Free Republic

Self-proclaimed Biblical scholar Joseph Atwill has written a book in which he claims that Jesus was fabricated by a little-known group called the Flavians. He also claims he has some sort of “smoking gun” type of “confession” from these ancient people that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that they entered into a conspiracy with the Roman government of the time to fabricate a character called Jesus as a “gentle Messiah” figure to wage psychological warfare on, and control, the masses so they would pay Caesar taxes without complaining. He is apparently going to present this evidence at a...

The U.S. government has shut down. Sadly, so have most of its websites. No astronomy picture of the day at NASA.gov. No food pyramid guide at USDA.gov. No scanned images of old-timey baseball cards at LOC.gov. That's the bad news. Now here's the good news: There are two easy methods to try accessing shut-down government sites. Your first option is Google's (or some other search engine's) "Cached" feature. Enter your keywords, hit search, then look for a tiny green arrow next to the URL of the government-hosted search result that you're interested in. Click the arrow to open a menu,...

IRS, White House officials that shared confidential taxpayer info had 155 White House meetings Embattled IRS official Sarah Hall Ingram made 155 visits to the White House to meet with a top Obama White House official with whom she exchanged confidential taxpayer information over email. Of Ingram’s 165 White House meetings with White House staff, a staggering 155 of them were hosted by deputy assistant to the president for health policy Jeanne Lambrew, according to a June Watchdog.Org analysis of White House visitor records.

Dr. Ben Carson, the former director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University and Hospital, drew a parallel between Obamacare and “socialized medicine” and cited Communist leader Vladimir Lenin’s support for government-run health care as the “keystone to the establishment of a socialist state.” Speaking at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Dr. Carson said that Obamacare “was never about healthcare. It was about control,” and making all Americans “subservient to the government.” He then commented on why the Democrat-dominant Congress in 2010 moved swiftly to pass the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare. “And why did they...

Best-selling conservative author Ann Coulter, who has used her nine books to launch vicious attacks on Democrats, is turning her guns on Republicans in a new book out Monday, calling Florida Sen. Marco Rubio a hypocrite, urging donors freeze contributions to the GOP, and demanding that only governors or senators run for the party’s presidential nomination. Her point in “Never Trust a Liberal Over 3 -- Especially a Republican” is to shake the party out of its doldrums in time for the 2014 and 2016 elections. “Elections matter. We’re trying to make the country a better place. But if our...

e Reverend Al Sharpton promoted his new book at the FreeLibrary of Philadelphia this afternoon, saying it’s about life lessons, with anecdotes. The book is called The Rejected Stone: Al Sharpton and the Path to American Leadership“ Whether you are middle class, whether you are poor white, whether you are Latino, whether you are gay, all of us have been rejects. And what we are seeing now is that a lot of society can not adjust to the fact that the rejects now have become the cornerstone of this country.”

So the zombies are at your door. Death is upon you, but the gun shop is just a block away. You make a run for it, and you make it to the most extensive armory for miles. Time to make a decision: Which guns do you grab? Contrary to popular belief, not every gun will do the job the same, so to help make up your mind on which guns will save your life, here are my eight best guns for the zombie apocalypse.

Monday, October 25, 20105 Best Countries to Escape America's Decline Activist Post Okay, you're upset with the direction America is headed and you've been thinking of moving to another country. Perhaps you feel exhaustively cynical about the political, economic, or social situation in the U.S. and think it is beyond repair. You wouldn't be alone. Many top economists and other trend forecasters are now openly predicting that a total economic, environmental, and social collapse may be imminent in America.

A US man declared dead after he disappeared nearly three decades ago cannot now be declared officially alive, though he has returned home and is in good health, a judge has ruled. Donald Miller of Ohio left behind a wife, two children and significant debt when he fled his home in 1986. He was declared legally dead in 1994, then re-emerged in 2005 and attempted to apply for a driving licence. A judge this week found death rulings cannot be overturned after three years.

Rochester city councilman Adam McFadden has to be wondering why so many people are still so puzzled at the frequent black mob violence in Rochester. After all, McFadden explained it all to us just two years ago. "I think what you saw at the beach is what we've been seeing in many of our neighborhoods for two decades," (black) Councilman McFadden told WHAM TV. "It's just that you had a lot of people there who are not used to that culture and got to witness it personally."

The Internet we each see every day is an infinitesimally tiny sliver of the whole—the parts we have curated for ourselves, the parts our network of friends and family sends to us, and the sites that we have made parts of our routines. But beyond this micro-level editing, there are also macro forces at work: The Internet largely exists for and is created by the people who are on it. The map above gives a rough idea of who those people are—or, at least, where they are. The map, created as part of the Information Geographies project at the...

**SNIP**Unlike Americans who tell pollsters they don’t like the new law and find it confusing, the business professionals dealing with the day-to-day reality of the new health insurance landscape accept the Affordable Care Act as straight forward approach to begin cutting the rising cost of health care for people and companies. At the conference, sponsored by the Sun Life Financial Inc., these health care and corporate professionals pointed to reductions in the expense health care puts on small businesses with less than 50 workers. And they think people who work for small companies – as well as part time workers--...

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia, exasperated with U.S. vacillation related to Syria's chemical arsenal and now its effort to reconcile with Iran, Riyadh's foremost adversary, is forging a new alliance of Islamist rebels in Syria under a pro-Saudi warlord to supersede the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army. Riyadh also wants to foment an Iraq-style "Sunni Awakening" to unite Syria's majority sect to topple the minority Damascus regime of President Bashar Assad. Middle East analyst Michael Weiss, writing in the Beirut Web portal Now Lebanon, observed Riyadh has "taken substantive measures to circumvent Washington altogether on Syria by activating...

Hunters who killed an albino moose later admitted to making a mistake after being chastised by local aboriginal communities. The rare creature is considered to be a sacred symbol to the Mi’kmaq people, who call it a Spirit Moose, but according to Jim Hnatiuks, the owner of a hunting and taxidermy store in Lantz, Nova Scotia, the hunters had no idea. “The hunters are saying, ‘We wouldn’t have shot the moose if we had known it meant that much,’” Hnatiuks told CTV News. After taking down the moose on their hunting trip in the Cape Breton Highlands, the hunters brought...

The College Football Czar: Week 7 Week six in review: The NCAA has proceeded with its disastrous decision to appoint a college football playoff selection committee, and already, you can foresee the fabric of the game coming unraveled. Among the committee members who have been appointed to select the four semifinalists for the 2014 season is former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. Immediately, there came protests that Rice is unqualified, but then, what qualifications are there, really? If the idea is to make sure that the best team gets a shot at the national championship, then just about any fan...

A New York State Supreme Court judge on Tuesday voided Nissan’s contract with New York Citys’ Taxi and Limousine Commission that would have forced taxicab operators to buy and use taxis based on the Nissan NV200 van. Judge Shlomo Hagler said that the commission “exceeded its authority” by awarding Nissan the exclusive ten year contract to supply New York City’s taxis. The ruling was the outcome of a lawsuit filed against the commission by the Greater New York Taxi Association. Nissan beat out Ford and a Turkish company in a 2011 competition to win the contract, part of NYC Mayor...

A family member put this video together today. Simple idea, a slideshow of shut-down national parks and memorials played over the original recording of "This Land is Our Land" by Woody Guthrie; but I think it's powerful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm3MXFo3pSY

A woman reported an assault at her ex-boyfriend's home on Beaver Creek Road, after she confronted him about two pairs of panties she spotted on the porch. The man allegedly grabbed the underwear the complainant was wearing and ripped them off, then hit her in the side of the head. He then dropped to his knees and begged forgiveness, according to her statements to police, so she had him drive her to another home to get some feminine hygiene products. At that residence another fight erupted, with the woman's ex-boyfriend pacing the road and "making threats." The suspect left prior...

President Obama’s rhetoric is finally coming closer to what appears to be his psychological truth: Because America victimized him and countless millions of others, any person or party or movement that opposes his views and does not yield to him is not just his adversary, but abusive, predatory and even threatening.

