Free Republic

The Catholic sex-abuse stories emerging every day suggest that Catholics have a much bigger problem with child molestation than other denominations and the general population. Many point to peculiarities of the Catholic Church (its celibacy rules for priests, its insular hierarchy, its exclusion of women) to infer that there's something particularly pernicious about Catholic clerics that predisposes them to these horrific acts. It's no wonder that, back in 2002—when the last Catholic sex-abuse scandal was making headlines—a Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll found that 64 percent of those queried thought Catholic priests "frequently'' abused children.Yet experts say there's simply no...

The priesthood is being cast as the refuge of pederasts. In fact, priests seem to abuse children at the same rate as everyone else.The Catholic sex-abuse stories emerging every day suggest that Catholics have a much bigger problem with child molestation than other denominations and the general population. Many point to peculiarities of the Catholic Church (its celibacy rules for priests, its insular hierarchy, its exclusion of women) to infer that there's something particularly pernicious about Catholic clerics that predisposes them to these horrific acts. It's no wonder that, back in 2002—when the last Catholic sex-abuse scandal was making headlines—a...

Barack Obama's "approval index" as measured by Rasmussen Reports (the difference between those who strongly approve and strongly disapprove of his performance) has declined steadily since his inauguration. There is nothing surprising about this, but Obama's honeymoon proved short as disapproval has risen more quickly than was the case for most recent Presidents. Currently, Obama's approval index is mired at +2, the lowest of his administration: Overall, Obama's approval rating of 55% is remarkably steady and not very high for a President still in his first three months in office. The significance of the current numbers is that the small...

Oh, now. I’m sure all she meant is “America, in its entirety, under George Bush is downright mean.” Or under Hillary Clinton, or anyone else except Barack Obama. That’d be okay, of course. [Michelle] Obama begins with a broad assessment of life in America in 2008, and life is not good: we’re a divided country, we’re a country that is “just downright mean,” we are “guided by fear,” we’re a nation of cynics, sloths, and complacents. “We have become a nation of struggling folks who are barely making it every day,” she said, as heads bobbed in the pews. “Folks...

Of course, we all know that while men and women are both capable of cheating, it's often the guys who have the biggest problem keeping their belts firmly buckled. And we all know that no matter who it's with, why it's done, or where the after-hours canoodling takes place, cheating is-most of the time-the ultimate relationship death sentence. But instead of dwelling on what happens after the cheating takes place, one of the ways to perhaps prevent infidelity is by knowing a little bit about why men stray. I'm not offering them as excuses, merely explanations as to what happens...

Sen. John F. Kerry yesterday blasted the Bush administration for war and homeland security policies that he said leave Americans more vulnerable to attack. Kerry’s remarks came in a Faneuil Hall speech on the eve of tomorrow’s five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. In his fourth speech this year at the venue, Kerry accused the administration of using the tragedy that killed about 3,000 Americans to justify the war in Iraq. “It is immoral to treat 9/11 as a political pawn (to) excuse the invasion of Iraq,” Kerry said. “They were attacked and killed not by Saddam...

OMAHA, Neb. -- Chanting came from the front sidewalk of the Cheyenne County Courthouse in Nebraska's panhandle on Wednesday. Protestors wanted to be heard. "Out with Judge Cecava," voices shouted. "Protect our children," others said. The courthouse has been at the center of controversy since Judge Kristine Cecava sentenced Richard Thompson to ten years probation rather than prison time for raping a 12-year-old girl. In her sentencing on May 25, the judge said she didn't think Thompson could survive in prison, partly because he's only 5 foot one inch tall. Jamie Russel works across from the courthouse and she had...

WESTERN AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq (April 13, 2006) -- Editor’s Note: The name of the Iraqi soldier featured in this article has been changed to protect his identity. The townspeople of Sad’ah, a town near the Iraq-Syria border wave and greet a heavily-armed Iraqi soldier as he patrols the streets, hunting for would-be insurgents. The townsfolk witnessed the man grow from a child to a trained soldier and now he is keeping them safe on a daily basis, disrupting insurgent operations in his childhood hometown. “Hadi” has an advantage over the other “Jundi” - Iraqi Army privates – since he...

Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson this morning, saying an investigation is needed to get to the bottom of a recorded conversation in which Johnson said Supreme Court justices had assured him they would not overturn state law to allow same-sex marriage. Senators Claire Robling, R-Jordan and Mike McGinn, R-Eagan, both assistant minority leaders, said in a statement released this morning that "the facts have been elusive. Sen. Johnson's story has been constantly evolving. The integrity of the Minnesota Senate and the Minnesota Supreme Court has been diminished."

