Free Republic

After airing an interview clip of Sarah Palin telling Fox News' Greta Van Susteren that she was looking for guidance from God about running for national office again, an appalled Chris Matthews called it "troubling," when he let loose this rant on Tuesday's "Hardball": Is, is this commentary about theocracy and going to God for approval? We've been through that with President Bush who said he, "didn't take advice from his father, he got it from another father." And we've been through this sort of Joan of Arc period. Are we gonna get another piece of this where God's leading...

PEARL, Miss. -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi said Friday that it had received numerous reports from throughout the state from parents and students regarding alleged violations of students’ free speech following Tuesday’s election, Jackson television news station WAPT reported. On Thursday, the Pearl Schools superintendent said that a school bus driver and a coach were disciplined for allegedly telling students not to say President-elect Barack Obama’s name. Reporters with 16 WAPT News received several calls from upset parents that said a school bus driver told the children on a Pearl school bus that if they said Obama’s...

Arizona’s Supreme Court chief justice has agreed to enforce the Hispanic Bar Association’s demands of banning the terms “illegal” and “aliens” in all of the state’s courtrooms. Claiming that the terms are inflammatory, the president of Arizona’s Hispanic Bar Association, (known as Los Abogados) has asked state Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor to stop using them at trials or hearings because they create perceptions of judicial bias. In a strongly worded letter to the chief justice, Los Abogados’ president says attaching an illegal status to a person establishes a brand of contemptibility, creates the appearance of anti-immigrant prejudice and...

A gay rights grouip is demanding an apology from a cartoon character on "The Simpsons" for uttering a homophobic slur on the show's Halloween episode. Nelson Muntz, the goofball bully on the hit Fox show, set off a firestorm Sunday night by insulting his nerdy classmate Milhouse Van Houten by saying, "That's so gay." While Nelson's verbal poke at Milhousewas meant to get laughs, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) responded with a rebuke...

Sony's Little Big Planet is one of the most high-profile releases of this holiday season. Developer Media Molecule has seen its game go from indie darling to AAA system-seller in the past year, thanks to the many appearances that the game has made at trade shows and events. However, fans of the game are going to have to wait slightly longer to get it. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has announced that it is recalling the game from retailers after it learned that the soundtrack featured some Arabic-language lines from the Qur'an backed with music. A SCEE representative also confirmed to...

When I was a kid, rumor had it that “antidisestablishmentarianism” was the longest word in the English language. I actually looked it up once, and discovered it had something to do with the status of the Church of England — which sort of took the fun out of the word. But in college, I decided I liked the idea of defending the establishment against those who sought to disestablish it. Well, I’m older now, and have consorted a bit with various establishments. To know them is not to love them. I’m now a disestablishmentarian. I’ve come to believe that, to...

QUEERLY BELOVED California bans 'brides,' 'grooms' License rejected for couple seeking traditional marriage Posted: September 08, 2008 9:05 pm Eastern By Chelsea Schilling © 2008 WorldNetDaily ROSEVILLE, Calif. – "Brides" and "grooms" are no longer allowed to marry in the State of California. That privilege is only extended to individuals who allow themselves to be called "Party A" and "Party B" on marriage licenses. Pastor Doug Bird of Abundant Life Fellowship in Roseville, Calif., was alarmed to find the state now rejects the traditional terms after he officiated his first marriage ceremony last week following the California Supreme Court decision...

What 'culture war'? At the conventions, they'll try to stir up red-blue divisions. But most Americans hold un-partisan views. By Dick Meyer August 27, 2008 As the nation's attention reluctantly turns to the political parties' conventions, with their scripted suspense and stage-managed sentiment, it is important to keep in mind that these are phony representations of American political life. But the slick video profiles, the teary appearance of a beloved party elder -- these are not what is most phony about the conventions. This gathering of America's civic tribes -- and the reporters who love them -- in separate cities...

The Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) of the European Union (EU) has called for new regulations that would equalize the legal status of married heterosexual couples with that of same-sex couples. It also recommends "promoting the visibility of homosexuality and other gender identities and criminalizing homophobia.” “Prejudicial attitudes are stifling the gay lifestyle,” according to the authors of the 165 page FRA report. “Therefore, we recommend a two-pronged approach.” The first “prong” is labeled the “carrot.” Under its provisions, funds will be advanced to entities promoting homosexuality. “It is especially important that children’s literature be rewritten to help establish the point...

At a recent writers conference in Southern California, one of my colleagues on a screenwriters panel told the crowd of about 50 people that she hoped Barack Obama would win the presidency. A number of people applauded. When it was my turn to speak, I politely said that I disagreed with her politics and moved on to other topics. There was no applause for me, but several writers approached me afterward. Each dropped his voice to a whisper and, looking around to make sure no one would overhear, said, "Thank you for saying that." Which raises a question for all...

On Sunday, July 27, 2008 a man named Jim David Adkisson walked into the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, killed two worshipers, and wounded seven before being subdued by church-goers. At first, the story seemed like another case of a disturbed individual wanting to create mayhem for no particular rhyme or reason. These types of occurrences have almost become commonplace in our society. From attacks in schools, churches, and the workplace, it is evident in today's culture that no place is safe from those who seek fame by killing their fellow man. However, the Knoxville, Tennessee shooting, from...

Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) is installing software which monitors diversity in all law firms it uses, regularly and just-in-time. Those firms falling short of Wal-Mart's diversity target numbers will be terminated. That move by Wal-Mart, which sets policy for how global supply chains are managed, will in itself radically change the composition of law firms - and eventually law schools.

Bureaucrats at the American Physical Society (APS) have issued a curious warning to their members about an article in one of their own publications. Don't read this, they say - we don't agree with it. But what is it about the piece that is so terrible, that like Medusa, it could make men go blind? It's an article that examines the calculation central to climate models. As the editor of the APS's newsletter American Physics Jeffrey Marque explains, the global warming debate must be re-opened. "There is a considerable presence within the scientific community of people who do not...

Save the Children by: Deborah Lambert, July 17, 2008 First it was dodge ball, then it was tag. Now it is sack races and three-legged races that might cause children harm. These games were recently cancelled right before an Edwardian-themed school sports day, which affected hundreds of kids, according to the London Telegraph. The move was criticized as “completely over the top.” But teachers at the John F. Kennedy Primary School in Washington, Tyne and Wear, defended the decision, saying that although games that involved running and hopping would still be played, the cancellation of the three legged-race and sack...

In yesterday's item on the New Yorker cover cartoon kerfuffle, we observed: "A cartoon of Obama inspires fury and outrage. A cartoon of McCain leads everyone to shrug. Obama is being treated like Muhammad, McCain like Jesus." It turns out there was another McCain cartoon with offensive elements that went completely unnoticed, lending further weight to our McCain-Jesus linkage. This one depicts a crazed-looking McCain trapped in a bamboo cage, being tormented by his captors: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee (whoever he is), all of whom are drawn with exaggerated Oriental features: thin eyes, yellowish skin, coolie hats....

Usually, when a journalist is censored in a Western nation, American news organizations respond with collective outrage. But as a major attack on press freedom unfolds in Canada, America’s mainstream media are silent. Neither the TV networks nor the major newspapers have reported on hearings last week at what amounts to a Stalinesque show trial in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mark Steyn, a Canadian journalist who now lives in New Hampshire and whose column appears in National Review magazine as well as several U.S. and Canadian newspapers, is facing charges before British Columbia’s Human Rights Tribunal. His crime? Spreading “hatred.” The...

