Free Republic

The local ABC affiliate said Columbus Day has become a divisive issue given the role of Christopher Columbus in colonizing the New World.One middle school in the district actually held a workshop titled, “Columbus: Hero or Villain?”Local Republicans called the decision disappointing and shocking. Others called it an insult to those who served in the military.“One word: DISGUSTING to describe Stamford Connecticut,” one angry resident said. “The very backwards, ignorant and obvious communist school board has CANCELLED both Columbus day and Veterans day. The reason? They needed more school days for teaching. WHAT????”

Arguably one of the greatest errors we can fall into when it comes to understanding grace is that ‘It’s all about me and all about now’. This attitude has reached epidemic proportions in Western churches and may well explain our relative lack of resilience and usefulness compared to other parts of the world. Such a view of grace is, however, not only far-removed from what has been true in the church through most of its history, but from the Bible itself. In a way that may seem surprising, Scripture indicates that there is a dimension of grace that we will...

The Progressive believes in precisely two things: his own magnificence and the constructive power of brute force. In combination, they lead him naturally from the role of pestiferous busybody to brutal dictator. Where the productive man dreams of the things he might create if only left alone by his fellows, the Progressive dreams of the world he could create if only the lives and property of his fellows were at his disposal. The roots of his pathology lie in that oldest and most destructive of all human vices, the desire for the power to rule over other men. As naked...

CENTER OF THE WORLD, OH -- In 1845, noted academic, businessman and admitted-eccentric Randall D. Wilmot from New York City came to a plot of land along the Mahoning River in Braceville and decided to settle here and establish a business. It was a smart move at the time: The land was located along the vibrant Pittsburgh-to-Akron stagecoach route; every day, scores of travelers and merchants came through, hungry, thirsty and looking for a place to spend the night. So he went about establishing an inn and general store. It thrived for more than 20 years and made him a...

Worthy Causes I grew up in a Protestant church that believed in a literal interpretation of the King James Bible. Since there is no mention in the Bible of Dec. 25, the church refused to make Christmas a religious observance. Baldwin pianos and Hammond organs were verboten for the same reason. In that they are probably right, since Christmas was adapted to a pagan festival. There is no written record of when the Christ child was born. Nevertheless, that didn't stop my family from observing Christmas, since, like most families with small children, Christmas was more about Santa Claus than...