Free Republic

In a 4-3 decision, the California Supreme Court declared same-sex "marriage" legal in the state. The Court’s ruling came in a case filed by gay couples who were married at San Francisco City Hall in 2004, when Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) was issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The decision overturns a 2000 voter-approved measure that declared marriage to be a union between a man and a woman. In the decision, Chief Justice Ron George wrote “The notion that a marriage can only be between a man and woman is outmoded. Times change. Our laws must change with them.” The...

Understanding Taqiyya - the Islamic Principle of Lying for the Sake of Allah by Warner MacKenzie 30 April, 2007 Lying and cheating in the Arab world is not really a moral matter but a method of safeguarding honor and status, avoiding shame, and at all times exploiting possibilities, for those with the wits for it, deftly and expeditiously to convert shame into honor on their own account and vice versa for their opponents. If honor so demands, lies and cheating may become absolute imperatives.” [David Pryce-Jones, “The Closed Circle” An interpretation of the Arabs, p4] “No dishonor attaches to such...

The British Empire relied on its military and economic strength to further its aim. This process largely began after the end of the English Civil War which pinned King against Parliament and ended with the dictatorship of a highly talented but authoritarian general Oliver Cromwell in 1649. At this time the navy began to develop, eventually it would become the most powerful in the world. It would rely on foreign trade by English merchants for its finance. And in return the navy would provide the English merchant class with access to foreign markets through war and coercion whenever needed. This...

This morning, I decided to drop down to my local coffee establishment for a breakfast of coffee, eggs, and some morning reading. I had a lot of new things, and pre-coffee I’m not up to making decisions, so I just brought several things to read: Peter Kramer’s Against Depression; Marianne Williamson’s The Age of Miracles; Wayne Dyer’s Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao; and for a little more rigorous reading of Buddhism I brought The Dhammapada, D.T. Suzuki’s Manual on Zen Buddhism, Steve Hagen’s Meditation Now or Never, and Buddhism Is Not What You...

Oh, That Liberal Media! · The Assault On Reason Newspapers are an industry that has done the most to spread fear of global warming, and have heavily donated to "green" causes. And now it's time for them to the pay the bill, or risk appearing even more hypocritical than they're currently thought of: A prototypical publisher selling 250,000 newspapers on each of the 365 days of the year adds nearly 28,000 tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, according to calculations we’ll explain in a moment. That’s roughly equivalent to the CO2 spewed by almost 3,700 Ford Explorers being driven...

I do not know if this article suit to be posted here, but I just want to speak something. Today when I went to NYT and an review attracted my attention, title "fed up with peace" (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/opinion/18kristof.html). This article frightens me. There it covered a monk who claimed that he( Dalai Lama) has been too peaceful over the China, and they should take some actions more violent, especially when he is gone. It depicts that this impatience seems widespread among young Tibetans , and remarks that the Dalai Lama should return Tibet as a spiritual leader and own more rights....

It's Time Now for a Serious Public Debate on Our Iran Policy By Victor Comras I wrote here last month that the time has come for further clarification from the presidential candidates concerning their plans for dealing with Iran’s nuclear ambitions. We have heard numerous sound-bites and even read a few short paragraphs issued by their campaigns on the issue, but each has shied away from providing any real substance. They all indicate that America must not allow Iran to achieve nuclear weapons capability. But none has yet indicated how they actually intend to convince Iran to change course. President...

But what do you get (besides the heavy socialism) when you listen to what he says? Here are the Obama rules in detail: He can’t be called a “liberal” (“the same names and labels they pin on everyone,” as Obama puts it); his toughness on the war on terror can’t be questioned (“attempts to play on our fears”); his extreme positions on social issues can’t be exposed (“the same efforts to distract us from the issues that affect our lives” and “turn us against each other”); and his Chicago background too is off-limits (“pouncing on every gaffe and association and...

Oslo police recently released its 2007 Rape Report. The report shows a marked increase in Somali rapists, generally on account of gang rapes. At least ten women were attacked and molested by a gang of Somali men at Sofienberg park in Oslo on Saturday evening. Last year a record-high 161 rapes and 35 rape attempts were reported in Oslo. Over 70% of the rapists were non-Norwegian [ed. ethnically, a majority had Norwegian citizenship]. Lawyer Abid Raja visited a cafe in Grønland in Oslo for Norwegian broadcaster P4. There he met three young men (ages 26, 30 and 35), from Somalia...

