Free Republic

Arnold Fisher is angry. The real estate mogul and philanthropist wants know why the U.S. government isn’t doing more to help the country’s veterans in their recovery from post-traumatic stress (PTS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). “If we can't do this, we are not a decent people,” Fisher said. “We lose that decency if we can't help those who help us.” […] he and his family have made it their mission to fill the void in assisting the country’s veterans through their two foundations: The Fisher House Foundation and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. “All the money comes from the...

"Authorities have determined that the shots fired at the National Museum of the Marine Corps and the Pentagon earlier this month were fired from the same weapon, the FBI announced. The FBI opened an investigation into those shooting and one that occurred overnight at the Marine Corps Recruiting Station in Chantilly, Va."

Hundreds of foreign-born families have pulled their children from Prince William County public schools and enrolled them in nearby Fairfax County, Arlington County and Alexandria since the start of the school year, imposing a new financial burden on those inner suburbs in a time of lean budgets. The school-to-school migration within Northern Virginia started just as Prince William began implementing rules to deny some services to illegal immigrants and require police to check the immigration status of crime suspects thought to be in the country illegally. ... According to the Prince William school system, enrollment in the English for speakers...

"Help Save the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery It's hard to believe, but officials at Arlington National Cemetery plan to replace the original Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with a new replica solely because of repairable cosmetic imperfections. This 1932 monument is nationally significant and eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The 48-ton marble block has two nonstructural cracks which pose no threat to visitors or the historic structure. Surprisingly, federal administrators want the replica carved from new stone that experts agree will likely again crack along its grain just as marble...

Representatives from 192 countries are due in Geneva on Monday for a conference to decide whether to adopt a new emblem for the Red Cross movement. The two-day meeting is the result of tightrope diplomacy by Switzerland to resolve the long-standing issue of a third humanitarian symbol. Approval of the so-called "red crystal" by the signatory states moved a step closer last week when the Israeli and Palestinian emergency services signed a groundbreaking cooperation agreement. The accord, brokered by the Swiss foreign ministry, cleared the way for a deal on a new emblem in addition to the red cross and...

The State Board of Elections is expected today to certify Republican Robert F. McDonnell as the winner over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds in the race for attorney general … Deeds is expected to cross the street to the Richmond Circuit Count and ask for a recount, as he is allowed to by law. … Attorney General Judith Williams Jagdmann announced that she has appointed two Washington lawyers with expertise in election law to assist her office in providing legal advice to the elections board for the recount. Jan W. Baran, a former general counsel to the Republican National Committee, and...

On a day when they knew they would be outnumbered and out-shouted, more than 200 supporters of the Iraq war nonetheless gathered yesterday at the U.S. Navy Memorial to get out their message. They were military families and members of such organizations as Move America Forward and RightMarch.com and Protest Warrior, and they were determined to be heard. The crowd cheered when William Greene, president of RightMarch.com, called the antiwar protesters "the Sheehanistas." They cheered again when he said: "Our voices will not be silenced. We are the majority." … Counter-protesters will hold their major event of the weekend today...

Y’all might want to watch your local / national 10 and 11 pm news for tonight’s FReep in front of the White House. (Mod – please allow this to stay in “Breaking News” for an hour or so.) Kristinn just called as they were wrapping up. Here is his phoned-in report: There were about 300 of “them” and 18 of “us.” We started out in front of the Andrew Jackson statue facing H Street, but the Park Police sent us on our way because we did not have a permit. We moved to in front of the White House on...

Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) signed a measure Tuesday that tightens laws prohibiting illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits, including Medicaid and public assistance. On the last day the governor could act on the nearly 950 bills that passed the Republican-controlled General Assembly, Warner waded into an issue that divided the legislature this year: what public benefits and other services the state should offer to illegal immigrants, a population that has nearly tripled in Virginia since 1996, according to federal estimates. The legislation -- House Bill 1798 and Senate Bill 1143 -- requires state and local governments to verify...

George Mason University, Virginia’s aggressive and increasingly prestigious state school, isn’t good enough to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. Why not? Because Michael Moore didn’t get a check for 35 grand and the opportunity to speak on campus. It seems a small matter. Why punish GMU’s undergrads by denying them membership in the prestigious honor society for the dimwitted acts of others? According to letters to GMU, and cited by The Washington Post, Phi Beta Kappa is concerned about free speech and academic freedom. That was news to us. In decades of campus speech codes, kangaroo courts punishing...

