Free Republic

When students at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland dissected the cadaver of the 99-year-old woman, they found that her liver and abdominal organs were transposed — as if flipped across a vertical axis — though her heart was oriented normally, on the left side, OHSU representatives said in a statement. This is known as "situs inversus with levocardia," and it affects about 1 in 22,000 births, according to OHSU. But unlike most who have this rare condition, the woman experienced no ill effects during her lifetime... When the students working on Bentley's body opened up her...

Over $17 trillion dollars’ worth of global debt is now “earning” an interest rate below 0%. Negative interest rates are infecting developed countries such as Germany, Switzerland and Japan. I read an article recently that said there are negative interest rate mortgages available in Denmark. Just trying to think about negative interest rates makes one’s head explode. From a practical perspective, the mechanics of negative interest rates are clear enough. The borrower guarantees to pay, say, $1000 in a year. The lender then agrees to give the borrower $1020 (for a negative 2% yield) for the guaranteed payment. Voila, negative...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem (Old Testament) 2 Kings 21 The Book of the Law Found 22 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left. 3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of...

It was one thing when Impossible Burgers started popping up at places like Burger King and White Castle. To me, all of their burgers are impossible because I won't set foot in those places. But now the fake-meat vegan freaks are messing with a piece of genuine Americana. Now they're using Colonel Sanders to push their synthetic slop.Reuters: Yum Brands Inc said on Monday it will be testing Beyond Meat Inc’s plant-based chicken nuggets and boneless wings at an Atlanta KFC restaurant, the latest fast-food chain trying new options to attract vegan diners... Plant-based meat alternatives have seen booming...

Two children were killed and at least 11 people were injured when a stabbing suspect driving a stolen police cruiser crashed into two vehicles near a library in Dayton, Ohio, officials said. The incident Monday evening began when police received a report of a stabbing in the city at about 7:10 p.m., police said, according to NBC affiliate WDTN in Dayton. The stabbing suspect had fled the scene, and a short time later, police responded to a single-vehicle crash in which the fleeing suspect's vehicle apparently hit a tree. Once again, the suspect fled the scene, but this time in...

A former sheriff's deputy in Lee County, N.C., says he was fired from his job for following the so-called Billy Graham rule and asking to be excused from spending a significant amount of time alone with a female trainee. Late last month, Manuel Torres filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Western Division, claiming his firing was the result of religious discrimination. Torres, who worked for the Lee County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) from 2012 until he was fired in 2017, filed a complaint on July 31 accusing Sheriff Tracy Lynn Carter...

Last week, I gave a talk to high-wealth investors in San Francisco -- not exactly an audience of left-wing activists -- and people kept asking me the question of the day: "Will there be a recession?" My reply: I'd never say never, but I don't see a recession in 2020. And if we get a trade deal with China, the economy is going to soar. What was disconcerting was the reaction from the audience. Many people frowned. One woman shouted at me: "I want a recession so we can get rid of Trump." I said to her as nicely as...

So much for closing ranks. Perhaps Arthur Sulzberger thought that his newspaper’s rant about conservatives doing to his reporters what they do to conservatives would generate some sympathy from colleagues in the media. Instead, media critics at the Washington Post and Politico delivered the same message to the New York Times’ publisher — stop whining.The Post’s Erik Wemple wrote that Sulzberger can’t have it both ways. These are public statements of the same kind — and on the same platform — as the media likes to resurface when it suits their purposes. Despite the breathless description used by the...

Is diversity good? In some things, diversity is very good. There are some things that could not even exist without diversity. Fruit salad, for example. What would a fruit salad be without diversity, if it contained only watermelon or only grapes? Diversity in the marketplace caters to the needs and preferences of consumers. Some want chocolate, others vanilla. Some want a coupe, others a sedan. Some want Fast and Furious, others Beauty and the Beast. Diversity in education offers a variety of study opportunities for people with different interests. Some major in mathematics, others in literature, others in engineering, others...

The National Education Association approved a new "business item" expressing support for abortion access during its annual conference in Houston. "[T]he NEA will include an assertion of our defense of a person's right to control their own body, especially for women, youth, and sexually marginalized people," the resolution states. "The NEA vigorously opposes all attacks on the right to choose and stands on the fundamental right to abortion under Roe v. Wade." The NEA is the largest teachers' union in the U.S. with more than 3 million members. It collected nearly $400 million from American educators in 2018, according to...

