Free Republic

Up from SlaveryThere's no such thing as a golden age of lost liberty For many libertarians, "the road to serfdom" is not just the title of a great book but also the window through which they see the world. We’re losing our freedom, year after year, they think. They (we) quote Thomas Jefferson: “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.” We read books with titles like Freedom in Chains, Lost Rights, The Rise of Federal Control over the Lives of Ordinary Americans, and yes, The Road to Serfdom. The Cato Institute's boilerplate...

Did Japan try to develop an "ultimate weapon" in response to the August, 1998 overflight of a North Korean Taepo-Dong ballistic missile? According to a CIA document leaked to the press today, the answer is yes. The document, entitled "Theopotential Technology Development In Japan: An Intelligence Retrospective", details the clandestine effort of the Japanese military to develop a weapon of "godlike" power in response to the DPRK missile launch. The secret weapons program, named Saishu Heiki ("Ultimate Weapon Development Project", or UWDP), was initiated in May of 2000 by "elements at the highest levels of Japan's military, industrial, and intelligence...

The Gifford Children's Choir of Racine, Wisc. performs a song you may not be expecting to hear from a children's choir.

The Senate [Health Care Reform] bill’s major flaws are as real as ever and must be addressed. As approved by the Senate, this bill: • Provides for direct federal funding of elective abortions in community health centers • Provides federal subsidies for health plans that cover such abortions, violating longstanding federal policy under the Hyde amendment and similar laws • Will force families to choose between their health needs and their consciences on abortion, by forcing all enrollees in many health plans to pay a separate fee solely for other people’s abortions • Fails to apply longstanding federal policy on...

China is exploring the possibility of extending its high-speed train network as far as Europe, potentially cutting rail travel time between London and Beijing to as little as two days. Officials hope to see the project completed over the next ten years, enabling passengers to travel the roughly 8,000 kilometre journey at speeds of up to 320 kilometres per hour. Two lines to Europe are reportedly being considered under the proposals, one passing through India, Pakistan, and the Middle East, while a second would head to Germany via Russia. Exact routes are currently undecided however. A third line would extend...

A series of photographs of Elgin Park, Pa., c. 1953-1959.

Alea iacta est. The fix is in. Implementation of the President's health care reform regime in some form is now a near certainty. And as the magnitude of the disaster becomes apparent, the more foam-oriented of my friends among the so-called conservative right ( = classical Liberals who won't admit it ) are starting to freak out. "It always counts who wins", wrote one Son of Liberty in an angry web forum post. "We are Americans, we will not slip silently into a socialist worker’s paradise." To which I reply: Baloney. "We" already have a socialist worker’s paradise -- and...

Trailer (3:22) SFW

Cliquez ici A cold day in Paris, 1962: 18-year-old Françoise Hardy sings her first hit song "Tout les garçons et les filles". Tous les garçons et les filles de mon âge Se promènent dans la rue deux par deux Tous les garçons et les filles de mon âge Savent bien ce que c'est qu'être heureux Où les yeux dans ses yeuxEt la main dans sa mainJ'aurai le coeur heureuxSans peur du lendemain "The boys of this age and the girls of this age As they go down the street two by two The boys of this age and the girls...

In the public schools that are temples of the civic religion of secularism in the post-Christian West, schoolchildren imbibe a fairy tale. According to the fairy tale, the downtrodden masses of the 18th and 19th centuries, “yearning to be free,” threw off the “tyranny of priests and kings” and established “government of the people” for the first time in human history, thus achieving the sacred Liberty for which — so the children are told incessantly — men have laid down their lives in countless wars. But how is it that Liberty has meant more bloodshed than any king ever inflicted,...

A disgruntled private pilot flew his airplane into an Austin IRS office this morning. His farewell rant, which I won't link here, explains that he did it out of hatred of the rich, the politicians, the rich politicians, and most of all the IRS. This man, whose name was John Stack, was not a Muslim. Neither was he a Christian (he rails against the Catholic Church in his parting note), a Republican (he singles out George W. Bush by name as a bad guy), or a member of the Tea Party. So what was he? Simple: he was a terrorist....

