Free Republic

The Nightmare of Christianity By Max Blumenthal September 9, 2009 The following is an excerpt from Max Blumenthal's new book, Republican Gommorah: Inside the Movement That Shattered the Party, published by Nation Books. A few miles down the road from Colorado Springs [a home to James Dobson's Focus on the Family], in the quiet bedroom community of Eldredge, a deeply disturbed young man named Matthew Murray followed the unfolding debacle at New Life Church [once under the stewardship of Pastor Ted Haggard] with an interest that bordered on obsession. Murray, a sallow-faced, bespectacled 24-year-old, had been indelibly scarred by a...

I posted an ad in Craig's List a few days ago, selling a laptop computer. I received numberous suspicious responses asking for my Paypal account number, such as the one below: I'm interesting in purchasing this item for my inlaw, what is the present condition and get back to me if its available for sale.i will make a good offer. I had already received several of these fractured-English inquiries, and was suspicious right off the bat. Here's my reply: As I am interesting in selling it to you. I expecting hopefully good offer. Here is the reply I got: to...

The Department of Homeland Security in Action 04 January 2009 A Thai friend with whom I have traveled in Europe and Asia took time off from her job to meet me in Florida over the holidays. This was a good time for me, as it was between reporting stints in the war. My friend, Aew, had volunteered to work with me in Afghanistan or Iraq, but I declined because many people around me get shot or blown up. So we were looking forward to spending some vacation time together. She comes from a good family; and one that is wealthier...

Man arrested in connection with week-old assault 5:46 p.m. October 21, 2008 CARLSBAD – A man wanted in connection with an assault last week was arrested Tuesday afternoon, police said. The man is suspected of threatening a 62-year-old man Thursday night who was walking on Carlsbad Boulevard near Cypress Avenue with a blade similar to a hunting knife, police said. Officials said the assailant got within two to three feet of the victim and held the knife in a threatening way. The assault ended when the victim told the armed man that he was going to take the knife and...

Sorry for the shameless vanity, but..... I think I found a great theme song for Sarah Palin. All it needs is someone to take some of her rapidly expanding file of stock photos that I have seen here and elsewhere, and put it to this music. Some of you may have seen this Obama video: Building a Religion. Here are the lyrics to another song by the same (undoubtedly leftwing) group, Cake: Cake short skirt, long jacket I want a girl with a mind like a diamondI want a girl who knows whats bestI want a girl with shoes that...

For a man well seasoned in dealing with the Alaskan back country, Todd Palin is still adjusting to the wilderness of Washington and the searing national spotlight that was thrust on him and his family when his wife, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, was tapped to be the first ever female Republican vice presidential nominee.

It is the Internet, so Yoda the cat's four ears could easily be an optical illusion or a camera trick along the lines of those semi-animated, talking cats whose mouths move on kitty litter commercials. Or perhaps the 2-year-old feline is just a remarkable showcase of genetic mutation.

Kryogeniks’ Defiant and EBK say it’s only a matter of time before the FBI catches up with them, speaking to Wired Threat Level in a Thursday phone interview. The FBI is working hard to make good on the duo’s fears, and announced a joint investigation with the San Jose police department on Friday, to try and track down the culprits responsible for a Wednesday attack against Comcast’s subscriber portal. Both Defiant and EBK are members of the hacking group Kryogeniks, who in the past was implicated in attacks against AOL and a number of celebrities. The duo said that their...

What’s it like, being Muslim in San Diego? The question arose for me earlier this year when I decided to hit Ocean Beach on maybe the worst night of the winter. It was Wednesday, the end of market day. Rainstorms exploding in off the Pacific, marquees flapping, most market folks packing up, re-boxing their fruit. But not the guys in the black tent near where Bacon crosses Newport. From inside the gust-wrenched canvas, half a dozen men shouted to scurrying passersby to come on in for the ultimate hand-warmer. Guled and Mohammed and Abdi and Hamza and a bunch of...

IT is probably not to his advantage that Mitt Romney’s clean-scrubbed, youthful presence so readily reminds voters of those earnest Mormon missionaries knocking on their doors. If it were almost any other church, a missionary past would most likely be an asset for a presidential candidate. To have spent two years in mission work after high school is a sign of early and admirable idealism, commitment and strength of character. But to many American Christians, those friendly Mormon missionaries embody exactly what they fear and resent about Mormonism. And Mr. Romney, after nearly a year of graciously sidestepping invitations to...

Armed men take body from Ensenada morgue By Anna Cearley UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER 5:17 p.m. November 15, 2007 TIJUANA – Armed men burst into Ensenada's morgue Wednesday night and took the body of a man who died in a helicopter accident earlier this week. The group later killed two police officers who attempted to stop them. The dead man taken from the morgue was identified as Pablo Gonzalez. It'sunclear whether that's his real name or why such drastic measures were taken to recover his body. Mexican media reported he was a suspected member of the region's Arellano Felix drug cartel....

