Category Archives: Conservatism

Essay: “The Faith-Based Initiative: Flawed in Concept, Constitutionally Threatening, and Ineffective”

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By Madison S. Hughes (11.07.2010)

Abstract

The Faith-Based Initiative (FBI) is a poverty-stricken solution to boosting the nation’s capacity in social services. The idea resonates especially in the current economic climate. Regardless of the economic conditions, the FBI is not a solution to the problem of providing necessary social services. At the same time, the substitution of religious institutions for putatively secular functions represents a clear and present violation to the Establishment Clause regarding the separation of Church and State. This paper will argue that while the objective of providing social services should be a paramount concern, the FBI fails to deliver on this objective on two counts. First, it remains a threat to our most vulnerable citizens because they represent a vehicle to impose specific religious creeds from their social service provider. As such, this initiative, while politically expedient, poses a substantial constitutional infringement, and is unacceptable as public policy. Secondly, to date the FBI has not produced a measurable gain in social service capacity. Continue reading →

Alabama City Lets People Avoid Jail By Going To Church Instead

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In a ridiculous violation of the separation of Church and State, Bay Minette, Alabama is offering those guilty of misdemeanors the choice between jail and a year of church. Now, I know what many of my atheist readers are thinking–having to attend church once a week is a punishment worse than jail, but think more carefully about this and you realize the city is actually interested in converting people, not punishing them here. Read more . . . 

Why Does the South Execute More People?

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The regional disparity is striking. Since the Supreme Court lifted a ban on death sentences in 1976, 1,264 people have been executed in the U.S. And 921 of those executions — or 73 percent of the total — took place in 13 Southern states . . . 

But less discussed is the racial divide in how people view the death penalty. For example, underneath the polls showing widespread support is one of the most well-documented facts in death penalty research: that it enjoys much higher support among whites than other racial groups, especially African-Americans. Read more . . . 

Dominion Denial: Methinks Chuck Colson Doth Protest Too Much

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Do Religious Right zealots want to take “dominion” in America and govern according to their version of biblical law?

Of course they do. But all of a sudden, leaders of the movement say they don’t. Stung by a series of articles exposing the dominionist agenda, they are desperately trying to rebrand themselves as moderates . . .

I do think they want to tear down the wall of separation between church and state so they can fund religious schools and other ministries with taxpayer dollars, pervade public schools with their religious perspective, ban all abortions, deny basic civil rights to the LGBT community and festoon courthouses and other public buildings with the symbols of their faith . . .

Sorry, Chuck. We aren’t mischaracterizing your agenda. We’re exposing it. Read more . . . 

Widening Income Inequality Bad For Economic Growth: IMF Report

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The study out of the International Monetary Fund found that greater income equality positively correlates with stronger economic growth
. . . Indeed, greater levels of income equality corresponded more strongly to sustained economic growth than other economic factors, including lower debt levels, according to the report . . .

The United States Income inequality has grown in the United States over the past four decades and now more closely compares to the income distributions of Russia and Iran than many other developed economies
. . . Some economists have attributed stagnant wages for most Americans over the past four decades in part to growing inequality, as the rich have mostly benefitted from the country’s recent economic gains. Read more . . . 

God and Class Warfare

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Well, let’s be clear: There really is a class war going on and the upper class is winning . . . As former President Bill Clinton also pointed out this week, 90 percent of income gains in the last decade went to the top 10 percent, and 40 percent of the increased wealth went to the top 1 percent . . . Almost fifty million Americans are now in poverty — the largest rate in 50 years, including 22 percent of all our children — in this the richest country in the world . . . [T]he top 1 percent of the country controls 42 percent of the nation’s financial wealth — more than 90 percent of the rest of us — and the ratio of CEO pay to average workers salaries at 400-to-1 . . . 

God’s prophets say that nations will be judged by how they treat the poor and vulnerable — not by how much they lower tax rates for the wealthy
. . . In 2008, the wealthiest 400 Americans on average paid only 18 percent of their income in taxes . . . Growing income inequality actually hinders economic growth, and reducing economic inequality actually helps spur the economy[.] Read more . . . 

No Tolerance for Bigots! Atheists Shouldn’t Tolerate anti-Atheist Bigotry

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Bigotry isn’t just a matter of treating one group as inferior, but also of treating another group as superior. Anti-atheist bigotry can be expressed by telling atheists that they aren’t moral enough for politics and by telling Christians or religious believers that they are needed in politics because the government is in need of their moral values. They are two sides of the same coin and each must be opposed as strongly as the other . . .

Most religious theists probably won’t express anti-atheist bigotry very openly, directly, or publicly. The more common situation is to have a small number of vocal bigots plus a much larger number group of people who passively nod their heads and go along with it, giving the impression that the bigotry expressed is natural, expected, and proper. Read more . . . 

Thank You, Tony Bennett

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By Michael Moore

Thank God for Tony Bennett. He spoke the truth on Howard Stern and now the forces of hate are after him. He said that his fighting in World War II made him a pacifist. He said that perhaps had our behavior in the Persian Gulf been different, 9/11 might have been avoided. And he told Howard something George W. Bush told him privately at the Kennedy Center Honors: “I may have made a mistake (invading Iraq).” Here’s the interview on Stern. Thank you, Tony Bennett. Always a hero to me. See video and blog comments here . . . 

Aphorism: On Capital Punishment

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By Madison S. Hughes (09.21.2011)

 

For Troy Anthony Davis, tonight is the night that the lights went out in Georgia. No doubt, “Tea Baggers” across the nation are cheering for yet another execution of which they so shamelessly demonstrated broad support for during a recent Republican clown show under the guise of a primary presidential candidate debate. Ironically, these same knuckle-draggers lost one of their own earlier today as a white supremacist met his Maker at the hands of the State of Texas. The mental midget, and Texas Governor Rick Perry must be so proud as he added yet another notch to his lipstick case of the growing record number of executions under his reign. No doubt, he will sleep almost as well as Troy Davis this evening.

The recantation of seven of the nine eyewitnesses that testified under oath in the trial against Troy Davis was apparently insufficient to sway the Supreme Court of the United States to stay the execution of a black man in Georgia. The State of Georgia killed Troy Davis by lethal injection at 11:08 p.m. Eastern Time, two days shy of the 2011 CE autumnal equinox. With the exception of the United States, the civilized world has long since banned the death penalty.

One may simply add this execution to the litany of unconscionable wrongs committed by this country, both foreign and domestically. If, in contemporary times, one is proud to be an American, then they are either uninformed, ill-informed, or misinformed, and obviously spend little to no time in serious reflection. But then again, the patriotic knuckle-draggers of today are mostly of the reactionary persuasion to begin with.

As for me, I cannot expatriate to Europe fast enough. Autumn in Paris, who could ask for anything more?