Free Republic

Pulitzer Prize winner and Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz resigned today. "In recent weeks, it has become painfully clear that my independence, professionally and personally, is possible only if I'm no longer writing for the newspaper that covers my husband's senate race on a daily basis. It's time for me to move on," Schultz wrote in an email to her colleagues Monday. Schultz had written for the newspaper for nearly 18 years. She is married to Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who will seek re-election to the U.S. Senate next year. Conservatives have criticized Schultz and The Plain Dealer, saying...

The Navy’s former top civilian has rocked the service in a military journal article by accusing officials of sinking the storied naval air branch into a sea of political correctness. Former Navy Secretary John Lehman, himself a former carrier-based aviator, wrote that the swagger and daring of yesterday’s culture has given way to a focus on integrating women and, this year, gays.

Earlier this week, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard – the nation’s first woman PM – addressed EMILY’s List Australia at Parliament House in Canberra. Gillard has her critics, and I’d be lying if I said I was inspired and entirely satisfied by the job she’s doing as PM. It would be delusional to imagine that sexism in Australia died the day Gillard was made head of the Labor Party. But by the same token, it would be foolish to pretend that her elevation to the PM isn’t enormous progress in a country where gender equality is still far from a...

September 12, 2011 (UnmaskingChoice.ca) - On April 13, 2005, 19 year old Katrina Effert secretly gave birth to a baby boy in her parent’s home. She then strangled the child with her underwear, and tossed the corpse over the fence into the yard of one of the neighbours. On September 9, 2011, CBC reported that Ms. Effert’s conviction for this murder had been ‘downgraded’ by an Edmonton Court of Queen’s Bench judge to infanticide, and in lieu of jail time she will merely serve a suspended sentence. In her argument, the judge stated that “while many Canadians undoubtedly view abortion...

Cecile Richards, the CEO of Planned Parenthood, sent out an email asking: “Why is Rick Perry so cruel to women?” Richards complained, among other things, about Gov. Perry’s support of the Texas law that would require abortion providers to show an expectant mother a sonogram of her baby, along with a description and the heartbeat. All facts. No opinions. Just the information that correctly and completely explains the procedure as required for a fully educated choice. But Richards attacked these measures as “burdens” and “dangerous.” Why is Richards so upset? How is looking at a “clump of cells” a burden?...

Jesus Christ is considered the most important and central figure in all of history for many. Yet in her debut novel, Kristen Wolf turns the biblical portrayal of the Messiah on its head by portraying Jesus as a woman. The Way, which was released in July but is noted in the September 2011 issue of The Oprah Magazine as a “Title to Pick Up Now,” transports its readers back to ancient Palestine where a young girl, Anna, struggles to comprehend her purpose in a male-dominated society. After she witnesses the brutal murder of a woman in her town, and her...

Rick Perry's chances at passing himself off as a reasonable Republican were diminished considerably yet again this week, when the Centre for Reproductive Rights secured a victory against a draconian anti-abortion regulation Perry rushed through the legislature in May, claiming while doing so that it was an emergency measure. When US district judge Sam Sparks rejected the law and blocked enforcement, he created an occasion for the national media to look more closely at Perry's record on women's rights. What they'll find is that Perry goes far beyond the usual anti-abortion platitudes: he not only bears a zealous hatred of...

The Rev. Amy DeLong, a Methodist pastor from Osceola, Wisconsin, decided to come clean. She brought to the attention of her local bishop that she had officiated over the same-sex union of a lesbian couple... She also told the bishop that she might as well be prosecuted for something else: she is in a lesbian partnership. And so, last week, DeLong, 44, faced a jury of church elders in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. At issue was whether she violated the Book of Discipline, which guides the church's teachings, by blessing the same sex union and for being a "self avowed, practicing...

Vennes and his family members donated $27,400 to Bachmann’s campaigns between 2005-2008. Bachmann and Pawlenty subsequently asked then-President George W. Bush to pardon Vennes.n May 1987, Vennes was indicted on money laundering charges, to which he pled guilty, plus gun and drug charges, to which he pled no contest. (He later tried to withdraw the pleas but the courts rejected the request.) He was sentenced to five years at Sandstone Prison in northern Minnesota and served three. In 2008, the feds raided Vennes’ homes as part of the Petters probe.

As a woman who has spent much of her adult life lobbying for and writing about equal rights and opportunities for women, I am distressed that some candidates for the upcoming national elections make me sick to my feminist stomach. I am talking about people like Michele Bachmann and the omnipresent Sarah Palin. I want to see women in the highest offices in the country, I really do. But I feel obligated to evaluate female presidential candidates by the same standards I use to evaluate male candidates. They should be experienced, appropriate, articulate, and knowledgeable in domestic and foreign policy...

