Free Republic

MORAGA — The much-anticipated speech Wednesday by militant-turned-college-professor Bill Ayers at Saint Mary's College attracted nearly 600 people, many of them very clearly in diametrically opposite political camps. That figure does not count the roughly 200 people who loudly protested Ayers' appearance outside the packed Soda Center auditorium in an unparalleled level of interest in an academic lecture at this rural, private Catholic college. Inside, Ayers' 90-minute presentation drew jeers, boos and an emotional outburst from a woman who swore at him and left. He also received plenty of laughs and claps and even a few standing ovations from the...

Hollywood Recruiting Station Enjoys Brisk BusinessBy Steven Donald SmithAmerican Forces Press Service HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Aug. 22, 2006 -- Hollywood Boulevard may be better known for its glitzy Walk of Fame and seedy nightlife than as a place to recruit servicemembers, but the Armed Forced Career Center here is signing up recruits aplenty. Sgt. 1st Class Bryan Williams, the Army station commander of the recruiting center in Hollywood, Calif., poses for a photo in his office. Photo by Steven Donald Smith  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “Wherever there’s a lot of foot traffic, it’s good for a recruiting station,”...

U.S. Army Capt. Demechel Robinson Supply Officer Enjoys Helping People By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Nikki Prodromos 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment TIKRIT, Iraq, July 25, 2006 -- U.S. Army Capt. Demechel Robinson likes helping people. From her job as the assistant S-4 of Operations, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division to her involvement in many charitable organizations, she spends most of her time giving something back. Robinson helps bring the 3rd Brigade Combat Team troops on the ground their medical supplies, water, food, ammunition, and other necessities by providing an accurate and continuous picture of the brigadeÂ’s...

CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq (Jan. 13, 2006) -- Being a hospital corpsman with Marines is different than most Navy jobs. They are inserted into combat zones right next to their “Devil Dog” brothers to ensure their health and safety. For one corpsman numerous challenges did not stop him from joining the fight and earning the title “Doc.” Petty Officer 3rd Class David L. Brown, a hospital corpsman with Headquarters and Service Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), was committed to himself when he decided to join the Navy after speaking to a recruiter. “I didn’t think they would let me join,”...

HADITHA, Iraq (Dec. 20, 2005) -- After ascending a narrow 45 degree-angled pathway, hundreds of feet above the ground, to the top of the Haditha Dam in Iraq, Cpl. Nicholas J. Essenmacher stops and points to a town on the curve of the horizon where he and his Marines will be moving to the following day. For Essenmacher, a load master with Transportation Support Company, Combat Logistics Battalion-2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), being anywhere else in the world just wouldn’t seem right. “As crazy as it may sound I like being here,” said the Harbor Beach, Mich., native. “If...

DELAWARE, Ohio (August 30) — The star of the cult hit Napoleon Dynamite said making the film gave him the chance to "celebrate the nerd within me." Jon Heder, who plays the film's curly haired, awkward namesake, appeared with Aaron Ruell, who plays Napoleon's older brother Kip, at Ohio Wesleyan University north of Columbus Sunday. They said they could relate to the movie, which follows Idaho outcasts trying to find their place in the world. "We created Kip and Napoleon from ourselves and from people we knew and experiences we had," said Heder, 27. "It was fun to celebrate the...