The Arc Is Bending, Continued

April 24, 2013 By 5 Comments
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Last week, New Zealand legalized same-sex marriage, becoming the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to do so. In a video that should wring tears from the hardest heart, the spectators and Parliament burst into applause and cheers when the bill passed, then broke into song ("Pokarekare Ana", a famous love song in the language of the indigenous Maori). With this victory, New Zealand became the thirteenth country to pass marriage equality, just after Uruguay (!). In spite of the eighteen … [Read more...]

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Followup on the Atheists of Bangladesh

April 11, 2013 By 1 Comment
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In my post on Monday, I said I'd write an update if I found out about anything else that could be done to help the Bangladeshi bloggers imprisoned for their atheism. I have a few more suggestions for how to do that. The International Humanist and Ethical Union is promoting the #HumanistSolidarity hashtag on Twitter for people to show their support, and has a list of ideas for what to say if you contact Bangladesh's embassy in your country. The American Humanist Association is also suggesting … [Read more...]

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Save the Atheists of Bangladesh

April 8, 2013 By 9 Comments
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I've been getting more and more worried by the news coming out of Bangladesh, where there's a climate of steadily increasing hostility and hate against nonbelievers. Earlier this year, there were violent riots against "blasphemous" internet posts, and one explicitly atheist blogger was murdered outside his own home. But as bad as that was, in the last few days things have suddenly gotten much, much worse: Thousands of Islamist protesters marched the streets of Bangladesh's capital, calling … [Read more...]

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Eliminationists on the March

January 31, 2011 By 17 Comments

After the horrific Arizona shooting in which six people were killed and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was gravely wounded, we came close to civility in American politics, at least for a few days. Unfortunately, our public discourse is already returning to normal, as you can tell from reading this front-page post on the leading conservative blog RedState (HT: Pandagon). Here at RedState, we too have drawn a line. We will not endorse any candidate who will not reject the judicial usurpation of Roe v. … [Read more...]

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Darkness Gathers Over Pakistan

January 11, 2011 By 27 Comments

    "When we consider the founders of our nation - Jefferson, Washington, Samuel and John Adams, Madison and Monroe, Benjamin Franklin, Tom Paine and many others - we have before us a list of at least ten and maybe even dozens of great political leaders. They were well-educated. Products of the European Enlightenment, they were students of history. They knew human fallibility and weakness and corruptibility... They attempted to set a course for the United States into the far … [Read more...]

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Bloody-Handed Evangelicals

January 27, 2010 By 39 Comments

In the U.S., the cause of gay and lesbian rights has made major advances in the last few decades. Anti-discrimination laws are in wide effect, including a recently passed federal hate-crime law; marriage equality is already an established reality in several states; and despite setbacks, the now overwhelming tolerance and acceptance of gays and lesbians among younger generations heralds further progress in the future. But in spite of these hopeful signs, the hatemongers and bigots of the … [Read more...]

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Theocratic Horror in Uganda

December 13, 2009 By 16 Comments

Back in January, I alluded briefly to the events in Uganda, where Christian abstinence-only programs have reversed the success of comprehensive sex ed and led to a rise in HIV infection rates. At the time, I mentioned Martin Ssempa, a pastor in the country's booming Pentecostal Christian movement, and his involvement in a campaign to criminalize homosexuality. But this news has taken an even more ominous turn. Homosexuality was already illegal in Uganda, but a bill currently being discussed in … [Read more...]

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The Republicans' Descent into Delusion

August 13, 2009 By 93 Comments

I don't usually post on purely political issues, but this one has become impossible to ignore. In the last few weeks, the American right has worked itself into a fever pitch of insanity over the prospect of healthcare reform. If you've been watching the news, you've seen the shouting, raging protestors disrupting town-hall meetings, screaming at their representatives about how the healthcare bill is tyranny and fascism. These people are almost loud enough to drown out all other debate over … [Read more...]

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The Murder of Dr. George Tiller

June 2, 2009 By 70 Comments

If you've been following the news, you already know that Dr. George Tiller, one of only a handful of doctors left in the United States who perform late-term abortions, was murdered this week. A suspect, Scott Roeder, is already in custody. Since the election of Barack Obama, there's been a noticeable upsurge in right-wing terrorism. This frightening trend tracks the evolution of the American right in general, which is becoming smaller, more insular, and more ideologically rigid, and its … [Read more...]

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The Sewers of Hate

February 21, 2009 By 33 Comments

Last week, James Adkisson was sentenced to life in prison. Adkisson was the right-wing terrorist who went on an armed rampage against the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville last July, killing two parishioners, Greg McKendry and Linda Kraeger. He had intended to kill many more, but the people of the congregation, showing uncommon courage and heroism, swiftly subdued and disarmed him and held him until the police arrived. Adkisson's manifesto has just been released (HT: … [Read more...]

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