Free Republic

Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker called for a “reasonable accommodation” that would allow a Kentucky county clerk — ordered to jail Thursday in contempt of court — to freely practice her religion. A federal judge ordered Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis jailed until she complies with a court’s ruling to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis has refused, saying that would violate her Christian beliefs. “The bottom line in America is we are a nation of laws,” the Wisconsin governor told TheBlaze. “But part of those laws — in fact, the most important of those laws — is the...

AUSTIN, TX (PRESS RELEASE) As Texas continues to mourn the loss of Harris County Sheriff Deputy Darren Goforth, Governor Greg Abbott today issued a statewide call to stand with law enforcement in Texas. To honor Deputy Goforth and all officers across the state, Governor Abbott is asking Texas law enforcement officers turn on their red and blue flashing lights for one-minute at 11:00 a.m. this Friday – the time Deputy Goforth’s funeral is set to begin. “Respect and pride in our law enforcement must be restored in this state and nation,” said Governor Abbott. “It is time to unite in...

With Labor Day upon us, newspapers across the US will be printing op-eds calling for a mandated “living wage” and higher wages in general. In many cases, advocates for a living wage argue for outright mandates on wages; that is, a minimum wage set as an arbitrary level determined by policymakers to be at a level that makes housing, food, and health care “affordable.” Behind this effort is a philosophical claim that employers are morally obligated to pay “a living wage” to employees, so they can afford necessities (however ambiguously defined) on a single wage, working forty hours per week....

I first became suspicious of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley when Mitt Romney came to South Carolina and serenaded her with "Happy Birthday to You" while Nikki stood there blushing and preening, like a teenager on a first date. Not knowing very much about her politics, I didn't think anything more of it, until yesterday, when Haley attacked Donald Trump. I attack Donald Trump too, but in a good way, raising the inconsistencies of his record. Haley, on the other hand, attacks him from the left for being too tough on illegal aliens and falsely claiming that Trump is against...

Today, Matt Bevin responded to the arrest of Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis. “It is utterly unnecessary that Rowan County clerk, Kim Davis, is sitting in a jail cell, when there is a simple solution that would respect the rights of every Kentuckian. I first put this solution forward many weeks ago. Why the cowardly silence from our Attorney General, Jack Conway? Jack Conway violated his oath of office as Attorney General when he refused to defend our state in court. Where was our Governor then demanding his resignation? The double standard applied in this case is reprehensible. Jack Conway...

A simple oak chair built by immigrant laborers and devoid of the ornate trappings of power was unveiled Wednesday as the one Pope Francis will use later this month when he leads Mass at Madison Square Garden. “Look at that, huh?” a smiling Cardinal Timothy Dolan said, lauding its simple design for reflecting the unpretentious man-of-the-people pontiff’s character. “I’m not going to sit in it because that would be bad luck,” Dolan quipped. The chair was built by day laborers from the Don Bosco Workers charity in Port Chester, rather than by expert craftsmen, something that was very important to...

Hungary’s Prime Minister has told German news outlets that he does not want large numbers of Muslims in his country. The news follows his comments that the hundreds of migrants at Hungarian train stations are “Germany’s problem”. Large numbers continue to gather in Hungary with some of the European migrant crisis’s most distressing scenes emerging from the country.In an opinion piece authored for Germany’s Allgemeine Zeitung, Viktor Orban revealed that the country’s total number of immigrants has risen by more than 70 per cent compared to the first half of last year.He said that Europe needs to “come to their...

I think that Iran right now is in the driver’s seat to do whatever they want to do. I think what’s happening with Iran is, I think it’s one of the, and I covered it very well. I assume you saw the news conference. I think Iran is, it’s one of the great deals ever made for them. I think it’s one of the most incompetent contracts I’ve even seen. I’m not just talking about defense. I’m not talking about a contract with another country. I’ve never seen more of a one-sided deal, I think, in my life, absolutely.

Favorite "Autumn" Songs *Video* Autumn Leaves - Eva Cassidy The falling leaves Drift by my window. The falling leaves of red and gold. I see your lips, the summer kisses, the sunburned hands I used to hold. Since you went away the days grow long And soon I'll hear old winter song But i miss you most of all my darling When autumn leaves start to fall Since you went away the days grow long And soon I'll hear old winter song But i miss you most of all my darling When autumn leaves start to fall I miss...

Faced with a surge in migration from the Middle East and North Africa, two European countries are exploring the possibility of erecting towering steel security fences along parts of their borders, similar to Israel's barrier with Egypt. Hungary and Bulgaria have made preliminary inquiries about buying the Israeli-designed fences, according to an Israeli business source who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the discussions. Both EU countries are beefing up their borders to deter migrants, many of them refugees from wars, who are seeking to use them as gateways to richer countries further north and west, particularly...

