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Monday, December 10, 2012 3:11:19 AM
Fox News' Laura Ingraham Blasts Obama's Meeting With MSNBC Hosts, Neglects Own Meeting With Bush
12/06/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/fox-news-laura-ingraham_n_2251031.html [with comments]
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Rachel Maddow Picks Up Grammy Nomination For Best Spoken Word Album
12/06/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/rachel-maddow-grammy-nomination-best-spoken-word-album_n_2249568.html [with comments]
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Fox Nation's Awful Rachel Maddow Headline
12/07/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/fox-nations-rachel-maddow-headline_n_2251427.html [with comments]
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Ellen DeGeneres Ad: One Million Moms Angry Over JC Penney Christmas Commercial (VIDEO [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvE9EPs-LCo {next below, as embedded}])
Posted: 12/06/2012 2:05 pm EST Updated: 12/07/2012 8:05 am EST
Conservative media watchdog group One Million Moms is angry about Ellen DeGeneres' new Christmas ad for J.C. Penney [ http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2012/12/05/15707730-ellen-degeneres-christmas-commercial-upsets-one-million-moms ], NBC's "Today Show" reports.
DeGeneres, a spokeswoman for the department store, is featured in a holiday ad in which she asks a group of Santa's elves to make more toys for a giveaway contest but winds up making a bunch of clumsy "small" jokes in the process.
The ad did not sit well with the group, who said the following about DeGeneres [ http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/blogs/bostonspirit/2012/12/one_million_moms_offended_by_e.html ] (via Boston.com):
Since April, JC Penney's has not aired Ellen DeGeneres in one of their commercials until now. A new JCP ad features Ellen and three elves. JCP has made their choice to offend a huge majority of their customers again. Christians must now vote with their wallets. We have contacted JC Penney's several times in the past with our concerns, and they will not listen. They have decided to ignore our complaints so we will avoid them at all costs.
Although One Million Moms is peeved about DeGeneres' ad, others don't quite understand the problem.
"THIS IS SO OFFENSIVE --? Said nobody with a brain ever," one viewer wrote, according to NBC. "There is nothing wrong with this. 'one million moms'... needs to relax, worry about raising their kids and not spending time & energy on hating a '30 second' holiday clip of elves and Ellen at a diner. Really?" wrote another.
In February, One Million Moms, founded by anti-gay, conservative Christian group American Family Association, first spoke out against DeGeneres being hired as a spokesperson for J.C. Penney [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/ellen-degeneres-jc-penney_n_1247657.html ].
"Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families," the organization wrote on its website. "By jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon, JC Penney is attempting to gain a new target market and in the process will lose customers with traditional values that have been faithful to them over all these years."
Apparently heeding no attention to anti-gay critics, however, J.C. Penny ran a Father's Day ad [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/jcpenney-gay-dads-catalog-cooper-smith-todd-koch_n_1575447.html ] featuring two dads this summer.
At the time, AdWeek wrote [ http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/jcpenney-hits-back-anti-gay-critics-2-dads-fathers-day-ad-140853 ]:
Given the timeliness of the gay-marriage issue, it's not surprising to see brands take a stand, but when a classic American brand like JCPenney steps up, it's pretty clear where America is headed.
DeGeneres is not the only one to draw the the ire of One Million Moms. The group has protested Urban Outfitters [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/17/urban-outfitters-lesbian-kiss-photo-one-million-moms_n_1431134.html ] (for showing two women kissing in their catalogue), Skittles [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/28/one-million-moms-decries-bestiality-new-walrus-skittles-ad_n_1836914.html ] (for bestiality themes) and NBC's "The New Normal" [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/16/one-million-moms-the-new-normal_n_1970927.html ] (for featuring gay couples).
Copyright © 2012 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/ellen-degeneres-ad-one-million-moms-jc-penney-christmas_n_2251014.html [with the embedded video (as above) of the ad, and comments]
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Supreme Court to Review Gay Marriage: Everything You Need to Know Now
Alexander Abad-Santos
Dec 7, 2012
The Supreme Court decided Friday afternoon to hear California's Proposition 8 and a DOMA case. Here's what you need to know:
Prop 8: The Supreme Court has decided to hear the case. This means that: Well, here's the official word from SCOTUSblog [ http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/12/live-blog-anticipating-orders-hopefully-regarding-same-sex-marriage-sponsored-by-bloomberg-law/ ; http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/12/on-same-sex-marriage-options-open/ ; http://www.scotusblog.com/category/special-features/same-sex-marriage/ ]:
The Court will hear the case and the arguments in March and is expected to rule in June [ http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2012/11_-_November/Supreme_Court_to_consider_whether_to_review_gay_marriage_cases/ ].
Gay marriages in California won't happen unless the Court rules against Prop 8 [ http://www.latimes.com/news/local/me-prop8-marriage-20121130,0,41323.story ].
Defense of Marriage Act: The Supreme Court has decided to take up the Windsor DOMA case. It's a challenge to DOMA in New York. In Windsor v. United States [ http://www.nyclu.org/case/windsor-v-united-states-challenging-federal-defense-of-marriage-act ], the plaintiff couldn't claim an estate tax marital deduction after her spouse died.
On October 18, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York became the second federal court to rule [ http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2012/10/federal-appeals-court-rules-doma-unconstitutional/58102/ ] DOMA unconstitutional because the court believed the federal definition of marriage between one man and one woman (what's known as Section 3) violates equal protection and is therefore unconstitutional.
Here's the official word from SCOTUSblog [ http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/12/live-blog-anticipating-orders-hopefully-regarding-same-sex-marriage-sponsored-by-bloomberg-law/ ; http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/12/on-same-sex-marriage-options-open/ ; http://www.scotusblog.com/category/special-features/same-sex-marriage/ ]:
Basically, the Court will have to decide whether or not Section 3 (one man and one woman...) is unconstitutional.
Again, arguments will be heard in March, a ruling likely to come in June [ http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/07/high-court-to-tackle-same-sex-marriage/ ].
