Free Republic

In 2006 Birgitte Vittrup recruited from the database about a hundred families, all of whom were Caucasian with a child 5 to 7 years old. It was no surprise that in a liberal city like Austin, every parent was a welcoming multiculturalist, embracing diversity. Asked how many white people are mean, these children commonly answered, "Almost none." Asked how many blacks are mean, many answered, "Some," or "A lot." Even kids who attended diverse schools answered the questions this way. More disturbing, Vittrup also asked

The resignation of Van Jones is about more than Van Jones, more than Glenn Beck. It is part of a concerted effort to neutralize progressive champions who are trying to fix the problems that are ripping this country apart. First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up...

Van Jones is not an extremist. He is the liberal mainstream

At our next Republican Convention here in California, the most important vote we take may be the vote to close our primary elections, ensuring that people are Republicans before they can choose who will represent our party on the ballot. Since 1999 when we opened our primaries to those who do not join a party, we have had no noteworthy statewide electoral success from primary-nominated Republicans (our dear Governor Schwarzenegger, remember, bypassed the primary process in the recall of Governor Gray Davis). So the benefits of the open primary have been shown to be minimal. Yet a certain coalition of...

I have decided at the last minute that I want to try to get to DC for the Tea Party on September 12th. My son works for one of the airlines, so I can fly standby to just about anywhere I want to go. I hate traveling, and I especially hate airports. I am pretty much a small town country boy who stays at home as much as possible. I really despise going to big cities, but I want to see so many people show up in DC next Saturday that it scares the crap out of the beltway insiders....

Resident cracks bat on fleeing intruder 11:11 AM Sunday, September 6, 2009 SPRINGFIELD — A resident in the 1600 block of East High Street reported that around 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5 he arrived home to find his back door standing open and a blue racing bike lying on the ground. The lock on the door was on the ground and the door frame was damaged. The resident told police he went into his garage to retrieve a metal baseball bat. As he returned to the back door a man walked out carrying the resident’s DVD player. He got on...

As you sit reading this, former Vice President Cheney is on a two month surge of popularity. President Barack Obama, on the other hand, is doing his best Wile E. Coyote impression with no brakes on the rocket car, and has just careened over the edge of the fifty-foot cliff. So what has boosted the former Vice President anywhere from 8-10%, while watching the President nose dive 11-14%?

What is wrong with giving our children a sense that we are united, that we operate as one country and that we have a leader who wants to talk to them? During my lifetime, I have heard complaints from folks on the right that I am not patriotic because I protested the Vietnam war, questioned both Presidents Bush on the wars in Iraq and wondered if we are ruining our standing as a moral country with our renditions and interrogation methods. I am not a big supporter of the most of the Republican presidents that have served during my lifetime...

A Shanda! By Norma Zager Childhood memories of my grandfather remain bright. So often he’d watch the handful of television programs offered. Ed Sullivan and Milton Berle were among his favorites. From time to time he’d turn to my grandmother, point to a singer or comedian performing on the ancient black and white screen and announce proudly, “Yidden.” She would nod and answer, “yes?” He’d nod the affirmative and return to his program. I failed to understand then the importance of these “outings,” but now it is clear. There is a sense of pride for any minority when one of...

As California's population expanded dramatically after World War II and the state constructed a world-class freeway system, the state became famous for its car culture. Detroit saw opportunity, not only adopting California name places as monikers for its products (Catalina and Ventura, for example) but also establishing design studios in Southern California and opening auto assembly lines. Those auto plants have closed, one by one, victims of consolidation, cost-cutting and foreign competition. Last month, Toyota announced that it would shutter the last of them, a partnership with General Motors called New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., after GM pulled out. Not...

Here is video of White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on This Week with George Stephanopoulos this morning where he was asked to react to the resignation of Van Jones as President Obama's "Green Jobs" Czar. Gibbs refused to say that Obama wanted Jones to resign, but rather said Jones decided to resign so he would not "get in the way" of Obama's agenda. Gibbs said Obama "thanks Jones for his work." Stephanopoulos pointed out the news came through at 12:12 AM ET that Jones had resigned. This is an example of an ultimate attempt to "bury the bad news."...

