Free Republic

In May 2011, the English-speaking world celebrated the 400th anniversary of the most important piece of literature ever penned in the English language. It's the King James Version of the Bible, published on order of his Majesty King James I, in May 1611. More than any other publication, the Authorized Version of the Bible has influenced the standardization of language among English-speaking peoples of the world. It's also the best selling book of all time in any language. Most people presume that since the King James Version has been around so long, it's now in the public domain. Vaughan Williams,...

The Supreme Court of Mexico ruled on Wednesday to uphold the state constitutional personhood amendment of Baja California. A similar decision in the San Luis Potosi case is expected. The Court's most recent appointee, Justice Jorge Mario Pardo Rebolledo, sided with three members of the Court to reject an Action for Unconstitutionality submitted against the measures. Pardo Rebolledo was appointed last February and had yet to rule in an abortion case. His vote ensures that the Court will not reach the supermajority necessary to overturn the amendment. "Pardo Rebolledo, as well as Justices Salvador Aguirre, Margarita Luna, and Guillermo Ortiz...

As you might know, Michele Bachmann claimed that a woman came up to her, crying, saying that her child suffered mental retardation after being vaccinated for HPV. A couple of professors question her claim. The story is reported by Chris Moody. Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann's story about a woman who claimed that her daughter suffered 'mental retardation' after receiving a vaccine against HPV could fetch the woman's family thousands of dollars. But the family can only collect if Bachmann or the unnamed woman can prove the story is true. Two bioethics professors have offered to pay more than $10,000 for...

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured the sharpest images ever taken from space of the Apollo 12, 14 and 17 landing sites. Images show the twists and turns of the paths made when the astronauts explored the lunar surface. This interactive shows two LRO images of the Apollo 17 landing site. Click and drag on the white slider bar to wipe from one to the other. The left image was released today; the right image is a zoom-in on an LRO image released in 2009. LRO was moved into a lower orbit to capture the new image. The images do...

It is surely a challenge for teen heartthrobs like Justin Bieber to maintain a spirit of humility. But when he could have taken all the glory for winning an award at Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards, Bieber instead thanked his Lord, Jesus Christ. When Kim Kardashian announced Bieber's name as the winner of Best Male Video for “U Smile,” he rose and got a kiss from celebrity girlfriend Selena Gomez before making his way to the stage. After taking the iconic MTV Moonman Award from Kardashian, he approached the podium and made a pointed and humble speech. "I just...

On October 2, 2011, pastors and churches will have an opportunity to participate in a rapidly growing movement to regain the relevance of the church. For decades, pastors and churches have wrongly been told they should not participate in the political world, but both the Bible and history show otherwise. Beginning in 1633 and up until the 20th century, annual election sermons were preached across the country. Christians knew that we held a dual citizenship – we were indeed citizens of heaven, but we were also citizens of earth. We recognized that God had placed us in a country and...

Stephen King is offering an antidote to what he sees as the biases of right-wing radio talk shows by hiring a former Green Party vice presidential candidate to co-host a morning talk show on two stations he owns. In a rare public appearance, the horror writer held a news conference Tuesday in Bangor, Maine, at the headquarters of his three-station Zone Radio network. "The Pulse Morning Show" will be co-hosted by 50-year-old Pat LaMarche and 43-year-old Don Cookson, a former television reporter. LaMarche ran for vice president as a member of the Green Party in 2004. During the news conference...

While the federal government continues to drown in a sea of debt, several states are reporting surpluses, thanks to policies Washington would do well to emulate. Nowhere has the economic turnaround been more immediate than in Virginia. When Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell took office in January 2010, he was faced with a $2.2 billion shortfall bequeathed to him by outgoing Democratic Gov. (and now Senate candidate) Tim Kaine. In less than two years, McDonnell has delivered two budget surpluses without raising taxes or causing harm to the "most vulnerable." Instead, he has judiciously cut spending. Last week, the governor's office...

Eighteen children filed into a small church one evening last week to learn about the principles of American liberty, including lessons on the failures of communism, the Constitution's biblical roots and gold's superiority to government currency. During the five-day Vacation Liberty School, talks, skits and activities mixed conservative values and early American history, including stories about how colonists' prayers once helped turn back a threatening French fleet and the principle of equal opportunity, but not necessarily equal results. It marked the latest of a growing number of Vacation Liberty Schools, volunteer-run programs for children mostly ages 10-15 that resemble a...

A federal appeals court ruling this week could significantly diminish public university religious groups' ability to restrict membership and leadership to students who agree with their teachings. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that San Diego State University's nondiscrimination policy for officially recognized campus groups is constitutional. The policy is based on a nondiscrimination policy used at all the schools in the California State University system. Two Christian groups sued SDSU in 2005, alleging the policy violated their free-speech and religious-freedom rights. For the groups to be recognized as official campus groups, they were required to allow all...

Not aborting fetuses will soon be a crime in San Francisco.At least that’s what the city government is pushing for in its bizarre new attack on pregnancy counseling centers.Actually, “bizarre” is too mild a word to describe San Francisco’s latest outburst; even from my pro-choice perspective, the city’s attempt to essentially banish any counseling center which doesn’t encourage or perform abortions is simply beyond belief.Yesterday, City Attorney Dennis Herrera and Supervisor Malia Cohen acting on behalf of the municipal government launched a “coordinated attack” on pregnancy counseling centers that didn’t provide or advocate for abortions: San Francisco leaders are launching...

ABC Family became the second network to receive an excellent rating from a gay advocacy organization for its positive portrayal of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders, according to a report released August 3. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) completed its fifth annual Network Responsibility Index -- a report that grades broadcast and cable networks for the quantity and quality of homosexual characters and issues included in their programming. ABC Family was given an excellent rating because more than half of its programming included gay characters or discussions about homosexuality. ABC Family had the highest percentage of hours...

A British schoolteacher caught with 4,500 pornographic images — some of children as young as two — was told by the presiding judge that she understood his being attracted to children, but that other teachers with such urges keep them under control. The 63-year old substitute teacher David Armstrong was arrested after a colleague noticed files on Armstrong’s laptop with names such as “rape wife,” “nude model” and “gay alligator,” according to reports in the British newspapers the Telegraph and the Daily Mail. A classroom assistant immediately reported Armstrong to the police who found 4,500 sexual images and videos on...

Phil Jordan, a former CIA operative and one-time leader of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Intelligence Center, claims that the Obama administration is running guns to the violent Zetas cartel through the direct commercial sale of military grade weapons: Jordan, who served as director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Intelligence Center in 1995, said the Zetas have shipped large amounts of weapons purchased in the Dallas area through El Paso. Robert “Tosh” Plumlee, a former CIA contract pilot, told the Times he supported Jordan’s allegations, adding that the Zetas have reportedly bought property in the Columbus,...

California's plan to teach children to accept and appreciate homosexuality is on hold. Last week Governor Jerry Brown signed into law SB 48, which requires public schools -- kindergarten through 12th-grade -- to teach about homosexual role models in history and sociology. It requires "a selective treatment of history by requiring that only events that reflect positively on people in the LGBT community may be discussed." Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute has received a stay blocking introduction of the curriculum this fall. Pacific Justice Institute has filed a referendum to go on a future ballot that would repeal...

<p>Two new suspects have been arrested in the beating of a San Francisco Giants fan outside Dodger Stadium and the original suspect may well be exonerated.</p> <p>District attorney’s spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said detectives have not presented a case to her office yet.</p>

California’s long-term cooling trend cited as evidence FOR global warming Want to know why global warming alarmists and climate scientists in general have lost credibility with the American public? Consider a new study released today — and the unintentionally hilarious weasel words of its author — as Exhibit A.As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle today, a meteorologist did a 30-year survey of temperature and precipitation data for most of the largest cities up and down the state of California. Conclusion? In 75% of the sites, the weather has grown colder and rainier than it used to be:(To see the...

Well, the least Free State — literally — is outdoing itself in the idiocy department. In an historic vote today, the Maryland State Board of Education provided specific guidance to all public schools to require that each student be environmentally literate before he or she graduates from high school. The vote cements Maryland as the first state in the country to approve a graduation requirement in environmental literacy, a credit to Governor O’Malley, to board members, and to Dr. Nancy Grasmick, State Superintendent of Schools. In other words, despite the growing evidence of fraud within the global warming/climate change debate,...

The California state Senate voted 28-8 Wednesday to exempt itself from the pointless gun-control laws that apply to the rest of the populace. Legislators apparently think they alone are worthy to pack heat on the streets for personal protection, and the masses ought to wait until the police arrive. This is just one of many bills Golden State politicians used this legislative session to set themselves apart from the little people. Attempts to require politicians to provide a full annual disclosure of the benefits received from the public treasury have been rebuffed. Lawmakers rejected a bill that would have prohibited...

My son, 17-year-old Simi Valley resident Thomas Kasel, will graduate May 18 from Moorpark College with his AA degree before he graduates high school. As a home-schooler since sixth grade, Tom had a running start at college classes due to a policy within the Ventura County Community College system that allows younger students to enroll. Tom started at Moorpark College at age 12 with an algebra class. Professors and other students were very supportive and often forgot that he wasn’t a regular college student, encouraging him to continue taking classes. Tom attended Wood Ranch Elementary School in Simi Valley, then...