Free Republic

Our current national debt is more than $14.4 TRILLION dollars and your personal share is more than $246,000! Using $40,000 as an average yearly income, this means our government has eaten through more than six years of our income. If these numbers were the only debt piled on our heads it would be bad enough, unfortunately this $246,000 is only our share of the federal debt. Depending on the state you live in, your indebtedness can be much worse. A new report from the Institute for Truth In Accounting (IFTIA) holds some disturbing news about how deep some states have...

‘Blue Stragglers’ in the Galactic Bulge by Paul Gilster on May 30, 2011 I’m fascinated by how much the exoplanet hunt is telling us about celestial objects other than planets. The other day we looked at some of the stellar spinoffs from the Kepler mission, including the unusual pulsations of the star HD 187091, now known to be not one star but two. But the examples run well beyond Kepler. Back in 2006, a survey called the Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search (SWEEPS) used Hubble data to study 180,000 stars in the galaxy’s central bulge, the object being...

An 11-year-old boy in Orange, MA is in the middle of flag controversy after he and his family claim one of his teachers banned him from hanging a picture of an American flag he drew in the classroom because it might offend other students. The boy‘s dad is adamant his son’s civil rights were violated. But the school has a different take, and says the prohibition was because the boy disobeyed instruction

Cities Where Things Are Getting Worse By Morgan Brennan, Forbes.com Mar 29, 2011 It’s no secret the U.S. economy has for the past several years been slogging along at a slovenly pace. Hopeful signs of recovery are peeking through in some areas of the country, but many more continue to struggle under the weight of collapsed housing markets and high unemployment. But even California, home to Silicon Valley and Hollywood and once the darling of the housing industry, is no longer feeling golden. Six California cities claim spots on our list of Cities Where The Economy May Get Worse. Riverside...

A great video featuring the first Blue Angels (F8F Bearcats) flying with the current Blue Angels (F/A-18D Hornets). http://www.neptunuslex.com/2010/12/10/good-day-at-the-patch/

"Dozens of American cities throughout the industrial Great Lakes states and Midwest have lost half of their populations over the course of one generation -- places like Cleveland, Youngstown, Detroit, Warren, Buffalo and Flint. This is the first time that so many cities have lost half of their populations in such a short amount of time since the Plague struck Europe in 1348........."

Heath Shuler: Nancy Pelosi ignoring Blue DogsBy JENNIFER EPSTEIN | 2/7/11 9:17 AM EST Centrist Democrats have had “no communication” with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi since the start of the 112th Congress, one of the leaders of the Blue Dog Coalition said Monday. Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), who challenged Pelosi for the leadership spot, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that “there’s been really no communication whatsoever” between his group and the California Democrat. “We still have not had the connection between the Blue Dog members and the leadership.” **SNIP** “We’re not about the ideologues of either political party. We’re...

While the rest of the nation went red in Tuesday's midterm elections, California emerged even bluer. What's going on? The standard answer is that registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans, and that many decline-to-state voters lean Democratic. But there's a more telling reason, one that promises to keep California blue for years. The state's rising numbers of new voters - newly minted immigrant voters, minorities and voters between the ages of 18 and 29 - are overwhelmingly Democratic in their preferences.

RICHMOND - After two straight years of crushing electoral defeats, Virginia Democrats know they need to do something to start winning again - they're just not sure what. Some party leaders and activists say Democrats should keep the focus on the same policies, but also must do a better job of communicating. "I think the problem is the message is not getting out,'' said C. Richard Cranwell, the outgoing chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia. "We've got to overcome the disconnect." Others say Democrats need to concentrate more on policies that Republicans have been advocating: creating jobs and cutting...

Ann Brickley, the Republican candidate in Connecticut’s first congressional district, is electrifying the conservative blogosphere with news that she is behind Congressman John Larson by only seven points in a recent poll. “We’ve been saying for quite some time that the seat is competitive,” Brickley tells Battle ’10. So competitive, in fact, that Larson has actually been campaigning. “He was at the Cromwell River Fest; they said he’s never attended that event as a matter of fact,” says Brickley. If elected, Brickley’s priority would be to “stop all this wasteful spending.” She thinks that the GOP’s “Pledge to America” is...

