Ed Brayton says it plain

In a post today, Ed Brayton covered the issue of "public prayer", i.e., those insipid prayers that are often said at governmental meetings, allegedly to "open" the proceedings -- as if we have to talk to god first before getting down to business. Ed asks a question of the people who insist on this "right":

Why is it so important to you that others have to listen to your prayers? Every person at a city council meeting can pray silently any time they want. If the council wants to have a prayer before the meeting, they can do so in their offices before they start the meeting. The attendees at the meeting can pray before the meeting starts, individually or as a group. Why does it matter to you so much that others who don’t wish to pray have to stand by silently while you do? I think the answer to that question is patently obvious.

Indeed. (Bolding mine.)

Tell me again why churches are tax-exempt

These days, Roman Catholic churches are hotbeds of political protest. Isn't that supposed to be out of bounds? Doesn't engaging in political activities mean tax exemptions are inappropriate? I mean, I thought the granting of tax-exempt status was all about the separation of church and state. So we're going to get rid of the tax breaks now that the church has violated this pact, right? (Some re-paragraphing ahead.)

Catholic leaders across the region on Sunday railed against the part of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s “women’s equality” package of bills that deals with abortion, calling it a “radical measure” that would expand the number of late-term abortions.

At the end of the homily, the church played Malone’s recording over the sound system.

“The position of the Catholic Church through every age is clear,” Malone said in the recording. “Life is sacred. Our focus is to enhance and promote the life and dignity of all human beings from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.”

How can they do this? Why doesn't the government clamp down on them and call foul? Oh, right, I forgot. Churches can do no wrong. Because this is America. U!S!A!

A seemingly non-political, female church attendee also seemed to have a problem with this onslaught of political maneuvering during mass:

“There’s little kids in there, and they’re talking about abortion,” Sontag said, calling the homily “totally inappropriate.”

Well, she got the "inappropriate" part right. Jeez.

Sensible article in the LA Times

God at the Head of the Class is a nice, normal, accurate article in the LA Times today. It briefly recounts the case of a teacher who tried to proselytize his students in a public school, and the decision that came down as a result of his actions.

The reason I point to this article is that you rarely see such clarity in a major newspaper. Kudos to the LA Times. It's not so hard to say: religion doesn't belong in public schools. See how easy that is?