Free Republic

My engineering training kicked in when I saw the NASA photographs from space of New Orleans, and of the whole Gulf Coast of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. There is an obvious solution to the New Orleans problem. The Dutch have already demonstrated it. Take New Orleans as the first and worst example. The pumps, levees and canals intended to protect New Orleans have been controlled by local authorities. They left three of the four pumping stations dependent on the local power grid. Hellooo. The precise time those pumps are most needed is during a storm when the local power grid...

The relationship between the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program and the “World’s Most Dangerous Man” became more formal Aug. 17 as the Martial Arts Center of Excellence welcomed back the newest MCMAP subject-matter expert. Ken Shamrock, the first titleholder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and former mixed martial arts world champion, returned to Quantico to teach his first clinic with Marines since the Corps designated him a MCMAP subject-matter expert for integration and combat conditioning training earlier this summer. The honor was bestowed upon Shamrock in recognition of his selfless and ongoing support of the Marines’ unique mixed martial arts...

Click on the boxes to zoom in. http://alt.ngs.noaa.gov/katrina/KATRINA0000.HTM Some samples.... This used to be a subdivision. http://mfproducts.nos.noaa.gov/storms/katrina/24331209.jpg This used to be a town. http://mfproducts.nos.noaa.gov/storms/katrina/24331215.jpg

There is a potentially fatal flaw at the heart of the global economy: the strong possibility of financial meltdown following a collapse of confidence in the greenback, Clyde Prestowitz tells Bruce Stannard August 29, 2005 THE nightmare scenario that haunts global strategist Clyde Prestowitz is an economic September 11 -- a worldwide financial panic triggered by a sudden massive sell-off of US dollars that would lead inexorably to the collapse of economies around the world. If that happens, Prestowitz predicts: "It would make the Great Depression of the 1930s look like a walk in the park." Australia would be sucked...

SAN JOSE, Calif. Authorities say a 34-year-old Peninsula soccer coach faces disciplinary action and misdemeanor criminal charges after he allegedly provided alcohol to four 18-year-old players and had sex with three of them. Jeff van Gastel has resigned as president of the De Anza Force, a Cupertino soccer club he founded. He has also been suspended by the California Youth Soccer Association and Menlo College, where he had recently started a job as the assistant women's soccer coach. Police say all the allegations involve players from the Force. Authorities allege van Gastel provided alcohol to players during an end-of-season party...

SYDNEY-- After decades of teaching the theory of Darwinian evolution as though it were established fact, school boards in Australia may rethink their approach. The Intelligent Design (ID) theory is making inroads with formerly skeptical members of the scientific community now that the mathematical improbability of the random and spontaneous generation of life has been more thoroughly analyzed. Australian Federal Education Minister Brendan Nelson told reporters earlier this month that ID would have a place with Darwinism should parents or schools be interested. This announcement coincides with an attempt by researchers at Harvard University to debunk the Intelligent Design theory,...

Security experts have found a vulnerability in the Windows operating system that could allow malware to lurk undetected in long string names of the Windows Registry. According to a security advisory by Denmark-based IT security company Secunia, the weakness is caused by an error in the Windows Registry Editor Utility's handling of long string names. A malicious program could hide itself in a registry key by creating a string with a long name, which would allow the malicious string and any created after it in the same key to remain hidden, according to Secunia. Keys are stored in the Windows...

Ask the average Christian, "Are you ashamed of Jesus?" and he will more than likely adamantly answer, "Of course not. He's my Lord and Savior." This unashamed boldness to proclaim Christ is seen in the abundance of "Real men love Jesus" and other T-shirts that clearly identify the wearer as belonging to Jesus. Every Sunday millions faithfully attend churches that exalt the name of Jesus. There are more "fish" on cars than in the Atlantic Ocean. Gospel music resonates with love for Jesus, and even has the accolades of the secular music industry. Christ-exalting television and radio daily fill the...

Links to Further Information A Matter of Life and Death From Darwin to Hitler August 30, 2005 In all our contemporary conflicts over the teaching of evolution in schools, there’s one question that nobody asks: To what does the embrace of Darwinism lead? Historian Richard Weikart explores that topic in a book called From Darwinto Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany. Despite that provocative title, Weikart is no sensationalist. He’s not out to prove that Hitler and the Nazi party were directly inspired by Charles Darwin’s theories. But what Weikart does demonstrate, through exhaustive research, is that Darwin’s...

