Free Republic

While it’s often best not to engage with conspiracy theorists on their own turf, as you can probably never convince them, it’s worth setting the record straight on all the myths and phony evidence surrounding the Sandy Hook massacre.We’ve rounded up every major piece of evidence we could find that leads theorists to say the “official narrative” of events “doesn’t add up” and provided the facts that show why these questions can be easily explained. We’ve ignored the empty accusations with no evidence to support them (it was the Jews!) and focused only on the theories that try to present...

Dozens of activists protested on Tuesday evening against an alternative Memorial Day ceremony held by the leftist organization Combatants for Peace at the Tel Aviv port area. The group’s alternative ceremony includes Israeli bereaved parents and Palestinian Authority Arab bereaved parents (parents of terrorists who were killed while fighting IDF soldiers) under the same category of remembrance and loss. On Sunday, one of the protest organizers, Nissim Eliyahu, sharply criticized the alternative ceremony and told Arutz Sheva that it is in fact a political event under the guise of a memorial event. Combatants for Peace’s spokesman said in response to...

Are leftists now equating the life of blood thirsty terrorists to fallen IDF soldiers? We get a LIVE report on the scene with Yoni Klein who is reporting at a demonstration against the equating of a terrorist's life being equal to an IDF soldier's life- in other words, is a criminal's life equal to that of a police officer's? "Combatants for Peace explains why it chooses to invite parents of TERRORISTS who died fighting IDF soldiers to its Memorial Day ceremony. - 'No one has a monopoly on grief', they say. This is a radio talk show. Your participation is...

It was time. Murdock's hips were failing, his hearing was gone and other ravages of age had caught up with him. So his family, the Monty family from Wauwatosa's west side, convened a tearful meeting at the dining room table. It was decided that they all - mom, dad and the three boys - would go with Murdock to the vet's office the following Monday and hold him close during the final moments of his life. But first, they would spend the weekend doing the things Murdock liked best, spoiling him with treats and giving neighbors a chance to say...

Only a fool believes that all those with whom he differs are bad people. Moreover, just about all of us live the reality -- often within our own family -- of knowing good and loving people with whom we strongly differ on political, religious, social and economic issues. That said, I have come to believe that the more committed one is to leftism, the more likely one is to become meaner. Two examples in just the past week offer compelling evidence. Prominent left-wing commentators used the way in which Rick Santorum and his wife handled the death of one of...

Good Grief: A Meditation of How Grief can be a Gift in Strange PackageBy: Msgr. Charles Pope As a priest I walk with a lot of people in their grief. It’s a regular part of priesthood. I remember back in 2007 how tough it was for me: The Deacon of my parish, Nerus, like a father to me, died after a long battle with cancer. His final words to me were, “I’m not so good right now, but I’ll be better soon.” My administrative and pastoral assistant, Catherine, like a mother to me, developed a rapid form of Alzheimer’s...

BART officials acknowledged this afternoon that they shut down cell phone and wireless data service in its downtown San Francisco stations to disrupt a planned protest. Their announcement sparked denunciations from civil libertarians and the apparent threat of a cyber-attack on the BART website. A statement posted on the transit agency's website said the communications blackout was ordered in the interest of public safety: "Organizers planning to disrupt BART service on August 11, 2011 stated they would use mobile devices to coordinate their disruptive activities and communicate about the location and number of BART Police," the statement reads. "A civil...

Anthony Weiner's scandal does not require understanding complicated lobbying laws (Jack Abramoff) or how kickbacks were funneled through labyrinthine layers of bureaucracy (Duke Cunningham), nor does it depend on a partisan view of an issue, like hiring a 24-year-old with no finance experience to remake the entire stock exchange of Iraq. No, it centers on something simple that everyone can relate to: boners on the Internet. And yet, pundits' analysis of Weinergate is still highly dependent on their ideological viewpoint, with liberals defending the New York Democrat even as his hacking claim looked less than credible. Over the past week,...

Divine Mercy Diary Exerpts   Jesus's words are in italics.  St. Faustina's words are in regular print.   "Your task is to write down everything that I make known to you about My mercy, for the benefit of those who by reading these things will be comforted in their souls and will have the courage to approach Me." (1693)     "Mankind will not have peace until it turns with trust to My mercy." (300)     

This has been a very difficult week for me personally and for the entire family. On Sunday my much loved 16 year old dog Maggie stopped eating. I tried to give her everything from leftover turkey to hot dogs. Nothing worked. On Monday she stopped drinking water and I had to start feeding her pedialite with a syringe to keep her from becoming dehydrated ...God's love is not limited to humanity. He saves both man and beast. When humanity fell into sin, all the cosmos fell into bondage as well—the death, pain and suffering of all creatures is the result...

