Free Republic

Senator John McCain appeared on This Week today from Afghanistan, but before getting onto matters of foreign policy, he weighed in on the Republican contest going on in the United States and continued to speak out forcefully on an issue that has been part of his political identity for over a decade: campaign finance reform. McCain has not been the biggest fan of Super PACs, and McCain today blasted the Supreme Court for its decision in the Citizens United case two years ago. When Jake Tapper asked McCain about how the GOP’s divisive contest may end up handing the election...

Have you heard about the 23-year-old Saudi journalist who tweeted an imaginary conversation with Muhammad? It went something like this: He loved Muhammad, he hated Muhammad, he couldn’t understand Muhammad, he wasn’t going to pray for Muhammad. If this isn’t exactly a disquisition on faith and doubt a la “The Brothers Karamazov,” remember, we’re just talking Twitter. The journalist received so many mostly white-hot angry tweets from co-religionists condemning his Islamic law-breaking “blasphemy” (30,000 in 24 hours!) that he apologized and fled the country. He hoped to seek asylum in New Zealand but was captured in Malaysia by Saudi agents...

When it comes to America’s first freedom, religious freedom, the Obama Administration has strong rhetoric – but its policies, regulations, and actions reveal a very different agenda. President Barack Obama recently issued a national proclamation commemorating Religious Freedom Day. With his words, he honored the aspiration of countless settlers who came to America “to practice their beliefs free from prejudice and persecution.” Last Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast, the president, with his words, praised his “strengthened White House faith-based initiative” that has “partnered with Catholic Charities to help Americans who are struggling with poverty.” However, the President’s lofty words...

This is likely to be the first of many commentaries on this matter, but I feel compelled to address specific points that have been made to support President Obama's unconstitutional mandate upon Catholic affiliated institutions. Firstly, supporters of the mandate defend the proposition because as they say most Catholics do not agree with the Church on the matter of artificial birth control. Jehmu Green, on Fox News no less cited polling that 98% of Catholics oppose the Church and have used contraception. Juan Williams, also on FOX, cited a FOX NEWS poll that showed 61% of all Americans agreed with...

President Obama, in a compromise aimed to quell criticism from church leaders and conservatives, said Friday that he will allow Catholic institutions in California and across the nation to opt out of a federal requirement that religious-based employers provide free birth control to their employees. The move, which would revise a Health and Human Services Department rule by allowing those employees access to free birth control via their employers' insurance companies, sparked mostly positive reaction from women's and religious organizations as well as California Democrats meeting this weekend in San Diego. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a practicing Catholic and...

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., probably the Senate’s leading pro-choice voice, stepped into the debate over the Obama administration’s rule requiring Catholic institutions to provide birth-control coverage. The Archdiocese of San Francisco has called the rule an assault on religious freedom and the Obama administration is in damage-control mode with a critical voting bloc. Obama reportedly weighed the politics before approving the decision. One analysis of these politics calculates that Obama’s decision will help him with young, secular women, Catholic or not, and that’s why the White House is standing firm while making noises about a compromise. Obama is touting the...

Catholic Archbishop George Niederauer of the Archdiocese of San Francisco has written a letter that will be distributed at all Masses this weekend about the Obama administration’s decision to require Catholic institutions to administration would require Catholic institutions such as hospitals and universities to provide contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act. See Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ statement here. The ruling has raised a huge row with many Catholics, who make up 27 percent of the electorate and constitute a large share of independents. They are also concentrated in the battleground states that will decide the presidential election....

The people of the United States ordained a Constitution of limited government. As time passes, the people have more of the “government” and less of the “limited.” Americans must work at maintaining their freedoms. Defense of the constitutional freedom of association involved in choosing roommates to share housing illustrates the effort required. Government has attempted to regulate our ability to choose a roommate, but efforts to resist that intrusion pay off in preserved liberty. Tricia Rowe, a 31-year-old single woman who owned a three bedroom, single-family house, wanted a roommate. She posted on a church bulletin board a notice that...

FORT WAYNE – A federal rule requiring religious organizations to pay the full cost of birth control, possible abortion-causing drugs and sterilization under their employees’ health plans has aroused local ire, including the local Catholic church’s refusal to comply. On Sunday, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Roman Catholic Diocese will make the church’s case against proposed provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to the people in the pews with a statement that will be read at Masses. He issued a statement Thursday. District leaders of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod are expected to discuss the...

