Free Republic

A federal judge on Thursday declined to delay the upcoming executions of two Arizona death-row inmates over arguments that a new execution protocol violates their constitutional rights. U.S. District Judge Neil Wake ruled that the Arizona Department of Corrections' new execution protocol, released last month, does not pose a substantial risk of subjecting either inmate to cruel and unusual punishment, as their attorneys argued it would. Attorneys plan to appeal his ruling Thursday to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

With Santorum as the Republican nominee, Obama holds a 51% to 43% lead. Five percent (5%) like some other candidate, and two percent (2%) are undecided.

Catholic bishops, evangelical pastors and Republican presidential candidates have been decrying the Obama administration's war on religious liberty. Amid all the uproar, it's easy to overlook something equally important: the administration's many battles for religious liberty....In other realms, believers have found a Barack Obama and his Justice Department to be staunch allies.The most conspicuous surprise involves government rules for faith-based organizations that get federal funding for social services.President George W. Bushissued an executive order allowing such groups to hire only people who share their faith — exempting them from the usual ban on religious discrimination. Liberal critics accused him of...

Isn't it funny how we feel the need to describe someone as a "cat person" or a "dog person" when introductions are made? I happily consider myself a "multi-species person," although I admit to favoring cats (apologies to my Scottie, whom I love dearly!) Cats and dogs have very different skill sets when it comes to fitting into a family. Let's add up the plusses and minuses to see which one makes the better pet... * Cats are quiet (+1) * Dogs, while loud, make great low-cost home security systems (+1) * Cats are independent (+1) * Dogs are in-your-face...

Obama Goes On Offense Over Gas Prices By Kathleen Hennessey February 23, 2012. Reporting from Washington— President Obama tried to deflect criticism over rising gas prices, accusing Republicans of cheering bad economic news and pleading for patience from Americans frustrated by higher costs. "It’s the easiest thing in the world make phony election-year promises about lower gas prices," Obama told a crowd at the University of Miami on Thursday. "What’s harder is to make a serious, sustained commitment to tackle a problem that may not be solved in one year or one term or even one decade." The president dismissed...

Editor's Note: The authors of the following letter, listed below, are also the signatories of "No Need to Panic About Global Warming," an op-ed that appeared in the Journal on January 27. This letter responds to criticisms of the op-ed made by Kevin Trenberth and 37 others in a letter published Feb. 1, and by Robert Byer of the American Physical Society in a letter published Feb. 6. --------- We agree with Mr. Trenberth et al. that expertise is important in medical care, as it is in any matter of importance to humans or our environment. Consider then that by...

LOS ALTOS -- A dog chased a cat up a tree Tuesday morning in the Bay Area -- same old story, right? Well, except in this case, the "cat" is a rather large mountain lion. The California Department of Fish and Game reported to an upscale home on La Barranca and Elena roads in Los Altos on Tuesday morning after learning of a mountain lion 30 to 40 feet up a tree. An 85-pound German Shepard named Cody apparently was scary enough to send the mountain lion running. The big cats have been known to eat things larger than Cody,...

The launch of an expensive new basketball shoe — timed to Orlando's hosting of the NBA All-Star Game — triggered a huge melee Thursday night at the Florida Mall that was put down by deputies in riot gear. The wild scene erupted about 9:30 p.m. after hundreds of people packed the mall's parking lot hoping to buy the new shoe at midnight Thursday. As the crowd got bigger and bigger, a large contingent of Orange County Sheriff's Office deputies was on on-hand, braced for problems. Similar shoe releases have caused violence at shoe stores across the country. Witnesses told the...

Rick Santorum Winning More Support From Republican Women By Amy Gardner, February 23 Over the past several weeks, Republicans have watched squeamishly as presidential contender Rick Santorum has waded into multiple controversies that risk alienating half the 2012 electorate: women. But in fact, Santorum has grown more popular among women while talking about his opposition to abortion, his disapproval of birth control and his view that the federal government shouldn’t pay for prenatal screenings. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows not only that Santorum is doing better among GOP women than he was a few weeks ago, but also...

An extraordinary lost film of the Nuremberg war crimes trial enjoyed its UK premiere this week six decades after it was first made. The newly-restored film, Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today, was unveiled at a screening in Parliament on Wednesday. It includes footage from the trial of 21 members of the Nazi high command and extracts from Nazi films, collected by a unit under the command of Hollywood director John Ford. Attorney General Dominic Grieve, who hosted the event, said: "The Nuremberg Trial was a defining moment in the history of international justice, establishing principles which are still in use...

