Politics

Today is Labor Day in much of Latin America, May Day or International Worker’s Day in many European countries, China, Cuba, and the Russian Federation (and in the U.S. and UK, though it’s not a federal holiday in either), Beltane for pagans and Wiccans (approximately the midpoint between the vernal equinox and summer solstice, though in reality it’s off by a few days), and the National Day of Prayer for evangelical Christians. While they pretend the day of prayer is for all religions that believe in the Abrahamic god, Shirley Dobson, wife of James Dobson of Focus on the Faily, runs the national task force and requires coordinators to sign this statement of faith: I believe that the Holy Bible is the inerrant Word of The Living God. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only One by which I can obtain salvation and have an ongoing relationship with God. I believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, his virgin birth, his sinless life, his miracles, the atoning work of his shed blood, his resurrection and ascension, his intercession and his coming return to power and glory. I believe that those who follow Jesus are family and there should be unity among all who claim his name. I agree that these statements are true in my life.So much for the “Judeo” in “Judeo-Christian." Jews, Muslims, and liberal Christians don’t qualify–this is an explicitly sectarian organization, endorsed by government in blatant contradiction of the First Amendment. Pharyngula reports that the Minnesota Atheists have declared today a National Day of Reason and will be demonstrating at the state capitol in St. Paul. By the way, today is also Loyalty Day in the United States, declared by every U.S. president every year on this day since 1958 as an anticommunist counter to May Day. So there’s a wide variety of possible celebrations–you can thank the labor workers of the past for the 8-hour workday, rage against capitalist exploitation, express your loyalty to our wise and just leaders, celebrate the act of pretending to talk to an invisible being, or be thankful that you’ve been fortunate enough to have the ability to reason.

Matt Taibbi goes undercover with the Christian right–at the megachurch of John Hagee, whose endorsement for president John McCain is happy to have. (Via Pharyngula.)

Ed Brayton at Dispatches from the Culture Wars links to and comments on an essay by Elizabeth Castelli on the history of Christian persecution, real and imagined. It’s interesting how many Christians argue that they are being persecuted, even as they are engaged in persecution themselves. Which reminds me again of Robby Berry’s classic “Life in Our Anti-Christian America." Hume's Ghost (2008-04-29): It reminds me of white supremacists complaining about being persecuted by blacks.One of the most pathetic things that has always struck me when listening to white supremacists speak is their sense of being persecuted by an oppressive minority and/or the forces of liberalism. It is difficult to make sense of the assertion that white males in the USA are disadvantaged unless you consider that supremacists are 1)scapegoating an Other they are prejudiced against for perceived societal failings and 2)that their definition of being persecuted amounts to not being allowed to persecute others.Another group that shares the same persecution complex is that of the religious right. More specifically, the dominionist or Christian nationalist elements of the religious right which similarly consider the failures of society to stem from an oppressive minority and also feels that not being allowed to enforce religious orthodoxy on others amounts to being persecuted. I suspect, however, that it is easier to see the bigotry underlying the persecution complex of the white supremacists than it is from the Christian supremacists, for the obvious reason that we've as a nation already rejected the ideology of white supremacism.For example, if one were to hear someone say the following, it would be fairly obvious that the person making the statement is a bigot:You can be any race you want and PROUD of it... except white. I watch tv and flip around and you've got networks for gays, for women, for Spanish speakers ... There's even BET a network just for blacks. Obviously, the owners of the network are black and are proud of it, but if the owners were white and tried to create a White Entertainment Television channel all Hell would break loose. Is that really that different than this comment agreeing with Ron Paul's view that Christmas is under siege?You can be ANY faith you want and PROUD of it... except Christian. I walk around one of the largest malls in California, during the holidays, festive colors everywhere, and what is directly in the center of the mall? A massive menorah. Obviously, the owners are Jewish and expressing their faith. Were the owners Christian and tried to do the same with a crucifix, Hell would've broken loose. ...

It’s a letter to the editor from Jeremy Gunn, director of the Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief at the ACLU, in response to an idiotic falsehood-ridden column by Pat Boone. If anyone ever comes across an attempt by the anti-ACLU crowd to actually respond to the content of Gunn’s letter, I’d be interested in seeing it. I suspect it will most likely be ignored, and any alleged responses will not respond to its content. (Via Dispatches from the Culture Wars.)

Arizona’s legislature, like Florida’s, is considering creating “In God We Trust” license plates. Indiana already has them, which, unlike other specialty plates, require no additional fee. The ACLU’s lawsuit in Indiana against the plates was recently dismissed. In Arizona, the state Senate approved legislation (HB 2046) sponsored by Rep. Ron Gould (R-Lake Havasu City) which would require the Department of Transportation to provide “In God We Trust” license plates if some organization pays the $32,000 necessary for design costs. The bill was originally for “Arizona Highways” license plates when introduced in January, but has been modified into a religious proposal. It looks to me like Gould’s proposal puts the imprimatur of government on the promotion of religion, which violates both the U.S. and Arizona Constitutions. A contrary argument would be that there’s no financial expenditure by the government, since the fees to produce such plates come from the individuals rather than the government. But by allowing the expression of a particular religious sentiment (supporting monotheistic religions) and not other religious sentiments (including disbelief in any religion), it will clearly favor one set of viewpoints on religion over others. UPDATE (May 1, 2008): Correction, the Florida license plate under consideration was one which said “I believe” with a picture of a cross. The Florida legislature looks set to allow the legislation to die without passage. ...

Wired magazine’s blog reports that NORAD and U.S. Northern Command “have released a copy of their audio files, telephone conversations and situation room discussions” from September 11, 2001.

Declassified documents obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation show that while investigating a possible conspirator in the 2005 London bombings, the FBI forced an agent to return documents obtained from North Carolina State University under normal lawful process so that they could be requested again under the USA PATRIOT Act, using a power the FBI did not have but wanted. When the second request was rejected, the FBI used another subpoena–just like the first one that had already been successful–to again obtain the documents. The purpose for this sham? So that FBI Director Robert Mueller could testify before Congress that the lack of the desired power caused a delay in obtaining these records. Sorry, Director Mueller, but this “delay” was a fraud, which means your testimony was still false (though apparently unknowingly so on his part).

Discovery Institute Fellow and bad movie critic Michael Medved has written an article arguing that an atheist should not be elected U.S. president. P.Z. Myers gives it a hilarious fisking at Pharyngula.

Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school run out of the headquarters of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota and run by an imam, Asad Zaman, teaches Islamic studies and has mandatory prayers led by a non-student. See, Christians–this is what the separation of church and state legally prohibits schools from doing with your tax dollars. Get it? UPDATE (April 11, 2008): Very many conservative bloggers, including Michelle Malkin and the morons at Stop the ACLU, are protesting TIZA and asking why the ACLU isn’t doing anything. In fact, the ACLU was on this issue before any conservative bloggers were, though they are hampered by the lack of a plaintiff. These bloggers are blatantly expressing their hypocrisy. If the ACLU was so much as sending a warning letter to a charter school promoting Christianity, they’d be protesting it. But since it’s Islam, the ACLU can’t possibly do enough. ...

From CNN: Federal employees charged millions of dollars to government credit or debit cards, according to a Government Accountability Office study released Wednesday. Those charges include Internet dating services, iPods, expensive clothing, a $13,500 dinner and lingerie to be worn during jungle training in Ecuador, the study said. The audit also found that government agencies could not account for nearly $2 million worth of items, which included computer servers, laptop computers, iPods and digital cameras. ...