Free Republic

A real economic report card vs. conventional wisdom Just last week, the Census Bureau released its annual study of household incomes, poverty and health insurance – often called the nation’s “economic report card.” Its hard numbers seemed to confirm how many Americans feel. Sure, we’re prosperous; but prosperity is fraying. Except for the rich, living standards are stagnant. Poverty is up; health insurance coverage is down. Naturally, both Barack Obama and John McCain seized upon the report to claim that their policies would restore progress. Hold it. Though echoed by policy wonks, pundits and politicians, the conventional wisdom is wrong...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - France is tops, and the United States dead last, in providing timely and effective healthcare to its citizens, according to a survey Tuesday of preventable deaths in 19 industrialized countries. The study by the Commonwealth Fund and published in the January/February issue of the journal Health Affairs measured developed countries' effectiveness at providing timely and effective healthcare. The study, entitled "Measuring the Health of Nations: Updating an Earlier Analysis," was written by researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It looked at death rates in subjects younger than 75 that could have been prevented...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A lesbian couple married in Massachusetts should have the same right as heterosexual couples to divorce in their home state of Rhode Island, lawyers for the women told the state's highest court Tuesday. ADVERTISEMENT Cassandra Ormiston and Margaret Chambers were married in 2004 after same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts. Last year, the couple filed for divorce in Rhode Island. Rhode Island law is silent on the legality of same-sex marriages. If the women can't divorce in Rhode Island, their lawyers said the only legal avenue available to them would be for at least one to move...

How's this for an outrage? In Sacramento, Calif., a pro-life high school student, Katelyn Sills, has been expelled from an allegedly Catholic high school. The reason? It appears to be retaliation: Sills' mother, a pro-life activist, recently exposed a teacher at the school who acts as a Planned Parenthood "escort." That teacher was subsequently fired by Bishop William Wiegand.