The Pope And The American Right

"...And the way in which market capitalism has become a good in itself on the American right is, well, perniciously wrong. As soon as a system ceases to be a means to a human good, and becomes an end in itself, it has become a false idol..."
http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2013/12/02/the-pope-and-the-american-right/

Pterosaurs are Terrible Lizards

Explaining how human preconceptions, agendas, and biases have negatively impacted the study of evolution and the classification of life forms. This is to illustrate why we have the peer review process.

RWW News: A Contemporary History Lesson From Liberty Counsel

RightWingWatch reports that Matt Barber and Mat Staver explain that Obamacare is nothing more than communism that is doomed to fail, just like the efforts by the Pilgrims to practice socialism.

Health Care For All

When Religion and Liberty Collide

"...To put it mildly, our forbearers would be appalled by how right-wing conservatives are trying to use government to force their religious views on all of us..."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/12/03/how-right-wing-conservatives-are-using-hobby-lobby-to-force-their-religious-views-on-sex-on-the-nation.html

New City For Rich White People Only?

"The predominantly white and wealthy residents of the southern area of Baton Rouge have proposed seceding from the city proper and incorporating into a new one to be called "St. George." The movement began as an effort to create a new school district, but after the state legislature repeatedly mothballed its proposals — claiming that they could not approve an independent school district that was unaffiliated with a city — organizers shifted their energies to the creation of "St. George." The new city would be the fifth largest in the state, with over 107,000 residents, and would include two of the largest tax revenue bases in the state: Perkins Rowe and the Mall of Louisiana. A studyby the Baton Rouge Area Chamber concluded that Baton Rouge residents "will be disproportionately paying taxes to the proposed municipality," given city governance's reliance on sales tax revenues...".* Ana Kasparian, John Iadarola (host of TYT University and Common Room), Michael Shure and comedian Jimmy Dore break it down on The Young Turks.

Bishops Sued Over Policies on Abortion at Hospitals

"...In an unusual step, she is not suing the hospital, Mercy Health Partners in Muskegon, but rather the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Its ethical and religious directives, the suit alleges, require Catholic hospitals to avoid abortion or referrals, “even when doing so places a woman’s health or life at risk.”"

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/us/lawsuit-challenges-anti-abortion-policies-at-catholic-hospitals.html

God, Bible Prove Climate Change A Hoax (Say GOP Reps)

"Can we look to God and The Bible to explain why climate change fears are unwarranted? Atheists are laughing (or maybe crying) at the suggestion, but a video on the Climate Desk YouTube channel features a mashup of some Republican Senators and Congressmen making the case."

Gravity Visualized

Dan Burns explains his space-time warping demo at a PTSOS workshop at Los Gatos High School, on March 10, 2012.


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'Always a Marine': Homeless vets weather the holidays as national numbers dip

LOS ANGELES – The Navy veteran keeps his few possessions in shipshape order. Hidden on a girder ledge, five cans of chicken-enchilada soup flank an al... Read more

In such a diverse nation, there is no such thing as a ‘traditional’ family

"... What connects all American families together is not having the same family traditions or the same types of families, but a shared belief in the American tradition of freedom..." http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2013/11/in-such-a-diverse-nation-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-traditional-family/#.UpzUYuJjeM8

John Hagel: Move to the City, Learn Faster

RICHARD DAWKINS takes on religion on Al Jazeera TV

After a Reporter’s Biased Story of a Christian Politician’s High School Visit, a Student Who Was There Speaks Out

"...After the event, he added, students were discussing how Saccone was wrong — not just about this bill, but on statements he made during the event, like saying that the Founding Fathers never wanted separation of church and state. (Thomas Jefferson and James Madison may beg to differ…)..."

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/11/29/after-a-reporters-biased-story-of-a-christian-politicians-high-school-visit-a-student-who-was-there-speaks-out/

Americans increasingly say patients can be sometimes let to die: Survey

"...At the same time, however, a growing minority says that medical professionals should do everything possible to save a patient's life in all circumstances...."

http://www.ecumenicalnews.com/article/americans-increasingly-say-patients-can-be-sometimes-let-to-die-survey-22590

No Cardinal Dolan, the Catholic Church Wasn't 'Outmarketed' on Gay Marriage

"...nor have you been 'caricatured' as anti-gay. The hard truth is that, while right on so many of the most important issues of our time, the Catholic Church leadership in America is wrong on the question of gay marriage and someday (probably centuries from now) you will have to own up to it..." 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-raushenbush/cardinal-dolan-gay-marriage-_b_4364273.html

Santorum: Denying women birth control coverage is a First Amendment right

"Former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum (R) on Sunday insisted that President Barack Obama was imposing his beliefs on corporations and preventing them from exercising their “right” to deny women contraception coverage in health care plans..."

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/01/santorum-denying-women-birth-control-coverage-is-a-first-amendment-right/

Randy Alcorn: In Hobby Lobby Case, Court Should Rule Freedom of Religion Has Limits

"...Freedom of religion should not mean unlimited optional compliance with the law, nor should it mean religious beliefs can be imposed on others. The thousands of employees who work for Hobby Lobby or any company may or may not subscribe to the religious beliefs of the company’s owners, but all of them would be subject to those beliefs if the court rules that corporations on religious grounds can be exempt from the law. In this current case they would be denied the same health-care benefits the law mandates for everyone else...."

http://www.noozhawk.com/article/randy_alcorn_hobby_lobby_freedom_of_religion_20131201

Contraceptive cases raise religious liberty issues

"The Supreme Court in early spring will hear two legal challenges to Obamacare’s contraception coverage requirement, a case that addresses a complex question that has never come squarely before the court: Can a for-profit company engaged in commercial activities declare religious beliefs?..."

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/supreme-court-contraceptive-case-religious-liberty-100512.html

Support for change in hospital certification

Testimony focuses on recent mergers that drew attention to Catholic hospitals and policies on abortion, suicide

http://www.theolympian.com/2013/11/27/2853845/support-for-change-in-hospital.html