Free Republic

Moreover, given the increasing diversity of America's population, the dangers of sectarianism have never been greater. Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers. And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with...

--snip-- Mr. Rendell became one of the few big-city mayors ever to share a podium with Mr. Farrakhan, a circumstance that was all the more unusual because Mr. Rendell is Jewish and Mr. Farrakhan is widely regarded as anti-Semitic. Representatives from the city's leading Jewish and Roman Catholic organizations were invited to participate in the rally, but all declined

If you read this weekend’s New York Times’ hit job on would-be Speaker John Boehner and his “lobbyist friends,” you might think, as the reporter clearly thinks, that John Boehner is cozier with lobbyists than most powerful politicians are. But did you know: Nancy Pelosi has raised almost twice as much money from lobbyists this election as Boehner has? At least 18 House Democrats have raised more lobbyist cash this election than Boehner has. Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid have pocketed more lobbyist cash in the past 18 months than Boehner has raised in the past 6 elections, combined?

In his new book, “The Backlash: Right-Wing Radicals, High-Def Hucksters, and Paranoid Politics in the Age of Obama,” the progressive journalist Will Bunch serves up his own anatomy of the Tea Party movement, that loose agglomeration of right-wing insurgents, libertarians, conservatives, evangelicals, survivalists, gun-rights crusaders, anti-tax protestors, deficit hawks, anti-government zealots, militia members, Ayn Randers, Limbaugh “ditto heads,” Glenn Beck fanatics, birthers, Birchers and supporters of Sarah Palin and Ron Paul. As Mr. Bunch sees it, there are three main reasons for the rise of the Tea Party: 1. “Genuine anger and panic by rank-and-file conservatives” who were deeply frustrated...

Throughout the history of mankind there has always been a struggle for freedom. That struggle has been depicted in Hollywood blockbusters such as The Ten Commandments, Braveheart and of course The Patriot. Although freedom has been temporarily achieved by some and always at the cost of blood and tears, freedom is merely a speck on the historical timeline. There has only been one exception in history where freedom has been able to thrive. That exception is America. In a world filled with people oppressed under the thumb of monarchs, dictators and other tyrants, a small but determined group of people...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Racism may be less of a factor in politics than other realms of life, according to a new University of Florida study, which found few white voters in Florida to be upset by the presidential candidacy of a black man, and many to be proud of it. To assess attitudes among white voters in a southern state about Barack Obama's historic election to the presidency, two UF political scientists analyzed results from four statewide telephone surveys -- each involving between 449 and 829 respondents – conducted in the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009. Their study...

Dick Armey, chairman of the tea party-backing FreedomWorks, got behind Rep. John Boehner's (R-OH) take-what-you-can-get talk about extending the Bush tax cuts at a breakfast with reporters sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor this morning. Asked if Boehner made "the right move" with his suggestion that he'd vote for extending just the Bush tax cuts affecting the middle class if that's all that could reasonably pass the Democratic-controlled Congress, Armey said...

The Obama Administration and congressional Democrats have intensified their tactics of trying to Shift attention away from their hugely unpopular legislative blunders. They’re Ignoring the fact that their economic policies and programs are not working. And they’re Name-calling their critics to try to minimize their anticipated losses in the November elections. The liberals’ SIN tactics are not new, as I have written about them in previous commentaries. They have just turned up the volume. To shift attention away from their not-so-proud legislative feats, the Democrats did not hold many town hall meetings during the congressional August recess. They did not...

The president and many in Congress are using this year's catastrophe in the Gulf to push for sweeping, unrelated measures that would punish not only the US oil and gas industry but the American economy as a whole. Just last week, President Obama explicitly targeted the industry for two massive tax hikes. First, he'd ban oil and gas companies from using the "Section 199" tax credit, a measure for domestic manufacturers enacted in 2004 to boost US employment. (The Senate is set to vote this week on its version of the ban.) Second, he wants to end "dual capacity" protection...

The topic for this week's session of Good Cheer is "praying in college." Praying regularly is something that we have to plan for and work into our busy schedules. We can always help each other out with suggestions and tips on praying. So, how do you pray? Where do you pray? What are your favorite prayers? What are your tips for praying with a busy schedule? Leave your answers in the comments. Feel free to do so anonymously.

