Overheard (April 206)
Theater is my church, and in its noblest form, theater is a service. It is a place to learn, to connect with others, and to experience joy as a performer and an audience member. And if it’s particularly wonderful, we’re all going to have this incredible experience at the same time.
Actress Julie Halston, known for playing Bitsy von Muffling on “Sex and the City.”
New York Times, 1-11-26
The suspect allegedly admitted he wanted to kill a doctor for providing legal health care. President Trump has spent his time in office emboldening this kind of radicalism.
Liz McCaman Taylor, senior federal policy counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, after a Montana man was charged with planning to shoot and kill a Missoula-based abortion provider.
The Missoulian, 3-18-26
It is telling that the Heritage Foundation issued a grand statement about how welfare wrecked marriage and children two days after the Trump administration froze $10 billion in funding for needy families in five Democratic-led states. . . Instead of figuring out a real way to make life easier for families, all the Heritage Foundation does is propose razing what little government support exists while scolding young people for their decadence because they want fewer children and more bathrooms.
Jessica Grose, in an article tracing the Heritage Foundation’s war on gender equality, in its new policy paper, “Saving America by Saving the Family.”
New York Times 1-28-26
I went on birth control at a young age after being assaulted. That’s another big reason I wanted to pursue sterilization. Because we live in a state that, you know, you can’t get an abortion.
Unnamed Tennessee woman, who says Ascension St. Thomas Midtown in Nashville, Tenn., canceled her scheduled sterilization surgery on Feb. 27, after she had been admitted and an IV had been placed. The cancellation came after the passage of House Bill 1044, a law that protects doctors from liability or lawsuits when they decline to perform procedures that conflict with their religious or moral beliefs.
WSMV4, 2-23-26
We are called to love all of our neighbors, including our Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, agnostic, atheist neighbors. And forcing our religion down their throats is not love.
Texas state Rep. James Talarico, in a censored interview with Steven Colbert. Talarico was named FFRF Action Fund’s “Secularist of the week” on Feb. 28.
YouTube, 2-18-26
I don’t think that any of these things that he’s done have any Christian values to them. . . . The other thing is, this country began with freedom of religion. Christianity is not the only religion in this country. We’ve got many, many different faiths. I think we all have the same values, and that’s to treat people as we would want to be treated.
Dr. Holly Neaton, a veterinarian and farmer based in Minnesota, in a panel discussion on President Trump’s State of the Union address on Feb. 24. For her remarks, Dr. Neaton was named the FFRF Action Fund’s “Secularist of the Week” on March 5.
MS Now, 2-24-26
It blew my mind that there were people who’d never thought that hard about whether there was a god. They were just trying to be good people. And I was like, “Oh, that’s an option?”
Comedian Taylor Tomlinson, who was raised by conservative Christian parents but now considers herself an agnostic.
Rolling Stone, 2-24-26
