Free Republic

I confess that when the producers of Ben Stein’s new documentary “Expelled” called, offering me a private screening, I was less than excited. It is a reality of PC liberalism: There is only one credible side to an issue, and any dissent is not only rejected, it is scorned. Global warming. Gay “rights.” Abortion “rights.” On these and so many other issues there is enlightenment, and then there is the Idiotic Other Side. PC liberalism’s power centers are the news media, the entertainment industry and academia and all are in the clutches of an unmistakable hypocrisy: Theirs is an ideology...

It's Damage Control Time for the liberal press. Count New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof as one in the media masses who have been outraged, just outraged, at the supposed conservative bigotry against Barack Obama. This "most monstrous bigotry" isn't just about race but also religion. Stating his middle name and whispering on the Internet that he's a Muslim "are the religious equivalent of racial slurs." Kristof concluded his March 9 column by quoting Martin Luther: "I'd rather be ruled by a wise Turk than a foolish Christian." Through months of outrage over Obama the Supposed Muslim, reporters have largely...

From the Right, He Looks Too Blue Think real conservatives will vote for John McCain? Don't count on it. By L. Brent Bozell Sunday, March 9, 2008; B01 The conservative talk-show community? Don't mind them -- they're irrelevant. This message from John McCain surrogates and other members of the political class is filling the airwaves and op-ed pages. In the Wall Street Journal, Weekly Standard Executive Editor Fred Barnes recently wrote that McCain needn't worry that conservatives are uncomfortable with his candidacy, because "while they love to grumble and grouse, conservatives tend to be loyal Republicans who wind up voting...

L. Brent Bozell argues in the Washington Post that John McCain should not count on “real conservatives” voting for him. I don’t know the extent to which conservatives will work and vote for McCain in November, but Bozell inadvertently proves that conservatives should support the Senator lavishly and, within reason, unconditionally. Much of Bozell’s piece consists of a skewed, self-serving political history of the post-Reagan years, about which more in a moment. Having shown to his satisfaction that conservatives have regularly supported “moderate” Republican nominees only to experience betrayal, Bozell provides his list of things conservatives should call on...

The conservative talk-show community? Don't mind them -- they're irrelevant. This message from John McCain surrogates and other members of the political class is filling the airwaves and op-ed pages. In the Wall Street Journal, Weekly Standard Executive Editor Fred Barnes recently wrote that McCain needn't worry that conservatives are uncomfortable with his candidacy, because "while they love to grumble and grouse, conservatives tend to be loyal Republicans who wind up voting for their party's candidate." In the same pages, novelist Mark Helprin, a former adviser to Robert J. Dole's presidential campaign, savaged conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity...

Thirty years ago I was fresh out of college, with no particular career path chosen, and decided I’d like to be a nationally-syndicated columnist. I’d learn rather quickly that before being one, one has to become one, and to qualify on that caliber one has to demonstrate a talent which this young man didn’t possess. Bill Buckley told me so. I’d penned a couple of practice pieces, one having something to do with Jimmy Carter’s choice of Muhammad Ali as his ambassador-at-large to Africa, another on something equally memorable, and sent them to Bill, asking for his critique. Now, Bill...

from Florida Department of State Divisions of Election McCain .............. 36 % Romney .............. 31 %. You can tell a lot about how the news media feel about conservatives by watching how they talk about Rush Limbaugh. They want his influence curbed. They pine for the day his career hits the skids. They’re constantly looking for a moment where they can declare that conservatives no longer have – that Rush Limbaugh no longer has -- the Grand Old Party in a menacing trance. They don’t want Republican candidates seeking a Limbaugh endorsement. They think they found that moment on January...

The Democratic presidential race is turning into a snippy identity-politics battle waged around the question: Is America more racist or more sexist? Is America too racist to deserve Barack Obama? Or too sexist to deserve Hillary Clinton? Liberals think this is a real puzzler, since they assume America is bigoted both ways. It’s going to be a long, America-accusing election year no matter who wins. This is nuts. Our system of laws in this country contains energetic remedies for discrimination against blacks and women. Discriminatory attitudes still exist in isolated, politically irrelevant pockets whose existence is then magnified one hundred-fold...

For America’s celebrity-watching media, 2007 was the Year of Spears, about which we should breathe a sigh of relief that Western civilization survived. The year began with increasingly erratic Britney Spears popping in and out of rehab stints. Then she shaved her head in the spring, a move that screamed that the pop star’s moves were more crazy than calculated by publicists. The year ended with the news that Britney’s 16-year-old sister Jamie Lynn Spears, a star of the children’s channel Nickelodeon, was pregnant. Had the youngest Spears sister been cast as a tawdry teenage tramp on “Desperate Housewives,” her...

At the summit of national power, politicians and bureaucrats are terrified at the idea of endorsing the religious views of the majority of Americans. Our First Amendment forbids the establishment of a state religion, but many of our governing elites are taking it a step further, outlawing its very existence from the public conversation. Congress can turn this into an unintentional comedy of manners. On Dec. 11, the House considered a rather meaningless resolution "recognizing the importance of Christmas" -- and nine members of the House voted nay. The roll call of Grinches are, surprise, largely from blue states: Gary...

