Free Republic

As an interested observer of pop, social and political culture, I must confess to a fantasy I’ve had for quite a while. Don’t worry, you won’t be embarrassed. It’s nothing personal. I don’t watch TV anymore; so I don’t see TV news often. I do however; see Hannity and Greta on Wednesday nights, on the west coast, while working out in the gym. That’s about it. Instead, I listen to talk radio in the car and on my computer, so I am aware of current issues and I read many news sources and read blogs. I fantasize that when the...

Lots of YouTube videos claim to be the “best” way to handle a telemarketer – but this one really does deserve that label. This is, by far, the best one that I have ever seen: Here’s the best method for handling a telemarketer

You never know what will be the next big news story. Who would’ve guessed that the fast food chain “Chick-fil-A” would dominate the political airwaves just a few months before November? It certainly caught me by surprise, at least. Today, I want to look into the Chick-fil-A controversy, the conservative backlash, and to conclude with an honest plea to my fellow conservatives to move on, already. What’s the controversy? Early last month, an interview conducted by the Biblical Recorder with Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy surfaced in which Cathy reiterated the company’s support for traditional marriage between a man and a...

Judge Legg has issued a permanent injunction against enforcement of the requirement of needing a “good and substantial” reason to obtain a permit to carry in Maryland. The injunction is to be effective in 14 days. Maryland Shall Issue talks about what this will mean for Maryland residents. In theory, this should render Maryland a shall-issue state, but in practice there are probably ways the Maryland State Police can stall. This will be appealed to the Forth Circuit Court of Appeals, and they could side with the state. Nonetheless, this is excellent, excellent news. Kudos to the Second Amendment Foundation...

Chief Justice John Roberts says in his opinion that the Interstate Commerce clause doesn't authorize the mandatory health insurance provision of Obamacare but that following the Constitution isn't important so long as the Chief Justice is in political agreement with what Congress wants a law to do. Chief Justice Roberts has apparently forgotten that the Supreme Court's only authority to act is as a legal body. It is not a super house of Congress with the authority to correct what individual justices believe are errors in acts of Congress. The Court is supposed to base its actions on the Constitution...

The following self-learning course from the U.S. Army Military Police School at Fort McClellan describes procedures for military police involvement in civil disturbance operations. The course makes it clear that temporary detention facilities in the event of a civil disturbance overloading local resources would be operated under existing military doctrine for internment facilities. The course cites U.S. Army FM 3-19.40 Internment/Resettlement Operations, which is now numbered FM 3-39.40 since its most recent revision in 2010, as the primary reference for the operation of these facilities. This lesson is designed to describe the nature and causes of disaffection and social unrest;...

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) issued the following statement after the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee approved a resolution holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for his refusal to turn over subpoenaed documents related to the Fast & Furious operation.

On Friday of last week, while at the White House‘s Rose Garden, a very interesting thing had happen to prove that even now, President Barack Hussein Obama did go over the line with this surprise decision to not deport young adults illegals who came over to the United States of America as infants or small children. It took the USA by complete surprise, considering on Friday afternoons is the traditional end of the week documents dumping time. But the really BIG SURPRISE came when a gentleman from the online blog called “The Daily Caller‘s” Neil Munro out of the blue...

Shout Bits has argued that the Mortgage Interest Deduction is not so helpful to regular Americans, but with interest rates at historic lows, now is the time to eliminate this market distortion. Not only does the MID encourage buying unaffordable homes and promote market bubbles, the primary beneficiaries are wealthy individuals as large banks. Eliminating this deduction would actually help most ordinary homeowners. For 2012, a couple filing jointly can claim an $11,900 standard deduction, even if they have no otherwise deductible expenses like mortgage interest. Therefore, the first $11,900 in mortgage interest paid by such a couple generates no...

