Free Republic

Some of the least successful chief justices, Roberts suggested, had faltered because they misunderstood the job, approaching it as law professors rather than as leaders of a collegial Court. Harlan Fiske Stone, a former dean of Columbia Law School, was a case in point. Stone “was a failure as chief, because of his misperception of what a chief justice is supposed to be,” Roberts said, gesturing to the justices’ private conference room through an open door of his office. “It’s his desk out there that is separate from the conference table, and he … sat at his desk, and the...

Con Ed officials said they offered to extend the current contract until July 14 in an effort to reach a new deal, and sent NY1 a signed document showing it made the offer. The company says it dismissed the workers because it could not get assurances from the union that it would not call a sudden strike. The utility also says the contract extension offer remained on the table. "We offered a two-week extension of the current contract letting all of the members continue to work this week and the next, as long as there was no threat of a...

Looking for Cash, Congress Finds Some in a Corporate Pension Rule TweakBy MARY WILLIAMS WALSH Published: June 28, 2012 Lawmakers looking for money to finance low-cost student loans and fix aging highways have found about $20 billion in an unlikely place: company pension funds. Pension funds are not exactly brimming over with extra money. In 2006, Congress was concerned enough about bolstering them to pass legislation closing loopholes and making companies set money aside more quickly. But the highway bill that Congress is rushing to complete by Friday contains a measure that would let companies slow their pension contributions again....

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts’ swing vote to uphold ‘Obamacare’ under Congress’s taxing powers has drawn praise from his usual critics. One top Democratic senator lauded Roberts’ “judicial independence” in saving President Obama’s signature law, but also argued that the Bush-appointed jurist broke his promise by narrowing the scope of the Commerce Clause. In his opinion, Roberts explained in detail why he believes his view is not inconsistent with precedent, siding with conservative architects of the legal challenge in the argument that Congress may not regulate inaction. “In my view it certainly merited upholding under the Commerce Clause,” said Sen....

One day after Iranian Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi was condemned internationally for saying that Jews and the Talmud are responsible for international drug trafficking, no less than five articles in an official Palestinian Authority daily cited different PA officials accusing Israel of having a policy to disseminate drugs among Palestinian Authority Arab youth. The remarks were exposed by the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) organization, which monitors PA-based media, translates it and presents it on its website. The organization’s reports often reveal the PA’s incitement to hatred and attacks on Israel. One of the officials, the Governor of Jericho, said that...

You'll never get this. What 1960's TV show was the first to mention the Vietnam War? Nope, not Dick Van Dyke. Nope, not Laugh-In. Nope, not the Smothers Brothers. You'll never get it.

Just watching Gala TV coverage of today's Mexican election. At one point they show the actual process. The voter hands over his photo ID which is then checked against the photo copies in vote judges book who then stamps the book and hands out the ballot. Voters also also have to show their thumbs, since they ink the thumb after they receive their ballot. So, if Mexico, as poor as it is, can somehow issue photo IDs to all of its voters as well as provide photo copies to their election officials, why is it impossible for us to do...

Japan has restarted the first nuclear reactor since the meltdown at the Fukushima power plant last year. Hundreds gathered near the plant in the town of Ohi to protest against the move, which has divided public opinion. Last month, the prime minister urged support, saying a return to nuclear power was essential for the economy. All 50 of Japan's nuclear plants were shut after the meltdown at Fukushima, which was triggered by a tsunami and earthquake. The crisis was regarded as the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. Road blocked It will take until Wednesday before the No 3...

Prosperity theology teaches that God will bless with material abundance and good health those who obey him and lay claim to his promises. “We don’t have to wait for God’s blessing in the life to come,” it promises. “He’ll send it to us here and now.” This popular “name it and claim it” teaching—also called the health and wealth gospel—is not limited to certain congregations, but has worked its way into mainstream evangelical churches where it gets subtly woven into many Christians’ worldviews. The author of writes, “Biblical prosperity is the ability to be in control of every circumstance and...

Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his Cold Case Posse investigating Barack Obama’s presidential eligibility have been promising more major revelations since their March 1 press conference, and now another event has been scheduled to unveil new information. Arpaio told WND a press conference will be held July 17 at 2:30 p.m. local time at the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Phoenix, Ariz. WND will once again provide live Web streaming of the event. The evidence will include information gathered in the posse’s recent investigative trip to Hawaii as well as an update on the ongoing investigation. At the March 1 conference,...

