Because guns don't kill people. Lack of access to mental health services don't kill people. America's fascination and worship of violence doesn't kill people. No, it is the lack of school-sponsored prayer that kills people.
The response to the Newtown shooting, in which 26 people were killed on school property, 20 of them children, was as predictable as it was infuriating:
You know the question’s gonna come up, where was God?” he said. “I thought God cared about the little children, God protected the little children. Where was God when all this went down? And here’s the bottom line: God is not gonna go where he’s not wanted.
Now we have spent, since 1962, this, we’re 50 years into this now, we have spent 50 years telling God to get lost. Telling God, we do not want you in our schools, we don’t want to pray to you in our schools, we don’t want to pray to you before football games, we don’t want to pray to you at graduation, we don’t want anyone talking about you in a graduation speech.
We’ve kicked God out of our public school system. And I think God would say to us, "Hey I’ll be glad to protect your children, but you’ve gotta invite me back into your world first. I’m not gonna go where I’m not wanted. I am a gentleman."
So we here at YBGP do pay attention to what you guys like. And Mandi and I are impressed by your devotion to Neil deGrasse Tyson. Our first NDGT post has recently become our Most Visited Post. It's also one of the top ways people get here from Google (thanks Google! Welcome NDGT People!).
We are so impressed with how much you like NDGT, that I'm going back to the well to find some more of the reasons Tyson is a Badass.
NDGT is a busy man. He has his own podcast/radio show, called StarTalk.
During one of the 2011 GOP presidential debates sponsored by CNN, Mitt Romney argued that the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be disbanded and replaced by handing over the responsibility to the states to deal with their own emergencies.
Here’s what the Republican candidate had to say when asked whether FEMA should be shut down:
“Absolutely. Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further, and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better. Instead of thinking, in the federal budget, what we should cut, we should ask the opposite question, what should we keep?”
When moderator, John King, responded “Including disaster relief, though?”, Mitt Romney had this to say—
“We cannot — we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids.It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids, knowing full well that we’ll all be dead and gone before it’s paid off. It makes no sense at all.
“Gov. Romney believes that states should be in charge of emergency management in responding to storms and other natural disasters in their jurisdictions. As the first responders, states are in the best position to aid affected individuals and communities, and to direct resources and assistance to where they are needed most. This includes help from the federal government and FEMA."
I think it was the third time this election season that I was called - not to get out the vote as per usual, but to ask whether I would be supporting Obama - that I noticed the difference.
I'm a life-long Democrat. I'm independent-minded in some ways, but there are a ton of areas where I think that Democrats view the world the right way, and act accordingly. On social justice, on women's rights, on using the government to help the poor, the elderly, and the sick - I'm all D. Therefore, I've never truly been tempted to vote Republican.
It did help that Kerry ran against W. And even in my post-Hillary rage, I never would have voted to endanger the people (particularly the kids) who depend on the programs that only exist because of Democrats.
But apparently I now fit a certain demographic that is viewed as "up for grabs." I think it's that I'm white, married, in my thirties, and I live in the suburbs. But the thing about me that I think should belie those other facts is the fact that I am a woman.
..."even when life begins with that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen." ...
"The only exception I have to have an abortion is in that case of the life of the mother. I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God and I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that it is something God intended to happen."
...That's me in the corner That's me in the spotlight Losing my religion...
-R.E.M.
It isn't because Obama is the Anti-Christ. More Americans than ever before identify as having "no religion". According to a recent Pew survey, the number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow, as 20% of Americans and 33% of adults under 30 are religiously unaffiliated today. This include 13 million atheists and agnostics (almost 6% of the U.S. public),and almost 33 million people who have no particular religious affiliation (14%). What does that mean for Americans?
Two of my favorite states, Maine and Maryland, could vote to allow gay marriage in a few weeks (Washington, also a great state, could do the same).
If you live in Maryland, please vote for equality, vote for Question 6.
I am a happily married straight girl with kids. But this issue is personal for me - as it is for so very many people - because I have many gay friends, gay family friends I consider family, and because I believe in marriage.
Marriage is good for kids. It helps provide stability - and the lawyer in me feels obligated to tell you that if things go wrong, civil marriage provides legal protections for everybody involved - particularly kids. And while I respect the right of religious institutions to determine the boundaries of marriage for their religions, I do not respect people trying to outlaw families based on their gender. As the synagogue near me so eloquently puts it: "Civil Marriage Is a Civil Right."
I'm happy to talk more about it, on the issue itself. But today what I want to focus on is the evolution of gay marriage as an issue, and particularly how I see this election, this proposition, is being handled in Maryland.
Ayanbadejo
If you've heard about the gay marriage referendum in Maryland, it's probably because of the kerfuffle over Baltimore Ravens player Brendon Ayanbadejo speaking out in favor of gay marriage, and a conservative African-American Maryland state delegate, Emmett Burns, Jr. writing a letter to the Ravens' owner suggesting that he muzzle Ayanbadejo on the issue. Ayanbadejo is a thoughtful, respectful guy, and Burns really hurt his cause, to say nothing of seeming to forget about the First Amendment briefly. Then NFL Player Chris Kluwe spoke up to defend Ayanbadejo, in both explicit and clean open letters to Delegate Burns. And while the whole thing was engaging, that's not the real story about what's going on in Maryland.
