http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/culturewar/ en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:39:32 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417659/posts ...Miller and Jenkins were joined in a Vermont civil union in 2000. Isabella was born to Miller through artificial insemination in 2002. The couple broke up in 2003, and Miller moved to Virginia, renounced homosexuality and became an evangelical Christian. Cohen awarded custody of the girl to Jenkins on Nov. 20 after finding Miller in contempt of court for denying Jenkins access to the girl. The judge said the only way to ensure equal access to the child was to switch custody. He also said the benefits to the child of having access to both parents would be worth the... The Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417659/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:39:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417175/posts BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — They had to travel to the ends of the Earth to do it, but two Argentine men succeeded in becoming Latin America's first same-sex married couple.After their first attempt to wed earlier this month in Buenos Aires was thwarted, gay rights activists Jose Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre took their civil ceremony to the capital of Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province, where sympathetic governor backed their bid to make Latin American history.The couple exchanged rings Monday in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, closer to Antarctica than Buenos Aires. The informal ceremony was witnessed... Google http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417175/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:14:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416397/posts Today, while Christians around the world are celebrating Christmas, radical Muslims will be gathering in Atlanta, Georgia for the beginning of their annual hatefest. The irony of this cannot be overstated, as the group sponsoring the event, ICNA, and its followers openly denounce Christians and propagate material cursing and calling for violence against Christians. ICNA or the Islamic Circle of North America was created nearly 40 years ago as the American affiliate to the terror-related Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the Muslim Brotherhood of Pakistan. But while JI has focused the majority of its faith-based ire on Hindus, the religious groups of choice... Front Page Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416397/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:23:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416279/posts FAILED plane bomber Umar Abdulmutallab has bragged to FBI agents that there are more young men plotting to launch attacks on the West. The 23-year-old Nigerian has told security chiefs of a sinister network in Yemen who are ready and waiting to strike. The reports come after The Sun revealed that cops fear that 25 British-born Muslims are plotting to bomb Western airliners. The fanatics, in five groups, are now training at secret terror camps in Yemen. It was there London-educated Abdulmutallab prepared for his Christmas Day bid to blow up a US jet. The British extremists in Yemen are... The Sun UK http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416279/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:40:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414744/posts It is 2009's quiet story -- quiet because it's about what didn't happen, which can be as important as what did. In this highly partisan year, we did not see a sharpening of the battles over religion and culture. Yes, we continued to fight over gay marriage, and arguments about abortion were a feature of the health-care debate. But what's more striking is that other issues -- notably economics and the role of government -- trumped culture and religion in the public square. The culture wars went into recession along with the economy. The most important transformation occurred on the... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414744/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:01:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2413970/posts One of Hollywood's most enduring relationships has ended – Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins have broken up after more than two decades together, PEOPLE has learned exclusively. "Actress Susan Sarandon and her partner of 23 years, actor Tim Robbins have announced that they separated over the summer," her rep Teal Cannaday tells PEOPLE in a statement. "No further comments will be made." People http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2413970/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:02:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413239/posts Why let a holiday season come between the White House and making some political statements? The White House pegged controversial designer Simon Doonon to oversee the Christmas decorations for the White House. Mr. Doonon, who is creative director of Barney’s New York has often caused a stir with his design choices. Like his naughty yuletide window display of Margaret Thatcher as a dowdy dominatrix and Dan Quayle as a ventriloquist’s dummy. For this year’s White House, he didn’t disappoint.These photos of ornaments on the White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room were taken just days ago. Of course, Mao... Big Government http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413239/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:12:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410556/posts Albuquerque, N.M., Dec 18, 2009 / 04:12 am (CNA).