Free Republic

A News 8 investigation found that hundreds of aircraft mechanics have been brought into the United States to work at aircraft repair facilities. Insiders say the companies that are importing the mechanics are so eager to save money, they’re overstating their qualifications. The result may be a threat to safety, abetted by lax enforcement of immigration law. At daybreak any morning at San Antonio Aerospace, hundreds of workers amble through the gates for the day shift. They repair big jets like Airbuses, Boeing 757s and MD-11s. But, despite the fact that it's a huge facility in the middle of the...

During the recent uprisings in Iran following the June 12th elections in that country, I have been approached by dozens of individuals asking me what is going on in Iran’s Jewish community today. The simple answer is pure fear . An emotion which is nothing new to Jewish minorities who have lived and somehow survived massacres, pogroms, as well as forced conversions in Iran for the past 2,700 years. Iranian Jewish fear is not only present today among the Jews in Iran but has also gripped thousands of Iranian Jews living in Southern California and New York. My piece this...

When Jeff Goldblum passed away, a little bit of all of us died. I will be missed. He couldn’t have said it better. Words can’t describe the great loss we felt when we heard actor Jeff Goldblum had passed away. Luckily he visited the set of The Colbert Report to help us put his death into perspective. In this hilarious video, Colbert takes some time during his show to remember Goldblum, after it was reported that he died in New Zealand while filming a movie. Even when Goldblum himself comes to prove that he is indeed alive and well, Colbert...

The Labor Department has a slew of data on the employment front this morning. Actually, it is the unemployment front. The data for unemployment in the month of June showed an unemployment rate of 9.5%. The bad news comes in the form of the change in non-Farm Payrolls, which came in at-467,000. Where this gets tricky is inside the individual data and inside the weekly data. Bloomberg’s consensus estimates for the change in non-Farm Payrolls was only -350,000. The estimates on the overall unemployment rate was 9.6%. The numbers for April were originally reported as being 9.4% unemployment and -345,00...

The harsh advertising climate has forced one of New York City's leading gay and lesbian newspapers to lay of its staff and suspend publication. From the New York Times The New York Blade, one of the two major gay and lesbian newspapers in New York City, has laid off its editor in chief and suspended publication, the chief executive of its publishing company said on Wednesday. “Everyone was let go, but the people on The Blade know that they may come back if The Blade is coming back,” said the executive, Matthew Bank, of HX Media, which was formed in...

Los Angeles, CA (AHN) - Lori Drew, a mother convicted last year for misdemeanor charges stemming from allegations that she posed as a boy and caused the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier, will be sentenced on Thursday. Drew was charged in May 2008 on a four-count indictment. She was convicted in November the same year of three counts, which were reduced from felonies to misdemeanors, of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress. The jury could not decide on the charge of criminal conspiracy, which carries a maximum of five years in prison. Virtually ending...

It is hard to say whether a person is better off stopping smoking and lessening their chances of a heart attack or killing themselves. Some of the anti-smoking drugs from Pfizer (PFE) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) can have terrible side effects. The drugs are Chantix, made by Pfizer, and Zyban, made by GlaxoSmithKline. Inexplicably, the FDA will allow the treatments to stay on the market. The New York Times reports that “Federal drug regulators warned Wednesday that patients taking two popular drugs to stop smoking should be watched closely for signs of serious mental illness, as reports mount of suicides among...

There is some great patriotic programming on TBN over the next several days. Yes, it's primarily Christian in nature, but it's all incredibly patriotic, Independence Day related, and some incredible history lessons as well. Hey, what's on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, etc? Enjoy! TBN.org TBN TV schedule July 2nd (East coast): Note: Primary schedule is west coast, but you can change time zones. Some great programs (Eastern Time). Check schedule for additional broadcasts. 11:30 AM - A Nation Adrift * http://tbn.org/index.php/2/4/p/324.html 1:30 PM - Medal of Honor * http://tbn.org/index.php/2/4/p/535.html 5:00 PM - America's Godly Heritage * http://tbn.org/index.php/2/4/p/307.html 6:00 PM -...

The Washington Post has taken a page from politicians by offering access to Obama officials and its own reporters for a fee. From the Politico For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post is offering lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few" — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and the paper’s own reporters and editors. The astonishing offer is detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he feels it’s a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier...

