Free Republic

t’s easy to believe that the world is falling apart while watching the news. Before panicking, it may be worth stepping back to get some perspective. Media-driven fear demoralizes us — particularly when we’re young — and engenders terrible political decisions by crippling our ability to do better.... It is understandable and even necessary that the media spotlights today’s conflicts. But this can make us believe that we’re living through unprecedented violence ... The world has, in fact, become much more peaceful... This is of course little consolation to those living in conflict zones. But the emotional tone has dramatically...

ITS GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME , , , On a cheerful note I am rereading a book titled "Its Getting Better All The Time: 100 Greatest Trends Of The Last 100 Years, by Stephen Moore and Julian Simon. Here are a couple of comments from the blurbs: "A refreshing breath of optimism and sanity amidst all the gloom and doom."__John Stossel ABC News ________ "This book is so chock full of good news that it's virtually guaranteed to cheer up even the clinically depressed. Moore and Simon dismantle the doomsday pessimism that's still so commonplace in academia and the...

OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN - The long U.S. effort to stabilize western Iraq, a hotbed of the Sunni Arab insurgency, has reached a turning point with new prospects for success, the top Marine general said Monday. "I think, in that area, we have turned the corner," Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, said in an Associated Press interview as he flew back to Washington after four days in Iraq. His assessment of Anbar province marks a sharp departure from the view that prevailed for much of the past four years, a time of deadly battles with the...

One day this month an immigrant will arrive or, more likely, a baby will be born who will make the United States a nation of 300 million. This demographic milestone has prompted hand-ringing among environmentalists on the left and immigration opponents on the right, all of whom are misguided. Passing the 300 million mark should be cause for celebration: Never in the history of mankind have so many people lived such free and prosperous lives in one country. Anti-immigration activists blame newcomers for driving up the population, when in fact most growth is natural. Since 2000, births have averaged 4.05...

HOUSTON (AP) -- Houston is about to become the biggest school district in the nation to tie teachers' pay to their students' test scores. School Superintendent Abe Saavedra wants to offer teachers as much as $3,000 more per school year if their students improve on state and national tests. The program could eventually grow to as much as $10,000 in merit pay. The school board is set to vote on the plan Thursday. Five of the nine board members have said they support it. "School systems traditionally have been paying the best teacher the same amount as we pay the...

Fulton County donates over 50,000 surplus books BY CANDY WAYLOCK In the early morning hours of Sept. 10, five tractor-trailers loaded with more than 54,0000 surplus Fulton County School System textbooks pulled out of the school system`s College Park Warehouse and headed for the Savannah port. Once there, the books were shipped to Iraq to assist in that country`s efforts to rebuild its shattered education system. The 101st Airborne Division, on assignment in Northern Iraq, will receive the books and distribute them to local schools. While many school buildings are in good physical shape, there are no instruction materials to...