Free Republic

Paul Gascoigne to stand trial over alleged racist joke during show Former footballer pleads not guilty to racially aggravated offence after appearing before magistrates [snip] He is alleged to have made a joke about a black security guard whom he spotted in a darkened corner of the stage, saying he could not tell “if he is smiling or not”. [snip]

Chick-fil-A is finally crossing the road. The iconic chicken chain, as well-known for its conservative heritage as its savory eats, is recalibrating its moral and culinary compass. It wants to go from old school to almost cool. It wants to evolve from a place where gays once picketed to a place where they'll feel comfortable going to eat. It wants to broaden the brand as it expands nationally and plows into the Millennial-driven urban arena. Above all: it wants to be a serious player on fast-food's biggest stage. USA TODAY was exclusively invited inside to visit the company's sprawling, wooded...

Congress and the Department of Justice appear to be headed for a showdown this week over documents detailing Operation Fast and Furious, the botched gunrunning sting set up by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that funneled more than 1,700 smuggled weapons from Arizona to Mexico. The Justice Department has until Wednesday to deliver to congressional investigators a stack of records and emails naming the individuals responsible for the gun trafficking operation that may have killed dozens, if not hundreds of Mexicans, and is becoming a growing embarrassment for the Obama administration. Under Project Gunrunner and the Phoenix...

Despite the Libyan crisis and ongoing problems with America's massive deficit, last week President Obama decided it was time to focus on gun control. He wrote an op-ed, challenged the NRA to negotiate new gun control regulations, and met with gun control groups. Of course, Obama's op-ed says he supports gun rights. Yet, he also emphasizes that he doesn't want people to "shout at one another" and supports "reasonable laws." Alas, this is simply positioning for the 2012 presidential election and does not accurately describe his true agenda on gun control. Obama claimed in his op-ed: “My administration has not...

I long thought that the feminism that is often used to justify our presence in Afghanistan long after the failure to capture or kill Osama bin-Laden – the longest war in American history – was a cover for something else. However, with Hillary Clinton in charge of the State Department, and now this outrageous statement, I’m not so sure any longer. Although Americans have long justified violence on behalf of women, for example by lynching innocent men – both black and white – in the old South, beating and shooting men in their homes over domestic disputes and other such...

A possible ban on teachers in England from being members of the British National Party is under consideration, a government spokesman has confirmed. A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families says ministers are investigating a ban. But the profession's watchdog, the General Teaching Council, has said membership of a legal party cannot be seen as "unprofessional conduct". A BNP spokesman said moves for such a ban were "naked intimidation". There have been calls from teachers' unions for a ban on teachers belonging to the BNP.