Free Republic

The uproar on the left over the Hobby Lobby decision has an explanation. That explanation is that we have allowed our understanding of what is meant by rights and liberties to become badly degraded. In fact, to simplify, the common understanding of rights has gotten into a condition of extreme labefactation. So to speak. The left tends to think of political rights in terms of stuff — the right to affordable housing, the right to health care, the right to contraception, and so on. Conservatives tend to think of political rights in terms of non-interference — the right to free...

What Is A Right? A right is the sovereignty to act without the permission of others. For full essay see: http://wp.me/p4sKpK-4

The United Nations has tapped as its next High Commissioner for Human Rights a Jordanian prince who has said that Palestinian suicide bombings are “no less horrific” than Israel’s efforts to prevent civilians from terror attacks. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon announced over the weekend that he has nominated Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein, a member of Jordan’s royal family and its current UN ambassador, as the next high commissioner, a senior official who monitors human rights across the globe. The post has been used in the past as a bully pulpit to target Israel for criticism over its...

by Gina Cassini | TopRight NewsOnce again, the anti-gun fanatics are running loose in our children's schools. And this time they are punishing a kid who did the right thing! As a mom, this one has steam coming out of my ears. First-grader Darin Simak goes to Martin Elementary in New Kensington, PA. On Wednesday he went to school just like any other day but, when he arrived, he realized there was a toy gun in his backpack. What did Darin do? Darin tried to do the right thing by immediately bringing the toy gun to his teacher and explained that “he...

Hallmark's Chairman Donald Hall, Jr.'s response to a letter from victims of gun violence and clergy asking that Hallmark publicly support Universal Background Checks (a background check for every gun sale) was, “We do not get involved in divisive issues.” Hallmark has ruffled the feathers of anti-gun extremists like the National Gun Victims Action Council (NGVAC). NGVAC has asked it's followers to boycott Hallmark and to call on sponsors to stop sponsoring the Hallmark Channel because of it. So, this Father's Day, if you don't believe MORE background checks will prevent criminals from getting guns, buy a Hallmark card.

Dr. Ben Carson, potential contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, has been enjoying near "rock star" status in ostensibly conservative circles. If that continues, "conservatives" had might as well give up trying to cast themselves as representing the "pro-gun" position, because Carson's stance on guns is one that would probably not displease the Brady Campaign. Carson first raised gun owners' hackles in March, 2013, when he blithely told Glenn Beck that the right to own semi-automatic firearms is contingent on where one lives. From Mediate: But when asked whether people should be allowed to own “semi-automatic weapons,” the...

A 14-year battle over the care of Feld Entertainment's circus elephants ended Thursday with the Humane Society of the United States and others paying a $15.75 million settlement.The lawsuit was filed by a company the Humane Society acquired, along with other animal rights groups, against Feld, parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, over the care of its 43 Asian elephants.The settlement follows $9.3 million that the American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals paid in 2012 for its connection to false claims against Feld in U.S. District Court in Washington."We hope this settlement payment,...

Whichever way the United States Supreme Court rules on Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, one fact has become abundantly clear. We are belatedly realizing that different forms of freedom are more dependent on each other than many have hitherto supposed. Who would have thought that the welfare state’s expansion in the guise of Obamacare—which, by definition, significantly reduces economic freedom—would directly impact the ability of individuals and groups to conduct their affairs in accordance with their deeply held religious beliefs? This, however, is precisely the reality confronting us. Most people are used to thinking of religious liberty as a prerequisite...

The Race Card... don't leave home without it.

It is actually illegal for two or more people to get together to do what they did to Brendan Eich. Title 18, Section 241 of the United States Code states as follows: If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or If two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or on...

In what critics are describing as a government land grab, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a change Tuesday to the Clean Water Act that would give it regulatory authority over temporary wetlands and waterways. The proposal immediately sparked concerns that the regulatory power could extend into seasonal ponds, streams and ditches, including those on private property. "The ... rule may be one of the most significant private property grabs in U.S. history," said Louisiana Sen. David Vitter, the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The EPA proposal would apply pollution regulations to the country's so-called "intermittent...

