Religious Right Watch

Plan B and the Moral Merits of Medication

from The League: Reassembled

On Saturday, The Washington Post reported that, "after 28 months of growing controversy, the Food and Drug Administration yesterday indefinitely postponed its decision on whether women should be allowed to buy the 'morning-after pill' Plan B without a prescription." The FDA advisory panel "concluded the drug could be safely used as an over-the-counter drug by women older than 17. But in an unexpected twist, [FDA Commissioner Lester M.] Crawford also said the application raised complicated and unresolved issues about whether current regulations allow a drug to be legally sold by prescription only for teenagers but over the counter for all others."

There may be more at work than concern that OTC status will increase the drug's availability to teenage women.  According to The Post, "many social and religious conservatives oppose easier access to emergency contraception and have flooded the White House with their views in recent days. ...Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) and 45 other members of Congress wrote President Bush to lobby against easier access to Plan B, and... even some pro-choice Republicans have backed away from their previous support for the proposal."

The medication, which delays or prevents ovulation and inhibits the fertilized egg from implanting into the uterus, has been derided by the Religious Right as an "abortion pill." Concerned Women for America's Wendy Wright, who has been spearheading opposition to the new regulations, warned in a press release that Plan B encourages promiscuous sexual behavior, "increase[s] sexually transmitted disease rates," and allows pedophiles to more easily rape their victims. This May, W. David Hager, a conservative Evangelical doctor, was asked to write a "minority report" outlining the rationale for rejection of OTC status for Plan B.

If this evidence paints an accurate picture, the FDA decision was based on the Religious Right's political opposition to the morning-after pill, not on the scientific evidence. This indefensible misuse of a regulatory agency's authority impedes medical progress at the expense of personal liberty and privacy rights. The agency should be in the business of determining the safety and efficacy of drugs, not making judgments on their moral implications. "FDA" stands for "Food and Drug Administration," not "Food, Drug and Morality Patrol."

posted by Alex from The League: Reassembled

BBC on mega-churches

BBC World news clip on U.S. mega-churches here; scroll down to video clip section on the right-hand side.

Criteria for Spot on Robertson's Hit List

As Religious Right Watch noted earlier, Pat Robertson, 1988 Republican Presidential candidate and founder of the Christian Coalition of America, recently called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez by covert United States forces. Robertson argued that America needs to "take [Chavez] out" because of the threat he poses as the leader of "a launching pad for Communist infiltration and Muslim extremism" within "our sphere of influence."

As a matter of fact, tradition tells of another powerful nation facing a similar situation and taking Robertson's recommended course of action.  About 2000 years ago, a dark-skinned man advocated economic change (Robertson's "Communism") and religious fervor (Robertson's "[religious] extremism") within the southern reaches of the Roman Empire (Robertson's "sphere of influence"). There were people who viewed this man as such a threat that he was assassinated, just as Robertson suggested be done with Chavez.

Robertson's justifications for murdering the Venezuelan leader are strikingly similar to those offered by the Romans for the crucifixon of Jesus, as told by the Christian tradition. This glaring inconsistency highlights that those within the Christian Right movement are sometimes so caught up in their hardline conservatism that they forget the supposed foundation of their ideology.

from Alex at The League: Reassembled

Pat Robertson gets excited

Occasionally one of the Religious Rights' literally-ordained becomes so vigorous in their quest to be--in an odd variation on St. Paul's admonition--all conservative things to all conservatives--that he forgets he's supposed to pass as Christian, too, at least ostensibly.

Such was the case this week with the Rev. Pat Robertson when he called for the assassination of the leader of Venezula and populist, anti-American thug, Hugo Chavez.

Pat's outburst is an example of what's known in the trade as A Bad Idea. Consider that the below criticism of Pat's remarks comes from a conservative, partisan Republican site, RedState.org!

Many times on the 700 club, Pat Robertson has wandered off the topic of religion and values and into hatred, condemnation, and calls for violence.  Yesterday was another such example.  Apperantly, the will of God as spoken through Pat Robertson is to assassinate Hugo Chavez.
Now this call for violence isn't very surprising for those who are familiar with Pat's work.  It's just another addition to a long string of violent or otherwise stupid things Pat has said.  The thing I find particularly disturbing is that this man has a large following and enough political influence to have private meetings with the President.  Luckily, his willingness to lie about what the president said in such meetings will likely prevent further meetings of that nature.  He is also intent on using the name of God to justify sinful acts.  That, to me, is his most offensive quality.
   
A part I found quite interesting about Robertson's remarks yesterday was his wandering into the discussion of the flow of oil should Chavez be assassinated.  I just found myself wondering, if the assassination would be a Godly act, why would we first worry about oil concerns before perfoming the will of God?  Surely by carrying out Gods will and assassinating Mr. Chavez, God will bless us with oil.

Anyway, I will end this with a short list from the long list of Pat Robertson's incoherent ramblings.  I would end in a public prayer asking for God to remove him from his post, but I think only a complete jerk would pray to God for the deaths of others.

Broadcast of show re: Justice Sunday II & the Religous Right

The August 14 edition of Sunday Salon on Pacifica Radio is available for download as an MP3 here. 

The first hour of the show, hosted by Larry Bensky, concerns Justice Sunday, which Pacifica describes as "a television spectacle...where the Religious Right is beaming out their own special brand of TV style religious manipulation to try and garner support for Bush and the New Christian Right members of Congress and government."

The second hour is dedicated to an examination of the Religious Right in the U.S., and, "how they came to lay claim to 'ownership' of morality, integrity, and religion in America." Guests include General Secretary of the National Council of Churches and former Congressman Bob Edgar, Bill Goodman from Cornell University's Theocracywatch.org, and the Reverend Pete Laarman from Progressive Christians Uniting.

How to tell your governor about ID, "creationism in disguise."

President Bush recently announced his support for so-called "intelligent design theory," which the National Academy of Sciences has denounced as "creationism in disguise."

If you've not done so already, sign-up for People For the American Way's action alerts, so that you can participate in PFAW's current e-mail campaign and tell your governor you want science teachers teaching science, not religion.

Justice Sunday II roundup

Justice Sunday II, the second nationally-broadcast Christian Right rally featuring religio-political conservative speakers offering anti-gay civil rights, anti-reproduction rights, anti-privacy, and pro-censorship rhetoric in the name of protesting, ostensibly, the appointment of supposedly anti-Christian jugdes, has transpired at Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee. Below is a glance at some important perspectives on this event.

Chuck Currie offers a great overview of the event.

The Religious News Service sent out this brief story.

Sympatheic story with "exclusive interviews" here.

Evangelical Outpost--a conservative blog for the most part--blogged the event live. Not all EO's comments were positive.

RedState.org says the "lone lefty" (how nice) blogging the event live was Jackson Miller. Here's his coverage.

(Chuck Currie provided a great overview of the first Justice Sunday, Max Blumenthal took a look at it for The Nation, Frank Rich for The New York Times, and the Center for American Progress has a resource guide on it. On Justice Sunday II, Frederick Clarkson had a good backgrounder.)

Bush passed by.

Cross-posted from IseFire....

From the AP and AFP: On his way to and from a political fundraiser near his Texas ranch, President Bush sped past 50-100 demonstrators gathered behind Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq. Bush did not stop or invite her to talk with him as she has requested. Some 230 people attended Bush's fundraiser, where he was expected to raise at least $2 million for the Republican National Committee.

Gospel of St. Luke, chapter 10, verses 31-33, 36-37, "The Good Samaritan" --

31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the beaten man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" 37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Salty Vicar

Welcome Salty Vicar to the "Good Shepherds" list on Religious Right Watch.

Justice Sunday II

This Sunday in Tennessee, the Christian Right will spend the evening denouncing the judiciary's independence and role in protecting the rights of minorities at Justice Sunday II.  The nationally-broadcast event, organized by the Family Research Council, is a reaction to the perceived "activism" of the courts highlighted in recent decisions such as Lawrence v. Texas.

While Justice Sunday will feature the Who's Who of the Religious Right (Tony Perkins, Bill Donahue, Dr. James Dobson), it will also hear from House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX).  Rep. DeLay's appearance demonstrates that the Religious Right is not another fringe voice in American politics but rather a powerful force with sympathetic ears in the highest levels of government.

Notably, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who represents Tennessee and spoke at the first Justice Sunday, was not invited to the event following an endorsement of federal funds for stem cell research.

from Alex at The League: Reassembled