Free Republic

The Middle East has long had a reputation for being one of the world's perennial trouble spots. But for expatriates, the tiny Persian Gulf county Bahrain ranks as one of the most welcoming places to work.That's the surprising result of a new survey of 3,100 expatriates conducted by HSBC Bank. Bahrain ranked first in one key measure of how easy it is for expatriates to set up a new life for their families. It received high marks from expats who like the country's easy access to modern health

... You remember those fluorocarbons, every aerosol can used to be loaded with the stuff until we found out they were putting a hole in the ozone layer. The fluorocarbons were removed and since 2002 the ozone layer has been closing and the earth stopped warming. Qing Bin-Lu, a professor of physics and astronomy at Canada's University of Waterloo took a look at the interaction between cosmic rays and chlorofluorocarbons and predicts that global warming has disappeared, maybe for the next 50 years This peer-reviewed paper was published in the prestigious online journal Physics Reports, Lu, who holds a Ph.D....

[...] In the end, they decided to turn us away, which they did with an ill grace and in a bad-tempered manner. As soon as the decision was final, the Danish police moved in. One of them began the now familiar technique of manhandling me, in the same fashion as one of his colleagues had done the previous day. Once again, conscious that a police helicopter with a high-resolution camera was hovering overhead, I thrust my hands into my pockets in accordance with the St. John Ambulance crowd-control training, looked my assailant in the eye and told him, quietly but...

Just in time for the holiday delay season and the dire traveling weather, new regulations have been issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation to limit how long people can be “trapped” on an airplane on the tarmac. These regulations have been written thanks to the tendency of some airlines to keep people on their planes, waiting to take off, for ludicrous periods of time. In 2007, due to bad weather, I was stuck waiting on the tarmac for takeoff. Fortunately, my wife and I were rather patient, as we were returning from our honeymoon. We had already waited in...

How many more times will Dems repeat this junk that the HCR bills are deficit Neutral??? My head EXPLODES every time I hear/read it, because the fact is Health Care will – starting in ‘14 – cost the government a fresh $145 billion EVERY YEAR, if the “reforms” take place. Here are the (approximate) raw numbers: In the first 10 years from when President Obama will (hopefully not) sign the HCR bill, Medicare will be cut by $500 billion, and taxes will be increased by a half trillion dollars. This should reduce the deficit by $1 trillion in the first...

Don't do it half-assed.

Carmen Electra's Christmas charity. You'll want to contribute.

Send a box to congress to ease their move OUT!

Listen to the interview.

The decline continues.

Our President has once again jetted off on AF1. Yep, he’s back in Copenhagen to save the world from those evil carbon footprints like the giant ones emitting from his 747. The health care debate is at an impasse, at least for a short time, and can wait until he saves the world—again (yaaaaaaaaaaawn!) Despite the efforts of Senators Joe Lieberman and Tom Coburn, a truncated bill of some kind will probably get passed against citizen wishes by about 60% against VS 35% for. All this will do is glorify the “One” currently residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, when he...

Once the Camp David accords fell into Jimmy Carter's lap (Begin and Sadat brought Carter into the negotiations), the Peanut President turned against the Jews and the Jewish State. During the difficult negotiations between Egypt and Israel, Carter and his advisers tried to get Sadat to engage in a collusive scheme: They would encourage Sadat to make "deliberately exaggerated" demands. The White House would then intervene to "compel" Cairo to scale back its demands in exchange for Israeli concessions. Then-national security advisor Brzezinski explained that Washington would "apply maximum leverage on Israel to accommodate,by keeping the West Bank's political future...

While the latest report from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) shows that fewer assaults have been reported at the military academies, the question remains as to how many of these go unreported? And is this true in the military as a whole?

What grade would YOU give: A, B, C, D, F or IMPEACH?

Congressman Alan Grayson is so angry about a parody website that he wants Attorney General Eric Holder to prosecute its creator and imprison her for 5 years, according to a Newser.com report. Grayson sent a complaint to Holder accusing Angie Langley, the woman behind MyCongressmanIsNuts.com, of lying to federal election officials, reported the Orlando Sentinel.

Many experts have pointed to tort reform as a key element of any effort to hold down the costs of health care: Old Democratic presidential aspirant John Edwards won $175 million in judgments over a 12-year period suing doctors, hospitals and insurance companies, everyone but the candy stripers, over infant cerebral palsy cases allegedly caused by mishandled deliveries. As the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists noted in a study in 2003, cerebral palsy could not be blamed on delivery trouble in the “vast majority” of cases. Using bad science, Edwards enriched himself by bankrupting innocent physicians. The effect is...

