Free Republic

As the nation’s capital broiled in the summer heat, the president found himself increasingly isolated in the Oval Office. During his decades in politics, he had charted a career from the Senate to the vice presidency, though after two terms in the nation’s second-highest office, most believed his political career to be over. Even so, he shocked the political establishment by winning the presidency, largely by promising to return a sense of calm following a time of crisis and public protest. Suddenly, however, the president found himself fending off calls from members of his own party to step aside, as...

Gandhi once famously said, “BE the change that you wish to see in the world.” Those words have never held more significance for me than they do now. I believe that people who hold traditional values have made a grave mistake by falling to the temptation to react to the evil we see all around us. Of course, there is a need to defend our values, and to point out lies and hypocrisy where we see it. As an American, it is clear as day that we are under unprecedented and unrelenting attack. This site has made this defense on...

New York City is becoming an economic basket case. "'We're at war': New York City Faces a Financial Abyss," screams a New York Times headline. New York City's unemployment rate stands at 16%, double the nation's average. Yet, even in the midst of a "financial abyss," the animosity of New York's liberal elite remains undeterred in its hostility toward free enterprise and entrepreneurship, the pillars of job creation and economic recovery.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the debacle that Pope Francis allowed, if not orchestrated, at the Vatican Gardens on Pentecost Sunday. Well it seems that the fallout was rather immediate. In a Catholic Church in Orlando, FL, also on Pentecost Sunday, two Muslim men were allowed to give their "reflections" - in place of the homily!

For far too long, many priests have been offering not the fine wheat of sound doctrine but the chaff of theological dissent from the teaching of the Church's Magisterium. Hence we have experienced not renewal but a spiritual dry rot. Vatican II, in its' Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests (Presbyterorum Ordinis) No. 4, had this to say: "The People of God are joined together primarily by the word of the living God. And rightfully they expect this from their priests. Since no one can be saved who does not first believe, priests, as co-workers with their bishops,...

Let's be a living example of the changes we want to see. As CHRIST was a perfect example of this.

People who hate government will love what's going on in Wildomar. The city just cut its police protection contract from 72 hours a day in officer shifts to just 40. Oh yeah. They're closing City Hall on Fridays. Yippee. The city manager is taking 17.25 furlough days, saving the city $15,000 in salary. Hot dog. And the City Council will meet only once a month. Hallelujah. All this and much more from a city that has only three full-time employees and already has closed one of three parks after voters rejected a mere $28 annual fee. More cuts could be...

The glitch mainly affects older adults who are too young for a Medicare card but have reached 62, when people can qualify for early retirement from Social Security. (snip) To see how the Social Security wrinkle would work, consider a hypothetical example of two neighbors on the same block. They are both 62 and have the same income of $39,500 a year. But one gets all his income from working, while the other gets $20,000 from part-time work and $19,500 from Social Security. Neither of them gets health insurance on the job. Instead, they purchase it individually. Starting in 2014,...

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., March 22, 2010 – When women were first allowed to enlist in the Marine Corps in the 1940s, they did not qualify with weapons and they were not required to learn hand-to-hand combat, but they received instruction on etiquette and how to wear makeup. Marine Corps Cpl. Amy Gentry stands in her company's vehicle compound at Camp Lejeune, N.C., March 11, 2010. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Katesha Washington  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Marine Corps Cpl. Amy Gentry is a prime example of how much life for women serving in the Marine Corps...

A mob foiled a carjacking attempt of three criminals after beating a carjacker to death and injuring another critically in the capital's Pallabi on Monday night. The deceased was identified as Abdul Halim, 25, while the injured Muktar Hossain, 23, was undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). Pallabi police said a gang of three criminals intercepted a private car and tried to push its driver out of the vehicle at gunpoint in Pallabi residential area at about 9:00pm. The criminals also shot the car driver when he tried to resist them from snatching the car. Hearing the...

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Aug 30, 2009 / 11:14 am (CNA).- At Sunday’s Angelus prayer in the courtyard of Castel Gandolfo’s apostolic palace, Pope Benedict XVI recalled the previous week’s liturgical memorial of St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine of Hippo and model and patron of Christian mothers. “Much is recounted about her in her son’s autobiography ‘The Confessions,’ a masterpiece among the most read works of all time,” Pope Benedict said. “There, we understand that St. Augustine imbibed the name of Jesus with maternal milk and was educated in the Christian religion by his mother, the principles of which...

