Free Republic

Attorneys for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev filed a 500 page brief in the 1st U.S. District Court of Appeals arguing that the death sentence handed down after his conviction should be tossed aside. Their key argument is that "the trial judge refused to grant a change of venue." "The trial was held in Boston, a city of widespread antipathy to the Muslim religious obligation to wage war against unbelievers," the attorneys wrote. "The jury pool was comprised of unbelievers in spite of the fact that Islamic law requires that Muslims be judged only by members of the faith. A...

"The new right-wing party is on the right, period, for the land of Israel, without compromises, against a Palestinian state" Education Minister Naftali Bennett Announces A New "Right" Party In Israel 12/29/2018 Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked announced Saturday night the formation of "The New Right" party to contest the April 9th elections. They are leaving the "Jewish Home" party where Bennett served as its leader. Bennett and Shaked will be co-leaders of the new party. The party will 'represent secular and religious Israelis'. Bennett said religious Israelis have been used for too long by politicians...

“The Truth of Christmas: The Word Became Flesh” (John 1:1-18) “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” This is the most wonderful good news we could ever receive! It is this central truth that makes Christmas Christmas. It’s not about toys or Santa Claus or mistletoe or even getting the family together. Those are all good things, but they’re not essential to Christmas being Christmas. Christ is--he, the Word made flesh. And that’s why we’re here this morning....

"The release of United States President Donald Trump's 'deal of the century' for peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will be postponed until the summer to enable Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party to win the April 9th Knesset election, according to Channel 2 News" "Arutz Sheva"-Israel National News Report 11:41 AM Eastern Time US 12/24/2018- "Anticipating the Trump administration's rollout of its peace plan< Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked told the "Jersualem Post Diplomatic Conference" on Wednesday that it will be a waste because the gaps between Israel and the Palestinians are too great to bridge" "Jersualem Post" Report...

Ten years later, It’s Christmas 2018 and Jesus Christ is King! Waiting to pray the last “Unfailing Christmas Prayer”’, started on the Nov. 30 Feast of St. Andrew, at Latin Midnight Mass tonight. ‘Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.”

"I just had a long and productive call with President @RT_Erdogan of Turkey. We discussed ISIS, our mutual involvement in Syria & the slow & highly coordinated pullout of US troops from the area. After many years they are coming home. We also discussed heavily expanded Trade." President Donald J. Trump Twitter December 23, 2018 "I was just exposed to the daily trolling of the anti-Semitic dictator Erdogan"..... Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu December 23, 2018.... "Forced to choose between Turkey, with 80 million people and the second-largest army in NATO, which sits aside the Dardanelles and Bosphorus entrance to...

The Happy Holidays greeting makes no sense. If I greet someone by saying Merry Christmas, I am saying that I wish them to be merry on one specific day of the year, December 25th. That day is officially named Christmas by the federal government of the U. S. But if I take the politically correct route, and wish someone Happy Holidays, then I've confused everyone present, whether they realize it or not. First, there is no day of the year that is officially named Holidays by any government anywhere. So, nobody knows which day I am wishing them to be...

"My congratulations to Sir Cliff Richard. By taking the BBC and the police to court over their shocking treatment of an unproven allegation against him, he has struck a mighty blow for justice...." Peter Hitchens Column July 21st, 2018.... "....A time for living, a time for believing, a time for trusting, not deceiving, love and laughter and joy ever after, ours for the taking, just follow the Master...." Cliff Richard Sings His UK Number One Christmas Song "Misteltoe and Wine".... As Tommy Robinson's appeal was heard at the UK High Court on July 18th this year, another case was ruled...

democrats endeavor for nothing so ardently as they do in their search for something by which to be offended. If that something happens to be a tool used to batter the political opposition so much the better. Today's example is represented by dem Sens. Kamala Harris and Mazie Hirono. The two of them demonstrate how the power of stupidity can be multiplied when combined instead of the just added. They have concluded that being Catholic can lead to a fatal flaw which fatally compromises one's ability to sit as a Federal judge. That flaw? Joining a group known for its hatred,...

