Free Republic

A quarter-century ago, there were 56 teenagers in the labor force for every “limited service” restaurant — that is, the kind where you order at the counter. Today, there are fewer than half as many, which is a reflection both of teenagers’ decreasing work force participation and of the explosive growth in restaurants. But in an industry where cheap labor is an essential component in providing inexpensive food, a shortage of workers is changing the equation upon which fast-food places have long relied. This can be seen in rising wages, in a growth of incentives, and in the sometimes odd...

The CNN crew had a jolly old time this morning, mocking President Trump for his penchant for using his cellphone, and analogizing him to a recalcitrant teenage girl. Chris Cuomo led the charge, advising chief of staff John Kelly to say to Trump: “Look, we let you use this phone. It’s a privilege. It’s not a right. And if you don’t use it the right way, we’re going to take it from you.” Added Alisyn Camerota, “and you’re going to be grounded.” Get the rest of the story and view the video here.

Last Saturday hundreds of thousands of high schoolers gathered across the country in a “March for Our Lives” rally. Organized and financed by anti-gun nuts and other left-wing outfits, and ornamented with Hollywood celebrities like George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey, the spectacle was filled with the emotional exhibitionism and juvenile policy recommendations one would expect from the most pampered and worst-educated cohort of young people in American history––the perfect shock troops for progressive propaganda. Progressivism, like its totalitarian cousins, is an ideology of melodrama and moral exhibitionism. The complexity and mystery of a flawed human nature and its actions are...

With all the chaos going on in this country after the Parkland, Fla. massacre, and the gun control push by the Parkland children, the mainstream media, and the Russia probe, if Republicans retain control of the Senate and House in November and add governorships and state legislative seats, do you see the teenagers and liberals acting up after the election, protesting on the streets again?

The young people who have come forward to call for gun control in the wake of the mass shooting at their high school in Parkland, Fla., are challenging the tiresome stereotype of American kids as indolent narcissists whose brains have been addled by smartphones. They offer an inspiring example of thoughtful, eloquent protest. Unfortunately, when it comes to electing lawmakers whose decisions about gun control and other issues affect their lives, these high schoolers lack any real power. This needs to change: The federal voting age in the United States should be lowered from 18 to 16. Skeptics will no...

While browsing Twitter last week, I suddenly noticed a barrage of tweets hailing Dana Loesch’s performance at CNN’s town hall meeting on gun control. Curious, I headed to YouTube to see it. Loesch, indeed, defended the Second Amendment with tact and poise, but what struck me most as I watched the event wasn’t her performance but the vicious behavior of the crowd. Like a mob, the audience repeatedly heckled Loesch – and Senator Marco Rubio before her – for opposing gun control of any kind. It even booed Loesch for arguing that some rape victims would have loved to have...

British 15-year-old gained access to intelligence operations in Afghanistan and Iran by pretending to be head of CIA, court hears A 15-year-old gained access to plans for intelligence operations in Afghanistan and Iran by pretending to be the head of the CIA to gain access to his computers, a court has heard. From the bedroom of the Leicestershire home he shared with his mother, Kane Gamble used “social engineering” – where a person builds up a picture of information and uses it manipulate others into handing over more – to access the personal and work accounts of some of America's...

Five teenagers from Michigan have been charged with second-degree murder after being accused of throwing a rock off an overpass that killed a man, according to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. Kenneth White, 32, was a passenger in a van that was traveling along I-75 near Flint, Michigan, on the night of October 18, when a 6-pound rock smashed through the windshield of the vehicle, fatally injuring him. White was struck in the face and head, and the rock ricocheted to his chest, causing him to lose consciousness, according to Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell. The driver told police he...

Maybe it’s because I’m so damn entertaining and knowledgeable. Maybe it’s because I provide so much love and attention. Maybe I AM Supermum. Who knows? Is there a magic mum formula, a secret to having two kids who DON’T do Facebook? Or Instagram? Or Twitter? Who aren’t self-obsessed selfie senders? Who aren’t vloggers ? They used to do some of them. USED to, mind. It’s the latest teenage trend as far as social media’s concerned.(snip) Apparently two-thirds of teens are sick of social media, with some going as far as to say they wouldn’t mind if it had never been...

Many 18-year-olds are registered for their first semester of college classes, but very few of them are registered to vote. As adults in a democracy, young people have this great privilege and responsibility, yet very few take advantage of the opportunity. Their disregard is not the result of indifference or immaturity, but of an overwhelming amount of new responsibilities. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 10 (ACA 10) is a bipartisan constitutional amendment that would lower the voting age from 18 to 17 in California. This may seem like a minor shift, but it would be pivotal in youth turnout for elections. At...

