Nationwide, Christians who refuse to provide services on the basis of gender orientation are losing legal battles.

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This is how our president defined our country yesterday. Explicitly denying that it was a “Christian nation” and explicitly stating that this fact is one of our “great strengths”. It’s nice to be reminded of this—and by someone so high in the administration! It is vogue for politicians to exclaim “God bless America!” Whether or [...]

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It’s got it all: atheism, spirituality, god, scifi, and good music!! Hulu’s got the first four eps up right now (and it doesn’t keep them forever), so go catch up. It’s too smart and too well written to stay on the air for long. It’s the story of Kings David and Saul transposed into a [...]

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“Gender roles see a ‘conflict’ shift in work-life balance” at USAToday. Hat tip to @unapologeticfem (site) I’m not certain that anything in there is great news, but it does seem that there is some kind of cultural change at work, which is something.

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One of the many reasons I don’t post with my IRL name here (I won’t say “real”, since xJane is just as real in many ways) is because I am attempting to manage my image. In our internet age, I still find it to be very important to not ruffle feathers in a public way [...]

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The Vermont Senate, finding (correctly) that Civil Unions for gay couples fall short of providing equal rights, voted overwhelmingly to approve Civil Marriage for gay couples. The matter still has to go before the Vermont House (and since I’m late to this, may already have gone), where it is expected to pass. The margin by [...]

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Texas is reviewing its science standards, specifically with the desire to remove them altogether. Skepchick has a great discussion of exactly what this means, but here’s the short version: Texas and California’s choices for scientific textbooks drives the availability of textbooks nationwide because of their massive marketshare the Texas State Board of Education (TSBE) has [...]

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Late to the party on this one, I know, sorry. It turns out that conservative (read: religious) states have the highest porn rates in the country. Probably because they’re not allowed to have deviant (read: fun) sex at home. Meanwhile, people living in enlightened areas of the country have other outlets for their sexual urges, [...]

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Good news for Jana and my other favorite food activists out there: the Obamas are bringing on Sam Kass, a Chicago chef with a demonstrated commitment to preparing local, organic food. Mr. Kass’s appointment should please chefs like Alice Waters, who have lobbied the Obamas to set an example for the rest of the country [...]

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I really wish I could’ve live-blogged Obama’s un-State of the Union, but gainful employment can be restrictive sometimes. But don’t get me wrong–in this economic climate, I welcome such restrictions! Chain me up, The Man! Listening to Obama’s last weekly address, I was struck by how non-partisan, or two-partisan he sounded. Take this statement on [...]

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