Free Republic

Remember when the media rushed to talk about transparency in the Barack Obama “Hope and Change” era? Good times, good times. Leonard Downie, who once worked as the executive editor of the Washington Post and wrote a novel about Washington corruption and the Iraq War, finds a bigger and non-fictional problem in the successor to George W. Bush. Downie gives the Post a preview of his report from the Committee to Protect Journalists which outlines the Obama war on reporters and their sources: “A memo went out from the chief of staff a year ago to White House employees and...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday welcomed Pope Francis' recent remarks that the Catholic Church must shake off an obsession with teachings on abortion, contraception and homosexuals, saying the pontiff was showing incredible humility. "I tell you, I have been hugely impressed with the pope's pronouncements," Obama said in a CNBC interview.

(Reuters) - A Russian parents' committee has asked President Vladimir Putin to cancel a planned concert by gay musician Elton John, saying he intended to violate a ban on "homosexual propaganda". In an open letter to Putin, the local parents' group in central Ural region was reported by media as saying: "The singer intends to come out in support of local sodomites and break the current Russian law, directed at protecting children." Critics say the law banning gay "propaganda" among minors - which has prompted calls for a boycott of Russia's hosting of the 2014 Winter Olympics - is discriminatory,...

The problem is that people don’t seem to be able to find the right middle. There was a time when homosexuals were wrongly persecuted, when they couldn't even be open about their homosexuality, and that certainly was a bad state of affairs. Luckily we have gone past it and that’s fine. But people are so afraid that we could go back to that time that any criticism of homosexuality is taken as a sign of "anti-gay" discrimination: this is the opposite extreme, in which the persecution and discrimination are actually at the expense of those who disagree with the...

The number of sexual assaults reported to the US Navy rose dramatically over the last year, officials have said. The Navy puts the rise down to sailors' growing comfort reporting incidents of sexual assault and to their belief that authorities will take action. The Navy says about 1,100 assaults were reported in the year ending this month, an increase of 50% from 726 last year.

The Craig James era at Fox Sports Southwest will be a short one. SI.com has learned that the veteran broadcaster will no longer appear on the network. Fox Sports executives were not happy with the hire by the regional network, according to sources, and the hire had not been fully vetted at the highest levels of Fox Sports management. A formal agreement had not been finalized, even though James appeared on FSS on Saturday night. "Craig James will not be making any further appearances on Fox Sports Southwest's football coverage this season," said a Fox Sports spokesperson, when asked for...

I hope Putin will arrest obama for meeting with gays in Russia - that will violate the russian anti gay propaganda law. But well, it may not be very diplomatic so who is the most conservative - most America loving, most Christian and pro-life politician in America? Sarah Palin. Putin should set up a very official meeting with her - even a press conference with her with international press - in front of the whole world - just to show the world who is the real shadow president. The little thing in the White House is nothing - just playing...

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A New Mexico district judge has ordered the Santa Fe County clerk to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, just two days after a another county clerk in the state decided to start issuing gay marriage licenses. The order mandates that Santa Fe County Clerk Geraldine Salazar issue the marriage licenses or appear in court to tell the judge why that shouldn't happen.

‘What,” Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani was asked, “is [Islam’s] judgment on sodomy and lesbianism?” “Forbidden,” he curtly pronounced. “Those involved in the act should be punished. In fact, sodomites should be killed in the worst manner possible.” So what does Barack Obama have to say about that? Cynically mounting his high horse last week in the cozy confines of Jay Leno’s late-night TV comedy program — a venue popular with his ill-informed admirers, one where hypocrisy won’t be noticed, much less challenged — the president declaimed, “I have no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender...

ABC plans to air an 8-hour miniseries about the history of homosexual activism, penned by a prominent homosexual political activist. Homosexual writer and director Dustin Lance Black will write the miniseries. Its timeline will reportedly begin with the 1969 Stonewall Riots, in which a police raid on a gay bar resulted in several nights of violent demonstrations by homosexuals in New York City. The miniseries is expected to air sometime just before the holiday season. Gay activist Dustin Lance Black will pen the 8-hour miniseries. Black, 39, has been active in the homosexual advocacy movement since the beginning of his...

