Free Republic

"There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit." Al Gallagher, ( retired major leaguer, quoted in 1971)

Back in the early 1948, two enterprising Californians formed a small company in one of their garages -ala Steve Jobs- then began to manufacture a powerful slingshot of Ash wood. The weapon was of their own design, demonstrated enthusiastically by the pair, and was utilized by shooting clubs for practice/some kinds of hunting, even for firing meat up to trained falcons in flight... Richard Knerr and Arthur 'Spud' Melin were bored with their jobs upon graduation from USC, so they brewed-up the idea of the slingshot, which was a mild success and set their taste for marketing alight. Legend goes that the 'Wham-O' name was taken from the sound...

In the summer of 1999 I was unemployed, unmarried, and a bit depressed, living in the Pacific Northwest. I decided to just roam, and I set off on a meandering journey all over and across the United States to visit the East coast, then drive all the way back again. I know, crazy. So what. Gas cost a little more than a buck a gallon back then, and I had a small car and nothing else I particularly needed or wanted to do. Throughout my trip I would catch the news on whatever radio stations I could, as I blasted...

College football players should not be paid. Plain and simple. But there is no reason why any player should not be given carte blanche to capitalize on his chosen sport. Capitalism 101 rides to the rescue once again. In addition to the free education players get, any player, on scholarship or not, should be allowed to sell and hawk his personal merchandise from t-shirt to jockstrap. He or she should be allowed to put his name and school name/logo on his jersey or helmet or whatever - just like the pros do. A player could sell and trade cards with...

It’s another one of those articles that slipped by. The liberal media acts a lot like termites, destroying the integrity of a structure in ways you often can’t see until there’s a big problem. They’re constantly firing little shots to damage republicans, and those little points add up with the masses they’re trying to control. Hear More in this ZoNation. - See more at: http://alfonzorachel.com/1930/zonation-media-drive-jindal#sthash.IH79hsJw.dpuf

No one should begrudge the President a little rest and frivolity. There is a time and a place for it. The issue for a President is picking the time and place for such things. George W. Bush refused to golf once the wars started, deciding that the appearance of the President golfing sent the wrong message. Bush was forever attacked for spending a month at his ranch every summer, despite the fact that he had the same access to the government and the world that he had in the White House. Bill Clinton took less vacation time than Bush, spending...

It's that time of the week again where we look among all the deserving idiots and pick our Jerk of the Week. This week was packed with the usual suspects of President Obama, John Kerry, Michael Bloomberg, and many others. I had almost decided to pick Lebron James and other celebrities shilling for ObamaCare (which they'll never have to use being wealthy themselves), but in the final tally, the winner was Bob Costas. For his continued anti-Second Amendment rants and utter hypocrisy, he is our Jerk of the Week. The far left leanings of Bob Costas became painfully apparent in...

Photo from Bedroom Police Chief William J. McMahon said that the Maryland shooter who killed two innocent people in a mall skateboard shop was fascinated with the Columbine shooting from 1999. A foxnews.com report quotes McMahon as saying that the shooter knew he had mental problems: "He knows he's sick. He knows he has problems that need to be addressed. He writes it in his journal. He writes in his journal he's not comfortable talking to his mother about it," McMahon said, adding that there was no indication he ever spoke with anyone about his concerns. Media focus on...

It’s been just over a year since 26, Gun Free Zone-inspired murders were committed in Newtown, Connecticut. And just over a year since gun control zealots demonstrated the consequences of preventing the law-abiding from defending the defenseless. And now the National Football League has decided that the left’s scheme of disarming the good guys worked SO well at Sandy Hook, the League will ban off-duty police carrying arms at NFL games. Only official stadium security personnel and ON-duty police officers will be armed during the games. “We trust these law-enforcement officers when they are on-duty, but somehow we can’t trust...

New to trap shooting, need scatter-gun advice I have been shooting all my life, but have never owned a shotgun before. I've always used pistols and rifles, other than a few blasts from a friend's 12 gauge double barrel. Then last week another friend invited me to a day of trap shooting sponsored by his church. He loaned me his semi-automatic 12 gauge Winchester, which was a dream to shoot. I didn't realize what a difference it made to shoot an automatic vs a double-barrel. The auto-load spring action made it far more pleasurable for me to shoot than the...

