Free Republic

President Joe Biden, 81, implemented a new strategy of walking to and from Marine One with multiple aides to “draw less attention” to his physical ailments, Axios’ Hans Nichols and Alex Thompson reported Friday. Biden has neuropathy in his feet and a stiffened gait, White House physician Kevin O’Connor found after the president’s annual physical in February. The health challenges might explain why he struggles to remain upright. Biden has tripped, tumbled, and stumbled at least five times during his presidency.

Pope Francis has just reminded us that, "God 'walks with the righteous and the sinners.' He walks 'with everyone, to arrive at that encounter, the final encounter of man with Him.'" (See here). Once again, it is what Pope Francis does not say that is troubling. Yes the weeds continue to grow among the wheat until Jesus returns. Yes, we are all sinners. But the notion that I can live as I wish, committing one sin after another, and that this is somehow "okay" because Jesus "walks with me" is erroneous. It is presumption. The Catechism of the Catholic Church...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A man who walks around his neighborhood with a rifle strapped to his back says he is not a threat to harm anyone, but some neighbors fear he is an incident of vigilante justice waiting to happen. John Schultz, 19, also wears a bullet-proof vest, carries ammunition and has a knife in a holster as he walks through Walnut Creek, which is off Sunset Road in north Charlotte. The gun is his grandfather’s 303 British Enfield from WWII. His walks cause double-takes as well as safety concerns for some. Schultz says others thank him and wave at...

Via Politico: . . . Another illustration of presidential hubris involved the Bush family. The White House put out a picture of a private meeting in the Oval Office on Jan. 27 that included former President George H.W. Bush and his son, Jeb, the former governor of Florida. The Bushes were in town for the annual black tie dinner the next night at the Alfalfa Club, a gathering of business and political elites. The two featured speakers, both intended to be brief and humorous, were Obama and Jeb Bush. The president spoke to good reviews. He left before Bush spoke....

The Jewish Week reports that a speech last week by Stuart Appelbaum, president of the left-wing Jewish Labor Committee, prompted Israel’s deputy consul general to walk out of its gala dinner after Appelbaum criticized Israel in blunt, undiplomatic terms. Though Appelbaum also noted “new expressions of contempt for Israel within the Arab world,” he launched a vitriolic attack on the government of Benjamin Netanyahu: …[S]adly, Israel is cursed with a right-wing coalition government that’s regularly giving credence to it. We all know Benjamin Netanyahu talks a good game about a two-state solution, but, at the very same time, his administration...

The New York Times reports that President Obama and 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen have not spoken since February. Among the very first foreign leaders President Obama called after entering the Oval Office on Jan. 21, 2009, was the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. The last time the two men spoke was in February, when Mr. Obama failed, in an awkward, 55-minute phone conversation, to persuade Mr. Abbas not to go to the United Nations to condemn Israel for building Jewish settlements. The 25 months between those calls demonstrate how Mr. Obama’s relationship with Mr. Abbas...

Via Gossip Cop, such is the viral potential of this video that you’re going to end up watching it somewhere. It might as well be here and now. I don’t understand her objection. Did Morgan not let her talk about her book at all during the course of the interview? Or is she just really, really opposed to talking about gay marriage for whatever reason? Unless there’s an agreement before the show that certain topics are off-limits, the host is usually free to ask anything he/she wants. Palin just did an hour of questions with reporters last week at the...

What Richard Blumenthal has been doing through much of his public career is to walk on the backs of those who really did serve in Vietnam – and falsely build affinity with those who serve today. A hero is a person who puts him or herself at risk for the benefit of others. That certainly characterizes anyone who donned a uniform and went to war, voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way in our armed forces and those who serve or served far from home in difficult or dangerous circumstances. That’s an apt description of those with whom I served in...

"Do you work for us or do we work for you?"

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2009 – The best way to show deployed troops you care, says Cody Anderson, is to send them prepaid international phone cards so they can call home to their friends and loved ones. Today, Anderson, 54, of Mineral Bluff, Ga., is wrapping a four-and-a-half-week personal sojourn, walking back and forth from the U.S. Capitol to the White House to raise awareness about the troops and encourage people to donate phone cards for them. Yesterday, Anderson’s walking shoes were showing signs of his 1,000-mile personal walkathon as he plodded back and forth between the two national icons, passing...

