Free Republic

Last year the United States celebrated the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty begun by LBJ in 1964. Over that time the country has spent approximately $40 trillion on welfare and redistribution programs of one sort or another – and that number doesn’t include expenditures for Social Security or Medicare. The program started out slow, but has steadily picked up steam so that today the United States spends over a trillion dollars on welfare programs every year. To put that $1 trillion in perspective, that is more than the GDP of every country on the planet except for the...

Patients with type-2 diabetes who are overweight but not obese outlive diabetics of normal weight, scientists reported on Monday, in another example of the "obesity paradox." Although public health officials issue dire warnings about the consequences of overweight, and employers are pressuring workers to slim down via "wellness programs," the relationship between weight and longevity is paradoxical: Studies show that although obesity increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), overweight patients with CVD live longer than patients of normal weight.

A suspected home intruder was shot and killed by a homeowner Monday night after shattering a glass screen door and getting into a fight with the man. Boulder police said there were several disturbances in the neighborhood involving the suspect before the shooting. Witnesses told police the suspect had tried to break into a number of homes, “yelling at residents and banging on their doors and windows as he tried to gain entry into their houses”. A man and a woman were in the home at 98 Pima Court. Police said the couple was watching television when they heard the...

Doctors say emergency room visits have increased since the advent of Obamacare, undercutting one of the key selling points of President Obama’s health care law, which was supposed to ensure a healthier population by pushing consumers to rely on their primary physicians rather than emergency trips to the hospital. Three out of four ER doctors said they have seen a rise in the number of patients since January 2014, when Obamacare fully kicked in, according to a survey conducted by the American College of Emergency Physicians. More than a quarter of the doctors said they have seen a major surge, and 47...

When it comes to going above and beyond the call of duty, this takes some beating. A pizza delivery guy was stabbed in the back – suffering a collapsed lung – then carjacked and still managed to get the takeaway to the customer. His courage brings to mind the Black Knight from Monty Python's Holy Grail movie, who declared 'it's just a flesh wound' after having his arms sliced off by King Arthur.

A photograph of a baby in Islamic State territory has emerged online, purportedly released by an activist in Syria.The sleeping baby is swaddled and covered by the Islamic State flag. It is surrounded by a handgun and a grenade, propped up on a pink pillow. There appears to be a camouflage bag lying on the same pillow. Anti-Islamic State activist group, Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, reported on the photograph’s existence.Abu Ward Al-Raqqawi, a founder of the group, tweeted an earlier picture of a newborn next a purported Islamic State birth certificate, handgun and grenade in April. Raqqawi wrote, “#ISIS...

There is a brand new ranking of the world's most violent cities from Mexico's Citizens' Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice. A full one-third of global homicides occur in Latin America even though the region has just 8% of the world's population, according to United Nations data.

Condorcet Voting Allows you to rank candidates so we can simulate a large number of pairwise elections between candidates. It can help uncover surprising strengths and weakenesses candidates have. This condorcet poll needs more input from Republican voters to more accurately reflect a cross section of voters.

An Oklahoma woman slashed the face of her boyfriend's dead ex-girlfriend while the body was on display at a funeral home, police say. Shaynna Smith, 28, of Tulsa was charged with illegal dissection of a body. She cut the dead woman's hair and slashed the face from her hairline to the tip of her nose during a viewing last Friday at Moore Funeral Home, according to Tulsa police. The woman, a 38-year-old whose cause of death was not disclosed, "once dated Smith's current boyfriend," Ashley said, but police did not know of a motive for the desecration. The dead woman's...

Iacopo Scaramuzzi Vatican City “Esteemed Mrs. Jackelén, esteemed sister, dear friends!” This was how Pope Francis addressed Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of Uppsala and Primate of the Swedish Lutheran Church, at their meeting this morning in the Vatican. The archbishop was accompanied by a delegation from the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Sweden. It was an opportunity to discuss topics such as the testimony of persecuted Christians around the world which brings the various denominations together, divisions over life and family that need to be avoided, the upcoming celebration of the 5th centenary of the Lutheran Reformation in 2017, as well as more...

