Free Republic

“Now that you’re done with finals, help us meet the climate change test,” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told Columbia University graduates last week. […] “Don’t vote for politicians who deny the problem,” he said. “Don’t buy products that aren’t sustainable. And for heaven’s sake, turn off the lights!” …

This is ridiculous! New York City now recognizes 31 forms of gender dysphoria.PDF file (363KB download) h/t to a New Jersey friend.

When Australia's most successful Olympian, Ian Thorpe, came out as gay in an interview with Sir Michael Parkinson in July 2014, he was inundated with messages of support. At the time, some posed the question: does this even count as news? Is homosexuality today not a simple biographical detail rather than a sensational scandal? And yet, it is significant that on the same night that Thorpe came out, Australian Rules Football commentator Brian Taylor used a homophobic slur on air, referring to Geelong player Harry Taylor as a "big poofter." The two events accentuated perfectly why it remains the case,...

Baltimore city residents expressed disappointment in response to the city circuit court Monday finding a police officer not guilty in connection to the death of Freddie Gray. Officer Edward Nero was charged with several misdemeanor offenses after Gray died April, 2015, in his custody. Baltimore Circuit Judge Barry Williams found Nero not guilty of all charges just over a year later. Residents were not surprised given what they saw as racial bias in the criminal justice system. “White people are turning a blind eye,” resident Mumin Soweto told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “We’re not the ones stirring up the...

A massive $2.8 billion annual corporate tax hike is likely headed to Oregon voters in November, a move that could create the most aggressive tax climate for big business of any state in the nation. The ballot proposal comes as raising taxes on the wealthy and large corporations is at the forefront of a national debate — especially among Democratic progressives such as Bernie Sanders and much of Oregon’s electorate — about how to close the gaping economic disparities between rich and poor in a post-Great Recession era. The proposal’s labor-union backers are just one step from getting the measure...

These are the basic facts. A homeless schizophrenic man, Leon Walls, stabbed a man, Jobe Wright, on a street. Walls then ran into a nearby Target, where Wright and some friends, including Michael Turner, pursued him. One of the pursuing men called police. They located Walls in the store, and Walls grabbed a teenage girl, threatening her with a knife. He said he wanted to leave the store, but the men said he wasn't leaving until police got there. Walls then started stabbing the girl, and the men subdued him. One of them had brought a baseball bat with him...

As summer approaches in Louisiana, prison officials insist that ice, fans and cold showers are enough to protect death-row inmates from dangerous heat and humidity. […] U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson questioned Friday why prison officials won’t spend roughly $1 million to install the air conditioning, since the state has already spent much more money fighting this issue in court. The judge already ruled it unconstitutional to keep inmates where the heat index exceeds 88 degrees. …

Nine in ten Native Americans say they are not offended by the Washington Redskins name, according to a new Washington Post poll that shows how few ordinary Indians have been persuaded by a national movement to change the football team’s moniker. The survey of 504 people across every state and the District reveals that the minds of Native Americans have remained unchanged since a 2004 poll by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found the exact same result. Responses to The Post’s questions about the issue were broadly consistent regardless of age, income, education, political party or proximity to reservations. […]...

Customers at a Staten Island Home Depot were shocked to see one of the company’s employees wearing an “America Was Never Great” hat earlier this week. Krystal Lake, 22, of St. George got political during a shift on Tuesday. Her twist on Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s slogan was immediately shared online. Ms. Lake said the social media furor between those who said she correct, and those who thought she was both unprofessional and wrong, was unexpected.

President Barack Obama called on the nation Monday to support and listen to its law enforcement officers as he bestowed the Medal of Valor on 13 officers who risked their lives to save others. In a ceremony in the East Room, Obama draped the purple-and-gold ribbons around the necks of officers who intervened in shooting rampages, hostage situations and an armed robbery. He pledged to keep working toward a bipartisan overhaul to make the criminal justice system fairer, smarter and more effective so that officers are well-equipped to enforce the country's laws. “We can show our respect by listening to...

President Barack Obama said Monday he believes the Senate has a constitutional obligation to vote on a president’s nomination to the Supreme Court, staking out a position at odds with Republicans and some legal scholars. Obama made the claim in an online video interview about his stalled nomination of U.S. Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland. Asked if he thought the Constitution’s language about “advice and consent” meant the Senate had an obligation to hold a vote, Obama told BuzzFeed News: “I do.” […]The GOP has pointed out that in 2005, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid argued that the Constitution doesn’t...

