Free Republic

Saying the people of Flint deserve the truth about the city's water, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has released more than 250 pages of his emails that relate to the crisis. But the document dump Wednesday did little to ease the predicament he finds himself in. With each passing day, the chorus for him to step down has grown louder because the water debacle unfolded under his watch. "So far, all roads lead to Lansing when it comes to accountability," Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, who represents the Flint area, said Wednesday. The emails help show, at least in part, how...

DETROIT -- Commenting for the first time on the lead contamination in the drinking water of Flint, Mich., President Obama said Wednesday that he "would be beside myself" if he were a parent in the city. Mr. Obama said that in a White House meeting on Tuesday with Flint's mayor, Karen Weaver, "I told her that we are going to have her back, and all of the people of Flint's back, as they work their way through this terrible tragedy." The long-running crisis, which has poisoned dozens of Flint residents, at least, and left tens of thousands of others unsure...

On Thursday evening, Edward Archer approached Philadelphia police officer Jesse Hartnett and proceeded to shoot at him 13 times. Friday morning, he professed to have done so in the name of Islam, and it's reported that he has pledged his allegiance to ISIS. This violent attempt to murder a law-enforcement officer is in keeping with ISIS's ongoing effort to attack those whose job it is to keep America safe, as we have seen in Fort Hood, Boston, and Chattanooga. Yet in the wake of another attack in the name of radical Islamic terrorism, it is unfortunate that we have already...

**SNIP** Then consider this: Lead paint exposure is a widespread national problem, concentrated most heavily in the nation's low-income communities. And government efforts to remove lead paint from public and privately owned housing remains woefully below levels that most child and environmental health experts think truly necessary to eliminate the issue. In fact, the nation's lead paint abatement programs are among those that experienced a budget cut due to sequestration and subsequent federal cost reduction efforts. And that happened even though some public health experts believe that concerted national efforts to reduce widespread lead exposure - such as removing lead...

Despite the spike in mass shootings in recent years, gun crime in America is actually decreasing overall, a Washington Post story notes, listing some of the reasons. The Post cites a Pew Research Center study showing 7 deaths by firearm for every 100,000 Americans in 1993, but by 2013, that rate had been cut to 3.6 per 100,000. Some of the reasons cited by the Post include: * More police on the streets. * Police use of computers to pinpoint areas where more patrols are needed. * Decreased alcohol use. * Less lead in the air from gasoline after passage...

The latest large scale poll sample from Morning Consult (pdf below) shows that Marco Rubio and Carly Fiorina are now in a downward trend-line having had their moments of exposure and review. Conversely candidate Donald Trump now begins climbing even higher than previous polled results. (Via Morning Consult) […] Donald Trump retains a wide lead over the rest of the field, with 34 percent of the vote. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson clocks in second, at 20 percent, while former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) finishes at 9 percent. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and former Hewlett-Packard CEO...

Posted on September 29, 2015 by sundance update-1Full Poll Data and Pdf below – North Carolina has recently been a focal point due to the GOPe (republican establishment) maneuvering the primary date/rules to support Jeb Bush. The GOPe road map is in a state of severe flux due to Donald Trump. Previous information on the RNC and Rule Changes – HERE PPP’s newest North Carolina poll finds that Donald Trump is holding his ground- at least compared to where he was in the state six weeks ago. […] Trump’s 26% is almost identical to his 24% standing from mid-August. His...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Anger was mounting Monday at the federal Environmental Protection Agency over the massive spill of millions of gallons of toxic sludge from a Colorado gold mine that has already fouled three major waterways and may be three times bigger than originally reported. An 80-mile length of mustard-colored water -- laden with arsenic, lead, copper, aluminum and cadmium -- is working its way south toward New Mexico and Utah, following Wednesday's accidental release from the Gold King Mine, near Durango, when an EPA cleanup crew destabilized a dam of loose rock lodged in the mine. The crew was...

Just two weeks ago the liberal media and DC elites insisted his campaign was over after his attacks on John McCain. But they were wrong. Donald Trump opened up a huge lead over Governor Scott Walker in the latest Iowa poll. DONALD TRUMP Takes Huge Lead Over Scott Walker in Iowa Jim Hoft Aug 1st, 2015 9:06 am 26 Comments Just two weeks ago the liberal media and DC elites insisted his campaign was over after his attacks on John McCain. But they were wrong. Donald Trump opened up a huge lead over Governor Scott Walker in the latest Iowa...

