Free Republic

A transgender high school student who applied to prestigious, private, all-female Smith College has been rejected because the school only accepts women. Smith returned Calliope Wong’s application — and application fee — earlier this month, reports The Advocate. “As you may remember from our previous correspondence, Smith is a women’s college, which means that undergraduate applicants to Smith must be female at the time of admission,” admissions dean Debra Shaver wrote in a letter to Wong, The Advocate says. Wong has identified as female for several years, according to the Keystone Student Voice. However, on the FAFSA (Free Application for...

FReeper Rogle, former New Mexico State Representative Rory Ogle, will be removed from life support this morning. He is not expected to live.

FReeper Rogle (New Mexico) needs prayers

Abstract: Recently, many jurisdictions have implemented bans or imposed taxes upon plastic grocery bags on environmental grounds. San Francisco County was the first major US jurisdiction to enact such a regulation, implementing a ban in 2007. There is evidence, however, that reusable grocery bags, a common substitute for plastic bags, contain potentially harmful bacteria. We examine emergency room admissions related to these bacteria in the wake of the San Francisco ban. We find that ER visits spiked when the ban went into effect. Relative to other counties, ER admissions increase by at least one fourth, and deaths exhibit a similar...

New York’s new gun law requires that mental health professionals report any person they consider “likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to self or others.” If they don’t report this concern, and if something happens involving this person such as a shooting, the mental health professional could face charges for not reporting the person’s behavior to law enforcement. Obviously, this will lead to over-reporting, which is fine by state officials, because that means that’s more people they get to bar from ever owning a gun. The other effect however is that gun-owners will be refusing...

LATEST UPDATE: 12/31/12 4:54PM EST -- DATELINE NEW YORK -- A rep for hospitalized Secretary of State HILLARY CLINTON confirms the blood clot is lodged near her brain confirming The NATIONAL ENQUIRER's special reports on her condition. Doctors said the clot is located in the vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear.

My mom went in for a check-up and she's not doing well. She is 80 and a two-time cancer survivor. Please pray for her, my family, my sister & her family. Thank you.

John Patrick on an Unnoticed Transformation of the Cause of Disease If you want to elicit a startled response from a group of physicians, try asking the following questions: "Those of you with more than thirty years of medical practice, think back to the beginning of your practice. What proportion of your patients came to you because of what might be described as an act of God or nature, such as an ordinary bacterial infection? What proportion came to you with a disease for which they were responsible?" The usual answers will be that 70 percent of all patients came...

New 'Heartland' Virus Discovered In Sick Missouri Farmers Aug 29, 2012 5:00 PM ET Rachael Rettner, MyHealthNewsDaily Staff WriterTwo men in Missouri who became severely ill after sustaining tick bites were found to be infected with a new type of virus, according to a study from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Both men were admitted to hospitals after experiencing high fevers, fatigue, diarrhea and loss of appetite. They were originally thought to be suffering from a bacterial infection, but doubts arose when they didn't improve after being treated with antibiotics. Further tests revealed their blood contained a...

The federal government Friday called for all baby boomers to be tested for hepatitis C, which kills more Americans each year than AIDS and is the leading reason for liver transplants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made the recommendation to find hundreds of thousands of people who don't realize that they have the infection, which greatly increases their chances of developing cirrhosis and liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus is transmitted by blood, usually through intravenous drug use or transfusions. A blood test for it became widely available in 1992. Extremely small amounts of the virus are able...

Former Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern was being treated at a hospital in South Dakota after falling and hitting his head on the pavement outside a library bearing his name.

Please pray for my wife as she struggles to recover from all the medical issues she's suffered with this month. She needs the strength that only the Lord can provide.

The effects of The Patients Protection and Affordable Health Care Act have begun and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield confirmed recently that they will eliminate most Small Group Health Plans in New York effective April 1, 2012. In addition, they will be slashing incentives for brokers to sell those products. Hmmmmm.. What have we here: 1 .Major State in the US economically and business wise. 2. Major Private Health Insurance Carriers killing the good programs and leaving the costly and/or bad ones. 3. Brokers and Consultants now cannot make a living to help business owners with choice 4. Another Government...

I did a quick search on free republic and didn`t see anything about this 2 day old story. Apparently a study was done for the Climate Institute and they have found a link between mental illness and climate change. At first I thought OMG what a crock . But then I thought of ALGORE. Bingo. It`s true. ALGORE is the living walking talking proof that liberalism is a mental disorder. Dr. Savage is right on again.

BERLIN (AP) -- In their second major retraction in a week, German officials said initial tests provided no evidence that sprouts from an organic farm in northern Germany were the cause of the deadly E. coli outbreak. One U.S. expert called the German investigation "a disaster." The surprise U-turn came only a day after the same state agency, Lower Saxony's agriculture ministry, held a news conference to announce that sprouts from the organic Gaertnerhof farm in the northern village of Bienenbuettel were suspected to be the cause of the outbreak. The ministry shut down the farm, recalled all its produce...

The valedictorian at Wekiva High School near Apopka succeeded in 14 Advanced Placement courses, but she lacks the strength to operate a stapler. She earned a grade-point average of 5.1, but whenever she started a new class, she had to ask another student to help her take books out of her backpack. Audrey Winkelsas' life has been full of such difficult contrasts. Yet when she emerged from behind the stage in a wheelchair to raucous applause and a standing ovation during graduation ceremonies Friday, she finally had a moment to focus only on the victories. In her small, frail hands,...

I just got this email. The person who sent it is not here on FR, but she has a good heart. Whitney & Jason are friends with a couple that have 2 sets of twins ages 3 and 16 mo. — Julianna & Travis. Travis is in the Army and is very ill. He (as best I understand it) has a mass is each lung. The one in the left lung is growing. They have been unable to diagnose or treat him. He is in so much pain it is hard for him to go on. The pain is in...

Older lesbian, gay and bisexual adults in California are more likely to suffer from chronic physical and mental health problems than their heterosexual counterparts, a new analysis has found. They also are less likely to have live-in partners or adult children who can help care for them. The research brief was based on data from the California Health Interview Survey, the nation’s largest state health survey, gathered in 2003, 2005 and 2007 by the Center for Health Policy Research at the University of California, Los Angeles. Older gay and bisexual men — ages 50 to 70 — reported higher rates...

Which do you think is less expensive, not to mention preferable: a cure for cancer, Alzheimer's disease and diabetes, or caring for people with these diseases? Wouldn't it be better medical and public policy to direct more resources toward finding a cure for diseases that cost a lot to treat than to rely on a government insurance program, such as Obamacare, which seeks mainly to help pay the bills for people after they become ill? Isn't the answer obvious? Apparently not to many politicians trapped in an old paradigm that focuses too much on hospitals, doctors and medicines and too...

Just got a telephone call from a good friend. Her Yellow Labrador Retriever, Woody, is at the vet with a blockage. They are trying to shift it without surgery, but if things haven't moved by tomorrow morning they will have to go in. Woody is a big ol' boy and absolutely the sweetest dog you will ever meet. He is also a great hunting retriever and my friend's best pal. And he is the father of my little yellow dog Katy. Please everybody pray that we have a good outcome here -- that they can move the blockage without surgery...