Free Republic

This week, President Obama called for the hiring of 10,000 new teachers to beef up math and science achievement. Meanwhile,...public school employment has grown 10 times faster than enrollment for 40 years (see chart), while achievement at the end of high school has stagnated in math and declined in science (see other chart).

The recent attack on Fox News by President Obama In an interview published in Rolling Stone magazine is troubling to say the least for several reasons. Obama: “[Laughs] Look, as president, I swore to uphold the Constitution, and part of that Constitution is a free press. We’ve got a tradition in this country of a press that oftentimes is opinionated. The golden age of an objective press was a pretty narrow span of time in our history. Before that, you had folks like Hearst who used their newspapers very intentionally to promote their viewpoints. I think Fox is part...

Christine O'Donnell has denied that she created the LinkedIn profile that said she went to Oxford. Now the DNC is circulating another online resume for her making the same claim, this one with a "user verified" tag. The resume isn't a carbon copy of the LinkedIn profile, but it does give her a "Certificate , Post Modernism in the New Millennium, University of Oxford." Snarks DNC national press secretary Hari Sevugan: "Apparently they don't teach Google at the Fake Oxford University."

Barack Obama’s Science Czar John Holdren has refused to answer questions time and time again regarding his previous works and writings. Once again, Holdren ran from CNS News Reporter (and one of our coworkers) Nicholas Ballasy when confronted and told him to get out of his elevator. Ballasy reports: John P. Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said “have a nice day” and otherwise declined to comment on Tuesday when asked about a statement he made that worldwide redistribution of wealth is “absolutely essential” in order to provide all human beings with a decent...

Tea Party Kids' Coloring Book Prompts Threats for Publisher (NewsCore) - The publisher behind a coloring book for children that espouses the beliefs of the Tea Party says he has received death threats over its publication, CBS reported Tuesday.*snip* Critics have questioned whether the books should be aimed at children, according to KSDK, with passages in the book labeled as over-political."When taxes are too high, the high tax takes away jobs and freedom," one passage reads."In 1773 we had a Tea Party and this led to freedom from high taxes. Today we are having another Tea Party and this will...

The president of the Ohio Valley Black Caucus leveled racial discrimination complaints against the Sunset Boulevard Rite Aid Pharmacy and called for African-Americans to stop using the store's pharmacy.

Key Senate Democrats and Republicans indicated Wednesday that they agree with President Barack Obama's call to tackle energy and climate legislation "in chunks" come 2011. From John Kerry to Lamar Alexander, the reaction on Capitol Hill to the president's remarks in a Rolling Stone magazine interview suggest there's room for compromise on energy and environmental issues when Congress returns next year. The senators said a lesson learned after the last two years of debate is Congress won't have much luck trying to tackle global warming in the same sweeping fashion tried over Obama's first two years in office. "I don't...

The insurance giant's decision affects 1,200 Colorado firms and 5,200 insured people. Aetna will stop selling new health insurance to small groups in Colorado and move companies that are existing clients off the plan in the next year, affecting 1,200 companies and 5,200 employees and their dependents. The state Division of Insurance confirmed Aetna's plans, although the insurance giant said it was not planning to notify policyholders until Friday. The Aetna move comes on the heels of major price hikes by Aetna and other health insurers in Colorado, as companies file with the state for rate-increase approvals. Health-insurance companies across...

Featured Term (selected at random):CLERICS OF THE PONTIFICAL CHAPEL A new office created in 1968 by Pope Paul VI out of the former Secret Chaplains of Honor, Pontifical Chaplains, and other offices. Their function is to assist the Holy Father under the guidance of the Pontifical Ceremoneers (Cerimonieri Pontifici). All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission

A most unwelcome visitor... Brietbart reported that a computer virus dubbed the world's "first cyber superweapon" by experts and which may have been designed to attack Iran's nuclear facilities has found a new target... that being China. The Stuxnet computer worm has wreaked havoc in China, infecting millions of computers around the country, state media reported this week. Stuxnet is feared by experts around the globe as it can break into computers that control machinery at the heart of industry, allowing an attacker to assume control of critical systems like pumps, motors, alarms and valves. It could, technically, make factory...

