Free Republic

A Lutheran church in West Virginia has covered the word Lutheran on the sign in front of the sanctuary. St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church in Charleston, West Virginia is protesting the decision by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to allow gay clergy. The pastor says he expects the decision will split the denomination.

DETROIT (Billboard) – Queen will no longer rock you -- at least not with Paul Rodgers. Ahead of a summer reunion tour with his primary band Bad Company, the singer said the Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration is, in effect, over, and without animosity. "At this point we're gonna sit back from this," Rodgers told Billboard.com. "My arrangement with (Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor) was similar to my arrangement with Jimmy (Page) in The Firm in that it was never meant to be a permanent arrangement.

Supermodel Christie Brinkley's hubby Peter Cook is a deviant who repeatedly ignored warnings to stay away from teen Diana Bianchi. Southampton Village Police Officer Brian Platt recalled his first encounter with Cook, who has since admitted to hiring, pursuing and eventually bedding Bianchi. Platt told Brinkley: "That bas**** husband of yours is having an affair with my teenage daughter and he won't stop. I warned him twice and he won't stop." Brinkley has a 10-year-old daughter with Cook, and an 11-year-old son he adopted. She filed for divorce shortly after Platt's revelation. Cook, 49, gave Bianchi, now 22, $300,000 to...

Skull Changes Show Time of Human-Neandertal Split Scott Norris for National Geographic NewsMarch 17, 2008 Gradual changes in human skull size and shape suggest a split between humans and Neandertals (often spelled Neanderthals) about 300,000 to 400,000 years ago, according to a new study. The work provides the first estimate a divergence date for modern humans and Neandertals based on the rate of change of physical characteristics. Genetic Drift Just as DNA changes accumulate over time and provide a kind of "molecular clock" by which the separation of closely related species can be dated, evolved differences in physical form can...

TEHRAN, Iran - Conservative opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a strong showing in Iran's parliamentary elections, according to partial results Saturday. The split could mean frictions between the president and former supporters disillusioned by his fiery, populist rule. Reformists, meanwhile, claimed to have made better than expected gains even though most of their candidates were thrown out of the race by Iran's clerical leadership. If reformists succeed in expanding the largely muted bloc of around 40 lawmakers they had in the outgoing parliament, it would be a blow to hard-line attempts to bury the movement, which calls for reducing...

WASHINGTON - Conservatives and voters troubled by abortion and illegal immigration were backing Mitt Romney as he fought for victory in Florida's Republican presidential primary on Tuesday. Lining up behind John McCain's bid were party moderates, Hispanics and the state's numerous older voters. As the two struggled for a triumph that could provide momentum for next week's Super Tuesday voting by nearly half the states, they were dividing Floridians along generational lines, according to preliminary results from exit polls of voters conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks. McCain was doing best among the oldest voters, while Romney's...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - In Washington, where professional women's style statements are pointedly conservative, Hillary Clinton's cleavage has suddenly burst into one of the hottest topics of the Democratic presidential race. The normally very conservative dresser's slightly low neckline during a July 18 campaign debate on education mostly went unremarked at first, until Washington Post fashion writer Robin Givhan took notice and branded it a "small acknowledgment of sexuality and femininity." "There was cleavage on display Wednesday afternoon," the Pulitzer Prize-winning Givhan wrote. "It belonged to Senator Hillary Clinton." Clinton wore "a rose-colored blazer over a black top. The neckline sat...

Nigerian Anglican Installs U.S. Bishop May 6, 2007 - 8:34am WOODBRIDGE, Va. (AP) - A powerful Anglican leader from Nigeria installed a bishop Saturday to lead the conservative U.S. parish network he created, despite a last-minute plea from the head of the Anglican Communion that he cancel his visit. Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria was already in the United States when a spokesman for Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams revealed Friday that Williams had tried to intercede. The installation ceremony, held at a nondenominational chapel, went ahead as planned. Bishop Martyn Minns, a former Episcopal clergyman, was given full leadership...

