Free Republic

LAPD Police Chief William J. Bratton has come out -- in favor of gay marriage. As a wedding gift to friend and celebrity publicist Howard Bragman and his longtime partner, Chuck O'Donnell, Bratton made it official: He and his wife, former Court TV diva Rikki Kleiman, strongly believe that gays have a right to marry. And in honor of Bragman and O'Donnell, who wed this past week in Norwalk, the chief and Kleiman have made a donation to Equality California, a group seeking to stop a state ballot measure this November that would ban same-sex marriages. "The Constitution guarantees life,...

Ithaca, N.Y. — The Best Of Everything? By REBECCA JAMES   The Commons is a popular gathering place in downtown Ithaca, N.Y. (Photo by Gloria Wright)     ITHACA, N.Y. — When your town has made more than 25 lists that call it one of the best cities in America, you might be surprised that one magazine would call it one of the "Twelve Great Places You've Never Heard Of."But along with that 2006 designation from Mother Earth News, Ithaca seems to make the grade no matter what's being ranked. It's one of the "lesbian friendliest cities," has the "best...

By Clark BakerLast June, I posted this report about US hospitals and how many rely on fraud, preventable injuries and infections to patients to compensate for losses due to our government’s insistence that private hospitals treat and care for uninsured and underinsured citizens, indigents, and illegal aliens. [Photo: Dr. Robert Gallo]I learned how hospitals destroy good physicians and how predatory hospital chains like Tenet, Kaiser Permanente, and Adventist pressure local physicians already in successful private practice to join their groups. Those who refuse are targeted for sham peer review by corporate administrators and MDs who accuse non-compliant physicians as...

For nearly two years, the South Florida middle school art teacher forced the boy to have sex in a classroom supply closet. Sometimes, Aaron Mohanlal would call in sick to work, take the boy to his home for sex and drop the seventh-grader back off at school at the end of the day. To keep the abuse secret, Mohanlal bought the 13-year-old a cell phone and created nicknames for their genitalia. When police arrested him, the teacher was caught on hidden video trying to destroy letters threatening the boy if he ever told. Last summer, a Broward County jury convicted...

A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation concluded that the number of Hispanics infected with HIV/AIDS is on the rise, with as many as one in four gay Hispanic men having HIV, almost equaling HIV rates in the sub-Saharan Africa. Although Hispanics make up about 14 percent of the US population, they represent 22 percent of new HIV and AIDS diagnoses in 2006. Hispanics in Washington DC appear to have the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the country. The 22 percent was the result of analyzing HIV rates in 33 states and Puerto Rico, but not California,...

In Michigan, a homosexual man is suing two Christian publishers—Zondervan and Tyndale House—for $70 million dollars. Bradley Fowler claims they violated his constitutional rights and caused him "emotional distress" by publishing versions of the Bible that call homosexuality a sin. In my view, Fowler is suing the wrong party, but perhaps he realizes he is likely to have difficulty hauling the real author into court. While the lawsuit may strike us as funny, we ought to take such attacks on Christian teaching seriously: We are going to see many more of them if same-sex "marriage" is foisted upon us by...

The corporate headquarters for McDonald's is hearing from store managers in California that customers are upset over the company's pro-homosexual advocacy and they aren't going to take it any longer. Yuriy Popko, one of several Christians who staged a sign-waving protest at the Golden Arches in Citrus Heights today, said the protest at that location was suspended when store officials agreed to convey protesters' objections to the corporate office. Protesters object to McDonald's homosexual advocacy at a local McDonald's franchise July 22, 2008, in Citrus Heights, Calif. "They came out and talked with us. Basically we had two requests: a...

Democrats are preparing next year to lift the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban on gays in the military, an uneasy culture-war compromise instituted under the last Democratic administration, should Sen. Barack Obama win the presidency. Rep. Ellen Tauscher, the Walnut Creek Democrat, said a hearing Wednesday by a House Armed Services subcommittee is aimed at educating Congress and the public in preparation for a full-scale push to end the policy, first imposed in 1993 under President Bill Clinton, in the next Congress. By then, Democrats expect to have won the White House and to have expanded their House and Senate...

The case of the San Jose/Evergreen Community College firing of June Sheldon is raising some eyebrows among academics, liberal and conservative. Here is the media version : The controversy centers on an incident in June 2007, when Sheldon was asked by a student in a human heredity class about heredity’s impact on “homosexual behavior in males and females.� Among other references, Sheldon noted a German study demonstrating some link between maternal stress and homosexual behavior in males, according to the lawsuit. After a student complained, college officials investigated and dismissed Sheldon, an adjunct professor at the school since January 2004....

The Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan today declared that Gene Robinson, the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire, "should resign for the sake of the church." In a press conference at the decennial Lambeth Conference, the Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul said that homosexual ordination "is not what is found in the Bible" and that it is "not the norm of the Anglican world."

Three residents of the Greek island of Lesbos have lost an attempt to ban the use of the word "lesbian" to describe gay women. The residents argued that using the term in reference to gay women insulted their identity. But an Athens court ruled there was no justification for their contention that they felt slighted, saying the word did not define the islanders' identity. Greeks often refer to the island as Mytilene, after its capital. "This is a good decision for lesbians everywhere," Vassilis Chirdaris, lawyer for the Gay and Lesbian Union of Greece, told Reuters news agency. Court expenses...

The gay bishop of New Hampshire should resign in order to save the Anglican Communion, a senior African archbishop said today. The call came from the Rt Rev Dr Daniel Deng, the archbishop of Sudan, and followed a strongly worded statement that accused the US Episcopal church of exposing Anglicans to ridicule and damaging their credibility in a multi-religious environment. African bishops who signed the statement rejecting homosexual practice said they could not accept it as part of their church. They reiterated their opposition to developments in the US and Canada, where gay clergy are ordained and where same-sex relationships...

July 2008 In view of the present tensions and divisions within the Anglican Communion, and out of deep concern for the unity of the Church, we consider it important to express clearly the position of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan (ECS) concerning human sexuality. We believe that God created humankind in his own image; male and female he created them for the continuation of humankind on earth. Women and men were created as God’s agents and stewards on earth We believe that human sexuality is God’s gift to human beings which is rightly ordered only when expressed within the...

It's about a hundred degrees and getting hotter in the Big Top at Lambeth but the £1 million black hole in the budget at the Lambeth Conference means they can't afford air conditioning. Expect fainting bishops to be ferried out by ambulances any moment now, if they don't start shooting each other first. The press conference this morning was a farce. Communications officers declined to comment on who is here for reasons of 'security' but declined to say what the 'security' issues were. Apparently there are some Nigerian bishops at the conference but we are not allowed to know who...

A leading Anglican bishop has condemned conservatives as "demonic" for using his church as a punch bag. The Bishop of Washington, the Right Rev John Chane, a leading liberal in the Episcopal Church in the United States, accused conservatives of leading the church in a "dangerous" direction. *** "I think it's really very, very dangerous and I think it's demonic ... the Episcopal Church has been demonised. It has been a punching bag and I'm sick of being a punching bag as a Bishop and I'm sick of my church, my province being a punching bag.

The Democratic National Committee is actively working to foil the campaign to ban same-sex "marriage" in California. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) contributed $25,000 on February 28 to Equality for All for the purpose of opposing the proposed California marriage protection amendment known as Proposition 8. Equality for All is a homosexual group that pledges to defeat Prop 8 "one voter at a time." According to the group, "a loss in November will dramatically slow, if not halt, progress toward full equality for LGBT Americans." Matt Barber, director of cultural affairs with Liberty Counsel, argues that the DNC is slipping...

