Free Republic

Climate alarmists at Vox urge humanity to stop burning fossil fuels because “the window to act on climate change is closing.” Sparing no hyperbolic flourish, climate writer Umair Irfan asserts that 2023 has been a year of “extraordinary drought, deadly rainfall, and searing heat waves” thanks to global warming. The year 2023 is on track to be “the hottest year measured in human history,” Irfan adds, meaning of course since 1880, when any sort of reliable temperature tracking records began. This year may also “mark the first time global average temperatures have risen above a critical line, providing a glimpse...

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that democracy was on the ballot in Tuesday’s midterm elections because “Donald Trump’s shadow is looming.” Anchor Dana Bash asked, “Do you think you will hold the Senate?” Klobuchar said, “I do. Yes, I do. I look at the races. Our incumbents are either ahead, or they’re tied.”

The Democrats knew what they were doing when they deferred the implementation of most provisions of Obamacare until after the 2012 election. What is surprising, really, is that Obamacare has been so unpopular, given that most of its baleful effects have not yet been felt. But it won’t be long now. The Associated Press reports that health insurers are warning of massive price increases beginning next year: Some Americans could see their insurance bills double next year as the health care overhaul law expands coverage to millions of people.

Unreal. Life’s a party. With the government shutdown looming… Obama plans his weekend getaway. Daily Press reported: The leader of the free world may be coming to Williamsburg for some rest and relaxation if Congress is able to come to agreement on the budget. President Obama and the First Family are planning to visit the area this weekend in what the White House described Wednesday as a “long-planned family trip to Colonial Williamsburg.” But the trip might get grounded if a government shutdown can’t be averted by Republicans and Democrats in Congress.

If there's one thing Belgium is known for above all else - more than Tintin, chocolate and female tennis stars - it's beer. The Belgians have a rich beer-making tradition dating back to the Middle Ages and more than 125 breweries today; beer, it is said, is the very lifeblood of the country. But trouble is, literally, brewing. Supplies of Belgium's top brands - Stella Artois, Hoegaarden and Leffe - are rapidly running low .. For nearly two weeks, picketers have stacked crates and set fires to block the entrances to the headquarters of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer,...

Filiberto Cervantes has already separated from his wife and kids, lost his car, moved into his truck and says he subsists largely on a diet of $1 cheese burritos. But Jan. 1 looms like a date with the grim reaper himself. ... Cervantes is among thousands of truckers servicing the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex who are facing a day of reckoning this New Year's. That's because Jan. 1 is the day new clean-air guidelines go into effect at the ports, banning all pre-1994 trucks -- as well as 1994-2003 rigs that have not been retrofitted with costly diesel particulate...

Evoking a familiar theme, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Friday the United States will face a major crisis unless the federal government eases the looming economic strain of paying Social Security and other benefits to aging baby boomers. As things currently stand, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid obligations will devour 15 percent of the gross domestic product in 2030, up from about 8.5 percent this year, Bernanke told an economic summit held at Stanford University. "If we don't do something about this, we will have to eliminate the armed forces and everything the government does. It clearly is not...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton runs for the White House in 2008 as expected, her biggest strategic decision will be how to use one of her most powerful campaign resources -- her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Hardly the typical political spouse, the former president is a magnetic presence on the stump, with well-honed instincts and fund-raising abilities. He knows the pitfalls of a campaign and can easily rouse the Democratic faithful to action. But his involvement also raises plenty of questions. Would his high-voltage style overshadow his wife, a less electric presence on the campaign trail?...

When she lived at home in Half Moon Bay before her parents died, Stephanie Hill would do the family's grocery shopping by herself. She'd zip to the store in her motorized wheelchair, pick items off the shelves, and carry the bags back to the house. And when she needed to go to the doctor, she often could go alone. Hill managed all of that even though she was born with cerebral palsy and can't get herself out of bed, walk or dress herself. But when her father became ill and died of colon cancer four years ago, her independence ended....

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The top U.S. commander in Iraq said Thursday he needs more international forces to deal with an array of potential security threats, including al-Qaida terrorists, Iranian fighters and clashes between ethnic and religious militias. With Washington pushing a new U.N. resolution aimed at persuading more nations to contribute troops, Russia gave its first signal that it could send peacekeepers to Iraq, and Britain said it was considering whether to increase its force levels. In Tikrit, meanwhile, U.S. troops battled guerrillas in the streets after a mortar attack. No U.S. casualties were reported. At a Baghdad news conference,...