Free Republic

There was something bracingly honest about an op-ed article in The Washington Post last week by Senator Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican. Under the headline “America Needs to Curb Immigration Flows,” Mr. Sessions, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary’s immigration subcommittee, argued the case for letting in fewer foreigners. Mr. Sessions, ditching the usual Republican talking points on immigration, choosing instead to echo an uglier time in our history, when nativists wielded the spurious argument that the more immigrants taken in by America, the worse off America is. He’s advocating for “slowing the pace” of legal immigration, supposedly to increase...

Just up the road from our house is a plaza or strip mall, a collection of 20 or 30 stores. This plaza has two large wings and right in the joint between the two wings is what must be the worst retail space in the city. At least, those of us who live here know that it is the worst retail space in the city. Aileen and I have been in this area for the past 15 years and in that time we have seen business after business try to make a go of it there, and not one of...

In 284 AD Diocletian, then the cavalry commander of the Roman army, was proclaimed emperor of Rome. In 302 he consulted the oracle of Apollo at Didyma and there became persuaded that those who forsook Roman worship needed to be exterminated. His government would usher in the last, largest, and bloodiest of all the official persecutions of Christianity in Rome. Thousands of men, women, and children were burned, drowned, decapitated, crucified, starved, and torn apart, so much so, that Eusebius wrote, “the murderous sword was blunted, and becoming weak, was broken.” While many nobly suffered martyrdom, others could not bear...

"Cardinal Brandmüller: Advocates for changing Catholic teaching on marriage are ‘heretics’ – even if they are bishops" "...Can the Church deal with the topic of marriage in a pastoral manner that is different from the continual teaching of the Church? Can the Church at all change the teaching itself without falling herself into heresy? It is evident that the pastoral practice of the Church cannot stand in opposition to the binding doctrine nor simply ignore it. In the same manner, an architect could perhaps build a most beautiful bridge. However, if he does not pay attention to the laws of...

It’s a phrase few Americans ever have the occasion to say: “I’m really getting pulled over by a tank right now.” The reasons why the Florida man said it are just as eyebrow-raising as the fact that he was pulled over by a “tank” in the first place. The whole encounter was captured on video. The Gainesville Sun reported Monday on the story of 23-year-old Lucas Jewell, a self-professed Navy veteran and Gainesville City Commission candidate, who was pulled over by sheriff’s deputies in an armored personnel vehicle after a University of Florida football game Saturday. At first, Jewell thought...

Much has been said about the strange behavior of Barack Obama, who can’t let a day go without maligning Israel and Mr. Netanyahu. In contrast, he displays friendship to a thug and anti-Semite like Recip Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, palled around with the deceased communist Hugo Chavez, and keeps standing up for the Iranian mullahs who want to kill us all or make us slaves to Islam. Those in the media who see politics simply as a stand-off between personalities ascribe all this to a clash of personalities: Obama doesn’t like PM Netanyahu and Netanyahu returns the dislike. No doubt...

Keep a winter coat and mittens handy. A new climate analysis from scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Reading (UK) found that under climate warming, cold air outbreaks, or CAOs, are projected to continue over North America but less frequently. In a geographic swath stretching from Alaska and southwestern Canada to the northwestern and mid-western United States, the top five coldest historical events may still happen. Indeed, as humans, ecosystems, and societal infrastructures adapt to an average warmer climate, these findings show continued future challenges in coping with extreme cold events. "Our research isolated the changes...

Marco Rubio announced his candidacy for presidency of the United States at the Freedom Tower in Miami on Monday, highlighting his family’s hardscrabble immigrant roots, embracing traditional values but also vowing to usher in a “new American century.” As a matter of political pragmatism, is there any convincing reason Rubio shouldn’t be the Republican to take on Hillary Clinton in 2016? Because when it comes to natural political talent, it unlikely the GOP can do better. For starters, Rubio is the most compelling speaker in the Republican field. Sen. Mike Lee says Rubio “can bring grown men to tears with...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Character Studies From The Bible Samuel New International Version (NIV) 9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying. 11 When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 A man...

“A female shouldn’t be President,” is a direct quote from a Dallas woman’s Facebook page. As you might imagine, the post has attracted quite a bit of attention from people across the country. CBS 11’s Steve Pickett caught up with Cheryl Rios, the CEO of Go Ape Marketing, and asked her to explain the comment. “I believe in what I said,” she told Pickett. “There’s an old biblical sound reasoning why a woman shouldn’t be President.” Here’s the full text of her post: “If this happens – I am moving to Canada. There is NO need for her as she...

