Free Republic

Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, was recently quoted in the press claiming that children's cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants was part of the "homosexual agenda." The proof? SpongeBob appears in a new video for schools produced by the We Are Family Foundation, and the Foundation's website includes the Declaration of Tolerance, a pledge from Tolerance.org. The Declaration states in part, "I pledge to have respect for people whose abilities, beliefs, culture, race, sexual identity or other characteristics are different from my own." The "sexual identity" part alarmed Dr. Dobson. It's the "beliefs" part that's hard for me....

Parents and teens alike are exploring sexual identity issues. Are they heteroflexible -- or fauxmosexual? Girls barely in their teens are exploring their sexuality. And more and more often, that exploration includes same-sex behavior. The trend has, inevitably, spawned new words. Some say they're "heteroflexible." Others sneer that they're merely "fauxmosexual." Is it really new? More importantly -- to parents and to the teens themselves -- what does it mean? Lisa M. Diamond, PhD, assistant professor of psychology and gender studies at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, studies young women's sexual orientations, sexual attractions, and sexual behavior. "Women's...

Mom Wants Pro-Homosexual Poster Out of Ariz. Elementary SchoolBy Jim BrownJanuary 28, 2005A Christian mom is expressing shock and outrage over the promotion of homosexuality taking place at her children's elementary school in northeastern Arizona. At issue is a wall poster at Washington Elementary School in Winslow that includes information about the school's female art teacher and features a rainbow flag symbolizing homosexual pride. The poster urges acceptance of all people, regardless of their race, religion, or sexual orientation. Deborah Ewbank, who has a second-grade son and fourth-grade daughter at the school, recalls her reaction when she first saw the...

Halol police on Monday arrested a youth, Naushad Pathan, allegedly involved in the murder of his associate, Dilshad, on the outskirts of Halol town on Friday last. He would be produced in court on Tuesday. Both the deceased as well as the accused worked in the Ekta Bakery there. Giving details, PI V V Rathod of Halol police said a knife and a bicycle, used in the murder and Naushad’s blood-stained clothes, were also seized by the cops. After preliminary interrogation of the accused, Rathod said that the deceased was a gay and used to indulge in unnatural sex. On...

Dr. Sander Breiner, a member of NARTH's Scientific Advisory Committee, recently expanded upon a paper on "Adolescent Homosexuality" he presented at the November, 2004 NARTH conference in Washington, DC. (Dr. Breiner's paper is currently posted on the NARTH web site.) Sexually questioning youth are vulnerable to the derailment of their normal heterosexuality, Dr. Breiner asserted, when they are urged to consider the possibility of being same-sex attracted. Dr. Breiner's paper dealt with the current scientific knowledge on the development of the brain during pre-teen and teen years as it relates to hormones and emotional maturity. One of the sources for...

The mainstream media is twisting the truth about the controversy over a tolerance video to be distributed to elementary school children that features a who's who of cartoon characters, including SpongeBob and Barney the dinosaur, claims a pro-family advocacy group. The content of the video itself -- tolerance and diversity -- and whether or not SpongeBob is "gay" are not the issues, insists Stephen Bennett of the American Family Association. "No, Sponge Bob or none of the other cartoon characters featured in the video are 'gay,'" said Bennett. "The video itself does not promote homosexuality, but no doubt will open...

A controversial amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act, extending anti-discrimination protection on the basis of sexual orientation, was pushed vigorously in the legislature by the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The law, signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich last week, allows no exemptions for people or institutions with religious convictions against sodomy, cross-dressing, adultery, sex changes, pornography, incest, group sex or even bestiality. Some are suggesting the amendment is setting up a clash with the First Amendment protections of religious freedom. The legislation, which had been stalled in the General Assembly for many years, was the focus...

Illinois churches are protesting a new state law that bars them from "discriminating" against homosexuals, contending it robs Christians of their First Amendment freedoms. Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the bill into law yesterday amid a demonstration led by the Illinois Family Institute, or IFI, a non-profit group affiliated with Focus on the Family, Family Research Council and Alliance Defense Fund. The measure adds "sexual orientation" to the state law that bars discrimination based on race, religion and similar traits in areas such as jobs and housing. The bill was signed to loud cheers and a standing ovation from about 150...

I'm nervous. Are you? Tomorrow, we could have a president-elect who is a man with very bad character traits and a record of working with the enemies of our country. There is no way to sugar-coat it. For me personally, this has been the most wrenching presidential election in my lifetime. I felt very strongly that Al Gore would be a political disaster for America. The administration in which he served as second banana for eight years had targeted me personally for political dirty tricks. It had hurt this country badly by covering up major Islamic terrorist attacks and mischaracterizing...

Charges include a July 11 incident in which man allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted two boys as they rode skateboards near the Metro Green Line station in Redondo Beach. A paroled sex offender pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 11 charges involving sexual assaults and other crimes against five teenage boys in the South Bay. Torrance Superior Court Judge Thomas R. Sokolov ordered that James Marcus Russell, 23, remain held in county jail on $5 million bail and that he return to court Oct. 20 for a preliminary hearing. Russell was arrested Aug. 17 and charged Friday with the crimes, which...

