Free Republic

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — A Kenosha pastor is fasting for climate change. The Rev. Jonathan Barker, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, stopped eating on Saturday and said he will continue the protest until Congress passes a climate bill. Democrats pushed a $3.5 trillion, 10-year bill through the House Budget Committee that strengthens social safety net and climate programs. The measure is a “once-in-species-moment,” Barker said. “As a Christian, I am called to be on the side of love for neighbor,” Barker said. “Love for neighbor means making sure my neighbor has a livable future, a family-sustaining green job, clean air...

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked portions of a new Indiana law that would make it tougher for girls under age 18 to get an abortion without their parents’ knowledge. U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker wrote in approving a temporary injunction that “when it comes to our children, while parents or others entrusted with their care and wellbeing have the lawful and moral obligation always to act in their best interests, children are not bereft of separate identities, interests, and legal standing.” Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky and the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana sued the state...

MADISON — At all hours, strangers phone Anne Nicol Gaylor's Madison home, always desperate.The caller one recent morning was a middle-aged woman with a 14-year-old pregnant daughter."What clinic will she be using?" asked Gaylor, 83, jotting down the response and the cost of a second-trimester abortion ($875)."If we helped with $300, do you think you could find the rest?" Gaylor asked.After the call, Gaylor opened a checkbook for the Women's Medical Fund, a Madison nonprofit that has helped pay for abortions for 34 years. Gaylor has written every check for every abortion.This was No. 18,986.Controversial figureGaylor is well-known for...

The president of Clemson University is chastising those who booed President Barack Obama during the college’s Military Appreciation Day at last weekend's game. During the university’s annual event that was held this year during the Clemson vs. Virginia Tech game on Saturday, a ceremony was held to induct ROTC cadets into the military. The ceremony was disrupted by booing from some fans in the stands. In an email with the subject line, “Dear Clemson Family: Focus on Positive Dialogue and a Civil Discourse,” Clemson University president James Barker addressed the behavior at the football game.

A new audio added to my mix of videos in regards to evolutionary ethics and rape. Richard Dawkins in an honest moment.

As this summer marks the 61st anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War, it remains one of the least understood and most overlooked conflicts of the American experience. Time is running out for those who fought the war, as most surviving veterans are in or approaching their 80s. The Korean War Project, founded in 1995 by two Dallas brothers who are the sons of a decorated Korean War Marine, has established itself as a valuable resource for information on unit histories, casualties, battles and those missing in action.

A federal judge in Indianapolis on Friday blocked part of an Indiana law that cut off public funding for the state’s Planned Parenthood outlets because they provide abortions, the Associated Press reported. U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, who was appointed in 2010 by President Barack Obama, granted the family planning organization an injunction that voids the portion of the Indiana law, recently signed by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels. The Indiana law, which accounted for about $1.4 million and was challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood, would have been the first to deny Medicaid funds to...

US TV legend Bob Barker was rushed to the hospital Thursday after fainting at a shooting range in the Los Angeles area, according to entertainment website TMZ. The 86-year-old former host of The Price Is Right was shooting when he collapsed, a witness said. He had regained consciousness by the time help arrived but was still taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A.

She who laughs last, laughs best. vs: Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house. You should have paid the money and saved your family from the humilliation you caused them. I guess the Palin joke(s) won't compare with what you'll be getting on Leno.

Click here for hilarious video from the old "The Two Ronnies" British comedy series.

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — A California desert cabin that became cult leader Charles Manson's last hideout has been gutted by fire. Death Valley National Park spokesman Terry Baldino said Thursday that the isolated cabin was discovered burned on Tuesday. He says it's not known if it was an accident or a deliberate act. The cabin was last seen intact Friday and may have burned over the weekend.

Former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker has been left critically injured after a Learjet crashed while departing from a South Carolina airport. 4 people were killed, while two people - including Barker and DJ AM, a famed Hollywood DJ - were injured. Barker was transported to a burn center in Augusta, Georgia, where he was listed in critical condition. Barker had performed Friday night at an event alongside Perry Farrell, the former Jane's Addiction singer, as well as Gavin DeGraw and DJ AM. It was not immediately clear whether any of those performers, aside DJ AM were traveling with Barker....

Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Adam Goldstein, known as celebrity DJ AM, were critically injured in a fiery Learjet crash in South Carolina that killed four people, authorities said today. The Learjet was taking off shortly before midnight Friday with six people aboard, including two crew members, when air traffic controllers saw sparks. The plane, which was en route to Van Nuys airport, veered off the end of the runway, rolled through a fence and crashed on a nearby road, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. Barker and Goldstein were in critical condition at a burn center in...

<p>JENA, Louisiana (AP) - The family of Justin Barker, the victim in the «Jena Six» racial beating case in Louisiana, has filed a civil lawsuit against the local school board, the parents of the six young men accused of beating him and the adult members among the six. The lawsuit was filed Nov. 29 in state district court, the Alexandria Daily Town Talk newspaper reported. The case and its racial overtones _ sparked by the hanging on campus of nooses, a traditional symbol of lynch mobs _ have attracted the attention of U.S. civil rights leaders, who led a large protest and said the original charges against the Jena Six were too strict. David and Kelli Barker and their son allege that seven Jena High School students attacked Justin on Dec. 4, 2006, as he walked out of the school's gym. The suit names the attackers as Mychal Bell, Jesse Beard, Theo Shaw, Bryant Purvis, Carwin Jones and Robert Bailey Jr., as well as a seventh student who has not been officially named by law enforcement as a part of the attack. The lawsuit alleges that school employees were not adequately supervising students or maintaining discipline. The Barkers are asking for a jury trial. Bell pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor second-degree battery charge and was sentenced to 18 months in jail. The other members of the Jena Six are awaiting court appearances. Barker spent several hours in the emergency room after the attack but was discharged and attended a school event the night after the attack.</p>

In a surprising departure from vegan loyalism, Alec Baldwin, Michael Bolton, and Bob Barker, all devout vegatarians, were caught redhanded enjoying Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets at a McDonalds restaurant Wednesday evening.

A soldier who pleaded guilty to conspiring to rape a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and kill her family described how he was approached by a fellow soldier with the plan to carry out the attack. Spc. James P. Barker, one of four U.S. soldiers accused in the March 12 rape and killings, pleaded guilty Wednesday and agreed to testify against the others. He will avoid the death penalty, said his attorney, David Sheldon. Barker told military judge Lt. Col. Richard Anderson that 21-year-old former Army private Steve Green approached him with a plan to attack the family as they drank whiskey...

     I need prayer very badly Today my husband died from a self-inflected gunshot wound to the head. He had a lot of medical problems and was suffering from severe depression. We will never know what demons were in his head that drove him to this. Our two sons and his daughter desperately need prayers to help them through this. I have seen the power of FReeper prayer and it is awesome. This just happened today and reality hasn't sunk in yet. Many thanks barker       

Threat was not serious, Union man says 9/29/2004 3:09 PM By: Jason Bronis, News 14 Carolina WATCH THE VIDEO Threat Against Governor A former head of the Union County Republican Party was arrested Tuesday and accused of threatening to harm Gov. Mike Easley. MONROE, N.C. -- John Barker admits he shouldn't have said it. "What does it take to get any attention? Do I have to shoot the governor?" Apparently not. All he had to do was say what police interpreted as a threat, and he got plenty of attention. Unfortunately, Barker did not get the response he'd hoped for....

He calls 40 minutes early, seemingly aware of the disorientation that comes from having your first conversation with a man you've known all your life. Fortunately, Bob Barker has learned a thing or two about putting people at ease in 32 years hosting his hit daytime game show, CBS's The Price Is Right.Phoning from his Los Angeles home to talk about his upcoming 80th birthday, Barker deploys an easy charm and ready cache of one-liners in discussing everything from fighting the fur industry to kicking Adam Sandler's behind on film.Let wienies such as Wheel of Fortune's Pat Sajak tape a...