Free Republic

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2006 – Veterans Affairs officials today announced the theft of personal information on up to 26.5 million veterans. However, VA Secretary R. James Nicholson stressed there's no indication the information is being used for purposes of fraud. "We at the VA have recently learned that an employee here, a data analyst, took home a considerable amount of electronic data from the VA, which he was not authorized to do," Nicholson said. "His home was burglarized, and this data was stolen." The compromised data includes names, Social Security numbers and birthdates of veterans separating from the military...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has licensed free anti-spyware software for all government employees and armed forces personnel for use on personal computer systems. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s Web site at www.ftc.gov, Spyware is software that monitors or controls the use of your computer. It could send pop-up ads, redirect browsers to certain Web sites, or even record your keystrokes. A pop-up ad could even try to trick someone into typing in bank account information, leading to identity theft. Users may also be able to get the software through their respective Automated Data...

SURVEY Should People Be Allowed To Have Pit Bulls At Pets? Yes No Results so far: Yes 57% No 43% Poll Link Here

McDermott: Taping Dispute Not Personal By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer Last update: April 01, 2006 – 4:28 AM WASHINGTON (AP) - Rep. Jim McDermott says his eight-year dispute with House Majority Leader John Boehner over an intercepted telephone call is not personal, but involves a crucial right of voters to know what their leaders are doing. "Unfortunately, it's portrayed in the paper as Boehner v. McDermott. It really is the government versus the people,'' McDermott, D-Wash., said Friday in an interview with The Associated Press. McDermott commented three days after a federal appeals court ruling against him in the...

"Do you think that veterans should salute - covered or uncovered - when the National Anthem, Honors, or Taps are played and when the American Flag passes? Currently, veterans place their hands over their hearts (still an option) as civilians do. 1024 Responses (871) Should salute 85% (153) Should not salute" 14%

Today, the Wisconsin State Assembly debates SB-403: "This bill creates a licensing system under which an individual is permitted to carry a concealed weapon under certain circumstances. The bill also makes certain changes in Wisconsin law to account for a federal law that requires the state to permit an individual who works as or who has retired from working as a federal, state, tribal, or local law enforcement officer in Wisconsin or in any other state to carry a concealed firearm under certain circumstances. In addition, the bill changes the law relating to background checks for handgun purchases to require...

MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif. (Nov. 18, 2005) -- After a worried college student found his mother was in harm's way during a roadside bomb in Baghdad, Iraq, he contemplates the situation he chose to ignore and focuses his thoughts on joining the Marine Corps. Pvt. Phillip M. Oesterblad, Platoon 2130, Company E, grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and never had any thoughts of joining the military while in high school. After attending college in Alaska and Arizona, he realized that he did not know enough about America's role in the situation in Iraq. "While I was in...

This is a personal perspective on the war against Al Qaeda and how it (soon will) affect(s) me. I am moved by what I experienced this morning... A Personal Perspective A Personal Perspective This weekend my son Matthew, a junior in high school had his first drill meet of the season. He has been a member of the high school RTOC drill team. He recently told me that one his best friends in high school, a senior, just joined the Marines ... (Excerpt) Read more at ,markbureau.us ...

I can't think of a better place with better people to start a discussion on recommendations for survival preparedness. A list of items that people here find necessary to survive during a disaster. As we've all seen this is our personal responsibility. I'm sure there are sites all over the internet with this information but Freepers are the best...so have at it.

Boys (and a girl) of Summer If a certain Senate Dem were as young as he acted, he might write something like this: How I Spent my Summer Vacation by: Charles 3. Schumer, Junior Seniter, 2nd term, New York I had a lot of fun this summer. I got to ride a lot of airplanes. I love New York in the summer time. But me and my friends, we had alot of fun at the Capital, too. We saw lots of pictures of our soldiers. They wasn't being very nice... My friend Dick said it reminded him of the Notsees....

Lawsuit in sledding tragedy Family of crash victim launches $255G action against City of Gatineau, claiming hill was unsafe THE FAMILY of a 12-year-old Gatineau boy who died in a sledding accident last winter has launched a lawsuit against the City of Gatineau in the hope that no one else will have to experience what they have lived through. "It hurts so much when the doctor is telling you that your son is dead following an activity like that, so I don't want no one else to live it," said Francois Lessard, whose son Simon died as a result of...

When I tell people the NEW Social Security will make the poor rich and in most cases millionaires, I get this blank stare followed by skeptical disbelief. The reason for this response is quite simple. A barrier has been ingrained in people’s psyche. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Another barrier is the belief that the combined intelligence of all Congressmen, Senators and Administrations for the last 70 years surely would have hit upon this bonanza if it were true. Well think again, my friends. Politicians are mostly lawyers and have little understanding of mathematics....

For many years, I have been a strong opponent of legalizing drugs. As you read this, remember that I am still against drug legalization, but I have more sympathy for the opposing argument. The reason I have been opposed to drug legalization is to protect children. I grew up in a home that was one step up from a crack house..at least we had heat and food. I know first hand what can happen when a child lives in those conditions. As a counter, I have always felt that use of tobacco and alcohol should be legal for those of...

The 20th Century’s energizing dynamic was totalitarian socialism. Leading that parade were proponents like Stalin and Communist Russia, Hitler and his National Socialist Party, China’s Chairman Mao and a host of lesser lights like Saddam Hussein in Iraq. All preached the equality of outcomes for their people despite their own personal power-hungry obsessions. All seduced the world with their “humanity” that no one should paid more for their work than any other. They all preached a socialism that elevated the group at the expense of the individual. Fortunately for America, their citizens continued their abiding devotion to individualism during the...

Employees of United Airlines recently got a frightening lesson in the “ownership society.” The lesson was: If you don’t own and control your retirement assets, they can be slashed or taken away at any time. A federal bankruptcy judge approved United’s request to dump its pension plan into the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp., a federal agency that takes over insolvent retirement plans. More than 120,000 United employees and former employees — including many who are already retired — will see major cuts in their retirement benefits. For decades, United has promised its workers generous payments in retirement. As other industries...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When Google Inc.'s 19 million daily users look up a long-lost classmate, send e-mail or bounce around the Web more quickly with its new Web Accelerator, records of that activity don't go away. In an era of increased government surveillance, privacy watchdogs worry that Google's vast archive of Internet activity could prove a tempting target for abuse. Like many other online businesses, Google (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research) tracks how its search engine and other services are used, and who uses them. Unlike many other businesses, Google holds onto that information for years. Some privacy experts who otherwise...

A majority of likely voters (52-40%) favor proposals to allow younger workers the choice to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in personal accounts, according to a new poll conducted by Zogby International for the Cato Institute. Younger voters support the chance to invest by an enormous majority (66-23% among voters under 30). The poll also found that Americans believe that opponents of President Bush's Social Security reform proposals have an obligation to put forward an alternative plan to solve the financial crisis that is about to engulf the current system. By an overwhelming 70-22% margin, voters said...

May 16, 2005 - While we at TheRant.us freely admit that the story you are about to read may not reflect the events in every marriage between a Muslim man and a non-Muslim woman, the events as conveyed by "Ann" - her name changed at her request citing safety issues - are true and her first-hand story. All views expressed in this article are "Ann's." The following is the story of “Ann,” told in her own words, about life married to a Muslim. Well, gosh there is so much to say. I guess you could say when I met “Ahmed”...

Urges Lawmaker to Allow All Americans to Build Retirement Nest Eggs With Personal Accounts As the U.S. Senate Finance Committee met today for a hearing about Social Security reform, the free-market grassroots group Americans for Prosperity named one of the committee's members, Sen. John F. Kerry, its inaugural "Investor of the Week" for his outstanding personal investment record and secure retirement future. The group also urged Sen. Kerry to back legislation creating personal accounts in Social Security, which would allow all Americans to build larger retirement nest eggs by investing some of their Social Security tax dollars in safe bond...

WASHINGTON -- MoveOn.org, the left-wing activist group leading the fight against Rep. Tom DeLay, has claimed there is a Republican clamor to replace him as House majority leader that does not actually exist. "Now," said an e-mail dispatched by MoveOn, "some Republicans in Congress are speaking out against DeLay." In fact, however, no Republican in Congress has criticized DeLay publicly, not even on an off-the-record basis. The e-mail also declares unequivocally that "DeLay illegally used corporate funds in support of his plan to redistrict Texas." Actually, DeLay has not been convicted, tried or even formally accused of breaking the law.