I want Mitt Romney for President.

I wish Mitt Romney would run for President.

No, not the Mitt Romney of 2012 who enjoys firing people (2), but the Mitt Romney of 2002, who championed equal rights for gays and lesbians.

I wish that Mitt Romney would run for President.

I wonder what happened to him?

I want Mitt Romney for President.

I wish Mitt Romney would run for President.

No, not the Mitt Romney of 2012 who enjoys firing people (2), but the Mitt Romney of 2002, who championed equal rights for gays and lesbians.

I wish that Mitt Romney would run for President.

I wonder what happened to him?

#SCOTUS: church-state separation protects religious schools.

It's
unanimous, folks!

The 1st Amendment protects the “free exercise of
religion,” and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the state
infringes on religious freedom if it forces a church or its schools to
accept or retain “an unwanted minister.”

Notre Dame Law Professor Rick Garnett called the ruling "one of the
court's most important church-state decisions in decades." It
"protects religious liberty by forbidding governments from
second-guessing religious communities' decisions about who should be
their teachers, leaders and ministers," he said.

If this sounds like the Supreme Court is saying that the government
can't force a church or religious school to accept a gay priest,
student, or teacher, that's because that is exactly what this
ruling is saying. It also says that it doesn't have to accept anything
else that might be against the doctrines of that particular church. If
that Church says that African-Americans can't be ministers (as the
Mormons used to), or that women who use birth control can't be
employees (as the Roman Catholics might), then there you go. And, if
the Church says that you can't be a teacher if you have narcolepsy (as
the Lutherans apparently did in this case), then there you go.

Personally, I welcome this decision. Once churches start enforcing
these rules, it will force people to examine their faith and make the
conscious decision stick with it, try to change it from within,
or say "to hell with these idiots" and find a new spiritual home (or
figure it out for themselves). Painful as this may be, this crisis is
necessary in order to have a truly spiritual life. Some
churches will grow as a result, drawing members that favor the way
they discriminate (or do not discriminate); some will shrivel up and
die as people abandon them. Most people will refuse to be challenged
and just go to whatever church fits their tastes, whether it be the
fascist megachurch in the suburbs or the new age, patchouli scented
meditation shop in the trendy neighborhood. But also, a precious few
more people will wake up, and start to really think about what these
things - God and the soul and such - actually mean. That is the
first step to something bigger than ourselves.

#SCOTUS: church-state separation protects religious schools.

It's
unanimous, folks!

The 1st Amendment protects the “free exercise of
religion,” and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the state
infringes on religious freedom if it forces a church or its schools to
accept or retain “an unwanted minister.”

Notre Dame Law Professor Rick Garnett called the ruling "one of the
court's most important church-state decisions in decades." It
"protects religious liberty by forbidding governments from
second-guessing religious communities' decisions about who should be
their teachers, leaders and ministers," he said.

If this sounds like the Supreme Court is saying that the government
can't force a church or religious school to accept a gay priest,
student, or teacher, that's because that is exactly what this
ruling is saying. It also says that it doesn't have to accept anything
else that might be against the doctrines of that particular church. If
that Church says that African-Americans can't be ministers (as the
Mormons used to), or that women who use birth control can't be
employees (as the Roman Catholics might), then there you go. And, if
the Church says that you can't be a teacher if you have narcolepsy (as
the Lutherans apparently did in this case), then there you go.

Personally, I welcome this decision. Once churches start enforcing
these rules, it will force people to examine their faith and make the
conscious decision stick with it, try to change it from within,
or say "to hell with these idiots" and find a new spiritual home (or
figure it out for themselves). Painful as this may be, this crisis is
necessary in order to have a truly spiritual life. Some
churches will grow as a result, drawing members that favor the way
they discriminate (or do not discriminate); some will shrivel up and
die as people abandon them. Most people will refuse to be challenged
and just go to whatever church fits their tastes, whether it be the
fascist megachurch in the suburbs or the new age, patchouli scented
meditation shop in the trendy neighborhood. But also, a precious few
more people will wake up, and start to really think about what these
things - God and the soul and such - actually mean. That is the
first step to something bigger than ourselves.