Free Republic

NOGALES, Ariz. — The number of illegal immigrants arrested by the Border Patrol in the Tucson Sector fell by more than 40 percent last year, a significant drop that indicates illegal immigration has slowed considerably in Arizona. Official statistics won’t be released for several weeks, but Alan Bersin, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, told Border Patrol agents in Nogales this week that arrests in the Tucson Sector fell to 123,000 last fiscal year. Arrests in the Nogales station, the largest in the Tucson Sector, fell by 43 percent to 18,000. “Ladies and gentlemen, know that you are engaged...

The NYPD is capable of shooting down planes in the event of another 9/11-style attack on New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday, but it's unknown exactly what weapons the police have at their disposal, and whether their arsenal includes surface-to-air missiles. "The NYPD has lots of capabilities that you don't know about and you won't know about," Bloomberg told reporters Monday, echoing recent comments by police commissioner Ray Kelly. "Do you mean to say that the NYPD has the means to take down an aircraft?" Kelly was asked by "60 Minutes" on Sunday . "Yes," he replied, "I...

Prenatal testing for Down syndrome should not be considered preventive medicine. Such tests cannot prevent the presence of Down syndrome in a child; but they can decrease the likelihood of a child with Down syndrome surviving beyond the womb. Expectant parents need accurate information, including the many positive outcomes, about life raising a child with Down syndrome. Last month, my daughter Juliet began second grade, where her mother and I expect her to maintain her B+ average on spelling tests and straight A’s in Chinese. In addition to being a loving daughter and big sister, Juliet also is endowed...

Note: Jewels Green is a former abortion clinic worker who also had an abortion herself. She recently spoke out about her experiences as an abortion clinic worker for the first time. September 20, 2011 (LiveAction.org) - After supporting abortion my entire life and working in an abortion clinic for years, my Ah-HA moment seemed to come from an unlikely place. I did not have a profound, sudden shift in my worldview. After years of ignoring the little voice inside me questioning the death around me—the nightmares and the regret—the truth snuck up on me. I was involved in an online...

Turns out Keith Olbermann's fans may not be willing to follow him to the ends of the earth. Or in this case Current TV. The Daily News reports that Olbermann's show has lost nearly half its viewers since its June Debut. Current doesn't make Olbermann's ratings public (unless the show has a particularly good week as it did in the last week of August), but the NYDN got its hands on some numbers and they're not great.

As we consult our quotes, we see the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 2.11% this morning, having been open a mere two hours. That must have been some jobs speech!

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Private businesses added a modest number of jobs in August, according to a report released Wednesday. Private-sector jobs in the U.S. rose by 91,000 this month, ... had expected ADP would report an August gain of 100,000. The July data were revised down to show a rise of 109,000 versus 114,000 reported earlier. ...Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expect total nonfarm payrolls rose by only 80,000 slots in August. This month's number is expected to be held down by workers on strike at Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) in mid-August and layoffs in the state and...

In an embarrassing defeat for the Obama administration, a federal court ruled on Wednesday that Secret Service White House visitor logs are agency records that are subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act! U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell issued the decision in Judicial Watch v. Secret Service, (No. 09-2312). Here’s the bottom line: The Obama administration will now have to release all records of all visitors to the White House – or explain why White House visits should be kept secret under law.

President Barack Obama made two fundamental mistakes today in his press conference which was intended to calm the markets. First, he did not lead off with a moment of reflection on the loss of American military lives in Afghanistan over the weekend. Second, he completely missed the boat on why Standard & Poor’s (S&P) lowered the credit rating of the United States. The President should have led off his press conference with prayers and condolences for the families of the 30 members of the U.S. military who lost their lives in Afghanistan over the weekend. Instead, the President waited until...

