Christian Bed & Breakfast Woes

The Jimmy Z Show Discusses "Go Proud" at CPAC

Jimmy mentions he hasn't seen this on the Net, here ya go: "Ryan Sorba ~ "The Lesbians at Smith College Protest Better Than You..." (Very Funny!)... He's Right..." (2-19-2010). Big tent means small family. You should visit the JimmyZ Show.

Rick Warren on Uganda's Law on Capital Punishment and Homosoxeual

ABC Links American Christians to Anti-Gay Death Penalty in Uganda, Ignores Rick Warren's Condemnation

Red Eye Doing Massa As Only Red Eye Can

CA Sen. Roy Ashburn: "I'm Gay" – And Stand By My Anti-Gay Votes

(Layla Corey h/t)

COMING OUT

I am gay. Those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long. But I am gay, but it is something that is personal and I don't believe — I felt with my heart being gay … did not effect, would not effect how I do my job. What happened through my own actions the other night changed all that.

ON HIS VOTING RECORD

My votes reflect the wishes of the people in my district. And I have always felt tha tmy faith and allegiance was to the people there in the district, my constituents. So as each of these individual measure came before the legislature, I cast "no" votes. … I cherish the fact that we have a remarkable system of government, and that system of government provides for representatives elected by the people to go to the legislative bodies, whether it be Washington D.C. or Sacramento, and cast votes on behalf of the people, not my own point of view, not my own internal conflict, certainly to use my best judgment, but to vote as my constituents would have me vote. There's never been a doubt in my mind on the position of the vast majority of the people in my district, the 18th senatorial district, on these different issues. I voted as I felt I should on behalf of the people who elected me.

Read more: 

• "I'm Gay and I Stand By My Anti-Gay Votes;" 
• see also, "Homosexuals Against Same-Sex Marriage"

Henry Nouwen Bio #1 ~ David Cloud (click on the book[s] for link)

It is very common for those who consistently practice contemplative prayer to eventually embrace Eastern spiritual persuasions. This was evident in Nouwen's life when in Sabbatical Journey, he said:

Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God's house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God."

And in his book, Here and Now, he stated:

The God who dwells in our inner sanctuary is also the God who dwells in the inner sanctuary of each human being.

The list of those who have paved the way for contemplative prayer to enter the evangelical church is expansive. Merton, Nouwen, Keating, and Foster are certainly some of the forerunners, but there are many others who laid hold of their teachings and began preaching this mystical spirituality which has spread to such a point that today, the Christian authors who have at least some contemplative element are the norm rather than the exception. And that's not to mention the overwhelming number of authors in the emerging church camp, nearly all of whom write and teach Merton's universal prayer.

 

(The below is excerpted from the above book, click to purchase, highly recommended book... even thought the author is a bit too legalistic for me. I get the feeling he may be a free-will Baptist [for those who know the lingo])

Henri J.M. Nouwen (1932-1996) 

[Nouwen] was a Roman Catholic priest who taught at Harvard, Yale, and the University of Notre Dame. Nouwen has had a vast influence within the emerging church and evangelicalism at large through his writings, and he has been an influential voice within the contemplative movement. A Christian Century magazine survey conducted in 2003 found that Nouwen's writings were a first choice for Catholic and mainline Protestant clergy....

Nouwen did not instruct his readers that one must be born again through repentance and personal faith in Jesus Christ in order to commune with God. The book With Open Hands, for example, instructs readers to open themselves up to God and surrender to the flow of life, believing that God loves them unconditionally and is leading them. This is blind faith.

“When we pray, we are standing with our hands open to the world. We know that God will become known to us in the nature around us, in people we meet, and in situations we run into. We trust that the world holds God's secret within and we expect that secret to be shown to us” (With Open Hands, 2006, p. 47).

Nouwen did not instruct his readers to beware of false spirits and to test everything by the Scriptures. He taught them, rather, to trust that God is leading in and through all things and that they should “test” things by their own “vision.” Nouwen claimed that contemplative meditation is necessary for an intimacy with God:

“I do not believe anyone can ever become a deep person without stillness and silence” (quoted by Chuck Swindoll, So You Want to Be Like Christ, p. 65).

He taught that the use of a mantra could take the practitioner into God’s presence.

“The quiet repetition of a single word can help us to descend with the mind into the heart ... This way of simple prayer ... opens us to God's active presence” (The Way of the Heart, p. 81).

He said that mysticism and contemplative prayer can create ecumenical unity because Christian leaders learn to hear “the voice of love”:

“Through the discipline of contemplative prayer, Christian leaders have to learn to listen to the voice of love. ... For Christian leadership to be truly fruitful in the future, a movement from the moral to the mystical is required” (In the Name of Jesus, pp. 6, 31, 32).

In fact, if Christians are listening to the voice of the true and living God, they will learn that love is obedience to the Scriptures. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3).

Nouwen, like Thomas Merton and many other Catholic contemplatives, combined the teaching of eastern gurus with ancient Catholic practices. In his book Pray to Live Nouwen describes approvingly Merton's heavy involvement with Hindu monks (pp. 19-28).

In his foreword to Thomas Ryan's book Disciplines for Christian Living, Nouwen says:

“[T]he author shows a wonderful openness to the gifts of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Moslem religion. He discovers their great wisdom for the spiritual life of the Christian and does not hesitate to bring that wisdom home” (Disciplines for Christian Living, p. 2).