CHURCH HILL — A month long pizza binge landed a Hawkins County teen in jail after she allegedly bought pies in Church Hill on 18 separate occasions this past June using a debit card number stolen from the online boyfriend she was scamming. Heather Nicole Arnold, 19, 145 Lynch Road Lot 9, Church Hill, allegedly gave the online boyfriend a bogus name, and used a bogus Facebook profile during that online romance earlier this year. CHPD Detective Kevin Grigsby said Arnold’s phony Facebook page used photos that Arnold allegedly pirated from a Destin, Fla. woman’s Facebook profile. The Florida woman...

If you thought the Shutdown Follies couldn’t get any more absurd and spiteful, you were quite mistaken. It was announced today that an annual sandcastle contest on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach has been cancelled out of sheer malice by the Obama administration, despite the fact that the beach on which it is held — part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area — normally has no lifeguards, no rangers, is permanently open to the public, and requires no funds for day-to-day operations:

His new MSNBC show may seem like just another gig in the illustrious career of Alec Baldwin, but this one could be a step toward the role of a lifetime: politician.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Two rabbis and two other men allegedly used kidnapping and cattle prods, among other methods, to force Orthodox Jewish men into divorcing their wives, authorities said. Rabbis Mendel Epstein and Martin Wolmark as well as Ariel Potash and a fourth individual known as “Yaakov” were arrested after the FBI raided several locations overnight, including Yeshiva Shaarei Torah in Suffern, a home in Brooklyn and at least one other location in New Jersey. Potash and Yaakov are accused of being “tough guys” who kidnapped and beat up the recalcitrant husbands of distraught wives seeking a divorce, authorities...

Clues to Lost Prehistoric Code Discovered in Mesopotamia By Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor | October 10, 2013 07:44am ET Researchers studying clay balls from Mesopotamia have discovered clues to a lost code that was used for record-keeping about 200 years before writing was invented. The clay balls may represent the world's "very first data storage system," at least the first that scientists know of, said Christopher Woods, a professor at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, in a lecture at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum, where he presented initial findings.

James Woods, the award-winning actor and outspoken conservative, has taken his unbridled bashing of President Obama on Twitter and elevated it to an art form. Woods’ latest post smacks Obama over the closure of national parks and memorial sites in Washington during the government shutdown.

Soft ratings, a huge budget and "disdain" for her female audience — Q Scores report only 10 percent of women view Couric favorably — have the host's Disney/ABC talk show in jeopardy as a renewal decision nears.

“There’s No Such Thing as a Free Lunch”—the title of a book published by Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman—may be economic fact, but that did not deter the U.S. Justice Department from informing furloughed department workers that they can have one. In an “Ethics Q&A” the DOJ published on its website advising furloughed employees on what they can and cannot ethically do during a government shutdown, the department said it was okay for them to accept free sandwiches from commercial enterprises as long as those sandwiches were offered free to all federal workers and not just some. …

First, the obvious; I want the Age of Obama to be over. I can't wait, I will brag later that I survived it without losing my job or my mind or most importantly, my freedom. Till then, I accept what is and try to life a good life. I am still blessed in many ways. I'm against most everything this President has done or purposed to do. I hold my breath wondering what 'Dennis The Menace' will do next just for the wicked joy of annoying me, and other people like me. Now for the less obvious; I give President...

he tight end-turned coach-turned ESPN analyst said earlier this month that the one move he second-guesses himself about most is his decision not to run on the Republican ticket in the 2004 U.S. Senate race. His would-be opponent that year? Illinois state

1941: Photograph of a 'time traveler' ... Young man (right side, third up) with sunglasses and contemporary-like clothing in this 1940s photograph. - From Wikipedia:  “A photograph from 1941 of the re-opening of the South Forks Bridge in Gold Bridge, Canada, was alleged to show a time traveler. It was claimed that his clothing and sunglasses were modern and not of the styles worn in the 1940s. “The modern appearance of the man may not have been so modern. The style of sunglasses first appeared in the 1920s. The sweater with a sewn-on emblem, is the kind of clothing...