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday blasted Russia’s anti-gay crackdown ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics. In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning propaganda of “non-traditional sexual relations” and said the country will fine those holding gay pride rallies. The laws extend to athletes planning to participate in the Winter Games in Sochi. Nancy Pelosi ✔ @NancyPelosi Russia's decision to criminalize equality is outrageous—worst prejudices shouldn't threaten world's best athletes at #Sochi2014. 9:45 AM - 14 Aug 2013 150 Retweets 37 favorites At a press conference last week, Obama said he was “offended” by the laws, but...

A 19-year veteran of the Air Force said he was relieved of his duties after he disagreed with his openly gay commander when she wanted to severely punish an instructor who had expressed religious objections to homosexuality. “I was relieved of my position because I don’t agree with my commander’s position on gay marriage,” Senior Master Sgt. Phillip Monk told Fox News. “We’ve been told that if you publicly say that homosexuality is wrong, you are in violation of Air Force policy.”

In a broad-ranging interview on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on Tuesday night, President Barack Obama addressed Russia's recently passed anti-gay laws by saying he has "no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them."

Three months before Russia’s parliament unanimously passed a federal law banning the propaganda of “non-traditional relationships” — that is, same-sex ones — the bill’s sponsor went on the country’s most respected interview show to explain her reasoning. “Analyzing all the circumstances, and the particularity of territorial Russia and her survival…I came to the conclusion that if today we want to resolve the demographic crisis, we need to, excuse me, tighten the belt on certain moral values and information, so that giving birth and raising children become fully valued,” lawmaker Yelena Mizulina told Vladimir Posner, Russia’s Charlie Rose. Mizulina heads the...

Since becoming the head guy in The Vatican (www.vatican.va/phome_en.htm), Pope Francis has pulled a bigger beach crowd than the Rolling Stones (www.rollingstones.com), walked through slums, and washed and kissed the feet of prisoners. He even slummed it on his flight out of Rio by talking with reporters covering his trip, but he didn’t wash or kiss their feet. And even though he came out and said it is not his place to judge a gay person who accepts the Lord and has goodwill, there are plenty of women who think he should have said something for the ladies in the...

WASHINGTON — Last month’s Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage were major gay rights victories. But countless questions about the legal rights of gay men and lesbians remain. Here’s one: May gays be excluded from juries on account of their sexual orientation? The federal appeals court in California will soon decide the issue, which turns out to be surprisingly knotty. It arose at the 2011 trial of an antitrust fight between two giant drug companies. After a potential juror appeared to reveal that he was gay, a lawyer for Abbott Laboratories used a peremptory strike — one that does not...

Four men were arrested in less than three hours Friday in Clark State Forest and two men were arrested near Falls of the Ohio State Park a week ago. . . Soon after one of the undercover officers sat on a piece of driftwood on a trail about 1 p.m. July 9, he was approached by Samuel Elmore, 64, of Louisville. Spainhour said the men were initially engaged in a conversation about the weather and how secluded the area was. “After a very brief conversation, Mr. Elmore reached up the shorts of our officer and attempted to touch the genitalia...

The human sex drive is the third most powerful force that exists in human beings, after thirst and hunger. Human beings need to quench their thirst and quell their hunger, in order to sustain human life. God gave human beings a very powerful sex drive, so that it may be used to bring new life into this world. But the devil can pervert this wonderful drive that God gave humans to enable them to bring beautiful babies into this world, and use it to destroy human life and human culture. Radical Muslims are willing to strap bombs to themselves and...

The Social Security Administration announced Friday that it would begin accepting benefit claims related to same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court in June found the heart of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to be unconstitutional. It ruled that the federal government cannot treat same-sex marriages approved by some states any differently than heterosexual marriages. The ruling affects more than 1,000 federal regulations affecting everything from tax breaks to entitlement benefits. Prior to the ruling, an individual in a same-sex marriage was unable to claim survivor benefits from Social Security when a spouse died and a couple was unable to claim...

A national coalition, which includes people formerly associated with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) as well as several other partners, announced Tuesday the formation of a new youth organization for boys that is founded on Christian values and principles. "Our vision is to be the premier national character development organization for young men which produces godly and responsible husbands, fathers, and citizens," said Rob Green, the organization's interim executive director, during a press conference call Tuesday. He added, "The new program will be an exciting and motivating outdoor-based program focused on leadership and character development for boys, and founded...