Free Republic

Call it having sex for a good cause. A 20-year old college student in Brazil is auctioning off her virginity to the highest bidder in an attempt to raise money to build homes for poverty-stricken families in her hometown. The leggy Catarina Migliorini plans to give the money from the highest bidder – currently standing at $160,000 from a U.S. man named Jack Miller – to a non-governmental organization that will build modern homes in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. While she insists she is not a prostitute and that she is only doing this to make a...

As a young single woman, Michelle Robinson was a fixture in the home of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, who along with Rev. Jeremiah Wright “arranged” her marriage to Barack Obama, according to sources in Chicago who know the couple. Jackson’s daughter, Santita, is still one of Michelle’s best friends. “It all relates back to Trinity and to the Jesse Jackson orbit of blacks here in Chicago who gave Obama legitimacy and helped him establish his identity as a black man,” Robyn explained. “The political left wanted to push a black to the presidency, and the key operatives in the...

Last week, a federal district judge in Missouri dismissed a case against the HHS mandate, ruling that forcing Catholics to pay for contraception and abortion-inducing drugs does not violate their faith, because they remain “free to exercise their religion, by not using contraceptives.” In her ruling, Judge Carol E. Jackson contended that the mandate does not prohibit a business owner’s religious worship or personal decision not to use contraceptives, echoing HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ contention that the new mandate does not “affect an individual woman’s freedom to decide not to use birth control.” “This Court rejects the proposition that requiring...

'Matchmaker' Rev. Jeremiah Wright 'provided cover for gays' After nearly four years in office, many Americans still express frustration that much about Barack Obama remains a mystery as establishment media remain incurious about the Democratic president, while seemingly ready to dispatch crack investigative teams at a moment’s notice to probe into the personal lives of Republican figures such as Sarah Palin. Largely ignored in 2008 was research by the Hillary Clinton campaign based on contacts developed with members of the church Obama attended for two decades, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. This is the first of a series...

Over the past few centuries, science can be said to have gradually chipped away at the traditional grounds for believing in God. Much of what once seemed mysterious—the existence of humanity, the life-bearing perfection of Earth, the workings of the universe—can now be explained by biology, astronomy, physics and other domains of science. Although cosmic mysteries remain, Sean Carroll, a theoretical cosmologist at the California Institute of Technology, says there's good reason to think science will ultimately arrive at a complete understanding of the universe that leaves no grounds for God whatsoever. … Another role for God is as a...

Conscience rights' protection and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services contraception mandate were the topics foremost on the minds of medical professionals gathered in St. Paul, Minn., for the Catholic Medical Association’s (CMA) 81st educational conference.The Sept. 26-29 conference, which drew more than 600 attendees, featured prominent speakers who shared the history of the present cultural battle and how to bear witness to the truth and bring it to bear on the practice of medicine.(snip)“The Catholic Church stands in the way of the sexual revolution — efforts to redefine marriage, access to abortion and reproductive technology and mercy killings,”...

NEW YORK, October 1, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – At least one in five patients declared “brain dead” and approved as “organ donors” by one organ donation organisation, are in fact still alive and are being killed by the removal of vital organs, a lawsuit filed last week in Manhattan alleges. The suit outlines the ghoulish worst-case scenario, one that was widely dismissed as scaremongering in the early days of the development of organ transplant technology, but which is getting a second hearing amidst growing concerns that coercion and abuse are becoming increasingly common in the highly lucrative transplant business. Patrick McMahon,...

The screen cap below can currently be found on the "Obama 2012 campaign's official home on Tumblr," where you have to submit whatever you would like to post on the official page prior to approval.

This past weekend, a pro-life protestor was booed – at a D.C. church – for attempting to ask Kathleen Sebelius a question regarding the HHS contraception mandate at a forum following the church service. From WorldNetDaily: Brandi Swindell [pictured right], National Director of Generation Life, a pro-life group dedicated to mobilizing activists, students, artists, musicians and young professionals to end abortion and spread the message of sexual integrity, told WND that she had a “divine appointment” in Washington today. “Three of us chose to attend church at St. John’s this morning,” Swindell said, “and at the last minute found out...

To counter the gloom and doom spread by the corrupt, vintage media (which has definitely become a Ministry of Truth pumping out nonstop Democrat propaganda) let’s today examine who out there is really voting for Barack Obama in 2012. From where I sit, things shake out like this: Those Voting for Obama No Matter What: * Blacks — who will vote out of race-pride like they did in 2008. Black voters are the most racist in the country, supporting Obama with 95% of their numbers. Once again, blacks will prove that the job a person does in office is not...

