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Over two-thirds of Germans want gay marriage to be legalized, bringing gay rights in line with those of heterosexual couples, a survey by YouGov published on Thursday shows. [...] Across the political spectrum, Germans said they wanted to see a change in the law. A total of 61 percent of voters for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Union said they were for legalization, suggesting that the Chancellor's opposition to gay marriage is now out of step with her own voter base. [...] Sixty-eight percent of Catholics were in favor, and 67 percent of Protestants. Within both religions, just over a quarter...

Nye recently penned an op-ed for digital culture magazine Aeon, in which he argues that NASCAR should make the switch to electric-powered vehicles. In his mind, NASCAR is a celebration of "old tech," one that reinforces the automotive status quo and hinders progress from a social standpoint. And while the environmental benefits of an industry-wide change are obvious, the former mechanical engineer sees another benefit of the EV switch. "Just think what an electric race would be like," Nye wrote. "It would be faster, and quiet. You could talk to the person next to you. The drivers could probably hear...

Once again, Barack Obama believed that the American People were not paying attention. After all, much of what he spoke about “correcting” at his tear-stained, anti-gun press conference was already law. The women of “The View” were predictably apoplectic about automatic weapons–machine guns–and outraged that they have not been banned. This was before Sen. Rand Paul patted their hands and told them not to fear, that such automatic weapons are available to the public only after obtaining a special license from the ATF. Just another straw man propped up by our Socialist in Chief to cause the American People to...

January 2016 The El Niño of 1951-52 was a weak one and there was little snow until later in the winter. The Movie, The Finest Hours is about two ships that sunk off Chatham Massachusetts, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer. The sinkings were on February 17, 1952. It seems like February 17 is a time when a lot of major storms occur. It also happens to be my mom's birthday. At the time, my dad had not met my mom, but it was a very memorable day for my dad. Looking at the weather map, we can see why...

Images from Jan. 28, 1986, are seared into the memories of former schoolchildren, teachers, parents, and pretty much any American now older than 30 - the Challenger space shuttle, meant to carry school teacher Christa McAuliffe into orbit, reduced to a snaky tunnel of smoke in the sky near Cape Canaveral. In the years that followed, a lot would come out about a disaster watched in countless classrooms across the nation: about faulty O-rings, about dangerously cold temperatures, and about how five crewmen, an engineer and a New Hampshire teacher meant to represent NASA in its finest hour became the...

Donald Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was on Wednesday’s Morning Joe program to talk about his bosses withdrawal from the FNC debate the next day. Along with the normal Trump campaign super-sized political bravado, he attacked GOP Consultant Cheri Jacobus’ appearance on the Kelly Files the evening before and claimed that she had pitched the Trump Campaign for a job. Lewandowski was lying. Ms Jacobus wasn’t on the Kelly files the prior evening, and it was the Trump campaign who pitched her to work for the campaign. This is what the campaign manager said to Joe Scarborough Wed. morning (video...

Having surged to six-month highs, initial jobless claims dropped modestly on the week but the smoother 4-week average that is broadly used pushed to new cycle highs at 285k - the highest since March 2015 confirming The Fed's concerns over the economy. This is a trend that is certainly not the friend of Janet and her friends... but we are sure this is all just transitory.  

Steve Ronnebeck called into Breitbart News Daily to discuss the death of his 21-year-old son, Grant Ronnebeck, at the hands of an illegal immigrant free on bond. The alien was a self-proclaimed member of the Sinola drug cartel. Accused of a violent home invasion and week-long rape attack, he shot Ronnebeck point-blank over a pack of cigarettes. Mesa held a candlelight vigil for Grant on January 22 to mark the anniversary of the terrible crime. Sheriff Babeu told ABC15 that Grant's death "is a tragedy." Since Ronnebeck's death, his family has been pushing for better immigration laws, especially when it...

Bill Clinton came to the vote-rich city of Mason City on Wednesday night and recounted his wife's life experiences, recited her policy ideas, and ripped into the Republicans a bit. But what Mr. Clinton used to do so well -- and what Hillary Clinton needs, only days before the Iowa caucuses on Monday -- was nowhere to be found: a polished, piercing critique of an opponent, in this case Bernie Sanders. At an event in Las Vegas last week, Mr. Clinton, 69, looked smaller and his voice seemed weaker than in past campaigns, and people had to strain to hear...

I'm not one to pander to my audience. You might hate my guts -- and maybe you'll hate it even more after you read this -- but hopefully you can at least give me that much. And although I run the risk of alienating literally everyone with this piece, I hope you'll give it a read anyway, because I'm trying to put into words something I've wanted to say for a longtime. I think it's time for accountability. I think it's time we stop blaming the decline of our country on shadowy, vague, abstract groups of people, and start analyzing...

