Free Republic

Many argue that communism will never be possible because of "human nature". The essence of this false argument is the belief that a communist society would consist of an all-powerful central government that would tell everybody what to do--and would therefore undermine the creative initiative of individuals and the search for happiness. • This argument is based on two false assumptions: (1) It assumes that a communist society will look like the former Soviet Union, or the current China, North Korea, etc (ie: corrupt police states with a feudal-style ruling class) (2) It assumes that people will only work in...

WASHINGTON, D.C., FEB. 27, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Less time with Mom and Dad has contributed to more problems for more kids over the last few decades. So says Mary Eberstadt, a part-time research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and author of "Home-Alone America: The Hidden Toll of Day Care, Behavioral Drugs, and Other Parent Substitutes" (Penguin). Eberstadt shared with ZENIT how this separation of children and their parents is producing unforeseen negative consequences. Q: If children are better off materially than ever before, why are they beset by so many troubles such as psychiatric problems, obesity and sexually transmitted diseases?...

OK, ladies and gents, I just figured my last year's screed on this was such a huge hit (37 whole responses! Woo-hoo!) that I just had to come back for an encore. But this time we have a new twist: Instead of that blue writing at the top of the page where all the threads are listed, I'm getting the notice right when I log on - you know, the one with that says "Welcome back, [whoever you are]!" and underneath it is the rectangle in the middle of the page informing you that someone has posted something new to...

Brianna: The Little Girl That Could NEWSWEEK Oct. 13 issue — Left at home alone for nearly three weeks, 2-year-old Brianna Lee somehow managed to fend for herself. Wandering about her Florida apartment foraging for food, she survived on whatever she could unwrap—cheese crackers, cookies, brownie mix, ketchup, uncooked macaroni.

The children, ages 7 and 4, had cereal and, for a time, milk. Frozen TV dinners and corn dogs, too. All the basics, to their mother's mind, to survive the 20 days she planned to be in North Carolina wooing a potential husband she'd met over the Internet. The mother — Janet Hseuh Chen, 31 — tended to the details with meticulous care, authorities said. She unplugged the phone and taped the drapes shut. She lied to school officials, saying she and the children were going out of town. She taught the children how to heat their own meals and...