Free Republic

(Phys.org)—A team of researchers from Germany and Switzerland has found examples of microbial life from over 3 billion years ago, that appeared to have evaded UV radiation by hiding in subsurface cavities. In their paper published in the journal Geology, the team describes where the fossilized cells were found, their testing techniques and why their finding is important. Scientists believe that life first came to exist on planet Earth approximately three and a half to four billion years ago, a time called the Archaean aeon, when there was not yet an ozone layer to filer out UV radiation, or oxygen...

At a local cemetery and at the grave site of a American pilot, Captain Michael Scott Speicher, a veteran of the (Golf war of Iraq); who was the first pilot shot down in the, Operation Desert Storm, and his remains were found in the Iraq about 18 years later. I sing A-Capella the hymn, Revive Us Again, written by; John J. Husband. This video is only 1 min. 33 seconds and I believe to be informative. A flock of geese from Canada, stopped to rest and eat.

"Spirit-Given Faith Greets the Savior" (Luke 1:39-56) We're coming near the end of Advent, and it's time to greet the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ--not only at Christmas, but also when he comes again. Are you ready? Are you prepared? How will you greet him? Our Gospel reading today shows us how to greet him when he comes. In faith. What does that mean, "in faith"? And where does that faith come from? We'll find that out, too, as the word of the Lord comes to us today, under the theme, "Spirit-Given Faith Greets the Savior." In the Holy...

In the past I have not watched The Voice, but took a slight interest this year when one of the contestants expressed an interest in the music career of Ricky Skaggs. I'm kinda outing myself in this forum that is most anonymous, but Ricky is my first cousin. His father and my dad were brothers. A third brother, Okel, died as a young man in the battle for Guadalcanal - WWII. I had no idea the season final for The Voice was on last night when my wife yelled upstairs to let me know Ricky was on. The 4 minute...

The Islamic State issued a fatwa condemning to death children with Down's syndrome, according to the Facebook page Mosul Eye, which says it reports news from within Islamic-State-occupied Mosul. "The Shar'i Board of ISIL issued an 'Oral Fatwa' to its members authorizing them to 'kill newborn babies with Down's Syndrome and congenital deformities and disabled children.' [Snip] Mosul Eye claimed to have recorded 'more than 38 confirmed cases of killing babies with congenital deformities and Down's Syndrome, aged between one week to three months.'

**SNIP** How do locals deal with the extreme cold? "Russki chai, literally Russian tea, which is their word for vodka," Chapple told the Weather Channel.

(This is the first visit at Scott's resting place) I stopped at a local cemetery and at the grave site of a American pilot, Captain Michael Scott Speicher, a veteran of the (Gulf war; Operation Desert Storm Iraq); he was the first pilot shot down and his remains were found in the desert of Iraq about 18 years later. I sing A-Capella the hymn, Down At The Cross. At the beginning and end of this video a flock of Canadian Geese stopped to rest and eat.

A Texas mother claims a hospital is seeking to end the life of a her son who is a fully conscious patient. The patient’s mother says that a hospital administrative death panel is “Playing God” in deciding whether her son has the “quality of life” to live. Her son, Christopher David Dunn, 46, a fully-conscious former peace officer, is receiving life-sustaining care. Hospital officials in Houston are fighting to stop that care. The man, his mother, and his lawyers, have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to save the man’s life. His attorney, Joe Nixon, told Breitbart Texas, “A criminal...

Commenting on how some liberals claim Islam has nothing to do with radical Islamic terrorism, and how the leftist media report on the shooting at a Planned Parenthood office but totally ignore the nearly "60 million" babies killed by abortion since Roe v. Wade, actor and author Kevin Sorbo said "it is total insanity," and "we're dealing with insanity." Sorbo, who starred in the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, and in such films as Walking Tall, Soul Surfer, and God's Not Dead, made his remarks during a Dec. 1 interview with Steve Malzberg on NewsmaxTV. Druing the show, Malzberg...

"....The current effort to demonize Planned Parenthood feels different. This is, literally, a manufactured issue, cobbled together from doctored videotapes and overheated accusations. The organization's activities have been so mischaracterized, and the practice of providing fetal tissue so overblown and so manipulated by lawmakers and politicians, that blame for the ensuing violence falls more heavily on them. This argument, I concede, rests on a potentially slippery and subjective slope. Holding advocates responsible for such unintended consequences risks dampening speech. Second, conservatives have blamed Black Lives Matter protesters for inspiring the killing of police officers; what makes my critique fair and...

