Free Republic

It’s not a stretch to suggest that Americans are over medicated. In 2011 doctors across the nation wrote an astounding four billion medical prescriptions, amounting to an average of 13 prescriptions for every man, woman and child in the United States. In the next few weeks the American Psychiatric Associations is releasing their updated fifth version their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5); the so-called ‘bible’ of psychiatric diagnoses. The new manual promises to take mental illness and the use of prescription drugs to a whole new level. You may not be considered “crazy” or “mentally ill” today,...

FBI agents aren’t allowed to treat individuals associated with terrorist groups as potential threats to the nation, according to a startling, newly discovered FBI directive. The fact that a terrorism suspect is associated with a terrorist group means nothing, according to the FBI document, “Guiding Principles: Touchstone Document on Training.” The “touchstone” document, dated March of this year, is available online but hasn’t been reported on by major media outlets. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents are to be instructed that “mere association with organizations that demonstrate both legitimate (advocacy) and illicit (violent extremism) objectives should not automatically result in a...

PC Amok: Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, responding to pressure to change his team's name, tweeted: "In a land of freedom we are held hostage by the tyranny of political correctness." Washington Redtails, anyone? The problems of poverty, unemployment, crime and failing schools having been solved, the Washington, D.C., council is considering a nonbinding resolution by David Grosso, an "independent" at-large councilman, demanding that Redskins owner Dan Snyder change the team's name to the "Redtails." This presumably would honor the Tuskegee Airmen, the black fighter pilots who wrote tales of heroism across the skies above World War II battlefields. As...

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III on Tuesday complained about the “tyranny of political correctness” currently holding Americans “hostage.” His comments, posted on his official Twitter account, come as some people are demanding the Redskins change their team name because of its “racist” meaning. “In a land of freedom we are held hostage by the tyranny of political correctness,” Griffin tweeted. The comment may seem innocent, but it was enough to send the left into a frenzy, as noted on Twitchy. Several of the criticisms hurled at Griffin seemingly accuse the QB of not knowing the definition of “tyranny.” Because...

With all of the horror that was inflicted on the city of Boston and the wider United States last week, some on the Left were actively savoring the chance to blame the bombings on a white Christian "Tea Partier." As it turned out, the brothers Tsarnaev were motivated by jihad and not by Sarah Palin. Still, what is a crisis to the Left without some moral equivalency? Of course, you have all sorts of questions still swirling around the bombings, but it could be used for any sort of political gain!

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s failure to recognize political Islam as a driver of jihadist terrorism is partly to blame for the FBI not identifying one of the Boston Marathon bombers in 2011 as a security risk, according to U.S. officials and private counterterrorism analysts. The FBI revealed last week that it was warned by a foreign government in 2011 that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed Friday, was tied to “radical Islam” but the FBI was unable to confirm the links. “The fact is religion has been expunged from counterterrorism training,” said Sebastian Gorka, a counterterrorism specialist with the Foundation...

A florist in Washington is being sued for a second time after choosing not to provide flower arrangements for a gay customer's upcoming wedding. Barronelle Stutzman of Arlene's Flowers in Richland now faces two lawsuits, one from the Washington state Attorney General and another from the American Civil Liberties Union, for turning away business for a same-sex couple’s wedding. When frequent customer Curt Freed approached Barronelle Stutzman of Arlene's Flowers last month to provide arrangements for his September wedding ceremony to Rob Ingersoll, the florist said she could not provide services due to her religious beliefs. On the company's Facebook...

Has society really become quite thin-skinned, or is acting “offended” a new tactic that is being used to shut down legitimate political debate? Progressives are increasingly claiming to be offended whenever those on the right disagree with their left-wing positions. It doesn't matter what the issue is; the left will divert a legitimate political debate into an accusation that the right disagrees with them because they are full of hate towards them. This puts the right on the defensive, and removes the real debate from discussion. It then becomes difficult for the right to ever prevail with their position, because...

Motive still a giant incomprehensible mystery. But there are suspicions that he was one of those Tea Party NRA type of people. Certainly his peaceful tolerant religion notorious for its love of kites, puppies, infidels and women had nothing to do with it. NPR has done some background on Tamerlan Tsarnaev who, it turns out, was surprisingly Muslim. (Not that NPR can say so.) His Islamic attitudes extended to his treatment of American women. LAURA SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Well, these women were close friends and roommates of Tamerlan’s girlfriend, Katherine Russell, and they knew him for several years while they...

The entire storyline of the two men responsible for the horrible terrorist attack during the Boston Marathon has me completely stunned. These two radicals, picked a very public event and a location they knew would be filled with people, including children, and decided they wanted to kill Americans. Yet, in all the coverage, the phrase all media avoided like the plague, was the one that was the most obvious and readily known: they were Islamic extremists. First here's a little bit of history just to refresh the minds of the media and those others out there who think these very...

Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri, according to the 9-11 commission report, was the mastermind of the Oct. 12, 2000, attack on the U.S.S. Cole that killed 17 U.S. sailors. Nashiri was also the target of an "unauthorized" CIA interrogation technique (that had not been legally vetted by the Justice Department) that is described in a May 7, 2004, CIA inspector general's report that was partially declassified by the Obama administration this week. CIA officers blew smoke in Nashiri's face, according to the report, and they used cigars. The IG's office described this smoke-blowing as one of several "unauthorized or undocumented techniques"...

A group of New York veterans is preparing to march into court after a town ordered the Gadsden flag removed from a military armory. The city of New Rochelle, N.Y., has removed the Gadsden “Don’t Tread on Me” flag from the New Rochelle Armory after the city council refused to let a veterans organization display the flag, World Net Daily reported. The United Veterans Memorial and Patriotic Association of New Rochelle is fighting the decision, ordered by City Manager Chuck Strome after complaints that the flag is a symbol of the Tea Party movement, according to World Net Daily. Read...

One of the core functions of government is to defend the nation from all enemies, foreign and domestic — that’s part of the oath of enlistment that all service personnel take. But only a flinty, clear-eyed — and politically incorrect — assessment of all threats can enable the military can do its job. Today, however, the brass at the Pentagon seems hell-bent on turning the world’s most powerful military into an arm of the PC Police, a fresh field for “politically correct” bureaucrats on which to push their morally blind relativism. Take the recent Defense Department briefing document that classified...

Words are important. Words are powerful. If a group of people can twist words to mean what they want them to mean or can intimidate another group of people into silence the second group is shackled.

It turns out, Speaker of the House John Boehner and Barack Obama have much more in common than nicotine addiction and a high melanin quotient (more on Boehner’s suntan in just a minute). Boehner recently shocked and angered millions of us, who are already routinely nauseated by Obama’s endless lies and usurpation, when he answered an interviewer’s question by saying emphatically that he “trusts Obama absolutely.” The interviewer pressed him about that word, asking, “Absolutely?” Without missing a beat, Boehner replied “Absolutely.” Boehner went on to say that he and Obama have a “very good relationship” which is “one of...

War On Terrorism: We have a medal for those who remotely operate drones, but the Pentagon claims awarding the victims of the 2009 shooting with Purple Hearts would jeopardize the shooter's chance at a fair trial. We recently noted that the Obama administration's shameful designation of the Nov. 5, 2009, rampage at the Army base in Killeen, Texas, by Major Nidal Hasan as "workplace violence" had denied survivors benefits they would have been entitled to had the attack been properly labeled an act of terror. For example, Staff Sgt. Shawn Manning was shot six times but was denied benefits that...

Air Force Chaplain Awarded Bronze Star for PowerPoint Teaching Proper Sensitivity for the Koran An Air Force chaplain has been awarded a Bronze Star for his service in crafting an especially good PowerPoint about how to treat Islamic religious materials with sensitivity, according to Ohio’s Dayton Daily News. After U.S. troops in Afghanistan accidentally burned copies of the Koran, sparking riots that took over 30 lives, Lieutenant Colonel Jon Trainer came to the rescue: After the accidental burning last year of Qurans by U.S. troops in Afghanistan sparked deadly rioting, an Air National Guard chaplain from Springfield stepped in and...

He's one of the few big-time celebrities who is also a big-time Republican. But Clint Eastwood has veered from the viewpoint of many Conservatives in one regard: the actor signed the American Foundation for Equal Rights’s “Friend of the Court” brief this week. In doing so, the actor became one of over 100 prominent Republicans to support this gay rights organization's document, which it has filed with the Supreme Court. n April, the highest court in the land will listen to arguments about the legality of California’s Proposition 8, an amendment that passed in 2008 and which declares “only marriage...

"Walesa said in a television interview on Friday that he believes gays have no right to sit on the front benches in Parliament and, if represented at all, should sit in the back, "and even behind a wall." "They have to know that they are a minority and must adjust to smaller things. And not rise to the greatest heights, the greatest hours, the greatest provocations, spoiling things for the others and taking (what they want) from the majority," he told the private broadcaster TVN during a discussion of gay rights. "I don't agree to this and I will never...

Atheist professor and philosopher, Alex Rosenberg, says if you believe in Intelligent Design you are a chauvinist. (Posted by: Religio-Political Talk. This is one of the most incredible statements I have heard in my life. While it is trivial to many, it shows the depth of how progressive ideology in education has corrupted even the sciences with its radical multiculturalism and politically-correct thinking. Here again is Professor David Clemens explains how this thinking has crept into all corners of education, here he talks about some of the cases that the above video adds to: http://tinyurl.com/caej2oz The entire debate between Professor...

<p>It sure didn’t take long for Democrats to strike back at Thursday’s National Prayer Breakfast remarks made by Dr. Benjamin Carson that took a conservative tack and criticized the national debt and current fiscal tax-and-spend policy.</p> <p>On a CNN on Sunday, Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky accused Dr. Carson of hypocrisy, saying he actually used political correctness — which he had denounced in his speech — for his personal gain.</p>

Thandiwe testified he purchased a gun “to enforce beliefs he’d developed about white people during his years as an anthropology major at the University of West Georgia.” “I was trying to prove a point that Europeans had colonized the world, as a result, we see a lot of evil today,” he said. “In terms of slavery, it was something that needed to be answered for. I was trying to spread the message of making white people mend.” The night before at a “Peace Party,” he was enraged that two white people were there. “I was upset,” he said. “I was...

Joe Scarborough was a voice in the politically-correct wilderness this morning on the subject of women in combat. On today's Morning Joe, as other panelists voiced unerring if occasionally cautious support for the Pentagon's decision to permit women in combat, Scarborough sounded a stern warning note. "I'll be damned; if we find out that the Pentagon is lowering standards for politically-correct reasons, then you know what? Then the blood of dead Americans in future battles will be on their hands." View the video here.

Lego has been accused of racism by the Turkish community over a Star Wars model that supposedly resembles one of Istanbul’s most revered mosques. tria’s Turkish community said the model was based on Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul and that the accompanying figures depicted Asians and Orientals as people with “deceitful and criminal personalities.” The Turkish Cultural Community of Austria released a statement calling for Lego to apologise for affronting religious and cultural feelings. The anger was provoked by “Jabba’s Palace”, a model of the home of Jabba the Hutt from Lego’s Star Wars product range based on the blockbusting...

After four years of pretending there is no jihad against the free world, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blurted out the truth during her testimony on the Benghazi jihad massacre Wednesday: “We now face a spreading jihadist threat,” she said, adding: “We have to recognize this is a global movement.” We do? Yet the Obama administration has for years steadfastly and repeatedly denied both that there was a jihadist threat at all and that it was a global movement. So far has the Obama administration been from acknowledging that there was a jihad threat that less than two months into...

The Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show was expected to bring $44 million in direct spending to the region, according to the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau. Now that the show has been postponed -- with no reschedule date set, and none imminent -- many hotels and restaurants could be in for a difficult winter. "This is a hard time of the year to fill hotels," said Rick Dunlap, a spokesman for the bureau. "A lot of these hoteliers relied on this show to make their budget for the early part of the year." The $44 million in direct spending the...

Many years ago, as a young man, I read a very interesting book about the rise of the Communists to power in China. In the last chapter, the author tried to explain why and how this had happened. Among the factors he cited were the country's educators. That struck me as odd, and not very plausible, at the time. But the passing years have made that seem less and less odd, and more and more plausible. Today, I see our own educators playing a similar role in creating a mindset that undermines American society. Schools were once thought of as...

The term Islamism was coined to differentiate Islam as modern ideology from Islam as a faith. It became necessary to make this distinction after the Iranian revolution of 1979, which gave rise to the popular use of the term: "Islamic fundamentalism." The use of fundamentalism to describe Islam spread so fast that by 1990, the Concise Oxford English Dictionary defined fundamentalism as "the strict maintenance of traditional Protestant beliefs" and "the strict maintenance of ancient or fundamental doctrines of any religion, especially Islam." Ironically the more the media embraced Islamic fundamentalism as a term, the more scholars of Islam looked...

In October, 70 members of the French youth group Génération Identitaire occupied the Poiters mosque to protest against the influence of Islam in France. The youths climbed to the roof and unfurled a banner with the name of their movement. Now the movement is back with a powerful video—

Proof Positive - In My Opinion True Source Found For "Innocence of Muslims." (Obama)This is a Youtube video produced by user Montagraph who speculated that "Innocence of Muslims" was a false flag op. So did I. He has done a lot of work tracing numerous websites connected to the original uploading of the now famous video. His narrative starts out very slow but give it a chance. He does explain it all in detail and has sourced it all with URLs below his vid. Montagraph declines to say that his evidence is definitive so you be the judge. The internet...

As more information comes to the light about the Obama administration's Benghazi cover-up, a former Navy SEAL officer who once took a military detachment to Libya suggests President Barack Obama was either AWOL -- essentially an "empty chair" -- or deliberately denied Americans under siege in Benghazi the aid they needed by not authorizing "cross-border authority," without which rescue operations could have taken place. Matt Bracken, the former SEAL, writes "only the president can give the order for our military to cross a nation’s border without that nation’s permission." He notes that Obama granted "cross-border authority" for Americans to enter...

This is a question that has bothered me for some time. In this age of political correctness, one would think that companies and organizations would go overboard NOT to offend ANYONE. But, that is simply not the case. Not only is political correctness selectively applied, it seems that none of these groups has any problem offending Christians. As Fox News reports, the administrators at Louisiana State University are in hot water over an incident in which a Christian group's crosses were airbrushed out of a photograph. A group of Louisiana State University football fans whose admiration for the Tigers is...

By Scott Wilson and Al Kamen Washington Post Staff Writers Wednesday, March 25, 2009 The Obama administration appears to be backing away from the phrase "global war on terror," a signature rhetorical legacy of its predecessor. In a memo e-mailed this week to Pentagon staff members, the Defense Department's office of security review noted that "this administration prefers to avoid using the term 'Long War' or 'Global War on Terror' [GWOT.] Please use 'Overseas Contingency Operation.' " The memo said the direction came from the Office of Management and Budget, the executive-branch agency that reviews the public testimony of administration...

Kindergartener Receives 10-Day Suspension for NERF Gun There’s nothing more innocuous than a NERF (Non-Expanding Recreational Foam) gun – right? Well, not if you’re an administrator at Duchesne Elementary School of Ferguson/Florissant School District in Missouri. Apparently, a toy gun that shoots foam-based projectiles presents a clear and present danger to students, faculty and staff. To clarify, on Monday, school officials meted out a 10-day suspension to a five-year-old who brought his NERF gun to class. That’s correct. 10 days for a NERF gun. The principal of the School, Katie Sanders sent a letter home to the parents explaining the...

COMPLETE TITLE Muslim Influence in Pentagon Prevails; Material on Radical Islam "Purged,” Outstanding Army Officer "Disciplined," TMLC Enters Case ### ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center announced today that it is representing U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Dooley, a 1994 Graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. In April 2012, LTC Dooley, a highly decorated combat veteran, was publicly condemned by General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and relieved of his teaching assignment because of the negative way Islam was portrayed in an elective course entitled, Perspectives on Islam and...

n the morning hours of August 5, 2012, the Sikh temple at Oak Creek, Wisconsin, was crowded with children and mothers engaged in preparations for the Langar, a traditional Sikh communal meal scheduled to be held later that day. At around 10:00 AM, Wade Michael Page, a 40-year-old from nearby Cudahy, Wisconsin, arrived in the temple parking lot and started firing at the temple’s inhabitants using a pistol purchased several days earlier. He then entered the temple and continued his killing spree until he was gunned down by police forces that arrived to the site. At that point, he had...

Muslim Influence in Pentagon Prevails; Material on Radical Islam "Purged,” Outstanding Army Officer "Disciplined," TMLC Enters Case ANN ARBOR, MI – The Thomas More Law Center announced today that it is representing U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Dooley, a 1994 Graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point.  In April 2012, LTC Dooley, a highly decorated combat veteran, was publicly condemned by General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and relieved of his teaching assignment because of the negative way Islam was portrayed in an elective course entitled, Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism. ...

"The right to free speech and the unrealistic expectation to never be offended cannot coexist," rightly observed Philip Sharp. It seems, however, that the "unrealistic expectation" cited by the retired U.S. Army Ranger and author is being viewed increasingly as a right. The belief that individuals have a "right" to not be offended seems to be gaining momentum in the United States. As this concept grows in popularity it is set to challenge one of America's first freedoms -- the freedom of speech. If the "right" against offense ever triumphs, if it is ever enshrined in law, free speech, of...

Today I went out into the field here in Chicago looking to talk to some of the striking teachers but no one in a red-shirt was anywhere to be found (or, if they were wearing one, they had nothing to do with the teachers’ union strike). A journalist friend of mine asked me to nose around and see if I could uncover anything about slain Ambassador Chris Stevens, who was rumored to be gay. A former “roommate” of Stevens by the name of Austin Tichenor lives and works in Chicago and while making calls to friends of mine in the...

Zombies: How the Left Captured Academia, the Media, and Other OrganizationsAlinsky-style behavior in the workplace itself may have been the key Recent studies have confirmed that American universities have become bigoted and biased against the expression of conservative views. One new study documents bias against the expression of conservative views among social and personality psychologists, including those at universities: We find that respondents significantly underestimate the proportion of conservatives among their colleagues. … that conservatives fear negative consequences of revealing their political beliefs to their colleagues. Finally, we find that conservatives are right to do so. In decisions ranging from...

Simon Baz is a Lebanese American hero from Dearborn, Michigan Meet the new Green Lantern, a Muslim-American who wears an Arabic tattoo on the same arm as his power ring. DC Comics is introducing its newest superhero in “Green Lantern #0” Wednesday — and Simon Baz is likely to be turning comic book fans’ heads faster than a speeding bullet. “In general, when you think about Arabs and Muslims in main roles in pop culture, they’re always the villains,” said Linda Sarsour, executive director of the Arab American Association of New York. “We're always the hijackers. We're always the bad...

WASHINGTON — In December 2009, our commander in chief went to West Point and proclaimed that he would withdraw all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by 2014. Since then, he has proudly emphasized that "We are on a course to end this war responsibly." Now U.S. and NATO troops and loyal Afghan soldiers and police officers are reaping the bitter harvest of the seeds that Barack Obama planted with those words. Over the last 10 days, in five separate incidents, seven American military personnel were killed in what used to be called "green on blue attacks" — where Afghan soldiers or...

... what then makes for good entertainment and what qualities does that entertainment have? What causes me to like something when I watch it? What excites me enough to drop money on something and go watch it? ...

The General Lee – Bo and Luke Duke’s vehicle of choice from ‘The Dukes of Hazzard‘ – is a classic and instantly recognizable Hollywood car. But it’s about to get a little less recognizable as Warner Bros., the studio that owns the theatrical, DVD and licensing rights to ‘The Dukes of Hazzard,’ has decided to remove the confederate flag from all future versions of the car. The news has reportedly been floating around the hobby community over the past few days as ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ collectors became aware of a new regulation. A collector on HobbyTalk.com was told by a...

Is there a moral case to be made for the British Empire? To even ask the question at your typical university would be to invite derision. That's a shame because the British Empire's legacy is one Western Civilization should be proud of. We'd be living in a much less free and prosperous world without it. Historian HW Crocker III explains why in this eye-opening Prager University course.

DEBATE MODERATORS ANNOUNCED: PBS Jim Lehrer, first Pres debate, Oct 3 Denver... CNN Candy Crowley, town hall, Oct 16, Hempsted LI... CBS Bob Schieffer, third Pres debate, Oct. 22, Boca Raton... ABC Martha Radditz, VP debate, Oct 11, Danville VA... FLASHBACK: CROWLEY: Some Think Ryan Pick 'Some Sort of Ticket Death Wish'..

WASHINGTON — An Army officer being promoted to brigadier general openly acknowledged her homosexuality on Friday by having her wife pin her star to her uniform, thus becoming the first openly gay officer of flag rank in the United States military. The officer, Brig. Gen. Tammy S. Smith, 49, a 26-year veteran of the Army, was promoted in a ceremony at the women’s memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. The star was affixed by Tracey Hepner, who was a co-founder last year of the Military Partners and Families Coalition, which “provides support, resources, education and advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and...

FORT HOOD — A string of witnesses in an evidentiary hearing identified Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan as the triggerman at a Fort Hood deployment center that left 45 dead and injured. As his trial nears almost three years later, few here argue over his guilt. They wonder why a psychiatrist would gun down fellow soldiers. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock can explain it. He calls Hasan a domestic terrorist, something prosecutors have never claimed, and says those avoiding the term are indulging in political correctness. “Believe me, my friend, if somebody had jumped up and said, ‘Praise God and...

U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh asserted this week that a "politically correct" U.S. government was so fearful of offending Islam that it failed to prevent the Fort Hood massacre. Walsh, a first-term Republican congressman with tea party support, told an audience Wednesday in Elk Grove Village: "Your government was so afraid of doing its job, so afraid of offending Islam that right in front of our noses, we saw what was happening at Fort Hood, and because your government was politically correct, Americans died." A U.S.-born Muslim who was an Army psychiatrist is awaiting trial in the November 2009 shootings at...

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The controversy over Chick-Fil-A may now have impacted the Dallas Police Department. CBS 11 has learned a Dallas Police Sergeant brought a sandwich from the embattled restaurant chain to work with him last Wednesday, August 1, a day known around the country as Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day. When the Sergeant arrived at his post at the Southeast patrol, words were exchanged between himself and two female officers. And while it is unclear who started the argument, police have launched an investigation into the matter. A department spokesperson says the issue is not whether the sergeant brought the sandwich...