Free Republic

(snip) But in one very important way, gay marriage will not quite be marriage even in New York, even 30 days from now when the law goes into effect. That is because the psycho-sexual-financial-commercial-legal dramas that entangle the domestic lives of straight people often have another component: religion. And religious institutions have an exemption in the new law over accommodating gay people. It was key to the passage of the legislation. Marriage without a church or temple wedding isn't the real thing. Why can some people have all the bells and whistles in the church of their choice but not...

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., lit into the “weirdos” that he said are tearing the United States apart, in a fiery speech at the Reagan Foundation that connected the hyperbolic political debates of the last few years with the global threats facing the nation. The Nebraska Republican ripped into “performance artists” on the far left and far right who have dominated politics for close to a decade, saying they’re more focused on getting likes and retweets for themselves on social media than on preserving the United States’ standing as a global superpower amid new threats from adversaries like China.

Ukraine says the Russian army looted or damaged more than 1,000 computers at the Chernobyl nuclear power station and stole trucks and radiation dosimeters. Chernobyl's information director Vitaliy Medved said nuclear equipment was not damaged and "regarding radiation safety everything is OK". The losses caused by the Russian occupation - now ended - are put at more than 1.6bn hryvnia (£44m; $54m). The explosion of a reactor at Chernobyl spread radiation across Europe in 1986. The decommissioned plant, north of Kyiv, lies near the Belarus border and was quickly occupied by Russian troops after their 24 February invasion. Russian forces...

Growing up in Guadalajara, Mexico, Katya Echazarreta was encouraged to abandon her dreams of traveling to space. “Everyone around me — family, friends, teachers — I just kept hearing the same thing: That’s not for you,” Echazarreta told The Associated Press. Echazarreta, 26, will prove them wrong Saturday when she joins a diverse international crew boarding the fifth passenger flight by Blue Origin, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space travel venture. She and five others, including Victor Correa Hespanha, the second Brazilian to fly to space, will blast off from Texas atop a New Shepard rocket for a 10-minute flight. The...

Not a happy video, but one of a grieving angry great grandfather.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, known professionally as Dr. Oz, won Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary election on Friday after opposing candidate Dave McCormick conceded. According to the Associated Press, McCormick realized that despite an ongoing state recount, he would not receive enough votes to beat Oz. “It’s now clear to me with the recount now largely complete that we have a nominee,” McCormick said, according to the AP. “Tonight is really about all us coming together.” Since the recount remains underway, the race has not officially been called by the AP. Oz’s political victory comes after an extremely tight race between himself...

The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District board took no action Friday evening against its embattled police chief, Pete Arredondo, in a special board meeting called in response to last week’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. As incident commander, Arredondo made the decision to wait more than an hour for backup instead of ordering officers at the scene to immediately confront the shooter who killed 19 students and two teachers. The head of the state police later said this was the “wrong decision, period.” Many residents had called on Arredondo to quit or be sacked, saying decisive action could have...

OH: JD Vance - replacing Rob Portman NC: Ted Budd - replacing Richard Burr PA: Mehmet Oz - replacing Pat Toomey Others: MO: Roy Blunt - Eric Greitens likely nominee - not a RINO AL: Richard Shelby - Britt and Brooks in runoff - Trump endorsed Brooks then withdrew endorsement OK: James Inhofe - TBD

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied review in Community Baptist Church v. Polis, (Docket No. 21-1328, certiorari denied 5/31/2022). (Order List). In the case, the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's denial of a preliminary injunction in a free exercise challenge by two churches and one of their pastors to COVID restrictions imposed by the state of Colorado. It similarly affirmed the dismissal of a challenge to the federal government's award of COVID relief aid to the state. (See prior posting.)

On Friday’s “CNN Newsroom,” White House Senior Adviser and Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu responded to concerns about the economy from people like Larry Summers, Jamie Dimon, and Elon Musk by stating that “We don’t need expectations.” Because current numbers are good. He added that while inflation is a challenge, “the president’s economic policies have put us in a very strong position to move through this very difficult time.”

Only months after suffering a huge and unexplained increase in their death rates in the fall of 2021, many Western European countries are seeing a new spike.The increase includes some Covid deaths but is not limited to them. Several countries now have death rates more than 15 percent above normal, an extremely unusual event - especially since demographers expected death rates to fall as Covid eased.The spike last fall came a few months after near-universal Covid vaccinations. This spring’s rise comes on the heels of third-shot “booster” mRNA jabs that were far more common in Europe than the United States.Notably,...

