Free Republic

I'm not in the position for making any huge investments, and this might be in the category of just plain ignorant, but I figure this proposal might at least prompt some interesting discussion, and if its plausible, someone should do it: The Tesla gets about 220 miles per charge. Great... if you're going somewhere less than four hours away. But if the S-class (a $50,000 "family car") is going to be someone's main car, they're certainly going to want to take longer trips with it. The problem is the car takes 8 hours to charge with 110 volts. By doubling...

Who are the the DIABLOs (Democrats In All But Labels Only)? Who are the RINOs (Republicans In Name Only)? Unfortunately, the American Conservative Union's rankings are pretty useless. In search of being non-partisan and having an even spread of votes, they include many votes which are very lopsided, and so therefore Republicans can fake conservatism without upsetting their media masters and liberal donors. At the same time, a conservative who thinks that a bill is too liberal can get lumped in with all the liberals who thought the bill was too conservative. Combining these two factors, it's impossible to tell...

Is the National Rifle Association ashamed of its own endorsement, or are the media lying to us once again? I was stunned to read that the N.R.A. endorsed pro-gay, pro-abortion, climate alarmist, socialist Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava for Congress in the special, off-year election in New York's 23rd district. The N.R.A. is pro-gun rights, not (necessarily) conservative, but a moderate Democrat helps the N.R.A. maintain its nonpartisan status and reputation more than supporting a liberal Republican. On the other hand, the media widely reported that the N.R.A. endorsed former Vermont governor and Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean. The reality is...

DEMOCRAT INCUMBENT Arkansas (Beebe): Safe D Colorado (Ritter): Leans R Illinois (Quinn): Leans R *** Iowa (Culver): Leans R Maryland (O'Malley): Likely D Massachusetts (Patrick): Leans R New York (Patterson): Tossup *** Ohio (Strickland): Tossup DEMOCRAT-HELD OPEN SEAT Kansas: Likely R Maine: Leans D* Michigan: Leans R New Mexico: Likely D Oklahoma: Likely R Oregon: Leans D* Pennsylvania: Tossup* Tennessee: Leans R Wisconsin: Tossup* Wyoming: leans D** REPUBLICAN-HELD OPEN SEAT Alabama: Safe R California: Tossup Florida: Likely R Hawaii: Likely D Rhode Island: Leans D* South Carolina: Likely R South Dakota: Likely R REPUBLICAN INCUMBENT Alaska (Parnell): Likely R Arizona...

The Democrats attained domination over the US House of Representatives not by convincing America that conservative beliefs were wrong, but by individualizing each Republican incumbent as part of a block of corruption and political tone-deafness. Dozens won Republican-leaning district while promising to vote conservatively. The Republican losers weren't so much those in the most moderate-to-left-leaning districts, but those to whom insinuations of scandal, incompetence and detachment most easily stuck. The result is an astonishing number of Democrats in otherwise Republican-leaning districts. The Cook Political Report publishes the Cook Partisan Voting Index, measuring whether districts are more Democratic or more Republican...

I previously wrote that there will be an appearance of economic growth, but it is only because the GDP includes government spending, and it won't really mean more jobs. Already, major news outlets are stating this is what is happening. To have real economic growth, we need to unleash the power of the free market, a purpose for which we need true conservatives, not just plutocrats. Here is the original article: It doesn't take an economic recovery to have an increase in the Gross Domestic Product, because government spending is included. The spending authorized by President Obama's stimulus package will...

He opposes off-shore drilling. He hosted a global warming summit. He vigorously supported President Obama's trillion-dollar giveaway to special interests. As America grows more skeptical of Obama's, he seems like the perfect politician for the conservative base to rally against, in many ways. Except he's a Republican. He's Charlie Crist, and he is the Republican Party establishment to become senator of Florida in 2010. Even stranger, there is an infinitely more appealing, true conservative running for the Senate, named Marco Rubio. He trails in statewide polls, but this is largely a product of the fact that 60% of Floridians have...

Democrat seemingly doomed: Nevada Much has been made about strong candidates passing up the opportunity to knock out Sen. Harry Reid. Big deal. GOP chairwoman and state senator Sue Lowden even handily defeats Reid, 48-42. All the cash in the world can’t help Reid escape the dishonor of being the most hated senator in America. North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven has gained 39 points on Sen. Byron Dorgan in six months. Yeah, you read that right. Hoeven now leads by 17. Even if he doesn’t run, with Dorgan that unpopular, Duane Sand can kick a little well, sand, in his...

Uncomfortable town hall meetings are just the tip of the iceberg for Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. He now trails Republican Pat Toomey by double digits in his bid for reelection next year and is viewed unfavorably by a majority of the state’s voters. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Pennsylvania voters shows 48% would vote for Toomey if the election were held today. Just 36% would vote for Specter while four percent (4%) prefer a third option, and 12% are not sure. These figures reflect a dramatic reversal since June. At that time, before the public health care debate...

In 1993, Bill Clinton’s approval ratings sank to 37%, according to a Gallup poll at the time. Yet he was re-elected. Does this mean that Obama can survive his own sinking approval ratings? Maybe not. The low approval ratings of President Clinton were partly due to an American public withholding judgment on his presidency. Unlike President Obama, Clinton had been elected with a mere plurality (43%) of the vote. Clinton’s disapproval ratings peaked at 49%. In 1996, he was again elected with a mere plurality (49%) of the vote. In 1994, the Republican party swept into power, gaining 52 house...

If the election for U.S. Congress were held today, would you be voting for the Democratic candidate or the Republican candidate in your district where you live? Democrat, 42%; Republican 43% I am going to read you a list of concerns that people have. Please tell me which ONE of these you think the President and Congress should be paying the most attention to. Economy and Jobs, 43%; Health Care 12%; Taxes and spending, 8%; Terrorism and National Security, 6%; Education, 5%; War in Afghanistan, 4% (I list the top responses only) President Obama and the Democrats in Congress are...

It doesn't take an economic recovery to have an increase in the Gross Domestic Product, because government spending is included. The spending authorized by President Obama's stimulus package will result in a positive GDP as long as the private sector economy does not contract at an annual rate faster than 5.3 percent. Or put another way, the private sector economy could experience the fastest contraction since the 1930s, twice as fast as the past year's, and the mainstream media will be able to report economic growth. Don't be fooled by this. When the government stops spending the money, the economy...

Praise God, that we are saved by grace alone. Works without faith are utterly without merit. This is not merely a Protestant notion. Such has been the persistent teaching of the saints throughout the ages. Yet a whitewashing of Martin Luther has led to many people, even Catholics, fundamentally misunderstanding the Catholic Church's criticism of him. Please understand that what I write here is no ad-hominem attack on Luther for any purpose, including the slander of Protestantism. Attacking the moral character of Martin Luther is gainless, for no-one supposes Luther to be imbued with the gift of infallibility. But when...

Good News: You baptized seven people today in the river. Bad News: You lost two of them in the swift current. Good News: The Women's Guild voted to send you a get-well card. Bad News: The vote passed by 19-17. Good News: The Elder Board accepted your job description the way you wrote it. Bad News: They were so inspired by it, they also formed a search committee to find somebody capable of filling the position. Good News: You finally found a choir director who approaches things exactly the same way you do. Bad News: The choir mutinied. Good News:...

OK, folks. We haven't been doing a very good job at keeping the "humor" tag worth keeping. Months come and go, and the same fake news stories appear in my Religion::Humor category. I'M getting tired of seeing my OWN post about Georgetown giving an honorary degree to Satan. So here's at it: An atheist was walking through the woods. "What majestic trees!" "What powerful rivers!" "What beautiful animals!" He said to himself. As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards...

... By a 60% to 25% margin, U.S. Catholics say the university should not award an honorary degree to the president. Sixty-six percent (66%) of Evangelical Christians share that view along with 52% of other Protestants... ...In 2004, the bishops issued a statement saying, "The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

Georgetown University President John J. DeGoya announced today that Satan, Prince of Darkness will receive an honorary doctorate at the University's 220th commencement. DeGoya called the announcement a proud day for Georgetown. "We've been honored to continue the proud tradition of Catholic education which has produced alumni such as President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and World Spiritual Leader Al Gore, but when Notre Dame scored the Messi-- uh, the President for this year's graduation, well, it didn't seem fair. We felt being named the fighting Irish gave them an unfair advantage with O'bama. The faculty felt like...

Next time someone asserts that what the Republican Party needs to do is get back to its fiscally conservative roots, as if that's an alternative to being socially conservative, understand that such people will never be useful in undoing the damage on American freedom and prosperity wrought by the Obama administration. We don't need Chinese fascism; we need freedom. Such fiscal conservatives got us into the mess that Obama is exploiting to take our freedoms away... because they were the very people who created the financial collapse that brought Obama to power, and resolutely refuse to abandon their schemes. In...

Despite being rocked by criticism, this pope continues to enjoy the trust of the masses. His trip to Africa and a survey in Italy prove this. The reason is that he speaks of God to a humanity in search of direction ROME, March 27, 2009 – On the flight back from his trip to Cameroon and Angola, Benedict XVI told the journalists that two things in particular had been ingrained in his memory: "On the one hand, the almost exuberant hospitality and the joy of a festive Africa. In the pope, they saw the personification of the fact that we...

RasmussenReports' new daily tracking poll has President Barrack Obama receiving his lowest approval rating since immediately after the election, 56%. 43% of Americans generally disapprove of his performance, 31% strongly do. Obama's approval rating was immediately after the election was 52%. As is typical after an election (according to longer-standing polls, such as Gallup), America put aside its partisan feelings, giving the newly elected the benefit of the doubt: his approvals rose to 67% over the course of the next month, peaking at 69%. They stayed in that range, which was high even for a newly elected president, until inauguration...