Free Republic

WASHINGTON - During consideration of H.R. 3126, legislation to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee voted to pass an amendment offered by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) that will make ACORN eligible to play a role in setting regulations for financial institutions. The Waters amendment adds to the CFPA Oversight Board 5 representatives from the fields of "consumer protection, fair lending and civil rights, representatives of depository institutions that primarily serve underserved communities, or representatives of communities that have been significantly impacted by higher-priced mortgages" to join Federal banking regulators in advising the...

THE WEEKLY STANDARD just received a statement from Sarah Palin endorsing conservative Doug Hoffman for Congress: The people of the 23rd Congressional District of New York are ready to shake things up, and Doug Hoffman is coming on strong as Election Day approaches! He needs our help now. The votes of every member of Congress affect every American, so it's important for all of us to pay attention to this important Congressional campaign in upstate New York. I am very pleased to announce my support for Doug Hoffman in his fight to be the next Representative from New York's 23rd...

Is there no depth MSNBC's Chris Matthews won't sink to? Judging from a truly disgraceful comment he made on Thursday's "Hardball," the answer has got to be a resounding "NO!" -snip-

Was our oldest ancestor a proton-powered rock? --snip-- The picture painted by Russell and Martin is striking indeed. The last common ancestor of all life was not a free-living cell at all, but a porous rock riddled with bubbly iron-sulphur membranes that catalysed primordial biochemical reactions...

I walked down the street in Barcelona, and suddenly discovered a terrible truth - Europe died in Auschwitz. We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims. In Auschwitz we burned a culture, thought, creativity, talent. We destroyed the chosen people, truly chosen, because they produced great and wonderful people who changed the world. The contribution of this people is felt in all areas of life: science, art, international trade, and above all, as the conscience of the world. These are the people we burned. And under the pretense of tolerance, and because we wanted to prove...

ROME -- Long regarded as a hard-liner on religious doctrine, Pope Benedict XVI also is emerging as the pontiff of interchurch, or ecumenical, relations. The 82-year-old pope's decision Tuesday to amend Vatican laws to make it easier for Anglicans to become Roman Catholic represents his most aggressive attempt to bring more Christians into the Catholic fold.

The British Broadcasting Corporation in England has deemed it necessary to try and absolve Darwinism from any responsibility for the Holocaust and the many other atrocities committed in the name of evolutionary progress ever since Darwin published his Origin of Species in 1859. To achieve this, BBC2 produced a TV “documentary” entitled Darwin’s Dangerous Idea,[1] written and presented by their journalist and political commentator Andrew Marr. This 3-part series...

This is the latest installment art video on my understanding of God and how he plays out in strange and mysterious ways. Humour and pathos are all too frequently missed in religion and I'm trying to make up for it. I say that now but I might change my mind. For the budding theologians, please help me out, for I know not what I have done... Any comments would be appreciated.

UNITED STATES SAYS "OKAY!" to ATTACK ON FREE SPEECH BY THE U.N. With billions of adherents, one would think that the world's religions could take care of themselves. But the U.N. Human Rights Council sees it otherwise. Under the guise of protecting free speech, the HRC passed a resolution supporting free speech--except that part of free speech that attempts to criticize religion. From Just say no to blasphemy laws While attracting surprisingly little attention, the Obama administration supported the effort of largely Muslim nations in the U.N. Human Rights Council to recognize exceptions to free speech for any "negative...

Transcript of Elder Dallin H. Oaks speech given at BYU-Idaho on 13 October 2009. My dear young friends, I am pleased to speak to this BYU-Idaho audience. I am conscious that I am also speaking to many in other places. In this time of the Internet, what we say in one place is instantly put before a wider audience, including many to whom we do not intend to speak. That complicates my task, so I ask your understanding as I speak to a very diverse audience. In choosing my subject I have relied on an old military maxim that when...

Now that the Senate Finance Committee has approved its health care bill, it’s a good time to step back and take a look at the long term consequences should its provisions be enacted into law. The bill prohibits insurance companies from refusing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and from charging sick people higher premiums. [1] It attempts to offset the costs this will impose on insurance companies by requiring everyone to purchase coverage, which in theory would expand the pool of paying policy holders. However, the maximum fine for those who refuse to purchase health insurance is $750. [2]...

