Free Republic

He said little about his job, Kathleen Stoddard said, adding that he re-enlisted earlier this year. This was his second tour in Afghanistan, she said. He also had served for three months in Iraq. This tour was different, Kathleen Stoddard said. She said she sensed it during her visit to Hope Mills the weekend before he left. "It was a very emotional goodbye because we lost his dad," she said. "He was scared he wasn't coming home. He made me promise I'd be there when he got off the plane." James Stoddard Sr. died two months after his son returned...

The anti-war mom isn't planning to set foot in Fayetteville - at least that was the word Thursday. But the fact that the peace activists have come from Crawford, Texas, where Sheehan spent last month camped outside President Bush's ranch demanding to speak with him, has fired up people in Fayetteville who say such vigils are demeaning to soldiers. About eight to 10 activists, mainly veterans and relatives of servicemen, are riding into town on the "Bring Them Home Now" tour. The tour set out on three routes across the country after the Crawford vigil disbanded. Fayetteville is one of...

Joan Shannon appeared to shrink in her seat as one-by-one the jurors in her murder trial announced their votes Wednesday that she is guilty of murder for the death of her husband, Army Maj. David Shannon. Staff photo by Mike Spencer Joan Shannon listens in court Wednesday after she was found guilty of murdering her husband. At right is investigator Robert Baker. David Shannon's sister, Brenda Strong, sat directly behind Joan. "No!" she whispered. "No!" David's mother, Shirley Shannon, bent her head and cried while another of his sisters, Virginia Schanz, held an arm around her. David Shannon's family maintains...

Anti-war demonstrators who have spent the past month camped outside President Bush's Texas ranch are headed to Fayetteville. Sheehan Organizers say a small group of mainly veterans and relatives of servicemen will stop in Fayetteville next month to call for an end to the war in Iraq. It was unclear Monday whether Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a fallen soldier who started the Crawford vigil, will be on the tour when it swings through Fayetteville on Sept. 15

Two special operations soldiers from Fort Bragg were killed Thursday in Iraq when a homemade bomb went off near their position, the Defense Department said Saturday. Diesing Jerak Shea Sgt. 1st Class Trevor J. Diesing, 30, of Plum City, Wis., and Master Sgt. Ivica Jerak, 42, of Houston were killed in Husaybah, Iraq. Both were assigned to the Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg. Cpl. Timothy M. Shea, 22, of Sonoma, Calif., was also killed in the explosion. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga. Debbie Diesing of Maiden...

BOSTON -- Judge Paul D. Lewis has seen it all during his 23 years in juvenile court: kids involved in shootings, kids involved in killings, kids involved in rapes at gunpoint and kids involved in armed home invasions. So when a 12-year-old boy came into his court charged with possession of a firearm, Lewis had had it. The judge set the boy's bail at $250,000 -- 50 times higher than the $5,000 sought by prosecutors. His decision shocked prosecutors and defense attorneys alike. But Lewis said he is simply trying to protect the public. "We can't have kids out in...

Commemorate Mother Sheehan's Peace Mom Vigil against George W. Bush (who sent her son to die), his evil war for oil and Halliburton while he and other cruel, cold-hearted conservatives vacation safely in Texas by ordering this one-of-a-kind baseball. Commemorate this crazy loon's departure from the ditch along with all the other America-hating terrorist-defending squatters and main stream press as they head back to Berkeley and other liberal alcoves by ordering this one-of-a-kind baseball she has appeared in

Ronald Lambert sat in a blue recliner in his living room Wednesday and sobbed as he described how someone brutally tortured his dog, Baby, a rambunctious 4 1/2 -year-old beige Pekingese. Someone poked out Baby's eyes and shoved her 8-pound body into a foot-long air vent in his kitchen. Lambert thinks it may have been one of his tenants.

On Thursday night, a couple of Ft Bragg soldiers previewed the first couple of "Over There" episodes. Both men have served tours of duty in Iraq.

Hope this link works. Seems it's the birthday of "President"(in their DREAMS!) Al Gore. And the DUers are sending him happy birthday greetings at this site.(He'll read them! I know it!) I sent him one already, thought I'd see if any of ya'll want to send him a birthday message...

Drill sergeants play a vital role in today's Army. They train civilians to be Soldiers - warriors. With the Global War on Terrorism still at the forefront of military actions, the drill sergeant's role is more important now than ever, resulting in instructional changes impacting how drill sergeants train and the material drill sergeant candidates receive during instruction, said Sgt. Maj. Mark Gladden, Noncommissioned Officer Academy and Drill Sergeant School assistant commandant.

The one at the top should be familiar. It's one of those red-state/blue-state maps that have been tormenting Democrats, liberals, and progressives since November of 2000. Over the 36 days that George W. Bush and Al Gore fought for the White House in Florida, "red" and "blue" became metaphors for America's divided electorate. Red vs. Blue--Democrat vs. Republican; liberal vs. conservative; pro-life vs. pro-choice; gun-huggers vs. gun-haters; gay-huggers vs. gay-haters

Those in basic training aren't allowed to leave post. Army officials halted the voting after 173 had cast their ballots.

Thursday, August 5, 2004 TERESA HEINZ KERRY 'Shove it' showed her true colors BY KEN KURSON Ken Kurson is co-author, with Rudolph Giuliani, of "Leadership." July 29, 2004 Since Sunday night I've waited for a single journalist to get this story right, this story of an ugly lie that's been reduced to an adorable quip. I'm referring to the shocking story of a First Wife wannabe lying to a reporter, insulting him and then getting not only a pass but an "attagirl" from a press corps so hungry for any sign of life from the Democrats that they've repackaged the...