Free Republic

I have an idea on how to save not just one life but countless lives. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again yet expecting a different result. Banning certain firearms because of their cosmetic appearances or magazines over 10 rounds won't save lives just like it didn't at Columbine under the 1994 AWB. It's time we try something different.

Indian air force Chief of Air Staff N.A.K. Browne is visiting Israel, a sign of deepening Indian-Israeli defense ties. "This is a part of routine reciprocal visits between chiefs of various wings of the defense forces of the two countries," an Israeli Ministry of Defense official told The Times of India. "The visit underlines a very strong strategic relationship between the two countries where cooperation with India would probably rank only second to the United States." India is Israel's the largest purchaser of arms and equipment, with Israeli total defense equipment exports to India reaching $9 billion since 1997, The...

The latest word out of the Senate is that if Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn’t accede to changes in the filibuster rules over the next few days, Harry Reid will invoke the so-called “nuclear option” and change the rules with 51 votes. The most likely outcome would be outlawing the filibuster on motions to proceed, thereby forcing senators to take to the floor to filibuster bills, “Mr. Smith”-style. This move, and the overwhelming progressive enthusiam for it, are head-scratchers... --snip-- Weakening the filibuster was a perfectly sensible goal for liberals back in the 1970s, when Democrats arguably had natural...

As 3D printers increase in popularity, more and more people are using them to bring their unique projects to life. They've been used to manufacture everything from weapons parts (AR-15 lower receiver) to medical prosthetics (four-year-old Emma Lavelle’s "Magic Arms"), and now some are using them to bring new life to both old and new forms of recordable technology. In this case, 3D printing technology has been applied to restoration, and it only seems fitting that a relatively new invention was used to revitalize old recordings by prominent inventors from over 100 years ago. Researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National...

Wisconsin's budget picture brightened Thursday, with new estimates that show a surplus will grow to $484 million, giving Republicans and Gov. Scott Walker even more room to pursue their tax cutting agenda. The estimate from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau was nearly $137 million better than one Walker's administration released in November. ... In 2011, Walker took office facing a roughly $3 billion budget shortfall and

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, newly returned to Congress after suffering a stroke, is becoming a central figure in the Senate's gun control debate. An aide in Kirk's office has confirmed that the Highland Park Republican is working with two Democrats to draft bipartisan gun control legislation. One of those is Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, of New York, with whom Kirk is working on legislation to crack down on gun trafficking. "Proud to partner w/@Senator Kirk to introduce the Gun Trafficking Prevention Act next week — common sense, bipartisan gun safety reform," Gillibrand, of New Brunswick, tweeted Thursday. In addition, Kirk,...

Liberal lawmakers and activists seeking to eliminate the Senate filibuster, and thus ease the passage of President Obama’s boldly progressive agenda, have failed. Senate leaders reached a tentative agreement Thursday that would keep the 60-vote requirement to end a filibuster largely intact, thus preserving the minority party’s ability to block or slow legislation it opposes.“Failibuster,” read the lead headline from left-wing news outlet Huffington Post, plastered above a photo of a grinning Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), the Senate minority leader. Fix the Senate Now, a coalition of labor unions, environmentalist groups, and other liberal activists whose policy priorities were...

The rise in drug resistant infections is comparable to the threat of global warming, according to the chief medical officer for England. Prof Dame Sally Davies said bacteria were becoming resistant to current drugs and there were few antibiotics to replace them. She told a committee of MPs that going for a routine operation could become deadly due to the threat of infection. Experts said it was a global problem and needed much more attention. Antibiotics have been one of the greatest success stories in medicine. However, bacteria are a rapidly adapting foe which find new ways to evade drugs.

Implantable Cartilage Created With Hybrid 3D Printer Bio Email This Print Comment Cabe Atwell, Contributing Editor, Design Hardware & Software1/21/2013   16 comments NO RATINGS Login to Rate 1 While some hobbyists are rapidly prototyping items and objects from 3D printers, others in the medical field have taken that tool to a whole new level in printing out actual implantable tissue and even organs that could prolong life. In the last few years, medical science has used 3D printers to replace damaged tissue (skin) or to restore limbs for those who have suffered wounds. While the procedures used so far...

