Free Republic

House votes to repeal country-of-origin labeling on meat WASHINGTON (AP) — Under threat of trade retaliation from Canada and Mexico, the House has voted to to repeal a law requiring country-of-origin labels on packages of beef, pork and poultry. The World Trade Organization rejected a U.S. appeal last month, ruling the labels that say where animals were born, raised and slaughtered are discriminatory against the two U.S. border countries. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has said it's up to Congress to change the law to avoid retaliation from the two countries. The law was initially written at the behest of northern...

Everywhere you look these days, someone is being rewarded for bad behavior. Wall Street bankers, hedge fund managers, mortgage lenders, even homeowners who knowingly bought homes they couldn't afford -- all have abandoned the moral high ground and are now heading down to bailout town, where the fat cats dine. With bailouts seemingly blowing in the wind, it's hard not to feel like a chump for being fiscally responsible. Does it still pay to play by the rules? Peter Schiff, president and chief global strategist of Connecticut-based brokerage firm Euro Pacific Capital, believes government policies are undermining people who behave...

Pre-School propoganda: Why Mommy is a Democrat brings to life the core values of the Democratic party in ways that young children will easily understand and thoroughly enjoy. Using plain and non-judgmental language, along with warm and whimsical illustrations, these colorful 28-page paperbacks depict the Democratic principles of fairness, tolerance, peace, equality, and concern for the well-being of others.

Nicely illustrated with pages like this: Democrats make sure we share our toys, just like mommy does. Democrats make sure we are always safe, just like mommy does. Democrats make sure children can go to school, just like mommy does.

BREAKFAST IS SERVED FOR STUDENTS Only a fraction of middle-schoolers in Auburn take part Only about 10 percent of the students in the Auburn School District's four middle schools take advantage of the breakfast available at the schools each morning. Nutrition supervisor Eric Boutin said the district wants to find out why and increase participation in the breakfast club. If they aren't eating at home, he said, it is probable that they aren't eating at all in the morning. And that's not good. Well-documented link The link between nurition and doing well in school is well-documented, he said. At Olympic...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government wants to end the stigma of food stamps -- by giving them a new name to add to their new look. After decades of issuing paper coupons, the government now gives people the same sort of plastic card and computer password that many shoppers use at the grocery store. Each month, the card's account is refilled electronically. The government marked the nationwide conversion to anti-hunger plastic cards on Tuesday that began 20 years ago with a pilot project in 1984 in Reading, Pennsylvania. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, who oversees the program and announced the...