Free Republic

Citing higher-than-expected costs, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico wants to raise premiums by an average of 51.6 percent on individual Affordable Care Act plans in 2016. The company made the request in a preliminary rate proposal filed with New Mexico Insurance Superintendent John Franchini. Blue Cross and Blue Shield – which insures an estimated 600,000 people statewide – said the proposal affects an estimated 35,000 customers who signed up for qualified individual health plans through the New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange, but also those who bought the same plans off the exchange. Franchini has the final authority...

Climate change is taking a toll on Texas, and the devastating floods that have killed at least 15 people and left 12 others missing across the state are some of the best evidence yet of that phenomenon, state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said in an interview Wednesday. “We have observed an increase of heavy rain events, at least in the South-Central United States, including Texas,” said Nielsen-Gammon, who was appointed by former Gov. George W. Bush in 2000. “And it’s consistent with what we would expect from climate change.” But the state’s Republican leaders are deeply skeptical of the scientific consensus...

A police K-9 came to the rescue of an officer who was being ambushed by three men and the dog most likely saved his life, authorities said today.

New research about implementation of the Affordable Care Act finds that Obama administration regulations are allowing taxpayer subsidized health insurance for some people earning less than the statutory income floor and also for unlawful immigrants. A new study by Andy S. Grewal, an associate professor at the University of Iowa College of Law, explains that the ACA provides tax credits to U.S. citizens with incomes between 100 and 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). However, IRS regulations were written to extend credits to citizens below 100% FPL in some cases. Also, Section 36B of the ACA grants credits to...

.....Chicago Police Officers Jerome Finnigan, left, and Timothy McDermott with an unknown man in a photo believed to be taken between 1999 and 2003. | Court file photo Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday had two choice words for the now-fired Chicago Police officer who joined another former officer in posing with rifles as they stood over a black man lying on his belly with deer antlers on his head. “Good riddance.” “Let me be clear: That photo does not represent the values of the city of Chicago that we all share in common. It doesn’t represent the values of the...

And your winner is… well, nobody, really. The first national poll of GOP presidential candidates since all of the new entrants announced came out this morning and as you might have expected, primary voters are splintering off into various corners rather than solidifying behind a consensus candidate this early in the proceedings. In fact, you can’t even pick out who an early “leader” is because it’s a five way tie at ten percent each. (From Time magazine online.) The Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday found the GOP field split evenly between former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former neurosurgeon Ben...

What’s wrong with shacking up?  America became a de facto shack up society years ago.  Marriage, we were told, was passé.  Why bother about rings?  Shacking up has advantages that marriage doesn’t.  What if the guy or gal you’re “cohabiting” with turns out to be human?  Ours being a maturity-arrested society, we need easier outs when our fantasies fail.  Marriage is inhibiting and a heavy-lift – why, at times, it’s downright oppressive.  It’s so adult and so complicated, it spoils the fun.  If Jason or Amber don’t make the cut, on to the next bed partner.  Fun.       Yet...

".....36 people killed in Baltimore so far this month, already the highest homicide count for May since 1999. But while homicides are spiking, arrests have plunged more than 50 percent compared to last year. The drop in arrests followed the death of Freddie Gray from injuries he suffered in police custody. Gray’s death sparked protests against the police and some rioting, and led to the indictment of six officers."

A video has recently surfaced of Marilyn Mosby, the district attorney responsible for charging six Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, making an appearance on the popular arbitration court series “Judge Judy” more than a decade ago. The video dates back to the early 2000s, in the show’s fifth season, when Mosby was in college and still going by her maiden name, Marilyn James. Mosby was on the program with a rather bizarre case: She was suing business owner Ryan Johnson for damages to the apartment she lived in while at college.

Admit it, there's nothing more fun than sitting in a dark theatre, munching on a bucket of buttery popcorn, and watching the Earth get demolished. In the latest round of catastrophic flicks, California is destroyed as the famous San Andreas Fault unleashes unimaginable (and unrealistic) devastation across the state. The new film, San Andreas, depicts the rupture of an unknown fault near the Hoover Dam in Nevada, which gets the destructive ball rolling by setting off powerful earthquakes along the San Andreas Fault. And although earthquakes are nothing new to Californians, and pose serious threats along the famous fault, Hollywood...

Ben & Jerry’s newest flavor makes a mouthful of a statement about one of the biggest political agendas under the Obama administration – climate change. “Save Our Swirled” is a raspberry-based ice cream with marshmallow and fruity swirls, flecked with miniature dark-and-white-fudge ice cream cone bits. The blog Take Part reported the product hit store shelves on Wednesday, in conjunction with a company campaign against climate change.

