Free Republic

There’s a reason they call it “progressivism” — for years, the main legal question contested in affirmative-action cases, from Bakke to Grutter, was whether the state should be allowed to engage in racial discrimination. In the Michigan affirmative-action case decided today, Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, the question was whether the state should be required to engage in racial discrimination. The progress, then, has followed the Left’s familiar ratchet-effect model, inching its way from “not forbidden” to “compulsory.” Indeed, as the Wall Street Journal put it, the question here was not whether the use of racial discrimination for...

The reports that the Tea Party movement is dead were once again put to the lie as CHQ endorsed first-time candidate businessman Curt Clawson soundly defeated the Republican establishment’s candidates, state Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto and former state Representative Dr. Paige Kreegel, in the Florida Congressional District 19 Special Primary to become the Republican nominee in the upcoming Special Election to replace Congressman Trey Radel. Clawson ran as the self-styled “outsider” and began his campaign by focusing on a Jack Kemp – Ronald Reagan-style pro-growth economic agenda. Clawson also stated his opposition to the current House Republican leadership’s re-election. Benaquisto and...

Unfortunately both J.J. and Don Dunn have passed on.

Navy researchers say they have turned seawater into fuel that could power military vehicles for less than $6 per gallon. The researchers announced this month that the seawater-based fuel successfully powered a remote-controlled model jet with a standard two-stroke internal combustion engine. Carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas extracted from Gulf of Mexico water were converted into liquid hydrocarbon fuel using gas-to-liquid technology. The renewable fuel mirrors its petroleum-based counterpart and could be used in standard military engines. “The potential payoff is the ability to produce JP-5 fuel stock at sea, reducing the logistics tail on fuel delivery with no environmental...

The NASA spacewalk involving Rick Mastracchio and Steve Swanson is scheduled to start today (April 23) at 9:20 a.m. EDT (1:20 p.m. UTC), with coverage starting around 8:30 a.m. EDT (12:30 p.m. UTC). The spacewalk is scheduled to last 2.5 hours. Bear in mind that the times could change as circumstances arise. The computer, also called a multiplexer/demultiplexer (MDM), failed for unknown reasons a couple of weeks ago. While the primary computer is working perfectly and the crew is in no danger, things get more risky if the primary computer also breaks. That’s why NASA worked to get the spacewalkers...

Explanation: From planet Earth, we see this strongly distorted pair of galaxies, cataloged as Arp 81, as they were only about 100 million years after their close encounter. The havoc wreaked by their mutual gravitational interaction during the encounter is detailed in this color composite image showing twisted streams of gas and dust, a chaos of massive star formation, and a tidal tail stretching for 200 thousand light-years or so as it sweeps behind the cosmic wreckage. Also known as NGC 6622 (left) and NGC 6621, the galaxies are roughly equal in size but are destined to merge into one...

Billionaire hedge fund operator and “green” energy magnate Tom Steyer has pledged $100 million in the 2014 election cycle to help Democratic candidates who oppose the Keystone pipeline and who favor “green” energy over fossil fuels. Steyer claims to be a man of principle who has no financial interest in the causes he supports, but acts only for the public good. That is a ridiculous claim: Steyer is the ultimate rent-seeker who depends on government connections to produce subsidies and mandates that make his “green” energy investments profitable. He also is, or was until recently, a major investor in Kinder...

Midland University President Ben Sasse has picked up another big-name conservative endorsement in the Nebraska Senate Republican primary from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). In a statement, Cruz called Sasse the “strongest conservative voice” in the race. “Ben will not be just another vote in the Senate – he will be a leader in the fight to stop the Obama agenda and repeal ObamaCare from day one. We need strong reinforcements like him in the United States Senate,” he said. Cruz will attend a rally for Sasse, along with former Nebraska Gov. Kay Orr, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen....

A new browser plug-in displays all instances of the much-abused adverb as its traditional opposite. It's a figurative blast. My favourite misuse of "literally" came from an august editor at an august publishing house. A debut novel, she declared to a group of journalists, had "literally broken her heart". We all, of course, then made sure to steer well clear. . . . Anyway, Slate has brought music to the ears of grammar sticklers everywhere, pointing us towards an ingenious new browser plug-in which replaces the word "literally" with "figuratively" on articles across the web. ("That's literally all it does,"...

