Marriage Equality, LGBTQ, Politics and Media, Homophobia; Religion, Church and State, Sex Abuse Scandal; Rape, Trafficking, Revenge Porn

Marriage Equality

• Federal appeals court: Gays have right to marry—"A federal appeals court ruled for the first time Wednesday that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry, extending the movement's legal winning streak and bringing the issue a big step closer to the U.S. Supreme Court."
• Judge throws out Indiana's same-sex marriage ban—A stay has been granted.
• Reagan Appointed Judge Expands Louisiana Marriage Case To All Same-Sex Couples
• Battle over same-sex marriages in St. Louis headed to court
• 34 gay couples issued marriage licenses in Boulder Co.
• 45 Years After Stonewall, Oklahoma Still Awaiting Marriage Equality
• GOP Senator Collins says she supports gay marriage
• Republican Senator Says Republicans Must Abandon Same-Sex Marriage Issue To Win Elections
• Ben Carson's breathtaking marriage equality compromise: Don't let gay people get married—"'I don't think I can impose my will on any two consenting adults,' Carson says but clearly does not mean." Salon
• Wis. GOP Candidate: Marriage Equality Will Lead to Sibling Marriages

LGBTQ

• Biden: Gay rights take precedence over culture
• Town Votes To Give Fired Lesbian Police Chief Her Job Back, Strips Mayor Of Power
• Former defrocked United Methodist pastor Frank Schaefer will get back pay, credentials restored
• Unearthing The Surprising Religious History Of American Gay Rights Activism

Politics and Media

• Why I Outed Gay Republicans: A decade later, I'm still not sorry.—"The reaction to these early posts was mixed, with some people backing me and others yammering that I was invading politicians' right to privacy. To the latter group, I pointed out that these very politicians were making my private life—and the lives of millions of other LGBT Americans—a very public political issue." Politco
• Inside George W. Bush's Closet
• Rep. Paul "Skip" Stam Compares LGBT North Carolinians to Pedophiles on House Floor
• Susan Rice challenges LGBT community to amplify message that 'gay rights are straight up human rights
• US ambassador officially celebrates LGBT Pride Month in the Philippines
• CNBC Panel Gets Awkward When Host Refers To Apple CEO Tim Cook As Gay

Homophobia

• Uganda Lashes Out at U.S. Sanctions; Will Hurt 'Most Vulnerable'—"Admonitions from Kampala follow last week's news of fresh U.S. sanctions, including the loss of millions in funding for a new health institute and visa denials."
• Gay couple targeted in homophobic attack by teenage gang on east London street
• Yankton Teen Alleges Discrimination From Name Tag

Religion

• Berlin House of One: The first church-mosque-synagogue?
• Mormons Expel Founder of Group Seeking Priesthood for Women NYT
• Blast from the Past: 'Kumare': Fake Guru Exposes Real, Desperate Desire to Believe

Church and State

• Roy Moore's twisted history: Islam and Buddhism don't have First Amendment protection, chief justice says
• GOP House Candidate: Islam Not A Religion, Not Protected By Constitution
• Wiccan says he was barred from giving invocation—"A member of the Wiccan faith says he was set to give the opening invocation at a Huntsville City Council meeting until the plan was publicized and he was asked about his faith. He was then told he was no longer invited."
• NC religious schools in line to get voucher money
• North Carolina: Student-led prayer bill signed into law

Sex Abuse Scandal

• Vatican defrocks ex-ambassador in sex abuse case—"The Vatican has defrocked its former ambassador to the Dominican Republic for sexually abusing boys. It's the first time a top papal envoy has been convicted of the crime and signals that Pope Francis is serious about imposing "zero tolerance" for abuse, regardless of rank."
• Seattle Archdiocese to pay $12.1 million to settle sex abuse lawsuit
• St. Ignatius: Settlement talks ordered in Catholic school, parish sex-abuse case
• Betrayed by Silence—"For decades, leaders of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis have been reassigning, excusing and overlooking sexually abusive priests among their ranks. Some received additional retirement benefits. In August, a top church lawyer, shocked at what she saw, brought the story to MPR News. What happened next is still unfolding."
• Church, Police give conflicting answers on child sex abuse—"The Catholic Church in Malta and the police have given conflicting details regarding priests involved in child sex abuse cases since 2010."
• Sleeping with boys was 'common practice': royal commission on sex abuse in Wollongong
• On sex abuse, pope's problems both simple and complex

Rape

• How Did the FBI Miss Over 1 Million Rapes?—"Systematic undercounting of sexual assaults in the US disguises a hidden rape crisis."
• How BBC star Jimmy Savile got away with allegedly abusing 500 children and sex with dead bodies WaPo
• 'We demand justice': Kenyans protest after men who brutally raped girl sentenced to cut grass
• Pakistani police say boyfriend admits woman was raped, murdered after refusing sex with his friends
• No quick fix for India's rape crisis

Trafficking

• FBI targets pimps, rescues 168 children in nationwide crackdown
• D.C. police officer admits prostituting girls WaPo
• Activist Resigns Amid Charges of Fabrication NYT
• Brides for sale: Vietnamese women, young girls trafficked to China
• Nepal adoptions chief raped and groomed orphans for prostitution, claims British teacher
• U.S. human trafficking report drops four nations to lowest tier
• Fighting sex trafficking with Jesus: How the religious right’s "healing" hurts—"New campaigns claim to fight sex trafficking with 'love and the power of Christ.' And their influence is growing." Salon

Revenge Porn

• Feds arrest "most hated man on the Internet" in revenge porn hacking case
• Houston woman wins $500,000 in 'revenge porn' lawsuit
• Woman Posted Explicit Material Inside Walmart—She gave away fliers of her naked husband's alleged mistress.
• 'Revenge porn' victims receive boost from German court ruling—"Koblenz court orders man to delete nude images of ex-partner, even though he had shown no intention of publishing them."
• Man faces trial over 'revenge porn' website

