Free Republic

He's gutted their healthcare, plans to cut their pay and apparently, doesn't trust them either. David Codrea over at Gun Rights Examiner points out that Marines marching in President Obama's second inaugural parade recently were caring rifles without bolts, meaning they were removed.

A new administration policy? Barack Obama disarmed the US Marines at the Inaugural parade this year. Dishonored and disarmed: Bolts are clearly missing from these Marine rifles during President Obama’s inauguration parade. This is an unmistakable insult to the honor of the Marine Corps ... It’s not the first time the Obama Administration disarmed US Marines at an event. In March 2012, US Marines were told to leave their weapons outside the tent during Leon Panetta’s speech in Afghanistan.

“Didn't know the Marines had to take the bolts out of their rifles for the Inaugural,” an email forwarded to Gun Rights Examiner from a United States Marine Corps source observed. “Wonder if someone can explain why [they] would be marching in the inaugural parade with no bolts in their rifles!” The email linked to a YouTube video of the 57th Presidential Inaugural Parade, embedded in this column, featuring Bravo Company Marines from the Marine Barracks Washington. Sure enough, the observation in the email is confirmed by watching the video, with screen shots provided in the photo and slide show...

“Didn't know the Marines had to take the bolts out of their rifles for the Inaugural,” an email forwarded to Gun Rights Examiner from a United States Marine Corps source observed. “Wonder if someone can explain why [they] would be marching in the inaugural parade with no bolts in their rifles!” The email linked to a YouTube video of the 57th Presidential Inaugural Parade, embedded in this column, featuring Bravo Company Marines from the Marine Barracks Washington. Sure enough, the observation in the email is confirmed by watching the video, with screen shots provided in the photo and slide show...

At the inauguration just past, Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee shoehorned a quote by Alex Haley into his introduction of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. “The late Alex Haley, the author of ‘Roots,’ lived his life by these six words: ‘Find the good and praise it,’” said Alexander. “Today we praise the American tradition of transferring or reaffirming immense power as we inaugurate the president of the United States.” Ads by Google No More 2-Day Workweeks Congress should work 5 days a week, not 2. Agree? Sign the petition. NoLabels.org Join with Billy Graham, Declare: "I still have hope...

A teenage girl who attended presidential inauguration activities in Washington earlier this month was shot to death at a Chicago park. Police say 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was shot in the back Tuesday and later died at University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital. An unidentified boy was shot in the leg and is being treated at the hospital. No arrests have been made. Hadiya was a majorette with the King College Prep High School band, which performed at several inaugural events. CBS Chicago affiliate WBBM-TV reports she was also an honor student and volleyball player.

Urging that “we break free of the archaic notions of our nation's so-called 'Founding Fathers,'” President Barack Obama launched his second term with a stirring call to “update our concepts to fit our modern circumstances.” The President maintained that “the Founders' original idea that 'liberty' means freedom from government abuses and usurpations has no relevance today. Our government does not usurp our rights. The people elect their rulers and expect them to create the kind of rights appropriate to the world we live in now.” “How much liberty does a person have if he lacks the will or ability to...

Jonathan Cahn, author of ‘The Harbinger’ and pastor/rabbi of Beth Israel Messianic Congregation of Wayne, NJ, gives the key note address at the Presidential Inaugural Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. 01/21/13

Urging that “we break free of the archaic notions of our nation's so-called 'Founding Fathers,'” President Barack Obama launched his second term with a stirring call to “update our concepts to fit our modern circumstances.” The President maintained that “the Founders' original idea that 'liberty' means freedom from government abuses and usurpations has no relevance today. Our government does not usurp our rights. The people elect their rulers and expect them to create the kind of

President Obama's Two Hundred and Ninth Week in Office1/24/2013Obama and IsraelUS Urges Israel to Partake in UN Human Rights Review... despite state’s decision to cut ties with council due to blatant bias.Senator John Kerry hinted Thursday he has a plan up his sleeve to rekindle the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority but warned he was worried the door for a "two-state solution" may be closingGunrunner-GateDOJ's Lanny Breuer to Resign in Wake of Fast and Furious ScandalObama Attacks the Second AmendmentBiden: Putting armed guards in schools would be a "terrible mistake"List of Guns Banned Under Feinstein's LegislationBiden: 'Buy...

