This is part 3 of a debate with Roman Catholic theology graduate student Mary. The broader topic of the debate is whether or not universities, hospitals, and social agencies run by the Catholic Church should be exempted from laws requiring employers to provide their employees health insurance that covers contraception. You can read part 1 [...]

Since I joined Freethought Blogs I get crazed fans coming up to me all the time asking “Do you know Pharyngula?” and “What is Pharyngula?” I figured I should take a post to address this common question. Below is Pharyngula. He is a demon made of aborted fetuses:

In case you clicked through to this website without watching the video  or reading the message that initially blocked your access to Camels With Hammers and the rest of Freethought Blogs today, below is the must-see video you missed and the highly informative message you did not read.

This is a tour de force reply to the Girl Scout who was protesting the GSUSA’s openly welcoming incorporation of transgendered girls into their programs. Thanks to Trickster Goddess for sharing it in the other post’s comments section. The Girl Scouts support him. Support them by eating cookies. Your Thoughts?

After the hostile girl scout earlier today who wanted to force transgendered people out of the Girl Scouts, this 13 year old calling out slut shamers restores some of one’s hope for the future. So does Jessica Ahlquist’s victory in court. Your Thoughts?

When I was at Grove City College, by far one of America’s most politically and religiously conservative evangelical Christian colleges of high quality in America, Warren Throckmorton was the school therapist. I met with him a few times. I liked him quite a bit. He has unambiguous Christian credentials. And these days, on his blog, he [...]

10 years ago the first illegal detainees arrived at Guantanamo Bay. Hundreds of protesters showed up at the White House to mark the anniversary: More details and photos here.

Last month Ian had a terrific post which highlighted that being what is derisively termed “politically correct” is not a matter of lying in response to bogus left-wing political pressure and thought police but rather of a matter of moral and conceptual rigor which is willing to actively resist the bigotries and falsehoods encoded into [...]

No-name nobody Chelsea Gill wrote this hilariously charming stalker song begging Jason Segel (star of Freaks and Geeks, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, How I Met Your Mother, and The Muppets) to get a drink with her. His response. Your Thoughts?

Robin Hanson has some really insightful advice: I’ve known some very successful people with quite weird ideas. But these folks mostly keep regular schedules of sleep and bathing. Their dress and hairstyles are modest, they show up on time for meetings, and they finish assignments by deadline. They are willing to pay dues and work [...]

My post on Kyrsten Sinema’s historic decision to run for Congress as an openly non-theistic and bisexual candidate has generated a lot of interest from new readers. I am in an airport waiting to fly home from visiting with family so I can’t do any other new blogging of substance until later tonight. In the [...]

Andrew Sullivan has opened voting for The Dish‘s annual awards and,as always, the nominated posts make for a fascinating recap of the year. What has most mesmerized me are the charts:

“White Wine In The Sun”: Your Thoughts?

Facebook did a fascinating (non-peer-reviewed) study: The idea of ‘six degrees of separation’ — that any two people are on average separated by no more than six intermediate connections — was first proposed in 1929 in a short story by Hungarian author Frigyes Karinthy, and made popular by the John Guare play and movie, Six Degrees [...]

Okay, I have no competence to discuss economics with any significant level of expertise. I found this video with economist Steve Keen interesting and I would be interested to see those of you who know something about economics discuss it: Your Thoughts?

Your Thoughts?

via Your Thoughts?

The season finale is here: Your Thoughts?

Sierra tells her story on No Longer Quivering: Modesty taught me that my first priority needed to be making sure I wasn’t a “stumbling block” to men. Not being sexually attractive was the most important thing I had to consider when buying clothes, putting them on, maintaining my weight (can’t have things getting tight!), and moving [...]

In the comments section of a Rebecca Watson post, Tim Minchin writes: I stay in a lot of hotels and travel in a lot of elevators. They are very helpful, what with their elevating properties and all. Sometimes, I am in an elevator with a woman. Just me and her. In this little, quiet, rumbly [...]

Very sweet: Your Thoughts?

Here I was frustrated, trying to figure out what to do about the fact that I have no time at all to blog today and then I see that Maryam Namazie’s new blog on the Freethought Blogs network has gone live, so I can just send you over there for the day! Here are her [...]