Free Republic

“Don’t let the lobbyists win” should be the rallying call of Barack Obama to congress when he unveils wide-ranging measures aimed at curbing gun violence. Following the shooting of 27 people, including 12 children, at a school in Newton Connecticut at the end of last year, the gun debate has been at the top of most people’s discussion list and congress has to seriously consider the measures Obama is set to propose – similar to those passed in New York on Tuesday. In addressing these measures, congress cannot let powerful lobbying groups such as the NRA sway them with various...

2013 is making it difficult to avoid one of America’s greatest sins—slavery. We’ve just marked the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, and a plethora of films, documentaries and TV specials are scheduled to address slavery.

Within the space of 500 years, southeast Europe has undergone two paradigmatic shifts. First, from Christian independence to Islamic subjugation (a gradual process which consumed two centuries) and then, in the 19th century, from self-determination through religious affiliation to nationalism. The Christians of the Balkan were easy prey. They were dispirited peasantry, fragmented, prone to internecine backstabbing and oppressive regimes. The new Ottoman rulers treated both people and land as their property. They enslaved some of their prisoners of war (under the infamous “pencik” clause), exiled thousands and confiscated their lands and liquidated the secular political elites in Thrace, Bulgaria,...

The ongoing debate about gay marriage is an ongoing one that places the church’s theology in an apparently direct confrontation with modern liberal society. In the US, gay marriage has been legalized in some states and the UK is currently going through political discussions in Westminster as old-hand Tories (and that’s how they largely seem in this situation) argue against the senior members of their parties (and most members of the other parties) who suggest that it should be legalized in an opt-in manner such that opposing churches aren’t obliged to hold the services.

Israel might be seen as David with China as Goliath, on a world map. However, a symbiotic relationship has developed between them, while the Palestinian Authority remains a thorn in their affection.