Free Republic

Soon after I published an article questioning the global-warming orthodoxy, the world’s foremost hypocrite, Al Gore, informed anyone who still listens to him that my position is akin to racism. The wise course of action would be to ignore the rants of a man who desperately needs the world to remain fearful of carbon, the element on which all life on earth is based. If that fear were to vanish, how would he continue to rake in the millions needed for the purchase of his next beach house? But enough is enough. Why should I sit quietly and let...

I am scheduled to be a reader at my church this Sunday on the Tenth anniversary of 9/11. Yesterday, the minister sent me the special 9/11 reading that was prepared by the National Council of Churches for parishioners to hear. While most of it was fine, there are some prayers that are appalling to any right-thinking Christian and deserve to be publicized for their stunning example of moral relativism and anti-Biblical message. "We stand together in penitence, recognizing that we have not done enough to address the sources of anger, hate, dehumanization, rage and indignation that lead to acts of...

Churches across France have become overrun by tourists in skimpy beachwear, showing off bare stomachs and wearing baseball caps, according to priests who have spoken out about the drop in standards. A report in regional newspaper Midi Libre claims that religious leaders have tired of the increasingly disrespectful dress codes of some visitors. “Our church is right by the beach,” said Father Martin Gabet of the Notre Dame des Anges de Collioure church, close to the Spanish border. “As a result, lots of people come in wearing their swimwear. There have even been people who come in just to change...

A South Carolina megachurch pastor has chosen to press through the awkwardness and talk about what an increasing number of churches have been addressing from the pulpit – sex. Pastor Perry Noble of NewSpring Church made it clear to his congregation that when it comes to sex, the church has a lot to learn. "Let's just be honest. Sexual immorality is in the house," he told his congregation, adding that he has seen sexual immorality at each of the three churches he has served. "We can't get mad at people that aren't Christians because they act like they're not Christians....

Sources of Morality From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, SimplifiedThree Sources (1750) The three sources of morality: The object chosen The person's purpose The circumstances of the act The Object Chosen (1751) The object directly chosen by the will determines the basic morality (good or bad). The person's intellect sees this as according to moral standards (good) or not according to moral standards (evil).The Intention (1752-1753) The person also has an intention which determines the act's morality. An intention can guide many acts or even a whole lifetime (as loving God). One act can have a multiplicity of intentions...

For the better part of a century, socialists (Democrats) have been using science as a weapon to destroy the very fabric of American society. Today they propagate the global warming myth, forty years ago they were sounding the global cooling alarm, and they’ve used junk science to teach evolution in our nation’s schools. To the socialist it is somehow easier to believe that aliens put us here or that we emerged from some primordial sludge than it is to believe in God. Socialist leadership, under the guise of “organizing”, use the environment, gay rights, immigration, or any number of causes...

DENVER, August 4, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Cardinal Raymond Burke, head of the Vatican’s highest court, delivered a dire yet hopeful message about the current state of society in an address at the 129th Knights of Columbus Convention Tuesday.  “We are witnesses of a society in which, in many respects, morality has ceased to exist,” said Burke. “We are called ever more urgently to the new evangelization of our culture.” Cardinal Burke pinpointed the problem as “moral relativism,” which he said “has even entered into the thinking of some theologians in the Church and which has provided an ideological foundation...

Liberals Outsourcing Morality By Frank Ryan In the Book of Matthew in the New Testament, Pontius Pilate symbolically washes his hands of the responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus. This symbolism has carried on through the centuries as the mark of someone who is complicit in something yet wishes to distance himself from the appearance of responsibility. The person effectively "washes" away the guilt. In much the same way, 21st-century liberalism uses the tax code to absolve itself of the moral responsibility to truly care for the very citizens they claim to be protecting. The tax code has become the...

Think you haven’t heard of sexual economics? Listen to the pop culture. “Money can’t buy me love,” crooned the Beatles. “My love don’t cost a thing,” pledged Jennifer Lopez. MTV artists got “money for nothing and the chicks for free,” groused Dire Straits. Even Adele, in her current No. 1 hit, “Rolling in the Deep,” warns an ex-lover, “Go ahead and sell me out, and I’ll lay your ship bare.” Evidence of sexual economics — a mashup of Adam Smith and Dr. Ruth that seeks to explain how the “sexual market” works — is everywhere, said University of Texas sociology...

Next time you've got mail, you better check it carefully. And not just if you're one of Anthony Weiner's sexting partners. Could someone with access to your private account consider its contents obscene? Lewd? Too sexually descriptive? And decide to take it down? Yes. The digital taste police are on patrol and armed with your permission. I once had a friend send me a copy of Playboy when I was living in El Salvador. It was for the articles. No, really. I'd done an interview in that edition. But when some state security bureaucrat opened my mail and found a...

