Free Republic

One gets the impression that if Amir Hekmati, the former United States Marine still imprisoned in Iran were gay, transgendered or a deserter, President Obama, who tweeted to the former Olympic champion and now Vanity Fair cover girl Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner: “It takes courage to tell your story.” BizPac Review noted how quickly and for what reason President Obama sprung into action after Caitlin’s cover: “It takes courage to share your story,” the president tweeted in response to Jenner, who broke the president’s record for fastest new Twitter account to reach 1 million followers. Never on to miss an opportunity to...

Rick Perry’s June event in Addison, Texas, where he is expected to announce his candidacy for president, will feature a number of retired and current Navy SEALs, according to a invite to the event. Retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, whose autobiography inspired the 2014 film Lone Survivor, will attend with his wife. The widow of retired Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, whose autobiography inspired the oscar-nominated American Sniper, will also be there. The event will also feature retired U.S. Navy SEAL JJ Jones, retired U.S. Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor Recipient Mike Thornton, retired U.S. Navy SEAL Pete Scobell, and...

School calls the movie's cancellation a "teachable moment". Less than a week after former NFL star and University of Maryland alumnus Boomer Esiason threatened to cut off his support for the school over the cancelation of screenings of the film American Sniper on campus, the school confirmed a new screening of the movie has been scheduled. Boomer wasn’t the only one upset with the cancelation. University of Maryland’s president, Wallace Loh, talked about some of the backlash the school faced in a letter to students ... That cancellation drew controversy. “We were deluged by phone calls and messages from across...

President Barack Obama will send three White House officials to the funeral of Freddie Gray, a Baltimore man who died in police custody this month. Obama sent no senior officials to Margaret Thatcher or Chris Kyle‘s funerals. Priorities. FOX News reported: The White House says the head of President Obama’s initiative for minority males will attend the funeral of a Baltimore man who died after sustaining serious injuries while in police custody.

The movie American Sniper is about a decorated American war hero who served his country valiantly. While we may disagree about the motives and politics of the Iraq War, the movie shows the sacrifice that Chris Kyle made, like so many of his fellow servicemen and women who put themselves in harm’s way to protect our country, including numerous University of Maryland alumni. If the University prevents a movie like this from being shown, it promotes intolerance and stifles dialogue and debate on the subject and goes directly against the atmosphere the University of Maryland purports to provide. As adults...

The University of Maryland joins the University of Michigan in the ranks of educational institutions with an "American Sniper" controversy. Muslim student protests prompted the University of Maryland at College Park to announce the cancellation of the movie about deceased Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. "American Sniper only perpetuates the spread of Islamophobia and is offensive to many Muslims around the world for good reason. This movie dehumanizes Muslim individuals, promotes the idea of senseless mass murder, and portrays negative and inaccurate stereotypes," the university's Muslim Students Association said in its petition, Fox News reported Thursday.

Full title: **Want to shoot machine guns with the Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden? That’ll be $50,000, please.** Key contributors to a conservative group have received a special invitation: For $50,000, they can shoot guns and hang out this June with Robert O’Neill, the former Navy SEAL credited with killing al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The offer was recently made by the ForAmerica organization. Those invited have until May 10 to RSVP for an event at the Amangani Resort Hotel in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

After originally deciding to screen the movie, the University of Maryland has reversed course and instead has canceled an upcoming showing of American Sniper on campus. The school’s conservative group released this statement in response: The University of Maryland Student Entertainment Events (SEE) decided to screen American Sniper on May 6 and 7, 2015. After meeting with concerned student organizations, SEE has decided to ‘postpone’ the movie. If the University prevents a movie like this from being shown, it promotes intolerance and stifles dialogue and debate on the subject and goes directly against the atmosphere of diversity the University of...

The University of Michigan isn't the only area university whose showing of the film "American Sniper" on Friday caused controversy. Four protesters were temporarily detained after disrupting an 8 p.m. showing of the film April 10 on the Eastern Michigan University campus, according to university officials. EMU spokesman Geoff Larcom said during the first of two planned showings at university's Student Center, protesters got on stage and disrupted the movie. The EMU Police Department received complaints for subjects causing a disturbance and refusing to leave at about 8:10 p.m. at the Student Center, according to their police log. About 40...

