Free Republic

Return to Sender by: Brittany Fortier, July 02, 2009 At the Cato Institute Conference for Health Care Reform held on June 17, 2009, a panel discussed the importance of reforming the way health care is delivered to patients. “As hard as coverage expansion is, the only way health care is going to become … more predictable, more sustainable, and more cost effective over time is … if there is substantial delivery system reform,” said moderator Susan Dentzer, Editor-in-Chief of Health Affairs. Shannon Brownlee, Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation and the Author, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making...

Megan Fox is becoming known not only for her ravishing looks, but for the controversial statements that come out of her mouth during interviews. She’s come under fire for several statements she’s made in the last few weeks, including slamming Scarlett Johansson in Esquire for being “too smart.” Her latest rant was about Michael Bay, the director for the Transformers franchise, which, by the way, put her on the map. Megan slammed Bay, saying he focuses too much on special effects, and not enough on acting. Bay was quick to put Megan back in her place, telling the Wall Street...

WASHINGTON – With joblessness rising, President Barack Obama said Thursday he was "deeply concerned" about unemployment and conceded that too many families are worried about "whether they will be next" to suffer economically. In a White House interview with The Associated Press, Obama said that since he took office, "we have successfully stabilized the financial markets," and "started to see some stabilization on housing." "But what we are still seeing is too many jobs lost," said Obama, commenting after new government figures showed the unemployment rate had risen to 9.5 percent last month.

The former Vice Presidential candidate opens up about her running life and explains why she's still on the trail.

HELENA - The Montana Pro Life Coalition on Wednesday submitted three proposed constitutional initiatives for the 2010 ballot defining embryos and fetuses as persons with rights, measures that if passed and upheld in courts would effectively ban abortion in Montana. Each proposal would define a person as a human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human. "The language of the personhood amendment proclaims what most people already know, which is that human life begins at conception and that all human beings are persons," Dr. Annie Bukacek, a Kalispell internist, told a rally of about 50 people...

PHOENIX - The debate over health care reform promises an interesting five weeks in Congress before the August recess, according to Sen. John McCain. The Arizona Republican spoke out against Democrats' plans for reform during a speech Wednesday at Phoenix Children's Hospital. "Look at other countries that have government-run health care systems and there is health rationing," McCain said. "That is just a fact. I don't think the United States of America is ready to go down that slippery slope that will end up in rationing of health care." McCain said the proposals would be too expensive and would give...

Democracy -- or rule by majority vote -- is a genuine political good. So is republicanism -- or rule by legitimate representatives. Both have considerable social and economic value to the individual and the nation. Similarly, autonomy and self-rule are governmental goods and values which a given society finds very much worth having. And it's even worth while for that civilization to enjoy non-violation of their national soverignty and non-interference in their internal affairs by non-citizens. But none of these political goods and values are anywhere near as important as freedom. In the life of the person and his nation,...

A 45-year-old Fort Collins mother is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old boy who also was part of a group that enjoys dressing up as animals. Richael L. Michels faces sexual assault on a child charges, according to the arrest affidavit the Fort Collins Coloradoan newspaper posted on its website. Her husband notified the Colorado Department of Human Services in May that his wife might be having an improper online relationship with a teen-aged boy, the affidavit says.

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 07/02/2009 Pelosi Statement on June Job Numbers Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement on unemployment numbers for June issued today by the Department of Labor. “Today’s unemployment numbers are another reminder of the years of failure to invest in making Americans the most highly educated and innovative workforce in the world—and years of delay on affordable health care and the clean energy jobs and industries that will sustain our economy for years to come. In full partnership with President Obama, Congress must continue to strengthen and...

Empowerment by manufactured crisis Posted: July 02, 2009 1:00 am Eastern © 2009 Back in January 1973, National Lampoon sported a brilliant cover – probably the satirical magazine's most famous. A cute black and white dog was the visual element, staring ominously at a revolver pointing at his head. The headline read: "If you don't buy this magazine, we'll kill this dog." People bought the magazine in droves, not because they believed the editors of National Lampoon were really going to kill the dog, but because it was so funny. It strikes me that Barack Obama and the Democrat-dominated Congress...

