Know your memes, people. If you don’t know what the Bechdel Test is, this is how wikipedia describes its: The Bechdel test asks if a work of fiction features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. The requirement that the two women must be named is sometimes added. The Bechdel test is … Read More
Quote Of The Day: Blind To Self Edition
From Florida, relating to efforts to ban The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime from a high school curriculum: But Sue Gee, one of the parents who complained about the book, feels that Curious Case is an affront to her faith and that its casual use of swear words would be harmful to students. “I am not interested in having … Read More
Whatever Happened To Jim Bakker?
Jim Bakker was a smarmy, sex-scandal embroiled, 1980s TV evangelist fraudster and ex-con who fleeced his followers for decades with his then-wife Tammy Faye Bakker. He was one of the many TV evangelist fraudsters in the 1980s. It was the cool thing in the 1980s — shoulder pads and being a TV evangelist fraudster. One day, the feds caught up with … Read More
Reactions To The Obama Sermon
Over at The Atlantic, James Fallows asked his readers for their reaction to Obama’s “Grace” speech, in eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney and eight others last week. One critic chastised Obama for his speech, noting that he never mentioned the word “Jesus”: I read your article and largely agree with it, but as an evangelical Christian with a keen sense of political … Read More
Who Is Burning Black Churches?
If you could give out an award for under-reported stories these past few weeks, this is it. Granted, it has been a very busy series of news cycles, with gay marriage and confederate flags and mass murder and a million GOP candidates, but this is more important than, say, shark attacks. And to be sure, if ISIS so much as … Read More
Pastor Calls For Execution Of Gays
I know. He’s fringe and we shouldn’t pay attention to fringe. But I couldn’t resist: Pastor Steven Anderson, of Faithful Word Baptist Church, called for stoning to death ministers who performed same-sex marriage ceremonies and repeated his call for the execution of all LGBT people. “I hate them with a perfect hatred,” Anderson shouted. “I count them mine enemies.” Yeah. … Read More
Deadly History of Attacks on Progressive Houses of Worship
Last night, in a horrific act of hateful violence, a white gunman shot and killed at least nine people at the historically black Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The incident, which is being investigated as a hate crime, immediately sparked outrage, with many wondering aloud how someone could commit such an act — especially in a church, were … Read More
Mass Murder Hate Crime Leaves 9 Dead In Charleston Church
I may have been one of the first 1000 people to know what happened in Charleston last night. I was at rehearsal for a play I am in (barely), and backstage, I checked my phone. Nothing on the Breaking News app, nothing big on Twitter. I opened Periscope, and there was a guy working in some Charlotte newsroom who was … Read More
The Pope Goes Severe Against Climate Deniers
Pope Francis this week is going to come out for changes in lifestyles and energy consumption to avert the “unprecedented destruction of the ecosystem” before the end of this century, He will warn that failure to act would have “grave consequences for all of us.” Pretty severe verbiage. It all comes from a draft document leaked to the Italian press and … Read More
Gay Marriage Leads To Divorce
You know that silly argument that same-sex marriage harms the institution of marriage? Pretty dumb, right? What do they think is going to happen? If gay people get married, straight married couples will get divorced??? LOL!!! Well, actually, not so LOL. Gay marriage could in fact lead to divorce among straight couples. Or rather, one straight couple. Who are being total dicks … Read More
Some Sarah Word Salad
Why isn’t the dialogue going right now towards hey, let’s get that law enforcement official — he or her — who released this file, this confidential. Who — who has been a victim, is a victim — would ever want to speak out and still be able to trust law enforcement that what they’re being told, with counselors and amongst … Read More
The Duggars Get Softball Interview
Okay, the Duggars. One word: ugh. And I could add a lot more to that — about how they’re not really “owning” that their son molested their daughters — but they demonstrated that themselves in an interview with Duggar-friendly Megyn Kelly of Fox News. Raw Story nails this: There was so much to dislike and be horrified by in Jim … Read More
Vagina Clown Car Family Has A Creepy Clown
I was writing about the Duggars (often misspelling their name) before the got their own TV show — see here, here, and here. Oh, and here. Then, with 19 kids and a TV show, they became some sort of major Christian conservative politico-cultural franchise, and I stopped caring. Now comes the sad news, as it must to many major Christian conservative politico-cultural franchises … Read More
Talk About Self-Loathing
Did you hear the one about the anti-gay pastor who told a gay teen that he should kill himself? Yup. Until very recently, he was an associate pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church and School in Midland, Michigan. The church bio described him as a man “blessed” with a wife and five children. He had a gay teen parishoner. He … Read More
All Hail The Fastest Growing Religion In The United States
Eight years ago, more Americans considered themselves “Evangelical Protestant” than any other religion — a full 26.3%. Next was Catholic (23.9%) and then “Mainline Protestant” (18.1%) in third. Today, Evangelical Protestant is still Numero Religion Uno, although its adherents have dropped to 25.4%. And in second? An upstart. The number two religion in the U.S. is now “NONE”. It jumped … Read More