Free Republic

A Gaza man is being held on suspicion he bludgeoned his daughter with an iron chain, cracking her skull in a particularly brutal family "honor killing," two human rights groups said Wednesday, citing police and forensics reports. The groups' reports said that the assault was triggered by Jawdat Najjar's discovery that his daughter Fadia - a 27-year-old divorced mother of five - owned a cell phone. He suspected she used it to speak to a man outside the family, according to the groups' reports.

Her father had just won agreement from the Russians to cut back on the world's stockpiles of nuclear weapons. And Barack Obama's eldest daughter was obviously keen to make her own statement on the issue - even if it was merely a fashion statement. Just 48 hours after the U.S. President signed agreements with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev to reduce weapon stores, 11-year-old Malia Obama was spotted wearing not one, but two T-shirts with an anti-nuclear message. She wore the tops emblazoned with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament's famous logo as her father prepared for three days of G8 talks...

“Behind every great woman, you will find her dad.” According to an article by Joanne Richard in the Edmonton Sun, that’s the kind of extraordinary power that a father has over his daughter. Dr. Mary Jo Rapini, a psychotherapist and author, declares that the way a dad treats his little girl determines how she will feel about herself as a woman. If fathers admire their daughter’s achievements, character, and looks, says Dr. Rapini, that girl will become a confident and self-assured person who will choose a husband who treats her the same way. In fact, Dr. Rapini echoes the old...

Air Force Master Sgt. Joseph Myers had only one wish while in the desert sands of Iraq: Get home before the end of his daughter's fourth-grade year. It almost didn't happen. Almost. On Thursday, the next-to-last day of class at Randolph Elementary School, the airman's wish came true. An emotional Myers, still dressed in his brown-and-tan fatigues, surprised his daughter in her class, returning from a year in Iraq nine days before his tour ended. Hannah Eschrig's jaw dropped and she began crying as her father lifted her into an embrace. Several minutes passed as the hug continued before Hannah...

You shared yourself with everyone For only moments in eternity You gave so freely and so well Your love light glistened silently from deep Behind the shadows This Valentine's we struggle on To share our thoughts without you here To bring our love unto each other, Trying in vain to darn across the hole you've Left in the middle of us, Wide, and dark, and scary-deep Yet you speak in whispers to us from Heaven Your perfect love drew you into eternal life You now live freely, and so painlessly well Your light shines ever brightly from our Perceptions of...

Dear Friends, I think the only way I'm going to be able to overcome this sadness I'm experiencing is to share with you some critter stories. As some of you may already know, my daughter Sherrill loved animals, all of her life. It did not matter what shape, what size, what species, or even what condition. She was unafraid of animals, even those that she should have avoided at all costs, even those that might have imperiled her health and well-being. I will share my best (so far) critter story. If you got a little chuckle or even a belly...

Dear Friends, I think the only way I'm going to be able to overcome this sadness I'm experiencing is to share with you some critter stories. As some of you may already know, my daughter Sherrill loved animals, all of her life. It did not matter what shape, what size, what species, or even what condition. She was unafraid of animals, even those that she should have avoided at all costs, even those that might have imperiled her health and well-being. I will share my best (so far) critter story. If you got a little chuckle or even a belly...

COLERAIN TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- An Ohio man was in custody Saturday after three people were found shot at the scene of a fire. The fire was reported at a building in the 9700 block of Sacremento Street at about 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Police said that when they arrived at the home, they saw a man outside armed with an assault rifle. The man then ran back inside the home, officers said. Rescue units noticed smoke as they tried to get inside the home. When police made it inside, they found the three victims -- a man, a woman and a...

FRESNO, Calif., Dec. 31, 2008 – Like many high school seniors, Megan Schlotthauer wasn't sure what she wanted to do after graduation. Her grades weren't the best, and college is expensive. Megan Schlotthauer, left, and her mother, Lisa Altoon, enlisted together in the Army Reserve. U.S. Army photo by Al Laxamana  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Searching for a purpose, the 17-year-old decided to explore her options in the Army Reserve. "I was looking at the community colleges, and thought I would go there," she said. "Then I was talking to some people I know who are in...

I'll be home for Christmas A three-year-old girl gets a special Christmas gift granted. WXII'S Kim Gebbia reports.

Christine Durbin, the oldest daughter of Sen. Dick Durbin and his wife, Loretta, died Saturday from complications to a congenital heart condition, the senator's Washington office announced. Mrs. Durbin was one of three children in the Illinois senior senator's family and worked for 16 years in the Department of Agriculture's emerging markets division in Washington. In addition to her parents, a brother and a sister, she is survived by her husband, Marty Johnson, and a son, Alex. "Chris Durbin, 40, fought a heroic, lifelong battle with heart disease and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Durbin family," the...