Copyright © 2012 by The Atlantic Monthly Group
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/12/supreme-court-gay-marriage-prop-8-doma/59767/ [with comments]
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George Will: 'Quite Literally, The Opposition To Gay Marriage Is Dying' (VIDEO)
12/09/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/09/george-will-opposition-gay-marriage-dying_n_2267475.html [with embedded video, and comments]
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Hate mail won't stop church from hosting Muslim convention
All Saints Church in Pasadena moves ahead as host of a Muslim Public Affairs Council convention despite hate email.
By Adolfo Flores, Los Angeles Times
December 07, 2012
Despite receiving a slew of hate mail, All Saints Church in Pasadena is moving forward with a conference hosted by the Muslim Public Affairs Council — the first time the organization has conducted a national convention at a Christian church.
All Saints Rev. Ed Bacon described the emails his congregation received as "some of the most vile, mean-spirited emails I've ever read in my life."
"When we scheduled this event, we had absolutely no anticipation that we would have this kind of response," Bacon said, adding that none of the emails made actual threats.
Salam al-Marayati, president of the Los Angeles-based Muslim council, said his organization is working with the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and local authorities to ensure the Dec. 15 event is safe. The gathering is expected to focus on the state of the American Muslim community.
"The hatemongerers have made our convention relevant, so we saved on our marketing budget, so some of the money was transferred to extra security," al-Marayati said, half jokingly. "We are taking extra precautions, but at this point there is no threat to the convention."
Church officials believe the hate mail was prompted by an article posted by the Washington-based Institute on Religion and Democracy. The piece alludes to connections between the council and the Muslim Brotherhood.
"Yet again, the Islamists are taking advantage of naive Christians with a desire to show off their tolerance," Ryan Mauro wrote in the article.
Institute President Mark Tooley said the piece didn't call for people to send hate mail, adding that the Muslim Public Affairs Council hasn't denied any of the article's points and instead offered only a broad response.
"I think it's wrong for people to send nasty emails to anybody," Tooley said. "For the couple of nasty emails they received, to portray themselves as victims is somewhat of an exaggeration."
The tone and candor of the emails is what caught the church's attention, said Susan Russell, senior associate at All Saints Church.
"So dripping with vitriol and the worst possible demonization of people of other faiths," Russell said. "What they offered us was basically a window into the ugly underbelly of Islamophobia."
U.S. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) commended All Saints Church and the Muslim Public Affairs Council for hosting the convention and bridging interfaith understanding.
"I was deeply distressed to learn of the hateful and vitriolic messages that the church has received," Schiff said in a statement. "Yet, these odious emails will only increase our determination to fight bigotry and increase understanding."
adolfo.flores@latimes.com
Copyright 2012, Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-muslims-all-saints-20121207,0,1762680.story [with comments]
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Despite hate mail, Pasadena church to host Muslim group’s convention
At a press conference at All Saints, Pasadena, on Dec. 6, interfaith leaders stood in solidarity with the church, which is set to host the Muslim Public Affairs Council's annual conference on Dec. 15.
Courtesy YouTube/allsaintspasadena1
Posted by Jonah Lowenfeld
December 7, 2012 | 2:59 pm
Since deciding to host the Muslim Public Affairs Council’s (MPAC) 12th annual convention on Dec. 15, All Saints Church [ http://www.allsaints-pas.org/about/ ], Pasadena has received dozens of hate-filled messages.
“We’ve begun to receive some of the most vile, vituperative, ugly, mean-spirited email correspondence I've ever read in all of my life, talking about All Saints participating in terrorism by being hospitable to Muslims,” Pastor Ed Bacon told his congregation in a sermon on Dec. 2 [ http://www.goddiscussion.com/104856/christian-church-accused-of-supporting-terrorism-for-its-interfaith-outreach/ ].
Rev. Susan Russell, senior associate for communications at All Saints, shared some of the messages with the Huffington Post [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/all-saints-church-muslim-public-affairs-council_n_2245495.html ], including one that compared Islam to Nazism and called Muslims "Body Snatchers":
Another quote reads, “You are Consorting with the Enemy that is Killing Christians Worldwide.”
Russell writes of another, from South Carolina, that reads, “The problem is that by providing cover and legitimacy to an organization dedicated to overthrowing the Constitution, and substituting Sharia law therefore, you endanger my country and my grandsons' future."
MPAC [ http://www.mpac.org/about.php ], which calls itself “a public service agency working for the civil rights of American Muslims,” is going ahead with the planned convention. On Dec. 6, the church was the site of a press conference at which Bacon and more than a dozen other faith leaders from around Los Angeles expressed solidarity with MPAC and All Saints.
“We want to convert you,” MPAC President Salam Al-Marayati said, addressing the “hatemongers” who sent the messages to All Saints. “We don’t want to convert you to our religions; we have more than enough adherents in each of our religions. We want to convert you so that we can remove that hatred and prejudice in your hearts and replace it with understanding.”
Among the Jewish clergy present was Rabbi Sarah Bassin, executive director of NewGround [ http://www.muslimjewishnewground.org/ ]: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change.
“We’re affirming the centrality that we are all belonging to the same community,” Bassin said at the press conference, a video of which is available on YouTube [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCWRG-8DcQw (next below)].
Bassin is scheduled to appear at the conference on Dec. 15, where she’ll participate in a panel discussion called “Faith Authority & Freedom,” along with Bacon, MPAC Senior Adviser Dr. Maher Hathout, and Narinjan Singh Khalsa, the chairman of the LA City Human Relations Commission.
© Copyright 2012 Tribe Media Corp.
http://www.jewishjournal.com/thenon-prophet/item/despite_hate_mail_pasadena_church_to_host_muslim_groups_convention [no comments yet]
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Ann Coulter Attacks Latinos In Column, As Conservatives Seek To Reach Out To Hispanic Voters
Ann Coulter gestures while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
By Roque Planas Posted: 12/07/2012 10:17 am EST | Updated: 12/07/2012 12:21 pm EST
Republicans looking to reach out to Latinos may want to avoid the advice of Ann Coulter.
