Free Republic

My old Catholic elementary school has been struggling, and that's not good for anybody. St. Germaine School in Pittsburgh, Pa. will merge with another Catholic school because of declining enrollment at both schools. St. Germaine's enrollment dropped from 172 students just six years ago to 86 this year. Sister Dale McDonald, Director of Public Policy and Education Research at the National Catholic Educational Association, told me that declining enrollment is a national trend. Though there is some growth in the South and the West, Catholic schools are shutting down at the rate of more than 100 per year. Why? Catholic...

The Girl Scout cookie season is upon us. That means one thing. The annual cookie sale must be banned. How can we allow anyone, in these progressive times, to inflict empty calories on an already obese public? How can we be so inconsiderate to diabetics and others who are unable to consume sugar? How can we allow any organization, regardless of its cause, to use children to pimp products loaded with trans fat, the partially hydrogenated oil that Americans fear more than communism? It is true that the Girl Scouts organization was founded in 1912 to help girls develop physically,...

Though there's no shortage of cheerfulness at the Little Sisters of the Poor. Since it was founded in France in 1839, its mission has been to give dignity and love to the elderly poor -- to people of every background and religion. And, boy, do the sisters deliver. Sister Regina took me on a tour of the residence. I was struck by the laughter and camaraderie on every floor -- even in the infirmary, where people are near their end, the joy was abundant. You have an opportunity to advance more joy this year. Instead of donating money to the...

The presidential campaign is heating up. Thankfully, our press is focusing on important issues, such as Fred Thompson's wife. As it goes, Thompson, who had been divorced 20 years, met her at a supermarket in 2000. She is 24 years his junior, but something clicked. He carried her groceries to her car. She invited him to a party. They married in 2002 and now have two children. And now, according to The New York Times Fashion & Style section, Thompson's young wife is spurring debate in Internet chat rooms, cable television and talk radio. Is America ready for a president...

What's in a name? Way too much where babies are concerned. According to The Wall Street Journal, parents are obsessing over what to name their kids. They're hiring consultants, applying mathematical formulas and software programs and even bringing in nutty spiritualist types. One couple hired a pair of consultants to draw up a list of suggestions based on "phonetic elements, popularity and ethnic and linguistic origins." One woman paid a "nameologist" $350 for three half-hour phone calls and a personalized manual describing each name's history and personality traits. Another spent $475 on a numerologist to see if her favorite name...

"Let me get this straight, Gen. Washington: You want us, the representatives of the Second Continental Congress, to fund a sneak attack on British troops starting on Christmas?" "That is correct, sir. After we declared our independence from King George, he was most unhappy. He ordered his army to attack us. The Brits have made tremendous gains on our homeland." "Gains, Washington?" "Sir, whereas our Continental Army is something of a motley crew, the Brits are well-trained and well-funded. Their forces include Hessian mercenaries, professional fighters who are most skilled at the art of war." "Your point, Washington?" "The Brits...

Boy, are we a country with too much free time on our hands. Or should I say, what do a retired tennis pro, PETA, two research scientists and a herd of gay sheep have to do with each other? Plenty, according to the Toronto Star. The paper reports that two researchers -- Charles Roselli of Oregon Health and Science University and Fred Stormshak of Oregon State University -- have been studying why 8 percent of rams prefer to court other rams rather than ewes. The study had been proceeding quietly until fate intervened. You see, two university football players (you're...

I feel bad for most kids these days. Every Christmas, they get way too much stuff when memories are all they want. I'm 44 and barely remember most of the gifts I got for Christmas as a kid. I do remember the extraordinary blessings I was given. I remember an unusually warm December when I was 6. Dozens of kids were out in the street playing, while their dads hung Christmas lights. I was looking out the window when my father, the Big Guy, pulled into the driveway, a tree strapped to the roof of our 1970 Plymouth Fury. He...

Ah, yes, the gift-giving season. So what to get for the contemporary fellow who has everything? The Man Bag. The Man Bag is a high-style satchel -- a purse, though its creators hate when you call it that. It's designed to hold the modern man's wallet, keys, sunglasses, iPod, cell phone, body spray, hair goop, diary and whatever other junk he totes around these days. Why was the Man Bag created? As it goes, three fellows -- Brian, Peter and Thai -- "were tired of being ribbed for carrying their gadgets around in hand bags. The torment reached a boiling...

by Tom Purcell Other Articles by Tom Purcell The First Thanksgiving 11/21/06 "A myth! What do you mean America's Thanksgiving holiday is based on a myth?" "The Christian Science Monitor published a detailed report on it. They found that the holiday has two distinct histories, one real, the other made up. We celebrate the made-up version." "Made up?" "Yep. Everything historians know about the first Thanksgiving is based on the accounts of two colonists: Governor William Bradford and a fellow named Edward Winslow." "Go on." "In 1621, Winslow wrote a letter to a friend. He said that after a plentiful harvest,...

