Free Republic

Institutions of higher education around the country are providing students with ball pits, typically used by young children, to help relieve the stress of college. As a part of an ongoing trend, colleges and universities around the country are setting up ball pits as a means of providing their students with “emotional safety.” According to a report from The College Fix, the ball pits are used “as icebreakers, to break down racial barriers, facilitate lessons on wellness, and as part of freshmen orientation.” “The ball pits were perfect for allowing students to feel comfortable,” explained Kate Ayotte, a wellness programs...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s failure to recognize political Islam as a driver of jihadist terrorism is partly to blame for the FBI not identifying one of the Boston Marathon bombers in 2011 as a security risk, according to U.S. officials and private counterterrorism analysts. The FBI revealed last week that it was warned by a foreign government in 2011 that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed Friday, was tied to “radical Islam” but the FBI was unable to confirm the links. “The fact is religion has been expunged from counterterrorism training,” said Sebastian Gorka, a counterterrorism specialist with the Foundation...

Politics: It's good to see Democrats put country above politics, as many did in repudiating Hugo Chavez's lunatic attacks on our president. But too many are still in the thug's debt and must dissociate with more than words. That's important because Chavez's crazed speeches this week, declaring President Bush "the devil," leave the scent of political blood in the water for plenty of Democrats. They know their own anti-Bush ravings could come back to haunt them on Nov. 7, given the enormous wave of public revulsion at Chavez's words in the U.S. After all, potential GOP TV ads featuring Democrats'...

U.S. Violates Ban Against Funding Hamas 00:15 Dec 18, '05 / 17 Kislev 5766 By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu The American government's Agency for International Development has given the Hamas-controlled village of Bani Suhaila $392,000 for road projects, according to Middle East Newsline. It quoted the mayor of the town, where Hamas won 12 out of 13 seats in recent local elections, that he expects more projects for funding. Last May, David Satterfield, number two man in the State Department's Near Eastern Affairs bureau, declared that the Bush administration "will neither recognize nor engage with" Hamas or Hizbollah members who are...

AUBURN NY--Before Charles Davenport goes to bed each night, he rinses his sole orange-and-white striped Cayuga County Jail uniform and leaves it to dry in his cell while he sleeps. His wife, Patty, said her husband has been cold at night in the chilly facility because he has no change of uniform to wear at night, only undershorts to sleep in, while he serves a 10-month sentence. "They shouldn't live in the lap of luxury, but they should have proper clothing and food," she said. From interviews with inmates and the families of inmates, as well as eight letters from...

Today, reading Good Housekeeping while waiting for the doc, I came across an interview with this man about children and "laziness". I started reading, and within minutes was absolutely astounded by what he was saying. GH: You've often said it's hard to be a child in school today. Dr.L: Kids are expected to be competent in many things all at once:writing, math, sports, art. It's ten times easier to be an adult! GH: Where do kids usually have the most difficulties? Dr.L: Writing. Kids have to spell and generate ideas and remember punctuation and hold the pencil properly. It's a...