BUTLERVILLE, Ind., Sept. 25, 2008 – Overseas deployments usually call upon soldiers to temporarily leave loved ones behind. But, here, two members of the Hempstead family are preparing to mobilize together. First Sgt. Bob Hempstead, 1313th Engineer Company, and his daughter Pfc. Crystal Hempstead, a light-wheel vehicle mechanic for the 1313th, will deploy together early next year. Their unit is currently at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center on Camp Atterbury, Ind., conducting pre-mobilization training. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Elizabeth Gorenc  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. First Sgt. Bob Hempstead and his daughter, Pfc. Crystal Hempstead, members of the...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- As news of the pregnancy of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol makes the headlines, she is coming under attack from backers of pro-abortion candidate Barack Obama. But few have gone as far as former Planned Parenthood president Gloria Feldt, who suggested Palin is making her daughter keep the baby.

For now, the pregnancy of Governor Sarah Palin’s seventeen year-old daughter will grab the bold-type in headlines far and wide – particularly in the blogosphere. It will give the lefty rat-a-tat-tatters in basements everywhere sitting in front of their keyboards something else to drone on about – that is, until the next “scandal to end all scandals” comes along. And how much would you like to wager that the hundred-dollar word for the foreseeable future amongst the stubble-faced Woodward and Bernstein wanna-bes in peace-sign t-shirts will be “hypocrite?” Is there a word more overused – or rather, misused than “hypocrite?”...

AN INCONSISTENT TRUTH by Andrew Roman For now, the pregnancy of Governor Sarah Palin’s seventeen year-old daughter will grab the bold-type in headlines far and wide – particularly in the blogosphere. It will give the lefty rat-a-tat-tatters in basements everywhere sitting in front of their keyboards something else to drone on about – that is, until the next “scandal to end all scandals” comes along. And how much would you like to wager that the hundred-dollar word for the foreseeable future amongst the stubble-faced Woodward and Bernstein wanna-bes in peace-sign t-shirts will be “hypocrite?” Is there a word more overused...

Detectives were eyeing the daughter of a murdered 100-year-old Long Island woman as a person of interest in her slaying - but they also had other potential suspects, a police source said. Jessie Burke - who reached the century mark on Aug. 7 - was found dead Sunday, shot once in the head inside a million-dollar Sag Harbor home that she shared with her 76-year-old daughter, Jean. Jean told cops that she last saw her mother alive about noon, and that she arrived home about an hour later to find her shot dead in her recliner.

The nasty and vicious rumors about a Sarah Palin pregnancy coverup continue across the web, the most egregious, the left-wing hate blog, DailyKos. Much thanks to Washington Note and Steve Clemons for uncovering this photo of Palin taken five days before she gave birth to her fifth child. For those who may argue that Palin doesn't look "pregnant" enough, we say women's pregancies come in all shapes and sizes and perhaps you might want to find a different way to attack McCain's choice of VP rather than spreading a vicious lie. Dems mouthing the "not pregnant" enough line are likely...

Gang, forgive me for posting a vanity note in here, but this is really bothering me and I'd like for some help in addressing it. The idiots and dummies (and we know who they are) are trying to ruin a young girl's life and spread lies about the entire Palin family. What can we do? I would love Gov. Palin to come out and talk about how this is what the Democrats have become. This is how power hungry they are and this is how they have lost all sense of right and wrong. This is the Obama base and...

I'm wondering if someone can help: Some "lovable lib" at Daily Kos has been circulating the story Sarah Palin did not have a Downs syndrome baby-that it was actually her daughter who had the baby. By way of "proof" a photograph showing Mrs. Palin exiting a plane is being offered. The photo is ambiguous: because of Palin's dress,it's very difficult to see that pre-natal bulge-7 weeks before delivery date. I've scoured for images, and noticed a large number have been pulled from Flicker (?)-some of which might have been profile shots of the governor. If anyone else knows of a...

GREEN, Ohio, Aug. 6, 2008 – When military recruits speak of their reasons for enlisting, many cite family pride and tradition as their strongest motivation. The desire to follow in a parent's footsteps has prompted many soldiers to enlist into the National Guard. Army Pvt. Larry Gravius (right) was inspired to join the Ohio Army National Guard as a result of the February enlistment of his 18-year-old daughter, Army Pfc. Gwendolyn Gravius (left). U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Bemus, Ohio National Guard  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. For recent enlistee Pvt. Larry Gravius, a 39-year-old...