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Category: Activism

The War Prayer

The War Prayer

Disgusted by the aftermath of the Spanish-American War and the then-current Philippine-American War, Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) wrote The War Prayer in 1904. It was considered too sacrilegious and provocative for the times. Twain agreed to bury it, but wanted it published after his death (“I have told the truth in that… and only dead men can tell the truth in this world”). He died in 1910, and it was published in Harper’s Monthly, November 1916. I have always…

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Fact Check

Fact Check

FactCheck.org has a great analysis of the debate last night. Here’s just the Summary for a quick perusal – but you really have to read the analysis: Obama said McCain adviser Henry Kissinger backs talks with Iran “without preconditions,” but McCain disputed that. In fact, Kissinger did recently call for “high level” talks with Iran starting at the secretary of state level and said, “I do not believe that we can make conditions.” After the debate the McCain campaign issued…

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The First Presidential Debate

The First Presidential Debate

I had signed up to rate the debates at “Rate the Debates,” because it was billed as getting a jump on the pundits. I was hoping that this would serve as a pulsepoint. I’m disappointed that the survey was more about the moderator’s performance than the substance of the debate itself. Overall, I thought both candidates did fairly well. They both got angry, but held their tempers. They both looked a little silly smiling when they were hearing digs aimed…

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JWs in the News

JWs in the News

Antonie Dixon’s sister gives evidence in court When Antonie Dixon told the jury an astonishing tale of sexual abuse by his mother and beatings at the hands of Jehovah’s Witnesses, they must have wondered whether any of it was believable. Today they heard from someone else who was there at the time and she confirmed much of what he said. According to Dixon’s sister Carla, he was dubbed “devil spawn” by their mother. (

MLK was not, I repeat, was NOT a Republican

MLK was not, I repeat, was NOT a Republican

The National Black Republican Association has paid for Florida and South Carolina billboards that show a photograph of Martin Luther King Jr. and claim that he was REPUBLICAN. That’s a claim that really takes some nerve – or desperation. Could it be that there’s some worry about losing the South after all? Now they’re trying to claim MLK – now? Unbelievable. Memes to you all… because there’s no real argument or justification left to vote Republican except fear of the…

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