The Christian Civic League of Maine's Mike Hein calls Pam's House Blend: "a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy."
He is "praying that Pam Spaulding will "turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior."
(CCLM's web site, 10/15/07)
Ex-gay "Christian" activist James Hartline on Pam:
"I have been mocked over and over again by ungodly and unprincipled anti-christian lesbians."
(from "Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline," 9/4/2006, written from the "homosexual stronghold" of Hillcrest in San Diego).
"Pam is a 'twisted lesbian sister' and an 'embittered lesbian' of the 'self-imposed gutteral experiences of the gay ghetto.'" -- 9/5/2008
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth Against Homosexuality heartily endorses the Blend, calling Pam:
A "vicious anti-Christian lesbian activist." (Concerned Women for America's radio show [9:15], 1/25/07)
"A nutty lesbian blogger." (MassResistance radio show [16:25], 2/3/07)
Pam's House Blend always seems to find these sick f*cks. The area of the country she is in? The home state of her wife? I know, they are everywhere. Pam just does such a great job of bringing them out into the light.
--Impeach Bush
who monitors yours Bevis ?? Just thought I would drop you a line,so the rest of your life is not wasted.
Surf over to Senate Guru for all eight reasons; I'll just share a few of the most egregious ones. Senator Richard Burr, the wingnut who's up for election here in NC, has surfaced a lot this year after slumbering through the rest of his term. Clearly he wants to make a name for himself back with the voters, but for god's sake, he's such a amoral, principle-free character he needs to be ejected in a landslide. Don't even bother asking about where he stands on LGBT issues. One example of his character is how he earned the name "Bank Run Burr. "
Richard Burr Ordered His Wife to Make Some Notorious Trips to the ATM
Richard Burr describes his earliest reaction to the impending economic crisis last year and "Bank Run" Burr is born:
"On Friday night, I called my wife and I said, `Brooke, I am not coming home this weekend. I will call you on Monday. Tonight, I want you to go to the ATM machine, and I want you to draw out everything it will let you take," Burr said, according to the Hendersonville Times-News. "And I want you to tomorrow, and I want you to go Sunday.' I was convinced on Friday night that if you put a plastic card in an ATM machine the last thing you were going to get was cash."
Richard Burr had insider information about the impending economic crisis. Did he warn his constituents, the families of North Carolina that Burr claims to care about? Nope. He ordered his wife to make a run on the banks, to cash out all the money she could so that the Burrs would be fine and other North Carolina families would be left high and dry.
But that's not even close to the top two reasons this man needs to be bounced:
Richard Burr Is a Shameless Hypocrite When It Comes to President Obama's Economic Stimulus Bill. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears when I saw a clip about Burr on the local news. After seeing him damn the economic stimulus plan, just this month, as the cash flowed in, he glowed about the Obama government loot as he presented a nice chunk to a local firestation. UN-F*CKING-BELIEVABLE:
Burr was on hand on Friday to present the Bethlehem, N.C., fire department with a grant for $2 million to build a new fire station. Burr called the grant a "great thing" for the area.
"We're not accustomed to federal dollars in that magnitude finding their way to North Carolina," Burr said, according to a local newspaper.
The grant, according to the local fire chief, came through the Department of Homeland Security by way of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That money was allocated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the $787 billion stimulus measure passed with just three Republican votes in the Senate in February.
Burr was not one of those three votes. In a statement on Burr's Senate website, published before the vote, Burr criticized the bill for spending "almost a trillion dollars of borrowed money on projects and programs that are unlikely to produce any real broad-based stimulus or create jobs that will still be here two years from now."
FAIL. But wait, it's far worse. My #1 pick that illustrates why Burr must go...
Richard Burr Voted to Keep "Being a Victim of Domestic Violence" as a Pre-existing Condition Worthy of Denying Insurance Coverage
While that statement alone is gasp-worthy, the story gets even more appalling: this issue had a chance to be ended - once and for all - in the Senate HELP Committee in 2006. At that time, an amendment was introduced to the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act of 2006 that would have forced insurance companies to stop ignoring state laws that provided protection for victims of domestic violence, specifically when it came to denying them insurance coverage.
BTW, Burr has a lot of fellow pro-rape buddies; check out all of the senators who gave the bill a thumbs down at the "Republicans for Rape" web site. The names will not surprise you:
Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), John McCain (R-AZ), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mike Crapo (R-ID), James Risch (R-ID), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Jim Bunning (R-KY), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), David Vitter (R-LA), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Kit Bond (R-MO), Mike Johanns (R-NE), John Ensign (R-NV), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Richard Burr (R-NC), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Jim DeMint (R-SC), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Thune (R-SD), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Bob Corker (R-TN), John Cornyn (R-TX), John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Enzi (R-WY)
The one question I have about these Senators and their votes -- do you think they would have voted it down if there were instances of men being raped by men under the auspices of a contractor? Just asking.
