Free Republic

TBOS 23: "NITPICKING" See who made it into the Bowl (Of Stupid!) Instead of moving the country forward, some would prefer to stay stuck in nitpicking.

The California NAACP is coming after a new symbol of American heritage for its “racism.” The Star-Spangled Banner. According to SFGate.com, the national anthem is a “racist song” and the NAACP wants to push state lawmakers to change it. Alice Huffman, the president of the California chapter of the NAACP, said the song is “racist” and that it “doesn’t represent our community. It’s anti-black people.” The cites the song’s third verse, which is usually not sang, as evidence of its racist overtones. The third verse includes a line that says, “no refuge could save the hireling and slave from the...

The National Football League continues to struggle with furious fans as player protests enter their second month, with ratings for the NFL’s flagship ‘Sunday Night Football’ down a staggering 25% from this time last week. According to Deadline Hollywood, television viewership for the troubled football association continued its free fall from previous weeks, with roughly one quarter fewer fans tuning in as the Detroit Lions faced off against the Pittsburgh Steelers. “With that, as the league and broadcasters have been losing ratings traction and snared in political controversy this season, last night’s Week 8 NFL game is down a hard...

A statue to Francis Scott Key, the writer of the Star Spangled Banner, was defaced overnight in downtown Baltimore, with someone painting “Racist Anthem” on the side of the Bolton Hill monument. Baltimore Police received a report of the vandalism at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. They are investigating, but have no suspects.

~ Star Spangled Banner ~Written by Francis Scott Key (1814) Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies militaryand the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. The War of 1812 had been a particularly nasty conflict with the British. They had burned down the Capitol and the White House in Washington, and were set on taking the port of Baltimore, which was protected in part by Fort McHenry, just to the south. On September 7th, 1814, during the build-up to the attack on Baltimore, two Americans, Colonel John Skinner...

The FReeper Canteen presents.... ~ The Star Spangled Banner ~Written by Francis Scott Key (1814) Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies militaryand the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. The War of 1812 had been a particularly nasty conflict with the British. They had burned down the Capitol and the White House in Washington, and were set on taking the port of Baltimore, which was protected in part by Fort McHenry, just to the south. On September 7th, 1814, during the build-up to the attack on Baltimore,...

Furious San Francisco 49ers fans are burning Colin Kaepernick jerseys after he refused to stand for the national anthem as part of a racial protest. One fan even played The Star-Spangled Banner as he set light to the Number 7 shirt, watching with his hand on his chest as it was reduced to ash. Another, who uploaded a video to Instagram under the handle Nate3914, called the $19million-per-year athlete an 'ignorant son of a b****.'

a golden oldie of Usain Bolt from 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 20, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) - The nation's foremost homosexual and transgender political group has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, saying she has made banning reparative therapy and allowing transgender military service "a pillar" of her presidential campaign. “All the progress we have made as a nation on LGBT equality -- and all the progress we have yet to make -- is at stake in November," said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. The HRC said that Clinton has made homosexual and transgender political advocacy "a pillar of her campaign and recently unveiled the most robust and ambitious LGBT...

~ Star Spangled Banner ~Written by Francis Scott Key (1814) Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies militaryand the family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. The War of 1812 had been a particularly nasty conflict with the British. They had burned down the Capitol and the White House in Washington, and were set on taking the port of Baltimore, which was protected in part by Fort McHenry, just to the south. On September 7th, 1814, during the build-up to the attack on Baltimore, two Americans, Colonel John Skinner...

What could be more patriotic on the Fourth of July than playing the Star-Spangled Banner with a Ruger 10/22? Chris Cheng demonstrates:

Dion Waiters informs Northeast Ohio Media Group that he is a Muslim and plans to skip national anthems • Update: Dion Waiters clarifies remarks about his pregame ritual, will be there for anthems DENVER, Colo. – Prior to the Cavaliers getting set to take on the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, one of their players was missing from the pregame opening events. Dion Waiters was nowhere to be found when the national anthem was being sung. He was absent when the starting lineups were introduced. It was the first game of the season that he was coming off the bench. He...

Two hundred years ago today, it was the unlikely convergence of a physician and a lawyer that produced the most recited poem in American history. Its inspiration occurred just a few miles from Fort McHenry, located in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, the site of one of our nation’s most important military conflicts. [SNIP] Key, not surprisingly gloats over the failure of the British in the third stanza which was mostly dropped after they became our allies in the 20th century. But the poem/song’s most powerful stanza is its last.  In the fourth stanza Key proclaims the primary reason for the republic’s...

~snip~ Key was on a British ship, part of a U.S. delegation to negotiate a prisoner release. He was kept on board to prevent the American forces from being tipped off about the forthcoming bombing by the British. He was allowed to return to Baltimore on Sept. 14 and was so inspired by the U.S. pluckiness that he wrote a poem, "Defence of Fort M'Henry," which he published on Sept. 20, 1814. ~snip~ Neither Key's early hymn nor the Barbary War is widely taught in American schools anymore (except for the reference in the Marines’ Hymn: “To the shores of...

There is apparently no more important story or issue right now at the Politico than Ted Widmer's question about our national anthem: "Is It Time to Ditch the Star-Spangled Banner?" It is currently the lead item at the web site, complete with a huge picture of the American flag. The "beheading by ISIL of a British aid worker" and Wisconsin's court-granted ability to implement voter-ID in the fall elections are both apparently less important. - See more at: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2014/09/13/politico-lead-story-it-time-ditch-star-spangled-banner#sthash.B4XsZOqY.dpuf

A short documentary from Rockbridge Academy on the author of America's "Star Spangled Banner". Produced by ADG Creative. Francis Scott KEY American lawyer, author, and amateur poet, from Georgetown, who wrote the lyrics to the United States' national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner" Born: on August 01, 1779 in Carroll County, Maryland, USA Died: on January 11, 1843 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA Francis Scott Key was born to Ann Phoebe Penn Dagworthy (Charlton) and Captain John Ross Key at the family plantation Terra Rubra in what was Frederick County and is now Carroll County, Maryland. His father John Ross Key was...

While the number of stars in the United States flag has changed 27 times through history, from the placing of 13 stars in the original "Betsy Ross" flag to today's 50-star variant (in place for almost 54 years, the longest of all American flags), the number of stripes has only changed twice. The number was increased from 13 to 15 stripes in 1795 (along with 15 stars) upon the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the Union. Following the admission of five more states, the number of stripes was reduced back to 13 in 1820 to honor the original 13...

On this day, March 3, 1931, the Star-Spangled Banner was officially adopted as the national anthem of the United States, more than 100 years after it was first written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812. Today, we raise the 15-star flag used in the Battle of Fort McHenry which was the inspiration for Key's poem and eventual anthem. We also honor Florida, which became the 27th state in the Union in 1845, after being purchased from Spain in 1819.

The story of how our national anthem came to be. This is a story every American should hear. It's a little lengthy, but I'm sure it'll be worth your time

On this date in 1794, President George Washington signed a measure making the first changes to the American flag, by ordering the stars and stripes to be increased by two each, to symbolize the admissions of Vermont and Kentucky to the Union. The 15-star, 15-stripe flag would remain the standard for the United States for 23 years, until the admission of five more states would bring the next changes to the flag, reverting the number of stripes to a permanent 13 but increasing the stars for each state admitted thereafter.