- Attorneys for a small photography company charged with violating anti-discrimination laws for declining to photograph a same-sex “commitment ceremony” are planning to appeal a New Mexico judge’s decision to uphold the New Mexico Civil Rights Commission’s ruling against them.The Albuquerque company, Elane Photography, is co-owned by Elaine Huguenin and her husband Jon. They are being represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF).In 2006 a woman named Vanessa Willock asked them to photograph a “commitment ceremony” that she and another woman wanted to hold in Taos, N.M. State law does... cna http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410556/posts#comment Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:11:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2409499/posts Hi all. My 11 year old daughter has joined the girls chorus at her school. The chorus just decided its name will be "Las Chicas de Moda." My daughter doesn't like the name. She wanted it to be "Voces Scholasticae" (Latin for School Voices). Question: does this name sound inapproriate? To me it sounds slutty. I've told her teacher we don't like the name but they are pretty much saying it's a done deal (the first concert just happened). Any thoughts/comments/suggestions/linguistic or cultural analysis of "Las Chicas de Moda" would be great! me http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2409499/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:12:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409098/posts I'm not sure which is funnier about this Miami Herald story; that Adultery 101 was published in that newspaper or the fact that it was actually written by Herald staffers. It is so bizarre of a story that it should be marked down as a sign of desperation to attract readers in the midst of a calamitous circulation plunge. So let us now join the Miami Herald staffers as they present their readers with "helpful tips" on how to commit adultery with a celeb shoutout to Tiger Woods: So you're left scratching your head, wondering how a guy like Tiger... NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409098/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:55:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408628/posts The landmark election Saturday of America's first big-city lesbian mayor in Houston represents more than just a milestone in identity politics. It also signals an unmistakable evolutionary step in national politics, one that provides further evidence of a trend that helped make Barack Obama president: growth-oriented communities like the Texas metropolis, rather than aging big cities or nostalgia-inducing small towns, are setting the course of the country's political direction. Houston is one of a set of fast-growing cities and expanding suburbs whose changing face and increasingly post-racial politics helped make Barack Obama president. Their politics are defined by some of... Politico http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408628/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:24:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408157/posts WASHINGTON — Washington D.C.'s City Council has voted to legalize gay marriage in the nation's capital. Mayor Adrian Fenty has promised to sign the bill, which was co-sponsored by 10 of the council's 13 members. The final vote Tuesday was 11-2. The bill now goes to Congress, which has final say over the district's laws. Opponents say they'll try to get Congress or voters to overturn it. Passage of the bill is a victory for gay marriage supporters, who have been dealt a recent string of defeats... Gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont. New Hampshire will... Google AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2408157/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:18:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2408036/posts Folks, this according to the Thomas More Law Center: ANN ARBOR, MI – Tomorrow, December 16, 2009, at 10 AM PST, a panel of eleven judges of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting in San Francisco will hear oral arguments concerning the constitutionality of San Francisco Board of Supervisor’s virulent resolution attacking the Catholic Church for its teachings against homosexual adoptions. The en banc panel will review the earlier opinion of a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit that upheld the resolution. Thomas More Law Center attorney Robert Muise will argue the case on behalf of the plaintiffs in... Vivificat - From Contemplation to Action http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2408036/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:30:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407119/posts <p>Houston became the largest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor, with voters handing a solid victory to City Controller Annise Parker after a hotly contested runoff.</p> <p>Parker defeated former city attorney Gene Locke with 53.6 percent of the vote Saturday in a race that had a turnout of only 16.5 percent.</p> mywa7y http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407119/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:00:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405913/posts A controversial NHS pilot is providing the contraceptive pill to teenage girls without prescription in pharmacies. Southwark and Lambeth, two inner-city areas in London with the highest teenage pregnancy rates, are the first to try the approach. Experts have warned the government is struggling to meet its target of halving teenage pregnancies by 2010. But opponents said there was no evidence providing the pill over the counter would make a difference. BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405913/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:05:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405430/posts Do you have a a Negro friend and are you having trouble finding just the right gift to get him dancing and singing on Christmas Day? Well, the New York Times has come up with one of the great ideas of the 1950s: a holiday gift guide for the colored folk. You’ve probably struggled with what to give your doorman, or valet, or housemaid as an appropriate present. You want something not too expensive but something they can really use. This colored folk gift guide takes the worry out of your holiday shopping for servants and others who are complexion-challenged.... Pajamas Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405430/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:02:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404136/posts A former Duke University employee and adoptive gay father charged with molesting his five-year-old son--and offering the boy as a sex object to pedophiles online--is expected to make a plea bargain, according to a Dec. 1 article in local newspaper the Durham Herald Sun. Frank Lombard faces charges stemming from alleged instances in which he molested his young adopted son and chatted about the deeds online even as he carried