Free Republic

Alabama Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore on Tuesday stood by his decades-old statement that Muslims should not be allowed to serve in Congress, Mediaite reported. "Read my article and you'll find out what I believe," he told MSNBC reporter Garrett Haake while on the Senate floor. "It's clarified very clearly in my article." Moore, a former Alabama chief justice, has made a number of controversial statements in the past. In 2006, he urged Congress to bar Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, from being sworn in because he would be taking his oath with his hand on a...

She’s puts the “blaze” in trailblazer! The first female FDNY Deputy Chief ever was promoted Friday, as top brass hailed her for “shattering the glass ceiling” in the male-dominated field. Battalion Chief Michele Fitzsimmons — a 24-year veteran who joined the Bravest a few months before 9/11— was named Deputy Chief of fire operations at a packed promotion ceremony in Queens. “I hope that other women who are in the department now can see themselves rising through the ranks,” Fitzsimmons, 55, told reporters after the event at at Queens College. “I also hope that young girls can see themselves as...

Drag queen Hugo Bardin on Thursday vehemently rejected criticism of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony. He said the mass input of LGBTQI+ performers presented a snapshot of modern France under President Emmanuel Macron, adding the fact former U.S. President Donald Trump was offended meant performers had “done our job.” “It was a really important moment for the French people and the representation of France around the world,” said the Frenchman – who performs under the stage name Paloma and took part in “The Last Supper” scene that has drawn some furious criticism — including from Trump who called it “a...

A mother in Atlanta disrupted an awards ceremony at her son's school after he did not receive any prizes. She stood up in middle of the event and walked up to the front of the stage before ranting after her child did not win anything. The person presenting the award was forced to apologize to those in attendance and tried to de-escalate the situation. The incident was caught on video and shared to X where it has been viewed more than 500,000 times. In the clip, the mother is heard shouting at the person who is presenting the awards but...

The University of Southern California (USC) has canceled its main graduation ceremony due to apparent security concerns after anti-Israel protesters tried to encamp and were removed by Los Angeles Police Department this week. As Breitbart News reported, anti-Israel protesters had tried to occupy the campus, as demonstrators have done at other universities in an apparently well-coordinated and well-funded campaign. In addition, USC canceled the speech of its valedictorian after she was found to have supported the annihilation of the State of Israel in online posts.

President Biden has sparked outrage after it emerged that he may not attend a ceremony honoring the three US Army reservists killed in Jordan — as reports suggest he may be planning retaliatory airstrikes on Iranian assets in the Persian Gulf in the next few days. The bodies of Sgt. William Rivers, 46, Spc. Brianna Moffatt, 23, and Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, all from Georgia, are expected to be flown back to Dover Air Force Base in a dignified transfer, after they were killed by Iranian-backed militants in a Saturday night attack on a small outpost near the Syrian...

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday claimed that President Joe Biden left a Medal of Honor recipient’s ceremony early yesterday in order to “minimize his close contact with attendees.” Biden’s early departure from the ceremony puzzled viewers, as it is not typical for a president to do so. The Tuesday ceremony was to honor 81-year-old Army Captain Larry L. Taylor, a Vietnam veteran, for conspicuous gallantry while serving as a team leader of a helicopter light-fire team that rescued a patrol team surrounded by the enemy.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will host President Biden for dinner during a welcome ceremony Monday night in Mexico City. The event will occur ahead of a regional summit on Tuesday that will include Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Migration, climate change, trade and manufacturing are among the major topics on the agenda. Biden arrived late Sunday in Mexico after visiting the Texas city of El Paso for a firsthand look at the influx of thousands of undocumented migrants crossing the border with Mexico.

During Congressional Gold Medal ceremony for Jan. 6 police, representatives of those receiving awards shake hands with Schumer then walk past McConnell and McCarthy. https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1600166569807872000

Concerned Women for America at the White House. CWA CEO and President, Penny Nance, wearing one of the historic sashes, is a member of the bi-partisan Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission. To commemorate the 100th year anniversary of women’s right to vote, a coin with some of the amazing women suffragists will be minted. Penny Nance joined President Trump in a Signing Ceremony for H.R. 2423, The Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act.

