Free Republic

First lady Michelle Obama made a rare trip to Secret Service headquarters Wednesday, where she glimpsed the intricate work that goes into protecting her family — and the potential danger of that mission. After an hourlong tour of the agency’s protective intelligence division and the joint operations center, Obama called the daily tasks performed by the Secret Service “pretty scary.”

Link only - OnStar Tracks Your Car Even When You Cancel Service

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a McDonald’s manager who punched a customer in the face for bringing a service dog into the restaurant.

August 19, 2011 Funeral in Greenville today for fallen firefighter By BRAD KELLAR CNHI GREENVILLE — Hundreds of firefighters are expected to be in Greenville today, to pay their respects to a fallen comrade. Hundreds more people are expected to line the route of the funeral procession for Lt. Todd Krodle of Caddo Mills. Krodle, who’d served with the Dallas Fire Department since September 1993, died Sunday afternoon while fighting an apartment complex blaze. The cemetery itself has been adorned with special ribbons in honor of the fallen hero. Krodle’s funeral will be conducted at Highland Terrace Baptist Church, 3939...

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

A year ago, I had an unpleasant experience at a shipping store. Last week, the unpleasant experience repeated itself. I, many times a year, ago to a shipping store and have had great customer service, and enthusiastic help from every employee. Over a year’s time, I may spend four to six hundred with these people. A year ago, when I was ten or twelve miles away from the great shipping store, I tried another shipping store with the same name. I needed four copies of one document and two of another. First, the price of each copy was almost 25%...

The U.S. Secret Service does more than protect Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. — the agency also pays him rent. Since April, Mr. Biden has collected more than $13,000 from the agency charged with protecting him and his family, for use of a rental cottage adjacent to the waterfront home he owns in a Wilmington, Del., neighborhood. Mr. Biden, listed not as vice president in federal purchasing documents but as “vendor,” is eligible for up to $66,000 by the time the government contract expires in the fall of 2013, the records show. Officials say the arrangement came about when...

A Marietta McDonald's manager is accused of punching a mother who brought a service dog and autistic children into the restaurant. A Cobb County warrant charges Tiffany Denise Allen with simple battery, simple assault fear and disorderly conduct. According to the warrant, Jennifer Schwenker entered the Marietta McDonald's located at 1291 Bells Ferry Road with her children and service dog on July 12. Allen, off-duty at the time, became irate that the dog was in the restaurant, the warrant says. Schwenker explained to Allen the dog's purpose and told the manager the dog was legally allowed to be inside the...

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)

Rank: Retired as a captain Hometown: Haskell Crew job: C-130 aircraft commander Served in the Air Force: 1972 to 1977 Dyess AFB tour: March 4, 1974, to Feb. 28, 1977 His story: Way back before he was governor of Texas, Rick Perry had two choices as a young member of the Air Force. He could either follow his dream and work toward becoming an instructor pilot in the sleek T-38, or he could fly the hulking C-130, planes that affectionately were referred to as "trash haulers" by Perry and his cohorts. "It was one of the great adventures of my...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEwEZJXYcLg&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL A video by a friend of mine. Warning: contains language.;

Media blackout: CIA director accused of links to Communist spy contact -- scandal ignored Wes Vernon June 13, 2011 If you have been depending on the mainstream media for your news the past few days, you are probably learning here for the first time that CIA Director Leon Panetta has been called out for his links to an important open member of the Communist Party. Some background When this writer first arrived in Washington, D.C., as a reporter in 1968, one of my assignments was to cover the congressional delegation from Washington State. Occasionally, both Democrat and Republican members of...

NORTH HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Boo and Riley are more than affectionate, protective family pets. To their owners, the specially trained dogs are a furry layer of security to sniff out peanut products and other life-threatening allergens. ... "Our goal is for the dog to be with her everywhere she goes," Gianna's mother said. "I don't expect people to change their world for us, but I do expect them to allow us to protect our child in the way we need to."

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- A stock sell-off gained momentum Wednesday after a report showed a sharp drop in U.S. manufacturing activity and exacerbated growing fears of a slowing economic recovery. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 136 points, or 1.1%, with all but one of the blue chip index's 30 components lagging. Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) were the worst performing stocks on the blue-chip index. The S&P 500 (SPX) shed 14 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite (COMP) slid 23 points, or 0.8%. Stocks were under...

A spokesman for the Secret Service said it’s not out of the ordinary for agents to “monitor” Fox News — or any other news organization. An employee of the Secret Service on Wednesday accidentally Tweeted on the agency’s Twitter account a complaint about having to “monitor Fox for a story” and not being able to deal with the network’s “blathering.” The Tweet was promptly removed and the Secret Service offered an apology, blaming it on someone who thought he or she was posting to a personal account. But why was the law enforcement agency that provides protection to the president...

On the 6th of this month I sent my 7 or 8 year old GPS72 to the Garmin service center in Kansas. It had been a reliable tool but was showing signs of failure and died on a recent trip to Fort Benning, Georgia.I got it back today, looks and works like new again and it only cost me about 70 bucks including UPS to Garmin.I know I could have bought a new one but I like the old beast just fine.

"Thousands gathered to remember their pastor, spiritual father, counselor and friend, Rev. David Wilkerson, during a memorial service at his Times Square Church in New York City, Saturday. The May 14 service marked a candid event for all to remember the man who had impacted so many lives. Pastor Carter Conlon, leader of Times Square Church, described Wilkerson as a "dear friend" who loved doing the work of God." For those who may have missed watching the memorial service live-streamed yesterday, here is a link to video of it at Times Square Church site: http://www.tscnyc.org/david-wilkerson-memorial-service.php

Just curious, but does anyone know what the ratio of Obama's attendance to Church is to the number of golf games he's played since becoming President?

Just heard a promo on Fox that O'reilly will investigate whether Obama deep sixed his college and selective service records. The show airs tonight, April 12th. Well whada ya know....

Global Economy? 23 Facts Which Prove That Globalism Is Pushing The Standard Of Living Of The Middle Class Down To Third World Levels From now on, whenever you hear the term "the global economy" you should immediately equate it with the destruction of the U.S. middle class. Over the past several decades, the American economy has been slowly but surely merged into the emerging one world economic system. Unfortunately for the middle class, much of the rest of the world does not have the same minimum wage laws and worker protections that we do. Therefore, the massive global corporations that...