The conservative pundit penned a column Wednesday in which she lashed out at the “deluge of unskilled immigrants pouring into the country” and portrayed Latinos as a lazy “underclass” looking for a government handout [ http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2012-12-05.html ]. Coulter titles the piece “America Nears El Tipping Pointo,” presumably to make a virtue of her ignorance of the Spanish language.
In fact, Latinos use less than their fair share of government benefits [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/latino-congress-members_n_2090311.html ]. According to a study released this year by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
Non-Hispanic whites accounted for 64 percent of the population in 2010 and received 69 percent of the entitlement benefits. In contrast, Hispanics made up 16 percent of the population but received 12 percent of the benefits, less than their proportionate share -- likely because they are a younger population and also because immigrants, including many legal immigrants, are ineligible for various benefits.
Coulter implies in her piece that non-whites are “nitwits who deserve lives of misery and joblessness.” She singles out immigrants from Latin America as particularly “nitwitty,” saying they have too many babies out of wedlock, without citing a published source for the assertion. Nearly half of undocumented-immigrant households -- 45 percent -- consisted of a spouse or cohabiting couple with one or more children, compared to 34 percent of legal immigrants and 21 percent of the U.S. born, according to a 2010 Pew Hispanic Study.
Apparently unaware that Latinos do not depend disproportionately on government benefits, Coulter writes:
That's a lot of government dependents coming down the pike. No amount of "reaching out" to the Hispanic community, effective "messaging" or Reagan's "optimism" is going to turn Mexico's underclass into Republicans … Rather than being more hardworking than American, Hispanics actually work about the same as others, or, in the case of Hispanic women, less.
In fact, Latinos -- especially immigrants -- are more entrepreneurial than the general population. As Cristina Costantini points out in a piece for ABC/Univision, Hispanics created twice as many businesses as the general public since 2000 [ http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/analysis-bill-oreilly-wrong/story?id=17702328 ], according to census data.
Mitt Romney won just 27 percent of the Latino vote [ http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/11/romneys-hispanic-vote-share-percent-148801.html ], the lowest number of a presidential candidate since Bob Dole in 1996. Romney's failure to attract Hispanic voters likely owes to the hardline positions on immigration he took to attract the GOP's right wing, many of whom viewed the former Massachusetts governor as too liberal going into the party primary.
Copyright © 2012 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/07/ann-coulter-attacks-latinos-conservatives-hispanic-voters_n_2253721.html [with comments]
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Curtis Allgier Gets LIfe Sentence For Killing Utah Prison Guard Stephen Anderson
Curtis Allgier has been sentenced to life in prison for killing a guard during a trip to a doctor.
12/05/12 07:06 PM ET EST
SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah inmate covered in neo-Nazi tattoos was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole Wednesday for killing a prison guard during a doctor's appointment five years ago, then leading police on a high-speed chase that ended at a fast-food restaurant, where a customer wrestled a gun from him.
Curtis Allgier offered a rambling statement that mixed apology and a tribute to his victim with a rebuttal of the evidence against him, while cursing and ranting against the court system and his lawyers.
"I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I didn't want to hurt anybody. It was an accident," the 33-year-old inmate said at the hearing.
He added, "Just because I've got tattoos on my face and I'm proud of my race, I'm not some violent monster."
Prosecutors said the June 25, 2007, shooting was no accident. Allgier wrestled a gun from Stephen Anderson of Bluffdale after being unshackled for an MRI scan at a University of Utah medical clinic, they said. He then fled on foot and stole a vehicle before leading police on a highway chase at speeds exceeding 100 mph.
His freedom lasted 45 minutes.
Allgier pleaded no contest in October to aggravated murder. He pleaded guilty to additional charges of disarming a peace officer, aggravated escape, aggravated robbery and possession of a firearm by a restricted person.
The plea deal spared Allgier a trial and the death penalty if convicted.
Third District Judge Paul Maughan opened the sentencing hearing to family members of Anderson, a 22-year employee of the Utah Department of Corrections. Anderson, 60, was survived by a wife, five adult children and 18 grandchildren.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that a daughter of Anderson's said it was "impossible to replace a man like my father."
The chase ended after Allgier got a flat tire and ran into an Arby's restaurant, where Eric Fullerton, 59, had just ordered a ham-and-cheese croissant and orange juice for breakfast.
Fullerton "went into action," grabbing the much larger Allgier by an arm and forcing him to drop the gun. Allgier punched Fullerton and then slashed his throat with a knife before finally surrendering to police.
"I didn't feel pain," Fullerton said at a 2010 court hearing. "I did feel the coldness of the blade, and I heard the sound."
In court Wednesday, prosecutors called Fullerton a hero.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/curtis-allgier-life-sentence-prison-guard-killing_n_2247965.html [with comments]
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NRA CEO Refutes Bob Costas, Says Kasandra Perkins Needed A Gun To Defend Against Jovan Belcher
12/06/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/nra-bob-costas-kasandra-perkins-gun-control_n_2253681.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
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Dana Perino: Female Victims Of Violence Should 'Make Better Decisions' (VIDEO)
12/07/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/dana-perinovictims-of-vio_n_2251761.html [with embedded video, and comments]
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Boy Scouts Atheist Oath Proposal Sparks Controversy In UK (VIDEO)
By Jonny Stewart
Posted: 12/07/2012 5:51 pm EST | Updated: 12/08/2012 7:07 am EST
The possibility that the Scout Association may soon allow non-believers to take an alternate oath that excludes the word "God" is causing controversy in the U.K. Responding to the criticism, Wayne Bulpitt, chief commissioner of Scouts U.K., said the organization is "a values-based movement" and that "exploring faith and religion will remain a key element of the Scouting programme.”
