Free Republic

I woke up in the middle of the night and realized the trick. You see, evil doesn’t just show up. It disguises itself as something nice; so you’ll let it in. It tricks you. Murdering babies is called Pro-Choice. Unfair Censorship is called The Fairness Doctrine. Outlandish Taxes and the Death of Freedom is called Cap & Trade. Sounds like Fish & Chips. You gotta figure out the trick. I’d been wondering why the liberals are so passionate about this Health Care thing. It couldn’t be because they actually care about sick, poor people. If they did, they would visit...

"My assignment tonight is to address the very broad subject of the role of the Holy Ghost in missionary work, with special emphasis on 'teaching by the Spirit,' " said Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve, speaking to nearly 600 missionaries in the Provo Missionary Training Center, and another 100 mission presidents and their wives attending the 2009 New Mission Presidents Seminar, June 26. Nearly 600 missionaries at the Provo MTC assemble to hear Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who welcomed them to the "work of angels." "I have entitled these remarks 'The Divine Companionship,' " he...

EDITORIAL: Sotomayor plays the race card 'Inherent physiological differences' as a legal standard By | Wednesday, July 8, 2009 A biased judge should not be promoted to a higher court. Yet the Obama administration has not been able to put to rest fears that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor might let ethnic grievances sway her decisions on the bench. That's exactly what it appears Judge Sotomayor did in the Ricci v. DeStefano case, in which she ruled that white firefighters could be denied promotions they clearly had earned. That's why it is worth revisiting the Supreme Court nominee's infamous "wise...

A widespread and unusually resilient computer attack that began July 4 knocked out the Web sites of several government agencies, including some that are responsible for fighting cyber crime, The Associated Press has learned. The Treasury Department, Secret Service, Federal Trade Commission and Transportation Department Web sites were all down at varying points over the holiday weekend and into this week, according to officials inside and outside the government. Some of the sites were still experiencing problems Tuesday evening. Cyber attacks on South Korea government and private sites also may be linked, officials there said. U.S. officials refused to publicly...

In response to the state’s financial woes, Djou has advocated curtailing expenditures by shrinking the state budget and scaling back government programs. He has been a vocal critic of Hannemann’s proposal of a 20-mile elevated rail line that would run throughout Honolulu. Hannemann has said the jobs needed to construct the rail system would stimulate the economy, while Djou has charged that the cost would outstrip the job-related benefits. “Charles is trying to make it understood that you can’t solve all your problems by raising taxes,” said Jim Bryan, a spokesman for the Hawaii Republican Party. “It’s going to hurt...

IsraelNN.com) The Chief Rabbinate has been given a list of more than 60 recent converts to Judaism who continue to believe in Jesus – and are active missionaries. Rabbi Shalom Dov Lifshitz, chairman and founder of the anti-missionary and anti-assimilation Yad L’Achim organization, met in recent days with Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and provided him with the list. Rabbi Amar was reportedly “shocked” at seeing that the Chief Rabbinate had authorized the conversions. Yad L’Achim had prepared the list of names, ID numbers and addresses of more than 60 people who were active in missionary groups before, during and after...

FULLERTON – An American flag in every secondary school classroom. That's the request the Orange County Republican Central Committee Youth Associates will bring to the Fullerton Joint Union High School District board tonight after several Troy High School students reported flags missing in campus classrooms. The Youth Associates researched the state Education Code and learned the Patriotic Exercise requirements call for "a patriotic exercise daily in secondary schools." "No flag means students are reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to a bare wall," GOP Central Committee Board Member John Briscoe wrote in a memo to the Youth Associates. Briscoe has been...

WASHINGTON – Turns out that not-funny senator bit was an act. "I'm an extremely good-looking person," satirist-turned-senator Al Franken cracked as photographers snapped his picture Tuesday after he took the oath of office. Funny, ha-ha. But the Senate can be funny-odd, too, not to mention unforgiving. Even as some Democrats insisted that Franken's vote as the 60th senator in their party could make it harder, not easier, to pass bills, they rewarded the man who delivered the alleged burden of a supermajority with an illustrious debut.

After his chief of staff raised some eyebrows on Capitol Hill, President Obama on Tuesday issued a statement from halfway across the world reiterating his support for the creation of a government health insurance plan. Obama has repeated time and again that he backs the so-called public option in healthcare reform, but he decided he needed to reassure liberal groups and congressional Democrats once again. Obama, who is in Russia this week, weighed in after White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told The Wall Street Journal that Obama would consider a proposal that would “trigger” a public option only...

