Free Republic

Ryan Jerome is a U.S. Marine now working in the private sector as a jeweler in Indiana, where he has a state permit to carry a handgun. On a recent business trip to New York, he took his gun with him as personal protection, given that he was also carrying some valuable merchandise...

Newt Gingrich has a double-digit lead over the rest of the GOP field in his home state of Georgia, according to a Landmark-Rosetta Stone poll released late Friday. Gingrich took 38 percent, followed by Rick Santorum at 25 percent, Mitt Romney at 19 percent, and Ron Paul at four percent, the poll found. Gingrich held a nine-point lead in the same poll taken earlier this month. The poll could be an outlier – Gingrich leads by only two points in Georgia according to the latest Insider Advantage survey and leads by five points according to Rasmussen. Both of those polls...

I have just been sent a copy of Amitai Etzioni's essay "China: Making an Adversary" published in International Politics. It has been out for a while but is new to me and will not have been seen by most Telegraph readers. As you all know, Washington (and the West) is deeply split over how to handle China's spectacular renaissance. This is by far the most important issue in 21st-century geopolitics. It is not one we can afford to get wrong, and errors made today may prove irreversible. ChiCom aircraft carrier The new term "China hedge" has been coined, used by...

They burn our flag at home and abroad yet we stand by. They call for the death of Americans daily yet we stand by. How many danced in the streets after 9/11 or agreed with what occurred? A lot. How many of them in our own country raised their voices to disagree with what occurred? Hardly any. How many of them can we find on our streets and in Mosques preaching against the American way of life? Many. How many of us are out on the streets saying they are wrong? Hardly anyone. Has a bible never been burned or...

Island Turtle will cover Iran’s nuclear missand in several installments. It will present information and satellite imagery about Iran’s missile manufacturing facilities, test areas and nuclear development sites. It will show an underground site, part of a vast military storage area, built into a side of a mountain that has yet to be reported by the media. It will also report on mysterious explosions and offer guidance on what happened and who is likely behind it. You will be surprised. The intent is to help Turtle readers follow news events in Iran intelligently when and if they happen, with locations,...

A spokesperson for the Rick Santorum campaign inadvertently used the phrase “radical Islamic policies” to describe Barack Obama's theology. Regardless of whether that was a freudian slip or intentionally said, a newly discovered tactic of the Muslim Brotherhood has been discovered; it is both extremely radical and deceptive. It's called “muruna” and it seems to be working...

Pat Buchanan, the columnist, author, and until recently MSNBC's token right-winger, garnered a lot of sympathy when he was fired from his job at the left-leaning news network apparently because of a book he wrote. Too bad, as reported in the Daily Caller, Buchanan had to ruin things by articulating how obnoxious his views really are. In essence, he suggested that Israel with its 300 estimated nuclear weapons was a bigger threat to the United States than is Iran with its nuclear program on Russian television. Buchanan went on about how his favorite Jewish conspiracy, which he called the "neocons,"...

flight decks that once thundered and boomed with jet aircraft are silent. The passageways and compartments where thousands of sailors worked, ate and slept are empty. The once meticulously swept and kept decks are worn and torn, some covered in bird droppings. The names of the Navy’s seven decommissioned non-nuclear aircraft carriers conjure up well-earned reputations as Cold War bulwarks. And while at least some are the objects of preservation efforts, chances are slim more than one will survive as a museum ship. The rest are taking up valuable pier space, and the only thing the Navy wants now is...

People frequently mock Yuma and the desert southwest for the intense summer heat. This year they will envy us.In a few short days we will be able to witness the performace of the US Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon and Drum and Bugle Corps. Then it is just a short drive to see the US Navy Blue Angels at the NAF El Centro open house. Finally, in mid-March, we will host the USAF Thunderbirds at the MCAS Yuma open house. As an added bonus, we will see the US Navy Leapfrogs and the US Army Golden Knights also featured at...