Workers and Wage Slaves, Minimum Wage; Accountability, Class Warfare, Taxing, Vote Machinations, Race and Racism; Marriage Equality, Politics, LGBT; Abortion and Birth Control, Rape and Sexual Assault, Sex Abuse Scandal; The Francis Effect, Religion

Workers and Wage Slaves

• Where Does the USA Place in the World's Worst Places to Work Rankings?—"The United States is deemed one of the worst countries to be a worker."
• Americans Are Getting Less And Less Of Their Money From Their Jobs
• Temp Nation: How Corporations Are Evading Accountability, at Workers' Expense
• Philippines: Businessman locked up 8 employees who died in Pasay warehouse fire—Murderous intent.
• Flipside: How great would Sweden's proposed six-hour workday be? This great. WaPo

Minimum Wage

• Seattle raises minimum wage to $15 an hour—What's the implication?
• Reich: Seattle is Right
• CEO: McDonald's would 'manage' minimum wage hike—"Don Thompson told local college students what the company isn't likely to publicize: It could manage a hike in the minimum wage to $10.10."

Accountability

• U.S. appeals court voids judge's rejection of SEC-Citigroup accord—"A federal appeals court on Wednesday handed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a big victory by voiding a judge's pathbreaking decision to reject the regulator's $285 million fraud settlement with Citigroup Inc."
• US stock exchanges face lawsuit over high-frequency trading—"It is alleged HFT enables professionals to make quick profits at the expense of savers and pension fund investors."
• Judge lets U.S. pursue $5-billion fraud lawsuit against S&P
• Payday lenders sue US regulators over 'Operation Choke Point'
• Wall Street Traders Are About To Be In A World Of Pain—"A traders skills don't always translate well off Wall Street."

Class Warfare

• Savage capitalism is back – and it will not tame itself
• The Last Time Fatcats Tanked the Economy, the Backlash Was Huge. Why Didn't That Happen This Time?—"Explaining the power of 21st century plutocracy."
• One percent's twisted new heist: What's really behind privatization—"Outsourcing government not only leads to poor services -- it's killing the middle class...." Salon
• USDA To Georgia: You Can't Drug-Test Food Stamp Recipients

Taxing

• Florida Governor Rick Scott to Attend Fundraiser at the Home of a Tax Cheat
• Bundy owes the government more than all other ranchers combined
• What America Could Buy With Offshore Tax Money—"If the government closed loopholes that allow companies to stash profits in tax havens, we could collect $65 billion in taxes each year. Here's what that money could do for our country."
• 77,000 Foreign Banks to Share Tax Info With IRS
• Australia's rich come forward to declare their offshore tax structures

Vote Machinations

• Sheriff investigates McDaniel staffer—"An official investigation has been opened into three people who were found locked in the Hinds County Courthouse hours after it was closed by election officials Tuesday after returns had been counted in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate." Nothing reportedly happened.
• GOPer Bosworth Turns Herself In For Perjury Warrant—"[S]he had been charged with 'six counts of perjury and six counts of offering a false or forged instrument for filing.'"
• 'Year Of The Republican Establishment' Narrative Loses Even More Credibility
• One easy way to end gerrymandering: Stop letting politicians draw their own districts WaPo
• "Citizen Koch": The movie about our sick democracy PBS tried to kill—"Dumped by public TV, this long-brewing documentary explores the Koch brothers, Wisconsin and the death of the GOP." Salon
• Our New SuperPAC Is Going to Change American Politics for $12 Million

Race and Racism

• Owner of cotton warehouse responds to racist comments
• No charges will be filed against woman over racist rant—"Public's reactions to video prompt police to remove her children for their safety."
• Morgan Freeman, Don Lemon, and race: The actor doesn’t understand the link between inequality and race.

Marriage Equality

• Supreme Court won't put equal marriage ruling on hold in Oregon—"The high court refused to halt a federal judge's order declaring Oregon's equal marriage ban unconstitutional." Salon
• Judge strikes down Wisconsin same-sex marriage ban—And licenses are being issued.
• Texas' Gay Marriage Battle Heats Up As Attitudes Change
• How the National Organization for Marriage Doomed Itself to Collapse
• Opinion: Marriage equality is unstoppable
• For GOP Senate Candidates, Banning Same-Sex Marriage In The Constitution Has Lost Its Appeal
• Bakery Will Stop Making Wedding Cakes After Losing Discrimination Case
• Family Research Council Spokesman Links Isla Vista Shooting Spree To Gay Marriage
• Date set: same-sex couples can use British laws to marry in Australia—"Same-sex couples in which one partner has British citizenship will be able to marry from June 27 in British consulates in Sydney and Perth, with Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra to follow soon after."

Politics

• Waco, Texas extends anti-bias policy to LGBT employees
• U.S. Armed Forces color guard to march in gay pride parade in D.C.; called a first nationwide WaPo
• LGBT Republican Group GOProud Going Out of Business—"The gay conservative group officially closes up shop, though organizers say it will reemerge with a new name, format, and mission."
• Ted Cruz Addresses Rally Organized By Doctor Who Says Gays Recruit Children
• Texas GOP Platform Embraces 'Reparative Therapy' to 'Escape Homosexual Lifestyle'—They still want to criminalize homosexuality.

