Free Republic

Ferguson is not just about systemic racism—it's about class warfare, and how America's poor are held back Will the recent rioting in Ferguson, Missouri, be a tipping point in the struggle against racial injustice . . . By focusing on just the racial aspect, the discussion becomes about whether Michael Brown’s death—or that of the other three unarmed black men who were killed by police in the U.S. within that month—is about discrimination or about police justification. Then we’ll argue about whether there isn’t just as much black-against-white racism in the U.S. as there is white-against-black. (Yes, there is. But,...

According to Yahoo answers: The dogs may bark but the caravan moves on. First, know that a dog in Persia is not an animal held in high esteem. It means that the lowly may criticize and complain, but that doesn't stop the flow of events as determined by those of worth.

Watching sex scenes in Hollywood films can make children more promiscuous and sexually active from a younger age, a new study has suggested. Psychologists concluded that teenagers exposed to more sex on screen in popular films are likely to have sexual relations with more people and without using condoms. The study, based on nearly 700 popular films, found that watching love scenes could "fundamentally influence" a teenager's personality . . . Dr O'Hara added: “These movies appear to fundamentally influence their personality through changes in sensation-seeking, which has far-reaching implications for all of their risk-taking behaviours.” A previous survey of...

Daddy, are you mad at me? Those were the first words out of the mouth of a scared little girl to her father when he was released this week after being charged with possession of a firearm because of a picture she drew at school of a man holding a gun - which turned out to be a toy. . . "The kids were scared," said Thaler. "It is a four-year-old that we're taking the information from, but the fact is that this disclosure was very descriptive and very alarming to the officers investigating this." It was a typical day...

(Reuters) - Will the baby boomers be the only generation to retire with 401(k) plans? It could happen. Last week many of the nation's biggest thinkers on retirement got together in a Senate hearing room to discuss the future of pensions and retirement. There were representatives of unions, employers, financial services providers, government agencies and consumer groups. And the only thing they all seemed to agree on was this: The 401(k) plan has been sort of a failure. Those are strong words, and probably overstate the case. Current and future retirees now have some $4.3 trillion for retirement that wouldn't...

A friend of mine watches the History Channel, because that's true information. Apparently she's seen a program twice about how global warming is causing the ice to melt and the additional weight of the water is increasing the likelihood of earthquakes. Danger, Will Robinson, danger!!!

For Portland bicycle commuters hoping that TriMet would build a “sonic bike path” connecting to the nation’s largest car-free bridge, Thursday was the day the music died. The idea was for an intricate sequence of concrete grooves on the path that would play Simon and Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)” when bicycle tires rolled over them. . . . Citing concerns about cost, safety and design, the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail project’s art advisory committee told TriMet and Portland’s Bicycle Advisory Committee today that it has voted to ditch the proposal.

Juvenile Department Director Tim Loewen and Detention Center Director Scott Paasch explained that youths are held pre-trial only when a judge feels they constitute a flight risk or pose a danger to themselves or others. By virtue of being in the detention center, they argued, the youths present a danger that needs to be rectified by handcuffing them while they interact with the public in the hallways. Lawrence said such precautions should be applied far more selectively. She said shackling juveniles can prove psychologically damaging, making youthful offenders feel like hardened criminals or kindling repressed memories of abuse.

Author Joe Wheeler, historian and scholar, brings to the pages of this insightful book the knowledge gleaned from over ten years of study and more than sixty books on the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. Skillfully weaving his own narrative with direct quotes from Lincoln and poignant excerpts from other Lincoln biographers, Wheeler brings a refreshingly friendly rendition of Lincoln's life, faith, and courage.

To Whom it May Concern – I recently received a copy of a letter from a friend that was addressed to me in as much as I consider myself to be a Liberal, a Leftist, a Social Progressive, and a supporter of Barack Obama. The letter is supposedly from a fellow named John J. Wall and since I fit 4 out of 6 of the group types John wanted to address I felt I should read his letter. Having read his letter, which I have included below for you, I felt I should respond. If you have a reaction to...

