Free Republic

Websites should be obliged to remove "false rumors" while libel laws should be altered to make it easier to sue for spreading such "rumors," argued Cass Sunstein, Obama's regulatory czar. In his recently released book, "On Rumors," Sunstein specifically cited as a primary example of "absurd" and "hateful" remarks, reports by "right-wing websites" alleging an association between President Obama and Weatherman terrorist Bill Ayers. He also singled out radio talker Sean Hannity for "attacking" Obama regarding the president's "alleged associations."

The left has said that the right creates an environment that inspires violence. Actually, the Daily Kos is the one that has inspired violence, including shots fired, against Lou Dobbs and his family. Will the NY Times investigate how the Kosters HATE SPEECH creates an atmosphere of hate and violence? This is my opinion.

Halloween trends are telling. Just ask Robert Thompson, a pop-culture expert and the founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. Here's an interesting trend: Halloween has fast become the second-most-decorated holiday. Jack-o-lanterns and goblins and lighted trees are all over the place now. Halloween spending has risen to nearly $5 billion annually -- not bad for a non-gift-giving, non-government-sanctioned holiday. And more adults than ever are dressing up. "The post-World War II years were the golden age of Halloween for kids," says Thompson, "a trend that continued into the 1980s. But in the...

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Thursday to begin crafting rules to prevent Internet providers from acting as gatekeepers over which services and content are delivered to their customers, the agency's surest step yet toward regulating the rules of the road online. The federal government previously had taken a largely hands-off approach to Web regulation but decided to act as concerns grew that telecommunications giants such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon could begin to favor their products and services over others. "It's hard to imagine anything more important to the future of the success of our economy than a healthy...

News reporting that holds accountable those with power and influence has been a vital part of American democratic life, especially in places with daily newspapers profitable enough...to maintain substantial reporting staffs. That journalism is now at risk...American society must now take some collective responsibility for supporting news reportings....In a comprehensive report commissioned by the Columbia University Journalism School, we suggest a number of public sources of support for this news reporting: - The Internal Revenue Service or Congress should clarify tax regulations to explicitly allow new or existing local news organizations to operate as nonprofit or low-profit entities, allowing them...

The more things change, the more they stay the same. When political times get tough for liberal Democrats in Washington, conservative conspiracies are the bogeymen of choice. Back in 1998 when things got tough for Bill Clinton, Hillary declared that there was a “vast right-wing conspiracy” looking to bring her husband down. Other Democrats where quick to pick up the mantra and do anything they could to discredit those who criticized Clinton. Now here we are eleven years later and, (although there are no chubby interns involved), we have another liberal President facing hard times. So out pop the conspiracy...

SNIPPET: "The president has nominated Chai Feldblum, a lesbian activist, to be commissioner for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Her appointment is awaiting Senate confirmation." SNIPPET: "Feldblum, a law professor at Georgetown University, has signed an online petition titled, "Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic Vision for All Our Families and Relationships."" SNIPPET: ""Chai Feldblum is on record saying that the battle between our religious freedoms and homosexual so-called rights is a zero sum game," says Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality." SNIPPET: ""She says she can't think of a case where the religious rights -- in...

'Hate' Crimes: The House has voted to make it a federal crime to assault people because of their sexual orientation. Aside from violating the Constitution's equal-protection clause, just what does this have to do with national defense? The House voted 281 to 146 Thursday to make it a crime to attack homosexuals and others. The measure was attached to a must-pass $680 billion defense bill. We think the amendment itself is a crime against common sense and the law. Saying "it's a very exciting day for us here in the Capitol," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised the passage of the...

Klingenschmitt said, "Please call 202-456-1111 today, and tell White House comment line operators: 'Mr. President, please keep your promise and veto the F-35 second engine in the Pentagon Budget, 2010 Defense Authorization Act.'" "Several months ago, President Obama promised to veto the Pentagon budget if it contained funding for the F-22 or a second engine for the F-35. The Senate killed the F-22, but after receiving nearly 22,000 faxes from us in the last 48 hours, the House ignored Obama's veto threat and voted Thursday to fully fund a second engine for F-35s. The House also sadly attached the pro-homosexual...

A Christian activist says it's vital for believers to push back against those promoting the homosexual agenda. Peter LaBarbera is president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, an Illinois-based group dedicated to exposing the homosexual activist agenda. He says many people -- even in conservative, evangelical Christian circles -- do not know about the true agenda of homosexual groups such as the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Peter LaBarbera"They're undermining the Word of God by trying to say that the Bible does not teach that homosexual behavior is sinful," he says. "On the other side, they're pushing policies that promote gay...