When tooth enamel forms, it incorporates elements from the local environment -- the food one eats, the water one drinks, the dust one breathes. When the researchers looked at remains from the ancient city of Harappa, located in what is known today as the Punjab Province of Pakistan, individuals' early molars told a very different story than their later ones, meaning they hadn't been born in the city where they were found... The text of the Indus Valley Civilization remains undeciphered, and known and excavated burial sites are rare. A new study, published in today's PLOS ONE, illuminates the lives...

<p>KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - Police in Jamaica say authorities have seized 3,300 missile warheads and a machine to make missiles and bullets.</p> <p>Deputy Police Superintendent Steve Brown said Friday that custom officials discovered the weapons late Thursday aboard a ship at Kingston Wharf.</p>

Almost ever electronic device made today except some for the military have solder joints that contain no lead. This is an effort to save our groundwater and our public health. The fact that the lead has been generally replaced with silver or bismuth, both of which are actually greater health risks than lead, well we’ll leave that one for Ralph Nader. The longer-term trend is toward all-tin connections, anyway, but they don’t work very well, either. Costs have gone up for computers with lead-free solder, mean time between failures (MTBF) has gone down (in this case down is bad) and...

Lead is malleable. Some opinions about lead ammunition are not. That’s what critics of lead bullets and shells are finding as they advocate a switch to nontoxic alternatives such as steel. In a fight reminiscent of the climate-change debate, evolving evidence of threats to the environment, wildlife and humans from lead ammo and tackle is facing a firing squad of politicians and special-interest groups. Caught in the crossfire are hunters and anglers. So is the Environmental Protection Agency, a favorite target of rural-state lawmakers like U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who is a co-chairman of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus. Thune...

South Dakota Senator John Thune, co-chair of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, has announced that the omnibus appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2015 includes an important provision championed by Thune preventing the Obama Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating lead in ammunition and fishing tackle for one year.

Environmental Protection Agency and FBI agents raided the ammunition company USA Brass over alleged “environmental violations” early Thursday morning. NBC Montana was tipped off by witnesses that federal investigators were there until at least 4 a.m. on Thursday. Federal agents could be seen going through the company’s building and taking items to a truck parked outside. EPA lead criminal investigator Bert Marsden said that the agency was looking into alleged “environmental violations” by USA Brass. “We are investigating alleged violations of environmental law,” Marsden said on Thursday. “An investigation takes as long as it takes, and I can’t provide any...

It was recently announced that our nation's last primary lead smelter, in business since 1892, the Doe Run facility in Herculaneum, Missouri, is closing its doors at the end of this year rather than meet costly new EPA regulations. On the heels of that announcement, there was widespread speculation that the closure would dry up the supply of lead needed for the manufacture of ammunition. The NRA reported that "it is the only smelter in the United States which can produce lead bullion from raw lead ore." Missouri has the largest lead deposits in the world, and this smelter is...

.....So congratulations, EPA! Once again you have driven a domestic company out of business, costing American jobs in the process, only to add to the world's net toxic pollution load. This seems to be one thing the Obama administration excels at.

Because of heightened EPA regulations, Doe Run Company's Herculaneum lead smelter in Herculaneum, Missouri—the last U.S. smelter of its kind—is closing its doors on December 31, 2013. Once this happens, the lead for traditional ammunition will have to be imported, thus driving up the price for bullets, shotgun shells, etc. The Herculaneum smelter has been operating in the same location since 1892. And according to the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), "it is the only smelter in the United States which can produce lead bullion from raw lead ore," so once it closes, the only lead smelters left in...

I am one who steers very clear of tinfoil hat conspiracy theories. I often believe progressives plant stories in order to distract and disrupt, enabling them to pursue their true goals and objectives. That’s why I stress the importance of staying focused on the modern liberal socialist policies of the Obama administration, not the sideshow antics. However, as a former combat commander, I have been trained to look for trends. And I believe we’ve found a very disturbing one. it seems that back door gun control is in full effect in the United States. Why? Thanks to Obama’s Environmental Protection...

According to the NRA-ILA, the last primary lead smelter in the United States will close down its operation in December. This means the US will lose its capability to produce lead ammo completely within its borders from the process of mining to production of commercial cartridges. Here is the press release from the NRA-ILA.