Citing “gun violence,” the University of Virginia has canceled the 21-gun salute portion of its Veterans Day ceremony, an annual tradition that dates back at least a decade. In a statement posted to social media on Saturday, university President James Ryan stated the reason was two-fold: “to minimize disruptions to classes, given that this event is located at the juncture of four primary academic buildings and is held at a time that classes are in session; and second, recognizing concerns related to firing weapons on the Grounds in light of gun violence that has happened across our nation, especially on...

This morning (EST) at the 100th Anniversary Ceremony of WWI ………. French President Macron says, "Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By saying 'our interests first'...we erase what a nation hold dearest...its moral values." **********

Starts at 7 pm on CSPAN. Right Side Broadcasting covering too!

President Trump will ceremonially swear in Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at a prime-time event in the East Room of the White House on Monday evening. The ceremony follows perhaps the most contentious confirmation battle for a Supreme Court nominee in history and the administration is using Monday evening to show voters they can make good on its promises. In front of a room full of reporters, television cameras and Republican lawmakers at 7:00 p.m. Monday, the president will stand next to Kavanaugh and present him to the nation as one of the crowning achievements of his first two years...

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (WPVI) -- A wreath laying ceremony was held at Valley Forge National Historical Park on Saturday to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the historic Patriots of African Descent Monument. This is the first monument on federal ground to honor black soldiers who fought in the American Revolutionary War.

A jaguar featured at an Olympic torch ceremony was shot dead by a soldier shortly after the event in the Brazilian Amazon city of Manaus as the animal escaped from its handlers, an army statement said. The jaguar was killed on Monday at a zoo attached to a military training center when a soldier fired a single pistol shot after the animal, despite being tranquilized, approached the soldier, the army said. “We made a mistake in permitting the Olympic torch, a symbol of peace and unity, to be exhibited alongside a chained wild animal. This image goes against our beliefs...

When a veteran started offering traditional remarks at a military flag-folding ceremony, several uniformed airmen assaulted him, dragging him out of the room because his remarks mentioned God. Now First Liberty Institute lawyers representing retired Senior Master Sergeant Oscar Rodriguez are demanding that the U.S. Air Force apologize and punish those responsible or face a federal civil-rights lawsuit. For countless years, service members have given the “flag-folding speech” at military and civic events, including retirement ceremonies. Traditionally, this speech explains the colors, symbols, and history of the flag. The flag-folding speech also contains several religious references, including, “Let us pray...

Legions of blank-faced workers marching in lockstep, a bare-breasted woman dressed as a fallen angel suspended from the ceiling, dancers in their underwear simulating homosexual acts on a metal cart, robed Satanist-type figures bearing goat skulls, dancers in grass costumes worshipping a goat-headed man who "dies" and is resurrected. Is this some sort of bizarre witches' sabbat out in the woods? A Satanic black mass in the depths of an abandoned cemetery? No, it's the opening ceremony of the historic Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland, attended by some of the most powerful leaders in Europe, including Chancellor Angela Merkel of...

A fellow Democrat posted a snapshot of Sen. (I-VT) apparently nodding off during a Memorial Day ceremony in the Presidio military cemetery in San Francisco on Monday. Zoe Dunning, a gay rights activist, veteran, supporter, and high-ranking member of the San Francisco Democratic Party, posted the photograph to Facebook, with the following message: Attending the Memorial Day Ceremony honoring the over 1 million Americans who have lost their lives serving our country, and watching fall asleep during it. There is nothing I can really add here. #imwithher

I've been asked by my son and daughter-in-law to be to perform their wedding ceremony. Any advice or any regrets or "wish I would have..." would be appreciated (primarily looking for non-clergy, but clergy advice welcome) I'll do an online search for a format but looking for personal stories. Already have Marriage Commission license for the legality. This will not be a large event.