Free Republic

Between an economic recession and civil unrest in every corner of the country, perhaps it should come as no surprise to see heated exchanges between public officials on national television. In a spirited parley on Wednesday with Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) delivered a much-needed condemnation of the political elite and the hubris Americans have grown so tired of hearing from Washington. “It is a fatal conceit to believe any one person or group of people has the knowledge necessary to direct an economy or dictate public health behavior,”...

Montclair State University officials violated the freedom of speech of a group of its students by shutting down a peaceful gun rights demonstration on campus last year, a lawsuit filed Wednesday claimed.MSU sophomore Mena Botros, president of Young Americans for Liberty, and two fellow students on Sept. 10, 2019 donned orange jumpsuits and posed as criminals while holding signs mockingly supporting “gun-free zones," according to the lawsuit.Some of the signs stated "every civilian gun is a threat” and “criminals for gun free zones.”Though the students were “peacefully expressing their ideas in a common outdoor area of campus,” a university police...

Four students, none of whom could be older than 22, smiled for a photo. Dressed like slick, young L.A. professionals, they struck poses that wouldn’t be out of place in an Instagram post. But upon closer inspection, it is clear that these students were criticizing the new federal guidance that allows transgender people to use bathrooms of their choice. “There are only two genders,” one sign read. “Get your agenda out of my restroom” the other read. And finally, “Transgenderism is a mental disorder.” The women are members of the Bruin Republicans, attending an event at UCSB held by Young...

The very moment that Ron Paul won the straw poll, I was handed a press release from Young Americans for Freedom: "NATION'S OLDEST CONSERVATIVE/LIBERTARIAN ACTIVIST GROUP EXPELS RON PAUL FROM ADVISORY BOARD." YAF's senior national director Aaron Marks was quoted saying Paul was "clearly off his meds," and that YAF was "more aligned with Obama" than Paul on national security. I walked outside to celebrating members of Paul's Young Americans for Liberty. They interrupted hugs and high-fives to have a laugh at this. "Why be this inflammatory?" laughed Jeff Frazee, executive director of YAL. "It's a publicity stunt, but it's...

Last week a new bill was introduced in the Senate to audit the Federal Reserve. Some backers of my bill HR1207 and the existing Senate companion bill S.604 were a little miffed at this, but depending on how you think about it, this new legislation poses no great threat to our efforts. With the economy in shambles, people are looking for answers - not just because of lost savings on Wall Street, but because of lost houses on Main Street. Because of the many problems we face, the Federal Reserve and its powers over the economy have come under scrutiny....

Fresh from the introduction of HR1207, a bill to audit the Federal Reserve, Reps. Bachmann and Paul arrived at Northrop to paint a portrait of financial dystopia where “100 percent of your paycheck is being spoken for.” Bachmann predicts this will happen some time around 2050. Her voice rising to a high-pitched chant, she ticked off the list of financial aggressors: “Income tax, property tax, gas tax, sales tax—everytime-you-turn-around tax!” Meanwhile, over at the United Nations (the very mention of which drew a chorus of boos), they’ll likely work with China and Japan to “insist on replacing the American dollar...

Republicans would often say that no matter how far their senators, congressmen and latter-day president strayed from real conservative values, it was the various state governors who were gloriously holding the line against taxes, spending and other big government initiatives that originated from the left but were cheerfully adopted by the right. That is, until this week. GOP governors from all over the country have begun lobbying for the passage of Obama’s $819 billion spending plan and, naturally, demanding their own cut. And these aren’t just wishy-washy moderates such as Arnold Schwarzenegger or Charlie Crist, but even those “conservatives” regaled...

President Obama on Friday announced he would be drawing down the troop level in Iraq. This was what we had all been waiting for, right? After all, it was dissatisfaction with Bush’s war that kick-started the Democratic resurgence in 2006 and helped the Democrats win overwhelming victories in 2008. But aside from a little chattering here and there, most people’s response seemed to be, “Oh yeah, that war,” before changing the channel to see what’s on “The Tyra Banks Show.” True, Obama still plans to leave 50,000 troops in the country indefinitely. That’s roughly equivalent to the entire population of...

A specter is haunting America — the specter of capitalism. From the boardrooms of failed bankers turned shameless mendicants, to the empty banter of the pundit class, even to that den of mediocrity called Capitol Hill, a voice long silenced is making itself heard, and not a moment too soon. But we always hear that capitalism has been tried and failed, that this recession demonstrates the irresponsibility of the laissez-faire Bush administration, and that what we need now is more, responsible government intervention. Where to begin? Well, a recent study by Walter Williams of George Mason University shows that between...