Free Republic

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska publicly backed gay marriage on Wednesday, becoming the third Republican senator to do so as she spoke out ahead of potentially landmark rulings from the Supreme Court on the issue. Murkowski, 56, wrote in an essay posted on her Senate website that her decision was swayed, in part, by meeting a lesbian couple from Anchorage, one of whom was in the National Guard, who had adopted four children. "This first-class Alaskan family still lives a second-class existence," Murkowski said in her essay. Her announcement comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule...

Men who are easily distracted by “the mere sight of a woman's thigh” should be banned from driving, says a petition posted on the White House website.The petition, entitled “Prohibit Straight Men From Driving,’ was posted on May 26 by someone in Illinois and has more than 12,000 signatures to date. It needs 100,000 signatures by June 25 to merit a response from the White House.“In many public schools, there are dress codes that prohibit students from wearing tank-tops, tube tops, and shorts that are deemed ‘too short,’ as these could distract male students,” the petition reads. “If men can...

Concerned that US troops may have conflicting loyalties, top brass is cracking down on “overt displays of behaviors conducive to a break down in discipline.” By way of making an example, Master Sgt. Nathan Sommers, a 25-year Army veteran based at Fort Myer in Washington, D.C., is facing formal charges for “a litany of offensive behaviors.” The bad behavior includes his choice of reading material—conservative and critical of the Obama Administration—and his choice of menu—sandwiches from Chik-Fil-A—at a party he threw celebrating his promotion to Master Sergeant. Chik-Fil-A is the restaurant famous for its owners views on marriage. “The Army...

Just in case you want more Obama in your life… AT&T is loading iPhones with emergency alerts from Barack Obama… That you can’t switch off. AT&T has begun rolling out Wireless Emergency Alerts updates for iPhone 4S and 5, so you won’t be the last folks to know if the entire northern hemisphere is about to be covered in ice à la Day After Tomorrow. You’ll receive a notification from the carrier when your update is ready, but only if you’re using iOS 6.1 or higher. Once installed, AMBER and Emergency alerts are automatically sent to your phone unless you...

When considering the forces pulling at the Boy Scouts of America, one thing journalists really needed to consider was a simple statistical chart that can be found (.pdf) on the organization’s homepage. Here are the crucial numbers found at the top of this file: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — 37,856.United Methodist Church — 10,868.Catholic Church — 8,397.Presbyterian Church — 3,597.Lutheran Church — 3,827.Baptist churches — 3,981.These are these numbers? That would be the number of Scouting units hosted by these particular religious groups. I am well aware, as I have written in a previous post, that this...

In a sharp escalation of the U.S. role in Syria's bloody civil war, the White House announced late Thursday that it will provide military aid to rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad after confirming that his government used chemical weapons on the opposition. Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes told reporters on a conference call that President Barack Obama had heard pleas from Syria's rebel Supreme Military Council (SMC) for more help. "Our aim is to be responsive," Rhodes said, underlining that the new assistance would have "direct military purposes."

The Oxford English Dictionary defines "poison" as "a substance that is capable of causing the illness or death of a living organism when introduced or absorbed." The legal definition of the term is "any product or substance that can harm someone if it is used in the wrong way, by the wrong person, or in the wrong amount." The medical condition of poisoning is even broader: It can be caused by substances that are not even legally required to carry the label "poison." Therefore, can food become poisonous? Of course it can if it is infected, tampered with or altered...

The White House announced Thursday that the Obama administration has conclusive evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime has used chemical weapons against his opposition, killing up to 150 people in the last year and crossing what President Obama has called a "red line" that would lead to greater American involvement in the crisis. It was not immediately clear what the next U.S. move would be, but a statement by Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said that the use of chemical weapons by Syria has changed the President’s "calculus."

Sure most people just see refugees, but Democrats see voters. A number of the refugees will be Christian, but somehow I think Obama isn’t all that interested in Christian refugees. Taking in Muslim refugees from Muslim civil wars in Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere has largely been a disaster. The original World Trade Center bombing happened in part because the United States was willing to host Egyptian Islamists who would have been arrested in their own country. And who exactly will be taking in now? If the Muslim Brotherhood Jihadists lose in Syria, their leaders will flee to Europe...

