Free Republic

A confession: Many years ago, I was an ultra-left liberal, a Marxist, in fact. As a newly minted attorney at law in New York, I joined the ACLU and volunteered serve as one of their lawyers. About six weeks later, they asked me to represent an American Nazi accused of inciting to riot. I refused. They were mightily put off, horrified in fact. They remonstrated. “But he has a right to counsel.” I said, “Maybe so, but he doesn’t have a right to me. I’m protected by the Thirteenth Amendment.” (The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary...

Radical activists in the gay community have put pedal to the metal to force gay acceptance from Christians -- making not only their position but also their tactics anti-Christian. They are deliberately targeting the Christian wedding industry -- the cakemakers, the caterers, the quaint bed-and-breakfast owners, and the like. They are headhunting Christians who refuse their business on moral grounds by slapping them with lawsuits or "human rights" complaints. Fascists would appreciate these tactics. Everyone witnessed the national shaming and death threats that came to Memories Pizza in Walkerton, Indiana, because the owners declined to cater a gay "wedding" --...

A Louisiana bill seeks to balance gay marriage with the religious freedom of those who oppose it. The "Marriage and Conscience Act," sponsored by Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Bossier City, would prevent the state from punishing people for actions they take regarding marriage due to their religious or moral convictions. The core section of the law states: "Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, this state shall not take any adverse action against a person, wholly or partially, on the basis that such person acts in accordance with a religious belief or moral conviction about the institution of marriage." Even though...

More philosophy from my Facebook. The last item might be the most provocative. Ironic. Feminists are going to rally around the woman who oversaw the slander and destruction of other women to suppress her meal ticket hubby's "bimbo eruptions." The sleazy, cynical lust for power certainly knows no gender barriers. Obama assures us he has a tight handle on the Mullah's nuclear shenanigans. This from the same guy who claims to learn what mischief his cabinet heads are up to from watching the news. 8-ish year old kid ready for the soccer game. His dad fogs him with a spray-can...

The Apple Watch Edition has already sold out in China — and it took less than an hour for the most luxurious gold version of the device, which reportedly costs ¥126,800 ($20,000) to get completely snapped up. Today, Apple put the Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch, and Edition up for pre-order in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, and China. Customers can now try on and buy the watches, but the company says people won't get them until weeks later in the UK — elsewhere, it could be longer. Relatively few will actually walk out of...

Liberal fire and brimstone rained down on Indiana after the legislature passed its new Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Riding a wave that has grown, since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, into a force against any right to be selective (always derogatorily described as “discriminating”), progressive liberals now seek to eliminate the basic right of Americans to choose to deal, or not deal, with homosexuals.... The real question is, why shouldn’t people be allowed to discriminate on the basis of what is known as sexual orientation? In a country where the right to associate is guaranteed, and the...

The Republican rout in the Battle of Indianapolis provides us with a snapshot of the correlation of forces in the culture wars. Faced with a corporate-secularist firestorm, Gov. Mike Pence said Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act would not protect Christian bakers or florists who refuse their services to same-sex weddings. And the white flag went up again. Politics follows culture. And the cultural revolution of the '60s is triumphant. Traditional Christianity, driven out of schools and the public square, is being whipped back into the churches and told to stay there. America has gone over to the revolution. Looking back,...

Conservatives know what to expect when the networks create shows about lawyers. From "L.A. Law" to "Ally McBeal," we've observed countless crusading liberal protagonists confront and defeat conniving corporate executives and other corrupt establishment villains. This seemed to describe "The Good Wife" on CBS over the past five years. But something interesting has happened over the past few weeks. Producers have introduced a wealthy conservative character named Reese Dipple, who engages seasoned liberal lawyer Diane Lockhart on the hot-button social issues of the day. As they say on cable TV, you won't believe what happens next. This debate began because...

The gay rights movement has tended to be a well-choreographed stage production over the last number of decades. Over time, behind the scenes, they pushed hard for gay characters in film and television. They pushed gay actors out of the closet and encouraged celebrations of diversity. A population that, according to the census, makes up less than 10 percent of the nation, gives the impression that it represents at least a quarter of the population. Many Americans are surprised by how few gay Americans there actually are. To its credit, the gay rights movement has worked hard to shift culture...

<p>Of fully 40 different demographic subgroups measured, the only one in which more people think businesses should have that right than shouldn’t is Republicans. And even among Republicans, it’s only a plurality who say so. There were no clear majorities for the right to refuse service on religious grounds among any group tested.</p>

At the White House Easter Prayer Breakfast this week, President Obama addressed a room full of Christian leaders. What was clearly scripted to be a general Easter address came dangerously close to political posturing. During his remarks, the President shared that, “on Easter, I do reflect on the fact that as a Christian, I am supposed to love. And I have to say that sometimes when I listen to less than loving expressions by Christians, I get concerned. But that's a topic for another day.” What followed was spirited laughter, as Obama’s quip was largely understood as a reference to...