Washington (AP) - A Pentagon Police officer died Monday from injuries he received last month when he was run down by a carjacker. Officer James Feltis, 41, a 12-year veteran of the force, had been at INOVA Fairfax Hospital and had not regained consciousness since Jan. 11, when he was hit while trying to stop the speeding vehicle. The suspect was driving the wrong way on a one-way street while trying to elude Alexandria, Va., police. Feltis was hit while standing in front of the car. He was thrown into the air and came down on the back of the...

... D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey said he is proud of the way his officers performed, but some believe police may have overused pepper spray. "It was handled well, a major success," Ramsey said. "Even though there was a lot of tension between some groups of people, everyone should have left feeling they had their opinions able to be expressed." Ramsey said D.C. police made 79 arrests Thursday. Many of the arrests came after the inauguration, when violence erupted on Columbia Road in Adams Morgan Thursday night. "It was a group of anarchists that decided to break out windows and...

I am posting this as a vanity because it doesn’t quite fit other categories. Apple still has a link to tsunami relief contributions (via Red Cross) on their home page. Another way they are helping is by facilitating access to tsunami pictures. Several FReeper threads about the tsunami have included or linked to DigitalGlobe’s “Before and After" satellite pictures which can also be found at: http://homepage.mac.com/demark/tsunami/9.html As much as some FReepers hate Apple, the following link may also be of interest: http://homepage.mac.com/demark/goodnews.html .Mac Security warned the poster that the satellite images on his .Mac HomePage are very popular and are...

The last minute attacks from Kerry and his Democrat counterparts have begun.  From distributing hate-filled fliers, to physically assaulting our headquarters, to sending auto-dial attack calls to independent and Republican voters, Kerry and his team have shown that they are both desperate and willing to do anything to win. Please encourage your respective constituencies and our supporters to call us as soon as they know or hear about these attacks.  Simply ask them to call 1-888-610-8170 and report what they have seen or heard. Also, please remind them to turn on their answering machines and record the attacks.  We need...

Kristinn just called. He's setting up for the "Iraqi Rally to Thank America" discussed at: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1253878/posts Kristinn's by his lonesome so far and would welcome some FReeper company, especially if you can get there by 12:30, when the first reporters are expected. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2004, 1 P.M. TO 4 P.M. LAFAYETTE PARK, 16TH & H ST., NW, WASH., D.C. The D.C. Chapter "is sponsoring a rally with Iraqi leaders from across the country to demonstrate the deep appreciation of the Iraqi-American community for the leadership of President Bush in liberating their country from the terrorist dictator Saddam Hussein. The...

It looks like the Electoral-Vote web site may have been hacked. The "Projected Electoral College Votes" map shows the states with the usual assortment of red and blue, but the words predict N0 electoral votes for the President and EVERY electoral vote for Kerry. Scrolling over the states shows EVERY state polling at 98 or 99% Kerry and 0% Bush. Granted the site is hosted by a self-proclaimed Kerry supporter, the site seems to have a glitch.

While I can get on the server, here is a short after action report from kristinn on the D.C. Chapter's "PRO-AMERICA COUNTER-DEMO OF LEFTIST PROTEST AT ARL. NAT'L CEMETERY." First was a trip to Kerry's house, organized by Ted Sampley's group. About a dozen showed up. The police arrived about an hour after the start of permitted time and blocked the street. A couple dozen FReepers and lurkers showed up at the counter-protest at Arlington Cemetery. There were about 500 on the "other side." Arlington Memorial Bridge is a major road, at least six lanes wide, that runs across the...

... It is not enough to come from the South if you are a Democrat, but you cannot win unless you come from the South. … The reverse is not true: Nixon and Reagan were not from the South. … Senators lose [presidential] elections. … They are constantly voting on bills. … The things they say and do in the first four years of their terms won't affect them much in their last two years. ... Democrats are running a non-Southern senator for president. Kerry's highly recorded political career in front of them, with thousands of votes and statements. …...

If you’ve been following the Virginia board you’ll have known a bunch of FReepers spent this morning in the 1,500 member audience LIVE with PRESIDENT BUSH, speaking at the Annandale Campus of the Northern Virginia Community College. The speech was set up last Wednesday afternoon; information about how to get tickets started spreading among FReepers Wednesday night. Republican Congressman Tom Davis's office coordinated the tickets, which were issued by name. They told us the President would be making a policy speech and did NOT want us waving flags or signs or whatever. BillF, Angelwood, and kristinn were among the D....

"... Children and parents enter into an agreement pledging that the parents will vote according to their children's preference as long as the children have done their homework. ... Youngsters are more true to their convictions than grown-ups. They're also more likely to care about the future and issues affecting the future, including the environment and Social Security."