Free Republic

Donjindra wrote: We're running huge deficits. Of course our tax bill will go up. It should go up. Do "conservatives" think there's a free-lunch? That money grows on trees? Apparently so. - Merry Christmas: This Tax Increase is for You, AmericaDear Comrade Jindra,OK, so now liberals are worried about the deficit? And you guys are lecturing the rest of us about fiscal responsibility and how money is created?Typical tough talk from a group that can’t even pass a budget, yet alone balance one.Here’s a good idea: Have your messiah present a plan to Congress that balances the budget, right now,...

Why do some atheists embarrass themselves year after year trying to eradicate Christmas from American culture? Why do they make themselves societal hemorrhoids during this hallowed season? Is it because they are crusaders for equality, secularism’s saviors and humanism’s heroes? I’m sure that’s what they tell themselves when they’re pouting on their couches all alone on Christmas Eve after every single one of their friends has dumped them for being a rabid jackass. I believe, however—and I could be wrong—that the reason some rage against the machine is that they hate God and love their sin, and bringing up Jesus...

This week, when speaking at children's toy K'NEX factory in Pennsylvania, President Obama urged the House of Representatives merely to pass what Harry Reid's Senate has passed and send him the bill. The Senate has already passed a bill to keep income taxes from going up on middle-class families. That’s already passed the Senate. Your member of Congress like Allyson and Chaka, other Democrats in the House, they're ready to go. They're ready to vote on that same thing. And if we can just get a few House Republicans on board, we can pass the bill in the House. It...

President Obama proposed tax hike contains a lot to dislike, but what hasn't gotten much attention is the tax hike on savings and investments. While the marginal income tax rate will rise from 35% to 39.6% for top income-earners and small business owners, the proposed tax hike on capital gains and dividends could cause the most long-term economic damage. That's not to downplay the rise in marginal rates. It could cost hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next few years. More universally acknowledged by economists, however, is the economic harm that savings and investment taxes do. In the Tax...

Western intelligence officials say they are picking up new signs of activity at sites in Syria that are used to store chemical weapons. The officials are uncertain whether Syrian forces might be preparing to use the weapons in a last-ditch effort to save the government, or simply sending a warning to the West about the implications of providing more help to the Syrian rebels. “It’s in some ways similar to what they’ve done before,” a senior American official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. “But they’re doing some things that suggest they intend to use...

As sundry pundits, political consultants, and elected officials search for answers in the wake of the GOP’s decisive election loss, it’s worth noting that while the Republican Party yielded ground in the Senate, House of Representatives, and various state legislatures-to say nothing of its presidential nominee’s defeat-there were several important races where immigration patriots won, or open borders shills were soundly beaten. Overall, it was a much better night for those believe in responsible immigration policies than the reelection of El Presidente might initially suggest. Contrary to the self-serving narrative constructed by professional Hispanics and those eager for an endless...

Western intelligence officers were seeing new signs of activity at Syrian chemical weapons sites, they told the New York Times Sunday, Dec. 2. “It’s in some ways similar to what they’ve done before,” a senior U.S. intelligence official said. “But they’re doing some things that suggest they intend to use the weapons. It’s not just moving stuff around. These are different kind of activities.” DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources add rumors were flying around the region Saturday night and Sunday morning that President Bashar Assad had been killed or fled Syria. Neither is confirmed. However, the rebels have in recent days...

Eutychianism 1249. What was the Eutychian heresy? Eutyches was the Superior of a Monastery in Constantinople who strongly opposed Nestorius. Unhappily his reaction against the errors of Nestorius led him into an opposite error. The Catholic doctrine teaches that in Christ there is one Person only, that of the Eternal Son of God, and two natures, the one Divine and the other human. Nestorius had wanted two persons and two natures. Eutyches, to safeguard the one Person of Christ, taught that the human nature was so absorbed into the Divine Nature as to lose its identity, so that as a...

I went 10-6 last week straight up, and 12-3-1 against the spread. *Sunday, December 2* Indianapolis 7-4 at Detroit 4-7 - 1:00 p.m. (Line: DETROIT by 4.5) The outcome of this game doesn't really matter much to me, as a Lions fan. They ain't making the playoffs this year. But I am interested to see how many times Ndamukong Suh "accidentally" kicks Colts QB Andrew Luck in the nuts. ---RJ's Pick: Lions by 8 Jacksonville 2-9 at Buffalo 4-7 - 1:00 p.m. (Line: BUFFALO by 6) A crappy warm weather team going to play in a cold weather city in...

Egypt’s ruling party is paying gangs of thugs to sexually assault women protesting in Cairo’s Tahrir Square against President Mohamed Morsi, activists said. They also said the Muslim Brotherhood is paying gangs to beat up men who are taking part in the latest round of protests, which followed a decree by President Morsi to give himself sweeping new powers. It comes as the Muslim Brotherhood co-ordinated a demonstration today in support of President Mohamed Morsi, who is rushing through a constitution to try to defuse opposition fury over his newly expanded powers.

