Free Republic

Arizona – -(Ammoland.com)- The current aristocracy in America came to power in the 1960’s.  It was a major shift in the power elite, away from the military, captains of industry, and religious leaders.It became heavily concentrated in media elites, educators, bureaucrats and lawyers.  It was a deliberate infiltration of institutions and the seizure of power from the people and the states; concentrating it in unelected and unaccountable institutions.The rise of network TV, the fairness doctrine imposed by the FCC, and the takeover of virtually all national media by doctrinaire “progressives” meant that the “progressive” gatekeepers in the media decided who...

The creators of "Game of Thrones" have revealed President Barack Obama received advanced access to the hotly anticipated sixth season because, well, you don't turn down a request from POTUS. ....The creators told interviewer Veronica Belmont that, yes, they sent Obama episodes early because "he's the leader of the free world." Benioff added: "When the commander in chief says, 'I want to see advanced episodes' -- what are ya gonna do?" The two also discussed the upcoming season being "the first time we really moved beyond the end point of the books" by George R.R. Martin and the freedom that...

There is a line from John Adams of which conservatives, particularly those of a moralistic bent, are fond: "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people." The surrounding prose is quoted much less frequently, and it is stern stuff dealing with one of Adams’s great fears - one that is particularly relevant to this moment in our history. John Adams hated democracy and he feared what was known in the language of the time as "passion." Adams's famous assessment: "I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run,...

When Barack Obama was first elected president, a number of my readers were in deep despair about American politics and the state of our culture. So I set out to compile an inventory of what is still going right with our culture, the reserves of strength we were going to have to draw on to survive the Obama era. One of my examples was Mike Rowe’s show “Dirty Jobs.” That led to some further ruminations about why people on the right tend to gravitate to shows like his, which celebrate the value of work. Rowe himself has been understandably cautious...

It is the most animated this “Downton Abbey” fan has ever seen Lady Grantham. Elizabeth McGovern, who plays the period soap opera’s slack-jawed, sleepy-eyed matriarch, Cora—who always seems listlessly zonked, whatever disaster has just befallen her husband or unlucky-in-love daughters—gallops with gusto through the stories of the real-life American heiresses who married British aristocrats in the Smithsonian Channel’s documentary series, “Million Dollar American Princess”. The three-part series, which begins on Sunday night just before the first episode of season five of Downton, focuses on the stories of a clutch of the 200 or so American heiresses who married British lords...

A new Gallup poll out this morning, September 24, 2014, found that 58% of Americans strongly want a third political party choice in the candidates because the two older parties "do such a poor job" representing the people. This number is little changed from a Gallup poll asking the same question in 2007. The third largest political party is the Libertarian Party, yet its candidates face unfair hurdles of ballot access and media exclusion. Many states in the nation purposely raise the bar for Libertarian Party candidates to have their name printed on the ballot alongside the Republican and Democratic...

Cheikh Malek el-Khazen is heir to the House of Khazen, of the Lebanese nobility. He is also the founder of the Khazen Foundation and Khazen.org. He was kind enough to grant me an interview. Could you tell us a little bit about your family's history?The Khazen can trace back their lineage to the 9th century, when they were mainly located in the Levant. They started acquiring lands from the Muslim Shi'a Tribes in Mount Lebanon during the 1400s and mainly focused their exodus in the Keserwan district. This caused the Chi'a to leave Keserwan and migrate to the South of...

In recognition of Bastille Day, I, in this special Monday episode, discuss "the book that caused the French Revolution": Les Liaisons Dangereuses (The Dangerous Liaisons), written by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The book -- perhaps somewhat unintentionally -- set off pious sentiment against the Ancien Regime, and its influence carries on today. WATCH ON YOUTUBE(Alternative link, via Vimeo.) Summary:I start off the show with a brief primer on Bastille Day and immediately begin a summary of the characters and events in this novel, breaking down its story of lust and love. I then cite some of its distinctively Catholic elements....

‘Limousine liberal” is an old American term used against those who inherited lots of money and then became “traitors to their class” by embracing populist politics. The Roosevelts and Kennedys enjoyed the high life quite apart from the multitude that they championed. And they were exempt, by virtue of their inherited riches and armies of accountants and attorneys, from the higher taxes they advocated for others. Few worried about how their original fortunes were made long ago, or that as lifelong government officials they had their needs met by the state. Most were relieved instead that as very rich people...

The GOP establishment and some conservative pundits, such as Ann Coulter, are in full defense mode, claiming that Romney is not responsible for losing to an incumbent responsible for perhaps the most damaging fiscal crises in our nation’s history. Don’t believe it. Romney IS responsible for wasting a billion dollars to carry out an issue-free campaign full of simple-minded platitudes. Indeed, Coulter is leading the charge with her recent column titled, Don’t Blame Romney. It’s sweet to watch Coulter defend her darling Romney, but let’s get real. The reality is that Romney was one of the worst GOP presidential candidates...

