Free Republic

Price Trends / WAR OF THE WORLDS (Round # 2): If you use 120 years of data for your time horizon, and assume prices will return to the average, then our residential property bubble will fall 49% from the bubble peak to the long-run average (see above (a) aka “(x) - (z) / 202” aka “Projected Fall Peak to Trend”). This total projected fall is less than the 60% predicted in my recent post based upon 20 years of data and a trend line drawn with the eye (click here to see that post). Property Values Set to Fall 43%...

Religion and Families Allie Winegar Duzett, November 5, 2009 Studies of the past decade’s religiosity “can be boiled into good news and bad news,” said Annette Mahoney of Bowling Green State University at a recent Heritage Foundation conference, Religious Practice and the Family: What the Research Says. “The bad news is that almost no research has been done on how religion operates when problems are not prevented,” she said, adding that “the good news is that religion does matter for families.” Mahoney explained that religion tends to help people in “maintaining any family relationship, traditional or not, such as being...

The weekend of October 24 was busy for TFP Student Action volunteers. Their first stop was Scranton, Penn., for a pro-life conference. Lighting the Way for Life was the title of the full-day conference sponsored by the Pennsylvanians for Human Life on October 24. The event brought together hundreds of pro-family leaders from across the Keystone State committed to defend innocent life against the culture of death. TFP Student Action members manned a booth at the event and distributed pro-family literature. What attracted most attention at the busy booth was the TFP petition urging the president of the University of...

Starbucks Sabbath Allie Winegar Duzett, November 3, 2009 In recent years, the American family has been falling apart. Divorce rates have skyrocketed, as have births outside of marriage; non-traditional families are on the way to becoming the norm in society. Brad Wilcox spoke of the “unprecedented family revolution” in America at a recent Heritage Foundation event, Religious Practice and the Family: What the Research Says. This family revolution, Wilcox argued, has “undercut marriage as a fundamental institution” in American society, which matters because religion and familial stability typically go hand in hand. As Wilcox pointed out, “couples who share a...

Like most of you, I have a house and work 5-6 days a week. I have 3 children and a dog. My wife works because we have a child in college and 2 in private school. We work hard all day long and then come home and try to balance time with our family and things that have to get done around the house. Our schedules are busy running from place to place and enjoying the time spent together. In the summer we would hang out with our friends or take a ride to the shore and simply grow as...

My son who is 10 years old is going to the Montgomery County school system in Maryland this year to give him some wider experience after having all of his previous education in either Israeli or Jewish community schools. It certainly is an experience! In some ways, it seems like a parody of multiculturalism. My children are tough, well-informed and have strong characters, largely informed by an Israeli world view. But they also have a very American persona, though one that may be becoming increasingly rare among upper middle class elite counterparts. Here are some highlights of fourth-grade life in...

Here is video of Fox News' Reporter James Rosen being interrupted and told to stop broadcasting at the Values Voters Summit yesterday in Washington D.C. Rosen had just said a sister network had been told to stop broadcasting while speakers were speaking, and sure enough, a man came and told Rosen to stop while he was trying to give a report. Rosen told the man he and Fox News were trying to give the event exposure and that "you are interrupting my work." But the man persisted and Rosen threw it back to the Fox Anchor saying "I guess we...

The 9-12 Project/RI will hold a non-partisan solidarity rally to celebrate our nation and our shared American values, and to show our support for the national 9-12 March on Washington D.C. Come out in defense of liberty and support the values that made our country great. Our peaceful assembly is dedicated to preserving our rights as enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution! Join us at our State House and let your voice be heard! The event is Saturday, September 12th on the steps of the RI State House from 2-5 pm, rain or shine. The program will...

How often does your family have dinner together? That simple question often evokes an answer of, "Ummmmmm......" What used to be the most basic of activities has become increasingly difficult to schedule in today's busy world. But bringing back the time-honored practice of "breaking bread" with your own family could be the single greatest step you take toward saving your family from all kinds of ills. For more than a decade, the National Center of Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University has been studying the tremendous impact that family meals have on children. Their research repeatedly shows how...

