Lauren Nelson is an advocate and aspiring ally focused on intersectional justice. When she's not gabbing on social media or chasing after her precocious seven year old, you'll find her researching and writing extensively on the subjects of politics, policy, culture, neurodiversity, and faith for The Friendly Atheist and Rethink the Rant.
Another day, another shooting spree in the U.S. In a tragedy that has become all too common in the states, 26-year-old Christopher Harper Mercer opened fire yesterday on Oregon’s Umpqua Community College campus armed with several handguns and one long gun. The most recent reports indicate that ten people lost their lives and many more were injured. While much of the response was predictable and repetitive — promises of prayers, political battle cries from both sides of the aisle regarding gun control, etc. — there is one specific detail of the story that has featured prominently in media coverage across the board. As the Washington Post reports, Mercer may have been targeting Christians explicitly: Read more
We should be used to politicians hell-bent on “protecting the institution of marriage” doing things that make them and their positions look utterly foolish. Think Newt Gingrich’s three divorces, or the the bigoted Missouri GOP leader sexting his interns, or the pro-life Tennessee representative who encouraged by his wife and mistress to seek abortions. There’s a whole lot of hypocrisy on the “traditional values” side of the aisle, but there’s also a difference between stupid and really stupid. Just ask Indiana GOP House Majority Leader Jud McMillin. Read more
Reality television isn’t known for being the most scrupulous of spaces, but fans of the genre have come to terms with its limitations — like the fact that much of the drama is staged for their viewing pleasure, or that their “heroes” and “villains” are largely constructs of a diabolical producer’s mind — and focus on enjoying outcomes designed to drive ratings. But even in this world of plotlines every bit as fictional as their more honest entertainment counterparts, there are boundaries. The nauseating A&E monster known as 8 Minutes delivered this lesson in brutal fashion, and the nightmarish story is still unfolding. Don’t remember 8 Minutes? That might be because the premise was so disgusting the show was canceled as fast as it started. The whole thing centered on cop-turned-pastor Kevin Brown “posing” as a john in order to corner sex workers and convince them (in 8 minutes) to abandon their sinful ways. The time limit was supposedly fueled by the danger of pimps lurking around every corner. Read more
Rep. John Boehner is out. The Speaker of the House of Representatives since 2011 announced today that he will resign in October. Why? Well, that’s up for debate. Some speculate that his closed-door meeting with the Pope yesterday might have had something to do with it. Following the visit, the devout Catholic proclaimed he had “nothing left to accomplish,” but it’s likely far more than that. Read more
Every now and then, you’ll read something so incredibly dumb that you can’t help but marvel at the depths of its stupidity. Such is the case with a recent piece up at American Thinker. Not much thinking was done in the composition of this stomach-turning word vomit from conservative pundit Ed Straker. His fear? That taking in Muslim refugees will undermine the Judeo-Christian nature of America. Putting aside the fact that America is not and never has been a Judeo-Christian nation, his description of why it matters that we are supposedly a Judeo-Christian nation is utterly stunning: Read more
