Free Republic

A candid picture series exposing the lives of New York City nannies reveals how a deep-rooted racial divide continues to permeate the industry. Photographer Ellen Jacob, 58, told MailOnline that she was inspired to start the project after noticing how it was often 'black women pushing white babies around' on Manhattan's affluent Upper West Side. After spending four years scouring the streets for willing subjects she discovered the majority of caregivers, aged 23 to 60, were immigrants living on the minimum wage with no sick pay, holidays or health benefits.

Fidel Castro once boasted that in Cuba even the prostitutes had university degrees. That was probably true. Communist countries had made a habit of running diploma mill educational systems in which much of the population, even the illiterate, would have some kind of degree. Cuban education is actually pretty terrible. Its med school grads don’t even qualify in other Latin American countries. And we’re headed the same way with education being treated as a social program and schools that act like diploma mills with graduation quotas.We’re spending insane amounts of money on overeducation that has no actual use. Instead more...

Citing national security concerns and the war on terror, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked New York Gov. Michael Cuomo to ban the sale of children’s fireworks. City officials worried that sparklers — handheld fireworks that emit colorful sparks and are often waved through the air by kids on the Fourth of July — could be used in terrorist attacks, according to The New York Post. “A recent attempt to harm innocent lives provides a frightening example of how legally purchased… Fireworks can cause dramatic harm and even kill,” said Joseph Garba, Bloomberg’s state legislative director, in a statement.

This week financial news organization CNBC gave some mainstream attention to the largest money laundering and racketeering lawsuit in United States History, in which “Banksters” and their U.S. racketeering partners are being accused of laundering of 43 trillion dollars worth of ill gotten gains. The lawsuit is said to involve officials located in the highest offices of government and the financial sector. Since this information was surprisingly revealed by the mainstream news organization there has been a very suspicious and deadly fallout at the CNBC headquarters. Within hours the original page for the article was taken down, and CNBC senior...

NYC Mayor Bloomberg is famous for heavily regulating daily life in New York City, from banning trans fat, to regulating soft drink sizes. Now two members of the NY legislature are doubling down on the type of regulation that has made Bloomberg famous in New York City....

Mayor Michael Bloomberg ripped the U.S. Senate for failing to pass a bipartisan effort to expand background checks... “Democrats – who are so quick to blame Republicans for our broken gun laws – could not stand united,” Bloomberg said. “And Republicans – who are so quick to blame Democrats for not being tough enough on crime – handed criminals a huge victory, by preserving their ability to buy guns illegally at gun shows and online and keeping the illegal trafficking market well-fed.”

While US Constitution and free market capitalism set the the foundations for American prosperity, it took a rugged, passionate, free people to build it. From George Washington to George Washington Carver to millions of other Americans, the United States was carved out a continent of forests that seemed to go on forever, fertile plains, vast mountain ranges and scorching hot deserts.  Over time American frontiersmen and settlers forged a country that seemed to have all of God’s blessings in abundance. Conditions were rarely easy for most Americans throughout most of our history. Coal miners spent 12 – 16 hour shifts...

* But puritans haven't vanished. They've merely changed the subject. The expansion of freedom in matters of sex has coincided with a shrinkage in matters of health. New Yorkers would laugh at laws policing sex, but they elected a mayor who has no problem trying to control other physical indulgences. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg brought forth a ban on large sugar-laden beverages, which this week was struck down by a state court. But the idea won't go away that easily: The city will appeal the ruling, and other cities are considering similar laws. Nor is this approach out...

America is much safer with Janet Napolitano in charge of Homeland Security. Taking advantage of the Nanny State Philosophy being imposed upon America, she can now advise us on how to survive the inevitable winter storms we are experiencing because of Climate Change with its myriad and unpredictable weather patterns. Whether we are willing to admit it or not, America is experiencing winter, and with winter we must be willing to admit the possibility of winter storms, but don't despair, Janet, like the perpetual den mother who is concerned with her children, has now advised us on how to deal...

WASHINGTON — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg slammed pro-gun advocates while encouraging America’s other mayors to pressure Congress to pass President Barack Obama’s gun-control proposals, during a lunch gathering of the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Friday. “Most people I know don’t even have a gun,” Bloomberg said, claiming America is “the only industrialized country in the world” that has a gun “problem” where there are more guns than people. Bloomberg spoke highly of the proposals Obama laid out Wednesday and called the current enforcement of gun laws a “tragic joke.” “This is not a Constitutional question, but it...

