Free Republic

When I became a gay activist in 1990, HIV/AIDS was one of the key priorities of the movement I joined. Fighting AIDS was promoted as an important reason for gays and lesbians to help elect President Bill Clinton in 1992. Yet now that the gay white men in American cities who are the main funders of the LGBT movement are no longer dying quite so often from AIDS, the lesbian and gay community has moved on to other issues, such as marriage, while millions of people, many of them men of color who have sex with men, are still suffering...

A total of 13,843 abortions were performed in Minnesota in 2007, the state Health Department reported this morning, a 1.57 percent decrease over the previous year but a slight rise compared to the two previous years. In 2006, the state reported 14,065 abortions. The totals were 13,365 in 2005 and 13,788 in 2004. The annual abortion totals in the state have held steady since the mid-1990s, when they dropped below 15,000 and have remained there since 1993. The peak year was 1980 (19,028). Among Minnesota residents, there were 17.4 abortions for every 100 live births. That ratio has held steady...

Star Tribune Co. declined to make a quarterly interest payment Monday to the holders of $96 million in second-tier debt that Avista Capital Partners raised to finance its acquisition of the news company last spring. But Chris Harte, chief executive of the Star Tribune, said in an interview that a lending consortium that holds senior debt of nearly $400 million was paid Monday. The Star Tribune has sufficient cash to make the payment to the "second-lien" debt holders, Harte said, but chose not to as the company works to complete a debt-restructuring plan with its senior creditors and works internally...

Glance at practically any public analysis of John McCain’s vice-presidential options and you’ll find the name of Tim Pawlenty mentioned prominently. The 47-year-old second-term Minnesota governor is, supposedly, at or near the top of McCain’s short list. There is certainly some logic to this. First, Pawlenty is loyal – he sided with McCain early and unflinchingly stuck with him last summer, when everyone else in the world seemed to give up on him – and McCain likes loyalty. Second, Pawlenty would balance McCain’s advanced age and maverick streak with (relative) youthfulness and more appeal to the Republican base. Plus, he’d...

The Obama freaks, antiwar moonbats, and antiwar traitors are going to march on the RNC on September 1st. We can't let the Moonbats get all of the media coverage, so we know what needs to be done. From the Leftists: We can't let this go unopposed. Support the RNC and take away the moonbat's media coverage. Be there September 1st.

Last week, controversy erupted when Archbishop John Nienstedt informed St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Minneapolis that it could not hold a gay pride prayer service in its sanctuary. The service -- held for several years in conjunction with the annual Twin Cities Gay Pride festival -- celebrates the gay identity. In response, organizers moved the celebration outside the church. One gay activist attended in what must have struck him as a clown's outfit, given the occasion -- the robes of an archbishop, miter and all. David McCaffrey of the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM) condemned what...

New information could help the woman charged in a deadly school bus accident. Her attorney said there is new DNA evidence that could clear Olga Franco as the driver of a van that crashed into a school bus in February killing four children. At a hearing Friday, attorneys for Franco said they have DNA evidence that proves a man was driving the van. They said DNA taken from the driver's side airbag shows it came from an unidentified male. Franco has told police that her boyfriend, Francisco Sangabriel-Mendoza, was driving the van. Police have yet to locate him.

Scores of heavily armed federal agents last month stormed into Agriprocessors, which produces up to 70 percent of all kosher meat in America. The feds seized almost 400 of the plant's 900 workers in the largest single roundup of illegal immigrants to date, charging about 300 of them with identity theft and using stolen Social Security cards. Some of those workers have since sued the company, alleging abuse, fraud and sexual coercion. Postville, which once sold T-shirts boasting of the peaceful coexistence of its many cultures, has been left "absolutely shattered," said the Rev. Paul Ouderkirk of the town's St....

