Free Republic

In what some consider one of the most far-reaching social policy moves in the corporate world, the National Association of Realtors, called the nation's largest trade organization, has revised its professional ethics code to ban “hate speech and harassing speech” by its 1.4 million members. Under the new policy, real estate agents who insult, threaten or harass people based on race, sex, or other legally protected characteristics can be investigated, fined or expelled. Its online training sessions offer a glimpse at how difficult the rules can be to enforce. NAR The sweeping prohibition applies to association members 24/7, covering all...

The Coming Assault on Religious FreedomModern-day Thomas Beckets are needed to stop it.Joe Biden’s view of religious freedom is exceedingly narrow. Where religious freedom conflicts with the goals of liberalism, he supports suppressing it. He has promised Planned Parenthood that he will resume the Obama-era harassment of the Little Sisters of the Poor and other religious groups if they don’t conform to his mandates. During the campaign, he opposed “broad exemptions” for those who resist his view of LGBTQ rights.One of Biden’s transition officials is Chai Feldblum, who has spoken openly of her opposition to religious freedom. She has written,...

Black Lives Matter protesters reportedly crashed a Christmas charity fundraiser for children with cancer this past weekend. The fundraiser, protest, and march took place on Candy Cane Lane in the city of West Allis, Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that “a group of about 50 Black Lives Matter supporters” marched at a Christmas light show of houses on the street which “has raised money for the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer.” The Sentinel notes that there were “no arrests or citations” issued during the protest and that “there were no reports of violent activity.” The protesters marched down the...

Muddy roads, rusted cars, makeshift shelters and piles of garbage: The desolate images at the beginning of German director Milo Rau’s new film, The New Gospel, show how farm workers live near the southern Italian city of Matera. Most of them are African refugees. They have no residence permit and work for hours under the scorching sun or in the freezing cold for a pittance in the tomato fields and orange plantations. They are hired and supervised by Italian foremen, the “caporali.” The mafia controls the agricultural economy in the Matera region; there is no way around their contact men....

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) is the latest state leader to urge residents to drastically limit their holiday gatherings by spending them only with members of the same household, signing an executive order limiting indoor public events to ten. In a Sunday evening address, the Republican governor identified Tennesee as “ground zero for a surge in sickness,” describing the ongoing pandemic as a “war.” Approximately 10,000 Tennesseans are getting sick daily, the governor said, largely attributing the spike to holiday gatherings — namely, the Thanksgiving gatherings

The Secular Democrats of America PAC prepared a report for Joe Biden and his transition team that outlines a roadmap to "boldly restore a vision of constitutional secularism and respect in the land for religious and intellectual pluralism." The federal political action committee "represents secular Democratic individuals and organizations" and advocates for "secular governance, promote respect and inclusion of nonreligious Americans, and mobilize nonreligious voters." The proposal was formally presented by Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin and Jared Huffman, co-chairs of the Congressional Freethought Caucus, and endorsed by Democratic Rep. Jerry McNerney. “We’ve offered the new administration a roadmap to restore...

Christmas in California has effectively been cancelled by Emperor Gavin Newsom. And now it looks like here in L.A. we're going to be locked in our basements by the local yahoos in charge until February. But the continuing destruction of normal social and economic life in California in the name of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic is old news. Instead, let's talk about the yahoos in Washington who are continuing to screw up the whole country. The federal yahoos, it's no surprise, are the slippery politicians in Congress. Mostly Democrats but also some Republicans, for a decade they haven't had the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. December 15, 2020 – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) today urged immediate action from Facebook to eradicate anti-Muslim bigotry from the platform and demanded Mark Zuckerberg implement six measures to combat bigoted content. In a letter signed by 29 colleagues, Dingell cited instances of anti-Muslim content on Facebook and recent reports showing the role of the platform in inciting violence against the Muslim community. “Facebook cannot celebrate the success of its platform, while ignoring its role in elevating the dangerous, deadly content targeting Muslim people,” said Congresswoman Dingell. “In Christchurch, New Zealand, a terrorist attack that stole the lives...

By David Martin Pope Francis recently published a new book titled, Let us Dream: A Path to a Better Future, which is being touted “an inspiring and actionable blueprint for building a better world for all humanity” (Simon & Schuster). What is strange is that the book is void of the instructions for a better world given to us by Christ. There is nothing about doing penance (Mt 3:2) and obeying rules and commandments (John 14:15). In his book, Francis talks about "creating something new", "our new principle", and "reimagining a new world." This immediately calls to mind the lyrics...

Very few people in Big Eva love the spotlight as much as Beth Moore. She loves making vague statements leveling unsubstantiated accusations against the church. After several months of soothing the conscience of Joe Biden voters, Big Eva is circling the wagons to rally against the biggest threat to Christianity in America, “Christian Nationalism.” Erick Erickson and David “Vichy” French have both chimed in their support of an absolute heretic, while claiming Christ, because Trump Derangement Syndrome is a very ecumenical cult.Fill in the blank. The greatest threat to the church in America is _________. Marxism, the scamdemic, effeminacy, lukewarmness,...

