Category: Media

January 31, 2012
image of Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr.

A Washington Post columnist, E.J. Dionne Jr., who I generally agree with most times, wrote in a recent column that President Obama’s administration messed up twice in drafting Department of Health and Human Services rules requiring insurance coverage of birth control under the health care reform law passed in 2010. It seems Dionne feels that since the President is a believer, he threw his liberal Catholic supporters under a bus by not allowing a exemption for Catholic hospitals, universities, and social-services. Dionne’s column was disturbing and yet educational as to why we must all play by the same rules.

January 19, 2012
screencap from a newsreport

I was doing some “spring” cleaning by finally digitizing some old VHS tapes I had. These contained TV show clips and news stories I saved over the years. One of the news stories was about a controversy over a Nativity scene in Lancaster Ohio back in 1999. I wrote about it for my website back then but had no way of embedding a video clip. I watched it again and found a perfect example of Christian privilege and persecution complex in the space of a short 15 second comment from someone interviewed by the reporter. I now have a short clip I can show people who don’t know what Christian privilege is or don’t understand their expressed irrational persecution complex.

January 16, 2012
image of a Teddy Bear

Last week I posted about the publicity stunt anti-abortion group Faith2Action pulled at the state house. Surrounded by children some state senators were given Teddy Bears that made a heartbeat sound to try and convince them to pass HB 125. The ‘heartbeat’ bill would prohibit any abortion if a fetal heartbeat is detected. Now it seems senators are giving back the toys because they cost more than $25 and would have to be reported on financial-disclosure forms.

January 15, 2012
image of Linda Theis co-author of Ohio's 'Heartbeat' Bill
Linda Theis
co-author of Ohio’s ‘Heartbeat’ Bill

The recent Ohio House Bill 125, aka the “Heartbeat” Bill, would prohibit an abortion if a fetal heartbeat is detected. This usually happens as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. One common argument anti-abortionists use for needing such laws is to save the lives of unborn children. In a recent newspaper interview, one of the authors of the bill stated the real reason anti-abortionists want the ‘heartbeat’ bill passed. It’s all about ending legal abortion not saving lives.

Linda Theis, of Findlay, Ohio, has been involved in the anti-abortion movement since the 1970’s. In a profile and interview in the Findlay Courier she gave her reasons for joining the effort to take away a woman’s right to choose:

January 11, 2012
Senator Cliff Hite R-Findlay as a prop
“Every time there is an abortion a Teddy Bear dies…”

You have to give supporters of the so-called Ohio “Heartbeat” bill credit, they sure know how to promote their bill with the subtlety of PT Barnum. Tuesday afternoon I watched another circus filmed at the Ohio State House. In a room full of children, Ohio state Senators were given toy Teddy Bears that made a heartbeat sounds when squeezed. The tacky photo-op still doesn’t hide the glaring wrongness of the newest attempt to force women not to have abortions. HB 125 is hands down the worst of the worst. Using children as props show how classy the bill supporters really are.

Ohio House Bill 125 would prohibit an abortion if a fetal heartbeat is detected. This usually happens as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. Sometimes women don’t even know they are pregnant that early. The proposed law doesn’t make any exceptions for rape, incest. or the mental health of the mother.

January 10, 2012
image of the logo for Religious Freedom Day

January 16th is National Religious Freedom Day. The day commemorates the Virginia General Assembly’s adoption of Thomas Jefferson’s landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on January 16, 1786. The Virginia Statute was the basis of the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution and also can be used to support Jefferson’s idea of the separation of church and state. The Religious Right have of course co-opted the day by mass marketing misleading information about what real religious freedom means in this country. Luckily, Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) has some help available to tell the truth.

The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was passed at a time when state support and protection of churches was the norm in what would become the United States. Thomas Jefferson offered the statute as a way to protect the church and the state. It is obvious from reading the text that separating church and state was the goal.