If everyone, including non-believers, doesn't have "religious freedom", then none of us do.

A San Antonio judge had some choice words for rightwingers that he had to contend with during a court case addressing prayer in a local public school. My local Freethinkers group was proudly supportive of the family that sued Medina Valley ISD, and I couldn't help but admire them all. It's far too easy to throw up one's hands in despair, given the overwhelming social pressure in these small Texas towns to conform - I think one would need to be prepared to move. At my son's high school graduation last June, the level of aggressive smugness with which the Boerne ISD school superintendent delivered his official "prayer", both before AND after the ceremony, and the wild applause the crowd rewarded him with each time, were just staggering. In these circumstances, it's easy to feel hopeless.

Regarding the recent flap about birth control, and the Obama administration "compromise" - I think it remains to be seen whether or not this turns out to be a good move. I don't think any ground should be given to the American Taliban, but Amanda Marcotte seems to think they got pwned on this particular episode. We'll see - I have my doubts.