Free Republic

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ It's Finally Friday ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ HOMECOMING HUG Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class James McDowell hugs his son during a homecoming ceremony on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor, Wash., Sept. 9, 2011, following an seven-month deployment aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. McDowell, a logistics specialist, is assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 139. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Nardel Gervacio Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have...

Buried within an ABC News story about today’s release of hundreds of Solyndra-related emails is a reminder of what White House Spokesman Jay Carney said at a press conference late last month after being asked about the involvement of a Department of Energy consultant and Obama fundraiser named Steve Spinner: Carney replied: “It’s my understanding, at least with regard to the gentleman you just mentioned [Steve Spinner], that he had no connection to overseeing the loan guarantee program.” After hearing Carney say that, your first instinct might have been to think, “Hey, Spinner must have a connection to overseeing the...

Police have arrested a mentally-ill man in connection with the death of his parents, whose bodies were found at their home on Friday. David William Hamilton, 26, from Huntersville, North Carolina, was arrested at a motel on Friday night after his sister reportedly found their parents' bodies. Huntersville Police Captain Michael Kee said Hamilton was living with his parents - James and Stephanie Hamilton - at the home after being released from a mental institution earlier this year.

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ It's Finally Friday ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ MEYER INDUCTION Medal of Honor recipient Marine Corps Sgt. Dakota L. Meyer stands next to a plaque bearing his name after he was inducted into the Pentagon's Hall of Heroes during a ceremony in the Pentagon, Sept. 16, 2011. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey Behnke Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. FRIENDLY FLAG Air Force Lt. Col. Case Cunningham...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ It's Finally Friday ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ HAND IN HAND U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Binnings leaves with his family after returning from summer patrol to Commander Fleet Activities, Yokosuka, Japan, Aug. 22, 2011. Binnings is an information systems technician assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Charles Oki Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. PARATROOPER PUSH-UP An Army grader, right, for...

Just remember, no matter what happens... #AttackWatch -something funny going on at the stock exchange, everytime obama speaks the market starts to tank. Please advise! #TeaParty We don’t have to worry about #attackwatch, just make Obama run on his record, 9.1% unemployment, record #’s on foodstamps & in poverty “hey #AttackWatch some teabagger set up this goofy web site called #AttackWatch that they are using to make Obama look silly.” Someone should report @AttackWatch to #attackwatch since it is demolishing Obama’s reelection chances. It is the joke of the month on obammy “Obama tells ‘SuperCommittee of 12′ he thot...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ It's Finally Friday ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ TWO MONTHS AWAY U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Marc De St. Aubin hugs his daughters after the U.S. 7th Fleet command ship USS Blue Ridge arrives at Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, Aug. 29, 2011. The Blue Ridge returned to Yokosuka after a two-month patrol throughout the Pacific region. De St. Aubin is an intelligence specialist. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Melvin F. Orr III Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family...

Obama's Job Package? For all the SNL fans out there.... Obama's Team is hiring (translated): Obama for America is looking for talented social media copywriters and strategists anyone who still worships Obama, to join our digital thuggery team at our Chicago headquarters. We're going to run the most effective, creative, and innovative vile, corrupt, and dirty digital campaign in the history of politics, and our digital team will be core to achieving the communications, fundraising, and organizing propaganda goals of the cause. Our social media team will help tell the story sell the BS of the campaign and move...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ It's Finally Friday ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ FAMILY REUNION U.S. Navy Yeoman 2nd Class Victoria Kent reunites with her son after a five-month deployment aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Cleveland in San Diego, Aug. 4, 2011. The Cleveland took part in Pacific Partnership 2011, which provided humanitarian aid to several isolated Pacific nations. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Behnke Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. ROBOT...

National Dog Day When : Always August 26th National Dog Day is intended to honor dogs for all that they do for us. In addition to giving love and companionship, dogs help us out in countless ways. They are watchdogs for our safety. They lead the blind. Dogs aid in search and rescue, and they seek out bombs and drugs. It's an opportunity for us to recognize and appreciate the value and importance of dogs in our lives. A Montana cowboy was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ It's Finally Friday ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ ARIS CUDDLED U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. George Shepherd holds his military working dog, Aris, on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, July 27, 2011. Shepherd is a military working dog handler assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron. The squadron's dog handlers work side by side with their canines while searching vehicles for illegal drugs and explosives. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Krista Rose Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ It's Finally Friday ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ SUNSET VIEW The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur is seen underway from the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in the Indian Ocean, July 20, 2011. The George Washington is participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre 2011, a bilateral exercise designed to train Australian and U.S. forces in planning and conducting combined task force operations. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Juan Pinalez Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ It's Finally Friday ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ LIGHTNING II The Defense Department's first U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft soars over Destin, Fla., before landing at its new home at Eglin Air Force Base, July 14, 2011. Its pilot, Lt. Col. Eric Smith, assigned to the 58th Fighter Squadron, is the first Air Force qualified pilot for the aircraft. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joely Santiago Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the...

The sad truth for ridiculous Web memes is that they have remarkably poor shelf lives. So, farewell planking.Hello, owling.Deciding that striking a "light as a feather, stiff as a board" pose in public, photographing it and posting it on the Web is old news, some Internet denizens have moved on.Now, it's all about squatting, arms pressed toward the ground and eyes locked in a wise, faraway gaze. You know ... like an owl. If it all seems sort of ludicrous, well, that's kind of the point."Owling is actually more of an indication of how big planking is," said Ben...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ It's Finally Friday ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ HOMECOMING HUG U.S. Navy Lt. Lief Walroth greets his son during a homecoming celebration for members of Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron 11 during a port visit by the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to Mayport, Fla., July 13, 2011. The Enterprise and Carrier Air Wing 1 are returning to homeport at Naval Station Norfolk after completing a six-month deployment to the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Gary Granger Jr. Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ It's Finally Friday ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ FINAL MISSION Space Shuttle Atlantis, NASA's final space shuttle mission, lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., July 8, 2011. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. SAVING LIVES Medal of Honor recipient Army Sgt. 1st. Class Leroy Petry describes the combat action of May 26, 2008, near Paktya, Afghanistan, in...

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The closure of a mountain highway pass in the heart of the nation's second-largest city -- an event anticipated to be so calamitous to car-loving Southern California that it's been dubbed "Carmaggedon" -- is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Pacific on Friday. That's when crews will begin closing ramps on Interstate 405 where it passes over the Santa Monica Mountains, California Department of Transportation officials said. At 10 p.m. Pacific, crews will begin closing lanes, and by midnight, the 405 will be eerily vacant -- a "carpocalypse," some say -- for the next 53 hours....

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ It's Finally Friday ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ HERO PLAQUE Medal of Honor recipient Army Sgt. 1st Class Leroy A. Petry stands next to the Hall of Heroes plaque now bearing his name after it is unveiled during a ceremony at the Pentagon, July 13, 2011. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. WEAPONS SEARCH As seen through a night-vision device, a U.S....

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ It's Finally Friday ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ THUMBS UP U.S. Army Pfc. Shawn Williams gives the thumbs-up to members of his unit as he is evacuated after being injured by a roadside bomb in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, June 17, 2011. Williams is assigned to the 25th Infantry Division's 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Haraz N. Ghanbari Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. RADIO RESPONSE U.S. Army...