Free Republic

For years the March of Dimes (MOD) has been boycotted by pro-life groups for its involvement in the abortion industry. Unfortunately, many well-meaning pro-life citizens continue to support MOD, not knowing one of the group's methods of preventing what it calls "Birth Defects" is to promote abortion.MOD was one of the major forces behind the development and widespread use of amniocentesis in the second trimester of pregnancy. Amniocentesis is a test commonly used to determine if an unborn child has a congenital abnormality, knowledge of which can facilitate the decision to abort "defective" children. Pat Robertson of CBN and the...

Chasing the death dividend Viatical agreements match those who want to cash in on life insurance policies with investors willing to buy the rights to those policies. But a lack of regulation leaves the system open to fraud. July 4, 2004 When the U.S. Coast Guard raided a Russian fishing vessel on the Pacific Ocean in 2001, investigators hit a jackpot: more than 12 tons of chalky powder hidden beneath a mountain of frozen squid, the largest haul of cocaine ever intercepted at sea. At the time, they had no idea they also had tapped in to what federal authorities...

Standing in Line My Two Cents on judging “quality of life” By David J. Aland 30 March 2005 For several days recently, I was immersed in a scene which might have only been imagined by Hieronymus Bosch, Edgar Allen Poe, or Dante. I was surrounded by thousands of people, dressed in scraps of clothing, who were standing in long lines, or waiting for scarcely-available for food at usuriously high prices. They were dehydrated, sunburned, querulous, and looked absolutely hopeless. It was the kind of scene you might only see at Banda Aceh after the recent tsunami and earthquakes. Truth is,...

I sit on the board of Dayspring Homes ("Through the tender Mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace." Lk. 1:78), a not-for-profit corporation that runs residential homes for mentally challenged adults. The founder of this organization is a devout, passionate, indefatigable nun. Though Dayspring accepts residents from all religious backgrounds, the atmosphere in the homes is distinctly Catholic. Recently, I attended a Mass for the residents, employees and board members...

It seems that many people hold a vested interest in the destruction of Terri Schiavo. Having finally found a states rights and family rights cause they can get behind, the culture of death has extended its blood lust from unborn babies to indisputably alive adults. While we've come to expect a defense for abortion from the pro-death types, what befuddles pro-lifers are the depths to which their opponents (and they are opponents) have extended this barbarous worldview. No longer content to kill babies, they now embrace destroying people in all stages of life. It seems they've lost all compassion and,...

RUSH: Condoleezza Rice was officially sworn in today at the State Department, and President Bush was there. She was sworn in, by the way, by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and the president had some interesting things to say to the State Department staff on the day after Condi threw down the gauntlet to the State Department staff, and I would like for you to hear what President Bush said. We have three bites. The first bite here, he rattles the liberals and the State Department bureaucrats by declaring that freedom is on the march. PRESIDENT BUSH: On Sunday,...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Norway, Sweden, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands ranked as the best five countries to live in but Africa's quality of life plummeted because of AIDS (news - web sites), said a U.N. report released on Thursday. The United States was ranked in eighth place, a drop of one position from 2003 in the report that rates not only per-capita income but also educational levels, health care and life expectancy in measuring a nation's well-being. The Human Development Index, prepared by the U.N. Development Program, is issued annually and includes every country for which statistics are available....

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - An Australian woman who committed suicide two years ago surrounded by supporters and euthanasia activists was not dying of cancer at the time of her death, an official post-mortem report has confirmed. The country's leading euthanasia campaigner -- who knew ahead of Nancy Crick's death that she was cancer-free but did not make that public -- said in response to the report's release that the point was immaterial. "To Nancy's mind it didn't really matter and I guess to my mind it didn't matter either," Dr. Philip Nitschke told a commercial television channel. Nitschke advised...

Doctors will apply to the High Court to turn off the life-support of a London student who has been in a coma since an Israeli soldier shot him. Tom Hurndall, 22, has been in a permanent vegetative state for more than six months after being shot in the head while taking pictures with a human shield group in the West Bank. His family, from north London, have been told there is no hope of him recovering. Anguish: Tom's parents Anthony and Jocelyn Other stories: Bosnich held over 'attack' No full Northern line 'until March' Tory plotters choose Howard Courtney Love...

Home Peter Singer: Architect of the Culture of Death    DONALD DEMARCO The new tradition that Peter Singer welcomes is founded on a "quality-of-life" ethic. It allegedly replaces the outgoing morality that is based on the "sanctity-of-life." Peter Singer "After ruling our thoughts and our decisions about life and death for nearly two thousand years, the traditional Western ethic has collapsed." On this triumphant note, Professor Peter Singer begins his milestone book, Rethinking Life and Death. It conveys an attitude of revolutionary confidence that brings to mind another atheistic iconoclast, Derek Humphry, who has said, "We are trying to...

O.K. folks. In two weeks I am interviewing for a postions in Galveston. I need info on the area.

<p>Editor's Note: Making cocktails is straightforward to some, a mystery to others. That's why the Wine section today begins a regular column on the ins and outs of mixing perfect drinks -- all with a dose of fun. Author Gary Regan is a widely recognized expert on spirits and is writing this column exclusively for The Chronicle. .</p>

You struggle up to consciousness. What’s wrong? What time is it?PYEW PYEW PYEW PYEW OOOOOOO? OOOOOOO?Your heart’s racing, blood pressure spiking up. Adrenaline-charged, you’re bolt awake. It’s 4:00 AM. That $!@# car alarm!WOMP! WOMP! WOMP! WOMP!OOOOEEEE; OOOOEEEE; OOOO.In imagination, you become bazooka-wielding Arnold Schwarzenegger and blast the wretched car to Kingdom Come, alarm and all.WEEEUWEEEUWEEEUWEEEU.Why do we have to have these damned $!@# things? We don’t. New York City should entirely ban their use within its five boroughs. Car alarms don’t do a nickel’s worth of good, the evidence overwhelmingly shows. But they do plenty of bad. Not only do...

Here's my situation: Within the next year I will be getting and making a PCS move. I am considering a bunch of different bases at this time, and trying to figure out what my top choices should be. Could some of you vets or military family members please tell what you think about the following locations:1. Colorado Springs, CO2. Fairbanks, AK3. Anchorage, AK4. El Paso, TX5. San Antonio, TX6. Ft. Drum, NY7. Ft. Irwin, CA8. Fayetteville, NC9. Columbia, SC10, Ft. Stewart, GA11. Ft. Hood, TX

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) - Over 18 years, Parkinson's disease stole Jack Goldman's ability to drive, write and speak on the telephone. Because of shaking hands, he couldn't eat without spilling his food. He couldn't zip his pants. At times his joints were frozen. Other times, his medicine caused his body to squirm and jerk violently, throwing him out of his chair. "I had gotten to the point where life was barely worth living," he recalls. So three months ago he said yes to a grueling, even terrifying, operation. Wide awake with only local anesthesia, Goldman lay on an operating...