Free Republic

Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell had an unremarkable first year in office, loyally supporting Gov. Sarah Palin. But in the past year and half, a crescendo of unexpected announcements and dramatic developments have thrust him into a more prominent role, culminating with his unanticipated move into the No. 1 seat announced Friday. One day later a spokesman for the governor's office said Parnell would seek a full term in 2010. But for the next year and a half the job is all his. Parnell made headlines in March 2008 with his surprise decision to run against 18-term incumbent Don Young in...

No Matter What, He Always "Acts Like a Priest" University President Speaks on Divine Providence By Father David M. O'Connell, CM WASHINGTON, D.C., JULY 3, 2009 (Zenit.org).- I wanted to be a priest for as long as I can remember. I think it was my pastor's visits to my dying grandmother, in particular, that first attracted me. He was so kind to her and so gentle. He brought her holy Communion and what we called then the sacrament of "extreme unction" during her final illness. The whole aura surrounding his visits, the mysterious sound of the Latin prayers, and the...

A leftist candidate backed by an array of political parties successfully staved off his far-right opponent in a mayoral race Sunday that the National Front had hope would start its comeback. Other parties, from communists to President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservatives, rallied behind Daniel Duquenne whom voters designated the new mayor of Henin-Beaumont, a former mining town in northern France, in a runoff race. The victor was sprayed with tear gas minutes after the results were announced, a police officer said by telephone, confirming reports on France-Info radio and the French TV station iTele. Duquenne was not injured and the aggressor...

July 6, 2009                                     Monday of the Fourteenth Week                                 in Ordinary Time     Reading 1Responsorial PsalmGospel Reading 1Gn 28:10-22a Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran.When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set,he stopped there for the night.Taking one of the stones at the shrine, he put it under his headand lay down to sleep at that spot.Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground,with its top reaching to the heavens;and God's messengers were...

July 06, 2009 Let's cap and trade oxygen! By James Lewis Enough already with carbon cap and trade. I say let's cap oxygen, and then tax any family that can't achieve the Average Family Oxygen Target of 80% BOOTS (Before Obama Oxygen Trading Scheme). Remember, if you weren't inhaling all that O2 you wouldn't be belching out clouds of noxious CO2. Yuck. Yes, I know oil refineries smell bad and coal looks dirty. But none of that carbon would ever see the light of day if it weren't for all the oxygen you suck in, you greed bucket. So let's...

I think it's safe to say that NY Congressman Pete King did not sign up for tickets to the memorial....wait 'til the justice brothers see this video....

Soon the Republican party will have no choice but to make Mitt Romney its leader. We've seen a suspiciously steady trickle of losers quietly exiting the ranks of 2012 hopefuls -- Bobby Jindal with his disastrous State of the Union rebuttal; John Ensign and Mark Sanford with their affairs; and most recently, Sarah Palin's bizarre resignation from the Alaska governorship. The only candidates left are Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty and Romney. If history is any guide, we should expect some foul disclosure out of the Huckabee camp any day now. You just can't get away with saying something like this...

Video of Southfork Ranch (Dallas) TEA Party. Although the media attempted to downplay the attendance, there was between 45 to 50,000 in attendance through the Fireworks show. Pretty good turn out for "Astroturf" . http://www.livestream.com/wiretesterWhen it starts playing, just click the “on demand” button below the screen. To see Michelle Malkin's Speech In the right panel showing “on demand” videos click on the one that says:Live Show (Procaster) Set July 4th 2009 09:23:34 PM 50 min 59 secIf you move the slider ahead to about 22 minutes into the video Michelle stets the ranch on fire!

California's utilities are barreling ahead to try to meet a state mandate to garner 33% of their power from renewable sources by 2020, and some officials are concerned the effort might push up electricity prices and crimp supplies. The state auditor warned this week that the electricity sector poses a "high risk" to the state economy. A staff report from the state energy commission also warns that California could find itself uncomfortably tight on power by 2011 if problems continue to pile up. Utilities complain that the ambitious renewable-energy mandates, combined with tougher environmental regulations on conventional plants, are compromising...

Then there’s the Waxman-Markey cap and trade bill, which started out in life at a thousand pages, and then had a 300-page amendment tacked on to it in the dead of night. It was as if Dr. Frankenstein, after carefully inspecting his nightmarish creation, decided that what the monster really needed was a second head and a hunchback. Again, nobody had time to read the bill, but that didn’t prevent 219 congressmen, including eight Republicans who scurried out from under a rock just long enough to make certain that Christmas, or perhaps I mean Ramadan, would come early for the...

Here is the latest update on the "Muslims Rioting in China" article. China state media says 129 killed in riots in west BEIJING – Chinese state media says that 129 people have been killed and more than 800 hurt in violence in the country's western Xinjiang region.

Everyone's favorite Congressman, Barney Frank, made an appearance at the 2009 World Series of Poker Sunday, perhaps even upstaging bracelet record holder, Phil Hellmuth, who arrived dressed as a Roman emperor, complete with 100 models, 11 muses and a trumpeter.

The wife of the new head of Britain's spy agency has posted pictures of her husband, family and friends on internet networking site Facebook, details which could compromise security, a newspaper said on Sunday. In what the Mail on Sunday called an "extraordinary lapse," the new spy chief's wife, Lady Shelley Sawers, posted family pictures and exposed details of where the couple live and take their holidays and who their friends and relatives are. Publishing the story on its front page and the pictures on a double-page spread, the Mail on Sunday said the information "could potentially be useful to...

In a move set to infuriate and send many Zero Hedge readers over the top, the NYSE has taken action to make sure that nobody will henceforth be able to keep track of the complete dominance that Goldman Sachs exerts over the New York Stock Exchange. This basically ends our weekly Program Trading updates disclosed every Thursday indicating that Goldman has singlehandedly captured all of NYSE's program trading.

Here is the You Tube address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TStcIyQY-8s&feature=channel_page

Sarah Palin lacks what the GOP needs most The Republicans need a White House candidate with ideas, steadiness and the ability to unify. That's not Alaska's departing governor. Doyle McManus July 5, 2009 Is Sarah Palin the answer the Republican Party is looking for? Not likely. Palin's abrupt announcement that she's quitting as governor of Alaska may be part of a long-term strategy that leads to the Oval Office. But at the moment, it looks more like the impulsive act of a hot-headed politician who can't abide criticism -- poor attributes for anyone who hopes to run for president. Take...

Beckman radio - Michael Steele about manufacturing and health care Audio (June 23) - Frank speaks with Michael Steele, RNC Chairman, about manufacturing and health care.

I’m confused by all the confusion among the chattering classes about Palin. I thought her press conference explained it very clearly – though she couldn’t put it precisely this way without sounding vain, but it’s obvious. Even though she’s just a state governor, she’s a HUGE national star who is both sought after and attacked as if she is already a president (a Bush, not an Obama). But she basically can’t participate because she’s tethered to the governor’s office up in Alaska. Consequently, she has to fight with one hand tied behind her back and she also can’t go around...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Our president offended Brits by giving ridiculous gifts to the Prime Minister and Queen of England. He apologized for American policy in Europe and the Middle East. He described us as a Muslim nation and gave a conciliatory speech to Arab Muslims in Cairo. He shyed away from “meddling” in Iranian affairs as protesters were shot and beaten by the government, but quickly jumped into action in an attempt to save a fellow Marxist would-be dictator in Honduras. In Obama’s next stop on the Magical Mollification Tour is Moscow, where...

The top Russian military commander, the Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Defense Minister Army-General Nikolai Makarov during the Paris air show this week said: "Georgia is saber-rattling and preparing weapons to resolve its territorial problems by any means." Makarov accused NATO of supporting Georgian aggressive intentions and E.U. observers of ignoring Georgian rearmament and war preparations. Makarov stated that the Russian army and the FSB Border Guards in Abkhazia and South Ossetia are preparing together with local forces and forming new military infrastructure. He confirmed that the defense ministry will permanently station "somewhat less combat troops in...