on the symptoms only.” In an effort to broaden the impact of the U.N.’s efforts, she says, “The sustainable development agenda looks...

The city needs to move away from the idea that all families can live in their own home on a piece of land, according to a draft letter from a Seattle advisory committee. If adopted, ideas being considered by a Seattle housing committee would be devastating to the city's appeal, KIRO Radio's Dori Monson said. Get rid of single-family zoning in Seattle. That's the big message in a draft report being worked on by Mayor Ed Murray's housing committee, obtained by The Seattle Times. According to a draft letter, the city needs to move away from the idea that all...

If I have to read one more email explaining that modern popes have failed the Church by preaching socialism instead of the Gospel, I will not be held responsible for my reply. This complaint surfaces from time to time in orthodox Catholic circles for the simple reason that most politically conservative Catholics are orthodox. Such persons sometimes react as if political and economic conservatism is a Divine standard for judging Catholicism. But the reality is just the opposite. One also tires of the protestations of the ignorant. The word “socialism” has a clear and specific meaning. It refers to a...

Pope ends first leg of his three-nation South American tour with impassioned plea to safeguard the environmentDelivered message in Ecuador, which has one of the world's most diverse ecosystems but is also reliant on oil He said: 'As stewards of these riches, we have an obligation toward society and toward future generations' (...) 'As stewards of these riches which we have received, we have an obligation toward society as a whole and toward future generations,' Francis said. 'We cannot bequeath this heritage to them without proper care for the environment, without a sense of gratuitousness born of our contemplation...

The Obama administration on Wednesday will announce new rules requiring cities to look for racial bias in housing practices in order to promote racially integrated neighborhoods, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The rules would further the work of the landmark 1968 Fair Housing Act, which made it illegal to refuse to sell or rent a home to a person based on race, religion, gender or national origin. The Post said cities and towns now would be required to look for patterns of racial bias in local housing, report the results every three to five years and set goals on...