GIVE up lamb roasts and save the planet. Government advisers are developing menus to combat climate change by cutting out “high carbon” food such as meat from sheep, whose burping poses a serious threat to the environment. Out will go kebabs, greenhouse tomatoes and alcohol. Instead, diners will be encouraged to consume more potatoes and seasonal vegetables, as well as pork and chicken, which generate fewer carbon emissions. “Changing our lifestyles, including our diets, is going to be one of the crucial elements in cutting carbon emissions,” said David Kennedy, chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change.... ....The problem...

US researchers have developed an efficient way of producing hydrogen from urine - a feat that could not only fuel the cars of the future, but could also help clean up municipal wastewater. Using hydrogen to power cars has become an increasingly attractive transportation fuel, as the only emission produced is water - but a major stumbling block is the lack of a cheap, renewable source of the fuel. Gerardine Botte of Ohio University may now have found the answer, using an electrolytic approach to produce hydrogen from urine - the most abundant waste on Earth - at a fraction of the cost...

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) hauled in $1.2 million in the second quarter as he prepares to face Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-La.) in his reelection bid next year. In a statement, Vitter announced that he now has $3.2 million cash on hand. “I’m grateful for this tremendous show of support from folks across Louisiana who support my fight to hold President Obama and his reckless-spending, liberal allies in Congress accountable," Vitter said. Melancon, who is currently serving his third term in the House, is expected to challenge Vitter next year but has yet to announce. Vitter's fundraising haul puts him at...

Testimony before theSenate Republican ConferenceJune 22, 2009My name is Ben Lieberman, and I am the Senior Policy Analyst for Energy and Environment in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. The views I express in this testimony are my own, and should not be construed as representing any official position of The Heritage Foundation.I would like to thank the Senate Republican Conference for extending me the privilege of participating in today's hearing. I'll be discussing the costs of the cap-and-trade approach to addressing global warming and The Heritage Foundation's economic analysis of H.R. 2454,...

Erratic price movements in such an important commodity are cause for alarm. For two years the price of oil has been dangerously volatile, seemingly defying the accepted rules of economics. First it rose by more than $80 a barrel, then fell rapidly by more than $100, before doubling to its current level of around $70. In that time, however, there has been no serious interruption of supply. Despite ongoing conflict in the Middle East, oil has continued to flow. And although the recession and price rises have had some effect on consumption, medium-term forecasts for demand are robust. The oil...

A group of the biggest U.S. banks said they would stop accepting California's IOUs on Friday, adding pressure on the state to close its $26.3 billion annual budget gap.

Half a dozen members of the Senate Democratic Conference pose the biggest threat to President Obama’s agenda, giving Senate Republicans a fighting chance to block the administration’s major expansions of government. GOP leaders have begun reaching out to these centrists, hoping they will buck their party on Obama’s two biggest initiatives: healthcare reform and climate change legislation. Now that Democrats control 60 votes, Republicans must peel off a few members of the majority to stage a filibuster. Leading the pack of potential defectors are Sen. Ben Nelson, a pro-business Democrat from Nebraska; Sen. Joe Lieberman, a self-described Independent Democrat from...

The U.S. government's budget deficit will likely be wider than expected this year, a top White House adviser said Tuesday. Speaking at the Nomura Asia Equity Forum in Singapore, Laura Tyson, a member of President Barack Obama's Economic Advisory Panel, said the U.S. economy faces a worse situation than previously believed, and the deficit - already the widest since World War II - may surpass a previous projection of around 12% of gross domestic product. Tyson said her remarks represent her own views and not the administration's official position. ..... As to the size of this additional stimulus, she said...

In a bid to stop the rapid warming of the Earth due to Global climate change, scientists have resorted to what some would call drastic measures. “A major contributing factor to Global Warming are the morbidly obese.” stated Dr. Saleem Winstone of the Cambridge Institute for Research and Findings (CIRF). “Everyone knows that America produces ten percent of the world’s food, yet we consume over ninety percent of the its bounty. This makes our nation almost criminally responsible for impending famine and the world-wide disaster." Dr. Saleem went on, "Through our research here at CIRF, we have reached the conclusion...

In 2006, Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney was hailed as a visionary for signing one of the most expansive health reform bills in the country. "MassCare" aimed to expand health insurance, achieve universal coverage, and bring down costs through a complicated set of government controls and subsidies. Just over three years later, many lawmakers are pointing to the Bay State as a model of success -- and pushing for similar policies at the national level. The reform packages put forward by both the President and Democrats in Congress contain many of the essential elements of MassCare, including an individual mandate requiring...

Despite everything Obama and Democrats have done -- or, perhaps, because of everything they've done -- the bad economy appears to be getting worse. Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both hit two-month lows, and financial analysts are starting to speak bluntly about the grim prospects ahead : "Investors are grasping the fact that the recovery, when it does come, may not be as robust as what many hope for." -- Robert Siewert, portfolio manager at Glenmede "It's an overall reality check. People are starting to worry there may have been a disconnect between the market...