<p>Eastwood has no time for Lee's gripes. "He was complaining when I did Bird [the 1988 biopic of Charlie Parker]. Why would a white guy be doing that? I was the only guy who made it, that's why. He could have gone ahead and made it. Instead he was making something else." As for Flags of Our Fathers, he says, yes, there was a small detachment of black troops on Iwo Jima as a part of a munitions company, "but they didn't raise the flag. The story is Flags of Our Fathers, the famous flag-raising picture, and they didn't do that. If I go ahead and put an African-American actor in there, people'd go, 'This guy's lost his mind.' I mean, it's not accurate." Lee shouldn't be demanding African-Americans in Eastwood's next picture, either. Changeling is set in Los Angeles during the Depression, before the city's make-up was changed by the large black influx. "What are you going to do, you gonna tell a fuckin' story about that?" he growls. "Make it look like a commercial for an equal opportunity player? I'm not in that game. I'm playing it the way I read it historically, and that's the way it is. When I do a picture and it's 90% black, like Bird, I use 90% black people."</p>

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that paper money illegally discriminates against the blind and ordered an immediate ban on its use. “Government services must be equally accessible to all Americans,” the Court wrote. “Since paper money is inaccessible to blind, it must be made inaccessible to everyone.” The Court rejected the demand that it was responsible for identifying a substitute for the now illegal currency, but suggested, unofficially, that “we might try bartering. Goods-for-goods exchange allows for tactile identification of the items in trade. This might pass muster in any future litigation of...

It was somehow fitting that my suburban community college was embroiled in a religious controversy at the height of our annual “winter festival” season. Thanksgiving, of course, survives as Thanksgiving on our campus, even though too many among us have no deity to thank or neglect to thank the one we barely remember. Christmas, to be fair, survives as well, but it has not survived in the official parlance of a state school. As a result, from sometime in early December until students finish their final exams (in time to celebrate, dare it be said, Christmas), our campus is home...

Louisville, KY -- The term “politically correct,” is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary thus: “Of, relating to, or supporting broad social, political, and educational change, especially to redress historical injustices in matters such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation.” Add to that litany of “historical injustices” the title of my New York Times bestseller: “American Heroes in the Fight Against Radical Islam.” In recent weeks, the vocabulary police opened a new front in the war on terror by issuing a list of “do’s” and “don’ts” for terrorism terminology. In an effort to fight a “kinder, gentler” war on...

If everyone from Al Gore to Newt Gingrich thinks global warming is indeed a serious problem. Why aren't they and the media allowing the opposing views to be given? The scientists who disagree with them are seldom seen or heard from. Why? Repercussions? That there has been a virtual black out on the opposing view is troubling to me.

Beijing - The son of American evangelist Billy Graham said Friday he is opposed to missionary work at this summer's Beijing Olympic Games. Franklin Graham, also an evangelist, was speaking to reporters Friday during a visit to Beijing for meetings with the Communist Party-controlled Protestant church movement. He said he wanted to encourage authorities to resolve conflicts with the church, but would not criticize policies that critics say limit the church's independence and religious rights. While some Christian groups have said they plan to proselytize during the August games, Graham said he was against that because Chinese law does not...

The practice of political correctness may soon be tallying another casualty: the pig. Increasingly, as America and the rest of the Western world continue accommodating Muslim religious demands, pork food products are being singled out for removal from dining tables and pig-related trinkets banished from the desks of office workers. If this continues, good ol’ American food, such as barbeque replete with hot dogs and ribs and the typical American breakfast of eggs, bacon and sausage, might be seen as the equivalent of political poison. Could outright censorship of pig depictions in drawings, pig references in literary works and pig...

Gallup says only 7 percent of the world's Muslims are political radicals. Yet 36 percent think the 9/11 attacks were in some way justified.On the inside back cover of books published by Gallup Press there is the following breathtaking statement: Gallup Press exists to educate and inform the people who govern, manage, teach and lead the world's six billion citizens. Each book meets Gallup's requirements of integrity, trust and independence and is based on a Gallup-approved science and research. Don't be distracted by the bad grammar. Focus instead on Gallup's "requirements of integrity, trust and independence." Thanks to a remarkable...