State of Florida threatened the Special Olympics with a fine of $27 million because of the organization's requirement that all athletes competing in the games in Orlando this weekend be vaccinated for COVID-19. In a letter sent to Special Olympics International, the Florida Department of Health informed the organization that its vaccine requirement conflicted with existing Florida law, which prohibits any business from asking for proof of vaccination. The letter, which was first obtained by ABC News, was sent to the Special Olympics on Thursday night. Shortly after receiving that letter, the Special Olympics posted an update on its website,...

After a two-year legal battle, a Crown Court Judge has vindicated a Christian volunteer worker who was arrested, detained in a police cell and issued with a Covid fine for preaching and supporting the homeless during lockdown. On Easter Sunday 2020, Andrew Sathiyavan, 47, was confronted by London Metropolitan police officers on Sutton High Street, London, for allegedly breaching Covid regulations. Video footage of the incident revealed Mr Sathiyavan being told by the police that preaching the gospel was ‘not allowed’ under the regulations and that his preaching was ‘non-essential’ and was ‘anti-social behaviour.’ Mr Sathiyavan disagreed, as he believed...

I encourage Oklahomans to pray for women in crisis pregnancy situations, for their families and loved ones, for families waiting to adopt, for fathers, and for the many pregnancy resource centers serving these brave parents.’OKLAHOMA CITY (LifeSiteNews) – Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City thanked state lawmakers Wednesday for enacting a new law that has effectively halted the abortion industry in the Sooner State, calling on Oklahomans to continue “building a culture of life.” Signed into law Wednesday by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, HB 4327 bans any procedure that “cause[s] the death of an unborn child” except in cases of...

Do Second Amendment “Arms” Include Cannons? I would appreciate any additional materials that anyone may have. “Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birthright of an American... The unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of either the federal or state government, but, where I trust in God it will ever remain, in the hands of the people.” -Tench Coxe, Pennsylvania Gazette, Feb. 20, 1788 “The word ‘arms’ in the connection we find it in the Constitution of the United States, refers to the...

It was morning in East Africa. The day was May 26, 1886, and along the shore of Lake Victoria the mist still hung thickly in the jungle undergrowth, although the sun had risen well above the horizon. The night-time cacophony of wildlife had long since subsided, and the land was quiet except for the buzzing of insects and the murmur of hushed voices.In a wide clearing on a hill above the lake, a dramatic scene unfolded. Uganda's King Mwanga was holding court in the open-air gathering place in front of his temporary residence, his royal palace being under repair after...

Patriarch Kirill, the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, will be excluded from the latest package of EU sanctions against Russia after Hungary's objection, three diplomats have told Euronews. Brussels accuses Patriarch Kirill of supporting the invasion of Ukraine and acting as a propagandist for Vladimir Putin’s regime. In a sermon delivered in early May, Kirill stated that "Russia has never attacked anyone" and that "we don't want to go to war". "It is amazing that a great and mighty country has never attacked anyone - it has only defended its borders," he added. Hungary repeatedly said it was against the...

***** Tunes For Our Troops ~ The Freeper Canteen Music Dedication Presents: Open Mic! *****~ Support The Artists You Hear Throughout The Canteen ! ~ ***** Warning: Not all music may be appropriate for children! Please click with caution. Thank you! Tunes For The Troops This music is provided for the entertainment of our Troops, Veterans, Allies & their families! Enjoy the variety of musical selections that the Canteen DJs provide throughout the thread. Please ping any DJ with your requests for the Troops! All music is removed on Monday.Thanks to all the DJs for their time & effort...

A man entered a hospital in Encino on Friday and stabbed three medical professionals, officials said. The man was armed with a knife when he entered Encino Hospital Medical Center around 3:50 p.m., Los Angeles police spokesman Drake Madison said. A doctor and two staff nurses were stabbed and transported to a trauma center, a representative for the hospital said. They suffered what were described as critical injuries, but officials stressed the information was preliminary. The assailant is believed to be contained to a room at the hospital, the LAPD said. Madison described the man as being barricaded. He said...

The groomers are everywhere these days, but nowhere are they more visible than at LGBTQ “Pride” parades, where every kind of debauchery imaginable is on full display in neighborhoods and on city streets around the world. A website called Fatherly warns in its Parenting section that pride parades are “filled with sights that may be new to kids, like public nudity and kink. Not to mention that Pride parades aren’t the most sober of places.”Nevertheless, the article concludes that young children should indeed be exposed to kink and nudity because the “educational aspects of Pride are paired with joy and...