Free Republic

Abstract Report:Results "A total of 699,202 abortions were reported to CDC for 2012." "From 2003 to 2012, the total number,rate, and ratio of reported abortions DECREASED(caps mine) 17%,18%,and 14%, respectively,and reached their lowest level for the entire period of analysis (2003-2012)."

UPDATES - The Guardian's Ben Jacobs, on the scene in Ames, Iowa, reports that Aissa Wayne, daughter of country film star John Wayne, made a huge (yuge?) misstep while warming up the crowd before the expected appearance of Donald Trump and half-term governor Sarah Palin: Aissa Wayne committed a major #gaffe while opening for Trump and Palin. The rally is taking place in Ames on the campus of Iowa State University, whose sports teams ares the Cyclones. At the end of her remarks, she told the crowd "go Hawkeyes!" The Hawkeyes is the name of the sports team of Iowa...

The US does not oppose the European Union's decision to label products as coming from Jewish West Bank settlements, the State Department said Tuesday. "We do not view labeling the origin of products as being from the settlements a boycott of Israel. We also do not believe that labeling the origin of products is equivalent to a boycott," State Department Spokesman John Kirby said at a press briefing. Kirby was also asked about the timing of US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro's harsh criticism against Israel on Monday.

Ted Cruz's wife, Heidi, was once so depressed that a police officer wrote: "I believed that she was a danger to herself." The incident happened in 2005 shortly after Heidi quit her high-powered job at the White House and moved to Austin, Texas, to be with her husband, who was state solicitor general. Police responded to a 911 call about a woman in a pink shirt sitting next to an expressway and found Mrs. Cruz sitting on the ground 10 feet from speeding traffic with her head in her hands.

Bluegrass cover of the song Rocketman by Iron Horse Bluegrass. Good stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdAyO1_0noM Also if you like bluegrass in general you will find this search interesting... https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bluegrass+covers+of+popular+songs

Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio told an atheist in the audience that he won't be "forced" to stop talking about his faith on the campaign trail and argued that atheists should want his faith to influence his decisions. During Rubio's Monday town hall meeting in Waverly, Iowa, an atheist attendee named Justin Scott, a member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation who also runs his own YouTube channel, commented during a question and answer session on Rubio's recent campaign ad that simply features Rubio talking about how he follows his faith and that his goal is to live alongside God...

Heidi and I are lifting up in prayer the Dr. Ben Carson staffers injured in a car accident in Iowa. "By His stripes, we are healed." Isaiah 53:5.

Sarah Palin's 26-year-old son Track was thrown in jail after cops say he drunkenly assaulted a woman while packin' heat. According to the Wasilla P.D., officers responded to a home Monday night after getting a 911 domestic violence call. It's unclear exactly what went down, but cops say Palin was drunk and had a firearm. They say he also interfered with the victim's ability to report the crime. Track was booked for assault, interfering with a domestic violence report and misconduct involving weapons. Story developing ...

While the region braces for its first unofficial snow panic of the season, the government is about to announce that 2015 was the warmest year on record worldwide - probably by a comfortable margin. Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies say they will release their annual reports on Wednesday. December climate data has not yet been released, but the first 11 months of the year were so historically balmy that the declaration of 2015 as the world's warmest year - surpassing 2014 - with temperatures of at least 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit...

Say, do you remember that time when Vermont was going to use Obamacare as a jumping off point and build their own single payer health care system? Yeah, Bernie Sanders was all over that one at the time, promoting a socialist vision of the future which would finally see everyone taken care of equally. How did that work out again? (Washington Post, from 2014) Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) has abandoned a years-long push for a universal health-care system in the state after budget analysts said the program would require what he called "enormous" new taxes…But Michael Costa, Shumlin's...

The Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization confirmed Tuesday the death of British jihadist "Jihadi John", saying he was killed in a drone strike in their Syrian stronghold of Raqa in November. Born Mohammed Emwazi, he was known as the executioner of the jihadist group appearing masked in a string of videos showing the beheadings of Western hostages. In its online magazine Dabiq, ISIS said Emwazi was killed on November 12 "as the car he was in was targeted in a strike by an unmanned drone in the city of Raqa, destroying the car and killing him instantly." .....

