Free Republic

The response on this book tour has been overwhelming. We are truly humbled, and I thank you. I've been told that yesterday there were supporters in Noblesville who stood in long lines for hours in the cold and rain, and the book signing event ended without a chance to say hello to everyone who showed up. I am so sorry. We are working on a solution for those who were left behind. I apologize. - Sarah Palin

Fort Bragg wanted to bar reporters from the book signing. Garrison Commander Col. Stephen J. Sicinski determined that by keeping out the media, the base would prevent Palin, a Republican and possible candidate in 2012, from having a platform from which to attack President Barack Obama, a Democrat. "Fort Bragg, nor any other Army installation, cannot be used or appear to be used as endorsing criticism of the commander in chief," said base spokesman Thomas D. McCollum. "Because this book signing is turning into a political platform with the addition of media coverage, we are restricting the media coverage." But...

Skip the first seconds with Letterman - after that I LOVED it! PASS IT ON to your friends and your email list.

Former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain said Thursday he has read Sarah Palin's book and has no regrets about picking her as a running mate. (snip) He also said if Mrs. Palin decides to run for president in 2012 and becomes the Republican Party nominee he would vote for her. "I hope she has every success," Mr. McCain said. "She's still pretty popular."

SIERRA VISTA — On May 30 next year, the sound of patriotic music will be the norm on grounds of the Southern Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery. It will be on Memorial Day 2010 when a 40-foot-tall carillon — a bell tower — will be dedicated. On Wednesday, a short groundbreaking ceremony took place to start the construction phase for the carillon. Every year, the national headquarters of AMVETS helps fund two carillons to be placed in cemeteries that are dedicated as final resting places for veterans. Members of the local AMVETS post are sponsors of the project and have been...

Attorney General Eric Holder lacks authority to make a decision on moving terror detainees to civilian courts for trial, one of his predecessors said Wednesday. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft, who held his position during the Bush administration from 2001-2005, said that Holder lacked the legal standing to decide to move alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and other terror detainees to federal courts in New York City to stand trial. >p> "The attorney general doesn't have the authority to mandate that the secretary of Defense turn somebody over to him and yield jurisdiction so that something that would have...

Sarah Palin is rolling her "Going Rogue" book tour into Fort Hood, the site of the Nov. 5 shooting that left 13 dead and dozens wounded. "I'm especially looking forward to meeting our brave men and women in uniform at Fort Hood," Palin, 45, wrote on her Facebook page. She'll be at the base on Dec. 4. "I'm joining the efforts of many others by donating my royalties from the book sales during our stop at Fort Hood to the families of the victims whose lives have been forever changed by the tragic events of November 5th," she wrote.

November 19, 2009 Sarah Palin Gets The Rock Star Treatment As Book Tour Begins They queued overnight, they wore T-shirts bearing her name and when she arrived they went bananas. It's the Sarah Palin show Tim Reid They had been waiting for her for more than 24 hours, camped out overnight on concrete pavements in the Michigan chill, and when their heroine stepped off her bus, in four-inch heels, black skirt and red blazer, clutching baby Trig, they roared at the woman they believe is going to save America. “Alaska and Michigan have so much in common — the huntin’,...

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin smacked the “lamestream media” on Wednesday for allegedly distorting what she writes in her book. Speaking on Sean Hannity’s radio show, Palin said that “some on the left, that lamestream media, they’re contradicting what I wrote in the book.” Hannity jumped in to ask, “did you say lamestream media?” “Yeah, lamestream,” Palin responded. “They are contradicting those facts that I laid out regarding what Reagan had to say.” “Anyways, it’s been nonsense to hear some of the criticism of that principle there, and that is what history shows us is what Ronald Reagan did was...

This girl is probably around 15 years old, and MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell starts hammering her on Sarah Palin supporting the bailout...This is a sight to behold..(Video)...

I have to say that Sarah Palin's interview with Sean Hannity was her best yet. Other than her Mark Levin radio one, at least. It was refreshing to listen to her speak tonight. Here's her full interview with Sean Hannity. I've linked her interviews with Mark Levin, Oprah Winfrey & Barbara Walters and a dozen or so videos about her. Like tonight, O'Reilly had Sally Quinn of the Washington Post on dissing Palin's religion. And Keith Matthews saying the people waiting for Palin in Grand Rapids, Michigan are racists. Here's the link for the Hannity interview. The other interviews/videos about...

Palin launches "Going Rogue" tour in West Michigan Updated: Wednesday, 18 Nov 2009, 10:17 AM EST Published : Wednesday, 18 Nov 2009, 5:52 AM EST KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) - Crowds lined up outside Woodland Mall in Kentwood early Wednesday morning to get wristbands for former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's evening appearance at Barnes & Noble. Palin sign copies of her book "Going Rogue" between 6 and 9 p.m. at the store, 3195 28th St. SE. Barnes & Noble will hand out first-come, first-serve wristbands beginning at 7 a.m. Only one wristband will be given per person. The wristbands will...

Obama File 90 Alice Palmer Re-examined-Was Obama's First Political Boss a Soviet "Agent of Influence"? Obama file 89 here Alice Palmer is a Chicago based academic, activist and former friend, employer and political ally of Barack Obama. In the mid 1990s Alice Palmer, then an Illinois State Senator, employed Obama has her chief of staff, when she attempted an ill-fated run for the US Congress. Obama was part of Friends of Alice Palmer, alongside controversial property developer Tony Rezko and Democratic Socialists of America members Danny Davis, Betty Wilhoitte and Timuel Black-also a member of Committees of Correspondence). Later Palmer...

I spoke to Governor Palin by phone this afternoon. Lots of interesting material, but to me the most interesting takeaways were the following: 1) I asked about Palin's upcoming visit to Ft. Hood. "We had planned on that before the tragedy struck," she said. She commented on the trail of evidence linking the alleged Ft. Hood shooter, Maj. Nidal Hasan, to militant Islam. "There were such clear, obvious, massive warning signs that were missed," she said. "This terrorist, even having business cards" that identified him as an "SoA" or soldier of Allah. Palin blamed a culture of political correctness and...

Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) issued the following statement regarding the postponement of a full Committee briefing on information related to the Fort Hood shooting: Here's the full text: "Due to the high visibility of the issues surrounding the tragic event at Fort Hood, the President has instructed the National Security Council to assume control of all informational briefings.

For the Pentagon, to hitch a free ride off of the video game industry is actually quite savvy. Gaming companies have spent tens of millions of dollars developing technologies designed to re-create battle, as well as easy for the average teen to use. More importantly, these teens enter the military already "trained up" in a certain way. I recall meeting a commander of a Predator drone squadron, a former F-15 pilot, who described the younger generation of remote drone pilots with awe. They had less training and experience than him, but he felt their years of video gaming had made...

That’s certainly the conclusion one can draw from two stories over the last couple of days. Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), who pushed Barack Obama to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to the US for criminal trials, says that criticism of the decision is “un-American”: Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) has strong words for the Republicans opposing Attorney General Eric Holder’s plan to bring five 9/11 suspects to New York City to face trial. “They see this as an opportunity to demagogue,” he said. “They will seize on any opportunity to do that, and that means they’ll even take a stand that’s un-American.”...

Fact-Checking the "Fact-Checkers" By the Editors File this one under "Quit Making Stuff Up." It took us all day, but we assembled the definitive debunking of the 11 Associated Press "fact-checkers." Might we suggest a new profession for these folks? As the always brilliant Mark Steyn pointed out: That's 11 writers for a 695-word report. What on? Obamacare? The Iranian nuke program? The upcoming trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed? No, the Associated Press assigned 11 writers to "fact-check" Sarah Palin's new book... Hey, don't be too hard on the AP. CNN is also into fact-checking... SNL skits that are "mean"...

America's freight rail industry was well represented in the annual Top 100 Military Friendly Employers for 2010 published by G.I. Jobs magazine. The magazine named four Class I freight railroads among the top 10 most military friendly employers, selecting Union Pacific as number one. CSX Corporation came in second among the top employers of military personnel, while BNSF Railway was fourth, and Norfolk Southern came in at number seven. "The nation's freight railroads maintain a strong commitment to the men and women who serve our country," said Edward R. Hamberger, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads. "We're...

On Dec. 4, 2009, the radical Hollywood left is poised to release its latest tribute to the men and women of the armed services, entitled "Brothers." The film stars Tobey Maguire as a military man serving in Afghanistan. When he is presumed killed in action, his wife, played by Natalie Portman, has an affair with his brother, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Naturally, Maguire shows up at home with a tremendous case of post-traumatic disorder -- which, if we are to judge from the trailer, causes him to fire weapons at random and physically abuse his wife. "Brothers" follows hot on...