Nouwen taught a form of universalism and panentheism (God is in all things).

“The God who dwells in our inner sanctuary is the same as the one who dwells in the inner sanctuary of each human being” (Here and Now, p. 22).

“Prayer is 'soul work' because our souls are those sacred centers WHERE ALL IS ONE ... It is in the heart of God that we can come to the full realization of THE UNITY OF ALL THAT IS” (Bread for the Journey, 1997, Jan. 15 and Nov. 16).

He claimed that every person who believes in a higher power and follows his or her vision of the future is of God and is building God's kingdom:

“We can see the visionary in the guerrilla fighter, in the youth with the demonstration sign, in the quiet dreamer in the corner of a cafe, in the soft-spoken monk, in the meek student, in the mother who lets her son go his own way, in the father who reads to his child from a strange book, in the smile of a girl, in the indignation of a worker, and in every person who in one way or another dreams life from a vision which is seen shining ahead and which surpasses everything ever heard or seen before” (With Open Hands, p. 113).

“Praying means breaking through the veil of existence and allowing yourself to be led by the vision which has become real to you. Whether we call that vision 'the Unseen Reality,' 'the total Other,' 'the Spirit,' or 'the Father,' we repeatedly assert that it is not we ourselves who possess the power to make the new creation come to pass. It is rather a spiritual power which has been given to us and which empowers us to be in the world without being of it” (p. 114).

The radical extent of Nouwen's universalism is evident by the fact that the second edition of With Open Hands has a foreword by Sue Monk Kidd. She is a New Ager who promotes worship of the goddess! Her book The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine was published in 1996, a decade before she was asked to write the foreword to Nouwen's book on contemplative prayer. Monk Kidd worships herself.

“Today I remember that event for the radiant mystery it was, how I felt myself embraced by Goddess, how I felt myself in touch with the deepest thing I am. It was the moment when, as playwright and poet Ntozake Shange put it, 'I found god in myself/ and I loved her/ I loved her fiercely (The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, p. 136).

“Over the altar in my study I hung a lovely mirror sculpted in the shape of a crescent moon. It reminded me to honor the Divine Feminine presence in myself, the wisdom in my own soul” (p. 181).

Sue Monk Kidd's journey from the traditional Baptist faith (as a Sunday School teacher in a Southern Baptist congregation) to goddess worship began when she started delving into Catholic contemplative spirituality, practicing centering prayer and attending Catholic retreats.

Nouwen taught that God is only love, unconditional love.

“Don’t be afraid to offer your hate, bitterness, and disappointment to the One who is love and only love. ... [Pray] `Dear God, ... what you want to give me is love--unconditional, everlasting love”' (With Open Hands, pp. 24, 27).

In fact, God's love is not unconditional. It is unfathomable but not unconditional. Though God loves all men and Christ died to make it possible for all to be saved, there is a condition for receiving God's love and that is acknowledging and repenting of one's sinfulness and receiving Jesus Christ as one's Lord and Saviour.

Further, God is not only love; He is also holy and just and light and truth. This is what makes the cross of Jesus Christ necessary. An acceptable atonement had to be made for God's broken law.

In his last book Nouwen said:

“Today I personally believe that while Jesus came to open the door to God's house, all human beings can walk through that door, whether they know about Jesus or not. Today I see it as my call to help every person claim his or her own way to God” (Sabbatical Journey, New York: Crossroad, 1998, p. 51).

 Pages 317-321

Watch the "Outlaw Preacher" (Jay Bakker) Get Crickets from a Boisterous Black Church (Grace Church)... "Can I Get An AMEN!... please?"

Of course I have to give The Museum of Idolatry the props for this. Does Jay not know where he is?? Even as Wild n' Crazy as some would say black church's are theologically, on this issue they almoist all stand united. Jay found out the hard way.

Sex Changes Operations -- Tax Deductible

 
This is one of the final steps to allow tax-payers to pay for sex-change operations under a single-payer health care option. The video below is about two people in Canadian health-care and how the PC crowd is run-a-muck in whom gets care and whom doesn't:

• (Video from: "Conversation from the Break-Room")

Case backs need for sex-change surgery

US tax court rules costs deductible

The US Tax Court ruled yesterday that a Massachusetts woman should be allowed to deduct the costs of her sex-change operation, a decision that could have wide implications for transgender people.

Rhiannon O’Donnabhain, who was born a man, sued the Internal Revenue Service after the agency rejected a $5,000 deduction for approximately $25,000 in medical expenses associated with the sex-change surgery.

The IRS said the surgery was cosmetic and not medically necessary.

In its decision yesterday, the tax court said the IRS position was “at best a superficial characterization of the circumstances’’ that is “thoroughly rebutted by the medical evidence.’’

The legal group, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, which represented O’Donnabhain, said the ruling could potentially affect thousands of people a year in the US who undergo similar operations.

“I think what the court is saying is that surgery and hormone therapy for transgender people to alleviate the stress associated with gender identity disorder is legitimate medical care,’’ said Jennifer Levi, a GLAD attorney.

...(read more)... 

Even a Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day (Joy Behar on Gay "Monogamy")

.…[from a larger debate years ago]….

This being said, the gay lifestyle is the epitome of hedonism. The nature of men and sex, unrestrained, is one of unbridled “passion.” in fact, women, via courting and marriage, are one of the biggest factors in raining in our passions. Not only that, but Western civilization adopted the Judeo-Christian ethic of one woman and one man making a marriage for life. This is where my conservatism comes out again.

