Free Republic

President Obama has been referred to as “Dad-In-Chief” on more than one occasion, and this Father’s Day will likely be no exception. Not only because he’s a devoted and vocal family man, but also because the president’s demeanor is very dad-like. Remember how, during his very first speech as president-elect, he announced that he’d finally given into his daughter’s pleading and acquired a family dog? And have you seen his choice of jeans? Or the way he pumps iron at the gym? There’s no doubt, Obama has most definitely earned his nickname. Even President Obama’s political style has been inspired...

On Good Friday, the Pelletier family delivered over 700 “Get Well” cards for Justina Pelletier, the sick teenager who state officials wrongfully took custody of away from her parents. The Pelletier family was not allowed to visit their daughter on Easter Sunday. The news comes after attorneys working with her family released a letter Justina reportedly wrote saying she is not being treated well. Today, pro-life attorney Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel told LifeNews that Justina’s health continues to deteriorate. justinapelletier3“On Good Friday, Justina Pelletier received cards adorned with encouraging scripture and powerful messages of hope from concerned Americans across...

The Connecticut teen who has been in state custody for more than a year after her parents were accused of medical child abuse after disputing a diagnosis has apparently penned a note, giving a look into how she says she’s being treated. “They hurt me all the time push me all the time and more,” the purported note from Justina Pelletier says. It also says “[they] do not let me sleep vary [sic] much. “Hury [sic]!” Keith Mason, president of Personhood USA, a group helping lead the Free Justina Coalition, told TheBlaze that Justina gave the note to her parents...

Alan Dershowitz told Huckabee tonight that if everything we know about the #FreeJustina case is true, then this is a horrible abuse of human rights and of civil liberties. He said that Massachusetts law is clearly on the side of the parents, pointing out that if there is a conflict in medical opinion over a child under Massachusetts law, the dispute is settled by the parents, not the hospitals or the state. He even offered to help the parents get custody back of their daughter. Watch:

For the past several months, the Pelletiers have met face-to-face with Justina once weekly in supervised visits of no more than one hour. Now, Massachusetts DCF is denying the Pelletiers visitation with Justina in another blatant act of vindictive punishment. This new act demonstrates DCF's unwillingness to reunite the family and exposes the agency's lack of interest in the welfare of Justina or the Pelletier family. Instead, DCF is concerned with getting back at a family that spoke out against their heavy-handed custody grab. By prohibiting Justina from seeing her family, DCF is treating her differently than all other minors...

At the center of the seemingly incomprehensible case of Justina Pelletier lies one very simple, and unanswered, question: What did her mom and dad do to lose custody of their daughter in the first place? Gallons of ink have been poured on this story since last November, when a Connecticut TV station first reported the story of a sick teenager ripped from her family over a medical dispute between two hospitals. But having read every report on the case, including Judge Joseph Johnston’s ruling Tuesday, I can’t find a single claim — substantiated or otherwise — of bad behavior by...

Massachusetts Judge Joseph Johnston delayed his promised Justina Pelletier ruling for the sixth time on Friday, stating that he will now issue the ruling on Tuesday March 25, 2014 in a facsimile message. The critically ill teenager’s family has been fighting a custody battle against the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) for more than a year. Meanwhile her older sister Jennifer is pleading with friends and campaigners to do all they can to support Justina. Devastated by the delays in getting medication for her sister, she tweeted Friday that armed guards sit in on visits while she is...

We’ve now reached the “Watergate” stage of the Justina Pelletier debacle: What does Gov. Deval Patrick know and when did he know it? Justina is the former Tufts Medical Center mitochondrial patient seized by Boston Children’s Hospital and the state Department of Children and Families, who turned her into a somatoform subject. After reports in these pages Friday that she was being denied the opportunity to attend Easter Mass with her devoutly Catholic family, Patrick rushed out a letter to state Rep. Marc Lombardo (R-Billerica) about accommodations DCF was making. “I see in your letter that you continue to misunderstand...