LGBT

• Cat On a Hot Tin Roof Production Canceled After Homophobic Fracas
• Wash. Times Editorial Spreads Slurs, Lies, on Medicare's Trans Coverage
• Louisville school OKs transgender bathroom policy
• How our genes could make us gay or straight WaPo

Abortion and Birth Control

• When Courts Consider Evidence, Abortion Supporters Win NYT
• Arizona Drug-Induced Abortion Limits Blocked by Court—"Arizona's law limiting drug-induced abortions was blocked by a federal appeals court, handing a victory to Planned Parenthood as it seeks to roll back a restriction it calls among the most stringent in the nation."
• Ohio Republicans Want to Make It Harder for Women to Get Long-Term Birth Control
• A Fantastic Quote From the Ohio Republican Who Wants to Ban Insurance Coverage of IUDs
• Alaska Senate Candidate Joe Miller Says Abortion Is Bankrupting Social Security
• Bodies of 800 babies, long-dead, found in septic tank at former Irish home for unwed mothers WaPo
• Shocking movie portrayal: Why "Obvious Child" is a revolutionary fairy tale—"In this striking new film, a woman has sex, gets pregnant and has an abortion. And she isn't punished for it!" Salon

Rape and Sexual Assault

• India state minister on rape: 'Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong'—"Home minister in BJP-run Madhya Pradesh state describes rape as a 'social crime' in comments playing down rapes."
• Sexual harassment made a crime in Egypt—"Outgoing president issues decree criminalising sexual harassment, making it punishable by up to five years in jail."
• Flier arrested for alleged threat: 'I kill white people'
• The Montana Judge Who Blamed a 14-Year-Old for Her Own Rape Will be Censured

Sex Abuse Scandals

• Roman Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Scandal: 19 Accuse Mexican Priest, Activist Estimates as Many as '100 Victims'
• After US sex abuse scandals, an accused priest rises again in Paraguay
• Ex-megachurch pastor blames underage victim, wants out of prison

Francis Effect

• Pope Francis Sacks Entire Board of Vatican's Financial Watchdog—"The pontiff has replaced the all-Italian board of the Financial Information Authority with an international group of new members — including Juan C. Zarate, a Harvard professor and former Bush Administration official."
• Pope Francis Says 'Door Is Always Open' to Rethink Priestly Celibacy
• Pope Francis defends Gypsies in Vatican address—"Pontiff urges Italians to stem their suspicion and calls on authorities to help those at the margins of society."
• Pope criticises couples who choose having pets over children for an 'easy' life—"Pope Francis says couples who substitute pets for children so that they can have a "care-free life" will face a 'lonely' old age."

Religion

• Racism Lives On Under the Cover of 'Religious Freedom'—"A small portion of the population believes people should have the right not to serve black people—and even more believe the same thing about Jews, atheists, gays, and lesbians."
• Virginia atheist couple: Court-appointed officiant told us we had no right to get married
• Bill Maher Battles Ralph Reed: People Pull Faith 'Right Out of Their Ass'
• Alabama chief justice cites Pledge of Allegiance to show courts need God to function
• A litany of 'thou shalt nots': Catholic teachers challenge morality clause

Marriage Equality, Politics and Media, Homophobia, TG; Sex Abuse Scandal, Church and State, Religion; War on Women, Sexism, Abortion and Birth Control, Culture Clash, Rape

Marriage Equality

• South Dakota Couples Challenge Gay Marriage Ban
• North Dakota's same-sex marriage ban to be challenged WaPo
• GOP Congressman Comes Out In Favor Of Marriage Equality
• Gay Marriage Will Destroy the GOP—"If conservatives don't embrace the inevitable, they'll become irrelevant." Politico
• Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi: Gay Marriage Would Cause Harm
• Kan. Democrat who opposes same-sex marriage leaving party for GOP
• Mormon Family That Supported Prop 8 Discovers Their Son Is Gay

Politics and Media

• Obama Proclaims June LGBT Pride Month, Calls Out Congress For 'Injustice' Of Not Passing ENDA
• Anti-Gay Houston Official Threatens To Recall Mayor If Bill Prohibiting Discrimination Passes—Will he push through with it now that it has passed?
• Republican Gay Rights Groups Denied Booths At Texas GOP Convention
• Gay Republican congressional candidate's California office vandalized
• GOP Michigan Guv Backs LGBT Workplace Protections
• Out Gay Pennsylvania Republican Loses GOP Primary, But Will Remain On The Ballot As A Democrat
• Fighter Alex Reid: 'Sex with men doesn't make you gay or bisexual, just like a cigarette doesn't make you a smoker'
• Anderson Cooper on show host who called airing Sam kiss 'wrong'
• Robert De Niro opens up about gay father in 'Out': 'I wish we had spoken about it much more'
• Obamacare Is the Most Important Piece of Gay Rights Legislation Ever Passed

Homophobia

• Mistakenly believing one of them to be gay, two homophobes attack each other
• Couple says they were asked not to come back to East Texas restaurant because they are gay—"Here at Big Earl's we like for men to act like men and for ladies to act like ladies, so we want you to never return."
• Slovak parents fail to block adoption by gay couple
• Aiding Turkey's Gay Inmates—"Ankara's proposal to segregate gay, lesbian and transgender prisoners will do more harm than good." NYT

TG

• What Is This Child Doing in Prison?—"The transgender teenager needs treatment, not isolation." NYT
• Ban lifted on Medicare coverage for sex change surgery WaPo
• Parents make heartwarming tribute to 6-year-old transgender son
• Transgender tipping point: Laverne Cox on the cover of TIME

Sex Abuse Scandal

• Pope Francis to meet with sexual abuse victims
• UN Panel Slams Vatican on Priest Sex-Abuse Scandal
• Archbishop of Manila has been at forefront of sex-abuse scandal reforms
• Australia: Department defends claims sexual abuse commission funding redirected to insulation inquiry
• Protestant Church Faces New Sex-Abuse Scandal as Victims Defy Threats, Censorship to Speak Out

Church and State

• Virginia county board says no followers of 'pre-Christian deities' allowed to deliver prayers
• After Possible Church/State Violation, Mayor Allegedly Tells Atheist: "Take Me to Fucking Court because I Don't Care"
• Sudan to release woman facing death penalty for being Christian—"A Sudanese official says that Meriam Ibrahim will be released from prison. She was raised a Christian by her mother but a court ruled earlier this month that she is Muslim because that was her father's faith. She was sentenced to death by hanging for renouncing Islam."

