Free Republic

Christians rejoice as parliament uses secret ballot to block Zan legislation ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) - Faithful Italian Catholics and evangelical Christians are rejoicing after the Zan bill against transhomophobia, which threatened to criminalize the Church's teaching on sexuality, was shot down on the floor of Italy's senate Wednesday afternoon. The motion to halt the bill, named for the Democratic Party lawmaker and gay rights activist Alessandro Zan, was blocked by a secret ballot in Italy's Upper House with 154 senators voting in favor of canceling the draft legislation, 131 against and two abstentions. Matteo Salvini's Lega (League) and Giorgia Meloni's Fratelli...

Liberty Counsel has filed a class action lawsuit along with a motion for a temporary restraining order and injunction in the federal Northern District Court of Illinois against NorthShore University HealthSystem on behalf of 14 health care workers and numerous others who have been unlawfully discriminated against and denied religious exemptions from the COVID shot mandate. As of last Friday, NorthShore had already started purging those employees with sincere religious objections to its “Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy,” by removing many of those employees from the November work schedule, including those whose appeals were still pending. Unless this court intervenes and...

The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis is considering an invitation to visit Canada in light of the Canadian bishops’ "pastoral process of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples." A communique from the Holy See Press Office on Oct. 27 said that the pope has “indicated his willingness to visit” Canada on a future undetermined date. The Canadian bishops’ conference welcomed the Vatican announcement stating that “Pope Francis has accepted their invitation to visit Canada on a pilgrimage of healing and reconciliation.” “We pray that Pope Francis’ visit to Canada will be a significant milestone in the journey toward reconciliation and healing,”...

Immigration arrests inside the United States fell during the past year to their lowest number in more than a decade, it emerged on Tuesday, according to new data from U.S. Immigration and Enforcement. Almost 72,000 arrests were made in fiscal year 2021, which ended in September, a drop of almost one third since 2020 when 104,000 arrests made, the Washington Post reported. Chad Wolf, who led the Department of Homeland Security under President Trump, said: 'This is what abolishing ICE looks like. 'Disaster in the middle of a crisis.'. .... ...The Washington Post reported that the number of arrests made...

PORTLAND, Ore. — A decision by Portland city leaders is drawing attention from across the country. Portland is now the first to offer bereavement leave for employees after they have an abortion. City Council unanimously approved the changes earlier this month. Under the new policy, employees are able to take off three days of work after an abortion or any type of pregnancy loss.

Researchers have discovered nearly 500 ceremonial complexes in Mexico, and they are thought to have been of cosmic importance to Mesoamerican civilizations over 2,000 years ago. The hundreds of sites were discovered using publicly available LIDAR data collected by the Mexican government... ...It is thought they were constructed by diverse groups between 1,050 BC and 400 BC...and, and, based on they way they are facing, many seem to be aligned with the sunrise of a certain date....

This is the United States first ever gender 'X' passport - given to an intersex Navy veteran who has been campaigning for the option since 2015. Dana Zzyym, who uses they/them pronouns, received their document on Wednesday, with their law firm Lambda exclusively sharing a snap of the groundbreaking photo page with DailyMail.com Zzyym, from Colorado, was identified as the recipient by her law firm Lambda Legal on Wednesday, shortly after the State Department announced the document had been issued. Zzyym, who uses 'they/them' pronouns, first asked for the change while filling out their passport form in 2015, when the...

The scope of the fraud that Lori Ann Talens, 41, masterminded was so “staggering” that the massive sum of her theft was a “conservative estimate,” according to information released by the FBI last week. “She had coupons for $24.99 off a $25 box of diapers. And it would work,” said Postal Inspector Jason Thomasson. “And you’d have people walking out the door with those diapers for almost nothing.” Talens’ husband, Pacifico Talens Jr., 43, was also sentenced to seven months in prison, according to the release.

This afternoon, Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before a congressional hearing, and he wasn't prepared for the kind of metaphorical beating he was going to receive. Senator Ted Cruz gave one helluva performance, skull dragging Garland for every single person in the chamber to see. It made for very compelling television. It was magnificent. And before Garland could even begin to process anything, Cruz eviscerated him. He demonstrated just how the AG did, in fact, weaponize the DOJ against parents in an act of political persecution. Garland played stupid—which is never difficult for a leftist hack—as Cruz drilled into him...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ Wildcats With Guns! U.S. Army cadets assigned to Kansas State University Reserves Office Training Corps (ROTC) Wildcat Battalion represent their university by expressing the school’s wildcat mascot hand symbol at an M4 qualifying range, Oct. 23, 2021, at Fort Riley, Kansas. Cadets completed a three-day field training exercise at Fort Riley that included range qualifications, obstacle courses, land navigation, and tactical combat casualty care, to focus on individual basic Soldier skills, as well as to build confidence, teamwork, and leadership skills. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Alvin Conley,...