“Why can’t Justina just come home?” Of course that’s the question Lou and Linda Pelletier are asking about the daughter taken from them more than a year ago. As a parent, isn’t it the question you’d ask? That’s not the question the Patrick administration wants people asking in the Justina Pelletier case. They want you asking why Justina’s parents won’t just accept Health and Human Services Secretary John Polanowicz’s family reunification plan. The Patrick administration doesn’t want you asking parenting or medical questions. They’re handling Justina like a political issue. How do I know? Because I saw Justina’s “reunion” plan...

Today a significant motion is being filed in the Juvenile Court requesting that Justina Pelletier return to her home to be with her mom and dad, Linda and Lou Pelletier. The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) has indicated that it will not object to the Motion for Relief from Judgment filed today to return Justina home. The case is drawing national attention, as Boston Children’s Hospital filed a “medical child abuse” complaint against Justina’s parents last year, leading the state to take custody of her and hospitalize her for almost a year. justinapelletier19The motion comes a week after...

Video Shows Conn. Teen Begging Mass. Judge To Let Her Go Home BOSTON (CBS) – The family of a Connecticut teenager at the center of a custody dispute with the state of Massachusetts has posted a video showing the teen pleading for the judge to let her go home. The video shows Justina Pelletier asking Governor Patrick and Judge Joseph Johnston to let her move back with her family. “All I really want to be with is my family and my friends and that’s all I want is to be with my family and friends back home,” she says. “You...

Justina Pelletier is going home. A Massachusetts judge ordered the 16-year-old Connecticut girl, who was taken from her family by child welfare advocates more than a year ago, to be returned to her mother and father effective Wednesday. The ruling caps a long-running medical custody dispute that began when two highly-respected Boston hospitals clashed over the girl's diagnosis. The case sparked national outrage, and led Lou and Linda Pelletier, of West Hartford, Conn., to wage a bitter legal battle. “To hear the news is overwhelming," Lou Pelletier told FoxNews.com moments after learning of the ruling. "Now we can certainly begin...

juvenile court judge has ordered the Massachusetts Department of Children and Family to return Justina Pelletier to her parents, according to the Boston Globe. The Globe reports: “I find that the parties have shown by credible evidence that circumstances have changed since the adjudication on Dec. 20, 2013, that Justina is a child in need of care and protection pursuant to G.L. c. 199, 24-26.,” Judge Joseph Johnston wrote in the ruling. “Effective Wednesday, June 18, 2014, this care and protection petition is dismissed and custody of Justina is returned to her parents, Lou and Linda Pelletier.” Pelletier was placed...

Justina Pelletier is coming home. A Massachusetts judge ordered the 16-year-old Connecticut girl, who was taken from her family by child welfare advocates more than a year ago, to be returned to her mother and father effective Wednesday. The ruling caps a long-running medical custody dispute that began when two highly-respected Boston hospitals clashed over the girl's diagnosis. The case sparked national outrage, and led Lou and Linda Pelletier, of West Hartford, Conn., to wage a bitter legal battle.

A juvenile court has ordered the Massachusetts Department of Children and Family to return Justina Pelletier to her parents, the Boston Globe reports. “I find that the parties have shown by credible evidence that circumstances have changed since the adjudication on Dec. 20, 2013, that Justina is a child in need of care and protection pursuant to G.L. c. 199, 24-26.,” Judge Joseph Johnston wrote in the ruling, according to the Globe. “Effective Wednesday, June 18, 2014, this care and protection petition is dismissed and custody of Justina is returned to her parents, Lou and Linda Pelletier.”

A Father's Day appeal Dear President Obama, You are like a champion boxer who cannot be touched by your opponents. You have outsmarted and out-boxed them at every turn. I appeal to you to understand where your ‘victories’ have and are leading our nation. While you may think winning is all, you must also understand that even victory has its consequences. And, while you may actually believe you are doing the best for our nation, the exact opposite may be true. Yes, you are the champion. You have crushed your domestic political opponents, but at what cost? Why have our...

This isn’t going to be one of those sentimental Father’s Day articles, even though that is what I would prefer. This article will have a bit of an edge to it. Please excuse my bluntness, but fatherhood is serious business, and for me to sugarcoat or evade the truth about it would benefit nobody. Here goes: What does my peculiar title mean? Aren’t all fathers men? No, they are not. All fathers are male, but not all fathers are men. Maleness is a biological identity, a physical reality, a matter of hormones and organs. Manliness, on the other hand, is...

