the_wildhunt

http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/12/mccollum-v-california-and-other-pagan-news-of-note.html

http://wildhunt.org/blog/?p=3840

Top Story: Wiccan chaplain Patrick McCollum’s ongoing fight to overturn the California prison system’s “five faiths policy”, which limits the hiring of paid chaplains to Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Native American adherents, has gained some new allies. Though a judge recently ruled against McCollum in February (twice), saying he had no standing to challenge the policy , his federal-court appeal is gaining support from groups like the Anti-Defamation League (PDF) and Americans United (PDF).

“The court said a legal challenge to the prison’s chaplain policy can only be brought by an inmate, not someone seeking to be hired. In addition, the court denied McCollum’s claim because he could not prove he would be hired even if the state policy was changed. The court also denied McCollum’s standing as a taxpayer. AU’s brief disputes these arguments, stating that the Constitution and civil rights law demand that McCollum have his day in court.”

Other groups filing amicus briefs in support of McCollum’s appeal were The Interfaith Alliance, the Hindu American Foundation, and Pagan organizations like Cherry Hill Seminary (among others, I’m working on getting a full list). McCollum has been struggling for years to see that Pagan chaplains and inmates receive fair and equal treatment within the American prison system. In his 2008 testimony before the US Commission on Civil Rights McCollum described an “endemic” level of discrimination against Pagan inmates, and the chaplains who try to serve them, in our prisons.

“I’d like to start with a few true examples of discrimination to illustrate the severity of the problem: A Wiccan inmate has cancer and the prison guards refuse to transport him to his chemotherapy treatments unless he removes his religious pentacle medallion which they have objections to. He chooses to forgo his chemotherapy and keep his pentacle. A Wiccan inmate has been trying to go to Wiccan services for months, but the guard at her dorm refuses to give her a pass. The guard says it is for the good of the Wiccan inmate’s soul. Another dying Wiccan writes his volunteer chaplain that he needs to see him before he crosses over. The chaplain makes numerous attempts to reach prison staff to receive the necessary clearances, but no one responds. But worse, prison mailroom staff refuse to forward the chaplain’s mail, so that the inmate knows why his chaplain isn’t coming. Over more than a decade, I’ve had the opportunity to interact nationally with both administrators and inmates on religious accommodation issues. While practices differ from state to state, I found discrimination against minority faiths everywhere.”

The mistreatment of minority faiths in prison is an ongoing crisis, and I hope that these amicus briefs from prominent religious and civil rights groups help sway the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals into allowing the case to be heard, and McCollum’s evidence presented. More on this story as I have it.

In Other News: Two weeks ago I told you about a controversy brewing over the Pagan and atheist-blocking web-access policy of the Indianapolis Public School system that  resulted in the Freedom From Religion Foundation threatening a lawsuit. Since then, Indianapolis Pagan Issues Examiner Andrah Wyrdfire has been doing journalism proud by going after some answers from local officials.  First she got a statement from Dr. Eugene White, Superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools, who claimed the software blocked all religions, not just the Pagans, then she got a hold of Dorothy Crinshaw, CIO of the Indianapolis Public Schools, who said Pagan sites weren’t blocked at all!

“When asked if she could verify whether or not IPS was censoring Pagan/Wiccan (alternative spirituality) websites, Dorothy stated that she was unaware of that being the case and asked for an example of a website so that she could look for herself.  Upon searching for Wicca on her IPS computer, she found that she was able to not only obtain results but click on any of the results and open the pages … Dorothy emphasized that, as far as she knows, no religious web content is being censored from the schools’ computers based on any specific religion; it would only be censored if it had a blog or social networking option.”

Crinshaw seemed to imply that the offending document that started this was simply standard boilerplate and didn’t actually reflect day-to-day policy at the schools. However, considering how many religious organizations now use blogs, I’m not exactly reassured about what content students actually have access to. Wyrdfire is now pursuing Education Networks of America to find out where their content-blocking categories and lists come from, and I can’t wait to find out the answer. No update yet on if FFRF is going to actually pursue litigation or not, so this story is still ongoing.

Speaking of Examiner.com, many Pagans (including Z. Budapest) have turned to the service in hopes of pursuing local issues while making some money, but what they may not know is that the individual holding the purse-strings of the enterprise is ultra-conservative Christian billionaire activist Philip Anschutz. AlterNet features an article from Jamison Foser of Media Matters for America that wonders if Anshutz is laying the ground-work to own a big chunk of locally-focused journalism’s future.

“Anschutz launched Examiner.com about a year and a half ago as an Internet-only local news portal; it currently reaches 129 markets and its traffic ranks 21st among U.S. news sites — with the fastest traffic growth of any site from August of 2008 to August of 2009. And just a few weeks ago,Examiner.com bought NowPublic, a Canadian citizen-journalism site with reporters in more than 140 countries … Given the newspaper industry’s struggles, it isn’t inconceivable that Examiner.com could quickly become a key source of news and information for many Americans. At which point, based on Anschutz’s history, it’ll be like having a local version of Fox News Channel in every city in America.”

So what’s the big deal? Well, besides the insinuation that Anshutz may one day do an ideological/theological purge of his local news new-media empire, there’s the fact that many unassuming progressive-leaning Pagans are driving traffic and revenue towards Anshutz’s goals for the promise of a small cut of the action. What, exactly, are his goals? Denying gays the right to marry, working against discrimination laws that include sexual orientation, promoting “intelligent design”, stopping medical marijuana, and working to elect politicians like George W. Bush. Obviously some Pagans may have no trouble with many of these goals, but I wonder how many Pagan Examiners know who they are working for?

In Loudoun County, Virgina, residents of Leesburg  are wrestling with the issue of religious Winter holiday displays on public lands. After a local committee’s attempts to (I assume) avoid legal trouble led to total ban, a local uproar started that has led to petitions and a defiant assertion that some may later regret.

“At Monday night’s meeting, Loudoun residents — some in holiday garb and carrying signs that read “Keep Christ in Christmas” — argued that the new rule would curtail religious speech. “We don’t care if the courthouse lawn looks like a cafeteria of different religious symbols. We don’t want to lose our holiday,” said Barbara Curtis, 61, of Bluemont, who runs a parenting blog, Mommy Life.”

Since then the ban has been overturned and Curtis waxes triumphant at her blog, but I know from history that this loving embrace of an open public square by certain Christians has quickly faded once tested. Shall we remember the Green Bay Wiccan wreath that was vandalized and never replaced? How about the ran-over holiday pentacle display in Olean? What about the South Carolina politician who welcoming “any” religion, so long as it wasn’t Wiccan. Dare we even go into the “open” public invocations that didn’t want to include Pagans? While I certainly welcome a truly open public square, too often “religious freedom” means “freedom for our religon”, not freedom for every religion. I’ll try to give the pro-Christmas folks the benefit of the doubt, but I’d also like know if any local Pagans would like to put a display up in Leesburg?

In a final note, Hellenic polytheist Kate Winter has launched a fascinating new site entitled Girls Underground that explores a rather unique yet pervasive archetype.

“In which a young girl travels to an otherworldly place, far from home, where she is surrounded by strange creatures ~ some helpful and others very dangerous indeed ~ and must navigate her way past obstacles in time to defeat her adversary and reach her goal… gaining wisdom, power, and perhaps even love, along the way.”

The site has a regularly updated blog, and the whole project winds it way through pop-culture, literature, and mythology. You don’t see too many in-depth topic-focused Pagan blogs like this, so it’s always refreshing when a new one comes along. I encourage my readers to check it out.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

evildevil
ontd_political

Bachmann voted against five key foreclosure relief bills, including the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, which would set standards for mortgages and reduce predatory lending, and the Neighborhood Stabilization Act, which would provide funds for buying and rehabilitating foreclosed properties in affected neighborhoods. She also opposed the Expanding American Homeownership Act, which allows more people to qualify for FHA-backed mortgages, and the Expand and Preserve Home Ownership Through Counseling Act, which aims to improve financial literacy. Bachmann additionally voted against the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, a law signed by President Bush that contained many provisions to assist struggling homeowners and also the only one of the bills to become law.

whedonesque

http://whedonesque.com/comments/22528

http://www.pajiba.com/guides/the-ten-best-television-shows-of-the-aughts.php

Firefly (of course) makes the list.

ensuinghijinks

http://hijinksensue.com/2009/12/02/team-edward-james-olmos-shirts-are-now-in-the-he-store/

http://hijinksensue.com/?p=1220

After posting THIS COMIC I was inundated with emails and tweets begging me to actually produce the Team Edward (James Olmos)/Twilight shirt. I am but your humble servant, Intertron, so here you go:

I’ve worked my ass off on this one for the last two days straight. It might look simple but there’s at least 16-20 hours of design time hidden within those blue-tinted pixels. For my troubles I have caught a cold, or possibly the dreaded pork flu. I exist in a haze or alternating OTC medications and am subsisting entirely on cough drops and a different bag of cough drops. So I guess I’m saying that you should pity me and buy the shirt to make me feel better. Maybe that’s just the Sudafed/Tylenol Night Time Syrup/Ibuprophen cocktail talking.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON IN THE STORE?

There are big ass “I’m A Snowflake On the Wind” prints, the first ever HE Button Pack and important holiday shipping deadlines for you to check out as well.

I also want to say thanks to everyone that purchased something during the first ever HE Black Friday Sale. It was smashing success and will certainly be repeated in an annual fashion.

Related posts

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rainbow_goddess

• 00:09 Usually it's Chaya Kitty telling me to go to bed. Tonight it's Calli Cat. I should go to bed if I'm getting up at 7:00 tomorrow morning. #
• 09:23 It's December 1, so I can now listen to Christmas music and put christmas wallpaper on my computer. #
• 09:47 @DiabetesMine What no one mentions about this is that this woman still has insurance through the public system. She lost private insurance. #
• 09:47 @DiabetesMine I would not be at all surprised if similar things happen in the States all the time. #
• 09:48 @shuttersclick Yay Cabin 12! You weren't at the last Tweetup there, were you? #
• 09:49 I found my backpack. Didn't leave it on the bus.Good thing I found it, because I would've described it wrong if I'd called BC Transit. #
• 09:50 I wonder if I could attract people to my Type 1 diabetes meetup if I put up flyers at the CDA office. No one has come to any meetings so far #
• 09:51 I want to meet other adults who have type 1 #diabetes. I've met plenty of children with Type 1. Now I want to meet some adults. #
• 09:52 @shuttersclick I went to my first Tweetup last week. Now I want to go to another one. Couldn't go last night due to work. #
• 10:16 @shuttersclick The morning Tweetups are before work. I don't know what time you start. I start at 9:30 or 10 so I can go to 8 a.m.tweetup. #
• 10:18 @blogdiabetes Nice to meet you, but you don't live anywhere near me! I want to meet some Type 1 #diabetes people in peson. #
• 10:24 I hate mornings too @shuttersclick but I'm a compulsively punctual person. I routinely arrive at work 20 minutes early. #
• 11:10 Just met a kid named Jem. Wanted to ask him where the Holograms were, but he is too young to understand. #
• 11:11 @Ravynwolfe Yes, Mary Tyler Moore does have Type 1. She recently published a book about it. Would love to meet her! #
• 11:27 @smpfilms Hooray for Mean Kitty! #
• 14:16 #bgnow 4.7. #
• 14:17 Watched a couple of videos of @chayakitty killing the Christmas tree when she was a baby. How will she react to it now that she's two? #
• 14:18 Sigh. It's tempting to take the offer to leave work early, but I need every penny I can earn. #
• 14:20 I'll have to go to the pet store and see if I can find some pet repellant to put on the Christmas tree. And maybe more antlers fot the cats. #
• 15:31 Does anyone know whether BC Transit runs buses out to Butchart Gardens at this time of year? I want to see the lights and the carousel. #yyj #
• 15:36 @sreno7 They tolerate antlers for about as long as it takes me to take a picture of them wearing antlers. Tolerate antlers better than hats. #
• 15:41 Somehow it is appropriate that a beer company bought a hockey team. RT @CBCNews NHL approves Canadiens' sale to Molsons #
• 16:34 Have been sprung from work till next week, when we have 1.5 days of work. Then no work till February. #
• 16:35 In February we have a whole three days of work. Then it's nothing till March. #
• 17:32 Trying to come up with inexpensive stocking stuffers for boyfriend. Anyone have suggestions? #
• 20:03 Hey @cwcdvan , why does Western Speedway need to be saved? Saved from what? #
• 20:10 I'm listening to Christmas music and avoiding doing the dishes. This should be "I'm listening to Christmas music and doing the dishes" soon. #
• 20:16 Angels we have heard on high Sweetly singing o'er the plains' #
• 20:26 I can't install the batteries in this cute little LED light because I don't have a screwdriver small enough! #
• 20:27 @sreno7 Singing makes me cough. And it makes the cats look at me like I'm nuts. #
• 20:34 Warning: unless you *like* Christmas songs to make you bawl, don't listen to a song called the Christmas Cat. #
• 20:37 Christmas Eve Sarajevo by Trans-Siberian Orchestra is one of my favourite Christmas songs, and the video is awesome too. #
• 20:39 I have to do air-conducting to this song. #
• 20:58 @mamajoan If you're looking for info on eczema, @eczemasupport is very helpful. #
• 21:24 @sreno7 He doesn't go to Starbucks or to Timmy's and he uses a reusable razor that takes fancy expensive blades. #
• 21:48 @sreno7 So far I've got him Toblerone, Hershey's Kisses, a toy insect and a cleaning cloth for his cellphone. I'm thinking bus tickets... #
• 21:48 @sreno7 ...and maybe a Fido card for his phone. Except they don't take up much room. #
• 22:09 @sreno7 You can't even legally dispose of insulin needles in a lot of places in the States. There's no legal or safe way to do it. #
• 22:10 @sreno7 My U.S. friends were shocked to find out the drugstore gives me a free needle disposal box and takes it when it's full. #
• 22:26 @sreno7 The Americans also are unfamiliar with needles disposal boxes in washrooms and on city streets, which we have in Victoria. #
• 22:28 The "vintage ads" community on LiveJournal is hilarious. I especially love how drinking Postum will make you wake up gay. #

settiai

1. Make a post to your LJ. The post should contain your list of ten holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from something simple and fandom-related to something really big. The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.



2. Surf around your friends list to see who has posted their list. If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf - to spread the joy.



3. There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

whedonesque

http://whedonesque.com/comments/22527

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJRMEnBocNY

A wonderfully done fan-tribute Youtube-vid that captures the docile aspects of an Active's life.

[ edited by wiesengrund on 2009-12-02 11:09 ]

whedonesque

http://whedonesque.com/comments/22526

http://www.fancast.com/blogs/friday-night-lights/the-big-tease-scoop-on-bones-greys-v-and-more/

Spoilers for other shows as well.

catecumen

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