Free Republic

A Cole County man was one of five people in the state selected for Missouri's first elk season in modern history. The five randomly selected hunters from all corners of the state were given the opportunity to hunt elk beginning this October. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) randomly selected the few lucky winners from a pool of 19,215 permit applications including 33 for one resident-landowner antlered-elk permit and 19,182 for four general permits. [photos at link]

Trigonometry Is Racist! KEVIN D. WILLIAMSON February 27, 2015 An African-American scholar says that emphasis on STEM education is bad for blacks. Earlier today on Sirius XM Urban View, an African-American talk station, the guest was Daryl Scott, president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. The conversation turned to STEM — science, technology, engineering, and math — education, and the origins of the ongoing push to encourage institutions and students to focus on those subjects. Can you guess what happened? In 1983, the guest explained, a commission empaneled by the secretary of education issued...

One of the subtleties of language is the use of euphemisms.  A euphemism is  the use of a less offensive synonym, word or phrase in place of another  term that might be considered too direct, harsh, unpleasant, or offensive. It substitutes an agreeable or inoffensive expression in place of one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant. The word comes from the Greek  euphemismos: from eu (auspicious, good, pleasant),  + pheme speech.In many cases euphemisms are harmless, even rooted in a kind of charity and a desire not to offend unnecessarily. For example we may say that someone has passed away, or departed, rather than say they died. A...

“Revenue” Redefined: Libs abuse another innocent word by Daniel Clark Sometimes it seems like it would be a good idea to publish a liberal-to-English dictionary. That way, normal people would be able to understand what liberals mean when they take already existing words, and apply meanings to them that are nowhere close to their true definitions. Listening to liberals speak can be like visiting Alice’s Wonderland. Taking things that belong to somebody else is what they call “fairness.” Parading through town while wearing leashes and chains and nothing else is an exhibition of “pride.” Violent criminals who are turned loose...

The majority of economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics believe that the federal deficit should be reduced only or primarily through spending cuts. The survey out Monday found that 56 percent of the NABE members surveyed felt that way, while 37 percent said they favor equal parts spending cuts and tax increases. The remaining 7 percent believe it should be done only or mostly through tax increases. As for how to reduce the deficit, nearly 40 percent said the best way would be to contain Medicare and Medicaid costs. Nearly a quarter recommended overhauling the tax system...

This week, as President Obama prepares for a big jobs speech (yet again!), even his partisans have begun to lose hope that he’s going to have any new or effective ideas about how to create jobs in America’s stalled economy. But one thing is certain: Whatever he says, it will be cloaked in euphemism. There’s an old cliché insisting that fuzzy speaking means fuzzy thinking. Somehow, however, the Obama Administration has managed to turn the aphorism on its head. The President and his supporters resort to the use of euphemisms not because their thinking is fuzzy, but because they believe...

The United States tax code is so backward that billionaire investor Warren Buffett pays only 17 percent in income taxes, a rate even lower than that of his secretary. Or so he claims. While I have great respect for Mr. Buffett, and while I agree that our tax code could benefit from major adjustments, Mr. Buffett's statement is misleading. And he knows it. Even worse, when Mr. Buffett implies that wealthier Americans are under-taxed, it gives public officials cover to pursue disastrous policies such as Maryland's failed millionaire's tax, and the pending sales tax on interstate Internet purchases known as...

On the January 23 World News Sunday, ABC News Senior Washington Editor Rick Klein used President Obama’s euphemism for spending as "investments" as he and anchor Dan Harris discussed how Republicans will likely respond to Tuesday’s State of the Union Address. Although the setup piece by correspondent David Kerley did allude to Obama’s word choice to call his plan "cut and invest" as having significance, noting that it "worries Republicans," after the piece had ended, Klein used the term "investments" as if it were straight, nonpartisan terminology. Klein: But when you get down to the policy, the President talking about

Joe Biden’s not a loose cannon, an undisciplined, motor-mouthed gaffe-machine on wheels. Nope. He’s just “known for speaking freely.” Just ask the Associated Press. From AP’s story of today, After his flu warning, Biden takes the train home [emphasis added]: "One day after saying he wouldn’t travel in tight quarters because of the swine flu scare, Vice President Joe Biden rode a train Friday from Washington to Delaware. "Known for speaking freely, Biden told NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday that he had urged family members to avoid airplanes and subways for fear of contracting the H1N1 flu virus." Well, alright...

Juliet, that Capulet of Verona, said, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Janet, that Napolitano of Washington serving as secretary of homeland security, would say we're dealing with the Rosa genus in the Rosoideae subfamily of the Rosaceae family, part of the Rosales order of the Magnoliopsida class of the Magnoliophyta division in the Plantae kingdom. And if you said, "What the heck is that?," welcome to the club. Miss Napolitano is really beating around the bush in using the euphemism "man-caused disaster" for terrorism. "O, be some...

Last week, Canadians discovered, courtesy of an obscure trial in Texas, that "Canadian" does not always mean what they think it means. This followed the release of an internal memo from Mike Trent, assistant district attorney of Harris County, Texas, in which he congratulates a junior prosecutor because "he overcame a subversively good defence ... that had some Canadians on the jury feeling sorry for the defendant." The implausibility of there being many Canadians on a Texan manslaughter jury led some to conclude that "Canadians", in this context, might mean "black people", though Trent claims he thought real Canadians were...

One might say, and some have, that George W. Bush, with his compassion for the plight of illegal immigrants, can be compared to Abraham Lincoln of 1863, who bravely declared the emancipation of slaves of his time. If that were truly the case, then one must assume today's illegal immigrants are the modern version of the 19th century African slaves. In fact, each group is the exact antithesis of the other, and if one considers seriously, one recognizes that Abraham Lincoln and today's president are opposites as well. Contrary to Lincoln's actions, George W. Bush is flirting with returning this...

People are always writing books about the fall of great civilizations. The historians point to various things as indicators that a bad end was inevitable. Everything from over-extension of the military to corrupt politicians to all-male bathhouses have been credited with bringing on the collapse of various powerhouses. In the case of America, I think our decline began with the rise of the euphemism...

"U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, center, poses for a photograph with well-wishers outside the Helen B. Atkinson Health Center in Harlem, Monday, Aug. 7, 2006, in New York, following a press conference at the center calling for a decision on 'Plan B' emergency birth control by Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew Von Eschenbach, who, Clinton says, has delayed a decision on Plan B's application." "U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton , D-NY, third from right, greets well-wishers outside the Helen B. Atkinson Health Center in Harlem, Monday, Aug. 7, 2006, in New York, following a press conference calling for a decision...

I've been searching for the right word to describe what is happening to Terri Schiavo, a word that has some real blood to it. It's important to find the right word now, because, by the time you read this, the severely brain-damaged woman might be dead. Perhaps you've noticed other bloodless words being flipped at her, words like "viability" and phrases like "pull the plug." These words were once the issue of bloodless people, of clerks and sophists who can prove almost anything with their fine arguments. The rest of us have fed on them until they shape how we...

A terrorist by any other name is still a terrorist, but don't expect that objective reality to be recognized or even mentioned by many politically correct media organizations. These media outlets are supposed to be "reporting" the news, not censoring it, editorializing it, or re-inventing it. Unfortunately, rather than stick with the facts, these organizations are busy engaging in an euphemism war the likes of which would make any communist or fascist propaganda chief proud. So let's get one thing clear folks.... These people are TERRORISTS, not "rebels", "insurgents", or "militants." These organizations are TERRORIST Organizations, not "Islamic movements", "Islamic...