Free Republic

A clay tablet that has baffled scientists for 150 years has been identified as a witness's account of the asteroid suspected of being behind the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Researchers who cracked the cuneiform symbols on the Planisphere tablet believe that recorded an asteroid thought to have been more than half a mile across. The tablet, found by Henry Layard in the remains of the library in the royal place at Nineveh in the mid-19th century, is thought to be a 700 B.C. copy of notes made by a Sumerian astronomer watching the night sky. He referred to the...

New York City is frequently referred to by its slogan, "the Big Apple." But if some in city government have their way, New York may soon be known as the town to "get some." "Get Some" is the 2008 slogan for New York City's taxpayer-funded condom distribution program. Robert Peters, with Morality in Media, objects to the program both for its promotion of promiscuous sex and its false promise of safety. "I think it will be perceived by many people -- young people, in particular -- not just to get condoms but to get promiscuous sex," he remarks. "It's like...

The chairman of Boston University's religion department offers this proposal: Public high schools should require one course in the Bible for all their students and another in world religions He cites surveys showing that most Americans can't even name one of the four biblical gospels and that many high school students think that Sodom and Gomorrah were a married couple.

The man deemed by San Francisco officials to be a potential threat to Mayor Gavin Newsom has suffered several mental breakdowns, was arrested last year on suspicion of threatening his elderly parents and shined a laser light in a prosecutor's eye during a court appearance, public records show. Han Sup Shin, 42, of Union City entered Newsom's Russian Hill apartment building early Feb. 15 and has been showing increasingly bizarre behavior at the mayor's public events, according to declarations filed in court as part of a request for a temporary restraining order by City Attorney Dennis Herrera. "We've had several...

A Catholic priest preached yesterday at the main worship service associated with Boston's gay pride week, setting up a potential conflict with a church hierarchy that has been increasingly vocal in its criticism of the growing acceptance of gay relationships in Western societies.The Rev. Walter H. Cuenin, a longtime advocate of outreach to gays and lesbians in the Catholic Church, did not criticize or dispute Catholic teaching during his remarks, and he quoted several times from a 1997 document issued by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which declared that ``the teachings of the Church make it clear that the...

He is having a number of people, including New Mexico Tech scientists, examine the potsherd to determine what the glaze is. Material engineers at the site said it looks like Trinitite, the substance materials such as sand turn into when subjected to a nuclear blast. However, Collins said he isn't suggesting a nuclear blast hit the site. He doesn't know the cause, but suspects a comet strike or electrical event.

ITHACA NY--How far gay rights should extend has been a hot button issue in the year 2004, but the debate over legal and social rights goes back much futher. Since it started, a generation of gay people have quietly gorwn up, gotten jobs, found a partner and even started a family. This last, which at first appeared ridiculous or impossible, is a reality for more and more gay couples through adoption or surrogacy.The trend spans the country and is perhaps unexpected from a demographic long associated with the swinging single life or at least childlessness. But as the openly gay...

Date Added:Nov 24 2004Inscribed Bricks Unearthed South of Iran Iran-11/23/2004 In the latest round of archeological excavations at the historical site of Enshan, Fars province, Iranian and American archeologists have unearthed several inscribed bricks and a seal dating back to the mid-Elamite era (1100 BC).Enshan is regarded as one of the capitals of the Elamites and is rich in cultural heritage artifacts ranging from the Elamite to the Achamenid era (3500 BC to 500 AD). Dr. Kamyar Abdi, an instructor of Dartmouth College in the United States told Cultural Heritage News (CHN) agency that in the course of excavations in...

Principals freaked out by students' dance, dress By Dahleen Glanton Tribune national correspondent Gaoda McFadden still wonders what all the fuss is about. The way the 16-year-old sees it, the principal verreacted by ending his school's homecoming party early because kids were dancing, well, the way kids dance. Like many of his friends at Stephenson High School, McFadden sees nothing wrong with bumping and grinding on the dance floor or being sandwiched between two girls with their hips gyrating against him. After all, he said, you can turn on MTV or Black Entertainment Television and see it all day. "It...

