Free Republic

Start the video at 28:29. This woman blames Baltimore riots entirely on decades of rats and the fatherless homes they caused.

Lynn Parramore: How would you describe the problem of Too Big to Fail banks. Whey does it matter to an ordinary person? Anat Admati: Too Big to Fail is a license for recklessness. These institutions defy notions of fairness, accountability, and responsibility. They are the largest, most complex, and most indebted corporations in the entire economy. We all have to be really alarmed by the fact that not only do we still have such institutions, but many of them are ever-larger and more complex and at least as dangerous, if not more so, than they were before the financial crisis....

During a large rally in front of Baltimore’s City Hall, a young man introduced as “Brother Rose,” in winding and sometimes incoherent speech, praised the burning of a CVS store at the corner of Pennsylvania and North Avenues. “America didn’t care until we started affecting things they profit from… What we saying, ‘Let’s get you out of our communities.’” He also said, “Without us running (unintelligible) Mondawmin Mall [the site of mass looting on Monday], taking back from the stores that have taken our dollars for how long, and not giving back to the community in any type of way....

Emeka Mbadiwe is a youth director with a much-needed message for young black males. After spending a substantial amount of time wondering how many people would still be alive today if they had not been killed while resisting arrest, he issued this polarizing message:

On the eve of His death, knowing that He was about to depart from His friends, Jesus said to them: “Remain in Me, as I remain in you.” How would that be possible?Gospel (Read Jn 15:1-8) Our reading today comes from a section of St. John’s Gospel that is often called “the Last Supper discourse.”   After He washed the disciples’ feet, Jesus spoke at length with them in a most serious manner. This was straight talk; no more parables. We should be keenly interested in every word He had to say.He begins with a dramatic statement: “I am the...

Milan has been waiting since 2008 for this day and now it has finally come—but takeoff for the World Expo 2015 looks to be overshadowed by violent protests. The turnstiles and doors officially opened on Friday in Italy's commercial and fashion capital. But opening day excitement for the six-month-long commercial event wasn't necessarily present among the crowds on Friday. The wet weather may have dampened the number of visitors to the event on its first day—with noticeably empty entrances and security checkpoints. Meanwhile, thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Milan behind a banner reading "No Expo, Eat the...

Though the past winter was the hottest on record, it was chilly enough on the East Coast to send seasonal sheets of ice creeping across the Great Lakes. Now that that ice has cleared with spring, Lake Michigan is clear enough that shipwrecks lying on the lake bottom can be seen from the air. The U.S. Coast Guard Air Station in Traverse City noted the crystal clear water conditions and the lost ships during a routine patrol. Last week, they posted a handful of pictures to their Facebook page. The images come from the area near Sleeping Bear Point known...

Sunday on Fox News Channel’s “MediaBuzz,” “Clinton Cash” author Peter Schweizer said he is motivated by making sure the “wealth accumulation by elected officials” is legitimate. When asked if he felt the mainstream media was giving him a harder time because he is going after the Clintons? Schweizer said, “I think there’s a certain element of that, yes. I think part of it is because there have been a lot of scandal books, so-called scandal books in the past. But I also think there’s this sense that they’re looking for political motivation in what I’m doing. And, you know, I...

Federal Election Commission chair Ann Ravel told the New York Times Sunday that she has “largely given up hope of reining in abuses in the 2016 presidential campaign.”“The likelihood of the laws being enforced is slim,” she said. “I never want to give up, but I’m not under any illusions. People think the F.E.C. is dysfunctional. It’s worse than dysfunctional.”This obviously reflects the deluge of spending since the Citizens United decision. But per the Times it is also indicative of the partisan split between the FEC board members, who continually deadlock in 3-3 votes. This leaves the commission ineffective...

Electronic music pioneer Moby (real name Richard Melville Hall) went on quite the Twitter tirade on Saturday, railing against “racist, xenophobic, ignorant” Republicans who “support war” and “hate immigrants.” The musician, who has campaigned for and written open letters to President Obama, began his rant in standard fashion, calling Republicans “loathsome” and linking to a Los Angeles Times article about NASA funding:

HE BEST AGE to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation is a matter of discussion in my diocese, as it is in many others. There are advocates for quite a wide range of ages, from as early as Baptism to the latter years of high school. Reasonable arguments can be made in favor of almost any age between these two mileposts. But which age is best? Anyone involved in Catholic education/catechesis will know the struggle it is to keep young people in religious education after their Confirmation. A common tactic in many local Churches has been to raise the age at...

