Free Republic

The Second Amendment ratifies an individual, inalienable right, abortion kills American citizens, without due process, and "queer" is "queer"! "Illegal" migrants are "illegal" law breakers. I will just be damned if I can figure out why this is so complicated!

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, Oct. 31, 2007 – A signing ceremony at the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office here yesterday marked the start of a Multinational Force Iraq initiative to improve the living standards of area citizens through increased employment opportunities. (Left to right) Navy Capts. John Moore and Lynn Brantley, Army Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson and Army Lt. Col. Danny Tilzey discuss the importance of the I-BIZ initiative during a signing ceremony at the Camp Victory, Iraq, Defense Reutilization Management Office, Oct. 30, 2007. Photo by Lt. Frank Solorzano, USN  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Iraqi Business,...

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Sept. 6, 2007 – Marine Gen. Peter Pace last night thanked veterans of the storied 4th Marine Division who fought in Iwo Jima and other major World War II battles for setting the example for today’s troops and demonstrating why they’ll never fail in combat. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, addresses the audience at the 4th Marine Division reunion at Louisville, Ky., Sept. 5, 2007. Pace was the keynote speaker at the national reunion. Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Pace, the first...

Feeling guilty about the amount of deadly greenhouse gases you emit by driving that big SUV or using your air conditioner during the summer? Well, don't count on an easy fix. While celebrities like Al Gore and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger burnish their green credentials by buying so-called carbon offsets that fund projects like wind farms to make up for their energy excesses, environmental advocates nationwide criticize the effectiveness of the programs. Their concern: The carbon offset market, which is largely unregulated, lacks the standards or the oversight needed to make sure that the projects consumers send money to are actually...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Makers of vitamins, herbs and other dietary supplements taken by millions of Americans must meet new government standards to show the products are free of contamination and contain exactly what the label says, U.S. health officials said on Friday. Food and Drug Administration rules, companies in the $18-billion-a-year industry must test the purity, strength and composition of all of their supplements."This rule helps to ensure the quality of dietary supplements so that consumers can be confident that the products they purchase contain what is on the label," FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said in a statement.Congress gave...

WASHINGTON - The heads of Detroit's auto industry asked Congress on Wednesday to reconsider a proposal to increase fuel standards that the automakers say could hurt their industry. The leaders of General Motors, Ford and the Chrysler Group discussed the impact of health care, trade and energy policies on their companies, and asked House and Senate leaders to look at alternatives to a proposed overhaul of Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for vehicles.

Some help students during standards test - or fix answers later - and California's safeguards may leave more breaches unreported and California's safeguards may leave more breaches unreported Teachers have helped students cheat on California's high-stakes achievement tests -- or blundered badly enough to compromise their validity -- in at least 123 public schools since 2004, a Chronicle review of documents shows. Schools admitted outright cheating in about two-thirds of the cases. And while the number reporting problems represents a small fraction of the state's 9,468 public schools, some experts think the practice of cooking the test results is...

The federal government has released long-awaited draft regulations creating a national standard for driver's licenses, but left California and other states to deal with the emotional issue of illegal immigrants. The Real ID Act regulations -- which will require all 23 million California drivers to go in person to Department of Motor Vehicles offices -- do not prohibit states from issuing licenses to illegal immigrants. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who previously said the state would wait until the regulations were issued before grappling with the issue, now wants to wait until the federal government enacts an immigration overhaul. The release...

WASHINGTON - Federal scientists want to tighten smog standards, a step that would allow tens of millions of Americans to breathe easier. The plan also would run head-on into President Bush's hopes of weaning Americans from gasoline by using more smog-producing ethanol. Environmental Protection Agency scientists on Wednesday will say that tougher standards "would provide greater health protection for sensitive groups, including asthmatic children and other people with lung disease, healthy children and older adults — especially those active outdoors, and outdoor workers." Nearly 160 million people now breathe illegal levels of ozone pollution — smog — mostly in and...

The Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group will merge to form the Linux Foundation in an effort to build strength and increase their influence. Formed in 2000, the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) employs Linux founder Linus Torvalds. The move to combine forces could strengthen the hand of the open-source operating system against Windows. Red Hat and Novell distribute Linux for free but charge for tech support. Oracle and SAP have championed Linux as an alternative to Microsoft Windows. Both groups already have a large list of members. Combined, the Linux Foundation will have 70 sponsors, such...

I sit here, literally adrift, trying to decide if I am more aghast, offended or innured to this latest attack on my fundamental beliefs. My Son is in his Freshman year of High School. Before the School Term started he chose ROTC as one of his electives..... Not so far a stretch since both his Father and I served in the Army... as well as our Ancestors before us. I'll admit that having both been in Basic with "Rotsies" as we called them, as well as serving under a few Officers that had little else in the way of training...

