Free Republic

Health Care Reform Bill May Be DelayedLast Updated: 11:12 PM Jul 9, 2009 Reporter: Associated Press The drive to remake the nation's health care system suffered yet another setback in Congress on Thursday when a pivotal group of House Democrats demanded changes in legislation the leadership was drafting on a fast track. The emerging bill "lacks a number of elements essential to preserving what works and fixing what is broken," 40 members of the Blue Dog Coalition of moderate to conservative Democrats wrote party leaders. To win their support, they said, any legislation would need to be much more aggressive...

For we may well be guided by those fundamental principles of justice which I laid down at the outset: first, that no harm be done to anyone; second, that the common interests be conserved. When these are modified under changed circumstances, moral duty also undergoes a change, and it does not always remain the same. For a given promise or agreement may turn out in such a way that its performance will prove detrimental either to the one to whom the promise has been made or to the one who has made it. – Cicero, De Officiis I. x. In...

A new attack on the Mac OS X has been seen in the wild, as numbers of Mac malware grow. So you thought that Mac was safe from malware? It’s definitely time to think again. There might be nothing like the amount of malware there is for PCs, but the numbers are growing. The latest is known as Puper, a Trojan that disguises itself as a video program for the fictional MacCinema system on OS X. Researchers at McAfee Avert Labs have determined that the malware attack appears as a disk image, which then launches an installer application for the...

ECSTATIC space officials at Nasa could be about to unveil one of their most stunning discoveries for 40 years — new and amazingly clear footage of the first moon landing.The release of the new images next month could be one of the most talked about events of the summer.The television images the world has been used to seeing of the historic moment when Neil Armstrong descended down a ladder onto the moon’s surface in 1969 is grainy, blurry and dark.The following scenes, in which the astronauts move around the lunar lander, are so murky it is difficult to make out...

Just a heads up to Freepers and fellow Americans. Major Japanese political monthly, now on the newsstands here in Tokyo, called "VOICE", published only in Japanese by PHP Publishing House, has a significant article breaking the news of the TRUTH of Barack Obama to the Japanese People, after months of uncritical adoration by nearly 100% of the Japanese Mass Media outlets.I hereby synopsize translate some points/subtitles of article, and provide a URL link to the Japanese site. If time permits a synop-translation may be provided on FRs. In the meantime, it is interesting to finally see these critical articles emerge...

Ex Nasa Scientist, Dr. Roy Spencer, in very clear terms, speaks about the flaws in global warming theories by his data collection.

Here is video in two parts of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich tonight talking with Greta Van Susteren about the abject failure of the Democrats' Stimulus policy. Gingrich explains with great clarity that President Obama and his team were so full of themselves (my way of saying it) that they thought they could do whatever they wanted. Gingrich believes the first stimulus was actually a huge Democrat payoff to state and local governments so they would not have to make hard decisions. So, in actuality, the $787 Billion Stimulus Package was no stimulus at all. But now their approach is...

Obama’s health care proposal is, in effect, the repeal of the Medicare program as we know it. The elderly will go from being the group with the most access to free medical care to the one with the least access. Indeed, the principal impact of the Obama health care program will be to reduce sharply the medical services the elderly can use. No longer will their every medical need be met, their every medication prescribed, their every need to improve their quality of life answered. It is so ironic that the elderly - who were so vigilant when Bush proposed...

As if we didn't already know that the US Government is at war with the Constitution - now the IRS is threatening a pro-life group with the loss of their tax-exempt status unless the group's leadership pledge not to exercise their First Amendment rights.

Today was a great day on Long Island.Patriots from the Conservative Society for Action, Gathering of Eagles, Active and the 912 Group rallied in front of the offices of Senator Charles Schumer to counter the staged pro-nationalized healthcare rally planned by MoveOn.org and ACORN.The first moonbats arrived and almost immediately called the police because they hate free speech and any opposition to their agenda. One of their old biddies called me a racist for opposing health care for illegal immigrants. Unfortunately for them the first amendment is still enforced in this country and the police would not interfere with...