...On one level the debate can be seen as a polite discussion of political theory among the members of a small group of intellectuals. But the argument also exposes tensions within the Republicans’ “big tent,” as could be seen Thursday night when the party’s 10 candidates for president were asked during their first debate whether they believed in evolution. Three — Senator Sam Brownback; Mike Huckabee; and Tom Tancredo of Colorado — indicated they did not. ...The reference to stem cells suggests just how wide the split is. “The current debate is not primarily about religious fundamentalism,” Mr. West, the...

CAIRO, Egypt - An Iraqi militant group has highlighted the split in the ranks of the Iraqi insurgency by having its spokesman give a television interview in which he accuses al-Qaida and its umbrella organization of killing its members and pursuing the wrong policies. "The gap has widened and the injustices committed by some brothers in al-Qaida have increased," Ibrahim al-Shimmari told Al-Jazeera television in an interview broadcast Wednesday and repeated Thursday. Al-Shimmari was filmed sitting with Al-Jazeera's interviewer in an undisclosed location. He was wearing a red-and-white checkered keffiyeh but his face was blurred by video engineering. Al-Shimmari is...

U.S. Episcopal Church Faces Ultimatum NewsMax.com Wires Friday, Feb. 23, 2007 NEW YORK -- Three years of emergency summits, nuanced apologies and behind-the-scenes negotiating failed. Anglican leaders this week gave the U.S. Episcopal Church an ultimatum: Halt your march toward full acceptance of gays, or lose your place in the global Anglican family. Now, Episcopalians are asking themselves whether the cost of membership has become too high. "We made our 'yes' to gays and lesbians," wrote the Rev. Ann Fontaine of the Diocese of Wyoming, in an examination of the Anglican demands. "Let it stand." The global Anglican Communion, represented...

A FAKE television news bulletin that Belgium was to split provoked outrage in both halves of the country yesterday."Irresponsible", "questionable" and "regrettable" were among the reactions from Belgium's political mainstream in both French-speaking Wallonia and Dutch-speaking Flanders after a fictional report that Flanders had declared independence. The prime minister Guy Verhofstadt's office described the bulletin as a "misplaced joke". A commission of the Francophone parliament was set to view RTBF's footage, which included a report that King Albert II had fled the country. Only much later during the broadcast did a subtitle reveal that the reports were fictional. The Francophone...

CAIRO, Egypt - Saudi Arabia's royal family and government leaders are deeply divided over how to handle the growing crisis in Iraq and other looming Mideast problems like Iran, with some favoring strong aid to fellow Sunnis and others more cautious. The split played a key role in this week's abrupt resignation of the Saudi ambassador to Washington. It also could hurt U.S. efforts to forge a new overall strategy to calm Iraq. More broadly, the internal dispute shows how Arab countries like Saudi Arabia — long key partners in U.S. efforts to stabilize the Middle East — are struggling...

TERRORIST group al-Qaeda is at risk of splintering into separate, even more extremist organisations, an academic said today. Stuart Koschade, from the Queensland University of Technology's Centre for Social Change, said an inconsistency in values held by top al-Qaeda members risked even more violent groups emerging, as had happened in Iraq. Speaking at a conference in Brisbane on social change, where more than 50 academics presented their research, Mr Koschade said inconsistencies had developed in the movement's message since its three main goals were set in 2001 by leader Osama bin Laden. They were to organise ideological clarity, resist secular...

Sources have revealed that an independent commission set up by the US congress may propose dividing Iraq up into three separate regions, UK based newspaper The Times reported on Sunday. The report, which is being prepared by the Iraq Study Group with the approval of President George W Bush, is preparing to report after next month’s congressional elections amid signs that sectarian violence and attacks on coalition forces are ever increasing and threatening to spiral out of control. “The Kurds already effectively have their own area,” a source close to the group, told The Times, “The federalisation of Iraq is...

