Free Republic

TRENTON - Last month, a state utilities board voted to allocate $15 million in federal stimulus money for grants to make businesses more energy efficient. The money for the program, which seeks to lower New Jersey residents' utility bills by reducing demand from the biggest users of the electric grid, should have come from a fee assessed on major commercial and industrial users since 2003.But the Retail Margin Fund, which holds that revenue, is empty - among the consequences of hundreds of millions of dollars in diversions from "dedicated" funds to help the state close a multibillion-dollar budget gap.Budget documents...

I was just thinking this evening about the 'right' to medical privacy penumbra that is the Constitutional premise for abortion 'rights' in the US. This "right" to medical pricacy in essence overrides the GOVs ability to enforce anti abortion laws -that is the premise for abortion. It is this very premise it seems that is now in essence being trampled upon by the leftist with this health reform law... I am not a lawyer --I wonder if this idea has a legal basis? It would be delightful to see the leftists gnashing of teeth if two of thier dreams were...

Homosexuals Barred From Mixed Dance Competition THE HAGUE, 27/07/06 - Homosexual ballroom dancing couples are not allowed to participate in the mixed competition, the district court in The Hague ruled yesterday. The court thus rejected a recommendation by the Equal Treatment Commission (CGB). The judge considers that the Netherlands Dance Union (NADB) is not guilty of discrimination by not allowing same-sex couples in the mixed competition. The court takes into account that the differences in strength between homosexual and heterosexual couples could influence performance and the judging. Leo van Buitenen and Kees Notenboom, two men, are among the top at...

Suit Filed On Behalf of Ministry Volunteers Arrested in Chicago (AgapePress) - Volunteers with a Philadelphia-based Christian ministry claim they were harassed by authorities in Chicago, Illinois, for sharing the gospel with homosexuals who were in town for the city's "Gay Games," an Olympics-style sports event series for homosexuals. Three people with the evangelical group Repent America say they were handcuffed and arrested by Chicago police officers for passing out Christian literature to homosexuals and holding up signs with Bible verses near Navy Pier. The evangelists had been warned that they would be arrested if they were caught handing out...

Losing the Marriage Debate It’s no secret that liberals hold in contempt what they regard as the provincial nature of conservatives. And I certainly would love to buy liberals for what I think they’re worth and sell them for what they think they’re worth, to paraphrase the old retort. That said, a part of me is so frustrated with my traditionalist brethren that I could almost be persuaded that the left is, in some minute measure, correct. For the sagacity reflected in our ends is matched by the stupidity of our means. And the left is quite the opposite. I...

Nurses union sues over health benefits for same-sex spouse BOSTON- The Massachusetts Nurses Association filed a federal lawsuit Thursday seeking to overturn an arbitration award that denied health insurance benefits to the same-sex spouse of a registered nurse. Maria Ciulla, a nurse who works at Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill, married her lesbian partner on Oct. 1, 2005, more than a year after Massachusetts became the first state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage. A few days later, she asked the hospital to add her spouse to her Blue Cross/Blue Shield policy, but the hospital denied her request. In...

India Government AIDS Body Urges Legalization of Sodomy NEW DELHI, India, July 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – India’s National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) has joined the efforts of activist organizations to decriminalize homosexual behaviour, saying the ban on homosexual activity is driving HIV/AIDS infections underground. NACO, the regulatory government body responsible for efforts to control the spread of the infection, filed a statement in the Delhi High Court on Wednesday in support of a petition put forth by a local AIDS group that asks that the law against homosexual activity be lifted. UNAID and other non-governmental organizations are also backing the...

Ex-teacher gets 15 to life for molesting students VISTA -- A former Escondido middle school teacher -- denounced by victims' families as a predator and praised by his family and friends as a decent man who would never harm children ---- was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years to life in state prison. Peter Thomas Ziskin, 44, of Solana Beach was convicted in May of 17 of the 26 child molestation charges prosecutors had filed against him. Ziskin was acquitted of six of the charges, and jurors were unable to reach a verdict on three counts. The charges involved allegations that...

Missouri Lifts Restrictions On Gay Foster Parents Judge Ruled In February State Could Not Reject Applications JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Following a court mandate, Missouri officials said Tuesday that they have lifted regulations that automatically prevented homosexuals from becoming foster parents. But while the decision clears the way for gays to get licensed to care for foster children, officials with the Department of Social Services said it might still be difficult for a gay person to become a foster parent. "We're considering the biological parents' preferences, and we're also considering the abuse and neglect that occurred to the child and...

House Republicans To Vote On Amendment Banning Gay Marriage Washington D.C. (AHN) - House Republicans are going ahead to vote on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. The vote is scheduled for Tuesday as part of a week in which House GOP leaders plan to focus on what they call their "American values agenda." In one of his weekly radio addresses, President Bush said changing the Constitution is necessary because "activist judges and some local officials have made an aggressive attempt to redefine marriage in recent years. Last month, the Senate was short of the 11 of the 60...

