Free Republic

That’s the question about Michelle Obama’s intentions regarding a possible run for president in 2020. While she has consistently denied any interest in running, how plausible does that really sound? If the Democratic Party needed her and pleaded with her to run, does anyone really doubt she would? Here, then, are 12 reasons she will. She outpolls all other Democrats:According to a Zogby poll last month, she leads the pack of potential Democratic candidates, despite her insistence that she would “never run.” The only others even close are Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders – two very old white men. That’s...

... What exactly does change minds about climate science? Research suggests that a variety of messages can influence people’s agreement with the scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and humans are contributing to it. And different people may respond differently to different kinds of messages. Here are five insights from the young but growing body of research on climate change communication. 1. The messenger matters: Some experimental studies manipulate the messenger to find out to whom respondents are most likely to listen. In general, matching messenger to audience leads to more effective messages. This is certainly true in climate...

ROCKVILLE, Md. — A month after Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan introduced it, Maryland’s Secretary of Transportation Pete Rahn went in front of Montgomery County leaders to lay out a $9 billion project that aims to ease congestion on Interstate 270, the Capital Beltway and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.Rahn believes construction of the project can begin in fewer than five years.“We have to recognize we have problem. It’s a multifaceted problem, and we have to come up with multifaceted solutions,” Rahn told members of the Montgomery County Council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy, and Environment committee Thursday.Packed roads cost drivers time, as well. The...

This week marks the fifth anniversary of Colorado's legalization of the commercial marijuana trade, and the reviews aren't good. An editorial in the Colorado Springs Gazette reports, "Five years of retail pot coincide with five years of a homelessness growth rate that ranks among the highest rates in the country. Directors of homeless shelters, and people who live on the streets, tell us homeless substance abusers migrate here for easy access to pot." The paper says, "Five years of Big Marijuana ushered in a doubling in the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes who tested positive for marijuana, based...

3500 years ago slaves toiling in the harsh mines of the Sinai scribbled some graffiti on the desert rocks. One of them wrote: "Moses then provoked astonishment." That, plus a lot of other inscriptions, deserve more than a passing glance. ------ "He sought occasion to cut away to barrenness our great number, our swelling without measure." (Sinai 349) "Our bond servitude had lingered. Moses then provoked astonishment. It is a year of astonishment." (Sinai 361) Anyone familiar with the book of Exodus will immediately spot parallels with the account of Pharaoh's attempt to reduce the number of newborn Israelites; and...

The Little Sisters of the Poor are heading back to court to defend themselves against the Obama administration’s Health and Human Services mandate to provide contraception, yet again. In an unusual political move, Pennsylvania and California sued the Little Sisters, demanding the same group who won at the Supreme Court in Zubik v. Burwell provide contraceptives in their state. In early October, HHS issued a new rule that protects religious non-profits like the Little Sisters of the Poor from providing anything like contraception that would violate their religious beliefs. In a press release, Mark Rienzi, senior counsel at Becket and lead attorney...

The Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons, of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra has quickly retracted a remark made to a Telegraph interviewer in which he said that women conductors ‘are not my cup of tea’. In a statement on Friday he said: ‘I come from a generation in which the conducting profession was almost exclusively reserved to men. Even today, many more men than women pursue conducting professionally. ‘But it was undiplomatic, unnecessary and counterproductive for me to point out that I’m not yet accustomed to seeing women on the conducting platform. ‘Every one of my female colleagues and every young...

"Keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe from harm is perhaps our strongest human motivation, deeply embedded in our very DNA. It is so deep and important that it influences much of what we think and do, maybe more than we might expect. For example, over a decade now of research in political psychology consistently shows that how physically threatened or fearful a person feels is a key factor — although clearly not the only one — in whether he or she holds conservative or liberal attitudes."

“Out of every hundred new ideas ninety-nine or more will probably be inferior to the traditional responses which they propose to replace. No one man, however brilliant or well-informed, can come in one lifetime to such fullness of understanding as to safely judge and dismiss the customs or institutions of his society, for those are the wisdom of generations after centuries of experiment in the laboratory of history.” — Will and Ariel Durant “We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” – C.S....

This evening, I had to stop at the Rite Aid Pharmacy in Milford, NH. I parked next to a car, proudly proclaiming “No Hate in My State”. As I got out of my truck, the owner of the vehicle, a twenty-something female came striding out, with her nose in the air and an aire of superiority and contempt. Actually, she had a look of latent hate all over her face. I realized that the main source of hate in this country is sourced from the left. For the first time in their entitled lives, these snowflakes have had the word...

