Free Republic

PORTLAND - The city of Pascagoula in Mississippi has a world-famous shipyard, building vessels for the U.S. military and private companies alike. When the ships are launched, dignitaries of all kinds normally flock for the commissioning ceremonies, but the state's harsh new anti-gay laws may change that.

I’ve often found myself wondering about the bias I see at the Catholic News Service(CNS), which seems to gloss over many of the serious problems in the Church. Today, my friend Michael Hichborn at the Lepanto Institute has a story on CNS Director and Editor in Chief Tony Spence that may help shed some light on the bias of the USCCB’s official news and information service: Tony Spence has been the head of the Catholic News Service since 2004.  Over the last few weeks, Spence has been publishing statements on his own twitter feed, identifying him as the head of CNS, speaking...

....rocker Bryan Adams is canceling a performance this week in Mississippi, citing the state's new law that allows religious groups and some private businesses to refuse service to gay couples. Adams said in a statement Sunday night that he was canceling a show Thursday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi..

Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Republican presidential candidate Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) said religious liberty laws that allow refusal of services based on sexual orientation like the ones vetoed in Georgia and passed in North Carolina and Mississippi are unnecessary.

 Image of Andy Gipson from the clarionledger.com In a bill labelled a "Church Protection Act", the Mississippi legislature appears ready to join the permitless or "Constitutional" carry club.  If Governor Bryan signs the bill into law, Mississippi will become the third state this year to join the club, putting its members at 10, or 20 percent of the states. Members of the club can no longer claim any exclusivity.  They range from the East coast to the Pacific, from Alaska to Arizona, with midwest, eastern, and western members.  At 10 members, the club is larger than the dwindling "may issue"...

After the network spent days attacking both North Carolina and Mississippi for passing religious freedom laws it labeled “discriminatory,” on Thursday, CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King touted “a major corporate backlash” against Mississippi as “executives from GE, Pepsi, Levi Strauss, and other companies sent a letter yesterday to the Governor Phil Bryant condemning the new law...” In the report that followed, correspondent Mark Strassman promoted one small business owner blasting the measure: “In Jackson, Mississippi, Mitchell Moore owns Campbell's bakery. This Republican says the state's religious freedom law is bad for business.” Moore worried: “...we now have a target...

The Mississippi state legislature has given final approval to a bill to ban dismemberment abortions tearing babies limb from limb. Today the House concurred with the Senate version on a vote of 85-32. House Bill 519 is authored by Rep. Sam Mims, R-McComb and now heads to pro-life Governor Phil Bryant to become law. Mississippi Right to Life President Barbara Whitehead commended the legislature for passing this legislation to protect unborn children in comments to LifeNews.com “Dismemberment abortion is unimaginably cruel and has no place in Mississippi. The Mississippi Unborn Child Protection from Dismemberment Abortion Act will end such dangerous...

JACKSON — In a surprise move Tuesday, the Mississippi House targeted Medicaid funding for the state’s only abortion clinic in addition to the state’s sole Planned Parenthood clinic. The bill would prohibit the Mississippi Division of Medicaid from paying any entity that performs non-therapeutic abortions even for non-abortion services. The original Senate Bill 2238 was drafted with language that would prohibit the state’s only Planned Parenthood clinic, which does not offer abortions, from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for “family planning services.” Rep. Joey Hood, R-Ackerman, authored an amendment that struck all of the Senate bill’s language and replaced it with language...

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge Thursday overturned Mississippi's ban on allowing same-sex couples to adopt children. U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan, in a preliminary injunction issued Thursday, ruled for the couples who had sued, saying the ban is unconstitutional after recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions legalizing gay marriage and benefits for gay couples. He ordered John Davis, executive director of the Department of Human Services to stop enforcing it.

What would Jesus pack? The Mississippi Senate just passed a bill that would allow churches to train members to carry guns and act as security guards during religious services — and exempt them from legal action if they use their weapons. “This will allow a church to have a sergeant-at-arms to protect the church body, just like we have (in the Legislature),” Sean Tindell, a Republican state senator, was quoted as saying by the Clarion-Ledger. Tindell pointed to last year’s massacre at a church in Charleston, South Carolina as an example of why churches need an armed guard. Others said...

It seems that everyday residents of red states aren’t the only ones fed up with people moving to our states from their failed progressive fantasylands and bringing those failed policies with them.One Mississippi State Representative echoed the sentiments of many of us; while I live in Florida, not Mississippi, Florida is being inundated with blue staters fleeing the results of their policies . . . only to try to force them on us.The Clarion-Ledger reports: When Becky Guidry of Gulfport emailed freshman Rep. Karl Oliver, R-Winona, expressing her concerns about the tax breaks being considered by the Legislature, she was...

There is quite a bit out there about making "black lists" of Trump supporters. I support Ted Cruz for the nomination. I have what I believe are legitimate concerns with Donald Trump. Nonetheless, I will express those concerns at the ballot box, as part of the democratic process. If Mr. Trump should attain the nomination fair and square one has the right to withhold their support, sit it out, vote for Hillary whatever floats their boat. I myself will not. I plan on supporting him. If I held my nose and supported Romney, I think I can manage some support...

The Senate voted 49-40 Monday evening to confirm John B. King Jr., President Barack Obama’s nominee, as secretary of education. A total of 11 senators did not vote on King’s confirmation, while those who voted against him cited his loyalty to the system and support for Common Core education standards. King, 41, has been the acting secretary of the Department of Education since January, after Arne Duncan stepped down from the Cabinet post at the end of last year. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., secretary of education under President George H.W. Bush, spoke in support of King on the Senate floor....

A family being held hostage by a suspected murderer fatally shot him Thursday morning — ending the multi-agency manhunt for the armed and dangerous felon, police said. At one point, McCloud stabbed the man in the shoulder and he got loose. The man and his wife managed to grab a gun and one of them shot McCloud during the hours-long struggle, Armstrong told The Associated Press.

In last June’s Mississippi GOP runoff, liberal Republican Thad Cochran engaged in mass election fraud to defeat conservative primary challenger Chris McDaniel.

GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump held a press conference in Jupiter, FL at Trump National Golf Club Jupiter. The event took place right after Mr. Trump was declared the winner of the Republican Primaries in Michigan and Mississippi.

MAJOR GARRETT CBS NEWS March 9, 2016 Marco Rubio's Future In The 2016 Race Looks Cloudy Marco Rubio's presidential campaign and those close to the Florida senator are engaged in deep conversations about the future of his presidential bid. The topic of dropping out before next Tuesday's Florida primary has been raised and was not summarily dismissed. It is an option being weighed, but it is unknown how seriously. That it is even on the table speaks to the depth of existential angst within Rubio's camp after a night of demoralizing setbacks in Michigan, Mississippi and Idaho. Rubio did not...

Donald Trump won the Mississippi primary on Tuesday, extending his hold over the Deep South and advancing his march toward the Republican presidential nomination. Trump’s victory came as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has been struggling to overtake him in Bible Belt states where evangelical Christians dominate Republican primaries.

Billionaire Donald Trump has been projected as the winner of the Republican presidential primary in Michigan, according to exit polls and early returns. Earlier on Tuesday evening, Trump also won the Republican primary in Mississippi – giving him a pair of victories in far-flung and very different states, and demonstrating that furious attacks by his rivals and his party’s elite have not stopped Trump’s momentum. The Associated Press projected Trump’s victory 15 minutes after the last Michigan polls closed at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Democrats also voted in Michigan on Tuesday. But the race there between former secretary of state...

First exit poll results out at 5:00 PM EST.