http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/philosophy-news/ en-us Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:08:37 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051278/posts In the late 19th century, crusading journalists helped identify and correct some of the worst problems American society faced at that time. Newspapers like The New York Times and the New York World and journals like Harper's Weekly and Cosmopolitan (a very different kind of magazine than it is today) led campaigns that exposed and helped eliminate problems ranging from the sale of patent medicines to corruption in city government. Newspaper and magazine sales soared - and publishers knew a good thing when they saw it. If stories exposing evil sold papers - why, give the public what it wants;... Aberdeen American News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051278/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:08:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051178/posts For many liberal Catholics, July 25, 1968 was the day the music died. Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae, published 40 years ago today, reaffirmed Catholicism's absolute ban on birth control. Coming on the heels of the Second Vatican Council's unprecedented opening of the Church to modernity three years earlier, the Vatican's decision to stand by a doctrine that ever fewer Catholics were obeying would reverberate far beyond the bedroom. Progressives saw the encyclical as the ultimate proof that the Church was bound to remain out of touch with contemporary reality. Traditionalists, instead, can mark it as the beginning of... TIME http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051178/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:02:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051070/posts What explains all the over-the-top media coverage and adulation for Barack Obama? The presumptuous treatment by the press of Obama as president-elect or a head of state, stems from a belief that an election isn’t necessary, because, in the eyes of many in the mainstream media, as the first African-American candidate for the presidency, Barack Obama is entitled to the office. In a very real sense, Barack Obama is an affirmative-action candidate for the presidency. Should he be defeated by the American voters, it will not be a mere loss due to his numerous shortcomings and foibles, but rather, an... Beacon Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051070/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:05:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051046/posts Joe Scarface just asked Mitchell if McCain's rebukes of the fawning press are valid and she said with a straight face that they "..have tried to balance their coverage". Morning Joe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051046/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:29:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051039/posts Fresh polls show that he has been unable to convert weeks of extensive media coverage into a widened lead. And some prominent Democrats whose support could boost his campaign are still not enthusiastic about his candidacy. Several new surveys show that Obama is in a tight race or even losing ground to Republican John McCain, both nationally and in two important swing states, Colorado and Minnesota. One new poll offered a possible explanation for his troubles: A minority of voters see Obama as a familiar figure with whom they can identify. Many voters still seem to be puzzling over who... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051039/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 09:37:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051032/posts GPs should tell parents not to have more than two children to help in the battle against climate change, according to doctors. The world's population increases by 1.5m each week and babies born in the UK will use more greenhouse gases during their lifetime than those born in the developing world. Two doctors, writing in the British Medical Journal, suggest that doctors should talk to their patients about climate change and encourage them to think about the consequences of having a big family. Investing in contraception would help in the fight against climate change, they argue. (snip) "We must not... Telegraph.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051032/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:30:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050843/posts RUSH: Cookie is working on a couple of audio sound bites and Drive-By Media reaction to the Messiah's speech in Germany. I have an idea what she's going to send. I never know what she's going to send unless I specifically asked for it. But Cookie is so good I seldom have to ask for it. I get what I want anyway. Now, one thing about this speech. I'll wait until we get the bites and see if what I'm expecting in these, citizen of the world stuff. When he started talking about that, that's when the red flags went... Rush Limbaugh.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050843/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:16:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050746/posts Halima Bashir The village seemed to be strangely quiet, almost as if it were holding its breath, awaiting something. I was discussing supplies we needed for the clinic when I heard a distant commotion. There were faint cries and the pounding of running feet. I wondered, fearfully, if it was an attack. Suddenly, I caught sight of a crowd of people surging out of the marketplace. Among them were figures carrying heavy burdens in their arms. As the crowd drew closer, I realised what they were carrying: it was the girls from the village school. I could see heads lolling... Times Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050746/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:23:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050686/posts Those who put a high value on words may recoil at the title of Jonah Goldberg's new book, "Liberal Fascism." As a result, they may refuse to read it, which will be their loss -- and a major loss. Those who value substance over words, however, will find in this book a wealth of challenging insights, backed up by thorough research and brilliant analysis. This is the sort of book that challenges the fundamental assumptions of its time -- and which, for that reason, is likely to be shunned rather than criticized. Townhall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050686/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:34:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050554/posts Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050554/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:10:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050507/posts   Senior Fellow  John R. Bolton   "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," once wrote Mark Twain. "Greatly exaggerated" also described the repeated, periodic predictions of American decline. Indeed, from the very moment of Independence, there have been those predicting America's demise, decline or irrelevance. The only variation is whether the eclipse of the United States will be produced by its own shortcomings or the unmatchable superiority of those doing the eclipsing. Betting against the United States--a sport even many Americans engage in--may be popular, but is has never proven profitable. Nor will it as long... American Enterprise Institute http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050507/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:47:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050309/posts WASHINGTON, D.C., JULY 23, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The chairman of the U.S. bishops pro-life committee says an issue is being discussed by members of Congress that should be a matter of agreement between "pro-lifers" and "pro-choicers": respect of conscience. Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the bishops' Committee for Pro-Life Activities, affirmed this in a letter Friday to members of Congress. The cardinal's letter responded to a debate that arose when the New York Times reported on July 15 that it had a draft of proposed federal regulations on the conscience rights of health care providers. According to the Times... ZNA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050309/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:11:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050166/posts BUT WILL THEY RESPECT HIM IN THE MORNING?July 23, 2008 Back before the Republican Party was saddled with John McCain as its nominee, The New York Times called him "the only Republican who promises to end the George Bush style of governing from and on behalf of a small, angry fringe." The paper praised him for "working across the aisle to develop sound bipartisan legislation" and predicted that he would appeal to "a broader range of Americans than the rest of the Republican field." At the same time, the Times denounced "the real" Rudy Giuliani as "a narrow, obsessively secretive,... AnnCoulter.Com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050166/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:58:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050068/posts 'The View' host Sherri Shepherd covers the latest issue of 'Precious Times' magazine. In an eight-page feature story in the Christian women's lifestyle publication, the 41-year-old comedienne shares candid revelations about her faith, including her conversion from being a Jehovah's Witness to Christianity. "Before I converted to Christianity, I was a Jehovah's Witness. In 1993, my mother was dying from diabetic complications. My sister was heavy into drugs, and we would have to go and get her from crack houses. I was in a very physically abusive relationship. I was sleeping with a lot of guys and had more abortions... BlackVoices.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050068/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:33:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049827/posts In a desolate public park in Columbus, Ohio, a man responded to the advances of a topless woman. She asked him to "show me yours." When he did, police officers arrested him. Columbus law says her being topless is OK; exposing his genitalia is not. Why did cops hide in the shadows to arrest a man no one but they could see? On last week's "20/20", Dr. Marty Klein pointed out that the police weren't protecting children. "There were no children anywhere in sight. In fact, there were no adults anywhere in sight." Klein says it's part of "America's War... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049827/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:54:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049734/posts When Senator Barack Obama steps onto the stage on Thursday, next to Berlin’s Victory column, the world will be expecting a momentous speech. The bar is high because, as even his detractors concede, Mr Obama is a remarkable speaker. He first shot to prominence when he moved many at the 2004 Democratic convention to tears. He announced he would run for president last year with a beautifully-crafted address in Abraham Lincoln’s home town of Springfield, Illinois. A pivotal moment of his epic primary battle with Hillary Clinton was his Philadelphia speech about race after the incendiary utterances of his former... The Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049734/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:46:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049724/posts A stray cat had kittens in our yard. My wife attempted to barricade the kittens in a contained area to protect them from predators. Short of caging them, this proved impossible. The rambunctious kittens escaped my wife's protection to explore, wrestle and play. With every fall, their climbing skills improved. Mama cat taught “gecko catching 101”. Soon the kittens were supplementing their breast milk with gecko snacks. Had my wife been successful in her intrusive attempts to protect them, the kittens' growth would have been stunted leaving them ill equipped to survive. The kittens scenario illustrates the superiority and compassion... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049724/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:25:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049685/posts RUSH: Grab audio sound bite number 26 first, Mike. I didn't know we'd get to this this early. I asked Cookie to put together a little montage here of all the stuttering around that Obama did in his press conference today and I want you to hear this because -- and we didn't repeat anything here. It goes 46 seconds, and we're doing this because we hear constantly, "What a great orator and a great communicator! Ohhhh, this man is smooth!" Just listen. This is a great illustration here of what happened when you take the teleprompter and your prepared... Rush Limbaugh.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049685/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:51:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049459/posts On the front page of Sunday’s Times, Gretchen Morgenson described Diane McLeod’s spiral into indebtedness, and now a debate has erupted over who is to blame. Some people emphasize the predatory lenders who seduced her with too-good-to-be-true credit lines and incomprehensible mortgage offers. Here was a single mother made vulnerable by health problems and divorce. Working two jobs and stressed, she found herself barraged by credit card companies offering easy access to money. Mortgage lenders offered her credit on the basis of the supposedly rising value of her house. These lenders had little interest in whether she could pay off... NYT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049459/posts#comment Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:19:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048702/posts Who was Tony Snow? His four profound contributions to conservatism. This past year has been a saddening one for many conservatives, who lost William F. Buckley, Jr. in February and then United States Senator Jesse Helms earlier this month, on Independence Day. The former was, in many respects, the founder of modern conservatism and its most articulate voice for over four decades. The latter was conservatives' most reliable leader in the United States Senate for just about as long, never afraid to fight the battles that needed to be fought to hold liberal initiatives at bay, including ending the Senate's... Intellectual Conservative http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048702/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:34:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048698/posts To those for whom Obama is an almost religious icon, the thought of him soiling himself by compromising his stances and breaking his promises, is a letdown of almost Biblical proportions. Poor Barack Obama. In the space of a few short weeks, he has gone from liberal savior with a 15-point lead over John McCain, to a mere mortal in a dead heat in the polls. He has alienated some of his base by flip-flopping on issues like the FISA vote, partial-birth abortion and most importantly, stating that he will continue to “refine” his Iraq War policy. In addition to... Intellectual Conservative http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048698/posts#comment Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:26:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048546/posts SYDNEY (AFP) - - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged hundreds of thousands of young Catholics to beat back a "spiritual desert" spreading through the modern world as he closed Catholic World Youth Day in Australia. The pope celebrated an open-air mass in Sydney that organisers said drew 400,000 worshippers in the climax of a week of prayer and pop concerts during which the pontiff made a historic apology for child sex abuse by clergy. In his final mass, the pope said the worshippers' youthful energy helped reinvigorate the church and urged them to become "messengers of love" to counter... Yahoo! Singapore/AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048546/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:05:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048535/posts On 1st November 2007, Professor Antony Flew’s new book There is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed his Mind was published by HarperOne. Professor Flew has been called ‘the world's most influential philosophical atheist’, as well as ‘one of the most renowned atheists of the 20th Century’ (see Peter S. Williams’ bethinking.org article “A change of mind for Antony Flew”). In his book, Professor Flew recounts how he has come to believe in a Creator God as a result of the scientific evidence and philosophical argument. Not surprisingly, his book caused quite a stir – as can... BeThinking.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048535/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:48:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048273/posts Address on behalf of Senator Barry Goldwater Rendezvous with Destiny October 27, 1964 This speech is a verbatim transcript of "The Speech" given as a portion of a pre-recorded, nationwide televised program sponsored by Goldwater-Miller on behalf of Barry Goldwater, Republican candidate for the presidency whom Ronald Reagan actively supported. 4,626 words Thank you very much. Thank you and good evening. The sponsor has been identified, but unlike most television programs, the performer hasn't been provided with a script. As a matter of fact, I have been permitted to choose my own ideas regarding the choice that we face... The Reagan Library http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048273/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 06:16:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048205/posts Next time you step on a glob of tar on a beach in Santa Barbara County, you can thank the oil companies that it isn't a bigger glob. University of California, Santa Barbara http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048205/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:27:13 GMT