Free Republic

Four straight polls of the Arkansas Senate race have found Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) leading challenger Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR). Although some of the polls are from Democratic-leaning groups and each of the polls find him with a razor-thin lead, the fact that a rough handful of surveys found Pryor in the lead is notable given that Pryor is considered one of the most endangered Democrats in the 2014 election cycle.

A 29-year-old Polk County teacher was arrested Monday night on charges of having sex with a 17-year-old student during a four-month romance that involved a pregnancy and abortion, Lakeland police said. Jennifer Christine Fichter, an English teacher at Central Florida Aerospace Academy, told the boy’s mother that she was in love with her son and admitted to several sexual encounters, police said.

Protesters against SB175 gather outside the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on April 15, 2014. Credit: Peter Zelasko/CNA. Denver, Colo., Apr 16, 2014 / 12:32 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Archbishop of Denver on April 15 rallied opposition to a Colorado bill he says is “both extreme and dangerously ambiguous� in its ban on all abortion regulations and other pro-life laws. “Coloradans are not against common sense regulations on abortions, and they should have the opportunity to be able to debate and pass those regulations,� Archbishop Aquila Samuel J. Aquila said to a crowd of hundreds at an assembly and prayer...

A federal judge has overturned a law the North Dakota legislature passed to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. At 22 days into pregnancy, before most women know they are pregnant, unborn children complete the development of their heart to the point that a heartbeat begins and the bill would stop abortions at that point. The law was meant to ban abortions when the unborn babies heartbeat begins but would have been applied at six weeks of pregnancy. Some pro-life groups were not on board with the legislation, not because they oppose banning abortions but out of a concern...

Hundreds of pro-life people turned out for protests yesterday at the state capital in Denver, Colorado to oppose a radical pro-abortion bill that would allow abortions up to birth, declare abortion a fundamental right and prevent any pro-life legislation. With pro-abortion Democrats controlling the Colorado state legislature and the governor’s office, abortion activists are pushing what pro-life groups are calling the most radically pro-abortion legislation in the state’s history. While pro-life people rallied outside, Colorado Democrats were forced to delay the vote as one of their members of the state Senate was out ill. The Senate was scheduled to debate...

Gov. Jan Brewer signed legislation Tuesday allowing the state Department of Health to make unannounced inspections of abortion clinics without first getting a warrant from a judge. Backers of HB 2284 said there is no reason to exempt abortion clinics from the same regulations that apply to all other health-care facilities. Foes said the clinics need protection because there is a heightened need for privacy both for patients and staff. The new law could wind up in court before it takes effect later this summer. In a 2004 ruling, a federal appeals court voided an identical provision, ruling the statute’s...

Senator Mary Landrieu: 100% Pro-Abortion Record Since Re-Election. Too Extreme For Louisiana. Senator Mary Landrieu’s voting record makes it clear: she is a consistent ally of organizations lobbying for abortion-on-demand. Whether it is voting for the funding of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, or voting against attempts to remove abortion subsidies from Obamacare, Mary Landrieu’s votes have hurt common-sense protections on human life. Louisiana, a pro-life state, deserves better than a 100% pro-abortion senator. Pro-Life & Pro-Abortion Groups Agree: Since Re-Election in 2008: 100% Pro-Abortion Votes Since Louisiana re-elected Senator Landrieu in 2008, official scorecards from both pro-life...

Here’s something from the “Did you know that?” category. Did you know that abortions are apparently eligible for a tax deduction? That appears to be true, so says the IRS.irs From the Washington Examiner, in a list of odd tax deductions: Have an abortion, get a tax deduction! How strange that pro-abortion advocates aren’t using this as a selling point. Hmmm. Oh, and while they hyperventilate over Hobby Lobby not wanting to provide every type of birth control without a co-pay, it turns out that birth control pills can be deducted if prescribed by a doctor. Also, you can deduct...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://www.frontpagemag.com - NY Times Columnist: Republicans Right on Liberal Inner City FailuresPosted By Daniel Greenfield On April 15, 2014 @ 1:29 pm In The Point | No Comments Nicholas Kristof’s article is really a bait and switch, admitting that Republicans were right about three major liberal social policy failures in the inner city… but offering only more of the same liberal social policies. “Conservatives have been proved right about three big ideas of social policy. Liberals may grimace, but hear me out on these points,� he writes.“STRONG FAMILIES Conservatives highlight the primacy of family and argue...