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Al Franken was approved Tuesday to join the US Senate. The Democratic Party will now involve him in their secret plans. The Minnesota Supreme Court ratified Al Franken yesterday as having won the Senatorial election seven months ago. Incumbent Norm Coleman, having exhausted all legal channels except for the Minnesota Thunderdome, finally conceded the race, saying only, “Next time Franken. Next time.” The Democrats welcomed Franken into their upper echelons of power with a decoder ring and other perks. In a private ceremony involving robes and jasmine scented aromatherapy candles, Franken was sworn in as a Democrat...

Los Angeles, CA (BANG) - Sarah Jessica Parker disapproves of her "Sex and the City" character. The actress - who plays columnist Carrie Bradshaw for all six TV series, last year's movie and will reprise her role for next year's film - didn't agree with the raunchy antics her alter-ego and her friends got up to. She is quoted as saying: "If the audiences had known my true feelings about some of the sexual content in 'Sex and the City,' they may have felt I wasn't the right person to be in such a series." Sarah - who recently became...

Bishop Ricardo Blázquez, Bishop Giuseppe Versaldi, Archbishop Ricardo Ezzatti, Archbishop Charles Chaput and Bishop Ricardo Watti (top to bottom, left to right) Rome, Italy, Jul 1, 2009 / 02:45 pm (CNA).- After the announcement on March 31 that Pope Benedict XVI had ordered an Apostolic Visitation of the Legionaries of Christ, many wondered when it would begin. Vatican watcher Sandro Magister has answered the question by  reporting it will begin on July 15 and that five bishops have been charged with the task. Magister states that the visitors will be Bishop Ricardo Watti Urquidi of Tepic, Mexico; Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver,...

Featured Term (selected at random):VITANDUS "To be avoided." The most severe form of excommunication, seldom imposed and only then expressly by the Holy See. It means that, as a remedial measure, the faithful are not to associate with the person "except in the case of husband and wife, parents, children, servants, subjects," and in general unless there is some reasonable excusing cause. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

The most insidious part of Obamacare is the backdoor taxes, and defacto control of our healthcare by the nanny state that President Obama's plan is loaded with. And here is another one that is not getting much play. Employers would be socked with requirements to pay for 72.5 percent of the cost of insurance premiums for their full-time employees under the plan being considered in the House. They would also be required to pick up an as yet undetermined percentage of the insurance plans for part-time employees, as well. This alone will insure that part-time jobs across the nation are...

Posted on the fly, I'm sorry.

Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan (AHN) - The Obama administration launched its first major offensive in Afghanistan early Thursday, pushing deep into Helmand Province, where militants suppport their activities from one of the world's largest opium poppy fields. Thousands of U.S. Marines and Afghan security forces quickly moved into towns and villages along the river valley, securing the Taliban stronghold. Operation Khanjar, or Strike of the Sword, involves nearly 4,000 Marines and 650 soldiers from the Afghan Army and police forces. The assault comes only two days after American forces withdrew from the cities of Iraq, and less than two months before...

The rising number of swine flu cases mean trying to contain the virus is no longer an option, the government says. Ministers said the emergency response would now move to a new "treatment" phase across the UK as there may soon be 100,000 new cases a day. It means anti-flu drugs will no longer be given to the close contacts of those infected nor will lab testing be done to confirm cases. The move has been made to relieve the pressure on the health service. The announcement, which comes into effect immediately, has long been expected. It does not mean...

Yesterday Academy Award winning actor Karl Malden died at age 97 of natural causes at home with his family. His long and varied career was rich with intelligently crafted roles. He is survived by his wife of 70 years Mona, two daughters Karla and Mila, three granddaughters and four great grandchildren. It was a little over five years ago that I had the privilege of meeting Karl Malden for the first time at his home in West Los Angeles along with his kind and beautiful wife Mona. I was there to do an interview that would later be published in...

A mountain lion was spotted in a hotel parking lot just off of I-25 in Del Camino in Weld County, and four animals were decapitated on a nearby property, authorities said. A six-foot long mountain lion was seen at about 11 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of a Quality Inn, near the 10000 block of the West I-25 frontage road, according to a media release from the Weld County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff's deputies and officers with the Firestone and Frederick police department's searched for the big cat but did not find it. On Monday a resident in the 9000...

I remember some things about the fall of 1987, but none nearly as vividly as our high school football team playing in the state championship. The whole city seemed caught up in the anticipation of what was happening. There was even a coach's quote that made it onto sweatshirts, bumper stickers and business signs: "never, never, never, never, never give up." Sadly, few in the stands wearing the shirts realized that they and the coach were actually quoting Winston Churchill. Nothing could deter our enthusiasm to cheer for our team! "NNNNNGU" was seen all over town. In the semifinal game,...