About two years ago, a young man — name unknown — took on the moniker of The Faking Hoaxer (TFH), and began uploading a series of astonishing short films to YouTube. These aren’t your standard videos of dolled-up teens singing along to Lady GaGa. Rather, TFH’s specialty is producing disturbingly realistic footage of fictional disasters, … Read more
From Amanda Carey at The Daily Caller: A new report by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shows that the Obama administration has indeed been using taxpayer dollars to fund a “yes” campaign in Kenya ahead of the August vote on the proposed new Kenyan constitution. One provision … Read more
As you’ve no doubt heard, yesterday, the government of Switzerland rejected a U.S. request to return fugitive child rapist/film director Roman Polanski to the states for prosecution. He is now, effectively, a free man. The Independent‘s Johann Hari has the best reaction: So now we know. If you are a 44-year-old man, you can drug … Read more
In a column on Lew Rockwell’s site last week, Jeff Tucker argued for the repeal of federal drinking laws. Such things, he says, are better handled by the individual states (as they were until 1984). [I]t is only because we are somehow used to it that we accept the complete absurdity of a national law … Read more
Economist Mark Perry points out one of the unintended consequences brought about by the president’s new healthcare program: White Castle has been offering health insurance to its workers [since] 1924, but Obamacare “will make it hard for the company to maintain its 421 restaurants, let alone create new jobs,” says company spokesman Jamie Richardson in … Read more
Imagine Jeffery Immelt, Steve Jobs, or Richard Branson issuing an edict that asks their legion of employees to submit ideas for cost cutting. Let’s say they receive thousands of suggestions and then open the suggestions to their peers for voting. Then the creator of the winning idea gets a photo-op with the CEO. And yet, … Read more
Lest we forget that our Catholic brothers and sisters in China are still suffering great persecution: A priest and a nun who were both members of China’s underground Catholic church were murdered in the north of the country this week but the motive was not clear, police said Thursday. AsiaNews, a Vatican-based news service, said … Read more
On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 aboard and 11 on the ground. The plane was brought down by a bomb planted by Libyan terrorist Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was later arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment… …That is, until al-Megrahi contracted prostate cancer, and was released … Read more
David Weigel has apologized for the nasty anti-conservative comments he made to members of the liberal listserv Journolist, and is frank about his own motivations. I was cocky, and I got worse. I treated the list like a dive bar, swaggering in and popping off about what was “really” happening out there, and snarking at … Read more
David Weigel has apologized for the nasty anti-conservative comments he made to members of the liberal listserv Journolist, and is frank about his own motivations. I was cocky, and I got worse. I treated the list like a dive bar, swaggering in and popping off about what was “really” happening out there, and snarking at … Read more
David Weigel has apologized for the nasty anti-conservative comments he made to members of the liberal listserv Journolist, and is frank about his own motivations. I was cocky, and I got worse. I treated the list like a dive bar, swaggering in and popping off about what was “really” happening out there, and snarking at … Read more
It’s tempting to romanticize the ancients, but stories like this remind us why we should not. Archaeologists in central England have been reviewing a mass burial site of 97 infants on the property of a Roman villa, and have come to an awful conclusion: Archaeologist Dr Jill Eyers said: “The only explanation you keep coming … Read more
I continue to be impressed with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. In a political age where every elected official covets the office above his, it’s nice to run across an exception. During a Fox Business Network interview yesterday, Christie — a rising star in the GOP — was asked if he had interest in the … Read more
If you’ve ever been to a contemporary Evangelical church, you will love this good-natured satire. From the tattooed youth pastor to the worship leader/auteur, the filmmakers have absolutely nailed the Evangelical ‘liturgy.’ Enjoy:
In a sadly unsurprising development, Jose Raul Gonzalez — who is allegedly one of the late Rev. Marcial Maciel’s illegitimate children — is claiming that his father molested him, as well. Jose Raul Gonzalez is seeking unspecified damages from the Legionaries of Christ in a lawsuit filed Monday in Connecticut. The international group has its … Read more
You may have caught the New York Times piece last week that made much of the fact that even economically backward Rwanda has universal health care for its residents (unlike the heartless U.S.). Of course, the Times didn’t tell the whole story… Rwanda is so poor, its per capita income is about 1 percent that … Read more
Chicago’s Francis Cardinal George says that in the healthcare debate, Sister Carol Keehan, President of the Catholic Health Association (CHA), chose the president over the bishops: During the bishops’ executive session held Tuesday morning to address the fallout of CHA’s support for the health care legislation despite the bishop’s opposition, Cardinal George recounted the events … Read more
This should come as no surprise to anyone who has ever watched 22 men in short-shorts and knee socks kick a patterned ball around a grassy field: Soccer is officially out of the closet. This was a brave step for soccer to take, so I hope we can all be supportive. [Hat tip: Skojec]
If you’re at all familiar with alternative medicine, you’ve heard of homeopathy. The system was first developed in the late 18th century, and served — at least for a time — as a chief competitor to what is now mainstream Western medicine. Unfortunately for proponents of the system — and I’m married to one — … Read more
Did California voters just strike a blow for governmental ‘moderation,’ or was Tuesday’s successful passage of Proposition 14 an early Christmas gift for lobbyists and big name, big money candidates? The new system will put candidates of all political stripes on a single ballot, and all voters will be able to participate. The top two … Read more