“Freedom is measured by the distance between church and state”
Senate panel, House approve ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ compromise plan
Excellent news. It’s a START. It is not the end, but it’s the beginning of the end.
At the end of the linked article we find this:
A major problem might be determining how to reconcile the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” with federal law that defines [...]
“I won’t help you … and I refuse to refer you to someone who will.”
As this is a hot-button issue for me, I’m surprised I missed it first time around, but apparently up in Nebraska some Catholics want to turn civility and professionalism on its head:
Psychologists should be able to refuse to treat — and [...]
Background… last year a private organization had Bibles printed in languages for Afghans. These were shipped to military bases, and U.S. armed servicemen were caught distributing Christian Bibles to Muslims! Absolutely terrible idea. There is nobody in the United States who could rationally support the idea that our military personnel should be distributing Christian material [...]
I learned today that James Kirkup died recently, at the age of 91. I would not have recognized the name, anyway, but I was highly impressed to know that he wrote a poem that became the focal point of the last successful trial for blasphemy in the U.K. Kirkup apparently had quite a wonderful career, [...]
According to this news piece, John Gechter was suspended from Grove City College (a Christian college) for appearing in gay porn videos, acting under the name Vincent DeSalvo. Apparently, he was working in gay porn to pay for his education!
Certainly someone attending a fine upstanding institution like Grove City <*koff*> wouldn’t want to tarnish [...]
(h/t Ed Brayton)
Y’all might have heard the story about one Allen Stanford, a wealth Texas money-man accused of running a Texas sized Ponzi scheme. Amazingly, when the news broke, he apparently thought it would show his innocence to try and flee the country! Yeah, that’ll show everyone! Anyway, in an interview for ABC News he [...]
Contrary to popular opinion, we are not a Christian Nation. Many people have tried to re-write American History to paint the image that our country was founded on Christianity or that we were somehow a “Christian nation”. They have twisted historical facts and taken bits and pieces out of context to create their facade, even [...]
Y’all already know how much I value free speech. And I’ve commented more than once on the latest U.N. resolution (to make religion immune to critical examination and discussion) put forth by the very people whose religion is so offensive that it must be examined and spoken against. One of Pat Condell’s recent posts addresses [...]
Okay, there’s been a bunch of hot button issues coming up lately, and it is difficult to know which one(s) to address and in which order.
Part of my frustration today comes from still hurting from yesterday’s blow to the head and body. I recognize that my front door is a flat surface, vertical plane. But [...]
Okay, this is weird… Religious Belief Linked to Desire for Aggressive Treatment in Terminal Patients
Terminally ill cancer patients who drew comfort from religion were far more likely to seek aggressive, life-prolonging care in the week before they died than were less religious patients and far more likely to want doctors to do everything possible [...]
So you really don’t think Christians are trying to insinuate themselves into places they don’t belong? Do you really honestly NOT see the damage being done by Christianity when they try to legislate over other people’s lives? Well, here’s a good example, from Down Under
Outrage as TABs open for Good Friday
Religious groups are furious Tabcorp [...]
USA Today reports on the latest American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) report, to be released today.
When it comes to religion, the USA is now land of the freelancers.
The percentage. of people who call themselves in some way Christian has dropped more than 11% in a generation. The faithful have scattered out of their traditional bases: [...]
(h/t PZ)
Richard Dawkins has been invited to speak at University of Oklahoma, as part of their year of Darwin series of lectures, presentations and whatever.
An Oklahoma legislator is trying to pass a resolution banning Richard Dawkins from attending. Why? Because “here in Oklahoma we believe in freedom of ideas and we want to encourage all [...]
I am sick and tired of hearing about the efforts to make blasphemy a crime. I realize that in some countries they still actually have blasphemy laws, and now the U.N. is considering that disgusting binding resolution that would require member organizations to unfairly and inappropriate protect religions (especially Islam) from criticism. How insane is [...]
and don’t cut off your …. Well, here, I’ll let’ Christopher Hitchens say it:
The problem isn’t so much that religion makes otherwise rational people do disgusting, irrational, abusive things, but that religion makes otherwise rational people do disgusting, irrational, abusive things to other people.
Genital mutilation is demanded by the God of the Old Testament. [...]
Goddamnit!
Once again, the Vatican has issued another proof of its archaic stupidity.
A new UN declaration of intent is due to be signed in Vienna on 11 March. However, there are major disagreements between member countries over whether a commitment to “harm reduction” should be included in the document, which is published every 10 years.
Now the [...]
This is SO COOL!
Do you remember all the nasty crap Bush tried to sneak in at the last minute, like making it possible for health care workers to deny treatment, or contraception, to women if the health care worker claimed that to provide such treatment was against his/her religion? Well…. guess what?
(damm….. the video seems [...]
When I was a Pentecostal, baptism was understood from the original Greek
907 baptizo bap-tid’-zo from a derivative of 911; to immerse, submerge; to make whelmed (i.e. fully wet); used only (in the New Testament) of ceremonial ablution, especially (technically) of the ordinance of Christian baptism:–Baptist, baptize, wash. [...]
Stuff hurts today. My legs, my knees… generally most of my feelie parts don’t feel good.
In the news …
Nearly everyone has heard about Oprah Winfrey’s school for underprivileged girls in South Africa. It is an important project, and serves to train young women to be leaders. [...]
Several times this week, Jay Leno has made reference to a news item in which 52% of workers in America, responding to a poll, reported they have had sex with a co-worker while at work.
I now have to wonder… since I am self-employed, am I now supposed to sue myself for sexual harassment or give [...]
