Free Republic

To Pray or Not to Pray... As the Indiana House of Representatives opens its 2006 session tomorrow, the first question facing lawmakers is to pray or not to pray in the name of Jesus. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge David Hamilton reaffirmed his November ruling that praying in the name of Jesus violated the high court's concoction of the "separation of church and state." The ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed by the Indiana branch of the ACLU. Several House members, Republican and Democrat, have said that if they are given the chance to open tomorrow's session...

Menorah destroyed by vandals in Orange County Associated Press MISSION VIEJO, Calif. - A public menorah erected on an Orange County town green to encourage understanding about Judaism and Hanukkah was destroyed by vandals. The 150-pound menorah, which was 15 feet high and 10 feet wide, was placed earlier this month in Ladera Ranch, a planned community near Mission Viejo. One or more vandals struck between 10 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday, cutting the menorah's stem, breaking its lightbulbs, and smashing its stars, said Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Lloyd Downing. He said the incident has been labeled a hate...

Some recent events would seem to indicate that the American Civil Liberties Union is lost in the woods without a compass. A moral compass, that is. For the last five years, the ACLU has been fighting the federal departments of Defense and Housing and Urban Development because of their support for the Boy Scouts of America – support that has taken the form of raising money for their national jamborees, allowing military personnel to lead Scout troops in their personal capacities, and providing access to government facilities for free. Now, a federal judge has sided with the ACLU and ruled...

In 1957 Los Angeles County redesigned its County Seal. The Seal was designed to reflect a broad spectrum of icons of significance in Los Angeles. Among the items included on the County Seal were the Hollywood Bowl and a very small cross to signify an old Los Angeles landmark - a cross atop a hill near the Hollywood Bowl. The cross was also an homage to the missionary origins of Los Angeles, whose original name was "El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciúncula." For decades the seal stood as the official seal of the County...

A reader has sent me the following deeply disturbing account of the current atmosphere on a British law course: 'I must say it's been an eye-opener for me regarding the level of antizionism/antisemitism I have encountered from the people on the course, many of whom have training contracts and will go into practice as the next generation of lawyers. Upon realising the hostility I decided not to tell anyone that I was Jewish. 'One day, at the end of a workshop, someone raised the issue that an Israeli soldier was in the headlines for shooting a Palestinian boy. Three other...

WASHINGTON — The government is asking a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit from an atheist who wants to bar the saying of a prayer at President George W. Bush's inauguration , calling the practice widely accepted and more than 200 years old, according to a court filing released Monday. Michael Newdow , best known for trying to remove "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance, filed suit last month in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He said the use of a prayer is unconstitutional. Newdow said that two ministers delivered Christian invocations at Bush's first...

The Democratic National Committee's appointed religion adviser has resigned after a Catholic group criticized her for supporting an atheist's claim that the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. Rev. Brenda Bartella Peterson stepped down as the DNC's senior religion adviser, telling the Religion News Service that "it was no longer possible for me to do my job effectively." "The only question now is whether [Democratic presidential candidate] John Kerry and the DNC have finally got the message. When we exposed Mara Vanderslice as a Left-wing activist who cavorts with anti-Catholics, the Kerry camp silenced her as...

Oracle Commentaries 4/23/2004 Agnostic Arrogance of the 'Liberal Elite' It appears that President Bush has committed the "ultimate sin" in the opinion of the "liberal elite" in politics and media. They are shouting his "flagrant transgressions" from the rooftops. Like sharks racing to blood in the water, they seized upon what they feel is the final proof of Bush's incompetence to be president. So what is this "great moral failure"? President Bush dared to disregard the mythical "wall separating church and state" and prayed for God's guidance regarding the war on Iraq. He has compounded this transgression by continuing...

WASHINGTON - A California atheist told the Supreme Court Wednesday that the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance are unconstitutional and offensive to people who don't believe there is a God. Michael Newdow, who challenged the Pledge of Allegiance on behalf of his daughter, said the court has no choice but to keep it out of public schools. "It's indoctrinating children," he said. "The government is supposed to stay out of religion." But some justices said they were not sure if the words were intended to unite the country, or express religion. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist noted...

Legal group challenges Christmas 'Grinch'Launches campaign to prevent blatant religious discrimination Posted: December 3, 20031:00 a.m. Eastern By Diana Lynne© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com A civil-liberties legal defense organization has put the "Grinch" on notice he won't be able to strip Whoville or any other city in the U.S. of Yuletide glee this holiday season. Dr. Seuss' "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" The Liberty Counsel launched a nationwide campaign to prevent blatant religious discrimination by bringing lawsuits against any governmental agency that acts like the notorious Dr. Seuss character and eliminates public displays of religious symbols or songs. Conversely, the organization announced it will...