1st Amendment: Catholic bishops on Sunday issued a response to ObamaCare's mandates on providing contraception in violation of conscience and religious freedom. The message was simple: We will not comply. It was hardly a profile in courage when the Obama administration, hoping to kick the issue down the road past the November election, announced last Friday that Catholic hospitals and other religious institutions will have an extra year to comply with a new requirement that most health plans provide contraceptive benefits at no cost to their members. On Sunday, America's Catholic bishops in an open letter to their parishioners and...

A counseling student who refused the curriculum which required her to counsel same sex couples in an accepting way.

A 15-year-old Wisconsin boy who wrote an op-ed opposing gay adoptions was censored, threatened with suspension and called ignorant by the superintendent of the Shawano School District, according to an attorney representing the child. Mathew Staver, the founder of the Liberty Counsel, sent a letter to Superintendent Todd Carlson demanding an apology for “Its unconstitutional and irrational censorship and humiliation” of Brandon Wegner. Wegner, a student at Shawano High School, was asked to write an op-ed for the school newspaper about whether gays should be allowed to adopt. Wegner, who is a Christian, wrote in opposition. Another student wrote in...

McLEAN, Va. –  Federal prosecutors have shut down one of the world's largest file-sharing sites, Megaupload.com, on charges of violating piracy laws -- a day after a 24-hour blackout of popular websites such as Wikipedia drew national attention to the issue. "This action is among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States," the Justice department said in a statement about the indictment. The indictment accuses seven individuals and two corporations -- Megaupload Limited and Vestor Limited -- of costing copyright holders more than $500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content. It was...

Free Speech: In the name of stopping online piracy of copyrighted material, some propose giving the federal government power to shut down websites without due process and control the greatest mode of free speech ever invented. Call them "sons of net neutrality," for while the Software Online Piracy Act (SOPA) working its way through the House of Representatives and its Senate companion, the Protect IP Act (PIPA), are shrouded in seemingly worthy goals, they would grant government power it should not have and arguably pose a threat to our First Amendment rights. Online piracy is a real problem, and the...

On the Sunday before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett visited Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to give a political speech, in support of her boss (Barack Obama) and congressional Democrats: "Teachers, and firefighters, and policemen, whose jobs are now in jeopardy because Congress--well let me be specific--because the Republicans in Congress," Jarrett told the crowd. According to the CBS affiliate in Atlanta, at this point, "Before she could finish her sentence, people in the congregation were laughing, and applauding." At the Sunday service, Jarrett also brought up Osama bin Laden's death in order...

Let us first review the First Amendment as signed by those very Founding Fathers we so zealously quarrel about: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Naturally, various legal penumbras, as they say, have formed around each of these phrases, with freedom of speech bringing up one set of issues and freedom of religious expression another. The First Amendment is regarded by...

Wednesday the United States Supreme Court delivered a knockout blow to the White House in the cause of religious liberty. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for a unanimous court swatted away the government’s claim that the Lutheran Church did not have the right to fire a “minister of religion” who, after six years of Lutheran religious training had been commissioned as a minister, upon election by her congregation. The fired minister -- who also taught secular subjects -- claimed discrimination in employment. The Obama administration, always looking for opportunities to undermine the bedrock of First Amendment religious liberty, eagerly agreed....

Imagine opening up your copy of the Constitution one day and finding these words: Federal, State and local government shall regulate, limit, or prohibit contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own contributions and expenditures, for the purpose of influencing in any way the election of any candidate for public office or any ballot measure. Federal, State and local government shall require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed.  On January 7th, Occupy Berkeley's ruling authority, its General Assembly, somehow came to endorse an upcoming protest called "Occupy the Courts". The protest is in response to the Citizens United...

<p>LARGO - Is it a crime to wish bad karma on someone? A Pinellas County teenager says she was suspended from school and charged with a crime just for posting a karma comment on her Facebook page.</p> <p>Allie Scott is a junior at Osceola High School. The 16 year old says it all started in the school parking lot last month when she parked her brother's car in another girl's spot. She was asked to move it, and when she did at the end of the day, the car had been scratched up with a key.</p>

Following criticism from customers for its support of the Stop Online Piracy Act, domain registrar Go Daddy today said that it's no longer backing the legislation. "Fighting online piracy is of the utmost importance, which is why Go Daddy has been working to help craft revisions to this legislation - but we can clearly do better," said Go Daddy CEO Warren Adelman in a statement. "It's very important that all Internet stakeholders work together on this. Getting it right is worth the wait. Go Daddy will support it when and if the Internet community supports it." In addition, the company...

