Free Republic

Signaling a fading chance for compromise, a leading Republican negotiator on health care legislation on Saturday criticized Democratic legislative proposals as budget-busters that would reroute Medicare spending and restrict medical choices. The criticism from Sen. Michael Enzi, R-Wyo., echoed that of many opponents of the Democratic plans under consideration in Congress. But Enzi's judgment was especially noteworthy because he is one of only three Republicans who have been willing to consider a bipartisan bill in the Senate.

Let's stipulate: this is a good and needed debate to have. Major changes are coming to the way businesses, individuals and the government join to protect the country from cyber security threats, and there's a significant public interest in debating the how and the why in public. Declan McCullagh, CBS News.com's chief technology writer, is open about his libertarian bent, and he's rightfully skeptical about new laws. He's obtained the draft of a cyber security bill that the Senate Commerce Committee plans to mark up in September. His reading of the bill leads him to the conclusion that it would...

CBS News Correspondent Cami McCormick was injured today in Logar Province, Afghanistan, while on assignment for CBS Radio News. McCormick was traveling with members of the United States Army when the vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED). McCormick was initially treated at a field hospital, where she underwent surgery to stabilize her condition, and was then transported to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan for additional treatment.

Post story bolsters Cheney The Washington Post leads today with an extraordinary story cutting against the conclusions of a series of recent government and media reports to cast as straight news -- with a few hedges and qualifications -- that waterboarding and sleep deprivation worked like a charm to turn Kalid Sheik Mohammed from an enemy into an "asset." The story -- which seems sure to provoke an intense reaction from the many critics of President Bush's interrogation policies, and comes just before Dick Cheney's appearance, taped Friday, on Fox News Sunday -- bears all the marks of some complicated...

It's proposed that the White House should have emergency powers to control the Internet. A bill would give Barack Obama 'cybersecurity' authority to disconnect users and professionally certify IT people. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers get really spun up about it.

CARBON COUNTY -- A 78-year-old man was attacked by a bear and saved by his family early Friday morning. The man's daughter jumped on the bear and began beating it with her fists until the animal let go of her father; another family member then shot the bear. Lou Downard grew up 150 yards from where the bear attack took place. He wanted to show the area to his children and grandchildren, so the entire family went on a Green River rafting trip in Desolation Canyon. On Thursday, the group noticed an unwelcome visitor: a 300-pound black bear. They fired...

That said, Kennedy spent nearly five decades as a legislator, and there's no doubt that he was extremely effective in his job. More than 300 bills that eventually became laws had Ted Kennedy's name on them. Think about that for a minute. John F. Kerry has less than ten in a similar time in the Senate.

The Soviet Union was never comfortable living in the same world with the Vatican. The most recent disclosures document that the Kremlin was prepared to go to any lengths to counter the Catholic Church’s strong anti-Communism. In March 2006 an Italian parliamentary commission concluded “beyond any reasonable doubt that the leaders of the Soviet Union took the initiative to eliminate the pope Karol Wojtyla,” in retaliation for his support to the dissident Solidarity movement in Poland. In January 2007, when documents disclosed that the newly appointed archbishop of Warsaw, Stanislaw Wielgus, had collaborated with Poland’s Communist-era political police, he admitted...

We do not honor Ted Kennedy's memory by perpetuating his mistakes. Despite all of the live prime time cable TV coverage last night of speeches extolling his legislative accomplishments and willingness to reach across the aisle on occasion, Kennedy's extreme views on foreign policy, judicial appointments and health care are not worthy of emulation. Unlike his brother John F. Kennedy who understood the Soviet menace and America's special mission to carry the torch of liberty throughout the world, Ted Kennedy was a moral relativist when it came to dealing with our enemies. An anti-war and nuclear freeze advocate to the...

Mike Enzi (R-WY) has taken plenty of heat from his conservative constituents for attempting to hammer out a bipartisan health-care reform bill in the Senate.  However, Enzi appears frustrated not with Wyoming voters but with the Democrats on the other side of the table.  With just a few days left before Congress resumes work, Enzi blasted the Democrats for spending too much money and limiting patient choice, when what America needs is the exact opposite: A leading GOP negotiator on health care struck a further blow to fading chances of a bipartisan compromise by saying Democratic proposals would restrict medical...

