Free Republic

Folks, let's be clear: Autism is almost-certainly not caused by vaccines. Let's remember the first rule of observational studies, which incidentally I was surprised to find a few years ago in my daughter's High School intro-to-stats class: Observational studies can only show correlation and correlation cannot prove causation. However, the absence of correlation is damn near bomb-proof evidence that the alleged cause you believe exists is false. Measles vaccination in the US began in 1963 following approval in 1962. Within five years near-complete compliance was obtained within the US. MMR, the combined vaccine that people like to blame autism on,...

Hundreds of thousands of borrowers who are permanently disabled could have an estimated $7.7 billion in student loans forgiven, the Department of Education announced Tuesday. Starting next week, the Department of Education will send letters to 387,000 people who have been identified as eligible for what is called a "Total and Permanent Disability" loan discharge because they are disabled and cannot work. The Department of Education and Social Security Administration worked together to identify borrowers who have been receiving disability payments and are eligible to have their loans discharged.

Investigators identified nearly 2,000 cases of potentially phony disability claims stemming from a massive Social Security fraud scheme, but three years after the scam was first exposed, the government says it’s still struggling to stop the payments. Only slightly more than 300 cases have been disqualified, and Social Security is still “in the process of effectuating those terminations,” the agency told The Washington Times just days after the accused ringleader and two lead accomplices were indicted on federal fraud charges. Despite three investigations into suspicions of massive fraud, Social Security officials say they are assuming all of the applications are...

Provides efficient, streamlined process in support of the MyVA Initiative of Medical Disability Examinations for Veterans WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced the award of twelve major contracts that will enhance its ability to deliver timely disability benefits claims decisions to the nation’s Veterans in line with the MyVA initiative. The contracts make up a $6.8 billion enterprise-wide Medical Disability Examination Program under Public Law 104-275, and represent a major step forward in improving the disability examination experience for Veterans. A unique feature of this multi-contract award will see the consolidation of the contracts under a...

A YouTube video of a woman angered by a man who confronted her for parking in a disabled parking spot outside a Tim Hortons in Toronto has sparked howls of Internet outrage.The video, posted by the man - named Ryan Favro - has garnered more than one million views since it was posted on Monday.It begins with Favro politely asking the woman about her parking as she returns to her Jeep with her Timmys coffee and ice coffee."So why do you park in a handicapped parking spot? Are you handicapped?" he is heard asking. "No," she says, and walks away."Well,...

Blind woman learns to shoot Picture from concealed nation An Georgia television station raised a question about whether a person who is legally blind should be allowed to exercise their Second Amendment rights.  They asked if a person who is legally blind should be forbidden, by law, from carrying a weapon to protect themselves.  From newschannel9.com: Her father, Sheriff Warren Wethington, taught her how to shoot. He told Byfield he wants his daughter to be able to protect herself. "The people who express their opinions that my daughter's not safe with a gun most likely have never held one,...

Almost every week, it seems LifeNews discovers another story about parents aborting their unborn child because of a disability or abortion activists targeting unborn babies who have physical defects. These stories are disheartening, frightening even. But then there also are many stories of hope – families who choose life because they refuse to see their unborn child as less of a person, and celebrities who use their fame to celebrate other people’s lives rather than their own. Football star Tim Tebow is one of them. This Valentine’s Day, the pro-life sports star promoted a special event for people with special...

Today parents are sometimes pressured to abort simply because their unborn child has a cleft lip, a correctable condition. Physicians categorize it as a disability. Yet a surprising number of successful individuals were born with cleft lips. Among them is Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning’s success story shows that his cleft lip did not hinder him at all. Because his parents chose life, Manning was able to grow and pursue his dreams in football. This week, he and his team will play in the biggest American sports game of the year — the 2016 Super Bowl. Manning is not only...

A painting hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York called The Adoration of the Christ Child. Created in the 16th century by a Flemish artist, what stands out in this sublime presentation of the Nativity is the detail of the characters standing around the crib. Two of them, an angel and a shepherd, appear to have Down’s Syndrome. This suggests that the condition has been around for a very long time, and it helps illuminate the early modern approach to disability. Religious art normally conformed to classical standards of beauty. By implication, the artist regarded people with Down’s...

Early Monday morning, news agencies began reporting that ISIS clerics have issued an oral fatwa calling for the systematic killing of children with Down syndrome and other genetic disabilities. According to reports, nearly 40 disabled infants in ISIS territory have already been suffocated or given lethal injections.The news is sickening. The world has watched, on YouTube, the violent martyrdom of Christians at the hands of ISIS fighters. We’ve seen photos of martyred families and beaten prisoners. We’ve seen shootings in Paris, Beirut and San Bernardino, all claimed as ISIS sponsored acts of terrorism. And still, the West has not yet...

Story Highlights D'Arcee Neal, who has cerebral palsy, took a five-hour flight last week A mix-up meant there was no wheelchair to help him off the plane; he was told to wait for one He waited but finally crawled out of the plane with no assistance (CNN)—A man returning from a meeting about disabled accessibility policies arrived home with a very personal example of the problem. D'Arcee Neal, who has cerebral palsy, took a five-hour flight from San Francisco to Washington last week. A mix-up at the gate meant there was no wheelchair to help the 29-year-old off the plane,...

The gang from "Sesame Street" is welcoming a new member to the neighborhood — Julia, a girl who has bright orange hair and big green eyes. She also has autism. Julia is the latest creation from the Sesame Workshop, and she offers children a relatable character they can understand, whether they're living with autism or know someone who is. On Wednesday, "Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children" was launched online, and Julia is just part of that educational and awareness initiative. "Children with autism are five times more likely to get bullied," Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, the senior...

[WARNING: The video below contains profanity. Viewer discretion advised.](VIDEO-AT-LINK) RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. (WPEC) — A Riviera Beach police officer was videotaped confronting a disabled veteran for not looking "handicap" for parking in a disabled parking space. U.S. Army combat veteran Isiah James, who has served nearly 10 years for our country, was absolutely shocked when a trip to a popular Riviera Beach drug store turned confrontational with the law. James says he was issued a disabled person parking permit, and it was properly displayed in his vehicle the entire time. During his deployment, James took fire and was hit with...

There is an economic crisis that isn’t much talked about, but which is responsible for a downward spiral that none of us want to see continue. Men are opting out of the workplace. That’s right. According to the U.S. Department of Labor statistics, in the 1950’s about three percent of men between 25 and 54, which is still considered “prime” working age, were unemployed and not seeking employment. In the late 1960’s that had climbed to about five percent. In 2013 it was reported at 12 percent. And the last report placed it at 16 percent. These aren’t just men...

The annual check-up for Social Security is in, and one program looks more dire than the rest. If Congress doesn’t act, people receiving Social Security disability benefits could see a nearly 20 percent cut to payments at the end of next year, according to the latest version of the Social Security trustees report released Wednesday. The disability trust fund will be depleted by the fourth quarter of 2016, leaving the administration with enough income to pay 81 percent of benefits, according to the report, which is updated annually. The health of the Social Security program didn’t change by much, and...

The Social Security Administration's latest annual report says what it has been saying for several years now — its disability insurance program will become insolvent in 2016.

Goose Creek resident Kelly Schuler said he was earning a six-figure income in corporate sales when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and after his symptoms became apparent and he lost his job, Social Security Disability Insurance payments became his financial lifeline. Now he finds himself among the 11 million Americans who could see their monthly checks slashed by 19 percent next year, unless federal lawmakers address a looming shortfall in the Social Security fund that pays disability benefits. The main Social Security fund that pays retiree and survivor benefits is not expected to run short for another two decades,...

Kangaroos have been banned from all restaurants in a Wisconsin town after a woman took a baby specimen to McDonald's with her wrapped in a blanket. Beaver Dam in Wisconsin enacted a law changing the rules about what kinds of pet can accompany humans in food establishments, barring the marsupials. Customers at the McDonald's were shocked in February when farmer Diana Moyer brought a baby kangaroos - named Jimmy - into the hamburger chain with her.

A government audit finds that the Social Security Disability Insurance program paid out $16.8 billion in disability benefits over the past decade to about four million people who either were working, made too much money, were in prison, were dead, weren't eligible or were no longer physically or mentally disabled.

A government watchdog says Social Security overpaid disability beneficiaries by nearly $17 billion over the past decade. Many payments went to people who earned too much money to qualify for benefits, or to people who weren’t disabled anymore. Some payments went to people who had died or to prison inmates. …