Free Republic

Over the years the American longing to form their own communities free from European -style clusters of apartment renters shuffling to and from work on state-devised public transport lines, confined to nearby schools and shops, has been possible because of widespread private ownership of cars. Like household appliances, cars have as well liberated women to join the workforce, allowing more flexible scheduling to fit each family's needs. Mothers can work and still do the shopping, drop the kids off at schools and to their countless activities. Urban planners -- likely singles who had a semester abroad and been bedazzled by...

The federal government said Friday it would ban minors from using indoor tanning beds, taking action on an issue that many states are already handling. The Food and Drug Administration said the proposed measure was in response to 1.6 million minors using indoor tanning beds each year, according to 2013 federal data. The problem is that indoor tanning is a "known contributor to skin cancer," the agency said. People who have been exposed to radiation from tanning beds are 59 percent more likely to develop melanoma, a dangerous form of skin cancer, than those who never have used the beds,...

Having solved all other problems plaguing our society, New York Times opinion author (and food journalist) Mark Bittman has his eye on the big prize. Taking a page from Michael Bloomberg’s big government playbook, Mark is looking for a new way stop people from drinking soda. Since efforts to ban sales of any sort fell flat in the courts (pun intended) the author is looking for more of a generational change, and the way to do that is to stop kids from getting in the habit of drinking the sugary beverages at an early age. How do we do that?...

Imagine if you were faced with this situation. Your doctor, after running a battery of tests on your six year-old daughter, tells you that she is suffering from a rare cancer that is almost invariably fatal. "But there must be something doctor," you blurt out. "Aren't there some new drugs available that work in at least some cases?" The doctor replies, "Yes, there are some drugs that do show promise in treating your daughter's cancer. The problem is that they have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and therefore I can't get any of them. And...

CHICAGO (AP) — Nearly two years after Illinois decided medical marijuana users shouldn't be prohibited from owning guns, several patients received letters from state police telling them their firearms cards were being revoked. Although the agency insists the letters were sent to just four people before the mistake was corrected, some cannabis supporters say the error signifies an underlying ambivalence about medical marijuana in the 23 states where it's now legal.

Sandbar Lounge, a downtown Casper institution, will close for good Saturday, and its owner says the city's recently imposed smoking ban is to blame. “The smoking ban destroyed the bar, as I foretold it would,” Nancy Goddard wrote Monday in a post on the Sandbar's Facebook page. “I have cried a million tears and will probably cry a million more again. I apologize. I tried and failed. God bless.” Casper residents voted Nov. 3 to reinstate a 2012 smoking ban on bars. More than 6,000 voters cast ballots, with 54 percent voting in favor of the ban. Ban supporters, such...

...Michael Bloomberg...trashed two top-tier Republican presidential candidates in a CNN interview airing Friday.After dismissing "right-wing crazies" who reject mainstream climate science, Bloomberg was asked by CNN's Christiane Amanpour what he made of the GOP field...."There's one of them who was a surgeon, unfortunately at Johns Hopkins, who doesn't believe in science," Bloomberg said. "Somebody said that's like a business executive that doesn't believe in profits."Bloomberg then said that Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas had said some of the "stupidest" things about climate change despite his intellect. He noted that Cruz's intelligence had been praised by Alan Dershowitz, a prominent US...

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) did New York a huge favor earlier this month when he declared fantasy sports leagues a form of illegal gambling and ordered two of their principal organizers, DraftKings and FanDuel, to stop taking bets from state residents. Fantasy leagues are not games of skill, Schneiderman decreed, but rather games of chance, and therefore illegal under state law. And gambling is illegal for good reason: It can lead to addiction and all other sorts of social ills. What a relief. From now on, New Yorkers will not be tempted by the deceitful lure of...

Contender for the Democratic presidential nomination Sen. Bernie Sanders (S-Vt) made an effort to define democratic socialism in a speech to Georgetown University students this week. "Unlike the socialism imposed by Lenin or Mao, democratic socialism allows voters to select who will rule over them," Sanders said. "With the backing of the electorate, these rulers will redress the inequities stemming from inequalities that are no fault of the individual." Sanders asserted "the notion that a person's hard work might entitle him to a disproportionate share of the world's wealth is just plain wrong. A person's ability to work hard is...

Don’t you love donating to causes you believe in? Don’t you love that warm fuzzy feeling from knowing that contributing to a worthy cause? And don’t you especially love that you can support whatever organization you choose anonymously? That last one is especially important given the news over the last few years that the IRS has been targeting conservatives with audits and denial of tax-free status for nakedly political reasons. Well, if the IRS has their way, this may be a luxury that will soon go the way of the dinosaur. A new rule is proposing that non-profit organizations collect...