Dinny the roadside dinosaur has found religion. The 45-foot-high concrete apatosaurus has towered over Interstate 10 near Palm Springs for nearly three decades as a kitschy prehistoric pit stop for tourists. Now he is the star of a renovated attraction that disputes the fact that dinosaurs died off millions of years before humans first walked the planet. Dinny's new owners, pointing to the Book of Genesis, contend that most dinosaurs arrived on Earth the same day as Adam and Eve, some 6,000 years ago, and later marched two by two onto Noah's Ark. The gift shop at the attraction, called...

...Note that Dees, true to communist form, spoke in deceptive 'code' rather than to use plain English. Thus the two law-breakers were redefined as 'undocumented workers' as though their only fault lie in being undocumented, when in fact they became criminals as soon as they illegally crossed into our country, and they also became trespassers when they intruded upon the private property of the rancher. Dees 'code' for the rightful owner of the ranch is, "those who…use violence" as though the rancher had no legal right to defend his property, which in Dees mind, he didn't. In the darkly twisted...

...As Blood washed Christians we assume that Jesus is on our side, in our corner. This is false. Jesus doesn't take sides. Jesus takes command. Jesus doesn't assume the role of General. Jesus is our General. We are nothing but infantry sloggers whose duty is to obey His command. Obey His command every day, every way to announce the Good News to a dying world, our own dying neighborhood. We don't need to send missionaries to China. China needs to send missionaries to Maine to lead, to teach us silent, hands in our pockets Blood washed lambs how to spread...

BAGHDAD, Aug 28 (KUNA) -- The Multi-National Forces in Iraq Sunday revealed a terrorist cell was discovered and captured Northeast of the capital, Baghdad, and said the cell is specialized in assassinations of Iraqi officials. Iraqi Army and MNF forces jointly raided "a suspected location of a terrorist cell specialized in assassinations and planning attacks against government officials in Al-Khalis," a statement said. The MNF statement added the raid was in the early hours of Friday and the operation was conducted and concluded quickly. The 11 arrestees were taken to a safe location for questioning, it was stated.

Specter Confesses to not Understanding the ConstitutionBy Henry Mark HolzerFrontPageMagazine.com | August 29, 2005 A couple of weeks ago, I wrote in these pages that Senator “Chuck” Schumer broke his own record for ignorance of  the judicial system following President Bush’s announcement of John Roberts’ nomination to the Supreme Court.  In insisting that Roberts articulate positions on current legal issues confronting the Court, Schumer proved that he does not understand Separation of Powers, and thus the Constitution’s mandated role for a judge in the American system of government, believing instead that the judiciary is simply another political branch.  I observed...

A Georgia county is being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union over its pre-meeting prayers. The suit claims one prayer at a recent Cobb County Commissioners' meeting ended "in the name of Jesus our Savior," which phrase, according to the ACLU, puts the invocation in violation of the Constitution of the United States. However, attorney Steve Crampton of the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy, protests that the Cobb County officials' prayers are entirely legal, and the commission members have the right to open meetings with prayers acknowledging Jesus if they so choose. But unfortunately, the pro-family...

The following letter was written in response to a public "Die-In" held at the front gate of Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, this past April. Its author, Marc Fencil, would have been on campus at the time, but, as a Marine, he was stationed in Iraq. OU's official student publication, The Post, ran his letter on April 8, 2005. We were as inspired by his forthright invitation to the antiwar protestors as we are grateful for his service. If only every college student -- let alone professor -- were endowed with as much patriotism and common sense. -- The Editors....

Paleoanthropology: Start Over?   08/22/2005     The September issue of National Geographic, featuring the African continent, has arrived in homes.  On page 1, Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post wrote about the quest for early man, asking, “Are we looking for bones in all the right places?”  The bulk of the article describes the “messy” story of human origins.  It used to be clean-cut, he said, but no longer: Scientists are good at finding logical patterns and turning data into a coherent narrative.  But the study of human origins is tricky: The bones tell a complicated story.  The cast of...

Now that the results are in, the Finance center in Limestone not only stays open, but grows to about 700 from a bit under 500. Those stationed at Limestone both Military and civilian are delighted. Brunswick Naval Air Station is going to be closed, and that is the big story ehre. For while the Civilian work force is hanging their collective heads, saying "oh woas me, oh woas me, what did Bush do to us now?" The Officers and Men assigned to NAS Brunswick are delighted. Why? Well the why concerning the civilian workforce is pretty easy, they are going...