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon rule on the constitutionality of prayer at public meetings. But a new survey finds U.S. voters clearly favor prayer – as long as the public prayer is generic and not specifically Christian. Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind survey asked about attitudes on high profile cases before the court, includingGreece v. Galloway. That case addresses whether elected officials can open public meetings with religiously specific prayers, such as praying in Jesus’ name. A Jew and an atheist brought suit in Greece, N.Y., saying the Christian prayers excluded many citizens and violated the Constitution, which bans government...

As it sought to recruit well-heeled investors, an untested and unprofitable Miami company named InnoVida brought aboard a trusted Florida figure in 2007: Jeb Bush, the former governor and the brother of a sitting president. For potential stockholders, the imprimatur of Mr. Bush, who joined InnoVida as a paid consultant and a member of the board of directors, conferred credibility on the young start-up. That credibility did not last long. It turned out that the leaders of InnoVida, a manufacturer of inexpensive building materials, had faked documents, lied about the health of the business and misappropriated $40 million in company...

President Obama did not attend the funeral of his late aunt Zeituni Onyango. Instead, he went golfing. The New York Times reports: After Zeituni Onyango, the woman President Obama once called Auntie, died in a South Boston nursing home this month, her closest relatives gathered her belongings at her nearby apartment. There, framed photographs of her with the president covered the wall. Weeping before a polished wood coffin at her wake this past Saturday, they described Ms. Onyango, the half sister of the president’s father, as “the spirit of the Obama family” and talked about raising money to send her...

Tea Party candidate Curt Clawson won the Republican primary in the special election seat to replace Rep. Trey Radel, R-Fla., who resigned after pleading guilty for cocaine possession, a victory that the Tea Party Express is claiming as "the movement's first victory of 2014." Clawson received 46 percent of the vote, according to Naples News. “The results tonight were clear, Curt Clawson's Tea Party message of economic growth and fiscal responsibility resonated with the voters of Southwest Florida," said political strategist Sal Russo of the Tea Party Express, which was one of the first Tea Party groups to support Clawson....

Julian Huxley, the head of UNESCO in 1947, wrote a book entitled, "UNESCO: Its Purpose and Its Philosophy." His book was a blueprint for a collectivist evolutionary pantheist New World Order that called for a single 'new' spirituality: a mixture of occult Eastern pantheism, Liberal 'pantheistic' Christianity, Gnosticism, international Luciferian Masonry, and other occult traditions. There would be one language, one economy, one religion, and one way of thinking. He believed a global order could be brought about through the universal implementation of Hegel's Dialectic process. Huxley said, "The task before UNESCO...is to help the emergence of a single world...

The world's only 'married' lesbian threesome are expecting their first child. Doll, Kitten and Brynn, from Massachusetts, were joined together in a marriage-style ceremony last August and are expecting a daughter in July. Kitten, 27, is pregnant after undergoing IVF treatment using an anonymous sperm donor, and the trio eventually plan to have three children - one for each of them. The plan at the moment is that Kitten will bear all the children - possibly using her wives' eggs and donated sperm - but they are open to other options, such as adoption. Doll, Kitten and Brynn Young married...

Members of the Sierra Club’s board of directors are driving around in gas-guzzling vehicles, despite the group’s support for the Obama administration’s increased fuel efficiency standards. The Sierra Club strongly supported the Obama administration’s increase in minimum fuel economy standards to 54.4 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2025, but it seems the Club’s top officials don’t practice what they preach. The Sierra Club’s 15-member board of directors own a combined 32 vehicles, less than one-fifth of which are hybrids or electric vehicles. Seven of the 32 vehicles are sports utility vehicles while only six are hybrids and electric cars, according...

Oil production on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota has become so large that it would rank among the top 10 oil producing states in the nation, a tribal leader said Tuesday. Tex Hall, chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes — Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara — said the more than 1,000 wells in the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation produce in excess of 180,000 barrels of oil a day. Compared directly with state production, that puts them among the top 10 oil producers in the nation. “It’s a modern day gold rush. It’s a modern day Deadwood, South Dakota,”...

The world's only 'married' lesbian threesome are expecting their first child. Doll, Kitten and Brynn, from Massachusetts, were joined together in a marriage-style ceremony last August and are expecting a daughter in July. Kitten, 27, is pregnant after undergoing IVF treatment using an anonymous sperm donor, and the trio eventually plan to have three children - one for each of them. The plan at the moment is that Kitten will bear all the children - possibly using her wives' eggs and donated sperm - but they are open to other options, such as adoption. Brynn, 34, says: 'The hope is...