“What Child Is This?” (Luke 2:1-20) When a child is born, there are questions that people typically ask. Parents wonder, “Is he healthy?” “How much does he weigh?” Grandparents ask, “What did you name her?” “Who does she look like?” Nurses and doctors closely examine the child and want to know, “Is he alert?” “Are her lungs clear?” We expect those kinds of questions. But there are other questions we never expect to hear at the birth of a child. No one would ever think to ask, “Who will handle his funeral arrangements someday?” Or, “What cemetery do you think...

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (O Antiphons) The Hymn of the Day today for this Fourth Sunday in Advent is hymn 357 in Lutheran Service Book, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Please turn there now and maybe even mark it with the ribbon, because we’ll be referring to it throughout the sermon. You’ll notice on the page facing the hymn that there is a heading, “The Great ‘O’ Antiphons.” And there you will see seven such antiphons, listed by date, starting on December 17 and ending today, December 23. They’re called the “O” Antiphons, because each one starts with an...

Bordering on Nuts My one big wish for the coming New Year of 2019: That the mainstream and social media, Hollywood stars and members of the no-talent Entertainment Industry and publicity hound Democrats would lose their Glenn Beck free ride Cheetos Moment and get on with their lives without gaining ratings from their wall-to-wall mocking of President Donald J. Trump. It was on April 29, 2016 that Beck, who got his start in public life as a stand-up comedian, smothered his face in Cheetos dust “to look like Donald Trump” (The Verge, April 29, 2016)

Just as the United Nations failed to condemn Hamas’s terrorist activities, it will undoubtedly fail to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization as Israel has requested, let alone take any action to stop Hezbollah’s aggressive behavior The United Nations Security Council held a special session on Wednesday, requested by the United States and Israel, to discuss Hezbollah’s underground attack tunnels that penetrated the Blue Line, the border demarcation between Lebanon and Israel. The tunnels were recently discovered by the Israeli Defense Force. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) independently verified the presence of the tunnels, two of which it...

A look at the body language behind James Comey's recent hallway interview

“The Meeting of the Moms” (Luke 1:39-45) Over these three midweek Advent services, we’ve been looking at readings from Luke chapter one, which is the lead-up to the Christmas Gospel itself in chapter two. Back in our first midweek service, we heard the angel Gabriel announce to Zechariah that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a child named John, John the Baptist. Then last week we heard Gabriel announce to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus. Now today these two storylines intersect. Mary goes to visit her relative Elizabeth. It’s the account of “The Visitation,” that is,...

Many experts are coming to see how serious China’s ongoing assault on the U.S. is. But there is something far more momentous about China’s theft of American intellectual property that very few onlookers recognize.

A survey of 400 people conducted for the GraphicSprings company found 27 percent of respondents suggesting that Santa undergo a sex-change. As one respondent put it, “males have hogged this role for centuries why shouldn’t women get a chance to play this part?” An even more radical idea was offered by another respondent who suggested that “if we really want to keep up with trends, Santa should be transgender. Think of the inclusiveness this would communicate. By slicing off his scrotum, fashioning a vagina out of his penis, and plumping up his chest with implants we’d create a powerful spokesperson...

“The Problem of Perplexity and the Promise of Hope” (Luke 7:18-28) What happens when something you’ve been hoping for, something you’ve been waiting for eagerly and expectantly, what happens when it finally arrives, and your life still doesn’t get any better? In fact, it may even get worse. What then? Well, it can be rather perplexing. You may ask yourself: “Is there any hope for me to hold on to? Has God forgotten about me? Why is he letting this happen?” If you’ve ever felt like that, then our message today is just for you. And so our theme: “The...

Some thoughts on the Strasbourg attack, and how we can prevent such incidents in the future.

"Our knowledge of God is made larger with every discovery we make about the world.” —Joseph H Taylor Jr., Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1993. This episode examines several recent scientific findings that provide confirmation of an ancient authority. (A powerful 25 minutes, but the most compelling part is from 1:00 to about 6:30).