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Category Archives: News
New York Times reports on Catholic Charities pull-out [no pun intended] in Illinois
For the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops, the outcome is a prime example of what they see as an escalating campaign by the government to trample on their religious freedom while expanding the rights of gay people. The idea that religious Americans are now the victims of government-backed persecution is now a frequent theme not just for Catholic bishops, but also for Republican presidential candidates and conservative evangelicals. . .
But now most of the Catholic Charities affiliates in Illinois are closing down rather than comply with a new requirement that says they can no longer receive state money if they turn away same-sex couples as potential foster care and adoptive parents. . .
Society is evolving, but the Catholic Church is refusing to evolve with it. These states have chosen to recognize some of the basic civil rights of their LGBT citizens. They have also decided it is not legal or appropriate for a state to be funding discrimination against them.
Funny Or Sad ?? – Atheists die first! FACEPALM MOMENT! (TheUKatheist)
Outrageous: Catholic School Fires Teacher, Five Months Pregnant, for Choosing Artificial Insemination
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati requires all employees to sign contracts stating that they’ll adhere to Catholic social teachings, including the assertion that being pregnant sans husband is a gravely immoral act. Someone tell that to the Virgin Mary.
Perhaps appropriately, the man who fired Dias, Rev. James Kiffermeyer, was himself suspended in 2002 after allegations arose that he engaged in sexual misconduct with two male high school students. He was reinstated in 2006.
Pope says: Be stupid
The pope said more in his homily than “look behind the pretty sparkly glitter.” He said . . .
Anyone wishing to enter the place of Jesus’ birth has to bend down. It seems to me that a deeper truth is revealed here, which should touch our hearts on this holy night: if we want to find the God who appeared as a child, then we must dismount from the high horse of our “enlightened” reason. . .
There’s the voice of the cleric telling you to ditch the best thing about you so that you can be stupid and ignorant so that he can go on wearing expensive robes.
No we must not, you evil bastard.
Worst Fox News Anti-Atheist Spin of the Year?
LGBT Community Mockingly Apologizes for Ruining [Roman Catholic Republican] Rep. Amy Koch’s Marriage
After the anti-gay-marriage advocate [Roman Catholic Republican] Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch resigned (she cheated on her husband with a Senate staffer), the LGBT community of Minnesota apologized to [Roman Catholic Republican] Koch for threatening her “traditional marriage” and pushing her towards an “illicit affair with her staffer. . . “
Forgive us. As you know, we are not church-going people, so we are unable to fully appreciate that “gay marriage” is incompatible with Christian values, despite the fact that those values carry a biblical tradition of adultery such as yours. We applaud you for keeping that tradition going.
The Christmas War on Atheism: What’s the Religious Right Whining About When It’s Really Non-Believers Who Are Under Attack?
Right-wing Christians are waging a war on non-believers’ right not to have religion shoved down their throats. . .
The “war on Christmas” victim narrative usually tries to obscure what’s really at stake: the promotion of Christianity at the expense of other faiths and non-belief. . .
Essentially, the Christian Right wants the government to back its religion. . .
If we wanted to borrow from the Christian Right’s hyperbolic framing, a “war on Atheists” or “war on Secularism” would be a more appropriate title for the holiday season, and all year-round.
Are the .01% Capitalists?
The super-rich might not be so outraged by accusations that they haven’t earned their money fairly if they didn’t know it was true. . .
Many of today’s super-rich, particularly in the financial sector, have achieved their wealth in ways that are fundamentally anti-capitalist. As a consequence, people are justifiably wondering whether we have an economy that operates on the principles of capitalism or of oligarchy. . .
Are the rich and successful the creators of wealth and jobs for all of us, or are they the predators and moochers (Ayn Rand’s term in Atlas Shrugged), the reverse Robin Hoods who succeed by finding ways to redistribute wealth upwards?
US 2012: Tougher laws to curb voter fraud (VIDEO)
Millions of Americans may not be able to vote in the 2012 elections because some states are introducing tough new laws which they say are necessary to curb voter fraud.
These sweeping new laws could disenfranchise millions of voters in 2012 – and it is students, minorities, immigrants and ex-convicts who are disproportionately affected.
A total of 14 states, the majority of which are Republican-controlled, have passed such legislation. The most controversial measure is the new requirement for voters to have a government-issued photo identity document (ID). Others include restrictions to early voting and imposing barriers to registration.
According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 25 per cent of African Americans and 16 per cent of Latinos do not have a photo ID.
Hundreds of thousands of students may also be denied the right to vote. In the state of Wisonsin, student IDs are accepted if they include current address, birth date, a signature and have a two-year expiration date. But no college in the state currently meets those requirements.
Former convicts are denied the right to vote in some states. In Florida alone, nearly a 100,000 of those who have served time are disenfranchised.
So, what is behind the effort to change voting requirements? Are voting restrictions justified, or are they undemocratic?
Inside Story US 2012, discusses with guests: Hilary Shelton, the director of the Washington bureau of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the oldest civil rights organisation in the US; Simon Rosenberg, the president of New Democrat Network, a progressive think tank based in Washington DC; and Cherylyn Harley LeBon, a former spokesperson for the Republican National Committee who had also worked in the Bush administration.
Always Question Authority 