Free Republic

A New Jersey court, Tuesday, took a step further in effectively tying Republican Governor Chris Christie’s hands on budget and education reform. Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne ruled that Christie’s budget cuts to school aid left public schools unable to provide a “thorough and efficient” education to New Jersey children. Now, the case goes to the state Supreme Court where those seven judges will decide whether to act on it or not. Doyne’s decision is based on a decades-old ruling in the case Abbott vs. Burke that says the New Jersey state government has to equalize funding for all public...

A federal appeals court's dismissal of a lawsuit by parents outraged that a school district surveyed their elementary school-age children about sex is "frightening," says family advocate James Dobson. "I think that's one of the most frightening examples of judicial tyranny that has come down," said Dobson, founder and head of Focus on the Family, on his daily radio broadcast. Dobson called the 9th Circuit "the most out-of-control, imperious, unelected, unaccountable court in the country." The court determined there is "no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children." "What parents...

The New GOP Betrays America Diane Alden Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005 The biblical truth "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" described my state of mind on July 27, 2005. That was when the House Republican leadership stopped the clock on the CAFTA vote because they didn't like the way it was going. It gets more and more difficult to write about politics. The hope some of us placed in Republicans was misplaced. We had hope they might make a small attempt to lead this nation back to constitutional government: limited government. Hoping Republicans will be conservative, constitutional or less venal...

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Constitution forbids the execution of killers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes, ending a practice used in 19 states. The 5-4 decision throws out the death sentences of about 70 juvenile murderers and bars states from seeking to execute minors for future crimes. The executions, the court said, were unconstitutionally cruel. This report will be updated as details become available.