Will US Sovereignty make it until January 01, 2010? A question you seriously have to ask yourself given the full-court press to subvert the Constitution and deny the American people a voice. Congress had a *secret* meeting .. behind closed doors back on March 12, 2008. It was only the 4th in the nation's history not allowing anyone from the public or otherwise, to sit in on this private session. So alarmed were some Congressman by what they heard, a couple leaked the details of the meeting. The details were as follows: -- the imminent collapse of the U.S. economy...

snip Also problematic is the resolution’s attempt to make the restriction of free speech a human right. In fact, it is free speech that constitutes a human right and not its restriction. Ideologies, ideas and religions do not, and should not be afforded “human rights." They should be fair game for criticism, analysis, open debate and discussion. Religions and ideologies cannot be “defamed." Once ideologies are afforded protection from criticism, it is in direct contradiction to individual human rights.snip

Now that the Senate Finance Committee has approved its health care bill, it’s a good time to step back and take a look at the long term consequences should its provisions be enacted into law. The bill prohibits insurance companies from refusing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and from charging sick people higher premiums. [1] It attempts to offset the costs this will impose on insurance companies by requiring everyone to purchase coverage, which in theory would expand the pool of paying policy holders. However, the maximum fine for those who refuse to purchase health insurance is $750. [2]...

Some things you may not know about Palin: What A Fisherman Says About Sarah Palin by Dewie Whetsell, Alaskan Fisherman As posted in comments on Greta Van Susteren’s article referencing the MoveOn.org ad about Sarah Palin. The last 45 of my 66 years I’ve spent in a commercial fishing town in Alaska. I understand Alaska politics but never understood national politics well until this last year. Here’s the breaking point: Neither side of the Palin controversy gets it. It’s not about persona, style, rhetoric, it’s about doing things. Even Palin supporters never mention the things that I’m about to mention...

Now that the Senate Finance Committee has approved its health care bill, it’s a good time to step back and take a look at the long term consequences should its provisions be enacted into law. The bill prohibits insurance companies from refusing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and from charging sick people higher premiums. [1] It attempts to offset the costs this will impose on insurance companies by requiring everyone to purchase coverage, which in theory would expand the pool of paying policy holders. However, the maximum fine for those who refuse to purchase health insurance is $750. [2]...

Help, my son is not learning anything about traditional Catholic doctrine in his 6th Grade CCD class. For instance, he does not even know what the Immaculate Conception is. They talk about the Readings and the Gospel verse for Mass that day which is okay, but he needs to learn to the tenets of the Faith. It looks like I will have to do it, not that I mind at all. I contacted Tan Books based on EWTN's recommendation, and I ordered a book but have yet to hear back from them. Is there another good book source I can...

On October 1, 2009, the Obama administration in conjunction with the Egyptian government, introduced an anti-free speech measure to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council (HRC). It was adopted the next day without a vote. Earlier this year, when the United States sought a seat on the HRC, it was a controversial decision. Many who found the HRC neither credible nor useful, opposed the move. Yet, others were more optimistic that America could change the HRC from within. Perhaps the U.S. could spur debate stemming from its opposition to China, Sudan, Libya, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia on critical human rights...

What's Glenn Beck Up To? Something Big, He Says Hey -- we like conspiracies too! Here's one, with some fact attached to it: conservative media icon Glenn Beck is planning something big -- very big -- for 2010. On his radio show yesterday, Beck alluded to a major nationwide mobilization project of some kind that he and some colleagues will soon announce. "If you think the 9/12 project was something...you ain't seen nothing yet," he said (roughly -- I didn't have a pen handy when he uttered this). Beck's 9/12 project brought tens of thousands of his ideological compatriots to...

Senators diverted $2.6 billion in funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects largely at the expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops, including those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an analysis.

Why would Hawaii aid a known illegal of British birth in illegally obtaining a fake birth certificate? The answer is: in 1961 the American public had not yet been herded by Teddy Kennedy and socialists into providing welfare benefits to illegals. Hawaii had a large population of illegals who were slave labor, but were a huge burden to the system in poverty and crime. The Hawaiian answer, as it was a Democratic state and still is, was to start registering all those foreign kids by the thousands. The purpose being to tap into all those federal hundreds of millions then...

