Free Republic

The number of people employed by government in the United States increased by 46,000 in February, according to the employment report released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In January, according to BLS’ seasonally adjusted numbers, there were 22,449,000 people employed by government in this country. In February, that increased to 22,495,000. […] From January to February of this year, federal government employment increased by 7,000, rising from 2,881,000 to 2,888,000. State government employment increased by 2,000 from January to February, rising from 5,162,000 to 5,164,000. State-government employment in the United States hit its all-time high in February 2020,...

“The Lord’s Prayer: ‘Pray Then Like This’” This year our midweek Lenten series is called, “A Catechetical Lent: The Six Chief Parts of the Small Catechism.” And today we come to the third of those six chief parts, namely, the Lord’s Prayer. We call it the “Lord’s” Prayer, because our Lord Jesus Christ taught his disciples to pray this prayer. And so this is the prayer that our Lord teaches us to pray, because we too are his disciples. We follow him in faith and learn from him and listen to his voice. So when Jesus speaks, we listen. Today...

Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen acknowledged on Friday that 90 percent of IRS audits will be conducted on small businesses and families, not billionaires. Testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) questioned Yellen on the ambiguity of her opening statement. Smith prefaced his question by noting the 87,000 new IRS agents hired at the agency over the next decade to conduct tax enforcement on Americans. “Regarding the audits, there has been confusion about the meaning of the directive that you cited,” Smith said in his line of questioning. “Are you talking about the total number...

Nothing was going to stop this rampaging reptile from playing Gator Golf. Footage showed the jaw-dropping moment that a gigantic alligator bust through a golf course’s metal fence with ease like the Incredible Hulk. A video of the Kool-Aid commercial-esque moment currently boasts over a million views on Facebook. “Check out this big guy bend the aluminum bars and plow right through it,” WINK weatherman Matt Devitt wrote of the “only in Florida” scene, which occurred at a private golf course in Placida. “We were trying to dig holes for it to go under before it decided to go through...

It’s cookie season again, so here are two major reasons why the organization deserves to be snubbed, not patronized. It’s springtime, and that means budding flora, fresh morning air, and those cute little girls in their Brownie vests selling my favorite cookie of all time, the Thin Mint. (It’s rather obscene how many of those discs I’ve consumed over the years.) But, for the third year in a row, I’ll be politely declining the sales pitches and instead, handing the chaperone a homemade flyer with big bold letters across the top that read: “Did You Know? The abortion industry is...

The outspoken founder of the Wagner mercenary group complained that Vladimir Putin has cut off all contact with him following his constant demands for more ammunition for his fighters in Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin, a catering mogul and Putin’s long-time ally, said in a message on his Telegram channel Thursday that he has been unable to get through to anyone at the Kremlin. The apparent silent treatment came after Prigozhin publicly called on the Russian Ministry of Defense to supply ammunition to his mercenaries fighting to capture the key city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, which has seen some of the...

A pragmatic relationship with China is an important part of Hungary’s geopolitical strategy. Viktor Orbán’s planned visit to Beijing in the autumn also shows that China considers Hungary an important partner in Europe. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will travel to China in the autumn, Index reports. Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, informed the news portal about the date of the trip after his press conference on Thursday. Index reported earlier that Viktor Orbán’s visit to Beijing was in the pipeline, citing Bertalan Havasi, the prime minister’s press chief.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — During a prestigious ceremony held at the White House, President Biden bestowed the "Black American of Courage" award to actor Robert Downey Jr. for his pivotal role as a black man in the 2008 movie Tropic Thunder. Awarding the white actor a black award equitably follows in the footsteps of First Lady Jill Biden, who recently gave the International Woman of Courage Award to a fat guy from Argentina squashed into a dress and caked with makeup to show young women around the world to never give up on their dreams of being crushed into oblivion and...

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...