Words matter, and in the global war on terror we are losing the battle of words, in a self-inflicted defeat. The consequences could not be more profound. Recent government policy memoranda, circulating through the national counter-terrorism and diplomatic community, establishes a new "speech code" for the lexicon in the war on terror, as reported by the Associated Press and now available in the public domain . These new "speech codes" recommended that analysts and policy makers avoid the terms jihad or jihadist or mujhadid or "al-Qaida movement" and replace them with "extremists" and by extension other non-specific terms. The use...

Imagine that following the bombing of Peal Harbor in December 1941, that FDR had prohibiting the use of the terms "Nazi" or "Japanese Imperialism" due to pressure brought to bear by German and Japanese-American lobbying groups. Or at the height of the Cold War that the US government had determined to ban the use of "Soviet" or "communism" for fear of offending the sensibilities of Russian-Americans or European socialists. Yet that is precisely what has happened following the revelation last week by the Associated Press that the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security has issued guidelines banning the...

The Kent Gardens Elementary School in McLean, Virginia has placed a ban on the school yard game of tag—alleging that it “sends the wrong message.” “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to comfort a weeping child who didn’t want to be ‘it,’” said Vice-Principal Pat Keister. “The game is too stressful and competitive. This contradicts the message of love and affection we are trying to convey through the free condom distribution program for our fifth-graders.”

Bush administration targets language in war on terrorism WASHINGTON - Don't call them jihadists any more. And don't call al-Qaida a movement. The Bush administration has launched a new front in the war on terrorism, this time targeting language. Federal agencies, including the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counter Terrorism Center, are telling their people not to describe Islamic extremists as "jihadists" or "mujahedeen," according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Lingo like "Islamo-fascism" is out, too. The reason: Such words may actually boost support for radicals among Arab and Muslim audiences by giving...

Recently, in a Chicago suburb, a village trustee was issued a citation for disorderly conduct when she informed two less than discerning parents that the trees of the village were to be respected as elements of nature, not utilized like playground equipment. The citation was issued after the parents mistook verbiage used as that of being racist. It should be disturbing to all of us that a citation was issued because of words used in a non-aggressive fashion. Even more disturbing is that our society is willing to disregard free speech rights in pursuit of political correctness. On seeing two...

While many on the left are super-sensitive when it comes to any inference of voter disenfranchisement or coercion, their thin skins have emerged when it comes to the ongoing charge of liberal indoctrination in academia, demonstrated by the current rise of all things Obamanation. How else to debunk a conspiracy theory on liberal indoctrination in schools? Try a survey conducted by academics. According to the Associated Press, “The research, to be published later this year in the journal PS: Political Science and Politics, analyzes separate surveys on the attitudes of about 6,800 students at 38 universities and how they changed...

Via Matt Drudge we learn that an appeals court in California has ruled that parents can only homeschool their children if they hold a valid teaching credential. Forget, for now, about the incredible infringement upon individual liberty this is. Or the hubris of those who assert that only WE know, and only WE have the right to dictate, what your child should be taught. Forget the objective evidence that homeschooled kids get an actual education at least as good as, if not usually better than, that doled out by the public school system. Forget what this means for kids who...

To: watchdog “at” barackobama.com, media “at” barackobama.com, cc: njdc “at” njdc.org, info “at” njdc.org We direct your attention to this New York Sun article Farrakhan Lauds Obama as ‘Hope’ of World By Associated Press February 25, 2008 In his first major public address since a cancer crisis, Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam said yesterday that a presidential candidate, Senator Obama, is the “hope of the entire world” that America will change for the better. The Chicago Tribune adds http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-farrakhan25feb25,0,6391391.story Speaking to thousands of members of the Nation of Islam at their annual convention Sunday in Chicago, Minister...