This is a bad Peter Sellers movie. Can you see Ronald Reagan vomiting in his grave? Ayn Rand is weeping. The Republicans need a fierce leader. A Churchill. We are under attack from the White House. US transparency was never an issue. Has Russia ever been transparent? Putin is KGB for pete's sake. We are handing over the keys to the kingdom. It's laughable, only the joke is on us and the stakes could not be higher. Russia has been at war with the US for most of the twentieth century. Reagan bested them, but surely they were not conquered....

-snip- WSMV-TV in Nashville reported that a passenger had to be subdued by other passengers after he began quoting Bible passages. -snip-

3:09 pm - Judge Dawson plans to enforce his order for the passport and related papers, even if the case is moved to Ohio. 3:10 pm - "We still don't have a complete copy of (Rifqa's) passport," said Bartholomew. "I am very alarmed that it hasn' been provided," she added. She said she has learned there are more documents being withheld. 3:18 pm - Attorneys are talking about arrangements for a psychological evaluation and counseling. She is to see a local psychologist on Friday morning. 3:21 pm - Elahi said he suspects "a ploy" by Rifqa's legal representatives to delay...

1. Fear of Man: your regard for God and His opinion must trump the trepidation of the creature God created from spit and mud. Come on, man of God, don’t fear the crowd ... 4. Last Days Madness: Many ministers do not get involved in political issues because they believe that “it simply doesn’t matter” since “the end has come.” These defeatists believe that any change in the jet stream, war, earthquakes, a warming globe, the success of a corrupt politician—or even a new Shakira video—are “proof” that God is getting really, really ticked off and that His only recourse...

10 Reasons Why Pastors Avoid the Culture War Posted By Doug Giles On October 13, 2009 @ 5:05 am In Culture, Entertainment, Featured Story, Religion | 45 Comments As far as I’m concerned, a silent or waffling pastor in today’s paranormal climate is unnecessary. I don’t care how much the minister likes kitty cats, candy canes, and if he cries at Celine Dion concerts. Look, Voiceless Vicar, if you’re not currently in the middle of this crucial cultural squabble, pointing out what’s putrid and cheering on what’s proper, then you’re Dr. Evil in my book. Given that the culture-dividing issues,...

A major new report confirms the worst fears of many: Health care reform will raise the costs for most Americans—by about 18% on average. That is on top of existing inflation of health coverage. Once the plan is fully phased-in (by 2019), a typical family of four would pay an extra $4,000 each year. When combined with existing inflation, costs would rise from today’s $12,300 annual average to $25,900. Of that 111% increase, $9,600 is due to existing factors uncorrected by the legislation, and $4,000 due to additional costs created by the legislation. For single persons, the differential is projected...

Obama White House to 60,000,000 Anglers: We Don't Need You Obama White House takes on 60,000,000 American anglers. (Hawaii Leisure) A recently released White House document could result in the closures of sport fishing in salt and freshwater areas.Shimano reported: Feds to 60 Million American Anglers: We don't need you A recently published administration document outlines a structure that could result in closures of sport fishing in salt and freshwater areas across America. The White House created an Interagency Oceans Policy Task Force in June and gave them only 90 days to develop a comprehensive federal policy for all U.S....

Just when you thought things couldn't possibly get any worse (from The Times)... The Obama administration is considering outbidding the Taliban to persuade Afghan villagers to lay down arms as it struggles to find a new approach to a war that is fast losing public and congressional support. Didn't we send troops to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban? Now the Obama administration is wanting to legitimize yet another terrorist group: Apart from training more Afghan troops, the focus has shifted to accepting a political role for the Taliban, while also trying to weaken them by winning some over. Once again,...

A southwest Missouri man was charged with murder in the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, and investigators believe the homicide is connected to the slayings of her father and stepmother. Josh Reyes, 23, of Springfield, was being held without bond Sunday, said Laclede County Jailer Tracy Lawson. Reyes was charged Saturday with the first-degree murder, armed criminal action and first-degree burglary in the death of Zachary Bryan Porter, 25, of Elkland. Lawson said he didn't know whether Reyes had an attorney. Springfield television station KSPR reported that Reyes's ex-girlfriend and their two children watched as Porter was gunned...