I was actually planning on doing a DUFU about either the DUmmies or KOmmies biting their fingernails over the survival of public option in ObamaCare. Right now they are acting as if their very existence depends on public option remaining. However, I find the constant micro-analysis of each little nuance and twitch of the various Senators and Congress folks to be highly annoying. Like their self-absorbed neurosis was making me neurotic reading about it. Therefore I decided to go with the FUn THREAD, "Actors you were bummed to find out were Republican..." At least one of the actors mentioned...

Experts who track hate groups across the U.S. are growing increasingly concerned over violent rhetoric targeted at President Obama, especially as the debate over health care intensifies and a pattern of threats emerges. The Secret Service is investigating a Maryland man who held a sign reading "Death to Obama" and "Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids" outside a town hall meeting this week. And in New Hampshire, another man stood across the street from a Presidential town hall with his gun on full display. Los Angeles police officers apprehended a man Thursday after a standoff with him inside...

HAGERSTOWN, Md. – A man is in custody after authorities said he held a sign reading "Death to Obama" outside a town hall meeting on health care reform in western Maryland. Washington County Sheriff's Capt. Peter Lazich (LAWZ'-itch) says the sign also read, "Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids." He says U.S. Secret Service agents took the unidentified 51-year-old man into custody Wednesday afternoon after deputies detained him.

There were signs comparing President Barack Obama to a Nazi and showing him with an Adolf Hitler-style mustache, but federal officials believe another sign referencing the president and his family went too far. A man who was holding a sign reading "Death to Obama" Wednesday outside a town hall meeting on health care reform in Hagerstown, Md., has been turned over to the Secret Service. Washington County Sheriff's Capt. Peter Lazich said the sign also read, "Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids." Lazich said U.S. Secret Service agents took the unidentified 51-year-old man into custody Wednesday afternoon after...

The so-called New Atheists are attacking the mantra of science and faith being compatible. Others in the science community question the value of confrontation.This fall, evolutionary biologist and bestselling author Richard Dawkins -- most recently famous for his public exhortation to atheism, "The God Delusion" -- returns to writing about science. Dawkins' new book, "The Greatest Show on Earth," will inform and regale us with the stunning "evidence for evolution," as the subtitle says. It will surely be an impressive display, as Dawkins excels at making the case for evolution. But it's also fair to ask: Who in the United...

UPDATE at end of post: Is this what Newsweek meant when it proudly declared on its cover, "We're All Socialists Now?" Did you know that when you refer to someone as a socialist, you're really calling them the N-word? Such an astonishing hypothesis was offered by MSNBC's Carlos Watson Monday in a segment he refers to as "The 'C' Note." Potentially even more shocking, after Watson offered this seemingly absurd opinion, Mort Zuckerman actually agreed with him.

About 100 people turned out this morning to protest at the National Clean Energy Summit. They waved flags and carried homemade signs denouncing everything from carbon cap and trade proposals to reform for the nation's health care policy to the presidency of Barack Obama in general. The anti-Obama and Reid protesters remained in force on the corner of Swenson Street and Tropicana Avenue near the Thomas & Mack Center on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus, site of the summit. "How can you help the environment if you bankrupt the economy that has to do it?" asked protester Greg...

The L.A.Times' Dan Neil is confused. He thinks that the so-called progressive movement is right on all the issues, but he just cannot understand why they can't win the public debate. Neil laments that they have all the "English majors" on their side but cannot win "any war of words." Just what is going on here, he wants to know? He's so frustrated that he took to his keyboard to ask these questions in a Pittsburgh Gazette article from August 9. In his piece, Neil wonders, for instance, why the "progressives" are so inept at debate and cannot convince the...

This is what appears to anger today's Russian historical establishment: accounts of Red Army crimes on the march to Berlin; assertions by the Baltic countries and others in Eastern Europe that Soviet forces came as occupiers as much as liberators; any suggestion that Stalin's Soviet Union and Nazi Germany were anything but complete opposites and bitter enemies.

In his Jan. 22, 2009, proclamation lauding the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, President Obama wrote we must "reduce the need for abortion … [by] find[ng] common ground to expand access to affordable contraception, accurate health information and preventative services." Since then, "common ground" has become the talk of the pro-abort town. A month ago, the pro-abortion website RH Reality Check, funded by Ted Turner, even launched an "On Common Ground" forum, inviting thinkers from both sides to publicly contemplate. To date, of 15 contributors, only two are solidly pro-life – Kristen Day of Democrats for Life and Serrin...

