Free Republic

Mark Krikorian and Frank Sharry talked about the prospects for immigration reform in the Republican-led 114th Congress, which would convene January 6, 2015, and the effect of President Obama’s executive action on the issue.

Tyler Durden 12/01/2014 Last week, total US debt was a meager $17,963,753,617,957.26. Two days later, as updated today, on Black Friday, total outstanding US public debt just hit a new historic level which probably would be better associated with a red color: as of the last work day of November, total US public debt just surpassed $18 trillion for the first time, or $18,005,549,328,561.45 to be precise, of which debt held by the public rose to $12,922,681,725,432.94, an increase of $32 billion in one day.(snip)

Entitled: More than one-third of all wages and salaries in this country are actually government handouts. We should be alarmed that we've become a nation of dependents. Using data mined from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, TrimTabs Investment Research has found that 35% of wages and salaries this year will be in the form of a government payment. That's up sharply from 2000, when it was 21%, which is more than double the rate — 10% — of 1960. The payouts are primarily Social Security and Medicare benefits, and unemployment checks. But they are not limited to those programs. In...

A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics with the dry title, "Changing Patterns of Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States," contains startling news: births to single mothers, which had leveled off in the early 2000s, have risen sharply in recent years. In 2007, nearly 40 percent of all babies born in the United States were born to single women, up from 34 percent in 2002. Some sociologists believe we have reached a tipping point: the link between marriage and parenthood is no longer the norm. Why is this happening, and what does it mean for women, children,...

ALCATRAZ ISLAND, United States (AFP) - A tribal chant rose from a thousands-strong prayer circle on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay as Native Americans held a sunrise "Unthanksgiving Day" ceremony. "What we call it is Unthanksgiving," Bear Lincoln of the Wailikie Tribe told AFP as he waved burning sage to purify the area and ward off evil spirits. "It was the saddest day for us. It was a big mistake for us to help the Pilgrims survive that first winter. They betrayed us once they got their strength." Traditional Thanksgiving feasting in the United States is a tribute to...

STRUGGLE FOR ACCORD - TRIBE, GOVERNOR DIFFER ON JURISDICTION By Ryan Blessing and Ryan McBride - The Sun Staff CHARLESTOWN - The Narragansett Indian Tribe planned to reopen its controversial tax-free smoke shop this morning, while the state will go to court to get a permanent restraining order preventing the move. The smoke shop trailer on Route 2 was the epicenter of a violent confrontation between tribal members and Rhode Island State Police Monday afternoon. Eight tribal members including Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas and First Tribal Councilman Randy Noka were arrested in the state police raid and eight people were...