Obama Admin Targets Pro-Lifers in FBI Training Forum With Pro-Abortion Orgs Washington, DC -- Documents LifeNews.com obtained today reveal the Obama administration partnered with leading pro-abortion organizations to host an FBI training seminar in August with the sole focus of declaring as "violent" the free speech activities of pro-life Americans. http://LifeNews.com/nat6740.html

A month ago, a large rally was held in Washington, DC, in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It was led by Glenn Beck who is one of the principal faces of the Murdoch owned FoxNews channel which is essentially the voice of the extreme neoconservative branch of the Republican Party. Beck was supported by Sarah Palin and her self-serving jingoistic rants. Beck’s strident rhetoric was of ‘America the Messiah,’ coming fittingly from a Catholic converted to Mormonism. With religious fervour, Beck proclaimed: “Something beyond imagination is happening…America today begins to turn back to God.” Some observers have claimed that this...

Tonight—on the same day that President Obama endorsed his rally—Jon Stewart came out swinging with his strongest anti-Obama Daily Show segment to date. Inside, video of the unexpected segment, during which Stewart basically called Obama a dishonest idealist.

San Bernardino County prosecutors have dropped charges against a man charged with kidnapping a 3-year-old boy after the suspect was shot to death in Mexico. Liberato Vega and another man were accused of taking the child during a home-invasion robbery last year in unincorporated south San Bernardino. The boy was later found in Mexicali, Mexico. Vega, who’s 31, was shot 16 times during a January gun battle with Mexican federal police that authorities say may have been drug-related. County prosecutor Bob Bulloch said it was difficult to confirm the death and the case wasn’t dropped until Sept. 8.

Is it reasonable to just stand and wait for the unexpected, the unknown, and possibly the unacceptable to happen, if it happens at all? Is it prudent to wait for the Lord to see you through when millions have died over a period of two thousand and seven years, hundreds of thousands within the last year – just waiting? Is it reasonable to trust someone you can’t see and don’t really know? Human nature suggests that it is in fact, unreasonable! Human nature suggests that when you’ve done all you can you don’t stand, you blame someone else. Human nature...

They might not be dangerous, but they're armed. Seeking an added layer of protection, more high-profile celebrities are seeking permits to carry guns in New York City, according to New York's Daily News. Among the big names licensed to pack heat: Marc Anthony, Robert De Niro, Donald Trump, and his son, Donald Jr., Mets third baseman David Wright, and Martha Stewart's daughter, radio host Alexis Stewart. Anthony, 42, has a special permit that allows him to carry a loaded weapon in the city, and has a similar permit for Nassau County, where he and Jennifer Lopez have a $2 million...

Jerome: The Principal Works of St. JeromeTable of Contents Title Page.Title Page.Translator's Preface.Prolegomena to Jerome. Introductory.Contemporary History.Life of Jerome.The Writings of Jerome.Estimate of the Scope and Value of Jerome's Writings.Character and Influence of Jerome.Chronological Tables of the Life and Times of St. Jerome A.D. 345-420. The Letters of St. Jerome. To Innocent.To Theodosius and the Rest of the Anchorites.To Rufinus the Monk.To Florentius.To Florentius.To Julian, a Deacon of Antioch.To Chromatius, Jovinus, and Eusebius.To Niceas, Sub-Deacon of Aquileia.To Chrysogonus, a Monk of Aquileia.To Paul, an Old Man of Concordia.To the Virgins of Æmona.To Antony, Monk.To Castorina, His Maternal Aunt.To Heliodorus, Monk.To...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The independent panel that oversees the U.S. Postal Service has denied the agency's request to increase the cost of mailing a letter by 2 cents - to 46 cents. The Postal Regulatory Commission announced its decision rejecting the requested price hike at a news conference Thursday. In July, the Postal Service proposed raising first-class postage from 44 cents to 46 cents as part of a strategy for dealing with a worsening financial crisis. The Postal Service lost $3.8 billion last year, and the agency has been seeking other rate increases as well, including higher fees for periodicals,...

Popular culture is in full-scale attack mode on the Tea Party I’m figuring they are very afraid of something. The Tea Party movement has caught the emotion and passion of America and network TV shows feel they have to fight back. This is quite odd. We have a new season of TV shows being unveiled by the networks and many of them feel like it’s important for them to attack those with conservative Constitutional values.

Several months ago I wrote an article about the FDA’s move to regulate salt content in food in order to wean Americans from consuming unhealthy amounts of the substance. My overall point was clear – the FDA has no constitutional authority to regulate food choices despite their seemingly kindhearted attempt to help Americans. However, I received mixed feedback from that article. Some people surprisingly did not mind Big Brother stepping in and regulating their choices. To them, this was all much ado about nothing. I pose this question to that response: Is your freedom that cheap? Our Founding Fathers knew...