The father of Sam Griner, better known from the "success kid" viral meme, is seeking help in finding a life-saving kidney donor while also raising money for the costly medical expenses that follow. For years an adorable toddler meme dubbed the "success kid" has delivered countless laughs and smiles across the Internet. Now the actual boy's father needs the Internet's help. Justin Griner, whose photograph of his then 11-month-old son Sam clenching a sandy fist in the air has been shared and edited numerous times, is now in dire need of a kidney transplant. "One can only survive with no...

...Some people are hard up and can’t afford to pay their taxes. But others simply choose not to pay. When traditional enforcement strategies, like charging above-market interest rates on the debt, don’t work, the government uses a number of tools to collect these taxes. But traditional collection methods don’t always work. In a recent study, we used another strategy that got results: publicly shaming tax delinquents. It should be a key part of government efforts to increase the collection of tax debts, and thanks to the Internet and social media, the government has the means to make it even more...

But, when it comes to earthquakes, there are actually some pretty solid, observable predictors that one may be coming soon. And, holy crap you guys, there are a bunch of those happening right now in Japan and I for one am starting to get worried. First up, we had the well-documented mass beaching of a bunch of melon-headed whales (which we are told are actually a type of dolphin and not tiny whales) that happened a few days ago in Ibaraki Prefecture, with around half of the 150 beached dolphins reported to have died. And while some of you may...

Access to images perhaps similar to those that captivated viewers in real time around the world during the Deepwater Horizon disaster would be standard procedure under a new set of proposed federal offshore guidelines. These include the live monitoring of deepwater and high-temperature/high pressure drilling activities, similar to what is currently used onshore. “The real-time monitoring requirement ensures that the operator has access to onshore technical expertise if needed and that there is ‘another set of eyes’ available during critical operations,” according to the statement. Houston personal injury lawyer Charles Herd, a partner at The Lanier Law Firm, which represented...

The Armenian Genocide and the Ethics of RemembrancePosted By Vladimir Tismaneanu and Marius Stan On April 15, 2015 @ 12:19 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | No Comments “To conceal or deny Evil is the same as allowing a wound to bleed without bandaging it.”This statement by Pope Francis in April 2015 was linked to the first official Vatican use of the word genocide to deplore and condemn the state-sponsored mass murders perpetrated against a huge civilian population a hundred years ago in what used to be the Ottoman Empire. The Pope is right: Forgetfulness, denial, and silence cannot but perpetuate...

ISIS camps have now been discovered directly across the U.S. border with Mexico, ISIS operatives have been captured illegally entering the United States, and ISIS is threatening to conduct a massive campaign of terror against U.S. targets, and yet Barack Obama and his underlings continue to insist that “right-wing extremists” are the greatest terror threat that this nation is facing. One recent survey found that 84 percent of all Americans believe that ISIS is a “direct threat to the USA”, but Obama refuses to secure our borders and he is even allowing dozens of American citizens that fought for ISIS...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of “Word for the Day”. MartinetNoun 1. A rigid military disciplinarian. 2. One who demands absolute adherence to forms and rules. Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the Word for the Day in a sentence. The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day. The Review threads are linked for your edification. ;-) Practice makes perfect.....post on.... Review Threads: Review Thread One: Word For The Day, Thursday 11/14/02: Raffish (Be SURE to check...

Obama’s Political Tool of ‘Christianity’Posted By Raymond Ibrahim On April 15, 2015 @ 12:37 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | No Comments Here in the United States, where Americans are used to hearing their president always invoke Christianity as a way to silence Christians, United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent Easter message was moderately refreshing.Among other things, Cameron made it a point to say “that we should feel proud to say, ‘This is a Christian country.’ Yes, we’re a nation that embraces, welcomes and accepts all faiths and none, but we are still a Christian country.”The context of Cameron’s statement, it...

TEL AVIV – Egypt is accusing Turkey of providing more than 10,000 Turkish passports to members of ISIS, the Islamic State, to facilitate travel of fighters across the region. An Egyptian intelligence official who asked not to be named told WND his country delivered a report to the U.S. documenting the astonishing claim. The official further charged that Istanbul is serving as the “headquarters” for ISIS planning. “Turkey continues to allow free passage to Iraq and Syria to IS fighters,” the official added. If the Turkish passport charge is true, it would present a worldwide ISIS travel threat. Already, there...

The fight to redefine a McJob is heating up. Protests for pay of $15 an hour and a union for fast-food and other low-wage workers are set to take place around the country Wednesday, marking the biggest effort yet in an ongoing campaign by labor organizers. The Fight for $15 campaign is being spearheaded by the Service Employees International Union and began in late 2012 with fast-food workers. Since then, organizers have used the spotlight to rally a variety of low-wage workers, including airport workers and home care workers. On Wednesday, adjunct professors will be the latest to join in...