http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/constitution-news/ en-us Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:01:14 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050936/posts WASHINGTON – Blacks are more likely to be hurt by global warming than other Americans, according to a report issued Thursday. The report was authored by the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative, a climate justice advocacy group, and Redefining Progress, a nonprofit policy institute. It detailed various aspects of climate change, such as air pollution and rising temperatures, which it said disproportionately affect blacks, minorities and low-income communities in terms of poor health and economic loss. “Right now we have an opportunity to see climate change in a different light; to see it for what it is, a human... medill.northwestern.edu http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050936/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:01:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050907/posts Sen. Barack Obama claims there has been only a "shift in emphasis," not "wild shifts," in his political positions. Many already know the list: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, NAFTA, public financing of campaigns, abortion, gay marriage, Social Security taxes, the death penalty and negotiating with rogue nations.Possibly one of the more remarkable changes has been his position on guns. But despite Obama's recent concession on "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" that there has been a "shift in emphasis" on various issues, on guns he held firm: "You mentioned the gun position. I've been talking about the Second Amendment being an... IBD Editorials http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050907/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:47:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050880/posts WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Polygamous sects that have spread throughout the United States and beyond are "a form of organized crime," largely unchecked by law enforcement, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday. Sen. Harry Reid says polygamous sects have "wrongly cloaked themselves in the trappings of religion." He is proposing a federal-state partnership aimed at policing such communities. "The lawless conduct of polygamous communities in the United States deserves national attention and federal action," Reid said before the Senate Judiciary Committee. CNN.com/Crime http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050880/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:16:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050843/posts RUSH: Cookie is working on a couple of audio sound bites and Drive-By Media reaction to the Messiah's speech in Germany. I have an idea what she's going to send. I never know what she's going to send unless I specifically asked for it. But Cookie is so good I seldom have to ask for it. I get what I want anyway. Now, one thing about this speech. I'll wait until we get the bites and see if what I'm expecting in these, citizen of the world stuff. When he started talking about that, that's when the red flags went... Rush Limbaugh.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050843/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:16:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050802/posts CHICAGO (WBBM) -- Chicago’s gun laws have been challenged in federal court since the Supreme Court’s decision on the D.C. ban. But, City Corporation Counsel Mara Georges has told two City Council committees she’s confident Chicago’s law will stand. Georges tells Aldermen the Supreme Court’s decision on Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban shouldn’t apply to Chicago, because previous Supreme Court rulings have said Second Amendment "right to bear arms" doesn’t apply to local governments, like Cities. She says D.C. is a federal jurisdiction. And Georges is confident that, and other arguments, will prevail, at least in the lower courts. But, she... WBBM Radio http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050802/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:05:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050789/posts Fascism, socialism and communism all offer varying degrees of control. Some believe that others require more government control. The new extreme in control appears to be environmentalism. From www.worldtribune.com: Vaclav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic, who survived the communist system and now leads a country that emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet empire, is warning of a new form of communism threatening human freedom and progress. “Environmentalism is the new communism, a system of elite command-and-control that kills prosperity and should similarly be condemned to the ash heap of history. I understand that global warming is a religion... The Daily Telegram http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050789/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:40:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050783/posts Welcome to “The Levin Lounge”… Step in and have a virtual FRink.Will we hear… Taking the country by storm, one radio station at a time – and kicking the BUTTS of the competition! Welcome all, to the most FUN LIVE THREAD on FreeRepublic.com! You can call Mark’s show: 1-877-381-3811 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050783/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:29:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050762/posts Six weeks ago, Senator Jim DeMint launched the Senate Conservatives Fund, a PAC that supports strong conservatives in Senate races. DeMint created the SCF as an answer for contributors who wanted an option apart from the NRSC that focused on conservative policy and commitment to such. Today, they have announced their first endorsement — Bob Schaffer of Colorado, running for the retiring Wayne Allard seat:The SCF post has an extensive report on Schaffer’s positions as well as his key votes in Congress. Schaffer, as it turns out, was even more conservative than DeMint himself in his last session in Congress,... Hot Air http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050762/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:00:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050756/posts CITY PRAYER POLICY UPHELD Fredericksburg Free Lance - Star Fredericksburg Virginia http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/072008/07242008/397448 Date published: 7/24/2008 BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE Fredericksburg City Council can keep Jesus Christ out of its prayers. The 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals yesterday upheld the city's right to start its meetings with nonsectarian prayers. Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor sat on the three-judge panel hearing the case and wrote the opinion. "She didn't feel my rights were being violated, but my rights are definitely being violated," said City Councilman Hashmel Turner, who filed the case. "It removed an opportunity for me to pray... Fredericksburg Free Lance Star newspaper http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050756/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:52:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050686/posts Those who put a high value on words may recoil at the title of Jonah Goldberg's new book, "Liberal Fascism." As a result, they may refuse to read it, which will be their loss -- and a major loss. Those who value substance over words, however, will find in this book a wealth of challenging insights, backed up by thorough research and brilliant analysis. This is the sort of book that challenges the fundamental assumptions of its time -- and which, for that reason, is likely to be shunned rather than criticized. Townhall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050686/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:34:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050666/posts Southern states execute two killers HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- Texas executed a man Wednesday who was convicted of killing a woman and her child, while Mississippi put to death a man who took part in the fatal beating of another man. Derrick Sonnier shook his head "no" when asked if he had any final statements. he was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m., eight minutes after the lethal dose was administered. Sonnier was convicted of murdering Melody Flowers, 27, and her 2-year-old son, Patrick, in their Houston apartment in 1991. Flowers was raped, stabbed, strangled and beaten with a hammer until... CNN.COM http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050666/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:03:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050663/posts LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charles Z. Wick, who as director of the U.S. Information Agency under Ronald Reagan expanded American broadcasts to Cuba and Russia but whose agency was accused of blacklisting liberals from a government program, has died. He was 90. Wick died Sunday of natural causes at his Los Angeles home, according to a statement from Wick's family released Tuesday through the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. "Charlie Wick was a loyal and dedicated American who served this country with distinction, and he was a dear friend for over 50 years," former first lady Nancy Reagan said in a... The Washington Times (AP story) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050663/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:58:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050617/posts President John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address on January 20, 1961, exhorted the nation: “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.” This rally to selflessness has been trampled upon by a new class that has sprung up over the past 20 years or so. We are all familiar with environmentalists, but their influence is in danger of being surpassed by the “entitlementalists,” the new breed of Americans who have made taking what their country can ill afford to offer and offering not half... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050617/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:35:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050570/posts WASHINGTON, July 23 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled that the city council of Fredericksburg, Virginia had proper authority to require "non-sectarian" prayer content and exclude council-member Rev. Hashmel Turner from the prayer rotation because he prayed "in Jesus' name." Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, writing the decision, said: "The restriction that prayers be nonsectarian in nature is designed to make the prayers accessible to people who come from a variety of backgrounds, not to exclude or disparage a particular faith." Ironically, she admitted Turner was excluded from participating solely because of the... Christian News Wire http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050570/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:29:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050534/posts Republicans have no lack of would-be George F. Wills. But what they really need are some more Robert D. Novaks. The distinction between the two prominent conservative journalists isn't always obvious, but it's nevertheless important to understand: One almost exclusively writes opinion pieces, while the other offers reportage with a point of view. The same might be said of the emerging differences between the conservative presence on the Internet and the liberal one: The right is engaged in the business of opining while the left features sites that offer a more reportorial model. At first glance, these divergent approaches might... Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050534/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:42:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050520/posts The National Rifle Association is putting the election-year squeeze on conservative Democrats, demanding that they buck their leadership to support a bill to erase more of the District of Columbia’s gun laws. Democratic gun rights supporters will risk losing their A-plus rating if they don’t sign a discharge petition to be filed Wednesday bringing the gun-rights bill directly to the floor. It will be the first time in more than 20 years that the NRA has “scored” a discharge petition in determining the grades it gives lawmakers before the November election, said spokesman Andrew Arulanandam. “We’re making this a priority.... The Hill http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050520/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:08:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050507/posts   Senior Fellow  John R. Bolton   "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," once wrote Mark Twain. "Greatly exaggerated" also described the repeated, periodic predictions of American decline. Indeed, from the very moment of Independence, there have been those predicting America's demise, decline or irrelevance. The