Free Republic

"God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives; who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves?" Friedrich Nietzsche In the wake of the 'murder' of Jesus Christ, second Person of the Holy Trinity, an anarchy of depravity has overtaken our Godless, paganized society. Posing as legal, political, special rights, superior expert opinion, and hurt...

And it turns out in 2016, the federal government decided it a worthy cause to fund a study to see if taking selfies increases happiness. It involved creating two smartphone apps for participants to take photos and record their moods...documenting responses and mapping conclusions: the total cost was about $500,000. “We spent close to a half a million dollars on this study and I think they ought to give it back,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in an interview last week, calling it an excessive and unnecessary use of our tax dollars... But supporters say it's also a minuscule amount...

The secrets are hidden behind fortified walls in cities across the United States, inside towering, windowless skyscrapers and fortress-like concrete structures that were built to withstand earthquakes and even nuclear attack. Thousands of people pass by the buildings each day and rarely give them a second glance, because their function is not publicly known. They are an integral part of one of the world’s largest telecommunications networks – and they are also linked to a controversial National Security Agency surveillance program. Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. In each of these cities,...

Former President Barack Obama says he aspires to create "a million young Barack Obamas or Michelle Obamas" who will pick up the baton in what he describes as the "relay race that is human progress." At a conference in Japan on Sunday, the former president spoke about how he hopes the Obama Foundation, a nonprofit formed in January 2014, will help achieve his post-presidential aims. "After I left office, what I realized is that the Obama Foundation could potentially create a platform for young, up-and-coming leaders, both in the United States and all around the world to come together, meet...

Q-Anon has arrived, for Free Republic credibility purposes, at the Rubicon: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA [Next Week] HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA The believers and the doubters will have their moment of clarity on this matter by this time next week. What say you?

People choose professions for many reasons, not the least of which is their ability, and some of which is the luck of being at the right place at the right time. [snip] With this as a background, University College of London psychologists Mark Davison and Adrian Furnham (2018) decided to dig into a question that you’ve probably had many times, especially if you follow celebrity news sites. Are all actors narcissists? [snip] Taking a look now at the results, perhaps not surprisingly, actors scored higher on the so-called “Cluster B” personality disorder traits of Narcissistic, Histrionic, and Borderline. However, their...

The never-ending awards season is about to get even longer. Debuting in December 2018, The "Awardies," the first-ever award show honoring award shows, will honor the best from all award shows including film, television, theater, and music awards. Categories for the "Awardies" will include best award show, host, presenter, speech, reaction by a winner, reaction by a loser, musical performance, best outfit, red carpet interview, and best reaction shot by an audience member. Reaction to the news about the Awardies has been mostly negative so far. "Ugh. How many award shows do these out-of-touch, bubble-dwelling elitists need?" wrote a prominent...

The recent Texas church shooting, the terrorist driving a truck through a crowd in New York City, and the Las Vegas massacre may seem shocking – but to anyone who has been paying attention, they should not. Our culture is undergoing a hostile takeover. American society used to be governed by Judeo-Christian do-unto-others morals. But we have drifted (been pushed, really) into a hedonistic YOLO (You Only Live Once) cultural morass. The upshot of this is a distinct lack of respect for human life in general, as well as a pervasive, insidious obsession with self. This is the “me” generation,...

On today's Michael Savage Show, he was discussing Kid Rock running. Then he talked about celebrities thinking they can win like Trump did, but it was Trump's message that made him win. Then Savage said that Trump and a Breitbart writer who no one heard of a year ago took his ideas from his last three books and won the presidency.

Original title: 20 Diversion Tactics Highly Manipulative Narcissists, Sociopaths And Psychopaths Use To Silence You Toxic people such as malignant narcissists, psychopaths and those with antisocial traits engage in maladaptive behaviors in relationships that ultimately exploit, demean and hurt their intimate partners, family members and friends. They use a plethora of diversionary tactics that distort the reality of their victims and deflect responsibility. Although those who are not narcissistic can employ these tactics as well, abusive narcissists use these to an excessive extent in an effort to escape accountability for their actions. Here are the 20 diversionary tactics toxic people...