A loss for true conservatism (David Shuster)• November 7, 2004 | 2:26 p.m. ETOn Tuesday, eleven different states outlawed gay marriage. The basic argument I heard was not about marriage (more on that below) but about being gay. And a majority of voters seem to believe that homosexuality is an "immoral lifestyle choice." Hmmmm. The problem is that anybody who has a relative or friend who is gay also knows it is not a "choice." It is something wired into the genes of approximately 3 or 4 percent of the human population in every single culture on the planet. Secondly,...

TEHRAN (AFP) -- One of Iran's main historical sites, the ancient Elamite capital of Susa, has been used for the secret nightly dumping of rubbish by the local municipality, a culture official in the area told AFP Tuesday. "We have filed several complaints against the municipality, but it firmly denies its workers have ever done such a thing -- even though they have been frequently spotted by our guards," said the head of the Cultural Heritage Organization in Shush, the modern name for Susa. But the official, Mahdi Qanbari, also complained that the municipality was also planning to build a...

Ahoy, mateys, Rosie O'Donnell's going full steam ahead--her cruise line for gay and lesbian families has launched on its maiden voyage. The first cruise of R Family Vacations, a new company backed by the comic and gay-rights advocate, set sail Sunday from New York for a seven-day cruise to the Bahamas. O'Donnell was on hand in Manhattan Sunday to celebrate the first of several gay family friendly vacations planned by R Family Vacations. According to the R Family Website, the cruise is a seven-day adventure that will take its 2,100 passengers from New York to Florida to the Bahamas and...

PRINCETON, NJ -- Same-sex marriages have been cleared to become legal Monday in Massachusetts after a federal judge last week refused a challenge to the Massachusetts court ruling that granted same-sex couples the right to marry. A recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey finds a modest increase in the number of Americans who support giving gay couples some of the legal rights that heterosexual couples enjoy. The public is about evenly divided on a law that would establish gay civil unions with some of the same rights that marriages have, and it remains more opposed than supportive of giving gay marriages the...

<p>BATON ROUGE -- If the Louisiana Legislature doesn't take steps to ban gay marriages in Louisiana, God will, a number of preachers said Monday at a rally supporting proposals to preserve "the sanctity of marriage."</p> <p>Senate Bill 166 by Sen. John Hainkel, R-New Orleans, an amendment banning same-sex marriage, is set for a hearing today in the Senate Judiciary A Committee.</p>

<p>MARSHALL, Texas (AP) -- Victims of a former Lutheran minister who sexually molested boys won a jury award of nearly $37 million Thursday, bringing the total payout in the case to about $69 million.</p> <p>The case is the most serious to hit the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which has about 5 million members, and has drawn comparisons to the worst abuses committed during the Roman Catholic molestation crisis.</p>

Judge Bork on the 2nd Amendment & Gun Control Constitution Opinion (Published) Source: Slouching Towards Gomorrah Published: 1996 Author: Robert Bork Posted on 03/14/2000 15:45:37 PST by Publius Gun control, though advanced with religious fervor and harrowing tales of loved one shot to death, is no less frivolous. The real argument against severe gun control is one of policy, not constitutionality. As law professor Daniel Polsby demonstrates, "the conventional wisdom about guns and violence is mistaken. Guns don't increase national rates of crime and violence - but the continued proliferation of gun control laws almost certainly does." Gun control laws...

