Free Republic

Peter MacDonald is one of the last remaining Navajo Code Talkers. The former chairman of the Navajo Nation recently sat down with VAntage Point staff to explain what made the “unbreakable” code so effective, and how it helped save lives and secure victory in the Pacific. “Without Navajo, Marines would never have taken the island of Iwo Jima,” he said. “That’s how critical Navajo Code was to the war in the Pacific.” The Unbreakable Code Code Talkers used native languages to send military messages before World War II. Choctaw, for example, was used during World War I. The Marine Corps,...

One of the funniest sketches of the last Century.

In the next few days I’ll rate the 8 leading GOP candidates for the 2016 Nomination as reported by RealClearPolitics on 6 August 2015. I will rate four criteria; potential to change our nation, electability, personal integrity, and past performance. I will score them from 0 to 3. The ratings will be color-coded as follows. Blue = Excellent (3 pts) – Implies candidate is solidly better than most of the GOP and all of the Dems. Green = Good (2 pts) – Implies candidate is better than GOP average and probably all Dems. Yellow = Low Pass (1 pt) –...

After talk radio titan Rush Limbaugh mocked left-wing/birth control activist Sandra Fluke as a "slut" (something he later apologized for) the organized left thought they could finally silence The Most Listened To Talk Show Host in America by picking off his advertisers. The boycott, organized mostly by the left-wing Media Matters, can now officially be called a failure with the news that advertisers have not only returned, but that the show is pacing ahead of last year: "Rush Limbaugh’s distributor on Thursday said there is no denying the conservative radio host’s controversial comments about Sandra Fluke hurt advertising last year...

This is a long memo, born of two decades of frustration with the Beltway sharpies who run campaigns and are clueless about talk radio. There is no hostility here, just frustration with the invincible ignorance of the consulting class that wouldn't know the difference between a Thursday afternoon drive show in Denver and a late night dollar-a-holler stick in Flat Plains, Nowhere. By way of background, I began my talk radio career in 1990. In the 22 years since, I have covered six presidential races. Before that I watched two presidential races from within the Reagan Administration, and one from...

Veterans Day becomes somewhat of a quandary if one seeks to highlight only one particular group amongst the magnitude of those deserving of focus. For indeed, while some may appear to shine more brightly, their luster and magnificent illumination is merely a reflection of a cast of more than a million military members who served, and continue serving our nation.... of which our FA "founding father", Curt is one. (hat doff to you, guy....) As the wife of a Navy enlistee during the Vietnam War, I can say that my military life still remains a strong and humbling memory in...

Detractors called it "Indian gibberish." But not for long. During World War II, more than 400 Navajos serving with the U.S. Marine Corps transmitted vital communications throughout the Pacific theater, using a code known only to them. Developed by the Navajos themselves, the code completely stymied the Japanese and was never broken. After the battle for Iwo Jima, Maj. Howard Connor, a signal officer from the 5th Marine Division, was widely quoted as saying: "Were it not for the Navajos, the Marines would never have taken Iwo Jima." "They were used at every level, from reconnaissance to the battlefield, to...

Click here for video.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10, 2007 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today met here with a group of Marine veterans who used their native Navajo language to baffle the Japanese during World War II. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, left, meets with five Navajo Code Talkers and their family members at the Pentagon, Aug. 10, 2007. The Navajos served as U.S. Marines in World War II and helped develop a communications code based on their language. Defense Dept. photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

Critics on the left are constantly complaining that right-leaning radio talkers are getting their daily programming straight from the talking points of the Republican Party. This is one of the main reasons why they're so eager to implement the 'Fairness Doctrine' and either silence talk radio or force an artificial balance on broadcast content so that their message gets equal time. Their argument is that every word that Rush Limbaugh or Bill O'Reilly utters is essentially a free political commercial for the GOP, their policies and their candidates. How much more troubled they must be by this week's developments in...

*** First In A Series Of Reports From The New Media Seminar In New York City *** What would it take to get Michael Savage to come out of his shell? Again underscoring his ultra- reclusive nature, the "Savage Nation" host unexpectedly failed to appear at a ceremony where he was to pick up an industry honor. Selected to receive this year's Freedom Of Speech Award at the New Media Seminar held over the weekend in New York City, Savage instead substituted a hastily- made YouTube- style home video. Overseen by Talkers Magazine, the event provides an annual gathering place...

Ranking talk show hosts using differing methods, two lists are making big waves today. Al Franken can't possibly be happy with the just-released 2005 Lycos Top Radio Hosts list, where he fell all the way out of the top 20, after ranking 10th in 2004. Each year, Lycos ranks radio personalities based on Internet search enquiries. While that's certainly a novel approach to ranking popularity, it probably doesn't tell the whole story. Oddly, while Franken vanished, Air America co-conspirator Janeane Garofalo made this year's list, in 12th place.

List of top talk radio hosts (estimated audience) is up at TALKERS magazine. Al Franken comes in at #13, a mere 12.5 million fewer listeners than Rush. The cutoff is one million, and, amazingly, a few "progressive" talk hosts made the cut. Not sure how accurate these figures are and, again, the likes of Franken, Schulz, and Steph Miller still lag way behind Rush, Hannity, Savage, Ingraham etc. (Note that these are TALKERS magazine estimates and are not necessarily the same as Arbitron ratings figures) ---------------------------------------- Still at the top is Rush Limbaugh followed by Sean Hannity, who again moved...

Joe Scarborough is right. Sean Hannity is an ignorant bigot, a hate-filled, war-mongering, “chicken hawk” conservative. He is a partisan hack that reads from the Republican Party platform, and lacks the intelligence to have an open mind. His everyday tirade is best known on Hannity & Colmes, but he has become more repugnant on his radio show on 77WABC in New York City. Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida who now hosts MSNBC’s “Scarborough Country,” says the challenge for conservative hosts will be to prove “that we’re more than just the Pravda of the right.” He adds, “I...

The mainstream media has recently begun a quest to answer puzzling questions. What is this "internet business", and why do those "blog" guys post there? If they don't get paid like we do, why do they bother? And why are they being taken seriously? After all, WE are the ones who have our press passes and our official government-agent decoder-rings. After watching, on the 24 hour cable shows, an endless stream of guest panels- all comprised of journalists interviewing themselves, I thought that I'd take a stab at answering them myself. Why do we post? We post because you "journalists"...

ABC Radio networks recently told TALKERS magazine Sean Hannity is number one with 12+ on KBAC in LA. KFMB in San Diego has Mr. California in the #1 spot as well. However, in San Francisco's KSFO, Hannity is 25-54. ABC Radio Networks' senior VP of programming, John McConnell said this about Sean: "This is a spectacular accomplishment in less than two years of syndication. Most talk personalities take years to create a loyal audience but Sean reached incredible milestones in a very short period of time." On August 26th, WCBM in Baltimore brings talk live to the Maryland State Fair...