Wednesday, February 12, 2014 10:00:14 PM
Radio Wingnut Says The Beatles Are Satan
by Doktor Zoom
1:29 pm February 6, 2014
Our favorite Minor League radio preacher, Colorado’s Kevin Swanson [ http://wonkette.com/?s=%22Kevin+Swanson%22 ], took a break from hating on gays and abortion for a few minutes to blame the Beatles [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/swanson-beatles-encourage-demonism-paved-way-satanic-pagan-orgy-grammy-awards ] for bringing demonic rock and/or roll to our shores 50 years ago, an event that set us on the road to this year’s Grammy Awards show, which he described as a “satanic pagan orgy” and a “celebration of fornication, twerking, stripping and satanic rituals.” You sort of have to wonder how much the organizers of the Grammys are paying him.
Swanson has some serious problems with the Grammys telecast, which he really seemed to enjoy describing. Grasping his microphone firmly with manly vigor, he described the awards show [ http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/06/religious-broadcaster-beatles-to-blame-for-katy-perrys-satanic-pagan-twerking-orgy/ (second below)] as
a celebration of fornication, twerking, stripping (and) satanic rituals topped off with about 34 [inaudible -- neurotic? erotic?] weddings conducted by a lesbian with music provided by Madonna, so yeah, the homosexuals getting married and the tradition of the Caesar Nero, was basically a pagan, satanic orgy.”
Now we’re feeling kind of bad that we were just watching Doctor Who on Netflix.
Swanson went on to explain that Katy Perry was either the cause or a symptom of the general destruction of moral principles in U.S. America, since she had once released a Christian-themed album, but then started slutting things up, dancing around with computer-animated candy and actual negroes, and decimating an army of gummi bears with mammary-mounted whipped-cream cans:
“Katy Perry and all her friends, apostates from faith, they move gradually out of the Christian faith and into a secular, demonic approach to things and they move out of the Christian – this is how you get from a 55 percent church attendance ratio for the Silent Generation to 18 percent for the Millennial Generation down to 4 percent in the year 2025,” Swanson said.
And it never would have happened without those mop-headed apostates the Beatles, because as we all know, there was no rock music before them. Recapitulating a history lesson by Doktor Zoom’s Mother from shortly after John Lennon’s 1980 murder, Swanson noted that Lennon and Paul McCartney met at an Anglican church, after all, but instead of playing nice Christian music, they used their God-given talent to play the Devil’s rock ‘n’ roll, leading to widespread cultural destruction and drugs:
“It takes apostates to destroy a culture and to undermine a civilization,” Swanson said. “That’s how you get from ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand” to ‘Let’s Do It In The Road [sic] by 1968.”
“And by the way, the 2014 Grammys celebrated The Beatles, yet again, and I think that’s important because The Beatles opened things up for us, that’s how we got to the drug culture of 1969 and 1970.”
We’d like to think that in addition to having serious issues with understanding causality, Swanson was also terribly disappointed to learn that the White Album was not a celebration of Anglo-Saxon ethnic heritage.
©2014 Wonkette Media LLC
http://wonkette.com/541368/radio-wingnut-says-the-beatles-are-satan [with comments]
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Paganism: An Overview Of One Of Least Understood Modern Religions
02/08/2014
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/08/paganism-overview_n_4730079.html [with comments]
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Religious broadcaster: Beatles to blame for Katy Perry’s satanic pagan twerking orgy
By Travis Gettys
Thursday, February 6, 2014 10:58 EST
It was 50 years ago next week that Sgt. Pepper taught the world to twerk.
At least, that’s what religious right broadcaster Kevin Swanson suggested in advance of the Feb. 9 semicentennial of the Beatles’ first live American television performance.
The Generations Radio broadcaster joined a host of other conservative commentators in denouncing the 2014 Grammy Awards telecast as immoral, reported Right Wing Watch [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/swanson-beatles-encourage-demonism-paved-way-satanic-pagan-orgy-grammy-awards ].
“The 2014 Grammy celebration was a celebration of fornication, twerking, stripping (and) satanic rituals topped off with about 34 [inaudible] weddings conducted by a lesbian with music provided by Madonna, so yeah, the homosexuals getting married and the tradition of the Caesar Nero, was basically a pagan, satanic orgy,” Swanson said.
The broadcaster blamed pop star Katy Perry, who had previously released a Christian-themed album under her given name, Katy Hudson, for inspiring young people to abandon their faith.
“Katy Perry and all her friends, apostates from faith, they move gradually out of the Christian faith and into a secular, demonic approach to things and they move out of the Christian – this is how you get from a 55 percent church attendance ratio for the Silent Generation to 18 percent for the Millennial Generation down to 4 percent in the year 2025,” Swanson said.
[the audio "Swanson: Grammys A Satanic Orgy", https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/swanson-grammys-a-satanic-orgy , embedded]
The 29-year-old singer was following an example set decades ago by two performers who also appeared on the Grammy broadcast.
“It wouldn’t happen without the Beatles,” Swanson said.
He said the Beatles, too, were apostates, citing the location where John Lennon met his future bandmate, Paul McCartney, in 1957 while playing with his skiffle group, The Quarrymen.
“The Beatles had to start in the choir at Saint Peter’s Anglican Church,” Swanson said, misidentifying the type of music played by Lennon’s group. “They had to! They had to start there, friends. They had to work out the first bars of ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’ on the church piano at Saint Peter’s Anglican Church.”
He said both The Beatles and Perry started their careers as religious musicians in accordance with prophesy.
“It takes apostates to destroy a culture and to undermine a civilization,” Swanson said. “That’s how you get from ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand” to ‘Let’s Do It In The Road (sic) by 1968.”
“The 2014 Grammys celebrated the Beatles yet again, and I think that’s important because the Beatles opened things up for us, that’s how we got to the drug culture of 1969s and 1970s,” he added.
[the audio "Swanson: The Beatles Pushed Satanism ", https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/swanson-the-beatles-inspired , embedded]
Copyright © 2014 Raw Story Media, Inc.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/06/religious-broadcaster-beatles-to-blame-for-katy-perrys-satanic-pagan-twerking-orgy/ [with comments]
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Conservatives Lash Out At 'Sick,' 'Despicable' & 'Disgusting' Grammy Awards
1/27/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/conservatives-lash-out-sick-despicable-disgusting-grammy-awards [with embedded audio https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/erik-rush-grammys-make-me ]
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Beck: Katy Perry's Grammy Performance Was 'Full-Fledged Witchcraft And Demonic Glorification'
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/beck-katy-perrys-grammy-performance-was-full-fledged-witchcraft-and-demonic-glorification ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQJvzlYtZMg [with comments]
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Rep. Steve Palazzo Lashes Out At 'Gay Hollywood's Version Of Matrimony'
1/28/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rep-steve-palazzo-lashes-out-gay-hollywoods-version-matrimony
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Erik Rush: Norman Lear Opened Door To Satanism At The Grammys
1/29/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/erik-rush-norman-lear-opened-door-satanism-grammys [with embedded audios https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/erik-rush-satanism-at-grammys and https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/erik-rush-grammys-make-me ]
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"Road To Perdition": Right-Wing Media React To Multicultural Coca-Cola Super Bowl Ad
http://mediamatters.org/research/2014/02/03/road-to-perdition-right-wing-media-react-to-mul/197898 [with comments]; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=443Vy3I0gJs [with (over 11,000) comments]
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Beck: Coke's Super Bowl Ad Was An 'In Your Face' Effort To 'Divide People'
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/beck-cokes-super-bowl-ad-was-your-face-effort-divide-people ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ8B_Ihjd_M [with comments]
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Coca Cola’s ‘It’s Beautiful’ Ad Proves Some Americans Still Can’t Recognize the Beauty of Diversity
http://www.thewrap.com/coca-cola-america-beautiful-commercial-racist-reactions [with the YouTube from Coca-Cola of the ad in the item second above embedded, along with the YouTube from Coca-Cola, "Coca-Cola - It's Beautiful - Behind the Scenes", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ReHUMUb9gY (with comments), just above; with comments]
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Right radio pops off on Coke Super Bowl ad
2/4/14
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/superbowl-commercials-coke-america-the-beautiful-103075.html [with comments]
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God Will Punish America For The Grammy Awards & 'Good Luck Charlie'
2/4/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/god-will-punish-america-grammy-awards-good-luck-charlie
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LaBarbera: US Should Adopt Russia-Style 'Gay Propaganda' Law To Stop Disney From 'Promoting Lesbianism To Kids'
2/6/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/labarbera-us-should-adopt-russia-style-gay-propaganda-law-stop-disney-promoting-lesbianism-k [with embedded audios https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/labarbera-disney-promotes , https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/labarbera-children-of-gay , and https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/labarbera-lively-to-russian ]
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Peter LaBarbera Furious That Gay Couple Is Featured In 'America The Beautiful' Song Authored By Gay Songwriter
2/6/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/peter-labarbera-furious-gay-couple-featured-america-beautiful-song-authored-gay-songwriter
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Pleas from sexual-assault victim’s mother ignored by church prior to youth pastor’s arrest
By Tom Boggioni
Friday, February 7, 2014 21:08 EST
The mother of a girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a recently arrested church youth minister had her pleas for help ignored for months by the senior pastor of a church in San Ramon, California.
According to BayArea NBC [ http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Victims-Mother-Asked-Church-for-Help-Prior-to-Pastors-Sexual-Assault-Arrest-244100501.html ], Hyo Bin Im, 33, also known as Pastor John Hyobin at the Contra Costa Korean Presbyterian Church in San Ramon, was arrested last Wednesday, police said.
Senior Pastor Jason Jeon, of the Contra Costa Korean Presbyterian Church in San Ramon, admits that the girl’s mother did appeal to him for help, but he would not discuss what she talked to him about.
“Yes, as far as I know, John was helping them,” Jeon said. “That much I know.”
A church member, requesting not to be identified, said she is concerned Jeon didn’t step in after the girl’s mother contacted him.
“At this point, can the parents actually trust the pastor when they’re sending their kids to the church?” she said.
Speaking to a KNTV reporter, one member of the church said that the whole congregation knew that Im allowed under-aged girlsto stay with him at his San Ramon house when they had no place to live, also believing that he was ‘helping’ them.
Investigators determined the alleged victim and her sister were staying with Im at his San Ramon home and uncovered evidence of a romantic relationship between Im and one of the sisters. Additionally, police said they found evidence that the pastor was responsible for animal cruelty, resulting in a small dog being euthanized.
Im was arrested and booked into Martinez Detention Facility on Jan. 29 and faces felony charges of child concealment, unlawful sexual intercourse and animal cruelty. Bail has been set at $180,000.
Watch the BayArea NBC report below:
[video embedded]
Copyright © 2014 Raw Story Media, Inc.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/07/pleas-from-sexual-assault-victims-mother-ignored-by-church-prior-to-youth-pastors-arrest/ [with comments]
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Republican Official Says Gays Should Be Purged From GOP, Blames Homosexuality On Satan
Photo via Schoolcraft County Republican Party.
By Ashley Woods
Posted: 02/07/2014 6:33 pm EST Updated: 02/07/2014 8:59 pm EST
A new candidate for a Michigan seat on the Republican National Committee wants gays "purged" from the GOP and claims homosexuality is a "perversion" created by Satan himself.
Mary Helen Sears of Houghton County in the state's Upper Peninsula, elected vice chair of the Michigan Republican Party's 1st District [ http://schoolcraftrepublican.info/press-release-michigan-gop-convention-results/ ] last year, posted a rant in April [ http://schoolcraftrepublican.info/end-of-the-GOP/ (next below)] on the Schoolcraft County GOP website -- preceded by a warning asking readers to "please use your discretion before taking any decisions based on the information in this blog."
In the post [id.], Sears claimed that homosexuals prey on children, argued that "Satan uses homosexuality to attack the living space of the Holy Spirit" and advocated that Republicans "as a party should be purging this perversion and send them to a party with a much bigger tent."
Michigan's representatives on the Republican National Committee have lately stirred other controversy, mostly due to Dave Agema, a former state lawmaker who has regularly made anti-gay comments [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/24/reince-priebus-dave-agema-resignation_n_4660373.html ] and has been condemned by fellow Republicans, including Gov. Rick Snyder.
Last month, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and Michigan Republican Party Chairman Bobby Schostak issued a joint statement asking Agema to step down from the RNC "for the good of the party [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/24/reince-priebus-dave-agema-resignation_n_4660373.html ]." Instead, Agema's Michigan co-chair on the RNC, U.S. Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land (who had condemned Agema's anti-gay comments), resigned her seat, saying she wanted to focus on her campaign. Under party rules, the state GOP must pick a woman [ http://www.freep.com/article/20140205/NEWS06/302050134/Michigan-Republican-Committee-select-new-national-committeewoman ] to take Land's place, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Enter Sears, who is running for Land's vacated RNC seat. She's, "if anything, to the right of RNC Committeeman Dave Agema on the political spectrum," wrote Macomb Daily columnist Chad Selweski [ http://macombpolitics.blogspot.com/2014/02/candidate-for-lands-rnc-seat-wants-to.html ].
Sears, in her post on the Schoolcraft County GOP website, wrote that Communist college professors were indoctrinating young people and claimed that Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory "gave rise to Hitler’s Third Reich, Mussolini’s Italy and Stalin’s Russia."
"If the GOP continues down this trend and stand for perversions and the daily social fad ... The GOP will be truly dead and Satan will have had his day," Sears wrote.
Darren Littel, communications director for the Michigan Republican Party, told The Huffington Post the GOP supports a traditional definition of marriage, "but we also believe that all people should be treated with dignity and respect and these comments clearly don’t reflect those principles."
The prospect of Agema and Sears heading the Michigan delegation on the RNC is apparently striking fear in the hearts of some Republicans, according to the Macomb Daily:
Apparently some Republican insiders are so shaken by the prospect of having Agema and Sears as Michigan’s two representatives on the RNC that they’re growing concerned about two mainstream Republicans in the three-person field splitting their votes, thereby allowing Sears to claim victory. When the GOP State Committee meets to select Land’s replacement, Sears’ competitors are expected to consist of Ronna Romney McDaniel, daughter of Ronna Romney, and Sandra Kahn who, I’m told, is the aunt of state Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville and the ex-wife of Sen. Roger Kahn of Saginaw Township.
Ronna Romney McDaniel, incidentally, is the niece of Michigan native and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney [ http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/ronna-romney-mcdaniel-mulls-2014-senate-bid-88810.html ]. The RNC will choose a new national committeewoman [ http://www.freep.com/article/20140205/NEWS06/302050134/Michigan-Republican-Committee-select-new-national-committeewoman ] on Feb. 15.
Although some Michigan Republicans may agree that Sears' views are extreme, at least one GOP group has taken to social media to express fear that a pro-gay agenda is taking over the Michigan Republican Party.
The Delta County Republican Party recently published a list proclaiming that influential GOP pols like Priebus, Schostak and Senate candidate Land had surrendered to a "homosexual and stealth jihad agenda [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/30/michigan-gop-republicans_n_4696236.html (in the post to which this is a reply)]."
Copyright © 2014 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/07/mary-helen-sears-michigan-gop_n_4740426.html [with comments]
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End Of The GOP?
Written by
Mary Helen Sears, 1st District Vice-Chair (38th)
Published March 31, 2013. | By SCRP [ http://schoolcraftrepublican.info/ ].
Admin note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. While every caution has been taken to provide our readers with most accurate information and honest analysis, please use your discretion before taking any decisions based on the information in this blog.
We find ourselves at a precipice, wide and gaping, its darkness, seemingly never-ending. We have a choice to make. Do we follow the Truth of the Living God, who’s principles and teachings are the foundation of this country or do we follow the dictates of a depraved society and fall headlong, off the cliff, into the abyss below? For too long the GOP has misinterpreted the big tent idea of Ronald Regan. Raising the flaps higher and higher in an effort to retain power, not realizing by doing so they were destroying the very fabric the tent was created out of.
A tent by its very nature is inclusive and exclusive. There are things the tent owner will allow in and others he will fight to the death to keep out.
The GOP is not the tent owner, it is the tent. Our party, like our boarder states have accepted the slow creep of intrusion until they are confused as to where their boarders truly lies. The voting members of the GOP are the tent owners. It is they who decides what the party stands for and what it stands against or what it lets into its tent and what it keeps out. With this idea in mind, we must ask ourselves, “How do we determine our belief system?”
My argument is that, we cannot put our finger to the wind, determine the sway of the people and try to ride the current trend to keep power. Who in the end does that serve? You must look at political party philosophy. Why do we have political parties? George Washington warned against them when he said, ” I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State…Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally. This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.”
His words ring true louder today than they have in the history of the United States.
If then, we must have a party than, I again ask the question, “who and what do we serve?” Political parties are formed around a group of people and their ideas or ideals. The Republican party was formed around the Abolition movement and the overturn of the Kansas-Nebraska Act among other things. These issues of the day brought over 10,000 people into Jackson, Michigan which was to become the first meeting of the Republican Party.
Looking at our history we see that the party was built around a set of ideas agreed upon by the party members. The tent owners had made the first tent. The fabric of that tent was built on the idea that, “All men are CREATED equal, that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain inalienable rights…”
Where would they ever get a notion that all men are CREATED equal? You will certainly not find that in Darwin’s view of the world, which is being taught to our gullible children. His view gave rise to Hitler’s Third Reich, Mussolini’s Italy and Stalin’s Russia. No, we find this idea in the pages of the Holy Bible. God’s Word teaches that we are a created being, fallen from Grace but not forgotten by a long suffering God. A quick walk around DC will prove without a doubt that our Country was steeped in Christianity and so was the founding principles of the Republican Party.
Our party is suffering the cancerous effects of the Progressive school system. Liberals have long since taken over the once Christian Halls of such schools as Yale and Harvard. Even our local Universities are a breeding ground for perversions and depravities. Our children are indoctrinated by the ever droning lies of Communist Professors. Did we honestly think we could send our kids to these schools and them not be affected? How ridiculous! Today, we are seeing those who learned well the lessons of their left leaning teachers and a society who promotes a me-ist mind set. Our young Republicans want us to put away the old thinking of Marriage and Life. Adopt a more open attitude, accept who they are, stop the hate speech, blah, blah, blah. Yes, they have learned their lessons well. The problem is it was the wrong lesson.
Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman. It is a reflection of God and his Church. The promise that when this horror show we call life is over, we will once again be reunited with the God of this Universe. The joining of two men or two women is a perversion of this Covenant and a direct affront to God. Satan uses homosexuality to attack the living space of the Holy Spirit, which is the body of the person.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17,”Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”
By perverting the Covenant he keeps those who practice it away from God. He knows his time is limited, the more of us he takes to hell with him and the more pain he causes God by destroying His people the better he likes it. God says of homosexuality:
”Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Leviticus 18:22
“If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” Leviticus 20:13
How then can we as Christians stay in a party that adopts Homosexuality into the fabric of the tent. I say we cannot. Homosexuals make up less than one percent of the total population. They must prey on our children to increase their numbers. Why then, would we, as a party, entertain this perversion? We as a party should be purging this perversion and send them to a party with a much bigger tent. When we lose track of foundational principles we lose the very essence of our party. By throwing God under the bus we become nothing more than the poor Democrats who have lost their way and by doing so have lost their party. They are nowhere near the party of Andrew Jackson or John Kennedy. They have opened the tent so wide that it no longer provides them a shelter or a solid base upon which to place their platform. I’m sure you all watched when the DNC voted whether to keep God in their party. Three times they voted Him down and someone who knew they would be raked over the coals by their throwing God to the curb, over road the crazed masses and declared the vote for God. Boos were loudly audible. The Democrats Boo’d God!
Are we there my friends? Are we at the precipice ready to throw away the founding principles of this country? Are we really going to vote against God?
To me there is no choice, I choose Him. As my father’s before me, I believe, without Him and his Laws we are doomed.
If the GOP continues down this trend and stand for perversions and the daily social fad, then I must travel a more suitable road. The GOP will be truly dead and Satan will have had his day.
Copyright © 2013 Schoolcraft County Republican Party
http://schoolcraftrepublican.info/end-of-the-GOP/ [with comments]
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More Federal Privileges to Extend to Same-Sex Couples
By MATT APUZZO
FEB. 8, 2014
WASHINGTON — The federal government will soon treat married same-sex couples the same as heterosexual couples when they file for bankruptcy, testify in court or visit family in prison.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/eric_h_holder_jr/index.html ] was preparing to issue policies aimed at eliminating the distinction between same-sex and opposite-sex married couples in the federal criminal justice system, according to a speech given at a Saturday event organized by a prominent gay-rights group.
“In every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/same_sex_marriage/index.html ] receive the same privileges, protections and rights as opposite-sex marriages,” Mr. Holder’s said.
The changes were set in motion last year when the Supreme Court [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/supreme_court/index.html ] declared it unconstitutional to refuse federal benefits to married same-sex couples, a ruling that Mr. Holder supported.
Gay-rights advocates welcomed the changes but had hoped Mr. Holder would use his address before the Human Rights Campaign [ http://www.hrc.org/ ] to announce that the president would sign an order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating based on sexual orientation.
“That would be big,” said Gary Buseck, legal director for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders [ https://www.glad.org/ ].
Since the Supreme Court ruling in June, the Obama administration has rewritten federal rules to allow same-sex couples to file taxes together [ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/us/politics/irs-to-recognize-all-gay-marriages-regardless-of-state.html ] and receive Medicare [ http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/08/20130829a.html ] and other benefits reserved for married couples. Mr. Holder has been the public face of those efforts and has made championing gay rights one of the central messages of his tenure.
“These issues are very much at the center of this administration’s civil rights legacy,” said Ian S. Thompson, who works on gay and lesbian issues for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington.
Speaking before Sweden’s Parliament a few days ago, Mr. Holder called fighting for gay and lesbian rights one of “the defining civil rights challenges of our time.”
The remarks on Saturday by Mr. Holder, the first black attorney general, cast the gay-rights movement as a continuation of the civil rights efforts of the 1960s.
“As all-important as the fight against racial discrimination was then, and remains today, know this: My commitment to confronting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity runs just as deep,” he said.
The government estimates that more than 1,100 federal regulations, rights and laws touch on, or are affected by, marital status. With a memo on Monday, Mr. Holder plans to make several of those provisions apply equally to gay and straight couples.
In court cases and criminal investigations, for example, same-sex couples will be covered under what is known as the spousal privilege, a rule that says spouses cannot be forced to testify against each other. The Bureau of Prisons will extend the same visitation rights to married same-sex couples that it does to opposite-sex couples, Mr. Holder said.
The Justice Department will also recognize same-sex couples when determining eligibility for programs like the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, which pays people who were injured or made sick by the 2001 terrorist attacks. Same-sex spouses of police killed in the line of duty will also be eligible for federal benefits.
The federal rules have no effect on state laws. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriages.
Challenges to bans on same-sex marriage are under way in several states, including Utah. A federal judge there said in December that the state’s ban was unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court put that decision on hold while an appeal played out.
Between those rulings, about 1,300 couples got marriage licenses in Utah. Last month, Mr. Holder said the federal government would recognize those marriages.
Opponents of same-sex marriage accused Mr. Holder of overstepping his authority in that case. Mr. Buseck, meanwhile, said the Obama administration could do more, such as the executive order on discrimination, to leave a civil rights legacy.
© 2014 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/us/more-federal-privileges-to-extend-to-same-sex-couples.html
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Washington courts controversy as it puts same-sex marriages on legal footing
ARCHIVE PHOTO: Anti-Proposition 8 protesters wave a rainbow flag in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, March 26, 2013
(Reuters / Jonathan Ernst)
Published time: February 09, 2014 13:31
The federal government is set to view same-sex marriages on the same legal ground as heterosexual couples in legal proceedings, such as when filing bankruptcy and paying debts, a move that has some groups fuming.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder on Saturday said his office was preparing to approve legislation that would remove the legal distinction between same-sex and opposite-sex married couples in the federal criminal justice system.
“In every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections and rights as opposite-sex marriages,” Holder told a gala meeting of Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest LGBT lobbying organization in the United States.
The announcement comes after the US Supreme Court ruled in June that it is unconstitutional to deny same-sex marriage partners federal benefits in states where the practice is legal.
Gay marriages are legal in just 17 of the 50 US states, as well as the District of Columbia.
On Monday, the Justice Department will "formally instruct all department employees to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition, to the greatest extent possible under the law," according to early excerpts of the statement released by Reuters.
Last year’s controversial Supreme Court ruling did away with a section of a 1996 federal law, the Defense of Marriage Act, which once prevented the US government from legally recognizing same-sex unions.
Since then, the Obama administration has been rewriting federal rules that permit same-sex partners to enjoy the same federal benefits extended to heterosexual couples, including the handling of debts and taxes, as well as “spousal privilege,” which is the right to refuse to give testimony that may force an individual to incriminate his or her spouse.
The new legislation applies even in cases where same-sex marriages are not recognized in the state where the couple lives.
In a speech last week to the Swedish parliament, Holder defended the decision to recognize same-sex unions, calling it “the civil rights challenge of our time.”
"Just as our forebears came together to overcome tremendous adversity - and to forge the more just and more equal societies in which we now live - so, too, must the current generation rise to the causes that have become the struggles of our day; the defining civil rights challenges of our time," he said.
"I believe one of these struggles is the fight for equality for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender - or LGBT - citizens."
Holder praised Swedish lawmakers for legalizing same-sex marriage in 2009, making the Scandinavian country the seventh country to pass such legislation.
Meanwhile, opponents of same-sex marriages had harsh words for Holder's action.
"The news that the Justice Department will extend sweeping recognition to 'marriages' of same-sex couples, even in states that do not recognize such unions, is yet another illustration of the lawlessness of this administration," Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said in a statement.
Perkins questioned why the Supreme Court last year required the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in states that allow them, while at the same time remaining "conspicuously silent on the status of such couples when they reside in a state which considers them unmarried."
"The Obama administration's haste to nevertheless recognize such unions in every state actually runs counter to the Windsor decision's emphasis on the federal government's obligation to defer to state definitions of marriage," he added, referring to the Supreme Court ruling in the United States v. Windsor case, which opened the door to the federal government recognizing such unions.
Meanwhile, the debate on same-sex marriage continues to rage in many states, including Utah, where a federal judge said in December that the state’s ban was unconstitutional.
The real fireworks, however, erupted after Holder said the federal government would recognize those 1,300 marriage licenses obtained in Utah, after a federal judge declared the state’s ban on same-sex marriages as “unconstitutional.”
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert released a statement saying he was "very disappointed an activist federal judge is attempting to override the will of the people of Utah."
State opponents of gay marriage accused Holder and the Justice Department of using excessive federal powers in a matter that involves state jurisdiction.
© Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “TV-Novosti”, 2014
http://rt.com/usa/sex-marriages-law-gay-266/ [with comments]
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U.S. to Add New Legal Protections for Same-Sex Spouses
The policy will “formally instruct all Justice Department employees to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition, to the greatest extent possible under the law,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in remarks prepared for delivery in New York City.
Feb 9, 2014
[...]
‘Utter Lawlessness’
The policy change drew criticism from the National Organization for Marriage, a group seeking to block legalization of same-sex unions.
“It’s more utter lawlessness from the Obama administration,” said Brian Brown, the group’s president.
[...]
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-08/holder-to-detail-new-u-s-legal-protections-for-same-sex-couples.html [with comments]
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Missouri governor facing impeachment over order allowing same-sex marriage tax returns
By Tom Boggioni
Friday, February 7, 2014 20:38 EST
A member of the Missouri House of Representatives has filed articles of impeachment against Governor Jay Nixon (D) for ordering Missouri’s Department of Revenue to accept joint tax returns filed by same-sex couples who have been legally married in other states.
According to Missourinet [ http://www.missourinet.com/2014/02/06/two-articles-of-impeachment-filed-against-governor-nixon-audiocopy-of-the-articles/ ], Representative Nick Marshall (R-Parkville) has filed two articles of impeachment charging that Gov. Nixon issued an executive order that is a “direct violation” of Missouri’s Constitution. Further, Marshall says Nixon “misstates and misrepresents the meaning and requirements under Missouri’s constitutional and statutory law and thereby misleads the citizens of this state.”
In November of last year, Gov. Nixon issued an executive order stating that Missouri must accept such joint returns because Missouri’s tax code is tied directly to the federal government, and the state requires married couples who file joint returns to also file state taxes jointly. The office of Attorney General Chris Koster (D) has stated that Nixon’s order appears to comply with Missouri law.
Marshall, in his filing, alleges that Nixon’s order was based upon “a knowing omission of key statutory language.”
A section of the Missouri tax code that defines terms reads that terms used shall have the same meaning as when they appear in federal tax code. Rep. Marshall seized upon an additional phrase which states “unless a different meaning is clearly required by the provisions of” the Missouri tax code.
“Missouri law says a husband and wife who file a joint federal tax return shall file a combined return here in he state of Missouri,’ Marshall said. “The condition precedent for that is that they are husband and wife, and you have to ask yourself, ‘Well, how do you define husband and wife?’ You may not use the federal definition. That’s not allowed because Missouri’s Constitution does not allow you to recognize same-sex marriage.”
In 2004, Missouri voters approved Constitutional Amendment 2 which changed the definition of marriage in the state constitution as being between a man and a woman.
Marshall says that, while he is opposed to same-sex marriage, his action has nothing to do with his stance on the issue.
“My position on same-sex marriage is irrelevant. The governor’s position on same-sex marriage should be irrelevant,” he explained. “What is extremely relevant is the limitation on the powers of the Governor of the State of Missouri. He has no more right to ignore the Constitution than I do.”
The articles of impeachment, which must first be referred to a committee where, if passed, would then move on to the House, have been co-signed by seven Republican members of the House: Ron Schieber, Ken Wilson, Jeff Pogue, Kurt Bahr, Mike Moon, Rick Brattin & T.J. Berry.
Copyright © 2014 Raw Story Media, Inc.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/07/missouri-governor-facing-impeachment-over-order-allowing-same-sex-marriage-tax-returns/ [with comments]
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GRAPHIC LANGUAGE: Oklahoma restaurant owner says doesn’t want ‘f*ggot, freak’ customers
Video [embedded]
Oklahoma Restaurant Owner Won't Serve "Freaks, F*ggots, Disabled" Or Those On Wefare
Posted on: 10:00 pm, February 6, 2014, by Ashley Kringen, updated on: 03:50pm, February 7, 2014
ENID, Okla. – A restaurant in Enid is getting heat after one of its patrons posted a pretty strong message on social media about discrimination.
The restaurant and bar has been open for more than four decades and carries quite the reputation.
We want to warn you, this story does feature some graphic language.
Gary James, owner of Gary’s Chicaros, said, “I’ve been in business 44 years, I think I can spot a freak or a faggot.”
He added, “I don’t deal with these people walking down the street with no jobs on welfare.”
James said, “If I reached over there and slapped the sh** out of you, you should be offended. But to call someone a ‘chink’ or someone call me a bigot, that doesn’t bother me.”
Now, a wave of comments on Facebook [ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Garys-Chicaros/136482116399150 (which now has the fine establishment categorized not only under 'Food & Restaurant', but also under 'Gay Bar')] claim James refuses to serve African-Americans, Hispanics and people with disabilities, like Matt Gard.
Gard said, “He doesn’t like certain people of race, color, ethnicity.”
Gard was a regular at Gary’s Chicaros restaurant for years.
He said he turned a blind eye to the owner’s choice of customers, until recently.
Gard said, “Now, he tried to find a weak excuse not to let me in with my wheelchair or the weak excuse of having loud people with me.”
After getting turned away for a steak dinner, Gard said it’s about his disability.
James claimed that’s just not the case.
James said “He created an issue. You only have one time here. You create an issue, you’re out forever.”
Gard and at least 140 others posted on a Facebook page that said James’ attitude has crossed the line to discrimination.
Even the business’ t-shirt is viewed as offensive.
The shirt features derogatory slogans against homosexuals, it has the N-word on the front and threatens violence against Muslims, minorities and democrats.
James said he is proud to wear that shirt.
He said, “I really don’t want gays around. Any man that would compromise his own body would compromise anything.”
Gard said, “The people who still go back and patronize his business are condoning his behavior in how he treats others.”
James said, “Well if you work, you own a business, pay your taxes, you’re more than welcome here. If you’re on welfare, stay at home and spend my money, there.”
Strong words in a small town where no one has challenged his business practices.
The Office of Civil Rights Enforcement is a division of the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office which investigates cases of discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodation based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability and age [but not sexual orientation ( http://www.oag.state.ok.us/oagweb.nsf/srch?SearchView&Query=sexual%20AND%20orientation&SearchWV=FALSE&SearchFuzzy=FALSE , and see the third and fourth items below)].
If you feel that you are the victim of civil rights discrimination, you are asked to contact the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office [ http://www.oag.state.ok.us/ ].
Copyright © 2014, KFOR
http://kfor.com/2014/02/06/graphic-language-enid-restaurant-owner-gets-heat-for-alleged-discrimination/
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Chicaro Club
Stan M.
Hull, MA
2/9/2014
I was pretty hungry for some meat, so I sauntered into this joint, since it was the only place where a totally straight, white, male such as myself could really feel safe to just unwind with a pitcher of cosmos and a few show tunes. I was promptly informed that the "special" was to die for.
I was then directed to the men's room, where a fellow who called himself "Tom W." (they're not big on last names in the bathroom, I guess) came by and greeted me with a warm embrace. He had a sweet mustache and told me that if I could pronounce "Enid" correctly, he'd take me for a ride in his awesome yellow car and that it might lead to some "backseat wrasslin'".
The food was just so-so. Too much oil, but that was actually advantageous because I think it seeped out of my pores and made me tougher to grip when we wrassled. He still kept pinning me with those powerful forearms, though. I think he's had a lot of practice.
Jon S.
New York, NY
2/9/2014
Well, on my last trip to Oklahoma, I stopped in this place. I was on the corner of Grand and Oxford, and figured that this little metal shack had to have some good meat and cold brewskies, just what I needed.
I walked in, and the owner, Gary, directed me to a table and proceeded to tell me about all of the "specials" that were going on - they had the Twink Salad which was actually quite good looking, but there wasn't much substance to it. The main course was called the Bear Chops, which is lambchops, but they are served with the fur still intact. It's a lot cuter that way.
For dessert, I had the KKK Brownie. It's sort of like a normal brownie, except it's all white.
Strangely, they only served wheat beer. They claimed that serving any sort of darker beer would result in contamination of the lines.
[...]
http://www.yelp.com/biz/chicaro-club-enid
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Anti-Gay Restaurant Hilariously Pranked By Gay Rights Supporters
02/10/2014
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/10/anti-gay-restaurant-garys-chicaros-pranked-by-internet-yelp_n_4759713.html [with embedded video reports, and comments]
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Enid Business Owner Catches Heat for Discrimination
Gary James, owner of the Chicaro Club in Enid, said anyone who wears a hat inside a building is gay, and will be asked to leave.
James, who is also running for a spot on the Enid City Council, is keeping out what he calls "trash" and "people on welfare."
By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9
Posted: Jan 30, 2009 10:10 PM CST
Updated: Jan 30, 2009 10:56 PM CST
ENID, Oklahoma -- An Oklahoma politician is catching a lot of heat but it has nothing to do with his campaign or platform. Instead, it's the way he runs his business.
The politician admits -- he won't allow certain people into his business. But first-- a warning -- some of the language in this story may be very offensive.
It doesn't look like much from the outside, but at the Chicaro Club in Enid there's always plenty of food on the pit and there's a stock of scotch at the bar, but there's one thing that's not on the menu, and that's diversity.
"If I discriminate, it's against the people I dislike," owner Gary James said.
James is accused of discrimination and he doesn't deny it.
"If you come in here with all the in your face and a limp wrist, no I don't really want you in here and my customers damn sure don't want you in here," James said.
James, who is also running for a spot on the Enid City Council, is keeping out what he calls "trash" and "people on welfare."
Earlier this week, he told the local paper anyone who wears a hat inside a building is gay, and will be asked to leave.
James said he isn't homophobic or racist. He just refuses to allow anyone who makes him or his customers uneasy inside his business.
"I think it's wrong because people judge the book by its cover," Corey Jenson said.
With baggy jeans and visible tattoos, Jenson and Terrence Higdon are perfect examples of what James will not allow into his bar.
"I don't see how he can be City Councilman if he can't respect our rights," Higdon said. "We obey the laws and dress how we want to dress."
James said he's also obeying the law; it's just his opinions that others don't like.
"If they don't like my actions or my words they don't have to vote for me as far as that election goes," James said.
Despite his colorful comments, James said he still has a good chance of being elected. One of his opponents, Loyd Kaufman, said James is entitled to his own opinion. The election is Tuesday, February 10.
State law prohibits discrimination based race, religion and several other factors. Sexual discrimination is not one of them.
© Copyright 2009, WorldNow and KWTV
http://www.news9.com/story/9764682/enid-business-owner-catches-heat-for-discrimination [with comments]
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City commission candidate defends himself against accusations of racism
By Robert Barron, Staff Writer
January 27, 2009
Ward 4 Enid City Commission candidate Gary James is aware of stories circulating about how he has refused service to some customers at his Chicaro Club, but he defends himself against accusations he is racist.
James reportedly has asked black people and people he believes are homosexual to leave his establishment.
James said he has asked people to leave the bar, but it is not based on race or sexual orientation. However, he does have some strong words to describe those he won’t allow in his establishment, calling them “trash” and “faggots.”
“If a racist is someone who doesn’t like unproductive trash, then it’s true. I’m talking about white, black, brown or yellow. I don’t like unproductive people,” James said Monday. “People who know me, know better.”
He said he has never asked anyone to leave his club based solely on their race, and said he has asked many more white customers than black customers to leave because they caused a problem.
He said he has asked customers to leave who are wearing clothes he does not approve of.
“I don’t like girlie men. I’m not fond of men with all kinds of metal in their face,” he said. “My customers don’t want them around, and I don’t want them around. I don’t consider that racist. I have black friends, but they are productive. Guys who come in with their britches down to their knees won’t get served in my place.”
James is proud of the fact there have never been drugs associated with his business. Chicaro Club is known as a hangout for personnel from Vance Air Force Base, and James said he was told a military survey of Enid establishments showed his establishment was drug free.
While Vance commanders can place a business off-limits, that designation has never been placed on Chicaro as far back as records go, according to Bob Farrell, 71st Flying Training Wing community relations chief.
James is most adamant about customers wearing hats in his establishment.
“I have one rule that does away with 95 percent of the trash,” James said. “If they are rude enough to wear a hat inside a building, I don’t want them here. Most of those little faggots have their hats on backwards.”
Enid attorney John Hodg-den said Chapter 21 of Title 25 of Oklahoma Statutes prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, gender, national origin, handicap or age. Sexual orientation is not a protected class of people under Chapter 21. Discrim-ination is prohibited in housing practices, employment and public accommodations. Restaurants and bars fall under the definition of a “place of public accommodation.”
Under that statute, “any place, store or other establishment . . . which supplies goods or services to the general public or which solicits or accepts the patronage or trade of the general public qualifies as a place of public accommodation.” Private clubs are exempt from that regulation provided the policies of the private club are determined by its members, and its facilities or services are available only to its members and their guests, he said.
James understands he is a lightning rod for controversy but that doesn’t bother him.
James is running for the Ward 4 seat, even though his residence is in another ward. He defended his decision to run in Ward 4 because that’s where Chicaro Club is located, and he says he spends most of his time at the business.
According to state election law, James could have been removed from the ballot if either of his opponents had put up $250 and successfully protested his candidacy. Neither incumbent Loyd Kaufman nor Drew Ritchie protested. If James wins, the commission could make the final determination to seat him since his permanent residence is outside Ward 4.
Copyright 2009 The Enid News and Eagle
http://www.enidnews.com/localnews/x518705729/City-commission-candidate-defends-himself-against-accusations-of-racism
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N.F.L. Prospect Proudly Says What Teammates Knew: He’s Gay
FEB. 9, 2014
[...]
“Once I became official to my teammates, I knew who I was,” Mr. Sam said. “I knew that I was gay. And I knew that I was Michael Sam, who’s a Mizzou football player who happens to be gay. I was so proud of myself and I just didn’t care who knew. If someone on the street would have asked me, ‘Hey, Mike, I heard you were gay; is that true?’ I would have said yes.”
No one asked.
“I guess they don’t want to ask a 6-3, 260-pound defensive lineman if he was gay or not,” Mr. Sam said. And he laughed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/sports/michael-sam-college-football-star-says-he-is-gay-ahead-of-nfl-draft.html [with embedded video interview of Mr. Sam, and comments]
*
Before Coming Out, a Hard Time Coming Up
Michael Sam’s Troubled Upbringing in Texas
FEB. 11, 2014
[...]But to get a sense of the challenges awaiting Sam, look no further than his father.
Last Tuesday, Michael Sam Sr. was at a Denny’s near his home outside Dallas to celebrate his birthday when his son sent him a text message.
