kengr

The law in Arizona (that was thankfully vetoed) and similar ones in other states are far more insidious than the news coverage is telling you.

They say that a business can refuse service to *anyone* on religious grounds.

They are "selling" them as letting businesses refuse to have anything to do with gay marriages, but the relity is that they will let a business refuse service to *anyone* for "religious reasons".

I suspect this is an attempt at a sort of trojan horse by the religious right. If a state passes this sort of law, it'll end all those nasty lawsuits when (for example) a pharmacist refuses to fill a prescription for birth control pills. Or the "morning after" pill. Or any of a horde of other things he may not approve of.

Given that many a small town only has one pharmacy, and that driving to the next town in some states can take a long time (and may run into the same sort of bigot at that pharmacy) this means that even if your doctor writes a prescription for something, you may not be able to get it unless you live in or near a big city.

It's *not* about religious freedom. It's about trying to make others live according to *your* religion.

As an example, the "local" business that got found in violation of state law for refusing to make a wedding cake for a gay couple.

There are *two* ways to handle the situation and still be in compliance with the law. One is to make the cake. They don't want to do that? Fine. Then they can just quit selling wedding cakes to *anyone*. But they don't want to do that because then their "religious principles" will cost them money.

The USAF academy at Colorado Springs was notorious for the fundies pressuring others to join them. As well as discrimination against those who didn't at least act like they went along with them.

It looked like progress was being made. Among other things a "circle" for pagans and other followers of earth centered religions had been dedicated.

Great huh?

Except when it was desecrated by somebody placing a huge cross there...
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/2/2/122543/1211

ETA: this is no different than painting a swastika on a synagogue. Or punks playing at being "Satanists" painting pentacles/pentagrams on Christian churches.

'Sectarian' curriculum must go, says N. Mex. official

Contrary to what is stated in the article A Beka is not *remotely* "the best". In fact students educated using that curriculum cannot attend University of California schools nor many others as it is *specifically* noted as providing complete inadequate and even outright false info in science and history.