Free Republic

From Fall 1967 to Spring 1968, for no obvious reason, a 12th-grade football hero extended warmth and tolerance to a flyspeck of an 8th grader in the halls of Petersburg High School. I was the flyspeck. The football hero was Tommy Warren, who would graduate in June, enter the U.S. Marines, attain the rank of private first class, and die in Quang Nam province, South Vietnam, five months after I last saw him. My recollection (perhaps imperfect) is that of a somber voice (probably Principal Ed Betts) announcing his death over the loudspeaker, followed by anguished faces in the hallway....

On May 10th, 2023, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, Judge Robert S. Payne published an opinion in the federal statutes and regulations which ban 18-20-Year-old citizens from purchasing handguns from federally licensed dealers is facially unconstitutional.The decision was rendered in the case Fraser v ATF. The case is a lawsuit brought by four young citizens between the ages of 18 and 20. The case was initially filed on June 22, 2022, just as the famous Supreme Court opinion in Bruen was published. Motions to dismiss the case and for summary judgment...

The Department of Veterans Affairs is warning that a Republican proposal to cap government spending could slash medical services for veterans and slow benefits payments. The statement outlining potential consequences of funding cuts was released by the department Friday as the messaging battle heats up ahead of an expected vote in the House this week on a GOP plan to raise the amount of money the nation can borrow to pay its bills in exchange for steep spending cuts.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has updated its mission statement with a new statement that does not include gendered language. According to a VA press release, the prior mission statement read, "To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise 'to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan' by serving and honoring the men and women who are America’s veterans." The new statement drops the gender-specific terminology and no longer includes the Lincoln quote, though it still references the sixteenth president. The text of the new statement reads, "To fulfill President Lincoln's promise to...

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has officially changed its mission statement, dropping a quote from former President Lincoln because it used male pronouns and was viewed by some as excluding women. On Thursday, the VA announced that its new motto is, "To fulfill President Lincoln's promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors." The new statement replaces the original 1959 mission statement which featured a quote from Lincoln's second inaugural address, delivered in 1865, "To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow,...

On Thursday, VA announced an updated version of its 1959 mission statement: “To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors.” The new mission statement is inclusive of all those who have served in our nation’s military—including women Veterans—as well as Veteran families, caregivers, and survivors. VA currently serves more than 600,000 women Veterans, the fastest growing cohort of Veterans. VA also serves more than 50,000 Veteran caregivers, more than 600,000 Veteran survivors, and millions of Veterans who did not serve in combat.

Rishi Sunak, the United Kingdom’s new prime minister, refuses to answer a simple question. He was asked three times whether he received private medical care or relied upon the National Health Service, the British version of “single-payer” government-run national health insurance.Sunak dismissed the question as “not really relevant.” But it is.The prime minister is the head of the British government and is ultimately responsible for the National Health Service, the government agency that’s supposed to provide “free” universal coverage and care for all of Britain’s citizens.It does no such thing.According to the BBC, there are 7.2 million British citizens awaiting...

A Texas nurse is suing the Biden administration after the Department of Veterans Affairs published a rule mandating that VA medical facilities provide abortions and abortion-related services, without an exemption for medical staff who oppose abortion on conscience or religious grounds. Stephanie Carter, a Christian who is a nurse practitioner at the Olin E. Teague Veterans’ Medical Center in Temple, Texas, argues that she “cannot perform, prescribe, or counsel for abortion services because of her sincerely held religious beliefs that unborn babies are created in the image of God and should be protected,” the lawsuit, filed Tuesday, says.For both religious...

Roughly 50 pro-life groups sent a letter to the U.S. House and Senate on Tuesday, warning that taxpayers could end up funding abortions by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) under a new rule put forth by the Biden administration. The letter details how a portion of the $71 million increase in funding from appropriations bills (totaling $911 million) for the Office of Women’s Health at the VA will be used to “underwrite the transformation of veteran’s health facilities into abortion centers” under an interim final rule (IFR) which provides funding for abortion by the VA. “Women veterans deserve quality...

Multiple people were killed and dozens were injured in a shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, late Tuesday, according to police, the latest episode in a nationwide surge of gun violence. Around 10.15 pm ET, the Chesapeake Police Department responded to a complaint of a shooting at the Walmart on Sam’s Circle. Authorities discovered evidence of gunshots as soon as they arrived, Chesapeake police spokesman MPO Leo Kosinski said during a news conference,

Blaming Conservatives For The Attack On Pelosi Is A Cynical Effort To Chill SpeechThe left’s insistence that every conservative personally “condemn” the actions of the mentally ill man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul has nothing to do with lowering the rhetorical temperature or averting violence, and everything to do with trying to compel Republicans to take responsibility for the incident.Forget the ugly, transparent cynicism of partisans like Joe Scarborough or David Frum or Bill Kristol. Take The Washington Post, which ran a triple-bylined, reported piece headlined, “Attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband follows years of GOP demonizing her.” “Years of...

