Free Republic

An economics professor lays out how America got to the sad state we're in. A few months ago, I was asked to write a book review for an American Thinker reader named Leslie Stein, an associate professor of economics at the University of Macquarie, in Sydney, Australia. He has written four books in total, including the one he asked me to review, called The Undermining of Western Civilization. This book is timely and pertinent, to say the least. This book comes in the midst of an all-out Marxist assault on Western civilization. As Stein notes, this Marxist assault by all...

HarrisonHSmith 3/8/2023 It's been over a year since I originally uploaded this skit, and a year since the account I posted it to got deleted. Now that I can upload longer videos, I'll post the rest of the "Pitch Meeting" skits in the next few days.

Hispanic and black voters are the most likely to believe that President Joe Biden has a conflict of interest when dealing with China’s aggression towards the U.S., results of a new survey reveal. In a national survey of 1,082 likely general election voters, conducted February 22-26 by the Trafalgar Group on behalf of Convention of States, a strong majority said they believe Pres. Biden has a conflict of interest regarding China. Fully 57.2% of all likely voters agreed that “Due to the Biden family's business relationships with China…President Biden has a conflict of interest when responding to China's aggressive actions...

Regulators closed troubled Silicon Valley Bank after deposit outflows and a failed capital raise plunged the country's 16th largest bank into crisis, roiling the larger lending industry. It became the largest bank to fail since Seattle's Washington Mutual during the height of the 2008 financial crisis, and the first since 2020. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen acknowledged the industry turmoil Friday, saying there are "a few" banks the department is closely watching. "There are recent developments that concern a few banks that I'm monitoring very carefully and when banks experience financial loss it is and should be a matter of concern,"...

There are two ways to win a Nascar race. The first is to go faster, when you’re in motion, than anyone else. The second is to spend less time at rest than your opponents, shaving away expensive tenths of seconds sacrificed in pit stops. Caleb Dirks, a former pitching prospect for the Atlanta Braves who now applies his length and leverage as a jackman, sprinting out with his hydraulic device and pumping the pitting car airborne. A four-tire pit stop is a frantic five-man ballet—all tight corridors and heavy equipment, set at breakneck tempo. Its nuances aren’t as telegenic as...

"When we talk about 28% tax rate — Ronald Reagan was 28% tax rate — you know, that wacko liberal guy, the idea that that's an unreasonable amount…" Biden said during his Friday remarks.

Fintech startup Brex received billions of dollars in deposits from Silicon Valley Bank customers on Thursday, CNBC has learned. Other companies including JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and First Republic have also seen heightened inflows Thursday, as SVB’s stock tanked amid VC-fueled concerns of a bank run. The exodus of deposits put increased pressure on SVB, which attempted to raise equity funding earlier this week and had turned to a potential sale, CNBC reported. Regulators shut down the bank on Friday. Fintech startup Brex received billions of dollars in deposits from Silicon Valley Bank customers on Thursday, CNBC has learned. The...

The United States purchased $38,232,900,000 in imports from the People’s Republic of China in January of this year, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau. That was more than Americans spent on imports from any other country during that month, according to the bureau. Because the United States exported only $13,092,600,000 in goods to China in January, the result was that this country ran a $25,160,300,000 trade-in-goods deficit with China for that month. That was also the largest trade deficit the United States ran with any country during January. […] After China, Mexico and Canada, the other...

VIDEO Give Jim Cramer credit. His investment advice is almost infallible... You can't lose as long as you do the OPPOSITE of what he says.

But banning oil and gas too soon would be technically and financially unrealistic, the industry believes. "We can't bet on an all-electric solution, which would require an urgent and crazy-sum power network expansion," A ban would also close the door to hybrid systems that could gradually introduce more home-produced solar thermal and photovoltaic energy, and fill existing gas pipelines with renewable-derived gases, he added.

Small things can lead to big reactions, and that seems to be the case with bank stocks on Thursday, as a huge loss at SVB SIVB 0.00% Financial has caused stocks like JPMorgan JPM +2.48% Chase, Bank of America BAC +0.29% , and Wells Fargo WFC +1.50% to get pummeled. Here’s what happened. Silicon Valley Bank’s parent, SVB Financial (ticker: SIVB), said Wednesday night that it had sold securities from its portfolio for a $1.8 billion loss, while also announcing plans to raise capital via an offering of common and preferred stock. SVB Financial stock tumbled 60% to $106.04 on...

