Free Republic

Martin Luther, to all faithful and godly pastors and preachers: grace, mercy, and peace be yours in Jesus Christ, our Lord. The deplorable, miserable conditions which I recently observed when visiting the parishes have constrained and pressed me to put this catechism of Christian doctrine into this brief, plain, and simple form. How pitiable, so help me God, were the things I saw: the common man, especially in the villages, knows practically nothing of Christian doctrine, and many of the pastors are almost entirely incompetent and unable to teach. Yet all the people are supposed to be Christians, have been...

Like many who collect and assimilate an ecclectic mix of music for listening throughout the day, I long ago chose to include "Polk Salad Annie" by Tony Joe White in my ever-shuffled audio from Brian Eno to Jerry Mathers, with classical, jazz, and rock in between. A month or two ago it crossed my mind to see if Tony Joe White had any live performances worth checking out. This evening there was time and opportunity, and what an eye opener it has been! Below I will post a couple links to his live performance of 1980 in Austin, TX. For...

The current brouhaha over smoking has made everyone painfully aware of tobacco's effects on the body, but it has also obscured a more profound reason for smoking’s popularity: its relation to the soul. As the heyday of smoking passes into the ashheap of history, it is meet that we reflect on this connection. The soul, of course, is a complex thing. Long ago Plato suggested that we consider it as divided into three parts—the appetitive, spirited, and rational—that correspond to the three basic kinds of human desires: the desire to satisfy physical appetites, the desire for recognition, and the desire...

As one who enjoys an ecclectic music library and was born in an age when recorded music went from mono to stereo, it gives me joy to look back on the 70s when the industry was blossoming with analog recording, tube amps, and turntables. I also have been a participant in live music performance over the years. The occasions were rare that everything clicked. The audience. The acoustics. The sound system. The band chemistry. One of my best memories was playing Buddy Miles "Changes" at a wedding reception in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Today I decided to search out Buddy Miles...

Many there are who have attained public office and sworn an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. Alas, as we are now learning, for many both the oath and the Constitution are little more than a means to obtain power and abuse the liberty of common citizens. As a way to curb these abuses of power, I am here soliciting input from fellow FReepers - especially those who are well-schooled in Constitutional governance as it ought to be - to posit questions for those who aspire to public office as a way better to weed...

Hours after Representative Cheney (R-WY) broke from her 190 fellow Republicans to establish a “House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol,” she wasted no time in accepting an appointment to it. This move gave Pelosi’s Committee a façade of bi-partisanship and pre-emptively undercut Republican threats to boycott its committee appointments. On June 30th, Cheney issued a press release stating, “This investigation can only succeed if it is sober, professional, and non-partisan. The threat to our democracy is far too grave for grandstanding or political maneuvering. The Committee should issue and enforce subpoenas promptly,...

Greetings, The appalling events that unfolded in our nation’s capital on Wednesday have unleashed a host of mixed emotions in our country. The turbulence was the polar opposite of legitimate peaceful protest. Events on the national stage can often seem very distant from our day-to-day lives, but this challenge to our democracy brought home the importance of civil discourse. As your Public Library, we have the capability and capacity to be one of the places that bring people together. Libraries unite, not divide. We will continue to seek out ways to help right here in St. Joseph County. We’re one...

Shelly Berman improvised this monologue on New Year's Eve in 1956. Mom and Dad had the album. Every decade or so I listen to it. Berman's humor is certainly good for a hearty laugh. Hope you enjoy. A blessed Christmas and New Year to all y'all!

Ever since witnessing Dr. Bernard Nathanson’s film, The Silent Scream, I have been galvanized to speak up on behalf of those little ones whose screams will never be heard. They are our posterity. They are the very same people whose lives are to be safe and secure under the Constitution of the United States, as stated in its preamble: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do...

Given increasing incidents of vandalism and violence in our country, it seems prudent that the common people, who have an interest in maintaining the peace and keeping order, exercise the authority to guard and protect lives and property beyond their own homes, and do so in conjunction with higher levels of enforcement. To that end, I would suggest exploring the possibility of having local sheriffs vet and deputize able citizens, so that they may act in support of law enforcement more tangibly. That is to say, authorize them to stand guard in places where vandals are more inclined to wreak...

It is not just fireworks, but Christmas lights and a host of other things we can do better here than they do over there. That said, with a proud history of observing July 4th by way of booms, bangs, and bright lights celebrating independence from King George, I am hesitant to make use of products sold by Communist China this year. Why was I not in years past? Black Cat. M-80. Silver Salute. Lady Fingers. Zebra. Dixie Boy. Here is the thing: We should develop a fireworks industry that puts Communist China to shame. Not that our military does not...

