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My son is shipping off to Marine bootcamp in a few weeks. He visited his myspace page last night and one of his many friends in the military told him that they checked their sources and indicated that the name that Barry said was on his bracelet was not active duty military. Some even indicated that he was an older gentleman. Apparently these guys are livid at what Barry did. Is anyone able to verify if this is just a rumor or if Barry may have simply made up this name?

Yesterday, my son raised his right hand and swore to defend this country in the Marine Corps with tears running down his face. My son was welcomed into the Marine family family were congratulated by SgtMaj. Brad Kasel, recipient of the Navy Cross for Action in Iraq. At the end of the time with the SgtMaj, my wife told him about politics, McCain/Palin and that I was a freeper. Unexpectedly, he gave me a personal copy of his book, "My Men Are My Heroes". Quite a day.

HH: Pleased to welcome Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama. Senator Sessions, you are something like the skunk at the garden party that the Martinez-Hagel bill is trying to throw, and welcome. We're glad you're doing that. But I also want to begin, though, by asking you about the Sessions amendment that Senator Frist is behind, the fence and barrier amendment. Has that come to a vote yet? JS: No, as a matter of fact, it might tomorrow. They talked about doing it this afternoon, but you know, virtual fences and technology is important, but in many areas, I just don't...

My son and I are making plans to do some hunting this fall. He is turning 15 in a few days and knows how to handle firearms fairly well. Maybe tends to overestimate his abilities. We live in Iowa, so all hunting, except for a limited deer season in the southernmost two tiers of counties is by shotgun. We intend to shoot deer, ducks and pheasant. After looking around, it seems that the Remington 870 12 gauge might be the kind of weapon that would be a good all around firearm for this teenager. Any advice?

>Subject: Update Abu Ghraib Prison Hospital > >We are being attatched to a formal new Task Force named Oasis. The new camp that is being built here is named Camp Redemption. > >As you know, the Abu Ghraib Prison has recieved international attention for terrible acts of humiliation and violence perpetrated by some Soldiers at the hard stand site during OIF I. Those involved will be given appropriate punishment. > >This was definitely shocking, disturbing, and depressing news for all of us. > >The valor, dedication, compassion, and care for both Soldiers and Detainees continues today despite learning of atrocities...

Margaret Thatcher has made a dramatic return to the political front line with a searing attack on Tony Blair's "Left-wing" tax-and-spend policies and his failure to carry the nation in the war on Iraq. The former prime minister's broadside came as she defied doctor's orders to make a speech last night marking the 25th anniversary of her rise to power. Having once praised the rise of New Labour as her greatest legacy, Baroness Thatcher turned her fire on Mr Blair - to denounce his adoption of some of her policies as a "conversion of convenience". To loud cheers from an...

Statement from Governor Marc Racicot, Chairman, Bush-Cheney `04 Tue Feb 3 2004 12:31:55 ET ``Sen. Kerry is supporting a slanderous attack on the President by refusing to repudiate comments by DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe who on Sunday accused the President of being AWOL and said that his service in the National Guard did not qualify as service in the military or service to his country. ``President Bush served honorably in the National Guard. He was honorably discharged. To suggest, as Sen. Kerry has, that the military should 'answer questions' about President Bush`s honorable discharge is an outrage. The furtherance of...

Special News Alert TO: Don't Mess With Texas (real name redacted FROM: Alan Sears, President SOLI DEO GLORIA!!! SECOND BIG WIN FOR MARRIAGE SINCE LAWRENCE V. TEXAS DECISION! This afternoon a New Jersey Court, in the case of Lewis v. Harris, has ruled against the latest legal attempt by radical homosexual activists to redefine marriage and the family. The court dismissed the hard-fought case, which demanded creation of same-sex ômarriage,ö on the grounds that there is no historical basis for it and held that this was a matter best left to the Legislature to resolve. The victory upholds thousands of...

I have refrain from shameless vanities, but feel that given the course of today's events, an urgent need to relay this request. Last wee, President George W. Bush had an urgent prayer meeting with a number of conservative evangelical ministers at the White House. This colleague of a ministerial friend of mine was invited to that meeting. My friend's colleague expected to see President Bush tired and worn down when he arrived to meet these leaders to storm the throne of grace together. However, to this man's surprise President Bush looked refreshed and vigorous. When asked how he could be...

Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Pensacola Circuit Judge Kenneth Bell as aFlorida Supreme Court justice 30 Dec., saying Bell would enhance the court's geographic diversity. Judge Bell is also widely identified as a conservative Christian. As a trial judge, Bell sentenced a Panhandle physician after the nation's first manslaughter conviction of a doctor in an OxyContin case. The physician was sentenced to 63 years in prison for the deaths of four patients who overdosed on the painkiller. Bell obtained his law degree from Florida State University after earning a bachelor's degree from Davidson College. Judge Bell is a Presbyterian.