Senator Schumer wants to argue about tax reform at Thanksgiving dinner. And he has a handy chart for lefties to take along and wave at their more conservative relatives while screeching about the 1 percent. In an article titled, “The Case for Ruining Thanksgiving,” GQ Magazine urges its readers to punish their parents who voted for Trump by staying away, insulting them or ranting about police brutality. The Scientific American wants readers to push Global Warming over mashed potatoes. The organizers of the Women’s March want you to accuse your uncle of having “white privilege.” Desperate lefties can text Standing...

Looking for something to be thankful for? Try this. You have it better than billionaire John Rockefeller (1839-1937) ever did. Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Co. and became one of the richest men in American history. When he died, he had a fortune worth around $1.4 billion, or $25 billion in today’s dollars. He had more money. You have better stuff. How many lights did you turn on today? Thomas Edison didn’t patent the incandescent light bulb until Rockefeller was in his 40s. There wasn’t an electrical grid, so small generators powered the first light bulbs. Today, electricity is an...

November 22, 2017 | David F. Coppedge Charles Manson Was an Evolutionist Few Darwinians would condone murder, of course, but the Manson case shows what can happen to someone who puts their faith in the teachings of Darwin and his disciples. Well, after 45 years in prison for the heinous murders he instigated, Charles Manson has finally met his Maker. Many in the public have held a kind of horrified fascination for the cult hero whose “Manson family” shocked the world in 1969 with some of the bloodiest, cruelist, most senseless murders known up to that time. How many who...

An Innovative program called Racist Anonymous that’s based on the 12 Steps (adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous), which we try, little by little, one day at a time, to apply to our lives along with daily prayer or meditation. We believe that with the help of God, we can end racism by admitting that we all have a problem, ending it in ourselves and then welcoming others to do the same. Begun right here in Sunnyvale, groups are starting all across the nation. We won’t ever call you a racist … but you probably will. Come check it out! Featured on...

Title: The disturbing questions raised by the fate of baby Elsie Gay fitness instructor Matthew Scully-Hicks, who with his husband Craig adopted a baby girl they named Elsie, has been found guilty of her murder in the UK and jailed for a minimum of 18 years. I can’t bring myself to recount every detail of this poor little girl’s ordeal, but a chronology of events and the repeated trauma that Elsie suffered at the hands of her adoptive "father" is outlined here. A Serious Case Review is in the offing and already the apologists are out, keen to point out...

Fox News announced on Tuesday that nationally syndicated radio talk show personality Mark Levin will join the network with a weekly, weekend primetime show titled, “Life, Liberty & Levin.” “Mark’s passion for the principles found in the Constitution and success in talk radio has made him a distinct figure in the media landscape. We look forward to adding this spirited program to our weekend lineup,” Fox News President of Programming Suzanne Scott said. A Message from Shutterfly Gifts like no other Make this Christmas magical with easy-to-create gifts that can be made with your favorite memories, photos and more. Levin’s...

Grad student Lindsay Shepherd of Wilfred Laurier U. was dragged before a kangaroo court for showing a Dr. Jordan Peterson video in class. Demand that Laurier dismiss the Orwellian complaint against her, apologize, and reaffirm its commitment to academic freedom. SIGN the petition: http://www.SaveLindsay.com

If white people had their own publication, it would be Wired magazine. From top to bottom, this is a uniquely Caucasian experience: from the white readers, to the white advertisers, to the white employees, to the white town where it is headquartered, to the white subject matter of high tech, to the white owners at Conde Nast, which also owns just about every other magazine on the planet not named Jet or Ebony or Black anything. Of the 80 people pictured on the masthead of Wired, only two are black. That is why I was a bit surprised to see...

Ein volk, ein tweet, ein Jack.

This week marked a century since one of the darkest chapters in human history began, and a truly evil worldview was put into practice. One hundred years ago, Bolshevik revolutionaries stormed the Winter Palace in Petrograd, the seat of the Provisional Government of Russia. They also seized post offices, train stations, and telegraphs in the dead of night. When the people of Russia’s capital city awoke, they were in what Rhodes Scholar David Satter described as “a different universe.” That universe was a communist one. Vladimir Lenin’s so-called “October Revolution,” which took place in November on the Gregorian calendar, sought...