Real estate law and Occupy Boston meet here, in an entry by Richard D. Vetstein. Last week, Massachusetts Superior Court Justice Frances A. McIntyre issued a ruling clearing the way for the eviction of the Occupy Boston protest in Dewey Square. Judge McIntyre had originally granted the protesters a temporary restraining order sustaining the protests, but after reviewing evidence and hearing legal argument, she has changed her mind. For interest to our real estate readers, the Judge balanced the City’s property rights vs. the protesters First Amendment speech rights. The judge ultimately concluded that the “occupation” as practiced by the...

This seems noteworthy: A former University of Northern Colorado student has settled his lawsuit against a county prosecutor who signed off on a criminal libel investigation into the student over writings the student posted on a satirical website. The former student, Tom Mink, will receive $425,000 as part of the settlement, according to a news release put out today by the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Mink in the lawsuit. Mink sued in early 2004 after Greeley police raided his home and took his computer while investigating things Mink wrote on “The Howling Pig” website. Mink posted satirical criticisms...

Rick Perry's latest ad was intended for Iowa, but thanks to the national media, it's airing on every network in America. A number of pundits are panning the spot for its bold social conservative themes, which they insist will hurt the Texas Governor's chances. "I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a Christian," Gov. Perry says, "but you don't need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school." The ad is called "Strong," and...

Their sign warns those who are "Drunks, homosexuals, abortionist, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, witches, idolators" that "Hell awaits you." Their hearing will be in Houston Municipal Court, which is run by Barbara E. Hartle, who, according to the Dallas Voice, is listed by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund as "one of only a few out members of the Texas judiciary." She was appointed to the position by Houston Mayor Annise Parker, identified by the Los Angeles Times as "the first lesbian to head a major American city." Allen told WND that no matter what happens, the fact that...

(CNSNews.com) – House Republicans sharply criticized the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday for "politicizing" federal grants that benefit victims of human trafficking. Why was the most experienced and top-rated grant applicant -- the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops -- not selected, while lower-ranked groups got the money instead? The answer is discrimination, Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) told the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee: “If you are a Catholic or other faith-based NGO, or a secular organization of conscience, there is now clear proof that your grant application will not be considered...under a fair, impartial, and...

San Francisco's new ordinance leveled at pro-life pregnancy centers will face federal court scrutiny. The core of the lawsuit is First Amendment viewpoint discrimination. First Resort is a chain of pro-life centers filing the case. The group's CEO Shari Plunkett claims the Pregnancy Information Disclosure and Protection Ordination was "crafted to target one or two specific organizations and carefully shelter from its scope all groups whose viewpoints the city agrees with." Paul Suis, a longtime board member for First Resort, explains to OneNewsNow that two layers of the ordinance ensure it could only be applied to pro-life pregnancy centers and...

What is OWS's argument here? Why do they think they can live on public property for one night, much less indefinitely? Is anyone denied a protest permit based on what he/she wants to protest? If not, what on earth is the argument for letting them stay at all? Serious question.

President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees. In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees;...

November 2, 2011 - - The baseless legislation introduced today by Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) discriminatorily targets traveling circuses, including Representative Moran’s own constituent Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the largest traveling circus in the United States. The bill is designed to censor entertainment and remove the right to let the American public choose for itself whether Ringling Bros. Circus, a 141-year old American institution, can continue to operate. In this day and age, when businesses are failing, the economy is struggling and families are worried, Congressman Moran is busying himself with legislation that immediately threatens to end...

The First Amendment does not guarantee the right to commit rape. The First Amendment does not guarantee the right to deal dope. The First Amendment does not guarantee the right to steal. The First Amendment does not guarantee the right to trash a Whole Foods store. The First Amendment does not guarantee the right to "occupy" a public place. ----------------------------------- I'm going to say something that some may find controversial. I'm going to say something that should have been said weeks ago. I'm going to say what needs to be said about the "Occupy Wall Street" barbarians. It's time for...

NEW YORK — When Timothy Dolan arrived in New York nearly three years ago to take over the state's Catholic Archdiocese, his "brother bishops" had a bleak warning to deliver."We've got a bruising battle coming up over same-sex marriage," he remembers being told in his first meeting with local clergy. "We are not going to relent, we are going to give it everything we've got. But you need to know that the fortune-tellers are telling us that we ain't gonna win."The Roman Catholic Church had long been at the forefront of the fight over defining marriage in the Empire State,...