This afternoon, I had the opportunity to hear a lecture by Justice Scalia given at my old law school. Nino was in fine form speaking on his favorite topic: Constitutional Interpretation. It was such a kick hearing him basically rip the law profs a new one for having no intellectual basis for the predominant view that the constitution is a living document. He noted that if one does not follow the original text of the Constitution a judge is left with no standard for doing anything other than what feels good. Origninalism sometimes forces the judge to make decisions that...

There are two main issues that divide Protestant Catholics from Roman Catholics. Both groups claim to be catholic, that is, part of the apostolic, universal church of Jesus Christ. Roman Catholics believe we Protestants departed from that church in the sixteenth century. Protestant Catholics believe they departed earlier. The theme of this opening chapter is one of the issues that still divides us: the source of religious truth for the people of God. (The other main issue, that of how a man is made right with God, has been dealt with in the book Justification by Faith ALONE!, published by...

Just came over the BBC. A car bomb apparently has exploded outside the US consulate in Karachi. First reports indicate that at least four are dead. Developing....

ALBANY, N.Y. — Saying hunters can easily be terrorists in disguise, a wildlife group on Friday asked for a suspension of New York’s annual hunting season. Anne Muller of Wildlife Watch is aghast that being armed and disguised in camouflage is legally permitted in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. Hunting "is just a wonderful opportunity for someone who would want to do a terrorist act," Muller said. "They don't have to report their whereabouts and can be lurking anywhere. They can lurk in groups." But Peter Constantakes, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation, said the Empire ...

PRESIDENT George W Bush was mobbed by rescuers chanting “USA, USA, USA!” as he visited the carnage of the World Trade Center last night. And in a stirring speech, he sent out a clear message that he was preparing to strike back strongly at those responsible. The President, clutching a small Stars and Stripes, used a megaphone to address hundreds of rescue workers combing the vast mountain of rubble. As his voice was drowned out by cheers and chants of patriotism, somebody shouted: “We can’t hear you.” Mr Bush replied: “Well, I can hear you. The whole world can hear ...

Chinese fury at release of crew Haikou: There was genuine fury on the streets of Hainan after the US spy plane crew left China today, with many people criticising the government for caving in to the United States. "China is a coward! President Jiang Zemin must step down! All Chinese people will not accept this," said a middle-aged man as soon as he learned of the Sino-US deal paving the way for the crew's release. The crew's departure from the tropical southern Chinese city of Haikou on Hainan island came as a shock to most people. "Release them? We can't ...

Given the hoopla about John Ashcroft's defense of Confederate heros, I thought it might be helpful to many Freepers to be aware of the kind of Christian gentlemen John Ashcroft has actually defended. JACKSON'S COLORED SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS There are many revisionists at work today going about trying to convince the gullible that the sole cause for the War Between the States was slavery and that most Southerners, particularly its leaders, were rabid racists and hated the black race. Nothing could be further from the truth. As other writers and articles point out on this site, many blacks proudly fought ...

Getting Stevens Right The media has twisted his words to their partisan end. By Randy E. Barnett, Austin B. Fletcher Professor at Boston University School of Law & author of The Structure of Liberty: Justice and the Rule of Law Much has already been made by the media of the concluding paragraph of Justice Stevens's dissent, especially the last two sentences: "Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of ...

BUSH CHILLS AT RANCH AS DEADLINE NEARS; NOT WATCHING TV NEWS As lawyers fight and judges rule and the nation waits for Florida to pick a winner, Texas Gov. George W. Bush has been holed up some 90 miles northwest of the governor's mansion in Austin plunging into the pages of a new biography of Joe DiMaggio and keeping his TV off -- avoiding all cable and broadcast news! "He has no cable or satellite television and only a few local channels, and he rarely turns to those," NEW YORK TIMES Bush-watcher Frank Bruni will report in Friday editions. No ...

BUSH CHILLS AT RANCH AS DEADLINE NEARS; NOT WATCHING TV NEWS As lawyers fight and judges rule and the nation waits for Florida to pick a winner, Texas Gov. George W. Bush has been holed up some 90 miles northwest of the governor's mansion in Austin plunging into the pages of a new biography of Joe DiMaggio and keeping his TV off -- avoiding all cable and broadcast news! "He has no cable or satellite television and only a few local channels, and he rarely turns to those," NEW YORK TIMES Bush-watcher Frank Bruni will report in Friday editions. No ...