Four years after Obamacare became law, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is notifying Medicare providers and suppliers of new fingerprint-based background checks. Eventually, all individuals who hold a five percent or greater stake in a Medicare supplier or provider that is categorized as "high risk" will be subject to the requirement. The provision is part of the Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP Program Integrity Provisions (Title E) of the Affordable Care Act, and gives the HHS secretary broad discretion in applying the background check requirements depending on the potential for abuse, fraud, and/or waste. The new requirements are...

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on Tuesday signed into a law a bill allowing state health authorities to conduct surprise inspections of abortion clinics without first obtaining a warrant, handing another victory to abortion foes. The Republican-backed bill, which gained final legislative approval from the state Senate last week, removes a provision from state law requiring a judge to approve any spot inspections conducted at the nine clinics in Arizona licensed to perform abortions. No other medical facilities in the state require such a warrant for unannounced inspections.

Endorsments can be overrated but in a conservative primary with a lot of noise and mud, could a high-profile name give a candidate the edge? Congressional District 19 candidate Lizbeth Benacquisto recently got the backing of Sarah Palin, who held a fundraiser and sang the candidate's praises on Fox News. Yesterday, Curt Clawson scored the endorsement of Sen. Rand Paul, among the first tea party backed candidates to make it big. "Washington is desperate for outside leadership," Paul said. "Curt Clawson is an outsider who will bring refreshing ideas to the halls of Congress. Today, I proudly stand with Curt...

Some righties are laughing about this on Twitter (Democrats against … personhood?), and granted, it’s a transparently desperate shiny-object attempt to change the subject from O-Care and the economy. But strategically it’s not half-bad, a decent play from a weak hand. They already owe not one but two of their swing-state Senate seats, in Missouri and Indiana, to Republican gaffes involving conception and rape. Go figure that they’d turn to conception again to try to minimize what looks like heavy losses in the Senate. The issue isn’t being discussed at all by Washington prognosticators these days. But you can bet...

WASHINGTON -- This may shock you. During the eight years of the Reagan Presidency I was not his biggest fan. I looked not so much at what he accomplished but what he didn't accomplish. My expectations were that government would get smaller under President Reagan. It didn't. I was disappointed. I looked at the agencies left in place -- the National Endowment for the Arts, the Legal Services Corporation (which has done so much damage) and A.I.D. -- and I felt that the Reagan Administration did not make a real effort to curtail them. I was disappointed. Also there was...

Democratic senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana is in a tough reelection battle because of her support for Obamacare. So its not surprising her latest TV ad focuses on the one high-profile fight she's had with the Obama administration, over oil and gas exploration. The 60-second spot features people watching Landrieu arguing for expanding energy exploration in Louisiana and criticizing Barack Obama for its restrictionist policies. Watch the video below: Most of the clips the ad features are from her appearances on local and cable TV news. But watch the clips of Landrieu around the video's halfway point. They feature the...

Dictionary.com offers two definitions for scapegoat: "1. A person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place; 2. Chiefly biblical. A goat let loose in the wilderness on Yom Kippur after the high priest symbolically laid the sins of the people on its head. Lev. 16:8,10,26." Both definitions seem to fit last week's announcement of the "resignation" of Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, who presided over the disastrous rollout of the government's website, healthcare.gov, which was supposed to provide easy access for people who wished to sign up for Obamacare....

Activist challenges judges to redefine chimpanzees’ legal status: Animal rights lawyer Steven Wise courts controversy by Warren Nunn Published: 15 April 2014 (GMT+10) If Steven Wise has his way, chimps will have quasi-human rights. Lawsuits on behalf of captive chimpanzees in America could be a turning point in how the judiciary adjudicates on animal rights. A group known as the Nonhuman Rights Project filed lawsuits on behalf of the chimps claiming they were ‘nonhuman animals’ that had a right to live free from confinement and not be regarded as property but as ‘legal persons’.1 The organisation’s website summarized the move:...

April 14, 2014 (Tanya Granic Allen) - At the UN’s 47th Commission on Population and Development, the message from some Non-Governmental Organizations with vested interests couldn’t be clearer: nothing will stop them from conducting more abortions. The tone of these meetings has, at times, been uncomfortable to anyone who holds life to be sacred, or believes maternal health initiatives is an excellent way to support women, especially those in the developing world. While at an UN affiliated meeting hosted by International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and Ipas, two abortion supporting and providing global powerhouses, I was targeted, discriminated against, man-handled,...

