Free Republic

He says this will include historically black colleges and mosques Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke doubled down on his proposal to revoke the tax-exempt status of religious institutions that do not support same-sex marriage. The former Texas congressman reiterated his support for punitive tax measures against churches or affiliated services that believe marriage is between a man and a woman, a position he introduced at CNN's Equality Town Hall on Thursday evening. NBC host Geoff Bennett asked O'Rourke how he would implement this plan given that the government "can't just dole out punishments on theological grounds." "You are free to...

CNN Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter brought on "Legendary Journalist" Sam Donaldson to unload the usual liberal mantras on Sunday. That's how CNN tagged Sam -- "Legendary Journalist" -- not only on screen, but even in the CNN transcript. Donaldson raised eyebrows much smaller than his by claiming that Trump fans are "fixated" on narrowing the country: "They want to return this country to the white Christian country that they believe it should be again. They don't want the diversity." DONALDSON: I'm telling you something, if public opinion is strongly for the impeachment and the conviction of President Trump, he...

Economist Paul Krugman, the longtime defender of global free trade and a member of the failed “Never Trump” movement, now admits that globalization has failed American workers. In a column for Bloomberg titled “What Economists (Including Me) Got Wrong About Globalization,” Krugman admits that the economic consensus for free trade that has prevailed for decades has failed to recognize how globalization has skyrocketed inequality for America’s working and middle class workers. Krugman, though, writes that he and his fellow free trade economists “had no way to know” that globalization of the American economy or a surge in trade deficits “were...

Three women and two men are dead in a shooting in a condominium building on Chicago’s Northwest Side by a neighbor who was known to have “anger management issues,” police said. A woman who had been in critical condition after a gunman opened fire in two units of a Dunning condo building died Sunday from her injuries, bringing the death toll to five from the Saturday night shooting rampage, police said. Authorities said the man left his condo in the 6700 block of West Irving Park Road in the Dunning neighborhood, went to a neighbor’s home in the same building...

I was 16 when I saw the news. Matthew Shepard’s murder taught me and many in this country that homophobia kills. Let us honor his life by channeling pain into purpose and striving to build a country where all belong. https://twitter.com/MattShepardFDN/status/1183008667672698881

[Catholic Caucus] The Evidence Suggests The Francis-Scalfari Connection is No Accident Since the news broke early this week that the nonegenarian atheist socialist editor of Italy’s La Repubblica, Eugenio Scalfari, claimed that Pope Francis told him during one of their many conversations that he did not believe Jesus was God, the Catholic commentariat has been engaged in a rhetorical battle to the death over who to believe, whether it’s true, and what it all means.For those willing to look objectively at the matter, it becomes clear that the confusion is the result of an intentional strategy on the part of the...

The controversial television host, who revealed earlier today that he’ll be debating whether or not he should be fired from his position on tomorrow’s show, has asked his 6.8million Twitter fanbase to show their support by adding their signatures to a Change.org appeal. ‘BREAKING: There is now a rival petition to save me on @GMB,’ Piers wrote. ‘Thank you Margaret Lowry! Please sign it if you wish to repel the snivelling snowflakes & keep me in my job.’ In another post, he added: ‘Spread the word, my people… Sign, RT, and save me as your voice against the shriekingly illiberal...

Exit polls show that independent law professor Kais Saied has won Tunisia's runoff presidential election against Nabil Karoui, a media tycoon recently freed from jail... Saied secured 72.53% of the vote while media mogul Nabil Karoui got 27.47%, the polling firm Emrhod Consulting says, citing exit polls... Karoui is a 56-year-old media tycoon, who up until Wednesday had been jailed on charges of tax evasion and money laundering, and Saied is a 61-year-old jurist and law professor with no political party but backed by the moderate Islamist party Ennahda. In the first round, Saied took 18.4% and Karoui 15.6% among...

Openly gay Tunisian lawyer and prominent LGBT rights advocate Mounir Baatour wants to become the next president of Muslim-majority Tunisia, where homosexuality is currently punishable by up to three years in prison, several news outlets reported over the weekend. Islam, which forbids homosexuality, is the official state religion in the North African country. Nearly 100 percent of the population is Muslim, according to the CIA World Factbook and other independent sources. The pro-Israel Baatour says he is determined to fight despite a nearly non-existent chance of winning. On Sunday, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported: There’s still quite a bit of time...

Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party, buoyed by its popular conservative platform and generous social spending, was widely expected to win Sunday’s election, which is regarded as one of the country’s most momentous since the fall of communism 30 years ago. More than 30 million voters were choosing lawmakers in the 460-seat lower house of parliament, the Sejm, and in the 100-seat Senate. Law and Justice is the first party since the fall of communism to break with the austerity of previous governments, whose free-market policies took a moribund communist economy and transformed it into one of Europe's most dynamic.

