Free Republic

In our federal system, states should be able to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Friday joined an amicus brief on behalf of 57 members of Congress in support of the right of states to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The brief was filed in four cases that the Supreme Court will jointly hear on April 28, 2015, in which same-sex couples challenge the marriage laws of Ohio, Tennessee, Michigan, and Kentucky, all of which were upheld by the U.S....

A bill that sets up a regulatory framework in Oklahoma for ridesharing programs such as Uber and Lyft passed the state Senate on Wednesday, but not before a provision protecting gay and transgender passengers from discrimination was removed. The version of the "Oklahoma Transportation Network Company Services Act" that passed the Republican-controlled Senate on a 35-11 vote defines such companies as those that use a digital network or software application to connect passengers and drivers. The House-passed version of the bill included language that prohibited the companies from discriminating against customers based on sexual orientation or gender identity. But Sen....

Police in Edmond, Oklahoma have not identified any suspects in connection with the reported placement of raw bacon on the door handles of a mosque. Officers were called Sunday afternoon to the Islamic Society of Edmond, where a mosque trustee reported that “someone put uncooked bacon on the door handles of the men's and women's mosques” earlier in the day. Muslims are prohibited from consuming bacon and other pork products. The mosque official, who contacted police at 4 PM, told officers that the vandalism was discovered at 10 AM. An Edmond Police Department report does not indicate why six hours...

<p>EDMOND, Oklahoma - The Oklahoma chapter of Council on American-Islamic relations wants state and federal law enforcement to investigate after bacon strips were found wrapped on the door handles of an Edmond mosque.</p>

In America's latest police shooting white millionaire volunteer Bob Bates, 73, says he shot dead black suspect Eric Harris after accidentally using his gun instead of a Taser A white septuagenarian police reservist who gunned down an unarmed black suspect has been cleared of wrongdoing by his force in the latest fatal shooting to shock America. Bob Bates, 73, a millionaire insurance executive, was accused by the victim's family of being a "pay to play cop" who was allowed to go along on police operations after he donated equipment, including cars and guns, to the Tulsa County Sheriff's Department in...

Authorities identified the shooter as 73-year-old reserve deputy Robert Bates and said he meant to use his stun gun. Link to article: http://nypost.com/2015/04/13/black-suspect-fatally-shot-after-cop-mistook-gun-for-stun-gun/

One of the U.S. Senate’s most outspoken conservative leaders, Sen. Ted Cruz, officially confirmed today for the Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) in Oklahoma City in May. Cruz is the ninth national leader and 2016 presidential candidate to confirm for the conference behind Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, former Sen. Rick Santorum, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Dr. Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, Donald Trump and Ambassador John Bolton. OKGOP Chairman Dave Weston noted, "Sen. Cruz’s recent announcement for president has created quite a buzz among Republican voters. We’re excited he’ll be joining us for the SRLC, as...

Two of the country’s most powerful and politically influential labor unions are backing President Obama in the recent court challenge to his 2014 executive action on illegal immigration, saying they support the president’s effort because "undocumented workers" need more workplace protection and their participation helps the U.S. economy. The AFL-CIO and the National Education Association on Monday each filed so-called amicus briefs in a federal appeals court case in which Texas and 26 other states are challenges the president’s 2014 memorandum on illegal immigration. The memorandum essentially expands work authorization and delayed-deportation programs for illegal immigrants. And it provides similar...

An Oklahoma man's last few moments alive after he was accidentally shot last week by a deputy who meant to stun him with a Taser is seen in disturbing video released by police Friday. "He shot me! He shot me, man. Oh, my god. I'm losing my breath," Eric Harris says as he struggles on the ground with police on top of him. "F--- your breath," an officer can be heard saying. "Shut the f--- up!" Reserve Deputy Robert Bates, 73, shouted "Taser! Taser!" before pulling the trigger on his gun, firing one round into Harris. "I shot him!" the...

When Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky kicks off his campaign for president on Tuesday, one of the people who will endorse him and share the stage is former Representative J.C. Watts, one of the few black Republicans to have served in Congress. Mr. Watts is expected to be a vocal surrogate for Mr. Paul, who has made clear he is trying to show he can broaden the Republican Party’s base to newer voters. “Senator Paul has shown what I have always believed, a leader can be a strong economic and social conservative and yet be concerned about the least of...

Many scientists disagree. They say those quakes, and thousands of others before and since, are mainly the work of humans, caused by wells used to bury vast amounts of wastewater from oil and gas exploration deep in the earth near fault zones. And they warn that continuing to entomb such huge quantities risks more dangerous tremors — if not here, then elsewhere in the state’s sprawling well fields.

This afternoon, Fact Check.org produced a fact-check that ostensibly criticizes U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) for his contention that there has never been an instance of ground water contamination caused by hydraulic fracturing. Of course, this piece isn’t really about Inhofe at all; but before we get into that, we can’t help but wonder why they are fact-checking Inhofe and not former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson … or Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz … or Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell — all of whom have said exactly the same thing. Rather than a “fact-check,” it reads more like an advocacy...

A survey commissioned by environmental group Greenpeace has spectacularly backfired as it revealed that more people support fracking than oppose it.

Hydraulic fracking, the technique that extracts oil and natural gas from shale formations, has caused a plunge in energy prices and is a bright spot in an otherwise moribund American economy. Naturally, President Obama wants to clamp down federal regulations on the process, at least on Federal lands, according to Politico. But Breitbart reported on Thursday that Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas and Rep. Joe Bridenstine, R-Oklahoma, are proposing a different approach in the form of the American Energy Renaissance Act. The Obama administration’s new anti-fracking measures have two purposes. First, they are mean to cater to the environmental lobby, which...

Oklahoma residents whose homes and nerves have been shaken by an upsurge in earthquakes want to know what’s causing the temblors—and what can be done to stop them.Hundreds of people are expected to turn out in Edmond, Oklahoma, on Thursday night for a town hall meeting on the issue. […] Oklahoma recorded nearly 150 between January and the start of May. Though most have been too weak to cause serious damage or endanger lives, they’ve raised suspicions that the shaking might be connected to the oil and gas drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, especially the wells in which the...

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) is the only major Republican likely 2016 presidential candidate who hasn't weighed in on the controversy over Indiana's "religious freedom" law that erupted this week — and his explanation for avoiding the issue is questionable.

I never wake up in the morning thinking, “Today, I need to find something super dumb liberals are complaining about and expose their stupidity.” No. Not at all. It just happens. And I couldn’t even make this stuff up if I tried. So this Wednesday’s edition of Wackjob Feminist Wednesday has an added bonus. Racism! In a University of Oklahoma op-ed, a woman complains about nude bras. Because nude bras are clearly a subtle sign of racism toward women of color.

AMMAN, JORDAN – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and a delegation of senior lawmakers met with His Majesty King Abdullah II on Sunday during a visit to Jordan where talks focused on Iranian-backed violence in the region and the growing terrorist threat. King Abdullah hosted the delegation for a luncheon at Beit al-Urdun Palace. Lawmakers also met with U.S. Ambassador Alice Wells, Nasser Judeh, Jordan’s Foreign Minister, as well as senior embassy officials. Discussions focused on two major trends in the region: the violence caused by Iran’s allies and proxies, and the spreading of the terrorist threat. There was also...

After investigating a racist chant sung by Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity brothers on their way to an SAE Founders Day event, University of Oklahoma officials have concluded that members of the fraternity learned the words at a leadership event hosted by SAE’s national headquarters four years earlier. The university found that the chant migrated to Oklahoma and had become “part of the institutionalized culture of the chapter” and its pledging process, implying that it was not a song belonging to a small number of people and instead was part of the fraternity’s recent traditions.

One person was killed Wednesday and several other people were injured, at least one of them critically, when a series of “extremely dangerous” tornadoes ripped through the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area, emergency officials said.