I have been checking out various on-line IT courses for my college age home schooled son. I found this site for $149.00 that features a full menu of options for a flat one year membership, SECURITY+ CERTIFICATION A+ CERTIFICATION ACCOUNTANCY ADOBE CISCO CLAIT CONTACT MANAGEMENT COREL DATABASES DESKTOP DTP ECDL E-QUALS GRAPHICS I-NET+ CERTIFICATION INTERNET LOTUS MCSE MICROSOFT MOS NETWORK+ CERTIFICATION NOVELL PROGRAMMING SERVER+ CERTIFICATION SOFT SKILLS UNIX WEB DEVELOPMENT and the other one in the link--whose typos on their web page do not inspire me with confidence.(My typos I attribute to my Saturday ration od Sam Adams) Bottom Line:...

President Bush’s speech to the Israeli parliament sparked a series of denunciations from high ranking Democrats across the country. The President’s characterization of negotiation with terrorist regimes—like the one in Iran that has called for the destruction of Israel—as “a foolish delusion” and akin to Neville Chamberlain’s negotiations with Hitler appears to have touched a nerve in Democratic circles. Although Bush did not specifically name anyone in his speech, Democratic presidential front runner, Senator Barack Obama (Ill.) called Bush’s comments an “appalling attack on my ‘peace through concessions’ strategy for making America safe. Look, we can’t afford to get involved...

In 2003, California held a statewide circus known as the Gubernatorial Recall election. That election actually considered two questions … Yes or No, should their sitting Governor, Gray Davis, be recalled? … And, if Yes, who of the 154 candidates should replace him? The slate of candidates included Actors, a Lieutenant Governor, a State Senator, Business People, a Porn Star, a Comedian, etc., etc. In the lead-up to this election, it seemed likely that Davis would be recalled. This gave the Republicans the opportunity to capture the Governorship of the nation’s most populous State from the Democrats. In my opinion,...

“Great Is the Lord, and Greatly to Be Praised” (Psalm 145:3)“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.” So goes the Gradual for today, from Psalm 145. Yes, the Lord is “greatly to be praised.” But what does that mean? How do we do it? How do we “greatly praise” the Lord? Let’s explore that a little bit. It’s certainly fitting that we consider this theme today, on this day when we dedicate new hymnals for the praise and worship of God. How do we greatly praise the Lord? Maybe part of it is that we use great materials....

For The Sake Of Us All It cannot be refuted or denied, but it can be ignored. For whatever the reason, there have been times in American history where the U.S. government participated in the spreading of disinformation or lies. For example, until this day, many believe both Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew the Japanese were about to attack Pearl Harbor. Indeed, the conventional wisdom at the time was either Midway Island or Pearl Harbor, Hawaii would be targeted by the Japanese war machine. It is important to remember most Americans believed ...

I smell blood in the water after Obama's stop in South Dakota yesterday and I've been giving the surrender monkeys on Youtube some major hell. Sorry Freepers, I like to argue. Here are all my comments. Feel free to adopt them as your own. I probably stole them from guys far smarter than me anyways! This first bit is all me though; This may be the most brilliant political trap I’ve ever seen. In a few short remarks, Bush has completely shifted all focus to the discussion of appeasing terrorists. Obama took the bait. And he’s self destructing before our...

From the NY Times: Truce Holds in Sadr City Amid Iraqi Army Patrols by ALISSA J. RUBIN BAGHDAD — Iraqi Army troops moved a few blocks north of the fortified front line in Baghdad’s Sadr City district without incident on Saturday, signaling that a shaky truce with the cleric Moktada al-Sadr’s Shiite militia was holding. Let’s see if we can give them a hint. The Iraqi army is patrolling Sadr City. In Mosul, another Sadr stronghold, the Iraqi army is arresting wanted men. That’s what happens when the fighting is over; you start arresting people instead of shooting them. Members...

Senator Ted Kennedy was airlifted to Boston after an apparent stroke. Word has it that the Senator is in serious condition.

We are in the middle of a economic crises because of the price of oil and gas. However, U.S. energy policies are outdated and have stopped the American economy cold. These outdated leftist policies have succeeded in making energy cost more than we can afford. Americans don’t need more regulations from Washington. America needs more oil supply and more refinery capacity. The only place that we can’t get oil is from all our domestic sources. If you feel that gas is too high, please thank the Democratic environmental energy policies that have overwhelmed the American economy

The Mexican peso was commonly used in early America. By a decree of July 6, 1785, the value of the United States dollar was even set to approximately match the peso. The first U.S. dollar coins were not issued until April 2, 1792, and the peso continued to be officially recognized and used, along with other foreign coins, until February 21, 1857. Since that period, the peso has at times taken on Banana Republic characteristics. Embarassingly, the U.S. dollar is now falling in value against the peso...