Free Republic

Beginning this weekend, with exclusive columns by Pat Boone and Greg Laurie, WorldNetDaily launches several days of tributes to talk-radio king Rush Limbaugh, commemorating the 20th anniversary of his national radio program Aug. 1.

Freeping: My First Ten Years Of Free Republic by B-chan*** "I have been sitting here for the last 45 mins looking straight at the sun. there is a host over the sun so i can look at it..its a sign a miracle.. can anyone else look at the sun and see anything?" - classygreeneyedblonde, 2002 *** Ten years ago this week, on 18 July 1998, I joined a then-fledgling news discussion site on the then-fledgling World Wide Web. The name of the site was freerepublic.com. I had logged on before, of course. I remember spending many an hour at my...

Vince Foster's Death In July 1993, Clinton aide Vince Foster was found dead in a Virginia park. The death was officially pronounced a suicide, but rumors abounded that Foster was murdered. Foster's death has ties to several White House scandals, including the administration's handling of "Travelgate," the Waco incident and the Whitewater affair. The Whitewater Connection Kenneth Starr, special counsel in charge of the Whitewater investigation, investigated Foster's death and what relationship it might have had with Whitewater. In three articles in the Electronic Telegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard reported on the investigation and the possibility of a coverup. In March 20,...

I dedicated my book, What’s The Matter With California, to a retired United Airline pilot named Ray Lahr, “a true Californian and patriot”—and with good reason. Today, the tireless World War II vet and his intrepid attorney, John Clarke, are all that stand in the way of the successful execution of the single most astonishing cover-up in American peacetime history. What makes this whole event so astonishing is that TWA Flight 800 went down with 230 good souls on board in full view of literally hundreds of eyewitnesses on Long Island’s affluent south shore. Even more astonishing, although 270 of...

On July 18, 1969, Ted Kennedy attended a party on Chappaquiddick, a small island adjoining Martha's Vineyard and connected to it via a ferry. The party was a reunion for a group of six women, known as the "boiler-room girls", who had served in his brother Robert's 1968 presidential campaign. Also present were Joseph Gargan (Ted Kennedy's cousin), Paul Markham (a school friend of Gargan's who would become United States Attorney for Massachusetts under the patronage of the Kennedys), Charles Tretter (an attorney), and John Crimmins (Ted Kennedy's part-time driver). Kennedy was also competing in the Edgartown Yacht Club Regatta,...

Saturday is the 39th anniversary of the death of Mary Jo Kopechne on Chappaquidick Island. A day that Mass. Senator Ted Kennedy would rather forget.

Russian Orthodox Churches have been holding services to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the murder of their last royal family. Processions were held in Moscow as well as the site of the killings - the city of Yekaterinburg near the Ural Mountains. Officials have re-affirmed that DNA tests on bone and teeth fragments discovered in a shallow grave a year ago belong to two of the children of former Russian Tsar Nicholas II. Crown Prince Alexei and Grand Duchess Maria were killed along with their parents and sisters by Bolsheviks on the morning of July 17 1918, but the whereabouts...

A man of the cloth and his family got the shock of their lives Monday morning after finding a four-month-old fetus hidden in a basket of fruits.Monsignor Gerry Santos had just celebrated Mass at the Quiapo Church in Manila around 9 a.m. when he received a basket of fruits from an unknown donor."After the mass, pinauwi sa akin ng mother butler. I brought the fruits to my parents' home because it was our regular lunch and my parents' house helper showed it to me. It was inside a bottle of Cheez Wiz. Maybe it's four months old," Santos said in...

June 20, 2008, 0:00 p.m. What’s the Frequency?New Deal narcissism and what FDR wrought. An NRO Q&A The New Deal celebrates its 75th anniversary this week. National Review Online editor Kathryn Lopez checked in with New York Times bestselling author of The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, Amity Shlaes, to mark the occasion. Kathryn Jean Lopez: How are you celebrating the New Deal’s 75th? Amity Shlaes: I’m participating in the Roosevelt Reading Festival at Hyde Park Saturday! One of the people I will see there is Nick Taylor, author of his own book, American Made,...

