Free Republic

<p>Beach, Va., Saturday, June 1, 2019. A longtime city employee opened fire at the building Friday before police shot and killed him, authorities said.</p> <p>RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Four days after a gunman opened fire and killed 12 people at a Virginia Beach government building, Gov. Ralph Northam on Tuesday called for a special General Assembly session on gun laws.</p>

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced on Tuesday that he’ll recall lawmakers to the state Capitol in the coming weeks to take up a package of gun-control legislation, which he said is urgently needed to prevent killings like Friday’s mass shooting in Virginia Beach. Northam said he plans to convene a special legislative session this summer. The Democrat said in an Associated Press interview ahead of his announcement that he wants the Republican-controlled General Assembly to hear from the public about the need for “common-sense” law related to guns and accessories. Republicans have previously rejected Northam’s gun control bills out of...

The lie that will not die: Most mass shooters are white. Just Google "white mass shooters," and you will find hundreds and hundreds of stories from The Grio, Root, Salon, CNN, PBS, and Newsweek, right up to the Washington Post, with headlines likes this, from Vice: "Why are so many mass shootings committed by young white men?" All accompanied with fairy tales like this from the Washington Post: "a consistent pattern: Young, white men with demonstrable backgrounds of mental instability or violence against women taking the lives of as many people as possible." At least one legacy media outfit figured...

Commentary: WASHINGTON, July 10 (UPI) -- The outgoing NATO SACEUR, or supreme allied commander Europe, would gladly forgo more NATO troops to fight Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan if allied countries dropped their caveats against their use in combat operations. Gen. John Craddock, the outgoing supremo, says these caveats "increase the risk to every service member deployed in Afghanistan and bring increased risk to mission success." They are also "a detriment to effective command and control, unity of effort and … command." NATO's International Security Assistance Force consists of 58,300 troops from 41 countries. But NATO's 28 member nations provide the...

Excerpt - TBILISI, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The United States expects to help Georgia rebuild its military following the conflict with Russia over breakaway South Ossetia, U.S. General John Craddock said on Thursday. "One would assume ... we would have to help them rebuild because they are a partner in the war on terror, they've been helpful. They are going to ask us, I am sure, to replace and rebuild," Craddock, who is also NATO's top operational commander in Europe, told reporters during a trip to Georgia. ~ snip ~

China's Latin influence is growing, general says China is taking advantage of a U.S. influence vacuum in Latin America because of aid cuts, the commander of the Southern Command says. By PABLO BACHELET pbachelet@herald.com WASHINGTON - The head of the Miami-based U.S. Southern Command Wednesday warned that China was increasing its influence among Latin American militaries, and partly blamed a policy that cuts military aid to countries that refuse to exempt U.S. citizens from International Criminal Court jurisdiction. In his first testimony before a House panel, Army Gen. Bantz Craddock, who heads the United States Southern Command, offered an unusually...