Free Republic

As a young U.S. Army soldier during World War II, Rollins Edwards knew better than to refuse an assignment. When officers led him and a dozen others into a wooden gas chamber and locked the door, he didn't complain. None of them did. Then, a mixture of mustard gas and a similar agent called lewisite was piped inside. "It felt like you were on fire," recalls Edwards, now 93 years old. "Guys started screaming and hollering and trying to break out. And then some of the guys fainted. And finally they opened the door and let us out, and the...

Across Europe, many pro-Palestinian rallies have been taking a disturbing turn. Under the guise of opposing Israel’s actions in Gaza, thousands of protesters have given expression to virulent anti-Jewish sentiments–and often acted on them. In France, mobs have shouted “Death to the Jews,” and eight synagogues have been attacked. One journalist even overheard a man who “spoke loudly about ‘hunting Jews and killing them.’” In the northern suburbs of Paris, the neighborhood of one of France’s largest Jewish communities was ransacked, with cars and businesses destroyed, including a kosher grocery store that was burned down.

Just for today… I won’t worry about money and paying bills because there was once a man or woman on their way to work in the Towers with money on their minds. I won’t pester or fight with my husband because on the morning of 9-11, a husban and wife had a fight and he left angry and she is left with a lifetime of regret. I won’t worry about what I’m eating or drinking because I’m alive to eat and drink. I won’t ask God for more stuff because I should be thankful for the breathe in my lungs...

Put the coffee down and watch. It's a little er...well keep the young ones away. You're supposed to be 18 to vote anyway. Brought a good laugh in season.

Hi everyone. My mother was recently diagnosed with a very rare cancer that affects about 1,000 people a year. It's called pseudomyxoma peritonei. It has been an journey of misdiagnoses, wrong advice,etc. and now after a laparotomy we know what's causing my mother's belly to get so big. I saw my mother about two or three weeks ago and she dropped a lot of weight. I don't mean to depress anyone on this Easter weekend but a lot of folks are going to church and I'd appreciate the prayers.

Monday I start doing care plans. The next week is clinicals and I have do a care plan for each one of my patients and I'm feeling a little 'intimidated'. Want to know what your first care plan experience was like,etc.etc.etc. and some pointers for doing mine.

ALI BASE, Iraq -- For the second time the Boston Marathon came to Iraq and more than 250 men and women ran either individually or part of four-person teams. One of those running was Air Force Capt. Casey Jackson, with the 407th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron. Captain Jackson, who is deployed here from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, is an avid runner with three international marathons under his belt. The 5-foot-7-inch, 140-pound man placed first among all Air Force members and second place in the individual race with a time of 3 hours, 2 minutes, 17 seconds. He finished behind Navy...

Dear Friend of ARI: As you know, the Objectivist club at NYU is planning to hold an event in support of free speech on March 29. At the event they plan to display the Danish cartoons while engaging in a panel discussion on free speech. This event was planned as a public event -some of you might have RSVP'd for it. Unfortunately, this morning we found out that the University, under the pretense of security, is limiting the event to "members of the NYU community" only. This is in contradiction to their own policy regarding free speech. The only way...

Last year my car was stolen from my driveway. It was stolen by a little brat fifteen year old and his buddies. His mom was really nasty to me and didn't want to give me three hundred dollars to fix my car. Thanks to a two page letter I wrote expressing my open,honest opinion about the future of this young man's life, I was awarded $1100 by the court. This is almost the whole value of the vehicle. I posted about this last year so I thought I'd share the outcome. Good things to happen in the court sometimes!

Catch of his life: Trapped by fire, mom drops baby from window to baseball player ASSOCIATED PRESS 5:58 a.m. December 15, 2005 Associated Press This image from video released by the New York Fire Department shows a crowd gathered by an apartment building in the Bronx before a baby was caught by a Housing Authority supervisor during a fire. NEW YORK – A mother trapped in a burning third-floor apartment prayed and then dropped her 1-month-old son out a window to the crowd below. The infant was caught safely by a man who plays catcher for his employer's baseball team....

