What a change in forty years: homosexuality

Time Magazine, February 12, 1965 carried an article “Homosexuals Can Be Cured” in which a Doctor Samuel B. Hadden argued that the influence of Freud and the number of homosexuals who believed themselves to be happy that way meant that few cures were attempted.  He worked mainly with men because he had never had enough lesbian “patients”.  At that time the opinion of the psychiatric and psychological establishments was still that homosexual orientation was pathological.

Time Magazine, October 31, 1969 carried another article, “Are Homosexuals Sick?”  The magazine asked eight experts, two of whom were described as “admitted homosexuals”, to a symposium in New York City where they discussed the question.

This debate was very different in tone.  I am struck by the attitude of Rev. Robert Weeks, who spoke of two men of his acquaintance who had been together for many years: ” Both of them are very happy and very much in love. They asked me to bless their marriage, and I am going to do it.”

Which brings us right up to date, really!

What if…

…Tina Fey and Sarah Palin changed places for a week, and nobody noticed?

There are some people who say this has already happened.

Another reason to use Google

FT reports that Google publicly opposes California Proposition 8.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/our-position-on-californias-no-on-8.html

I can’t wait to see the fundies all calling for a boycott and switching their gmail accounts.

New Ecuador constitution may open another chink in anti-abortion South America

Associated Press reports that a vote on the new constitution has passed by a strong margin in the South American republic of Ecuador, despite opposition from the Roman Catholic church.  While the constitution defines life as beginning from conception, it contains wording that opens up very wide chinks in Catholic traditionalism.  The family is recognized  “in its diverse types” and the new constitution guarantees “the right to freely make responsible and informed decisions about one’s health and reproductive life.”

Yes, it has opened the door to abortion and same-sex marriage a little wider.

About bloody time too.

Reiss fried by Nobel laureate

The Guardian website yesterday carried a blistering attack on Michael Reiss by Nobel prizewinner Harry Kroto, over Reiss’s recent advocacy of teaching creationism as a “cultural worldview” in British science lessons.  Kroto is having none of it, and says the problem is that as a church minister Reiss was in the wrong job.   “It really does not matter whether one believes a mystical entity created the universe 5,000 or 10,000 million years ago – both are equally irrational unsubstantiated claims of no fundamental validity.”  All religious people, including Reiss, “fall at the first hurdle of the main requirement for honest scientific discussion because they accept unfound dogma as having fundamental significance.”

Kroto frames it as a matter of intellectual integrity:

“An ordained minister must have accepted that there was a creator (presumably more intelligent than he is?) thus many of us (maybe 90% of FRSs) cannot see how such a person can pontificate on how to tackle this fundamentally unresolvable conflict at the science/religion interface. Reiss cannot have his religious cake in church and eat the scientific one in the classroom. “

Reiss stepped down as Education Director of the Royal Society this month after his controversial comments.

Philip Pullman celebrates his “most challenged” book with glee

The Guardian reports that Philip Pullman felt “glee” on hearing that his novel Northern Lights, marketed as The Golden Compass in North America, is near the top of the “most challenged” list issued by the American Library Association, behind three other books.  Apparently 420 written complaints about the book’s content have been received by the Association.

He is quoted as saying: “”Firstly, I had obviously annoyed a lot of censorious people, and secondly, any ban would provoke interested readers to move from the library, where they couldn’t get hold of my novel, to the bookshops, where they could…Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite so good,”

He credits religious objections to the film, The Golden Compass with increasing sales of his first novel.

Meanwhile the film continues to defy expectations.  Despite a disappointing domestic performance, The Golden Compass has a worldwide gross of $372 million on production costs of $180 million.  The 2004 hit, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events made £209 million on production costs of $140 million. Both films were rated PG in the home market.

Thugs firebomb publisher’s home

The Telegraph reports that thugs have firebombed the home of Martin Rynja, owner of publishing company Gibson Square  Religious extremists supporting the attack warn that further attacks will follow.

The company recently acquired the rights to publish a book, The Jewel of Medina, by Sherry Jones,  Three men are being questioned by police.

The chickens are coming home to roost

I predict that Senator McCain will have a very rough ride through October. Even the Conservative pundits are muttering darkly about Sarah Palin’s inadequate performance in the few interviews she’s been allowed to make. I saw a few minutes of her interview with Katie Kouric and I found it toe-curlingly embarrassing. Give her another month, and nobody will want this idiot anywhere near the White House. The knives are out.

McCain himself looks out of his league in the glare of publicity over the Wall Street crash and the proposed bail-out. I don’t mind saying that I expect Obama to wipe the floor with him in every way. He’s lost his way, he’s on the way out.

Türkiye’de Yasaklandı. Türkiye’de Bakınız Richard Dawkins burada.

Banned in Turkey. Read Richard Dawkins in Turkish here.

Richard Dawkins’ website has been banned in Turkey, but mine has not.

For those living in Turkey, here’s an update from the website:

• The Turkish edition of Dawkins’ book. The Ancestor’s Tale, sold out within a day
• There is a Turkish translation of the offending article. See below.

ACLU challenges federal district’s grant to mission that compels church attendance

The American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State have launched a case on behalf of homeless men and taxpayers against the District of Columbia, over its decision to grant over $12 million in public property and cash to Central Union Mission.

The ACLU quotes the director of the mission as saying: “We are in the business of converting people to Christ. That’s what we do.” They claim that the mission, which runs homeless shelters in the city, compels church attendance, only employs Christians, and requires volunteers to state their church allegiance.

The taxpayer plaintiffs include the episcopal Bishop of Washington and a Catholic priest. The case challenges a July decision by the Council to make a property exchange deal involving $7 million in cash that, the ACLU says, would net the mission a profit of $12 million.