Well, this will teach President Obama’s speech writers to double check their pander list. It seems his special shout-out to gays in his inaugural speech – though widely praised by the Left as a “historic” moment – just wasn’t enough. Not for the Huffington Post and the parents of 11-year-old ‘Sadie,’ who is “transgender” (a boy pretending to be a girl). Obama needed to call out for transgender rights as well. HuffPo’s “Gay Voices” page reported that Sadie corrected the oversight, writing a second speech. Sadie’s mother put it on Face Book, it hit Twitter and, according the “Gay Voices”...

There's no rational reason to care whether Beyonce was lip-syncing or really singing when she performed at the presidential inaugural Monday. But the disclosure was troubling nonetheless. It's not that we were all cheated, exactly. No one paid to stand outside in the cold to watch the ceremonies (though presumably the well-connected and the sponsors had no trouble getting bleacher seats). It's that Beyonce looked overwhelmed with emotion as she belted out the national anthem, giving the impression that her performance reflected her excitement about Obama being re-elected, or better yet, just pride in American democracy. The fact that she...

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Marine Corps is backing off statements that Beyonce lip-synced the national anthem during her performance at President Barack Obama's inauguration. The Marine Corps issued a statement Tuesday saying it determined that a live performance by the Marine Band was ill advised because there was no opportunity for Beyonce to rehearse with the band. Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Gregory Wolf says no one in the band is in a position to know whether Beyonce's vocal performance was live or pre-recorded. Earlier a spokeswoman for the Marine Band told news outlets the band was notified at the last...

At most inaugural events the sartorial buzz is about what designer dress the First Lady is wearing. But yesterday everyone was more interested in a Supreme Court Justice’s hat. Many people were left wondering: Why is Antonin Scalia wearing a renaissance era painter’s hat?

Kevin Walsh of the University of Richmond School of Law writes:The twitterverse is alive with tweets about Justice Scalia’s headgear for today’s inauguration. At the risk of putting all the fun speculation to an end . . . The hat is a custom-made replica of the hat depicted in Holbein’s famous portrait of St. Thomas More. It was a gift from the St. Thomas More Society of Richmond, Virginia. We presented it to him in November 2010 as a memento of his participation in our 27th annual Red Mass and dinner.Wearing the cap of a statesman who defended liberty...

Eliana Johnson noted yesterday on the Corner that a lawyer in the Voting Section of the Department of Justice, Dan Freeman, proudly announced on his Facebook page that he “started the crowd booing when Paul Ryan came out” at the inauguration.

Love him or hate him, Bill Clinton is probably the most charismatic former president still around. He also seems to, somehow, be the star of the show wherever he goes. Monday's presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C. was no different. During a performance of "My Country 'Tis of Thee" by "American Idol" champion Kelly Clarkson, Clinton's head popped out from the crowd as he photobombed her. The internet instantly lit up with people passing the photo around and attaching their own jokes to it.

Obama played the gay card in his inaugural address. There is a lot of misconception about homosexuality. Frankly, most of what we hear is based in ignorance. Let’s get to the truth about this issue. This is a very brief summary of our article at http://www.faithfacts.org/christ-and-the-culture/gay-rights. In the original article we cite numerous scientific studies which we invite the reader to investigate. 1. What causes homosexuality? There is no scientific evidence to support the idea that homosexuality is genetic. All such studies that once purported to support that idea of a gay gene have been discredited. There are various factors,...

Halfway through her rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at President Barack Obama's inauguration on Monday, Beyonce dramatically did away with the earpiece that singers use to hear themselves and their bands in a live setting. One viewer likened it to the gutsy move Luke Skywalker made in the dramatic chase scene in the original "Star Wars," tweeting: "Taking out the earpiece is Luke turning off the targeting system in the Death Star trench." But now a rep for the United States Marine Band says Beyonce was not even singing the song live. She was lip-syncing. The rep said that...

Whoops. I'm sure the President just made a mistake and the words "under God" just happened to be missing in the pledge of allegiance. During the pledge of allegiance during the inauguration yesterday, the words "under God" were removed by the President. Introducing the President, Myrlie Evers-Williams read a flowery version of the pledge: “We now stand beneath the shadow of the nation’s capital, who’s golden dome reflects the unity and democracy of one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all...” Of course this isn't the first time that the Democratic party has removed God from their speeches. During...