Free Republic

One of President Obama's pretensions is the pose of objectivity. Reversing his predecessor's policy on stem cell research, he boasted of restoring "science to its rightful place." Lobbying for his health care overhaul, he claims to advance "evidence-based analysis" as though opponents are relying on myth or superstition. And campaigning for the cap-and-trade energy bill, he declared, "We must not be prisoners of the past. Don't believe the misinformation out there that suggests there is somehow a contradiction between investing in clean energy and economic growth. It's just not true." In reality, far from standing for empiricism, President Obama much...

Live Excellently Today's Scripture "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might" (Ecclesiastes 9:10a, NAS) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria David was a man of excellence. The Bible tells us that David played his harp “skillfully.” He didn’t just play it, he played it with excellence. When he slung the stone that defeated Goliath, it wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t just a lucky break. David had practiced the slingshot year after year out in the shepherd’s fields. He was extremely talented with that slingshot. Some experts say he could hit a small bull’s eye...

The pullback of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities this week, right on schedule, was a near-miraculous milestone. It was met with nods and faint smiles across America; outright fanfare should have been more like it. All who helped make this a reality - American troops and military leaders, the Iraqi police and government, and, yes, former President George Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates - have earned our thanks. President Obama gets credit, too, for keeping what worked in America's counterinsurgency strategy rather than shredding it just because it had his predecessor's fingerprints on it. Three years ago, no one...

A few years from now, bird-watchers may be in for a double take: that flapping creature in the distance? Nope, not a bird. Mutant dragon fly? Nope--it's Darpa's latest unmanned aerial robo-sentinel, inspired by the flight mechanics of birds. The tech company Aerovironment recently won a $2.1 million contract to further their work on the Nano Air Vehicle (NAV). One of many progressive projects from Darpa (the Pentagon's advanced-research unit), the NAV is the first-ever "controlled hovering flight of an air vehicle system with two flapping wings that carries its own energy source and uses only the flapping wings for...

Last Saturday, Honduran soldiers marched into the presidential palace, bundled up President Manuel Zelaya and put him on a plane for Costa Rica. The ouster had been ordered by the Supreme Court and approved by the Congress, as Zelaya was attempting an illegal referendum to change the Honduran constitution so he could run for another term. Will someone please explain why this bloodless transfer of power to the civilian legislator first in line for the presidency, in a sovereign nation, is any business of the United Nations, the Organization of American States, Hugo Chavez, the Castro brothers or Barack Obama?...

The Concentration of Personal Sin "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips . . ." —Isaiah 6:5 When I come into the very presence of God, I do not realize that I am a sinner in an indefinite sense, but I suddenly realize and the focus of my attention is directed toward the concentration of sin in a particular area of my life. A person will easily say, "Oh yes, I know I am a sinner," but when he comes into the presence of God he cannot get away with such...

I was walking home a few weeks ago when two young men, one with a knife in his hand, blocked the sidewalk and demanded my wallet and camera. I’m accustomed to having a means of defense other than my fist and an umbrella at hand. I’ve been in Washington, D.C. for three months and had almost gotten used to not having a weapon handy. At home in Arizona, I regularly, and legally, carry a concealed pistol and reluctantly left my guns at home and trusted on instincts and awareness to stay out of trouble. The hoodlum who tried to rob...

ELIZABETHTON — Two prisoners of the Carter County Jail face new charges after they allegedly tattooed an image of a male organ on the back of another prisoner’s neck. Sammy Jackson Green, 20, 202 Old Lacy Hollow Road, and Robert Shaun Hicks, 27, 2134 Gap Creek Road, were each charged July 1 with tattooing without a license. In addition to the charges, the cell block in which they resided had its television, telephone and radio privileges revoked for a week. Jailers discovered the tattoo June 6 when they noticed inmate Johnny Calhoun had a fresh tattoo on the back of...

Iranian lawmakers pressed on Thursday for legal action against protest leaders accused of inciting post-election turmoil. "Those who hold illegal rallies and gatherings should be legally pursued," parliament member Mohammad Taghi Rahbar was quoted as saying by the Javan newspaper. It said he was among several lawmakers preparing to write to the judiciary complaining about defeated candidate Mirhossein Mousavi's activities after the disputed June 12 election. The student branch of the pro-government Basij militia, which helped police suppress street protests after the vote, has also urged the attorney-general to take Mousavi to court. The authorities have blamed Mousavi, a former...

The White House sure likes to put on a show. Fresh off its joint stage production with ABC News, the Obama administration broadcast another health-care propaganda play this week under the guise of a citizen "town hall." Chicago consigliere and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett managed the floor and human props for Obama. In a telling moment as the event kicked off, she protested a wee bit much: "I want to emphasize that the president has not seen the questions ahead of time." The audience responded with polite laughter. But the denials of pre-planning and stacked decks deserve nothing but derisive...