A Texas man was put to death Wednesday evening for killing his parents at their Lubbock home 15 years ago during a drug-influenced rampage that also left his 89-year-old grandmother dead. Yowell tried to delay his execution, the 14th this year in the nation's most active death penalty state, by joining a lawsuit with two other condemned prisoners that challenged Texas prison officials' recent purchase of a new supply of pentobarbital for his scheduled lethal injection. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal minutes before Yowell was taken to the Texas death chamber Wednesday evening. Yowell already was on probation...

I’m waiting for the American Psychological Association to declare that Peter Pan Syndrome is not only nothing to be ashamed of, but something to celebrate. Why should those in what used to be called the young adult years bother to grow up, when our benevolent government is encouraging them to remain dependent well into their 20s? In this, the first leg of our glorious new non-workers’ paradise of Obamacare, there are dozens — probably hundreds — of ways that the new regime will make health care less effective, more expensive, less efficient, more dysfunctional, more confusing and more byzantine. But...

A video compilation of footage from the Nazi era music by Zack Hemsey Waiting Between Worlds (instrumental)

<p>Jews make up only 0.2% of the world population, yet comprise 22% of Nobel laureates. What's the deal?</p> <p>Jews have a reputation for being smart. The fact that all three recipients of this year's Nobel prize for Chemistry are Jewish is yet another brick in the wall of that long-lived perception.</p>

A decision to cancel some Halloween celebrations at an elementary school in Montgomery County is stirring controversy among some parents. Parents received a letter Tuesday from the principal at Inglewood Elementary School. The school is located in Towamencin Township, near Lansdale, and is part of the North Penn School District. The letter, obtained by Action News and signed by the school's principal, Orlando Taylor, announced Taylor's decision not to hold Halloween parades or celebrations at the school this year. It reads in part: "Some holidays observed in the community that are considered by many to be secular (ex. Halloween, Thanksgiving,...

Lined up for a family photo these Victorian children look miserable as they stare sternly at the camera. But their grim expressions may be understandable after it becomes clear they are posing for a macabre photo with their dead younger sibling who is laid out on a chair. These remarkable pictures show the morbid way that the deceased were remembered in the late 19th century.

From the Sony Walkman to the humble zip: The past century’s top 100 inventions that changed our lives (yet most of us take for granted) Does it make you feel old to know that Dyson’s dustbag-free vacuum is 20 this year? Or that the much-loved Sony Walkman and the world’s first ever laptop, the Epson HX-30, are both over 30 years old?These are just a few of the gadgets that have made it onto the 100 gadgets of the past century that we can’t live without, with technologies ranging from humble zip to the Playstation 4.

WASHINGTON — It’s long been known that America’s school kids haven’t measured well compared with international peers. Now, there’s a new twist: Adults don’t either. In math, reading and problem-solving using technology – all skills considered critical for global competitiveness and economic strength – American adults scored below the international average on a global test, according to results released Tuesday.

It may seem counterintuitive that a TV show about a meth cook could have a conservative theme, much less a Christian one, but that's because people think Christian movies are supposed to have camels -- or a "Little House on the Prairie" cast. READ THE BIBLE! It's chockablock with gore, incest, jealousy, murder, love and hate. Because the Bible tells the truth, the lessons are eternal -- which also marks the difference between great literature and passing amusements. Recall that even Jesus usually made his points with stories. The sweet, soulful druggie on "Breaking Bad," Jesse Pinkman, illustrates -- heartbreakingly...

Government by extortion: Give us what we want, or we'll make your life VERY difficult. Or, we might even think about taking your life to make an example for other uncooperative citizens.

A parent in Bryant, Ark., claims her sixth-grade daughter brought home a history class assignment that asks students to “revise, omit two and add two amendments” to the “outdated” Bill of Rights. Her daughter is reportedly a student in the Bryant School District. Lela Spears, the girl’s mother, told the Digital Journal that the worksheet requires students to take part in a theoretical special committee, the “National Revised Bill of Rights Task Force.” The committee is charged with the task of revising the Bill of Rights to “ensure that our personal civil liberties and the pursuit of happiness remains guarded...