Deadbeat dad has 22 kids with 14 women, Tennessee pays $7,000 per month. "I was young and ambitious." Orlando Shaw guessed he had fathered 18 children with 17 women, but he really has 22 children with 14 women, making him the "most expensive deadbeat dad" in Tennessee history. Shaw appeared in court in Nashville when Child Support Services sued on behalf of the mothers for tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid child support over the years. "I was young and ambitious and I love women," Shaw, 33, told WTVF-TV. He said that when he was young he wanted 50...

A State Department whistleblower has accused high-ranking staff of a massive coverup — including keeping a lid on findings that members of then-Secretary Hillary Clinton’s security detail and the Belgian ambassador solicited prostitutes. A chief investigator for the agency’s inspector general wrote a memo outlining eight cases that were derailed by senior officials, including one instance of interference by Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills. Any mention of the cases was removed from an IG report about problems within the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS), which provides protection and investigates crimes involving any State Department workers overseas. “It’s a coverup,”...

In a video recorded message released on Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry said that U.S. diplomats in every corner of the globe are working to help local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations. Advancing the LGBT cause, Kerry said, is "central to the United States' commitment to promoting human rights." "I wanted to take a moment to join people around the world in celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride month," Kerry said.

The sexual permissiveness of men will emerge a winner in the contest of ideas as same-sex marital norms begin to shape the larger institution of marriage.

As Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. was struggling with how to cast the decisive vote in a 1986 Supreme Court case that would end up devastating the gay rights movement, he told his fellow justices that he had never met a homosexual. In truth, one of his four law clerks that term was gay. The atmosphere at the court today is far different from 1986, with a pace of change that may have surpassed that in the rest of society. Openly gay law clerks are now common in the chambers of both liberal and conservative justices. In January, Chief Justice...

Gay Therapy Gay conversion therapy, as it is known, supposedly helps gay people overcome same-sex attractions. But mainstream psychologists say the therapy is ineffective, unethical and often harmful, exacerbating anxiety and self-hatred among those treated for what is not a mental disorder. In 2013, two cases involving the therapy to convert gay people into heterosexuals hit the courts, with one seeking to sue counselors who offer the therapy and the other seeking to defend them. Here are five things you need to know about the therapy and the current lawsuits.

AFP - Al-Qaeda's military chief in Yemen warned Americans in an audio message posted online Sunday that the Boston bombings revealed a fragile security as he urged Muslims to defend their religion.

<p>Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) said he was glad the Boy Scouts' national council recently decided to allow openly gay minors to serve as Scouts, but said it was unacceptable that the organization did not also lift its ban on adult leaders who are gay.</p>

The Muslim Brotherhood in the White House! White House tours apparently compromised their free run of the place! Where is the impeachable offense? Arif Alikhan – Assistant Secretary for Policy Development for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Mohammed Elibiary – Homeland Security Adviser. Rashad Hussain – Special Envoy to the (OIC) Organization of the Islamic Conference. Salam al-Marayati – Obama Advisor and founder Muslim Public Affairs Council (and its current executive director.) Imam Mohamed Magid – Obama’s Sharia Czar – Islamic Society of North America Eboo Patel – Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships Some of these terrorists go...

Several hundred thousand opponents of same-sex marriage marched in central Paris on Sunday against a reform the unpopular French government passed last month at the price of deepening political polarization. Large park grounds around Les Invalides monument were full of protesters waving pink and blue flags, while far-right activists hung a banner on the ruling Socialist Party headquarters urging President Francois Hollande to quit. The protests, which began as a grass roots campaign strongly backed by the Roman Catholic Church, have morphed into a wider movement with opposition politicians and far-right militants airing their discontent with Hollande. Although they have...

Tens of thousands of people protested against France’s new gay marriage law in central Paris on Sunday. The law came into force over a week ago, but organizers decided to go ahead with the long-planned demonstration to show their continued opposition as well as their frustration with President François Hollande, who had made legalizing gay marriage one of his keynote campaign pledges in last year’s election. …