Free Republic

OR IS THIS A POINTLESS DEBATE OVER A "SHIELD LAW?" Are we starting to get under the skin of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (RINO-S.C.)? At first glance it would appear that way … Graham, a frequent target of this website’s criticism (due to his frequent awfulness), suggested this week that bloggers don’t deserve one of the most basic freedoms guaranteed to all Americans under the U.S. Bill of Rights. “Who is a journalist is a question we need to ask ourselves,” Graham said earlier this week. “Is any blogger out there saying anything – do they deserve First Amendment protection?...

The horrific crash of a 747-400 at Bagram (here) has yet to be fully investigated and claims are already being made that it was a stall caused by a loose cargo that caused tail of the aircraft to drop and the nose to rise depriving the wings of lift. Maybe. The Bagram 747 crash has many similarities to the even more horrific crash of AWACS flight Yukla-27, (here) which was caused by the aircraft striking at least two Canada Geese in the Runway Kill Zone (RKZ) as discussed on an earlier post on this blog (here). Terrorists familiar with the...

'A US war veteran is believed to have been found living in a remote Vietnam village – 44 YEARS after he was shot down and presumed dead. Sgt John Hartley Robertson vanished during a classified special ops mission over Laos in 1968. But now documentary makers claim to have miraculously found the soldier still alive in Vietnam after surviving a horrific helicopter crash. They say the one-time Green Beret is living in south-central Vietnam – where the 76-year-old is unable to remember his birthday, his American children’s names, or how to speak English.'

'A man claiming to be a US war veteran who had lived in a remote Vietnamese village for 45 years has been exposed as a fraudster. Dang Tan Ngoc, 76, said that he was Sgt John Hartley Robinson who was shot down over Laos in 1968, but a fingerprint test has exposed his lies. After being interviewed over his past claims that he was a US soldier back in 2006, he also admitted to being a Vietnamese citizen.'

President Obama and others keep making the argument that 90 percent of the public supported the background check provision that failed in the Senate last week. But if 90 percent of the public supported the background check bill, isn’t everybody super-upset about this right now? And won’t the wrath of the voters take care of the issue in 2014? Not a chance, and here's why....

After last week, I’m really GLAAD to have this opportunity to change the subject. And that opportunity was presented by what I guess are the monthly GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Awards, this time in Los Angeles. Sort of ironic that they were held the same week as the latest Islamic Extremist (am I allowed to say that anymore?) bombing; as we all know how tolerant the “religion of pieces” is of homosexuality. Anyway, guess who was there? To accept an award. Did you guess former President Bill Clinton? “I’m so glaad to be here!” Me neither....

Glen Beck has claimed that he has proof the federal government has covered up the Boston bombing as being carried out by Chechnya terrorists. He says that the bombing was actually carried out by Saudi nationals and that he has the evidence to prove it. He gives Obama until Monday to admit it or his show will reveal the evidence. Is this just to get extra attention or does he have something more? Glenn Beck has always done a great job at laying out facts in his arguments, but we will see. We do however know that on Monday an...

Passengers on an American Airlines flight from San Diego to Chicago were ordered off a plane on Tuesday night after complaints about a group of six Arabic-speaking Iraqi men. Consumerist Details of what happened before American Flight 590′s scheduled departure late on Tuesday are sketchy. According to the Associated Press, an American Airlines flight was grounded after passengers complained about 6 men who were speaking Arabic. American Airlines spokesperson Tim Wagner said that local law enforcement was called in to question the men but the TSA did not get involved. He also said that passenger traveling with two small children...

