Free Republic

The National Review wants former House speaker Newt Gingrich to call it quits. The GOP presidential candidate has long had an uneasy relationship with the mainstream conservative press in general and National Review in particular, and he will likely dismiss the editorial as “establishment” meddling. The paper’s harsh assessment is likely the tip of the iceberg, however, and Gingrich will be forced to defend his own relevance going forward in the campaign — never a good place for a candidate to be. “[Former Pennsylvania senator Rick] Santorum has won more contests than Gingrich (who has won only one), has more...

The hardest thing in psychiatry is to keep an open mind while sitting with a patient, who might be trying to provoke and manipulate the doctor, day after day, month after month. We want to understand troubled people, but people are complex. Psychiatric diagnoses are just reasonable guesses. Most human beings are much too mixed, much too complicated, and much too interesting to reduce to just a checklist. Obama is the exception. Lots of people talk like narcissists -- when teenagers get grandiose, or when they start to lie to and manipulate their parents, it might be just a phase...

Obamapalooza: LIVE THREAD (Greek Temple Coronation, Fireworks, and 80,000 Fans) Survey Poll: Which feature of tonight's Greek Temple coronation will really jump the shark and send the Obama cult over the top in silliness and grandiosity? The hydraulic elevation of the candidate to the podium , the fireworks and flashpots, the 80,000 hypnotized, screaming fans, or the rock concert soundtrack? About the only things missing will be Hannah Montana, Elvis, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones strutting down the runway with "the One" as the crowd boogies to the groove of Obamamania. When it's over, will the 80,000 faithful pull...

Many of you have heard conservative traditionalists rant about "The Gay Agenda." But no one really knows what that agenda is. Well, I've discovered a copy, and I will summarize it for you: 8am - Protein shake 9am - Work out at the gym 10am - Rape straight men, give pornography to children, bulldoze all churches and destroy the sanctity of marriage (or what's left of it after Fox's "Married By America.") Hey, wait a minute... Some of the most important people in my life are gay men and lesbian women. And I can assure you, being gay does not...

Well, that time has come for me. I’m leaving FR. However, I do not consider this an “opus”, as I am NOT going to use it to rehash old slights or arguments, or to give my personal opinion of what “should be done around here”. As has been so often pointed out, this is Jim Robinson’s site, and he runs it as he sees fit. Rather, all I’m going to do here is give a general reason for my departure, and say a hearty-but-sad “GOODBYE!” to all the folks here who have enriched my life in the past four years....