Free Republic

As Ashley Barrett-Carter left Ryan Memolo's Army recruiting station after their first meeting more than a year ago, the staff sergeant thought, "I'll never see her again." Sgt. Memolo had encountered overweight applicants before, including some who dropped the pounds and returned to enlist. But those people exceeded the weight requirement by 20 or 30 pounds. Ms. Barrett-Carter needed to lose 100.

We all saw Barack Obama stumbling to remember the name of the fallen soldier on the bracelet he wore during the first Presidential debate. It seems there may actually be a reason that Obama forgot the name. The family of Sergeant Ryan David Jopek has repeatedly asked Obama to stop wearing the bracelet because he is using it for political purposes. Crafting the death of their son into a campaign slogan. "I have a bracelet too." Family Told Obama NOT To Wear Soldier Son's Bracelet... Where is Media? Jopek began by saying that his ex-wife was taken aback, even upset,...

Deployment to the battlefield is the gravest and most important form of national service. But as the country learned during Vietnam, the most important battles are often fought on the home front. Troops who are preoccupied with whether the grass is getting cut or if the bills are being paid can’t give their focus to the task at hand. This puts their entire unit at risk and lives at stake. That doesn’t make it any less understandable. Deployed for up to 18 months at a time in strange, hostile lands, it is natural for a soldier’s thoughts to revert to...

On one fundamental maxim all professional propagandists would agree: It you repeat a lie often enough and loudly enough, sooner or later it becomes accepted truth. Considering the long ignoble record of relentless and vociferous attacks by the Communist-inspired left on our American history, it's a wonder that there can be any true American patriots left. Immediately following World War Two, and up until this present hour, we have been, and are still being, assaulted with vicious and totally unsubstantiated lies and distortions about the history of our great nation. These outrageous falsifications have been repeated so often by so...

It seems to me that liberals have stopped trying to disguise their policies as socialist; they are out there flaunting it openly. Comrade Biden, just this morning, was quoted as saying that rich people paying more taxes is the patriotic thing to do. First of all, patriotism is love and devotion to one’s country, not the willingness to give them all of your hard earned money, so they can waste it on pork barrel projects, and waste it on programs and other functions that help no one but themselves.

In defending their plan to raise taxes even higher, Joe Biden says that paying higher taxes is the "patriotic" thing to do. First off, as Jon Sanders points out on Townhall, patriotism is a voluntary act. Sure, paying income tax is voluntary, it's just that the government provides a little bit of an incentive to comply. That is, staying out of prison. [Excerpt--read the rest at www.notwrightforamerica.com]

September 18, 2008 For G-d's Sake, Give This Deceased American Hero His Medal! By Debbie Schlussel Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta is a role model for all Americans, whether they are immigrants like him or native born. He made the ultimate sacrifice, giving his life to save those of his fellow Marines. Sadly, nitpickers in our military are denying him and his grieving family the Medal of Honor. It's a travesty. This late patriot deserves the honor. He earned it in blood and gutted limbs. This is the kind of one-time illegal alien I wish we had more of in America....

Disgusting anti-American comments from ungrateful, unappreciative millionaires who have reaped the benefits of living in this country enrage me. Especially infuriating are remarks from now rolling-in-it street thugs who became rich by having extraordinary athletic ability – like, for instance, being able to bounce a ball and dunk it through a hoop. These gutter punks who openly, defiantly, blatantly, and without a shred of humility, disrespect the very country that afforded them the opportunity to be this repulsive are a complete disgrace. Dallas Mavericks forward Josh Howard, a man whose judgment has come into question before, has once again shown...

Josh Howard Of The Dallas Mavericks Curses The National Anthem And Invokes Barack Obama! "The Star Spangled Banner is going on right now. I don't even celebrate that (sh*t) . . . I'm black. Obama 08!” Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opo2rPF_Fg4

OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM DISSED ONCE AGAIN Remember Roseann Barr’s class act of grabbing her crotch during her rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner?” That was just one of the most public and most disgraceful displays of contempt for our flag and our country. There have been too many others. AOL features a collection of them here: http://sports.aol.com/photos/anthem-blunders?icid=200100397×1209838424x1200574480. The first picture depicts Dallas Maverick’s Josh Howard who said, ” ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is going on right now and I don’t even celebrate that s–t. I’m black, goddamnit.” The collection also includes Denver Nuggets guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Abdul-Rauf who refused to stand...