As a longtime Patriots season-ticket holder, Chris Diehl expected his afternoon to be highlighted by the events that took place between the lines last Sunday. But before the first quarter had even begun in Foxborough's Gillette Stadium, his day already was made. It had nothing to do with his beloved team, either. Only his beloved country. ``As the National Anthem came to a close, I told my son to watch to see which of the Patriot players approached the veterans being honored to thank them for their service,'' Diehl wrote in an e-mail. To Diehl's disappointment, the Veterans Day ceremony...

It’s Friday. The president is flying off to Asia. Congress is not in session. Perfect time to drop a bombshell on the American people: The Obama administration is bringing 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed to New York City for a civilian trial. No, it’s not a joke. Via the NYT: Self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will be sent to New York to face trial in a civilian federal court, an Obama administration official said Friday. The official said Attorney General Eric Holder plans to announce the decision later in the morning. The...

As I speak to you today, I do so from the perspective of a simple “grunt” I have the greatest respect, admiration and affection for veterans of all the branches of service. I fought alongside Marines from the 2cnd Battalion, 7th Marines in Qui Nhon…a bunch of terrific, tough guys whose equipment was old and out of date..they carried the M-14 while we had the M-16…they had the PRC 10 radio which had been the mainstay radio in the Korean conflict, while we had a much more powerful and reliable PRC-25… but their morale, esprit de corps were just flat...

John Dietsch wasn't scared – then or now. While working in the engine room of World War II Allied warships in the North Atlantic, he faced the threat of Nazi mines, warships and U-boats. "You would hear the guns go off above us. You could feel it all around you," said the 84-year-old. "There really wasn't time to be scared." It was the same on Thursday afternoon, when a gunman stormed into a Royal Canadian Legion in Scarborough, demanding thousands in poppy donations. Dietsch and three others had just finished counting through $10,000 at Oakridge Legion, Branch 73, near Danforth...

I commend the president for acknowledging today that “there are limits to what government can and should do” to ease our 10.2% unemployment rate – the highest it’s been since 1983. I also applaud his call for suggestions and expression of openness to considering “any demonstrably good idea.” Taking him at his word, I’d like to suggest this one: let’s learn from history and follow the example of the man who occupied the White House in 1983 and was able to transform an even worse recession than the one we’re currently experiencing into the largest peacetime economic expansion in American...

BRANSON, Mo. -- They have come from every state in the union -- more than 50,000 veterans and their families. They are here to celebrate "Veterans Homecoming Week" in a city that "never forgets our heroes," where businesses proclaim to "hire veterans first" and entertainers proudly announce the units with which they served -- to the applause and cheers of fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardsmen and Marines. They come for reunions with comrades from campaigns in faraway places and to remember their shared sacrifice in long-ago battles. They come here because Tony Orlando's "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole...

SIERRA VISTA — From the founding of America through today, the citizens of the nation owe veterans a debt of gratitude, an Army colonel said Wednesday. Speaking at the end of Sierra Vista’s 15th annual Veterans Day parade, Col. Timothy Faulkner said no less a person than President George Washington noted the need to appreciate veterans after the Revolutionary War. Faulkner, Fort Huachuca’s garrison commander, said it was Washington who set the tone that carries through to today when he said, “We owe veterans a debt of gratitude, indeed a debt of honor.” And the colonel noted that from Valley...

Presidential executive orders are lofty, historical documents, generally signed in White House ceremonies with pomp and circumstance. Seldom do we think of them beginning in a small town on the eastern edge of West Virginia. But it was in Shepherdstown, with a population of 803 at last count, where President Obama's latest executive order, designed to facilitate the hiring of veterans in the federal government, got its start. Since 1944, federal law has required that vets be given certain preferences when federal agencies hire. And this isn't the first time an administration has made noise about being nice to vets....

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2009 – Generations of American servicemembers braved and survived the din, destruction and uncertainty of war to return home to enjoy the freedoms they helped to preserve for their fellow citizens. Retired Navy Rear Adm. Robert H. Shumaker is a famous U.S. military veteran who coined the term “Hanoi Hilton” when he was a prisoner of war from 1965 to 1973 in North Vietnam. Any person –- civilian or military –- who thinks they may have emotional problems should seek professional help, he said. DoD photo by Gerry J. Gilmore  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Yet,...

Pelosi "Health Plan" Should Be DOA Today at 8:40am We need to be vigilant in investigating the ramifications of the Pelosi Health Care Bill. Some provisions sound so outrageous as to be considered impossible to fathom, but they’re right there in the bill in black and white. For instance, page 297 of the bill explains the punishment for not purchasing government mandated health insurance. If you don’t buy what the government considers “acceptable health care coverage,” you’re going to be hit with a tax of at least 2.5% of your income. And if you don’t pay that new tax, you...

