Free Republic

Like most Maryland Democrats, I voted for Sen. Barack Obama in the recent Potomac Primary. By doing so, according to the leaders of my church, I put my soul at risk. That's right, says the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops -- tap the touch screen for a pro-abortion-rights candidate, and you're probably punching your ticket to Hell. For a church that "thinks in centuries," things sure are moving quickly. Back in 2004, as Washington correspondent for the independent National Catholic Reporter, I covered what Comedy Central's Jon Stewart dubbed the "wafer wars." A handful of conservative bishops warned Democratic presidential...

Burning down a freeway is not easy. But set off enough high-octane fuel at the wrong place and even multiton supporting steel girders turn wobbly as a chocolate bar in the sun. That is what a speeding gasoline trucker managed to do before dawn Sunday to the busiest interchange in Northern California. Authorities still are piecing together how one of the 18-wheelers traversing the Bay daily crashed and erupted into a fireball that collapsed one freeway onto another at untold disruption to regional traffic. Miraculously, no one plunged into the inferno, the void it left behind or the debris below....

"Through me the way into the suffering city, Through me the way to the eternal pain, Through me the way that runs among the lost. Justice urged on my high artificer; My maker was divine authority, The highest wisdom, and the primal love. Before me nothing but eternal things were made, And I endure eternally. Abandon every hope, ye who enter here."

ROME, FEB. 9, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's new encyclical on love came as a surprise to most everyone. Some wags commented on the paradox of the "German Shepherd" exclaiming that God is Love. Others are amazed that the erstwhile watchdog of Church doctrine would choose to dedicate so much ink to social teachings. My surprise had nothing to do with this. I was floored when the Holy Father said he was inspired by Dante. During an audience with members of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" on Jan. 23, Benedict XVI introduced the new encyclical saying that the 14th-century Italian poet...

January 31, 2006 Inferno in the Courts Smoke emanating from the court is caused by inflamed public not fire-breathing, “value-voting” zealots. By Carol Turoff The February 2006 issue of Arizona Attorney magazine features an intriguing cover story and accompanying special section titled, Fair Courts Under Fire. The cover illustration depicts a courthouse ablaze. If the intent was to inflame, then it is surely time to secure the deluge nozzle to the hydrant. Merit selection of judges is the issue. Author and flame-thrower is lawyer Ted Schmidt. In addressing what he terms “the stench of judicial campaigning,” Schmidt spends six interminable...

Dante's Divine Comedy, the most sublime religious poem the Christian West has produced in two thousand years, provides us to this day with profound insights into human nature. In the Inferno Dante provides us with a vivid, unforgettable image of what Christians have always believed about sodomites. He places them in the seventh circle of Hell, the fiery circle of the violent, far below the lustful heterosexuals of the second circle. Why this big separation? The answer is extremely important and revealing. Dante wants us to understand that homosexuals do not suffer in life from a deficiency of the will,...

Dante's Divine Comedy, the most sublime religious poem the Christian West has produced in two thousand years, provides us to this day with profound insights into human nature. In the Inferno Dante provides us with a vivid, unforgettable image of what Christians have always believed about sodomites. He places them in the seventh circle of Hell, the fiery circle of the violent, far below the lustful heterosexuals of the second circle. Why this big separation? The answer is extremely important and revealing. Dante wants us to understand that homosexuals do not suffer in life from a deficiency of the will,...

Franco Aleman, of Barcepundit.com, provides us shocking suggestive evidence that the massive fire which destroyed a thirty-two story skyscraper in Madrid may have been the result of foul play. A videotaper caught what appears to be people with flashlights on lower floors of the building as the fire burned above. While far from conclusive evidence, this would be consistent with arsonists doing their work. The building housed the biggest accounting firm in Spain and a prestigeous law firm, so it might be a target for anti-capitalist thugs.

"Through me the way into the suffering city, Through me the way to the eternal pain, Through me the way that runs among the lost. Justice urged on my high artificer; My maker was divine authority, The highest wisdom, and the primal love. Before me nothing but eternal things were made, And I endure eternally. Abandon every hope, ye who enter here." While using the internet as a resource to develop a homeschool curriculum for my 12 year old, I stumbled across a wonderful resource that I feel I must share with my fellow Freepers found here. The author uses...

Mass Deaths In Bus Inferno At least 65 people were killed in northern India when a bus carrying a wedding party hit a high voltage cable and burst into flames. A police spokesman said the disaster occurred when bicycles on the bus roof became entangled in wires hanging over the road. "The bus's roof was piled high with bicycles which snared an overhead high-tension cable and then the bus caught fire, killing 50 people on the spot," he said. A senior official said the victims were part of a wedding party on its way to the bride's home. Survivors "Some...