Free Republic

With AW17 fashion season in full swing, it seems near impossible to avoid the subject of politics when discussing the runway shows and presentations. In a lot of ways it makes sense — with Brexit and the Trump presidency throwing the world into increased political turmoil, designers expressing their protest at our current political climate and taking a stand for what they believe in should, in theory, be a positive. However, with many houses expressing a new-found ‘wokeness’ comes an increased responsibility to practice what they preach, and it’s here that many of our beloved brands fall short. During New...

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Catholic activist Sister Simone Campbell has suggested that senior clergy at the Vatican are more preoccupied with power than confronting issues that affect the faithful, like clerical sexual abuse. The U.S. nun, leader of the “Nuns on the Bus” campaign that has toured America during recent election cycles, spoke frankly in an interview ahead of a conference being held at the Vatican on Wednesday (March 8) to celebrate women’s contributions to peace. “The institution and the structure is frightened of change,” Campbell told Religion News Service. “These men worry more about the form and the institution than...

The abortionist who appealed to the Supreme Court in oral arguments this week says Jesus would supportively hold the hands of women as they abort their children. Amy Hagstrom Miller, whose Texas abortion business conglomerate Whole Women's Health owns and runs seven abortion facilities, says she is "mission-driven" by her commitment "to human rights and justice."

A new directive from Israel's Education Ministry calls on preschool teachers to stop referring to "Mom and Dad" in preschool activities. The staff at the pro-LGBT Hoshen Organization, which offers training to preschool staff on the subjects of gender and sexual identity, has suggested Israeli preschool teachers speak about "parents" instead of "Mom and Dad." "It's worth remembering that there are many preschool children who come from non-traditional families. They may have two fathers, two mothers, two sets of parents, or LGBT parents who live separately and each has his or her own relationship," Hoshen explained. "Don't assume that every...

On Sunday, I was one of roughly 100 people who gathered in Niagara Square to rally for transgender rights and protest President Donald Trump’s administration’s recent legislation on trans bathroom rights. It was amazing to see the outpouring support for the trans community from individuals of all ages and backgrounds. The protest was smaller than I had hoped it would be. After the Buffalo Women’s March, I was optimistic that the thousands of folks who showed up for that event would continue to advocate for the minority groups impacted by the Trump administration, like transgender people. Unfortunately, this was not...

Calls for a boycott and a public outcry over social media posts left Twelve Rounds Brewing owner Daniel Murphy reeling Tuesday morning as he expressed shock at the instant reaction to his Facebook political rant and concern that his East Sacramento business could be severely hurt.

FULL TITLE: Mother is only given PROBATION for raping her daughter's 13-year-old boyfriend after she asked him 'What are you doing with a body like that at 13?' A mother has been given probation and been spared jail despite pleading guilty to raping her daughter's 13-year-old boyfriend. Elaine B. Goodman from Dover, Delaware had faced up to 15 years in prison for having sex with the youngster and asking him: 'What are you doing with a body like that at 13?' But during a hearing at Kent County Superior Court, she avoided jail after the judge said Goodman she showed...

In the epic film Titanic, actress Kathy Bates plays the role of Margaret Molly Brown. Of Irish descent, Molly is depicted as a straight-shooting, no-nonsense, wealthy Texan with a penchant for social climbing. However, the smug, condescending aura, exuded by the elites, never washes over her. After escaping the sinking Titanic in a one-third empty lifeboat, surrounded mostly by married women and a few male staff, Molly is appalled by her fellow survivors’ callousness. Molly wants to rescue nearby male passengers, fighting for their lives in the frigid sea. Her lifeboat is less than 200 feet from the men screaming...

Two recent films, Deepwater Horizon with Mark Wahlberg and Sully starring Tom Hanks, represent something of a breath of fresh air, for both movies feature men who are intelligent, virtuous, and quietly heroic. If this strikes you as a banal observation, that just means you haven’t been following much of the popular culture for the past twenty years. One of the distinctive marks of films and television programs the last couple of decades has been the Homer Simpsonization of men. Don’t get me wrong: I’m a big fan of the The Simpsons and laugh at Homer’s antics as much as...

Women have been rapidly climbing the employment and wage ladders in recent decades. But only a small fraction have made it to the top rungs — and their progress may be slowing. New research shows that after making big strides in the 1980s and ’90s, the number of women breaking into the top 1 percent of earners has stalled. Women account for only 16 percent of the 1 percent, a number that has remained essentially flat over the past decade, according to a paper by three economists. And they account for only 11 percent of the top 0.1 percent of...

