Free Republic

Minnesota Republicans rallied at the Capitol on Tuesday in an effort to put a new state flag design before voters this fall. About two dozen people met on the Capitol steps to call for keeping Minnesota’s current state flag that features the state seal at the center of a dark blue background. Several held up or waved the flags as GOP lawmakers and others voiced frustration about the process that generated new state flag and seal designs. “I’m wearing a T-shirt today that says, ‘Erasing history never goes well.’ And that’s what we believe is happening here,” Minnesota Republican Party...

A dozen Syrian refugees arrive in Texas today hoping to start a new life far from their war-torn homeland. But they're not being welcomed by the state. Six of the 12 refugees are members of one family. Two small children with their parents and grandparents will join relatives in Dallas. The other six refugees will be greeted by relatives in Houston. The Bayou city will get another nine refugees on Thursday.

DUE TO operational security issues, specifics of some tactics, techniques and procedures involved in protective services detail training are not discussed. CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait — The 40th Expeditionary Signal Battalion doesn’t have an 0-6 — that’s a colonel. But protecting the commander and command sergeant major is important enough for the unit to have a 16-soldier protective services detail. Being a member of the detail entails more than just acting as a stationary or walking escort, carrying a weapon and looking around. If for some reason the commander — Lt. Col. Linda Jantzen — or Command Sgt. Maj. John Womble...

Iraqi troops shoot at fleeing civilians By Sudarsan RaghavanKnight Ridder NewspapersPublished Monday, March 31, 2003 AZ ZUBAYR BRIDGE, Iraq -- Iraqi troops fired machine guns and artillery shells at several hundred families fleeing Basra on Sunday, triggering a shootout with British soldiers that pinned down terrified refugees in the cross-fire. Mothers in black Islamic garments clutched crying babies to their chests. Young men tightly held the hands of their grandmothers. And an old, sun-weathered man with a cane briefly looked to the heavens and yelled, ''Allah. God help me.'' British forces on the outskirts of Basra are facing an Iraqi...