Free Republic

So Brussels is on lockdown due to the heightened terror threat. Trains have been canceled, people have been told to stay away from crowded areas, meaning that the center is deserted and sporting events have been postponed. It's no surprise really, because about half a mile northwest of Brussels' city center lies the shabby suburb of Molenbeek. It is one of Brussels' nineteen districts. This run down area of the Belgian capital has become the epicenter of a media storm during the past week as a number of the terrorists behind the appalling Paris attacks came from Molenbeek. [...] In...

WASHINGTON -- So it has come to this. The party that once nominated Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Harry S. Truman to win the presidency -- the party that once nominated men of the stature of Adlai Stevenson and Hubert Humphrey to contest the presidency -- is now left with the Three Stooges vying for the highest office in the land. There they stood on a stage in Des Moines, Iowa last Saturday night. The Republican Party had put up eight plausible presidential candidates on a stage on Nov. 10. They even had a second tier debate a...

Following on the heels of the Swedish foreign minister, the chairman of the Dutch Socialist Party in the Netherlands justified the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists who conducted Saturday's brutal attacks in Paris that left 129 dead, blaming it on "frustration" at Israel. According to Jan Marijnissen, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs somehow ignited the attack on French civilians at cafes, show venues, soccer stadiums and restaurants. "Their behavior eventually is connected also to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," claimed Marijnissen in an interview with the Dutch NPO Radio1 on Monday. ...

Hillary Clinton and the other Democratic presidential candidates are being criticized for declining to use the words "radical Islam" during Saturday night's debate, following the deadly terror attacks in Paris. Former Secretary of State Clinton, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin '’Malley declined to use the words after being asked during the CBS debate whether they would agree with GOP presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio saying, "We are at war with radical Islam." The front-running Clinton said using the term "radical Islam" would be "painting with too broad a brush." She also said the term was "not...

A Democratic Party presidential debate on CBS drew the smallest audience thus far among the series of primary debates - not much surprise given its Saturday-night slot. It scored a 1.5 rating in adults 18-49 and 7.22 million viewers. By comparison, the first Democratic debate on CNN in October brought in a 3.4 rating and more than 15 million viewers.

In the very midst of the Paris bloodbath Friday night, Salon Magazine published a shameful piece suggesting that the blame for such horrific terrorist attacks falls on the “incendiary rhetoric” of America’s conservative movement and “right-wing media” for using strong language against progressives.Such rhetoric, Salon warned, “does not float in the ether of the public discourse, harmless and unacknowledged. No, it does in fact lead to action.”In a bizarre comparison, the author of the rambling essay, Chauncey Devega, said that conservative criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement necessarily leads to violent uprisings like the one in Paris, and therefore...

Liberal commentator Peter Beinart offered a harsh critique of all the Democratic candidates’ answers on terrorism during the debate Saturday night, saying they did not offer any tangible solutions to defeating the Islamic State.“I say this as a liberal, I would be concerned as a Democrat about the entire terrorism part of this debate,” Beinart said.The crux of Beinart’s argument is that Republicans offer a clearer, more decisive vision for defeating the Islamic State than all three Democratic candidates.“The Republican line, whatever you think about it, is very clear. It’s that we left Iraq, the terrorists filled a vacuum, we...

Saturday nights are for parties, friends, and trips to the movies. Politics? Hardly. Yet, the Democratic National Committee decided to schedule the second Democratic presidential debate for tonight in Iowa. Because of the stunning tragedy in Paris, the debate discussion has been modified to focus largely on foreign policy and national security. The RNC, unsurprisingly, believes the Democrats' decision to host a debate on the weekend is an obvious attempt to shield Hillary Clinton from any kind of challenge on her path to the primary. Here's Communications Director Sean Spicer's take on it: If a tree falls in the middle...

The Democratic Party presidential candidates will hold a two hour long debate Saturday starting at 9 p.m. EST, 6 p.m. PST at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The debate will be broadcast by CBS News and can be viewed on over-the-air CBS television and radio affiliates as well as various online streaming sources. The candidates: Former Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of New York. Co-hosting the debate are CBS News, the Des Moines Register and CBS affiliate KCCI-TV. Debate moderator: CBS News Face the Nation host John...

