Free Republic

Did anyone punch anyone? Was there any actual blood? I think I might've missed it. Did Pelosi kick John Boehner in the testicles and then run away laughing before a screeching Virginia Foxx grabbed her by the hair, pulled her to the floor and punched her in the kidneys? Did just about everyone on the House floor bitch-slap Bart Stupak--who should right now vanish of the face of the earth forevermore, you simpering mealworm--while Rahm Emmanuel head-butted Harry Reid, even as both burned a sneering Newt Gingrich doll in effigy? I might've been dreaming. Did Obama finally strut in like...

Vatican chorister sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for papal gentleman-in-waiting. The Vatican was today rocked by a sex scandal reaching into Pope Benedict's household after a chorister was sacked for allegedly procuring male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting. Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness, was caught by police on a wiretap allegedly negotiating with Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, a 29-year-old Vatican chorister, over the specific physical details of men he wanted brought to him. Transcripts in the possession of the Guardian suggest that numerous men may have been procured for Balducci, at least one of whom was studying for...

The Dutch priest who refused Communion on February 13th to his town's openly homosexual Carnival “prince” is now facing police complaints from homosexual activists.The complaints follow a protest by homosexualists at the Catholic parish in Reusel on Sunday, which was held in response to the decision of the pastor, Fr. Luc Buyens, to withhold Communion from Gijs Vermeulen, 24, at the town's traditional Carnival Mass.Fr. Buyens had alerted Vermeulen in advance, stating that he must refuse him Communion because the young man had made a public display of his active homosexuality leading up to the town's Carnival festivities.Anticipating the protest,...

In a story last Sunday the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Proposition 8 judge Vaughn Walker is gay and called his orientation, "The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage." We have no idea whether the report is true or not. But we do know one really big important fact about Judge Walker: He's been an amazingly biased and one-sided force throughout this trial, far more akin to an activist than a neutral referee. That's no secret at all. Protect Marriage, the defendants in this case, are effectively being held hostage by Judge Walker and cannot really...

The trial on the federal constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, the same-sex marriage ban, has been in many respects a tale of two trials. The question is, which trial was U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker watching? To many observers, the anti-Proposition 8 side appears to have scored all the points. Attorneys David Boies and Theodore Olson spent two weeks attempting to discredit the law, calling dozens of witnesses who gave dramatic and emotional testimony that banning same-sex marriage harms gay couples, their children and even society. But defenders of Proposition 8 say they're missing the point. California voters made...

A former Duke University employee and adoptive gay father charged with molesting his five-year-old son--and offering the boy as a sex object to pedophiles online--is expected to make a plea bargain, according to a Dec. 1 article in local newspaper the Durham Herald Sun. Frank Lombard faces charges stemming from alleged instances in which he molested his young adopted son and chatted about the deeds online even as he carried them out. It’s thought that the U.S, Attorney’s Office is positioning the case for a plea arrangement because the Office is set to file an "information," which allows the prosecution...

The effort to get same sex marriage on the California ballot in 2010 took a hit Monday. Rick Jacbos, the leader of the 700,000-member Courage Campaign just told us that after spending more than $200,000 on "qualitative research" into the issue in California that "We do not see a path to victory." So, the Courage Campaign sent a note to its supporters Monday calling for "for more research and time to change hearts and minds before returning to the ballot." Lambda Legal, a LGBT legal organization, said largely the same thing Monday. Jacobs told us that the research -- led...

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans are a diverse, extraordinary, resilient, and passionate group of forgiving men and women. I wouldn't be standing beside them demanding full and equal treatment under the law and speaking out against the harm caused by religion-based bigotry at the National Equality March in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 11 if I thought they were not created in God's image the same as myself, same as my family, as we all are—we are all God's children. And I know better than anyone, since six years ago I was one of those bigots. At that time...

He was once a revered judge, an African-American Democrat repeatedly elected in an Alabama county that was predominantly white and Republican. But then came the scandal - and Herman Thomas' world turned upside down. Thomas, former Alabama Circuit Court judge, stands accused of sodomy, kidnapping, sex abuse, extortion, assault and ethics violations, AOL News reports. The trial starts on Monday. The first charges against Thomas surfaced in 2001 when an inmate claimed that Thomas offered to help with the case in return for sex. Those charges were dismissed. But that wasn't nearly the end of it. Inmates then began claiming...

<p>MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Herman Thomas had an enviable political record as a black Democrat elected and re-elected in a county overwhelmingly white and increasingly Republican. The respected circuit judge once was the Democratic Party's choice to be the first black federal judge in south Alabama.</p>

A homosexual man is suing a third national Bible publisher for "mental anguish" after he says the company published Bibles with a negative connotation toward homosexuals. Bradley LaShawn Fowler of Canton, Mich., alleges Tyndale House Publishers manipulated Scripture when it published Tyndale's New Living Translation Holy Bible and the New Life Application Study Bible by using the term "homosexuals" in a New Testament passage, 1 Corinthians 6:9. "One Bible dictates homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God, while the other is completely void on the issue altogether," Fowler wrote in a statement on his blog.

Matthew Rolston for Rolling StoneUs Magazine Adam Lambert finally confirms his sexuality in the new issue of Rolling Stone (on stands tomorrow). "I don't think it should be a surprise for anyone to hear that I'm gay," the American Idol runner-up says.

DEAR ABBY: My father is 83. My mother has been dead for more than 30 years. Since then, Dad has been involved with many women. But, since he turned 70, he has become involved with men, which he says he finds very rewarding and much less complicated. Dad and I always had an open and honest relationship. We have a lot of homosexual family members and friends. At the same time, I'm shocked that the fact that he is gay has been so difficult for me to accept. Have you any suggestions on how I might better deal with this?...

Perez Hilton is giving gays a bad name. What a scumbag. Liberals just cannot accept someone with religious beliefs. They hate it.

(UPDATED) As if it wasn't hellacious enough working customer support for Amazon.com on Easter, the online book store's reps must now explain why gay romances (and other books) are too "adult" to rank. Straight romance like Jackie Collins and straight porn like this book of Playboy centerfolds is still ranked on Amazon. But not the homosexul stuff: Gay romance publisher Mark Probst noticed hundreds of such books lost their rankings over the past two days, including Transgressions, about a 17th century liaison between a cavalry trooper and a farmer's son, and False Colors, about a 19th century naval lieutenant attracted...

A majority of Roman Catholic adoption agencies have cut their ties with the Church rather than defy gay equality laws. Five agencies have declared themselves independent - and some have changed their names - to comply with laws that say they must allow homosexual couples to adopt children.The retreat ends decades in which the adoption charities have worked in the name of the Catholic Church with support from dioceses, clergy and congregations.The decision to end the formal connection with the Church follows a deadline set by the Government for charities to comply with the 2007 Sexual Orientation Regulations. These...

Atlanta gay nightlife photographer Gary Salles was arrested in Winchester, Tenn., during an undercover operation and charged with running an international child porn operation and selling crystal methamphetamine, according to police. Salles, 57, faces federal child porn and drug charges and is currently being held without bond in Chattanooga, Tenn., said Winchester Police Department Chief Dennis Young. Arrested with Salles was Mike Lattimore, 50, who is charged with distribution of crystal meth and is being held without bond in Chattanooga. The two men go before a grand jury Jan. 27, Young said. Additional charges are likely, he added. “[Salles] runs...

Associated Press Concord, N.H. (AP) - The first openly gay Episcopal bishop will offer a prayer at the Lincoln Memorial at an inaugural event for President-elect Barack Obama. The selection of New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson for Sunday's event follows weeks of criticism from gay-rights groups over Obama's decision to have the Rev. Rick Warren give the invocation at his Jan. 20 inauguration. Warren backed the ban on same-sex marriage that passed in his home state of California on the November ballot. Robinson said last month the choice of Warren was like a slap in the face. In an...

Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the only openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, has been asked to give the invocation at the first official inaugural activity, a welcome event with the president-elect on Sunday afternoon on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Robinson had been critical of president-elect Barack Obama for asking Rick Warren, the evangelical pastor who encouraged voters to overturn same-sex marriage in California, to deliver the invocation at the inauguration. Episcopal Cafe has an e-mail from Robinson: "I am writing to tell you that President-Elect Obama and the Inaugural Committee have invited me to...

Barack Obama's decision to have Pastor Rick Warren deliver the invocation at his inauguration next month has provoked anguish among some of his formerly ardent supporters. Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, upbraided the president-elect according to The Politico. "Your invitation to Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at your inauguration is a genuine blow to LGBT Americans. (W)e feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination." Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen accused Obama of condoning a man...