It's the scourge of small towns - a major employer lays off half the town and things are never the same. Putaruru in south Waikato was at risk of facing a similiar crisis. However the locals found a novel solution, with a little help from their neighbours. Carter Holt Harvey, the town's biggest employer, has decided to shut the timber mill just before Christmas. Herman Van Rooijen is the local councillor and has a good story to tell of how the town didn't wallow in its problems.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2008 – After being medically retired from the Army last year as a result of mental wounds he suffered in Iraq, Michael Bradley faced a daunting challenge that would later prove pivotal in his recovery: holding down a job in the civilian world. But a new education campaign, America’s Heroes at Work, aims to make employment a less intimidating transition by teaching bosses and managers how to accommodate workers like Bradley -- a pool of productive, capable employees who are afflicted with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury. Bradley, who today joined officials from the...

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez faces his stiffest challenge in years Sunday as voters decide whether to approve constitutional changes that would greatly expand his powers and let him seek re-election for decades to come. An emboldened opposition and recent violent clashes in street protests point to a potentially volatile dispute if the vote is close. Chavez has warned opponents he will not tolerate attempts to stir up violence, and threatened to cut off oil exports to the U.S. if Washington interferes. The South American country is a major supplier to the United States — the No. 1 buyer...

Hollywood is missing in action when it comes to fighting for America in recent conflicts, not the least being the war against terrorism. We hereby challenge readers to name one modern American celebrity, apart from the late football star Pat Tillman, who served or fought for his or her country in the past 15 years. "Even Hollywood ... sent its best to wars prior to Vietnam," University of Dayton professor Larry Schweikart reminds us in his new book, "America's Victories," writing that professional actors were as "thoroughly represented" in the fighting military during World War II as any other group....

SNOWMASS, Colo., April 6, 2006 – Michael Brickert is a man of three services, three conflicts, two paralyzed legs, and one can-do spirit that's inspired other disabled veterans. Michael Brickert, a retired Air National Guard first sergeant, soars down the slopes during the 20th National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic, at Snowmass, Colo. Photo by Robert Turtil  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Brickert, 58, of Wise River, Mont., was a Navy diver during the Vietnam War. During Operation Desert Storm, he went from being an Army Reserve drill sergeant to pulling personal security detail. During Operation Enduring Freedom,...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2006 – With "the greatest force for freedom in the history of the world on their side," Americans should feel confident in efforts to combat terrorism and spread democracy, President Bush said today in praise of the nation's armed forces. Speaking at the 88th Annual American Legion Convention here, the president thanked the organization for its long-time support of U.S. troops and told veterans in the group they've set an example for today's servicemembers. "Our men and women on the front lines are taking inspiration from the valor and courage that you've shown in the field of...

President Ronald Reagan loved to rail against Congress' pork-barrel spending. But critics say that didn't stop Congress from earmarking $2.3 million for landscaping on the freeway that bears his name, one item among the $24 billion worth of special projects tacked onto the transportation bill signed Wednesday by President Bush. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who opposed the bill with four other senators, said the amount directed to special projects was "egregious." And he singled out Simi Valley's long-awaited landscaping project along Highway 118. "I wonder what Ronald Reagan would say?" McCain asked about the fiscally conservative president. In the city...

One of many cataclysmic changes brought about by the digital revolution is additional difficulty for that ancient problem of distinguishing perception from reality. It is now possible with a keyboard touch [the flicker of an iris or, soon, a brainwave] to create “virtual reality”. Bombarded with the misinformation revolution [as well as information superfluity], judgments about the world and the U.S.’ role become even more difficult. There are, at least, a dozen circles where American interests are critically paramount but where outcome is – perhaps as always — unpredictable: Iraq-Vietnam. Is the reality the constant stream of bloody media stories...

Pope's Dying Hours Uplifted Church's Image Pope John Paul II's Dying Hours Uplifted Image of Battered Roman Catholic Church He Led Pope John Paul II gestures during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, in this Sept. 4, 2002 file photo. Pope John Paul II, the Polish pontiff who led the Roman Catholic Church for more than a quarter century and became history's most-traveled pope, has died at 84, the Vatican announced in an e-mail Saturday, April 2, 2005. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito, File) By RICHARD N. OSTLING The Associated Press Apr 3, 2005 — The...