Homosexuality is one of the most crucial issues we all must consider. At the personal level most of us know at least one of our friends, colleagues, or fellow-Americans who is dying the terrible death of AIDS. At a cultural level one most revealing indexes of a civilization is the way it orders human sexuality.

• (Before I continue with this quote, I must respond to anyone who believes I am uncompassionate towards any who suffer any genetic or choice lifestyles. When a philosopher speaks of whether rape is morally wrong or not morally wrong, he is of course compassionate towards the victim of the act. However, the philosopher or politician is discussing the issue itself, asking deeper questions that if the individual him or herself is hurt, but rather if the act is wrong. Thus the philosopher may sound uncompassionate, but is merely dealing with the raw facts of the situation.)

When left to itself, human sexuality appears unconstrained and to the innocent mind shockingly polymorphous (meaning: having, assuming, or passing through many or various forms, stages, or the like). But the hallmark of a society in which all sexual constraints have been set aside is that finally it sanctions homosexuality as well. This point is hotly disputed today, but is reflected in the wisdom of the ages. Plutarch, the first-century Greek moralist, saw libertinism to be the third and the next-to-last stage in the life-cycle of a free republic before its final descent into tyranny. Edward Gibbon (The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire) in eighteenth century England understood this principle with respect to ancient Rome, but from a historians point of view. Sigmund Freud emphasized the same principle with respect to many cultures in the West – – although from a radically secular psychoanalytic perspective. For him, universal sexual repression was the price of civilization. Without constraints civilization would lose its discipline and vitality. And of course, the Bible repeatedly shows the effects of unconstrained sexuality, such as its stories of the rise and fall of Sodom, Gomorrah, and indeed Israel itself.

Dennis Prager, a reform Jewish cultural commentator, writes:

• “Man’s nature, undisciplined by values, will allow sex to dominate his life and the life of society…. It is not overstated to say that the Torah’s prohibition of non-marital sex made the creation of Western civilization possible. Societies that did not place boundaries around sexuality were stymied in their development. The subsequent dominance of the Western world can, to a significant extent, be attributed to the to the sexual revolution, initiated by Judaism and later carried forward by Christianity.”

In sum, it is a simple and sobering fact that no society that has sanctioned unconstrained sexuality has long survived.

The typical homosexual is a man who has frequent episodes of anal intercourse with other men, often with many different men. These episodes are 13 times more frequent than heterosexuals’ acts of anal intercourse (which is still showing disregard and unconstrained hedonism towards a man's wife or girlfriend), with twelve times as many different partners as heterosexuals. These statistics are quite conservative. The most rigorous single study – the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study – recruited nearly five thousand homosexual men and found that about 80 percent had over 50 sexual partners in their lifetime. The book, The Male Couple, was researched and written by a homosexual couple, out of the 156 couples they studied, only seven maintained sexual fidelity. Of the hundred couples that had been together five years, none had been able to maintain sexual fidelity. The authors noted that “The expectation for outside sexual activity was the rule for male couples and the exception for heterosexuals” (p. 3). A 1981 study revealed that only two percent of homosexuals were monogamous or semi-monogamous – generously defined as ten or fewer lifetime partners. And a 1978 study found that 43 percent of male homosexuals estimated having sex with five hundred or more different partners (A. P. Bell, Sexual Preference [Indiana University Press]). Seventy-nine percent said that more than half of these partners were strangers and 70 percent said that more than half were men with whom they had sex only once (A. P. Bell and M. S. Weinberg, Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity among Men and Woman [Simon & Schuster]).

So while I would agree with you that the homosexual man could satisfy his partner without penetration, this just doesn’t happen. Nor would I support the normalization of even these acts in our society, as my conservative values seep out for keeping our society bent towards the family unit, which is the backbone of a healthy society. I don’t just say this; history proves my point for me.

Much thought, PapaG

P.S. – You said: “None other than religion. Religion is the only definitive argument against it.” This is not true. I have already shown the health hazards of this lifestyle; the result is an unduly large strain on society. I have pointed you to some books by historians that show unconstrained sexual activity becoming the norm as a major factor in the last stage ringing in the fall of a republic (societies that reject this unrestrained sexuality live long and prosper; one’s that accept die an untimely death). And the homosexual lifestyle is not genetic, but a psychological malady, as I have just shown their sexual drive to indicate. Not only that, but if the homosexual wants rights as commonly understood, theism (as I have clearly shown) is the only worldview that can give any meaning to the word rights. Especially unalienable.

When NPR Attacks (Mother Teresa vs. Mary Daly) -- Radical Feminism and Homosexuality

Another example of the Left's fascination with radicals. The story below reminds me of a quote:

Gender feminists are especially disapproving of the lives of traditionally religious women such as evangelical Christian women, Catholic women, or Orthodox Jewish women, whom they see as being conditioned for highly restricted roles. Surely, they say, it is evident that such women are subjugated, and the choices they make inauthentic. As Gloria Steinem explains it, the appeal of religious fundamentalism for women is that “the promise is safety in return for obedience, respectability in return for self-respect and freedom -- a sad bargain.”(a) 

That is a harsh judgment to make about millions of American women. Ms. Steinem is of course free to disagree with conventionally religious women on any number of issues, but she is not morally free to cast aspersions on their autonomy and self-respect. The New Feminism is supposed to be about sisterhood. Why are its most prominent practition­ers so condescending? 

Steinem herself knows a thing or two about how to recruit adherents to a cause by promises of “safety” and “self-respect.” The feminist ortho­doxy she portrays promises safety in a sisterhood that will offer unhappy or insecure women a venue where they can build self-esteem and attain an authenticity enjoyed by no other group of women.

The traditionally religious women of today, be they Protestant Chris­tians, Orthodox Jews, or observant Catholics -- emphatically do not think of themselves as subjugated, lacking in self-respect, or unfree. Indeed, they very properly resent being described that way. For they are perfectly aware that they have all the rights that men have. If they choose to lead the lives they do, that is their affair.[1]

Christina Sommers continues, “For their part, traditional women might try to persuade the feminists of the merits of the religious way of life. Mostly however, gender feminists are content to dismiss and even jeer at the religious women without engaging or confronting them in a respectful dialogue and it is not surprising that the latter have grown increasingly impatient with their feminist critics.”[2] Another author makes the point that gender feminists try and “force us all to conform to their agenda based on the unnatural ideology that there is no difference between men and women.... As feminist author Robin Morgan told a Phil Donahue audience, ‘We are becoming the men we once wanted to marry’.”[3]

---

[1] Christina Hoff Sommers, Who Stole Feminism: How Woman Have Betrayed Woman (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1994), 260.

(a) Gloria Steinem, Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem (Boston, MA: Little & Brown, 1992), 260.

[2] Ibid., 261

[3] Phyllis Schlafly, Feminist Fantasies (Dallas, TX: Spence Publishing, 2003), 133.

May I suggest a book by a lesbian that may counter this radicals ideas on her own turf/soap-box: The Death of Right and Wrong: Exposing the Left’s Assault on Our Culture and Values. Think of it as a lesbian death match, but in the political arena and not in a blow-up rubber swimming pool full of jello.

The Church of NPR: Mother Teresa's a Destroyer, Radical Feminist an 'Icon'

Even obituaries can inform the public what the leftists at National Public Radio consider admirable.When Mother Teresa died in 1997, NPR stood out with a vicious obituary from anchor Scott Simon noting her "tolerance of tyrants and criminals" and her theology of "destructive comfort to keep people poor." Christopher Hitchens, who wrote a book-length attack on her, was welcomed to kick dirt on the memory of her.

On Tuesday, by contrast, NPR celebrated the life of "Catholic" scholar Mary Daly. No one was welcomed in to savage her. It was completely one-sided. She was, instead, "for many women, such as Sister Joan Chittister, a prominent nun, Daly was an icon."

This was a bit different than even the AP obituary, which more accurately called her "iconoclastic" in tone:

Radical feminist Mary Daly, the iconoclastic theologian who proclaimed, ''I hate the Bible,'' and retired from Boston College rather than allow men to take her classes, has died. She was 81.

Daly died Sunday of natural causes at Wachusett Manor nursing home in Gardner, Mass., said her longtime friend, Nancy Kelly.

She passed away as a friend read to Daly from one of her own books, ''Websters' First New Intergalactic Wickedary of the English Language,'' Kelly said Wednesday.

Daly's tumultuous career at the Jesuit-run Boston College ended after three decades when she refused to open her classroom to men, believing women did not freely exchange ideas if men were present. Men, she said, ''have nothing to offer but doodoo.''

These quotes about the Bible and "doodoo" did not make the warm NPR obituary by religion reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty.

MELISSA BLOCK, host: A founder of modern feminism has died. Mary Daly was a radical theologian. She died on Sunday at the age of 81. NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports.

BARBARA BRADLEY HAGERTY: Ten years ago, in the twilight of her life, Mary Daly described herself this way.

MARY DALY: I am a radical lesbian feminist and it scares them.

HAGERTY: Them is the Catholic Church, Boston College, where she taught for three decades, and what Daly regarded as a male dominated society. But for many women, such as Sister Joan Chittister, a prominent nun, Daly was an icon.

Sister JOAN CHITTISTER (Nun): She shocked us into seeing old things in a new way. She made us understand that we were blind to half our world.

HAGERTY: The female half. She says Daly shook up Catholic theology, asserting that the Trinity, for example, was derived from triple goddesses in ancient culture. Daly also condemned male dominance in church, business, government and society. Here she is on KDVS Radio in 2006.

DALY: Almost everything has been stolen from us by the patriarchy. Our creativity has been stolen, our creative energies, our religion. I want it back.

Hagerty doesn’t grasp this occasion to wonder how "Sister Joan" can both be a nun and someone who thinks Daly helped her understand the Holy Trinity is a sexist construct ripped off from "triple goddesses in ancient culture." She doesn’t wonder how it is that Daly would be allowed to teach at a "Catholic" college with obviously anti-religious views. She wasn’t "shaking up" Catholic theology. She was lobbing bombs at it. But the eulogy continued:

HAGERTY: Daly defied expectations from the start. Born in Schenectady, New York of working-class Catholic parents she earned three PhDs before joining Boston College's theology department in the mid 1960s. Her first book called "The Church and the Second Sex" got her fired in 1969 until the then all-male student body protested and demanded the school hire her back.

Nevertheless, Daly avoided speaking to men and generally refused to attend department meetings. And after the college went co-ed, she almost always refused to let men into her classes. This decision ran her afoul of school policy in federal law. And in 1999, a male student sued the school. Daly said the student had not taken the prerequisite course. But she told NPR she found men disruptive.