As throngs of Kentucky Derby-goers packed Churchill Downs on Saturday, Kentucky Democrats are enjoying another race that could come down to the wire later this month: the Republican gubernatorial primary. “It’s a lot of fun,” House Speaker Greg Stumbo said of the four-way GOP primary. Gov. Steve Beshear added: “They’re having a good time it looks like among the four of them going back and forth.” This year’s race for the governorship is an oddity, with only Attorney General Jack Conway seeking the Democratic nomination among prominent contenders after a rich history of competitive primaries when that office is open....

This is too funny, a dog owner has trained her dog to lower the level of noise when it barks. http://faithtap.com/2870/dog-barks-softly/?v=1&m=1

Dave Miceli doesn't know me from a hole in the ground, but he's my new hero. Anyone that can dredge up the guts to teach in Baltimore's public schools automatically becomes a candidate for hero status in my book, especially if said anyone has taught in these schools for 20 years, as Miceli has. But it was his bold, insightful, no-punches-pulled letter to the editors of the July 15 edition of the Baltimore Sun that put Miceli on my hero's list. I'm reprinting that letter in its entirety."How dare you accuse, through implication or otherwise, that the need for 'better...

Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” PBS host Tavis Smiley said “uprisings and riots” are the “new normal” and “will happen a lot more” unless America addresses poverty in the inner city which he said is becoming a national security problem. Smiley said, “What do we see in Baltimore and Ferguson and beyond, racism, poverty and militarism. So Poverty is clearly connected to this. My sense is that this is going to become the new normal. These kinds of uprisings and riots will happen a lot more if we can’t get serious about jobs, jobs, jobs with a living wage...

Reports claimed the government was prepared to reduce at least three different VAT rates to one, and limit exemptions. Prime minister Alexis Tsipras had opposed the move, claiming that the change would hit poorer people. The country will also press-on with privatisations it had also previously vowed to block, according to reports. However, Syriza has said that demands by creditors to reverse an increase in the minimum wage and cut pensions remain "red lines" that the leftist leadership is unwilling to cross... Mr Sakellaridis said that failure to reach an "honest compromise" with creditors would most likely lead to a...

Economists have been overly optimistic on the majority of economic reports for going on six months. Today the Bloomberg Consensus estimate for construction spending was for a 0.4% gain. The actual result was a decline of 0.6%. Construction spending once again defied expectations. March construction spending dropped 0.6 percent against expectations of an increase of 0.4 percent. On the year, construction spending was up 2.0 percent, down from February's annual increase of 2.7 percent. Both residential and public building declined. While weather can still be blamed for some of the decline, a basic weakness in the building sector was apparent....

The race riots that followed the recent murders of unarmed black men by police in places like Ferguson and Baltimore have liberal commentators and politicians placing the blame on poverty, specifically among inner-city African-Americans. This is an American tradition: progressives wrote similar editorials calling for antipoverty programs, and politicians issued (empty) promises to enact them, after the Rodney King beating in Los Angeles provoked rioting in the South Central neighborhood in the early 1990s, and following the even bigger urban conflagrations of 1968 in Detroit, Newark and Watts. I grew up poor, and I have struggled financially. I hate poverty;...

The following is an example of Rome's claim of "unbroken succession" - provided by pope John Paul II:Nevertheless, the Roman Pontiffs have exercised their authority in Rome and, according to the conditions and opportunities of the times, have done so in wider and even universal areas, by virtue of their succeeding Peter. Written documents do not tell us how this succession occurred in the first link connecting Peter with the series of the bishops of Rome. It can be deduced, however, by considering everything that Pope Clement states in the letter cited above regarding the appointment of the first bishops...

If you read anything tonight, read this. Some protestors in Baltimore are receiving a lot of criticism from conservatives for the way that they are expressing themselves. I find it interesting that one of the most conservative & most vocal groups, the Tea Party libertarians, are named after an event where colonists destroyed property in Boston in order to make a point about their rights. I find it very interesting that these same conservatives celebrate our violent succession from the motherland, & throw elaborate celebrations on the 4th of July to mark the day of our independence. I've not once...