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Linda Blair’s head-rotating, pea soup-vomiting portrayal of demonic possession is the stuff of movie legend, but the events that form the basis of “The Exorcist” and the book of the same name were actually inspired by a month-long demon-purging over a young boy in 1949. Questions remain surrounding the boy’s true identity. Known by the pseudonym ”Robbie Mannheim,” his real name has never been released to the public and only a few people know of his whereabouts. Last year, university archivist David Waide told KSDK-TV that Robbie is still alive and is believed to be 78 years old. Robbie’s Plight...

American Tactical Imports (ATI) is the latest gun manufacturing company to flee New York’s draconian gun laws for safer grounds, citing the state’s passage of the SAFE Act and Summerville, South Carolina’s proximity to the port-of-entry for several of their imported products. The move will bring more than 115 jobs to South Carolina where locals are supportive of the company’s move. ”The people of South Carolina have welcomed ATI with open arms and we are excited about making our new corporate home there,” said company president Tony DiChario. ATI will invest nearly $3 million in Summerville, a Charleston suburb.

Pope Francis is the fourth "most powerful" person in the world according to American business magazine Forbes, which has just released the names of those it ranks as "the 72 most powerful people" on the planet, reports Vatican Insider. Forbes ranks him immediately after the Presidents of Russia, the USA and China.  It is a most extraordinary result for this humble leader of the Catholic Church who has never in his life sought position, power or status, has always lived as a poor man and, until his election as Pope used public transport, shuns mundane events and gives priority attention to...

Ken Cuccinelli II is planning a frenetic schedule with a handful of big-name Republican surrogates as the race for Virginia governor draws to a close. Terry McAuliffe, by contrast, is spending somewhat less time in the public eye aside from a pair of high-profile events. The differing strategies illustrate the pecking order as the hard-fought contest nears its end. Cuccinelli (R) is consistently trailing in the polls and can’t afford much of an advertising presence on the airwaves, so he’s counting on word-of-mouth and media coverage from live appearances to stay afloat. McAuliffe (D) is nursing a lead and has...

The Department of Justice, on behalf of the National Security Administration (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has threatened to criminally prosecute a novelty store owner for selling mugs and t-shirts that say, among other things, “Department of Homeland Stupidity” and “The NSA: The only part of government that actually listens.” The novelty items are sold online at Zazzle.com, which is operated by merchant Dan McCall. The NSA and DHS sent “cease and desist” letters to Zazzle stating that the parody products violate statutes that protect their official seals from misuse. The NSA and DHS, through the Department...

A Kentucky medical center has ordered all of its employees to undergo diversity training after a worker wore a costume of President Obama to the hospital’s annual Halloween party last Friday. As WZZTV reports, an employee at the Jennie Stuart Medical Center in Hopkinsville, Ky., wore an Obama mask and straitjacket to the party, escorted by fellow workers dressed in police gear, and performed a skit entitled “VIP Special Delivery.” The outfits and skit won third place in a group costume contest.

While these 95 theses are important, Luther's stance on the authority of Scripture over against Rome was not expressed in all of its maturity in 1517. The formal principle of the Reformation would become more and more conspicuous with every passing debate between these two nemeses. Sola Scriptura In 1519 at the Leipzig debate with the Catholic debater Johann Eck, whom Luther called "that little glory-hungry beast," Eck brought the real issue to the table: who had final authority, God's Word or the pope? For Eck, Scripture received its authority from the pope. Luther strongly disagreed, arguing instead that Scripture...

Wang Zonquan made headlines in July when it turned out that his Hebei museum housed some 40,000 fake artifacts including a "2000-year-old piece of Qin dynasty armor" that was made from plastic. Now Wang is in the headlines again because he has, apparently, died of an "anger-induced heart attack." The Telegraph reports the entire weird, quirky, and ultimately quite sad story: Among the numerous gaffes reportedly committed by curators was including artefacts they claimed were more than 4,000 years old when the pieces in question were inscribed with simplified Chinese characters that only came into widespread use last century....

The fiscal 2014 budget justification released by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner explains that CMS is requesting that Congress appropriate $803.5 million for operations and management of the Obamacare exchanges during the fiscal year so that, among other things, CMS can “ensure the integrity of programs that redistribute tens of billions of dollars.” Overall, CMS wants $2 billion to run what it calls the “Federal Marketplace” for health insurance. “CMS’ program level request for the Marketplaces totals $2.0 billion in FY 2014, to support the first year of program operations,” says the budget justification. The agency...

Martin Luther “did more than any single man to make modern history the development of revolution,” declared Lord Acton. (Lectures on Modern History) The Protestant Reformation profoundly changed the trajectory of Western Civilization. While the Reformation changed every facet of society, it is important to remember that the Protestant Reformers were of course, primarily theologians. In their view, they believed they were recovering truth about God’s Word and revelation to the world. Today is Reformation Day and many Protestants around the world already have or will celebrate the roots of their churches. But there is also a crisis going on...