It's a bit hypocritical when that group was allegedly putting the petition on the ballot to protect women in bathrooms and then the manager of the store who was allowing the petition gathering was in fact preying on women in bathrooms.
~Terry Fleming, spokesman for Equality in Gainesville's Businesses (the political action committee created to oppose the charter amendment that failed at the ballot box)
The CVS Pharmacy manager who allegedly admitted Friday to filming women in his store's bathroom was an active participant in the 2008 charter amendment to "keep men out of women's restrooms."
Jonathan Matheny, 27, was charged with one count of video voyeurism after a customer told police she had discovered a cell phone equipped with a camera under a pile of tissues in the CVS bathroom at 125 S.W. 34th St.
Police are looking for other victims.
The petition drive in the summer of 2008 was aimed at a city ordinance that provided rights, including equal access to public accommodation, for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals.
Matheny signed the petition, according to records with the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office, and opponents of the charter amendment say they received reports that Matheny allowed the petitions to be distributed and signed at his store. Those behind the drive said the amendment was essential to prevent men from using the public-accommodation portion of the law to enter women's restrooms and film, rape or otherwise prey on the opposite sex...
There is no case that the conservative "Christians" opponents can point to where a crossdressed or trans individual has engaged in predatory behavior against women or children in public restrooms, yet now we have a case where a supporter of one of these bathroom bills has engaged in predatory behavior -- voyeurism -- against women in a public women's restroom.
I hope our LGBT civil rights organizations note this story about a supporter of an anti-LGBT piece of legislation labeled a "bathroom bill." I believe we need to point to this voyeurism story as relentlessly as "Christian" conservatives would be pointing out a story of a trans or crossdressed individual preying on women or children in a public restroom -- They can't find such a story to point to.
However, now we find a bathroom voyeur in the ranks of the bathroom bill supporters. A campaign conservative "Christian" organizations financially supported.
Sickening.
F***ing Hypocrites.
By the way, CVS has just lost all business from me until they donate significantly to a campaign batting ordiances and legislation for a bill labled by conservative "Christians" as a "bathrom bill." CVS needs to donate significantly to an organization that lesbian, gay, bisexual AND transgender civil rights, and they need to donate significantly to an organization that provides direct services to needy, unemployed transgender people.
CVS needs to own the story of this CVS manager/bathroom predator who worked against trans people -- trans people like me. CVS needs to own this story by doing significant work for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and expecially transgender people their Manager sought to deny civil rights to in a business under the banner of their corporate CVS logo.
I know what I'm doing, Mr. President. I'm refusing. I'm rebelling.
I'm refusing to be coerced into supporting the Megaindustry of Insurance, for the only thing that has been ensured is that their profit will grow.
So are many, many like minded people who cannot afford these new premiums, this new cost of existence in a world in which many of us were barely getting by prior to the burden you added. A burden, mind you, that benefits only the elites. A burden that was approved also, by the greed of the few whose retirement was placed in the gambling dens of the same elites, for upper middle class entitlement has always been their enabler.
So, what will you do now that we cannot pay? What will you do when the employers themselves dump their benefits, and create more customers who will not, or cannot pay for your new mandate?
Shall we all go to debtors prisons?
What will you do when the Dow dives? How will you force us to provide ever more fodder for Wall Street? How will you get blood from the rock?
I knew the shoe would eventually drop on this, given it is election time for the Durham city council, which voted unanimously for a nonbinding resolution to extend civil-marriage rights to same-sex couples. In the Durham Herald-Sun, columnist John McCann goes on a diatribe in support of a local minister who is, well, using the tired bible beating reasons to bounce council members by questioning their faith for voting for the resolution.
Coming to a pulpit near you -- maybe today; the primary election is Tuesday -- pandering politicians, according to Donald Q. Fozard, who shepherds the flock over there at Mount Zion Christian Church.
And if you church folks sit back in your pews and let those City Council candidates get up there and flap their gums and smile real big without checking them on their views about same-sex marriage, then you need to question your Christianity, the pastor put forth.
Back in August, the City Council voted in favor of a nonbinding resolution to extend civil-marriage rights to same-sex couples. The passage prompted a standing ovation at City Hall.
"The city councilmen are just playing political correctness to the gay community," Fozard said.
Well, let's be accurate. It technically wasn't just the men on the City Council who voted for the resolution. The women y'all elected were in on it, too. The vote was unanimous. That means all of 'em approved of the measure.
"From Bill Bell all the way down to Howard Clement," Fozard said. "The people who believe in God should turn them out of office."
From this past Sunday's sermon, one would think the Rev. Donald Q. Fozard Sr. likes saying the word faggot. The pastor of Durham's Mount Zion Christian Church hollers the word's last syllable as if he were exorcising a demon, or as if he were a movie star who understands that notoriety rises when you do something incendiary.
