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If you are a futurist and believe that the beast of Revelation 13 is not connected to the Roman Empire of the first century and remains yet to be revealed at the end of the age (i.e., during the seven-year tribulation period, as dispensationalists teach), then you will not look at the mark of the beast through the lens of the New Testament and the historical situation when John was given his vision. Instead, you will understand this mysterious mark as something still hidden in the future. And given the breakneck pace of the advance being made in all forms...

West Virginia started Friday keeping driver's license photos out of a computer database for members of a small religious group who believe digital storage is a "mark of the beast" that evokes biblical prophecy. State Division of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Joseph Cicchirillo said the group of about 50 or 60 Christians, who are not affiliated with a particular church, contacted the agency two or three years ago to object to their pictures "being on a database that can be exchanged throughout the world or hacked into." One of the group members is Phil Hudok, who made headlines in 1999 when...

During lunch 18 months ago, Dr. Ben Johnson had an epiphany as Dr. Aisha Jumaan, a Muslim, spoke to him about her faith and her experience of God. "It came to me that this woman loves and worships the same God I do," says Johnson, a Christian. "I had this sharpened awareness that in that moment she was in touch with God, just as I was. It was a dawning and an awakening, and it was liberating because it liberates you from standing on a pedestal and looking down on someone else." It also inspired Johnson to take on a...

(2008-03-27) — Sen. Barack Obama, the Democrat presidential front runner, today reiterated his intention to stand by his controversial pastor despite his presidential rival’s remarks that she would have left the church where the Rev. Jeremiah Wright preached racially-charged, anti-American messages. “I could no more disown my hateful, racist, self-aggrandizing, crazy uncle of a pastor,” said Sen. Obama, “than Hillary Clinton could quit her deceitful, adulterous, self-aggrandizing husband. But if a purging must happen to unite this divided party, I say to my esteemed opponent, ‘You first, Hillary. You first.’” Sen. Clinton said this week that she would have quit...

Technology already exists that could lead to the tracking of purchases and people. Critics fear a loss of privacy. Here's a vision of the not-so-distant future: • Microchips with antennas will be embedded in virtually everything you buy, wear, drive and read, allowing retailers and law enforcement to track consumer items — and, by extension, consumers — wherever they go, from a distance. • A seamless, global network of electronic "sniffers" will scan radio tags in myriad public settings, identifying people and their tastes instantly so that customized ads, "live spam," may be beamed at them. • In "Smart Homes,"...

MSNBC is bowing down to the Clinton mafia.

A federal database of animals to fight disease outbreaks is a threat to privacy and family operations, critics say. WASHINGTON — After days of parading around her beefy black steer in the dung-scented August heat at the Colorado State Fair, Brandi Calderwood made the final competition. For months, the 16-year-old worked from dawn well past dusk, fitting in the work around school, to feed, train and clean her steer. But just before the last round, when the animals are sold, fair officials disqualified her. They alleged that Brandi had not properly followed a new and controversial rule that required children...

AL JURN — With their 72-ton M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks parked in the motor pool, Soldiers loaded their gear into wheeled trucks less than half the size of the tracked vehicles. Tankers of Punisher Platoon, Dragon Company, 1st Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, switched from their traditional jobs of manning the tanks as the squadron’s heavy element to driving patrols mounted in up-armored Humvees. “It’s kind of like going from a Corvette to a Volkswagen,” said Sgt. 1st Class J.C. Jensen, the platoon sergeant for Punisher, about making the switch. “The tank has 1,500 horsepower, it will go anywhere...

Today's news about Hillary Clinton is about how she got campaign donations from people her husband pardoned. The first reaction of most observers is a shrug at yet another Clinton scandal. I have a different take. The most important aspect of this story is NOT the donations from a few pardoned crooks. It is the fact that the substance of the story is far outweighed by the fact that it was written to begin with and how is facts came to light. I do political research. I understand how much, how very much, work it takes to dig through 200,000...

Have at it...

