Free Republic

Seeing my father reunited with Sarah Palin this weekend reminded voters of what might have been and presented an energizing glimpse of the future of conservative politics. My father formally kicked off his Senate reelection seat this weekend, and once again Sarah Palin was by his side. Although I did make it home, unfortunately I couldn’t get back in time for the rally in Tucson because of a previously scheduled speech in Washington. Soon after I landed, I was immediately swept back into to the 2008 campaign fever, which for the most part feels like a lifetime ago. Fresh off...

Among the nation’s so-called megachurches — those usually Protestant congregations with average weekly attendance of 2,000 or more — ChangePoint’s appetite for expansion into many kinds of businesses is hardly unique. An analysis by The New York Times of the online public records of just over 1,300 of these giant churches shows that their business interests are as varied as basketball schools, aviation subsidiaries, investment partnerships and limousine service. At least 10 own and operate shopping centers, and some financially formidable congregations are adding residential developments to their holdings. In one such elaborate project, LifeBridge Christian Church, near Longmont, Colo.,...

NOTTINGHAM, Md. - Elwood "Bunky" Bartlett says a New Age book store made it possible for him to become an overnight multimillionaire. He and his wife, Denise, were on their way to the shop where he occasionally teaches Wicca and Reiki (RAY'kee) healing when they stopped at a liquor store and bought two $5 Mega Millions tickets for Friday night's estimated $330 million jackpot. On Sunday, he said one ticket was a winner. "If it wasn't for this place I wouldn't have won the lottery," Bartlett said Sunday at Mystickal Voyage, the New Age shop. Four winning tickets to the...

MEGA FIX N.Y. Times continues to avoid TWA 800 connection Posted: August 18, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Yesterday, the New York Times reported that State Department analysts had warned the Clinton administration in July 1996 about the dangers of Osama bin Laden's impending move to Afghanistan. Deep in the article, the Times reports that the State Department assessment was "written July 18, 1996." Nowhere in the article does the Times mentioned what happened the day before. What happened on July 17, 1996, is that TWA Flight 800 exploded on a beautiful summer night only 12 minutes out...

The 1,000 megawatt reactor is located in the southwestern Iranian city of Bushehr, a port town on the Persian Gulf. Construction of the reactor began in the 1970s and is near completion. Built and designed by Russian engineers, the facility is worth $800 million. Nuclear fuel for the reactor is also produced by Russians and is awaiting delivery. The U.S. is pressuring Russia to halt nuclear cooperation with Iran, but Russia has already built the reactor and signed a fuel deal. For years, Iran kept its nuclear activities under wraps, so its unprecedented openness comes as a surprise to U.S....

LOS ANGELES — One week from today, California will join the mega-millions multi-state lottery. California will become the 12th and largest state to join mega millions lotto. Officials say it means the jackpots will grow to record levels, possibly as much as half a billion dollars. Right now, the record for a single jackpot is just under $315-million dollars for the Powerball. Joining the mega millions was part of Governor Schwarzenegger's education plan. Thirty-five percent of the lottery revenue is being earmarked for education.

THE Scottish detective who put Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Al Megrahi in Barlinnie jail last night broke his silence on the case to reveal who he believes started the countdown to mass murder. Stuart Henderson, speaking exclusively to Scotland on Sunday, said the Libyan acquitted of involvement in the crime last year, Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah, started the bomb timer in his Malta apartment. Describing Fhimah as "the luckiest man in Scottish legal history", Henderson said the Libyan probably forgot to adjust the bomb timer to take account of the one-hour time difference between Malta and the UK, resulting in the...