Free Republic

With America clearly in mind, Putin declared, "In many countries today, moral and ethical norms are being reconsidered." "They're now requiring not only the proper acknowledgment of freedom of conscience, political views and private life, but also the mandatory acknowledgment of the equality of good and evil." Translation: While privacy and freedom of thought, religion and speech are cherished rights, to equate traditional marriage and same-sex marriage is to equate good with evil.

The Grinch that defended the Grinch that stole Thanksgiving Yeah, that would be me. I'm the guy in the public defender's office that got the call at 11:30 last night, to come down and represent the Grinch, who had just been arrested on grounds of screwing up Thanksgiving. I told the Grinch to plead not guilty at the speedily arranged arraignment. Since then, I've been feverishly preparing a court brief to argue to the Judge for dismissal. Do I like taking these kinds of cases? Do dogs like getting scratched in the eye by the family cat? No, it has...

Thanksgiving, or National Family History Day as it is now called, is upon us and in all the pomp and joy we often forget that it is the day to give thanks for what you have, particularly when it comes to a family with grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren. Mind you, the first ever Thanksgiving dinner was nearly 400 years ago and between the English Pilgrims and the Native Americans from different tribes in the region, a celebration of life and a pact of peace which was one of the only to survive more than 50 years. After the first...

In our increasingly politically-correct society, Christmas isn’t the only holiday too hot to handle for school districts. Easter, another holiday rooted in Christian faith, is now being marginalized by governmental entities. School districts and cities across America are holding “Spring egg hunts” and similar events, frequently omitting the word “Easter” from calendars and public announcements. Consider these: • On March 16th, Flat Rock Elementary School in Anderson, South Carolina is holding a “Community Egg Hunt.” • West Shore School District will be holding its “PTO Egg Hunt” on March 16th. • New York’s East Meadow Schools will be holding its...

If you're one of the many families that has a Christmas Eve eating tradition please give us your best. Personally my wifes family had one when we got married....Oyster stew and rice with raisins, it was vile! Thankfully I got her off that and for 20 years we've had Super Jumbo Atlantic wild caught Shrimp and Jumbo Stone Crab claws MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM gooooooood. Please post what you'll be having

Christmas Overview Theme: His Nativity Color: White or Gold Mood: Joy Symbols: star, manger, candles, bells, mother and Child, the Holy Family, angels, Christmas candle, 3 wise men, Christmas trees, holly and ivy, poinsettias, Glastonbury thorn, mistletoe, Christmas roses, Yule log, cardinals, robins Length: With regard to liturgical calculations: 25 December - 13 JanuaryAs a spiritual Season/liturgical cycle: 25 December - Candlemas   This, not Advent, is the true Christmas Season. As most people in secular or Protestantized countries are putting away "Christmas-y" things, and as shopping malls stop blaring "Here Comes Santa Claus," Catholics are just getting started. The...

What is everyone's favorite Thanksgiving Recipe and/or Tradition?

"Standing proudly on the side of an English hill, its religious roots go back 2,000 years. But a single night of vandalism has left an ancient site of pilgrimage in splinters. The Holy Thorn Tree of Glastonbury has been chopped down in what is being seen by some as a deliberately anti-Christian act. A feature of the skyline surrounding the Somerset town, the tree has been visited by thousands retracing the steps said to have been taken by Joseph of Arimathea, who some say was Jesus’ great uncle. Legend says it sprang from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, the...

Why Christmas celebrate across the world as major festival? Only 18 days are left for Christmas celebration what is the Catholic belief behind of Christmas Traditions?

MICHELLE OBAMA: "Barack knows that we are going to have to make sacrifices; we are going to have to change our conversation; we're going to have to change our traditions, our history; we're going to have to move into a different place as a nation." (END VIDEO CLIP) Change our traditions and change our history. What did she mean by that? I think we are starting to see it. Changing history means not just telling the same old tall tales of the free market system and the Founders. No, it's the history according to progressives. And it's not merely spinning...

