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With five seats on the State Board of Education up for grabs this year, education advocates say how children learn about evolution hangs in the balance -- and who voters choose could affect Kansas' national reputation. A frequent flip-flop between moderate and conservative majorities on the 10-member board has resulted in the state changing its science standards four times in the past eight years. Conservatives have pushed for standards casting doubt on evolution, and moderates have said intelligent design does not belong in the science classroom. In 2007, a new 6-4 moderate majority removed standards that called evolution into question....

The End of the Secularist Age By Michael Novak An Interview with Michael Novak by Robert Royal RR: The name of your new book is No One Sees God. What do you mean by that title? MN: When I was in high school and, after, in the novitiate, studying for the Holy Cross Fathers, I read a lot of St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. John of the Cross, all of whom wrote movingly of the “dark night” of silence and isolation in prayer often experienced by the seasoned believer. Gone are the sweet consolations of...

The commonly cited case for intelligent design appeals to: (a) the irreducible complexity of (b) some aspects of life. But complex arguments invite complex refutations (valid or otherwise), and the claim that only some aspects of life are irreducibly complex implies that others are not, and so the average person remains unconvinced. Here I use another principle autopoiesis (self-making)-—to show that all aspects of life lie beyond the reach of naturalistic explanations...

NESS CITY, Kan. | Law officers in western Kansas are investigating the bizarre case of a woman they say sat on her boyfriend’s toilet for two years. Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said the boyfriend called his office late last month to report that something was wrong with his girlfriend. The sheriff said the woman’s muscles had atrophied and that medical personnel had to remove her from the toilet because she was bound to it by “natural means.”

You can't fix stupid... ONE I was checking out at the local Wal-Mart with just a few items and the lady behind me put her things on the belt close to mine. I picked up one of those 'dividers' that they keep by the cash register and placed it between our things so they wouldn't get mixed. After the girl had scanned all of my items, she picked up the 'divider', looking it all over for the bar code so she could scan it. Not finding the bar code she said to me, 'Do you know how much this is?'...

I am an American citizen. I was born in South Florida. My parents were Cuban immigrants. I am a conservative. I'm a strong believer in free-market capitalism. I'm a supply-sider. I believe in limited government and in balancing the budget. I am against abortion and gay marriage. I don't believe global warming is real (if the Earth is warming, it has nothing to do with CO2 emissions) but rather something environmentalists invented to get us to de-industrialize. I think crime is out of control. I support stronger enforcement and penalties for violent and property crimes. I strongly support the war...

We live overseas and don't own a TV. We have heard there is a screenwriter's strike. Is that the reason we are not receiving some of our TV shows that we purchased from iTunes, or is it the seasonal shows that are taking the place of regular programming?

After the AFA contacted Loews Home Improvement about some issues with its use of the term Christmas (or lack thereof) Loews responded: "Lowe's has contacted the AFA and assures us that it is proudly committed to selling Christmas trees this year, as it has done for more than 60 years. The company apologized for the confusion created in its 2007 holiday catalog when it headlined the page of Christmas trees "family trees." The error was not caught before the publication was distributed, and Lowe's says it is disappointed in the breakdown in its proofing process. Lowe's assures us that they...

Sometime in the next few days, Barry Bonds will become the all-time home run leader in major league baseball history, surpassing Henry Aaron. He already holds the single season home run record of 73. The Giants slugger has won 7 MVP awards, a major league record. He has the 5th highest career slugging percentage in baseball history, and the 6th highest career on base percentage. For the combination of the two, the SLOB or OPS, Bonds rank 4th for his career. Bonds has the 3rd lowest number of at bats per home run in baseball history. As for single season...

This is the third time I've run across this argument on some moonbat chat board in the last few weeks: The most likely outcome of World War I sans our misguided participation would have been a stalemate with both sides exhausted from 5 years of trench warfare. The rise of Hitler and Mussolini probably would have been precluded. Thus there never would have been a second world war. Playing with counterfactuals is always pointless as no logical conclusion can ever be drawn from them (since, by definition, one of the premises is false). Despite the lack of historical or even...

KOTA BARU: A woman bomoh at Jalan Pantai Cahaya Bulan here has been alleged to dance in the nude with young men as part of her “treatment for patients”. The woman, who is said to be a practitioner of deviant teachings, has been drawing followers through her peculiar style of traditional healing. Her modus operandi was uncovered when a teacher brought his sick wife to the bomoh, who danced in the nude with some of her “kept” men, who were in their 20s and 30s, while treating her. Mokhtar Mohd Noor, 53, alleged that the bomoh first gave his wife...

This is my photo essay of how the Liberal Democrats celebrated Flag Day!

