Free Republic

A new nonprofit, Them Before Us, aims to defend children's rights in the family. We use story to highlight the true victims, and we critique all practices and policies that prioritize adult desires above children's rights. Unfortunately, in 2015, the Supreme Court redefined marriage for the entire country, transforming an institution that used to bring together the two people to whom children have a natural right into just one more vehicle of adult fulfillment. [body of article] Them Before Us wants to transform the narrative around marriage and parenthood. We believe that every conversation about family structure should recognize and...

Her name is Monroe Christine. She is twenty months old. She was born on television. You see, Monroe belongs to a reality television star and his partner—Jeff Lewis and Gage Edwards of Bravo’s Flipping Out. Her conception, gestation, and birth were part of the drama of the show, and now her parties and wardrobe and babbling continue to be part of the show. The men will not do business with the woman who gave birth to Monroe ever again. Her name is Alexandra Trent, and she’s suing the men and Bravo. As part of the transaction, Alexandra agreed to have...

Although it is only August, my choir is planning our music for the Mass for Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12). It is a bilingual Spanish/English service. We have an abundance of songs available in Spanish, of course. However, we need two or three songs in English. For the past two years, we have used "Hail Mary, Gentle Woman" and "Holy is His Name," but we're tired of those! Does anyone know of any songs in English about Our Lady of Guadalupe, or even fairly close thematically? I looked last year, but all I found was something for children using...

In February of 1901, Walter Berry, a lawyer and member of élite society in New York, expressed a regret in a letter written to his close friend Edith Wharton. “How I do wish I could run on to see the first rehearsal of the Shadow,” he wrote. At the time, Wharton, who was thirty-nine years old, was not yet a novelist, having only published shorter fiction and poetry, as well as co-authoring, with Ogden Codman, “The Decoration of Houses,” an 1897 book about interior design. But she was a budding playwright, and, as two scholars have just deduced in an...

What are you reading? There used to be a quarterly "What are you reading?" thread, but I haven't seen it for a long time. I got a lot of good book suggestions that way, and I miss it. So here's a thread! If you're reading something interesting you think others would like, or something boring you'd recommend we all avoid, jump in! If you have a ping list of FReepers who might be interested, ping them!

The facts outlined below will prove that the Lisbon Treaty Referendum of 2/10/09 is Null and Void under Irish and European law. I present two separate points that shall subsequently be proven: I. Numerous violations of Irish Referendum law and discrepancies that call into question the security and validity of the votes themselves, default the Irish vote to the result of the last Referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. II. The Irish Government, alongside the European Commission ran a fraudulent and illegal campaign for the Lisbon Treaty Referendum. If everybody reading this downloaded the printable version and filed it with the...

Today, my daughter, FReeper Anoreth (since 11/29/03) graduates from Coast Guard Basic Training. We're also celebrating "The Boy," son of FReeper AnAmericanMother, who is graduating today from Marine Corps Basic. And "ForgotenKnight," grandson of Monkey Face, recently deployed with a Stryker unit to Afghanistan. Other FReepers with children (grandchildren, nieces and nephews, etc.) in the military, please join us in celebrating all our family members who are serving our country in the military.

He is the last of his kind, and despite a sudden interest in the opposite sex at the grand old age of 90, it seems Lonesome George may stay that way. After stunning conservationists by mating for the first time in decades, the giant tortoise from the Galapagos islands still may not become a father. George, a conservation marvel and one of the world's rarest creatures, mated this year with two females, but 80 percent of the eggs they laid appear infertile.

Yesterday we accompanied Mom and Dad to a September 11th memorial ceremony at Ground Zero in New York City. Mom and Dad met with Senator Obama and they accompanied New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg to the temporary memorial that exists in the middle of the construction site where the towers once stood. It was a day of somber reflection and remembrance.

