Free Republic

ISIS wants global civil war .... Iran threatens to shut of the Strait of Hormuz .... German Chancellor Merkel admits the EU is being ravaged by terror but says that Germany should still welcome more refugees .... Hamas is digging 10 km tunnels every month for attacking Israel in the next war .... Hezbollah is armed by the Russians through Iran .... 32 earthquakes in 30 days in Western Australia .... Japan tries to stimulate the economy .... terrorist threats at the Rio Olympics .... Pope said that the world is at war but it is not a religious war...

The conflict between religious freedom and gay rights has a new battleground — California's religious colleges and universities. A bill moving through the Legislare would remove a longstanding exemption from anti-discrimination laws for religious institutions, potentially exposing the schools to civil rights lawsuits from students and employees.

Attention on the poop deck. It seems our “first gay president” intends to “milk,” with pride, his fetish for all things “LGBT” in the closing months (mercifully) of his catastrophic presidency. USNI News (U.S. Naval Institute) reports that the Obama Navy presumes to ram, without consent, the most reprehensible aspects of the extremist homosexual political agenda down the throats of a divided American public. “The Navy is set to name a ship after the gay rights icon and San Francisco politician Harvey Milk, according to a congressional notification obtained by USNI News. “The July 14, 2016 notification, signed by Secretary...

Television star America Ferrara gave viewers a free lesson in U.S. history Tuesday night, telling an adoring crowd at the Democratic National Convention that the Founding Fathers were united in tolerance of diverse sexual orientations. “This country was founded on the belief that what sets us apart—race, language, religion, sexual orientation—should not dissolve what binds us,” Ferrara declared to applause.

Chick-Fil-A sandwiches abound at the Democratic National Convention, and some of the delegates aren’t happy about it. Conference attendees can buy Chick-Fil-A sandwiches both inside and outside the convention arena. Joe Sacco, a Democratic delegate from Nevada who supports Senator Bernie Sanders and attended the LGBT caucus, told The Daily Caller News Foundation he’s unhappy Chick-Fil-A is being served.

The final night of the Republican National Convention was as confusing and incoherent as it was disturbing. Before Donald Trump brought forward his chilling imitation of history’s greatest fascists, Ivanka Trump and Peter Thiel made bizarre plays for the votes of women and LGBT people. Ivanka Trump riffed on issues like equal pay and affordable childcare, which are typically Democratic issues. Thiel announced that he’s “proud to be gay” to wild applause from a roomful of people who are the very base that voted against the rights and dignity of LGBT people, over and over again. “This is a distraction...

Pro-LGBT Republicans, both gay and straight, say the party is going through a fundamental change. Equality issues are not controversial among younger Republicans, majorities of whom support gay marriage and other measures. Richard Grenell, an openly gay former diplomat, told The Hill he is encouraged by how much progress the party has made, even over the last four years. During the 2012 campaign, Grenell stepped down as Mitt Romney’s national security and foreign policy spokesman after to a conservative backlash over his sexuality. “When I walk through the convention, I see politicians, activists and staffers who swarm me to tell...

Peter Thiel encouraged the GOP to not get distracted by culture wars on stage Thursday night, saluting Donald Trump for not focusing on such things as he made history. The tech billionaire declared to the Republican National Convention that he is "proud to be gay," becoming the first speaker in the party's history to do so from the stage of the Republican National Convention. "Every American has a unique identity. I am proud to be gay," he said to applause, including from the Trump family. "I am proud to be a Republican, but most of all I am proud to...

Leader of Dutch Party for Freedom (PVV) Geert Wilders attended an LGBT event as part of the Republican National Convention programme in Cleveland, Ohio, Wednesday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GJC17c2sfk

Nickelodeon, the American cable and satellite TV network aimed at kids and teens, has introduced its first animated “gay married” couple. Debuting in The Loud House — a cartoon about Lincoln Loud, an 11-year-old boy with 10 sisters — the scene features a friend coming for a stayover with Lincoln. Lincoln and his chum, Clyde McBride, have been counting down the time to the sleepover, so perhaps that’s why Lincoln announces: “Time to make history!” — before he opens the door to reveal Clyde and his two dads. Owned by Viacom Media Network, Nickelodeon targets children ages 2 to 17....

