Free Republic

Donald Trump’s victory marks the end of “liberal non-democracy” and will allow the West to break free from the “captivity of ideologies” that distort reality through political correctness, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said. The election outcome indicates a shift in popular thinking in the West, Orbán said in remarks made yesterday evening on a trip to London, and this morning at a conference organised by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. During his one-day official visit to Britain’s capital, the Central European leader commented that the Republican candidate’s big win represents a victory for freedom of thought...

Many Woodview Elementary School students were on edge after the election on Wednesday. The school, located in Spring Branch ISD, is about 80 percent Hispanic, and parents say a sizable chunk of those students are undocumented. Their parents were stunned when their children told them the school’s principal took to the loudspeaker Wednesday morning to praise the results. Principal Pamela Pennington reportedly broadcast her excitement about President-elect Donald Trump’s victory and the changes he can bring to the country. Steven Brunsman, a spokesman for the district, said staff investigated and could not find evidence that the pro-Trump statements were made...

The University of Michigan recently released a guide for creating gender-inclusive classrooms, advising professors to avoid “harmful” phrases like “ladies and gentlemen” and “your mom and dad.” The guide was released October 26 by the UMich Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT), which says its mission is to “promote excellence and innovation in teaching in all 19 schools and colleges at the University of Michigan.”

The University of Texas at Austin will ignore demands from student officials to “disband” a young conservative student group following a controversial “affirmative action bake sale” last week. The bake sale instantly drew large crowds of protesters, many claiming the bake sale was a “hate crime.” A petition demanding the removal of the group also circulated the campus and as of Thursday, it has 863 signatures. A resolution, filed by multiple members of the UT student government, called on the UT administration to not only disband Young Conservatives of Texas but demanding that they university respond to future incidents by...

tudent leaders of this year’s freshman orientation at James Madison University were given a list of 35 things they should avoid saying, including phrases such as “you have such a pretty face,” “love the sinner, hate the sin,” “we’re all part of the human race,” “I treat all people the same,” “it was only a joke,” “I never owned slaves,” and “people just need to pick themselves up by their bootstraps,” among other expressions. Those phrases and others on the list “widen the diversity gap” and do not “create a safe and inclusive environment,” according to the seven-page handout, a...

A country is heading for trouble when its most popular writers worry that their words will land them in jail. France is that way now. Two years ago, TV commentator and journalist Éric Zemmour published Le Suicide français, an erudite, embittered, and nostalgic essay about the unraveling, starting in the 1970s, of the political system set up under the leadership of World War II hero Charles de Gaulle. (See "French Curtains," The Weekly Standard, December 8, 2014.) The book sold 500,000 copies. Since then, it seems, Zemmour has spent half his time collecting prizes and the other half defending himself...

Humour is the best medicine. It is also the best weapon against bullies, totalitarians, or anyone who takes themselves too seriously. Perhaps that is why humour is one of the first things curtailed when freedom of speech is threatened. We have seen various comedians in the US lament how Political Correctness is preventing them from performing on college campuses. We have seen Canadian comedians fined thousands of dollars for telling a politically incorrect joke. We have seen German comedians charged and threatened with extradition to Turkey for authoring a humorous poem about Recep ErdoÄŸan. We know we are not far...

North Korea's Kim Jong-un has banned sarcasm because he fears people only agree with him ironically, according to reports. Government officials were apparently warned they will "not be forgiven" if they are heard being sarcastic. Mass meetings were organised across the country to spread the word about the new order. “One state security official personally organised a meeting to alert local residents to potential ‘hostile actions’ by internal rebellious elements," Radio Free Asia's Korean Services quoted a source as saying. “The main point of the lecture was ‘keep your mouths shut’.” One of the banned phases is “this is all...

Referring to someone by the “wrong” gender pronoun is a violation of federal anti-discrimination law, according to West Virginia University’s Title IX office. Title IX, which was signed into law by Richard Nixon in 1972, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. Among other things, Title IX forced college athletics programs to treat men’s and women’s programs the same, leading to a vast expansion in female NCAA athletics.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual Resource Center at the University of California Davis warns that some “words hurt” — including the expression “you guys.” That common phrase is among a list of “Words that Hurt” detailed on the public university’s website. The expression “hurts” because it “erases the identities of people who are in the room” and “generalizing a group of people to be masculine,” the website states. “Sometimes we say words without realizing the impact they may have on others,” it adds. “Take time to educate yourself about language and histories of oppression.”

