Free Republic

Politico has published a behind-the-scenes report about, among other things, what happened in the White House during the roll-out of Obama's same-sex marriage switch: "Biden’s misstep, also in May, in announcing his approval of gay marriage — which forced Obama to do the same before he intended — caused greater disharmony in the White House than was reported at the time. Biden blamed Campaign Manager Jim Messina for “throwing him under the bus” with the media during the gay-marriage flap — a charge that turned out to be untrue. In an emotional one-on-one meeting with Obama, Biden apologized profusely and...

THE power couple of Australia's increasingly open polyamorous community, Rebecca and James Dominguez, have made Senate submissions urging the legalisation of same-sex marriage, as they promote greater acceptance of multiple-partner relationships. The couple have led the way in publicly outlining their own journey from monogamous marriage to one in which each has another lover as well. In her blog, Ms Dominguez, who is an adminstrator with IBM in Melbourne, writes: "My life rocks . . . I am incredibly happy and have almost everything I could possibly want . . . "I've built a house with my husband and my...

A former Texas high school teacher was convicted of multiple felonies after having sex with five 18-year-old students at her home. The conviction was a victory for the prosecution but it was a setback for the feminist movement. It was also a setback for the homosexual uncivil rights movement, which seeks unlimited authority to redefine relationships among consenting adults. Brittni Nicole Colleps, 28, of Arlington, was found guilty of 16 counts of having an inappropriate relationship between a student and teacher. In Texas, this second-degree felony is punishable by two to 20 years in prison per count. Because none of...

Mitt Romney campaign spent $500 at Chick-fil-A By: Tarini Parti August 20, 2012 08:44 PM EDT The Romney campaign appreciates Chick-fil-A. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s campaign spent $500 at a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta last month, days before former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s national “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” on Aug 1. Romney’s campaign reported the cost as “meeting expense” in its monthly federal campaign finance filing on Monday. The Atlanta-based fast food chain has come under fire after the company’s president Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press that Chick-fil-A was “guilty as charged” for backing “the biblical definition of a family.”...

The setting is the quiet corner of an Italian restaurant in the City; the players are George, an IT specialist, and Zoe, who wears a pretty dress and a big smile; they drink an especially good bottle of wine and when they get to coffee he reaches over and kisses her on the mouth. She surprises him by kissing him back. To onlookers it might be the classic opening scene of a traditional romance. Yet both parties are married to other people, whom they have no intention of leaving. Although they will go on to enjoy all the spoils of...

An “unforgiving, puritan Anglo-Saxon” attitude to adultery is damaging married life in Britain, driving couples to divorce rather than strengthening the family, according to an outspoken French academic. -- Dr Catherine Hakim, a sociologist and bestselling author, argues that a “sour and rigid English view” of infidelity is condemning millions of people to live frustrated “celibate” lives with their spouses. In a book bound to provoke controversy, she likens faithful husbands and wives to “caged animals” and argues that they should be free to explore their “wild side” with lovers without the threat of divorce. Meeting a secret lover for...

***Those who oppose the proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage are organizing, putting them at odds with bishops.*** [BIG SNIP] ......Groups of lay Catholics and former priests have spoken out against the bishops' campaign. Some parents and students also have criticized the church's move to talk about marriage in [archdiocesan] high schools. Active Catholics have met in Protestant churches to talk about how to defeat the amendment. Catholics and other faith groups have held meetings in their homes, like the one at Burg's house, where representatives for the anti-amendment Minnesotans United for All Families encourage them to hold conversations...

The Chick-fil-A same-sex marriage debate doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Ever since President Dan Cathy stated his stance on gay marriage last month, the fast-food chain has been under scrutiny. Now, some University of Maryland students and staff are working to get the restaurant off their campus. They’re using online petitioning via change.org to persuade Adele H. Stamp Student Union officials to remove the restaurant, reports campus newspaper The Diamondback,

A Roman Catholic Church employee who gave $600 to a group leading the opposition to a Minnesota constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples does not have to reveal his name. State campaign finance regulators said in a decision Friday, Aug. 17, that the donor could be identified as "John Doe" in contribution reports to protect him from being fired by church officials. It is the first time an individual has been exempted from the state's disclosure requirement, said Gary Goldsmith, executive director of the state Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board. The donor told the board that when he...

Billionaire George Soros getting married for the third time By Mathew Goldstein Sun Aug 12, 2012 11:29am IST Aug 12 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor George Soros had a lot to celebrate on Saturday evening: his 82nd birthday and the engagement to his much younger girlfriend Tamiko Bolton. Soros and Bolton, who met in the spring of 2008, formally announced their engagement at a party at Soros' summer home in Southampton, New York attended by a small group of friends and relatives, according to a person familiar with the trader. Soros proposed to Bolton, 40, a few weeks ago during a...

Matthew 19:4-9 King James Version: 4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? 8 He...

In a recent article published in the New York Times, reporter Jason DeParle casts the fact that more lower-class mothers are having children out of wedlock as a product of class conflict. He posits a theory of marital “scarcity” in which the upper classes have greater access to marriage than the poorer classes. DeParle paints a bleak picture, writing that “College-educated Americans like the Faulkners are increasingly likely to marry one another, compounding their growing advantages in pay.” He reports that “Less-educated women like Ms. [Jessica] Schairer, who left college without finishing her degree, are growing less likely to marry...

Gay/Lesbian community is blaming both FoxNews and Mike Huckabee for their failure. That is documented in stories by the New York Daily News and Los Angeles Times. Of course, people may have been confused by the wording of the day: it was billed as Marriage Equality day. To the average person, what does Marriage Equality mean? Sounds like Double Speak. Facebook is one source for this story. National Marriage [promoted by Gays/Lesbians] Equality Day Another is the Los Angeles Times. New York Daily News is another: Gay marriage battle moves from Chick-fil-A to Starbucks as supporters plan ‘National Marriage Equality...

Liberals Democrats say they are for tolerance. But they won't tolerate a business man who believes marriage is between a man and a woman. But the American people do support traditional marriage and free speech. The evidence was undeniable!

Choosing not to eat at Chick-fil-A (or choosing to eat there, as millions did last week) because of the ownership's views on gay marriage is one thing, but calling for their business partners to disown them is a little different. I am not opposed to boycotts, or buy-cotts like the one that occured last Wednesday, although I often question their legitimacy. I am opposed to bullying from political officials and activist groups trying to drive companies out of business through coercion, as Equality Illinois' director of public policy proposes: In a petition, Equality Illinois is urging socially responsible business and...

Among all the words in a language already so battered and bruised as to almost become unrecognizable, one word stands out for having taken the brunt of the beating. Tolerance. Tolerance has been so misshapen by the abuse that many people think that it means something opposite to its nature. After all injustice the word has suffered, I am unsure if it can or even should survive. Nevertheless, I wish to testify to its true meaning, even if in eulogy. So let us begin with the basics. Contrary to what you may have heard, tolerance of its own can never...

One of the biggest news stories in the past week was the brouhaha over the remarks of one Dan Cathy (President of the fast food chain Chick-Fil-A) concerning support for traditional marriage. Homosexual activists were aghast that in this day and age, someone was allowed to run “afowl” of the anti-public-blasphemypiety laws, and began calling for a boycott, as well as denouncing Chick-Fil-A as a purveyor of “Hate”.
Some of the usual (left wing) suspects joined the fray; among them, GLAAD, who released a report that Chick-Fil-A’s brand rating had plummeted following Dan Cathy’s remarks; Chicago Alderman Proco "Joe" Moreno, who...

There are ten premises in this debate that most conservatives, opponents and supporters of gay marriage alike, probably share: (1) Marriage benefits society, and so anything that harms marriage harms all of us, whether married or not. (2) Marriage directly benefits the individuals married. (3) It is on average better for children to be raised by two married parents than to be raised by single parents or by unwed cohabiting partners. (4) Because of the benefits identified in Premises 1-3 above, marriage should be encouraged by public policy and specifically should retain its privileged position in the law. (5) It...

...Latter-day Saints believe that in order to attain the best in life and the greatest happiness in this world and for the next, men and women must be married in the temple for time and eternity. Without the sealing ordinances of temple marriage, man cannot achieve a godlike stature or receive a fulness of joy. … ...to enjoy the privileges and advantages...as...husbands and wives, parents and children, the ordinance that authorizes and sanctifies this most beautiful of all relationships is not acceptable if it contains the limitation “until death do you part.” For family relationships and conjugal associations to be...

I read his entire remarks and could not find any evidence that he is anti-anything. Cathy said: "We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that." I guess, if you find that disagreeable, don't spend your money at a Chick-fil-A.