October 2005 – Page 3

Worshipping God, One Wife at a Time

Well, I guess fundies do get laid after all.

I probably shouldn’t make a joke, since it’s a really sad article. Especially when it’s a joke that isn’t even really mine.

Mr. Jeffs, age 45, has as many as 70 wives, people who have left the church say. He teaches that a man cannot get to heaven unless he has at least three wives. And because there are not enough women to meet the demands of men who want eternal life, brides are constantly being reassigned.

“Just yesterday I got word of one of my students who had stopped attending classes: she has been pulled away from her husband and assigned to another man,” said Carolyn Hamblin, a counselor and assistant dean at the Colorado City branch of Mohave Community College.

“It just breaks my heart,” said Ms. Hamblin, a follower of the mainstream Mormon faith, which renounced polygamy in 1890 as a condition of Utah’s statehood.

Every part of the community, from the school board to the police force, is run by church members.

Mr. Goddard has also moved to put the school district in receivership. Five years ago, church leaders ordered all families to withdraw their children from the one big public school here, kindergarten through high school, in favor of home schooling or church schools. The public school instantly lost about 1,000 students, more than two-thirds of enrollment. Yet the church, whose followers account for a majority of the voters, continues to control the school board and – until recent legal action by Mr. Goddard – the school purse strings, which are now frozen.

Mr. Goddard said that while teachers had gone weeks without pay, church officials in control of the district had used public education money to buy a $200,000 airplane and had funneled school funds and property to the church. They also have an administrative staff of 23 people, compared with 6 at other school districts of the same size, he wrote in a report to the Arizona Education Department.

via Gawker (which, if you don’t know already, is addicting and amazing. Amazing.)

UPDATE: Speaking of nutty religious stuff, an Alabama church has ended its practice of encouraging kids to eat live goldfish for Jesus.

One Could Comment on the Flurry to Overreact, But I Won’t

Community Mourns Chicken

A community mourning the death of a mystery “baby” was told: “Stop grieving, it’s only a chicken.”

A makeshift shrine of flowers and cards sprang up after a member of the public discovered the remains of a foetus in a back alley in Anfield, Liverpool.

Merseyside Police cordoned off the scene to investigate, but tests soon revealed that it was only a chicken foetus.

Incidentally, the alley was behind a KFC.

Miers: Clues to Views

Again, Miers’ record with feminist thought is cloudy.

Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers said in a speech more than a decade ago that “self-determination” should guide decisions about abortion and school prayer and that in cases where scientific facts are disputed and religious beliefs vary, “government should not act.”

In a 1993 speech to a Dallas women’s group, Miers talked about abortion, the separation of church and state, and how the issues play out in the legal system. “The underlying theme in most of these cases is the insistence of more self-determination,” she said. “And the more I think about these issues, the more self-determination makes sense.”

Despite previous reports of her stance on reproductive rights, it appears Ms. Miers won’t be nailed down. In the linked article she also addresses other classic feminist issues. Interesting, even if I remain skeptical.

Previous Posts on Miers:
Miers is not Pro-Choice
Miers and Feminism: A Mixed Record

Speaking of Our “Pro-Life” GOP…

Republicans began targeting key programs for budget cuts yesterday, from student loans and health care to food stamps and foster care.

(…)

The House Ways and Means Committee today will begin drafting legislation that would save about $8 billion over five years, eight times the $1 billion target the panel was given in the spring. To do it, Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) would cut back federal aid to state child-support enforcement programs, limit federal payments to some foster care families, and cut welfare payments to the disabled.

Global Gag Rule: Denying Access to Women Worldwide

This post below has led to a conversation about the United States’ international family planning policies, and how what we do impacts women abroad. This is what I hope to go into as a career, so it’s obviously of particular interest to me, and important enough that I think it deserves its own post.

2,000 Dead in Iraq

A grim milestone.

The 2,000th soldier who died was on this third tour in Iraq. He was 25, and a new father.

The milestone of 2,000 dead was marked yesterday by a moment of silence in the Senate, and President Bush said that “the best way to honor the sacrifice of our fallen troops is to complete the mission.”

It should also be noted that Iraqis are suffering more than 50 casualties a day. One non-profit group estimates that 26,000 to 30,000 Iraqi civilians, including police officers, have been killed in the conflict.

The Times has more on those who have died.

While I obviously disagree with the war, I want to be clear that recognizing those who have died is not an inherently politicized action, and I’m not doing it now as another way of taking an anti-war stance. The article notes that many of the soldiers’ surviving family members still support the war, and don’t want their loved ones’ lives used as part of an anti-war argument. I think it’s important to respect that. On the same token, many of them oppose the war, and resent President Bush using their loved ones’ lives as a reason to “complete the mission.” We should recognize and respect that too.

What it comes down to is the fact that these people gave their lives for an ideal, and that they should be noted and remembered. Their American-flag-covered coffins shouldn’t be hidden. Their numbers shouldn’t be ignored or brushed aside. For every person on the right who criticizes Cindy Sheehan for using the war dead to further her own political cause, there’s someone on the left who can criticize George Bush for the exact same thing. We can accuse each other of hypocrisy till the sun comes up, but I think on a day like today it’s more productive — and more important — to recognize and honor those who have died.

Reason #532 Not to Shop at Wal-Mart

Sex discrimination? Check.
Abusive employment policies? Check.
Keeping employees living under the poverty line? Check.
Cutting already-paltry employee benefits even more? Check.

via Liberal Serving.

Help Me!

I need a Halloween costume by Thursday. It needs to be creative, and yet easy to put together. And as much as I envy a girl who can wear a short skirt, that ain’t me, so no naughty nurses and no unitards. Now, go!

Month: October 2005

If This Were A Lady…