Free Republic

As the nation goes through its periodic soul-searching as to the causes of recent mass shootings, I fail to see one major factor discussed. This factor is the gradual weakening of consequences for bad behavior to the point of threatening the very fabric of society. The latest manifestations of this can be seen in the refusal to prosecute not only minor, but major infractions of the law in a significant number of cities. But what are the origins of these relaxed attitudes? I was an elementary school teacher for 40 years. Starting in the mid-1970s, the various school districts I...

Is Kamala Harris behind the curve? What has she done so far about the out-of-control border?Prior to that, we know she had a March 30 phone call with the president of Guatemala, nothing with the president of Honduras (who's involved in drug-dealing, according to the U.S. Treasury), and the president of El Salvador won't take her call should she make one, based on Bidenite diplomatic blunders. She also called the president of Mexico on April 7 to discuss trees for visas and other stupid things. The president of Mexico cut out of that call early with better things to do....

If you’re on the left, you believe that the traditional idea that humans come in two sexes (male and female) is not only outdated but evil. Instead, leftism insists that human sex identification is an infinitely malleable matter of personal choice, untethered to genetics. Conservatives respond that it’s not a matter of choice. Instead, people who claim to be transgendered almost invariably have complex mental issues, often stemming from their upbringing. A recently recovered 1991 study supports conservatives. During his pre-election town hall, Joe Biden happily accepted that little boys and girls know exactly what sex they really are (separate...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53223 President Says Budget Signifies New Way Forward for Defense By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2009 – Americans are not quitters, and the country can overcome the difficulties facing it, President Barack Obama said tonight in his first speech before a joint session of Congress. In a speech mainly dedicated to the economic crisis facing the world, the president also honored the nation's men and women in uniform, vowing to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps, raise military pay and provide the medical care veterans...

ROOT CAUSES OF THE ECONOMIC MELTDOWN 1) THE CREATION OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE [FED]. This is centralized banking as practiced in the U.S. The birth of the FED was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson (D) on Dec. 24, 1913. Reflecting on this he later said, “I am a most unhappy man; unwittingly I have ruined my country….” The FED is a private consortium of bankers the heads of which are appointed by the executive branch of government. Many people believe that their first loyalty lies with bankers—including Wall Street bankers and foreign bankers—more than with the American people....

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - President Vicente Fox paused for a long moment before answering a question on how long it would take Mexico to reach a stage where citizens no longer want to cross the U.S. border to seek work. "Generations," he finally said. "It's a long way to narrow the gap ... between incomes in Mexico and on the other side of the border," he said in a recent interview with Reuters. That income gap is the principal reason why hundreds of thousands of Mexicans cross the border with the U.S. illegally to seek work -- yet it rarely...

Summary: America should redouble and refocus its military action, not increase its foreign aid, if it wants to attack the "root cause" of terrorism. Body: In light of the recent suicide bombings in London, and the general inability of the West to prevent terrorist attacks, there is much talk about fighting the "root cause" of terrorism. The most popular argument is that terrorism is caused by poverty. The United Nations and our European and Arab "allies" repeatedly tell us to minimize our military operations and instead dole out more foreign aid to poor countries--to put down our guns and pick...

An Islamic academic who says suicide bombings are justified will preach to young Muslims in London at a conference funded by British taxpayers, The Sun can reveal. Egyptian-born Prof Tariq Ramadan has been banned from the US for endorsing terrorism. France has also barred him.

Tony Blair Says Leaders Must Faces Terrorism's Root Causes The Associated Press Published: Jul 9, 2005 LONDON (AP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Saturday it is crucial to address terrorism's underlying causes, which he identified as deprivation, lack of democracy and ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Thursday's bomb attacks on London demonstrate the pressing need for world leaders to tackle problems like poverty, he told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. He said leaders had taken on some of those issues at the G-8 summit of the world's wealthy nations in Scotland this week. "I think this type of...

George Walden reviews Terror and Liberalism by Paul Berman This is the best book I have read on Muslim fundamentalism and what to do about it. Paul Berman writes in the excellent American weekly The New Republic. His self-description as a Social Democrat suggests a European approach to the Middle East, yet his intelligence, breadth of culture, honesty and courage are a world away from the moralistic grandstanding of slithy toves like Chris Patten, Dominique de Villepin and Joschka Fischer. The clarity of his thought cuts through their evasions like a knife through butter, as Berman looks the evil of...