The battle between Jeb Bush's and his former protege Marco Rubio is heating up for the GOP presidential nomination, but Rubio said Tuesday that he and the ex-governor will continue to be friends. "It's a political campaign," the junior Florida senator told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" program, explaining that on a personal level their relations are "not strained at all. I continue to like Jeb very much, and as I said, we'll continue to be friends."

Officials say Luebke was found frozen in front of a home. According to the medical examiner's report, Luebke "was reportedly in the area for a concert, and following the concert, a house party near the location from where she was found." The report indicates the woman "was not dressed for the elements and noted to be frozen." The report also says just before 4:30 a.m., a surveillance camera in the neighborhood "noted the decedent to collapse" at the address where she was found.

A prominent African American pastor in Chicago issued a strong cry against abortion in the bitter cold on Sunday during the March for Life Chicago. As the temperature neared zero degrees, the Rev. Corey Brooks, pastor of the New Beginnings Church of Chicago on the South Side, urged more than 5,000 pro-lifers in attendance to take a stand against abortion, especially in the black community. He pointed out that abortion kills more black Americans than any other cause. The Chicago Sun-Times reports more about Brooks’ remarks: “No longer will we stand on the sideline and let these abortions happen in...

A DC couple was brutally beaten at a Metro station in Washington DC after watching a movie Saturday night. Police are looking for several youths in a spree of recent Metro beatings. The youths sucker-punched the couple and kicked their faces. This is the fourth such attack in the last month on Metro passengers. The media has mostly covered up this story. The young couple said they would have likely found another way home if they would have heard about the number of recent beatings.

Asia’s growing economic clout is already translating into greater political and military strength. Jews and Israelis have taken longer to grasp the importance of this shift for their own future. There are historical and political reasons for this, including Israel and the Jewish people’s privileged links with the United States, although Israel is now making efforts to strengthen its relations with Asia, including India. India fascinates many and confuses many more. Its growing importance is not always understood. In 2015, India’s population stood at 1.28 billion, with a very young median age (27 years – China’s was 36 years). In...

Brazilian Homosexualist Politician Jean Wyllys Is Criticized for Israel Trip By Julio Severo A popular left-wing Brazilian congressman known for his leadership in homosexual political issues is facing a major backlash from the Brazilian and international Left because of his recent trip to Israel. The legislator, Jean Wyllys, has angered the Left after participating in a conference at an Israeli university. Jean Wyllys at Hebrew University of Jerusalem Much of the material in this article was drawn from a report in The Intercept, a U.S. liberal publication. The Intercept put Wyllys in its headlines, praising his background of homosexual...

Take note Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith: Getting political has its risks. After the actress declared Monday that she will be boycotting the Oscars after her husband was snubbed, Alexis Arquette took a major swing at the pair for what she alleges is hypocrisy. The transgender actress and gender-rights activist "outed" the married couple with a Facebook post that argued that Mr. and Mrs. Smith’s comments on race and the Oscars were invalid because they won't ’fess up about their alleged homosexuality. "When Jada comes out as Gay and her beard husband admits his first marriage ended when she...

Roy Orbison performs "Oh, Pretty Woman" as the finale of the Black & White Night Concert. Backed by Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, Tom Waits, kd lang, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, JD Souther, T Bone Burnett, Steven Soles, and Jennifer Warnes. Recorded September 30, 1987.

A hefty majority of Americans - including a majority of those who consider themselves pro-choice - support "substantial abortion restrictions," says a new Marist Poll commissioned by the Knights of Columbus and released Tuesday. The survey found that 81 percent of Americans and 66 percent of those who identify as pro-choice would restrict abortion to - at most - the first three months of pregnancy. Eighty two percent of women agree with that. The pollster says these findings have been consistent for the last eight years. In addition, 55 percent of American overall agree that “abortion ultimately does a woman...