Free Republic

President Joe Biden's reelection campaign officially ended on Sunday, July 21 when he announced that he was dropping out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president. Harris has since picked up a lot of endorsements from fellow Democrats —including one from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) — and reportedly, Biden's announcement was followed by a cash haul of over $75 million in less than 24 hours. But some Republicans are accusing Democrats of not playing fair, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana). On X, formerly Twitter, Johnson posted, "At this unprecedented juncture in American history,...

The ruling requires the administration to keep processing new applications to export LNG as the Texas-led lawsuit proceeds. Attorney General Ken Paxton obtained a temporary injunction in his lawsuit against the Biden administration over their decision to halt liquefied natural gas exports. Joined by 15 other state attorneys general, Paxton secured the win Monday after a federal district court judge in Western Louisiana ruled that the new administrative plan should be paused as the case proceeds. “This ruling means [President Joe] Biden’s illegal ban does not prevent Texas natural gas from reaching market while the lawsuit continues,” stated Paxton in...

In a June 21, 2024 Friday sermon at Lafayette, Louisiana, the imam said in his supplication: "Oh Allah, annihilate the Jews and the Chris… Oh Allah, annihilate the Jews and their helpers. […] kill them one by one and do not spare a single one of them." The sermon was streamed live on the Facebook page of the Islamic Center of Lafayette, which gave no indication as to the identity of the imam. However, online research suggests that the imam was Mohamad El-Saleh, whom according to news reports, represented the Islamic Center at a November 7, 2023 interfaith prayer for...

Louisiana is the first state to require the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom after Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill into law Wednesday. Under the legislation, H.B. 71, a poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments in "large, easily readable font" is required in all public classrooms, from kindergartens to state-funded universities. Over the weekend, Landry touted the bill at a fundraiser in Tennessee. "I’m going home to sign a bill that places the Ten Commandments in public classrooms," he said, according to a report in the Tennessean. "And I can’t wait to be sued."

The state of Louisiana has ignited a hot new controversy on the role of religion in American public life by passing a law requiring a poster-sized display of the Ten Commandments in “large, easily readable font” in every classroom and in every K-12 public school and college classroom in the state. Other states such as Texas, Oklahoma, and Utah are considering similar legislation. Predictably, Americans for Separation of Church and State and the ACLU have declared this act as a violation of the constitutional mandate that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free...

House Speaker Mike Johnson says he supports Louisiana’s new law mandating the Ten Commandments to be displayed in school classrooms, says he thinks the law will survive legal challenges.

Co-host Whoopi Goldberg suffered a meltdown on ABC’s “The View” while discussing the new Ten Commandments law in Louisiana. Louisiana’s new law mandates that all public school classrooms, from kindergarten to state-funded universities, display the Ten Commandments. On Thursday’s broadcast of ABC’s “The View,” Goldberg raged about the law after it was passed this week. Goldberg argued that if people wanted their children to see the Ten Commandments on the wall, they should “send them to a religious school.” Get out of my school!” Goldberg yelled. “You’re telling me you’re concerned about children learning things — one of the things...

A Louisiana federal court has ruled in favor of the United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), stopping an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) pro-abortion mandate from taking place in Mississippi and Louisiana. The USCCB praised the ruling. “We have said from the start that abortion has no place in the pro-life, pro-woman Pregnant Workers Fairness Act,” spokeswoman Chieko Noguchi said in a statement, adding, “We’re grateful the court has agreed and look forward to full and permanent respect for our rights and this law’s noble purpose.” The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) became law in June of 2023, with...

There’s a very disturbing trend unfolding in Biden’s upside-down America. Political dissidents—Americans who refuse to conform to the regime—are being targeted, harassed, imprisoned, and even killed. It’s increasingly feeling like Joe is channeling his inner Kim Jong-Un. This isn’t the America we know, yet here we are, up against one of the most tyrannical governments to ever seize power. In another horrific nightmare, a Trump supporter has been fatally shot by federal ATF agents during a raid at his home, leaving his family and friends shocked, horrified, and bewildered. ... While we struggle to understand what happened to this man,...

