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The day after Valentine's Day and the 3rd Day of Lent has me reflecting on many things, but most important today...Love. There have been tens of thousands written, in all languages, depicting all kinds of love--for a family member, a friend, a teacher, our fellow man or even an object, a job, or other physical or mental endeavor...a spouse ...God. These are just five love songs from a very deep pool of love songs in the knapsack of my mind today. 1. I Kissed Ya The Everly Bros 2. You Send Me Sam Cooke 3. Wicked Chris Isaak 4. I've...

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - A New York Assemblyman's proposal to prohibit kids under 11 from playing tackle football isn't going over well with some coaches. In Buffalo Thursday, a handful of youth football leaders and participants joined state Sen. Timothy Kennedy outside a stadium to protest the idea. Assemblyman Michael Benedetto introduced the legislation last week, telling reporters it's meant to protect children...

Obama proposals face quick opposition in Congress WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama set up high-stakes clashes over guns, immigration, taxes and climate change in a State of the Union address that showcased a newly re-elected president determined to mark his legacy, facing off against a deeply divided Congress with Republicans eager to rein him in.At the center of it all was a fight over the very role of government, with Obama pushing a raft of new initiatives to improve preschool programs and voting, boost manufacturing and research and development, raise the minimum wage and lower energy use. “It is...

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, scientists and officials are trying to protect the largest US city from future floods. Joe Leader's heart sank as he descended into the South Ferry subway station at the southern tip of Manhattan in New York. It was 8 p.m. on 29 October, and Hurricane Sandy had just made landfall some 150 kilometres south in New Jersey. As chief maintenance officer for the New York city subway system, Leader was out on patrol. He had hoped that the South Ferry station would be a refuge from the storm. Instead, he was greeted by wailing...

Obama proposals face quick opposition in Congress WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama set up high-stakes clashes over guns, immigration, taxes and climate change in a State of the Union address that showcased a newly re-elected president determined to mark his legacy, facing off against a deeply divided Congress with Republicans eager to rein him in.At the center of it all was a fight over the very role of government, with Obama pushing a raft of new initiatives to improve preschool programs and voting, boost manufacturing and research and development, raise the minimum wage and lower energy use. “It is...

"I know I just met you and this is crazy but will you be my valentine ??? ..COGF

So Downton Abbey‘s message is an anti-class warfare one. The fact is that the spirit of the critics is hard left, and maybe that’s why Downton Abbey makes them so angry, because the success of the series shows that this group does not speak for America. It also shows something equally important to the future of our culture: that there is no inherent need for good TV to be left of center. Stories sympathetic to virtue, preservation of property and admiration of nobility and of wealth can be told beautifully and to wide audiences, and I suspect they will be...

Gaining a deep insight into human evolution, researchers have identified a mutation in a critical human gene as the source of several distinctive traits that make East Asians different from other races. Researchers have identified a mutation in a gene that confers several distinct traits to East Asians, including thicker hair. The traits — thicker hair shafts, more sweat glands, characteristically identified teeth and smaller breasts — are the result of a gene mutation that occurred about 35,000 years ago, the researchers have concluded. snip The first of those sites to be studied contains the gene known as EDAR. Africans...

When not misfolded, prions lend a hand in forming neuronal connections. Prions are best known as the infectious agents that cause ‘mad cow’ disease and the human versions of it, such as variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease. But the proteins also have at least one known useful function, in the cells that insulate nerves, and are suspected to have more. Now researchers have provided the first direct evidence that the proteins play an important role in neurons themselves. The team reports in the Journal of Neuroscience1 that prions are involved in developmental plasticity, the process by which the structure and function of...

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is the first Republican supporter of a bill that would allow U.S. citizens to bring their foreign same-sex partners to the country for legal residency. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Collins (R-Maine) will introduce the bill, which Leahy has introduced every year since 2003 and insisted should be part of any immigration reform deal. “More than two dozen countries recognize same-sex couples for immigration purposes,” Collins said. “This important civil rights legislation would help prevent committed, loving families from being forced to choose between leaving their family or leaving their country.” Leahy said...

Trying to focus on the markets for today and each day and the economic news A number of people have talked about such a thread. Lets see how it goes. This is where you can impart some investment wisdom to your fellow freepers. You can vent about the big one that got away. You can chime in how Obama is out to wreck American capitalism. If you see another FR economic thread you like and want to link to it here, please do Post your favorite economic site links. Your favorite precious metals blogs and sites Apmex.com is a solid...

First lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are expected to visit Aspen this Presidents’ Day weekend, the Aspen Daily News reported. Obama came to Aspen a year ago with her daughters for a ski vacation, and stayed at the home of Jim and Paula Crown, who own the Aspen Skiing Co. The Crowns also own a home near Buttermilk–one of four area ski mountains under the Aspen Skiing Co. umbrella–and the Obamas hit the slopes on this beginner hill. In July 2011, Obama made a speech at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee and President Obama’s 2012...

A series of explosions in the skies of Russia’s Urals region, reportedly caused by a meteorite shower, has sparked panic in three major cities. Witnesses said that houses shuddered, windows were blown out and cellphones have stopped working. According to unconfirmed reports, the meteorite was intercepted by an air defense unit at the Urzhumka settlement near Chelyabinsk. A missile salvo reportedly blew the meteorite to pieces at an altitude of 20 kilometers.

At present, there are three small human safety embryonic stem cell studies. All deal with macular degeneration-type conditions. And now, a human trial looks to soon get underway in Japan using induced pluripotent stem cells, that is, stem cells made from a patient’s own skin or other tissues. From the Nature News story: Having already received IRB approval at her home institution, Takahashi can now move towards the final step before patient recruitment: getting health ministry approval.  She’s expected receive that in time for starting the trials during this fiscal year, ending March 2014. The trial will enroll six patients...

From the rally earlier this month.

OK... so with all of the rhetoric surrounding our current political Bull%^$$%.. i would just like to extend an invitation to my most admired political ally and mentor... You want to go fishing Rush ???

OK... so with all of the rhetoric surrounding our current political Bull%^$$%.. i would just like to extend an invitation to my most admired political ally and mentor... You want to go fishing Rush ???

Fewer than one-fourth of House districts are competitive. That's bad news for Democrats.Democrats face twin struggles as they seek to retake the House majority they lost in 2010. First, the chamber has largely sorted itself out. With 96 percent of Democratic House members representing districts carried by President Obama and 94 percent of Republican House lawmakers representing districts won by Mitt Romney, each party pretty much has the seats God intended. The House simply doesn’t have much elasticity right now. Substantial gains would either require Democrats winning a bunch of Romney districts or Republicans capturing a lot of Obama districts....

Pretty much what the title says. Much cuteness and funneh herein.

Would you renounce your U.S. citizenship if it meant you’d be sending less of your hard-earned dollars to Uncle Sam? As Americans face higher taxes and stricter enforcement, a growing number of them are, indeed, deciding to turn in their US passports. As of 2013, 77% of Americans will pay higher federal tax rates because the cuts in Social Security payroll taxes expired when Congress passed its tax package on New Year’s Day. But the wealthiest households face the highest tax increases. From 2009 to 2011, the number of expatriates, or those who renounced their U.S. citizenship, doubled to 1,781....