Rick Perry

Tomorrow afternoon, most of the Republican presidential candidates will come together in Iowa for the latest in a seemingly endless series of debates as they try to prove to the electorate that they are qualified to be the leader of the United States.

Unlike previous debates, which have been sponsored primarily by news organizations, this one is a “forum” sponsored by an Iowa Religious Right group called The FAMiLY Leader, CitizenLink (an affiliate of the James Dobson-founded Focus on the Family) and the National Organization for Marriage. Read more

The Rev. Robert Jeffress just won’t shut up, and for that, I thank him. Read more

It’s going to be a lovely fall weekend in Washington, D.C., -- and I’ll be spending most of it inside surrounded by thousands of Religious Right zealots.

Yes, it’s time for the Family Research Council’s “Values Voter Summit.” This annual gathering, which begins today, has become the nation’s premier Religious Right confab. I wouldn’t think of missing it! After all, how often do you get to hear Ed Meese speak these days? Read more

Religious Right folks can be sneaky, that’s for sure.

They know the best way to surreptitiously influence elections: hold an event at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas; say it’s about prayer not politics; collect thousands of email addresses through the event’s registration process; and two weeks later, send out a mass email urging attendees to show up at the polls and recruit others to go along. Read more

I’m heading to Houston, folks! I’ll be accompanying Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn as we join with the Texas ACLU and other progressive allies to put on a rally on the night before Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s fundamentalist Christian prayer fest. Read more

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has been in the national news a lot lately – as I’m sure many of you have noticed.

Besides talk of his possible presidential run, the media has been very interested in the governor’s initiation and endorsement of “The Response,” a fundamentalist Christian prayer rally to be held in Houston Aug. 6. Read more

The Texas State Board of Education is heading back into the news this week. Read more

The Dalai Lama really gets it.

The Tibetan spiritual leader is in Washington, D.C., to lead a 10-day peace festival at a venue just a few blocks from Americans United’s national office.

The Washington Post has been reporting on the event. Yesterday the newspaper mentioned the Dalai Lama’s longtime support of the separation of church and state. Read more

I will be celebrating this July 4th with my family in Michigan, where I’m about to head in a few hours.

I’ll be attending a parade on Monday and watching some fireworks with my niece and nephew, who are second-generation Americans. Since my niece was three, she’s boasted that she is an American. Now that she is a bit older (she turned five in June), she may finally start to understand what that really means. Read more