Free Republic

www.catholicnewsagency.com EU commission strikes down British religious freedom exemptions from anti-discrimination law London, England, Nov 26, 2009 / 01:06 pm (CNA).- The European Union has compelled the British government to remove religious freedom exemptions from an anti-discrimination bill. The move will forbid church bodies from declining to employ homosexual staff. The National Secular Society had argued that the exemptions went further than was permitted under an EU directive and created “illegal discrimination against homosexuals,” the Observer reports.The EU commission agreed, ruling that the exemptions are “broader than that permitted by the directive.”The British government must now redraft anti-discrimination laws....

I have never understood the Sarah Palin attraction. Sorry. I just don’t I am a die-hard conservative, but Sarah Palin does not do it for me. Never did. When she was first announced as John McCain’s running mate, I cringed, but then reluctantly understood. This was a political “Hail Mary” pass for the McCain campaign. Honestly, what could the poor man do from where he stood in the polls and in the modern American environment in which he was nominated? Answer: apparently little, aside from dumbing himself down to the political environment of the times—i.e., try to match the idiocy...

Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis said Tuesday he seeks to represent all his city, and not just a faction -- despite a controversial Bay Area newspaper column quoting him on his beliefs about homosexuality. The New York Times column in its Bay Area section raised concerns over evangelical influence on Vallejo's politics. "They're committing sin and that sin will keep them out of heaven," Davis was quoted as saying about gays. "But you don't hate the person. You hate the sin they commit." In a prepared statement Tuesday, Davis apologized to anyone whom he had offended and said his words "were...

Adam Lambert Furor Spreads to Gay Community REUTERS November 25, 2009 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert on Wednesday admitted he got carried away during his racy American Music Awards performance, as furor over his singing and dancing stoked a wider controversy in the U.S. gay community. More than 14 million people watched the gay, glam rocker close the live AMA telecast on Sunday with a performance that included Lambert kissing a male keyboard player and pushing the head of another performer into his crotch. Complaints poured in to the ABC TV network that aired the show,...