What are we succumbing to, America? The army orders "the removal of Christian symbols from a chapel." I wonder what they'll make of my son and all the other soldiers with their numerous Christian symbols tattooed on their warrior bodies? What say you, politicians, about America's finest protecting us in these war zones who will NOT be "removing their Steeples, Crosses, Bible Verses, etc." to adhere to this new nonsensical political correctness? Army Removes Crosses, Steeple from Chapel

The Prince, 28, has made it clear in interviews that he would love to get the chance of a third tour of duty, but his Apache squadron is not due to return before the scheduled pull-out of combat troops at the end of 2014. It is almost inconceivable that the Prince would be allowed to return as a foot soldier, his preferred option, meaning that unless the Nato withdrawal deadline overruns, he will not be going back to Helmand. The Prince is currently enjoying a month-long break from his Army duties following the end of his 20-week posting to Camp...

After winning approval from the necessary authorities, the two men received lethal injections at a Belgian hospital in December. Dufour described their last moments: "They had a last cup of coffee and everything was fine. They said goodbye to their parents and brother and all was serene. They waved — and that was that." Under a 2002 law, Belgians are allowed to end their own lives if a doctor judges an individual has made his or her wishes clear and is suffering unbearable pain. The case of the twins was unusual because the two men were not approaching the end...

As flood waters rose Sunday, a South African crocodile farmer near the border with Botswana was forced to open his gates to prevent a storm surge from destroying the property. And, no, this isn't the plot of some horror flick: About 15,000 crocodiles escaped, according to the local newspaper, Beeld.

This is one brave woman, People like this put many of us to shame for our failure to act. Appropriately her last name means 'steel' in German. "Jennifer Stahl has been a strong advocate against the smart meter program in Naperville, Ill., for the last two years. The issue came to a head Wednesday afternoon when she was arrested while refusing to let the utility workers install the controversial device.... Stahl was at a friend’s house when she received the call from her husband that the utility workers had arrived. She was home within 15 minutes and saw they were...

In my book, When the Crosses are Gone, I warn that when a culture abandons thinking and logic in favor of feelings and emotions, it is doomed to destruction. Although emotions are a very important part of the human psyche, when they control every aspect of life, morality becomes a victim. Today, there is widespread agreement that morality in America is deteriorating with breathtaking speed. On one hand, we face a belligerent and intimidating lobby that desires the breakdown of biblical morality. On the other hand, a docile public-as well as church leadership-is terrified to stand up for truth lest...

Vice President Joe Biden figuratively slapped the National Rifle Association in the face on Thursday, indirectly slamming its suggestion to put armed guards in every school in the nation. “We are not calling for armed guards in schools…we think that would be a terrible mistake,” the VP said during a PBS “Fireside Hangout” on Thursday. “The last thing we need to do is be arming school teachers and administrators,” he added. The Vice President did talk about allowing schools to hire more mental health professionals and ‘resource officers.’ Biden said the current proposal — some $40 million for schools to...

Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Barack Obama's health care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation. The Affordable Care Act — "Obamacare" to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies up to 50 percent higher premiums starting next Jan. 1. For a 55-year-old smoker, the penalty could reach nearly $4,250 a year. A 60-year-old could wind up paying nearly $5,100 on top of premiums. Younger smokers could be charged lower...

In a statement issued on Sunday, Defence Minister Mohammed al-Barghathi claimed Siddiq al-Ghaith was behind the attack on his convoy in the city of Tobruk. He says ...

After four years of pretending there is no jihad against the free world, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blurted out the truth during her testimony on the Benghazi jihad massacre Wednesday: “We now face a spreading jihadist threat,” she said, adding: “We have to recognize this is a global movement.” We do? Yet the Obama administration has for years steadfastly and repeatedly denied both that there was a jihadist threat at all and that it was a global movement. So far has the Obama administration been from acknowledging that there was a jihad threat that less than two months into...

The iman of one of Misrata’s mosques, Sheikh Fakhri Husein Jahani, was murdered on Tuesday. He was killed when unknown assailants threw a grenade at him as he was leaving the Omar Ibn Khatab Mosque after Maghreb (Sunset) prayers. Five other people were wounded in the attack, three of them seriously. One of the wounded, a child, lost an eye in the blast. Three people have been arrested in connection with the killing. They deny any involvement but are still being held. ...