DALY: I saw women that were repressed. When they're in classes with young men, they shut up all the time. They're laughed at if they have unusual ideas. They have to be sexy, then they can't really think.

HAGERTY: Lawrence Cunningham, who teaches at Notre Dame, believes Daly went too far. And in the end will be only a footnote in Catholic theological history. But he says she was a huge voice in one of the most influential movements of the 20th century.

Professor LAWRENCE CUNNINGHAM (Theologian, University of Notre Dame): You could kind of describe her as the gold standard for absolute feminism. I mean, everybody, at least in Christian circles or feminist circles would kind of measure their feminism against the standard that Mary Daly set.

HAGERTY: And Cunningham says the female students he teaches today are the prime beneficiaries of Daly's radical life. Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR News.

Then came the final insult to Bible-thumping Christians. The melody of "Rock of Ages" swelled up to move listeners on to the next news story. As if Daly was a reverent Christian instead of a self-declared pagan who wrote an "Intergalactic Wickedary."

Obama Appoints a Transgender "Gal" (Amanda Simpson/Mitchell Simpson)

Obama Appoints 'Trans Woman' to Commerce Department; Gays Hail His 'Rocket Pace' of Diversity

(NewsBusters import)

The New York Daily News reports:

Amanda Simpson, who used to be test pilot Mitchell Simpson, will make a bit of history Tuesday as she starts work as a senior technical advisor at the Commerce Department.

"As one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds," Simpson said in a statement.

Simpson, 49, underwent a sex change about a decade ago while working in Tucson for Raytheon Missile Systems, where she rose to the job of deputy director.

Michael Jones at gayrights.change.org is excited at the breaking of a "transgender glass ceiling" by Obama:

According to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, Obama has appointed close to 100 openly LGBT folks to his administration, which is a rocket-style pace that is set to eclipse even the Clinton administration (which appointed 140 openly LGBT folks over the span of the Clinton presidency).

Simpson is clearly going to bring aggressively that "diversity process" into government. From her perch at Raytheon, Simpson was a diversity evangelist:

There truly is a great deal of education to be done on so many levels. The nuances of gender identity or expression are many and are mostly misunderstood -- even by those who seemingly 'get it': But with this change comes momentous opportunity. Raytheon continues to demonstrate its commitment to diversity and building an inclusive culture. All employees, current and future, will benefit by the commitment to an open expression of ideas and the basic foundation that they are valued by the company for their contribution to the success of Raytheon.

Jake Tapper has blogged this, but as of this morning, there is nothing yet in the Transcripts field in Nexis.

Conservative Christians Fight for Gay Rights (4-Posts Imported from Libertarian Republican)

(Imported from LIBERTARIAN REPUBLICAN) 
Take note these are "real" rights, not making sexual proclivity a "right."

Republican Senator John Ensign strongly condemns Uganda's proposed Death Penalty for Gays

Nevada Senator Stands Up for Human Rights: Calls for International Condemnation of African Nation

"Obviously it's a law that's pretty outrageous... even if you disagree with the way people live, what Uganda is doing, I think most people would agree that's pretty outrageous..."

Republican Christian Conservatives strongly condemn Uganda's repressive policies against Gays

Comments from recent days...

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) (ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee):

"I am deeply saddened and troubled that such blatantly ignorant and hate-filled legislation would see the light of day anywhere in today's world. It needs to be stopped in its tracks immediately."

U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK):

"Over the past two decades, political, religious, and community leaders in Uganda have united to promote a rare, winning strategy against HIV that addresses the unique and common risks of every segment of society. Sadly, some who oppose Uganda's common sense ABC strategy are using an absurd proposal to execute gays to undermine this coalition and winning strategy...

Officials in Uganda should come to their senses and take whatever steps are necessary to withdraw this proposal that will do nothing but harm a winning strategy that is saving lives."

U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA):

"Based on what I’ve been able to learn about the legislation and from the stand point that I’m a born again Christian, I can tell you that I don’t agree with this un-Christian and unjust proposal, and I hope the Ugandan officials dismiss it..."

Christian Pastor Rick Warren:

The potential law is unjust, extreme and un-Christian toward homosexuals...

ALL life, no matter how humble or broken, whether unborn or dying, is precious to God. My wife, Kay, and I have devoted our lives and our ministry to saving the lives of people, including homosexuals, who are HIV positive. It would be inconsistent to save some lives and wish death on others. We're not just pro-life. We are whole life."

"Finally, the freedom to make moral choices and our right to free expression are gifts endowed by God. Uganda is a democratic country with remarkable and wise people, and in a democracy everyone has a right to speak up. For these reasons, I urge you, the pastors of Uganda, to speak out against the proposed law."

Editor's Note - See our sister site Worldwide Liberty for a full explanation of the proposed Uganda legislation and other related info. Also, LR hopes to have an edition of "Libertarian Politics Live" tonight at 8 pm to discuss the controversy with top guests. Stay tuned...

Gay Conservative Group calls on Obama to Stand Up for Human Rights of African Homosexuals

GOProud Urges President Obama to Publicly Take a Stand against Proposed Uganda Law

Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director - "If the President wants to start earning the Nobel Peace Prize he is accepting, he can start by speaking out against this outrageous Ugandan law."

