This page is about a letter that was received after an incident that occurred around 11:15PM, Friday, June 10, 2005. What happened to cause the letter to be sent to us...My Husband, Tony, and I were on our way home from Wal-mart. While shopping I had begun to experience joint pain (I have Degenerative Join Disease), so my husband in a kind gesture offered to drive the five miles home. Halfway home we were pulled over by the Greer Police. No reason was given for the stop and when I asked I was told there had been none. My husband had failed to get his driver’s license reinstated five years ago, so when he was asked for his, he handed them his old one. We had documents in the glove box verifying insurance coverage from the time the car was purchased until the beginning of this year, but we had insurance, the papers were just at home. After the Officers checked our ID’s and found nothing, they then checked the plate on the car. We were told that the plates were the wrong ones. They would not tell us whose they were, only that they belonged on a Chevy. They searched the car and found nothing (although they thought they had found something when they came across a geode in the glove box), and then called a tow truck to take the car overnight, even though we only lived three minutes away. My husband was hand cuffed and arrested. I was not arrested, but taken to the jail with my husband, along with our frozen food. At the jail, my husband had to show them how to use their new fingerprinting machine (he is in school majoring in programming). He was released on a signature bond even though he never saw a judge. The interesting part of this incident happened at the back of our car. Officer Stewart asked us if we had put the bumper stickers on or if the car had come that way. I of course told the truth and said I had put them on. The officer wanted to know what they meant so I explained that I was an ordained minister of the Emerald Sanctuary Druidic Church. The conversation continued and then Officer Stewart asked me if my church supported me? I asked him to explain what he meant by support and he clarified it as meaning ‘spiritually fulfilling’. He then begins witnessing to me and my husband. As they were putting my husband into the police car, and I was getting the bags of groceries out of the back seat, Officer Stewart came over to me and handed me $40.00 to help get the car out of impound and told me he would be writing the letter exhibited below. At the police station he continued to witness to me. They never offered to report our tag as stolen. They left the tag on the car and did not hold it in impound until all proper documents were produced. They had plainly stated that there had not been any reason to have stopped us in the beginning, “but it doesn’t matter, the plates are wrong.” Granted, my husband should not be driving, and he doesn’t, except this one time when I was in pain and we needed to get home. He was in the prosess to reinstate his license at the time this occured. We have bought new plates for the car, since our old plates are gone. And, thankfully a family member is the Chief of Police in another location, so we were able to find out who the plates belonged to. Officer Stewart never mentions a reason for being pulled over, such as weaving, speeding, wrong plates or anything like that. He does mention the bumper stickers. Whether he is a volunteer or regular, he should still be held to a code of ethics concerning violation of constitutional rights (freedom of religion without harassment). I firmly feel he over stepped his bounds the night of the incident and has continued to do so with his letter. He assumes about my faith, as he did that night, and offers a solution to all my ‘problems’ if I come to his church. I wonder about what is meant by “And for whatever reason, God is calling you to listen to words from the Baptists. This is clear! If you deny this, then you are pushing away the hand of God and that would not be wise.” He also tells me “Chances are that he sent this intercession after hearing the prayers of someone for your welfare. Maybe it was your prayers, or maybe it was a loved one or friend who cares for you. But he did send intercession. Now, you must respond without delay and without excuses.” So evidently ‘someone’ is praying for me to loss my faith! What I can gather from this letter is –
1. Officer Stewart views his position as an opportunity to convert people to his faith and his Church. “As a law enforcement officer, I am a reserve, meaning that I am an unpaid volunteer. The reason I have volunteered for the last 14 years is so that I can be at the places where God would have me to be and at the right time. You see, I have been a victim myself.” 2. He was aware of the opportunity to exercise this practice by the bumper stickers. “I see from your bumper stickers and from your testimony that are a druid priest.” 3. Life’s ‘problems’ (alcohol, drugs, poverty) can be over come by attending his Bible Class and Church. “You see, I have been a victim myself. I know poverty, alcohol and drug abuse and many of the other things my brothers and sisters know first hand.” And “It may tales weeks or month of obedience to learn the steps that it will take to get you back on the road to prosperity.” I write this to warn those who find themselves in the Greer city limits. I am assured that the tickets (four of them totaling $1890) will be dismissed. I wonder how they will dismiss my feeling of being singled out by the police of Greer when I go grocery shopping again? The LetterTony & DeborahI mentioned to Deborah that I would be sending something that I wanted you to respond to. Although the timing and setting may seem unlikely, our meeting on Friday Night June 10th was actually destined to happen. Let me explain: As a law enforcement officer, I am a reserve, meaning that I am an unpaid volunteer. The reason I have volunteered for the last 14 years is so that I can be at the places where God would have me to be and at the right time. You see, I have been a victim myself. I know poverty, alcohol and drug abuse and many of the other things my brothers and sisters know first hand. I felt your pain! I can feel the pain of others when luck seems to always be bad. I call it being a victim because, one piece of bad luck leads to another and soon, finding your way back to a place of peace is all but impossible. Driving without the correct license or insurance becomes a necessity. Then a cop steps in and enforces man's law and the hopeless situation only gets worse. Sometimes, it feels like there is no answer. But there is hope. I know, because I fell further down than almost anyone I have ever met. And, slowly, I was able to come back. But, it was not without a lot of help from others. All along my journey, there were people that God sent to reach out to me and speak his wisdom to me. Often, I pushed them away. And other times, I made excuses for not responding to them. My own free will became my worst enemy and stubbornness and pride also worked against me. Thank God that people were continually sent to be in my crossroads. Last Friday night I was sent to be in your crossroads. You see, my passion is not to wear a badge and enforce man's law. Instead it's to be where I need to be for people like you. Yes, I do enforce Caesar's law, but I care far more about following Jesus Christ who came to make a way to him through faith and not by works or laws. In your case, Jesus has reached out to you through me to say that he wants your attention. Chances are that he sent this intercession after hearing the prayers of someone for your welfare. Maybe it was your prayers, or maybe it was a loved one or friend who cares for you. But he did send intercession. Now, you must respond without delay and without excuses. I see from your bumper stickers and from your testimony that are a druid priest. I am not familiar with the Druids enough to make conversation. But I am ordained in the Baptist church. And for whatever reason, God is calling you to listen to words from the Baptists. This is clear! If you deny this, then you are pushing away the hand of God and that would not be wise. Too many events were manipulated by God to bring us together to be a coincidence. Actually, I only police every 2nd Friday night, so just being on duty was rare. You must respond to the words he wants you to hear. And you must be patient and faithful. It may tales weeks or month of obedience to learn the steps that it will take to get you back on the road to prosperity. One visit, a few prayers and an occasional opening of his Bible will not be enough. You must be prepared to make some serious changes and do so now! You may not get another intercession. Who knows? But you must admit that you've been contacted by God! And you must respond. What's your next step? I lead a bible study class on Sunday mornings at Mt. Lebanon Baptist church. It's a unique class where jeans and t-shirts are normal and many of those who attend are in some sort of crisis or toting burdens of some kind. There is no pressure to speak, pray or answer questions. God does bless us with miracles and wisdom. And there is no pressure to attend worship across the street afterwards. You are free to attend worship afterwards when and if you are ready. The class is very small and is the next thing God wants you to do. He will speak his wisdom to you while you are there. And be prepared to come more than once. To get there: From HWY 29 in Greer, Go up HWY 14 north about 4-5 miles to Mt. Lebanon Church road on your right (look for our church sign). Turn right and go to the 4-way stop and go straight thru. We are on your left across the street from the church in the Gymnasium. 9:15 Am-10:15 AM572 Mt. Lebanon Church Rd. Greer, 895-2334 - Your brother - Tony Stewart ,_
The pictures of the bummperstickers and the scan of the letters didn't go through, but they were not obnoxious stickers from my point of view. In fact I'm glad to know that they are happy with their walk in life.
Voicemail from Chief of Police(if someone knows how I can get this to place, please email me)Returned Reciept for first Certified letter to the Chief of Police, Dan Reynolds.
The First Letter...
Didn't make the trip to my blog.
The Second Letter...
On Friday June 24, 2005 we were informed by a Mrs. Pressley from the City Judge's office that our motions had been granted. We had filed a Motion for Discovery under South Carolina Criminal Procedure Rule #5 requesting copies of the officers' notes and a transcript of the radio communications between the Officers and dispatch. Since it was noted in the information that the normal amount of time to wait for this evidence was 30 days, we asked for a 45-Day Continuance to allow the Police enough time to respond. When the documents from the court arrive I will also post them. On Monday, June 27, 2005 we should receive a certified letter from the City of Greer. We will also post this when it arrives.
Ok folks tell me what is wrong with this picture of a cop?
He isn't just being a cop.
This has been in the making for awhile I'd say, I wonder how many others he (the cop) has done this to in the course of his work shift? How many times has he carried through with his "comments" about things happening?
Is the whole world now supposed to become Baptist?
I really want to know more of this and of what happens to the cop.
Mixing church and state? Yes. Out of line? Yes.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Court Splits on Ten Commandments Displays
By HOPE YEN,
Associated Press Writer
9 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - A sharply divided Supreme Court on Monday upheld the constitutionality of displaying the Ten Commandments on government land, but drew the line on displays inside courthouses, saying they violated the doctrine of separation of church and state.
Sending dual signals in ruling on this issue for the first time in a quarter-century, the high court said that displays of the Ten Commandments — like their own courtroom frieze — are not inherently unconstitutional. But each exhibit demands scrutiny to determine whether it goes too far in amounting to a governmental promotion of religion, the court said in a case involving Kentucky courthouse exhibits.
In effect, the court said it was taking the position that issues of Ten Commandments displays in courthouses should be resolved on a case-by-case basis.
In that 5-4 ruling and another decision involving the positioning of a 6-foot granite monument of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas capitol, Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor was the swing vote. The second ruling, likewise, was by a 5-4 margin.
Justice Antonin Scalia released a stinging dissent in the courthouse case, declaring, "What distinguishes the rule of law from the dictatorship of a shifting Supreme Court majority is the absolutely indispensable requirement that judicial opinions be grounded in consistently applied principle."
The justices voting on the prevailing side in the Kentucky case left themselves legal wiggle room, saying that some displays inside courthouses — like their own courtroom frieze — would be permissible if they're portrayed neutrally in order to honor the nation's legal history.
But framed copies in two Kentucky courthouses went too far in endorsing religion, the court held. Those courthouse displays are unconstitutional, the justices said, because their religious content is overemphasized.
In contrast, a 6-foot-granite monument on the grounds of the Texas Capitol — one of 17 historical displays on the 22-acre lot — was determined to be a legitimate tribute to the nation's legal and religious history.
"Of course, the Ten Commandments are religious — they were so viewed at their inception and so remain. The monument therefore has religious significance," Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote for the majority in the case involving the display outside the state capitol of Texas.
"Simply having religious content or promoting a message consistent with a religious doctrine does not run afoul of the Establishment clause," he said.
Rehnquist was joined in his opinion by Scalia, and justices
Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas. Breyer filed a separate opinion concurring in the result.
The rulings were the court's first major statement on the Ten Commandments since 1980, when justices barred their display in public schools. But the high court's split verdict leaves somewhat unsettled the role of religion in American society, a question that has become a flashpoint in U.S. politics.
"While the court correctly rejects the challenge to the Ten Commandments monument on the Texas Capitol grounds, a more fundamental rethinking of our Establishment Clause jurisprudence remains in order," Thomas wrote in a separate opinion.
Dissenting in the Texas case, Justice John Paul Stevens argued the display was an improper government endorsement of religion. Stevens noted in large letters the monument proclaims 'I AM the LORD thy God.'"
"The sole function of the monument on the grounds of Texas State Capitol is to display the full text of once version of the Ten Commandments," Stevens wrote.
"The monument is not a work of art and does not refer to any event in the history of the state," Stevens wrote. "The message transmitted by Texas' chosen display is quite plain: This state endorses the divine code of the Judeo-Christian God."
Justices O'Connor, David H. Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg also dissented.
Religious History of this country???? Since when did we get a national religion?? Since when does just one religion in the country have say over all the other religions and beliefs in the country?? This country is NOT A THEOCRASY!!!! How many times does that need to be yelled at you idiots!!!! Yes I called you IDIOTS!!! I will do so to your face if I were to ever see you. I'm not "christian". Why do I need to have your brand of "christianity" run roughshod over my beliefs and feelings at every turn??? There is no one lead protestant religion in this country, there are many who are catholic, unitarian, 7th day etc... Do you claim to speak for them too??? How about those who are Wicca, or any of the many lines of pagan ways of belief??? Or how about the people of Islamic faith??? This slaps all of us in the face!!
Associated Press Writer
9 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - A sharply divided Supreme Court on Monday upheld the constitutionality of displaying the Ten Commandments on government land, but drew the line on displays inside courthouses, saying they violated the doctrine of separation of church and state.
Sending dual signals in ruling on this issue for the first time in a quarter-century, the high court said that displays of the Ten Commandments — like their own courtroom frieze — are not inherently unconstitutional. But each exhibit demands scrutiny to determine whether it goes too far in amounting to a governmental promotion of religion, the court said in a case involving Kentucky courthouse exhibits.
In effect, the court said it was taking the position that issues of Ten Commandments displays in courthouses should be resolved on a case-by-case basis.
In that 5-4 ruling and another decision involving the positioning of a 6-foot granite monument of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas capitol, Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor was the swing vote. The second ruling, likewise, was by a 5-4 margin.
Justice Antonin Scalia released a stinging dissent in the courthouse case, declaring, "What distinguishes the rule of law from the dictatorship of a shifting Supreme Court majority is the absolutely indispensable requirement that judicial opinions be grounded in consistently applied principle."
The justices voting on the prevailing side in the Kentucky case left themselves legal wiggle room, saying that some displays inside courthouses — like their own courtroom frieze — would be permissible if they're portrayed neutrally in order to honor the nation's legal history.
But framed copies in two Kentucky courthouses went too far in endorsing religion, the court held. Those courthouse displays are unconstitutional, the justices said, because their religious content is overemphasized.
In contrast, a 6-foot-granite monument on the grounds of the Texas Capitol — one of 17 historical displays on the 22-acre lot — was determined to be a legitimate tribute to the nation's legal and religious history.
