Free Republic

It’s hard to decide what’s more frustrating about Bruce Jenner’s decision play-act a woman named Caitlin: that we’re all supposed to ooh and aww over his new feminine face or curvy breasts (that look perkier than most), or that we’re supposed to act like this is at once fantastic and normal, brave and routine. Unfortunately for Jenner and society, it is neither. This is not only devastating for him, but for our culture—and the fact that few people will view it that way, and this publication will most likely get slammed for saying so, proves the point even more. What’s...

At the 1976 summer Olympics in Montréal, Bruce Jenner won the gold medal for the men’s decathlon, setting a world record with 8616 points. In July, Jenner will be honored with another award, this time for a much different “achievement.” On Monday, Time reported that at ESPN’s ESPY Awards, the former world’s greatest male athlete will receive the acclaimed Arthur Ashe Award for coming out as a transgender.

The current main pop-culture headline involves former Olympian Bruce Jenner “transitioning” into a woman. He’s on the cover of Vanity Fair as “Caitlyn,” and he’ll be receiving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2015 ESPY Awards. Sadly, a large segment of our culture celebrates that which shouldn’t be celebrated. Jenner needs compassion — he obviously has a significant mental affliction — but he certainly doesn’t deserve an award for courage. There’s nothing courageous about a man living as a woman. On a related note, transgender activists in Canada are now lobbying to abolish gender references from birth certificates. From...

In April, Bruce Jenner spoke about her transition to woman in a television special that drew nearly 17 million viewers. On Monday, that woman revealed her new identity, appearing as Caitlyn Jenner on the cover of Vanity Fair. The photograph of Ms. Jenner in a revealing outfit, shot by Annie Leibovitz and accompanied by the headline “Call Me Caitlyn,” immediately became a sensation on social media when the magazine posted the article online. Ms. Jenner, 65, who won an Olympic gold medal in the decathlon, has had a long public life. As Bruce Jenner, she had been on the cover...

A worker-owner of a Fargo coffee shop who instituted a tongue-in-cheek ban on North Dakota lawmakers for opposing an anti-discrimination bill says the response has been “99.9 percent positive” and that he made his point, even if a few people didn’t like it. Joe Curry, one of the worker-owners of the Red Raven Espresso Parlor, posted a newspaper page in the shop earlier this month that showed the 55 Republican state House members who rejected a bill that would have prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, government, public services and the workplace. It was accompanied by a sign...

The Army made her feel “like a joke” — but they couldn’t keep her silent. Chelsea Manning — formerly known as Bradley E. Manning — the ex-Army intelligence analyst sentenced to 35 years for leaking a treasure trove of secret documents to WikiLeaks, has given her first public interview with the press from military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Speaking through the mail to Cosmopolitan magazine, Manning opened up about her recent experience behind bars and her lifelong desire to live as a woman. “I don’t know how [this struggle] shaped my life and who I am, but it’s absolutely...

How can the religious community live in peace and harmony with the LGBT community? New York Times columnist Frank Bruni has the solution. Just rewrite the Bible. In his April 3rd column, “Bigotry, the Bible and the Lessons of Indiana,” Bruni, himself gay, recognizes that Christian beliefs are not necessarily grounded in hatred. The problem, he claims, is that, “Beliefs ossified over centuries aren’t easily shaken.” Bruni, for his part, wants to shake us free from our fossilized faith. According to Bruni, who evidences little or no understanding of how believers view the Scriptures (namely, as God’s inspired Word), if...

<p>Sissy Goodwin calls his cross-dressing lifestyle 'gender independence' After nearly seven decades in Wyoming, for much of that time facing heartbreak, discrimination and even physical violence, the cross-dresser has finally decided to leave the Cowboy State.</p> <p>Sissy Goodwin, who was profiled in the Los Angeles Times in 2013 for his insistence, despite an often-macho Western ethic, to lead the life he chooses -- as a man who prefers to dress in women's clothing -- is retiring in May from his job as a college science instructor in Casper.</p>

For a few days there it appeared that if a resident of Indiana had chosen to refrain from commerce with another person and was sued for discrimination, this resident could have found legal recourse to defend himself against the suit. This legal recourse was made possible by the passage on March 26th of IndianaÂ’s Religious Freedom and Restoration Act. Such was the media hysteria and attendant calls for economic sanctions against Indiana, however, that a few days later the RFRA was drastically amended. During the four days of hysteria, however, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill...