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it...

FRIDAY EVENING, WALTER REED FRONT GATE:A sultry evening, hot and humid, typical Washington summer weather, albeit earlier then usual. But we had plenty of ice-cold water and sodas to help combat the heat. It did cool off at dusk and no one wilted. As we were setting up, VictoryNY, with only a sign, began to capture the attention of drivers and passengers. Throughout the evening we had positive participation on all four corners. RonGKirby didn’t disappoint as he continued to bring a relevant sign for the day. Tonight, of course, his message was to thank the WW II soldiers for...

ON THE ROAD TO BERLIN OWING to a last-minute alteration in the arrangements, I didn't arrive on the beachhead until the morning after D-day, after our first wave of assault troops had hit the shore. By the time we got there the beaches had been taken and the fighting had moved a couple of miles inland. All that remained on the beach was some sniping and artillery fire, and the occasional startling blast of a mine geysering brown sand into the air. That plus a gigantic and pitiful litter of wreckage along miles of shore line. Submerged tanks and overturned...

By late in the evening of June 4th, 1968 it was clear that Robert Kennedy had defeated Eugene McCarthy in the California Primary to establish his preeminence as the "outsider" Democrat candidate for president. Bobby Kennedy did one-on-one interviews with the big network television reporters and then walked into a ballroom at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles to make a victory speech. Kennedy told his audience "we can end the divisions within the United States" and then spoke of "change" happening if delegates would consider how he had won in California. It was now after 3am in the East...

The assassination was over in a few seconds. In the photograph of that moment, Bobby Kennedy, his eyes open and glazed, lies on his back on a hotel pantry floor, his head cradled by a busboy dressed starkly in white - a tableau that seems almost angelic were it not so brutal. Less than 26 hours after being shot early on June 5, 1968, right after winning the California presidential primary, Kennedy was dead. He was 42.Three major assassinations rocked America in the 1960s. Two of the assassins - Lee Harvey Oswald, the killer of John F. Kennedy, and James...

Tiananmen security tight for China massacre anniversary Tue Jun 3, 3:45 AM ET Security was tight in Beijing's central Tiananmen Square on Tuesday ahead of the 19th anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests that left hundreds, possibly thousands, dead. Police vans were circling on and around the square, the focus of major bloodshed nearly a generation ago, as tourists were arriving in numbers on a grey, rainy day. The Tiananmen Massacre is a taboo subject in China and the country's state-controlled media was silent on the sensitive anniversary taking place just 66 days ahead of the Beijing Olympics....

Still together after 80 years, Britain's oldest married couple celebrate their 'oak' wedding with a simple kiss By Jaya Narain Last updated at 2:45 AM on 26th May 2008  As with any married couple, there are times when Frank and Anita Milford don’t quite see eye to eye. But they have never let the odd disagreement get in the way of their love for each other and their dedication to their marriage. To prove it, Frank, 100, and Anita, 99, today celebrate their 80th wedding anniversary, equalling the record for England’s longest-ever marriage.  Frank and Anita Milford are celebrating...

NEW YORK - The Brooklyn Bridge is 125 years old this month and New York City is getting ready to celebrate. The city on Monday announced an array of activities including a special bridge lighting, concerts, lectures, film series and family events. The five-day festivities will kick off on May 22 with a performance by the Brooklyn Philharmonic at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in Brooklyn, and a Grucci fireworks presentation. The bridge connects Brooklyn and Manhattan across the East River, and is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the country. It will be lit up in an array...

Almost everywhere I went last week – TV, radio, speeches – I was asked about the 60th anniversary of the Israeli state. I don't recall being asked about Israel quite so much on its 50th anniversary, which, as a general rule, is a much bigger deal than the 60th. But these days friends and enemies alike smell weakness at the heart of the Zionist Entity. Assuming Iranian President Ahmadinejad's apocalyptic fancies don't come to pass, Israel will surely make it to its 70th birthday. But a lot of folks don't fancy its prospects for its 80th and beyond. See the...