"Of course, the Ten Commandments are religious — they were so viewed at their inception and so remain. The monument therefore has religious significance," Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist wrote for the majority in the case involving the display outside the state capitol of Texas.
"Simply having religious content or promoting a message consistent with a religious doctrine does not run afoul of the Establishment clause," he said.
Rehnquist was joined in his opinion by Scalia, and justices
Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas. Breyer filed a separate opinion concurring in the result.
The rulings were the court's first major statement on the Ten Commandments since 1980, when justices barred their display in public schools. But the high court's split verdict leaves somewhat unsettled the role of religion in American society, a question that has become a flashpoint in U.S. politics.
"While the court correctly rejects the challenge to the Ten Commandments monument on the Texas Capitol grounds, a more fundamental rethinking of our Establishment Clause jurisprudence remains in order," Thomas wrote in a separate opinion.
Dissenting in the Texas case, Justice John Paul Stevens argued the display was an improper government endorsement of religion. Stevens noted in large letters the monument proclaims 'I AM the LORD thy God.'"
"The sole function of the monument on the grounds of Texas State Capitol is to display the full text of once version of the Ten Commandments," Stevens wrote.
"The monument is not a work of art and does not refer to any event in the history of the state," Stevens wrote. "The message transmitted by Texas' chosen display is quite plain: This state endorses the divine code of the Judeo-Christian God."
Justices O'Connor, David H. Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg also dissented.
Religious History of this country???? Since when did we get a national religion?? Since when does just one religion in the country have say over all the other religions and beliefs in the country?? This country is NOT A THEOCRASY!!!! How many times does that need to be yelled at you idiots!!!! Yes I called you IDIOTS!!! I will do so to your face if I were to ever see you. I'm not "christian". Why do I need to have your brand of "christianity" run roughshod over my beliefs and feelings at every turn??? There is no one lead protestant religion in this country, there are many who are catholic, unitarian, 7th day etc... Do you claim to speak for them too??? How about those who are Wicca, or any of the many lines of pagan ways of belief??? Or how about the people of Islamic faith??? This slaps all of us in the face!!
Ok, now I can breathe...
...for about a week. Then I will start again. This upcoming week is part of my vacation and I am going to enjoy and have fun.
I had to take a brief break as a friend of mine had passed away and that's why I wasn't all posted here. It hit hard and those of you who have my story of a storm blog know this by what I wrote there.
HAPPY 4th OF JULY EVERYONE!!!!
I hope the president doesn't screw up too much for a while.
Grins
Gryph
I had to take a brief break as a friend of mine had passed away and that's why I wasn't all posted here. It hit hard and those of you who have my story of a storm blog know this by what I wrote there.
HAPPY 4th OF JULY EVERYONE!!!!
I hope the president doesn't screw up too much for a while.
Grins
Gryph
Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government
27 June 2005
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All links to articles as summarized below are available here:
http://www.legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news
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Political Education updated 26 June 2005 http://www.legitgov.org/political_education.html
Trillion Dollar War --Cheaper 'to pay Saddam to quit Iraq' 27 Jun 2005 Iraq and its aftermath will cost $1trillion - a million million dollars - it was claimed last night. The huge sum, equivalent to £548,000,000,000, was revealed as the US held secret meetings with rebels to end the fighting.
Iraq: The carve-up begins --As the costs of the Iraq occupation spiral, British and American oil companies meet in secret next week to carve up the country's oil reserves for themselves. --by Tom Burgis 23 Jun 2005 "The Iraq war has so far cost America and Britain £105billion. But the financial clawback is gathering pace as British and American oil giants work out how to get their hands on the estimated £3trillion worth of oil. Executives from BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Halliburton, Dick Cheney's old [and current] firm, are expected to congregate at the Paddington Hilton for a two-day chinwag with top-level officials from Iraq's oil ministry."
Holy convenience, Batman!! Unrest 'could double' oil price 27 Jun 2005 A warning of a possible near doubling in the cost of oil was issued yesterday as UK prices rose to more than £4 a gallon and the AA Motoring Trust said the price of diesel was approaching £5 a gallon.
Rumsfeld admits Iraqi resistance could last years; more violence likely 26 Jun 2005 Defense Secretary [war criminal] Donald Rumsfeld said Sunday he is bracing for even more violence in Iraq and acknowledged that the insurgency "could go on for any number of years."
Bush warns Blair he must boost UK forces 26 Jun 2005 Britain is coming under sustained pressure from American military chiefs to keep thousands of troops in Iraq - while going ahead with plans to boost the front line against a return to "civil war" in Afghanistan.
US Demands Japan Extend Tour of Its Troops In Iraq 26 Jun 2005 According to the Asahi Simbun newspaper, the US State Department, at the beginning of June, has demanded the Japanese Foreign Ministry extend the working period of the Japanese soldiers in Iraq whose period will be completed by the end of the month.
Bombing Attacks on Iraqi Forces Kill 38 in North --Four suicide bomb attacks struck Iraqi police and an army base in a 16-hour wave of violence in the northern city of Mosul on Saturday and Sunday, killing 38 people and wounding scores more.
Gunmen kill police colonel in Baghdad --Gunmen shot dead a high-ranking police officer in eastern Baghdad on Sunday, police said.
VIPs in Iraq get safer vehicles than soldiers 26 Jun 2005 When Defense Secretary [war criminal] Donald Rumsfeld visited Iraq last year to tour the Abu Ghraib prison camp, U.S. military officials did not rely on a government-issued Humvee to transport him safely on the ground. They turned to Halliburton, which lent them a rolling fortress of steel called the Rhino Runner.
U.S. Plans Expansion of Crowded Iraq Prisons 26 Jun 2005 Faced with a ballooning prison population, U.S. commanders in Iraq are building new detention facilities at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison and Camp Bucca near the Kuwaiti border and are developing a third major prison, in northern Iraq. [Cui bono? See: Halliburton to build new $30 mln Guantanamo prison 16 Jun 2005 A Halliburton Co. unit will build a new $30 million detention facility and security fence at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the United States is holding about 520 foreign terrorism suspects, the Defense Department announced on Thursday. The announcement comes the same week that Vice pResident [and Halliburton whore] Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended the torture facility after U.S. lawmakers said it had created an image problem for the United States.]
Rumsfeld Nixes Independent Panel on Guantanamo 26 Jun 2005 A new independent investigation of abuse allegations at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, "doesn't make sense," Defense Secretary [war criminal] Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday.
Center for Torture Victims speaks out against alleged torture by U.S. 26 Jun 2005 The Center for Victims of Torture is alarmed by reports that the United States may be among the nations using torture during interrogations, or may be sending prisoners to other countries for the purpose of torture... In letters to President [sic] Bush and to Minnesota's Congressional delegation, the center urges that evidence of U-S torture be the subject of an independent investigation along the lines of the Nine-Eleven Commission.
Scores of Muslim Men Jailed Without Charge 27 Jun 2005 Operating behind a wall of secrecy, the U.S. Department of Justice thrust scores of Muslim men living in the United States into a Kafkaesque world of indefinite detention without charge and baseless accusations of terrorist links, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a report released today.
UK government under fire over aid to Uzbekistan 27 Jun 2005 Ministers have come under fire for increasing financial aid payments to Uzbekistan despite the massacre of pro-democracy protesters by government forces in the Central Asian republic last month.
UK helped train massacre army 20 Jun 2005 British soldiers helped to train the army of Uzbekistan, which last month slaughtered hundreds of pro-democracy protesters, The Scotsman can reveal. Last year, about 150 British Army veterans of the Iraq war travelled to Uzbekistan to train with the army responsible for the killings. According to one independent witness, the British soldiers "shared tactics" with the Uzbeks.
British military hardware 'was used in Uzbek massacre' 26 May 2005 British military equipment was used in the massacre of hundreds of protesters in Uzbekistan, it was claimed today.
U.S. bars Spanish bid to question a Qaeda suspect 25 Jun 2005 The Bush regime has refused to allow the Spanish authorities to interview a man accused of being an a Qaeda operative whose testimony could be crucial to the prosecution of two men on trial here charged with helping to plan the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Spanish officials say. http://www.legitgov.org/9_1_1_oddities.html
U.S. plans radioactive project 27 Jun 2005 The Bush regime is planning the government's first production of plutonium 238 - a highly radioactive substance valued as a power source - since the Cold War, stirring debate over the risks and benefits of the deadly material... The program could cost $1.5 billion and generate more than 50,000 drums of hazardous and radioactive waste.
Military Might Draft XM Satellite Radio 26 Jun 2005 Customers of XM Satellite Radio Inc. aren't the only ones who appreciate its digital quality and nationwide coverage. The U.S. military might draft XM's service for homeland security purposes.
Newspaper: Calif. National Guard sets up state intelligence unit 26 Jun 2005 California's National Guard has set up a special intelligence unit intended to help local law enforcement deal with terrorist threats and integrate statewide investigations with international anti-terrorism initiatives, according to a newspaper report.
Crime-busting cameras: a US-city experiment --In conjunction with the US Department of Homeland Security, Chelsea, Mass., plans to install 27 hidden surveillance cameras, which will record 24 hours a day in various parts of town... Perhaps the most controversial area of monitoring is the proposed inclusion of private-sector cameras.
Chicago pairing surveillance cameras with gunshot recognition systems 26 Jun 2005 Chicago officials are using new technology that recognizes the sound of a gunshot within a two-block radius, pinpoints the source, turns a surveillance camera toward the shooter and places a 911 call. Officials can then track the shooter and dispatch officers to the scene.
Feds check passports against terror list 23 Jun 2005 The federal government plans to begin checking the name of everyone who applies for a U.S. passport against a list of suspected terrorists and their associates [?!?] , according to the State Department.
Ministers plan to sell your ID card details to raise cash 26 Jun 2005 Personal details of all 44 million adults living in Britain could be sold to private companies as part of government attempts to arrest spiralling costs for the new national identity card scheme, set to get the go-ahead this week. The Independent on Sunday can today reveal that ministers have opened talks with private firms to pass on personal details of UK citizens for an initial cost of £750 each.
Big brother is coming... ...and sooner than you think. Identity cards will become reality within three years as MPs vote to begin the process on Tuesday. But why? What will ID cards mean for ordinary citizens? Will they be weapons against terrorism, or sinister tools of the state? Andy McSmith, Political Editor, looks into the (near) future 26 Jun 2005 "On Tuesday, the government whips in the House of Commons will round up Labour MPs to restart the legislative process for introducing ID cards, against the combined opposition of the Tories, Liberal Democrats, some of the smaller parties and at least a dozen Labour rebels."
New Israeli system IDs terrorists without profiling 24 Jun 2005 An Israeli company has developed a system [SDS-VR-1000] to identify past and potential terrorists. The company said the system uses polygraph-like tools to identify insurgents — even when they do not have weapons — within three minutes. Executives said Israeli authorities have approved the system and would undergo testing later in 2005 in Israel at an unidentified U.S. airport.
Concerns arise over Bush's pick for EPA job --Lawyer works for firm that represents W.R. Grace, others 26 Jun 2005 Dictator Bush has nominated Granta Nakayama, a partner in a law firm whose clients include W.R. Grace, BP, Dow Chemical and DuPont, to lead the Environmental 'Protection' Agency's far-flung enforcement division.
Records show Democrats rejected for jobs --Lists Mention Donations, Bumper Stickers --Gov. [R-KY] Ernie Fletcher's administration investigated some applicants for merit jobs to determine their political loyalty, then acted against Democrats, according to internal records filed in court Friday. In one case, an applicant had Democratic bumper stickers, which was noted next to his name on a list of job seekers.
Geologists to look again for oil in Appalachian foothills 27 Jun 2005 A consortium of the U.S. Department of Energy, several states, 17 energy companies and an industry group plans an exhaustive study in search of new oil reserves beneath the Appalachian foothills.
Government Delayed Mad Cow Test Results for Months 27 Jun 2005 Although the Agribusiness ['Agriculture'] Department confirmed Friday that a cow that died last year was infected with mad cow disease, a test the agency conducted seven months ago indicated that the animal had the disease. The result was never publicly disclosed.
Bird Flu Outbreak in Japan 27 Jun 2005 Bird flu has been detected in chickens at a farm in north-eastern Japan, and restrictions have been imposed on shipments of poultry and eggs from the area, the government said yesterday. http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.html
Bird flu virus detected in Japan 27 Jun 2005 The H5N2-type avian influenza virus has been detected in chickens at a poultry farm in Mitsukaido, east Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture. http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.html
[26 June lead stories:] Report: U.S. secretly met with resistance --U.S. officials held secret talks in Iraq with the commanders of several Iraqi resistance groups recently in an attempt to open a dialogue with them, a British newspaper reported Sunday. The commanders "apparently came face to face" with four American officials during meetings on June 3 and June 13 at a summer villa near Balad, about 25 miles north of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, according to The Sunday Times.
US 'in talks with Iraq with Iraq rebels' --Resistance fighters reveal secret face-to-face meetings 26 Jun 2005 ...After weeks of delicate negotiation involving a former Iraqi minister and senior tribal leaders, a small group of resistance commanders apparently came face to face with four American officials seeking to establish a dialogue with the men they regard as their enemies.
General admits to secret air war 26 Jun 2005 The American general who commanded allied air forces during the Iraq war appears to have admitted in a briefing to American and British officers that coalition aircraft waged a secret air war against Iraq from the middle of 2002, nine months before the invasion began.
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CLG Newsletter editor: Lori Price, General Manager. Copyright © 2005, Citizens For Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved. CLG Founder and Chair is Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D.
I really don't need to say more.
http://www.legitgov.org/
All links to articles as summarized below are available here:
http://www.legitgov.org/index.html#breaking_news
Please contribute for June expenses!! Thank you. http://www.legitgov.org/#contribute
Political Education updated 26 June 2005 http://www.legitgov.org/political_education.html
Trillion Dollar War --Cheaper 'to pay Saddam to quit Iraq' 27 Jun 2005 Iraq and its aftermath will cost $1trillion - a million million dollars - it was claimed last night. The huge sum, equivalent to £548,000,000,000, was revealed as the US held secret meetings with rebels to end the fighting.
