Free Republic

President Obama faces a knotty decision in whether to approve the much-delayed Keystone oil pipeline: a choice between alienating environmental advocates who overwhelmingly supported his candidacy or causing a deep and perhaps lasting rift with Canada. Canada, the United States' most important trading partner and a close ally on Iran and Afghanistan, is counting on the pipeline to propel more growth in its oil patch, a vital engine for its economy. Its leaders have made it clear that an American rejection would be viewed as an unneighborly act and could bring retaliation. Secretary of State John F. Kerry's first meeting...

Democrats in Minnesota are pushing a gun confiscation proposal that looks eerily similar to one recently proposed by Democrats in Missouri, Jim Hoft reported at the Gateway Pundit on Thursday. The measure uses language that is almost identical to the Missouri proposal, including a requirement that law-abiding gun owners relinquish their so-called "assault" weapons before Sept.1, 2013. According to the bill, anyone who, on February 1, 2013, legally owns or is in possession of an assault weapon has until September 1, 2013, to do any of the following without being subject to prosecution under Minnesota Statutes, section 624.7133: 1. remove...

Two men were killed Sunday during a home invasion in Prince Edward County, and a search was ongoing for a third suspect, according to local authorities. Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 5000 block of Prince Edward Highway after receiving a 911 call regarding a home invasion, according to a statement released by Sheriff Wesley W. Reed. The caller stated that three individuals entered his residence armed with weapons. Gunfire was exchanged between the caller and the suspects, police said. Two of the suspects were shot and pronounced dead at the scene, while the third suspect fled on foot. K-9 units...

(Cue the music ... Dum Dum, Dum Dum, Dum Dum Dum Dum Dum Dum) Tanya Rivero reports on the photos that are upsetting many people.

Women who wish to show their nipples in public in North Carolina may be prevented from doing so in the future after politicians proposed new legislation. Females exposing their breasts could soon be a thing of the past in the US state after representatives put forward House Bill 34 that would make it a felony to show the ‘nipple, or any portion of the areola, of the human female breast’. One of the main cheerleaders of the new proposal and co-sponsor of the bill, is Republican representative Rayne Brown. He said: ‘There are communities across this state, there’s local governments...

DEFEND MARRIAGE Lobby Day Click HERE for a PDF version of the lobby day instructions. When: Wednesday, February 20th, 2013 Where: Illinois State Capitol Address: 401 S. 2nd Street, Springfield, IL 62701 Time: 10:30 am – 1:30 pm Rally: At the Lincoln statue in front of the Capitol (10:30 AM) Things are really heating up in Springfield. The pension crisis? Illinois’ financial trouble and inability to pay its bills? No, liberal lawmakers want to legalize homosexual marriage and have actually put it on a fast track. Join Illinois families from all over the state on Wednesday, February 20th, to stand...

I SAW “Argo” with Jerry Rafshoon, who was a top aide to President Carter during the Iranian hostage crisis, when six Americans escaped and were given sanctuary for three months by courageous Canadian diplomats. We were watching a scene where a C.I.A. guy can’t get through to Hamilton Jordan, Carter’s chief of staff, to sign off on plane tickets for the escaping hostages, so he pretends to be calling from the school where Jordan’s kids go. “Hamilton wasn’t married then and didn’t have any kids,” Jerry whispered, inflaming my pet peeve about filmmakers who make up facts in stories about...

A couple of months ago I ran into a dear friend of mine. After exchanging pleasantries and walking along campus, she turned to me and said, “Does it feel that everyone you know is falling away from the church?” Relieved that someone could understand how I feel, I looked at her and sighed. It seems like more and more of my friends are losing their faith in God and leaving the church. She and I have a close friend who recently told us that she’s now an agnostic. Or maybe she’s an atheist. I’m not too sure at this point...

Liberals ignored my book “Mugged: Racial Demagoguery From the Seventies to Obama” throughout the fall. Now that I’m safely home from my book tour, they feel free to jabber on about their make-believe history of the civil rights movement with abandon. In the hackiest of all hacky articles, Sam Tanenhaus, the man responsible for ruining The New York Times Book Review, has written a cover story in The New Republic, titled: “Original Sin: Why the GOP is and will continue to be the party of white people.” MSNBC has been howling this cliche for a decade — or, as MSNBC’s...