— A Non-Violent Defendant Charged with ‘Seditious Conspiracy’ and Held Without Bail – Despite No Altercations with Police — PLEASE HELP ZACH AND HIS FAMILY! This article is originally published at AmericanGulag.org, an affiliate of The Gateway Pundit. Zachary “Zach” Rehl is a father, a husband, a Marine Corps Veteran, and an American Patriot who loves his country and was arrested last March 17, 2021, for attending the January 6 protests. Zach was accused of Conspiracy (1) Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting (2) Destruction of Government Property and Aiding and Abetting (3) Entering and Remaining in...

There are a few potentially important details surrounding the timeline leading to Bowe Bergdahl’s release that might deserve some discussion. Truth Revolt supplies some details on the timeline: This week’s [the week of Bergdahl’s release] secret diplomacy was not the first time the U.S. government had engaged the Taliban in an effort to negotiate a prisoner swap for the release of Bergdahl. In 2011, State Department officials held a series of meetings with Taliban leaders in Doha. In Congress, there was bipartisan opposition to any release of Guantanamo prisoners. After the negotiations were made public in early 2012 by Sen....

The victims, just 17 and 14 years old, were butchered with a machete and pickaxe before being tossed into shallow graves; their killers sent video back to El Salvador in hopes of impressing gang bosses Five foreign-born members of MS-13 have been convicted of murdering two teenage boys in the ultra-wealthy, deep blue DC suburbs of Fairfax County, Virginia. Gang members lured the boys to a park before restaining them, killing them, and chopping them up with a machete and pickaxe. They even recorded footage of the brutal murders on a cell phone camera so that videos could be sent...

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) is demanding answers from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) after video recently surfaced of an employee brutally beating a 73-year-old Vietnam veteran at a VA clinic in Atlanta, Georgia, according to a letter first obtained by Breitbart News. Roy wrote to VA Secretary Denis McDonough in a letter sent on June 27 about the assault, which occurred at the McPherson VA Clinic: “This vile display of behavior is horrifying and antithetical to the VA’s critical mission of caring for ‘those who have borne the battle’ in defense of our nation.” The assailant, Lawrence F. Gaillard,...

KWTX) - Federal agents on Thursday raided three churches near military installations across the Southern U.S., including the Assembly of Prayer Christian Church in Killeen. “I can confirm the FBI was executing court authorized law enforcement activity today in the vicinity of the intersection of Massey St. and E. Rancier Ave., in Killeen, Texas. No additional information will be released at this time,” FBI Special Agent Carmen Portillo said in an emailed statement to KWTX.

Department of Veteran Affairs patient advocate who was recorded on a security camera assaulting a veteran patient still has his job. Video of the encounter, released by WSB-TV, shows Phillip Webb, a 73-year-old Vietnam veteran, being choked, body-slammed, and thrown to the ground at the Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic at Fort McPherson. The assault took place on April 28, 2022. Lawrence F. Gaillard Jr., a patient advocate at the clinic, was arrested that day and charged with felony assault. In the video, Webb can be seen in a waiting room. After Gaillard points his finger in Webb’s face, he...

Thomasville attorney Chris West won the Republican nomination in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, defeating former U.S. Army captain and Yale Law student Jeremy Hunt in Tuesday’s runoff election. With an estimated 98% of the vote in, West leads Hunt 14,608-13,853. Hunt conceded just before 10:20 p.m. but did not mention West by name in his speech. West, 38, won despite finishing second in the May primary and being outspent by nearly 10-1 by Hunt. Hunt, 28, finished first in May’s primary with 37% of the total ballots cast and was the favored candidate of several national Republican politicians, carrying endorsements...

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — Names of the 31 people arrested for conspiracy to riot in downtown Coeur d’Alene have been listed on the Kootenai County Jail roster.Coeur d’Alene Police said those arrested were members of the white nationalist group “Patriot Front.”Here are some of their names: Kerry Lamont Arnold Jared Michael Boyce Nathan David Brenner Colton Michael Brown Josiah Daniel Buster Devin Wayne Center Dylan Carter Corio Winston North Durham Joseph Garret Garland Branden Mitchel Haney Richard Jacob Jessop James Michael Johnson James Julius Johnson Connor Patrick Moran Kieran Padraig Morris Lawrence Alexander Norman Justin Michael Oleary Cameron Kathan Pruitt...

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to “do his job” and prosecute pro-choice protesters outside of the homes of U.S. Supreme Court justices. Sears, noting that Garland moved to arrest parents for speaking out at school board meetings, accused Democrats of picking and choosing who they went after. She said allowing the protests over the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade was “mob rule.” “We’re not tolerating it,” Sears said of the protests. “In fact, our governor has had state police outside of the homes this whole time from the very first time it started....