Everyone in America has every right to practice their own religion as they desire, but within the limits of them not infringing on the same right of others.  I just saw a news story this morning that touches on this point.  A Georgia church held a service for a high school football team and gave the kids an "option" to go through a full immersion baptism.  I personally have no issue with this on the face of it, until you realize that this is using coercion to put these kids through this.  Kids wish to please the adults they like and respect.

Over this last weekend, I was initiated into the ADF iniates current.  This was an interesting experience, and some of what I went through I can't really divulge.  To start with though, there are 3 ordeals.  The first is being asked questions about the work you did up to that point.  This was public and everyone present could hear your answers.  I was confident in my work, and my initiators knew me well enough.  There were some difficult questions, but I got through it.  Word of advice for future initiates, review your own work, especially if you have taken years to get to that point.

Since the tragic hate crime that was the shooting of parishioners in a church, during bible studies, in Charleston SC, there have been many things that came about in such a short time.  Firstly, let us not forget the victims, their family, and their community.  This is the time to give them support and be there for them.  They are suffering, and they deserve the support of the nation.

This topic has come up in many places, many times, and rather often recently in my life.  I keep finding it being used to justify speech that in whatever venue is just not appropriate, or where it is just obviously hate speech.  In the US, Freedom of Speech is not an absolute, and only applies to the government and governmental agencies.  Let's actually look at the text of the first amendment.