Reinaldo Arenas on Gabo: Gabriel García Márquez: ¿Esbirro o es burro? (Tool or fool?) By Alberto de la Cruz, on April 21, 2014 The following is a translation by Asombra of a text by the highly acclaimed Cuban author Reinaldo Arenas. It was initially written in 1981 in New York City and published in Mexico (Kosmos; 1986) and in Miami (Ediciones Universal; 2001) as part of the book Necesidad de libertad--Grito luego existo. A special thanks to our good friend Zoé Valdés for finding this gem. _____________________ GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ: ¿ESBIRRO O ES bURRO? (Toll or Fool? http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--eHyNjI-4a0/UXc42zoM4lI/AAAAAAAABtA/NyvpwVPHfsM/s1600/reinaldo+arenas.jpg Reinaldo Arenas...

Global military spending dropped by nearly two percent in 2013, led by the United States which dropped it’s spending by 7.8 percent. By contrast, the military industrial complexes in Russia and China are bustling; seeing a 4.8 and 7.4 percent increase, respectively. "For the first time since 2003, Russia spent a larger percentage of it’s Gross Domestic Product on military expenses than the United States… " The U.S. dropped spending from roughly $690 Billion in 2012, to $640 Billion in 2013, shrinking to 3.8 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. The reduction is noted in real terms, which means the...

Deputies arrested a 28-year-old woman April 18 after dispatchers got a frantic 911 call from a man who said he was in his SUV on northbound I-95, and his girlfriend was attacking his genitalia. His son, in the car with several other children, filmed at least part of the attack on his cell phone as deputies found the victim’s car on I-95. Deputies followed it as dispatchers told the victim to pull off on State Road 100, and then stopped the car at a Kangaroo gas station, according to an arrest report. Two deputies spoke separately to the man and...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) waded into the contested Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Nebraska Wednesday, endorsing Midland University President Ben Sasse. "I have gotten to know Ben Sasse, and while Nebraskans have good choices, Ben is the strongest conservative voice running for United States Senate," Cruz said in a statement distributed by Sasse's campaign. "Ben will not be just another vote in the Senate – he will be a leader in the fight to stop the Obama agenda and repeal ObamaCare from day one." Cruz will join Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (R) at...

A couple months ago, I wrote a blog in response to the whirlwind of media attention Miley Cyrus had been receiving. At the time, all kinds of groups were coming out to condemn or condone her sexually explicit behavior both on and off the stage. For me, it was simple: Miley Cyrus, like much of our Western culture, has bought in to a secular humanistic worldview that reduces her worth to that of an animal and so it should not be surprising that she often acts as such.      You see, Cyrus “suppresses the truth� (Rom 1:18) that she...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has publicly acknowledged that ethanol in gasoline can damage internal combustion engines by increasing exhaust temperatures and indirectly causing component failures, the American Motorcyclist Association reports. The EPA statements are found in a rule proposal issued by the Federal Trade Commission regarding a new label for pumps that supply fuel blends high in ethanol. According to the EPA, "[e]thanol impacts motor vehicles in two primary ways. First ... ethanol enleans the [air/fuel] ratio (increases the proportion of oxygen relative to hydrocarbons) which can lead to increased exhaust gas temperatures and potentially increase incremental deterioration of...

The great rotation to value has commenced in the stock market. And it's likely the thing that's needed if this bull market is going to continue. A parallel rotation to value is also occurring politically. And it's likely the thing that's needed if this Republic is going to continue. “Within the broader stock market there was a large rotation, out of growth and into cheap, or ‘value,’ shares,” writes FT.com. “Expensive shares had their worst performance against cheap ones since 2009. The other ‘factor’ popularised by academics Eugene Fama and Kenneth French – momentum – also had a terrible time....

SIMFEROPOL, Crimea — After Russia annexed Crimea practically overnight, the Russian bureaucrats handling passports and residence permits inhabited the building of their Ukrainian predecessors, where Roman Nikolayev now waits daily with a seemingly mundane question. His daughter and granddaughter were newly arrived from Ukraine when they suddenly found themselves in a different country, so he wonders if they can become legal residents. But he cannot get inside to ask because he is No. 4,475 on the waiting list for passports. At most, 200 people are admitted each day from the crowd churning around the tall, rusty iron gate. “They set...