For the first time since the "don't ask, don't tell" law was enacted in 1993 by President Clinton, the House Armed Services Committee has scheduled hearings to review it. The law disqualifies gays from serving in the military. Individuals are deemed gay, according to this ruling, if they publicly state so. However, the military is prohibited from asking. Thus, "don't ask, don't tell." Activists are now pushing for change to allow gays to serve openly. We can anticipate a technical discussion. Does the presence of openly gay soldiers undermine cohesiveness of units, morale, and discipline? How would retention rates of...

At 15, Lawrence King was small—5 feet 1 inch—but very hard to miss. In January, he started to show up for class at Oxnard, Calif.'s E. O. Green Junior High School decked out in women's accessories. On some days, he would slick up his curly hair in a Prince-like bouffant. Sometimes he'd paint his fingernails hot pink and dab glitter or white foundation on his cheeks. "He wore makeup better than I did," says Marissa Moreno, 13, one of his classmates. He bought a pair of stilettos at Target, and he couldn't have been prouder if he had on a...

Trading Post 13 last Tuesday, a sweltering morning during the 15th Boy Scouts Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill near Fredericksburg, Va. Despite the heat wave, over the next 10 days they would help 32,000 other Scouts burn through 76,000 hamburgers, 479,000 eggs, 10 tons of beef stew--and countless hours energetically addressing a controversy that will not fade. "In the Bible, it's a sin to be gay," said Moran, 15, as the sun glinted off his dyed blue hair. Keep them out of scouting? "Exactly," he declared. Fifteen-year-old Greg Gutta Jr. was sympathetic. "They say everybody should have the right to...

SAN DIEGO— From the dusty Mexican border to the redwoods of the north, from broiling eastern deserts to the cool Pacific coast, on June 25, the prayers of more than a thousand pastors covered California like a quilt. The locus: Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego County. There, nearly 300 people, most of them pastors, gathered to pray, repent, and strategize for November, when Californians will vote on a constitutional amendment affirming the historical definition of marriage. While Skyline organized the event, satellite technology provided live video feeds to 1,300 more people—again, mostly pastors—gathered at 101 other churches up and...

All the familiar trappings, the flamboyant and the tongue-and-cheek, were there. The buff guys in gold sequins. The leather-clad women riding Harley hogs. The vendors hawking necklaces with oversized rainbow-colored beads. The crowd of more than 150,000, piled six deep in some places along the parade route from Hillcrest to Balboa Park, cheerfully ogling the spectacle. Yet more than anything else, the 34th annual San Diego Pride parade and festival yesterday was an emotional celebration – after the California Supreme Court ruling in May that legalized marriage for gay and lesbian couples – of the absolutely ordinary. Of the shared...

<p>The newly elected head of the nation's largest teachers union on Monday called on school districts nationwide to create community schools that would offer services to students and their families ranging from health care to recreation.</p> <p>Speaking to about 3,300 conventioneers at Navy Pier, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said minority students need the help to bridge the achievement gap between them and their white counterparts.</p>

My daughter, who starts 4th grade this fall, told me that her camp bus driver routinely plays the radio during the ride, and that this song by female singer Katy Perry came on. She said that the kids her age all know this song, but started yelling at the bus driver to turn it off because it was "inappropriate" for the younger kids on the bus to hear. Yesterday, while driving with her in the car listening to her favorite radio station, the song came on and I heard it for the first time. The lyrics follow below, and you...

‘Harassed for being a Christian’- the policeman who objected to gay ribbons and is turning to a tribunal Last updated at 01:08am on 20.07.08    A policeman is taking his force to an employment tribunal, claiming that he has been harassed because of his Christian beliefs.Constable Graham Cogman says he has been persecuted since he objected to wearing ribbons to mark a gay event.The controversy echoes the case of Lillian Ladele, the Christian registrar who successfully took on Islington Council in London over her refusal to conduct civil-partnership ceremonies for gay couples.  Making a stand: PC Graham Cogman says...

