Free Republic

With Friday's dismal jobs report — showing a paltry 54,000 increase in nonfarm payroll employment in May — more and more analysts are realizing that the so-called economic "recovery" is stalling. As Jeffrey Tucker recently pointed out in an important article, Austrians realize that the recession never left. This has all been smoke and mirrors for the last two years. As John Papola and Russ Roberts's latest video underscores, the classic confrontation is still between the Austrians and the Keynesians. These contrasting visions are still the primary choice when the average person tries to understand why the economy seems broken,...

Chris Whalen says “No Downside” to Not Raising the Debt Ceiling Geithner Cries WolfThe U.S. Congress has a little less than two months to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling or possibly default on its debt. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says not allowing the Treasury to raise the debt limit would be "catastrophic" for the economy. Geithner is crying wolf according to Chris Whalen, a banking industry analyst and co-founder of Institutional Risk Analytics. Whalen argues Congress should vote against raising the debt ceiling unless they agree to major spending cuts. "Congress has the right to say 'no' and the...

The biggest problem with Rep. Paul's (R-Texas) latest comments on immigration is that they are NOT just some ad hoc thoughts tossed off carelessly at some speaking event. These are engraved in a brand new book. Until the release of the book, Liberty Defined, Dr. Paul had a mixed record in Congress and the fact that he had taken the NumbersUSA "No Amnesty" pledge at the end of his Presidential campaign in 2008. That had earned him a C-minus on our 2012 Presidential Hopefuls Immigration Stances Report Card. Not impressive, but the third best (behind Rep. Bachman with a B-minus...

Rep. Raul Labrador, a newcomer to Washington, reminded the crowds at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) of the current context: “We weren’t elected because the American people love Republicans. We were elected because the American people love Republican principles.” Not to throw cold water on a sentiment whose intent I can only applaud, still, it’s hard not to offer a challenge: What principles? Craven accommodation to the military-industrial complex? Empty “limited government” windbaggery? Inertia? The American people do respect many of the principles that have become commonly bandied-about in American politics, associated with the Republicans since Reagan or before....

Given the contentious relationship between his followers and many in the conservative movement, it’s safe to say that Rep. Ron Paul’s address to CPAC this year was one of the more anticipated speeches of the political holiday weekend. And Rep. Paul delivered: railing against the “neo-Jacobins” that passed the PATRIOT Act, calling for drastic cuts in military spending, and a passionate repudiation of the Federal Reserve. Opening with a jubilant recognition of the results of last November’s midterms– and, especially, the election of his son Rand to the Senate– the tenor of Paul’s speech was mostly combative towards the more...

Things should have been nice and chummy at CPAC an hour ago. Dick Cheney strolled on stage to cheers and the inspirational tune of Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best” and got began to present the “Defender Of The Constitution” award to Donald Rumsfeld. However, as the chants of “USA! USA!” died down, a voice screaming “War criminal!” could be heard. And then, as Cheney continued to talk up his former colleague, a shouting match began between supporters of Ron Paul and the rest of the convention hall. The Paul supporters eventually walked out in the middle of Rumsfeld’s speech as...

Long before the tea party movement grabbed half a dozen Senate seats, before its early proponents ever even dreamed of wearing Colonial-era garb in public, there was longtime Texas Republican Ron Paul, the one guy in Congress trying to abolish the Federal Reserve and shrink the government into near nonexistence. Paul won a devoted-bordering-on-cultish following during his 2008 presidential run, one which, obviously, didn't work out. But now Paul is telling the Times that "it’s at least 50-50" that he'll try again in 2012, and this time, with the movement built largely on his libertarian philosophy now a real force...

VIDEO: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/clip.php?appid=599164944 Mr Speaker I RISE THIS EVENING TO ANNOUNCE THAT I INTRODUCED SOME LEGISLATION TODAY DEALING WITH THE CALAMITY THAT WE HAVE FOUND AT OUR AIRPORTS, WITH T.S.A.

The Republican Party has a history of using desperate times to call for drastic measures and when bailing out AIG, bolstering Medicare or bombing Iraq, that party has always been willing to go big and bold on some of the largest government expansions in this nation’s history. But what about cutting government? You know, that stuff GOP politicians always talk about during election time? One might think that in a political environment in which so many are desperate to reverse what they see as unsustainable government growth, Republican rhetoric might at least attempt to reflect that desperation. But when GOP...