Iraq: The carve-up begins --As the costs of the Iraq occupation spiral, British and American oil companies meet in secret next week to carve up the country's oil reserves for themselves. --by Tom Burgis 23 Jun 2005 "The Iraq war has so far cost America and Britain £105billion. But the financial clawback is gathering pace as British and American oil giants work out how to get their hands on the estimated £3trillion worth of oil. Executives from BP, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Halliburton, Dick Cheney's old [and current] firm, are expected to congregate at the Paddington Hilton for a two-day chinwag with top-level officials from Iraq's oil ministry."
Holy convenience, Batman!! Unrest 'could double' oil price 27 Jun 2005 A warning of a possible near doubling in the cost of oil was issued yesterday as UK prices rose to more than £4 a gallon and the AA Motoring Trust said the price of diesel was approaching £5 a gallon.
Rumsfeld admits Iraqi resistance could last years; more violence likely 26 Jun 2005 Defense Secretary [war criminal] Donald Rumsfeld said Sunday he is bracing for even more violence in Iraq and acknowledged that the insurgency "could go on for any number of years."
Bush warns Blair he must boost UK forces 26 Jun 2005 Britain is coming under sustained pressure from American military chiefs to keep thousands of troops in Iraq - while going ahead with plans to boost the front line against a return to "civil war" in Afghanistan.
US Demands Japan Extend Tour of Its Troops In Iraq 26 Jun 2005 According to the Asahi Simbun newspaper, the US State Department, at the beginning of June, has demanded the Japanese Foreign Ministry extend the working period of the Japanese soldiers in Iraq whose period will be completed by the end of the month.
Bombing Attacks on Iraqi Forces Kill 38 in North --Four suicide bomb attacks struck Iraqi police and an army base in a 16-hour wave of violence in the northern city of Mosul on Saturday and Sunday, killing 38 people and wounding scores more.
Gunmen kill police colonel in Baghdad --Gunmen shot dead a high-ranking police officer in eastern Baghdad on Sunday, police said.
VIPs in Iraq get safer vehicles than soldiers 26 Jun 2005 When Defense Secretary [war criminal] Donald Rumsfeld visited Iraq last year to tour the Abu Ghraib prison camp, U.S. military officials did not rely on a government-issued Humvee to transport him safely on the ground. They turned to Halliburton, which lent them a rolling fortress of steel called the Rhino Runner.
U.S. Plans Expansion of Crowded Iraq Prisons 26 Jun 2005 Faced with a ballooning prison population, U.S. commanders in Iraq are building new detention facilities at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison and Camp Bucca near the Kuwaiti border and are developing a third major prison, in northern Iraq. [Cui bono? See: Halliburton to build new $30 mln Guantanamo prison 16 Jun 2005 A Halliburton Co. unit will build a new $30 million detention facility and security fence at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the United States is holding about 520 foreign terrorism suspects, the Defense Department announced on Thursday. The announcement comes the same week that Vice pResident [and Halliburton whore] Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defended the torture facility after U.S. lawmakers said it had created an image problem for the United States.]
Rumsfeld Nixes Independent Panel on Guantanamo 26 Jun 2005 A new independent investigation of abuse allegations at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, "doesn't make sense," Defense Secretary [war criminal] Donald H. Rumsfeld said Sunday.
Center for Torture Victims speaks out against alleged torture by U.S. 26 Jun 2005 The Center for Victims of Torture is alarmed by reports that the United States may be among the nations using torture during interrogations, or may be sending prisoners to other countries for the purpose of torture... In letters to President [sic] Bush and to Minnesota's Congressional delegation, the center urges that evidence of U-S torture be the subject of an independent investigation along the lines of the Nine-Eleven Commission.
Scores of Muslim Men Jailed Without Charge 27 Jun 2005 Operating behind a wall of secrecy, the U.S. Department of Justice thrust scores of Muslim men living in the United States into a Kafkaesque world of indefinite detention without charge and baseless accusations of terrorist links, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a report released today.
UK government under fire over aid to Uzbekistan 27 Jun 2005 Ministers have come under fire for increasing financial aid payments to Uzbekistan despite the massacre of pro-democracy protesters by government forces in the Central Asian republic last month.
UK helped train massacre army 20 Jun 2005 British soldiers helped to train the army of Uzbekistan, which last month slaughtered hundreds of pro-democracy protesters, The Scotsman can reveal. Last year, about 150 British Army veterans of the Iraq war travelled to Uzbekistan to train with the army responsible for the killings. According to one independent witness, the British soldiers "shared tactics" with the Uzbeks.
British military hardware 'was used in Uzbek massacre' 26 May 2005 British military equipment was used in the massacre of hundreds of protesters in Uzbekistan, it was claimed today.
U.S. bars Spanish bid to question a Qaeda suspect 25 Jun 2005 The Bush regime has refused to allow the Spanish authorities to interview a man accused of being an a Qaeda operative whose testimony could be crucial to the prosecution of two men on trial here charged with helping to plan the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Spanish officials say. http://www.legitgov.org/9_1_1_oddities.html
U.S. plans radioactive project 27 Jun 2005 The Bush regime is planning the government's first production of plutonium 238 - a highly radioactive substance valued as a power source - since the Cold War, stirring debate over the risks and benefits of the deadly material... The program could cost $1.5 billion and generate more than 50,000 drums of hazardous and radioactive waste.
Military Might Draft XM Satellite Radio 26 Jun 2005 Customers of XM Satellite Radio Inc. aren't the only ones who appreciate its digital quality and nationwide coverage. The U.S. military might draft XM's service for homeland security purposes.
Newspaper: Calif. National Guard sets up state intelligence unit 26 Jun 2005 California's National Guard has set up a special intelligence unit intended to help local law enforcement deal with terrorist threats and integrate statewide investigations with international anti-terrorism initiatives, according to a newspaper report.
Crime-busting cameras: a US-city experiment --In conjunction with the US Department of Homeland Security, Chelsea, Mass., plans to install 27 hidden surveillance cameras, which will record 24 hours a day in various parts of town... Perhaps the most controversial area of monitoring is the proposed inclusion of private-sector cameras.
Chicago pairing surveillance cameras with gunshot recognition systems 26 Jun 2005 Chicago officials are using new technology that recognizes the sound of a gunshot within a two-block radius, pinpoints the source, turns a surveillance camera toward the shooter and places a 911 call. Officials can then track the shooter and dispatch officers to the scene.
Feds check passports against terror list 23 Jun 2005 The federal government plans to begin checking the name of everyone who applies for a U.S. passport against a list of suspected terrorists and their associates [?!?] , according to the State Department.
Ministers plan to sell your ID card details to raise cash 26 Jun 2005 Personal details of all 44 million adults living in Britain could be sold to private companies as part of government attempts to arrest spiralling costs for the new national identity card scheme, set to get the go-ahead this week. The Independent on Sunday can today reveal that ministers have opened talks with private firms to pass on personal details of UK citizens for an initial cost of £750 each.
Big brother is coming... ...and sooner than you think. Identity cards will become reality within three years as MPs vote to begin the process on Tuesday. But why? What will ID cards mean for ordinary citizens? Will they be weapons against terrorism, or sinister tools of the state? Andy McSmith, Political Editor, looks into the (near) future 26 Jun 2005 "On Tuesday, the government whips in the House of Commons will round up Labour MPs to restart the legislative process for introducing ID cards, against the combined opposition of the Tories, Liberal Democrats, some of the smaller parties and at least a dozen Labour rebels."
New Israeli system IDs terrorists without profiling 24 Jun 2005 An Israeli company has developed a system [SDS-VR-1000] to identify past and potential terrorists. The company said the system uses polygraph-like tools to identify insurgents — even when they do not have weapons — within three minutes. Executives said Israeli authorities have approved the system and would undergo testing later in 2005 in Israel at an unidentified U.S. airport.
Concerns arise over Bush's pick for EPA job --Lawyer works for firm that represents W.R. Grace, others 26 Jun 2005 Dictator Bush has nominated Granta Nakayama, a partner in a law firm whose clients include W.R. Grace, BP, Dow Chemical and DuPont, to lead the Environmental 'Protection' Agency's far-flung enforcement division.
Records show Democrats rejected for jobs --Lists Mention Donations, Bumper Stickers --Gov. [R-KY] Ernie Fletcher's administration investigated some applicants for merit jobs to determine their political loyalty, then acted against Democrats, according to internal records filed in court Friday. In one case, an applicant had Democratic bumper stickers, which was noted next to his name on a list of job seekers.
Geologists to look again for oil in Appalachian foothills 27 Jun 2005 A consortium of the U.S. Department of Energy, several states, 17 energy companies and an industry group plans an exhaustive study in search of new oil reserves beneath the Appalachian foothills.
Government Delayed Mad Cow Test Results for Months 27 Jun 2005 Although the Agribusiness ['Agriculture'] Department confirmed Friday that a cow that died last year was infected with mad cow disease, a test the agency conducted seven months ago indicated that the animal had the disease. The result was never publicly disclosed.
Bird Flu Outbreak in Japan 27 Jun 2005 Bird flu has been detected in chickens at a farm in north-eastern Japan, and restrictions have been imposed on shipments of poultry and eggs from the area, the government said yesterday. http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.html
Bird flu virus detected in Japan 27 Jun 2005 The H5N2-type avian influenza virus has been detected in chickens at a poultry farm in Mitsukaido, east Japan's Ibaraki Prefecture. http://www.legitgov.org/flu_oddities.html
[26 June lead stories:] Report: U.S. secretly met with resistance --U.S. officials held secret talks in Iraq with the commanders of several Iraqi resistance groups recently in an attempt to open a dialogue with them, a British newspaper reported Sunday. The commanders "apparently came face to face" with four American officials during meetings on June 3 and June 13 at a summer villa near Balad, about 25 miles north of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, according to The Sunday Times.
US 'in talks with Iraq with Iraq rebels' --Resistance fighters reveal secret face-to-face meetings 26 Jun 2005 ...After weeks of delicate negotiation involving a former Iraqi minister and senior tribal leaders, a small group of resistance commanders apparently came face to face with four American officials seeking to establish a dialogue with the men they regard as their enemies.
General admits to secret air war 26 Jun 2005 The American general who commanded allied air forces during the Iraq war appears to have admitted in a briefing to American and British officers that coalition aircraft waged a secret air war against Iraq from the middle of 2002, nine months before the invasion began.
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CLG Newsletter editor: Lori Price, General Manager. Copyright © 2005, Citizens For Legitimate Government ® All rights reserved. CLG Founder and Chair is Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D.
I really don't need to say more.
Rumsfeld: US not losing Iraq war
Rumsfeld defended the administration's policies in IraqDonald Rumsfeld has said the US is not losing the Iraq war and it would be a mistake to set a timetable for American troops to leave the country.
To set a deadline would "send a lifeline to terrorists", he told House and Senate committees.
But the US top Gulf commander General John Abizaid told the same Senate committee more foreign fighters were coming into Iraq than six months ago.
The hearings come amid waning public support in the US for the war.
'Damascus focus'
A series of bombings in Iraq late on Wednesday and early on Thursday killed at least 30 people in Baghdad, while a recent opinion poll showed that 51% of Americans now think the invasion two years ago was a mistake.
I would say there is a clear node inside Syria which facilitates [the entering of insurgents]"
General Abizaid, Gulf commander
"I believe there are more foreign fighters coming into Iraq than there were six months ago," Gen Abizaid told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
He said suicide bombers from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco were entering Iraq via Syria, joining others from Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
"I would say there is a clear node inside Syria which facilitates it. Whether or not the Syrian government is facilitating it or ignoring it is probably a debatable question, but the key node is Damascus," he said.
Democrat Senator Carl Levin has suggested that the view is at odds with Vice-President Cheney's view that the insurgency was in its last throes.
Need for patience
A small bipartisan group in Congress has proposed a resolution calling on President George W Bush to start bringing home US troops from Iraq by 1 October 2006.
But Mr Rumsfeld said that timing in war was not predictable and there were no guarantees.
"And any who say that we've lost this war, or that we're losing this war are wrong. We are not," he told senators.
Setting a date for withdrawal would "send a lifeline to terrorists", he said.
Insurgents "have suffered significant losses in casualties, been denied havens, and suffered weakened popular support" in recent months, he added.
Leaving before the task is complete would be catastrophic
Gen Richard MyersChairman of Joint Chiefs of StaffThere was still a way to go, he said, but progress was being made.
"Success will not be easy and it will require patience... But consider what has been accomplished in 12 months," he said, mentioning the elections in January, economic improvements, and improvements in Iraq's security force.
Democrat Senator Edward Kennedy said that Mr Rumsfeld's predictions had been wrong in the past and repeated calls for him to resign.
But Mr Rumsfeld was backed by Gen Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who told the panel that "leaving before the task is complete would be catastrophic".
The US has 135,000 troops in Iraq. The Pentagon says it has trained and equipped some 168,500 Iraqi police and military personnel.
However, the continuing violence had led some US commanders to scale back optimistic predictions that US troop numbers could be reduced any time soon, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent, Jonathan Marcus.
And while Iraq's new security forces are growing in number, their effectiveness remains very much in doubt, our correspondent adds.
In both the Meet the Press and Fox News Sunday for 6/26/05 He was still wearing the rose colored glasses.
"It's not going bad" he says. All the voting and getting the constitution set in place. Things are good, all that the news is showing is the bad things.
I wonder how he can say that when more Republicans are now speaking out against the war. Senator Lindsey Graham is only one of them.
I want to know if things are so good then why did 17,035 of our people die so far. Yeah they are military, it's accepted even expected that some will die in a war. This isn't a war we should be in though.
Rummy thinks that the progress is impressive. Rummy says that the insurgents are from other countries, like Jordan. They may well be, but how and why aren't you keeping them out so that the people of Iraq can get their stuff together and make their country a better place to live.
The people of Iraq don't have adiquite plumbing, electrical, and many other things. Why aren't we doing things about that? Why aren't we making sure the basic needs are being met? That will help us get the country to stability quicker then the fighting.
Rummy thinks that when the next elections come around there will be a spike in the fighting. I think so too. That is one thing we agree on.
He says the national troups are getting better and more are being trained, but we don't have enough yet to let them stand on their own. Again I have to agree, but we wouldn't have to be doing what we are if we hadn't gone in there in the first place.
