Free Republic

<p>In the old days, miners brought canaries down into the tunnels to detect methane. The birds were more sensitive to the deadly gas and worked as an early warning system. When they died, it was time to get out. For conservatives, Sen. Edward Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, is like a canary. When he starts supporting their initiatives, they should get out.</p>

Values for SaleThe Rev. Lou Sheldon trashes pro-lifers odd Akin, Jo Ann Davis, Randy Forbes, Virgil Goode, Jim Demint, John Shadegg, Pat Toomey, Tom Tancredo: All of these congressmen had 100-percent ratings from the National Right to Life Committee for the last Congress. They have something else in common, too: They're the targets of a direct-mail campaign by the Traditional Values Coalition that questions their commitment to the unborn. That campaign has other social conservatives questioning the TVC's motives. At issue is a bill, sponsored by pro-lifers Gil Gutknecht of Minnesota and Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri, that would allow...

MAYS LANDING, N.J. - Marc Snyder can't get his mind off the high cost of his prescription drugs. Thanks to a growing display outside his home, his neighbors are thinking about it, too. Photocopies of prescriptions cover upstairs windows, surround the door and fill blue plastic tarps draped over the yellow house. Snyder said they are prescriptions he could not afford to fill. A large sign declares the week-old display "The Great Wall of Prescriptions" and asks Congress for help. "It's not an eyesore," said Adrienne Reyes, who lives across the street. "It's a good way to advertise." Most of...

THE MEDICARE DRUG BILL: An Impending Disaster For All Americans The Heritage Foundation By Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D. June 13, 2003 Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institute - a think tank - whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. With the support of the Bush Administration, or at least with the White House’s passive acquiesce, Congress appears on course to enacting a huge new entitlement aimed at middle-income Americans. President Bush likely...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryJune 7, 2003 President's Radio Address      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, the House and Senate are working on one of the most important issues facing Congress: improving Medicare to offer prescription drug coverage to American seniors. And on Wednesday, I will travel to Chicago and talk about our responsibility to give seniors more choices and better benefits, including help with the rising costs of prescription drugs. We have a tremendous opportunity to reform Medicare and help our seniors. The budget I proposed, and which the Congress passed, provides $400 billion in additional...

GRETNA (AP) — A man has been booked on 160 counts of various drug offenses after authorities accused him of faking illnesses to get prescriptions for thousands of tablets of narcotics. Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputies said Anthony Farrel, 48, of Metairie was a “doctor shopper” who visited several doctors and pain clinics and acquired more than 11,000 tablets of prescribed painkillers, muscle relaxants and anxiety medications. Farrel was booked on possession, distribution, fraud and theft charges. He was released from the jail Thursday. He could not be reached for comment. Investigators refused to comment further. According to an arrest report,...

Prescription drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC asked Canadian pharmacies and wholesalers yesterday to "self-certify" that they're not exporting its drugs outside Canada. Pharmacies and wholesalers that fail to comply will have their Glaxo supplies cut off. In a Jan.3 letter, the British drug maker had warned Canadian pharmacies and wholesalers that it would cut off their supplies as of yesterday if they continued to sell Glaxo products outside Canada, primarily to the U.S. "GSK's products are approved by Health Canada for sale in Canada only," Glaxo had said, adding that Canadian pharmacies could be violating the company's patent rights and risk...

Letter to the Editor, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal 'Free' Drugs Cost Taxpayers Now that the Republicans control the White House and Congress, it looks to me like we no longer will have a tax-and-spend Legislature. Tax and spend has now been replaced with borrow and spend. Republicans give lip service to the word "conservative," but once safely reelected, their spending record is similar to that of their Democratic colleagues. Case in point: proposed "free" prescription drugs for seniors being pushed by President Bush and the newly elected Republican majority leader, Bill Frist. The "free" drugs aren't "free" at all. They are going...

Ivan Illich, the sociologist and former priest who died on Monday aged 76, was a resolute opponent of institutionalisation; his controversial views on education, society, the law, medicine, and over-consumption brought him into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church and “experts” in almost every discipline.Experts were, in fact, precisely the target of Illich’s wrath, especially in his two most influential books, Deschooling Society (1971) and Medical Nemesis (1975). The hideously-titled Celebration of Awareness took a dim view of progress. Gender (1982) pointed out that drains were not an unqualified benefit to the Third World’s women. “Tap water put an end...

Drug bill advances in Ohio SenateFriday, November 15, 2002 By PAUL E. KOSTYU Copley Columbus Bureau chief COLUMBUS — With each yes vote on the floor of the Ohio Senate on Thursday, the smile on Garry Beltz’s face got broader. After 32 of those votes, the Plain Township man pumped his fist, let out a sigh of relief and quietly said, “Yes.” Three years after his wife, Karon, died of cancer, Beltz neared the end of one crusade, while looking to begin another. When Karon Beltz died in September 1999, her husband had to throw away two weeks worth of...

WASHINGTON (AP)--Senate Republicans are pulling out wish lists that grew tattered and faded over the past 17 months and busily underlining and highlighting and prioritizing. Among their favorites: cutting taxes, approving conservative judges, and drilling for oil in the Alaskan wilderness. By early next year, the Republicans will once again be running it all--the White House and both chambers of Congress--as they did during President Bush's first few months in office. Ideas that seemed like pie in the sky while Democrats controlled the Senate suddenly look doable again. That does not mean it will be easy. The Senate remains closely...

Medco Study Finds Kids' Prescriptions Rising Thu Sep 19, 4:19 AM ET FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. (Reuters) - Kids have surpassed senior citizens as the hot ticket in the prescription drug market. While people over 50 are the largest drug market, Medco Health said in its annual survey released on Thursday that an increasing number of children are taking prescription drugs, making them the fastest growing prescription users in 2001. Dr. Robert Epstein, Medco's chief medical officer, said more aggressive treatment and diagnosis of allergies and asthma, as well as higher cost antibiotics, have led to higher drug spending for the...

AUGUSTA — President Bush’s plan to help some senior citizens with modest incomes get assistance with paying for prescription drugs takes effect in September, but Maine has yet to apply for the waiver needed to implement the program. “We are concerned about the way it is structured,” said Kevin Concannon, commissioner of the Maine Department of Human Services. “Legislation passed in this most recent session of the Legislature directed us to seek a full Medicaid benefit for people under 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or as high as we could go.” The federal poverty level in Maine for...