Saudi Arabia's Beheading of a Nanny Followed Strict Procedures Rizana Nafeek, a young nanny from Sri Lanka, was beheaded by sword this week in Saudi Arabia, punishment for allegedly killing a baby in 2007 when she was believed to be just 17. The execution has spurred international outcry, given Nafeek's age at the time of the incident and her limited access to a defense attorney. The beheading has also shined a light on the Arab kingdom's medieval system of punishment, which includes cutting the hands off thieves, executing women accused of adultery, and flogging men accused of being gay. Few...

Two very different news stories stood out for me recently. The first was the story of the killing of 26 innocent women and children at the school in Connecticut. The other was a story out of Iowa where a panel of judges said that a dentist could fire his assistant for being too attractive. At first blush the two stories couldn't be more different. On the one hand you have a story of depraved indifference to human life, a real world example of pure evil. On the other you have a story of a dentist who’s not disciplined enough to...

A back-in-the-day soda shop in St. Paul has been busted for selling cigarettes -- made of candy. Lynden's, on Hamline Avenue near Cretin-Derham Hall High School, said a city inspections official came in last week and gave the shop a warning and added that a misdemeanor citation -- with a $500 fine -- would be next if the non-carcinogenic confections continue to be sold. "We got busted [Dec. 19] by the City of St. Paul. Oops," the shop tweeted. Candy cigarettes, bubble gum cigars and bubble gum made to look like chewing tobacco have been among a host of vintage...

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 12 (HealthDay News) -- New York City's controversial proposal to regulate restaurant sales of large sugary drinks is coming to a head, with the city's Board of Health scheduled to decide the measure's fate on Thursday. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's self-appointed board is expected to pass the measure, effectively prohibiting city restaurants, delis, sports facilities, and street vendors (but not grocery stores or convenience stores) from selling sweetened beverages in servings exceeding 16 ounces. The mayor has framed the issue as an urgent public health effort to combat obesity, saying the goal is to help New Yorkers make better...

For more than a century, Norland College in Bath, England, has trained young women to be elite caregivers to the world's wealthiest children. This year, though, the famous nanny school is taking on something new: a male student. Michael Kenny, 18, is the first young man to enroll in the elite school's Bachelors of Arts program in Early Childhood Studies, which they offer in association with the University of Gloucestershire.

NEW YORK - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg offered a full-throated defense of his proposed ban on large-size sugary sodas on Friday, calling criticism of the proposal "ridiculous" and saying his city is again leading the way in taking on critical health issues. Coca-Cola, the world's largest soft-drink maker, assailed the proposal in a statement on Thursday. "New Yorkers expect and deserve better than this,' the Coca-Cola statement said. "They can make their own choices about beverages they purchase." Meanwhile, New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, told The New York Post on Thursday that he was...

Today it’s just the Happy Meals in San Francisco.Before long McDonalds and the rest of the obesity inducing profiteers willbe put out of business and we will all be eating tofu burgersgarnished with organic tomatoes on pita bread. Yummy! -Vince First Lady Michelle Obama: told critics that her "Lets Move" program to fight obesity was never about big government. "That's not really what Let's Move has ever been about," she responded, when asked about her critics, adding that her goal was to give parents the right tools they needed to make "choices that are right for them." "But this...

Private buses will have to get a permit from now on if they wish to drive into New York City. This gives the city the Local lawmakers and the Department of Transportation joined forces to make the first of its kind system a reality. In addition to issuing permits, the new legislation will designate pick-up and drop-off locations and require the city to consult with community boards about new stops. "The volume of intercity buses on our streets is overwhelming. These buses idle, they make noise and they create dangerous conditions on our roadways," said Manhattan Councilwoman Margaret Chin. Calls...

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Once, long ago, Evie looked after "Barry" Obama, the kid who would grow up to become the world's most powerful man. Now, his transgender former nanny has given up her tight, flowery dresses, her brocade vest and her bras, and is living in fear on Indonesia's streets. Evie, who was born a man but believes she is really a woman, has endured a lifetime of taunts and beatings because of her identity. She describes how soldiers once shaved her long, black hair to the scalp and smashed out glowing cigarettes onto her hands and arms. The...

(Reuters) - Will the baby boomers be the only generation to retire with 401(k) plans? It could happen. Last week many of the nation's biggest thinkers on retirement got together in a Senate hearing room to discuss the future of pensions and retirement. There were representatives of unions, employers, financial services providers, government agencies and consumer groups. And the only thing they all seemed to agree on was this: The 401(k) plan has been sort of a failure. Those are strong words, and probably overstate the case. Current and future retirees now have some $4.3 trillion for retirement that wouldn't...