Free Republic

Political Correctness: Despite the latest example of word-use insanity, naming a helicopter after the Indian nation that handed the U.S. Army one of its most ignominious defeats is a sign of respect, not racism. In 2012, military blogger Crispin Burke reports, American Indian leaders were on hand to bless two brand-new UH-72 Lakota helicopters, named after the Lakota Sioux, the tribe that gave Col. George Custer a final exam on the proper use of light cavalry in combat at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. The two choppers, christened Eagle and Turtle for prominent Indian symbols, have honor feathers...

Lost Opportunities: Immigrants, both legal and illegal, have accounted for all the job gains in the U.S. since 2000. With labor force participation rates at record lows, why do some tout the benefits of importing workers? According to a White House report released Wednesday, the immigration legislation tinkered together by the Gang of Eight (or Gang of Ocho, as critics sneer) would increase real GDP by roughly $700 billion in 2023 and reduce the federal deficit by almost $850 billion over the next 20 years. This would happen, we're told, by bringing illegal workers out of the shadow economy into...

Gun Control: If the girlfriend of the football linebacker killed in a murder-suicide had a gun to defend herself, she might be alive today to explain how guns save lives and more of them means less crime. Let us start with the proposition that Jovan Belcher, the 6-foot-2-inch, 228-pound Kansas City Chiefs linebacker, did not need his legally obtained and registered gun to kill his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins. He could have used his bare hands to dispatch his partner, or even, say, a knife, as was used in another murder case involving a famous football player that NBC Sports announcer...

Energy: Industry leaders gathered in Houston say rising fuel output comes in spite of, not because of, the president's policies and the pain at the pump will soon be excruciating. Energy executives and other industry players gathered for the North American Prospect Expo (NAPE) in Houston shredded administration assertions that it is opening up areas for oil and gas exploration and that its policies are responsible for increased oil and gas production on President Obama's watch. "These have been the most difficult three years from a policy standpoint that I've ever seen in my career," Bruce Vincent, president of Houston...

SOUTH BEND, Ind.- An ex-University of Notre Dame catering employee has agreed to pay the Indiana school back for half of a $30,000 tip mistakenly deposited in her bank account. Sara Gaspar, who received a $29,387 deposit in her bank account due to an April 17 error for a deposit that should have been $29.87, said she spent the money on bills and a new car, the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune reported Friday. Gasper agreed to pay the university back $16,859.79, about half of the original sum, in $50 monthly payments for about 28 years, court documents said. As part...

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SEYMOUR, Ind. - Sniper shootings of two vehicles along Interstate 65 in southern Indiana early Sunday left one person dead and another injured, state police said. ADVERTISEMENT A sniper shot at a southbound vehicle about 12:20 a.m., killing one of its three occupants, police said. About the same time, occupants of a second southbound vehicle called police to report a passenger had been shot. The victim was hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said. Authorities closed a 14-mile stretch of the interstate in the area, about 40 miles south of Indianapolis. A preliminary investigation showed the sniper fired...

AL KHAFFAJIYAH, Iraq (Nov. 8, 2005) -- While many Marines use the cover of darkness to secretly infiltrate and secure cities and towns across Iraq, Lance Cpl. Pedro L. Rangel is doing his best to be seen and heard. The 21-year-old, Merrillville, Ind., native, with Regimental Combat Team 2, uses a mobile loud speaker to blare messages to local Iraqis once coalition forces have entered a city. “A lot of times we’ll sneak into a town late at night when everyone is sleeping so no one knows we’re there.” Rangel said. “But early the next morning, I’m usually out and...

AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 24, 2005) -- The current operational tempo of the Global War on Terrorism means many Marines are deploying to combat zones on a yearly basis. Back-to-back combat tours can cause headaches for Marines and heartaches for their families, but for Sgt. C. Alexander Wolf, it’s just another day at the office. Wolf, the signals intelligence chief for 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), is on his fourth deployment to the Middle East, dating back to 2003. The Kokomo, Ind., native, works for the Wing’s intelligence division, whose duties range from intercepting and analyzing electronic communications signals to...

INDIANA — A high school senior was suspended and prohibited from participating in his graduation ceremony for hiding a vulgar word in a student newspaper article. Lawrence Central High School administrators handed down the punishment to Drew LaMar after he used the first letter of every paragraph in his May 20 column in the Cub Reporter to spell out a message directed at the newspaper adviser, Elizabeth Granger. School officials said the message, "F**k Granger," was not protected speech. According to Dennis LaMar, Drew's father, school administrators said they did not notice the message until they overheard a conversation between...