In its quest for every gender on the spectrum, the network couldn’t even find a single top to stuff into the audience. At the top of CNN’s Alphabetapalooza Town Hall on Thursday evening, a survivor of the 2016 Pulse nightclub Islamic terrorist attack asked New Jersey senator Cory Booker what he planned to do to stop violence against LGBT people. Gay icon Booker, a man widely lauded in the Port Authority Bus Terminal men’s toilets who sometimes performs drag under the name Izzy Gaye, had a clear-cut answer. As president, he would create an office dedicated to investigating white supremacy...

Today’s Campaign Update (Because The Campaign Never Ends) Goodbye, Sheppie, we hardly knew ye. – Here is the only truly appropriate reaction to the news that the slimy Shep Smith has left Fox News: [gif] In all seriousness, does anyone really care that our TV screens will no longer be graced by this shrill, overwrought hack? In recent years, Smith’s only role at Fox News was to come on air and cause half the cable channel’s regular viewers to tune into OANN. The channel attempted to elevate his role a few years ago by making him the “anchor” for all...

Just like he did with far-left CNN, President Trump has just forced the phony, left-wing fact check site Snopes to throw out every standard of professional journalism. In a stunning admission (of what we already knew), Snopes announced Thursday that Trump and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson are such a unique threat to world that “experts must find new ways to reach people.” Which means that — get this — Trump and Johnson must be “countered by the shared stories, experiences and emotions of real people and how they are affected by the big global issues.” “Public austerity measures, for...

On September 10, 2019, San Diego MassResistance brought together outraged parents, citizens, pastors, and others to confront the Chula Vista City Council. They were irate over the Council’s refusal to cancel the “Drag Queen Story Hour” which took place in the city’s public library earlier that day – and the possibility of more such events happening. "I never thought I would use the word politician as a pejorative. I am tonight. Because it was clear that this Drag Queen Story Hour is an attempt to use to use children as pawns in an adult political sexual agenda. Children who are...

President Trump’s decision to withdraw our few troops from the Syria-Turkey border area earned him considerable criticism from allies. Senator Lindsey Graham said the decision is “a catastrophe in the making.” Representative Lin Cheney said it’s “a catastrophic mistake.” Former UN Secretary Nikki Haley said, “We must always have the backs of our allies.” President Trump has answered these critics. The Kurds were engaged in a contractual relationship fighting the Islamic State (ISIS). They were well paid and equipped for their fighting, much like any mercenary group. Further, they were given three years to consolidate eastern Syria to feed their...

Had no idea. His last broadcast.

You almost have to give Julian Castro credit. In a crowded field of presidential candidates, the guy just keeps on going like the Energizer bunny and doesn’t let his almost nonexistent presence in the polls slow him down. His latest stunt to draw media attention came in the form of a trip south of the border where he rounded up a group of asylum seekers who were hoping to get a pass from the Remain in Mexico program and be allowed to await their hearing in the United States. The way it wound up playing out, however, wasn’t according...

The oral arguments at the Supreme Court in the case of Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC and two other cases involving LGBT employment issues seem to indicate that we’re heading toward yet another set of close decisions split along partisan lines. If you’ve been following our ongoing coverage of the case here, you’re already aware that the dispute in Harris involves a funeral director named Aimee Stephens who was fired after announcing that he was transgender and planned to begin living and dressing as a woman on the job. Two other cases deal with gay workers who were allegedly...

In Sochi, Nevils was tasked with working with former “Today” co-anchor Meredith Vieira, who’d been brought back to the show to do Olympics coverage. In her account, one night over drinks with Vieira at the hotel bar where the NBC News team was staying, they ran into Lauer, who joined them. At the end of the night, Nevils, who’d had six shots of vodka, ended up going to Lauer’s hotel room twice — once to retrieve her press credential, which Lauer had taken as a joke, and the second time because he invited her back. Nevils, Farrow writes, “had no...

A conservative group notes polling data shows an eight-point swing in voters’ shift to incumbent GOP Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin from Democrat candidate Andy Beshear after they view ads highlighting Beshear’s support of biological men competing in women’s sports. The Campaign for American Principles (CAP) states: The ads are moving voters in an incredible way — the chart below represents over 2,000 respondents. The gray bar represents Bevin’s support among voters BEFORE seeing the ad and the blue bar is Bevin’s support from voters AFTER seeing the ad. For voters 45-54, Bevin sees an 8pt increase in support, 55-64 give...