Free Republic

After a Nato airstrike killed as many as 125 people last week, General Stanley McChrystal was keen to get the situation under control — fast. When he tried to contact his underlings to find out what had happened, however, he found, to his fury, that many of them were either drunk or too hungover to respond. Complaining in his daily Commander’s Update that too many people had been “partying it up”, General McChrystal, head of International Forces in Afghanistan (Isaf), banned alcohol at his headquarters yesterday,

Arianna Huffington’s liberal gossip site the Huffington Post has been vigorously defending green jobs czar and 9/11 “truther” Van Jones. It turns out that Jones was Huffington’s grassroots political director when she ran for governor in the 2003 recall election. In fact, Jones, a self-described “communist,” thought Huffington was so wonderful he was part of the effort to draft her to run for office.

I am getting old. I'll be 56 in January and I realize that the days behind me are beginning to far outnumber the days before me. I have lived a lot of history in those years and have seen just about everything in politics imaginable; huge upsets, the triumph and fall of conservatism, a presidential resignation, culture wars - exciting times to have lived. But I will never understand this: Van Jones was one of the good guys. A really, really good guy. He used his education and his passion to combat police brutality and the massive, wasteful incarceration of...

FOX News All Star Charles Krauthammer compared communist-Truther Van Jones to Obama's pastor and mentor Rev Jeremiah Wright tonight on Special Report. Krauthammer says Van Jones' lunacy is a reflection of the boss:Charles Krauhammer on communist-Truther Green Czar Van Jones: It's a reflection of the boss. The boss also had a history before he became a candidate of being around and friends with the likes of Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers. The liberals scolded us last year on how irrelevant all that is and how it's a smear campaign against Obama. But, if you live in that environment and you...

This year's legislative session made several changes regarding concealed handgun licenses. House Bill 2730 and House Bill 2664 concern CHL policies and the authority of DPS to enforce those policies. As of today, defaulting on a student loan no longer disqualifies a concealed handgun applicant and a Justice of the Peace can no longer confiscate your conceal-and-carry permit if you refuse to display it while you are not in possession of the weapon. And the eyes of the law are a little more tolerant concerning carrying a firearm in public places. Previously, carrying a firearm into a business that derives...

It may have taken awhile, but with the advent of The Most Radical President In U.S. History, the Silent - conservative -- Majority is finally Speaking Truth to Power. And Power is listening. Thanks to our activism, "green jobs czar" and Truther nutcase Van Jones has resigned. And thanks to us, the Department of Education has removed the fascistic trappings from the student activities to accompany the president's upcoming "school speech": The original version [of an email to principals] suggested students "write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president." The updated version asks students to...

Here is a video report about Maryland Prison officials who are struggling to prevent the illegal use of cell phones by prison inmates. More than 900 cell phones were confiscated from inmates last year. Inmates have reportedly used smuggled cell phones to make extortion calls, and even order hits on witnesses. NOTE: It makes you wonder just how prevalent this problem is around the country. . . . (VIDEO)

BACK in 2007 the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) announced an important change of mission. From now on the main task for his 120,000 guards, as well as for the 3m or so members of the baseej paramilitary volunteer force that had just, and for the first time, been placed formally under his command, would be to deal with what he called internal threats. Just what he meant has grown increasingly clear since the disputed presidential elections in June that returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an ex-guardsman, to power. The hardline faction centred on the IRGC embraces a network...

• The disgraced financier Bernie Madoff has received a $13,800 (£8,500) tax rebate, angering clients who lost billions in the biggest Ponzi scheme in Wall Street history. The jailed fraudster was sent the money after overpaying the property taxes on his waterfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, which his wife still owns despite other assets being seized by investigators who unravelled his $65bn investment scam. The rebate cheque was issued last month and made payable to Ruth and Bernard Madoff. Ruth Madoff sent the cheque back to the tax office asking that it be reissued with her husband's name removed....

It’s been interesting as I’ve read everyone’s comments from my post on Monday about the e-mail instructions I was sent by SIGG. The e-mail told me how to send in my SIGG bottle to get a replacement that was free from the lining that contains Bisephenal A (BPA). I asked for your opinions on the e-mail (and thank you for the many opinions – if you haven’t read the comments from my first post, you should), but I didn’t give my own opinion. Here’s my opinion. The e-mail reads like it was written by one of my boys trying to...

Birthday of Mary Mother of God--St. Andrew of Crete  Birthday of Mary, the Mother of God The Nativity of Our Lady, the TheotokosSt. Andrew of CreteA reading used in the Roman Catholic Office of Readings for the Feast of the Birthday or nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, known in the East as the Theotokos, on September 8 -- Saint Andrew of Crete on the nativity of Mary as a turning point in the old covenant becoming the new, the frontier where types and symbols give way to reality.  This reading shows that September 8th was celebrated as the birthday of...

Despite the effects of an uncertain economy, contributions and pledges to the 44th annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon over Labor Day nonetheless totaled $60,481,231 million. MDA National Chairman and Telethon star Jerry Lewis said he was impressed by the show of support from Telethon viewers even during hard times. "These are very special people, and their money comes straight from the heart," Lewis said. "Right now, the only thing I can think of to say, other than thank you, thank you is, 'love conquers all.' So many people, everywhere, even with cares of their own, dug deep to show their...

China delivered a blow to some of the world’s biggest investment banks on Monday as it declared its support for legal efforts by some state-owned companies that want to break loss-making oil derivatives contracts with foreign institutions. The state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council said it was investigating a number of derivatives deals and would help companies find ways to “minimise losses”. The move is the latest by Beijing to clamp down on the over-the-counter derivatives market after a number of state companies made disastrous bets on commodity prices and foreign exchange movements, losing billions of...

WASHINGTON — At last, the secret to first lady Michelle Obama's sculpted arms? Tricep pushdowns and hammer curls.So says Cornell McClellan, Mrs. Obama's longtime personal trainer, who described the workout routine of his famous client in the October issue of Women's Health magazine. She began working with McClellan in 1997 at his Chicago fitness studio. "She's truly committed herself to the importance of health and fitness," he says. McClellan said that at the end of an intense routine of cardio workouts and weight training, Mrs. Obama finishes with the "arm-shaping superset" of tricep pushdowns and hammer curls to tone one...

Well that disgusting cesspool of pajama clad reporters has done it again. No, not drive another administration official from office, or kill another overbearing, budget busting, border bashing bill. Although those sewer drenched on-line reporters have done all that and more. No, once again those whacky pj kids (keep in mind the vast majority are professionals, lawyers, doctors,professors, former journalists) have once again done the work the main stream media either would not, could not or simply chose not to do.

Older adults can take a college course and earn a certificate in the mastery of aging well through a new Web-based program developed by Oregon State University. Co-branded by AARP Oregon, the program developed at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center in Central Point is expected to have nationwide reach, says Sharon Johnson, the OSU associate professor who designed the coursework and Web content. "This is one of the first times the university has really targeted older adult students," Johnson says. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided $300,000 for the program's development after requesting grant applications for "innovative learning...

If you believe Huffington Post contributor David Sirota there are only two types of people in the world, those who agree with everything President Obama says and does, and those who are racist. Sirota is a "racer" someone who uses race as the political excuse for just about everything, and takes it to an extent which goes beyond any sense of reality. Other famous racers are Janine Garafolo, who said that the people participating in the April Tea Parties were doing so because they objected to a African American President, and embattled Congressman Charlie Rangel who blames protests against Obamacare...

Here is CBS News' "Washington Unplugged" video where Politico's Andy Barr and Media Strategist Nick Ragone agreed that this week is a "make or break moment" for President Obama. CBS News' Bob Orr led the discussion. They talked about the disastrous course Obama has been on the past six to eight weeks, and said he must succeed Wednesday night in regathering momentum to pass his Health Care legislation. Otherwise, he could lose the whole battle. How can the administration get back on top and hold their own against their critics? "Don't get off message . . . it needs to...

    ~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, CaliforniaThe Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division (NAWCWD) is an organization within the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), dedicated to maintaining a center of excellence in weapons development for the Department of the Navy (DoN). NAWCWD has two locations in Southern California; China Lake hosting the land test range and Point Mugu hosting the sea test range. Nestled in the quiet Indian Wells Valley at the south eastern foot of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, China Lake is the premier land range and...

Friend of the D.C. Chapter of FreeRepublic.com, Eugene Delgaudio of Public Advocate, will be holding a freep of Obama outside Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA, tomorrow morning. He's inviting Freeepers in the Northern Virginia-D.C. area to join him.He'll be there from 10 a.m. onward through the 12 noon scheduled speech at the edge of the security perimeter at Dinwiddie and Geo. Mason. Look for the Gadsden flags and the angry Arlingtronians trying to run Eugene out of their liberal haven :-)