Free Republic

<p>Before there was Catholic Answers, there was John Henry Newman, the apostate from Anglicanism. On the issue of the infallibility of the Roman Church, there is surely some continuity between the two. Protestants, in response to Roman claims on the infallibility of the Church, rightly ask how one can be infallibly certain of that. Newman's response is to say that this same argument can be used against the infallibility of the Apostles and the Scripture, the former probably as a polemic against Anglicanism and the latter against Protestantism as a whole. Since the same argument can be used against other views, either one has to abandon all usage of the words "infallibility, necessity, truth and certainty," or the argument is to be discounted altogether.</p>

What a grouch!

Hot on the heels of the Lewis and Curry paper, we have this new paper, which looks to be well researched, empirically based, and a potential blockbuster for dimming the alarmism that has been so prevalent over climate sensitivity. With a climate sensitivity of just 0.43°C, it takes the air out of the alarmism balloon. The Hockey Schtick writes: A new paper published in the Open Journal of Atmospheric and Climate Change by renowned professor of physics and expert on spectroscopy Dr. Hermann Harde finds that climate sensitivity to a doubling of CO2 levels is only about [0.6C], about 7...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs says investigators have found no proof that delays in care caused any deaths at a VA hospital in Phoenix, deflating an explosive allegation that helped expose a troubled health care system in which veterans waited months for appointments while employees falsified records to cover up the delays. Revelations that as many as 40 veterans died while awaiting care at the Phoenix VA hospital rocked the agency last spring, bringing to light scheduling problems and allegations of misconduct at other hospitals as well. The scandal led to the resignation of former VA Secretary...

Following rapid warming in the late 20th century, this century has so far seen surprisingly little increase in the average temperature at the Earth’s surface. At first this was a blip, then a trend, then a puzzle for the climate science community. More than a dozen theories have now been proposed for the so-called global warming hiatus, ranging from air pollution to volcanoes to sunspots. New research from the University of Washington shows that the heat absent from the surface is plunging deep in the north and south Atlantic Ocean, and is part of a naturally occurring cycle. The study...

The word “pseudoscience” is used to describe something that is portrayed as scientific but fails to meet scientific criteria. This misrepresentation occurs because actual science has creditability (which is to say it works), and pseudoscience attempts to ride on the back of this credibility without subjecting itself to the hard intellectual scrutiny that real science demands. A good example of pseudoscience is homoeopathy, which presents the façade of a science-based medical practice but fails to adhere to scientific methodology. Other things typically branded pseudoscience include astrology, young-Earth creationism, iridology, neuro-linguistic programming and water divining, to name but a few.

Before Healthcare.gov’s troubled launch on Oct. 1, the White House estimated nearly 500,000 people would enroll in the Obamacare health exchanges within the first month and an estimated 7 million were expected to gain private coverage by the end of March, when the open-enrollment period is scheduled to end. Now – even before the administration can deliver on its promise to release an official head count of how many people have enrolled for insurance coverage in the first full month of operations – insurance industry analysts on Monday released figures showing the government has signed up a mere fraction of...

And it drew an immediate condemnation from U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who warned there would be “no place to hide” for anyone who threatens Americans. Well, that’s because they don’t have to hide. One of the scum who is believed to have masterminded the 9-11-12 attack in Libya that killed four Americans isn’t even hiding his love of decadent Western fruity frappes. Another just got released. So yeah, there’s no place to hide. Except, at this point, the entire planet. To date, the Obama government has not retaliated against anyone anywhere for the Benghazi attack. By the way, for...

Dear Friend, In this video commentary, I discuss how the Republican Convention makes it even harder for Obama’s negative attacks to stick. Tune in!

Should we act on climate change now or wait? While an international majority of scientists believes climate change is real, a minority of scientists and majority of politicians want you to wait. After all, behavior change should not be mandated or government regulated - especially without proof. UBS Wealth Management, a financial services company working with high/ultra high net worth clients, published a comprehensive report to its investors in January of 2007 titled "Climate Change: Beyond Whether." Its findings suggest we can follow one of three paths: 1) Take a wait-and-see approach 2) Act now and risk investment if nothing...

