Free Republic

A Shahzia Sikander sculpture has become the subject of controversy after a powerful anti-abortion group claimed that the work promotes “satanic” imagery. The sculpture, which was acclaimed by critics when it appeared in New York’s Madison Square Park last year, was intended to explore the relationship between femininity and power. Titled Witness (2023), the work features a female figure who levitates above the ground, her arms and legs dissolving into rootlike forms. She floats within the armature of a hoop skirt that contains mosaics depicting plants. She wears a lacy collar in allusion to similar ones worn by Ruth Bader...

Native American groups did not support the removal of a statue of William Penn from Welcome Park in Philadelphia prior to the Biden administration’s now-abandoned effort to do so. William Penn was an English Quaker who moved to the American Colonies in 1682 and founded the British colony of Pennsylvania, during which time he maintained friendly relations with Native Americans of the Lenape tribe. The National Parks Service recently canceled plans to remove Penn’s statue from federal property at Welcome Park, in Philadelphia’s downtown historic district, amid strong political and public backlash against the plan, though representatives for a native...

It’s time to stop debating history and facts with people who only care about the exercise of raw political power.div class="article-content"> The news that the Biden administration planned to remove a statue of William Penn in a federal park in Philadelphia that commemorates the founding of Pennsylvania, and that the purpose of the removal was to “provide a more welcoming, accurate, and inclusive experience for visitors,” should at this point not come as a surprise.Once the removals and destruction of Confederate statues and memorials began a few years ago, it was inevitable that all historical figures from America’s past, even...

The National Park Service on Monday suddenly withdrew its plan to remove the statue of William Penn from the site of his home during a "rehabilitation" of Welcome Park in Philadelphia. NPS had opened a public comment period on Monday but by 6:30 p.m., it was closed. "The preliminary draft proposal, which was released prematurely and had not been subject to a complete internal agency review, is being retracted. No changes to the William Penn statue are planned," the NPS said in a statement. The NPS faced widespread backlash after announcing its plans to update the park to "provide a...

The National Park Service reversed course Monday and abandoned its proposed removal of William Penn's statue from Welcome Park in Old City. Why it matters: The withdrawn design incorporated Native American history rather than just the story of the state's founder, whose legacy has come under scrutiny for his ownership of enslaved people. Driving the news: The Park Service said Monday evening that the draft plan, published on Friday, was "released prematurely and had not been subject to a complete internal agency review." The agency added that it looks forward to a "robust public process to consider options for refurbishing...

Joe Biden's National Park Service under Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will remove the statue of William Penn from the park erected in 1982 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of his founding of the colony of Pennsylvania. The park is on the site of his original home in Philadelphia. The park, located in Philadelphia near the Delaware River at Sansom and Second Streets, will be "rehabilitated" and that proposal will include an "expanded interpretation of the Native American history of Philadelphia." The plan was "developed in consultations with the representatives of the indigenous nations of the Haudenosaunee, the Delaware Nation, Delaware...

The newly elected Democrat mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, celebrated the removal of a Confederate statue in the city, which was officially gone before noon Wednesday. Democrat Mayor Donna Deegan, who won her mayoral bid in May, celebrated the removal of the statue in Springfield Park, formally known as Confederate Park. The monument in question, “In Memory of Our Women of the Southland,” depicts a mother with her two children at her side, looking down at a book upon her lap. It was erected in October 1915. The Democrat mayor, who said during her time on the campaign trail that she...

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — A federal judge on Monday issued a temporary restraining order barring removal of a memorial to Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. A group called Defend Arlington, affiliated with a group called Save Southern Heritage Florida, filed a lawsuit Sunday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, seeking the restraining order. A hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday. Work to remove the memorial had begun Monday before the restraining order was issued, but the memorial remains in place on cemetery grounds. A cemetery spokesperson said Monday that Arlington is complying with the restraining order, but referred all...

The Biden regime has moved in the demolition crews to remove the Confederate statue in Arlington Cemetery in Washington DC. John Reid from Richmond’s Morning News with John Reid posted photos on Sunday of the demolition crew moving into the cemetery to remove the monument. John posted video from Arlington Cemetery this morning where he reported on the destruction of the famous statue. The crane was moved in and the removal is expected to take place on Monday.

A Trump-appointed federal judge has temporarily halted removal proceedings for the Confederate memorial at Arlington National Cemetery that began Monday, the Associated Press reported. Defend Arlington filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on Sunday for a temporary restraining order, the AP reported. Work had already begun to remove the bronze elements of the memorial in accordance with recommendations in the Congressionally-mandated Naming Commission’s final report to scrub Department of Defense (DOD) assets of any symbolism that could be seen to honor the Confederacy. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, according to the AP. The memorial has...

