Free Republic

The 41% of Americans who now identify themselves as "pro-choice" is down from 47% last July and is one percentage point below the previous record low in Gallup trends, recorded in May 2009. Fifty percent now call themselves "pro-life," one point shy of the record high, also from May 2009. Gallup began asking Americans to define themselves as pro-choice or pro-life on abortion in 1995, and since then, identification with the labels has shifted from a wide lead for the pro-choice position in the mid-1990s, to a generally narrower lead for "pro-choice" -- from 1998 through 2008 -- to a...

The amount of floating ice in the Arctic's Bering Sea - which had long been expected to retreat disastrously by climate-Cassandra organisations such as Greenpeace - reached all-time record high levels last month, according to US researchers monitoring the area using satellites. The US National Snow and Ice Data Center announced last week that ice extent in the Bering for the month of March has now been collated and compared, and is the highest seen since records began.

Hollywood icon James Cameron has made it to Earth's deepest point. The director of "Titanic," ''Avatar" and other films used a specially designed submarine to dive nearly seven miles, completing his journey a little before 8 a.m. Monday local time, according to Stephanie Montgomery of the National Geographic Society. He plans to spend about six hours exploring and filming the Mariana Trench, about 200 miles southwest of the Pacific island of Guam. "All systems OK," were Cameron's first words upon reaching the bottom, according to a statement. His arrival at a depth of 35,756 feet came early Sunday evening on...

Barney Frank's words struck from recordBy Pete Kasperowicz - 03/07/12 03:50 PM ET House debate on a capital formation bill on Wednesday quickly turned into a heated political fight between Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), prompting Hensarling to ask — successfully — that Frank's words be stricken from the record. The two members fought over a bill from Rep. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.), H.R. 4088, which was introduced recently and was inserted into the larger capital formation bill now being debated, H.R. 3606. Quayle's language would increase the number of shareholders that can invest...

Erikur Arnason’s performance was so mind-boggling that Virginia coach Reed Larson wouldn’t have been out of line to ask the referees to perform an equipment check on Greenway’s senior goaltender. With all his bulky gear, it would have been easy for Arnason to stuff an unauthorized good-luck charm inside a portion of his padding. “He had a horseshoe, I’ll tell you what,” Larson said, grasping for an explanation as to how his Blue Devils suffered a 4-2 loss to the Raiders in a Feb. 11 game in which they fired a stunning 75 shots on goal. Arnason’s 73-save gem is...

For some Washington reporters and media execs, cheering their team from the sidelines just isn’t good enough: Tugging on a red, white and blue Team Obama jersey is the answer. That’s the case for a whopping 19 journalists and media executives, including five from the Washington Post and three each from ABC and CNN, who’ve gone into the administration or center-left groups supporting the president. Those inside the administration hit 14 this month when the Post’s Stephen Barr joined the Labor Department. That’s a record, say some revolving door watchers, and could even be much higher:

“Grizzly Guns” by H. V. Stent If you are planning a grizzly hunt or only dreaming of one, a big question is which rifle to use. On that fascinating subject, I’ve been amassing information for some 40 years of living as a teacher, fruit grower and hunter in that bear paradise, British Columbia, where stories of encounters with grizzlies and brown bears are enjoyed where ever sportsmen gather and are often headlined in newspapers and television newscasts. Such meetings sometimes result in a mauled man or shot bear, or both. A recent one ended with both man and bear dead....

An international team of scientists has demonstrated a revolutionary new way of magnetic recording which will allow information to be processed hundreds of times faster than by current hard drive technology. The researchers found they could record information using only heat - a previously unimaginable scenario. They believe this discovery will not only make future magnetic recording devices faster, but more energy-efficient too. The results of the research, which was led by the University of York's Department of Physics, are reported in the February edition of Nature Communications. York physicist Thomas Ostler said: "Instead of using a magnetic field to...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to a record low, the ninth time that has happened in the last year. Even with the cheapest rates in history, the housing market remains depressed. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.87 percent this week. That below the previous record of 3.88 hit two weeks ago. The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.14 percent, also a record low. Records for mortgage rates date back to the 1950s. Mortgage rates tend to track the...

