Inside a Trump Rally (David Smalley, Dogma Debate #228)

Alix goes inside a Trump Rally, and we have audio from supporters and protestors. We’re fact checking Democrats and Republicans, and Ken Ham reviewed our science book for kids!
Interview:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/dogma-debate-with-david-smalley/e/228-inside-a-trump-rally-43205115

Privilege, Not Persecution: It’s Time For Fundamentalist Christians To Stop Whining

...Most progressive and moderate faith leaders acknowledge their position of privilege and realize they have little grounds to complain in this free nation where we place a great premium on freedom of conscience. It’s the right-wing fundamentalists who won’t stop yapping about 'persecution.'...
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/privilege-not-persecution-it-s-time-for-fundamentalist-christians-to-stop

Why People Don't Take Right-Wing Evangelicals So Seriously Anymore

The Evangelical brand has gone from being an asset to a liability....
http://www.alternet.org/belief/why-people-dont-take-right-wing-evangelicals-so-seriously-anymore

The Weird, Offensive Argument At The Heart Of The Supreme Court Case Against Birth Control

Pro tip: if you’re about to file a brief in the Supreme Court, it’s a good idea to make sure that you haven’t made any arguments that could give the Court’s blessing to race discrimination. Otherwise, you risk falling into the same trap that caught the lawyers behind a major challenge to women’s access to birth control now pending in the Supreme Court...
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/03/15/3760254/the-weird-offensive-argument-at-the-heart-of-the-supreme-court-case-against-birth-control/

Trump Takes His Fourth Position On Abortion In Three Days. He’ll Need To Change This One Immediately

Trump is having a lot of trouble making up his mind about where he stands on abortion...
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/04/01/3765914/trump-abortion-four-positions-three-days/

Jerry Coyne - Why Evolution is True and Why Many People Still Don't Believe It

Interview:
https://youtu.be/ijhQczcVJbU

Faith vs. Fact

Since Galileo's lifetime house arrest in 1632 for his claim of a sun-centered solar system, the question has remained: are science and religion compatible? Evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne is unequivocal. "Absolutely not," he says. He discusses his book, "Faith vs. Fact: Why Science and Religion are Incompatible."
Interview:
https://youtu.be/y6T39bz7A4w

Does God Really Love You? (David Smalley, Dogma Debate #218)

Blake Giunta argues that God still loves us, despite being absent from our lives in times of need, and apparently nonexistent to nonbelievers. The extended show with no commercial interruptions is available at login.dogmadebate.com.
Interview:
http://login.dogmadebate.com/podcast/218-does-god-really-love-you/

A Colorado School District Will Give Away Satanic and (Censored) Atheist Literature to Students

The School District has complained about two FFRF pamphlets: “An X-Rated Book: Sex and Obscenity in the Bible” and “What Does the Bible Say About Abortion?” 

Both of them are being limited to just the local high schools. The School District objects to the cartoon cover of “An X-Rated Book,” which shows a bible groping a young woman. 

“It is inappropriate in a school setting; we would not allow any of the high school students to wear or otherwise display such a cartoon,” says School District Attorney Andrew Clay. “Why would we allow them to carry it in the building? It may also qualify as hate literature, demeaning women.“

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/04/01/a-colorado-school-district-will-give-away-satanic-and-censored-atheist-literature-to-students/

Mississippi could now legalize discrimination against people who have premarital sex

...But as this bill is actually written, though, a whole lot of people in Mississippi besides sexual minorities could face discrimination, too — like the vast numbers of people who have had sex outside of marriage...
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/03/mississippi-could-now-legalize-discrimination-against-people-who-have-premarital-sex/

ACSJ Presents Professor Sheldon W. Helms: Gay Conversion Therapy

Sheldon will be speaking on the topic of Gay Conversion Therapy, providing us with a brief history of the efforts to alter people’s sexual orientation both through religion and therapy, some evidence of the potential risks these processes pose to victims, as well as an overview of the problem in the social, legal, and political domains. Sheldon Helms is a Professor of Experimental Psychology at Ohlone College in Fremont, CA where he serves as senior faculty member in the psychology department. He holds a master’s degree in psychology, and is currently a doctoral candidate in the School of Education at Alliant International University...
https://youtu.be/1llnklBbfuE

Fetal Tissue Research Uncovers New Information About Zika | ThinkProgress

New medical research has quickly advanced doctors’ understanding of how the Zika virus infects a fetus and how to detect its presence much earlier in a woman’s pregnancy. These findings — released Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine — would have been impossible to uncover without the help of one crucial, yet controversial, resource: tissue collected from an aborted fetus infected by Zika...
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/03/31/3765233/fetal-tissue-zika-study/

Blustering Barton: Religious Right Pseudo-Historian Claims Tithing Will Make Your Car And Clothes Last Longer

It’s alarming that a guy with these views and who has been accused of stretching the truth time and time again remains allied with politicians and is so beloved by the Religious Right...
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/blustering-barton-religious-right-pseudo-historian-claims-tithing-will-make

Trump's Abortion Comments: A Closer Look

Seth takes a closer look at Donald Trump's controversial statement that there should be "some form of punishment" for women who seek abortions.
https://youtu.be/VpGJlZinFxk

Kansas Bill Would Pay Students A $2,500 Bounty To Hunt For Trans People In Bathrooms

The complementary bills (SB 513 and HB 2737) declare in no uncertain terms that transgender students are going to harm other students just by using the same facility alongside them. “Allowing students to use restrooms, locker rooms and showers that are reserved for students of a different sex will create potential embarrassment, shame, and psychological injury to students,” they read...
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/03/22/3762490/kansas-transgender-ransom-bathrooms/

Spoiler Alert: Women Are Already Being Punished For Having Abortions | ThinkProgress

Multiple U.S. women -- with few options to get themselves to one of their state's dwindling legal clinics -- have been arrested for illegal abortions after they bought abortion-inducing medication online. And thanks to the growing number of laws aimed at protecting “fetal rights,” other women have been punished for doing activities that allegedly harmed their pregnancies. Americans have been charged with murder for allegedly seeking to harm their fetuses by attempting suicide, using illicit drugs, or even falling down the stairs...
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/03/30/3765073/women-punished-abortion/

Zika Is Headed For States With Harsh Abortion Restrictions. What Happens When It Gets There?

Zika’s Spread Across The U.S. May Change The Narrative Around Abortion.
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/03/30/3764270/zika-comes-to-anti-abortion-states/

Transparent Trickery: Claims Of ‘Persecution’ In Idaho Fail To Sway Court

ADF’s stunt was extremely transparent. It had two goals: One, exempt the Hitching Post from having to perform same-sex marriages and two, try to create a case in which a Christian ministry was being persecuted for its beliefs.
https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/transparent-trickery-claims-of-persecution-in-idaho-fail-to-sway-court

Ted Cruz Just Gave an Unbelievably Hypocritical Answer to a Question About Church/State Separation

Earlier tonight, during a Town Hall with CNN, student Thomas Dougherty asked Ted Cruz about his stance on church/state separation (13:00 mark)...
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/03/29/ted-cruz-just-gave-an-unbelievably-hypocritical-answer-to-a-question-about-churchstate-separation/

Brazil Confiscates Abortion Pills From Pregnant Women Exposed To Zika

“I contacted Zika four days ago. I just found out I’m about six weeks pregnant. I have a son I love dearly. I love children. But I don’t believe it is a wise decision to keep a baby who will suffer. I need an abortion. I don’t know who to turn to. Please help me ASAP.”
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/03/28/3763898/brazil-abortion-pill-confiscated-zika/