A new report commissioned by concerned alumni of Horace Mann School, an elite private school in New York City, tells an extraordinary story of the sexual abuse of scores of students over decades by teachers, coaches, department heads, a headmaster, a school chaplain and a dean of guidance. The findings build on revelations made public in recent years about sex abuse at Horace Mann, which was founded by Columbia University on its campus in 1887 but has long been an independent school in the Bronx, now with 1,782 students from nursery school through 12th grade. It costs $41,900 a year...

Columnist and author of “Adios, America” Ann Coulter argued current immigration policy is “100%” about trying to change the US ” into a direction that is more favorably disposed to vote for the Democrats” on Wednesday’s “Hannity” on the Fox News Channel. Coulter began by praising Fusion anchor Jorge Ramos for debating her on his show and doing a “fantastic job” with the interview, something that she said no one else will do. ... Coulter also stated that she thinks current immigration policy is “100%” about importing voters and said of Republicans who oppose closing the border, “They are looking...

On November 11, 2011, Congress voted to award a Congressional Gold Medal for the 20,000 black Marines of Montford Point, the first blacks to serve as Marines. I write about Staff Sgt. Elder -- and my struggle to understand him -- in my latest book, "Dear Father, Dear Son." On August 13, 2013, Col. Jason Bohm, commander, "Fighting 5th," United States Marine Corps, Camp Pendleton, made the following remarks: "We are honored that you joined us today to recognize the service of one of our own, Staff Sgt. Randolph Elder. ... "In the days leading up to World War II,...

History will be much kinder to the Obama years than it should be, but only because the historians who write about them most likely will be sycophantic progressives unwilling or unable to admit their belief system is a failure. Books will be cooked, data will be cherry picked, and the Obama years will be an oasis after the hell that was the Bush years. In reality, the Obama years will be what may end up being the greatest missed opportunity of the last 50 years. The opportunities missed weren’t economic – President Obama’s rigid adherence to his progressive ideology could...

Selfies, followers, likes and the fascination with celebrity anythings (chefs, decorators, stylists, authors, etc.) are just a few of the ways that today's society focuses attention on individuals. It's not enough to be a great chef -- it's better to be a celebrity chef. It's not enough to participate in an event -- it's better to snap a selfie of yourself at the event and then post it online for all to see. This increasing focus on individuals can be seen to increase the potential for narcissism, which the online dictionary defines as "the inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love;...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Abortions after 20 weeks into a pregnancy, in most cases, are now illegal in West Virginia. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act took effect on Tuesday, making the Mountain State one of nearly a dozen states with such a ban. “I’m proud of our folks here in the state for passing this legislation because I think the people of the state want it,” Dr. Wanda Franz, president of West Virginians for Life, one of the leading supporters of the legislation, said on Wednesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.” “This is very important legislation and a new step nationally for us...

Canada legalized same-sex “marriage” in 2005, the fourth country in the world to do so. During the rushed public debate that preceded legalization, the Christian and traditional understanding of marriage as the union of a man and a woman had strong support. Polls showed a deep split among Canadians, and the majority (52 percent) were actually against legalization at the time that it occurred.Opponents of same-sex “marriage” were given all kinds of assurances. The preamble to the Civil Marriage Act states that “everyone has the freedom of conscience and religion,” “nothing in this Act affects the guarantee of freedom...

BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Responding to climate change in the next 15 years is the world's "mega development project", given the need to invest trillions of dollars in infrastructure, creating jobs and economic stability, the United Nations' top climate change official said on Tuesday. "It makes fundamental economic sense" for countries to push forward on tackling climate change because of the benefits it will bring in terms of food, water and energy, as well as employment," Christiana Figueres told a carbon market conference in Barcelona. This, together with the speed at which businesses are acting on climate change and...

From 1992 to 2012, the Golden State Warriors were consistently one of the worst teams in basketball. The team was so unimaginably miserable, management so criminally negligible– that owner Joe Lacob was mercilessly booed for 15 straight minutes at a ceremony honoring beloved Warriors great Chris Mullin… (SNIP) Enter Mark Jackson. After a rocky start in 2011, Jackson turned a perennial loser into one of the top teams in the NBA. In 2014, the Warriors finished with 51 wins– the most wins by the team in two decades. (SNIP) Having failed to catch Jackson’s spewing “hate speech”– Lacob and Welts...