Oscar winner Jon Voight is coming to Israel next week for his first solidarity visit to salute the Jewish state in honor of its 60th birthday. World-renowned for his roles in "Midnight Cowboy," "Coming Home," "Deliverance," "Mission Impossible," "Ali and National Treasure," among others, Voight will welcome Chabad’s Children of Chernobyl’s (CCOC) 80th rescue mission airlifting children from irradiated regions in Ukraine, Belarus and Western Russia to Israel; visit Sderot, which has endured 7,000 Hamas missiles and numerous casualties; comfort terror victims; and, go to Yad Vashem. “I’m coming to salute, encourage and strengthen the people of Israel on this...

Wageningen - The annual Liberty Parade marking Liberation Day in 1945 has been held in the Dutch town of Wageningen. Around 1,300 veterans, including 200 from World War II, filed through the city centre. Some 100,000 spectators lined the streets despite the high temperatures. At a ceremony early in the afternoon Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende kicked off 13 liberation festivals across the country. The festivities will end with an outdoor concert on the river Amstel in the capital which will be attended by Queen Beatrix.

As Israel celebrates its 60th birthday, the world should recognize the enormous gifts the Jewish state has given the world. Israel has exported more lifesaving medical technology to the far-flung corners of the earth than any nation of comparable size. It has done more to protect the environment, to promote literature, music, the arts and sciences, to spread agricultural advances and to fight terrorism within the rule of law. Israel has created a legal system that is the envy of the world, with a Supreme Court that is open to all with few, if any, restrictions on its jurisdiction. As...

President Bush will never live down “Mission Accomplished” — and should not. When the White House’s spinners spun that claim five years ago (remember the aircraft carrier?), it seemed cocky and premature. As Mr. Bush continues his $526 billion war-without-end in Iraq, it seems stunningly deceitful. The only mission that needs to be accomplished is an orderly exit from Iraq, and Mr. Bush is no closer to acknowledging that reality. Neither is Senator John McCain. All Congress seems capable of is hand-wringing. So it is up to Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton to revive the national debate on...

Spam turning 30 this month; no gifts, please Thu May 1, 2008 12:33PM EDT See Comments (131) Buzz up!on Yahoo! The date: May 3, 1978. The culprit: Gary Thuerk, a marketer for the old Digital Equipment Corporation. His crime: Sending a sales e-mail to 393 users on Arpanet (then a U.S. government computer network and the predecessor of today's Internet). Little did Thuerk know that he'd just become the world's first spammer. That first piece of junk e-mail (which wasn't called "spam" until about 15 years later) has been memorialized over at Brad Templeton's Web site (Templeton is a Net...

OIL SPRINGS -- The oil fields serenade Charlie Fairbank. From his home, or from anywhere he walks near town, a network of chains rattles, wooden jerker arms groan on their metal hangers, and the pump-jacks squeak as they extract oil from the swampy ground. They pump at 11 strokes a minute, about the same rate as relaxed breathing. "They sing," Fairbank says of the endless rhythm. "It's like living by the sea." For four generations -- since 1861, and longer than anyone on the planet -- the Fairbank family has pumped crude oil. This year is the 150th anniversary of...

On this day in 1963, police in Birmingham, Alabama -- under the command of the Democrat sheriff, Eugene "Bull" Connor -- attacked several thousand African-American schoolchildren who were demonstrating peacefully for their civil rights. At the time, it should be noted, Connor was the Democratic National Committeeman for Alabama. Connor's men used dogs and clubs... [see http://grandoldpartisan.typepad.com for more] Republicans would benefit tremendously from appreciating the heritage of our Grand Old Party. See www.republicanbasics.com for more information.

Republican John McCain says President Bush should not be held responsible for the much-criticized "mission accomplished" banner five years ago, but he should be blamed for bungling the early months of the Iraq war. Thursday was the fifth anniversary of Bush's dramatic landing on an aircraft carrier where the banner hung. The certain GOP presidential nominee said he thought the banner was a mistake at the time.

KIEV (AFP) - Ukraine paid homage Saturday to victims of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe, a "planetary" drama as Kiev called it, 22 years after the world's worst nuclear incident. Overnight, some hundred Ukrainians including President Viktor Yushchenko and other top state officials laid wreaths at the monument to the victims of Chernobyl in Kiev and lighted candles during a religious service held for the tragedy, the presidential press service said. In Slavutich, a small town 50 kilometers (30 miles) away from the wrecked nuclear power station, where most of its personnel live, an overnight vigil was due to be held....

NEW YORK, April 26 -- Forty years ago, they launched a student protest at Columbia University that involved the occupation of five campus buildings, the hostage-taking of a dean, 712 arrests and injuries to scores of students, faculty members and police officers. This Story At Columbia, Remembering a Revolution The 1968 Protesters, Then and Now Now, they are lawyers, judges, playwrights, poets, professors and ministers. They gathered this weekend back on campus with former classmates to hear memories of those events and occasionally raise a revolutionary fist for old times' sake. "Strangest reunion I ever saw," said Victoria Benitez, a...

NEAR WACO - 15-years-ago Saturday, a huge fire ended a 51-day stand-off near Waco. It all took place at the Branch Davidian Compound. The standoff started with a government investigation into illegal possession of firearms and explosives. The Feds tried to enter the compound and were met with gunfire. By the end of the day, the compound was burned to the ground. 80 people were killed, including 22 children and four ATF agents.

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2008 – Twenty-five years after terrorists detonated a massive car bomb, killing 52 people at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, President Bush urged unity in condemning terrorism he said continues to threaten the United States. President and Nancy Reagan file by the flag-draped caskets of victims of the April 18, 1983, bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon in an April 23, 1983 file photo. Photo courtesy Ronald Reagan Presidential Library   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Islamic Jihad Organization, today known as the terrorist group Hizballah, launched the April 18, 1983, attack...

Facts: Occurred at about 1300 (1:00 pm Lebanon Time) on April 18th, 1983 Carried out by a terrorist driving a van, reportedly stolen from the Embassy in June 1982. The van carried a 2,000-pound load of explosives, tearing through the front portion of the seven (7) story building. Most of the victims were at lunch and were killed by the collapsing building. Killed 63 occupants of the building, 17 of whom were Americans. One Marine was killed - Corporal Robert V. McMaugh, an embassy guard.

At 5:59 a.m., SAGE telephones the Davidians, notifying them of an imminent tear-gas assault. SAGE reads a message over the loudspeaker, advising the Davidians that they are under arrest and should come out. At 6:02 a.m., two FBI combat engineering vehicles, or CEVs, begin inserting gas into the compound through spray nozzles attached to a boom. At 6:04 a.m., the Davidians start shooting, and the FBI begin deploying Bradley vehicles to insert ferret rounds through the windows. At 6:31, the HRT reports that the entire building is being gassed. At about 7 a.m., RENO and senior advisors go to the...

It's just a few days past the fifth anniversary of one of the most magnificent accomplishments of combat arms ever in the history of the US military. Yet I could not find one mention of it anywheres in the media, focused as they were on the antics of Hillary, Obama, and the rest of the Dems failing in their attempts to pose one semi-intelligent question to Gen. Petreus, or shedding crocodile tears over the 4000+ American heroes who have made the supremee sacrifice in Iraq. I have excerpted for you below a few paragraphs from the great book by David...

Crayola Celebrates Colorful Milestone Company Introduces 8 New 'Kids' Choice' ColorsUPDATED: 12:18 pm EDT April 10, 2008 Crayola celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Crayola 64 Box with the introduction of eight new "Kids' Choice Colors." The iconic box, complete with a built-in sharpener, first debuted on the Captain Kangaroo show in 1958. To celebrate the anniversary, Crayola introduced eight new colors selected by children to tell a story about what's important to today's youth. The new colors include Super Happy, Fun in the Sun, Giving Tree, Bear Hug, Awesome, Happy Ever After, Famous and Best Friends. More than 200...

