Free Republic

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama sought the support of voters in the homosexual community Feb. 28, telling them in a letter that if elected president he would work to pass laws important to that constituency and would use the "bully pulpit" to urge states to grant same-sex couples the legal benefits of marriage. The 770-word letter was posted on a section of Obama's campaign website devoted to homosexual issues. He and Hillary Clinton have worked for months to get the votes of the homosexual community, even appearing in August at a historic Democratic presidential forum devoted solely to...

HONOLULU, March 12 — To his high school classmates, Barack Obama was a pleasant if undistinguished student, the guy who seemed happiest on the basketball court, the first to dive into the pumpkin carving at Halloween, the one whose oratorical prowess was largely limited to out-debating classmates over the relative qualities of point guards. But Mr. Obama’s family here in Hawaii saw a more complex young man, a person whose racial confusion and feelings of alienation were matched with equal parts ambition, disquietude and lofty notions about where his internal struggles might lead. “There was always a joke between my...

A middle-aged Russian mum has become a black belt in karate to protect her 22-year-old son from bullies. Valentina Ivanova, 50, felt forced into action after years of watching shy Danila getting bullied by local gangs in Moscow. She told local newspaper Zhizn: "I'd had enough of Danila coming home all battered and bruised. "One time I even found him being beaten by a big guy with huge muscles and there were these other boys and girls standing around and laughing. He's too shy to do anything about it himself so I started a karate course to protect him. "I...

MARSEILLES, France -- Skirt-chasing playboy Daniel Anceneaux spent weeks talking with a sensual woman on the Internet before arranging a romantic rendezvous at a remote beach -- and discovering that his on-line sweetie of six months was his own mother! "I walked out on that dark beach thinking I was going to hook up with the girl of my dreams," the rattled bachelor later admitted. "And there she was, wearing white shorts and a pink tank top, just like she'd said she would. "But when I got close, she turned around -- and we both got the shock of our...

HYDERABAD, India -- A man who kept the embalmed body of his mother at home in a glass casket for 21 years was buried along with her after his death, a relative said Tuesday. Hundreds of residents on Sunday attended the burials of Syed Abdul Ghafoor, 69, and his mother at a mosque in Siddavata, a town 300 miles south of Hyderabad. Ghafoor divorced his wife after six months of marriage because she had a fight with his mother, said Ghafoor's nephew, Syed Noor. "He was so eccentric that he would not allow anybody else even to look at the...

Furious over the recent Supreme Court ruling that lets local governments grab private property for new development, a gadfly yesterday asked a New Hampshire town to seize the home of Justice David Souter. Logan Darrow Clements sent a letter to the town of Weare, N.H., proposing to build "The Lost Liberty Hotel" and "Just Desserts Cafe" on Souter's property. "The justification for such an eminent domain action is that our hotel will better serve the public interest as it will bring in economic development," he wrote. Clements, who runs a California media company, added, "This is not a prank." His...

No Name Calling Week?     1/12/2005By Warren Throckmorton, Ph.D.Yes, name-calling is wrong. But this event’s sponsors reveal the agenda behind banning it. “There is a special place in hell for people like you!” These words were directed at me by a teacher during this past summer’s National Education Association (NEA) convention in Washington, D.C. This delegate to the NEA convention made his prediction in response to my presence at the NEA’s Ex-Gay Educators’ Caucus booth in the convention exhibit hall. His cheery salutation caught me off-guard given the message of tolerance and acceptance I had been hearing around the exhibit hall....

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry canceled a campaign visit to Columbus on Thursday because of a strained voice, a campaign spokeswoman said Wednesday night. "With the debates coming up, he needs to balance his campaign schedule and keep his voice strong," spokeswoman Kathy Roeder said. [snip]Kerry also canceled a trip to Iowa on Thursday to rest his voice, and the campaign said vice presidential nominee John Edwards would take his place.

Finley's wife charged with spousal abuse Associated PressSanta Ana, Calif. -- Actress Tawny Kitaen, wife of Cleveland Indians pitcher Chuck Finley, was charged Wednesday with spousal abuse and battery for allegedly attacking her husband. Kitaen was arrested Monday night after arguing with Finley as they drove home from dinner, said Tori Richards, spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office. The charges were revealed the same day Finley was scheduled to make his season debut against his former team, the Anaheim Angels, for whom he pitched 14 seasons. Finley was scratched from his start and did not come to...