Free Republic

A group of 47 academics from top U.S. universities lambasted a proposed bill that would determine Puerto Rico's territorial status through a convention process. In a letter sent Monday to a group of bipartisan congressional leaders, the academics, led by Columbia Law School's Christina Ponsa-Kraus, said the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act, which was introduced by Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), "disserves its purported goal perpetuating the pernicious myth that [multiple sovereignty] options exist. They do not." "There are two, and only two, real self-determination options for Puerto Rico: statehood and independence. Yet the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act defies constitutional reality by...

Talk to a real estate agent, who deals in mid-sized suburban properties, and they will tell you that the local schools sit atop their client’s list of concerns. A great house in a bad neighborhood usually means bad schools and no one will choose that on purpose. Instead, families will pay extra for a not so nice house in a great neighborhood because that means good schools. You can fix up your house, but you cannot make the local school better, if it is full of misbehaving knuckleheads or headed that way because of the neighborhood. People instinctively understand a...

The First Amendment right to freedom of religion seems to be utterly meaningless to liberals in government today as they continue to make rulings that are the equivalent of ripping the Constitution to pieces and wiping their backsides with it. Courts in Massachusetts are now telling Catholic schools they have no choice but to hire homosexuals, despite the fact doing so goes against their beliefs. This is exactly why separation of church and state exists. Not to keep God out of government, but government out of the church. From Christian News: A state court in Massachusetts has ruled that a...

Amherst College, which banned fraternities and sororities in 1984, has now taken this an alarming step further: starting July 1, any students participating in an unofficial fraternity or sorority will be punished, and could be expelled. A college has the right to ban fraternities only in the sense of refusing to recognize gender-biased exclusive social groups as official student organizations. When it seeks to punish students for being members of off-campus groups of any kind, as Amherst is doing, it is violating student rights. I happen to agree with “banning” most fraternities and sororities. Registered student groups should not have...

When the Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci encouraged the left to begin a “long march through the institutions” he had two goals: co-opting neutral institutions in the cause of socialism and destroying institutions that could resist socialism. To a great extent his dictum has been followed in American and it has been successful. Academia is a monolithically left wing environment where conservatives are shut out and free speech relegated to designated areas on many major campuses. Where the left can’t co-opt it seeks to harness the coercive power of the state to do its bidding. The saga of how the IRS...

“We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.” Not a sign of the times. Oh, sure, you see the sign posted, here and there. But one is not allowed to really mean it. Contra those signs, the right to refuse service to anyone has not been retained by the people. It has been nullified by government. Civil rights cases are on the rise again regarding gay weddings and civil union ceremonies. Businesses, in these United States, may not discriminate against people on the basis of race, religion . . . and now, in nearly half of the states, because...

At a local library a small group of individuals meet on a monthly basis to discuss Russian literature. Over the past ten years they've discussed every author from Pushkin to Dostoyevsky to Tolstoy. At the upcoming meeting they plan to discuss one or two twentieth century Soviet authors. When the date of the meeting rolls around, they find two new people there to participate in the meeting. In short order they learn that these two new participants have no love for Russian authors. In fact, they are two Estonian nationalists that hate everything Russian. They are at the meeting only...

A federal appeals court ruling this week could significantly diminish public university religious groups' ability to restrict membership and leadership to students who agree with their teachings. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that San Diego State University's nondiscrimination policy for officially recognized campus groups is constitutional. The policy is based on a nondiscrimination policy used at all the schools in the California State University system. Two Christian groups sued SDSU in 2005, alleging the policy violated their free-speech and religious-freedom rights. For the groups to be recognized as official campus groups, they were required to allow all...

It was with interest that I read Jamie Freeze’s article “In Defense of Helen Thomas,” which was published at Renew America and elsewhere. What grabbed my attention, as was surely intended, was the very counterintuitive nature of the title. A conservative writer, publishing on a conservative website, defending Helen Thomas, whose long career in the Washington press corps came to symbolize the intellectual bankruptcy and despicable left-wing bias of the mainstream media at their worst? So I was naturally attentive to see what Jamie had to say. While I understand the concerns that she has that led her to write...