(IsraelNN.com) The Israeli delegation to the Inter-Parliamentary Conference in Ethiopia left the conference on Tuesday over the participation of Hamas delegates. Delegation head Silvan Shalom gave a speech announcing Israel's decision to leave and comparing the presence of Hamas to deciding to invite “Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.”

He's been confined to a wheelchair for 20 years. Now a paraplegic man is walking again. And his doctors call it a miracle. CBS13 went to Manteca to find out how a spider bite helped get him back on his feet. "I closed my eyes and then I was spinning like a flying saucer," explains David Blancarte. A motorcycle accident almost killed David 21 years ago. At the time he might have wished he was dead. "I asked my doctor, "sir what happened?' I can't feel my legs," said David. Ever since, David's been relying on his wheelchair to get...

CARACAS (Reuters) – Cuba's ailing former leader Fidel Castro, not seen in public for almost three years, walked the streets of Havana in a "miracle" that made people cry, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Friday. Chavez, a close friend of the legendary revolutionary, spent several hours with Castro in Cuba last weekend and said he was in his best health since falling ill in July 2006. Other regional leaders have also described Castro as looking well in recent weeks. Chavez's account of the walk and a trip to visit farmland may indicate an improvement in Castro's health. Castro's frail...

WASHINGTON - Arrogance is a common vice in presidential politics. A person must be more than a little self-important to wake up one day and say, "I belong in the Oval Office." But there's a line smart politicians don't cross — somewhere between "I'm qualified to be president" and "I'm born to be president." Wherever it lies, Barack Obama better watch his step. He's bordering on arrogance. The dictionary defines the word as an "offensive display of superiority or self-importance; overbearing pride." Obama may not be offensive or overbearing, but he can be a bit too cocky for his own...

Three walks a week 'cuts heart risk' By Nic Fleming, Medical Correspondent Last Updated: 1:26am BST 15/08/2007 Walking for just 30 minutes three times a week can lower blood pressure and heart disease risk, scientists say. Guidelines from the Chief Medical Officer suggest adults do moderately intense exercise five times a week. However, researchers found that those who take three brisk walks a week had reduced waist and hip circumference and lower blood pressure. The authors of the study, published yesterday in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, said their findings could help those with sedentary lifestyles take up...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 7, 2007 – Planning for the 2007 America Supports You Freedom Walk is well under way in the nation’s capital as well as in 41 states across the country. The inaugural America Supports You Freedom Walk, created by Pentagon employees to commemorate the attack on the building and honor the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001, was held Sept. 11, 2005. America Supports You is a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad. As of today, 1,231 people have registered for the national Freedom Walk, part...

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2007 – Thousands of school children, community leaders, church members and volunteers throughout the nation are preparing to remember those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, and to honor military veterans past and present. In cities, schoolrooms, church halls and community centers, they’re respectfully organizing plans and identifying routes for their 2007 America Supports You Freedom Walks. “America Supports You Freedom Walks have become a new national tradition,” said Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs. “It is important for people to participate so we never forget what happened to our...

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Sept. 11, 2006 – Servicemembers from around the Hampton Roads, Va., area came together at Mount Trashmore Park here today to remember the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Sailors from the Naval Coastal Warfare Squadron 4 stand at attention while the national anthem plays at Mount Trashmore Park, in Virginia Beach, during the 9/11 Hampton Roads Remembers ceremony. More than 1,200 people attended the event to help construct a human flag and remember the tragic events that took place Sept. 11, 2001. Photo by Seaman Kiona McKissack, USN  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The servicemembers, along...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2006 -- Tens of thousands of Americans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are preparing to put on their walking shoes during the next few days as they participate in Freedom Walks to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and to honor veterans, past and present. More than 30 military and civilian employees at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., gather for the Sept. 7 Freedom Walk to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and to honor veterans, past and present. Photo by Jose Salazar  '(Click...

WASHINGTON, August 4, 2006 -- Eighteen cities and counties in Virginia’s Hampton Roads region are planning Freedom Walks to commemorate victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and show support for veterans past and present. Inspired by the 2005 America Supports You Freedom Walk, in Washington, D.C., Hampton Roads and several other cities nationwide are planning their own Freedom Walks, marking the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11. Each Freedom Walk will conclude with a ceremony, featuring speeches from local officials and patriotic music. Organizers of the walks say they anticipate 500 to 1,000 people will participate in each...