He was talking about how the forces were set up ie... border patrol, police, military etc...
and he doesn't think that we will need a draft. We have lots of troups that all we need is to re-shuffle them around. Take some off of civilian duty on the military bases and put civilians in. Things of that nature also take some from other bases and put them into Iraq.
Rummy is against an independant commission for the problems at Gitmo, but of course he would be. He says that the ones who have done things in the wrong way have faced the boards and gotten their discipline.
The moderator on Fox News Sunday asked him a question and even said this is a point blank question and I want a point blank answer. Yet when it came to the question he still danced around and played with words. The question?
"Is the insurgency in it's last throws? Straight answer. Is it?"
"Well politically we are gaining, militarily it goes up and down."
A couple of of stats:
Attacks for
Jan/Feb 57
March/April 53
May 70
And the stats for June aren't in yet of course.
A Viet Nam Vet. who's son is now in Iraq asked a question of him(in writing) wondering about the number of troups on the ground saying we didn't have enough then and we don't have enough now. He thinks its another Nam situation.
Rummy disagreed about that, but I have been saying before this started that if we get over there it will be another Nam.
I love our troups, I am a Nam Era Vet, but I do not, can not stand with the way this country went into a country the way it did in the first place.
Rummy you are dancing around so many things, so much that I think you are full of shit!
To set a deadline would "send a lifeline to terrorists", he told House and Senate committees.
But the US top Gulf commander General John Abizaid told the same Senate committee more foreign fighters were coming into Iraq than six months ago.
The hearings come amid waning public support in the US for the war.
'Damascus focus'
A series of bombings in Iraq late on Wednesday and early on Thursday killed at least 30 people in Baghdad, while a recent opinion poll showed that 51% of Americans now think the invasion two years ago was a mistake.
I would say there is a clear node inside Syria which facilitates [the entering of insurgents]"
General Abizaid, Gulf commander
"I believe there are more foreign fighters coming into Iraq than there were six months ago," Gen Abizaid told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
He said suicide bombers from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco were entering Iraq via Syria, joining others from Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
"I would say there is a clear node inside Syria which facilitates it. Whether or not the Syrian government is facilitating it or ignoring it is probably a debatable question, but the key node is Damascus," he said.
Democrat Senator Carl Levin has suggested that the view is at odds with Vice-President Cheney's view that the insurgency was in its last throes.
Need for patience
A small bipartisan group in Congress has proposed a resolution calling on President George W Bush to start bringing home US troops from Iraq by 1 October 2006.
But Mr Rumsfeld said that timing in war was not predictable and there were no guarantees.
"And any who say that we've lost this war, or that we're losing this war are wrong. We are not," he told senators.
Setting a date for withdrawal would "send a lifeline to terrorists", he said.
Insurgents "have suffered significant losses in casualties, been denied havens, and suffered weakened popular support" in recent months, he added.
Leaving before the task is complete would be catastrophic
Gen Richard MyersChairman of Joint Chiefs of StaffThere was still a way to go, he said, but progress was being made.
"Success will not be easy and it will require patience... But consider what has been accomplished in 12 months," he said, mentioning the elections in January, economic improvements, and improvements in Iraq's security force.
Democrat Senator Edward Kennedy said that Mr Rumsfeld's predictions had been wrong in the past and repeated calls for him to resign.
But Mr Rumsfeld was backed by Gen Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who told the panel that "leaving before the task is complete would be catastrophic".
The US has 135,000 troops in Iraq. The Pentagon says it has trained and equipped some 168,500 Iraqi police and military personnel.
However, the continuing violence had led some US commanders to scale back optimistic predictions that US troop numbers could be reduced any time soon, says the BBC's diplomatic correspondent, Jonathan Marcus.
And while Iraq's new security forces are growing in number, their effectiveness remains very much in doubt, our correspondent adds.
In both the Meet the Press and Fox News Sunday for 6/26/05 He was still wearing the rose colored glasses.
"It's not going bad" he says. All the voting and getting the constitution set in place. Things are good, all that the news is showing is the bad things.
I wonder how he can say that when more Republicans are now speaking out against the war. Senator Lindsey Graham is only one of them.
I want to know if things are so good then why did 17,035 of our people die so far. Yeah they are military, it's accepted even expected that some will die in a war. This isn't a war we should be in though.
Rummy thinks that the progress is impressive. Rummy says that the insurgents are from other countries, like Jordan. They may well be, but how and why aren't you keeping them out so that the people of Iraq can get their stuff together and make their country a better place to live.
The people of Iraq don't have adiquite plumbing, electrical, and many other things. Why aren't we doing things about that? Why aren't we making sure the basic needs are being met? That will help us get the country to stability quicker then the fighting.
Rummy thinks that when the next elections come around there will be a spike in the fighting. I think so too. That is one thing we agree on.
He says the national troups are getting better and more are being trained, but we don't have enough yet to let them stand on their own. Again I have to agree, but we wouldn't have to be doing what we are if we hadn't gone in there in the first place.
He was talking about how the forces were set up ie... border patrol, police, military etc...
and he doesn't think that we will need a draft. We have lots of troups that all we need is to re-shuffle them around. Take some off of civilian duty on the military bases and put civilians in. Things of that nature also take some from other bases and put them into Iraq.
Rummy is against an independant commission for the problems at Gitmo, but of course he would be. He says that the ones who have done things in the wrong way have faced the boards and gotten their discipline.
The moderator on Fox News Sunday asked him a question and even said this is a point blank question and I want a point blank answer. Yet when it came to the question he still danced around and played with words. The question?
"Is the insurgency in it's last throws? Straight answer. Is it?"
"Well politically we are gaining, militarily it goes up and down."
A couple of of stats:
Attacks for
Jan/Feb 57
March/April 53
May 70
And the stats for June aren't in yet of course.
A Viet Nam Vet. who's son is now in Iraq asked a question of him(in writing) wondering about the number of troups on the ground saying we didn't have enough then and we don't have enough now. He thinks its another Nam situation.
Rummy disagreed about that, but I have been saying before this started that if we get over there it will be another Nam.
I love our troups, I am a Nam Era Vet, but I do not, can not stand with the way this country went into a country the way it did in the first place.
Rummy you are dancing around so many things, so much that I think you are full of shit!
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Homosexual youths miss out on advice about selves
Letter to the editor
June 21, 2005
In his June 7 letter, James Urda says that heterosexual relationships last longer than gay ones. But he neglects the circularity in his argument: from the earliest age at which a person recognizes their homosexuality, they receive little or no guidance - no sex education and few role models.
Whereas young heterosexual teenagers are told about safe sex methods or to abstain until marriage, homosexual teens are largely ignored.They are not told to abstain until marriage because marriage is not a viable option for them. They are not told to practice safe sex because sex education programs typically target heterosexual teenagers. They don't learn the value of long-term relationships because society marginalizes their love by denying it equivalent status of its heterosexual counterpart.
Stable homosexual couples are often reticent to be more outgoing in their communities for fear of hatred and bias. Homosexual teens cannot look to them for guidance, and this only perpetuates the problem. Because gay marriage is denied and educational programs don't address homosexual issues, gays grow up uninformed about long-term relationships and safe sex practices.
Aside from doubting the veracity and intentions of Timothy J. Dailey and his study, the study's findings are based on the most tenuous of grounds: a circular, self-fulfilling argument. Furthermore, Dailey works for the Family Research Council, an anti-gay conservative interest group. Most of his work consists of studies that attempt to marginalize and trivialize gays and their relationships. His research cannot be considered objective.
And this being the "experts" that so many of the religious/religious right listen to; no wonder there are so many problems in this part of society. I have met and seen plenty of long term relationships in the GLBT community. Time to get rid off the fake EXPERTS !
June 21, 2005
In his June 7 letter, James Urda says that heterosexual relationships last longer than gay ones. But he neglects the circularity in his argument: from the earliest age at which a person recognizes their homosexuality, they receive little or no guidance - no sex education and few role models.
Whereas young heterosexual teenagers are told about safe sex methods or to abstain until marriage, homosexual teens are largely ignored.They are not told to abstain until marriage because marriage is not a viable option for them. They are not told to practice safe sex because sex education programs typically target heterosexual teenagers. They don't learn the value of long-term relationships because society marginalizes their love by denying it equivalent status of its heterosexual counterpart.
Stable homosexual couples are often reticent to be more outgoing in their communities for fear of hatred and bias. Homosexual teens cannot look to them for guidance, and this only perpetuates the problem. Because gay marriage is denied and educational programs don't address homosexual issues, gays grow up uninformed about long-term relationships and safe sex practices.
Aside from doubting the veracity and intentions of Timothy J. Dailey and his study, the study's findings are based on the most tenuous of grounds: a circular, self-fulfilling argument. Furthermore, Dailey works for the Family Research Council, an anti-gay conservative interest group. Most of his work consists of studies that attempt to marginalize and trivialize gays and their relationships. His research cannot be considered objective.
And this being the "experts" that so many of the religious/religious right listen to; no wonder there are so many problems in this part of society. I have met and seen plenty of long term relationships in the GLBT community. Time to get rid off the fake EXPERTS !
Monday, June 20, 2005
Global Warming Vote - Is Congress Finally Feeling the Heat?
The U.S. Senate is set for a historic vote on the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act – the best tool we have in America to tackle the problem of global warming. You and over 450,000 people have signed the Emissions Petition, becoming citizen cosponsors of this historic bill.
With the impending vote, now is the time to spike our petition signatures, and you can help reach new citizen cosponsors.
Forward this cartoon email to friends. Ask them to help by signing the Emissions Petition to undo global warming:
www.environmentaldefense.org/go/petition
The cartoon was cute, but didn't make it here. Please take the time to sign this petition.
With the impending vote, now is the time to spike our petition signatures, and you can help reach new citizen cosponsors.
Forward this cartoon email to friends. Ask them to help by signing the Emissions Petition to undo global warming:
www.environmentaldefense.org/go/petition
The cartoon was cute, but didn't make it here. Please take the time to sign this petition.
Under Investigation-Corporation for Public Broadcasting Chairman Official Had Aide Send Data to White House
Official Had Aide Send Data to White House June 18, 2005
By STEPHEN LABATON
WASHINGTON, June 17 E-mail messages obtained by investigators at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting show that its chairman, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, extensively consulted a White House official shortly before she joined the corporation about creating an ombudsman's office to monitor the balance and objectivity of public television and radio programs.
Mr. Tomlinson said in an interview three months ago that he did not think he had instructed a subordinate to send material on the ombudsman project to Mary C. Andrews at her White House office in her final days as director of global communications, a political appointment.
But the e-mail messages show that a month before the interview, he directed Kathleen Cox, then president of the corporation, to send material to Ms. Andrews at her White House e-mail address. They show that Ms. Andrews worked on a variety of ombudsman issues before joining the corporation, while still on the White House payroll. And they show that the White House instructed the corporation on Ms. Andrews's job title in her new post.
A senior corporation executive who is concerned about its direction under Mr. Tomlinson provided copies of the e-mail messages to The New York Times. Fearing retribution, the executive insisted on anonymity as a condition for providing the copies.
The e-mail messages are part of the evidence being collected in a broad inquiry by the inspector general of the corporation into whether Mr. Tomlinson violated any rules that require that the corporation act as a buffer between politics and programming.
Investigators are examining the role played by the White House in the creation of the ombudsman's office at the corporation, an office Mr. Tomlinson said he advanced as part of a broader effort to ensure balance and objectivity in programming. Executives in public television and radio have said his actions threatened their editorial independence.
Under investigation are $14,170 in contracts signed by Mr. Tomlinson with an Indiana man who monitored the political leanings of the guests on "Now" when Bill Moyers was its host. And the investigators are looking at $15,000 in payments to two Republican lobbyists last year at the direction of Mr. Tomlinson and his Republican predecessor, who remains a board member.
Mr. Tomlinson declined to respond to questions about the investigation or anything else. "We decline comment during the inspector general's review and await their report clarifying these and all related circumstances," he said by e-mail on Friday. "We are confident that the report will conclude that all of these actions were taken in accordance with the relevant rules and regulations.
"In a little-noticed speech on the floor of the Senate this week, Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, said that in response to his request for the reports on the "Now" program, Mr. Tomlinson provided him with the raw data from reports.
Mr. Dorgan said that Senator Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, was classified in the data as a "liberal" for an appearance on a segment of a show that questioned the Bush Administration's policies in Iraq. Mr. Hagel is considered a mainstream conservative with a maverick streak and a willingness to criticize the White House.
Another segment about financial waste at the Pentagon was classified as "anti-Defense," Mr. Dorgan said. He criticized Mr. Tomlinson for spending taxpayer money for studies to examine programs "to see if something is being said that might be critical about a president or Congress.
On Friday, Mr. Dorgan and two Democratic colleagues, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey, sent Mr. Tomlinson a letter urging him to postpone his plans to urge the board to appoint Patricia Harrison, a former co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, to be the corporation's next president. Ms. Cox resigned in April after her contract was not renewed.
"Press reports have noted that you requested a review of the program 'Now With Bill Moyers,' made payments to Republican lobbyists, and did not disclose these actions to the board of the CPB," the letter said. "We are greatly troubled by these allegations, and if they prove true, we believe your conduct as chairman of the board has been highly inappropriate."
"Ms. Andrews's role in the creation of the ombudsman's office and other steps taken by Mr. Tomlinson over the last few months, which he says are meant to ensure balance and objectivity in programming, have prompted criticism by public television and radio executives. They say the corporation is threatening their editorial independence.
While Ms. Andrews was in her final days at her old job and had already accepted a job with the corporation, Mr. Tomlinson instructed its president, Ms. Cox, to send to Ms. Andrews's White House office "anything you have on ombudsmen" as well as the "bios" of the two candidates for the post, according to an e-mail message dated Thursday, March 17.
"She's promised to help me produce something by Tuesday," Mr. Tomlinson said of Ms. Andrews.
On March 22, Mr. Tomlinson sent Ms. Cox another piece of e-mail. "By the way MC did terrific job (in my opinion) on press release and talking points on ombudsmen," it said. "She will give you material at lunch and don't hesitate to suggest changes.