I know not a lot of people on free republic like Dr. Paul because of his stance on foreign policy. I want to ask: if he changed his foreign policy and supported finishing the war on terror and stood behind Israel 100% would you vote for him in 2012? What other candidate wants to bring America back to the constitution and end the FED?

Who agrees and who disagrees with Dr. Paul? I would like to see income tax abolished (it is socialism light) but what say other Freepers? Watch the video of course.

Gary Johnson as candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination? What has he in common with you? video link: http://factreal.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/libertarians-marijuana-gary-johnson-interview-with-hannity-video/ Gary Johnson supports abortion rights, gay unions and legalized pot. And he's probably running for president." Salon.com LEFTISTS LOVE LIBERTARIANS Leftists like Salon.com love libertarian Gary Johnson so much that they titled their interview with him: The most interesting Republican you've never heard of. Here is a summary of that interview: Johnson Favors ProstitutionGary Johnson, a former governor of New Mexico and a likely candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, is talking about hookers. "It's never been a...

Lately many have characterized this administration as socialist, or having strong socialist leanings. I differ with this characterization. This is not to say Mr. Obama believes in free-markets by any means. On the contrary, he has done and said much that demonstrates his fundamental misunderstanding and hostility towards the truly free market. But a closer, honest examination of his policies and actions in office reveals that, much like the previous administration, he is very much a corporatist. This in many ways can be more insidious and worse than being an outright socialist. Socialism is a system where the government directly...

LOUISVILLE — Rand Paul sounds nothing like any major candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky ever has, let alone a front-runner for the Republican nomination. He complains as much about actions of those in his own party as he does about Democrats. He has said he doesn't need the Republican power structure to win the party's May 18 primary or the November election to replace U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning. And he rarely mentions Kentucky in stump speeches. Instead, he sticks to his big-picture message of slashing spending, constraining federal powers and imposing term limits on members of Congress. And...

Ron Paul has been brought to prominence by his long-standing opposition to the nation's monetary system and the Federal Reserve Board that prints money and controls its supply. Here are some of Rep. Ron Paul's most recent legislative battles. • Federal Reserve: Wants to remove the veil of secrecy over the board controlling the nation's money supply. • Government regulation: Wants Congress to sign off on any federal rule that imposes costs of $5,000 on an individual or $10,000 on a business. • Congressional pay: Seeks to end automatic annual cost-of-living pay increases for lawmakers. • Foreign policy: Opposes the...

"…The more terrifying the occasion for defense, the closer will become the organization and the more coercive the influence upon each member of the herd. War sends the current of purpose and activity flowing down to the lowest level of the herd, and to its most remote branches. All the activities of society are linked together as fast as possible to this central purpose of making a military offensive or a military defense, and the State becomes what in peacetimes it has vainly struggled to become—the inexorable arbiter and determinant of men’s business and attitudes and opinions…" -Randolph Bourne Dear...

Transcript from the video, Dr Sabrosky speaking: “They did 9/11, they did it, I have had long conversations over the past two weeks with contacts at the Army War College and at Headquarters Marine Corps, and I have made it absolutely clear in both cases that it is 100% certain that 9/11 was a Mossad operation..period” “9/11 has led directly to 60,000 Americans dead and wounded, God knows how many hundreds of thousands of people in other countries that we’ve killed or wounded or made homeless, and its an ongoing sore” “this is an open wound, and what Americans need...

Dang, this interview is good! The Pauls's are interviwed together on CNN and discuss their desire to fix the gridlock in Washington. They are not dummies by any stretch of the imagination. Ron: "The mechanism is broken because it's financially broke.....once the government gets as much debt as we have, the liquidation of debt always happens, you can't avoid it.....and it will be liquidated by paying back money that doesn't have as much value". Rand: "The voters are asking how are we going to spend a trillion dollars on healthcare and not add anything to the debt?....Show me the government...

I have a question for the denizens of Free Republic. Why do so many conservatives consider libertarians to be as bad as liberals? Yes, I realize that libertarians tend to be unrealistically isolationist and don't support the conservative social agenda, but it would seem that we would be natural allies based upon economic policy. A country where conservatives and libertarians were the two dominant parties wouldn't be a bad thing.