Free Republic

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- New York Knicks center Joakim Noah says he skipped a team dinner at the West Point Military Academy that featured cadets and a speech by a former colonel because he is against war. Noah added he had "mixed feelings" about spending time at the West Point Military Academy, where the Knicks are holding training camp this week, because he is opposed to the idea of young troops fighting in wars.

Everyone admires the intriguing puzzles and solutions in the stories of Sherlock Holmes. In The Adventures of Silver Blaze, the curious incident of the dog that did nothing – did not bark – in the night was the clue toward solving the mystery. Sherlock is needed to solve the mystery of why, on July 25, 2016, at the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, the 61 speeches may have been full of bite, but none uttered a whisper, let alone a bark, about the menace of ISIS and Islamist terrorism. The mystery deepens with the appalling news...

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) told a gathering of anti-war activists in Los Angeles on March 12 that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was misleading the public about Israel’s willingness to confront Iran alone, and that he had privately assured President Barack Obama that Israel would not go to war without U.S. backing. The week before, Netanyahu had used a visit to Washington to convey the message that Israel was prepared to act alone if necessary. That message was necessary, given the Obama administration's record of wavering on Iran, and its public attempts to dissuade Israel

Barack Obama stands on the brink of capturing the presidential nomination in large part because of Democratic Party reforms initiated by the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s -- movements in which Hillary Clinton's top strategist, Harold Ickes, was a key player. When Obama was barely three, Ickes took part in Mississippi Freedom Summer, helping the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party send a primarily black delegation to the 1964 national convention in Atlantic City. After the Freedom Democratic delegation was denied seating by the virtually all white male Democratic Party establishment, Ickes -- then 24 -- went on to...

Preacher says GOP delaying 2nd coming Monday, October 09, 2006 Becky Gaylord Plain Dealer Reporter Voters should oust congressional Republican leaders because U.S. foreign policy is delaying the second coming of Jesus Christ, according to a evangelical preacher trying to influence closely contested political races. K.A. Paul railed against the war in Iraq on Sunday before a crowd of 1,000 at the New Spirit Revival Center in Cleveland Heights, his first stop on what he hopes is a 30-city campaign. The Houston-based preacher said he believes that the Bush administration has delayed the second coming because U.S. foreign policy has...

Trump's crafty move on Iraq: His war comments allow conservatives to move past the Bush years while saving face Most of Saturday night's Republican debate held by CBS in South Carolina was more of the same stuff we've seen in the previous eight debates, with Donald Trump insulting people and lots competitive right-wing posturing. But there was one moment that was unexpected, when Trump went after Jeb Bush by attacking his brother, former President George W. Bush. Trump accused the former president of lying about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and called the war "a big, fat mistake." Trump...

In a secret meeting on Tuesday morning, Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) hosted a bipartisan group of senators and House members in the Capitol’s basement. According to several participants, the lawmakers plotted ways to stop the use of U.S. military force in Syria. Since the diplomatic situation is fluid, there was no final consensus on how best to combat the administration, but potential legislative maneuvers, press appearances, and letters were discussed. Several undecided members asked questions. Aides say Paul planned the gathering over a week ago, and the list of attendees grew by the day. He is pleased, especially, by...

MILWAUKEE - An American soldier in Iraq who e-mailed a U.S. company to ask for a shipment of floor mats got a brusque reply: "We would NEVER ship to Iraq. If you were sensible, you and your troops would pull out of Iraq." The response quickly circulated on the Internet and led to threats against the Muslim-owned business, including demands for a boycott. Bargain Suppliers, an online retailer, shut down its Web site Monday and fired the unidentified employee who sent the e-mail, television station WTMJ reported.

Did Richard Nixon pardon John “Songbird” McCain of charges as serious as treason and did our defunct mainstream media hide this horrific side of a man who would have been our president in 2008, save only for a Black being on the ticket? What is the truth here? “Colonel Ted Guy was preparing criminal charges against John McCain when Nixon took Admiral McCain’s little boy under his wing. Where are McCain’s 32 propaganda tapes that were made during Vietnam and broadcast over the radio to US troops?” asks Gordon Duff, a disabled, Marine combat veteran of Vietnam writing about the...

A Friday story in the Springfield News-Sun reported that a group of veterans and family members expressed outrage that a military cemetery in Cherokee County, Georgia was closed off so that a production company could film scenes from an upcoming Ang Lee Film, “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.” The position of the group is that turning a cemetery into a movie shooting location would heap disrespect on the honored dead. But the subject matter of the film, based on a satirical anti-Iraq War novel by Ben Fountain, may well push the envelope where it comes to disrespecting those who put...

