Free Republic

Health experts in New York want to widen the proposed ban on super-sized soda to include juices, milk shakes and even popcorn, it emerged today. Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to outlaw sugary drinks over 16 ounces (1 pint) in the city's restaurants, delis, food trucks, movie theatres and sporting arenas. Now officials charged with deciding on whether it should come into force have suggested they would be in favour of incorporating other unhealthy snacks.

Emotions raw Go into Milwaukee, and it's easy to find discouraged voters who want Walker out. He doesn't understand, they say, that they only want help, not handouts. Greg Renden, a public defender, took a pay cut. He blames Walker for making an already dismal economy worse. "He's abdicated the role of trying to help people in need," Renden said. The splintering that started when Walker cut bargaining rights has seeped into other issues: austere budget choices; a voter-ID law; removal of a law that allowed people to seek punitive and compensatory damages in state court over employment discrimination; and...

Obama administration officials would not confirm whether President Obama called for direct talks with Iran, after an Iranian lawmaker claimed Wednesday that the president floated the proposal in a secret letter to the Islamic Republic's supreme leader. The White House acknowledged the letter and reiterated that the door remains open for Iran to return to international talks over its nuclear program. "It remains available to Iran to this day," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, adding that the U.S. position has not changed. But he did not confirm whether the president called for direct talks. The letter also warned...

WASHINGTON — Eighty-three victims and family members in the worst-ever mass shooting at a U.S. military installation are seeking $750 million in compensation from the Army, alleging that willful negligence enabled psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan to carry out a terrorist attack at Fort Hood, Texas. The administrative claims filed last week said the government had clear warnings that Hasan, who is scheduled to go on trial in March, posed a grave danger to the lives of soldiers and civilians.

Just two weeks before the 9/11 hijackers slammed into the Pentagon and World Trade Center, members of a Saudi family abruptly vacated their luxury home near Sarasota, leaving a brand new car in the driveway, a refrigerator full of food, fruit on the counter — and an open safe in a master bedroom. In the weeks to follow, law enforcement agents not only discovered the home was visited by vehicles used by the hijackers, but phone calls were linked between the home and those who carried out the death flights — including leader Mohamed Atta — in discoveries never before...

Former corporation chieftain Herman Cain edged out former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in The Washington Times/Conservative Leadership Conference straw poll in Henderson, Nev., on Saturday.

US Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was hospitalised on Monday after feeling unwell during a visit to Rome, Italian news agencies said. Pelosi, in Italy to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Italian nation, was scheduled to meet with Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa and Gianfranco Fini, head of the lower house of parliament, when she felt "slightly unwell." comment.

A House panel unanimously approved a measure that would allow business owners, managers or employees to defend themselves when they have a reasonable fear they face death or great bodily harm. Rep. Steve Vaughan, R-Ponca City, said he filed the measure partly because of the publicity over a pharmacist being charged with first-degree murder after shooting a masked robber six times in May 2009 inside an Oklahoma City pharmacy. Vaughan said his measure, House Bill 1439, is patterned after Oklahoma’s Make My Day Law, which allows a homeowner to use deadly force against someone who has unlawfully and forcibly entered...

A teacher at Oakland’s Markham Elementary School has been suspended indefinitely after school officials said a pair of second-graders performed sex acts on each other in class – with the teacher present. “I think everyone is taken aback over this shocking incident,” Troy Flint, the spokesman for the Oakland Unified School District, told CBS 5 on Thursday. “Of course, it is hard to understand how that could have occurred.” Flint said the sex acts incident was one of two separate cases under investigation involving the teacher; both incidents occurred last week in the same classroom but he said they didn’t...

Since President Barack Hussein Obama was inaugurated into office a bit less than 21 months ago, Obama, Pelosi, and Reid have increased the total combined national debt by more than three trillion dollars: Date                   Debt Held by the Public         Intragovernmental Holdings   Total Public Debt Outstanding 01/20/2009         6,307,310,739,681.66         4,319,566,309,231.42         10,626,877,048,913.08 10/18/2010         9,059,271,396,291.56         4,606,655,246,964.40         13,665,926,643,255.96 In this time period, the debt has increased precisely...

