Free Republic

Have a Pizza, Humiliate a Dad By Glenn Sacks Pizza boxes with “Wanted” posters for child support debtors. Amazing how creative government agencies can be when they’re trying to enforce child support. This is coupled with their mulish, “Gee whiz, we can’t solve that” attitude towards enforcing visitation rights. The Fox News story below details the latest creative effort from child support enforcement to beat child support out of men. Some of these men may be legitimate “deadbeats,” but many are either: victims of a system which demands that they pay beyond their means; victims of a system which demands...

I got this in my email this morning. What a great way to support our troops! As a Company, Southwest Airlines is going to support "Red Fridays." Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen. Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camo's, as they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their...

What do US soldiers need in Iraq? Probably not hand-knitted caps and booties. "We're running into a lot of knitted items" in care packages, says Marine 1st Lieutenant Barry Edwards, public affairs officer for Regimental Combat Team Six in Fallujah. "Great job on the knitting, but we're starting to break 85 degrees [F.] ... and in about another month it's going to be over 100." Four years into America's war in Iraq, public approval of the effort has fallen sharply, but private support for the troops looks as strong as ever. Since no official statistics exist, the evidence is necessarily...

Support Soldiers Bring Hot Chow to Outpost Cooks use amenities of containerized kitchen to provide two hot meals a day. By Sgt. 1st Class Kap Kim 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs FORWARD OPERATING BASE HOPE, Iraq, March 20, 2007 -- As the Mustang Battalion's Legionnaires found their way out of Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah and moved up to Forward Operating Base Hope near Sadr City, they knew that relocating meant no more hot meals. "Believe me, it makes a big difference. It's a big morale booster to get some hot chow." Sgt. Ryan Green, Company...

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2007 – The total number of U.S. servicemembers who will be part of the surge in Iraq will be about 28,000 overall, a Defense Department official said today. Combat troops going into Iraq will number about 21,500, the Pentagon official said in a background briefing to reporters. By early June, this will bring the number of brigade combat teams or their equivalents up to 20 from 15. Currently, 142,000 U.S. servicemembers are in Iraq. Those combat forces require support. Early on, officials estimated the number of servicemembers in combat service or combat service support roles to...

Former Gov. James McGreevey, who resigned from office after revealing that he was gay and had an affair with a male staffer, is seeking custody of his 5-year-old daughter and child support from his estranged wife. The revised divorce lawsuit by McGreevey, who resigned in November 2004, does not mention the "matrimonial settlement agreement" that McGreevey originally said had resolved all custody and support issues concerning his daughter, Jacqueline. McGreevey's wife, Dina Matos, has 35 days to respond to the revised filing. The papers filed last month in Union County Superior Court ask the judge to assign McGreevey custody, to...

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2007 – The Defense Department recognized a troop-support group and a corporation here today for their teamwork in supporting the nation’s servicemembers. Jeanette Cram, founder of Treat the Troops, an America Supports You home-front group, and DuPont Teflon received the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service in a ceremony at the Pentagon. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Dorrance Smith presented both a medal and a copy of the citation describing their accomplishments. America Supports You is a DoD program that highlights and facilitates support for the nation’s men and...

Everyone!!! Tomerrow at 1 o'clock pm on the campus of Santa Clara U the students are going to have their peace rally and I think we should Counter them because we support America and we support the troops.Please wear red,white and blue clothes and Bring your American Flags and your signs!!! If you would like to join me please email me at Goprowen@hotmail.com or give me a call at 408 903-8704

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2007 – The group called “Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission” works publicly to ensure the troops know that the American people support them. For example, on Veteran’s Day, the group’s Montana chapter placed American flags throughout the state’s capital, said Merrilee Carlson, the group’s president. Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission was founded by Army Reserve Maj. Charles Larson, a former Iowa senator, in August 2005. The group is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program that highlights the ways Americans are supporting the nation’s servicemembers. “It was...

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2007 – The “Eagle’s Watch Foundation” maintains a low-flying profile as it employs a bird’s-eye view in finding ways to support U.S. servicemembers and their families. Established on June 6, 2003 –- the anniversary of D-Day – the foundation sponsors celebrity visits to wounded servicemembers, sends care packages to deployed troops, and performs many other military morale-building deeds, said David E. Minyard, the non-profit foundation’s president and chief executive officer. Myriad contacts keep him in touch with the needs of military members and their families, Minyard said. “There needs to be someone that can react quickly...