I know there are some people who have not slept for fear that Google had finally committed itself to some alien culture. Well, some outerworldly alien culture. Well, some outerworldly alien culture where all beings were green and no one used phrases like "market segmentation" and "41 shades of blue." You see, a mysterious doodle appeared on the Google home page. It showed an alien spacecraft making off with the second "O" in the word "Google." Were we really expected to merely gogle now? Didn't that sound uncomfortably close to ogling? Though there were no references to the Church of...

The major TV networks don't even let revenue get in the way of their biased coverage in favor of President Obama's agenda. ABC and NBC in particular seem afraid of a simple 30-second advertisement. Both networks have refused to run an ad proposed for national telecast by the League of American Voters, a nonprofit group with 15,000 members. The supposedly offensive ad makes the simple claim that the proposed government-run health care program would ration medical care. ABC won't run the ad because it says it is "partisan." NBC won't run it because that network says it questions the ad's...

Father Leo Patalinghug was making the marinade for his fajitas in front of a crowd at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md., where he serves as director of pastoral field education for the seminary — and TV cameras. He thought the Food Network was filming a show about Grace Before Meals, his ministry dedicated to fostering stronger communities through stronger families, one meal at a time. But the priest-chef wasn’t just cooking for the gathered crowd or TV that June day.“I was talking and I realized that standing two feet away listening to me was Bobby Flay,” recalled Father...

President Barack Obama will "draw some lines in the sand" on his priorities for healthcare reform, but issue no veto threats on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Sunday. Administration officials, making the rounds on the Sunday morning talk shows, pledged that the president will detail his health reform initiative during a speech before a joint session of Congress this week, but were coy as to whether Obama would continue to vocally back a public (or "government-run") option for consumers. "I doubt we're going to get into heavy veto threats on Wednesday," Gibbs said during an appearance on...

The jobless-recovery theme re-emerged on Friday with the arrival of a disappointing employment report. The daunting number was the unemployment rate, which jumped from 9.4 percent in July to 9.7 percent in August. This is a big-versus-small-business issue. Sort of the haves versus the have-nots.The large companies are gradually recovering as a result of major cost-cutting, inventory reduction, and a lean-and-mean return to profitability and high productivity. So the payroll survey registered a 216,000 job loss, the smallest drop in over a year. However, the household survey, which picks up small, owner-operated, LLC/S-Corp-type businesses, registered a devastating 392,000 job loss,...

I live in Metrowest Boston. I have raised the issue of Obama's upcoming speech with my 10-year-old daughter, who is well aware of my negative feelings about him. (I don't know whether or not the school is planning to have the kids watch it, but I suspect not since the Superintendant's office hadn't even know about it as of last Wednesday when I called to inquire.) Anyway, my daughter told me that every kid in her school hates Obama. I asked her why, and she told me: "Because he wanted to make the school day longer." I don't know that...

More czars on conservative hit list By: Lisa Lerer September 6, 2009 12:37 PM EST With the resignation of green jobs advisor Van Jones, the conservative firing squad is setting its sights on other White House czars. The resignation of Jones — who stepped down from his post as the White House green jobs advisor early Sunday morning, citing a "vicious smear campaign" waged against him by "opponents of reform" — was a win for conservative politicians and pundits who waged a months-long campaign hammering him for comments he made in his previous post as an environmental activist for poor...

SACRAMENTO — State air-quality regulators appear back on track to impose the nation's first broad-based fee on greenhouse gas emissions, potentially costing Californians a little extra to fill their gas tanks, turn up the heat or go out to dinner. Regulators estimate that overall, the average consumer will pay less than $1.50 a year more once the fee is passed down by energy providers and others that release greenhouse gasses linked to global warming. ... The fee will affect about 250 types of businesses, such as the energy and cement industries, that burn huge quantities of fossil fuels. Together, those...