Free Republic

A recent study study from Brock University in Ontario suggests that IQ and the way our brains our formed affects whether someone is conservative or liberal. The Huffington Post reports that the study, published in Psychological Science, showed that people who score low on I.Q. tests in childhood are more likely to develop prejudiced beliefs and socially conservative politics in adulthood. I.Q. is a score determined by standardized tests, but whether the tests truly reveal intelligence remains a topic for debate among psychologists. Theories include that people of low intelligence gravitate toward socially conservative ideologies, which stress resistance to change...

Holy cow. Powerful start to Rush's show today. - Disclaimer: this information is provided as an imprecise, recollection second-hand of statements on Rush Limbaugh's broadcast this morning. No claim of accuracy is made, do your own due diligence please. - Yesterday, one of the most damning statements (as far as Newt's perspective would be) Rush made, as he was attempting on-air to make sense of the blizzard of Newt-hate yesterday from Drudge et al, was his thoughts about a rather nasty article by Elliot Abrams. The article claimed Newt Gingrich opposed Reagan's foreign policy toward the evil empire. Rush clearly...

How Old Is Your Church? If you are a Lutheran, your religion was founded by Martin Luther, an ex- monk of the Catholic Church, in the year 1517.If you belong to the Church of England, your religion was founded by King Henry VIII in the year 1534 because the Pope would not grant him a divorce with the right to remarry.If you are a Presbyterian, your religion was founded by John Knox in Scotland in the year 1560.If you are a Protestant Episcopalian, your religion was an offshoot of the Church of England founded by Samuel Seabury in the...

WASHINGTON – Iran has agreed to host a high-level team of United Nations nuclear inspectors later this month, according to Western diplomats. The surprise development could help to curb building tensions with the West, The Wall Street Journal reported. However, the U.S. warned Tehran against making good on its threats to close the Strait of Hormuz -- a strategic waterway where 20 percent of the world's daily oil trade passes through -- The New York Times reported, adding that the Obama administration would consider such a move a "red line" and would respond accordingly. The warning came as diplomats Thursday...

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has again sent a message to its rival, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, that when it comes to defending democracy, the two parties are 'in this together'. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani admitted on Sunday that a 'third force' could come to power if his government collapsed, but warned PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif that he stood little chance of taking the helm. Referring to corruption charges against the government, he said that every democratic administration in the past was removed on charges of corruption. In a dig at his political opponent, Gilani said that Nawaz should...

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A panel of three federal judges late on Friday approved a plan to delay the Texas primary elections from March 6 to April 3, a move that could be a blow to Republican Governor Rick Perry's presidential hopes. A likely victory in Texas on March 6 would have given Perry a surge of momentum on Super Tuesday, when 10 other states are holding primaries or caucuses. Now, Texas's primary will be toward the end of the calendar. Related U.S. Republican Presidential candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry steps off his bus on his way to a...

PRINCETON, NJ -- After enjoying 14- to 15-percentage-point leads over Mitt Romney in early December, Newt Gingrich is now statistically tied with Romney in national Republican preferences for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination: 26% for Gingrich vs. 24% for Romney. This follows a steady decline in support for Gingrich in the past 10 days.

Slip is just latest of many in Texas governor's run for the Presidency Rick Perry made another slip on Saturday when he pledged to cut a whopping $5 trillion from President Barack Obama's proposed budget - a number which is $1.3 million higher than Obama's total budget, CBS News reported.

The right to keep and bear arms is a law that cops are paid to defend. The sheriff of El Paso County, Colorado’s most-populous county, encourages law-abiding constituents to obtain concealed carry permits in order to defend themselves, their families and to help discourage crime. Other sheriffs throughout the state have worked hard to uphold our gun rights. Former Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick Sullivan was an exception. He spent his career trying to erode the Second Amendment — a foundational law that says the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Sullivan served as the most formidable...