Task Force Pathfinder recently built its very own mudhif to provide a location for meetings with local Iraqi leaders in a comfortable, traditional setting. First constructed in the marshes of what is now southern Iraq more than 5,000 years ago, the mudhif is a unique local meeting place assembled entirely of reeds, straw and other natural materials. Photo by Pfc. Aaron Brooks, 1st Armored Division. COB ADDER — First constructed more than 5,000 years ago in the marshes of what is now southern Iraq, the mudhif is a unique local meeting place assembled entirely of reeds, straw and other natural...

FORT WORTH — A former North Side High School teacher who recently resigned after being caught with a 16-year-old student in a park was arrested Friday night, accused of having sex with the boy. Emily Elizabeth Housley, who turns 29 today, was arrested at her mother’s Saginaw home shortly before 8:30 p.m., police said. Housley, who is married and has two children, was being booked into jail Friday night, police said. She faces a charge of sexual assault of a child.

We spend so much time saving a few bucks on Black Friday. Maybe we should be just as diligent to spent time saving dollars in other dealings in our lives.

Father for Priests Matthew 23:1-12  [1] Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, [2] saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. [3] Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. [4] They tie up heavy burdens (hard to carry) and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. [5] All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels....

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Dec. 20, 2007 – As the holiday season approaches, many soldiers would like more than anything to receive just one simple present. Army 1st Lt. Adam Samiof, executive officer for Headquarters, Headquarters Company, Task Force 12, wears a Santa hat as he helps other Task Force 12 soldiers decorate a tree for the holidays. The tree was donated to them by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Photo by Sgt. Brandon Little, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. It isn’t a video game system, an MP3 player, or a new digital anything -- it’s the chance...

Dear Ellen, Christmas is disgusting. It’s all pagan worship. Even most Christians don’t realize that all their decorations and traditions come from ancient Babylon. Our family doesn’t cave in to all this stuff and I tell friends at church they shouldn’t either. Signed, Ms. Christian Grinch Dear Ms. Grinch, By saying “all this stuff,” I assume we’re talking Christmas trees, mistletoe, hasty pudding, Yule logs, etc.? I grant that Christmas choices are a matter of personal conscience. I had a similar e-mail conversation with another Christian killjoy last month so I retrieve and relate to you my comments to him....

Brightly wrapped packages, eggnog, turkey with all the trimmings, and gathering with family and friends. We all do things during the holiday season that we have come to look at as our own traditions. But how did some Christmas traditions come to be? http://www.socyberty.com/Holidays/Christmas-Traditions-and-Where-They-Began.63403

Look through the photo albums of any family in America--or on their walls or fireplace mantels. In many cases, you'll find a picture of a young Soldier mixed in with other cherished images. A young man with wide eyes and determined face (and freshly shorn head) of someone in the midst of Basic Training. A young woman standing or sitting in front of the American flag, shoulders square in her union. A just-married man in dress blues, taking his first steps with his bride under the proud protection of sabers upheld by friends-at-arms. My eyes rest on a picture of...

ROME (Reuters) - A decree this month by Pope Benedict allowing wider use of the old Latin mass has spawned a veritable cottage industry in helping Roman Catholic priests learn how to celebrate the centuries-old rite. A Web site, helpline, DVDs and a training course at Oxford are among resources springing up for priests who want to celebrate the old-style mass but aren't sure which vestments to wear or where to get them, when to genuflect, how deep to bow, or how to clasp their hands in prayer. "There will be priests who will say: 'Oh my God, I want...

With their love of tradition and their formal dress code (no shorts even for children, and covered heads for women), the members of Mater Ecclesiae Church in Berlin Township can seem a tight-laced congregation of Roman Catholics. But on Sunday they were ringing bells, popping corks and slicing cake, and - mirabile visu! - some were even smoking cigars. Mirabile visu? Isn't that Latin? Graceful, dignified, formal and obscure, Latin is the language of choice at Mater Ecclesiae, one of the only Catholic churches in the nation where all the liturgies are conducted according to the centuries-old Tridentine rite. Its...