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In response to a question from The Washington Post regarding finding a home church, President Obama had this to say: “Michelle and I decided that we would wait a few months after arriving before we made a decision on this, partly — let’s be blunt: I mean, we were pretty affected by what happened at Trinity and the controversy surrounding Reverend Wright,” said the president. “That was deeply disturbing to us, and it was disappointing for us personally. It made us very sensitive to the fact that as president the church we attend can end up being interpreted as speaking...

Congratulations FReepers and Patriots! According to Henchster's ongoing tallies, we've surpassed 750,000 participants in our nationwide Tax Day TEA Party/Tax Revolt! Woo hoo!! All 50 states fully engaged! Over 600 cities represented and reports still coming in! Huge turnout, huge SUCCESS!! Elected officials take note: DO NOT TREAD ON ME!! Tyranny, usurpation, corruption, overreaching, big spending, high taxing will no longer be tolerated! We the people are FED-UP and we're not going to take it anymore! Ignore us at your own peril! All Congressional seats, all elected offices throughout the land at risk! Revolution is in the air!!

Attendance Deficit Disorder -- a condition suffered by Live Earth and other Leftist extravaganzas. Symptomised by few people showing up, unless they've been paid to attend. Not thought to be treatable by Ritalin. Antipsychosis drugs may be indicated.

The flyer of CPAC somehow ends up on Tim Russert's Desk

SCOTTS VALLEY - Parents whose kids take a day off from school will be asked to open their wallets. That will be $36.13, please. Desperate to hold on to every penny of state funding, Scotts Valley Unified School District leaders are asking parents to make a donation to the district for the amount it loses every time a student is absent for a reason other than illness. They say such absences cost the district $223,500 last school year. ``When parents keep their kids out of school, it's difficult for the child,'' Superintendent Susan Silver said. ``But it's also a cost...

Ok ….going to church does not necessarily mean that you are going to heaven. But according to a recently released two year study, it may mean that you are more likely to vote Republican. Read More

IS THERE an audience for classical music? How many times we have asked that question, and never really come up with a compelling answer. As we approach the end of 2005 - a year of typical mixed fortunes for the music scene - I find myself revisiting this old chestnut of a question. On the one hand, there are ominous signs out there. The Usher Hall struggled yet again this year to fill its 2,000-plus seats in either the Edinburgh Festival or even with the allure a few weeks ago of American superstar soprano Barbara Bonney, as part of the...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

LOS ANGELES – University of California regents approved general guidelines for their expectations yesterday, briefly addressing issues including attendance, participation and ethics. The proposal was initiated by Regent Ward Connerly, who said he is concerned about inconsistent attendance and levels of participation among board members. The guidelines lacked any specific rules or means for discharge. The issue of absenteeism was raised earlier this summer when The San Diego Union-Tribune published an analysis showing some regents were missing two-thirds of their assigned committee and board meetings. One regent, Haim Saban, who had not attended a full board meeting in more than...

Tim Bayly on getting men involved in church First, I just want to say I am back online since our phone service has been restored, and now that we have most of our move behind us. This has been an experience, to say the least, and I have a healthy respect for those hardy souls who move every few years due to work or other reasons. I'd like to call readers' attention to an article by Tim Bayly, Go for the men and the women will follow. In many churches we see much diminished attendance by men--Rev. Bayly cites membership...

I'm just interested. I could do without church. Thanks to all who participated in my other thread on "who believes salvation can be lost". There are just so many responses. How important is church to you as a conservative? I think you can be moral and christian without church.

I am looking to find the attendance records of our elected representatives in the house and senate. We hear so much about whether Kerry or Edwards shows up for each vote, etc. But what I am looking for is the actual attendance record at non-private meetings of the Congress and Senate. I have found the Vote Roll Call records on thomas.loc.gov and senate.gov but thats not what I am after. Each body, as far as I know does note vote everytime they convene or hold a commitee meeting, and that is the record I am after. Any freepers have any...

During the October 8 presidential debate in St. Louis, I noticed that John Kerry kept saying he has a "plan"; a plan for just about everything from saving Medicare to winning the war on terror. He kept repeating the word over and over, and it struck me that if indeed he does have all these plans to make our lives so much better, why hasn't he ever shared them with the U.S. Senate? After all, even though he rarely participates in any Senate business anymore, he is still a Senator. Isn't he obliged to show up every once in a...

Being President of the United States is a thankless job. Sure, it’s a coveted position, being the most powerful person in the world should be. But it’s a fact that on any given day perhaps half the country’s population disagrees with the president, and some do so with hate in their hearts. That cannot be a comforting thought no matter who you are, sans perhaps George Soros. At the same time the president gets to enjoy the trappings of the job (the White House, Air Force One, the limousines, etc.) the threat of death is always just around the corner,...

KerryTales: getting bigger and bigger... “John Kerry, Bob Kerrey. It's easy to get confused. At least that's how the Kerry campaign is explaining claims that Kerry — the Democratic presidential candidate — served as vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.” Associated Press article on the latest Kerry tale. The stories just keep on coming. As the reports surface (and the new Bush campaign ad) regarding Sen. John Kerry's abysmal attendance record concerning the Senate Intelligence meetings, the yarns from Kamp Kerry get bigger and bigger... Latest info to come to light? While Kamp Kerry's won't dispute him...

The Kerry Line: Fellow Senators Call For Kerry To Release Attendance At Private Intelligence Committee Hearings(title edited for length) "John Kerry served on the Intelligence Committee from 1993 to 2000, and according to official records, John Kerry missed 76 percent of the public Senate Intelligence Committee hearings during that time. This figure doesn’t include his attendance at closed door meetings. Those records can only be released to the public at John Kerry’s request. This is something that needs to be done, and I join Senator Roberts, Senator Chambliss, Senator Cornyn, and Senator Coleman and others in calling on him to...

From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== February 26, 2004 Arizona--Your Calls Worked! Dear HSLDA members and friends: HSLDA has just received word that House Bill 2548, which would have raised compulsory attendance from 16 to 18 in Arizona, has just failed in the House Education Committee. We are particularly grateful to Dorie Duff, the Legislative Liaison for Arizona Families for Home Education, whose personal efforts helped achieve such rapid results. Thanks to her hard work and your phone calls, this threat to parental freedom has been overcome! Thank you to all who took the time and effort to stand with...

>From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== February 20, 2004 Arizona--Oppose Raising the Compulsory Attendance Age! Dear HSLDA members and friends: A bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives that would raise the compulsory attendance age in Arizona from 16 to 18. Informed observers believe this is unlikely to pass because it is so expensive. We are asking homeschoolers to call the members of the Education Committee to put a stop to this bill now. Action Requested: Please call the members of the Education Committee. Tell them, "Please vote no on HB 2548. This bill would increase expenses without...

US website will keep track of foreign students The blighters keep disappearing By Paul Hales: Thursday 04 July 2002, 11:52 THE US IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES have launched a Web site to keep tabs on foreign students. The programme, named Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), will become mandatory from January 30th 2003, from which date, US schools not approved by the site will not be allowed to admit foreign students. SEVIS is part of the wider Student and Exchange Visitor Programme. The aim of the site is to "collect, maintain and track information relative to international students and exchange vistors,"...