Category Archives: separation of church and state

Hey Rick: My Thoughts On Rick Santorum And Abortion

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I just want to make sure I have this straight, Rick. You say that women who are raped should be refused abortions because it’s a gift from God. That’s your stance. I just want to be absolutely sure that I get it before I continue. Okay, good, I’m feeling good about what I’m about to say.

Fuck you, Rick Santorum.

Whew, that really does feel good! So let’s take an imaginary woman, say at the age of 19. She is a high school graduate who is beginning her University career. One night, she is walking home from a study session, and a guy beats her, drags her into an alley, and rapes her violently. He ejaculates, an uncommon but not by any means impossible scenario, and leaves her to die.

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Ugh – Public Schools And Jesus Rappers

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I just saw this on Pharyngula and I had to comment.

Ugh.

Seriously, what the blue hell? Not only are they violating that whole separation of church and state thing and turning the classroom into an environment where religious people are brow-beating children into being “saved”, but they’re dumb enough to document it on camera? In the words of Yoda, “shitting me you have got to be”.

I’m not familiar with the tremendous career of B-SHOC, though I count my blessings on that one. He looks like just some talentless twat with a light show and smoke machine crooning bad white guy soul and hip hop to the faithful like a wussy modern day Stryper, so I’m fairly certain I miss nothing in not following his career. But I find it disgusting that the school would allow this to happen.

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Your Vagina, Their Business

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Let me first and foremost get this out of the way: I don’t care what your opinion of the abortion debate is. Your opinion ultimately relates to your body, and you can do whatever you want with your body. If you want to get a tattoo of Will Farrell dressed as an elf, that’s your business. I can say that’s stupid, but I can’t do anything to stop you from treating your body as you will.

The decision to become a parent is not an easy one, and it is not uncommon for people to be placed in the position to make that decision at a time when they are unprepared to do so. This is because our bodies are machines that reproduce, but they are not fully intelligent bodies. Your ovaries won’t decide whether or not to release an egg based on where you are financially any more than your feet will decide that it would be inappropriate to smell bad on a first date.

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One Small Step For Man

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Wow. Texas sometimes surprises me. After all the talk of changing curriculum to incorporate (among other things) the teaching of Creationism alongside evolution in the science class, the board voted unanimously to reject all of the changes put forward by Creationists and keep their core content focused on actual science. This is huge, although I do hold the same concerns that PZ Myers shares.

This is a big deal for those who are not familiar with the story because of the sheer size of Texas. There are so many Texan students that any proposed changes to their text books become changes to the standard. Publishing companies are not going to write different texts for each state depending upon their ideological lean. Thus, if Texas was to approve changes that would introduce Creationism into the curriculum in a formal way, as opposed to the current slight-of-hand way, it would be in textbooks (whether taught or not) in far more than just the hands of Texas teenagers.

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Another Fine Example

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What’s the harm in prayer? Well, if that isn’t a fine example of a loaded question being used to diminish an issue, I don’t know what is.

I read in a few places today (like here and here) the tale of Damon Fowler’s high school graduation. In short, Damon is an atheist. He asked his school to remove the prayer from his high school graduation ceremony, pointing out that it is against the law for them to do so. They did, and then everything went stupid. There began what I guess you could call a grassroots campaign to ostracize him.

What’s the harm in praying at a high school graduation? Nothing, if you’re praying to a room full of people who share your faith. But this isn’t the case. This is not a religious ceremony, and there is nothing stopping the graduates and their parents from praying.

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Grave Concerns About Some Courses

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I must admit, I totally missed the boat on this one. My good friend and fellow Shillelagh, Brad, handed me a pamphlet for something called Spectacular Saturdays which is being put on by Chinook Learning Services (CLS for the rest of this post). CLS is in some way related to the Calgary Board of Education (CBE), which is the public school board for Calgary. The CBE “provides adult and continuing education through Chinook Learning Services.”

Brad and I had been talking about going to this and choosing one of the courses that we found contentious so that we could absorb it (not insult it and not interrupt or prevent it) and provide our thoughts. I was especially concerned that this was tied so closely to the CBE, which is a publicly funded organization. Unfortunately, May 7 came and went, and I was in the midst of dealing with all the usual stuff in my life and totally missed out on it. Sorry, Brad!

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You’re Not Ashamed, Even If You Should Be

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What’s in a name? Well, let’s face it. Lots. And in the case of the Not Ashamed campaign, I have to say that it speaks volumes. Nobody would ever ask if you were ashamed to get a perfect score on your microeconomics final exam. Nobody would ever ask if you were ashamed to get married to the woman you loved. Nobody would ever ask if you were ashamed that your child grew up to be President. Typically, we only need to say we’re not ashamed when deep down we are, or at least recognize that we should be.

In case you aren’t familiar, the Not Ashamed campaign was launched by UK religious minds like the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, who if I’m not mistaken is a rather significant part of this campaign. They want everyone to sign a petition with the following declaration:
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Argentina <3′s Gay Marraige

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In a historic victory over the prominent Catholic and Protestant ideologies, the Argentinian senate has made gay marriage legal within it borders. While 85.5% of Argentinians identify themselves as Catholic or Protestant (wiki), that didn’t seem to stop the government from making a decision based on 21st century science and morality

Of course, Canada made this landmark decision a few years back, so … Welcome to the club, Argentina! Impromptu street parade, anyone?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10630683

BoyInfidel

An Open Letter To England

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Dear England,
 
How are things? I am good. It’s pretty here today in Calgary, with puffy white clouds on a gorgeous blue sky and a warm sun shining down. I’m told that there’s a good chance we’ll have one of our famous torrential afternoon downpours later as all that moisture comes down amidst peals of thunder and lightning, and that will be a lot of fun.

But enough about the weather. I wanted to talk to you about Shariah Law.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I understand why you want to embrace cultures that may not be the mainstream of your society but still represent a large number of the people who live there. But giving some citizens their own private legal system just seems (to me, at least) like a really bad idea. Sure, you can go on and on about how Islam is a religion of peace, but so often it is anything but, as is true of any religion. And I know that you’re thinking you can get away with just giving the nod to certain areas of Shariah law, but it seems to me like what you’re saying is you’re willing to cede control over the governing of the people, and that just seems a stupid idea.

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Indoctrination Can Be Cheap

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This morning in my Pharyngula read, I stumbled across this item relating to this unfortunate article from the Winnipeg Free Press. Now, I’m all for the idea that we should be building facilities to help the people who live in difficult neighborhoods, but I have a massive problem when Youth For Christ are building a recruitment camp with public funds.

Winnipeg MP Vic Toews is quoted in the article as saying, “It appears to me Pat Martin doesn’t have a problem with allowing gangs to recruit in his riding, but when it comes to Youth For Christ offering programs, he suddenly has a problem with it.” That’s a hell of a leap, sir, and it makes you sound like the klansman from O Brother Where Art Thou. I’m adequately certain that Pat Martin does not actively fund gang recruitment drives, nor does he buy them property for the purposes of recruitment. And that’s where my problem with this lies.

So what do I do? Well, I emailed my Member of Parliament. I don’t have any say (or interest) in how the Winnipeg municipal government handle their affairs, but the idea that public funds at the federal level are being used to pay for this does not sit well for me, and I expressed to him my concern about that fact.

The other part of the argument is that this looks to some very suspiciously like a new version of the Residential Schools program. I can’t say that I agree with that, as the Residential Schools program (which was terrible) removed children from their homes and forced them to act and think like white folk. At least that’s how I’ve had it explained to me, and if I am missing the point, then please feel free to correct me. This program is an indoctrination center, but it’s not going to be removing children from their parents or forcing them through violence and rape to behave in a certain way (well, hopefully not anyway), it’s about nagging at them about Jesus while they shoot hoops.

But I can also understand why Canadian natives are touchy on the subject of Christians offering programs to indoctrinate their young. The Residential Schools program was hideously ugly in how it impacted the lives of so many for the worse, all the while trying ignorantly to make lives better. Arrogance is a bitch, for sure.

Please, if the idea of public funds coming to build a Christian outreach center doesn’t sit well, email your MP (or any MP if you’re not from here) and raise the issue.

Jim