Reaction to the gay coming out of New Jersey Governor James McGreevey has ranged from viewing his actions as heroic to hypocritical to irrelevant. Some have focused on the aftermath of his deceptions and coming out on his wife and children. These are natural reflections. It continues to be a surreal scene in my memory seeing the soon-to-be former chief executive declaring his sexuality in nationalistic terms—"I am a gay American"—along with his wife, the mother of their two year-old. However, in all of the opining, I cannot recall a commentator reflecting insightfully on any other option available to the...

I am the second and last child my parents adopted, in 1966. I grew up in an upper middle-class subdivision in the east end of Louisville attending church. Trinity Presbyterian was less than two miles from our house. I was dedicated there as a baby, went to Vacation Bible School in the summers, played the hand bells in the children’s choir, and took my first communion when I was twelve. Although I had attended church all of my life, I had not yet accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. Church seemed like something we did because “it...

Poway High officials were trying to do what's right when they suspended a student for wearing an anti-gay T-shirt, a school district attorney said today, but a lawyer for the teen said his rights were violated. Tyler "Chase" Harper, 16, sued the Poway Unified School District, asking a federal court judge to stop the district from banning religious freedom of speech. Harper, now a junior at Poway High, wore a T-shirt to school last April 22 that read, "Homosexuality is shameful" and "Romans 1:27," a reference to a Bible verse that talks about homosexuality being condemned by God. "This particular...

While organizations like the American Psychological Association (APA) are throwing their considerable weight behind the homosexual movement, a handful of notable members of the mental health field are countering with the truth about sexual orientation. One of those professionals is Dr. Warren Throckmorton, director of college counseling and an associate professor of psychology at Grove City College, a private Christian college in Pennsylvania. His research on the possibility of changing sexual orientation was published in the June 2002 issue of Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, an official publication of the APA. The subject of changing sexual orientation is an issue...

(Sacramento, CA) Openly lesbian California Senator Sheila Keuhl (D) authored and is promoting Senate Bill 1313 in the State of California. This bill has gotten past both houses of the Democratic-controlled California State Legislature and is on its way to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk for signature. SB 1313 drastically reduces the requirements for mandatory reporting of the known or suspected sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children. Critics are calling this bill the “Pedophile Protection Act.” Under existing criminal law, all persons who regularly come into contact with children are required to report any instance where there is reason to believe...

Homosexuals and lesbians charge that laws seeking to ban same-sex "marriage" and adoption are discriminatory, but they are themselves responsible for their exclusion from marriage and family, according to an Australian medical ethics campaigner. "By its very nature, homosexuality has excluded itself," Dr. David van Gend told a national marriage forum in Canberra this week. "It has stepped outside the circle of life -- the timeless, endless natural circle of male and female, parent and offspring." Lesbians and homosexuals could, however, "rejoin the circle of life," he said, pointing to "the growing number of ex-gays." Van Gend, a physician in...

Remember those "cutest couple" votes in high school? It was always some super-jock paired with the perennially perky cheerleader. Well, if same-sex marriage is legalized, the new winners will probably be two super-jocks, Josh and Matt, who've been going out since seventh grade. Dating will become a whole new game. Josh and Matt will probably garner the sympathy vote because they lost out at homecoming to "queen" and "queen" Megan and Katie, both bisexuals. It won't bother these girls to parade arm in arm across the football field. They'll be attracted to each other anyway, after hooking up at several...

Transgender advocacy groups plan to demonstrate outside the Washington headquarters the Human Rights Campaign, a major homosexual advocacy organization, on Saturday. The "Unity Rally for Transgender Rights" will protest the Human Rights Campaign's "dubious efforts on behalf of transgender inclusion in federal legislation." Transsexual Menace, the rally organizer, said members of groups such as the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition, Pride at Work, and Parents, Friends & Families of Lesbians & Gays will take part in the transgender-rights rally. The demonstration will take place on Saturday, Aug. 7, when the HRC board convenes to discuss a contentious issue: whether to include...

Former homosexuals who had renounced same-sex relations were called "offensive" by delegates to this month's annual convention of the 2.7-million-member National Education Association (NEA). "I'm really offended that you're even here," a delegate wearing the rainbow emblem of the NEA Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Caucus told a supporter of the new NEA Ex-Gay Educators Caucus. The Ex-Gay Educators Caucus distributed literature explaining that scientific research shows that homosexuality is not "a fixed, inborn trait." Other opponents of the Ex-Gay Educators Caucus, whose exhibit was permitted for the first time at this year's union gathering at the D.C. Convention Center, also...

When the company behind the New Gay Fuel energy drink started marketing its product, many believed it must be a joke, a parody, an urban legend. But it's not. Gay Fuel is a mixture of red currant juice, B vitamins, and a secret blend of sexual stimulant herbs – though the ingredients are listed as water, sugar, acidifying agent, citric acid, taurine, elderberry juice from concentrate, flavors, antioxidant: ascorbic acid, caffeine, carbon dioxide, guarana extract, lapacho extract, marapuama extract, damiana extract, ginseng, vitamins, niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B and vitamin B12. The can is an opalescent white and the drink...