Crippling debts and deficits are about to make individual states the next casualty of the credit crisis, analyst Meredith Whitney told CNBC. Speaking as her firm, Meredith Whitney Advisory Group, just released a lengthy report on the state of the states, the noted financial analyst compared the looming explosion to the collapse of the financial system in 2008 and 2009. "The similarities between the states and the banks are extreme to the extent that states have been spending dramatically and are leveraged dramatically," she said. "Municipal debt has doubled since 2000, spending has grown way faster than revenues."

Anthem Blue Cross is committed to offering a broad range of products and services that meet customer needs in the changing health insurance market, and to implementing the new health care reform legislation in a way that benefits our customers and members. We have reviewed the rules regarding the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act (PPACA) limiting the application of pre-existing condition exclusions for children under 19. Unfortunately, there remains a great deal of uncertainty as to how the rules will be implemented and what the impacts might be on participating insurers. While some carriers may continue...

Swells of calorie-rich planktonic krill have attracted more giant blue whales off the Palos Verdes Peninsula than local whale watchers can ever remember. Since last week, onlookers have been treated to a virtual whale playground. As many as 25 giants at once have been spotted from shore in recent days. This is extraordinary, considering that only 2,000 blue whales have been documented in the north Pacific Ocean. The blue whales' massive smooth backs, geyseral blows, and spade-like flukes have rushed the heartbeats of those who have witnessed the largest mammals ever known to A blue whale surfaces and exhales. (Scott...

LONG BEACH - Fueled-up on free champagne and eager for a weekend of revelry, 110 passengers flew into Long Beach aboard a specially chartered JetBlue flight Friday honoring Gay Pride Weekend. The traditionally quick and uneventful flight from San Francisco to Long Beach was transformed into a party replete with pink cocktails, pink cupcakes, flight attendants' uniforms in pink and 90 minutes of entertainment from comedian Pam Ann. The idea of a JetPride flight comes as the New York-based carrier has grown gradually more involved in the city's second-largest annual event, which draws some 70,000 people to Long Beach annually,...

Blue Liturgical Vestments And on Paschal Candles ROME, MAY 11, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.Q1: During his visit to Austria in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI wore a blue chasuble and stole as well as a blue miter. Does this mean that blue vestments may now be used for feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary? -- C.J., Anaheim, California Q2: Attending Mass at our parish church on the feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, I saw that our parish priest was proudly wearing his new...

They Be Squids, but They Be Good!

One of the most ironic aspects of our putative "Age of Obama" is how little impact it has had on the nation's urban geography. Although the administration remains dominated by boosters from traditional blue state cities--particularly the president's political base of Chicago--the nation's metropolitan growth continues to shift mostly toward a handful of Sunbelt red state metropolitan areas.

VIA EMAIL AND OVERNIGHT DELIVERY Assembly Member Dave Jones Chair, Assembly Health Committee State of California Assembly 915 L Street, Suite 110 Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Chairman Jones: Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you and the members of your Assembly Health Committee last Tuesday. Committee members’ questions were, by and large, thoughtful, appropriate and aimed at getting to an understanding of the drivers of escalating premium costs. I am sorry I was not better able to answer questions regarding the Individual market; however, I am assured you will receive responses to your questions on those issues in...

Dem states less fiscally responsible? Duh!No, this is not a story about red states turning blue and then back again as the voters in those states realized the mistake they made in voting for Obama. This is a story about blue states being among the worst managed when it comes to finances. That won't surprise many readers who recall that the cities which have been controlled by Democrat machines are nearly all fiscal nightmares. The reason is easy: profligate spending, poor fiscal accountability and corruption. Political Litmus Test: Bluest States Spilling The Most Red Ink By Neil WeinbergForbes Feb. 25...

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner says the insurer failed to pay medical claims on time and misrepresented policies from 2006 to 2009. The firm faces up to $7 million in fines. California's largest for-profit health insurer violated state law more than 700 times over a three-year period by failing to pay medical claims on time and misrepresenting policies to customers, the state's insurance commissioner said Monday. Anthem Blue Cross could face fines of up to $7 million stemming from the alleged violations from 2006 to 2009. Commissioner Steve Poizner said that the insurer repeatedly failed to respond to state regulators...