Trolls win: Rude blog comments dim the allure of science online February 14, 2013 http://phys.org/news/2013-02-trolls-rude-blog-comments-dim.html The trolls are winning. Pick a story about some aspect of science, any story, scroll down to the blog comments and let the bashing begin. "Wonder how much taxpayer cash went into this 'deep' study?” “I think you can take all these studies by pointy headed scientists, 99 percent of whom are socialists and communists, and stick them where the sun don't shine.” “Yawn. Climate change myth wackos at it again.” “This article is 100 percent propaganda crapola.” “Speaking of dolts, if you were around...

Heard it second hand through the Newtown grapevine this weekend that there is surveillance camera footage on Dec 14, 2012 likely showing Adam Lanza pulling into Newtown High School before heading to Sandy Hook Elementary. Evidently there was some sort of drug-related police presence at the high school that morning, more than the daily single squad car out front, that may have deterred him to a softer target. The linked story from January 3rd is about similar reports soon after the shooting, which police denied. Sources are in local occupations that would know of the existence of such video footage,...

A well-known Illinois state senator dropped her bid Sunday for the U.S. House seat vacated by Jesse Jackson Jr., narrowing the field and consolidating key support behind another Democrat in a race where gun control has emerged as a central issue. State Sen. Toi Hutchinson, targeted in recent days by critical anti-gun campaign ads funded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s political action committee, said she was leaving the race and swinging her support to former state Rep. Robin Kelly. The major shake-up came with just nine days to go before the Feb. 26 primary. Hutchinson’s move reflected the sharp...

Worldwide Church Activity Rates Inactive 7-8M Active 4-5M Salt Lake Tribune, Merrill Bateman SNIP Brigham Young - Journal of Discourses "You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind…the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin. Trace mankind down to after the flood, and then another curse is pronounced upon the same race — that they should be the 'servant of servants;' and they will...

An Iranian newspaper is reporting that government authorities are confiscating Buddha statues from shops in Tehran to stop the promotion of Buddhism in the country. … Iran has long fought against items, such as Barbie dolls and Simpsons cartoon characters, to defuse Western influence, but this appears to be the first time that Iranian authorities are showing an opposition to symbols from the East. …

A sociopath is characterized by the deficit of social emotions such as love, guilt, shame or remorse. According to the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, the sociopath lacks "a sense of moral responsibility and social conscience." Sociopaths often scheme to manipulate others without regard to consequences of inflicting harm. It is the cold-hearted way the sociopath reacts to his victims that illustrates his lack of moral compass and detachment from other human beings. ... 3 Verify stories and information provided by the suspected sociopath. Sociopaths typically concoct elaborate backgrounds, inflate their worth and experience and simply lie to convince others to give...

I have not heard any source, not even Foxnews (which is changing slowly over to the darkside). As Obama, and his minions use tactics to arm terrorists, off taxpayers dimes (which he said last night would cost taxpayers...'not a dime). How many Muslim terrorists, inside America, will be given passes, and we allow this administration almost applauding in their values, rewards, positioning and placing in key positions of this next term of presidential demonic value? Take note, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST MURDERING ATTACK ON CHRISTIAN'S IN AMERICA...AND THIS WILL INCREASE! . . . . More at URL

Iran’s official news agency says the country’s navy plans to establish a new base near Pakistan's border in the Sea of Oman. The plans are part of Iranian ambitions to exert its naval power outside the Persian Gulf, including sending warships to the Mediterranean and claiming it might someday have ships in the Atlantic. …

A prominent Iranian lawmaker is saying his country will never close the Fordo nuclear site in exchange for an ease in Western sanctions. … Fordo, southwest of Tehran, is producing uranium enriched to 20 percent, which can be turned into weapons-grade material. …

Why on earth did John McCain just rescue Chuck Hagel’s nomination? Why did he go on Meet the Press this morning to say that Chuck Hagel was going to get confirmed as Secretary of Defense? McCain argued that Hagel had the votes to be confirmed and that he didn’t want the process to be delayed further. . . . . more at URL

February 18, 2013 Monday of the First Week of Lent   Reading 1 Lv 19:1-2, 11-18 The LORD said to Moses,“Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them:Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy. “You shall not steal.You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another.You shall not swear falsely by my name,thus profaning the name of your God.I am the LORD. “You shall not defraud or rob your neighbor.You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer.You shall not curse the deaf,or put a stumbling block in...