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Satanic FOIA Reveals Deep Confusion About 1st Amendment

…The only data concerning what the monument committee thought about the Satanic monument are hinted at in e-mails to and from an executive assistant. In fact, reading through the files, I felt sympathy for this assistant, who dutifully relayed all phone messages from constituents to the legislature. This resulted in e-mails like: [John Doe] at [555-555-5555] from Durant, OK. is opposed to the statue being erected. He will personally come up, rope…

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“What Kind of Islam Is That?”: Talking With Refugees From ISIS

…uld not be harmed as long as they gave them all their money and their cell phones. In other villages, they heard, an agreement to convert to Islam and a payment of $7 per month would allow them to survive. But initially they were not given those options. Moreover, his wife was taunted for wearing a Western-style dress, as many Christian women do, so she could not venture outside. They also kept their daughters hidden, fearing they would be capture…

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Joe Bageant, author of Deer Hunting with Jesus: 1946-2011

…back a thoughtful note and we struck up a correspondence. We spoke on the phone a couple times and I had always dreamed of someday visiting him at his home in Winchester — “Come on down!” he said — to spend an afternoon on his front porch listening to him tell stories, while he strummed on his mandolin. It never happened. For the past couple years, Bageant, who believed the US has descended into oligarchy, had been living in southern Mexico. He h…

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Qaddafi Dies; Should it Matter How?

…r, unnecessary, and unacceptable spectacle of a hanging captured on a cell phone. If there is something that should distinguish us from those dictators who have corrupted our world, it must be here. In humility before death. In appreciation of our common humanity. In the sense that the universe is infused with a law and a purpose that makes our lives and hopes sacred, and which, from time to time, turns against those who offend it, to remind us th…

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Why I Won’t Leave the Mormon Church Alone

…shake this habit, no matter what. Truth be told, if the LDS church somehow lost all it leaders and members tomorrow and existed only as a historical relic, I would still strive to puzzle out how my past—including the two and a half decades I spent as a devout Mormon—shaped my present life. Not only was the LDS church a dominant institution in my life, it was something I had a personal and passionate relationship with. It wasn’t merely the religion…

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AAA: Like a Good Neighbor

…de of the road with a flat tire, or a broken down car, that help is just a phone call away. It also gives me discounts on lodging and other perks. My partner has a gold card with her name on it as well. The account number on both cards is the same. Years ago, when we signed up for the cards with the venerable roadside assistance company AAA, the woman at the counter smiled sweetly and never blinked an eye when we asked for the “family” plan. We we…

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Pope Decries ‘Ideological Colonization’ of Family; Islamic State Executes Gays and Others; Gay Couple Gets Long-Delayed Wedding in Mexico; Global LGBT Recap

…ve experienced a revival. Ironically, incipient Ukrainian nationalism has closely mirrored its Russian counterpart, along with the emphasis on cultural orthodoxy and prescribed gender roles. As a result, vulnerable groups, like the LGBT community, have been caught in the middle. “I believe we are in between two evils: Russian homophobic culture and Ukrainian homophobic intolerance,” says Olena Semenova, an LGBT activist…. For years, the Ukrainian…

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The Tweets of the Christ

…rrived. At the start, just under 1,000 people were following. By the end, closer to 2,000. Attendees’ names included the likes of Church-in-the-Garden, Miller Funeral Home, bitterperl, plus lots of regular folks. There were six characters in the play, each speaking from a separate Twitter handle, acting out the story of Jesus’ torture and death. Save a handful of exceptions (“bad feeling about this”), they used complete sentences. There were few l…

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On Harith, and Matters of Inheritance

…This went on for four years and then suddenly, in 2006, she picked up the phone. We began a relationship that was literally 40 years in the making. Too bad I had already made plans to move to California and once again I would be the prodigal sister. Still we made up for lost time and had a relationship like none I have ever had as an adult. I believe I already mentioned that my second of three grandsons was born on the 22nd of December. We shared…

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“Fast for Families” Immigration Reform Effort Enters 20th Day

…f compassionate immigration reform. How has that impacted your work? I get phone calls from LDS people who would identify themselves as politically conservative, but they say, “There’s this guy I know . . . Can you help him? He’s a really good guy.”  People need to remember that there are many “really good guys” out there waiting for immigration reform.  People coming to the US for work get villainized. “Illegal alien” is one of the most unbelieva…

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