Free Republic

Of the 31 states that had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. national average of 6.1%, the overwhelming majority, 26, are Republican-led states. Republican-led states and Vermont reported the lowest unemployment rates in April, according to a new report by the U.S. Commerce Department. States led by Democratic governors recorded the highest jobless rates, according to the report. Unemployment rates were lower in April in 12 states and the District of Columbia and stable in 38 states, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. States with the highest unemployment rates in April were Hawaii (8.5%), California (8.3%), New Mexico...

Donald Trump and the Altogether True and Amazing Origin of the United American Counties. 2020 marked an epoch in American history, standing alongside 1865, 1787, and 1776. First there was the COVID-19 pandemic, then there were the racial protests and riots throughout the summer, and then there was the disputed presidential election. Finally and most cataclysmically, though, 2020 witnessed the initial formation of the United American Counties (UACo) within the former United States of America. Five years later, it is only now becoming possible to assess the most important causes and consequences of this momentous development for American political society.As...

Hillary Clinton returned to the scene of the original crime Saturday night, telling surviving Democrats in Arkansas why they should love her like she and Bill love themselves.

Yes, there is a red America and a blue America, at least according to television viewing habits. Our friends at National Media, a Republican ad-buying firm, sent us this map of a recent television event. Using data from Rentrak, a company that monitors data from set-top boxes, the map shows what percentage of television viewers in specific designated market areas watched this television event live.

THE WASHINGTON TIMES Upbeats, enterprisers, pro-government conservatives: Political types don't come in plain red and blue these days. A Pew Research Center poll released yesterday reveals a spectrum of subsets among Democrats and Republicans who disagree over policies, beliefs and values. The poll categorizes the ideological divisions as "significant cleavages" and "intra-party fissures" that challenge both sides to shore up voter unity as the nation heads toward 2006 midterm elections and the 2008 presidential race. The research also reveals some noteworthy traits overall. Among them, the poll says, 64 percent of Americans regularly display the American flag, 74 percent say...

Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times Andrew Wolf, editor and publisher of The Riverdale Review, concedes that people read name-calling letters, but he says he's growing weary. In the great combustion engine of democracy, the letter to the editor is probably the smallest working part. There is the vote, which sparks the pistons, and the campaign contribution, which greases sticky gears. Then there is the letter to the editor, which acts much like a valve. It allows a citizen to pour out powerful emotions - and, often, to vent spleen. If this is so, then democracy in the Riverdale section...