Free Republic

Charlie Crist, the Republican-turned-Democrat running to reclaim the governorship of Florida, said that he doesn’t think the Affordable Care Act has “irreparably harmed” Floridians, and, in fact, “I think it’s been great.” Crist called health care a “civil right,” saying, “People need to have shelter, they need food, they need water, they need health care, and they deserve it.” When CNN’s Candy Crowley asked him about those who have undoubtedly lost their health care because of Obamacare, Crist said that’s “exactly why we have the Affordable Care Act. Exactly why is to make sure that they don’t lose it in...

The Eucharist as the Living Christby Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.The real crisis of faith in Catholic ranks today is the crisis of disbelief in the Eucharist. The most dramatic reason for this is the same as what happened when Christ first announced that He would give us His Body and Blood to eat and drink as described by St. John. You recall that many people who had until then been devoted to Christ began first to wonder, then to murmur, and finally doubting, left His Company. This has always been so since this mystery of faith was first...

The first Rasmussen Reports look at Colorado’s likely 2014 U.S. Senate race finds that it's a dead heat. A statewide telephone survey of Likely Colorado Voters shows incumbent Democrat Mark Udall with 42% of the vote, while his leading Republican challenger Cory Gardner earns 41%. Five percent (5%) prefer some other candidate in the race, and 13% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) (Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook. The survey of 500 Likely Voters in Colorado was...

Last week, I warned that the next step for Russia after seizing the Crimea over the status of ethnic Russians would take place in the Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia. All it would take, I argued, would be for Moscow to foment unrest in those ethnic-Russian communities, antagonize the governments in both states, and then insist that Russia had to intervene to protect them. More than a quarter of the population in both countries consist of ethnic Russians, while in Ukraine it only came to 18%.Now it looks like Moscow will skip over the unrest pretext and demand the...

Can You Spot the Snipers in These Photos?

Yes, government waste, fraud and abuse are the triplet children of incompetence, greed and unbridled ambition. But these sins of public trust begin and end with dishonesty. And Joseph E. Schmitz has seen a lot of lying by the government to taxpayers in his lengthy legal career. Schmitz, who served as inspector general of the U.S. Department of Defense from 2002-05, in an interview with Watchdog.org said, “no political party has a monopoly on waste, fraud and abuse and corruption.” But he said he has seen some troubling patterns of deceit in the Obama administration. Exhibit A, according to the...

The church served as a school when there was no school in the area 30 years ago. Now villagers use it as a hayloft and expect officials to start restoration. DHA Photo A historical structure in the eastern province of Van, which once was an Armenian church, has been converted into a hayloft after serving as a school for some time. Villagers fill the former church in the Korlu village of the Çatak district, 30 kilometers from Van, with hay, grass, cowpat and wood, but they have personally appealed to authorities to renovate it. Considering the villagers’ request, Van Culture...

....Al Sharpton has led a group of several hundred people on a march to the state Capitol to protest Florida's "stand your ground" law. Among the people who joined them Monday were Trayvon Martin's father and the family of Marissa Alexander, who was sentenced to 20 years for firing a gun near her estranged husband.

Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Iranian Middleman Asked Thai Agent to Book Tickets on Stolen Passports By Gianluca Mezzofiore March 10, 2014 12:24 PM While the search for the missing Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines flight continues, the mystery surrounding the two passengers who used stolen passports to board flight MH370 intensifies. The Financial Times exclusively reported that the Thai travel agency that booked the tickets for the men had been asked to by an Iranian middleman. It is fairly common for fraudulent documents to be used on regional flights for illegal immigration or drug smuggling but the fact that the aircraft...

During a filibuster-style radio interview in Milwaukee Friday, senior Republican Congressman James Sensenbrenner (Wisconsin) charged that the State of Texas as a whole had a tendency to discriminate against minority voters and should be placed back under Holder Justice Department supervision thanks to his proposed legislation. After the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision to strike down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act—a policy that held a number of southern states like Texas and other jurisdictions structurally discriminatory toward minorities until proven otherwise—Rep. Sensenbrenner vowed to revive the law. When pressed to justify his desire to again empower the Justice...

The nation seems to be passing through a period in which too many U.S. Senators have been elected without so much as a high school level understanding of what drives the Earth’s climate and it isn’t the 0.038% of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. On Monday, March 10, some twenty of them will stay up overnight on the Senate floor, according to The Hill, “to bring attention to the impacts of climate change.” You don’t get more idiotic than that. Climate, measured in decades and centuries, is always in a state of change. Meanwhile, the weather anywhere in the...

