North Dakota.... Again?

I'm not sure if you all remember. A few weeks ago I posted an informal post about North Dakota making it illegal to have an abortion. Well, again North Dakota has taken a few steps backwards. As Vermont has moved forward with same-sex marriages something that may seem completely ridiculous to us has happened. A policy to end discrimination in housing, employment and credit based on sexual orientation was put forth to the North Dakota House losing 54-34. I think it is absolutely shameful. I don't see how any policy on any person to end discrimination could be rejected. We are supposed to be an equal nation yet we say it's okay to discriminate people if we're not comfortable with their sexual orientation.

I would like to see a policy put forth federally to end discrimination against sexual orientation. If we are truly a free nation we need to protect everyone.

Outlawing Abortion

I was reading some headlines today and I came across one that really stuck out. A few weeks ago we were talking about abortion and what the qualifications are to abort a fetus. Whether or not abortion is morally and ethically right or wrong has been a controversial issue for quite some time. Here's an article that I hope everyone finds interesting:

"North Dakota's House of Representatives has passed a bill effectively outlawing abortion. The House voted 51-41 this afternoon to declare that a fertilized egg has all the rights of any person. That means a fetus could not be legally aborted without the procedure being considered murder. Minot Republican Dan Ruby has sponsored other bills banning abortion in previous legislative sessions - all of which failed. He also sponsored today's bill and says it is compatible with Roe versus Wade - the Supreme Court decision which legalized abortion. (Rep. Dan Ruby, -R- Minot) "This is the exact language that's required by Roe vs. Wade. It stipulated that before a challenge can be made, we have to identify when life begins, and that's what this does." VO CONTINUES But Minot Democrat Kari Conrad says the bill will land North Dakota in court, trying to defend the constitutionality of a law that goes against the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. (Rep. Kari Conrad, -D- Minot) "People who presented this bill, were very clear that they intended to challenge Roe versus Wade. So they intend to put the state of North Dakota into court defending Roe vs. Wade"."

I think this is a very important matter that fits directly into our discussion. Like it says in the article, they are declaring when life begins. I think this is outrageous and unconstitutional because it goes against the supreme court decision that has already legalized abortion.

You can view the news video here.

"ND House Passes Abortion Ban." Minot News, Weather, Sports and Entertainment. 17 Feb. 2009. KXTV. .

The Secular and the Sacred

I am interested in what direction this class will go this semester. It seems like the two core classes this semester are designed to teach us why we should become atheist socialists. At first glance I expect that the Secular and the Sacred is not going to give us a well rounded view of religion throughout the world. Instead we'll get the Richard Dawkins' delusion. I think it is important to be familiar with all the aspects of religion and I hope we aren't going to be spoon fed the brilliance of atheism while criticizing every other belief system.

Informal Blog

After reading the two articles, I realized that this class will be a real eye opener for me. I found that I am not really religious besides that I go to midnight mass on Christmas. I think that there will be many things that I didn't know about other religions just from reading the articles. I was never forced to go to church besides on  the specific days that meant the most to my Grandmother, so I never got the experience of going every sunday. I want to get a lot of out this class because I feel that it will bring a new view of things to light for me and that I will understand the concepts of new religions. 

Informal Post

Since I am not a very religious person I think this class will mostly be a learning experience.  Even after reading the two packets from The Economist it was interesting to see how different countries and religions respond to different ideas.  The secular part of the class should be interesting as well.  I was unsure what the meaning of the word secular was before attending the first class but now I know it tends to deal more with tradition and less with religion.  I think that will be a good discussion on what is secular without being sacred and the other way around.  I hope to learn all about sacred traditions in this country and in others along with secular traditions and how they interact.  Overall I think this class will be interesting and I will learn a lot.