Students Shut Down School as Gay Vice Principal Fired

Catholic school says he violated contract with same-sex wedding.
http://www.newser.com/story/179535/students-shut-down-school-as-gay-vice-principal-fired.html

The Dark Mastermind Behind The War On Christmas

"Bill O'Reilly decided Wednesday night that not enough of the Christian perspective in the War on Christmas™ has been showcased on his program (I'll give you a minute if that statement made you burst out laughing), and brought on Pastor Robert Jeffress to share his perspective. And for anyone to say there isn't a War on Christmas™, to Jeffress, you would have to be "extremely naïve or intentionally deceptive."

And it's not just a War on Christmas™ that's brewing, it is "part of a larger war on Christianity" all over the world. You know, except for the fact that the real persecution of Christians in Islamic nations is in no way comparable or connected to a few dozen minor skirmishes about some holiday displays. I mean, really.

O'Reilly asked, "Who do you think is behind the movement to diminish Christianity?"

Jeffress answered, "The kingdom of darkness, of Satan.""* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down.

Sarah Palin, Duck Dynasty & Classic Fox News Hypocrisy

"Sarah Palin believes the backlash over "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson's anti-gay comments is a threat to freedom of speech.

The 67-year-old duck hunter made headlines when GQ published an interview in which he discussed morality and sin, and juxtaposed homosexuality with bestiality.

"It seems like, to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man's anus," he told the magazine. "That's just me. I'm just thinking: There's more there! She's got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I'm saying? But hey, sin: It's not logical, my man. It's just not logical."

After the quotes were published, GLAAD spoke out against Robertson's comments, calling them vile and misinformed. A&E ultimately suspended him from "Duck Dynasty" with an indefinite hiatus, saying his views do not align with those of the network."* The Young Turks hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian break it down.

Snowden Compared To Mass Murderer By CNN Guest

"According to CNN legal analyst Paul Callan, NSA leaker Edward Snowden's actions constituted the intelligence community's equivalent of a "mass murderer." The analogy came during a panel discussion on the potential for Snowden to receive amnesty from the United States...".* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down.

Michigan Tea Party Patriot Arrested For Child Pornography

"A 46-year-old Michigan member of the group Tea Party Patriots was named Tuesday in a criminal complaint on charges of distributing and receiving illicit photos and video of children. According to The Smoking Gun, Brian Schwanke is accused of using the email account "h*rnypastor@outlook.com" to send and receive hundreds of provocative images of underage children...".* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down.

Fox News Busted For War On Christmas Hypocrisy

Bill O'Reilly declared one victory in the so-called war on Christmas arguing that because of his efforts corporations allow people to say 'merry Christmas' rather than 'happy holidays'. There's just one problem with that which The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks down.

How The Senate Is Bad For Peace (And Good For War)

"Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) are threatening to push the United States toward war with Iran, circulating and planning to introduce a sanctions bill despite warnings that it could derail nuclear negotiations at a delicate moment.

International observers and both parties to the negotiations have repeatedly pleaded with Congress to allow the talks to unfold -- warnings that Kirk and Menendez, the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, appear intent on ignoring. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is also part of the effort, though much of the final decision rests with Menendez.

"The White House doesn't want a bill, that's true. Menendez and Kirk are working on it and trying to build the list of cosponsors. Likely to be introduced soon," said a Senate Democratic aide involved in the effort."* The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down.

The Push To Raise The Minimum Wage For All Americans

Already this year, five states have raised their minimum wage. In a speech last week, President Obama vowed to make reducing income inequality a primary focus of his final years in office. He called on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage. Senate Democrats are promoting a measure that would hike it to just above $10 an hour. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and many Republicans are opposed to any increase in the wage floor. They argue it would be bad for business, impede job creation and do little to help the poorest Americans. We talk about the arguments on both sides of the issue.

Interview:  http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-12-09/push-raise-minimum-wage-all-americans

Understanding The Volcker Rule

The so-called "Volcker Rule" is aimed at reining in risky trading by banks. Details on the new rule and whether it’s tough enough to prevent another financial crisis.
 

Interview:  http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-12-11/understanding-volcker-rule

Week In The News: Fed Tapers, NSA Pushback, Billie Jean King To Sochi (Tom Ashbrook, On Point)

Hardly time for news this week, with all the Christmas shopping and everybody checking that their credit card wasn’t ripped off in the massive data heist at Target. Forty million cards at risk. But there was news aplenty. A budget. Bernanke’s last move. And pushback on the spying of the N.S.A. China on the moon. Genocide fears in Africa. New steps to stop sexual assault in the US military. Billie Jean King, not the President, will go to Russia’s Sochi Olympics. “Duck Dynasty’s” big daddy is in trouble. This hour On Point: our weekly news roundtable goes behind the headlines.

– Tom Ashbrook

Interview:   http://onpoint.wbur.org/2013/12/20/sochi-olympics-fed-taper-nsa

Friday News Roundup - Domestic (Diane Rehm Show)

Presidential advisers recommend the NSA not be allowed to collect and store Americans’ phone data. The Senate approves a two-year budget deal. And outgoing Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says the stimulus program will gradually end next year. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top national news stories.

Interview: http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-12-20/friday-news-roundup-domestic

Friday News Roundup - International (Diane Rehm Show)

Ukraine accepts Russia’s bailout offer. Fighting in Syria escalates ahead of the January peace conference. And the U.S. and Britain evacuate citizens from South Sudan as violence spreads. A panel of journalists joins Diane for analysis of the week's top international news stories.
 

Interview: http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-12-20/friday-news-roundup-international

 

 

Ugandan MPs pass life in jail anti-homosexual law

Also banned: miniskirts, sexy music videos... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25463942

Do You Believe? Americans Less Likely to Believe in Historical Accuracy of Christmas Story Than a Decade Ago

"One of the puzzles of a newly released survey about Christmas in the United States was the striking finding that Americans' belief in the historical accuracy of the Christmas story -- the virgin birth, the angelic proclamation to the shepherds, the star of Bethlehem, and the wise men from the East -- has fallen by nearly 20 percentage points during the last decade. In a PSRA/Newsweek poll in December 2004, two-thirds (67 percent) of Americans affirmed their belief that the Christmas story is historically accurate, compared to 24 percent who said they believed it is a theological story written to affirm faith in Jesus Christ. In the December 2013 PRRI/RNS Religion News Survey, the percentage of Americans affirming the historical accuracy of the Christmas story fell to less than half (49 percent), with 4-in-10 (40 percent) saying they believe it is a theological story written to affirm Christian faith..."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-p-jones-phd/a-christmas-belief-myster_b_4455526.html

Holiday billboard in Times Square from Center For Inquiry (CFI)

An ad appearing on a Times Square electronic billboard, from all of us at CFI. Part of our Living without Religion campaign, with more at http://livingwithoutreligion.org

In season of giving, atheist groups’ charity rebuffed

‘Tis the season for giving — but not always for receiving.
As the holiday season peaks, atheist and humanist groups around the country have seen their charitable impulses rebuffed by both Christian and secular organizations. Recent incidents of “thanks, but no thanks,” include:

• A group of Kansas City, Mo., nonbelievers was told their help was not needed after they volunteered to help a local Christian group distribute Thanksgiving meals.
• A $3,000 donation to a Morton Grove, Ill., park, collected by a local atheist group, was returned. Park officials said they did not wish to “become embroiled in a First Amendment dispute.”
• A group of Spartanburg, S.C., atheists  was denied the opportunity to help at a Christian-run soup kitchen. The soup kitchen’s executive director told local press she would resign before accepting the atheists’ help and asked, “Why are they targeting us?”...

http://www.religionnews.com/2013/12/19/season-giving-atheist-groups-charity-rebuffed/

Despite Jesus, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and a Festivus Pole in Capitol, Florida Officials Say No to Satanists

"… however, keep this in mind: The Satanic Temple’s display was just a depiction of a Bible verse..."


http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/12/19/despite-jesus-the-flying-spaghetti-monster-and-a-festivus-pole-in-capitol-florida-officials-say-no-to-satanists/

The Catholic Church isn’t anti-gay, but are its bishops?

"On Meet the Press earlier this month, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, claimed that the Catholic Church is not anti-gay. “We’re pro marriage, we’re pro traditional marriage, we’re not anti anybody. We’ve been out-marketed, we’ve been caricatured as being anti-gay,” he explained to the show’s host, David Gregory. Dolan’s right. The Catholic Church isn’t anti-gay, but evidence suggests its bishops certainly are..."

http://michaeloloughlin.religionnews.com/2013/12/12/catholic-church-isnt-anti-gay-bishops/#sthash.vKSirUjW.dpuf

Some very worthwhile reader comments follow the article. Among my favorites:

"... The bishops are destroying their own influence, not just among lay Catholics, but among all Americans, when they shriek the most vitriolic hate speech against LGBT Americans, but what has angered Americans is the crass political machinations committed by the bishops. We know Catholic bishops have committed criminal acts in violation of California campaign finance and disclosure laws because the US Supreme Court has an email the bishops wrote to Mormon bosses agreeing to make secret, illegal contributions to the California 2008 anti-gay H8te Vote:
Here is documentation about that email:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/01/documents-show-close-links-between-prop-8-campaign-and-mormon-catholic-churches.html#comments

The email was included in the evidence the US Supreme Court reviewed before that Court affirmed the revocation of the 2008 California anti-gay H8te Vote. Clearly, the criminal acts committed by Mormons and other anti-gays failed..."

And another:

"I have just read the story of Michael Griffith. Yet another beloved teacher fired for being gay.
The Catholic Church lives in hypocrisy. If the Church just as rigorously went after those who practice birth control or divorce, or support the death penalty, they would at least have the benefit of consistency. But they would also have empty hallways.
Mr. Griffin’s was a civil marriage, not a religious one. Should the church also expel any Catholic who marries a non-Catholic? What about those who marry outside the church? Are they expelled?
What about the wealthy parents who don’t give a hoot about the poor, who scorn the downtrodden? When will the Church expel them?
A cohort of the Church is obsessed with homosexuality. Even the Pope sees how damaging this obsession has been, at the expense of issues that truly matter.
But gays and lesbians are safer victims, and they also feed the Catholic leadership’s own rage. The acceptance of gays and lesbians has not only depleted their ranks of easy fodder for the rectory and nunnery, but at the same torments their own inner devils. Ruled by a coven of closeted gay men, Church leaders absolutely hum with suppressed envy at the thought of men living out their lives with the love that each of us deserves to know in this lifetime.
The greatest shame is for Mr. Griffin’s students. They have now been taught that he is a lesser human being who, by publicly expressing the most important aspect of who he is, does not deserve to teach them.
Any parent who continues to send their children to such a school must ponder the lessons their children will learn. Twenty years from now, and probably sooner, they will look to you the way children today look back at those who self-righteously sent their kids to segregated schools in the South. They will be ashamed of you and your parenting."

Sen. Dick Durbin Accuses For-Profit College Chain Of Defrauding Taxpayers

A top Senate Democrat on Thursday called for the Obama administration and collegiate accreditors to investigate whether a major for-profit college com... Read more

Officials: People Returning To HealthCare.gov 'In Droves'

Nearly three-fourths of those who have purchased health insurance on HealthCare.gov since early December were people returning to the site after visit... Read more
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