Credit Suisse can’t catch a break. In the latest piece of troubling news, the beleaguered Swiss bank has delayed the publication of its 2022 annual report following a “late call” from the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday evening. The SEC got in touch over revisions the bank had previously made to its cash flow statements for 2019 and 2020, Credit Suisse (CS) said in a statement Thursday. Shares in the bank, which have been trading around record lows, slid 5%. “Management believes it is prudent to briefly delay the publication of its accounts in order to understand more...

This war need never have happened if Kissinger’s, and many others’, proposal for a neutral, non-NATO Ukraine had been accepted by the US in 2021, as Russia reasonably requested, and if Ukraine, at America’s direction, had ceased its eight year, US-sponsored war on the Donbas Russian speakers and Russian ethnics, and had enforced the Minsk II accords.But the US Military Industrial Complex wanted a war and got one. The object: To bleed and weaken Russia with a Vietnam-like quagmire.Russia appears to be surviving US sanctions quite comfortably, as new customers pop up in Asia for its natural gas and other...

In 2020, one hitherto unknown report accurately predicted what was to follow Biden’s election. It also laid out a plan to preserve democracy in an uncertain future. Weeks before the 2020 election, a secret 87-page document outlined in matter-of-fact language the threat posed by Donald Trump’s still-to-come campaign of election denial. The private paper — the existence of which has not been reported before — forecast with chilling confidence the likelihood of violence during the presidential handover and proposed a far-reaching set of political reforms to thwart Trumpism in the future. Americans remember that dark winter well. But the impetus...

Financial regulators have closed Silicon Valley Bank and taken control of its deposits, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced Friday, in what is the largest U.S. bank failure since the Global Financial Crisis more than a decade ago. The collapse of SVB, a key player in the tech and venture capital community, leaves companies and wealthy individuals largely unsure of what will happen to their money. According to press releases from regulators, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed SVB and named the FDIC as the receiver. The FDIC in turn has created the Deposit Insurance National Bank...

Back in mid-December, we did a show on OpenAI, a research organization founded by Elon Musk and Sam Altman in 2015 as a challenger to Google. As we noted at the time, their mission was to create artificial intelligence to benefit humanity as a whole. The most notable part of OpenAI is a function called ChatGPT. It’s a chat room like you’ve never seen before. Within a few days of launching, it hit a million users despite a total media blackout and zero publicity. It now has over 100 million sign-ups. But there’s another, darker side to ChatGPT that has...

There was no text relating to the video at the link However, a short summary--Biden Admin is trying to pass another gun ban for "assault" weapons. In the meantime, Maryland is proposing a law to ban filing any charges for felony murder against those under 25 years old.

Legislative select committee opens inquiry into high energy bills.. Colorado’s high energy costs are partly due to a high-stakes regulatory "game" being played largely outside of the public’s view, said the official advocating for customers before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. A joint committee hearing on high energy costs at the statehouse Wednesday provided insights into the regulatory process that determines how much money investor-owned utilities make and how much utility consumers have to pay. “I would say if a rate payer is deciding between paying their heating bill or paying their prescriptions this month, then yes, something is wrong,”...

Newly-elected Miami-Dade Commissioner Sabine Covo, who Florida Democrats have praised as being not only the future of their political party but as the first win for them in taking back the state, does not know the Pledge of Allegiance. During a March 9 County Commission meeting, Commissioner Covo was asked to recite the Pledge. "Commissioner Covo, could you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please," asked someone within the Commission "You don't know it? Ok," responded the same official to Covo, who could not be heard to answer the first question about reciting the Pledge.

Our friend Julie Kelly gave us a heads-up there was massive drama in the Proud Boys January 6 trial yesterday after an FBI agent was caught lying on the stand and concealing evidence from defense attorneys. It turns out that Special Agent Nicole Miller (or someone) deleted thousands of messages in FBIs "Lync" messaging system--messages relevant to investigation and required to be produced to defense counsel. This brazen lawlessness at FBI in its biggest January 6 case, observed Ms. Kelly, because it appears Special Agent Miller’s “Boss” instructed the FBI agent to "destroy" hundreds of items of evidence. If this...