Free Republic

Bay Area Not Maverick Enough To Read Palin Book Steve Rubenstein November 19, 2009 It might as well have cooties. Hardly anyone wants to touch the thing, or even get close to it. The new autobiography by moose hunter and failed vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is harder to find in the Bay Area than a hockey mom. Some bookstores figure it's one of those grit-your-teeth First Amendment deals that principled booksellers must put up with from time to time. But many nonchain bookstores won't handle it. "Our customers are thinking people," said Nathan Embretson, a bookseller at Pendragon Books...

November 20, 2009 Public faces of Richard Dawkins' Atheism Campaign Were ... Devout Christian Children [Pics in URL] Exclusive: Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent The two children chosen to front Richard Dawkins’ latest assault on God could not look more free of the misery with which he associates religious baggage. With the slogan “Please don’t label me. Let me grow up and choose for myself”, the two children, their hair flying and with broad grins, seem to be the perfect advertisement for the new atheism being promoted by Professor Dawkins and the British Humanist Association. Except that they are about as...

Researcher Says Text Proves Shroud of Turin Real ARIEL DAVID A Vatican researcher claims a nearly invisible text on the Shroud of Turin proves the authenticity of the artifact revered as Jesus' burial cloth. The claim made in a new book by historian Barbara Frale drew immediate skepticism from some scientists, who maintain the shroud is a medieval forgery. Frale, a researcher at the Vatican archives, said Friday that she used computers to enhance images of faintly written words in Greek, Latin and Aramaic scattered across the shroud. She asserts the words include the name "Jesus Nazarene" in Greek, proving...

President and Mrs. Bush served our country with honor and dignity and remain committed to improving our nation and the world through the George W. Bush Presidential Center. The Center will be located on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, a rising national university in a major metropolitan city in the heartland of America. The George W. Bush Presidential Center uniquely integrates the records of a national archive, the thematic exhibits of a presidential museum, and the intellectual capital of a research-based policy institute to advance ideas based on the core principles of the Bush Presidency: freedom,...

Washington D.C., Nov 20, 2009 / 06:21 am (CNA).- An unprecedented coalition of prominent Christian clergy, ministry leaders, and scholars has crafted a 4,700-word declaration addressing the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty. The declaration issues “a clarion call” to Christians to adhere to their convictions and informs civil authorities that the signers will not “under any circumstance” abandon their Christian consciences. The statement,  called “the Manhattan Declaration,” has been signed by more than 125 Catholic, Evangelical Christian, and Orthodox leaders, and will be made fully public at a noon press conference in the National Press Club in...

ROME — A Vatican researcher claims she has found a nearly invisible text on the Shroud of Turin and says the discovery proves the authenticity of the artifact revered as Jesus' burial cloth.The claim made in a new book by historian Barbara Frale drew immediate skepticism from some scientists, who maintain the shroud is a medieval forgery.Frale, a researcher at the Vatican archives, says the faint writing emerged through computer analysis of photos of the shroud, which is not normally accessible for study.Frale says the jumble of Greek, Latin and Aramaic includes the words "Jesus Nazarene" and mentions he was...

Read: “Some strange ideological impulse—rather than common sense and respect for the rule of law—is driving the Obama administration to give special treatment to the perpetrator of one of the greatest war crimes ever committed against the United States” per CNSNEWS.com’s Terence P. Jeffrey. “. . .ideological impulse. . .” Richard Morris stated the Obama motive being an “ideological” one. What these two men are saying when using the term “ideological” is Muslim. It is the theology of the Koran. It is what Allah would have Obama do.

Compare then and now. What we are reaping now is rot that was planted in the weeds back then. “When Moses finally escaped the Egyptians, he turned to God and asked, ‘There could surely be no one as bad at those people?’ God said to Moses, ‘Yes there are. Beware the honkeys. Beware the crackers. Especially beware the Jews. I hate all those people. Frankly, if you blow up their buildings, that’s okay with me.’ God hates the Jews. Wright said it. That is bold, orthodox Muslim preaching. So blow up Jews’ buildings. That’s Muslim Muslim Muslim written all over...

