Free Republic

With California, Oregon and Washington state, Obama crosses the 270 threshold - meaning there's no way he can win at this point. Is there something they know that we don't?

With the dust still settling from McCain's surprise announcement to cease his campaign to return to the Senate, it occured to me how brilliant this move is. Predictably, Obama said "no" because he's the master of debating and will not take orders from McCain and, for McCain's part, he's criticized for using a "gimmick" to avoid having to debate Obama. There was an article two days ago (forgive my poor memory in identifying it) commenting on how it is customary for debates to be that single moment in politics when one candidate lauds the abilities of the other while downplaying...

In a major concession, the United States is prepared to provide Iran with some nuclear technology if it stops enriching uranium, diplomats said Tuesday. The offer was part of a package of incentives presented to Tehran Tuesday by European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, said the diplomats, who were familiar with the proposals. The diplomats demanded anonymity in exchange for discussing details of the offer, which was agreed on last week by six world powers in a bid to resolve the nuclear standoff with Iran.

Kinda' makes you sick when you think about it...

I was arguing over the eminent domain decision with a co-worker when they brought up the 5th Amendment: "...nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." She said it implied that the Government can take property for public use in so far as there is just compensation. Is this a correct interpretation of the 5th Amendment? Also, as I am not a Constitutional scholar, I am curious as to how the Eminent Domain decision differs from the 5th Amendment.

CHICAGO (CNS) -- Before the cardinals locked into the Sistine Chapel had a chance to cast their first ballot April 18, a group protesting the lack of women's voices in the conclave gathered outside Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago to send up billows of bright pink smoke along with prayers for women to be heard. The event featured statements from several organizations supporting the ordination of women that called on the church to open its doors fully to women's participation. "At a time when young women are sold into slavery around the world, when war brings the rape of women,...

CALIFORNIA MAN RACES TO BUY HOST CONSECRATED BY JOHN PAUL II TO SAVE IT AFTER IT IS AUCTIONED ON eBAY There it was on eBay, the online auction house that almost revels in the blasphemous: an ad for a Host consecrated by John Paul II and whisked out of Rome by a non-Catholic who allegedly attended Mass at St. Peter's in 1998, the Pope's twentieth anniversary. "I am not a Catholic and do not believe I'm going to hell for selling this collectible," said the owner in a poorly spelled advertisement. "It's a memento from that great afternoon with Pope...

April Fool's Day is one of the most light hearted days of the year, yet it stems from a serious subject—the adoption of a new calendar. A Traditional New Year's Ancient cultures, including those as varied as the Romans and the Hindus, celebrated New Year's Day on April 1. It closely follows the vernal equinox (March 20th or March 21st.) In medieval times, much of Europe celebrated March 25, the Feast of Annunciation, as the beginning of the new year. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered a new calendar (the Gregorian Calendar) to replace the old Julian Calendar. The new...

Pope Pope John Paul II has had an operation to perform a tracheotomy, according to reports.The operation was carried out to ease the pontiff's breathing difficulties after he was rushed to a Rome hospital with breathing difficulties.Sources in Italy said the operation took around 30 miinutes. The 84-year-old pontiff was taken to hospital with similar flu-like conditions in early February. "He had the same symptoms as last time, including fever and some breathing difficulties," a Church source told the Reuters news agency. The Vatican confirmed the Pope had suffered a relapse of the flu. "For that reason he has been...

Just heard it on CNN now...

President Bush, who has pledged to reform the U.S. tax code in his second term, today praised the flat tax implemented by Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda of the Slovak Republic. During their meeting in Bratislava, Bush, without prompting, made a point of touting the flat tax: “I complimented the Prime Minister on putting policies in place that have helped this economy grow. The most important responsibility we have at home is to make sure our people can find work. And the president put a flat tax in place; he simplified his tax code, which has helped to attract capital and...

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Catholic educators need better teaching programs about evolution "to correct the anti-evolution biases that Catholics pick up" from the general society, according to a U.S. bishops' official involved in dialogue with scientists for 20 years. Without a church view of human creation that is consistent with currently accepted scientific knowledge, "Catholicism may begin to seem less and less 'realistic' to more and more thoughtful people," said David Byers, executive director of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Science and Human Values from 1984 to 2003. "That dynamic is a far greater obstacle to religious assent than evolution,"...

BOULDER, Colo. -- A Roman Catholic church plans to bury the ashes of up to 1,000 aborted fetuses Sunday to mark the 32nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, prompting scathing criticism from family planning groups. Boulder Abortion Clinic director Dr. Warren Hern, who had no idea the mortuary working with his clinic had been sending ashes to Sacred Heart of Mary Church, said the decision was "a cynical exploitation of private grief for political purposes." Chuck Myers, the director of Crist Mortuary, has an agreement with the clinic to collect and cremate tissue and had been giving the ashes to...

In addition to expressing their distaste for the Inaugural speech, Cafferty took the pleasure of announcing a show they are having this weekend about how the support for Iraq is lower than the support for the Vietnam War during the Tet Offensive. He concluded with this plug by adding "and we'll focus on why more Americans aren't doing more to bring our troops home." No bias in that reporting. THEN...they have the audacity to do a "news" story on how the Bush's saluted fellow Texans during the parade (with the "longhorn" symbol made with an extended pinky and forefinger). They...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Exit polls overstated John Kerry's share of the vote on November 2, both nationally and in many states, because more Kerry supporters participated in the survey than Bush voters, according to an internal review of the exit-polling process released Wednesday. The report said it is difficult to pinpoint precisely why, in general, Kerry voters were more likely to participate in the exit poll than were Bush voters. "There were certainly motivational factors that are impossible to quantify," the report said. Problems with the numbers first surfaced on Election Day, when exit polls showed Kerry with a 3-point...

MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) - Members of a suburban district's school board plan to challenge a federal judge's order to remove stickers in science textbooks that call evolution ``a theory, not a fact.'' In a 5-2 vote, the Cobb County school board decided to appeal last week's ruling. Board members said U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper's order to remove the stickers immediately ``amounts to unnecessary judicial intrusion into local control of schools,'' according to a statement. Monday's decision came after board members met with lawyers for three hours in a closed session. -- snip --

In Tallahassee, FL, there are about seven cop cars, an ambulance, SWAT team, several unidentified "police" vehicles, fire truck, et cetera right in my neighborhood, but the cops will not tell us anything remotely informative. From what I've gathered, its a hostage situation... Is there anyone who might be able to provide greater detail???

I didn't find this article in a Freep-search, so I figured I'd post it for a good laugh.

The DUmmies have posted a thread with "proof" that the abortion rate rose during Bush's term. This article is excellent and COMPLETELY debunks the theory, however... I need someone to post this as I cannot and I do not have an email address apart from a "free host that is not accpeted by the Democrat Undergound" to complete registration there. I drives me nuts that people live in such ignorance...

Does anyone know where I can find that version of "O, Holy Night" that came out a year or so ago that is sung by a man who is competely tone deaf?