Free Republic

Calif. high court to hear challenge. There is little common ground between those on either side of the charged debate over marriage in California. But on the eve of the state Supreme Court hearing in San Francisco on Proposition 8, which prohibits same-sex marriage, advocates on both sides describe the issue in similar high-stakes rhetoric. “History swings on very small hinges sometimes,” said Jim Garlow, pastor at Skyline Church in La Mesa and one of the state's highest-profile supporters of Proposition 8. “On a broader scale, beyond the scope of the definition of marriage, this is about whether the social...

Ninth Circuit Rules on 'State Secrets' Privilege When the Obama administration last week claimed that the executive’s “state secrets” privilege requires dismissal of a case challenging the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, the move rang alarm bells.It was the second time that the new administration had asserted “state secrets” to try to dismiss a challenge to a program of its predecessor that is widely believed to have been illegal. In the first case, concerning the CIA’s “extraordinary rendition” of terror suspects, the Obama administration said the program itself was a secret, so the claims of four victims against Jeppesen Dataplan,...

The government is criminalising legitimate dissent under the guise of fighting 'extremism', a word for which it has no definition For most of the past century, Britain's secret state bugged, blacklisted and spied on leftists, trade unionists and peace campaigners, as well as Irish republicans and anyone else regarded as a "subversive" threat to the established order. That was all supposed to have been brought to a halt in the wake of the end of the cold war in the early 1990s. MI5 now boasts it has ended its counter-subversion work altogether, having other jihadist fish to fry (it will...

Chris Brown and Rihanna had a secret wedding, a new report claims. Brown, 19, was arrested last month after allegedly assaulting the Umbrella hitmaker, reportedly leaving her with two "huge contusions" on both sides of her forehead, a bloody lip and bloody nose. The duo were reported to have rekindled their romance this past weekend, and were staying at rapper Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs' nine-bedroom, 12-bath, Balinese-style Star Island mansion. The couple is now hiding out in Miami.

Where is Sarah Palin's wardrobe? That's the $150,000 question. The high-priced clothing the Republican National Committee bought for the Alaska governor's vice presidential run late last summer was donated to charity, as far as her spokeswoman knows. "To my knowledge, the RNC donated the clothes, and in a quiet and respectful manner," Palin's spokeswoman, Meg Stapleton, told FOXNews.com in an e-mail Tuesday. But a source close to the clothing discussion told FOXNews.com last Wednesday that the RNC had not donated the clothes and that the wardrobe has remained at the RNC since Nov. 7, when it was returned. The RNC...

Stocks rose around the world on Wednesday, as investors reacted to speculation that China may expand its stimulus measures. Shares increased on reports that Premier Wen Jiabao of China was considering new stimulus measures on top of the $585 billion spending plan already proposed. An announcement could come as early as Thursday in China. In early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was 108 points or 1.6 percent higher, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose almost 1.8 percent, climbing above 700. The Nasdaq rose 2 percent. On Tuesday, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.6 percent, taking...

President Obama, the merchandising phenomenon, has been a boon to sidewalk T-shirt vendors everywhere, the Washington Times reports. Less conspicuous, perhaps, is the equally robust success of the children's book industry in marketing Obama's hopeful aura and personal history to parents of young children. Are children's book publishers seeking to indoctrinate impressionable young readers -- or are they simply obeying the laws of supply and demand? When the country elects a new president, publishers characteristically issue a biography or two geared toward young readers. But in the case of Obama, publishers are tapping into unusual levels of excitement and curiosity....

A heated confrontation is brewing between the Obama administration and the federal judiciary.Late on Friday, the Justice Department’s lawyers filed a brief with a federal district court in California challenging the court’s power to carry out its own order. The government lawyers insisted that the court has no right to make available to the opposing lawyers in the case a classified document regarding the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program, even though the document is critical to the lawsuit, the lawyers can obtain the necessary top-secret security clearances, and the document would not be released publicly.Illustration by: Matt Mahurin As TWI...

But Gary Schatsky, a financial advisor and the president of NY-based Objectiveadvice.com, said that reducing your income won't help a great deal because of the way the country's tax system is set up. "Just going over $250,000 doesn't mean it impacts your tax liability for every dollar before that," said Schatsky, "It impacts you at the margin." Marginal or graduated tax systems like the one in the U.S. means only the money earned over a certain amount -- $250,000 in the case of Obama's proposal -- will be taxed at an increased percentage.

During her campaign for governor, Beverly Perdue often said she wanted take extra steps to ensure profits from the North Carolina Education Lottery were spent solely on education. She was worried lawmakers might tap the ready source of cash for something else. And less than two months in office, faced with a brutal economy that's sapping the state of revenue, both lottery critics and allies say she's become the prime example of her own fears. Perdue said last week she would use $87.6 million in lottery profits to ensure there's money available in the state's day-to-day operating accounts to pay...