Religion

• Investigators reveal alleged suicide note, suspect cites recent bible verse
• Evil cult beat woman to death at Chinese McDonalds
• Spies, Cash, and Fear: Inside Christian Money Guru Dave Ramsey's Social Media Witch Hunt—"When critics appeared online, employees say the evangelical financial whiz went ballistic, allegedly firing innocent employees and offering bounties for information."

War on Women

• Limbaugh: Hillary's 'Only And Greatest Achievement' Is 'Being Female'
• Why Jill Abramson's Firing Triggers Women's Worst Fears About Sexism
• National Review Writer: Liberals 'Brainwash' Women To Cry 'Rape'..

Sexism

• Scout Willis topless Instagram protest: Daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore rallies against female nudity policy
• Restaurant Responds to Review Requesting Servers 'Show Some Skin' In Clever Way
• Snapchat CEO 'mortified' by leaked e-mails—"In the e-mails, acquired by Gawker's Valleywag blog, Evan Spiegel encourages fellow Kappa Sigma members to get sorority women drunk enough to have sex, mocks another fraternity by suggesting its members are gay and refers to a different group of sorority members as 'sororisluts.'"

Abortion and Birth Control

• "There is so much shame": Emily Letts on why she filmed her abortion — and what happened next—"Emily Letts' abortion video became a viral sensation. Here's what she was thinking -- and the best reaction she got." Saon
• Commissioners reject KDHE grant—"Price said the long-term form of birth control, an intrauterine device, or IUD, which the grant would fund, was an abortion issue. 'I'm not very smart on this because I'm just a man. But I'm against it,' Price said. He said he was acting on the advice of two physicians." Emphasis mine.
• Things are about to go from bad to worse in Oklahoma: Governor signs off on Texas-style abortion restrictions—"An admitting privilege requirement threatens to leave one clinic to serve 3.8 million people." Salon
• Texas Ed Board Candidate Who Fathered Child at 16: Supports Ten Commandments, Opposes Sex Ed in Schools
• What If We Admitted to Children That Sex Is Primarily About Pleasure?
• Update on SC sex-ed law closer to passage
• Schools return 'suggestive' condoms
• School District To Allow Teachers To Give Condoms To Sixth-Grade Students

Culture Clash

• Pregnant Pakistani woman stoned to death by family—"I killed my daughter as she had insulted all of our family by marrying a man without our consent, and I have no regret over it." Jeebus.\
• Egyptian doctor to stand trial for female genital mutilation in landmark case—"Raslan Fadl, a doctor in a Nile delta village, is accused of killing 13-year-old schoolgirl Sohair al-Bata'a in a botched operation."
• Man killed wife for making vegetarian dinner: prosecutors—"Defense attorney Julie Clark admitted Hussain beat his wife — but argued that he is guilty of only manslaughter because he didn't intend to kill her. In Pakistan, Clark said, beating one's wife is customary."
• Iranian actress Leila Hatami faces public flogging—"Iranian court is asked to order the public flogging of award-winning actress Leila Hatami for greeting Cannes festival president with a kiss."

Rape

• Marital rape is officially legal in India—"A judge in India has officially confirmed that rape laws do not apply to married couples — once you’re legally wed, forced sex is no longer a crime."
• Young Widow to Be Caned After Gang Rape by Sharia Vigilantes—"A 25 yr. old Indonesian widow in Aceh will be caned under sharia law for having an affair. She was gang raped by sharia vigilantes."
• 2 dalit sisters gang-raped, bodies found hanging from tree
• Malaysian teenager gang-raped by 38 men

Marriage Equality, Cases; Schools; Latta, Intolerance, LGBT; War on Women, Abortion and Birth Control; Religion, Think of the Children

Marriage Equality

• Republican Activists Push Party On Gay Marriage
• Illinois GOP Replaces Officials Who Opposed Chairman On Gay Marriage
• Nauseating political cynicism led to inspiring gay marriage triumph—"A new book details how Obama's evolution on marriage equality was orchestrated. It's sickening -- but encouraging." Salon
• Idaho Won't Allow Lesbian Veteran To Be Buried With Her Wife
• Stop twisting the Bible: There is no message against same-sex marriage—"Moses and Paul are being misinterpreted: They were against gang rape and pederasty, not loving relationships." Salon
• Blast from the Past: Wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin Body-Slams Marriage Equality Critics

Cases

• Judge: Indiana Must Recognize Gay Couple's Marriage
• 10th Circuit arguments on gay marriage ban focus on family, fairness
• Ted Olson: Va. gay marriage ban 'flatly unconstitutional'
• Prop 8 lawyer's views on gay marriage evolving
• Italian Court Recognizes Gay Marriage for First Time
• Malta: Same sex unions approved - Celebrations in Valletta - Opposition abstains because of adoptions

Schools

• College basketball player comes out as gay
• Best Protest Ever: Students Walk Out During Anti-Gay Lecture, Leaving Room All but Empty
• Law society rejects school over gay policy—"Ontario's law society has refused to accredit a new law school at a faith-based university over a policy prohibiting same-sex intimacy that some say is discriminatory."
• Publicly funded school with anti-gay policy spurs Alberta review—"Alberta's education minister faced questions today about why tax dollars are going to a school with anti-gay policies."
• Religious Oregon teens wear 'Gay Is Not OK' shirts to school to protest lack of 'straight day'
• Washington school district will hire gay administrator forced out of Catholic school
• Trans teacher reinstated by school board following parent complaints

Latta

• Mayor Who Fired Lesbian Police Chief Caught On Tape In Homophobic Tirade—"I would much rather have.. and I will say this to anybody's face… somebody who drank and drank too much taking care of my child than I had somebody whose lifestyle is questionable around children."
• Latta council fights for chief's job—"Mayor refuses to discuss police leader's dismissal before a packed meeting."
• South Carolina town rallies 'round fired gay police chief