In calm reflection, I believe this video best represents my feeling about the Kyl-Kennedy Senate immigration bill, given that I did read much of it and became familiar with its provisions after Bush's gentle prompting that I, and others, might not have been aware of what the bill actually offers for America. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5SjoT8ci-s

There is a French Bulldog, in Chicago, in need of a ride to Omaha. ASAP. There is a French Bulldog, in Chicago, in need of a ride to Omaha. ASAP. It is being surrendered to one of the Breed Rescue Groups that I volunteer for. He has been allowed to become the Alpha of the house. He has become Over Protective of and Too Possessive of the Lady of the House. They want him to come to a foster home, with a good record of instilling Better Habits and Attitudes. Sue and I, and our Boxer "Taz" should be able...

SURGE TROOPS TO LEAVE VIA SYRIA President Bush announced today that US troops would be leaving the area through the Syrian port of Lattakia. US Marines will secure the port of Lattakia in preparation for the arrival of US armored forces. In addition, the US Air Force has instituted a No-Fly zone for all of Syria until further notice. In a tactic reminiscent of Sherman's March to the Sea, US Central Command issued orders for armored forces to marshall in Northern Iraq in preparation for their exit from the theater via Syria. The US Navy is stationing both aircraft carriers...

Jack Bauer Doesn't Jump - More's the Pity Previously on "24' the show made sense. But Monday night's finale, when we sat through 90 minutes of set-up, waiting for the usual slam bang finish, only to have a touchy-feely episode of "Grey's Anatomy'' break out, was the end. The big finish, with Jack Bauer standing on coast, looking moodily out to sea, was some kind of weird Hallmark card for secret agents. I kept waiting for the cliff to blow up, or a black helicopter to appear on the horizon, but no, it was just our Jack, alone with his...

In what Bill O’Reilly refers to as the “Culture War” between Conservatives and Liberals, there are those on both sides of the fence that stray so far to the left or the right, they actually help the “enemy”. On the left we have Rosie O’Donnell with her anti-American rants which give Conservatives ammunition to shoot back at all liberals by associating them with Rosie. On the right, we Conservatives have our own villains which supply ammunition to the enemy. They are commonly referred to as the religious right...

For some women, the biggest decision of their lives may be whether to abort a pregnancy. The physical and mental ramifications of choosing abortion can cause a lifetime of pain, sorrow, and regret. To balance these perceived ills, the South Carolina legislature is considering a bill that would require women to view ultrasounds of their fetuses before making a final decision. One of the biggest opponents of the measure, Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter (D-SC) told MSNBC, "It suggests that women don't know what they're doing, that they've arrived at this decision quite lightly, and nothing could be further from the truth.”...

Don Imus : Lesson Learned Friday, Apr. 13th, 2007 Don Imus made some very objectionable comments, as everyone on Earth knows at this point. He insulted a group of athletes and offended an entire race of people. But there is something we need to keep in perspective. Don Imus is a human being. Don Imus is not a racist. He has run charities and contributed millions to help others. He is not perfect. And neither is anyone else. Let's be honest about that. Al Sharpton is a sick individual. Don Imus apologized over and over what he said. His apologies...

Must see video of some very angry mothers confronting their Democratic Congressman over the war in Iraq. It's about 9 minutes long but well worth the time. What was that about speaking truth to power? http://granitegrok.com/blog/2007/04/no_fury_like_a_mother_scorned_the_movie.html

Imus in the Morning transcript after an hour of begging, groveling and apologizing. Iman: "...and now here is Charles with the news" Charles: "Thank you, Iman. Today Putin has announced he plans to bomb Washlinton at 3 o'clock today if the U.S. doesn't pull out of Iraq, Bush has said... Iman: (interrupting) "Did I mention that I have been a menber of the NAACP for ten years? Charles: "Yes, I did know that, Iman and it just shows what a good man you are" Iman: "Thank you Charles (sobbing) Charles: "...and now for some more news, Iman, the entire coast...

A Chinese man says his cat can clearly pronounce his own name. Mr Sun, from Beijing, says two-year-old Agui says his name when he gets frightened

It is becoming evident to many -- including me -- that Tony Snow, as White House Press Secretary -- has had to bite his tongue more and more lately because the president will not or cannot defend his administration. At press conferences he is backed into a corner by the snarling mad dog MSM, which knows what blood smells like and knows the president does not fight back on domestic issues. Snow is a fighter and this appears to be eating away at him slowly. I expect his resignation before the fall. This would be a significant loss.

This the most anti-liberal movie I've ever seen in recent memory. In less than two hours 300 directly rejects most of the basic tenets of contemporary American liberalism. For starters, it dismisses the idea.... 1) that self esteem matters more than merit and that all people should be treated as equally capable of all tasks (a handicapped man is treated politely by the King but immediately rejected as unsuitable for military service) 2) that sentimentality matters more than reality 3) that peace is a higher virtue than violence in the defense of core ideals 2) that all cultures are created...

