Free Republic

Rarely will I post something for you that I haven’t watched myself, but I’ll cop straight up to not having watched this one. I can’t take it; the descriptions are bad enough. The cruelty’s so gratuitous and the target so sympathetic that it’s a bit like reading a story about someone torturing a small animal. A taste from the Blaze: Among the comment that hurt the most, Klein told WHAM-TV that one child’s statement that she is so ugly that her “kids should kill themselves” was particularly hurtful. Her son committed suicide 10 years ago. She’s a widow, hearing-impaired, and...

I have often said to my mother, who is a baby boomer and liberal, that my generation (Gen X), would have to clean up the mess that her generation left behind. As time wears on, that statement rings more and more true.

Because of the General State of the Obamma Economy I agreed to herd my Grandkids, Sons Spawn, two day a week so my daughter in law could pick up some of the slack. My Grandson is a prince among men, or boys, and is not a problem. My Grand Daughter is proving to be a snot, Brat, and is taking after her Bapci, my ex, for being wilfull, pig headed, and Lithuanian. My son who had many of the above attributes when he was a child and needed a strong hand commands Respect for the same reason that he needed...

Two of the 6-year-old Gosselin sextuplets are said to be having a rough time in their new school. According to reports from In Touch, Collin and Alexis have been expelled from their Pennsylvania private school and are now being homeschooled. "They've fought with their peers, called them nasty names and made fun of other kids," a source close to the family told the magazine. "The things they are saying are not words they should know. They are learning them somewhere -- but Jon [Gosselin, their dad] doesn't know where." The source also said that some of the eight kids are...

A group of demonstrators broke into the headquarters of Britain's governing Conservative party in London Wednesday, spray-painting anarchy symbols and setting off flares before being forced out of the building. They went on to set fires outside the building. The violence came during a largely peaceful protest by students against government plans to allow universities to increase tuition fees. The National Union of Students said 40,000 demonstrators were on the streets. London's Metropolitan Police did not offer a crowd estimate or have any information about arrests. Students and university staff are protesting against government plans to allow universities to charge...

I am looking for recipes for a good cookout meat this Saturday. Anyone?

Talking with an adolescent can be like walking through a minefield. At any moment you could be asking what you thought was a simple, sincere question only to find it triggering an explosive response. You know that communication keeps you connected to your child, but it often seems to backfire because of the type of questions asked. Research proves our instincts: The number one antidote to risky-kid behavior is a strong relationship with a parent. Believe it or not our kids even like us and want us in their lives! (Really!!!!) A recent Girl Scout of America survey found that...

Three of the nine teenagers accused of driving 15-year-old Irish immigrant Phoebe Prince to commit suicide have been ordered to stay away from her family. Sean Mulveyhill, 17, Austin Renaud, 18, and Kayla Narey, 17, were all freed today on personal recognizances as long as they left Phoebe's heartborken family alone. Judge Judd Carheart made the ruling in a brief arraignment which the three teenagers did not attend.

I last talked about the “Law of Successive Approximations”. I hope that was fun for you. This should be as well. Today I want to talk about kids, actually the grown-up kids in government, who can’t seem to have it any way but their way. If they were children we would call them brats. OK, so even as adults they are brats. For now let’s call them Senator or President or Partisans. The bottom line is they are a bunch of brats. They haven’t a clue nor the moral fortitude to do what is right for the country and the...

Young children spanked by their parents may perform better at school later on and grow up to be happier, according to a controversial new study that is drawing scorn from critics. The U.S.-based research states that spanking children up to six years old made them more successful in school, more optimistic about life, more likely to take voluntary work, and more keen to attend university than their never-spanked counterparts.

Dozens of people crowded the steps of Vallejo City Hall on Tuesday to protest a recent quoted remark by Mayor Osby Davis that gay people would not go to heaven. The protesters waved rainbow flags, held signs demanding the separation of church and state and some called for Davis' resignation. And then there was a roar. From inside City Hall came the sounds of more than 100 people clapping and cheering, praising God. "Lord, we're not against anybody. We're for our children," prayed New Hope Church Community Senior Pastor Terrence Nichols. "No matter what outside forces may stir up the...

