Free Republic

During Wednesday's extraordinary Supreme Court oral argument in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, some of the more remarkable moments came when Justice John Paul Stevens repeatedly referred, with approval, to a brief filed in the case by the National Rifle Association. Not a pairing you might expect, but Stevens saw in the brief a possible way to rule on the case narrowly, without totally upending major Court precedents on corporate and union spending in election campaigns.The NRA brief, authored by Charles Cooper of Cooper & Kirk in D.C., joined the opponents of spending restrictions by agreeing with Citizens United...

When the murder trial of Sgt. Jermaine Nelson unfolds in a Camp Pendleton courtroom later this month, a dark chapter of the Marine Corps' legacy in Iraq will near an end. Nelson is the last of three men accused of killing four captive insurgents during a 2004 battle for Fallujah to go to trial. Two co-defendants were acquitted, one in a federal civilian trial last year and one at Camp Pendleton earlier this year. When the Nelson trial is over, Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich will be the last of two dozen Camp Pendleton troops accused of various unlawful killings in...

Healthcare Reform Wins Over Doctors Lobby The American Medical Assn., once opposed to any government overhaul, now has more to gain, including a proposal worth billions of dollars to physicians. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, defends changes to Medicare reimbursements that would benefit doctors. (Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press) [Pic in URL]

Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) leaders are using the threat of a law suit to silence and intimidate critics, according to current and former members of the liberal activist group. In a letter dated June 11 an attorney for ACORN advised top whistleblowers that their unauthorized use of the organization’s name could make them liable for monetary damages and injunctive relief. ACORN executives have also changed their organization’s name, which was tarnished by investigations in at least 14 states of allegations of voter registration fraud during the 2008 presidential campaign, and charges by current and former members...

     The Seven Dolors DEVOTION APPROVED BY POPE PIUS VII  IN 1815

The world has not tackled the problems at the heart of the economic downturn and is likely to slip back into recession, according to one of the few mainstream economists who predicted the financial crisis. Speaking at the Sibos conference in Hong Kong on Monday, William White, the highly-respected former chief economist at the Bank for International Settlements, also warned that government actions to help the economy in the short run may be sowing the seeds for future crises.

A documentary film chronicling a Camp Pendleton squad convicted in the 2006 kidnapping and killing of an Iraqi man debuts in New York this week and will be screened in Oceanside next month. "Article 32" was produced primarily by Don Sikorski, who began working on the project two years ago, after the seven Marines and a Navy medical corpsman were prosecuted for the killing of Hashim Ibrahim Awad, a retired Iraqi policeman and father of 11. The 65-minute film tells the story of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment Kilo Company squad initially charged with capital murder. After several plea...

This is the entire Glenn Beck coverage of the 912 March on DC from Saturday, September 12th, 2009. The two-hour special covered the event from 1 pm until 3 pm. Video: Glenn Beck Coverage of the 912 March on DC

Database: See Every Gift Given To State Leaders Sep. 14, 2009 So far during the recession, California's leaders, their staffs and their relatives have taken about 12,000 gifts worth a total of $833,000, according to a Bee analysis of tens of thousands of lobbyist disclosure forms. Legislators say these gifts, which include more than $150,000 in tickets to concerts and sporting events, don't affect the way they vote. Campaign watchdogs counter that they are just short of bribery.

Progressives exist in a state of constant angst, agonizing over snail darters, incandescent light bulbs, and of course global warming. But the issue that drives liberals to a state of tongue-wagging, eyeball-popping hysteria is population growth — what doomsayer Paul Erlich once termed the “Population Bomb.” And history shows liberals are willing to take almost any measure to keep the population in check – just so long as the program can be cloaked in mesmerizing happy-talk. Want to stop the beating hearts of 46 million unborn children each year? Then just call it “promoting choice and empowering women” – doesn’t...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   Urgent: Two Anti-Gun Bills Head to Governor’s Desk in California   Monday, September 14, 2009   Please Contact the Governor Today!On Friday, September 11, the California Assembly passed Assembly Bill 962 by a 44-31 vote.  AB962 now joins Senate Bill 585 on the desk of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) where they await his consideration. AB962 requires individuals purchasing ammunition be fingerprinted and registered at the time of sale, mandates that dealers keep these records and make them available for inspection by the California Department of Justice.  Ammunition retailers would also have to store ammunition in such a...

