Free Republic

Sometimes, the best education is the one life gives you. Students at the prestigious but liberal-leaning Cornell University found that out the hard way last week, when they stormed the office of school President David Skorton to protest a modern-day example of socialism at work. On Feb. 5, Skorton posted a memo on the school’s website notifying students that all who opt out of Cornell’s health care program next year will be charged a $350 fee, Fox News reported. Obamacare requires all students to have health insurance, but those already covered are also forced to pay the opt-out fee. And...

The same day the White House announced that Islamic State terrorists’ only remaining American hostage was killed, President Barack Obama uttered a phrase that means “You only live once.” The president was clowning around for a BuzzFeed video on Obamacare when he said, “YOLO,” a light-hearted moment that Fox News anchor Heather Childers called inappropriate and insensitive considering its timing. “The president says, ‘YOLO, man!’ And for people at home who may not know what that stands for, YOLO stands for ‘you only live once,’” Childers said on Friday’s show, talking specifically to liberal panelist Juan Williams. “Well you know...

President Obama is putting Republicans on notice that he plans to run through their cynical politics and opposition during his final two years in office. While speaking at a DNC fundraiser in San Francisco, the president said: "And one of the things I am absolutely determined to do over the next two years is not just consolidate the gains that we’ve made, not just move forward on new initiatives like free community colleges for young people around the country who need to be trained for the 21st-century economy, but part of my goal is also to restore a sense of...

Liberal comedian Bill Maher, a longtime champion of Obamacare, began to change his tune on President Obama’s signature legislation Friday night. “Obamacare: You know it’s the signature achievement of obviously this president and like many liberals I’ve been screaming how great it has been and ‘it’s working’ and ‘there’s no doubt,’” Maher said on his HBO show “Real Time.” “But The New York Times on Sunday did an article that basically said, you know, when Obama said if you like your plan nothing will change — well, everything has changed,” Maher said. “46 percent of people are having trouble paying...

WHEN Karen Pineman of Manhattan received notice that her longtime health insurance policy didn’t comply with the Affordable Care Act’s requirements, she gamely set about shopping for a new policy through the public marketplace. After all, she’d supported President Obama and the act as a matter of principle. Ms. Pineman, who is self-employed, accepted that she’d have to pay higher premiums for a plan with a narrower provider network and no out-of-network coverage. She accepted that she’d have to pay out of pocket to see her primary care physician, who didn’t participate. She even accepted having co-pays of nearly $1,800...

Employer mandates and penalties exist only in states with ACA subsidies, which are only available through state-based exchanges. Most individuals will also be exempt from the mandate and penalties because there's no "affordable" (subsidized) coverage.

Earlier on Thursday, CNN “New Day” co-host Chris Cuomo debated Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore on the issue of the Alabama courts’ ruling versus a federal court’s ruling on same-sex marriage.

“Even now, I wonder what I might have accomplished if I'd studied harder.”This regretful remark, delivered to Eureka College's graduating class of 1982, inspired uproarious laughter from the audience. Why? Because it came from a sitting president of the United States. Ronald Reagan, despite his admittedly mediocre grades, had already made it just about as far as anyone can.Ideally, college study helps to form the whole person. But to some extent, and for most Americans, it is viewed as a means to an end—a preparation for later accomplishments in life.Today, there still exists a very small, elite world in which...

MILWAUKEE — Scott Walker was gone. Dropped out. And in the spring of his senior year. In 1990, that news stunned his friends at Marquette University. Walker, the campus’s suit-wearing, Reagan-loving politico — who enjoyed the place so much that he had run for student body president — had left without graduating.

Court Nixes Faith-Based Birth Control Mandate Challenge JOE MANDAK Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh answers questions after a news conference in Pittsburgh. Zubik responded on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015, to a federal appeals court decision that reversed lower court victories that challenged birth control coverage mandates as part of federal health care reforms. Zubik said that the church is no longer free to practice what it preaches. . PITTSBURGH (AP) — An appeals court has ruled that the birth control coverage required by federal health care reforms does not violate the rights of several religious groups...

