Free Republic

Summary: (1) Despite claims by liberal talkers and politicians that conservative/Republican opposition to ObamaCare has been characterized by violence, there is hardly any evidence corroborating these claims. On the contrary, most of the physical violence has been carried out by liberals. (2) Despite the myth perpetuated by the Left that conservative talk radio is fomenting death threats against President Obama, there is no evidence of this. By stark contrast, liberal talkers are consistently expressing wishes of death against conservative talkers and politicians opposing ObamaCare. And when George W. Bush was president, the Left on radio and at rallies nationwide openly...

“My husband and I met him and many others on a cruise sponsored by National Geographic and The Aspen Institute. He talked about supporting job growth in California, but of course I did not do a background check of his past over dinner. As these reports have surfaced, it’s clear that he holds views that I entirely reject; any suggestion otherwise is ridiculous.” --Meg Whitman

From an e-mail I received. Whether or not this really happened is irrelevant, the moral is the same. Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall. When that individual read the response from a Luke...

WHO IS JIM THOMPSON? He is everyone, and no one in particular. He is strong-jawed, but smiling. He is iron-willed, but willing to listen. He is tough as steel, but putty in the hands of his daughters. Jim Thompson believes in God. He is disciplined, but not a Puritan. He is pious, but not a Pharisee. He goes to church on Sunday because he likes it. He tries to love his neighbor as himself, and often succeeds. Jim's the boy for work. As an employee, he gives the job everything he's got. As an entrepreneur, he works twice as...

If anyone has studied H.R. 3200, I'd like to talk with you. Also, if you are a physician, or the office manager of a physician, I'd like to dialog with you about electronic records. Thanks.

The sun is in the pits of the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. Weeks and sometimes whole months go by without even a single tiny sunspot. The quiet has dragged out for more than two years, prompting some observers to wonder, are sunspots disappearing? "Personally, I'm betting that sunspots are coming back," says researcher Matt Penn of the National Solar Observatory (NSO) in Tucson, Arizona. But, he allows, "there is some evidence that they won't." Penn's colleague Bill Livingston of the NSO has been measuring the magnetic fields of sunspots for the past 17 years, and he has...

Today, Deputy Judge David Elvin QC, quashed Justice Secretary Jack Straw's decision to continue detaining the prisoner, known only as 'A', in a male prison. He was told that steps were already being put in place to transfer A to a female prison 'as soon as possible'. The move will pave the way for 'A' to have the operation to fully change from a woman to a man. He has to live openly as a woman for two years before having the procedure. A's health authority will have to foot the £8,000 bill for his sex change operation. --- Although...

When President Obama says Afghanistan is not a war of choice but of necessity, we shouldn't hesitate to point out that the emperor has no clothes, says William Astore. I have a few confessions to make: After almost eight years of off-and-on war in Afghanistan and after more than six years of mayhem and death since "Mission Accomplished" was declared in Operation Iraqi Freedom, I'm tired of seeing simpleminded magnetic ribbons on vehicles telling me, a 20-year military veteran, to support or pray for our troops. As a Christian, I find it presumptuous to see ribbons shaped like fish, with...

Setting the record straight of how Van Jones' story emerged. "Obama administration is finding itself in a most unpleasant situation and the results are going to be devastating. You may be aware that Obama has garnered interest from many left of center individuals with his appointment of numerous czars. Beyond czars being unconstitutional as they bypass Senate confirmation hearings, these czars have a more radical past than Obama himself and that should tell you something. Move out Jeremiah Wright, out of the way Bill Ayers, here comes Van Jones. "

Not put in the system for any mistakes they have made...

One of President Barack Obama's favorite quotes - which is attributed to Albert Einstein - wisely reminds us, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Some on the far left and some in the media prove Einstein's point on a daily or weekly basis with their continuous assaults against former Vice President Dick Cheney and his single-minded desire to protect our nation from nuclear, biological or chemical attack at the hands of terrorists. The latest onslaught from the left against Mr. Cheney has come because he dares to vocalize that Central Intelligence Agency interrogators...

This is what a leadership vacuum looks like: House Democratic chiefs, after a calamitous August recess, dispatched Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) to the Capitol on Thursday to try to pick up the pieces of the shattered health-care bill. "We've heard the stories -- death panels, euthanasia," the vice chairman of the House Democratic caucus told a roomful of reporters and cameras summoned by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office..."This is not socialized medicine," Becerra pleaded, before asking consent to deliver a quick message in Spanish: "Hay muchas mentiras!" -- there are many lies. It was a painfully defensive performance, and if...

Featured Term (selected at random):HYPERDULIA The special veneration due to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is substantially less than the cultus latria (adoration), which is due to God alone. But it is higher than the cultus dulia (veneration), due to angels and other saints. As the Church understands the veneration of Mary, it is to be closely associated but subordinated to that of her Son. "The various forms of piety towards the Mother of God, which the Church has approved within the limits of sound and orthodox doctrine according to the dispositions and understanding of the faithful, ensure that while...

Teachers are demanding the right to get drunk at weekends as they protest against a tough new code of conduct. More than 10,000 have signed a petition calling for the scrapping of rules which require them to uphold 'public trust' in their profession outside school. The code, drawn up by the General Teaching Council [GTC] and coming into force next month, aims to reinforce the traditional role of teachers as pillars of society. It urges teachers to act as role models for pupils inside and outside the classroom by maintaining 'reasonable standards in their own behaviour'. One teacher, who asked...

When President Barack Obama sold his $787 billion stimulus package to the American people, he set one metric for success: jobs. Specifically, President Obama promised the American people he would create 4.1 million jobs by the end of 2010. According to the President’s plan, the stimulus should have lowered the nation’s unemployment rate below 8% by this August. That is the objective standard the President set for himself. And according to objective data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning, President Obama’s policies, and his stimulus package, have been complete failures. BLS reports that the number of unemployed...

September 1 marked the 70th anniversary of the beginning of World War II. The day was marked with solemn remembrances from governments and survivors. They recalled the unprovoked German invasion of Poland that led to Britain and France honoring their defense guarantees, which plunged the planet into its second great conflict in as many generations. Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan acknowledged the day a little differently. “Pitchfork Pat” wrote a column in which he reiterated his long-held contention that Adolf Hitler did not want to start a general war, that he was only trying to unite the German-speaking peoples of Europe,...

The clock is ticking for House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel and President Barack Obama’s environmental officer, Van Jones. It’s probably only a matter of time before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi yanks Charlie offstage permanently (or as permanently as an exit gets in politics). Then she can toss the hook to Obama and get him to pull Jones off the liberal stage. Plainly, simply, Obama and Pelosi are in enough of their own – well, muck – right now. They can’t afford to let loose cannons like Rangel and Jones hog the limelight with their massive missteps. Left...

NEW YORK (AP) -- A 500-pound brass bell that sank to the ocean floor in a 1911 fire has been pulled out of the water off Coney Island.The 3-foot-by-3-foot bell sat on the pier during the amusement park's heyday. It was rung whenever passengers left or arrived by steamboat

Once again, a NASA space probe is supporting the 6,000-year biblical age of the solar system...

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — A Pennsylvania history buff who recreates firearms from old wars accidentally fired a 2-pound cannonball through the wall of his neighbor's home. Fifty-four-year-old William Maser fired a cannonball Wednesday evening outside his home in Georges Township that ricocheted and hit a house 400 yards away. -snip-