<p>San Jose became the first city in California to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, although the decision only applies to municipal workers.</p> <p>The city council defied objections from conservatives and voted 8-1 Tuesday to pass a motion that could provide more comprehensive health and retirement benefits to partners and family members of gay and lesbian city workers who get married in San Francisco or other cities that allow same-sex marriages.</p>

QUEERLY BELOVEDD.A.: I'll arrest same-sex weddersSays homosexuals purporting to be 'married' committing frauds Posted: March 4, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com A district attorney running for Pennsylvania attorney general is vowing to arrest anyone associated with same-sex weddings. "There should be no Rosie O'Donnell weddings in Pennsylvania, and there won't be if I'm the attorney general," Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor Jr. told the Philadelphia Inquirer. Even though same-sex marriages are currently illegal in the Keystone State and there haven't been any homosexual couples forthcoming to seek a marriage license, Castor issued a letter to the local reigster of wills...

<p>Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said yesterday that Congress "must act and act soon" to prevent a few judges and local officials from redefining marriage for everyone, as lawmakers held the first day of hearings on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a male-female union.</p>

A homosexual advocacy group rejects the notion that judges are "over-reaching" when they uphold "equal rights" for gays and lesbians. Lambda Legal said it plans to announce an "aggressive national campaign" on Tuesday -- "to reveal the truth behind anti-gay rhetoric about 'activist judges.'" Lambda Legal said its campaign will counter the claims of "right-wingers" who say "'activist judges' are overreaching by ruling in favor of equal rights for gay Americans." Lambda Legal said its campaign will begin on Wednesday -- the same day a U.S. Senate subcommittee begins hearings on a proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union...

<p>When San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples this month, many in the gay rights movement nationwide cheered.</p> <p>But in Massachusetts, the sudden act of civil disobedience is setting off deep concern among some leading gay advocates, who worry the move could undercut the push for same-sex marriage here.</p>

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom touched off a defiant outburst of matrimony 10 days ago when he decided his city would issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. These marriages -- now more than 3,000 -- are also one of the most flagrant acts of mass civil disobedience in recent years. The freedom-to-marry movement has long grounded its cause in the rhetoric and precedents of the American civil rights movement. As she began her arguments for gay marriage before the Vermont Supreme Court in 1998, lawyer Beth Robinson cited a landmark case from 1948, when the California Supreme Court...

What "Gay" Marriage Will Mean for our Children By Linda P. Harvey Column originally published on WorldNetDaily.com, July 19, 2003 © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com "Same sex marriage? It doesn't bother me!" In many circles, this is the prevailing sentiment regarding the possible legalization of same-sex relationships as "marriages" in the U.S. If the Supreme Court in the state of Massachusetts rules in favor of the homosexual couples who have sued for marriage rights, then other states will most likely be forced to recognize these couplings as marriages under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution. There's just one...

<p>Washington -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger turned up the rhetoric against San Francisco's move to allow same-sex marriages, saying on national TV Sunday that he fears outbreaks of serious civil unrest if the ceremonies continue at City Hall.</p> <p>Schwarzenegger said on NBC's "Meet the Press'' that he fears worsening protests about the divisive issue and worries the situation could get out of hand if courts don't quickly stop the marriages, which are being performed in defiance of existing state law.</p>

WASHINGTON - President Bush (news - web sites) said Wednesday he was "troubled" by gay weddings in San Francisco and by legal decisions in Massachusetts that could clear the way for same-sex marriage. But he declined to say whether he is any closer to backing a constitutional ban on such vows. "I have watched carefully what's happening in San Francisco, where licenses were being issued, even though the law states otherwise," Bush said. "I have consistently stated that I'll support law to protect marriage between a man and a woman. Obviously these events are influencing my decision." "I am watching...

MTV Networks revs up gay-themed Outlet NEW YORK (Variety) --- MTV Networks, buoyed by positive talks with top cable operators, has begun stepping up the planning for Outlet, a 24-hour network aimed at gays and lesbians. In development for more than two years, Outlet failed to launch in 2002 because MTV had brought in sister network Showtime to market it as a pay channel. When that strategy didn't pass muster with cable operators, Showtime bowed out of the picture and MTV repositioned Outlet as an ad-supported, digital, basic cable network. But with that repositioning, MTV has had to change its...

