Free Republic

Howard Dean to Join Rep. Moran for Town Hall on Health Care Reform Efforts This event is for residents of Virginia's 8th District only. When: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 7:00PM - 9:00PM --Doors open at 6:00PM Where: South Lakes High School, Gymnasium 11400 South Lakes Dr. Reston, Virginia What: Town Hall meeting hosted by Rep. Jim Moran featuring Governor Howard Dean, M.D., former Governor of Vermont, Democratic National Committee Chair Emeritus, author, and national grassroots leader on health care. The meeting will discuss current efforts in Congress to reform our nation’s health care system. Why: Congress is attempting to craft...

Pelosi held a health care "roundtable" discussion with religious leaders at an Episcopal church in San Francisco on Thursday -- her second roundtable forum since the president announced plans to make health coverage more accessible to the nation's 50 million uninsured. Reid, the Senate's top Democrat, has yet to hold a traditional public town hall, but is expected to host a "tele-town hall" August 28. Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Dick Durbin, who said organized protesters were prepared to take over the town halls and "shout and shove" their way to the podium, called the public meetings a waste of his...

The auditorium at Mankato East seats 700 people, all of those seats were filled, as Democratic Congressman Tim Walz took the stage at a health care town hall. As we've seen in similar settings across the country it did not take long for this discussion to get heated. The tone of the discussion was set early, when the introductory speaker said there is nothing political about your need for health care, but that didn't prevent fireworks from happening. Mankato is where Democratic Congressman Tim Walz is from, and there were more Democrats in this crowd than Republicans. "You tell em...

The Mayo Clinic continues to adjust to changing economic times, but leaders not only want Mayo Clinic to be a destination medical center, they want Rochester to be a destination medical community. "Here we come, so get ready." Mayo Clinic CEO Doctor Glenn Forbes says Mayo Clinic's financial numbers are better than expected, largely because they're becoming more efficient, but he says their work is just beginning. "The future is still filled with many uncertainties particularly in the area of health care. We're committed to continuing to build the models that are going to be successful in the future." That...

Reader Kelly e-mails that Colorado Democrat Rep. Betsy Markey is hiding from her constituents and refusing to hold a public forum during this long, hot congressional recess. So Kelly has graciously taken the opportunity to convene a town hall for Rep. Markey — and extended an open invitation. If the congresswoman doesn’t show, her voters will have a placeholder ready

Watching the recent town hall debates on health care, one thing is clear: they are not easy for members of congress. The crowds are passionate, loud, angry, frustrated, and worst of all informed. They are asking tough, specific questions. The types of questions that make politicians look foolish, because they don't know the answer. YouTube is overrun with videos of politicians taking it on the chin in these meetings. From Arlan Spector being told a giant has awakened, to John Dingell being chastised by a man standing next to his son who has cerebral palsy. But to those politicians’ credit...

"There's a lot of fear out there," said Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, a New Hampshire Democrat. To calm that fear, Obama plans to spend the month highlighting the upside of health overhaul for Americans already with insurance, starting in a state with 89 percent of its residents enjoying health coverage. In New Hampshire, Obama will speak directly about his proposal to ban insurance companies from denying individuals coverage because of pre-existing conditions. During a Friday trip to Montana, he will talk about how his plan would block companies from dropping an individual's coverage if he or she becomes ill. And in...

Just saw this online poll. Town-hall protests over health care are: A - Being orchestrated by lobbyists B - Ordinary citizens expressing their opinions As of 7:45AM PST the results are: Being orchestrated by lobbyists 55% 42501 Ordinary citizens expressing their opinions 45% 35350 Total Votes: 77851

I just came from the Philadelphia town hall meeting. First off I am glad that there were more objecting to this crap. However, these people have their minds made up and don't give a spit about what we think.One thing I have to say is, I knew Sebelius was a nut job...but now I really believe she is evil! There was a man who obviously had some physical disability and he thanked Sebelius for her service...she gave him a courtesy smile then her face went to "stone cold evil" after he looked away! Such arrogance...the anger ran through my veins...

(At right) Flanked by friends and family members, a wreath is carried down the beach to be released into the ocean in memory of Craig, "founding father" of the Beach Patrol. Carrying the wreath is the current head of the organization, Capt. Butch Arbin, who is flanked by Craig's son, Robert Craig, and grandson, Christopher Craig. (Above) Sean Williams pushes a surf board, carrying the wreath and the ashes of Capt. Craig, toward a Coast Guard boat, which released the wreath farther from the shore.

News Release: April 8, 2009 Memorial Service planned to honor Captain Robert S. Craig Ocean City, MD – A memorial service for Captain Robert (Bob) S. Craig will be held 3 p.m. Saturday, April 25 on the beach at North Division Street. Captain Craig passed away on Saturday, March 28 at the age of 90. Captain Craig joined the Ocean City Beach Patrol in 1935 and served as its captain from 1946 until retiring in 1987. Captain Craig is credited with building the Ocean City Beach Patrol into the professional organization it is known as today. When Captain Craig turned...

(April 3, 2009) The man who not only epitomized the Ocean City Beach Patrol, but also built it into a serious and professional organization, passed away Saturday. When Capt. Robert (Bob) S. Craig turned 90 last July, a competition, dinner and slide show honored him for his 52 years as a town employee and member of the Beach Patrol. Thousands knew Craig from his years guiding the Beach Patrol and taking it from a small, relatively unskilled group of young men to a large group of highly skilled young men and women. Capt. Butch Arbin, the current head of the...

OCEAN CITY – Ocean City lost a treasured icon this week when Captain Robert S. Craig, who shepherded the Beach Patrol through decades of change and inspired his young charges for half a century passed away at the age of 90. Captain Craig, as he was known for decades not only by the thousands of lifeguards who worked with him and for him but also by the countless millions of local residents and visitors to the resort area, passed away last Saturday at the Coastal Hospice in Salisbury at the age of 90. A former schoolteacher and coach, Captain Craig...

As far as scenic ruins go, the Pittsburgh metropolitan area sets a high standard. The natural beauty of the Monongahela Valley and the built legacy of deindustrialization make gorgeous scenery out of blue-collar defeat. Beauty is no compensation for lost jobs though. The old steel towns of this region have been imploding for decades. No place has lost a greater share of its population than Braddock, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. This ravaged, near-empty stretch of abandoned homes, storefronts, and buildings was once a storied cornerstone of the industrial age. After losing 90 percent of its peak population, today it looks...

PARSHALL, N.D. — In this tiny reservation town about two hours from the Canadian border, a Southern twang is sometimes heard over the din at the local diner and there’s talk of Texas tea beneath the streets. Roughnecks from Texas and Oklahoma have travelled here on hopes that they now share with the town’s 1,000 or so inhabitants — that there is oil in Parshall. About 400 people own mineral rights under homes, businesses, churches, nursing homes or tribal land. All of it has been leased, town officials said. “We were dying,” said Loren Hoffman, a local farmer and the...

Barack Obama 'belittles' small town America By Tim Shipman in Washington Last Updated: 12:52am BST 13/04/2008 Barack Obama's presidential campaign has been knocked off balance after the Democratic White House frontrunner was caught on tape apparently belittling the fears of small town Americans who have lost their jobs. Senator Barack Obama speaks at a town hall meeting at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana The senator from Illinois was forced into a frantic damage limitation exercise after a recording emerged in which he appeared to dismiss impoverished blue collar workers as bitter individuals who have turned to God, guns and...

New Babylonian town found Azzaman, March 19, 2008 Iraqi archaeologists have discovered a new Babylonian town 180 kilometers south of Baghdad. The head archaeologist Mohammed Yahya said the town is more than 20,000 square meters in area and includes administrative quarters, temples and other buildings of “magnificent and splendid design” Yahya, who is the head of the provincial Antiquities Department in the Province of Diwaniya, where the new Babylonian town was discovered, said he still lacks evidence on the town’s ancient name. The locals call it Shamiya after a provincial district nearby, he said. “We have dug up a sectional...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, Feb. 5, 2008 – About 1,000 residents returned to a town southwest of Baghdad last week after learning coalition and Iraqi forces had secured the area. Residents of the Zambraniyah, Iraq, area move through a coalition checkpoint as they return to their homes. Residents fled the area in January when coalition and Iraqi forces moved in to clear out al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists. Photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Paredes, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. When heavy fighting broke out in the Zambraniyah area in early January, coalition forces advised families to...

CAMP LIBERTY — Community leaders, Iraqi Police and supporting Coalition forces met recently here to celebrate securing Aqur Quf, a town in the district of Abu Ghraib near Baghdad. The town has seen a dramatic decrease in the levels of violence since earlier this year, said Louisville, Ky. native Capt. John Nelson, commander of Company D, 2nd Squadron, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. “Before we came to the area,” he said, “there were a lot of improvised explosive devices directed against Coalition Forces as well as a high level of sectarian violence between the Shia...

Stunning survey unveils new secrets of Caistor Roman town PA280/07 — December 13 2007 On the morning of Friday July 20, 1928, the crew of an RAF aircraft took photographs over the site of the Roman town of Venta Icenorum at Caistor St Edmund in Norfolk, a site which now lies in open fields to the south of Norwich. The exceptionally dry summer meant that details of the Roman town were clearly revealed as parched lines in the barley. The pictures appeared on the front page of The Times on March 4, 1929 and caused a sensation. Now, new investigations...