Rachel Ford is a programmer, and since 8:00 to 5:00 doesn't provide enough opportunity to bask in screen glare, she writes in her spare time. She was raised a very fundamentalist Christian, but eventually "saw the light." Rachel's personal blog is Rachel's Hobbit Hole, where she discusses everything from Tolkien to state politics.
Conservative Christians spend a lot of time worrying about who is the Antichrist. For a while, the title went to President Obama. Now that Obama’s time in office is winding down, other nominees have been floated around for the, um, honor. Some people choose Pope Francis. But if they’re serious about finding the Antichrist force at work nowadays, the GOP should take a look in the mirror. They may not see the capital-A, supernaturally silver-tongued harbinger of End Times, but they will certainly see the more literal thing: a party that is diametrically opposed in deed and word to all the things that Jesus preached and stood for. Read more
I don’t usually do this, but this is pretty horrifying stuff. So, content warning for rape and child abuse. A Pennsylvania grand jury investigation into the Pennsylvanian Altoona-Johnstown Diocese has wrapped up, and its findings are gut-wrenching: hundreds of children were sexually abused by Church leaders over the course of decades. More to the point, the Church not only knew about it, but also went so far as to interfere with police investigations in order to hide it. The most infuriating part of it all? The plan worked: Read more
A frequent theme among anti-trans crusaders is the need to “protect” people — usually women and children — from the horrors of sharing space with transgender people — usually trans women. Bathrooms are a popular target, with the Christian Right painting the need to pee as some sort of nefarious scheme to prey on victims. (Conservative lawmakers are only too happy to pursue legislative “fixes” to this nonexistent problem — going so far as to target kids.) Despite the fearmongering, though, they rarely explain how, exactly, it’s damaging or dangerous if a trans woman is using the stall next to you. You’re just supposed to be afraid. Very, very afraid. There’s probably a good reason that they don’t elaborate on these ridiculous concerns. Because when they try to move beyond vaguely defined but visceral fears, their objections are revealed to be utterly baseless and absurd. Like this cartoon, from “Comically Incorrect” cartoonist A. F. Branco: Read more