Tehrik-i-Taliban’s leader Waliur-Rehman Mehsud (Press TV) Top Taliban leader Waliur-Rehman Mehsud told reporters this week that the US talks with the Taliban represent America’s failure in Afghanistan. Iranian Press TV reported: A top Pakistani leader of the Taliban says the United States seeks to engage in talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan as its mission in the war-battered country has failed, Press TV reports.Pakistan’s Tehrik-i-Taliban’s leader Waliur-Rehman Mehsud told Press TV that Washington has sought to launch peace talks with the Afghan Taliban over the US failure in Afghanistan.Mehsud added that the US-led invasion of Afghanistan was initially aimed...

I recall a few years ago I was engaged in our favorite national pastime – waiting in the drive-thru line at the local Tim Horton’s – when I noticed a Canadian Forces truck pull in behind me, occupied by two of our Finest. Figuring it was the least I could do, I told the girl at the window to put the next order on my tab. After a couple of double-double coffees and a box of Timbits were added, I got my stuff and moved on. A store across the parking lot was my final stop before home. I had...

Peter van Uhm: Why I chose a gunPeter van Uhm is the Netherlands’ chief of defense, but that does not mean he is pro-war. At TEDxAmsterdam he explains how his career is one shaped by a love of peace, not a desire for bloodshed -- and why we need armies if we want peace. General Peter van Uhm is the Chief of the Netherlands Defence staff. He has had an outstanding career over four decades in the Dutch military. In the Netherlands, he is know from his personal tragedy. On 18 April 2008, one day after Van Uhm was appointed...

Wireless startup LightSquared might try to swap airwave licenses with similar ones operated by the Defense Department in a last-ditch attempt to save its nationwide network, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the company's plans.The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moved to block LightSquared's plans earlier this week after testing showed its network would interfere with millions of GPS devices....The company has until mid-March to receive regulatory approval or its risks losing a multibillion-dollar contract with Sprint.

Republican presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich signs a .306 Ruger American Rifle during a tour of the Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. factory in Newport, New Hampshire January 6, 2012. REUTERS/Eric Thayer

Ron Paul supporters are a very passionate bunch. They're all in for their guy. A large majority of them are 9/11 Truthers who believe the United States government is responsible for 9/11. When you point out to them that there are a lot of Muslims and communists who share that view, they dismiss it. When anti-Semitic musings were revealed to have been published in his newsletters, his supporters dismissed it. When Eric Dondero, formerly a very close aid to Ron Paul, wrote that the Republican presidential candidate is "most certainly Anti-Israel, and Anti-Israeli in general," his supporters dismissed it. When...

Darkness was falling on Dec. 15 as the U.S. Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012. It is ironic that at a time when the country should have been celebrating the 220th anniversary of the ratification of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution on Dec. 15, 1791, more commonly known as the Bill of Rights, our elected representatives were completing legislation that essentially eviscerates the liberties that the Bill of Rights secured for every U.S. citizen. To truly comprehend the travesty of this new legislation, one only needs to review these constitutional rights for himself...

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. I enjoy these posters, also known as "memes," and they are just too good not to share.

If we are to gauge the level of respect and honor in our civil society, we need only look to those we - or our elected representatives - consider deserving of special hero worship. Some of these high honors include the flying of Old Glory at half-staff, the honor of having Naval vessels named for an individual, or perhaps being the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Considering several events of late, I can not help but think that the standards that our society deems iconic have hit some unacceptable lows. Three examples of late have had me shaking...

SNIPPET: "Reckless doesn't mean not dangerous. Quite the opposite. They may fail spectacularly, or be wildly successful. One thing I believe we can count on is that they will take risks, act swiftly, and burn as many assets as they have to along the way in order to do what Khamenei wants."

Some words to the wise... Valuable shooting advice from certified concealed-carry instructors: if you own a gun, you will appreciate this. If not, you might want to look into that- and learn how to use it: « Guns have only two enemies: rust and politicians. « Its always better to be judged by twelve than to be carried by six! « Cops carry guns to protect themselves, not you. « Do not allow anyone or anything that threatens you get inside an arms' length, ever. « Never say "I`ve got a gun."  If you need to use deadly force, the first sound they hear should...