Free Republic

After a delay of more than two days, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has "decided to follow the law" and release the names, ranks, hometowns and units of those killed in the Aug. 6 Chinook helicopter crash in Afghanistan, Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said Wednesday. The names will be released in the next 24 hours. Panetta "never intended not to release the names," Lapan said, explaining that a delay in their release was the result of a request from military commanders in the Special Operations community who wanted to review the policy of releasing names "because of possible (security) implications

The chief of the secretive US special operations command has lobbied against the release of names of American commandos killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday. Thirty US troops were killed on Friday when their Chinook helicopter was shot out of the sky in a remote Afghan valley, but in a break with Pentagon practice, the identities of the dead service members have not been released. The dead included 22 members of the elite Navy SEAL commandos and three Air Force special operators, and senior officers overseeing the special forces are reluctant to publicly identify the slain...

When it comes to names, everybody's got an opinion. But while figuring out what names people like is pretty simple -- the U.S. Social Security Administration keeps a list of the most popular baby names each year -- figuring out what people hate is trickier. It turns out that in the case of names, love and hate aren't mutually exclusive. A new informal survey of the most disliked names in America finds that popularity often breeds backlash, as a quick track to baby-name fame seems to also trigger hate for that name. Among the most-hated "trendy" names are Jayden, Brayden,...

There are few things more thrilling in life than having your first baby. But newbie baby namers are prone to making some mistakes that more experienced name choosers are able to avoid. If you're choosing a baby name for the first time, don't make one of these seven common mistakes: 1. Believing that the names that were popular -- and creative -- when you were a kid still have the same status. Name tastes have changed radically over the last decade or two. Goodbye, Jessica and Josh, hello Layla and Serenity, Landon and Tristan -- all top 100 names. 2....

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has named his department's first director of the new Federal Insurance Office (FIO). Michael McRaith, currently Illinois's insurance director, will be the first person to head the new office, which was created as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. Geithner announced the pick at Thursday's meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), a special panel also created by Dodd-Frank that gathers the heads of all major financial regulators to discuss broad issues affecting the financial sector. McRaith's appointment comes after Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate had called the administration out...

George Washington's name is inseparable from America, and not only from the nation's history. It identifies countless streets, buildings, mountains, bridges, monuments, cities — and people. In a puzzling twist, most of these people are black. The 2000 U.S. Census counted 163,036 people with the surname Washington. Ninety percent of them were African-American, a far higher black percentage than for any other common name. The story of how Washington became the "blackest name" begins with slavery and takes a sharp turn after the Civil War, when all blacks were allowed the dignity of a surname.

OUR WAITRESS was named Jennifer, and at some point between the soup and the salad, she’d eavesdropped on the conversation enough to learn that it is my name, too. "Wow!’’ she chirped. “I never met anyone your age named Jennifer before!’’ The poor child probably never figured out why she got such a lousy tip. Note to wait staff everywhere: It’s never wise to suggest that the person paying the check is somewhat long in the tooth.

POPE Benedict XVI has urged parents to use proper Christian names when naming their children.The Pope was believed to be speaking out against the trend of copying obscure celebrity baby names.Several Italian celebrities have fallen foul of religious tradition, most notably Formula One boss Flavio Briatore, whose son is called Falco, meaning Falcon.Christian names are an “indelible sign from the Holy Spirit” that help protect family life, the Pope said.Theologian Gianni Gennari said the Pope was “simply asking for seriousness when it comes to baptism”.

Did you see the Washington Post this morning? That was the one sentence e-mail I received yesterday from my DHS contact who alerted me to the DHS/TSA memorandum about the domestic intelligence agency’s creating and maintaining a list of individuals who were determined to be “interfering” with the enhanced airport TSA screening procedures through their objections or “opting out” of such procedures. In my November 23rd report titled DHS making a list, checking it twice, I wrote that the DHS, through the arm of the TSA, under the direction of Napolitano and with the full consent of Obama, was collecting...

Moonbeam, Gandolph, Honey, Melody, John…There are three specific names a man is given in his life. These names will have an effect on him. If he maintains his name and does not change it, a man can affect the aura of his name and what it comes to mean.The first name a man is given is his last name. The name he inherits, his family name. It is said that the best inheritance a person can leave is a good family name. To keep one’s family name untarnished should be the goal of all good sons. To make it stand...