Driving home fears Palestinian terror groups will use land gained by Israel's Gaza evacuation to launch rockets deeper inside the Jewish state, two Qassams today were fired at western Negev towns as Israeli troops prepared the Gaza Strip for handover in the next few weeks. One rocket hit the populated Negev town of Sderot, about 10 miles outside Gaza's Gush Katif slate of former Jewish communities. Another landed in an open field just outside Sderot. The Popular Resistance Committees terror group in Gaza – made up of Fatah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants – claimed responsibility for the attack. The...

Thanks to Blurblogger for hosting the video. I received it by email this morning. THANKS FOR THE MEMORY, BOB HOPE! Bob Hope's Greatest Movie Line EVER! Upload Video and Images - PutfileThe movie was THE GHOST BREAKERS from 1940. CHECK OUT THE GHOST BREAKERS SITE

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld predicted Tuesday that a federal commission will endorse "the overwhelming majority" of his proposals to close, shrink or expand hundreds of military bases across the country. For its part, the nine-member panel has promised not to rubber-stamp the Pentagon chief's plan, and commissioners say changes are likely before they send their final report to President Bush next month. Previous commissions -- in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995 -- altered about 15 percent of whatSept. 11, 2001, era. "It's not about just trying to get rid of excess capacity. It's actually about trying to...

Sixty-three-year-old grandfather Joe Dixon clutched a Bible as he sat in his Jacksonville home Friday and, after a sleepless night, asked himself yet again: "Why did I do this? Why did this happen? I'm a preacher. I'm a Christian. I try to do things right. I don't like to see people get hurt." A short drive away, two brothers, one 17 and the other 18, were in hospital beds at Shands Jacksonville. One was fresh from the operating room, the other being prepped for the same treatment: surgery to implant a pin in his leg after police said a bullet...

Well, I'd like to encourage people that homeschooling DOES make a difference, if you weren't already convinced of it. No descendant of Adam will ever be perfect and all children, homeschooled or not, will make mistakes. Some little and some really big. But homeschooling is not about kids never making mistakes. As a child I was homeschooled and sent to private school (about the same amount of years doing each). I have 9 siblings, one who went to school a majority of his schooling years and 8 who've not been to school at all (except for those who are now...

McCain: Only clinton could be distracted by collins, ugh."

... Get off your butt, out of your pew, and do something!...When is the last time you went out, knocked on someone's door (next door neighbor?) and asked if you could talk about Jesus and what he had done in your life? When is the last time you baptized a brother or sister into the body of Christ? When is the last time you served or partook of Communion with your family or with friends in your living room or at the supper table? When is the last time you acted like a child of the Living God rather than...

Five American church leaders have been arrested in China while Christians seized in a separate raid by Chinese security officials were tortured, a US based religious rights group said on Thursday.

A 93-year-old woman with a "grip like iron" fought back against a robber by grabbing him by the testicles. The Lithuanian woman, who says her strong grip is down to years of milking goats, held on to the man until police arrived. Soja Popova, from Klaipeda, was shoved to the ground when she opened the door to two young men. But she fought back by grabbing the nearest by the testicles and squeezing "with all my force as hard as I could". She told police: "He started screaming like an animal and his friend was trying to pull him free,...

"The commission's refusal to investigate Able Danger after being notified of its existence, and its recent efforts to feign ignorance of the project while blaming others for supposedly withholding information on it, brings shame on the commissioners, and is evocative of the worst tendencies in the federal government that the commission worked to expose," Weldon added.

The Pentagon has launched an investigation to determine whether Clinton administration lawyers blocked a military intelligence unit code named Able Danger from sharing with the FBI critical information on Mohamed Atta and three other 9/11 hijackers a year before the 9/11 attacks. "Because this happened in a previous administration, the Pentagon right now is trying to get their hands around what actually happened and who was involved," Rep. Curt Weldon told ABC Radio host Sean Hannity on Thursday. Weldon said that Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, the Able Danger team member who came forward this week, "had a good meeting with...

I have been trying to get some info from Dr. Savage's site, but every time I try, the page disappears while it is loading. This happens on both IE and Mozilla FireFox.Any ideas? What I'm looking for is the list of things, he read on last nights show, that happened throughout history on the same day that the Jews are being evicted from Gaza.Thanks,Jake

NORRISTOWN - A Pentagon review of a defunct defense operation said to have linked a Sept. 11 hijacker to a terrorist cell in New York City, could shed new light on why Defense Department officials shut down the secret program, "Able Danger," more than a year before the Sept. 11 attacks. A defense intelligence analyst, Tony Shaffer, who worked on the high-tech counterterrorism operation, said Tuesday that battle lines are being drawn in the Pentagon as the old program comes under renewed scrutiny. "Right now, the (Department of Defense) has a great deal of interest in this matter," he said....