Upton resident Michael Casey never had a prayer. The father of two went to the town’s three selectmen last month with a simple request: to hold a peaceful prayer vigil on the town common. It was supposed to be part of about 7,500 “rosary rallies” held nationwide by America Needs Fatima, a nonprofit Catholic group. The selectmen put their feet down. No way, they told Casey, invoking the Constitution’s separation of church and state. “It was quite troubling,” said Casey, 50, owner of a hardwood floor business. “They felt that if we were there praying, we would offend people. It...

WASHINGTON—The Senate has voted to effectively block the Justice Department from undertaking gun-smuggling probes like the flawed "Operation Fast and Furious" program that was aimed at breaking up networks running guns to Mexican drug cartels but which lost track of hundreds of the weapons. Some of the weapons were used to commit crimes in Mexico and the U.S. Tuesday's vote would block the government from transferring guns to drug cartels unless federal agents "continuously monitor or control" the weapons.

Sometimes in the course of human events, it becomes necessary to muddle through the confusion and reveal the basic premise of an object. Such is the case with the First Amendment of the U. S. Bill of Rights, and more specifically, the establishment clause. The First Amendment has fallen under a barrage of hyperbole surrounding what it means and what it doesn’t mean. So-called experts in the field of interpretation have managed, over the years, to drape a veil of confusion and distortion over the First Amendment. This confusion and distortion can easily be corrected by simply recalling our basic...

VACAVILLE— "You know we're Catholic. We're supposed to say, you know, your religion," a student from Will C. Wood High School said."It's respectful to say bless you," another student added. But health teacher Steve Cuckovich believes it's more disrespectful to say "Bless You," in his class, even disruptive, to the point that he's knocked off 25 points from a student's grade for saying it."Man, you gonna lose points if you say bless you in the classroom. Man, that's messed up," reacted another student, outside after school on Tuesday."It's not... got anything to do with religion. It's got to do with...

Rose Marie Belforti, a small town cheese maker in rural New York, is at the epicenter of the effort to banish Christians from living out their faith in public office. Belforti, a Bible-believing Christian, has been the elected town clerk for nearly a decade. After the New York legislature redefined marriage and ordered clerks to issue same-sex "marriage" licenses, Belforti had a surprise visit from a lesbian who wanted a marriage license. Rose did what she would do for anyone--she offered an appointment. Just not with her. The women weren't denied a license, but Rose, in anticipation of a conflict...

The parade of hate crimes continue. This time the perpetrator is Vanderbilt University which has put five Christian student organizations on provisional status for being, well, Christian clubs. Vanderbilt was founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in the 1870s, with a donation from philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt. Thus, as is the case with 106 of the first 108 colleges and the universities in the United States, Vanderbilt was brought into existence by followers of Jesus Christ. Now his followers are being tagged as homophobic bigots and threatened with expulsion from campus because of their sincerely held religious beliefs. Worse, Vanderbilt has...

When the New York state legislature rammed through a law “legalizing” same-sex “marriage” this last summer, countless New Yorkers disagreed with the decision. Among them were Christian town clerks who could not in good conscience sign marriage licenses for a union they consider sinful. Clauses were written in the law that supposedly protect clergy from being forced to act against their faith. However, such clauses do not apply to town clerks or any other government official. Clerks are told point blank, either accept the law, or resign. Town clerk Rose Marie Belforti of Ledyard, New York found out the hard...

An Orange County jury has reached a verdict in the Irvine 11 case of Muslim students accused of conspiring and disrupting a February 2010 speech by the Israeli ambassador to the United States. The case garnered national attention over free-speech rights and centered on conflicting views of who was being censored. Prosecutors argued that Ambassador Michael Oren was "shut down" when his speech was interrupted by students who took turns shouting preplanned phrases in a crowded UC Irvine ballroom.

U.S. prosecutors have sent News Corp. a letter seeking information about possible payments made by its U.K. tabloid newspapers to British policemen, according to people familiar with the matter. The letter of request, sent last week, is part of a Justice Department investigation, these people said, into whether the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a U.S. law t hat prohibits companies from bribing foreign officials. The fact the Justice Department chose to issue a "letter of request" rather than a criminal subpoena suggests the department has opted for a less confrontational approach to the matter, legal experts say....

A southern California couple has been fined $300 dollars for holding Christian Bible study sessions in their home, and could face another $500 for each additional gathering. City officials in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. say Chuck and Stephanie Fromm are in violation of municipal code 9-3.301, which prohibits “religious, fraternal or non-profit” organizations in residential neighborhoods without a permit. Stephanie hosts a Wednesday Bible study that draws about 20 attendees, and Chuck holds a Sunday service that gets about 50.

