Free Republic

Dear Ukrainians! This year began on February 24. Without prefaces and preludes. Sharply. Early. At 4 o'clock. It was dark. It was loud. It was hard for many and scary for some. 311 days have passed. It can still be dark, loud, and complicated for us. But we will definitely never be afraid again. And we'll never be ashamed. It was our year. Year of Ukraine. Year of Ukrainians. We woke up on February 24. Into another life. Being another people. Another Ukrainians. The first missiles finally destroyed the labyrinth of illusions. We saw who was who. What friends and...

The logo for the "Humanum" conference, to be held held November 17-19 at the Vatican’s Pope Paul VI Hall. (Photo: www.humanum.it/) In golf, a “do-over” is a called a “mulligan”. At the Vatican, might it be called a “post-synodal conference”? October’s Synod on the Family proved disappointing to many. Fraught with controversy and confusion, some believe church leadership missed an opportunity to propose clear and effective doctrine. Reportedly, bishops raised their voices. One pounded his fist on his desk in disgust. But a year out from next fall’s summit, some Vatican leaders are already trying to retake important ground,...

It's happened so often that it's now a cultural cliche: the gay politician pretending to be straight. In most parts of the nation, homosexuality or bisexuality is a clear electoral liability. Not in Center City's 182d state House district. There, it's a badge of honor. Veteran Rep. Babette Josephs (D., Phila.) last Thursday accused her primary opponent, Gregg Kravitz, of pretending to be bisexual in order to pander to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender voters, a powerful bloc in the district. "I outed him as a straight person," Josephs said during a fund-raiser at the Black Sheep Pub & Restaurant,...

Lately, Andrew Sullivan has brought up the concept of a Federalist, state-by-state approach to defining marriage several times. Yesterday he pointed out a quote from Clarence Thomas which he feels supports this position. (Link is here) Here is the Thomas Quote: "We have said that Congress may regulate not only "Commerce... among the several states," U.S. Const., Art. I, 8, cl. 3, but also anything that has a "substantial effect" on such commerce... [I]t seems to me that the power to regulate "commerce" can by no means encompass authority over mere gun possession, any more than it empowers the Federal...