" In a third e-mail message the next day, March 23, Mr. Tomlinson told Ms. Cox that White House officials were insisting that Ms. Andrews's title would be "senior advisor to the president" when she began working at the corporation a few days later.
"Maybe you missed but when I phoned you," he wrote in a follow-up message, "I specifically mentioned the title issue and if I didn't mention the white house I was trying not to drop names. I promise you she will be worth her weight in gold to you.
"Ms. Andrews's first day on the corporation's payroll was March 25. In an interview in April, Mr. Tomlinson was asked if he had instructed anyone to send material to Ms. Andrews while at the White House.
"I don't think so," he replied. Asked also if Ms. Andrews had done any work on the ombudsmen project while she was at the White House, he said, "I don't think so."
"She was on her way to this job," he then added. "Whether there was a two- or three-day period that overlapped, I don't know."
Ms. Andrews has said that she was making a transition from the White House to the corporation when she worked on a minimal amount of material on the
ombudsman project, and that any work she did was out of her White House office and on her own time.
And this person is going to "work" where? Should she even be allowed to have this job?
By STEPHEN LABATON
WASHINGTON, June 17 E-mail messages obtained by investigators at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting show that its chairman, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, extensively consulted a White House official shortly before she joined the corporation about creating an ombudsman's office to monitor the balance and objectivity of public television and radio programs.
Mr. Tomlinson said in an interview three months ago that he did not think he had instructed a subordinate to send material on the ombudsman project to Mary C. Andrews at her White House office in her final days as director of global communications, a political appointment.
But the e-mail messages show that a month before the interview, he directed Kathleen Cox, then president of the corporation, to send material to Ms. Andrews at her White House e-mail address. They show that Ms. Andrews worked on a variety of ombudsman issues before joining the corporation, while still on the White House payroll. And they show that the White House instructed the corporation on Ms. Andrews's job title in her new post.
A senior corporation executive who is concerned about its direction under Mr. Tomlinson provided copies of the e-mail messages to The New York Times. Fearing retribution, the executive insisted on anonymity as a condition for providing the copies.
The e-mail messages are part of the evidence being collected in a broad inquiry by the inspector general of the corporation into whether Mr. Tomlinson violated any rules that require that the corporation act as a buffer between politics and programming.
Investigators are examining the role played by the White House in the creation of the ombudsman's office at the corporation, an office Mr. Tomlinson said he advanced as part of a broader effort to ensure balance and objectivity in programming. Executives in public television and radio have said his actions threatened their editorial independence.
Under investigation are $14,170 in contracts signed by Mr. Tomlinson with an Indiana man who monitored the political leanings of the guests on "Now" when Bill Moyers was its host. And the investigators are looking at $15,000 in payments to two Republican lobbyists last year at the direction of Mr. Tomlinson and his Republican predecessor, who remains a board member.
Mr. Tomlinson declined to respond to questions about the investigation or anything else. "We decline comment during the inspector general's review and await their report clarifying these and all related circumstances," he said by e-mail on Friday. "We are confident that the report will conclude that all of these actions were taken in accordance with the relevant rules and regulations.
"In a little-noticed speech on the floor of the Senate this week, Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, said that in response to his request for the reports on the "Now" program, Mr. Tomlinson provided him with the raw data from reports.
Mr. Dorgan said that Senator Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, was classified in the data as a "liberal" for an appearance on a segment of a show that questioned the Bush Administration's policies in Iraq. Mr. Hagel is considered a mainstream conservative with a maverick streak and a willingness to criticize the White House.
Another segment about financial waste at the Pentagon was classified as "anti-Defense," Mr. Dorgan said. He criticized Mr. Tomlinson for spending taxpayer money for studies to examine programs "to see if something is being said that might be critical about a president or Congress.
On Friday, Mr. Dorgan and two Democratic colleagues, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey, sent Mr. Tomlinson a letter urging him to postpone his plans to urge the board to appoint Patricia Harrison, a former co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, to be the corporation's next president. Ms. Cox resigned in April after her contract was not renewed.
"Press reports have noted that you requested a review of the program 'Now With Bill Moyers,' made payments to Republican lobbyists, and did not disclose these actions to the board of the CPB," the letter said. "We are greatly troubled by these allegations, and if they prove true, we believe your conduct as chairman of the board has been highly inappropriate."
"Ms. Andrews's role in the creation of the ombudsman's office and other steps taken by Mr. Tomlinson over the last few months, which he says are meant to ensure balance and objectivity in programming, have prompted criticism by public television and radio executives. They say the corporation is threatening their editorial independence.
While Ms. Andrews was in her final days at her old job and had already accepted a job with the corporation, Mr. Tomlinson instructed its president, Ms. Cox, to send to Ms. Andrews's White House office "anything you have on ombudsmen" as well as the "bios" of the two candidates for the post, according to an e-mail message dated Thursday, March 17.
"She's promised to help me produce something by Tuesday," Mr. Tomlinson said of Ms. Andrews.
On March 22, Mr. Tomlinson sent Ms. Cox another piece of e-mail. "By the way MC did terrific job (in my opinion) on press release and talking points on ombudsmen," it said. "She will give you material at lunch and don't hesitate to suggest changes.
" In a third e-mail message the next day, March 23, Mr. Tomlinson told Ms. Cox that White House officials were insisting that Ms. Andrews's title would be "senior advisor to the president" when she began working at the corporation a few days later.
"Maybe you missed but when I phoned you," he wrote in a follow-up message, "I specifically mentioned the title issue and if I didn't mention the white house I was trying not to drop names. I promise you she will be worth her weight in gold to you.
"Ms. Andrews's first day on the corporation's payroll was March 25. In an interview in April, Mr. Tomlinson was asked if he had instructed anyone to send material to Ms. Andrews while at the White House.
"I don't think so," he replied. Asked also if Ms. Andrews had done any work on the ombudsmen project while she was at the White House, he said, "I don't think so."
"She was on her way to this job," he then added. "Whether there was a two- or three-day period that overlapped, I don't know."
Ms. Andrews has said that she was making a transition from the White House to the corporation when she worked on a minimal amount of material on the
ombudsman project, and that any work she did was out of her White House office and on her own time.
And this person is going to "work" where? Should she even be allowed to have this job?
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Hate Crimes Against Gays Up
By Eyewitness News' Lucy Yang
(New York-WABC, June 19, 2005)
The number of anti-gay hate crimes in the city of New York has taken a significant jump. Authorities say it has risen 32 percent. It's an alarming statistic, especially with other types of hate crimes on the decline. Eyewitness News reporter Lucy Yang's in midtown Manhattan with the details.
Eyewitness News Video Add News Headlines to Your Web Page or Corporate Intranet
Today launches Gay Pride Week here in New York, but there is nothing to celebrate when it comes to their safety. Instead of the city becoming more tolerant, crime statistics show more gays are falling victim to bias attacks.
Police confirm hate crimes against gays are on the rise, up 32 percent this year over last year. This while bias crimes against other groups are either holding steady or actually declining.
Rally Participant: "I think at this time is ridiculous. If so much prejudice in city, and we need to reach out and love each other."
That is what 35-year-old Nelson Torres prayed for after a group of teens savagely beat him in March, a vicious anti-gay assault which left him shaking.
As for why such attacks are increasing, some believe the recent controversy over same-sex marriages may be a lightning rod.
One Democratic councilwoman is pointing her finger at politics.
Margarita Lopez, (D) New York City Councilmemeber: "The attack was brutal from the President, George Walker Bush, to every republican running for office, every initiative put forth.." Lucy Yang, Eyewitness News: "You blame this on Republicans?" Lopez: "I think it is connected."
Many believe more education is needed.
Rally Participant: "It really boils down to ignorance. I think people act out on fear. And they are not necessarily educated."
Many folks here told me that in a city this diverse, they do not walk in fear but they are very much aware of their surroundings.
Ok so this isn't New York, but if it can happen there it sure can happen here just as easily. In fact here in Kansas probably happens more often and more under reported. It's not as "vogue" to be open gay or lesbian here. Transgender? I know they are out there, but they are not seen. I would be told that I am in the wrong place because I am open about who I am, but no this is where I need to be at this time. I'm here, I'm Queer, Get used to it!!!
(New York-WABC, June 19, 2005)
The number of anti-gay hate crimes in the city of New York has taken a significant jump. Authorities say it has risen 32 percent. It's an alarming statistic, especially with other types of hate crimes on the decline. Eyewitness News reporter Lucy Yang's in midtown Manhattan with the details.
Eyewitness News Video Add News Headlines to Your Web Page or Corporate Intranet
Today launches Gay Pride Week here in New York, but there is nothing to celebrate when it comes to their safety. Instead of the city becoming more tolerant, crime statistics show more gays are falling victim to bias attacks.
Police confirm hate crimes against gays are on the rise, up 32 percent this year over last year. This while bias crimes against other groups are either holding steady or actually declining.
Rally Participant: "I think at this time is ridiculous. If so much prejudice in city, and we need to reach out and love each other."
That is what 35-year-old Nelson Torres prayed for after a group of teens savagely beat him in March, a vicious anti-gay assault which left him shaking.
As for why such attacks are increasing, some believe the recent controversy over same-sex marriages may be a lightning rod.
One Democratic councilwoman is pointing her finger at politics.
Margarita Lopez, (D) New York City Councilmemeber: "The attack was brutal from the President, George Walker Bush, to every republican running for office, every initiative put forth.." Lucy Yang, Eyewitness News: "You blame this on Republicans?" Lopez: "I think it is connected."
Many believe more education is needed.
Rally Participant: "It really boils down to ignorance. I think people act out on fear. And they are not necessarily educated."
Many folks here told me that in a city this diverse, they do not walk in fear but they are very much aware of their surroundings.
Ok so this isn't New York, but if it can happen there it sure can happen here just as easily. In fact here in Kansas probably happens more often and more under reported. It's not as "vogue" to be open gay or lesbian here. Transgender? I know they are out there, but they are not seen. I would be told that I am in the wrong place because I am open about who I am, but no this is where I need to be at this time. I'm here, I'm Queer, Get used to it!!!
The Stand and Prayers for the First Nations Sacred Places
THE MORNING STAR INSTITUTE
611 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 547-5531 / 546-6724-fax
JUNE 20 SET FOR NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER TO PROTECT SACRED PLACES
Washington, DC (6/10/03)—Leaders of a nationwide coalition have set June 20 as the National Day of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places. Observances will be held on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol and in several locations throughout the United States.
“Native and non-Native people across the country will greet the sun on June 20 with prayers, songs, talks and moments of silence dedicated to the health and well being of our sacred places,” said Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee), President of The Morning Star Institute.
The Morning Star Institute, a leading national organization in the protection of Native American cultural property rights and religious freedom, is coordinating the Day of Prayer events for the Sacred Places Protection Coalition. The national Coalition was formed to address the growing number of Native American holy places that are facing serious assaults.
Native Americans have been trying since the 1960s to gain protections for sacred lands and waters. While numerous Native American sacred places have been returned or otherwise protected by federal law, there is no specific cause of action that will allow Native Peoples to defend sacred places in court. The national Coalition has identified a cause of action to protect sacred places as a top legislative priority.
“We deserve the legal tools that are available to all non-Native Americans to protect their churches,” said Ms. Harjo. “Without these, many federal and state representatives do not take us seriously and are increasingly comfortable in making unilateral decisions that impede our religious freedom and damage or destroy our sacred places. We hope to change that.”Prayer Day on the U.S. Capitol Grounds
In Washington, D.C., the National Day of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places will be observed on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Grounds, starting at Sunrise and continuing until approximately 11:30 a.m. For more information, contact The Morning Star Institute at (202) 547-5531.
Gathering at the U.S. Capitol will be representatives of organizations that form the Sacred Places Protection Coalition. Among these are the Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA), the Indigenous Nations Network, the Medicine Wheel Coalition on Sacred Sites of North America, The Morning Star Institute, the National Congress of American Indians, the Native American Rights Fund and the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP).
Other tribal and organizational members of the Sacred Places Protection Coalition will be represented at Prayer Day activities in other parts of the country.
Representing the Medicine Wheel Coalition at the Capitol Grounds will be President Francis Brown, a Traditional Elder of the Northern Arapaho Tribe; Steve Brady, Sr., a Headsman of the Northern Cheyenne Crazy Dogs Society; and Vice President George Sutton, a Traditional Southern Cheyenne Chief.
The Medicine Wheel Coalition, represented by the AAIA, has intervened on the federal side of a case to defend the Historic Preservation Plan designed to protect the sacred Bighorn Medicine Wheel and Medicine Mountain in Wyoming.
Also joining the circle on the Capitol Grounds will be representatives from Capitol Hill, from the National Museum of the American Indian and from the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, the River Road Unitarian Church, the United Methodist Church Global Board for Church and Society and other churches and religious organizations in the Washington area.Observances Across the United States
Observances that are open to the general public will take place in various cities, including those listed below. Other observances and ceremonies will be conducted privately at various sacred places, including some of the most endangered ones.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, an observance will take place at the Morning Star House, 6001 Marble Avenue, NE. For details, contact Gwendolyn Dale Packard (Yankton Sioux), Director of the Morning Star House, at (505) 232-8299 or by e-mail (morningstarwomen@qwest.net).
In Boulder, Colorado, the Prayer Day will be observed at the headquarters of the Native American Rights Fund, 1506 Broadway. John Emhoolah, Kiowa & Arapaho Elder and member of the Native American Church, will begin the event with a Prayer Ceremony. Songs will be offered by Walter R. Echo-Hawk, Sr, (Pawnee), NARF Staff Attorney. For more information, contact Rose Brave Cuny (Oglala Lakota), NARF Office Manager, at (303) 447-8760.
In Green Bay, Wisconsin, there will be an observance of Prayer Day at the Native American Journalists Association Annual Convention at the Radisson Hotel. For additional information, contact Montoya A. Whiteman (Cheyenne), Development & Public Relations Administrator for the Native American Rights Fund, at (303) 447-8760. Native and non-Native journalists wishing to join the circle should contact Ms. Whiteman or should meet in the hotel lobby before Sunrise.
