Ed Brayton » Dispatches from the Culture Wars

Ed Brayton

Author's details

Name: Ed Brayton
Date registered: June 30, 2011
URL: http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches

Biography

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

Latest posts

Who’ll Stop the Rain for Obama? — May 21, 2013
Barber Lies About DOJ Pride Pamphlet — May 21, 2013
So, This Organization Exists — May 21, 2013
Saudi Wingnut: Twitter Leads to Hell — May 21, 2013
Texas Judge Uses ‘Morality Clause’ to Split Up Couple — May 21, 2013

Most commented posts

It Appears I’ve Started An ‘Atheist Cult’ — 842 comments
Shermer and the Myth of Feminist Persecution — 405 comments
Major Changes at Freethought Blogs — 390 comments
Professor: Rape is Okay if Woman is Unconscious — 375 comments
Butler: Arrest Anti-Muslim Filmmaker — 258 comments

Author's posts listings

May 21 2013

Who’ll Stop the Rain for Obama?

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In case you had some doubts as to whether the wingnuts could lose their mind over something even more petty, stupid and hypocritical than that “fallen eagle” nonsense last week, I present to you: Umbrellagate. The latest right wing freakout is over a Marine on President Obama’s detail holding an umbrella to keep the rain …

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May 21 2013

Barber Lies About DOJ Pride Pamphlet

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Equality, Wingnuttia

Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel is clutching his pearls and cranking up the faux outrage machine once again, this time over a pamphlet sent out to management at the Department of Justice that offers suggestions on how to maintain a positive work environment for LGBT employees. And he lies about the content of that pamphlet …

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May 21 2013

So, This Organization Exists

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Doctors Without Borders is one of the world’s most selfless and worthwhile charities. But did you know there is a group called Homeopaths Without Borders? Yep, it exists. I wish I was making this up, but I’m not. Because it’s important that the world’s poorest countries have access to completely ineffective medical woo.

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May 21 2013

Saudi Wingnut: Twitter Leads to Hell

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Religious Authoritarianism

A Saudi cleric who leads that country’s religious police — how’s that for a dangerous concept? — has declared that using Twitter will condemn someone to an eternity in hell. Why? They don’t say. Some weird mixture of Islamic fundamentalism and Luddite philosophy, perhaps.

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May 21 2013

Texas Judge Uses ‘Morality Clause’ to Split Up Couple

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Here’s another appalling case of a judge using a divorce or custody agreement to punish someone just for being gay. A Texas judge is ordering a mother’s lesbian partner to move out of the home they share because of a morality clause that he inserted into the woman’s divorce decree.

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May 21 2013

The Greatest Conservative Rap Songs

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Andrew Sullivan called my attention to the American Enterprise Institute’s list of the 21 “greatest conservative rap songs.” Let’s just say that it would not look out of place in The Onion. That they actually appear to be serious makes if it infinitely more amusing. To make the list, says author Stan Veuger, a song …

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May 21 2013

American Atheists Donating Books to Georgia

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Church and State, Unbelief

Ed Buckner, former leader of American Atheists, took his family to a cabin in a Georgia state park and was surprised to find a Gideon Bible in the room. When he complained about this, the state initially removed them from all the cabins at state parks, but Gov. Nathan Deal ordered them to be returned.

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May 21 2013

Daily Caller Editor Sends Insipid Emails to SCA

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On the list of reasons to dismiss The Daily Caller as a collection of hacks, let’s add this one. Christopher Bedford, the associate editor of that online rag, seems to think he’s terribly funny and has a habit of making snide responses to press releases from the Secular Coalition for America. For example, in response …

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May 21 2013

No Oversight in Seizure of AP Phone Records

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Civil Liberties, Constitutional law, Privacy

The story of the DOJ seizing phone records of reporters from the Associated Press just gets worse and worse. I had asked in the immediate aftermath whether the DOJ had gotten a judicial subpoena or merely used an administrative one; the answer is the latter, which means no oversight at all from a judge. And …

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May 21 2013

Help Foundation Beyond Belief Help the Tornado Victims

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As many of you know, I work with the Foundation Beyond Belief. Dale McGowan and the other senior staff spent half the night researching relief organizations in Oklahoma to decide which ones to send contributions to help the victims of yesterday’s horrific tornado damage. We have selected Operation USA and the Regional Food Bank of …

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May 21 2013

Demons to Blame for Incident That Never Happened

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You may have heard the brief religious right freakout a couple weeks ago over a high school track athlete allegedly disqualified from a race after he won and gestured toward the sky to thank God. Since that fed right in to the persecution complex, it spread like wildfire. But then the family pretty quickly admitted …

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May 21 2013

Beck and the Art of Quotemining

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I remember one of my favorite high school teachers (also my debate coach) talking about out-of-context quotes, using the example of those little three word snippets they use in movie ads, like “a daring thrill ride — Time magazine.” She pointed out that many times, they cut out things like “The director clearly intended to …

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May 21 2013

Awww. Bradlee Dean is Upset

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Minnesota became the 12th state to legalize same-sex marriage the other day and the terminally stupid Bradlee Dean is predictably freaking out. Gov. Mark Dayton, he says, is a criminal. But my favorite part is when he says that “they do it covert-like.” Because apparently elected officials passing a bill with the attention of the …

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May 20 2013

Welcome, Tauriq Moosa

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We have another new blogger at FTB, Tauriq Moosa. You may well have seen his work at Big Think, where he will continue to post, but he’s now joining us as well with a new blog called The Indelible Stamp. We’re excited to have him at FTB, of course, so go visit him and give …

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May 20 2013

MI School: No Baby Bumps in Yearbook

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White Cloud Public Schools, about an hour from where I live, is forbidding two pregnant seniors from having pictures that show their bellies out of a ridiculous fear that this will “promote” teen pregnancy. Yeah, just like the other pictures are “promoting” stupid haircuts.

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