The Rev. Elaine Flake of Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York has recently learned of and reacted to the statistics of black women having abortions in New York City. Flake reacted in disbelief, initially wondering if the statistics were even true. The Christian Post, reporting on the Rev., dedicates one paragraph to such statistics of black women, as well as links to a previous article of theirs: As CP has reported, citing the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: “Black women in New York City aborted more than half of their pregnancies in 2012, topping the...

According to the Gazette, the final day of the pro-life prayer event, “40 Days for Life”, in Colorado Springs ended with a Catholic Mass in front of Planned Parenthood – accompanied by honking horns and loud chants from about a dozen protesters. On one side, about 40 pro-life supporters, led by Colorado Springs Bishop Michael Sheridan. Supporters sang, prayed and kneeled. Some held signs calling for an end to abortion. Mass at PP Co On the other side, Planned Parenthood supporters, holding their own signs that urged passing drivers to honk horns in support of Planned Parenthood. PP CO April...

I can remember when Colorado was a normal state. Conservative, even. Then hundreds of thousands of Californians, having wrecked their own state, moved in. The state is now really divided, but the leftists have the upper hand in the state government. Lord, please never let that happen here. The radicals, who have also passed stupid laws against certain kinds of firearms, have a new bill called Senate Bill 175. According to Archbishop of Denver Samuel Aquila, it basically seeks to enshrine abortion in Colorado law forever, and forestall any future pro-life legislation: If you haven’t yet heard, there is a...

<p>MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Ted Cruz says he’s optimistic about the country’s future.</p> <p>The health care law — well, that’s another story.</p> <p>The Texas senator — a possible 2016 presidential candidate — spoke before a group of conservatives in New Hampshire on Saturday.</p>

When David Jolly beat Alex Sink in a recent special election for a Florida congressional seat, the knee jerk reaction from the GOPe’s pet pollsters was to immediately warn the Republican rank and file that Jolly didn’t win because of Obamacare. “Who are you going to believe, us or your lying eyes?” came to mind. Phonies like Karl Rove pontificated about how winning elections requires more than simply getting on the right side of issues voters care about and hammering that message home. Hey, who knew there was more to winning elections than supporting the things voters want and opposing...

WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — Sen. Ted Cruz believes Senate Democrats are the ones who forced Kathleen Sebelius to step down as health and human services secretary.Cruz told NBC News that Democrats are worried that Republicans will take back the Senate because of Obamacare.“Kathleen Sebelius’ resignation is the latest indication of just what a disaster Obamacare is. Obamacare is the most disastrous, the most damaging piece of legislation in modern times,” Cruz told NBC News. “And I believe she resigned because Senate Democrats are scared.”Cruz told Fox News that Senate Democrats “demanded Kathleen Sebelius’ head.”“They are running scared because every one of...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that, if the mainstream media and Democrats are correct that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius resigned because Obamacare succeeded, then every other Democrat should follow her out of the Obama administration.  Speaking at the New Hampshire Freedom Summit, which was organized by Americans for Prosperity and Citizens United, Cruz joined other potential 2016 GOP presidential contenders at the event the day after Sebelius left the administration after the disastrous Obamacare rollout.Cruz said that if people listen to Democrats or the mainstream press (Cruz apologized for repeating himself – to much laughter), "they will tell...

Count Ted Cruz among the unimpressed about the HHS claim that over seven million Americans enrolled in ObamaCare by the end of the open-enrollment deadline. Javier Manjarres conducted a short telephone interview with Sen. Cruz, pointing out an earlier story broken by talk radio host Drew Steele about notification letters from HHS of ObamaCare auto-enrollment and questioned whether those were part of the HHS calculations. Cruz called this part of the mystery around the “funny numbers� coming out of the Obama administration, and wondered how many of the 7.1 million were only partial sign-ups:CLICK ABOVE LINK FOR THE VIDEO The...

People participating in the food stamp program outnumbered the women who worked full-time, year-round in the United States in 2012, according to data from the Department of Agriculture and the Census Bureau. In the average month of 2012, according to the Department of Agriculture, there were 46,609,000 people participating in the food stamp program (formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). That contrasts with the 44,059,000 women who worked full-time, year-round in 2012, according to the Census Bureau’s report on Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States. For each woman who worked full-time, year-round in 2012,...

Donald Trump said that “not only is Obamacare a disaster, it is the single greatest lie that I have ever witnessed. As far as immigration is concerned, Trump boasted that he is a builder and that he likes to build things. He said that, if he was in charge of America, “I would build a border fence like you have never seen before.”

Michael Grimm’s supporters have latched on to the Bill Maher issue as a reason to vote against Domenic Recchia, as though Maher is Recchia’s boss instead of just an irrelevant fool. But Grimm’s actual boss in Congress is far more meaningful — the man who contributed thousands to Grimm’s campaign, John Boehner.