Britain's biggest supermarket chain is cutting the cost of its female razors to match the same product sold to men. Tesco said it had come under pressure from British lawmaker Paula Sherriff after it was found to charge twice as much for pink disposable twin-blade razors as blue ones. The products are identical excepts for color and price. Tesco had defended the pricing by arguing that it sells many more men's razors, making it easier to keep prices low.

A former IUPD cadet and IU student, expelled for violating the University’s consent policy, is suing IU for gender discrimination. Aaron Farrer, 21, alleges that the University’s policies for sexual assault investigations unfairly favor women and fail to protect the accused, according to court documents. “IU violated Title IX by creating a gender biased, hostile environment against males, like Farrer, based in part on IU’s pattern and practice of disciplining male students who accept physical contact initiated by female students, but failing to discipline female students who engage in the same conduct,” Farrer’s attorneys wrote in the complaint.

Secular humanists are starting to step up their direct attacks on the Bible. Many are openly calling what it says about sexual relations "hate," and they especially want young people to accept that. What secular humanists aren't bringing up, though, is that in pre-modern societies, without modern medicine especially, "sexual liberation" would have meant drastic increases in incurable diseases and ailments. It doesn't even take any faith in God to see that it isn't hate to command people not to do what would cause them and others physical harm. This is a summary review of the matter of secular humanists...

The issue of pedophilia is once again making its way into the mainstream. Researchers are now claiming that it is normal for men to feel a sexual attraction to young, pre-pubescent children. As the homosexual rights movement continues to gain ground, we hear more and more about the normalization of pedophilia in our culture. There is a definite agenda to normalize sexually deviant behavior while pushing for pedophile rights. Pedophiles are actively seeking to lower the age of consent laws when it comes to lawful sexual behavior with another. They claim that sex with children is not only a natural...

sconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley on Monday apologized for anti-gay opinion pieces she wrote as a college student 24 years ago, saying she is embarrassed by the content and tone and that they do not reflect her worldview or current work as a judge. The liberal group One Wisconsin Now revealed one column and two letters to the editor that Bradley wrote in February and November 1992 when she was a student at Marquette University. They were published in the Marquette Tribune, the student newspaper. Bradley faces state Appeals Court Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg in the April 5 election for...

From a woman who had several abortions: “I’m moving out to a one-bedroom condominium. I don’t have crumb–snatchers tearing up my house. I live where there’s adult living. I don’t have to live in the 69th Village, because I can’t afford anything else… My cousin, she just had [a baby]. She’s just a month younger than me. … But I mean, who gets up with this child? She does… I don’t know if I’m just materialistic or what… [but] she has to wait for the first and the 15th [to get a welfare check]. She stocks up on diapers. I...

Seattle Parks and Recreation is facing a first-of-a-kind challenge to gender bathroom rules. Last week, a man undressed in a women's locker room, citing a new state rule that allows people to choose a bathroom based on gender identity. Around 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 8, a man wearing board shorts entered the women's locker room at Evans Pool and took of his shirt, according to Seattle Parks and Recreation. Women alerted staff, who told the man to leave, but he said "the law has changed and I have a right to be here." As far as policy to protect everyone,...

Valentine's Day is the first that will pass without notice at Bruce Vento Elementary. Celebrations of Valentine’s Day and the other “dominant holidays” are ending at one St. Paul elementary school, according to a letter from the principal addressed to families. Principal Scott Masini of Bruce Vento Elementary School, whose student body is overwhelmingly nonwhite, explained in the letter that “my personal feeling is we need to find a way to honor and engage in holidays that are inclusive of our student population.” With Valentine’s Day a little more than two weeks away, Masini noted, “I have come to the...

Dr. Robert Spitzer, a Jewish American psychiatrist who played a leading role in establishing agreed-upon standards to describe mental disorders and eliminating homosexuality's designation as a pathology, died Friday in Seattle. He was 83. Gay-rights activists credit Spitzer with removing homosexuality from the list of mental disorders in the D.S.M. in 1973. He decided to push for the change after he met with gay activists and determined that homosexuality could not be a disorder if gay people were comfortable with their sexuality. At the time of the psychiatric profession's debate over homosexuality, Spitzer told the Washington Post: "A medical disorder...

<p>Among the Christian Right, and most Republican presidential candidates, it’s now an article of faith that the United States is persecuting Christians and Christian-owned businesses—that religion itself is under attack.</p> <p>Why has this bizarre myth that Christianity is under assault in the most religious developed country on Earth been so successful? Because, in a way, it’s true. American Christianity is in decline—not because of a “war on faith” but because of a host of demographic and social trends. The gays and liberals are just scapegoats.</p>