Free Republic

Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit noted over the weekend that buried deep on the HHS website is a list of over 100 companies/organizations that have been granted waivers from the new health care law. Some of the companies on the list are well know, e.g. Olive Garden and Cracker Barrel restaurants and CIGNA health insurance. Others on the list seem conspicuous because of their small size. For instance, how did a company called Captain Elliot’s Party Boats get a waiver for their 10 employees? It turns out Captain Elliot’s Party Boats is the name of a company in Freeport, Texas...

Japanese prosecutors have released the Chinese captain of a fishing boat who was arrested in waters off disputed islands in the East Sea earlier in September. "We decided it was inappropriate to continue the investigation while keeping the suspect in custody any further, considering the future of the Japan-China relationship," an official from the Osaka prosecutors' office said at news conference on Friday afternoon. Japan arrested the 41-year-old Chinese fishing boat captain, Zhan Qixiong, on September 8 following the collision of his boat with two Japanese coast guard vessels. The collision occurred in the disputed islands in the East Sea....

Not so long ago, in an administration far, far away from reality -Vice President Joe Biden made the following declaration on paying taxes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCqgNWRjmAc Captain America obviously didn’t get the message. The 140 million dollar blockbuster has moved film production to London, England to avoid high taxation. Sure, some of the "Captain America" adaptation is literally set in London; for those scenes, that location makes perfect sense. But it also makes perfect sense for Captain America, once he's done fighting Nazis, to also show a little patriotism and film seems in his home country. But, as any American knows -...

I was wondering, that few militaries (like the United States) have women officers at flag rank (O-7 through to O-10). In order to limit the number of women in the military, even in the commissioned officer ranks, I would suggest a capping, or 'glass ceiling' for officer servicewomen to O-6 (colonel or navy captain). Do you think imposing a 'glass ceiling' on servicewomen is 'sexist'? Is it 'unpatriotic'?

Marvel Comic’s Captain America is the mightiest soldier with the super powerful secret soldier formula that makes him a super man. Sadly, this muscle bound hero that took on the whole Nazi army during WWII seems to be afraid of those American people who’ve joined the Tea Party movement. Not only is Cappy quaking in his little red booties, but he’s sure that the Tea Party folks are dangerous racists, too. Isn’t it wonderful that a decades old American comic book hero is now being used to turn readers against our very political system, being used to slander folks that...

11/25/2009 - FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (AFNS) -- Susan and Joseph Kosek are thankful for many things. This Thanksgiving they're especially thankful for tourniquets, helicopters, "battle buddies" and scores of doctors and medics across the globe. They're also thankful for the mine resistant ambush protected vehicle that absorbed most of the blast from a 35-pound improvised explosive device meant to kill their daughter. "Wendy called me a few hours after she was brought to the Green Zone and said, 'I want to talk to Dad,'" Mrs. Kosek said. "We didn't' know the extent of the injuries and neither did she."...

Tugboat captain indicted on pornography charges By Lawrence Buser (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal Monday, August 3, 2009 A West Tennessee tugboat captain has been indicted on federal child pornography charges. Larry Dale Henry of Scotts Hill admitted taking sexually explicit photos of himself in his home last year standing over a sleeping 14-year-old girl, FBI agents said in court documents. Agents said Dale had the photos on his laptop computer and also had CDs and DVDs containing the photos aboard his tugboat, the Orleanian. The girl’s mother told agents she believes the photos were taken in January or February last...

The remains of Navy Captain Scott Speicher, a pilot who has been missing since being shot down during the 1991 Gulf War, have been positively identified. The Pentagon has released a statement: The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) has positively identified remains recovered in Iraq as those of Captain Michael Scott Speicher. Captain Speicher was shot down flying a combat mission in an F/A-18 Hornet over west-central Iraq on January 17th, 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Captain Speicher's family for the ultimate sacrifice he made for his country," said Ray Mabus, Secretary of...

OC Family Grateful Editor: Saturday, April 25, 2009 was a beautiful day, and it was made even more wonderful by the outpouring of affection expressed toward Captain Robert S. Craig at his Beach Memorial Service. The Craig children and family appreciate all that was done to honor our “Pop,” a man so many in Ocean City have known and loved for so many years. The Beach Memorial was truly memorable and more special than we could have possibly imagined. We have many people to thank for their efforts in making it happen. We learned very quickly that organizing such an...

