Free Republic

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III on Monday dedicated Britain’s first national memorial to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender troops, 25 years after the U.K. ended a ban on homosexuality in the armed forces. The king, who is the ceremonial head of the armed forces, laid flowers at the monument in the National Memorial Arboretum in central England at a service attended by scores of serving troops and veterans. The sculpture takes the form of a crumpled bronze letter bearing words from personnel who were affected by the ban. Between 1967 and 2000, soldiers, sailors and air force personnel who...

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said “firepower” is coming to Ukraine through European nations’ purchases of US weapons, but whether that includes American-made Tomahawk missiles is still not clear. “Firepower, that’s what is coming,” said Hegseth, backing up comments from NATO chief Mark Rutte as the security alliance’s defense ministers gathered in Brussels. He added that “commitments” made by European nations would soon turn into “capabilities” for Ukraine.The weapons purchases are being made under the new Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, which has already seen $2 billion pledged for military equipment for Ukraine, with more expected to...

Media across the ideological spectrum said they will not sign the Defense Department’s restrictive new press policy by Tuesday’s afternoon deadline. The Washington Post, the New York Times, the Associated Press and CNN said they wouldn’t sign, as did Newsmax and the Washington Times. Matt Murray, The Post’s executive editor, said the policy runs counter to the Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of the press. “The proposed restrictions undercut First Amendment protections by placing unnecessary constraints on gathering and publishing information,” he said in a statement Monday. “We will continue to vigorously and fairly report on the policies and positions of...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s assertion Tuesday that newly proposed military fitness standards may exclude women from certain combat roles has reignited fears about his approach to women in the armed forces. In a highly unusual address to hundreds of the military’s top leaders in Quantico, Va., Hegseth declared new directives to ensure every combat position “returns to the highest male standard” of their service’s physical fitness test. “If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it,” he said, though he stressed that the military will continue to welcome women into its ranks. “I don’t want my...

On Tuesday evening, the Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV spoke out against anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States, as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s bellicose rhetoric. At an unusual gathering of military leaders earlier that day, Hegseth had told the top brass to be “prepared for war, not for defense,” while espousing the use of “overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy” and promising to “untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country.” Speaking to reporters in Italian, Leo called Hegseth’s rhetoric “worrying,” per the Catholic News Agency, “because it shows...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said that Medals of Honor for soldiers who took part in an 1890 massacre of Native Americans would not be revoked. More than 300 Lakota Sioux men, women and children were killed by U.S. Army soldiers on Dec. 29, 1890, in one of the deadliest attacks on Native Americans by the United States military. The Lakota people had gathered to resist government control in an area of South Dakota that is now part of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation..... In 2019, Democratic lawmakers, led by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, introduced legislation to revoke...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. In her post, McMath wrote: “Racist dog whistles abound on Jacksonville’s City Council. It was on full display last night (September 9) as the grand wizard who calls himself Rory Diamond attempted to attack every group of people — his constituents — that do not look like him. His MAGA maneuvers are gross and dangerous. Gratitude for the Council people who stood up against this foolishness and walked out… Jim Crow 2.0 in Jax ain’t no lie.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered a meeting with top military leaders from around the world to gather on short notice. The meeting is slated to take place at Quantico in Virginia next Tuesday, per the Washington Post. A meeting of the officials was confirmed by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, who said Hegseth "will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week," but did not address additional details, the outlet reported. Military members from around the world have been ordered to attend the meeting, the outlet reported. The order also comes as Hegseth has been looking to overhaul...

Vigilant Fox 🦊 @VigilantFox Montel Williams is now trying to steer the conversation away from the truth...refusing to call Charlie Kirk’s assassin what he was: an unhinged leftist with hate in his heart. Instead, Montel is spinning it as a love story...a young man defending someone he cared about. Wow. This is absolutely twisted. Nothing says “love” like murdering someone in cold blood. “There are people trying to pigeonhole this as a leftist thing and a right thing.” “And what we’re really talking about, hear me, because I’m going to throw you when I say this… we’re talking about a...

That's why the prolific author wanted the film adaptation of 'The Long Walk' to be "pretty brutal."Stephen King had one condition for the film adaptation of his book, The Long Walk: he wanted a lot of brutal violence. During a recent interview with The Times U.K., the prolific author criticized the way violence is depicted in superhero movies, such as some in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Studios. Oftentimes, those films don’t show the realistic, gory consequences of violence, despite there being a lot of destruction. “If you look at these superhero movies, you’ll see … some supervillain who’s...

Mexican bishop ‘concelebrates’ Mass with lesbian Anglican in homosexual ‘marriage’ who received EucharistBishop Raúl Vera López hosted lesbian ‘pastor’ Emilie Teresa Smith for a Mass where she whispered the words of consecration, elevated the chalice, and gave the homily in contradiction to Catholic teaching and canon law.Emilie Teresa Smith, Bishop Raúl Vera López ----Fr Raúl Vera López OP/Facebook SALTILLO, Mexico (LifeSiteNews) — A lesbian Anglican “priest” who “married” a woman received the Holy Eucharist after dipping the Host in the Blood of Christ during a recent Mass in Mexico. Throughout the liturgy, she also stood alongside a Catholic prelate and...

