Free Republic

Zachary Diamond and Angie Nunes look at their "wonderfully healthy" 6-month-old son Solomon, knowing they might have terminated the pregnancy — all because of a popular prenatal test that was wrong. The Portland, Oregon, couple was encouraged to use a new noninvasive blood test that their doctor said was "99 percent" accurate in predicting chromosomal abnormalities. The test revealed the fetus had Trisomy 18 or Edwards syndrome, a painful genetic condition that is nearly always fatal, and their doctor told them to prepare for the worst. "If you google Trisomy 18, your heart will just shatter with the prognosis," Diamond,...

Who were the Magi? The Gospel of Matthew mentions the Magi who came from the East to worship the newborn Christ child (cf. Matthew 2:1-12). Exactly who the magi were though remains somewhat of a mystery. Oftentimes, the English translations of the Bible use the word astrologers for magi. In Greek, the original language of the Gospel' the word magos (magoi, plural) has four meanings: (1) a member of the priestly class of ancient Persia, where astrology and astronomy were prominent in Biblical times; (2) one who had occult knowledge and power, and was adept at dream interpretation' astrology, fortune-telling,...

It's the relationship that just won't end. Speaking to 3,000 military and civilian personnel in New Jersey, President Barack Obama opened with fond memories of the time he spent with Gov. Chris Christie on the Jersey Shore last year. He recalled that during a visit to see the rebuilding from Superstorm Sandy, Christie's children showed him how to play frog bog. Obama then pledged a rematch to the football toss, which Christie won, perhaps setting up another meeting between the two. Christie, who is contemplating a run for the Republican presidential nomination, and Obama have had a headline-grabbing relationship since...

People in Sydney walking past the State Parliament buildings on Macquarie Street in recent weeks might have noticed a tall Muslim cleric who has taken up residence in a tent on the footpath outside. He is Ayatollah Manteghi Boroujerdi, a liberal cleric who fled Iran four years ago after being very critical of the Iranian regime. Ayatollah Boroujerdi's wife and two daughters are now under house arrest in Iran, and he's hoping the Howard government will put pressure on the regime there to let his family join him here in Australia. David Rutledge spoke to him this week. David Rutledge:...

You can help Larry Hogan by clicking source link.

The death toll for General Motors' faulty ignition switch victims continues to rise with the last reported number being 42. There has been speculation that the death count is significantly higher, as safety advocate Clarence Ditlow has written to GM to request an expansion of efforts to uncover victims of accidents resulting from defective GM vehicles. GM has known about the ignition switch defect for years and failed to recall the deadly vehicles for almost five years after the Obama Administration took over the company in June of 2009. President Obama's Auto Task Force guided the company through a...

It is the F-word that dares not speak its name at the Washington Post. At least not in the WonkBlog story about plunging oil prices by Chris Mooney. That word is "fracking." Mooney is notorious for his antipathy towards fracking but his failure to attribute the large increase in U.S. oil production to it is laughable. Here is Mooney noticing that oil prices are going way down but fails to credit it to you-know-what due to his ideology:

For abortion rights activists in New Brunswick, the announcement in April that the Morgentaler Clinic in Fredericton would soon shut down marked a low ebb for the movement. However, it actually proved to be an unlikely catalyst for change. The closure, caused by the province's steadfast opposition to paying for abortions in private clinics, suddenly focused national attention on New Brunswick's uniquely restrictive approach to offering the medical procedure. n the weeks that followed, younger abortion rights activists were galvanized into action, turning to social media to rally support and heading to the streets to organize protest marches. "It made...

This effort is in response to the recent reports in The New York Times, most notably an Oct. 14 article, “The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons,” which detailed its investigation and the Pentagon’s acknowledgement that as many as 600 U.S. troops had reported chemical exposure, but it failed to realize the scope of the exposure or offer adequate treatment. In the video above posted on YouTube from Taji, Iraq, in 2008, this is the description of the video (a similar video was used by the Times): “A cache of mustard rounds found buried in a peninsula near Taji,...