Rejecting the top names of the past century, more and more parents are choosing gender-neutral boys' names. SNIP When sportswriter Peter Richmond, author of Badasses, was expecting his first son 25 years ago, he didn’t want to name him Tom, after his father, or Burgess, after his grandfather, and he certainly didn’t want to name the poor kid after himself. Instead, Richmond and his wife wanted to give their son a name that was unmistakably male yet broke rank with all the masculine names that came before it. Robert, William, and John have dominated boy-baby naming since statisticians began keeping...

After a 14-year reign, Jack has lost its stranglehold on the title of England and Wales' top name for newborn boys, replaced by Oliver....Jack remained a popular name for boys, ranking second, while Harry came in third... Ruby and Chloe were the second and third most popular names chosen for girls....Mohammed ranked 16th nationally for boys, but was the most popular name in the West Midlands...

I am trying to think of a good name for a dog, just acquired from the pound. He's been neutered, seems to be a bit less than one year old. He's part blue heeler and part black lab with ears that do not seem to be of either of those two breeds. He's joining the alpha male guard dog and the little mama dog who are both getting up there in years. If anyone has any good suggestions for naming him, I'd appreciate it.

So I just got finished with a second shot of Wild Turkey (the 101 if you must know...the wife decided I deserved it, OK??) and the Halftime show is on for Sunday Night Football. They were introducing a bunch of kids for the NFL Pee Wee League, and I was half paying attention, until they flashed a pair of young black kids' pictures on the screen, both in football uniforms, and one of them was named "Asfunzo". What the hell did that poor kid do to deserve a name like that?? Talk about a qualification for Future Felons of America!...

This little ditty goes back to 1994 AD. yet, it was brought to mind recently as I thought about how atheists, essentially, define “atheism” as “anti-Christianity,” or “anti-theism” or “anti-…” pick your poison... Moreover, “George Rollason said his daughter's name is the couple's answer to other parents' use of biblical names.” Imagine that; explaining that you chose your child’s name on the bases of shoving it in other people’s faces. Yet, this all seems in keeping with the Rollasons who “have clashed with the school district over angel decorations in the classroom and Bibles in the library.” See what I...

Japan's parliament elected outspoken populist Naoto Kan as prime minister Friday, handing the political veteran the immediate task of rallying his party and reclaiming its mandate for change before elections next month. Kan succeeds Yukio Hatoyama, who stepped down Wednesday after squandering the public's high hopes with broken campaign promises, including moving a U.S. Marine base off Okinawa island, and financial scandals.

News Organizations Ask Blagojevich Judge to Release Jurors' NamesAssociated Press Updated: Tuesday, 01 Jun 2010, 5:46 PM CDT Chicago - Five news organizations have asked a federal judge to release the names of the jurors who will be selected in former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial. The news organizations said in making their request Tuesday that both the law and tradition call for juror names to be made public and the Blagojevich case should be no exception. Making the request were the Chicago Tribune, The New York Times, The Associated Press, the Illinois Press Association and the Illinois Broadcasters Association....

(CNN) -- Wes Moore appeared in his hometown newspaper, The Baltimore Sun, 10 years ago because of his impressive academic achievements. Around the same time, he noticed a story in the paper about a jewelry store robbery in which a police officer and a father of five was killed. He learned one of the convicted killers shared his name. While Wes Moore the Rhodes Scholar would become a combat veteran in Afghanistan and a White House fellow, Wes Moore the convicted felon was sentenced to life in prison. Their correspondence through letters and prison visits led to the release of...

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A Washington hedge fund lobbying group has given names and contact information about its members to Congressional investigators, the Wall Street journal reported in its online edition on Monday. The Managed Funds Association turned over the information about more than 2,600 members on May 13 under threat of subpoena from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, the Journal said, citing a letter the hedge-fund lobbying group sent to members.

More Americans are following the lead of President and Michelle Obama when it comes to naming their daughters, the Social Security Administration said Friday. "Maliyah," a version of the name "Malia" that the president and first lady gave their oldest daughter, made the biggest jump in popularity among girls names in 2009, moving 342 spots up to No. 296. The name "Malia" moved up 153 spots to No. 192. Meanwhile, "Sasha," the name of the Obamas' younger daughter, came in at No. 261 - having moved up 101 spots. There was no bounce for the first lady: The name "Michelle"...