Pelosi Bill - page 297 of bill explains the punishment for not purchasing government mandated health insurance. If you don’t buy what the government considers “acceptable health care coverage,” you’re going to be hit with a tax of at least 2.5% of your income. And if you don’t pay that new tax, you could be fined as much as $250,000 and sentenced to up to five years in prison. Baucus Bill – does just the opposite. It calls for a much lighter penalty ($750 maximum) for people who don’t buy government approved health coverage, making it cheaper to pay the...

Video from Rush today on his program blasting the Administration for plans to purge Republicans out of the Civil Service, Rush asks "Where is Chuck Schumer in all of this".....(Video)

Democrat Bill Owens delivers his victory speech at his headquarters in Plattsburgh last week. Owens declared victory after Conservative nominee Doug Hoffman conceded the 23rd Congressional District race election night. Now recanvassing shows the special election has narrowed to a 3,000-vote difference, and will be decided by a count of absentee ballots. The Associated PressDemocrat Bill Owens delivers his victory speech at his headquarters in Plattsburgh last week. Owens declared victory after Conservative nominee Doug Hoffman conceded the 23rd Congressional District race election night. Now recanvassing shows the special election has narrowed to a 3,000-vote difference, and will be decided...

Failure to recognize the attack at Fort Hood as one of terror certainly sends the wrong message. The alleged mass murderer was found to have made statements in support of terror. His attempts to connect with al Qaeda were confirmed through computer forensics. Action, not failure to act – together with help from Above – is the only way to respond with effectiveness. If leaders on the national level can do nothing more than give “shout outs” to their favorite doctors in the face of crisis, then the many voices that are the people of the United States of America...

Freepers, On August 28, 2009 I posted a prayer request for a US Navy Veteran, my older brother the "Senior Chief" (HTCS). On November 10th at the Malcolm Randall Memorial VA Hospital in Gainesville, Florida, Senior Chief Jimmy G. had laproscopic surgery for the tumor removal and esophageal/stomach resection. The surgery went smoothly and he is presently in ICU for the next few days and is expected to be home in Jax, Fl within the next ten days. As a side note, let me tell you that I visited Senior Chief during his chemo-radiation treatments and was with him and...

A former U.S. Marine who survived several tours of duty in Iraq and a knife attack at his Phelan home a few months ago was violently beaten to death with a hammer while installing cable at a Victorville home, authorities said. A relative of the homeowners has been arrested in the attack. Trevor Neiman, 25, a Charter Communications Cable installer, was found beaten and bloody by San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies who responded to the home shortly after 4:30 p.m. Monday. While Neiman was working on the cable at the home in the 15200 block of San Jose Drive, a...

I am missing something here. After the attack and murder of 13 innocent people by an apparent imbedded radical Jihadist in the US Army, General Casey said on Meet The Press, "Our diversity, not only in our Army, but in our country, is a strength. And as horrific as this tragedy was, if our diversity becomes a casualty, I think that's worse." I have some questions for any military officer who swore an oath on several occasions to support and defend the Constitution. How many innocent Americans have to be murdered by someone who displayed every single modus operandi of...

The latest ridiculous attack on Sarah Palin in Chicago: Oprah’s audience complains they didn’t get any free books Dear Schaumburg Oprah Audience Members: the reason you did not find this book under your seats is because it has not been released yet. Grow up now, please. Seriously, of all the ridiculous things that are said about Sarah Palin, this one takes the cake. Sarah Palin was in town today to tape her appearance on Oprah, which will air on Monday of next week. Next TUESDAY Palin’s book, Going Rogue, drops in bookstores. Apparently, Oprah didn’t explain that to her studio...

We know absolutely no one in Bush family circles and have never met former President George W. Bush or his wife Laura. If you have been reading us for any length of time, you know that we used to make fun of “Dubya” nearly every day…parroting the same comedic bits we heard in our Democrat circles, where Bush is still, to this day, lampooned as a chimp, a bumbling idiot, and a poor, clumsy public speaker. Oh, how we RAILED against Bush in 2000…and how we RAILED against the surge in support Bush received post-9/11 when he went to Ground...

