Free Republic

But the liberty at stake is moral and spiritual, not just intellectual.In the days since a brutal attack on Salman Rushdie, the world has seen an outpouring of solidarity. The phrase “We are all Salman Rushdie” appeared on Twitter profiles and in countless articles, acknowledging that threats to one person’s freedom of expression are a threat to all. In the New Yorker, Adam Gopnik anticipated efforts “to somehow equalize or level the acts of Rushdie and his tormentors and would-be executioners.” That approach is despicable, he wrote, “because the right to be insulting about other people’s religions…is a fundamental right,...

In the coal mine, the loss of the canary was a warning, a beacon to everyone else around. It warned them of the danger that could quickly defeat them as well if they didn't act with urgency. Since November 2020, has the Republican Party acted with urgency? Over a century ago, scientist John Scott Haldane, recognizing the danger of carbon monoxide in coal mines, introduced the use of pet canaries as an early warning system for miners. The concept caught on quickly, and for three quarters of a century, coal miners would come to trust their pet "canary in the...

PARIS -- In the suburbs of Paris, a Jewish family gathers to read the Torah. But soon they will be gone. They're part of a growing number of French Jews and leaving their country because the future simply looks too dangerous.  In January, demonstrators in Paris shouted, "We don't want Jews" and gave the Nazi salute. It was chilling reminder of France's World War II past when Jews were deported to concentration camps.  Before the war, European Jews waited too long to leave and ended up trapped. French Jews don't want to make the same mistake again.'Time to Leave'CBN...

California’s unemployment rate in August hit its highest point in nearly 70 years, starkly underscoring how the nation’s incipient economic recovery continues to elude millions of Americans looking for work. While job losses continue to fall, the state’s new unemployment rate — 12.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — is far above the national average of 9.7 percent and places California, the nation’s most-populous state, fourth behind Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island. Statistics kept by the state show California’s unemployment rate was 14.7 percent in 1940, said Kevin Callori, a spokesman for the California Employment Development Department.While...