Intolerance

• Tea Party Activist: 'Gay Supremacy Is Becoming A Monster That Carries Greater Evils Than White Supremacy Ever Did'
• Boy Scouts of America Shuts Down Seattle Troop Over Gay Scoutmaster
• Man gets 2 1/2 years for beating disabled brother to 'push the gay out'
• Brunei's new law permits stoning gay people to death
• Mistrust and Hate: The Frightening New Lives of Homosexuals in Uganda
• Serial Killer Arrested For Killing Gay Men In Pakistan
• For young women in China, slash fanfiction is a dangerous hobby

LGBT

• A frat boy's "gay experience"—"I always considered myself straight. What happened with Tom left me questioning everything about my sexuality." Salon
• Artist Creates Unique Portrait of Tom Daley to Combat Hate
• It's Not Just Frozen: Most Disney Movies Are Pro-Gay—"By preaching acceptance and questioning gender, the company's kids films offer a queer-studies crash course."
• Gun Barrel City mayor promises end to police surveillance of gay bar Garlow's
• Chelsea Manning: A Statement on My Legal Name Change

War on Women

• Chelsea Clinton's pregnancy gives birth to new conspiracies—"The news that Hillary Clinton is to become a grandmother has prompted questions about her ability to run for presidency. It's breathtaking sexism."
• Mitch McConnell Says He Stood Up for Women in a Senate Sexual-Harassment Scandal. The Real Story Is Damning.—"McConnell claims he led a 1995 investigation against a GOP senator accused of sexual misconduct. Actually, he took steps to keep it quiet."
• Prominent Republican: Women Need To Be Paid Less So They Can Find Husbands
• GOP Lawmaker Says Women Don't Deserve Equal Pay Because They're Lazier
• GOP Candidate: I'm Not Waging A War On Women Because I'm A Woman

Abortion and Birth Control

• North Dakota abortion ban ruled unconstitutional
• Lawsuit: Texas Hospital Caved to Anti-Abortion Activists' Demands
• Virginia GOPer: Incest exceptions in abortion restrictions unnecessary because sometimes incest is "voluntary"—"Asked to defend the remark, the delegate said, 'I don't care. ... if I say something in public, I say it in public.'" Salon
• South Carolina Bill Wants to Apply 'Stand Your Ground' Law to Fetuses
• Tennessee legislature passes bill to criminalize pregnancy: Women who have stillbirths after using illegal drugs may be charged
• The secret anti-abortion law that's sweeping America—"Pro-lifers can't reverse Roe v Wade. So they're shutting down clinics with red tape and a smile. Don't believe the lie."
• Nearly one-third of morning-after pills in Peru are fake

Religion

• Popes John Paul II and John XXIII made saints in double canonisation
• Pope Francis 'told divorced and remarried woman there is nothing wrong with her taking Communion', Italian newspaper says
• Britain in post-Christian era, says former archbishop of Canterbury—"Lord Williams says time of habitual worship is over and further decline of widespread faith likely in UK."
• "A Masturbation Lawsuit Is Rattling Christian Homeschoolers—"The sexual abuse lawsuit against 'Biblical Patriarchy' leader Doug Phillips is dividing Christian homeschoolers."
• Army approves 'humanist' as religious preference
• Court upholds ban on religious services in NYC public schools
• Shakespeare and atheism: What his works tell us about the playwright's religious views

Think of the Children

• Pope Francis asks forgiveness for child abuse by clergy
• Couple accused in death of daughter, 12, seek to exclude mention of faith healing
• 'Baptism is a crime against children': ECHR
• 'Muslim morality squads' accused of confiscating students' Easter eggs in U.K.
• SC Republican wants to end public schools: Nothing 'in the Bible about state education'
• W. Va. School Removes Bible Verse after Complaint
• US school's Bible class: Sinners will suffer

The Francis Effect, Sex Abuse Scandal; Cosmos, Science Under Siege; Church vs. State, Abortion and Birth Control, Marriage Equality, Homophobia; Islam and Islamophobia, Fervor Pitch; History, Gotta Have Faith

The Francis Effect

• One year of Pope Francis: A priest reflects
• Report: Benedict Critiqued Pope Francis' Interview On Gay Marriage, Abortion
• The World's 50 Greatest Leaders—He's #1.
• Pope Francis denounces 'evil, blood-stained' mafia
• Catholicism and women: The winds of change

Sex Abuse Scandal

• Pope hits out at criticism of Church over sexual abuse
• Pope appoints former child victim to church group on sex abuse—"Pope Francis on Saturday named a woman molested by a priest as a child to be part of a core group to help the Catholic Church fight the clerical sexual abuse of minors that has haunted it for over two decades."
• Former Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton priest who was named as a child abuser now is a vicar general in Paraguay

Cosmos

• Cosmos Squashes Creationism Under the Weight of Evidence—And science deniers are freaking out.
• Oklahoma TV station censors evolution talk on Cosmos reboot—They claim it was unintended, unlike what happened before.
• Neil deGrasse Tyson Is Really Starting To Scare Conservatives
• Creationists Demand Airtime On 'Cosmos' For The Sake Of Balance—Genesis is not a documentary.

Science Under Siege

• How Did Creationists Respond to Yesterday's Big News in Support of the Big Bang Theory?—With a river in Egypt.
• From creationism to ESP: Why believers ignore science—"A journalist's investigation of strange beliefs and the people who hold them leaves him questioning himself." Salon
• Jewish school redacts exam to remove evolution questions

Church vs. State

• 5 disturbing ways the religious right is trying to rewrite American history—"Disregarding the separation of church and state is just the beginning..." Salon
• Republican Files Bill to Make the Bible Louisiana's Official State Book—Korans need not apply.
• Object to biased resolution condemning only Christian persecution
• Buddhist Student, Religious Liberty Prevail In Louisiana
• Israel ends ultra-Orthodox military service exemptions

