Free Republic

A believer spells out the difference between faith and a political agenda Are you a Christian who doesn't feel represented by the religious right? I know the feeling. When the discourse about faith is dominated by political fundamentalists and social conservatives, many others begin to feel as if their religion has been taken away from them. The number of Christians misrepresented by the Christian right is many. There are evangelical Protestants who believe strongly that Christianity should not get too close to the corrupting allure of government power. There are lay Catholics who, while personally devout, are socially liberal on...

Cy, short for Cyclopes, a kitten born with only one eye and no nose, is shown in this photo provided by its owner in Redmond, Oregon, on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005. The kitten, a ragdoll breed, which died after living for one day, was one of two in the litter. Its sibling was born normal and healthy. (AP Photo/Traci Allen)

The Washington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com Sex-ed program pulled from year's curriculumBy Jon WardTHE WASHINGTON TIMESPublished May 6, 2005 Montgomery County Public Schools yesterday halted a new sex-ed curriculum that was to have begun today, after a federal judge ruled in favor of a lawsuit that charged the course is unconstitutional and promotes homosexuality.     U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams Jr. had granted a 10-day temporary restraining order yesterday to halt the teaching of the new course.     "I have directed the office of the deputy superintendent of schools to review and evaluate the materials referenced in the judge's order," Superintendent Jerry D. Weast...

Medford, Oregon - There's nothing so special about two gays living together, or two lesbians living together, that should cause Oregon's Legislature to treat them any differently than the members of any other special family unit. If those in non-married, non-traditional relationships, want the same benefits as marrieds, all Oregonians should all be treated the same. Discrimination by any other name is still discrimination. Gays and lesbians in Oregon have claimed that they are a discriminated class of Americans because they are denied the same legal status and the same tax and estate planning benefits as married, heterosexual couples. By...

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) - A federal judge on Thursday blocked a county school system from instituting a health curriculum that includes discussions of homosexuality. U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams agreed with two groups that sued contending such discussions gave preference of religions that are tolerant of homosexuality over those that reject it. Williams issued a temporary restraining order that prevents the Montgomery County school system in suburban Washington, D.C., from using the pilot health program in six schools. The program was set to begin Monday. During the 10-day restraining order, another hearing will be held on whether to extend it,...

As arguments rage over the issue of gay marriage, BBC News talks to people caught up in one of the United States' most divisive social battles. Mary Li and Rebecca Kennedy were the first lesbian couple to get married in Oregon, in March 2004, but a shadow hung over them even as they exchanged vows. Earlier this month - "after a year of living like a normal family" - the state's Supreme Court annulled their union and more than 3,000 others, in a case that sent a signal across the US. The couple know they are on the front line...

Washington, DC – The leadership of DignityUSA strongly disagrees with the Pope's recent statement in his “State of the World Message” where he said same sex marriage promotes a “direct challenge to the family” “It is clear that the Pope has a very myopic understanding of family”, stated Matthew Gallagher, Executive Director of DignityUSA. “The Pope needs to be open to the lived experience of countless couples as many people of faith and society in general move toward understanding 'family' in a broader sense. “Family is more than one male, one female and their biological children. The modern world has...

"But I'm not a serpent, I tell you!" said Alice......."Well! What are you?" said the Pigeon, "I can see you're trying to invent something!" ----Advice From A Caterpillar Noah Webster defined 'orient' and its' derivative 'orientation' thusly: "orient: the east; East Asia; to cause to face the east; to set as a map; to adjust to a particular situation. "orientation: oriented; recognition of and adaptation to a situation or environment." Primarily then, orientation speaks to direction and/or adjusting or adapting to a situation or environment. Implicit in this definition is 'choice,' as one must make a decision as to whether...

No Name Calling Week?     1/12/2005By Warren Throckmorton, Ph.D.Yes, name-calling is wrong. But this event’s sponsors reveal the agenda behind banning it. “There is a special place in hell for people like you!” These words were directed at me by a teacher during this past summer’s National Education Association (NEA) convention in Washington, D.C. This delegate to the NEA convention made his prediction in response to my presence at the NEA’s Ex-Gay Educators’ Caucus booth in the convention exhibit hall. His cheery salutation caught me off-guard given the message of tolerance and acceptance I had been hearing around the exhibit hall....

There's a poll at PBS asking for votes about gay marriage. Needs FReeping.

Susan Brinkman, an investigative journalist, is currently writing a six-part series on homosexuality called "Homosexuality: The Untold Story - A Dangerous New Diversity," for the Catholic Standard & Times, the Archdiocese newspaper of Philadelphia. In part 3 of her series on the health consequences of homosexual behavior, Brinkmann writes: "The American public has been left largely in the dark about the extent of the medical problems associated with homosexual activity because of the influence of pro-homosexual political agendas. Brinkmann also notes that a high number of homosexuals appear to have been molested as children as compared to the general population....

<p>The next time you hear a bunch of talk show patriots trash-talking the French for congenital anti-Americanism, ingratitude and cowardice because France led the international opposition to President Bush's misadventure in Iraq, politely inform them there would be no United States of America without France.</p>

After bouncing between nine residential programs, four foster families and an untold number of bigots, homelessness didn't seem like such a bad alternative to Eve Serrano. ``My life is no picnic,'' said Serrano, 20, a Latina lesbian honor student of the School of Hard Knocks who was received with empathetic applause from some 1,500 like-minded survivors at yesterday's ninth annual Gay/Straight Youth Pride rally in Copley Square. Serrano, who shed frilly frocks and flowing locks for crewcuts and cargo pants when she was 13, said she grew up in a New Jersey ghetto listening to her own family berate her...

McGreevey expected to support same-sex benefits bill Sunday October 20, 2002 NEWARK, N.J. (AP) A bill expected to be introduced this month that would grant legal benefits to same-sex couples is likely to have the backing of Gov. James E. McGreevey. ``Governor McGreevey supports legislation that would provide domestic partner benefits and protections,'' McGreevey spokeswoman Jo Glading told The Sunday Star-Ledger of Newark. The bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, would not recognize gay marriages, but would ensure that people living together, including same-sex couples, receive the same legal benefits as married couples. The measure would require unmarried couples...

Faulty Genes Explain Why Cloning Is So DifficultMon May 27, 3:07 PM ETCloning may not always completely reprogramme an egg cell the way sexual reproduction does, which might explain why the process fails more often than it works, experts say. Dolly, the world's first cloned animal, stands in her pen at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh in this February 23, 1997, file photo. REUTERS WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cloning may not always completely reprogram an egg cell the way sexual reproduction does, which would explain why the process fails so often, researchers reported on Monday. While lawmakers around the world debate...