Free Republic

AL ASAD, Iraq (July 3, 2006) -- Traveling across the sands of Iraq can be a dangerous task for the service members and civilians who attempt it, but it is a necessary risk for them when they have a job to perform at their next destination. Without having to worry about improvised explosive devices or a 10-hour convoy trip, the service members and civilians have taken to the skies for quick and easy transportation to and from the different forward operating bases throughout the theater in Iraq. There are two main ways the service members can travel in theater --...

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Trevor A. Chapman makes sure his M-2 .50-caliber machine gun is mounted correctly in the new Marine Corps Armored Turret System. The new turret offers gunners greater protection and visibility with ballistic glass shielding. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva Marine Gunners Safer, See Better With New Turrets The new armored turret systems are being installed on seven-ton trucks, the first in an upgrade to give gunners greater visibility and beefed-up protection for convoy operations. By U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Mark Oliva Regimental Combat Team 5 CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq, May...

It was inevitable that someone would describe the 21-year-old suspect in last weekend's street killing in the Warehouse District as "a good kid." But good kids don't bring guns to movies. And groups of good kids don't storm into cinemas shouting, cursing, flashing gang signs and picking fights with rivals, all of which apparently led to a melee, then gunfire, outside of Block E and the shocking death of an innocent pedestrian. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and police officials insist that the tragedy was an aberration and that the district is safe.

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2006 – U.S. soldiers discovered four weapons caches in a four-day period in areas outside of Baghdad, officials said. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, discovered a weapons cache March 8 near the Euphrates River, south of Baghdad. Army Pfc. Jason Chambers, of B Company, was occupying an observation post when he noticed something out of place in the distance. After carefully inspecting the area, he and another soldier discovered the cache, consisting of roadside bomb-making materials. Chambers and the soldier moved away a safe distance, notified their...

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2006 – The United States and India have built a strategic partnership based on shared democratic values and a desire to defeat terrorism, President Bush said in New Delhi today. "Terrorism has no place in democracy, and terrorism must be defeated for our children and grandchildren to be able to live in a peaceful world," Bush said during a news conference hosted by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "We're working as partners to make the world safer." The president said India and America both believe that "every person matters, every person belongs, and everybody should be...

AR RAMADI, Iraq (Feb. 14, 2006) -- The patrol almost screams to a stop, with humvees speeding past the targeted vehicle only to turn suddenly and cordon off the traffic while Marines and Iraqi soldiers quickly climb out and secure the area. While the selected vehicle is rapidly emptied and searched thoroughly, another squad searches the occupants for anything that might link them to the insurgency and asks them if they have information that could prove helpful. It’s called a snap vehicle checkpoint and it has become a successful deterrent against an enemy that blends into the local populace and...

In a year-end effort to raise funds -- as well as enthusiasm for the Democratic Party -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is urging fellow Democrats to "look back" over the past year and consider how Republicans have messed things up. Pelosi mentions a Republican Party in charge of the White House and both chambers of Congress that "decided to go full throttle" on corruption. "They hoped that by shutting down all avenues of accountability, they could establish a permanent stranglehold on our government where they would be insulated from any consequences for betraying the public trust," Pelosi wrote in...

After his group's reverberating pot victory last week making Denver the first U.S. city to legalize the use of recreational marijuana, Mason Tvert has garnered national attention. He's been juggling calls from several of the nation's top newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, and debating pot opponents on cable networks like Fox News and MSNBC. But the main focus of Tvert, executive director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), is still CSU and other Colorado universities, which he says are at the forefront of the national alcohol problem - one that could be alleviated if...

To those abroad, "God bless America" looks like code for "God bless us and screw you," 60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer asserted Sunday during an appearance at the Stonington, Connecticut community center as recounted Monday by The Day newspaper in New London. "'This country looks arrogant, foolish and scary from overseas,' said Safer, who has a weekend home in Chester," The Day relayed. Safer "was frustrated that the press collectively branded John Kerry 'boring and lugubrious' when discussion never should have turned on questions of personality." Reporter Kate Moran revealed that Safer "wore his liberal leanings on his sleeve" as...

...CBS has dismissed calls for an internal investigation into its reporting of the story, arguing that it was thoroughly reviewed before broadcast. "I'm confident in the process of vetting that got the story on air. When we say we continue to report the story you can be sure we're being conscientious in responding to these allegations," says CBS News President Andrew Heyward. CBS may offer further evidence in support of its story as early as today. The stakes are high for "60 Minutes," the undisputed gold standard in television news.... Its longtime producer, Don Hewitt, 81, has retired unenthusiastically, and...

