Free Republic

…[O]ur sages in the great [constitutional] convention…intended our government should be a republic which differs more widely from a democracy than a democracy from a despotism. The rigours of a despotism often…oppress only a few, but it is the very essence and nature of a democracy, for a faction claiming to oppress a minority, and that minority the chief owners of the property and truest lovers of their country. -- Fisher Ames, American statesman, 1805 Indeed, the process set forth in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States does not even guarantee a popular vote for...

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- A public school teacher is suing his district and principal for barring him from using the Declaration of Independence and other historical documents in class because they contain references to God and Christianity.Steven Williams, who teaches fifth grade at an elementary school near San Francisco, filed the federal lawsuit last week, arguing a First Amendment right to teach U.S. history, which includes religious, and specifically Christian, references. He said the school's principal prevented him from using handouts from documents including the Declaration of Independence, "The Rights of the Colonists" by Samuel Adams and President Bush's 2004 Day...

WASHINGTON - During the presidential campaign, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia received a strange letter in his home mailbox. It was a fundraising flier from Democratic strategist James Carville. The appeal invoked an issue apparently thought to be so frightening that it would prompt recipients to fork over massive amounts of money to the Kerry campaign.The "terrifying" message came with the headline: "What Would You Think of CHIEF JUSTICE Scalia?"When Scalia related the story at a recent gathering of the conservative Federalist Society here in Washington, the audience erupted into sustained and thunderous cheers and applause.Not exactly the reaction Mr....

JACKSON, Miss. Federal appeals Judge Charles Pickering could learn soon whether he'll be confirmed for his seat on the Fifth U-S Circuit Court of Appeals.If the Senate doesn't confirm Pickering before it adjourns next month, he'll be forced to retire from the Fifth Circuit Court in New Orleans. He currently fills the seat under a recess appointment from President Bush. The Senate has confirmed 204 of the president's judicial nominees. There are 22 nominations pending, including Pickering's. But Pickering's confirmation has been doubtful. Senate Democrats have threatened a filibuster against Pickering's confirmation. They accuse him of supporting segregation as a...

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ROY S. MOORE, FOUNDATION FOR MORAL LAW, INC. Mr. MOORE. Okay. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Berman, I want you to know I have the greatest respect for the gentlemen which have come before me here. But entertaining as I do sentiments in direct opposition, I hope I may be understood not to be critical of them and their opinions. But this is a momentous moment to our country. And, quite frankly, I'm confused. I agree with Mr. Gerhardt that the purpose of this bill is very clear. One can't read the simple lines of this thing without...

<p>To prepare for a possible Supreme Court vacancy, and the fierce political fight over abortion that is sure to follow, the abortion rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America taped and has ready to run a 30-second television commercial warning what could happen if Roe vs. Wade is overturned.</p>

What mandate on moral issues, if any, did voters deliver to President Bush in the 2004 election? While liberal activists have attributed Bush's victory to homophobia, exit polls indicated that 35 percent of Americans favor gay marriage while another 25 percent support civil unions. Similarly, a majority of Americans favor restrictions on abortion, but not an outright ban. However, there is a consensus favoring the appointment of conservative judges who recognize that judicial restraint is itself a moral value. A September AP-Ipsos poll revealed that 56 percent of Americans prefer the appointment of conservative judges while only 37 percent prefer...

You know something's seriously askew when we Second Amendment conservatives keep finding common cause with the American Civil Liberties Union. But, folks in Washington just keep ignoring basic constitutional freedoms when setting policy. And, in this case, two heads — regardless of how much they may disagree the rest of the time — are better than one.

The trumpets were left at home and the parades were canceled. The press releases and campaign signs were quietly forgotten. The news was big, but it did not contain what some had hoped for. On April 14, 2003, the International Human Genome Consortium announced the successful completion of the Human Genome Project—two years ahead of schedule. The press report read: "The human genome is complete and the Human Genome Project is over" (see "Human Genome Report...," 2003, emp. added). Most of the major science journals reported on the progress in the field of genetics, but also speculated on how the...

Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the federal appeals court in Richmond has much in common with the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. For one thing, Richmond. Both were raised here, in different generations. The older Powell was a close friend of Wilkinson's banker father and was a family friend as Wilkinson grew up.

WASHINGTON - Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist’s health is shrouded in mystery, the extent of his thyroid cancer a closely guarded secret. Several coming events could give the public an idea about the seriousness of his condition. Since announcing his illness in a statement on Oct. 25, the 80-year-old Rehnquist has run the nation’s highest court from his home in suburban Virginia.