Does the world need an overdue Amnesty International report to know that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza? Israel has been boasting about war crimes in Gaza, the West Bank (do we have to mention Jenin?) and Lebanon for the past four decades. The report "urged" Israel not to use "artillery, white phosphorus and other imprecise weapons in densely populated areas". Otherwise, Hamas shares equal responsibility of the massive number of deaths in the Israeli war on Gaza in December and January, according to the report. Amnesty perhaps thinks it has done justice to the Palestinians in Gaza by...

Iran, stung by European Union criticism of its handling of post-election unrest, yesterday accused the 27-nation bloc of meddling and demanded an apology before any more talks on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. Iran's top military commander laid down the condition amid continued recriminations over the June 12 presidential election that returned hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power, beating rivals who insist the vote was rigged in his favour. "Because of the interference of this (EU) group in the post-election riots... they have lost their qualification to hold nuclear talks with Iran," Major-General Hassan Firouzabadi was quoted as saying by the semi-official...

A man shot and wounded an intruder at his apartment Wednesday in Sugar Land, police said. The shooting happened at the Fairmont Apartments in the 2300 block of Long Reach about 12:15 p.m. An apartment resident said he feared for his life when a strange man rushed him in is apartment, said Doug Adolph, Sugar Land Police Department spokesman. The resident fired his gun and shot the man, Adolph said No charges have been filed against the resident. The case is under investigation.. "At this point it appears to be self-defense," Adolph said. Adolph said the resident, who has not...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Dawn was reading the Palm Beach Post. I don't read it but she does, and she sent me this most amazing story. The headline: "Hungry Palm Beach County Residents Failing to Claim..." and Port St. Lucie is in Martin County, right? I'm sorry, St. Lucie County. St. Lucie County, yes, but it's not in Palm Beach County. "Hungry Palm Beach County Residents Failing to Claim $83 Million in Food Stamp Aid." Now, the first thing wrong with the headline is "hungry." If they were hungry they'd be collecting the food stamps! And this stupid story goes on...

Former advertising executive Jack Connors and private equity investor Stephen Pagliuca have joined forces to prepare for a potential bid to buy The Boston Globe, according to people briefed on the sales process. This week the two got approval from the Globe’s owner, The New York Times Co., to team up for a potential bid, the sources said. Connors and Pagliuca had been weighing separate bids for New England’s largest daily. Nondisclosure agreements had stipulated bidders could not work together, but the two sought permission to collaborate. As that team and at least one rival local group craft preliminary bids,...

LONDON - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he would be willing to meet US President Barack Obama in Syria to discuss Middle East peace efforts, in a British television interview. “We would like to welcome him in Syria, definitely. I am very clear about this,” Assad told Sky News. Asked whether this could happen soon, the president said: “That depends on him. “I will ask you to convey the invitation to him,” he told the news channel in the brief interview broadcast Thursday. Assad’s outreach comes as Washington tries to engage with its former foe after President George W. Bush...

Good morning to all of you gardeners. I hope every one of you have a safe and Happy 4th of July weekend! Since just about everyone grows tomatoes in their vegetable garden I thought I would share some information I stumbled across concerning when to pick your tomatoes.Every tomato lover knows fresh, “vine-ripe” flavor is by far the best.At the same time, many don’t know what “vine ripe” means. So, whether growing or buying tomatoes, they may be limiting their access to the top flavor of the season.Tomatoes develop their optimum nutrition, color and flavor when they’re in the full...

***CALL TO ACTION*** LET'S GET ENGAGED AMERICA!!!! FAX, E-MAIL, CALL, WRITE LETTERS TO ALL OF THESE BUT MAKE CHIEF MAGISTRATE JUDGE OF THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT, ROYCE LAMBERTH YOUR FIRST CONTACT. SOME NEED TO SEND A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST TO THESE PEOPLE AS THAT WILL FORCE CONFIRMATION OF RECEIPT AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT.R Presentments filed in D.C.!!!July 2nd We may have missed a few but we'll work with this for now. American Grand Jury Spokespeople: Mack Ellis Dr. Penny Kelso Carl Swensson and Chalice Jackson, Citizen Journalist from http://www.patriotsheartnetwork.com/ On Monday, June 29, 2009, the team met...

A top Iranian cleric says some of the detained Iranian staffers of the British Embassy in Tehran will be put on trial. Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, who is close to Iran’s supreme leader, has made the announcement in a Friday prayer sermon. He says the detained staffers “made confessions.” Jannati does not say how many staffers will be tried or on what charges. Earlier Iranian officials said all but one of the eight embassy personnel arrested on June 27 had been released, but European Union officials said they believed more than one was still being held. Jannati is the head of...

Spurgeon's Morning & Evening - July 3 -------------------------------- Morning Devotional "The ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven wellfavoured and fat kine." - Genesis 41:4 Pharaoh's dream has too often been my waking experience. My days of sloth have ruinously destroyed all that I had achieved in times of zealous industry; my seasons of coldness have frozen all the genial glow of my periods of fervency and enthusiasm; and my fits of worldliness have thrown me back from my advances in the divine life. I had need to beware of lean prayers, lean praises, lean duties, and...