The Army has taken the extraordinary step of relieving a four-star general, with military sources citing sexual misconduct as the reason. An official announcement yesterday did not specify why Gen. Kevin P. Byrnes, 52, was removed from his command of all soldier training and doctrine development, but two retired Army officers said it was for having an extramarital affair. Adultery is illegal in the military, constituting conduct unbecoming an officer. The sources said they think the woman was not a subordinate of Gen. Byrnes at U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Monroe, Va.

The state wants to borrow money. So do the county and the city (doesn't matter which county or city, they all do). The school board wants to borrow money -- as do the port, the water and sewer district, the hospital district, the libraries, the transit board, the stadium authority. ... Just how much are all these entities borrowing, anyway? Or to frame the question more directly: Just how much are we, the taxpayers, on the hook for? Interesting questions, with an interesting answer -- no one really knows. It's not that no one does credit-risk analysis. Whether it's you...

Jeanine Pirro, the high-profile district attorney from suburban Westchester County, will seek the Republican nomination to challenge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's bid for re-election next year, a top adviser said Monday. The adviser, speaking only on condition of anonymity to allow Pirro to make the announcement herself, said the district attorney planned to tour the state Wednesday to formally announce her decision. Pirro began calling top New York Republicans Sunday night to tell them of her decision, said the adviser and another top Republican source familiar with her plans. There was no immediate comment Monday from Pirro.

Paul Cameron, founder of the Family Research Institute, calls gays and lesbians "death marketers." "I am not sure how long they will take to destroy the US from within, but sufficiently weakened, the US will probably fall to another state before that occurs," he recently told the Boston Globe. In 1983, Cameron cofounded the Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality, where he published reports claiming that homosexuals were more likely than heterosexuals to molest children and commit other crimes. Shortly thereafter, the American Psychological Association barred Cameron from its membership. The American Sociological Association said that "Cameron has consistently...

NEA focuses too much on political activism unrelated to education By DOUG LAMBERT Guest Commentary WHEN ONE considers the local teachers union, one should remember that in many cases it is part of a statewide organization which is, in turn, part of the national organization. One such organization that should be fairly well known to most readers is the National Education Association, better known as the NEA. The NEA's Web site (www.nea.org) tells us: "The National Education Association (NEA) is the nation's largest professional employee organization and is committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA's 2.7 million members...

Judges rule civil suits against Planned Parenthood can proceed Los Angeles, Aug. 04, 2005 (CNA) - Two separate Los Angeles Superior Court judges have ruled that the Pro-Family Law Center of Southern California may proceed with lawsuits against Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles. The non-profit organization announced the rulings Tuesday. In Jones v. Planned Parenthood, a former PPLA employee claims PPLA was and continues to be engaged in unfair business practices, including overcharging the State of California for services and goods, and for violating various labor laws. If Jones wins, PPLA could have an injunction issued against its continued practices,...

Brig Gen. Carter Ham, deputy director for operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff gestures during a Pentagon news conference, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005 to discuss Marines in Iraq. A Marine amphibious assault vehicle on patrol during combat operations near the Syrian border hit a roadside bomb Wednesday, and 14 Marines were killed in one of the deadliest single attacks in Iraq against American forces. (AP Photo/Heesoon Yim) The Marines have one of the roughest assignments in Iraq: pacifying the perpetually restive Anbar province, home to Fallujah, Ramadi and Haditha, all sites of heavy American casualties since the insurgency went...

The New Republic recently published a survey of conservative journalists on the question of “Intelligent Design” (ID), the controversial critique of Darwinian evolution which argues that living creatures did not arise by an unaided, purely material process of evolution through random genetic variation but rather through the design of an intelligence transcending the material universe. To my surprise, it turned out that almost all those surveyed, including several NR editors and contributors, were doubters not of Darwinism but of Intelligent Design. I realize with some trepidation that I am treading on the views of many of my old NR friends...

Here are the 10 steps that Marx listed in the Communist Manifesto. Karl Marx in creating the Communist Manifesto designed these planks AS A TEST to determine whether a society has become communist or not. 1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. Americans do these with actions such as the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (1868), and various zoning, school & property taxes. Also the Bureau of Land Management (Zoning laws are the first step to government property ownership) - On June 23, 2005 The Supreme Court ruled that local...

A Harvard economics professor is paying the price for stealing a truckload of manure from a horse farmer. A Gloucester District Court judge yesterday ordered Gloucester resident Martin Weitzman to pay $600 in restitution and $300 to the Boy Scouts for stealing a truckload of manure from a Rockport farm in April. The judge dismissed larceny, trespassing and malicious destruction of property charges against Weitzman. The farm sells the manure for 35 dollars a truckload and uses it to fertilize a pasture.