Everyone readily admits that things aren’t always what they seem. But are we really applying this knowledge in our daily dealings? Are we consciously ferreting out the illusory from the reality? I think not. For instance, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, we aren’t really being run by pandering politicians, self-serving lobbyists, fanatical environmentalists, and greedy Wall Street manipulators. They are the illusion. There is another even more powerful (but much less visible) agent behind all of these puppets. The person behind the screen is the computer programmer. And, just like in the Wizard of OZ, they do not want...

Holiday merriment.

Did Congress pass Obamacare at 1:00 a.m. this morning? One could be forgiven for thinking so. But one would be wrong. Today's vote was only a cloture vote to shut off debate. But months of vigorous opposition by the American people and a civil war in the Democrat Party has raised the profile of the legislation to unprecedented heights in the public eye. The cloture vote was widely reported to be 'the' vote. To 'Kerry' something is no longer a safe hiding place. If a Senator tries to Kerry this thing by telling his constituents that he 'voted for it...

Great Gift

Lockerbie bomber, Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi has been misplaced. The terrorist was released by Scottish authorities back in April in a show of great compassion for the barbarian who slaughtered 270 innocent citizens in 1988. Based on the assertion that Megrahi was suffering from prostate cancer and had one foot in the land of seventy-two virgins, the savage was exempted from doing any more prison time contingent upon his pinky swear that he would behave himself and die forthwith. Even Barack Obama took a non-nurturing posture regarding this particular terrorist. Miraculously, the terrorist is still getting around months later. He’s...

How the financial markets work explained in a way that anyone can understand.

confess. I am a racist of the most nefarious caste. Indeed, a garden variety racist, I am not; I have not wasted my time with the intolerance of other races; I never understood the point of advocating industrial racism at a governmental level; I do not believe my race is necessarily superior to another. No, sir, my racism breaches the boundaries of decency. I am a racist of the most malefic sort. I disagree with almost the entirety of Barack Obama's performance so far as president. I am white, Barack Obama is black, I disagree, and that, according to the...

I was born in one country, raised in another. My father was born in another country. I was not his only child. He fathered several children with numerous women. I became very close to my mother, as my father showed no interest in me. My mother died at an early age from cancer. Although my father deserted me and my mother raised me, I later wrote a book idolizing my father not my mother.

Last month, Americans watched as Virginia and New Jersey elected two new governors. While the lessons of both campaigns are still being dissected, virtually everyone agrees that Chris Christie profited most of all from having a terrible incumbent as an opponent. The real lessons for political candidates in competitive races stem from Virginia’s Bob McDonnell. McDonnell didn’t just win big. He helped his party win every statewide seat with on coattails. The talking heads chalk up his astounding victory to his singular focus on jobs and the economy. And as usual, the talking heads are 100% wrong. To be sure,...

You can't go wrong with a .45 caliber 1911 in a Charles Dickens play, right? Well? Note: The author of this comic requests that you visit his web site and please refrain from copying the cartoon within this thread. Thanks y'all!

I’ve said a few times that the Climategate emails remind me of the Spycatcher affair, with all the efforts of the alarmist establishment to suggest that there’s nothing to see in the emails simply meaning that ordinary people really want to see them (hence the “Tiger Woods Index” issue). Today, Al Gore proves to be economical with the truth in his interview with Slate: Q: How damaging to your argument was the disclosure of e-mails from the Climate Research Unit at East Anglia University? A: To paraphrase Shakespeare, it’s sound and fury signifying nothing. I haven’t read all the e-mails,...

Witnessing the spectacle of climate warmists scampering hither and thither in the face of predatory evidence that they and their pet theories may be doomed, I’m put in mind of the behavior of hamsters who suddenly find themselves trapped in a cage with a hungry snake. The ensuing drama is instructive. First the hamsters freeze as if in a state of petrifaction induced by utter disbelief. When it dawns on them that they have what looks like an insoluble problem on their tiny paws, they begin to shake and fidget, and soon they are darting feverishly from one side of...

Last week I was on a university panel formed to debate the issue of science and religion. My argument was the same one I’ve been making for years: given the known laws of physics — in particular, general relativity (Einstein’s theory of gravity) and quantum mechanics — we have no choice but to conclude that God exists. I defined “God” as the “uncaused first cause,” which is the definition used by St. Thomas Aquinas in his “second way” (Aquinas’ second of five proofs of God’s existence). Aquinas took his proof from Moses Maimonides, who in turn took it from the...

This week the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) — the agency tasked with keeping you and your family safe on airplanes — literally handed al-Qaeda its playbook. In a blunder of astonishingly poor judgment, the TSA allowed one of its most sensitive documents, the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual, to be posted online. And then, instead of admitting the seriousness of its security breach, the TSA tried to take the position that the information wasn’t that important. Only after Congress got involved did TSA take any action. “Some” TSA employees were placed on administrative leave, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary David Heyman...