To: National Desk Contact: Jenny Thalheimer of the National Organization for Women, 202-641-1906, press@now.org, Web: http://www.now.orgWASHINGTON, Nov. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a statement by the National Organization for Women:In a backdoor maneuver of the worst kind, anti-abortion legislators are attempting to destroy a woman's legal right to receive reproductive health care services. House and Senate Republicans snuck potentially sweeping language into the House spending bill allowing health care providers to use their personal religious opinions to restrict health care services to women. The National Organization for Women is appalled by this tactic, a despicable move by the Republican...

It’s predictable that after a major election, one political party begins a round of bitter infighting and finger pointing. What’s surprising is when it’s the winning party. But ever since Arlen Specter, a day after winning a fifth term, said it was unlikely that the senate would confirm judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade, the Republicans have been fighting a nasty battle. Social conservatives have been flooding the offices of Republican Senators with demands that Specter not become the new chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Current chairman Orrin Hatch is supposed to turn the gavel over to Specter under...

Despite a strong campaign by conservative opponents, Republican Sen. Arlen Specter won support of his colleagues to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee. Outgoing chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, told reporters at a news conference today the panel's Republican members unanimously backed the Pennsylvania senator, known for his liberal stance on many issues. "I have assured the president that I would give his nominees quick committee hearings and early committee votes," Specter said. The Judiciary Committee screens White House nominations to the Supreme Court and other posts on the federal bench. The official vote, which will not be made until January, can...

PHILADELPHIA - A preliminary hearing has been set for December 14 in Philadelphia City Court to determine probable cause for charges against eleven Christians arrested for alleged "hate crimes" while exercising their First Amendment rights at Philadelphia’s "Outfest" on October 10. The charges brought against Repent America’s Michael Marcavage and ten others during the homosexual "coming out" event consist of three felonies and five misdemeanors, which could result in up to 47 years in jail. "Outfest" is an annual block party sponsored by Philly Pride Presents, Inc. to celebrate so-called "National Coming Out Day," a celebration of homosexuality. A 15-block...

Senate Republicans are considering taking the rare step of enacting a rules change to disable Democrats' ability to block Supreme Court nominees. The option has not been utilized since 1975. It is so likely to divide the Senate along the strictest of partisan lines that in Washington parlance it is being referred to as "going nuclear." Nevertheless, Republicans are increasingly intent on taking such action if Democrats utilize filibusters to block Supreme Court nominations, likely to begin as soon as next year. With Chief Justice William Rehnquist ailing with thyroid cancer and absent from the bench, the highly contentious face-off...

Religious groups rallied outside the Dirksen Senate Office Building yesterday to launch a two-month campaign protesting Sen. Arlen Specter’s ascension to chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Director of Christian Defense Coalition Rev. Patrick Mahoney, one of the principal organizers of the "pray-in" demonstration, said one of the things which went undetected under the national media radar was how much "judicial activism" motivated "the core base of the Republican Party, pro-life, pro-family, evangelicals, and conservative Catholics" to get out to the polls. Mahoney said it was activist judges who were responsible for decriminalizing abortion, trying to remove the phrase ‘one...

When President George W. Bush declared his support for a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, his most vitriolic critics, such as Senator Edward Kennedy, accused him of playing a divisive, mean-spirited political game. The New York Times and Washington Post, supporters of the idea of same-sex marriage, raised a more sophisticated objection to the amendment: it betrays, they claim, the venerable principle of American federalism that respects states' relative autonomy in setting marriage policy. Interestingly, some prominent conservative opponents of same-sex "marriage," including California congressman Christopher Cox, were also skeptical about...

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Arlen Specter has often justified his voting for or against judicial nominees on grounds that he supports those nominees whose views are in the "mainstream," as distinguished from those whose views are "extremist."Now that he is in line to become chairman of that committee in January, because of seniority, the meaning of these two elusive — and elastic — terms becomes crucial.Senator Specter voted against the confirmation of Judge Robert Bork and for the confirmation of Judge Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court, even though their voting records on the Circuit...

All twelve of the state legislature candidates targeted for defeat by the national homosexual lobby won their elections this month — setting the stage for the next round of Massachusetts' ongoing battle over "gay marriage." "We're feeling good," said Brian Camenker, director of the Article 8 Alliance, the day after Election Day. Article 8, a grassroots citizens' group with one rented office, four full-time volunteers, and a $40,000 war chest going into the election, has led the drive to abolish "gay marriage" in Massachusetts — the only state that recognizes it. "We had no intent to get involved in the...