Free Republic

Some of us have been wondering how viable the Voluntary Employee Benefit Arrangements (VEBAs) set up by the United Auto Workers for its auto industry employees really are. This is of particular concern at the VEBAs tied in to General Motors and Chrysler. What happens to the employer stock these VEBAs own will heavily influence whether they have the money to pay promised benefits. The answer to the viability question must be "not very," because the House version of health care that has made it out of committee has a $10 billion provision tucked into it that would largely work...

Researchers recently discovered the worldÂ’s first pterosaur landing footprints, and the find has revealed precise coordination and other features in these mysterious flying reptiles. In a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, co-author Kevin Padian and his colleagues examined some of the anatomical and behavioral features of these creatures, which are presumed to be extinct. Based on skeletal anatomy and footprints, both found in fossilized form, it is known that pterosaurs walked on all fours. Their wings folded back so that they could walk on special forefeet located on their elbows. Their hind legs were situated underneath...

In February of 2001 Don Berkebile added a one page codicil to his will saying it was added; “in the event that I should suffer an accident before a new will is prepared.” Then in 2003, he added a sticky note to a letter to the Editor he sent to a reporter at a local news agency, noting that he felt his life was in danger: “Keep this in mind, should something happen to me, and request a thorough investigation.” They say justice delayed is justice denied. Over a year has passed since Don Berkebile; retired curator of the Smithsonian...

"Yesterday," reads the e-mail from Allen, a Marine in Afghanistan, "I gave blood because a Marine, while out on patrol, stepped on a (mine's) pressure plate and lost both legs." Then "another Marine with a bullet wound to the head was brought in. Both Marines died this morning." "I'm sorry about the drama," writes Allen, an enthusiastic infantryman willing to die "so that each of you may grow old." He says: "I put everything in God's hands." And: "Semper Fi!" Allen and others of America's finest are also in Washington's hands. This city should keep faith with them by rapidly...

It isn’t easy to put U.S. defenses back on track after they’ve endured a season of neglect. Gen. William Snow found that out firsthand. Snow’s job, when he arrived in Washington in the World War I era, was to direct the buildup of artillery for the Allied Expeditionary Force. He thought his office should have stationery reflecting the importance of the task. His request was rejected. Rather than fund this extravagance, it was suggested the general purchase a rubber stamp to mark his correspondence. Snow had joined a War Department completely unprepared to fight a war. The Army hadn’t been...

Public opinion pollster Scott Rasmussen tells Newsmax that opposition to President Barack Obama's healthcare reform plan is "weighing down" his job approval rating — which is now at an all-time low. Rasmussen also declared that if the economy does not improve over the next year, Obama's approval numbers will deteriorate even further and Democrats will suffer in the 2010 elections. Rasmussen is founder and CEO of Rasmussen Reports and co-founder of the sports network ESPN. He has been an independent public opinion pollster for over a decade, and most major news organizations cite his reports. Newsmax.TV's Kathleen Walter asked Rasmussen...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Back in 2004, Barack Obama was an Illinois State Senator, and an announced candidate for the US Senate. The future POTUS introduced a health care bill to revolutionize the health insurance industry in his state, kind of a proto-Obamacare bill. The Republican opposition realized the way the bill was written it was just a Trojan horse leading to a state-run insurance company that would put private insurers in Illinois out of business and eventually a single-payer system (sound familiar?) Just before the vote, Obama debated the bill with State Senator...

September 1, 2009 Unassuming Nancy — the woman and wife behind the rapist Philip Garrido Mike Harvey in Antioch To the outside world she was plain, modest Nancy, the other half of Phil the printer. Neighbours knew her as a full-time carer for Phillip Garrido’s ageing mother and a part-time accountant for his printing business. In reality Nancy Garrido provided the cover that helped her husband, a convicted sex attacker, to keep the authorities at bay. When neighbours spotted children at the house they reasoned that it must be OK because he lived with his wife. But Mrs Garrido, 55,...

In a scene that could have come from the comedy films that have made him famous, the 31-year-old star fought off the wild animal when he was attacked while sightseeing on the British colony. He was visiting the disputed territory at the foot of Spain with friend and American Pie co-star Eddie Kaye Thomas when the pair came face to face with one of Gibraltar's mascots. "Jason and Eddie decided to go on the trip to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of Pie," a source told US media. "They were hiking in the woods when this monkey suddenly leapt on Jason...

The bodies of 30 suspected militants have been found in Pakistan's Swat valley, local people say. The bodies all have gunshot wounds and local residents say they are believed to be of militants from Bajnot and other areas near the town of Mingora. Corpses began appearing several weeks ago and more than 150 have been found in the region over the past month. Security forces deny carrying out extra-judicial killings as part of their anti-Taliban offensive. An army spokesman in Mingora told the BBC that the men were killed in army operation that has been going on in the Charbagh...