The House voted Thursday to dethrone nine White House “czars.” Republicans successfully added an amendment to the continuing resolution that would leave President Barack Obama’s senior advisers on policy issues including health care, energy and others out of a job.

It’s rather dismaying to see the thoughtful and well-regarded online magazine Front Porch Republic being roiled by a series of articles written by editor John Medaille celebrating the virtues of monarchism as compared to democracy. I don’t believe John’s point was call for the U.S. to build its own Buckingham Palace or design its own crown and scepter, which will never happen in a million years. It was to simply show the follies of democratism as a guarantor of the public’s liberties compared to an enlightened king (one tyrant 3,000 miles away as compared to 3,000 tyrants one mile a...

I simply don’t believe that anybody is equal period. There is no divine “Thou shall be equal” command, despite how innate and sacrosanct such a postulate is to modern man’s egalitarian intuition. Mel Bradford avows: Let us have no foolishness indeed. Equality as a moral or political imperative, pursued as an end in itself — Equality, with the capital “E” — is the antonym of every legitimate conservative principle. Contrary to most Liberals, new and old, it is nothing less than sophistry to distinguish between equality of opportunity (equal starts in the “race of life”) and equality of condition (equal...

Caroline Kennedy, the first daughter of Camelot, has decided to seek Hillary Rodham Clinton's U.S. Senate seat - a decision that rocks the landscape of the race to be appointed to succeed the outgoing senator. "She has decided she wants the Senate seat," a source close to Kennedy told The Post. She called Gov. Paterson today to let him know. The move makes official what some Kennedy family members had been urging her to do for weeks. Kennedy has already signed up powerhouse consulting firm Knickerbocker SKD, which advises Mayor Bloomberg - who sang her praises recently as a qualified...

Three judges agreed that the role of the island's unelected Seneschal - who is both president of Sark's parliament and its chief judge - contravened the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the rights of individuals to a fair trial. The declaration by the Appeal Court is not legally binding, but if the island's rulers do not implement the judges' recommendations to remove one of the Seneschal's two roles they could face further legal action in future which could force them to act. Sark has operated under a feudal system for 450 years, after Elizabeth I granted the island's...

Abstract: "The Irony of Populism: The Republican Shift and the Inevitability of American Aristocracy" analyzes the shift in the role of the Supreme Court following the movement towards a democratic Senate which culminated in the Seventeenth Amendment. The Supreme Court's shift is presented as the inevitable result of the system of mixed government that underlies the constitutional order, which orders American Government into democratic, aristocratic, and monarchical parts. While in the original conception of the constitution the Senate was the aristocratic part, the Senate would become part of the democratic part with the Seventeenth Amendment and prior procedural changes. Into...

Title: The Road to Mass Democracy: Original Intent and the Seventeenth Amendment Author: C. H. Hoebeke Published: New Brunswick, N. J.: Transaction Publishers, 1995. Price: $39.95 (hardcover) Pages: 211 Reviewer: Todd J. Zywicki Affiliation: Mississippi College School of Law The Constitution of 1787 provided for the appointment of United States senators by state legislatures. In 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment was ratified, installing the current regime of direct election of U.S. senators. The bloated and special-interest-driven nature of the federal government during this century has led scholars in recent years to reexamine the original framework of the Senate and to...

There's a strange debate dominating the Democratic campaign so far. Hillary Clinton's calling card seems to be the experience that she possesses and that Barack Obama lacks. " 'Change' is just a word if you don't have the strength and experience to make it happen," she told an audience this past week, before promptly making the line the centerpiece of a new ad in New Hampshire and Iowa. "Hillary is the best-prepared to be president of any non-incumbent I have ever had a chance to vote for," the clearly biased Bill Clinton has said repeatedly on the trail this summer....

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Mayor Bloomberg is decrying the state of the 2008 presidential race, faulting the major party candidates for offering shallow, simplistic prescriptions, and scolding the press for failing to demand more from those seeking the White House. During an appearance at Google's headquarters in Silicon Valley yesterday, Mr. Bloomberg said the televised debates among the presidential candidates have been, in essence, a waste of time. "They have absolutely nothing to do with the job and the qualifications. And they don't tell you anything about whether or not any of those candidates would be good or bad presidents....

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- Presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton outlined a broad economic vision Tuesday, saying it's time to replace an "on your own" society with one based on shared responsibility and prosperity. The Democratic senator said what the Bush administration touts as an "ownership society" really is an "on your own" society that has widened the gap between rich and poor. "I prefer a 'we're all in it together' society," she said. "I believe our government can once again work for all Americans. It can promote the great American tradition of opportunity for all and special privileges for none."...