Free Republic

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Pat Quinn is tossing aside the decades-old tradition of Democrats throwing a political rally at the Illinois State Fair, but he denies that’s because Democrats are in disarray, he got booed heavily last year or that he’s facing a tough primary challenger. No, the Democratic governor says that Wednesday’s Governor’s Day at the state fairgrounds will not be the place for the usual political speeches, sign waving and blasting of Republicans. It will be filled with music and entertainment instead.

ORLANDO, Fla. — A husband and wife canceled a news conference in which they had planned to talk about how George Zimmerman assisted them after their SUV flipped over on a Florida highway. Mark and Dana Gerstle had planned to speak Wednesday afternoon at the Orlando law office of Zimmerman's attorney, Mark O'Mara.

“For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Isaac Newton’s Law of Motion Washington DC Democrats passed a bill that would require retailers to pay workers at least $12.50 per hour. Within hours of the decision Wal-Mart announced it was canceling three store openings in the area. Nice work, Democrats. WTOP reported: The D.C. Council has passed a bill that would require large retailers like Wal-Mart to pay workers at least $12.50. The bill now goes to Mayor Vincent Gray for his consideration. The 8-5 vote was short of the votes needed to override a veto from the...

The “nude scanners” are gone. The full-body scanners that used X-rays to create what looks like a nude image of passengers have been packed away and removed from airports across the country. The 250 or so machines were removed about two weeks ago, before the June 1 deadline set by Congress. But privacy advocates aren’t satisfied, noting that the Transportation Security Administration is still using full-body scanners that employ a different technology. … The TSA now relies solely on millimeter wave scanners, which previously generated similar nude images but have been upgraded to portray a generic figure on which they...

Following an uproar over a Defense Department statement saying that military personnel could be court-martialed for sharing their faith, the Pentagon has backed down on that position and now says soldiers are free to proselytize, as long as they don't harass others. “Service members can share their faith,” clarified Navy Lieutenant Commander Nate Christensen in a statement, “but must not force unwanted, intrusive attempts to convert others of any faith or no faith to one's beliefs.” The Defense Department had released an alarming statement saying: “Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense.... Court martials and non-judicial punishments...

resident Obama has canceled plans to deliver a keynote address at Planned Parenthood’s annual fundraising dinner Thursday night after critics decried his high-profile role at the abortion rights group amid new concerns about the brutality of illegal forms of abortion. White House spokesman Jay Carney announced the decision to cancel the keynote speech at the gala during his daily press briefing with reporters Wednesday. He attributed the schedule change to Mr. Obama’s desire to spend more time at a memorial service in Waco, Texas, for family members of the victims of the fertilizer plant explosion.

OXFORD, Miss. The Mississippi man charged with sending poisoned letters to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator and a state judge was released from jail on Tuesday, federal official said, though the reason for the release wasn't immediately clear.

The Economist and other journalism icons are beginning to reassess their position on global warmingThe overwhelming consensus on global warming among journalists may be cracking. Last week, the world’s most prestigious newsmagazine – The Economist – backed away from its past alarmist position, saying that “If climate scientists were credit-rating agencies, climate sensitivity would be on negative watch.” The Economist now discounts the high-end estimates of warming coming from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as being unlikely if not far-fetched. Carbon taxes offer economic pain for little to no environmental gain Kenneth P. Green: Whether or not one...

Actress Ashley Judd's next role will not be as a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky. Judd said on Wednesday she has decided not to run in 2014 to try to unseat Republican Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, after considering such a candidacy for months. "After serious and thorough contemplation, I realize that my responsibilities and energy at this time need to be focused on my family," she wrote on Twitter. Judd and her husband, three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti, announced in January that they had decided to end their 11-year marriage. Judd, 44, considers Kentucky...

As I mentioned yesterday, the medical device tax that went into effect last January is just one of the many insidious job-killing measures contained within ObamaCare, but it is an especially terrible one. The 2.3 percent excise tax is meant to raise a handsome $30 billion to pay for ObamaCare over the next decade, except that, added bonus: It’s going to stifle innovation and competition in an industry that provides all manner of life-saving medical devices, from MRIs to pacemakers to blood tubes.And this hasn’t just been a Republican refrain, by the way. Thursday night, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to...

