Free Republic

A recent incident in which a 61-year old woman was initially denied life-saving surgery, then granted it after a media hubbub, was characterized as a “prudent cost-containment procedure” by the National Health Service. “As a general proposition, a 61-year old doesn’t have much social value,” NHS spokesman Winston Hardman explained. “Naturally, the first step in our cost-containment procedure is to deny service -- even if that means the individual will die as a result. If there is a public uproar sufficient to persuade us that the scrutiny being given to a particular case warrants a revised decision, well, we will...

Gourmets in Chicago can order foie gras again after the city council on Wednesday repealed a two-year restaurant ban on a delicacy that critics say is produced at cruel expense to geese and ducks. The aldermen voted 37-6 to drop the ban on restaurants serving foie gras, an ordinance that had passed with a single dissenting vote in April 2006. The city had issued a few warnings to restaurants for flouting the ban and one defiant eatery was fined. Mayor Richard Daley had called the ban the "silliest ordinance" the city council ever passed and said it made Chicago "the...

Chicagoans can feast on foie gras once more. The Chicago City Council just repealed the ban on its sale that it put in place two years ago. Monica Davey, the Times’s Chicago bureau chief, says the ban has been a source of embarrassment for the city and the repeal comes as residents have accused officials of trying to micromanage people’s lives, with talk of prohibiting smoking even outside along the lakefront and eliminating transfats from restaurants. No other American city has prohibited foie gras’ sale, but California has passed a law banning it as of 2012.

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS TV) - Gov. Mark Sanford is signing legislation that lets people shampoo hair in salons without having taken the mandated 1,500 hours of training for a cosmetology license. The measure exempts from licensing requirements salon employees whose sole duty is to wash hair. Sanford says the current law for shampooing is an example of the wacky South Carolina laws that shouldn't be in place. A 'top 10 list' of such laws and proposals provided by the Governor's office follows: 1. State law requires an individual to complete 1,500 hours of instruction to become a cosmetologist. It takes...

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- A man who said he thought he was just helping a woman in need is accused of running an illegal taxi service. Miami-Dade County's Consumer Services Department has slapped Rosco O'Neil with $2,000 worth of fines, but O'Neil claims he is falsely accused. "I ain't running nothing illegal," O’Neil said. The 78-year-old said he was walking into a Winn-Dixie to get some groceries when he was approached by a woman who said she needed a ride.

It’s a popular upgrade for new homes, but could your granite countertop actually be a hazard to your health? The family who agreed to have their granite countertop tested for radiation wants you to know the answer to that question. They asked that their identity not be revealed, but they would like to share what was found at their home. “We’re living in a world that has radiation in it. And there’s nothing that you can do to stop it. However, that’s above background. That is an enhanced source of radiation,” said Bill Llope. Llope is a Rice University physicist....

Anyone who has observed politics for long sees that too many politicians believe nothing positive would happen unless they pass a law requiring it. They think that the American people are dependent on them for their wealth, safety, and happiness. This ''nanny state'' mentality has always been with us, but the nannyists in Harrisburg are working overtime to intrude into our lives. For example, many lawmakers are pushing to ban smoking in all places of business. The bill would criminalize restaurant, bar, and other business owners who choose to allow smoking in their privately owned facilities. Supporters of the smoking...

MILTON, Ontario (AP) -- The glowing amber dot on a light switch in the entryway of George Tsapoitis' house offers a clue about the future of electricity. A few times this summer, when millions of air conditioners strain the Toronto region's power grid, that pencil-tip-sized amber dot will blink. It will be asking Tsapoitis to turn the switch off -- unless he's already programmed his house to make that move for him. This is the beginning of a new way of thinking about electricity, and the biggest change in how we get power since wires began veining the landscape a...

MILTON, Ontario (AP) -- The glowing amber dot on a light switch in the entryway of George Tsapoitis' house offers a clue about the future of electricity. A few times this summer, when millions of air conditioners strain the Toronto region's power grid, that pencil-tip-sized amber dot will blink. It will be asking Tsapoitis to turn the switch off -- unless he's already programmed his house to make that move for him. This is the beginning of a new way of thinking about electricity, and the biggest change in how we get power since wires began veining the landscape a...

A group of Bay Area College Republicans took to the streets of San Jose Friday evening to protest a subject near and dear to them - beer. More to the point, they wanted to rant about a state lawmaker's proposed tax on beer manufacturers that would add nearly $2 to the price of a six-pack as a way to help the state plug its giant budget deficit. "This is a tax on poor students," said Leigh Wolf, 21, of the San Francisco State University Republicans. "They're using a bunch of studies to justify this beer tax, but you don't need...