I've always believed in the existence of monsters. During my 20 years as a cop in NYC, I met quite a few of them, many of whom may still be doing time in prisons around the country. However, they were the garden-variety type of monsters; murderers, rapists, armed robbers and other assorted thugs. But there's another, even lower, level of criminal that exists in communities all across America, even in some of our churches. The creature I'm referring to is the pedophile. A few years ago, I received a 6-page letter in the mail from a woman in East Cambridge,...

This sounds safe... Obama's Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings wrote that killing someone who called you a name was not aberrant behavior. Oh really? Verum Serum discovered this article by Obama's Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings in 1998: We need to own up to the fact that our culture teaches boys that being “a man” is the most important thing in life, even if you have to kill someone to prove it. Killing someone who calls you a faggot is not aberrant behavior but merely the most extreme expression of a belief that is beaten (sometimes literally) into boys at...

Sen. Lindsey Graham working with Sen. John Kerry on climate bill Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina publicly announced his support for climate legislation on Sunday in an op-ed column with Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. "Our partnership represents a fresh attempt to find consensus that adheres to our core principles and leads to both a climate change solution and energy independence," the two senators wrote in The New York Times. "It begins now, not months from now — with a road to 60 votes in the Senate." Graham's support is a major win for climate supporters, who...

This headline may come as a bit of a surprise, so too might that fact that the warmest year recorded globally was not in 2008 or 2007, but in 1998. But it is true. For the last 11 years we have not observed any increase in global temperatures.

Soviet communism adopted Karl Marx’s teaching that religion was the “opiate of the masses� and launched a campaign of bloody religious persecution. Marx was misguided about the role of religion but years later many communists became aware that turning people away from religious life increases dependence on government to address life’s problems. The history of government coercion that comes from turning from religion to government makes a new study suggesting a national decline in religious life particularly alarming to those concerned about individual freedom.The American Religious Identification Survey, published by Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., reports that we should expect...

A German book publisher has canceled a novel about Islamic "honor killings," fearing that the book would offend the Muslim community and put him in danger. Critics of the decision call it a cowardly move, but others say the publisher is simply being responsible. The publisher of the book, which was to have been titled "To Whom Honor is Due," has indicated that he withdrew the book after an expert on Islam warned that some of the passages could spark violent retaliation from Muslims. "After the Muhammad cartoons, one knows that one can't publish sentences or drawings that defame Islam...

AP: OSLO, Norway. A woman who was troubled with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Obama through security today, and touched the hem of his garment. The woman claimed that she said within herself: "If I shall touch only his garment, I shall be healed." And Obama, turning and seeing her, said, "Be of good heart, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour." In response, Obama was granted the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

We don’t know each other, though I’ve known of you and your work for some time. Like many others, I recently read your “How I’m Losing My Love For Israel” in the Forward. Because you write so articulately, and because your column has attracted such widespread attention, I’m taking the liberty of responding. The truth is, you and I agree about a lot. We’re both worried about some of what’s happening to Israeli society. We’re both tired of all the equivocating (though probably for different reasons). We’d both love some real leadership around here. We’d both like peace. And we’re...

Former President George W. Bush looks out over the U.S. Capitol as his helicopter departs Washington, D.C. January 20, 2009, for Andrews Air Force Base following the inauguration ceremonies for President Barack Obama. (ERIC DRAPER/AFP/Getty Images) President Bush gave an hour-and-a-half speech Wednesday night at the Wilderness Resort and Convention Center in Sevierville (Hat tip: Brutally Honest): “Every day in the White House was a joyous day for me,” the 43rd president said. “I miss being commander and chief of our military the most. You know you live in an amazing country when we have servicemen that continually volunteer to...

