We get an unvarnished look at the National Organization for Marriage from internal strategy memos posted online as part of a court case in Maine. The documents include things like NOM’s, “Marriage: $20 Million Strategy for Victory.” Here, via Alvin McEwen of Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, is one aspect of that “strategy for victory”: 3. Not a Civil Right Project The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks – two key democratic... Read more

“Has someone been peeking at my Christmas list?” “You can’t preach the Gospel to a dead person.” “Compare the number of times in scripture that Jesus broke bread and shared story in the streets and homes where people lived, versus how many times he invited people to church.” “Religion’s relevance to this is that it’s a quick shorthand for these more important, but difficult to articulate values.” “It happened under Reagan, and it is American evangelicalism’s political sin.” “Vineyarders may... Read more

In the biblical discussion of the year of Jubilee, we come across this parenthetical reminder: You shall not cheat one another, but you shall fear your God; for I am the Lord your God. The Jubilee system spelled out in Leviticus creates a framework for sufficiency and justice, but that system also depends on a base level of common decency. The Jubilee laws were vulnerable to exploitation by jerks who wanted to game the system, and that quote above is... Read more

“Iraqi woman dies after San Diego attack“ An Iraqi woman who was found severely beaten at her San Diego home next to a note saying “go back to your country” has died. Shaima Alawadi, 32, a mother of five, was found unconscious by her 17-year-old daughter on Wednesday, police said. The daughter, Fatima al-Himidi, told local TV that her mother had been beaten on the head repeatedly and that the note said: “Go back to your country, you terrorist.” Hanif... Read more

“I hope that Mr. Cheney’s new heart lasts long enough for him to be prosecuted for war crimes.” “It proves that we are nation-builders and liberators, not conquerors.” “Woman is more guilty than man, because she was seduced by Satan, and so diverted her husband from obedience to God that she was an instrument of death leading to all perdition.” “A week later, she was back on her ladder.” “A study co-ordinated by Cancer Research UK and published in the... Read more

“Now I’ve written the whole thing: for Christ’s sake give me a drink.” “I can use the word ‘vagina’ when the context involves rape, but I cannot use the word ‘vagina’ when the context involves a certain degree of ownership and power over my own body.” “I dream of the church being a place that destroys cages instead of constructing them.” “‘The men of the right’ have found, in every generation, a substantial number of Christian women who considered the... Read more

“It’s a thin line ‘tween heaven and here.” — Bubbles The Wire, David Simon’s gritty, haunting, novelistic series about Baltimore, ran for five seasons on HBO. The first season set the stage by showing us the pain and violence of the city’s drug industry and how the police department, as an institution, was incapable of addressing the problem in any meaningful or effective way. Each subsequent season explored the same theme of institutional dysfunction, culpability and surrender, focusing on, in... Read more