After many long days of painful, maddening, and sickening news, our family has been enjoying evening trips back to the thrilling days of yesteryear via the DVD time machine. Old TV shows have reinforced our remembrance of how America used to be, both during the times the shows were made and the stories of the wild west and America's "Manifest Destiny." It's been wonderful to go back in time, to re-visit stories of men who were for the most part valiant, courageous, honorable, full of integrity, law-abiding, and steadfast, and of women who were for the most part gracious, kind,...

FULL TITLE: Steubenville High School employee indicted as grand jury investigating the Ohio rape case that shocked the nation vows to 'uncover the truth' An IT worker at Steubenville High School has been sensationally indicted by the grand jury investigating additional crimes in the now infamous Ohio rape case, MailOnline can report. Steubenville City Schools employee, William Rhinaman, 53, stands accused of tampering with evidence, obstructing justice, obstructing official business and perjury. The most serious of the charges – tampering with evidence and perjury – carry a maximum jail term of three year. His indictment is the first such issued...

This week, Carnegie Hall stagehands who make on average $419,000 a year went on strike, forcing the cancellation of a gala that would have benefited nonprofit artistic and education programs. The dispute between the 122-year hall and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Union, reportedly the first ever strike at Carnegie Hall, was resolved on Friday.

FULL TITLE: Girl, 16, on the run after vicious hammer and knife attack on another female student at their Catholic high school Authorities in Nebraska are searching tonight for a 16-year-old student who allegedly slashed another girl in the face with a knife and beat her across the head with a hammer today. Lincoln police said that Pius X student Sarah Piccolo attacked 17-year-old Ellen Kopetzky in the bathroom of the Catholic high school just before 9.45 a.m. (CDT). The school immediately went into lock-down following the shocking event and Piccolo is said to have fled the scene in a...

The Defense Department’s Friday night operation to go after an Al-Shabaab commander in Somalia peeled the veil a bit off the Obama administration’s ongoing secret war in Somalia, but left many questions about the story behind the failed raid. Pentagon press secretary George Little confirmed today that U.S. military personnel conducted a “targeted operation” against Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir, a.k.a. “Ikrima,” a Kenyan of Somali origin and a top commander in the al-Qaeda affiliate. Ikrima is “closely associated” with late al-Qaeda operatives Harun Fazul and Saleh Nabhan, who played roles in the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

The athletic department of Cornell University was chided — and eventually apologized — over its Cinco de Mayo-themed marketing campaign, which involved the most heinous of racist stereotypes: the consumption of tacos and the donning of sombreros.

We on the right side of history often feel the need to take a shower after wading through the swamp of politically correct double-speak. Euphemisms often provide a bright, shiny, antiseptic-look and feel to many issues, hiding it's putrid underside. Phrases like "pro-choice", affirmative action", "affordable care" and now "clean bill"; what reasonable person could be against these wonderful ideas? Obviously only right-wings cretins, bent on their "war on women" and against "sustainable living". But given it is de rigueur du jour, I would really like to focus on "clean bill". Here is the picture in my head: Setting: the...

An off-duty federal officer who fired his gun at a car that cut him off has a history of aggressive behavior, according to news reports. Angel Echevarria, an officer with the Department of Homeland Security, was recently arrested and charged with aggressive assault and shooting into an occupied vehicle in Boca Raton, Fla. after opening fire on a red Toyota that had committed a traffic infraction. According to the arrest affidavit, Echevarria claimed he was trying to shoot the tires of the Toyota to prevent it from fleeing the scene. But authorities concluded that too much time has elapsed between...

European lawmakers are trying to tighten rules governing the multi-billion dollar tobacco market by imposing bigger and bolder warnings on cigarette packs, banning most flavorings like menthol and beefing up regulation of electronic cigarettes. … Treatment of smoke-related diseases costs about €25 billion ($34 billion) a year, and the EU estimates that there are around 700,000 smoking-related deaths annually across the 28-nation bloc. …