Free Republic

A divided Supreme Court on Monday dealt a significant blow to the Obama administration's environmental agenda, invalidating a rule that would limit the release of mercury and other pollutants from power plants. In a 5-4 ruling, the Court found that the Environmental Protection Agency did not appropriately consider the costs to utility companies when handing down the rule under the Clean Air Act. "We hold that EPA interpreted unreasonably when it deemed cost irrelevant to the decision to regulate power plants," Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the court's majority opinion. Scalia was joined by the four conservative justices in his...

If you are a member of a Bible-believing church that considers homosexuality to be sin, last week's SCOTUS decision making gay marriage a federal right has to be disturbing. Soon, as they have with wedding bakers, florists and photographers, gays are likely to show up to be test cases asking to get married in your church. If you are a church elder, what is your response going to be when it is your church they want to marry in? There's a good chance your answer is going to be like this: "The Bible declares in Deuteronomy and Romans and elsewhere...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Arizona’s voters were entitled to try to make the process of drawing congressional district lines less partisan. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion in the 5-to-4 decision. She was joined by Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. The case, Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, No. 13-1314, concerned an independent commission created by Arizona voters in 2000. About a dozen states have experimented with redistricting commissions that have varying degrees of independence from the state legislatures, which ordinarily draw election maps. Arizona’s commission is most...

There aren’t many instances when the New York Times agrees with Christian conservatives — but the fallout over same-sex “marriage” is one. In yesterday’s edition, the paper gives legs to the growing fear that the church and faith-based groups are in for a rocky ride if the Supreme Court redefines marriage in America. Like us, they take the threat of Solicitor General Donald Verrilli very seriously that the tax exemptions of religious schools, charities, colleges, and other nonprofits are almost certainly on the line with the Court’s ruling. “If I were a conservative Christian,” said law professor Eugene Volokh, “(which...

Today’s US Supreme Court ruling against the understanding for millennia that marriage can naturally only be the union of one man and one woman, although expected, is nevertheless a shocker. It is a shocker because of what we now understand are grave implications of the decision.The concept of law is now further in shambles. It is ridiculed, gutted, and trashed by these judges who consider themselves to be a unilaterally declared new power over the American people.They have made it very clear that they are an enemy of the American Republic and its original declarations and ideals.Allan Parker, president of...

I've always been struck, even though I didn't always agree, with the fierceness with which the Judge presented her weekly diatribe against her cause of the week. She was to the point, sarcastic when necessary, and absolutely brutal with her honesty, taking no prisoners. So, I was really surprised when her entire hour, unless I missed it on a 'necessary run', did not mention the Scotus decision on homosexual marriage. Ignoring one of the most momentous decisions by the court that seeks to transform our nation and human history, Janine was silent as a lamb. We heard about the bogus...

I thought about a different title for this commentary because many websites will not post it because it has the "S" word in the title, but sodomy is a Biblical word. I am not ashamed to call it what the Bible calls it. The skin is off of the onion. We now know what it is that the homosexuals were after: they wanted "dignity." Anthony Kennedy used the term "dignity" throughout his entire written decision on sodomy-based "marriage." I went to the dictionary because, until recently, words had meaning. DIGNITY—"A way of appearing or behaving that suggests seriousness and self-control;...

Saturday morning, fresh from his latest victory over the rule of law, President Obama delivered his weekly address to the bored technicians and sycophantic aides who make up most of the audience for this anachronistic performance. His theme was as predictable as it was Orwellian: “The Affordable Care Act is working, and it is here to stay.” The first half of this assertion fails to pass the laugh test. And, for those who believe that the whims of the Supreme Court are somehow permanent, I recommend a little research into another SCOTUS ruling much celebrated by Democrats—Plessy v. Ferguson. But...

"Justice [John] Roberts apparently needs medication for schizophrenia because his opinion [on gay marriage] is almost the direct opposite" of the logic in the Obamacare opinion, presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said on Iowa radio show "Mickelson in the Morning" Friday. Roberts dissented from Friday's gay marriage ruling but wrote the majority opinion upholding federal subsidies for Obamacare.On Thursday "The Supreme Court, with Roberts agreeing, essentially rewrote a law that Congress screwed up — they legislated from the bench," said Huckabee. "They did something they are constitutionally prohibited from doing. That they are restricted from doing. They did it anyway, just...

...The Constitution is silent on the question of marriage because marriage has always been a local issue. Our founding fathers went to the local courthouse to be married, not to Washington, D.C. I’ve often said I don’t want my guns or my marriage registered in Washington. Those who disagree with the recent Supreme Court ruling argue that the court should not overturn the will of legislative majorities. Those who favor the Supreme Court ruling argue that the 14th Amendment protects rights from legislative majorities. Do consenting adults have a right to contract with other consenting adults? Supporters of the Supreme...

