Carla Hale, a teacher at a Catholic high school in Ohio, made news last week when she was fired after her mother’s obituary revealed that she was gay. But in just days, her students have helped gather 40,000 signatures on an online petition to support her.
Hale told The Columbus Dispatch that when she returned to work following her mother’s funeral last month, school administrators showed her a letter a parent, “appalled” that Hale’s name was listed next to another woman’s in the obit, had written to the Roman Catholic diocese of Columbus. The Diocese of Columbus fired her a few days later on Holy Thursday, according to a release from Change.org.
“To see The Church, which is rooted on love and acceptance, show such intolerance is extremely disheartening,” said Hope Vacarro, a senior at Bishop Watterson, according to Change.org. “Ms. Hale is a woman who has dedicated her life to the education of children, and she deserves immense respect for that. She is a moral and ethical educator who has done nothing but bring friendship and guidance to Watterson students.”
People are amazing sometimes.
Since this story went viral, the school has been targeted by threatening phone calls. Don’t do that. There are more productive ways to handle this situation.
Montana Sen. Max Baucus has confirmed that he will retire rather than seek re-election in the 2014 midterm elections in a new statement released on Tuesday. The Democrat currently serves as Senate Finance Committee Chairman, and his departure will undoubtedly add to the growing fear among Democrats that the party could lose its majority in the 100-member Senate in the very near future. (Photo via Ars Skeptica) source
Whenever a society adopts racial entitlements, it is very difficult to get out of them through the normal political processes. Even the name of it is wonderful, the Voting Rights Act. Who’s going to vote against that?Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia • Expressing his continued disapproval of the Voting Rights Act, which the conservative-leaning judge apparently views as a “racial preferment.” Thankfully, much of the rest of the Supreme Court (and the United States as a whole, we’d wager) doesn’t seem to agree with him. source
John Kerry, the US secretary of state, pressed his message of potential dialogue with North Korea as he wrapped up his diplomatic tour in Japan, saying the US was “prepared to reach out” and consider direct talks under the right circumstances.
After weeks of tension on the Korean peninsula – with the North issuing angry threats, pulling its workers out of a joint industrial complex and possibly preparing for a missile test – Kerry has repeatedly focused on the US desire for a peaceful resolution during the Asian leg of his 10-day trip.
But speaking in Tokyo he warned that Pyongyang would need to show good faith “so we’re not going around and around in the same-old, same-old”.
While this obviously has the potential for a positive outcome, we wouldn’t be shocked to see this dominating the discussion among talking heads this week, given North Korea’s recent provocative statements/actions.
I guess nothing rhymes with Treasury.White House spokesman Jay Carney • Responding to questions about a newly released Jay-Z track which seems to suggest that Hov and Beyonce got permission from the White House to travel to Cuba last week. When pressed on the matter, Carney once again denied that President Obama ever spoke with Mr. and Mrs. Knowles-Carter about their trip, saying that Open Letter “is only a song.” source
I can’t add much to what’s already been (and will be) ...
One of the perks of being an early employee...
Over the last 90 days, the Digg...
#FMMDI (at 30 Rockefeller Plaza)
Thanks. I guess my thoughts are as follows:
1. I think...
We’re in deep doo-doo.Dick Cheney, in a closed-door meeting with congressional Republicans, on the situation in North Korea. Cheney may be right, but his credibility is undermined both by his own record of assessing foreign threats and, perhaps more significantly, the fact that he used the word “doo-doo” to describe the prospect of nuclear war. He gets points, however, for reportedly wearing a cowboy hat to the meeting. source
Momentum grew for Senate passage of gun legislation when a bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday announced agreement on deals to expand background checks and tighten laws against gun trafficking.
The first breakthrough came in a deal on background checks announced by Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who agreed on an amendment that would exempt all “personal” transfers of weapons between individuals, but would close the infamous gun show loophole and also require background checks on Internet sales.
“All personal transfers are not touched whatsoever,” said Manchin. “We’ve done these two [gun shows and Internet sales], and we’ve done them and done them right.”
While the bill is likely to be passed by the Senate, it’s unclear if it has any chance of passage in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives, with many GOP lawmakers remaining openly opposed to new gun control legislation. Still, the development is likely to be welcomed by many proponents of the bill, some of whom didn’t expect the agreement to survive a filibuster.
North Korea’s statement advising foreigners to make plans to evacuate Seoul is more unhelpful rhetoric that serves only to escalate tensions. This kind of rhetoric will only further isolate North Korea from the international community, and we continue to urge the North Korean leadership to heed President Obama’s call to choose the path of peace and to come into compliance with its international obligations.White House spokesman Jay Carney • Responding to North Korea’s rather surprising anti-tourism warning on Tuesday, mere hours after North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency warned foreigners in South Korea that the country’s military couldn’t be blamed if they were hurt should war break out on the Korean peninsula. The latest threats from North Korea come on the eve of previously announced ballistic missile testing which has already put a number of countries in the region on edge. source
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