Oldspeak

“God Hates Fags!” Is It Free Speech?

An Interview with Margie Phelps

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to hear Snyder v. Phelps, a case dealing with anti-gay protests at the funerals of American soldiers, is stirring up debate over whether the privacy rights of grieving families trumps the free speech rights of demonstrators.

Margie Phelps, daughter of pastor Fred Phelps, has received a lot of publicity and even notoriety for her affiliation with the Westboro Baptist Church. She serves as the attorney for Westboro and will be arguing Westboro's case before the U.S. Supreme Court. She took a few minutes to speak with me about her religious beliefs and legal battles. More.

Undoing the Imperial Presidency:

An Interview with David Swanson

Pedro David Swanson is the author of Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union (Seven Stories Press, 2009) and of the introduction to The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush by Dennis Kucinich (2008). Swanson holds a master's degree in philosophy from the University of Virginia. He has worked as a newspaper reporter and as a communications director, with jobs including press secretary for Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign, media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as communications coordinator for ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. Swanson is Co-Founder of AfterDowningStreet.org, creator of ProsecuteBushCheney.org and Washington Director of Democrats.com, a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, the Backbone Campaign, Voters for Peace, and the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution, and chair of the Robert Jackson Steering Committee. David took a few minutes to sit down with OldSpeak to discuss his views on the emerging imperial presidency. More.

America Under Barack Obama

An Interview with Nat Hentoff

Nat Hentoff, one of our nation's most respected, controversial and uncompromising writers, as well as a life-long civil libertarian, free speech activist, anti-death penalty advocate, pro-lifer and not uncommon critic of the ideological left, talks withJohn W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, about Barack Obama, the danger of Obama's health care plan, the peril of civil liberties, and a host of other issues.

Nat Hentoff has had a life well spent, one chock full of controversy fueled by his passion for the protection of civil liberties and human rights. Hentoff is known as a civil libertarian, free speech activist, anti-death penalty advocate, pro-lifer and not uncommon critic of the ideological left. At 84, Nat Hentoff is an American classic who has never shied away from an issue. For example, he defended a woman rejected from law school because she was Caucasian; called into a talk show hosted by Oliver North to agree with him on liberal intolerance for free speech; was a friend to the late Malcolm X; and wrote the liner notes for Bob Dylan's second album. A self-described uncategorizable libertarian, Hentoff adds he is also a “Jewish atheist, civil libertarian, pro-lifer.” Accordingly, he has angered nearly every political faction and remains one of a few who has stuck to his principles through his many years of work, regardless of the trouble it stirred up. More.

A Spiritual Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe:

An Interview with Paul Rademacher

Paul Rademacher, the executive director of The Monroe Institute and author of A Spiritual Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe: Travel Tips for the Spiritually Perplexed (Hampton Roads, 2009) talks with John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, about the intersections between consciousness, spirituality and the Christian tradition.

While researching his non-fiction, bestselling book, The Men Who Stare at Goats, author Jon Ronson visited The Monroe Institute, located in Faber, Virginia. The book, now a movie starring George Clooney and Jeff Bridges, chronicles the activities of the First Earth Battalion, a secret U.S. Army program formed in 1979 that attempted to use various methods of “psychic warfare” to combat America’s enemies. Although the film is positioned as a satirical comedy, the work being done at The Monroe Institute (TMI) in the exploration of human consciousness is no laughing matter. Indeed, F. Holmes (Skip) Atwater, president of TMI, was a former participant in the Army’s attempts to use remote viewing to aid United States intelligence-gathering operations and counterintelligence efforts around the globe for nearly thirty years. More.

Creating A Political Firestorm That Is Still Burning

An Interview with Frank Schaeffer

Frank Schaeffer has some big problems with fundamentalist Christians. But he also has big problems with the New Atheists. And despite the obvious differences in their ideology, it’s the same problem: mindsets that leave no room for questions, and even less for tolerance. And as Schaeffer argues, atheism has become a religion in itself.

In Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don’t Like Religion (or Atheism) (Da Capo Press, 2009), Schaeffer offers a middle ground for those who find right-wing evangelists as distasteful as the uber-liberal lefties who mock them. As Schaeffer explains, there are many people—Republicans and Democrats—who are disgusted with the polarizing forces that exist in our nation, and who believe (or at least try to believe) in God. In fact, studies show that some 85% of Americans adhere to some form of religion. More.

Creating A Political Firestorm That Is Still Burning

An Interview with Frank Schaeffer

OldSpeak hosts a provocative discussion between Frank Schaeffer, the son of Christian evangelist Francis Schaeffer and author of Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back, and John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute.

The interview, "Creating a Political Firestorm That Is Still Burning," is a candid discussion of politics, the current state of our country, and the evolution of the evangelical movement between two individuals, Schaeffer and Whitehead, whose ideas and actions have shaped our national dialogue on matters of faith, freedom and politics. More.