“Well, we couldn’t be happier to have that conversation,” the senator declared, starting off strong by highlighting people in his state who received timely preventive care thanks to their new insurance. But that one point was about all the Democratic lawmaker could muster. “Over and over again,” he went on, “people still on the uh… healthcare benefits from uh, the… um… um… of the seniors who are… uh… getting their, uh, pharmaceuticals paid for… I’m struggling for the, for the — donut hole! There we go!” “It’s been very good for most Rhode Islanders,” an embarrassed Whitehouse continued. “And there...

In recent years, it has been quite common to hear our politicians and top media personalities talk about the need for America to use military force to impose “our values” on the rest of the world. But what “values” could they possibly be talking about? The truth is that we don’t have any “values” worth sharing with anyone at this point. America has become a festering cesspool of garbage and filth, and it is getting worse with each passing day. As a nation, we need to humble ourselves and turn away from our wicked deeds and rediscover the values that...

New York Rep. Steve Israel said Sunday a significant part of the Republican Party is “animated by racism,” marking the third time in recent days that a leading Democrat has appeared to make race an issue and draw a sharp response from Republicans. Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, whose major role is the get his House members re-elected, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that not all of his Republican colleagues are racist. “Not all of them, of course not,” he said. “But to a significant extent, the Republican base does have elements that are animated by...

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Nevada Republican Party stripped opposition to abortion and gay marriage from its platform Saturday as state convention delegates instead focused on judging fellow Republicans on their worthiness to serve in office and adherence to GOP values. The platform, with few changes, was adopted overwhelmingly as the Las Vegas convention stretched late into the evening. The vote mirrors that of the Clark County GOP, which voted earlier to remove platform language defining marriage as between a man and a woman and statements opposing abortion. Many Republicans are re-evaluating their strong stances on conservative social issues as...

Mike Dickinson, the Democratic challenger for the Virginia Congressional seat currently held by Republican Eric Cantor went on a rant against opponents of abortion this week. “The people who say that abortion is against God’s plan are mentally disabled,” Dickinson maintained. “Look, they say they pray that abortions be stopped, but abortions continue. Since, in their view, God is all-powerful, the failure of their prayers must either mean that there is no God or that God is okay with abortions.” Not content with belittling pro-lifers, Dickinson also took a swat at the Tea Party, calling them “the true terrorists. The...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., scheduled a Friday session that won't have any votes, rejecting Republican and Democratic requests that he allow a vote on a bill that would allow rape kits to be processed more quickly. “Debbie Smith is an extraordinary woman and an effective advocate," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told the Washington Examiner. "She's personally asked me, John Cornyn and others to pass this critically important legislation that bears her name, and it's deeply disappointing that the majority leader is blocking it from reaching the president's desk. I will fight to get this done for...

From time to time, a situation arises that gives truth to the old adage, "politics makes for strange bedfellows." The current case in point can be found at Cardiff University. The Students' Union there recently decided to ban all pro-life demonstrations on campus. In a sweet use of irony, the Students' Union was outraged over pro-life rallies and wanted to "prevent affiliated societies and groups from taking part in anti-choice protests or rallies." Nothing says tolerance like saying no to those you consider anti-choice by taking away their choices and banning them. Sadly, I'm sure that such destruction of logic...

Former Massachusetts Senator Brown comes out swinging on Obamacare in New Hampshire Reuters By Scott Malone April 10, 2014 7:20 PM By Scott Malone PORTSMOUTH, New Hampshire (Reuters) - Former U.S. Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts launched a Republican campaign on Thursday to represent neighboring New Hampshire in the Senate, with an attack on incumbent Democrat Jeanne Shaheen's vote for Obamacare. Brown, who moved to his native New Hampshire late last year to explore a run for office, has focused much of his energy on attacking the Affordable Care Act, an issue Republicans are making a centerpiece of 2014 campaigns....

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 11, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The woman who will oversee the Obama administration's implementation of the HHS mandate, requiring employers to give “free” contraception to all American women, spent a decade leading the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's population control efforts in the Third World.

Moral Issues Making moral choices in our modern world can be confusing and difficult. With so many temptations and influences pulling us in all directions, and the pressures of life driving us toward the seemingly “easy� path, it is comforting to know that Jesus Christ, through His Church, has blessed us with clear moral framework to guide us toward a happy, fulfilling life.It makes perfect sense that our Creator, who made us and designed us to work in a certain way, would know what’s best for us. Fortunately, He gifted the Church with His advice on how to live...