Sarah Palin's new book "Going Rogue" is set for release on Nov. 17 and with that will likely come a media blitz of epic proportions. However, based on the cover of the Nov. 23 issue of Newsweek, someone felt a response was warranted. The wizards of smart at Newsweek took an image from a shoot of Palin that originally appeared in Runner's World magazine for the cover and splashed the headlines, "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Sarah?" and "She's Bad News for the GOP - and For Everybody Else, Too." ...more (with bare-legged Palin cover)...

BAGHDAD – The U.S. military has barred Iraqi interpreters working with American troops in Baghdad from wearing ski masks to disguise themselves, prompting some to resign and others to bare their faces even though they fear it could get them killed. --snip-- “The terps are the number one wanted here,” said A.J., a 36-year-old military interpreter, using the shorthand for his profession. “More than the Americans. More than anyone.” --snip-- U.S. military officials said they began to enforce the mask ban in September. “We are a professional Army and professional units don’t conceal their identity by wearing masks,” Lt. Col....

HONOLULU (KHNL) - A memorial service for President-elect Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Payne Dunham, will be held at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu Friday. The service, which is open to the public, will begin at 5:00 p.m. but the Obama family will not be in attendance. Obama's campaign says the president-elect will visit Hawaii in December to honor his grandmother, who helped raise him in Honolulu and died two nights before the election. Campaign officials have not specified when Obama will make the trip. Dunham's husband, Stanley Dunham, who fought in World War II, was buried...

A bit of info for the curious at this post.

ABC Radio news just announced Sen. John Edwards will admit to the affair with Rielle Hunter in an interview with the network, but insists the child is not his. We return you to your regularly-scheduled FReeping.

Does anyone know if this is a new tape. If it is , is this not news worth ???? On a side note. anyone think these fires in CA, could be terrorist related? Sorry if i did this wrong I'M a NUBE Save a seal Club a Liberal!!

Some journeys take longer than others. Americans are in a pivotal journey which began 230 years ago when our forefathers started from scratch and made us the envy of every nation on Earth. Americans met every challenge and threat head-on with a conviction our courage was manifested from faith in God. And then we became lazy and preoccupied with the minutia of electronics and entertainment hysteria. We took our eye off the ball. We began making excuses,camouflaged by invented words to reduce the sting of cowardice. We failed to honor and maintain the standards our founders strove for and died...

WASHINGTON - The White House took a swipe at former President Clinton on Wednesday, just days after he accused President Bush of doing “nothing” to catch Osama bin Laden before Sept. 11. White House press secretary Tony Snow told reporters that Clinton spent his presidency “dramatically” slashing military and intelligence assets that are vital to fighting global terrorism. “Even with the buildup since September 11th, we are only now beginning to achieve the same sort of levels that we had — in terms of intelligence assets — that we had at the beginning of the Clinton administration,” Snow said. Last...

Saturday, April 30, 2005 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RODHAM WATCH Hillary gets the Catholic out of Catholic college School's invitation to pro-abortion senator prompts archdiocese to cease relationship -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: April 30, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com A college has been stripped of its status as a Catholic institution because it invited pro-abortion Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., to give its commencement address and receive an honorary degree. The decision Thursday by the Archdiocese of New York to end its relationship with Marymount Manhattan College marks the fourth time since the late Pope John Paul II issued Ex Corde Ecclesiae –...

PAGE ONE advertisement Crucial Ingredient As Border Tightens, Growers See Threat to 'Winter Salad Bowl' Yuma, Ariz., Relies on Muscle From Illegal Immigrants; Security vs. Economics A Job Americans Won't Do By MIRIAM JORDAN Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL March 11, 2005; Page A1 YUMA, Ariz. -- Shortly before Thanksgiving last year, Tom Nassif did something few law-abiding citizens would ever think to do: He called the U.S. Border Patrol here and suggested agents stop manning a highway checkpoint intended to keep illegal immigrants out of the country. A former U.S. ambassador and currently the president of a...