Exclusive City Policy Attacks Civil Rights What if a city charged Democrats, but not Republicans, to swim at the municipal plunge? What if it let the National Rifle Association use public meeting rooms without cost, but made the ACLU pay for the privilege? These hypothetical situations might sound strained, but are they so different from the double standard that the city of Berkeley practices at its marina? A city program allows nonprofit organizations free use of the Berkeley Marina. However, one group-the Berkeley Sea Scouts-is excluded. The disqualification is for ideological reasons: The Sea Scouts are affiliated with the Boy...

Cleveland health officials scrutinize opening of new bathhouse CLEVELAND - City health officials want the owner of a new, upscale gay bathhouse to provide condoms, offer customers regular HIV testing and appoint employees to answer questions about preventing sexually transmitted diseases. The Flex club, which is scheduled to open next month, will become part of a chain of six bathhouses extending from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Plans for the 50,000-square-foot complex inside a defunct Greyhound bus depot feature three pools, two saunas and a gym and include 110 cabana-like spa rooms equipped with cots and televisions, 18 hotel rooms and...

Connecticut Judge Rules Against Homosexual Couples' Demand for “Marriage” Title HARTFORD, Connecticut, July 13, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Homosexual couples will not be granted the right to “marry” in Connecticut, a Superior Court judge decided Wednesday, despite their possessing the same rights and protections as married couples under the state civil union law. Judge Patty Jenkins ruled against eight same-sex couples who filed suit against the state in August 2004 after being denied marriage licenses. They were seeking the right to legally marry, the Hartford Courant reported today. Judge Jenkins said Connecticut’s civil union law, which took effect in October 2005,...

With little opposition from conservative Christian groups, the Orange County Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a fair-housing ordinance that prohibits discrimination against gays.~SNIP~ The inclusion of sexual orientation was applauded by members of the gay community."The County Commission acted in a very courageous manner. I don't think any of us anticipated it would be unanimous," said Patrick Howell, president of the Log Cabin Republicans of Orange County.John Stemberger, one of the few conservative Christian leaders to show up in opposition to the ordinance, said he was disappointed by the vote."I think they did not reflect the vast majority of people...

Legal Settlement Negates Exclusionary Status of 'All Gay' High School (AgapePress) - A New York high school billed as the first openly homosexual school in the country must now admit heterosexual students. No longer can the publicly funded school cater only to "gay, lesbian, bisexual, or questioning" (GLBQ) students. Three years ago, Florida-based Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit seeking to shut down Harvey Milk School in New York City for limiting enrollment to only GLBQ students. Now, as a result of a settlement agreement reached between Liberty Counsel and the New York City Department of Education, the school cannot discriminate...

NEA Official Denies Support for Homosexual Marriage (CNSNews.com) - An executive in the nation's largest teacher's union has denied that the group supports homosexual marriage and said a resolution to that effect had been mischaracterized. Delegates to the National Education Association's annual convention in Orlando, Fla., - held June 25 to July 6 -- approved a resolution stating that "sexual orientation and gender identification ... should not affect the legal rights and obligations of the partners in a legally-recognized domestic partnership, civil union, or marriage." NEA member April LeBlanc complained to NEA leadership about the resolution, stating in a July...

Maryland’s Thought Police Governor Ehrlich makes clear that statements critical of homosexual actions are forbidden. It is not without irony that Robert J. Smith, a Catholic citizen of Maryland — the Catholic colony of the original 13 — has been punished by that state’s Republican governor for exercising his right to freedom of speech and religion. Robert Smith, a Maryland gubernatorial appointee to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) board, appeared regularly as a panelist on a local cable talk show. As the Washington Post reported, during a recent show the topic of homosexuality and federalism came up, and...

It's Not all Rosy in Massachusetts, Despite Pro-Marriage Court Ruling (AgapePress) - An attorney for the American Family Association says a decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) will not nullify current same-sex "marriages," regardless what happens in 2008. And comments from two of the SJC justices indicate they would not be inclined to reverse their earlier decision legalizing those marriages -- even if voters were to approve a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage. The same Massachusetts court that legalized homosexual marriage in 2004 ruled unanimously on Monday (July 10) that a proposed amendment to the state constitution banning...

Study Claiming Biological Basis for Homosexuality “Absolute Rubbish”: NARTH Psychiatrist TORONTO, Ontario, July 10, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A recent study suggesting that homosexual orientation results from biological factors in the prenatal environment is based on severely flawed research and biased assumptions, a leading Canadian psychiatrist has charged. Researchers at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, conducted the study entitled “Biological versus nonbiological older brothers and men’s sexual orientation.” The study suggested that male same-sex attraction results from an immune reaction on the part of the mother to the presence of the male child in her womb, a reaction the study’s...

Special Report Dem Altered Immigration Law to Further 'Gay' Agenda (CNSNews.com) - A Republican candidate for the Massachusetts congressional seat currently held by Democrat Barney Frank is reigniting debate over whether changes to U.S. immigration laws Frank sponsored made it easier for the 9/11 hijackers to enter and remain in the United States. Frank continues to deny the charge, but GOP challenger Chuck Morse accuses Frank of opening the "turnstiles of terrorism" by denying immigration officials the power to bar or remove non-U.S. citizens from the country based on their ideology. Cybercast News Service has learned that while Frank has...