Video of health care reform activists at the AFL-CIO rally saying they hadn't watch President Obama on ABC the night before. http://campusreportonline.net/main/articles.php?id=3143

Washington Post Publisher and Chief Executive Officer Katharine Weymouth said today she was cancelling plans for an exclusive "salon" at her home where, for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few": Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper’s own reporters and editors.

Beginning Thursday, American soldiers in Afghanistan will be under orders to back down when they're chasing Taliban fighters whenever they think that civilians might be at risk. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, will issue the directive as part of an effort to cut down on civilian casualties, which have enraged the Afghan government and residents. Instead of calling in air support or firing into civilian homes where Taliban fighters have sought refuge, commanders will be instructed to reach out to tribal elders or undertake other efforts to dislodge the fighters. The order is consistent with what...

Michael Jackson’s ex-bodyguard Matt Fiddes has claimed the star had a secret girlfriend. According to Digital Spy, Jackson’s former employer has claimed that the star demanded his lover be kept away from the public eye.

The slide in employment is representative of what the U.S. economy faces for years to come, Pimco co-chief investment officer Bill Gross told CNBC. A slow-growth scenario continues to play out as consumers who are losing their jobs or are in fear of facing unemployment cut spending and inhibit economic growth, said Gross, who helps manage the world's largest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management. He spoke after a government report showed the economy lost 467,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate moved to 9.5 percent. "Much like we saw with the Depression, attitudes change, and so consumers and...

Like most Americans, I have heard enough from the adulterers. John Ensign’s press conference was blissfully short. Mark Sanford’s is interminable. Every day brings a cringe-inducing new update. The bottom line is the same: men who should know better, out of an inflated sense of ego, blow up their careers and their families for transitory pleasures. We can’t learn much from them. But their spouses and the reaction to their spouses tell us something about where we are and where we are heading in the culture wars. Jenny Sanford is the new feminist icon. Defiant, brave, principled, and funny. When...

Rasmussen’s new poll, taken before the release of June’s unemployment numbers, shows significant slippage for Barack Obama on the economy, his central issue. Only 42% of American voters give him excellent or good marks on handling the economy, the lowest ratings he has yet received. His personal approval rate has fallen to 53%, and the “passion index” has dropped to -2:

(sub-headline: DeParle made millions from companies under federal investigation) Nancy-Ann DeParle, President Barack Obama’s health policy czar, served as a director of corporations that faced scores of federal investigations, whistleblower lawsuits and other regulatory actions, according to government records reviewed by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University. Several of the companies were investigated for alleged kickbacks or engaging in other illegal billing schemes, while others were accused of serious violations of federal quality standards, including one company that failed to warn patients of deadly problems with an implanted heart defibrillator. Several of the cases ended with substantial fines paid...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House says its high-profile garden on the South Lawn has tested positive for lead although it is not at dangerous levels. White House spokeswoman Katie McCormick-Lelyveld said Thursday that tests on the soil in the White House garden detected lead levels of 93 parts per million. Soil is considered unsafe for growing vegetables when it reaches more than 500 parts per million.

Missing feline Linus 'thinks he's a dog,' owners say. Linus, a cat that "thinks he's a dog," is missing. And a Batavia woman -- who the cat's owners say accused their feline of killing chipmunks -- is charged after allegedly luring Linus with tuna. Brenda Scharlau, 55, of the 100 block of North Harrison Street is charged with misdemeanor theft in connection with the missing 9-year-old American shorthair, which is owned by Scharlau's next-door neighbors, Batavia Deputy Chief Gregory Thrun said Tuesday. Linus' owner, Jody Lay, alleges her neighbor, angry that Linus was harassing chipmunks in her yard, caught the...