I stopped at a local cemetery and at the grave site of a American pilot, Captain Michael Scott Speicher, a veteran of the (Golf war of Iraq); he was the first pilot shot down and his remains were found in the Iraq about 18 years later. I sing A-Capella the hymn, Down At The Cross. At the beginning and end of this video a flock of Canadian Geese stopped to rest and eat.

I stopped by the local cemetery and at the grave site of a American pilot, Captain Michael Scott Speicher, a veteran of the golf war who was the first pilot shot down and his remains were found in the Iraq about 18 years later. I sing A-Capella the hymn, Down At The Cross. At the beginning and end of this video a flock of Canadian Geese stopped to rest and eat.

There are, it would appear by reading newspapers and watching TV, many reasons not to like Sarah Palin, and even more reasons not to approve of her. Indeed, on the very day Governor Palin was announced as Senator McCain’s running mate, DrRich said to his own lovely bride of these past 35 years, “I hope Ms. Palin has Clarence Thomas’ phone number. She’s going to need some advice.” Clarence Thomas, of course, is the Supreme Court Justice who is masquerading as an African American (his credentials as an actual black person having been thoroughly and systematically discredited by the diversity...

Although we live in a forgetful culture, it is worth casting our minds back as far as last week. If you recall, back then we were all discussing the inability of students at Yale to cope with anything as scary as Halloween. For some of us the whole business was disturbing not so much because some brats at an Ivy League university were showing themselves unfit to be students but because the adults -- their professors -- all seemed to have surrendered to them. What else was clogging us up? Well, Caitlyn Jenner had just finished a clean-sweep of the...

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - A 27-year-old man was sentenced to three life terms in prison for sexually abusing a child, Colin D. Stolle, Commonwealth's Attorney for the city of Virginia Beach, said Wednesday. Sauron Sou was sentenced Wednesday on three counts of forcible sodomy. Circuit Court Judge Glenn R. Croshaw, who handed out Sou's sentence, described the crimes as "vile, despicable and disgusting acts." Sou had pleaded guilty on March 16. The Commonwealth's evidence would have proven that, between January and August of 2014, Sou sexually assaulted a young child on multiple occasions had the case gone to trial....

We're taking Larry deer hunting this weekend. After 35 years in the woods with Larry, sadly, this will be our last together. After 40 years at the same job, he finally had enough and retired this past spring. He's a mere 62 years old. He left his job on a Friday and started his new job the next Monday. Working at a local golf course. Cutting grass, doing maintenance, free lunch everyday and free golf on Mondays. He was in heaven. About three months ago, his eyesight was suddenly failing him. The eye doctor said that there was something affecting...

In an exclusive interview with The Brody File, Ted Cruz says he has a plan to begin highlighting, “policy differences” between him and Donald Trump. “There are plenty of policy differences and there may well come a time when we start highlighting those more,” Cruz tells The Brody File. “In a political campaign there are seasons and phases to it…as the race narrows down, as people start making choices, we may see some more policy contrasts.” Cruz has been climbing in the polls and has the money to make a serious run at the nomination. He’s been courting evangelical voters...

On May 30, 2008, defendant, driving eastbound on Whiskey Road in Suffolk County, entered the westbound lane and struck the vehicle of Robert and Mary Kelly head on, killing them both. At the time of the collision, defendant was 34 weeks pregnant. She was taken to a local hospital where, due to signs of fetal distress, she consented to an emergency cesarean section. Despite the best efforts of hospital personnel, the baby died six days later. An autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was due to injuries sustained in the accident.... Following deliberations, the jury returned a verdict finding...

UCLA geochemists have found evidence that life likely existed on Earth at least 4.1 billion years ago -- 300 million years earlier than previous research suggested. The discovery indicates that life may have begun shortly after the planet formed 4.54 billion years ago. The graphite is older than the zircon containing it, the researchers said. They know the zircon is 4.1 billion years old, based on its ratio of uranium to lead; they don't know how much older the graphite is.The carbon contained in the zircon has a characteristic signature -- a specific ratio of carbon-12 to carbon-13 -- that...

Thought this would be a nice thread for the weekend. Wanted to share a couple of things I am grateful for and also what puts a smile on my face. Please share your thoughts.