A large man sat at the bar in the convention hall, a miniature, red party hat clinging to his head. Confetti was scattered all over the floor. "Must have been a heck of a party," I said. "It was grand," he said, smiling ruefully. He picked up a half-empty bottle of warm champagne and chugged. "What happened?" I asked. "We lost focus. We lost sight of the principles that brought us to power back in '94." "Ah, yes, the Contract with America. Commonsense ideas designed to rein in abuse and waste." "We were effective at the beginning," he said defensively....

The world is in desperate need of more fellows like Father Tom Kram. He arrived at my childhood parish, St. Germaine's, in 1967, one year before I began the first grade. The old neighborhood was booming then because of the church. Families wanted their children to master solid values and receive an excellent education. And Father Kram was the man tasked with making it happen. He stood 6'1" and sauntered about the church and school grounds like a restless general. When he wasn't directing contracting crews on how he wanted the boiler repaired or the parking lot patched, he...

The Fourth of July is almost here and we all know what that means: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals hopes to gross us out about hot dogs. July is National Hot Dog month, you see, a glorious month when the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council tells us about the history of the dog, shares new recipes and explains why Americans will chomp down 150 million dogs during the July 4 break alone. That's why the folks at PETA want to gross us out about dogs. "Every third-grade boy knows what nasty things lurk in hot dogs, from...

Punxsutawney Phil must be stopped. The lovable little groundhog must be stopped. You know the routine. Every Feb. 2, Groundhog Day, Phil is yanked from a tree stump in Punxsutawney, Pa. If he sees his shadow, his organizers allege, there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't, spring will be just around the corner. Millions have loved this primitive ritual for years, but now there's a problem. Groundhog Day evolved out of Candlemas Day, you see, a Christian tradition commemorating the purification of the Virgin Mary. As this tradition evolved in Germany, it got ever more colorful....

Hey, pallie, what the heck happened to romance? I use the word "pallie" in deference to the great Dean Martin, whose birthday was celebrated last Wednesday, and whose music will be celebrated at the Dean Martin Festival in Steubenville, Ohio, next weekend -- in the town of his birth. I ask because I just looked at Billboard Magazine's Hot 100 list. Sitting at No. 1 on the charts is "Hips Don't Lie," by Shakira. It's on her album "Oral Fixation." Her song is a hit, no doubt, because of its eloquent lyrics: "Nobody can ignore the way you move your...

Tom Purcell is a columnist for Mens News Daily, Jewish World Review, and others... ENJOY! On Playboy & Indonesia Playboy sure is causing a stir in Indonesia. Last week, the company published its first Indonesian edition – one that features no nudity – and possibly its last. That's because Indonesia's population, mostly Muslim, went nuts. Some folks whipped rocks at the Playboy building. Indonesians fear that American values are being imported to their culture, and that their young woman may one day strut around in pumps and street-walker clothes, just as many of our young women are doing. What's worse,...

IRS Tax Quotes I found something on the IRS Web I never expected to see: quotes from great minds on taxes. The first two agitated me: "Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.'' – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., U.S. Supreme Court Justice "The power of taxing people and their property is essential to the very existence of government.'' – James Madison, U.S. President Hey, fellows, I don't mind paying taxes for a civilized society. It's paying for the uncivilized part that grates on me. And I'm happy for the existence of our government, but, goodness, why does its existence...

My David Cassidy HairBaby Boomers are turning 60 now, and I can't take it anymore. I'm 43, at the tail end of the Baby Boom, and I'm sick and tired of the boomers imposing their trends, their ideas and their fashions on me. I'm still particularly sore over the David Cassidy haircut my sisters made me get in 1973. As it went, my sisters, who had a habit of treating me like their personal Ken doll, demanded I get my hair cut like Cassidy. They exploited one of my chief insecurities to get me to do it. "If you part...

I am a BIG fan of Tom's. My heart breaks for him and his family right now. Feel Free to email Tom and wish him peace, I am sure he would love to hear from us. It's an old saying that's right on the money: count your blessings. I've been realizing my blessings with renewed intensity this week. Everyone in my family has. My cousin Sean, only 33, was in a terrible accident that he did not survive. We were stunned when we got the news, and we have been reeling at the loss. We can't imagine the pain my...

If Howard Dean were to update the Declaration of Independence, this is what he might say: When the founding fathers of this country decided to sever ties with King George III, who ruled over them as though they were rented mules, they made the heroic decision to declare their independence. They were heroic even though they were rich white Christians.