Whether Obama or anyone else, facilities keep their lips sealed Federal law regarding the release of health records is so restrictive and intimidating, U.S. hospitals could conceivably refuse to confirm or deny if Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler were born in their facility. That's the conclusion of some experts who deal with HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, enacted by Congress in 1996 to help protect the privacy of patients. SNIP "It's splitting a hair that most hospitals will not take a chance with," she told WND. "You have invasion of privacy issues other claims that can be brought...

There are lots of great reasons to visit Ghana, as Barack Obama announced last week that he will do this coming July. The country was recently host to succesful democratic elections; its tourist industry is certainly one of the best in West Africa (not only is the country home to the Cape Coast and other attractions, but the buses run on time); it has a great soccer team; and the country's economic growth has been impressive. As Ghana's Black Star News concluded: "Ghana is being rewarded for good governance, good economic management, and the rule of law." But here's another...

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that the health-care reform bill now pending in Congress would garner VERY FEW VOTES if lawmakers actually had to read the entire bill before voting on it. In fact, Hoyer found the idea of the pledge humorous, LAUGHING as he responded to the question, "I'm laughing because I don't know how long this bill is going to be, but it's going to be a very long bill." Is this what the liberal majority in Congress has stooped to? Is the very idea that Congess actually reads the legislation they're turning into the law of...

The squeaker vote on cap-and-trade has proven so popular in the Senate and the president’s words of encouragement so compelling that liberal Sen. Barabara Boxer is burying it — maybe forever. This report explains: President Barack Obama’s push for quick action by Congress on climate change legislation suffered a setback on Thursday when the U.S. Senate committee leading the drive delayed work on the bill until September. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer said her self-imposed deadline of early August for finishing writing a bill to combat global warming has been put off until after Congress returns...

The L.A. Times reports that "pharmacists are obliged to dispense the Plan B pill, even if they are personally opposed to the 'morning after' contraceptive on religious grounds, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. In a case that could affect policy across the western U.S., a supermarket pharmacy owner in Olympia, Wash., failed in a bid to block 2007 regulations that required all Washington pharmacies to stock and dispense the pills. Family-owned Ralph's Thriftway and two pharmacists employed elsewhere sued Washington state officials over the requirement. The plaintiffs asserted that their Christian beliefs prevented them from dispensing the pills, which...

FL Gov. Charlie Crist (R) raised a formidable $4.3M for his SEN bid for the quarter ending 6/30, his campaign announced today. GOPer Marco Rubio, the former FL House speaker who is also running, raised just $340K during the same time period. "I am humbled by the support that I am receiving from the people of Florida and around the country," Crist said. "I take their support seriously and continue to work every day to honor the trust and confidence they have placed in me." Crist announced his SEN bid in mid-May, so he didn't start fundraising until halfway through...

LA police chief: Jackson investigation might turn criminalBy Deutsche Presse Agentur His statements Thursday to CNN were the clearest indication yet that some of the many doctors who treated Jackson over the years could have helped him illegally get the prescription drugs that were suspected of being a factor in his death. Bratton's comments came as the Jackson family was waiting for the results of the pop star's official autopsy and the independent autopsy that were conducted shortly after his June 25 death. "We are still awaiting corroboration from the coroner's office as to cause of death," Bratton told CNN....

JULY 10, 2009 The Pope on 'Love in Truth' Anyone seeking a repudiation of the market economy will be disappointed. By ROBERT A. SIRICO In his much anticipated third encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Love in Truth), Pope Benedict XVI does not focus on specific systems of economics -- he is not attempting to shore up anyone's political agenda. He is rather concerned with morality and the theological foundation of culture. The context is of course a global economic crisis -- a crisis that's taken place in a moral vacuum, where the love of truth has been abandoned in favor of...

You all have to check out this video from Atlas Shrugs, this woman is absolutely AMAZING and is spot on in her analysis of Sarah Palin and rips Obama a new one. Check it out http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2009/07/atlas-vlogs-sarah-palin-oorah.html

....7. Repeal of all laws governing the age of sexual consent. (1972 State-7) 8. Repeal of all legislative provisions that restrict the sex or number of persons entering into a marriage unit; and the extension of legal benefits to all persons who cohabit regardless of sex or numbers. (1972 State-8)