Religion Dispatches
…who wants a Christian president, particularly one who would revise the tax code “so we can rejoice together because it would stimulate economic growth.” (Huckabee’s hosted debate, though, this past weekend, was more of a snooze than a circus.) In 2008 Huckabee got a fundraising boost from Kenneth Copeland, Word of Faith megastar. Copeland, at the time under investigation by the Senate Finance Committee for misuse of tax-deductible donor funds, cla…
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…s like the New Republic and Rolling Stone (among others) from labeling his latest posting spree “fascist,” as well as “vulgar,” “unhinged,” “crazed,” and “violent.” At a certain point, we become so inundated with lies, conspiracy theories, grifts, nonsensical Jaws ripoffs, and the sharing of posts from horrific antisemites and racists that we start to shut down when presented with new ones. QAnon, for example, has become so deeply ingrained in far…
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…ent film of 2008, with more than $33 million in ticket sales. The studio’s latest effort, Courageous, released in 2011, is the success people dream about. It was made for $2 million. It brought in $9.1 million opening weekend and earned, at final count, $34.5 million. Sherwood Pictures productions are subsidized by a church, though, which keeps costs down. Without that support, other studios have tried to follow this model with only limited result…
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…adapt and incorporate new bills, similar campaigns have adapted and widely promoted Project Blitz-type bills,” Alison Gill, the chief legislative analyst at American Atheists told RD. “These efforts are best understood as a loosely affiliated network of Christian nationalist lawmakers and activists using these resources to take advantage of every opening to promote their harmful agenda.” The ongoing exposure and response to Project Blitz has taugh…
Read More…, critique and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories covered in the course being taught.” As always, since intelligent design was ruled unconstitutional in Kitzmiller v. Dover, the introduced bills rely on such creationist code words as “teaching the controversy,” “academic freedom,” or “critical analysis.” However, in the case of Florida, the bill’s sponsoring lawmaker Rep…
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…me associates also raided gay clubs in St. Petersburg to evict underage customers and once demanded the prosecution of the pop stars Madonna and Lady Gaga for spreading what he considered “homosexual propaganda.” Algeria: Novelist facing blasphemy charges in part over gay character Human Rights Watch has called on the Algerian government to drop its criminal blasphemy investigation against novelist Anouar Rahmani. Judicial police arrested him last…
Read More…nohue and a letterhead) will be free to focus on the crucial matter of the latest Dan “Da Vinci Code” Brown adaptation. As of this writing, we are still waiting for advance word on the subject of Obama’s graduation speech. As any professor can tell you, a college commencement address frequently falls into one of three genres. The first strives to inspire with insipid platitudes equal to the occasion. (“Your graduation is a change I can believe in….
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…nt families, and the power of adolescent sexuality. Jennifer’s Body is the latest offering in this genre. There are plenty of horror fanboys, and a lot of fangirls, who’ve been anxiously waiting to take a peek at Jennifer’s Body. The combination of Megan Fox showing skin and Diablo Cody’s signature dialogue (made famous in Juno and United States of Tara) offers a feast for two usually incompatible groups: adolescent boys and fans who like to see a…
Read More…, when a federal judge in Wisconsin found the relevant portions of the tax code to be unconstitutional, but the three judges on the appellate panel did not tip their hand, although they showed few outward signs that they agreed. The regulation at issue is more than sixty years old, enacted in the 1950s to ensure that ministers at churches who could not afford to provide them with housing could nevertheless benefit from the same tax breaks as minis…
Read More…ishable by three years in prison, according to Article 489 of the Criminal Code. The defendants, who retracted their confessions in custody, were not present at the time of the statement of judgment. The story notes that Human Rights watch had called on Morocco to decriminalize homosexuality two months ago after convictions in Al-Hoceima in the northeast. “The debate has, however, increased in intensity with the latest controversy in a country tor…
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