Free Republic

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I traveled to my family’s house in Moultonborough, NH. New Hampshire has always been the state of “Live Free or Die,” and this past election the people of New Hampshire spoke once again to reinforce the state’s traditional small government beliefs. However, something was lost in the message that was sent to the state’s elected leaders. Soon after arriving I noticed “Free Ward Bird” signs throughout the small town. I quickly did a few Google searches and better than that, I asked folks in the small community their opinions of Ward Bird and what happened back...

The utopia sought by progressives and the like is far from a fairytale. Many countries in the world have achieved the utopia status that radical leftists are fighting for here in America. While I could cite nations like Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, and the murderous Soviet Union as examples, they seem to have lost their flavor in modern America when comparison to the progressive utopia. In case you haven’t caught on yet, the perfect society trumpeted by progressives and radical leftists is far from the storybook tale of sunshine and lollipops where everyone enjoys free health care, free education, no...

In the midst of what seems to be a Democrat mutiny with President Obama over his tax deal with Republicans, Obama decided once again it’s time to pull out the ace up his sleeve –Bill Clinton. It is not uncommon for an organizational leader to seek help and advice. Sometimes a fresh, outside voice is better able to communicate an idea than the person who is responsible for it. In the case of the gridlock in Congress over Obama’s tax deal what better choice is there to unify Democrats than former President Clinton? After all, Clinton is still very popular...

Congress finds itself in gridlock as the House and Senate attempt to push through last minute bills before the break. As I reported on Wednesday the tax deal President Obama struck with Republicans is meeting stiff resistance with some Democrats. Today a Democrat caucus voted down the tax deal. The vote was non-binding, but it sent a loud message to Obama that they wanted nothing to do with the deal. It is still unclear if Pelosi will allow the tax deal to be brought to the floor for debate. From The Hill: "The House Democratic Caucus on Thursday rejected the...

The legal net is closing in on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. While he has not been officially charged with anything he remains in custody to discuss the sexual assault allegations from Sweden with British police. Now being held without the opportunity for bail Assange is fighting extradition while his troubles mount from every direction. Meanwhile, WikiLeaks continues to dump stolen State Department documents online and is keeping a “poison pill” on standby should the need arise. This whole issue with WikiLeaks and Julian Assange has me torn. As a conservative constitutionalist I proudly champion the First Amendment rights of free...

The results are in for the 2009 Program for International Students Assessment test of 15 year olds students from 65 different countries. The assessment included math, science, and reading tests. So how did the the United States of America do in the results tally? Not well at all. Here is a look at our placement in the tests and a few countries that embarrassingly scored better: Reading - 17th: Shanghai and Hong Kong, china, Belgium, Estonia, Iceland Science - 23rd(One Point Above Average): Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macao, China, Estonia, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Hungary Math - 31st (Below Average): Shanghai, Hong...

Like a house of cards, the European Union is wobbling with the slightest tremor that tests it. Debt ridden states within the EU body are going through the birth pains of debt consolidation, but their solutions only mask the problem. Soon enough the time will come when a swift nudge knocks a few cards loose causing the entire stack to come crumbling down. Collapse is inevitable if the EU continues to go down the path it is headed. It is not a matter of if but when and the United States is in the same predicament. European Union countries are...

Van Jones is proving to be more than just a proud communist who was President Obama’s former Green Czar. After he slipped out of Washington in the middle of the night to avoid causing a scene he has become a very active leader in the progressive movement. In this video published by Sharp Elbows, Van Jones talks about a “potential nightmare scenario.” He claims that the U.S. is “going to go into a tough period” where it will grow more diverse ethnically, culturally, and socially diverse, while becoming “less and less economically prosperous.” He cites scenario is “is not a...

Unless you have been in a hole for the past two weeks you have seen news cycle plagued with stories about the 251,000 stolen U.S. State Department documents that were released to the public by WikiLeaks. The release has left an immeasurable stain on America and its foreign policy on the world stage. Spiegel bluntly summarized the embarrassment that the released documents left: "Never before in history has a superpower lost control of such vast amounts of such sensitive information — data that can help paint a picture of the foundation upon which US foreign policy is built. Never before...

It is times like these you know Harry Reid is thinking “that Constitution is such a pesky thing.” After spending its very limited time on a largely unknown bill that Democrats would have touted as a major success, it turns out that they overlooked one tiny little problem in the bill. Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution states that tax increases must come from the House of Representatives. Unfortunately for Reid and Senate Democrats Section 107 of bill S510 includes fees that are designated as revenue raisers. That is political talk for a tax. Since that right is held...