Ever since an angel announced good news to shepherds working the night shift, Christians have associated the birth of Jesus with joy. But some people who have experienced significant loss in the recent past find a season of celebration observed against a soundtrack of “Joy to the World” a bit hard to handle. Churches can help reduce the pain for grieving people by dialing back expectations and not heightening the pressure, Chaplain Mark Grace said. When Grace, vice president of mission and ministry at Baylor Health Care System, speaks to churches about grief and bereavement during the Christmas season, he...

The five stages of the grieving process described below is a commonly accepted way by which people deal with grief and tragedy, especially when diagnosed with a terminal illness or facing a life changing loss. It was first introduced by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying. I propose that it is what many U.S. citizens are going through today in light of the strong socialist movement taking over much of our country. Denial – “I feel fine.”; “This can’t be happening, not to me.” Denial is usually only a temporary defense for the individual. This feeling...

"Lola "... Loyal, conservative Canine Freeper and dedicated K-9 companion of Recovering Ex-Hippie, passed away August 3." I am heartbroken that my wonderful doggie, Lola, died Tuesday morning. She was 15 years old and had been adopted from the Doggie Orphanage in Cleveland. She then moved with me to Jacksonville, FL. Always a Patriotic Pupster, Lola was called upon by the CIA after 9-11 to break up “Terrorist Squirrel Cells “ in our woods….a calling she dedicated herself to with great enthusiasm. She was the mascot for a fund drive to raise money for the New Orleans Humane society during...

"When will this misery be over?" My mother uttered these words on a day when the aches and pains of old age were especially intense. Mentally I knew the answer,but I said, "I'm sorry you're uncomfortable." As I prepared to go, my mother said, "Don't leave me," so I sat and waited until she nodded off before exiting the room. Alone in my car, the tears slid down my face, and I realized that even though my mother is still alive, I'm already grieving her death. Caregiver grief is a complicated puzzle of sorrow, guilt, and longing for the day...

FORT HOOD, Texas , Nov. 12, 2009 – In the aftermath of the Nov. 5 shootings here that left 13 dead and 38 wounded, soldiers, family members and civilians who work on post are looking for answers, and for help in grieving. A U.S. Army soldier buries his head in his printed program during a memorial service on Fort Hood, Texas, honoring the 13 who were fatally shot in a Nov. 5 shooting spree by a lone gunman on post, Nov. 10, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Grazyna Musick  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Following any loss, individuals and...

Is This Haunting Picture Proof That Chimps Really DO Grieve? MICHAEL HANLON 27th October 2009 [Pic in URL] United in what appears to be deep and profound grief, a phalanx of more than a dozen chimpanzees stood in silence watching from behind the wire of their enclosure as the body of one of their own was wheeled past. This extraordinary scene took place recently at the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon, West Africa. When a chimp called Dorothy, who was in her late 40s, died of heart failure, her fellow apes seemed to be stricken by sorrow. Enlarge Chimpanzees...

“…For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand. …”~W.B. Yeats First, my title is in no way intended to be a slight to C.S. Lewis, but rather a tribute and expression of gratitude for his many works that have profoundly influenced my intellectual and spiritual life these past years. Mimicry, it is said, is the sincerest form of flattery, and while I get the impression that Mr. Lewis was not particularly prone to vanity, I like to think he might be smiling down with the knowledge that my humble efforts here have grown out of thoughts and...

NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2009 – As filming for Sesame Workshop’s latest “Talk, Listen, Connect,” video got under way here yesterday, it became clear that while it’s not always sunny on Sesame Street, ultimately the clouds can be swept away. Deborah Mullen, wife of Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, poses with Elmo’s mom, Mae, on the New York set of Sesame Workshop’s third “Talk, Listen, Connect,” video Oct. 15, 2009. The new video in the TLC series addresses the loss of a loved one and offers parents and children alike tools to deal with...

Dear Fellow FReepers: You all know, and I freely admit, that I am not the nicest person in the world. However, I know someone who is. That someone is my mother. Three to two years ago we experienced a spate of pet deaths. We had many pets, and they were all old, so it was just time for them to wear out and say good-bye (unfortunately, one of them was "helped along" by the adulterated pet food). Their ages were eleven, fourteen, seventeen, and fifteen. One reason we were able to make it through those dark times was that a...

A grieving mother in Britain was fined $173 for spending too long at her son's coffin before it was taken away for cremation. Terrie Rouse, 32, said her grief turned to shock when officials told her she had taken too long to say goodbye, The Daily Mail reported. "The vicar had asked if I would like to spend a bit more time saying goodbye," she said. "I sat by the coffin for 10 minutes, telling my son how much we loved him and begging him not to be scared." Officials at the crematorium, run by a local English council, impose...