Here is a video report from CBS News on the death of an American soldier in Afghanistan, and also saying August has become the deadliest month of the war in Afghanistan. Harry Smith also reported that CBS News Correspondent Cami McCormick was seriously injured in the same attack that killed the U.S. Soldier. She underwent surgery and is now in stable condition. . . . . (Watch Video)

Fear of gun limits fuels a burst of demand for bullets Since President Obama's election, demand for guns and ammunition has skyrocketed. Gun shops have trouble keeping bullets in stock. A sign at the Los Angeles Indoor Pistol Shooting Range notifies customers the sale of ammo sales is limited. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times / August 25) By W.J. Hennigan August 29, 2009 There's a bull market for bullets. Stacks of ammo, once piled high at gun shops across America, have dwindled. Prices paid by consumers for much-sought-after Winchester .380-caliber handgun bullets have doubled. At weekend gun shows,...

A nurse in Great Britain has been arrested over claims she had a four-month fling with a violent rapist who was being held in a mental health ward at a British hospital. Rhoda Makambaire, who is married with a child, was accused of having sex sessions with brutal Kelly Edney, 29. They allegedly had relations in the Berkshire, U.K., hospital's mental health ward - a section for patients who are deemed incurable or show no signs of remorse. The rapist, who also has convictions for arson, assault and hoax bomb calls, allegedly told cops in explicit detail about his affair...

According to tradition St. Thomas Aquinas once asked St. Bonaventure how he had acquired the deep theological wisdom he displayed in his writings. St. Bonaventure pointed to a crucifix and said that he had learned all he knew from contemplating it.   If there are any prayerful Catholics in our pews with St. Bonaventure's talents or dispositions, they are going to be deprived, for it is nearly impossible to find a crucifix in a Catholic Church in the United States. This became quite clear to me when I visited Mexico. The large crucifixes there, suspended over the main altar,...

Read Mark's Epilogue - A Conservative Manifesto (Pages 193-205) Here (PDF Format) Well worth the read if you havent read his book.

From a response to a letter from one of his old leftist colleagues: I'm glad you wrote this letter. It makes all the pain and all the wounds inflicted on me by you and your comrades since then seem worth it. Because it shows me what wretched human beings I was involved with when I was one of you -- when I was a member of the progressive vanguard and at war with the "enemies of the people."

Has science left Darwin so far behind that it is a complete red herring for creationist writers to analyze, discuss or rebut his views? When creationists do that, does it, as one email put it, show that such authors must be “out of touch”? We often hear such comments from our detractors in this “year of Darwin”, but with an increasing frequency the last few weeks. Hence this weekend’s feedback will respond to such charges in general. The usual emailed comments one sees about this seem to imply not only that referring to Darwin’s views is completely inappropriate, but that...

It is a very sad state of affairs when the United States, the Nation once known as the world bastion for truth, justice, and honor must go overseas in order to find any truth about Global Warming. American Scientists who have been successfully scientifically debunking global warming caused by CO2 emissions are met with ridicule from a bought out press and media which refuse to disseminate the scientific realities they have presented and proved scientifically. Global Warming caused by man and CO2 is a complete myth. It is scientifically, and physically impossible for CO2 to do what the warmers says...

The trial of Swedish art student Anna Odell after a faked psychosis she acted out as a part of a final year art project, opened in Stockholm on Monday. Odell denies the charges of false alarm, violent resistance and fraudulent practice. The charges against 35-year-old Odell date back to January 21st 2009 when she was detained by police on Stockholm's Liljeholmen bridge following what at first appeared to be an attempt to commit suicide. She was then taken to the psychiatric ward at St. Göran's Hospital for treatment, only to reveal the following day that the whole episode had been...

"Men sleep peacefully in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." George Orwell's truth comes to mind as one reads that Eric Holder has named a special prosecutor to go after the "rough men" who, to keep us sleeping peacefully at night, allegedly went too far in frightening Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, engineer of the September 2001 massacres. Yet, it seems now indisputable that those CIA interrogators, with their rough methods, got vital intelligence that saved American lives, as Dick Cheney has consistently contended. According to The Washington Times, which reviewed the newly...