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Bush Touts Religious Freedom and US Record at UN

LibertySugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:30:35 -0800

Speaking at the UN Culture of Peace gathering, President Bush emphasized how religious freedom is crucial to a flourishing society. Bush maintained that freedom to worship as you want is "God's gift to every man, woman, and child."

Bush cited the US as an example of how to promote religious freedom:

Our nation has helped defend the religious liberty of others, from liberating the concentration camps of Europe to protecting Muslims in places like Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. We're not afraid to stand with religious dissidents and believers who practice their faith even where it is unwelcome.

At the meeting billed as an "interfaith" dialogue, the president of Pakistan also spoke out against hate speech, saying: "The imaginary fear of Islam has been rising. This is exactly what the terrorists had hoped to provoke. Those in the West who accept this are falling into the trap of the terrorists."

As this was most likely Bush's last appearance at the UN, do you think he went out with the right message?

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New Holiday Ad Tells You to Be Good, but Not For God's Sake

LibertySugar — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:30:06 -0800

"Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness's sake." That's the message about to be proclaimed on the side of Washington, DC buses this holiday season. Firing the first shot in what could shape up to be a hard-fought War on Christmas, the American Humanists Association is ready to claim a little holiday turf from traditional religions.

Following in the footsteps of its British counterparts who put atheist ads on London buses, the humanist group hopes the American version will bring some holiday cheer to atheists and agnostics feeling left out during the holiday season. The American Family Association, which wants to keep Christ in Christmas, thinks it's a "stupid ad." To find out what the group had to say the merit of the ad's message,

Prolife Groups Plan Three-Day Protest After Dems Take Power

CitizenSugar — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:30:00 -0800

Without many of their own in national office, the prolife movement plans to relocate to grassroots activism and street- and abortion clinic-side protests. Beginning Jan. 21, the day after Barack Obama is sworn in, groups will hold a three-day protest in Washington, DC.

Speaking about prochoice gains in Congress and the defeat of various state-ballot measures that would limit abortion, Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, said "The hardline, divisive tactics they've used have been resoundingly rejected. . . . I'd hope some of the folks on the right, if their goal is to reduce the need for abortions, would link arms with us."

But not all those dedicated to the prolife movement are ready to join hands with their previous adversaries. Sean O'Malley, the cardinal-archbishop of Boston, and longtime civil rights activist, is concerned about Obama's record on abortion. To see what strong words he had for Planned Parenthood at the opening of the US Conference of Bishops,

Religious Hate Crimes Down, Except Against Jews

LibertySugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:00:58 -0700

With last week's news that Missouri sixth-graders had organized "Hit a Jew Day," it appears a new generation of children are being exposed to hateful attitudes towards the traditionally targeted minority.

The total number of religiously motivated hate crimes dropped in 2007, yet the number of crimes directed against a people because of their Jewish religion increased from 2006.

Of the 1,477 crimes perpetrated against victims because of their religion in 2007, 68 percent of them were against Jews. Comparatively, only nine percent of those crimes were perpetrated against Muslims.

Crimes based on race still make up the biggest proportion of hate crimes. While it's promising that overall religious tolerance is growing, let's hope more Americans avoid violence based on hate.

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Christian PAC: Faith Is Obama's Source of Hope

LibertySugar — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 06:00:32 -0700

Matthew 25 Network, a Christian political action committee, has endorsed Barack Obama and Joe Biden, explaining that faith is the center of Obama's hope. Now the group is airing Obama's discussion of faith as an ad on Christian radio stations.

Matthew 25 is made up of Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal, and Evangelical Christians, and its mission statement holds:

While no elected official will be without flaw, we come together as individuals to support candidates for public office who share the values of the Matthew 25 Network: promoting life with dignity, caring for the least of these, strengthening and supporting families, stewardship of God’s Creation, working for peace and justice at home and abroad, and promoting the common good.

Are you happy to see a religious case made for candidates, or would you rather private faith be left out of the equation altogether?

Islam's New Forbidden Isms — Tomboyism and Lesbianism

LibertySugar — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:00:15 -0700

At a meeting to discuss social threats to Muslims in Malaysia, a fatwa — scholarly opinion on Islamic law — was issued that forbids women to act like men. According to the ruling, women should not cut their hair short nor walk, talk, or otherwise act like men.

