Free Republic

Most everyone agrees that health care in the United States has major problems, the biggest problems relating to skyrocketing costs. No one doubts the system is in need of reform. However, too many in Washington see tighter government controls as the solution. In fact, the problems are rooted in past government controls that created more problems than they solved. Ironically, laws and policies in the 1970’s promoting Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) resulted from desperate attempts to control spiraling costs. However, instead of promoting an efficient health care system, HMOs took far too much control away from patients and physicians and...

All those "humanitarians" on the Turkish/Gazan armada were anti-Western, anti-freedom savages, and ENEMY JIHADIS of Israel. Not only should all the boats have been sunk, in my view, but the responsible parties in Gaza and Turkey should have been heavily bombed in retaliation, as well. This open, brazen, shameless attempt to bring "aid" to Hamasistan and their neo-Nazi citizenry was an ACT OF WAR. It should have been dealt with as such.

Congress, with its insatiable appetite for spending, is set to pass yet another “supplemental” appropriations bill in the next two weeks. So-called supplemental bills allow Congress to spend beyond even the 13 annual appropriations bills that fund the federal government. These are akin to a family that consistently outspends its budget, and therefore needs to use a credit card to make it through the end of the month. If the American people want Congress to spend less, putting an end to supplemental appropriations bills would be a start. The 13 “regular” appropriations bills fund every branch, department, agency, and program...

The spotlight remains on the Greek sovereign debt crisis as the riots continue. The terms of the Greek bailout from the IMF and Eurozone countries remain contentious with citizens on all sides. Europeans hate having their governments throw public money away as much as Americans do. The Greeks are not happy about having their taxes raised while their pensions and salaries are cut. Meanwhile, it is rumored by the Financial Times, AFP and others that Greece may spend more than it saves from austerity measures on arms deals with Germany, France and the US as a potential condition of receiving...

It doesn’t come as too much of a surprise that the measure to audit the Federal Reserve is coming under continuous fire from the central bank and its cronies. For the first time since the Federal Reserve was created nearly a century ago, they have hired an actual lobbyist to pound the pavement on Capitol Hill. This is a desperate effort to hang on to the privilege of secrecy and lack of accountability they have enjoyed for so long. Last week showed they are getting their money’s worth in the Senate. At the very last minute on the floor of...

Lately many have characterized this administration as socialist, or having strong socialist leanings. I differ with this characterization. This is not to say Mr. Obama believes in free-markets by any means. On the contrary, he has done and said much that demonstrates his fundamental misunderstanding and hostility towards the truly free market. But a closer, honest examination of his policies and actions in office reveals that, much like the previous administration, he is very much a corporatist. This in many ways can be more insidious and worse than being an outright socialist. Socialism is a system where the government directly...

This talk was given at the Maryland Tax Day Tea Party in Stevensville, MD, on April 15, 2010. You know, there's a Chinese proverb that says that there are three curses, each one worse than the previous. The first of these curses is: "May you live in interesting times." Well, the times we live in are certainly interesting. We stand here today at a transformative moment in American history -- at the front lines of what can only be called a revolution in thought. We are here today, like hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans -- in cities all...

If the idea is to create a drug-free America, then we can safely say that after hundreds of billions of dollars spent, millions of arrests, and decades of escalating police and military efforts, the war on drugs is a complete failure. The reason is clear if you think about it. The attempt to use government force and central planning -- violence and socialism, essentially -- to effectively mold society by preventing people on an individual basis from growing, producing, transferring, and ingesting drugs of their choice, is a ridiculous fantasy and always has been. There will forever be ways to...

Last week I introduced a very important piece of legislation that I hope will gain as much or more support as my Audit the Fed bill. HR 4995, the End the Mandate Act will repeal provisions of the newly passed health insurance reform bill that give the government the power to force Americans to purchase government-approved health insurance. The whole bill is rotten, but this provision especially is a blatant violation of the Constitution. Defenders claim the Congress's constitutional authority to regulate "interstate commerce" gives it the power to do this. However, as Judge Andrew Napolitano and other distinguished legal...

Rebirth Possible. Experts agree that a rebirth of Liberty is possible if all Americans put Truth and Morals back into their hearts. A people cannot be free, if they prey on each other, and look to improve their lot by obtaining favors from "the man."We must all cast away, and challenge, falsehoods whenever they arise. We must set our values by using the Ten Commandments. We cannot live a life of confusion and muddled thinking. Republicans can counter “CHANGE” with LIBERTY. If the Republicans adopt Liberty and put Truth and morals in their hearts, it will be Viva los Republicanos...