A poster from the atheist billboard campaign. Photograph: Public Domain This week, the final phase of the atheist bus campaign will appear in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast – not on buses, but on billboards. Due to the amazing sums donated to the campaign fund by many Cif readers at the end of last year, we raised enough for a second wave of adverts – and the above posters will launch today. When, in this Cif piece back in October 2008, we asked how the extra funds should be spent, one of the issues which came up repeatedly in the...

The Architect as Totalitarian Le Corbusier’s baleful influence Le Corbusier was to architecture what Pol Pot was to social reform. In one sense, he had less excuse for his activities than Pol Pot: for unlike the Cambodian, he possessed great talent, even genius. Unfortunately, he turned his gifts to destructive ends, and it is no coincidence that he willingly served both Stalin and Vichy. Like Pol Pot, he wanted to start from Year Zero: before me, nothing; after me, everything. By their very presence, the raw-concrete-clad rectangular towers that obsessed him canceled out centuries of architecture. Hardly any town or...

The Republic is taking a drastic change away from its biblical tradition in favor of Islam when Obama celebrates Ramadan, but will not touch the National Day of Prayer?

Nicole GelinasArguing the Economy A recent debate highlights the weaknesses of Obamanomics. 18 November 2009 “Obama’s economic policies are working effectively.” That was the motion that Intelligence Squared US put to its New York audience Monday night for a vote. One three-man team defended the president’s policies; another denounced them. Though the “anti” team ultimately lost the vote, it made the more compelling argument: the president’s economic-recovery policies are costly efforts to maintain a failed status quo, and the administration’s blueprint for financial-regulatory reform will only fund the same failed policies until that status quo collapses again. The pro-Obama...

Invited dinner guests included: Cabinet: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Deputy Cabinet secretaries: Commerce Deputy Secretary Dennis Hightower and Education Deputy Secretary Adam Miller. Congress: Reps. Andre Carson (D-Ind.), John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.) and Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.). Diplomats: Ambassador Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al Hussein of Jordan; Ambassador Adel A.M. Al Jubeir of Saudi Arabia; Ambassador Husain Haqqani of Pakistan; Ambassador Erlan A. Idrissov of Kazakhstan; Ambassador His Excellency Said, Tayeb Jawad of Afghanistan; Ambassador Aziz Mekouar...

The Rise of the Conservative Womanby Doug Patton (more by this author) Posted 11/18/2009 ET One of the most revealing things about liberals is their insistence that only they can define a “real� minority or a “real� woman. In the eyes of the left, Clarence Thomas, Ken Blackwell and J.C. Watts will never be “real� black men. Likewise, Michele Bachmann, the smiling firebrand conservative congresswoman from Minnesota, and Sarah Palin, the popular former governor of Alaska, will never be “real� women. How can they be? After all, these women don’t support abortion. In fact, Palin actually had the audacity...

November 17, 2009 The Rogue, on the Record A Chat with Sarah. By Rich Lowry & Robert Costa Former Alaska governor and Going Rogue author Sarah Palin talked to NRO this afternoon in a wide-ranging and frank interview. She thinks President Obama’s bow to the emperor of Japan reflects an attitude that America should be “subservient to other countries”; characterizes Newt Gingrich’s thinking on NY-23 as reflective of a “political machine”; thinks that South Carolina voters should consider sending Sen. Lindsey Graham a message by supporting a conservative primary challenger; calls the media’s treatment of Carrie Prejean “unfair”; and says...

Ah, so nationalized healthcare doesn’t work, they’re essentially saying. And to make up for the gap, people will have to buy private insurance. Hmmm . . . isn’t private insurance allegedly “discriminating” against the poor and those with pre-conditions the thing ObamaCare is supposed to solve? It’s very clear it doesn’t solve that. Germany, with this move, is moving away from government healthcare toward private providers because government can’t afford it. And yet the ObamaCare proponents are citing Germany as an example of how government healthcare works better than private insurance? Someone’s not paying attention. And it isn’t the opponents...