(The Center Square) - A man who damaged a Satanic statue in the Iowa Capitol building said he raised $20,000 for his defense after he was criminally charged. Michael Cassidy, a former candidate for the Mississippi House of Representatives, is charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief for tearing down the statue placed there by the Satanic Temple Iowa, according to KCCI. He closed the defense fund after it reached $20,000 but reopened it Friday afternoon, saying he had learned additional charges could be filed against him. The statue is destroyed, temple officials said on Facebook. Florida Gov. and presidential candidate Ron...

Michael Cassidy, a Christian and former military officer, beheaded the Satanic Temple statue erected at the Iowa State Capitol, the Sentinel reported Thursday. The report said Michael Cassidy first pushed the Baphomet statue over before he decapitated it. The statue had been erected in the Iowa State Capitol after the Satanic Temple received permission. The decapitated head was then thrown into the trash.

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) filed a lawsuit against the Manhattan District Attorney‘s office on Thurday over the earlier seizure of a headless bronze statue, estimated to be worth $20 million. The museum stated in its lawsuit that it “does not question that the New York district attorney sometimes gets it right and returns true stolen items to foreign nations. Based on the evidence adduced thus far and the opinions of experts available to the museum, this is not one of those times.” The court filing says the CMA lawfully purchased the “Draped Male Figure” for $1.85 million from...

Last week, an 8-foot-tall, golden statue was unveiled atop a New York state courthouse in New York City. It stands alongside several other, older statues of classical design.According to the artist, Shahzia Sikander, the statue is meant to be a representation of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her support of abortion rights.This is a statue of a demon. Not only that, it’s OBVIOUSLY a demon, horns and all. It’s like something terrifying from an archeological dig of a civilization that practiced human sacrifice. It is designed to unsettle & spread ugliness. It’s on top of...

The Statue of Liberty, with its big torch, blue-green color and fancy hat, is one of the most recognizable landmarks on Earth. But when it was first constructed as a gift from France in 1885, the statue had not yet acquired this color, doing so later as the result of chemistry. The idea of returning it to its original color is gaining a little attention on X (Twitter). So how has the color been altered over the years? As a video from the American Chemical Society's YouTube channel Reactions explains, the original color of the Statue of Liberty was a...

The vandalism last weekend of a sculpture of Republican Party icon Ronald Reagan that’s long greeted passersby of artist Miriam Baker’s home on Balboa Island’s South Bayfront has generated outcry from her neighbors and friends. Baker first learned of the incident from her nephew, who at about 9 a.m. Sunday discovered the artwork, which stands next to some potted geraniums on her front patio, had been defaced by someone using what appeared to have been foam insulation. “It’s incomprehensible that there is a person that nasty around that would do it out of meanness and small mindedness,” said Baker, who...

ROME: A group of young German tourists posing for pictures to post on social media have been accused of toppling a valuable statue at a villa in northern Italy, the villa's manager said on Thursday (Aug 3). Two of the group climbed into a fountain to hug the work "Domina" by the artist Enrico Butti and another pushed it with a stick before the 1.7m statue crashed to the ground, Bruno Golferini, the manager of Villa Alceo in the town of Viggiu, said. Golferini said he had lodged a complaint with the local police against all 17 German tourists who...

The newly-elected mayor of Jacksonville has allocated $500,000 in the Florida city’s budget to remove a monument dedicated to women who lost loved ones serving in the Confederate army. Donna Deegan — a progressive Democrat who toppled her Republican opponent in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ backyard — had pledged to topple the monument and lined up the dollars to do so. “We are looking at all potential options and Mayor Deegan remains committed to removing the Springfield Park monument,” her spokesperson, Philip Perry, tweeted. Erected in 1915, the monument is one of the last Confederate memorials remaining in Jacksonville, the...

A life-size statue of famed astronaut Sally Ride was unveiled at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Tuesday, July 4, inspiring the patriotic audience as Ride’s sister, Bear Ride, told the crowd, “Sally’s mission was not only ‘to space and back,’ but also to open young minds and hearts to the dedication that can make this planet of ours a better place for us all.” The intricate bronze statue, now standing on the walkway of the Reagan Library’s Peace Through Strength pavilion, honors Ride’s legacy as the first U.S. woman in space. An astronaut and physicist, she made history in...

The board of the Tallahassee Classical School pressured Principal Hope Carrasquilla to resign last week after an image of the David was shown to a sixth-grade art class. The school has a policy requiring parents to be notified in advance about “controversial” topics being taught.