Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam vetoed a bill that would have made the Bible the official book of the state, saying the measure actually downplayed the significance of the Good Book and turned it into a historical, rather than spiritual, text.
“In addition to the constitutional issues with the bill, my personal feeling is that this bill trivializes the Bible, which I believe is a sacred text,” Haslam wrote in a letter to the speaker of the statehouse, the Washington Post reported.
He went on, saying: “If we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, then we shouldn’t be recognizing it only as a book of historical and economic significance. If we are recognizing the Bible as a sacred text, then we are violating the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Tennessee by designating it as the official state book.”
Supporters said the Bible actually holds economic, cultural and historical significance for Tennessee and pointed to the text of the bill, which reminded “printing the Bible is a multi-million dollar industry for the state with many top Bible publishers headquartered in Nashville. Source
Norway is a progressive country. It has already adopted policies and legislation to support minority rights, women’s rights, and LGBT rights. It was the first country to pass an anti-discrimination law to protect the rights for same-sex couples.
The European Parliament has backed a re-authorization of a pesticide believed to be carcinogenic for another 7 years, despite a widespread protest campaign calling for a full ban instead of a downsized “compromise” deal.
On Wednesday the Bishop Of Rome addressed 11,000 ticketed guests on the South Lawn of the White House, during which he pontificated on the dire importance of exhibiting religious tolerance. During his hour-long speech, a smiling Pope Francis was quoted telling the White House guests that the Koran, and the spiritual teachings contained therein, are just as valid as the Holy Bible, and should therefore be respected as such.
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Bob Iger, Rupert Murdock, Michael Bloomberg and Bill Marriott are just a few of the corporate execs working to help cities become sanctuaries for migrants – legal and illegal – while offering money to propagate a rosy view of immigrants’ impact on the economy. 
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There’s a change machine in my local supermarket. Drop in a pound’s worth of coppers – the irritating one and two pence pieces that just weigh your pocket down and that you hardly ever spend – and you get a shiny £1 coin back. It’s a great idea, and one that seems to have been ripped off by Perry Noble’s NewSpring church in South Carolina. The megachurch pastor has a reputation for controversy, and it’ll be interesting to see how many eyebrows his current project raises. Because the church is encouraging its members to tithe – give 10 per cent of their income – by offering a 90-day money back guarantee.