But a Daily Telegraph blog post [ http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/petermullen/100192624/the-boy-scouts-were-founded-as-a-christian-organisation-not-a-tree-hugging-values-based-atheist-coven/ ] took issue with Bulpitt's choice of words: "Lovely turn of phrase, Wayne! I adore that 'values-based,' 'exploring' and 'key element,'" Telegraph blogger and priest Peter Mullen wrote. "[T]he original boy scouts were not anything so woolly as 'values-based', which might mean anything from ancestor worship to declaring paid-up membership of the Amalgamated Coven of Tree-Huggers: they were founded as a Christian organisation."
According to the organizations's website [ http://www.scouts.org.uk/cms.php?pageid=131 ], the U.K. Scouts were founded in 1910 with the mission "to promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potential."
Billy Hallowell, Faith Editor at The Blaze, and Dan Barker, a minister-turned atheist and co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) -- whose son was turned away from joining the U.S. scouts for being a non-believer -- joined HuffPost Live's Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani Wednesday to discuss the matter.
There's been talk of the issue with stateside Scouts as well. In 2000, the FFRF responded to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling [ http://ffrf.org/news/news-releases/item/2544-hold-bsa-feet-to-the-camp-fire ] that the Boy Scouts of America "is a private group which can exclude anybody it likes from membership" by saying "it is time to start treating Boy Scouts as the bigoted and discriminatory organization that it is."
The FFRF also pointed out that a "major source of BSA funding is United Way of America, which announces that "every group receiving funds ... maintains a policy of nondiscrimination."
According to the Guardian [ http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/04/scouts-guides-consider-atheist-oaths ], the U.K. Scouts have had oath options for alternate faiths and countrymen for nearly half a century, "Allah for Muslims or "my Dharma" for Buddhists" and that scouts in other countries "promise duty to their own nation or monarch." The paper notes that while these alternate options have been in place, "there has been no non-religious equivalent for either Scouts or Guides, meaning young atheists have had to either "fudge the promise or forgo the woggle."
Young atheist boys have been turned away by the Scouts, including an 11-year-old schoolboy named George Pratt. "I am really disappointed about not being able to go anymore just because I don't believe in God," Pratt told the Telegraph [ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9617456/Schoolboy-banned-from-Scouts-for-being-an-atheist.html ]. "My friends who are Scouts don't think it is right, either. Everyone is going caving soon and I've never been before. It is something I would love to do but I'm not allowed"
"I'm not going to change my decision though," he added.
Watch the full segment on HuffPost Live [ http://live.huffingtonpost.com/#r/segment/boy-scouts-and-religion%3A-dropping-%22god%22-from-oath/50bda1192b8c2a5da50007b6 ].
Copyright © 2012 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/07/boy-scouts-atheist_n_2259146.html [with the first portion of the linked full segment video embedded, and comments]
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Roderick Arrington, Las Vegas Boy, Allegedly Beaten To Death After Lying About Bible, Homework (VIDEO)
Police in Las Vegas say Roderick Arrington, Jr., was beaten to death by his parents in late November.
Police in Las Vegas allege that a 7-year-old boy was beaten to death [ http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/story/Mother-stepfather-call-pastor-before-911/NyMuBXlsiE-Dc_bI-0kLMQ.cspx ] by his parents after failing to read the Bible or do his homework.
Roderick "RJ" Arrington Jr. [ http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/dec/03/mother-stepfather-arrested-beating-death-7-year-ol/ ], was admitted to an area hospital on Nov. 29 because he was unresponsive, according to the Las Vegas Sun. Personnel there called officers to the scene after they observed severe bruising and brain swelling, according to a police report. The boy died the following afternoon.
Police arrested the boy's mother, Dina Palmer, 27, and stepfather, Markiece Palmer, 34, and charged them with the murder of the boy. Investigators said that Palmer "stood by and let her husband" shake and beat the boy to death.
According to KLAS [ http://www.8newsnow.com/story/20250576/mother-stepfather-arrested-in-boys-beating-death ], the arrest report detailed "open abrasions on [Arrington's] buttocks, severe bruising to his thighs, marks and bruises on his back and shoulders and evidence of previous beatings."
Markiece Palmer stated the second grade student was spanked on Nov. 27 because he had lied about reading the Bible [id.]; he said the boy was also spanked the following day for not finishing his homework, according to police.
Police claim the boy's stepfather beat him with a spatula, belt and possibly a wooden paddle. Dina Palmer allegedly struck her son on his buttocks with both a belt and her hand.
The couple reportedly called a pastor before dialing 911 [ http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/story/Mother-stepfather-call-pastor-before-911/NyMuBXlsiE-Dc_bI-0kLMQ.cspx ]. KSNV writes, "Pastor Kenneth Hollingsworth says he's as shocked as anyone that Markiece Palmer chose to call him before first-responders."
The Palmers appeared in court Tuesday and each face charges of murder, child abuse and neglect [ http://www.8newsnow.com/story/20261396/mother-accused-of-killing-son-cries-as-charges-read ], the station reports.
Copyright © 2012 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/roderick-arrington-las-vegas-beaten-death-bible-homework-video_n_2245381.html [with the video report above (at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iaG6a8cB9o ) embedded, and comments]
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12/06/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/fox-news-laura-ingraham_n_2251031.html [with comments]
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Rachel Maddow Picks Up Grammy Nomination For Best Spoken Word Album
![](http://i.huffpost.com/gen/669609/thumbs/r-RACHEL-MADDOW-large570.jpg)
12/06/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/rachel-maddow-grammy-nomination-best-spoken-word-album_n_2249568.html [with comments]
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Fox Nation's Awful Rachel Maddow Headline
![](http://i.huffpost.com/gen/893097/thumbs/r-RACHEL-MADDOW-FOX-NATION-large570.jpg)
12/07/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/fox-nations-rachel-maddow-headline_n_2251427.html [with comments]
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Ellen DeGeneres Ad: One Million Moms Angry Over JC Penney Christmas Commercial (VIDEO [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvE9EPs-LCo {next below, as embedded}])
By Cavan Sieczkowski
Posted: 12/06/2012 2:05 pm EST Updated: 12/07/2012 8:05 am EST
Conservative media watchdog group One Million Moms is angry about Ellen DeGeneres' new Christmas ad for J.C. Penney [ http://theclicker.today.com/_news/2012/12/05/15707730-ellen-degeneres-christmas-commercial-upsets-one-million-moms ], NBC's "Today Show" reports.
