Free Republic

Health Reform: Over the weekend, Donald Trump said he's nearly finished with an ObamaCare replacement plan. Based on the sketchy outline he provided, Trump's vision of health care reform is troubling. In a phone interview with the Washington Post on Saturday, Trump said the replacement plan is "very much formulated down to the final strokes." No problem there. Trump has the right political instincts about how to get rid of ObamaCare. Rather than repeal a portion of it through the reconciliation process — as Republican congressional leaders propose — then delay even that until a replacement plan gets hammered out,...

Dear Fellow Numismatists: In November I announced that PCGS-certified coins would no longer be eligible for inclusion in the popular NGC Registry. I received many positive comments from those who have closely followed graded coin populations and prices. Others asked me, “Why? What is the difference between NGC and PCGS?” Let me show you. Over the last five years or so, I have noticed a perplexing trend at PCGS. There has been a dramatic increase in the grades assigned by PCGS for a wide range of coin types and, consequently, I believe that this has caused an extraordinary reduction in...

Last April, the National Geographic Society made headlines with a completed translation of the second century gnostic text known as the Gospel of Judas – financed by the society and heavily promoted with tie-in books and a TV documentary – that would challenge Christianity's traditional understanding of the relationship between Jesus and his betrayer.Its new special, "The Secret Lives of Jesus," makes similar sensational claims, airing as part of the "Explorer" series Sunday, Dec. 17, 9-10 p.m. EST on cable's National Geographic Channel. Despite its provocative title, however, the program – as with the Judas expose – provides no explosive...

...The interest in coins comes as sophisticated investors are increasingly looking for assets outside of the U.S. stock market, which many market observers expect to post only modest gains during the coming year. In buying rare coins, individuals not only acquire a collectible asset, but they are also getting exposure to precious metals. The prices of gold and silver, from which many popular U.S. coins are made, are both rising smartly. The Internet and coin-grading services are playing a part in drawing a new breed of coin investors. The Internet allows collectors to buy and sell rare coins at locations...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 December 5 NGC 2359: Thor's Helmet Credit: Christine and David Smith, Steve Mandel, Adam Block (KPNO Visitor Program), NOAO, AURA, NSF Explanation: NGC 2359 is a striking emission nebula with an impressive popular name - Thor's Helmet. Sure, its suggestive winged appearance might lead some to refer to it as the "duck nebula", but if you were a nebula which name would you choose? By any name...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 November 28 The Supermassive Black Holes of NGC 6240 Credit: Optical: R.P.van der Marel & J.Gerssen (STScI), NASA;X-ray: S.Komossa & G.Hasinger (MPE) et al., CXC, NASA Explanation: The Hubble optical image on the left shows NGC 6240 in the throes of a titanic galaxy - galaxy collision 400 million light-years away. As the cosmic catastrophe plays out, the merging galaxies spew forth distorted tidal tails of stars,...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 June 1 NGC 2266: Old Cluster in the New General Catalog Credit: Till Credner & Sven Kohle, Bonn University Explanation: The New General Catalog of star clusters and nebulae really isn't so new. In fact, it was published in 1888 - an attempt by J. L. E. Dreyer to consolidate the work of astronomers William, Caroline, and John Herschel along with others into a useful single, complete...