Riddle me this, fellow Republicans. An NBC survey April 9 reports that a huge majority (70%) of Americans doubts that Iran will abide by any agreement to limit its nuclear arms–but a majority (54%) still thinks Obama will do a better job than the Republicans in dealing with Iran! A majority of Americans – 54 percent – trust Barack Obama to do a better job handling an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, compared to 42 percent who say they trust the Republicans in Congress. But nearly 7 in 10 Americans say that Iran is not likely to abide...

An event held last Fri­day at the National Press Club and broad­cast live on C-SPAN 3 focus­ing on the U.S.-Israel rela­tion­ship fea­tured a num­ber of vir­u­lently anti-Israel speak­ers who made con­spir­a­to­r­ial claims about Zion­ism, the influ­ence of the “Israel Lobby” and much more.jeff-blankfort-summit-dc-cspan The event, dubbed as a National Sum­mit to “Reassess the U.S.-Israel ‘Spe­cial Rela­tion­ship,’” was spon­sored by anti-Israel groups If Amer­i­cans Knew, the Coun­cil for the National Inter­est (CNI), the Insti­tute for Research: Mid­dle East­ern Pol­icy (IRmep) as well as the Wash­ing­ton Report on Mid­dle East Affairs. Ses­sions at the sum­mit included, “How does the Israel lobby influ­ence...

Two protesters affiliated with the antiwar groups Code Pink and Witness Against Torture were arrested Saturday morning outside the home of former Vice President Dick Cheney in McLean, Virginia. The protesters were inside Mr. Cheney’s fenced property when police arrived, “and the homeowners said they were not allowed to be there,” said Fairfax County police spokesman Roger Henriquez, a local Fox affiliate reported. “Police asked them to leave or face trespassing charges.” Tighe Barry, 57, and Eve Tetaz, 83, were arrested after refusing to leave the property, police said. Police did not know whether the former vice president was home...

I could have sworn we were going to war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). But the president, a well-known theologian, has informed us that despite what the Muslims of ISIS say, the Islamic State “is not Islamic.” So I guess we’re in a war against SIS — the State of Iraq and Syria. But it still is a war, isn’t it, Mr. Secretary Kerry? “I think that’s the wrong terminology,” he sniffed yesterday. “What we are engaging in is a very significant counterterrorism operation.” Does that make it … a police action? Will we have to...

In "Insatiable" the Economist says "The cost of stopping the Russian bear now is high—but it will only get higher if the West does nothing". Economist: Mr Putin has used the Ukrainian crisis to establish some dangerous precedents. He has claimed a duty to intervene to protect Russian-speakers wherever they are. He has staged a referendum and annexation, in defiance of Ukrainian law. And he has abrogated a commitment to respect Ukraine’s borders, which Russia signed in 1994 when Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons. Throughout, Mr Putin has shown that truth and the law are whatever happens to suit him...

Fred Phelps -- the founding pastor of a Kansas church known for its virulently anti-gay protests at public events, including military funerals -- has died, the church said Thursday. The 84-year-old died of natural causes at 11:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to church spokesman Steve Drain.

Seems quiet out there. Russia invades a country one door down from the EU and crickets from the left. No cries of killing Putin and his family, no signs, No human shields....nothing.

Many have wondered what happened to the anti-war movement since President Bush left office. We think we found it, at the Modern Language Association (MLA). Ten people attended the MLA session on “War, Scar: Representations of US Torture and Imperial Violence since Vietnam.” Philip Metres III of John Carroll College called U.S. government officials “armchair conquerors” because of their War on Terror in places such as Pakistan. As a professor, he recalled how one “sensitive student” wrote a poem on his tender childhood memory of his teddy bear as well as a reflective look at his bloodlust after playing violent,...

Lawmakers appear to be tentatively dividing into four camps over military action in Syria. Each square represents a lawmaker who has indicated how he or she might vote, and the sentiment of the quote is mapped across the four categories. Among the lawmakers mapped below are members of leadership and several "people to watch," a category comprising influential or opinionated individuals, committee chairmen and 2016 presidential hopefuls. Read related article. See something that needs updating? Contact Aaron Blake. Senate Against: 29, leaning NO 11 (total 40) Undecided: 37 For: 23 House Against: 150, leaning NO 103 (total 253). Undecided: 154...

The President didn't make a compelling case for war, IMO. In some ways he contradicted himself: FOLKS IT'S TIME FOR US TO RE-DOUBLE our efforts AGAINST WAR ON SYRIA! Let's go.