Free Republic

With the election of abortion-friendly President Obama, abortion advocates have been praising the return of “science” to issues of reproductive health. Conversely, I am an advocate for the health of the unborn and question what “science” has to do with abortion on demand. Attempts to rationalize the morality of the abortion issue with abortion advocates is a losing proposition when they believe in subjective morality, i.e. morality is defined by the majority or, in this case, by the loudest contingent of the population. Therefore, let’s evaluate the issue on a more scientific basis...

In the days following Michael Jackson's June 25 death, fans flocked to record stores and digital music outlets to purchase one last memory. And merchants say they expect the Jackson sales surge to last for weeks—maybe even months. "With the around-the-clock coverage and questions about his death, this story will keep going, with every development giving it a new bit of life," says Kerry Fly, VP of purchasing and marketing at wholesaler Eurpac.

Richard Ianieri, the defense contractor charged today with accepting $200,000 in kickbacks from a subcontractor, was president of a company that gave more money to Rep. John Murtha than any other lawmaker. That company, Coherent Systems International, received millions of dollars in earmarks from Murtha, and continued giving money to the Pennsylvania Democrat after Ianieri left Coherent and Argon ST bought it. The criminal complaint filed yesterday reportedly did not name the subcontractor, according to Roll Call. In total, the employees of Coherent, and employees and political action committees of Argon and its subsidiaries, have given $81,950 to Murtha's campaign...

President Obama's two days of meetings in Russia bring back memories of JFK's meetings with Nikita Khrushchev, where Kennedy's weakness led to the Cuban Missile Crisis. JFK began his administration with the same "lets be friends with everyone" policy as President Obama. In his inaugural address Kennedy expressed that policy in two sentences. “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.” ... Kennedy went ahead, and for two days he was pummeled by the Soviet leader. Despite his eloquence, Kennedy was no match as a sparring partner, and offered only token resistance as Khrushchev...

Barney Frank: Online Gambling a RightSpoke in front of 1,700 poker players at the World Series of Poker By Daniel O Jul 07, 2009 Critic of military spending, protector of the environment and legislative leader on behalf of home owners across the United States, Representative Barney Frank (D - MA) visited Las Vegas on Sunday to speak at the World Series of Poker. His message at the event was a hopeful one. The powerful Congress member has kept been fighting against the current ban on online gambling. Two bills sponsored by Rep. Frank - HR2266 and HR2267 - aim to...

Here is video of Lt. Col. Ralph Peters talking with Judge Andrew Napolitano who was subbing for Glenn Beck today. They discussed President Obama's visit to Russia. Peters bluntly said that Obama is in over his depth in trying to deal with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. He also said that what Obama craves most is adulation and applause. He descriptively said, "Obama is a vampire who doesn't live on blood - he lives on applause." . . . . . (Watch Video)

On July 10, six days after our own Independence Day, the world will celebrate the birthday of John Calvin, the man most responsible for our American system of liberty based on Republican principles of representative government. It was Founding Father and the second President of the United States, John Adams, who described Calvin as "a vast genius," a man of "singular eloquence, vast erudition, and polished taste, [who] embraced the cause of Reformation," adding: "Let not Geneva be forgotten or despised. Religious liberty owes it much respect." Calvin, a humble scholar and convert to Reformation Christianity from Noyon, France, is...

Amid a confused array of accusations last week, Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC) took to the podium to clarify the nature of his romantic life. With honesty that would make a pilgrim proud, he confirmed the media’s suspicion that his love had been divided between two parties: his Argentine paramour Maria Belen Chapur and – with recently compromised commitment – the hiking trail of the Appalachian Mountains. Sanford’s tearful, sniveling reference to Chapur as his “soul mate” made his attempted reconciliation with his wife a blanching display of equivocation; but there was one topic about which the governor was not conflicted—he...