Pendleton plea deals spur legal concerns CAMP PENDLETON: An Encinitas Marine testified Thursday that he helped kill an Iraqi civilian last spring in Hamdaniya, Iraq. During his court-martial at Camp Pendleton, Pfc. John Jodka III said he was one of five Marines who shot at what he thought was an insurgent while the other three members of his unit looked on. In reality, the victim was Hashim Ibrahim Awad, a 52-year-old civilian whom the squad abducted after not finding their targeted man. The unit's members had placed him in a roadside hole, Jodka recounted, all part of an effort to...

This is really funny stuff. I don't think Eleanor is playing along, I think she really is getting angry during this interview. Either way, it is very entertaining. Here's the link: Colbert Interview

Hey, I can't vouch for the authenticity of this, but it sounds real. The NYT National Secrets Department supposedly intercepted this confidential IM conversation between Blair and Bush, and posted it on the web. Here it is: Chat with Sxybritguy10 4:01 a.m. Kickass43: yo tone Kickass43: u there bud? Sxybritguy10: just got 2 my desk Sxybritguy10: wot r u doing up??? Kickass43: man im so jet laggd from st. pete Kickass43: wuz up @ 3 Kickass43: cdnt evn rowz barney 4 a walk Kickass43: he's like: dude. its 2 erly evn 4 dogs Kickass43: so ran 10k on tha tredmill...

WASHINGTON - A music video posted to the Internet, telling a tale about a U.S. Marine killing members of an Iraqi family, is being condemned by an Islamic group and investigated by the Marine Corps. The four-minute video, called "Hadji Girl," appears to be sung by a Marine in front of a cheering audience. The lyrics talk about the Marine gunning down members of an Iraqi woman's family after they confront him with automatic weapons. Lt. Col. Scott Fazekas, a spokesman for the Marines, said Tuesday that the Marines were aware of a video posted on the Internet that "purports...

Mother commissions unique tribute to fallen Marine By: ALEXANDRA DE LUCA - For the North County TimesCAMP PENDLETON ---- On Nov. 30, 2005, Karla Comfort went to bed happy. Comfort, 39, had just received two letters from her son, John Holmason, who was nearing the end of his first deployment in Iraq. Holmason had good news ---- he would be home Jan. 24. After months of "constant fear," Comfort said that she finally let her guard down. She drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face and thoughts of her son's homecoming dancing in her head.But those dreams...

EL CAJON – Two people working at a liquor store in a Broadway strip mall were shot to death – killed by single shots in the back of the head – inside the store late Wednesday night in what police described as a robbery gone bad. The body of one of the victims in the liquor store shooting is removed Thursday morning. A cousin of one of the victims discovered the man and woman face-down and bleeding inside Granada Liquor, on Broadway near Mollison Avenue, when he arrived at the liquor store to check on them around 11:30 p.m., said...

Chafee votes against Owen's confirmation By JOHN E. MULLIGAN Providence Journal Washington bureau WASHINGTON -- Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee was the only Republican to vote today against the confirmation of Priscilla Owen as a federal appellate judge, as a four-year partisan battle over judicial nominations ended. The Rhode Island Republican had been one of the 14 senators who signed a bipartisan deal to prevent the effort to ban judicial filibusters. He expressed hope yesterday that President Bush will henceforth make judicial nominations that can win enough bipartisan support to preclude filibuster threats. Owen's nomination was confirmed on a 56-43 vote,...

<!-- #navcontainer ul { padding-left: 0; margin-left: 0; background-color: #efefef; color: #000000; float: left; width: 100%; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; ; font-size: 9px; text-transform: uppercase; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px} <p>#navcontainer ul li { display: inline; line-height: 18px} <p>#navcontainer ul li a { padding: 0.2em 1em; background-color: #efefef; color: #242424; text-decoration: none; float: left; border-right: 1px solid #666; display: inline; } <p>#navcontainer ul li a:hover { background-color: #999999; color: #FFFFFF; } .style12 {font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} .style13 {color: #FFFFFF} .bannertextad {font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;} .bannertextadcolor {color:...

Reed's Rules The nuclear option, 19th-century style. Flip your television clicker over to C-SPAN's coverage of the House of Representatives and watch the speeches on the floor. View these for any length of time and you will notice a pattern. The chair will announce "The gentleman from so-and-so is recognized for five minutes." If he finishes before the time limit is up, the member will say, "I yield back the balance of my time." If he is not finished, the sharp rap of the speaker's gavel will be heard -- even as the member continues speaking -- and the voice...