A state wage board deadlocked Friday on a recommendation to raise California's minimum wage to $9.78 per hour. The Wage Board, a 13-member body charged with determining an adequate wage to meet the high cost of living in California, also deadlocked on whether to bind wage increases to inflation. "As a member, I feel we have failed in our charge," said Angie Wei, legislative director for the California Labor Federation who proposed the $9.78 hourly rate -- a $3.03 increase from the current state minimum wage of $6.75 an hour. The Wage Board was set up by the state's Industrial...

WASHINGTON - Republican presidential hopefuls split on whether to provide more federal dollars for embryonic stem cell research, reflecting a GOP rift on an issue that could have political consequences in this year's midterm elections and in 2008. "President Bush and I do not differ about the need for strong guidelines governing stem cell research," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. However, the heart surgeon added: "The limit on cell lines available for federally funded research is too restrictive." Frist and Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., abortion opponents who are considering presidential bids, broke with Bush...

Democratic Party Divided on IraqFriday July 7, 4:58 PM Intent on seizing control of Congress, Democrats want to keep the focus on President Bush's missteps in Iraq. Yet the war is fracturing the party in a handful of House and Senate races. Senate primary fights in Connecticut and Washington state as well as a few House contests pit the party's liberal wing _ proponents of candidates who want an immediate end to the conflict _ against moderates favored by Democratic leaders in Washington. Arguably the most high-profile and contentious case is Connecticut, where three-term Sen. Joe Lieberman is under siege...

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday that regulators may have misinterpreted the federal Clean Water Act when they refused to allow two Michigan property owners to build a shopping mall and condos on wetlands they own. At the same time, justices could not reach a consensus on whether government can extend protections for wetlands miles away from waterways. The decision is the first significant environmental ruling for the high court headed by new Chief Justice John Roberts, and justices were so fractured that the main opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia only had the votes of four justices. Roberts,...

WESLACO, Texas - In the Rio Grande Valley, an area known for both blended cultures and intense U.S. patriotism, National Guard soldiers recently back from Afghanistan are taking stock of President Bush's plan to use their ranks to patrol the Mexican border. Bush has promised that 6,000 National Guard troops would help out to secure the border. The deployment would last two years, with no clear end date, according to a Pentagon memo obtained Friday by The Associated Press. "This is one battalion that can always be counted on," said Maj. Albert Lara. "Military service is a big tradition in...

SPLIT, Croatia (NNS) -- Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe Adm. Harry Ulrich presented a Medal of Honor, awarded posthumously, to the family of Chief Watertender Peter Tomich during a solemn ceremony aboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65) May 18. Retired Croatian Army Lt. Col. Srecko Herceg Tonic received the award on behalf of Tomich. Tonic is the grandson of Tomich's cousin John Tonic. Tomich and the elder Tonic immigrated to the United States from what is now Bosnia-Herzegovina on the Croatian border. Commander, Enterprise Carrier Strike Group Rear Adm. Ray Spicer said it was an honor and privilege to help deliver...

Schism fears revived as San Francisco church's election for a new bishop includes three candidates who live with gay partnersIT IS not an election that would normally attract world attention, but when a few hundred Christians gather to choose a new Episcopal Bishop of California today, millions around the globe will be watching. The reason is simple. Three of the seven candidates are gay or lesbian, and live openly with their same-sex partners. If one of them wins, the victory could well fracture the Episcopal Church in America and trigger a schism in the worldwide Anglican Communion to which it...

Face recognition technology that could revolutionise security systems worldwide has been developed by computer scientists at Sheffield Hallam University. The new specialist software can produce an exact 3D image of a face within 40 milliseconds. Similar systems that have been trialled have proved unworkable because of the time it takes to construct a picture and an inaccurate result. The ground-breaking invention, by experts in the University’s Materials and Engineering Research Institute (MERI) was tested by Home Secretary Charles Clarke on a recent visit to Sheffield. It could be used for tighter security in airports, banks, and government buildings and ID...