Her -- I think her -- twitter page says that her interests include "helping the world." Helping the world includes reporting as fraudulent a crowdfunding effort for a Christian family put out of business by leftwing hate.

The Boy Scouts' New York chapter said Thursday that it has hired the nation's first openly gay Eagle Scout as a summer camp leader, which is in public contrast to the national scouting organization's ban on openly gay adult members.

Update, April 3: The Indiana man who claims to have been hacked now admits that he wasn't, but says he was "joking" about robbing Memories Pizza, and is threatening to sue those who exposed his (ahem) public comments. Those of us following the Memories Pizza story won't have trouble remembering it as the years go by, thanks only partially to the Walkerton, Indiana store's fairly unusual name for a pizzeria. What will also easy to recall are the "memories" of the unhinged and threatening leftist behavior that accompanied its owner's simple statement that, if the request ever arose, they would...

Alevtina is one of several teachers who lost their jobs in St. Petersburg after being outed by an anti-gay activist. While most resigned quietly, the 27-year-old music teacher decided to fight her dismissal in court — an unusual step in Russia where gays have faced increasing pressure in recent years. The rising anti-gay sentiment has coincided with the passage of a controversial Russian law that prohibits exposing children to gay "propaganda." The law has made it easy to target teachers, because they work directly with children.

By signing a religious freedom bill that provoked a hail of criticism, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence did a brilliant job of diverting attention from something deserving of commendation. That same day, he took a wise step to contain an outbreak of HIV infections in southern Scott County. Since December, more than 80 new cases have been identified in the county. That's up from five in a normal year and the worst epidemic the state has ever seen. Pence was advised by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that stopping the epidemic would require opening a needle exchange --...

RUSH: So Alyssa Marino is an infobabe reporterette for ABC Eyeball News 57 in South Bend, Indiana. And she went shopping the other day. She got her crew and she went shopping for bigots. She wanted to find racists. She wanted to find anti-gay Christian zealots. She didn't have any evidence that there were any. There had been no news made about any anti-gay discrimination in Indiana. None. But that didn't matter. Because the news in Indiana is not real; it's fake, as was the news out of Ferguson, Missouri. As was the news at the University Virginia and the...

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday that he does not plan to sign the version of the religious freedom bill that currently sits on his desk and called on the state legislature to make changes before sending it back to him. Hutchinson, who called the issue "divisive" and cited his own son as an example of someone urging him to veto the bill, made the announcement during a Little Rock press conference Wednesday morning. The Arkansas House on Tuesday approved a religious freedom measure that mirrors the one Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed into law in Indiana -- sparking outrage...

WALKERTON, Ind. - A small-town pizza shop is saying they agree with Governor Pence and the signing of the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The O'Connor family, who owns Memories Pizza, says they have a right to believe in their religion and protect those ideals. “If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no,” says Crystal O'Connor of Memories Pizza. She and her family are standing firm in their beliefs. The O'Connor's have owned Memories Pizza in Walkerton for 9 years. It's a small-town business, with small-town ideals....

Tim Cook: Apple Will Oppose Bills Like Indiana's 'Religious Freedom' Law Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook on Sunday broadened his criticism of a new law in Indiana, which opponents say could be used to discriminate against gay people, to other states that he says have similar laws. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law Thursday, sparking an outcry from those, including Cook, who say it could be used to protect businesses that refuse to serve gay people. The law's supporters say it will prevent the government from forcing business owners from providing services that go...

GenCon, the world’s biggest convention for tabletop gaming and a massive moneymaking machine for the State of Indiana, has responded to a bill that legalizes discrimination against LGBT customers by threatening to leave the state—and take their $50 million-a-year convention elsewhere. This isn’t because GenCon is run by political progressives or “social justice warriors” trying to make a difference. It really, really isn’t. If GenCon leaves Indianapolis it’ll be for the same reason it came to Indianapolis and abandoned its original home of Wisconsin, the home state of founder of D&D Gary Gygax (peace be upon him). Because it makes...

Bob Jones III Apologizes For Saying Gays Should Be Stoned By Ed Payne, CNN March 23, 2015 (CNN)Three and a half decades after calling for homosexuals to be stoned, former Bob Jones University President Bob Jones III has apologized. "I take personal ownership of this inflammatory rhetoric," Jones said. "This reckless statement was made in the heat of a political controversy 35 years ago." The weekend apology came days after the conservative Christian school in South Carolina received a petition asking for an apology for a statement Jones made to the Associated Press in 1980 at the White House. "I'm...