Free Republic

Todd Starnes of Fox News radio reports that Texas State Sen. Dan Patrick, chairman of the senate education committee, is launching an investigation, after outraged parents provided photographic evidence that their Lumberton (Texas) High School children were required to don burqas (and other Muslim garb), as part of an ostensible "geography lesson" on Islam. Moreover, students, as part of this unabashed Islamophilic indoctrination process at Lumberton High School, were told by their teacher, "we're going to change the way we perceive Islam," who then also proceeded to instruct them to compose an essay, according to the report, "based on a...

Italy's electoral earthquake is “a catastrophe for the euro and the European Union”, according to Luxembourg’s foreign minister, Jean Asselborn. The verdict was much the same in chancelleries across the eurozone, especially in those countries already starting to feel the first wave of contagion. “The result touches us all,” said Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo. “It is a jump into the void that bodes well for nobody, neither for Italy, nor for the rest of Europe.” Almost 57pc of the Italian vote went to parties that have vowed to tear up the EU austerity script. Together they control a...

Etch A Sketch received an unexpected boost in sales during the 2012 presidential campaign, when a senior adviser to Mitt Romney, Eric Fehrnstrom, made an infamous gaffe in describing his boss's evolving campaign strategy. "Everything changes," Mr. Fehrnstrom said. "It's almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again." Romney's rivals framed the comment as a metaphor for Romney's shifting positions on a number of issues. "We had calls from politicians. We had calls from media, " Kilgallon recalled," so my brother and I answered phone calls, literally, for three or...

D.C.: Cut the Drama. Do Your Job. Americans are sick and tired of yet another ginned-up crisis. D.C. needs to grow up, get to work, and live within its means. The real economic Armageddon looming before us is our runaway debt, not the sequester, which the President advocated for and signed into law and is now running around denouncing because he never had any genuine intention of reining in his reckless spending. Remember that this sequestration deal came about because of the long debt ceiling standoff in the summer of 2011. It wasn’t the ideal outcome for anyone, but it...

Last week, the American computer security firm Mandiant released a detailed study shedding light on the secret cybercorps of the Chinese government. The “Shanghai Group,” or Unit 61398 of the People’s Liberation Army, is believed to operate out of a nondescript 12-story building (above) on the outskirts of Shanghai. Over the past six years, Mandiant claims to have tracked thousands of attacks on American industry, business, government and military targets originating from that area. Given the ubiquity of information technology, the threat of cyberattacks will continue to grow. The scope of these assaults can range from accessing confidential information and...

The current US tax code subsidizes more expensive homes at the expense of more business investment —in the process offering the biggest tax benefits to the wealthiest taxpayers. It’s costly policy in more ways than one. The tax break may actually impede middle-class homeownership by driving up prices. And the inefficient use of capital hurts economic growth. The housing tax benefit comes in two forms. First, it spares homeowners from any tax on imputed rent. If the income tax was neutral it would treat exactly the same both these situations: a) buying a house and renting it out and b)...

The Boy Scouts of America is committed to dialogue on its membership standards within the Scouting family at the local and national levels. To continue and expand this important discussion, the National Executive Board has authorized its committees, representative of Scouting’s members, to further engage representatives of Scouting’s membership and listen to their perspectives and concerns. The committees will review a number of issues and how they will impact the BSA, including youth, chartered organizations, parents, and financial, fundraising, and legal concerns. The goals of the committee’s work will be to: 1. Provide a channel where every voice can be...

Gallup finds that only 11% of Mexicans said they would emigrate to America if given the chance. That’s down from 21% in 2007. Keying off those findings, Walter Russell Mead nicely sums up the case for being skeptical that immigration reform will mean millions more low-income workers heading to the US: Fears that America will be overrun by a mass of poor workers from Latin America are looking more and more like yesterday’s news. Birthrates in Mexico are falling, and the economic situation continues to improve. At 5 percent, Mexico’s unemployment rate is nearly three points below ours. In 2012,...

Berliners are outraged at plans to demolish part of the world-famous East Side Gallery, the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall, to make way for luxury apartments and a pedestrian bridge across the River Spree. Rumors this week that a segment of the Wall would be torn down to make way for a block of flats were confirmed by Franz Schulz, mayor of the city's eastern district of Friedrichshain, daily Die Welt wrote on Tuesday. Meanwhile, several petitions circulating online demanding an end to the project have collected thousands of signatures. … The East Side Gallery, a 1.3-kilometer stretch...

Wednesday, Feb 27 2013 6AM  53°F 9AM 50°F 5-Day Forecast Seconds from disaster... Moment tourists took to sky in Egypt hot air balloon before explosion sent them plunging to earth, killing 19: First pictures of Brits on board fateful tour Incident was outside Luxor, close to the famous Valley of the KingsWitnesses heard an explosion, saw smoke and then it fell from the skyBritish artist Joe Bampton, his girlfriend Suzanna Gyetvai died in tragedyHospital receptionist Yvonne Rennie, from Scotland, also killed in blazeCasualties: British, French, Japanese and Chinese nationalsWitness: 'People were jumping from the height of a seven-storey building'The...

