Free Republic

Walt Whitman spent half his life writing and revising “Leaves of Grass,” his epic poem of a young man’s journey of self-discovery in a young country, America as it grows into a democracy. Whitman was 35 years old when he self-published the first edition of “Leaves of Grass” in 1855, and he was still adding to it when he died in Camden, New Jersey on March 26, 1892, at the age of 72.

New Jersey Republican Robert Singer has had enough and wants to change New Jersey's Chris Christie era Bail Reform Act. LAKEWOOD, NJ – Let’s face it. Bail reform isn’t working. New Jerseyans watch the news daily only to see violent crimes being perpetrated against society by violent repeat criminals who oftentimes commit new crimes hours or days after getting released under the state’s critically flawed bail reform act. Bail reform was introduced in New Jersey as a ballot referendum in New Jersey, championed by then-governor Chris Christie, an avid supporter of bail reform, and repeatedly attacked those who said it...

As he mulls another bid for president — a decision he said he will make within months — Chris Christie is confronting the critics of one of the marquee achievements of his administration: bail reform. When he was governor, Christie led a bipartisan effort in New Jersey to overhaul the way courts decide who gets locked up before trial. “We have a country right now that seems to be crying out, or at least they say they’re crying out, for some bipartisan accomplishment,” the two-term former Republican governor told a crowd ahead of a discussion hosted by the Christie Institute...

A new study from WalletHub suggests the Garden State may be one of the happiest places in the entire country. In overall happiness, New Jersey ranked number five. Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota and Utah claimed the top four spots respectively. Additionally, New Jersey ranked second on the topics of emotional and physical well-being. Unfortunately, the state was also ranked as one of the worst (#47) when it came to long-term unemployment.

Polish Parishes Renew Consecration on Today Feast of Our Lady of CzestochowaThe Stories of Our Lady of Czestochowa [Catholic Caucus]Our Lady of Czestochowa [Catholic Caucus]Catholic Word of the Day: CZESTOCHOWA, 06-02-103,000 Priests Pilgrimage in Czestochowa (Recall Clergy Killed During Wars, Communist Regime)The Siege of CzestochowaWhat a glorious trip! – Pilgrimage to Czestochowa (they have just arrived!)

Catholic Caucus: Vanity: Synod of Synodality I'm filling out the form this weekend, what suggestions do you have, serious answers only, thanks.

Pope Benedict XVI Sunday, June 14, 2020 Dear Brothers and Sisters,This morning too I would like to introduce a female figure to you. She is little known but the Church is deeply indebted to her, not only because of the holiness of her life but also because, with her great fervor, she contributed to the institution of one of the most important solemn Liturgies of the year: Corpus Christi. Juliana was born near Liège, Belgium between 1191 and 1192. It is important to emphasize this place because at that time the Diocese of Liège was, so to speak, a true...

Parents are “not entitled” to know their kids’ gender identity, according to a recent woke training session in the Eau Claire Area School District. Empower Wisconsin has obtained a copy of a training slide from last Friday’s staff development session. The 2021-22 Equity session on Safe Spaces reminds teachers that “parents are not entitled to know their kids’ identities. That knowledge must be earned.” “Teachers are often straddling this complex situation. In ECASD, our priority is supporting the student,” the professional development facilitator guide states. Teachers were encouraged to “Talk amongst yourselves!” The lesson — that teachers know better than...

I briefly mentioned another "Sex Camp" in Quick Hits yesterday. That one in Indianapolis This one -- in Kentucky -- might be worse. The only positive I can think of is that this is not being forced on children by agents of the state through compulsory government "education." This is a private organization, and they're telling parents right up front: We're going to teach your kids how to masturbate with a "hands on" demonstration ("on hands!," they emphasize), and we're going to teach them about the joys and wonders of homosexuality and transgenderism. So this isn't Trojan Horse stuff. They're...

The nation's largest pediatric hospital has announced it has stopped transgender therapies for kids. The move comes after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state's child welfare agency to investigate reports of gender-change treatments for children as abuse. Texas Children's Hospital, located in Houston, announced that its decision to stop such hormone-related prescription therapies was made after it reviewed Abbott's order. The governor's order came after Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton released a non-binding legal opinion last month labeling certain gender-change treatments as "child abuse." As CBN News reported, Paxton released a formal opinion saying performing certain "sex-change" procedures on...

A Queens man was arrested for allegedly fighting officers and even shoving one over a ledge during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, officials announced Wednesday. Ralph Joseph Celentano III was allegedly caught on video on the west terrace of the US Capitol pushing an officer “from behind in a ‘football-type tackle,'” causing him to fall from a ledge onto the terrace below, according to court papers filed with a criminal complaint. The officer — an Iraq war veteran — says he feared for his safety amid the mob of protesters, thinking to himself, “I didn’t survive a war to go...

Due to several requests we have received since the Catholic Liturgical Library went down about the practice of removing holy water from fonts during Lent, I am reposting the official answer here. The Library should be back up tomorrow. Can the holy water be removed from fonts during Lent? No. Here is a letter from the Congregation for Divine Worship responding to this question on 3/14/03: Prot. N. 569/00/L Dear Father: This Congregation for Divine Worship has received your letter sent by fax in which you ask whether it is in accord with liturgical law to remove the Holy Water...

Jérôme Jean Louis Marie Lejeune (1926 – 1994)Bioethics is one of the few academic disciplines and professions that does not have a patron saint. We at The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) think this may change soon. Jérôme Lejeune, a French medical doctor and world class geneticist, was recently declared venerable — the first step on the road to canonization, by the Church. He led a remarkable life that began with scientific break-through discoveries and continued with decades of faithful work defending the right to life of human embryos and preborn children.It is remarkable to me that the Vatican declaration...

In this toxic era of bitter cultural division, few things divide people as bitterly as Critical Race Theory (CRT), which isn’t a surprise, given that CRT divides. It divides people into groups pitted against one another, into categories of oppressed vs. oppressor. Your group defines you. It’s an ideology that stereotypes and separates based on race—ironically, in the name of opposing racism. In that regard, it smacks of so many bad ideas on the political Left, such as the “tolerance” movement and its rigid intolerance toward those who dare disagree, or the “diversity” movement and its lack of diversity toward...

Today in England is the feast of the Forty Holy Martyrs of England and Wales (in Wales this is a memorial), a group of forty men, women, religious, priests, and lay people who were canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 25, 1970. These people were executed for their Faith during a period of anti-Catholicism from 1535 to 1679. The Martyrs who were canonized were among more than two hundred martyrs who had been beatified by various earlier popes. Some of the common "crimes" of these people were being priests, harboring priests, or refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy....

Shrine escaped devastation of Peshtigo FireInferno burned some 2,400 square miles of land, killed at least 1,500 peopleGREEN BAY — On Oct. 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed four square miles of the city and killed 250 people.That same night, the storm system that fueled the Chicago fire also spawned the Peshtigo Fire. This series of blazes, firestorms and fire tornadoes destroyed 2,400 square miles — roughly the size of the state of Delaware — and killed 1,500 to 2,500 people.Two people affected by that fire — who later met and shared their stories — were Adele Brise of...

There are 2 videos posted on the webpage, one with Meagan Kelly interviewing a woman who received a miracle and the other with Michael O'Neal the Miracle Hunter Roman Catholic Bishop David Ricken announced on December 8, 2010 that he officially approved the Marian apparitions at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help recognizing the number of miracles that have occurred at the Shrine, including healing the blind, sick and crippled.This declaration makes the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help the first and only site in the United States which is approved by the Roman Catholic...

Feast Day, October 9 The only Marian apparition approved in the United Stateshttps://championshrine.org The story behind this celebration+ Devotion to this Blessed Mother under the title of “Our Lady of Good Help” dates to three apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1859.+ In early October of that year, Adele Brise, a Belgian immigrant, experienced a vision of the Mother of God near Champion, Wisconsin. Adele described the woman as surrounded by bright light, clothed in white, with a yellow sash around her waist and a crown of stars above her flowing blond hair, and standing between two trees. No words...

About the Great Peshtigo Fire:Many Americans are aware of what is called the “Great Chicago Fire“. It lasted two days, October 8 to October 10, 1871, and destroyed thousands of buildings, killed an estimated 300 people and caused millions of dollars in damages. Accounts of how the fire started in Chicago vary—Mrs O’Leary’s cow did not kick over a lantern—although that legend continues on.What is not so well known is a much greater disaster that took place on the same day and at the same hour in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. That fire destroyed entire towns over an area of 2400 square...

The Peshtigo fire and Our Lady of Good Help THE GREAT AMERICAN APPARITION OF MARY TOOK PLACE IN WISCONSIN “I do hereby approve these apparitions as worthy of belief by the Christian faithful” (Bishop David Ricken, pictured above)Many Catholics are familiar with the great supernatural facts of Lourdes and Fatima, but not enough Catholics (especially in the United States) are aware that the Virgin Mary appeared to Adele Brise in 1859 in Champion, Wisconsin with a message that focused on the importance of the Sacraments, catechesis of the young, and the salvation of sinners. To underscore the importance of this...