Minister for Education, Kirsty Williams, is pushing an education Bill which requires all pupils to study atheism or ‘non-religious’ views such as Humanism with no parental right of withdrawal. Under the new system a non-religious committee in each area is given a veto power over all religious teaching. So humanists, who actively oppose all religion, are to be handed control over religious teaching in schools. The sensitive issue of sex education is also being given a total rewrite, imposing compulsory sex education for all pupils from the age of three. All existing safeguards on inappropriate materials are scrapped by the...

"I couldn't help but notice your Christmas light display. During these unprecedented times, we have all experienced challenges which casual words just don't describe what we're feeling. The idea of twinkling, colorful lights are a reminder of divisions that continue to run through our society, a reminder of systemic biases against our neighbors who don't celebrate Christmas or who can't afford to put up lights of their own," the letter, shared by Crime Watch Minneapolis, reads. "We must do the work of educating ourselves about the harmful impact an outward facing display like yours can have."

NEW YORK, November 27 (C-Fam) The European Commission intends to unleash a barrage of policies to impose LGBT uniformity across the European Union, including through the threat of sanctions. The powerful European Commission announced that it wants to make “hate speech” and “hate crimes” EU crimes by 2021 and to impose mutual recognition of “rainbow families” across the European Union by 2022. The EU Commission made the announcement in its first-ever EU-wide strategy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) equality on November 12. Alongside the pledge to legislate “hate crimes” and “rainbow families” the strategy sets...

WASHINGTON (RNS) — A Democratic group dedicated to representing secular values unveiled a slate of recommendations for President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration on Monday (Nov. 30), outlining a sweeping agenda designed to roll back many of President Trump’s actions involving religion and to “restore a vision of constitutional secularism.” The 28-page document, crafted by the Secular Democrats of America PAC, is being presented to the incoming administration by Democratic Representatives Jamie Raskin and Jared Huffman — both co-chairs of the Congressional Freethought Caucus. The SDA’s agenda offers a wide range of policy recommendations to push back against the so-called “Christian...

Biden is making sweeping promises to LGBTQ activists, proposing to carry out virtually every major proposal on their wish lists. Among them: Lifting the Trump administration’s near-total ban on military service for transgender people, barring federal contractors from anti-LGBTQ job discrimination, and creating high-level LGBTQ-rights positions at the State Department, the National Security Council and other federal agencies. Biden says his top legislative priority for LGBTQ issues is the Equality Act, passed by the House of Representatives last year but stalled in the Senate. It would extend to all 50 states the comprehensive anti-bias protections already afforded to LGBTQ people...

Al Mohler, a theologian and president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, sounded the alarm on the Human Rights Campaign’s push November 27, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America’s largest and most powerful LGBT lobby organizations, is pushing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to target Christian educational institutions, demanding that a Biden Administration strip colleges that adhere to rules and positions opposing homosexuality of their accreditation. The HRC’s “Blueprint for Positive Change,” which offers 85 recommendations, proposes eliminating non-discrimination exemptions for religious colleges if they refuse to abandon the biblical position on marriage. Al Mohler, a theologian...

A Starbucks barista has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the company because she says she was fired for not wearing an LGBT PRIDE t-shirt.Starbucks claims that her suit is “without merit,” that the company does not require employees to wear any item of clothing other than their trademark green apron.But the woman, Betsy Fresse who worked at Starbucks in Hoboken, N.J., says the reason that was given for her termination was “her comportment was not in compliance with Starbucks’ core values.”Fresse’s trouble with the company began when she transferred to another store in New Jersey.NBCNews:In June 2019, she and...

Alas, we have a victory for religious freedom in the COVID lockdown era. The Supreme Court recently ruled that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo illegally targeted churches in his COVID lockdown order—and Justice Amy Coney Barrett was the deciding vote. In the 5-4 decision, the Court ruled Cuomo’s edict violated First Amendment rights (via NYT): The Supreme Court late Wednesday night barred restrictions on religious services in New York that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo had imposed to combat the coronavirus. The vote was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the court’s three liberal members in...

BREAKING: Supreme Court votes 5-4 to grant Catholic Diocese and orthodox Jews' request to block Gov. Cuomo's attendance limits at houses of worship in New York. Chief Justice Roberts joins the three liberal justices in dissent.

New HBO documentary depicts parents propagandizing their children in radical gender theory and robbing them of life in their natural bodies.A new HBO documentary, titled “Transhood,” is pushing the limits of what America understands as the transgender rights movement. Following four so-called transgender children, aged 4, 7, 12, and 15, the documentary’s description says it demonstrates “how the kids are challenged and transformed as they experience the complexity of their identities.” While through the lens of leftist LGBT advocacy this might sound empowering, from a rational point of view, it is far from a positive development.In a scene shared by...