Free Republic

In 1997, then-successful businessman and best-selling author Donald Trump launched a $100 million dollar lawsuit against the city of Palm Beach for imposing restrictions on him due to his insistence that blacks and Jews were allowed into his Mar-A-Lago club, despite no other Palm Beach clubs allowing them entry.The old guard of Palm Beach was outraged that Trump was allowing Jews and blacks into his club and the local town council in Palm Beach even imposed restrictions on Trump’s bid to get his club approved.Trump fought back and exposed the established private clubs in town that refused service to Jews...

As we’ve long known, California is a national leader in many categories. It has the highest population (at least for now) and the largest number of homeless people. It’s also the most heavily taxed state at 13.3%. California is a prominent leader in retail theft and other crimes. But what many of us probably don’t realize is that the Golden State is also a leader in another category. Californians are the biggest bunch of cheapskates in the country, at least when it comes to tipping the wait staff at bars and restaurants. Or at least that’s the implication in a...

Hody Childress was a farmer living off his meager retirement savings in the small town of Geraldine, Ala. About 10 years ago, he walked into Geraldine Drugs and pulled aside owner Brooke Walker to ask if there were families in town who couldn't afford to pay for their medications. "I told him, 'Yes, unfortunately that happens often,'" recalled Walker, 38. "And he handed me a $100 bill, all folded up." He told her to use it for anyone who couldn't afford their prescriptions. "He said, 'Don't tell a soul where the money came from - if they ask, just tell...

(WSVN) - A Florida man tapped into the Christmas spirit by showing his appreciation to essential workers. Patrick Rhodes is a giver of the extraordinary kind. “I have two jobs, and I’m able to squeeze in time to give back,” said Rhodes. “I think we can all set aside an hour or so to reach back to our community.” Two years ago, when the pandemic hit, Rhodes decided he wanted to do something for essential workers in Hillsborough County. He bought pizzas and delivered them on his lunch break; he gave away 600 pies. “My passion is giving back and...

A wealthy Arab Sheik was admitted to hospital for heart surgery, but priorto the surgery, the doctors needed to store his type of blood in case the need arose. As the gentleman had a rare type of blood, it couldn't be found locally, so the call went out. Finally a Scotsman was located who had a similar blood type. The Scot willingly donated his blood for the Arab. After the surgery, the Arab sent the Scotsman in appreciation for giving his blood, a new BMW, 5 carats of diamonds, and $50,000 dollars. A couple of days later, once again, the...

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic and darkest days of 2020, Americans proved their benevolence and generosity in ways the government never could.Two-thousand and twenty is a year most Americans are in a hurry to forget. From a chaotic political atmosphere to uncontrolled riots and violence across the country, to a pandemic that revealed the worst instincts in our politicians, the year seemed to resemble a horror-house of our worst fears.Because of all we’ve been through, most people would just as soon get on with ending this year of chaos, mobs, and quarantines and get on with the business of believing...

A small Iowa town received a big surprise last week from an anonymous donor who shipped every household in town $150 worth of gift cards good at local small businesses. All 549 households in the town of 1,400 people received three $50 gift cards, according to the Des Moines Register, one each for West Side Bar and Grille, Hometown Market and Trostel’s Broken Branch. Collectively, the cards added up to $82,350, or $27,450 to each locally owned business. Mayor Jeff Lillie was in on the secret. On March 26, he was called by a man who said he was the...

EXCLUSIVE: The Trump campaign has been donating meals to hospitals across the country to feed doctors, nurses and first responders on the front lines of the coronavirus battle, Fox News has learned.Since last Thursday, President Trump’s reelection campaign has been calling up local restaurants and ordering large amounts of food to be delivered to more than a dozen hospitals in New York, New Jersey, Washington state and Michigan. The campaign has been placing these orders anonymously, but Fox News learned about the effort — and sources confirmed it.One source told Fox News that the campaign was looking to not only...

In modern America, February 2 is best known as Groundhog Day. But it also marks the birth of one of the most praised and criticized thinkers of the past century – Ayn Rand. Rand sold more than 30 million books. Atlas Shrugged has been ranked behind only the Bible as an influence on readers’ lives. She has also been stridently attacked for issues such as her militant atheism. But perhaps least understood has been her full-bore rejection of altruism. On her birthday, it is worth reconsideration. Altruism has commonly been held up as the standard for moral behavior. But Rand...