Satchmo and the Jews Terry Teachout From issue: November 2009 In addition to being the greatest jazz musician of the 20th century, Louis Armstrong was also the most beloved. “I never met anybody that didn’t love him that ever saw him work or ever has encountered him, had any connection or any business with him,” said Bing Crosby. The secret of Armstrong’s charm lay in the straightforward openness of his character. Though his personality was more complex than his fans realized, his public and private sides were essentially identical. One of his friends described him as “down-to-earth, natural, completely...

ROME - Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, in Rome for a U.N. food summit, spent several hours in the company of 200 Italian women recruited by an agency and tried to convert them to Islam, Italian media reported Monday."Seeking 500 attractive girls between 18 and 35 years old, at least 1.70 meters (5 foot, 7 inches) tall, well-dressed but not in mini-skirts or low cut dresses," read the ad by the Hostessweb agency and quoted in Italy's Corriere dell Sera newspaper in its story.Some 200 women showed up at a Rome villa, having been told they would receive 60 euros ($90)...

Return to the Article November 18, 2009Why the left fears SarahBy Bob Weir Have you ever seen so much hatred for, and vitriolic criticism of, someone who had only a brief stint on the national political stage? More than a year after the presidential election in which Sarah Palin, as the GOP nominee for Vice-President, campaigned for about 3 months, she is still being pilloried by the leftwing loons as though she had been elected and was now actively engaged in dismantling the liberal establishment. Not a day goes by that we don't hear or read vicious attacks on...

As the dean of Harvard Medical School I am frequently asked to comment on the health-reform debate. I'd give it a failing grade. Instead of forthrightly dealing with the fundamental problems, discussion is dominated by rival factions struggling to enact or defeat President Barack Obama's agenda. The rhetoric on both sides is exaggerated and often deceptive. Those of us for whom the central issue is health—not politics—have been left in the lurch. And as controversy heads toward a conclusion in Washington, it appears that the people who favor the legislation are engaged in collective denial. Our health-care system suffers from...

November 17, 2009 Sarah Palin’s Roguish Charm Going Rogue Is Now Palin’s Operating Principle. Rich Lowry The Associated Press unleashed eleven fact checkers on her new book, Going Rogue, for a thoroughly tendentious critical examination. Newsweek, the influential liberal magazine of opinion, published a cover piece damning her to the outer darkness, balanced by another piece damning her to the further-outer darkness. The conservative-leaning New York Times columnist David Brooks called her “a joke.” It’s September 2008 all over again. All the same players are lining up to put a good hate on Sarah Palin. She’s like an isotope designed...

On April 16 in NRO, Daniel T. Griswold, the head of immigration policy for the libertarian Cato Institute attacked National Review complaining that in three "consecutive" issues, "anti-immigrant crusaders," including John O'Sullivan and Mark Krikorian, have "pushed every button to whip up hostility to immigration." Let us ignore the nasty smears....focus on Griswold's substantive position. Near the end of the NRO article Griswold insists that he is not for "open borders," but his record suggests otherwise. A story in the Christian Science Monitor (August 30, 2000) by Scott Baldauf is particularly revealing. Baldauf describes a new project of the Immigration...

The latest morally monstrous proposal out of the environmentalist cult comes from Lord Smith of Finsbury. He suggests that each British citizen be given a government “carbon allowance.” For any transaction that increases a person’s “carbon footprint” such as using gasoline or taking an airline flight, they would have to “spend” part of their allowance. Once their allowance reaches zero, they would have to pay out of pocket to purchase more credits, assuming that they are available. It is “cap and trade” for the individual. Appallingly anti-humanThe appallingly anti-human nature of this proposal is only surpassed by the appalling ignorance...

Here's a quiz that may appear some day on history tests: Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in November 2009, was: a) Part of a terror network that had planned attacks on the United States since the 1990s; b) A deranged psychotic who snapped under the pressure of treating soldiers returning from Iraq and who happened to be a Muslim; c) A prime example of "The True Believer," the lonely, frustrated individual who attaches himself to an overarching cause as a way of compensating for personal disappointments. The answer, of course, is "c," the true...