The rector who presided at the controversial 'gay marriage' of two priests has caused fresh outrage by conducting £1,800 'white wedding' services for Japanese tourists. The Rev Martin Dudley has benefited from a craze for Western-style ceremonies among Japanese couples - many followers of Shintoism or Buddhism - by blessing their unions in his London church. The blessings - which feature traditional music, a white bridal dress, prayers and Bible readings, bouquets and confetti - are not banned by the Church of England but critics say they undermine the dignity of marriage.

The majority of South Carolina residents are upset over an advertising campaign to attract homosexual tourists. The ad campaign was run in London for several cities. South Carolina was the only state with a role, and their ad said "South Carolina is so gay." Oran Smith of the Palmetto Family Council notes those who heard the ad were surprised. "And it was a shock to everyone who heard about it, and the contract was immediately canceled and the individual who is responsible has resigned," Smith explains. A legitimate question is whether state tax dollars were used for the promotion. "Yes, this was...

SAN JOSE, Calif., July 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A former San Jose City College biology professor is suing the college after she was fired for answering a student's question on the relationship between homosexuality and heredity.On June 21, 2007, June Sheldon, an adjunct professor teaching a human heredity course, answered a question about how heredity affects homosexual behavior by citing the class textbook and a well-known German scientist.  She noted that the scientist found a correlation between maternal stress and homosexual behavior in males but that the scientist's views are only one set of theories in the nature-versus-nurture debate...

Seventh-grade boys at Sunnyvale Middle School feared going to first-period PE class. They knew what might await them: Vicious sexual attacks by older eighth-grade students. Throughout much of last school year, a pack of eighth-graders repeatedly threatened to sexually attack the younger students before and after class...

A bare majority of California voters would continue to allow gay marriage, according to a new poll released Friday. The Field Poll of 672 likely voters found that 51% oppose Proposition 8, which would amend the state Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and woman. Forty-two percent of voters support the November ballot measure. Poll director Mark DiCamillo said the results indicate a substantial change among voters since 2000, when Proposition 22, a similar ballot measure, was approved with 61% of the vote. Proposition 22 and other laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation were...

More than 500 anti-pope activists faced off against happy pilgrims Saturday, shouting their distaste at papal policies as thousands of Catholic youth streamed past on their way to an evening address by Pope Benedict XVI. The NoToPope coalition — some costumed as nuns, devils and priests — lined the edge of a park on the route of the pilgrims' march, tightly ringed by police on foot, bicycles and horseback. "The pope is wrong, put a condom on!" they shouted through megaphones. Some threw red-packaged condoms at the passing pilgrims. But the young Catholics were at first merely curious, then smiled...

Your dollars for Happy Meals and Big Macs could end up paying for sex-change operations of McDonald's employees if the home of the Golden Arches continues its promotion of homosexuality, according to a pro-family group that has joined an expanding boycott of the fast-food restaurants and its Ronald McDonald's mascot. "If McDonald's restaurants and franchises … follow the small business advice of the company's new homosexual partner – the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), which received a $20,000 grant from McDonald's – there would be chaos," said Peter LaBarbera, chief of Americans for Truth. His was one...

The House Armed Services Committee has scheduled the first hearings to review the "don't ask don't tell" law since it was enacted in 1993 under President Clinton. The law disqualifies homosexuals from serving in the military. Individuals are deemed homosexual, according to this law, if they publicly state so. However, the military is prohibited from asking. Thus, "don't ask don't tell." Activists are now pushing for change to allow homosexuals to serve openly. The discussion we can anticipate will be technical. Does the presence of openly homosexual soldiers undermine "cohesiveness" of units, morale and discipline? How would retention rates of...

Violence broke out Sunday in Anderson when an 18-year-old man returned home from a gay pride parade and was assaulted by his father. According to the Anderson County Sheriff's Office, the battering took place about 1 p.m. Sunday on P Street. During the assault, the teen's 49-year-old father yelled, cursed, swung a baseball bat, prayed and tried to “cast the demon of homosexuality out of him,” according to the teen's version of events to Deputy S.C. Weymouth, the incident report states. About 2 p.m. Wednesday, the teen said his father punched him when he returned to the house for clothes...