The ABC News bash Presidint Bush morons. They just can't help themselves. They take every cheap shot theat the can. Under top healines on the right side of the page. 7th Victim Dies in Tragic Ohio Team Bush Crash They just can't help but take every cheap shot that they can. How sad these little people really are.

OK. We've got the media frenzy over Barack Hussein Obama a.k.a. "B.O.". We've got the New Mexico roadrunner "B.R." Bill Richardson. Then we've got Hillary Rodham Clinton. What kind of a "B" is she? I need some creativity here!

The Wall Street Journal has a most excellent editorial (reg required) on the war against Wal-Mart. It was so detailed and so intriguing I pulled out the old MindManager and slapped this together: click here

A mushroom erupted through the Quality Hill District today, damaging several downtown businesses, roads, gas and water conduits. No one was hurt. Mycologists deployed by the city's Office of Emergency Management have identified the mushroom as neither poisonous nor hallucinogenic, and have begun to coordinate a citywide cleanup operation. Eyewitness Ken Summer, a medic at St. Mark's Southland Hospital, described the mushroom's sudden appearance: "I watched as the ivory column grew and changed color. Then the sun disappeared and I couldn't see anything in the dark. There was a strange smell, delicate and musky. I pinched my nose, but I...

LONDON (AFP) - A suspect was slammed in the cells after he broke wind in a British court then burst out laughing about it. Joseph Wildy let rip and refused to apologise after he had a fit of the giggles with his co-defendants on Tuesday. However, magistrate Simon Bridge, sitting in Blackpool, on the northwest coast of England, was not amused by his interruption. He found Wildy in contempt of court and ordered him to be locked up. After cooling off in the cells, Wildy returned to court 90 minutes later and apologised to Bridge. "He was laughing in court,...

In the beginning an all-powerful diety created the universe in six days and then rested. Or perhaps everything started with a Big Bang followed by billions of years of evolution. Whatever explains the existence of life on Earth get prepared for what UC Berkeley calls Life 2.0. That's how the university recently described synthetic biology -- a field that seeks to recombine the basic building blocks of life -- genes, proteins and cells -- in Lego-like fashion to create novel and useful entities. A press release from Berkeley's College of Letters and Sciences quotes Professor Jay Keasling, a leader in...

Sybil returns to 'Fawlty Towers' Fawlty Towers star Prunella Scales is to star at the re-opening of the Torquay hotel which inspired the legendary series. Scales, who played the long-suffering Sybil, is set to arrive in a replica of the Austin 1100 famously thrashed with a branch by her screen husband Basil. The event on 18 September is to mark a refurbishment of the Hotel Gleneagles. It will be the first time Scales has visited the hotel - which is a local landmark because of Fawlty Towers. It is the spiritual home of Fawlty Towers Hotel co-owner Brian Shone Hotel...

What are Darwinists so afraid of? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: July 27, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Jonathan Witt © 2006 As a doctoral student at the University of Kansas in the '90s, I found that my professors came in all stripes, and that lazy ideas didn't get off easy. If some professor wanted to preach the virtues of communism after it had failed miserably in the Soviet Union, he was free to do so, but students were also free to hear from other professors who critically analyzed that position. Conversely, students who believed capitalism and democracy were the great engines of...

This thread has absolutely no politcal value and contributes zip to the various locations of unrest around the world ... but it make s a great diversion from work for 2 minutes and 4 seconds! "Click Here"

Ten years ago, an international team of scientists reported evidence, in a controversial cover story in the journal Nature, that life on Earth began more than 3.8 billion years ago—400 million years earlier than previously thought. A UCLA professor who was not part of that team and two of the original authors will report in late July that the evidence is stronger than ever. Craig E. Manning, lead author of the new study and a professor of geology and geochemistry in the UCLA Department of Earth and Space Sciences, painstakingly mapped an area on Akilia Island in West Greenland where...

An interview by Jamie Glazov with Larry Arnhart, a professor of political science at Northern Illinois University, about his new book Darwinian Conservatism. Glazov: Larry Arnhart, thanks for taking the time out to talk about your new book. Arnhart: It’s a pleasure. Thank you for inviting me. Glazov: Tell us briefly what your book is about and your main argument. Arnhart: I am trying to persuade conservatives that they need Charles Darwin. Conservatives need to see that a Darwinian science of human nature supports their realist view of human imperfectability, and it refutes the utopian view of the Left that...

With dreams of establishing his own Bush-like Presidential dynasty, Rhode Island Congressman Kenneth Gurwitch tried everything to get his 10-yearold son interested in politics. "I took Matt to Congress with me," he said. "I watched the national news with him every night, pointing out the people with whom I worked. I even got Matt a personal tour of the White House." But nothing Gurwitch did succeeded in interesting his son in his father's line of work. "Quite honestly, the only thing that excites Matt is watching his favorite TV show, SpongeBob SquarePants. In desperation, Gurwitch decided to try something more...

