Free Republic

Should we worry about the numbers out today showing that jobless claims have surged to 454,000 thousand, up from 403,000 the week previously? That's a large jump, one of the biggest in recent memory. At the same time, there's some new data showing that orders of big new equipment and machinery are down, which hints at future job losses. The answer is no – it's not time to worry, yet. Terrible weather throughout the Midwest and East Coast has skewed the figures, and the underlying data shows the labor market to be steady as she goes, on track to generate...

Republicans have seized on the Christmas Day attempted terrorist attack as evidence that Democrats are weak on national security issues, as they seek to bolster their credentials ahead of next year’s Congressional elections. As the Obama administration’s investigation into how a suspicious Nigerian man was able to carry explosives onto a US-bound aircraft gathers pace, a slew of Republicans have criticised everything from the president’s slow response to his plans to close the controversial Guantánamo Bay prison camp. “Soft talk about engagement, closing Gitmo, these things are not going to appease the terrorists,” said Jim DeMint, a Republican senator from...

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters nationwide say that it would be better to pass no health care reform bill this year instead of passing the plan currently being considered by Congress. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 34% think that passing that bill would be better. Middle-income voters are more likely than others to say that passing no legislation is the better option. One reason for this is that most Americans now believe they will be worse off if reform passes. Fifty-four percent (54%) hold that view while just 25% believe they would be better off....

Sept. 12 was an amazing day as thousands marched on Washington, D.C., seeking to unite Americans and make a stand against tyranny and oppression. At the same time, the Tea Party Express escorted a number of patriots to the U.S. Capitol as well, to culminate its cross-country rallies. But what's next? I have an idea. What I loved about the 9/12 idea is that it was a non-political, non-partisan movement. The 9-12 Project was designed to bring Americans back to the place where we were on Sept. 12, 2001 – the day after America was attacked by terrorists. We were...

I have not dealt a great deal with the lawyers and their cases concerning Bearick Obama, as in analysis none of them have produced anything, and none of them has proceeded in ways which would set cases to leverage the exact Obama documents sought. It is like if you wanted a date with a person who was ignoring you. You don't keep after the person who says, "NO", you instead find another person who is interested to help you make the person envious. That is why I stated that tax cases etc... would be how to get Obama's records and...

The incoming head of the United Nation's nuclear watchdog said on Friday he did not see any hard evidence that Iran was trying to gain the ability to develop nuclear weapons. "I don't see any evidence in IAEA official documents about this," Japan's Yukiya Amano told Reuters in his first direct comment on Iran's nuclear program since his election to head the International Atomic Energy Agency, when asked whether he believed Iran was seeking a nuclear weapons capability. Current IAEA head Mohammed ElBaradei told the BBC last month it was his "gut feeling" that Iran was seeking the ability to...