McAllen, TX -- Gone are the days when a kid could make a few extra bucks by selling lemonade on the corner of their street. These days, it's against the law. A 12-year-old girl and her little brother were just trying to earn a few dollars for their two hermit crabs when a city code enforcement officer in Texas came and shut them down. The officer told their grandmother that the children needed a permit to sell lemonade, and their grandmother was ticketed for the offense. "I was mad," the 12-year-old said. "I don't understand why someone would want to...

Borders Group Inc. said it would liquidate after the second-largest U.S. bookstore chain failed to receive any offers to save it. Borders, which employs about 10,700 people, scrapped a bankruptcy-court auction scheduled for Tuesday amid the dearth of bids. The chain said it will ask a judge Thursday to approve a sale to liquidators led by Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Group. The liquidation of the company's remaining 399 stores could start as soon as Friday, and the chain is expected to go out of business for good by the end of September, the company said.

During the past few weeks, something of a back-and-forth has developed between New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and conservative talker Mark Levin. The topic: disparaging comments Friedman made about the government of Israel. Last month, in an appearance on Bloomberg’s “The Charlie Rose Show,” Friedman said, “Israel today — I’m sorry — it has the most inbred, unimaginative government I think it’s ever had.” And on Monday’s “Imus in the Morning” show on the Fox Business Network, Friedman clarified those remarks. “The right words Don, are inbred, brain dead and completely, I would say, indifferent to the situation that...

I walked down the street in Barcelona, and suddenly discovered a terrible truth – Europe died in Auschwitz. We killed six million Jews and replaced them with 20 million Muslims. In Auschwitz we burned a culture, thought, creativity, and talent. --- We destroyed the Chosen People, truly chosen, because they produced great and wonderful people who changed the world. --- The contribution of this people is felt in all areas of life: science, art, international trade, and above all, as the conscience of the world. --- These are the people we burned. --- And under the pretense of tolerance, and...

The rate of infiltration into Israel from Sinai has dipped by 50% in the past year, a senior security source told Arutz Sheva's Haggai Huberman. "Last year we counted 6,000 infiltrators in this season. This year we are at 2,500 infiltrators." "The Egyptians are making efforts to prevent the entry of infiltrators," the security official said. "There is good cooperation with the Egyptians." The Sinai desert, however, is "turning into a black hole, an area without a country [in charge of it] and with many terror elements," the source added. "The Egyptians are focusing their anti-terror efforts on Rafiah, El...

Most voters believe the popularity boost President Obama has received following the killing of Osama bin Laden will disappear quickly, according to a new poll conducted for The Hill. Almost three in five likely voters think the “bin Laden bounce” will vanish within three months, the poll indicates. Only one in four believes that Obama will still be benefitting in six months’ time. Obama is currently enjoying a major spike in his approval ratings: A New York Times/CBS poll last week showed an 11-point jump in his approval rating compared to two weeks before. Gallup’s daily tracking poll showed Obama’s...

My gmail is down this morning. And I'm seeing by bing, gmail down that it is. But, no one seems to know why and every article that I try to get on to read about it seems to be hanging and not loading all the way. I also read on a post that there were rumors of DoS attack??? hmmmmmm

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Michele Bachmann said again Monday that the American intervention in Libya was a mistake — but this time she had to talk over a heckler who shouted vulgarities at her. Jenny Watkins, 22, shouted at Bachmann from the back of a large room at the University of Iowa here, while a male companion held a sign that read "Desensitized Homosexual" — a reference to an earlier part of Bachmann's speech, when she said she worried that children in elementary school would be desensitized to homosexuality. The two might have been escorted out with little fanfare, but...

Rather than accept a few billion in budget cuts (read rounding error), President Obama has signaled his willingness to shut down the federal government. (Yah!) For those keeping score at home, any government shutdown that happens is on Obama’s plate. He is the President. All on him. The worst part of this whole debate is the Obama Administration’s decision to hold military pay hostage to the budget debate. For the last few decades, government shutdowns have been guided by an OMB directive issued during the Reagan Administration. Under this directive, military personnel would continue to receive the paychecks while politicians...