My daughter "Anoreth" and some of her conservative friends asked me to start a chat thread for them to discuss books, music, guns, education, whichever, and whatall. All young FReepers are welcome to join in. This thread has the same premise as the "Undead Thread" - general discussion - only with a content level suited to younger people, if you get my drift. If there are many posts, a new thread can be started when the volume starts interfering with the programming. I'll be stopping by now and then to keep an eye on things. Please read and follow the...

A Crowded, Noisy, Holy Night in Bethlehem Last night I read a very interesting discussion of the Christmas story, in a book about an archaeological expedition to Southern Arabia. A group of American and British explorers working in Oman celebrated Christmas at the small settlement of Shisur, along with the local Arabs. The researchers theorized that Shisur, generally believed to be a medieval construction, was actually the site of ancient Ubar, a city built around the frankincense trade originating in what is now Oman and Yemen. Their excavations eventually demonstrated conclusively that the site had indeed maintained a substantial and...

My family - my parents, husband, I and seven children - will be visiting Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, next week. Does anyone know if we will be able to buy wine easily? My husband was once resident in SC, and vaguely remembers having to get everything at state ABC Stores. Thanks very much for your help!

Wild oats, now and later John R. Diggs, Jr., MD Every college student in America has heard multiple lectures on “safe sex.” But before rolling your eyes and mumbling, “Here comes another one,” let me say at the outset: This is not your grandmother’s sex lecture. My credentials: I am an Internal Medicine physician, BA from Haverford College and MD from the University of Buffalo. My current work involves lecturing on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) nationally and internationally. And I am nobody’s grandma. Students reading this article have to pay the bill for the cavalier ways of the sexual revolution....

Are any of you familiar with a set of books, God and Goverment (Volumes I, II, and III) by Gary DeMars? They're listed in the latest Vision Forum catalog. I am looking for an American Government text to use with my 8th Grade daughter, and I have not yet seen anything that is exactly what I want. I would expect something sold by Vision Forum to have a solidly Constitutional approach ... and yet, they have an agenda which is not always consistent with our family's beliefs. Any input, especially if you've seen these books, would be appreciated!

Your kids need you Rebecca Hagelin (archive) October 15, 2004 | Print | Send The apple whizzed by her head so fast you could barely see it. Not to be outdone by her brother, Kristin grabbed a particularly putrid rotting apple from the ground and lobbed it at Drew with the greatest of delight. Ah, these are the moments family memories are made of! It was a perfect crisp fall day accentuated by a cloudless sky of the clearest blue. We drove about 90 minutes from our home in DC to the beautiful Virginia countryside to pick apples. Along for...

I’ll never forget the day that Ms. Derwin got sick just before our high school biology exam. We had been studying evolution for weeks and were looking forward to a nice review session the day before the test. Ms. Merx from sociology had to cover for Ms. Derwin at the last minute. She tried to answer our questions, but I guess she was a little overwhelmed. This is all I remember: Q: Ms. Derwin told us that the fittest individuals in the population will leave the most offspring. When I asked her to define “fittest individuals” she said that they...

Cullum Comes Home By Stephanie Piper It will be a season of landmarks. Fall 2004 marks the 30th anniversary of the University of Tennessee’s Clarence Brown Theatre in Knoxville, a state-of-the-art performance facility named for—and heavily endowed by—one of the university’s most prominent alumni. It will also mark the Clarence Brown stage debut of another prominent alumnus. Actor John Cullum, two-time Tony winner and a proud member of the class of ’52, will open the CBT season in The Dresser. The production will co-star Cullum’s son, J D Cullum, who has acted in such films as Reversal of Fortune, Forever...

Good morning, FReeper parents! I'm filling in this week for grellis, who has liberal houseguests. Our subject this week is: Gender differences in children. Several articles posted on FR this week mentioned the startling observation that ... boys and girls are different! I'm sure we've all noticed this, either in our own children or other people's children. However, the comments on the articles this week, while generally supportive of the thesis, also pointed out that it's difficult to generalize about exactly HOW boys and girls are different. Any list that says, "Boys (girls) are like this ..." quickly piles up...

This is just a test, sorry to bother everyone.