Republicans Supporting Gay Marriage Write Supreme Court Amicus Brief BY SHUSHANNAH WALSHE Feb. 26, 2013 The issue of same sex marriage is dividing the Republican Party as a group of more than 80 prominent members of the GOP ranging from Dick Cheney's daughter to four former governors have signed an amicus brief before the Supreme Court advocating for the legalization of gay marriage. One of the signers confirmed for ABC News the existence of the brief signed by the Republicans and said it would be submitted to the United States Supreme Court this week. The deadline to submit briefs is...

RESEARCHERS at Highgate Cemetery said this afternoon (Tuesday) that they had uncovered the grave of Abraham Lincoln's chiropodist. They say the discovery was made as they prepared a new map for visitors, which will now point the way not just to the last resting places of Karl Marx and Jeremy Beadle – but also to the grave Dr Issachar Zacharie, Lincoln's favourite foot-soothing helper. He died in 1900. Dr Ian Dungavell, Chief Executive of Highgate Cemetery, said: "Zacharie’s connection with Lincoln is fascinating, and especially topical just now. We’re always keen to celebrate the exceptional achievements of people buried here...

Hikind apologizes for wearing blackface at Purim party - says offending anyone 'was not the intention' Assemblyman Dov Hikind apologized this afternoon for donning blackface at his blowout Purim party, after spending all morning defending his outrageous getup. The joyous Jewish celebration of Purim can often involve Halloween-type costumes and Hikind didn’t spare any detail in his curious retro look. He wore brown face paint, sunglasses, an Afro wig and an orange jersey, in his bid to look like a 70s hoops star. “To anyone who was offended, I’m sorry,” Hikind said. “That was not the intention.” The powerful Brooklyn...

Congressman Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) had an amazingly heated discussion with Fox News's Sean Hannity Tuesday evening. At the beginning of the six-minute slugfest, Ellison called his host "the worst excuse for a journalist I've ever seen" leading to a truly ugly encounter that culminated in Hannity ending the interview by saying to his guest, "You are a total waste of time"

REICH: Obama Needs To Confront The GOP's Bald-Faced Lies Robert Reich, ContributorFebruary 26, 2013, 7:20 PMPete Souza (Official White House Photograph) The White House apparently believes the best way to strengthen its hand in the upcoming “sequester” showdown with Republicans is to tell Americans how awful the spending cuts will be, and blame Republicans for them. It won’t work. These tactical messages are getting in the way of the larger truth, which the President must hammer home: The Republicans’ austerity economics and trickle-down economics are dangerous, bald-faced lies. Yes, the pending spending cuts will hurt. But even if some Americans...

Six-year-old Coy Mathis explains her predicament in the simplest of terms: “I want to go to school. We play games at recess,” the first grader said Tuesday. But the transgender girl is being home schooled this semester because she has been denied access to the girls’ bathroom at Eagleside Elementary School in Fountain-Fort Carson School District 8, her parents say. New York-based Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund attorneys said they filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division on behalf of her parents Kathryn and Jeremy Mathis, saying Coy has been discriminated against. Forcing Coy to use a...

Prosecution: Cannibal Cop and co-conspirators' menu included his wife, college friends and former Queens high school student One college friend, Kimberly Sauer, said she met up with Gilberto Valle, his wife and daughter last year for brunch, but Valle messaged "Moody Blues," an online chat buddy who allegedly claimed to have eaten a 5-year-old, that he could barely contain himself during their meal. He wanted to have his friends for dinner — and use one of their heads for a centerpiece. Accused “Cannibal Cop” Gilberto Valle eyed longtime friends as prey, sharing their personal information, photos and even video with...

The first lady has come under criticism for her recent media blitz, with some lambasting her for her unprecedented number of appearances on entertainment and programs. Michelle Obama has certainly made the rounds in the past week, from promoting an anti-obesity campaign with late night host Jimmy Fallon to her surprise Oscars appearance announcing the Best Picture winner. Critics complain that Mrs Obama is overstepping her reach and risks losing favor with the public for being overexposed.

Some members of Congress apparently don’t like to be reminded about how much debt the country continues to rack up. During a House Financial Services Committee hearing Tuesday on the budget, two Democrats complained after House Financial Services Committee chairman Jeb Hensarling instructed that two monitors in the hearing room display a real-time running national debt clock. California Rep. Maxine Waters and Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison both issued complaints about the displays, according to video of the hearing. “Clearly it is a political prop designed to message ideologically,” Ellison said. Waters asked that the debt clock not be on display...

“The Joy of Persecution” (Luke 6:20-36)Two weeks ago, on Ash Wednesday, we started this series on “A Little Lenten Lukan Joy.” And you may have thought that the theme that night, “The Joy of Repentance,” was a little strange. What does joy have to do with repentance? Well, if you thought that was strange, then tonight’s message will strike you as very strange. It’s called “The Joy of Persecution.” “‘The Joy of Persecution’? What joy can there be in being persecuted?” Well, don’t blame me for that idea. I didn’t come up it. It’s Jesus’ idea. He’s the one who...