Free Republic

The life of consecrated religious communities worldwide “is really enjoying good health at this moment,” Archbishop José Rodriguez Carballo, the secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Religious, has reported. His evidence? The archbishop told an EWTN interviewer that in his travels around the world he has found many convents and monasteries where religious lead exemplary lives. There are problems, he conceded, but “there is a lot of holiness in our monasteries.” He issued a challenge: “Whoever doubts of the holiness of consecrated life, let him go to monasteries.” That’s not good enough. Would you trust a doctor who pronounced his...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, said Tuesday that a large segment of the GOP is “anti-government, anti-science and anti-Obama” and that while Democrats opposed much of President George W. Bush’s agenda, Republican obstruction to President Obama is “something quite stunning.” “What’s interesting to me is that Democrats and Republicans know what they believe,” Mrs. Pelosi said on MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown.” “They know what they believe, and that’s what’s happening in Congress … what’s happening here now is we have a large segment of the Republican party that is anti-government. We don’t want any more government than we...

First Lady Michelle Obama turns 50 today, and although the big White House celebration planned by President Obama isn’t until Saturday, that doesn’t mean you have to wait to celebrate. If your invite to Saturday’s dance party in Washington went missing, here are 50 other ways to honor the first lady on her big day — by doing some of her favorite things, from wearing stylish dresses to eating your veggies to doing the Dougie, preferably with Jimmy Fallon. 1. Dance to Beyonce 2. Eat your vegetables 3. Move into a massive new house with your family and invite your...

Hollywood mega-producer Harvey Weinstein revealed Wednesday that he plans to make an anti-gun movie targeting the National Rifle Association. It's no secret, however, that the multi-millionaire Democratic donor has profited heavily from movies featuring guns and violence. Here are some of the biggest movies featuring guns produced by Harvey Weinstein:

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Mike Huckabee says he won't be seeking the title of "America's pastor" if he decides to run for president in 2016. Instead, he would seek to be a servant leader who is both "salt and light" in today's culture. Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas who ran for president in 2008, said he won't make any political announcements until after the midterm elections. A busy speaker and the host of "Huckabee," the Fox News channel talk show, he said his concern for the nation's direction could be the deciding factor. "I just feel like our country is...

While President Barack Obama continued what the Weekly Address to accuse Republicans in Congress of going home for the holidays while less-fortunate Americans suffer. Just a few days after Christmas, more than one million of our fellow Americans lost a vital economic lifeline – the temporary insurance that helps folks make ends meet while they look for a job. Republicans in Congress went home for the holidays and let that lifeline expire. And for many of their constituents who are unemployed through no fault of their own, that decision will leave them with no income at all. We make this...

Oh! and BTW. Is that not the most arrogant, smug, pompous looking face you ever wanted to slap silly? (Covering Your Back Just in Case The NSA is Snopping Around.) Oh, and speaking of Algore, let me introduce someone who had he survived would have been the biggest supporter of Algore's running joke on Global Warming, someone who had his very own Enviro"Mental" Planet Earth Catastrophe Scenario of Destruction but never knew how to monetize it, having popularized, prostelyized a similar sounding catchy scheme in which to inject the fear of the End of Days as his very own...

Actor Andy Serkis is set to direct an upcoming movie adaptation of George Orwell’s classic novel Animal Farm. But there will be a slight deviation from the story’s original focus: rather than serve as a cautionary tale about Communist totalitarianism, this updated version will address Hollywood’s predictable, go-to embodiment of evil, the Darth Vader of our time: corporate greed. Orwell’s brilliant allegory Animal Farm was written during World War II as a satire on Soviet Communism (and very nearly wasn’t published, critical as it was of our Russian ally). It has since been adapted to film twice, a British animated...

Pope Francis may have been named Time magazine's Person of the Year, but he has come under scathing criticism from a growing number of traditionalist Catholics for cracking down on a religious order that celebrates the old Latin Mass. The case has become a flashpoint in the ideological tug-of-war going on in the Catholic Church over Francis' revolutionary agenda, which has thrilled progressives and alarmed some conservatives. The matter concerns the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, a small but growing order of several hundred priests, seminarians and nuns that was founded in Italy in 1990 as an offshoot of the...

