Free Republic

The week just keeps getting better and better!

Judicial Retention: Three judges in Iowa were disrobed on Tuesday for voting to end the state's ban on gay marriage. Even those who legislate from the bench would be wise not to ignore we the people. We've often complained about the power of unelected judges who, when not circumventing the U.S. Constitution and those of their respective states, are busy inventing new rights that often conflict with the will of the people, even after voters or their elected representatives have voted the opposite way. In some states, while voters may not get to pick the judges, they can vote to...

April 03, 2009, 2:00 p.m. Imperial Judiciary Goes GlobalBy the Editors In 2004, the Supreme Court sowed the seeds for a national-security upheaval when it ruled, in Rasul v. Bush, that war prisoners held outside the United States had a right to challenge their detentions in federal court. Last year, in Boumediene v. Bush, the justices continued the seismic shift, holding that the right they had invented in Rasul — a right extended to aliens whose only connection to the United States is in waging war against it — was somehow rooted in our Constitution. Thursday, the inevitable earthquake...

That's what Barack Obama called it. "A victory for all Americans." A small town in Pennsylvania votes overwhelmingly to elect a mayor on a platform of cracking down on the damage illegal aliens are inflicting on the community. The heroic mayor, Louis J. Barletta, fulfills his promise to his constituents by enacting an ordinance last summer prohibiting renting to those in the U.S. illegally. A group of "activists" challenge the law in court. And U.S. District Judge James Munley, an appointee of Bill Clinton, overturns the popular measure with a stroke of the pen. That is what Barack Obama characterizes...

After decades of excoriating evangelical Christians as bigoted morons, foaming-at-the-mouth fanatics and vile hypocrites -- both sexually-obsessed and sexually-repressed (part Elmer Gantry, part Elmer Fudd) -- the media has hit on a new tactic. The cover story ("America's God Complex - Like George W. Bush, The Religious Right Is At The Crossroads") in the November 13th Newsweek explains that evangelicals aren't really all that bad - it's just that the poor fools have been duped by the Republican Party, their energies (which should be devoted to more worthwhile endeavors) diverted to sordid politics. But there's hope that the Bible Belt...

A judge ruled Friday that a 16-year-old boy fighting to use alternative treatment for his cancer must report to a hospital by Tuesday and accept treatment that doctors deem necessary, the family's attorney said. The judge also found Starchild Abraham Cherrix's parents were neglectful for allowing him to pursue alternative treatment of a sugar-free, organic diet and herbal supplements supervised by a clinic in Mexico, lawyer John Stepanovich said. Jay and Rose Cherrix of Chincoteague on Virginia's Eastern Shore must continue to share custody of their son with the Accomack County Department of Social Services, as the judge had previously...

A federal judge whose husband and mother were slain by a disgruntled litigant urged Congress on Wednesday to help bring an end to "truly dangerous" verbal attacks on judges that might lead to violent action. In addition to asking lawmakers to "publicly and persistently repudiate gratuitous attacks on the judiciary," Lefkow called on Congress to increase funding for the U.S. Marshals Service, which protects judges. She also wants legislation to ban putting personal information about judges and other government officials on the Internet without their permission.

For the second time in five years, government entities in this country are with brute force victimizing an innocent person during Holy Week, the week of Christ's Passion. The last time it was the Clinton administration's seizure of Elian Gonzales, of which I wrote at NewsMax: This country, which makes such a show of supporting the oppressed against the oppressors, treats [Elian's] Miami relatives in their modest bungalow home--these people who have nothing to stand on but their humanity and their sense of what is right--with contempt. This country, which gobbles up one Hollywood thriller after another in which people...

Hon. Stephen Harper (Leader of the Opposition, CPC): Mr. Speaker, before I turn to my formal remarks I would like to begin with just a brief reply to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister spoke at length, as we just heard, about rights in the Charter of Rights. I remind the Prime Minister that in our system of government, the Prime Minister does not decide or define our rights. The Prime Minister does not interpret the Charter of Rights. The Supreme Court of Canada does that. He asked the Supreme Court of Canada to endorse his interpretation and it just...

<p>DENVER — A Christian mother is appealing a judge's decision that prohibits her from teaching her daughter that homosexuality is wrong.</p> <p>Cheryl Clark, who left a lesbian relationship in 2000 after converting to Christianity, was ordered by Denver County Circuit Judge John Coughlin to "make sure that there is nothing in the religious upbringing or teaching that the minor child is exposed to that can be considered homophobic."</p>

An adult can be tried on homicide charges when a child finds the adult's gun and kills himself with it, a Brooklyn judge has ruled. Acting Justice Michael A. Ambrosio has denied Wayne Heber's motion to dismiss serious felony charges stemming from the July 14, 2001, death of his 4-year-old nephew. The boy shot himself in the head after finding a loaded 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol under a chair cushion where he was watching cartoons on television. Heber, of Canarsie, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with evidence when he turned himself in to police after the...