Free Republic

There are no “good” options for now to end this Greek tragedy. It’s best for Greece to take the least bad option, which would be forced bankruptcy. Let Greece go bankrupt. And then let this once rich nation, hit the restart button to rebuild its economy. What I’m suggesting for Greece is what we might call the Detroit option. Put Greece under receivership and let these new authorities figure out how to manage the debt and decide who will take a hair cut – pensioners, bond holders, welfare recipients, government workers, the IMF. It’s tough love, but it’s the only...

Almost every option facing debt-drenched Greece is bad, but there is only one that will end this Greek tragedy for good. Let Greece go bankrupt. Then let this once-rich nation, hit the restart button to rebuild its economy. What I’m suggesting for Greece is what might be called the Detroit option. Put Greece under receivership and let these new authorities figure out how to manage the debt and decide who will take a haircut and how big. Pensioners, bondholders, welfare recipients, government workers, the International Monetary Fund, all will have to settle for less — maybe a lot less. It’s...

... The German chancellor’s disapproval helped end the political careers of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and Greek leader George Papandreou. After burning through whatever goodwill he had with Merkel’s lawmakers and the German public, the current Greek premier could be next.... “We are watching the end of the political career of Alexis Tsipras,” Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at Peterson Institute in Washington, said in a Bloomberg Radio interview. “Mr. Tsipras can continue his career on T-shirts for students, replacing Che Guevara.”... Refusing to play ball with Germany didn’t turn out well for Berlusconi, whose premiership had survived...

Another phrase declared unacceptable by the college PC police. The University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point has told its faculty that seemingly innocuous phrases such as “America is a melting pot” are actually racial microaggressions and should not be used. The suggestion was one of many no-no phrases listed on an “Examples of Racial Microaggressions” document that the school handed out “as a discussion item for some new faculty and staff training over the past few years,” according to an e-mail a school official sent to the College Fix. Other “microaggressions” on the list include asking “Where are you from,”...

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders attracted a near sell out crowd Wednesday night at Madison Veteran's Memorial Stadium which seats about 10,000 people.

Bernie Sanders has turned Hillary Clinton’s parade to the White House into a competitive race for the Democratic nomination, as unions prefer Clintons’ socialist opponent. LaborUnionReport.com organized an informal poll in mid-June 2015 and the results showed that union support for Hillary Clinton was lacking significantly. Seventy-six percent of union members favor Bernie Sanders for president in 2016. Only 11 percent of union members favored Hillary Clinton. The report said, “due to her time spent with the employer-friendly Rose law firm (which helps employers fight unions), as well as her stint on the board of directors for Wal-Mart, many union...

It’s axiomatic that when a socialist regime hits the skids, the left will generally try to claim that such regime is ‘right wing’ somehow. Such claims can and will be completely irrational on their face, but for the national socialist Left it’s all about talking points and a simplistic ( but ‘superior’) mentality that favors headlines and shallow thought on the subject And before you complain that I dare use the word ‘national’ next to the word ‘socialist’ I would ask that you please explain in detail (with documentation) Just how in Hades’ the word national modifies the meaning of...

In 1856 Harper’s Magazine published a quote first attributed to Jose Correia de Serra, a Portuguese Abbot, scientist and close friend of Thomas Jefferson: “It has been said that a ‘special Providence watches over children, drunkards and the United States’.” The presidency of Barack Obama is the latest example of the accuracy of this observation, since the American people have been granted a last chance, before it is too late, to reverse course as a window has been forced open for the citizenry to view what future will bring if the nation remains on its present course. Beginning in the...

Recently, Parisian taxi drivers decided to deal with competition they have been getting from a new Internet car service called Uber by rioting and physically attacking cars they suspected of being part of that company. French authorities decided to deal with the situation by detaining two Uber executives and accusing them of running an “illicit service,” according to a Monday story in USA Today, The action illustrates how a bureaucratic, European socialist company reacts to change brought on by technology and entrepreneurial activity, by trying to ban it.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – School children who qualify for free and reduced lunches can receive free summer meals at thousands of locations throughout New York. Last year, almost 360,000 children participated in the summer meals program statewide, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office. Persons with disabilities, also can receive free nutritious meals and snacks at the summer meals sites. To find a free meal site near you, use this website. You can search the entire nation by clicking on "find sites."

Rich countries are very, very far from raising the billions they promised to help poor countries fight climate change, jeopardising the prospects of reaching a global warming deal at Paris, the world’s rising economies warned. As a key United Nations meeting got underway, Brazil, China, India and South Africa said they were disappointed in rich countries’ failure to make good on a promise six years ago to mobilise $100bn a year by 2020 for climate finance. The funds, intended to help developing countries cut their greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for sea-level rises, extreme weather and other consequences of climate...

