Free Republic

Perhaps as a result of TGDN’s rapid rise, the intent of the movement became blurred. Quickly forgotten by many in the mad scramble to follow everyone on the suggested lists was the ‘defense’ part. Instead of acting as a shield to protect long-battered free speech rights, some began using the group as a weapon of their own...

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester rescinded an invitation Wednesday to Robert Spencer, a Catholic whose work depicts Islam as an inherently violent religion, to speak at its annual Catholic Men’s Conference in March. The invitation was withdrawn after Muslims in Massachusetts expressed concerns to the diocese about the appearance of Spencer, scheduled to be a featured speaker at the DCU Center on March 16. Spencer is director of the blog Jihad Watch and a leader of the American Freedom Defense Initiative and Stop Islamization of America, both of which are seen as anti-Muslim groups by some organizations that monitor...

Coal consumption in China grew more than 9% in 2011, continuing its upward trend for the 12th consecutive year, according to newly released international data. China's coal use grew by 325 million tons in 2011, accounting for 87% of the 374 million ton global increase in coal use. Of the 2.9 billion tons of global coal demand growth since 2000, China accounted for 2.3 billion tons (82%). China now accounts for 47% of global coal consumption—almost as much as the entire rest of the world combined. Robust coal demand growth in China is the result of a more than 200%...

Saw a clip from an unintentionally hilarious training movie. The training film shows how the government wants teachers to respond to a crazed gunman in their school. A rather short and stocky "teacher" is shown grabbing a pair of scissors with which to protect himself and his students should a crazed NRA-member gunman attack. He is shown huddled beneath a door's window, scissors in hand. If things get even more threatening, the teacher is shown throwing himself under his desk to hide. You can't make this stuff up.

In an interview with “Jerusalem Post” Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon, announced Jerusalem is on verge of signing a diplomatic agreement with the Holy See. But the Vatican is exercising caution“We have overcome most if not all the outstanding issues that have prevented signing of this agreement for so long,” said Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon in an interview with Jerusalem Post on the progress of Israeli-Vatican diplomatic relations. Ayalon said he was sure the new Israeli government would “sign soon”: the reason it has not already been signed is that it would have been inappropriate for a caretaker...

Look at these two ads. The same but for a word, no? One ad ran, one ad was denied. This is what sharia in America looks like. The Blaze has the story.This ad ran on Detroit SMART buses here Crains Business wrote this: While the ads may offend some, SMART's Beth Dryden tells Shea they met the system guidelines and were vetted by their legal department. March 3, Crain's: Additionally, because the ads are what SMART considers “viewpoint-neutral content” the agency can't reject them, she said. That's because a government agency cannot censor such content, which is protected by the...

47 percent of their crop, to be precise. It’s J.J. Abrams’ world. We’re all just living in it.Luckily, the Supreme Court decided to take the case of the Horne family, so they may end up retaining the right to freely sell the raisin crop they’ve duly produced, but how is it that they must appeal to the highest court in the land for that right? Well, it all started in 1937, as so many good things do, when the federal government began requiring raising farmers to lay aside a tribute portion of their crops in order to control supply and...

MOSCOW, January 31 (RIA Novosti) - Religious radicals in Russia will fail in their attempts to intimidate clerics and followers of traditional Islam, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. Speaking at a meeting with his envoys to Russian federal districts, Putin said that “multiethnic harmony should be consistently maintained” as “religious radicals… of various confessions” have intensified their activities in the country. “In fact, a terrorist war is being waged against [those who teach] traditional Islam. They are being intimidated, deprived of their rights to speak to believers. At the same time, false values that have nothing to do...

If Menendez quits or is removed by the US Senate, I honestly do not think he can hold out and it is very likely Christie will win a second term, whom will Christie appoint to replace him? What are the laws in NJ regarding replacement for the US Senate?

Since when is ignorance of the law a viable defense when it comes to crimes? Apparently in the United Kingdom it is. Adil Rashid, an 18-year-old Muslim man, met a thirteen-year-old girl on Facebook last year. After texting her for two months, they met in Nottingham. Rashid proceeded to rape the girl and was subsequently arrested. In his defense, Rashid claimed that he simply "did not know" it was illegal to rape minors. Rashid stated that "he went to an Islamic faith school where he was taught that women are worthless," and thus consent was not necessary. He further argued...

