There are places where having someone armed and standing guard makes me feel at least a little secure. The guard at the bank, the airport, and the police patrol cars on the street are harbingers of safety.

However, church is not one of those places. At least, not for me. But evidently the good Republicans in Louisiana think differently, and so today Bobby Jindal signed the "gun-in-church" bill, authorizing people with concealed weapons permits to bring them to church.

NOLA.com:

Including the "gun-in-church" bill, House Bill 1272 by Rep. Henry Burns, R-Haughton, Jindal has signed into law 940 of the 1,067 bills the Legislature sent him, vetoed 12, and used his pen to line-item spending measures in four different budget bills.

Burns' bill would authorize persons who qualified to carry concealed weapons having passed the training and background checks to bring them to churches, mosques, synagogues or other houses of worship as part of a security force.

The pastor or head of the religious institution must announce verbally or in weekly newsletters or bulletins that there will be individuals armed on the property as members of he security force. Those chosen have to undergo eight hours of tactical training each year.

It sort of kills that whole "love one another" idea, doesn't it?

In a breathtakingly tight argument, Chris Matthews corners Rhode Island Bishop Thomas Tobin, who has banned Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., from receiving Holy Communion due to his views on abortion.

Because here's the moral hypocrisy at the heart of the Church's abortion position: If it's really and truly murder, you're talking about prosecuting mothers, sisters, lovers and friends for having them. Tweety is quite aggressive with the bishop, demanding to know exactly what legal penalties he thinks should be legislated.

I mean, we won't even touch the concept of one religion imposing its moral position on everyone else. We don't have to. Because if you're saying abortion is murder, you may not create a separate class of penalties under the law. You can't argue that women "didn't know what they were doing." You can't say they were "confused" or "coerced" if there's no evidence they were, anymore than you can say that about any other murder for hire. Either she paid someone to murder her child - or she didn't.

So she has to be tried for murder. The churches can't have it both ways. They can't advise forgiveness and legal exemption for one specific class of murders.

And there's no way the majority of Americans would ever support sending their relatives, neighbors and friends to prison for it.

This is really what Tweety was getting at, and it was damned brilliant. Go, Tweety!

The Jed Report: The death of a taboo

Discourse.net: Palin potpourri

The Republic of Dogs: Republicans for change...from what? The guy they're afraid to mention?

Capital Eye: The money behind Palin...and McCain

Words of Power: Ecuador's proposed constitution includes an article that grants nature the right to "exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution" and will grant legal standing to any person to defend those rights in court.

HOLY CRAP: God ditches the GOP...Hate, false witness, and slander...Is abstinence trendy? Maybe not so much...McCain's vetting team...On women heading countries but not churches....Gather round, children...Vampire protection...Cleansing the PTA one sinner at a time...Hypocrite playing cards...Palin church features anti-Semetic sermon, but the remarks have been clarified...Theocrats to pray for McCain's death..God Swill...Interfaith Alliance's new blog...Saddleback winner? Rick Warren

Friend of C&L Freeway Blogger writes: "looks like some churches are joining in the act!"

Open Thread below...

...except in a video game for Jesus.

NY Times: (h/t Rick)

First the percussive sounds of sniper fire and the thrill of the kill. Then the gospel of peace.

Across the country, hundreds of ministers and pastors desperate to reach young congregants have drawn concern and criticism through their use of an unusual recruiting tool: the immersive and violent video game Halo.[..]

Those buying it must be 17 years old, given it is rated M for mature audiences. But that has not prevented leaders at churches and youth centers across Protestant denominations, including evangelical churches that have cautioned against violent entertainment, from holding heavily attended Halo nights and stocking their centers with multiple game consoles so dozens of teenagers can flock around big-screen televisions and shoot it out.

The alliance of popular culture and evangelism is challenging churches much as bingo games did in the 1960s. And the question fits into a rich debate about how far churches should go to reach young people.

Far from being defensive, church leaders who support Halo - despite its "thou shalt kill" credo - celebrate it as a modern and sometimes singularly effective tool. It is crucial, they say, to reach the elusive audience of boys and young men.

Oh, I don't know....one would think the line has been crossed when one is encouraging kids to kill (even if only virtually) to bring them to Jesus. This is a whole new take on "WWJD" that sadly reflects more on our society than religion.

The Orstrahyun: Not making this up...The Australian government proposes allowing the gambling industry to build elder "care" facilities adjacent to casinos. Win-win for everyone but the elderly. Next up: poker machines that take Social Security checks.

Politits: But don't CEO's deserve 400 times the average workers' pay? They're worth it, right?

CJSD: Why was Bush greeted so enthusiastically by the Albanians?

YouTube of the day: What the hell are neocon groups like Project for the New American Century and The Heritage Foundation doing funding something called "Institute for Religion and Democracy"? Hint: it has to do with reversing any dividend from churches doing peace stuff. More here.

Smith Magazine: Amazing online webcomic of Katrina and its aftermath.

Guest round-up by Blue Gal.

Via CBSNews.com:

Paramedic Annette Gasten and her German shepherd, Greta, had a grim weekend searching amid the piles of wreckage left by one of the strongest tornadoes to rake across the Plains.

Every business on Greensburg's main street was demolished and officials estimate as much as 95 percent of the town was destroyed. Tree trunks stood bare, stripped of most of their branches. All the churches were destroyed.

At least eight people in this community of 1,500 were dead, putting the state's total death toll at 10. No one was found Sunday in the debris.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday evening that the state's response will likely be hampered because much of the equipment usually positioned around the state to respond to emergencies — including tents, trucks and semitrailers - is now in Iraq. Read more...

This is just another example of how the extended occupation of Iraq has left us more vulnerable at home. Imagine if the ferocious F-5 tornado that hit Greensburg had hit a major city. A sad side note to this tragedy, 4 troops from Ft. Riley, Kansas and a reserve police officer were arrested for looting cigarettes and alcohol from a local Greensburg store. Apparently, they weren't part of any official detachment and it's not clear why they were there.

If you'd like to help the victims of the Greensburg tornado you can make your donations to the Red Cross or The Salvation Army .

UPDATE: A survivor has been found in the rubble.

UPDATE II: Kansas is not the only state feeling the loss of their National Guard troops

Early Warning: More troops?!! Come on...remember when our frighteningly unbalanced president claimed he would be guided by the advice of his generals? Forgot that sh#t and just go shopping

Women's E-News: The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tests the "body burden" of chemicals every two years, finds the average American now has 116 synthetic compounds in her body, including dioxin (produced by burning plastic), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (found in auto exhaust) and organochlorine pesticides (found in farming areas).

Truly Equal: The invasion of Iraq has changed the status of Iraqi women for the worse. They're now being used to settle vendettas

The Poor Man Institute: The Official Official Golden Winger Nominations

Mick LaSalle: It's tough being an American abroad these days. I noticed it in 2005. Mick, more recently

HOLY CRAP: Mainline churches need to wake up and smell the concrete! Could Pope Benedict be any lighter in his..um...bejeweled slippers? James Dobson distorts research..again! Teaching religion in public schools...Our bigotry is more important than your safety

Denver Post

The leader of one of Colorado's most popular mega-churches, Ted Haggard, is temporarily stepping down from his leadership role, after allegations from a male prostitute that Haggard solicited gay sex.

Haggard, the founder and senior leader of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs and president of the multimillion- member National Association of Evangelicals, denied the accusations raised by the prostitute on Wednesday.

Today, a press conference by church leaders to support Haggard was cancelled shortly before it was scheduled to take place....read on

The Reality-Based Community: The masters of terror

Talk 2 Action: David Barton barnstorms Ohio churches for GOP to mobilize fundies for mid-term elections. In the past, these efforts have been paid for by the RNC

Norwegianity: Americans have a responsibility to oppose uniformity and lock-step ideologies

Sooner Thought: Another FEMA f#ckup?

The Olive Ream: Watch it, bloggers

The Opinion Mill: Jacob Bronowski and the need for uncertainty