In a 5-4 decision, the US Supreme Court ruled that “victims of discrimination need not prove intent, disparate outcomes alone are evidence of illegal discrimination.” In a case where lending practices of banks were being contested, Justice Anthony Kennedy swept aside any need to show conscious intent to discriminate. “A bank may assert that ability to repay a loan is an objective criterion for making a loan, and so it would seem on the surface. But what if the ability to repay is unequally distributed along racial lines? That would mean that more whites than Blacks would receive loans. That’s...

The pace of change impacting the United States of America is accelerating at an alarming rate. This week the Supreme Court bolstered Obamacare by rewriting the law and sanctioning the subsidies that are the centerpiece of the program. On Friday, by a 5-4 margin, the justices legalized gay marriage in all 50 states. This sweeping decision rendered meaningless the vote of Americans in states across the nation. In essence, these Supreme Court justices, a majority appointed by Republicans, have become a leading force in advancing the liberal agenda. According to research from the New York Times, 54% of the rulings...

The Obama Department of (In) Justice is set to fast-track payments of $29 million dollars in taxpayer money to each of the families of victims of the shooting that occurred at the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. That's $3.2 million to each family! Reuters reported that a portion of those dollars was allocated under the government's National Crime Victim Assistance Formula Grant program. Now, before we get into the unconstitutionality and basic theft, resulting in a redistribution of wealth, consider that Clementa Pinckney was not only the pastor of the church, but also a Democrat Party operative (an...

The Dutch city of Utrecht is planning on experimenting with socialism to test its value and results. The Independent reports that the city has teamed up with University College Utrecht to observe “if a system of welfare without requirements will be successful.” The concept of basic income “is a universal, unconditional form of payment to individuals, which covers their living costs.” The basic income is supposed to help free up people schedules and work hours to provide more time to volunteer in the community, study at university, and care for others. …

The editorial board of PennLive/The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. is taking a hardcore stance against those who disagree with the Supreme Court ruling to legalize gay marriage. “As a result of Friday’s ruling, PennLive/The Patriot-News will no longer accept, nor will it print, op-Eds and letters to the editor in opposition to same-sex marriage,” they declared. After receiving strong pushback, the newspaper’s editorial board, which is overseen by Editorial Page Editor John Micek, quickly revised its policy. Freedom of speech will be allowed — but only for a “limited” period of time. Micek explained on Twitter: “Clarification: We will not...

Free Republic is and will remain a pro-God, pro-life, pro-family, pro-constitution, pro-liberty site. Our constitution took a couple big hits this week, but there is no way we should surrender or give up the fight. America is and always has been a Judeo-Christian nation. We believe our unalienable rights are bestowed upon us by our Creator and cannot be lawfully removed by a godless socialist/fascist government gone awry. We will fight on. As long as God gives me breath, I will fight to defend our Constitution. As the man said, give me liberty or give me death!

If the physician networks for plans sold on the health law’s online insurance exchanges were T-shirts, more than 40 percent would be size X-small or small. That’s the takeaway from a new study that analyzed nearly 400 physician networks in silver-level plans sold around the country in 2014. The study labeled 11 percent of plans “extra small” because they covered fewer than 10 percent of physicians in a plan’s region. Another 30 percent were “small,” meaning they covered between 10 and 25 percent of physicians. Just 11 percent of plans were classified as “extra large” because they covered at least...

Multnomah County has the state's highest percentage of global warming believers, according to new figures from Yale University. According to the university's national climate change opinions map, 74 percent of residents believe global warming is happening, while 13 percent don't buy it. The newly released figures are based on a complex statistical analysis of public perceptions about climate change in every state, congressional district and county across the country. Washington, D.C. residents led the nation in climate change affirmation, with 81 percent of residents. Floridians' title as the nation's biggest climate change deniers. Curious what your neighbors think about global...

Dr. Gary Dee figured the state’s fiscal troubles would lead radiologists like him to face a cut in their Medicaid payment rates. But he wasn’t anticipating the 42.5 percent cut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration imposed this spring. Now, Dee’s private practice has stopped taking new Medicaid patients. “The reimbursement is to the point where we can’t take care of these patients. They’re going to lose access,” said Dee, president of MidState Radiology Associates in Meriden. The result is that it could become harder for the more than 725,000 state residents with Medicaid to find specialists to treat them, undermining...