LISTEN TO THE REAL REVEREND JESSE ON THE INTERNET OR A RADIO STATION IN YOUR AREA...... P>BOND Action, Inc...Educating, Motivating and Rallying Americans! The Jesse Lee Peterson Radio Show Streamed live online from 6-9 a.m. PST / 9-12 a.m. EST. Call in the same times usually. For Live Questions or Comments Call 1-888-77-JESSE(5-3773) You can email comments and questions to radio@bondaction.org For more information on getting The Jesse Lee Peterson Show picked up on a station in your local area call Ermias Alemayehu at 1-877-WE ACT77 (932-2877)

The GOP party platform (by the way, where are the GOP folks who represent this platform? I want them in office), has many sections, but the core values, the ideas and values that make the GOP what it is, are based on our Judeo-Christian foundation, as Americans. The main stream media (MSM) attacks social conservatives at every turn and uses every weakness shown by a GOP politician as a way to drive a wedge between the two factions of the party, conservatives and rino’s. Social values are where the GOP must make a stand.

What is it about politicians these days? Is there some sort of magic elixir in the air that allows these people—regardless of political affiliation--the license to insult the intelligence of their citizens? Or is this some sort of natural “human flaw” that we—the idiots of the proletariat—are supposed to accept as some sort of acceptable characteristic of the people that are supposed to “represent us?” Give me a freaking break.

TORONTO, June 18, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Alberta Finance Minister, Iris Evans, a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of  Alberta, has come under fire from the leader of the Liberal government after telling the Economic Club of Canada on Wednesday morning that having one parent stay at home is important for raising children well. Her comments came at the end of an address to the Club during the question period, in the context of speaking about the importance of teaching kids about finances.Referring to her own children, Minister Evans said, “They've understood perfectly well that when you're raising children, you...

[Note: While this essay deals primarily with what the politically correct mindset has done to America's youth, it may be relevant to some of the suicidal rage being vented by hate filled adults; particularly where--such as in California against small Jewish children, and in Fort Worth against Christian teenagers at Church--it is directed against those who still have traditional values.]--September 16, 1999 Suicidal Rage & School Killings Versus "Something Of Value" Synopsis The relationship of a "politically correct" mind-set, which strips away the adolescent's sense of identity, purpose and self-worth, to the teenage rage that leads to mass killings and...

It has become fashionable to condemn President Bush not only for violating "our values", but also for spawning anti-US terrorists. These thoughts only make sense if you ignore all US history through 2007. In his speech to the 2009 graduating class of the US Naval Academy, President Obama used the word "values" nine times. Specifically, he said, "We uphold our fundamental principles and values not just because we choose to, but because we swear to; not because they feel good, but because they help keep us safe and keep us true to who we are. Because when America strays from...

I was sitting near a fountain in Old Town and an older man approached the penny-filled catch pond with an expression so earnest I might in other circumstances have easily confused it with reverence. He closed his eyes and held a coin in his fingers like a rosary. His lips moved but I heard nothing. After what seemed like a very long moment, he tossed his coin into the water, slowly crossed the small brick plaza and sat near me. I had been taught to never ask a person what he wished for. But he offered. "Know what I wished...

110 brides and brides-to-be march to promote family values in Bucharest (NECN/APTV) - Dozens of women sporting full bridal regalia took part in a parade in Bucharest on Sunday, to promote the institution of marriage in Romanian society. Organizers of the "Bride Parade" said they intend to promote marriage as a way of maintaining traditional family values in this Orthodox country. The atmosphere was celebratory as dozens of women dressed in various white dresses, veils and tiaras marched to the sounds of trumpeters playing wedding songs. One woman called the event "unique" and one that "emphasizes the importance of the...

She's young, beautiful, articulate, patriotic, Christian, and most importantly, courageous. To many on the left however Carrie Prejean, the current Miss California, is a bigoted, shameful, and intolerant homophobe. What Carrie Prejean represents, in other words, is a modern day inkblot test of inestimable value to America's frustrated and exiled GOP. If there was ever a time in this modern day Alice in Wonderland cultural climate for conservatives to take a stand on something and shake the political world upside down, that time is now. What can Carrie Prejean do for America and the GOP? For starters, she can drive...