In Lawrence, Kansas, an observance will take place at Haskell-Baker Wetlands, starting at Sunrise and continuing until approximately 9:00 a.m., to call attention to the wetlands and ceremonial site and burial ground there that are being threatened by a highway development project. For additional information, contact Michael Caron (785-842-6293) and Dayna Carlton (785-865-2861), with Save the Wetlands.
Activities will take place at threatened sites along the Missouri River, including the Yankton Sioux Tribe’s annual Walking in Memory of the Ancestors. Runners from the White Swan/West direction will gather at the North Point/East White Swan Burial/Sacred Site and offer prayers for protection of the ancestors and all sacred places. Francis Bernie is the contact for the Camp for the Ancestors, Ihanktonwan Ocet, Defenders of All Sacred Things.
For additional information regarding the Yankton activities, contact Faith Spotted Eagle (Ihanktonwan Dakota/Nakota) of the Tribal White Swan/North Point Negotiating Team and The Braveheart Society, Yankton Sioux Tribe, Lake Andes, South Dakota, at (605) 840-2700 or by e-mail (eagletrax@hotmail.com); and Sharon Drapeau (605-487-7871 or 605-491-0233) and Kenny Honomichle (605-384-3621).
Observances at other sacred places on the Missouri River are being coordinated by Pemina Yellow Bird (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara), who is a Cultural Rights Specialist for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota. Ms. Yellow Bird can be reached at (701) 477-9412 or by e-mail (Pemina@hotmail.com).
In 2002, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) listed the Missouri River as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. For information about that listing and the Native American historic and sacred sites, contact Scott Jones (Lower Brule Sioux), Public Relations Director for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule, South Dakota, at (605) 730-0515 or by e-mail (socky@wcenet.com).
For further information about Missouri River sites – and about Bear Butte in South Dakota which is threatened by a gunnery range proposed for location within earshot of the holy mountain -- contact Jamie R. Ducheneaux (Cheyenne River Lakota), Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, at (605) 964-7554, (605) 964-7553 or by e-mail (crpreserv@sat.net).
In New York City, the American Indian Community House is sponsoring an observance at the Noon hour at the American Indian Community House, 708 Broadway. For more information, contact Rosemary Richmond (Mohawk), AICH Executive Director, at (212) 598-0100 or by e-mail (akwesasne@aol.com).
A morning gathering will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, at a location to be determined. For updated information, contact Cal Seciwa (Zuni), who is Director of the American Indian Institute at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, at (480) 965-8044 or by e-mail (Calbert.Seciwa@asu.edu). Also on June 20 in Phoenix, the Heard Museum will show the Sacred Lands Film Project’s In the Light of Reverence at 10:00 a.m.
In Sacramento, California, Indian people will gather at the south side of the State Capitol Building for a Sunrise Ceremony and morning address of words and wisdom on protecting American Indian sacred places and cultures in California from further threats and destruction. The gathering will begin at 5:15 a.m. and conclude at 11:30 a.m.
For information about the Prayer Day activities in Sacramento and about endangered sacred places in California, contact Mark LeBeau (916-929-9761 or mark.lebeau@mail.his.gov), Mickey Gemmill (530-242-4510) and Radley Davis (530-275-1650 or radleyad@aol.com) of the Pitt River Nation; and Phillip Hunter (Yokuts), Vice Chairperson of the Tule River Tribal Government (559-781-4271).
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Prayer Day Blessing and Offering will be at the Tulsa Creek Indian Community Field Arbor Community Garden Site, 8601 S. Union Ave. For additional information, contact TICAR49@MSN.COM and Hopayi@aol.com.
The Tulsa Indian Coalition Against Racism (TICAR) and the Redstick Vision Keepers have planned their observance to last for one hour after Sunrise and to include a Sacred Sites Fire Blessing and Offering and a Tobacco and Water Blessing for Sacred Mother Earth. Everyone is advised to bring a small container for water to take home. The Redstick Vision Keepers will remain to watch the fire until 8:00 a.m., so that others can offer their prayers.
The focus in Tulsa will be on sacred places nationwide, especially those that are sacred to the nearly 40 Indian nations in Oklahoma that were removed from their homelands to Indian Territory in the 1800s. One such place in the traditional homeland of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation is the Ocmulgee Old Fields in Georgia, a ceremonial and burial ground, which is threatened by a state highway project. The Ocmulgee Old Fields is listed on the NTHP’s 2003 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a traditional cultural property.Examples of Native American Sacred Places Under Attack
The following endangered sacred places were identified in San Diego, California, at a Nov. 8-9, 2002 gathering to protect sacred places and at the National Congress of American Indians Nov. 10-15, 2002 annual convention.
Among the endangered sacred places identified in California are the following:
Medicine Lake, a Pitt River Nation ceremonial and healing place in the Modoc National Forest in northeastern California, is threatened by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service decision to permit the state-funded Calpine Corporation to build a network of geothermal power plant facilities to produce electricity to export to Bonneville Power Administration for consumers in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Indian Pass, which was named on the 2002 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, is a sacred place in the California Desert area that is threatened by the BLM’s decision permitting Glamis Gold, Ltd., to undertake what the Quechan Indian Tribe calls a “massive, open-pit cyanide heap-leach gold mine on 1,600 acres.”
Coastal Chumash lands in the Gaviota Coastal region in southern California.
Yurok Nation’s salmon fisheries in the Klamath River affected by the Interior Department’s waterflow decreases.
Berry Creek, Moore Town and Enterprise Rancherias’ lands impacted by the California Water Project’s fluctuation zone at the Oroville Dam Reservoir.
the sacred Puvungna of the Tongva and Acjachemen Peoples.
the sacred Katuktu (Morro Hill) of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians.
The groups called for the protection and recovery of these identified sacred places in the Southwest:
in Arizona -- Apache holy land, Mount Graham, from the FS and the University of Arizona’s development of a massive telescope project; Hualapai Nation landforms in Truxton and Crozier Canyons from private extraction of boulders for decorative landscaping; Hopi and Navajo lands and the Navajo aquifer from slurry coal mining by Peabody Coal Company; the San Francisco Peaks from FS and private expansion of the Arizona Snow Bowl; and the Boboquivari Mountain of the Tohono O’Odham Nation.
in New Mexico -- the micaceous clay-gathering place of the Picuris Pueblo from mica mining by Oglebay Norton Specialty Minerals; and Zuni Salt Lake, also on the 2003 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, from coal strip mining by the Salt River Project.
in Texas -- Carrizo/Comecrudo lands flooded by Amistad Lake and Falcon Dam.
Other sacred places identified as under attack now, include the following:
Badlands, Black Hills, Medicine Wheel and Missouri River in the Plains.
Semiahmah Village burial ground and Snoqualmie Falls in Washington.
Pipestone National Monument and Cold Water Springs in Minnesota.
Hickory Ground ceremonial and burial ground in Alabama.
Ocmulgee National Monument and Ocmulgee Old Fields in Georgia.
Taino Caguana ceremonial site in Puerto Rico.
Yaqui Zona Indigena in Sonora, Mexico.
611 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20003
(202) 547-5531 / 546-6724-fax
JUNE 20 SET FOR NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER TO PROTECT SACRED PLACES
Washington, DC (6/10/03)—Leaders of a nationwide coalition have set June 20 as the National Day of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places. Observances will be held on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol and in several locations throughout the United States.
“Native and non-Native people across the country will greet the sun on June 20 with prayers, songs, talks and moments of silence dedicated to the health and well being of our sacred places,” said Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne & Hodulgee Muscogee), President of The Morning Star Institute.
The Morning Star Institute, a leading national organization in the protection of Native American cultural property rights and religious freedom, is coordinating the Day of Prayer events for the Sacred Places Protection Coalition. The national Coalition was formed to address the growing number of Native American holy places that are facing serious assaults.
Native Americans have been trying since the 1960s to gain protections for sacred lands and waters. While numerous Native American sacred places have been returned or otherwise protected by federal law, there is no specific cause of action that will allow Native Peoples to defend sacred places in court. The national Coalition has identified a cause of action to protect sacred places as a top legislative priority.
“We deserve the legal tools that are available to all non-Native Americans to protect their churches,” said Ms. Harjo. “Without these, many federal and state representatives do not take us seriously and are increasingly comfortable in making unilateral decisions that impede our religious freedom and damage or destroy our sacred places. We hope to change that.”Prayer Day on the U.S. Capitol Grounds
In Washington, D.C., the National Day of Prayer to Protect Native American Sacred Places will be observed on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Grounds, starting at Sunrise and continuing until approximately 11:30 a.m. For more information, contact The Morning Star Institute at (202) 547-5531.
Gathering at the U.S. Capitol will be representatives of organizations that form the Sacred Places Protection Coalition. Among these are the Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA), the Indigenous Nations Network, the Medicine Wheel Coalition on Sacred Sites of North America, The Morning Star Institute, the National Congress of American Indians, the Native American Rights Fund and the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP).
Other tribal and organizational members of the Sacred Places Protection Coalition will be represented at Prayer Day activities in other parts of the country.
Representing the Medicine Wheel Coalition at the Capitol Grounds will be President Francis Brown, a Traditional Elder of the Northern Arapaho Tribe; Steve Brady, Sr., a Headsman of the Northern Cheyenne Crazy Dogs Society; and Vice President George Sutton, a Traditional Southern Cheyenne Chief.
The Medicine Wheel Coalition, represented by the AAIA, has intervened on the federal side of a case to defend the Historic Preservation Plan designed to protect the sacred Bighorn Medicine Wheel and Medicine Mountain in Wyoming.
Also joining the circle on the Capitol Grounds will be representatives from Capitol Hill, from the National Museum of the American Indian and from the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, the River Road Unitarian Church, the United Methodist Church Global Board for Church and Society and other churches and religious organizations in the Washington area.Observances Across the United States
Observances that are open to the general public will take place in various cities, including those listed below. Other observances and ceremonies will be conducted privately at various sacred places, including some of the most endangered ones.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, an observance will take place at the Morning Star House, 6001 Marble Avenue, NE. For details, contact Gwendolyn Dale Packard (Yankton Sioux), Director of the Morning Star House, at (505) 232-8299 or by e-mail (morningstarwomen@qwest.net).
In Boulder, Colorado, the Prayer Day will be observed at the headquarters of the Native American Rights Fund, 1506 Broadway. John Emhoolah, Kiowa & Arapaho Elder and member of the Native American Church, will begin the event with a Prayer Ceremony. Songs will be offered by Walter R. Echo-Hawk, Sr, (Pawnee), NARF Staff Attorney. For more information, contact Rose Brave Cuny (Oglala Lakota), NARF Office Manager, at (303) 447-8760.
In Green Bay, Wisconsin, there will be an observance of Prayer Day at the Native American Journalists Association Annual Convention at the Radisson Hotel. For additional information, contact Montoya A. Whiteman (Cheyenne), Development & Public Relations Administrator for the Native American Rights Fund, at (303) 447-8760. Native and non-Native journalists wishing to join the circle should contact Ms. Whiteman or should meet in the hotel lobby before Sunrise.
In Lawrence, Kansas, an observance will take place at Haskell-Baker Wetlands, starting at Sunrise and continuing until approximately 9:00 a.m., to call attention to the wetlands and ceremonial site and burial ground there that are being threatened by a highway development project. For additional information, contact Michael Caron (785-842-6293) and Dayna Carlton (785-865-2861), with Save the Wetlands.
Activities will take place at threatened sites along the Missouri River, including the Yankton Sioux Tribe’s annual Walking in Memory of the Ancestors. Runners from the White Swan/West direction will gather at the North Point/East White Swan Burial/Sacred Site and offer prayers for protection of the ancestors and all sacred places. Francis Bernie is the contact for the Camp for the Ancestors, Ihanktonwan Ocet, Defenders of All Sacred Things.
For additional information regarding the Yankton activities, contact Faith Spotted Eagle (Ihanktonwan Dakota/Nakota) of the Tribal White Swan/North Point Negotiating Team and The Braveheart Society, Yankton Sioux Tribe, Lake Andes, South Dakota, at (605) 840-2700 or by e-mail (eagletrax@hotmail.com); and Sharon Drapeau (605-487-7871 or 605-491-0233) and Kenny Honomichle (605-384-3621).
Observances at other sacred places on the Missouri River are being coordinated by Pemina Yellow Bird (Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara), who is a Cultural Rights Specialist for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation in North Dakota. Ms. Yellow Bird can be reached at (701) 477-9412 or by e-mail (Pemina@hotmail.com).
In 2002, the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) listed the Missouri River as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. For information about that listing and the Native American historic and sacred sites, contact Scott Jones (Lower Brule Sioux), Public Relations Director for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule, South Dakota, at (605) 730-0515 or by e-mail (socky@wcenet.com).
For further information about Missouri River sites – and about Bear Butte in South Dakota which is threatened by a gunnery range proposed for location within earshot of the holy mountain -- contact Jamie R. Ducheneaux (Cheyenne River Lakota), Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, at (605) 964-7554, (605) 964-7553 or by e-mail (crpreserv@sat.net).
In New York City, the American Indian Community House is sponsoring an observance at the Noon hour at the American Indian Community House, 708 Broadway. For more information, contact Rosemary Richmond (Mohawk), AICH Executive Director, at (212) 598-0100 or by e-mail (akwesasne@aol.com).
A morning gathering will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, at a location to be determined. For updated information, contact Cal Seciwa (Zuni), who is Director of the American Indian Institute at Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, at (480) 965-8044 or by e-mail (Calbert.Seciwa@asu.edu). Also on June 20 in Phoenix, the Heard Museum will show the Sacred Lands Film Project’s In the Light of Reverence at 10:00 a.m.
In Sacramento, California, Indian people will gather at the south side of the State Capitol Building for a Sunrise Ceremony and morning address of words and wisdom on protecting American Indian sacred places and cultures in California from further threats and destruction. The gathering will begin at 5:15 a.m. and conclude at 11:30 a.m.
For information about the Prayer Day activities in Sacramento and about endangered sacred places in California, contact Mark LeBeau (916-929-9761 or mark.lebeau@mail.his.gov), Mickey Gemmill (530-242-4510) and Radley Davis (530-275-1650 or radleyad@aol.com) of the Pitt River Nation; and Phillip Hunter (Yokuts), Vice Chairperson of the Tule River Tribal Government (559-781-4271).