Ah, I remember my own days in the military fondly, but one of the biggest adjustments we had to make was learning that there was a set of instructions for doing everything from operating heavy machinery to washing your socks. Hey… that’s just military life for you. There’s always a manual to be referred to and if you get confused, there’s a manual listing all of the manuals. Take for example the rules about getting a sex change operation. You’ll want to make sure that you’ve checked in with the correct sources and… Wait a minute. What was that again?...

I was excited when I first heard that Peter Thiel was going to be a speaker at the Republican National Convention.  While everyone naturally focuses on what Trump and Pence will have to say, Thiel, often labeled an “eccentric billionaire,” could help rebrand the Trump-era GOP. Like Trump, Thiel is flamboyant and loves shaking things up.  Andrew Styles of Heat Street: Thiel, who is also a Trump delegate to the convention, is an interesting choice. In some ways, Thiel’s support for Trump makes a lot of sense. Both are billionaires who like to disrupt the sh*t out of the status...

According the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), which published an LGBT glossary of more than 250 terms, the belief that there are only two genders — male and female — should be treated as "genderism." The guide, which was published as part of the DCF’s Safe Harbors Project and was last updated July 7, defines "genderism" as: "The system of belief that there are only two genders (men and women) and that gender is inherently tied to one’s sex assigned at birth. It holds cisgender people as superior to transgender people, and punishes or excludes those who don’t...

Police departments nationwide anticipated “Day of Rage” protests, following the announcement by an account claiming to represent the hacker group Anonymous. It called for 36 cities to participate in response to killings of civilians by police. Despite the passion and compassion shown in recent days and weeks by people taking to the streets over killings of and by police, the hyped “Day of Rage” protests largely failed to materialize on Friday. Instead, a #BashBack contingent of protesters, LGBT activists, took to the streets of New York City in solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter, at one point chanting, “Stonewall was a riot, queers...

The FBI has found no evidence so far that Omar Mateen, who killed 49 people and wounded more than 53 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, chose the popular establishment because of its gay clientele, said U.S law enforcement officials. “While there can be no denying the significant impact on the gay community, the investigation hasn’t revealed that he targeted pulse because it was a gay club,” a U.S. law enforcement official said.

Prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson said Wednesday he is attending a meeting with President Obama designed to help mend frayed ties between law enforcement and the communities they serve. “We are at the @WhiteHouse right now for a 3-hour convening w/ President Obama re: the recent events in #BatonRouge & across the country,” Mckesson tweeted Wednesday. Mckesson wrote he will be joined by fellow activist Brittany Packnett and Minneapolis-based Black Lives Matter leader Mica Grimm. The president is sitting down with nearly three-dozen law enforcement officials, civil rights leaders, educators and local politicians at the White House in...

CLEVELAND— An impassioned plea by a gay Republican delegate for the party to soften its stance on same-sex marriage failed to sway enough of her colleagues on the Platform Committee, which met Monday a week ahead of the convention to hammer out a statement of the GOP’s core principles. District of Columbia delegate Rachel Hoff identified herself as the “first openly gay member on the Republican Platform Committee” and struggled to hold back tears as she pleaded with her fellow colleagues to accept a more neutral position on gay marriage...

CLEVELAND—Delegates to the Republican National Convention accuse staffers and fellow delegates bankrolled by billionaire political activist Paul Singer of using duplicitous tactics in an attempt to force a floor vote on LGBT issues. ... The goal would be to cleanse the party platform of conservative perspectives on marriage and gender identity issues, an American Unity Fund source told CNN.

Federal agents over the weekend arrested a Pinellas Park man described as having extremist jihadist beliefs who wanted to blow up a target in Tampa and create "terror" in victims' hearts. "I want to do something terrifying," he said, according to a federal complaint, "like one day, one night, something's going to happen. Then six hours later, something else." Sami Osmakac, 25, was taken into custody after an FBI sting operation in which he tried to buy explosives, at least 10 grenades, Uzis and an AK-47, authorities said. Osmakac's intended target shifted over the course of the investigation, which spanned...

Undoubtedly in an attempt to capitalize on the success of ABC's "The Bachelor," the LGBT-themed cable network Logo has greenlit a gay dating show called "Finding Prince Charming," which will premiere this fall.  Logo made the announcement on its website Tuesday morning: Love is in the air—and on the airwaves—as Logo announces its new reality dating competition series, Finding Prince Charming. Coming this fall, the show will see 13 handsome suitors housed together as they vie for the heart of a hunky Romeo. With help from host Lance Bass, the guys will try to stand out from the crowd and, hopefully, make an intimate connection....