At 12:01 a.m. on April 7, 1933, sirens, fire alarms and train whistles shrieked. In Chicago, harried bartenders scrambled to serve crowds that stood 12 deep. At Pabst Brewing Co. in Milwaukee, thousands of onlookers cheered as company employees hoisted barrels and crates onto trucks. About 800 people stood in the rain outside the White House, watching as a man hopped out of his vehicle and unloaded two cases of beer. Secret Service agents accepted the goods, a gift for the chief executive from one of the nation's brewers. "President Roosevelt," read a sign on the side of the truck,...

Xenia tornado anniversary: Town torn apart; 33 killed By Margo Rutledge Kissell Staff Writer Wednesday, April 02, 2008 XENIA — Originally published April 3, 2004 Each spring, Cecilia Emery dreams about tornadoes. Since April 3, 1974, when Xenia was hit by one of the country's most powerful tornadoes, her mother, Lucille Lehman, has not been able to watch news footage of the destruction left in the path of any twister. "Everything starts flooding back," said Lehman, who was trapped in the rubble of her home with Cecilia, then 15, and her three younger children until neighbors pulled them out. The...

When Washington Was Held Hostage by Dennis McCafferty    Saturday, 01 March 2008 31 years ago this month, the nation’s capital learned the extent of its vulnerability. Have the lessons been learned? Si Cohen was working on the seventh floor of the B’nai B’rith International building in Washington, DC, on Rhode Island Avenue at about 11 a.m. when his office received a call on March 9, 1977: There was a gunman in the building. Everyone had to get out. Cohen and his co-workers figured somebody was robbing the gift shop on the first floor—a bit of excitement for the...

Near the end of his life, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. felt cornered and under siege. His opposition to the Vietnam War was widely criticized, even by friends. He was being pressured both to repudiate the black power movement and to embrace it. Some of his lieutenants were urging him to jettison his urgent new campaign to uplift the poor, believing that King had taken on too much and was compromising support for the civil rights struggle.

Death Was the Seal of an Existence Totally Given to Christ VATICAN CITY, APRIL 2, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave today when he celebrated Mass on the third anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, The date of April 2 has been imprinted in the Church's memory as the day the Servant of God Pope John Paul II [said] good-bye to this world. Let us again live with emotion the hours of that Saturday afternoon, when the news of his passing away was received...

3/28/2008 - MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- Air mobility leaders gathered for the annual Phoenix Rally to acknowledge past and present accomplishments while celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift March 24 through 28 here. The theme of Phoenix Rally was "A legacy of global reach and hope," chosen to recognize the Air Mobility Command's past, present and future. At this year's conference, attendees acknowledge the historical accomplishments of Berlin Airlift along with special guest, retired Col. Gail Halvorsen, the Berlin Candy Bomber. "This year is special because we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Berlin...

This week the nation marked the fifth anniversary of our presence in Iraq. It is past time to remember the liberators. Now at the end of their third tour they are preparing to leave: the 1st "Raider" Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division deployed to Al Anbar province 15 months ago as an element of the "surge" force. Its commander, Col. John W. Charlton, is responsible not only for his Army units, but also for Navy, Marine and Air Force personnel operating with them. His area of operations -- AO Topeka -- covers 8,900 sq. miles. From the outset his focus was...

Thank you all. Deputy Secretary England, thanks for the introduction. One boss may not be here, but the other one is. (Laughter.) I appreciate your kind words. I’m pleased to be back here with the men and women of the Defense Department. On this day in 2003, the United States began Operation Iraqi Freedom. As the campaign unfolded, tens and thousands of our troops poured across the Iraqi border to liberate the Iraqi people and remove a regime that threatened free nations. Five years into this battle, there is an understandable debate over whether the war was worth fighting, whether...