Today’s attack was a chilling reminder of the day earlier in November when the seven-year-old girl was snatched by a saltwater crocodile 210 miles east of Darwin. ... Saltwater crocodiles, which can grow up to 25ft and weigh more than a ton, are plentiful in the Northern Territory... Crocodiles are protected in the Northern Territory and their numbers have increased steadily, resulting in a number of attacks on people, One man writing to the Northern Territory News today said: ‘This has got to stop – there are too many crocs. ‘Of course we need to use common sense when in...

A Chinese man ran amok and attacked employees and a mosque at Riyadh international airport in Saudi Arabia after he missed his flight home. The man, who arrived late at the airport, was told by airline staff that the aircraft had already taken off and that he must rebook his flight. “He instantly went mad and attacked the airline staff with his jacket and bag…he then went into the airport mosque and began spitting,” Sabq newspaper said. “Some passengers at the airport who saw the man insulting the mosque grabbed him out and gave him a good smack before airport...

In a chilling parallel to the scandal sweeping Britain’s towns and cities, where a multitude of girls have been lured into sex-for-sale rings run by gangs, the Dutch pimps search out girls at school gates and in cafes, posing as ‘boyfriends’ promising romance, fast car rides and restaurant meals. The men ply their victims with vodka and drugs. They tell them lies: that they love them and their families don’t care for them. Then, the trap set, they rape them with other gang members, often taking photos of the attack to blackmail the girl into submission. ... Hard-line criminal behaviour...

Only one of seven cashier counters was open, resulting in a long queue. When the cashier didn't give him a valid answer, he ordered the ice cream and placed them on the counter. It took 42 soft serve cones to 'cool down' a fuming customer. On Nov 12, a man visited a KFC outlet in Guiyang, Guizhou, China during the busy lunch period. Although there were many customers, only one out of the seven available cashier counters was open, reported Chinese media. The man reached the counter after queuing for 15 minutes. He told the employee about the long wait...

JERUSALEM — Israel responded swiftly Friday to U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state, revealing it will build 3,000 more homes for Jews on Israeli-occupied lands that the world body overwhelmingly said belong to the Palestinians. The plans also include future construction in a strategic area of the West Bank where critics have long warned that Jewish settlements would kill hopes for a viable Palestinian state. Israel's moves served as a harsh reminder to Palestinians – euphoric over the U.N. upgrade – that while they now have a state on paper, most of it remains very much under Israeli control. "This...

Somewhere is a line between excessive hyping of a stock and what is appropriate to informing potential investors about the future investment prospects of a company. Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), which on Tuesday, Nov. 20 released news of solid revenue growth and blew away the Street's earnings consensus, is an example of a company on the extreme end of the under-hyped spectrum. The chart below demonstrates how the stock went from $6.32 a share in late August to approximately $10.00 a share after surprising the Street for that quarter... (continued)

Top ATF officials involved in Operation Fast and Furious had their government security clearances revoked and others were fired, demoted, or transferred. Former ATF Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division Bill Newell, former ATF Special Agent in Charge of Operations in the West Bill McMahon, and former Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division George Gillett were fired. Former Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jim Needles and Field Supervisor David Voth were demoted. Lead case agent Hope McAllister was placed on leave and transferred out of Phoenix. Agent Voth was the subject of Fortune...

Egyptian "President" Mohammed Morsi "is not backing down in the showdown over decrees granting him near-absolute powers," that "clashes between the two camps (Morsi's Islamist supporters and secular opponents) ... left two dead and hundreds injured," and that the country's Muslim Brotherhood-dominated assembly "pushed through the 234-article draft (constitution) in just 21 hours from Thursday into Friday ... (after) Coptic Christians and liberals earlier had walked out." The draft constitution includes several articles "that rights activists, liberals and Christians fear will lead to restrictions on the rights of women and minorities," and omits "bans on slavery or promises to adhere...

A couple of days ago, speaking in the House of Lords, former British Labour Defence Minister Baron John Gilbert suggested that UK should drop a neutron bomb on the Pak-Afghan border for creating impassable sanitary cordons between the two countries. "Your Lordships may say that this is impractical, but nobody lives up in the mountains on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan except for a few goats and a handful of people herding them," Baron Gilbert is quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India. "If you told them that some ERRB (Enhanced Radiation/Reduced Blast) warheads were going to...

What are the sources or inspiration for these subjects?Basically they are inspired by the documents of the Holy See, and in particular by the Catechism of the Catholic Church and its Compendium. This was a deliberate choice so as to create an awareness of the vast richness, completeness and beauty of these documents which are, in some circles, hardly known at all. In this way, it is possible to present the essential and fundamental contents of the faith which are professed, not just by the individual Catholic, but by the Catholic Church throughout the world as it adheres to the...