Believe me, I have seen it all. What is going on here, with this Ground Zero mosque Imam? One day he says the “GZ mosque” MUST BE BUILT, otherwise there will be more attacks coming from Islamic jihadists from the Middle East or even homegrown ones here. Good golly, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, now you say you are looking at other options, as of this morning. Here is his interview with ABC’s Christine Amanpur on ABC’s Sunday morning show, “This Week” Exclusive. It all seems like a song and dance act from the get-go. This comes the morning after the...

Wind power is still a hot topic on the Cape as controversy swirls around the Cape Wind project on Nantucket Sound. Opinion on the Cape is still sharply divided. Whether the Cape Wind project goes ahead or not, every town on the Cape now seems to want its own wind turbine. The Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay built a 660-kilowatt turbine in 2006. Adm. Richard Gurnon, president of the MMA, called the wind turbine "a money machine." Another 660-kW turbine is under consideration at Cape Cod Community College in Hyannis. Virtually every town on the Cape is reviewing plans...

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.— Soon after Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski lost her August primary and became the latest casualty of the tea party’s assault on the GOP establishment, she placed a call to Rep. Mike Castle, another Republican Party favorite facing an insurgent challenger. Her message? “They'll come at you hard, so just be prepared," Castle told POLITICO.

From Erika Bolstad in Washington D.C. -- Sen. Lisa Murkowski won't be in Washington today as Congress returns from its August recess, her spokesman Mike Brumas said. The Senate is expected to take a vote this afternoon or evening on a federal judicial nominee, but she will miss it. Murkowski, who was defeated in the Aug. 24 GOP primary by fellow Republican Joe Miller, is reportedly still mulling a write-in candidacy in the general election. Brumas said her office isn't sure when she'll return to Washington, and they don't know what her schedule will be the rest of the week,...

Benedict XVI. on the Shepherd's Responsibilities of the Successors of the Apostles -- by Armin Schwibach/ Rome Rome[kath.net/as] The Bishop is not a pure manager, he is not a bureaucrat or a simple moderator and organizer of the life of the diocese. Much more, he must be a "father, brother and friend" and be on the "Christian and human path", who knows he has to create, "an atmosphere of trust, acceptance, sympathy, but also uprightness and justice". With these words Pope Benedict XVI. addressed a second group of newly ordained Bishops this morning, who participated in a course organized by...

Apart from helping New Orleans win the Super Bowl last year and dating Kim Kardashian, Reggie Bush is most famous in that he is about to lose his Heisman Trophy. The Heisman Trophy is awarded to the best college football player each year, and Bush won his back in 2005 when working for USC’s football program. Most crimes, short of murder, are not punishable five years after the alleged transgression, so Bush must have done something horrible to now lose his Heisman. His crime was to accept unapproved compensation during his time as a USC football player – horrible. ....

Joy Tiz ©2010 We have in store for the unbelievers heavy fetters and a blazing fire, choking food and harrowing torment: on the day when the earth shall quiver with all its mountains, and the mountains crumble into heaps of shifting sand. Koran 73:12 The Florida Koran burning has been called off. The Obama administration elevated an obscure Florida pastor’s antics to the status of international incident. Reverend Jones should have been ignored, as are Muslims who burn American flags and Bibles. Instead, the media and the administration focused like a laser on a minister with a flock of fifty....

First lady Michelle Obama is challenging the nation's restaurants to add more healthy options to menus, label those items more prominently and market nutritious foods to kids. Speaking at the National Restaurant Association Monday, Mrs. Obama pleaded with restaurants small and large to take a little butter or cream out of their dishes, use low fat milk and provide apple slices or carrots as a default side dish on the kids' menu.

A deterioration in the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has delayed a long-awaited Workers’ Party meeting in Pyongyang, a South Korean government official told the JoongAng Daily yesterday. But Kim is not ill enough for the meeting to be canceled altogether and it will be convened soon, said the official, who asked not to be identified. The communist leader’s health worsened after his unexpected visit to China last month, according to the source. Kim was expected any day to preside over a meeting of the Workers’ Party, the first in 44 years. The meeting is widely expected to...

Tune in to see Ilario Pantano on a discussion panel with Bob Beckel and Monica Crowley on the Sean Hannity show. Fox News Channel, 9 pm.