'Right-wing' radio, TV guys split on control of U.S. ports Limbaugh, O'Reilly favor deal, while Savage, Hannity oppose ------------------------------------------------------- Posted: February 24, 2006 4:00 a.m. Eastern © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com Rush LimbaughThe heated issue of turning operating control of six major U.S. ports over to a state-sponsored company based in the United Arab Emirates is splitting some of the biggest names in American broadcasting, including Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly who favor the transfer, and Sean Hannity and Michael Savage who oppose it. "I have been a profile in courage on this story," declared Limbaugh on his national radio show yesterday....

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do When your church splits, it can feel as painful as a divorce. By Matthew Paul Turner When I was 19 years old, my dad looked me in the eyes and told me we were leaving our church. My sisters and I looked at each other and smiled. We didn’t even have to say anything out loud; all of us knew exactly what the others were thinking: Finally we’re leaving this hellhole. I’ve been through divorce three times. It wasn't marriages that split up; it was my churches. Each time was different; each taught me...

Iran crisis talks expose west's split with China · Europe seeks Tehran's referral to security council · Major obstacles remain in row over nuclear weapons Ewen MacAskill and Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow Tuesday January 17, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Differences between the west and Russia and China were exposed yesterday during a meeting in London to discuss strategy for tackling the crisis over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons programme. After seven hours of talks Britain, France and Germany announced they are to seek Iran's referral to the security council at a meeting on February 2 and 3 of the UN's...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The Palestinians' ruling Fatah Party overcame a split Wednesday that threatened to hand victory to Hamas militants in parliamentary elections next month, submitting a unified list of candidates. But chaos reigned in Gaza, undermining efforts by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to show that he has taken control after Israel's summer pullout. Israel began enforcing a no-go zone in northern Gaza, firing shells and threatening to shoot anyone who approaches the border — an attempt to stop Palestinian rocket fire. A 14-year-old Palestinian boy was slightly wounded by a shell fragment, Palestinian doctors said. Fatah-affiliated gunmen...

WASHINGTON - In 1990, hardly a Spanish-speaking person could be found in California, Mo., population 4,106. That's not the case anymore. Today, Mexican immigrants are almost two of every 10 residents. They account for nearly 40 percent of the workers at the area's largest employers, three meat-processing plants.

WASHINGTON – Back in the 1940s, it was the train schedules that caused folks to gripe about the big headache of assembling the judges of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals from their far-flung states. Sixty-five years ago, as today, there was talk of splitting the vast 9th Circuit into two courts, which might make judges' travel easier and their caseloads lighter. A judicial giant But for the first time in a long while, the idea has gained momentum as House Republicans attempt to push through a plan that would split California and the other Western states...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Republican chairman and the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee announced their opposition Wednesday to a House GOP move to fast-track a break-up of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. House Republicans are including a split of the San Francisco-based court, which covers nine Western states, in a budget-reduction bill that could win House approval as soon as Thursday and would be immune from Senate filibuster. The 9th circuit measure was not in the Senate's version of the budget bill, and opposition from key senators could keep it out of the final version of...

WASHINGTON - House Republicans on Thursday included a break-up of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a budget bill that would be immune from Senate filibuster, drawing complaints from Democrats. "It does not have the support to pass both houses of Congress, so House Republicans are seeking to stifle debate and the democratic process by inserting a controversial measure into the expedited budget process," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco. The House Budget Committee included the measure in a $54 billion deficit-reduction bill that is expected to get a House floor vote next week....

Six nights of riots in Paris ghetto split Chirac cabinet By Henry Samuel in Clichy-sous-Bois(Filed: 03/11/2005) The French government was reeling yesterday after six nights of rioting which have exposed a split in the cabinet over how to deal with poverty and immigration in the dilapidated Paris suburbs. As authorities cleaned up the debris of another bout of violence, including the wrecks of 250 cars burned out on Tuesday night, both the prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, and the interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, put off foreign trips to deal with the rioting. Youths on the Paris estates have promised ‘40...