Five years after launching the invasion of Iraq, President Bush strongly signaled Wednesday that he won't order troop withdrawals beyond those already planned because he refuses to "jeopardize the hard-fought gains" of the past year. As anti-war activists demonstrated around downtown Washington, the president spoke at the Pentagon to mark the anniversary of a war that has cost nearly 4,000 U.S. lives and roughly $500 billion. The president's address was part of a series of events the White House planned around the anniversary and next month's report from the top U.S. figures in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan...

Believe it or not, "shock and awe" is five years old Wednesday. The fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq occupation by the United States and its allies will be marked by scores of protests, prayer vigils and marches across the country Wednesday, including a half-dozen events in Madison. The centerpiece of local activity is a rally and vigil on the Capitol Square at State Street, beginning at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Hundreds of participants are expected, with a five-minute silent vigil at 11:55 a.m., followed by the peace train parade around the square. "Wear black and bring a candle...

The Palestinian Authority is planning to mark Israel's 60th anniversary by calling on all Palestinians living abroad to converge on Israel by land, sea and air. The plan, drawn by Ziad Abu Ein, a senior Fatah operative and Deputy Minister for Prisoners' Affairs in the Palestinian Authority, states that the Palestinians have decided to implement United Nations Resolution 194 regarding the refugees. Article 11 of the resolution, which was passed in December 1948, says that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date,...

The Palestinian Authority is planning to mark Israel's 60th anniversary by calling on all Palestinians living abroad to converge on Israel by land, sea and air. The plan, drawn by Ziad Abu Ein, a senior Fatah operative and Deputy Minister for Prisoners' Affairs in the Palestinian Authority, states that the Palestinians have decided to implement United Nations Resolution 194 regarding the refugees. Article 11 of the resolution, which was passed in December 1948, says that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date,...

An "anniversary" of a "war" is in many ways the least useful occasion on which to take stock of something like the Anglo-American intervention in Iraq, if only because any such formal observance involves the assumption that a) this is, in fact, a war and b) it is by that definition an exception from the rest of our engagement with that country and that region. I am one of those who, for example, believes that the global conflict that began in August 1914 did not conclusively end, despite a series of "fragile truces," until the fall of the Berlin Wall...

An experimental satellite launched in the first months of the space race is about to celebrate 50 years in orbit. Vanguard I is the oldest surviving man-made satellite in space and was the first to provide measurements showing the Earth is slightly pear-shaped instead of perfectly round. When the 50th anniversary of the US satellite’s launch on March 17, 1958, arrives on Monday it will have made more than 196,990 Earth orbits. At 6in in diameter and 3lb in weight, it was dubbed “the grapefruit satellite” by Nikita Khrushchev, then the leader of the Soviet Union. But while tiny by...

MY LAI, Vietnam - Lawrence Colburn returned to My Lai on Saturday and found hope at the site of one of the most notorious chapters of the Vietnam War. On the 40th anniversary of the massacre of up to 500 unarmed Vietnamese villagers, the former helicopter gunner was reunited with a young man he rescued from rampaging U.S. soldiers. On March 16, 1968, Colburn found 8-year-old Do Ba clinging to his mother's corpse in a ditch full of blood and the bodies of more than 100 people who had been mowed down. Nearly all the victims were unarmed women, children...

BRITISH TO COURT RIBBENTROP TODAY Ready to Bargain Cautiously if Nazis will Make Genuine Concessions for Peace ROME AGENDA MAPPED Perth and Ciano Await Final Instructions for Talks to Begin Next Week By FERDINAND KUHN Jr. Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. LONDON, March 8. – Timing his visit to coincide with the start of the Anglo-Italian negotiations in Rome, Joachim von Ribbentrop, German Foreign Minister, will arrive in London tomorrow for a series of talks that will show whether or not Anglo-German negotiations are possible also in the near future. Herr von Ribbentrop will see Viscount Halifax,...