A study of car safety released on Wednesday shows that four of the top-scoring automobiles in tests of five new models were small cars or so-called super-minis — including the Honda Jazz, Hyundai i20, Kia Soul and Peugeot 3008. . . Seats installed in the Kia Soul, for example, “achieved a good result in the program’s whiplash testing, again revealing that it is not only larger or expensive cars that achieve impressive results in safety.” . . . It said the Honda Jazz and Hyundai i20 racked up “impressive pedestrian scores”

I heard on Laura Ingraham today that it's proposed that the "savings" involved in mortgage and charitable tax deductions would be eliminated. Any factual info on that? This is only my second vanity in 10 years (LOL)

Signs of increasing risk along the shore are apparent from space. Satellite photos released by NOAA show steady development of coastal lands between Texas and North Carolina. The space and weather agency lists Hillsborough County among the top 10 areas in the South in the amount of visible new development. A closer look confirms that the trend picked up in the high-altitude photos and is cause for concern. The Hillsborough coast, south of the Alafia River and west of U.S. Highway 41, has grown by 71 percent from 2000 to 2007. The more people who live in zones that must...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hurricane Katrina's victims have put a price tag on their suffering and it is staggering — including one plaintiff seeking the unlikely sum of $3 quadrillion. The total number — $3,014,170,389,176,410 — is the dollar figure so far sought from some 489,000 claims filed against the federal government over damage from the failure of levees and flood walls following the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane. Of the total number of claims, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it has received 247 for at least $1 billion apiece, including the one for $3 quadrillion. "That's the mother...

The Army Corps of Engineers is seeking public comments this evening on environmental justice issues related to the agency's efforts to improve the New Orleans-area levee system to a 100-year level of protection. . . . The meeting will focus on potential effects that construction could have on racial minority and low-income populations.

. . . the most philosophical third-grader in the United States. . . One day after school last February, Wesley fluttered down to her room to ponder one of life's most philosophical questions: "Which has a greater impact on society, compassion or violence?" . . . But what makes Wesley, who soon will start fourth grade at Palisades Elementary in Lake Oswego, so philosophical? "It was just kind of on my mind," Wesley said. "I just thought that since the war was going on and stuff, and we hear about it on the news all the time.

Think about this from another perspective. Nothing seems what it really is. First, civilians and military people are really the same people—citizen and soldier. And not all “soldiers” wear uniforms. Many of our Revolutionary soldiers, for example, came as is. Were they “enemy combatants”? May be to the British. The military is always composed of the nation’s citizens unless they hire soldiers-of-fortune. Civil wars (an oxymoron, I know) are called “civil” because they are composed of civilians and military who take sides in a domestic divide. Sometimes they wear uniforms and sometimes they don’t. This is why the Viet Nam...

Did anyone else see this (I turned it off in disgust). Show opens with chainsaw wielding guys threatening another person whose back is turned to the camera. A lady, dressed in slacks and carrying a small video camera, comes into the scene and says they should quit because she's recording them. They threaten her with the chainsaws and start chasing her demanding that she give them the camera. She is discovered badly beaten and dead underneath a metal sculpture of the earth that was supposedly built for a "we are the world" type expo. Long story short, chainsaw maniacs are...

Kambiz GhaneaBassiri is a Muslim. He has a doctorate in Islamic studies from Harvard University and teaches at Reed College. He has one book to his credit and is halfway through writing his second, a history of Islam in the United States since Colonial times. . . He is smart, articulate, thoughtful and innovative. His dark hair and goatee are perfectly trimmed. He seems born to button-down shirts and khaki slacks. . . Americans often don't realize that Islam, like Christianity, is incredibly diverse in its expressions, he says. Christians across the world don't agree on every social issue, and...

At Beaverton's Westview High School, it'll take a bus to transport all 75 valedictorians to the Class of 2006 graduation ceremony. At Southridge High, the lone valedictorian could get there on a motorcycle. And it's not because Westview has more top-achieving seniors. For the first time, the Beaverton School District is using a new grading system for seniors that gives extra grade points for taking challenging courses. But the district allowed each high school to figure how to apply the new grade system to choosing valedictorians. The result? Wildly different numbers of valedictorians at each school. ------- said Jared Cordon,...