Brian Galle*: In the days before and after the passage of California’s “Proposition 8,” a ballot initiative barring legal recognition of same-sex marriages in the state, it was widely reported that the LDS Church, together with other religious organizations, played a significant role in supporting the initiative. National attention peaked…
Category: Politics
My Tribe
I originally wrote this as a guest post for the popular secular-Jewish blog “Lubab No More.” Sadly, Lubab No More is no more, so I’m reposting the essay here, for reference. Have you ever had an admirer who watches you from afar, looking for cues and good ideas to emulate?…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Easter Edition!
Happy Easter everyone! I would do an Easter-themed roundup, but it seems not too many in Outer Blogness have blogged about it. I figure that either (like me!) they don’t have that much to say about Easter, or they’re so busy painting eggs that they don’t have time to blog….
Spain Investigates Jay Bybee for Torture
According to Harper’s, Spanish authorities are investigating Bush administration officials for torture. That includes the former BYU law professor Jay Bybee who signed off on John Yoo’s infamous torture memos. The premier Spanish newspaper El PaÃs reports that judge Baltasar Garzón is involved in the investigation. Garzon is famous for…
Marriage opponent regrets past, now supports equality
by Dan Aiello Bay Area Reporter Reprinted with permission Chino’s Preface: Fred Karger, of Californians Against Hate fame, recently marked the launch of his new Mormongate.com site with the publication of several never-before-seen internal LDS documents regarding a 1990’s contest in Hawaii over the issue of marriage equality. In the…
Summum Goin’ On
Pleasant Grove City has won a battle in the legal war with Summum, Utah’s local pyramid/wine/sex cult. From what I’ve read, it appears that the matter is far from over, though, as this particular battle was narrowed in its scope to its free speech component. In essence, the Supremes have…
Why Mormons Are Not Conservatives
Andrew Sullivan makes an interesting point: Most Americans have a healthy respect for religious teaching but in their lives give greater preference to common sense and practical experience. That includes almost all religious groups as well – Catholics, in particular, show conservative tendencies. The exceptions? Evangelicals and Mormons and Jehovah’s…
Prince Eugene, the Noble Knight
The gentleman on the white Arab is Prince Eugene of Savoy, probably the most famous commander of the House of Habsburg. The latter may have been perpetually broke but, like many Catholics, they did know how to put on a good show. Raised in France, Louis XIV denied the Prince…
Sunday in Outer Blogness: Back to Prop. 8 Edition!
It seems like it’s been days since we talked about Proposition 8 here at MSP. Yet there’s been some new discussions of it all over Outer Blogness this past week, and I’m here to gather them up for you! First, Jonathan Blake posts this interesting video which discusses whether the…
Latter-Day Protest? Proposition 8 and Sports
By Dave Zirin x-posted from Edge of Sports with permission. As supporters of Gay Marriage have discovered, it’s never easy to be on the Mormon Church’s enemies list. The Church of Latter-Day Saints backed the anti-Gay Marriage Proposition 8 in California with out-of-state funds, and gave the right a heartbreaking…