A comparison of President Obama's State of the Union speeches.

America, Conservatives and Republicans. We must support Newt Gingrich. He is a man of many accomplishments who gave us Welfare Reform, A Balanced Budget, and Reduced Taxes. Further, he brought us a Republican Majority when we were lost in the desert and the GOP establishment said it couldn't be done. Newt is the only candidate who thinks of big ideas, studies the challenges in achieving very difficult goals and then through, his leadership, explains how we are going to do it and then marshals them into eventuality. Newt helped us achieve the above through his plan known as the Contract...

January 20, 2012 Gingrich's record on the hot seat in SC debate Republican rivals target House ethics violations

"As former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney runs for President of the United States, his powerful (and well-funded) campaign machine uses revised history and misleading statements to portray him as a solid social and fiscal conservative with a track record of successes as governor. Much of this is exacerbated by fawning (and lazy) conservative media. However, the truth is different. We present the following documentation of Romney's actual record in Massachusetts. We think that the facts will speak for themselves"

After rumbling 99 yards for a touchdown on a fumble recovery in the second quarter, West Virginia safety Darwin Cook banged into Obie, the Orange Bowl mascot, sending them both tumbling to the ground. That was more resistance than any Clemson tacklers offered Wednesday night. In a scintillating display of offense while at the same time humiliating showing on defense, the No. 23 Mountaineers crushed the No. 15 Tigers 70-33 in the Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. There's not enough room here to list all the records West Virginia set. The most amazing was breaking the mark for most...

This was a banner year for guns -- 2011 is set to smash the record for gun sales. The record for a single year was set just last year, when the FBI reported that 14,409,616 background checks were requested. In 2011 that figure will top 16 million. FBI spokesman Steve Fischer said just 1.3% of background checks result in denial of a weapon. With a week left in December, the FBI said the monthly record has already been broken, and that was only set last month when 1,534,414 background checks were requested from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System...

In his “60 Minutes” interview, President Obama offered a keen insight into his 2012 reelection strategy. It takes some decoding, but his underlying strategic goals emerge. He said: “The question next year is going to be — and then this is how a democracy is supposed to work — do they see a more compelling vision coming out from the other side? Do they think that cutting taxes further, including on the wealthy, cutting taxes on corporations, of gutting regulations — do we think that that is going to be somehow more successful? And if the American people think that...

Planned Parenthood Attacks Newt Gingrich's Pro-Life Record Washington, DC -- Newt Gingrich is the latest whipping boy for the Planned Parenthood abortion business as it has taken on Republican candidate Mitt Romney in recent weeks and now trains its sights on Gingrich as he has climbed in the polls. http://www.lifenews.com/2011/12/07/planned-parenthood-attacks-newt-gingrichs-pro-life-record/

Submitted by National Shooting Sports Foundation on Dec 1, 2011 Data derived from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) shows that November 25, 2011, Black Friday, Data derived from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) shows that November 25, 2011, Black Friday, had the most background checks for firearm purchases in a single day (129,166) with a 32 percent increase over the previous NICS high (November 28, 2008). Federal law requires FBI background checks on all individuals purchasing firearms from federally licensed retailers. These statistics represent the number of firearm background checks initiated through...

Story of the Week WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG, BAD WOLF? MamamaMEEE!! This wolf was shot recently in Drayton Valley , Alberta.which is near Edmonton about 3 hours North of Calgary. The wolf weighed over 230 lbs smashing the previous record of 175 lbs. Wouldn't want to run into this puppy in the woods. Apparently a bear hunter witnessed this wolf chase off a big black bear at his baiting station..

In record numbers, they're struggling to find work, shunning long-distance moves to live with mom and dad, delaying marriage and raising kids out of wedlock - if they're becoming parents at all. Young adults are the recession's lost generation in the U.S. The unemployment rate for them is the highest since World War Two, and they risk living in poverty more than others - nearly one in five. There are missed opportunities and dim prospects for a generation of mostly 20-somethings and 30-somethings coming of age in a prolonged period of joblessness.