In a short while, voters will be able to speak with their votes. After all this time, it’ll be good to get some concrete data on how the election will go. Iowa gets thing started on February 1. Here are five things to keep in mind as the curtains open on Election 2016. 1. Delegates will be awarded proportionally. Both Democrats and Republicans allocate their Iowa delegates according to the percentage of votes won. While The RNC require all nominating contests held before March 15 to divide delegates proportionally, the Democratic practice is to award delegates proportionally for every primary...

Can you picture it yet?Not just a vague haze of orange hair in the Oval Office, but what Donald Trump would actually do with the White House between 2017 and 2021, maybe even until 2025?If it's too large a prospect to take in all at once, try taking it in small doses. Imagine the man who has suggested killing the children of suspected terrorists - a war crime - appointing Supreme Court justices. Think about a treasury secretary handpicked by a man who bankrupted and was forced to resign from the only company he ever took public. Take a deep...

An article in the Huffington Post this week proposes that Christians acknowledge Muhammad’s greatness and accept him as a prophet as a way to move forward in interreligious dialogue. Writer Craig Considine writes that he is a Christian with deep admiration for Muhammad, but doesn’t convert because, although he was an extraordinary human being, Muhammad is not “the man.”

Hi Freepers. Is there a way to "not see" posts that I'm not interested in. Such as "Pope" or "Cologne Sex". Half of the posts I'm not interested in and would like to disregard with a keyword. Just a thought like a news clipper. Thanks for your response. Swen

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Samy Mohamed Hamzeh wanted to shoot up a Milwaukee Masonic event center in the name of Islam because he thought the group that owns it is "playing with the world like a game," according to federal authorities. But a member of the fraternal organization, which is not a religion, said Wednesday it isn't at "the root of some of the world's problems." "We can hardly plan a pancake breakfast," said Gavin DeGrave, who is a secretary for the Valley of Milwaukee, which includes four Masonic chapters.

fter months of campaigning and jockeying for position, the 2016 Presidential Election season officially gets underway Monday, Feb. 1, with the Iowa Caucuses. Voters from Iowa's 99 counties will meet in caucus as the first step to determine who will represent the state at the Republican and Democratic national conventions. However, a winter storm moving from the Intermountain West is likely to cause snow to spread over a large part of the central and northern Plains during Monday night and Tuesday.

Russia supplied arms to Iraqi Kurds – Lavrov By Rudaw yesterday at 12:00 ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov briefly mentioned on Tuesday that Moscow had sent some arms to Iraq's Kurds, shortly after they were threatened by Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists.After ISIS infamously seized Mosul and large parts of Iraq's northwest back in the summer of 2014, Russia sent arms to Baghdad, including Su-25 attack planes. Lavrov said other weapons were sent to Erbil to help the Kurdish Peshmerga defend their territory. "We took into account the Kurds' need in the supplies of our arms to...

The EPA in Washington, DC is the best example of a national agency nearly out of control. Empowered by a president who scoffs at the idea of working with Congress, the EPA is clearly carrying out its own executive ordered mission to impose a litany of costly new regulations that, in the long term, could cut jobs in the energy and manufacturing sectors and could easily delay new business investment across the country. New national EPA regulations governing carbon, methane, ozone emissions and water quality require oil, natural gas and coal producers to pay costly fines or shut down. With...

I say that because there's no reason to think that Trump won't turn on a dime the instant he has to face a general electorate, and begin advocating a whole new set of policies. He adopted an entirely new set of beliefs for this race, one attuned to what his current audience wants — not just xenophobic, but fervently pro-life, pro-gun, pro-God, and pro-whatever else he thinks primary voters want to hear. Trump panders shamelessly to whoever he's talking to, he has no genuine ideology, and he won't feel tied to anything he's said before, any more than he's tied...

Turkish fighter who allegedly killed Russian pilot in Syria attends funeral in İstanbul Alparslan Çelik (4th R) attends to the funeral of İbrahim Küçük at the Fatih Mosque in İstanbul on Wednesday. (Photo: DHA) January 28, 2016, Thursday/ 12:32:39/ TODAY'S ZAMAN | ANKARA Çelik (33) was among those at the funeral of İbrahim Küçük at the Fatih Mosque in İstanbul, the Hürriyet daily reported on Thursday. Çelik previously admitted to having killed Oleg Peşkov, a Russian pilot, as he parachuted from his plane, which was hit by a Turkish jet for allegedly violating Turkish airspace. A Turkish F-16 shot down...