A Republican lawmaker who co-authored a bill that would give every child born in California a $500 savings account has withdrawn his support following a backlash within his own party. Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, who had promoted the measure as a good investment, announced Friday he no longer supported the bill he had introduced two days before with Democrat Sen. Darrel Steinberg. The surprise move came after fellow Republicans questioned the measure's $285 million cost and inclusion of children of illegal immigrants. In a press release, Dutton said that thousands of Californians had asked him "what I was thinking"...

March 17th will see the AntiWar crowd returning to Fayetteville, NC for their yearly rally at Rowan St. Park. We are planning to Freep them from our usual spot across the street. The permit has been obtained. Our time will start at 11am and run until whenever. If you cannot make it to DC, then please come and join us. Bring a chair and any snacks or drinks you might need. Things should be interesting. Read the following from our local paper. --------------------- Ricky Clousing, a former Fort Bragg paratrooper who served three months in confinement for going AWOL over...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26, 2007 – While some American homes have only drapes or blinds in the windows, other households also display a unique flag that signifies a family’s support of a son’s or daughter’s service in the military. Those banners represent an old tradition and are part of Blue Star Mothers of America Inc., a patriotic organization that traces its roots back to World War I, when mothers displayed flags decorated with stars signifying the number of offspring serving in the military. Gail Cunningham, a resident of Lakewood, N.J., founded New Jersey-based Chapter 1 of the Blue Star Mothers...

Lt. Col. Jabar, the operations officer for 2nd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi army Division, speaks with a resident of Hamid Shaban during a visit from Iraqi army soldiers and their supporting U.S. military transition team to the Hamid Shaban GirlÂ’s School Feb. 15. The woman sought assistance from the Iraqi army in mediating a dispute with a neighbor over property. BAGHDAD -- The life of an Iraqi girl was forever changed in the chaotic aftermath following an improvised explosive device attack. The Hamid Shaban neighborhood in the district of Abu Ghraib was the target, but an innocent girl was...

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Jimmy Carter defended his new book on the Middle East on Thursday against sharp criticism from Jewish groups and said a majority of U.S. citizens including many Jews supported its main proposals. Letters he received since the publication in November of "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid" were largely supportive and included support from many readers who described themselves as U.S. Jews, said the former president. Jewish groups have expressed outrage at the book, arguing that its title and contents could undermine perceptions of Israel's legitimacy. Carter, 82, was addressing a forum at Atlanta's Emory University in which he...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2007 – Vice President Dick Cheney today thanked Japan for its support of the United States and praised U.S. troops serving in the Asia-Pacific region during a visit to a naval base shared by U.S. and Japanese forces. Vice President Dick Cheney speaks to a group of nearly 4,000 Japan-based military personnel, family members and Department of Defense civilian employees during a visit to USS Kitty Hawk. Photo by Chief Petty Officer Todd P. Cichonowicz, USN  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Cheney stressed the importance of continued good relations between the two nations during a...

Today, we honor, Women Military Bands. 400th WAC Band Source:Women's World War II Military Bands Good Morning, Troops! Thank You for your service! FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allies military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before. On July 20, 1942, the first contingent of women was inducted into the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. By early 1943, five bands, the 400th Army Band, 401st Army Band , 402d Army Band, 403d Army Band, and the 404th Army...

Politicians used to kiss babies, but in these days of terrorism and war, babies have gone out of style. Today's most coveted political accessory? An active-duty member of the U.S. military. "Our troops" are the new babies.True, it wouldn't do for politicians to actually kiss the troops. But on both sides of the political aisle, candidates, officeholders, and pundts are eager to do the next best thing;constantly insist on their complete, utter and total dedication to "our troops."With the senate tied up in knots over various Iraq resolutions, we've seen far too much of this sort of posturing lately. [Last...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2007 – The Defense Department’s America Supports You program transcends politics in its mission to support the men and women of the U.S. armed forces, a senior defense official said today in an appearance on Fox News Channel's "Fox and Friends" program. “I think we have a great history of that through our America Supports You program,” Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for internal communications and public liaison, said. “Over the past two and a half years, we’ve seen hundreds and thousands of people who say, ‘We’ll debate the policy of the (Iraq) war...

SEVILLE, Spain, Feb. 8, 2007 – The entire international community will step up its support for the Afghan people this year, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said here today at the start of the Seville Summit. More forces will be added to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force “to better create the conditions for reconstruction and development to take place,” he said. “More money will be pledged and spent on reconstruction and development,” he continued. “More personnel and money will be put into training. More equipment will be donated to the Afghan National Army and Police.” Scheffer said...