Free Republic

A college student who lives with family says he recently opted to spend money on a tattoo instead of helping with rent, and he’s afraid to tell his mom about it.

Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s national finance director announced his resignation on Friday, marking the latest departure an exodus of personnel from a campaign dogged by controversy at every turn. Ronald Holmes, who started working for Platner’s campaign in August, announced his immediate exit in a LinkedIn post, saying he is “no longer fully aligned” with the campaign’s standards. The exit comes just days after Platner’s campaign manager, Kevin Brown stepped down after less than a week on the job, and two weeks since the campaign’s political director, Genevieve McDonald, left. “I joined this campaign because I believed in...

What they're saying: Sanders, who rallied with Platner last month in Maine, said he still thought Platner was the best candidate to win. Citing Platner's deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Sanders said Platner "went into a dark period in his life. I suspect that Graham Platner is not the only American to have gone through a dark period."He added: "What he did was he expressed his darkness on the internet. Probably not a brilliant thing to do, alright? And he said things that are stupid, things that were hurtful. He has apologized for them." I think what we have got...

Graham Platner, a far-left Democratic candidate running for Senate in Maine who has captured the enthusiasm of the party’s grassroots base, sought to preempt rumors circulating in recent weeks that a black skull-and-cross bones tattoo on his chest is a Nazi symbol. Speaking with Tommy Vietor on the “Pod Save America” political podcast, released on Monday night, Platner, 41, confirmed the existence of the tattoo, seen in video he shared displaying his bare chest, but suggested that his opponents in the race have been spreading claims that the symbol is affiliated with Nazism, which he forcefully denied. “I am not...

THE PENTAGON — Shockwaves have rippled across Washington in recent days following surprise orders from Secretary of Defense (and also War and also Pew Pew) Pete Hegseth that the entirety of U.S. military leadership would muster aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico on Tuesday.“This gathering is of the highest secrecy and importance to our national security,” said Hegseth, “which is why I have ordered every general- or flag-grade officer assemble at a highly secure location on Tuesday, September 30, at 12:00 pm Eastern Standard Time, 10 digit grid 0033566203 on your Quantico 1:50,0000 special if you’ve got one. All hands, no...

BURTON, MI -- The gunman who killed at least four worshippers at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township on Sunday unleashed an unprovoked, bitter critique of the Mormon faith just days before the deadly assault. Burton City Council candidate Kris Johns said he met Thomas Jacob Sanford, who police identified as the gunman, while campaigning door to door on East Atherton Road near Center Road on Sept. 22. ((SNIP)) After a few minutes of introductions, Johns said, Sanford steered the conversation directly to the Mormon church and did not turn back, repeatedly telling him...

In a memo to the college community on Tuesday, President Audrey Bilger said she first learned of the incident through media reports and confirmed that an independent third-party investigator will conduct the review. According to a report by OregonLive, a federal affidavit revealed that investigators identified alumnus Robert Jacob Hoopes as a suspect accused of throwing a rock that struck a federal officer in the face. The incident occurred during a June 14 protest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in South Portland. According to the affidavit, FBI investigators used facial recognition software along with images from OregonLive and...

Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark, analyzing data from Danish twin pairs, have found evidence suggesting that tattoo ink may elevate the risk of skin and lymphoma cancers. This potential risk is linked to the accumulation of tattoo ink in the lymph nodes. These findings highlight concerns about the long-term health effects of tattooing.

People who ink may be in for more than just body art.. “I got tattooed during a time in my life when I wasn’t fully informed about what was going into my body or what I was allowing onto my skin. Back then, it was about art, self-expression, and creative identity.” “Today, I see it differently. Tattoos are not harmless,” Ellie Grey a book author, .. Like Grey, many people choose to get tattoos as self-expression, acts of remembrance, or transformation. But even when the meaning runs deep, tattoos can have consequences—some only now coming to light. The Link Between...

After the 29-year-old Kilmar Abrego Gracia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, made the first appearance since his arrest, US President Donald Trump took to social media to share an alleged altered photo of Kilmar's hand and linked it to the MS-13 gang, stating he is “not fine and innocent”. The photo of Abrego Garcia w/Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) from Thurs clearly shows no “MS-13” tattoo shop on either hand - nor in earlier photos”. Another said, ”Why did Donald Trump just lie to the American people even more about Kilmar Ábrego García being a gang member? Just...

Pete Hegseth’s ink is making quite a stink. The heavily tattooed secretary of defense was photographed Tuesday working out with Navy SEALs in Hawaii, with the images shared on X. “Kicked off the day alongside the warriors of SDVT-1 at @JointBasePHH. These SEALs are the tip of the spear, masters of stealth, endurance, and lethality. America’s enemies fear them—our allies trust them. Proud to spend time with America’s best,” Hegseth wrote. Then came a closer inspection from Scott Adams, who posted his research on X. “Interesting: Hegseth now bears a bold new tattoo—’Kafir,’ the Arabic word for infidel, inked on...