Dad, I’m gay, he wrote.
The party stopped cold. “I couldn’t eat no more, so I went to Applebee’s to have drinks,” Sam Sr. said. “I don’t want my grandkids raised in that kind of environment.
“I’m old school,” he added. “I’m a man-and-a-woman type of guy.” As evidence, he pointed out that he had taken an older son to Mexico to lose his virginity.
On Sunday night, just after Michael Sam announced his intention to make sports history, his father was still struggling with the news.
Sam Sr. loves his son, and he said he hoped his son made it to the N.F.L. “As a black man, we have so many hurdles to cross,” he said. “This is just one he has to cross.”
But he expressed discomfort at the very idea of a gay N.F.L. player, even if the player was his son. He grumbled that Deacon Jones, the Hall of Fame defensive end renowned for his toughness, “is turning over in his grave.”
Michael Sam had anticipated his family’s uneasiness. In an interview Sunday in North Hollywood, Calif., he spoke about his tough upbringing, which he said was more challenging than the decision to come out publicly.
“I’m closer to my friends than I am to my family,” Sam said.
He declined to speak beyond the initial interview Sunday.
[...]
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/sports/football/for-nfl-prospect-michael-sam-upbringing-was-bigger-challenge-than-coming-out-as-gay.html [with comments]
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18 DISGUSTING Responses To Michael Sam, Gay Football Star, Coming Out
02/10/2014
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/10/michael-sam-coming-out_n_4759841.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
*
Rush Limbaugh's Confused, Rambling Reaction To Michael Sam's Coming Out
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/11/rush-limbaugh-michael-sam_n_4768486.html [the YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSOkKkvQ3ys (with comments), embedded; with comments]
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Student intervenes as bully beats gay teen, then suspended for 10 days
By George Chidi
Sunday, February 9, 2014 20:37 EST
A Florida high school student under suspension for 10 days after breaking up a lunch room assault on a gay teen says he’d do it again.
East Lee County High School senior Mark Betterson stepped in as another student, James Griffin, began striking student Jonathan Colon in the school’s lunch room moments after Griffin threw milk in his face and called him a gay slur.
Griffin faces battery charges, while Colon received minor injuries.
Betterson received a 10 day suspension under the Fort Myers-area school’s zero-tolerance policy around fighting, but he plans to appeal, he told Fox 4 Now [ http://www.fox4now.com/features/4inyourcorner/Student-suspended-for-breaking-up-a-fight-says-he-would-do-it-again-244578101.html ]. “It’s not fair for somebody to get beat up for something that he is,” Betterson said. “I’m not going to sit there and watch someone get bullied. I’ve been bullied too.”
Colon returned to school Friday and organized a rally to protest Betterson’s suspension.
Watch a report on the fight below.
[video embedded]
Copyright © 2014 Raw Story Media, Inc.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/09/student-intervenes-as-bully-beats-gay-teen-then-suspended-for-10-days/ [with comments]
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Another Religious Right Tale Of Anti-Christian Victimization Gets Thoroughly Debunked
Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Wednesday, 1/29/2014 10:24 am
We have [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/more-proof-religious-right-myths-never-die ] seen [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/david-barton-jon-stewart-and-myth-raymond-raines ] it happen [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/raymond-raines-and-undying-myth-christian-persecution ] time and [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rick-perry-fox-news-and-religious-right-activists-jump-fabricated-case-christian-persecution ] again [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/klingenschmitt-blames-demonic-spirits-something-never-even-happened ]: some right-wing group issues a one-sided press release about a student supposedly being unfairly discriminated against in school simply for exercising their Christian faith and the entire Religious Right movement immediately flies into an outrage, spreading the story far and wide as undisputed truth. Then days or weeks later, the real story emerges once school officials are given an opportunity to investigate and explain what really happened and it inevitably reveals that the Religious Right version was completely false, by which point it is already too late because the fake version has already been accepted as gospel and just continues to spread forever.
The most recent example is the story of six-year old Brynn Williams, who was supposedly told that she was not allowed to deliver a presentation on her family's Christmas tradition because she brought the star that her family places atop its Christmas tree, which represents the Star of Bethlehem.
Serial fabricator Todd Starnes was among the first to blindly promote the story [ http://townhall.com/columnists/toddstarnes/2014/01/15/teacher-and-principal-tell-6-year-old-student-she-cant-talk-about-religion-in-school-n1779456/page/full ]:
Brynn Williams decided to bring the Star of Bethlehem that adorned the top of her family’s Christmas tree. She also worked on a one minute presentation to explain that her family’s tradition is to remember the birth of Jesus at Christmas time.
“Our Christmas tradition is to put a star on top of our tree,” the little girl said. “The star is named the Star of Bethlehem. The three kings followed the star to find baby Jesus, the Savior of the world.”
Before the child could utter another word, the teacher intervened, according to Robert Tyler, the general counsel for Advocates for Faith & Freedom – the law firm representing the Williams family.
“Brynn’s teacher said, ‘Stop right there! Go take your seat,’” Tyler said. “Bryn was not allowed to finish her presentation by reciting the Bible verse, John 3:16.”
Tyler said the little girl was the only student in the class not allowed to finish her presentation.
“After Brynn took her seat, the teacher explained to Brynn in front of all the other students that she was not allowed to talk about the Bible or share its verses,” Tyler said.
The story was quickly picked up by just [ http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/15/first-grade-girls-assigned-christmas-speech-censored-for-mention-of-christ/ ] about [ http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/01/14/youre-not-allowed-to-talk-about-the-bible-teacher-reportedly-cuts-off-first-graders-classroom-speech/ ] every [ http://www.wnd.com/2014/01/district-bullies-students-over-faith-again/ ] Religious Right [ http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2014/January/Teacher-to-1st-Grader-No-Bible-Talk-Allowed/ ] news outlet [ http://www.onenewsnow.com/legal-courts/2014/01/16/dont-show-dont-tell-attorneys-go-after-adult-bullies-in-ca-public-schools ] and reported as truth, but now the school involved, which "withheld comment until district officials could finish an investigation into the matter," has released a statement [ http://temecula.patch.com/groups/schools/p/temecula-first-grade-teacher-principal-release-statements-students-free-to-share-ideas ] from the teacher and school officials which completely debunks the Religious Right's version of the story.
The teacher, Tammy Williams, explained what really happened:
On Thursday, December 19th my class was getting our classroom ready for our holiday party that was to occur the next morning. We took longer than normal putting things away to ensure that the desks were clean and book boxes were put away so that tables could be used for our centers. This was normally something we did on Fridays. Because of this, we were running behind and I still had six students who needed to do their sharing. I had a very limited amount of time and needed to make sure all students had time to share. Now remember, this is sharing. They were not oral reports. Students were asked to share a family tradition. It could be anything, not just a Christmas tradition. During sharing, I work with students on looking at the audience and using clear voices. We also work on listening skills and asking questions.
This student was not the last student to present as had been reported. I still had a couple of students after her (which was the Student of the Day and the Student of the Week). When she started her share, she pulled out her golden star that I held for her as she pulled out her prepared speech written by one of her parents. This was unusual because rarely does a student have a prepared statement to read. As I held the star, the student began to read her statement. I helped her with a few words that she was having trouble with. I decided that I would have the student stop after sharing about Mary and Joseph. I felt that it would take too long and I still needed her to take her question and I had a few clarifying questions for her as well. At this point, I simply said the following, “Ok, stop here and you get one question.” She simply put her paper down and picked a student who asked her a question. I also asked her, “Who puts the star on the tree? Do you take turns?” I even suggested that her dad could lift her up to let her put it on the tree. After that, she put her star away and sat with the class while we finished with the other students. I monitor all students this way. She at no time complained or acted sad. She was as happy as always.
I want to be very clear about the following.
At no time did I ever tell the student that she could not read the bottom section because it was a Bible verse nor did she ask if she could finish. I never told her to “Stop right there!” or “Go take your seat!” or reprimand her in front of the class for sharing from the Bible. It just did not happen. This subject matter was never discussed. I decided to stop her at that point so the other students would get their share in before the bell rang. My students have always been free to share their ideas.
What saddens me is that this story was twisted into lies and brought to the media. I have never sat down and discussed this directly with the family or the student. I am instead being used to push an agenda for the Advocates for Faith and Freedom.
The school's principal, Ami Paradise, likewise released a statement declaring that the claims of anti-Christian bigotry made by Advocates of Faith and Freedom were entirely bogus:
Over the past week, I have received countless phone calls and 126 mean-spirited emails from across the country as a result of the claims that the Advocates of Faith and Freedom have made against one of my teachers, the school district, and myself. These claims are simply not true.
When I met with the parent on December 20, 2013, she shared that she and her husband were upset that their child was unable to finish her presentation and that they thought it was because it contained a Bible verse. There were absolutely no claims of humiliation or bullying by the classroom teacher. No claims that their child was told to take her seat or that she could not talk about the Bible. These claims have been made in the midst of a media spotlight in order to sensationalize a story. The truth is, there were other students left to present before the end of the day, and there was just not enough time.
Furthermore, when I met with this parent I never told her that her child may not share her beliefs aloud to other students nor did I try to stifle her freedom of speech in any way. I told the parent that I would follow up with the classroom teacher, and I sent her the results of my findings along with the copy of the board policy regarding religion on December 24th, 2013. I have not heard from her since. Not once to tell me that she did not agree with my findings, not once to ask for a classroom change for her child. In fact, with the exception of today, this student has attended school every day since this incident, in the same exact classroom where this alleged incident occurred.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not address the classroom teacher in the center of this controversy-- Mrs. Tammy Williams. Mrs. Tammy Williams is one of the finest educators I have ever worked with. She is an AMAZING first grade teacher, taught my own son last year, and I would not hesitate to put my younger son in her class. She does not deserve the harassment or bullying that she has received, the questioning of her professional skills or judgment, or the claims that she harmed this child in any way.
I stand behind Mrs. Tammy Williams 110% and find it extremely unfortunate that the Advocates for Faith and Freedom have irrevocably caused damage to her good name. The days will pass and this story will not be at the top of the news for long, but the damage that it has done to the good names of Helen Hunt Jackson Elementary School, Mrs. Tammy Williams, and myself will be difficult to repair.
We literally cannot even count the number of times we have seen this exact scenario play out over the years as Religious Right groups gin up an entirely fake controversy in order to play the victim, which then spreads far and wide before officials have even had an opportunity to comment. And we will undoubtedly continue to see it happen again and again so long as people like Starnes and others in the Religious Right grievance machine feel justified in pushing blatantly false stories because doing so helps them advance their agenda.
© 2014 People For the American Way
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/another-religious-right-tale-anti-christian-victimization-gets-thoroughly-debunked
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A Case Study In Why Religious Right Myths Never Die
Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Tuesday, 2/4/2014 10:21 am
Just last week, we noted that the story of Brynn Williams, a six-year old public school student who was supposedly banned from delivering her Christmas presentation in class because of its Christian content, was totally false [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/another-religious-right-tale-anti-christian-victimization-gets-thoroughly-debunked (just above)].
This particular case was ginned up [ http://www.faith-freedom.com/news/teacher-to-first-grader-jesus-is-not-allowed-in-school/ ] by a California-based group called Advocates for Faith & Freedom which has now decided [ http://www.onenewsnow.com/legal-courts/2014/02/04/christmas-may-be-over-but-war-against-it-limps-along-in-ca-public-schools ], even though the entire case is bogus, to continue trying to make an issue out of it:
Legal group Advocates for Faith and Freedom is defending two California students who were censored by school officials when they shared their Christian faith.
The families of Isaiah Martinez and Brynn Williams asked for legal assistance after teachers prevented them from sharing the true meaning of Christmas ...
Williams, a Temecula Valley first grader, brought a Star of Bethlehem from her family's Christmas tree as a show-and-tell assignment, OneNewsNow reported.
The little girl was told by the teacher to sit down before she could share her story.
The legal group has scheduled meetings with each school district and is demanding that the students be allowed to pass out items with the Christmas story and to finish a presentation about Jesus without interruption.
"The pendulum has swung so far in the wrong direction that often school officials, teachers feel entitled to be able to express hostility toward Christian students in the faith," says Robert Tyler, general counsel at Advocates.
The Constitution does not permit that, says Tyler, and instead requires a "neutrality toward all religions."
Advocates is also demanding that each school district adopt a model policy that will protect the religious liberties of all students. The model policy would then be utilized nationwide.
The fundamental issue upon which AFF based its case has been revealed to be utterly false, but the organization is pressing forward nonetheless ... and this is exactly why we always says that Religious Right myths never [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/more-proof-religious-right-myths-never-die ], ever [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/myth-will-not-die-raymond-raines-and-religious-right ] die.
© 2014 People For the American Way
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/case-study-why-religious-right-myths-never-die
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Another School District Forced To Clarify Todd Starnes' Misinformation
Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Tuesday, 2/4/2014 3:38 pm
Yesterday, Todd Starnes published a new column [ http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/02/03/todd-starnes-cant-celebrate-america-school-says/ ] in which he asserted that students at a Colorado high school had been banned from celebrating America:
Students and parents at a Colorado high school are outraged after administrators turned down their request for a spirit week day honoring America because it might offend non-Americans.
“They said they didn’t want to offend anyone from other countries or immigrants,” a 16-year-old member of the student council told me. “They just really did not want to make anyone feel uncomfortable.”
The student council at Fort Collins High School had proposed having a day to celebrate the United States during next week’s Winter Spirit Week. The young people pitched “’Merica Monday” – and invited their classmates to dress in patriotic colors. Their proposal was promptly shot down by administrators.
As we noted last week [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/another-religious-right-tale-anti-christian-victimization-gets-thoroughly-debunked (second above)], when it comes to anything written by Starnes, it is always wise to wait until the people being vilified in his column have had a chance to weigh in and explain their side of the story because it is usually quite different [ http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christandpopculture/2013/12/todd-starnes-sold-us-a-war-on-christianity-we-bought-it/ ] than the version presented by Starnes.
And his latest column was no exception, as the school district became the focus on protests today and was forced to issue a statement asserting [ http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/merica-day-ban-at-fort-collins-high-school-draws-protestors ] that Starnes' column "could not be further from the truth" and explaining that the suggested spirit day name was rejected because school officials felt the slag use of the word "'Merica" was disrespectful:
We regret that the recent decision regarding My Country Monday was viewed as not patriotic. This could not be further from the truth. The original intent of Spirit Week at Fort Collins High School was to unify the student body.
When students first proposed Merica Monday, building administrators felt that it was against this unifying theme and disrespectful to our country. Merica is a slang term that is often used in a negative, stereotypical way to describe life in the United States. This is what led administrators to discuss alternatives with students.
We were surprised that our community interpreted these actions as anti-American. Fort Collins High School is a proud public school in America and supports many activities to celebrate this great nation. Due to this outpouring of sentiment and misinterpretation of intentions, school administrators have decided to rename the first day of Spirit Week America Day as opposed to Merica Day.
We look forward to enjoying the creativity and energy of FCHS students as they celebrate their patriotism next week.
This is just one more example of Starnes' dedication to providing [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/starnes-you-can-be-assured-i-am-sharing-you-accurate-information (and see http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/terrible-fox-news-correspondent-todd-starnes-still-terrible )] "the most accurate information possible":
© 2014 People For the American Way
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/another-school-district-forced-clarify-todd-starnes-misinformation ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC0_U3FIWk4 [with comments]
===
'Abortion will make women child sex abusers' independent clinics warn
Video [embedded]
Abortion scandal: women told 'terminations increase chance of child abuse'
In this undercover film, a reporter from The Telegraph is told by an abortion counsellor that a termination could make them more likely to sexually abuse children in the future
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10622815/Abortion-scandal-women-told-terminations-increase-chance-of-child-abuse.html [video with associated article]
Abortion counsellors in Britain are wrongly telling women that they could become child sex abusers or develop cancer after abortions, an undercover Daily Telegraph investigation has found
By Emma Barnett, Claire Newell, Holly Watt and Ben Bryant
9:00PM GMT 10 Feb 2014
Women are being wrongly warned during counselling sessions at allegedly "independent" clinics that an abortion could lead to serious health damage, including an increased risk of breast cancer and a propensity to sexually abuse children, The Telegraph can disclose.
The women are also being mistakenly informed by counsellors that the procedure could leave them unable to carry future pregnancies to full term.
Counsellors at two Crisis Pregnancy Centres (CPCs) - clinics that provide advice to women considering a termination - were secretly recorded making the claims last month by Telegraph reporters.
The disclosure will add to growing calls for increased regulation of abortion services amid fears that both pro-life and anti-abortion clinics and services are not offering reliable advice.
Dr Kate Guthrie, a spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the UK’s medical authority on pregnancy and women’s reproductive health, said there was no scientific evidence to suggest an abortion put women at a greater risk of breast cancer or abusing a child.
She also said that the risk of being left sterile by an abortion in Britain is "very, very low” and it is “absolutely wrong” that women would be 25 percent less likely to carry pregnancy to full term following an abortion, as one of the counsellors maintained.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “It is vital that any woman considering an abortion is offered impartial and non-judgmental counselling, accurately advising her of all her options, so that she can make an informed decision.”
There are more than 100 CPCs across the country, each offering "trained advisers" and claiming to provide independent advice to pregnant women on whether they should proceed with a termination.
They are privately run, operate independently of the NHS and are unregulated by any official body. As such, they are not legally obligated to give women medically accurate information.
Many are thought to be linked to religious groups and modelled on controversial American anti-abortion services.
Last month, after receiving information that specific centres were misleading their clients, Telegraph reporters approached the Central London Women's Centre (CLWC) and Alma Pregnancy Advisory Service (APAS), pretending to be pregnant and claiming to be considering an abortion.
One of the undercover reporters was told at the CLWC in London that there is “an increased statistical likelihood of child abuse” because women had to break “natural barriers that are around the child that you don’t cross” in order to terminate a pregnancy.
The same adviser also said that women who had terminations were 25 percent less likely to be able to carry a pregnancy to full term.
At the APAS in Luton, a counsellor warned a reporter about similar “risks”. The adviser, named Moira, told the reporter, “there’s also a link with breast cancer”.
Video [embedded]
Abortion scandal: 'abortions increase breast cancer risk', claims counsellor
Counsellors at Crisis Pregnancy Centres (CPCs) are recorded telling an undercover reporter from the Telegraph that an abortion could increase their risk of developing breast cancer
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10622816/Abortion-scandal-abortions-increase-breast-cancer-risk-claims-counsellor.html [video with associated article]
Many anti-abortion campaigners believe that women should visit an independent centre before undergoing the procedure, arguing there is a potential conflict of interest in counselling from an organisation that also carries out terminations.
Clare Murphy, director of policy at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) - the NHS-funded charity and the country's largest abortion provider - said the organisation had seen the “distress that some crisis pregnancy centres can cause women” and CPCs “need to be transparent about who they are and what they believe”.
However, David Burrowes, Conservative MP for Enfield-Southgate, said, “There’s certainly a role for independent advice services.
“I think we need to get away from the stereotypes and recognise that we need more, not less, advice and support for women and it shouldn’t be the sole preserve of BPAS."
Both CLWC and APAS did not respond to repeated phone calls to the centres and hand delivered letters requesting them to reply to The Telegraph’s queries about the veracity of their advice, their funding structure and links to Church groups.
A report due for release this month by Brook, a national sexual health charity, is expected to further document how some CPCs are giving women inaccurate medical information.
At the CLWC, a reporter was told by an adviser that an abortion carried various risks, including “sterility”. During the appointment last month, the counsellor also told the reporter that infection was “quite common”.
Video [embedded]
Abortion scandal: 'abortions increase chance of infertility', claims counsellor
In this secret filming, an abortion counsellor claims that women who have terminations are 25 percent less likely to be able to carry a pregnancy to full term in the future
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10622839/Abortion-scandal-abortions-increase-chance-of-infertility-claims-counsellor.html [video with associated article]
“As with any operation you know you are introducing something from outside the body into the inside of the body and there’s always a risk but with abortion there’s also a particular risk of, obviously the instruments that are used are sharp and they can cut the wall of the womb”, the counsellor said.
“I mean one of the studies; the study that we tend to use is, it says that you’re 25 percent less likely to be able to carry a future pregnancy to term”, said the counsellor, who gave her name as Annabel.
Dr Guthrie, said that the risk of being left infertile is "very, very low”. Furthermore, because women are “always” screened before an abortion and “every women also gets a routine course of antibiotics after the abortion” the risk of infection is also minimal.
Dr Sarah Wollaston, a former GP who is now the Conservative MP for Totnes and a member of the Health Select Committee, said: “Women who go to a centre which purports to give impartial advice that is fundamentally anti-abortion in its stance, but doesn’t openly say so, is totally unacceptable.
“Now is the time for the Secretary of State [Jeremy Hunt] to order a review of the whole abortion counselling process."
Jeremy Hunt refused to comment on calls for a review of abortion counselling.
Related Articles
What are Crisis Pregnancy Centres and where are they?
10 Feb 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10629435/Abortion-scandal-what-are-Crisis-Pregnancy-Centres-and-where-are-they-in-the-UK.html
Inside Britain's unregulated 'pro-life' clinics
11 Feb 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10621472/Abortion-scandal-Inside-Britains-unregulated-pro-life-clinics.html
'Sorry, but when did Britain become 'pro-life' USA?'
11 Feb 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10621491/Abortion-scandal-Im-sorry-but-when-did-Britain-become-pro-life-America.html
6 abortion myths busted
11 Feb 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10621482/Abortion-scandal-6-abortion-myths-busted.html
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10621459/Abortion-will-make-women-child-sex-abusers.html
===
20 years later, Texas' anti-gay argument still cites 'scientific evidence'
A federal judge in San Antonio is expected to decide whether to issue a temporary injunction on Texas' same-sex marriage ban.
AP Photo/Heather Leiphart
Claims used to convict recently released 'San Antonio Four' are repeated in state's defense of same-sex marriage ban
by Michelle Garcia
February 12, 2014 | 5:00AM ET
Cleopatra wants to be married, in Texas, to another woman. She already said “I do” in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is legal, but Texas law won’t recognize her marriage to anyone but a Marc Antony type.
Cleopatra de Leon and her spouse, Nicole Dimetman, and another couple — Victor Holmes and Mark Phariss, who were denied a marriage license in Texas last year — have taken their challenge to the state’s ban on same-sex marriage to federal court. A judge in San Antonio is expected to decide Wednesday whether to grant a temporary injunction that would block the state from enforcing the ban while the case is litigated.
The San Antonio case is among dozens of same-sex marriage cases wending their way through courts across the country in a whirlwind of legal activity in the gay rights movement [ http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/12/30/the-year-in-gay-rightsamajorvictoryformarriageequality.html ].
At the same time, four publicly out lesbians known as the San Antonio Four were recently released from prison — 19 years after they were charged with molesting the two young nieces of one of the defendants. They were convicted and sentenced in 1998. Attorneys for the women used a new law to challenge the conviction on the basis that the testimony provided by a pediatrician that was critical in the case was unreliable and outdated.
The two cases — in the same city, nearly two decades apart — both hinge on challenging scientific claims. While the release of the San Antonio Four has become a symbol of advances in the gay rights movement, the same-sex marriage debate echoes a more hostile past [ http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/7/wave-of-new-statebillsreligiousfreedomorlicensetodiscriminate.html (4th item below)] toward gays and lesbians. At their roots, both cases turn on the anxieties, prejudices and persistent notions about the suspected adverse effect of gays and lesbians on children.
“That stereotype clearly influenced the San Antonio Four case and will be repeated in the state of Texas in its defense of its (same-sex) marriage ban,” said Clifford Rosky, a law professor at the University of Utah. But “they are not going to say a threat to children.”
In today’s parlance, he said, arguments are framed in terms of what is the “optimal environment” for children.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in San Antonio submitted dozens of pages, including court opinion, expert testimony, book excerpts and academic articles plus position statements from associations such as the Child Welfare League of America, the American Academy of Pediatricians and the American Psychological Association, that refute any claims of adverse effects in well-being or development experienced by children raised by same-sex parents.
Among the dozens of supporting documents, the plaintiffs’ attorneys included a 2004 statement by the APA that they sought to discount. The APA’s 10-year-old statement outlined “common fears” about the influence of gay and lesbian parents on children, including susceptibility to mental breakdown, sexual-identity issues and a fear that “children living with gay and lesbian parents will be more likely to be sexually abused by their partner or by the partner’s friend or acquaintance.” Social science research, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ statement, has failed to confirm any of these concerns.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, in defending the voter-approved ban, described the suggestion of anti-gay bias as “ugly.”
In written arguments, the state cites its interest in promoting “responsible procreation and childrearing.” Similar arguments are being used in other states where same sex marriage cases are pending.
The state punctuated its argument by saying changes to marriage should be postponed “until such time as there is unanimous scientific evidence, or popular consensus, or both, that such changes can safely be made.”
The 'San Antonio Four'
Although they are nearly 20 years apart, the cases of same-sex marriage and the San Antonio Four are tied to the confluence of science and beliefs, as it has to do with gays and lesbians.
“For a long time there was a junk science that people thought was real and they discovered was not, but ideology continues with it,” said Jennifer Pizer, law and policy project director for the advocacy group Lambda Legal. “We're not moving as fast as some people think, and we may fool ourselves to think those attitudes don’t exist.”
In the summer of 1994 Elizabeth Ramirez’ two nieces stayed with her and her roommates for a week. Two months later the girls accused their aunt, 20-year-old Ramirez, who was pregnant at the time, her roommate Kristie Mayhugh, 21, and two other women, Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez, both 19, of sexually assaulting them with small objects. There were reports that the women lounged around topless, smoking marijuana. At times the accusations included claims that Ramirez had placed a gun to one girl’s head during the episodes.
Cassandra Rivera, center, followed by Elizabeth Ramirez and Kristie Mayhugh, are greeted by family as they leave the Bexar County Jail in November.
AP Photo/Eric Gay
In his opening statement, prosecutor Philip Kazen said, “We are going to ask you to believe a 9-year-old little girl who was sacrificed at the altar of lust.”
The girls’ testimony was riddled with inconsistencies, which were justified as the result of young minds attempting to explain traumatic and complex events. But the testimony of a medical expert, Dr. Nancy Kellogg, testified that an examination that showed a slight scar on the hymen was consistent with signs of abuse. It was the hard evidence that proved critical.
Kazen, now a state judge, later told jurors, “Folks, a lot has been made in this case about the fact the defendant is a lesbian. Who cares? Do not go back and convict her because she’s a lesbian. It’s only important in that sense that that activity is generally consistent with the activity alleged in the indictment, and that’s all.”
The four women were convicted of aggravated sexual assault and indecency with a child. They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 37 and a half years.
“The only reason law enforcement took them seriously was because the four women were gay,” said attorney Mike Ware, who revived their case with support from the nonprofit Innocence Project of Texas.
Legal process stalled
Over the years, the landscape for gay rights has changed, but the mingling of suspected deviance and children persisted.
In 2003, Texas’ anti-sodomy law went before the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice William Rehnquist questioned whether “states also could prefer heterosexuals to homosexuals to teach kindergarten” if the Texas law was struck down. The high court ultimately ruled the law unconstitutional, paving the way for the same-sex marriage movement. A few months later the Massachusetts Supreme Court in a landmark decision ruled that same-sex couples have a right to marry.
Despite the high court’s ruling, Texas’ sodomy law, known as the “homosexual conduct” law — which makes “deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex” a crime — remains on the books, and every attempt to repeal it has failed. Texas is among eight states in which sex-education class material instructs that homosexuality is “not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public and is a criminal offense.”
Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court cited the welfare of children when it struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal government benefits to same-sex couples. The court in its majority opinion said the law relegated same-sex marriage to a second-class status that “humiliates tens of thousands of children now being raised by same-sex couples.” However, the high court did not address whether individual states must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. With same-sex marriage cases before the courts, the issue will likely return to the U.S. Supreme Court.
‘Junk science’ shot down
Meanwhile, the case of the San Antonio Four languished for a decade until a Canadian professor named Darrell Otto took their case to the National Center for Reason and Justice, which began advocating for them. Last year, attorney Ware filed petitions for their release, saying one of the child victims had later recanted, saying they had been coached by their father, whose romantic intentions had been spurned by Ramirez.
Ware cited new science that disproved Kellogg’s medical expert testimony. She has since recanted. However, none of these factors would have freed the San Antonio Four without the state’s new “junk science” law, which opened the door for prisoners to seek release or a new trial if the science that was critical to their convictions has since been refuted or disproved.
Other grounds for release included statements by the prosecutor that “confused sexual orientation with promiscuity, focusing on the sexual relationships among the adult women, and suggesting they all had sex with each other.”
On Nov. 18, after nearly two decades in prison, Ramirez, Rivera and Mayhugh were released. (The fourth, Vasquez, had been released earlier on strict parole.) The district attorney has said she will not retry the case. Nine days later, attorneys filed their lawsuit challenging the same-sex marriage ban.
And the San Antonio Four remain in legal limbo. They may be eligible for state funds paid to the wrongfully imprisoned, but such a move requires a judge to vacate their convictions or, as Ware described it, award them “absolute vindication.”
© 2014 Al Jazeera America, LLC
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/12/20-years-later-texasantigayargumentstillcitesscientificevidence.html [with comments]
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Tennessee couple facing prison in death of girl, 5, after forcing her to drink 2 liters of soda
By Tom Boggioni
Saturday, February 8, 2014 11:11 EST
A Tennessee couple face up to 60 years in prison or the possibility of the death penalty for the murder of a 5 year-old girl after they forced her to drink a large amount of soda and water leading to her death by “acute fluid/water intoxication.”
According to WJHL [ http://www.wjhl.com/story/24663140/hawkins-county-couple-could-face-up-to-60-years-or-death-penalty-for-murder-of-5-year-old-girl ], Randall Lee Vaughn, 41 and his wife Mary Lavonne Vaughn, 58, made Randall Lee’s daughter, Alexa Linboom, 5, drink more than two liters of grape soda and water over a period of two hours as punishment for taking two of her stepmothers grape sodas on New Years Day, 2012.
Following the incident, Alexa Linbloom was found unresponsive and rushed to an emergency room, then later airlifted to Niswonger Children’s Hospital where it was determined that she had suffered major brain damage. Two days later, she was declared brain dead and removed from life support.
An autopsy led to a two-year investigation which determined that Alexa’s death was a homicide as the result of acute fluid/water intoxication causing her brain to swell and herniate.
“She was allegedly force-fed so much liquid that it caused the sodium level in her body to go down and caused her brain to swell,” District Attorney Berkley Bell told WJHL. Bell also indicated that there were other signs of abuse but did not go into specifics.
Appearing in court on Friday, Randall Lee Vaughn and Mary Lavonne Vaughn, have each been charged with first degree murder, two counts of aggravated child neglect and aggravated child abuse. They face up to 60 years in prison with the possibility of the death penalty for first degree murder.
They are both scheduled to be back in court on April 30 for a pretrial hearing, with their trial was set for Oct. 20.
Watch the WJHL report below:
[video embedded]
Copyright © 2004-2013 Raw Story Media, Inc.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/08/tennessee-couple-facing-prison-in-death-of-girl-5-after-forcing-her-to-drink-2-liters-of-soda/ [with comments]
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You Can't POP Your Cherry! (HYMEN 101)
Published on Apr 26, 2012 by lacigreen [ http://www.youtube.com/user/lacigreen ]
hymens don't break - here's the TRUTH about the "pop your cherry" myth!
everyday i'm tumblin' - http://lacigreen.tumblr.com
be my fwend? http://www.facebook.com/officiallacigreen
tweet me! - http://www.twitter.com/gogreen18
get in my circle! - http://gplus.to/lacigreen
NEW AT LACIGREEN.TV
The "Pro-Life" Movement: Dangerous, Selfish, Lazy - http://lacigreen.tv/?p=4668
How Oppression Works - http://lacigreen.tv/?p=4581
Laci's Guide to Carpet Munching - http://lacigreen.tv/?p=4552
Let's talk about sex, Laci - http://lacigreen.tv/?p=4537
MORE INFO:
-Myths about the vaginal corona (hymen) and different shapes of hymen: http://www.lesbilicious.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/corona.pdf
-Hymen stretching: http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/hymen-stretching
VIDEO SUMMARY
In this video I seek to dispel the widely held, yet false, notion that vaginas are covered with a hymen that needs to be broken the first time you have sex. I give the truth about what the hymen actually is, pain the first time you have sex/lose your virginity, bleeding, and how to avoid it all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qFojO8WkpA [with comments] [embedded/more at http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/02/living-myths-about-virginity/283628/ (with comments)]
*
Hundreds flock to 'weeping' Mary statue in Israel
Updated: 3:55 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014 | Posted: 3:28 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014
JERUSALEM (AP) - Hundreds of people have flocked to a small town in northern Israel to view a statue of the Virgin Mary that residents say "weeps" oil.
Members of a Christian family from Tarshiha, near the Lebanon border, say they have witnessed a miracle in their living room.
Osama Khoury said Tuesday that his wife Amira found the statue "covered with oil" recently. Amira said the statue "spoke to her" and told her not to be afraid. After a neighbor witnessed the oil, word soon spread.
Parts of the statue appear to be slick with moisture, even after it is wiped off.
The family says it is most striking when a "tear" seems to roll down the statue's cheek. It says some 2,000 people have come to see the statue over the last week.
© 2014 Associated Press
http://www.statesman.com/news/ap/international/thousands-flock-to-weeping-mary-statue-in-israel/ndK5k/ [no comments yet]
*
LET'S LOSE "VIRGINITY"
Published on Jun 19, 2013 by lacigreen [ http://www.youtube.com/user/lacigreen ]
virginity is a destructive social construct & i want to lose ittt
Tumbl with me all week! - http://lacigreen.tumblr.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/officiallacig...
twitter - http://www.twitter.com/gogreen18
SOURCES & FURTHER READING
The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti
Virgin: An Untouched History by Hanne Blank
Hymeneutics: Interpreting Virginity on the Early Modern Stage by Marie Loughlin
Masculinities, Childhood, Violence: Attending to Early Modern Women—and Men by Amy Leonard
RFSU Guide to the Hymen (Vaginal Corona) - http://www.rfsu.se/Bildbank/Dokument/...
Honor-Based Violence Awareness Network -
http://hbv-awareness.com/
You Can't POP Your Cherry (Sex+ video) -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qFojO...
Losing Your VIRGINITY (Sex+ video) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdYtYv...
Secondary virginity as an ongoing gendered social construction -
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1...
RELATED STORIES IN THE NEWS
Virginity sells on ebay for $780,000 - http://newsone.com/2066873/virginity-...
Woman must pay husband $7500 for lying about virginity - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04...
Alabama teen killed with bleach for losing virginity - http://www.scarleteen.com/blog/heathe...
Pakistan teen killed with acid for looking at a boy -
http://now.msn.com/anusha-a-15-year-o...
SUMMARY
Virginity as a social construct is best understood by understanding where virginity and myths about the hymen came from in the first place. I talk about the origin of virginity and how holding on to this concept negatively affects people. I argue that instead of thinking in terms of "losing virginity" we should think about sexual acts as equal and think of the start of sexual activity in terms of a "sexual debut".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-hUbI8my0Q [many of the provided links are truncated/broken in the original/as reproduced above, but what is there is/should be enough to find the items by Googling the titles; with comments] [embedded/more at http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/02/living-myths-about-virginity/283628/ (with comments)]
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Wave of new state bills: Religious freedom or license to discriminate?
Religious conservatives say same-sex marriage is forcing their religious beliefs into hiding.
Jay Paul/Getty Images
In response to legalization of same-sex marriage, many states aim to broaden exemptions for providing services
by Sarah Posner
February 7, 2014 | 12:30PM ET
If a bill approved by the Kansas House Committee on Federal and State Affairs Thursday becomes law, businesses and government employees could legally refuse service to citizens because of their sexual orientation or marital status, claiming it violates their religious beliefs.
HB 2453 [ http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/HB2453/ ], if passed, would permit “any individual or religious entity” to claim an exemption, based on religious views, from providing nearly any kind of services, and to be relieved from “treat(ing) any marriage, domestic partnership, civil union, or similar arrangement as valid.” Although the bill would require government agencies to make another employee available to provide the service if one employee objects, opponents of the bill say that arrangement could prove unworkable in small locales.
The Kansas measure is an extreme permutation of a wave of new bills in state legislatures that purport to bolster religious freedom, but that opponents say constitute a troubling new trend to craft a license to discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital or family status. The state efforts are apparently connected to a network with the Christian advocacy group Focus on the Family at its core.
“We are really seeing this dovetailing with LGBT people across the country gaining greater rights,” said Eunice Rho, advocacy and policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, which opposes these bills. “We are now seeing this reaction where people are claiming based on religious belief that there should be special authorization to break laws or have new rights.”
The Kansas bill, said Thomas Witt, executive director of the LGBT rights group Equality Kansas, is based on widely circulated “horror stories about lawsuits over wedding cakes.” He was referring to cases, such as one decided by the New Mexico Supreme Court last year, stemming from business-owner refusals to serve gay or lesbian customers.
In the New Mexico case, a photographer refused to provide services for a lesbian commitment ceremony. The couple sued under the state’s anti-discrimination law and won, because New Mexico prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation.
Kansas, Witt noted, does not outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Thus, “we have no legal recourse,” unlike the couple in New Mexico. ”People already have the right to turn us away,” he said.
But conservative legislators are also reacting to the possibility of same-sex marriage bans being struck down, as federal cases decided in Utah and Oklahoma move through the courts — and Witt said the Kansas bill would give government employees the right to refuse service even if same-sex marriage were legal in the state.
The Kansas Family Policy Council, a Christian conservative group in favor of the bill, said in an alert to its members that the bill “would extend important legal protections to individuals, business owners and religious institutions when it comes to their rights to stand on their religious views when declining to participate in and celebrate homosexual ‘weddings.’”
In testimony supporting HB 2453, Robert Noland, executive director of the Kansas Family Policy Council, said, “The relatively recent developments in the area of homosexual marriage (the past 12 years or so) have quite literally turned thousands of years of religious and social mores on their heads.”
He did not respond to a request for comment.
Changing tactics
Religious freedom statutes have their origins in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s 1990 decision in Employment Division v. Smith, in which the court held that a law of general applicability — one prohibiting drug use — did not violate the free-exercise rights of Native Americans who used peyote as part of a religious ceremony, and who were denied unemployment compensation after being fired from their jobs.
Concerned that this precedent would unduly infringe on religious liberty, in 1993 Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act — the same statute at issue in cases now before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the contraception mandate under the Affordable Care Act — with broad bipartisan support.
After the Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that this federal statute could not be used to compel compliance by the states, many states passed their own Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, or “mini-RFRAs,” with language identical to the federal statute. Today 18 states, including Kansas, have a RFRA.
These mini-RFRAs, said Caroline Mala Corbin, a professor at the University of Miami School of Law, were “perfectly constitutional.” Under the federal RFRA, the plaintiff must prove that the law or state action in question imposes a “substantial burden” on religious exercise. But two states, Connecticut and Alabama, have replaced that test with merely a “burden” standard, and others are attempting such a change.
That’s problematic, Corbin said, because “it’s one thing to exempt people from a law that imposes a religious hardship” but “it’s quite another when it’s just a minor inconvenience.”
By taking out the “substantial” requirement, said Maggie Garrett, legislative counsel for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, these states are “making a completely different test,” as RFRA “was never meant to trump anti-discrimination and health and safety laws.”
In addition to taking the word “substantial” out of the statute, new proposals, including those in Idaho, Arizona, Ohio and Mississippi, would allow a twist not permitted under the federal RFRA or any of the original mini-RFRAs: suits against private parties, as opposed to the government, or as a defense in a suit brought by a private party.
In addition, a bill moving through the Arizona Senate specifically identifies corporations as parties with religious freedom to be protected — one of the issues the Supreme Court has been asked to take up in cases brought by Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood in their challenges to the contraception coverage.
Julie Lynde, executive director of Cornerstone Family Council in Idaho, said, “A lot of these battles across the country have been caused by homosexual issues.”
She added, “The government is now saying, ‘You can worship, just keep it in your house and in your church. Don’t pollute the public square with your faith.’ And that’s not at all what the founders intended.”
Nationwide network
Cornerstone in Idaho, the Kansas Family Policy Council, and the Center for Arizona Policy, which supports [ http://www.azpolicy.org/bill-tracker/religious-freedom-restoration-act-sb-1062 ] the bill there, are all part of a network of 38 state [ http://www.citizenlink.com/state-groups/ ] “family policy councils” pressing for these laws under the umbrella of Citizen Link, the advocacy arm of the conservative Christian powerhouse Focus on the Family. Citizen Link says its aim [ http://www.citizenlink.com/about-us/ ] is to “help citizens understand and passionately engage in policy issues relevant to families from a foundation firmly established in a biblical worldview.”
Tom Minnery, executive director of Citizen Link, declined a request for an interview.