Elaborate plans are underway to encircle and "shut down" the Republican National Convention at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center in September. The strategies and tactics involved could come straight from a guerrilla warfare manual. Anarchist groups with ominous names -- the RNC Welcoming Committee, Unconventional Action -- have announced a "three-tier strategy" to cut off the Xcel Center. The steps include "blockading" streets and freeways, "immobilizing" delegates' transportation and "blocking" bridges to impede delegates' access to the center. The plan also features a "swarm, seize, stay" strategy. After dividing the city into "sectors," protesters propose to "seize space" through both...

Faced with a lawsuit by its own officers, the Minneapolis Police Department prepares to unveil a long-awaited diversity plan. But is it enough? The plan will be released just hours before a court could agree to award several black officers thousands of dollars in a settlement with the city. The 27-page plan outlines new initiatives by the department to increase diversity. But the agency is being forced to release the plan while under tremendous legal pressure. The Minneapolis force is more diverse than ever, according to the department. They said over 18 percent of their officers are minorities. Commanders admit...

A hostage situation ended with shots fired and a man wounded inside the Morrison County Government Center in Little Falls Tuesday morning. The Star Tribune reports on its website that the mayor of Little Falls says the hostage taker was killed. County authorities would not confirm that. In a news release at 12:30 Tuesday afternoon, Morrison County authorities did confirm they shot and wounded the hostage taker. They say he was taken to St. Gabriel's Hospital. But the hospital will not confirm anyone was taken there. KARE 11 News reporters at the scene say squad cars from Little Falls police...

ST. PETER, MINN. - Mike Meyer says that in his 13 years locked inside Minnesota Sex Offender Program facilities, he's gained insight into why he molested 36 children and young adults, and how to stop himself from doing it again. One technique psychologists taught him is privately repeating a deviant thought over and over until it loses its allure. Another is telling on himself -- confessing to a counselor or support group when he feels a taboo attraction. Both are supposed to break the cycle of thoughts and behaviors that led to his crimes. "When I was offending I felt...

Two people were hospitalized after being shot Saturday afternoon at the Juneteenth celebration in Theodore Wirth Park. Mike Kinghorn, 23, was shot in the ankle and an unidentified female was shot in the leg. Neither person was expected to be in the hospital very long. The shooting happened just after 5:30 p.m.

Troy Molde awoke at 3 a.m. Thursday to police flashlights shining in his face. Two uniformed Lakeville officers were in his bedroom, knocking on the wall to wake him up. They were there, they said, to warn him to keep his doors closed and locked. Their surprise visit was part of a public service campaign. Officers had fanned out across the city, leaving notices on doors to remind residents how to prevent thefts by keeping garage doors closed, not leaving valuables in cars and locking windows or doors. But at Molde's house, they went further. His two sons, ages 5...

The FBI has identified the Twin Cities as one of the 10 worst areas of the United States for mortgage fraud and said it has literally dozens of criminal investigations underway here as part of a national crackdown on the problem. Deputy U.S. Attorney General Mark Filip and FBI Director Robert Mueller called a news conference Thursday afternoon in Washington to announce a special enforcement effort targeting mortgage fraud and mortgage-related securities fraud. The multi-agency initiative is called Operation Malicious Mortgage. From March 1 through June 18, the government charged 406 defendants in 144 mortgage fraud cases around the country....

Mayme (right) and Clarence Vail are the longest married couple still living in the United States, and were photographed Thursday , July 19, 2007 at their retirement center in White Bear Lake, Mn. The couple has been married for 83 years. (Scott Takushi, Pioneer Press) (Staff)Little did Clarence Vail know when he wed his high school sweetheart in 1925 that those vows would one day make them famous. Clarence and Mayme Vail became local celebrities as their commitment surpassed the 80-year mark, making them contenders for the Guinness Book of World Records and international symbols of a healthy marriage. But...

