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Feds move to seize 4 mosques, skyscraper

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Seattle Times - By Adam Goldman - Nov. 13 (News) - Federal prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize four U.S. mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by a nonprofit Muslim organization long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.

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God, the Army, and PTSD

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Boston Review - By Tara McKelvey - Nov. 11 (Special Report) - During the Iraq war, however, the great difficulty veterans experienced in getting psychiatric care—greater than before—was not a product of cost-cutting, but of conviction: many Bush administration officials believed that soldiers who supported the war would not face psychological problems, and if they did, they would find comfort in faith. In a resigned tone, one prominent researcher who worked for the VA, and asked that he not be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the press, explained that high-ranking officials believed that “Jesus fixes everything.” Benimoff and the others who returned with devastating psychological injuries found a faith-based bureau within the VA. At veterans’ hospitals, chaplains were conducting spirituality assessments of patients.

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Tears, tempers fly in Nancy Pelosi's campaign

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Politico - By Patrick O'Connor, John Bresnahan - Nov. 08 (News) - By Thursday, Ellsworth, who was working closely with Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) realized the church wouldn’t accept anything less than a version of Hyde, so he and his staff started working on a version the bishops could accept, aides said.

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Who Is a Jew? Court Ruling in Britain Raises Question

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Sarah Lyall - Nov. 08 (Special Report) - A case involving the admissions policy of a Jewish high school in London has potential repercussions for thousands of other parochial schools across Britain.

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Justice Scalia spars in debate over Mojave cross

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Seattle Times - By David G. Savage - Oct. 08 (News Report) - A Supreme Court argument Wednesday over a cross within the Mojave National Preserve in California sparked a sharp dispute over whether the Latin cross stands as a symbol of all fallen soldiers, including Jews and Muslims.

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Prayer Effort Seeks 'Right Thinking' From Liberals

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

All Things Considered - By Barbara Bradley Hagerty - Oct. 04 (Special Report) - A Christian conservative group, fearing a liberal drift in the country's leadership, has put 11 prominent politicians and activists on an "Adopt a Liberal" roster. They're asking God to help their targets change their stances on a variety of social issues.

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Groups Push to End Hiring Bias Legalized for Religious Charities

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Post - By Carrie Johnson - Sep. 17 (News Report) - Nearly 60 groups concerned with civil rights, labor, health and education urged Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Thursday to renounce a Bush-era memo allowing religious charities that receive federal grant money to discriminate in hiring.

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Blackwater Founder Implicated in Murder

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Nation - By Jeremy Scahill - Aug. 04 (News) - Sworn statements filed in Federal Court allege that Blackwater founder Erik Prince launched a "crusade" to eliminate Muslims and Islam and that the company may have been involved in murders to suppress information from federal investigators.

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religion

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Link TV - Aug. 02 (Special Report) - (Global Pulse: April 24, 2009) Obama declassifies Bush administration documents that detail and attempt to legalize what some have called "torture techniques." While the U.S media seem focused on the political ramifications, media worldwide present the brutality of torture and point the finger of blame directly at Bush.SOURCES: FOX, CBS, ABC, CNN, The Daily Show, U.S; TV5, France; Press TV, Iran; TVN, Chile; Al Jazeera English, Qatar

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"Open the Gates that the Righteous Nation May Enter": Rumsfeld Used Biblical Quotes in Top-Secret Iraq War Briefings for Bush

Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Robert Draper - May. 19 (News Report) - GQ Magazine has revealed former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld repeatedly gave President Bush top-secret briefings adorned with Biblical quotes during the early days of the invasion of Iraq. One briefing paper showed an image of a US soldier in Baghdad below the Biblical quote, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

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More Atheists Shout It From the Rooftops

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Laurie Goodstein - Apr. 28 (News Report) - Polls show that the ranks of atheists are growing. The American Religious Identification Survey, a major study released last month, found that those who claimed “no religion” were the only demographic group that grew in all 50 states in the last 18 years. Nationally, the “nones” in the population nearly doubled, to 15 percent in 2008 from 8 percent in 1990. In South Carolina, they more than tripled, to 10 percent from 3 percent. Not all the “nones” are necessarily committed atheists or agnostics, but they make up a pool of potential supporters. Local and national atheist organizations have flourished in recent years, fed by outrage over the Bush administration’s embrace of the religious right. A spate of best-selling books on atheism also popularized the notion that nonbelief is not just an argument but a cause, like environmentalism or muscular dystrophy.

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Is the U.S. a Christian nation?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Salon - Apr. 09 (Special Report) - So far, the most interesting thing to come out of all this is a debate on MSNBC's "Hardball" between writer and noted atheist Christopher Hitchens and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, who's now with a Christian right group, the Family Research Center.

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Wash . Post latest to omit Sebelius' Catholic support

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Media Matters - Mar. 03 (News Analysis) - Washington Post article quoted the president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute saying of secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius: "That she is a dissident Catholic is a further slap in the face to Catholics and the Catholic Church." But the article did not note that President Obama's selection of Sebelius has received support from Catholics United and numerous other Catholics.

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Illinois moment of silence ruled unconstitutional

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

AP - By Mike Robinson - Jan. 22 (News Report) - A federal judge has ruled that a state law requiring a moment of silence in public schools across Illinois is unconstitutional, saying it crosses the line separating church and state.

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Atheists file suit to stop Warren invocation

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Salon - By Alex Koppelman - Jan. 01 (News Report) - The latest organized effort against Warren's participation was launched by a group of atheists who have filed a lawsuit that contends prayer should not be allowed during the ceremony.

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The (Really) Moderate Muslims of Kosovo

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

City Journal - By Michael J. Totten - Dec. 21 (Special Report) - Kosovo’s brand of Islam may be the most liberal in the world. I saw no more women there wearing conservative Islamic clothing—one or two per day at most—than I’ve seen in Manhattan. There is no gender apartheid even in Kosovo’s villages. Alcohol flows freely in restaurants, cafés, and bars, where you’ll see as many young women in sexy outfits as you’d find in any Western European country. Aside from the minarets on the skyline, there is no visible evidence that Kosovo is a Muslim-majority country at all.

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Mall of America Moves to Accommodate Minnesota Muslims

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Mshale - By Mohamed Hassan - Dec. 16 (News Report) - Every year, as Muslims in America are compelled to engage in business, work and shopping during the holidays, many find themselves away from mosques and other places where they can hold prayers without interruption. They are forced to seek privacy in corners and alleyways, places that often subject them to unwanted attention. Some Muslims also worry that their repetitive calls of “Allah akbar!” (God is great!) during prayers could be misconstrued as calls for Jihad.

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Florida ban on gay adoptions ruled unconstitutional

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By Carol Marbin Miller - Nov. 26 (News Report) - A Miami child welfare judge Tuesday declared Florida's 31-year-old ban on adoption by gay people unconstitutional, rejecting the state's claim that the law promotes public morality and the best interests of foster children who may be harmed by same-sex parents. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman approved the adoption of two half-brothers, identified only as John and James Doe, by Frank Gill, a gay North Miami man who has raised the two foster children since they were brought to him in December 2004 by a state child abuse investigator. The boys now are 8 and 4 years old.

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Judge in Miami Rules Florida Ban on Gay Adoption Unconstitutional

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

U.S. News & World Report - By Amanda Ruggeri - Nov. 25 (News Report) - A 1977 Florida state law that bans gay individuals from adopting has received its biggest challenge thus far: Foster father Frank Martin Gill won his suit to adopt two brothers he has been fostering since 2004. In her decision this morning, Miami Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman ruled that there was no "rational basis" to prevent the children from being adopted. The case, which marks the first time that a gay adoption case has been taken before a trial court in Florida, seems likely to go before the Florida Supreme Court, which could overturn the ban.

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Experts clash on gays' bids to adopt children

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Miami Herald - By Carol Marbin Miller - Nov. 17 (News Report) - The judge's ruling will determine whether a 4-year-old boy and his 8-year-old brother can be adopted by Frank Gill, the North Miami foster parent who has raised the boys for four years, and his partner. Lederman said she will decide on the adoption later this month. Florida is the only state that bans all gay people from adopting. This fall, a Circuit Court judge in Key West declared Florida's ban unconstitutional, although the decision is unlikely to hold much sway because it was not appealed to a higher court. Since the state is fighting Gill's attempt to adopt the two boys, a decision by Lederman to declare the law unconstitutional would be of far greater consequence. Most likely, the case will ultimately be decided by the Third District Court of Appeal or the Florida Supreme Court.

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Mormon Church feels the heat over Proposition 8

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - By Nicholas Riccardi - Nov. 17 (News Report) - In June, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made a fateful decision. They called on California Mormons to donate their time and money to the campaign for Proposition 8, which would overturn a state Supreme Court ruling that permitted gay marriage. That push helped the initiative win narrow passage on election day. And it has made the Mormon Church, which for years has striven to be seen as part of the American mainstream, a political target.

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U. psychologist says group distorting her same-sex research

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Salt Lake Tribune - By Brian Maffly - Nov. 16 (News Report) - Lisa Diamond, a University of Utah psychologist whose sexual-identity studies suggest a degree of "fluidity" in the sexual preferences of women, said in an interview Tuesday that the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality, or NARTH, misrepresents her findings. Position papers, some penned by NARTH President A. Dean Byrd, an adjunct professor in the U.'s Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, point to Diamond's research evidence that gays' sexual orientation can be straightened out through treatment - much to Diamond's dismay. NARTH is based in Nicolosi's California office but maintains an office in the same downtown Salt Lake City building as Evergreen International, a Mormon faith-based group that encourages gays to abandon same-sex attraction. While the two groups do not advertise their association, NARTH's sole paid staffer last year was Evergreen's executive director, David Pruden, according to tax documents.

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The Top Ten Power Brokers of the Religious Right

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Rob Boston - Nov. 10 (Investigative Report) - "The Religious Right is not dead," said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "AU's new survey of its funding and power should help dispel the myth that the Religious Right is on the ropes. Forces determined to merge government with their narrow version of religion are alive and kicking, and it behooves us all to understand their goals and tactics."

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Bush staff says hiring by faith no bar to aid

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Seattle Post Intelligencer - By Charlie Savage - Oct. 20 (News Report) - In a newly disclosed legal memorandum, the Bush administration says it can bypass laws that forbid giving taxpayer money to religious groups that hire only staff members who share their faith. The administration, which has sought to lower barriers between church and state through its religion-based initiative offices, made the claim in a 2007 Justice Department memorandum from the Office of Legal Counsel. It was quietly posted on the department's Web site this week.

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The Palin Payoff: How Sarah Brings in the Christian Cash

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Bill Berkowitz, Mike Reynolds, - Oct. 07 (News Analysis) - Thanks to Palin, McCain can now pay for expensive attacks on Obama, giving him the same kind of clout Bush had in battleground states.

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