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After Words with Paul Sabin Paul Sabin talked about his book, The Bet: Paul Ehrlich, Julian Simon and Our Gamble over Earth’s Future, in which he analyzes a bet made between economist Julian Simon and biologist Paul Ehrlich. More than 30 years ago, Mr. Simon made a bet with Mr. Ehrlich on the future prices of five metals, asserting that technological change and a booming market would keep the country prosperous. But Mr. Ehrlich predicted that rising populations would lead to overconsumption, taxed resources, and famine. Mr. Sabin argued that the opposing perspectives of the bettors - faith in free...

PERKASIE, Pa. (WPVI) -- A school district in Bucks County is apologizing to parents and students after one of its high school teachers assigned mathematics homework that included what the district is calling "adult content without a proper context." It happened at Pennridge High School in Perkasie, Pa. The assignment focused on Maya Angelou and her autobiography "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." Two of the questions were captured in a photograph sent to Action News from Pennridge Reform.

William Peter Blatty, an author whose novel “The Exorcist” and his later screenplay for the 1973 film about a demonic possession became a phenomenon and stirred fierce public debate about the occult, died Jan. 12 at a hospital near his home in Bethesda, Md. He was 89. The cause was a form of multiple myeloma, said his wife, Julie Witbrodt Blatty. Mr. Blatty was a junior at Georgetown University when, in 1949, he became mesmerized by a Washington Post story detailing the alleged exorcism by a Jesuit priest of a 14-year-old boy from Mount Rainier, Md. who was believed to...

Later this year, producers Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinny (FrackNation) and director Nick Searcy (Justified) will bring the story of notorious Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell to the big screen. Gosnell — who has been called America’s “most prolific serial killer” — operated what the 300-page grand jury report later called a “baby charnel house,” in which he regularly killed babies born alive at his clinic, which itself was staffed with inexperienced nurses and littered with blood-stained furniture and the remains of fetuses stored in basement freezers. Gosnell was later convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and hundreds of lesser...

Students at a leading London college say the majority of philosophers studied there should be from Africa and Asia, and white thinkers should only be examined “from a critical standpoint” or in a “colonial context”.

After the raucous ride of 2016, there’s a lot to be said for hitting the books for some good reading. Whether it’s history, policy, or religion that you find most interesting, here is an assortment of books that our friends from The Heritage Foundation recommend.

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Animal Control Officers in Arlington received a big surprise last week while responding to a snake call inside an apartment bathroom – Anaconda big! Arlington County Animal Control said they received a call for a snake inside an apartment toilet, something that isn’t that unusual. However, this wasn’t just any snake, it was a juvenile yellow anaconda that was nearly 5 feet long. On a yellow anaconda scale, that is actually quite small. Fully grown yellow anacondas can be up to 13 feet long and over 100 pounds. Officials say Officer Brenys White was able to safely...

Most of you will probably remember Kathleen Donohoe, an Irish-American writer and New Yorker-and full disclosure, my cousin-from previous posts on this website. This year saw the publication of her debut novel, Ashes Of Fiery Weather. The title is taken from a poem by Wallace Stevens, Our Stars Come From Ireland, which celebrates the importance of place as a facet of memory. It’s a fitting entry point to this book, which explores how geography-both in New York City and Ireland-contours our worldview. Ashes also recognizes the importance of history, both on a collective and individual level, which-as the son of...

"The Time Traveler" by Dan Simmons http://www.dansimmons.com/news/message/2006_04.htm A time traveler visits from several decades back to understand the start of the Long War.

Milo, who calls Trump 'Daddy' has been a supporter of MAGA since Trump first said it. This has pissed off the entire left, especially on campus in what Milo has named 'The Dangerous Faggot Tour', in which he destroys feminists, Clinton supporters, the racists of the Black Lives Matter movement, Soros, Podesta and the rest. He even has a city named after him in that furturistic fantasy novel series that is pissing off the left. Like how dare an author not be a socialist or communist? Look on Maps at this article posted here a month ago, there is a...

Has anyone read the works of Peter Kreeft? I am particularly interested in, "Back to Virtue." I am also interested in his works on Aquinas. If you have other recommendations from this author or closely related works, please share. Thanks

Excerpt from the article: Juliet Johnson said her father had been "ailing for some time" but "died peacefully" on Christmas Eve. Watership Down, a children's classic about a group of rabbits in search of a new home after their warren was destroyed, was first published in 1972.

Has any body read Abus of Language Abuse of Power by Josef Pieper or any other books by Pieper? Would you comment on them please? Good? Recommended? Thanks.

Chuck Jones’ animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! turns 50 years old today, having first premiered on CBS on December 18, 1966. Though the MGM project was based on a popular children’s book by Dr. Seuss, it was Jones who led the push to make it happen. After convincing Dr. Seuss that he could create an animated adaptation, Jones created color presentation boards and shopped them around to corporate sponsors. Jones made over 20 presentations, including to companies like Kellogg’s and Nestle, but wasn’t able to convince anyone to fund the expensive project. Finally, an organization...

Some of us LOVE getting books, especially for Christmas. There's something special about unwrapping a book on Christmas morning - and enjoy sharing with others.I rarely post anything (maybe five articles in 15 years on Free Republic), but thought this would be a good time for book-lovers to share what we received this morning.

1. bicentennial Usage of the word bicentennial, meaning occurring every 200 years, has been steadily increasing since the 1880s. The usage rose sharply in the 1970s, probably due to the United State Bicentennial, and then again in the mid-1980s, perhaps due to the bicentennial of the Statue of Liberty. Example: "New Orleans intended to fittingly celebrate, this present year, the bicentennial anniversary of this illustrious event; but when the time came, all her energies and surplus money were required in other directions, for the flood was upon the land then, making havoc and devastation everywhere." — Life on the Mississippi,...

The Jewish Festival of Lights will commence at sundown on Saturday. But even for those who will be lighting the candles on the menorah there may well be some confusion over just how to spell the name of the holiday. Is it Hanukkah or Chanukah? The truth is there is no right or wrong answer. They are both translations of a Hebrew word meaning “dedication” or “consecration.” The holiday was given that name because of its celebration of the rededication of the Holy, or Second, Temple by the Maccabean Jews after it had been desecrated by the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire...