Free Republic

  “Act of Valor” Isn’t About Acting, It’s About Valor David C. Stolinsky Mar. 1, 2012 The film “Act of Valor” opened on Feb. 24. The film is a sort of docudrama. Most of the persons in it are not actors but active-duty SEALs. The film shows episodes that are based on actual SEAL operations, using actual SEAL equipment and tactics. Obviously, I didn’t go to such an unusual − in fact, unique − movie expecting to see polished actors reciting unrealistic dialog written by screenwriters who never heard a shot fired in anger, or fired at all. I...

Democrat Ballot Challenger called as he was walking out of the court house in Tallahassee …. Posted by By GeorgeM at 15 February, at 22 : 53 PM Mike Voelz called me a few minutes ago to say that he was feeling “relief and excitement” upon completing his filing of a Florida Ballot Challenge to Obama. He had been studying FL statutes for two years and is a registered Democrat. He remarked that he was pleasantly surprised at how simple it was to file and how friendly they were. He said that they asked him for his BAR number and...

One member of the U.S. Supreme Court, whose members are sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, says she would look elsewhere – Canada, South Africa and Europe – should she be tasked with writing a constitution now. The stunning statements come from Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was being interviewed by Al Hayat in Egypt, which is trying to develop a government after citizens deposed longtime dictator President Hosni Mubarack last year. Egypt is facing major obstacles to a democratic form of government as the Muslim Brotherhood as a political party has been assembling a majority in the...

The textbooks used to educate Palestinian children who live in refugee camps came under fire at a briefing on Wednesday on Capitol Hill where experts said lessons of intolerance and hatred toward Jews and Israel fill the books’ pages.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Oakland officials assessed damage to City Hall caused by Occupy protesters while leaders of the movement claimed Sunday that police acted illegally in arresting hundreds of demonstrators and could face a lawsuit. Mayor Jean Quan was among those inspecting damage caused after dozens of people broke into City Hall on Saturday, smashing glass display cases, spray-painting graffiti, and burning an American flag. That break-in culminated a day of clashes between protesters and police. Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said nearly 400 people were arrested on charges ranging from failure to disperse and vandalism. At least three...

I am not a supporter of congressman Ron Paul. But one of the accusations that has been made against him, is racism, because of articles he published in his newsletters in the 1980s criticizing Martin Luther King. But how come nobody called Jackie Kennedy a racist, when she made comments about Martin Luther King that were even more offensive and vitriolic, than Ron Paul? http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/12/earlyshow/main20104707.shtml How many are aware that John F. Kennedy, failed to invite black entertainer, Sammy Davis Jr. to his inaugural ball, despite the fact that Davis worked extremely hard in the electoral campaign of 1960 to...

... In November of 2011, the Washington Post reported that the Iranian government had mastered the critical steps needed to build a nuclear weapon after receiving assistance from foreign scientists. The Post went on to say: An intelligence update will be circulated among International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] members... It is expected to focus on Iran's alleged efforts towards putting radioactive material in a warhead and developing missiles... Julian Borger of the Guardian-UK reported in November of 2009: The UN's nuclear watchdog has asked Iran to explain evidence suggesting that Iranian scientists have experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design......

I don’t think one could come up with a more teachable moment regarding international affairs—and including Middle East politics--than a little incident that just happened between President Barack Obama and Venezuela. First, the facts. Obama gave an interview with a Venezuelan newspaper in which he articulated some of his administration’s most basic themes. Obama said: “Venezuela is a proud, sovereign nation....The United States has no intention of intervening in Venezuela's foreign relations, However, I think the government's ties with Iran and Cuba have not benefited the interests of Venezuela and its people. "Sooner or later, Venezuela's people will have to...

Via the New York Post, which has an account of their angry exchange at LAX, 15 solid minutes of hippie-punching goodness. Skip ahead to 5:30 for the meaty bits. She wrote an open letter to Penn last year unloading on him for his cretinous Chavista apologetics and I guess he must have remembered because allegedly the word “pig” ended up being thrown around during their chat — and not by Alonso. Quoth the NYP: Penn, traveling from Haiti, told us: “I only knew that a hostile woman was nonsensically berating me. I didn’t realize it was that actress. I think...

Eric Schmidt has an idea for Congress: Do what the President wants. Google's chairman urged lawmakers to pass the $447 billion stimulus plan during an interview with Christiane Amanpour. "The economy is, today, stuck behind the power curve -- it needs a lot of encouragement,” Schmidt, who was a big supporter of Obama during his campaign and was rumored to be a candidate for the Secretary of Commerce post, told the host.

Here's a sample of what your kids are learning at school. They're graduating with stockholm syndrome.

Obama: Not redistributing wealth (CBS News) In a "60 Minutes" interview with Steve Kroft, President Obama disputes the notion he is trying to redistribute wealth with his plans to treat the country's economic ills. He tells Kroft he's just attempting to deliver the "American Deal" of a strong middle class "where everybody is able to do their part and everybody's able to succeed." Kroft spoke to the president yesterday at the White House and Tuesday in Osawatomie, Kan., for a "60 Minutes" interview to be broadcast Sunday, Dec. 11 at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT. In the interview, Kroft points out that...

Mrs MindBender would not let me run them (and their filth) over at entrance to parking lot Could only flip them off Sorry could nof do more :)

In a press conference this evening, the president referred in stumbling fashion to the “English Embassy” in Iran instead of the British Embassy. One can only imagine the kind of howls of derision that would greet any presidential contender if that kind of basic error were made before, say, the editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. You can watch the video above. In case the president is unaware, England forms part of Great Britain, which also includes Scotland and Wales, though not Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. There is no such thing as an “English”...

As every major developed economy hits Bass's Keynesian Endgame, the status quo is set to change dramatically. Nowhere is this climax playing out louder than in Europe and the implicit solution of Germany-uber-alles (while seemingly inevitable though nevertheless lengthy in execution) is likely to not sit well with many of the EMU nations. To wit, The Telegraph today reports that Britain's Foreign Office is advising its overseas embassies to draw up plans to help expats should the collapse of the Euro turn explosive. Almost incredibly, a senior minister has revealed that Britain is now planning on the basis that a...

This event in and of itself really isn't funny at all (although thankfully nobody was hurt), but, given President Obama's relentless penchant for heralding China as the world leader in infrastructure--and constantly admonishing us that we need to spend and grow our goverenment and 'invest' more taxpayer money in 'projects of the future' even more--I must admit... I'm having a rather hearty laugh at the President's expense right now. Substandard construction work was blamed Thursday after wind blew parts of the roof off a $2.8 billion terminal at the world's second-busiest airport. One of the architects behind Beijing Terminal 3,...

Industrial Policy: Not only do taxpayers subsidize failing green energy here, they may soon be on the hook for a Department of Energy loan to a firm owned by a Russian billionaire. Just say nyet. When a foreign firm wants to build a facility in the U.S. that hires American workers and pays American taxes, we welcome it. We'd prefer they do it with their own money, not rely on this administration's failed industrial policy to provide them with a huge taxpayer-backed loan — especially when it's owned by a billionaire who doesn't need the help. The administration's latest green...

No, Dean Nelson, it’s not about free speech. It’s about fundamental decency. That was the point attorney Robert Roughsedge was making Monday when he resigned from a job as adjunct professor at Suffolk University Law School. “(Suffolk Law) Professor Avery has engaged in hate speech against a class of citizens who ironically do not enjoy the same First Amendment rights. Members serving in the U.S. military,” Roughsedge wrote to Suffolk Law Dean Camille Nelson. He should know. He sent his resignation letter from Kabul, where he’s better known as Maj. Bob Roughsedge of the Army Reserves. And he resigned not...

WASHINGTON — Country music gets its due at the Obama White House next week. The Obamas will play host to a string of country stars — legendary and contemporary — Monday at their seventh “In Performance at the White House” program. Among those performing Monday night: Lauren Alaina, The Band Perry, Dierks Bentley, Alison Krauss, Kris Kristofferson, Lyle Lovett, Mickey, Darius Rucker and James Taylor.

President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees. In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees;...