Free Republic

News flash: Your ability to climb stairs may be the ultimate health test. This everyday activity demands leg strength, cardiovascular fitness, balance, and coordination, especially when climbing flight after flight without stopping. It’s simple, accessible, and brutally honest about where your fitness stands. Health professionals and performance coaches often use stair climbing to gauge heart health and endurance. In fact, a 2023 study published in Atherosclerosis found that climbing more than five flights of stairs (approx 50 steps) daily was associated with a lower risk of ASCVD types independent of disease susceptibility..

Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) claimed Thursday on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” that schools could segregate without the existence of the Department of Education. Maddow said, “What’s your reaction to closing the Education Department today?” Walz said, “Well, we knew it was coming, but it’s still a day that I dreaded. I dreaded it as a teacher, as a parent, certainly as a governor now. And the sad part for me about this is Donald Trump doesn’t know anything about education. This has been a long time dream of the far right to crush the public education system, to take...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) sent a letter Friday to Congress asking for $40 billion in funding for fire relief — two weeks after signing $50 million in spending to fight the Trump administration on immigration and other policies. As Breitbart News reported, “Both bills were passed after a special legislative session called by Newsom after the election to prepare California to lead the opposition to the second Trump administration. Newsom and the Democrat-controlled legislature reached a deal to fund the anti-Trump effort even as the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire were still smoldering in Los Angeles.”

Many businesses across America will be closed Monday for “A Day Without Immigrants” to protest President Donald Trump’s deportation policies. Workers in those businesses who are participating will stay at home, CBS News reported Sunday, noting some workplaces in Minnesota were shutting down for the allotted time. “The movement highlights immigrant workers’ contributions and their everyday impact on businesses, from restaurants to retail shops,” the outlet said. Several restaurants in Washington, DC, will also reportedly be closed for the day, and NBC Washington said the demonstration also urges immigrants to stay home from school. In addition, several Chicago businesses are...

For the last month, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been rallying his people against the vicious brutality of Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Facing near unsurmountable odds, the former comedian has been dodging bullets and bombs – but he’s only been in a position to do so because a former president of another time dodged death from the bullets of would-be-assassin John Hinckley’s gun.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) in a new interview said she anticipates winning reelection despite not having the support of former President Trump. Mace on Tuesday told The State “I’m gonna win without him,” after Trump endorsed Mace's primary challenger.

The Stasi FBI tracked down, staked out and arrested a 69-year-old woman and Los Angeles County employee on Monday morning for walking into the US Capitol 5 months ago.Lois Lynn McNicoll was charged with “knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.”None of that is true. Lois McNicoll was neither “disorderly” nor “violent” during her walk around the US Capitol on January 6th with hundreds of other American patriots.And as far as having the “lawful authority” to enter the US Capitol — The FBI slipped up...

First Lady Jill Biden said she felt “naked” without her mask after the Centers for Disease Control lifted mask mandates for vaccinated Americans. “We feel naked,” the first lady said after removing her mask for the first time at a public event in West Virginia with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).

Passengers arriving at Kennedy Airport on an international flight were allowed to exit the busy hub without going through Customs -- for at least the second time in recent months, the Daily News has learned. Bumbling airline and security officials let travelers on American Airlines Flight 1223 from Cancun, Mexico, out of the airport on Monday morning without having their passports or bags checked, sources told The News. The security lapse mirrored a similar incident involving another American Airlines flight in November. A 34-year-old man who had been in Cancun to attend three Phish concerts told The News he was...

Earlier this month, Moody's downgraded Irish government debt to junk. Which left the Irish somewhat peeved. The Department of Finance pointed out that it had met all the "quantitative fiscal targets" imposed by the European Union, and the National Treasury Management Agency said that Ireland was sufficiently flush "to cover all its financing requirements until the end of 2013." Which is more than the government of the United States can say. That's not the only difference between the auld sod and America. In Europe, austerity is in the air, and in the headlines:

Most Israelis were either born or immigrated to this country during the period in which Hosni Mubarak ruled Egypt. This is the reality they know. And this is the significance of the stability that Mubarak provided them with. (Snip) The best case scenario, in his view, even if it is less likely, is that Egypt will become like Turkey before the era of Erdogan: a pro-American country, controlled by the military. Netanyahu shared with Mubarak his concerns about the growing strength of Iran. Egypt played a key role in the Sunni, the "moderate," axis, which lined up alongside Israel

“She” is Kathy Moore, a Lincoln Park friend and former public school teacher who was put in that unenviable position by the stark reality of political hide-and-seek. Or, in this case, seek-and-hide. Her reliably Democratic 11th District, which includes Lincoln Park and Lakeview, elected a brand new state representative, Ann Williams, in November, to replace John Fritchey, a popular long-time rep who won election to a seat on the Cook County Board. Fritchey began his new job in December, so Williams could have been sworn in as a state rep a month ago to represent the district in the lame-duck...