It should come as no surprise that the National Football League supports the right of its players to share their opinions on important public matters, nor should it come as a surprise that I personally support my colleagues' rights to voice their opinions. But the conversation during the last few weeks on the subject of same-sex marriage has told a different story -- one that appears to be drawing a false connection between supporting true American values like free speech and the institution of marriage, our most fundamental and important social institution. I think it is important to set the...

Every year around this time, questions come up about churches being involved in political elections. Questions like, “Can my church talk about issues that are at stake in the election,” “can my church pass out voter guides,” or “what if a candidate wants to address my congregation?” Admittedly, it can be confusing for churches and pastors to know what is allowed during an election season. Much of this confusion stems from the vagueness of the tax code and the accompanying IRS regulations. To help, Alliance Defending Freedom has created many resources for you to utilize this election season. Guidelines for...

SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill barring a controversial therapy that aims to reverse homosexuality in minors, the measure's sponsor said on Sunday, making California the first state to ban a practice many say is psychologically damaging. The move marked a major victory for gay rights advocates who say so-called conversion therapy, also called reparative therapy, has no medical basis because homosexuality is not a disorder. The bill's sponsor, state Senator Ted Lieu, a Democrat from Torrance, said in a statement that Brown had signed the bill. An announcement from the governor's office was expected on...

San Francisco’s New Archbishop Worries Gay Catholics By NORIMITSU ONISHI September 29, 2012 SAN FRANCISCO — At Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in the Castro, this city’s largest gay district, about 20 of the faithful gathered for 8 a.m. Mass recently, clustering in the middle pews. Led by a visiting priest from nearby Oakland, the parishioners joined in celebrating the 30th anniversary of a gay couple. St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, where Bishop Salvatore Cordileone is to be installed as the new archbishop. His work against gay marriage worries some parishioners. Bishop Salvatore Cordileone is a rising conservative who...

LIBERTY, Mo. – Prosecutors are charging a Missouri woman with forging her father's signature on a document doctors relied on to take him off of life support. Legal experts say there's little precedent in the case, which essentially accuses her of "death by forgery." Retired accountant William Van Note and his companion were shot by a home intruder in October 2010. Sharon Dickson was killed and Van Note was critically wounded by a gunshot to the head. He died four days later, after 44-year-old Susan Elizabeth Van Note told doctors her father would prefer to die rather than be kept...

In the marriage debate, people frequently argue that how one chooses to define marriage doesn't affect other people's definitions of marriage, and because my definition is as good as yours, it should also be promoted by society. Many times it is stated: "What I choose to do in my marriage doesn't affect your marriage." However, same-sex marriage affects all of our marriages. First, to explain, private actions have public effects. All our actions, both private and public, define our identity. Being human, we are motivated to impart our identity to future generations. As we have seen, and understandably so, people...

The moonbats running our government schools had better look alive. Canadian schools are progressing right past them in the race to liberal utopia. For example, the Toronto District School Board’s website encourages children to have sex with vegetables: An adult who repeated this filth to a child on school grounds would be arrested, even at this point in our cultural decline. But linking to it on a website gets around that for now, while enlightened liberal educators wait for repressive laws and backward bitter clingers to catch up.

Catholics are a key demographic in the upcoming election. In fact, they may be the key demographic. In most every presidential contest since the end of World War II, the candidate who carried the Catholic vote won the election. Over time they have, as a bloc, become more conservative and more Republican in their voting patterns (they were once a major component of the Democrats' presidential coalition) as concerns over settled issues like the morality of abortion overtook in importance concerns about unsettled issues like the best way to secure social justice for the poor and the downtrodden.Much has...

Rensselaer County Board of Elections officials, left, and representatives for the Sen. Roy McDonald and Kathy Marchione campaigns, count absentee ballots at the board of elections office on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012, in Troy, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)A Republican state senator who voted to legalize gay marriage in New York and shot back at conservative critics that they could “take this job and shove it” has apparently lost his primary.With all absentee votes counted from the Sept. 13 primary and barring a total recount order, Republican Kathleen Marchione had a 110-vote edge over Sen. Roy McDonald with just 50...

Earlier this year, a group of University of Notre Dame faculty and staff drafted a letter in support of the “LGBTQ community” at Notre Dame, after the University announced it would not add sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination clause despite pressure from some student groups and faculty. Now, a petition signed by 366 Notre Dame faculty, administration and staff was published yesterday in the campus newspaper as a full page ad urging the university to add sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination clause. The letter said, in part: “We value the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning members of our community...