Italy’s senate has killed off a bill that would have made violence against LGBT people and disabled people, as well as misogyny, a hate crime. The 315-member senate voted by 154 to 131 on Wednesday to block the debate on the law, named after the gay centre-left Democratic party (PD) legislator Alessandro Zan and previously approved by the lower house of parliament in the face of months of protests from far-right and Catholic groups. Pina Picierno, a PD member of the European parliament, called the vote “one of the worst pages in the history of the Italian republic”. According to...

Huma Abedin has spoken publicly for the first time, breaking her silence to discuss being kissed by a senator against her will, and the collapse of her marriage to disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner. Abedin, who for 25 years has served as Hillary Clinton's most loyal aide, spoke to CBS's Norah O'Donnell for an interview that will air on Sunday. She recounted an incident from the 2000s, described in her new memoir, in which a senator invited her back to his apartment in Washington DC and surprised her by kissing her. 'I did go back to a senator's apartment -...

Houston Texans Chairman and CEO Cal McNair has apologized for referring to the coronavirus as the “China virus” at a charity event over the summer. McNair reportedly made the comments at the Houston Texans Foundation Charity Golf Classic in May. Bally Sports reported that McNair told the crowd, “I’m sorry that we couldn’t get together last year because of the China Virus.” According to the report, that line earned McNair gasps and looks of shock from the assembled crowd at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston. “My comments at the event last May included an inappropriate choice of words,”...

Gov. Phil Murphy's administration now denies there are plans for "a blanket COVID-19 vaccine mandate" if Murphy is re-elected. The conservative activist group "Project Veritas" released a secretly recorded video showing Murphy campaign aides saying that the governor would impose broader vaccine mandates after the election is over. Late last night, the governor's office released a statement to The Lakewood Scoop website saying, "The administration has never had plans, nor is it making plans, for a blanket Covid-19 vaccine mandate."

While acting on four seasons of FX’s “American Horror Story,” Leslie Grossman estimates she’s been called upon to shoot a gun “several times.”“They’re never real guns,” she says. “Nine times out of 10, I’m using a rubber gun.” When the scene does call for a more dramatic close-up of a gun firing with a physical recoil, Grossman says she usually shoots an air gun instead, with effects added in post-production to enhance authenticity. On the most recent season, “American Horror Story: Double Feature,” Grossman recalls only using rubber guns, even while shooting them.“I even said, ‘Wait, is this gonna look...

When Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee last week, he told Rep. Jim Jordan that FBI agents will not be attending school board meetings. However, an activist mother in Fairfax, Virginia says the feds did show up at a school board meeting last Thursday, the same day Garland made his statement to Jordan. The mom says a Department of Homeland Security vehicle was present in the parking lot the night of the meeting. She took a photograph of it. Unmarked government-looking vehicles were also present. In addition, she says a helicopter flew overhead shining a light...

Why would a pope do such a thing?I have a few busy days right now and also people in town, so my energies are divided.However, I bring to your attention the fact that, other day, with other religious leaders Francis signed a document about “safeguarding nature” in advance of some gassy climate confab in Scotland. Antonio Socci says that the 2350 word document has not a single reference to God or a creator or creation.I have to ask myself: Why would a Pope sign such a document?On the other hand, Francis also appointed Jeffrey Sachs to the Pontifical Academy of...

Hungry for financial flexibility, a California man named Dylan shelled out a measly $150 a year to eat every meal at Six Flags Magic Mountain in order to save thousands, pay off his student loan debt, get married and purchase a house in Los Angeles. “You can pay around $150 for unlimited, year-round access to Six Flags, which includes parking and two meals a day,” Dylan, 33, explained to Mel Magazine Monday. “If you time it right, you could eat both lunch and dinner there every day.” The theme park offers guests a “premium season dining pass” which allows visitors...

A former top executive at a North Carolina-based health care system has won $10 million in a legal battle over his claim that he lost his job because he is a white man. David Duvall, a former senior vice president of marketing and communication at Novant Health, was awarded the money by a federal jury in Charlotte on Tuesday. In his lawsuit, Duvall had alleged that he was pushed out of his job without warning or explanation in July 2018 as the company tried to diversify top leadership positions.