Free Republic

The credibility of MSNBC host Chris Matthews took another hit on Monday night’s episode of Hardball. In a segment devoted to the ongoing controversy surrounding the brief arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Matthews remarked:

A line was drawn in the sand last week - a response by the Federal Government to the State of Tennessee and their assertion of sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution. Part of a series of moves by states seeking to utilize the Tenth Amendment as a limit on Federal Power, the Tennessee State Senate approved Senate Bill 1610, the Tennesse Firearms Freedom Act, by a vote of 22-7. It previously passed the House by a vote of 87-1. The law states that “federal laws and regulations do not apply to personal firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition...

My research concluded that, along with the environmental groups that peddle fear and flawed science, the most popular recipient of massive foundation money is the vocal open borders and "multicultural" lobby that, among other things, backs amnesty for 15 million-plus illegal aliens and so-called foreign "guest worker programs. This lobby consists of numerous foundation-supported advocacy groups seeking to change the demographic composition and culture of the United States. One of the most militant is the National Immigration Forum, which received over $3.3 million in grants in 2004 alone from the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,...

Blog for and about space settlement on July 20th July 20th 2009 is the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. July 20th is also Space Exploration Day. After 40 years of space exploration it is time to begin space settlement. In order to honor all who risked their lives for space exploration and all who are dedicated to opening the new era of space settlement, we ask everyone to blog about space settlement on July 20th. Feel free to write about any aspect of space settlement, and about settlement at any space location — orbital settlements, settlements on...

(CNSNews.com) – Michael Copps, a commissioner with the Federal Communications Commission and its former acting chairman, has circulated an internal report examining the state of media journalism in America and discussing ways to address issues such as the rise of media conglomerates and the prevalence of opinion journalism.

Despite it being in many ways a marvel of modern technology, the International Space Station can't keep up with even the simplest modern cellphone in terms of data communication with Earth. Disruption-Tolerant Networking, a new protocol for transmitting data in space being developed jointly by NASA, Google's "Chief Internet Evangelist" and others, hopes to change that. Now, spacecraft like the ISS communicate with Earth over a single point-to-point connection using a transmitter that is essentially a souped-up walkie-talkie. Data transmissions must be carefully scheduled to coincide with periods where both the ISS and a receiving station are in range for...

Is Malia Obama following in the fashionista footsteps of her mother, First Lady Michelle Obama, and flashing designer duds? For the flight with her family from Washington DC to Moscow, the 11-year old First Tween sported a skirt that bears a striking resemblance to one by designer See by Chloe. The skirt is available for purchase online at Intermix, retails for $345 but is now on sale for $219. The White House does not comment on the clothing choices of the First Daughters’ and would not confirm that the skirt was indeed by the designer. If so, Malia, who just...

I've been doing this for ten years as an email to a list of friends and subscribers. I've been persuaded to try it as a blog. The idea is that a ten minute weekend read can help you stay informed even if you don't have time to follow the news each day.

Please forgive the shameless plug here; Whispers in the loggia is an excellent source for all things related to current events in the Catholic Church.

Uncle Sam’s HajjbyPaul L. Williams, Ph.D.thelastcrusade.orgThe dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores. And that includes nearly 7 million American Muslims in our country today who, by the way, enjoy incomes and educational levels that are higher than the American average. President Barack Hussein Obama, The University of Cairo, June, 2009 Is President Obama correct in his claim that America is now one of the world’s leading Islamic countries with a population of 7 million Muslims? Ibrahim Hooper, president of the Council...

I want to imbed a Martha Stewart video clip in my Wordpress blog. Is there a way to do this? Sorry for the vanity.

At long last, Teddy Kennedy has partially revealed the health care system he wants to foist on the whole country — and it isn’t p At the center of the plan is what’s called a “universal mandate.” What this means is that you — and virtually everyone in the country — will have to buy as much health insurance as the government demands, and that insurance plan will actually have to be approved by the government. {I think Ted has finally lost it. Go away, die, and leave us in peace, Ted.} If you work for a small business, the...

Eek: In an edict released jointly by nine government departments, Beijing said government procurement must use only Chinese products or services unless they were not available within the country or could not be bought on reasonable commercial or legal terms. Well, I can't say I'm surprised. After all, we did pretty much the same thing with our stimulus bill. Of course this reminds me of a pair of gentlemen by the names of Smoot and Hawley. For 50 points does anyone remember them and what they were best known for? And for the other 50, what was the ultimate outcome...

Write or call your two Senators and urge a NO vote on so-called hate crime legislation. The Democrat-controlled House just passed H.R. 1913, a so-called hate crimes bill that makes “sexual orientation,” “gender,” and “gender identity” into federally-protected classes under the law. The Senate version is S. 909, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. It must be defeated. This legislation begins to lay the legal foundation and framework to investigate, prosecute and persecute pastors, youth pastors, Bible teachers, and anyone else whose Bible speech and thought is based upon and reflects the truths found in the Bible. A...

I need some help creating a blog. I have a specific focus, pages of ideas, my own domain (.com and .net) but the learning curve involved with creating my blog is so high for me, that I fear it will take weeks and weeks to just get the basic format together. I signed up for GoDaddy.com's Quick Blogcast tool, and it is not only very un-intuitive but it has many glitches. I checked out Wordpress and love many of their features, but from what I read, I can't have my own sponsors. I'm thinking that my blog/podcast idea may be...

As we've been noting, there have been a lot of very unhappy bears out there lately, who have been forced to suffere through this trashy, low-volume, short-covering sucker's rally. No amount of questioning the green shoots has done them any good, as bulls have trampled over them everytime they dare make a stand. Yesterday was particularly painful, since the day's gains broke what was starting to be a slide last week. But today's pain -- and in particular soaring interest rates -- gives them reason for hope. If Treasury yields keep moving up, the Fed will have been rendered neutered...

As a matter of fact, the recent step taken by the Fed proves that, though they do not admit it, they are in fact beginning to realize that they are facing a problem of general insolvency in the US (and in the related countries, such as UK (1)), affecting the federal State, federated states, companies, banks and households. For this reason, they have started (2) buying the T-Bonds issued by the US federal government. Of course this is pure money creation and a clear signal that Washington is now compelled to pay its abysmal deficits by issuing thousands of billions...

To my knowledge, no one has proposed waterboarding the US Federal Reserve. But the hostile reaction of much of the country's political leadership to suggestions that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit the Federal Reserve Board might lead people to think that waterboarding was being called for. The basic story is straightforward. The US Congress has lent more than $700bn, via the Treasury, to bankers at below market interest rates through the troubled assets relief programme, or Tarp. This was to keep the banks from going belly up. At the same time, the Fed has lent more than $2 trillion...

Our economy, banking and lending system will never heal up in the US if we don’t start practicing real fairness and common sense. As it is with the latest series of bailouts for the auto industry and bankers, bad business is rewarded and incompetence gets the prize. According to this President and this congress, the greedier, more naïve and failure in business you are, the more money you should have of Tarp funds. Did I say Tarp funds? I meant to say Shark funds. AIG and other investment institutions gave out idiot, 100% and even 130% loans for years whether...

The cross is the most powerful signal of Christianity. To believers it signifies the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for humanity and an invitation to become a Christian and be, presumably, saved. The cross is ubiquitous, whether it’s on churches, on dashboards, on doors or around necks. But it’s never been a really big deal in the Mormon church. As a youngster, I can’t count how many times I heard in Sunday school or Primary, “We don’t worship the cross.” That always struck me as sort of funny, since I never wanted to worship it. But I always thought the cross...