Thousands of angry ethnic Han Chinese wielding clubs and machetes roamed this capital city of Xinjiang territory and engaged in sporadic revenge attacks against Uighurs after deadly riots Sunday. The fresh unrest prompted Chinese President Hu Jintao to fly home early Wednesday from Italy, where he had been scheduled to attend the meeting of the Group of Eight leading nations. His sudden departure from such a high-profile international event underlined the severity of the challenge the Xinjiang violence presents to China's leadership. In Urumqi, authorities imposed a curfew and security forces tried to keep the two ethnic groups apart in...

Beware of Cap and Trade Climate Bills These measures would set a limit, or cap, on carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use. The effect of such a cap would be to impose rationing of coal, oil, and natural gas on the American economy. Each covered utility, oil company, and manufacturing facility would be given allowances based on past emissions or some other formula. Those companies that emit less carbon dioxide than permitted by their allowances could sell the excess to those that do not; this is the trade part of cap and trade. Over time, the cap would be...

France joins China, India and Russia in calling for a new reserve standard on the eve of the G8 summit

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean authorities issued a cyber security warning on Wednesday after the Web sites of several major government agencies and financial institutions were disabled by apparent hacker attacks. The Web sites of the presidential office, Defense Ministry, and the National Assembly were saturated with access requests generated by malicious software on Tuesday, crippling server response to legitimate traffic, South Korea's Communications Commission said in a statement. "The attacks consisted of massive harmful traffic to specific sites causing access slowdown or disablement, and some national institutions, banks and media sites have been targeted," it said. Some government Web...

President Barack Obama is refusing to acknowledge the central role of the United States in winning the Cold War and bringing down the Soviet Union. This is video of Fox News' Major Garrett reporting that Obama received a one-hour lecture from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on the Cold War. Later when he talked with Garrett, Garrett pressed him on his statement in a speech that the Cold War ended not because of any one nation but because of the actions of many nations and because the people of Eastern Europe and Russia decided it would end peacefully. Of course,...

In a recent interview Hip Hop star and actor Mos Def made a statement on his religion, Islam. To be honest he sounds like most other Muslims when people criticize their religion. Personally I think that he needs an education on Islam.

Democrats now have 60 votes, NRSC warns of legislation coming that can't be stopped..

The National Rifle Association has finally weighed in on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, and while it doesn't come right out and oppose her, it does suggest that she's antigun. In a letter to the Senate from NRA Executive Director Chris Cox, the nation's largest gun-rights group mentions several court cases Sotomayor has reviewed that put limits on the Second Amendment. It even cites a footnote in one case where the court claimed that "the right to possess a gun is clearly not a fundamental right." Dear Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Sessions:I am writing to express the National Rifle...

Officials and lawmakers may end the House’s bike-sharing program, which as of March had only been used by 175 staffers since its inception. The Chief Administrative Office (CAO) spent $23,000 to lease and maintain 30 bicycles beginning last July. Eight months later, the bikes had been used by less than 3 percent of the House’s staff. The 175 people signed up for the program have used the bikes a total of 300 times. That means some people have likely used the program only once, and each bike has been ridden about 10 times. That data was provided by the CAO...

There may be a silver lining in the black cloud hanging over our economy: America's abysmal personal savings rate has taken a turn for the better. Building on a steady increase in the personal savings rate — 2008's 1.8% increase, a 4.2% increase in 2009's first quarter and a 5.6% rise in April — the Commerce Department has reported that the U.S. personal savings rate climbed 6.9% in May. While still early, this could signal a dramatic return to a more normal personal savings rate. It could also have profound repercussions at home and abroad as both economies recalibrate away...

WASHINGTON -- Moving to broaden the scope of the health care overhaul, President Barack Obama threw his support Tuesday behind creation of a program to help families struggling with burdensome costs of long-term care. The voluntary insurance program - sponsored by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass. - would pay a modest daily cash benefit of at least $50 that people could use for a range of in-home services or nursing home expenses.

Link only - Senate Approves Disclosing Office Expenses Online