Over the last 44 years Earth Day has often been hijacked by political opportunists and faux scientists, but it is great fun to look back and see just how wrong the original Earth Day environmental experts were about the science and the future:

After 14 years of marriage to Oprah's father Vernon, Barbara Winfrey is being forced out of her marital home by Oprah, leaving her homeless Barbara refused to sign a confidentiality agreement with Oprah 'You say I never talk to you,' Oprah told Barbara in a birthday phone call. 'I'm talking to you now. You have until Monday to get out of MY house' When Oprah threw her Legends' Ball, Vernon and Barbara weren't on the main floor with the A-listers but tucked in a corner on the second floor. 'We weren't allowed to mingle with the celebrities,' says Barbara

First there was Cat Bearding, then Mutt Bombing, now the latest animal craze to hit Instagram is the Purrito! Inspired by Mexican snack, the burrito, the process involves wrapping your pet in a tight tortilla style wrap using a blanket rather than tin foil. The hashtag #purrito has now seen hundreds of Instagram posts with owners branching out into picnic blankets, towels and even socks as their wrap of choice.

A few weeks ago, a Catholic priest caused quite a stir in one of our local diocesan high schools. He spoke the truth about sex. Pause here to sigh, and to wish that our heresies were more interesting.Some of the parents and students objected. They did not say, “The priest presented the truth in a way that made it less likely that the audience would accept it. We are worried that the Church’s teachings did not appear in the best light. We need to do some considerable work right now, lest the students go on to reject what they...

SUDBURY, Ontario,Canadian police were called after people saw a bear blindly walking down a Sudbury, Ontario street with a large white jar stuck to its head. The bear walked down the street blindly and even stumbled into a police cruiser. The police called the Ministry of Natural Resources who sent officials to sedate the bear and cut the jar so the bear's head could be released. The bear had apparently attempted to get the last bit of bird seed out of the jar, got stuck and was not able to pry it off.

It could mean the end of the daily hunt for power cables. Korean researchers have unveiled an experimental wireless recharging system that could top up the mobile of everyone in the office wirelessly. The system can transmit power up to 5 metres, and charge up to 40 phones at a time - and is even powerful enough to power a TV.

The American public has woken up to the folly of trying to end racial discrimination by practicing it, dooming affirmative action to a slow death, and the racialist left is not taking the news very well. That is the only conclusion to draw from the extraordinary dissenting opinion yesterday by Justice Sonia Sotomayor in Schuette v BAMN, the case in which the Court upheld Michigan’s law outlawing racial preferences in state-funded higher education. Sotomayor took the unusual step of reading the dissent aloud from the bench, indicating her vehemence. Justice Sotomayor’s dissent was actually longer than all the other opinions...

The fight over Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s cows grazing illegally on federal land is a symbol of a much larger issue: control of land in western states, where the federal government is dominant

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Unidentified material that washed ashore in southwestern Australia and is being examined for any link to the lost Malaysian plane is unlikely to have come from the jet, an official said Wednesday. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau was scrutinizing photos of the object, which washed ashore 10 kilometers (6 miles) east of Augusta in Western Australia state. But Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the safety bureau, said an initial analysis of the material — which appeared to be sheet metal with rivets — suggested it was not from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. "We do not consider...

The Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue in the United States has released a document, “Ecclesiology and Moral Discernment: Seeking a Unified Moral Witness,” that acknowledges “how differently our two communions structure and exercise authority, not only with respect to moral teaching but all forms of teaching. Our teachings do differ in content, specificity, and detail.” “The absence of an authoritative universal magisterium among the churches of the Anglican Communion marks a signal difference in the structure of teaching authority,” the statement added. “Without such a universal teaching authority it is difficult to state definitively the teaching Anglicans hold on many specific matters,...

Speaker of the House John Boehner, speaking to a group of donors at a Republican Party fundraiser last month, pledged that the House would pass several immigration bills this summer. Several attendees at the fundraiser told the Wall Street Journal’s Laura Meckler that Boehner said he was “hellbent on getting this done this year.” One of Boehner’s House colleagues, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said during a recent trip to Silicon Valley that legislative action this year was “entirely possible,” with the House likely voting this summer on five to seven immigration bills....

Australian officials are hammering out a new agreement put forward by the Malaysian government that will set out critical guidelines in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane. The proposed framework details how Australia will continue to lead search efforts for Flight 370 and governs how parts of the investigation will play out over the coming weeks and months under various scenarios, including if and when components of the aircraft are found. The proposal addresses three main points, said Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau: • Handling of debris: The framework outlines the chain of...