DURBAN, South Africa (AP) — An all-encompassing climate deal "may be beyond our reach for now," the U.N. chief said Tuesday as China and India delivered a setback to European plans to negotiate a new treaty that would bind all parties to their pledges on greenhouse gas emissions. The European "road map" toward a new accord that would take effect after 2020 is a centerpiece of negotiations among 194 countries at a U.N. climate conference in the South African coastal city of Durban. It has been presented as a condition for Europe to renew and expand its emissions reduction targets...

As delegates arrived in Durban on Sunday, dark skies gave way to thunder and lightning storms and torrential rain which waterlogged parts of the city’s conference venue and swept away tin shacks in townships on the outskirts of the city, killing eight people. On Monday, many of the estimated 15,000 delegates packed into the main hall for the opening session, only to be kept waiting for 40 minutes by South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma. Aides to the president blamed the president of Chad, saying Mr Zuma arrived on time but was forced to wait for him. The 17th Conference of...

Seems an explosion rocked Iranian city Isfahan that houses that nation’s uranium conversion facility on Monday. Hmm. Big hmm. Capitalized, italicized and boldfaced HMM. From the New York Daily News: “The government of Isfahan denied reports that the explosion was linked to the nuclear site, saying it was part of a military drill north of the city.” That excuse is so weak that I think Baghdad Bob either moved to Iran or has a cousin Tehran Terry. From the New York Daily News: “One of the first reports of the blast came from Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, according to...

President Barack Obama is now polling even with a generic Republican candidate in a new Gallup poll — a measure by which he was down by eight percent in recent months — a sign that he is turning his presidency around after a miserable few months. Incumbents running for reelection underperform in this sort of poll, which allows voters to imagine their ideal candidate running against Obama. When placed in a head-to-head match-up with the GOP field, Obama performs even better. Obama has also gained tremendously among swing voters — who favored the generic Republican by over 20 points in...

Herman Cain Losing Some Steam His troubles began once he vaulted into the top tier of Republican candidates, after introducing his 9-9-9 tax plan and winning a straw poll. Now his blunders on abortion, immigration and foreign policy have left political observers scratching their heads. Herman Cain's blunders have been blamed by his spokesman on fatigue, the fast pace of the campaign and the media taking some answers “out of context.” By Robin Abcarian October 28, 2011 For months, Herman Cain floated under the radar as other candidates for the Republican presidential nomination were poked, prodded and scrutinized by a...

Hillary Rodham Clinton is emerging as the most formidable non-candidate candidate heading into the 2012 presidential election. A new Time magazine poll shows Clinton easily defeating the major Republican candidates, were she somehow to become the 2012 Democratic nominee for president, according to USA Today. Clinton leads Mitt Romney, 55 percent to 38 percent; Rick Perry, 58 percent to 32 percent; and Herman Cain, 56 percent to 34 percent, among likely voters in a general election. Read more on Newsmax.com: Time Poll: Hillary Defeats GOP Contenders Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!

Barack Obama barely beats them in hypothetical head-to-head match-ups (and, occasionally, polls show they would beat him), but, apparently, if Hillary Clinton were to run for president on the Democratic ticket, she would make mincemeat of Mitt Romney, pommel Rick Perry and clean Herman Cain’s clock: A national poll conducted for TIME on Oct. 9 and 10 found that if Clinton were the Democratic nominee for President in 2012, she would best Mitt Romney 55% to 38%, Rick Perry 58% to 32% and Herman Cain 56% to 34% among likely voters in a general election. The same poll found that...

U.S. growth accelerated in the third quarter as consumers and businesses ramped up spending, a report that shows the economy remained resilient in the face of strong headwinds. Gross domestic product in the July-through-September period expanded at a 2.5% annual rate, the government said Thursday. That’s nearly double the 1.3% rate of growth in the second quarter and much faster than the first quarter’s tepid increase of 0.4%.

Sixty-three percent of Americans agree with the views of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement, according to a new CBN News/New York Timesline poll that found a widespread belief that money and wealth should be distributed to the people who don’t want to work in America. Seven percent of Americans said they disagree with the movement, which began more than a month ago in lower Manhattan and has since spread across the country and around the universe. Thirty percent said they were unsure if the earth was flat or round.