Fifteen Republican members of the Missouri General Assembly have signed on to a state constitutional amendment that appears aimed at advancing the claims of the fringe movement that doubts President Barack Obama's eligibility to serve as president. The language is contained in a proposed "voter’s bill of rights," which would serve "as a defense against corruption, fraud, and tyranny." The proposed amendment states: For candidates who are required by the Constitution of the United States to be natural born citizens, the secretary of state shall request an official copy of the candidate’s birth certificate. Other certifications, such as a certificate...

This is (IMHO) an outstanding work of hard science fiction. From the Wikipedia page:Tau Zero follows the crew of the starship Leonora Christine, a colonization vessel crewed by 25 men and 25 women. The ship is not capable of FTL travel and so is constrained by relativity. Its engines operate two modes, acceleration and deceleration. The deceleration module becomes damaged during the trip. Because the engines must be running at all times (to provide particle/radiation shielding), and because of the hard radiation produced by the engines, the crew can neither repair the decelerator nor turn off the accelerator. Instead, the...

In his first full-length American radio interview, Adnan Oktar, pen name Harun Yahya, a Muslim, Turkish intellectual posit the theory that the source of terrorism, including Islamic terrorism, is Darwinism.

A federal appeals court says the Vatican can be sued for abuse committed by its priests. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests can sue the Vatican even though it is considered a sovereign nation. The appeals court said there are exceptions to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and abuse can be one of them. The Oregon case has been working its way through the federal appeals court since a judge in Portland ruled in 2006 that the Holy See can be held responsible for the actions of individual...

Dem. calls Limbaugh a 'sorry excuse for a human being' @ 10:44 am by Jeremy P. Jacobs Democrats, it appears, are becoming increasingly willing to fire away at conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Exhibit A - This statement from Congressman Alan Grayson, a Florida Democrat, is floating around the blogosphere. “I’m sorry Limbaugh called for harsh sentences for drug addicts while he was a drug addict. I’m also sorry that he’s bent on seeing America fail. And I’m sorry that Limbaugh is one sorry excuse for a human being.” Todd Jurkowski, a spokesman for Grayson, confirmed the statement....

Last night voters in Illinois’ heavily Democratic 5th congressional district voted in a primary for candidates to replace former Rep. Rahm Emanuel, now the White House chief of staff. Mike Quigley won the Democratic primary, while Rosanna Pulido won the GOP primary.Who’s Rosanna Pulido? She was a founder of the Illinois Minutemen, a wing of the immigration restriction group that patrolled the U.S.-Mexico border in 2006 and 2007. In this CNN interview, she called then-GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain “just another politician that acts as if he was elected to represent the Mexican government.”

CBNNews.com - He's been banned from Britain and is facing trial in his own country. But controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders received a warm reception at the National Press Club in Washington Friday. The British government made headlines earlier this month when it refused to allow Wilders into Britain to screen his short film, Fitna, for members of Parliament.

A self-proclaimed music artist was shot and killed by police Monday evening after he refused to leave his attic and pulled out a weapon when police attempted to arrest him, according to officials. Anthony Levy, 30, was wanted by Miami-Dade police for premeditated attempted murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He was also wanted by Miami-Dade School Board police for aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm on school property. Miami-Dade police said investigators attempted to apprehend Levy at a Miami Gardens home Monday afternoon, but Levy would not leave the house. Investigators then called in...

SACRAMENTO -- California will no longer keep illegal immigrants on parole after they serve their sentences and are deported. Instead the state will leave it to the federal government to prosecute those who sneak back across the border. The parole policy change announced Monday will save the state an estimated $10 million annually and reduce the crowded prisons' population by about 1,000 inmates. About 1,600 deported parolees were caught back in California in 2007, according to the most recent statistics available. Previously, they'd be sent back to state prison for four to eight months for violating their parole. Under the...

If tugging on Superman’s cape and spitting into the wind are no-nos, then messing around with Rush Limbaugh – while donning the apocryphal moniker of conservative - is sheer blockheadedness. Time and time again, counterfeit conservatism is reconstituted in the columns and commentaries of convoluted right-leaning hyper-intellectuals - David Brooks, Ross Douthat and Chris Buckley come to mind - while attempting to reinvent the movement in order to set themselves apart from the pack.All the while, conservatives such as me are derided and repudiated as being too narrow-minded, out-of-touch and parochial.Reconstructing conservatism into a more media-friendly animal, i.e. making...