The February 12, 2007 issue of Time magazine included an interesting article by Scott Haig, M.D. entitled Doctors without Dollars. As Dr. Haig illustrated, the traditional practice of medicine is no longer as lucrative as it once was, so doctors are looking for other ways to make a living. Some

(Note: link may not work unless you are a facebook member) >>I did not make this up just passing it along..... As you may have already heard, May 25th is the day designated to protest the new immigration law. In reading all the hipe [sic], I have decided to start my own communication about this. Of course, we will not be affected by the activity on the boarder [sic] however, we can contribute by not making any purchases that day. We can help make a dent in the economy by showing how much this country needs us and how we...

Compassion and concern for the victims of Tuesday's earthquake outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, has prompted caring people to make donations to assist in their aid. I had planned to write a quick post discouraging donations to big, bloated, bureaucratic charities with overpaid CEOs and marketing budgets more appropriate for multinational oil companies than nonprofits. But I soon realized that by the time I separated rumors from facts and scandals from smear campaigns, Haiti would be fully rebuilt and I would be serving out my dotage in the Sarah Daft Home. So I'll just suggest as a caution that readers check...

The ratings declines for Countdown with Keith Olbermann continue. Year over year declines for the first 3 months of 2010 ranged from 40-45% in the cable news advertiser target adults 25-54 demo, and between 21-29% among average viewership.While it’s hard to completely attribute cause and effect to TV ratings, it’s interesting to note that Countdown had better ratings (and a less severe year to year ratings and viewership loss) during the month of March, when Keith wasn’t on the air (he was off from 2/24 until last night) than it did during February (and was approximately on par with...

LOS ANGELES – Immigrants Without Borders is an Arizona-based assistance organization. It doesn't have the multimillion-dollar funding of national Latino organizations, nor does it have their fame. But this regional group has something the others don't: the ability to mobilize immigrants, to organize marches like the ones seen in the past few months and a long list of community contacts. Bringing these two sides together and the development of a long-term social and economic strategy for Latinos are among the goals of the National Latino Congress. Some 1,300 leaders and activists from across the nation are attending the event, which...

They hiked over 40 kilometers, killed close to 20 Hizbullah guerrillas and spent 32 days in Lebanon without a single casualty. But on Monday, soldiers from the Herev Battalion emerged from battle, sweaty, dusty and tired making history twice - as the first battalion to enter Lebanon and the one to spend the longest amount of time deep in enemy territory under Operation Change of Direction. The battalion, consisting strictly of Druse soldiers from northern Israel, was on its way to take control of the northern border with Lebanon on July 12, when Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser were kidnapped...

BAGHDADI, Iraq (July 4, 2006) -- An Iraqi man with sweat dripping off of his brow reaches into a bucket to grab a handful of mortar. He spreads the thick paste across a half built wall under the scorching midday sun in Baghdadi, Iraq, June 19. This is a common occurrence in any part of Iraq, but what makes this scene special is that the Iraqis are paying for the labor and materials -- not the American people. "The Iraqis are taking things into their own hands," said Gunnery Sgt. Erik E. Duane, detachment chief, Detachment 1, 3rd Civil Affairs...

Brothers arrested in terror raid freed without charge (Filed: 09/06/2006) Two brothers arrested following a controversial anti-terror raid by police during which one of the them was shot, have been released without charge. Mohammed Abdul Kahar and Abul Koyair were being questioned at London's high security Paddington Green police station after the raid in Forest Gate, east London, last week. But tonight the 20-year-old and 23-year-old were released, and a police spokesman said that the search of their home had been completed. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We appreciate the police operation has caused inconvenience and disruption to the occupants...