LISTEN TO THE REAL REVEREND JESSE ON THE INTERNET OR A RADIO STATION IN YOUR AREA......BOND Action, Inc...Educating, Motivating and Rallying Americans! The Jesse Lee Peterson Radio Show Streamed live online from 6-9 a.m. PST / 9-12 a.m. EST. For Live Questions or Comments Call 1-888-77-JESSE(5-3773) You can email comments and questions to radio@bondaction.org For more information on getting The Jesse Lee Peterson Show picked up on a station in your local area call Ermias Alemayehu at 1-877-WE ACT77 (932-2877) Friar Peterson!

I wore a coat and tie the other day—to a business meeting, go tell. Those who were similarly dressed were asked to take them off. I refused. The only other rebels—an Australian Army Officer and former US Marine Officer—stood their ground as well. The rest capitulated. Go, figure. Ironic, it was, to declare to the meeting attendees that I and my fellow gentlemen were defying convention to stay “formally” dressed. The others, with their open neck collars and un-shined shoes, just laughed as they continued to sip on the gourmet lattes that they spent more time in ordering than in...

The world is changing...DRAMATICALLY. We witnessed this first hand with the election of Barack Obama. The world our children and grandchildren grow up in. MUCH DIFFERENT. This video is a must watch... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYU Other videos and detailed information can be found at the following URLS:http://www.allied-media.com/AM/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Qhttp://muslim-canada.org/muslimstats.htmlhttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,510364,00.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Europehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-3X5hIFXYUhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_by_countryhttp://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2007/mayjun/4.28.html Lots of opinions...very interesting call to action...compared to this site's argument that there might be a Billion people living in the USA by 2100 (http://www.emagazine.com/view/?871)

A civilized society's first line of defense is not the law, police and courts but customs, traditions and moral values. Behavioral norms, mostly transmitted by example, word of mouth and religious teachings, represent a body of wisdom distilled over the ages through experience and trial and error. They include important thou-shalt-nots such as shalt not murder, shalt not steal, shalt not lie and cheat, but they also include all those courtesies one might call ladylike and gentlemanly conduct. The failure to fully transmit values and traditions to subsequent generations represents one of the failings of the so-called greatest generation. Behavior...

I’m seeing a rash of marital problems among my friends and colleagues outside of the church lately and I am moved to speak again on marriage and family values. These are all first hand stories of spouses who have done terrible things to destroy their marriages – marriages that involved children. Children being hurt cuts me deeper than just about anything. It bothers me so bad that I have to shut out the details of these stories and even cut my communication with the parties involved in the divorces back. When the nightly news comes on, which always leads with...

Three Top Ten Lists by: Heather Latham, April 16, 2009 “Truth is a powerful tool,” Rebecca Hagelin says in her book 30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family. “As parents, we have the obligation to step up to the plate and share what we know to be true with our kids. Too many moms and dads seem to be so concerned with image or political correctness that they fail to teach their kids what is noble, just pure, and true.” Hagelin argued at a Conservative Bloggers Briefing that one of the best things parents can do for their...

The dragonflies are simply Obama's changes and the bullfrog in this video is old American values! The hawk at videos end is a spirit that is against Christ!

I find myself desperately clinging to what I believe is our national identity. I began reading "The Reagan Diaries" again. My sons gave it to me for my birthday a couple of years ago, but I never finished it. I long for the wisdom of Reagan. It is interesting to hear him speak about the same problems we face today. Only he believed they were opportunities to teach people about what America was really about. It reminds me that we need to constantly fight against misperceptions and lies about who the United States is.

Schumer also says this in the clip: "I think President Obama has a pretty smart strategy. He is going to talk bipartisanship to the American people. But realizes until the Republican grassroots pushes their people over, if that ever happens, we are not going get change in the House or Senate." So let me get this straight. Obama will "talk bipartisanship" but "change" won't happen until Republicans agree with Democrats. That's bipartisanship? Exit Question: Does Obama's "strategy" of talk apply to world leaders who disagree with him?

Hooking Up & Nothingness by: Heather Latham, April 08, 2009 “No one is sure why it happens, but I heard it has something to do with how you smell. That’s why perfume and deodorant are so popular.” So says 9-year-old Jan about why people fall in love. Howard, age 8, said, “The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, the you should marry them and have kids with them. It’s the right thing to do.” Dr. Joe S. McIlhaney, Jr., MD, quoted Jan and Howard along with five other children—each giving his or her opinions about love—at a Family...