only variation is whether the eclipse of the United States will be produced by its own shortcomings or the unmatchable superiority of those doing the eclipsing. Betting against the United States--a sport even many Americans engage in--may be popular, but is has never proven profitable. Nor will it as long... American Enterprise Institute http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050507/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:47:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050405/posts Beginning this weekend, with exclusive columns by Pat Boone and Greg Laurie, WorldNetDaily launches several days of tributes to talk-radio king Rush Limbaugh, commemorating the 20th anniversary of his national radio program Aug. 1. WorldNetDaily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050405/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:05:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050312/posts • At least half of American women will experience an unintended pregnancy by age 45, and, at current rates, about one-third will have had an abortion. • Forty-three percent of women obtaining abortions identify themselves as Protestant, and 27% as Catholic. • Women who have never married obtain two-thirds of all abortions. • Eighty-seven percent of all U.S. counties lacked an abortion provider in 2005; 35% of women live in those counties. • In the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, the Supreme Court ruled that women, in consultation with their physician, have a constitutionally protected right to have an abortion... Guttmacher Institute http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050312/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:14:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050244/posts WASHINGTON, DC –Today, United States Senator Ken Salazar declared victory for the communities of Colorado’s Western Slope. Efforts by Reps. John Salazar and Mark Udall and Senator Salazar will now ensure that language is included in the omnibus spending bill that will prohibit the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from issuing any final regulations for commercial-scale leasing of oil shale and from offering any commercial oil shale leases during fiscal year 2008. Senator Salazar was also able to work in language that specifically reiterates how important it is for the Department of Interior and BLM to cooperate more fully with... Kenny's web site http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050244/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:08:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050239/posts “Dr. Q” has a theory about how to cure cancer that he can’t wait to tell me. I look around at his lab assistants, their faces a rainbow of colors — intense, smart, listening. Their parents come from many parts of the world. Dr. Q has chosen them to test his theory: that a team of scientists from a diversity of backgrounds might find a cure for cancer more quickly, because each would see the problem differently. The lab at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore we’re all gathered in belongs to Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa — “Dr. Q.” He is... TODAY.MSNBC.MSN.COM http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050239/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:57:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050223/posts South Dakota is only the first State to pass such legislation. many must follow. The legislation was well drafted and supported by a record of legislative findings of fact that includes unassailable medical science which unequivocally affirms that children in the womb are, in fact, human beings and therefore persons. The legislation had and still has overwhelming popular support. That is why it survived efforts by “pro-choice” (read “pro-feticide”) extremists to defeat it through a referendum. Several other States are now said to be ready to follow this example. Some within the pro-life community have speculated that such a courageous... Catholic Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050223/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:34:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050196/posts Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- One year ago this week, Barack Obama promised activists with the nation's largest abortion business that the first thing he would do as president is overturn every pro-life law in all 50 states. He said his first action would be signing the mislabeled Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). The measure, if it becomes law, would codify Roe v. Wade by making the infamous Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited abortions the law of the land. But it would go further and overturn hundreds of state laws that have put limits on abortion like parental involvement, partial-birth abortion... LifeNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050196/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:59:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050191/posts By John-Henry Westen WASHINGTON, DC, July 23, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - LifeSiteNews.com sat down with Brian Johnston, Western Director for the National Right to Life Committee for an interview yesterday, in which Johnston stressed that current Democratic Presidential candidate Barak Hussein Obama is even more radical on abortion than Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton. “Right now at this moment in history the one thing that in the United States of America every citizen can impact is the destiny of our nation,” began Johnston. “And that is through the Presidential race. The next President is likely going to... LifeSiteNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050191/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:49:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050166/posts BUT WILL THEY RESPECT HIM IN THE MORNING?July 23, 2008 Back before the Republican Party was saddled with John McCain as its nominee, The New York Times called him "the only Republican who promises to end the George Bush style of governing from and on behalf of a small, angry fringe." The paper praised him for "working across the aisle to develop sound bipartisan legislation" and predicted that he would appeal to "a broader range of Americans than the rest of the Republican field." At the same time, the Times denounced "the real" Rudy Giuliani as "a narrow, obsessively secretive,... AnnCoulter.Com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050166/posts#comment Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:58:17 GMT