Free Republic

A North Korean defector gives a horrible account of how people with mental or physical disabilities are seen as a stain on the nation's image and are therefore used for performing experiments before being deliberately neglected until they die. "Disabled children are being taken away, suffering indescribable things and dying," said Ji Seong-ho, who escaped North Korea in 2006 after losing his left leg above the knee and his left hand at the wrist. Ji, the founder of the organization Now, Action, Unity, Human Rights, or NAUH, who was in London this week to protest outside the North Korean embassy,...

The secret negotiations that led to one of the most significant expansions of campaign contributions in recent years began with what Republican leaders regarded as an urgent problem: How would they pay for their presidential nominating convention in Cleveland in two years? The talks ended with a bipartisan agreement between Senate Democrats, led by the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and House Republicans, led by Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio, that would allow wealthy donors to begin giving more than $1 million every election cycle to each party’s national committees. The agreement drew intense criticism from both liberal...

San Diego Council Aide Suspended For Comments About Protesters By TONY PERRY A San Diego City Council member has suspended a staffer without pay for two weeks for referring to police-conduct protesters as idiots and suggesting - in jest - that she wanted to shoot them. The comments were made after a council meeting Wednesday in which two dozen protesters indicated opposition to the decisions by grand juries in Ferguson, Mo., and New York not to indict white police officers in the deaths of two unarmed black men. Children in the group wore black sweat shirts with the phrase: "Don't...

The National Institutes of Health through its National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has funded a study to uncover the correlation between alcohol abuse and lesbian “intimate partner violence.” The grant, titled “Minority Stress, Alcohol Use, and Intimate Partner Violence Among Lesbians,” was awarded to Old Dominion University. “Alcohol abuse and dependence, and the constellation of problems associated with these disorders, including intimate partner violence (IPV) are a serious health concern for sexual minority women, their partners, their families, and society as a whole,” the grant abstract said. …

When Pope Francis recently sought to comfort a distraught boy whose dog had died, the pontiff took the sort of pastoral approach he is famous for — telling the youngster not to worry, that he would one day see his pet in heaven.“Paradise is open to all of God’s creatures,” Francis said reassuringly.It was a sparkling moment on a rainy November day, and the setting in St. Peter’s Square only burnished Francis’ reputation as a kindly “people’s pope.” The story naturally lit up social media, became instant promotional material for vegetarians and animal rights groups, and on Friday even made...

That would be Elizabeth Warren, junior senator from Massachusetts, for the presidency of these United States, “a fighter for working people and a champion for the middle class.” You can sign the petition at Moveon.org, “Democracy in Action®” (yes, the power-to-the-people folks at Moveon.org have actually registered that catchy slogan with the U.S. Copyright Office). Let's see, who were some of those “working people” that Sen. Warren worked for when she was not instructing “the children” at Harvard Law? She won’t enumerate her clients, but some of the names can be found here and here: Dow CorningNational Gypsum TrustFuller...

Waterboarding is not designed to kill anyone.  None of the other enhanced interrogation techniques that liberals are screaming about are designed to cause lasting damage or death. The reality is that the “torture” that liberals are getting upset about would be called torture only in the First World; in the rest of the world, it would be considered a mild first step. That doesn’t mean that enhanced interrogation techniques are acceptable or moral, but it does mean that they are a far cry from what most of the world thinks of when they hear the word “torture.” On the...

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss...

WASHINGTON – Republican aren’t mincing words about some in their own party as the political divide grows and the deadline to pass a spending bill nears. Heading into a rare Saturday session, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News he was surprised that GOP Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah went over his head Friday night and help up a vote on the $1.1 trillion spending bill. A senior GOP source lashed out at Cruz and Lee, calling the move “hamfisted” and “amateurish.” Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters that he was surprised by...

DENVER — Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper made good Friday on his promise to sue the federal government over its hotly contested move to list the Gunnison sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act. The Colorado Attorney General’s office filed a notice of intent to sue with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Fish and Wildlife Service director Daniel M. Ashe, arguing that the agency’s Nov. 12 decision to list the bird as threatened was flawed and failed to appreciate fully the impact of aggressive state and local conservation efforts. “The Service failed to use the best available science in its listing...

