Free Republic

A major U.S. retailer has decided to have a heart for Christmas after a five-year campaign by the American Family Association.About eight years ago, roughly 80 percent of the nation's retailers ignored the theme of Christmas in their stores and in advertising, choosing instead to use the politically correct terms "Happy Holidays" or "Holiday Sales." According to Randy Sharp, director of special projects for the American Family Association, while there has been a major turnaround among the companies, there have been some holdouts."One particularly is GAP, which owns the GAP stores and Old Navy stores all across the nation," he...

After debating a bill in the Wisconsin legislature that would allow motorists to purchase a Choose Life license plate for their vehicles, a Wisconsin state legislator called a pro-life organization supporting the plates a “hate group.” During the Assembly Transportation Committee’s Executive Session this morning, Rep. Chris Danou (D-Trempeleau) made what Wisconsin Family Action calls “outlandish allegations” against it in his attempt to discredit WFA. Danou allegedly called the organization a “hate group” and WFA is not happy about it. The following a response WFA sent LifeNews from its president, Julaine Appling: “Rep. Danou’s statements today while discussing the proposed...

Sen. Mark Begich says he supports extending open enrollment for individuals to buy health insurance under the federal health care law. The Alaska Democrat, in a statement, says he wants to work with the Obama administration to ensure individuals aren't unfairly penalized if technical issues continue with the online insurance marketplaces. Spokeswoman Heather Handyside says Begich wants to see how things with the site play out over the next several weeks and consider what makes sense. Glitches have plagued the site since open enrollment began Oct. 1. The law requires most Americans have insurance starting next year or face fines....

FAIRBANKS — A company trying to sign up Alaskans in the new federal health insurance marketplace told state legislators Tuesday that it had signed up just three people since Oct. 1. “We have worked across the entire state of Alaska and all the communities in outreach education and enrollment. ... Unfortunately, the marketplace is not functioning,” said Tyann Boling, the chief operating officer of Enroll Alaska, a company that helps people navigate the Healthcare.gov website and in return receives commissions from insurance companies. “We’ve only had the ability to enroll three individuals in the marketplace. We expected at this point...

The U.S. Army has appeared to do an about-face on some derogatory information recently released about the Christian conservative American Family Association (AFA). Fox News reported that in early October dozens of active duty and reserve Army troops were informed during a briefing at Camp Shelby in Mississippi that the respected pro-family organization should be classified as a hate group. According to Fox, during a slide presentation at the briefing the AFA was listed “alongside domestic hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, the Black Panthers, and the Nation of Islam.” But after the story about the misinformation gained...

Article may not be posted per FR posting rules (Gannett). Link to the article here. Synopsis: The linkage was yet another example of an over-eager National Guard EEO briefing.

“The instructor said AFA could be considered a hate group because they don’t like gays,” the soldier told me. “The slide was talking about how AFA refers to gays as sinners and heathens and derogatory terms.” The soldier, who is an evangelical Christian, said the chaplain defended the Christian ministry. “He kept asking the instructor, ‘Are you sure about that, son? Are you sure about that?’” he said, recalling the back and forth. Later in the briefing, the soldiers were reportedly told that they could face punishment for participating in organizations that are considered hate groups. That considered, the soldier...

The government shutdown almost made the U.S. Air Force Academy an incredibly uncomfortable place to be. The Colorado-based academy was on the verge of a toilet paper shortage. No, really. "We're not always aware at a high level who has the contracts with the toilet paper but we found out pretty fast and we fixed it," Superintendent of the Air Force Academy, Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson, told Fox21News.

Beneath a rousing flyover of decades-old warbirds, 1,024 newly commissioned second lieutenants graduated Wednesday from the Air Force Academy - saluting the military's past while looking to its future. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, in one of his last acts as the Air Force's top civilian, implored the cadets to tackle the service's many challenges, a lingering war, fiscal uncertainty and the "scourge" of pervasive sexual assaults during the ceremony at Falcon Stadium. "Each of you is responsible for the character of this Air Force, and its reputation," Donley said. "And I therefore charge you to serve with integrity, and...

Internal Revenue Service managers and workers involved in the Obama administration’s targeting of conservative groups were engaged in criminal activity, and should face those charges in court, according to one of the organizations in the program’s bull’s-eye. “We believe the IRS has been involved in criminal activity,” said Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association. “When a government office abuses its power to access personal financial records, then uses that information as a tool for revenge, we have reached a new low in American politics.” The AFA Tuesday called for charges to be filed against all of those involved...