The Obama administration’s directive on the use of school bathrooms by transgender students has provoked a torrent of criticism. It also marks a new front in America’s long-running culture wars. The latest battle over transgender rights and sexual identity comes in response to a joint letter Friday from the Departments of Education and Justice directing public schools to ensure that “transgender students enjoy a supportive and nondiscriminatory school environment.” […] The Obama administration directive goes beyond the bathroom issue to touch on privacy rights, education records and sex-segregated athletics. And that has unleashed a fierce backlash from ministers, parents and...

Hundreds of thousands of people whose personal fates could hinge on whether Britain leaves the European Union won't even have a vote in next month's referendum: Polish migrants. Among other EU citizens, up to a million Poles live and work in Britain. They're allowed to do so, because of free movement of workers in the EU. At a typical construction site in a leafy suburb of London, a brick row house is under renovation. There's a radio on for the builders, and it's all in Polish — Polish Radio London, a digital radio station that launched in 2006, two years...

The booing was nearly as loud as the cheering when Bill Clinton stepped to the microphone in this remote mountain hamlet deep in the depressed heart of coal country. In the audience at the local elementary school Thursday night was a sizable contingent of coal miners and their families, many wearing helmets and T-shirts declaring their support for Donald Trump. […] The event here was Bill Clinton’s fourth in a long day of campaigning across Kentucky, where his wife faces a similar backlash in next week’s primary. …

Despite all his rage, Billy Corgan is still just rattling the cage of American politics—much to the infinite sadness of Gen X-ers still holding onto their Siamese dreams of mid-’90s alt-rock Smashing Pumpkins greatness. On Thursday, he slammed “socialist” presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and accused liberal activists of infringing on free speech. “The tactics in the social justice warrior movement are to stifle and shut down free speech,” the singer said Thursday during an appearance on Infowars, the online network run by far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Missouri lawmakers passed a sweeping expansion of gun rights Friday, allowing people to carry concealed guns without needing permits while also expanding their right to stand and fight against perceived threats. The legislation, which goes to Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon, was among the most prominent measures passed by the Republican-led Legislature on the final day of its annual session. Under the measure, most people could carry concealed guns, even if they haven’t gone through the training now required to get a permit. The legislation would also expand the state’s “castle doctrine” by allowing invited guests such as baby sitters to...

Lethal injections will probably become more difficult to carry out in the United States because Pfizer, the second-largest pharmaceutical company in the world, has strengthened controls to prevent its products from being used in executions. Drugs used in executions are no longer available through “the normal pharmaceutical market,” said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. Every U.S. drug maker with products that have been used in executions has gone on record to say they don’t want that to happen any more, he said. “States at this point have decisions to make,” Dunham said. …

Vice President Joe Biden says he “would have been the best president” if he had mounted a successful campaign in the 2016 election, but that forgoing the race was the right decision for his family. Speaking with “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts in an exclusive interview that aired today, Biden said he had planned to run but changed course only after his eldest son Beau died last May. “No one should ever seek the presidency unless they're able to devote their whole heart and soul and passion into just doing that,” he said. “And, Beau was my soul. I...

Watching the Sunday news shows, I realize America is finished if we have to rely on the Republican party. I just watched Senator Flake (R Ariz.) smugly go on that we will lose the war on terror because of Trump having a "religious test" for admission to our country. Also he says that's why we will lose the election not because Senator Flake isn't supporting Trump. We are facing Hillary Clinton and these republicans are everywhere saying Trump has to come to each of them and explain himself. Then he has to change to agree with them. These republicans don't...

President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders to fight bigotry and to press Congress to update U.S. immigration policy. Obama said America’s tradition is to welcome newcomers because it was founded by immigrants. He said that tradition also makes difficult to understand why some people are blocking efforts to overhaul U.S. immigration laws. “We don’t simply welcome new immigrants. We are born of immigrants,” Obama told hundreds attending the Asian Pacific American Institute of Congressional Studies’ annual awards dinner. The nonpartisan, nonprofit organization promotes Asian-American and Pacific Islander participation and representation in politics. …