Free Republic

The notion the United Kingdom government, its people, or way of life are something worth fighting for appears to be in decline, with a survey finding that less than half of the nation would be willing to fight and defend their country for any reason. According to a poll from Ipsos released to coincide with Victory in Europe (VE) Day, which marks the formal surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allied nations in 1945, some 48 per cent of Britons would not fight for their country “under any circumstances.” Conversely, a paltry 35 per cent said that they would be...

An incoherent New Jersey mom was allegedly caught on police bodycam video slurring her words after she drunkenly plowed into a truck with her three young daughters — and open bottles of wine — in her SUV. Megan Fackler, who admitted to working for the Garden State’s DOT, was arrested over the alleged drunken ordeal in Ewing Township, N.J., last October, newly released footage obtained by Transparency Bodycam shows. The mother had allegedly drifted into incoming traffic and crashed her 2020 Chevrolet Traverse into the truck after taking her kids — aged 8, 7, and 4 years — to dinner...

The far-left New York Times cannot even report on the tremendous news egg prices have dropped by nearly half since last month without reporting it as bad news — you know, because Orange Man Bad. “Egg Prices Have Dropped, Though You May Not Have Noticed,” reads a headline we would never see if Barry Obama were still in office. Never forget that during his disastrous eight years in office, the regime media told us “unemployment” was really “funemployment.” “The wholesale price of eggs has dropped sharply since the beginning of March after soaring for months, but it may take a...

The computer file is said to contain testimony from the woman who said she had sex with Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to be attorney general, when she was 17.An unidentified hacker has gained access to a computer file shared in a secure link among lawyers whose clients have given damaging testimony related to Matt Gaetz, the former Florida congressman who is President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice to be attorney general, a person with knowledge of the activity said. The file of 24 exhibits is said to include sworn testimony by a woman who said that she had sex...

CINCINNATI—Mitt Romney raised nearly $112 million for his presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee in the first half of October—putting him on pace for a potentially record-breaking fundraising month for his campaign. Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul announced the number in a message on Twitter. The total included cash raised between Oct. 1 and Oct. 17, according to the campaign. No further details were offered, such as the breakdown of how much money went to the Romney campaign versus the Romney Victory Fund, a joint committee formed between his campaign and the RNC. According to the campaign, the Romney effort...

The debt-ceiling brouhaha diverts attention from the most fundamental economic issue we face: Do we want a European-style welfare state? If we do, how in the world are we going to pay for it? Presidential candidate Barack Obama called for "hope and change," but he was deliberately vague on the "fundamental change" part. In speeches as president both at home and abroad, he appeared to reject American exceptionalism and intimated we have much to learn from Europe, especially its cradle-to-grave welfare state. Obama's juggernaut passage of universal health care, despite severe budget and employment problems and the loss of his...

DETROIT – According to a new report, 47 percent of Detroiters are ”functionally illiterate.” The alarming new statistics were released by the Detroit Regional Workforce Fund on Wednesday. WWJ Newsradio 950 spoke with the Fund’s Director, Karen Tyler-Ruiz, who explained exactly what this means. “Not able to fill out basic forms, for getting a job — those types of basic everyday (things). Reading a prescription; what’s on the bottle, how many you should take… just your basic everyday tasks,” she said. “I don’t really know how they get by, but they do.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Democrats in the state Senate on Monday countered Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget cuts with a plan to raise taxes by nearly $5 billion, largely by extending temporary taxes and delaying corporate tax breaks for two years.

Democrats in the state Senate on Monday countered Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget cuts with a plan to raise taxes by nearly $5 billion, largely by extending temporary taxes and delaying corporate tax breaks for two years.

Baby Boy Survives For Nearly Two Days After Abortion A baby boy abandoned by doctors to die after a botched abortion was found alive nearly two days later. By Simon Caldwell 28 Apr 2010 The 22-week infant later died in intensive care at a hospital in the mother's home town of Rossano in southern Italy. The mother, pregnant for the first time, had opted for an abortion after prenatal scans suggested that her baby was disabled. However the infant survived the procedure, carried out on Saturday in the Rossano Calabria hospital, and was left by doctors to die. He was...

The 22-week infant later died in intensive care at a hospital in the mother's home town of Rossano in southern Italy. The mother, pregnant for the first time, had opted for an abortion after prenatal scans suggested that her baby was disabled. However the infant survived the procedure, carried out on Saturday in the Rossano Calabria hospital, and was left by doctors to die. He was discovered alive the following day – some 20 hours after the operation – by Father Antonio Martello, the hospital chaplain, who had gone to pray beside his body. He found that the baby, wrapped...