DeGeneres, a spokeswoman for the department store, is featured in a holiday ad in which she asks a group of Santa's elves to make more toys for a giveaway contest but winds up making a bunch of clumsy "small" jokes in the process.
The ad did not sit well with the group, who said the following about DeGeneres [ http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/blogs/bostonspirit/2012/12/one_million_moms_offended_by_e.html ] (via Boston.com):
Since April, JC Penney's has not aired Ellen DeGeneres in one of their commercials until now. A new JCP ad features Ellen and three elves. JCP has made their choice to offend a huge majority of their customers again. Christians must now vote with their wallets. We have contacted JC Penney's several times in the past with our concerns, and they will not listen. They have decided to ignore our complaints so we will avoid them at all costs.
Although One Million Moms is peeved about DeGeneres' ad, others don't quite understand the problem.
"THIS IS SO OFFENSIVE --? Said nobody with a brain ever," one viewer wrote, according to NBC. "There is nothing wrong with this. 'one million moms'... needs to relax, worry about raising their kids and not spending time & energy on hating a '30 second' holiday clip of elves and Ellen at a diner. Really?" wrote another.
In February, One Million Moms, founded by anti-gay, conservative Christian group American Family Association, first spoke out against DeGeneres being hired as a spokesperson for J.C. Penney [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/ellen-degeneres-jc-penney_n_1247657.html ].
"Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families," the organization wrote on its website. "By jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon, JC Penney is attempting to gain a new target market and in the process will lose customers with traditional values that have been faithful to them over all these years."
Apparently heeding no attention to anti-gay critics, however, J.C. Penny ran a Father's Day ad [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/06/jcpenney-gay-dads-catalog-cooper-smith-todd-koch_n_1575447.html ] featuring two dads this summer.
At the time, AdWeek wrote [ http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/jcpenney-hits-back-anti-gay-critics-2-dads-fathers-day-ad-140853 ]:
Given the timeliness of the gay-marriage issue, it's not surprising to see brands take a stand, but when a classic American brand like JCPenney steps up, it's pretty clear where America is headed.
DeGeneres is not the only one to draw the the ire of One Million Moms. The group has protested Urban Outfitters [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/17/urban-outfitters-lesbian-kiss-photo-one-million-moms_n_1431134.html ] (for showing two women kissing in their catalogue), Skittles [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/28/one-million-moms-decries-bestiality-new-walrus-skittles-ad_n_1836914.html ] (for bestiality themes) and NBC's "The New Normal" [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/16/one-million-moms-the-new-normal_n_1970927.html ] (for featuring gay couples).
Copyright © 2012 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/ellen-degeneres-ad-one-million-moms-jc-penney-christmas_n_2251014.html [with the embedded video (as above) of the ad, and comments]
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Supreme Court to Review Gay Marriage: Everything You Need to Know Now
![](http://cdn.theatlanticwire.com/img/upload/2012/12/07/RTR2XH7W/large.jpg)
Alexander Abad-Santos
Dec 7, 2012
The Supreme Court decided Friday afternoon to hear California's Proposition 8 and a DOMA case. Here's what you need to know:
Prop 8: The Supreme Court has decided to hear the case. This means that: Well, here's the official word from SCOTUSblog [ http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/12/live-blog-anticipating-orders-hopefully-regarding-same-sex-marriage-sponsored-by-bloomberg-law/ ; http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/12/on-same-sex-marriage-options-open/ ; http://www.scotusblog.com/category/special-features/same-sex-marriage/ ]:
![](http://cdn.theatlanticwire.com/img/upload/2012/12/07/rendered/ec33183a0a4e61fbc39af90f318eba04_498x82.jpg)
The Court will hear the case and the arguments in March and is expected to rule in June [ http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2012/11_-_November/Supreme_Court_to_consider_whether_to_review_gay_marriage_cases/ ].
Gay marriages in California won't happen unless the Court rules against Prop 8 [ http://www.latimes.com/news/local/me-prop8-marriage-20121130,0,41323.story ].
Defense of Marriage Act: The Supreme Court has decided to take up the Windsor DOMA case. It's a challenge to DOMA in New York. In Windsor v. United States [ http://www.nyclu.org/case/windsor-v-united-states-challenging-federal-defense-of-marriage-act ], the plaintiff couldn't claim an estate tax marital deduction after her spouse died.
On October 18, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York became the second federal court to rule [ http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2012/10/federal-appeals-court-rules-doma-unconstitutional/58102/ ] DOMA unconstitutional because the court believed the federal definition of marriage between one man and one woman (what's known as Section 3) violates equal protection and is therefore unconstitutional.
Here's the official word from SCOTUSblog [ http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/12/live-blog-anticipating-orders-hopefully-regarding-same-sex-marriage-sponsored-by-bloomberg-law/ ; http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/12/on-same-sex-marriage-options-open/ ; http://www.scotusblog.com/category/special-features/same-sex-marriage/ ]:
![](http://cdn.theatlanticwire.com/img/upload/2012/12/07/rendered/56ec6b697c4591a72d0c47fe7efa253b_498x115.jpg)
Basically, the Court will have to decide whether or not Section 3 (one man and one woman...) is unconstitutional.
Again, arguments will be heard in March, a ruling likely to come in June [ http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/07/high-court-to-tackle-same-sex-marriage/ ].
Copyright © 2012 by The Atlantic Monthly Group
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/12/supreme-court-gay-marriage-prop-8-doma/59767/ [with comments]
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George Will: 'Quite Literally, The Opposition To Gay Marriage Is Dying' (VIDEO)
12/09/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/09/george-will-opposition-gay-marriage-dying_n_2267475.html [with embedded video, and comments]
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Hate mail won't stop church from hosting Muslim convention
All Saints Church in Pasadena moves ahead as host of a Muslim Public Affairs Council convention despite hate email.
By Adolfo Flores, Los Angeles Times
December 07, 2012
Despite receiving a slew of hate mail, All Saints Church in Pasadena is moving forward with a conference hosted by the Muslim Public Affairs Council — the first time the organization has conducted a national convention at a Christian church.
All Saints Rev. Ed Bacon described the emails his congregation received as "some of the most vile, mean-spirited emails I've ever read in my life."
"When we scheduled this event, we had absolutely no anticipation that we would have this kind of response," Bacon said, adding that none of the emails made actual threats.
Salam al-Marayati, president of the Los Angeles-based Muslim council, said his organization is working with the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and local authorities to ensure the Dec. 15 event is safe. The gathering is expected to focus on the state of the American Muslim community.
"The hatemongerers have made our convention relevant, so we saved on our marketing budget, so some of the money was transferred to extra security," al-Marayati said, half jokingly. "We are taking extra precautions, but at this point there is no threat to the convention."
Church officials believe the hate mail was prompted by an article posted by the Washington-based Institute on Religion and Democracy. The piece alludes to connections between the council and the Muslim Brotherhood.
"Yet again, the Islamists are taking advantage of naive Christians with a desire to show off their tolerance," Ryan Mauro wrote in the article.
Institute President Mark Tooley said the piece didn't call for people to send hate mail, adding that the Muslim Public Affairs Council hasn't denied any of the article's points and instead offered only a broad response.
"I think it's wrong for people to send nasty emails to anybody," Tooley said. "For the couple of nasty emails they received, to portray themselves as victims is somewhat of an exaggeration."
The tone and candor of the emails is what caught the church's attention, said Susan Russell, senior associate at All Saints Church.
"So dripping with vitriol and the worst possible demonization of people of other faiths," Russell said. "What they offered us was basically a window into the ugly underbelly of Islamophobia."
U.S. Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) commended All Saints Church and the Muslim Public Affairs Council for hosting the convention and bridging interfaith understanding.
"I was deeply distressed to learn of the hateful and vitriolic messages that the church has received," Schiff said in a statement. "Yet, these odious emails will only increase our determination to fight bigotry and increase understanding."
adolfo.flores@latimes.com
Copyright 2012, Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-muslims-all-saints-20121207,0,1762680.story [with comments]
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Despite hate mail, Pasadena church to host Muslim group’s convention
![](http://www.jewishjournal.com/images/bloggers/AllSaintsPressConf_copy.jpg)
At a press conference at All Saints, Pasadena, on Dec. 6, interfaith leaders stood in solidarity with the church, which is set to host the Muslim Public Affairs Council's annual conference on Dec. 15.
Courtesy YouTube/allsaintspasadena1
Posted by Jonah Lowenfeld
December 7, 2012 | 2:59 pm
Since deciding to host the Muslim Public Affairs Council’s (MPAC) 12th annual convention on Dec. 15, All Saints Church [ http://www.allsaints-pas.org/about/ ], Pasadena has received dozens of hate-filled messages.
“We’ve begun to receive some of the most vile, vituperative, ugly, mean-spirited email correspondence I've ever read in all of my life, talking about All Saints participating in terrorism by being hospitable to Muslims,” Pastor Ed Bacon told his congregation in a sermon on Dec. 2 [ http://www.goddiscussion.com/104856/christian-church-accused-of-supporting-terrorism-for-its-interfaith-outreach/ ].
Rev. Susan Russell, senior associate for communications at All Saints, shared some of the messages with the Huffington Post [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/all-saints-church-muslim-public-affairs-council_n_2245495.html ], including one that compared Islam to Nazism and called Muslims "Body Snatchers":
Another quote reads, “You are Consorting with the Enemy that is Killing Christians Worldwide.”
Russell writes of another, from South Carolina, that reads, “The problem is that by providing cover and legitimacy to an organization dedicated to overthrowing the Constitution, and substituting Sharia law therefore, you endanger my country and my grandsons' future."
MPAC [ http://www.mpac.org/about.php ], which calls itself “a public service agency working for the civil rights of American Muslims,” is going ahead with the planned convention. On Dec. 6, the church was the site of a press conference at which Bacon and more than a dozen other faith leaders from around Los Angeles expressed solidarity with MPAC and All Saints.
“We want to convert you,” MPAC President Salam Al-Marayati said, addressing the “hatemongers” who sent the messages to All Saints. “We don’t want to convert you to our religions; we have more than enough adherents in each of our religions. We want to convert you so that we can remove that hatred and prejudice in your hearts and replace it with understanding.”
Among the Jewish clergy present was Rabbi Sarah Bassin, executive director of NewGround [ http://www.muslimjewishnewground.org/ ]: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change.
“We’re affirming the centrality that we are all belonging to the same community,” Bassin said at the press conference, a video of which is available on YouTube [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCWRG-8DcQw (next below)].
“And in that same community, we face shared struggles and we face shared interests. That’s what I believe All Saints is doing here, is creating a space for our community to address those needs together, by hosting MPAC and by opening their doors.”
Bassin is scheduled to appear at the conference on Dec. 15, where she’ll participate in a panel discussion called “Faith Authority & Freedom,” along with Bacon, MPAC Senior Adviser Dr. Maher Hathout, and Narinjan Singh Khalsa, the chairman of the LA City Human Relations Commission.
© Copyright 2012 Tribe Media Corp.
http://www.jewishjournal.com/thenon-prophet/item/despite_hate_mail_pasadena_church_to_host_muslim_groups_convention [no comments yet]
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Ann Coulter Attacks Latinos In Column, As Conservatives Seek To Reach Out To Hispanic Voters
![](http://i.huffpost.com/gen/893636/thumbs/r-ANN-COULTER-LATINOS-large570.jpg)
Ann Coulter gestures while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, Friday, Feb. 10, 2012.
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
By Roque Planas Posted: 12/07/2012 10:17 am EST | Updated: 12/07/2012 12:21 pm EST
Republicans looking to reach out to Latinos may want to avoid the advice of Ann Coulter.
The conservative pundit penned a column Wednesday in which she lashed out at the “deluge of unskilled immigrants pouring into the country” and portrayed Latinos as a lazy “underclass” looking for a government handout [ http://www.anncoulter.com/columns/2012-12-05.html ]. Coulter titles the piece “America Nears El Tipping Pointo,” presumably to make a virtue of her ignorance of the Spanish language.
In fact, Latinos use less than their fair share of government benefits [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/latino-congress-members_n_2090311.html ]. According to a study released this year by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
Non-Hispanic whites accounted for 64 percent of the population in 2010 and received 69 percent of the entitlement benefits. In contrast, Hispanics made up 16 percent of the population but received 12 percent of the benefits, less than their proportionate share -- likely because they are a younger population and also because immigrants, including many legal immigrants, are ineligible for various benefits.
Coulter implies in her piece that non-whites are “nitwits who deserve lives of misery and joblessness.” She singles out immigrants from Latin America as particularly “nitwitty,” saying they have too many babies out of wedlock, without citing a published source for the assertion. Nearly half of undocumented-immigrant households -- 45 percent -- consisted of a spouse or cohabiting couple with one or more children, compared to 34 percent of legal immigrants and 21 percent of the U.S. born, according to a 2010 Pew Hispanic Study.
Apparently unaware that Latinos do not depend disproportionately on government benefits, Coulter writes:
That's a lot of government dependents coming down the pike. No amount of "reaching out" to the Hispanic community, effective "messaging" or Reagan's "optimism" is going to turn Mexico's underclass into Republicans … Rather than being more hardworking than American, Hispanics actually work about the same as others, or, in the case of Hispanic women, less.
In fact, Latinos -- especially immigrants -- are more entrepreneurial than the general population. As Cristina Costantini points out in a piece for ABC/Univision, Hispanics created twice as many businesses as the general public since 2000 [ http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/analysis-bill-oreilly-wrong/story?id=17702328 ], according to census data.
Mitt Romney won just 27 percent of the Latino vote [ http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/11/romneys-hispanic-vote-share-percent-148801.html ], the lowest number of a presidential candidate since Bob Dole in 1996. Romney's failure to attract Hispanic voters likely owes to the hardline positions on immigration he took to attract the GOP's right wing, many of whom viewed the former Massachusetts governor as too liberal going into the party primary.
Copyright © 2012 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/07/ann-coulter-attacks-latinos-conservatives-hispanic-voters_n_2253721.html [with comments]
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Curtis Allgier Gets LIfe Sentence For Killing Utah Prison Guard Stephen Anderson
![](http://i.huffpost.com/gen/891843/thumbs/r-CURTIS-ALLGIER-large570.jpg)
Curtis Allgier has been sentenced to life in prison for killing a guard during a trip to a doctor.
12/05/12 07:06 PM ET EST
SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah inmate covered in neo-Nazi tattoos was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole Wednesday for killing a prison guard during a doctor's appointment five years ago, then leading police on a high-speed chase that ended at a fast-food restaurant, where a customer wrestled a gun from him.
Curtis Allgier offered a rambling statement that mixed apology and a tribute to his victim with a rebuttal of the evidence against him, while cursing and ranting against the court system and his lawyers.
"I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I didn't want to hurt anybody. It was an accident," the 33-year-old inmate said at the hearing.
He added, "Just because I've got tattoos on my face and I'm proud of my race, I'm not some violent monster."
Prosecutors said the June 25, 2007, shooting was no accident. Allgier wrestled a gun from Stephen Anderson of Bluffdale after being unshackled for an MRI scan at a University of Utah medical clinic, they said. He then fled on foot and stole a vehicle before leading police on a highway chase at speeds exceeding 100 mph.
His freedom lasted 45 minutes.
Allgier pleaded no contest in October to aggravated murder. He pleaded guilty to additional charges of disarming a peace officer, aggravated escape, aggravated robbery and possession of a firearm by a restricted person.
The plea deal spared Allgier a trial and the death penalty if convicted.
Third District Judge Paul Maughan opened the sentencing hearing to family members of Anderson, a 22-year employee of the Utah Department of Corrections. Anderson, 60, was survived by a wife, five adult children and 18 grandchildren.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that a daughter of Anderson's said it was "impossible to replace a man like my father."
The chase ended after Allgier got a flat tire and ran into an Arby's restaurant, where Eric Fullerton, 59, had just ordered a ham-and-cheese croissant and orange juice for breakfast.
Fullerton "went into action," grabbing the much larger Allgier by an arm and forcing him to drop the gun. Allgier punched Fullerton and then slashed his throat with a knife before finally surrendering to police.
"I didn't feel pain," Fullerton said at a 2010 court hearing. "I did feel the coldness of the blade, and I heard the sound."
In court Wednesday, prosecutors called Fullerton a hero.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/curtis-allgier-life-sentence-prison-guard-killing_n_2247965.html [with comments]
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NRA CEO Refutes Bob Costas, Says Kasandra Perkins Needed A Gun To Defend Against Jovan Belcher
![](http://i.huffpost.com/gen/893689/thumbs/s-KASANDRA-PERKINS-MURDER-large.jpg)
12/06/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/nra-bob-costas-kasandra-perkins-gun-control_n_2253681.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
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Dana Perino: Female Victims Of Violence Should 'Make Better Decisions' (VIDEO)
12/07/2012
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/06/dana-perinovictims-of-vio_n_2251761.html [with embedded video, and comments]
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Boy Scouts Atheist Oath Proposal Sparks Controversy In UK (VIDEO)
![](http://i.huffpost.com/gen/895178/thumbs/s-BOY-SCOUTS-ATHEIST-large.jpg)
By Jonny Stewart
Posted: 12/07/2012 5:51 pm EST | Updated: 12/08/2012 7:07 am EST
The possibility that the Scout Association may soon allow non-believers to take an alternate oath that excludes the word "God" is causing controversy in the U.K. Responding to the criticism, Wayne Bulpitt, chief commissioner of Scouts U.K., said the organization is "a values-based movement" and that "exploring faith and religion will remain a key element of the Scouting programme.”
But a Daily Telegraph blog post [ http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/petermullen/100192624/the-boy-scouts-were-founded-as-a-christian-organisation-not-a-tree-hugging-values-based-atheist-coven/ ] took issue with Bulpitt's choice of words: "Lovely turn of phrase, Wayne! I adore that 'values-based,' 'exploring' and 'key element,'" Telegraph blogger and priest Peter Mullen wrote. "[T]he original boy scouts were not anything so woolly as 'values-based', which might mean anything from ancestor worship to declaring paid-up membership of the Amalgamated Coven of Tree-Huggers: they were founded as a Christian organisation."
According to the organizations's website [ http://www.scouts.org.uk/cms.php?pageid=131 ], the U.K. Scouts were founded in 1910 with the mission "to promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potential."
Billy Hallowell, Faith Editor at The Blaze, and Dan Barker, a minister-turned atheist and co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) -- whose son was turned away from joining the U.S. scouts for being a non-believer -- joined HuffPost Live's Caroline Modarressy-Tehrani Wednesday to discuss the matter.
There's been talk of the issue with stateside Scouts as well. In 2000, the FFRF responded to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling [ http://ffrf.org/news/news-releases/item/2544-hold-bsa-feet-to-the-camp-fire ] that the Boy Scouts of America "is a private group which can exclude anybody it likes from membership" by saying "it is time to start treating Boy Scouts as the bigoted and discriminatory organization that it is."
The FFRF also pointed out that a "major source of BSA funding is United Way of America, which announces that "every group receiving funds ... maintains a policy of nondiscrimination."
According to the Guardian [ http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/dec/04/scouts-guides-consider-atheist-oaths ], the U.K. Scouts have had oath options for alternate faiths and countrymen for nearly half a century, "Allah for Muslims or "my Dharma" for Buddhists" and that scouts in other countries "promise duty to their own nation or monarch." The paper notes that while these alternate options have been in place, "there has been no non-religious equivalent for either Scouts or Guides, meaning young atheists have had to either "fudge the promise or forgo the woggle."
Young atheist boys have been turned away by the Scouts, including an 11-year-old schoolboy named George Pratt. "I am really disappointed about not being able to go anymore just because I don't believe in God," Pratt told the Telegraph [ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9617456/Schoolboy-banned-from-Scouts-for-being-an-atheist.html ]. "My friends who are Scouts don't think it is right, either. Everyone is going caving soon and I've never been before. It is something I would love to do but I'm not allowed"
"I'm not going to change my decision though," he added.
Watch the full segment on HuffPost Live [ http://live.huffingtonpost.com/#r/segment/boy-scouts-and-religion%3A-dropping-%22god%22-from-oath/50bda1192b8c2a5da50007b6 ].
Copyright © 2012 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/07/boy-scouts-atheist_n_2259146.html [with the first portion of the linked full segment video embedded, and comments]
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Roderick Arrington, Las Vegas Boy, Allegedly Beaten To Death After Lying About Bible, Homework (VIDEO)
![](http://i.huffpost.com/gen/891153/thumbs/s-RODERICK-ARRINGTON-LAS-VEGAS-large.jpg)
Police in Las Vegas say Roderick Arrington, Jr., was beaten to death by his parents in late November.
Posted: 12/05/2012 3:58 pm EST | Updated: 12/07/2012 4:29 pm EST
Police in Las Vegas allege that a 7-year-old boy was beaten to death [ http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/story/Mother-stepfather-call-pastor-before-911/NyMuBXlsiE-Dc_bI-0kLMQ.cspx ] by his parents after failing to read the Bible or do his homework.
Roderick "RJ" Arrington Jr. [ http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/dec/03/mother-stepfather-arrested-beating-death-7-year-ol/ ], was admitted to an area hospital on Nov. 29 because he was unresponsive, according to the Las Vegas Sun. Personnel there called officers to the scene after they observed severe bruising and brain swelling, according to a police report. The boy died the following afternoon.
Police arrested the boy's mother, Dina Palmer, 27, and stepfather, Markiece Palmer, 34, and charged them with the murder of the boy. Investigators said that Palmer "stood by and let her husband" shake and beat the boy to death.
According to KLAS [ http://www.8newsnow.com/story/20250576/mother-stepfather-arrested-in-boys-beating-death ], the arrest report detailed "open abrasions on [Arrington's] buttocks, severe bruising to his thighs, marks and bruises on his back and shoulders and evidence of previous beatings."
Markiece Palmer stated the second grade student was spanked on Nov. 27 because he had lied about reading the Bible [id.]; he said the boy was also spanked the following day for not finishing his homework, according to police.
Police claim the boy's stepfather beat him with a spatula, belt and possibly a wooden paddle. Dina Palmer allegedly struck her son on his buttocks with both a belt and her hand.
The couple reportedly called a pastor before dialing 911 [ http://www.mynews3.com/content/news/story/Mother-stepfather-call-pastor-before-911/NyMuBXlsiE-Dc_bI-0kLMQ.cspx ]. KSNV writes, "Pastor Kenneth Hollingsworth says he's as shocked as anyone that Markiece Palmer chose to call him before first-responders."
The Palmers appeared in court Tuesday and each face charges of murder, child abuse and neglect [ http://www.8newsnow.com/story/20261396/mother-accused-of-killing-son-cries-as-charges-read ], the station reports.
Copyright © 2012 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/05/roderick-arrington-las-vegas-beaten-death-bible-homework-video_n_2245381.html [with the video report above (at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iaG6a8cB9o ) embedded, and comments]
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