Free Republic

Man is the only creature that knows it's going to die, and atomic scientists are the only professionals who measure the amount of time before man annihilates himself. But there is good news from those scientists: Humanity inched away from Armageddon on Thursday morning. The Doomsday Clock was set back one minute, from 11:55 to 11:54, reversing a precipitous slide toward midnight, the zero hour, ultimate self-destruction. The clock was reset to reflect a "more hopeful state of world affairs," the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced at the New York Academy of Sciences and over a live feed on...

Why Conservatives Are Happier Than Liberals Wednesday, May 07, 2008 By Jeanna Bryner Individuals with conservative ideologies are happier than liberal-leaners, and new research pinpoints the reason: Conservatives rationalize social and economic inequalities. Regardless of marital status, income or church attendance, right-wing individuals reported greater life satisfaction and well-being than left-wingers, the new study found. Conservatives also scored highest on measures of rationalization, which gauge a person's tendency to justify, or explain away, inequalities. The rationalization measure included statements such as: "It is not really that big a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Optimists may enjoy longer lives than people with a dimmer outlook on the future, a long-term study suggests. Researchers found that of nearly 7,000 adults followed since their college days in the 1960s, those who were optimistic in their youth had a lower risk of dying over the next 40 years than their more pessimistic peers. On average, the most pessimistic study participants were 42 percent more likely to die of any cause than the most positive participants, according to findings published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings medical journal. The results echo those of a...

Arianna Huffington went on quite a rant at her blog today over the president’s speech in Philadelphia. In fact, she pulled no punches. Early on, she stated that “the president’s fanaticism is a scary prospect for the country.” But, that was just the beginning: “The latest issues of both Time and Newsweek paint a portrait of an isolated president detached from the reality of all that is going on around him. Nothing seems to be penetrating -- not the rising death toll, not his depressed poll numbers, not the continuing revelations about the deceptions his administration used to lead us...

I was listening to KPLU, my local NPR station, this morning. I listen to NPR only because I love hearing liberals whine about how bad things are, and how powerless they are to do anything about it. Today's guest was Lewis Lapham (yes, that Lewis Lapham.) It was a particularly well-cocooned show. At one point, a caller named Alan said President Bush is a traitor and belongs in jail. Lapham said he agreed with Alan. I couldn't even bring myself to be outraged. This is what modern liberalism has come to: elitist graybeards sadly shaking their heads at the sorry...

WASHINGTON - John Kerry (news - web sites) is embarking on a new round of campaign ads that deliver the upbeat message that the United States is "a country of optimists" — a contrast to President Bush (news - web sites)'s commercials criticizing his Democratic rival. At this stage in the presidential race — five months before Election Day — the incumbent typically highlights his own accomplishments while the challenger tries to undercut the White House occupant. That's not the case this year in a campaign that political analysts say could be the most negative yet. "Bush is going full...

  PRESS RELEASECoalition Provisional Authorityhttp://www.iraqcoalition.org April 1, 2004 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mike Hardiman 914-360-6864 Hardimanm@orha.centcom.mil  Optimists Club Organizes Baghdad ChapterOptimists International can now claim Baghdad, Iraq as the home of its most recently organized chapter. Founded in 1919 with chapters in 28 countries, Optimists is a service organization best known for “bringing out the best in kids.” The new chapter held its organizational meeting at the former palace of Saddam Hussein, now the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Headquarters in Baghdad. A group of 28 civilian CPA staff and Iraqi nationals attended. The meeting began with folk music entertainment...

There are many ways to parse political divisions in contemporary America. There’s left vs. right, Democrat vs. Republican, liberal vs. conservative, pro-lifers vs. pro-choicers, free-traders vs. protectionists and red staters vs. blue staters, to name just a few. They’re part of the shorthand many of us use to signal to others, at least in a general way, where we stand on the issues of the day, and position ourselves along a political spectrum that stretches from far left to far right. But they’re often crude approximations prone to blur or break down under closer scrutiny and over time. And that’s...