Democrats split over position on Iraq war Leaders want to stay the course, voters call for exit strategy By Peter Baker and Shailagh Murray Updated: 10:48 p.m. ET Aug. 21, 2005 WASHINGTON - Democrats say a long-standing rift in the party over the Iraq war has grown increasingly raw in recent days, as stay-the-course elected leaders who voted for the war three years ago confront rising impatience from activists and strategists who want to challenge President Bush aggressively to withdraw troops. Amid rising casualties and falling public support for the war, Democrats of all stripes have grown more vocal this...

Blacks and Jews Split – again – over Farrakhan by Makebra M. Anderson NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) – A prominent Jewish leader’s insistence that African-American leaders distance themselves from the Millions More March organizer Minister Louis Farrakhan is more likely to stir up more anti-Semitism rather than soothe frayed relations between Blacks and Jews, says Hip Hop mogul Russell Simmons. He was reacting to criticism from Abraham H. Foxman, national director of Anti-Defamation League (ADL). In a letter addressed to national Black leaders, Foxman said it is unacceptable that mainstream African-American leaders would participate in a march whose conveners...

"If we were not so used to it, we would find it odd for the government to collect money from young workers and give it to the old (mostly workers' parents)." -- Robert Barro The headline that Business Week put on Robert Barro's column quoted above was "Why Private Accounts are Bad Public Policy." And the headline that the Washington Post put on a story that referred to Barro and others was Conservatives Splitting on Social Security. Is that the real story? I would describe Social Security as a program with a dubious economic rationale and very large costs. As...

One Sunday this past November, President Bush’s chief strategist Karl Rove went on the talk show circuit to discuss the possibility that 2004 would be depicted by historians as being a realigning election. A little over three months later, with the nation fixated on Social Security reform, his opinions seem remarkably prescient. According to Wikipedia: “[A realigning election is one] in which geographic bases of power for each of the two parties [are] significantly altered, resulting in a new political power structure and status quo. It is generally believed that a realigning election happens only after a shift in partisan...

Democrats Split on Electoral Strategy in the South BY BILL WALSH Newhouse News Service WASHINGTON -- As former Vermont governor and Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean took the helm of the Democratic National Committee a week ago, he declared he would make the party competitive in all 50 states, including in the South. It was a bold promise for a party that has not won a single Southern electoral vote in the past two presidential elections. To Southern ears it sounded all the more unlikely coming from Dean, who famously remarked early in his failed presidential bid last year that...

PODGORICA, Serbia-Montenegro – Montenegro proposed a final split from Serbia on Tuesday, suggesting that the two former Yugoslav republics recognize each other as sovereign states. If accepted by Belgrade, the deal would abolish what little has remained of the Serbia-Montenegro union, established in 2003 under European Union auspices as a successor state to the already truncated version of the former Yugoslavia. Once part of the six-republic Yugoslav federation, Serbia and Montenegro stayed together when four others seceded in the early 1990s. Relations between the two deteriorated over the years. Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has sought to retain the union...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc., whose shares have almost quadrupled in value over the last year on the success of its iPod music player, on Friday said it set a 2-for-1 stock split, and its shares rose almost 4 percent. Shares of Apple have been on a tear as iPod sales have soared with the introduction of less-expensive versions of the music player. The stock has been the best performer in the Nasdaq 100 index and the wider S&P 500 index over the past 12 months. Apple is also one of the most expensive stocks among the...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Apparently Senator Edwards had a close brush with the truth some months back, though like the proverbial "broken clock" that shows the correct time twice each day, he didn't linger for long on the cusps of reality. According to Edwards, we live in a split society, which he described as the "two Americas." Edwards attempted to portray this nation as being divided between the "haves" and the "have nots," by which he delineated between those who are financially well-off, as opposed to others who struggle to make ends meet. However, another far more insidious divide exists across the nation, as...

