Free Republic

Domestic dogs show many adaptations to living closely with humans, but they do not seem to reciprocate food-giving according to a study, publishing July 4 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, led by Jim McGetrick and colleagues at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria. The researchers trained 37 domestic dogs to operate a food dispenser by pressing a button, before separating the button and dispenser in separate enclosures. In the first stage, dogs were paired with two unfamiliar humans one at a time. One human partner was helpful—pressing their button to dispense food in the dog's enclosure—and one...

On the first day of Christmas I gave to charity one chocolate-cherry milk shake. On the second day of Christmas I gave to charity two turkey legs, and one chocolate-cherry milk shake. On the third day of Christmas I gave to charity three baked potatoes, two turkey legs, and one chocolate-cherry milk shake. On the fourth day of Christmas I gave to charity four scoops of dressing, three baked potatoes, two turkey legs, and one chocolate-cherry milk shake. On the fifth day of Christmas I gave to charity five cherry pies, four scoops of dressing, three baked potatoes, two turkey...

A brutal business climate and societal breakdown have brought major changes to America. In response, many Americans, especially conservatives, are soul searching for something more compassionate for those left behind. Unfortunately, they are looking in the most unlikely places: business and government. They will likely be searching for a long time. The controversy over this shift in mentality erupted with the publication of a Wall Street Journal advertisement in which major firms pledge a commitment to “stakeholder” capitalism, which holds businesses should be run having all society, not just shareholders, in mind. Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) stirred the pot with...

Amid reports that fast food chain Chick-fil-A was halting donations to Christian groups, the restaurant's foundation is maintaining they are philanthropically restructuring, not caving to political correctness in pursuit of higher profits. Reports emerged Monday that after months of consistently negative press coverage related to their long-held views about marriage and human sexuality and donations to like-minded organizations, that the famous chicken sandwich shop was discontinuing their financial contributions to groups characterized as "anti-LGBT." The Christian Post reached out to Chick-fil-A Monday, asking them to respond to the criticisms that they were compromising their principles in order to appease their...

The guy lives in a 4,700-square-foot home, according to the AP, and as of 2015 had a personal net worth of $9 million. His father-in-law is a bona fide real-estate tycoon who’s worth around $500 million by Forbes’s estimate. According to his newly released tax returns, he and his wife had income in 2017 of $370,412. Asked recently whether he’d support a wealth tax, O’Rourke answered in the affirmative: “I think fundamental to this experiment of America and democracy is ensuring we don’t have princes and princesses, kings and queens, a concentration of wealth and power and privilege, and that’s...

There are a lot of things that make Desiree Linden’s victory at the 2018 Boston Marathon a race story for the ages. There’s the headline you’ve been seeing everywhere: She’s the first American woman to win the race in over three decades! And if you saw even a single picture taken on Marathon Monday, you know that she ran in some of the worst weather in the race’s history. (In case you didn’t, here are 15 pictures that captured the 2018 Boston Marathon.)Then, there’s the comeback component: Linden was two seconds away from victory at the 2011 Boston Marathon, and...

A common theme among progressives is that conservatives aren't just wrong; they're dumb. Reagan was dumb. G.W. Bush was dumb. Trump is dumb. "Knuckle-dragger," "mouth-breather," "stupid," and "uncultured" are typical pejoratives hurled at conservatives, who apparently tend to live in trailer parks, require dental care, handle snakes, and marry first cousins. Why, I had a liberal actor (excuse the redundancy) tell me once that I wasn't necessarily bad, just not as "evolved" as he was. (I had a great retort at the ready, but I decided just to lash him with my tail instead.) The reason for this arrogance isn't...

The pastor of the tiny Texas church where a madman massacred 26 people and wounded 24 last Sunday wants the building torn down.“The pastor expressed his desire that perhaps the best way forward is to have the church demolished and replaced with a prayer garden,” Southern Baptist Convention spokesman Roger “Sing” Oldham, told USA Today.The Southern Baptist Convention’s president and CEO of the executive committee, Frank Page, and SBC President Steve Gaines confirmed the church will be razed, Religion News Service reported. The decision came after meeting with the Sutherland Springs pastor Frank Pomeroy, whose 14-year-old daughter, Annabelle, was killed during the...

Pondering the Collection Basket in an Age of Electronic Giving Msgr. Charles Pope • June 5, 2016 • New financial realities and mechanisms raise questions for the traditional collection and offertory procedures at Mass. For as far back as most of us can remember, the “collection” has always taken place after the Creed and Intercessory prayers. A basket is passed and people drop in cash or a check, often inside an envelope. It is often brought up along with the bread and wine as an actual offering to the Lord and His Church.But the problem is that cash, and...