In the same article, the Post also reports on a backlash against this amazing generosity. A leader of the Yellow Vest movement says that if donors can give so much money to rebuild Notre Dame, “they should stop telling us there is no money to help deal with the social emergency.” But the donations to Notre Dame are coming from private donors. No one denies they have money. It’s the French government that’s running out. Some in the Yellow Vest movement probably favor the government taking yet more money from the wealthy “to help deal with the social emergency.” That’s...

Religion in the United States is in a slump. Since 1990, the share of Americans who reject any religious affiliation has climbed sharply, from 8 percent to more than 22 percent. Among younger Americans, the trend is especially pronounced. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, 38 percent of Americans under 30 describe themselves as having no religious identity. If present trends continue, these "nones" will outnumber Catholics by 2020, and will be more numerous than Protestants by 2035. Of course, present trends may not continue. There have been at least three "Great Awakenings" — periods of dramatic religious revival...

Brent and Nicole Keryluke were killed on May 5th in a motorcycle accident leaving behind 3-year-old Liam and 6 year-old Arielle. Brent wanted to keep his 1973 Pontiac Parisienne for his son when he started driving. They're now being cared for by their grandparents. They didn’t want to part with the vehicle, but they didn't have a choice. They ended up taking it to an auction, where it was sold 3 times and donated back every time raising close to $100,000 for the family!

President Trump has donated his salary each quarter to different federal agencies. President Donald Trump donated his first-quarter 2018 salary to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

As followers of Jesus, how should we react to the news that Jesse Duplantis claims that God told him to buy a $54 million jet for his ministry? Should we condemn him for taking the prosperity message to its logical extreme? Should we say, "Well, He had a message from God, That's between him and God?" Or should we say, "How do I help the man of God travel in style? Where do I give?" According to Duplantis, he wasn't asking his followers for money. Rather, he wanted to inform them so they could believe God with him for the...

Learning the Lessons of Lazarus and the Rich Man Msgr. Charles Pope • March 15, 2017 • The well-known story of Lazarus and the rich man was read at Mass this morning (Thursday of the Second Week of Lent). On one level the message of the story seems plain enough: neglecting the poor is a damnable sin. However, there are other important teachings: about death, judgment, Heaven, and Hell. Those teachings are hidden in the details, but the subtlety is part of the story’s beauty. Let’s take a look at some of the teachings, beginning with the obvious one....

China is the least generous country in the world, according to a worldwide survey on generosity by the Charities Aid Foundation. The 2016 CAF World Giving Index is based on a poll of 1,000 respondents from 140 countries and regions, asking them if in the last month they helped a stranger, donated money to charity or volunteered their time. China ranked 140th place in the poll, behind Palestine, Yemen, Greece and the Democratic Republic of Congo, lifestyle website Shanghaiist reports. […] Myanmar tops the index for the third year running with a score of 70 percent, followed by the United...

Ignoring the Poor Is a Damnable Sin – A Homily for the 26th Sunday Msgr. Charles Pope • September 24, 2016 • The Rich Man and the Poor Lazarus by Hendrick ter BrugghenIn the Gospel for today about the rich man and Lazarus the Lord gives us some important teachings on judgment and Hell. We live in times in which many consider the teachings on Hell to be untenable. They struggle to understand how a God described as loving, merciful, and forgiving can assign certain souls to Hell forever. Despite the fact that the Doctrine of Hell is taught...

A hilarious text mix-up about a newborn led to a sweet moment between strangers. A woman who intended to text family members about the birth of her baby accidentally texted a complete stranger. ... Williams congratulated the family and told them they had the wrong number, but the texts kept coming. ... Instead of just ignoring the texts, Williams replied: “Well I don’t know y’all but me and the boys will be thru to take (a) picture with the baby.” ... Williams came through on the promise. He and his brother showed up at the hospital to see the family...

 The Richest Woman in the World Mother Theresa of Calcutta took a bag of rice for a poor Hindu woman to feed her starving family. The woman could hardly wait to thank Mother Theresa, pouring half the bag into another bag, slipping out the door, and giving it to her Muslim woman neighbor whose children were starving even worse than her. The Richest Woman in the World. And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two...

THE BOOK As human beings we are constantly engaging and disengaging in everything we do. We engage and disengage at work, in marriage, as parents, in our quest for health and well-being, in personal finances, environmentally, politically, and, of course, we engage or disengage spiritually. If you walk into any Catholic church next Sunday and look around, you will discover that some people are highly engaged, others are massively disengaged, and the majority are somewhere in between. Why? What is the difference between highly engaged Catholics and disengaged Catholics? Answering this question is essential to the future of the Catholic...