"Faggots across the nation, heading churches. Homos on the pianos. Faggots in the choir. What kind of spirit is leading that church?" he asked his 150 worshippers.
The 26-year veteran of Mount Zion, who is known in Durham for preaching through a loud speaker mounted on a white van, has a boxer's build, bloodshot eyes and wears a white smock adorned with 13 gold buttons. He speaks in an intimidating tone, which is amplified by a microphone and echo machine.
...Then Fozard continued with his own spectacular show. "And now? Men with men, women with women? Let me remind you of Sodom and Gomorrah. That sin will bring fire from heaven. I tell the homosexual man: repent, turn and get a woman. I tell the woman who wants to get married: get yourself a man."
(If Fozard stresses the last syllable of "faggot," he sounds out each vowel and consonant of "homosexual".) "The Reverend Al Sharpton says it doesn't matter who you sleep with?" he said. "I'll tell you one thing: the Reverend ain't no Reverend. All of them are running around saying it doesn't matter who you sleep with! They want that little 1 percent of faggots that go to vote."
Nice to see McCann endorsing the views of someone so, um, well, rational.
Really, I'm glad all of this nonsense surfaced, if only to prove that that the message I delivered in my NC Pride keynote address was sorely needed here -- we have to challenge the use of religion to hinder progress on civil equality, particularly when these homobigoted pastors in the community try to lay claim to the believe that there is only one view on LGBT rights in the faith community -- their own.
The homophobia in the black church has to be called out, particularly by those in religious communities that are open and affirming. We need more of this. Many, many of areas LGBT-supportive showed up at Pride, marching in the parade and with booths on display. Their interpretation of the bible clearly doesn't match Fozard's or McCanns -- nor should it have to. It's precisely why we have separation of church and state. Religious beliefs have no place in civil law.
A case here has captured the attention of local media and has exposed the pathological world of the closet, and the hypocrisy and jealousy of an anti-gay pastor who allegedly took the life of an North Carolina Central University student Latrese Curtis, who was "in the way" between him and his roommate, who was the object of the Pentacostal minister's sexual obsession. (WRAL):
Robert Lee Adams Reaves is charged with first-degree murder in the January 2008 stabbing death of Latrese Matral Curtis, 21. rivers discovered her body the morning of Jan. 30, 2008, along Interstate 540 near Louisburg Road. She was stabbed nearly 40 times in the head, neck, chest and stomach. See the autopsy report.
Prosecutors have said in previous court hearings that Reaves killed Curtis in a jealous rage because she was having a sexual relationship with his roommate, Steven Randolph, who had rebuffed Reaves' advances.
"Bishop" Robert Reaves of Cedar International Fellowship in Durham has had a checkered past that would have raised some red flags in his congregation.
Reaves, Wake County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Lindow said in opening statements, has a long history of trying to mentor young men and make sexual advances toward them.
"Steven was not the first person Reaves made sexual advances on," she said. "The same pattern about approaching young men started years earlier and ended with the death of what he viewed as an obstacle to that - Latrese Curtis."
Yes, Reaves must have been preaching anti-gay bigotry even as he engaged in illegal activities that include criminal sexual conduct in Marlboro County, S.C. He was convicted of third-degree sex charges on Jan. 1, 1988. He was also charged with simple assault and battery in 1982 in South Carolina.
Testimony has begun in the trial, and Steven Randolph, who is a former N.C. Central University basketball player took the stand and said that he engaged in a sexual relationship with Curtis, who was separated from her husband, and when Reaves found out about this, it made him fly into a rage, allegedly leading to the brutal slaying of Ms. Curtis.
Hours after Randolph had his first sexual encounter with Curtis, Reaves asked him about his sexual habits and preferences and raised the possibility of his working for an escort service, according to testimony..."He asked me if I was a freak, as far as sexually," Randolph testified Thursday.
Randolph testified that in the fall of 2007 he did not immediately recognize the pastor's proposals as sexual advances toward him. But Randolph said once he realized Reaves' intentions, he told the pastor he was not homosexual or bisexual.
That encounter made Randolph so uneasy, he testified, that he not only left the house immediately to seek refuge with friends, he also got a gun from his cousin to keep in his bedroom.
Randolph told of an unusual string of events in the ensuing months: His girlfriend received phone calls from unidentified young men, threatening to end Randolph's aspirations of becoming a professional basketball player; his tires were slashed; and weeks later his girlfriend's tires were slashed outside her home.
In even more sordid detail, Randolph also testified that Reaves, during one of the propositions for sex, told the basketball player that he could live rent-free in the house if Reaves could perform oral sex on him.
Again, here we see a pious man of the cloth, unable to reconcile his tortured worlds of religious indoctrination and his homosexuality, turns into an alleged deviant predator -- and murderer.