1. Thou Shall Live 2. Thou Shall Be Free 3. Thou Shall Be Self-Reliant 4. Thou Shall Be Fruitful 5. Thou Shall Seek Simplicity 6. Thou Shall Gather Your Resources 7. Thou Shall Seek Redundancy 8. Thou Shall Increase Your Skills 9. Thou Shall Be Charitable 10. What Thou Cannot Defend, Thouest Does Not Own

Remember way back to the 2008 Presidential campaign? Then Senator Obama made a promise, one he repeated over and over for the next few years. Here's a refresher of what he said: "If you’ve got insurance through your employer, you can keep your insurance. We estimate we can cut the average family’s premium by about $2,500 per year. If you don’t have health insurance, then we’re going to provide you the option of buying into the same kind of federal pool that both Sen. McCain and I enjoy as federal employees. We’re going to make sure insurance companies can’t discriminate...

There have been many misconceptions swirling around down south about Canada. While lack of knowledge about America’s closest neighbor and ally is certainly not uncommon, current issues such as the Keystone XL pipeline have brought many to the surface. In an effort to better educate our American cousins, here’s a quick primer on all things Canada.

If you thought some of Seth MacFarlane's Oscar jokes were off-color, you'll never believe that The Onion tweeted about this year's youngest nominee. The satirical news organization has come under fire for posting a nasty tweet about nine-year-old Best Actress nominee Quvenzhané Wallis (you know, the adorable little girl who's been carrying around puppy purses all award season?).

Who else could it have been? Jindal and Paul Ryan have already done it, Rand Paul’s probably still too close to the rEVOLution for Republican leaders to be comfortable with him in a spot like this, and Chris Christie would just end up talking about how terrific Obama’s speech was. Half the reason party leaders are pushing amnesty, I’m convinced, is because Rubio’s that good in front of a mic and this issue gives him access to lots and lots of microphones. If, as McCain bluntly concedes, immigration reform is all about earning goodwill from Latino voters, then of course...

Since when is ignorance of the law a viable defense when it comes to crimes? Apparently in the United Kingdom it is. Adil Rashid, an 18-year-old Muslim man, met a thirteen-year-old girl on Facebook last year. After texting her for two months, they met in Nottingham. Rashid proceeded to rape the girl and was subsequently arrested. In his defense, Rashid claimed that he simply "did not know" it was illegal to rape minors. Rashid stated that "he went to an Islamic faith school where he was taught that women are worthless," and thus consent was not necessary. He further argued...

The Soviet Union may have fallen and the Iron Curtain pulled back, but the plague of Communism still afflicts countries around the world. In this thread, I want to publicize some articles written by various bloggers in Vietnam about their own experiences living under Communism. It is my hope that by giving a louder voice to these brave people, we can eventually end this plague there, and elsewhere around the world. Here begins an article written by Nguyen Hoang Vi, translated to English. In it, she recounts the day that she attended a trial of a fellow dissident, when she...

n spite of Vice President Joe Biden’s threat in this morning’s gun grab task force meeting that “executive actions” are on the way, the legitimacy and survivability of such a move is by no means assured, as the gun ban juggernaut, reanimated following Sandy Hook, has encountered some unforeseen bumps in the road that have the potential of halting it in its tracks with no place to go that isn’t blocked.

Mere Conservatism is a series highlighting the foundational writings that define American conservatism. I hope this series helps the American people to understand the beauty and philosophical essentials of conservatism. I use the term Mere Conservatism because conservatism defines a broad range of beliefs and is not a narrow ideology.

I received a letter from The Social Security administration; they had made some kind of mistake in calculating the benefits due to my daughter and I. They had corrected the mistake, and had deposited over $1,800 into my checking account.

The Obama administration issued new rules Tuesday that require insurance companies to cover people with preexisting conditions — one of the most popular provisions of President Obama’s healthcare law. The Health and Human Services Department also began to implement other popular, but expensive, parts of the Affordable Care Act. Regulations released Tuesday will prohibit insurers from charging women a higher premium than men, and will require plans in every state to cover certain services.

I would do a lot of things to raise money. Some, I’m sure, may even be a little demoralizing, but not as ridiculous as putting your virginity on the line. That’s what Catarina Migliorini did. The 20-year-old from Brazil auctioned off her virginity to the tune of 780 grand. A man from Japan is the “lucky” winner.