Free Republic

Along with its more remarked-upon cases on affirmative action and student loan forgiveness, the Supreme Court decided this morning the case of 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. 303 Creative is an important First Amendment case, following in the footsteps of Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Group of Boston, Inc. and other precedents. The case arose out of a declaratory judgment action by a web site designer who creates web sites for married couples, but does not want to do so for gay marriages.In my view, the State of Colorado lost the case when it stipulated to the relevant...

The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results released last week were quite distressing. The scores on the reading and math tests administered in October-December 2022 showed the steepest declines ever recorded since the tests were first administered.Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), explains:“The mathematics decline for 13-year-olds was the single largest decline we have observed in the past half a century. The mathematics score for the lowest-performing students has returned to levels last seen in the 1970s, and the reading score for our lowest-performing students was actually lower than it was the very...

Here's What Open Borders and Forced Multiculturalism Did to the Streets of Paris

It has been scientifically proven that it's impossible to know what women want (and we all know you can't question science). In fact, there is usually a vast discrepancy between what men think women want and what women actually want. You don't have to despair, because The Babylon Bee is here to provide an invaluable translation to help give men an idea of what a woman really wants. What you think she wants: The food she ordered. What she actually wants: The food you ordered. What you think she wants: A man who will listen to her. What she actually...

U.S. Border Patrol agents allegedly cut through razor wire placed by Texas law enforcement officials on the southern to let illegal aliens enter the country, according to new video. Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin shared a video on Twitter of the incident, which he said occured on private property, according to officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety. “Video from source in Eagle Pass shows Border Patrol cutting through razor wire placed by the state of TX to allow migrants to enter & be processed after crossing illegally,” Melugin said. “[The Texas Department of Public Safety] tells me this...

(Daily readings from the USCCB)Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him. Matthew 8:14–15How do we properly respond to the action of God in our lives? In the passage above, we are given the witness of Peter’s mother-in-law to answer that question. It should be noted that Jesus was on a continual mission of healing. In fact, before arriving at the house of Peter, Jesus had just healed a centurion’s servant. When the centurion came to Jesus...

A 5-foot alligator sneaked into a Louisiana home in the middle of the night using the doggy door, according to a sheriff’s office. But the nosy reptile’s fun was over when the resident dog alerted homeowners to its presence. [Snip] Photos shared by the sheriff’s office show the alligator looking quite pleased with itself as it lays near a carpet in the home. Video shows an official with a long pole stealthily creeping toward the alligator from around a corner. The official then secures a loop around the alligator’s neck and subdues it as it thrashes wildly. The alligator was...

Breaking from over a decade of traditionally not raising tuition for its students, Cal State leaders on Thursday released a proposal that would start annual increases in fall 2024. They say it’s the only way to make up a shortfall between operating costs and revenues.

Next fall, North Point Community Church is hosting the Unconventional Conference, where Andy Stanley will be a keynote speaker. The conference is being put on by Embracing the Journey, a radical gay-affirming ministry that partners with North Point that offers counseling to parents of struggling LGBTQ+ children. In recent weeks Protestia has uncovered that not only is Stanley gay-affirming, but rather several ministry heads are as well. We wrote how when parents come to them with concerns and counseling regarding their struggling LGBTQ+ children, North Point recommends an affirming ministry for the parents, and affirming, progressive, all-gay counselors for the...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Pray For The Peace of JerusalemLuke 18 The Little Children and Jesus 15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” _______________________________________________________New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®...

Charismatic Kingpin Dr. Michael Brown, host of ‘The Line of Fire,’ revealed in a recent episode of his show that for nearly a decade, he’s been interacting “very intensely” with North Point Community Church Senior Pastor Andy Stanley on whether or not homosexuality is a sin. Brown claims that after exchanging “endless texts and emails” and despite Stanley being “fully accessible” to him, as far back as 2015, he has steadfastly refused to give Brown a simple answer, lending Brown to surmise that Stanley is indeed gay-affirming. We’ve been covering this extensively over the last two weeks, revealing that not...

It was a smell that invoked a memory. Both for Emily Kuchlbauer in North Carolina and Ryan Bomba in Chicago. It was smoke from wildfires, the odor of an increasingly hot and occasionally on-fire world. “It’s been very apocalyptic feeling, because in California the dialogue is like, ‘Oh, it’s normal. This is just what happens on the West Coast,’ but it’s very much not normal here,” Kuchlbauer said. As Earth’s climate continues to change from heat-trapping gases spewed into the air, ever fewer people are out of reach from the billowing and deadly fingers of wildfire smoke, scientists say. Already...

Not only did Andy Stanley participate in a private, shocking Q&A where he offered some heretical hot takes on homosexuality, but for years one of his children’s ministries has been promoting and partnering with pro-LBGTQ+ organizations. Debbie Causey is a long-tenured pastrix at North Point Community Church and the director of their Care network of ministries. Years ago, after her son came out as gay, she wrote the book The Big Reveal: Loving Your LGBTQ+ Child While Strengthening Your Faith, which details her experiences handling her son’s revelations. The book is filled with bad theology and sly innuendo. Watch as...

WASHINGTON, Tuesday, June 30. Advices received here this evening indicate that LEE is at last thoroughly aroused to the peril of the position in which he has entangled his army. He is drawing in his forces to the neighborhood of Shippensburgh, where a great battle will probably be fought. The position of our army cannot be stated, but the public may rest assured that it is rapidly forcing conclusions with the enemy. Its present numbers, and moral and physical condition are such as to give informed parties here to-night the most sanguine expectations. The tide has turned to-day, and will...

On January 13, 2023, LD 168 was introduced into the Maine Legislature by Speaker Talbot Ross of Portland, cosponsored by Representative Salisbury of Westbrook. LD 168 was designed to eliminate most private sales of modern firearms by requiring the sale to be conducted through a federally licensed dealer and recorded in the dealer’s records. The bill specifically targeted gun shows, online distributors, or printed publications advertising firearms for sale. Law enforcement was exempted. The fine for the first offense was set at $1000. From LD 168:2. Requirement. If neither the seller nor buyer of a firearm is a federally licensed...

This story emerged from an unlikely source involving Glenn Beck’s recent vacation to Europe. As reported at The Blaze, while Beck was overseas he had a disturbing conversation with his travel agent. He was told, “You should see Europe now while you can.” The reason is that the United Nations has been rolling out “sustainability goals” for the travel industry, particularly when it comes to air travel. They are trying to force airlines to get to “net zero” in terms of emissions. As we recently discussed here, the technology doesn’t currently exist to achieve net zero for commercial airlines without...

The average gallon of regular gas costs $4.98 in Washington state as of June 30, more than $1.00 higher than the national average For the first time ever, Washington is the most expensive state in the country to buy gas and a new policy aimed at protecting the environment is a big reason why. n January, Washington began a program aimed at limiting carbon emissions that requires fuel suppliers to either cut their greenhouse gasses or pay a price, but some fuel suppliers are passing along their increased costs to customers. The average gallon of regular gas currently costs $4.98...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Small arms, ATGMs, MANPADS, loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles, trailers and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When the...

This has been one of the busiest weeks in recent memory in terms of court hearings on Second Amendment issues. Not only did we have the Seventh Circuit’s oral arguments on a possible injunction against Illinois’ ban on so-called assault weapons and “large capacity” magazines and the Ninth Circuit’s hearing on California’s AB 2571, but another Ninth Circuit panel heard oral arguments in a challenge to the state’s ban on open carry on Thursday, and a three-judge panel on the Fifth Circuit also heard from both sides in a Thursday hearing to determine whether a temporary injunction halting enforcement of...