(At right) Flanked by friends and family members, a wreath is carried down the beach to be released into the ocean in memory of Craig, "founding father" of the Beach Patrol. Carrying the wreath is the current head of the organization, Capt. Butch Arbin, who is flanked by Craig's son, Robert Craig, and grandson, Christopher Craig. (Above) Sean Williams pushes a surf board, carrying the wreath and the ashes of Capt. Craig, toward a Coast Guard boat, which released the wreath farther from the shore.

Stung by the widely circulated “SEAL pals” account of what really happened in Somalia (discussed here last Friday), the Obama administration had National Security Advisor James L. Jones and a number of anonymous Pentagon sources give their side two days ago in a Washington Times exclusive. Their mission, according to reporter Bill Gertz, was: ... to dispel Internet reports that the military was delayed from taking action by indecision inside the White House. Clintonesque parsing of words is evident throughout the Jones-Pentagon account, amounting on more than one occasion to outright dishonesty. Yet the actual information they provide (as opposed...

MOMBASA, Kenya — As the Maersk Alabama plowed through the glassy waters of the Indian Ocean early last Wednesday, the cargo ship's 70-year-old electrician sat in the cafeteria with a cup of coffee, counting the minutes to breakfast. Suddenly, the ship's alarm sounded, shattering the morning calm. The electrician rose with a start. It was, he reckoned immediately, the scenario that he'd been warned about for four months, ever since he set off aboard the Alabama into the most dangerous waters in the world. Four Somali pirates had boarded the ship...

MALINDI, Kenya — With Somali pirates pointing an automatic rifle at a hostage American ship captain, U.S. Navy sharpshooters opened fire Sunday, killing the pirates and ending an extraordinary five-day standoff that marked the first seizure of a U.S. vessel by pirates on the high seas in at least two centuries. Three pirates were killed, the Pentagon said. The captain, 53-year-old Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vt., was rescued unharmed and taken aboard a U.S. warship. A fourth pirate who'd surrendered earlier also was being detained and could face trial in the United States.

MOMBASA, Kenya - An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday in a swift firefight that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, the ship's owner said.

News Release: April 8, 2009 Memorial Service planned to honor Captain Robert S. Craig Ocean City, MD – A memorial service for Captain Robert (Bob) S. Craig will be held 3 p.m. Saturday, April 25 on the beach at North Division Street. Captain Craig passed away on Saturday, March 28 at the age of 90. Captain Craig joined the Ocean City Beach Patrol in 1935 and served as its captain from 1946 until retiring in 1987. Captain Craig is credited with building the Ocean City Beach Patrol into the professional organization it is known as today. When Captain Craig turned...

(April 3, 2009) The man who not only epitomized the Ocean City Beach Patrol, but also built it into a serious and professional organization, passed away Saturday. When Capt. Robert (Bob) S. Craig turned 90 last July, a competition, dinner and slide show honored him for his 52 years as a town employee and member of the Beach Patrol. Thousands knew Craig from his years guiding the Beach Patrol and taking it from a small, relatively unskilled group of young men to a large group of highly skilled young men and women. Capt. Butch Arbin, the current head of the...

OCEAN CITY – Ocean City lost a treasured icon this week when Captain Robert S. Craig, who shepherded the Beach Patrol through decades of change and inspired his young charges for half a century passed away at the age of 90. Captain Craig, as he was known for decades not only by the thousands of lifeguards who worked with him and for him but also by the countless millions of local residents and visitors to the resort area, passed away last Saturday at the Coastal Hospice in Salisbury at the age of 90. A former schoolteacher and coach, Captain Craig...

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 13, 2009 – Many people know Abraham Lincoln as the 16th American president or the man who brought an end to slavery. But not many know of his military service. Abraham Lincoln, who is considered by many historians and political scientists to be the greatest U.S. president, was born 200 years ago yesterday in a one-room Kentucky log cabin. “Honest Abe” was the real thing -- a self-educated man of the people who rose to greatness, guiding the country through the long and bloody Civil War that marked his presidency. Many historians believe the outcome of the...

Howie live thread starting off with his Sunday Herald column

I wonder if anyone here imagines that Obama will do a Captain Queeg-like meltdown if the pressure grows? I would love to hear from others...