Free Republic

Sorry if this has already been covered. I searched! Pro 2nd Amendment Rally at State Capitols Across the Nation January 19th at Noon. Website http://www.guncontrolmorecrime.com/ Facebook http://www.facebook.com/GunControlMoreCrime More info youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUAfft7l4wQ

Saudi Arabia's Beheading of a Nanny Followed Strict Procedures Rizana Nafeek, a young nanny from Sri Lanka, was beheaded by sword this week in Saudi Arabia, punishment for allegedly killing a baby in 2007 when she was believed to be just 17. The execution has spurred international outcry, given Nafeek's age at the time of the incident and her limited access to a defense attorney. The beheading has also shined a light on the Arab kingdom's medieval system of punishment, which includes cutting the hands off thieves, executing women accused of adultery, and flogging men accused of being gay. Few...

I typically spend 94.37% of my computing time in the Solaris or Linux environments but today was one of those occasions when I ventured outside my comfort zone, launching into Windows 8 for a brief while. A series of updates were available and upon the recommended reboot, I was greeted with this message:Windows Update: Do not turn off your computer. Of course, the Unix platforms have never been noted for the precision of their error and informational messages (the notorious "not a typewriter" as a catchall for an invalid ioctl). Yet the syntax of the Microsoft message struck me as...

“Christ the Baptized and Baptizer” (Luke 3:15-22)Today in the church year is the Baptism of Our Lord, which we always celebrate on this, the First Sunday after the Epiphany. The Baptism of Our Lord is that auspicious occasion when our Lord Jesus Christ, as he was about to start his public ministry, was baptized by John in the Jordan, and the Spirit descended on him like a dove, and a voice came from heaven, attesting to Jesus as God’s beloved Son, with whom he is well pleased. And so every year on this day the Holy Gospel is the account...

I posted a letter a short while back that I sent to my State Senators and Congresswoman. I've received several email requests for permission to use the text. Therefore to all Freepers: Permission Granted! Stay united and defend the Second Amendment. Here's the text of the letter. The Honorable *insert name* The Honorable *insert name* The Honorable *insert name* Washington, DC. Subject: Pending Federal Gun Control Legislation The Second Amendment of the US Constitution clearly establishes the limits of the Government concerning gun control. It was established by our founding fathers to give “We the People” an equal footing with...

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell delivered his state of the Commonwealth address on Wednesday, marking his vision for the state as the General Assembly opens the 2013 session. One of the most striking parts of his presentation is a proposal to eliminate Virginia’s 17.5-cent per gallon gasoline tax, and replace this portion of state roads funding with an increase in the state’s sales tax.

Dear (Recipients), I am a law-abiding citizen and responsible gun owner. I am saddened by the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut, but I believe that efforts to impose new restrictions on me and other lawful and responsible owners like me are misguided. Did you know that violent crime with firearms has declined since the Federal "assault weapons ban" expired in 2004? Your focus should be on strengthening mental health care and improving the quality of data supporting NICs checks (National Instant Criminal Background Check System). Do NOT pass more gun laws; instead, work to enforce the more than 20,000 gun...

Hobby Lobby, the Christian craft company, has been forced to alter its employee health insurance plan in order to avoid millions of dollars in fines each and every day it refuses to comply with the HHS mandate.The mandate compels religious employers to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions for their employees in their health insurance plan. Late Thursday, in a statement, Hobby Lobby attorney Peter Dobelbower said the company will shift the plan year for employee health insurance that will delay the implementation date of the plan from January 1, so it does not coincide with...

The newly elected North Carolina General Assembly was sworn in this week. It is decidedly Republican, with the Republicans having a 31-to-19 advantage in the state Senate and a 67 to 52 advantage in the state House. There is also a huge change for 2013 in that North Carolina has a Republican governor. Former Gov. Bev "Dumpling" Perdue vetoed quite a few bills in the last session and even more bills were never introduced because the Republicans knew they would never make it past the governor's desk. Now the legislature has a governor who will be working with them, not...