Press Release, Dec. 10

(Washington, D.C.) - While the President is in Norway accepting a Nobel Peace Prize, Ugandan political leaders are considering a bill that criminalizes gays and lesbians. "If the President wants to start earning the Nobel Peace Prize he is accepting, he can start by speaking out against this outrageous Ugandan law," said Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director of GOProud - the only national organization for gay conservatives and their allies. "President Obama's lack of leadership on international human rights issues is appalling," continued LaSalvia. "From his refusal to confront the radically anti-gay regime in Iran to his refusal to speak out against this proposed Ugandan law - this President's silence speaks volumes about his priorities."

Ugandan political leaders have been debating legislation that would impose criminal penalties on gays and lesbians living in Uganda. Certain proposed versions of the bill have even called for the death penalty or life imprisonment for being gay.

While President Obama has been silent, leading Republicans have spoken out forcefully against the proposed Ugandan legislation.

"It is time for this administration to stand up for human rights across the globe. Not another day should pass without President Obama making it clear that he unconditionally opposes this Ugandan law," concluded LaSalvia.


Note - GOPProud.org is less than 2 years old. They split off from Log Cabin Clubs viewing them as too moderate. They will be official Co-Sponsors in Feb. 2010 of C-PAC in DC.

Muslims push Radical Anti-Gay Laws across Sub-Saharan Africa

Uganda, Rwanda starting to feel Heavy Hand of Muslim Fundamentalism

From Eric Dondero:

Islam is on the rise across Sub-Saharan Africa, including Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Nigeria. And estimated 9.5 million Muslims now live in Uganda, for example. That is approximately 12.1% of the population (2004 figures). The Muslim dominated Luo Tribe headed by Raila Odinga now has a power sharing arrangement for the first time with the formerly Christian-dominated government of Kenya. Nigeria is suffering from a bloody civil war in its northern region with Muslim Separatists supported by Jihadist groups in Sudan, and Niger.

With the increase in fundamentalist Islam in the region comes an increasing push to institute laws consistent with Sharia. Among these include radical Anti-Homosexuality laws.

Homosexuality is already outlawed in 38 out of 53 African nations, all in Muslim or Muslim-dominated countries. Now Muslim groups are pushing for the sexual identity to be outlawed in countries previously immuned to Islamic domination.

From the Population Institute website:

Nigeria has a similar bill waiting to reach its statute books and already allows the death penalty for homosexuality in northern states, as does Sudan. Burundi criminalised homosexuality in April this year, joining 37 other African nations where gay sex is already illegal. Egypt and Mali are creeping towards criminalization, using morality laws against same-sex couples.

Rwanda, which suffered from one of the worst genocides in human history in the early 1990s, is the first of these countries to consider completely outlawing Homosexuality.

From Queerty:

On December 16, 2009, the lower house of the Rwandan Parliament will hold its final debate on a draft revision of the penal code that will, for the first time, make homosexuality a crime in Rwanda.

Neighboring Uganda has followed suit.

CNN reported on December 9 that the Ugandan Parliament is debating severe restrictions on Homosexuals. The "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" includes these provisions:

• Gays and lesbians convicted of having gay sex would be sentenced, at minimum, to life in prison

• People who test positive for HIV may be executed

• Homosexuals who have sex with a minor, or engage in homosexual sex more than once, may also receive the death penalty

According to CNN:

A leading Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ramathan Shaban Mubajje, has called for gays to be rounded up and banished to an island until they die.

Also, Sheikh Nsereko Mutumba, the public relations officer of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council has been quoted as saying:

We believe that Allah created us to multiply and worship him. How will a gay do that? Muslims are aware that homosexuality is a sin and I am sure that the churches also teach that this vice is a sin and unacceptable in any society.

The International Community has been slow to react. Political sensitivities with its native Muslim population have kept the United Kingdom from denouncing the Ugandan legislation. In the US the Obama administration, through Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is now just beginning to issue mild and carefully worded criticisms.

Ironically, it has been Christians who have been the strongest and quickest in their reactions against the anti-homosexual proposals. A coalition of Christian leaders in the US strongly condemned the actions of the Ugandan Government and issued the following statement:

"Regardless of the diverse theological views of our religious traditions regarding the morality of homosexuality, in our churches, communities and families, we seek to embrace our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters as God's children, worthy of respect and love," the statement read.

Obama's Czar Pushed Anal Sex in Parks with Strangers (Gateway Pundit Import -- Gateway Has Led In This Story) - The Progressive Future is Now!

Fistgate VI: Obama’s Safe Schools Czar’s Teen Conference Literature Pushed Anal Sex in Parks With Strangers

Thursday, December 10, 2009, 3:50 PM

Jim Hoft

In March 2000 the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) organization of Massachusetts held its 10 Year Anniversary GLSEN/Boston conference at Tufts University. This conference was fully supported by the Massachusetts Department of Education, the Safe Schools Program, the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, and some of the presenters even received federal money. During the 2000 conference, workshop leaders led a “youth only, ages 14-21″ session that offered lessons in “fisting” a dangerous sexual practice. During the same workshop an activist asked 14 year-old students, “Spit or swallow?… Is it rude?” The unbelievable audio clip is posted here. Barack Obama’s “Safe Schools Czar” Kevin Jennings is the founder of GLSEN. He was paid $273,573.96 as its executive director in 2007. Jennings was the keynote speaker at the 2000 GLSEN conference.

Unfortunately for GLSEN, undercover journalists with Mass Resistance recorded these outrageous sessions at Tufts University. The audio was later leaked to a local radio station. This created such an uproar that GLSEN leaders were forced to apologize for their disgusting behavior.

Despite the controversy, Barack Obama’s Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings and his GLSEN organization did nothing to clean up their act. In fact in 2001 activists handed out “fisting kits” to the children and teachers who attended the GLSEN conference.

But that’s not all. The children who attended Kevin Jennnings’ GLSEN 2005 Conference also left with their own “Little Black Book – Queer in the 21st Century”.

Here’s one page from that Black Book for teens:

The entire Little Black Book is posted here.

And, here’s the transcript from item #3 above:

“No Dookie On Your Noodle! Nobody knows better than queer men that shit happens. It’s just a fact of life…and buttsex. While there are steps to take to avoid a mess, they’re not always practical for the boy on the go. Condoms allow you a certain freedom that can be a great selling point if you’re cruising the park and don’t want stray spunk on your new polyester shirt…”

So, basically, in the crudest language imaginable, GLSEN recommended that “boys” go out cruising for anonymous anal sex in public parks with strangers.

Thanks to a reader for pointing this out.

Today Kevin Jennings, the founder of GLSEN, is Barack Obama’s Safe Schools Czar.

There’s more to come.

UPDATE: Grassroots Nation has started a petition to fire Kevin Jennings.
—Please think of your kids and go sign it now!

Related Posts:
** Breaking: Obama’s “Safe Schools Czar” Is Promoting Child Porn in the Classroom– Kevin Jennings and the GLSEN Reading List
** Breaking: Obama’s “Safe Schools Czar” Is Promoting Porn in the Classroom– Kevin Jennings and the GLSEN Reading List (Part II)
** Breaking: Obama’s Safe Schools Czar’s Question to 14 Year Olds: “Spit vs. Swallow?… Is it Rude?” (audio-video)
** Obama’s “Safe Schools Czar” Promoted “Fisting” to Children (Video)
** Fistgate II: High School Students Given “Fisting Kits” At Kevin Jennings’ GLSEN Conference (Photo)
** Fistgate III: Obama’s Safe Schools Czar’s “Black Book” For Kids Included Tips on Fisting & Pi$$ing on Your Partner
** Fistgate IV: Obama’s Safe Schools Czar Passed Out Gay Bar Guides to Teens at GLSEN Events

Who Is One of the Most Dangerous Men In America? Hint, He Is An Obama Czar

Fistgate: Obama chief 'knew' of 'disgusting' sex subjects

Jennings was co-chairman of committee that set up statewide program

....The congressional campaign to remove Jennings is available online under the website StopJennings.org. The site tells why signers believe Jennings is unfit for the office.

"We respectfully request that you remove Kevin Jennings, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, from your administration. It is clear that Mr. Jennings lacks the appropriate qualifications and ethical standards to serve in this capacity."

The letter was signed by U.S. Reps. Doug Lamborn of Colorado, Steve King of Iowa, Duncan Hunter of California, Darrell Issa of California, Paul Broun of Georgia, Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania and others. The lawmakers pointed out Jennings "has played an integral role in promoting homosexuality and pushing a pro-homosexual agenda in America's schools."....

As of today, 53 members of Congress have joined the effort to remove Jennings, who has described how he developed the strategy to use the word "safe" to promote homosexuality in Massachusetts schools.

The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles Elected an Openly Gay Bishop In The Global Anglican Fellowship

Episcopal Church: No Sign of Repentance 

LOS ANGELES - The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles elected a lesbian as assistant bishop Saturday, the second openly gay bishop in the global Anglican fellowship, which is already deeply fractured over the first.

The Rev. Mary Glasspool of Baltimore needs approval from a majority of national church leaders before she can be consecrated as assistant bishop in the Los Angeles diocese.

Still, her victory underscored a continued Episcopal commitment to accepting same-sex relationships despite enormous pressure from other Anglicans to change their stand.

The head of the Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, has said she would consecrate any elected bishop as long as church rules for selection were followed.

The Episcopal Church, which is the Anglican body in the United States, caused an uproar in 2003 by consecrating the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Robinson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Breakaway Episcopal conservatives have formed a rival church, the Anglican Church in North America. Several overseas Anglicans have been pressuring the Anglican spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, to officially recognize the new conservative entity.

The Rev. Kendall Harmon of the theologically traditional Diocese of South Carolina, which recently voted to distance itself from the national church, said Saturday's vote would further damage relations among Episcopalians, their fellow Anglicans and other Christians.

"This decision represents an intransigent embrace of a pattern of life Christians throughout history and the world have rejected as against biblical teaching," said Harmon, an adviser to the diocesan bishop.

The 77-million-member Anglican Communion is a family of churches that trace their roots to the missionary work of the Church of England. Most overseas Anglicans are Bible conservatives....

Jim Naughton of The Chicago Consultation, a group of Episcopal and Anglican clergy and lay people who advocate on behalf of gays and lesbians, called Glasspool's election "a liberation."

"We've been around this issue for 30 years," said Naughton, an adviser to the Episcopal bishop of Washington. "It's unreasonable to expect us to refrain from acting on the very prayerful conclusions that we've reached, especially when we think there are issues of justice involved."

...(more)...

Obama Czars -- “Safe Schools” Chief Recommends Child Porn for Classroom Reading

(WorldNetDaily import)

“Sex Acts Between Preschoolers” Among Subjects Of Books Backed By Openly “Gay” Obama Adviser 

A new report is raising alarms that the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, a homosexual advocacy organization founded by Kevin Jennings, now head of the U.S. Office of Safe Schools for the Obama administration, is recommending XXX-rated sex writings for children as young as preschoolers. "

We were unprepared for what we encountered. Book after book after book contained stories and anecdotes that weren't merely X-rated and pornographic, but which featured explicit descriptions of sex acts between preschoolers; stories that seemed to promote and recommend child-adult sexual relationships; stories of public masturbation, anal sex in restrooms, affairs between students and teachers, five-year-olds playing sex games, semen flying through the air," said the report.

"One memoir even praised becoming a prostitute as a way to increase one's self-esteem. Above all, the books seemed to have less to do with promoting tolerance than with an unabashed attempt to indoctrinate students into a hyper-sexualized worldview," it advised. The report was posted online by Jim Hoft at the Gatetway Pundit blog after it was obtained from Breitbart.tv co-founder Scott Baker, who said the recommended children's reading assignments need attention. The team whose members assembled the report said a handful of books from the more than 100 titles on GLSEN's recommended reading list for school children were picked randomly.

Writings were reviewed with titles such as "Queer 13," "Being Different," "The Full Spectrum," "Revolutionary Voices," "Reflections of a Rock Lobster," "Passages of Pride," "Growing Up Gay/Growing Up Lesbian," "The Order of the Poison Oak," "In Your Face," "Mama's Boy, Preacher's Son" and "Love & Sex: Ten Stories of Truth." "What we discovered shocked us. We were flabbergasted. Rendered speechless," the report said.

"Read the passages … and judge for yourself … The language is explicit, the intent is clear," the report said.

WND has reported previously on Jennings' background and agenda, including when it was revealed a publisher of "gay erotica" sought him out to write a book aimed at encouraging homosexuality in high schools and colleges. The result was "Becoming Visible," which opens with, "Why teach gay and lesbian history? … Indeed, as lesbian and gay studies has emerged as a discipline over the last two decades, its dramatic discoveries have shown it to be one of the most exciting fields in contemporary historical scholarship." Researchers at Mass Resistance reported Sasha Alyson of Alyson Publications sought out Jennings to do the book.

In Jennings' acknowledgments for the book, he writes, "Writing this part of the book has caused me more anxiety than any other. It simply is not possible to express my gratitude to the many people who have helped make this book possible. ... With apologies to anyone omitted, here we go! The obvious place to begin is with Alyson Publications. First, Sasha Alyson had the vision to conceive of this project, and I had the good luck to be the person he sought out to complete it. I am deeply appreciative of being afforded this opportunity."

WND also has reported concerns by Mission America over subject material in books recommended by GLSEN for school children. The group's Linda Harvey warned, "GLSEN believes the early sexualization of children can be beneficial. This means that virtually any sexual activity as well as exposure to graphic sexual images and material, is not just permissible but good for children, as part of the process of discovering their sexuality." Her report cited one passage from a book recommended for students in grades 7-12: "I released his arms. They glided around my neck, pulling my head down to his. I stretched full length on top of him, our heads touching. Our heavy breathing from the struggle gradually subsided.

I felt …" What follows in "Growing Up Gay/Growing Up Lesbian" by Malcolm Boyd is a "graphic description" of a homosexual encounter. The new report posted on Gatetway Pundit explained the material is what GLSEN wants children to read and learn about. "GLSEN's stated mission is to empower gay youth in the schools and to stop harassment by other students. It encourages the formation of Gay Student Alliances and condemns the use of hateful words.

GLSEN also strives to influence the educational curriculum to include materials which the group believes will increase tolerance of gay students and decrease bullying," the report said. "To that end, GLSEN maintains a recommended reading list of books that it claims 'furthers our mission to ensure safe schools for all students,'" the report said. "In other words, these are the books that GLSEN's directors think all kids should be reading: gay kids should read them to raise their self-esteem, and straight kids should read them in order to become more aware and tolerant and stop bullying gay kids."

The organization also offers online links to buy the books. "We can only vouch for what's in these 11 books, since these are the only ones we've read through," the report said. "Are there other books on the GLSEN reading list that are similarly outrageous? We can't say for sure, but it seems very likely." The review team said the issue isn't about homosexuality or censorship. "It's about deciding what constitutes appropriate reading material for children.

We're perfectly OK with these books existing and being read by adults; we only start to worry when these books are assigned to children," the report said. "According to Kevin Jennings and GLSEN, books about a 13-year-old getting 'my c--- sucked and my a-- f-----' are not just acceptable, they're highly recommended." The website notes, "All BookLink items are reviewed by GLSEN staff for quality and appropriateness of content." Most of the objectionable excerpts cited in the report cannot be included in a WND report. But among the mildest:

• From "Reflections of a Rock Lobster:" "My sexual exploits with my neighborhood playmates continued. I lived a busy homosexual childhood, somehow managing to avoid venereal disease through all my toddler years. By first grade I was sexually active with many friends. In fact, a small group of us regularly met in the grammar school lavatory…"
• An illustration in "Revolutionary Voices," shows two Boy Scouts pointing at and looking at two adult men engaged in sex.
• From "Queer 13:" "Soon I was spending a great deal of time hanging out in shopping malls and cruising the rest rooms for sexual encounters."

....(read more)....

Stephanopoulos Defends Kevin Jennings On "Hannity"