Californians are likely to support same-sex marriage in the coming November election, suggests to an opinion poll released Friday. According to the Field Poll, 51% of California voters surveyed said they would oppose Proposition 8, a ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, thus banning same-sex marriage. Forty-one percent of voters surveyed said they would vote "yes" on the measure, according to the statewide survey that was completed this week. Those results are nearly identical to findings of a Field Poll in May that found 51% of Californian voters...

James Tramel went from convicted murderer to priest while in prison, a transformation that the Episcopal Church used to successfully lobby for his parole and celebrate him before politicians and the press. But the church is now grappling with the sexual abuse of a parishioner under his care. Tramel has been suspended for sexual misconduct, temporarily stripped of his priestly authority and left searching for a new job. The San Francisco-based Episcopal Diocese of California now faces questions of whether, in its haste to proclaim Tramel's story, it redeemed and promoted him too quickly. Convicted of second-degree murder in a...

July 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An article narrated by an anonymous woman who says she is "an academic," published in the London Times this week, favorably describes at length and in detail the woman's incestuous relationship with her brother. The article is entitled "I had sex with my brother but I don't feel guilty.""Daniel is my brother," says the anonymous narrator, whose story was transcribed by journalist Joan McFadden, "but since I was 14 we've had a sexual relationship - and that's not something that many people would feel comfortable with."The narrator then relates, in increasingly explicit detail, the...

As California Goes...? by: Emily Miller, July 18, 2008 The same-sex marriage debate proved to be a politically divisive issue in the 2004 election, and once again the subject dominates the national political landscape during an election year. Yet one aspect of the gay marriage debate remains largely ignored: if and how same-sex marriage threatens religious liberties and the free exercise clause of the First amendment. Lawyers convened last week at the Family Research Council to discuss the emerging conflict between same-sex marriage and religious liberty, and noticed an increase in the number of cases filed against religious institutions charged...

Fifty-one percent of likely voters in the state oppose Proposition 8 on the November ballot, a constitutional amendment that bans same-sex marriage by defining marriage as only between a man and woman, according to a Field Poll released today. The poll shows voters are divided by where they live, their age, gender and political party. For Prop. 8: "I see nothing wrong with gay marriage. It's only controversial to narrow-minded people. ... I think the opposition (to same-sex marriage) has to do with being close-minded about homosexuality. Or maybe people are afraid of it."

Gabriel DeJesus Back At Work At Sacred Heart School For The Arts On Monday; N.Y. Archdiocese Investigating. GREENBURGH, N.Y. (CBS) ― A Westchester County Catholic school principal is in serious trouble after he was arrested for allegedly going on a naked sexual romp with two other men in the backyard of a vacant home in the Orchard Hill section of town on Sunday. Gabriel De Jesus, 41, of Ossining told police he was the principal of Sacred Heart School for the Arts, a Catholic elementary school at 71 Sharpe Blvd. in Mount Vernon. DeJesus was still running the elementary school...

A hotel owner’s $125,000 donation to support a ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage in the state has become a flashpoint, with opponents calling for a boycott of two of his hotels and supporters highlighting the donation in a fund-raising letter. The hotelier, Doug Manchester, donated the money to support the collection of signatures to qualify the initiative, which would amend the state’s Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage, for the November ballot.

The associate pastor of a Texarkana church has been arrested on child pornography charges. Jerry Sawrie, an associated pastor at Richmond Road Baptist Church, is accused of viewing and possessing child pornography on his work computer. He has been arraigned and pleaded not guilty. Police said they found photos of male juveniles on Sawrie's computer at a church publishing business. Sawrie, who is scheduled to go on trial in August, has been released from jail on bond

A federal appeals court has ruled the First Amendment rights of homosexuals at Philadelphia's taxpayer-funded "Outfest" celebration in 2004 trumped the First Amendment rights of Christians, and has dismissed the civil rights complaint the Philadelphia 11 had filed. "The city has an interest in ensuring that a permit-holder can use the permit for the purpose for which it was obtained," this week's opinion from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said. "This interest necessarily includes the right of police officers to prevent counter-protestors from disrupting or interfering with the message of the permit-holder." The decision upheld a lower court's...

