Free Republic

Democrat Hillary Clinton has built a slim lead over Donald Trump in Georgia after one of the worst weeks of the Republican’s campaign, and the Libertarian presidential ticket cracked double-digits, according to a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll. The poll released Friday shows Clinton at 44 percent and Trump at 40 percent, within the poll’s margin of error. It is the latest showing a close race between the two candidates in Georgia, a state that has voted for the GOP nominee since 1996.

As Russia scrambles to refinance maturing debt, stabilize the ruble, and battles to halt the collapse of investment in new plant and equipment, Russia will draw down its official reserves and rainy-day funds, capital flight will accelerate, perhaps to unsustainable levels, and economic growth will collapse, perhaps as much as during the financial crisis of 2009. The longer the sanctions stay in place, the worse the consequences. . . . Vladimir Putin has maintained his hold on power via an implicit bargain that he will produce rising standards of living and ensure that pensions and wages are paid on time....

Not too long ago, top officials within the Russian government said Western sanctions were not going to hurt. A couple of months later, reality has settled in. Russia’s Economic Development Minister, Alexei Ulyukayev, said the economy had many obstacles and entered a negative growth cycle. In an op-ed published in the Vedomosti newspaper Monday, Ulyukayev wrote, “ It could be said that we have entered a negative stage of the economic cycle. Lack of demand is a significant obstacle on the way to restoring steady growth.” Sanctions are not helping matters.

The purse strings have tightened as Rep. Todd Akin has defied top Republicans, staying in the Missouri Senate race amid controversy over his views on rape and abortion. The Senate campaign committee has revoked the $5 million it designated for Representative Akin, and key fundraising events have been canceled. Republican operators like Karl Rove have withdrawn support from Akin’s campaign. So who will stick with him? In a bid to steer his campaign back on course, Akin has begun appealing to social conservatives, religious pro-family groups, and high-profile politicos (even if publicly, they’re steering clear of him right now). A...

Many issues are involved in the present debate over the acceptance of homosexuality. While there are those in the field of genetics who say homosexuality is biologically determined, there are also those in the field of religion who say the practice of homosexuality is always wrong. . . . There are many studies that have been conducted but none of them prove the practice of homosexuality is biologically determined. In fact, human behavior, sexual or otherwise, has little to do with genetics. A rational person will realize that we live in a world where we have a choice as to...

Straight out of red-state Texas and a free-market mentality, restaurateur Brad Bailey is trying to get Republicans to endorse a radical idea: Let businesses hire foreigners, even ones here illegally, if they can’t find American workers. His target is the Republican National Convention, where he is hoping to win over the most conservative of conservatives to an immigration plan that Bailey says makes sense for businesses and, ultimately, for the GOP. Much to the surprise of many politicians, the idea won the support of the Texas Republican Party at the state convention in June. It probably helped matters that the...

A former Bengals cheerleader accused of sex abuse is firing back at her at her critics and the rumors about her personal life despite a request by prosecutors for a gag order in the case. Sarah Jones, one-time captain of the Cincinnati Ben-Gals cheerleading squad and a former high school teacher in Kenton County, Ky., is accused of sexually abusing a student and unlawful use of electronic means to induce a minor to engage in sexual activities. "I read on a blog that I was the female [Jerry] Sandusky. To read those things and not be able to comment, not...

GRAHAM — An anti-abortion group made a return trip to Alamance County this week to protest against a medical waste disposal company. On Tuesday, members of the Campaign to Stop Stericycle protested on the steps of the Historic Courthouse in Graham against Illinois-based Stericycle, a medical-waste disposal company with a location near Haw River. The Campaign to Stop Stericycle alleges that the company disposes of fetuses that are the product of abortions. The protestors said they have collected evidence that Stericycle contracts to dispose of medical waste for abortion clinics, including more than 600 Planned Parenthood locations across the U.S....

Republicans are kidding themselves if they believe Mitt Romney, at least his current iteration, can win the election merely by attacking Barack Obama. Given Romney’s lack of conservative principles, perhaps that is for the best. Who is Mitt Romney? What does he believe? Where are his core principles? There is no need to seek penitence if you don’t know the answer to the preceding questions. After all, no one could provide a consistent answer. Romney was for gun control before he was the NRA’s proudest supporter, for health care reform before he championed the repeal of Romneycare (excuse me, Obamacare),...

A WOMAN has admitted ending her pregnancy only a week before the unborn child’s due date after she bought medication on the internet to carry out the abortion. Sarah Catt appeared at Leeds Crown Court yesterday and admitted a charge of procuring her own miscarriage. The 35-year-old bought medication over the internet that would induce the labour, although North Yorkshire Police officers admitted they remain baffled as to her motives. No evidence of the baby has ever been found, according to 
officers involved in the investigation. Catt told police she had terminated the pregnancy legally, despite medical records in March...

HAW RIVER, N.C., July 23, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- On Tuesday, July 24th, 2012, Operation Save America will conduct a press conference at the Stericycle plant in Haw River at 10:00 am. This press conference will cover our recent mailer to the entire community that exposes Stericycle's complicity in the American holocaust. > > > "At this Stericycle plant in Haw River, the abortion industry from reportedly over 20 different states dumps the remains of the mutilated bodies of their victims. The smoke stacks of Stericycle take care of the rest as these precious children made in the image of...

On the heels of a recent poll showing a dip in support for President Obama among Latino voters, the Romney campaign is out with a new Spanish-language ad pledging the candidate's commitment to finding a long-term, bipartisan solution to the nation's immigration challenges. "As president, Mitt Romney will work with Republicans and Democrats to fix our immigration system, which is broken," says Craig Romney, Mitt Romney's son, in the ad, entitled "Nation of Immigrants."