If you don't know why this is funny, I'm not going to bother explaining it to you. If you don't recognize any of the characters (one character in particular, but you know what I mean) in the lineup of what this Polish newspaper (not Norwegian, as was previously reported) thought were Olympic mascots, then you very likely don't know why this picture is funny, and that's OK. Not every joke can be obvious. Might I suggest Jay Leno's comedy if you're feeling curiously left out of the joke here? He has this hilarious bit called "Headlines", and you're totally going...

Scenario 1: Nuclear Detonation – 10-kiloton Improvised Nuclear Device 1-1 Casualties: Hundreds of thousands Infrastructure Damage: Total within radius of 0.5 to 3 miles Evacuations/Displaced Persons: 100,000 in affected area seek shelter in safe areas (decontamination required for all before entering shelters) 250,000 instructed to shelter-in-place as plume moves across region(s) 1 million+ self-evacuate from major urban areas Contamination Various levels up to approximately 3,000 square miles Economic Impact Hundreds of billions of dollars Potential for Multiple Events No Recovery Timeline Years Scenario Overview: General Description – In this scenario, terrorist members of the Universal Adversary (UA) group plan to...

As we look with dismay and growing horror at the apocalypse in Haiti, we can't help but feel sympathy for the people of Port-au-Prince. Having lived through a major quake myself (Northridge '94, 6.6 Richter), I can assure you that their terror is profound, their suffering is real. It goes without saying that you all should give generously to Haitian relief via the charity of your choice. But aid money isn't going to fix Haiti, because Haiti's problems are not economic in nature. (Nor are they related to a voodoo curse, as TV preacher Pat Robertson claimed last week.) Haiti's...

The Daily Bell is pleased to publish an interview with the distinguished libertarian attorney and activist, Edwin Vieira, Jr. Introduction: Dr. Vieira holds four degrees from Harvard: A.B. (Harvard College), A.M. and Ph.D. (Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences), and J.D. (Harvard Law School). For over thirty-six years he has been a practicing attorney, specializing in cases that raise issues of constitutional law. He has presented numerous cases of import before the Supreme Court and written numerous monographs and articles in scholarly journals. His latest scholarly works are Pieces of Eight: The Monetary Powers and Disabilities of the United...

Dear friends: By now you all know the situation in Haïti. I'd like to ask those of you who have the means to dig deep and contribute to Haïti earthquake relief by donating to Catholic Relief Services. You can trust Catholic Relief Services with your tax-deductible donation. CRS was named a top-rated charity and given a rating of A by the American Institute of Philanthropy in 2008 for efficiently using the majority of its funds toward programming versus fundraising. CRS was also found by the Better Business Bureau/Wise Giving Alliance in 2008 to meet all 20 Standards for Charity Accountability,...

Charles Darwin once famously wrote of his gradual loss of ability to enjoy music or any of the other simple joys of life, post-Theory; and I must say that at times I understand what he meant. For entirely different reasons (chemical, not spiritual), I, too, often feel incapable of discerning the bright joys of quotidian life as I used to. Yet even though the smell of life's roses goes sometimes undetected by my nose, I have faith that roses still smell sweet — and that faith is enough. So it was in 2009. Though in many ways a cherry pit...

OH HELLS YEAH

Freue dich, freue dich, O Christenheit! Christkindchen komm in unser Haus, Leer deine schönen Sachen aus, Stell dein Eselchen auf den Mist, Daß es Heu und Hafer frißt. + + + Rejoice, rejoice, O Christendom! The Christ-Child to our house has come. Bring now forth thy treasures fine, Lift thine ass-colts from the mire That they on hay and oats may dine. + + + From all of us at Chez B-Chan to all of our friends here... + + + JOYEUX NOËL FRÖLICHE WEIHNACHTSENZEIT FELIZ NAVIDAD MERRY CHRISTMASキリストの誕生日、おめでとうございますKiristo no tanjoubi, omedetou gozaimasu...and a Happy New Year!

A White Christmas in Dallas. Never before in my 44 years. I have now seen everything. "Snow" (Irving Berlin, 1954) Snow It won't be long before we'll all be there with snow Snow I wanna wash my hands, my face and hair with snow Snow I long to clear a path, and lift a spade of snow Snow oh, to see a great big man entirely made of snow Snow where it's snowing all winter through That's where I want to be Snowball throwing, that's what I'll do How I'm longing to ski through the Snow Those glist'ning houses that...