(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said just because Massachusetts legalizes same-sex marriage, that doesn't mean other states will have to do the same thing. "Remember, we are talking about one state," Frank said in an interview on NBC's Today show Thursday. "If Massachusetts goes ahead with same-sex marriage, does this compel other states to do it? I don't think it should. I don't think it will," he added. Frank said the main question is this: Should the federal government step in and stop Massachusetts from doing something which is being done according to Massachusetts rules?" Frank said...

No matter how you cut it up, eating people is simply wrong - By Barbara Amiel (Filed: 08/12/2003) Not a few modern cannibals in the West have been German and it would be tempting to say, after reading the testimony of self-confessed cannibal Armin Meiwes, now on trial in Kassel, that eating people is a peculiarly German thing to do. But there have been some American and British cannibals, with the odd Russian as well. What may be an EU speciality is that apparently cannibalism is not a crime - though using wooden chopping boards may be. Somehow, one would...

The guy wandering around outside the tiki bar on the north edge of town can't even pay for a clue, he's so lost. "Does anybody know the area?" he asks. Lucky for him, he runs into Chuck Palahniuk and asks for directions. Nobody knows the area better than Palahniuk, author of the cult classic "Fight Club." And Palahniuk has written a new book to prove it. "Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon" is stuffed with juxtapositions and secrets. You can crack open the book to Chamber of Commerce sound bites, turn a page or two and find detailed...

Laodicean Episcopalians Posted: August 14, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." – Revelation 3:17 Homosexuals thrive on deceit. The first people they deceive are always themselves. With the ascension of Gene Robinson to bishop in the Episcopal Church, that deceit has now "been piled high unto Heaven." Mr. Robinson, as you may recall, abandoned his wife and children to live with his homosexual lover. That qualification was apparently adequate to...

Sodom and Gomorrah University Thank goodness for conservative college student journalists. They bravely blow the whistle on the cultural rot plaguing the nation's institutions of higher learning. And they alert the public to the ugly truth about campus hedonism, which is downplayed by clueless administrators, admissions flacks and faculty enablers. Just how dangerously out of control has the campus social environment become? A recent report by student journalists Seth R. Norman and Ashley Rudmann of the California Patriot (www.calpatriot.org), the conservative journal at the University of California-Berkeley, provides some hair-raising answers. According to Norman and Rudmann, anonymous gay sex seekers...

OK for same-sex marriages sought in N.J. Wednesday, January 15, 2003 By RUTH PADAWER Staff Writer More than 200 of the faithful squeezed into the small church hall, applauding wildly as believers offered testimonials of love. One by one, they bore witness to the power of commitments. They were met with hoots and whistles from an adoring flock. This was no religious revival. Instead, it was a pep rally for gay rights in New Jersey. With a lawsuit pending in state court over same-sex marriage, gay-rights leaders this week unveiled the first of 10 meetings designed to rouse sympathizers from...

Is America like Sodom and Gomorrah By Darren Morrison I believe we are living in the last of the last days. We have been living in the last days since Saint Paul preached. But the evidence is all around us. The world is becoming more carnal and morals are weakened more and more. The world has crept into churches as well. Most churches no longer teach repentances and attendance is so low that they no longer even teach about sin. They go as far as to ordain homosexuals and marry them, totally rejecting GOD for the ways of the world....

The Climax of a Turbulent Millennium: Evidence for Major Impact Events in the late Third Millennium BC Timo Niroma, Helsinki, Finland The First Intermediate PeriodThe Curse of AkkadTroy IIgThird Millennium BC Climate Change and Old World CollapseNatural Catastrophes during Bronze Age Civilisations Two separate cataclysmsSodom and GomorrahWhere did the impacts occur? The First Intermediate Period Selections from "The Egyptians" by C. Aldred (London 1987). "At this distance of time, the overthrow of the Old Kingdom at the end of the Sixth Dynasty has all the appearance of being sudden and complete. "Recent research has attributed the abrupt nature of...