Free Republic

From mandates about what food children can eat to draconian attendance policies, it’s becoming increasingly clear that parental rights do not exist when you send your child to public school, as The Blaze’s Matt Walsh has argued before. But in Seattle, it’s even worse. In at least 13 public schools in the area, where kids are banned from even having soda or candy, middle and high school-aged girls can get a taxpayer-funded IUD without their parents’ consent. CNS News reports: [Long-acting reversible contraceptives] are associated with serious side effects, such as uterine perforation and infection. IUDs, specifically, can also act as abortifacients by...

San Francisco officials are deciding whether to impose a warning on ads for a favorite drink of children and a bane of public health advocates: Sugary soda pop. The "Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Warning Ordinance" would require health warnings on advertising within city limits — on billboards, walls, the sides of cabs and buses. Supporters and opponents say San Francisco would be the first place in the country to require warnings on ads for soda, which is linked to rotting teeth and obesity.

It’s a four-letter word that parents in one Northern California city don’t want their children to hear: soda. In a novel approach to fighting childhood obesity, the Davis City Council voted unanimously this week to approve an ordinance making milk and water the default options for kids’ meals — a victory for parents who want to shield children from sugary beverages. Cashiers and waiters in fast food joints and other restaurants that market meals to kids will be forced, under threat of a fine to the business, to offer water or milk with those meals, not Coke or Pepsi.

A can of Coke could soon look like a pack of Marlboros, if one Bronx lawmaker has his way. Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz has introduced the “Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Safety Warning Act” — which would require tobacco-style health- warning labels on all sugary drinks, such a cola, iced tea and energy drinks. The labels would read: “SAFETY WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.”

Now that calorie counts on restaurant menus are a done deal, it's time to take the next step toward slimming America's flabby waistline.. A national soda tax. I know, I know: This is the kind of nanny-state talk that causes seizures among conservatives and libertarians. It's an intrusion on personal freedom, a trampling of consumer choice, blah-blah-blah. It's also, as we've learned from taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, a highly effective method of influencing behavior that carries high social costs.

Voters in Berkeley, Calif., have passed the nation’s first soda tax with a resounding 75 percent of the vote. The measure aims to reduce the effects of sugar consumption on health, especially increased rates of obesity and diabetes. It will levy a penny-per-ounce tax on most sugar-sweetened beverages and is estimated to raise more than $1 million per year. Proceeds will go to the general fund; Measure D calls for the creation of a health panel to advise Berkeley’s City Council on appropriate health programs to receive funding. Campaign Co-Chair Jack Daniels called Berkeley’s win a tipping point. “I think...

The progressive War on Soda may have failed in New York, despite the best efforts of the Deplorable Nanny State Mayor, but this is a multi-front battle which will clearly rage on for some time. As any good battle commander will tell you, when fighting an opponent with numerical superiority, it’s best to drag them into a skirmish on your home turf. In the effort to save people from their own ignorant, evil selves, the fight to make soda more expensive – and thereby modify public behavior through tax policy – has moved to Berkeley.

Libertarians were outraged by New York City Mayor Bloomberg’s “Big Gulp” ban (which a state court ultimately struck down). They slammed it as a “Nanny State” measure. But it was current Centers for Disease Control head Tom Frieden who was actually behind the ban.

Rachmaninoff piano concerto 2 by Emily Bear (16) Include 'All By Myself' with Emily & John Miles ..Emily Bear & John Miles "All by Muyself is based on the music off Rachmaninoff piano concerto 2. Emily Bear made a special arrangement of this piano concerto and All By Myself by John Miles.

The couple – who have only just made things official – were hauled in front of producers after their latest steamy antics proved very irresponsible indeed. Producers were forced to intervene and give her the morning after pill after she and Kem, who are apparently ‘constantly at it’, had sex without using any protection. The pair were also reportedly issued a ‘final warning’ and lectured about safe sex, suggesting this wasn’t the first time the two have made this incredibly daft move.

Investing.com – The number of housing starts and building permits issued in the U.S. unexpectedly tumbled in May, dampening optimism over the health of the U.S. housing sector, official data showed Friday. In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said that housing starts decreased by 5.5% from the month before to hit a seasonally adjusted 1.092 million units last month from April’s total of 1.156 million units, a downward revision from the initial 1.172 million. Analysts had expected May’s reading to rise 4.1% from the prior month’s initial reading to 1.215 million. Meanwhile, the number of building permits issued declined...

Friends - I wanted to let you know that Dad died very peacefully last night about 9:30. He was here at home surrounded by people who love him. My dear friend Julie Adams and I were flanking him in bed, my husband Robert was nearby and Gertie was curled up next to the bed. Dad was listening to Baby the Rain Must Fall when his breaths spaced out and he drifted up and out during the last chorus - catching a ride on the Perseids to his next Great Adventure. It was a very good death. More stories to tell...

Kanye West’s troubled release of his latest album, “The Life of Pablo,” has already cost the hip-hop star at least $10 million in sales, a review of estimated pirated downloads on Tuesday revealed. TorrentFreak, which tracks music piracy and file-sharing, reported that West’s album was illegally downloaded more than 500,000 times in the first 24 hours of its Feb. 14 release. That made it the most ripped-off album by far on The Pirate Bay and other file-sharing sites.

Global stock markets are on their shakiest footing in years. Investors are fleeing stocks and running to safe-havens like bonds and gold, driven by concerns about economic growth and the effectiveness of central banks' policies. At the same time, tumbling energy prices are upending the economies of oil-producing countries, further slicing into global economic growth. Only six weeks ago cheap oil prices were still expected to cushion the global economy, and the Federal Reserve's decision in December to raise interest rates for the first time since the end of the financial crisis in 2008 was widely seen as a vote...

Floyd Cramer by chkjns ♫ 111 songs chkjns 111 videos

Spooky Tooth featuring Mike Harrison - The Last Puff [1970] UK rock from 1970 Island Records ‎– ILPS 9117 (Pink label, UK press) Bass Guitar – Alan Spenner Bass Guitar, Organ, Piano, Guitar – Chris Stainton Drums – Mike Kellie Guitar – Henry McCullough, Luther Grosvenor Vocals – Mike Harrison A1 - I Am The Walrus (Lennon/McCartney) A2 - Wrong Time (Wright) A3 - Something To Say (Cocker, Nichols) B1 - Nobody There At All (Post) B2 - Down River (Ackles) B3 - Son Of Your Father (Elton John) B4 - The Last Puff (Stainton) The Last Puff From Wikipedia,...

PLEASE be respectful of each other, even if you're not from this great Country!! Thanks, and enjoy the video!

All Tracks - Mac Davis #MacDavis 109 videos

1 Mr. Tambourine Man (0:00) 2 I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better (2:31) 3 All I Really Want to Do (5:05) 4 Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) (7:10) 5 5d (Fifth Dimension) (11:05) 6 Eight Miles High (13:42) 7 Mr. Spaceman (17:18) 8 So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star (19:29) 9 Have You Seen Her Face (21:36) 10 Lady Friend (24:20) 11 My Back Pages (26:58) 12 Goin' Back (30:06) 13 The Ballad of Easy Rider (33:34) 14 Jesus Is Just Alright (35:38) 15 Chestnut Mare (37:49) 16 I Wanna Grow up...

Natalie Cole LIVE - Unforgettable