I hate trying to predict court rulings, but the political winds have changed dramatically the past few years, so if I had to bet, I’d bet that the ruling is 5-4 for gay marriage. [Warning – my bets tend to be counter-indicators.] Don’t think for a second that politics and public opinion doesn’t influence such historic cases. I also expect Elena Kagan to be one of the five, based on her comments during oral argument, via NY Times: -snip So, before the decision is released, it’s worth revisiting Kagan’s 2009 testimony before the Senate during confirmation hearings on her nomination to...

Friday, June 26, 2015 To: Friends & Supporters From: Gary L. Bauer I read through a lot of angry messages about the Supreme Court in my email this morning. I'm not surprised. Unfortunately, we're stuck with Obamacare for now. Simply put, elections have consequences. And right now we're suffering through the negative consequences of elections that took place almost ten years ago when Democrats took control of Congress. But here's the good news: A Republican president and a Republican Congress CAN REPEAL OBAMACARE IN 2017! And we can also CHANGE THE COURT! The men and women we elect to the...

June 28, 2015 Feast of Ss. Cyrus and John Beloved in Christ, May God bless you always. On June 26, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a decision that effectively defines “marriage” as legal between any two consenting adults throughout our country, regardless of their biological sex, a decision that will no doubt have sweeping effects in our society, not just for these couples but for children, families, churches, other religious organizations and all people of faith. This action by the Court attempting to redefine marriage is deeply wrong, but it gives us an opportunity to reiterate...

Woo-hoo, yay, hurrah. The Supreme Court now says yes to homosexual “marriage.” Today, you’re all doing limp-wristed high-fives and toasting each other with your tall half-caff soy lattes. But, as usual, you don’t see the big picture. Keeping in line with your propensity for not thinking things through, you’ve neglected to consider something very important—something that will affect the lives of people you claim to love. Let’s get two facts out of the way first. There is no such thing as homosexual “marriage.” There never will be; there never can be. You can buy judges to rewrite the dictionary as...

[Editor's Note: In this interview with CNSNews.com in 2009, Judge Robert Bork warned that just "one judge"--Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy--effectively had the power to decide "the moral life of the nation.” Bork made the assertion after warning: "But we are going to see in the near future a terrible conflict between claimed rights of homosexuals and religious freedom. You are going to get Catholic hospitals that are going to be required as a matter of law to perform abortions. You are going to get Catholic or other groups’ relief services that are going to be required to allow adoption...

Welcome to the exciting new world of the slippery slope. With the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling this Friday legalizing same sex marriage in all 50 states, social liberalism has achieved one of its central goals. A right seemingly unthinkable two decades ago has now been broadly applied to a whole new class of citizens. Following on the rejection of interracial marriage bans in the 20th Century, the Supreme Court decision clearly shows that marriage should be a broadly applicable right—one that forces the government to recognize, as Friday’s decision said, a private couple’s “love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family.” The...

After the Supreme Court on Friday ruled gay marriage bans were unconsitutional, opening the door to gay marriage in every state, thousands of people rushed to courthouses to get married and even the most conservative states started issuing marriage licenses (though some were still fighting it). Others celebrated by heading to the Stonewall Inn in New York City, a newly landmarked site for its role in the fight for gay rights, and to the Supreme Court itself. Meanwhile, amateur and professional cartoonists around the nation commemorated the day in their own way: ...

You know,as soon as I read the title of the article written by Andrew Sullivan I was totally steamed. They got what they wanted and now this moaning diatribe,this haranguing and fulsome whining just really crisped my toast days ago when I read this. The mountain was given to them and they now want what? I'm just so totally disgusted by the whole thing & I thought I'd share my disgust. If any conservatives had a bad week with decisions that came down from the Supreme Court on Obamacare ,sanctioned gay marriage & their little legal eagles they want, the...

Eight hundred years and 11 days after the stamping of the Magna Carta, it’s been an appalling week at the Supreme Court for the Constitution and the rule of law. Today’s ruling is, in a sense, the Roe v. Wade of our generation. And I would think that even if I were gay and wanted to marry. As I noted on Twitter yesterday, it is entirely possible to like the outcome of a court ruling (or legislation) while being appalled at the process by which it was achieved. For instance, one can be both pro-choice and still believe (as in...

A Collusion of Powers "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." - John Adams Our founders were very afraid of the native impulses of people, including themselves. Power is a very potent drug. As a result, they devised a government that is supposed to function such that the natural tendency of men to seek power will work against itself. There is a separation of power and authority within a Congress divided into two branches, within a federal government divided among three branches and with a federalism...