them out. It’s thought that the U.S, Attorney’s Office is positioning the case for a plea arrangement because the Office is set to file an "information," which allows the prosecution... Edge (gay pride mag from Boston) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404136/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 23:50:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403743/posts WARNING: This editorial includes discussion of topics that are sexually graphic. Under usual circumstances, we would never entertain these subjects or the rancid language involved. In this case, however, a very unusual exception must be made because the issues are central to the background of a senior presidential appointee at the U.S. Department of Education who is in a position to influence how and what our children are taught in our nation's schools. Thus far, out of fear or squeamishness, there has been public hesitance to examine closely the beliefs of this individual because many are afraid even to touch... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2403743/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 16:00:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2403163/posts On Wednesday, November 24, Iranian demands that female nurses don the hijab in response to Iran’s providing $1.2 million for funding of the new El Alto city hospital in Bolivia sparked a national outcry among women’s rights advocates within Bolivia. In an international teleconference in La Paz held between Bolivian President, Evo Morales, and Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to celebrate the hospital’s opening, nurses were shown wearing hijabs as part of their new uniform regulations. Logan's Warning http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2403163/posts#comment Tue, 8 Dec 2009 21:36:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400233/posts When Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis told the New York Times in a recent interview that gay people don't get to heaven, he broke not one, but two cardinal rules of politics in a single sentence. With a simple phrase, Davis breached the separation between church and state and grabbed the electrified "third-rail" in Bay Area politics with both hands. He told the reporter that gays are "committing sins and those sins will keep them out of heaven." After the Nov. 20 article, the mayor claimed his words were taken out of context. The Times responded by providing an audio link... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400233/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 16:00:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400248/posts .... here's another one for the bulging files: Two Cambridge academics have voiced their dismay at the news that all references to Christmas have been dropped from the switching-on ceremony for Dundee’s festive lights. Instead of the traditional Christmas Lights switch-on, The Times newspaper reported that residents will be attending the 'Dundee Winter Light Night'. Council officials have also decided that rather than a retelling of the Nativity story there will be a disco, a contemporary circus, a continental market and a seven foot fairy on stilts.That's another reason to resist this stuff - not merely because it's an act... Steyn Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400248/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 16:15:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399479/posts Now that the holidays are upon us, it’s time to get annoyed with the consumerism, secularism and political correctness that continue to whittle away at the meaning of the holiday season. The secular and consumption-driven nature of the season has become so routine that one has to work hard to remember to take time for the traditions and religious observances that once defined the season. I thought I had seen every example of how religious meaning has been stripped out of Christmas until a friend showed me the label on a festive seasonal bottle of Coca Cola the other day.... Carroll County Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399479/posts#comment Thu, 3 Dec 2009 17:57:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399308/posts Milwaukee Public Schools' health officials want to make condoms freely available to students in many of the district's high schools, as part of an effort to combat the health risks that sexually transmitted infections and other communicable diseases pose to young people. If the proposal wins the support of the School Board, the new policy could take effect as early as next school year, making MPS one of a few districts in the nation that provide contraception to students. Kathleen Murphy, the district's health coordinator, said that data continues to show that middle and high school students are engaging in... The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399308/posts#comment Thu, 3 Dec 2009 15:00:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398246/posts NORTH ANDOVER — First it was the menorah on the town common. Now it's the Merry Christmas sign on the fire station. The town has put an end to a longtime holiday tradition ordering firefighters to take down their homemade Merry Christmas sign from outside the fire station after people complained. The sign had been up for a week before it was taken down Friday. Fire Chief William Martineau said the sign was made by firefighters some 50 years ago and was never an issue before. "I think Christmas is officially a religious holiday. But to all of us, it... Lawrence Eagle Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398246/posts#comment Wed, 2 Dec 2009 06:57:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397620/posts President Barack Obama ... ... is slated to deliver a prime-time address on Tuesday night in which he'll lay out his plans for the American war in Afghanistan. The address before the United States Military Academy at West Point on Tuesday night will not only be used to announce the immediate order to deploy roughly 30,000 more troops, but the administration will also use the occasion to convey how it intends to turn the fight over to the Kabul government, the New York Times reported. But the administration may also face an unforeseen enemy as it lays out its long-awaited... Morning Call http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397620/posts#comment Tue, 1 Dec 2009 15:23:23 GMT