MYFOXNY.COM - Sophomore Jackie Genovese, 16, of New Jersey, had the perfect prom dress and date. But tragedy struck last week when her boyfriend of two years was killed in a car accident. Jackie's boyfriend, James, died on the way home from a baseball team dinner. He was a popular Jackson High School senior only weeks from graduation. She bought her $1,200 dress at Freehold's Diane and Co., also known for their popular Oxygen show "Dress Coutoure." She wanted a refund for her dress so she could help pay for her boyfriend's funeral. Jackie's mom asked the owners of the...

Man Oh Man! I just am so tired of America’s “clowns.” Seems as if the clowns have taken over America-really! I can hear ol’ Mr. Carlson’s words from the 1970′s and 1980′s television sit-com; WKRP In Cincinnati echoing in my mind even as I write this article. One of his famous questions to his subordinates was “Did I say send in the clowns!?!? “ I can so relate to Mr. Carlson’s sense of frustration from that particular episode. Here he was, a man trying to run a radio station while his own mother wanted to supersede and overrule just about...

A recent Consumer Reports survey found that roughly 7.5 million Facebook accounts belong to users younger’ than 13 and that as many as 20 million are under 18. While that might seem like a relatively low number given Facebook’s 500+ million users, being a minor with a Facebook account is increasingly becoming a scary thing: Cyber-bullying on the site has reached frightening proportions and child predators are a well known concern associated with the site. Considering Facebook’s apparent reach with children and the risks associated with having an account, it’s surprising it took this long for a bill giving parents...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - The pronouncement came from actress Cameron Diaz and psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow last week: marriage is a dying institution. It is an old tradition that has now overstayed its welcome and should be thrown out the back door. It doesn't suit us or our world any longer. So they say.

For those of you who have not seen it, the lengthy (10,000 word) interview conducted by the editor, David Horovitz, with Professor Asa Kasher is absolutely compulsory reading for anyone seeking an understanding of the standard of morality under which the IDF operates. Kasher, who teaches philosophy at Tel Aviv University, co-authored the first IDF Code of Ethics. The interviewer, David Horovitz, assumes the role of the devil’s advocate and skillfully leads Kasher to respond to questions impinging on the blood libels and condemnations of alleged IDF behavior during the Gaza war upon which the Goldstone Report was based, which...

Before we return to our regularly-scheduled blog posts (poor Sam...bringing up the rear as usual!), I would like to invite you to join me in yet another celebration! This could become habit-forming! Did you bring cake? Perhaps you will recall from my very first post that I have been struggling recently with a little problem. Maybe this will ring a bell: Oh, yeah...it's all coming back to you now, isn't it? Broken foot! (Not the best move I ever made.) I've had plenty of time in the last nine weeks to keep a running list of all the things that...

A new national survey of registered voters conducted by the Barna Group reveals that the issues that will most affect the candidate people support for President in the 2012 election are most likely to be those affecting their personal security and comfort. The matters that are likely to have the least impact on their choice of candidate are moral issues. The issues most likely to influence which candidate voters embrace in the 2012 presidential election are health care (which 64% said will have “a lot of influence” on the candidate they choose), tax policies (60%), terrorism (50%) and employment policies...

One of the things which we seem to be losing in America is a sense of morality, and morality is necessary for the function of any republic. Recently, a Stephen Learner has been out speaking to radical groups, with the proposition that, we need to double the number of foreclosures in order to bring down the system. Now, he teaches that, this will restore the wealth to its rightful owners by bringing down the banks. The idea is, you cannot simply tell someone, “You need to perform this very immoral act.” You need to present it to them so...

A commenter raised the issue, citing the former congresswoman’s support for abortion rights, and declared: “Geraldine Ferraro should be denied a Catholic Mass with Catholic sacraments and yes, may God have mercy upon her soul.” Details about Ferraro’s funeral haven’t yet been released. I presume it will be Catholic. (To those who have asked: no, I don’t think it will be held at my parish. As of Sunday afternoon, no one had contacted the rectory about it.) But this sort of controversy is not without precedent. Two years ago, when Ted Kennedy’s Catholic funeral (shown above, featuring the Cardinal Archbishop...

Lord Nicholas Windsor (right) with Joseph Meaney (left), head of the HLI Rome office. Hilary White, LifeSiteNews.com ROME, March 21, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Lord Nicholas Windsor, the youngest child of the Duke and Duchess of Kent and first cousin to Queen Elizabeth II, told LifeSiteNews.com earlier this month that patience is required from those waiting for true moral and spiritual leadership to turn the anti-human, anti-life tide in Britain. Lord Windsor sat down with LSN at the annual plenary meeting of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life on February 25th. He spoke at length of his conversion to Catholicism, through...