The Feminization of the Church and Vatican II Marian T. Horvat, Ph.D. There has been much talk of late about a long-observable fact: the feminization of the Catholic Church. My friend Jan was quite impressed with the term and thought it accurately expressed the reality. “I went to a Catholic church downtown yesterday,” she said, “and really, it was all women on the altar – except for the priest. At Communion four ladies – three in pants –went to the side altar to pick up the chalices. The song leader was sensuous, in a blouse showing cleavage, waving her arms...

We know that Sarah Palin hunts animals on reality TV and cheers her daughter on ‘‘Dancing With the Stars’’ — but do we know that both conservative and liberal scholars rate Nancy Pelosi as one of the most successful speakers of the House in United States history? We know that Congresswoman Michele Bachmann gave the Tea Party’s State of the Union response, believes that the founding fathers abolished slavery and urged her Minnesota constituents to be ‘‘armed and dangerous’’ — but do we know that Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California is calling for the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan? We...

Things are getting hairy in women's facial fashion -- but it's all in the name of charity. That's because this month has been declared "Decembrow" by the feminist-oriented website Feministing, and women are encouraged to grow out their eyebrows to the point where they connect in the middle. Much in the same way that men grow mustaches in "Movember" to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer, Decembrow participants are asked to get pledges and donations for their own pet causes while growing brows that would make hirsute Mexican painter Frida Kahlo proud. For instance, Lori Adelman -- who coined...

Comedienne Sandra Bernhard called Bristol Palin a hooker on Wednesday's "The Joy Behar Show." JOY BEHAR, HOST: After weeks of speculation that the low-scoring Bristol Palin could actually take the "Dancing With The Stars`" win, the nation breathed the sigh of relief last night as Jennifer Grey was crowned the champion (ph). With me now to talk about this and other stories in the news are Sandra Bernhard, comedian and singer, Rebecca Dana, senior correspondent for the Daily Beast, and Andrea Marcovicci, singer and actress. I called you Andrea. Is it Andrea or Andrea? ANDREA MARCOVICCI, SINGER: It`s Andrea. BEHAR:...

Women lawmakers made zero gains in Congress in this cycle--they will still make up about 17 percent of those chosen by voters to come to Washington. Two notable losses were Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota, both moderate Democrats. This palpable lack of progress was mourned as many gathered together at American University to discuss the "year of the woman" that never came to pass--despite or because of one Sarah Palin, a Republican who governed Alaska for about 15 minutes? That was a question. Here's an answer: the woman from Alaska does other women...

The predictable strategy of far Left feminists when challenged by conservatives for their absurd ethos is to use ridicule to divert attention away from the real issue. This debased tactic isn't just a leftist mania in the Americas,  it's ubiquitous, taking a bizarre spin in Germany this week. Alice Schwarzer--a hardcore, ultra-feminist in Germany-- attacked Conservative Minister Kristina Schroder.  Schroder --who was recruited by Angela Merkel to become the youngest woman ever in the German cabinet--was deemed  “hopeless and incompetent”  for disagreeing with Schwarzer’s shocking remark that  “heterosexual sex was hardly possible without the subjugation of women.” Now this...

I come to defend Elizabeth Moon. Not because she really needs help—the lady is perfectly capable of standing on her own. Not because I’m a fan of hers. I have a couple of her books in the stack, but haven’t had time to read recreationally in years. Not because she’s a fellow vet, though that would be a good enough reason. Not because we agree politically. As I understand, she’s quite liberal, and I’m a militant anarchist. I come to defend her because she’s right. In dumbed-down America, being right is a social crime. Please note that the below blog...

You know the phrase "a disaster waiting to happen?" For over a decade now I've been waiting and watching, knowing that the National Organization for Women would inevitably have a very public nervous breakdown brought on by the pressures of using women's issues to further the misogynist leftist agenda. The only questions were when it would happen and how public the collapse would be. I now have my answer--October 2010. After years of slouching into obscurity, NOW finally got some attention last week, much like car wrecks do on the freeway. By now you all know the details--a week ago...

Don't read Newsweek magazine while drinking a beverage. A spit take is the obvious first reaction to a column by Julia Baird headlined "The Shame of Family Films." On the Internet, this article is coded as "Why Family Films Are So Sexist." Baird's denunciation of Hollywood's fraction of decent entertainment began: "They have all been smash hits: 'Finding Nemo,' 'Madagascar,' 'Ice Age,' 'Toy Story.' Fish, penguins, rats, stuffed animals, talking toys. All good innocent family fun, right? Sure, except there are few female characters in those films. There are certainly few doing anything meaningful or heroic -- and no, Bo...

ELCA pastor drives ‘God talk’ initiative By Susan Hogan* A UMNS Report CHICAGO – Can Christians discuss the language of faith without it becoming a battle over political correctness or theological orthodoxy? The National Council of Churches hopes so. To begin the conversation, its Justice for Women Working Group brought 28 people to Chicago in August for a three-day symposium, “Language Matters.” S. Kim Coffing, the lone United Methodist participant, did not know what to expect. “The issue of how we talk about God and faith stirs up pain for many people,” said Coffing, an executive with the denomination’s Commission...