The American Family Association stepped up their attack on allowing gays in the military by putting forth one of their most absurd arguments yet:
Hitler discovered that he could not get straight soldiers to be savage and brutal and vicious enough to carry out his orders, but that homosexual solders basically had no limits.
Although it is not an argument worth debunking, it is interesting to contrast this talking point with earlier claims that gays are simply too effeminate to serve. Saudi Arabia proved itself no less susceptible to baseless vitriol this week when a leading cleric expressed his support for a ban on women’s sports because they are “corrupting” and “satanic.” Underground fitness centers operate in the country, but those who violate the regulations are subject to very severe penalties “because this involves people’s health.” Presumably, the director of the Medical Licensing Administration was serious when he made the claim.
A couple of cases in Saudi Arabia demonstrate a growing discontent with the volunteer morality police: when questioned about their relationship to their male companions, two women in separate instances became physical. One policeman was beaten so violently that he was hospitalized while in the other instance the police found themselves dodging gunfire. A death-row inmate in Utah chose to be executed by firing squad last month amidst questions about the peculiar decision. The Salt Lake Tribune recently speculated that the choice was predicated upon the Mormon belief that for a murderer to be forgiven by God he must shed his own blood (literally). In Britain, Roger Bolton suggested that BBC features less religious broadcasting and coverage because much of the BBC staff finds it a “rather tiresome obligation.” A BBC spokeswoman denied the idea that religious output was declining.
The Supreme Court will be ruling on an Arizona program that essentially subsidizes religious education. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State are obviously displeased with the program: “I hope the high court sees through it,” said the executive director on Monday. A blogger at Spiritual Politics wondered whether Catholic Supreme Court justices would recuse themselves in the Doe v. Holy See case, in which the Vatican could be sued for its role in sexual abuse cases. In celebration of Jewish Heritage Month, President Obama has invited Regina Spektor to perform at the White House.
In a gruesome Russian trial, prosecutors allege that self-proclaimed “devil worshippers” lured three teenagers to a bonfire before stabbing them each 666 times. The group then dismembered the bodies and consumed certain body parts before burying them in a decorated pit.
A Christian Party poster proclaiming that “There definitely is a God” drew more complaints than any other advertisement all year, reports Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority. If there is a God, he may be on Twitter, at least according to the Web site almightytweets.com. The Revealer claims that the Web site, which allows anyone to post in God’s voice, raises practical questions about God: “How do we know what God wants? Or who He is? How do we know when God is speaking through someone? Or through us?”