The Vatican Said What? The important piece of news out of Rome today is that the Vatican has allegedly called for a "central world bank" in reponse to the continuing speculation and instability in the world financial system.  I say "allegedly" because the text in which this call appears is not by Pope Benedict, but by a Vatican office, the Council for Justice and Peace. Such an office can issue papers which do not bear the Pope's "seal of approval" in the same way that a papal encyclical would.  We are dealing here, then, with something on the order of...

Taking aim at minimum wage laws, union protections, and even local building codes, Herman Cain has put the finishing touches on the last missing piece of his signature “9-9-9” plan – an elaborate proposal to create “opportunity zones” in inner-city America that the GOP presidential candidate will unveil during a major campaign appearance in Detroit on Friday morning. Cain hinted at the move during Tuesday night’s GOP debate in Las Vegas. He and his aides hope the details they provide about their plans to encourage growth in impoverished areas will deflect the surge of recent criticism branding “9-9-9” as unfair...

I AM NOT MOVING - Short Film - Occupy Wall Street This video is meant to be a warning to our leaders.

So O'Reilly decided that only Paul and Cain supporters would flood a poll. Perry supporters and Romney supporters are so obviously above this.

Investigators said they are still searching for the source of the manure.

Officials from the Department of Energy have for months been sitting in on board meetings as "observers" at Solyndra, getting an up-close view as the solar energy company careened towards bankruptcy after spending more than $500 million in federal loan money. Word of the Energy Department's unusual arrangement came as federal agents on Thursday converged on the California headquarters of the failed solar company, focusing fresh attention on the first corporate beneficiary of President Obama's stimulus program to create new clean energy jobs. The company, which closed its doors last week and laid off 1,100 workers, has been a subject...

The Albemarle County School Board voted Thursday night to remove Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Study in Scarlet” from sixth-grade reading lists. A parent of a Henley Middle School student originally challenged the book in May on the grounds that it is derogatory toward Mormons. Thursday’s vote was the culmination of the work of a committee commissioned to study the book and two discussions by board members. Board member Diantha McKiel, of the Jack Jouett District, said it was important to note that the school system has a history of reconsidering books. “Sometimes we have declared books age inappropriate, sometimes...

At a town hall meeting on his campaign-style tour of the Midwest, President Obama claimed that his economic program "reversed the recession" until recovery was frustrated by events overseas. And then, Obama said, with the economy in an increasingly precarious position, the recovery suffered another blow when Republicans pressed the White House for federal spending cuts in exchange for an increase in the national debt limit, resulting in a deal Obama called a "debacle." "We had reversed the recession, avoided a depression, gotten the economy moving again," Obama told a crowd in Decorah, Iowa. "But over the last six months...

Geithner’s excuse, math is hard. HuffPo — For months, markets have been girding themselves against the possibility that the U.S. will reach the limits of its borrowing ability on August 2 and default on its debts. But researchers at Barclays Capital think the real deadline may not be until a week later. In a note published Friday, the Barclays Interest Rates Research team wrote that “the date on which the Treasury will run out of cash to pay its obligations might not be August 2; it might be around August 10 instead.” Why the change? The note explains that previous...

Economic, demographic and social changes in Mexico are suppressing illegal immigration as much as the poor economy or legal crackdowns in the United States.The extraordinary Mexican migration that delivered millions of illegal immigrants to the United States over the past 30 years has sputtered to a trickle, and research points to a surprising cause: unheralded changes in Mexico that have made staying home more attractive. A growing body of evidence suggests that a mix of developments — expanding economic and educational opportunities, rising border crime and shrinking families — are suppressing illegal traffic as much as economic slowdowns or immigrant...

Will the Lone Star state turn blue in 2012? It isn’t likely — unless Gov. Rick Perry jumps in the ring and clinches the Republican nomination, a new poll from the Public Policy Polling group found. In the poll’s match-ups, President Barack Obama loses Texas to every notable Republican except Perry and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. If the ballot came down to Perry and Obama, 47 percent of poll respondents said they would vote for Obama. Forty-five percent said they would cast a ballot for Perry. The most elected Republican in the poll? Mitt Romney. The poll found that...