When Congress left town for the August recess, it did so without coming to an agreement on a long-term transportation bill. Instead, the president signed a three-month extension that set the stage for another showdown this fall. More than 30 such temporary extensions have passed since the last multi-year transportation bill expired in 2011. The inability of Congress to come together to pass a transportation package has frustrated the myriad special interests whose lobbyists want assurances that the dollars will keep flowing for years, and not just months, to come. And the media, which seldom miss an opportunity to push...

Obesity is still rising among American adults, despite more than a decade of public-awareness campaigns and other efforts to get people to watch their weight, and women have now overtaken men in the obese category, new government research shows. For the past several years, experts thought the nation's alarming, decades-long rise in obesity had leveled off. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report Thursday that the obesity rate has climbed to nearly 38 percent of adults, up from 32 percent about a decade earlier.

The National Institutes of Health is spending nearly a half a million dollars for researchers to observe how much time preschoolers in daycare spend outdoors.The project will also use GPS and light sensors to track kids’ physical activity levels in a “robust” effort to fight childhood obesity.“Physical activity lowers the risk of obesity in children, is independently associated with numerous benefits related to health and well-being, and tracks from preschool-age to adolescence,” according to a grant awarded to Seattle Children’s Hospital. “The amount of time preschoolers spend outdoors is thought to correlate with their physical activity levels.”“Yet, most US children...

WASHINGTON, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to probe an unusual caffeine-infused product: peanut butter. STEEM is offering peanut butter in Connecticut and Massachusetts that the company says contains the same amount of caffeine in 2 tablespoons as would be found in two cups of coffee. "STEEM is designed to provide a consistent release of sustained energy and the naturally slow digestion of peanut butter is the key to that. STEEM delivers protein, electrolytes and caffeine, granting you hours of endurance and focus, and freeing you from distractions like hunger and fatigue," the company...

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City will run millions of dollars in political television ads against four state attorneys general who are suing the Obama administration over new regulations on carbon emissions from power plants....

The Environmental Protection Agency is spending $25,000 to teach churchgoers in Connecticut about food waste.The agency announced over $1.7 million awarded through its Healthy Communities Grant Program on Thursday, including $50,000 for its “Food Too Good to Waste” initiative that seeks to curb climate change by teaching adults how to write a grocery list.Sustainable America, a nonprofit group that wants people to turn off their engines instead of idling and buy hybrid cars, was given $25,000 to bring the program to churches.“This initiative will recruit households from faith-based congregations in the Greater Bridgeport and Stamford areas to implement a Food...

Hillary Clinton on Saturday called for looser federal regulations governing marijuana, to boost scientific research on a drug that many tout for relieving pain, among other medical benefits, according to media reports. Speaking at a campaign event in Orangeburg, South Carolina, the Democratic presidential candidate said changing U.S. rules would acknowledge the drug's potential for medical uses and give scientists access to the drug for further investigation. "Universities, (the) National Institutes of Health can start researching what is the best way to use it, how much of a dose does somebody need, how does it interact with other medications," Clinton...

A new ordinance sponsored by New York City Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Queens) would bar tenants of government-subsidized housing from smoking in their apartments. The rule would apply to an estimated 178,000 units controlled by the City's Housing Authority. Richards maintained that "as hard as it may be on some of the tenants, the measure is for their own good. The fact that a person lives in subsidized housing is a pretty good indication of a basic lack of competence to make good decisions," he said. "Inability to support yourself imposes this burden on someone else. Whenever that someone else is...

Next year's St. Patrick's and Irish-Italian parades in Metairie could bring a reduced risk of being smacked in the head with a cabbage. The edibles could still be airborne, but float riders would be required to soften their touch in throwing them. A proposal coming before the Jefferson Parish Council on Wednesday (Nov. 3) would require that all "fruit, vegetables, soap and other non-perishable food items" be tossed underhand at the parades. The reason: Too many people were getting hurt by flying food, said Sean Burke, the administration's director of citizen affairs. He recalled two incidents that led to a...

Sen. Bernie Sanders brought marijuana into the national conversation last week, calling for legalizing and regulating the drug. Under his plan, people in possession of the substance would be treated no differently than people smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol. By removing marijuana from the list of dangerous drugs, Sanders' move would allow states to legalize the marijuana without Washington having a say. Beyond campaign speeches meant to appeal to young voters, a host of state ballot initiatives on marijuana will be greeting voters next November. In California, which became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, residents may...