Oklahoma police found the naked, mutilated body of a murdered pastor stretched out in a "crucifix position" behind her church altar last Sunday, sources close to the investigation told The Oklahoman. The bloodied corpse of 61-year-old Carol Daniels appeared to have been left in the form of a cross with both arms outstretched at her sides. Her head was nearly decapitated by the force of deep stabs to her neck and throat, according to forensic pathologist Dr. William Manion, who reviewed her autopsy report. Daniels' clothing had been removed, possibly to hide evidence or as a kind of trophy from...

Call him Ishmael. Call him a terrorist or a suicide bomber or anything else you want, but understand that he is willing — no, anxious — to give his life for his cause. Call him also a captive, and know that he works with others as part of a team, like the 9/11 hijackers, all of whom died, willingly. Ishmael is someone I invented, but he is not a far-fetched creation. You and I know he exists, has existed and will exist again. He is the enemy. Now he is in American custody. What will happen? How do we get...

"I think for a lot of students right now, it's very hard to be confronted with the constant negative energy and constant fighting" that surrounds abortion, said Miller, who grew up in a southern Virginia city where antiabortion sentiment runs high. Just learning about the procedure at the state school in Richmond can be a challenge. Medical students who want training in the procedure usually must arrange an elective "externship" in Northern Virginia, she said. Thirty-six years after it was legalized, abortion remains one of the most common procedures in American medicine -- and the most stigmatized. In 2005, 1.2...

More than one-in-ten British businesses are seriously considering a move abroad because of the Government's "punitive" tax regime, a damning new survey claims.

The egg was being moved to a quarantine section of the Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire from the Caribbean Reef display. But the shark, which is just 4ins (10cm) long and has been named Ariel after the Little Mermaid character, was born during medical checks. Divers who survived night in shark-infested waters have to pay for their rescue Kelly Timmins, a diver, said: "We're just hoping it doesn't bond with the first thing it sees, which was me." "It is pretty unique for a shark to be born out of the water," Ms Timmins told the BBC. "Ariel's doing well...

First there were angry senior citizens at town hall meetings, literally fearing for their lives. They're worried that under the President's proposed health care plan they'll be denied critical life-saving services because of their age. There's good reason for their concern. And what's come to light since then won't make them sleep any easier. The Obama administration now seems to have our nation's veterans in the crosshairs. Perhaps you've heard about the booklet Your Life Your Choices-also known as the Death Book for Veterans. This book is particularly alarming, so I want to share some detail you may not have...

- OpenMarket.org - http://www.openmarket.org - Obama Health-Care Would Drive Up Inflation and Health-Care Costs, Shrink Economy, and Reinforce Worst Features of Status Quo Posted By Hans Bader On August 31, 2009 @ 6:31 pm In Healthcare, Legal, Politics as Usual, Stimulus to Nowhere | No Comments ObamaCare would shrink the economy, drive up health-care costs and inflation, and increase the deficit, notes [1] David Kopel, a “lifelong Democrat [2].” Kopel provides [1] “Economic projections of the consequences of Obamacare” drawn from a study “from the Independent Institute” on “the national and Colorado consequences of Obama care, based on” its “one...

In the early days and weeks after September 11, 2001, a small cadre of men (and a few women) with vast amounts of intelligence experience reported to the Langley, Virginia headquarters of the CIA. These unsung heroes were then dispatched across the globe to run operations against the Al-Qaeda conspirators who leveled the World Trade Center and struck the nerve center of the US military. The FBI, a domestic law enforcement agency, did not have the ability or skills needed to track down and strike the attackers overseas. The Pentagon, with F22s, nuclear aircraft carriers, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and battalions...

When parents plunk down $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 and maybe $50,000 this fall for a year's worth of college room, board and tuition, it might be relevant to ask: What will their children learn in return? The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) ask that question in their recently released publication, "What Will They Learn: A Report on the General Education Requirements at 100 of the Nation's Leading Colleges and Universities." ACTA conducted research to see whether 100 major institutions require seven key subjects: English composition, literature, foreign language, U.S. government or history, economics, mathematics and science. What ACTA found...

One in five people who have had a heart attack in Britain do not receive all four drugs recommended to prevent a second, a study of 60,000 people have found. Guidelines say heart attack patients should be prescribed two blood pressure drugs, a cholesterol lowering statin and aspirin to thin the blood. However research based on a database of all surviving heart attack patients in England and Wales has found one in 20 people received only one or two drugs. Women and older people are less likely to receive all four drugs, the study by University of Leicester has found....