Free Republic

The U.S. Air Force said that a well-known drag queen group was invited to perform on base during a “Diversity Day” celebration because drag is a “symbol of gay pride and unity. But the performance sparked outrage among some airmen who called the drag show “totally offensive and inappropriate.” Jewels and the Brunchettes performed to a small crowd at the Los Angeles Air Force Base on Aug. 8, the military confirmed. Photographs provided to Fox News show an individual wearing a giant wig and sporting form-fitting dresses performing to a sparse crowd underneath the American flag. “Drag acts to this...

Privatization’s the only way to handle the issue  and get this off the GOP’s back- we don’t need it. My conservative/libertarian friends, imho it is time for government on both the federal and state levels to remove marriage from the tax-code and walk away from the term completely- two adults of any sort can register a household as legal entity for the purpose of benefits, hospital visitations, agreed inheritance contracts, etc, but let us be married by the church of our own choosing. Marriage was created as a religious ceremony/bond anyway- maybe that's where it belongs. Being a church-going Catholic, I’m confident...

The advocacy group backed a Change.org petition started by Will Oliver, a 20-year-old gay Eagle Scout, that calls on Nat Geo to air a disclaimer clarifying the network's views before each episode of its new series, "Are You Tougher than a Boy Scout." It debuts this spring. "That National Geographic would brush aside countless gay teens suffering at the hands of the BSA, shrugging off injustice as just another ‘point of view,' is irresponsible," GLAAD president Herndon Graddick said in a statement. "By airing this program, National Geographic is providing support and publicity to an organization that harms young people...

OTTAWA - The federal government is finalizing a nation-wide plan to combat racism that asks law enforcement agencies to establish special hate-crime units and includes initiatives to educate Canadians about the dangers of hate, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said yesterday. The plan, which is at the final stage of Cabinet approval, was designed, in part, to fight growing anti-Semitism, such as the firebombing of a Jewish school in Montreal and racially motivated incidents against Jews and Muslims in Toronto. The 10-chapter blueprint is expected to include advertising to promote anti-racism messages, measures to strengthen ethnic communities and new money for...

The syphilis rate in the United States rose in 2002 for the second consecutive year, following a decade-long decline that led to an all-time low in 2000, according to new data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The overall increase occurred despite continued declines in syphilis among African Americans and women. The increase is due to large increases in reported syphilis cases among men, particularly "gay and bisexual men" according to a report from the Centers for the Disease Control (CDC). The data, published in the November 21 issue of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly...