https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGEzX8o4qwE MSNBC, Dec. 8, 2022 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGEzX8o4qwE&t=131s) 28 U.S. Code § 455 - Disqualification of justice, judge, or magistrate judge(a) Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.(b)He shall also disqualify himself in the following circumstances:[...](4) He knows that he, … Continue reading Did Justice Thomas violate 28 USC 455 during the Supreme Court’s latest no-good, very-bad week?
Does Senator Warnock’s re-election testify to the transformative power and witness of the Black church? I think it does
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-oS1ycq9RM Segment on the 'Morning Joe' program, Dec. 7, 2022 Growing up down South in civil rights days, I was able to watch the transformative witness of the Black church in action. I watched it from a safe distance -- my home town was middle class and lily-white -- but when the high school in … Continue reading Does Senator Warnock’s re-election testify to the transformative power and witness of the Black church? I think it does
Money changers in the temple? Justice Alito’s leaks show dangers of too-cozy relationships between church, state
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN_TcmU1-k4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN_TcmU1-k4 [Roger] Williams described the true church as a magnificent garden, unsullied and pure, resonant of Eden. The world he described as “the Wilderness,” a word with personal resonance for him. Then he used for the first time a phrase he would use again, a phrase that although not commonly attributed to him has … Continue reading Money changers in the temple? Justice Alito’s leaks show dangers of too-cozy relationships between church, state
University of Maryland survey data show extent of Christian nationalism, white grievance among Republicans
More data points for my Swedes in Roger Williams' Garden project -- A new survey, summarized today in Politico magazine, shows that white Christian nationalism is strongly linked to age and membership in the Republican Party. A survey conducted in May by the University of Maryland's Critical Issues Poll found that 61 percent of Republicans … Continue reading University of Maryland survey data show extent of Christian nationalism, white grievance among Republicans
Historians, including Ken Burns, cite historical parallels between today, the slavery crisis of the 1850s and the anti-Semitism of the 1930s
d r a f t More quotes for my Swedes in Roger Williams’ Garden project — Two disturbing historical parallels in print this week, both suggesting that America faces a more difficult crisis -- more accurately a series of cascading crises -- now than it did in the runup to the Civil War. It's hard to know … Continue reading Historians, including Ken Burns, cite historical parallels between today, the slavery crisis of the 1850s and the anti-Semitism of the 1930s
Impact of Indiana’s abortion ban on women’s health services in Illinois, religious pluralism post-Roe v. Wade
Clips, links for 'Swedes in Roger Williams' Garden' The evening before Indiana's extreme new anti-abortion law went into effect, protesters gathered at the county courthouse in Bloomington, Ind., for a Jewish Havdalah ceremony marking what they see as a transition from "an era of full rights [...] into a darker time," as Illinois gears up … Continue reading Impact of Indiana’s abortion ban on women’s health services in Illinois, religious pluralism post-Roe v. Wade
The score when Nixon spoke at a Billy Graham crusade at UT-Knoxville: Lions 0; Christians 1; First Amendment -1
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/President_Richard_Nixon_and_Reverend_Billy_Graham_at_the_Podium_during_the_%22Crusade_for_Christ%22_at_Neyland_Stadium_in_Knoxville%2C_Tennessee.jpg Nixon and Billy Graham, UT-Knoxville, 1970 (Wikimedia Commons) “[Roger Williams] described the true church as a magnificent garden, unsullied and pure, resonant of Eden. The world he described as “the Wilderness,” a word with personal resonance for him. Then he used for the first time a phrase he would use again, a phrase that … Continue reading The score when Nixon spoke at a Billy Graham crusade at UT-Knoxville: Lions 0; Christians 1; First Amendment -1
Futures file (Notes & Quotes): Iowa’s nativist ban on foreign languages during World War I
Some first-rate quotes below, from a post on Patheos by a biographer of Swedish-American aviator Charles Lindbergh, on the anti-German hysteria that spilled over and left some Swedish, Norwegian, Czech and other immigrant churches unable to communicate with their parishioners during World War I and its immediate aftermath. I presented a paper on the hysteria, … Continue reading Futures file (Notes & Quotes): Iowa’s nativist ban on foreign languages during World War I
Does Justice Alito’s call for ‘special protection’ for traditional religion spell trouble for religious minorities?
Two articles published today to the internet shed light on different aspects of what I believe to be the same worrisome trend ... An op ed piece in the New York Times by longtime Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse. Headlined "Alito’s Call to Arms to Secure Religious Liberty," it suggests Alito's rather narrow brand of … Continue reading Does Justice Alito’s call for ‘special protection’ for traditional religion spell trouble for religious minorities?
Florida lawsuits argue state’s new anti-abortion law violates free exercise clause, threatens religious pluralism
Notes & quotes for future reference -- posted here so I can find them later with a keyword search Is it time for those of us who qualify as spiritual-but-not-in-your-face-bible-thumping-religious to begin speaking up? Two recent articles by an unusually perceptive religion writer in the Washington Post suggest maybe it is. More clergy members, serving … Continue reading Florida lawsuits argue state’s new anti-abortion law violates free exercise clause, threatens religious pluralism
Ordinary Time 
