Free Republic

He doesn't look much like the world's hottest chef - or the one who introduced the world to sardine ice cream, snail porridge and cauliflower risotto with chocolate jelly. He doesn't look much like the chef who has won his third Michelin star faster and younger than anyone in history. In fact, Heston Blumenthal doesn't look much like a chef at all. One of the new breed of mobile prop forwards maybe, but not a chef. There's no toque on his cropped reddish hair. His broad features break easily into a breezy grin. His white jacket struggles to contain his...

Editorial The death of real democracy By Andrew Wodin-Schwartz, UMass student April 15, 2003 The current political situation in the United States of America is following a trend toward anti-democracy. With the Cold War now safely in the past, once again our wealth and power is being challenged, this time by a new force that has been largely dubbed "terrorists" or "Muslims" (the two are virtually indistinguishable in main-stream media). In response to these seemingly novel movements, the Bush administration has decided to declare ideological wars by taking many additional measures to ensure the continued growth of our wealth and...

From the opening page: Welcome! You have found my encyclopedia of liberal arguments on politics and religion. My goal is to build a one-stop reference source that uses all the latest studies, statistics and arguments. If you'd prefer a shorter treatise, then visit my Short FAQ on Liberalism. As for this document, read About This FAQ to discover its stated goals. And feel free to send your comments to me at steve_kangas@hotmail.com. -- if they prove helpful, you'll win public praise on my credit page. IN DEFENSE OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT — A classic starting point for the debate: Part 1:...

<p>"The telephone rang much too early in the morning. You didn't know it then. You didn't know you were pausing in infinity, standing over an abyss with one foot in the fast-disappearing past, the other about to make contact with the slimy, slippery, treacherous future."</p>

Why Enron still captures so much of the public's attention, unlike many financial disaster stories of the past, is a consequence of the two-decade-long publicity campaign of the rabid pro- privatizers of Social Security. Bad ideas often have random good consequences. The privatizing lobby has trumpeted the growing participation in stock market, claiming that most every American owns stock. Well, not every American, but estimates show that 54 percent of American households own some stock, mutual funds, or retirement accounts, up from just over a third in 1989. And when there is ownership there is interest. With any luck, the...