1. Maryland's Political Establishment Is On Board.
Governor O'Malley Celebrating the Signing of our Gay Marriage Law
We have had a gradual, building, movement towards a law allowing gay marriage in Maryland.
The Legislature: After several failed efforts to pass a bill, Maryland's House of Delegates approved the bill by a 72–67 vote on February 17, 2012 (with the help and guidance of House Speaker Michael Busch), and the Senate approved the bill by a 25-22 vote on February 23.
Local Leaders: Baltimore's Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has come out in support of gay marriage, and has actively campaigned for Question 6.
Maryland religious leaders (and Al Sharpton) who support gay marriage
2. Maryland is has a lot of religious people who support gay marriage. Maryland has a long tradition of religious activism and religious tolerance. Our state was founded by Catholics, and we had the first religious toleration policy in the Colonies. There are many people of faith in Maryland. And lots of them support gay marriage. This is progress - there are a lot of congregations and religious groups who have come out vocally in favor of Question 6.
Marylanders for Marriage Equality has "partner" congregations and organizations that include:
Catholics -
Catholics for Marriage Equality
Emmaus Faith Community of The Old Catholic Church
MD Catholics for Equality
Episcopalians -
Episcopal Diocese of Maryland
St. George’s Episcopal Church
Jewish groups -
Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation
American Jewish Congress- Maryland Chapter
Baltimore Hebrew Congregation
Bolton Street Synagogue
Chevrei Tzedek Congregation
Columbia Jewish Congregation
Howard County Board of Rabbis
Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington
Jews United for Justice
Temple Emanuel
Temple Micah
Temple Oheb Shalom’s
Union for Reform Judaism
Lutherans -
St. Marks Lutheran Church
Mormons -
Mormons for Marriage Equality
Presbyterians -
Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church
Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church
Govans Presbyterian Church
The First and Franklin St. Presbyterian Church
Quakers -
Baltimore Monthly Meeting, Stony Run
Homewood Friends Meeting (Quaker)
Little Falls Meeting of Friends
Unitarians -
Cedar Lane Unitarian Church
First Unitarian Church of Baltimore
Paint Branch Unitarian Universalist Church
River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation Social Justice Council
Towson Unitarian Universalist Church
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick
Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville
Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Harford County
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Maryland
United Church of Christ -
Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ
Grace United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ- Central Atlantic Conference
United Church of Christ- Seneca Valley
Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ
Veritas United Church of Christ
And a Lot of Others:
Christ Congregational Church
Columbia United Christian Church
Luther Place Memorial Church
MD Faith for Equality
Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC)
New Light Metropolitan Community Church
Rockville United Church
St. Sebastian Independent Catholic Community
Unity Fellowship of Baltimore
Religious lobbying has been a big part of the strategy on how to pass gay marriage in Maryland. It has also been a part of the strategy of NOM (the anti-gay marriage group that has found such success in thwarting gay marriage in referendum after referendum all over the country). More on that in a minute. First, let me say that religious people all over Maryland have really spent time making calls, speaking, and advocating for gay marriage here.
4. Maryland is the kind of state where Republicans support gay marriage.
The Republican Party has pretty much been against gay marriage - as a party. Most of its leaders have been vocal in their opposition to gay marriage and even civil unions. Hopefully, as younger folks move up in the Party, that will change. Here in Maryland, we have a tradition of socially-liberal Republicans (the late Senator Charles "Mac" Mathias being a prominent one). And part-time Marylander Dick Cheney and former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman (who came out in 2010) lobbied in support of the same-sex marriage bill in Maryland.
5. Personal Politics.
One of the things I have appreciated so much about the campaign for marriage equality here has been how personal it has been. I don't want to appropriate pictures, but if you go to the Marylanders for Marriage Equality Facebook page, you'll see hundreds of pictures of Marylanders, who've written on a white board why they support marriage equality. There are also many videos of Marylanders talking about their own beliefs and stories.
This personal approach, I believe, has made a difference. It helps that the President took a prominent lead, too. And while NOM is planning to put 2 million dollars into Maryland, to try to drive people to vote on fear, I am encouraged by the recent polling numbers:
Marylanders for Marriage Equality today released a new poll showing voters approve of marriage for loving, committed gay and lesbian couples by a 14-point margin (54% to 40%). The poll was conducted by Hart Research last week.
“We continue to have the momentum,” said Josh Levin, campaign manager for Marylanders for Marriage Equality. ”Voters are having conversations on marriage around the dinner table and are agreeing that people should be treated fairly.”
African-American voters, the survey noted, are virtually evenly split between supporters (44%) and opponents (45%) - a shift from just few months ago when opponents were up by nine points. The change is largely due to increased discussion of marriage equality following the endorsement of the issue by President Obama and the NAACP.
Just one more video, because I think Al Sharpton underscores perhaps the most important point - if two gay people want to marry, much as when two straight people want to marry - it's really none of our business.
Come on Maryland, make me proud. Make us a leader in freedom. Show the people who are standing in the way of marriage equality that their winning streak ends here. Move forward. Show the country how it's done when we support each other's families, each other's equality. Vote for 6.
The response to the Newtown shooting, in which 26 people were killed on school property, 20 of them children, was as predictable as it was infuriating:
