Free Republic

When was the last time you heard an archbishop discuss preaching this way: Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas has urged Catholic priests to always prepare and think carefully about the content of their homilies, saying delivering “boring” sermons is unjust to God and the churchgoers. deliver better quality preaching. These included, he said, their failure to prepare for the liturgy. Drawing from his own experience, Villegas attributed his long and winding homilies to his failure to “know my people well.” “In other words, I was speaking about hunger when I did not feel the hunger myself. I was speaking about death,...

"................................Citing results that show attitudes among white people toward guns appear to be influenced by “illogical racial biases,” the study’s authors suggest that gun-control policies might need to be implemented “independent of public opinion.”

While there are no bombshell revelations, the documents make clear that the administration grossly underestimated the scope of the website’s technical problems; struggled to contain widespread confusion among insurers and applicants; and now faces a barrage of new challenges triggered by its emphasis on paper applications. From the moment HealthCare.gov went live, there were problems across the board, not just limited to logging in or creating an account. There were widespread reports of insurers’ plans not showing up in the marketplace, or showing up with the wrong pricing or details. Many applicants (90 percent) who managed to get into the...

I join a massive number of republican-voting citizens who have had it with the likes of you all, from Reince Priebus on down. You say you represent the party of small government and pro-family values. You act anything but. We are sick and tired of the party’s move to the left and to your empty promises of support for the party’s planks. We have tried to stay on, especially since the election of more democrats is killing our country, its culture, morality, and its economy. The democrat party is the anti-America Marxist party and you all seem to like their...

MARACAY, Venezuela (AP) -- Evelina Gonzalez was supposed to undergo cancer surgery in July following chemotherapy but wound up shuttling from hospital to hospital in search of an available operating table. On the crest of her left breast, a mocha-colored tumor doubled in size and now bulges through her white spandex tank top. Gonzalez is on a list of 31 breast cancer patients waiting to have tumors removed at one of Venezuela's biggest medical facilities, Maracay's Central Hospital. But like legions of the sick across the country, she's been neglected by a health care system doctors say is collapsing after...

Breitbart News has confirmed that much of the credit for Terry McAuliffe’s narrow 47.9 percent to 45.5 percent victory over Republican Ken Cuccinelli in Tuesday’s election is attributable to a $4 million donation the McAuliffe campaign gave to the Democratic Party of Virginia, which used those funds to run a highly effective ground game for the party’s full slate of candidates. Ashley Bauman, press secretary for the Democratic Party of Virginia, told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that "[w]hile we used that money [the $4 million donated to the Democratic Party of Virginia from the McAuliffe campaign]...

November 6, 2013 RNC: Hey, don’t blame us for Cuccinelli’s loss ALLAHPUNDIT ... Fun fact: The RNC spent $9 million to help Bob McDonnell win the governor’s seat four years ago. This year, in a much tougher election, they spent $3 million on Ken Cuccinelli, with Cooch so strapped for cash at the end that he had to abandon the D.C. media market the last two weeks. Not all of his money problems were the RNC’s fault — McAuliffe dominated Cuccinelli in fundraising (as expected) and centrist outside groups like the Chamber of Commerce ignored him — but the big...

“It may be safe to say that the greatest event for Christendom in the last 1500 years was the Protestant Reformation.”[1] Professor John Murray spoke these words in his class lectures on justification in the mid-1960s. At that time, forty years ago, it would have been hard to imagine anyone in a Reformed or evangelical church finding much that was exceptional about Murray’s words. But today, in a world that would amaze him, the central doctrines of the Reformation are under attack, not only in liberal and ecumenical circles, but in the heart of evangelical and Reformed churches. Contemporary criticisms...

<p>Both Reince Priebus and Mark Levin were on WMAL Tuesday…but not at the same time. RNC Chair Reince Priebus was asked to respond to comments Mark Levin has made that they’ve done next to nothing to support Cuccinelli in the VA. Gov. race. Priebus basically said that the RNC has spent 3 million on their ground game in VA which doesn’t just help Cuccinelli, but also other candidates on the Republican ticket.</p>

<p>Woo hoo!! We'll soon be to the point where we roll in the monthlies and we'll be on the homestretch. Then, once over the top, we'll have the funds needed to complete the year and we can better concentrate on our main mission, fighting the evil bastards at every step and restoring our God given freedom!</p>

Once all of the new ObamaCare mandates, regulations, and taxes are fully priced into the healthcare market we may all be lining up for government butter and cheese, but that’s not the story here. No, apparently the multi-million dollar ObamaCare marketing campaign signing up new Medicaid recipients by the millions will come with an unexpected bonus for fans of the entitlement state. Lots and lots of people finding out for the first time that in addition to free healthcare they are also eligible for a shiny new EBT card. Via Politico. The Obama administration has ordered a study to determine...