For the last four months, Chinese hackers have persistently attacked The New York Times, infiltrating its computer systems and getting passwords for its reporters and other employees. After surreptitiously tracking the intruders to study their movements and help erect better defenses to block them, The Times and computer security experts have expelled the attackers and kept them from breaking back in. The timing of the attacks coincided with the reporting for a Times investigation, published online on Oct. 25, that found that the relatives of Wen Jiabao, China’s prime minister, had accumulated a fortune worth several billion dollars through business...

At a recent dinner party I had the opportunity to ask an elderly acquaintance a question I thought she was uniquely qualified to answer. You see, she grew up in Germany in the 1930’s just as Adolph Hitler came to power. She was injured during the Allied bombing of her home and then married an American soldier whereupon she settled in America. I asked her, “Katherine, do you see any similarities between Hitler’s Germany in the 1930’s and America today?” My question prompted a swift, if not indelicate, kick under the table from the hostess, a dear friend. Fortunately, Katherine...

Many Greek contributions to Western music have been unknown to modern scholars until recently.Today, the name of Greece may evoke new images of debt, bailouts, and tourism, or old images of Olympians, Corinthian columns, Socrates, and Spartan warriors. But most of us don’t associate Greece with Western Church music. Nevertheless, Gregorian chant, Western musical notation, and the Lutheran hymnal all have common origins in the Hellenic (Greek) Eastern Christian traditions of sacred music. Medieval music theorists of Europe built their work upon a foundation established by the Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. And if the Greco-Syrians had not developed the...

After 18 months behind bars, Rick and Ryin Reese have been granted bond today, Judge Robert C. Brack of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico ruled. They are the last two members of a New Mexico gun dealer family jailed for allegedly knowingly selling guns to cartel members, but who were found not guilty on the most serious charges of conspiracy and had money laundering charges against them dismissed. They were convicted on a handful of lesser charges of making false statements on forms, basically under the presumption that they should have know federal agents...

Be honest, now. Did you really expect Obama to take responsibility for anything? From The Hill: _____________________________ White House press secretary Jay Carney laid the blame for a surprise economic contraction squarely at the feet of congressional Republicans Wednesday, saying economic threats during the "fiscal cliff" negotiations had prevented important defense spending. "Our economy is facing a major headwinds, and that's Republicans in Congress," Carney said. The Commerce Department projected Wednesday that the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012. Carney said that was partially attributable to the threat of sequestration, which...

If President Obama is truly the "Reagan of the Left," then it's only fair to ask: What does Obama consider "evil" and an "evil empire?" After all, since Obama's second inaugural address, commentators both left and right have been busily comparing Obama to Reagan. The Daily Beast: "[Obama] wants to do for liberalism...what Ronald Reagan did for conservatism." E.J. Dionne: "Obama's role model is Ronald Reagan[.]" Charles Krauthammer: "[Obama's] second inaugural address... is his self-proclamation as the Reagan of the Left." Besides noting the stark ideological differences of each president, most pundits agreed that Obama shares with Reagan not just...

Here is the Utube link. Listen and comment as the head of the FBI is asked if Bo and the DOJ have the authority to order the killing of our own citizens inside the US. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG80Wk9HiYs

Obamanomics: The economy shrank last quarter, the deficit topped $1 trillion last year, U.S. debt shot up $5 trillion in the past four, and joblessness is at 7.8%. Boy, President Obama sure inherited an economic mess, didn't he? According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the economy "unexpectedly" declined 0.1% in last three months of 2012, the first decline since early 2009. The Obama administration, naturally, tried to look for scapegoats, this time settling on Hurricane Sandy and Republican-induced uncertainty over the "fiscal cliff" outcome. But if that were the case, why was the administration running around late last year...

Yesterday, as Barack Obama called for a bipartisan immigration bill in Las Vegas and Senator Marco Rubio called for one on Rush Limbaugh’s program, the chances for passage looked surprisingly good. But from some quarters — mostly from the right, but also from liberals such as blogger Mickey Kaus — comes a complaint that deserves to be addressed. We tried this once already, they say, in the 1986 immigration act. We were told that in return for the legalization of illegal immigrants we would get tough border control and strict enforcement against employers who hired illegals. We got the amnesty,...

A report emanating from a UN human rights inquiry has called on Israel to remove all Jewish settlers from the West Bank and to immediately cease expansion. According to the report, the settlements violate international law and are merely an attempt to drive out Palestinians through intimidation. The report comes from an inquiry led by French judge Christine Chanet and was based on interviews with 50 Palestinians, describing land grabs, violence, and damages to livelihood, and reads, "Israel must, in compliance with article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, cease all settlement activities without preconditions.” The report further states that...