Once again, I was captive of the Maine justice system, rendering my valuable civic services as a member of a jury, and yes, may yet be again in the coming weeks. So I’m missing a lot. I hear there’s something about a judge happening? Who knows.

Here’s a thing I know: International Blasphemy Rights Day is on Sunday, and to mark the occasion, we’ve got a trove of special articles up on the topic of blasphemy and free expression rights. Like, I’m frankly impressed by how many important pieces we have here:

• Andrzej Dominiczak of CFI Poland writes about the difficulty of defining what constitutes blasphemy, and now Poland is stuck with its blasphemy law until the “near-fascist government” is ousted.
• Nur E Emroz Alam “Tonoy” shows how across the Islamic world, all the problems of those in power are nails for which blasphemy laws are their hammer.
• Mohamed Salih Aldsogi discusses the history and implications of Sudan’s apostasy law, which includes prohibitions against blasphemy of Islam’s figures and texts.
• Ex-Muslim Pakistani atheist Bhensa writes about the outrage that is Pakistan’s global campaign against free expression.
• Md. Sazzadul Hoque explains how Bangaldesh’s Information and Communication Technology Act is a blasphemy law by another name.
• Also discussing Bangladesh, Jahanara Nuri says the fear fomented by Islamic extremism means “neither Bangladesh nor Europe is free now.”
• Wyela of Syria talks about how the criminalization of blasphemy, homosexuality, and atheism constitutes an “invisible war” in the midst of “the most terrible civil war in the history of civil wars.”
• And there’s even more like this one, this one, and this one.

The Jesuit publication America rescinds its previous endorsement of Brett Kavanaugh:

…the question is not solely about Judge Kavanaugh’s responsibility, nor is it any longer primarily about his qualifications. Rather it is about the prudence of his nomination and potential confirmation. In addition to being a fight over policy issues, which it already was, his nomination has also become a referendum on how to address allegations of sexual assault.

About half of white evangelicals want Kavanaugh confirmed even if it were known for certain he had sexually assaulted Dr. Blasey Ford.

In her CFI column The Law and Religion, Leslie Griffin reviews the book Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free.

Joe Nickell tells of his investigation of Oak Island, Nova Scotia’s “Money Pit” and the mysterious treasures that aren’t really there. Even better is Joe’s hand-drawn Tolkien-esque map of the island.

Three of Ohio’s Catholic dioceses agree to release lists of priests who have been credibly accused and removed over sexual abuse allegations.

In Germany, a report documents the sexual abuse of more than 3600 people by 1670 Catholic clergy over the past 68 years.

A billboard declaring that “vaccines can kill” goes up in Kansas City, and shortly after, someone defaces it to say “Vaccines save. Disease kills.”

Plus, if you think the illuminati are watching or that there’s a child labor camp on Mars, you’re more likely to use alternative medicine.

Whoa, Japanese scientists have made human egg cells out of human blood. Whoa.

The Trump administration sees no use for the EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection, and the office is being “disappeared,” not unlike the victim of a mob hit.

Pew Research shows that 7 in 10 black men and 8 in 10 black women consider themselves highly religious, and that black men are more religious than white men and women.

Research published in The Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion suggests that Senators’ legislative behaviors are very much influenced by their religious beliefs, even when controlling for partisanship.

Yes, there’s a fake picture going around of Trump rescuing Hurricane Florence victims. Can you even imagine?

Quote of the Day

Hemant Mehta’s favorite hate-preacher, Matt Powell, knows for certain that dinosaurs were around during the American Civil War:

I believe if we study history — you know, the Confederates were able to shoot pterodactyls. You know, back in the Civil War. And they spread these things out. Anybody can look it up online. They spread these things out, and… this is a historical fact. So, you know, they spread this thing out and it’s got huge wing-length. It’s a pterodactyl they shot! So of course these things have been around. Now they went extinct, obviously. Slowly but surely. And so I don’t believe that just because… at some point in time, coming from your perspective, that… just because they stopped talking about it means that they never saw it. When we have all this evidence that they’ve seen it.

Okay, but here’s your problem: Pterodactyls are not dinosaurs, they’re pterosaurs. The rest seems legit to me.

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Linking to a story or webpage does not imply endorsement by Paul or CFI. Not every use of quotation marks is ironic or sarcastic, but it often is.