IIt’s no secret that North Dakota’s oil industry is booming. Advancements in hydraulic fracturing have helped Western North Dakota experience month after month of record-setting oil production, making for one of the fastest-growing economic expansions the U.S. has ever seen. With the region having one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and generating over 75,000 new jobs in the past few years, thousands of workers have showed up searching for high-paying jobs. Oil field workers in the state saw an average annual wage of $112,462 in 2012. Competition has intensified since the boom started around 2007, but entry...

A new study reveals how Somali piracy is financed PIRACY remains a concern for ships passing the Horn of Africa, even though the number of incidents has plummeted since 2011, when armed protection was beefed up on board many large vessels. The topic grips the public imagination. Witness the success of “Captain Phillips”, a film in which a vessel captained by the actor Tom Hanks is hijacked by Somalis. Yet the pirate economy is poorly understood. A report*, to be released on November 4th by the World Bank, the UN and Interpol sheds new light. The authors interviewed current and...

BEIRUT — In the midst of a conflict rife with sectarianism, a giant bronze statue of Jesus has gone up on a Syrian mountain, apparently under cover of a truce among three factions in the country’s civil war. Jesus stands, arms outstretched, on the Cherubim mountain, overlooking a route pilgrims took from Constantinople to Jerusalem in ancient times. The statue is 12.3 meters (40 feet) tall and stands on a base that brings its height to 32 meters (105 feet), organizers of the project estimate. That the statue made it to Syria and went up without incident on Oct. 14...

President Obama Job Approval.

Political anaylst Charlie Cook bills himself as "non-partisan and independent." But on today's Morning Joe, Cook couldn't curb his enthusiasm for Chris Christie. Cook said of Christie that there is "testosterone coming out of every more pore in his body" and that Christie's attitude "inoculates him against being called a RINO, pantywaist liberal Republican." For good measure, Cook said he would "pay money" to see Christie reach down the throat and pull the lungs out of Tea Party member daring to call Christie a liberal! View the video here.

Senator Ted Cruz addressed the audience at The American Spectator 2013 Robert L. Bartley Gala on October 23. It was Cruz’s first major speech since the government shutdown ended, and his last speech before he hit the campaign trail in Iowa:Here are some excerpts:“Well, we’re at the end of the evening and I will tell you I will do my very best to try and keep my remarks under 21 hours, but you will know that I am nearing the end when I pull out and begin to read The Cat in the Hat. Look, 21 hours is a long...

So how would a Mars truck stop work? In a nutshell, this is what SDSC proposes: - Beams are constructed in space “just like a giant erector set”, according to a statement from John Strickland, SDSC chief analyst. This would be accomplished using “robots on rails” that could build the first part, then “extend … its own rails along the beam as it goes.” - Solar panels are added on to the beam to provide power; - Components are then added according to need. Pictures from SDSC show items such as fuel tanks on the truck stop. If ambitions soared...

full title...John Edwards' NEW 'girlfriend' is a single mom almost half his age as he moves on after 'kicking Rielle out for writing her tell-all book about their affair'John Edwards has been spotted with the new woman in his life as he is said to have ended things once again with the mistress who ruined his political career. The disgraced former Senator has been dating a single mother nearly half his age for about a year and the woman has gotten close with his family. The National Enquirer reported that Danielle King was spotted going on a date to a...

Starting next year, West Virginia University will require all students to be covered under healthcare before they can attend class, and is suggesting that students sign up for Obamacare. An email circulated by Ken Gray, the university’s vice president for student affairs, and addressed to”WVU Parents, Students, and Families” states: “Beginning academic year 2014-15, all WVU students will be required to have health care coverage. Many universities around the country use this model to ensure that students are protected against unforeseen and catastrophic medical expenses.” The email stresses that “Because health problems can interfere with academic success, West Virginia University...