Free Republic

Barack Obama promised that he wouldn't raise taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year. He neglected to mention that this tax exemption would go only to those who don't use electricity, gasoline, heating oil or natural gas. The truth of the matter is that Obama will raise taxes on practically all middle-class Americans. But that's not all; in addition to new taxes on all those necessities (just think of all the appliances in your home that use electricity), he will drastically reduce our standard of living. Obama warned during his campaign in Oregon that we can no longer...

Agriculture chief's priority: avoid jail By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer Sat Feb 23, 10:12 AM ET WASHINGTON - He overhauled federal forest policy to cut more trees — and became a lightning rod for environmentalists who say he is intent on logging every tree in his reach. After nearly seven years in office, Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey still has a long to-do list. Near the top: Persuade a federal judge to keep him out of jail. Rey, a former timber industry lobbyist who has directed U.S. forest policy since 2001, also wants to set up state rules making it...

French Existentialist and Playwright Jean Paul Sartre used his villainous character Garcin, from his play No Exit, to voice his true opinion concerning most of his neighbors. “pas besoin de gril: l'enfer, c'est les autres – You don't need red-hot pokers: Hell is—other people!” Sartre, no doubt, meant that in a metaphorical sense. Paul Watson, Founder and President of The Sea Sheppard Conservation Society, offers a more fundamentalist interpretation of this secular attempt at defining the hereafter. Like Agent Smith from the Movie The Matrix, he finds our presence on Earth to be at least pathological, if not full-on damning....

Colorado's miners have struggled long and hard for the right to organize and have safe working conditions. Many have paid with their lives in this struggle. Some were the victims of the poor safety standards that used to characterize the industry, while others died in bloody confrontations when mine owners were quick to hire private armies to confront troublesome workers. As a liberal European journalist, I was familiar with these stories and also knew about how Europe's miners faced similar battles to improve their working lives. These struggles meant that miners have always had a special status for us left-wingers....

LONDON, March 21 — There were bananas whose curvature could not be excessive, and rhubarb whose stalks must be straight, and they all belonged in the category of myths about the intrusiveness of European Union directives to its member states. But there is one order about to be imposed that sounds just as improbable — bizarre, even — and yet, it seems, is true: under a rule to curb hazardous substances in electrical products, Europe is about to restrict the centuries-old business of building pipe organs for churches, concert halls and other institutions. The reason? Organ pipes contain large amounts...

Global warming "solutions" would devastate poor people and countries Recent articles about global warming in ultra "progressive" Mother Jones magazine reflect a meltdown in fundamental principles of science, economics, ethics and democracy. The Earth has warmed slightly since the Little Ice Age ended 150 years ago, and humans today are no doubt exerting some influence on our climate. But aside from computer-generated worst-case scenarios about temperatures, storms, melting Arctic icecaps and rising sea levels, there is little to support theories of calamitous global climate change. Models and clamorous claims of climate catastrophe are not evidence, especially when satellite and weather...

<p>ALISO VIEJO, Calif. (AP) - City officials were so concerned about the potentially dangerous properties of dihydrogen monoxide that they considered banning foam cups after they learned the chemical was used in their production.</p> <p>Then they learned that dihydrogen monoxide - H2O for short - is the scientific term for water.</p>

It is likely going to be discovered that the foam used to protect portions of the shuttle during liftoff became displaced and damaged heat tiles during liftoff. The sad thing about this is that many people knew about this problem and decided it was no big deal. Another sad thing is that the type of foam or adhesive was changed to satisify evironmentalists and promoted by people in the Clinton adminstration. If this had not been changed or if the problem had been better evaluated these people would not have died. This was totally avoidable.

Barbecue's fatty fumes add to haze - Rice research shows fine particles matter By DINA CAPPIELLO Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Environment Writer When folks say Texans live and breathe barbecue, they really mean it. In a study about to be published, scientists at Rice University have measured the tiny bits of polyunsaturated fatty acids created by cooking meat. These fine particles -- mixed with the diesel exhaust, car fumes and road dust that make up soot in Houston's air -- can lodge in people's lungs and contribute to the city's haze. But while Houstonians have long joked about the "smell...

<p>Two years after a judge rejected its last efforts, the city of Sacramento has come up with a new plan to protect threatened species while more houses and businesses are built in North Natomas.</p> <p>This time, the city has teamed with Sutter County, and the two jurisdictions hope to persuade federal officials that they will preserve enough open land permanently to compensate for the farms, fields and wetlands that developers will pave over.</p>