The Hawaii Legislature has passed a bill that could make it a lot easier for transgender people to change their gender on their birth certificates. Right now, people in Hawaii are required to undergo gender reassignment surgery if they want to make that change. But the state House and Senate approved a bill Tuesday that removes the surgical requirement, sending the bill to Gov. David Ige. …

The Obama administration approved the first ferry service in decades between the United States and Cuba on Tuesday, potentially opening a new path for the hundreds of thousands of people and hundreds of millions of dollars in goods that travel between Florida and Havana each year. Baja Ferries, which operates passenger service in Mexico, said it had received a license from the Treasury Department. Robert Muse, an attorney for Baja Ferries, said he believed that other ferry service petitions had also been approved. The Treasury Department said it could not immediately confirm that, but Florida-based Havana Ferry Partners told the...

Alabama and Montana passed historic school choice legislation this legislative session, giving parents more options in choosing the best atmosphere for the education of their children. Finally, Alabama and Montana join more than 40 states in the movement for school choice and educational freedom, demonstrating that Americans want school choice. In Alabama, the state legislature passed SB45, allowing for the first public charter schools. Within the bill, an unlimited number of conversion charter schools are permitted, while start-up charter schools are limited to ten schools per year until the law sunsets in 2020. Additionally, charter schools may be authorized by...

"As an American and as a prisoner for Christ I have spent many hours praying and crying out to God for revival for this great nation. We all hope for the success of our nation and for America to be blessed, but without revival there can be no true success or blessing... I would like to ask you to join me in repenting and praying for revival. Me from inside of these prison walls and you on the outside."–Pastor Saeed Abedini (Iran)—This Thursday not only marks American Pastor Saeed Abedini's 35th birthday, but the National Day of Prayer as well....

This week’s Clinton Global Initiative conference in Morocco will feature a speech by K’naan Warsame, a prominent hip-hop artist and Somali pirate advocate. ...

If the Columbus Police Division doesn’t change its policy banning head scarves for female Muslim officers, Ismahan Isse might have a couple of options outside Ohio. The Edmonton Police Service in Alberta, Canada, has reached out to Isse, the 29-year-old Somali-American who said she dropped out of the Columbus police academy this year because she was prohibited from wearing her head scarf, or hijab. The Dispatch wrote about Isse last week, and Staff Sgt. Mark Farnell, an Edmonton police recruiter, read about her dilemma online. He said Edmonton police designed a uniform for Muslim women that includes the head scarf....

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., has received a response to his letter demanding answers from Secretary of State John Kerry about the planned resettlement of dozens of foreign refugees in his state. But the answers failed to shed much light on the secrecy that surrounds the refugee program. The process by which cities and towns across the U.S. are selected to receive displaced persons from United Nations refugee camps remains largely a mystery. As Gowdy discovered, the city of Spartanburg, South Carolina, was approved for an infusion of 60 refugees, mostly from Syria and Africa, by its own state government headed...

Traffic on Twitter on Tuesday targeted the Christian-bashing that surfaced on a recent “Face the Nation” program with Bob Schieffer, with comments from Watchmen on the Wall, Franklin Graham, Concerned Women for America chapters and a long list of individuals. “The Southern Poverty Law Center sows discord and hatred at a time when our great nation needs love and healing,” posted Katie Gorka. The dispute is over Schieffer’s recent interview with Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council in the run-up to the U.S. Supreme Court arguments over whether the justices will affirm traditional, biblical marriage, or whether they will...

America's Oldest Veteran Celebrates 109th Birthday With Cigars And Burgers How do you celebrate turning 109 years old? When you spent your prime years fighting the Axis, the only real way to celebrate is with cigars, burgers and milkshakes.

A police officer said to me, "Ninety-eight percent of the people in the world are sorry S.O.B.'s and the two percent that are good are cops." He didn't include anyone above the rank of sergeant in the two percent and only about half of them were included. An extreme statement? Yes! A unique attitude? No! That officer succinctly stated a common conclusion of a prevalent value system in police-the tribal value system in the world of police stress. Ethics in law enforcement related to police stress has become a popular topic in police literature and courses, and I am glad....