Free Republic

Minnesota Court Confirms Razor-Thin Election Win, but Party's Filibuster-Proof Majority Is Vulnerable to Internal Fissures. WASHINGTON -- The Minnesota Supreme Court cleared the way for Democrat Al Franken to become Minnesota's new U.S. senator, ending a festering eight-month election dispute and giving the Democrats a 60-seat voting majority in the Senate. The court on Tuesday unanimously upheld Mr. Franken's margin of 312 votes out of 2.9 million cast in November's election, giving him the seat that had been held for one term by Republican Norm Coleman. Mr. Coleman conceded at a news conference at his home two hours later, saying...

Microsoft: We're not gouging Europe on Windows 7 pricing Company exec denies that higher EU prices stem from antitrust action A top Microsoft executive today denied reports that European users will pay more for Windows 7 because of the company's wrangling with antitrust regulators. In a statement first posted as a letter to the Financial Times Web site, Bill Veghte, the senior vice president for the Windows business group, said "nothing about this [case] will mean higher prices for Windows 7 in Europe." Today, Microsoft's public relations firm forwarded the same Veghte statement to Computerworld. Veghte was countering a Financial...

Thousands of Hondurans have marched in support of the new government that replaced ousted leader Manuel Zelaya earlier this week. Officials have vowed to arrest Mr. Zelaya if he returns to the country. Supporters of the new government rallied in the capital Tuesday to hear a speech from interim President Roberto Micheletti and the head of the nation's armed forces. Marchers held signs and waved the blue-and-white flag of the Central American nation as they chanted slogans in support of Mr. Micheletti and the army. Some people also voiced criticism of ousted President Manuel Zelaya and his close ties to...

Taxes: The White House now refuses to rule out raising taxes on the middle class. Meanwhile, a top finance official in the previous Democratic White House suggests a tax hike is all but inevitable. Are we being set up?It sure looks that way. And if it happens, you can mark it down: The economy will slow to a crawl and may even relapse into a deep recession. This is a complete reversal of what was promised. "In an economy like this," President Obama said at last summer's Democratic National Convention, "the last thing we should do is raise taxes on...

These guys are just pros. Remarkable.

Health Reform: A critically ill premature baby is moved to a U.S hospital to get the treatment she couldn't get in the system we're told we should emulate. Cost-effective care? In Canada, as elsewhere, you get what you pay for.Ava Isabella Stinson was born last Thursday at St. Joseph's hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. Weighing only two pounds, she was born 13 weeks premature and needed some very special care. Unfortunately, there were no open neonatal intensive care beds for her at St. Joseph's — or anywhere else in the entire province of Ontario, it seems.

After the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously rejected his lawsuit today, Republican Norm Coleman graciously conceded the bitterly disputed contest over the second U.S. Senate seat for Minnesota. None of this changes the fact that as a senator Al Franken is not legitimate. The election was stolen at the precinct level, during the recount, and during the post-election litigation. Never forget the role that ACORN played in this. As ACORN-aligned Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a former community organizer, presided over the vote-counting process, Coleman's original lead dwindled. The morning after the election, Coleman led Franken by 725 votes. Over the...

CNN anchor Kyra Phillips sympathized with an outed homosexual army officer on Tuesday’s Newsroom program. Phillips questioned Lt. Colonel Victor Fehrenbach about his recent meeting with President Obama, and asked, “What else did you tell him, because I know this has weighed heavily on your heart for a very long time....What did he tell you that gives you...hope...that he is going to get rid of this?” [video of interview available here] The anchor’s interview with Fehrenbach occurred a day after he attended a “celebrating LGBT Pride Month” event at the White House. He was the guest of the homosexual activist...

During more than three hours of interviews over two days at his Statehouse office, Sanford said he is trying to fall back in love with his wife, Jenny, even as he grapples with his deep feelings for Chapur. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jVGOp2bl5_prbLYsoPOvD96f55bgD995A50O0

Contrary to popular Egyptologist belief, the Torah does contain numerous hints of contemporary life in ancient Egypt. The western world has a fascination with the culture of ancient Egypt. The image of the great stone sphinx guarding the lofty pyramiding tombs of the mummified pharaohs, as the once all-powerful king journeyed through the world of darkness, adds to the mysterious lure of ancient Egypt. Over 100,000 books have been written on this inscrutable land and its pharaohs, the first one being composed over 2000 years ago. By the time the Hellenistic historian, Manetho, composed his Aegyptiaca in the third century...