Joshua Bruner is a real-life Captain America. The 15-year-old country boy from Ringoes, New Jersey is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. He’s a member of two state shooting teams and he serves as a United States Sea Cadet. Darcy Meys said her son wants to follow in his great-grandfather’s footsteps and enlist in the Marines. “Josh considers himself to be a patriot,” she told me. “He loves his country.” A few weeks ago Josh was given an assignment in a photography class at Hunterdon Central Regional High School. He had to take a self-portrait representing self-expression. So...

Youths in Fairfax County, Virginia, can now be disciplined and even expelled from school for criticizing the intrusive and aggressive transgender ideology. The transgender change in school regulations was imposed last night during a dramatic board meeting where only 12 pro-trans witnesses were invited to testify. The board members met on Thursday night only after being informed the night before that the discipline change would be considered. No opposing voices were allowed to be heard, parents were relegated to shouting opposition from the seats and some were ejected from the meeting.

We experienced an aggressive protest at UC Davis, but this is part of a disturbing, growing trend of censorship of conservative speech on college campuses. This is an extended version of an article from our last printed newsletter. Warning: This blog post includes strong language when directly quoting leftist protesters. On February 29th through March 1st at UC Davis, we faced our most aggressive, persistent, and unreasonable protest yet. As many of you know, our preferred way of doing outreach is to set up a simple poll table that asks questions like, “Should Abortion Remain Legal?” and provide options for...

Logan Autry, a nine-year-old from Fresno, California, is a big Donald Trump fan. However, his school is now blocking his right to wear a Trump hat. Autry was told by school officials his hat “brings negative emotions to the other children who don’t like him.” Autry’s hat is actually signed by the Republican candidate himself, so the hat is something cherished by Autry which he loves to wear a lot. He wore it to school three days in a row. On Friday before the weekend began, Autry was asked to leave school early because of the amount of “disturbances” being...

A nine-year-old in Fresno, California, named Logan Autry was asked by school officials to remove his Donald Trump hat because it, in his words, “brings negative emotions to the other children who don’t like him.” The third-grader’s “Make America Great Again” hat is even autographed by the business mogul himself, so it makes sense that the child wore it three days in a row.

The European Commission has today announced a partnership with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft in order to crack down on what it classes as “illegal hate speech” while “criminaliz[ing]” perpetrators and “promoting independent counter-narratives” that the European Union favours. A press release from the Commission this morning claims the new initiative has been set up “to respond to the challenge of ensuring that online platforms do not offer opportunities for illegal online hate speech to spread virally”. The move has been branded “Orwellian” by Members of the European Parliament, and digital freedom groups have already pulled out of any further...

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have “signed up” to a new European Union (EU) “Code of Conduct”, pledging to help censor and “criminalise” perceived “illegal online hate speech” and “promot[e] independent counter-narratives” that the EU favors. The Code, which has been branded “Orwellian” by Members of the European Parliament, is reproduced in full below by Breitbart London for the benefit of our readers. Facebook, Microsoft [Microsoft-hosted consumer services, as relevant], Twitter and YouTube (hereinafter “the IT Companies”) – also involved in the EU Internet Forum – share, together with other platforms and social media companies, a collective responsibility and pride in...

The European Commission has today announced a partnership with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft in order to crack down on what it classes as “illegal hate speech” while “criminaliz[ing]” perpetrators and “promoting independent counter-narratives” that the European Union favours.

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.kcentv.com/story/32055993/gay-student-told-to-change-pro-lgbt-shirt

Chicago Blackhawks’ forward Andrew Shaw has been suspended for one game after using a homophobic slur twice during Tuesday night’s playoff loss against the St. Louis Blues. The league announced the suspension Wednesday along with a $5,000 fine for "directing an inappropriate gesture at the on-ice officials" during the game. Shaw will also be required to undergo sensitivity training, according to the NHL. The suspension means Shaw will miss Game 5 of the team's series against the Blues, where they are facing elimination.