Free Republic

WASHINGTON - On Monday evening, President Bush will stand before a joint session of Congress and give a speech about the state of the Union – and perhaps about the state of his place in history, as well. This doesn't mean that Mr. Bush's final State of the Union address will be a nostalgia-fest of retrospection. Bush, like his father before him, famously is averse to dwelling on the past. But he's unlikely to unveil bold new initiatives, say experts, given his low approval ratings and the lack of time left in his term. At best Bush might push items...

Brain scans can identify who is more "rational" and who is more "emotional," says a new study in the current issue of the journal Science. Researchers at University College London put subjects into a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner and watched their brain activity as they sorted through some artfully structured choices. The researchers posed classic Tversky/Kahneman choices framed as gain and loss scenarios. In this case, the subjects were initially told that they would receive £50, but then were told that they had to choose between a "sure" option and "gamble" option. In so-called Gain frame, the...

Often I see Libertarians refer to themselves as "Conservatives" or "Right". Yet, many times, on many web-boards, I see the libertarians taking the same positions as Demonrats, and they seem to support Demonrats over Republicans. I did a bit of research, and I found why this might be the case. Libertarianism is actually in the same political system as Liberalism. http://www.moral-politics.com/xPolitics.aspx?menu=Political_Ideologies&action=Draw&choice=PoliticalIdeologies.All

"NEW YORK The cover story by Matt Bai in the upcoming Sunday issue of The New York Times Magazine profiles the man some liberals allegedly consider a possible new “messiah” for the Democratic party, George Lakoff. An adviser to the party on “framing” issues, he wrote “Don't Think of an Elephant”-- a book about politics and language based on his own linguistic theories." Also from the article: "With the debate over social security, Democrats explained that Bush was going to privatize it, which frightened the public. To represent this idea, Democrats portrayed the president as "an old-fashioned traveling salesman, with...

Seven years later, the pain lingers for some. “Since ‘Seinfeld’ ended its first run, no new network sitcom has come along that even compares with it in terms of intelligence and wittiness -- especially not at NBC, which each fall stands for New Bad Comedies,” Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales wrote in July 2003, after watching Jerry Seinfeld perform his standup routine. It’s cute that he slips the words “first run” in there, as if there may eventually be a “second run.” There won’t be. The actors have plenty of cash, and aren’t likely to tarnish their franchise with...

WASHINGTON, July 1 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The National Farmers Union PAC (NATFARMPAC) today endorsed John Kerry for President in a letter from Chairman David Frederickson. After three and a half years of an administration that takes rural America for granted, the organization is supporting Kerry for his commitment to addressing the serious challenges facing rural communities. The full text of the letter is below: "Dear Senator Kerry: On behalf of the National Farmers Union Political Action Committee (NATFARMPAC), I am pleased to inform you that it has voted to endorse your candidacy for President of the United States. As you...

Lecture Archive On October 18, 2001 ISI co-sponsored the following lecture by Dr. James R. Stoner, Jr. with the Pi Sigma Alpha chapter at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Dr. Stoner is Associate Professor of Political Science at Louisiana State University. "A Harmonious and Consistent Whole": The Framing of the Constitution and the Common Law" James R. Stoner, Jr. Louisiana State University It's an honor to lecture today at the Air Force Academy. The other week, in teaching Thucydides to my own students at LSU, it struck me that what the navy was to ancient...