Abortion and Birth Control

• If Hobby Lobby Wins, It Will Be Even Worse For Birth Control Access Than You Think
• My Employer Shamed Me for Using Birth Control
• A Young Mother In Mississippi Could Face Life In Prison For Giving Birth To A Stillborn Child
• GOP Senate Candidate Drops Strict Anti-Abortion Position—"This was a bad idea driven by good intentions. I was not right. I can't support personhood now. I can't support personhood going forward. To do it again would be a mistake."
• Why Can’t the FDA Fix Outdated Birth Control Labels?—"Contraceptives like Plan B don’t prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in a woman’s body. But their labels still say they do—and they’ve become a tool for conservative activists."
• Life-sized fetus causes cafeteria controversy at Connecticut school—Was it because she had a modest proposal to share?
• Faced With Rising STD Rates, Louisiana Lawmaker Says Lack Of Sex Ed Is 'Really A Form Of Child Abuse'
• My Neighborhood Makes It Easier to Get Pregnant Than To Go To College

Marriage Equality

• Federal judge strikes down Michigan's gay marriage ban—Along with it a fake anti-gay research strategy bankrolled by the religious right. Regnerus' testimony was "entirely unbelievable and not worthy of serious consideration." Some couples were able to get married before the temporary stay was issued.
• Wave of Appeals Expected to Turn the Tide on Same-Sex Marriage Bans—"Legal experts predict that several of the circuit courts, which hold sway over a group of states, will rule that state laws limiting marriage to a man and a woman are unconstitutional." NYT
• The Religious Right's Failed Gay-Marriage Backlash—"In states like Arizona, social conservatives hoped to push back against the rising gay-rights tide, but lawmakers and the public sided against them."

Homophobia

• Founder of Westboro Baptist Church, Rev. Fred Phelps Sr. dies—Maddow says his hatred backfired.
• Wyoming GOP lawmaker: Promiscuous gays weaponizing AIDS for a 'national suicide'
• Parents threaten to sink Elyria Schools renewal—"The creation of a gay and straight group for students at Elyria High School has outraged a couple of longtime supporters who are now encouraging their friends to reject a must-needed renewal levy on the May ballot."

Islam and Islamophobia

• Parents fury as pork sausages are banned from the school menu and replaced with halal meat
• Islamic law is adopted by British legal chiefs—"Solicitors told how to draw up Sharia-style wills penalising widows and non-believers."
• Saudi Arabia bans 50 'blasphemous' and 'inappropriate' children's names—"The list of names contradicting the Kingdom’s 'religious and cultural norms' includes several foreign names."
• Shock for critics: Muslim judge's non-sharia ruling—"New Jersey Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed ruled in favor of the mother, and last week, his precedent-setting written opinion was released. That the Muslim judge sided with a woman in a case with a gender dispute might come as a surprise to some of his previous critics."
• ABC Family Pulls Plug on 'Alice in Arabia' After Muslim Org Backlash—"The show's premise centered on an American teen kidnapped by her Saudi Arabian family after tragedy befalls her parents." And here I thought it was a continuation of
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.
• Legoland closes resort hotel following threats—"[A] private fun day organised by the Muslim Research and Development Foundation" was cancelled due to "threats from far right organisations".
• Lawsuit filed after praying family escorted from Empire State Building

Fervor Pitch

• Nigeria: Attacks on Christians Kill at Least 100
• Hindu temple set on fire in Pakistan over blasphemy
• Woman branded witch, mercilessly killed in Chhattisgarh
• Catholic Leader: I Wasn't Saying That I 'Literally' Wanted Liberal Professors Shot

History

• Nine unopened Dead Sea Scrolls found—Contents to be added to the Dead Sea Scroll digital archive.
• Vatican Library to digitise archives with Japanese support
• Russell Crowe film 'Noah' edited to appease Christians upset by 'historical inaccuracies'

Gotta Have Faith

• Church spent $200K to put pastor's book on bestseller list
• Nun Rocks It On Italy's 'The Voice' Singing Competition And No One Can Believe It: Sister Cristina Scuccia Wows
• 8 Ancient Beliefs Now Backed By Modern Science

Ukraine; Discrimination, Arizona, Uganda; Church and State, Scouts; Sex Abuse Scandal; Catholic Coffers; Religion

Ukraine

• Ukraine orders full military mobilisation over Russia moves—Which is a considered a 'declaration of war.'
• Ukraine Finds Its Forces Are Ill Equipped to Take Crimea Back From Russia NYT
• Obama urges Putin to pull troops back
• Harper recalls ambassador, tells Putin to withdraw
• Russia told to 'back off' by Abbott
• UK pulls out of preparatory talks for G8 summit in Sochi
• Kerry condemns Russia's 'incredible act of aggression' in Ukraine
• UNSC, EU, NATO to hold urgent meetings over Ukraine
• Thousands March In Pro-Invasion Rally In Moscow
• The Wikileaks cables that anticipated the Russian invasion of Crimea
• UNSC, EU, NATO to hold urgent meetings over Ukraine
• The Wikileaks cables that anticipated the Russian invasion of Crimea

Discrimination

• The Week The 'Religious Freedom' Movement Hit Its High Water Mark
• When 'Religious Liberty' Was Used To Justify Racism Instead Of Homophobia
• Who Favors Discrimination against Gay Newlyweds? Most Republicans, old People, Southerners, Evangelicals
• GOP lawmaker says he 'regrets' offensive statements about gays, abortion
• NYC Church Warns That 'Homo Demons' Unleashed By Obama Will Steal Men

Arizona

• Arizona's antigay bill: Did warnings about Muslim religious freedom help prompt a veto?
• Arizona Not Done! Bill Would Allow Judges To Discriminate Against Gays
• It's Still Legal to Fire Gays in Arizona—"Jan Brewer’s veto of SB 1062 doesnt change a thing: discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is quite alright by the law."
• Tempe, Ariz., approves LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance
• Opinion: Arizona Did Us All a Favor—"Recent legal movements are fraught with trouble for a country founded on the idea that church does not dictate to state." NYT
• Stephen Colbert Makes a Cake for Gays

Uganda

• World Bank delays loan to Uganda over anti-gay law—Uganda claims this is 'blackmail.'
• Scots bid to offer Ugandan gay law asylum
• Anti-gay filmmaker Jason 'Molotov' Mitchell challenges for NC Senate seat—"Mitchell made news nationally in 2010 when he posted a video in support of a Ugandan anti-homosexuality law that would have imposed the death penalty on violators."
• Uganda bans miniskirts, pornography
• Ugandan women protest anti-miniskirt mobs

Church and State

• Alabama House committee passes school prayer bill without votes
• Ten Commandments bill on way to Alabama Senate after passing out of committee
• Conservatives Boot American Atheists From Booth At Conference
• Deal could allow gays in Boston St. Pat's parade
• Texas Religious-right Politicians Fall Prey to Scam by ‘Godly Man’

Scouts

• Disney cuts ties with Boy Scouts over ban on LGBTQ troop leaders—"The Walt Disney Company's corporate guidelines ban discrimination based on sexual or gender identity." Salon
• Small tent: Georgia pastor boots Boy Scouts to keep gay scouts from camping with other boys
• N. Va. priest who ousted Cub Scouts over gays kept the popcorn money for Christian group—"Fairfax cleric who severed ties with Cub Scouts over gays kept $4,000 to fund new Christian group." WaPo
• Boy Scouts See Ranks Shrink After Policy Shift on Gays—"Says other factors could contribute to the lower number of participants."
• Alternative to Boy Scouts, formed in wake of gay controversy, finds its footing

Sex Abuse Scandal

• Mom of two abused boys: Archdiocese is trying to blame me
• Former altar boy reveals grim details of Philadelphia priest’s alleged sex abuse
• Catholic church will publicly name 50 or more former priests who abused kids in western Montana
• Croatia Church finds priest guilty of pedophilia
• Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge dismayed by Catholic Church sex abuse claims—Those who "had ignored and excused sex abuse claims."

Islam

• Nigeria school raid 'leaves dozens dead'—"Suspected Islamist militants from the Boko Haram group in north-eastern Nigeria have attacked a school and shot some students, the military has said."
• 19 Islamic words banned for non-Muslims in Brunei—"They are azan; baitullah; Al Quran; Allah; fatwa; Firman Allah; hadith; haji; hukum syara'; ilahi; Ka'bah; kalimah al syahadah; kiblat; masjid; imam; mufti; mu'min; solat; and wali."
• Muslims Worldwide Sign Petition to Ban Blasphemous Katy Perry Video from YouTube
• Tunisian pardoned over Prophet cartoons—"Decree clears man jailed since 2012 for posting caricatures of Prophet Muhammad online, but no word yet on his release."
• US court orders removal of anti-Islam film from YouTube—Should freedom of speech pay the price because of a spurious copyright notice? Google doesn't think so.

Catholic Coffers

• Pope Talks Poverty, Eyes Overhaul Of Vatican Finances
• Pope revolutionizes Vatican by opening finances to scrutiny
• Big Spending NJ Archdiocese Doesn't Want To Talk About Pope's Call For Modesty
• A Church So Poor It Has to Close Schools, Yet So Rich It Can Build a Palace NYT
• Bling bishop used charity millions for HQ: report—"A disgraced German bishop who spent €31 million building a new headquarters used cash reserved for good causes to fund his lavish projects...."

Religion

• Why must Jesus be sexy in film?—Mmm... homem bonito.
• Kentucky Baptists use gun giveaways to lure unchurched to Christ
• Pastor of Korean Megachurch Convicted for Embezzling $12 Million
• Illinois Woman Charged With Vandalizing 20 Churches, Mosques
• "Hipster" Christianity: 9 hilarious attempts by the religious right to be cool Salon

Sex and Religion, Church and State; Sex Abuse Scandal; Creationism; Women, Abortion and Birth Control; Marriage Equality, LGBT

Sex and Religion

• The Pope's Sex Problem: Catholic Survey Reveals Frustrated Flock
• The rise of religion might be all about sex—"A study suggests religion might have arisen to protect certain reproductive strategies, like long-term partnership." Salon
• From good girl to prostitute: My path from ultra-Orthodox Judaism to Craigslist sex ad—"I was a rabbi's daughter with my own ideas and unforgiving parents. Sex became a very complicated rebellion." Salon

Church and State

• Why the Christian right's persecution fantasies are so dangerous—"Religious conservative groups invest an insane amount of energy in the myth that they're an oppressed minority." Salon
• House panel approves bill that shields Kansans who refuse to serve same-sex couples on religious grounds
• NC High School Football Coach Ordered To Cease Baptisms, Leading Prayers
• Tennessee judge who ordered name change for baby Messiah fired
• Mormon president ordered to appear in British court—"The leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been ordered to appear before a magistrate in England on fraud charges filed by a disaffected ex-Mormon."

Sex Abuse Scandal

• Vatican 'must immediately remove' child abusers - UN—Vatican responds.
• Catholics outraged over U.N. report on sex abuse—They're not thinking of the children.
• Poland Church In First Abuse Lawsuit
• An 'open secret': Catholic sexual abuse in the Black community
• Catholic Diocese Of Stockton Files Bankruptcy; Priest Sexual-Abuse Scandal Blamed
• Seattle U buys residence from order of priests embroiled in sex-abuse scandal
• Helena, Montana diocese to enter bankruptcy

Creationism

• Inside Ken Ham's mind: Why the creationist couldn't sustain a scientific discussion—"While Bill Nye wanted a debate about knowledge, the creationist was fixated on something entirely different: ethics." Salon
• Religion and science: Answering creationists' questions
• Creationist Questions Translated

Women

• Amna Bawazeer Death: Female Saudi Student Dies When Staff Block Male Paramedics
• Indian woman and baby burned alive for dowry, police say
• New Afghanistan law to silence victims of violence against women—"Small change to criminal code has huge consequences in country where 'honour' killings and forced marriage are rife."