The U.S. Treasury is depleting its cash at an accelerating pace, drawing down its cash balance by $81.6 billion in the just the first four days of March, leaving the federal government with only $108.9 billion on hand, according to the Daily Treasury Statement released Monday afternoon. At the beginning of February, the Treasury had $349.1 billion in cash on hand, but spent that down by $158.5 billion during the month, ending February with only $190.6 billion on hand. Were the government to continue to draw down its cash balance

RUSH: By the way, do you remember that big, big report, economic growth, fourth quarter of last year, 3.2%, remember that? What did we tell you? We told you to hang on, sit tight, be patient for the revised number. It won't be that good. And it wasn't. "The U.S. economy grew at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, slower than previously calculated and less than forecast as state and local governments made deeper cuts in spending." Once again, economic growth revised downward, not 3.2%, but rather 2.8% in the fourth quarter. I'd like to hearken back...

"In his new book "Man Down," Dan Abrams gives "Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers, and Just About Everything Else." A television host, legal commentator and web entrepreneur, Abrams publishes five websites and is the CEO of the digital media strategy firm Abrams Research. Abrams is joining ABC News as a legal analyst for "Good Morning America" and will contribute on pieces for the news division."

President Obama and Harry Reid have used their appointment powers to stop the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' investigation into the New Black Panther Party voter-intimidation case. (Don't miss James Poulos' PJTV interview with von Spakovsky and J. Christian Adams from CPAC.) For a while, at least, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights was investigating the Justice Department’s race-based decision to dismiss the New Black Panther Party voter-intimidation case — a case DOJ had effectively won. But now President Obama and Harry Reid have used their appointment powers to stop the investigation. Never mind the incontrovertible (and mounting) evidence that...

For the second week in a row, Newsweek's Eleanor Clift found herself in a hostile crowd on PBS's "McLaughlin Group." During a lengthy segment about the crisis in Eqypt, after Clift claimed the protesters were secular, the entire panel almost pounced on her with Mort Zuckerman saying several times, "That's nonsense" (video follows with transcript and commentary): MORT ZUCKERMAN: We have an absolutely perfect example of whether our interests and our values are aligned here in Egypt, because our interests as Pat says, we're tied in with a lot of very, very conservative, monarchial or shall we say non- democratic...

Quote from the homepage of the website: "This domain name has been seized by ICE-Homeland Security Investigations, Special Agent in Charge, New York Office, in accordance with a seizure warrant obtained by the United States Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York...."

This video was originally created to be part of an art exhibit for Exposed the Art Project

Everyone’s concept of the perfect day is different. My perfect day would likely involve a whole lot of fish, hiking, sports, good food, a campfire, and board games. The surroundings would be a few select friends, the ocean, and the mountains. It would be warm enough not to need a sweater, but cool enough to be completely comfortable! That is the kind of day which should not end. Let the sun just sit on the horizon and never go down. The truth of the matter is the sun does go down each day. It will continue doing so until God...

If you've recently had your house reappraised for sale or refinancing, and wonder where the equity went, consider this:Since the real estate boom ground to a painful close about 31/2 years ago, the nation's housing stock has shed from about $4 trillion to $7.1 trillion in value.The amount depends on who's counting. A study by Equifax Inc. and Moody's Analytics Inc. says the downturn began in early 2007 and cost $4 trillion through March. The Federal Reserve says the downturn began in the fourth quarter of 2006 and cost $7.1 trillion through March.

They won't give him a break – literally so. Barack Obama has reached that point of his presidency when he can't even join his fellow citizens in the all-American tradition of the August vacation without taking a hit. One group of critics attacks his choice of destination: Martha's Vineyard on Cape Cod is too swanky for them. Another band of hecklers says he shouldn't be on holiday at all. Chat-show host David Letterman wisecracked: "He'll have plenty of time for vacations when his one term is up." This sounds ominous. Obama is becoming so unpopular that the kings of network...

