Free Republic

My 12 year old son, who has a cousin in country right now, heard about a few Marines who are not receiving any mail from the States. They are depressed. He came up with the idea to create a pen-pal relationship with these Marines, and is enlisting the help of his middle school buddies. He also wants to start a collection for some of these guys. Question: Is there someone we can contact -- the USO, for instance -- that has a list of soldiers who can use a care package from home? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

<p>DRESDEN, Tenn. — Sgt. Don Winstead of the 1174th Transportation Co. of the Tennessee National Guard is a self-employed logger who carries big loans on his trucks and tree-cutting machinery. On active duty since late January, he has been stuck 80 miles away at Fort Campbell and expects to be shipped to Kuwait any day. He has taken a big cut in his income, to $2,300 a month, so he cannot keep up his payments.</p>

God is good and so are President George W Bush and America's war on Iraq, the congregation at one of the nation's biggest places of worship agreed at the weekend. Thoughts and prayers were with US servicemen in the Gulf but, in case anyone was unaware of the battles raging half a world away, reminders filled the cavernous Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Bob Russell preaches to his flock at the Southeast Christian Church in Kentucky Yellow ribbons were wrapped around the columns outside the main entrance and pinned to the lapels of many of the thousands of believers...

It's official. The Galveston County Young Republicans (GCYR) chapter's "Shock and Awe" chili is registered to compete in the NASA JSC chili cookoff on May 3rd. Let's roll! We'll send out details later, but we need folks to think about what they can donate to make this a great publicity event for our chapter, while being a lot of fun. We're going to need everyone to come out to help or just support us by coming out to enjoy the fun. If you have never attended the JSC cookoff, it's a blast. The general public can attend, since the NASA...

Dear Patriot: The City Council and Mayor of Fieldsboro, NJ have passed an ordinance making it illegal for residents and others to hang yellow ribbons in support of our brave troops on public property. This law has already been enforced against a woman who hung a small ribbon on a tree outside her liquor store. This is a petty partisan ploy by a Democrat Mayor and Democrat controlled City Council. Does anyone honestly believe that if ribbons were hung for AIDS victims or for innocent Muslims killed in Iraq that the City Council and Mayor would hastily pass such a...

Fair Weather Americans By Monty Rainey March 31, 2003 Like thousands of military personnel before me and thousands more since my time in service, I have sacrificed so that each and every American would have the right to protest. As a former military man, I can also say, the very instant a war begins the time for protesting is past. We are a nation that loves sports, so allow me to pose an analogy. You support your local team. They are your team. You support them in good times and in bad. The local coach announces he is going to...

Last week a local wanted to have a support rally for the troops, Bush, and the war in general. They organized it in a smaller community area in Las Vegas and well over 2000 people showed up. On the local news I heard them talking that the organizers were planning what would be the largest US support rally in history, and it's to take place in 2 weeks, more info to come.Anyone know more info about this, please post a reply !

DAILY NOTEBOOK.... IN OTTAWA, FRIENDS OF AMERICA STAND WITH UNITED STATES March 31, 2003: Pouring rain didn't stop thousands of ordinary Canadians from gathering on Parliament Hill, in Canada's capital Saturday, for a rally in support of the U.S.-led war in Iraq. In an obvious symbolic slap in the face of official Ottawa, and Canada's senile Prime Minister, the crowds enthusiastically waved American and Canadian flags in support of the United States and the war to liberate Iraq. "Our allies are going to win this war, they're going to win it with the silent majority of Canadians behind them," Canadian...

Support Our Troops Rally 3/29/2003 "Outpost 122" Camp Murray, south of Tacoma, WA March 29th, 2003 Washington members of FreeRepublic (http://www.FreeRepublic.com) joined many other Pacific Northwesterners in the latest of ongoing rallies of Operation Support Our Troops (http://www.ron-siddell.com ). This time it was held at "Outpost 122", the popular name for the entrance to Camp Murray at Exit 122 from I-5, south of Tacoma. The rally was scheduled for 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, but as usual it got off to an early start. Those driving in from the north got a hint of what was coming as rally-goers appeared...

I am including a link to a local story about the event which includes a picture gallery. This particular news outlet puts the attendance in the hundreds, but other sources and my own observation would put us closer to a thousand attending. Channel 12 is the Gannet owned station that fired Lee Webb when he said the media had an anti military/anti-religious bias...just so you know the source. Due to the crowds, it was just about impossible to meet and identify fellow freepers, but frankly, the spirit of community, support for troops and love of country united us all. We...

