Free Republic

During Wednesday’s congressional testimony, a heated exchange occurred between Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius over one of the still-unexploded controversies in the ObamaCare law: the fact that ObamaCare’s so-called “robust” coverage is in reality your government forcing you to pay for coverage that includes expensive services millions will never need. Ellmers called Sebelius out specifically for forcing men to buy maternity coverage.

Emergency medical teams were summoned yesterday to a New York City public school to treat students after a noxious odor was detected in a sixth-grade classroom. It was Axe body spray.

The nation's largest landfill, where 130 million tons of garbage has been dumped, is closing Thursday after more than a half-century of service. The 630-acre landfill is about 20 miles east of Los Angeles and served as a regional waste facility. Its gates are being shut because a permit for the site, which is nearly filled, expires on Halloween. The landfill, which opened in 1957, has accepted more than a third of Los Angeles County's trash and stands as high as a 40-story building.

R&L: In what way did the Reformation reshape education in the modern world? Herman J. Selderhuis: Fundamental was the insight that there was no distinction between nature and grace as a lower and an upper level. This means that theology is not seen any longer as higher and more important than other subject matters and faculties, which caused a re-evaluation of other fields of employment, and of other educational tracts.The development of the universities, like the academy in Geneva, University of Leiden, and many other institutions focused on the broad spectrum of creation, natural science. That imparted an impulse by...

Police in Toronto, Canada have stated that a video showing Toronto mayor Rob Ford using crack cocaine is in their possession. Moments ago the mayor greeted a throng of reporters outside his office with the statement that although he would like to defend himself, he cannot, as the issue is before the court. The allegation of crack use and news of a video initially surfaced this past summer, with representatives of the US website "Gawker" alleging that they had seen the video. Since then, evidently, the video was lost or deleted. As part of an ongoing investigation Toronto police maintain...

A knife-wielding woman threw several metal Ninja stars at her younger brother as she chased him down a Florida street late last night following a violent confrontation in their home, police allege. Kimberly Martinez, 25, is jailed on felony aggravated assault charges for allegedly battering her brother Randy, 21.

The Obama administration has been accused of spying on Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the future Popr Francis, "before and during the Vatican conclave at which he was chosen to succeed Benedict XVI," the UK Telegraph reports, citing the Italian magazine Panorama. The National Security Agency is alleged to have monitored the cardinals' telephone calls as part of a spy program targeting foreign leaders.U.S. officials attempted to blunt some of the controversy surrounding these accusations by revealing that millions of telephone records had been collected by France and Spain and handed over to the NSA, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. However,...

Highland Park High School senior Marshon Sanders was pulled from classes on Halloween, a traditional costume day for students, after dressing like Jesus. According to Sanders’ mother, Angenetta Frison, some teachers found his costume offensive. He was readmitted to school after changing out of the costume, Frison said. Sanders’ costume included a long, white robe, red sash, head scarf and a cross necklace. Frison said she didn’t question her son’s choice of costume when he left for school. “I encouraged him to dress as someone inspiring or uplifting,” Frison said. But the costume ran a foul of school policy, which...

Minutes after being grilled by Congressional Republicans yesterday on the embarrassing failure of the Obamcare program and it's website, Kathleen Sebelius suffered a failure of her own.Due apparently to the stress of being questioned over her role in the government healthcare debacle, Sebelius experienced a rare and catastrophic failure of numerous cosmetic surgeries, primarily face lifts. Even her hair straightener betrayed her. Sebelius, pictured below, now has a face to match her neck. She has been hospitalized at an undisclosed location and is under heavy sedation. A spokesman said she will undergo surgery as soon as possible to attempt a...

Many years ago I was taught that the essence of heaven is the Beatific Vision. That is, one will look upon the glorious and radiant face of God, and find in that look the fulfillment of all desires, and a joy (beatus) beyond all telling.And surely this description remains both true and worth repeating. However, I have noticed that some get stuck on the the word “vision” and to some extent on the word “face,” and tend to reduce the experience to a kind of “static” (unchanging) vision.For our experience of the “face” of another is that it does not...

Following shocking revelations exposed by NBC News that the Obama Administration knew millions of Americans would lose their health insurance under ObamaCare, the folks at MSNBC have been doing their best to provide cover for President Obama and Democrats in Congress. Despite this damning revelation, MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts sees private insurance companies as the real culprit, not ObamaCare which forces consumers to purchase insurance benefits they do not need. Roberts claims that the problem is: Not so much about defending Igor [Volsky] to their constituents, but explaining to constituents that you had a subpar junk policy that does not meet...