OVID-19 has taken the world by storm. Hundreds of thousands are infected (possibly many times more than the confirmed cases), the list of dead is growing exponentially longer, and capitalist economies have come to a standstill, with a global recession now virtually inevitable. The pandemic had been predicted long before its appearance, but actions to prepare for such a crisis were barred by the cruel imperatives of an economic order in which “there’s no profit in preventing a future catastrophe,” Noam Chomsky points out in this exclusive interview for Truthout. Chomsky is emeritus professor of linguistics at MIT and laureate...

A covid cure from my missionary friend Pablo Yoder : "He is the Hero!" Dear readers, The world is desperate and so helpless as it confronts this microscopic virus called Coronavirus. No wonder, they don't fear God. So they fear everything else. We fear God, so we don't have to fear everything else. He has it under control. But yes, we are concerned at what is happening to this world. We all would love to come up with answers to save people from so much suffering and even death. A lot of you have probably heard about the testimony of...

Beware the First Horseman of the Apocalypse!! Going back to Leviticus 26, there is a Biblical archetype of “the four horsemen of the apocalypse.” It’s a four-fold judgment from God going forth over the world. The archetype “takes on flesh” in Revelation 6 with four literal horsemen. Most understand three out of four horsemen as war, famine, and pestilence. But there is debate about what the first one is, particularly in Revelation 6. It’s “a white horse.” And “He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to...

The extraordinary shutdown, if continued, will have harmful consequences that go far beyond the economy. A short period of decisive action to buy time to prepare may be prudent. But ongoing measures of mass mobilization are likely to do severe damage to our society. The Wall Street Journal editorial “Rethinking the Coronavirus Shutdown” warns of the economic consequences of a prolonged lockdown. We could be heading toward a drastic decline in GDP. This will dislocate the lives of tens of millions and exact human costs, not just economic ones. Already, federal officials are gearing up to spend one trillion dollars....

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve heard various friends and colleagues express their suspicions regarding the timing of the Coronavirus pandemic, surfacing as it has in the midst of this election year. Some have suggested that the virus may have been manufactured and deliberately released, whereas others have felt that the whole situation has been hyped and overblown for the purpose of undermining President Trump’s administration. To be sure, sadly but not at all surprisingly, there are surely many people attempting to politicize the pandemic to their own advantage. I’ve had my own cynical suspicions along these lines, especially...

Not that anybody is wondering, but if you asked me what books have been of the greatest influence on how and what I think, aside from the BIBLE, and the plays of Shakespeare, I'd answer: Homer, Odyssey Plato, Phaedrus Plato, Symposium Virgil, Aeneid Augustine, Confessions Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy Anonymous, The Quest of the Holy Grail Dante, The Divine Comedy Spenser, The Faerie Queene Herbert, The Temple Pascal, Pensees Milton, Paradise Lost Fielding, Tom Jones Boswell, Life of Johnson Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France Manzoni, The Betrothed Dickens, Bleak House Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Marcel, Man Against...

Yesterday the House Permanent Select Committee On Intelligence voted to release a four-page summary document alleging surveillance abuses by the Justice Department and FBI. The committee’s memo has been available to all 435 House members for more than a week. Some of those who read it described it as “troubling,” “shocking,” “jaw-dropping,” “sickening,” and “criminal.” FBI Director Christopher Wray reviewed the memo on Sunday. As soon as the committee had finished voting, ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff ran to the cameras to spin the news. From that point, he began explaining things in a non-truthful manner. This inability or unwillingness...

I am a Carl Sagan fan from way back. His 1980 TV miniseries “Cosmos” hit me at just the right age and inflamed a lifelong love of science. But we’ve had nearly 40 years to assess the long-term effects and see how Sagan unwittingly contributed to a trend that muddled public understanding of science. This weekend’s so-called “March for Science” is a perfect example of what went wrong. All you really need to know about the “March for Science” is that it is scheduled for Earth Day. The organizers may say the march is nonpartisan and has a variety of...

I would like to thank Secretary of State Connie Lawson for her diligence in contacting Indiana State Police detectives and reporting that thousands of paper form voter registration applications were changed, including dates of birth and first names. Given our ongoing investigation, Secretary Lawson believed this could be further evidence of voter fraud and immediately contacted Indiana State Police detectives who were working on the case. We are grateful to Secretary Lawson for her prompt attention to this matter. Let me be clear: Among the highest priorities of the Indiana State Police is ensuring the integrity of this election and...