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.
A “religious freedom” bill in Georgia that’s passed the legislature and now awaits the Governor’s signature or veto, would legalize a wide array of discriminatory practices — from hiring to providing services — against LGBT people on the basis of religion. Last week, Hemant wrote that the NFL was threatening to withhold the Super Bowl from Atlanta if the bill was not vetoed. Now Disney has joined the effort, saying it will no longer film movies in the state if such a discriminatory bill becomes law. Read more
When a few European Muslims committed atrocities in Brussels, at least one American politician started talking about targeting (completely unrelated) American Muslims to show how serious he was about fighting terror. While Republican front-runner Donald Trump was returning to his familiar refrain of “bomb and torture,” fellow conservative presidential hopeful Ted Cruz wasn’t content with fantasizing about killing ISIS (or any civilians in the general region). Sure, he invoked carpet bombing, again, but he also set his sights on violating the civil liberties and religious freedoms of Americans who pray to the wrong God. Read more
Following the atrocities in Brussels, conservatives were predictably eager to indulge their baser anti-Muslim instincts. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump was quick to return to his bomb-and-torture routine while next-in-line Ted Cruz elaborated on the “need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized.” It occurred to at least one Republican, though, that maybe refugees fleeing ISIS might have some legitimate concerns after all. Read more
Lately, Glenn Beck has become the “Aliens!” guy of politics. But instead of bringing everything back around to extra-terrestrial creatures, it’s more like some bizarre combination of God and Ted Cruz. Why would you go to hell if you voted for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton? Because God wants Ted Cruz to be president. Why did Justice Antonin Scalia die? Because God wants Ted Cruz to be president. Why do people listen to Glenn Beck? Because God wants Ted Cruz to be president. And the other day, he solved another mystery for mankind. Read more
There are roughly a million and one good reasons to oppose a Donald Trump presidency. So what, with so many prime targets, would a conservative anti-Trump super PAC like Make America Awesome go with? Demonstrating yet again the Republican Party’s progressive stance on women’s issues, they’ve released an ad in Utah targeting Trump’s wife, Melania, and her modeling days. The new Facebook ads feature a photo of her posing nude, with the caption “Meet Melania Trump. Your next first lady. Or, you could support Ted Cruz on Tuesday.” Read more
