Free Republic

No matter who you are, what you believe, who you believe in, I love you all!. Thank you from the bottom of...well, the top of my heart. You folks are the most enlightening folks I've ever had a chance to read. 1998 and I've lurked just about all that time, funniest, craziness and off the cliff stuff I've ever read. My hope is you've passed to generations to come all your wisdom, satire and knowledge you can impart. I know that all things will be good... I know things never end. They can't because of folks like you. Your the...

Pierogi. Kielbasa. Kapusta. Oplatek. Ah, it wouldn’t be Christmas without them. Hard to believe my last name is McCarthy, huh? Well, my mother’s maiden name was Lajewski. Sounds just like it’s spelled: “Why-es-kee.” For a guy who sheds a tear at every version of “Danny Boy” or enjoys a pint of Guinness or two or ... Christmas for me is a Polish tradition. Though our families today are far flung, from Arizona to New Jersey, New York City, Colorado, Buffalo and Virginia, the memories of those family Christmases in Sayreville, N.J., remain and revisit this time of year. Whether in...

Yay, Christmas is here! Time to brace yourself for the full effect of how crazy your family really is. The holiday household can be a bubbling crucible for the very best and most pungent acts of weirdness, all brought on by proximity and eggnog. But no matter what mean things grandma says when she's had a few or how long your sister's kids can run in circles around the fragile -- kids, FRAGILE! -- Christmas tree, your crazy isn't gonna beat the crazy of these classic holiday traditions from around the world. Gather 'round the flaming Yule Goat In certain...

Each Christmas season, the Laskovy family gathers to carry on a tradition started a century ago in Eastern Europe. Up to four generations of the Laskovys come together on or around Christmas Eve to make pierogies -- hundreds of them at a time. "Everything is made from scratch," said Julie Mead, whose grandmother Yulianna Laskovy first started making the dish in the Ukraine before she moved to America in 1910. Yulianna later married her husband, Julius, and settled on a farm in Decatur. "It's one of the things that makes Christmas special," Mead said. "In that way, it's like a...

It’s not enough that liberals sought to destroy a good man’s reputation when he was nominated to the Supreme Court. Their efforts at character assassination continue after his passing. One of the most contemptible examples of this came from Rachel Maddow on her MSNBC show Dec. 19 in talking about the death of Robert Bork and his influence on American jurisprudence and politics over the last four decades. As to be expected, Maddow focused on Bork’s thwarted nomination to the Supreme Court in the fall of 1987, the opening salvo in our decades-long culture war. …

Relations between Bahrain and the United States have come under increasing strain amid the Shi’ite revolt in the Gulf Cooperation Council kingdom, a report said. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy said that Bahraini leaders were expressing dismay over what they determined was Washington’s failure to support Manama in the campaign against Shi’ites backed by Iran. The institute cited veiled criticism of the administration of President Barack Obama during the Manama Dialogue in early December. The United States sees political reform as compatible with maintaining the historical security relationship, while the royal family views Shi’ite leaders with suspicion, believing...

Sen. John Kerry has a long and dubious record in foreign policy. In the 1970s, he testified against his fellow Vietnam War veterans before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He charged that they were violating the Geneva Conventions every day in Vietnam. Some POWs were outraged at Kerry’s disloyal statements. They said they had been tortured by their Communist captors trying to force them to make such untrue statements. Worse, Kerry went to Paris in 1971. There, he met with North Vietnamese Communists. … Any negotiation between a private U.S. citizen and a foreign power is illegal. It violates the...

Dear Brothers and Sisters! Again and again the beauty of this Gospel touches our hearts: a beauty that is the splendor of truth. Again and again it astonishes us that God makes himself a child so that we may love him, so that we may dare to love him, and as a child trustingly lets himself be taken into our arms. It is as if God were saying: I know that my glory frightens you, and that you are trying to assert yourself in the face of my grandeur. So now I am coming to you as a child, so...

Conservative activists who helped doom Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) “Plan B” say Republicans must be prepared to go over the fiscal cliff to force President Obama to reach a deal that includes no tax hikes. … “I think Obama is very mindful of his legacy and is horrified of going over the cliff,” said Andy Roth of the Club for Growth. “Going over the cliff might be a signal that needs to be sent to the president, that he needs to play ball.” … “I think it is certainly better to go over the fiscal cliff than to have the...