Washington – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, today responded to the “Manhattan Declaration” produced and released by 145 evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders indicating that they will not cooperate with laws that conflict with their beliefs, including those recognizing same-sex couples. The document also references the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) as a threat to religious liberty. Yet ENDA – which prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity – broadly exempts religious organizations. The declaration also argues that religious groups that receive public funds...

Archbishop Robert J. Carlson St. Louis, Mo., Nov 30, 2009 / 06:17 pm (CNA).- In a statement Monday, Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis responded to a demonstration held outside the city's cathedral by a gay rights group protesting the use of archdiocesan funds to defend traditional marriage in Maine. Catholics have an obligation to “carry out Christ's teachings, whether in the privacy of our own home or in the public square,” stated the prelate on the Archdiocese of St. Louis website.On Sunday, gay rights organization Show Me No Hate protested the donation of $10,000 that the Archdiocese...

INDIANAPOLIS (June 23) - The son of former New York Yankees star first baseman Don Mattingly was arraigned Wednesday on misdemeanor charges of shoving his mother and spitting in her face after she allegedly sent him an insulting text message. The case against Taylor Mattingly, 24, was deferred so he can apply for a pretrial diversion program, said Angela Watson, director of the program for the Vanderburgh County prosecutor's office. Mattingly expressed an interest in the program during his court appearance, where he was not represented by an attorney, she said. He is scheduled to appear in court again Sept....

But as Twenge goes on to illustrate, all that narcissism is a problem that can range from the discourteous—residential advisers at Southern lament students disregarding curfews, playing dance music until 3 a.m., demanding new room assignments at a moment's notice and failing to understand why professors won't let them make up an exam they were too hung over to take—to the disastrous—failed marriages, abusive working environments and billion-dollar Ponzi schemes. Seems that the flip side of all that confidence isn't prodigious success but antisocial behavior.

Mr. & Mrs. Fred Thompson will be interviewed on Hannity & Colmes tonight.

When her husband comes home to Tucson on leave from Iraq, Keila Rios could face a dilemma she finds infuriating. She plans to take their children out of school for a week to spend time with their Army dad. But when she asked for makeup work they could do at home, she initially was told they'd receive zeroes if they didn't go to class. The head of the charter school they attend declared the absences inexcusable and told the Arizona Daily Star that Rios' children would not be allowed to make up missed assignments. It now seems the principal is...

S.M.U. Faculty Complains About Bush Library By RALPH BLUMENTHAL DALLAS, Jan. 9 — Intimates of President Bush have singled out Southern Methodist University as the likely site of his presidential library, but faculty members, complaining of being bypassed, are raising sharp questions about the school’s identification with his presidency. In a meeting Tuesday, faculty members complained of a lack of consultation over the emerging agreement and all but demanded answers from the university’s president, R. Gerald Turner, on the relationship that would develop between the university and the library. “There’s been a lack of transparency from the beginning,” said Tony...

For Cindy Nooney's 3-year-old twin boys, playing with the Thomas the Train set at their local bookstore in Southern California is a major thrill. Jack and Sam push Thomas, Arthur and friends down the track, they run around the table, jump up and down — and, of course, they squeeeaal. Nooney expects as much in the children's section of the store. But on a recent afternoon, she was surprised by an employee who confronted her, calling her darling Jack a tyrant. "He was a little loud but this is a children's section," says Nooney. "They run a noisy, cavernous bookstore...

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2006 – Military "brats" are powerfully shaped by the culture they grow up in, and that culture makes a lasting impression, author Mary Edwards Wertsch said. Military brat Mary Edwards Wertsch is the author of "Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress." The book has been credited with recognizing the military as a home culture. Courtesy Photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "It has everything to do with everything that's ever happened in my life," the St. Louis resident said. Wertsch, who wrote "Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress," lived in 20...