Women Deserve Equal Rights, Not Chivalry

Donald Trump's boasting about his ability to "grab [women] by the pussy" has opened the floodgates.Since those remarks came to light, corroborating stories are popping up all over. In a 2005 interview with Howard Stern, Trump chortled about how, at beauty pageants he owned, he would barge into the contestants' dressing rooms in the hope of seeing them naked. Five women in the Miss Teen USA pageant have confirmed that he did this to them - yes, peeping on teenagers.Other women have also … [Read more...]

When Should a President Prosecute Their Predecessor?

The standout moment at Sunday's debate had to be Donald Trump's thuggish threat to jail Hillary Clinton:"If I win," Donald Trump threatened Hillary Clinton during Sunday night's debate, "I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation... People have been, their lives have been destroyed for doing one fifth of what you have done. And it's a disgrace.""You know," Clinton later responded, "It's just awfully good that someone with the … [Read more...]

All the Kingdoms of the World

By now, you've heard, we've arrived at a new low in an election season that's seen no shortage of them. In 2005, Donald Trump was caught on a hot mic backstage at Access Hollywood, bragging about his ability to sexually assault women and get away with it, and we've just heard the tape:"I've got to use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her," Trump says. "You know I'm automatically attracted to beautiful [women] — I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't e … [Read more...]

Make Catholicism Cool Again

I've written about the decline of Catholicism and the church's attempts to stay relevant. The latest such attempt is playing out in Brooklyn, as you can see in this puff piece:The two Franciscan friars, complete with floor-length robes, stood behind the bar outside the 100-year-old church taking cash and slinging cans of Coors and Lime-A-Ritas in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.The diocese of Brooklyn called in the friars to revitalize the Holy Family Slovak Church in Greenpoint, which was on … [Read more...]

20 Things I’ll Teach My Son

Ever since my son was conceived, I've been thinking about what I want to teach him, about life and about the kind of person he should strive to be. It's going to be a while before he's old enough to absorb any kind of major life lessons, but that makes it more important to start coming up with ideas now, so I won't be unprepared when the time comes.I'm not going to list basic principles like the Golden Rule, because those go without saying. In this post, I'd like to collect the ideas that … [Read more...]

Roy Moore’s Final Act

Good news from Alabama: disgraced Christian theocrat Roy Moore has been booted out of his judicial seat. The state Court of the Judiciary suspended Moore without pay for the rest of his term, removing him from office in all but name.This is the final act of a drama that began last year, when Moore attempted to provoke a constitutional crisis by ordering state courts to ignore a federal court decision in favor of same-sex marriage. He called it an "unlawful opinion[] issued without … [Read more...]

We’re All In This Together: A Humanist Sermon

Certain recent events in my life have made me think about how human beings depend on each other. However privileged or fortunate you are, you're all but certain to eventually face a challenge you can't overcome alone and need other people's help to pull you through. And I don't just mean in a disaster or a crisis, but for everyday, ordinary things, the kind of situations that most of us can expect to encounter in the course of life.Having children is the perfect example, because it's such a … [Read more...]

Human Reproduction Is Ridiculous

Over the past year leading up to the birth of my son, Elizabeth and I (her more than me, obviously) have had an intimate view of what it takes to bring a new human being into the world. And going through this has only cemented a view that her and I both held, namely that human reproduction is ridiculous.Contrary to those who assume that pregnancy is "natural" and therefore easy, it's the most burdensome and dangerous thing most ordinary people will ever do. At every step, there's an … [Read more...]

Tell You The Truth? Not Our Job!

The American political media rarely rises above mediocrity. Even at the best of times, they're overly focused on horse-race coverage, personality clashes and false balance, to the detriment of informed coverage of the issues. But this campaign seems to be bringing some of their worst instincts to the forefront.This is especially visible in the seemingly endless stories about Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server, or the Clinton Foundation and the nature of her involvement with it … [Read more...]

Repost: The World Is Changing and the Churches Are Afraid

[I'm taking a break from the blog to bond with and care for my new son. Please enjoy this classic post! I'll check in periodically to answer comments.]Last week, a Daylight Atheism commenter (thanks, Nathaniel!) pointed out that my post "Aid in Dying" had been cited on a blog on the Patheos Catholic channel, Public Catholic, whose author, Rebecca Hamilton, is a member of the Oklahoma state legislature. Needless to say, she was perturbed:Last night, when I googled euthanasia, I came … [Read more...]


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