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WBKO) -- Gov. Steve Beshear’s Statement on Marriage Licenses in Rowan County: “Judge Bunning’s decision today speaks for itself. The future of the Rowan County Clerk continues to be a matter between her and the courts. Deputy clerks have said they will commence issuing marriage licensesbeginning tomorrow. It appears that the citizens of Rowan County will now have access to all the services from the clerk’s office to which they are entitled. Again, the legislature has placed the authority to issue marriage licenses squarely on county clerks by statute, and I have no legal authority to relieve them...

While Kentucky clerk Kim Davis continues to sit in jail after refusing to give out marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Mike Huckabee plans to stand up for her. The former Arkansas governor announced Thursday that he will be heading up a "liberty rally" next Tuesday for the jailed county clerk in Kentucky. According to his campaign, Huckabee will be joined by Matt Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, who is representing Davis in court. "This is a reckless, appalling, out-of-control decision that undermines the Constitution of the United States and our fundamental right to religious liberty," Huckabee said...

The Family Foundation’s Kentucky chapter has established a legal defense fund for county clerks who refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Four couples in Rowan County recently sued county clerk Kim Davis because she has declined to issue marriage licenses after the Supreme Court ruling lifted same-sex marriage bans across the U.S. Casey County Clerk Casey Davis is also not issuing marriage licenses. Kentucky Family Foundation Executive Director Kent Ostrander said no government worker should be forced to do something that’s against their religious beliefs. “When America was at war and its own existence was in question, America...

The Kentucky county clerk who is jailed because she will not issue marriage licenses to gay couples has a lot of fans among the Republican presidential hopefuls.Social conservatives nationally have strongly backed Rowan County clerk Kim Davis, who has defied a U.S. District judge’s order to issue the licenses. The Republican contenders, meantime, are hoping to use the incident to bolster their credentials with a powerful primary voting bloc.Most of the candidates have strongly backed Rowan County clerk Kim Davis, who was jailed Thursday after defying a U.S. District judge’s order to issue the licenses, while only two have sided...

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has joined the Black Lives Matter movement.As Michelle Moons reported, CAIR leaders and members joined Black Lives Matter in a march on the California State Capitol on Wednesday, targeting Gov. Jerry Brown’s office over a new bill that, in part, would expand bans on racial profiling to include perceived ethnicity.As police officers are being targeted across the nation, CAIR has sided with their enemies.That creates a serious problem for CAIR’s defenders, which argue that its associations with Islamic extremism can be overlooked because it helps law enforcement work with, and within, the Muslim community.

The first San Francisco elementary school to make bathrooms gender neutral has proudly removed the circles, triangles, and stick figure signs from the kindergarten and first-grade bathrooms that delineate the differences between the sexes.Principal Sam Bass of Miraloma Elementary said the change at the beginning of the school year was prompted by the needs of six to eight students who are outside calling themselves simply boys or girls, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Bathrooms for children older than first grade will be altered in coming years, even outside bathrooms that have multiple stalls.Bass told the Chronicle, “There’s no need...

Gender-neutral pronouns have hit Harvard.“The Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ registration tool now gives students the option to choose preferred gender pronouns for the first time,” The Harvard Crimson campus newspaper reports. On the page that typically asks students to write down their gender marker—examples of which include “male,” “female,” and “transgender”—they could also manually write in preferred gender pronouns when they registered this week. Examples on the page included “ze, hir, hirs” and “they, them, theirs.”FAS Registrar Michael P. Burke said the change, which administrators have discussed for a number of years, was intended to “make students feel more...

It is always refreshing to read conservative ideals being lauded in a liberal publication, and The Atlantic's interview with Federal Emergency Management Agency director Craig Fugate is no exception. Staff writer David Graham sat down with Fugate to look back at why the Katrina response failed and discovered that during disasters or otherwise, "citizens can't just wait for the government to save them." If one reads the interview carefully, it will be clear that though the conversation hinges on natural disasters and the government's response, the long-held conservative ideal of self-preservation of the citizen rises to the top in all...

A state appeals court voiced deep concerns Monday about “racial profiling” during criminal trials in New Jersey and directed judges in lower courts to instantly remove any jurors who display conscious or subconscious racist beliefs. The directive stems from a case that resulted in the convictions of two black men imprisoned in 2012 for carjacking a luxury sedan. At their trial, one juror had revealed a “subliminal” and “deeply-rooted, latent racial bias” against African-Americans, said the appeals panel, which overturned the verdict and ordered new court proceedings for both men.“Racial bias is repugnant to any notion of fairness or...

A gun manufacturer in Florida has designed an assault rifle featuring Christian symbols - in the hope it will never be used by 'Muslim terrorists'. Muslim groups have condemned the divisive gun, which they suggest will be bought by 'Christian terrorists'.