LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY nebris)

( Okay, I wasn't so sure about this piece until I got to the 'Are you ready to grab your sword and say, ‘OK, family, I’m going to lead you?’ quote. Oy... )

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY nebris)

Ultimately, this is really about ratings. I hadn't read or heard Prager's name in years. Now that happens four times a day. "Mission Accomplished", eh?

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY cheap_laugh)

Conservative Jews Allow Gay Rabbis and UnionsBy LAURIE GOODSTEIN

The highest legal body in Conservative Judaism, the centrist movement in worldwide Jewry, voted yesterday to allow the ordination of gay rabbis and the celebration of same-sex commitment ceremonies.

The decision, which followed years of debate, was denounced by traditionalists in the movement as an indication that Conservative Judaism had abandoned its commitment to adhere to Jewish law, but celebrated by others as a long-awaited move toward full equality for gay people.

“We see this as a giant step forward,” said Sarah Freidson, a rabbinical student and co-chairwoman of Keshet, a student group at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York that has been pushing for change.

But in a reflection of the divisions in the movement, the 25 rabbis on the law committee passed three conflicting legal opinions — one in favor of gay rabbis and unions, and two against.

In doing so, the committee left it up to individual synagogues to decide whether to accept or reject gay rabbis and commitment ceremonies, saying that either course is justified according to Jewish law.

“We believe in pluralism,” said Rabbi Kassel Abelson, chairman of the panel, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly, at a news conference after the meeting at the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York. “We recognized from the very beginnings of the movement that no single position could speak for all members” on the law committee or in the Conservative movement.

I should also add, that it was the Conservative movement in Judaism that first ordained women as Rabbis - a high school friend of mine was the first.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY velvetpage)

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20061207/23924.htm

On the one hand, most European nations require the fetus to be anesthetized during the abortion, for exactly this reason, and I certainly would not oppose a law that required that. On the other hand, telling a woman that the procedure will be painful to the fetus - WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT THE PAIN - is cruel on several levels. If the goal were to make the procedure more humane, fine - but that doesn't appear to be the goal. It seems pain is being used as a weapon, much the same way that the threat of HPV is used as a cudgel reason for girls to abstain, and the desire to use this cudgel is a reason not to vaccinate them.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY squidflakes)

I just noticed this article posted to FARK, and I thought I'd share.

The gist is that a public school in Virgina caved to a request by a parent that their children be allowed to distribute filers for a vacation bible school using a packet placed in every child's backpack. This packet was typically reserved for school announcements and ect. At first, the school denied the request, but later relented after the parent got help from "The Liberty Council", a group sponsored by Jerry Falwell that provides legal representation in, I would guess, religious discrimination situations.

A local group of Unitarians found out about this, and obtained permission from the school to distribute their own fliers inviting children and parents to a presentation on the history of Winter celebrations, as they say, from early pagans to Yule.

Guess who took issue with that?