Free Republic

Given how much evil there is in the world; given how many signs of moral, intellectual and economic decline there are here in America; and given the increasing irrelevance of America to world events, it is fair to ask why the American Left is preoccupied with the name Washington "Redskins." The Washington Redskins have been in existence for 82 years. For about 80 of those years, virtually no one, including the vast majority of American Indians, was troubled by the name. Yet, it is now of such importance to the American left that the majority leader of the United States...

Veterans aren’t happy with a recent op-ed by the Washington Post, which charged that the Apache, Comanche, Chinook, Lakota, Cheyenne and Kiowa military vehicles were a “greater symbolic injustice” than the NFL’s Washington Redskins’ name. “Even if the NFL and Redskins brass come to their senses and rename the team, a greater symbolic injustice would continue to afflict Indians — an injustice perpetuated not by a football club but by our federal government,” Simon Waxman of the Boston Review wrote for the Post on Thursday. He added that the helicopter names were “propaganda” that needed to end, because Native American...

The white hypocrites who complain about the term "redskins" use the term "native American" which when used in the way they are using it isn't much better than the other n-word. The word "redskins" is a physically descriptive term that doesn't have inherently negative characteristics. The word is one of the English translations of the Ottawa term "Oklahoma". If we consider the characteristics of the people the term "redskins" was first applied to, it's a positive term. The word "native" has two different uses. In general use the term "native " followed by a geographic region is used to indicate...

Barack Obama thinks the Redskins should change their name. So do most of the Senate Democrats, a number of Native Americans and, apparently, the U.S. Patent Office. But that hasn't deterred team owner Daniel Snyder, who produced this quote in May of 2013 -- "We'll never change the name. It's that simple. NEVER -- you can use caps." And now Snyder is fighting back by trying to create some positive media of his own. Which, we suppose, is the reason he, as reported by NBC 12, has hired liberal political blogger Ben Tribbett.

Conservatives should be disabused of any notion that the recent revocation of the Redskins’ trademark by the US Patent Office had anything at all to do with the disparagement of Native Americans, real or perceived. On the contrary, the exercise in political correctness is not about aggrieved Native Americans. It’s about the power to redistribute wealth and to eliminate private property. Essentially, the Left has declared that no person’s or company’s trademark (or patent) is safe. Get together a group of lawyers who are experts in victimization and who have access to some aggrieved group, find a trademark name --...

Last week the controversy over the NFL Washington Redskins’ name, deemed offensive by the professionally aggrieved, reached a new peak when the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board canceled six federal trademark registrations owned by the team.Nevada Senator Harry Reid, who had previously blustered impotently that he wouldn’t accept an invitation to attend a Redskins home game until the team changed its name (a threat which no doubt sent waves of panic through the Redskins organization), gloated that the ruling proved “the handwriting is on the wall.” “It’s only a matter of time,” he tweeted, “until [Redskins owner] Daniel Snyder is...

Cardinals defensive lineman Darnell Dockett isn't afraid to speak his mind, and it usually takes place on Twitter. Often, it's funny, other times it's just weird (and ultimately not true). But on Saturday, Dockett probably would've been better off saying nothing at all.

The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s cancelation of federal trademark registration for the name Washington “Redskins,” after ruling it disparages Native Americans, puts pressure on team owner Daniel Snyder and the National Football League (NFL) to change the name but falls far short of settling the issue. The split, 2-1, decision by unelected trademark board members shows the increasingly heavy hand that politics is playing in the activities of the private sector, since the ruling followed recent public calls for a name change from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. The team counters that the long-standing “Redskins” name...

t's not like a player would ever forget winning the Super Bowl, but it's nice to have a giant diamond ring there to remind you. Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen revealed his team's ring. Unlike a lot of Super Bowl rings, it's kind of cool, or at least not overdone and as tacky as some of them are.