They burn our flag at home and abroad yet we stand by. They call for the death of Americans daily yet we stand by. How many danced in the streets after 9/11 or agreed with what occurred? A lot. How many of them in our own country raised their voices to disagree with what occurred? Hardly any. How many of them can we find on our streets and in Mosques preaching against the American way of life? Many. How many of us are out on the streets saying they are wrong? Hardly anyone. Has a bible never been burned or...

A stuffed and mounted dog with blue skin and eyes may revive the legend of the Chupacabra in the Southwest after the myth was largely debunked last year as merely coyotes with a severe case of mange. But an extremely scholarly, investigative report by amateur cryptozoology student Jon Downes raises new questions about the legend and breathes new life into the myth. The findings? Apparently there is a heretofore unknown species of wolf hiding in the vast wildernesses which still exist in Texas. Both of a red and blue variety, the cryptid creatures exhibit many of the features long attributed...

Please send Meredith a get-well e-mail at http://meredith@bamarplastics.com God Bless you all ................. FRegards

Presidential spokesman Jay Carney explains how the President's killing of the Keystone Pipeline was actually the Republican's fault. They were playing politics, which the President doesn't do. [quote] "In terms of Keystone, as you all know, the history here is pretty clear. And the fact is because Republicans decided to play political with Keystone, their action essentially forced the administration to deny the permit process because they insisted on a time frame in which it was impossible to completely approve the pipeline"... [end quote] Alas, the President who is unbound by public opinion, the Constitution, congressional opposition, press scrutiny, or...

"Investigative reporter Linda Moulton Howe will discuss the large number of strange and unexplained horn-like sounds filling the air since March 2011 and the possible cause. She'll also talk about the increased number of dolphins stranded in Cape Cod & the New Jersey shore since January 2012."

As I explained in my video - in Mesa Arizona the Mormon audience began by booing Santorum as soon as he MENTIONED Romneycare. I have news for these Romney followers - they are not going to be the studio audience in the general election when Obama thanks Romney for providing the - blueprint. Also, notice that in his retort, Romney himself calls his albatross "Romneycare", laugh out loud. As I also pointed out, take out all of the boo tracks, laugh tracks and applause tracks provided by this Romney fan club - and you have an ENTIRELY different debate. The...

President Barack Obama has an emerging slogan — “greater together” — that he’s using to spur support among younger voters worried about jobs, education and debt. The collectivist slogan is appearing in more places, including fundraisers and in the title of the “Greater Together Student Summit Tour,” which is sending Obama’s deputies to colleges to galvanize students and youth. On Feb. 1, Obama used the slogan to spur support among young and old African-Americans, and especially African-American women. Less than half of younger African-American men are in the workforce, and the average wealth of African-American families was slashed by the...

According to today's video interview between CNN's John King and Arlen Spector at the link below, Rick Santorum lied about Arlen Spector's promise to support George Bush's Supreme Court nominees in exchange for Santorum's endorsement, during the nationally televised debate on CNN Wednesday. This is damaging video evidence of Santorum's lie about this important reason given by Santorum for supporting the liberal Arlen Spector over the conservative Patrick Tomey is at the following link. http://www.breitbart.tv/specter-santorum-lied/ During the debate, Romney claimed that if Tomey was elected as the GOP Senator from Pennsylvania instead of Spector, Obamacare would not have passed by...

Vail Global Energy Forum Comes to Beaver Creek February 7, 2012 By Kristen Belschner Leave a Comment Governor John Hickenlooper will deliver the keynote remarks at the inaugural Vail Global Energy Forum (VGEF), held March 3-4, 2012 in Beaver Creek, Colorado. The Vail Valley Foundation, in conjunction with Stanford University’s Precourt Institute for Energy (PIE) and Precourt Energy Efficiency Center (PEEC), are hosting the event to address the world’s energy challenges and solutions. “The VGEF is dedicated to the search for sustainable solutions to one of the most pressing issues of our times – how to produce enough clean, cost-efficient...

ARMED guards are protecting Whitney Houston’s grave from bling-hunting robbers. Fears that ghouls will plunder her resting place were triggered after it was revealed she was buried wearing up to £300,000 of jewels and designer clothes. The singer, who died a fortnight ago in her LA hotel room after a drugs and booze binge, lies in a gold-lined coffin worth tens of thousands of pounds. She is draped in a purple gown and also wears a diamond brooch and earrings and a pair of glittering gold slippers. But the treasure-filled casket has caused alarm among the star’s family and friends....