Tara Culp-Ressler for Think Progress

Why Conservatives Can Only Talk About ‘Religious Liberty’ In Charleston

These crimes weren’t about the fact that parishioners were reading the Bible or praying to Jesus, and, in fact, they were largely perpetrated by a racist group that identifies as a Christian organization.

In the aftermath of a mass shooting at Charleston’s historic Emanuel A.M.E. Church that killed nine people, most elected officials and political pundits are carefully expressing their condolences in a way that avoids mentioning race. Instead, many right-wing commentators are seizing on the location of the massacre — a Wednesday night Bible study

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Leaked Memo Reveals What Breastaurants Actually Think Of Their Customers

So-called “breastaurants” spark a lot of controversy for what many critics complain amounts to the objectification of women.

Waitresses and a customer at a Texas-area Twin Peaks restaurant CREDIT: Flickr Creative Commons via MarkScottAustinTX

Waitresses and a customer at a Texas-area Twin Peaks restaurant.  Credit: Flickr Creative Commons via MarkScottAustinTX. Popularly known as breastaurants, the franchises that cater to the male gaze by employing scantily clad waitresses are enjoying booming business even as the rest of the restaurant industry has been struggling. Case in

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Rolling Stone, Journalistic Integrity, And The Fight Against Campus Rape

The unraveling of the Rolling Stone article threatens to validate the pervasive narrative that rape victims are always lying.

rape

Certain details of a University of Virginia student’s story of an alleged gang rape at a college frat house are coming into dispute, leading the magazine that published the account to conclude that its trust in its source was “misplaced.” Rolling Stone’s story about a horrific assault that was allegedly perpetrated against a student identified

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Mayor Bans Abortion Clinics From His City Because He Wants To Avoid ‘Drama’

“We want to be a peaceful city,” Mayor Teddy Harris said. “We don’t want to have any protesters.”

Pro-Life protesters at a 2009 Ant-abortion rally.

Officials in Rossville, Georgia have unanimously passed an ordinance to ban abortion clinics within the city limits, saying they’re not interested in the “drama” that comes along with offering reproductive health services. When reporters from the Times Free Press asked Mayor Teddy Harris why he put forth that ordinance, the lawmaker responded

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Second Ebola Diagnosis In Texas Raises Questions About What The Hospital Is Doing Wrong

A health care worker in Dallas has been preliminarily diagnosed with Ebola, suggesting that the first case of the deadly virus has been transmitted on U.S. soil. The news has renewed questions over whether Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, the facility that recently treated the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States, is doing […]

A health care worker in Dallas has been preliminarily diagnosed with Ebola, suggesting that the first case of the deadly virus has been transmitted on U.S. soil. The news has renewed questions over whether Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, the facility that recently treated the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States, is doing enough

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For Many Vietnam Veterans, The War Still Isn’t Over

Over the past 13 years, the number of veterans seeking claims for PTSD treatment has risen from 133,745 to more than 656,000.

Dave McBee, left, a U.S. Marine combat veteran of the Iraq War waits in the "med line" at the "Soldier On" veterans homeless shelter, in Leeds, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Forty years after the Vietnam War, 11 percent of veterans continue to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and have shown little improvement in their condition in recent decades, according to new research that updates an earlier study tracking Vietnam vets’ mental health. The findings suggest that, for some individuals who have experienced

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16-Year-Old’s Rape Goes Viral On Social Media: ‘No Human Being Deserved This’

After other teens started mocking her online — sharing images of themselves splayed out on the floor in the same pose as Jada’s unconscious body under the hashtag #jadapose — the victim decided to speak out.

Jada

In an incident that shares several elements with the infamous Steubenville rape case that made national headlines last year, a 16-year-old girl from Texas says that photos of her unconscious body went viral online after she was drugged and raped at a party with her fellow high schoolers. But the victim isn’t backing down. She’s speaking out about

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