Search for "cheap airline tickets to jacksonville florida military phone number 1-800-299-7264"

‘Back Door’ Voucher Plan Diverts Tax Dollars to Religious Schools

By Lauri Lebo

…ugh one existing private school subsidy has been found sorely wanting. The Florida Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program has poured nearly $500 million in tax revenue into private schools since 2002, yet only limited oversight mechanisms have been put in place to ensure that students are learning, reported the Jacksonville Times-Union. Under the program, companies can choose to divert up to 75 percent of the corporate income tax they owe…

I Miss Tina Fey

By Julie Ingersoll

…half. There were still probably 80 empty seats, and it was clear that some number of attendees had free tickets. The largest financial supporter of the event was a local news/talk radio station and its representatives were the only media allowed in. As I arrived with my Religion Dispatches press badge they stopped me before I even got to the door. I chatted with an AP reporter and he said AP had been trying for weeks to gain media access—but that…

Are Evangelicals Suffering From Buyer’s Remorse with Obama?

By Bill Berkowitz

…e people regarding His return. ++++++++++ ”The Nazi Model for ‘Gays’ in US Military” When, or if, President Barack Obama wades into the debate over gays in the military (“don’t ask, don’t tell”), he is sure to face an angry gaggle of Christian conservatives. In an early February article, Scott Lively, the founder of Abiding Truth Ministries (a virulent anti-gay organization that has been listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group) a…

FRC Rehashes Religious Opposition to DADT… in Real Time

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

…e members. I wonder how many gays and lesbians of faith are serving in the military who may feel that they can’t speak freely to a military chaplain about their faith for fear of getting a lecture on their “immorality.” What about their right to speak freely about religion and what it means to them? The military is a microcosm of the larger society in many ways, and how they deal with any repeal of DADT will be instructive to watch. In the general…

Betraying a Sacred Trust: From Penn State to Dover Air Force Base

By Gary Laderman

…ill, sacrifice, and obedience to authority, and sacred commitments: the US military. The military dead have long been understood to be sacred remains, with the blood and sacrifices associated with military combat essential to rejuvenating and redeeming the national body politic. The deification of soldiers and key leaders and the sanctification of land dedicated to the war dead give expression to the sacred, religious meanings emanating from the m…

Tony Perkins: Atheists Can’t Be Chaplains

By Chris Stedman

…e clever, but allow me to clarify: we do in fact exist, Tony, and we’re here if you’d like to talk. Hopefully that will soon be the case for members of the military, too. For more information on Humanist chaplains in the military, click here….

Citing Jewish Law, Florida Synagogue Challenges Abortion Ban — But Here’s the Problem With ‘Religious Requirement’ Arguments

By Rebecca Epstein-Levi

…e Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a Florida synagogue filed a lawsuit challenging Florida’s abortion ban on the grounds that it violates Jews’ religious freedom. Halakhah, or Jewish law, the suit argues, often permits and sometimes requires abortion if the pregnancy threatens the mother’s health. Thus, any ban infringes on Jews’ right to free exercise. As a Jewish woman who supports unrestricted and unapologe…

Biblical Law in Central Florida House Race

By Julie Ingersoll

Central Florida’s heated House race between incumbent Democrat Alan Grayson and his Republican challenger Dan Webster is in the news again as Grayson, apparently as part of a more aggressive Democratic advertising strategy, released his own ad this weekend labeling his opponent “Taliban Dan.” The ad, which claims that “religious fanatics are trying to take away our freedom, in Afghanistan, in Iran and right here in central Florida,” replays clips…

“Taliban Dan’s” Teacher: Inside Bill Gothard’s Authoritarian Subculture

By Sarah Posner

…dultery. He was the sponsor of legislation that legalized homeschooling in Florida in 1985. He earned an “A” rating and an endorsement from the Christian Reconstructionist group Gun Owners of America. The religious right Florida Family Policy Council named its annual award honoring “outstanding service to the pro-life and pro-family principles” after him. Recipients have included the American Family Association’s Don Wildmon. “Culture of Fear” Don…

A Public Monument to Atheism—In Florida

By Becky Garrison

On June 29, 2013, in heavily Christian Northern Florida, American Atheists will unveil the first public monument to atheism. A bench engraved with quotes from Thomas Jefferson, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, Benjamin Franklin, and other atheists and freethinkers will be placed alongside a monument of the Ten Commandments on display in front of the Bradford County Courthouse. How did this come about? As reported by news4jax.com: American Atheists had sued…