Over the past few years, two topics have come to dominate the discourse about religion in America. The implementation of the Affordable Care Act and especially the rapid acceptance of marriage equality have prompted social conservatives to decry the supposed threat to "religious liberty." At the same time, the rise of "the Nones"--the growing numbers […]

Tuesday, April 28, 2015 may go down as a watershed moment in the history of American civil rights. At the Supreme Court, the justices heard oral arguments in a set of cases which may decide whether or not all Americans have an equal right to marry. Less than 50 miles away in Baltimore, demonstrators are […]

For four decades, American public opinion on the issue of abortion has been largely unchanged. As the numbers from Gallup, the Pew Research Center and other polls show, roughly half of Americans have identified themselves as "pro-choice" even as consistent majorities support keeping abortion legal in all or many circumstances. But now, a new survey […]

These are dark times for Louisiana Governor and 2016 GOP White House hopeful Bobby Jindal. Facing a staggering $1.6 billion budget shortfall, Governor Jindal's popularity is plummeting at home even as he takes his presidential campaign on the road. Making matters worse, low energy prices are leading to layoffs and draining the state treasury as […]

If nothing else, you have to give Indiana Republican Governor Mike Pence credit for going big. In April 2007, Pence defended Big War, comparing his heavily guarded tour of Baghdad to visiting "any open-air market in Indiana in the summertime." Four years later, then Rep. Pence took on Big Debt, declaring of the government, "Shut […]

Back in October 2008, then Republican presidential candidate John McCain had one of the finest moments of his career. When angry Minnesota town hall questioners claimed Democrat Barack Obama was "an Arab" who could not be trusted, Senator McCain was quick to respond. After first lecturing the crowd that "I have to tell you, Sen. […]

Among the supposed revelations in the new book by former Obama adviser David Axelrod is the claim that the 44th President was "bulls**ting" about his past opposition to marriage equality. While President Obama today claimed otherwise, his deference to political expediency was no mystery to his supporters. For them, his Hamlet act that his views […]

In the span of just two weeks, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has catapulted into Republican superstar status. Mitt Romney's premature withdrawal from the 2016 presidential race cracked open the doors for the emergence of a hardline right-wing alternative to the Party establishment's lone remaining consensus candidate, Jeb Bush. And with his surprisingly animated speech at […]

During his address at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, President Obama pointed to the history of the Crusades and American slavery as obvious examples of those who "committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ." These self-evident truths elicited a furious--and sometimes comical--response from the usual suspects on the right. Southern Baptist leader Russell […]

This week, the Hindu-turned-Catholic Bobby Jindal doubled down on his bogus "no-go zones" claim at the center of his anti-Muslim crusade for the White House. He quickly had company in the form of Iraq war cheerleader and anti-Islamic xenophobe Frank Gaffney, who declared that Dearborn, Michigan is already one of those no-go zones in America. […]