Free Republic

Kennedy Space Center Merritt Island, Florida3:47 P.M. EDTTHE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much.  I just want to say this is a very exciting day for our country.  We have been at this long and hard for three and a half years.I want to thank Elon for — who’s been a friend of mine for a very long time, somebody I have great respect for.  But this is 24/7 for you.  You’re always thinking about this.  You’re thinking about other things, too; you have plenty to think about.  But this has been your baby.MR. MUSK:  This is the top...

Andrew Kim Taegon was the first native-born Catholic priest in Korea. He was sired in a family that had supplied numerous martyrs to the glory of Jesus Christ, including his father, Saint Ignatius Kim, and his uncle, Saint Paul Chong Hasang. As a child, Andrew's intelligence impressed a French missionary priest in Korea, and he was sent by his father to Macao to learn Latin and other Western subjects. He later studied for the priesthood and would be ordained in 1844 in Shanghai. After his ordination, he secretly returned to Korea to serve the Catholic community there—a dangerous mission considering...

India's Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft entered lunar orbit on Tuesday in a small but important step on its journey towards the moon. Chandrayaan-2, which means "moon vehicle" in Sanskrit, entered the orbit around midnight Eastern Time in a complicated insertion maneuver that took 29 minutes. "Our hearts almost stopped today till it completed its job," Kailasavadivoo Sivan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), told reporters at a news conference. "But still the landing is the terrifying moment... because that is a phase that we are doing for the first time," he added. If the spacecraft lands successfully, India will become...

Dear Friend, Blackpool, a city in Lancashire on England’s northwest coast, desperately needs a message of hope. But some in Blackpool are determined to prevent that. For a large portion of the city’s population today, hopelessness is part of everyday life. A number of churches in Blackpool and the surrounding Lancashire area have been praying for their community for several years and extended an invitation to me to come hold evangelistic meetings in September. I’m going to share the Gospel—a message that is the only hope for the world—that God sent His Son to take our sins, that Jesus Christ...

Some might say it’s paranoid to think about an asteroid hitting Earth and wiping us out. But the history of life on Earth shows at least 5 major extinctions. And at least one of them, about 65 million years ago, was caused by an asteroid. Preparing for an asteroid strike, or rather preparing to prevent one, is rational thinking at its finest. Especially now that we can see all the Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) out there. The chances of any single asteroid striking Earth may be small, but collectively, with over 15,000 NEAs catalogued by NASA, it may be only...

Three U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers were killed and two others were wounded Wednesday in an ambush in the west African country of Niger. U.S. Africa Command confirmed that a joint patrol of Green Berets and Nigerien soldiers was attacked in the southwestern part of Niger, near the border with Mali. Officials told Fox News that between eight and 10 troops were part of the patrol. Officials told the Associated Press that the commandos were likely attacked by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The officials added that the two wounded U.S. soldiers were taken to Niamey, the capital, and...

Life is a wandering stream…and while a bend in the stream is not the end of the stream we never know for sure what is ahead.Sometimes we simply must stop and listen to our inner voice, hoping for a revelationbut settling instead for a moment of claritythat will guide us on the rest of our journey“The days are stacked against what we think we are.” ― Jim Harrison, The Road Homewherever that may take us. MOTI notes: Creeper is taking a sabbatical from the crazy world of politics so she won’t be around much until she regains her perspective.  And...

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean Sunday (March 19), returning to Earth with more than 2 tons of science experiments and other gear from the International Space Station.

ACCORDING TO PROSECUTORS, DANIEL PYE TRAVELED FROM FLORIDA TO HAITI ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS BETWEEN 2008 AND 2011 FOR THE PURPOSE OF SEXUALLY ABUSING MINORS. WASHINGTON, United States, Thursday March 2, 2017 -- An American man who ran a missionary orphanage in Haiti has been charged for allegedly having sex with girls who resided there. Prosecutors say 35-year-old Daniel John Pye traveled from Florida to Haiti on multiple occasions between 2008 and 2011 for the purpose of sexually abusing minors. Over the period, they say, he sexually assaulted at least four victims between the ages of six and 14. He has...

Is it wrong for Trump to criticize McCain? Yes, Senator McCain is a hero and should be respected No, McCain deserves criticism

"Commandancy of the Alamo Bejar, Feby. 24, 1836 To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World Fellow citizens & compatriots" There’s a sincere reason to feel optimistic about what the future might hold for Alamo Plaza. But red flags are also up. This is a critical juncture where broad strokes become all-important details. Texans know the world is watching intently. We sense the waning of that boldness as one enters Alamo Plaza and embarks on the historic footprint. It feels as though 1836 is about to become a mere portal and not the primary focus of the...

