Free Republic

Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss—and the Myths and Realities of Dieting, by Gina Kolata, New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 257 pages, $24 Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, by Brian Wansink, New York: Bantam Books, 276 pages, $25 Gina Kolata says losing weight is nearly impossible. Brian Wansink says it’s easy. But they don’t really contradict each other, because they’re talking about different kinds of weight loss.Although their new books offer very different messages for dieters, Kolata and Wansink share a suspicion of collectivist responses to the “obesity epidemic.” Both writers are intensely...

Sociologists Discover Religion by: Heyecan Veziroglu, October 16, 2007 Religious belief and practice helps people prevent conflict by showing them a mutual sacred purpose and vision, leading sociologists said recently in a conference session hosted by the Heritage Foundation. Associate Professor Dr. Jeffrey Ulmer from Pennsylvania State University examines the degree to which religiosity increases self-control. He points out that religious observance builds self-control and substance use is lower in stronger moral communities. Dr. Ulmer argues that self-control is a cognitive resource and that it is a product of social learning. Psychologists have developed a ‘muscle’ or a ‘strength’ model...

SERENITY CALMNESS of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought. A man becomes calm in the measure that he understands himself as a thought evolved being, for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought, and as he develops a right understanding, and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect he...

by Mary Kochan Other Articles by Mary Kochan America! America! God Shed His Grace on Thee 07/04/06 Today we celebrate our country’s 230th birthday. We find the U.S. of A. still free, more powerful than ever and prosperous almost beyond imagination. All of these things are reasons for celebration — and cautious pause. In This Article...Confirm Thy Soul in Self-ControlCrown Thy Good with BrotherhoodGod Mend Thine Every Flaw Confirm Thy Soul in Self-Control We celebrate these things because they are goods. They are blessings. That they are blessings means that they are received as gifts and with gratitude. There is nothing...

Those who seek to outlaw abortion often use the rhetoric of "protecting the most vulnerable and helpless" in our communities. Many of them are Christians who see their opposition to abortion rights as inextricably linked with their faith and their understanding of Christian ethics. After all, wouldn't a God of love and life want us to protect life wherever we found it? If only it were that simple. In practice, there are other questions we must ask. Does a God of love and life ever support war? Does such a God understand that some innocent civilians will die when we...

WASHINGTON - U.S. teen pregnancy and birth rates have plummeted to all-time lows as more teenagers delay sex, abstain from it, use contraception and use it more effectively. Abortions also are down. The decline, to the lowest teen birth rates since national tallies began in 1940, is a remarkable personal health reform, sharper than U.S. declines in smoking or increases in seat-belt use.Counselors who work with teens cite many factors but give much credit to more cautious and assertive girls."A lot more of us are making our own sexual decisions. That way, you don't get pushed around by your partner...

An executive tried to liven up a dull day at the office by stripping naked to interview a 25-year-old woman, a court heard yesterday. Saeed Akbar, 35, said at first that it was part of his "tough interviewing technique" but later admitted that he was bored and wanted a "cheap thrill". He asked the woman, who was applying for a translator's job, if she minded if they took their clothes off. When she refused, he left the room for a few minutes and returned naked, carrying only a clipboard. He got dressed again when she objected to his behaviour and...

The other day I was listening to my local classic rock station. The Billy Joel classic, Only The Good Die Young came on and of course I was singing along with it. You know it’s a catchy tune, and I don’t listen to the lyrics so it doesn’t affect me blah blah blah… OK, but this time I was listening and the lyrics did affect me. I was thinking what are the results of living the life that he was lambasting? And, what are the results of the lifestyle that Billy Joel was advocating in the song?

[LCMSNews] Synod affirms man-woman marriageFrom: "LCMS e-News" LCMSENEWS@lcms.orgDate: Tue, 13 Jul 2004 14:09:24 -0500 http://www.lcms.orge-News LCMS News PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS E-MAIL MESSAGE! This message comes from a Send Only" Mailbox that does not recognize replies. July 13, 2004.. LCMSNews -- 04-SC21-DM3 Worldwide Faith News http://www.wfn.org/2004/07/msg00110.htmlMissouri Synod affirms marriage as lifelong one man-one woman unionST. LOUIS: By a nearly unanimous vote, delegates to the 62nd Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod today (July 13) affirmed, on the basis of Scripture, marriage as the lifelong union of one man and one woman (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5-6). More...

ALT="Support our Advertisers! Click Here!" BORDER="0"> href="http://www.reason.com/subscribe.html"> src="http://www.reason.com/ads/rsubadx.gif" alt="Subscribe to Reason" border="0">     Reason DailyRecent stories Free to Not Choose (4/6) Outrage Kabuki (4/5) Mr. Showbiz Goes to Washington (4/1) Reason Daily archive April 6, 2004 Free to Not Choose Can we better our circumstances by restricting our choices? Brian Doherty The rhetoric was clearly absurd, yet it had the strange assurance of familiarity. I'd heard things like it so often, it sounded like it must be true. It was in an article in yesterday's Los Angeles Times's health section, about portion sizes in America, by reporter Alice...

So Peter Jennings blames the food industry for producing too much food. Maybe he should take a closer look at the Left's avoidance of self-control and personal responsibility before calling for the Nanny State!

<p>The law has divided pro-life and pro-family groups. Some pro-family groups oppose welfare and extra public funding for welfare moms, while pro-life groups say the family caps have been proven to encourage poor women to have abortions.</p> <p>The court, in a 7-0 decision, upheld the family caps.</p>

NOTE: I posted the message below several weeks ago. Since that time, there have been several new developments. The American Psychological Association is now considering normalizing pedophilia, as it did to homosexuality in 1973. Canada has now normalized homosexual marriages, to be exactly equal in status to heterosexual marriages. And Presidential candidate, Howard Dean, has demanded that America extend recognition to Canadian gay marriages. And he is a guy who stands a good chance of winning the Democratic nomination (and possibly the Presidency if the economy is not booming in November 2004.) REPUBLICANS AND HOMOSEXUALITY - By Ave Maria It...

Picture Profile Putting Faith in the Founding Fathers Posted Feb. 26, 2003 By Stephen Goode and Rick Kozak Media Credit: Rick Kozak/Insight Joseph Farah is chief executive officer and cofounder of WorldNetDaily.com, "the Internet's largest independent news site," in Farah's words. He's also a veteran journalist, having served such newspapers as the Sacramento Union and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, and is author of a new book, Taking America Back, the subtitle of which is, A Radical Plan to Revive Freedom, Morality and Justice. It is indeed a "radical plan." In his book, Farah advocates repealing all national gun laws...