At the tea party in Washington, D.C., a popular sign read simply, "Impeach Obama." As a moderator of discussion on the blog www.exposeobama.com, Floyd has observed the discussion of impeachment is mushrooming amongst conservative activists. Radio personality Tammy Bruce may have captured these activists' beliefs about Obama best: "Uultimately, it comes down to ... the fact that he seems to have, it seems to me, some malevolence toward this country, which is unabated." But has Barack Obama committed an impeachable offense? What exactly constitutes an impeachable offense? Former President Gerald Ford, while serving in the House of Representatives, said an...

Talk about Cheating. John Boehner announced today that after the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee passed their version of the Obamacare bill, the the Democrats added 70 substantive amendments to the bill without voting on it, and without telling the minority members. WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today expressed outrage after learning that Senate Democratic leaders quietly made more than 70 substantive changes to the text of a health care bill after the legislation was voted on and passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee. The changes were made without...

I remember, not long after the 9/11 attacks, when there was a general and fairly open distrust of middle -easterners, especially middle eastern males between the ages of 18 and 45. "He's probably a terrorist!" many of us said to ourselves or quietly whispered to a friend while waiting in line at the airport. We can only imagine what was going through the heads of those who fit the racial profile of a "terrorist" as they faced heavy suspicion no matter how innocent they really were. I have been in several "heated" debates with friends and family on this topic,...

A quizola to match your religious beliefs to your most comfortable religious expression.

This is from an e-mail I recieved. It is supposedly from Ben Stein, but since I don't know for sure, I will leave it unattributed. I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me...

Question: If a cross rises in the desert and no one knows about it, does it make a sound? -Dana Milbank, WaPo L-R: Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy, President Rev. Patrick Mahoney, of the Christian Defense Coalition and Father James Heyd hold a prayer service in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington. Today the high court will hear oral arguments in a case on involving the building of a memorial with a cross by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in a remote area within what is now a federal preserve. Mark Wilson-Getty Images Is...

The global Muslim population stands at 1.57 billion, meaning that nearly 1 in 4 people in the world practise Islam, a landmark study has claimed. Britain has a total of 1,647,000 Muslims - just 2.7 per cent of the British population, and 0.1 per cent of the global Muslim population, the report claimed. The Pew Forum report also revealed that Germany has more Muslims than Lebanon - or North and South America combined. It claimed that about five per cent of Europe's population practises Islam - and that there are more Muslims living in Asia than in the Middle East....

Atheists recruited to be part of a lawsuit that is trying to rid government ceremonies such as the inauguration of a president of any invocation or other prayer have claimed they are made physically ill by prayer. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FAITH UNDER FIRE Atheists say prayer makes them physically sick 'My stomach did a somersault with disgust' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: October 07, 2009 10:30 pm Eastern By Bob Unruh © 2009 WorldNetDaily Michael Newdow Atheists recruited to be part of a lawsuit that is trying to rid government ceremonies such as the inauguration of a president of any invocation or other prayer...

WASHINGTON - She's poised to become the best-selling author in the United States, has a devoted base of conservative supporters and is considered a front-runner to lead the Republicans into the next election in 2012 - and yet key party strategists are tormented by the popularity of Sarah Palin. The very notion of a Palin candidacy has been derided in recent days by some of the brightest minds in the Republican party even as the former governor of Alaska outlines her policies on Afghanistan, energy and other issues of national importance. "Were she to be the nominee, we could have...

These Oakland Raiders have it pretty tough with the NFL referees. They get unsportsmanlike conduct penalties even when they behave like choirboys. Raiders' cornerback Chris Johnson found that out the hard way after making a great play in yesterday's 29-6 Raider loss to the Texans. With just 51 seconds left in the first half, the Texans were on the verge of scoring another touchdown before halftime. In footage still available online, Johnson made a fantastic leaping interception to rob Houston's Andre Johnson of the score. After hauling in the throw, the Raiders' Johnson dropped to his knees and raised his...

Two days ago, British newspaper The Independent reported that a secret cabal of oil-producing Arab states, Russia, and China had conspired to dump the dollar for oil trading, a move which would have seriously weakened our currency and influence abroad. Many publications picked up on this report, written by the notoriously unreliable Robert Fisk, and a round of denials promptly appeared from the named states. Left unexplained by Fisk and the Independent was how these same states, with massive holdings in the dollar (especially China), would benefit in the short or long term by attacking it. However, it once again...