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.
SB 11 is a religious freedom bill that was introduced by seven West Virginia Republican senators back in January. Under the proposed bill, only a “governmental interest of the highest magnitude that cannot otherwise be achieved without burdening the exercise of religion” would compel religious people to obey laws that violated their conscience. Read more
If recent events have taught us anything, it’s that the Religious Right is never so enamored with enforcing the law as they are when they think they’ve caught Planned Parenthood breaking it — and never so over upholding law and order as when they find out their efforts to bring Planned Parenthood down were fraught with law-breaking. I’m talking, of course, of the infamous (and highly misleading) Planned Parenthood “sting” videos that spawned a wave of investigations and efforts to defund the organization. The cries of criminal activity all came to naught, as both congressional hearings and a dozen individual state inquiries have failed to turn up evidence that Planned Parenthood broke the law. But it was worse for anti-abortion activists than utter failure. Read more
Republican Ted Cruz has clearly stated in the past that he thinks ignoring Supreme Court decisions conservatives don’t agree with is a legitimate course of action. But his preferred response, of course, is to fill the Court with conservatives who will rule the way he wants. That means appointing conservatives like Edith Jones, whose name (years ago) had been floated for nomination instead of David Souter, and whom Cruz has previously opined would have stopped same-sex marriage and overturned the Affordable Care Act. Think Progress’ Ian Millhiser took a look at Jones’ views on workplace sexual harassment, and her views are, frankly, jaw dropping. (In a nutshell? Short of violent assault, it’s no biggie.) Then again, her views on equality, women’s rights, and minority concerns are no better. But if you ever wanted a glimpse into how unjust our justice system would be under a President Ted Cruz, keep reading… Read more
The release of Iranian American Pastor Saeed Abedini is a cause many of my Christian friends have actively championed since his detainment and subsequent imprisonment in Iran in 2012. It had become a significant cause for activism in the world of the Religious Right, supported by numerous Christian organizations and leaders like Franklin Graham and Ted Cruz. Pastor Abedini’s wife, Naghmeh, was a tireless activist for his cause. Naturally, his recent release has been a source of much joy and relief (in which I certainly shared, as the release of a person for the thoughtcrime of believing in the “wrong” thing is a moment to be celebrated). It has been dismaying to me, though, to see how rapidly Naghmeh Abedini has come to be viewed with grave suspicion by people who until recently believed her every word implicitly. Her offense, meriting this disbelief and even contempt? She filed for separation from her husband after years of alleged physical, spiritual and emotional abuse. Read more
