Free Republic

Barack Obama's name is revered in his home state. But the Illinois House has rejected making his birthday a state holiday. Legislation to make the 44th president's Aug. 4th birthday a state holiday fell six votes short Tuesday. Chicago Democratic Rep. Sonya Harper said it would honor a man who adopted Chicago as his home and served in the Illinois Senate. But Rep. Steven Andersson of Geneva suggested it be honorary. The Republican floor leader said even Obama wouldn't want the cash-strapped state to give state workers another paid day off. He noted that Tampico native and 40th president Ronald...

Paste your docume(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama issued a statement on Saturday indicating that he and First Lady Michelle Obama would commemorate this Sunday as "the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia." In the statement, the preisdent said he is working to "address the specific needs of transgender persons." Here is the president's statement : Michelle and I join our fellow Americans and others around the world in commemorating the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia tomorrow, May 17. We take this opportunity to reaffirm that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are human rights, to celebrate the dignity...

Obama Holiday Rallies Turned Away by Topeka McDonald's @ 3:12 pm by Chris Good After Internet news circles buzzed Monday about an activist's plans for a national holiday in honor of President-elect Barack Obama, the Kansas McDonald's slated to host the holiday-promoting rallies has said "no." Activist Sonny Scroggins, leader of a group called Bias Busters of Kansas, had planned to hold rallies at a downtown Topeka McDonald's every Tuesday to plan a push for an Obama holiday. A Topeka Capital-Journal story about Scroggins' plans caught some national attention Monday after being featured prominently on the Drudge Report. The McDonald's...

The local push for a national holiday commemorating Barack Obama's election to the U.S. presidency ricocheted around the Internet over the weekend, drawing criticism from notable conservative critics and nearly crashing The Topeka Capital-Journal's Web site with an influx of traffic.The holiday drive is the brainchild of local activist Sonny Scroggins, who had planned to hold brainstorming sessions at the downtown McDonald's every morning and night until Obama's inauguration. He said "America grew up" on election night.Scroggins, who is known for his sometimes quixotic crusades against social injustice, said voting results last week were among the "most profound things that...

A civil rights organization in Kansas has launched a campaign to designate Nov. 4 as a national holiday, commemorating the election of Barack Obama as president. "The reason why I want to have this holiday is because it marks the day America grew up," said Sonny Scroggins, founder and president of Bias Busters of Kansas, the organization pushing for the holiday. Scroggins told WND that America has for too long focused on what our ancestors did during legalized slavery, but the election of Obama shows that we no longer allow race and gender to be the deciding factors in guiding...