In his emotional monologue a few nights ago, Jimmy Kimmel told us a heartbreaking story with a happy ending.His newborn son, Billy, was diagnosed with a heart disease and underwent immediate surgery—which thankfully was successful.Millions have since watched and sympathized with the comedian and his family—crying when he cried, rejoicing when he rejoiced.No one ever wants that diagnosis to be their story. It’s scary, especially when you consider that a solution comes in the form of open heart surgery on the tiniest of chest cavities.Kimmel was right to praise the doctors and nurses at Cedars Sinai Hospital and the Children’s...

A very good friend of mine, who is a die-hard Republican told me today after New York: “Let’s just get this over and nominate Trump, so I can once-for-all give up on the Republican Party.” I responded that we shouldn't give up hope just yet. If we can get through next week, Cruz will have a great May heading into the convention. There is at least an even chance that Trump will be short of 1237 on the first ballot. And watch this really historic and inspiring speech by Ted Cruz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2BhhhtiA04 This compares to Trump’s speeches, which go something...

Don’t you love donating to causes you believe in? Don’t you love that warm fuzzy feeling from knowing that contributing to a worthy cause? And don’t you especially love that you can support whatever organization you choose anonymously? That last one is especially important given the news over the last few years that the IRS has been targeting conservatives with audits and denial of tax-free status for nakedly political reasons. Well, if the IRS has their way, this may be a luxury that will soon go the way of the dinosaur. A new rule is proposing that non-profit organizations collect...

An Israeli rabbi who recently authored a book on charity has argued that the Bible actually calls on people to give 20 percent in charity rather than a 10 percent tithe. Shneor Cohen, a 27-year-old ordained rabbi, has argued that a commonly cited justification for giving 10 percent may actually be 20 percent. "Cohen, an ordained rabbi, said that the sages of the Talmud pointed to Deuteronomy 14:22, which states: 'Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.' The verse is often cited as the biblical basis for tithing one's income," reported The...

A few weeks ago, I was in New York City to meet someone for drinks, and got on the subway at 34th and 7th to head downtown. I dislike the New York subway for many reasons. It is the only such system in a major Western city to look as if it had been swapped with the metro of a third-world backwater. Pick any otherwise dodgy country on Earth, and chances are the subway of its capital city is a gleaming tube with smooth rolling stock and palatial stations. Not New York. The trains lurch between filthy platforms like...

Let's not beat around the bush. You give to Free Republic. But you wait....and wait....and in the 2nd month you pull the trigger. Then you feel better, because when it comes down to it you understand the value of Free Republic. It is the lone conservative voice out there that gives average Joes like us a voice to combat the BS of the media, the politicians, and the robots. The election is upon us...3 short months away, give or take a few days. The early days of the campaigns are important days. We all know it. Obama has gone into...

Inverted Morality Dinesh D’Souza recently debated Michael Shermer at Oregon State University. The debate topic was, “Is Christianity Good for American Politics”. D’Souza is an author, educator and, most recently, the creator of the movie, “2016: Obama’s America”. Shermer is the founder and publisher of Skeptic Magazine. This short clip conveys two very important points about morality and political philosophy. Dinesh has the same ability that Milton Friedman had to clearly explain complex ideas. Compulsion removes the virtue from human interactions. Free choice is a pre-requisite of moral action. Dinesh make good use of the wagon analogy. There are people...

The Obama campaign has spent months laboring to get this election to be about anything but the presidentÂ’s record and the candidatesÂ’ policy proposals. As often happens in campaigns, this requires painting caricatures with no connection to the facts. The Obama camp has worked hard to make Mitt Romney out as a bad, unfeeling, cold-hearted rich guy who only cares about his own bottom line. Romney himself hasnÂ’t helped the matter by being such a stiff, tin-eared speaker who actually looks and sounds like a walking stereotype; political communication is not among his skills. But the reality is that RomneyÂ’s...

Are taxes a form of charitable donation? Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney seemed to suggest that he might think so last week, when he responded to questions about how much he pays in taxes by suggesting that people should take into account his total contributions to the government and charities. The comment was a quick one — a by-golly insistence that despite paying a relatively low tax rate on his vast income, the millions he has given to charity show that he’s not a greedy guy. But experts who research public attitudes on philanthropy on both sides of the political...

Make a joyful noise

Kevin Christopher Fitzgerald's life ended Saturday night on the cold asphalt of Highway 101 in Santa Rosa when the 57-year-old homeless man walked into the path of a southbound pickup truck. The driver, traveling at 65 mph, swerved and tried to brake, but had no chance to miss Fitzgerald, the CHP said. The man had lived on the streets and been to local hospitals so often in the last 25 years that paramedics immediately recognized him. Fitzgerald, the fifth homeless pedestrian killed by a vehicle this year in Santa Rosa, carried a secret that stunned most people who'd known the...