Free Republic

<p>A QUARTER OF a century has passed since 44 states said "No, thanks" to Jimmy Carter's offer to serve a second term, yet he still evidently thinks his loss is explained not by foreign policy debacles, such as invading Iran with eight helicopters, and a misery index — inflation plus unemployment — of 22, almost triple today's index.</p>

Listen to the language. It is always a leading indicator of moral confusion. ...cut... The lawyer's client probably will offer -- this should deepen Americans' queasiness -- the Nuremberg defense: I was only obeying orders. If the abuse was the result of orders -- or of the absence of them -- fault must extend up the chain of command. So, forgive the lawyer's language. But note what it betokens: a flinching from facts. Americans must not flinch from absorbing the photographs of what some Americans did in that prison. And they should not flinch from this fact: That pornography is,...

This may be the most nation-shaping election since 1932, not only — or even primarily — because of the parties' foreign policy differences. Those differences, about sovereignty, multilateralism, preemptive war and nation-building, concern vital fundamentals. But 2004 may secure the ascendancy of one of two radically different ideas of the proper role of government and the individual's proper relationship to it. This will be the first election since candidate George W. Bush made explicit in 2000 what had become implicit in conservatives' behavior. As recently as the 1994 congressional elections, Republicans had triumphed by preaching small-government conservatism, vowing to abolish...

EAGER TO IMPROVE their town’s moral tone, Los Angeles city councilors are considering an ordinance to improve decorum at strip clubs: No lap dances — dancers are required to remain six feet from customers — no direct tipping, no private VIP rooms in clubs with full nudity. Advocates of the ordinance say such goings-on lead to prostitution. Opponents of the ordinance, including the dancers, deny that prostitution flourishes at the clubs. And they call the ordinance an unconstitutional abridgement of free artistic expression. But a federal appeals court upheld a law in Washington state requiring dancers to stay 10...

Two Democratic presidential candidates with national campaign experience are stumbling. A Republican candidate who has run only municipal campaigns is confounding expectations, calling into question some assumptions about Republican voters. Regarding the Republican race, for many months commentators have said that when the Republican base learns the facts about Rudy Giuliani's personal life (an annulled first marriage, a messy divorce, then a third marriage) and views on social issues (for abortion rights, gay rights and gun control, in each case with limits), support for him will evaporate. But such commentary is becoming self-refuting. The insistent reiteration of it during Giuliani's...

A decision Thursday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will apply new restrictive anti-family pressure on nations wanting to host the Olympic Games. On December 8, the IOC unanimously approved a wide-ranging package of 40 recommendations, the Olympic Agenda 2020, that includes a rewording of its anti-discrimination Principle 6 clause to include a reference to "sexual orientation" as a protected category.Hosting the games, or ‘belonging to the Olympic movement’ as its styled by the IOC, “requires compliance with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the IOC." Thus, countries hoping to host Olympic Games in the future, such as the two...

Reclusive billionaire David Koch, a powerful donor in American conservative politics, says he’s a “social liberal.” “I’m basically a libertarian, and I’m a conservative on economic matters, and I’m a social liberal,” Koch told ABC News’ Barbara Walters.... Koch, who supports abortion rights and gay marriage, said he isn’t concerned with candidates he supports who don’t share some of his views. He said his primary concern when choosing a candidate to support is their fiscal policies.

New government guidance has LGBT rights advocates "thrilled" In one short paragraph of a 34-page memo released on Dec. 1, the Department of Education articulated a clear stance on gender identity, saying transgender students in public schools should be enrolled in single-sex classes that align with how they live their lives day-to-day. “We’re thrilled,” says Shannon Minter, the legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “It’s so critical to the health and well-being of those students, and it’s going to be so helpful to have that guidance in writing so that schools understand what their obligations are.” The...

Welcome to California, home of the finest, most progressive school system in the country. And if your 13 and 14 year old children are attending Acalanes High School in Lafayette, California, they can learn all sorts of amazing things. For example, they are probably right up to date on the best water based lubricants for intercourse, the best way to beat a pesky, sexually transmitted infection, and the wide range of options they have regarding which gender they would like to be. Along with local area groups, some parents are irate that their childrenÂ’s sex ed class at Acalanes High...

Angry parents of children at a California high school have slammed a sex education class — taught by employees of Planned Parenthood — that they claim encourages young teens to have sex. Parents of 13- and 14-year-olds at Acalanes High School in Lafayette are furious at the methods and materials being used to teach sex-ed without their prior knowledge or consent, FoxNews.com reported. The students are handed worksheets that include a checklist titled, "Sex Check! Are You Ready For Sex?" The document asks the young teens, both girls and boys, if they have water-based lubricants and condoms, and if they...