After a journey of billions of miles and a historic cosmic rendezvous, the Rosetta spacecraft met its end after a “controlled impact” with the comet it had been studying. The European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed a loss of signal from the probe on Friday at 1:19 pm, Central European Summer Time. The maneuver to slowly crash the craft was deliberate— a way to study the comet up close at the tail end of the mission. “Thanks to a huge international, decades-long endeavour, we have achieved our mission to take a world-class science laboratory to a comet to study its evolution...

18:19 Juno should now be starting a slow maneuver from its power-generating sun-pointing attitude toward the orientation required for tonight's Jupiter Orbit Insertion burn. This slow precession maneuver should take about 21 minutes, then Juno will hold its position before starting a faster precession to the burn attitude. 17:56 Last pre-JOI image from JunoCam Here is the official caption from NASA: "This is the final view taken by the JunoCam instrument on NASA's Juno spacecraft before Juno's instruments were powered down in preparation for orbit insertion. Juno obtained this color view on June 29, 2016, at a distance of 3.3...

Our overriding mission on Free Republic is to preserve, protect and defend (conserve) God, family, country--and all that that entails (refer to the Declaration, Constitution, and our Judeo-Christian American heritage for details). Our most immediate task we must undertake at this time is keep corrupt, godless, treasonous, America-hating communists like Hillary Clinton out of power. Our very survival as a free nation depends upon it. That means FR is going all in to defeat Hillary/Bernie, et al, by supporting our America-first nominee Donald Trump to the hilt. Very sorry if your favorite candidate did not win the nomination and sorry...

Pope Francis centered his Angelus address this Sunday on what it means to evangelize the poor, and how this is the mission of the Church. "Evangelize the poor: this is the mission of Jesus; this is also the mission of the Church, and of all the baptized in the Church," the Pope said Jan. 24 to the crowds in Saint Peter's Square. "To be a Christian and to be a missionary is the same thing." "What does it mean to evangelize the poor? It means to be close to them, to serve them, to free them from oppression, and all...

Trust me, I know that it is hard to write accurate, easy-to-read articles about complicated Vatican theological documents. This is especially true when dealing with materials focusing on very nuanced issues that continue to cause behind-the-scenes debates among Catholics. It's even harder to write informative, catchy and, yes, accurate headlines for these kinds of stories. This brings me to a recent New York Times report that ran with this headline: "Vatican Says Catholics Should Not Try to Convert Jews." The problem with that headline is that it is simplistic to the point of being inaccurate -- that is, if the...

Carmel >> A special Mass celebrating the canonization of Saint Junipero Serra was marred on Sunday by vandalism at Carmel Mission Basilica. A 6-foot tall bronze statue of Serra in the mission courtyard was pushed over and the staff in the statue’s hand was broken. A fountain next to the statue was splattered with paint, as were the doors of the cathedral.

This is Free Republic. Our mission here is to fight against the America-hating, God-hating, capitalism-hating, abortionist/homosexualist leftist revolutionaries and marxist/fascist totalitarians who are hellbent on destroying our constitution, our religious freedom, our economic freedom, our Judeo-Christian way of life and the America we love. Pro-life, pro-family, conservative Catholics, Protestants and Jews are not the enemy. All pro-life, pro-family pro-America believers in our one true Judeo-Christian God are our guests, friends and allies in this effort, so please quit attacking your allies! Your attacks are not going to convert anyone. Please save your ammunition for the enemy. We’re on a mission...

This is Free Republic. Our mission here is to fight against the America-hating, God-hating, capitalism-hating, abortionist/homosexualist leftist revolutionaries and marxist/fascist totalitarians who are hellbent on destroying our constitution, our religious freedom, our economic freedom, our Judeo-Christian way of life and the America we love. Pro-life, pro-family, conservative Catholics, Protestants and Jews are not the enemy. All pro-life, pro-family pro-America believers in our one true Judeo-Christian God are our guests, friends and allies in this effort, so please quit attacking your allies! Your attacks are not going to convert anyone. Please save your ammunition for the enemy. We’re on a mission...

... Statues of ... historical figures stand in the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall, where each state has two representatives cast in bronze or marble ... [Father Junipero] Serra could be the first and only actual saint in Statuary Hall -- Pope Francis recently announced plans to canonize him -- yet he's also a polarizing figure. Is it time to send Serra to the sidelines (or more accurately, move his statue to the California Capitol grounds)? ... Take our pointedly unreliable poll, leave a comment or do both! ...