Free Republic

We have a problem in this country right now with regard to producing and distributing the combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin that, according to studies­­, have shown promising results when used to combat COVID-19. As a business owner, I have been blessed to receive everything I have today because I lived in a time and place where free markets are the primary organizing force of economic activity. Free markets are also credited with being the best way to create a better quality of life for the greatest number of people. They also perform more mechanical functions. Free markets allocate scarce...

Judicial overreach is moving beyond a theoretical political debate, as one Delaware state judge could throw the livelihoods of nearly 4,000 people into uncertainty and have sweeping ramifications for other major American employers. TransPerfect Global is by almost any measure a successful company, with more than $500 million in revenue and more than 3,500 fulltime employees. It’s the world’s largest privately-held translation software company, with offices in 90 cities. The company itself doesn’t seem dysfunctional – managing to be quite profitable despite litigation between the co-founders. However, Delaware Court of Chancery Chief Judge Andre Bouchard ruled the company must be...

Amateur drone hobbyists, beware! If you happen to make one red cent from any video filmed with your small drone – or if Uncle Sam thinks you are -- you might soon receive an unwelcome notice in the mail or an ominous visitor at your door. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is cracking down on what it deems to be “commercial use” of drones or “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” (UAVs), as it prefers to call them. The agency is turning amateur hobbyists and small business owners into potential outlaws should they ignore the FAA’s demands to “cease and desist” from operating...

Brace yourself… Skepticism, doubt and criticism of Obamanomics (all of which are, undoubtedly, based in racism) will be cast aside. Why? Because, according to the 20-something-year-old White House intern that is in charge of the official White House twitter account, “Our businesses have added nearly 10 million new jobs over the past 52 months.” I know, right? Pretty awesome statistic. (Gloss over the fact that the President is referring to private enterprise as “our businesses”.) But before you rush out to slap an Obama ‘16 sticker on your car (are those stickers available yet?), you may want a little bit...

The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s cancelation of federal trademark registration for the name Washington “Redskins,” after ruling it disparages Native Americans, puts pressure on team owner Daniel Snyder and the National Football League (NFL) to change the name but falls far short of settling the issue. The split, 2-1, decision by unelected trademark board members shows the increasingly heavy hand that politics is playing in the activities of the private sector, since the ruling followed recent public calls for a name change from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. The team counters that the long-standing “Redskins” name...

Why Jon Stewart isn't funny By Michael Kalin | March 3, 2006 THE SELECTION of Jon Stewart as the host for Sunday night's 2006 Oscars undoubtedly marks a career milestone for the aspiring king of late-night comedy. Unfortunately, however, the ascension of Stewart and ''The Daily Show" into the public eye is no laughing matter. Stewart's ever-increasing popularity among young viewers directly correlates with the declining influence of progressive thought in America. Coincidence? I think not. Let me explain.

The only reason the United States's — or for that matter any country's — space programme has been kept in government hands for so long is because it was inextricably linked with defence concerns and the bogey of "national security". It's hardly any secret that the intercontinental ballistic missiles are nothing but modified rockets, while satellites were primarily built to eavesdrop and snoop on the affairs of enemy countries

As the drama surrounding the space shuttle’s return to flight continues, NASA is forced to deal with two major, interrelated problems. The first is how to fly the shuttle safely until its planned retirement in 2010. Obviously, they will not be able to fly all 28 flights currently scheduled. This means the International Space Station (ISS) will not be completed as planned. Some of the ISS hardware will either have to be left on Earth, or a way to get it into orbit without using the shuttle will have to be found. This will be difficult since the modules and...

The Space Review talked to Dr. Earl Renaud, chief operating officer of TGV Rockets at TGV’s headquarters in Norman, Oklahoma this spring. Sam Dinkin asked him why he wasn’t pursuing space tourism like everyone else.

Why do we need Mother's Day anyway? Just kidding! I'm staying away from controversial topics for a while. For starters, I don't have time to read all the responses. In my last column, I questioned the need for taxpayer-funded libraries, considering that books are readily available at low prices from private sources such as Amazon.com. You could say the column did not receive overwhelming approval. In fact, for the next 2½ weeks, my computer continually flashed at me: "You have mail!" It might as well have said: "Another angry librarian!" Many of the replies were long and detailed. I almost...

Space entrepreneurs that envision a flourishing public space travel market want to create an industry association to ensure that public treks into space are not only safe, but also help grow the personal spaceflight industry. This new “Personal Spaceflight Federation” would help shape and uphold standards and processes. As a first action item, the group would set up a “Voluntary Personal Spaceflight Industry Consensus Standards Organization” -- an effort to establish Industry Consensus Standards to implement the Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004.

The aerospace firm SpaceDev cast its hat into the ring of private human spaceflight today, announcing its plans to build a reuseable spacecraft that may one day carry passengers into orbit. Based in Poway, California, SpaceDev is designing a piloted sub-orbital spacecraft that could eventually be scaled up for orbital flights. The effort springs from a partnership between SpaceDev and NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California to explore hybrid propulsion-based hypersonic testbeds for routine human spaceflight.

Dozens of Britain's multi-millionaires will gather in London next month to compete for a prize that is "out of this world". At stake is a place on the world's first entirely commercial space mission, a visit to the International Space Station (ISS), and the title of Britain's first ever space tourist. At £12m, the full board, en suite "holiday" will not come cheap, but there is no shortage of takers. The American company behind the project, Space Adventures, will hold a party in the capital in a fortnight, where more than 50 of the nation's wealthiest individuals will be briefed...