Why in the hell is Karl Rove on my TV? Why is Karl Rove on my radio? Why is Karl Rove on anywhere? Unless he’s on trial or being interrogated, I can’t imagine of what possible use this George W. Bush relic could be to conservatives and yet he’s everywhere, hocking his book “Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight,” a title as credibly right-wing as Stephen Colbert and as historically accurate as the movie “Titanic.” Craig Shirley and former Reagan official Donald Devine summed up Rove’s duplicity well in this week’s Washington Post: “From William...

During a question-and-answer session at the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., one man opined, "One thing I've learned here at CPAC is that the 'C' actually doesn't stand for 'libertarianism.' It's not 'L'PAC." When Congressman Ron Paul won the annual straw poll at CPAC, talk radio host Rush Limbaugh made a point to tell his listeners that CPAC wasn't conservative this year because a libertarian had won. Both men are worse than just wrong. They're out of their minds. Arguably the most popular history of American conservatism, George H. Nash's book The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America...

The bigger the government, the worse the government. The more powerful the government, the worse the government. The more the government taxes and regulates -- the more it spends and controls -- the worse the government. That government which guides and directs us -- unifies and leads us -- is that government which destroys us. All these recent government "bail-outs," "rescues," "recovery packages," and "stimulus programs," are machetes thrust directly into the heart of the economy. All are heartless and brutal backstabs of the society and the nation. All of them devastate our businesses, finances, lifestyles, and civilization. It's almost...

“The federal government did not create the States. The States created the federal government.” – Ronald Reagan “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.” – Alexis De Tocqueville ******************************************************************************************************************************** AMENDMENT 28. Title: Congressional Powers of Taxation Restricted and Revised. The Congress shall not have power to lay and collect income taxes, excise taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, and capitation taxes within the borders of any State. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect a revenue-tax which shall be based solely on a State’s accrued revenue....

It's sloppy and incorrect to call Obama and his radical leftist allies "socialists." A handful are, no doubt. But most of them don't want to nationalize anything. Not even health care! They do, however, seek to significantly expand the size and power of the state. They do quietly seek to have a friendly, European-style Leviathan monitor and control business and the Individual a great deal more than currently. And it's all for our own good. The Obamanites fundamentally think they know more than the citizenry who elected them, and whom they theoretically serve. And, of course, they're morally superior. So...

An article by a conservative named Cliff Kincaid, who serves as editor of the Accuracy in Media (AIM) Report, provides a perfect example of how different libertarians are from conservatives and, well, for that matter, how there ain't a dime's worth of difference, when it comes to individual freedom, between conservatives and liberals. The article concerns the drug war and is entitled, "Dopey Conservatives for Dope." Ardently defending the continuation of the drug war, despite some 35 years of manifest failure, Kincaid takes fellow conservatives to task who are finally joining libertarians in calling for an end to the drug...

Crowds cheered former GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul's claim that "the revolution is alive and well in Idaho," in a speech Saturday at the Morrison Center that at times took on the feel of a revival meeting. Americans, he said, have misunderstood the definition of "rights," which are God-given and include "life, liberty and the right to keep the fruits of our labor." Those rights include neither education nor health care. "Amen!" came a voice from the crowd. That crowd included perennial political candidate Pro Life, a group wearing buttons that read "Charter Schools are Statist," and the Collett family...

With passage of last week’s bill, the American people are now the unhappy recipients of Washington’s disastrous prescription for healthcare “reform.” Congressional leaders relied on highly dubious budget predictions, faulty market assumptions, and outright fantasy to convince a slim majority that this major expansion of government somehow will reduce federal spending. This legislation is just the next step towards universal, single payer healthcare, which many see as a human right. Of course, this “right” must be produced by the labor of other people, meaning theft and coercion by government is necessary to produce and distribute it. Those who understand Austrian...

John Colbert for Congress. California’s 29th Congressional District Congress will be immensely improved by the replacement of the nihilist Adam Schiff with the conservative, moral John Colbert. Colbert is seeking the a spot on the ticket as a Republican to replace Democrat Schiff this November. To make a comparison,Go to the John Colbert web site:Colbert link Then visit an eyewitness report on the so-called Townhall Meeting, staged by Schiff: Report on Schiff JWThinkwright

Imagine Congress trying to pass an expensive and unpopular healthcare bill by twisting arms, cutting backroom deals, refusing transparency and politicians mysteriously changing their votes, only to finally pass the controversial legislation at the last hour by a paper thin margin. This is what happened in 2003 when the “Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act” was passed by a Republican controlled Congress with the minimum 216 votes and was signed into law by President George W. Bush. It was the largest government healthcare entitlement expansion to date, estimated at about $400 billion, but has exceeded over half a trillion...