Saturday, June 29, 2013
Unusual Suspects
As reported at AC this week, the NSA domestic spying scandal is significant for two facts: 1. There are now no secure electronic or digital communications, and 2. Unlike the CIA and FBI, there is no oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. Which, as AC reminds readers, is what U.S. Senator Frank Church warned about in the 1976 Congressional hearings. As AC observes, this is already a functioning system, with some eight million Americans listed as suspect for such activities as opposing war or protesting austerity.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Prototype of Hate: Pandering has Consequences
In December 2008, when Obama selected the homophobic pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his presidential inauguration, progressive Christians were rightly concerned that Obama's pandering to Far-Right Christian bigotry might have consequences. Indeed, as Bruce Wilson noted in his January 2009 article on Warren's fanatical mission in Uganda, radical devotion to violent Christian revolution resulted in genocidal behavior by the Ugandan military. As Chris Rodda observed, the pressure to conform to radical Christian tenets promoted by Warren -- thanks in part to Obama's lack of judgment -- even extended to members of the U.S. military.
As Rachel Tabachnik remarked in October 2010, missionaries of hate who advocate murdering gays have adopted the Ugandan model -- designed by Rick Warren -- as a prototype to be replicated in countries around the globe. While merging church and state is always dangerous, merging state powers with churches like Warren's leads to crimes against humanity.
In May 2012, Kapya Kaoma examined the U.S. Christian Right and the attack on gays in Africa, with a special focus on the anti-gay Rick Warren's role in exporting homophobia. As Frederick Clarkson reported yesterday, the acclaimed documentary God Loves Uganda -- which depicts the role of American conservative evangelicals in generating vicious anti-gay campaigns there -- premiers in New York on June 25.
As Rachel Tabachnik remarked in October 2010, missionaries of hate who advocate murdering gays have adopted the Ugandan model -- designed by Rick Warren -- as a prototype to be replicated in countries around the globe. While merging church and state is always dangerous, merging state powers with churches like Warren's leads to crimes against humanity.
In May 2012, Kapya Kaoma examined the U.S. Christian Right and the attack on gays in Africa, with a special focus on the anti-gay Rick Warren's role in exporting homophobia. As Frederick Clarkson reported yesterday, the acclaimed documentary God Loves Uganda -- which depicts the role of American conservative evangelicals in generating vicious anti-gay campaigns there -- premiers in New York on June 25.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Aid to Raid: Tax Justice History
Tax Justice Network recounts the history of the tax justice movement and its emphasis on poverty reduction through taxation. Focusing on the issue of tax havens and the offshore industry where corporate wealth avoided paying its fair share, the architects of the intellectual framework behind tackling systemic poverty by eliminating tax avoidance shifted public thinking from aid to raid. Once NGOs like Christian Aid saw the light, the global economy that creates poverty became a target for campaigns to force banking transparency and global regimes to collect taxes due. It's a fascinating story, partly for its insight into scholarly activism, and partly for the inspiring message that a few good and determined people can indeed make a big difference.
Saturday, June 08, 2013
Catholic Coup
In her article How the Catholic Bishops Outsmarted Washington Voters, Valerie Tarico exposes the hostile takeover of Washington State's healthcare delivery system by the Catholic Church, despite these services being overwhelmingly taxpayer-funded. More importantly, Tarico notes the services now available or unavailable are dictated by the Vatican.
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
People Land Truth 2013
