Free Republic

Forget that The Daily Caller is reporting Progressive USA’s claim that NRA donated $10,000 to Debbie Halvorson, and that the contender for the Congressional seat vacated by disgraced anti-gun head case Jesse Jackson Jr. calls for “Universal Background Checks and registration of all firearms … Making sure that background checks work so people do not fall through the cracks in the National Data Base [and] Ending the Gun Show loophole” on her campaign website. Those who play political chess will tell us Halvorson opposes banning semi-autos and some such, while hard-liners will point out the prospective ban is likely to...

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE SUBJECT: Determination with Respect to the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 Pursuant to section 404 of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CSPA) (title IV, Public Law 110-457), I hereby determine that it is in the national interest of the United States to waive the application of the prohibition in section 404(a) of the CSPA with respect to Libya, South Sudan, and Yemen; and further determine that it is in the national interest of the United States to waive in part the application of the prohibition in section 404(a) of the CSPA...

I recently read the new biography of Trotsky by Oxford don Robert Service, published in 2009 by Pan Books. It is well-written and surprisingly interesting. The book does a great public service in describing the life of the actual Trotsky, whose previous “biographies” were little more than hagiographies written by his toady worshippers (people like Isaac Deutscher). The last time that I had taken any interest in Trotsky was when I was a teenager and had fleeting delusions of believing in “socialism.” Reading the new book as an adult and as an economist, I found it a useful opportunity to...

Soldiers in Afghanistan have been filling us in on what it means to no longer get a hot breakfast each morning - and it has a lot more to do with morale than hunger. The comments are in response to a story that appeared in Home Post last week about the Pentagon's dismissal of a viral email that claimed all troops in Afghanistan weren't getting breakfast. According to the American Forces Press Service: The Internet myth’s genesis came from a few forward operating bases in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktika province that are closing or being turned over to Afghan security forces....

Forty years later, veterans still suffer rebound effects from inhabiting thick jungles during one of America’s most brutal wars. “Inside the Vietnam War,” airs tonite, December 28 at 8 p.m., in a special encore presentation on the National Geographic Channel. An outstanding memorial tribute by USA TODAY it features individual interviews of veterans from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Marine Security Guard, Bill Newell stood post at the US Embassy in Saigon on April 29, 1975, when he got the news that two of his fellow Marines became the last Americans to die in that terrible war....

2 US troops die in apparent Afghan insider attack Last Updated: 11:12 AM, October 25, 2012 KABUL, Afghanistan — A man in an Afghan police uniform shot and killed two American service members Thursday, the US military said, in what appeared to be the latest in a rash of attacks on international forces this year by their Afghan partners.

Paul Flynn is thrown out of Commons for calling Philip Hammond a 'liar' Paul Flynn has been suspended from the House of Commons after accusing defence ministers of 'lying' about events surrounding the deaths of soldiers in Afghanistan. By Rosa Prince, Online Political Editor 3:42PM BST 18 Sep 2012 Comments1 Comment The Labour MP was ordered to leave the Chamber and suspended from the Commons for 24 hours after comparing statements given by Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, and his ministerial team to the First World War when "politicians lied and soldiers died". John Bercow, the Speaker of the Commons,...

The Commander in Chief got a decidedly cool reception from the troops on a whistle stop at Fort Bliss in El Paso Friday. While this president already is not widely popular with our military, the attitude demonstrated by the shanghaied soldiers in that cavernous hangar was demonstrably cooler than at such past events. The conservative media interpreted that indifferent reception to dissatisfaction with Obama's politics and his repeated failures as CinC, but the event is far more consequential as yet another example of how little the Obama Administration understands the military it commands. I'm an old non-com who, as a...

Army soldiers formed a militia group in Georgia that plotted to overthrow the U.S. government — and they killed a fellow soldier and his girlfriend to keep the plot secret, prosecutors alleged Monday, according to the Associated Press. Prosecutors in the Long County, Ga., case say that the militia group planned to overtake the nearby Fort Stewart, to bomb a dam in Washington state and poison the state’s apple crop and ultimately overthrow the government and assassinate the president, according to reports.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - It was once President Barack Obama's "war of necessity." Now, it's America's forgotten war. The Afghan conflict generates barely a whisper on the U.S. presidential campaign trail. It's not a hot topic at the office water cooler or in the halls of Congress - even though more than 80,000 American troops are still fighting here and dying at a rate of one a day. Americans show more interest in the economy and taxes than the latest suicide bombings in a different, distant land. They're more tuned in to the political ad war playing out on television...

IDF forces foiled an attempted inflitration by Gaza terrorists Sunday evening in the Kerem Shalom area. The IDF reportedly hit one vehicle from the air and the terrorists in it were killed. Initial reports from Gaza said that members of an extremist Islamic group attacked two Egyptian army posts in the Egyptian part of Rafiah with anti-tank rockets and gunfire, killing 15 Egyptian officers and soldiers. Al Jazeera later put the number of Egyptian soldiers dead at 20. They then commandeered an Egyptian military armored personnel carrier (APC) and tried to use it to cross into Israeli territory. Some reports...

"The soldiers fled like rats," says a grinning rebel after he and his fellow fighters captured Anadan checkpoint from the Syrian army, giving them strategic access to Aleppo where they are battling a fierce loyalist offensive. "Bashar don't go, we will catch you," jokes another rebel, sitting on crates of ammunition in the back of a truck where the Islamist flag -- black with white lettering -- flutters. The jubilant rebels celebrate their victory with gunfire, while some retrieve weapons and ammunition left behind by the retreating Syrian troops after 10 hours of fierce fighting during the night. The ground...

3 Italy-based U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan VICENZA ITALY JULY 25, 2012 BY: SUSY RAYBON The Pentagon announced today the deaths of three Italy-based soldiers who were killed while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Pfc. Adam C. Ross, 19, of Lyman, S.C., died July 24, 2012, in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered small arms fire. Ross was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy. Of note, the DOD announced last week that the base in Vicenza, Italy, is soon to be closed under the Base Realignment and...

Two hundred and thirty-seven years ago, our Nation's leaders established the Continental Army, beginning a rich heritage of successfully defending this great country and her citizens. Today, we celebrate the continued honor, loyalty and bravery of our Soldiers in this noble calling. Our Soldiers remain Army Strong with a deep commitment to our core values and beliefs. This 237th birthday commemorates America's Army – Soldiers, families and civilians – who are achieving a level of excellence that is truly Army Strong. We also celebrate our local communities for their steadfast support of our Soldiers and families. We are "America's Army:...

Six year-old Michael surprised his US Marine father. Michael walked to his dad for the first time when his father returned home from war. Absolutely wonderful. (Warning: You may need a Kleenex for this one!)

Brain research and associated advances such as brain-machine interfaces that are funded by the U.S. military and intelligence communities raise profound ethical concerns, caution researchers who cite the potentially lethal applications of such work and other consequences. Rapid advances in neuroscience made over the last decade have many dual-use applications of both military and civilian interest. Researchers who receive military funding — with the U.S. Department of Defense spending more than $350 million on neuroscience in 2011 — may not fully realize how dangerous their work might be, say scientists in an essay published online today (March 20) in the...

The Tea Party hit its stride in the summer of 2009 when concerned citizens showed up to town halls across the United States to protest the healthcare takeover law being considered in Congress. The people rightly felt that the bill’s labyrinthine and onerous regulations were corrupt and designed to increase the power of the government, line the pockets of shortsighted insurance companies, and squeeze as much blood from the country’s taxpayer turnip as possible. Just when America believed the US government health scandal couldn’t get worse, President Obama’s handlers go one step further—increasing service members’ and veterans’ medical premiums.

Two Fort Stewart soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. 25 year old Sgt. Joshua A. Born of Niceville, Florida and 22 year old Cpl. Timothy J. Conrad Jr. of Roanoke, Va. died Feb. 23, in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when their unit came under small arms fire. They were assigned to the 385th Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Stewart, Ga. According to an interveiw she did with WPSD-TV in Paducah, Kentucky, Joshua Born's wife lives in Illinois, and found out about her husband's death not through military channels, but when someone sent...

The Army is ordering its hardened combat veterans to wear fake breasts and empathy bellies so they can better understand how pregnant soldiers feel during physical training. This week, 14 noncommissioned officers at Camp Zama took turns wearing the “pregnancy simulators” as they stretched, twisted and exercised during a three-day class that teaches them to serve as fitness instructors for pregnant soldiers and new mothers. Army enlisted leaders all over the world are being ordered to take the Pregnancy Postpartum Physical Training Exercise Leaders Course, or PPPT, according to U.S. Army Medical Activity Japan health promotion educator Jana York. Developed...

While I understand that only a fraction of the population of this nation is directly affected by what you are about to read, I would never-the-less like to remind you that the remainder of the population is affected coincidentally. While the majority of the American population probably never even considered the Armed Forces as a possible career objective, there are those who never considered life without serving their country, in uniform, on a field of combat. Most of these young men and women never take the time to internalize some idealized vision of charging death for God and Country,