A Scottish monk has been arrested for distributing a series of leaflets in the Cambridgeshire area critical of homosexuality, fornication, contraception, euthanasia, abortion, and divorce. Brother Damon Jonah Kelly, head of the Glasgow based charity the Black Hermits, was arrested by Cambridgeshire Police on December 8 on suspicion of a Section 5 (religious/racial) public order offence after he wrote a letter to the homosexual news publication, Pink News, claiming responsibility for the distribution of leaflets in the city of Ely, as well as in Cambridge, King’s Lynn and several other Cambridgeshire towns and cities. Initially police declined to take any...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)It's not something you see every day, a horse in a wedding dress standing outside the federal courthouse. "I thought it was laughable and I believe he was going for a ridiculous protest and he certainly got one," says Eddie Outlaw, LGBT advocate. Reverend Edward James of Bertha Chapel Missionary Baptist Church dressed his horse, Charlotte, in a makeshift wedding dress to protest same-sex marriage. "The horse is to show the ridiculous idea of two men getting married," says James. James says after a federal decision was made in November to lift the ban on same-sex marriage in the state,...

Christian bakeries that refuse to make pro-homosexual marriage cakes are persecuted throughout America. They get sued, they get fined, they get death threats, and they lose their businesses. So we at Shoebat.com called some 13 prominent bakers who are either gay or pro-gay and requested that they make a pro-traditional marriage cake with the words “Gay marriage is wrong” placed on the cake. Each one denied us service, and even used deviant insults and obscenities against us. One baker even said that she would make me a cookie with a large phallus on it. We recorded all of this in...

A Scottish monk has been arrested for distributing a series of leaflets in the Cambridgeshire area critical of homosexuality, fornication, contraception, euthanasia, abortion, and divorce. Brother Damon Jonah Kelly, head of the Glasgow based charity the Black Hermits, was arrested by Cambridgeshire Police on December 8 on suspicion of a Section 5 (religious/racial) public order offence after he wrote a letter to the homosexual news publication, Pink News, claiming responsibility for the distribution of leaflets in the city of Ely, as well as in Cambridge, King’s Lynn and several other Cambridgeshire towns and cities. Initially police declined to take any...

The National Institutes of Health through its National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has funded a study to uncover the correlation between alcohol abuse and lesbian “intimate partner violence.” The grant, titled “Minority Stress, Alcohol Use, and Intimate Partner Violence Among Lesbians,” was awarded to Old Dominion University. “Alcohol abuse and dependence, and the constellation of problems associated with these disorders, including intimate partner violence (IPV) are a serious health concern for sexual minority women, their partners, their families, and society as a whole,” the grant abstract said. …

A prominent activist for homosexual rights in the military is awaiting trial for forcible sodomy and abusive sexual contact, the Washington Blade reports. Air Force Lt. Joshua Seefried was initially charged in April, a development that went largely unreported by the media. The charges came about after complaints from U.S. Marine Lt. Edgar Luna, who is also homosexual. On a weekend in May of 2012, Seefried had gathered with a group of homosexual military officers in New York City. Luna was also present, and the group was celebrating the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which Seefried’s...

The Obama administration is signaling its support for transgender people to serve openly in the military, in the barracks of their choice. Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James summarized the position, saying, "Times change." She told USA Today yesterday that the possibility of transgender service "is likely to come under review in the next year or so.” James, who never served in the military, was appointed to a Defense Department position in the Clinton administration before being tapped to lead a branch of the service by Barack Obama. “I don't believe this would be a positive step for military readiness...

AUSTIN A federal judge declined Friday to allow same-sex couples to immediately begin marrying in Texas. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia said allowing same-sex marriages “would only be temporary, with confusion and doubt to follow,” because the issue is being reviewed by a federal appeals court that will hear oral arguments on the matter next month. Garcia ruled 10 months ago that the Texas marriage ban violated the U.S. Constitution’s promise of equal treatment under the law, but Garcia also issued a stay halting his decision from taking effect while Attorney General Greg Abbott appealed.

U.S. pastor and pro-family activist Scott Lively The First Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed a lawsuit to proceed against U.S. pastor Scott Lively accusing him of “crimes against humanity” for his overseas activism opposing the homosexual agenda.The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages "to be determined at trial" and a declaration that he violated "the laws of nations" by speaking against homosexual “rights.”Pastor Scott Lively, who recently completed an unsuccessful bid for governor of Massachusetts, was sued in 2012 by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) on behalf of "Sexual Minorities Uganda." The Ugandan homosexual activist group claims Lively’s speeches...

Hillary Clinton Wins Award From Gay Hookup App By Brianna Keilar December 11, 2014 Washington (CNN) -- Users of Grindr, the leading gay hookup app, have voted Hillary Clinton their "Straight Ally of the Year." The former secretary of state joins a slate of other noteworthy figures highlighted in Grindr's 'Best of Awards' for 2014, including Neil Patrick Harris (voted "Gay Icon of the Year" for the second year in a row) and Vladimir Putin (voted "Enemy of the LGBT Community"). While Clinton's team has not responded to request for comment, it seems likely she would welcome the positive reaction...