Free Republic

A Pennsylvania fire company was closed by town officials on Wednesday after the company's leadership refused to address that one its volunteer firefighters was affiliated with the extremist group the Proud Boys. Officials in Haverford Township, in Delaware County, were informed on Aug. 12 that a volunteer with the Bon Air Fire Company was affiliated with "an organization described as an extremist group," the township's manager David Burman wrote in a statement released Thursday. The township immediately launched an investigation, which included interviewing the volunteer, who admitted he was involved with the Proud Boys, Burman said. The volunteer revealed he...

According to research out of Yale, there’s a fat chance that public health campaigns will help overweight Americans. The messages could have the opposite effect. After analyzing 1,041 Americans and 30 public service announcements, the researchers concluded that the campaigns may make members of the intended audience feel worse about themselves. As a result, many will go to fridge to find comfort. “Public health campaigns that are designed to address obesity should carefully consider the kinds of messages that are disseminated, so that those who are struggling with obesity can be supported in their efforts to become healthier, rather than...

May 11, 2002: Poor Pim Fortuyn, the recently assassinated Dutch activist\politician. Not only did he suffer the misfortune of being cut down in the prime of his life by an environmentalist nutcase's bullets, but now he's also undergoing the posthumous indignity of being demonized in death even more than he was in life. In the many instant news analyses that have popped up since his political assassination, Mr. Fortuyn has been described variously as a "racist", "far right-wing extremist" and "hard right winger". In most cases, this dynamic young activist has also been characterized as the Dutch equivalent of France's...