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., March 29 -- Angela Hendrix-Petry gave birth to her daughter Chloe by candlelight in her bedroom here in the early morning of March 12, with a thunderstorm raging outside and her family and midwife huddled around her. "It was the most cozy, lovely, lush experience," Ms. Hendrix-Petry said. According to Indiana law, though, the midwife who assisted Ms. Hendrix-Petry, Mary Helen Ayres, committed a felony punishable by up to eight years in prison. Ms. Ayres was, according to the state, practicing medicine and midwifery without a license. Doctors, legislators and prosecutors in Indiana and in the nine...

Ho-hum about the clash of civilizations? Blasé about the struggle for Congress? Then turn your attention to Hanover, N.H., home of Dartmouth College, where the fighting is really intense. The story begins with T.J. Rodgers, the entrepreneur who founded and runs Cypress Semiconductor. In 2004 Mr. Rodgers, class of '70, decided his alma mater could use him on its board of trustees (half of whose members are elected by alumni). He circulated a letter in which he insisted on a reassertion of high academic standards, the importance of freedom of speech on campus, and the need for Dartmouth to strive...

Columbia, SC –- After months of debate, today the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee unanimously ratified high school biology standards requiring students to understand why "scientists continue to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolutionary theory." The South Carolina State Board of Education adopted the standards unanimously last month, and submitted them to the EOC for approval. South Carolina’s new evolution standard does not require teaching the theory of intelligent design. The biology standard approved requires students to be able to, “Summarize ways that scientists use data from a variety of sources to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolutionary...

The U.S. Department of Education has warned Wisconsin officials that the state could lose about $233,000 if they don't fix shortcomings in the state's student testing system, including its alternate assessment for English language learners. Adopting a tough tone, the federal government has given the state until the end of the 2006-'07 school year to bring its tests into full compliance with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. But a November testing period means Wisconsin has only until fall to address the concerns or it risks losing 15% of the $1.5 million it hopes to receive to...

In a rare show of bipartisanship, former Govs. Pete Wilson and Gray Davis asked state legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to stand behind curriculum standards and testing they credit with improving performance in the state's public schools. "Standards provide a measure of excellence regardless of one's skin color, family income or ZIP code. We believe that if we set expectations high, students will respond," Republican Wilson and Democrat Davis wrote in an open letter Friday. The governors' letter came a week after Democratic lawmakers stripped funding for the Board of Education from the state budget. Lawmakers had warned the board...

Germany slams brakes on emissions targets 06 July 2006 From New Scientist Print Edition. EUROPE'S efforts to meet its Kyoto protocol targets for greenhouse gas emissions are heading for trouble after Germany, the driving force behind the continent's emissions reductions for the past 15 years, slammed on the brakes. Since 1990, Germany has cut its emissions by 17.5 per cent, more than any other country in the European Union. Its Kyoto target is a 21 per cent cut, but on 28 June the environment ministry revealed that it would only require a further 0.6 per cent cut from its major...

While US airlines cut and slash service -- care and feeding -- of their travelers, the Asian airlines have been buying new planes, installing elaborate entertainment systems, and allowing passengers in-flight e-mail and web surfing options. Add to that plush seats and meals created by celebrity chefs, and the result is that America doesn't know service. Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines services beat all American carriers, hands down. On the long-haul flights, choices of movies, frequent meals (America doesn't need this) -- Western or Asian style -- and friendly service are the standard. Not only are the US airlines behind,...

LONDON (Reuters) - Russia does not meet democratic standards for membership of the Group of Eight and its leadership of the rich nations' club risks destroying the G8's credibility, a British think-tank said on Sunday. Russia has gone backwards in its respect for democracy and civil liberties since it took over the presidency of the G8 in January, the Foreign Policy Center said in a report published before a Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg on July 15-17. The Foreign Policy Center is an independent think-tank whose patron is British Prime Minister Tony Blair. "(Russian President Vladimir) Putin's record...

SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- A California psychologist says young people have become increasingly indifferent to the impression they make on others. Jean Twenge, the author of "Generation Me," teaches at San Diego State University. She gathered data from surveys taken between 1958 and 2001 by more than 40,000 youngsters. They featured questions aimed at whether the respondents always said "please" and "thank you" or were careful to dress appropriately. Twenge says that 76 percent of children aged 8 to 12 in 1999 were indifferent to social approval, up from 57 percent in 1970. Among those who were already in college...