The Postal Service reported a loss of $3.8 billion last year, despite a reduction of 40,000 full-time positions and other cost-cutting measures. The loss was $1 billion more than the year before despite job cuts and other efforts designed to save billions of dollars, postal officials said Monday. "Our 2009 fiscal year proved to be one of the most challenging in the history of the Postal Service," Chief Financial Officer Joseph Corbett said. "The deep economic recession, and to a lesser extent the ongoing migration of mail to electronic alternatives, significantly affected all mail products, creating a large imbalance between...

When moving from one computer to another this eavening, I seem to have lost " The Onion" Spoof . See below: mmmmmmmmm NBC’s ObamaVision: GE Uses Network To Push Obama’s Green Agenda — And Rakes In the Dough Monday, November 16, 2009 7:24:01 PM · by Nachum · 1 replies · 28+ views mmmmm Big Hollywood ^ | 11/16/09 | Ben Shapiro · "The Onion" Spoofs President Obama's Constant Use of Teleprompters - Video Monday, November 16, 2009 7:23:14 PM · by Federalist Patriot · 71+ views mmmmm Freedom's Lighthouse ^ | November 16, 2009 | BrianinMO · The Palin...

Molecular biologist Michael Behe described a system made of several interacting parts, whereby the removal of one part would disrupt the functioning of the whole, as irreducibly complex. Both creation scientists and intelligent design proponents highlight examples of irreducible complexity in their studies. The very structure of these systems--with their interdependent parts working all together or not at all--demands design, not chance. Nevertheless, a team of evolutionary molecular biologists think they may have refuted irreducible complexity. They recently studied the parts of a particular cellular machine involved in protein transport, claiming that it was actually reducible to its component parts...

China Turns To Adam Smith It won’t surprise you to learn that whereas in one hemisphere sales of Marx’s Communist Manifesto have rarely been stronger, the other is devouring Adam Smith like never before. 16 Nov 2009 What is more unexpected is that it is China that has an appetite for the father of modern capitalism, while the West is rediscovering Marx. Smith’s first masterpiece, the Theory of Moral Sentiments, has been translated into Chinese for the first time, and Chris Berry, professor at Glasgow University, where Smith wrote the book, will next week deliver lectures on it at Fudan...

The most fundamental problem with libertarianism is very simple: freedom, though a good thing, is simply not the only good thing in life. Simple physical security, which even a prisoner can possess, is not freedom, but one cannot live without it. Prosperity is connected to freedom, in that it makes us free to consume, but it is not the same thing, in that one can be rich but as unfree as a Victorian tycoon’s wife. A family is in fact one of the least free things imaginable, as the emotional satisfactions of it derive from relations that we are either...

Out of the Closet; Into the Church Homo McGreevey Finds Higher Calling thelastcrusade.org What does a gay governor do after he resigns from political office in disgrace? He becomes an Episcopalian and enters the priesthood. Jim McGreevey, the former New Jersey love gov, has gone from Turnpike truck stops to All Saints Church in Hoboken, where he is known as “Father Jim.” Last Sunday, the ex governor administered the sacrament of baptism to a bevy of babies, blessed the Eucharist, and carried the cross during the processional. In 2004, Mr. McGreevey resigned as Governor of New Jersey after revealing...

Following the Evidence vs. Framing Science: Stephen Meyer and Chris Mooney, Monday on Medved Monday, Nov. 16th, Stephen Meyer and Chris Mooney will be on The Michael Medved Show (second hour, 1pm PT/4pm ET). Mooney is a diehard Darwin defender that various Fellows here at the CSC have debated in the past, and he's someone we've reported about over the years. His view of science is elitist and arrogant, and he has recommended such things as suppressing dissenting views from the media, to spinning science in such a way as to manipulate public opinion. He considers anyone who disagrees with...