Charles Rivkin, former President Barack Obama’s former ambassador to France and a former top State Department official under Obama who was Obama’s 2008 campaign co-chair and has since taken over the MPAA as its chairman, announced on Monday morning to the board of the MPAA that Fabrizio has been terminated as a result of the arrest.Rivkin took over the MPAA from former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), a longtime top Democrat who ran for president and has deep connections in Washington. When he retired from the Senate in 2011 after 30 years, he took the job at MPAA as its chairman....

At a recent campaign event on a public college campus, Democratic presidential candidate Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke endorsed abortion right up until birth, telling the crowd that he believed a woman should have the right to abort her child the day before it is born. O’Rourke’s response, given at a town hall on the campus of the College of Charleston, came after a pointed question from an audience member, Breitbart reports. The audience member asked the politician: “I was born September 8th, 1989, and I want to know if you think on September 7th, 1989, my life had no value.”

“Order? Somebody should tell Chairman Trump this isn’t the People’s Republic of America,” thundered an editorial in the Wall Street Journal on August 23. What prompted this diatribe was President Donald Trump's tweet "Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA.” The WSJ, however, raised more questions about its motives than about the President's sentiment. It is clear what the Chief Executive wants to see happen to strengthen the United States against the rising power of the Republic of...

The news that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was treated for pancreatic cancer raised the possibility of a Supreme Court opening within the next year. The 86-year-old Ginsburg's health has been declining for years, to where the last year has felt like a bad remake of the 1989 Weekend at Bernie's movie. Instead of enjoying her golden years in retirement, Ginsburg has been propped up and hidden in the hopes of holding the seat until a Democrat is elected. The always elegant Michael Moore, who previously placed a Ginsburg doll atop a Christmas tree, summed up the Democrat zeitgeist when he tweeted,...

While a number of Caribbean destinations struggle, resorts in the Bahamas are bouncing back from a tough period, attracting vacationers, gamblers and sun worshipers. Hotel occupancy in the Bahamas in the first half of 2019 was up 19% from a year earlier, according to hotel-data firm STR. Revenue per available room, a popular industry metric, was up 27% to $231. Nearby destinations’ rates have fallen or stayed flat. In part, the strong Bahamas numbers reflect the emergence of the $4.2 billion, 2,300-room Baha Mar resort and casino, which officially opened last year after falling more than two years behind schedule...

Tom Steele, A recent college graduate who was killed on her 22nd birthday and left in the back of a burning SUV in Lower Greenville was shot to death, authorities confirmed Friday. Sara Hudson died Monday from two gunshot wounds in the head, the Dallas County medical examiner's office said: one in the left temple and one in the back of the head. Thermal injuries from the fire were a contributing factor in her death, which was ruled a homicide. Glen Richter, 49, was arrested on a capital murder charge in connection with the slaying and booked into the Dallas...

Appearing Monday on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House, former Illinois congressman and longshot 2020 Republican presidential candidate Joe Walsh conceded that he has previously made “racist” remarks.

The homicide rate in Mexico is rising at record-setting pace this year, with more than 30,000 murders in the first seven months. It’s on target to hit almost 51,500 deaths by year’s end—about 1,000 more than in 2018 and 6,000 more than in 2017. That’s not accounting for the huge number of disappearances.

"He has talked about white supremacists as fine people," says Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren. "He’s done everything he can to stir up racial conflict and hatred in this country." Fellow presidential candidate Robert "Beto" O'Rourke agrees, saying Donald Trump himself is a white supremacist, which Merriam-Webster defines as "a person who believes that the white race is inherently superior to other races and that white people should have control over people of other races." Such an extreme claim about a president of the United States has no precedent in modern history. Yet Sen. Bernie Sanders agrees Trump is a...

Presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke (D), still struggling to crack three percent in most polls, took a break from the campaign trail to grill some burgers, according to a video posted Friday. The video surfaced last week, showing the former Texas lawmaker grilling a burger on a stovetop and placing a slice of cheese on the patty, slightly off-center. He appears to serve the dish with a side of broccoli– an unusual companion for the American classic. At a glance, it looks like he places the patty on an English muffin– another unconventional choice for such a meal: