Free Republic

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says a fast food chain’s opposition to gay marriage is none of “the government’s business.” Bloomberg said Friday that he strongly disagrees with the mayors of Boston, Chicago and San Francisco in that regard. SNIP The billionaire businessman-turned-politician called the three “good mayors” but disagrees with them in this case. He says cities should not ask about political beliefs before issuing a permit. SNIP

With Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel making a national issue out of a simple chicken sandwich, I just had to try one for myself. So I visited a Chick-fil-A for lunch, though I don’t mind telling you I sure was worried. Even biting into a chicken sandwich these days could be considered a thought crime. But it turned out there are a few Americans plucky enough to eat chicken sandwiches in public. The drive-thru line at the Chick-fil-A in Lombard was clotted with cars, and the parking lot was absolutely jammed. Inside, it was so crowded that strangers sat with strangers...

An unidentified San Diego resident may be infected with the same rare, aggressive and highly drug-resistant strain of HIV found last week in a New York City man who has rapidly become ill with AIDS, health officials said yesterday. "(The local person's) HIV has a similar molecular makeup as the patient in New York City," said Dr. Nancy Bowen, the San Diego County public health officer who held a press conference about the finding yesterday afternoon in San Diego. It's important to notify the public about a new and possibly supervigorous strain of HIV so people can take extra precautions,...

Sudden Rises in HIV Levels No Concern, Report Says Tue Feb 15, 2005 04:05 PM ET CHICAGO (Reuters) - Sudden jumps of HIV levels in patients taking drugs for the AIDS-causing infection are harmless blips and do not mean the treatment against the virus is losing its punch, a report said on Tuesday. "These results should provide relief to hundreds of thousands of HIV-positive patients in the United States currently taking drug therapy, called highly active anti-retroviral therapy ... and reassure them that their medications have not failed," said Robert Siliciano, a doctor at The Johns Hopkins University School of...

(Hartford-WTNH, Feb. 14, 2005 12:25 PM) _ Valentine's Day is a popular day for people to get married. For others it's become a day to make a political statement. Today some gay and lesbian couples are heading to city hall to try and get marriage licenses. Reverend George Chen and Reverend Julio Flores have been together for eight years. They own a home together and consider themselves to be married. But in the eyes of the law they are not. "For us marriage is a sacrament," says Rev. Flores. "Gender is irrelevant. People marry who they love." Connecticut doesn't recognizes...

A special education teacher at Carrick High School was one of seven men arrested in California over the weekend after authorities in Los Angeles accused them of planning a five-day trip to Mexico to have sex with teenage boys. Steven K. Irvin, 46, of Voskamp Street, North Side, was arrested Saturday by the FBI as he placed his luggage on a boat he believed was going to take him to Ensenada for several days of "bed, boys and breakfast," according to an affidavit of probable cause released Monday. Irvin has been with the Pittsburgh Public Schools for about 10 years,...

INTERVIEW: Psychiatrist and Princeton law professor traces the advances of the gay-rights agenda in science and the law to a common source: political intimidation | by Marvin Olasky PRINCETON, N.J.—A big contributor to the gay movement's political success is the portrayal of homosexuality as an orientation over which individuals have no control. Jeffrey Satinover, author of Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth (Baker Books, 1996) and other books, has practiced psychiatry since 1986 and come to a different understanding, which he explained at a recent conference of the Witherspoon Institute here. Dr. Satinover is a graduate of M.I.T. (Humanities and...

Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Sunday that if activist judges don't stop challenging the Defense of Marriage Act that protects states from being compelled to recognize gay marriage, he'll push for passage of a constitutional gay marriage ban. Asked if he would bring up the marriage amendment this year, Frist told "Fox News Sunday," "Not this year but in all likelihood, in this Congress. "The Defense of Marriage Act is again being questioned by activist judges all over the country," he warned. " If they continue to question it, we'll bring it up sooner. Otherwise I expect it...

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — A Swedish pastor convicted of hate crimes for a sermon denouncing homosexuals as a "cancer" was acquitted Friday by an appeals court that said he was protected by the country's free speech laws. The Goeta Appeals Court said that while Aake Green's (search) views of gays can be "strongly questioned," it was not illegal to offer a personal interpretation of the Bible and urge others to follow it. "The purpose of making agitation against gays punishable is not to prevent arguments or discussions about homosexuality, not in churches or in other parts of society," the court said....

On the Gunny Bob Newman show and the Donna Star show here in Denver on KOA 850am tonight they have been talking about Denver mayor Hickenlooper's decision to ban the words 'Merry Christmas' from the traditional Parade of Lights downtown parade as well as any 'Christmas' float.