1. D.C. Metro Bans ‘Issue Ads’ after Pamela Gellar Submits Prophet Muhammed Cartoon Ad
Gellar, who leads the group that organized the ‘Draw Muhammed’ cartoon contest that prompted a shooting in Texas, submitted the winning drawing to run as an ad in the Washington, D.C. metro. According to the WMATA, that will not be happening.
2. Killing It: Nebraska’s Ban Another Sign of Decline in Support for Death Penalty
“A growing number of Republicans have recently taken up the cause of banning the death penalty in Nebraska and other states. They argue that it is inefficient because it does not deter murderers, is more expensive than imprisonment for life thanks to the costly trials and lengthy appeals, and is at odds with Christian morality.”
3. Did the Duggars’ Fundamentalism Cause Sexual Abuse? Not So Fast
“We won’t run out of work if all we ever do is expose those theological problems, and offer more honest and responsible theological possibilities. But then there’s the question whether fundamentalist theology made an abuser where there was none before, whether it turned someone into a predator who would have been perfectly well-adjusted had they just been an Easter-and-Christmas Presbyterian and member of the Rotary club. And although I’ve seen friends and internet commenters saying as much … well, I just don’t think we can know that.”
4. What the News Isn’t Telling You & Why We Can’t Afford to Pretend It’s Not Happening
Amy Voskamp has raised more than $800,000 in partnership with the Preemptive Love Coalition to support refugees fleeing ISIS in Iraq. Read her moving blog post that spurred the action.
“On Thursday, Michel Platini, president of the European football federation UEFA, said its 54 countries might quit FIFA if Sepp Blatter is re-elected as FIFA president. … So how many countries would need to defect from FIFA to break it?”
Washington Post’s Wonkblog presents the evidence that banks still deny black borrowers as much as they did 50 years ago, highlighting a recent case in the Midwest that HUD describes as "one of the largest redlining complaints" ever brought by the federal government against a mortgage lender.
7. Uber: Disability Laws Don’t Apply to Us
“In three ADA-related cases over the past eight months, in California, Texas, and Arizona, Uber has been slammed with lawsuits that allege the company discriminates against blind and wheelchair-using passengers. The suits demand Uber abide by the ADA, but Uber claims that because it’s a technology company, not a transportation service, it doesn’t fall under the ADA’s jurisdiction.”
8. Nebraska Ends Ban on Driver’s Licenses for DREAMers
Nebraska is on it. In the state legislature’s second veto override of the week (the first banning the death penalty in the state), lawmakers voted to ditch the law that prevented DREAMers (young people brought into the United States as children) from getting driver’s licenses.
9. ‘Stop Taxing My Period’ Becomes Rallying Cry for Aussie Women
Since 2000, Australia has levied a 10 percent tax on tampons — something it does not place on other health-related items like condoms or sunscreen. But a new campaign aims to end the practice, pointing out that by essentially taxing a bodily function that only affects women, it is inherently sexism. Uhhh … yeah.
This rise of the nones probably doesn’t mean what you think it means. Or rather, it doesn’t mean only what you think it means.
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