Rabat – Fifteen minors who sexually assaulted a donkey in the small rural town of Sidi Kamel in the communal providence of Sidi Kacem have been treated for rabies infections received from the animal. The sexually frustrated children and teenagers stayed at the Mechraa Belksiri Hospital for one week to receive rabies vaccinations after the animal transmitted the disease to them, explained Moroccan daily Al Akhbar in its August 10 edition. The incident has put the families of these fifteen young people into distress and horror, reports the daily.

Watch this video, of this young man, in the Antifa cape or flag, debating a conservative protester in Portland, Ore. at some Pride LGBT event. Antifa and the man, Joey Gibson, get into a argument.

More than 9 in 10 new HIV cases among young men and boys ages 13 to 24 in the U.S. occur among homosexuals and bisexuals, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The April 25 CDC report, “HIV Among Gay and Bisexual Men,” offers stark evidence of the extreme health risks associated with male homosexual sex, in particular receptive anal sex. Below are some of its findings: — Gay and bisexual men aged 13 to 24 accounted for an estimated 92 percent of new HIV diagnoses among all men in their age group...

More than 36 percent of teenage girls in America are depressed or have suffered a recent major depressive episode, according to a study published in Translational Psychiatry. For boys, the rate is 13.6 percent. What are we doing to the kids? It isn't just one study. Research throughout the last several decades has shown a consistent pattern of rising anxiety, depression, suicide and suicide attempts among American adolescents. A 2001 paper published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis found that the suicide rate tripled between 1950 and 1990. The rise in depression and other psychological suffering cannot be written off...

This post from Sam Harris, an entrepreneur, engineer, and former data scientist at the U.S. Air Force, originally appeared on Quora as an answer to the question, "Is the United States on the brink of a political revolution?" No. We don't have enough teenagers. When I was an officer in the Air Force, I was a data scientist, and at one point we were tasked with determining what level of violence in Iraq could be considered "normal" so that we could declare victory and leave with dignity. Obviously, the base level of violence in Iraq would be higher than in...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A new state report says scores of 17-year-olds voted illegally in nearly 30 Wisconsin counties during last spring's presidential primary. The Wisconsin Elections Commission report examined referrals municipal clerks made to prosecutors following the 2016 spring primary and general elections. The referrals included at least 60 cases of 17-year-olds voting in the April primary in 29 counties. The report doesn't track whether charges were filed. The report notes messages were spreading on social media during the primary season that 17-year-olds were eligible to vote if they turned 18 by the November election. That's not the case...

Ben Keita, an 18-year-old black Muslim, was missing for months. His body, which was found hanging from a tree, hints at a possible hate crime. Keita was first reported missing in November, just months prior to his graduation from Lake Stevens High School, where he dreamed of working in the medical field, according to his father, Ibrahima Keita. Roughly a month after he disappeared without having taken his car, wallet, or phone, his body was found in the woods near his home, hanging from a tree. KUOW reports that Keita’s death was initially ruled a suicide, but the cause of...

Lawyers for billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein once claimed he co-founded the Clinton Foundation as they touted his relationship with the former president during plea negotiations. In an attempt to boost Epstein's image before he was sentenced for soliciting an underage girl for prostitution in 2008, his attorneys tried to emphasize his close ties with Bill Clinton, Fox News reports. A July 2007 letter to the South Florida State U.S. Attorney's office, written by lawyers Alan Dershowitz and Gerald Lefcourt, claimed that Epstein had been part of the original group that set up the Foundation's Clinton Global Initiative, focusing on...

An exhibition by US photographer Jock Sturges, best known for his works featuring teenage nudity, has been shut down in Moscow after some protesters blocked the venue and accused the artist of shooting child pornography. Camouflaged men, representing the NGO Officers of Russia, turned up at the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography on Sunday afternoon. They blocked the entrance to the building, saying they were going to evaluate the contents of the exhibition for “pedophilic” contents.

It emerged yesterday that Kadiza Sultana, who was one of three schoolgirls from east London who fled to Syria last year, has been killed, reportedly in an airstrike....Kadiza married an American IS fighter of Somali origin, who was killed while fighting the Russian-backed Syrian forces. Several months after arriving, the three girls were trained for 'special missions' - prompting fears they were to be used as suicide bombers....The Bethnal Green schoolgirls are among more than 800 Britons who have left the UK to join IS...It is thought that at least 250 have since returned. Some have faced prosecution on arrival...