Pope Francis, who presumably has not been woken up at 4 a.m. on a workday by the howls of a tiny human who wants to be fed and/or changed, says that couples who don’t want to have kids are “selfish” and are part of a “greedy generation.” Pope Francis told an audience in St Peter’s Square, Rome Wednesday that it’s a depressed society that considers children to be a burden. “A society with a greedy generation, that doesn’t want to surround itself with children, that considers them above all worrisome, a weight, a risk, is a depressed society,” he said....

As much as I hate these people, on some level I’m starting to feel sorry for them. They remind me of Communists in the Gulags who still think Stalin cares about them. Or abuse victims who keep defending their abuser. The latest comes from the New York Times.

Sen. Rand Paul isn't happy that the Federal Reserve is mobilizing against his legislation that would subject the central bank's monetary policy decisions to an audit. "It is alarming that the Federal Reserve, which was granted Monopoly money-making power, is now specifically trying to stop my legislation," the Kentucky Republican wrote in a column published by the conservative publication Breitbart Tuesday. "The Fed, with unlimited ability to print money, now prints that money to lobby against congressional oversight," Paul added. "It is a disgrace and every citizen in the land should rise up and say: We the people are in...

In December 2014, Planned Parenthood Federation of America released their annual report for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. In the report, they list their twelve top moments of the year, from helping reduce teen pregnancy to “fighting” breast cancer. They even included their work in influencing pop culture by fighting abortion stigma in the movie Obvious Child.Planned Parenthood seems especially proud that they influenced 126,494 youth through a new chat and text program online. According to their report, this program helps teens reach dedicated “specialists” at urgent moments to provide advice.They go on to brag that our generation will be the...

There’s a lot of attention given to the art of explicating the motivations of Rand Paul, and the disparate coalition he’s attempting to bring together in his fledgling 2016 campaign. The latest is from the New York Times, which adopts the classic understanding of Paul, the politician: “As he works to build a broad national following, Mr. Paul is trying to stitch together very disparate worlds. There are those who are young, more affluent and likely to vote Democratic. There are the establishment, center-right elements of the Republican Party. And there are his most ardent libertarian fans who are...

PHOENIX — Gov. Doug Ducey urged the "faith-based community" and abortion foes to step up to help the state deal with the thousands of children born who now in state care. "I am proudly pro-life" the governor told a rally of members of the anti-abortion Center for Arizona Policy. "And I look forward to working with you on those issues." But Ducey said there are things that need to happen. "We have 16,900 children that are now outside of the womb and are wards of the state," he continued. "And I'm asking for your help as an organization, the faith-based...

Abortion clinics operate every day in the United States, suctioning and tearing preborn babies out of their mother’s wombs. What happens to the bodies of aborted babies after they are killed? Ideally, the remains of aborted babies are sent to a lab. They are then examined to make sure there are no serious medical problems that the woman should be made aware of. In very early abortions, the tiny embryo’s remains can be difficult to identify. Often, it takes careful examination by a pathologist to make sure all parts of the baby and placenta have been removed. A thorough examination...

<p>COLUMBIA - The House has again approved a bill banning abortion in South Carolina beyond 19 weeks of pregnancy.</p> <p>The 80-27 vote Wednesday occurred 11 months after the chamber last approved the proposal. It died in the Senate as the session ended last June.</p>

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) announced he was switching sides in the pro-life vs. pro-choice debate. The former pro-life Democrat claimed he had an epiphany persuading him that abortion is a woman’s right and that no government had the authority to intervene for any reason. “It is the Congressman’s position that it is not for anyone else to judge whether or when an abortion should or shouldn’t be permitted,” Ryan’s chief of staff Ron Grimes maintained. “And yes, this means up until the moment of birth and for whatever reason the woman finds meaningful, including the sex of the fetus.” Grimes...

Why? Because 23 Planned Parenthood clinics in the state don't even have mammogram equipment. Yet they collect taxpayers' money just for the referrals. "So our solution obviously for this specific program is pretty easy," says the pro-lifer. "When we get Planned Parenthood out of the program, more money will go to those clinics that actually do a proper scan to make sure that any woman who does have breast cancer can get the answers soon, and can go and be treated by an actual healthcare provider."