"It would have been the very back passenger seat," Deputy Alfred Sternberg said. "If you go behind that, there's a rail for where that seat is, and that's where it was."
Former presidential candidate John Edwards and his fall from grace because the "brain" below his belt exceeds the intelligence between his ears, has had a fall from grace as precipitous as any Republican Sexual Hypocrite, quite frankly. In a NYT article on Sunday, the latest series of events shows just how desperate the disgraced U.S. Senator from NC was to hide his affair with "campaign video consultant" Rielle Hunter -- and the cascading consequences of lies that did him in.
That portion of the sordid tale has now, of course, resulted in a federal grand jury in Raleigh about whether Edwards may have committed crimes related to campaign finance laws (as in payments to a mistress to clam her up is considered a donation that has to be reported), and that, along with a book that will soon be published by a former aide, are going to force the former John Kerry running mate to answer even to more sleazy charges.
Mr. Edwards is moving toward an abrupt reversal in his public posture; associates said in interviews that he is considering declaring that he is the father of Ms. Hunter's 19-month-old daughter, something that he once flatly asserted in a television interview was not possible.
Friends and other associates of Mr. Edwards and his wife of 32 years, Elizabeth, say she has resisted the idea of her husband's claiming paternity. Mrs. Edwards, who is battling cancer, "has yet to be brought around," said one family friend, who like others spoke about the situation on the condition of anonymity, pointing to the complicated and delicate nature of the issue.
But that's just the start of it. The list of jaw-dropping acts of political stupidity and bad judgment is outlandish:
* Edwards had wealthy donors give Hunter a place to stay out of the public eye, and a shiny new BMW; Edwards still claims ignorace of the acts of his loaded patrons;
* He made former staffer Andrew Young (who is writing the tell-all) sign a paternity affadavit saying he was the father of Hunter's child; as a loyal staffer who is married, he was willing at the time to fall on his sword for the campaign;
* Young alleges Edwards asked one supporter if he could find a doctor willing to falsify a DNA test (!)
* Young says he was the one who scheduled and set up the trysts between Edwards and Hunter;
and the drumroll please...Young says:
that Mr. Edwards once calmed an anxious Ms. Hunter by promising her that after his wife died, he would marry her in a rooftop ceremony in New York with an appearance by the Dave Matthews Band.
OK. That is so surreal and disgusting that it's hard to imagine Young making that up, given what is already out there about John Edwards' pathological quest to ascend to the White House at the expense of voters, donors and campaign workers who believed in his ideas. More below the fold...
it's no surprise that the 2009 Values Voter Summit, launching on Friday, sponsored by the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, Focus on the Family and a host of other professional anti-gay, misogynist, forced birth advocates, will entertain the attendees with a screening of Speechless: Silencing the Christians.
This is the flick that was peddled around the country in local markets to air and scare people about the Homosexual Agenda. Since watching a film about say, Obama's health care plan and why it's SOCIALISM; it's always good to go back to the old saw of hating on the gays to give the crowd a collective hard-on. (OnTopMag):
In the documentary, the AFA asserts that proposed federal hate crime legislation would outlaw religious speech, that employment protection laws force churches to hire gays and lesbians, that gay men and women are largely responsible for HIV/AIDS and all STDs, and that gay marriage hurts the family because it deprives children of a mother or a father.
In July, hundreds of gay activists protested outside the Florida offices of Tampa's WFLA Channel 8 after executives decided to broadcast the video. The rally was organized by several local gay rights groups including Equality Florida and Pride Tampa Bay, and the Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa, a gay-inclusive Christian denomination. The groups' pleas to not air the special had fallen on deaf ears.
But in other markets, gay activists were successful in derailing the film's release, including WOOD-TV 8 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and WSXY 6.2 in Columbus, Ohio.
"There's a time and place to show such hateful trash, a gathering of bigoted homophobes is the only place," R. Zeke Fread, director of Pride Tampa Bay, told On Top Magazine in an email. "I'm sure Speechless will receive enthusiastic applause and a standing ovation [at Value Voters Summit]."
On Saturday, FOTF will have a conference session on "countering the "homosexual agenda" in public schools" and another on how marriage equality will destroy religious liberty.
***
I wondered what the turnout would be for the dozens of invited "special guests" in the wingnut, bible beating world at this year's gathering. Stephen Baldwin will be there, btw. And you know 2012 presidential Clown Car peeps showed up -- Huckabee and Mitt, but no Bible Spice. Tony Perkins didn't forget to close the deal on his black pulpit puppets -- Bishop Harry Jackson and Ken Hutcherson -- plus Star Parker.
See who is attending (and who turned them down), below the fold.
ROTFLOL. In the you can't make this sh*t up category, Pink Visual owner Allison Vivas received a congratulatory fax from Newt Gingrich's American Solutions for Winning the Future (ASWF). What was unusual about this was that Pink Visual's business -- honored for stimulating the economy -- is a porno DVD superstore. Think Progress obtained a copy of the knee-slapping missive.
Newt would like to arrange a private dinner with you at the historic Capitol Hill Club on the evening of October 7, 2009 in Washington. You'll dine privately with Newt at this exclusive venue and he'll take the occasion to present you with your well deserved award and have your photo taken together.
This tremendous honor is a testament to your success in building your business and recognition of the risks you take to create jobs and stimulate the economy. As an award winner, you'll be on the ground floor as Newt and his Council begin the work to turn this country around. ... Newt is looking forward to hearing your ideas on getting the economy moving again and getting your feedback on his plans over dinner.
Heh heh heh. The crown prince of adultery will certainly be listening carefully. Oh wait -- maybe not -- when ASWF was alerted of the line of business Pink Visuals was in it retracted the awardsaying it inadvertently sent it to Vivas. She (and anyone with a synapse firing) called BS on that front.
Allison was disappointed to receive a call this morning from an ASWF representative stating that the fax had been sent to her 'inadvertently,'" Boyer told AVN.com. "We're not entirely clear on how one 'inadvertently' sends a fax to the right person at the correct fax number, so our sense is that this is damage control on the part of a group that is having second thoughts about either recognizing the excellent work of a porn company entrepreneur in light of their own conservative political and social orientation, or having second thoughts about their promotional methodology and communication protocols."
Surf over and read more at TP, including Newt's commitment in 1995 to restrict access to pornography.
"U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle in Tacoma will hear oral arguments at 2:30 p.m. today on the request by Protect Washington Families for a temporary restraining order to stop the Secretary of State's Office and the Public Records Officer from making the names public."
"This morning, David Ammons, spokesman for the secretary of state, said his office will not contest today's request for a temporary restraining order but would argue at a later hearing to uphold disclosure laws."
Gary Randall filed a complaint Tuesday seeking to prevent disclosure of the names of those who signed [sic?] the Referendum 71 petition. He must have finally caught on to the facts that, A) WhoSigned.org is going to be a quick, easy tool we will have available to us to see whose names appear on the petition, B) We are going to ask people whether they really signed it and if they were lied to by the signature gatherers (maybe he reads my blog?) and C) Thanks to WhoSigned.org, everyone now knows its a matter of public record, so he has to cover his butt fast. Because he seems to be in such a panic to make sure that the names of everyone who signed his petition (assuming, of course, that they actually were registered voters and still alive at the time) are kept hidden that he does not even realize that his reasoning is so convoluted and hypocritical that it would be laughable, if there were not a hearing scheduled for today for a temporary restraining order to keep the records from being made public by the state.
Gary Randall of Protect Washington Families said his group filed a complaint Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of the state public disclosure law, contending that it chills protected First Amendment free speech.
[Hey, Gary--what exactly is it that YOU are trying to affect?]
The organization contends it is “reasonably probable” that petition signers “will be subjected to threats and harassment.”
[Not unless you count picketers and boycotts of any businesses owned by people who are proud to have signed. Boycotting and picketing are First Amendment rights, too. I guess you forgot to warn them about the "Public Disclosure" part before you began gathering signatures, huh?]
The complaint was filed against Washington’s secretary of state and its public records officer.
[Which ought to bring you in lots of donations after you use the State's obligation to defend it's laws to cry about how the Evil Powers that Be are attacking you.]
I would love to be a fly on the wall for the conversation where Joe Fuiten gets to say, “I told you so”.
Lord help me, I nearly fell out of my chair at work when I saw this story about Marion Barry. Is he trying to be a all-purpose punchline?
Washington, D.C. City Councilman Marion Barry is accusing his openly gay colleague, David Catania, of targeting him on unrelated ethics questions because Barry refused to support a measure that resulted in the District government recognizing legally-married same-sex couples, according to report by a local FOX News affiliate.
Barry, a longtime supporter of LGBT rights in D.C., has cited discord between the LGBT community and African-American religious leaders for his current stance on marriage equality. New ethics questions have surfaced about Barry's role in administering grant money authorized by the city council.
An audio recording is raising new questions about D.C. Ward 8 City Councilman Marion Barry and whether or not he had a role in the management of grant money-- hundreds of thousands of dollars in council earmarks awarded to several non-profits in Anacostia.
A woman who received some of that money is now claiming someone in Barry's office forged her signature on fraudulent documents. Barry says she's a liar while also claiming another city councilmember is behind the allegations.
...But At-Large Councilman David Catania says he's taking Wise's allegations very seriously and wants the Inspector General to investigate. Catania read a statement into the record Monday afternoon.
"What is clearly alleged, however, is that all of Mr. Barry's grant recipients and fiscal agents recognized Ms. Richardson as the ultimate administrator of the council grant money, and that her orders allegedly came from Mr. Barry," said Catania.
Wise has been contacted by the FBI, btw. This thing is a circus. If that wasn't bad enough, at a press conference sideshow addressing Barry's arrest for stalking a former girlfriend, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt, Barry's spokesperson, Natalie Williams reads a statement basically saying Watts-Brighthaupt is nuts. See it below the fold.
A 46-year-old Kimball Township man who is a former local youth pastor is facing a felony charge of accosting a child for immoral purposes, a case that involves confiscated computers and electronics from a Clyde Township church, officials said. Craig Coon is due in court for a preliminary hearing at 1:30 p.m. July 21 in front of District Court Judge John Monaghan, said Mike Wendling, St. Clair County Prosecutor.
...The felony warrant said Coon was wanted since he "did accost, entice, or solicit (victim), a child less than 16 years of age, with the intent to induce or force that child to commit an immoral act, to submit to an act of sexual intercourse or an act of gross indecency, or other act of depravity or delinquency, or did encourage the child to engage in one of these acts."
...In 2004, the Times Herald reported about Coon as the leader of The Quest, a contemporary church service that attracted many teenagers and 20-somethings in a casual setting.
"I want to get people to start asking where they are spiritually, what they need to do to start walking with Jesus," Coon said in the article. "We need to get past those stereotypes they hold about church. They're roadblocks to Christianity."
The Washington Post reports that the Christian Right is trying to reframe and reorganize itself. A new coalition has come up with a new set of values that they call their "Declaration of American Values." (Even though these people are white, I'm going to capitalize the name of their loosely amalgamated political movement and their declaration because that's a grammatical principle that is not governed by how much I like or dislike the group in question, just like the "B" in Black. We capitalize proper nouns and the names of political groups are proper nouns, regardless of the ir skin color.)
Anyway, among their "Declaration of American Values" (I guess some of their values are "Christian" and others are "American" and the American one are more important to them) we find the following:
To secure a system of fair taxes that are not punitive against the institution of marriage or family and are not progressive in nature, and within a limited government framework, to encourage economic opportunity, free enterprise, and free market competition.
Now, I've read the Holy Bible cover to cover and I just can't remember anywhere in the entire Bible where it says that
Take home lesson: At least one fundamental and deeply-held "American value" directly contradicts what's in the Holy Bible: the belief that all societies should be based upon the profit motive, and that no one who is wealthy should be compelled to share (or voluntarily contribute) what they have once they've accumulated it.
I guess he just loves relaxing as God made him. I love the part where this guy, the former mayor of Gainesville, GA, and who served as a deacon of First Baptist Church, denied he was the naked man people saw walking around intoxicated with a beer in his hand. At the time of the denial he was sitting in the buff talking to the officer. He also pulled the "don't you know who I am card" for extra effect.
Mark Musselwhite, 43, said he was hot and had been in the creek, according to a Georgia Department of Natural Resources incident report. He apparently didn't think he was doing anything wrong.
..."He told me he was the ex-mayor of the city Gainesville and he was a very political person," DNR Ranger Brandon Walls wrote in the report.
Walls and a deputy sheriff went to the campsite Saturday evening after a complaint of a man walking naked in Earls Ford Road, according to the report. Musselwhite appeared to be intoxicated, and several alcoholic beverages were at the campsite, Walls said.
"I said the complainant had specifically said his campsite, and the fact that he was still nude made me think it was him," Walls wrote. Musselwhite denied that he was the nude man identified in the complaint.
This late night work I think is starting to get to me. My sinuses have been wreaking havoc with my sleep schedule and I am getting tired of occasionally blowing blood out of my nose. I am worried that I may have something seriously wrong. I didn't think that adapting to nights would be this hard but I am going to have to find a way of getting more sleep.
I have been reading Alan Dean Fosters novel of the newest Star Trek Movie this past week and I am about done with it. I can't help but sit and gaze at the Enterprise model that I have sitting on top of my printer, and wonder what this world would really be like if just some of the things they have in their universe were here in ours in this time. I don't mind being called a Trekkie any more than I don't really mind being called a foamer (railroad fan to those who don't know the lingo). I wear both as a badge of pride especially when the people calling me such things, disparagingly at that, are usually ones who live life one day at a time, one beer at a time.
Not to put down anyone's religious beliefs but in the past week I have had about enough of religious extremism in this country. Sunday, Dr. George Tiller was gunned down while serving as an usher in his church. The nations lightning rod when it comes to the abortion debate became a murder statistic and for no reason whatsoever. He was even killed while on Holy Ground and that is appalling enough. His assailant is in a Sedgwick County Kansas jail cell and he thinks that because he is a Christian, that gave him the right to commit murder in a scared place.
The next day in Little Rock Arkansas, a recently converted Muslim drove by the Army Navy Recruiting center and opened fire on two solders outside smoking cigarettes. He thought that he had a perfect right to kill the soldiers of the Great Satin on their own turf because his religion said for him to.
People, this is a country of laws, and those laws protect EVERYONE, not just you because you are a certain religion or I because I am of another. They are meant to protect everyone from each other while at the same time provide those who need certain freedoms the ability to get them. Equal justice under law, not separate, and equal, not mine is better than yours, but EQUAL.
That is what this country is supposed to be all about. For those of you who think I am full of shit, I suggest that you go to Wiki and read up on the Constitution, especially the 14th Amendment. In my opinion, that is what is so terribly wrong with this place, no one actually reads and learns anything because they are too fucking lazy to crack open a book or computer and learn for themselves, they would rather listen to the words of some lunatic holy man telling them what to do.
This forum, like so many more out there provides the people within the abilities to seek out and learn and know new things. Everyone who reads this cannot say I am wrong when I say that in Star Trek's universe, they are a hell of a lot better off than we are because in their world, you are required to be knowledgeable of the universe around you and always learn new things. If it were to happen that way this world that we currently reside in would be so much better.
......"Star Trek fans have always known that, for us, no limits."
A little too late now that DOMA is in place and making a legal mess of the lives of committed gay and lesbian couples. He can't undo that no matter how much he evolves. (ABC's The Note):
On the issue of gay marriage -- which Clinton, like President Obama, personally opposes -- Clinton said of his position: "Frankly, it's evolving" as he sees more committed gay couples raising kids.
As ABC political director David Chalian has pointed out, Clinton isn't the only Democrat whose position on gay marriage is moving.
Clinton also expressed optimism that the military's "don't ask, don't tell policy" -- which he helped enact -- will eventually come off the books, allowing gay members of the armed services to serve openly.
"I think that time will lead to a repeal of this ban," Clinton said.
Bush and Clinton were at one of those "conversation with presidents" tours, this one held at Toronto's Convention Centre. There were no recording devices in the room and the media was allowed if it paid to attend -- tix ranged from $229 to as much as $2,500. The high-priced ticket gave the attendee a photo with the former presidents. Some comments at the ABC site:
Bill's view of gay marriage is "evolving"? Is anyone supposed to care? This is the man who saddled us with the odious Defense of Marriage Act - one of many Clintonian acts of unprincipled political calculation.
Posted by: skipper | May 30, 2009 12:47:00 AM
I'm so relieved that President Clinton's view of "gay" marriage is evolving. My view of his brand of "straight" marriage is evolving too - in the late '90s I thought, "So he got a blow job, so what!" Today, I've evolved to the point that I realize that Wild Bill is a sex addict who will compromise everything - his marriage vows on the alter before God, his wife, family and friends, his own dignity, the dignity and respect of his wife and daughter, the stability of the country, and the trust and respect of both his closest friends and the millions of citizens who believed the words that came out of his mouth.
And I"m supposed to be, what? Appreciative that his views about my equal rights are evolving?
Posted by: NewYorkJoe | May 30, 2009 1:26:45 AM
So a man who get's outside martial sexual favours from interns determines when he is okay, comfortable with gay marriage, when it's evolved.
these guys just need money.
Posted by: ritchie | May 30, 2009 8:20:21 AM
Thanks to Jeremy at Good As You, Daddy D's shop had to admit it lied about a poll conducted by Cornerstone Policy Research and cited by Focus on the Family, that claimed it "surveyed every New Hampshire household" on the subject of marriage equality. Jeremy said:
Now, keep in mind that they're not saying they attempted to contact every household. They're not saying that they're using a representative sample that approximates the full spectrum of NH households. They, without any margin of error or qualifiers, are claiming that every single household in the Live Free or Die state weighed in on this subject, with 64% adding a caveat to the the first part of that state motto.
With a claim that bold pointed out publicly, Focus's Gary Schneeberger had to fess up (Jeremy has the letter) to an "inaccuracy" on the part of the anti-gay organization. How convenient. A snippet of the excuse:
I'm not a teleemarketing export so I don't know the technical meaning of "survey" as it applies to the industry. But as a communications professional, I do know the word implies a connectino beyond placing a phone call, and I have confirmed today in follow-up conversations that it is inaccurate to say all households in New Hampshire responded to the survey questions.
FNIF made and error -- not one of malice, but of insufficient due diligence in reporting a story.
Jesus. This is how these organizations operate, particularly when polls like this and junk science are concerned. This time they were caught with their pants down because the claim was so outrageous.
But what if no one had challenged Focus on this? This lie would have continued to circulate, get repeated by fundie talking heads on news shows, turn up on winger blogs, etc. You know the deal. This is particularly true of the folks like Maggie Gallagher, Tony Perkins, etc. -- they are popular with these chat shows, and can go on-air and spout off false statistics and quote slanted, questionable research as fact, because they know the under-prepared host or moderator won't challenge the veracity of their statements.
Not long ago, feeling a certain itch, I decided to visit a certain bookstore of questionable repute in downtown Pittsburgh. It was an unseasonably warm day, and there weren't many people on the streets. None the less, I found myself pulling my collar up as I approached this establishment, fearful lest anyone recognize me. It is not the sort of place a decent adult would patronize, after all.
It was Pittsburgh's most prominent Catholic bookstore, and I was hoping to find information on the church's current, er, PR problems in the wake of the (ever-growing) abuse scandal--not to mention their implacable opposition to any step toward LGBT equality.
Never having been in a place of that sort before, I found myself, quite unwillingly, fascinated by all the paraphernalia on display--images of androgynous near-naked men slashed and bleeding, a large array of what seemed to be anal beads in a variety of sizes and colors... Dear Blenders, I blush to write of such matters.
That was a quick about-face. Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (Wingnut-AL), raised some eyebrows the other day when he said this about considering an openly gay SCOTUS nom:
"I'm not inclined to think that's an automatic disqualification."
Well, in what seems to be a popular trend with Republicans who timidly challenge the fringe party line, Sessions flip-flopped. Did he receive a call from el Rushbo? Video from Faux News, courtesy of Think Progress:
Q: On the question of a gay nominee, one person is noted as saying that he believes it is a bridge too far to have a gay nominee.
SESSIONS: Well, I think that would be a big concern that the American people might feel - might feel uneasy about that. It is a matter for the president to decide.
On April 30th, Keith Olbermann discussed the issue with Carrie Prejean and the flap about her abominable stance on the right of kinship for all Americans.
In the process, he brought on Mike Musto, a popular "comedic" writer for the Village Voice. Riffing off of the "boob jobs are a bad thing" meme expressed by Olbermann in noting the beauty pageant loser's breast augmentation was paid for by the Pageant committee, Mr. Musto launched into a series of personal attack that had little real bite but are just the sort that the old stereotype of a flaming queen is supposedly so good at making:
Well, she’s dumb and twisted. She’s sort of like a human Klaus Barbie Doll. I mean, you tell Perez Hilton you’re against gay marriage? That’s like telling Simon Cowell you’re against screeching a show tune. This is the kind of girl who sits on the TV and watches the sofa. You know, she thinks innuendo is a Italian suppository.
Can I keep going? On the pageants now, they really should have easier questions, like what’s your middle name or what show was Seinfeld on. I mean, this girl’s a ding-dong. I didn’t even like her earrings.
And then the bepectacled Musto, caught up in the moment and his own self importance, decided that transfolk -- and transwomen, in particular -- were something to use as an insult, a horrible thing, which you gotta read...
Richard Burr Ordered His Wife to Make Some Notorious Trips to the ATM
Richard Burr Is a Shameless Hypocrite When It Comes to President Obama's Economic Stimulus Bill. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears when I saw a clip about Burr on the local news. After seeing him 
Richard Burr Voted to Keep "Being a Victim of Domestic Violence" as a Pre-existing Condition Worthy of Denying Insurance Coverage
Coming to a pulpit near you -- maybe today; the primary election is Tuesday -- pandering politicians, according to Donald Q. Fozard, who shepherds the flock over there at Mount Zion Christian Church.
From this past Sunday's sermon, one would think the Rev. Donald Q. Fozard Sr. likes saying the word faggot. The pastor of Durham's Mount Zion Christian Church hollers the word's last syllable as if he were exorcising a demon, or as if he were a movie star who understands that notoriety rises when you do something incendiary.
A case here has captured the attention of local media and has exposed the pathological world of the closet, and the hypocrisy and jealousy of an anti-gay pastor who allegedly took the life of an North Carolina Central University student Latrese Curtis, who was "in the way" between him and his roommate, who was the object of the Pentacostal minister's sexual obsession. (
it's no surprise that the 2009 Values Voter Summit, launching on Friday, sponsored by the Family Research Council, the American Family Association, Focus on the Family and a host of other professional anti-gay, misogynist, forced birth advocates, will entertain the attendees with a screening of Speechless: Silencing the Christians.
I wondered what the turnout would be for the dozens of invited "special guests" in the wingnut, bible beating world at this year's gathering. Stephen Baldwin will be there, btw. And you know 2012 presidential Clown Car peeps showed up -- Huckabee and Mitt, but no Bible Spice. Tony Perkins didn't forget to close the deal on his black pulpit puppets -- Bishop Harry Jackson and Ken Hutcherson -- plus Star Parker.
ROTFLOL. In the you can't make this sh*t up category, Pink Visual owner Allison Vivas received a congratulatory fax from Newt Gingrich's American Solutions for Winning the Future (ASWF). What was unusual about this was that Pink Visual's business -- honored for stimulating the economy -- is a porno DVD superstore. 
I guess he just loves 