Merry Christmas to the Fourth Estate! Hope you've enjoyed your goose or turkey or whatever your family tradition includes (latkes for those who are Jewish). When you return to work, there are a few loose ends on which you might want to follow up. "Follow up." It's a term that has gone out of style in the age of Obama. You members of the press have become remarkably uncurious since he's been in the White House. A blanket of benevolent uncuriousness smothers news about Obama administration wrongdoing. The Secretary of State, who took "full responsibility" for the Benghazi debacle, has...

Hi Townhall Readers- Yes, I know I'm on vacation, but even so I can't but help to spout about stuff. This week I will be taking selections from writings I've written elsewhere regarding life and liberty and sharing them with you. Don't you feel special now?Today's selection is a letter I wrote to someone who was coming of age and wanted advice about being a man. It's not that I think I'm an expert. Far from it. But he thought it helpful and it can serve as a point of discussion for Christmas Day.       Dear __________,Before this last century boys your age...

Imagine it's Christmas Eve in your local church and the offering plate is passed to help a local orphanage build an addition because there's "no room in the inn." But just when you're about to give generously to the cause, you recall that politicians in Washington recently voted to reduce tax deductions for charitable giving.Would you give as much under reduced charitable deductions?Despite the fact that charitable deductions are the 10th-most popular tax break (nearly 40 million Americans claim them annually), those in Washington are willing to gamble that you're going to give as generously in the future without...

A shooting at a VIP nightclub in an upscale Seattle suburb left one man dead and hundreds of parties - including reality star Aubrey O'Day and most of the Seattle Seahawks team - diving for cover. Police say a 19-year-old smuggled a handgun into the Munchbar club in Bellevue, Washington, and opened fire about 1am on Monday - killing a 30-year-old man and shooting a second man in the hand. The suspect, Ja'mari Jones, is on the run and considered armed and dangerous.

After watching the deranged, delusional National Rifle Association press conference on Friday, it was clear that the Mayan prophecy had come true. Except the only world that was ending was the NRA's. Their bullying power to set gun policy in this country is over. The nation is repulsed by the massacre in Connecticut, and the signs are everywhere: a basketball coach at a post-game press conference; the Republican Joe Scarborough; a pawn shop owner in Florida; a gun buy-back program in New Jersey; a singing contest show on TV, and the conservative gun-owning judge who sentenced Jared Loughner. So here's...

When it comes to Christmas, it might be safe to assume children will ask Santa for an extensive list of toys, games and treats. But a survey of their typical lists for Father Christmas has shown many have more serious concerns, requesting "a dad" instead. A study of 2,000 British parents found most children will put a new baby brother or sister at the top of their Christmas list, closely followed by a request for a real-life reindeer. A "pet horse" was the third most popular choice, with a "car" making a bizarre entry at number four.

BEIJING – A man in northern China has rammed a car loaded with a gas tank and firecrackers into a group of middle school students, injuring 13. The official Xinhua News Agency says the man attempted to set off an explosion after running down 23 students at Fengning No. 1 Middle School in northern China's Hebei province on Monday. The man is in police custody.

With President Obama’s announcement of a commission to study and recommend ways to reduce gun violence, the two most important Democrats in government — Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — have both indicated a desire to slow the momentum toward gun control in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut school shootings. The president’s decision to appoint a blue-ribbon panel — the classic Washington ploy to defuse and delay consideration of an issue — along with Reid’s inaction on the gun question will undoubtedly frustrate many in their party who want immediate action. Obama seemed to anticipate that frustration...

“The Gift, the Announcement, and the Exclamation Mark” (Luke 2:1-14)Suppose I got a Christmas present for you, but I didn’t tell you about it. I didn’t tell you that I had something for you, and I didn’t tell you where you could find it. Well, it could be the greatest Christmas present in the world, but if you never find out what it is or where you can find it, it won’t do you much good. You need me to tell you about it. Well, that’s the way it is with Christmas. God has given us the greatest Christmas present...

Take a moment to consider this short excerpt from Francis Schaeffer's sermon, "What Difference Has Looking Made?" The sermon is an extended reflection on the experience of the shepherds to whom the angels appeared at the birth of Jesus, as well as what that experience has to teach us: Doctrinal clarity matters a great deal; but Luke does not allow his Gospelto end merely with a proper emphasis on the necessity of the great doctrinaltruths, and our study should not end there either. Before his ascension Jesustold the disciples "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached inhis name...

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon approved new rates that all U.N. members pay for the regular budget. $5.4 billion. China, Russia, Brazil and other countries with growing economies will have to pay an increased share, European Union contributions will drop, the U.S. ceiling will not. (@ 22 percent). U.S. deputy ambassador Joseph Torsella said the United States "is pleased."