Free Republic

A few weeks ago, I had an appointment with my dermatologist–an old school guy, well-loved by his patients. He’s straightforward, no-nonsense, and has long office hours. You know the type: The one you hope will never retire. As I was led to the examining room, I noticed something not too common these days–shelf after shelf of medical records in manila folders. When the doc came into the room, I commented that he did not appear to be an early adaptor of electronic health records (EHRs). He replied that it was definitely worth the Medicare reimbursement penalty (starting in 2015) to...

Many have speculated on the reason for the hand inside the coat pose of officers during Civil War photographs.   Perhaps it was to render access to a concealed weapon.  These, after all, were military officers. Is that the bulge of a Smith & Wesson #1 under his left arm?  It is about the right size.   The number one was one of the first easily concealable cartridge pistols.  It was first produced in 1857 and was in great demand by officers in the Civil War. As a .22 short, we might not think of it as having much stopping power. ...

The Second Amendment Foundation has won another significant court victory.  This one will help reverse the ever expanding list of people who have become "prohibited persons"; people who are not allowed to keep or carry arms.  The case was tried in the federal Middle District Court in Pennsylvania. The victory was obtained in the case Suarez vs Holder(pdf). Julio Suarez was convicted in Maryland 25 years ago of a misdemeanor for carrying a firearm without a license. Since then, he has led an exemplary life, but the conviction was enough to cost Suarez his ability to buy and keep...

..."I want to say sorry to everyone who might have been upset by the flag," Mr Baker told the Doncaster Free Press. "I didn't know exactly what the flag means and I still don't. "I Googled it and realised I had dropped a massive blunder. I just want to apologise for any upset I might have caused."

Interesting discussion by Mark of Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. Starts at 26 minutes, 5 seconds. The List: (from The Best of Beck) Saul Alinsky’s 12 Rules for Radicals Here is the complete list from Alinsky. * RULE 1: “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” Power is derived from 2 main sources – money and people. “Have-Nots” must build power from flesh and blood. (These are two things of which there is a plentiful supply. Government and corporations always have a difficult time appealing to people, and usually do so almost exclusively with...

Last night during fairly boring Academy Awards ceremony, singer John Legend and hip-hop rapper Common performed their Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning song “Glory,” from the movie “Selma.” Aside from a few lyrical references, the song is pretty good. The performance itself was stirring, resulting in a standing ovation the performance received, accompanied with several people- Oprah, Chris Pine, Jessica Chastain, among others- visibly moved to tears. But, the performance was overshadowed by the politically incoherent acceptance speech John Legend and Common gave- more so, John Legend- after winning their Oscar. Legend started his politically-charged acceptance speech by saying, “We wrote this...

To the four clean-cut college freshman out on a double date, it had seemed like a typical McDonald's: spanking clean, well-lighted, and safe. It was in a good neighborhood too, right next to Texas A&M University in College Station -- a campus known for its friendly atmosphere and official down-home greeting: “howdy” Shortly after 2 a.m that Sunday, they pulled into the parking lot of so-called “University McDonald's” – and beheld a scene unlike anything portrayed in all those wholesome McDonald's television commercials. Before them, hundreds of young black males were loitering about, some without shirts. Other local residents --...

An anonymous Internet source posting as "Guest" has started a firestorm on a forum for the Palm Beach County Sheriff Office, titled pbsotalk.com.   The original post, titled "Tricks of the trade - let's exchange!" deals with how to plant evidence to cause problems for someone they arrest who has aroused their ire.  Here is the original post: I was lucky to get a really good FTO when I started almost 15 years ago. He taught me to always keep learning new skills and techniques. It's not always easy to do being in a zone with the same old people...

Years ago, hints on questioning Obama’s loyalty to the U.S. was considered conspiracy theory. Today Americans are becoming increasingly more suspicious struggling to find rhyme or reason for Obama’s latest Middle East policies. Rudy Giuliani seems to attribute Obama’s policies to be influenced through his affiliations with radical socialists like Frank Marshall Davis. But serious questions will prove that Obama’s policies are not different than a Muslim who supports the revival of the Muslim grand caliphate. Can anyone deny that Erdogan and Obama are setting policies in their nations that is preparing all this by [] supporting the Arab Spring...

An alert and armed business owner made a citizens arrest of the third suspect in a string of over 40 burglaries.   Police had distributed email alerts describing the suspect, and Charles Fouche, owner of Beach Pawn Shop was able to get the drop on the suspect, William Hasencamp.  Link to video of the encounter Mr. Fouche, along with a number of other jewelery and gold dealers had been sent pictures of the suspect, who police believed to be the ringleader of the three man team.  The other two suspects had already been arrested. The police had described the suspect...

Zunera Ishaq, a devout Muslim immigrant from Pakistan, insists that she should be able to take the oath of citizenship while wearing her niqab In these days of identity politics and hyphenated nationalities it’s easy to forget the simple slogan a Canadian beer company has been using for the better part of two decades: “I am Canadian!” And while I’m not much into beer, I’m totally into the slogan because I’m a naturalized citizen and now consider myself very much a Canadian and have wholeheartedly adopted Canadian values. Moreover, I’m sure I have contributed to Canadian values to some small...

Harfing: “to say or assert something so patently stupid and preposterous as to generate mockery.” As everyone knows, Marie Harf, the State Department’s deputy spokeswoman, achieved fame or infamy with her recent comments about the Islamic State. Sent out by the state department she essentially said yeah, okay, we will kill some of them but we cannot kill them all. What the warriors of Allah really need is jobs. And once they become gainfully employed, presumably doing the jobs even illegal immigrants won’t do, they will give up all thoughts of beheading infidels, burning their enemies, killing babies and children...

Ever since being elected president, Obama’s style has been one of neutralizing and neutering Barack Obama is knocking all little people in civil society off the Information Highway—but leaving the coast clear for all Islamic terrorists. Average citizens who depend on the Internet to get their message out will be ‘regulated’ off beginning three days from now, but ISIS which recruits new members from off the ‘Net will continue to send its threats and gruesome YouTubes online. In fact, when all regulations from Obama’s 332-page book of ‘Net Neutrality’ are in place, only governments and terrorists will be free to...

Go Rudy. America’s mayor nailed it right on when he had the balls to say what’s really on the minds of most Americans who love our country the way it should be loved! And if the media loved our country, they’d tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about the man in the White House that would be our king, if we let him. Twenty seven different names, in twenty two states, with twenty one social security numbers that won’t even pass E-verify; that’s Barack. Rudy revealed the fears of many Americans; fears our national media...

In late 18th century New York, with a revolt against tea in place and plain water mostly undrinkable, coffee’s popularity surged.And the city’s love affair with coffee beans began.Coffee houses soon sprang up. Unlike the cafes of today, these were more like taverns, where the city’s political and merchant elite met to exchange ideas and do business while nursing a cup of joe (and probably stronger drinks as well).One coffee house on the bustling corner of Wall and Water Streets, the Tontine (the second building on the left, above), bore witness to some of the events and the development of...

Image source: Shutterstock I wanted to take my bride out for a night without the kids.  As it turned out, I had a free night in one of the hotel chains I use when I travel on business, and it was set to expire on March 3, so I had to work fast.  I also had a gift card for a local fine dining restaurant I received as a Christmas gift.  Thus my el-cheapo, very expensive date night plans began to gel. We dropped the kiddos off at their grandparents (who had given us two “night of babysitting” certificates...

Rudy Giuliani had the unmitigated gall last week to question President Obama’s love of country. This has been a standing question about Obama since he ran for President in 2008. How can you love a country that you believe needs to be fundamentally transformed? It’s not like Obama wants to fundamentally transform the United States into some romanticized version of the past. He wants to fundamentally transform the country into his own image. In many ways he’s been successful. We have a large number of Americans who believe court orders are mere suggestions to be ignored and that the executive...

Gun people love training.  They revel in expertise.  They gush over the incredible feats that expert gun users, from Annie Oakley to Jerry Miculek, can accomplish.  Do not mistake me.  I approve of training.  Training is good.  I have trained a lot of hours... and days... and years... and decades.  I have trained military, police, and civilians.  But large numbers of people use handguns very successfully with little or no training. A case in point occurred recently in Ohio.  From 10tv.com: “She was armed and apparently fired multiple shots at him,” said Sgt. Dave Sicilia. The woman’s son says...

In his best-selling book Killing Kennedy, Bill O’Reilly tells a brief tale of an intrepid reporter — himself — chasing the historical truth of JFK’s assassination in south Florida. But the story itself is a fiction, as O’Reilly reveals here in his own voice. In the annals of the JFK assassination story, rife with CIA and FBI malfeasance, O’Reilly’s fanciful anecdote might seem trivial. It is not the saddest feature of a book that manages to ignore all of the high-quality JFK assassination scholarship of the last two decades. But as O’Reilly’s yarn is presented as fact in USA Today and the Fort-Worth Telegram; as his...

Investigative journalist James O’Keefe tweeted last night about a new story he’s working on. James O'Keefe We have a story we’re going to release this coming week and I've never thought about this before but I am afraid for my life on this one