For the last month, a small but dedicated group (organized by FReeper, majorc_us) has gathered along the main highway in Brandon, FL to show support for our troops. The first time we met, there were five of us waving flags and handmade signs. By last weekend our numbers had grown to approximately 30; and this weekend there were nearly 60 of us. The local NBC station reported, however, that "hundreds" gathered. Can you believe it?--some press biased in our favor for a change! :)

GULF WAR II: Poll shows the British public are steeled for a long fight THE British public overwhelmingly back the war—despite fears that it could take months, not days, to depose Saddam Hussein. A massive 84 per cent believe Britain and America should see the war through to a successful conclusion—a rise of two per cent in a week. Just 11 per cent think the coalition should now stop fighting and pull out. The figures are revealed in a News of the World ICM poll taken last night, well after US commanders confirmed the war will take months to complete....

<p>When Nikki Mendicino speaks about veterans' affairs, she speaks with an authority well beyond her 14 years. Mendicino, a nationally recognized veterans' advocate from Springdale Borough, will be among the speakers at Sunday's "Rally For America" in Cranberry. The 1 p.m. rally will be at the township municipal building, 2525 Rochester Road.</p>

MSNBC wants you to "Tell us what you think about the war in Iraq. Click here for our poll."

CLEARWATER -- Want to support the troops overseas? Or let others know your opinion on the fighting in Iraq? WFLA-AM 970 Radio is bringing nationally syndicated talk show host Glenn Beck's "Rally for America" to Clearwater's Coachman Park on April 5. "It's not prowar," said Jeff "Jeffy" Fisher, a member of Beck's production team. "It's pro-America-support-the-troops." The free event, one of several Beck has orchestrated across the country, is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to noon. WFLA's special projects manager Debbie McCarthy said she expects at least 7,500 people to come to the rally. "At other rallies, people have...

Tonight's FReep of the peaceniks on Fresno, California's busiest intersection was just awesome! We couldn't begin to count how many people showed up tonight, but estimates varied between 250 and 300. A huge group from Riverside's Assembly of God Church joined us once more. They are just a wonderful bunch of God fearing, decent people who are just full of love of country. FReepers and regulars who were able to attend tonight's FReep were: Jim, Chris, and Sheila Robinson JustAmy and Leonard Notpoliticallycorewrecked Mtngrl@vrwc Gracie1 Ironman 4262 Fresno Army Brat Gary Rocky and Yvonne Helena and her kids Sarah and...

A small Support Our Troops Rally will be held at Lampkin Park next to the National Guard Armory on Saturday, March 29, from 1-2:30. Grab your positive, supportive signs, put on your red-white-and-blue duds and head out to show your support for our fine men and women. This is a very last-minute rally, precluding (hopefully) a much larger one next weekend. For more information, Freepmail me. Thanks and God Bless!

Fractional-American 03/28/2003 5:46 PM PST Update on South Bay rally: http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/profiles?location=53 Unfortunately the Torrance rally is getting too big for its city. The cities in the South Bay that are actual cities and not parts of Hell are really too small and convoluted to handle huge rallies. But we all ought to donate to the guy because he's a vet and he took it on himself to organize this. He says he's looking at parks for future rallies. I donated a bunch of shirts with supportamericamore.com to him to give out (he said they wouldn't be able to sell them,...

Four members from the Houston Chapter of FreeRepublic once again demonstrated support for President Bush, the United States of America, and the troops that defend her while counter-demonstrating against about 100 local "anti-war" forces at the Mecom Fountain, near downtown Houston. The first two to arrive were Flyer and Stevie_d_64. They were soon joined by PetroniDE (with the banner) and Humblegunner (with the U.S. Flags). By 5:45, the Freepers were ready at their usual location (directly across the street from the fountain). Once the large "We Support Our Troops" banner was displayed, along with four U.S. flags (a ratio of...

Please come out Sunday for a Support Our Troops Rally at the JC Nichols Fountain on the Plaza. As I emailed previously, one group is meeting for a rally at 4pm. However, another group has informed us that they're planning a rally at the same place for 2pm. If you have the time, come at 2 and stay until it's over. If not, just come when you can. Bring flags, make signs. Encourage everyone you know to come out and support our troops!