The truth about ‘secular’ AmericaAs America has become more secular in recent decades, “most indicators of moral and social health have gotten better, not worse,” said Steve Chapman at the Chicago Tribune.POSTED ON JANUARY 12, 2012, AT 1:48 PM

Steve Chapman
Chicago Tribune

American culture is sick, and secularism is the cause of our disease. That, said Steve Chapman, is the contention of religious conservatives like presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who insist that feminists, liberals, and gay marriage have undermined traditional morality, and that only a return to our Christian roots will cure what ails us. But all evidence suggests that this view is not only backward—it’s wrong.

As America has become more secular in recent decades, “most indicators of moral and social health have gotten better, not worse.” Crime has plummeted. Teen pregnancy is down by 39 percent. Divorce rates are dropping. Abortion rates among adolescents are half what they used to be.

Which states continue to have the biggest social problems? The Bible Belt states, not the supposedly sin-ridden blue states. Mississippi has the nation’s highest rate of church attendance, and also the highest murder rate. Liberal Vermont’s murder rate, on the other hand, is 25 percent of the national average. Massachusetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage, has the nation’s lowest divorce rate. So please, spare us “the sanctimonious fairy tales.” Secular America is doing just fine.

A friend fwd me the following e-mail today. Has anyone heard about this?

Has anyone heard of this???????

VERY IMPORTANT--SUNDAY NIGHT > This Coming Sunday-- Set Your DVR for the Fox News channel at 9:00 PM eastern. Maybe this is why the White House has been discounting FOX. Sounds like this could be history in the making - someone may go down - either Obama or Fox News. It may be that Fox has been holding this information back due to the sensitivity of it and out of courtesy. But, Obama has taken on Fox and it appears they are ready to spill the ugly beans of truth about the background of this individual who has had an extremely radical past. This Sunday, Fox News is going to air a very important documentary about Barack Obama, Sunday night at 9P.M. Eastern. The report will go back to Obama's earlier days, showing even then his close ties to radical Marxist professors, friends, spiritual advisers, etc. It will also reveal details about his ties to Rev. Wright for 20+ years, i.e., how he was participating with this man, and not for the reasons he stated. The report has uncovered more of Obama's radical past and we will see things that no one in the media is willing to put out there. It will be a segment to remember. Mark your calendar and pass this on to everyone you know: Sunday night, 8 PM CT; 9 PM ET. Democrat or Republican, this report will open your eyes to how YOUR country is being sold down the road to Totalitarian Socialism. If you care about the direction of our country, pass this notice on to everyone you know. >

Only 12 House Members Vote Against Iran Sanctions > http://www.antiwar.com/blog/2009/12/15/only-12-house-members-vote-against-iran-sanctions/

Totalitarian Socialism? I'd like Obama a lot more if he was more socialist! He is far from that...I'm afraid. So far, all he has done is the bidding of the ones that own him.....Wall Street. If Obama was a totalitarian socialist (whatever that is) wouldn't it be great to force the rich to pay their share of society...for a change? Socialized medicine...banking system...clamp down on Wall Street? And stop sending our jobs overseas? Sounds like it is about time.

Watch Fox Snooze? Not a chance! I haven't watched that disgraceful fascist disinformation and right wing propaganda outlet in many, many years. I am sure not backing Obama this time...not for anything he has done in the years prior to his election in 2008..but....for the selling out of the position he held that led us all to believe in him.

I wouldn't care if he pimped girls or sold drugs in his early years...it's what he has done (or not done) in the past 3 years that I will be not voting for him again. He has not stood up to the ruling elite and their puppet-whore Republican politicians and has, in effect, become one of them.

I heard that even Bain Capital has donated double to Obama than what they have donated to Mitt Romney.* If that is true...then that says a lot about who Obama really is..or at least on what Bain Capital believes he is.....not that we really need that extra bit of information....because we already knew that Obama was being heavily funded by Wall Street. Why do you think? Come on...think! Obama will continue to be a puppet of Wall Street. Foolish voters who again thought they had no other choice will again see Obama continue what he started in his first administration ...and that is continue trashing the 99% for the benefit of the 1%.

As for "the White House being against SOPA and PIPPA"...they were against the NDAA too...for a while..until Obama gave in and signed it anyway. How many times has Obama said one thing...then did another?

Let's consider Darcy Richardson this time. But even though Darcy says a lot of things we want to hear....so did Obama. I no longer believe that it really matters who is President...the ruling elite will own them all. But it might feel good, for a little while anyway, that you are voting for someone who says all the right things....and hope that he follows through with what he says. Obama has proven that he does not follow through with what he says. Why vote for him again? There are other choices...but you aren't going to hear much about them because all the money is being placed on the people that the ruling elite will own.

Snow blight and the 7 dwarf Republicans are obviously no match for Obama because Obama has all the money betting on him being the purveyor of false hope upon the people...once again...which will confuse and delay the eventual reality that we're all screwed....and they did it to us again! If you are even going to vote this time around....vote for someone other than the top dogs..who are Wall Street's bitches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darcy_Richardson

* I was pretty sure I heard this on one of the Dylan Ratigan podcast shows made by one of his guests on one of the recent "Greedy Bastards Antidote" series.

Today has been a good day for a change. We saw the end, for at least a while, of the XL Pipeline, and, due to the activism of THE PEOPLE who "blacked-out" their websites today, along with the 3-million signed [SOPA/PIPA] opposition petitions delivered to Congress, the SOPA and PIPA Congress support began to implode. Shows you what can be accomplished when THE PEOPLE unite to defeat what ails OUR nation. But folks it's not over, the Senate version - PIPA [ S.968 ] Bill (PROTECT IP Act of 2011) is still going to be voted on next week, Tuesday the 24th, "State of the Union" speech day. So lets not drop the ball now, keep contacting Congress members, especially the Senate on the PIPA Bill. My wife Barbara and I "blacked-out" all but one of our sites today. On the one site we still have open, www.RumbleofthePeople.com, you can read the SOPA and PIPA Bills, find contact numbers on any House or Senate members, access opposition petitions to SOPA/PIPA and links supporting overturning "Citizens United". One other thing, we have also posted the U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence and Magna Carta, text and image documents, for your pleasure and research. Also the "RICO Act", you know, that law that the Banksters need to be prosecuted under. By the way Thom, glad to see you didn't burn the studio down with all the candles:)

I'm completely shocked just how one-sided this debate has been amongst liberal progressives. I'm a daily viewer of the Big Picture and Democracy Now, and this is the first issue I can remember ever butting heads with Thom and Amy Goodman over in the past 10 years. Their naivety about Google, Wikipedia and other "Big Brother" billionaire internet corporations is mind numbing. Don't you get it yet? Google profits from piracy!

Google is an advertising company. Remember people: ADVERTISING = BAD BAD BAD! ;) If you want to know just how bad digital piracy is, I urge you to read this article: What 'Ownership Means for Digital Media (Hint: Not Much) and this one entitled: Internet to Artists: Drop Dead.

And if aiding and abetting copyright piracy (ie, theft) isn't enough reason to prosecute these internet crooks, how about the latest news? Just this week, Google's recent change in privacy terms now bundles up a user's personal life to the extent George Orwell's vision of "1984" has finally come to fruition. Why aren't my progressive brothers and sisters complaining about that?! Occupy Google, for christ's sake! Don't you know the internet was invented by the government over at the Pentagon? It's not a "conspiracy theory" that the FBI and CIA are tracking us online and will continue to do so as long as people continue to "log on and tune out."

I used to work for an internet company in the very early days back in the 90s (D.C. area, of course) and believe me, it's always been about the sweet cashish for all those start ups (many are now-top 1%ers). Don't let their flip flops and tendency towards introversion fool you. Most of these internet elites want to retire as young as possible so they can spend their time hanging out drinking coffee in the a.m., beer in the p.m., and doing "cool" things like traveling the world, playing in rock bands and banging chicks (hey, who would blame them!). But I've yet to meet one who fits the liberal journalist, political activist type. We "little people" tend to have very different ideas about keeping the internet free than do billionaires who own internet web sites and profit from advertising traffic as well as direct funding from pirate sites.

I can't believe just how naive progressives are about who's really behind the scenes at Google and that ilk. Do your homework Thom! Google aint about the "freedom and democracy" buddio! It's ALL about Google, don't you know? Since when did Thom Hartmann start trusting the PR from big corporations anyway? At least the entertainment industry does a hard day's work, actually owns copyrights and has every legal right to get paid a living wage. Let's not forget that entertainment jobs include many blue collar workers like janitors, carpenters, struggling independent artists, writers, etc. The internet may do wonders for an already-famous writer like Thom who can afford to give away a couple of his books online as business cards. But for the rest of us, we need to earn a living wage before we can enjoy that luxury.

My, how easy it is for Silicon Valley to dupe liberals into believing they're "one of us." Obviously there were provisions in SOPA and PIPA that were insanely wrong, which is why both sides wanted that language taken out. The legistlation was premature which is why it was killed, thankfully. But the pro Google/Wikipedia rally was, quite frankly, nauseating and deeply troubling to behold -- especially from the news and opinion organizations like The Big Picture and Democracy Now that we patriots have come to depend on for helping us understand the issues better.

No hard feelings. Keep up the great work Thom!