Goldy Gopher has gone sexy on us. Next month, the University of Minnesota mascot will appear in Victoria's Secret stores, adorning hoodies, T-shirts (pictured) and panties (not pictured) in the chain's Pink collection of lounge wear for young women. The lingerie chain, which has been trying to broaden its appeal as it struggles with declining sales, will carry merchandise from 33 universities as part of a licensing deal announced this week. Big Ten rivals Wisconsin, Michigan and Penn State also made the cut --

Warning: The following contains extreme vulgarity by a candidate for the U.S. Senate. In the razor-close and nationally important Senate race in Minnesota, Republican incumbent Norm Coleman is presented with a unique political problem. Should he raise in his ads the issue of comedian Al Franken's offensive vulgarity? Or would this risk a backlash against Coleman for coarsening the public conversation? Remember that when Ken Starr detailed Bill Clinton's most repulsive antics -- stained dresses and such -- it was Starr who was accused of sexual obsessiveness. Franken's defenders explain that his edginess is the result of being a "satirist"...

New poll numbers show Barack Obama’s lead over Johon McCain slipping among Minnesota voters. The exclusive 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS/SURVEY USA Poll shows Obama holding a one-point lead over McCain, with the margin of error at a statistical dead heat Tuesday. Just two weeks ago, Obama held a five-point lead in Minnesota. Nationally, it’s a slightly different story: A new ABC News poll has Obama ahead of McCain 48 to 42-percent. Obama’s lead is down a percentage point from one month ago.

If there were an election for President of the United States today, would you vote for Republican John McCain? Or Democrat Barack Obama?Obama: 47% McCain: 46%

ROCHESTER, MN (KTTC-TV) -- A local business that is clashing with Police could lead to a liquor license lost. They have a long list of police calls and a self-admitted problem with gang violence. Now, the future of Westfire Grille, is very close to burning out. For the second time in the last month the Rochester City Council is finding the future of a bar in their hands, but this time around it's not about neighbors. The problem is with the police. Rochester Police Lt. Dan Pulford says, "1 o'clock in the morning, 2 o'clock in the morning, I will...

<p>Former Gov. Jesse Ventura would trim support from both Sen. Norm Coleman and Coleman's DFL challenger, Al Franken, if he were to enter the U.S. Senate race, a Survey USA poll has found.</p>

Former Gov. Jesse Ventura would trim support from both Sen. Norm Coleman and Coleman's DFL challenger, Al Franken, if he were to enter the U.S. Senate race, a Survey USA poll has found. The poll of 700 Minnesota adults, taken last week, showed Coleman winning a three-way match over Franken and Ventura. Forty-one percent of poll respondents said they would support Coleman, compared with 31 percent for Franken and 23 percent for Ventura. The margin of error on that question was plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. If Ventura doesn't enter the race, 52 percent said they support Coleman and...

For fathers, it's "the best of times and the worst of times." So says the National Fatherhood Initiative of Gaithersburg, Md., echoing the opening lines of Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities." Today, many dads are more engaged than ever in their children's lives. They put bread on the table, as their grandfathers did, but they also diaper the baby, coach soccer and help with birthday parties. At the same time, father absence has hit record levels. About 25 million children -- roughly one in three -- are not living with their biological fathers, according to the U.S. Census...

Beau Zabel, 23, came to Philadelphia from Minnesota six weeks ago, eager to experience urban East Coast living and to become a math teacher in the city school system. He found a place to live through roommates.com in South Philadelphia near the Italian Market, and took a temporary job at the Starbucks at Fourth and South Streets. He recently updated his page on MySpace.com, which proclaims his optimism: "Just waiting for life to begin." But his life ended about 1:30 a.m. yesterday, when police said Zabel was ambushed as he walked home from the midnight shift at the coffee shop....

Clashes are increasing between Somali Muslims and Minnesota employers. Can the loose-fitting garb be a safety hazard? Is there a difference between a bathroom break and a prayer break? Fatuma Hassan has just enough rice in her near-empty cupboards to make it through the month. The anger she felt when she lost her job in May has given way to a dull, nagging hunger. Yet this soft-spoken 22-year-old became an unlikely hero within the Somali community when she and five of her Muslim co-workers were dismissed last month from the Mission Foods tortilla factory in New Brighton for refusing to...

