Free Republic

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Lately Illinois has been overrun by Democrats fleeing their legislative duties. First they came from Wisconsin, then they came from Indiana. We are 'full up' on tax-raising, union supporting budget busters. If you see any of these individuals, watch your wallets!

The Obama administration is setting aside 187,000 square miles in Alaska as a "critical habitat" for polar bears, an action that could restrict future offshore drilling for oil and gas. The total, which includes large areas of sea ice off the Alaska coast, is about 13,000 square miles, or 8.3 million acres, less than in a preliminary plan released last year. Tom Strickland, assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks at the Interior Department, said the designation would help polar bears stave off extinction, recognizing that the greatest threat is the melting of Arctic sea ice caused by climate change....

Wildlife officials have killed a grizzly bear in Wyoming and a grizzly bear in Montana to head-off potential lawsuits. The Montana grizzly killed and partially consumed Kevin Kammer at a Gallatin National Forest campground near Cooke City, Mont. on July 29. The Wyoming grizzly killed 70 year-old botanist Erwin Evert on June 17 on the Shoshone National Forest near the East Entrance of Yellowstone National Park. The circumstances were quite different, but the decision to kill the bears was undoubtedly influenced by a 1996 court case over the terrible bear mauling of 16 year-old Anna Knochel at a U.S. Forest...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says the government is in charge of the response to the Gulf oil spill, not the oil company BP. Obama says all steps BP takes to end the huge spill must be approved in advance by the government. Obama says his administration will do whatever is needed to protect and restore the Gulf Coast from this "unprecedented disaster."

Depending on your perspective, the Oath Keepers are either strident defenders of liberty or dangerous peddlers of paranoia. In the age of town halls, talk radio and tea parties, middle ground of opinion is hard to find. Launched in March by Las Vegan Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers bills itself as a nonpartisan group of current and retired law enforcement and military personnel who vow to fulfill their oaths to the Constitution. More specifically, the group's members, which number in the thousands, pledge to disobey orders they deem unlawful, including directives to disarm the American people and to blockade American cities....

BAGHDAD — Iraqi River Police (IRP) conducted operations here on the Tigris River to hone their skills in keeping Iraq’s waterways safe from terrorists, Sept. 1. The mission of the IRP is to provide search and rescue, safety patrol, and counter smuggling operations along the waterways of Iraq. Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq advisors, mentors and trainers help the IRP accomplish this mission. There are two advisors at the River Patrol. One is responsible for teaching waterborne operations, how to pilot the boats, and how to use the boats to conduct the operations found in the mission statement. The second advisor...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2009 – Afghan forces and troops of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force protected civilians from insurgent attacks, seized an enemy weapons stockpile and detained two suspected militants in recent operations in Afghanistan. Afghan and ISAF forces protected civilians in Nuristan province’s Barge Matal district yesterday after militants launched a series of attacks targeting civilians, a girls’ school and buildings near the district center. The combined forces maneuvered to engage the militants and requested close-air support during the eight-hour battle. Two Afghan soldiers and an Afghan police officer died in the battle. One civilian was wounded by...

ZABUL PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Aug. 21, 2009 – As Afghans took to the streets yesterday to exercise their right to vote authorities here worked together to provide security for polling stations across the province. The Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police and NATO International Security Assistance Force servicemembers coordinated security for more than 40 polling stations. “The strong coordination of [Afghan and NATO] forces in Zabul to protect the people allowed them to vote for their favorite candidate,” Gov. Mohammad Ashraf Naseri said. Coordination for most of the election took place at the province’s Operations Coordination and Cooperation Center, which serves...

WASHINGTON, July 6, 2009 – A new tactical directive for coalition forces serving in Afghanistan re-emphasizes the importance of preventing civilian casualties. Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces Afghanistan, released the directive July 2. It builds on previous tactics and is much clearer about use of close-air support, searching Afghan houses and protecting Afghan cultural and religious sensitivities. All coalition forces in Afghanistan must follow the directive. Taliban fighters use a tactic of engaging coalition forces from positions that expose Afghan civilians to danger. Close-air support of coalition and Afghan personnel...

  Join the Protect Isabella Coalition Help us stop judicial tyranny and see that Virginia's marriage laws work for Isabella and other children like her!   Six-year-old Isabella Miller did not arrive in the world in "the usual way." Her "dad" is an anonymous sperm donor. The only father she really has known is her Heavenly Father, thanks to the love and godly teaching of her real (biological) mother and role model, Lisa Miller. Though Lisa was residing in Virginia at the time of Isabella's conception and birth, she was not considered "married" under Virginia's constitution. She had a...