The Minnesota Department of Health wants the final curtain to close on "theater nights" at Bugg's Place. The department filed a lawsuit this week against the South St. Paul bar for holding the events, which attempt to skirt the state's new smoking ban. The department filed a similar injunction request in April against Bullseye Saloon in Elko; a hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. The bars have claimed they operate a Freedom to Breathe Act of 2007 exception allowing actors to smoke as part of a "legitimate theatrical performance." The law, which went into effect Oct. 1, prohibits smoking in several...

SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - San Francisco would become the first city in the nation to ban the sale of tobacco in pharmacies if legislation that was quietly introduced by Mayor Gavin Newsom is approved. If the Board of Supervisors adopts the legislation, hundreds of pharmacies in The City would have to stop selling tobacco products — including cigarettes, cigars, pipes and chewing tobacco — as soon as October. “This is a sensible measure to deal with health problems before they start, and it’s consistent with our prevention-focused efforts such as Healthy San Francisco and Shape Up SF,” Newsom said....

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 05/02/2008 Pelosi Statement on Disappointing April Jobs Report, Fourth Straight Month of Job Losses Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi today released the following statement this morning after the Department of Labor released its employment report for April showing a loss of 20,000 jobs, the fourth consecutive month of job losses: “Today’s jobless numbers, combined with slowing consumer spending and nearly flat wage increases, are additional evidence of the need for Congress and the President to work in a bipartisan way on additional steps to get our economy back on...

   America’s Parents ― Dogs In An Alley May 1, 2008 I can remember that, as a child, my parents always warned me that if I acted badly, people would blame them for being bad parents. As an adult, I now understand the wisdom of their admonishments. And speaking of bad parents.... It’s always been puzzling to me how many Americans breed children with less concern than that which we give to the purchase of a new car. And nothing has crystallized this thought more than the recent video-taped beating of Florida teenager Victoria Lindsay by a collective group of eight teenage peers. Six teenage...

The sputtering economy has caused an increase in prices of many staples including gasoline, rice, ice cream, even beer. Now some lawmakers in New Jersey are considering taking food taxes a step further and install a proverbial "sin" tax on fast food. Yes, the idea of marking up your favorite fast food burger or pack of fries is actually being tossed around, and it's not settling well with many residents. "They're taxing everything. Now you're gonna tax fast food? That's crazy," said Newark resident Miriam Robertson. Added Livingston resident Tina Abrahamian: "No one wants to be taxed. I mean, it's...

Editor's note: This is part of an occasional series on financial what-ifs. In the United States today, 66% of adults are overweight. Almost 33% of adults are obese, and 4.7% are morbidly obese, or more than 100 pounds overweight. But . . . What if nobody in America were fat? We'd save billions of dollars in gas. Airlines would double their profits. A dearth of diabetes and other diseases would save billions of dollars more -- and put thousands of doctors on the street. McDonald's would sell not Big Macs but little steamed chicken snacks -- or watch its profits...

Drew Carey is downtown talking with bacon-wrapped hot dog peddler Elizabeth Palacios, the woman who spent 45 days in jail for selling bacon. The most shocking thing in this video isn't all the toppings people put on these gut bombs, but watching a sale happen, and later, the health department dumping everything, including the cart, in the trash. Palacios puts herself in harm's way, she says, because if she didn't sell the bacon, she wouldn't make any money at all: "They just want the bacon." Delicious, salty, fatty, amazing bacon.

IN the State of New Jersey, it is illegal for anyone under 19 to buy tobacco products. Smoking in public, however, is not a crime no matter how young the lighted-cigarette holder, as long as it doesn’t take place in areas off-limits to smoking like restaurants and bars and certain buildings. But it may soon be illegal for anyone under 19 to puff away, thanks to a group of seniors in Steve DiGregorio’s Advanced Placement government and politics class at Nutley High School. The class of 19 students came up with the proposed bill, as part of a class assignment....

A seventh-grader organizes a protest outside a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Washington. A 15-year-old girl attempts to ban circus elephants in Denver. A rash of adolescent-driven, animal-rights-related vandalism hits California. A popular software company promotes a video game about "animal liberation" activists who destroy medical research labs, and in a new game “Clubby the Seal” takes revenge by collecting human skin hides. Is there any doubt that the animal rights movement is targeting your kids? In a newly updated report, "Your Kids, PETA's Pawns," the Center for Consumer Freedom explores how one group, the $31 million People for the Ethical...

