Free Republic

Last week many of us were disgusted to learn Planned Parenthood is harvesting and selling body parts from aborted children. As the largest provider of abortion in America, Planned Parenthood is part of the problem, on the “supply” side. But as we all learned in Econ 101, there’s both supply and demand. What’s behind the demand for abortion? A major factor is the breakdown of the family. And the Supreme Court’s ruling to redefine marriage is only taking us further down that road, putting even more unborn children at risk. After all redefining marriage redefines parenthood. The best protectors of...

After you heard President Obama's call for a hike in the minimum wage, you probably wondered the same thing I did: Was Obama sent from the future by Skynet to prepare humanity for its ultimate dominion by robots? But just in case the question didn't occur to you, let me explain. On Tuesday, the day before Obama called for an increase in the minimum wage, the restaurant chain Applebee's announced that it will install iPad-like tablets at every table. Chili's already made this move earlier this year. With these consoles customers will be able to order their meals and pay...

Mara ShankarYalie20-something The New Boss of Everything Maya Shankar is a senior policy advisor at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy. Her mandate is to supervise the organization of a federal government 'nudge squad' that will subtly change the behaviors of bureaucrats -- and the rest of us. When does a nudge become a shove? Americans may find out, as the federal government is setting up a 'behavioral insights team' to tinker with the way we accomplish everything from saving money and staying in school to losing weight and becoming more energy-efficient. The Obama administration's grand plans...

Life seems to ebb away slowly and painfully for those suffering from some life threatening disease. In this time of despair a new cure always brings a ray of hope in the life of such patients and their families Uma Devi , Bangalore - Today a busy woman who will entertain guests at home this weekend. "It's going to be hectic. But then I enjoy cooking," she says. For the record, Uma has just been cured of glioblastoma (highly invasive), a form of brain tumour. Till about two months ago, she had a "perpetual headache." Today, she is free of...

Even before we were born, we knew our mother's voice and could distinguish it from other voices. That's one of the key findings of an ongoing research project by Canadian and Chinese researchers who are studying infant development. The research suggests that while still in the womb, our brains were learning speech patterns and laying the groundwork for language acquisition. "Before birth, the brain is being set up to learn language," says Barbara Kisilevsky, a nursing professor at Queens University in Ontario, who conducted the research with a team of psychologists from Queens, and obstetricians in Hangzhou, China. Earlier research...