Lynde said, “We are not following a template” but “we’ve been involved in working on the language” of two religious-freedom bills in Idaho.
The Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Washington-based conservative think tank, in 2012 created the American Religious Freedom Project (ARFP), with a goal of 50 religious-freedom caucuses in state legislatures. Today, there are 18 [ http://www.religiousfreedom.org/news/detail/18-state-religious-freedom-caucuses ], in Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
“There are a lot of organizations that work with people who are interested,” Brian Walsh, executive director of the ARFP, said. “If we have a state legislator who is interested in a specific RFRA or a specific question, we, like a lot of other organizations, would help them.”
The project’s state legislative policy director, Tim Schultz, testified in favor of the controversial Kansas bill, as well as one in Nevada last year.
New twists on these themes continue to arise.
One of the bills introduced in Idaho would make it illegal for the state to deny, revoke or suspend someone’s occupational license [ http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/the-stream/the-stream-officialblog/2014/1/29/idaho-bill-wouldprotectbusinessesrefusingserviceonreligiousgroun.html ] if she refuses to serve a client, claiming that such service would violate her religious beliefs. Another, introduced [ http://legis.sd.gov/Legislative_Session/Bills/Bill.aspx?File=SB128P.htm&Session=2014 ] in South Dakota, would bar suits against a business for refusing service to customers based on sexual orientation, and declares that if federal legislation passed protecting the employment rights of gay and lesbian people, it would “not apply in South Dakota and may not be enforced within the geographical boundaries of South Dakota.”
Lynde said the Idaho bills are necessary because “we are seeing this clash that is starting to coerce people to not live their religious freedom in the workplace.”
But of this growing number of variations on such bills, Garrett of Americans United said, “It really has no end.”
© 2014 Al Jazeera America, LLC
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/7/wave-of-new-statebillsreligiousfreedomorlicensetodiscriminate.html
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Greg Abbott Compares South Texas to a Third-World Nation, Proposes "Surge" of State Troopers
by: Katie Singh
Wed Feb 05, 2014 at 04:30 PM CST
Greg Abbott unveiled [ http://www.texastribune.org/2014/02/04/abbott-wants-300-million-shield-border/ ] his latest policy proposal in Dallas yesterday, a border security proposal that Abbott called his "Securing Texans Plan." Abbott's proposal would double [ http://www.statesman.com/news/news/greg-abbott-calls-for-an-extra-300-million-in-bord/ndC9p/ ] spending on border security, costing $300 million over the next 2 years. He has called for hiring 500 more state troopers and spending millions on new high-tech security equipment.
In his speech, Abbott justified his proposal by comparing the South Texas border region to a third-world country. Said Abbott: "This creeping corruption resembles third world country practices that erode the social fabric of our communities and destroy Texans' trust and confidence in government."
His entire proposal was replete with militaristic rhetoric that characterized South Texas as a war zone that wasn't really part of Texas. In describing his border plan, Abbott said, "We must do more to protect our border going beyond sporadic surges...I'll add more boots on the ground, more assets in the air and on the water, and deploy more technology and tools for added surveillance." He instead proposed a "continuous surge" of state troopers to the region.
Abbott's comments about South Texas are yet another example of his hostility toward the Latino community. He has refused [ http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14407/greg-abbott-continues-to-avoid-qualifying-his-support-for-the-dream-act ] to take a firm stance on the DREAM Act. One of Abbott's former staffers was responsible last fall's racist "Catch an Illegal Immigrant" game at UT, and the Abbott campaign seemingly lied [ http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14669/greg-abbott-campaign-had-catch-an-illegal-immigrant-organizer-on-payroll-through-november ] about how long he was on Abbott's payroll. Now, he's referring to South Texas as a third-world country, offensively stereotyping a region where millions of Latinos live. Greg Abbott has shown that he prefers to rely on xenophobia to provoke his right-wing base rather than reach out and include all Texans.
Understandably, Abbott's distasteful comments have provoked a major backlash across Texas.
Grassroots activists responded quickly to Abbott's remarks. The Travis Country Democratic Party helped organize [ https://www.facebook.com/events/134504153385186 ] a protest outside Greg Abbott's Austin office this afternoon to speak out against his offensive mischaracterization of South Texas.
Soon after Greg Abbott's border speech, Wendy Davis's campaign released a statement condemning the remarks. Said Campaign spokeswoman Rebecca Acuña:
"Actions speak louder than words, and Greg Abbott's actions are downright hostile. Greg Abbott's positions don't vary much from the 'stop the invasion' rhetoric we're hearing from his allies. Abbott even went as far as comparing the Texas border to a third world country. Unlike Greg Abbott, Senator Davis has a strong record of fighting for all Texans."
Battleground Texas Deputy Field Director Daniel Lucio saw the remarks as yet another reminder that Greg Abbott is out of touch with millions of Texans:
"Greg Abbott's plan for South Texas is both offensive and completely out of touch. By dismissing the Rio Grande Valley, my home, as a third-world country and thinking that more state troopers and investigations will fix everything, Abbott has made it clear that he has no idea what day to day life is like for millions of Texans that he claims to want to represent.
Like all Texans, people in the Rio Grande Valley want opportunities to pursue education, access to healthcare, and good jobs. Abbott and the Texas GOP have done little to address those fundamentals. But they've excelled at painting a caricature of the Valley to play to those in their base who are hostile to Texas' diverse culture and values.
Texas can do better. And the Rio Grande Valley will do its part to prove that this November.
Somos Tejas."
State Rep. Terry Canales (D-Edinburg), who represents part of South Texas, called on Abbott to apologize for the offensive remarks:
"Republican Greg Abbott says the Republican Party is a friend of minorities, then he falsely condemns the region where millions of Mexican Americans live and work as being corrupt. Republican Greg Abbott says he wants to lead all of Texas as governor, then he defames a vital region of Texas as being a 'Third-World Country.'
What kind of Texas leader tells the whole world that the most important state in America has 'Third-World' conditions, which sends the extremely damaging message that Texans are uneducated, unskilled, controlled by drug lords and other thugs, and served by incompetent local and county governments? It shows how much contempt that Greg Abbott has for millions of his fellow citizens. With so-called friends like Greg Abbott, who needs enemies?
A true Texan always admits when he or she is wrong, and does whatever it takes to make it right. But not Greg Abbott. He is not what Texas leadership is all about."
Related Stories on Burnt Orange Report
Wendy Davis' Eligibility Challenged?
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/4572/
Senator Dan Patrick's $1 million press conference
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/2907/
Thoughts on Carole Strayhorn's Run for Mayor of Austin
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/7435/
How We Felt When We Saw Wendy Davis's Fundraising Reports, In Animated GIFs
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14649/how-we-felt-when-we-saw-wendy-daviss-fundraising-reports-in-animated-gifs
Republicans Resolve to Speak Out Against Abortion to Prove There Is No War On Women
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14703/republicans-resolve-to-speak-out-against-abortion-to-prove-there-is-no-war-on-women
Sean Hannity Proposes Adopt-a-Woman Plan for Birth Control Coverage
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14762/sean-hannity-proposes-adoptawoman-plan-for-birth-control-coverage
Copyright 2014 Burnt Orange Report (emphasis in original)
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14768/greg-abbott-compares-south-texas-to-a-thirdworld-nation-proposes-surge-of-state-troopers [with comment]
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EDITORIAL: Third-world implications
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott speaks during an event to announce his 2014 campaign for governor, Sunday, July 14, 2013, in San Antonio. Already well-known in political circles and extremely well-financed, Attorney General Greg Abbott launched his gubernatorial campaign Sunday, hoping to seize the fiercely socially conservative mantle of Gov. Rick Perry that has helped make Texas the country's largest red state.
(AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Greg Abbott's speech requires apology
Posted: Friday, February 7, 2014 12:00 am
Precision gives the English language its power. At its best, it can convey strong ideas lyrically and lucidly. At its worst, it can inflame passions while avoiding direct responsibility for those passions.
Take the case this week of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and his newly unveiled public safety plan.
In a Dallas speech on Tuesday, the Republican front-runner for governor outlined his plan and rightly lamented the growing influence that Mexican drug cartels have in Texas by pointing out, among other examples, specific instances of law enforcement corruption in Starr, Hidalgo and Cameron counties.
“This creeping corruption resembles third-world country practices that erode the social fabric of our communities and destroys Texans’ trust in government,” he said in a videotaped speech.
Abbott, more than most, understands the power and nuance of the English language. After all, he’s the state’s top lawyer and a former jurist who sat on the Texas Supreme Court — two jobs that require a keen understanding of the need for precision in language.
So there is no doubt that the comparison of corruption in South Texas to third-world countries — made in prepared remarks — was intentional and highly nuanced.
It gives the attorney general the plausible deniability that he needs to say that he was not directly comparing the Hispanic-heavy Rio Grande Valley itself to third-world countries. He was simply comparing the corruption to those third-world countries, many of which happen to be in Latin America.
There is also no doubt that Abbott would not have made a similar comparison to third-world countries had he been talking about corruption in Dallas or Houston.
That’s why we applaud state Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, for calling on Abbott to apologize for such cynical and offensive remarks. And we join in that call.
In fact, we view this incident as a potential defining moment in this year’s election. We call on all campaigns for statewide elective office — especially Abbott’s probable rival in November, Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis — to denounce these words or embrace them. Our numbers in the Valley dictate that we have a seat at the table in which public policy is fashioned. We demand to know the attitude of those with whom we are seated.
If Abbott’s words are given a pass by the political establishments of the state, then we’re concerned that it represents business as usual for statewide politics, despite the Valley’s growing numbers and economic influence. And that business is focusing resources and responding to the influence of the Interstate 35 corridor — at the exclusion of the border region in general and the Valley in particular.
As we have said on our Opinion page several times before, this year’s election should not fall into that traditional zone of venomous nativist rhetoric that inflames the passions of white conservatives at the expense of the state’s growing Hispanic population.
Abbott has been guilty of such practices in the past and we need to declare as a region that we are tired of having Hispanics act as the bogeymen of Texas.
We should all be ashamed of the antics of corrupt law enforcement and other facets of corrupt government in our midst. But the fact that corruption happens — as it happens all over the state — should not diminish our sense of being Texans or Americans. Nor should we allow others to diminish that sense in highly nuanced speeches.
The irony of Abbott’s statement is that it would have made little difference in any of the local cases that he mentioned if the border security plan that he introduced had already been in place. That’s because the federal government prosecutes the vast majority of corruption cases in our state, including those in the Valley.
The promise of $300 million of state taxpayer money is another cynical attempt by a politician running for statewide office to leverage xenophobia into votes. To add to the xenophobia with references to third-world countries — however nuanced those references may be — should be out of bounds. We as a region should demand that.
Copyright © 2014 The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/the_monitor_view/article_135beb94-8f83-11e3-81fc-0017a43b2370.html [with comments]
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LETTER: Wendy Davis responds to Greg Abbott's third-world comment
State Sen. Wendy Davis is a Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Eric Gay
Posted: Sunday, February 9, 2014 12:00 am
Dear Monitor Editor:
I wholeheartedly agree with the Feb. 7 Monitor editorial, “Third-world implications.” I join you in calling for Attorney Gen. Greg Abbott to apologize for his offensive and erroneous comment that problems facing South Texas resemble “third-world country practices that erode the social fabric of our communities and destroys Texans’ trust in government.”
Abbott’s comparison of activities in South Texas to those of a “third-world” country is untrue, hurts our state, harms economic development in our border communities and won’t help the hardworking Texas families who live there.
Greg Abbott said he’d double the amount of spending for DPS border security. While I agree we should ensure that law enforcement has the necessary resources throughout our state, it’s unfortunate that oftentimes the conversation around our border communities focuses solely on enforcement. Our state needs leadership that is grounded in facts and is ready to open up new opportunities with trade and commerce which currently support hundreds of thousands of jobs in Texas. If we’re going to spend more money on the border, let’s work to reduce wait times at our ports of entry and create more jobs for Texas.
Instead of using divisive rhetoric, as governor I will fight to expand opportunity for all Texans. Last month at Texas State Technical College in Harlingen, I was proud to announce my plan to help Texas students get to college and graduate. And I was proud to visit with students and educators at the University of Texas at Brownsville. Greg Abbott’s only plan for Texas education has been to defend $5 billion in cuts to neighborhood schools. That’s wrong for our border communities, and wrong for all of Texas.
As governor, I will fight to increase educational opportunities, create jobs, and support our veterans in every part of our state. Because, despite what Greg Abbott may say, we’re proud of Texas, and we know it’s worth our time, energy, and dedication to make it even greater.
State Sen. Wendy Davis,
Fort Worth
Copyright © 2014 The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/letters/article_e2746da2-9104-11e3-b380-0017a43b2370.html [with comments]
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Abbott, under fire for Rio Grande Valley comment, calls Wendy Davis ‘clueless’ on region
February 9, 2014
[...]
The Republican attorney general, in a tweet to a reporter, said, “wait til you see my response to her Monitor piece. It will show how clueless she is about the RGV.”
[...]
http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2014/02/abbott-under-fire-for-rio-grande-valley-comment-calls-wendy-davis-clueless-on-region/ [with comments]
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Rand Paul warns [Harris County GOP that] Texas could turn blue
Paul remarks that the audience response to his comments was 'kind of tepid.'
2/9/14
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/rand-paul-texas-could-turn-blue-103292.html [with comments]
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COMMENTARY BY GREG ABBOTT: Third-world comments not directed at RGV
February 10, 2014
http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/columnists/article_d6d33a72-92b3-11e3-b173-0017a43b2370.html [with comments]
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Nebraska City Votes to Keep Rule Aimed at Illegal Immigrants
By EMMA G. FITZSIMMONS
FEB. 12, 2014
Residents of a small city in Nebraska voted on Tuesday to keep a controversial measure they approved in 2010 [ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/us/22fremont.html ] to ban illegal immigrants from renting homes.
Almost 60 percent of voters supported upholding the ordinance in a special election in Fremont, Neb.
About 3,800 residents voted to keep the housing measure, while 2,600 voted to drop it, according to unofficial election results from the Dodge County Election Commissioner.
The meatpacking town of about 25,000 people became a central front in the debate over immigration when it approved the ordinance almost four years ago. The measure prohibits landlords from renting to illegal immigrants and requires renters to apply for a permit from the police and to declare that they are in the country legally.
Support for the measure was slightly stronger now than in the previous vote on the issue. In 2010, about 57 percent of voters approved the referendum.
On Tuesday night, the Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/american_civil_liberties_union/index.html ] criticized the results and said that the group would be watching for discrimination as the ordinance was enforced.
“We are saddened by the result of today’s vote, and will stand with those residents of Fremont who will be harmed by the unfortunate decision to allow a discriminatory housing ordinance to be implemented,” the group said in a statement.
The city’s mayor, Scott Getzschman, and the local Chamber of Commerce supported amending the law to remove the housing provision because they said it was bringing negative attention to the city, which is about 30 miles northwest of Omaha. City officials have said that at least one business decided not to move to the community because of the ordinance.
But those supporting the housing provision say that having more illegal immigrants in the city has caused the costs of education, hospitals and law enforcement to rise. They have expressed anger with local officials for trying to reverse the decision by voters.
The ordinance also had a provision requiring Fremont businesses to use a federal database, E-Verify, to check new employees’ information. That part is already being enforced.
But the housing measure has been stuck in limbo for years because of legal challenges. After the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld most of the ordinance last year, local officials decided to schedule another vote.
© 2014 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/us/nebraska-city-votes-to-keep-rule-aimed-at-illegal-immigrants.html
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Immigration activists threaten GOP political payback
Republicans targeted as reform hopes dim.
February 12, 2014
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/02/12/immigration-reform-activists-threaten-gop-payback/5414269/ [no comments yet]
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Family Research Institute: 'Capital Punishment Is Warranted' For Homosexuality
Submitted by Brian Tashman on Wednesday, 2/5/2014 10:15 am
After endorsing [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/family-research-institute-applauds-uganda-anti-gay-bill-calls-homosexuality-worse-murder ; http://www.familyresearchinst.org/2014/01/muddled-thinking/ ] Uganda’s crackdown on gay people, the Family Research Institute [ http://www.familyresearchinst.org/ ] has posted another statement [ http://www.familyresearchinst.org/2014/02/response-to-marvin-olasky/ ] saluting the country for deciding to “be harsh with those who choose to act on homosexual desires.”
The group, which is led by Paul Cameron, also insisted that the death penalty remain an option in punishing gays: “Depending on the severity of the homosexual offense, a fine, prison time or even capital punishment is warranted. The most important thing is to make it illegal, and thus keep those who fancy it (or seem addicted to it), off the streets, out of schools, with no ‘right’ to proselytize or advertise their preferences. (Current Russian law tries to do this without making the activity illegal; in most of the West, it must be made illegal first.)”
The FRI isn’t the only Religious Right group sympathetic to Uganda’s anti-gay stance: the American Family Association [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/uganda-passes-anti-gay-bill-cheered-us-conservatives ] and the Family Research Council [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/why-would-mainstream-conservative-think-tank-praise-kill-gays-law ] have also defended the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
After comparing homosexuality to incest, rape, bestiality and child abuse—and even arguing that one out of three gay men are guilty of “molesting/raping children or teens”—the group argued that gay people don’t exist. The FRI reasons that a person who identifies as gay is no different from those who see themselves as “Krafts” because they “so strongly prefer Kraft Macaroni and Cheese that the will eat almost nothing else.”
In a sense, there are no ‘homosexuals.’ The Apostle Paul condemns ‘males who have sex with males,’ which is both more precise and less deceptive than labeling as ‘homosexuals’ those who act upon their homosexual desires. Gay activists and the psychiatric professions have reason to use the term “homosexuals” – the former to ‘be a people’ and the latter to bill for a ‘condition.’ But those who so strongly prefer Kraft Macaroni and Cheese that they will eat almost nothing else are no more ‘Krafts’ than those are ‘homosexuals’ who so strongly prefer homosexual sex that they will seldom have heterosexual sex.
The reality is that the vast majority of males who have sex with males have also had sex with females, and almost all females who have had sex with females have had sex with males! ‘Gays’ and ‘lesbians’ may currently prefer sex with others of their sex, but they will, and do, have sex with the opposite sex depending on the situation. Indeed, a large minority of gays and a majority of lesbians report having “been in love with” a member of the opposite sex. We agree with Alfred Kinsey that homosexual interests are a ‘preference.’ The use of the weird term ‘orientation’ is largely to obfuscate the fact that who you have sex with is a choice and not at all necessary to survive, unlike, say, breathing or eating.
Not all sin warrants public laws against it. But many sins do, including many sexual sins. In the past, the Christian Church saw fit to lobby for public legal sanctions against fornication, rape, adultery, divorce, bestiality, incest, child molestation, etc. Some of those sanctions are still on the books and enforced, with little complaint (e.g., rape, child molestation). Until quite recently, homosexual activity also was illegal everywhere in the United States – in direct line with Christian influence – along with almost every other country.
But now under pressure from gay activists and the apathy of a modern Church which is frankly ignorant of the destructive consequences of homosexual behavior and eager to regard homosexuality as a kind of ‘victimless crime’ even if perhaps still sinful (similar to fornication, adultery, or divorce), American legal sanctions against homosexuality have been expunged and the race begun toward full gay marriage rights.
…
The historic Christian Church lobbied for laws against homosexual behavior, deeming it a personal and societal threat. Today, we should do no less. Depending on the severity of the homosexual offense, a fine, prison time or even capital punishment is warranted. The most important thing is to make it illegal, and thus keep those who fancy it (or seem addicted to it), off the streets, out of schools, with no ‘right’ to proselytize or advertise their preferences. (Current Russian law tries to do this without making the activity illegal; in most of the West, it must be made illegal first.)
…
Once it is legalized, homosexuality seeks to grow. Many of those ‘sold out’ to homosexual desires (e.g., ‘gays’) seek boys (and sometimes girls) to corrupt into their image. Since a quarter of gays admit to molesting/raping children or teens, and about one of every 7 gay priests has been caught molesting/raping children or teens, it is quite possible that at least a third of men with homosexual interests have done the same.
…
Indeed, if Uganda is to learn anything from us, it is to be harsh with those who choose to act on homosexual desires. Uganda, especially its boys, will suffer otherwise.
© 2014 People For the American Way
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/family-research-institute-capital-punishment-warranted-homosexuality
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Fischer: I Want Homosexuality To Be Illegal 'Because I Love Black Males'
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-i-want-homosexuality-be-illegal-because-i-love-black-males ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FZivRU_JK8 [with comments]
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Demonizing Gays in Africa
Editorial
FEB. 11, 2014
As acceptance of gays and lesbians has grown in the United States and Europe, intolerance and persecution has been rising in other parts of the world. African nations are leaders in this cruel and dehumanizing trend.
The latest alarms were triggered by a ban in Nigeria on same-sex relationships [ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/world/africa/nigerian-president-signs-ban-on-same-sex-relationships.html ] that was passed by Parliament in May and signed by President Goodluck Jonathan on Jan. 7. Nigeria is a leading oil producer and Africa’s most populous country, and the ban is considered the most significant setback yet to gay rights on the continent.
Although gay sex has been illegal in Nigeria since British colonial rule, the draconian new law criminalizes homosexuality, banning same-sex marriage and prescribing years in prison to anyone who makes a “public show” of same-sex relationships or participates in gay organizations. Even people who simply support gays are subject to criminal arrest and penalties.
Before the new law was enacted, convictions for gay sex were rare in the southern part of Nigeria and occasional in the mostly Muslim north. But since the law went into effect, as Adam Nossiter has reported [ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/world/africa/nigeria-uses-law-and-whip-to-sanitize-gays.html ] in The Times, arrests of gays have multiplied and some people have sought asylum overseas. According to Amnesty International, homosexuality is illegal in 38 of 54 countries in Africa. It carries the death penalty in Mauritania, Sudan and Somalia; in northern Nigeria, where Islamic law is practiced, the penalty can be death by stoning. In Senegal, the press regularly “outs” gays and same-sex relations carry a penalty of five years in prison. Another severe law has been passed by Uganda’s Legislature, but President Yoweri Museveni has not and should not sign it.
Such laws violate commitments made by United Nations members in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [ http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml ] and other human rights documents.
If these nations cannot do the humane thing, they should at least consider their self-interest. For any leader who values stability, it makes no sense to promote new laws that foment greater hostility among people, like in Nigeria, where there is already ethnic tension.
Even in countries where antigay laws are not enforced, they provide an excuse for abuse — including blackmail and extortion — by police, Amnesty International said [ http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/making-love-a-crime-criminalization-of-same-sex-conduct-in-sub-saharan-africa ]. It is unlikely that any of these countries can reach their full economic potential because many foreign entities may find it too risky to invest in such hostile environments. These governments, in abusing their citizens, are moving in dangerous and destructive directions.
© 2014 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/opinion/demonizing-gays-in-africa.html
===
UN Report Denounces Vatican For Sex Abuse And Stands On Contraception, Abortion And Homosexuality
by NICOLE WINFIELD
Posted: 02/05/2014 6:14 am EST Updated: 02/05/2014 2:59 pm EST
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican "systematically" adopted policies that allowed priests to rape and molest tens of thousands of children over decades, a U.N. human rights committee said Wednesday, urging the Holy See to open its files on pedophiles and bishops who concealed their crimes.
In a devastating report hailed by abuse victims, the U.N. committee severely criticized the Holy See for its attitudes toward homosexuality, contraception and abortion and said it should change its own canon law to ensure children's rights and their access to health care are guaranteed.
The Vatican promptly objected and its U.N. ambassador accused the committee of having betrayed the international body's own objectives by allowing itself to be swayed by pro-gay ideologues. He said it appeared the committee simply hadn't listened when the Holy See outlined all the measures it has taken to protect children.
The report, which took the Vatican by surprise in its harsh tone, puts renewed pressure on Pope Francis to move decisively on the abuse front and make good on pledges to create a Vatican commission to study sex abuse and recommend best practices to fight it. The commission was announced in December, but few details have been released since then.
The committee issued its recommendations after subjecting the Holy See to a daylong interrogation last month on its implementation of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the key U.N. treaty on child protection, which the Holy See ratified in 1990.
Critically, the committee rejected the Vatican's longstanding argument that it doesn't control bishops or their abusive priests, saying the Holy See was responsible for implementing the treaty not just in the Vatican City State but around the world "as the supreme power of the Catholic Church through individuals and institutions placed under its authority."
In its report, the committee blasted the "code of silence" that has long been used to keep victims quiet, saying the Holy See had "systematically placed preservation of the reputation of the church and the alleged offender over the protection of child victims." It called on the Holy See to provide compensation to victims and hold accountable not just the abusers, but also those who covered up their crimes.
"The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by, and the impunity of, the perpetrators," the report said.
It called for Francis' nascent abuse commission to conduct an independent investigation of all cases of priestly abuse and the way the Catholic hierarchy has responded over time, and urged the Holy See to establish clear rules for the mandatory reporting of abuse to police and to support laws that allow victims to report crimes even after the statute of limitations has expired.
No Catholic bishop has ever been sanctioned by the Vatican for sheltering an abusive priest, and only in 2010 did the Holy See direct bishops to report abusers to police where law enforcement requires it. Vatican officials have acknowledged that bishop accountability remains a major problem and have suggested that under Francis, things might begin to change.
The committee's recommendations are non-binding and there is no enforcement mechanism. Instead, the U.N. asked the Vatican to implement the recommendations and report back by 2017. The Vatican was 14 years late submitting its most recent report.
The committee is made up of independent experts, not other U.N. member states — the case on the larger and often politicized U.N. Human Rights Council, which also sits in Geneva. The Committee on the Rights of the Child is one of 10 U.N. bodies that monitor implementation of the core U.N. human rights treaties, and its 18 members include academics, sociologists and child development specialists from around the globe.
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, who headed the Vatican delegation at the Jan. 16 session in Geneva, was clearly taken aback by the scathing tone of the report.
"It seems as if the document was prepared before the committee meeting, where the Vatican gave detailed responses on various points that weren't reported in this concluding document or seem to not have been taken into consideration," he told Vatican Radio.
While most attention has focused on child sex abuse, the committee's recommendations extended far beyond, into issues about discrimination against children and their rights to adequate health care, matters that touch on core church teaching about life and sexual morals.
The committee, for example, urged the Vatican to amend its canon law to identify circumstances where access to abortion can be permitted for children, such as to save the life of a young mother. It urged the Holy See to ensure that sex education, including access to information about contraception and preventing HIV, is mandatory in Catholic schools. It called for the Holy See to use its moral authority to condemn discrimination against homosexual children, or children raised by same-sex couples.
Church teaching holds that life begins at conception. The Vatican, which therefore opposes abortion and artificial contraception, calls for respect for gays, but considers homosexual acts to be "intrinsically disordered." The Vatican has a history of diplomatic confrontation with the United Nations over such issues.
Tomasi said the call to reconsider abortion ran against the U.N. treaty's own objectives to protect the life of children before and after birth, and he accused pro-gay rights and gay marriage advocacy groups of having "reinforced an ideological line" with the committee.
Benyam Mezmur, a committee member and Ethiopian academic on children's legal rights, rejected any such criticism and said the committee report was balanced and was aimed purely at ensuring the treaty was implemented.
"The Committee on the Rights of the Child is not in the business of saying 'Well said.' We are in the business of saying 'Well done.' We want to see concrete measures," he said in a phone interview from Geneva.
Austen Ivereigh, coordinator of Catholic Voices, a church advocacy group, said the report was a "shocking display of ignorance and high-handedness."
He said it failed to acknowledge the progress that has been made in recent years and that the Catholic Church in many places is now considered a leader in safeguarding children. And he noted that the committee seemed unable to grasp the distinction between the responsibilities and jurisdiction of the Holy See, and local churches on the ground.
"It takes no account of the particularities of the Holy See, treating it as if it were the HQ of a multinational corporation," he said in an email.
But victims groups hailed the report as a wake-up call to secular law enforcement officials to investigate abuse and any cover-ups, and prosecute church officials who are still protecting predator priests.
"This report gives hope to the hundreds of thousands of deeply wounded and still suffering clergy sex abuse victims across the world," said Barbara Blaine, president of the main U.S. victim's group SNAP. "Now it's up to secular officials to follow the U.N.'s lead and step in to safeguard the vulnerable because Catholic officials are either incapable or unwilling to do so."
© 2014 Associated Press
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/05/un-report-denounces-vatican_n_4728975.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
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Vatican says U.N. report on child sexual abuse is distorted, unfair
Wed Feb 5, 2014 8:04pm IST
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican said on Wednesday a scathing U.N. report on sexual abuse of children by clergy was distorted, unfair and ideologically biased.
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, responding to criticisms in the report on the Church's stance on homosexuality, abortion and contraception, also said the world body cannot ask the Church to change its "non-negotiable" moral teachings.
The head of the Holy See's delegation to the United Nations in Geneva told Vatican Radio that non-governmental organizations which favor gay marriage probably influenced the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child to reinforce an "ideological line" in the report.
(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
Copyright 2014 Thomson Reuters
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/02/05/us-vatican-abuse-tomasi-idINBREA1414I20140205 [with comment]
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UN Panel's Recommendations to Vatican
February 5, 2014 (AP)
The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child published a report Wednesday on the Holy See's compliance with a 1989 U.N. accord on child rights. The report focused heavily on the worldwide allegations of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests and the Vatican's handling of the cases.
Here are some of the 67 recommendations made by the 18-member panel, which is based in Geneva and made up of independent child rights experts from around the world.
AMEND CHURCH LAW
The Vatican should bring its Canon Law in line with the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the Holy See ratified in 1990, "in particular those (laws) relating to children's rights to be protected against discrimination, violence and all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse." This includes any obligation for victims of crimes or those aware of them to remain silent.
PUT CHILDREN BEFORE THE CHURCH
The panel said that "in dealing with allegations of child sexual abuse, the Holy See has consistently placed the preservation of the reputation of the Church and the protection of the perpetrators above children's best interests." It said church officials had in many cases blamed the victims or their families, sought to discredit and in some cases humiliated them.
END IMPUNITY
Despite the Vatican's commitment to "hold inviolable the dignity and entire person of every child," the panel expressed its "deepest concern about child sexual abuse committed by members of the Catholic churches who operate under the authority of the Holy See, with clerics having been involved in the sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children worldwide." It added: "The Committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators."
STOP IMPEDING INVESTIGATIONS
The panel urged the Vatican to stop the transfer of abusers and suspected abusers, a practice it said had been documented on numerous occasions and which amounted to covering up the crimes. A Vatican commission created last year should investigate "all cases of child sexual abuse as well as the conduct of the Catholic hierarchy in dealing with them." In doing so, it should consider bringing in independent human rights groups, publish the outcome of the investigations and allow its archives to be accessed by law enforcement authorities investigating alleged perpetrators and those who may have covered for them.
REMOVE PERPETRATORS
It called on the Vatican to "immediately remove all known and suspected child sexual abusers from assignment and refer the matter to the relevant law enforcement authorities for investigation and prosecution purposes."
TRAIN PRIESTS
The Vatican should provide training on child rights to all priests and members of Catholic orders and institutions working with children.
© 2014 Associated Press
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/panels-recommendations-vatican-22374116 [no comments yet]
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UN Panel Says Vatican Enables Sex Predators to Repeat Crimes
The new Roman Catholic leader, Pope Francis, was urged to break what the United Nations panel characterized as church practice of harboring sex offenders, retaliating against witnesses and condoning ritualized beatings.
Photographer: Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images
By Andrew Frye
Feb 5, 2014 12:24 PM CT
A United Nations committee decried the Vatican’s response to sexual abuse of children by its clergy, saying the Holy See has allowed alleged predators to strike again because it was more concerned about itself than the victims.
“In dealing with child victims of different forms of abuse, the Holy See has systematically placed preservation of the reputation of the church and the alleged offender over the protection of child victims,” the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child [ http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRC/Pages/CRCIndex.aspx ] said in a report released today. The Vatican in response reiterated “its commitment to defending and protecting the rights of the child” according to church teaching.
The committee’s report increases expectations on Pope Francis, who has won praise in his first 11 months in office for encouraging dialogue on social issues. The Roman Catholic leader was urged to break what the panel characterized as church practice of harboring sex offenders, retaliating against witnesses and condoning ritualized beatings.
“The committee notes as positive the willingness expressed by the delegation of the Holy See to change attitudes and practices,” the panel said. It “looks forward to the adoption of prompt and firm measures for the concrete implementation of its commitments.”
Benedict XVI
The findings take into account a Vatican report presented to the panel in January 2013, when the church was led by Francis’s predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
Francis, 77, has been hailed as a potential reformer after the final years of Benedict’s reign, which ended a year ago with his resignation. The Argentine pontiff has taken on money laundering at the Vatican bank, signaled an easing of the church’s traditional stance against homosexuality and repeatedly spoken up about the injustice of income inequality.
The church’s decades-long struggle with child molestation, which the UN panel said has claimed tens of thousands of victims worldwide, may be the biggest problem inherited by Francis. The Vatican, while saying it would submit the UN panel’s report to “thorough study,” signaled it will contest at least some of the findings.
‘Gravely Concerned’
“The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed,” the UN panel said. The church “has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators,” it said.
A “code of silence” has been imposed on clergy in cases of child sex abuse, and nuns and priests have been demoted and let go for stepping out of line, the committee said. It called for transparency and cooperation with law enforcement and victims organizations.
The UN panel called for the Holy See to provide family planning information to minors and make HIV and AIDS a mandatory part of Catholic school curriculum, the panel said. Corporal punishment, which it said has “reached endemic levels in certain countries,” must be banned.
Vatican Response
The Holy See does “regret to see in some points of the concluding observations an attempt to interfere with Catholic Church teaching on the dignity of human person and in the exercise of religious freedom,” the Vatican said in its e-mailed response. It didn’t specify which points it objected to.
Mothers who bear the children of priests should no longer be required to sign confidentiality agreements in exchange for financial support, the UN panel said.
The church may be moving in the right direction as it reviews withdrawing references to “illegitimate children” from its law, the panel said. Francis was also recognized for his “progressive statement” in July, when the pontiff addressed the issue of homosexuality.
Still, the committee said past church comments on homosexuality contribute to stigmatization and violence against gay, bisexual and transgender adolescents.
The panel recommended the Vatican “promptly abolish the discriminatory classification of children born out of wedlock as illegitimate children,” it said. “The committee also urges the Holy See to make full use of its moral authority to condemn all forms of harassment, discrimination or violence against children based on their sexual orientation.”
Catholic Voices
Catholic Voices, a U.K.-based blog that comments on media coverage of the church, criticized the report and said dozens of incarcerated priests and millions of dollars in compensation paid to victims undermine the findings. It also argued that the decentralized nature of the church renders the systematic training recommended by the committee impracticable.
“The committee has shown itself to be a kangaroo court,” according to the blog [ http://cvcomment.org/2014/02/05/how-the-holy-see-was-ambushed-by-a-un-kangaroo-court/ ]. The findings were produced “by adopting the mythical framework peddled by victims’ advocacy groups and lawyers, and ignoring the evidence put to it by the Holy See.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Frye in Rome at afrye@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net
©2014 Bloomberg L.P.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-05/un-panel-says-vatican-enabled-sex-predators-to-repeat-crimes.html [with comments] [also at http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-02-05/un-panel-says-vatican-enabled-sex-predators-to-repeat-crimes (with comments)]
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U.N. panel blasts Vatican handling of clergy sex abuse, church teachings on gays, abortion
Video [embedded]
A report released by a U.N. human rights committee denounced the Vatican's policies regarding sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and urged for change and transparency moving forward.
By Anthony Faiola and Michelle Boorstein, Published: February 5, 2014
BERLIN — A United Nations committee issued a scathing indictment Wednesday of the Vatican’s handling of child sexual abuse cases involving clerics, releasing a report [ http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1013724/u-n-issues-scathing-report-on-vatican-handling.pdf ; http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/world/un-issues-scathing-report-on-vatican-handling-of-sex-abuse/777/ ] that included criticism of church teachings on homosexuality, gender equality and abortion.
The report demanded that the Vatican immediately turn over to criminal investigators any known or suspected abusers and end its “code of silence” by enforcing rules ordering dioceses to report abuse to local authorities. It also called on the Vatican to open its archives on sexual allegations against clerics.
The range of the report appeared to infuriate the Vatican, which last month sent two top officials to appear before the U.N. panel in Geneva for the first public accounting of the Holy See’s handling of abuse allegations. Officials said they are still studying the findings, but responded angrily to what they described as recommendations that are ideologically biased. They said the United Nations has no right to weigh in on church teachings.
“Trying to ask the Holy See to change its teachings is not negotiable,” Silvano Maria Tomasi, the Vatican’s permanent observer at the United Nations in Geneva, told Vatican Radio. He suggested that gay rights groups had influenced the commission.
The Vatican has been riding a wave of positive publicity [ http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview ] since Pope Francis [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/jorge-mario-bergoglio-the-first-jesuit-pope-known-for-pastoral-work/2013/03/13/8a47e324-8c0b-11e2-9f54-f3fdd70acad2_story.html ] was elected in March. But the report — which is not binding, meaning the United Nations has no way to enforce its recommendations — drew attention to the single largest stain on the Catholic Church’s global image: Its handling of allegations of sexual abuse by clerics.
The Vatican had been bracing for the report. After widespread revelations of sexual abuse by clerics in Europe in 2010, the U.N. committee, which is headquartered in Geneva, began an inquiry last year. The Vatican declined the panel’s request to review internal files and data on abuse cases.
The report said the church in some places has “systemically” adopted policies that put children at risk. In some cases, confidentiality has been imposed on child victims and their families as a condition of financial compensation. The panel also said Catholic officials obstructed efforts in certain countries to extend the statute of limitations for criminal or civil cases.
The committee “is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators,” the report concluded.
The panel condemned church doctrine that it considers out of step with the principles of human rights and child welfare. In blunt language, the committee took particular aim at church stances on sexual orientation, reproductive health and gender equality. It delved into details, expressing its concerns, for instance, about the stereotyping of gender roles in Catholic school textbooks.
Although some Catholic leaders deemed the report anti-Catholic, an expert on the United Nations said there generally isn’t tension between the organization and religion.
Wednesday’s critique of the Catholic Church around reproductive issues in particular recalled the clash of world views with the Holy See at the 1994 U.N. population conference in Cairo, where some participants called the Vatican to task for its stance against contraception. But some experts said it was rare for the United Nations to comment on religious doctrine.
The scope of the report illustrated the broad purview of the 10 U.N. committees that monitor adherence to human rights treaties. Their members have done everything from blast Japan for being “deaf” on women’s rights to pointing a finger at Canada for its treatment of the Inuit.
The report from the committee — made up of 18 experts including child welfare advocates and academics — called on the Vatican to adopt reforms and update the panel by 2017.
U.N. officials in Geneva described the investigation as only one of many periodic reviews it conducts of sovereign states that are signatories of Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the Holy See ratified in 1990. They said the panel’s report veered beyond the sexual abuse cases because it found the other topics relevant to the Vatican’s compliance with all articles of the convention. The United States is one of three U.N. member states that have not ratified it.
Officials dismissed suggestions from the Vatican that the report is biased.
“Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is something that we have raised with many states,” Kirsten Sandberg, chair of the committee, said in a statement. “This is nothing special. We are not going outside the scope of the Convention.”
A wake-up call
For more than a decade, the church has been periodically rocked by widespread allegations of sexual abuse in the United States, Europe and beyond. The church response has varied by nation, and the report Wednesday does not address safety measures from country to country.
In some nations, victims have received bare-bones support even as civil legal systems have left oversight entirely to the church. The U.S. church, on the other hand, has made major institutional changes since the abuse crisis came to light in 2002, including requiring extensive background checks for church volunteers, screening of priests and a requirement that abuse must be reported to authorities.
Vatican defenders said the report did not consider the significant action the church has taken to combat sexual abuse in recent years. Independent studies show that complaints have decreased sharply over the decades, but reports continue to show that no top U.S. church officials have been held legally accountable. The first senior Catholic Church official was convicted in 2012 of covering up abuse, but his conviction was overturned in December.
Since becoming pope 11 months ago, Francis has said that addressing the child abuse allegations is important to restoring the church’s credibility. In December, the Vatican announced the creation of a commission on abuse cases that would inform the pope about the progress of investigations and come up with initiatives to combat the problem. Victims groups, which hailed the U.N. report, have said the new committee is too little, too late.
Vatican observers said the report will serve as a wake-up call to church authorities that despite the positive response to the new pontiff, the church still needs to do more to address abuse allegations. But delving into doctrine also appeared to push the focus on sex abuse off track.
Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said “anyone bringing attention to the problem [of sex abuse] is moving toward solving it.” But she strongly criticized the United Nations for weaving issues such as contraception and abortion into the report.
“Unfortunately, they weakened it by throwing in the whole kitchen sink,” she said Wednesday. “Those are culture war issues. Sex abuse isn’t a culture war issue — it’s a sin and a crime.”
Boorstein reported from Washington.
© 2014 The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/un-panel-blasts-vatican-handling-of-clergy-sex-abuse-church-teachings-on-gays-abortion/2014/02/05/2a6f1b26-8e75-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html [with comments]
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Vatican 'must immediately remove' child abusers - UN
5 February 2014
[...]
Analysis
David Willey
BBC News, Rome
The Vatican quickly moved into damage control mode after publication of the UN report.
While promising "thorough study" of the criticisms, the Holy See robustly rejects some of the points made by the UN.
The Vatican has always given precedence to Church law, called Canon Law, over local criminal law in dealing with ecclesiastical crime. It does not easily tolerate interference by civil authorities in ecclesiastical matters.
The recent case of a senior Vatican diplomat, a Polish archbishop, who was suddenly recalled to Rome from his post in Santo Domingo after serious police accusations of sexual abuse of minors there is a case in point.
The Vatican has refused an extradition request by justice authorities in Poland and says an internal police investigation is under way inside Vatican City.
[...]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26044852 [with embedded video "UN says Vatican imposed 'code of silence' on children" ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26056075 )]
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Vatican Says U.N. Goes Too Far In Report
Pope Francis looks on during his general audience at St Peter’s square on January 22, 2014 at the Vatican.
(Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images)
Audio [embedded]
Here & Now
Vatican Says U.N. Goes Too Far In Report (7:38)
http://cache.wbur.org/audio/player/hereandnow/2014/02/05/un-vatican-report
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
A new United Nations report is bluntly critical of the Vatican, saying it has adopted polices that allowed priest to rape and molest tens of thousands of children over decades.
The widely anticipated report from the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child goes on to say that the Vatican is guilty of a “code of silence” that has “systematically” put the reputation of the church and offending priests over the protection of child victims.
The Vatican says [ http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2014/02/05/0087/00183.html ] the report goes too far when it also includes criticism of the church’s teaching on conception and birth control, human sexuality and abortion.
That report comes as a Catholic-affiliated publisher in Poland issues a controversial book of Pope John Paul II’s notes.
Vatican expert and journalist John Allen joins Here & Now [ http://hereandnow.wbur.org/ ]’s Robin Young to discuss both the U.N. report and the book.
Interview Highlights: John Allen
On reaction to the U.N. report
“I suspect reaction to it — both at the Vatican and in the wider Catholic world — is going to be mixed, because the cause of child protection here is bundled, as you indicated, with the culture wars. It also is basically telling the Vatican they need to repeal Catholic teaching on abortion, birth control and gay marriage. You know, my reaction to that as a journalist is, ‘how to you spell non-starter.’ You know, those things are just not going to happen. And I suspect there will be some backlash that will want to style this report somehow as driven more by politics than a real concern for the protection of kids.”
On the impact of the U.N. report
“The child sexual abuse scandals in Catholicism are real, the need for reform is real. There still is a division in the church between reformers and those who are kind of in denial, and that’s true at the grassroots, it’s true of the leadership. This report was an opportunity to strengthen the hand of the reform cause by making very specific recommendations that would be hard to argue with. And the fear would be that by bundling this with the very divisive matters of the culture wars, you’ve given ammunition to those in denial, to say ‘eh, this is all politics.’”
On what happens when bishops don’t report abuse
“The Vatican does have policies that say that if you get a credible accusation of abuse — you’re a bishop — you’ve got to act on it. Now there are cases in which bishops haven’t. I mean, we have a bishop in the Diocese of Kansas City in the United States, for example, who pled guilty to a criminal charge of failure to report and is still sitting there as the bishop of Kansas City. So the question is, what are the consequences for that kind of breakdown. What the U.N. panel said is, there have to be consequences and this new commission ought to lead the charge to create them. I think that’s something that even people within the church — certainly the reform wing of the church — would say is not only reasonable but urgently necessary.”
Guest
John Allen, Vatican expert and Catholic Church correspondent for The Boston Globe. He tweets @JohnLAllenJr.
© Copyright 2014 Trustees of Boston University
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/02/05/un-vatican-report [with comments]
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U.N. Panel Criticizes the Vatican Over Sexual Abuse
Kirsten Sandberg, the chairwoman of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, in Geneva on Wednesday.
Anja Niedringhaus/Associated Press
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN, NICK CUMMING-BRUCE and JIM YARDLEY
FEB. 5, 2014
In a hard-hitting report applauded by victims as a landmark in the Roman Catholic Church’s clerical sexual-abuse scandal, a United Nations committee on Wednesday called on the Vatican to remove all child abusers from its ranks, report them to law enforcement and open the church’s archives so that bishops and other officials who concealed crimes could be held accountable.
The report, issued by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, is likely to put pressure on Pope Francis to make concrete changes in the way the church handles abuse cases and put some muscle into the commission on abuse that he announced [ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/europe/pope-setting-up-commission-on-clerical-child-abuse.html ] in December, whose members and mission have not yet been specified.
The Vatican responded on Wednesday that it had already made many of the changes called for in the report, and that the report’s conclusions were out of date.
The report, however, was sharply critical of the church’s current practices, not just those of the past. “The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators,” the report concluded.
The criticism came from a panel that examined the Vatican’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child [ http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx ], an international agreement signed by 140 sovereign entities, including the Vatican. The panel held a hearing on the issue [ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/17/world/europe/un-sex-abuse-panel-questions-vatican-officials.html (the second item in the post to which this is a reply)] last month, the first time the Vatican faced public examination by an international body of its record on sexual abuse, and heard testimony from Bishop Charles J. Scicluna, the Vatican’s chief prosecutor of sexual abuse cases until 2012, who told the panel that “the Holy See gets it.”
The report, issued in Geneva, addressed issues far beyond child sexual abuse, taking the Vatican to task for its opposition to contraception, homosexuality and abortion in cases of child rape and incest. The committee even suggested that the church amend its canon laws to permit abortions for pregnant girls whose lives and health are at risk.
But the Vatican press office said in a statement that it regretted to see the United Nations committee “attempt to interfere” with Catholic teaching and the church’s “exercise of religious freedom.”
Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a blog post [ http://usccbmedia.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-united-nations-caring-for-children.html ] that the report was “weakened” by the panel’s decision to include objections to Catholic teaching on “culture war” issues.
On the many pressing problems related to child welfare, the report recommended specific steps it said the Vatican should take: stop obstructing efforts by victims’ advocates in some countries to extend statutes of limitations, which now allow most abusers to escape prosecution; stop insisting that victims sign confidentiality agreements swearing them to silence as a condition for receiving compensation; help birth parents locate children who were taken from them for adoption out of Catholic institutions like the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland; and identify, count and financially support children fathered by Catholic priests without imposing confidentiality agreements on the mothers.
Kirsten Sandberg, the chairwoman of the United Nations panel, said Wednesday at a news conference in Geneva that tens of thousands of children around the world had suffered abuse by priests. “We think it is a horrible thing that is being kept silent both by the Holy See itself and in the different local parishes,” she said.
The panel rejected the church’s key contention that the Vatican has no jurisdiction over its bishops and priests around the world, and is responsible for putting in effect the Convention on the Rights of the Child only within the tiny territory of Vatican City. By ratifying the convention, the panel said, the Vatican took responsibility for making sure it was respected by individuals and institutions under the Holy See’s authority around the world.
The panel’s report on the Vatican’s treatment of children, its first in 14 years, called on the church to report back on its progress in 2017. Although the panel’s recommendations are not binding, Ms. Sandberg said it expected Francis and the Holy See to act on them.
Barbara Dorris of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP [ http://www.snapnetwork.org/ ; http://www.snapnetwork.org/un_names_church_for_what_it_is_a_rogue_state ], who was abused by a priest as a child, said the report was “long overdue.”
“It is wonderful that the U.N. has spoken so clearly about what the Vatican has done — and what it has failed to do,” said Ms. Dorris, who is based in St. Louis. “To us, it is a call for the civil authorities to step in. Church officials have proved they cannot police themselves.”
But Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the pope’s permanent observer to the United Nations in Geneva, characterized the United Nations report in a radio interview as “a rather negative approach” to steps the Vatican had already taken, and said the report “in some ways is not up-to-date.” He said a Vatican delegation had told the committee about “concrete measures” that were being taken, including the new papal commission.
Francis, who became pope last March, has begun a broad overhaul of the Vatican bureaucracy and has established commissions to deal with several delicate issues, including the one announced in December to address clerical sexual abuse. One Vatican official said that commission’s president would be named “within weeks.”
Since 2001, sexual-abuse cases sent to the Vatican have been handled there by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In an address last week, Francis told members of that group that he was studying a possible link to his new commission, signaling that the commission might become involved in adjudicating abuse cases.
Francis has been widely praised for his humble style and moderating tone on issues like homosexuality, but he has been less outspoken on the abuse issue. He has described clerical sexual abuse as the “shame of the church,” but has otherwise rarely spoken about it and has not met in public with abuse victims, unlike his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
At his general audience on Wednesday, Francis greeted Philomena Lee [ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/30/world/europe/a-forced-adoption-a-lifetime-quest-and-a-longing-that-never-waned.html ], the subject of the Oscar-nominated movie “Philomena.” The film portrays her decades of searching for the son taken from her as an unwed mother living in a Catholic institution run by nuns in Ireland. Ms. Lee is on a campaign to get the Irish government to force open adoption records to help reunite birth mothers with their children, and she was seeking the pope’s blessing.
Laurie Goodstein reported from New York, Nick Cumming-Bruce from Geneva, and Jim Yardley from Rome.
Related in Opinion
Editorial: The U.N. Confronts the Vatican
FEB. 5, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/opinion/the-un-confronts-the-vatican.html
© 2014 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/world/europe/un-panel-assails-vatican-over-sex-abuse-by-priests.html
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UN demands Pope investigates abuse
Survivors of the Magdalene Laundries (left to right) Maureen Sullivan, Mary McManus, Kitty Jennette and Mary Smith.
05 February 2014
Pope Francis must launch an investigation into decades of abuse of girls and young women at Catholic-run workhouses in Ireland, the United Nations has demanded.
It has also called for religious orders involved or the Vatican itself to pay compensation to survivors and families of victims of the notorious Magdalene laundries.
In a blistering attack on the Catholic Church's attitude to widescale sex abuse and torture meted out by its own priests and nuns, the UN human rights committee has also urged the Holy See to open its files on paedophiles and bishops who concealed their crimes.
Referring specifically to the Magdalene laundries scandal - recalled most recently in the Oscar-nominated film Philomena - the Vatican is accused of taking no action to investigate the abuse.
Nor did church authorities compel nuns who ran the workhouses to cooperate with police inquiries into those who organised and knowingly profited from unpaid work by girls incarcerated in the laundries, it said.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) said it was particularly concerned that:
:: Girls placed in the institutions were forced to work in slavery-like conditions and were often subject to inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment as well as to physical and sexual abuse;
:: They were deprived of their identity, of education and often of food and essential medicines and were imposed with an obligation of silence and prohibited from having any contact with the outside world;
:: And unmarried girls who gave birth before entering or while incarcerated in the laundries had their babies forcibly removed from them.
The laundries - institutions for single mothers detained through the courts or often moved in by their family or clergy for being sexually active - were run by four Catholic religious orders: The Sisters of Mercy, The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, The Sisters of Charity, and The Good Shepherd Sisters.
The last laundry, at Sean McDermott Street in Dublin, closed in 1996.
It is not the first time they have been highlighted by the UN. In 2011, the UN Committee Against Torture said it was gravely concerned by the failure of the Irish state to "protect girls and women who were involuntarily confined between 1922 and 1996 in the Magdalene Laundries".
Since then, the Irish government has set up a State compensation scheme for survivors.
Several hundred women who have applied to the redress fund are to be paid tax-free sums, ranging from 11,500 euro to 100,000 euro.
But the Magdalene Survivors Together group, which represents survivors in Ireland and the UK, has criticised religious orders for not contributing to the compensation.
The UN said the Catholic orders which ran the workhouses came under the authority of the Pope, who should launch an internal investigation into religious personnel working in the laundries and ensure those responsible are reported to authorities for prosecution.
The watchdog also called for full compensation to be paid to the victims and their families either through the congregations themselves or through the Holy See "as supreme power of the Church and legally responsible for its subordinates".
The UN committee demanded the Catholic church takes responsibility for the physical and psychological recovery of survivors.
Campaigners Justice For Magdalenes said the report points out that the Catholic church refused to accept unanimous survivor testimony that they were imprisoned and subjected to forced labour, torture as well as other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
"None of the orders have offered an apology to Magdalene survivors, nor have they contributed to the compensation fund," the group said in a statement.
"The Catholic church has not made any attempt to instigate an internal investigation into Magdalene abuse, nor has it held anyone accountable for what happened.
The UN watchdog has also accused the Vatican of systematically adopting policies that allowed priests to rape and molest tens of thousands of children worldwide over decades.
The findings were published after the Holy See was hauled before a day-long interrogation last month on its implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The UN blasted what it branded a "code of silence" used to keep victims quiet and attacked the Vatican for putting the reputation of the church and alleged offenders over the protection of children.
"The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by, and the impunity of, the perpetrators," it said.
The Vatican said it would study the report and reiterated its commitment to defending and protecting children's rights.
© Belfasttelegraph.co.uk
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/un-demands-pope-investigates-abuse-29983125.html [with comments]
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U.N. report puts pressure on Catholic orders in Ireland over laundries
by Padraic Halpin
Published: Thursday February 6, 2014 MYT 12:15:01 AM
Updated: Thursday February 6, 2014 MYT 12:15:51 AM
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Advocacy groups for women forced to work at the Catholic Church's notorious Magdalene laundries in Ireland backed calls from the United Nations for religious orders to pay compensation and face prosecution for decades of abuse.
In an unprecedented report on Wednesday, the U.N. demanded that the Vatican "immediately remove" all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers. It also urged the Holy See to conduct an investigation into the laundries.
Women, many unmarried mothers, sent to the laundries were made wash items for business, hospitals and state bodies in slave-like conditions, and were often subject to cruel and degrading treatment as well as physical and sexual abuse, the report by the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child said.
"The state has allowed the perpetrators of these crimes to get away without taking responsibility," said Steven O' Riordan, director of Magdalene Survivors Together. "The religious orders are still not being held accountable, they have never apologised directly for their part in running the laundries."
The authority of the church in Ireland has been rocked by investigations into clerical sex abuse and state-abetted cover-ups at Catholic-run schools and institutions, labelled places of fear and neglect in a 2009 official report.
The Irish government last year agreed to pay up 58 million euros (47 million pounds) to hundreds of Magdalene laundry workers after an official report found that a quarter of them were sent there by the Irish state. Prime Minister Enda Kenny apologised for what he described as a "national shame".
The religious orders responsible for the laundries, which were run by Catholic nuns and were depicted in the award-winning film "The Magdalene Sisters", did not contribute to the compensation scheme.
ADOPTION RECORDS
The U.N. report said that "girls were deprived of their identity, of education and often of food and essential medicines and were imposed with an obligation of silence and prohibited from having any contact with the outside world".
The Conference of Religious of Ireland, the umbrella group for the religious congregations, said it had no comment to make on the U.N. report. The Vatican itself said the Church was committed to "defending and protecting the rights of the child".
The report also urged the Vatican to investigate the forced removal of thousands of babies from their mothers by members of Catholic congregations, notably in Spain and Ireland, a plight highlighted by the Oscar-nominated film "Philomena".
The 80-year-old Irish woman who inspired the film launched a campaign last month calling for access to adoption records, urging Dublin to legislate for the release of more than 60,000 files withheld by the state, private adoption agencies and the Catholic Church.
The United Nations said the Holy See should ensure that congregations involved disclose all the information they have on the whereabouts of these children in order for them, where possible, to be reunited with their biological mothers.
"It is causing untold heartache for tens of thousands of women," Susan Lohan of the Adoption Rights Alliance told national broadcaster RTE. "They are living inside prisons in their own head because they were sent away without their babies and told what they had done was a shameful act." ($1 = 0.7402 euros)
(Editing by Alison Williams)
Copyright 2014 Thomson Reuters
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/World/2014/02/06/UN-report-puts-pressure-on-Catholic-orders-in-Ireland-over-laundries/
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Vatican seeks to defuse row with U.N. over child abuse report
By Naomi O’Leary
07/02/2014 15:28 CET
ROME (Reuters) – The Vatican sought to defuse tensions with the United Nations on Friday after a damning report which accused the church of covering up child sex abuse by priests.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi adopted a markedly softer tone to Wednesday’s sharp criticism of a report by the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The paper accused the Church of valuing its reputation above the protection of children and demanded the Vatican turn over suspected offenders to civil justice.
The Vatican had originally planned a muted response, according to a person familiar with the matter, but attacked the report’s demands that the church scale back its opposition to abortion, artificial contraception and homosexuality.
The exchange appeared to leave the church and the United Nations heading for their biggest clash in decades but Lombardi said there was no rift with the world body.
“It is not the case that there has been a confrontation between the UN and the Vatican,” he said in a statement. “The Holy See has always given a strong moral support to the United Nations.”
Lombardi nevertheless repeated the Vatican’s initial criticism of the report, saying it was unfair and biased.
He said that the inclusion of comments on abortion, contraception and homosexuality went beyond the committee’s remit and amounted to an attempt to interfere in Church teaching and religious freedom, and accused the committee of pre-writing the report before the Vatican had addressed it.
The last major clash between the two institutions was in 1994, when the Vatican forced the United Nations to back down on a proposal to approve abortion as a means of birth control at a population conference in Cairo.
Outrage over the abuse of children by clerics has dogged the Church for more than a decade, with lawsuits bankrupting several dioceses, and a series of pontiffs have struggled to put the issue behind them.
Since his 2013 election Pope Francis has called sexual abuse “the shame of the Church” and vowed to continue measures to address it begun by his predecessor Benedict XVI.
Francis announced he would form a committee to advise him on the issue in December, but has yet to appoint its members, and the report increased pressure on the pontiff to act.
(Editing by Jon Boyle)
Copyright 2014 Thomson Reuters
http://www.euronews.com/newswires/2332862-scathing-un-report-demands-vatican-act-against-child-sex-abuse/
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UN names church for what it is: a rogue state
A memorial plaque to victims of the Magdalene Laundries in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.
When you look at it minus the emotional baggage, your blood runs cold
Brendan O'Connor – 09 February 2014
WE CAN tend to outrage fatigue when it comes to reports about the crimes committed within the Catholic Church in recent years. So when the UN Committee on the Rights of Children reported last week on its ongoing engagement with the Catholic Church regarding the rights of children within the Vatican and the Holy See, many people will have been tempted to ignore it.
After all, there wasn't much new in it. The church has a history of trafficking babies, of discriminating against children based on their sexuality or that of their parents, and of allowing children to be abused, of protecting their abusers from the law, of moving abusers around –allowing them to abuse again, and when it came to abuse, of "consistently placing the preservation of the church and the protection of the perpetrators above children's best interests". The church has even protected priests from their own children, denying children the right to know the identity of their fathers and "only agreeing payments from the church until the child is financially independent only if they [the mothers] sign a confidentiality agreement not to disclose any information".
We knew all that stuff already, didn't we?
Except it is a little different this time. Because previously our engagement with the church has tended to stay within the family. There has been an emotional attachment that has clouded the issue for us. Because there is always a sense, in this country, that everyone was complicit in all this because, after all, we are, or were, the church.
And because the church was so intermingled with the State here, and with the provision of health, education and welfare, the crimes themselves became intermingled with social norms of the time and so on.
So the Magdalene laundries scandal was viewed not just as a church scandal but as all of our shame. In short, in Ireland, the blame has tended to be spread.
That's why the latest UN report is important, because it takes all that baggage out of it and treats the church as what it is – a de facto state, geographically dispersed throughout the world certainly, but a metaphysical and legal entity, and therefore, "a sovereign subject of international law having an original non derived legal personality independent of any territorial authority of jurisdiction."
While some will argue about the Vatican's claim to statehood, the UN uses the church's claim to independent statehood against it. The UN is basically treating the Holy See as a state, subject to the same duties and responsibilities as other states. And what the UN finds is a rogue state.
Make no mistake, if the Holy See was an actual country, we would be at the least boycotting its fruit and at the most sending in the tanks. Here is a state that has institutionalised homophobia, discrimination against women and children, that has systematically overseen the protection of the abusers of tens of thousands of children, protecting abusers from the laws of their host countries. Here is a state that has overseen mass scale trafficking of babies, a state that opposes modern health and sexual education for young women, a state that forces secrecy on children, even those who are victims of sexual abuse.
These guys are up there with China or the worst of Africa in terms of their human rights record. And when you look at it coldly and clearly like that, your blood runs cold. Because instead of shunning this rogue state, we have invited it into the very heart of all our countries, and into the heart of our families.
Take out of the equation for a moment the tragedy that this has all been for good people of faith, and just view this as a political issue, and suddenly, we are faced with a very grim and outrageous situation. The Holy See, a rogue state, operating its own twisted Canon laws even while residing geographically in our country and others.
So the UN says that: "While welcoming the Holy See's approach to ensuring that the legislation of the Vatican City State complies with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Committee regrets that the same approach has not been followed in relation to its internal laws, including Canon Law."
Canon Law, for example, still refers to illegitimate children. The Holy See's past statements and declarations of homosexuality "contribute to the social stigmatisation of and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adolescents and children raised by same-sex couples". The Holy See also refused to provide information to the UN on its attempts to take sexism and gender stereotyping from its textbooks as requested by the committee in 1995, nearly 20 years ago.
More critically, the UN found that "the Holy See has consistently placed the preservation of the reputation of the church and the protection of the perpetrators (of abuse) above the child's best interests". The UN also found the rogue state of the Holy See wanting in terms of torture. To our shame, it mainly referred here to the "inhuman, cruel and degrading" treatment and "slavery like" conditions in Ireland's Magdalene laundries, where girls were "deprived of their identity ... imposed with an obligation of silence and prohibited from having any contact with the outside world". The UN also refers to the unmarried girls who had their babies forcibly removed.
Put aside for a moment that this was the Holy Church doing this and look at it coldly. This rogue state, this parasite that fed off us, conducted torture and slavery in this country. And, to add insult to injury then took no action "to investigate the conduct ... and to co-operate with law enforcement authorities in holding accountable" the slave masters and torturers.
Torture and slavery may seem like strong words, but when you strip it all away and when you are not too close to it, as we are, that is what this was. That is how the UN sees it coldly and politically: torture and slavery and refusal to co-operate with the laws of the real world when it came to prosecuting the slavers and torturers.
When it comes to child abuse, the sinister state of the Holy See acted just as outrageously. Ignoring the laws of host countries, the Holy See moved offenders around so they could offend again and then allowed the vast majority of abusers to escape judicial proceedings by dealing with abuse not as a crime but as "grave delictas against the moral" which meant abuse was dealt with in confidential proceedings. This code of Omerta, and this classification of abuse as not being a crime, led to a culture of non reporting of what are accepted by those of us who live in the real world as very serious crimes.
The UN's message to the church is stark. If you want to be a state, you need to act like one. You cannot just declare yourself a jurisdiction, make up your own laws that excuse things that are universally accepted to be wrong, and refuse to be party both to the laws of the countries you operate in and universally agreed conventions on human rights.
Not since Enda Kenny's magnificent "thankfully for them and for us, this is not Rome" speech on the Cloyne Report, has the dysfunctional culture of the Holy See been laid out so starkly for Irish people.
For us, it is a whole new way of looking at the phenomenon of the Catholic Church. It is a way of taking the emotional baggage out of it. And when you layer up fact upon fact, it presents a pretty damning picture of these people, people that we invited into our lives because of our faith in a God who would surely be appalled by what they have done.
© Independent.ie
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/brendan-oconnor/un-names-church-for-what-it-is-a-rogue-state-29992797.html [with comments]
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Ohio priest sentenced 7.5 years in sex abuse case
Posted by Kelly Taylor
Posted: Feb 12, 2014 11:44 AM CST
Updated: Feb 12, 2014 1:34 PM CST
CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) - An Ohio priest convicted of taking a 10-year-old boy to West Virginia for sex more than two decades ago was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison on Wednesday.
Federal jurors found Robert Frank Poandl, of the Fairfield-based Glenmary Home Missioners, guilty in September of transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent of engaging him in sex.
Prosecutors said the priest took the boy from Cincinnati to West Virginia in 1991 and raped him while visiting a church there. The crime was not disclosed until the victim came forward in 2009.
A federal grand jury indicted Poandl, known as "Father Bob," in Nov. 2012. FBI agents arrested him at the Glenmary Home Missioners in Fairfield.
U.S. District Attorney Carter Stewart said Poandl was placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring following his arrest and will begin serving his sentence immediately.
Related content:
Prosecutor says priest abuse charges valid
http://www.fox19.com/story/22792385/prosecutor-says-ohio-priest-abuse-charges-valid
Fairfield priest found guilty in sex abuse trial
http://www.fox19.com/story/23488091/jury-returns-guilty-verdict-for-cincinnati-priest-robert-poandl
Copyright 2014 WXIX
http://www.fox19.com/story/24704794/robert-poandl-ohio-priest-sentenced-75-years-in-sex-abuse-case
===
Catholic Hospital Receptionist Allegedly Tells Couple That Atheists Should Not Be Allowed to Reproduce
(Original image via Wikimedia [ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:STATUE_OF_THE_VIRGIN_MAY_IN_FRONT_OF_THE_CATHOLIC_LORETTO_HOSPITAL_IN_NEW_ULM,_MINNESOTA._THE_TOWN_WAS_FOUNDED_BY_A..._-_NARA_-_558164.jpg ])
February 6, 2014 By Terry Firma [ http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/author/terry/ ]
Redditor chuckyourface says [ http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/1wzkvk/ignorance_at_the_hospital/ ] he was in for a surprise when he took his wife to the hospital for some tests the other day.
At the check-in desk,
The lady asked [her] all the usual questions including “Do you have a religious preference?” She answered no, because she really has no preference. She doesn’t identify as atheist or anything else, because it’s all too stupid basically. So I asked the receptionist, “If she says ‘no preference,’ does that mean the hospital gets to pick?,” and she said she just clicked ‘no preference.’
That should have been the end of the conversation, but she went on to say in all her time doing this, she’s had two people claim [to be an] atheist. One was a typical punk teenager with black eye-liner, and just didn’t know any better. The other really surprised her though because she was a sweet lady and had two cute kids with her. “How can she say atheist in front of these kids?! You shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce if that’s how you feel. That’s just my opinion.“
We were shocked, just sitting there with the most obvious fake forced smiles, trying not to say she shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce or interact with the public.
But the woman wasn’t quite done yet.
She went on to complain about HIPAA. In the good old days, preachers could come in and get a printout of all the patients. The Baptist preachers got the Baptist list, the Catholics got the Catholics, etc. But now HIPAA has ruined that and they have to know the name of a patient to get in.
It took everything I had to be quiet, but my [wife] absolutely hates confrontation about religion and this was her appointment so I’ll save my battle for the next time. I have considered reporting this to administration, but it is a Catholic-owned hospital so I’m sure she’d just get an award.”
I’ve asked chuckyourface for further details.
For reasons I can’t yet share, I believe the receptionist works at a hospital somewhere in the greater Oklahoma City area. I’m hoping to learn more, but a story like this is hard to verify. If the receptionist denies it happened, it’s her word against the word of the couple. Still, I have no compelling reason to doubt chuckyourface’s account.
I’ll make some calls if I learn in what hospital this allegedly took place. Should I find out more, count on an update.
***UPDATE, Thursday, 3:45 p.m. EST: *** The Redditor’s real name is Scott. I’m withholding his last name at his request. This is what he e-mailed me:
This was in Oklahoma at a Mercy Memorial hospital. Unfortunately, that is the only hospital within a 50 or 100 mile radius that I know of, so it’s our only option. It is Catholic-owned and managed, so of course there are crucifixes on every wall. I didn’t catch the receptionist’s name, but she was in room 4 of admission. The date was Monday 2/3/14.
I filled out an online complaint form and was promised a call within three business days. I’ve pasted below what I submitted on that form. …
I’d rather not my full name or profession be listed. I am fully “out” with my family and friends, but not my coworkers. My boss is quite religious and I’m not sure how she would react just yet.
I’m making a call to Mercy Hospital management next. More as this story develops.
***UPDATE 2, 20 minutes later:*** Talked to Mercy Hospital’s press officer Rachel Wright, who promised to look into it and get back to me. She did answer “no” to the question if the hospital condones the receptionist lobbing bigoted statements like that, rightfully pointing out that the employee said “That’s just my opinion.”
Related
Australian Journalist Asks About Ken Ham: ‘How Did He Get Out?’
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/02/06/australian-journalist-asks-about-ken-ham-how-did-he-get-out/
Copyright 2014, Patheos (emphasis in original)
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/02/06/catholic-hospital-receptionist-allegedly-tells-couple-that-atheists-should-not-be-allowed-to-reproduce/ [with comments]
*
Hospital Apologizes For Telling Patient That Atheists Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Procreate, But Stonewalls Inquiry
February 10, 2014
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/02/10/hospital-apologizes-for-telling-patient-that-atheists-shouldnt-be-allowed-to-procreate-but-stonewalls-inquiry/ [with comments]
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President Obama, at Prayer Breakfast, Defends Rights of Those with ‘No Faith At All’
February 6, 2014 By Paul Fidalgo [ http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/author/paul/ ]
Let us take it as a given that the President of the United States’ participation in the National Prayer Breakfast [ http://www.c-span.org/video/?317641-1/317641-1 ] is highly problematic to say the least. When we make a tradition of the elected chief executive publicly kissing the ring of sectarian religion, it turns it into a quasi-official event, flying in the face of basic secularism and the Constitution. It’s a bad thing.
All that said (and said with fervency), via RNS’s Brian Pellot, we learn that at said breakfast, President Obama had a positive message [ http://brianpellot.religionnews.com/2014/02/06/barack-obama-national-prayer-breakfast-atheist-gay-washington-religious-freedom/ ] that we secularists wholeheartedly embrace: the need for people of all religions and of no religion to believe and express themselves as they will, without threat of retaliation, discrimination, or criminalization.
And, importantly, it was said before a conservative religious audience. The president said:
We see governments engaging in discrimination and violence against the faithful. Sometimes religion is twisted in an attempt to justify hatred and persecution against other people just because of who they are, how they pray, or who they love… We believe in the inherent dignity of every human being, a dignity that no earthly power can take away. Central to that dignity is freedom of religion, the right of every person to practice their faith how they choose, to change their faith if they choose or to practice no faith at all, and to do this free of persecution and fear.
It would have been far more powerful if Obama had uttered the dreaded “atheist” word — or at least the less politically fraught “nonbeliever” — to specifically reference the threat faced by that particular group. Even better, he could have mentioned the harrowing cases of particular individuals such as Indonesia’s Alexander Aan [ http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blogs/entry/alexander_aan_released_from_prison/ ], Saudi Arabia’s Raif Badawi [ http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/12/26/saudi-blogger-raif-badawi-faces-apostasy-charges-could-be-executed/ ], Egypt’s Alber Saber [ http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/12/12/egyptian-atheist-alber-saber-convicted-and-sentenced-to-three-years-in-prison-for-blasphemy/ ], and the many, many others who suffer imprisonment, persecution, and mortal threats for their lack of religious belief.
But at the very least, the president has the right idea, and is making clear his stance on global religious freedom includes nonbelievers, even if this time he didn’t use one particular word or other. At the Center for Inquiry, my organization, we’re sharing an image [ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152022330839773 (the image above)] highlighting the president’s words from today (included here in this post), and we’re asking folks to let their government know [ https://secure3.convio.net/cfi/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=325 ] that they support free expression and freedom of belief around the world. You can do it, too.
Copyright 2014, Patheos (emphasis in original)
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/02/06/president-obama-at-prayer-breakfast-defends-rights-of-those-with-no-faith-at-all/
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Gohmert's Remarks at The National Prayer Breakfast
Published on Feb 6, 2014 by GohmertTX01 [ http://www.youtube.com/user/GohmertTX01 ]
Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01) served as the co-chairman of the 2014 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. He shared some very touching testimony before the President of the United States' remarks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NMa8tu4PFY [with comments]
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President Obama Speaks at the 2014 National Prayer Breakfast
Published on Feb 6, 2014 by The White House [ http://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse?feature=watch ]
President Obama delivers remarks to legislators, officials, and clergy from all faiths and political ideologies at the annual National Prayer Breakfast. February 6, 2014.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hKSCr-M1ZE [with comments] [also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cASISoAm_dA (with comment) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tFBF6tVEO0 (with comment)]
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Dr. Ben Carson speaks in Portland, Oregon 1/31/2014
Published on Feb 1, 2014 by djssds4 [ http://www.youtube.com/user/djssds4 ]
Dr. Carson speaks at fundraiser for Dr. Monica Wehby running for U.S. Senate in Oregon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeshVrvMsZs [with comments] [embedded/more at "Ben Carson, Fox Commentator: Progressives Will Turn America Into Nazi Germany", http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/10/ben-carson-nazi-germany_n_4761388.html (with comments), and "Ben Carson Suggests Progressives Could Turn U.S. Into Nazi Germany", http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-nazi-reference (with comments)]
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John B. Wells With Alex Jones; "We're in A Cold Civil War"
Published on May 21, 2013 by WorldConflictReport [ http://www.youtube.com/user/WorldConflictReport ]
On today's show Alex welcomes the Saturday host of Coast to Coast AM [not any longer ( http://thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/02/06/john-b-wells-fired-for-being-too-popular-and-truthful-an-exclusive-interview/ )], John B. Wells to examine the massive scandals engulfing the White House and the accelerating panic to demonize all opposing voices.
A recent Department of Defense instruction alters the US code applying to the military's involvement in domestic law enforcement by allowing US troops to quell "civil disturbances" domestically without any Presidential authorization, greasing the skids for a de facto military coup in America along with the wholesale abolition of Posse Comitatus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN7RlZUvNpE [with comments]
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Dr. Benjamin Carson's Stirring Speech at CPAC 2013 - Complete Video 3/16/13
Published on Mar 16, 2013 by FreedomsLighthouse [ http://www.youtube.com/user/FreedomsLighthouse ]
3/16/13
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiyAW5ZMdcM [with comments]
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Alex Jones Show: Sunday (9-8-13) John B. Wells
Published on Sep 8, 2013 by Thanatos117 [ http://www.youtube.com/user/Thanatos117 ]
Today live on this Sunday, September 8 edition of the Alex Jones Show, Alex breaks down the accelerating global awakening which could lead to the fall of the current New World Order power structure. Obama continues to push for war leading up to his upcoming Tuesday speech from the White House, but Americans are pushing back. One man even confronted John McCain for representing Obama rather than We the People and called for the senator's arrest for treason. From Obamacare to the Syrian war expansion, Alex covers it all and joining him is the syndicated radio host of Coast to Coast AM [not any longer ( http://thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/02/06/john-b-wells-fired-for-being-too-popular-and-truthful-an-exclusive-interview/ )] John B. Wells. Alex and John also take your calls throughout the broadcast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xokV-kDcsl4 [with comments]
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Dr. Benjamin Carson's Amazing Speech at the National Prayer Breakfast with Obama Present
Published on Feb 7, 2013 by FreedomsLighthouse [ http://www.youtube.com/user/FreedomsLighthouse ]
2/7/13
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFb6NU1giRA [with (over 14,000) comments]
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Alex Jones Interviews John B. Wells 12-11-2013
Published on Dec 12, 2013 by Belligerent Politics [ http://www.youtube.com/user/BelligerentPolitics ]
Alex Jones Interviews John B. Wells 12-11-2013
Alex Jones interviews famous voice over and radio show host of Coast To Coast AM [not any longer ( http://thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/02/06/john-b-wells-fired-for-being-too-popular-and-truthful-an-exclusive-interview/ )] John B. Wells [ http://caravantomidnight.com/ ]. The interview covers topics including: bitcoin, EMT's, system collapse, police shootings, cop killings, the state of the media, President Obama, the middle east, Nelson Mandela, Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, South Africa, aliens, Constitution, Obama care, racism, UFO's, and more.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByRiAip7bTk [with comments] [also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmtUOsknFAo (no comments yet)] [most of the same content covered in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIjr-o4mJ9Y (with comments) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suAZtI0E3ks (with comments), combined]
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Ben Carson on Rejecting Darwinian Evolution
Published on Jan 30, 2014 by IDquest [ http://www.youtube.com/user/IDquest ]
On this [2/11/13] episode of ID the Future, host David Boze speaks with Dr. Ben Carson, renowned pediatric neurosurgeon and Darwin doubter. Dr. Carson is also a best-selling author, a celebrated and acclaimed surgeon, and he actually had his life made into a movie which starred Academy Award winning actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. Dr. Carson was invited to deliver the 2012 commencement speech at Emory University. Unfortunately, upon uncovering his non-allegiance to Darwinian ideology, 500 faculty members and students alike signed a letter in protest of his welcome. Listen in to hear Dr. Carson discuss this ill treatment and why his acute knowledge of the brain has led him to reject Darwinism.
Dr. Ben Carson is the Director of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. An internationally renowned physician, Dr. Carson has authored over 100 neurosurgical publications, along with three best-selling books, and has been awarded 38 honorary doctorate degrees and dozens of national merit citations.
Links:
Dr. Ben Carson on Darwinian Dogma and the DNA/Software Analogy:
http://www.evolutionnews.org/2012/07/dr_ben_carson_o061601.html
Carson's website:
http://www.realbencarson.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEVKBlPZiGM [comments disabled]
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Hagmann and Hagmann Report - February 1 2014 - John B. Wells New Radio Show
Published on Feb 2, 2014 by Conspiracy Theories [ http://www.youtube.com/user/pokertron ]
Former Coast to Coast AM guests Joe & Doug Hagmann present the Hagmann and Hagmann Report, it provides viewers and listeners information about current events and historical topics that transcend the political right-left paradigm and delve into the real issues behind the sugar-coated news. This unique, father-son detective duo uses their investigative abilities and resources to aggressively research and report on issues left untouched by the corporate media and those that exist beyond the scope of the non-traditional media. The show addresses many issues once considered mere fodder for "conspiracy theorists," tracing their roots from the various events that created them through the fabric of history to the present day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGeJBbNypvc [with comments] [also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYA5Y01I3ds (with comments)]
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Dr Ben Carson - Testimony (Miami Temple SDA)
Uploaded on May 20, 2011 by Norman VickersInc [ http://www.youtube.com/user/normandynv ]
Miami Temple SDA [Seventh-Day Adventist ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh-day_Adventist_Church ; http://www.adventist.org/ ; http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2001/06/What-Seventh-Day-Adventists-Believe.aspx )] Church - Dr Ben Carson (Testimony)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZiBUKQXEls [with comments]
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John B and his Plan B
Published on Feb 4, 2014 by Blake Walley [ http://www.youtube.com/user/eccentricperspective ]
John B. Wells joins the "Eccentric Perspective" show with Brian "the Brain" and Blake "the Eccentric" to discuss the current state of the world and his new Media Venture via Caravan to Midnight!
Interview from the "Eccentric Perspective" show 2/3/14 on http://freedomizerradio.com
More John B. Wells:
http://caravantomidnight.com
More Brian "the Brain" Engelman
http://thenewamericanmedia.com
More Blake "the Eccentric" Walley
http://eccentricperspective.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYxyqitsPQo [with comments]
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Transcending Faith Dr. Ben Carson Testimony
Uploaded on Apr 3, 2011 by Eddie Bailey [ http://www.youtube.com/user/thesavoymediagroup ]
Growing up in dire poverty in Detroit, Michigan Dr. Ben Carson faced a challenging childhood.
At the age of 33 Dr. Carson went on to "...become the youngest major division director at the Johns Hopkins medical institutions." Dr. Carson is the author of "Gifted Hands", "The Big Picture", "Take the Risk", and "Think Big". He is also the founder of The Carson Scholars Fund @ www.carsonscholars.org along with his wife, Candy.
Through his relationship with Jesus Christ and his TRANSCENDING FAITH Dr. Carson is able to have success beyond measure.
Music by:
Steve Soulbasics - "I Got Jesus"
Sue Stonebender - "Legendary Grace"
Copyright © 2010-2011 The Savoy Media Group, LLC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUIxVxsFS94 [with comments]
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Caravan to Midnight with John B. Wells
Published on Feb 7, 2014 by Caravan toMidnight·[ http://www.youtube.com/user/thenugget31 ]
Caravan to Midnight with John B. Wells and Jim Garrow Episode 1 - 2-4-14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn-LgVewxiU [does continue after periods of dead air; with comments]
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by Doktor Zoom
1:29 pm February 6, 2014
Our favorite Minor League radio preacher, Colorado’s Kevin Swanson [ http://wonkette.com/?s=%22Kevin+Swanson%22 ], took a break from hating on gays and abortion for a few minutes to blame the Beatles [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/swanson-beatles-encourage-demonism-paved-way-satanic-pagan-orgy-grammy-awards ] for bringing demonic rock and/or roll to our shores 50 years ago, an event that set us on the road to this year’s Grammy Awards show, which he described as a “satanic pagan orgy” and a “celebration of fornication, twerking, stripping and satanic rituals.” You sort of have to wonder how much the organizers of the Grammys are paying him.
Swanson has some serious problems with the Grammys telecast, which he really seemed to enjoy describing. Grasping his microphone firmly with manly vigor, he described the awards show [ http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/06/religious-broadcaster-beatles-to-blame-for-katy-perrys-satanic-pagan-twerking-orgy/ (second below)] as
a celebration of fornication, twerking, stripping (and) satanic rituals topped off with about 34 [inaudible -- neurotic? erotic?] weddings conducted by a lesbian with music provided by Madonna, so yeah, the homosexuals getting married and the tradition of the Caesar Nero, was basically a pagan, satanic orgy.”
Now we’re feeling kind of bad that we were just watching Doctor Who on Netflix.
Swanson went on to explain that Katy Perry was either the cause or a symptom of the general destruction of moral principles in U.S. America, since she had once released a Christian-themed album, but then started slutting things up, dancing around with computer-animated candy and actual negroes, and decimating an army of gummi bears with mammary-mounted whipped-cream cans:
“Katy Perry and all her friends, apostates from faith, they move gradually out of the Christian faith and into a secular, demonic approach to things and they move out of the Christian – this is how you get from a 55 percent church attendance ratio for the Silent Generation to 18 percent for the Millennial Generation down to 4 percent in the year 2025,” Swanson said.
And it never would have happened without those mop-headed apostates the Beatles, because as we all know, there was no rock music before them. Recapitulating a history lesson by Doktor Zoom’s Mother from shortly after John Lennon’s 1980 murder, Swanson noted that Lennon and Paul McCartney met at an Anglican church, after all, but instead of playing nice Christian music, they used their God-given talent to play the Devil’s rock ‘n’ roll, leading to widespread cultural destruction and drugs:
“It takes apostates to destroy a culture and to undermine a civilization,” Swanson said. “That’s how you get from ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand” to ‘Let’s Do It In The Road [sic] by 1968.”
“And by the way, the 2014 Grammys celebrated The Beatles, yet again, and I think that’s important because The Beatles opened things up for us, that’s how we got to the drug culture of 1969 and 1970.”
We’d like to think that in addition to having serious issues with understanding causality, Swanson was also terribly disappointed to learn that the White Album was not a celebration of Anglo-Saxon ethnic heritage.
©2014 Wonkette Media LLC
http://wonkette.com/541368/radio-wingnut-says-the-beatles-are-satan [with comments]
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Paganism: An Overview Of One Of Least Understood Modern Religions
02/08/2014
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/08/paganism-overview_n_4730079.html [with comments]
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Religious broadcaster: Beatles to blame for Katy Perry’s satanic pagan twerking orgy
By Travis Gettys
Thursday, February 6, 2014 10:58 EST
It was 50 years ago next week that Sgt. Pepper taught the world to twerk.
At least, that’s what religious right broadcaster Kevin Swanson suggested in advance of the Feb. 9 semicentennial of the Beatles’ first live American television performance.
The Generations Radio broadcaster joined a host of other conservative commentators in denouncing the 2014 Grammy Awards telecast as immoral, reported Right Wing Watch [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/swanson-beatles-encourage-demonism-paved-way-satanic-pagan-orgy-grammy-awards ].
“The 2014 Grammy celebration was a celebration of fornication, twerking, stripping (and) satanic rituals topped off with about 34 [inaudible] weddings conducted by a lesbian with music provided by Madonna, so yeah, the homosexuals getting married and the tradition of the Caesar Nero, was basically a pagan, satanic orgy,” Swanson said.
The broadcaster blamed pop star Katy Perry, who had previously released a Christian-themed album under her given name, Katy Hudson, for inspiring young people to abandon their faith.
“Katy Perry and all her friends, apostates from faith, they move gradually out of the Christian faith and into a secular, demonic approach to things and they move out of the Christian – this is how you get from a 55 percent church attendance ratio for the Silent Generation to 18 percent for the Millennial Generation down to 4 percent in the year 2025,” Swanson said.
[the audio "Swanson: Grammys A Satanic Orgy", https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/swanson-grammys-a-satanic-orgy , embedded]
The 29-year-old singer was following an example set decades ago by two performers who also appeared on the Grammy broadcast.
“It wouldn’t happen without the Beatles,” Swanson said.
He said the Beatles, too, were apostates, citing the location where John Lennon met his future bandmate, Paul McCartney, in 1957 while playing with his skiffle group, The Quarrymen.
“The Beatles had to start in the choir at Saint Peter’s Anglican Church,” Swanson said, misidentifying the type of music played by Lennon’s group. “They had to! They had to start there, friends. They had to work out the first bars of ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’ on the church piano at Saint Peter’s Anglican Church.”
He said both The Beatles and Perry started their careers as religious musicians in accordance with prophesy.
“It takes apostates to destroy a culture and to undermine a civilization,” Swanson said. “That’s how you get from ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand” to ‘Let’s Do It In The Road (sic) by 1968.”
“The 2014 Grammys celebrated the Beatles yet again, and I think that’s important because the Beatles opened things up for us, that’s how we got to the drug culture of 1969s and 1970s,” he added.
[the audio "Swanson: The Beatles Pushed Satanism ", https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/swanson-the-beatles-inspired , embedded]
Copyright © 2014 Raw Story Media, Inc.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/06/religious-broadcaster-beatles-to-blame-for-katy-perrys-satanic-pagan-twerking-orgy/ [with comments]
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Conservatives Lash Out At 'Sick,' 'Despicable' & 'Disgusting' Grammy Awards
1/27/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/conservatives-lash-out-sick-despicable-disgusting-grammy-awards [with embedded audio https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/erik-rush-grammys-make-me ]
*
Beck: Katy Perry's Grammy Performance Was 'Full-Fledged Witchcraft And Demonic Glorification'
1/28/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/beck-katy-perrys-grammy-performance-was-full-fledged-witchcraft-and-demonic-glorification ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQJvzlYtZMg [with comments]
*
Rep. Steve Palazzo Lashes Out At 'Gay Hollywood's Version Of Matrimony'
1/28/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rep-steve-palazzo-lashes-out-gay-hollywoods-version-matrimony
*
Erik Rush: Norman Lear Opened Door To Satanism At The Grammys
1/29/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/erik-rush-norman-lear-opened-door-satanism-grammys [with embedded audios https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/erik-rush-satanism-at-grammys and https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/erik-rush-grammys-make-me ]
*
"Road To Perdition": Right-Wing Media React To Multicultural Coca-Cola Super Bowl Ad
February 3, 2014
http://mediamatters.org/research/2014/02/03/road-to-perdition-right-wing-media-react-to-mul/197898 [with comments]; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=443Vy3I0gJs [with (over 11,000) comments]
*
Beck: Coke's Super Bowl Ad Was An 'In Your Face' Effort To 'Divide People'
2/3/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/beck-cokes-super-bowl-ad-was-your-face-effort-divide-people ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ8B_Ihjd_M [with comments]
*
Coca Cola’s ‘It’s Beautiful’ Ad Proves Some Americans Still Can’t Recognize the Beauty of Diversity
February 3, 2014
http://www.thewrap.com/coca-cola-america-beautiful-commercial-racist-reactions [with the YouTube from Coca-Cola of the ad in the item second above embedded, along with the YouTube from Coca-Cola, "Coca-Cola - It's Beautiful - Behind the Scenes", http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ReHUMUb9gY (with comments), just above; with comments]
*
Right radio pops off on Coke Super Bowl ad
2/4/14
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/superbowl-commercials-coke-america-the-beautiful-103075.html [with comments]
*
God Will Punish America For The Grammy Awards & 'Good Luck Charlie'
2/4/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/god-will-punish-america-grammy-awards-good-luck-charlie
*
LaBarbera: US Should Adopt Russia-Style 'Gay Propaganda' Law To Stop Disney From 'Promoting Lesbianism To Kids'
2/6/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/labarbera-us-should-adopt-russia-style-gay-propaganda-law-stop-disney-promoting-lesbianism-k [with embedded audios https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/labarbera-disney-promotes , https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/labarbera-children-of-gay , and https://soundcloud.com/rightwingwatch/labarbera-lively-to-russian ]
*
Peter LaBarbera Furious That Gay Couple Is Featured In 'America The Beautiful' Song Authored By Gay Songwriter
2/6/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/peter-labarbera-furious-gay-couple-featured-america-beautiful-song-authored-gay-songwriter
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Pleas from sexual-assault victim’s mother ignored by church prior to youth pastor’s arrest
By Tom Boggioni
Friday, February 7, 2014 21:08 EST
The mother of a girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a recently arrested church youth minister had her pleas for help ignored for months by the senior pastor of a church in San Ramon, California.
According to BayArea NBC [ http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Victims-Mother-Asked-Church-for-Help-Prior-to-Pastors-Sexual-Assault-Arrest-244100501.html ], Hyo Bin Im, 33, also known as Pastor John Hyobin at the Contra Costa Korean Presbyterian Church in San Ramon, was arrested last Wednesday, police said.
Senior Pastor Jason Jeon, of the Contra Costa Korean Presbyterian Church in San Ramon, admits that the girl’s mother did appeal to him for help, but he would not discuss what she talked to him about.
“Yes, as far as I know, John was helping them,” Jeon said. “That much I know.”
A church member, requesting not to be identified, said she is concerned Jeon didn’t step in after the girl’s mother contacted him.
“At this point, can the parents actually trust the pastor when they’re sending their kids to the church?” she said.
Speaking to a KNTV reporter, one member of the church said that the whole congregation knew that Im allowed under-aged girlsto stay with him at his San Ramon house when they had no place to live, also believing that he was ‘helping’ them.
Investigators determined the alleged victim and her sister were staying with Im at his San Ramon home and uncovered evidence of a romantic relationship between Im and one of the sisters. Additionally, police said they found evidence that the pastor was responsible for animal cruelty, resulting in a small dog being euthanized.
Im was arrested and booked into Martinez Detention Facility on Jan. 29 and faces felony charges of child concealment, unlawful sexual intercourse and animal cruelty. Bail has been set at $180,000.
Watch the BayArea NBC report below:
[video embedded]
Copyright © 2014 Raw Story Media, Inc.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/07/pleas-from-sexual-assault-victims-mother-ignored-by-church-prior-to-youth-pastors-arrest/ [with comments]
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Republican Official Says Gays Should Be Purged From GOP, Blames Homosexuality On Satan
Photo via Schoolcraft County Republican Party.
By Ashley Woods
Posted: 02/07/2014 6:33 pm EST Updated: 02/07/2014 8:59 pm EST
A new candidate for a Michigan seat on the Republican National Committee wants gays "purged" from the GOP and claims homosexuality is a "perversion" created by Satan himself.
Mary Helen Sears of Houghton County in the state's Upper Peninsula, elected vice chair of the Michigan Republican Party's 1st District [ http://schoolcraftrepublican.info/press-release-michigan-gop-convention-results/ ] last year, posted a rant in April [ http://schoolcraftrepublican.info/end-of-the-GOP/ (next below)] on the Schoolcraft County GOP website -- preceded by a warning asking readers to "please use your discretion before taking any decisions based on the information in this blog."
In the post [id.], Sears claimed that homosexuals prey on children, argued that "Satan uses homosexuality to attack the living space of the Holy Spirit" and advocated that Republicans "as a party should be purging this perversion and send them to a party with a much bigger tent."
Michigan's representatives on the Republican National Committee have lately stirred other controversy, mostly due to Dave Agema, a former state lawmaker who has regularly made anti-gay comments [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/24/reince-priebus-dave-agema-resignation_n_4660373.html ] and has been condemned by fellow Republicans, including Gov. Rick Snyder.
Last month, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus and Michigan Republican Party Chairman Bobby Schostak issued a joint statement asking Agema to step down from the RNC "for the good of the party [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/24/reince-priebus-dave-agema-resignation_n_4660373.html ]." Instead, Agema's Michigan co-chair on the RNC, U.S. Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land (who had condemned Agema's anti-gay comments), resigned her seat, saying she wanted to focus on her campaign. Under party rules, the state GOP must pick a woman [ http://www.freep.com/article/20140205/NEWS06/302050134/Michigan-Republican-Committee-select-new-national-committeewoman ] to take Land's place, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Enter Sears, who is running for Land's vacated RNC seat. She's, "if anything, to the right of RNC Committeeman Dave Agema on the political spectrum," wrote Macomb Daily columnist Chad Selweski [ http://macombpolitics.blogspot.com/2014/02/candidate-for-lands-rnc-seat-wants-to.html ].
Sears, in her post on the Schoolcraft County GOP website, wrote that Communist college professors were indoctrinating young people and claimed that Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory "gave rise to Hitler’s Third Reich, Mussolini’s Italy and Stalin’s Russia."
"If the GOP continues down this trend and stand for perversions and the daily social fad ... The GOP will be truly dead and Satan will have had his day," Sears wrote.
Darren Littel, communications director for the Michigan Republican Party, told The Huffington Post the GOP supports a traditional definition of marriage, "but we also believe that all people should be treated with dignity and respect and these comments clearly don’t reflect those principles."
The prospect of Agema and Sears heading the Michigan delegation on the RNC is apparently striking fear in the hearts of some Republicans, according to the Macomb Daily:
Apparently some Republican insiders are so shaken by the prospect of having Agema and Sears as Michigan’s two representatives on the RNC that they’re growing concerned about two mainstream Republicans in the three-person field splitting their votes, thereby allowing Sears to claim victory. When the GOP State Committee meets to select Land’s replacement, Sears’ competitors are expected to consist of Ronna Romney McDaniel, daughter of Ronna Romney, and Sandra Kahn who, I’m told, is the aunt of state Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville and the ex-wife of Sen. Roger Kahn of Saginaw Township.
Ronna Romney McDaniel, incidentally, is the niece of Michigan native and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney [ http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/ronna-romney-mcdaniel-mulls-2014-senate-bid-88810.html ]. The RNC will choose a new national committeewoman [ http://www.freep.com/article/20140205/NEWS06/302050134/Michigan-Republican-Committee-select-new-national-committeewoman ] on Feb. 15.
Although some Michigan Republicans may agree that Sears' views are extreme, at least one GOP group has taken to social media to express fear that a pro-gay agenda is taking over the Michigan Republican Party.
The Delta County Republican Party recently published a list proclaiming that influential GOP pols like Priebus, Schostak and Senate candidate Land had surrendered to a "homosexual and stealth jihad agenda [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/30/michigan-gop-republicans_n_4696236.html (in the post to which this is a reply)]."
Copyright © 2014 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/07/mary-helen-sears-michigan-gop_n_4740426.html [with comments]
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End Of The GOP?
Written by
Mary Helen Sears, 1st District Vice-Chair (38th)
Published March 31, 2013. | By SCRP [ http://schoolcraftrepublican.info/ ].
Admin note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. While every caution has been taken to provide our readers with most accurate information and honest analysis, please use your discretion before taking any decisions based on the information in this blog.
We find ourselves at a precipice, wide and gaping, its darkness, seemingly never-ending. We have a choice to make. Do we follow the Truth of the Living God, who’s principles and teachings are the foundation of this country or do we follow the dictates of a depraved society and fall headlong, off the cliff, into the abyss below? For too long the GOP has misinterpreted the big tent idea of Ronald Regan. Raising the flaps higher and higher in an effort to retain power, not realizing by doing so they were destroying the very fabric the tent was created out of.
A tent by its very nature is inclusive and exclusive. There are things the tent owner will allow in and others he will fight to the death to keep out.
The GOP is not the tent owner, it is the tent. Our party, like our boarder states have accepted the slow creep of intrusion until they are confused as to where their boarders truly lies. The voting members of the GOP are the tent owners. It is they who decides what the party stands for and what it stands against or what it lets into its tent and what it keeps out. With this idea in mind, we must ask ourselves, “How do we determine our belief system?”
My argument is that, we cannot put our finger to the wind, determine the sway of the people and try to ride the current trend to keep power. Who in the end does that serve? You must look at political party philosophy. Why do we have political parties? George Washington warned against them when he said, ” I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State…Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally. This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.”
His words ring true louder today than they have in the history of the United States.
If then, we must have a party than, I again ask the question, “who and what do we serve?” Political parties are formed around a group of people and their ideas or ideals. The Republican party was formed around the Abolition movement and the overturn of the Kansas-Nebraska Act among other things. These issues of the day brought over 10,000 people into Jackson, Michigan which was to become the first meeting of the Republican Party.
Looking at our history we see that the party was built around a set of ideas agreed upon by the party members. The tent owners had made the first tent. The fabric of that tent was built on the idea that, “All men are CREATED equal, that they are endowed by their CREATOR with certain inalienable rights…”
Where would they ever get a notion that all men are CREATED equal? You will certainly not find that in Darwin’s view of the world, which is being taught to our gullible children. His view gave rise to Hitler’s Third Reich, Mussolini’s Italy and Stalin’s Russia. No, we find this idea in the pages of the Holy Bible. God’s Word teaches that we are a created being, fallen from Grace but not forgotten by a long suffering God. A quick walk around DC will prove without a doubt that our Country was steeped in Christianity and so was the founding principles of the Republican Party.
Our party is suffering the cancerous effects of the Progressive school system. Liberals have long since taken over the once Christian Halls of such schools as Yale and Harvard. Even our local Universities are a breeding ground for perversions and depravities. Our children are indoctrinated by the ever droning lies of Communist Professors. Did we honestly think we could send our kids to these schools and them not be affected? How ridiculous! Today, we are seeing those who learned well the lessons of their left leaning teachers and a society who promotes a me-ist mind set. Our young Republicans want us to put away the old thinking of Marriage and Life. Adopt a more open attitude, accept who they are, stop the hate speech, blah, blah, blah. Yes, they have learned their lessons well. The problem is it was the wrong lesson.
Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman. It is a reflection of God and his Church. The promise that when this horror show we call life is over, we will once again be reunited with the God of this Universe. The joining of two men or two women is a perversion of this Covenant and a direct affront to God. Satan uses homosexuality to attack the living space of the Holy Spirit, which is the body of the person.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17,”Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”
By perverting the Covenant he keeps those who practice it away from God. He knows his time is limited, the more of us he takes to hell with him and the more pain he causes God by destroying His people the better he likes it. God says of homosexuality:
”Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Leviticus 18:22
“If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” Leviticus 20:13
How then can we as Christians stay in a party that adopts Homosexuality into the fabric of the tent. I say we cannot. Homosexuals make up less than one percent of the total population. They must prey on our children to increase their numbers. Why then, would we, as a party, entertain this perversion? We as a party should be purging this perversion and send them to a party with a much bigger tent. When we lose track of foundational principles we lose the very essence of our party. By throwing God under the bus we become nothing more than the poor Democrats who have lost their way and by doing so have lost their party. They are nowhere near the party of Andrew Jackson or John Kennedy. They have opened the tent so wide that it no longer provides them a shelter or a solid base upon which to place their platform. I’m sure you all watched when the DNC voted whether to keep God in their party. Three times they voted Him down and someone who knew they would be raked over the coals by their throwing God to the curb, over road the crazed masses and declared the vote for God. Boos were loudly audible. The Democrats Boo’d God!
Are we there my friends? Are we at the precipice ready to throw away the founding principles of this country? Are we really going to vote against God?
To me there is no choice, I choose Him. As my father’s before me, I believe, without Him and his Laws we are doomed.
If the GOP continues down this trend and stand for perversions and the daily social fad, then I must travel a more suitable road. The GOP will be truly dead and Satan will have had his day.
Copyright © 2013 Schoolcraft County Republican Party
http://schoolcraftrepublican.info/end-of-the-GOP/ [with comments]
===
More Federal Privileges to Extend to Same-Sex Couples
By MATT APUZZO
FEB. 8, 2014
WASHINGTON — The federal government will soon treat married same-sex couples the same as heterosexual couples when they file for bankruptcy, testify in court or visit family in prison.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/eric_h_holder_jr/index.html ] was preparing to issue policies aimed at eliminating the distinction between same-sex and opposite-sex married couples in the federal criminal justice system, according to a speech given at a Saturday event organized by a prominent gay-rights group.
“In every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/same_sex_marriage/index.html ] receive the same privileges, protections and rights as opposite-sex marriages,” Mr. Holder’s said.
The changes were set in motion last year when the Supreme Court [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/s/supreme_court/index.html ] declared it unconstitutional to refuse federal benefits to married same-sex couples, a ruling that Mr. Holder supported.
Gay-rights advocates welcomed the changes but had hoped Mr. Holder would use his address before the Human Rights Campaign [ http://www.hrc.org/ ] to announce that the president would sign an order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating based on sexual orientation.
“That would be big,” said Gary Buseck, legal director for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders [ https://www.glad.org/ ].
Since the Supreme Court ruling in June, the Obama administration has rewritten federal rules to allow same-sex couples to file taxes together [ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/us/politics/irs-to-recognize-all-gay-marriages-regardless-of-state.html ] and receive Medicare [ http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/08/20130829a.html ] and other benefits reserved for married couples. Mr. Holder has been the public face of those efforts and has made championing gay rights one of the central messages of his tenure.
“These issues are very much at the center of this administration’s civil rights legacy,” said Ian S. Thompson, who works on gay and lesbian issues for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington.
Speaking before Sweden’s Parliament a few days ago, Mr. Holder called fighting for gay and lesbian rights one of “the defining civil rights challenges of our time.”
The remarks on Saturday by Mr. Holder, the first black attorney general, cast the gay-rights movement as a continuation of the civil rights efforts of the 1960s.
“As all-important as the fight against racial discrimination was then, and remains today, know this: My commitment to confronting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity runs just as deep,” he said.
The government estimates that more than 1,100 federal regulations, rights and laws touch on, or are affected by, marital status. With a memo on Monday, Mr. Holder plans to make several of those provisions apply equally to gay and straight couples.
In court cases and criminal investigations, for example, same-sex couples will be covered under what is known as the spousal privilege, a rule that says spouses cannot be forced to testify against each other. The Bureau of Prisons will extend the same visitation rights to married same-sex couples that it does to opposite-sex couples, Mr. Holder said.
The Justice Department will also recognize same-sex couples when determining eligibility for programs like the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, which pays people who were injured or made sick by the 2001 terrorist attacks. Same-sex spouses of police killed in the line of duty will also be eligible for federal benefits.
The federal rules have no effect on state laws. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriages.
Challenges to bans on same-sex marriage are under way in several states, including Utah. A federal judge there said in December that the state’s ban was unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court put that decision on hold while an appeal played out.
Between those rulings, about 1,300 couples got marriage licenses in Utah. Last month, Mr. Holder said the federal government would recognize those marriages.
Opponents of same-sex marriage accused Mr. Holder of overstepping his authority in that case. Mr. Buseck, meanwhile, said the Obama administration could do more, such as the executive order on discrimination, to leave a civil rights legacy.
© 2014 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/us/more-federal-privileges-to-extend-to-same-sex-couples.html
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Washington courts controversy as it puts same-sex marriages on legal footing
ARCHIVE PHOTO: Anti-Proposition 8 protesters wave a rainbow flag in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, March 26, 2013
(Reuters / Jonathan Ernst)
Published time: February 09, 2014 13:31
The federal government is set to view same-sex marriages on the same legal ground as heterosexual couples in legal proceedings, such as when filing bankruptcy and paying debts, a move that has some groups fuming.
Attorney General Eric H. Holder on Saturday said his office was preparing to approve legislation that would remove the legal distinction between same-sex and opposite-sex married couples in the federal criminal justice system.
“In every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections and rights as opposite-sex marriages,” Holder told a gala meeting of Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest LGBT lobbying organization in the United States.
The announcement comes after the US Supreme Court ruled in June that it is unconstitutional to deny same-sex marriage partners federal benefits in states where the practice is legal.
Gay marriages are legal in just 17 of the 50 US states, as well as the District of Columbia.
On Monday, the Justice Department will "formally instruct all department employees to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition, to the greatest extent possible under the law," according to early excerpts of the statement released by Reuters.
Last year’s controversial Supreme Court ruling did away with a section of a 1996 federal law, the Defense of Marriage Act, which once prevented the US government from legally recognizing same-sex unions.
Since then, the Obama administration has been rewriting federal rules that permit same-sex partners to enjoy the same federal benefits extended to heterosexual couples, including the handling of debts and taxes, as well as “spousal privilege,” which is the right to refuse to give testimony that may force an individual to incriminate his or her spouse.
The new legislation applies even in cases where same-sex marriages are not recognized in the state where the couple lives.
In a speech last week to the Swedish parliament, Holder defended the decision to recognize same-sex unions, calling it “the civil rights challenge of our time.”
"Just as our forebears came together to overcome tremendous adversity - and to forge the more just and more equal societies in which we now live - so, too, must the current generation rise to the causes that have become the struggles of our day; the defining civil rights challenges of our time," he said.
"I believe one of these struggles is the fight for equality for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender - or LGBT - citizens."
Holder praised Swedish lawmakers for legalizing same-sex marriage in 2009, making the Scandinavian country the seventh country to pass such legislation.
Meanwhile, opponents of same-sex marriages had harsh words for Holder's action.
"The news that the Justice Department will extend sweeping recognition to 'marriages' of same-sex couples, even in states that do not recognize such unions, is yet another illustration of the lawlessness of this administration," Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said in a statement.
Perkins questioned why the Supreme Court last year required the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in states that allow them, while at the same time remaining "conspicuously silent on the status of such couples when they reside in a state which considers them unmarried."
"The Obama administration's haste to nevertheless recognize such unions in every state actually runs counter to the Windsor decision's emphasis on the federal government's obligation to defer to state definitions of marriage," he added, referring to the Supreme Court ruling in the United States v. Windsor case, which opened the door to the federal government recognizing such unions.
Meanwhile, the debate on same-sex marriage continues to rage in many states, including Utah, where a federal judge said in December that the state’s ban was unconstitutional.
The real fireworks, however, erupted after Holder said the federal government would recognize those 1,300 marriage licenses obtained in Utah, after a federal judge declared the state’s ban on same-sex marriages as “unconstitutional.”
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert released a statement saying he was "very disappointed an activist federal judge is attempting to override the will of the people of Utah."
State opponents of gay marriage accused Holder and the Justice Department of using excessive federal powers in a matter that involves state jurisdiction.
© Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “TV-Novosti”, 2014
http://rt.com/usa/sex-marriages-law-gay-266/ [with comments]
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U.S. to Add New Legal Protections for Same-Sex Spouses
The policy will “formally instruct all Justice Department employees to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition, to the greatest extent possible under the law,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in remarks prepared for delivery in New York City.
Feb 9, 2014
[...]
‘Utter Lawlessness’
The policy change drew criticism from the National Organization for Marriage, a group seeking to block legalization of same-sex unions.
“It’s more utter lawlessness from the Obama administration,” said Brian Brown, the group’s president.
[...]
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-08/holder-to-detail-new-u-s-legal-protections-for-same-sex-couples.html [with comments]
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Missouri governor facing impeachment over order allowing same-sex marriage tax returns
By Tom Boggioni
Friday, February 7, 2014 20:38 EST
A member of the Missouri House of Representatives has filed articles of impeachment against Governor Jay Nixon (D) for ordering Missouri’s Department of Revenue to accept joint tax returns filed by same-sex couples who have been legally married in other states.
According to Missourinet [ http://www.missourinet.com/2014/02/06/two-articles-of-impeachment-filed-against-governor-nixon-audiocopy-of-the-articles/ ], Representative Nick Marshall (R-Parkville) has filed two articles of impeachment charging that Gov. Nixon issued an executive order that is a “direct violation” of Missouri’s Constitution. Further, Marshall says Nixon “misstates and misrepresents the meaning and requirements under Missouri’s constitutional and statutory law and thereby misleads the citizens of this state.”
In November of last year, Gov. Nixon issued an executive order stating that Missouri must accept such joint returns because Missouri’s tax code is tied directly to the federal government, and the state requires married couples who file joint returns to also file state taxes jointly. The office of Attorney General Chris Koster (D) has stated that Nixon’s order appears to comply with Missouri law.
Marshall, in his filing, alleges that Nixon’s order was based upon “a knowing omission of key statutory language.”
A section of the Missouri tax code that defines terms reads that terms used shall have the same meaning as when they appear in federal tax code. Rep. Marshall seized upon an additional phrase which states “unless a different meaning is clearly required by the provisions of” the Missouri tax code.
“Missouri law says a husband and wife who file a joint federal tax return shall file a combined return here in he state of Missouri,’ Marshall said. “The condition precedent for that is that they are husband and wife, and you have to ask yourself, ‘Well, how do you define husband and wife?’ You may not use the federal definition. That’s not allowed because Missouri’s Constitution does not allow you to recognize same-sex marriage.”
In 2004, Missouri voters approved Constitutional Amendment 2 which changed the definition of marriage in the state constitution as being between a man and a woman.
Marshall says that, while he is opposed to same-sex marriage, his action has nothing to do with his stance on the issue.
“My position on same-sex marriage is irrelevant. The governor’s position on same-sex marriage should be irrelevant,” he explained. “What is extremely relevant is the limitation on the powers of the Governor of the State of Missouri. He has no more right to ignore the Constitution than I do.”
The articles of impeachment, which must first be referred to a committee where, if passed, would then move on to the House, have been co-signed by seven Republican members of the House: Ron Schieber, Ken Wilson, Jeff Pogue, Kurt Bahr, Mike Moon, Rick Brattin & T.J. Berry.
Copyright © 2014 Raw Story Media, Inc.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/07/missouri-governor-facing-impeachment-over-order-allowing-same-sex-marriage-tax-returns/ [with comments]
===
GRAPHIC LANGUAGE: Oklahoma restaurant owner says doesn’t want ‘f*ggot, freak’ customers
Video [embedded]
Oklahoma Restaurant Owner Won't Serve "Freaks, F*ggots, Disabled" Or Those On Wefare
Posted on: 10:00 pm, February 6, 2014, by Ashley Kringen, updated on: 03:50pm, February 7, 2014
ENID, Okla. – A restaurant in Enid is getting heat after one of its patrons posted a pretty strong message on social media about discrimination.
The restaurant and bar has been open for more than four decades and carries quite the reputation.
We want to warn you, this story does feature some graphic language.
Gary James, owner of Gary’s Chicaros, said, “I’ve been in business 44 years, I think I can spot a freak or a faggot.”
He added, “I don’t deal with these people walking down the street with no jobs on welfare.”
James said, “If I reached over there and slapped the sh** out of you, you should be offended. But to call someone a ‘chink’ or someone call me a bigot, that doesn’t bother me.”
Now, a wave of comments on Facebook [ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Garys-Chicaros/136482116399150 (which now has the fine establishment categorized not only under 'Food & Restaurant', but also under 'Gay Bar')] claim James refuses to serve African-Americans, Hispanics and people with disabilities, like Matt Gard.
Gard said, “He doesn’t like certain people of race, color, ethnicity.”
Gard was a regular at Gary’s Chicaros restaurant for years.
He said he turned a blind eye to the owner’s choice of customers, until recently.
Gard said, “Now, he tried to find a weak excuse not to let me in with my wheelchair or the weak excuse of having loud people with me.”
After getting turned away for a steak dinner, Gard said it’s about his disability.
James claimed that’s just not the case.
James said “He created an issue. You only have one time here. You create an issue, you’re out forever.”
Gard and at least 140 others posted on a Facebook page that said James’ attitude has crossed the line to discrimination.
Even the business’ t-shirt is viewed as offensive.
The shirt features derogatory slogans against homosexuals, it has the N-word on the front and threatens violence against Muslims, minorities and democrats.
James said he is proud to wear that shirt.
He said, “I really don’t want gays around. Any man that would compromise his own body would compromise anything.”
Gard said, “The people who still go back and patronize his business are condoning his behavior in how he treats others.”
James said, “Well if you work, you own a business, pay your taxes, you’re more than welcome here. If you’re on welfare, stay at home and spend my money, there.”
Strong words in a small town where no one has challenged his business practices.
The Office of Civil Rights Enforcement is a division of the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office which investigates cases of discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodation based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability and age [but not sexual orientation ( http://www.oag.state.ok.us/oagweb.nsf/srch?SearchView&Query=sexual%20AND%20orientation&SearchWV=FALSE&SearchFuzzy=FALSE , and see the third and fourth items below)].
If you feel that you are the victim of civil rights discrimination, you are asked to contact the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office [ http://www.oag.state.ok.us/ ].
Copyright © 2014, KFOR
http://kfor.com/2014/02/06/graphic-language-enid-restaurant-owner-gets-heat-for-alleged-discrimination/
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Chicaro Club
Stan M.
Hull, MA
2/9/2014
I was pretty hungry for some meat, so I sauntered into this joint, since it was the only place where a totally straight, white, male such as myself could really feel safe to just unwind with a pitcher of cosmos and a few show tunes. I was promptly informed that the "special" was to die for.
I was then directed to the men's room, where a fellow who called himself "Tom W." (they're not big on last names in the bathroom, I guess) came by and greeted me with a warm embrace. He had a sweet mustache and told me that if I could pronounce "Enid" correctly, he'd take me for a ride in his awesome yellow car and that it might lead to some "backseat wrasslin'".
The food was just so-so. Too much oil, but that was actually advantageous because I think it seeped out of my pores and made me tougher to grip when we wrassled. He still kept pinning me with those powerful forearms, though. I think he's had a lot of practice.
Jon S.
New York, NY
2/9/2014
Well, on my last trip to Oklahoma, I stopped in this place. I was on the corner of Grand and Oxford, and figured that this little metal shack had to have some good meat and cold brewskies, just what I needed.
I walked in, and the owner, Gary, directed me to a table and proceeded to tell me about all of the "specials" that were going on - they had the Twink Salad which was actually quite good looking, but there wasn't much substance to it. The main course was called the Bear Chops, which is lambchops, but they are served with the fur still intact. It's a lot cuter that way.
For dessert, I had the KKK Brownie. It's sort of like a normal brownie, except it's all white.
Strangely, they only served wheat beer. They claimed that serving any sort of darker beer would result in contamination of the lines.
[...]
http://www.yelp.com/biz/chicaro-club-enid
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Anti-Gay Restaurant Hilariously Pranked By Gay Rights Supporters
02/10/2014
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/10/anti-gay-restaurant-garys-chicaros-pranked-by-internet-yelp_n_4759713.html [with embedded video reports, and comments]
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Enid Business Owner Catches Heat for Discrimination
Gary James, owner of the Chicaro Club in Enid, said anyone who wears a hat inside a building is gay, and will be asked to leave.
James, who is also running for a spot on the Enid City Council, is keeping out what he calls "trash" and "people on welfare."
By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9
Posted: Jan 30, 2009 10:10 PM CST
Updated: Jan 30, 2009 10:56 PM CST
ENID, Oklahoma -- An Oklahoma politician is catching a lot of heat but it has nothing to do with his campaign or platform. Instead, it's the way he runs his business.
The politician admits -- he won't allow certain people into his business. But first-- a warning -- some of the language in this story may be very offensive.
It doesn't look like much from the outside, but at the Chicaro Club in Enid there's always plenty of food on the pit and there's a stock of scotch at the bar, but there's one thing that's not on the menu, and that's diversity.
"If I discriminate, it's against the people I dislike," owner Gary James said.
James is accused of discrimination and he doesn't deny it.
"If you come in here with all the in your face and a limp wrist, no I don't really want you in here and my customers damn sure don't want you in here," James said.
James, who is also running for a spot on the Enid City Council, is keeping out what he calls "trash" and "people on welfare."
Earlier this week, he told the local paper anyone who wears a hat inside a building is gay, and will be asked to leave.
James said he isn't homophobic or racist. He just refuses to allow anyone who makes him or his customers uneasy inside his business.
"I think it's wrong because people judge the book by its cover," Corey Jenson said.
With baggy jeans and visible tattoos, Jenson and Terrence Higdon are perfect examples of what James will not allow into his bar.
"I don't see how he can be City Councilman if he can't respect our rights," Higdon said. "We obey the laws and dress how we want to dress."
James said he's also obeying the law; it's just his opinions that others don't like.
"If they don't like my actions or my words they don't have to vote for me as far as that election goes," James said.
Despite his colorful comments, James said he still has a good chance of being elected. One of his opponents, Loyd Kaufman, said James is entitled to his own opinion. The election is Tuesday, February 10.
State law prohibits discrimination based race, religion and several other factors. Sexual discrimination is not one of them.
© Copyright 2009, WorldNow and KWTV
http://www.news9.com/story/9764682/enid-business-owner-catches-heat-for-discrimination [with comments]
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City commission candidate defends himself against accusations of racism
By Robert Barron, Staff Writer
January 27, 2009
Ward 4 Enid City Commission candidate Gary James is aware of stories circulating about how he has refused service to some customers at his Chicaro Club, but he defends himself against accusations he is racist.
James reportedly has asked black people and people he believes are homosexual to leave his establishment.
James said he has asked people to leave the bar, but it is not based on race or sexual orientation. However, he does have some strong words to describe those he won’t allow in his establishment, calling them “trash” and “faggots.”
“If a racist is someone who doesn’t like unproductive trash, then it’s true. I’m talking about white, black, brown or yellow. I don’t like unproductive people,” James said Monday. “People who know me, know better.”
He said he has never asked anyone to leave his club based solely on their race, and said he has asked many more white customers than black customers to leave because they caused a problem.
He said he has asked customers to leave who are wearing clothes he does not approve of.
“I don’t like girlie men. I’m not fond of men with all kinds of metal in their face,” he said. “My customers don’t want them around, and I don’t want them around. I don’t consider that racist. I have black friends, but they are productive. Guys who come in with their britches down to their knees won’t get served in my place.”
James is proud of the fact there have never been drugs associated with his business. Chicaro Club is known as a hangout for personnel from Vance Air Force Base, and James said he was told a military survey of Enid establishments showed his establishment was drug free.
While Vance commanders can place a business off-limits, that designation has never been placed on Chicaro as far back as records go, according to Bob Farrell, 71st Flying Training Wing community relations chief.
James is most adamant about customers wearing hats in his establishment.
“I have one rule that does away with 95 percent of the trash,” James said. “If they are rude enough to wear a hat inside a building, I don’t want them here. Most of those little faggots have their hats on backwards.”
Enid attorney John Hodg-den said Chapter 21 of Title 25 of Oklahoma Statutes prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, gender, national origin, handicap or age. Sexual orientation is not a protected class of people under Chapter 21. Discrim-ination is prohibited in housing practices, employment and public accommodations. Restaurants and bars fall under the definition of a “place of public accommodation.”
Under that statute, “any place, store or other establishment . . . which supplies goods or services to the general public or which solicits or accepts the patronage or trade of the general public qualifies as a place of public accommodation.” Private clubs are exempt from that regulation provided the policies of the private club are determined by its members, and its facilities or services are available only to its members and their guests, he said.
James understands he is a lightning rod for controversy but that doesn’t bother him.
James is running for the Ward 4 seat, even though his residence is in another ward. He defended his decision to run in Ward 4 because that’s where Chicaro Club is located, and he says he spends most of his time at the business.
According to state election law, James could have been removed from the ballot if either of his opponents had put up $250 and successfully protested his candidacy. Neither incumbent Loyd Kaufman nor Drew Ritchie protested. If James wins, the commission could make the final determination to seat him since his permanent residence is outside Ward 4.
Copyright 2009 The Enid News and Eagle
http://www.enidnews.com/localnews/x518705729/City-commission-candidate-defends-himself-against-accusations-of-racism
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N.F.L. Prospect Proudly Says What Teammates Knew: He’s Gay
FEB. 9, 2014
[...]
“Once I became official to my teammates, I knew who I was,” Mr. Sam said. “I knew that I was gay. And I knew that I was Michael Sam, who’s a Mizzou football player who happens to be gay. I was so proud of myself and I just didn’t care who knew. If someone on the street would have asked me, ‘Hey, Mike, I heard you were gay; is that true?’ I would have said yes.”
No one asked.
“I guess they don’t want to ask a 6-3, 260-pound defensive lineman if he was gay or not,” Mr. Sam said. And he laughed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/sports/michael-sam-college-football-star-says-he-is-gay-ahead-of-nfl-draft.html [with embedded video interview of Mr. Sam, and comments]
*
Before Coming Out, a Hard Time Coming Up
Michael Sam’s Troubled Upbringing in Texas
FEB. 11, 2014
[...]But to get a sense of the challenges awaiting Sam, look no further than his father.
Last Tuesday, Michael Sam Sr. was at a Denny’s near his home outside Dallas to celebrate his birthday when his son sent him a text message.
Dad, I’m gay, he wrote.
The party stopped cold. “I couldn’t eat no more, so I went to Applebee’s to have drinks,” Sam Sr. said. “I don’t want my grandkids raised in that kind of environment.
“I’m old school,” he added. “I’m a man-and-a-woman type of guy.” As evidence, he pointed out that he had taken an older son to Mexico to lose his virginity.
On Sunday night, just after Michael Sam announced his intention to make sports history, his father was still struggling with the news.
Sam Sr. loves his son, and he said he hoped his son made it to the N.F.L. “As a black man, we have so many hurdles to cross,” he said. “This is just one he has to cross.”
But he expressed discomfort at the very idea of a gay N.F.L. player, even if the player was his son. He grumbled that Deacon Jones, the Hall of Fame defensive end renowned for his toughness, “is turning over in his grave.”
Michael Sam had anticipated his family’s uneasiness. In an interview Sunday in North Hollywood, Calif., he spoke about his tough upbringing, which he said was more challenging than the decision to come out publicly.
“I’m closer to my friends than I am to my family,” Sam said.
He declined to speak beyond the initial interview Sunday.
[...]
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/sports/football/for-nfl-prospect-michael-sam-upbringing-was-bigger-challenge-than-coming-out-as-gay.html [with comments]
*
18 DISGUSTING Responses To Michael Sam, Gay Football Star, Coming Out
02/10/2014
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/10/michael-sam-coming-out_n_4759841.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
*
Rush Limbaugh's Confused, Rambling Reaction To Michael Sam's Coming Out
02/11/2014
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/11/rush-limbaugh-michael-sam_n_4768486.html [the YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSOkKkvQ3ys (with comments), embedded; with comments]
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Student intervenes as bully beats gay teen, then suspended for 10 days
By George Chidi
Sunday, February 9, 2014 20:37 EST
A Florida high school student under suspension for 10 days after breaking up a lunch room assault on a gay teen says he’d do it again.
East Lee County High School senior Mark Betterson stepped in as another student, James Griffin, began striking student Jonathan Colon in the school’s lunch room moments after Griffin threw milk in his face and called him a gay slur.
Griffin faces battery charges, while Colon received minor injuries.
Betterson received a 10 day suspension under the Fort Myers-area school’s zero-tolerance policy around fighting, but he plans to appeal, he told Fox 4 Now [ http://www.fox4now.com/features/4inyourcorner/Student-suspended-for-breaking-up-a-fight-says-he-would-do-it-again-244578101.html ]. “It’s not fair for somebody to get beat up for something that he is,” Betterson said. “I’m not going to sit there and watch someone get bullied. I’ve been bullied too.”
Colon returned to school Friday and organized a rally to protest Betterson’s suspension.
Watch a report on the fight below.
[video embedded]
Copyright © 2014 Raw Story Media, Inc.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/09/student-intervenes-as-bully-beats-gay-teen-then-suspended-for-10-days/ [with comments]
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Another Religious Right Tale Of Anti-Christian Victimization Gets Thoroughly Debunked
Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Wednesday, 1/29/2014 10:24 am
We have [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/more-proof-religious-right-myths-never-die ] seen [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/david-barton-jon-stewart-and-myth-raymond-raines ] it happen [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/raymond-raines-and-undying-myth-christian-persecution ] time and [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/rick-perry-fox-news-and-religious-right-activists-jump-fabricated-case-christian-persecution ] again [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/klingenschmitt-blames-demonic-spirits-something-never-even-happened ]: some right-wing group issues a one-sided press release about a student supposedly being unfairly discriminated against in school simply for exercising their Christian faith and the entire Religious Right movement immediately flies into an outrage, spreading the story far and wide as undisputed truth. Then days or weeks later, the real story emerges once school officials are given an opportunity to investigate and explain what really happened and it inevitably reveals that the Religious Right version was completely false, by which point it is already too late because the fake version has already been accepted as gospel and just continues to spread forever.
The most recent example is the story of six-year old Brynn Williams, who was supposedly told that she was not allowed to deliver a presentation on her family's Christmas tradition because she brought the star that her family places atop its Christmas tree, which represents the Star of Bethlehem.
Serial fabricator Todd Starnes was among the first to blindly promote the story [ http://townhall.com/columnists/toddstarnes/2014/01/15/teacher-and-principal-tell-6-year-old-student-she-cant-talk-about-religion-in-school-n1779456/page/full ]:
Brynn Williams decided to bring the Star of Bethlehem that adorned the top of her family’s Christmas tree. She also worked on a one minute presentation to explain that her family’s tradition is to remember the birth of Jesus at Christmas time.
“Our Christmas tradition is to put a star on top of our tree,” the little girl said. “The star is named the Star of Bethlehem. The three kings followed the star to find baby Jesus, the Savior of the world.”
Before the child could utter another word, the teacher intervened, according to Robert Tyler, the general counsel for Advocates for Faith & Freedom – the law firm representing the Williams family.
“Brynn’s teacher said, ‘Stop right there! Go take your seat,’” Tyler said. “Bryn was not allowed to finish her presentation by reciting the Bible verse, John 3:16.”
Tyler said the little girl was the only student in the class not allowed to finish her presentation.
“After Brynn took her seat, the teacher explained to Brynn in front of all the other students that she was not allowed to talk about the Bible or share its verses,” Tyler said.
The story was quickly picked up by just [ http://dailycaller.com/2014/01/15/first-grade-girls-assigned-christmas-speech-censored-for-mention-of-christ/ ] about [ http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/01/14/youre-not-allowed-to-talk-about-the-bible-teacher-reportedly-cuts-off-first-graders-classroom-speech/ ] every [ http://www.wnd.com/2014/01/district-bullies-students-over-faith-again/ ] Religious Right [ http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2014/January/Teacher-to-1st-Grader-No-Bible-Talk-Allowed/ ] news outlet [ http://www.onenewsnow.com/legal-courts/2014/01/16/dont-show-dont-tell-attorneys-go-after-adult-bullies-in-ca-public-schools ] and reported as truth, but now the school involved, which "withheld comment until district officials could finish an investigation into the matter," has released a statement [ http://temecula.patch.com/groups/schools/p/temecula-first-grade-teacher-principal-release-statements-students-free-to-share-ideas ] from the teacher and school officials which completely debunks the Religious Right's version of the story.
The teacher, Tammy Williams, explained what really happened:
On Thursday, December 19th my class was getting our classroom ready for our holiday party that was to occur the next morning. We took longer than normal putting things away to ensure that the desks were clean and book boxes were put away so that tables could be used for our centers. This was normally something we did on Fridays. Because of this, we were running behind and I still had six students who needed to do their sharing. I had a very limited amount of time and needed to make sure all students had time to share. Now remember, this is sharing. They were not oral reports. Students were asked to share a family tradition. It could be anything, not just a Christmas tradition. During sharing, I work with students on looking at the audience and using clear voices. We also work on listening skills and asking questions.
This student was not the last student to present as had been reported. I still had a couple of students after her (which was the Student of the Day and the Student of the Week). When she started her share, she pulled out her golden star that I held for her as she pulled out her prepared speech written by one of her parents. This was unusual because rarely does a student have a prepared statement to read. As I held the star, the student began to read her statement. I helped her with a few words that she was having trouble with. I decided that I would have the student stop after sharing about Mary and Joseph. I felt that it would take too long and I still needed her to take her question and I had a few clarifying questions for her as well. At this point, I simply said the following, “Ok, stop here and you get one question.” She simply put her paper down and picked a student who asked her a question. I also asked her, “Who puts the star on the tree? Do you take turns?” I even suggested that her dad could lift her up to let her put it on the tree. After that, she put her star away and sat with the class while we finished with the other students. I monitor all students this way. She at no time complained or acted sad. She was as happy as always.
I want to be very clear about the following.
At no time did I ever tell the student that she could not read the bottom section because it was a Bible verse nor did she ask if she could finish. I never told her to “Stop right there!” or “Go take your seat!” or reprimand her in front of the class for sharing from the Bible. It just did not happen. This subject matter was never discussed. I decided to stop her at that point so the other students would get their share in before the bell rang. My students have always been free to share their ideas.
What saddens me is that this story was twisted into lies and brought to the media. I have never sat down and discussed this directly with the family or the student. I am instead being used to push an agenda for the Advocates for Faith and Freedom.
The school's principal, Ami Paradise, likewise released a statement declaring that the claims of anti-Christian bigotry made by Advocates of Faith and Freedom were entirely bogus:
Over the past week, I have received countless phone calls and 126 mean-spirited emails from across the country as a result of the claims that the Advocates of Faith and Freedom have made against one of my teachers, the school district, and myself. These claims are simply not true.
When I met with the parent on December 20, 2013, she shared that she and her husband were upset that their child was unable to finish her presentation and that they thought it was because it contained a Bible verse. There were absolutely no claims of humiliation or bullying by the classroom teacher. No claims that their child was told to take her seat or that she could not talk about the Bible. These claims have been made in the midst of a media spotlight in order to sensationalize a story. The truth is, there were other students left to present before the end of the day, and there was just not enough time.
Furthermore, when I met with this parent I never told her that her child may not share her beliefs aloud to other students nor did I try to stifle her freedom of speech in any way. I told the parent that I would follow up with the classroom teacher, and I sent her the results of my findings along with the copy of the board policy regarding religion on December 24th, 2013. I have not heard from her since. Not once to tell me that she did not agree with my findings, not once to ask for a classroom change for her child. In fact, with the exception of today, this student has attended school every day since this incident, in the same exact classroom where this alleged incident occurred.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not address the classroom teacher in the center of this controversy-- Mrs. Tammy Williams. Mrs. Tammy Williams is one of the finest educators I have ever worked with. She is an AMAZING first grade teacher, taught my own son last year, and I would not hesitate to put my younger son in her class. She does not deserve the harassment or bullying that she has received, the questioning of her professional skills or judgment, or the claims that she harmed this child in any way.
I stand behind Mrs. Tammy Williams 110% and find it extremely unfortunate that the Advocates for Faith and Freedom have irrevocably caused damage to her good name. The days will pass and this story will not be at the top of the news for long, but the damage that it has done to the good names of Helen Hunt Jackson Elementary School, Mrs. Tammy Williams, and myself will be difficult to repair.
We literally cannot even count the number of times we have seen this exact scenario play out over the years as Religious Right groups gin up an entirely fake controversy in order to play the victim, which then spreads far and wide before officials have even had an opportunity to comment. And we will undoubtedly continue to see it happen again and again so long as people like Starnes and others in the Religious Right grievance machine feel justified in pushing blatantly false stories because doing so helps them advance their agenda.
© 2014 People For the American Way
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/another-religious-right-tale-anti-christian-victimization-gets-thoroughly-debunked
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A Case Study In Why Religious Right Myths Never Die
Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Tuesday, 2/4/2014 10:21 am
Just last week, we noted that the story of Brynn Williams, a six-year old public school student who was supposedly banned from delivering her Christmas presentation in class because of its Christian content, was totally false [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/another-religious-right-tale-anti-christian-victimization-gets-thoroughly-debunked (just above)].
This particular case was ginned up [ http://www.faith-freedom.com/news/teacher-to-first-grader-jesus-is-not-allowed-in-school/ ] by a California-based group called Advocates for Faith & Freedom which has now decided [ http://www.onenewsnow.com/legal-courts/2014/02/04/christmas-may-be-over-but-war-against-it-limps-along-in-ca-public-schools ], even though the entire case is bogus, to continue trying to make an issue out of it:
Legal group Advocates for Faith and Freedom is defending two California students who were censored by school officials when they shared their Christian faith.
The families of Isaiah Martinez and Brynn Williams asked for legal assistance after teachers prevented them from sharing the true meaning of Christmas ...
Williams, a Temecula Valley first grader, brought a Star of Bethlehem from her family's Christmas tree as a show-and-tell assignment, OneNewsNow reported.
The little girl was told by the teacher to sit down before she could share her story.
The legal group has scheduled meetings with each school district and is demanding that the students be allowed to pass out items with the Christmas story and to finish a presentation about Jesus without interruption.
"The pendulum has swung so far in the wrong direction that often school officials, teachers feel entitled to be able to express hostility toward Christian students in the faith," says Robert Tyler, general counsel at Advocates.
The Constitution does not permit that, says Tyler, and instead requires a "neutrality toward all religions."
Advocates is also demanding that each school district adopt a model policy that will protect the religious liberties of all students. The model policy would then be utilized nationwide.
The fundamental issue upon which AFF based its case has been revealed to be utterly false, but the organization is pressing forward nonetheless ... and this is exactly why we always says that Religious Right myths never [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/more-proof-religious-right-myths-never-die ], ever [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/myth-will-not-die-raymond-raines-and-religious-right ] die.
© 2014 People For the American Way
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/case-study-why-religious-right-myths-never-die
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Another School District Forced To Clarify Todd Starnes' Misinformation
Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Tuesday, 2/4/2014 3:38 pm
Yesterday, Todd Starnes published a new column [ http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/02/03/todd-starnes-cant-celebrate-america-school-says/ ] in which he asserted that students at a Colorado high school had been banned from celebrating America:
Students and parents at a Colorado high school are outraged after administrators turned down their request for a spirit week day honoring America because it might offend non-Americans.
“They said they didn’t want to offend anyone from other countries or immigrants,” a 16-year-old member of the student council told me. “They just really did not want to make anyone feel uncomfortable.”
The student council at Fort Collins High School had proposed having a day to celebrate the United States during next week’s Winter Spirit Week. The young people pitched “’Merica Monday” – and invited their classmates to dress in patriotic colors. Their proposal was promptly shot down by administrators.
As we noted last week [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/another-religious-right-tale-anti-christian-victimization-gets-thoroughly-debunked (second above)], when it comes to anything written by Starnes, it is always wise to wait until the people being vilified in his column have had a chance to weigh in and explain their side of the story because it is usually quite different [ http://www.patheos.com/blogs/christandpopculture/2013/12/todd-starnes-sold-us-a-war-on-christianity-we-bought-it/ ] than the version presented by Starnes.
And his latest column was no exception, as the school district became the focus on protests today and was forced to issue a statement asserting [ http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/merica-day-ban-at-fort-collins-high-school-draws-protestors ] that Starnes' column "could not be further from the truth" and explaining that the suggested spirit day name was rejected because school officials felt the slag use of the word "'Merica" was disrespectful:
We regret that the recent decision regarding My Country Monday was viewed as not patriotic. This could not be further from the truth. The original intent of Spirit Week at Fort Collins High School was to unify the student body.
When students first proposed Merica Monday, building administrators felt that it was against this unifying theme and disrespectful to our country. Merica is a slang term that is often used in a negative, stereotypical way to describe life in the United States. This is what led administrators to discuss alternatives with students.
We were surprised that our community interpreted these actions as anti-American. Fort Collins High School is a proud public school in America and supports many activities to celebrate this great nation. Due to this outpouring of sentiment and misinterpretation of intentions, school administrators have decided to rename the first day of Spirit Week America Day as opposed to Merica Day.
We look forward to enjoying the creativity and energy of FCHS students as they celebrate their patriotism next week.
This is just one more example of Starnes' dedication to providing [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/starnes-you-can-be-assured-i-am-sharing-you-accurate-information (and see http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/terrible-fox-news-correspondent-todd-starnes-still-terrible )] "the most accurate information possible":
© 2014 People For the American Way
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/another-school-district-forced-clarify-todd-starnes-misinformation ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC0_U3FIWk4 [with comments]
===
'Abortion will make women child sex abusers' independent clinics warn
Video [embedded]
Abortion scandal: women told 'terminations increase chance of child abuse'
In this undercover film, a reporter from The Telegraph is told by an abortion counsellor that a termination could make them more likely to sexually abuse children in the future
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10622815/Abortion-scandal-women-told-terminations-increase-chance-of-child-abuse.html [video with associated article]
Abortion counsellors in Britain are wrongly telling women that they could become child sex abusers or develop cancer after abortions, an undercover Daily Telegraph investigation has found
By Emma Barnett, Claire Newell, Holly Watt and Ben Bryant
9:00PM GMT 10 Feb 2014
Women are being wrongly warned during counselling sessions at allegedly "independent" clinics that an abortion could lead to serious health damage, including an increased risk of breast cancer and a propensity to sexually abuse children, The Telegraph can disclose.
The women are also being mistakenly informed by counsellors that the procedure could leave them unable to carry future pregnancies to full term.
Counsellors at two Crisis Pregnancy Centres (CPCs) - clinics that provide advice to women considering a termination - were secretly recorded making the claims last month by Telegraph reporters.
The disclosure will add to growing calls for increased regulation of abortion services amid fears that both pro-life and anti-abortion clinics and services are not offering reliable advice.
Dr Kate Guthrie, a spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the UK’s medical authority on pregnancy and women’s reproductive health, said there was no scientific evidence to suggest an abortion put women at a greater risk of breast cancer or abusing a child.
She also said that the risk of being left sterile by an abortion in Britain is "very, very low” and it is “absolutely wrong” that women would be 25 percent less likely to carry pregnancy to full term following an abortion, as one of the counsellors maintained.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “It is vital that any woman considering an abortion is offered impartial and non-judgmental counselling, accurately advising her of all her options, so that she can make an informed decision.”
There are more than 100 CPCs across the country, each offering "trained advisers" and claiming to provide independent advice to pregnant women on whether they should proceed with a termination.
They are privately run, operate independently of the NHS and are unregulated by any official body. As such, they are not legally obligated to give women medically accurate information.
Many are thought to be linked to religious groups and modelled on controversial American anti-abortion services.
Last month, after receiving information that specific centres were misleading their clients, Telegraph reporters approached the Central London Women's Centre (CLWC) and Alma Pregnancy Advisory Service (APAS), pretending to be pregnant and claiming to be considering an abortion.
One of the undercover reporters was told at the CLWC in London that there is “an increased statistical likelihood of child abuse” because women had to break “natural barriers that are around the child that you don’t cross” in order to terminate a pregnancy.
The same adviser also said that women who had terminations were 25 percent less likely to be able to carry a pregnancy to full term.
At the APAS in Luton, a counsellor warned a reporter about similar “risks”. The adviser, named Moira, told the reporter, “there’s also a link with breast cancer”.
Video [embedded]
Abortion scandal: 'abortions increase breast cancer risk', claims counsellor
Counsellors at Crisis Pregnancy Centres (CPCs) are recorded telling an undercover reporter from the Telegraph that an abortion could increase their risk of developing breast cancer
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10622816/Abortion-scandal-abortions-increase-breast-cancer-risk-claims-counsellor.html [video with associated article]
Many anti-abortion campaigners believe that women should visit an independent centre before undergoing the procedure, arguing there is a potential conflict of interest in counselling from an organisation that also carries out terminations.
Clare Murphy, director of policy at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) - the NHS-funded charity and the country's largest abortion provider - said the organisation had seen the “distress that some crisis pregnancy centres can cause women” and CPCs “need to be transparent about who they are and what they believe”.
However, David Burrowes, Conservative MP for Enfield-Southgate, said, “There’s certainly a role for independent advice services.
“I think we need to get away from the stereotypes and recognise that we need more, not less, advice and support for women and it shouldn’t be the sole preserve of BPAS."
Both CLWC and APAS did not respond to repeated phone calls to the centres and hand delivered letters requesting them to reply to The Telegraph’s queries about the veracity of their advice, their funding structure and links to Church groups.
A report due for release this month by Brook, a national sexual health charity, is expected to further document how some CPCs are giving women inaccurate medical information.
At the CLWC, a reporter was told by an adviser that an abortion carried various risks, including “sterility”. During the appointment last month, the counsellor also told the reporter that infection was “quite common”.
Video [embedded]
Abortion scandal: 'abortions increase chance of infertility', claims counsellor
In this secret filming, an abortion counsellor claims that women who have terminations are 25 percent less likely to be able to carry a pregnancy to full term in the future
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10622839/Abortion-scandal-abortions-increase-chance-of-infertility-claims-counsellor.html [video with associated article]
“As with any operation you know you are introducing something from outside the body into the inside of the body and there’s always a risk but with abortion there’s also a particular risk of, obviously the instruments that are used are sharp and they can cut the wall of the womb”, the counsellor said.
“I mean one of the studies; the study that we tend to use is, it says that you’re 25 percent less likely to be able to carry a future pregnancy to term”, said the counsellor, who gave her name as Annabel.
Dr Guthrie, said that the risk of being left infertile is "very, very low”. Furthermore, because women are “always” screened before an abortion and “every women also gets a routine course of antibiotics after the abortion” the risk of infection is also minimal.
Dr Sarah Wollaston, a former GP who is now the Conservative MP for Totnes and a member of the Health Select Committee, said: “Women who go to a centre which purports to give impartial advice that is fundamentally anti-abortion in its stance, but doesn’t openly say so, is totally unacceptable.
“Now is the time for the Secretary of State [Jeremy Hunt] to order a review of the whole abortion counselling process."
Jeremy Hunt refused to comment on calls for a review of abortion counselling.
Related Articles
What are Crisis Pregnancy Centres and where are they?
10 Feb 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10629435/Abortion-scandal-what-are-Crisis-Pregnancy-Centres-and-where-are-they-in-the-UK.html
Inside Britain's unregulated 'pro-life' clinics
11 Feb 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10621472/Abortion-scandal-Inside-Britains-unregulated-pro-life-clinics.html
'Sorry, but when did Britain become 'pro-life' USA?'
11 Feb 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10621491/Abortion-scandal-Im-sorry-but-when-did-Britain-become-pro-life-America.html
6 abortion myths busted
11 Feb 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10621482/Abortion-scandal-6-abortion-myths-busted.html
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-health/10621459/Abortion-will-make-women-child-sex-abusers.html
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20 years later, Texas' anti-gay argument still cites 'scientific evidence'
A federal judge in San Antonio is expected to decide whether to issue a temporary injunction on Texas' same-sex marriage ban.
AP Photo/Heather Leiphart
Claims used to convict recently released 'San Antonio Four' are repeated in state's defense of same-sex marriage ban
by Michelle Garcia
February 12, 2014 | 5:00AM ET
Cleopatra wants to be married, in Texas, to another woman. She already said “I do” in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is legal, but Texas law won’t recognize her marriage to anyone but a Marc Antony type.
Cleopatra de Leon and her spouse, Nicole Dimetman, and another couple — Victor Holmes and Mark Phariss, who were denied a marriage license in Texas last year — have taken their challenge to the state’s ban on same-sex marriage to federal court. A judge in San Antonio is expected to decide Wednesday whether to grant a temporary injunction that would block the state from enforcing the ban while the case is litigated.
The San Antonio case is among dozens of same-sex marriage cases wending their way through courts across the country in a whirlwind of legal activity in the gay rights movement [ http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/12/30/the-year-in-gay-rightsamajorvictoryformarriageequality.html ].
At the same time, four publicly out lesbians known as the San Antonio Four were recently released from prison — 19 years after they were charged with molesting the two young nieces of one of the defendants. They were convicted and sentenced in 1998. Attorneys for the women used a new law to challenge the conviction on the basis that the testimony provided by a pediatrician that was critical in the case was unreliable and outdated.
The two cases — in the same city, nearly two decades apart — both hinge on challenging scientific claims. While the release of the San Antonio Four has become a symbol of advances in the gay rights movement, the same-sex marriage debate echoes a more hostile past [ http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/7/wave-of-new-statebillsreligiousfreedomorlicensetodiscriminate.html (4th item below)] toward gays and lesbians. At their roots, both cases turn on the anxieties, prejudices and persistent notions about the suspected adverse effect of gays and lesbians on children.
“That stereotype clearly influenced the San Antonio Four case and will be repeated in the state of Texas in its defense of its (same-sex) marriage ban,” said Clifford Rosky, a law professor at the University of Utah. But “they are not going to say a threat to children.”
In today’s parlance, he said, arguments are framed in terms of what is the “optimal environment” for children.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in San Antonio submitted dozens of pages, including court opinion, expert testimony, book excerpts and academic articles plus position statements from associations such as the Child Welfare League of America, the American Academy of Pediatricians and the American Psychological Association, that refute any claims of adverse effects in well-being or development experienced by children raised by same-sex parents.
Among the dozens of supporting documents, the plaintiffs’ attorneys included a 2004 statement by the APA that they sought to discount. The APA’s 10-year-old statement outlined “common fears” about the influence of gay and lesbian parents on children, including susceptibility to mental breakdown, sexual-identity issues and a fear that “children living with gay and lesbian parents will be more likely to be sexually abused by their partner or by the partner’s friend or acquaintance.” Social science research, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ statement, has failed to confirm any of these concerns.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, in defending the voter-approved ban, described the suggestion of anti-gay bias as “ugly.”
In written arguments, the state cites its interest in promoting “responsible procreation and childrearing.” Similar arguments are being used in other states where same sex marriage cases are pending.
The state punctuated its argument by saying changes to marriage should be postponed “until such time as there is unanimous scientific evidence, or popular consensus, or both, that such changes can safely be made.”
The 'San Antonio Four'
Although they are nearly 20 years apart, the cases of same-sex marriage and the San Antonio Four are tied to the confluence of science and beliefs, as it has to do with gays and lesbians.
“For a long time there was a junk science that people thought was real and they discovered was not, but ideology continues with it,” said Jennifer Pizer, law and policy project director for the advocacy group Lambda Legal. “We're not moving as fast as some people think, and we may fool ourselves to think those attitudes don’t exist.”
In the summer of 1994 Elizabeth Ramirez’ two nieces stayed with her and her roommates for a week. Two months later the girls accused their aunt, 20-year-old Ramirez, who was pregnant at the time, her roommate Kristie Mayhugh, 21, and two other women, Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez, both 19, of sexually assaulting them with small objects. There were reports that the women lounged around topless, smoking marijuana. At times the accusations included claims that Ramirez had placed a gun to one girl’s head during the episodes.
Cassandra Rivera, center, followed by Elizabeth Ramirez and Kristie Mayhugh, are greeted by family as they leave the Bexar County Jail in November.
AP Photo/Eric Gay
In his opening statement, prosecutor Philip Kazen said, “We are going to ask you to believe a 9-year-old little girl who was sacrificed at the altar of lust.”
The girls’ testimony was riddled with inconsistencies, which were justified as the result of young minds attempting to explain traumatic and complex events. But the testimony of a medical expert, Dr. Nancy Kellogg, testified that an examination that showed a slight scar on the hymen was consistent with signs of abuse. It was the hard evidence that proved critical.
Kazen, now a state judge, later told jurors, “Folks, a lot has been made in this case about the fact the defendant is a lesbian. Who cares? Do not go back and convict her because she’s a lesbian. It’s only important in that sense that that activity is generally consistent with the activity alleged in the indictment, and that’s all.”
The four women were convicted of aggravated sexual assault and indecency with a child. They were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 37 and a half years.
“The only reason law enforcement took them seriously was because the four women were gay,” said attorney Mike Ware, who revived their case with support from the nonprofit Innocence Project of Texas.
Legal process stalled
Over the years, the landscape for gay rights has changed, but the mingling of suspected deviance and children persisted.
In 2003, Texas’ anti-sodomy law went before the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice William Rehnquist questioned whether “states also could prefer heterosexuals to homosexuals to teach kindergarten” if the Texas law was struck down. The high court ultimately ruled the law unconstitutional, paving the way for the same-sex marriage movement. A few months later the Massachusetts Supreme Court in a landmark decision ruled that same-sex couples have a right to marry.
Despite the high court’s ruling, Texas’ sodomy law, known as the “homosexual conduct” law — which makes “deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex” a crime — remains on the books, and every attempt to repeal it has failed. Texas is among eight states in which sex-education class material instructs that homosexuality is “not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public and is a criminal offense.”
Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court cited the welfare of children when it struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denied federal government benefits to same-sex couples. The court in its majority opinion said the law relegated same-sex marriage to a second-class status that “humiliates tens of thousands of children now being raised by same-sex couples.” However, the high court did not address whether individual states must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. With same-sex marriage cases before the courts, the issue will likely return to the U.S. Supreme Court.
‘Junk science’ shot down
Meanwhile, the case of the San Antonio Four languished for a decade until a Canadian professor named Darrell Otto took their case to the National Center for Reason and Justice, which began advocating for them. Last year, attorney Ware filed petitions for their release, saying one of the child victims had later recanted, saying they had been coached by their father, whose romantic intentions had been spurned by Ramirez.
Ware cited new science that disproved Kellogg’s medical expert testimony. She has since recanted. However, none of these factors would have freed the San Antonio Four without the state’s new “junk science” law, which opened the door for prisoners to seek release or a new trial if the science that was critical to their convictions has since been refuted or disproved.
Other grounds for release included statements by the prosecutor that “confused sexual orientation with promiscuity, focusing on the sexual relationships among the adult women, and suggesting they all had sex with each other.”
On Nov. 18, after nearly two decades in prison, Ramirez, Rivera and Mayhugh were released. (The fourth, Vasquez, had been released earlier on strict parole.) The district attorney has said she will not retry the case. Nine days later, attorneys filed their lawsuit challenging the same-sex marriage ban.
And the San Antonio Four remain in legal limbo. They may be eligible for state funds paid to the wrongfully imprisoned, but such a move requires a judge to vacate their convictions or, as Ware described it, award them “absolute vindication.”
© 2014 Al Jazeera America, LLC
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/12/20-years-later-texasantigayargumentstillcitesscientificevidence.html [with comments]
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Tennessee couple facing prison in death of girl, 5, after forcing her to drink 2 liters of soda
By Tom Boggioni
Saturday, February 8, 2014 11:11 EST
A Tennessee couple face up to 60 years in prison or the possibility of the death penalty for the murder of a 5 year-old girl after they forced her to drink a large amount of soda and water leading to her death by “acute fluid/water intoxication.”
According to WJHL [ http://www.wjhl.com/story/24663140/hawkins-county-couple-could-face-up-to-60-years-or-death-penalty-for-murder-of-5-year-old-girl ], Randall Lee Vaughn, 41 and his wife Mary Lavonne Vaughn, 58, made Randall Lee’s daughter, Alexa Linboom, 5, drink more than two liters of grape soda and water over a period of two hours as punishment for taking two of her stepmothers grape sodas on New Years Day, 2012.
Following the incident, Alexa Linbloom was found unresponsive and rushed to an emergency room, then later airlifted to Niswonger Children’s Hospital where it was determined that she had suffered major brain damage. Two days later, she was declared brain dead and removed from life support.
An autopsy led to a two-year investigation which determined that Alexa’s death was a homicide as the result of acute fluid/water intoxication causing her brain to swell and herniate.
“She was allegedly force-fed so much liquid that it caused the sodium level in her body to go down and caused her brain to swell,” District Attorney Berkley Bell told WJHL. Bell also indicated that there were other signs of abuse but did not go into specifics.
Appearing in court on Friday, Randall Lee Vaughn and Mary Lavonne Vaughn, have each been charged with first degree murder, two counts of aggravated child neglect and aggravated child abuse. They face up to 60 years in prison with the possibility of the death penalty for first degree murder.
They are both scheduled to be back in court on April 30 for a pretrial hearing, with their trial was set for Oct. 20.
Watch the WJHL report below:
[video embedded]
Copyright © 2004-2013 Raw Story Media, Inc.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/08/tennessee-couple-facing-prison-in-death-of-girl-5-after-forcing-her-to-drink-2-liters-of-soda/ [with comments]
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You Can't POP Your Cherry! (HYMEN 101)
Published on Apr 26, 2012 by lacigreen [ http://www.youtube.com/user/lacigreen ]
hymens don't break - here's the TRUTH about the "pop your cherry" myth!
everyday i'm tumblin' - http://lacigreen.tumblr.com
be my fwend? http://www.facebook.com/officiallacigreen
tweet me! - http://www.twitter.com/gogreen18
get in my circle! - http://gplus.to/lacigreen
NEW AT LACIGREEN.TV
The "Pro-Life" Movement: Dangerous, Selfish, Lazy - http://lacigreen.tv/?p=4668
How Oppression Works - http://lacigreen.tv/?p=4581
Laci's Guide to Carpet Munching - http://lacigreen.tv/?p=4552
Let's talk about sex, Laci - http://lacigreen.tv/?p=4537
MORE INFO:
-Myths about the vaginal corona (hymen) and different shapes of hymen: http://www.lesbilicious.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/corona.pdf
-Hymen stretching: http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/hymen-stretching
VIDEO SUMMARY
In this video I seek to dispel the widely held, yet false, notion that vaginas are covered with a hymen that needs to be broken the first time you have sex. I give the truth about what the hymen actually is, pain the first time you have sex/lose your virginity, bleeding, and how to avoid it all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qFojO8WkpA [with comments] [embedded/more at http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/02/living-myths-about-virginity/283628/ (with comments)]
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Hundreds flock to 'weeping' Mary statue in Israel
Updated: 3:55 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014 | Posted: 3:28 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014
JERUSALEM (AP) - Hundreds of people have flocked to a small town in northern Israel to view a statue of the Virgin Mary that residents say "weeps" oil.
Members of a Christian family from Tarshiha, near the Lebanon border, say they have witnessed a miracle in their living room.
Osama Khoury said Tuesday that his wife Amira found the statue "covered with oil" recently. Amira said the statue "spoke to her" and told her not to be afraid. After a neighbor witnessed the oil, word soon spread.
Parts of the statue appear to be slick with moisture, even after it is wiped off.
The family says it is most striking when a "tear" seems to roll down the statue's cheek. It says some 2,000 people have come to see the statue over the last week.
© 2014 Associated Press
http://www.statesman.com/news/ap/international/thousands-flock-to-weeping-mary-statue-in-israel/ndK5k/ [no comments yet]
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LET'S LOSE "VIRGINITY"
Published on Jun 19, 2013 by lacigreen [ http://www.youtube.com/user/lacigreen ]
virginity is a destructive social construct & i want to lose ittt
Tumbl with me all week! - http://lacigreen.tumblr.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/officiallacig...
twitter - http://www.twitter.com/gogreen18
SOURCES & FURTHER READING
The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti
Virgin: An Untouched History by Hanne Blank
Hymeneutics: Interpreting Virginity on the Early Modern Stage by Marie Loughlin
Masculinities, Childhood, Violence: Attending to Early Modern Women—and Men by Amy Leonard
RFSU Guide to the Hymen (Vaginal Corona) - http://www.rfsu.se/Bildbank/Dokument/...
Honor-Based Violence Awareness Network -
http://hbv-awareness.com/
You Can't POP Your Cherry (Sex+ video) -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qFojO...
Losing Your VIRGINITY (Sex+ video) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdYtYv...
Secondary virginity as an ongoing gendered social construction -
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1...
RELATED STORIES IN THE NEWS
Virginity sells on ebay for $780,000 - http://newsone.com/2066873/virginity-...
Woman must pay husband $7500 for lying about virginity - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04...
Alabama teen killed with bleach for losing virginity - http://www.scarleteen.com/blog/heathe...
Pakistan teen killed with acid for looking at a boy -
http://now.msn.com/anusha-a-15-year-o...
SUMMARY
Virginity as a social construct is best understood by understanding where virginity and myths about the hymen came from in the first place. I talk about the origin of virginity and how holding on to this concept negatively affects people. I argue that instead of thinking in terms of "losing virginity" we should think about sexual acts as equal and think of the start of sexual activity in terms of a "sexual debut".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-hUbI8my0Q [many of the provided links are truncated/broken in the original/as reproduced above, but what is there is/should be enough to find the items by Googling the titles; with comments] [embedded/more at http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/02/living-myths-about-virginity/283628/ (with comments)]
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Wave of new state bills: Religious freedom or license to discriminate?
Religious conservatives say same-sex marriage is forcing their religious beliefs into hiding.
Jay Paul/Getty Images
In response to legalization of same-sex marriage, many states aim to broaden exemptions for providing services
by Sarah Posner
February 7, 2014 | 12:30PM ET
If a bill approved by the Kansas House Committee on Federal and State Affairs Thursday becomes law, businesses and government employees could legally refuse service to citizens because of their sexual orientation or marital status, claiming it violates their religious beliefs.
HB 2453 [ http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/HB2453/ ], if passed, would permit “any individual or religious entity” to claim an exemption, based on religious views, from providing nearly any kind of services, and to be relieved from “treat(ing) any marriage, domestic partnership, civil union, or similar arrangement as valid.” Although the bill would require government agencies to make another employee available to provide the service if one employee objects, opponents of the bill say that arrangement could prove unworkable in small locales.
The Kansas measure is an extreme permutation of a wave of new bills in state legislatures that purport to bolster religious freedom, but that opponents say constitute a troubling new trend to craft a license to discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital or family status. The state efforts are apparently connected to a network with the Christian advocacy group Focus on the Family at its core.
“We are really seeing this dovetailing with LGBT people across the country gaining greater rights,” said Eunice Rho, advocacy and policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, which opposes these bills. “We are now seeing this reaction where people are claiming based on religious belief that there should be special authorization to break laws or have new rights.”
The Kansas bill, said Thomas Witt, executive director of the LGBT rights group Equality Kansas, is based on widely circulated “horror stories about lawsuits over wedding cakes.” He was referring to cases, such as one decided by the New Mexico Supreme Court last year, stemming from business-owner refusals to serve gay or lesbian customers.
In the New Mexico case, a photographer refused to provide services for a lesbian commitment ceremony. The couple sued under the state’s anti-discrimination law and won, because New Mexico prohibits discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation.
Kansas, Witt noted, does not outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Thus, “we have no legal recourse,” unlike the couple in New Mexico. ”People already have the right to turn us away,” he said.
But conservative legislators are also reacting to the possibility of same-sex marriage bans being struck down, as federal cases decided in Utah and Oklahoma move through the courts — and Witt said the Kansas bill would give government employees the right to refuse service even if same-sex marriage were legal in the state.
The Kansas Family Policy Council, a Christian conservative group in favor of the bill, said in an alert to its members that the bill “would extend important legal protections to individuals, business owners and religious institutions when it comes to their rights to stand on their religious views when declining to participate in and celebrate homosexual ‘weddings.’”
In testimony supporting HB 2453, Robert Noland, executive director of the Kansas Family Policy Council, said, “The relatively recent developments in the area of homosexual marriage (the past 12 years or so) have quite literally turned thousands of years of religious and social mores on their heads.”
He did not respond to a request for comment.
Changing tactics
Religious freedom statutes have their origins in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s 1990 decision in Employment Division v. Smith, in which the court held that a law of general applicability — one prohibiting drug use — did not violate the free-exercise rights of Native Americans who used peyote as part of a religious ceremony, and who were denied unemployment compensation after being fired from their jobs.
Concerned that this precedent would unduly infringe on religious liberty, in 1993 Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act — the same statute at issue in cases now before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the contraception mandate under the Affordable Care Act — with broad bipartisan support.
After the Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that this federal statute could not be used to compel compliance by the states, many states passed their own Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, or “mini-RFRAs,” with language identical to the federal statute. Today 18 states, including Kansas, have a RFRA.
These mini-RFRAs, said Caroline Mala Corbin, a professor at the University of Miami School of Law, were “perfectly constitutional.” Under the federal RFRA, the plaintiff must prove that the law or state action in question imposes a “substantial burden” on religious exercise. But two states, Connecticut and Alabama, have replaced that test with merely a “burden” standard, and others are attempting such a change.
That’s problematic, Corbin said, because “it’s one thing to exempt people from a law that imposes a religious hardship” but “it’s quite another when it’s just a minor inconvenience.”
By taking out the “substantial” requirement, said Maggie Garrett, legislative counsel for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, these states are “making a completely different test,” as RFRA “was never meant to trump anti-discrimination and health and safety laws.”
In addition to taking the word “substantial” out of the statute, new proposals, including those in Idaho, Arizona, Ohio and Mississippi, would allow a twist not permitted under the federal RFRA or any of the original mini-RFRAs: suits against private parties, as opposed to the government, or as a defense in a suit brought by a private party.
In addition, a bill moving through the Arizona Senate specifically identifies corporations as parties with religious freedom to be protected — one of the issues the Supreme Court has been asked to take up in cases brought by Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood in their challenges to the contraception coverage.
Julie Lynde, executive director of Cornerstone Family Council in Idaho, said, “A lot of these battles across the country have been caused by homosexual issues.”
She added, “The government is now saying, ‘You can worship, just keep it in your house and in your church. Don’t pollute the public square with your faith.’ And that’s not at all what the founders intended.”
Nationwide network
Cornerstone in Idaho, the Kansas Family Policy Council, and the Center for Arizona Policy, which supports [ http://www.azpolicy.org/bill-tracker/religious-freedom-restoration-act-sb-1062 ] the bill there, are all part of a network of 38 state [ http://www.citizenlink.com/state-groups/ ] “family policy councils” pressing for these laws under the umbrella of Citizen Link, the advocacy arm of the conservative Christian powerhouse Focus on the Family. Citizen Link says its aim [ http://www.citizenlink.com/about-us/ ] is to “help citizens understand and passionately engage in policy issues relevant to families from a foundation firmly established in a biblical worldview.”
Tom Minnery, executive director of Citizen Link, declined a request for an interview.
Lynde said, “We are not following a template” but “we’ve been involved in working on the language” of two religious-freedom bills in Idaho.
The Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Washington-based conservative think tank, in 2012 created the American Religious Freedom Project (ARFP), with a goal of 50 religious-freedom caucuses in state legislatures. Today, there are 18 [ http://www.religiousfreedom.org/news/detail/18-state-religious-freedom-caucuses ], in Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
“There are a lot of organizations that work with people who are interested,” Brian Walsh, executive director of the ARFP, said. “If we have a state legislator who is interested in a specific RFRA or a specific question, we, like a lot of other organizations, would help them.”
The project’s state legislative policy director, Tim Schultz, testified in favor of the controversial Kansas bill, as well as one in Nevada last year.
New twists on these themes continue to arise.
One of the bills introduced in Idaho would make it illegal for the state to deny, revoke or suspend someone’s occupational license [ http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/the-stream/the-stream-officialblog/2014/1/29/idaho-bill-wouldprotectbusinessesrefusingserviceonreligiousgroun.html ] if she refuses to serve a client, claiming that such service would violate her religious beliefs. Another, introduced [ http://legis.sd.gov/Legislative_Session/Bills/Bill.aspx?File=SB128P.htm&Session=2014 ] in South Dakota, would bar suits against a business for refusing service to customers based on sexual orientation, and declares that if federal legislation passed protecting the employment rights of gay and lesbian people, it would “not apply in South Dakota and may not be enforced within the geographical boundaries of South Dakota.”
Lynde said the Idaho bills are necessary because “we are seeing this clash that is starting to coerce people to not live their religious freedom in the workplace.”
But of this growing number of variations on such bills, Garrett of Americans United said, “It really has no end.”
© 2014 Al Jazeera America, LLC
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/7/wave-of-new-statebillsreligiousfreedomorlicensetodiscriminate.html
===
Greg Abbott Compares South Texas to a Third-World Nation, Proposes "Surge" of State Troopers
by: Katie Singh
Wed Feb 05, 2014 at 04:30 PM CST
Greg Abbott unveiled [ http://www.texastribune.org/2014/02/04/abbott-wants-300-million-shield-border/ ] his latest policy proposal in Dallas yesterday, a border security proposal that Abbott called his "Securing Texans Plan." Abbott's proposal would double [ http://www.statesman.com/news/news/greg-abbott-calls-for-an-extra-300-million-in-bord/ndC9p/ ] spending on border security, costing $300 million over the next 2 years. He has called for hiring 500 more state troopers and spending millions on new high-tech security equipment.
In his speech, Abbott justified his proposal by comparing the South Texas border region to a third-world country. Said Abbott: "This creeping corruption resembles third world country practices that erode the social fabric of our communities and destroy Texans' trust and confidence in government."
His entire proposal was replete with militaristic rhetoric that characterized South Texas as a war zone that wasn't really part of Texas. In describing his border plan, Abbott said, "We must do more to protect our border going beyond sporadic surges...I'll add more boots on the ground, more assets in the air and on the water, and deploy more technology and tools for added surveillance." He instead proposed a "continuous surge" of state troopers to the region.
Abbott's comments about South Texas are yet another example of his hostility toward the Latino community. He has refused [ http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14407/greg-abbott-continues-to-avoid-qualifying-his-support-for-the-dream-act ] to take a firm stance on the DREAM Act. One of Abbott's former staffers was responsible last fall's racist "Catch an Illegal Immigrant" game at UT, and the Abbott campaign seemingly lied [ http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14669/greg-abbott-campaign-had-catch-an-illegal-immigrant-organizer-on-payroll-through-november ] about how long he was on Abbott's payroll. Now, he's referring to South Texas as a third-world country, offensively stereotyping a region where millions of Latinos live. Greg Abbott has shown that he prefers to rely on xenophobia to provoke his right-wing base rather than reach out and include all Texans.
Understandably, Abbott's distasteful comments have provoked a major backlash across Texas.
Grassroots activists responded quickly to Abbott's remarks. The Travis Country Democratic Party helped organize [ https://www.facebook.com/events/134504153385186 ] a protest outside Greg Abbott's Austin office this afternoon to speak out against his offensive mischaracterization of South Texas.
Soon after Greg Abbott's border speech, Wendy Davis's campaign released a statement condemning the remarks. Said Campaign spokeswoman Rebecca Acuña:
"Actions speak louder than words, and Greg Abbott's actions are downright hostile. Greg Abbott's positions don't vary much from the 'stop the invasion' rhetoric we're hearing from his allies. Abbott even went as far as comparing the Texas border to a third world country. Unlike Greg Abbott, Senator Davis has a strong record of fighting for all Texans."
Battleground Texas Deputy Field Director Daniel Lucio saw the remarks as yet another reminder that Greg Abbott is out of touch with millions of Texans:
"Greg Abbott's plan for South Texas is both offensive and completely out of touch. By dismissing the Rio Grande Valley, my home, as a third-world country and thinking that more state troopers and investigations will fix everything, Abbott has made it clear that he has no idea what day to day life is like for millions of Texans that he claims to want to represent.
Like all Texans, people in the Rio Grande Valley want opportunities to pursue education, access to healthcare, and good jobs. Abbott and the Texas GOP have done little to address those fundamentals. But they've excelled at painting a caricature of the Valley to play to those in their base who are hostile to Texas' diverse culture and values.
Texas can do better. And the Rio Grande Valley will do its part to prove that this November.
Somos Tejas."
State Rep. Terry Canales (D-Edinburg), who represents part of South Texas, called on Abbott to apologize for the offensive remarks:
"Republican Greg Abbott says the Republican Party is a friend of minorities, then he falsely condemns the region where millions of Mexican Americans live and work as being corrupt. Republican Greg Abbott says he wants to lead all of Texas as governor, then he defames a vital region of Texas as being a 'Third-World Country.'
What kind of Texas leader tells the whole world that the most important state in America has 'Third-World' conditions, which sends the extremely damaging message that Texans are uneducated, unskilled, controlled by drug lords and other thugs, and served by incompetent local and county governments? It shows how much contempt that Greg Abbott has for millions of his fellow citizens. With so-called friends like Greg Abbott, who needs enemies?
A true Texan always admits when he or she is wrong, and does whatever it takes to make it right. But not Greg Abbott. He is not what Texas leadership is all about."
Related Stories on Burnt Orange Report
Wendy Davis' Eligibility Challenged?
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/4572/
Senator Dan Patrick's $1 million press conference
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/2907/
Thoughts on Carole Strayhorn's Run for Mayor of Austin
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/7435/
How We Felt When We Saw Wendy Davis's Fundraising Reports, In Animated GIFs
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14649/how-we-felt-when-we-saw-wendy-daviss-fundraising-reports-in-animated-gifs
Republicans Resolve to Speak Out Against Abortion to Prove There Is No War On Women
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14703/republicans-resolve-to-speak-out-against-abortion-to-prove-there-is-no-war-on-women
Sean Hannity Proposes Adopt-a-Woman Plan for Birth Control Coverage
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14762/sean-hannity-proposes-adoptawoman-plan-for-birth-control-coverage
Copyright 2014 Burnt Orange Report (emphasis in original)
http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/14768/greg-abbott-compares-south-texas-to-a-thirdworld-nation-proposes-surge-of-state-troopers [with comment]
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EDITORIAL: Third-world implications
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott speaks during an event to announce his 2014 campaign for governor, Sunday, July 14, 2013, in San Antonio. Already well-known in political circles and extremely well-financed, Attorney General Greg Abbott launched his gubernatorial campaign Sunday, hoping to seize the fiercely socially conservative mantle of Gov. Rick Perry that has helped make Texas the country's largest red state.
(AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Greg Abbott's speech requires apology
Posted: Friday, February 7, 2014 12:00 am
Precision gives the English language its power. At its best, it can convey strong ideas lyrically and lucidly. At its worst, it can inflame passions while avoiding direct responsibility for those passions.
Take the case this week of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and his newly unveiled public safety plan.
In a Dallas speech on Tuesday, the Republican front-runner for governor outlined his plan and rightly lamented the growing influence that Mexican drug cartels have in Texas by pointing out, among other examples, specific instances of law enforcement corruption in Starr, Hidalgo and Cameron counties.
“This creeping corruption resembles third-world country practices that erode the social fabric of our communities and destroys Texans’ trust in government,” he said in a videotaped speech.
Abbott, more than most, understands the power and nuance of the English language. After all, he’s the state’s top lawyer and a former jurist who sat on the Texas Supreme Court — two jobs that require a keen understanding of the need for precision in language.
So there is no doubt that the comparison of corruption in South Texas to third-world countries — made in prepared remarks — was intentional and highly nuanced.
It gives the attorney general the plausible deniability that he needs to say that he was not directly comparing the Hispanic-heavy Rio Grande Valley itself to third-world countries. He was simply comparing the corruption to those third-world countries, many of which happen to be in Latin America.
There is also no doubt that Abbott would not have made a similar comparison to third-world countries had he been talking about corruption in Dallas or Houston.
That’s why we applaud state Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, for calling on Abbott to apologize for such cynical and offensive remarks. And we join in that call.
In fact, we view this incident as a potential defining moment in this year’s election. We call on all campaigns for statewide elective office — especially Abbott’s probable rival in November, Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis — to denounce these words or embrace them. Our numbers in the Valley dictate that we have a seat at the table in which public policy is fashioned. We demand to know the attitude of those with whom we are seated.
If Abbott’s words are given a pass by the political establishments of the state, then we’re concerned that it represents business as usual for statewide politics, despite the Valley’s growing numbers and economic influence. And that business is focusing resources and responding to the influence of the Interstate 35 corridor — at the exclusion of the border region in general and the Valley in particular.
As we have said on our Opinion page several times before, this year’s election should not fall into that traditional zone of venomous nativist rhetoric that inflames the passions of white conservatives at the expense of the state’s growing Hispanic population.
Abbott has been guilty of such practices in the past and we need to declare as a region that we are tired of having Hispanics act as the bogeymen of Texas.
We should all be ashamed of the antics of corrupt law enforcement and other facets of corrupt government in our midst. But the fact that corruption happens — as it happens all over the state — should not diminish our sense of being Texans or Americans. Nor should we allow others to diminish that sense in highly nuanced speeches.
The irony of Abbott’s statement is that it would have made little difference in any of the local cases that he mentioned if the border security plan that he introduced had already been in place. That’s because the federal government prosecutes the vast majority of corruption cases in our state, including those in the Valley.
The promise of $300 million of state taxpayer money is another cynical attempt by a politician running for statewide office to leverage xenophobia into votes. To add to the xenophobia with references to third-world countries — however nuanced those references may be — should be out of bounds. We as a region should demand that.
Copyright © 2014 The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/the_monitor_view/article_135beb94-8f83-11e3-81fc-0017a43b2370.html [with comments]
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LETTER: Wendy Davis responds to Greg Abbott's third-world comment
State Sen. Wendy Davis is a Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Eric Gay
Posted: Sunday, February 9, 2014 12:00 am
Dear Monitor Editor:
I wholeheartedly agree with the Feb. 7 Monitor editorial, “Third-world implications.” I join you in calling for Attorney Gen. Greg Abbott to apologize for his offensive and erroneous comment that problems facing South Texas resemble “third-world country practices that erode the social fabric of our communities and destroys Texans’ trust in government.”
Abbott’s comparison of activities in South Texas to those of a “third-world” country is untrue, hurts our state, harms economic development in our border communities and won’t help the hardworking Texas families who live there.
Greg Abbott said he’d double the amount of spending for DPS border security. While I agree we should ensure that law enforcement has the necessary resources throughout our state, it’s unfortunate that oftentimes the conversation around our border communities focuses solely on enforcement. Our state needs leadership that is grounded in facts and is ready to open up new opportunities with trade and commerce which currently support hundreds of thousands of jobs in Texas. If we’re going to spend more money on the border, let’s work to reduce wait times at our ports of entry and create more jobs for Texas.
Instead of using divisive rhetoric, as governor I will fight to expand opportunity for all Texans. Last month at Texas State Technical College in Harlingen, I was proud to announce my plan to help Texas students get to college and graduate. And I was proud to visit with students and educators at the University of Texas at Brownsville. Greg Abbott’s only plan for Texas education has been to defend $5 billion in cuts to neighborhood schools. That’s wrong for our border communities, and wrong for all of Texas.
As governor, I will fight to increase educational opportunities, create jobs, and support our veterans in every part of our state. Because, despite what Greg Abbott may say, we’re proud of Texas, and we know it’s worth our time, energy, and dedication to make it even greater.
State Sen. Wendy Davis,
Fort Worth
Copyright © 2014 The Monitor
http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/letters/article_e2746da2-9104-11e3-b380-0017a43b2370.html [with comments]
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Abbott, under fire for Rio Grande Valley comment, calls Wendy Davis ‘clueless’ on region
February 9, 2014
[...]
The Republican attorney general, in a tweet to a reporter, said, “wait til you see my response to her Monitor piece. It will show how clueless she is about the RGV.”
[...]
http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics/2014/02/abbott-under-fire-for-rio-grande-valley-comment-calls-wendy-davis-clueless-on-region/ [with comments]
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Rand Paul warns [Harris County GOP that] Texas could turn blue
Paul remarks that the audience response to his comments was 'kind of tepid.'
2/9/14
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/rand-paul-texas-could-turn-blue-103292.html [with comments]
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COMMENTARY BY GREG ABBOTT: Third-world comments not directed at RGV
February 10, 2014
http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/columnists/article_d6d33a72-92b3-11e3-b173-0017a43b2370.html [with comments]
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Nebraska City Votes to Keep Rule Aimed at Illegal Immigrants
By EMMA G. FITZSIMMONS
FEB. 12, 2014
Residents of a small city in Nebraska voted on Tuesday to keep a controversial measure they approved in 2010 [ http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/us/22fremont.html ] to ban illegal immigrants from renting homes.
Almost 60 percent of voters supported upholding the ordinance in a special election in Fremont, Neb.
About 3,800 residents voted to keep the housing measure, while 2,600 voted to drop it, according to unofficial election results from the Dodge County Election Commissioner.
The meatpacking town of about 25,000 people became a central front in the debate over immigration when it approved the ordinance almost four years ago. The measure prohibits landlords from renting to illegal immigrants and requires renters to apply for a permit from the police and to declare that they are in the country legally.
Support for the measure was slightly stronger now than in the previous vote on the issue. In 2010, about 57 percent of voters approved the referendum.
On Tuesday night, the Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union [ http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/american_civil_liberties_union/index.html ] criticized the results and said that the group would be watching for discrimination as the ordinance was enforced.
“We are saddened by the result of today’s vote, and will stand with those residents of Fremont who will be harmed by the unfortunate decision to allow a discriminatory housing ordinance to be implemented,” the group said in a statement.
The city’s mayor, Scott Getzschman, and the local Chamber of Commerce supported amending the law to remove the housing provision because they said it was bringing negative attention to the city, which is about 30 miles northwest of Omaha. City officials have said that at least one business decided not to move to the community because of the ordinance.
But those supporting the housing provision say that having more illegal immigrants in the city has caused the costs of education, hospitals and law enforcement to rise. They have expressed anger with local officials for trying to reverse the decision by voters.
The ordinance also had a provision requiring Fremont businesses to use a federal database, E-Verify, to check new employees’ information. That part is already being enforced.
But the housing measure has been stuck in limbo for years because of legal challenges. After the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld most of the ordinance last year, local officials decided to schedule another vote.
© 2014 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/us/nebraska-city-votes-to-keep-rule-aimed-at-illegal-immigrants.html
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Immigration activists threaten GOP political payback
Republicans targeted as reform hopes dim.
February 12, 2014
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/02/12/immigration-reform-activists-threaten-gop-payback/5414269/ [no comments yet]
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Family Research Institute: 'Capital Punishment Is Warranted' For Homosexuality
Submitted by Brian Tashman on Wednesday, 2/5/2014 10:15 am
After endorsing [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/family-research-institute-applauds-uganda-anti-gay-bill-calls-homosexuality-worse-murder ; http://www.familyresearchinst.org/2014/01/muddled-thinking/ ] Uganda’s crackdown on gay people, the Family Research Institute [ http://www.familyresearchinst.org/ ] has posted another statement [ http://www.familyresearchinst.org/2014/02/response-to-marvin-olasky/ ] saluting the country for deciding to “be harsh with those who choose to act on homosexual desires.”
The group, which is led by Paul Cameron, also insisted that the death penalty remain an option in punishing gays: “Depending on the severity of the homosexual offense, a fine, prison time or even capital punishment is warranted. The most important thing is to make it illegal, and thus keep those who fancy it (or seem addicted to it), off the streets, out of schools, with no ‘right’ to proselytize or advertise their preferences. (Current Russian law tries to do this without making the activity illegal; in most of the West, it must be made illegal first.)”
The FRI isn’t the only Religious Right group sympathetic to Uganda’s anti-gay stance: the American Family Association [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/uganda-passes-anti-gay-bill-cheered-us-conservatives ] and the Family Research Council [ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/why-would-mainstream-conservative-think-tank-praise-kill-gays-law ] have also defended the proposed Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
After comparing homosexuality to incest, rape, bestiality and child abuse—and even arguing that one out of three gay men are guilty of “molesting/raping children or teens”—the group argued that gay people don’t exist. The FRI reasons that a person who identifies as gay is no different from those who see themselves as “Krafts” because they “so strongly prefer Kraft Macaroni and Cheese that the will eat almost nothing else.”
In a sense, there are no ‘homosexuals.’ The Apostle Paul condemns ‘males who have sex with males,’ which is both more precise and less deceptive than labeling as ‘homosexuals’ those who act upon their homosexual desires. Gay activists and the psychiatric professions have reason to use the term “homosexuals” – the former to ‘be a people’ and the latter to bill for a ‘condition.’ But those who so strongly prefer Kraft Macaroni and Cheese that they will eat almost nothing else are no more ‘Krafts’ than those are ‘homosexuals’ who so strongly prefer homosexual sex that they will seldom have heterosexual sex.
The reality is that the vast majority of males who have sex with males have also had sex with females, and almost all females who have had sex with females have had sex with males! ‘Gays’ and ‘lesbians’ may currently prefer sex with others of their sex, but they will, and do, have sex with the opposite sex depending on the situation. Indeed, a large minority of gays and a majority of lesbians report having “been in love with” a member of the opposite sex. We agree with Alfred Kinsey that homosexual interests are a ‘preference.’ The use of the weird term ‘orientation’ is largely to obfuscate the fact that who you have sex with is a choice and not at all necessary to survive, unlike, say, breathing or eating.
Not all sin warrants public laws against it. But many sins do, including many sexual sins. In the past, the Christian Church saw fit to lobby for public legal sanctions against fornication, rape, adultery, divorce, bestiality, incest, child molestation, etc. Some of those sanctions are still on the books and enforced, with little complaint (e.g., rape, child molestation). Until quite recently, homosexual activity also was illegal everywhere in the United States – in direct line with Christian influence – along with almost every other country.
But now under pressure from gay activists and the apathy of a modern Church which is frankly ignorant of the destructive consequences of homosexual behavior and eager to regard homosexuality as a kind of ‘victimless crime’ even if perhaps still sinful (similar to fornication, adultery, or divorce), American legal sanctions against homosexuality have been expunged and the race begun toward full gay marriage rights.
…
The historic Christian Church lobbied for laws against homosexual behavior, deeming it a personal and societal threat. Today, we should do no less. Depending on the severity of the homosexual offense, a fine, prison time or even capital punishment is warranted. The most important thing is to make it illegal, and thus keep those who fancy it (or seem addicted to it), off the streets, out of schools, with no ‘right’ to proselytize or advertise their preferences. (Current Russian law tries to do this without making the activity illegal; in most of the West, it must be made illegal first.)
…
Once it is legalized, homosexuality seeks to grow. Many of those ‘sold out’ to homosexual desires (e.g., ‘gays’) seek boys (and sometimes girls) to corrupt into their image. Since a quarter of gays admit to molesting/raping children or teens, and about one of every 7 gay priests has been caught molesting/raping children or teens, it is quite possible that at least a third of men with homosexual interests have done the same.
…
Indeed, if Uganda is to learn anything from us, it is to be harsh with those who choose to act on homosexual desires. Uganda, especially its boys, will suffer otherwise.
© 2014 People For the American Way
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/family-research-institute-capital-punishment-warranted-homosexuality
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Fischer: I Want Homosexuality To Be Illegal 'Because I Love Black Males'
2/7/2014
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fischer-i-want-homosexuality-be-illegal-because-i-love-black-males ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FZivRU_JK8 [with comments]
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Demonizing Gays in Africa
Editorial
FEB. 11, 2014
As acceptance of gays and lesbians has grown in the United States and Europe, intolerance and persecution has been rising in other parts of the world. African nations are leaders in this cruel and dehumanizing trend.
The latest alarms were triggered by a ban in Nigeria on same-sex relationships [ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/world/africa/nigerian-president-signs-ban-on-same-sex-relationships.html ] that was passed by Parliament in May and signed by President Goodluck Jonathan on Jan. 7. Nigeria is a leading oil producer and Africa’s most populous country, and the ban is considered the most significant setback yet to gay rights on the continent.
Although gay sex has been illegal in Nigeria since British colonial rule, the draconian new law criminalizes homosexuality, banning same-sex marriage and prescribing years in prison to anyone who makes a “public show” of same-sex relationships or participates in gay organizations. Even people who simply support gays are subject to criminal arrest and penalties.
Before the new law was enacted, convictions for gay sex were rare in the southern part of Nigeria and occasional in the mostly Muslim north. But since the law went into effect, as Adam Nossiter has reported [ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/world/africa/nigeria-uses-law-and-whip-to-sanitize-gays.html ] in The Times, arrests of gays have multiplied and some people have sought asylum overseas. According to Amnesty International, homosexuality is illegal in 38 of 54 countries in Africa. It carries the death penalty in Mauritania, Sudan and Somalia; in northern Nigeria, where Islamic law is practiced, the penalty can be death by stoning. In Senegal, the press regularly “outs” gays and same-sex relations carry a penalty of five years in prison. Another severe law has been passed by Uganda’s Legislature, but President Yoweri Museveni has not and should not sign it.
Such laws violate commitments made by United Nations members in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [ http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/index.shtml ] and other human rights documents.
If these nations cannot do the humane thing, they should at least consider their self-interest. For any leader who values stability, it makes no sense to promote new laws that foment greater hostility among people, like in Nigeria, where there is already ethnic tension.
Even in countries where antigay laws are not enforced, they provide an excuse for abuse — including blackmail and extortion — by police, Amnesty International said [ http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/making-love-a-crime-criminalization-of-same-sex-conduct-in-sub-saharan-africa ]. It is unlikely that any of these countries can reach their full economic potential because many foreign entities may find it too risky to invest in such hostile environments. These governments, in abusing their citizens, are moving in dangerous and destructive directions.
© 2014 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/12/opinion/demonizing-gays-in-africa.html
===
UN Report Denounces Vatican For Sex Abuse And Stands On Contraception, Abortion And Homosexuality
by NICOLE WINFIELD
Posted: 02/05/2014 6:14 am EST Updated: 02/05/2014 2:59 pm EST
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican "systematically" adopted policies that allowed priests to rape and molest tens of thousands of children over decades, a U.N. human rights committee said Wednesday, urging the Holy See to open its files on pedophiles and bishops who concealed their crimes.
In a devastating report hailed by abuse victims, the U.N. committee severely criticized the Holy See for its attitudes toward homosexuality, contraception and abortion and said it should change its own canon law to ensure children's rights and their access to health care are guaranteed.
The Vatican promptly objected and its U.N. ambassador accused the committee of having betrayed the international body's own objectives by allowing itself to be swayed by pro-gay ideologues. He said it appeared the committee simply hadn't listened when the Holy See outlined all the measures it has taken to protect children.
The report, which took the Vatican by surprise in its harsh tone, puts renewed pressure on Pope Francis to move decisively on the abuse front and make good on pledges to create a Vatican commission to study sex abuse and recommend best practices to fight it. The commission was announced in December, but few details have been released since then.
The committee issued its recommendations after subjecting the Holy See to a daylong interrogation last month on its implementation of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the key U.N. treaty on child protection, which the Holy See ratified in 1990.
Critically, the committee rejected the Vatican's longstanding argument that it doesn't control bishops or their abusive priests, saying the Holy See was responsible for implementing the treaty not just in the Vatican City State but around the world "as the supreme power of the Catholic Church through individuals and institutions placed under its authority."
In its report, the committee blasted the "code of silence" that has long been used to keep victims quiet, saying the Holy See had "systematically placed preservation of the reputation of the church and the alleged offender over the protection of child victims." It called on the Holy See to provide compensation to victims and hold accountable not just the abusers, but also those who covered up their crimes.
"The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by, and the impunity of, the perpetrators," the report said.
It called for Francis' nascent abuse commission to conduct an independent investigation of all cases of priestly abuse and the way the Catholic hierarchy has responded over time, and urged the Holy See to establish clear rules for the mandatory reporting of abuse to police and to support laws that allow victims to report crimes even after the statute of limitations has expired.
No Catholic bishop has ever been sanctioned by the Vatican for sheltering an abusive priest, and only in 2010 did the Holy See direct bishops to report abusers to police where law enforcement requires it. Vatican officials have acknowledged that bishop accountability remains a major problem and have suggested that under Francis, things might begin to change.
The committee's recommendations are non-binding and there is no enforcement mechanism. Instead, the U.N. asked the Vatican to implement the recommendations and report back by 2017. The Vatican was 14 years late submitting its most recent report.
The committee is made up of independent experts, not other U.N. member states — the case on the larger and often politicized U.N. Human Rights Council, which also sits in Geneva. The Committee on the Rights of the Child is one of 10 U.N. bodies that monitor implementation of the core U.N. human rights treaties, and its 18 members include academics, sociologists and child development specialists from around the globe.
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, who headed the Vatican delegation at the Jan. 16 session in Geneva, was clearly taken aback by the scathing tone of the report.
"It seems as if the document was prepared before the committee meeting, where the Vatican gave detailed responses on various points that weren't reported in this concluding document or seem to not have been taken into consideration," he told Vatican Radio.
While most attention has focused on child sex abuse, the committee's recommendations extended far beyond, into issues about discrimination against children and their rights to adequate health care, matters that touch on core church teaching about life and sexual morals.
The committee, for example, urged the Vatican to amend its canon law to identify circumstances where access to abortion can be permitted for children, such as to save the life of a young mother. It urged the Holy See to ensure that sex education, including access to information about contraception and preventing HIV, is mandatory in Catholic schools. It called for the Holy See to use its moral authority to condemn discrimination against homosexual children, or children raised by same-sex couples.
Church teaching holds that life begins at conception. The Vatican, which therefore opposes abortion and artificial contraception, calls for respect for gays, but considers homosexual acts to be "intrinsically disordered." The Vatican has a history of diplomatic confrontation with the United Nations over such issues.
Tomasi said the call to reconsider abortion ran against the U.N. treaty's own objectives to protect the life of children before and after birth, and he accused pro-gay rights and gay marriage advocacy groups of having "reinforced an ideological line" with the committee.
Benyam Mezmur, a committee member and Ethiopian academic on children's legal rights, rejected any such criticism and said the committee report was balanced and was aimed purely at ensuring the treaty was implemented.
"The Committee on the Rights of the Child is not in the business of saying 'Well said.' We are in the business of saying 'Well done.' We want to see concrete measures," he said in a phone interview from Geneva.
Austen Ivereigh, coordinator of Catholic Voices, a church advocacy group, said the report was a "shocking display of ignorance and high-handedness."
He said it failed to acknowledge the progress that has been made in recent years and that the Catholic Church in many places is now considered a leader in safeguarding children. And he noted that the committee seemed unable to grasp the distinction between the responsibilities and jurisdiction of the Holy See, and local churches on the ground.
"It takes no account of the particularities of the Holy See, treating it as if it were the HQ of a multinational corporation," he said in an email.
But victims groups hailed the report as a wake-up call to secular law enforcement officials to investigate abuse and any cover-ups, and prosecute church officials who are still protecting predator priests.
"This report gives hope to the hundreds of thousands of deeply wounded and still suffering clergy sex abuse victims across the world," said Barbara Blaine, president of the main U.S. victim's group SNAP. "Now it's up to secular officials to follow the U.N.'s lead and step in to safeguard the vulnerable because Catholic officials are either incapable or unwilling to do so."
© 2014 Associated Press
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/05/un-report-denounces-vatican_n_4728975.html [with embedded video report, and comments]
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Vatican says U.N. report on child sexual abuse is distorted, unfair
Wed Feb 5, 2014 8:04pm IST
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican said on Wednesday a scathing U.N. report on sexual abuse of children by clergy was distorted, unfair and ideologically biased.
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, responding to criticisms in the report on the Church's stance on homosexuality, abortion and contraception, also said the world body cannot ask the Church to change its "non-negotiable" moral teachings.
The head of the Holy See's delegation to the United Nations in Geneva told Vatican Radio that non-governmental organizations which favor gay marriage probably influenced the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child to reinforce an "ideological line" in the report.
(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
Copyright 2014 Thomson Reuters
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/02/05/us-vatican-abuse-tomasi-idINBREA1414I20140205 [with comment]
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UN Panel's Recommendations to Vatican
February 5, 2014 (AP)
The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child published a report Wednesday on the Holy See's compliance with a 1989 U.N. accord on child rights. The report focused heavily on the worldwide allegations of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests and the Vatican's handling of the cases.
Here are some of the 67 recommendations made by the 18-member panel, which is based in Geneva and made up of independent child rights experts from around the world.
AMEND CHURCH LAW
The Vatican should bring its Canon Law in line with the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the Holy See ratified in 1990, "in particular those (laws) relating to children's rights to be protected against discrimination, violence and all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse." This includes any obligation for victims of crimes or those aware of them to remain silent.
PUT CHILDREN BEFORE THE CHURCH
The panel said that "in dealing with allegations of child sexual abuse, the Holy See has consistently placed the preservation of the reputation of the Church and the protection of the perpetrators above children's best interests." It said church officials had in many cases blamed the victims or their families, sought to discredit and in some cases humiliated them.
END IMPUNITY
Despite the Vatican's commitment to "hold inviolable the dignity and entire person of every child," the panel expressed its "deepest concern about child sexual abuse committed by members of the Catholic churches who operate under the authority of the Holy See, with clerics having been involved in the sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children worldwide." It added: "The Committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators."
STOP IMPEDING INVESTIGATIONS
The panel urged the Vatican to stop the transfer of abusers and suspected abusers, a practice it said had been documented on numerous occasions and which amounted to covering up the crimes. A Vatican commission created last year should investigate "all cases of child sexual abuse as well as the conduct of the Catholic hierarchy in dealing with them." In doing so, it should consider bringing in independent human rights groups, publish the outcome of the investigations and allow its archives to be accessed by law enforcement authorities investigating alleged perpetrators and those who may have covered for them.
REMOVE PERPETRATORS
It called on the Vatican to "immediately remove all known and suspected child sexual abusers from assignment and refer the matter to the relevant law enforcement authorities for investigation and prosecution purposes."
TRAIN PRIESTS
The Vatican should provide training on child rights to all priests and members of Catholic orders and institutions working with children.
© 2014 Associated Press
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/panels-recommendations-vatican-22374116 [no comments yet]
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UN Panel Says Vatican Enables Sex Predators to Repeat Crimes
The new Roman Catholic leader, Pope Francis, was urged to break what the United Nations panel characterized as church practice of harboring sex offenders, retaliating against witnesses and condoning ritualized beatings.
Photographer: Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images
By Andrew Frye
Feb 5, 2014 12:24 PM CT
A United Nations committee decried the Vatican’s response to sexual abuse of children by its clergy, saying the Holy See has allowed alleged predators to strike again because it was more concerned about itself than the victims.
“In dealing with child victims of different forms of abuse, the Holy See has systematically placed preservation of the reputation of the church and the alleged offender over the protection of child victims,” the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child [ http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRC/Pages/CRCIndex.aspx ] said in a report released today. The Vatican in response reiterated “its commitment to defending and protecting the rights of the child” according to church teaching.
The committee’s report increases expectations on Pope Francis, who has won praise in his first 11 months in office for encouraging dialogue on social issues. The Roman Catholic leader was urged to break what the panel characterized as church practice of harboring sex offenders, retaliating against witnesses and condoning ritualized beatings.
“The committee notes as positive the willingness expressed by the delegation of the Holy See to change attitudes and practices,” the panel said. It “looks forward to the adoption of prompt and firm measures for the concrete implementation of its commitments.”
Benedict XVI
The findings take into account a Vatican report presented to the panel in January 2013, when the church was led by Francis’s predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
Francis, 77, has been hailed as a potential reformer after the final years of Benedict’s reign, which ended a year ago with his resignation. The Argentine pontiff has taken on money laundering at the Vatican bank, signaled an easing of the church’s traditional stance against homosexuality and repeatedly spoken up about the injustice of income inequality.
The church’s decades-long struggle with child molestation, which the UN panel said has claimed tens of thousands of victims worldwide, may be the biggest problem inherited by Francis. The Vatican, while saying it would submit the UN panel’s report to “thorough study,” signaled it will contest at least some of the findings.
‘Gravely Concerned’
“The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed,” the UN panel said. The church “has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators,” it said.
A “code of silence” has been imposed on clergy in cases of child sex abuse, and nuns and priests have been demoted and let go for stepping out of line, the committee said. It called for transparency and cooperation with law enforcement and victims organizations.
The UN panel called for the Holy See to provide family planning information to minors and make HIV and AIDS a mandatory part of Catholic school curriculum, the panel said. Corporal punishment, which it said has “reached endemic levels in certain countries,” must be banned.
Vatican Response
The Holy See does “regret to see in some points of the concluding observations an attempt to interfere with Catholic Church teaching on the dignity of human person and in the exercise of religious freedom,” the Vatican said in its e-mailed response. It didn’t specify which points it objected to.
Mothers who bear the children of priests should no longer be required to sign confidentiality agreements in exchange for financial support, the UN panel said.
The church may be moving in the right direction as it reviews withdrawing references to “illegitimate children” from its law, the panel said. Francis was also recognized for his “progressive statement” in July, when the pontiff addressed the issue of homosexuality.
Still, the committee said past church comments on homosexuality contribute to stigmatization and violence against gay, bisexual and transgender adolescents.
The panel recommended the Vatican “promptly abolish the discriminatory classification of children born out of wedlock as illegitimate children,” it said. “The committee also urges the Holy See to make full use of its moral authority to condemn all forms of harassment, discrimination or violence against children based on their sexual orientation.”
Catholic Voices
Catholic Voices, a U.K.-based blog that comments on media coverage of the church, criticized the report and said dozens of incarcerated priests and millions of dollars in compensation paid to victims undermine the findings. It also argued that the decentralized nature of the church renders the systematic training recommended by the committee impracticable.
“The committee has shown itself to be a kangaroo court,” according to the blog [ http://cvcomment.org/2014/02/05/how-the-holy-see-was-ambushed-by-a-un-kangaroo-court/ ]. The findings were produced “by adopting the mythical framework peddled by victims’ advocacy groups and lawyers, and ignoring the evidence put to it by the Holy See.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Frye in Rome at afrye@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net
©2014 Bloomberg L.P.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-05/un-panel-says-vatican-enabled-sex-predators-to-repeat-crimes.html [with comments] [also at http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-02-05/un-panel-says-vatican-enabled-sex-predators-to-repeat-crimes (with comments)]
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U.N. panel blasts Vatican handling of clergy sex abuse, church teachings on gays, abortion
Video [embedded]
A report released by a U.N. human rights committee denounced the Vatican's policies regarding sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and urged for change and transparency moving forward.
By Anthony Faiola and Michelle Boorstein, Published: February 5, 2014
BERLIN — A United Nations committee issued a scathing indictment Wednesday of the Vatican’s handling of child sexual abuse cases involving clerics, releasing a report [ http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1013724/u-n-issues-scathing-report-on-vatican-handling.pdf ; http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/world/un-issues-scathing-report-on-vatican-handling-of-sex-abuse/777/ ] that included criticism of church teachings on homosexuality, gender equality and abortion.
The report demanded that the Vatican immediately turn over to criminal investigators any known or suspected abusers and end its “code of silence” by enforcing rules ordering dioceses to report abuse to local authorities. It also called on the Vatican to open its archives on sexual allegations against clerics.
The range of the report appeared to infuriate the Vatican, which last month sent two top officials to appear before the U.N. panel in Geneva for the first public accounting of the Holy See’s handling of abuse allegations. Officials said they are still studying the findings, but responded angrily to what they described as recommendations that are ideologically biased. They said the United Nations has no right to weigh in on church teachings.
“Trying to ask the Holy See to change its teachings is not negotiable,” Silvano Maria Tomasi, the Vatican’s permanent observer at the United Nations in Geneva, told Vatican Radio. He suggested that gay rights groups had influenced the commission.
The Vatican has been riding a wave of positive publicity [ http://www.americamagazine.org/pope-interview ] since Pope Francis [ http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/jorge-mario-bergoglio-the-first-jesuit-pope-known-for-pastoral-work/2013/03/13/8a47e324-8c0b-11e2-9f54-f3fdd70acad2_story.html ] was elected in March. But the report — which is not binding, meaning the United Nations has no way to enforce its recommendations — drew attention to the single largest stain on the Catholic Church’s global image: Its handling of allegations of sexual abuse by clerics.
The Vatican had been bracing for the report. After widespread revelations of sexual abuse by clerics in Europe in 2010, the U.N. committee, which is headquartered in Geneva, began an inquiry last year. The Vatican declined the panel’s request to review internal files and data on abuse cases.
The report said the church in some places has “systemically” adopted policies that put children at risk. In some cases, confidentiality has been imposed on child victims and their families as a condition of financial compensation. The panel also said Catholic officials obstructed efforts in certain countries to extend the statute of limitations for criminal or civil cases.
The committee “is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators,” the report concluded.
The panel condemned church doctrine that it considers out of step with the principles of human rights and child welfare. In blunt language, the committee took particular aim at church stances on sexual orientation, reproductive health and gender equality. It delved into details, expressing its concerns, for instance, about the stereotyping of gender roles in Catholic school textbooks.
Although some Catholic leaders deemed the report anti-Catholic, an expert on the United Nations said there generally isn’t tension between the organization and religion.
Wednesday’s critique of the Catholic Church around reproductive issues in particular recalled the clash of world views with the Holy See at the 1994 U.N. population conference in Cairo, where some participants called the Vatican to task for its stance against contraception. But some experts said it was rare for the United Nations to comment on religious doctrine.
The scope of the report illustrated the broad purview of the 10 U.N. committees that monitor adherence to human rights treaties. Their members have done everything from blast Japan for being “deaf” on women’s rights to pointing a finger at Canada for its treatment of the Inuit.
The report from the committee — made up of 18 experts including child welfare advocates and academics — called on the Vatican to adopt reforms and update the panel by 2017.
U.N. officials in Geneva described the investigation as only one of many periodic reviews it conducts of sovereign states that are signatories of Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the Holy See ratified in 1990. They said the panel’s report veered beyond the sexual abuse cases because it found the other topics relevant to the Vatican’s compliance with all articles of the convention. The United States is one of three U.N. member states that have not ratified it.
Officials dismissed suggestions from the Vatican that the report is biased.
“Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is something that we have raised with many states,” Kirsten Sandberg, chair of the committee, said in a statement. “This is nothing special. We are not going outside the scope of the Convention.”
A wake-up call
For more than a decade, the church has been periodically rocked by widespread allegations of sexual abuse in the United States, Europe and beyond. The church response has varied by nation, and the report Wednesday does not address safety measures from country to country.
In some nations, victims have received bare-bones support even as civil legal systems have left oversight entirely to the church. The U.S. church, on the other hand, has made major institutional changes since the abuse crisis came to light in 2002, including requiring extensive background checks for church volunteers, screening of priests and a requirement that abuse must be reported to authorities.
Vatican defenders said the report did not consider the significant action the church has taken to combat sexual abuse in recent years. Independent studies show that complaints have decreased sharply over the decades, but reports continue to show that no top U.S. church officials have been held legally accountable. The first senior Catholic Church official was convicted in 2012 of covering up abuse, but his conviction was overturned in December.
Since becoming pope 11 months ago, Francis has said that addressing the child abuse allegations is important to restoring the church’s credibility. In December, the Vatican announced the creation of a commission on abuse cases that would inform the pope about the progress of investigations and come up with initiatives to combat the problem. Victims groups, which hailed the U.N. report, have said the new committee is too little, too late.
Vatican observers said the report will serve as a wake-up call to church authorities that despite the positive response to the new pontiff, the church still needs to do more to address abuse allegations. But delving into doctrine also appeared to push the focus on sex abuse off track.
Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said “anyone bringing attention to the problem [of sex abuse] is moving toward solving it.” But she strongly criticized the United Nations for weaving issues such as contraception and abortion into the report.
“Unfortunately, they weakened it by throwing in the whole kitchen sink,” she said Wednesday. “Those are culture war issues. Sex abuse isn’t a culture war issue — it’s a sin and a crime.”
Boorstein reported from Washington.
© 2014 The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/un-panel-blasts-vatican-handling-of-clergy-sex-abuse-church-teachings-on-gays-abortion/2014/02/05/2a6f1b26-8e75-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html [with comments]
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Vatican 'must immediately remove' child abusers - UN
5 February 2014
[...]
Analysis
David Willey
BBC News, Rome
The Vatican quickly moved into damage control mode after publication of the UN report.
While promising "thorough study" of the criticisms, the Holy See robustly rejects some of the points made by the UN.
The Vatican has always given precedence to Church law, called Canon Law, over local criminal law in dealing with ecclesiastical crime. It does not easily tolerate interference by civil authorities in ecclesiastical matters.
The recent case of a senior Vatican diplomat, a Polish archbishop, who was suddenly recalled to Rome from his post in Santo Domingo after serious police accusations of sexual abuse of minors there is a case in point.
The Vatican has refused an extradition request by justice authorities in Poland and says an internal police investigation is under way inside Vatican City.
[...]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26044852 [with embedded video "UN says Vatican imposed 'code of silence' on children" ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26056075 )]
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Vatican Says U.N. Goes Too Far In Report
Pope Francis looks on during his general audience at St Peter’s square on January 22, 2014 at the Vatican.
(Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images)
Audio [embedded]
Here & Now
Vatican Says U.N. Goes Too Far In Report (7:38)
http://cache.wbur.org/audio/player/hereandnow/2014/02/05/un-vatican-report
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
A new United Nations report is bluntly critical of the Vatican, saying it has adopted polices that allowed priest to rape and molest tens of thousands of children over decades.
The widely anticipated report from the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child goes on to say that the Vatican is guilty of a “code of silence” that has “systematically” put the reputation of the church and offending priests over the protection of child victims.
The Vatican says [ http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2014/02/05/0087/00183.html ] the report goes too far when it also includes criticism of the church’s teaching on conception and birth control, human sexuality and abortion.
That report comes as a Catholic-affiliated publisher in Poland issues a controversial book of Pope John Paul II’s notes.
Vatican expert and journalist John Allen joins Here & Now [ http://hereandnow.wbur.org/ ]’s Robin Young to discuss both the U.N. report and the book.
Interview Highlights: John Allen
On reaction to the U.N. report
“I suspect reaction to it — both at the Vatican and in the wider Catholic world — is going to be mixed, because the cause of child protection here is bundled, as you indicated, with the culture wars. It also is basically telling the Vatican they need to repeal Catholic teaching on abortion, birth control and gay marriage. You know, my reaction to that as a journalist is, ‘how to you spell non-starter.’ You know, those things are just not going to happen. And I suspect there will be some backlash that will want to style this report somehow as driven more by politics than a real concern for the protection of kids.”
On the impact of the U.N. report
“The child sexual abuse scandals in Catholicism are real, the need for reform is real. There still is a division in the church between reformers and those who are kind of in denial, and that’s true at the grassroots, it’s true of the leadership. This report was an opportunity to strengthen the hand of the reform cause by making very specific recommendations that would be hard to argue with. And the fear would be that by bundling this with the very divisive matters of the culture wars, you’ve given ammunition to those in denial, to say ‘eh, this is all politics.’”
On what happens when bishops don’t report abuse
“The Vatican does have policies that say that if you get a credible accusation of abuse — you’re a bishop — you’ve got to act on it. Now there are cases in which bishops haven’t. I mean, we have a bishop in the Diocese of Kansas City in the United States, for example, who pled guilty to a criminal charge of failure to report and is still sitting there as the bishop of Kansas City. So the question is, what are the consequences for that kind of breakdown. What the U.N. panel said is, there have to be consequences and this new commission ought to lead the charge to create them. I think that’s something that even people within the church — certainly the reform wing of the church — would say is not only reasonable but urgently necessary.”
Guest
John Allen, Vatican expert and Catholic Church correspondent for The Boston Globe. He tweets @JohnLAllenJr.
© Copyright 2014 Trustees of Boston University
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/02/05/un-vatican-report [with comments]
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U.N. Panel Criticizes the Vatican Over Sexual Abuse
Kirsten Sandberg, the chairwoman of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, in Geneva on Wednesday.
Anja Niedringhaus/Associated Press
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN, NICK CUMMING-BRUCE and JIM YARDLEY
FEB. 5, 2014
In a hard-hitting report applauded by victims as a landmark in the Roman Catholic Church’s clerical sexual-abuse scandal, a United Nations committee on Wednesday called on the Vatican to remove all child abusers from its ranks, report them to law enforcement and open the church’s archives so that bishops and other officials who concealed crimes could be held accountable.
The report, issued by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, is likely to put pressure on Pope Francis to make concrete changes in the way the church handles abuse cases and put some muscle into the commission on abuse that he announced [ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/europe/pope-setting-up-commission-on-clerical-child-abuse.html ] in December, whose members and mission have not yet been specified.
The Vatican responded on Wednesday that it had already made many of the changes called for in the report, and that the report’s conclusions were out of date.
The report, however, was sharply critical of the church’s current practices, not just those of the past. “The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators,” the report concluded.
The criticism came from a panel that examined the Vatican’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child [ http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx ], an international agreement signed by 140 sovereign entities, including the Vatican. The panel held a hearing on the issue [ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/17/world/europe/un-sex-abuse-panel-questions-vatican-officials.html (the second item in the post to which this is a reply)] last month, the first time the Vatican faced public examination by an international body of its record on sexual abuse, and heard testimony from Bishop Charles J. Scicluna, the Vatican’s chief prosecutor of sexual abuse cases until 2012, who told the panel that “the Holy See gets it.”
The report, issued in Geneva, addressed issues far beyond child sexual abuse, taking the Vatican to task for its opposition to contraception, homosexuality and abortion in cases of child rape and incest. The committee even suggested that the church amend its canon laws to permit abortions for pregnant girls whose lives and health are at risk.
But the Vatican press office said in a statement that it regretted to see the United Nations committee “attempt to interfere” with Catholic teaching and the church’s “exercise of religious freedom.”
Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a blog post [ http://usccbmedia.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-united-nations-caring-for-children.html ] that the report was “weakened” by the panel’s decision to include objections to Catholic teaching on “culture war” issues.
On the many pressing problems related to child welfare, the report recommended specific steps it said the Vatican should take: stop obstructing efforts by victims’ advocates in some countries to extend statutes of limitations, which now allow most abusers to escape prosecution; stop insisting that victims sign confidentiality agreements swearing them to silence as a condition for receiving compensation; help birth parents locate children who were taken from them for adoption out of Catholic institutions like the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland; and identify, count and financially support children fathered by Catholic priests without imposing confidentiality agreements on the mothers.
Kirsten Sandberg, the chairwoman of the United Nations panel, said Wednesday at a news conference in Geneva that tens of thousands of children around the world had suffered abuse by priests. “We think it is a horrible thing that is being kept silent both by the Holy See itself and in the different local parishes,” she said.
The panel rejected the church’s key contention that the Vatican has no jurisdiction over its bishops and priests around the world, and is responsible for putting in effect the Convention on the Rights of the Child only within the tiny territory of Vatican City. By ratifying the convention, the panel said, the Vatican took responsibility for making sure it was respected by individuals and institutions under the Holy See’s authority around the world.
The panel’s report on the Vatican’s treatment of children, its first in 14 years, called on the church to report back on its progress in 2017. Although the panel’s recommendations are not binding, Ms. Sandberg said it expected Francis and the Holy See to act on them.
Barbara Dorris of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP [ http://www.snapnetwork.org/ ; http://www.snapnetwork.org/un_names_church_for_what_it_is_a_rogue_state ], who was abused by a priest as a child, said the report was “long overdue.”
“It is wonderful that the U.N. has spoken so clearly about what the Vatican has done — and what it has failed to do,” said Ms. Dorris, who is based in St. Louis. “To us, it is a call for the civil authorities to step in. Church officials have proved they cannot police themselves.”
But Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the pope’s permanent observer to the United Nations in Geneva, characterized the United Nations report in a radio interview as “a rather negative approach” to steps the Vatican had already taken, and said the report “in some ways is not up-to-date.” He said a Vatican delegation had told the committee about “concrete measures” that were being taken, including the new papal commission.
Francis, who became pope last March, has begun a broad overhaul of the Vatican bureaucracy and has established commissions to deal with several delicate issues, including the one announced in December to address clerical sexual abuse. One Vatican official said that commission’s president would be named “within weeks.”
Since 2001, sexual-abuse cases sent to the Vatican have been handled there by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In an address last week, Francis told members of that group that he was studying a possible link to his new commission, signaling that the commission might become involved in adjudicating abuse cases.
Francis has been widely praised for his humble style and moderating tone on issues like homosexuality, but he has been less outspoken on the abuse issue. He has described clerical sexual abuse as the “shame of the church,” but has otherwise rarely spoken about it and has not met in public with abuse victims, unlike his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
At his general audience on Wednesday, Francis greeted Philomena Lee [ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/30/world/europe/a-forced-adoption-a-lifetime-quest-and-a-longing-that-never-waned.html ], the subject of the Oscar-nominated movie “Philomena.” The film portrays her decades of searching for the son taken from her as an unwed mother living in a Catholic institution run by nuns in Ireland. Ms. Lee is on a campaign to get the Irish government to force open adoption records to help reunite birth mothers with their children, and she was seeking the pope’s blessing.
Laurie Goodstein reported from New York, Nick Cumming-Bruce from Geneva, and Jim Yardley from Rome.
Related in Opinion
Editorial: The U.N. Confronts the Vatican
FEB. 5, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/opinion/the-un-confronts-the-vatican.html
© 2014 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/world/europe/un-panel-assails-vatican-over-sex-abuse-by-priests.html
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UN demands Pope investigates abuse
Survivors of the Magdalene Laundries (left to right) Maureen Sullivan, Mary McManus, Kitty Jennette and Mary Smith.
05 February 2014
Pope Francis must launch an investigation into decades of abuse of girls and young women at Catholic-run workhouses in Ireland, the United Nations has demanded.
It has also called for religious orders involved or the Vatican itself to pay compensation to survivors and families of victims of the notorious Magdalene laundries.
In a blistering attack on the Catholic Church's attitude to widescale sex abuse and torture meted out by its own priests and nuns, the UN human rights committee has also urged the Holy See to open its files on paedophiles and bishops who concealed their crimes.
Referring specifically to the Magdalene laundries scandal - recalled most recently in the Oscar-nominated film Philomena - the Vatican is accused of taking no action to investigate the abuse.
Nor did church authorities compel nuns who ran the workhouses to cooperate with police inquiries into those who organised and knowingly profited from unpaid work by girls incarcerated in the laundries, it said.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) said it was particularly concerned that:
:: Girls placed in the institutions were forced to work in slavery-like conditions and were often subject to inhuman, cruel and degrading treatment as well as to physical and sexual abuse;
:: They were deprived of their identity, of education and often of food and essential medicines and were imposed with an obligation of silence and prohibited from having any contact with the outside world;
:: And unmarried girls who gave birth before entering or while incarcerated in the laundries had their babies forcibly removed from them.
The laundries - institutions for single mothers detained through the courts or often moved in by their family or clergy for being sexually active - were run by four Catholic religious orders: The Sisters of Mercy, The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, The Sisters of Charity, and The Good Shepherd Sisters.
The last laundry, at Sean McDermott Street in Dublin, closed in 1996.
It is not the first time they have been highlighted by the UN. In 2011, the UN Committee Against Torture said it was gravely concerned by the failure of the Irish state to "protect girls and women who were involuntarily confined between 1922 and 1996 in the Magdalene Laundries".
Since then, the Irish government has set up a State compensation scheme for survivors.
Several hundred women who have applied to the redress fund are to be paid tax-free sums, ranging from 11,500 euro to 100,000 euro.
But the Magdalene Survivors Together group, which represents survivors in Ireland and the UK, has criticised religious orders for not contributing to the compensation.
The UN said the Catholic orders which ran the workhouses came under the authority of the Pope, who should launch an internal investigation into religious personnel working in the laundries and ensure those responsible are reported to authorities for prosecution.
The watchdog also called for full compensation to be paid to the victims and their families either through the congregations themselves or through the Holy See "as supreme power of the Church and legally responsible for its subordinates".
The UN committee demanded the Catholic church takes responsibility for the physical and psychological recovery of survivors.
Campaigners Justice For Magdalenes said the report points out that the Catholic church refused to accept unanimous survivor testimony that they were imprisoned and subjected to forced labour, torture as well as other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
"None of the orders have offered an apology to Magdalene survivors, nor have they contributed to the compensation fund," the group said in a statement.
"The Catholic church has not made any attempt to instigate an internal investigation into Magdalene abuse, nor has it held anyone accountable for what happened.
The UN watchdog has also accused the Vatican of systematically adopting policies that allowed priests to rape and molest tens of thousands of children worldwide over decades.
The findings were published after the Holy See was hauled before a day-long interrogation last month on its implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The UN blasted what it branded a "code of silence" used to keep victims quiet and attacked the Vatican for putting the reputation of the church and alleged offenders over the protection of children.
"The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by, and the impunity of, the perpetrators," it said.
The Vatican said it would study the report and reiterated its commitment to defending and protecting children's rights.
© Belfasttelegraph.co.uk
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/un-demands-pope-investigates-abuse-29983125.html [with comments]
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U.N. report puts pressure on Catholic orders in Ireland over laundries
by Padraic Halpin
Published: Thursday February 6, 2014 MYT 12:15:01 AM
Updated: Thursday February 6, 2014 MYT 12:15:51 AM
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Advocacy groups for women forced to work at the Catholic Church's notorious Magdalene laundries in Ireland backed calls from the United Nations for religious orders to pay compensation and face prosecution for decades of abuse.
In an unprecedented report on Wednesday, the U.N. demanded that the Vatican "immediately remove" all clergy who are known or suspected child abusers. It also urged the Holy See to conduct an investigation into the laundries.
Women, many unmarried mothers, sent to the laundries were made wash items for business, hospitals and state bodies in slave-like conditions, and were often subject to cruel and degrading treatment as well as physical and sexual abuse, the report by the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child said.
"The state has allowed the perpetrators of these crimes to get away without taking responsibility," said Steven O' Riordan, director of Magdalene Survivors Together. "The religious orders are still not being held accountable, they have never apologised directly for their part in running the laundries."
The authority of the church in Ireland has been rocked by investigations into clerical sex abuse and state-abetted cover-ups at Catholic-run schools and institutions, labelled places of fear and neglect in a 2009 official report.
The Irish government last year agreed to pay up 58 million euros (47 million pounds) to hundreds of Magdalene laundry workers after an official report found that a quarter of them were sent there by the Irish state. Prime Minister Enda Kenny apologised for what he described as a "national shame".
The religious orders responsible for the laundries, which were run by Catholic nuns and were depicted in the award-winning film "The Magdalene Sisters", did not contribute to the compensation scheme.
ADOPTION RECORDS
The U.N. report said that "girls were deprived of their identity, of education and often of food and essential medicines and were imposed with an obligation of silence and prohibited from having any contact with the outside world".
The Conference of Religious of Ireland, the umbrella group for the religious congregations, said it had no comment to make on the U.N. report. The Vatican itself said the Church was committed to "defending and protecting the rights of the child".
The report also urged the Vatican to investigate the forced removal of thousands of babies from their mothers by members of Catholic congregations, notably in Spain and Ireland, a plight highlighted by the Oscar-nominated film "Philomena".
The 80-year-old Irish woman who inspired the film launched a campaign last month calling for access to adoption records, urging Dublin to legislate for the release of more than 60,000 files withheld by the state, private adoption agencies and the Catholic Church.
The United Nations said the Holy See should ensure that congregations involved disclose all the information they have on the whereabouts of these children in order for them, where possible, to be reunited with their biological mothers.
"It is causing untold heartache for tens of thousands of women," Susan Lohan of the Adoption Rights Alliance told national broadcaster RTE. "They are living inside prisons in their own head because they were sent away without their babies and told what they had done was a shameful act." ($1 = 0.7402 euros)
(Editing by Alison Williams)
Copyright 2014 Thomson Reuters
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/World/2014/02/06/UN-report-puts-pressure-on-Catholic-orders-in-Ireland-over-laundries/
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Vatican seeks to defuse row with U.N. over child abuse report
By Naomi O’Leary
07/02/2014 15:28 CET
ROME (Reuters) – The Vatican sought to defuse tensions with the United Nations on Friday after a damning report which accused the church of covering up child sex abuse by priests.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi adopted a markedly softer tone to Wednesday’s sharp criticism of a report by the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The paper accused the Church of valuing its reputation above the protection of children and demanded the Vatican turn over suspected offenders to civil justice.
The Vatican had originally planned a muted response, according to a person familiar with the matter, but attacked the report’s demands that the church scale back its opposition to abortion, artificial contraception and homosexuality.
The exchange appeared to leave the church and the United Nations heading for their biggest clash in decades but Lombardi said there was no rift with the world body.
“It is not the case that there has been a confrontation between the UN and the Vatican,” he said in a statement. “The Holy See has always given a strong moral support to the United Nations.”
Lombardi nevertheless repeated the Vatican’s initial criticism of the report, saying it was unfair and biased.
He said that the inclusion of comments on abortion, contraception and homosexuality went beyond the committee’s remit and amounted to an attempt to interfere in Church teaching and religious freedom, and accused the committee of pre-writing the report before the Vatican had addressed it.
The last major clash between the two institutions was in 1994, when the Vatican forced the United Nations to back down on a proposal to approve abortion as a means of birth control at a population conference in Cairo.
Outrage over the abuse of children by clerics has dogged the Church for more than a decade, with lawsuits bankrupting several dioceses, and a series of pontiffs have struggled to put the issue behind them.
Since his 2013 election Pope Francis has called sexual abuse “the shame of the Church” and vowed to continue measures to address it begun by his predecessor Benedict XVI.
Francis announced he would form a committee to advise him on the issue in December, but has yet to appoint its members, and the report increased pressure on the pontiff to act.
(Editing by Jon Boyle)
Copyright 2014 Thomson Reuters
http://www.euronews.com/newswires/2332862-scathing-un-report-demands-vatican-act-against-child-sex-abuse/
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UN names church for what it is: a rogue state
A memorial plaque to victims of the Magdalene Laundries in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.
When you look at it minus the emotional baggage, your blood runs cold
Brendan O'Connor – 09 February 2014
WE CAN tend to outrage fatigue when it comes to reports about the crimes committed within the Catholic Church in recent years. So when the UN Committee on the Rights of Children reported last week on its ongoing engagement with the Catholic Church regarding the rights of children within the Vatican and the Holy See, many people will have been tempted to ignore it.
After all, there wasn't much new in it. The church has a history of trafficking babies, of discriminating against children based on their sexuality or that of their parents, and of allowing children to be abused, of protecting their abusers from the law, of moving abusers around –allowing them to abuse again, and when it came to abuse, of "consistently placing the preservation of the church and the protection of the perpetrators above children's best interests". The church has even protected priests from their own children, denying children the right to know the identity of their fathers and "only agreeing payments from the church until the child is financially independent only if they [the mothers] sign a confidentiality agreement not to disclose any information".
We knew all that stuff already, didn't we?
Except it is a little different this time. Because previously our engagement with the church has tended to stay within the family. There has been an emotional attachment that has clouded the issue for us. Because there is always a sense, in this country, that everyone was complicit in all this because, after all, we are, or were, the church.
And because the church was so intermingled with the State here, and with the provision of health, education and welfare, the crimes themselves became intermingled with social norms of the time and so on.
So the Magdalene laundries scandal was viewed not just as a church scandal but as all of our shame. In short, in Ireland, the blame has tended to be spread.
That's why the latest UN report is important, because it takes all that baggage out of it and treats the church as what it is – a de facto state, geographically dispersed throughout the world certainly, but a metaphysical and legal entity, and therefore, "a sovereign subject of international law having an original non derived legal personality independent of any territorial authority of jurisdiction."
While some will argue about the Vatican's claim to statehood, the UN uses the church's claim to independent statehood against it. The UN is basically treating the Holy See as a state, subject to the same duties and responsibilities as other states. And what the UN finds is a rogue state.
Make no mistake, if the Holy See was an actual country, we would be at the least boycotting its fruit and at the most sending in the tanks. Here is a state that has institutionalised homophobia, discrimination against women and children, that has systematically overseen the protection of the abusers of tens of thousands of children, protecting abusers from the laws of their host countries. Here is a state that has overseen mass scale trafficking of babies, a state that opposes modern health and sexual education for young women, a state that forces secrecy on children, even those who are victims of sexual abuse.
These guys are up there with China or the worst of Africa in terms of their human rights record. And when you look at it coldly and clearly like that, your blood runs cold. Because instead of shunning this rogue state, we have invited it into the very heart of all our countries, and into the heart of our families.
Take out of the equation for a moment the tragedy that this has all been for good people of faith, and just view this as a political issue, and suddenly, we are faced with a very grim and outrageous situation. The Holy See, a rogue state, operating its own twisted Canon laws even while residing geographically in our country and others.
So the UN says that: "While welcoming the Holy See's approach to ensuring that the legislation of the Vatican City State complies with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Committee regrets that the same approach has not been followed in relation to its internal laws, including Canon Law."
Canon Law, for example, still refers to illegitimate children. The Holy See's past statements and declarations of homosexuality "contribute to the social stigmatisation of and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adolescents and children raised by same-sex couples". The Holy See also refused to provide information to the UN on its attempts to take sexism and gender stereotyping from its textbooks as requested by the committee in 1995, nearly 20 years ago.
More critically, the UN found that "the Holy See has consistently placed the preservation of the reputation of the church and the protection of the perpetrators (of abuse) above the child's best interests". The UN also found the rogue state of the Holy See wanting in terms of torture. To our shame, it mainly referred here to the "inhuman, cruel and degrading" treatment and "slavery like" conditions in Ireland's Magdalene laundries, where girls were "deprived of their identity ... imposed with an obligation of silence and prohibited from having any contact with the outside world". The UN also refers to the unmarried girls who had their babies forcibly removed.
Put aside for a moment that this was the Holy Church doing this and look at it coldly. This rogue state, this parasite that fed off us, conducted torture and slavery in this country. And, to add insult to injury then took no action "to investigate the conduct ... and to co-operate with law enforcement authorities in holding accountable" the slave masters and torturers.
Torture and slavery may seem like strong words, but when you strip it all away and when you are not too close to it, as we are, that is what this was. That is how the UN sees it coldly and politically: torture and slavery and refusal to co-operate with the laws of the real world when it came to prosecuting the slavers and torturers.
When it comes to child abuse, the sinister state of the Holy See acted just as outrageously. Ignoring the laws of host countries, the Holy See moved offenders around so they could offend again and then allowed the vast majority of abusers to escape judicial proceedings by dealing with abuse not as a crime but as "grave delictas against the moral" which meant abuse was dealt with in confidential proceedings. This code of Omerta, and this classification of abuse as not being a crime, led to a culture of non reporting of what are accepted by those of us who live in the real world as very serious crimes.
The UN's message to the church is stark. If you want to be a state, you need to act like one. You cannot just declare yourself a jurisdiction, make up your own laws that excuse things that are universally accepted to be wrong, and refuse to be party both to the laws of the countries you operate in and universally agreed conventions on human rights.
Not since Enda Kenny's magnificent "thankfully for them and for us, this is not Rome" speech on the Cloyne Report, has the dysfunctional culture of the Holy See been laid out so starkly for Irish people.
For us, it is a whole new way of looking at the phenomenon of the Catholic Church. It is a way of taking the emotional baggage out of it. And when you layer up fact upon fact, it presents a pretty damning picture of these people, people that we invited into our lives because of our faith in a God who would surely be appalled by what they have done.
© Independent.ie
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/brendan-oconnor/un-names-church-for-what-it-is-a-rogue-state-29992797.html [with comments]
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Ohio priest sentenced 7.5 years in sex abuse case
Posted by Kelly Taylor
Posted: Feb 12, 2014 11:44 AM CST
Updated: Feb 12, 2014 1:34 PM CST
CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) - An Ohio priest convicted of taking a 10-year-old boy to West Virginia for sex more than two decades ago was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison on Wednesday.
Federal jurors found Robert Frank Poandl, of the Fairfield-based Glenmary Home Missioners, guilty in September of transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent of engaging him in sex.
Prosecutors said the priest took the boy from Cincinnati to West Virginia in 1991 and raped him while visiting a church there. The crime was not disclosed until the victim came forward in 2009.
A federal grand jury indicted Poandl, known as "Father Bob," in Nov. 2012. FBI agents arrested him at the Glenmary Home Missioners in Fairfield.
U.S. District Attorney Carter Stewart said Poandl was placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring following his arrest and will begin serving his sentence immediately.
Related content:
Prosecutor says priest abuse charges valid
http://www.fox19.com/story/22792385/prosecutor-says-ohio-priest-abuse-charges-valid
Fairfield priest found guilty in sex abuse trial
http://www.fox19.com/story/23488091/jury-returns-guilty-verdict-for-cincinnati-priest-robert-poandl
Copyright 2014 WXIX
http://www.fox19.com/story/24704794/robert-poandl-ohio-priest-sentenced-75-years-in-sex-abuse-case
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Catholic Hospital Receptionist Allegedly Tells Couple That Atheists Should Not Be Allowed to Reproduce
(Original image via Wikimedia [ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:STATUE_OF_THE_VIRGIN_MAY_IN_FRONT_OF_THE_CATHOLIC_LORETTO_HOSPITAL_IN_NEW_ULM,_MINNESOTA._THE_TOWN_WAS_FOUNDED_BY_A..._-_NARA_-_558164.jpg ])
February 6, 2014 By Terry Firma [ http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/author/terry/ ]
Redditor chuckyourface says [ http://www.reddit.com/r/atheism/comments/1wzkvk/ignorance_at_the_hospital/ ] he was in for a surprise when he took his wife to the hospital for some tests the other day.
At the check-in desk,
The lady asked [her] all the usual questions including “Do you have a religious preference?” She answered no, because she really has no preference. She doesn’t identify as atheist or anything else, because it’s all too stupid basically. So I asked the receptionist, “If she says ‘no preference,’ does that mean the hospital gets to pick?,” and she said she just clicked ‘no preference.’
That should have been the end of the conversation, but she went on to say in all her time doing this, she’s had two people claim [to be an] atheist. One was a typical punk teenager with black eye-liner, and just didn’t know any better. The other really surprised her though because she was a sweet lady and had two cute kids with her. “How can she say atheist in front of these kids?! You shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce if that’s how you feel. That’s just my opinion.“
We were shocked, just sitting there with the most obvious fake forced smiles, trying not to say she shouldn’t be allowed to reproduce or interact with the public.
But the woman wasn’t quite done yet.
She went on to complain about HIPAA. In the good old days, preachers could come in and get a printout of all the patients. The Baptist preachers got the Baptist list, the Catholics got the Catholics, etc. But now HIPAA has ruined that and they have to know the name of a patient to get in.
It took everything I had to be quiet, but my [wife] absolutely hates confrontation about religion and this was her appointment so I’ll save my battle for the next time. I have considered reporting this to administration, but it is a Catholic-owned hospital so I’m sure she’d just get an award.”
I’ve asked chuckyourface for further details.
For reasons I can’t yet share, I believe the receptionist works at a hospital somewhere in the greater Oklahoma City area. I’m hoping to learn more, but a story like this is hard to verify. If the receptionist denies it happened, it’s her word against the word of the couple. Still, I have no compelling reason to doubt chuckyourface’s account.
I’ll make some calls if I learn in what hospital this allegedly took place. Should I find out more, count on an update.
***UPDATE, Thursday, 3:45 p.m. EST: *** The Redditor’s real name is Scott. I’m withholding his last name at his request. This is what he e-mailed me:
This was in Oklahoma at a Mercy Memorial hospital. Unfortunately, that is the only hospital within a 50 or 100 mile radius that I know of, so it’s our only option. It is Catholic-owned and managed, so of course there are crucifixes on every wall. I didn’t catch the receptionist’s name, but she was in room 4 of admission. The date was Monday 2/3/14.
I filled out an online complaint form and was promised a call within three business days. I’ve pasted below what I submitted on that form. …
I’d rather not my full name or profession be listed. I am fully “out” with my family and friends, but not my coworkers. My boss is quite religious and I’m not sure how she would react just yet.
I’m making a call to Mercy Hospital management next. More as this story develops.
***UPDATE 2, 20 minutes later:*** Talked to Mercy Hospital’s press officer Rachel Wright, who promised to look into it and get back to me. She did answer “no” to the question if the hospital condones the receptionist lobbing bigoted statements like that, rightfully pointing out that the employee said “That’s just my opinion.”
Related
Australian Journalist Asks About Ken Ham: ‘How Did He Get Out?’
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/02/06/australian-journalist-asks-about-ken-ham-how-did-he-get-out/
Copyright 2014, Patheos (emphasis in original)
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/02/06/catholic-hospital-receptionist-allegedly-tells-couple-that-atheists-should-not-be-allowed-to-reproduce/ [with comments]
*
Hospital Apologizes For Telling Patient That Atheists Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Procreate, But Stonewalls Inquiry
February 10, 2014
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/02/10/hospital-apologizes-for-telling-patient-that-atheists-shouldnt-be-allowed-to-procreate-but-stonewalls-inquiry/ [with comments]
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President Obama, at Prayer Breakfast, Defends Rights of Those with ‘No Faith At All’
February 6, 2014 By Paul Fidalgo [ http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/author/paul/ ]
Let us take it as a given that the President of the United States’ participation in the National Prayer Breakfast [ http://www.c-span.org/video/?317641-1/317641-1 ] is highly problematic to say the least. When we make a tradition of the elected chief executive publicly kissing the ring of sectarian religion, it turns it into a quasi-official event, flying in the face of basic secularism and the Constitution. It’s a bad thing.
All that said (and said with fervency), via RNS’s Brian Pellot, we learn that at said breakfast, President Obama had a positive message [ http://brianpellot.religionnews.com/2014/02/06/barack-obama-national-prayer-breakfast-atheist-gay-washington-religious-freedom/ ] that we secularists wholeheartedly embrace: the need for people of all religions and of no religion to believe and express themselves as they will, without threat of retaliation, discrimination, or criminalization.
And, importantly, it was said before a conservative religious audience. The president said:
We see governments engaging in discrimination and violence against the faithful. Sometimes religion is twisted in an attempt to justify hatred and persecution against other people just because of who they are, how they pray, or who they love… We believe in the inherent dignity of every human being, a dignity that no earthly power can take away. Central to that dignity is freedom of religion, the right of every person to practice their faith how they choose, to change their faith if they choose or to practice no faith at all, and to do this free of persecution and fear.
It would have been far more powerful if Obama had uttered the dreaded “atheist” word — or at least the less politically fraught “nonbeliever” — to specifically reference the threat faced by that particular group. Even better, he could have mentioned the harrowing cases of particular individuals such as Indonesia’s Alexander Aan [ http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blogs/entry/alexander_aan_released_from_prison/ ], Saudi Arabia’s Raif Badawi [ http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/12/26/saudi-blogger-raif-badawi-faces-apostasy-charges-could-be-executed/ ], Egypt’s Alber Saber [ http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/12/12/egyptian-atheist-alber-saber-convicted-and-sentenced-to-three-years-in-prison-for-blasphemy/ ], and the many, many others who suffer imprisonment, persecution, and mortal threats for their lack of religious belief.
But at the very least, the president has the right idea, and is making clear his stance on global religious freedom includes nonbelievers, even if this time he didn’t use one particular word or other. At the Center for Inquiry, my organization, we’re sharing an image [ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152022330839773 (the image above)] highlighting the president’s words from today (included here in this post), and we’re asking folks to let their government know [ https://secure3.convio.net/cfi/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=325 ] that they support free expression and freedom of belief around the world. You can do it, too.
Copyright 2014, Patheos (emphasis in original)
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/02/06/president-obama-at-prayer-breakfast-defends-rights-of-those-with-no-faith-at-all/
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Gohmert's Remarks at The National Prayer Breakfast
Published on Feb 6, 2014 by GohmertTX01 [ http://www.youtube.com/user/GohmertTX01 ]
Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01) served as the co-chairman of the 2014 National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. He shared some very touching testimony before the President of the United States' remarks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NMa8tu4PFY [with comments]
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President Obama Speaks at the 2014 National Prayer Breakfast
Published on Feb 6, 2014 by The White House [ http://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse?feature=watch ]
President Obama delivers remarks to legislators, officials, and clergy from all faiths and political ideologies at the annual National Prayer Breakfast. February 6, 2014.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hKSCr-M1ZE [with comments] [also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cASISoAm_dA (with comment) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tFBF6tVEO0 (with comment)]
===
Dr. Ben Carson speaks in Portland, Oregon 1/31/2014
Published on Feb 1, 2014 by djssds4 [ http://www.youtube.com/user/djssds4 ]
Dr. Carson speaks at fundraiser for Dr. Monica Wehby running for U.S. Senate in Oregon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeshVrvMsZs [with comments] [embedded/more at "Ben Carson, Fox Commentator: Progressives Will Turn America Into Nazi Germany", http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/10/ben-carson-nazi-germany_n_4761388.html (with comments), and "Ben Carson Suggests Progressives Could Turn U.S. Into Nazi Germany", http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-nazi-reference (with comments)]
--
John B. Wells With Alex Jones; "We're in A Cold Civil War"
Published on May 21, 2013 by WorldConflictReport [ http://www.youtube.com/user/WorldConflictReport ]
On today's show Alex welcomes the Saturday host of Coast to Coast AM [not any longer ( http://thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/02/06/john-b-wells-fired-for-being-too-popular-and-truthful-an-exclusive-interview/ )], John B. Wells to examine the massive scandals engulfing the White House and the accelerating panic to demonize all opposing voices.
A recent Department of Defense instruction alters the US code applying to the military's involvement in domestic law enforcement by allowing US troops to quell "civil disturbances" domestically without any Presidential authorization, greasing the skids for a de facto military coup in America along with the wholesale abolition of Posse Comitatus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN7RlZUvNpE [with comments]
--
Dr. Benjamin Carson's Stirring Speech at CPAC 2013 - Complete Video 3/16/13
Published on Mar 16, 2013 by FreedomsLighthouse [ http://www.youtube.com/user/FreedomsLighthouse ]
3/16/13
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiyAW5ZMdcM [with comments]
--
Alex Jones Show: Sunday (9-8-13) John B. Wells
Published on Sep 8, 2013 by Thanatos117 [ http://www.youtube.com/user/Thanatos117 ]
Today live on this Sunday, September 8 edition of the Alex Jones Show, Alex breaks down the accelerating global awakening which could lead to the fall of the current New World Order power structure. Obama continues to push for war leading up to his upcoming Tuesday speech from the White House, but Americans are pushing back. One man even confronted John McCain for representing Obama rather than We the People and called for the senator's arrest for treason. From Obamacare to the Syrian war expansion, Alex covers it all and joining him is the syndicated radio host of Coast to Coast AM [not any longer ( http://thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/02/06/john-b-wells-fired-for-being-too-popular-and-truthful-an-exclusive-interview/ )] John B. Wells. Alex and John also take your calls throughout the broadcast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xokV-kDcsl4 [with comments]
--
Dr. Benjamin Carson's Amazing Speech at the National Prayer Breakfast with Obama Present
Published on Feb 7, 2013 by FreedomsLighthouse [ http://www.youtube.com/user/FreedomsLighthouse ]
2/7/13
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFb6NU1giRA [with (over 14,000) comments]
--
Alex Jones Interviews John B. Wells 12-11-2013
Published on Dec 12, 2013 by Belligerent Politics [ http://www.youtube.com/user/BelligerentPolitics ]
Alex Jones Interviews John B. Wells 12-11-2013
Alex Jones interviews famous voice over and radio show host of Coast To Coast AM [not any longer ( http://thecommonsenseshow.com/2014/02/06/john-b-wells-fired-for-being-too-popular-and-truthful-an-exclusive-interview/ )] John B. Wells [ http://caravantomidnight.com/ ]. The interview covers topics including: bitcoin, EMT's, system collapse, police shootings, cop killings, the state of the media, President Obama, the middle east, Nelson Mandela, Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, South Africa, aliens, Constitution, Obama care, racism, UFO's, and more.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByRiAip7bTk [with comments] [also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmtUOsknFAo (no comments yet)] [most of the same content covered in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIjr-o4mJ9Y (with comments) and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suAZtI0E3ks (with comments), combined]
--
Ben Carson on Rejecting Darwinian Evolution
Published on Jan 30, 2014 by IDquest [ http://www.youtube.com/user/IDquest ]
On this [2/11/13] episode of ID the Future, host David Boze speaks with Dr. Ben Carson, renowned pediatric neurosurgeon and Darwin doubter. Dr. Carson is also a best-selling author, a celebrated and acclaimed surgeon, and he actually had his life made into a movie which starred Academy Award winning actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. Dr. Carson was invited to deliver the 2012 commencement speech at Emory University. Unfortunately, upon uncovering his non-allegiance to Darwinian ideology, 500 faculty members and students alike signed a letter in protest of his welcome. Listen in to hear Dr. Carson discuss this ill treatment and why his acute knowledge of the brain has led him to reject Darwinism.
Dr. Ben Carson is the Director of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. An internationally renowned physician, Dr. Carson has authored over 100 neurosurgical publications, along with three best-selling books, and has been awarded 38 honorary doctorate degrees and dozens of national merit citations.
Links:
Dr. Ben Carson on Darwinian Dogma and the DNA/Software Analogy:
http://www.evolutionnews.org/2012/07/dr_ben_carson_o061601.html
Carson's website:
http://www.realbencarson.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEVKBlPZiGM [comments disabled]
--
Hagmann and Hagmann Report - February 1 2014 - John B. Wells New Radio Show
Published on Feb 2, 2014 by Conspiracy Theories [ http://www.youtube.com/user/pokertron ]
Former Coast to Coast AM guests Joe & Doug Hagmann present the Hagmann and Hagmann Report, it provides viewers and listeners information about current events and historical topics that transcend the political right-left paradigm and delve into the real issues behind the sugar-coated news. This unique, father-son detective duo uses their investigative abilities and resources to aggressively research and report on issues left untouched by the corporate media and those that exist beyond the scope of the non-traditional media. The show addresses many issues once considered mere fodder for "conspiracy theorists," tracing their roots from the various events that created them through the fabric of history to the present day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGeJBbNypvc [with comments] [also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYA5Y01I3ds (with comments)]
--
Dr Ben Carson - Testimony (Miami Temple SDA)
Uploaded on May 20, 2011 by Norman VickersInc [ http://www.youtube.com/user/normandynv ]
Miami Temple SDA [Seventh-Day Adventist ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh-day_Adventist_Church ; http://www.adventist.org/ ; http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/2001/06/What-Seventh-Day-Adventists-Believe.aspx )] Church - Dr Ben Carson (Testimony)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZiBUKQXEls [with comments]
--
John B and his Plan B
Published on Feb 4, 2014 by Blake Walley [ http://www.youtube.com/user/eccentricperspective ]
John B. Wells joins the "Eccentric Perspective" show with Brian "the Brain" and Blake "the Eccentric" to discuss the current state of the world and his new Media Venture via Caravan to Midnight!
Interview from the "Eccentric Perspective" show 2/3/14 on http://freedomizerradio.com
More John B. Wells:
http://caravantomidnight.com
More Brian "the Brain" Engelman
http://thenewamericanmedia.com
More Blake "the Eccentric" Walley
http://eccentricperspective.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYxyqitsPQo [with comments]
--
Transcending Faith Dr. Ben Carson Testimony
Uploaded on Apr 3, 2011 by Eddie Bailey [ http://www.youtube.com/user/thesavoymediagroup ]
Growing up in dire poverty in Detroit, Michigan Dr. Ben Carson faced a challenging childhood.
At the age of 33 Dr. Carson went on to "...become the youngest major division director at the Johns Hopkins medical institutions." Dr. Carson is the author of "Gifted Hands", "The Big Picture", "Take the Risk", and "Think Big". He is also the founder of The Carson Scholars Fund @ www.carsonscholars.org along with his wife, Candy.
Through his relationship with Jesus Christ and his TRANSCENDING FAITH Dr. Carson is able to have success beyond measure.
Music by:
Steve Soulbasics - "I Got Jesus"
Sue Stonebender - "Legendary Grace"
Copyright © 2010-2011 The Savoy Media Group, LLC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUIxVxsFS94 [with comments]
--
Caravan to Midnight with John B. Wells
Published on Feb 7, 2014 by Caravan toMidnight·[ http://www.youtube.com/user/thenugget31 ]
Caravan to Midnight with John B. Wells and Jim Garrow Episode 1 - 2-4-14
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn-LgVewxiU [does continue after periods of dead air; with comments]
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Greensburg, KS - 5/4/07
"Eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty."
from John Philpot Curran, Speech
upon the Right of Election, 1790
F6
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