LITTLE ROCK — In its first regular session after passing one of the strictest abortion laws in the country, the Arkansas Legislature is expected to consider several more proposed restrictions on the procedure. In 2013, the Legislature enacted a bill to ban most abortions at 12 weeks or later into a pregnancy, overriding a veto by Gov. Mike Beebe. The law’s fate is now in the hands of the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, which is considering the state’s appeal of a federal judge’s ruling that partially struck it down. In the meantime, several state legislators...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa • A food supplier for several years falsely marketed beef to Muslims around the world as meeting strict halal standards, exporting products that weren't slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law, federal prosecutors allege in a major fraud indictment.http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/u-s-says-halal-food-supplier-misled-muslims-on-beef/article_4555debe-2a67-56dc-a050-2c440a818e92.html

The political class breathed a sigh of relief Saturday when the US Senate averted a government shutdown by passing the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill. This year's omnibus resembles omnibuses of Christmas past in that it was drafted in secret, was full of special interest deals and disguised spending increases, and was voted on before most members could read it. The debate over the omnibus may have made for entertaining political theater, but the outcome was never in doubt. Most House and Senate members are so terrified of another government shutdown that they would rather vote for a 1,774-page bill...

West Bloomfield, MI — Michigan abortionist Michael Arthur Roth’s abortion business, the Novi Laser and Aesthetic Center, was evicted last month from its second office space this year. Currently, his abortion business remains closed. An eviction document provided to Operation Rescue by long-time pro-life activist Lynn Mills, shows that a court request for eviction from his office at 33200 West 14 Mile in West Bloomfield was filed on October 21, 2014. The eviction was ordered due to Roth’s violation of a provision of his lease. Roth had until November 27, 2014, to vacate the premises. Photos taken through his office...

Police are looking for a man accused of killing six people in Montgomery County, Pa., Monday. Officials say the gunman is Bradley William Stone, 35, who also left three people wounded. Reports and details are still coming in about a situation that is still developing; we'll update this post as news emerges. The events began to unfold around 4 a.m. ET Monday, when police were called to the scene of a shooting. Prosecutors say, "All of the victims have a familial relationship to Stone." From member station WHYY: "Neighbors at the first shooting scene in Harleysville said they awoke around...

There's a certain ritual that each and every one of the world's billion-plus Muslims, especially those living in Western countries, is expected to go through immediately following any incident of violence involving a Muslim perpetrator. It's a ritual that is continuing now with the Sydney hostage crisis, in which a deranged self-styled sheikh named Man Haron Monis took several people hostage in a downtown café. Here is what Muslims and Muslim organizations are expected to say: "As a Muslim, I condemn this attack and terrorism in any form." This expectation we place on Muslims, to be absolutely clear, is Islamophobic...

Inspector general's report is "embarrassing to our nation’s brave men and women."WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs is facing renewed criticism over its inability to properly meet the needs of former service members – this time over the poor operation of a call center established to aid homeless vets. A recent inspector general’s report revealed that homeless and at-risk veterans who contacted the call center, which costs $3 million a year to operate, often experienced problems either getting in touch with counselors or receiving the necessary referrals for services. Of the estimated 79,500 homeless veterans who contacted the hotline...

A march against "Islamisation of the West" is due to take place in Dresden, with turnout expected to reach about 10,000 in the eastern German city. A big counter-demonstration is also being organised, similar in size. Dresden is the birthplace of a movement called "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West" (Pegida), which staged a big rally a week ago. Justice Minister Heiko Maas called Pegida's protests "a disgrace". But the Eurosceptic party AfD is sympathetic. "Most of their demands are legitimate," said Bernd Lucke, leader of the conservative Alternativ fuer Deutschland (AfD), which has campaigned for a tougher...

John Sullivan, who co-directed a couple of the more successful political documentaries in history, will executive produce Gosnell, a movie being made independently through a historic crowdfunding campaign that has raised more than $2.2 million thus far at Indiegogo.com. Sullivan co-directed Dinesh D'Souza's debut film, 2016: Obama's America as well as its follow-up, America. The former earned $33 million at the domestic box office, making it the second-most-popular political documentary of all time. The latter earned $14 million, also a very strong showing for a documentary film. Gosnell is planned as a scripted drama about Dr. Kermit Gosnell, an abortion...

TEHRAN: Tehran on Monday condemned the deadly hostage-taking in Australia reportedly by an Iranian-born gunman, branding it an act foreign to Islam, state media quoted a government official as saying. "Undertaking such inhuman acts and provoking fear and panic in the name of merciful Islam is not in any way justifiable," foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said, according to IRNA news agency.

An Iranian-born gunman was killed, two of his hostages are dead and four injured after a dramatic and chaotic firefight brought an end to a terrorist siege at a Sydney cafe. Teams of heavily armed police swooped on the Lindt Chocolat cafe in a hail of gunfire, ending a tense stand-off where Man Haron Monis had been holding around 17 people captive. Police issued a statement describing the event as a confrontation with a 50-year man, who they said died after shots were fired. The man was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital, police said. A man, aged 34,...