Free Republic

Only in the state of Massachusetts could “blaming the victim” be extended to burglaries. Once again, the gun-grabbing fear mongers in charge of our state are looking to set a precedent that will no doubt have national implications. If this case goes to trial and Stanley Sokolowski is convicted, there will now be case law on the books that other judges can cite: The common act of reloading your own ammunition and the possession of the needed (and Constitutionally protected) supplies will be akin to domestic terrorism. The following email was sent to us by our good friend, and former...

Following a New York Times report that he exaggerated his military record, Democratic Senate hopeful Richard Blumenthal has lost ground in match-ups against all his potential Republican challengers in Connecticut. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Connecticut finds Blumenthal with just a three-point advantage over Linda McMahon, 48% to 45%. Two weeks ago, he led the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment by 13 percentage points. The New York Times story broke late Monday; the survey was taken Tuesday evening.

Following a New York Times report that he exaggerated his military record, Democratic Senate hopeful Richard Blumenthal has lost ground in match-ups against all his potential Republican challengers in Connecticut.

WASHINGTON – Political novice Rand Paul rode support from tea party activists to a rout in Kentucky's Republican Senate primary Tuesday night, jolting the GOP establishment. Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter lost his struggle for political survival in Pennsylvania, a five-term incumbent offering experience to voters clamoring for change. Another Democratic incumbent, Sen. Blanche Lincoln, led narrowly in early returns in her race for nomination to a third term in Arkansas, but she risked being thrown into a costly run-off. In a fourth race with national implications, Democrat Mark Critz moved ahead of Republican Tim Burns in a contest to fill...

We turn to the Wall Street Journal for the math on what it will cost to raise taxes on corporations’ retiree prescription drug coverage. This is the provision that has caused several corporations to take markdowns recently. The bottom line: by closing this “loophole” — which was originally created to dissuade companies from dumping retirees’ prescription costs into Medicare Part D — the government could lose more than five times what it brings in. The Employee Benefit Research Institute calculates that the 28% subsidy on average will run taxpayers $665 in 2011 and that the tax dispensation is worth $233....

NEW YORK (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union has lost a quarter of its yearly donations after a major donor cut off $19 million in annual donations because of economic difficulties. David Gelbaum, a wealthy California conservationist, said he was indefinitely stopping the donations that had made him the New York-based group's largest anonymous donor. "For a number of years, your organization has received very substantial charitable contributions from me," Gelbaum said in a statement. "My investments in alternative, clean energy companies have placed me in a highly illiquid position as a result of the general credit crisis in...

Gelbaum said in a statement. "My investments in alternative, clean energy companies have placed me in a highly illiquid position as a result of the general credit crisis in the American and world financial systems." (Click link above for column) Oh goodness, I hope that someone else steps in and fills the gap because we desperately need someone to continue the desecration of everything we hold dear. We need more people to spit on the graves of our veterans by removing crosses that have served as war memorials for the past 75 years. We need someone to remove Christian symbols...

NEW YORK (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union has lost a quarter of its yearly donations after a major donor cut off $19 million in annual donations because of economic difficulties. David Gelbaum, a wealthy California conservationist, said he was indefinitely stopping the donations that had made him the New York-based group's largest anonymous donor

A love-struck buck ran out of luck a week ago. The seven-point buck was killed when it rammed a 640-pound concrete statue of an elk in the backyard of Mark and Carol Brye's home in rural Viroqua, Wis. Bucks often fight during the breeding season, commonly called the rut. Dominant bucks defend breeding territories and female deer by sparring with subordinate bucks. Antler battles sometimes result in the death of one or both deer, but usually end with the biggest buck winning and the smaller buck high-tailing it out to another area. Mark Brye, who owns Brye Plumbing in Viroqua,...

NBC/WSJ survey also shows a drop in his overall job-approval rating WASHINGTON - Despite his public-relations blitz over the past two weeks to promote his plans to reform the nation's health-care system — including holding two town halls on Wednesday — President Barack Obama has lost ground on this issue with the American public, according to the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

The US economy lost more than half a million jobs in December for the second month running, new figures showed on Friday, making 2008 the worst year for job losses since 1945. The unemployment rate – which hit a low of 4.4 per cent prior to the start of the credit crisis – jumped to 7.2 per cent, its highest level in 16 years. Unemployment has now risen by a full percentage point since September, when the crisis intensified with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the investment bank. There was a further rise in the number of discouraged workers no...

RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, Jan. 2, 2009 – For the past 15 months, Leo Knight-Inglesby has pushed himself beyond the limits he and his loved ones ever thought possible. Leo Knight-Inglesby, left, reviews his Air Force enlistment contract with his recruiter, Air Force Staff Sgt. Ty Lopez, in the Rockville, Md., recruiting office. The 22-year-old lost more than 160 pounds to join the Air Force. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Ty Lopez   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The 22-year-old Silver Spring, Md., native shed more than 160 pounds to meet the physical standard of...

CHICAGO (AP) — The Tribune Company, owner of newspapers including The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, along with the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field, said Monday that it lost $121.6 million in the third quarter as newspaper advertising revenue fell. The company, which is privately held, had net income in the comparable quarter a year earlier of $152.8 million. Revenue fell 10.5 percent, to $1.04 billion, from $1.16 billion a year ago, the company said.

A July Zogby poll showed that Obama was leading among Catholics by 11 points. He is now trailing by 15. The link above is to the article in the main section of FR, but I thought this poll detail was worthy of discussion in the Religion section. Such a massive rejection of a Democratic nominee is striking since Catholics come from heavily Democratic regions of the country, where huge majorities of non-Christians and Protestants vote overwhelmingly Democratic, and both traditional news outlets and political infrastructures are far to the left. (Catholics are the quintessential "Reagan Democrats.")

LONDON - Britain's Conservative Party won a special election that was viewed as a barometer of Labour Party leader Gordon Brown's popularity, according to vote results Friday. Tory candidate Edward Timpson handily defeated his left-wing competitor Tamsin Dunwoody to take the parliamentary seat of Crewe and Nantwich in northwestern England, beating her 20,539 votes to 12,679. The loss in a Labour stronghold could help to erode Brown's authority and embolden his critics within the party. The party had held the district since 1983. Brown is struggling to recover from devastating Labour Party setbacks in local elections earlier this month and...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration on Tuesday lost a long-running court battle over its plan to sell bonds to cover the state's public employee pension costs. The ruling by the 3rd District Court of Appeal could complicate negotiations over the state's already overdue budget. Republican lawmakers are holding up the $104 billion spending plan in part because they believe it will leave California with an unmanageably large budget deficit next year. Tuesday's ruling may only add to that concern, depriving the state of more than $500 million to help close the estimated $5 billion-plus deficit in the 2008-09 budget year. Schwarzenegger...

SAN DIEGO – A man being pursued after he illegally crossed into the United States from Mexico was run over by a freight train late Thursday morning as he tried to escape a Customs agent near the San Ysidro crossing, federal authorities reported. The man lost several fingertips on his right hand and had his left foot severed. He was taken to a San Diego hospital. There was no word on his condition. The incident took place in an area known to Border Patrol agents as “the loading docks,” a spot just east of the San Ysidro port of entry...

A four-legged duck known around the world as "Stumpy" has lost one of its limbs in a farmyard accident. The duck's fourth leg was severed after it became caught in the its pen, news agency PA reported. Born in February this year on a farm in Hampshire, England, the owners said that Stumpy suffered no ill effects after being patched up by a vet.

A federal judge has dismissed Elektra v. Santangelo with prejudice, leaving the door open for defendant Patti Santangelo to recover attorneys' fees from the RIAA. Last month, Judge Colleen McMahon denied the RIAA's motion to dismiss the case without prejudice, ruling that the case should either be dismissed with prejudice or proceed to trial so that Santangelo could have a shot at being exonerated of the RIAA's accusations of file-sharing and copyright infringement. A stipulation of discontinuance with prejudice was entered yesterday by both the plaintiffs and defendants, which means that Santangelo is the prevailing party and therefore eligible to...

Earlier a reader blog entry covered a little controversy in the Minnesota Governor’s race. Judi Dutcher, who is the running mate of Democrat Governor Candidate Mike Hatch, was asked a question about E-85 fuel. Dutcher responded by asking what E-85 is. Now this is a pretty major blunder here in the agriculture states. E-85 is a major issue for us, so the fact that Dutcher apparently doesn’t know what it is is significant. Tim Pawlenty’s campaign, the incumbent in the race, responded to the blunder by criticizing Dutcher for being ill informed on the issues. Amazingly, The Hatch/Dutcher campaign responded...