Last week we reported on the Army EEO briefing that described evangelical Christians and Catholics as “extremists” alongside the likes of the KKK and al Qaeda. That incident occurred in Pennsylvania. Today, Todd Starnes reports that an Army officer at Ft. Campbell, KY sent an email to subordinates using similar descriptions and epithets. “Just want to ensure everyone is somewhat educated on some of the groups out there that do not share our Army Values,” read an email from LTC Jack Rich to three dozen subordinates at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. “When we see behaviors that are inconsistent with Army...

A U.S. Army officer sent an email to dozens of subordinates listing the American Family Association and Family Research Council as “domestic hate groups” because they oppose homosexuality — and warned officers to monitor soldiers who might be supporters of the groups. “Just want to ensure everyone is somewhat educated on some of the groups out there that do not share our Army Values,” read an email from Lt. Col. Jack Rich to three dozen subordinates at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. “When we see behaviors that are inconsistent with Army Values – don’t just walk by – do the right...

Dear Friend, As the Christmas shopping season begins full swing, AFA has prepared its annual "Naughty or Nice" retailer list. We have taken the top 100 national retailers and reviewed their websites, media advertising and in-store signage in an effort to help you know which companies are Christmas-friendly. Over the past seven years, your AFA has stood firm in the "War on Christmas." Companies who used to refuse to acknowledge Christmas now have Christmas "shops" inside their stores. Many of them now liberally use "Christmas" in their advertising and in-store signage. Sadly, there are still some companies which refuse to...

Yesterday, Buster Wilson of the American Family Association said that God will punish and curse America for re-electing Obama over his supposed mistreatment of Israel. He also lamented that health care reform will not be repealed and that if Obama has the opportunity to appoint new justices to the Supreme Court

July 24, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A pro-family group is calling on citizens to boycott a new NBC television series focusing on a gay couple who obtain a surrogate to have a baby. One Million Moms, a group of mothers affiliated with American Family Association, says The New Normal, which premieres Sept. 11th, is “attempting to desensitize America and our children.” The show features an unwed mother who offers to be a surrogate for a homosexual couple to make money for law school, a plan she postponed when she found out she was pregnant with her now 8-year-old daughter. In the...

“I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say ‘we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage and I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about.” ~ Dan Cathy, President, Chick-fil-A Chick-fil-A is a family-owned, family-run business which is guided by explicitly biblical business principles and even closes on Sunday in honor of what the Scriptures call “the Lord’s day.” Chick-fil-A started in 1967 and has recorded 44...

“Thousands of kids who might have otherwise worked through their pubescent sexual identity issues will be inspired to accept the wrong choice based upon this unscientific, emotionally charged born this way propaganda,” the FFA writes, “What’s brave or kind about telling thousands of sexually frustrated teens that they were born this way when a high percentage of them would have ended up taking the straight heterosexual path for life?”

Fire crews outside Colorado Springs, Colo., expected more weather trouble on Wednesday in what the local fire chief called a "monster event" that doubled in size overnight and has forced 32,000 people to flee. Heavy smoke made for unhealthy air in and around the city. After jumping fire lines Tuesday, the towering blaze has now burned 24 square miles and an undetermined number of homes. While crews should get a break from the heat, a forecast for thunderstorms could mean unpredictable winds. "This is a fire of epic proportions," Brown said at a briefing Tuesday night. "It was like looking...

The Rev. Donald E. Wildmon, founder and chairman of American Family Association (AFA) and American Family Radio (AFR), has endorsed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for the Republican nomination for president. "Newt Gingrich recognizes the threat to our country posed by judges and lawyers imposing values upon the country inconsistent with our religious heritage, and has proposed constitutional steps to bring the courts back in balance under the constitution,” Wildmon said in announcing his endorsement today. “We need someone in the White House who can balance the budget and get the economy moving again. Newt has done it before, and...

Hardware retail giant Lowe’s has pulled its commercials from all future episodes of TLC’s reality TV show “All-American Muslim,” the chain said this week. The conservative Florida Family Association has been leading a campaign to get retailers to pull their advertisements from the show. On Tuesday, it posted an email from a Lowe‘s representative who said Lowe’s will no longer be advertising during “All-American Muslim,” which chronicles the lives of several Muslim-American families living in Dearborn, Mich. “While we continue to advertise on various cable networks, including TLC, there are certain programs that do not meet Lowe’s advertising guidelines, including...