Sacramento—In a bold, yet unexpected move, California has decided to dissolve all ties with the United States of America. It is reported, that on Tuesday, November 15, 2005, the California legislature will vote to secede from the Union. The vote comes in an answer to the agonizing defeat of Governor Schwarzenegger’s propositions at the voting booths. The voters have made it clear that they don’t want any change in California. They have demonstrated to Governor Schwarzenegger that they want to leave things alone, keep the status quo. “I’m glad the propositions went down,” stated Autumn Keely, a registered Democrat. “I’m...

Freedom isn’t cheap. It’s the most expensive asset in America. Without freedom, all other assets would become negligible. If we take a look at a balance sheet, freedom would be listed as a long term asset, the kind of asset that takes years and years to pay off. Who pays it off? The United States Armed Forces. The men and women in the military make that payment on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Over the years, those sacrifices made have been an installment to freedom. Each deployment and death has made life in America all the more perfect....

HOUSTON—In a desperate move to escape guilt, Representative Tom DeLay turned himself in Thursday at the Harris County sheriff’s office and was fingerprinted, photographed and released on $10,000 bail on conspiracy and money-laundering charges. DeLay was accompanied by his lawyer Dick DeGuerin and arrived shortly after noon at a Harris County Sheriff’s Department facility at 49 San Jacinto. According to sheriff's Lt. John Martin, Representative Delay was booked like we would book any other Republicans involved in a scandal, like the criminal that they are. Dick DeGuerin told reporters that DeLay was put through the process because of a political...

By DAVID PACE Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff defended his actions before and after Hurricane Katrina, telling lawmakers Wednesday he relied on Federal Emergency Management Agency experts with decades of experience in hurricane response. "I'm not a hurricane expert," Chertoff said several times in responding to criticisms from members of a special House panel set up to investigate the dismal federal response to Katrina, which killed more than 1,200 people, flooded New Orleans and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands. Chertoff, a former prosecutor and Justice Department official, took over the Homeland Security...

Los Angeles—For yet a sixth time, there is to be another Rocky sequel. The film, titled Rocky Balboa, was announced Monday by Columbia Pictures, Revolution Studios and original distributor MGM, which will team up to produce what a press release notes as a return to the style and grit of the 1976 franchise-launching original. The story will pick up with the fictional prize fighter retired and a widower in a retirement home—meaning no Adrian—who, now broke and after a attempting to overdose on Viagra, agrees to take on Apollo Creed for a third time in a nursing home bout to...

Three weeks ago I lost my father. His health had deteriorated for a number of years, but the last few months things had been improving. And then one morning he couldn’t breathe. By the time my mother called 911 he was gone. After getting the phone call, all time seemed to stop. Nothing mattered. I sat there stunned, wondering why it had to happen now. Why didn’t I have a chance to say goodbye? There are pivotal moments in everyone’s life. It had become abundantly clear that this was one of those moments. I could only hope that I was...

Any freepers have some really good ideas/links/sources for sustainable living? Self sufficient living, mountain living,etc.etc. My interests are in living off an organic garden and perhaps a dairy goat to fulfill the occasional craving for raw cheeses. I'm also interested in solar heating and hydroponic growing for the winter time. Thanks.

I am embarking on a seven day spiritual fast. No solid foods, just fresh juice and water. Lots of bible reading, prayer and intense meditation. If anyone would like to join me, even just for prayer and not fasting, let me know. A lot of our freeper family need prayer for health and family. I need prayer for financial help and family well being. Thanks.

Gov. George E. Pataki today ordered a broad overhaul of the state agencies that protect Medicaid from fraud and abuse, creating an independent inspector general's office and bringing in a former federal prosecutor to help reorganize the policing of the program, which is New York State's largest expense. Skip to next paragraph PROGRAM DISORDER A series examining the security, effectiveness and cost of New York's Medicaid program, the largest of its kind in the nation and the state's biggest expense. • Exploiting a Safety Net • High Costs, Little Scrutiny The inspector general is expected to take over some authority...

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer called on state lawmakers yesterday to return to Albany to pass two bills that he said were urgently needed to help prosecute fraud in the state's Medicaid system. Skip to next paragraph Related As Medicaid Balloons, Watchdog Force Shrinks (July 19, 2005) New York Medicaid Fraud May Reach Into Billions (July 18, 2005) In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Mr. Spitzer said the state needed a false claims act, which would increase civil penalties for fraud and encourage whistle-blowers, along with another law that would create a...