No need to worry about mass-murdering terrorists − the government is scaling back surveillance of overseas communications and planning to close Guantanamo. No need to worry about nuclear weapons in the hands of unstable tyrants in North Korea and Iran − the government is scaling back our nuclear weapons. No need to worry about drug-dealing street gangs − the government is scaling back the already inadequate control of our borders. If the government no longer worries about these problems, why should we? So rest easy. You need not fear to go out tonight, lest Martha Stewart accost you and offer...

Investing? Here's the Safe Option By EUGENE SILVER Updated 11:12 AM CST, Thu, Mar 5, 2009 Safes are becoming popular again, due to unpredictable financial markets. Afraid that cash isn't secure even behind the thick walls of banks, more people are turning to something that has protected money since the days of Jesse James and Bonnie and Clyde: safes. Enlarge Photo Safes are becoming popular again, due to unpredictable financial markets. Safes are Flying Off the Shelves Watch Video Safes are becoming popular, again. The metal vaults are so popular in some part of the country that shopper are depleting...

JERUSALEM – Members of the most active West Bank terror organization are set to serve in security forces being deployed to protect Sen. Barack Obama during his trip to the West Bank tomorrow, WND has learned.

On Sunday May 25, 2008 at approximately 2:30 a.m. the Winnemucca Police Department was dispatched to the Players Bar and Grill located at 1062 South Grass Valley Road on the report of numerous shots fired and multiple gunshot victims. A combined law enforcement team consisting of Officers from the Winnemucca Police Department and Deputies from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office responded to the dispatch call and secured the scene. There were approximately 300 patrons in and around the bar. No shots were fired by law enforcement during the incident. The officers on scene discovered three adult males who had died...

CINCINNATI , Ohio, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Brief periods of blocked blood flow may pre-condition the heart to survive a full-blown heart attack, a U.S. researcher found. The study, published in the American Journal of Physiology: Heart and Circulatory Physiology, linked underlying molecular mechanisms -- known as the JAK-STAT pathway -- found to aid the body in fighting infection may also be active in protecting the heart from debilitating injury from a heart attack. "These mini stress tests appear to push the heart muscle into an adaptive state where it gets used to how long-stress feels," Dr. Karyn Butler of...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An extract of green tea wards off colorectal cancer, animal experiments show. According to research reported at the Sixth International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention, sponsored by the American Association for Cancer Research, a standardized green tea polyphenol preparation (Polyphenon E) limits the growth of colorectal tumors in rats treated with a substance that causes the cancer. "Our findings show that rats fed a diet containing Polyphenon E are less than half as likely to develop colon cancer," Dr. Hang Xiao, from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey,...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - For lovers of boiled peanuts, there's some good news from the health front. A new study by a group of Huntsville researchers found that boiled peanuts bring out up to four times more chemicals that help protect against disease than raw, dry or oil-roasted nuts. Lloyd Walker, chair of Alabama A&M University's Department of Food and Animal Sciences who co-authored the study, said these phytochemicals have antioxidant qualities that protect cells against the risk of degenerative diseases, including cancers, diabetes and heart disease. "Boiling is a better method of preparing peanuts in order to preserve these phytochemicals,"...

Gov. Schwarzenegger recently escalated a battle of words with federal officials over how to manage the remaining wilderness areas in Southern California's national forests. In an August letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Schwarzenegger accused the federal government of not doing enough to make sure wilderness in the San Bernardino, Cleveland, Angeles and Los Padres national forests is protected from road construction. The state and environmental groups want more restrictions on forest roads than are outlined in new forest management plans, 10- to 15-year master plans for land use in the forests. Schwarzenegger charged the federal government with not...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 2007 – Multinational Division Baghdad helicopter crews killed four armed insurgents yesterday in northwestern Baghdad. The team of two Apaches from 4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, was providing area security for 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Infantry Regiment, troops when the unit came under small-arms fire. The encounter began when Apache pilots saw five insurgents with weapons maneuvering through alleyways. After being cleared by the ground unit, the Apache crews engaged the insurgents, killing four and wounding one. "(Insurgents) think they can engage coalition forces and escape, but they cannot outrun the deadly effects of our Apaches,"...