WASHINGTON — Although churches have dispensed health care in Europe since the fourth century and in North America for at least 350 years, the Obama administration has just stepped forward with its own definition of what constitutes a rel i g i o u s -o r i e n t ed health institution. Briefly, the legal definition to be used for the 2010 Affordable Care Act is that a truly religious hospital or clinic hires only those who believe in that faith and admits for treatment only fellow believers. So-called Obamacare would define a religious hospital or clinic that...

Men stand near their trucks as they are questioned by U.S. soldiers with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment about the contents in their trucks on July 14, 2011 in Iskandariya, Babil Province, Iraq. On the ten-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, many Americans are wondering whether the risk of a terrorist attack against America has been reduced. The picture is mixed. With the death of Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda is weaker. With revolutions in several Arab countries, frustrations with unpopular autocratic governments — a recruiting theme for terrorist groups - have been mitigated. But one important contributing factor has...

It's not enough for President Obama's National Labor Relations Board to target the Boeing plant in South Carolina. Now the NLRB thinks it can tell a church school when it's not religious enough. Most people have heard by now of NLRB's unprecedented decree that Boeing Co. cannot build a new airline production facility in South Carolina. But Obama's NLRB is also claiming the authority to dictate labor policies and order union elections at Catholic universities if they are not religious enough.

FCC officially kills Fairness Doctrine, wiping it from rules By Gautham Nagesh - 08/22/11 03:21 PM ET Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the elimination of 83 outdated and obsolete agency rules on Monday, including the controversial Fairness Doctrine. “The elimination of the obsolete Fairness Doctrine regulations will remove an unnecessary distraction. As I have said, striking this from our books ensures there can be no mistake that what has long been a dead letter remains dead," Genachowski said in a statement. "The Fairness Doctrine holds the potential to chill free speech and the free flow of ideas and...

MOUNT DORA, FL, August 18, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Mount Dora High School has removed a veteran social-studies teacher Gerald (Jerry) Buell from his classroom for Facebook comments critical of homosexual ‘marriage’. Christopher Patton, Communications Officer for Lake County Schools told LifeSiteNews that Buell was moved to administrative duties pending the results of an investigation into a suspected code of ethics violation. On his personal Facebook account, outside of school time, Buell posted a reaction to New York’s passage of homosexual ‘marriage’ saying he “almost threw up.” He also referred to homosexual unions as sinful and referred to it as...

A former “Teacher of the Year” in Mount Dora, Fla. has been suspended and could lose his job after he voiced his objection to gay marriage on his private Facebook page. Jerry Buell, a veteran American history teacher at Mount Dora High School, was removed from his teaching duties as school officials in Lake County investigate allegations that what he posted was biased towards homosexuals. “We took the allegations seriously,” said Chris Patton, a communication officer with Lake County Schools. “All teachers are bound by a code of special ethics (and) this is a code ethics violation investigation.” Patton said...

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Four of the five largest U.S. tobacco companies sued the federal government Tuesday over new graphic cigarette labels that include the sewn-up corpse of a smoker and a picture of diseased lungs, saying the warnings violate their free speech rights and will cost millions of dollars to print. The companies, led by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Lorillard Tobacco Co., said the warnings no longer simply convey facts to allow people to make a decision whether to smoke. They instead force them to put government anti-smoking advocacy more prominently on their packs than their own brands, the...

The decision by Bay Area Rapid Transit officials to cut off cellphone service Thursday evening – to forestall a planned protest – raises a fundamental question: Do Americans have a basic right to digital free speech or to digitally organized assembly? Because July protests against BART police shootings had turned violent, BART officials took the unusual step to protect public safety, they said. The tactic may have worked: No protests took place Thursday night at BART stations. Temporarily shutting down cell service and beefing up police patrols were "great tool[s] to utilize for this specific purpose," BART police Lt. Andy...

BART officials acknowledged this afternoon that they shut down cell phone and wireless data service in its downtown San Francisco stations to disrupt a planned protest. Their announcement sparked denunciations from civil libertarians and the apparent threat of a cyber-attack on the BART website. A statement posted on the transit agency's website said the communications blackout was ordered in the interest of public safety: "Organizers planning to disrupt BART service on August 11, 2011 stated they would use mobile devices to coordinate their disruptive activities and communicate about the location and number of BART Police," the statement reads. "A civil...