Ever-vigilant for opportunities to quash anything contrary to the liberal worldview, Leftists in Congress are working on new ways to silence any dissent. Most of us know about the “Fairness Doctrine” that they got away with for years to harass and control the opposition. Most of us also know the liberals have been trying for years to bring it back. Their latest attempt is HR 1966, ostensibly to fight “cyber bullying,” but it could very easily be used to prosecute “hate crimes,” or essentially any electronic communication that hurt someone’s feelings. David Rittgers of the Cato Institute discusses this Orwellian...

Al Gore on Tuesday compared the battle against climate change with the struggle against the Nazis. The former vice president said the world lacked the political will to act and invoked the spirit of Winston Churchill by encouraging leaders to unite their nations to fight climate change. He also accused politicians around the world of exploiting ignorance about the dangers of global warming to avoid difficult decisions. Speaking at Britain's Oxford University at the Smith School World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment, sponsored by the Times of London, Gore said, "Winston Churchill aroused this nation in heroic fashion to...

If yesterday's Holocaust Museum slaying of security guard and national hero Stephen Tyrone Johns is not a clarion call for banning hate speech, I don't know what is. Playwright Janet Langhart Cohen appeared on CNN yesterday right after the shooting, as she wrote a play that was supposed to have been debuted at the Holocaust Museum last night. Her play is about Emmett Till, whose lynching helped launch the Civil Rights Movement, and Ann Frank, whose diary told the story of Holocaust victims in hiding in the Netherlands during World War II. She said something must be done about ridding...

Racism as thoughtcrime - Orwell seems more right than ever The last decade have been a golden age for George Orwell and his greatest work, 1984. While the novel has always been prized, I remember a time when it was considered a great piece, but not a prescient one. As the age of genetic engineering dawned in he Nineties Huxley's Brave New World seemed far more accurate (though less well written). And yet in 2009 Orwell's predictions seem more eerily true than ever. It is not so much the more obviously Soviet elements, like the economic poverty and the state...

Where does all this stuff that you’ve heard about this morning – the victim feminism, the gay rights movement, the invented statistics, the rewritten history, the lies, the demands, all the rest of it – where does it come from? For the first time in our history, Americans have to be fearful of what they say, of what they write, and of what they think. They have to be afraid of using the wrong word, a word denounced as offensive or insensitive, or racist, sexist, or homophobic. We have seen other countries, particularly in this century, where this has been...

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin calls the feeding frenzy surrounding Miss California Carrie Prejean “despicable” and says she can relate to her as a "liberal target." "The liberal onslaught of malicious attacks against Carrie Prejean for expressing her opinion is despicable," Palin said in a statement released to the media Wednesday. Prejean has since been a target of the liberal media for declaring to contest judge and gay blogger Perez Hilton her opposition to same-sex marriage. "What I find so remarkable is that these politically-motivated attacks fail to show that what Carrie and I believe is also what President Obama and...

Why is the press remaining mostly silent about the so-called "hate crimes law" that passed in the House on April 29? The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed in a 249-175 vote (17 Republicans joined with 231 Democrats). These Democrats should have been tested on their knowledge of the First Amendment, equal protection of the laws (14th Amendment), and the prohibition of double jeopardy (no American can be prosecuted twice for the same crime or offense). If they had been, they would have known that this proposal, now headed for a Senate vote, violates all these constitutional provisions....

There is a brooding sense within top social conservative circles that they have become the revolving scapegoat of the Republican Party. Many of the longtime leaders of the Christian right, from Richard Land to Tony Perkins to Gary Bauer, expressed resentment in extended interviews with a singular theme: that the most loyal GOP bloc has been so quickly thrown under many critics' bus.

Dear friends, family, loved ones, conservatives, Republicans, libertarians, my brother in law, Sam, and my cousin Joe: I am sorry and you were right. These are not easy words for anyone to utter, much less a leftist from Berkeley, or a recovering leftist, that is. Even though I've been in recovery for 14 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days, leftists are always right in your face, in an I-hate-you-if-you-disagree sort of way. Hence, this letter of amends to all the people I've lectured, scolded, ranted and raved at, and otherwise annoyed during my 30 plus years of "progressive" politics. My...

Why is the press remaining mostly silent about the so-called "hate crimes law" that passed in the House on April 29? The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act passed in a 249-175 vote (17 Republicans joined with 231 Democrats). These Democrats should have been tested on their knowledge of the First Amendment, equal protection of the laws (14th Amendment), and the prohibition of double jeopardy (no American can be prosecuted twice for the same crime or offense). If they had been, they would have known that this proposal, now headed for a Senate vote, violates all these constitutional provisions....