This PDF document of a declassified Air Force intelligence report obtained by CBS News Radio KNX-1070 spells out what I have been warning about on the air for over a year now: View this document on Scribd The report from KNX-1070 a CBS affiliate in Los Angeles by Charles Feldman (Click here for full story and audio report) has one extract which is particularly disturbing: Under U.S. Air Force rules, drones are not allowed to conduct “non-consensual surveillance” on U.S. citizens or property, though there are some apparent exceptions. What has critics alarmed is that data collected by drones accidentally,...

A quick 30 Second excerpt from CPAC 2010 where I agree with Rick Santorum http://www.politijim.com/2012/04/30-seconds-of-santorum-i-agree-with.html

Reading From a homily by Saint Gregory Nazianzen We are soon going to share in the Passover We are soon going to share in the Passover, and although we still do so only in a symbolic way, the symbolism already has more clarity than it possessed in former times because, under the law, the Passover was, if I may dare to say so, only a symbol of a symbol. Before long, however, when the Word drinks the new wine with us in the kingdom of his Father, we shall be keeping the Passover in a yet more perfect way, and...

In a memo to reporters, Romney Political Director Rich Beeson laid out his camp's view that neither Santorum nor any of the other candidates in the race has any chance of securing enough delegates to secure the Republican nomination...... "Super Tuesday dramatically reduced the likelihood that any of Governor Romney's opponents can obtain the Republican nomination," Beeson wrote. "As Governor Romney's opponents attempt to ignore the basic principles of math, the only person's odds of winning they are increasing are President Obama's." Beeson cited Romney's current lead in delegates and a tough upcoming primary and caucus calendar as examples of...

Now this… Kyle Lawrence, a Colorado Springs Occupier, remains in a Denver Hospital burn unit with second degree burns that he received when he was caught on fire during the arson that leveled the Historic Green Mountain Falls Town Hall.

The filmmaker’s Q & A following the screening was also very telling. Their primary motivation for making this apolitical movie about the life of Navy Seals was primarily to pay honor and tribute to the sacrifice these extraordinary individuals make in order for all the rest of us to walk around free. The liberals in attendance gave the film the same standing ovation I did, because they were drawn into an intense story line that did not choose partisan sides. That’s not to say that liberals who haven’t seen the film aren’t making a partisan issue of it.

"FBI Seizes Computers of Portland Blogger For Allegedly Posting Sheriff Death Threat" SNIPPET: "If you're going to target the police, guess what happens next."

From the Tractates on the first letter of John by Saint Augustine, bishop We have been promised that we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. By these words, the tongue has done its best; now we must apply the meditation of the heart. Although they are the words of Saint John, what are they in comparison with the divine reality? Continue reading on Examiner.com The Divine Office: Our hearts long for God - Norfolk Catholic | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/catholic-in-norfolk/the-divine-office-our-hearts-long-for-god#ixzz1melSAROs

Temptation and the Shadow- a meditation James 1:19-25 Remember this, my dear brothers: be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow to rouse your temper; God's righteousness is never served by man's anger; do away with all bad habits that are left in you-accept and submit to the word which has been planted in you and can save your souls. But you must do what the word tells you to, and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves. To listen to the word and not obey is like looking at our own features in a mirror and...

Via Beltway Confidential: President Obama wants tighter gun control laws, but he does appreciate that armed Secret Service agents protect his daughters every day on their way to school. “It might come in handy to have these super locks,” Obama joked at Master Lock in Wisconsin, noting that he will soon have two teenage daughters. “For now, I’m just counting on the fact that when they go to school there are men with guns with them.”

On Sunday the Obama Administration posted a list of organizations who they claimed supported their anti-religious HHS mandate. The list posted on the White House website included a quote from Catholic Charities. But it wasn’t true. Catholic Charities did not endorse the Obama administration’s latest HHS policy requiring free contraceptive coverage for all employees. FOX News reported: A leading Catholic charity group wants the public to know it has not endorsed the Obama administration’s latest policy requiring free contraceptive coverage for employees, despite “mischaracterizations in the media.” Catholic Charities USA has occasionally been cited as a supporter of the new...