Free Republic

Since its birth, the United States has grappled with the problem of an over-mighty financial sector. With the exception of Alexander Hamilton, the Founders' vision was of a republic of self-reliant farmers and small-town tradesmen. The last thing they wanted was for New York to become the London of the New World—a mammon-worshiping metropolis in which financial capital and political capital were rolled into one. That was why there was such resistance to creating a central bank, and why—despite two attempts—we have no Bank of the United States to match the Bank of England. That was why populists railed against...

While the Obama administration has been denying that so-called death panels are planned as part of the public option, it is undeniable that these panels exist in the UK and have resulted in premature deaths for non-terminal patients: “Forecasting death is an inexact science,” they say. Patients are being diagnosed as being close to death “without regard to the fact that the diagnosis could be wrong. As a result a national wave of discontent is building up, as family and friends witness the denial of fluids and food to patients.” Horrific individual cases came to light in recent weeks, including...

Video at the link. Very well done, good statements from sherrifs on the border.

CARACAS — Amid rising tensions with neighboring Colombia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced late Friday that his country would soon take delivery of Russian-made missiles with a range of 300 kilometers (185 miles). "We have signed some agreements with Russia. Soon we will begin receiving some missiles," Chavez said during a meeting with supporters in front of the presidential palace. He underscored the reliability of the Russian weaponry, but stressed that his country had "no plans to attack anybody." But the announcement came amid rising tension between Caracas and Bogota over Colombia's decision to allow the United States access to...

The editors of The Fashion Time Magazine present this week’s glamour girls, the most couture-pleasing, stylishly appealing, best dressed celebs that garnered our attention. Charlize Theron attended the Fashion Night Out bash held at the Dior Boutique. The Oscar winning actress opted for a light blue Dior dress and Dior heels.

His Serene Highness, the Emperor Hussein, has a song in his heart. I woke up this morning with a song on my lips. Well, not exactly a song — more like a tune, a song without words. I’m sure you know it. It goes something like this: ha-huh-ha-huh-ha-huh-ha-HUH . . . ha-huh-ha-huh-ha-huh-ha-huh . . . ha-huh-ha-huh-ha-huh-ha-HUH . . . ha-huh-ha-huh-ha-huh-ha-huh . . . I’m referring, of course, to the music of His Serene Highness, the Emperor Barack Hussein Obama II, who after a brief two-week absence from the national scene that more or less coincided with the beginning of Ramadan...

If you have a look at the world of today from an economic point of view, you'll quickly find out that the Nordic countries (Scandinavia + Finland) is the richest part of the Globe (mesured by nominal GDP per Capita). This is not a matter of coincidence and neither is it a matter of oil, at least not to a large extent. For instance, the Danes earn the highest salaries on Earth and very few of them work for oil companies. The Nordic countries are immensely wealthy because we focus on things in life like R&D, economic growth, education, infrastructure,...

Victoria police are appealing for the public's help in apprehending a man who stabbed and seriously injured a newlywed after he'd broken into her home Wednesday morning. Jessica Ziakin, 26, was awakened at about 4 a.m. PT by the sound of an intruder and confronted a man, who then stabbed her in the leg, severing an artery, Victoria police said Friday. The woman's husband of less than a month heard her screams and grabbed the man, but let him go when he saw his wife bleeding heavily. The suspect got away but left his shoes behind, police said. Police have...

Jim Hryekewicz, in a Sept. 7, column in the Star-Telegram, recounts why the city of Chicago could be the next significant Second Amendment battleground. “Otis McDonald is a great American,” he writes. “In the 1960s, he wore an Army uniform and served with distinction. He then moved home to Chicago were he began a family. Meanwhile, he busied himself during the days with work at his local union. Eventually, he led the effort to integrate his union and ended up as president of the union. “In recent years, McDonald looked around Chicago and decided that he could do something about...

A Claymont woman was arrested for allegedly punching a gas station clerk in the face and holding a pair of scissors to his throat in a dispute over how much money she had given him. Manoj Moda, the clerk at the Country Farms on West Newport Pike, told police that Vickie Gambrell, 53, asked for $20 of gas, but only gave him a $1 bill. The clerk said the Grambrell, certain that she had given him a $20 bill, screamed at him when he refused to give her the $20 back. “I thought he was trying to take my $20...

