Free Republic

A Democrat running for election to serve as California state controller, the state's independent fiscal watchdog, traveled to Venezuela in 2006 to learn about Hugo Chavez's socialist revolution. Malia Cohen, a Democrat running for the position who has received praise from Democratic leadership, currently serves as a member of the California State Board of Equalization and made the 10-day trip to the socialist country for $1,250. Cohen's trip to the country was documented in a CNN story about the group's tour, with Cohen claiming that "revolutionary thought" is "generational" as it showed an image of her gazing at a mural...

Supervisor David Chiu wants San Francisco to become the first American city to oppose any ban on sex-selective abortions. It apparently has not occurred to him why no other city has chosen to do so. Journalist Mara Hvistendahl, author of "Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men," estimates that sex-selective abortions have "claimed over 160 million potential women and girls -- in Asia alone." Thus, it is rather disturbing to watch one of the most liberal politicians in liberal San Francisco grandstand in defense of a practice that devalues -- destroys, actually...

San Francisco would be the first city in California to require that crisis pregnancy centers prominently disclose whether they are antiabortion facilities that don't offer comprehensive health care, under legislation being developed by a city supervisor. Critics say that despite giving the impression that women facing unplanned pregnancies are offered a full range of medical services and counseling, many of these clinics try to talk patients out of terminating their pregnancies and do not provide any care or referrals beyond limited prenatal and postnatal services. "Legislation is a priority because there are clinics using misleading advertising tactics," said Supervisor Malia...