President Obama Sunday returned from yet another golf vacation, this one a two-day excursion to Key Largo with First Lady Michelle Obama. The Obamas stayed at the ritzy Ocean Reef Club, requiring a major security operation to ensure their safety and happiness. “The White House rented several houses in Ocean Reef and security in the community was tight,” according to KeysInfoNet, which said F-16s had to be scrambled a couple of times to escort private planes out of the area. It’s the third vacation of the year for the Obamas, following their annual sojourn in Hawaii in January and separate...

We're all the same in many respects, and one of those is that we all have an ego. It's a part of being human, but few people take it as far as the media craving attention that President Obama seeks out. I understand that all politicians have a healthy ego as that's to be expected in today's political climate. Most politicians are attention seekers and love having the spotlight on them. However, I find it astounding that in a city seething with narcissistic politicians, Obama finds a way to outdo them all. He just can't seem to stop himself from...

So what do u think. Would you like to see Dr Carson run for president? #RunBenRun— Kira Davis (@KiraAynDavis) March 08, 2014 The CPAC audience loved Dr. Ben Carson’s fired-up speech on Saturday. As always, Twitter buzz shifted to talk about 2016. “@KiraAynDavis: So what do u think. Would you like to see Dr Carson run for president? #RunBenRun”He can actually say things that need sayin— Clarisse Ediss (@ClarisseEdiss) March 08, 2014 Carson-Rubio 2016……that's a ticket I would love to see— Rj Diego (@RJ_Diego11) March 08, 2014 Ben Carson is an awesome advocate for conservatism. There doesn’t need to...

If Only Barry Was As Graceful and Adept

On February 27, 2014, Bearing Arms Editor Bob Owens wrote an article asking one of the more relevant questions extant: “Does the NYPD Have A Training Problem?” Bob’s article tells the story of two rookie NYPD officers who, pursuing a pair of fleeing criminals, fired a total of seven shots and entirely missed the criminal that had turned and fired at them. Unfortunately, the criminal’s marksmanship was far superior and he, firing three rounds, hit one of the officers with all three, once in each leg and once in the groin. The officer is recovering. The NYPD is not publicizing...

Senator Larry Martin was responsible for heading the effort to kill the legislative efforts in support of open carry in South Carolina. During this effort, he said the following. “If the 2nd amendment has been as you interpret it, why hasn’t SC law reflected that for the last 140 years? I’m sorry but you are describing an ‘unlimited’ right that has never been the case with the 2nd Amendment. My view of the 2nd Amendment has always been the right to own guns and keep them in our homes, business, and property and not to wear a gun whenever to...

As the book of the Revelation comes to a close, we are left with some very important words. Keep his commandments, know his Torah, and make yourself ready to be the bride of the King. He is coming quickly. Join Michael Rood for the final episode in the series From Here to Eternity – Yeshua’s Famous Last Words: Amen, Emet, Truth.

He’s only on a ten-day contract, but Jason Collins’s Brooklyn Nets jersey was the NBA’s top-selling jersey on Tuesday, its first day on the market. The league decided to start selling the merchandise after Collins became the first openly gay player in major American professional sports history on Sunday. ... snip ...

RUSH: Have you heard about this? The NFL wants to penalize the use of the N-word -- 15 yards -- when used by the players on the field during the game. It'll be a 15-yard penalty for use of the N-word in a league populated by 75% African-Americans. Seventy-five percent of the players are African-American. Therefore, 75% statistically of the use of the word would be by black players. Fifteen-yard penalty. Now, there's a bunch of ways of looking at that. BREAK TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Anyway, the N-word. The NFL wants to now police the speech that occurs by players on...

Question of the Day: Would You Name Your Child After a Gun or Gunmaker? By Robert Farago on February 23, 2014 “In 2002, only 194 babies were named Colt,” the dailybeast.com reports, “while in 2012 there were 955. Just 185 babies were given the name Remington in 2002, but by 2012 the number had jumped to 666.” Uh-oh. “Perhaps the most surprising of all, however, is a jump in the name Ruger’s (America’s leading firearm manufacturer) from just 23 in 2002 to 118 in 2012 . . . In 1999, Gunner ranked 739th on the list of the Official Social...