For Immediate Release June 26, 2004 President's Radio Address      Audio THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week I'm traveling to the U.S.-EU summit in Ireland, homeland to so many Irish Americans, and one of the fastest growing and modern economies in the European Union. I will also be attending the NATO summit in Turkey, a proud nation that successfully blends a European identity with secular democracy and Islamic traditions.  Radio Address 2004200320022001  Radio Interviews 2004 I will discuss with our European allies our common struggle to defeat the forces of global terror, our common interest in the spread of prosperity...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Attorney General John Ashcroft touted a Bush administration program Wednesday meant to ensure tough sentences for people who use guns to commit crimes, saying it has made the nation markedly safer. Since President Bush took office, Ashcroft said, more than $1 billion has been spent on the Project Safe Neighborhoods program. Ashcroft spoke to a crowd of more than 1,000 local, state and federal prosecutors in Kansas City for a conference on the program, which is administered by federal prosecutors across the country. The program, he said, has resulted in the lowest violent crime rate...

I attended the Second Amendment Sisters SAFER rally yesterday, and also checked out the "Million" Moron Mom rally. They had about 2000 people, we had about 200. Enjoy the photos and check out Kristinn's after-action report thread here: Second Amendment Sisters SAFER Rally, After Action Report 5/09/04 The "Million Mom March" Ahh, irony. The "American Sheep" shirt with the "FOLLOW" slogan... the Kerry for President sticker... make special note of this "gun free" sticker. A friend of mine hoping for a happy September. Let's hope this is one promise the President WON'T keep! This guy gave me a free "Million...

Out Of India Jan. 11, 2004 (CBS) To many American employers, India is Nirvana. It has a stable democracy, an enormous English-speaking population, and a solid education system that each year churns out more than a million college graduates - all happy to work for a fraction of the salary of their American counterparts. And India epitomizes the new global economy -- a country that often looks on the edge of collapse, a background of grinding poverty, visually a mess. And yet, whether you know it or not, when you call Delta Airlines, American Express, Sprint, Citibank, IBM or Hewlett...

Baghdad is a much more dangerous place under US occupation than it was when Saddam Hussein was in charge, according to statistics released Friday by a research group. Soaring violence on the streets of Iraq's capital since the US-led war on Iraq has killed an extra 1519 civilians. The Iraq Body Count (IBC) said its study of violent deaths recorded at the main city morgue confirmed anecdotal evidence of "terror" and "mayhem" on the streets of Baghdad. From mid-April to the end of August, 2846 violent deaths were recorded by the Baghdad morgue, the IBC said. After subtracting the average...

There's a crime being committed in America. It's not murder -- although one murder is committed every 33.9 minutes, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. It's not rape -- although one forcible rape occurs every 5.8 minutes. It's not robbery -- although one robbery is perpetrated every 1.3 minutes. No, the real crime is that so many of those murderers, rapists, and robbers get away with their crimes. According to FBI figures for 2001, only 62.4% of murders were "cleared" -- that is, a suspect was arrested and charged with the crime. Only 44.3% of rapes were cleared. And...

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry talked about war, health care, his rivals and his wife at an hour-long session Tuesday with USA TODAY and Gannett News Service reporters and editors. This is the first of a planned series of question-and-answer sessions with the Democratic presidential contenders. Excerpts from his remarks, which have been edited for length and clarity: On health care ''We will get to universal coverage, but I'm not trying to sell a pipe dream here about what you get in the first five years. I'm doing this in a reasonable, thoughtful, affordable way, which addresses all of the concerns...

We're going to do a little thought experiment here. So, what I want you to do is read the following paragraph, then close your eyes and picture the scene, and then answer the question that follows. Ready? OK: You are standing on a hilly piece of land in suburban Maryland not far from Washington, looking down at a crowded shopping mall surrounded by snarls of traffic. Through your binoculars, you see a man step out of a white van, pull a rifle with a scope from behind the seat and shoulder the weapon. Standing fifty feet behind him happens to...

It is said that when the people demand things get done, it always starts in the House of Representatives. On Wednesday, they did just that, voting in favor of a bill to arm commercial airline pilots. Of course, the celebration is short lived, because we know that it will have 'trouble' in the Senate. Again, when I listen to the reasoning from the other side of this issue, get so mad I almost turn white. Perhaps there is something in the Potomac River water supply. The legislation, approved by a vote of 310-113, would allow guns for more than 70,000...