WASHINGTON — This is the “have-it-your-way” era, a time when everything from fast food to four-course meals can be customized, personalized and engineered to your specifications. But it isn't limited to edible items — even cancer treatments can now be made to order. Personalized medicine is already revolutionizing treatment for cancer and other conditions, allowing doctors to quickly and accurately diagnose congenital conditions and make treatment decisions based on their knowledge of how certain drugs interact with specific genes. It means faster, better results for patients who don't have to waste valuable time on treatments that won't work with their...

Satan, the great motivator The curious economic effects of religion By Michael Fitzgerald  |  November 15, 2009What makes economies grow? It’s a question that has occupied thinkers for centuries. Most of us would tick off things like education levels, openness to trade, natural resources, and political systems.Here’s one you might not have considered: hell. A pair of Harvard researchers recently examined 40 years of data from dozens of countries, trying to sort out the economic impact of religious beliefs or practices. They found that religion has a measurable effect on developing economies - and the most powerful influence relates to...

The self-described 'rogue' is anathema to the party establishment but manna from heaven to the grass roots. In a Republican Party hoping to rebound in 2010 on the strength of a newly energized and ideologically aroused conservative grass roots, Sarah Palin's influence is now unparalleled. She was the one who popularized the notion that Democrats advocated "death panels" as part of their healthcare plan, a charge that helped ignite conservative opposition to reform. More recently, in a special congressional election in upstate New York, Palin's endorsement of Doug Hoffman, an unknown, far-right third-party candidate, helped force a popular moderate Republican...

THE mother of a severely-disabled little boy known as Baby RB told today how she cuddled him with his father as they switched off his life support system. The young boy was the subject of an emotionally-charged High Court case after his father challenged doctors who argued that the child's life support should be switched off "in his best interests". The father later withdrew his objections and the judge agreed he should be allowed to die in peace. His mother today revealed the couple cuddled him as they switched off the machine on Friday. The child died shortly afterward.

What is Liberty? Well, in my opinion, in the context of American liberty, here's an answer.... "Liberty is freedom from encumberance in an environment where the unalienable, God-given rights of mankind are both recognized and respected and where individual "Free Will" bounded by fundamental moral principle is the avenue for interaction in society." That's a lot of pretty words that basically say that if a people are to be free, they and their government have to recognize and respect the God-given rights of others and be moral. In fact, liberty can not coexist with widespread individual, or institutional immorality. Immorality...

1. The Power Of The Obvious 2. The Power Of Polarization 3. The Power of the Dancing Referee 4. The Power of Positioning 5. The Power Of Listening and Citation ... Extra Credit: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Quoting your opponents more accurately than they can quote themselves is one of the most fascinating moves you can employ. The original speaker is put on the defensive, forced to fumble and clarify, and in the process loses control. If you want to experience true schadenfreude listen closely to what your opponents say. Do not admit to enjoying this...

The Conscience of Kansas radio program with host Paul A. Ibbetson invites you all to place an order through the Obama Burger Drive-Thru. Enjoy!

Many observers feel that Obama cannot be compared with Hitler until Obama becomes German, sleeps with his niece, grows a moustache, and trims it just so. Any comparison of political tactics, between the National Socialist (Hitler) and the Socialist (Obama), are off-limits due to umpteen traits that “just don’t match.” One such objection? “Hitler stuffed Jews into ovens! Obama hasn’t done, and won’t do, anything nearly as evil!” I couldn’t agree more. Obama can’t get away with that, and probably wouldn’t want to. But I have two questions: Question #1: The week before Hitler murdered his first Jew, were Hitler’s...

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights- VIDEO PREAMBLE Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people, Whereas it is essential, if man is not...

How do we know that the attack at Fort Hood was an act of Islamist terrorism? Simple, Major Nidal Hassan told us so. You’ve seen reports of a long list of things he did and said along these lines. But what’s most amazing of all is this: Hassan is the first terrorist in history to give an academic lecture explaining why he was about to attack. Yet that still isn’t enough for too many people—including the president of the United States--to understand that the murderous assault at Fort Hood was a Jihad attack. It was reported that the audience was...