A Tennessee group filed a federal class action against the Democratic National Committee, demanding an injunction restraining it from claiming that President Barack Obama is qualified to hold his office. The lawsuit was filed by its lead plaintiff, the Liberty Legal Foundation, of Knoxville, Tenn.

This is bullet-proof human skin - made from spider silk and goat milk. Yes, really. Jalila Essaidi is testing the limits of human endurance, and it starts by having to milk spider-goats. Spider goats are otherwise innocent-looking goats that have been genetically engineered to produce milk packed with the protein made in spider's silk. (There is no definitive proof that this also gives them a propensity to skitter up walls or hide out in your sock drawer, but I think it does.) Once the goats are milked, Essaidi spins the protein into fiber that is ten times stronger than steel,...

On MSNBC, John Kerry told us that Tea Party ideas are not “real” ideas, not “factual,” and thinks that the media should stop reporting on anything that smacks of ideas or news coming from Tea Partiers. If this isn’t proof of how Democrats and leftists would use the power of government to quash free political speech, what is? Not long ago, several Democrats tried to once again raise the ugly head of the defunct Fairness Doctrine that was killed during the Reagan administration in order to limit the free political speech of conservatives.

The house, with its movable walls, has only one entrance, which is located on the second floor after crossing a drawbridge. Seems like the perfect opportunity to use a flamethrower and defend the life of your family, while stylishly nesting in a piece of architectural elitism.

The Taliban have cast suspicion on the announcement of Osama bin Laden's death, saying they would not believe the al Qaida leader was dead until they had seen proof or received confirmation from sources close to him. Though US officials have said they confirmed bin Laden's identity both with face-mapping software and DNA tests, the lack of photos of the body and its burial at sea have raised doubts in Afghanistan and Pakistan that the man who evaded American detection for so long has actually been killed. People gather outside the compound where al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was...

I found another signature for the registrar, it's from another person's BC, and it's from near the same time period, and upon comparison of the registrar's signatures (see image above), even the layperson can see the 2 signatures have several substantial differences, look at the shape and style of the first character of both as they are drastically different, and size of the loops in the "L"s, the closed loops in the "e"s and how the lower signature (real) the signer's style has an upward lift at the end of the "L". Also the the real pen lift at the...

PHOENIX | The state of Arizona has moved onto contentious political territory once again with the legislative passage of a bill requiring President Obama and other presidential candidates to prove their U.S. citizenship before their names can appear on the state’s ballot. Opponents say Arizona’s bill, approved late last week, gives the state another black eye after lawmakers approved a controversial immigration enforcement law last year. Gov. Jan Brewer, who has until the end of business Thursday to act on the proposal, declined to say whether she would sign the measure, which would make Arizona the first state to enact...

Proof is in the eye of the beholder   Source: For Mormon Times21 March 2011 5:00am  Critics frequently claim that one reason they reject the Book of Mormon is because it is unsupported by archaeological evidence. Some have gone as far to claim that they would believe in the church if archaeology could “prove” that the Book of Mormon is true. The next several installments will deal with evidence, proof, faith and Book of Mormon archaeology.I should note two important points regarding the nature of evidence and the necessity of faith. First, I’m unconvinced that any critic would “convert” because of...

Presidential hopefuls looking to compete in New Hampshire might soon have to provide their birth certificate to get on the ballot. The Granite State’s legislature is the latest to pile on to the flurry of birther-related bills since the opening of 2011 state legislative sessions in January. Republican State Rep. David Bates, who chairs the New Hampshire House's election law committee, told the Associated Press his panel will hear a bill Wednesday that would require candidates to provide a birth certificate and affidavit swearing they are at least 35 years old and have lived in the United States for 14...

Ex-French defense chief says, despite close defense ties, Israel refused requests to back up claims that Hezbollah stored Scuds in Syria. Despite close defense ties, the defense establishment refused numerous requests from France for evidence to back up Israeli claims that Syria last year transferred long-range Scud missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon, visiting former French defense minister Hervé Morin told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. Last April, Israeli defense officials said that Syria had transferred long-range Scud missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon. A month later, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told his Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi, that Hezbollah was storing the...