Reflections on the Father of his Country on this Father’s Day holiday… On June 14, 1775, the Continental Congress voted to establish a Continental Army, so they could formally and successfully confront their British overlords with unanimity, rather than as just a host of unconnected state and local militias. The following day, June 15, they had to pick a commander. There were several to choose from; John Hancock of Boston was certainly a contender, as were a few of the other military men of the day who went on to serve in the War of Independence… but once John Adams...

It’s Father’s Day today and I can’t think of a more important job than raising your kids right. Don’t believe me? Well then, I have two words for you: Bowe and Bergdhal. As much as some stretch-panted lesbian might try to marginalize the role of fathers with their mullet-headed, misguided, misandristic Weltanschauung, the stats clearly state that when pop is in the house, and he properly doles out TLC, the kids come out as a great asset to the planet instead of selfish jackasses. And that’s what our country needs: parents raising kids who love God and our country...

Still haven’t decided what to serve Pop for your Father’s Day cookout? Why not try your hand at a homemade version of Lady M’s new favorite burger: The Holy Cow!The “Holy Cow” includes an insouciant “wink” at the NSA’s “ICU”  programBrought to my attention by Gerard at American Digest and 'splained by Sploid, the “Holy Cow” was engineered by Red’s True Barbecue and is,“basically like sandwiching an entire cow” between the bun. Here’s what you’ll need. Carpaccio beef and olive (that’s the eyeball “winking” at you) 21-hour Texas-smoked brisket Juicy Lucy (melted cheese hidden inside a 100% steak burger) A...

St. Joseph, WD40, and a Craftsman Wrench George J. GallowayAmerican country music singer and songwriter, Toby Keith, wrote and recorded a favorite song of mine that I played continuously when I was camping last weekend. It’s called “Made in America.� Perhaps you’ve heard it, but on the off chance you haven’t, here are some of the lyrics:He’s got the red, white, and blue flyin’ high on the farmSemper Fi tattooed on his left armSpent a little more in the store for a tag in the back that says ‘USA’He won’t buy nothin’ that he can’t fix,With WD40 and a...

The FReeper Canteen Presents...Happy Fathers Day 2014!! WHAT MAKES A DAD? God took the strength of a mountain, The majesty of a tree, The warmth of a summer sun, The calm of a quiet sea, The generous soul of nature, The comforting arm of night, The wisdom of the ages, The power of the eagle's flight, The joy of a morning in spring, The faith of a mustard seed, The patience of eternity, And the depth of a family need. Then God combined these qualities, And then there was nothing more to add, He knew His masterpiece was complete,...

Editor Note: This is an excerpt from Tom Purcell's new book, "Comical Sense: A Lone Humorist Takes on a World Gone Nutty!"Get this: Dads are essential to kids. According to the National Fatherhood Initiative, kids who grow up without dads are more likely to grow up poor, drop out of school, end up in jail and encounter numerous other struggles in life than kids who grow up with dads do. This information comes as no shock to most men. We know that boys are prone to stupidity and that the creature best suited to taming them is the like-minded...

Today would be my father's 90th birthday. Dad was born on June 13, 1924. Friends kidded him all his life about being born on a Friday the 13th. He died when I was in college, and I especially miss him on Father's Day. If he were alive today, I would thank him for teaching me that family is my highest privilege and responsibility, and for loving us so unconditionally. My dad would have agreed with the 75 percent of fathers who say that being adad is their most important job. Sixty-one percent say they are more involved with their children...

When I was working on my book, “7 Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness,” I thought about the way that our culture has depicted men, specifically fathers, over the past half-century or so. It’s hard to believe today, but one of the iconic television shows of the 1950s was actually called “Father Knows Best.” And believe it or not, the title was not ironic! Jim Anderson, played by Robert Young, really did know best. He was kind, patient, generous and firm when he needed to be. As the saying goes, that was then and this is, well, not then....