The Christmas season is upon us, which means it's that special time of year for the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State to make sure no wayward city council will allow a whiff of frankincense on government property. They must send out direct-mail fundraising letters asking "Help Us Crush a Creche at Christmas!"   The Christmas season is also that time of year when the business world implores us to consider the material as more important than the spiritual, all in the spirit of "the holidays." So we celebrate the arrival on...

As the movie studios gear up for a big Christmas movie season, one trailer that looks like a blockbuster is "The Golden Compass," which must be trying to cash in on the "Narnia" movies. It has flashy special-effect polar bears in armor and a young heroic damsel in distress facing off against evil forces. The casting is top-notch, led by Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, the current star spy in the James Bond movies. But buyer beware: Narnia it's not. It's the anti-Narnia. Instead of a Christian allegory, it's an anti-Christian allegory. The author of "The Golden Compass," Philip Pullman,...

Let's face it: The Clintons will say anything in their quests for the presidency. Just as Bill Clinton railed against Republican corruption in 1992, promising his would be "the most ethical administration in history," Hillary Clinton now is presenting herself as the antidote of the Republican "culture of corruption" and the antithesis of the Bush administration's penchant for secrecy. What makes this argument all the more laughable is that secrecy has always been their modus operandi, and their key method of their scandal damage control. It's on display again. In the Oct. 30 Democratic debate on MSNBC, Tim Russert asked...

...The bohemian worldview of Woodstock Nation is in some ways dominant, and in some ways passe in our popular culture. Hallucinogenic drugs are no longer the rage, but the "free love" spirit of "if it feels good, do it" still runs strong, especially in our entertainment world. And yet, burbling beneath a noisy culture of sexual excess and self-love, there's a quiet undercurrent in our movies carrying subtle, and even obvious, pro-life themes. Last Christmas, there was "Children of Men," a dark science-fiction look into England, 20 years from now, where human fertility has vanished.... Six months later, the small...

The Miller Lite people have a new ad featuring beer drinkers being instructed by a pro-sports-type commissioner in etiquette for the "More Taste League." But the entity needing a "More Taste" lesson is the Miller Brewing Co. itself. Last year, Miller infuriated opponents of illegal immigration when the Chicago Tribune reported it paid $30,000 for a convention and newspaper ads publicizing a march of illegal-alien advocates to protest against Speaker Dennis Hastert's congressional office in Batavia, Ill. Consumers launched a national boycott. Apparently, Miller learned nothing. What the brewing giant has now done is far more offensive. Now, Miller has...

The ruckus over the Rush Limbaugh "phony soldiers" statement is dying down. It ought not to. There is a huge story here. What did Rush say? In a Sept. 26 conversation with a caller to his program who claimed the media never interview "real soldiers," but just people out of the blue, Rush added for emphasis, "the phony soldiers." The left saw its opportunity and pounced with a vengeance. Led by the George Soros-funded and Hillary Clinton-inspired Media Matters outfit, it unleashed a scorched-earth attack on Limbaugh for insulting the military, stating that any servicemen or women who might oppose...

The new fall season of television has begun. Oh, joy. What creative license has Hollywood taken now? How will this industry top -- because it always must top -- last year's shock? You're a parent. You come home, open the TV book and see listings like this: "BONES (Season Premiere): A skull smashes through the windshield of a car driven by a group of teenagers on the freeway; a trail of suspects leads Brennan and Booth to a strange cannibalistic society." A late-night offering for adults? Think again. Fox airs this gruesome twosome tracking the cannibals at 8 p.m. eastern...

Howard Kurtz defined what's wrong with our political culture when asked about Sally Field blurting out in her Emmy speech that if women ruled the world, there'd be no [expletive deleted] wars. Kurtz said because she "said it at a live news event, Fox was censoring the news." This is "news"? Field's incoherent rant, delivered after a series of stammers, is serious? This is not news. The measure we have for punditry in our political culture is fame, not brains. Celebrities embarrass themselves. This happens often on Bill Mahrer's "Real Time" show. The rap star Mos Def, often honored by...

Rutgers University is known as the birthplace of college football, but in the last few weeks it's seemed more like the deathplace of sportsmanship. On Sept. 7, Rutgers hosted Navy's football team. What respect was shown in the wake of the midshipmen's forthcoming service to the country and the approaching Sept. 11 anniversary? The rowdy student fans of Rutgers hurled obscenities at Navy, thoroughly embarrassing their college and their town. Rutgers won the game but lost any sense of honor and decency. Navy was booed and peppered with "You suck!" chants when they stepped on the field to start both...

Appearing on the September 13 edition of "Fox News Live," MRC president and NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell questioned the deep 60 percent discount that liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org received for its infamous "Betray Us" ad attacking the honor of Gen. David Petraeus. Bozell noted that "unless the New York Times can explain itself away and show how this was some incredible coincidence" that the paper is in effect "a co-sponsor of that despicable ad." Video (2:10): Real and Windows, plus MP3 audio. Below is a transcript of the interview: BRENT BOZELL, President of the Media Research Center: Well, let's start...