CALGARY, ALBERTA — The U.S. presidential campaign of 1856 sowed the seeds that precipitated the Utah War... That is the premise of a paper prepared for the 47th annual Mormon History Association Conference... Ronald W. Walker, professor emeritus of history at Brigham Young University, authored the paper... ...before the campaign ran its course, Mormon polygamy became an issue, with Republican newspapers and politicians attacking...Democrats for supporting legislation that in theory might allow the Utah Territory to favor plural marriage, Walker wrote. The Republican Party platform thus denounced what it called "the twin relics of barbarism": the extension of slavery in...

<p>The weak level of hiring in the U.S. since spring is likely to carry over into June, an outcome that could exacerbate worries about the health of the economy.</p> <p>The monthly employment report on Friday headlines the slate of data in a holiday-shortened week — July 4th is on Wednesday. Auto sales for June and a key manufacturing survey will also draw scrutiny. Read preview of car sales.</p>

SEATTLE - Human bones found by a hiker in a remote forest in Skagit County have been identified as an Anacortes man who disappeared more than 2 years ago. The King County Medical Examiner's office identified the man as Keith A. Anderson, who is the father to Jake Anderson, a crew member of the Seattle-based fishing vessel featured in the Discovery Channel's "Deadliest Catch" series.

The Supreme Court’s health-care ruling is welcome because it is a compromise. The justices overcame their differences, defusing political conflict and channeling it into the election where it belongs. But the ruling is historic because it is a Compromise — a crisis-averting pact across lines of ideology, party and region, the likes of which we have not seen since pre-Civil War days. Four of the court’s five Republican-appointed conservatives wanted to strike down the Democratic Party’s most cherished legislative achievement since the Great Society, dealing an election-year political blow to President Obama. Their legal arguments were hardly specious, but they...

Pepco has crews working around the clock to restore power knocked out by Friday night’s storm, but some customers may remain in the dark through the week. Pepco estimates 90 percent of the outages will be restored by 11 p.m. Friday, a timetable Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett called unacceptable at a news conference with Gov. Martin O’Malley. "Nobody will have their boot further up Pepco's backside than I will to make sure we get there," O'Malley said about the July 6 timeframe. Pepco president Tom Graham said about 343,000 customers remain without power as of noon Sunday. About 443,000...

This is an amazing video. I'm Lutheran and I sure wish the Lutheran Church had authored this video. So hats off to the Catholic Church. The message is particularly timely. -- Jane Reinheimer Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=D9vQt6IXXaM&hd

I'm An American, AND PROUD AS HELL!Thankfully I was born an American. Born in the greatest nation in the history of the world. But I became an American, slowly and decisively over my entire life, and these were but a few of my moments of decision; When my 92 year old great Grandfather, an immigrant for the bowels of depravity in Italy stood in a crowded church basement and took the pledge of allegiance to his beloved country to finally become a citizen, after struggling to overcome illiteracy and poverty, and raise a fine and honorable family. He had to...

Pentagon chief urges Congress to block new defense cutsBy David Alexander WASHINGTON | Fri Jun 29, 2012 6:43pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged Congress on Friday to act soon to stop a new round of defense budget reductions next year, saying the threat of $500 billion more in cuts leaves military families and defense workers under a cloud of uncertainty. "Congress can't keep kicking the can down the road or avoiding dealing with the debt and deficit problems that we face," Panetta told a news conference. "The men and women of this department and their families...

The European Jewish Congress has called on the German government to stand against a regional court decision to criminalize circumcision, known as "brit mila" in Hebrew, sealing of the Biblical Covenant with G-d in the flesh. The ritual is a practice that exists at the very bedrock of the Jewish and Muslim faiths. The court, located in Cologne, ruled last Tuesday that non-medical circumcision as practiced by most Jews and Muslims causes “bodily harm” and therefore is a crime. This has led to hospitals in Germany canceling planned circumcisions, causing great distress in the Jewish community, said EJC President Moshe...

Scientists reported Thursday on the strongest sign yet that Saturn's giant moon may have a salty ocean beneath its chilly surface. If confirmed, it would catapult Titan into an elite class of solar system moons harboring water, an essential ingredient for life. Titan boasts methane-filled seas at the poles and a possible lake near the equator. And it's long been speculated that Titan contains a hidden liquid layer, based on mathematical modeling and electric field measurements made by the Huygens spacecraft that landed on the surface in 2005. The latest evidence is still indirect, but outside scientists said it's probably...