The fatwa, however, is not legally binding so it's not illegal to act masculine, just immoral. The chairman of the National Fatwa Council said these women were denying their femininity and violating human nature. To explain the ruling, he said:

It is unacceptable to see women who love the male lifestyle including dressing in the clothes men wear. . . It becomes clearer when they start to have sex with someone of the same gender.

While lesbian sex is not illegal either, sodomy is an offense that is punctuated with a 20-year sentence. But in a country like Malaysia, where Islam is the official religion, a fatwa can hold as much power as the law, and many lawyers believe this is a push to put lesbianism on the other side of it.

Considering masculinity and femininity is a spectrum — defined by culture — I do wonder how far this can go.

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Missouri Students to be Punished For "Hit a Jew Day"

CitizenSugar — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:30:59 -0700

Four students at a St. Louis area school are facing punishment after allegedly participating in "Hit a Jew Day." Apparently part of an unofficial "Spirit Week" the sixth graders started innocently with "Hug a Friend Day," and it progressed through "Hit a Tall Person Day" to the decidedly less silly "Hit a Jew Day."

School officials think fewer than 10 of the school's 35 Jewish students were actually hit. The perpetrators of the spirit gone wrong are facing suspension and could be required to go to counseling. A school spokesman says, "There is a mix of sadness and outrage. The concern is a lot of kids knew about it and they didn't take action or say anything." The Anti-Defamation League says the incident is more than just bullying and are meeting with school officials today.

Is this school hijinks gone awry with kids who don't know the true meaning? Or something much more dangerous?

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Atheists Try to Get Their Nonbeliefs Moving

LibertySugar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 11:00:00 -0700

London buses will soon find themselves adorned with signs saying "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." The British Humanist Association came up with the idea, with the plan of raising £5,500 ($9,325) and accepting a matching gift from famous atheist Richard Dawkins. But so far, the non-god-fearing group has already raised £20,300 ($34,420).

Dawkins has said of the campaign:

Religion is accustomed to getting a free ride — automatic tax breaks, unearned respect and the right not to be offended, the right to brainwash children. . . . This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think — and thinking is anathema to religion.

While some religious people are upset with the campaign, the Methodist Church has welcomed the dialogue. To see why the billboards don't make them nervous, and for some background on religious billboards in the US,

Anti-Islamic Documentary Distributed Free in Newspapers

LibertySugar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:30:33 -0700

If a DVD titled Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West has fallen out of your newspaper, it's not because print media has given up on people reading. You can thank, or blame, the Clarion Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to exposing the "threat of radical Islam," which has placed the DVDs in ad sections of swing-state newspapers.

Obsession is a documentary that compares Islam to Nazism, citing similarities in hate speech, paranoia, and us-against-them mentality. Very few newspapers have refused the DVD and its accompanying ad revenue. Those that have placed it in their pages — like the New York Times — have justified it by saying that it would violate sponsors’ right to free speech if they were to reject it.

While the Clarion Fund takes credit for distributing the DVD, it does not admit to paying for it. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), saying the Clarion Fund has tried to influence the presidential election and violated its status as a tax-exempt nonprofit.

On air at Democracy Now!, Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesperson for CAIR, questioned the Clarion Fund's motives. To see what he had to say,

BYU Yanks Degree From Men on a Mission Calendar Maker

CitizenSugar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:00:40 -0700

Ding-dong! And that's in the metaphorical and literal sense, I suppose. A whole calendar of Mormon missionaries shirtless? Yes — though the hotness of the bell-ringing men depicted has landed its creator in some hot water with his alma mater, Brigham Young University.

Chad Hardy graduated from BYU and created the calendar called "Men on a Mission" aimed at shaking up the boring or cookie-cutter stereotype of the LDS lads. After selling more than 11,000 copies featuring the missionaries in shirtless beefcake poses, last month Hardy received a letter saying that there had been a nonacademic hold placed on his degree. He'd been excommunicated from the church, and that "If in the future you are reinstated as a member of the church in good standing, you are invited to contact my office regarding your possible eligibility for the awarding of a degree." He plans to fight the decision "tooth and nail."

Reasons for the excommunication include the calendar as well as failure to pay tithing and other religious obligations. The 2009 version is on sale now. The controversy is all well and good, but want to see the missionaries sans shirts? Then without further ado,