In a defiant statement issued Wednesday, the Washington Redskins said the team would appeal the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's decision to revoke the trademark to the team's name and logo on the grounds that they are offensive to Native Americans. The professional football team added that in the meantime, the ruling would have "no effect at all" on its trademark rights while the case is on appeal. The press release even put that in boldface and underlined it. "We are confident we will prevail once again, and that the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s divided ruling will be overturned...

Poll: Should the Washington Redskins change their nickname? Results # of votes % of votes Yes 1219 51% No 1191 49% Total Votes 2410

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder is not a particularly admirable man. He tends to treat the Redskins as if he’s playing fantasy football. They tend to lose more often than they win. He’s not exactly a fan favorite. But Snyder isn’t taking the U.S. Patent Office’s ruling against his team lying down. The team has released a statement saying the ruling “will have no effect at all on the team’s ownership of and right to use the Redskins’ name/logo”. They’re correct, but it does allow others to use the name as they wish…the just can’t trademark it either. Which, in...

Sticks And Stones: Whatever one's view about the name "Redskins," the public should worry about the government bowing to political pressure and stripping a trademark nearly 80 years after it was first used. Where will it end? [snip] Surely the Cleveland Indians' mascot has to go. Chief Wahoo is a goofy cartoon depiction of a Native American, whereas the Redskins logo shows a dignified and stoic warrior. And how about the "Fighting Irish"? Doesn't that feed into the disparaging image of drunken Irishmen? Or the "Buccaneers" and the "Raiders," which seem to be derogatory terms for pirates? How many "Vikings"...

It must be a Garden of Eden out there because the federal government has the time to go after the Redskins, known around Dallas as NFL enemy #1. According to a "trademark" decision, the US government is now in the business of determining whether or not a team mascot discriminates against a group. Who is next? Will the Obama administration soon decide that American Thinker discriminates against Americans who don't think? The decision is absurd and I hope that Mr Snyder, and fans all over, stand up against this nonsense. The decision also comes at a time when there are...

The nation of Sweden is demanding that the Obama administration act to deny copyright status to the Minnesota Vikings, claiming the name demeans its citizens and all other Scandinavians. “We can no longer tolerate the use of this disgusting epithet by an American football team,” said Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Milkquist in a letter to President Obama “First of all, ‘football’ means ‘soccer,’ Milkquist wrote. “I realize that this is an unrelated matter, but it really pisses people off in Europe. You only use your foot occasionally in football, whereas in soccer the foot is the only thing you can...

The Redskins got a flurry of bad news Wednesday when the U.S. Patent Office canceled the team's trademark registration, because the team name is “disparaging to Native Americans." Basically, it means that the team could lose its federally trademarked protections and could hasten the franchise to change the name, depending on how much pressure the rest of the league puts on Washington for a potential loss of revenue. While Miami University, now the RedHawks but formerly known as the Redskins, tried to offer some advice on Wednesday, the sports editor of the Seattle Times, Don Shelton, is taking a more...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has canceled the Redskins' trademarks. The petitioners, consisting of five Native Americans, sought to cancel the trademarks based on a section of the Trademark Act that "prohibits registration of marks that may disparage persons or bring them into contempt or disrepute."

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Patent Office ruled Wednesday that the Washington Redskins nickname is "disparaging of Native Americans" and that the team's federal trademarks for the name must be canceled. The 2-1 ruling comes after a campaign to change the name has gained momentum over the past year. The team doesn't immediately lose trademark protection and is allowed to retain it during an appeal.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Patent Office ruled Wednesday that the Washington Redskins nickname is "disparaging of Native Americans" and that the team's federal trademarks for the name must be canceled. The 2-1 ruling comes after a campaign to change the name gained momentum over the past year. The team doesn't immediately lose trademark protection and is allowed to retain it during an appeal, which is likely. Redskins owner Dan Snyder has refused to change the team's name, citing tradition, but there has been growing pressure including statements in recent months from President Barack Obama, lawmakers of both parties and...

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has canceled the Washington Redskins trademark registration, calling the football team’s name “disparaging to Native Americans.” The landmark case, which appeared before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, was filed on behalf of five Native Americans. It was the second time such a case was filed.