"Before he and his brothers hit comic paydirt, Adolph “Harpo” Marx (left, with Groucho) spent his early 1900s childhood in a tenement on East 93rd Street. Though his family of 10 struggled, he credits his parents for not letting poverty make “any of us depressed or angry,” he wrote in 1961′s .... .....;

Chelsea Clinton, who grew up in a White House dogged by scandal but one that also protected her from the media's spotlight, credits her dad's "words and even more his actions" for teaching her right and wrong. In a touching Father’s Day message that is part of a worldwide campaign to put the focus on men who’ve nurtured their daughters, Chelsea Clinton said he helped guide her effort to make an impact on the world. “It is impossible for me to describe the extent to which my father has supported me, nurtured me and empowered me over the years,” she...

"the importance of honesty, integrity, transparency, and reliability are still requirements for the job. Dad, I thank you for modeling those traits."

I'm not out to put down any other team, just share a story. As a little girl growing up near Syracuse, I became a huge basketball and football fan. My Dad was a huge fan and if we weren't at the game, we had the radio on and the TV turned down. If there were more then just he and I watching a game, we each had our Walkmans on to listen to the local guys, especially during football season, because they didn't bother trying to explain the rules of the game to those that just tuned in to "the...

Hey Guys! You responded so well to yesterday’s posts about dad that I thought I’d add a few more photos! I’m so thankful for the many roles my dad plays, and so thankful Tripp will grow up with such a great role model in my dad. Click here for Photo 2!

President Obama’s gun gaffe was nearly lost in the pre-Christmas flood of TV and internet chatter. But Breitbart’s Joel Pollak was right to highlight Mr. Obama’s bizarre post-election statement. One of the reasons he ran for re-election, Mr. Obama told Barbara Walters, was so he could have “men with guns around” as his daughters entered their teen years. What a gaffe! We need to focus on that comment now, especially in light of his bromides about fathers in his Father’s Day message. Mr. Obama last week issued a typical Father’s Day Proclamation leading up to the weekend. In it, he...

Though deadbeat dads and high-school dropouts might pervade some communities, there are still far more models than mess-ups across our country, and some stand head and shoulders above the rest. Let me tell you about a few stellar examples. I understand that the fact that 1 in 4 U.S. students do not receive a regular high-school diploma is not good enough, with that number increasing to 1 in 2 students in New York City and other places and among Native Americans. And I understand that, as First Things First reported, in Richmond, Va., 60 percent of families are single-parent households,...

A Utah man has been arrested for allegedly walking into a church on Father's Day and shooting his father-in-law in the back of the head in front of horrified parishioners. Police say Charles Richard Jennings Jr., 35, stole a pickup truck at gunpoint after the incident at a Catholic church in Ogden but was captured hours later in the next county, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The injured man is in critical condition but is expected to survive. Police describe the shooting as a "domestic violence-related incident." Witnesses say Jennings entered the church hand-in-hand with his wife before walking over...

On this Father's Day, we celebrate a dying role. With all of the problems currently plaguing our culture -- crime, violence, promiscuity, poverty, divorce, drug abuse, and so on -- the one thing that we as a nation could do to remedy such things most quickly would be to return fathers to their families. You've almost certainly heard the sad statistics when it comes to fatherhood in America.

Wishing Americans a happy Father’s Day, the White House tweeted a picture of President Obama and one of his daughters playing with toy water pistols. The Tweet comes at a time when several schools around the country—fearful that such toys make kids more prone to violent behavior—have launched trade-in programs that encourage children to exchange their harmless toy guns for chances to win prizes, like books and bicycles. One such trade-in took place last weekend at Strobridge Elementary in California. Principal Chris Hill, who organized the event, explained that toy guns desensitize kids toward gun violence.

It’s Father’s Day — but do these New York men have reason to celebrate? The Post spent the past few weeks cruising shotgun in a mobile DNA-testing truck helping doubtful dads find proof of their progeny. Health Street, the testing company, has two 27-foot Winnebagos — “Who’s Your Daddy?” emblazoned on either side — that rumble through the city seven days a week offering a range of services, including drug and heritage testing.

Father’s Day is this Sunday. A time to celebrate fathers throughout America, it is also a time to bring renewed attention to the consequences of fatherless households.