<p>LONDON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Britain's government is moving toward outlawing the spanking of children, even if it is done by parents in their own home.</p> <p>Officials plan to tack an amendment onto the Child Protection Bill to outlaw parental spanking because too many parents cover up abuse by claiming their children's bruises are the result of normal discipline, the Sunday Observer reported.</p>

LAW OF THE LAND 'Bible as hate speech' bill passes Sponsor: 'It's been a good week for equality in Canada' Posted: September 18, 2003 9:00 a.m. Eastern By Art Moore © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com Canada's House of Commons passed a controversial bill yesterday opposed by religious believers and free-speech advocates who say it will criminalize public expression against homosexual behavior. The bill, passed 141-110, adds sexual orientation as a protected category in Canada's genocide and hate-crimes legislation, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. "It's been a good week for equality in Canada," said the bill's sponsor,...

On Friday the United Nations Human Rights Commission deferred a landmark resolution on human rights and sexual orientation until next year, apparently after five Muslim nations -- four of them United States allies -- maneuvered procedural delays. Libyan chairwomen Najjat Al-Hajjaji's proposal to defer the resolution to the next year's session was voted 24-17 with 12 abstentions, amid protests from Canada, European Union and Brazil. Friday was the last day of the 59th session of the U.N. Human Rights Commission. Frederico S. Duque Estrada Meyer of the Brazilian delegation in Geneva called it a "double victory," saying if the resolution...

Where do you draw the moral line regarding sexual behavior? Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), a Catholic, draws the line at homosexuality. Regarding a pending Supreme Court case on the Texas state sodomy law, Santorum told the Associated Press: "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything." This statement was directly in line with the Judeo-Christian values upon which this country...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Democrat-controlled California Assembly passed a bill today mandating fines of up to $150,000 against business owners – including Bible bookstores and nonprofit organizations such as the Boy Scouts – for refusing to hire cross-dressing and transsexual job applicants. After more than 45 minutes of debate, with a majority of speakers opposing the bill, AB 196 passed the Assembly by the narrowest of margins. The vote was 41 to 34, the bare minimum needed to advance the bill to the state Senate. All the "yes" votes on AB 196 were from Democrats. Voting "no" were 31 Republicans...

SARANDON MOVIE ON CBS FINISHES LAST PLACE IN OVERNIGHTS

American Airline Supports the Gay Agenda Bankruptcy is GOOD ! ! !San Diego, CA August 21-24, 2003 Join us in beautiful San Diego for the North American Conference on Bisexuality. This conference features pre-conference institutes, workshops/panels on bisexuality, leading sex researchers, entertainment, and the chance to meet other people interested in bisexuality from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The North American Conference on Bisexuality begins with a day and half of pre-conference institutes all day on Thursday, August 21 and Friday morning, August 22. The institutes format comprise of a series of presentations and discussions, please see the...

The Dixie Chicks aren't the only Texas natives bashing President George W. Bush.Sandy Duncan who is performing in South Carolina, told a local paper that she questioned the decision to go to war, and wishes that rather than President Bush, the United States had a leader who was 'globally aware' and 'really smart.''I just wish men would quit thinking they could just duke it out with each other,' the native of Henderson, Texas, told the Times and Democrat.'I don't have all of the facts, and who knows what's really the truth, but I really don't respect [President Bush's] way of...

Washington, DC, Apr 17 (OneWorld) - A major environmental group has declared a ceasefire in its three-year campaign against Citigroup, the world's largest private financial institution, after new commitments by the giant lender to adopt more responsible social and environmental policies in deciding what projects to finance. Citigroup's decision to more seriously engage one of its main critics, Rainforest Action Network (RAN), came one week after the San Francisco-based group launched a major ad campaign to persuade Citigroup credit card holders to destroy their cards to protest the company's support for projects and industries that environmentalists consider particularly harmful. The...

<p>LOS ANGELES — She's publishing a series of kiddie storybooks.</p> <p>She's working with scientists who have discovered how to neutralize radiation.</p> <p>She's plotting to make a documentary about Kabbalah, a religious philosophy based on Jewish mysticism.</p> <p>Who's that girl?</p> <p>These days, Madonna strives to be neither material nor immaterial. After straddling the heights of wealth and celebrity for two decades, the pop diva is on a quest for meaning. And in American Life, due Tuesday, that means questioning the impulses behind her own rise to riches.</p>