Of course we all know that it's absolutely wrong and mean-spirited to suggest that anyone on the left could conceivably be unpatriotic [though an exception might be made for unrepentant terrorist friends of Barack Obama who accept from Vietnamese communists rings made from downed US planes.] So while we won't be using the u-word here, two recent MSNBC shows offer a remarkable contrast. Compare and contrast Chris Matthews' giddy reaction to news of difficulties in the markets with Mika Brzezinski's gloom in begrudgingly discussing the Iraq surge's success. View the video here.

A Federal judge said that it was OK for a Poway, California school teacher to sue his school district for forcing him to remove a banner that featured well known, patriotic American references to God in an early September ruling. Math teacher Brad Johnson who teachers at Westview High in San Diego County, California, had the banner on his classroom wall for the last 20 years but only last year was told by school administrators that the banner was supposedly an affront to the principles of separation of Church and State. After two decades without complaint, Johnson was told his...

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." ------------------------------------------------------- This is an article which, up until a few days ago, I would have thought it impossible to write. But, even at my age, life is - or should be -- a continuing learning experience. That is what these last few days have been for me. This election cycle has been one of the most contentious in my long memory. Never have the two sides, the Republicans and...

A pretty scathing charge from Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., this morning as he spoke to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and assailed Sen. John McCain's, R-Ariz., position on free trade. "Just ask the machinists in Pennsylvania who build Harley-Davidsons," Obama said of McCain's record. "Because John McCain didn’t just oppose the requirement that the government buy American-made motorcycles, he called Buy American provisions 'disgraceful.' Just ask the workers across this country who have seen their jobs outsourced. The very companies that shipped their jobs overseas have been rewarded with billions of dollars in tax breaks that John...

A pretty scathing charge from Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., this morning as he spoke to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and assailed Sen. John McCain's, R-Ariz., position on free trade. "Just ask the machinists in Pennsylvania who build Harley-Davidsons," Obama said of McCain's record. "Because John McCain didn’t just oppose the requirement that the government buy American-made motorcycles, he called Buy American provisions 'disgraceful.' Just ask the workers across this country who have seen their jobs outsourced. The very companies that shipped their jobs overseas have been rewarded with billions of dollars in tax breaks that John...

Today, I received an e-mail from my parents. I believe on a day like today we all need the lift and joy of a tribute like this to our great nation. The e-mail read: In a time of disaster, hurricanes, political conventions, and elections, what a time to be reminded of the real reason why our country exists. Listen to these high school kids singing. At the conclusion, listen to the high notes on the trumpet, played by a high school kid! One of the fathers recorded it, added some graphic enhancements to the recording, and posted it on the...

One of the great things about the Youtube generation is that you can catch these politicians in all of their spins and lies, of which the Democrats are piling up an unprecedented number. I guess in the old days they could get away with it when we only had the big 3 Media outlets who were in the tank for the Dems. Nowadays, with Youtube and conservative/libertarians all over the internet it is almost impossible to hide the lies. I'm not some naive conservative/libertarian who thinks that Republican candidates don't lie. Of course they do. It's the nature of the...

MIDI - LONELY PEOPLE

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe predicted voters' uncertainty over whether Barack Obama really loves his country will help Republicans win the White House again in November. A spokeswoman for the Democratic nominee said Obama will not let anyone question his love of his country, adding that Americans have grown tired of cynical partisan politics such as challenging an opponent's patriotism. Inhofe made his comments at a breakfast for the state party's delegation earlier this week at the Republican National Convention. "I have no doubt in my mind that we are going to win this election, the presidency and vice presidency," the...

I received this email from an individual today who was responding to another somewhat over-the-top email regarding Obama's Muslim roots. I want to respond to this dork and wanted some Freeper suggestions. Here's the gist of his email: Senator Obama is an individual who has a born-again experience with Jesus Christ. His personal relationship with God is between he and his Saviour. Please do not judge Senator Obama or question his commitment to the United States. He has attended the United Church of Christ for over 18 years. Senator Obama spoke at length about his Christian beliefs in a 2004...

Democrats are not caring for their Stars and Stripes. At least that’s the message out of John McCain’s campaign. McCain supporters, claiming they rescued 12,000 miniature American flags from the site of Barack Obama’s nomination acceptance speech last Thursday, redistributed the orphan flags to audience members ahead of a McCain rally in Colorado Springs on Saturday. The move was an overt swipe at Obama from a campaign whose motto has been “country first.” But Democratic convention organizers claimed the flags were not going to be discarded — but instead were snatched from the site of Obama’s historic address to carry...

At a campaign event at 11:00AM PST Boy Scouts will recycle 12,000 American Flags that were thrown in the trash after the democratic convention.

This will not sit well with many. Here’s a rundown of my night at convention: 2:55 p.m. — After a long walk, I reach the huge white tents where we have to go through the scanning and search routine. There are dumpsters filling up with stuff people can’t take into the stadium. I notice umbrellas and even American flags thrown in the trash cans. (Ironically, everyone inside was handed an American flag.) This story is now breaking.

This morning, Republicans tell me that a worker at Invesco Field in Denver saved thousands of unused flags from the Democratic National Convention that were headed for the garbage. Guerrilla campaigning. They will use these flags at their own event today in Colorado Springs with John McCain and Sarah Palin. Before McCain speaks today, veterans will haul these garbage bags filled with flags out onto the stage — with dramatic effect, no doubt — and tell the story. “What you see in the picture I sent you is less than half of total flags,” a Republican official emailed. “We estimate...

Don't be put off that this is a home video. It's hard to believe this much patriotism still exists in the youth despite all the liberal indoctrination in our schools. These kids went through a lot of effort to honor SEAL team 10.

Obama Convention throw US Flags in the Trash -------------------------------------------------------- A note from Radarsite: Almost immediately after this article posted, Radarsite was beiseiged with hits from one particular website: The Hillary Clinton Forum. Obviously, this article hit a sensitive nerve with the Dems. Our article was picked up and subsequently generated a long - two pages long, so far -- comments thread. And, to their credit, many of the commenters have indeed expressed appropriate outrage. But, as might be expected with any controversial topic such as this, some readers just dismissed it as minor and unimportant. And, just as predictably,...

There's no cheering in the press box, Jerome Holtzman, the recently deceased dean of Chicago sportswriters, famously, and wisely, decreed in his classic oral history. He needn't have bothered, though. Reporters are hard-wired to sit, arms crossed and poker-faced, while the rest of the room cheers a politician or a pitcher. If we rise with the crowd's standing ovation, it's only to crane around the necks of the people in front for fear of missing something. On those all-too-frequent occasions when we meet to bestow upon each other the parchments and gee-gaws that guarantee no American journalist will ever go...

I just found out late last night that my local public high school is not saying the Pledge of Allegiance at any point during the school day. Is this the norm?? This information came to me via a foreign exchange student we are hosting who is in her senior year of high school at our local public institution. We were talking about her first week of school which commenced 8/27 and she said they have not done the pledge even once yet! She knew what it was, she knows the words - she learned them before coming here. But her...

I think this is the biggest moment in Icelandic sport history." - Iceland President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. It's hard to explain just how monumental was Iceland's win over Spain was in today's men's handball semifinals. Spain--with more than 40 million residents--had probably played stronger than any team in the tournament. Iceland has 300,000 residents, and has never won Summer Olympic gold. And yet Iceland never trailed in a 36-30 win, and breezed into Sunday's final against France. But that's too dry. When we asked Iceland's Sigfus Sigurdsson to explain what the scene would be like back home right now, he...

Just saw Kerri Walsh pause the interview after winning the gold to thank W for his inspiration, Class.

Sour-faced Bob Costas and Cris Collinsworth should take a lesson from the enthusiastic, America-loving Bela Karolyi. ---------------------------------------------------- Being the typical American family — 2.1 kids, house in the burbs, yappy dog — the Olympic Games have been running in the background pretty much non-stop at our house. In the evening, after work, I settle down with everyone else and watch what Bob Costas and company have for me that night. Maybe it’s just the fact that after three days both fish and avuncular TV anchors stink, but the NBC talking heads have gotten on my last olfactory nerve.....

Days before Denver's Democratic Convention, Barrack Obama is standing tall and striking back. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Tuesday urged his Republican opponent, Senator John McCain, to stop questioning his character and patriotism. Obama spoke to the same veterans group in Florida that McCain addressed the day before when he accused Obama of putting his political ambitions ahead of U.S. national interests. VOA National correspondent Jim Malone has the latest on the presidential campaign from Washington. Senator Obama told the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Orlando, Florida, that Afghanistan remains the central front in the war on terrorism, and...

Obama was once again out there defending his patriotism, this time to the VFW in Orlando. In a sign of desperation, Barry flat out accuses McCain of raising the issue. If anything, McCain is one of the few who is not talking about Obama's patriotism. People can question Obama's patriotism all day long, but they are most definitely not reading from McCain's talking points. Here is Obama whining to a group of military veterans about attacks on his patriotism. I wonder how many in the room wanted to listen to this guy slam a true blue American patriot. [snip] So...

So affecting is his sincerity that we got three separate requests for this last night within minutes of it airing, one of them from MKH. As for Collinsworth’s question, I don’t know how to take it, frankly. From the transcript it reads like he’s making a neutral point about how American culture views patriotism, but watch his expression as he asks it. Clearly he’s not trying to get him to say, “Yeah, you’re right, it’s stupid to be proud of your country� in the middle of their Olympics coverage, but … weirdness. Good work by NBC, though, in dousing a...

Perhaps it was the unassuming nature of the book that caught my eye. Quietly, yet proudly, the non-descript book sat on the table, facing certain destruction as someone suggested “putting tape on it to hold it together.” It was almost as if I heard a “sigh of relief” at my rescue of it from a stack of books sold for a pittance at a farm auction – an inaudible bond between book and book lover. As I peered inside, its fragile pages were discolored by years of neglect and apathy. The words screamed out with pride and patriotism, true accounts...

Actor Ernest Borgnine: America 'an Amazing Country' By Justin McCarthy (Bio | Archive) August 12, 2008 - 15:37 ET    Veteran actor Ernest Borgnine, still acting at age 91, does not represent the mainstream ideology of the Hollywood elite, or even a potential first lady named Michelle. Borgnine, unlike most of his fellow Hollywood elitists, believes America is "an amazing country" and that one has to "prove" one is "a good American by being an American."Appearing on the August 12 edition of "Good Morning America," Borgnine promoted his new autobiography. When given the opportunity, Borgnine, the son of Italian...

When Barack Obama gave a speech on patriotism, he equated patriotism with the abstract concepts of "sacrifice" and "service to a larger cause." Senator Obama does not understand what patriotism is -- or how it works. A couple of political flubs forced Obama into his patriotic speech mode. It started last fall with the flag pin flap. Obama sometimes did -- and more often did not -- wear an American flag pin. Obama explained his refusal to wear the lapel pin thus: "After a while, you start noticing people wearing a lapel pin, but not acting very patriotic. Not voting to...

Most conservative political commentators tiptoe around the unpatriotic positions maintained by many liberals in America. We hear prominent conservatives say things like this, "I am not challenging Mr. Liberal's patriotism. I am challenging his point of view." The fact is that much of the new left is unpatriotic. And that is okay. The Founding Fathers knew that not all Americans would be patriots; in fact, they counted on it. In this article I will show why the culture of the left is not patriotic. My basic contention is that patriotism is now the responsibility of the right -- abandoned by...

Polish youth popularize new patriotism 31.07.2008 Open air battle re-enactments, rock concerts, mural and comic book contests, bicycle rallies, vigils journeys and city games are only some of the ways the new generation of Poles remember the country's history. Joanna Najfeld reports Commemoration of important events is no longer limited to solemn celebrations attended mostly by veterans. Increasingly often young people take initiative, get actively involved and find their own ways of paying tribute to the heroes of the past. Such is the case with the celebrations of the 64th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising. [WARSAW RISING...

In the days after the attack, Krimstein said he felt an overwhelming desire to hang an American flag in his home, something he says he probably would not have done before the attacks. So he ran down to a “25-cent store,” bought a small flag on a wooden stick and taped it outside the window of his apartment. “I think I wanted to hang the flag so much because I just kept hearing in my head over and over again that we had been attacked, that what we stand for — our freedom, our ideals — was under siege,” he...

Rush Limbaugh is a patriot. Pure and simple, a patriot.I see him in the select company of other patriots like Paul Revere, Thomas Paine and Ben Franklin. Thankfully, he hasn't been asked to make a dying proclamation like Nathan Hale – "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country" – but I suspect he would, if it came to that.Oh, I know he's the big dog in radio, all radio, and not just conservative. And I know he's paid big bucks because of the millions that listen to him every week. And I'm aware...

There are, indeed, many reasons why people of Russian ancestry ought to keep their heads high. But just perhaps, the nation which my country - Sweden -nowaday manages to outdo in hockey rinks, although not in football/soccer fields (it was the other way around some decades ago) needs to rethink its self image. Russia of today is a giant, but sadly backward nation, presently going through a phase reminiscent of what took place in Italy during the 1920s and 1930s; she firmly believes in proudly waving a national banner and claiming territory, but her understanding of the very concept of...

For years misguided intellectuals and social scientists have advised us to abandon the values, principles and work ethic that have made our country great and instead to embrace pacifism, fuzzy science, genocide of the unborn, acceptance of immoral behavior and generational guilt. It is sad that during one of our nation’s greatest celebrations, that we have to be reprimanded for our historical actions and urged as a nation to adopt an apologist marketing strategy to “Reintroduce America”, and sadly supported by the July 2, 2008 Bonanza columnist who has determined that people in other countries “fear” or “disrespect” Americans. My...

I don’t care whether you are a Republican, Democrat or Independent; all I know is that you are an American in heart and mind, even though, you may be like me, born of mixed heritage from immigrant families who escaped foreign shores to build lives here in this new land. You are still a product of this great melting pot of Americanism. Yes, my skin is olive and I am now an old geezer left over from WWII, where I served in the South Pacific, but sometimes age combined with many life experiences wakes us up, having given us some...

First there was the flag pin. Barack Obama refused to wear it. Then he refused to put hand to heart during the national anthem. He sat in a pew while his pastor trashed America. He explained to his rich pals in San Francisco that the hard working folks in Middle America "cling to guns or religion” because they are “bitter” over the tough economic times. Now Obama tells us that we shouldn’t worry about immigrants learning English; our focus should be on getting our children to learn Spanish. He added, "It’s embarrassing when Europeans come over here, they all speak...

We've all heard humorless America-haters promote themselves by announcing, As Thomas Jefferson said, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." The first problem with that self-righteous bull is that Jefferson never said it. On the contrary, he warned of the dangers of political dissension carried to extremes. The earliest traceable provenance of the slogan goes back to an obscure 1960s lefty who just made it up (long before activist-historian Howard Zinn commandeered it). My fellow Americans, let me ask you: Were Abby Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and Sen. Barack Obama's Weatherman Underground pals (who bombed their own country) really more patriotic...

Once upon a time, patriotism was a fairly simple thing. It was tribal identification writ large, an emotional attachment to a people and their land. In most of the world, where patriotism exists at all it's still like this -- tribal patriotism, blood-and-soil emotionalism. A different kind of patriotism emerged from the American and French revolutions. While American patriotism sometimes taps into tribal emotion, it is not fundamentally of that kind. Far more American is the sentiment Benjamin Franklin expressed: "Where liberty dwells, there is my country" Thus, most Americans love their country in a more conditional way -- not...

To ascribe a special grace to America is outrageous, as outrageous as the idea of special grace itself. Why shouldn't everyone be saved? Why aren't all individuals, nations, peoples and cultures equally deserving? History seems awfully unfair: half or more of the world's 7,000 or so languages will be lost by 2100, linguists warn, and at present fertility rates Italian, German, Ukrainian, Hungarian and a dozen other major languages will die a century or so later. The agony of dying nations rises in reproach to America's unheeding prosperity. An old joke divides the world into two kinds of people: those...

ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today released its newest television ad entitled "Love." The ad highlights John McCain's record of putting his country first and taking on the tough challenges confronting our country even when it was not popular or in his self-interest. The ad will air on national cable and in key states.

Last week in Denver, almost all the values of the post-1960s Left were exhibited in one act. It happened on the Denver mayor's most important day -- the one in which he was to deliver his annual State of the City Address. The day was to begin with the singing of the National Anthem by the black jazz singer Rene Marie. But Ms. Marie had, by her own admission, long had other plans. Instead of the National Anthem, she sang "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," a song written in 1899 and often referred to today as the Black National Anthem....