Marching to a different drummer who perennially draws dreamers and dissenters to Chicago, the Democratic Socialists of America came to town Friday -- or at least close. Their three-day national convention was held at an Evanston hotel. The faithful still display the passion of predecessors who made Chicago the birthplace of working-class politics. At a time when the word "socialist" has been hurled as an insult at President Barack Obama and some of his policies, these socialists embrace the label and make sure to point out the difference. They wore buttons proclaiming: "Obama's No Socialist But I Am." To them,...

In his new book, “The Greatest Show on Earth,” biologist Richard Dawkins brands those who doubt Charles Darwin’s ideas on evolution as “history deniers,” even stooping to compare them to “Holocaust deniers.” In today’s highly charged political climate, scientific debates over controversial subjects such as climate change and evolution increasingly substitute such overblown rhetoric for careful analysis. We commonly see one side depicting the other as not only wrong, but as unreasonable, irrational, or immoral. As a result, two terms are presently in vogue to describe those who question scientific ideas: “Skeptic” and “Denier.” In practice, the terms have virtually...

"Magic Mirror on the Wall, who is the fairest one of all?" was uttered by the wicked Queen in the 1937 Walt Disney animated movie 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.' Do you remember that poignant little snippet from the movie that became a childhood classic for generations? The nation did not necessarily embrace the evil Queen as a hero but some were on the edge of their seats wondering if the truth or the continued lie would ever come out. The question which many have speculated over was whether or not this movie's focus on the dark side of...

Some time ago I went to a local mall to buy a phone. After making a purchase at one of the large electronics retailers, I went to the mall restroom and inadvertently left it behind. Ten minutes later I realized I no longer had the phone, so I rushed back, only to find it gone. I checked in with the customer service counter at the mall to see if a good Samaritan had turned it in. Unfortunately, no one had done so, and I left my number in case anyone should turn it in. Needless to say, no call was...

This week, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Democrat, told reporters the GOP offers a "back-of-the-hand treatment to women." Later she said two conservative female representatives only serve to further "repulse women." You see, Schultz said on MSNBC, Republicans "don't really get very many women when it comes to elections." The week before, in Virginia, the Republican gubernatorial candidate won women. And in blue New Jersey, the Republican lost women but won white women by 18 percentage points. Last year, John McCain won a majority of the white female vote. They sum to more than 25 million women. Democrats, so...

"As to why is [the human brain] shrinking, perhaps in big societies, as opposed to hunter-gatherer lifestyles, we can rely on other people for more things, can specialize our behavior to a greater extent, and maybe not need our brains as much(...)"

Don't know if this was posted already..if so sorry. Please know: I am Black; I grew up in the segregated South. I did not vote for Barack Obama; I wrote in Ron Paul’s name as my choice for president. Most importantly, I am not race conscious. I do not require a Black president to know that I am a person of worth, and that life is worth living. I do not require a Black president to love the ideal of America . I cannot join you in your celebration. I feel no elation. There is no smile on my face....

Randa Ghazy Rome, Italy, Nov 13, 2009 / 02:37 pm (CNA).- A young Muslim writer named Randa Ghazy has written an article entitled, “I, a Muslim, Defend the Crucifix,” in which she expresses her opposition to a ruling by the EU Human Rights Court that ordered all crucifixes be taken down in classrooms across Italy.  The article will appear in the December edition of the magazine Mondo e Missione, a publication of the Pontifical Institute Missioni Estere. “One of the most beautiful memories of my childhood and adolescence was of Father Bruno,” she writes.  “I would often go to the...

According to Politico.com, Ayn Rand — the subject of two new biographies, one of which is titled Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right — is “having a mainstream moment,” including among conservatives. (Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina wrote a piece in Newsweek on Rand, saying, “This is a very good time for a Rand resurgence. She’s more relevant than ever.”). I hope the moment passes. Ms. Rand may have been a popular novelist, but her philosophy is deeply problematic and morally indefensible.....