MONTGOMERY, AL, April 10, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – More than 100 people rallied at the Alabama State House in Montgomery yesterday afternoon to disprove a Democrat's controversial remarks that whites do not adopt black children and prefer to see interracial babies aborted. In March, state Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, said during a debate over a fetal heartbeat bill that “99 percent of the whites who are sitting in here now, if their daughter got pregnant by a black man, they are going to make their daughter have an abortion. They ain't gonna let her have the baby.” In the same March...

Legendary singer Willie Nelson will be featured at a high-dollar fundraiser for Democratic governor nominee Wendy Davis. The event will be held April 27 in the Houston backyard of plaintiff’s lawyer Steve and Amber Mostyn, featuring barbecue, Nelson and — for those who stay overnight at the Hotel ZaZa — a campaign briefing on Monday morning.

The president nominated Sylvia Burwell, the current director of the Office of Management and Budget, to succeed Sebelius. Burwell has long career in government, but she’s actually much more interesting than your typical bureaucrat. Here’s nine things you might not know about the woman who is likely to be the next HHS Secretary: She’s really smart. Obama is not the first president she’s worked for. She accidentally ran a half marathon. She was forced to get involved in last year’s government shutdown. She knows how to handle money — and crises. Her fifth date was a bit unusual. She engages...

What Kathleen Sebelius's Exit Means for Obama—and Obamacare. With the healthcare law finally on track after a disastrous start, the secretary of Health and Human Services is leaving the administration.

A University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) student and supporter of a feminist studies professor who has been charged with battery against pro-life demonstrators said pro-lifers who display images of aborted fetuses are “domestic terrorists.” Sophomore Katherine Wehler, a theater and feminist studies major at UCSB, told Austin Yack at The College Fix, pro-lifers “are domestic terrorists, because the definition of a terrorist is someone who terrorizes.” “That’s exactly what those girls were doing,” Wehler said about young prolife campus demonstrators. “They were making us feel very unsafe on our campus outside one of the busiest places during the busiest...

Washington, DC (LiveActionNews) — Marleen Goldstein worked in a hospital that performed abortions. After 30 years, she’s come forward with her story. According to Goldstein: My husband was a resident at a hospital and I just got “the job of my dreams” at a nearby Oakland hospital. I was very much a believer in the abortion issue and now I felt I was going to be part of it. I got hired as a charge nurse at this clinic that did late term abortions. I spent about 30 days on the day shift getting familiar with everything. I would witness...

VATICAN CITY, April 11, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Human life is “sacred and inviolable� and “every civil law is based on the recognition of the first and most fundamental right, the right to life,� Pope Francis told an Italian pro-life organization today. The pope thanked the Movimento per la Vita, one of Italy’s leading political pro-life groups, for their work, urging them to continue “with courage and love� for life “in all its phases.� “It is therefore necessary to reiterate the strongest opposition to any direct attack on life, especially innocent and defenseless, and her unborn child in the womb...

A Thursday Huffington Post article highlighting Obamacare victims is causing quite a stir on the left. The piece, titled "How Obamacare Leaves Some People Without Doctors," breaks from the Huffington Post's usual embrace of Obamacare and features the voices of Covered California customers who are already dissatisfied with the health insurance they bought through the Covered California exchange. "My insurance is pretty useless," 35-year-old new Los Angeles mother Ruth Iorio told HuffPo. "I don't know what to do. I may just drop it for myself and keep my son on it. It's really depressing." Iorio says her Obamacare plan is...

Fifty-one years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King penned one of the most famous essays of the civil rights movement from a cell in the Birmingham city jail. It was in the form of a letter written to a group of clergymen who expressed their distaste for the kind of "direct action" in which King engaged. Jail has two effects on the human mind and spirit. While confinement seeks to crush the spirit, one who is jailed for their sacred cause typically experiences a greater focus and clarity, and is given the ample time in which to express and fortify...

Washington, DC (LiveActionNews) — Marleen Goldstein worked in a hospital that performed abortions. After 30 years, she’s come forward with her story. According to Goldstein: My husband was a resident at a hospital and I just got “the job of my dreams” at a nearby Oakland hospital. I was very much a believer in the abortion issue and now I felt I was going to be part of it. I got hired as a charge nurse at this clinic that did late term abortions. I spent about 30 days on the day shift getting familiar with everything. I would witness...

WASHINGTON (AP) — AP source: HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius resigning after rocky health care law rollout.