Are you really a good, conscientious driver, or are your driving habits the behind-the-wheel equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard to everyone else on the road? A recent survey of 10,000 drivers conducted by Hagerty Insurance, a company that insures collector cars, determined the 10 things that exasperate other drivers the most: 10. You're taking a carefree spin down the road when you notice that the car in front of you has its turn signal on ... and on ... and on. Five or 10 miles later, your left eye twitching, you realize the other driver is clueless to the...

Now that Keith Olbermann has banned personal responses to viewer email, it's becoming much more fun for us to dig through the Outlook archives provided to us to find only the most entertaining nuggets. Keith's viewer-cum-sexual partner "KarmaBites1" returns to her Blogger account to reveal the Counterdowner's thoughts on Sienna Miller ("her IQ is about 7") and why men (specifically actors) cheat. It's all yours, after the jump. From: Keith.Olbermann@MSNBC.COM To: Cc: Bcc: Subject: RE: RE #1 Story (Jude Law's nanny) Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2005 12:29 AM Well, I probably should've said she was a nitwit (if you didn't...

Defenders of the popular columnist and constitutional scholar Anne Coulter have recently dismissed charges of plagiarism put up against the brilliant author by reactionary activists. But can these charges be dismissed without further examination? In one striking bit of evidence, her detractors point out that her description of liberals as “confused cone-heads wallowing in their own fecklessness”, bears a striking resemblance to accusations made on Freerepublic.com that liberals are “fraudulent elitists submerged in congealed thinking.” The similarity is haunting. An operative at the Democratic National Committee, who owns a thesaurus, points out that when most persons picture liberals in their...

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Alot of people are harping on the Liberal undertones of the new Superman movie. I see something else. I see conservative values creeping into Hollywood. This Lois is no slut. She has been getting knocked around for being an unwed mother but lets look at the facts of the story. In Superman 2 Lois and Clark get married and have sex while he is human. Lois' memory of those events are wiped clean and Superman leaves (Superman 3&4 never happened). Ok Lois ends up pregnant and the man that made her that way is gone. What does she do? Does...

A few hours after a televised display of saccharine warmth and affection between Barbara Walters and Star Jones Reynolds - who yesterday surprised her "View" colleagues by announcing she's leaving in mid-July - their relationship turned very chilly indeed. Never mind Walters' previous public assurances that Jones Reynolds was welcome to stay on the show as long as she wanted. Yesterday, "The View's" alpha female - the show's co-owner and co-executive producer - told me that she lied "to protect Star" from the damaging news that ABC long ago decided not to renew her contract. "I have always told the...

I am not certain what the legal ramifications would be in changing Free Republic from donations to a subscription service. It seems to me the switch may be detrimental to legal issues such as copyrights. If that is true I'd appreciate if someone could briefly explain that to me. However if that is not the case here is my suggestion: I have been wondering about this for some time now and have not seen any discussions about it. So I would like to ask: Is it time for Free Republic to become an online subscription service? Currently, the site is...

Someone tell me how they do this...(notice the Arabic characters)You may have to do it in Mozilla, it wouldn't load right in IE for me. Also, you have to do the substraction. I tried several times just picking a number and it didn't work...more weird.

Here is a little test that will help you decide. The answer can be found by posing the following question: You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children.Suddenly, an Islamic Terrorist with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife, and charges at you. You are carrying a Glock Cal 40, and you are an expert shot. You have only three seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do? ________________________________________________________ Democrat's Answer: Well, that's not enough information to answer the question!...

RADIO SPOT SCRIPT FOR 6/23 Last week, I brought up the recurring theme of the liberal indoctrination of kids. In some cases, adults persuading children to do their dirty work, which includes breaking the law. It just so happens I’ve got another example for you. Last year, a Lexington, Massachusetts man was arrested when he protested the Estabrook Elementary School's refusal to notify him when adults discussed homosexuality or transgenderism with his son, then in kindergarten. Personally, I have problems with the discussion of any kind of sexuality with kindergarten kids, call me old-fashioned. And to be consistent, high schools...

Well, I've been around here for 8 years or so... I don't think I have ever asked Freepers for help for myself. I have asked for help for a person in distress who is from the UK and was having a crisis in Fresno, CA...Freepers came through. So here is my problem...my 18 year old daughter, who was raised by her mother since our split 8 years ago, announced at her high school graduation last Sunday that she will be attending San Francisco State University. I have spoken with her about it, and the conversation was confrontational and unproductive... Please,...

OK gearheads, specs and photos are better than words: SN65 MustangSN65 Mustang websitehttp://www.allfordmustangs.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/29331/cat/3311