Atheist cop discriminated against

When people think of the bible belt they don't normally think of Puerto Rico. Well, they probably should. Puerto Rico isn't dominated by Southern Baptist fundamentalists like South Carolina, but it is a very devout region. Puerto Rico is one of the few strong Catholic...

Police abuses once again including 12 year old in handcuffs

Here are more examples of police violating the basic liberties of their fellow citizens. I wish that there came a time when there weren't more examples, but sadly I can't even write about all of them, unless I devote my column to just police abuses, and no other issues. In...

Should child porn offenders be banned from Victoria Secret ads?

Did you know that 18-20 year olds in New York City couldn't buy spray paint or broad tipped markers until a federal court ruling? This is absurd. They are adults and they couldn't buy art supplies? Yes, I know some of them enage in grafitti but 12 year olds in much of the...

Local right-wing Christian host has play banned at Summerstage

"“Vic Eliason raised a stink. Eliason is an evangelical clergyman in Milwaukee who runs the VCY (Voices of Christian Youth) America Radio Network. He has a show, “Cross Currents,” in Milwaukee, and on August 9, he dedicated his hour-long program to condemning the play...

Why is it offensive to question a historical Jesus?

I was listening to conservative talk radio and the host, not a Christian conservative but a Jewish conservative, asked his guest a question on the topic of Jesus. The question drew the response that Jesus never existed. At all. The guest was David Silverman, president of...

Is there a 3 hour time limit on free speech in Texas?

Is there anything in the First Amendment which only guarantees a right to freedom of speech for three hours or less? See, I bring this up because in Austin, Texas, a protest at the state capital was stopped because there was a three hour time limit on free speech. It was a...

Yes, you do have a right to criticize religious beliefs

As you are probably aware of, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, was killed by thugs. They should be caught and brought to justice. Now, it seems they might have been motivated, or just using it as an excuse, a terrible movie promoted by a Terry Jones. The movie...

Police raid on gay bar, sees numerous rights of patrons violated

At the Atlanta Eagle, an Atlanta bar with gay patrons, police conducted a raid in 2009. A website dedicated to the memory of this raid, states on their website: "An independent investigation has confirmed that Atlanta police officers broke the law during the raid of the...

How police violate freedom of the press

In this case out of Denver, CO, a man offers to be a witness for a driver stopped by the police. He offers to testify that the driver did in fact, stop at a stop sign. Frankly, I don't know if the driver did or not, but I am more interested in the reaction by the police. The...

Woman thrown down by Denver cop and illegal use of sound cannons

A woman named Alicia Forrest was thrown hard to the ground by a Denver police officer in 2008, while protesting what seemed a very questionable arrest of a man named Carlo Garcia.The officer, Scott Stewart, was not fired or punished in anyway. Forrest is maybe a little over...

Why does the religious right defend the genocide of Noah's flood?

I was listening to conservative talk radio. The host is technically of conservative Judaism, though his beliefs are very much in line with Orthodox Judaism. But, he defends the so called Noah's flood as strongly as any fundamentalist Christian. First of all, this flood...

Can the government violate the rights of Americans at the border?

An American named Bradley Jardis came back to the U.S., after a very short trip across the border into Mexico. When asked, he declined to answer how he was planning to use shot glasses, he bought in Mexico, to celebrate. Frankly, this question seems kind of silly and...