For dads with sons and daughters in the military, Father's Day can be tough. Saturday, a soldier and her father were able to overcome the thousands of miles between them, at least for a little while. You could say the military is in Kirk Fjetland's blood. A Navy veteran, his father and brother were also in the military and now, so are two of his kids. Son Jeremy is in the Air Force and stationed in North Carolina. Daughter Bryce is a soldier in Afghanistan. "She is a real sweetheart. She really is. To know her is to love her....

Morrison County Engineer and Public Works Director Steven Backowski said that, in 2007, the county used $300,000 in property tax revenue to cover maintenance costs on the county state-aid highway system (CSAH). Backowski said, "We never had to use property taxes for CSAH until last year." But Nouis said, "People who are finding a hard time paying for gas now will have an even harder time thanks to their DFL representatives. The DFL made a concerted effort to pass this tax increase and they should take all of the credit." The bill will phase in an increase of 8.5 cents...

The Muslim American Society is a front group for the Muslim Brotherhood, out of which the genocidal terrorist group Hamas emerged. The Minnesota chapter of the Muslim American Society has been the source of local controversies involving the purported observance of Sharia in public facilities such as taxis based at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The Minnesota chapter of the Muslim American Society also houses a Minnesota charter school in the Twin Cities suburb Inver Grover Heights. The school is Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy -- named for the Muslim general who conquered medieval Spain. As a charter school, Minnesota taxpayers...

Explaining his veto of the Minnesota Subprime Borrower Relief Act of 2008, Gov. Tim Pawlenty referred to the contract clause of the U.S. Constitution -- Article I, Section 10, which declares that no state shall pass any law impairing the obligations of contracts. Criticizing the governor's veto, state Sen. Linda Higgins cited the Frank Capra film "It's a Wonderful Life" ("Channeling bankers, governor denies a happy ending," June 4). Pawlenty did not mention "It's a Wonderful Life" in his veto message. Appropriately, Higgins did not mention the Constitution in her opinion piece. The governor correctly interpreted the spirit of the...

The parents of a young man killed in a hunting accident want everyone to act safer in their son's memory. Since starting the non-profit, BLESS, Brandon Lanie's parents have been pushing for more people to take gun safety courses. This weekend, they'll be taking their message to Buffalo Days in Buffalo, Minn. On top of food, fun and carnival rides, there will be firearms safety training for parents and their children, sponsored by BLESS which stands for Brandon Lanie Ethical Sportsmen Society. "Absolutely in his honor," said Brandon's dad, Troy. "Brandon lived, ate and breathed the outdoors. I mean, he'd...

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota lawmaker Willie Dominguez was mugged Wednesday night outside of his Minneapolis home. The state representative says he was "scared to death" when two young men stole $40 from him while he was in the driveway of his home, shortly after he returned from the state Capitol. Dominguez says one of the robbers threatened him with a gun. Police have no suspects in custody.

SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN 731 PM CDT THU JUN 12 2008 CASS MN- 731 PM CDT THU JUN 12 2008 ...A tornado warning remains in effect until 8:00 p.m. CDT for Northern Cass County... AT 727 PM CDT...National Weather Service Doppler Radar continued to indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. This possible tornado was located near Walker... or 12 miles West of Leech Lake moving Northeast at 33 MPH. This possible tornado will be near... 7 miles Southeast of Steamboat Lake by 735 PM... Crooked Lake and 6 miles Southeast of Wilkinson by...

Oscar Wilde is one of most famous homosexuals in history, so it sometimes surprises people when they learn that Wilde had a wife named Constance and two children. Divorced before Wilde reached the pinnacle of his fame, Constance is one of history’s forgotten women: a spirited, intelligent person in her own right, but one doomed to live in the shadow of Wilde’s legacy, as well as endure the humiliating consequences of his homosexual passions. Thomas Kilroy’s play, The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde, now playing on the Guthrie’s Proscenium Stage, is a moody, serious, artful exploration of the dark side...

The trial of a woman charged in a fatal school bus crash has been moved from Marshall to Willmar. Lyon County District Judge David Peterson granted the change of venue Wednesday. He also scheduled the trial of Olga Marina Franco del Cid of Minneota to begin July 28 at the Kandiyohi County courthouse. Four children from Lakeview School in Cottonwood died when a van ran a stop sign and hit their bus Feb. 19. Prosecutors say Franco, 34, was driving the van, but she claims it was her boyfriend. He hasn't been found. In his order Wednesday, the judge wrote...

The Rev. Gus Booth of Warroad Community Church wants to "open a dialogue" on political preaching. He'll probably get his wish. Booth, a delegate to the Republican National Convention, alerted Americans United for Separation of Church and State to a recent sermon warning followers to oppose Barack Obama for his stance on abortion rights. Booth advised the group that defends church-state separation that he's challenging federal prohibitions on political advocacy from the pulpit. On Wednesday, Americans United asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate whether the evangelical church with a following of 150 violated its nonprofit, tax-exempt status with...

Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain in the North Star State, according to a poll by SurveyUSA. 47 per cent of respondents in Minnesota would back the Illinois senator in this year’s United States presidential election, while 42 per cent would vote for the Arizona senator. 12 per cent of respondents are undecided.

State Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, lambasted Gov. Tim Pawlenty for vetoing her stem-cell research bill (commentary, June 2). Kahn's misleading rhetoric disguises a radical and inhumane commitment to taking young human life regardless of advances in ethical research. Her bill would allow taxpayer dollars to fund University of Minnesota research that requires killing human embryos. Further, the bill legalizes human cloning in order to supply more embryos for such research. Kahn says her legislation "outlawed human cloning," but the bill explicitly authorizes "somatic cell nuclear transplantation" (SCNT), which is the technique by which cloning occurs. The National Institutes of Health...

Some residents in Chisago City are taking action after a convicted sex offender living in their neighborhood is rearrested for stalking young girls. State lawmakers and residents will attend a City Council meeting Tuesday night to discuss tougher restrictions for sex offenders in the state of Minnesota. Registered sex offender Jeffery Holmgren was convicted in Nebraska in 1995 for sexually assaulting a young girl and for several cases of indecent exposure. He served time in the state of Nebraska. In 2004 in Ramsey County, Holmgren received probation for exposing himself and masturbating at an intersection while he was stopped near...

Minnesotan Jim Johnson, the disciplined, discreet and obsessively meticulous vice presidential vetter for Barack Obama, is a stalwart of the Washington establishment. In the mid-1990s, he headed up a power trifecta: mortgage giant Fannie Mae, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Brookings Institution, one of the city's most prominent think tanks. At various times, political insiders have floated his name in Democratic administrations for White House chief of staff, Treasury secretary and president of the World Bank. His circumspect ways - rare in a town known for its shameless attention seekers - have helped make...

From its name, cap-and-trade legislation sounds harmless enough. Unfortunately, cap-and-trade would be more aptly called "tax and trade" or "tax and spend" and it is far from harmless, posing a serious threat to our economy and our personal freedoms. A parliamentary maneuver was used on Friday to kill debate in the Senate, but this is only the beginning. With many national leaders, influential lobbyists and powerful special-interest groups pushing hard for a cap-and-trade bill, there is no doubt that this is going to be a hot debate in the months to come as well. The bill in question is called...

Noting that there were only 148 days left until the election, newly endorsed DFL Senate candidate Al Franken led a kickoff rally Monday on the steps of the State Capitol with a bluntly worded assessment of his rival, Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman. Coleman, he said, "hasn't brought people together to get things done. He's sold people out to get ahead." Minnesotans, he said, "need a senator who has their back. Norm Coleman isn't even on their side." In what is expected to be a common refrain, Franken, who received his party's endorsement over the weekend, linked Coleman to President...