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell told the Senate body that all 42 Senate Republicans have signed a pledge to block all legislation until the tax cuts are extended. That letter was delivered to Harry Reid who has been more concerned about passing the food safety bill (likely to fail in the House due to a constitutional error), the DREAM Act, and football. VideoAlthough the Democrats have a majority in the Senate, even if they all vote in favor of Reid’s agenda they still will need at least two Republican votes for passage. We will see who blinks first, but this is...

George Soros has been working in the dark building a shadow government for decades. As “The Puppet Master” he is leading a behind-the-scenes army of progressives who are actively fighting against everything that supports the Constitution and its founding principles. Anyone who is familiar with military strategy knows that approaching an enemy undetected gives you the element of surprise, which is a tremendous advantage when the time comes to strike. By catching an enemy off guard, many times they can be overtaken before they have time to react. So far Soros has been largely successful in this regard by use...

While the Department of Homeland Security is busy groping Americans to make sure they are not terrorists, real terrorists making life difficult in one area of Staten Island. This new terrorist threat has adapted to its environment and learned to poke at the weakness of New Yorkers in the area. They are disguised as wild turkeys! The birds have reportedly stopped traffic by standing in the middle of roads. They have even been seen playing chicken with drivers, knowing that New Yorkers are usually the first ones to blink. In one case a woman claimed to have been trapped in...

As you progress through lines at the airport like cattle towards the security checkpoint, you will face a tough question. Will you step into the body scanners and smile with your arms above your head while a government-issued Peeping Tom leers at your naked body in a remote location, or will you opt out and choose the groping session from a friendly TSA agent and their latex glove? I know –both options sound so appealing! The backlash against the TSA’s new security procedures has been mounting daily and with good reason. What is being sold as a procedure vital to...

It looks like amnesty will make another attempt to get through Congress. Harry Reid promised to bring back the DREAM Act in the lame duck session and if the rumors are true Reid will make good on his word. Hispanic Congressmen gathered together with President Obama to discuss strategies to revive the DREAM Act and jam it through Congress. They could be working on other important issues like extending the Bush tax cuts, but providing amnesty for millions of illegal immigrations is apparently more important. After all, Democrats need to throw their liberal base another bone quickly before the new...

Last week Glenn Beck decided to take one of the most powerful men in the world head-on. Beck focused several entire shows on his Fox News program to pulling back the curtain of “The Puppet Master.” This “spooky dude,” as Beck oftentimes calls him, fancies himself as some sort of god because of his remarkable success in destroying economies at will. And now the all-knowing, all-powerful Puppet Master, otherwise known as George Soros, has focused all of his attention on the United States because it must necessarily go through a “managed decline” if his New World Order is to succeed....

The Institute for Justice will find out soon if the U.S. Supreme Court will hear its case against Arizona’s “Clean Elections” Act, which basically serves as welfare for politicians. Haven’t heard of “Clean Elections” before? Well, you may not be in a state that plays that dirty game. Consider yourself lucky. IJ explains: "Arizona’s “Clean Elections” Act gives public money to politicians to run for office and squelches the free speech of independent groups, as well as candidates who choose to forgo taxpayer dollars and instead raise their own funds for their campaigns. For every dollar an independent group opposing...

Election 2010 has come and gone, and the results will keep think tanks and public policy institutes busy for years as they analyze them. Massive change in the U.S. House, huge gains for Republicans in the Senate, multiple state legislatures changing hands; the people have spoken, and they shouted a resounding “Oh, no you don’t!” to the big government planners. But it wasn’t until this week, almost two weeks past the election, that we got our best rallying cry going forward. Publicly, much of the tea party movement has been focused on fiscal issues; taxes, spending, accountability, transparency. Those are...

What are your thoughts about the new TSA procedures? I'm sure Johnny Edge's airport story has circulated FR. Benjamin Franklin sum's up my feelings with his quote: “Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty or Safety.”

The Federal Reserve is taking an unusual amount of heat lately. The central bank is certainly used to a fair share of criticism, but the pressure against it has escalated after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke announced plans to pump nearly a trillion additional dollars into the market in order to stimulate the economy. Who would have thought people would get upset about the Fed devaluing their wealth? (For a background review of the Fed and its inflationary policy of quantitative easing please read articles Like a Thief in the Night Part I and Part II.) Earlier this month Bernanke made...