Free Republic

COLORADO SPRINGS — Future private space stations may be sponsored by major corporations, which prompted a spirited discussion during a panel on the future of low Earth orbit at the 34th Space Symposium here. “I don’t want the Taco Bell International Space Station,” said Erin MacDonald, modeling and simulation engineer for Engility’s Space and Mission Systems Group. “I think it goes against what the public perceives the space station is supposed to be like.” While the International Space Station is unlikely to be rebranded by Taco Bell or any other corporation, if a new commercial space station is “paid for...

1st Quarter 2018 Results are just starting to be reported for US companies and expectations are that because of President Trump’s economic measures, the ‘bottom line’ or net profits for these companies will be the best 1st Quarter results ever! 2017 was a very good year for the Dow, S&P 500 and all the major US stock indices. The Dow set numerous records such as having 70 all- time highs by year’s end.  President Trump’s first year in office was arguably the best year ever for the Dow. (See our summary of year-end results including the Dow).As a result of...

A distinguished social economist of my acquaintance, Carl Horowitz, produced a penetrating essay, which is available in the latest issue of Social Contract, on "The Alliance of Corporate Capitalism with Political Radicalism." Carl demonstrates that black nationalists, revolutionary socialists, and off-the-wall feminists have loyal benefactors among the corporate boards of high-tech enterprises and in older corporations like Pepsi-Cola and Citibank. Carl's illustrations are vivid and shocking, and his well constructed speech leads me to raise two questions occasioned by his evidence. One: Carl describes his targets as people who are betraying the free enterprise system that has allowed them to...

Corporate America is taking the lead on gun control as Congress slides back into gridlock on the issue. Several major retailers have decided to impose new restrictions on firearm sales, while scores of companies have moved to cut ties with the National Rifle Association (NRA). “This is the biggest signal to me that on this issue, there has been a tipping point,” said Rich Masters, head of North America crisis and issues management for Qorvis. “Companies don’t do this unless they know they are gonna be on fairly safe ground.”

As further evidence that they have fully lost the plot, NY Times reporters make a clear case that Trump has no shot at being the next President of the European Union: U.S. Tax Bill May Inspire Cuts Globally, While Fueling Trade Tensions To President Trump and congressional Republicans, the overhaul of the tax code that became law on Friday will make the United States a better place to do business. To the rest of the world, it has the potential to challenge the global economic order, creating an uneven playing field and setting off a race among countries to cut...

This week, Congress passed and President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The measure reduces taxes on corporations from 35% to 21% and on 80% of taxpaying individuals by smaller percentages. Democratic rhetoric attacking the the legislation predicted a “massive transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich” that would lead to “Armageddon” and “the end of the world.” Contrary to these predictions, the immediate response by numerous corporations was to announce widespread employee bonuses and plans for substantial increases in investment and hiring. AT&T says it will pay $1,000 bonuses to 200,000 employees. Wells Fargo said...

The House and Senate are considering tax legislation that will add $1.5 trillion to annual deficits over the next 10 years, according to their own numbers. This is okay, we're told, because the tax cuts will stoke economic growth, delivering added tax revenue that offsets the rate reductions. Note the bigger point here. Republicans still say they don’t like deficits — but apparently, this particular plan lets them cut taxes without adding more debt. It’s a miracle. Is their claim really true? Will the GOP tax plans boost economic growth? That’s the 1.5-trillion-dollar question. Theory vs. Reality The Republican plan’s...

Thanks to our society’s narrow standards of beauty, women are expected to have no body hair whatsoever (except, of course, on their head). But after being fed up with how much time it took to shave, one fitness blogger decided to throw away her razor and embrace her natural beauty instead. In a YouTube video that has now been viewed more than 460,000 times, Morgan Mikenas revealed that she hasn’t shaved her legs or armpits in over a year! “The purpose of this video is not to shame people who do shave,” Mikenas wrote in the video's info section. “I...

An Obama-era scheme that forced companies sued by the government to fund leftist groups overtly excluded conservative organizations, according to internal Department of Justice (DOJ) records obtained by Judicial Watch. As part of settlements, the DOJ would often give the corporations—mainly big banks—double credit if they gave money to leftwing interest groups handpicked by the administration instead of paying the government. The new records demonstrate a collaborative effort among high-level officials in the Office of the Assistant Attorney General (OAAG) and the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) to ensure conservative groups did not receive any settlement cash.The operation is known...

What are little boys made of?   Snips and snails   And puppy-dogs' tails That's what little boys are made ofWhat are little girls made of? What are little girls made of?   Sugar and spice   And everything nice  That's what little girls are made of In 1989, the year before they published their book, The Day America Told the Truth, James Patterson and Peter Kim conducted a national survey of more than 2,000 Americans, each of whom was given over 1,800 questions to answer. It was conducted simultaneously all across America at locations where the privacy and anonymity of the respondents could...

The black family was stronger the first 100 years after slavery than during what will be the second 100 years. That the problems of today’s black Americans are a result of a legacy of slavery, racial discrimination, and poverty has achieved an axiomatic status, thought to be self-evident and beyond question. This is what academics and the civil rights establishment have taught. But as with so much of what’s claimed by leftists, there is little evidence to support it. The No. 1 problem among blacks is the effects stemming from a very weak family structure. Family Structure Children from fatherless...

Progressives used to pressure U.S. corporations to cut back on outsourcing and on the tactic of building their products abroad to take advantage of inexpensive foreign workers. During the 2012 election, President Obama attacked Mitt Romney as a potential illiberal "outsourcer in chief" for investing in companies that went overseas in search of cheap labor. Yet most of the computers and smartphones sold by Silicon Valley companies are still being built abroad -- to mostly silence from progressive watchdogs. In the case of the cobalt mining that is necessary for the production of lithium-ion batteries in electric cars, thousands of...

The fix is in. Did you know, corporations like General Electric Co. (GE) spend more money on lobbyists than they pay in taxes? The federal government currently taxes corporations at 35 percent. While many argue the rate is too high, you don’t hear companies like GE complaining about it. That’s because they aren’t paying it. Over the past 15 years, GE’s federal income tax rate averaged only 5.2 percent. General Electric paid no federal taxes in 2010, despite earning $5.1 billion in U.S. profits. Instead, the company claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion. Meanwhile, GE executives awarded themselves more...

America’s tech industry is undergoing a serious fall from grace. Once celebrated as the heralds of the future, the originators of new, disruptive business models, and the curators of the bleeding edge of free thought, the industry has since relapsed into defending the Obama-era status quo, relying on corporate welfare, and silencing any thought that doesn’t conform to an increasingly stifling and politically correct San Francisco liberalism. All this, while also often showing an appalling disregard for the rule of law, and for the legitimacy of an American election.Now, libertarian or liberal promoters of the industry may argue that part...

Conservative watchdog group, Judicial Watch announced today that they have filed a FOIA lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for records relating to an Obama administration policy of shaking down corporations to fund left-wing groups such as La Raza. Barack Hussein Obama continued his community organizing as President because that is all he knows how to do. Steal money, shake down businesses, destroy and agitate. Obama’s main goals were to destroy capitalism and empower Islamic groups. Via Judicial Watch: Judicial Watch announced today that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of...

While Jamie Dimon tried to maintain his traditionally optimistic outlook in his annual letter to shareholders, there was a distinct undertone of pessimism in the latest 45 page letter released earlier today, in which he writes that while the U.S. is "truly an exceptional country," probably stronger than ever before, he cautions that "something is wrong - and it's holding us back."Here are the highlights from the gloomy passage reposted below in its entirety.Dimon's letter notes that the economy has been growing much more slowly in last decade or two than in the 50 years before then, with real...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he has "serious doubts" about President Donald Trump's nominee to succeed the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, the first sign of what is likely to be a contentious confirmation battle. "Now more than ever, we need a Supreme Court Justice who is independent, eschews ideology, who will preserve our democracy, protect fundamental rights, and will stand up to a President who has already shown a willingness to bend the Constitution," Schumer said in a statement. "Given his record, I have very serious doubts about Judge Gorsuch’s ability to meet this standard. Judge...

It has long ceased to be a secret that college campuses at all levels, from the highest ivy league centers down to community colleges, are centers of far far left wing indoctrination. Why then is it that corporations keep requiring 4 year and above degrees - many times for jobs that clearly don't need such a thing? Most of the time, if you don't have that bachelor degree, you aren't even getting in the door. Don't bother. Don't send an email, don't call, do not show up at the office. Just don't. Ok, Mr. Corporate toady boss. Let's examine your...

DressCode has been found circulating in at least 3,000 Trojanized apps One of the Trojanized apps that's part of the DressCode family. Credit: Trend Micro An Android malware is spreading across app stores, including Google Play, and has the capability of stealing sensitive files from corporate networks. DressCode, a family of Android malware, has been found circulating in at least 3,000 Trojanized apps, security firm Trend Micro said Friday. DressCode hides itself inside games, user interface themes and phone optimization boosters. It can also be difficult to detect because the malicious coding only makes up a small portion of the overall...

Facebook held a high-profile initial public offering in 2012, but the number of public companies has been on the decline. (Photo via Wikipedia.) Takeaways What's the "correct" number of public firms in America? It's unclear, but the total number of IPOs has been dipping. An underreported story of the last two decades is the sharp decline in the number of publicly traded U.S. firms. In 1996, U.S. stock markets boasted 7,322 listed firms. By 2015, however, that number had dropped by more than half, to 3,200. If we adjust for population, the U.S. had 2.2 public firms per hundred...