Water vapor builds up around an U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet as it breaks the sound barrier during a fly-by near the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) in this military handout photo taken July 27, 2005. Kitty Hawk and embarked Carrier Air Wing 5 are currently conducting operations in the Philippine Sea. The Hornet is attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 102 of Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan. Kitty Hawk is home ported in Yokosuka, Japan. REUTERS/HO/US Navy/Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Chandler

<p>SCROLL HALFWAY DOWN THE PAGE TO THE LARRY PATTERSON CLIP. The first few minutes, Putnam is doing a NesMax commercial. If you like, you can fast forward a few minutes to get to the meat of it.</p> <p>This is a commercial for Larry Patterson's book - MORE THAN SEX, WORSE THAN LIES. I have met Larry twice and believe him to be a stand up guy.</p>

The Hero of Chappaquiddick: a profile of liberal Democrat Ted KennedyLocal Columnist Jack WardOn the anniversary of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, Edward M. (Teddy) Kennedy wanted to make sure everyone was reminded of the incident. Since Sen. Kennedy wants to remind us of history, I feel obligated to mention the anniversary of Kennedy's troubled past.Teddy is the last son of Joe and Rose Kennedy. The older, famous sons John (JFK) and Robert (RFK) are icons in Democrat politics. But as Cleo O'Donnell, a wife of a former Kennedy campaign aide said, "Teddy Kennedy was the weak kitten in...

A United Methodist pastor in Virginia has been placed on "involuntary leave of absence" for refusing to allow a homosexual to become a member of his congregation. The Rev. Edward Johnson was placed on a yearlong involuntary leave of absence, effective July 1, by action of the clergy of the denomination's Virginia Annual (regional) Conference on June 13. He will receive medical benefits but no salary. The clergyman, pastor of South Hill (Va.) United Methodist Church for six years, could be reinstated as a United Methodist pastor in good standing if he fulfills recommendations from the conference's board of ordained...

<p>WASHINGTON - The United Food and Commercial Workers on Friday joined the Teamsters and Service Workers in abandoning the AFL-CIO, depriving the labor federation of three of its largest unions and close to $28 million of its estimated $120 million budget.</p>

REPORTER VOWS TO 'KILL SELF' IF CHENEY RUNS FOR PRESIDENT Thu Jul 28 2005 15:32:13 ET Veteran wire reporter Helen Thomas is vowing to 'kill herself' if Dick Cheney announces he is running for president. The newspaper HILL first reported the startling claim on Thursday. MORE "The day Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself," she told the HILL. "All we need is one more liar." ...

The rough, dusty roads are traversed by women with veils. Nearby in the state's capital, the original inhabitants are building a mosque. "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger," chant a group of children. A scene straight out of the Middle East, Asia or Africa? No, it's in the second largest Roman Catholic country in Latin America: Mexico, in its turbulent southern state of Chiapas. ... "Among the Indian people there is a deep-seated religious identity, marked by syncretism, and a longing for hope in the different manifestations of the sacred," he added. The teachings of...

LINK TO SJ RES 1(27 CO-SPONSORS) COSPONSORS(27), ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]: (Sort: by date) Sen Alexander, Lamar [TN] - 1/24/2005 Sen Allen, George [VA] - 2/16/2005 Sen Burr, Richard [NC] - 1/24/2005 Sen Coburn, Tom [OK] - 1/24/2005 Sen Cochran, Thad [MS] - 1/26/2005 Sen Cornyn, John [TX] - 1/24/2005 Sen Crapo, Mike [ID] - 1/24/2005 Sen DeMint, Jim [SC] - 1/24/2005 Sen Dole, Elizabeth [NC] - 1/24/2005 Sen Enzi, Michael B. [WY] - 1/24/2005 Sen Frist, William H. [TN] - 1/24/2005 Sen Hatch, Orrin G. [UT] - 1/24/2005 Sen Hutchison, Kay Bailey [TX] - 1/24/2005 Sen Inhofe,...

All too often, when it comes to missions, the USA is thought of as a cash cow, but the hearts and souls of the heathen in the USA are all but forgotten and ignored. The few who do evangelize in the USA, do so at great financial and legal risk, for the USA has become one of the most hostile places on earth when it comes to introducing the Lord Christ Jesus to the lost. What little evangelizing mission work we see being done in the USA, is oft times nothing more than chance mettings that last an hour or...