Mayor kicks Marines out of Toledo 1-24th Marines were scheduled for weekend urban warfare training in downtown Toledo, when Carty gave them the boot By Darsha Philips Posted: Saturday, February 09, 2008 at 2:05 p.m. TOLEDO, OH -- Mayor Carty Finkbeiner on Friday ordered some 200 members of Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines from Grand Rapids, Michigan, out of Toledo just before the unit was suppose to start a weekend of urban warfare training downtown. The mayor’s spokesperson Brian Schwartz said, “the mayor asked them to leave because they frighten people. He did not want them practicing and drilling...

Ecofeminist Perspectives by: Bethany Stotts, February 05, 2008 The readings presented by the panelists encompassed a strange synthesis of Marxism, feminism, environmentalism, and lesbianism, which they argued were in ideological continuity....Neocolonial Postnationalism “Land remains the common ground for all radical action. But land is more than the rocks and trees, the animal, and plantlife...For immigrant and native alike, land is also the factories where we work, the water our children drink, and the housing project where we live. For women, lesbians, and gay men, land is that physical mass called our bodies,” Professor LaRochelle read, quoting Moraga. Moraga also wrote...

The Spartans worshipped many Gods. The Persians only one - Ahura Mazda. Zoroastranism a faith which led to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Spartans despised democracy. They fought for generations against the Athenians because of their devout hatred towards the concept. The Persians allowed democratic reign, freedom for Satrips and anyone within the empire. Cyrus the Great the founder of the Persian Empire is mentioned 23 times in the Bible and is the only figure dubbed the 'anointed' Cyrus is mentioned some 23 times in the literature of the Old Testament. Isaiah refers to Cyrus as Jehovah’s “shepherd,” the Lord’s...

Most diversity training efforts at American companies are ineffective and even counterproductive in increasing the number of women and minorities in managerial positions, according to an analysis that turns decades of conventional wisdom, government policy and court rulings on their head. A comprehensive review of 31 years of data from 830 mid-size to large U.S. workplaces found that the kind of diversity training exercises offered at most firms were followed by a 7.5 percent drop in the number of women in management. The number of black, female managers fell by 10 percent, and the number of black men in top...

  Introduction Many people like to find relief from the oppressive regime of political correctness by indulging in offensive, inappropriate and completely insensitive behavior. This type of humor is best when it's good-natured rather than malicious, but be careful whom you offend. Instructions Difficulty: Easy Things You'll Need Running ShoesEtiquette Books (ignore As You Please) Joke Books Steps 1 - Step One Speak of women as sexual objects and refer to men as witless Neanderthals.   2 - Step Two Find out about various stereotypes and make offensive jokes out of them. There are many stereotypes to choose from, including...

Francisco Nava '09 was physically attacked by two men in Princeton Township yesterday evening, sustaining a concussion but no other serious injuries. The assault comes on the heels of several threatening messages recently sent to Nava, apparently in connection with his involvement with the socially conservative Anscombe Society. Nava was walking from a borrowed car to the house of a boy he is mentoring when he was stopped by a man dressed in black and wearing a ski cap. According to Nava, the man said that someone was hurt and asked for his help. A second assailant, who was waiting...

'I 'd like a one-way air fare to New York on the next available flight. I have no luggage. Could you make sure the ticket is refundable … in case I change my mind?" I was standing at the Delta shuttle counter at Washington's Reagan National Airport, dressed in my Saudi burka. "Sure, no problem," the clerk replied brightly. "Do you have Skymiles?" "Uh, no." "I'll need some form of identification." I handed her my driver's licence, which showed the occupant of the black tent to be a blonde, blue-eyed resident of the District of Columbia. "Thanks." Tap, tap, tap...

For My Democratic Friends: (Both of you!) Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to observe religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year beginning the upcoming January 1st and ending...

Representing 38% of all voters, white men represent the second largest block in the American electorate, after white females. It is these 97 million white males to whom the Republican Party owes it electoral success in five out of the last seven presidential campaigns. The reason is simple: White males have abandoned the Democratic Party in droves. While the liberal media consistently depict the gender gap as a Republican liability, in fact, the gap has long worked to the advantage of the G.O.P. This media misportrayal is the subject of David Paul Kuhn’s recent book, The Neglected Voter: White Men...