Abortion and Birth Control

• Thank The Pill For Abortion Rate Drop—"The abortion rate in the U.S. has reached its lowest level since Roe v Wade. Why credit should go to Planned Parenthood, not the GOP."
• Abortion as end-of-life care: Why I chose a peaceful life and death for my son
• Welden gets 13 years in abortion pill case—"John Andrew Welden apologized, quoted the Bible and asked for mercy from the judge who sentenced him to 13 years and eight months in federal prison for tricking his girlfriend into taking an abortion pill just before she lost her 6-week-old embryo."

Marriage Equality

• Feds to provide legal benefits, services to all in same-sex marriages
• Times Are A-Changin': Republicans Now The Key To Gay Marriage Fight
• Shift toward gay marriage has Kansas religious conservatives scrambling
• Indiana: Rally for Marriage Equality cancelled due to changes made to HJR3
• Alabama Chief Justice Jumps Into Gay Marriage Fight
• GOP lawmaker to Utah taxpayers: Donate your refunds to fight marriage equality—"The state's marriage equality ban is expected to reach the Supreme Court -- and that can get expensive." Salon
• Scottish Parliament votes to legalize same-sex marriage
• Study finds same-sex parenting is not harmful for children

LGBT

• De Blasio to Skip St. Patrick's Day Parade; Cites Exclusion of Gay Groups NYT
• Eight U.S. states have policies similar to Russia's ban on gay 'propaganda' WaPo
• Republican Official Says Gays Should Be Purged From GOP, Blames Homosexuality On Satan
• Oklahoma restaurant owner says doesn't want 'f*ggot, freak' customers
• 5-year-old Disney star gets death threats when her show introduces same-sex couple

Pope Francis, Sex Abuse Scandals, Islamists, Women, Church and State; Marriage Equality, Teh Gay, Sochi, Politics, Transgender

Pope Francis

• Pope asks Catholic Church not to alienate kids of gay or divorced parents—"'We must be careful not to administer a vaccine against faith to them,' said the pontiff." Salon
• Francis sacks four cardinals on Vatican Bank commission – 11 months into their five-year term
• Pope Francis Restricts 'Monsignor' Title To Encourage Humility In Priests
• Pope Francis looks past Europe, U.S., for new cardinals
• Pope Francis encourages breastfeeding in Sistine Chapel
• Pope Francis Is Auctioning His Harley for Charity

Sex Abuse Scandals

• For the first time ever, Vatican answers questions about priest sex abuse in public at length
• Pope Benedict defrocked nearly 400 priests for molesting kids
• Oklahoma pastor arrested in Philippines on child molestation charges

Islamists

• Lebanon Loses 78000 Books To Terrorism: Tripoli’s "Al Sa'eh" Library Burned
• Islamists kill young Catholic who complained about anti-Christian violence
• Afghan atheist granted UK asylum—"Home Office's acceptance of atheism as grounds for protection could set significant precedent."
• Mali arrests Islamist judge who ordered amputations and stonings

Women

• Saudi religious cops tell women not to use swings
• York University professor who refused student's request to be separated from female classmates broke 'obligation to accommodate': officials
• Teen felt 'degraded' after teacher backed aikido student's request to avoid touching females on religious grounds
• How people in Muslim countries prefer women to dress in public

Church and State

• Woman claims lawyers should have told her divorce would end her marriage
• The religious alternative to Obamacare
• Texas Public Schools Are Teaching Creationism—"An investigation into charter schools' dishonest and unconstitutional science, history, and 'values' lessons."
• Elder Pastitsios satire: Greek blogger sentenced to 10-month prison for insulting religion

Marriage Equality

• Utah's gay marriages are valid, feds say—And, according to the state, married couples can file joint taxes.
• U.S. District Judge Rules Oklahoma Ban on Marriage Equality Unconstitutional—"His ruling is stayed pending appeal, meaning marriages will not occur immediately in the Sooner State."
• Yes, Being Against Marriage Equality Means You're Against Gays
• The case for gay marriage is made in the freedom of religion
• Sean P. Means: At Sundance, 'Case Against 8' points the way for Utah's same-sex couples—"When filmmakers Ben Cotner and Ryan White were making 'The Case Against 8,' and when the Sundance Film Festival programmers picked it for the U.S. Documentary competition, neither group could have known that the film would become so timely — especially for its Utah audiences."

Teh Gay

• Eighty percent of congregation quits after Indiana church forces out gay choir director
• Ratings Plummet For 'Duck Dynasty' Season Premiere After Star's Gay-Bashing Interview
• Juan Pablo Galavis Says There Shouldn't Be a Gay Bachelor—"Can you really say 'I don't think it's a good example for kids' and still 'respect' gay people?" He's not ducking around.

Sochi

• Italian IOC official accuses US of 'absurdly' politicizing Olympics by sending gay athletes
• Putin: Gay people will be safe at Olympics if they 'leave kids alone'
• Russia's 'anti-gay' law pushes gay community into shadows

Politics

• McAuliffe signs executive order prohibiting discrimination against LGBT state workers
• Republican gay rights campaigner announces he's quitting the GOP—"Co-founder of political campaign group GOProud says he's fed up with the 'tolerance of bigotry' in Republican party."
• Okla. Rep. Sally Kern: 'Homosexuality is not a civil right, it's a human wrong'
• Dave Agema: Russian anti-gay propaganda law is 'common sense'
• New law in Nigeria bans gay meetings
• Uganda Among World's Top Gay Porn Consumers—So far the president isn't signing the bill.
• Australia: Victoria to expunge criminal records of men convicted over gay sex

Transgender

• Transgender teenager faces criminal charges after defending herself against bullies Salon
• Laverne Cox flawlessly shuts down Katie Couric's invasive questions about transgender people Salon
• Trans Woman Dares Bible-Quoting Councilman to Stone Her to Death—"A Shreveport, La., City Council member Tuesday withdrew a bill that would repeal the city's recently passed antidiscrimination ordinance following backlash from residents, including one woman willing to call his bluff."