As the polls tighten in the Virginia gubernatorial race, Democrat Terry McAuliffe is dropping his front-runner swagger and warning that he could lose. In an email to supporters meant to inspire them to vote, he said simply: “Ignore the polls.” Some polls show that the race is getting close, with Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli getting to as close as three points in one poll, though most still show McAuliffe with a significant lead. But the former Democratic Party chairman is worried about turnout in a year when voters are turned off by both candidates and there is no other...

Hallmark, the Kansas City greeting card company, edited the lyrics of "Deck the Halls" on one of its 2013 ornaments to omit the word 'gay' and has received criticism on its Facebook page that puts the company in an unfamiliar position of defending a product. The original carol verse goes: "Don we now our gay apparel." But Hallmark's version, which appears on a Christmas ornament designed as an ugly Christmas sweater goes: "Don we now our FUN apparel."

The liberal fascists have long promoted the mythology that the understanding of the second amendment was always a "collective right" until the NRA created the idea that it was an individual right, presumably sometime during the 1960's.  This is all projection on the part of the liberal fascists.   The mythology that the second amendment refers to a collective right instead of to individuals was created out of whole cloth by the Kansas Supreme Court in 1905, as the "Progressive" movement gained cultural clout and power.     Here is a summation of the liberal fascist mythology from The Huffington Post:...

President Barack Obama is pressuring Jewish and pro-Israel organizations not to lobby for new sanctions against Iran, which Congress is considering this month. The Obama administration wants to give Iran time prove its good faith in new diplomatic efforts to resolve concerns about its nuclear program. Last month, the Obama administration enlisted Jewish and pro-Israel groups to lobby for military action in Syria. The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday that "national security advisor Susan Rice, her deputies Ben Rhodes and Tony Blinken and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman" met with "four major American Jewish organizations" and that there was a...

Justice Department attorneys are advancing an argument at the Supreme Court that could allow the government to invoke international treaties as a legal basis for policies such as gun control that conflict with the U.S. Constitution, according to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Their argument is that a law implementing an international treaty signed by the U.S. allows the federal government to prosecute a criminal case that would normally be handled by state or local authorities. That is a dangerous argument, according to Cruz. "The Constitution created a limited federal government with only specific enumerated powers," Cruz told the Washington Examiner...

Ever sit at home and watch the evening news or read the paper and see a story about some elected official who does something so incredibly stupid that it makes you mutter (or yell) to yourself, "How did that idiot get elected?" If so, you're not alone. So how did they get that job? The short answer is usually, "he (or she) showed up" – plus “apathy”. They went to the meetings nobody else wanted to go to.They volunteered to do the things nobody else would do.They were then asked to serve on some committee.Eventually they were put in charge...

Okay folks... I've had this eating at me for a couple of years and am to the point that I am seeking help from my FReinds.Here is the deal... When I was a kid growing up in the late 1960's, there was a television commercial/PSA that was nothing more than a male voiceover and slow motion video of a hydrogen bomb explosion. Other than the voiceover, the only sound was a gong being struck everytime another "blossom" of the explosion would flare.Does anyone else remember this? If so, does anyone with a better memory than mine have any further details...

Massachusetts residents have only a few days of tax-free shopping left on Amazon.com. Beginning Friday, the state will apply its 6.25 percent sales tax to purchases made from Amazon, though the tax will not apply to third-party vendors who use the site. The state reached an agreement with Amazon last year. Owners of traditional "brick and mortar" stores have long complained of being at a competitive disadvantage to online retailers who are not required to collect sales taxes. State revenue officials tell The Boston Globe the tax on Amazon purchases is expected to raise nearly $37 million for the state...

Rutland, Vt. On his way into town, Dana Gray wondered about the number of cars and pickups parked at a local health care clinic. It was Saturday morning, and normally the clinic would be closed. A little further down the road, he drove by the St. Johnsbury farmers’ market where the local organic gardeners and farmers set up Saturday mornings and do a nice weekend trade in vegetables, eggs, and cheese. There were a few vehicles parked nearby. Fewer, though, than there had been back up the road, at the clinic. At the office of the Caledonian-Record, St. Johnsbury’s daily,...