WEED, Calif. — Vaune Dillmann thought the wording on his bottle caps was just a clever play on the name of the Northern California town where he brews his beer — Weed. Federal alcohol regulators thought differently. They have ordered Dillmann to stop selling beer bottles with caps that say "Try Legal Weed." While reviewing the proposed label for Dillmann's latest beer, Lemurian Lager, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau said the message on the caps he has been using for his five current beers amounts to a drug reference.

Capping a battle that lasted more than a year, the Atlantic City Council voted 9-0 today to end the last major loophole to a tough statewide ban on smoking in public buildings that had conspicuously exempted gambling halls. As a result, smoking will be prohibited on the gambling floor at all 11 Atlantic City casinos as of Oct. 15. But patrons will still be able to light up in unstaffed smoking lounges away from the table games and slot machines, if the individual casinos choose to build them. Casino workers -- many wearing T-shirts with the slogan "Nobody deserves to...

ST. LOUIS (Map, News) - Federal airline regulators said Wednesday that 24 jets operated by commuter airline company Trans States Airlines Inc. were grounded because they do not meet safety standards. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory said the airline reported the problem Tuesday and the aircraft were being checked.

Just in case you haven't already noticed, whenever a policy proposal is made that would increase self-reliance and decrease dependency on government you will find the Democrats lined up against it ... every single time. These people believe that America is great because of government .. not because of the hard work, perseverance and determination of the American people. Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama try to make you believe that they actually care about your healthcare. That's horsecrap. The truth of the matter is: they don't. They care about power. Democrats want to provide government healthcare or insurance...

Government inspectors are to pry into the intimate details of more than 500,000 people a year, asking a series of probing questions about their sex lives and earnings. Snooping officials will want to know about previous sexual partners, contraception, and how long couples lived together before marriage. The 2,000-question survey from the Office for National Statistics will raise major concerns about privacy – especially as the data will be logged with the respondents' names and addresses. Some of the questions seem remarkably insensitive. One asks: "Have you ever had a baby – even one who only lived for a short...

A sinister government agency called Wrap (We Rape and Pillage) has spent vast lumps of our money to determine that, in Britain alone, we throw away 5.1m potatoes every day. Apparently this is so morally reprehensible that we should all commit suicide. Hmm. So we have one part of the government telling us that if we continue to eat too much we will become fat and everyone will explode. And now we have another part telling us that we have to finish everything on our plates because it’s wrong to throw food away. Is it though? Of course, eco-mentalists argue...

Smoking ban, fitness tests for healthier nation By Sharri Markson April 20, 2008 01:36am SMOKING would be banned for everyone born next year, junk food would be taxed and everyone would be subjected to a fitness test by 2020. By comparison, the cost of healthy food, including fruit and vegetables, would be reduced to reflect its low environmental impact and obvious health benefits. These are just a few of the ideas from 100 of the nation's health experts who discussed the best way to combat obesity, reduce illness and promote a healthy lifestyle. Health Minister Nicola Roxon said one idea...

New York City health officials won a big victory Wednesday when a federal judge upheld a regulation requiring some chain restaurants to post calories on menus and menu boards. U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell rebuffed a challenge from the New York State Restaurant Association, an industry trade group that argued that the rule violates the First Amendment by forcing restaurants to "convey the government's message regarding the importance of calories." The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene believes the regulation, which takes effect Monday, will help the city achieve its goal of reducing obesity. The judge agreed. "It seems reasonable...

NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio -- A local community is breathing a little easier after a new crackdown on smoking is approved, NewsChannel5 reported. North Royalton has banned smoking in parks, fields, parking lots and outdoor seating areas or on any city-owned land. That means there's no smoking at places like the local ballpark, and the new ordinance takes place just in time for little league season. Council members said they were just exercising the will of the people who want to curb the amount of second-hand smoke they have to breathe. "We just don't like the cigarette butts laying all over...

Two Girl Scouts Start Campaign Against Cookie Sales By MARJORIE KAUTH-KARJALA   Seventh graders Rhiannon Tomtishen, left, and Madison Vorva are helping to save orangutans by raising awareness of the effect of palm oil plantations on the primate's habitat. (Photo by Leisa Thompson)     ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Two middle school students who started a project to earn a Girl Scout award have ended up rejecting what may be the best known of their organization's symbols: Girl Scout cookies. Madison Vorva and Rhiannon Tomtishen, both 12, started doing research last fall on endangered orangutans in Indonesia as part of...