“The [Nevada] Secretary of State has certified that the petitions submitted for an anti-gun initiative for the 2016 general election ballot are sufficient,” nraila.org reports. “This initiative was filed with the Secretary of State by the anti-gun ‘Nevadans for Background Checks,’ likely affiliated with ex-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ‘Everytown for Gun Safety’ and seeks to criminalize most private transfers and mandate background checks for nearly all gun transfers in Nevada, with very limited exceptions.” Here’s the official description from the group behind the push . . .

By AIMEE PICCHI December 12, 2014 Why Middle-Class Wealth Is Withering If the middle class is truly the backbone of America, the country's spine may be close to breaking. Middle America came out of the Great Recession in a precarious position, sinking into "dissavings" -- when spending is greater than income -- thanks to a nasty combination of stagnant wages and a hit to real estate and investment values, according to a new working paper from New York University economics professor Edward N. Wolff. That's led to a grim outcome, with virtually no change in the country's median wealth between...

Spotted this while chasing another link. Seems I've seen one of these before, but not as a cased piece. Many detailed pictures, worth a peek but texts are in Russian. Interesting...

Editor’s note: This column was originally published Dec.. 5. On Dec. 12, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act. Page 1,163 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) states: “The land conveyed under this subsection shall be used only as a motocross, bicycle, off-highway vehicle, or stock car racing area, or for any other public purpose consistent with uses allowed under the Act of June 14, 1926 (commonly known as the ‘Recreation and Public Purposes Act’)…” You may ask yourself: What in the world does this have to do with defending America against the numerous threats we face? The...

In the closely watched Supreme Court case, EEOC v. Abercrombie, the Becket Fund a brief debunking Abercrombie's claim that a Muslim job applicant should have explained during her job interview that she was wearing a headscarf for religious reasons in order to be protected by anti-discrimination laws. "Abercrombie's claim is both an absurd and dangerous precedent for all people of faith seeking employment," said Eric Baxter, Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. "Justice may be blind, but that doesn't mean employers can cover their eyes. A job applicant does not have to bring a 'Look at me...

Early Friday evening Sen. Elizabeth Warren took to the Senate floor and gave a plain-spoken, barn-burning speech that could make history and put her into serious contention to be the next President of the United States. There are only a handful of political speeches that have such historic impact. Barack Obama's keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention comes readily to mind. It's what catapulted an obscure Illinois state Senator into the national limelight and put him on the path to becoming President. Warren's Senate speech was different, but just as electrifying. Obama's rhetoric was lofty, high-minded, and general, with...

WASHINGTON -- Less than a month after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) landed a new Senate leadership position, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and President Barack Obama risked a fight with her over government subsidies for risky Wall Street derivatives trading. They won the near-term policy fight: After a bruising bicameral battle, the House of Representatives narrowly approved an annual spending bill that granted taxpayer support for the risky financial contracts at the heart of the 2008 meltdown. But the bitter feud left Reid and Obama politically embarrassed, while consolidating a burgeoning populist movement within the...

The House-passed $1.1 trillion Continuing Resolution contains a clause that exposes taxpayers to a potential $300 trillion liability for bank losses in derivatives trading. The rider to the CR was the “brain child” of Citigroup. The rider is opposed by both tea party Republicans and left wing Democrats, but is strongly supported by House GOP leadership and President Obama. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif), charged that “this maneuver puts the lie to the contention that the GOP is the Party of small government. This is a big government pay off to Wall Street financiers. I’m enormously disappointed that the...

First it was that all atheists can go to Heaven. Then it was that communist economics is Biblical. Furthermore, he and the church believes theistic evolution--"God is not a magician." (God made everything, then everything made everything. Adam and Eve's parents were apes.) The church needs to dialogue about the Sacrament of Marriage concerning divorce and unnatural marriage. Basically, the church has become RC-Lite and "all things to all sheeple." Now, he says that all dogs go to Heaven! What about other pets? Let me tell you that cat fanciers are being rubbed the wrong way! Rumors are that the...

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog Here are 34 more reasons I’m sooo glad I didn’t vote for Obama The complete list can be found at https://danfromsquirrelhill.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/obama-252/Here are the new entries:901) Emails prove that the Obama administration pressured CBS News to stop airing reports by Sharyl AttkissonOn October 3, 2011, CBS News aired a story by Sharyl Attkisson which showed that Attorney General Eric Holder had lied under oath regarding Fast and Furious. The report can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JaDEShZIvQOn October 4, 2011, Holder’s top press aide, Tracy Schmaler, wrote the following in an email to White House Deputy Press Sectary Eric...