Free Republic

When our first child was three days old, I received a scary phone call. As young parents, we were overjoyed with our new baby and had everything ready for her. We had a home business, so my husband was always around to give me support. My mother was a phone call away, our next door neighbor was a doula, we had many books on infant care, and I attended a breastfeeding support group at our local hospital. In short, we were as prepared as we could be for a newborn. But that didn’t mean we met with everyone’s approval. At...

Prohibition: Washington is moving to ban trans fats. The obvious question, of course, is what will it ban next? If it can outlaw trans fats, it can outlaw anything. Is taking away choice what we want government to do? Trans fats, also called partially hydrogenated oils by many, have been in our foods for decades. These artificial fats help extend shelf life and in some cases simply make food taste better. Activists, though, tell us they're not healthy. We're not going to debate the issue. The health concerns of trans fats are not the point. But this is: Where does...

Cain, Now Running as Outsider, Came to Washington as Lobbyist SHERYL GAY STOLBERG October 22, 2011 WASHINGTON — Herman Cain, the Republican presidential candidate with the sharp wit and easy-to-remember tax plan, is a cancer survivor, radio host and former chief executive of Godfather’s Pizza. On the campaign trail, he talks up his business experience, casting himself as a “problem solver” and Washington outsider. But the role that helped propel Mr. Cain into politics was that of an ultimate Washington insider: industry lobbyist. From 1996, when he left the pizza company, until 1999, Mr. Cain ran the National Restaurant Association,...

The city has come up with a plan to help you shake your salt habit, according to New York magazine. In a closed-door gathering at Gracie Mansion late last month, health experts and food-industry representatives were told about Mayor Bloomberg's next crusade - an effort to reduce the salt in processed food by 20 percent over the next five years, the magazine reports in this week's issue.