WILLMAR, Minn. - The pastor who secretly recorded Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson comments about the Minnesota Supreme Court and the state's law against gay marriage says he has no regrets about what he did. Brent Waldemarsen, senior pastor at Harvest Community Church of God in Willmar, acknowledged in an interview published Friday in the West Central Tribune that his recording of Johnson, DFL-Willmar, had opened up a can of worms. "Unfortunately, it's the senator that opened it," he told the newspaper. Waldemarsen recorded Johnson telling a January meeting of the New London-Spicer Ministerial Association that Supreme Court justices had...

It's a sign of how little Democrats have on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito that on Day Three of his confirmation hearings they were still pounding away on his membership in an obscure Princeton alumni group that flowered briefly at the judge's alma mater. They can't touch him on credentials or his mastery of jurisprudence, so they're trying to get him on guilt by ancient association. Senators Ted Kennedy and Chuck Schumer did their best yesterday to imply that Judge Alito was racist and sexist by linking the nominee with the views of some members of Concerned Alumni of Princeton,...

Look at the main stream media and how they portray VP Cheney and others... Reuters and the main stream media do their best to make them look mean & bad...       and son on... Very few pictures like this one...

There’s a Klansman in your pocket. Now, before you panic, please know that I do not refer to the hooded secret member that many of you no doubt immediately feared, but I refer to an insidious intimidator nonetheless. Obviously, I’m talking about your photo ID -- the most intimidating thing any American will ever have to face on Election Day -- at least according to the ACLU. After a recent Justice Department approval of Georgia’s new anti-fraud law, requiring voters to show one of six reliable forms of photo ID before voting in upcoming elections, the ACLU’s Daniel Levitas claimed...

WASHINGTON Jun 12, 2005 — Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean said Saturday that positive responses from key supporters have reinforced his determination to keep talking tough even though some congressional Democrats have suggested he should tone down his rhetoric. "People want us to fight," Dean told the national party's executive committee. "We are here to fight."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 31) - Robby Gordon was not being critical of Danica Patrick when he said she had an unfair weight advantage in the Indianapolis 500. Rather, he said he was simply discussing a flaw in the Indy Racing League's rules. "The only thing I was saying was that I have a problem with the rule, not any particular driver," Gordon said Tuesday. "I've been impressed with Danica from the first time she got in an IRL car earlier this year, and I certainly did not mean to disrespect her or any other driver." Patrick wowed the racing world...

SALT LAKE CITY - Meanness in girls can start when they still are toddlers, a Brigham Young University study found. It found that girls as young as 3 or 4 will use manipulation and peer pressure to get what they want. "It could range from leaving someone out to telling their friends not to play with someone to saying, 'I'm not going to invite you to my birthday party,'" said Craig Hart, study co-author and professor of marriage, family and human development at BYU. "Some kids are really adept at being mean and nasty." They regularly exclude others and threaten...

YOU GUYS ARE ALL MEEAAAAAN! tHE WAY YOU TREAT P[EOPLE ON YOUR WEBSITE AND THEN TTRHOW THEM OUT AFTERWARDS! UGH! i AM SO FRUSTRATED AND MAD AT YOU PEOPLE IM HAVING TROUBLE GETTING THE WORDS TO COME OUT! AYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAIIIIIEEEEE! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE! THE WHOKLE THING IS A JOKE THE WAY YOU THROW PEOPLE OUT LIKE THOSE PREACHERS THAT WERE SAYING STUFF LIKE AND THEM THROWING THEWM OUT! WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY!? yOU ALSO THROW A GUY OUT BECAUSE HE COULDNT SPELL jEW! AND HE GOT FIRED AFTERWARDS AWWWW! WHO ARE TOU TO DO THAAAAAT!HE GOT...

Associated Press Writer LEVITTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Terri Schiavo's ashes will be buried in an undisclosed location near Philadelphia so that her immediate family doesn't show up and turn the burial into a media spectacle, a member of the Schiavo family said Thursday. ``If Mike knew they would come in peace, he would have no problem with it,'' Scott Schiavo, Michael Schiavo's brother, said during an interview at his home. After an autopsy, Michael Schiavo plans to have his wife's body cremated and her ashes brought to Pennsylvania, where she grew up. Scott Schiavo said the ashes would be buried...

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has long been rumored as desperately seeking the democratic nomination for president in 2008. And while many political observers fully expect the power hungry former First Lady to hit the campaign trail within only a few months of being re-elected as a US Senator in 2006, US News & World report claims to have a confirmation of sorts. From USNews.Com's Washington Whispers: Hillary's in… You don't have to take it from us about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's desire to run for president. Her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, say it's true. Friends...