Blogger Aaron Ortiz, south of the border, puts real focus on what is taking place: "Everyone is talking about the coup in Honduras. But only because “coup” is the word Chávez spoon-fed the media a few days ago. There has been no coup. The military are not in power in Honduras. An interim president has been appointed, and almost his first statement was that elections will be held as planned in November. But almost everyone was hoodwinked." "But right now, an emergency meeting of the entire ALBA is taking place in Nicaragua. This is Venezuelan Telesur's highly biased article about...

For many U.S. homeowners, crisis hasn't meant urgency. Just as potential buyers have waited, many would-be sellers facing paper losses have not been forced to act. The standoff shouldn't be confused with stability. The housing freefall slowed in April. Prices dropped 18.1% year on year, according to S&P/Case-Shiller's index of 20 cities. They were lower in every city, but economists were encouraged by slightly more modest declines compared with March -- a possible sign the market is near a bottom. In some overbuilt cities, foreclosures have helped clear inventory while rapidly bringing prices back to reality. Phoenix and Las Vegas,...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya is expected to come to Washington to attend a special meeting of the Organization of American States on Tuesday and will likely meet with U.S. State Department officials, a department spokesman said. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said after Zelaya speaks at the United Nations, he is expected to come to Washington for the OAS meeting, which will take place in the late afternoon. "He wants to come down to Washington and participate in the special general assembly of the Organization of American States," Kelly said. "If he does come down to...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Michael Jackson was so distraught over persistent insomnia in recent months that he pleaded for a powerful sedative despite warnings it could be harmful, says a nutritionist who was working with the singer as he prepared his comeback bid. Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse whose specialty includes nutritional counseling, said Tuesday that she repeatedly rejected his demands for the drug, Diprivan, which is given intravenously. But a frantic phone call she received from Jackson four days before his death made her fear that he somehow obtained Diprivan or another drug to induce sleep, Lee said.

THE mystery over Michael Jackson's death took a dramatic turn after police began tracing the drugs believed to have killed him. Prescriptions appear to have been written in several names - including members of his entourage. This raises the prospect the 50-year-old singer set up an illegal supply chain to satisfy a dependency on painkillers his doctor would not prescribe. Inquiries are focusing on a bodyguard who was at the Los Angeles mansion where the star collapsed on Thursday. The bodyguard, in his 20s, was one of up to 15 individuals often staying at Jackson's mansion. He shared it with...

As the country has tipped into a deep recession over the past two years, North Dakota, under the leadership of the nation's longest-serving governor, John Hoeven, has bucked every trend. In 2008, North Dakota's economy grew 7.3%, twice as fast as any other state except Wyoming, which grew 4.4%. By this point, many states in the industrial Midwest, and housing-bubble states like Arizona, Nevada and Florida, were already shrinking. Unemployment in North Dakota is the lowest in the nation at 4.4%, less than half the national average. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says North Dakota and Montana are...

NaturalNews) As the anticipated July release date for Baxter’s A/H1N1 flu pandemic vaccine approaches, an Austrian investigative journalist is warning the world that the greatest crime in the history of humanity is underway. Jane Burgermeister has recently filed criminal charges with the FBI against the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations (UN), and several of the highest ranking government and corporate officials concerning bioterrorism and attempts to commit mass murder. She has also prepared an injunction against forced vaccination which is being filed in America. These actions follow her charges filed in April against Baxter AG and Avir Green...

"Verify Viper 66 cleared to engage enemy personnel."

"Suzanne", a female caller to Mark Levin's show on June 25th, revealed the ominous secret of the Democrat health care reform effort. "I want to tell you that last week I attended a conference on health care reform sponsored by La Raza. And I will tell you that what they had to say, Mark, is scarier than anything that's been said so far on the health care plan. The kind of comments that were made and the notes that I took... they started the conference out by saying "America does not need health care reform, but Latino immigrants need health...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Power generator Exelon says it's calling off plans to build a new nuclear plant in Texas. The Chicago-based company said Tuesday that worries over the economy and limited availability of federal loan guarantees are the reasons behind putting the project at Victoria, Texas, on hold. Exelon has become the second power company in two months to postpone work on a new nuclear plant. St. Louis-based AmerenUE said in April that it was suspending work on a project in Missouri, also because of cost issues. Exelon is the largest nuclear power generator in the U.S.