....I depart and return to Israel with a sense of sorrow and dismay. For many, Israel remains a focal point of their lives enriching their collective sense of responsibility and Jewish identity. For these American Jews their frustration has only been reinforced by Obama's reelection only to be followed by him turning his back towards those very American Jews aligned with the White House, those Jews who wholeheartedly supported Obama's reelection yet now find themselves unable to defend his latest betrayal. Two major supporters of Obama, former NY Mayor Ed Koch, a life long Democrat and Prof Alan Dershowitz have...

Embattled St. George businessman Jeremy Johnson says new Utah Attorney General John Swallow helped broker a deal in 2010 in which Johnson believed he was to pay Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid $600,000 to make a federal investigation into Johnson’s company go away. But when the federal government filed a lawsuit Johnson thought he had paid to quash, he demanded Swallow return some of the $250,000 initial payment. Then, just days before the Nov. 6 election, Johnson engaged in a frenetic but unsuccessful effort to get Swallow to drop out of the race, saying information about what Johnson called a...

House Republican defense hawks are pushing back strongly against Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) claim that he has GOP support to allow steep automatic budget cuts to take effect if President Obama does not agree to replace them with other reductions. Party leaders have for more than a year railed against the Pentagon portion of the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration, but in an interview published Monday, Boehner pointed to the reductions as leverage and said he had significant Republican support, including from defense hawks, in his “back pocket.” Not so fast, two defense-minded House Republicans told The Hill. “I don’t...

Dash-Cam Perfect Timing Catches Cat Fight!Epic Cat Fight (cat's horror) Crows vs Cat vs Cat Street FightCat Betrayed His Girlfriend! Sex! Heat! Rage! Foul language! (ORIGINAL ENGLISH CAPTIONS)

A car exploded near the Israeli defence ministry in Tel Aviv on Thursday, injuring several people, in what police said was a crime-related incident and not linked to militant groups. ...

Credit: File Photo/CNA. Vatican City, Jan 11, 2013 / 01:30 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict's mass of 2.5 million followers in eight languages during his first month on Twitter has one Vatican priest calling the pontiff's online presence “a new frontier” of evangelization. Father Paolo Padrini, a collaborator of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said it is good that the Pope has so many followers, but it even more important that the Pope “seeks to co-exist and share on Twitter.” “Being present in social media is evangelizing, if just for the fact that he is present with his...

Defence chiefs prepare new plans to defend Falkland Islands Defence chiefs have drawn up new contingency plans designed to prevent hostile action by Argentina towards the Falkland Islands. By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent 9:00PM GMT 12 Jan 2013 A series of military options are being actively considered as the war of words over the islands intensifies. It is understood that additional troops, another warship and extra RAF Typhoon combat aircraft could be dispatched to the region ahead of the March referendum on the Falkland Islands’ future. The options being proposed by planners at the Permanent Joint Headquarters in Northwood, north-west...

Italy's consul to Benghazi in eastern Libya escaped unscathed after an attack on his bullet-proof car in the city on Saturday, Italian news agency ANSA and local security sources said. The car in which the consul, Guido De Sanctis, was travelling was shot at when it stopped at a crossroads, but no one was injured, ANSA said. ...

In a claim certain to prick the interest of followers of archaeology and mythology everywhere, the head of Bulgaria's National History Museum has said that an ancient temple to the Greek god Priapus has been found in the Black Sea town of Sozopol. National History Museum chief Bozhidar Dimitrov, who hails from Sozopol, said that archaeologists had found a clay phallus inscribed "to Priapus" during a dig in the Black Sea town, which in the past 24 months has boasted everything from the finding of the purported hand bones of Christian saint John the Baptist to a temple to Poseidon....

Saint Vibiana Whenever I visit the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angeles I head straight downstairs to the mausoleum to take a peek at my friend’s crypt.  He’s still very much alive but has his place already for when his time is up.  His name is Mike Dugan and I never get tired of reading the inscription below his name, “Mike tried!”  I find his healthy attitude and sense of humor toward death very comforting.  On a recent visit I felt the urge to check out an area I’ve never been before.  I felt drawn to what appeared to...

A Utah businessman accused of running a fraudulent $350 million software scheme says the state attorney general arranged a deal to pay Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to make a federal investigation into the software business disappear. ... Johnson says be believed that Reid, a Nevada senator, might intervene in the Federal Trade Commission's investigation.