President Barack Obama is filling out his advisory council on faith-based groups without appointing a well-known football coach, who was reportedly invited to the join the panel but drew fire from liberal groups for his opposition to gay marriage. On Monday, the White House said Obama named a diverse group of nine Americans to join the 16 designated when the board to advise his Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Initiative was announced two months ago. However, former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy is not on the list the White House distributed Monday. Dungy’s potential appointment drew flak from liberal groups such...

There are high hopes for my generation, the Millennials, born between 1981 and 2001. We are to be the ones to stop global warming, cure cancer, and solve most of the world's other problems. After all, the Millennials helped elect Barack Obama, who championed hope and change. Once America has weathered the current economic crisis, we Millennials will be called upon to bring the economy into the middle of this century -- to take risks, create jobs, and elevate the nation to the next level of achievement by replacing our retiring entrepreneurs. It's a shame we never learned the solid...

Come What May is the first release from Advent Film Group (AFG), but the production group founded by George Escobar is planning on producing many more movies in the future. Inspired by Sherwood Pictures (creators of FIREPROOF, Facing the Giants, and Flywheel) AFG has constructed its own model for creating great movies for a faith-based audience. "There was a core team of 40 home schooled student from across 16 different states that worked on the movie," he says. With a team at the ready, George and others worked on the script. The central plot is based on a real experience...

Glenn Beck warns about falling for 'Wizard of Oz lie' Talk show dynamo Glenn Beck is warning Americans not to fall for the "Wizard of Oz lie" – the one that says just because a big government voice is large and intimidating it is right. Remember that "once you pull the curtain away you realize that there are only a few people pressing the buttons, and their voices are weak," he writes on his website promoting Friday's "We Surround Them" special program. It airs at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the Fox News Channel. But is there hope yet for...

In the past five years - before our very eyes - we have seen the nearly complete erosion and virtual extinction of conservative policies and programs in US politics. It seems that The United States is increasingly becoming more like a secular socialist State than the Representative Republic of "In God We Trust" that it was founded upon. Our Judean-Christian heritage, morality and values do not dominate our culture and society as they once did. Another reality is that many have never known any other kind of society than what presently exists. Accountability, responsibility and virtue are “hisses and by-words”...

Conservatives Must Step Up to the Plate Jerry McConnell I just read a blog, written by Eric Florack of PajamasMedia.com, in which he details a lot of the mixed feelings on the Republican Party that surfaced at the CPAC conference held last weekend. [...]I believe and understand as they do that conservatism is just about everything a socialist, liberal Democrat is not, such as: Pro-life; Pro-freedom; Pro-USA; Pro-Christian; Pro-Israel; Pro-family; Pro-traditional marriage; Pro-free market capitalism; Pro-war-on-terror and war on Islamofascism and terror in the Middle East and everywhere; Pro-military and Pro providing the necessary equipment to monitor our known enemies...

Great commentary posted over on Fox News by Patrick Dorinson: http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/02/24/dorinson_cowboy_obama/ I have a copy of James Owen's Code of the West that Dorinson refers to framed and hanging in my office. Its a good guide for anyone on how best to deal with and live life. LONG LIVE THE AMERICAN COWBOY!

THE home has been described as "the school of humanity’’ and the family, especially the parents, the first mentors on the ageless values of love, truthfulness, respect for the elderly and other people’s rights, justice, loyalty, service and readiness, and willingness to be of service to others. The essential social function of the family cannot be undermined. For this reason, its inherent right for its unique identity to be acknowledged and recognized must be accorded "adequate cultural, juridical, economic, social, and health protection’’ and sufficient support to "enable freedom of education and the choice of school.’’ The Filipino family, like...

/13/2009 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Two Air Force generals visited a Greenpoint neighborhood elementary school in Brooklyn, N.Y., Feb. 11 during the school's Citizenship Day, as part of school-wide programs to instill pride in America and community service. The generals, Maj. Gen. Darren McDew, director of Air Force Public Affairs, and Brig. Gen. Allyson Solomon, the assistant adjutant general for Air, Maryland National Guard and special assistant to the National Guard Bureau chief, spoke to approximately 200 fourth and fifth graders in the historic Public School 34 building about the importance of serving their community and dedicating themselves to hard...