Five men accused of torturing and murdering three Christian missionaries in 2007 have been recently released on the condition of wearing electronic bracelets, a Turkish court has ruled, after the suspects’ time in detention while on trial exceeded the new legal limits. Five suspects: Emre Günaydın, Cuma Özdemir, Hamit Çeker, Salih Gürler and Abuzer Yıldırım, walked free from their high-security prison in Malatya on March 7. German missionary Tilman Ekkehart Geske and Turkish converts Necati Aydın and Uğur Yüksel had their throats slit at the Zirve Publishing House in April 2007 in the eastern province of Malatya after being tied...

Transformers are the most vulnerable components in the power grid and they are under attack. The main components in our power grid distribution system are transformers. They step up the generated voltage to a higher level for more efficient transport over very long lines. Then they step the voltage back down in several stages for final consumption. These transformers are located at the power plants and thousands of substations. They are big and right out in the open. Weather does not bother them, but bullets do. They are the weak links in our power grid. Last year someone decided to...

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday proposed Andrew Schapiro as the new ambassador to the Czech Republic.... Like the present ambassador to Prague, Norman Eisen, Schapiro stands close to Obama. They studied together at the Harvard University ....

General Motors continues to double down on plug-in electric vehicles, now offering the Cadillac ELR, which is a gussied up version of the Chevy Volt at twice the price. The latest Cadillac ELR ad has stirred up a lot of debate regarding its pro-American capitalism message as General Motors spent roughly $100,000 for each of the commercials that it ran during the Sochi Olympics. Although the commercial garnered much attention, the heavy ad spending resulted in just 58 of the tax-subsidized (each affluent buyer gets a $7,500 federal tax credit) Cadillac ELRs being sold in February, three months into the...

One of the trends that had been worrying Republicans in tomorrow’s special House election in Florida — the partisan breakdown of absentee ballot returns — has reversed itself and may in fact be on its way to exceeding expectations for the GOP candidate, David Jolly...

"The Middle East Memorial Wall" Unbelievable that I never heard of this !!!!! "The Middle East Memorial Wall" This is incredible! The heart of the American people, represented by a cellular company, who would have ever thought it would be like this and not our own government making this kind of thing happen across the country? Had no idea this was in existence. How many of you have ever seen or heard anything about this beautiful Memorial? God Bless America!!! We can do things like this without the Government getting involved. Please send this on to all your friends especially...

I like what Allen West said; "What I saw missing from CPAC was an understanding that Americans hunger for a particular image. Americans thought Obama possessed it — an image of concerned and caring leadership. It is an image that exemplifies the best of America and reflects the triumph of the indomitable American individual spirit. It does not spring from numbers and detailed calculations. It is conveyed by someone Americans believe they can invite into their homes who cares for them and their future. The image should not be of someone who offers handouts, but if there is no compelling...

And that’s pretty much all I have to say about it. The departure from the land of enchantment and endless sunsets: What not to wear. And how not to wear it: The homecoming: proof that covered is always the better choice. Keep in mind what Josh Earnest (filling in for Jay-Jay who was on vacation too) told us last Friday: White House spokesman Josh Earnest defended President Obama's weekend vacation in Key Largo,  despite the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, arguing Obama would be able to monitor events from Florida. “What the president will be doing this weekend in Florida is...

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives raided EP Armory, in Bakersfield, California Friday, along with owner Chris Cook's home. Details at this point are still very thin, but Cook says that agents indicated that they are looking for "illegal guns." From ABC 23 News: The ATF was not able to provide information on the on-going investigation. Grahm Barlowe with the ATF declined to comment on why the store was targeted or exactly what agents were looking for.Cook said agents told him they were looking for illegal firearms. EP Armory is known mostly for its innovative "80% complete" AR-15...

FreedomWorks activists across Georgia celebrate as the bill moves to the State Senate Washington, DC- FreedomWorks activists across the state of Georgia celebrate this week after the Georgia State House passed a bill that effectively nullifies ObamaCare. The bill, H.B. 707 passed with an overwhelming 115-59 majority and travels now to the State Senate, where a solid Republican majority should be able to pass the bill. The legislation effectively nullifies ObamaCare by stopping state and local officials from assisting in the law’s implementation in any way. This would stop Medicaid expansion in the state, stop the health insurance exchange, and...

