Free Republic

Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin on Wednesday dropped his plan to enact a single-payer health care system in his state — a plan that had won praise from liberals but never really got much past the framework stage. “This is not the right time” for enacting single payer, Shumlin said in a statement, citing the big tax increases that would be required to pay for it.

Abortion is becoming ever rarer in the United States. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its latest survey of abortion in the United States. The CDC tallied 730,322 abortions in 2011, the smallest number in almost 40 years. CDC’s numbers are probably an under-count. Other surveys suggest that the number for 2011 was slightly larger than 1 million. But if the precise number of abortions is uncertain, the trend is not. The incidence of abortion in the United States sharply rose in the 1970s and 1980s, reached a peak in 1990, and has tumbled by nearly...

Since winning the governor’s seat in 2010, Peter Shumlin has pledged to make Vermont the first state in the country with a single-payer health care system. But a key legislative ally now says the proposal might not be as politically viable as Shumlin seems to believe. And Senate President John Campbell says it’s time to start putting together a contingency plan. Shumlin has backed off on his promise to deliver a publicly funded plan by January of 2017. But while the timeline may have moved back, Shumlin says he’ll still reach the goal. Campbell, however, isn’t so sure. And he...

Last year, Susan Patton, a Princeton grad and the mother of two sons at the elite college, outraged feminists when she wrote an open letter to the Daily Princetonian telling female students to find a husband on campus before they graduate. The red alert — which argued that these Ivy League college girls “would never again be surrounded by this concentration of men who would be worthy of you” — went viral with more than 100 million hits. ... even in the dog-eat-dog dating jungle that is New York, there is hope for single career women between the ages of...

PBS's Tavis Smiley made a comment Thursday that every African-American as well as liberal media member should sit up and take notice. Appearing on Fox News's Hannity, Smiley said, "The data is going to indicate sadly that when the Obama administration is over, black people will have lost ground in every single leading economic indicator category" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid isn’t the only high-profile Democrat who has suggested the United States will eventually transition to a single payer health care system. The Nevada lawmaker generated headlines Friday for predicting that President Obama’s health care law is the first step to phasing out insurance-based health care. In 2007, while governor of Kansas, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stated flatly in a speech at Harvard: “I’m all for a single payer system eventually.”

It was reported the other day on an inside page of the Pioneer Press, and without nearly enough fanfare, that more than six out of 10 women who give birth in their early 20s are unmarried. That is census data, from census demographers, from the very government that then becomes responsible for many, if not most, of those unmarried women and children. If that isn't an astonishing statistic, it should be. Why, to any logical person's way of thinking, it explains everything in terms of government at all levels bloating out of control. Supposing that even angels might fear to...

First lady Michelle Obama mistakenly called herself a "busy single mother" in an interview on Thursday with Burlington, Vt. CBS affiliate WCAX, before quickly catching herself and identifying instead as "busy working mom." Discussing the struggle many parents face in balancing work and home life, the first lady reached for an empathetic tone, beginning, "Believe me, as a busy single mother...or, I shouldn't say 'single' - as a busy mother..." She seemed to catch her flub almost immediately. "You know, when you've got the husband who's president, it can feel a little single, but he's there," she clarified of her...

Hospitals are denying patients the latest life-extending cancer drugs, a report reveals. Dozens of trusts are failing to hand out treatments for bowel, ovarian, lung and brain cancer that have been approved by the NHS watchdog NICE. Some of these drugs have been shown to boost survival rates by a quarter while others have extended the lives of terminally-ill patients by over a year.

DENVER (AP) — Sara Stevenson spends her working hours surrounded by Republicans, namely the married men who work alongside her in a Denver oil and gas firm company. But after hours and on weekends, she usually spends her time with other single women, and there's not a Republican in sight among the bunch. "There was just no way I could have supported any Republican this year," said Stevenson, 31. "They skew so much to the religious right. ... They focused so much on taxes. It's not something that women in my demographic really care about. I've never heard my friends...

