FREEDOMWORKS.COM

Once upon a time I worked for a huge company, providing communications for their global IT department. I was gathering a team to work on a big project and asked a couple of the more skilled employees to join.

“Sorry, Jon, but we’ve been moved to socks. That’s all we do now.” Not hip to the vernacular of the kids, I wondered when our technology firm started selling hosiery. “No, not the socks on your feet. S-O-X. You know, Sarbanes-Oxley?”

Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to protect shareholders and the public from the types of accounting errors and fraud that led to the collapse of public companies like Enron and WorldCom. Sounds good, right?

FREEDOMWORKS.COM

The state of Texas is becoming the standard for freedom in America. Already attracting thousands of new employers for its pro-business stance and hundreds of thousands of new residents for its pro-individual policies, now the Lone Star State wants to revolutionize online freedom.

The state legislature has sent a bill to Governor Rick Perry that would close a troubling loophole that allows the government to access your personal emails. Provided that Perry doesn’t veto the law, the legislation would only apply to state and local law enforcement. Nevertheless, it sends a powerful message to the federal government not to mess with Texas or its email.

FREEDOMWORKS.COM

Whenever a high school grad is foolish enough to ask me for college advice, I share one simple tip: Watch Animal House.

Sure, it’s important to study and read and learn and intern and blah, blah, blah. But don’t get so pre-occupied with academic achievement that you miss out on the unique opportunity for fun, mayhem and terrible decision-making that college provides. Work hard during the week, but have a blast on the weekend.

Unfortunately, the White House doesn’t share my views about Animal House. In fact, according to the Obama Administration’s new campus rules, showing the John Belushi classic could be considered a crime.

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In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
  That mark our place; and in the sky
  The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
  Loved and were loved, and now we lie
        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
  The torch; be yours to hold it high.
  If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
        In Flanders fields.

Every Memorial Day, I read this poem and remember the charge given us by the fallen. To assist our Pinterest-ready, Buzzfeeding world, I highlighted my favorite bit in the adjacent graphic.

Enjoy your day to the fullest. But above all,  remember.

FREEDOMWORKS.COM

Those of us on the right are repeatedly told to “embrace the culture.” These cries were amplified after 2012 Republican losses were blamed on “low information” voters who pay more attention to pop culture than the news cycle.

Many liberty-loving folks have agreed that engaging the entertainment world is essential. But where do we start?

Believe it or not, there are small-government, free-market fans working in Hollywood. Eager to get an insider’s perspective, I talked with Andrew Leigh, a screenwriter and independent producer working in the belly of the beast. Leigh and fellow filmmaker Patrick Reasonover founded Taliesin Nexus, a Hollywood-based group that educates and connects right-leaning creatives.

FREEDOMWORKS.COM

Another day, another scandal (or three). Whether the issue is investigating reporters, fumbling Benghazi or harassing Tea Partiers, people across the political spectrum finally are challenging the once-Teflon Obama administration. His groupies in the press are loath to criticize him directly, but the president’s “no drama” public façade is crumbling faster than a Kardashian marriage.

Some in the press compare the scandal tsunami to Watergate while the more daring sort are even breathing the word “impeachment.” The left and the talking heads can say what they want, but let’s hope Republicans avoid the I-word entirely.

Barack Obama isn’t the problem. Progressivism is.

RICOCHET.COM

Tatum Raetz' daddy couldn't make it to her kindergarten graduation. So hundreds of her adoptive daddies did.

Her father, Phoenix Police Officer Daryl Raetz, was struck down in the line of duty over the weekend. While investigating a possible DUI, another driver killed him and fled the scene.

As his daughter Tatum drove up to her elementary school, she learned that she had a bigger family than she ever imagined:

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With so many White House scandals—and new ones popping up every day—how are average citizens supposed to keep track? Wouldn't it be nice if Obama went on ESPN and mapped them all on a bracket?

Why wait for next year's March Madness when you can start May Madness today? Introducing the Obama Scandal Bracket! Click here for a full-size version and vote for the scandal you think will bring down the president.

FREEDOMWORKS.COM

Rough week for the White House, huh? Trying to keep up with all these scandals is like drinking from a firehose and every day the water rushes out faster. And how did Obama respond to the right, left and center calling out his seemingly lawless behavior? With arrogance, of course.

As a Twitter hashtag game asked users to describe Obamacare in three words, the official White House account stumbled in. “It’s. The. Law.” they sneered, attaching a photo of the President’s signature on his train wreck legislation.

One would hope the events of the past week would chasten this administration, but the response has been nothing but petulance. Expecting this tone-deaf response, the Republican-led House of Representatives voted Thursday for a full repeal of Obamacare.

FREEDOMWORKS.COM

Author, comedian and podcaster extraordinaire Adam Carolla stumbled upon an important business insight: “I don't think I've ever seen pie advertised,” he said. “That's how you know it's good. They advertise ice cream and other desserts. They advertise the bejeezus out of yogurt, but I haven't seen one pie commercial.”

The dirty little secret about advertising is that, in general, the better the product, the less you have to advertise.

The best restaurant in town is packed every night without buying an ad. You chose your auto mechanic because your gearhead uncle swears he runs the only honest shop in town. And do you hear more about Harley Davidson from TV spots or from your co-worker who wears a Harley jacket and drinks from a Harley coffee mug while driving a Harley-edition truck?