New fathers are being given the right to take six months' paternity leave, despite concerns over its impact on firms in the recession. Gordon Brown will tell union bosses that the plan will be implemented after Business Secretary Lord Mandelson put it on ice because of the economic crisis. Around 400,000 men a year will qualify for the right to dramatically extended leave from April 2011.  At the moment, they can only take two weeks off, an offer taken up by 60 per cent of eligible men. By contrast, new mothers can take a year off. As well as...

Sir Elton John BARRED From Adopting Little Lev... He's Too Old And Gay Weddings Don't Count, Says Ukrainian minister By WILL STEWART 15th September 2009 [Pics on Elton John & Kid in URL] Elton John's hopes of becoming an adoptive father to a 14-month-old boy were ruled out last night. Ukraine family minister Yuriy Pavlenko declared that gay couples were judged not suitable to adopt children under his country's law. At the same time, Mr Pavlenko stressed there must be an age gap of no more than 45 years between a child and its adoptive parents.

"The economic crisis has transformed the global economic landscape. The dreams of a decade ago now seem grandiose." Broadly speaking, the world is run at the outset of the 21st Century by the United States and China together in uneasy condominium. This is the surprising reality of our era. The pattern is unlikely to change much until India takes its full place, perhaps in 40 years. Strasbourg's Babel house has no unifying language or political culture The baton passed from Europe’s tired hands at London’s G20 summit in April, where the only meeting that mattered was the tete-a-tete between Barack...

I started following David Shuster today on Twitter after a friend commented that only 30,000 attended Saturdays rally and her info came from his Twitter. It's ticking me off that Liberals are allowed to get away with this lying. Can anyone comment on these 2 Tweets from Shuster? The 1st Tweet I'd like clarification on: I've covered rallies at dc capitol for 20 years. When the crowd goes only as far as 3rd st, it is 50,000 or less. And the 2nd Tweet: Freedomworks says their dc demonstration attracted 30,000 people. Park police official says that is being "generous." So...

Here is video of ACORN Spokesman Scott Levenson calling the Undercover Videos that have exposed what goes on in ACORN Offices to the nation - "a sham," and he continued to say the videos have been "doctored." Levenson calls what the undercover pair, James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles, have done "is an attempt to create news rather than report news." He accused the two of being "deceptive," and said they were trying to "trick people who are trying to help people." The video report also reviews highlights from the three videos. . . . (VIDEO)

Who Lied?Phyllis Schlafly Tuesday, September 15, 2009 The sanctimonious shock at Rep. Joe Wilson's, R-S.C., calling out, "You lie," when Barack Obama said the health care bill will not insure illegal aliens reminds me of the Casablanca police chief saying he was "shocked, shocked" to learn that gambling was taking place in the cafe. Barack Obama's congressional pals had defeated the Republican amendment to require proof of legal residency in order to be covered by the health care bill, and the American people know that illegals are now getting free health care at emergency rooms. The surprise was that nobody...

President Bush is a LIAR! About Iraq, S-Chip and everything else!

It can be revealed that storm chasers in Kansas in May 2008, photographed a miracle Tornado coming from no wall cloud and it scribing messages in the ground from Texas to Kansas. LinkIt wasn't until now that aerial photos revealed what the message was in Texas. Link

Fight Nights and Reggae Pack Brazilian Churches Lalo de Almeida for The New York Times New members of Bola de Neve Church awaited baptism at the swimming pool of the Palmeiras soccer club in São Paulo, Brazil. By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO Published: September 14, 2009 SÃO PAULO, Brazil — The atmosphere was electric at Reborn in Christ Church on “Extreme Fight” night. Churchgoers dressed in jeans and sneakers, many with ball caps turned backward, lined a makeshift boxing ring to cheer on bare-chested jujitsu fighters. The church, whose name means snowball in Portuguese, was founded 10 years ago by avid surfers....