The turmoil over the efforts by the State of Indiana to make lawful the decisions by operators of public accommodations to decline their services based on their stated religious views has died down because the legislature amended the offending parts of its legislation so that the new law prohibits denying services based on sexual orientation, yet its affirmations of religious liberty are meaningless. The statute as amended last week basically states that in Indiana all persons have the right to the free exercise of their religion, and if that right clashes with any other claimed right, the courts must take...

Let me start by saying "God Bless You" to all the parties I mention in this post. I sincerely wish peace and serenity, sanity and sobriety in the lives of everyone. I get a sense from emails I've received and comments on radio talks shows etc. etc. that the old "Beltway Conservative" machine is revved up to portray Republican politicians who have caved to the bad guys as good guys. I heard Mark Levin speak of Governor Mike Pence of Indiana as a "decent man". I've been told Governor Pence is a good guy in other places, too. I won't...

In a recent post about the small Indiana pizza shop that came under fire for the owners’ stand against catering a hypothetical gay wedding, Western Journalism told you about the amazing amount of money supporters donated to provide financial relief after bitter controversy and threats forced the family-owned restaurant to close. Memories Pizza, run by Kevin O’Connor and his daughter Crystal in the tiny town of Walkerton, Ind., plans to re-open on Wednesday. The O’Connors say they’re incredibly grateful for all the encouragement from friends and customers, and for the more than $842,000 that some 30,000 well-wishers donated through a...

I am a die hard defender of wearables. Back in September when I made the switch (one I regret) to a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 from my dead iPhone 5, I decided to get a smartwatch. After doing a bunch of research I decided to get the Samsung Gear Fit. As I've written before, I absolutely love this thing. I paid $107 for it and feel like it's been worth every penny. Notifications are fantastic — short, sweet, comprehensive, customizable. It's curved screen and bright display are stylish and attractive. Fitness tracking isn't perfect, but very solid. For $100 this...

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), a possible 2016 contender, is a relative unknown among voters; only 1 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents prefer him, according to the most recent Washington Post-ABC News poll. That could soon change. Following on the heels of contentious religious freedom bills in Indiana and Arkansas, Jindal said he plans to support his state's own bill. Judging from how Indiana's bill catapulted Gov. Mike Pence (R) to the national spotlight, Jindal could soon see the same thing happen for him — and not necessarily in a good way. But Louisiana's debate could be different in...

The opponents of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in Indiana were loud and organized. They received support from media, and from major money players like Salesforce and Apple. Aggressively, and without apology, they moved their narrative on RFRA and forced a "fix" that, in essence, guts the law's original intent. They won the battle, and they are happy. And, in the process, exposed their new view on freedom, equality and acceptance. Jonah Goldberg is right. Liberal Fascism is very real. Words like fascism, in today's America, end conversation before it can really begin (the same is true for words like...

The Old Media loathes the New Media as unreliable, but have no right to pass judgment. Increasingly, they are prone to leap into news stories based on their own liberal social media networks. Look no further than the new Indiana religious freedom law. They could not get enough of those angry tweets from Hillary Clinton and public-policy geniuses like Miley Cyrus. Based on Twitter, they touted a "growing outrage" from coast to coast and obsessed over Indiana's "bigotry" for days. Conservative social media also reacted forcefully to the Hoosier contretemps, but apparently it's too much to expect "objective" journalists to...

Just last month, Apple chief executive Tim Cook made headlines when he wrote a piece in The Washington Post, panning Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act as "very dangerous." Apple, Cook wrote, does not believe in discrimination and strives to "do business in a way that is just and fair." This month, the San Francisco Chronicle's Wendy Lee reported, Apple fired some construction workers at Apple Campus 2 in January because they had been convicted of felonies or face felony charges. Just and fair? Hardly. Apple would not respond on the record, but someone familiar with the matter said the Apple...

Hypocrisy: Those boycotting Indiana over gay wedding pizzas have no problem doing business with an Iran that hangs gays, stones women and wants to wipe Jews off the face of the Earth. And the Hoosier State doesn't even want nukes. Righteous, if somewhat selective, indignation is a hallmark of liberals, whether ensconced in Congress or corporate America, currently up in arms over the version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) enacted in Indiana and allegedly giving business owners a license to discriminate against gays. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and potential presidential contender Carly Fiorina punctured Apple CEO Tim Cook's balloon...