Recently on ABC television news, one of their videos showed a U.S. Marine hunkered down in Afghanistan complaining on camera that he was not allowed to shoot back when under fire. This situation resulted from Obama’s new rules of engagement from his new Afghanistan commander. General McChrystal explained it to BBC news that they are now advising troops to break off from firefights with the Taliban, "If you are in a situation where you are under fire from the enemy... if there is any chance of creating civilian casualties or if you don't know whether you will create civilian casualties,...

86-year-old World War II veteran Joseph Robertson fought for the Allies at the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler’s last major offensive. Amidst fierce combat and harsh winter weather, both the Germans and the Allies suffered heavy casualties. But Mr. Robertson has never been able to forget one young soldier he killed there. In July 2005, he shared this memory with son-in-law John Fish, Jr. at a StoryCorps MobileBooth in Columbus, Ohio.

The mainstream media and the Left are interested in “supporting” only two kinds of “troops”—the dead and the wounded. Successful warriors are of no political use to them. They aren’t helpful in stirring ant-war sentiment; and they don’t make for a compelling victim class. Liberals prefer their blacks poor and dependent, their women bumping against glass ceilings, their blue collar workers scraping by and seeking government help, and their soldiers… well, it sounds too gruesome to say it out loud, but there are only two ways for soldiers to become another victim constituency. Recently, President Barack Obama made a visit...

From Mental Floss:I can’t begin to imagine how hard it would be to leave my family for months at a time, especially if my destination were Iraq or Afghanistan. And I don’t know how I could deal with my wife being deployed overseas. These reunion videos—for me, at least—shed a tiny beam of light on how emotionally draining being a military family can be. They’ll also make you want a dog. To commemorate Veterans Day, here are some overjoyed dogs greeting returning soldiers....

I can’t begin to imagine how hard it would be to leave my family for months at a time, especially if my destination were Iraq or Afghanistan. And I don’t know how I could deal with my wife being deployed overseas. These reunion videos—for me, at least—shed a tiny beam of light on how emotionally draining being a military family can be. They’ll also make you want a dog. To commemorate Veterans Day, here are some overjoyed dogs greeting returning soldiers.

We call it Veterans Day now, but it used to be called Armistice Day, and I can’t help wondering whether we’ve lost something by converting a holiday originally meant to celebrate the veterans of World War I into an omnibus holiday, to honor all veterans of all wars. When I was a kid, we celebrated Armistice Day at my elementary school, P.S. 35 in the Bronx. And it was a very special holiday. Ms. Barr, our principal, came from a family that knew General John “Blackjack” Pershing very well. That general was her hero and she wanted us to embrace...

Remember: Major Nidal Hasan was just a victim. ABC’s ‘World News’ portrays Nidal Hasan and the followers of Islam as the real victims: In the real world… Hate crimes against Muslims have steadily declined since 2001. Today there are more reported hate crimes against Christians in the United States than Muslims. Related… Bob Schieffer at CBS: “Christianity has nuts too.”

Wow. Somebody contact Google and applaud them for customizing their logo to honor veterans, and this after celebrating Sesame Street for the past week.  They dropped their usual PC party, for at least one day, to actually pay tribute to America's veterans with a touching logo involving a faceless veteran with a child at his feet, looking up, and saluting.Back on Lincoln's birthday, last year, they had to celebrate Darwin's birthday instead.  I was speechless until more inappropriate language came to mind.  And with subsequent custom logos that alert surfers to a special day, their left-leaning web artwork has advertised their values as...

First lady Michelle Obama applauds Dr. Jill Biden as she is recognized during a Veterans Day ceremony, Wednesday, Nov. 11,2009, at George Washington University in Washington. First lady Michelle Obama delivers her remarks during a Veterans Day ceremony, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, at George Washington University in Washington

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, Nov. 11, 2009 – Ever wonder what the significance is of the little red flowers that the Veterans of Foreign Wars hand out? What are they and what do they mean? The answer to the first question is simple. They are poppies. Red-flowered corn poppies. Poppies have long been used as a symbol of both sleep and death: sleep because of the opium extracted from them, and death because of their blood-red color. In Greco-Roman myths, poppies were used as offerings to the dead. The bright scarlet color symbolized the promise of resurrection after death....

IsraelNN.com) U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns told the Middle East Institute in Washington on Tuesday that the U.S. recognizes the Iranian regime’s “right” to nuclear power, does not seek regime change and is ready for more talks with Iran. "We seek a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran based upon mutual interest and mutual respect. We do not seek regime change. We have condemned terrorist attacks against Iran.