In April, 2011, Wind 1 went online near Falmouth, MA's waste plant. The 262 feet tall structure -- 10 feet taller than the Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown -- has blades that extend almost 400 feet, which is about half the height of the John Hancock Building in Boston, reported WGBH-TV. Complaints started almost immediately. According to Fox, Wind 2 is ready to go online but the town said 'enough is enough.' The 262-foot eyesores have created a storm of protests from residents, many of whom blame numerous health problems on the turbine already in use. The blades' low frequency vibrations...

Controversial reality show "All My Babies' Mamas" has been canceled by Oxygen after a Change.org petition against the one-hour special received 37,000 signatures. According to reports, Oxygen was planning to highlight Shawty Lo, an Atlanta-based rapper who has 11 children with 10 different women. The show -- which was not being developed as a series, just as a one-time episode -- would have featured all of the women and children moving into one home together. According to an Oxygen press release, the show would "leave the man of the house to split his affection multiple ways while trying to create...

Embattled U.N. envoy Susan Rice is dropping out of the running to be the next secretary of state after months of criticism over her Benghazi comments, she told NBC News on Thursday.

Many powerful Democrats, even some of the most liberal among them, are supporting what amounts to a dismantling of President Obama’s signature health care law. Using “Republican” language to make their case, these Democrats are attempting to repeal some of the funding mechanisms as well as the cost-containment measures that were purportedly inherent in the law. With some of their most influential constituent groups facing onerous tax increases that are slated to help fund the law’s mandates and regulations, Senators like Al Franken (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA)

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A cadet quitting West Point less than six months before graduation says he could no longer be part of a culture that promotes prayers and religious activities and disrespects nonreligious cadets. Blake Page announced his decision to quit the U.S. Military Academy this week in a much-discussed online post that echoed the sentiments of soldiers and airmen at other military installations. The 24-year-old told The Associated Press that a determination this semester that he could not become an officer because of clinical depression played a role in his public protest against what he calls the unconstitutional...

Toyota has scrapped plans for widespread manufacturing and sale of a new mini-car that was to be powered as electric only. Reuters reports that Toyota stated they “had misread the market and the ability of still emerging battery technology to meet consumer demands.” We would all be a lot better off, if Only Barack Obama and Harry Reid had the same amount of guts as Toyota to admit to making gross errors in judgment. Takeshi Uchiyamada, the engineer who oversees vehicle development as Vice Chairman of Toyota, was frank in stating, “two years later, there are many difficulties.” Takeshi is...

The item, known as “Our Strips: Flag Poster” redesigned the American flag using the Obama for America logo. The print was the target of conservative backlash last week. A page where the flag was now returns as error page. A cached version of the website still shows the product but returns a error page when attempting to add the item to the cart.

The Obama campaign produced a poster of an American flag, with Obama’s “O” symbol replacing the field of stars, as an item of campaign merchandise, selling for $35. The image was tasteless at best. It is hard to imagine any other politician arrogant enough to remake the flag in his own image: Barack Obama, however, has never been one to be deterred by bad taste. The larger problem was that, as many pointed out, the flag bore an uncanny resemblance to this grisly photograph taken at the American consulate in Benghazi: So the Obama campaign has quietly ditched the flag...

What had been one of the lowest-performing, under-enrolled schools in San Francisco was little more than a pile of rubble as workers demolished Willie Brown Jr. Academy in the city's Bayview neighborhood. Loud hydraulic excavators bit off pieces of the few remaining walls still standing last week at the school, which served about 160 students in grades four through eight until June 2011. With blue sky visible above and gaping holes nearby, a paper sign directed visitors to the now-nonexistent counseling office. Soon, the tons of mangled rebar and concrete chunks will be carted off for recycling and the 4-acre...

The Obama campaign has canceled Vice President Biden's entire Florida trip. "This change in schedule is being taken to ensure that all law enforcement and emergency management resources across the state can continue