A gang culture of impunity and stricter gun control has led to off-duty police officers being killed for their weapons, motorbikes and even mobile phones.Not even the police are safe in Venezuela. In a country which saw 24,000 murders recorded in 2013 and whose capital city Caracas was runner-up for murder capital of the world, 252 security officers have been killed in the country from January until October this year, in most cases simply because they were carrying something valuable -a gun. [..]When President Maduro launched a disarmament plan in 2014, and security forces were also ordered to destroy weapons...

In days of yore the Lie was 'No one is talking about Confiscation', but something has changed as of late. Such talk is now common amongst the national Socialist elite despite the lack of a shooting being prevalent in the media. It is axiomatic that one does not call for confiscation until its foundational steps are in place: Intergalactic Background Checks and Registration. The reason should be clear to everyone, people need to be fooled into registering their firearms with the solemn promise that it won't lead to confiscation. This was the case in the UK for example, were the...

Gates wants giant carbon tax, says government 'somewhat inept' The world’s richest man thinks only socialism – and skyrocketing gas prices – can save the world from climate change. Bill Gates, whose net worth is roughly $80 billion, told the Atlantic for its November issue that only massive intervention by world governments can head off environmental disaster. “There’s no fortune to be made. Even if you have a new energy source that costs the same as today’s and emits no CO2, it will be uncertain compared with what’s tried-and-true and already operating at unbelievable scale and has gotten through all...

We've been a fed a myth about heroic individuals -- and that allows the 1 percent to prosper at everyone's expense. Americans have been deceived by the notion that individual desires preempt the needs of society; by the Ayn-Rand/Reagan/Thatcher aversion to government regulation; by the distorted image of 'freedom' as winner-take-all capitalism; by the assurance that the benefits of greed will spread downwards to everyone. Our current capitalist-driven inequalities will only be rectified when people realize that a strong community makes successful individuals, not the other way around. These are a few of the ways we would benefit with a...

<p>Germany has a hate problem -- one that is growing.</p>

"Nazi is described as a right wing organization, Yet their were Socialists [sic]. They were left. But Chuck. But My BUTT." "National Socialist German Workers' Party. Nazi Party. Hitler. Need I go on?" "Maybe better. Democrats don't value the country. They value the power of Government. There is a difference ya know." "You want to know how much power our Government has over our lives? Just make the suggestion we shut it down. That's how much.LIBERTY we have." "While European countries, one by one, are dying on the vine, Democrats insist we become more like them. Insane!"

<p>There’s really only one way Debbie Wasserman Schultz makes headlines, and you can be sure it isn’t by touting her virtually nonexistent success rate. No, if Debbie is in the news, it’s because she’s said or done something to embarrass herself, her party, or her supporters.</p>

Former Sen. Rick Santorum said on the radio Wednesday that the first Democratic debate revealed all the candidates to be socialists. He made the comments in response to a question about an exchange on capitalism between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Clinton said at the Democratic debate Tuesday that at times we have to “save capitalism from itself” and that corporations should share more of their profits with workers. “I’ve been around it for a long time,” Santorum, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, said of the debate in an interview with Rose Unplugged on AM1250 The Answer....

Columnist and author of “‘A Disgrace to the Profession‘” Mark Steyn argued, “things that would have been insane in the Bill Clinton era Democrat Party, are now conventional wisdom” and the other Democratic candidates are “ready to join” Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) “on the socialist ledge” on Wednesday’s “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel.

To better advance their causes, liberals should follow these modest Ten Commandments to live the rather "progressive" lives that they advocate for the rest of us. The best way for liberals to advance their various causes would be to take a pledge to live the rather progressive lives that they advocate. Here are a modest Ten Commandments to lend them credibility in the eyes of the American people. For the entire list: http://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/liberals-ten-commandments/

First Sanders, now Trumka—are there any capitalists left on the left? On the most recent Meet the Press, Bernie Sanders made news when Chuck Todd asked him if he was a capitalist. "No," shot back Sanders, "I'm a democratic socialist." Mark Halperin was obviously taken enough by the question as to pose it on today's With All Due Respect to Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO. "No, I'm a trade unionist, quite frankly," retorted Trumka. When Halperin tried to pursue the issue, Trumka laughed it off, calling it a "silly question." Silly? The biggest union boss in America opposes the...