Free Republic

The Biden administration is apparently looking to ban gas stoves, calling them a “hidden danger”. But while that sounds bad enough, a deeper dive shows – as usual – it’s not really about what they say it’s about. Talk of banning gas stoves and “unregulated indoor air quality” could be a Trojan horse designed to get even more “smart” monitoring technology into your home. Let’s jump in.

As drug legalization groups and the cannabis industry lobby to legalize cannabis across the United States, with initiatives to legalize marijuana on the November ballot in five more states, many experts warn this will only increase the physical and mental harm from the unregulated, high-potency cannabis. President of the American Board of Pain Medicine and a vice president of the International Academy on the Science and Impacts of Cannabis, Dr. Ken Finn, said high potency cannabis use is being linked to poisonings in young children, as well as psychosis and schizophrenia in an increasing number of regular users. “A lot...

Jim Sinclair’s Commentary on the article that follows. If called on to perform they will fail. It is that simple. It is the essence of the OTC derivative. They work if no one calls on them to work. It has always been so. [End Comment] [Article Begins] The European sovereign debt crisis stands as the latest in a long line of similar crises. Argentina in 2001. Russia in 1998. Mexico in 1994. The list goes back into history. Debt crises are about as natural as earthquakes, but this time there is something different — and possibly more dangerous. The European...

When you drive into the city of San Joaquin, it's hard to miss the new lights at the youth soccer fields They're also a sign of what else you'll find in this rural Fresno County community: more children per capita than in any other city in California, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Here, 41% of the population is younger than 18, compared to 25% statewide. (see pie charts in article) The city of San Joaquin is not alone. Across the San Joaquin Valley, cities big and small have more children per capita than most places in...

A jury sentenced a Lakeview man to 10 years in prison for growing nearly 7,500 marijuana plants. Andrew Stever, 40, was sentenced on Monday after a three-day trial in the Federal District Court in Medford.Ten years is the mandatory minimum sentence for anyone convicted of growing 1,000 or more pot plants. In July 2007, officers from several local, state and federal agencies found 7,459 plants growing on Stever's Lakeview property, which bordered Forest Service land. Two men fled the scene, leaving behind personal property and three firearms, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Portland. Physical evidence and testimony linked...

American capitalism was rescued last week by -- who'd have believe it? -- socialism. Free-market fundamentalists will spin what happened as something else. "Temporary government intervention in the market" or "just another federal loan program." And there's the ever-popular "bailout," a neutral term implying we do it all the time and it absolves everyone of any blame. None dare call it socialism. But that's surely what it is. Washington has nationalized AIG, the insurance giant, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as much as Moscow under Vladimir Putin has nationalized big-winner industries like oil. But with this defense: The Russians...

The disciplinary arm of the N.C. State Bar dropped charges of felonious misconduct against two former Union County prosecutors Friday because of a 1999 clerical error at the state Supreme Court. The State Bar had charged Kenneth Honeycutt and Scott Brewer with lying, cheating and withholding evidence in a 1996 death penalty case. The ruling Friday marks the second time that Honeycutt and Brewer won on procedural grounds before the bar's Disciplinary Hearing Commission, which sits as judge and jury in disciplinary cases. . . . Prosecutors around the state are concerned that the case is damaging their reputation and...

IT seemed like an ordinary evening at Crobar, the trendy Manhattan nightclub. Two weeks ago, as Counting Crows performed on stage, young women dressed in expensive jeans pushed toward the front with their khaki-clad, mostly older boyfriends. Few, however, were regulars. On this night, the very rich and the merely rich intermingled on the club's two floors - V.I.P.'s upstairs ($1,000 a ticket) and the rest down below ($250). Most of the 1,250 people gathered for the event, the Robin Hood Foundation charity ball, were part of the city's unlikely new "it" crowd. Richer than Wall Street rich and more...

San Diego — LAST Friday, Carl C. Icahn, one of Wall Street's perennial players, filed a lawsuit against a large hedge fund, accusing it of stock manipulation in a takeover battle. The suit came just a week after the Securities and Exchange Commission posted new rules requiring hedge funds to register with the agency. Should hedge funds be the next frontier for financial regulators? The answer is yes, as long as the oversight isn't overzealous. The most important players in today's financial markets, hedge funds are also the least understood. They are not, as one might suppose, funds that hedge...

Is anybody else concerned that both parties want to clamp down on "Unregulated" speech. Since when is political speech supposed to be regulated? (I know, I know, I read the Supreme Court's twisted logic, too...) The 527s are the only way plain folks can be heard without having to go through the parties, talk show call screeners or newspaper editors to reach the "masses". (Notice, I didn't mention blogs, chat rooms and discussion groups - I still assume the masses don't know we exist!) 527s aren't shadowy - they are already regulated and open as much as anybody - all...

<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) - The Internet has spurred innovation in campaigns, and California lawmakers and regulatory agencies should protect and enhance political participation through the Internet, not regulate it, said a report released Tuesday by a state commission.</p> <p>The Bipartisan California Commission on Internet Political Practices report recommends protecting voter education Web sites and online media from regulation as political campaigning on the Internet grows.</p>