Vermont could be first in line for single payerBy JOANNE KENEN | 9/17/12 4:28 AM EDT **SNIP** Shumlin can’t get there by 2014. He may not get there by 2017, when states get more flexibility under the health law to design their own health care systems. He may not get there at all. But he believes that even small states must aim big. **SNIP** The rest of the United States has no interest in single payer, of course, not now nor in the near future. Not only did the 2010 health law reject single payer or a public option, its...

As-Salamu Alaykum. SingleMuslim.com, the world's leading Muslim marriage website is marking it's tenth anniversary. Since it's launch the company has brought about a staggering 10,000 marriages. SingleMuslim.com's ten years at the top is the result of hard work, determination, and a professional approach to business. The company now has a reputation for its reliability, discretion and sound Islamic principles, which has earned the trust of the Muslim community. http://www.youtube.com/user/singlemuslimltd

Where do attractive and single middle aged, conservative people meet? I am so busy in my life with a new sales career and such, that I barley have time for events and gatherings. Any attractive late 30's 40's conservative gals in so. Ca. that would like to befriend an honest and nice guy of 50 that looks 40? Hah! I am aging youthfully, actually. Thank God.

Inspired by a classic Hollywood western, dozens of single women have been bussed into a small Spanish town in a desperate attempt to stem a severe bride shortage which is threatening to decimate the local population. In scenes reminiscent of the 1951 film 'Westward the Women, starring Robert Taylor and Denise Darcel, bachelors in the town of Candeleda are being introduced to women from Madrid. The small town of 6,000 on the banks of the picturesque Lobera River, hosted a weekend fiesta to welcome 68 women for a meet-and-greet with the village's single men. Ancient cave paintings show Candeleda has...

Senior defense official says Iran's nuclear program not easily derailed like Iraq or Syria: "There is no one silver bullet you can hit and that's over"; claims Iranian regime's biggest fear is US. Israel would not be able to halt Iran's reported quest for atomic weapons with a single strike, a senior Israeli defense official said on Sunday. The defense official, who in line with Israeli army guidelines declined to be identified, mentioned Iran during a review of the security situation in the Middle East in a briefing to foreign reporters.

Perhaps it is time for the Telegraph to issue a retraction to its kneejerk publication in which it automatically cast blame on Islamists and other "eastern" terrorists-by-default. Because according to just released info, they could not have been more wrong, and it is the reaction to precisely this type of prejudice that will never facilitate bridging frayed relations between disparate cultures. Anyway, so much for prejudiced speculation and/or lies about some Islamist organization taking the blame for the events in Norway today. Here is the truth:" VG has received confirmation from several independent sources that it was Anders Behring Breivik,...

[Do they?] "Here are a few reasons why married people in the church tend to be more spiritual than those who are single: In the beginning God commanded mankind to be fruitful and multiply so he could exercise dominion over the earth. This commandment was given with the assumption that a man and woman should be united in marriage according to Genesis 2:23-25. One of the best ways to serve God is to have children (naturally or through adoption) in marriage so the couple can raise up a godly heritage for the Lord. 1 Timothy 2 even verifies that if...

Vermont's Single Payer System: Coming to a State Near You?Nona Willis Aronowitz - East Coast associate editor June 1, 2011 • 5:00 am PDT Liberals finally have the health care system they’ve been hoping for—in one state at least. Last week, Vermont’s governor Peter Shumlin signed a law that puts the state on the path to providing single-payer health care. The plan will first create a statewide exchange where residents can pick from private or state insurance plans, but eventually there will just be one state-operated system called Green Mountain Care. Before you pack your bags, though, be advised: the...

We all know this guy — or are this guy: in his 30s, affable, attractive, and yet he’s never been in a serious long-term relationship. And as his single status stretches into a third decade, one has to wonder: What’s the deal? Far from being undateable, this guy may simply not be ready to change his independent ways. Or, he may be all too willing to do so — but something’s blocking him. If you feel you may fall into the latter category (or know someone who does), stop worrying about what’s slowing you down and read on to learn...

<p>Cops are questioning the mother and grandmother of the severely malnourished little girl, Marchella Pierce, at the 81st Precinct station house in Bedford-Stuyvesant, law enforcement sources said.</p> <p>Sources also said that Child Development Support Corporation, which was brought in to work with the family, visited far less than the required 2-3 times per week.</p>