The chart below showing the portion of GDP generated through net exports by select group of trade surplus countries is well-known to most. Except, it seems, to the Treasury. Apparently to Jack Lew's henchmen it comes as a complete shock that Germany's exports account for 41.4% of GDP - 50% more than traditionally evil "mercantilist" China. It is also a complete shock to the US Treasury that the current layout of the Eurozone - the same Eurozone that the Fed has stepped in on numerous occasions to bailout, common currency and all - was simply to facilitate German exports to...

Garbage from the county’s 88 cities eventually will be put on trains to an abandoned gold mine more than 200 miles away. ... It will take a couple of years to clean up the area that could be turned into a park that will connect to existing hiking trails. Giant vacuum tubes also will continue to remove methane gas and send it to a plant that has been converting it into energy for nearly 30 years. The gas will provide enough juice for 70,000 homes for the next two decades, officials said.

This Halloween, Hampshire College students — and Americans who care about free inquiry — have reason to be spooked. As part of its “Hampshire Halloween” celebration, Hampshire’s “Hype Committee” scheduled a performance by Afrobeat band Shokazoba. But that decision quickly turned sour. As Hampshire carefully explained, some students asked “whether [Shokazoba] was a predominantly white Afrobeat band and express[ed] concerns about cultural appropriation and the need to respect marginalized cultures.” Shokazoba keyboardist Jason Moses explained in emails that it began when someone posted, “lol leave it to hampshire to book a bunch of white folks playing afrofunk” on the event’s...

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A coalition of community groups gathered Thursday outside the offices of a Chinese electric bus manufacturer in downtown Los Angeles to protest alleged labor law violations. The California Department of Industrial Relations fined Build Your Dreams (BYD) Electronic Company nearly $80,000 on Oct. 10 for violating labor laws in Los Angeles and Lancaster. BYD was also ordered to pay nearly $20,000 in back wages for violations involving 22 employees, including some workers at the company’s Lancaster facility, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Times reports BYD paid some Chinese workers at its Los Angeles site...

**SNIP** CNN reports that insurers had nothing to do with it in at least three states, where the states themselves forced the cancellations in order to comply with ObamaCare: President Obama may have promised Americans that they can keep their insurance if they like it, but that’s not the case in at least three states where insurance companies are required to discontinue plans that don’t meet Obamacare’s new coverage standards. Virginia, Kentucky and Idaho have told insurance companies that they must scrap insurance plans that don’t meet the minimum coverage requirements laid out in the Affordable Care Act. Some states...

The Legacy Lives On! Mark’s Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation “Conservatism is the antidote to tyranny precisely because its principles are the founding principles.” --Mark Levin in Liberty and TyrannyWelcome to “The Levin Lounge”… Step in and have a virtual FRink.Taking the country by storm, one radio station at a time – and kicking the BUTTS of the competition… it’s America’s Clean-Up Hitter! Welcome all, to the most FUN LIVE THREAD on FreeRepublic.com! You can call Mark’s show: 1-877-381-3811

Rev. Howard James Hubbard after his ordination and installation as the ninth Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany at Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., on March 27, 1977. Gene Dzaman — The Record ALBANY >> “I’ve come a long way for a boy from the ’Burgh,” said Bishop Howard Hubbard, his voice reverberating within the vaulted arches of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany. For those who know him, that was not a pretentious statement, but rather one reflecting his amazement at being the spiritual leader for nearly 400,000 Catholics for more than three decades. When...

U.S. officials have confirmed that Israel struck Syrian missile sites in two different locations Thursday, reports CNN. The sites, one in the port city of Latakia and another in Damascus, allegedly contained surface to air missile systems said to be slated for delivery to Hezbollah in Lebanon.The strikes took out SA-8 anti-aircraft missiles, The Times of Israel reports. The SA-8 system is a truck-mounted, and highly mobile, but with low-altitude and short range capabilities.The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post, citing satellite images obtained by Channel 2, reports that Russian-made Neva S-125 surface-to-air anti-aircraft missiles and SA-3 missile battery — which also includes a...

The firestorm over President Obama's "you can keep your plan" lie now threatens to singe vulnerable Democrats next year, so they're springing into action to try to force the administration to keep its word. Louisiana's Mary Landrieu -- an ardent Obamacare supporter -- is scrambling to undo one of the obvious consequences of a law she's voted to pass, fund, and retain: Sen. Mary Landrieu said Wednesday she would propose legislation to ensure all Americans could keep their existing insurance coverage under Obamacare, a fresh sign of the political problems the law’s rollout has created for congressional Democrats. Landrieu, a...

Hundreds of people, many of them union members, turned out at the State House on Thursday to oppose a bill that would save the state and municipalities a significant amount of money by cutting retiree health benefits for public employees. Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick has proposed the bill as a way to address the approximately $46 billion unfunded liability for retiree health benefits faced by state and municipal governments. “Modifications to retiree health care coverage are essential to keep the system sustainable for future state and municipal career employees and to maintain core government services for future generations,” said Secretary...