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Steven Waldman

Does it strike anyone as odd that 11 of the 14 pardons that Bush has announced recently are in the South? The pardon recipients come from: Fort Worth, Texas Falls Church, Va. Rossville, Ga Travelers Rest, S.C.. Jacksonville, Fla.. Midland, Texas Sulphur, Okla. Grant, Ala., Los Angeles, Ca. Conroe, Texas White Hall, Ark. Charleston, Mo…

Prop 8 is often cast as a battle between gay rights groups and religious groups (Mormons, evangelicals, Catholics, etc). But I’m reminded by this note from a leader of the pro-gay marriage forces in Massachusetts that in her state the pro-marriage clergy played a crucial role — and in California, not so much. The Reverend…

Rev. Ed Young has challenged married couples in his congregation to have seven straight days of sex. He told The New York Times: “We should try to double up the amount of intimacy we have in marriage. And when I say intimacy, I don’t mean holding hands in the park or a back rub.” “For…

I was once Googling the word “mandalas” — a symmetrical symbol found in many different faiths. I came upon a whole world of Mandala art but none moved me more than the digitally manipulated photographs of flowers done by David Bookbinder. He now has a blog on Beliefnet.

In an exchange this weekend with Tom Brokaw, Joe Lieberman said he regretted some of what he’d said during the campaign. Brokaw said, “I hear the word regret, but not the word apologize.” Lieberman responded that he’s “going forward,” adding, “You can take from the word ‘regret’ what you will. I wish I had not…

This is, according to Wired.com, a screen grab of some of the dialogue that was going on when a teen broadcast himself committing suicide on Justin.tv. Notice the two “LOL”s. Perhaps some viewers assumed it was a hoax. For that reason, what I find just as unnerving is the reaction in the subsequent few days.…

Food pantries are struggling. Food prices are up, donations are down, and need is growing. (Examples: Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Oregon, North Carolina, Florida, to name a few.) Charity navigators lists the best food pantries by location and rating.

A reader at Andrew Sullivan’s blog makes this point: I am another gay man who has no problem with a church refusing to conduct a same-gender marriage rite. What I don’t understand is why the conservatives/fundamentalists can’t get it through their collective skull that their insistence upon enforcing in civil law their particular interpretation of…

Cathy Grossman at USAToday found a new satirical new game mocking religious zealots: “Playing Gods: The Board Game of Divine Domination.” Some sample cards you might select: A sunny yellow conversion card recalls Elijah’s showdown with a priest of Baal in the Bible (1 Kings 18:38). “Another god’s follower challenges you to prove you exist;…

Dear Readers, Last week at Beliefnet we implemented a small change to our blog commenting system – you now have to confirm that you are a real person, and not a spammer, by typing in a few characters of text upon submitting your comments. This change was necessary in order to curtail the amount of…
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