Dear Santa: I’m over a half-century old and this is my first Christmas wish list. I don’t know if you’re real, but I don’t know where else to turn. I live in the United States of America. We have a form of government called a “representative democracy”. We elect people we like to make laws which we have to obey. These people, our representatives, are supposed to pass laws that we, the voters, support. Our representatives are not listening to us any more. They certainly are not listening to me. I oppose the health care reform bill now being debated...

In the movie “A Few Good Men” the character of Colonel Nathan R. Jessup experiences his ultimate downfall by getting himself trapped in a paradox by the testimony that he has given. Initially he claims that he has done everything by the book and ordered that no soldiers under his command were to harm a fellow soldier whom he has labeled as a ‘substandard Marine.’ Later, though, he testifies that he had ordered that same soldier to be transferred to another base because he was in ‘grave danger’ in his current situation. Therein lies the paradox, as pointed out by...

If you can’t fool Big Bird, who can you?

Former Vice President Al Gore is the most recognizable face of the anthropogenic global warming movement. He has authored books, starred in a documentary, and spoken innumerable times on the supposed threat global warming poses to life’s very existence.

Just the week before Thanksgiving the NFL confirmed that they were hiring the British band the WHO for the February Super Bowl half-time event. While many have received the news with excitement, some child advocacy groups have met it with disbelief. You see, Pete Townshend was listed as a Sex Offender in the UK from 2003 to 2008. Despite two letters being sent to Roger Goodell and other members of NFL management asking that Pete Townshend be removed from the Super Bowl line-up, no response has been forthcoming. Evin Daly, CEO of the national child advocacy group Child AbuseWatch who...

Arguing with Idiots… Part Deaux (A full-frontal assault on the Temple of Darwin) (Link to PDF). (I know I’ve done rants like this before, but you guys are worth it!) Dear worshippers of Darwin and lovers of self, My personal (condensed) declaration of faith: I believe in the God of the Bible. I believe in the Bible. I believe what it says. I believe, unashamedly that God is the Creator of the Universe and that He created it just as described in the Genesis account. I believe the only way to receive salvation is to believe and receive Jesus Christ...

...and all they had to do was be fair and balanced. Watch the video.

I'd like to take a moment to rant. Anyone who has been to Walmart, or any store with electric shopping carts, has likely seen someone using them that doesn't need to. I am speaking specifically about people who are just lazy. On many occasions I have seen very overweight people park in a handicap parking space, get out of their car, quite ably, easily stride into Walmart, and then park their plump behinds onto electric carts. Listen, there is a reason you can't lose all that extra weight, because you will take any shortcut you can to avoid exercise. Yes,...

The celebrity-seeking couple who sneaked into a state dinner this week came face-to-face with President Obama and his wife...

So, will the state-run media be bold enough to hide this, too? Obama’s socialist Science Czar John Holdren, who once said that forced abortions were needed to save the planet, is also involved in the Climategate Scandal. Holdren, another socialist in the White House, was pushing global cooling before he was pushing man-made global warming.

More editorial cartoons with a conservative slant.

Less than 24 hours ago, I lay prostrate on an operating table while surgeons aided by a robot(da Vinci) made six deep cuts in my belly area and carved out my oversized cancerous prostate. The robot allegedly made such precise cuts that important nerves and muscles were protected from damage so my functionality would be maintained. Makes one wonder if you can rent it for carving turkey— Hmmmm.

The United States has the best health care in the world — but because of its inefficiencies, also the most expensive. The fundamental problem with the 2,074-page Senate health-care bill (as with its 2,014-page House counterpart) is that it wildly compounds the complexity by adding hundreds of new provisions, regulations, mandates, committees and other arbitrary bureaucratic inventions. Worse, they are packed into a monstrous package without any regard to each other. The only thing linking these changes — such as the 118 new boards, commissions and programs — is political expediency. Each must be able to garner just enough votes...

Editorial cartoonists are finally getting with the program. Here's a new batch.

More editorial cartoons -- working now.

Just in case you're wondering who the biggest losers are in the Climategate debacle...

Do they deserved to be punished for lying to us?

The subtitle "an American Life" describes the book perfectly. As I read the book I kept noticing similarities to people I have known. Sometimes I was reminded of Grandma Smith, from rural Tennessee. Sometimes Sarah sounded like my sister. A couple times I was reminded of Prime Minister Thatcher. I believe most of Sarah's fans see important people in their lives reflected in this wonderful story. Sarah, you magnificent patriot, I read your book! (Apologies to General Patton)

Get the feeling Reverend Manning doesn't like President Obama? Must be a racist.

A quick search of the Senate health bill will bring up "secretary" 2,500 times. That's because Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius would be awarded unprecedented new powers under the proposal, including the authority to decide what medical care should be covered by insurers as well as the terms and conditions of coverage and who should receive it. "The legislation lists 1,697 times where the secretary of health and humans services is given the authority to create, determine or define things in the bill," said Devon Herrick, a health care expert at the National Center for Policy Analysis. For...