New York (AP) -- A federal judge on Wednesday upheld a city regulation requiring calories to be posted on the menu boards of some chain restaurants, calling the rule a reasonable approach to health officials' goal of reducing obesity. The judge turned back a challenge from the New York State Restaurant Association, a voice for the food service industry. "It seems reasonable to expect that some consumers will use the information disclosed ... to select lower calorie meals ... and these choices will lead to a lower incidence of obesity," U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell said. New York City's Department...

A playground pastime is getting a timeout this spring at a McLean elementary school. Robyn Hooker, principal of Kent Gardens Elementary School, has told students they may no longer play tag during recess after determining that the game of chasing, dodging and yelling "You're it!" had gotten out of hand. Hooker explained to parents in a letter this month that tag had become a game "of intense aggression." The principal said that her goal is to keep students safe and that she hopes to restore tag (as well as touch football, also now on hold) after teachers and administrators review...

There is revolution going on in waste management, which Big Brother would be proud of. Tucked away under the rim of wheelie bins found in two Sydney councils are small radio frequency tracking devices collecting information on a household's waste habits. Randwick Mayor Bruce Notley-Smith told The World Today they are the way of the future. "We will be able to find out the weights of the various bins and collect the data, the entire amount, as opposed to the quantity that is recyclable," he said. The garbage truck reads the data on the bin, weighs the bin, and the...

The funniest 20 minutes in TV History. It ranks right up there with Lucy trying to shove chocolates down her throat as they come off the conveyer belt in the 50's. Gabz, SheLion...a must see for anyone on your ping lists. So much depressing stuff from the nanny state out there that if we didn't laugh we would all go insane. Click on the link. Apologies to those "poor" Americans who can't afford broadband :-) SURGEON GENERAL WARNING: MAY CAUSE URINATION IN YOUR PANTS.

NJ has thousands of far more pressing problems,but... a NJ Assemblyman wants to ban the sale of high-caffeine beverages to "underage" consumers. It never stops !!!

My second interview with Gian Turci of FORCES International was posted online today. It focuses on two issues. First, we discuss the increasing worldwide trend of employment discrimination against smokers. Increasingly, companies are implementing policies of refusing to hire smokers (or even to fire existing employees who smoke). We also cover the issue of doctors or hospitals refusing to treat smokers, even when that treatment is medically indicated. Second, we discuss the groupthink mentality in the tobacco control movement and the resulting inability of the movement to tolerate any dissent. I share personal experiences with the suppression of dissenting opinions,...

A Brooklyn, N.Y., company is marketing a breath mint that may be so curiously strong it is raising eyebrows of concerned consumers. It’s called "AntiPoleez," and is advertised as a way to eliminate bad breath caused by alcohol, tobacco and food, My FOX New York reports. Critics say the name and marketing angle could promote alcohol abuse, leading people to believe they can pass a police breath test, or encourage underage kids to drink alcohol and attempt to cover it up. The company’s president denies that is the intention of his product. The Swiss president of the company, RNY Group,...

Smoking would be banned on the gambling floor of all 11 of Atlantic City's casinos under a measure introduced this evening, but smokers would still be able to light up in smoking lounges away from the tables and slot machines. The City Council introduced an ordinance extending a partial smoking ban it approved last spring to the entire casino floor. It's up for a final vote in two weeks and would take effect Oct. 15. More than a year after the city tried and failed to ban all smoking in casinos, the issue still smolders in the community. Casino workers...

Would you support a trans fat ban on restaurants?

Earlier this year, some of the most notorious food cops in the country (including Kelly Brownell and NYC Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden) attacked University of Alabama researcher and (at the time) Obesity Society president-elect Dr. David B. Allison for providing expert testimony to a federal court against mandatory menu labeling. The evidence he presented was damning. Rather than refute Allison’s claims, however, power-hungry health officials attacked his character. Now, evidence has come to light that challenges the reputability of the very same people who accused their colleague of bias. Today’s New York Sun reported that the one study which comprises...

The state Senate today gave final legislative approval to a bill to allow workers to take paid leaves of absence to care for family members. The measure passed by a vote of 21-15 despite the objections of opponents who said it will hurt the state's economy and make New Jersey less competitive. The paid family leave act (A873) would allow workers to apply for up to six weeks off to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, or a sick parent, spouse or child, and collect up to two-thirds of their pay, up to a maximum of $524 a...