A report released Tuesday by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform asserted that ex-IRS official Lois Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment rights. Lerner continues to stonewall California Rep. Darrell Issa’s committee, pleading the Fifth again in a divisive Oversight hearing last Wednesday convened to get to the bottom of the IRS’ improper targeting of conservative groups between 2010 and 2012. Oversight member Rep. Jim Jordan told The Daily Caller that the committee is “moving” toward holding Lerner in contempt of Congress to compel her to testify. “I think that’s where we’re moving,” Jordan said. “I think that’s where...

Today the conservative talkers are jawing about the supposed "balance" between a person's right not to be discriminated against, and a business owner's rights of conscience. But the problem, you see, is that the first thing is not a right. I don't have a right to force people to like me. Or to hire me. Or to sell something to me. Someone will say that I do indeed have those rights, as created by the Courts or the Congress or Eric Holder (Fleas Be Upon Him). But the government cannot create rights. Only God can grant rights. And a government...

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton said Sunday that the gay-rights cause made "incredible progress" on political and legal fronts in 2013, but progress should not be mistaken for success. Clinton called lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues "the unfinished business of the 21st century" in an address at a national conference in Las Vegas where actress Ellen Page came out as gay days earlier in an emotional speech that's stirred a social media outpouring. Clinton urged a crowd of 600 professionals who work with children to become more sensitive to the needs of LGBT youth, saying the deck is stacked...

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Some Greensboro City Council members are having their trust of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum tested again after learning no one representing the museum ever signed loan papers. The loan from the city was for $1.5 million and wouldn’t have had to be paid back if certain conditions were met. The city paid the museum the first half of it — $750,000 — in October, but today the council learned the loan papers were never signed. Some council members are wondering if the city should ask for the money back.

This week, the Kansas House of Representatives passed House Bill 2453, "An act concerning religious freedoms with respect to marriage." Despite its name, this bill isn't about religious freedom. It's about creating new special rights (yes, those dreaded special rights) for people with anti-gay views. The bill would protect the ability of any individual, government agency, or "religious entity" (which includes a business operated in accordance with owner's religious views) to refuse service based on sincere religious beliefs about sex or gender, and to refuse to recognize any marriage or similar arrangement for those reasons — even if such service...

NEW YORK — A Staten Island community group says a project to raise the Bayonne Bridge violates the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 by exposing minority residents of the island's north shore to toxins without providing any offsetting economic benefits.

Del. Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, has introduced a bill that would give farmers and landowners’ property rights remedies against local zoning laws. The bill is inspired by the Martha Boneta debacle last year. But unlike last year’s “Boneta Bill,” HB1219 extends beyond farmers to anyone who owns property. The bill also tackles other issues such as the constitutional rights of farmers. HB1219 says that local governments that violate constitutional rights through zoning must pay their victims the amount of the fines they sought to impose and the actual damages, including attorney fees. The bill also allows the Virginia Attorney General to...

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service should take steps to restore public trust in its work, including adopting a taxpayer bill of rights that clearly states individuals' rights to fair treatment from the tax agency, an IRS watchdog said on Thursday. With its reputation for political neutrality hurt by a 2013 uproar over its treatment of conservative political groups, the IRS needs to reassure Americans of their tax rights, said the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an oversight arm of the agency.

While some “journalists” would have you believe the biggest stories of 2013 were about twerking celebrities and over-hyped real-life courtroom sagas, much bigger events were happening with far more lasting national significance. The foundation of an American police state is already laid and making its existence known, while most of the country remains blissfully focused on sports, reality shows, establishment pseudo-news, and other distractions. It would require an encyclopedia to cover all of the injustices, scandals, and brutality that took place in 2013. This list is designed to illustrate certain trends and significant stories from the past year. If Americans...