Two controversies involving schools, kids and flags have made recent news in Minnesota. But the cases had radically different outcomes. The first occurred in May at Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton Junior High. Four eighth-graders refused to stand while the rest of their class recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. The kids got one-day, in-school suspensions. But school officials lifted the suspensions immediately after the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota fired off a letter pronouncing that the First Amendment protected the students' conduct. The ACLU's letter warned of dark consequences for school officials who had violated the eighth-graders' free-expression rights....

Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken opened the next phase of his campaign to unseat Republican Norm Coleman by hammering the senator on his past allegiance to President Bush. Franken appeared at a state Capitol rally Monday with several top Democrats and congressional candidates, exchanging handshakes and pleasantries with some who hadn't been behind him until after he won his party's endorsement last weekend. Franken is staging a week-long tour of Minnesota. The humorist who made it big on "Saturday Night Live" said he expects Republicans to use his past off-color material against him. But Franken said he'll be reminding voters...

From the moment Minnesota Fifth District (Mineapolis) Rep. Keith Ellison first arrived on the scene from Detroit and started making a name for himself as a law student at the University of Minnesota, he was a mouthpiece for the Nation of Islam and its revolting ideology. Over the imprecations of his Jewish classmates, for example, Ellison helped bring raving anti-Semitic Nation of Islam speaker Kwame Toure to the the University of Minnesota Law School itself in February 1990. As a public figure in private practice Ellison befriended the gang leader whose minions committed the most notorious cop killing in Minnesota...

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain will start running ads on Twin Cities TV stations tomorrow. St. Paul, Minn. — McCain bought nearly $150,000 worth of ads on five Twin Cities TV stations. The 250 spots will run through late June. It's the Arizona Republican's first ad buy in Minnesota. McCain says in the ad that he's running to keep the country safe, but he also goes through his family's military history and his dislike for war. McCain's campaign said the ad will run in Minnesota and ten other states. The ad buy is another signal that McCain and likely Democratic...

MINNEAPOLIS -- A new ordinance in Minneapolis limits vehicle idling at three minutes. Mayor R.T. Rybak says the idea is to reduce air pollution. City Council member Sandy Colvin Roy says cars don't need more than one minute to warm up, even in the winter. The ordinance limits most vehicles idling to three minutes, except in traffic.

The Minneapolis City Council and Mayor R.T. Rybak approved changes Friday, to the city’s vehicle idling ordinance that aims to reduce air pollution. The ordinance limits most vehicle idling to three minutes, except in traffic. "Most of the air pollution in Minneapolis comes from vehicles and cutting down in idling is one easy thing we can all do for our environment, our health, and the health of our neighbors," said Mayor R.T. Rybak. Vehicle motors release particulate matter, dirt, nitrous oxides, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide into the air. These chemicals are linked to increased rates of cancer, heart...

MINNEAPOLIS -- There are thousands of journalists and others taking part in a convention in the Twin Cities this weekend. Among the major names in town is former CBS News anchor and "60 Minutes" contributor, Dan Rather. The aim of the convention is to reform the media. Attendees ultimately want to hold the media accountable for serving the public interest. "I have a lifetime of believing the red, beating heart of free and democratic people is a free and independent -- truly independent -- press," said Rather. One of their main goals is to make large national ownership groups and...

Franken wins endorsement for Senate in Minnesota 1 minute ago Al Franken has won a resounding endorsement for U.S. Senate from Democratic activists at the Minnesota state convention. The former "Saturday Night Live" writer and performer beat college professor Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer on the first ballot Saturday. Franken had just given a speech to delegates apologizing for past jokes that offended some fellow Democrats. Nelson-Pallmeyer conceded the endorsement to Franken and moved that Democrats unanimously back Franken. They did so by voice vote. Republican Sen. Norm Coleman has his party's endorsement for re-election.