A leading health expert is calling for a tax on butter, saying New Zealanders eat more of it than any other nationality. Auckland University Professor Rod Jackson says butter is the purest form of saturated fat you can get. He blames butter for New Zealand's cholesterol levels being among the world's highest. Professor Jackson says it is pure, natural poison and is as bad for our health as booze and cigarettes so should be similarly taxed. In fact he says butter is the most poisonous commonly consumed food in New Zealand. Professor Jackson says the average New Zealand eats eight...

“There ought to be a law against that!” From no smoking laws in public places to seat belt laws in private vehicles, there seems to be a law for everything. It reminds me of Ralphie’s brother in “A Christmas Story.” I walk out of my front door, and I find myself wrapped up and knocked over by a multitude of laws, with no recourse but to writhe on the ground screaming, “I can’t get up. I CAN’T GET UP!”

Five myths of health care Fictions don't become facts through repetition. Keep that in mind next time you hear a politician breathlessly decry the horrors of the American health-care system and then explain how he intends to fix it. Some of the most popular talking points in the health-care debate pass as the gospel truth simply because, well, they're popular — not because they're true. Below, I debunk the five most prominent health-care myths: (1) Forty-seven million Americans do not have health insurance. This figure comes from the U.S. Census Bureau. What most people don't know, however, is that the...

Enacting city smoking bans appears to increase drunken driving, a study of arrests conducted by Wisconsin researchers asserts. A national study to be released by the Journal of Public Economics found an increase of fatal accidents involving alcohol after communities prohibited smoking, compared to arrests in communities without a ban. The authors attribute that to people driving to places without a ban, and also to driving farther to find a place within a ban area that has an outdoor smoking accommodation, such as a patio. "The increased miles driven by drivers who wish to smoke and drink offsets any reduction...

CHICAGO - As Illinois secretary of state, Jesse White's usual domain consists of licensing drivers, registering corporations and publishing the state's blue book manual. But he recently turned his attention to people walking across the street in addition to those in automobiles. According to an article on WBBM Radio's Web site, White wants the state to pass a law prohibiting people from walking across the street while using a cell phone. A bill along those lines has already been introduced in the Illinois House.

There are two kinds of people in the world: the kind who think it's perfectly reasonable to strip-search a 13-year-old girl suspected of bringing ibuprofen to school, and the kind who think those people should be kept as far away from children as possible. The first group includes officials at Safford Middle School in Safford, Arizona, who in 2003 forced eighth-grader Savana Redding to prove she was not concealing Advil in her crotch or cleavage. It also includes two judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, who last fall ruled that the strip search did not...

Dr. Khurana says there may be broader health ramifications than asbestos or smoking. What? Now just think about that. Again, I foresee a huge higher tax on cell phone use and a higher health and life insurance premium. And maybe people (like me) that don't use cell phones unless its an emergency, would rather not be seated in bars and restaurants where cell phones are in use. Ah, can you say ban?

tonyreadsnews writes "Usually, 'thinking of the children' is a starting point to impose limitations on video games and internet in general. For once, a study requested by UK's Prime Minister seems to be a bit more objective than most. In the Executive Summary (PDF) 'Children and young people need to be empowered to keep themselves safe — this isn't just about a top-down approach. Children will be children — pushing boundaries and taking risks. At a public swimming pool we have gates, put up signs, have lifeguards and shallow ends, but we also teach children how to swim.' I think...

University professor George Nation, is advocating that manufacturers of guns be required to bear financial liability for the harm suffered by persons who have been injured by the criminals using their products. “It’s simple,” Nation said. “If we put the gun makers out of business we will largely put an end to crime.” The professor brushed off arguments implying that his logic would hold food manufacturers liable for the ills of obesity. “If they think to dissuade me by such logic, they’re mistaken,” Nation said. “As far as I’m concerned, food manufacturers should be held liable for obesity. In an...

In the turbulent 1960s, a civil rights movement arose that resulted in the creation of a U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Soon, there were state commissions on civil rights around the country. Then came the U.S. Commission on the Status of Women. Soon, there followed state Commissions on the Status of Women. Perhaps it is time for a Commission on the Status of Freedom. America grew into a powerful, prosperous nation because its Constitution guaranteed to every citizen the freedom endowed by the Creator. While it took a century to extend those freedoms to black Americans, and to women, the...