Everybody knows Santa’s jolly laugh, but these days some want Santa to just say no to “Ho, Ho, Ho.” In Australia Santa has been banned from saying ho, ho, ho because the word "ho" is slang for the word "whore" or a not-so-nice girl. Rappers have long been criticized for using the term in songs and we all know what happened to Don Imus when he used it in a joke about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. So, this year, when Santa visits the land down under, instead of saying ho, ho, ho, he must now say ha, ha,...

The Problem of Offense by: Bethany Stotts, November 28, 2007 Offense is a “psychological construct,” argued University of Nevada-Reno Adjunct Psychology Professor William O’Donohue at an American Enterprise Institute (AEI) conference on the politically-correct university. He noted that proponents of political correctness often do so in order to reduce offense, yet define political correctness so broadly and inconsistently as to encompass Aleutian Islanders while excluding the oft-persecuted Jews. These inconsistencies inherent to politically-correct ideology require proponents to simultaneously uphold contradictory doctrines, argued George Mason University Professor Jeremy Mayer at the conference. “To be liberal on a college campus today...

Sesame Street: not suitable for childrenHadley Freeman Monday November 26, 2007 The Guardian Thrillingly, the early episodes of Sesame Street have just been released on DVD, but be warned - those shows are dangerous! Slapped across the front of the case is the message, "These early Sesame Street episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today's preschool child." And looking at the wobbly sets and be-stringed puppets, they probably are better suited to sentimental adults than kids raised on Pixar. But this sticker is an expression of concern. It's not the psychedelic nature of the...

A second night of riots by youths in a Paris suburb left more than 80 police injured, buildings gutted and France on Tuesday facing heightened tensions in towns north of the capital. Late into the night, around 100 young men again hurled petrol bombs and bricks at police in the town of Villiers le Bel, where on Sunday two teenagers were killed in a motorbike collision with a police car. Faced with the worst eruption of urban violence since the riots of 2005, President Nicolas Sarkozy was to chair a special meeting on the unrest on Wednesday, after returning from...

In Chandler Arizona (a suburb of Phoenix) there is a serial rapist on the loose. All of the 12-15 year old girls who have been raped by this man have given a similar description. The suspect is described as Hispanic, 5-feet-8, wearing a white t-shirt and jeans and boots. The police are sharing this information with all the local media in the hopes of getting some information from the public that will help catch this son-of-a-bitch. But local Spanish language radio stations are refusing to include the word “Hispanic” in the description because they feel it unfairly targets the Hispanic...

Board pulls out of program; Organizers try to understand reasoning Posted By Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles The Nugget Posted 10 hours ago Rose Haufe doesn't buy the reason given by the area's largest school board to no longer support Operation Christmas Child. The Powassan resident told The Nugget Tuesday the project is "simply caring for people and is beyond any religious boundaries." "I'm trying to think of their motivation, but I can't think of why they wouldn't want to do this," Haufe said. "When a child gives they never forget. It's a lesson they need to learn. It teaches them there's others...

Holiday task force gives decoration suggestions for city This article discusses a proposal by the city of Fort Collins, CO to establish a task force to consider policies related to city-sponsored holiday displays. The "educational and multicultural" display would represent both religious and non-religious celebrations that occur between Nov 1 and Jan 30.

A $104 million dollar hockey arena may be forced to remove hundreds of images of "The Fighting Sioux," the logo and nickname of the University of North Dakota for more than 70 years, if officials can't reach an agreement with tribal councils. The university, according to a settlement last month of a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association, has three years to negotiate an agreement with two North Dakota Sioux tribes — Spirit Lake and Standing Rock — to receive approval for the continued use of the "Sioux" name and logo. If an agreement is not reached by 2011,...

"Hate speech is verbal communication that induces anger due to the listener’s inability to offer an intelligent response."