Free Republic

News about the spread of the Ebola virus has been an increasing focus for market participants in recent days. Despite rising media coverage, Ebola seems to have had little discernible effect on consumer sentiment to date. However, as Goldman Sachs notes, the "fear factor" associated with Ebola appears more significant than in past instances of pandemic concern. While expert opinion sees the likelihood of a significant outbreak of Ebola in the US as very low, it is likely any negative macroeconomic consequences are most likely to be transmitted through fear or risk-aversion channels.

by Randy Alcorn In times of doubt, difficulty, and trials, our fundamental beliefs about God and our faith are revealed. So how can Christians find faith in the midst of doubt? How can they trust God’s plan when their lives seem out of His control, and prayers seem to go unanswered or, as it sometimes feels, even unheard?If you or someone you love has been there, these questions may be far more personal than theoretical. You might ask questions like these: Is God good? Is He sovereign? Does He care?When we’re assailed by trials, we need perspective for our minds and relief...

Islamic State Fighters Reportedly ‘Run Away’ from a Certain Type of Soldier. Radical Islamists who decide to embark on suicidal missions often do so with the expectation they will be rewarded with 72 virgins if they die in battle; however, it turns out there is one major caveat to the scenario, according to a U.S. lawmaker. That is, if they are killed by a woman, the deal is off. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, told the New York Post, “These ISIL [Islamic State] soldiers apparently believed that if they were killed in battle, they...

Until the end of August, Reformation Trust is giving away the ebook edition of R.C. Sproul’s Surprised by Suffering: The Role of Pain and Death in the Christian Life. In Surprised by Suffering, R.C. Sproul argues that we should expect pain and sorrow in this life. Some are actually called to a “vocation” of suffering, and all of us are called to undergo the ultimate suffering of death. God promises in His Word that difficult times will come upon us, but He also promises that He allows suffering for our good and His glory, and He will never give us...

In America today, it’s almost impossible for men not to worry. After all, 102 million Americans are unemployed while another 10 million are just a paycheck away from being jobless. World events, like Russia invading the Ukraine to steal the Crimean peninsula (which many believe is a precursor to World War Three); news reports of natural disasters all across the planet; the deadly Ebola virus spreading throughout West Africa; the disappearance of the Malaysian airliner with 239 passengers on board; the constant intrusion into our private lives by an administration bent on reshaping the American dream as we once...

In America today, it’s almost impossible for men not to worry. After all, 102 million Americans are unemployed while another 10 million are just a paycheck away from being jobless. World events, like Russia invading the Ukraine to steal the Crimean peninsula (which many believe is a precursor to World War Three); news reports of natural disasters all across the planet; the deadly Ebola virus spreading throughout West Africa; the disappearance of the Malaysian airliner with 239 passengers on board; the constant intrusion into our private lives by an administration bent on reshaping the American dream as we once...

Fear and Greed index. Interesting. Click link.

In yesterday’s (Sunday) Gospel, the good thief on the cross rebukes the bad thief at the other side of Jesus with a very poignant question, Have you no fear of God?.Now this question is very well addressed to us as well; especially those of us who live in this modern age, so often marked by things like presumption. Further, with the rise of militant atheism, there is even a contemptuous dismissal of  the fact that we will ever answer to God or anyone for anything we do.Even among believers, there are many who have all but set aside any notion...

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) sent out a paranoid email Saturday evening urging supporters to vote for Democrats so that Republicans can’t impeach President Obama.

Last week, Amnesty International released a report on U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, concluding that as many as 900 civilians might have been killed and 600 seriously injured in the attacks since 2004, when the controversial program began. The United States launched between 330 to 374 drone strikes in Pakistan between 2004 and September 2013, according to the report. And those strikes have created a culture of fear on the ground. "I wasn't scared of drones before," Nabeela, an 8-year-old whose grandmother, Mamana Bibi, was killed by a 2012 drone strike, says in the report. "But now when they fly...

President Obama and his senior cabinet officials are mounting a big push to bolster foreign direct investment in the US – amid evidence that America is falling behind other countries in the race for global capital. The evidence? How about the USA being near the bottom in the Americas with Chile leading and the USA down at the bottom with Mexico, El Salvador and Venezuela. Even Paraguay has a higher FDI as a percentage of GDP! fdiamericas “On the heels of the manufactured crises in Washington, it’s time for folks to come together and focus on doing everything we can...

“It is the Responsibility of the Patriot to protect his Country from its government.” (Thomas Paine). Where is it written that a Warrior going into battle with an evil enemy should be protected from the cheap verbal abuse of those he seeks to destroy? Rush Limbaugh is fond of saying: "The Pioneers get all the arrows." So too do our wimpy RINOs when they try to get off of their doormats and save America from an incompetent, spendaholic Administration. Do our Doormat RINO Politicians expect that the "Leftstream" Liberal Media will NOT inundate them with a continuous barrage of negative...

Monday, October 25, 20105 Best Countries to Escape America's Decline Activist Post Okay, you're upset with the direction America is headed and you've been thinking of moving to another country. Perhaps you feel exhaustively cynical about the political, economic, or social situation in the U.S. and think it is beyond repair. You wouldn't be alone. Many top economists and other trend forecasters are now openly predicting that a total economic, environmental, and social collapse may be imminent in America.

Quoting the NBC/Wall Street Journal Pollster, who says, "This is SHOCKING! You only see this once or twice in a lifetime." They follow with sob stories and fear-mongering, and haven't mentioned that it is OBAMA'S CHOICE that the death benefits are not being paid, and that VA offices are closed. Now, they are fear-mongering "VETERANS WON'T GET PAID!!!". Andrea Mitchell, "15 million people might not get checks!"

Army Staff Sergeant Alonzo Lunsford was interviewed on today's Laura Ingraham show. From what I gathered, the killer had a real problem getting his shots in preparation for overseas deployment. Alonzo Lunsford had to talk Hasan into it a few days before the killer shot Lunsford several times - once in the eye. Alonzo Lunsford stated that the Muslim terrorist is afraid of needles.

[Dear xx,] This is the last thing I wanted to talk about before Labor Day weekend, but you gotta hear this: Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin just joined the "Defund Obamacare" movement -- a group of people, including 80 members of Congress, who are willing to sabotage the economy because they don't like Obamacare. This is the kind of reckless nonsense President Obama is up against in trying to pass a smart budget that actually grows the economy for the middle class. OFA is here to fight back -- because when it comes down to it, I doubt the American...

“Don’t be scared,” was Crazy Dave’s advice as I set out to document some of San Francisco’s sexual quirks (writing can be a dirty and dangerous profession). It was and remains good guidance that applies to most matters, especially politics. But politicos and their propagandists have long recognized the value of fear for creating herd mentality and inciting reaction ahead of thought. The Lie of Fear (“creating a false sense of fear in order to motivate people to action while easing them past critical thinking”) was the very first entry in the Catalog of Canards included in Shooting The Bull....

What Do You Fear Most Terrorism Natural Disaster The Government

Why do we love scary stories? Matt Kaplan looks at the science behind monsters old and new, and our perverse love of a good fright. In the darkness it came. There was no way out. Cornered and helpless, all who found themselves in this dreaded place knew their fate ...

Terrorism causes fear, and we overreact to that fear. Our brains aren't very good at probability and risk analysis. We tend to exaggerate spectacular, strange and rare events, and downplay ordinary, familiar and common ones. We think rare risks are more common than they are, and we fear them more than probability indicates we should. Our leaders are just as prone to this overreaction as we are. But aside from basic psychology, there are other reasons that it's smart politics to exaggerate terrorist threats, and security threats in general.