 January 28, 2010Did JounoList take down Hillary? (Part 2)by NachumOnce the names became known, then it becomes easier to track obfuscation, obstruction, and collusion.  In a Newsbusters piece written by Jeff Poor called,  What is a HuffPo Blogger Doing in the Vaunted 'Helen Thomas Seat'?   We find bonifide JournoList member Sam Stein from the Huffington Post in the chair that Helen Thomas was forced from , because a video of Thomas' brazen Hatred of the Jews in Israel.  Sam Stein dutifully carries the water for the administration in asking about the recess appointment for the controversial Dr. Berwick to the...

Did JournoList help take down Hillary? (Part 1) July 27, 2010By NachumBy now,  the name ‘JournoList’ is well known throughout the blogosphere.  The assumption is that the hundreds of JournoListas acted in a coordinated attack on Sarah Palin.   It is well known that there is admitted bias and now it is a matter of public record.  What about their actions during the primaries though?   We have the names of the ‘JournoLists’,  so it isn’t hard to look at the record.  Let’s take a walk down memory lane?  The first name that comes to mind is Ezra Klein.  He is the...

LAPUSH, Wash. - A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter with four people on board has gone down near James Island off LaPush. A member of the Quileute Tribe tells KING 5 that one of the people on board was rescued by two other tribal members. However, there is no official report on the conditions of those on board. The helicopter was stationed in Sitka, Alaska.

Overall job ratings for the president continue to be below majority level. PRINCETON, NJ -- Thirty-eight percent of independents approve of the job Barack Obama is doing as president, the first time independent approval of Obama has dropped below 40% in a Gallup Daily tracking weekly aggregate. Meanwhile, Obama maintains the support of 81% of Democrats, and his job approval among Republicans remains low, at 12%. These data are based on Gallup Daily tracking interviews conducted the week of June 28-July 4. Over the past year, Obama has lost support among all party groups, though the decline has been steeper...

"A denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack) is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users. Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may vary, it generally consists of the concerted efforts of a person or people to prevent an Internet site or service from functioning efficiently or at all, temporarily or indefinitely." Just asking... Plenty of articles on here lately like the gentleman who painted a sign on a truck in his cornfield, and someone who didn't like the message set it ablaze. If...

KABUL, Afghanistan (June 19) – German Army Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz, spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, today announced a dramatic decrease in the number of civilian casualties during an operational update; over the past 12 weeks, the number of civilian casualties dropped by approximately 44 percent and the total number of killed and wounded individuals by approximately 22 percent when compared to the same time period in 2009. The main progress was recorded for close air support, with 82 percent less civilian casualties, indirect fire, with 52 percent less casualties and for road traffic accidents, with 55 percent...

Bureaucratic Idiocy at its most facepalmtastic. The U.S. Government has apparently reconsidered a Dutch offer to supply 4 oil skimmers. These are large arms that are attached to oil tankers that pump oil and water from the surface of the ocean into the tanker. Water pumped into the tanker will settle to the bottom of the tanker and is then pumped back into the ocean to make room for more oil. Each system will collect 5,000 tons of oil each day. The Dutch offered to fly their skimmer arm systems to the Gulf 3 days after the oil spill started....

government admits it lost control when protesters set fire to key buildings in the city following a day of running battles with troops which left 12 dead and 60 injured. Flames rise from the burning city hall which was set on fire by red shirt protesters Rioters set fires at the stock exchange, electricity headquarters, banks and government offices. Siam Theatre, a much loved city institution, collapsed in flames. Hundreds of people had to be rescued from the burning headquarters of Channel 3 television. The death toll since fresh outbreaks of violence on Thursday now stands at 51. The government...

WTH is going on with oil... Down another $5 today. Also, it is down $25 over the last three weeks but no change at the pump... why? Memorial day weekend? Is this due to our strnger dollar?

