Month: July 2019

Leviticus 20:13 — The Error

There is a group of people on the fringe of Fundamentalist Christianity who are guilty of an error in doctrine.  Normally, I’d leave this alone; someone else’s religion is none of my business.  However, this is leading them to believe things, and to say things, and sometimes even to do things, that the rest of us quite rightly find hateful.  That makes it my business and yours.

I want to be clear here:  I’m not trying to preach to my readers; I’m not aiming to convert people with this.  My goal is simple:  If you’re a person who has been confused by this error, the following article will explain it to you.  If you know people who are making this mistake, this article is intended as a guide to help them understand.  And, if you have heard these hateful things spoken and thus hold Christianity in contempt, perhaps this will give you reason to reconsider. (more…)

TRIGGER WARNING: Epstein

(or, Even Some Publishers Are Human)

I want to be clear on this: The Epstein case is outside my baliwick.

It’s a matter of justice. So long as it remains so, it’s for courts; it’s not politics. There may be political results, and when there are I’ll discuss them. Until then… it’s not that I don’t care; it’s that I’m focused on other things. Besides, any opinion I might have on a criminal case will necessarily be uninformed (more…)

Deporting Veterans

This is Hector Barajas.  He served in the 82nd Airborne.  He was honorably discharged in 2001.  And then he was deported.

The story became major news in 2016, but it’s been a known problem for a long time:  American immigration law demands the deportation of every green card holder convicted of a crime, and military service does not automatically confer citizenship.  Soldiers ending their time in uniform are far more likely than average to have trouble with the law.  And, until recently, the (more…)

Why They’re Not Nazis

As I recall, it all started when things at the Charlottesville protest got out of hand back in August of 2017.  Violence erupted between protesters and anti-protesters, and several people were injured.  Eventually, one guy snapped and rammed his car into a crowd.  He was sentenced for murder the other day; he got life-plus, which is a very good thing.

The word “Nazis” was floating around all through the summer during a wave of Confederate monument removals and cemetery vandalism, but it was the day after the killing that it became widespread.  The driver had expressed pro-Nazi sentiments on social media and a handful of neo-Nazis were at the protest.  Donald Trump had (more…)