Hey, Dad. If you’re going to send your kid to a public school or a state run university, then you’ve got to teach your child not to just sit there in class, like a nice boy, and take whatever propaganda the “progressives” shove down their pie hole. The Conservative/traditionalist is the rebel of our day. “The Man” and “The Machine” on campus to rage against is not stodgy traditionalism, but rank socialism and its moral and political vacuity. Meet the new boss — it’s not the same as the old boss. For Dads who want their kids to make a...

The FReeper Canteen Presents...Happy Father's Day!!

In rolled summer, and out came the lighter wardrobe for the hotter season. In the pockets of a linen blazer, I found an assortment of odds and ends abandoned and forgotten since the jacket was stored away for winter: a five-dollar bill, a movie stub, two dinner receipts, and a handwritten note from Dad. “Brett, you need to work less, find someone to love you and take care of you, and live a little. Love, Dad.” My father died on Sept. 29, and although I miss him, I haven’t been successful at following his advice any more than I did...

Have a picnic or cookout, Give Dad a nice present, Take Dad out for a meal, Go to a game or a movie...

Today, marriage is less likely to ground and guide American family life. The recent response from the left to the nation’s retreat from marriage is instructive. Just “live with it,” says sociologist Philip Cohen in The Atlantic. Ezra Klein assures us in the Washington Post that as marriage breaks down, “space will emerge for a more practical conversation about how to best support America’s increasingly nontraditional family units.” And Matthew Yglesias notes in Slate that the Left sees an “expansive welfare state” as the primary vehicle for supporting unmarried women and their children. It’s debatable whether the nation has the...

With Father's Day on Sunday, there is good news and bad news. First the negative: Single mothers head up almost 9 percent of American households. The good news? Fathers who care are making a huge difference in this country. How do I know? It is estimated that close to 40 percent of all those incarcerated in the USA did not have a father in their childhood home. So doing the math, a responsible father seems to be a strong force for promoting righteous conduct. It was never easy being a father. Did you know that American icon Davy Crockett abandoned...

Father’s Day is a day to celebrate the old man, have a picnic, go to a ball game, and generally give Dads the thanks and recognition they deserve for doing the toughest job outside being a Mom. It’s also a day to push the gun control agenda, if some party-pooper gun grabber groups have their way. [snip] The “No Father’s Day” campaign really wants to bum you out. The campaign has created four cards, each with a scene of someone who no longer can celebrate Father’s Day. In one, a father sits on his child’s empty bed ready to read...

In 1960, 5 percent of America's children entered the world without a mother and father married to each other. By 1980 it was 18 percent, and by 2000 it had risen to 33 percent. Today, the number is 41 percent. For blacks, out-of-wedlock births have gone from 25 percent in 1965 to 73 percent today. The ethnic group with the next-highest percent of births to unmarried mothers is that of Native Americans, at 66 percent. For whites, out-of-wedlock births stand at 29 percent. For Hispanics, out-of-wedlock births are at 53 percent...

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) — As Father’s Day approaches, children are reminded to appreciate their dads and the impact on their lives. Today dads around the city were honored a week in advance of Father’s Day. Celebrate Fatherhood 2013 was held this afternoon at the Collegiate School Aquatics Center. While these dads and their children enjoyed the moon bounce and competed in contests, an alarming amount of children in the area won’t have fathers around to celebrate the holiday. First Things First, an organization dedicated to keeping dads involved in kids’ lives, reports that 60 percent of all families in the...

"We know the statistics," said President Barack Obama, "that children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live in poverty and commit crime; nine times more likely to drop out of schools and 20 times more likely to end up in prison. They are more likely to have behavioral problems, or run away from home, or become teenage parents themselves." The Journal of Research on Adolescence found that even after controlling for varying levels of household income, kids in father-absent homes are more likely to end up in jail. And kids that never had a...

Funny ad from Oscar Mayer - with corporate headquarters in Madison - is part parody of those soft-focus jewelry ads for women that appear during Christmas and Mother's Day, and part real thing. Too bad they couldn't get Jane Seymour to appear in it.