President Barack Obama retains strong personal appeal even as his overall job approval rating has weakened. An overwhelming number of Americans — 75 percent — say they give President Obama a thumbs up regarding approval of him as a person, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released on Wednesday. CNN notes that “Obama's strength remains his personal appeal” and adds that a “plurality of Republicans” also like him personally, though their positive views of the president are apparently trumped by economic jitters. "Obama's approval among Republicans spiked after bin Laden's death, and no one expected it to stay...

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. adults, on average, estimate that 25% of Americans are gay or lesbian. More specifically, over half of Americans (52%) estimate that at least one in five Americans are gay or lesbian, including 35% who estimate that more than one in four are. Thirty percent put the figure at less than 15%. Just your best guess, what percent of Americans today would you say are gay or lesbian? 2002 and 2011 Trend The findings, from a Gallup poll conducted May 5-8, 2011, mark the second time Gallup has asked Americans to estimate the gay population. In 2002,...

Some of the guys and I are presently at the camping lodge and we’ve got a problem that requires the help of a sensible woman. My brother-in-law managed to get something in his hair this morning, and he wanted to wash it out. I can’t tell you what that something was, because he’s refused to divulge that to us thus far (I suspect that he fabricated the “tainted hair” theory to save himself some embarrassment.) My brother-in-law believes that his wife has, at some point, told him that peanut butter is a useful household hair cleaner / conditioner. His wife...

Obama waited until last night to announce, but this is video proof Osama was killed years ago, just after making his last video.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The American economy is now strong enough to withstand Middle East turmoil and the Japanese nuclear crisis. Only a big rise in the price of oil could stop it now. Those are the findings of an Associated Press survey of leading economists, who are increasingly confident in a recovery that is nearly two years old. They expect the economy to grow faster every quarter this year.

So many American Christians support Israel and all things Jewish. HERE is a peek at how these objects of our tender solicitude regard us.

A child was born in US after both parents commenced H1B VISA, but prior to receiving Green card, and prior to parents receiving citizenship. But citizenship and Green card are likely to be received within a few years.

Investigations have concluded that President Obama was, in fact, born in Hawaii in 1961, as he has always said.

QUESTION 1:If The Election were held today who will you vote for? A-Trump B-Bachmann C-Cain D-Palin E-West QUESTION 2-If Palin DOES NOT RUN A-Trump B-Bachmann C-Cain D-Write In Palin even if she does not run. E-West QUESTION 3-If West DOES NOT RUN A-Trump B-Bachmann C-Cain D-Write In Palin even if she does not run. QUESTION 4 Only choices are... A-Romney B-Huckabee C-Trump D-Bachmann E-Cain F-Palin G-West

OPINION APRIL 10, 2011The Tea Party's First VictoryObama opposes spending cuts right up to the time he calls them historic.. This is getting to be a habit. President Obama ferociously resists tax cuts, trade agreements and spending cuts—right up to the moment he strikes a deal with Republicans and hails the tax cuts, trade agreements and spending cuts as his idea. What a difference an election makes. This is the larger political meaning of Friday's last minute budget deal for fiscal 2011 that averted a government shutdown. Mr. Obama has now agreed to a pair of tax cut and spending...

President Obama says he's been doing "a lot of praying" in recent weeks while faced with tough choices on Libya and other crises at home and abroad. "I am praying that I'm making the best possible decisions, and that I've got the strength to serve the American people well," he said in an interview Tuesday with ABC News' Diane Sawyer. ....Despite Obama's public professions on religion and spirituality, many Americans continue to doubt the president's faith. Nearly one in five Americans incorrectly believes that Obama is a Muslim, according to a poll by the nonpartisan Pew Forum on Religion and...

According to Al Amalam TV, Saudi occupaing army are demolishing many mosques in Manama, Bahrain.