ST. LOUIS • They’ve trounced hundreds of robotics teams at regional and state competitions. And Thursday, about 12,000 students in safety goggles will convene at the Edward Jones Dome and America’s Center for the chance at world champion status.It’s the fourth year in a row that U.S. FIRST — For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology — has held its top competition here, drawing competitors from 38 countries.The matches will be timed and intense. The crowds thick. The stands loud.Through it, thousands of students will demonstrate their knowledge of programming, and electrical and mechanical engineering.For self-proclaimed geeks, it’s a...

...The plaintiffs include Vivendi SA's Capitol Records Inc and UMG Recordings Inc, Sony Corp's Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group Corp and ABKCO Music & Records Inc... ...Federal copyright law does not apply to pre-1972 recordings, but the plaintiffs say New York state law provides copyright protection for such recordings... ..."If we are required to obtain licenses for pre-1972 sound recordings to avoid liability and are unable to secure such licenses, then we may have to remove pre-1972 sound recordings from our service, which could harm our ability to attract and retain users," the company said in a regulatory filing...

Cantor last night launched an attack ad against Brat, mocking his profession and accusing his challenger of helping former Governor Tim Kaine (D) propose a significant tax increase on the Virginia citizens. First, here is a look at the ad: In addition to the ad, the Cantor campaign unveiled a website designed to paint Brat as a liberal college professor not the conservative crusader he claims to be. The attack line is not a new one from Cantor. His team sent out a fundraising e-mail shortly after Brat announced describing him as a liberal and tying him to Kaine. However...

Polls indicate that Republicans may win a majority in the U. S. Senate on November 4. While that would be a very positive event, the de-throning of Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid may trigger an attempt to pass amnesty for illegal aliens. Here’s the story. The number one goal of the Democrats in Congress is to grant amnesty to those who have entered the country illegally. It is fair to say that the Democrats lust after amnesty. And they lust after amnesty because if it is passed, it will create twenty million new Democratic voters and insure liberal Democratic rule...

John Paul II will be canonized Sunday on the Feast of Divine Mercy. While the date chosen is of little surprise, the fullness of how fitting it really is can be easily overlooked. A survey of his biography reveals that Divine Mercy was something of a spiritual touchstone to which he returned again and again throughout his life.

Fairfax County residents should take note of the serious challenge being mounted by David Brat, an Economics professor at Randolph-Macon College, against incumbent and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor for the Republican nomination in Virginia’s 7th Congressional District, which stretches northwest from Richmond across multiple counties to Page and Rappahannock Counties. Fairfax County residents should rightly focus on party primaries in the 8th, 10th, and 11th Congressional Districts this spring. But the outcome of the Brat vs. Cantor primary will influence the direction of national policies directly affecting county residents. These national policies include: •Comprehensive immigration reform involving amnesty for...

Ask any metal fan in India for the one moment that changed the country’s music landscape and they will all point you to Iron Maiden’s first show in Bangalore, in 2007. The British heavy metal band played to an audience of 40,000 screaming, teary fans... ...In the early 90s, the first of India’s homegrown IT companies began setting up shop in Bangalore, drawing a huge influx of young IT professionals from across the country, often fresh from their college engineering degrees... The result was a multicultural, open-minded city where alcohol was cheap and the offbeat was not just accepted but...

Eric Cantor has never been closer to wielding the speaker's gavel, but he may want to keep an eye over his right shoulder. As speculation heats up about whether Speaker John Boehner will return in 2015, Cantor is in the midst of a kind of shadow job interview with House conservatives, and it isn't going all that well. Cantor recently enraged many Republicans by sneaking a Medicare bill through the House by voice vote. Days later, a provision in the bill that expanded Obamacare coverage became public, prompting high-profile scrutiny from the Drudge Report. Making matters worse, Boehner had been...

<p>The Bundy case in Nevada provides many insights into the state of our nation with respect to the relationship between the people and the government.</p> <p>The Bundys appear to be honorable American citizens without adequate legal counsel to help resolve a federal land issue about which they disagree with the Bureau of Land Management. Without question, they violated some of the innumerable laws and regulations that continue to entangle every aspect of American life.</p>

After the masses departed and the smoke cleared, workers descended Monday on Golden Gate Park to bag up and truck away all that was left behind by those who celebrated the pot holiday of 4/20 - an annual event that again tested the patience of some residents and city leaders. While thousands enjoyed Sunday's informal smoke-out, police arrested 11 people around Sharon Meadow, and paramedics tended to four others. Traffic in the area was jammed all day. And officials estimated the cleanup cost would exceed last year's tab.