Proverb 10 (NKJV) A Wise Son and a Foolish Son01 The proverbs of Solomon: 00 A wise son makes a glad father, 00 But a foolish son is the grief of his mother. 02 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing 00 But righteousness delivers from death. 03 The LORD will not allow the righteous soul to famish, 00 But He casts away the desire of the wicked. 04 He who has a slack hand becomes poor, 00 But the hand of the diligent makes rich. 05 He who gathers in summer is a wise son; 00 He who sleeps in...

When Oak Tree Gun Club owner James Mitchell decided to be the first U.S. seller of the Armatix iP1 smart gun, he opened the flood gates to such widespread animosity from gun owners and 2nd Amendment supporters that it would threaten the continued existence of his store. In October of 2013, the National Shooting Sports Foundation polled 1200 Americans on smart guns and smart gun technology. Seventy four percent said the guns were not reliable, 81% said they would NOT buy a smart gun and 70% said the government should not mandate use of the technology. But the story of...

TMZ, the Hollywood gossip site, couldn’t contain its disgust. And when you watch it, you probably won’t be able to either.“It” is the video of pop sensation Justin Bieber giving a deposition last week after one of his bodyguards was accused of roughing up a photographer. TMZ obtained the four-and-a-half hour video and boiled it down to some of its worst moments, calling it “just unreal.” At some points, Bieber’s comments defy explanation and logic as he fights with the lawyer asking him questions.In fact, one of the videos eventually shows Bieber storming out to take a break after being...

A national union that represents 300,000 low-wage hospitality workers charges in a new report that Obamacare will slam wages, cut hours, limit access to health insurance and worsen the very “income equality” President Obama says he is campaigning to fix. Unite Here warned that due to Obamacare's much higher costs for health insurance than what union workers currently pay, the result will be a pay cut of up to $5 an hour. "If employers follow the incentives in the law, they will push families onto the exchanges to buy coverage. This will force low-wage service industry employees to spend $2.00,...

Call The Rush Limbaugh Show program line between 12 Noon and 3PM Eastern Time at: 1-800-282-2882 E-mail Rush: ElRushbo@eibnet.com Fax Rush at: 212-445-3963 Write a letter to Rush and mail it to: The Rush Limbaugh Show 1270 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 Join This Ping List Now! Click Here To Join this Ping List! Image by Cool Text: Free Logos and Buttons - Create An Image Just Like This

Sony Corporation and Panasonic today announced that they have formulated "Archival Disc", a new standard for professional-use, next-generation optical discs, with the objective of expanding the market for long-term digital data storage. Optical discs have excellent properties to protect themselves against the environment, such as dust-resistance and water-resistance, and can also withstand changes in temperature and humidity when stored.

Asteroid Medley Challenges Naturalistic Origins by Brian Thomas, M.S. * Data from recent spacecraft flybys challenge the prevailing naturalistic perspective on asteroid origins. Secular astronomers assume that natural processes, rather than miracles, created the sun, Earth, planets, and asteroids from ancient, swirling masses of gases, but this new evidence points to something different. Writing in the British science journal Nature, Harvard's Francesca DeMeo and the Paris Observatory's Benoit Carry summarized the latest asteroid puzzles.1 For decades, secularists argued that asteroids somehow formed from merging dust particles in a hot nebula. Thus, where they orbit and what they're made of should...

From Chapter 2, The First Despotic Utopias Men who carry through political revolutions seem to be of two main types, the clerical and the romantic. Lenin (he adopted the pen-name in 1901) was from the first category. Both his parents were Christians. Religion was important to him, in the sense that he hated it. Unlike Marx, who despised it and treated it as marginal, Lenin saw it as a powerful and ubiquitous enemy. He made clear in many writings (his letter to Gorky of 13 January 1913 is a striking example) that he had an intense personal dislike for anything...

Democrats and Republicans alike say the 113th Congress is shaping up to be the worst ever. Veteran lawmakers are used to partisanship and stalemate, but they say Capitol Hill has sunk to a new dysfunctional low. Congress has in some ways already closed for business until after the mid-term election. Any laws made between now and November will be minor. President Obama’s “year of action” has started slowly and could end up as a punchline. Congressional approval ratings have hit all-time lows. The relationships between congressional Republicans and Obama as well as between Democratic and GOP leaders on Capitol Hill...