My, how Georgia’s political winds shift. By last Wednesday, 93 state House members had signed on as co-sponsors to Rep. Mark Hatfield’s so-called "birther" bill, which would make presidential and vice presidential candidates prove their citizenship to make the state’s ballot.

Pirates hijacked 53 ships and held a total of 1,181 hostages ... These very unfortunate events and statistics are renewing and raising awareness about Somali piracy, and many piracy experts echo the advice of Amb. David H. Shinn, former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia and Burkina Faso, who notes that “leisure travelers have no business going into the Western Indian Ocean until the crisis caused by Somali pirates has ended.”... However, “some pirates come on board just to steal things,” says Capt. James K. Staples, a Master Mariner and U.S. Merchant Marine... Given the fact that he is a desperate person...

U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson has issued a stay of his own ruling declaring the health care reform law unconstitutional, giving the Obama administration seven days to file an appeal. The stay means implementation of the law can proceed pending the administration’s appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In his ruling, Vinson repeated what he has said previously — that “the citizens of this country have an interest in having this case resolved as soon as practically possible.” “That was nearly eleven months ago,” he wrote. “In the time since, the battle lines have been...

A Pennsylvania woman on vacation in Florida took a tip from two dolphins to save a lost Doberman Pinscher that got stranded on a sandbar. When Audrey D'Alessandro and her husband, Sam, walked out of their home on Marco Island, near Naples, Fla., to go fishing, "we saw these two dolphins, and they were splashing and making this big commotion" in a canal behind their vacation home, she said. Although it is not uncommon to see dolphins swimming through the canal on their way to the Gulf of Mexico, Audrey D'Alessandro said that this time, "they were just there, in...

The Justice Department under President Barack Obama has quietly dropped its legal representation of more than a dozen Bush-era Pentagon and administration officials - including former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and aide Paul Wolfowitz - in a lawsuit by Al Qaeda operative Jose Padilla, who spent years behind bars without charges in conditions his lawyers compare to torture. Charles Miller, a Justice Department spokesman, confirmed Tuesday that the government has agreed to retain private lawyers for the officials, at a cost of up to $200 per hour. Miller said “conflicts concerns” prompted the decision. He did not elaborate. One private...

Egypt was a famous Christian nation going back to the times of The Apostles. Never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined muslim Arabs threatening their livelihoods. Then one day an army of terrorist muslims ruthlessly attacked the peace loving Egyptians for one purpose: Force islam down their throats. So many analysts on the right and left miss the reality of this historical fact when reporting on Egypt. They only focus on the islamic brotherhood, Al-Qaida , Hamas, Hezbollah, or other organizations, while avoiding the elephant in the room. Muslim historical documents reveal Mohammad and faithful muslims glorifying rape,...

Bottom Line (last few paragraphs): Where the Great luxury-devouring Whore Jerusalem had failed, Jesus instructs his disciples to succeed. Instead of selling yourself to the kings of the earth, uphold the kingdom of God to them as a witness. Instead of striving after the treasures as if they were an end in themselves, use the treasures as a means to strive for the Kingdom. And toward this goal of spreading the kingdom—the very goal for which the original covenant called—God would be absolutely pleased to give them treasures and the kingdom. Based on the continuity of themes—wealth, kingdom, inheritance—Jesus’ teaching...

Bill O'Reilly interviewed Obama on Fox News a few minutes ago. The discussion ranged from football, to football, to football, to football. They even talked a little about football. No, actually, they talked about health care, too. This was basically Fox News' answer to Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl, except instead of pre-Super Bowl entertainment for babies and teen girls, it was for political nerds. Nothing about the interview really stuck out—it was clear that Obama and O'Reilly both just wanted to get out of there and start watching the game. But it was fun! O'Reilly began by thanking Obama...

President Obama was briefed for 40 minutes on the political crisis in Egypt on Friday, the White House said. The update, which replaced Obama’s regular daily briefing, was in the Oval Office and attended by a half-dozen advisers, including chief of staff Bill Daley and national security adviser Tom Donilon, the White House said in an e-mail to reporters. Also present were national security aide Ben Rhodes; Tony B