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Prayer Day Blessing and Offering will be at the Tulsa Creek Indian Community Field Arbor Community Garden Site, 8601 S. Union Ave. For additional information, contact TICAR49@MSN.COM and Hopayi@aol.com.
The Tulsa Indian Coalition Against Racism (TICAR) and the Redstick Vision Keepers have planned their observance to last for one hour after Sunrise and to include a Sacred Sites Fire Blessing and Offering and a Tobacco and Water Blessing for Sacred Mother Earth. Everyone is advised to bring a small container for water to take home. The Redstick Vision Keepers will remain to watch the fire until 8:00 a.m., so that others can offer their prayers.
The focus in Tulsa will be on sacred places nationwide, especially those that are sacred to the nearly 40 Indian nations in Oklahoma that were removed from their homelands to Indian Territory in the 1800s. One such place in the traditional homeland of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation is the Ocmulgee Old Fields in Georgia, a ceremonial and burial ground, which is threatened by a state highway project. The Ocmulgee Old Fields is listed on the NTHP’s 2003 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a traditional cultural property.Examples of Native American Sacred Places Under Attack
The following endangered sacred places were identified in San Diego, California, at a Nov. 8-9, 2002 gathering to protect sacred places and at the National Congress of American Indians Nov. 10-15, 2002 annual convention.
Among the endangered sacred places identified in California are the following:
Medicine Lake, a Pitt River Nation ceremonial and healing place in the Modoc National Forest in northeastern California, is threatened by the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service decision to permit the state-funded Calpine Corporation to build a network of geothermal power plant facilities to produce electricity to export to Bonneville Power Administration for consumers in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Indian Pass, which was named on the 2002 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, is a sacred place in the California Desert area that is threatened by the BLM’s decision permitting Glamis Gold, Ltd., to undertake what the Quechan Indian Tribe calls a “massive, open-pit cyanide heap-leach gold mine on 1,600 acres.”
Coastal Chumash lands in the Gaviota Coastal region in southern California.
Yurok Nation’s salmon fisheries in the Klamath River affected by the Interior Department’s waterflow decreases.
Berry Creek, Moore Town and Enterprise Rancherias’ lands impacted by the California Water Project’s fluctuation zone at the Oroville Dam Reservoir.
the sacred Puvungna of the Tongva and Acjachemen Peoples.
the sacred Katuktu (Morro Hill) of the San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians.
The groups called for the protection and recovery of these identified sacred places in the Southwest:
in Arizona -- Apache holy land, Mount Graham, from the FS and the University of Arizona’s development of a massive telescope project; Hualapai Nation landforms in Truxton and Crozier Canyons from private extraction of boulders for decorative landscaping; Hopi and Navajo lands and the Navajo aquifer from slurry coal mining by Peabody Coal Company; the San Francisco Peaks from FS and private expansion of the Arizona Snow Bowl; and the Boboquivari Mountain of the Tohono O’Odham Nation.
in New Mexico -- the micaceous clay-gathering place of the Picuris Pueblo from mica mining by Oglebay Norton Specialty Minerals; and Zuni Salt Lake, also on the 2003 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, from coal strip mining by the Salt River Project.
in Texas -- Carrizo/Comecrudo lands flooded by Amistad Lake and Falcon Dam.
Other sacred places identified as under attack now, include the following:
Badlands, Black Hills, Medicine Wheel and Missouri River in the Plains.
Semiahmah Village burial ground and Snoqualmie Falls in Washington.
Pipestone National Monument and Cold Water Springs in Minnesota.
Hickory Ground ceremonial and burial ground in Alabama.
Ocmulgee National Monument and Ocmulgee Old Fields in Georgia.
Taino Caguana ceremonial site in Puerto Rico.
Yaqui Zona Indigena in Sonora, Mexico.
Friday, June 17, 2005
Refuge Basics - The "re-education" place that Zack was sent to.
Refuge is a ministry designed to be a safe place for young people and their families to find true freedom from addictions through the power of Jesus Christ. At this time Refuge is an outpatient program for young men and women ages 13-18. Refuge is designed to minister to adolescents struggling with broken and addictive behaviors such as… -Pornography -Drugs and alcohol -Sexual Promescuity -HomosexualityRefuge promotes change among clients through the use of theraputic groups, individual counseling and family support. The effectivness of Refuge is greatly increased when the participants are willing to work with their counselor and parents, follow the program structure, study the materials, and build relationships. Primary Topics Addressed in Refuge include…
- Honesty - Addiction - Grace
- Abuse - Relationship - Finding a Voice
- Family - Future Planning - Rebellion / Submission
- Identity - Balance - The Blessing
How Refuge Started:Refuge was developed by a variety of professional and lay counselors as well as youth workers and ministers. The tools that have proven to be successful from the various experiences of these individuals are combined into one treatment program for adolescents. The Refuge Structure:Refuge begins as a two-week commitment from both adolescents and their significant family members. Many of the teachings and tools can be learned within the first two weeks. However, many of our participants find that they need a longer period of time to adjust to the transition from one lifestyle to another. For those participants who desire further support, Refuge offers a six-week extension in order to solidify gains in recovery in a safe, supportive environment. Refuge Two-Week Intensive Program...The Participants of the two-week program stay in a hotel/motel with a legal gaurdian and attend the program from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday for two weeks. During those hours the clients interact with the residential clients of Love In Action's Source program, assesing their own recovery needs, and developing positive recovery skills. On Thursday nights there is a Family Support group meeting which both participants and their gaurdians will be asked to attend. There may also be some activities planned specifically for clients on other evenings where the main focus is fellowship. Each client has an individualized treatment plan, with in-depth homework assignments, and one individual counseling session per week. They will also have the oppurtunity to receive feedback from the group throughout the program regarding theraputic direction and reccomendations. The participants are responsible for their own lodging. Lunch is provided on weekdays, but the clients are responsible for other meals. Two-Week Benefits / Advantages:Learn the core teachingsGet started in recovery without a long-term commitmentReceive basic tools for emotional health and a road map to recoveryDevelop awareness of underlying issuesInvestigate the process of changeRefuge Six-Week Extension Program...The Six Week Extension program is an option for the clients who participated in the Two-Week Intensive program and decided that they need a longer period of time to integrate the tools they learned into their lives. Clients will stay in a motel/hotel with a legal gaurdian and attend the program from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday. During these hours the clients interact with the residential clients of Love In Action's Source program, and have an opportunity to explore individual personal struggles and accept spiritual challenge. Family participation will occur, usually in the form of joint counseling sessions. The clients will continue to be expected to attend the Thursday night support group with their parents or gaurdian. They will also be expected to attend a monthly Open Meeting on Tuesday night, as well as some activities planned specifically for clients on other evenings where the main focus is fellowship. Each client will continue to work with their counselor in a one-on-one setting once a week and also work through their own individualized treatment plan. The clients will have the opportunity to receive feedback from the group throughout the program regarding theraputic direction and recommendations. The six week clients will have a longer period of time to develop healthy and beneficial relationships with other members of the group, and get accustomed to living out the tools they have learned. Six-Week Benefits / Advantages:Explore the core teachingsShorter-term structure with longer term gainsEstablishing basic boundaries for emotional healthConfront underlying issuesBegin the process of changeFamily involvementBuild recovery skillsCost effectiveLife skills training and future planningCommunity Involvment
Nothing like a "good re-education" camp eh folks? I thought this was only in foriegn countries like China, N. Nam and the now defunct USSR.
- Honesty - Addiction - Grace
- Abuse - Relationship - Finding a Voice
- Family - Future Planning - Rebellion / Submission
- Identity - Balance - The Blessing
How Refuge Started:Refuge was developed by a variety of professional and lay counselors as well as youth workers and ministers. The tools that have proven to be successful from the various experiences of these individuals are combined into one treatment program for adolescents. The Refuge Structure:Refuge begins as a two-week commitment from both adolescents and their significant family members. Many of the teachings and tools can be learned within the first two weeks. However, many of our participants find that they need a longer period of time to adjust to the transition from one lifestyle to another. For those participants who desire further support, Refuge offers a six-week extension in order to solidify gains in recovery in a safe, supportive environment. Refuge Two-Week Intensive Program...The Participants of the two-week program stay in a hotel/motel with a legal gaurdian and attend the program from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday for two weeks. During those hours the clients interact with the residential clients of Love In Action's Source program, assesing their own recovery needs, and developing positive recovery skills. On Thursday nights there is a Family Support group meeting which both participants and their gaurdians will be asked to attend. There may also be some activities planned specifically for clients on other evenings where the main focus is fellowship. Each client has an individualized treatment plan, with in-depth homework assignments, and one individual counseling session per week. They will also have the oppurtunity to receive feedback from the group throughout the program regarding theraputic direction and reccomendations. The participants are responsible for their own lodging. Lunch is provided on weekdays, but the clients are responsible for other meals. Two-Week Benefits / Advantages:Learn the core teachingsGet started in recovery without a long-term commitmentReceive basic tools for emotional health and a road map to recoveryDevelop awareness of underlying issuesInvestigate the process of changeRefuge Six-Week Extension Program...The Six Week Extension program is an option for the clients who participated in the Two-Week Intensive program and decided that they need a longer period of time to integrate the tools they learned into their lives. Clients will stay in a motel/hotel with a legal gaurdian and attend the program from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday. During these hours the clients interact with the residential clients of Love In Action's Source program, and have an opportunity to explore individual personal struggles and accept spiritual challenge. Family participation will occur, usually in the form of joint counseling sessions. The clients will continue to be expected to attend the Thursday night support group with their parents or gaurdian. They will also be expected to attend a monthly Open Meeting on Tuesday night, as well as some activities planned specifically for clients on other evenings where the main focus is fellowship. Each client will continue to work with their counselor in a one-on-one setting once a week and also work through their own individualized treatment plan. The clients will have the opportunity to receive feedback from the group throughout the program regarding theraputic direction and recommendations. The six week clients will have a longer period of time to develop healthy and beneficial relationships with other members of the group, and get accustomed to living out the tools they have learned. Six-Week Benefits / Advantages:Explore the core teachingsShorter-term structure with longer term gainsEstablishing basic boundaries for emotional healthConfront underlying issuesBegin the process of changeFamily involvementBuild recovery skillsCost effectiveLife skills training and future planningCommunity Involvment
Nothing like a "good re-education" camp eh folks? I thought this was only in foriegn countries like China, N. Nam and the now defunct USSR.
Time For Another March on D.C.
How many marriage bans must pass before we get angry? We need to march before the next president is elected.
By Robin Tyler
I initiated the first call for the 2000 Millennium March on Washington and then watched as our community ripped each other apart. I quit the organization team for that march and swore I would never again call for a LGBT march.
I was the "deep throat" who leaked the story to Mike Signorile that the FBI was investigating the missing tens of thousands of dollars from the Millennium March festival. I came away from that debacle swearing I would never again get caught between the insanity of the politically correct left, on the one hand, and the need for major organizations to dominate, control and financially gain from any and every event.
Watching Elizabeth Birch, then the executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, get caught up in what escalated into a screaming argument with Kerry Lobel, then the director of National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, in my living room, at the beginning of the march organizing, gave me the first indication that I did not want to be caught in the crossfire of major egos.
I went on to happily co-found StopDrLaura.com, and then, to work on marriage equality, through my own, all-volunteer organization, DontAmend.com. For the first time in my political life, I was at peace.
But that time is over. We are under siege. Yes, we have "Will & Grace," and "Queer Eye," and out performers and visibility.
But still we do not have one civil right on a federal level, and the radical right industry is raising tens of millions and political capital by making us the ultimate scapegoats.
How many state constitutional amendments need to pass before we get angry? How many of our so-called friends in elected office, and other Democrats, need to betray us by supporting marriage segregation, while accepting awards at LGBT dinners, as if civil rights stops at the altar?
Where are the celebrities who publicly ran to our defense during the AIDS crisis? Don't Barbra Streisand and Cher think their gay and lesbian children should have the right to marry? Would they appear at our next march and say so?
What about Madonna? Would Elton John come on the main stage? How about Angelina Jolie?
THIS IS NOT a march just about marriage equality. This needs to be a march --- finally --- demanding all our civil rights. What good were the 1979, 1987, 1993 and 2000 marches?
The 1979 march brought us together and gave birth to many organizations and new activists.
During the 1987 march, we did not ask for "help" with the AIDS epidemic. We demanded immediate action. We understood it was a life or death matter. And because of our radical stance, we made it a national issue.
The 1993 march was the first one to be televised. Our own stars came out: Melissa, Martina and Sir Ian. But the march was overwhelmingly supportive of President Bill Clinton (as was I), who, although he had promised to appear, and then, to send a video, betrayed us, and did neither. He sent a written greeting. He then went on to break his commitment to equal employment rights in the military and signed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Then he signed the Defense of Marriage Act, and had the chutzpah to brag about that in commercials he ran on rightwing "Christian" radio stations.
The 2000 Millennium March was also used as an organizing tool for the Democratic Party. We were not as angry or demanding as in 1987. We believed them.
THIS MARCH MUST be built on an entirely different basis than the last few marches. In this march, there must be a litmus test: either support full legal equality for LGBT people, including the equal right to marry, or be prepared to catch hell, regardless of your party affiliation.
Too many recent marches, whether for LGBT rights or others, have focused all of their fire on the Republicans, and what has it gotten us?
Our friends in the Democratic Party keep moving to the right. The recent filibuster "compromise" meant extremely homophobic judges will be confirmed. That wasn't a compromise. That was the selling out of our community.
Unless we show a strong and united presence before the next presidential election, our community will be once again sacrificed, and we must not remain silent.
It is time that we let go of the dream that we will advance "inside the tent." The Republican politicians hate us, and most of the Democrats just want us to shut up about equal rights and meekly deliver our votes to them.
WE CEDE CONTROL of our lives if we remain silent, in the name of "party unity" or "party loyalty," while the fundamentalists strengthen their choke hold on the political system and our "friends" scapegoat us for their electoral failings and lack of backbone. We did not cause the Democratic Party to lose the last election; they did it all by themselves by failing to stand for anything, while the Republicans stood for a more arrogant America abroad and heightened bigotry at home.