Michael Savage is banned from the UK. That is not important, the reason why is compelling ... "I think it's important that people understand the sorts of values and sorts of standards that we have here, the fact that it's a privilege to come and the sort of things that mean you won't be welcome in this country," Ms Smith told GMTV. "Coming to this country is a privilege. If you can't live by the rules that we live by, the standards and the values that we live by, we should exclude you from this country and, what's more, now...

Sixteen people banned from entering the UK are "named and shamed" by the Home Office. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she decided to make public the names of 16 people banned since October last year so others could better understand what sort of behaviour Britain was not prepared to tolerate. The list includes hate preachers, anti-gay protesters and a far- right US talk show host.

With the news this week that the United States House of Representatives has passed, H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, there is some concern about what this will mean for individuals or churches that express their religious beliefs regarding sexual orientation. . . . An accurate reading of the Kennedy-Smith Act, however, would demonstrate that religious speech itself will not be censored or criminalized. The bill also promises that evidence of expression or association of the defendant may not be introduced as substantive evidence at trial unless it specifically relates to the particular offense....

<p>House Passes Mandatory National Service Bill http://www.infowars.com/house-passes-mandatory-national-service-bill/ The House passed a bill yesterday which includes disturbing language indicating young people will be forced to undertake mandatory national service programs as fears about President Barack Obama’s promised “civilian national security force” intensify.</p>

This is very scary .... from a UK Telegraph blogger: Valleywag is reporting today on a new Google Maps mashup, eightmaps.com, which gives the name and profession of every Proposition 8 donor. It also lists how much they donated and shows where they live.The site's strapline is distinctly creepy:"Proposition 8 changed the California state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. These are the people who donated in order to pass it." In other words, for everyone who is angry that some people don't want homosexual marriage - this website shows them where to direct their attacks. Literally. Frightening. update: on...

In his latest “Memo from Cairo,” New York Times correspondent Michael Slackman virtually begs the Obama administration to avoid using the word “terrorist” in reference to Hamas and Hezbollah. According to Slackman... calling these groups “terrorists” turns off the Arab world, in which people view Israel as the “real terrorist,” whereas Hamas and Hezbollah are just “trying to liberate their countries.” In turn, intimates Slackman, using a “loaded word” like “terrorist” when describing Hamas or Hezbollah makes peace impossible. Let’s leave aside for a moment that Slackman has managed to pass off his own view on the mind-numbingly dull one-man’s-terrorist-is-another-man’s-freedom-fighter...

You won't believe this one. But, then again, you might. A blogsite called Newstin (is that short for tin news?) is now rating blog posts based on wording *tone,* not truth. This is right out of the novel Fahrenheit 451 or George Orwell's novel 1984. Apparently, any content that is negatively *toned* toward Leftist ideas are labeled *negatively toned.* The web masters at Newstin call their monitoring program *Sentiment Analysis* Excerpted from Newstin - http://www.newstin.com/tag/us/103990119 Sentiment Analysis is a tool developed by Newstin to indicate the overall tone of an article i.e., whether it has a positive, negative or neutral...

Just in, Wilders landed at 15:15 at Heathrow and was arrested.

Muslims aren't the only ones trying to restrict free speech in Europe. In Britain, for example, the government is facing pressure from homosexual rights activists to overturn a free speech protection amendment added to a controversial “gay hate” law. The free speech protection clause, which states that criticizing homosexual practice or urging people to refrain from such conduct will not, in itself, be a crime, was added to the new offense of “incitement to homophobic hatred.” But now the government wants to remove that protection. The crime of inciting homophobic hatred includes any words or behavior which is threatening and...

Mason school officials said they are taking a proactive educational approach in advance of next week's planned Inauguration Day activities. "Inappropriate comments that may make other students, staff or families feel unwelcome or uncomfortable in school or on the bus will not be tolerated," Superintendent Kevin Bright said in an e-mail sent to parents Monday, Jan. 12. The district, he said, expects students and staff to show respect for President-elect Obama and the incoming administration, as well as President Bush and the outgoing administration, and recognize that "while the election is a competitive process, our nation's greatness is displayed when...

Banned conservative speakers, stolen votes, assaults on religious liberty, gay English classes, and forbidden Thanksgiving & Christmas celebrations Political correctness ran amuck in our nation’s school system this past year, and Young America’s Foundation has once again compiled our “best of the worst” academic abuses for 2008. From “free speech zones” to transgendered speakers at military academies, the following list may make you both laugh and cry in the same breath. That probably isn’t too surprising, however, since we are talking about academia after all… 1. The free speech “zone.” A student at Yuba College in California was sent an...

NICOLA Roxon has been embarrassed by the revelation that two men she appointed as health ambassadors put their names to a publication saying homosexuality is a mental disorder and gay people are more likely to take drugs and molest children. The Health Minister, who is under pressure to dump them, said last night she found the document "unacceptable and repugnant". "My office is currently in discussions with both men to determine what role they played, and whether the views expressed are their own," Ms Roxon said. "I regard this as a serious matter and will consider closely the responses I...

Doing the Hokey Cokey 'could be hate crime' The Hokey Cokey is an old novelty song that has been sung in music halls, at children's parties and at sherry-fuelled family gatherings for many years. ...according to the Catholic Church and some Scottish politicians, singing the popular tune that begins with the words "You put your right hand in, your right hand out," may constitute an act of religious hatred. Supporters of Rangers FC have been banned from singing anti-Catholic songs at Ibrox stadium to taunt their rivals Celtic A spokesman for the leader of the church in Scotland said the...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. General Assembly split over the issue of gay rights on Thursday after a European-drafted statement calling for decriminalization of homosexuality prompted an Arab-backed one opposing it. Diplomats said a joint statement initiated by France and the Netherlands gathered 66 signatures in the 192-nation assembly after it was read out by Argentina at a plenary session. A rival statement, read out by Syria, gathered some 60.

Obama vows to end global warming 'denial' after Gore talksTue Dec 9, 4:02 pm ET CHICAGO (AFP) – President-elect Barack Obama said Tuesday his administration would brook no further delay in tackling climate change after discussing global warming with former vice president Al Gore. Sitting between Gore and his vice president-elect Joseph Biden following the hour-long meeting, Obama told reporters: "All three of us are in agreement that the time for delay is over. The time for denial is over. "We all believe what the scientists have been telling us for years now, that this is a matter of urgency...

Apparently, if one calls an Arab-American an A** H*le, Reuters and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee want all Americans to know that this is to be considered a "violent hate crime." At least that is what it seems when looking over the very lose and sloppy definition of "violent hate crimes" in a recent story on the falling numbers of such crimes against Arab-Americans in the U.S. While ostensibly a good story -- discrimination against Arab-Americans has decreased -- it is still odd that Reuters allows this Muslim advocacy group to define even name calling as a "hate crime" and "violent"...

Hollywood can still mount a soapbox and recall the dark days when people lost their jobs in show business for daring to take an unpopular political position that was outside the mainstream. Whenever they're criticized, they proclaim, "McCarthyism," accuse their critics of "blacklisting," and condemn the deplorable "intolerance." Hollywood has yet to accept, perhaps even to understand, that it is the entertainment industry that excels at this slanderous behavior. After California voters narrowly approved Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, it was revealed that Scott Eckern, the artistic director...

This poster from the French government is aimed at reassuring young people who are "discovering" themselves that there is no difference between homosexuality and heterosexuality. It reads: The only difference between homosexuality and heterosexuality is homophobia. When you are an adolescent and wondering about your emotional and sexual orientation, you may unfortunately also discover homophobia and its violence. This period in your life is often difficult to endure and can lead to serious problems, sometimes even suicide. A national re-education campaign signed by: The Ministry of Health, Youth, Sports and Related Associations; and the National Institute of Health.

A pro-family organization in Pennsylvania is raising questions about the lack of outrage over the murder of a man named Shephard in a dispute involving homosexuality. No, not Matthew Shepard, whose murder in Wyoming a decade ago has been used by "gay" activists ever since as a reason to demand enhanced "hate" crimes for anyone who perpetrates criminal activity against a homosexual. This case involves an innocent man who was murdered by a homosexual when the victim resisted his attacker's sexual advances. The latest case involves Jason Shephard, 23, who was attacked and killed by Bill Smithson, an openly homosexual...

CCTV cameras which can 'predict' if a crime is about to take place are being introduced on Britain's streets. The cameras can alert operators to suspicious behaviour, such as loitering and unusually slow walking. Anyone spotted could then have to explain their behaviour to a police officer. The move has been compared to the Tom Cruise science-fiction film Minority Report, in which people are arrested before they commit planned offences. It will also fuel fears that Britain is becoming a surveillance society. There are already 4.2million cameras trained on the public. The technology could be used alongside many of...