Almost $10 million in union contributions went to the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN), and its affiliates according to U.S. Department of Labor financial disclosure forms called LM-2’s. The bulk of the donations came from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which contributed $7.4 million between 2005 and 2008 to the national organization, state chapters and allied groups. SEIU’s single largest donation of $1.5 million went to the ACORN Community Labor Organizing Center (ACLOC) in 2006. SEIU also made a $1.3 million donation to ACORN International in 2005.

HEIDELBERG, Germany (Army News Service, June 6, 2006) – An increase in locally focused contributions from Soldiers and Department of Defense civilians to the Combined Federal Campaign Overseas will bring nearly $100,000 to family and youth programs in U.S. Army, Europe. Brig. Gen. Rusty Frutiger, USAREUR deputy chief of staff for personnel, and Peter F. Sun, IMA-EURO chief of staff, received the $98,895 check, symbolizing the donations designated for Family Support and Youth Programs, from Renee Acosta, worldwide CFC campaign manager. “The FSYP is unique to the CFC-O and is the only way to donate locally while overseas,” said Constance...

Columbus mystery nearly solved 500 years after death By Phil Stewart Fri Mar 10, 11:30 AM ET ROME (Reuters) - Nearly 500 years after the death of Christopher Columbus, a team of genetic researchers are using DNA to solve two nagging mysteries: Where was the explorer really born? And where the devil are his bones? Debate about origins and final resting place of Columbus has raged for over a century, with historians questioning the traditional theory that he hails from Genoa, Italy. Some say he was a Spanish Jew, a Greek, a Basque or Portuguese. Even the location of his...

British adults have got fatter in the last 10 years with almost one in four now officially obese, according to new official statistics. In men, obesity rates almost doubled in 10 years, from 13.2 percent in 1993 to 23.6 percent in 2004, a study by the Health and Social Care Information Centre found. For women, the increase was slightly lower, growing from 16.4 percent to 23.8 percent. But findings that children's body mass index -- a measure of weight in relation to height -- continued to grow again raised fears that they will be larger than their parents and put...

The $580,000 project compliments a recently-completed sewer and paving project. BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 26, 2005 — Residents of Al Ameen, a southeastern Baghdad neighborhood, will soon reap the benefits of their first-ever water network, courtesy of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team with construction management by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The $580,000 project is 95 percent done, and is scheduled for completion by Nov. 7. “This project will provide potable water and fire hydrants to an area that has never had a water network.” Mike Mitchell, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “This project will provide potable water and fire...

Iraqi teachers clean in preparation for the first day of school. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Polli Keller Sulayminyah School Projects Nearly Complete The school renovations included plaster repair and painting, as well as installation of ceiling fans and window screens and new playground equipment. By Polli Keller Gulf Region North U.S. Army Corps of Engineers MOSUL, Iraq, Oct. 12, 2005 — School days are here and Sulayminyah school renovations are nearing completion. Seven out of ten schools renovated in the Sulayminyah district are complete. The other three are ninety percent finished and will be ready for...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of people from countries other than Mexico arrested trying to cross the U.S. southern border has almost doubled this year, the head of the U.S. border patrol told the U.S. Congress on Tuesday. David Aguilar told the House of Representatives appropriations subcommittee on homeland security the United States was continuing to experience a rising influx of what he termed OTMs -- other than Mexicans -- trying to enter the country illegally. "Apprehensions are running at a rate of 175 percent for fiscal year 2005 over FY 2004's record number of OTM apprehensions on the southwest...

WASHINGTON - The Senate neared completion of a sweeping national energy agenda late Thursday that would promote conservation and environmentally friendly fuels. But senators rejected a last-minute bid to substantially raise automobile fuel economy over the next decade. The massive energy bill, which was essentially completed but awaits a final vote next Tuesday, contrasts with a bill more favorable to oil and gas producers and approved by the House in April. If the Senate, as expected, passes the bill next week, it will set the stage for difficult, possibly lengthy negotiations with the House later this summer. "It's going to...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Nearly 2,000 state employees earned more than $132,000 last year, according to a newspaper report. That's up from 1,194 in 2003 and 1,021 in 2002. The state controller's office provided data on the state's highest paid employees to the San Francisco Chronicle. As a group, the state's top 20 best-paid employees earned $6.2 million in 2004, up 9 percent from 2003 and up 20 percent from 2002. "Whenever you see such significant increases in such a short amount of time, it is a red flag," said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a...