A recent United Nations report advocates giving mandatory instruction in masturbation to children as young as 5. "Sexuality education is part of the duty of care of education and health authorities and institutions," according to the U.N. Entitled "International Guidelines on Sexuality Education," the document is published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO. The entire document is a manifesto for governments to assume control over the "sexual education" of children, to inculcate in them politically correct ideas about sex and sexual politics, and to undermine and marginalize their parents. Among the "key stakeholders" in this...

Findings from a nationwide study reveal that clergy sexual misconduct is more prevalent than many people believe.According to research by Baylor University, 3.1 percent of adult women who attend religious services at least once a month have been victims of clergy sexual misconduct since turning 18. In other words, seven women in every congregation of 400 adults have been victimized.Ninety-two percent of the sexual advances were made in secret and 67 percent of the offenders were married to someone else at the time of the advance."Because many people are familiar with some of the high-profile cases of sexual misconduct, most...

So why can’t the silver-tongued post-partisan healer seal the deal on this health-care business? Surely it should be the work of moments for the greatest orator in American history to whip up a little medicinal Gettysburg, a touch of Henry V-in-the-Agincourt-casualty-tent, and put this thing away. Yet there he was the other night with the usual leaden medley of tinny grandiosity (all the this-is-the-moment, now-is-the-hour stuff), slippery reassurances (don’t worry, you won’t be “required” to change your present health arrangements), imputations of bad faith to anyone who takes a different view (they’re playing “games”), and the copper-bottomed guarantee that you...

As Americans commemorate the eighth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, many of us are conscious of another symbol of the war on terror: the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, whose fate is still uncertain. If the crumbling twin towers conjure memories of America's shock and pain, Guantanamo is a monument to our nation's reaction after 9/11—and the moral dilemmas we face in this difficult new era.

Here is video from Hannity last night where Sean Hannity talked with the organizers of the "Tea Party Express" movement which has arrived in Washington, D.C. A huge "March on Washington" Rally will be held there today. Hannity talked with organizers Mark Williams, Amy Kremer, and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey. Williams said their largest crowd thus far has been in Illinois, just outside Chicago, where the folks there said they rallied because "they know Obama." The "Tea Party Express" has stopped in 35 cities in 16 states. Hannity asked them how many they expected to attend the March...

In a move late Friday, the White House announced two key decisions that have a broad impact and represent a weakening shift within US foreign policy. In consecutive announcements the White House agreed to meet North Korean demands that the US diplomats negotiate with North Korea on a nation-to-nation basis without the presence of the other members of the six-party talks. In addition the State Department also accepted Iranian demands that the United States and a contingency of 5 European nations hold diplomatic negotiations upon a wide range of topics that will not include the dismantling of Iran's nuclear program....

The Rev. Dennis J. Rocheford, 60, who became pastor at St. Ann Parish in North Oxford July 1, jumped to his death in Rhode Island yesterday morning, according to Rhode Island State Police. “Our focus is on prayers for him, for his family and for his friends,” Raymond L. Delisle, spokesman for the Diocese of Worcester, said this morning. Rev. Rocheford, a longtime military chaplain, was on leave from St. Ann's and also had been serving at the Chapel of Hope at the Navy Base in Newport, R.I., according to Mr. Delisle. About 8 a.m. yesterday, state police in...

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- In what was slated to be the site of a new 122-room hotel, archaeologists say they have discovered one of the world's oldest synagogues in Northern Israel. The site, which was unearthed as preparations were being made for construction of the hotel near the Sea of Galilee, is believed to date back some 2000 years from 50BCE to 100CE. In the middle of the 120 square meter main hall of the synagogue archaeologists discovered an unusual stone carved with a seven branched menorah . "We are dealing with an exciting and unique find," said excavation director and...

TOKYO (Reuters) - Proposals by Japan's new ruling party to slash greenhouse gas emissions may trigger a shake-out in smokestack industries like paper, cement and steel, but boost firms investing in solar and other green technologies. A Democratic Party (DPJ) pledge to cut emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 is one of several proposals causing a stir across businesses. Another is a plan aimed at banning most temporary factory workers. Corporate executives say that could hit profits and push more investment overseas.

"The White House tonight is providing the below clarification on what the president's health-care proposals would mean..." "Undocumented immigrants would be able to buy insurance in the non-exchange private market, just as they do today. That market will shrink as the exchange takes hold" but it will still exist and will be subject to reforms such as the bans on pre-existing conditions and caps.