Ellen DeGeneresand her wife Portia de Rossimoved to England back in November 2024. During a recent sit-down interview in the town of Cheltenham, UK, with journalist Richard Bacon, the former TV host gave a detailed update on what life has really been like across the pond. First and foremost, the couple quickly adapted to the country lifestyle and at one point in time were riding lawn mowers on a daily basis, just to keep their pastures down for the horses. The constant maintenance frustrated Ellen and she recalled that she told Portia: "We just can't keep up with this." Portia...

Another day, another leak. CNN and The Washington Post on Wednesday reported that sources say the Pentagon Inspector General has ‘evidence’ that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Signal chat included classified information from Central Command. The Pentagon Inspector General expanded his investigation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the double-encrypted app Signal in May. Steven Stebbins took over as Acting Inspector General after President Trump fired the previous IG and 17 other inspectors general. Stebbins was first appointed to his position in 2015. Pete Hegseth has been under heavy attack since before his confirmation hearing and the leaks keep coming....

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are packing up their picture-perfect life in the English countryside and putting their Cotswolds dream home on the market, less than a year after moving in. The former talk show host, 67, and the Arrested Development alum, 52, revealed on July 22 to The Wall Street Journal that they are listing the storied property for about $30 million. It is a swift turn of events for a couple who only arrived in Britain last year and immediately threw themselves into a whirlwind renovation. The pair snapped up the estate, known as Kitesbridge Farm, for...

Ellen DeGeneres has confirmed that she left the United States permanently because of President Donald Trump’s election. DeGeneres, 67, moved to the Cotswolds with her wife, Portia de Rossi, 52, and has no intention of returning. The “comedian” explained the reason for the move while speaking to Richard Bacon at the Everyman theatre in Cheltenham over the weekend. “We got here the day before the election and woke up to lots of texts from our friends with crying emojis, and I was like, ‘He got in’.’ ‘And we’re like, ‘We’re staying here,'” DeGeneres confessed. DeGeneres claimed that back in the...

Ellen DeGeneres has confirmed she left the US because of President Trump in a candid new interview. The comedian and presenter, 67, now lives in the Cotswolds with her wife Portia de Rossi, 52, and told how they are 'staying here' for good now. This weekend she spoke with broadcaster Richard Bacon at the Everyman theatre in Cheltenham where she opened up about the huge life changes. She also said she and Portia - who first wed in 2008 - were considering tying the knot again in the UK after some moves in the US to reverse the right to...

[Catholic Caucus] German bishop suggests guidelines for blessing same-sex ‘couples,’ divorced and ‘remarried’Bishop Georg Bätzing recommended implementing heretical 'blessings' for 'divorced and remarried couples, couples of all gender identities and sexual orientations.'Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, president of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK), recommended implementing the conference’s official guidelines for the “blessings” of same-sex “couples,” the divorced and civilly “remarried,” and other irregular unions in his diocese this week.The Diocese of Limburg published Bätzing’s recommendation to implement the heterodox “blessings” in its official diocesan journal on July 9. The bishop’s recommendation follows April announcement from the German Bishops’ Conference and...

The founder of a Pride group, who raped an 'extremely vulnerable' boy who he met on Grindr, has been jailed for 13 years. Stephen Ireland, 42, who co-founded Pride in Surrey in 2018, raped the child at the flat he shared with his then partner and co-defendant David Sutton, 27, in Addlestone on April 19, 2024. Ireland had arranged for the 12-year-old boy, referred to in court as Child A, to meet him at his flat after messaging on dating app Grindr, the court heard. The boy, who had been reported missing at the time, told police they had sex...

Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom is attacking Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth over his statement that U.S. Marines are on “high alert” if needed to help National Guard troops with the out of control illegal immigration riots in Los Angeles, calling it “deranged behavior.” Governor Newsom’s press office also attacked Hegseth, responding to a post by Hegseth criticizing Newsom over the riots with a Reuters photo from Saturday that showed protesters in an intersection waving a Mexican flag in front of a burning automobile. Hegseth commented, “Another “mostly peaceful protest” brought to you by @GavinNewsom DEPORT.” Newsom’s press office replied,...

Mt. Ennon Baptist Church is a 9000-member megachurch in Clinton, MD, that is associated with the National Baptist Convention USA and is led by senior “pastor” Delman Coates. According to their website, their vision is to be a “Caring, Christ-centered, Community Church, with a Kingdom Agenda.” One of their core beliefs is the importance of “Biblical Preaching and Teaching” , because “The Word of God is the final authority; it is true; it is unchangeable; it is to be used to equip the saints to achieve our mission.” At the same time, however, along with other beliefs centering around “prayer,”...