Even JWT, the largest ad agency in the world, is now saying we are ready for simple pleasures, modest living, an honest cup o' Joe and other thrifty, frugal ways already familiar to many conservatives and heartland Americans.

Don't let it be misunderstood. Those who serve in our nation's military espouse values that confuse the left, confound their purpose, and leave them unable to understand, much less resonate with our service men and women. This week I saw why.

WE SUPPORT OUR TROOPS

In 2002 and 2004, Republicans ran hard on social issues and the courts — and scored victories at every level of politics. In 2006 and 2008, they left those issues off the table, and got walloped. It follows, naturally, that the social issues are to blame for the Republican defeats. At least, that’s the conclusion that a chorus of commentators has reached. They are attempting to persuade Republicans to soften or downplay their party’s social conservatism and hide its social conservatives in order to resume winning elections. About this campaign to sideline the social Right, three things can be said...

Republican core values Smaller Government - Keep the government out of the way of individuals and business and both will be more successful Low Taxes - individuals and families know better where we should spend our money than does the government and lower taxes lead to a stronger economy Strong National Defense - The U.S. Constitution puts national defense in the hands of the federal government and this responsibility should not be taken lightly Personal Responsibility - Just as Government has responsibilities so do individuals and companies to contribute to society positively, obey the law, and avoid dependency on the...

With the first wave of "what should conservatives do next?" essays out of the way, climbing routes up the Cliffs of Insanity have closed for the season while Rodents of Unusual Size plead with their cousins in Congress for bailout money. Those of us who wade through commentary can now follow the example of beachcombing birds, and my own flock still finds good hunting in the tide pools to the right of the Ronald Reagan Memorial Lifeguard Station. For every Newsweek reporter who wondered why there was no "central debate" over abortion in the presidential campaign, thousands of other people...

Joe the Plumber has signed a book deal! His book about his "ideas of American values" will be out on Dec. 1. Do you see this being on your Christmas list - as either a request from Santa, or as a gift?"...he has signed a deal to write “Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream.” PearlGate Publishing, a small publisher in Austin, Tex., announced the book on its Web site, pearlgatepublishing.com."

A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishoners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil." The Rev. Jay Newman said in a letter distributed to parishoners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greensville that they are putting their souls at risk if they take Communion before doing penance for their vote. "Our nation has chosen for its chief executive the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate or to run for...

Now what? The Republican Party -- nationally and in Pennsylvania -- lies in tatters. Having lost the White House to Barack Obama, suffered historic losses in congressional elections, been almost shut out in statewide races and experienced further erosion in the state House, there is no doubt the GOP has hit rock bottom. It is, most significantly, a loss for so-called moderate Republicanism. Party moderates have opined time and again that a more middle-of-the-road presidential candidate could win Pennsylvania. McCain was touted as that candidate. It was a double-digit trouncing.

Mike Huckabee : "We will be back in strength" with "PRINCIPLES that make American People TRUST us" "....The campaign is over and now is the time for governing and leading. The Republican Party must now reassess where it is and where it is going. Our problem is not that our views aren't acceptable, is that many in our party have abandoned the very principles that once drew Americans to trust us. Our party will be back with strength,..." " ".... Politics is not an event but a process. We sometimes lose the events but it never gives us the right...

When Barack Obama takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2009, he will do so in the 30th anniversary year of the founding of the so-called Religious Right. Born in 1979 and midwifed by the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, the Religious Right was a reincarnation of previous religious-social movements that sought moral improvement through legislation and court rulings. Those earlier movements—from abolition (successful) to Prohibition (unsuccessful)—had mixed results. Social movements that relied mainly on political power to enforce a conservative moral code weren't anywhere near as successful as those that focused on changing hearts. The four religious revivals, from...

I'm new here and hoping you can help me. I have a friend who told me that I should take McCain's speech last night to heart . . . that I should be positive, trust my country, and support our new president. Does this advice reflect true conservative values? What should I tell him?