Study concludes that the larger the tattoo, the greater the odds of developing cancer In a nutshell * Danish twin study found people with large tattoos (bigger than palm-sized) had 2.73 times higher rate of developing lymphoma and 2.37 times higher rate of skin cancer * Tattoo ink particles migrate through the body to lymph nodes and other organs, potentially causing chronic inflammation that may increase cancer risk * Time between getting a tattoo and cancer diagnosis averaged 8 years for lymphoma and 14 years for skin cancer, suggesting a substantial latency period ================================================================= ODENSE, Denmark — Tattoos have become...

COMAL COUNTY, Texas - For the first time, a Texas jury classified a woman as a sexually violent predator. A Comal County jury determined Desiree Hamm, a 37-year-old from San Diego, should be classified as a sexually violent predator under Texas law. Kidnapping and abuse conviction The backstory: Desiree Hamm, 37, has served 15 years of a 20-year sentence after pleading guilty to 13 counts of sexual performance by a child, aggravated kidnapping and sexual abuse of a child. She was also sentenced to 10 years probation after her release. In late 2009, Hamm began online relationships with two teen...

An Arizona tattoo artist has been slammed after inking a nine-year-old girl who asked for a portrait of Donald Trump on her neck. An artist at the Black Onyx Empire Tattoo shop in Yuma shared on his Instagram that the girl had traveled to Arizona with her parents to get the ink of the president-elect. But the artist, who shared video of the inking process, said he convinced her to do a 'more patriotic tattoo' instead - of a US flag on her arm, as first reported by Arizona's Family. 'Told her in a year if she still wanted the...

Adding to the mystery was last week’s arrest of a registered sex offender who claimed he stumbled on the body three days before Christmas — then allegedly refused to hand over his cell phone to cops or be fingerprinted. The corpse — discovered in Belleplain State Forest in Dennis Township — is likely that of a Caucasian or Hispanic woman who stood about 5 feet, 1 inch tall and had two striking tattoos: a koi fish on her right shoulder blade and a rose on her ribs, according to NJ.com. A distinctive yoga mat and necklace lay nearby at the...

Six young women bludgeoned two people with a hammer and robbed one of them in a brutal attack over the summer inside a Bronx tattoo studio, cops said this week. The baby-faced crew used the tool to bash a 29-year-old man in the arm, before punching him in the face inside Flow Gangsta Tattoo on Third Avenue near East 152nd Street in Mott Haven minutes before 9 a.m. Aug. 17, authorities said. Then they pummeled a 41-year-old woman, battered her with the hammer, and snatched her cell phone and credit card, police said. The woman was taken to Lincoln Medical...

Fireband Rep. Lauren Boebert has been hiding a massive stomach tattoo that explodes from her pelvic bone and stretches up her torso to her ribs, a shocking new photo shows. A revealing bikini pic showcasing the Republican congresswoman’s secret ink was exposed Thursday by her colleague Rep. Matt Gaetz’s wife — who has been sharing images of scantily-clad conservative women in support of Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, whose years-old swimsuit pics went viral this wee

President Joe Biden celebrated the end of the 'brutal ordeal' for Americans 'imprisoned unjustly' inside Russia as he announced a complex prisoner swap and then led a rendition of 'happy birthday' to the teen daughter of a freed prisoner. Biden made a surprise appearance inside the State Dining Room at the White House hours after the historic deal that freed American ex-Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. All were held inside Russia, Whelan since 2018, for 'no legitimate reason whatsoever - none,' Biden said. 'And now they're brutal ordeal is over and they're free.

A new study has discovered that tattoo inks could be linked to cancer or organ failure. An analysis of 54 inks commonly used in tattoo parlors across America has uncovered that a staggering 45 of them contained unlisted additives, including chemicals known to pose alarming health risks. Multiple inks contained 2-phenoxyethanol, which can cause toxic effects in high doses. Researchers involved in the study found the most common additive to be polyethylene glycol, which is a compound that can cause acute renal failure. The study was led by Jonn Swierk from the Department of Chemistry at Binghamton University, and was...

Tattoos have been around for millennia. People got them at least five thousand years ago. Today they’re common everywhere from Maori communities in New Zealand to office parks in Ohio. But in the ancient Middle East, the writers of the Hebrew Bible forbade tattooing. Per Leviticus 19:28, “You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead, or incise any marks on yourselves.” Historically, scholars have often understood this as a warning against pagan practices of mourning. But language scholar John Huehnergard and ancient-Israel expert Harold Liebowitz argue that tattooing was understood differently in ancient times. Huehnergard and Liebowitz...