As we've been reporting, Capone's Italian-American Restaurant in Peabody, MA has been threatened with loss of their operating license and an expensive lawsuit because the doorman turned away men wearing women's clothes (including short skirts). Robert Knowles, a transgender activist from Saugus who wears women's clothes in public and who goes by the name of "Ashley Amber Bottoms", began bringing a group of cross-dressing men in women's clothes (who call themselves the "Sisters Group") to Capone's. Their presence caused so much disruption and discomfort to the restaurant's patrons that when the group came on Jan. 29, staff met them at...

A legal confrontation is playing out here as a student organization seeks official recognition and money from a state-run university even though the students plan to exclude non-Christians and gays...

Members of several religious student groups said this week they believe the lawsuit Maranatha Christian Fellowship recently filed against the University is unfounded. Maranatha filed a lawsuit Oct. 24 claiming the University violated the First Amendment by requiring student groups to sign an Equal Opportunities Statement. “I think Maranatha is entitled to its opinions and determining who they want in their group, but I think that if they do want to be recognized as a University group, they have to abide by the University policy,” said Amy Olson, executive director of Hillel, the University’s Jewish student center. When organizations register...

The flurry of publicity over their case has ebbed, but a lesbian couple whose 4-year-old daughter was denied admittance at O'Hara Catholic School last month intend to challenge the decision through legal means, one of the women said last week. Lee Inkmann, who alleges that O'Hara turned down her and her partner's application because they are gay, will meet this week with Eugene attorney Martha Walters, one of the chief lawyers who successfully argued golfer Casey Martin's case against the PGA Tour for refusing to accommodate his disability. "I have a belief that throughout history, when discrimination has been ignored...

A Baptist pastor in Oregon says a controversy in his state involving a lesbian couple exposes the true goal of the homosexual rights movement.The couple has filed a complaint with the Eugene Human Rights Commission and the Oregon Child Care Division, alleging that O'Hara Catholic School refused admission to their four-year-old daughter because of their alternative lifestyle.Kelly Boggs, pastor of Valley Baptist Church in McMinnville and a frequent columnist for Baptist Press, views the complaint as another attempt by homosexuals to force mainstream American society to accept their deviant behavior."It seems rather odd to me, if you are avowed, open...

<p>VINELAND -- When Kyle Brandon arrived for classes at Cumberland County College one night last spring, he didn't expect to come face to face with dozens of members of the Boy Scouts of America. But that's what happened when Brandon, a 36-year-old openly gay Vineland resident, walked into the college's Frank Guaracini Jr. Fine and Performing Arts Center.</p>

Passes resolution slamming group for not accepting 'gays,' atheists. The California state Senate has passed a resolution criticizing the Boy Scouts of America for its policy of excluding homosexuals and atheists. The legislation, which passed last week on a 22-15 vote, begins by praising the group for the work it does in the community, but in the end demands the organization accept applicants "without discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or religious belief," reported the Roseville Press-Tribune. The Boy Scouts has come under increasing pressure to change its policy, which has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, and...

Before this month is out, the Supreme Court will likely issue its second major decision in three years limiting government's power to infringe freedom of association. Both cases should be applauded by all who believe our Constitution is a charter of liberty. But despite the fact that at their core both cases embrace the same constitutional values, most of those who cheered the first decision will revile the second, and vice versa. That is because the first decision upheld the right of the Boy Scouts to exclude homosexuals as assistant scoutmasters, while the second likely will strike down a Texas...

The United Way of Miami-Dade on Tuesday discontinued its funding for boy scouting programs, saying the local Boy Scouts of America affiliate failed to abide by an agreement requiring it to help gay youths cope with their sexuality. In a private meeting, the United Way's board of directors voted unanimously to withhold its yearly funding grant of $480,000 for ''traditional scouting programs,'' according to the agency's spokeswoman, Tamara Klingler. The grant serves primarily to pay the salaries of scout leaders in low-income areas including Little Havana, Liberty City, Homestead and Hialeah. About 4,200 kids, most between ages 6 and 17,...

Hi I Am SmokeyWelcome to my establishment!

<p>Is this thing on? Plug in that cord over there. Yes that one. NO NOT INTO THAT PLUG yes that one. Thanks. Testing 1 2 3.</p> <p>Hi everyone. Your friendly neighborhood AM here.</p> <p>Keywords. You've seen them. You love them. Maybe you have even abused them.</p> <p>Please don't abuse keywords. There are children in China doing without keywords.</p> <p>1) Having who added what keyword be revealed at the whim of sadistic moderators, such as myself.</p>