Free Republic

Derechoes have been in the news in Washington as of late. No, that’s not some new breed of super bureaucrat, but it is something from a supercell sized thunderstorm that crossed several states during its lifetime. You may have seen this NOAA image already on a  few news websites:That’s a time lapse radar image capture as the storm progressed from near Chicago to Chesapeake Bay.They’ve been known over a century, and around far longer than that. Wikipedia says that Derecho comes from the Spanish word for “straight”.The word was first used in the American Meteorological Journal in 1888 by Gustavus...

Four things happened last week – the week before our country’s 236th birthday – that illustrate America’s rapid descent and call into question how many 4th of Julys we have left. One – Chief Justice John Roberts betrayed the Constitution and America by joining the Gang of Four (the Supreme Court’s hard left bloc) to uphold Obamacare, under Congress’ power to tax. Thanks to Roberts, in the future, Washington can compel us to do virtually anything – buy hybrid cars, stop eating fatty foods, put solar panels on our houses. All it has to do to make it pass constitutional...

It is now illegal in Massachusetts to discriminate against transgender people in employment, housing, education and lending. The law, which took effect Sunday, makes Massachusetts the 16th state with protection for transgender residents' rights, The Boston Globe reported. Proponents first submitted the legislation five years ago and it was passe seven months ago. Under the the Massachusetts Transgender Equal Rights Act, prosecutors can also bring hate crime charges in attacks targeting someone for being transgender. Proponents said the law would allow transgender residents to live more openly. "This a tremendously historic and life-changing day for transgender people across the state,...

NEW BRITAIN - A Central Connecticut State University student has been arrested and charged after allegedly making anti-gay threats to herself. The numerous harassments were the focus of an anti-hate rally that the university held in March to support the two girls whom were the victims. The gathering attracted many supporters from the area and media attention from several news organizations.

To all the people moping and crying and declaring that all is lost: please read this Medal of Honor citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty at Saipan, Mariana Islands, 19 June to 7 July 1944. When his entire company was held up by fire from automatic weapons and small-arms fire from strongly fortified enemy positions that commanded the view of the company, Sgt. (then Pvt.) Baker voluntarily took a bazooka and dashed alone to within 100 yards of the enemy. Through heavy rifle and machinegun fire that...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says his government will buy amphibious tanks from China for its military. Chavez isn't saying how many of the armored vehicles Venezuela intends to buy, but says the deal signed Tuesday calls for a Chinese company to begin delivering the tanks next year.

A young patient who died of dehydration at a leading teaching hospital phoned police from his bed because he was so thirsty, an inquest heard yesterday. Officers arrived at Kane Gorny's bedside, but were told by nurses that he was in a confused state and were sent away. The keen footballer and runner, 22, died of dehydration a few hours later. A coroner had such grave concerns about the case that she referred it to police. Yesterday an inquest was told how Mr Gorny died after blunders and neglect by 'lazy and careless' medical staff at St George's Hospital in...

Although Chief Justice John Roberts this week tragically provided the fifth vote, and the contorted logic, that enabled the Supreme Court to uphold ObamaCare, "We the People" can still repeal it. Here's our five-point plan for doing so. Stop your state from setting up an ObamaCare exchange. Get your state to opt out of the ObamaCare Medicaid expansion. Elect 4 additional pro-repeal Senators, which would give us a pro-repeal majority. Retain and if possible enlarge the existing House majority, which is committed to full repeal. Elect a president who will sign the full repeal bill.

I lurk here a lot but don't really post. I just thought I would post here to see if anybody is familiar with all this. I learned about 3 months ago that I have cirrhosis of the liver, probably caused by alcohol use. I never thought I drank that much -- maybe 4 or 5 beers a night -- but I had such a habit for many years. I had no warning of such a problem, and only learned about it when my abdomen started becoming oddly swollen, and uncomfortable. Finally, when I was looking like a pregnant woman (literally},...

The Obama administration granted more than 1600 waivers over compliance with parts of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act. The Supreme Court ruling that the individual mandate is a tax will not affect the waivers, as they dealt with what kind of insurance people have, not whether they have it. The ruling, and the waivers, point us directly to the disaster that awaits the country unless the PPACA is fully repealed. (snip) What happens on January 1, 2014? That's when the state-based exchanges are supposed to be up and running, allowing federally subsidized insurance to supplant the policies getting waivers....

