Free Republic

The US Army issued a stark rebuke of former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign over the incident on Monday at Arlington National Cemetery, saying in a statement on Thursday that participants in the ceremony “were made aware of federal laws” regarding political activity at the cemetery, and “abruptly pushed aside” an employee of the cemetery.“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside,”...

Far-left documentary filmmaker Michael Moore compared Christian conservatives to the Taliban, likening oppressive Islamic law to “how a lot of Southern Baptists want it to be” in America and classifying both Christians and the members of the jihadist organization as “religious nuts.” “They’re religious nuts, but we’ve got those here too,” Moore said in an interview with Variety, caveating his concerns of the Taliban stripping away the rights of women by asserting that the U.S. also has issues with religious fundamentalists.

The ethics committee approved a trip Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) took to an Antigua beach resort late last year — an excursion that critics say was paid for by lobbyists. Last November, Rangel, his son Steven and a top aide, George Dalley, attended a business conference at the Sandals Grande Antigua Resort & Spa for a foundation affiliated with a weekly New York-based Caribbean newspaper. The organization, the Carib News Foundation, has organized and sponsored the annual conference to promote business, trade and ties between the U.S. and the Caribbean at luxurious resorts in different areas of the islands of...

Iraqis are giving passing Americans the "thumbs up" sign, which the troops interpret as a symbol of support. But many veteran travelers insist that the gesture is a crass Middle Eastern insult. How should coalition forces take those skyward thumbs? Depends on how media savvy those Iraqi bystanders may be. It's true that "thumbs up" traditionally translates as the foulest of Iraqi insults—the most straightforward interpretation is "Up yours, pal!" The sign has a similarly pejorative meaning in parts of West Africa, Russia, Australia, Iran, Greece, and Sardinia, according to Roger E. Axtell's book Gestures: The Do's and Taboos of...