Proportional split of electoral votes on Colorado ballotDENVER — The presidential candidate who wins a majority of the vote in Colorado next month could take all nine of the state's electoral votes, or he could take five. It all depends on the outcome of Amendment 36, a state ballot measure that would make Colorado the first state in the nation to split its electoral votes proportionally, replacing the state's winner-take-all system. Amendment 36 was written to take effect this year, which means its effect would be felt immediately. That means, for example, that even if President Bush wins a majority...

France split over battle for Muslim souls and minds French intelligence has accused 'ghetto' communities of terrorist links - now the estates are fighting back Alex Duval Smith in Paris Sunday July 11, 2004 The Observer Whichever way he turns his head, Abdel Hak Eddajibi sees the same horizon: tower blocks. It may as well be a wall. Standing in the car park of his housing estate, he is unmoved by a French intelligence service report that suggests he lives in one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the country. 'First they put us in a ghetto, then they accuse...

William Hinson, president of a major renewal organization, dropped a bombshell during May's United Methodist General Conference: "I believe the time has come when we must begin to explore an amicable and just separation that will free us both from our cycle of pain and conflict". We find in large sections of mainline churches a sub-Christian religion with alternate doctrines of biblical authority, the church, and even salvation. Most Methodists, left and right, responded with shock, rallied around the flag of unity, and declared their dismay. This is an understandable reaction and shows a good instinct for one's church. But...

Bitter at the Top By DAVID BROOKS Published: June 15, 2004 It's been said that every society has two aristocracies. The members of the aristocracy of mind produce ideas, and pass along knowledge. The members of the aristocracy of money produce products and manage organizations. In our society these two groups happen to be engaged in a bitter conflict about everything from S.U.V.'s to presidents. You can't understand the current bitter political polarization without appreciating how it is inflamed or even driven by the civil war within the educated class. The percentage of voters with college degrees has doubled in...

How can we as a nation deal with the two irreconcilible ideologies of liberalism and conservatism? Easy! Cut the nation in two! Explore this and other similar ideas at www.twoamericas.us

PITTSBURGH — Conservatives in the United Methodist Church (search) proposed splitting the denomination Thursday, the latest sign of decades of disagreement over homosexuality that continued at a national meeting this week. The Rev. William Hinson, president of the Confessing Movement for conservative Methodists, said evangelicals were just beginning to explore the idea and that no break was imminent in the 8.3 million-member church. But he said he and others were convinced that no compromise could be found after yet another bitter General Conference debate over what the Bible says about gay sex. "We can't bridge that divide," said Hinson, former...

Blair mauls Mugabe as Commonwealth faces black-white split By Anton La Guardia in Abuja (Filed: 05/12/2003) Tony Blair last night vowed to resist attempts to end Zimbabwe's suspension from the Commonwealth and accused African leaders seeking to rehabilitate President Robert Mugabe of "defending the indefensible".President Mugabe,/i> As he set off for the Commonwealth summit, which opens today in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, Mr Blair all but put Mr Mugabe in the same category as Saddam Hussein."I would like to see all regimes that oppress their people change," he said. "But you have to accept the limitations of what you...

How al-Qa'ida has split into dozens of autonomous, hard-to-find 'franchises' By Kim Sengupta 22 November 2003 The Afghan war was meant to deprive al-Qa'ida of the protection of its Taliban allies and destroy it as a fighting force. But the Istanbul bombings are the latest example of how the organisation has reinvented itself to continue its jihad. Al-Qai'da has proved to be a many-headed hydra. One was decapitated in Afghanistan, with many of Osama bin Laden's senior lieutenants killed or captured, and much of its financial resources uncovered and blocked. But the organisation has now sprung up again in a...

FBI Probe Deepens Racial Split in Philly Tuesday October 21, 2003 2:46 AM By DAVID B. CARUSO Associated Press Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Mayor John Street gets polite applause when he talks about policy on the campaign trail these days. The big cheers come when he mentions the bug planted in his office by the FBI. In the two weeks since news broke that Street was a subject of a federal investigation, Philadelphia's second black mayor has sought to cast himself as a man being persecuted because of his race, and the message appears to be resonating with black voters....