Maybe Roberts will contravene the sordid history of "stealth nominees" and be the Scalia or Thomas that Bush promised us when he was asking for our votes. Or maybe he won't. The Supreme Court shouldn't be a game of Russian roulette.

Ronald Reagan as the American Redeemer riding on his victorious velociraptor while spraying commies with depleted uranium ammo. Yeah ... this works for me.

IN FOCUS: German Eurofighters impress during Red Flag debut  Print By: Dave Majumdar Washington DC 16 hours ago Source: The German air force's Fighter Wing 74 (JG74) brought eight of its ­Eurofighter combat aircraft to a Red Flag-Alaska exercise at Eielson AFB in Alaska ­during June, representing its first ever such deployment. For the Luftwaffe, participation in the war games was needed to certify its Eurofighters for their NATO reaction force participation this November, says Col Andreas Pfeiffer, commander of JG74. The exercise was also aimed at helping to prepare the unit for a NATO force evaluation in March...

Prominent conservatives are grumbling that the Romney campaign may not have what it takes to defeat Barack Obama, and are not being shy about it. [....] Jack Welch, the one-time chief of General Electric, chimed in. “Hope Mitt Romney is listening to Murdoch advice on campaign staff ... playing in league with Chicago pols ... No room for amateurs”. Some conservatives have been enraged by an apparent tactical decision by the Romney campaign this week to break ranks with senior Republicans on Capitol Hill over how to respond to the Supreme Court’s healthcare decision. While one Republican strategist told the...

Chief Justice John Roberts recently struck another blow against limited government by creating a new, unrestrained power to use taxes to compel activity (even if the proponents of the tax insist vehemently that it is not a tax!). There's something tragic about a decision that says federal powers are practically unlimited, checked only by public opinion and the political process. There should be a large and healthy sphere of American life that is insulated and protected from political negotiation. But we cannot dwell on that tragedy. We have no recourse left but to engage and win in the political process....

What Happens If Record Heat And Crippling Drought Cause Widespread Crop Failures Throughout The United States?July 3, 2012 It is too early to panic, but if there is not a major change in the weather very soon we could be looking at widespread crop failures throughout the United States this summer. Record heat and crippling drought are absolutely devastating crops from coast to coast. Unfortunately, this unprecedented heat wave just continues to keep going and record high temperatures continue to scorch much of the central United States. In fact, more than 2,000 record high temperatures have been matched or broken...

What's happening to iGoogle? iGoogle will be retired in 16 months, on November 1, 2013. The mobile version will be retired on July 31, 2012. How did you come to this decision? We originally launched iGoogle in 2005 before anyone could fully imagine the ways that today's web and mobile apps would put personalized, real-time information at your fingertips. With modern apps that run on platforms like Chrome and Android, the need for something like iGoogle has eroded over time, so we’ll be winding down iGoogle on November 1, 2013, giving you a full 16 months to adjust or easily...

WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts flipped late in the game on the Supreme Court ruling on "Obamacare" and ended up writing both the majority opinion and most of the opposing dissent, sources said Tuesday. Supreme Court experts described the move by Roberts, whose decisive swing vote to uphold President Barack Obama's overhaul of the failing US health care system, as unprecedented. The ruling on the reforms, Obama's signature domestic policy which aims to provide insurance to most of the 50 million Americans who lack it, was written in such a way that one can tell it was at first...

September 17 1787-June 28 2012 The once great USA died last Thursday. The American Dream, work hard and get ahead without oppressive Government interference, is gone for now. What will rise from the ashes of the Obama and SCOTUS destruction?

Lobbyists from Coca-Cola and other big soda companies have met with mayoral candidates and City Council members. Canvassers hired by the beverage industry are stopping New Yorkers on the street to solicit signatures on petitions. Facebook and Twitter pages tell readers to “say no to a #sodaban.” Confronting a high-profile attack on its fizzy products, the American soft-drink industry is beginning an aggressive campaign to fight New York City’s proposed restrictions on large servings of sugary drinks. Hoping for a debate about freedom, not fatness, the industry has created a coalition called New Yorkers for Beverage Choices to coordinate its...