Popular speech and political dissent have proved troublesome to President Barack Obama since the very beginning of his term in office. The Obama Administration began waging war on the minority of media outlets that did not worship at his altar immediately after he was sworn in. Just three days into his presidency Obama warned Congressional Republicans against listening to radio host Rush Limbaugh.

Democratic senators ripped their Republican counterparts for forcing cancellations of hearings throughout the Senate on Wednesday, claiming that the GOP is needlessly blocking essential national security business. Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Sen. Claire McCaskill both complained that Republicans kept them from holding their hearings on budget requests for the military's Pacific and strategic and police training contracts in Afghanistan. Either party in the Senate is allowed to object to holding hearings, as Senate rules require a unanimous consent request for hearings to be held after 2 p.m. Most of these unanimous consent requests aren’t even noticed on...

Was Free Republic Website down Today?

Enhancing specific chemical signaling in the brain could help treat the disorder. By Emily Singer Drugs that boost the chemical messenger norepinephrine in the brain have been shown to alleviate cognitive problems in mice engineered to mirror Down syndrome. The findings, published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine, suggest a new approach to treating the disorder. Several existing drugs can boost the chemical or mimic its effects, though none have yet been tested in patients with Down syndrome. The research also reflects a growing understanding of the brain systems that underlie the cognitive problems in people with Down syndrome,...

(IsraelNN.com) An Arab driver who killed a little Jewish girl riding her bicycle near the synagogue in Kfar Tavor on Yom Kippur Eve in 2007 was sentenced to nine years in prison on Tuesday. His accomplice was sentenced to just two years in jail, longer than the time that has already passed since the event. On Yom Kippur eve, when the Kol Nidrei service began and the streets were empty, the two Arabs entered Kfar Tavor at high speed on the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and headed directly for a group of children milling about near the synagogue on their bicycles....

(IsraelNN.com) Weapons are flowing freely into Shechem and other Palestinian Authority-controlled towns in Samaria thanks to the recent removal of IDF checkpoints. So reports a senior IDF source who spoke to the Hebrew-language Arutz Sheva this week on condition of anonymity. The weapons come to Shechem from the south, the source explained. Weapons are smuggled from the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt to Israel's Negev desert. From there, they are smuggled to the Hevron region, where the Judea and Samaria security barrier remains incomplete.

So far this September has been a lesson in conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom number one says that generally Septembers are bad for equities. Conventional wisdom number two says that they are especially bad when markets had good months coming into September. So, given a good near 40% increase heading into September, we would expect a bloody September. Instead, we've seen gains of about 7%.

After three straight days of being up, the market indices took a slight breather yesterday. Markets were down just slightly. The dow for instance was down less then 10 points. Futures are pointing up this morning. The Dow is currently up near 30 points and all three indices look to gain their yesterday losses and then some at the open.

There is breaking economic data news. The June trade numbers came out and the trade gap widened. The U.S. trade deficit widened in June to $27.0 billion, as goods imports increased for the first time in 11 months on the back of higher oil prices, a Commerce Department report said on Wednesday.

You see it repeated all over the web, but nobody on the left ever bothered to check its validity. Where in her quote did Gov. Palin say: "could kill my Down Syndrome baby?" Media Treatment Of Sarah Palin: Where In Her Quote Did She Say “Could Kill My Down Syndrome Baby?”84rules August 12, 2009

Anyone else able to get on? Are their servers down? Did they not pay to re-up their domain? Are the libs doing a denial of service attacks on them?

The Obama adminstration has imposed financial sanctions on a company accused of involvement in North Korea's missile proliferation network.

Cash injection has failed to have impact, study shows The government's national cancer plan, backed by a massive injection of cash for cancer services in England, has failed to boost survival rates substantially, a major study shows today.The findings will dismay government ministers, who have secured a tripling of spending on cancer over the last decade with the ambition of bringing the UK from among the worst countries up to the standard of the best in Europe. But the authoritative study, from a team led by Professor Michel Coleman at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, shows that...