CANTERBURY, ENGLAND — A quarter of the world's Anglican bishops boycotted a once-in-a-decade gathering of church leaders yesterday in a row over gay clergy. Church officials said that 230 of the 880 bishops in the Anglican worldwide communion were staying away from the Lambeth conference, being staged in the English cathedral city of Canterbury, spiritual home of the deeply divided church. Bishops from Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda, who boast some of the fastest-expanding congregations in the Anglican Church, were among those who pledged to snub the conference. Liberal and conservative clergy have been brought to the brink of schism over...

The state Supreme Court in California is allowing voters this November to consider a plan to define marriage as one man and one woman, a move that could overturn that same court's ruling in May that same-sex duos should be recognized as "married." Jennifer Kerns, communications director for Protect Marriage.com, which collected more than 1.1 million signatures on petitions in support of the vote, confirmed that the high court today simply dismissed the pending challenge to having Proposition 8 on the ballot. "Obviously, the Supreme Court decision delivers a significant blow to our opponents," she told WND. "It does send...

<p>The remaining (few) conservatives at NBC are angry about The Suits plan to replace a show host, probably Chris Matthews, with faradical far-left openly lesbian Air America host(ess) Rachel Maddow.</p> <p>Maddow makes no secret of her beliefs, or her ability to use her time on the air to promote them.</p>

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The flap over an ad promoting South Carolina as “So Gay� will cost the state tourism dollars, according to an industry expert. Gay and lesbian travelers will likely be turned off by the political posturing surrounding the ads, which were pulled by the state tourism agency and led one employee to resign. “We experience discrimination every day, so we certainly don't want to when we travel,� said Wesley Combs of the Washington-based communication firm Witeck-Combs, which specializes in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender travel. Combs noted that national media attention about the ad, including jokes on Conan...

Christians will face prison for speaking out against homosexuality if Brazil's Senate passes a bill approved unanimously by its House of Representatives. The measure is considered the country's newest attempt to promote homosexuality, disguised as an act to prevent discrimination, the Catholic News Agency reports. If anyone prevents actions of "homosexual affection" in public or private locations open to the public, they could face up to five years in prison for doing so, the Association of the Defense of Life reports. The bill also seeks to penalize private and public school administrators with up to three years in prison if...

Conservatives steam over Sauerberg staffer Chris Barron, former Press Secretary for the Log Cabin Republicans , now Press Secretary for Sauerberg 2008 IL GOP candidate for U.S. Senate Steve Sauerberg stunned social conservatives last week when he announced the addition of a homosexual rights activist as his campaign's new press secretary. Christopher Barron, 36, was point man for the Log Cabin Republicans in their 2004 campaign against President George W. Bush's effort to add a federal marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution. After discussion about the revelation broke out last week on Illinois Review (see Sauerberg: Personnel is Policy...

SAN FRANCISCO – The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to take up a case by gay rights advocates that sought to keep a same-sex marriage ban off the November ballot. The justices' unanimous decision to reject the petition means that barring further legal action, voters will consider a constitutional amendment that would again limit marriage in California to a union between a man and a woman. If it passes, the amendment, known as Proposition 8, would overrule the Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage in the state as of June 16. “This was a frivolous lawsuit. It was a...

Madison's gay-pride event to be much smaller this year CHRIS RICKERT 608-252-6198 crickert@madison.com Gone from this year's Madison gay-pride event are the long lists of performers and vendors, the beer tent and the always entertaining parade. Still trying the untangle the financial mess left by its former treasurer, Madison Pride will cut the usually weekend-long event to one day and spend only about $500 putting it on, after having spent about $30,000 on it last year, said Dawnne Edseth, co-chair of the volunteer organization's board of directors. Only one musical act, The Cowboy & The Frenchman, is formally scheduled to...