In the interest of transparency, Gov. Mark Dayton has released his tax returns for every year since 2009, back when he was just a candidate for the governor's office. He dropped his 2012 returns yesterday afternoon, and they reveal that last year was a prosperous one for our governor: Dayton took home his state salary of $116,125, as well as $92,381 from the family trust, and $130,291 in capital gains, for a total income of $343,234. That income puts Dayton among Minnesota's highest earners. Yet, according to his records, Dayton donated just $1,000 to charity in 2012.

Obama’s Education Secretary recently said that opponents to the Administration’s “Common Core” Standards are merely “white suburban moms” who are, all of a sudden, learning that their kids aren’t real bright. Arne Duncan (wow. . . Perfect name for a 1970’s sitcom) made the degrading remarks to a group of state school superintendents on Friday. According to the Washington Post: U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told a group of state schools superintendents Friday that he found it “fascinating” that some of the opposition to the Common Core State Standards has come from “white suburban moms who — all of...

As CNN points out, that is simply false: Sebelius is actually legally allowed to get insurance over the exchange but she would have to forego the employer contribution to her premiums. In the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan, that employer contribution accounts for a majority of her premiums. In order to get a private health insurance plan through Obamacare, Sebelius would have to pass up what surely amounts to more than $10,000 in annual compensation.

One of the things I am beginning to like about Francis is that he challenges me, he makes me ask questions, especially about mercy. "Am I merciful? How far mercy should be extended? Is there a limit to it? Where does it end?" The test came with the celebration of a Requiem Mass for the murderer and war criminal Erich Priebke, who was responsible for the deaths 335 Italian civilians and who himself admitted to personally shooting two people. Pope Francis' Vicar for Rome, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, had forbidden every priest in the diocese to offer a Requiem for him....

**SNIP** Homeowners Irrationally Choosing to Be Deadbeats: "And so when I read people saying, now, this wouldn't be a big deal; we should test it out; let's take default out for a spin and see how it rides -- and I -- I -- I say, imagine, in your private life, if you decided that I'm not going to pay my mortgage for a month or two. First of all, you're not paying money by not paying your mortgage. You're just a deadbeat. And you can anticipate that will hurt your credit, which means that in addition to the debt...

While the nation’s political class has been fixated on the government shutdown in Washington this week, the National Security Agency (NSA) has continued to spy on all Americans and, by its ambiguity and shrewd silence, seems to be acknowledging slowly that the scope of its spying is truly breathtaking. The Obama administration is of the view that the NSA can spy on anyone, anywhere. The president thinks that federal statutes enable the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court to authorize the NSA to capture any information it desires about any persons without identifying the persons and without a showing...

This might be Yosemite’s worst birthday ever. The national park turns 123 on Tuesday, the same day that a government shutdown will close the park to all visitors. Google celebrated Yosemite’s big day by creating a lovely Google Doodle depicting Yosemite badges to honor one of the nation’s favorite parks. Sadly, the anniversary comes at a time when no visitors will be able to visit the Half Dome, El Capitan, or Yosemite Falls.

Raising the debt ceiling doesn't increase the nation's debt, Pres. Obama declared in a speech today... Obama dismissed concerns about raising the debt ceiling by noting that it'd been done so many times in the past: ... Obama went on to suggest that "the average person" mistakenly thinks that raising the debt ceiling means the U.S. is racking up more debt:

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama, in an interview broadcast on Sunday, blamed conservative Republicans for a stalemate on the budget and insisted that while he is willing to haggle over taxes and government spending, he will not make a deal would that would impose conditions on increasing the nation's debt limit. With a possible government shutdown looming in two weeks, and the threat of a U.S. debt default as early as mid-October, Obama said on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that it is up to lawmakers to work out a budget. He insisted the budget should contain enough spending...

I haven't heard anyone speak to this aspect of the Clown's shuck and jive routine on Syria. He MUST speak to the nation, but he DEMANDS that Congress NOT VOTE on whether they agree with him.....

Barack Obama accelerated his political ascent in 2002 by positioning himself firmly as the voice of anti-war Democrats. Unlike Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, John Edwards and John Kerry, then-Illinois state Sen. Obama announced that he opposed the effort to topple Saddam Hussein, not because he opposed all wars, but because he resisted what he called "dumb wars." What was "dumb" about the Iraq War? Sen. Obama didn't say precisely, but he inveighed against "the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats ..."...