It turns out House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had a quiet mentor who helped pull off the biggest accomplishment of his rocky seven months with the gavel — defying his right wing to pass a vital aid package for Israel and Ukraine. John Boehner — an establishment Republican who was speaker a decade ago chronologically, but an eon ago in the GOP's radical evolution — has become a surprising tutor to the novice, full-MAGA speaker.

Louisiana lawmakers gave final approval to a piece of legislation that would allow judges the option to sentence someone to surgical castration if they are convicted of specific sex crimes. This includes certain crimes against a child younger than 13. According to the New York Post, several states, including Louisiana, can order these criminals to receive chemical castration. The current piece of legislation goes a step further (via NYP): The bill received overwhelming approval in both of the GOP-dominated chambers. Votes against the bill mainly came from Democrats, however a Democratic lawmaker authored the measure. The legislation now heads to...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said he would “not attend” a speech given by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Republican and Democrat lawmakers invited Netanyahu to speak before a “Joint Meeting of Congress.” Sanders issued a press release on Saturday describing Netanyahu as a “war criminal” and stating that he “should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wrote a letter addressed to Netanyahu on Friday, inviting him to speak before a “Joint...

America's most insane occupational licensing law is about to get a whole lot better. Louisiana is the only state in the country that requires florists to be licensed by the government. A bill that is now on the way to Gov. Jeff Landry's desk sadly won't change that fact, but it will eliminate the mandatory test that prospective florists in Louisiana must pass before being allowed to earn a living by placing different types of flowers together in an arrangement. Going forward, obtaining a florist license will require only the payment of a fee to the state. The bill cleared...

House Speaker Mike Johnson joined other top congressional Republicans in blasting former President Donald Trump’s historic felony conviction Thursday as “a purely political exercise” and “weaponization of our justice system” by President Biden. “Today is a shameful day in American history. Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges, predicated on the testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon,” Johnson (R-La.) railed minutes after a Manhattan jury announced it found the Republican presidential candidate guilty on all 34 counts in his hush money trial.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said Friday he has signed a first-of-its-kind bill making abortion pills controlled substances into law. The law puts the abortion pill regimen -- mifepristone and misoprostol -- in the same category as opioids and other addictive medications. "Requiring an abortion inducing drug to be obtained with a prescription and criminalizing the use of an abortion drug on an unsuspecting mother is nothing short of common sense," Landry said in a statement posted on X. "This bill protects women across Louisiana and I was proud to sign this bill into law today." The law makes it illegal...

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday paved the way for Louisiana to use a congressional map in this year's election that includes two majority-Black districts. The court granted emergency requests filed by an unlikely alliance of Republican state officials and civil rights groups, who were united in asking the high court to block a lower court ruling that invalidated the most recently drawn map. State officials had said they needed to have the map finalized by Wednesday to meet bureaucratic deadlines and avoid "disarray."

In December 2022, Congress passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), a pro-life bill that aimed to make the workplace more accessible to pregnant women by requiring employers to provide accommodations to pregnant workers under The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This bill was implemented at the end of June 2023.However, the Biden administration is manipulating the bill’s language to require that employers provide accommodations for abortion. The PWFA requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship.” However, the...

A First Communion service in Louisiana erupted in panic when a 16-year-old armed with a rifle attempted to storm the church through a back door. But parishioners spotted the teen and swarmed him — holding him outside until police arrived and arrested him. The terrifying scene unfolded at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Abbeville — which was full of parents with young children who were there for the rite of passage in the church. The incident was streamed live on the church’s website Saturday morning as Fr. Nicholas G. Dupré led the faithful in prayer from the altar. In...

Churchgoers thwarted a teenager armed with a rifle from entering a Louisiana church full of children Saturday in a service that was being livestreamed, authorities said. Police were called to St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville, 20 miles south of Lafayette, at 10:35 a.m. when the 16-year-old suspect tried to get in via the back door.

Lawmakers in Louisiana are considering a bill that would hit back against abortion coercion via chemical abortions, and abortion advocates are angry about it. Senate Bill 276 was introduced by State Senator Thomas Pressly in honor of his sister, Catherine Herring, whose husband, Mason Herring, slipped abortion pills into her drink without her consent. Their child survived, though she was born premature, uses a feeding tube to eat, and requires multiple therapies. “She is a special needs child,” Catherine said. “Every day is a struggle for her. This impacts us on a daily basis, even now.” Mason was sentenced to...