Free Republic

"....but this stuff is not being said in an extremist corner of the internet — it’s being said in a middle-class suburban salon in an area where 30% (or more) of the businesses are now shuttered, and houses are being foreclosed upon and then re-occupied seemingly overnight, creating what the stylist called “a neighborhood full of changes and no hope. Forget about new small businesses,” he said, gesturing across the street, where a small food shop’s “opening soon” banner had become sun-faded and worn, even as the door remained locked. “That guy is never going to open.” “I can’t get...

Rejecting the recommendations of a recent state report, federal officials said Wednesday they cannot postpone the deadline to start construction of California's $43-billion bullet train project or allow the state to move the first leg of the proposed system out of the Central Valley. U.S. Department of Transportation officials said the 2012 deadline is required by federal legislation that provided about $3.1 billion in funding for the project's initial leg, which, they added, was placed in the state's agricultural heartland after considerable study. "This shows that we are on the same page as the feds," said Jeffrey Barker, a spokesman...

During a stop in New Jersey Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the TSA and its new screening procedures could see some “changes,” but not during the Thanksgiving travel rush. The admission follows statements by the TSA Sunday that it was not considering changes. According to Politico, the Secretary said the TSA will “make adjustments or changes when called upon” to its screening procedures at airports, but emphasized not if such changes make Americans less safe on airplanes.

(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. State Department is marking lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender “Pride Month” by changing its policy concerning gender change on passports and consular reports of birth abroad. As of June 10, the State Department no longer requires that individuals provide proof that they have had sex reassignment surgery, but only requires certification from an “attending physician” that the individual received “appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition,” which may or may not include surgery. In other words, a conservative group complained, "cross-dressers no longer need to undergo 'sexual reassignment' surgery to change the gender listed on their passports."

After years of debate, a health overhaul is finally becoming a reality. Now what? Many big provisions don't kick in until 2014, including the mandate for most folks to have health insurance and many new requirements for health-plan designs. Before then, you'll see a mishmash of other things go into effect at various times—and of course some of the changes depend on the Senate passing the House's so-called sidecar, or reconciliation, bill of changes. [0321consum] Doug DeMark Taylor Wilhite and her mom, Amy, visited Capitol Hill in May 2009 with American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteers. Here are some...

This winter, on certain days, it would take only two small fish known as delta smelt to show up at California's two largest water projects to trigger pumping restrictions causing the loss of hundreds of millions of gallons of water a day. If two more smelt appear the next day, the pumps are cut more, and so on. Since Jan. 1, the State Water Project has lost nearly 370,000 acre-feet of water, enough to serve the residential needs of San Jose for nearly three years." This is how the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) has been implemented on a day-by-day,...

J.R. Church talks a little about changes coming upon the earth during the Tribulation. Hit the FRI button for friday's video. Tuesday's is a little interesting too.

The Appearance Of The United States Will Change Stephen Hanson Jan. 30, 2005 [21] For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. [22] If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. Matt. 24 “There is a place that you can run to and hide when the storms come upon this world. There is a place that you will be sheltered from the storms. I tell you that you can run to...

During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised that once a bill was passed by Congress, the White House would post it online for five days before he signed it. The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. “When there’s a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you the public will have five days to look online and find out what’s in it before I sign it, so that you know what your government’s doing,” Mr. Obama said as a candidate, telling voters he would make government more transparent...

I have met so many wonderful freepers here on FR over the years, and many that I would like to connect with for Conservative Activism!!.. It is hard to do, however (unless you remember every kind poster's nick.), Please would it be so hard to make it possible to have a "friend's list" next time you update the site like Facebook, Myspace, Youtube. Thanks, Jim. Thanks, I do however love FR! JS.

I recently bought me an inexpensive bread maker. My reasons were two-fold. I had stomach surgery back in June, 2006 and due to a few neurological changes, my taste buds changed. As an example of the changes, I actively disliked cauliflour as well as spinach. Now I don't automatically say I don't like something just because I despised it prior to my second tummy surgery. I haven't actually gone out to buy caulifour but I AM keeping frozen spinach on hand. In some ways this change has been a blessing because it opens a whole new world to my taste...

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq, March 12, 2009 – A 44-year-old soldier here is serving in Iraq for the second time, an experience he says is considerably different from his first. An Army Ranger and veteran of operations Just Cause in 1989 and Iraqi Freedom in 2004, 44-year-old Army Sgt. 1st Class Gordon Ross has seen a lot more than many of his fellow soldiers in his 22-year Army career. Being an “old” soldier, Ross, the 2nd Platoon sergeant for Company H, 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment, has seen many changes throughout the Army and throughout the struggle here in Iraq....

ZURICH – The new chief executive of UBS AG says Switzerland should consider changing its banking secrecy laws so they no longer protect suspected tax evaders, according to an interview published Saturday. Oswald Gruebel told twice-weekly newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft that Switzerland's banking secrecy laws need to be changed in order to ease the political pressure other countries are putting on the small Alpine nation. Germany, Britain and the United States have demanded that Switzerland open itself up to foreign tax investigations. UBS is currently the subject of a major U.S. probe into whether it conspired to defraud the U.S....

NEW YORK -- The Hearst Corp. today announced an effort to reverse the deepening operating losses of its San Francisco Chronicle by seeking near-term cost savings that would include "significant" cuts to both union and non-union staff. In a posted statement, Hearst said if the savings cannot be accomplished "quickly" the company will seek a buyer, and if none comes forward, it will close the Chronicle. The Chronicle lost more than $50 million in 2008 and is on a pace to lose more than that this year, Hearst said. Frank J. Vega, chairman and publisher of the Chronicle, said, "It's...

Here’s some change that supporters of President-elect Obama may not want to see: all of the policy commitments on specific issues have been removed from his transition Web site. On Nov. 7, global health advocates noticed that some of the details of Obama’s “fight global poverty” statement had been removed. Specifically, the site no longer promised to fully fund debt cancellation for the world’s poorest countries or provide the full U.S. contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Activists already were concerned, since boosting foreign aid was the one thing Obama mentioned during the campaign when...

AUSTIN — Saying big changes are needed to restore trust in the Texas Department of Transportation, the Sunset Advisory Commission staff is recommending a revamp of its governing board, project planning, and dealings with lawmakers and the public. The commission's report, to be released today, comes in the wake of controversy over planned public-private partnerships on toll roads, the route of the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor transportation network and questions concerning agency funding figures. The Houston Chronicle obtained a copy of the report. "The Sunset review of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) occurred against a backdrop of distrust and frustration...

Who keeps adjusting FR's controls....it took me all afternoon to get used to the fonts...and now FR has changed the font setting again.Change is OK....but enough already....unless it was Jim Rob's idea....then great job boss....:-)

PLEASE don't just erase this thread; after all, I'm now just finding out another problem here - I can't start a thread but from the "Home" page, and it always assumes you're posting to "News/Activism". So there is no way I can go to Bloggers/Personal as I had intended, apparently. So there's 1 problem and question - what happened there? And what happened that some things have changed - including, I can't seem to get the various "forums" to show me latest posts as opposed to whole threads? (This was a question the other day right when things changed; should've...

California voters' refusal to alter state legislators' term limits will force three of the Legislature's top leaders to give up their posts. It also will free candidates running for 34 legislative seats from having to face an incumbent this year. Proposition 93 aimed to trim two years off the maximum amount of time most legislators could serve, but it also would have given dozens of lawmakers a chance to extend their stays in Sacramento. It failed by about 7 percentage points, despite support from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a who's who of labor unions, corporations and professional groups that poured...

Attention all Scout Leaders New Boy Scout Rank Requirements Effective January 1, 2008 The National Youth Protection Committee recommended additions to Boy Scout rank requirements that were approved and become effective January 1, 2008. These changes will help us advance the importance of Youth Protection training beyond the initial Boy Scout joining requirements, and keep youth informed and actively engaged in understanding the key elements of personal safety and protection. TENDERFOOT RANK Revised requirement 9: Explain the importance of the buddy system as it relates to your personal safety on outings and in your neighborhood. Describe what a bully is...