Free Republic

Brazil is the new Greece, and 90% of government spending cannot be cut by law: At 70% of GDP, public debt is worryingly large for a middle-income country and rising fast. Because of high interest rates, the cost of servicing it is a crushing 7% of GDP. The Central Bank cannot easily use monetary policy to fight inflation, currently 10.5%, as higher rates risk destabilising the public finances even more by adding to the interest bill. Brazil therefore has little choice but to raise taxes and cut spending. Too often, at the popular level, there is a confusion between "austerity...

OK. Right up front in case anyone is getting all nervous about a priest commenting on politics: This is not an endorsement of Ted Cruz. Stop biting your fingernails. I'm not telling you to vote Republican. I'm not saying Ted Cruz is a great guy or would be a great president. However, I am commenting as an American citizen on what is one of the most interesting presidential elections in living history. It interests me because Ted Cruz is one very smart guy. You only have to check his credentials: his history as a college debater, his record as a...

It was, perhaps, the day the media died. Next week marks the fifth anniversary of the bitter night-January 21, 2011-when progressive Americans, and indeed Americans of all political persuasions who value honor, truth, respect, intelligence and decency, were shocked to learn that MSNBC had decided to end Countdown with Keith Olbermann, perhaps the single best news program ever to air on cable television in the United States. The abrupt cancellation of Countdown was a victory for the dishonest political forces Olbermann had forcefully condemned during his nearly eight-year run-and a demoralizing defeat for democracy. Things just haven't been the same...

The Hague (AFP) - Clashes erupted late Monday in a small Dutch town during violent protests against the planned opening of a centre for asylum seekers, Dutch media and officials said.In a repeat of scenes seen in several Dutch towns and villages since late last year amid growing tensions over record numbers of migrants, police intervened to disperse about 1,000 people who rallied in central Heesch. It was not immediately clear from police how many people had been arrested and whether anyone was injured.The riot came only hours after populist far-right politician Geert Wilders called for Islamic male refugees to...

20 Eagle Forum leaders endorse Ted Cruz for PresidentHOUSTON, Texas - In a letter today, 20 Eagle Forum state leaders and activists endorsed Ted Cruz for President, naming Cruz as the leader America needs and the best of the candidates competing for the Republican nomination."I am honored to have the support of so many Eagles, at the grassroots and all across this nation," Cruz said. "Phyllis Schlafly has given me much good advice over the years, and I admire the courageous grassroots activists who are carrying on her great work. Our nation is indebted to Eagle Forum for their conservative...

There will be two empty seats during the upcoming 88th Academy Awards. Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee announced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day that they will not be attending the 2016 Oscars over the lack of diversity in this year's nominations. As previously reported, Pinkett Smith, 44, initially posted a series of tweets on Saturday to air her grievances. On Monday, she shared a Facebook video and confirmed that she will not be attending or watching the live show. (Last year, only white actors received nominations too.) "I can't help but ask the question: Is it time that...

I called it a coming attack in the headline but maybe it’s already here. I noticed Cruz attacking Trump as a fake conservative over the weekend but didn’t notice him drilling down on Trump as a fake populist. Did I miss it? If it hasn’t happened yet, don’t worry. It will soon. What got me thinking about this was Stephanopoulos asking Trump at the start of the clip I posted earlier whether it’s now a two-man race between him and Cruz. Trump’s answer: No, which is surprising given that he had talked about a developing two-man race less than a...

One thing we’ve gotten used during the presidential campaign of Donald Trump is the the presence of huge (sorry… YUGE) crowds at his rallies. It’s been one of the dominant features in all the earned media he receives and keeps the networks lining up to cover his events even as he insults them to their faces. We’re also accustomed to the occasional protesters who show up and wind up being quickly escorted from the venue. But one thing we definitely do not see at these huge events is widespread booing and catcalls directed at Trump himself from his army...

SNIP “It is true that after George W. Bush nominated John Roberts, I supported his confirmation. That was a mistake and I regret that,” he said. But he insisted that he’d fought behind the scenes for a more reliable — and proven — conservative jurist, appellate judge Mike Luddig, for whom he had worked.

Is this how "Europe" ends? The Germans, founders and funders of the postwar union, shut their borders to refugees in a bid for political survival by the chancellor who let in a million migrants. And then -- why not? -- they decide to revive the Deutschmark while they're at it. That is not the fantasy of diehard Eurosceptics but a real fear articulated at the highest levels in Berlin and Brussels. Chancellor Angela Merkel, her ratings hit by crimes blamed on asylum seekers at New Year parties in Cologne, and EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker both said as much last...

"Walk . . . with all . . . gentleness" (Ephesians 4:1-2). Our anger must be under control and should occur only for the right reason. After the previous lesson, you might think that Christians must always be quiet and passive, never getting upset or angry about anything. Actually, believers do have the right to get angry, but only under certain conditions. Ephesians 4:26 says, "Be angry and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger." So there is a certain kind of anger that isn't sinful. It must be under control, and it...

Pity the poor police officer. On Dec. 21 a Niceville Police officer was westbound on Palm Boulevard in search of a dark-colored truck reported to be southbound on Palm. As the officer approached 23rd street he saw a dark-colored Ford at a stop sign. The truck sat there almost 15 seconds. The officer followed the truck. He saw it swaying in the lane. As it approached State Road 20 the truck crossed the center lane and entered a left turn lane. Then, suddenly, the driver decided to turn right and pulled across the lane. He stopped at the red light,...

We were predestined "to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory" (Eph. 1:12). In salvation, as in everything else, God is preeminent. He deserves all the credit. Preeminence implies supreme standing, picturing one who excels over all others in a particular quality or achievement. There is no one more preeminent than God. Ephesians 1:12 underscores that truth. You were redeemed and granted an eternal inheritance that God might be glorified. Certainly you benefit greatly from salvation, but God's glory is the primary issue. Our man-centered culture doesn't...

A US woman is facing a one-year prison sentence for violating a protection order by tagging victims in a Facebook post and making derogatory comments about them. Despite being divorced from her ex-husband Rafael Calderon and issued with a protection order preventing her from contacting her ex-husband or his family, Maria Gonzalez of New York decided to tag her former sister-in-law Maribel Calderon in a Facebook post and call her 'stupid', according to the New York Law Journal. Gonzalez also tagged Calderon in another post saying: "You and your family are sad... You guys have to come stronger than that!!...

"As an individual, John Roberts is undoubtedly a principled conservative, as is the president who appointed him. He clerked for Chief Justice Rehnquist, worked in the Reagan White House, and served as the principal deputy solicitor general in President George H.W. Bush's Justice Department. As a jurist, Judge Roberts' approach will be that of his entire career: carefully, faithfully applying the Constitution and legal precedent. He is a mainstream judge, respected across the ideological spectrum. Thus, he's earned praise from liberal icons such as Harvard Law Professor Larry Tribe, and Chicago Law Professor Cass Sunstein, as well as from Clinton...

Republican front-runner Chris Christie thinks that Ted Cruz is "the consummate Washington insider." In a Sunday interview with TIME Magazine, Christie criticized the comments Cruz made in Thursday's GOP debate regarding "New York values," claiming that Republican front-runner Donald Trump "[is] right about" the senator from Texas. "He's a guy whose views are often very, very malleable depending upon what he considers to be politically advantageous at the moment," Christie explained. Christie also called Cruz "the most inside guy in this race." "I think Ted once again is trying to be Mr. Ivy League cute," he told TIME. "He's Harvard...

He died of complications from ongoing health problems Glenn Frey, a founding member of the Eagles, has died after suffering from ongoing health problems, the legendary rock band said. He was 67. Frey died on Monday in New York City following a “courageous” weeks-long battle with rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia, the Eagles said in a statement on their website. “The Frey family would like to thank everyone who joined Glenn to fight this fight and hoped and prayed for his recovery,” the statement said. “Words can neither describe our sorrow, nor our love and respect for all...

Rep. Sessions of GOP Leadership: DC Energy Update – Maguire’s Weinstein: Oil Exports & Geopolitics: Congressman Pete Sessions, member of House GOP Leadership, gives us our Energy updated from Washington DC, including the outlook on LNG exports. Then, energy economist Bud Weinstein of the Maguire Energy Institute talks about the geopolitics of oil exports.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: I want to paraphrase an e-mail that I received. It's like a number of e-mails that I have received. As I said, I'm paraphrasing it because it represents quite a few people who are e-mailing. They're confused and they don't know what to do. These are Republicans, slash, conservative primary voters. And they are -- well, they're confused. "Mr. Limbaugh, I have no idea anymore where I belong in the Republican Party. I don't know what the Republican Party stands for, and I don't know if conservatism has a home in it any longer or not. My...

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recently issued a travel warning for 14 Latin American nations and Caribbean territories that have exposed to Zika virus, a mosquito-borne virus connected to the increasing rate of birth defects in Brazil. The alert was issued late Friday and it includes Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico.