Free Republic

Computer engineer Jonathan Morey says, "I have never voted for a Republican, ever." Nathan Hansen, a lawyer, says, "I've been a Republican all my life." Yet a political meeting in St. Paul, Minn., brought the 31-year-old friends together for the first time -- in support of presidential candidate Ron Paul. Officially, Mr. Paul is a Republican, elected to Congress 10 times and now running for the party's presidential nomination. But the party label hardly describes the obstetrician from south of Houston. And it certainly doesn't explain his appeal to a growing, if still small, number of voters across the political...

Given his legacy as the key songwriter and conceptualist for Pink Floyd, one of the most theatrical bands in rock history, fans could expect that Roger Waters' show at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre on Friday would be a visual tour de force. Considering his infamous perfectionism, it was a given, too, that the sound and musicianship would be top-notch, especially since half of the set would be devoted to the 1973 audiophile masterpiece, "The Dark Side of the Moon." What came as a surprise was that Waters' three-hour performance in Tinley Park packed such an emotional wallop in the...

Essay one addressed Modern Liberalism as the religion, albeit the false religion, that it is. Next, enter stage right, Libertarianism. Libertarianism, or at least that mainstream brand of Libertarianism which zealously waves that oxymoronic political banner "Political Conservative, Social Liberal," has its own pint-sized political party, but more importantly the faith of Libertarianism has a Titanic-sized impact upon the religious inclinations of the leadership ranks of the Republican Party, and upon many of the prestigious think-tanks which preach republicans their gospel. Libertarianism's central claim to fame from a political standpoint is that it represents an anti-statist, limited government answer to...

But Wouldn't Warlords Take Over? by Robert Murphy [Posted on Thursday, July 07, 2005] On two separate occasions in the last couple of weeks, people have asked me a familiar question: “In a system of ‘anarcho-capitalism’ or the free-market order, wouldn’t society degenerate into constant battles between private warlords?” Unfortunately I didn’t give adequate answers at the times, but I hope in this article to prove the adage that later is better than never. APPLES AND ORANGES When dealing with the warlord objection, we need to keep our comparisons fair. It won’t do to compare society A, which is filled...

Psychotic symptoms more likely with cannabis 16:58 01 December 04 NewScientist.com news service Using marijuana in adolescence and early adulthood can cause psychotic symptoms later in life, a new study suggests. The risk of developing these symptoms is “moderate”, say researchers, though is higher in people with a pre-disposition to psychosis. Up to a third of people develop signs of psychosis at some point during their lives and several studies have already linked cannabis use with psychotic symptoms. But it is often difficult to decipher whether cannabis really triggers psychotic symptoms - such as hearing voices and paranoia - or...

HELENA, Mont. -- The federal government did not violate the rights of a Rainbow Family member when it singled him and two others out for participating in an annual, illegal gathering on U.S. Forest Service land in 2000, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Barry Adams' argument that he was selectively prosecuted and his contention that the regulations prohibiting such a gathering are unconstitutional. Adams and two other Rainbow Family members were cited by the Forest Service for failing to obtain a permit for a gathering that brought...

Libertarians vs. Bush The Libertarian Party, appealing to Democrats for funds, is targeting the battleground state of Wisconsin as a place where they could make the difference in preventing President Bush's re-election. Wisconsin Libertarians are asking money for their presidential candidate, computer consultant Michael Badnarik. Their appeal promises Democrats that ''we will use 100 percent of your donations to run television and radio commercials that specifically target conservative voters who might otherwise vote for Bush.'' ''We don't want Bush to win in Wisconsin any more than you do,'' says the Libertarian Web site. ''As a Kerry supporter, you may disagree...

Protesters settled in front of Democratic United States Senator John Edwards Raleigh office awaiting arrest for their efforts to make a statement that the Senator has not gone far enough to oppose a war with Iraq.But despite the fact that the protestors were breaking the law by blocking an entrance into a public building, the police on site chose not to intervene. Three participating University of North Carolina students Anna Carson Dewitt and Sascha Bollag, both freshman and senior Scott O' Day said they were disappointed when the police refused to arrest them. All three have prior arrest for civil...

The White House's postponment of a literary symposium it believe was becoming politicized led two former U.S. poets lauerate to characterize the decision as an example of the Bush Administations hostility to dissenting voices.'I think there was a general feeling that the current Administration is not really a friend of the poetic community and that its program of attacking Iraq is contrary to the humanatarian position that is at the center of the poetic impulse,' Stanley Kunitz the 2000-2001 poet lauerate, said Thursday.In a statement, Rita Dove, who served a poet lauerate from 1993 to 1995 said the postponement confirmed...