The Lord bless you, and keep you: The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you: the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give You peace. Numbers 6: 24-26

Featured Term (selected at random:SOTERIOLOGY  That part of Christology which treats of Christ's work of salvation. It covers the study of man's fall in Adam and the sins of mankind, which needed a Savior, the doctrine of grace by which the guilt and consequences of sin are removed, and especially the twofold mystery of Christ as Redeemer and Mediator of the human race. (Etym. Greek sòt_rion, deliverance; from s_t_r, savior; from s_zein, to save; from saos, safe.) All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

The attack on biblical creation in UK schools continues by Phil Robinson Published: 9 March 2014 (GMT+10) CMI have frequently published articles regarding the unbalanced way in which creationism is dealt with at Government level, and in some instances banned in the UK education system.1,2,3,4 Only a few weeks ago, we ran with an article, appealing to End bad science and discrimination in education policies. The attacks are relentless and display a level of aggressive intolerance that is hard to stomach, coming as they do from the self-proclaimed ‘voices of reason’. Four recent news stories from the UK demonstrate the...

With more tax money coming into the state treasury than the state expects to spend, politicians are considering proposals to reduce taxes. One plan would lower the tax rate over time and the other would increase some credits and exemptions. In evaluating the proposals, politicians should care primarily about the influence the proposals will have on state economic growth. The tax policies that influence long-term economic growth are the ones that improve decision-making on the margin. All things being equal, there are some ideas that don't make sense when they're taxed at 29.25 percent (current rates for a middle tax...

The title is "Diversity reaches new levels in Honey Maid ads" Cannot post link here per rules.

Republicans should learn from Pope Francis how to better communicate their message, Rick Santorum, former Pennsylvania senator and 2012 Republican presidential candidate, argued Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Republicans focus too much of their message on attracting business owners rather than workers, attacking President Barack Obama and explaining what they are against rather than what they are for, Santorum claimed. Instead, Santorum urged Republicans to reach out to those who are hurting and to talk about how their policies will help them. And to do that, learn from Pope Francis. "I think we need to take a lesson...

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE (CBSLA.com) — Two drivers were stung by more than 600 bees following a two-vehicle car crash into a tree Sunday afternoon in La Canada Flintridge. At least one of the vehicles struck a tree in the 2000 block of Los Amigos Street just before 3 p.m. dislodging a large bee hive. The two women drivers involved in the tw0-vehicle crash were stung at least 600 times between them. CBS2′s Bobby Kaple reported that there were many scary moments for residents of the area as well as the people involved in the car accident. Hours later, Kaple said...

Divorced Christians will be encouraged by Pope Francis's reminder that the church should be a place of healing after a failed marriage. Pope Francis is giving hope to another group historically marginalized by the church. During a recent morning Mass, he made news when he said the divorced should be "accompanied," not "condemned.” This message will be balm to many divorced Christians—Catholic or not—who have had fellow believers heap shame and judgment on top of the pain that accompanies the loss of a marriage. It’s also a reminder that while the church has caused plenty of pain, it is meant...

Clearwater, Florida (CNN) -- It's for just one congressional seat for about eight months, but Tuesday's special election in Florida has taken on huge political significance.National Republicans are framing Tuesday's special election as a referendum on Obamacare. But their message -- plus a flood of outside spending by Democrats focused on the issue of Social Security -- is drowning out other issues in the race, Republican candidate David Jolly says.His Democratic opponent, Alex Sink, isn't shying away from the health care debate, touting the law's benefits and saying she's open to improvements.Both parties are looking at this race as a...

Inquiry head Bernard Acho Muna said he hoped the presence of investigators in CAR would help prevent a genocide. The UN Security Council ordered the inquiry in December to identify suspects who could be prosecuted for the violence. Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict between Muslim and Christian militias. ... Tens of thousands of Muslims have fled as Christian militias have stepped up their attacks since the forced resignation of CAR's first Muslim ruler, Michel Djotodia, in January. ... The militias claim to be taking revenge for atrocities committed by mainly Muslim rebels after Mr Djotodia seized...

A new campaign that seeks to pressure the Jewish campus group Hillel into partnering with anti-Israel organizations is being hailed as a way to “a “liberate young Jews from the vice grip of Zionism” by anti-Zionist activist Max Blumenthal. Blumenthal, who recently wrote a book that compared Israel with the Third Reich, praised the new campus movement “Open Hillel” during a speech at Brandeis University, according to video posted by a group called Safe Hillel. “There is a movement afoot, an organic movement on campuses now … which I consider to be a movement to liberate young Jews, from the...