As chief bridesmaid at her best friend’s wedding, Claire Duke knew a certain amount of responsibility and planning would fall to her. What she didn’t imagine was that it would cost her so much money to attend the lavish ceremony that her debt would last longer than her friend’s marriage. Claire’s friend, Siobhan, chose a Caribbean beach setting for her big day four years ago. Claire, 33, a chef from the Isle of Man, says: ‘They wanted us to be there no matter what.’

{Written by Andrew Ferguson and originally posted to the Commentary Magazine website} As Barack Obama passes into the next phase of his stellar evolution, as the protostar of the 2004 Democratic convention fades into the planetary nebula of 2017 and a very long retirement, phrases from his presidency that once rang in my ears grow dimmer by the day. To tell the truth, there’s not a lot of them. For a man with such a reputation for eloquence, he leaves behind little quotable material from his presidential years. Yes, generations from now schoolchildren will still be reciting “If you like...

…a choice that breaks from a modern tradition of featuring images of the White House on the card. . . . Malia and Sasha “dazzle” in elegant, embroidered gowns designed by Naeem Khan, that are worth nearly $20,000. Each. There’s not much of a Christmas-y feel to the card, other than being framed by Christmas holly clipart. Fittingly, Bill Clinton was the first modern president to use a family photo on a White House Christmas card in 1993. You have to go back to Franklin D. Roosevelt — another Democrat — to find another family portrait in use.

President Obama mocked Republican critics who see him as “Saul Alinsky” or “the Antichrist,” during a wide-ranging interview with New York Magazine published Monday. Obama in the interview, which took place Aug. 25, repeatedly voiced frustration with what he described as a recalcitrant Republican opposition, lamenting Congress’ unwillingness to work with him on key legislation such as the Affordable Care Act and the stimulus bill. “They’re imagining the potential problems that arise, so it’s pretty hard for them to publicly say, ‘Obama’s a perfectly reasonable guy, but we just can’t work with him because our base thinks he’s the Antichrist,’”...

The Culture of Narcissism by Christopher Lasch was first published in 1979. Many of his observations are as applicable now as then. The major thesis of this work is that the 20th century was dominated by a drift from 19th-century values. Individual identity, i.e. rugged individualism, was replaced by a societal identity which is populated by narcissists. Ralph Waldo Emerson, founder of the transcendental movement, was a proponent of the power of the individual. To live, one must experience, was his credo. He thought that all people, times, and places are similar. Since “… there is properly no history only...

Roger Simon’s fine book on moral narcissism—I Know Best—provides the basic insight into the mostly silly “debate” about the Hillary vs Trump contest. Roger understands that our ruling class isn’t much interested in understanding the real consequences of policy. With rare exceptions, the debate is about how the American “nomenklatura” feels about advocating one policy or another. It’s all about them, not about the election. In twenty-first century America, almost all of us seem to have concluded that “You are what you say you are. You are what you proclaim your values to be, irrespective of their consequences.” That is...

Hillary Clinton appeared on Fox News Sunday this morning, and repeated her denial that she told the families of the men killed in Benghazi that the attack was caused by a video. She went one step further, and patronized the families, declaring “I don’t hold any ill feeling” towards family members who “may not fully recall everything that was or wasn’t said.” Later in the interview, Hillary again dodged responsibility. Wallace played the statement by FBI Director James Comey that—contrary to what Clinton had claimed—she did in fact send and receive classified material on her home-brewed email system. This time,...

Addressing the Democratic National Convention on its penultimate night to lay out the case for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, President Obama began by recalling his political debut at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. He then described how his family has become so well known to America in the intervening years. He spoke of his time in office, how the presidency has physically aged him, but how his daughters euphemistically note he now looks more "mature." He spoke of everything he is proud to have achieved -- passing ObamaCare, expanding clean energy production, reducing consumption of foreign oil, passing the...

Skilled Obama watchers know that the real subject of any Obama speech is his own magnificence.

Still smarting from his loss in the primary, Cruz says he’ll use his convention speech to outline his own vision of the Republican Party’s future. But will he endorse? One of these days, and maybe soon, Ted Cruz just might have to endorse Donald Trump. But he’ll never concede Trump could have beaten him in a fair fight — and he’ll never accept that Trump’s me-first philosophy represents a sustainable future for the GOP. Above all, Cruz wants to use the big stage in Cleveland to present a non-Trump alternative vision for his party’s future, one rooted in constitutional conservative...