Zeinab Khalil, a liberal Muslim activist who went to the University of Michigan, has complained that Michigan is an unsafe environment for Muslims. Her evidence? Supposed "oppression" of Muslims, such as showing a movie and the fact that a Muslim student's apartment was vandalized last December. The problem with that statement is that Khalil herself is the one who vandalized the apartment. The student who lived there, Omar Mahmood, has had enough of Khalil's hypocrisy, however, and has released irrefutable evidence that Khalil was behind the act. At the end of last year, Khalil and other Muslims pelted Mahmood's apartment...

The perpetrator was a liberal activist and decorated campus Muslim leader who said American Sniper promoted violence.Is the University of Michigan a hostile place for Muslim students—or just a hostile place for freethinkers? Zeinab Khalil, a recent UM graduate, Muslim, and progressive activist who won numerous distinctions during her time on campus, including an award named for Martin Luther King, Jr., thinks it’s the former. A UM group’s decision to screen the film American Sniper offended the sensibilities of some Muslims, including Khalil, who claimed on Twitter that the campus “is already a hostile place for Arab/Muslim students. In one...

As a lifelong Michigan fan who grew up with Jim Harbaugh as his favorite Wolverine, I didnÂ’t think my man-crush on the Maize-and-BlueÂ’s new football coach could get any bigger than it already is. The guy hasnÂ’t even coached a game yet in Ann Arbor, but Captain America hosannas, like the ones he earned as quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, are already raining down on him after he beat the toughest opponent of them all this week. Political correctness. Faced with the douchetastic dumb-arsery of campus victimologists, who felt a showing of the movie American Sniper would be insensitive to...

Political correctness is a disease. It’s a cancerous growth on the posterior of America that continues to grow. One of the prime examples of that is this week’s controversy surrounding the University of Michigan, and it’s screening of American Sniper. Long story short, American Sniper was going to be shown on campus, some Muslims at UofM complained, got a petition going and got the screening canceled. They claimed that the film was “racist” and that it would make students feel “unsafe”. Jeez. Then one girl, one brave girl, named Rachel Jankowski, got a counter-petition going to get the screening back...

According to Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, his team would have been watching 'American Sniper' no matter what Michigan's student life department had done this week. MY INSERT - (Harbaugh's Tweet)Michigan Football will watch "American Sniper"! Proud of Chris Kyle & Proud to be an American & if that offends anybody then so be it! — Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) April 9, 2015

University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh announced on Twitter Wednesday night that his team will hold a screening of “American Sniper” after the school pulled a showing when some students called it “anti-Muslim.” Shortly after coach Harbaugh’s tweet, the University of Michigan reversed course and said their decision to cancel the screening was wrong. See the rest of story here....

The University of Michigan said late Wednesday that it will show the film "American Sniper" as originally scheduled after a protest by students and staff caused the screening to be scrapped. University Vice President for Student Life E. Royster Harper called the decision to cancel the Friday night showing a "mistake" in a statement. "The initial decision to cancel the movie was not consistent with the high value the University of Michigan places on freedom of expression and our respect for the right of students to make their own choices in such matters," Harper said. "The movie will be shown...

The University of Michigan canceled a scheduled movie screening of “American Sniper” on Tuesday after nearly 300 students and others complained the film glorifies a “mass killer” and perpetuates anti-Muslim stereotypes. An online petition, titled a “collective letter from Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) and Muslim students on campus,” accused the school of “tolerating dangerous anti-Muslim and anti-MENA propaganda” by showing the Chris Kyle biopic, The College Fix reported. “The movie American Sniper not only tolerates but promotes anti-Muslim and anti-MENA rhetoric and sympathizes with a mass killer,” the letter reads. “Chris Kyle was a racist who took a...

The Center for Campus Involvement announced Tuesday afternoon they would cancel a planned showing of “American Sniper” at UMix following a student petition over the depiction of certain communities in the film. In a statement posted on by Facebook CCI, which runs UMix, the organization said the choice was made in response to concerns raised by students about the film in the petition. “Student reactions have clearly articulated that this is neither the venue nor the time to show this movie,” the statement read. “We deeply regret causing harm to members of our community, and appreciate the thoughtful feedback provided...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) is the only major Republican likely 2016 presidential candidate who hasn't weighed in on the controversy over Indiana's "religious freedom" law that erupted this week — and his explanation for avoiding the issue is questionable.