Last Thursday on the Fox News show Hannity, Ann Coulter appeared in order to respond to Chris Christie’s speech at CPAC. (See video embedded below.) HANNITY: I think Cruz gave a good speech today. COULTER: Um, well I noticed in your, when you were showing all the CPAC speakers, the big famous ones, um, every single one of them is for amnesty. And that’s something you’ll notice about this year’s CPAC, it’s not, no anti-amnesty speakers allowed. I will be giving the rebuttal by the way, at 2pm, HANNITY: Ted Cruz, Rand Paul are against amnesty. COULTER: Rand Paul, I...

>The latest gun control law in Connecticut has crossed a very frightening line. A standoff has been created between the government and tens of thousands of gun owners now considered felons. It marks the beginning of an Orwellian new phase. Gun owners saw it coming, as evidenced by their recent adoption in recent years of the defiant expression “molon labe.” The phrase originated from Spartan General-King Leonidas, who reportedly responded with “Come and get them!” to Persian Emperor Xerxes’ demand that the Spartans surrender their weapons at the Battle of Thermopylae. The Spartans fought valiantly, but were ultimately defeated. With...

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Monday denounced alleged lawlessness by far-right activists in eastern Ukraine, a statement likely to trigger alarms in Ukraine about possible Russian intervention there. Ukraine's foreign minister said Monday his country already feels like it's almost in a state of war after Russian forces took effective control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. A referendum has been called there for Sunday on whether the region should split off and seek to become part of Russia. Pro-Russia sentiment is also high in Ukraine's east and there are fears Russia could seek to incorporate that area as well. The Kremlin statement...

Their frustration had been mounting for weeks. But by late January national Republicans had had it with David Jolly, their candidate in Tuesday’s nationally watched Florida congressional special election. The candidate had just told the state’s top political reporter that he disagreed with an ad the party was airing against his Democratic opponent — a spot paid for with the nearly $500,000 the GOP had already spent on Jolly’s behalf....

Listen Live: Sound Off Connecticut with Jim Vicevich 9 a.m. to noon ET (Daily Thread)Sound Off Connecticut is a popular conservative/libertarian call in talk show hosted by Jim Vicevich weekday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon ET. Although based in Connecticut, the show welcomes callers from all over the United States! This is your chance to sound off America! Call into the show toll free (800) 966-9842! Listen to the LIVE AUDIO STREAM at http://wtic.com - it's free and NO registration is required! If you're in southern New England listen over the air to WTIC 1080 AM, the 50,000 watt...

A combination of income tax refunds issued in January and February with accessible financing have boosted used-car prices overall in the first two months of 2014. Automotive News reports prices rose 1.1 percent year to date, and 0.8 percent over the past month, according to the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index. Meanwhile, the IRS processed 40.4 million returns in the first two months of the year, refunding $125.8 billion to taxpayers at an average of $3,112, which helped in propping up wholesale used vehicle prices. Easy credit with attractive terms also aided used-vehicle pricing, making the market “more profitable than...

Inspired by Apple CEO Tim Cook, Virgin founder Richard Branson has taken to his blog to say that businesses should begin standing up against climate change deniers. "While Tim told sustainability skeptics to 'get out of our stock,'" Branson writes, "I would urge climate change deniers to get out of our way." Cook's statements came at a recent shareholders meeting, where he soundly shot down a proposal rooted in climate change denial that would have had Apple putting its bottom line above its interests in sustainability. Cook said that those who would prefer Apple do everything purely for profit simply...

Current Indiana law creates dangerous traps for people exercising their second amendment rights.   More than 1 in 9 adults in Indiana have a license to carry a handgun.  Legally carrying handguns in Indiana has become common, legal, and has proven to be safe.  Unfortunately, Indiana has some archaic laws that were created when "gun control" was in fashion.  These laws create traps for the law abiding gun owner.   One trap in the law is the inadvertently constructed "roving school zone".  In current law, students that go to a facility for educational purposes create a "roaming school zone" where...

I hadn’t written anything about the HBO miniseries True Detective until now, because I was never quite sure where it was going. The acting and writing has been superb, but it’s been a guessing game as to the point. The texture of gritty, pulpy detective stories has been a given, as has been the oh-so-predictable gratuitous sex and nudity that goes along with the genre and pretty much every HBO series ever aired (and Showtime, for that matter). Was this going to be a Call of Cthulu update, or another series where viewers get another intellectual Bobby-in-the-shower Dallas moment in...