Free Republic

The sharks are back roaming along the Cape shoreline. The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy on Thursday reported its first basking shark sighting off Provincetown’s Herring Cove Beach this season. Although great white shark sightings are increasing every year along the Cape, they are not the only large shark off the Massachusetts coast. The basking shark is the second largest fish in the ocean, and is often confused with white sharks, especially as their large dorsal fin often can be seen above the water. There are some key features that can help differentiate the two sharks, including the shape of that...

At a time when momentum and political pundits seem to favor Barack Obama winning the Democratic presidential nomination, other indicators suggest the LGBT community's support is still largely behind Hillary Clinton, except in Texas. And Texas is one of three large primary states remaining that pundits say Clinton must win in order to stay even with Obama in the contest to secure enough delegates to win the nomination. The latest poll in Texas, conducted by CNN February 15-17 among 529 likely primary voters, found Clinton just two points ahead of Obama. A poll just a few days earlier, by the...

New England is beyond a doubt the most socialist section of the country. For all their talk about “Boston Strong” and “Hearty New Englanders,” they are the most committed supporters of Democrat liberals. Last Wednesday their loyalty to Barack Obama was rewarded with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) crushing blow to New England’s cod fishing industry. Obama’s henchmen at NOAA placed a, “six-month ban on most cod fishing off New England this week and are threatening to cut next year’s catch by up to 75 percent.” Given the extent of the damage this ban will do, observers have...

PROVINCETOWN — David Walton was doing what he loved most — camping — shortly before the Taunton man's life ended at Coastal Acres Camping Court in Provincetown over the weekend, his 17-year friend Dennis Samson of Middleboro said Tuesday. But what might have been a bucolic overnight stay with his sometimes boyfriend, James Costello, also of Taunton, ended in a stormy fight that left both men physically bruised and Walton declared dead at 6:22 a.m. Sunday morning, according to the police. On Monday, prosecutors in Orleans District Court charged Costello, 45, with assault and battery with a shod foot and...

Sex education starts early, especially if you go to elementary school in Provincetown, Mass. That’s because the school committee has unanimously adopted a condom distribution policy beginning as early as first grade. According to the Provincetown Banner, the program requires that students speak to a school nurse or trained counselor before receiving condoms. The committee also directed school leaders not to honor demands from parents who object to their kids receiving protection. Some members on the committee were wary because the program requires that students speak to school officials first. But Beth Singer, the school’s superintendent, said she wanted to...

This story really tells us something about our culture today. Fox Nation: A New England school district has approved a measure that will provide free condoms to elementary school students and direct teachers not to comply with parental wishes to the contrary. .... But they can't pray in schools?

Frisky sun worshipers are flocking to have sex on the beach in Provincetown - but are sending horrified family vacationers packing, officals said. Angry Cape Cod National Seashore officials said they are cracking down on public sex acts along the picturesque shoreline after the number of citations for public sex acts more than tripled, from an average of 40 to 132 last year. “This is not what we’re interested in seeing,” said George Price, Superintendent of the National Seashore. “Over the last couple of years, public (sex) acts like this have been viewed by visitors.” Price said officials are baffled...

PROVINCETOWN, Mass. -- A preschool age child at a Provincetown elementary school contracted syphilis, but did not get the disease through sexual contact and no other children are in danger, health officials say.

When gay culture goes mainstream, what does a gay mecca do? Provincetown is looking for answers. Once among the handful of places where gays could vacation and be comfortable, the bohemian beach resort is worrying that its core market may dwindle as gay travelers discover new destinations. As a result, the town is quietly promoting another side of itself. It is trying to reach gay families and straight audiences, playing up historical attractions and plentiful family-oriented activities. ``As gay civil rights advance, Provincetown's exclusivity as a gay destination probably loses on the other end," said Patrick Patrick, president of the...

Gays accused of discrimination in resort town By Jason Szep Fri Jul 21, 8:34 AM ET   PROVINCETOWN, Massachusetts (Reuters) - Provincetown, New England's summer gay capital, is facing a rise in harassment and discrimination. But this time it's straight people who say they are being ridiculed as "breeders" and "baby makers." Less than a decade after a successful campaign to end violent paroxysms of "gay bashing" in the beach town at the tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, police and town officials report a resurgence in tension between gays and straight people.Police Chief Ted Meyer said straight people...

WASHINGTON Feb 27, 2006 (AP)-- Eleven cities have shown interest in playing host to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, twice the number of cities that applied to get the 2004 gathering. The DNC initially sent out letters to more than 30 cities, giving them an overview and finding out their level of interest. The 11 cities that said they were interested: Anaheim, Calif.; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Las Vegas; Minneapolis; New Orleans; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix and San Antonio. Some of the cities are in critical swing states like Florida and Arizona, while others are in population centers like New...

Winter must come awfully early to that little spit of sand called Provincetown. The town isn't exactly Mayberry to begin with, if you know what I mean. But as the cold winds blow relentlessly down Commercial Street and the gray waves slap constantly against the shore, the isolation must lead to a total divorce from reality. Think Jack Nicholson in ''The Shining." How else to explain the bizarre behavior of a majority of the town's selectmen at a meeting earlier this month? To wit, Selectwoman Sarah Peake spun her chair around near the end of the Nov. 14 meeting, gazed...

ASSIMILATION AND ITS MEANING. The End of Gay Culture Andrew Sullivan For ... two decades, I have spent much of every summer in the small resort of Provincetown, at the tip of CapeCod. It has long attracted artists, writers, the offbeat, and the bohemian; and, for many years now, it has been to gay America what Oak Bluffs in Martha's Vineyard is to black America: a place where a separate identity essentially defines a separate place. No one bats an eye if two men walk down the street holding hands, or if a lesbian couple pecks each other on the...

PROVINCETOWN, Mass. -- Out-of-state gay couples will be able to get marriage licenses in Provincetown. The Cape Cod town's board of selectmen voted unanimously Monday to give licenses to nonresident couples, even if they have no intention of living in Massachusetts. Gov. Mitt Romney immediately issued a statement saying those marriages would be considered null and void. He also said his office will pursue "appropriate enforcement action" against clerks who defy state law. Romney previously said that a 1913 state law bars out-of-state gay couples from marrying in Massachusetts, unless they have immediate plans to move here. The Provincetown decision...

<p>When asked his view yesterday on homosexuality during his first public press conference in months, President Bush responded, "I am mindful that we are all sinners. And I caution those who may try to take a speck out of their neighbor's eye when they've got a log in their own."</p> <p>The president also reaffirmed his strong, uncompromising stand for the sanctity of heterosexual marriage: "I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman and I think we ought to codify that one way or the other."</p>