Even though the year is far from over and is likely to have its fair share of hypocrisy, Mrs. Clinton’s comment on the need to compromise to achieve political and social progress has to outclass any other current or future entrant for the Hypocrite of the Year award. This woman, who refused to change a comma or a word of her thousand-page-plus healthcare reform bill and, as a result of her intractable stubbornness, sent the bill down to defeat along with the Democratic Congress and almost her husband’s presidency, is daring to show herself now as the apostle of compromise....

Welcome to Xmark, the new corporate identity for our healthcare security products. Our new name emphasizes our focus on healthcare security. You may have known us under the eXI or VeriChip brand, but we are now bringing all our products under the Xmark name.

Oh, man. Does she EVER stop yelling? Should we ax *Bubba? Hillary cherishes the rule of law.

We should FReep a poll over at "Evil Scale" to vote Hillary and Michael Moore right to the top of the "Most Evil" list. Here is the current ranking. 1 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 2 Pol Pot 3 Idi Amin Dada 4 Josef Mengele 5 Osama bin Laden 6 Charles Manson 7 O.J. Simpson 8 Fidel Castro 9 Mao Zedong 10 Kim Jong-il Top 100 Evil If you want to have some fun, vote for Hillary and Michael Moore as most evil.Hillary ClintonMichael Moore

FOR Hein Severloh the ‘Longest Day’ meant nine hours constantly machine-gunning American soldiers as they attempted to land on Omaha Beach. One image still brings tears to his eyes. A young American had run from his landing craft and sought cover behind a concrete block. Severloh, then a young lance-corporal in the German army in Normandy, aimed his rifle at the GI. He fired and hit the enemy square in the forehead. The American’s helmet flew away and rolled into the sea, his chin sank to his chest and he collapsed dead on the beach. Tormented by the memory, Severloh...

As we start another year, I know there are at least a few among us who will look back at 2006 and say, “Whoa, what a weird year that was!” In fact, 2006 might be the year that puts the Coulee Region on the map ... for weirdness. By far the weirdest news of the year was something we haven’t reported on ... UNTIL NOW! Now it can be told, the strange, bizarre and kinda spooky story of the Beast of Briggs Road, the Man Bat. I have to admit that this won’t be news to some of our readers,...

Two Reports Say Witnesses Saw 'Monster' In Area MERTON, Wis. -- Two bizarre sightings of an alleged "monster" in Waukesha County are prompting some local residents to wonder whether witnesses saw the legendary Bigfoot. David and Dillon Radeztsky said that they saw a mysterious creature in Merton, WISC-TV reported. "We saw just a hairy monster on the corner of the woods," David said. "I saw it leaning on a tree," Dillon said. This report comes after another sighting near Holy Hill in Washington County. In that instance, a man claimed a Bigfoot-like creature took a deer from the back of...

Over the years, we FReepers have accumulated quite a nice collection of funny, scary and festive (for Halloween) images. Now is our chance to share them with the world. I figured I would start this year, since I saw that nobody else has yet started such a thread. So in the spirit of Hilloween, lets put our best photoshopped and non-photoshopped images and captions of the Hildebeast, sKerry and other Demoncrats forward in celebration of Hilloween.

The first Muslim to be crowned Miss England has warned that stereotyping members of her community is leading some towards extremism. Hammasa Kohistani made history last year when she was chosen to represent England in the Miss World pageant. But one year on, the 19-year-old student from Hounslow feels that winning the coveted beauty title last September was a "sugar coating" for Muslims who have become more alienated in the past 12 months. She said: "The attitude towards Muslims has got worse over the year. Also the Muslims' attitude to British people has got worse. "Even moderate Muslims are turning...

NEW YORK — It's a bust of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton — in more ways than one. Cast in resin and bearing ample cleavage, a bust of the New York Democrat was unveiled this week at the Museum of Sex in Manhattan. Calling his creation "The Presidential Bust of Hillary Rodham Clinton: The First Woman President of the United States," artist Daniel Edwards said he wanted to depict the 58-year-old Clinton "with her head held high, a youthful spirit and a face matured by wisdom." Indeed, while the former first lady's face is shown with a few wrinkles, Edwards cast...