The truth is we have no federal rights to sacrifice. Not one. We have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by marching in the year that the next presidental elections are being held. Besides the many anti-gay Republican politicians, it's time for anti-equality politicians in the Democratic Party to be accountable to our community. Period.
And so, I call on all who believe in full and total civil rights for our community -- Matt Foreman, NGLTF, Joe Solomese, HRC, GLAAD, PFLAG, all the "Queers against the Millinneum March on Washington", every LGBT organization, state group, and community center, every LGBT person and all of our non-LGBT allies -- all of us, because we are under siege, to put aside all differences, and agree to work together on the 2008 March on Washington.
Yes, as he has said with every grassroots organizing project since he was brought out of the closet, Barney Frank will once again say that this will not work. Well, Barney, we having nothing to loose. Ready or not, here we come.
The great anti-slavery and civil rights activist Frederick Douglass said that "Power concedes nothing without a demand. Never has. Never will." We intend that this march will make DEMANDS on the politicians, regardless of their party affiliations, and that if they oppose legal equality, if they refuse to do the bare minimum of treating LGBT as equal human beings under the law, we will be unflinching in our criticism of them.
The projected date for the march will be in April 2008 in Washington, D.C. For those interested in helping to begin organizing
contact robintyler@dontamend.com
I will find a way to be there for that.
By Robin Tyler
I initiated the first call for the 2000 Millennium March on Washington and then watched as our community ripped each other apart. I quit the organization team for that march and swore I would never again call for a LGBT march.
I was the "deep throat" who leaked the story to Mike Signorile that the FBI was investigating the missing tens of thousands of dollars from the Millennium March festival. I came away from that debacle swearing I would never again get caught between the insanity of the politically correct left, on the one hand, and the need for major organizations to dominate, control and financially gain from any and every event.
Watching Elizabeth Birch, then the executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, get caught up in what escalated into a screaming argument with Kerry Lobel, then the director of National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, in my living room, at the beginning of the march organizing, gave me the first indication that I did not want to be caught in the crossfire of major egos.
I went on to happily co-found StopDrLaura.com, and then, to work on marriage equality, through my own, all-volunteer organization, DontAmend.com. For the first time in my political life, I was at peace.
But that time is over. We are under siege. Yes, we have "Will & Grace," and "Queer Eye," and out performers and visibility.
But still we do not have one civil right on a federal level, and the radical right industry is raising tens of millions and political capital by making us the ultimate scapegoats.
How many state constitutional amendments need to pass before we get angry? How many of our so-called friends in elected office, and other Democrats, need to betray us by supporting marriage segregation, while accepting awards at LGBT dinners, as if civil rights stops at the altar?
Where are the celebrities who publicly ran to our defense during the AIDS crisis? Don't Barbra Streisand and Cher think their gay and lesbian children should have the right to marry? Would they appear at our next march and say so?
What about Madonna? Would Elton John come on the main stage? How about Angelina Jolie?
THIS IS NOT a march just about marriage equality. This needs to be a march --- finally --- demanding all our civil rights. What good were the 1979, 1987, 1993 and 2000 marches?
The 1979 march brought us together and gave birth to many organizations and new activists.
During the 1987 march, we did not ask for "help" with the AIDS epidemic. We demanded immediate action. We understood it was a life or death matter. And because of our radical stance, we made it a national issue.
The 1993 march was the first one to be televised. Our own stars came out: Melissa, Martina and Sir Ian. But the march was overwhelmingly supportive of President Bill Clinton (as was I), who, although he had promised to appear, and then, to send a video, betrayed us, and did neither. He sent a written greeting. He then went on to break his commitment to equal employment rights in the military and signed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Then he signed the Defense of Marriage Act, and had the chutzpah to brag about that in commercials he ran on rightwing "Christian" radio stations.
The 2000 Millennium March was also used as an organizing tool for the Democratic Party. We were not as angry or demanding as in 1987. We believed them.
THIS MARCH MUST be built on an entirely different basis than the last few marches. In this march, there must be a litmus test: either support full legal equality for LGBT people, including the equal right to marry, or be prepared to catch hell, regardless of your party affiliation.
Too many recent marches, whether for LGBT rights or others, have focused all of their fire on the Republicans, and what has it gotten us?
Our friends in the Democratic Party keep moving to the right. The recent filibuster "compromise" meant extremely homophobic judges will be confirmed. That wasn't a compromise. That was the selling out of our community.
Unless we show a strong and united presence before the next presidential election, our community will be once again sacrificed, and we must not remain silent.
It is time that we let go of the dream that we will advance "inside the tent." The Republican politicians hate us, and most of the Democrats just want us to shut up about equal rights and meekly deliver our votes to them.
WE CEDE CONTROL of our lives if we remain silent, in the name of "party unity" or "party loyalty," while the fundamentalists strengthen their choke hold on the political system and our "friends" scapegoat us for their electoral failings and lack of backbone. We did not cause the Democratic Party to lose the last election; they did it all by themselves by failing to stand for anything, while the Republicans stood for a more arrogant America abroad and heightened bigotry at home.
The truth is we have no federal rights to sacrifice. Not one. We have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by marching in the year that the next presidental elections are being held. Besides the many anti-gay Republican politicians, it's time for anti-equality politicians in the Democratic Party to be accountable to our community. Period.
And so, I call on all who believe in full and total civil rights for our community -- Matt Foreman, NGLTF, Joe Solomese, HRC, GLAAD, PFLAG, all the "Queers against the Millinneum March on Washington", every LGBT organization, state group, and community center, every LGBT person and all of our non-LGBT allies -- all of us, because we are under siege, to put aside all differences, and agree to work together on the 2008 March on Washington.
Yes, as he has said with every grassroots organizing project since he was brought out of the closet, Barney Frank will once again say that this will not work. Well, Barney, we having nothing to loose. Ready or not, here we come.
The great anti-slavery and civil rights activist Frederick Douglass said that "Power concedes nothing without a demand. Never has. Never will." We intend that this march will make DEMANDS on the politicians, regardless of their party affiliations, and that if they oppose legal equality, if they refuse to do the bare minimum of treating LGBT as equal human beings under the law, we will be unflinching in our criticism of them.
The projected date for the march will be in April 2008 in Washington, D.C. For those interested in helping to begin organizing
contact robintyler@dontamend.com
I will find a way to be there for that.
And the push for a National Religion continues, Theocracy on the way!!
By Susan Page,
USA TODAY
Thu Jun 16, 6:55 AM ET
Leaders of conservative Christian organizations plan to jointly interview Republican contenders for the 2008 presidential nomination, perhaps even endorsing one of them - steps that could expand their already considerable political influence.
"We'd like to try to stay together," Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said at a breakfast with reporters Wednesday. The ad hoc group includes "free thinkers" and "strong personalities," he says, but they might unite behind a candidate who "unquestionably" best represented their views and priorities.
Gary Bauer president of American Values, said in an interview that the sit-down sessions, likely to begin after the 2006 elections, would be "a very effective way to nail down where people are on cultural issues." He said candidates have become "very astute" at answering written questionnaires in ways that avoid making firm commitments. (Related story: Christian right bends political spectrum)
Those who plan to participate include leading figures of the Christian right: James Dobson of Focus on the Family, Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation, the Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association, Perkins and Bauer. Others also would join them.
Their groups, which represent millions of social conservatives, have taken the lead in lobbying to restrict abortion, ban same-sex marriage and confirm conservative judges. Their top priority, Perkins said, is winning confirmation of conservative Supreme Court justices.
Evangelical Christians, who overwhelmingly backed
President Bush in 2004, already are an influential constituency in the Republican Party. Coordinated action could increase that influence, especially in a crowded GOP primary field.
"It would have an impact," Republican strategist Charles Black said.
But being seen as the "candidate of the Christian right" would be a "very, very mixed blessing" in the general election, said Stuart Rothenberg of the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report- akin to Walter Mondale's stamp as the "candidate of labor" in the 1984 campaign.
"That would really pigeonhole a candidate," Rothenberg said.
Perkins spoke favorably of one likely Republican presidential contender, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, and dismissively of another, Arizona Sen. John McCain. He criticized the bipartisan compromise that McCain and 13 other senators reached last month to avert a showdown on judicial filibusters.
Perkins said those who joined the so-called Gang of 14 risked "political repercussions."
The Family Research Council and Citizens for Community Values ran radio ads in Ohio attacking Sen. Mike DeWine for joining the accord. Perkins said backlash to DeWine's involvement was a factor in the defeat of his son, Pat, in the Republican primary Tuesday to choose a candidate for an open House seat in Ohio
And just when do the Moderates step up and tell these over zellous folks to back down and leave the religion in the church? It doesn't belong in politics as there are more then just Christians in this country! Pagans/Wiccans it's time we stand up and let the other relgious folks know that we also have a say it what happens in this country. Mixed Bloods of all types it's time we stand up and have our say too!! We are the bridge between the "full" bloods of both sides. If we just sit back and say "someone else will speak" we will end up in a situation much like Nazi Germany. When it came down to it all there was no one left in that country to speak, then WWII started. Do we really want that kind of problem here? Do we really want to become the next 3rd world country? I don't.
What do you want? What do you think?
USA TODAY
Thu Jun 16, 6:55 AM ET
Leaders of conservative Christian organizations plan to jointly interview Republican contenders for the 2008 presidential nomination, perhaps even endorsing one of them - steps that could expand their already considerable political influence.
"We'd like to try to stay together," Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said at a breakfast with reporters Wednesday. The ad hoc group includes "free thinkers" and "strong personalities," he says, but they might unite behind a candidate who "unquestionably" best represented their views and priorities.
Gary Bauer president of American Values, said in an interview that the sit-down sessions, likely to begin after the 2006 elections, would be "a very effective way to nail down where people are on cultural issues." He said candidates have become "very astute" at answering written questionnaires in ways that avoid making firm commitments. (Related story: Christian right bends political spectrum)
Those who plan to participate include leading figures of the Christian right: James Dobson of Focus on the Family, Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation, the Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association, Perkins and Bauer. Others also would join them.
Their groups, which represent millions of social conservatives, have taken the lead in lobbying to restrict abortion, ban same-sex marriage and confirm conservative judges. Their top priority, Perkins said, is winning confirmation of conservative Supreme Court justices.
Evangelical Christians, who overwhelmingly backed
President Bush in 2004, already are an influential constituency in the Republican Party. Coordinated action could increase that influence, especially in a crowded GOP primary field.
"It would have an impact," Republican strategist Charles Black said.
But being seen as the "candidate of the Christian right" would be a "very, very mixed blessing" in the general election, said Stuart Rothenberg of the non-partisan Rothenberg Political Report- akin to Walter Mondale's stamp as the "candidate of labor" in the 1984 campaign.
"That would really pigeonhole a candidate," Rothenberg said.
Perkins spoke favorably of one likely Republican presidential contender, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, and dismissively of another, Arizona Sen. John McCain. He criticized the bipartisan compromise that McCain and 13 other senators reached last month to avert a showdown on judicial filibusters.
Perkins said those who joined the so-called Gang of 14 risked "political repercussions."
The Family Research Council and Citizens for Community Values ran radio ads in Ohio attacking Sen. Mike DeWine for joining the accord. Perkins said backlash to DeWine's involvement was a factor in the defeat of his son, Pat, in the Republican primary Tuesday to choose a candidate for an open House seat in Ohio
And just when do the Moderates step up and tell these over zellous folks to back down and leave the religion in the church? It doesn't belong in politics as there are more then just Christians in this country! Pagans/Wiccans it's time we stand up and let the other relgious folks know that we also have a say it what happens in this country. Mixed Bloods of all types it's time we stand up and have our say too!! We are the bridge between the "full" bloods of both sides. If we just sit back and say "someone else will speak" we will end up in a situation much like Nazi Germany. When it came down to it all there was no one left in that country to speak, then WWII started. Do we really want that kind of problem here? Do we really want to become the next 3rd world country? I don't.
What do you want? What do you think?
The young man's name is Zach
Larry Buhl,
PlanetOut Network
Thu Jun 16, 9:34 PM ET
SUMMARY: A youth's online postings about being sent to a rigid "ex-gay" program has troubled LGBT leaders and sparked daily protests at the ministry's Alabama headquarters.
Sixteen-year-old "Zach" is apparently enduring a rite of passage still too common for gay youth: His parents say he must change. When they enrolled him last month in a Christian camp-like program to turn him straight, he documented his fears in his online diary, or blog.
The PlanetOut Network could not confirm Zach's identity or his story, but the blog has sparked a firestorm of protest against the program, known as Refuge, and renewed scrutiny of similar "ministries."
A residential program run by Memphis, Ala.-based Love in Action (LIA), Refuge "ministers to adolescents struggling with broken and addictive behaviors, such as promiscuity, alcohol and drug addiction and homosexuality," according to its Web site.
An estimated total of 150 people -- including parents, children, psychiatrists and other concerned Memphis residents carrying signs that have slogans such as "This is Child Abuse" -- have gathered over eight consecutive days outside LIA headquarters. On Thursday LIA held a press conference in response to the protests.
For LIA, homosexuality is not an orientation but a set of behaviors that lies at the root of all dysfunction. And homosexual desires can supposedly be reprogrammed, through Refuge, at a cost of $2,000 for two weeks, or $4,000 for six weeks.
Patterned after teen drug and alcohol programs, Refuge minimizes contact with familiar things that it claims encourage homosexual behavior: no secular music, no more than 15 minutes per day behind a closed bathroom door, no contact with any practicing homosexuals, no masturbation, no secular music, and -- for reasons not explained -- no Calvin Klein underwear.
The rules above were posted on Zach's blog, which has been inactive since June 3. The policies were confirmed by Alex Polotsky, a spokesman for Queer Action Coalition, a Memphis group formed to provide alternative information for struggling youth.
"Nobody can be straight enough in the program," said Polotsky, whose group staged the protests outside LIA. "We're outraged at the treatment youths receive [in Refuge]."
Exodus International, an umbrella organization for nearly all regional "ex-gay" ministries, provides funding and marketing support for groups such as LIA, Lifeguard Ministries, New Hope Ministries and others. Although "reparative therapy" for homosexuality has been denounced by the mainstream psychological community as tantamount to abuse, "ex-gay" ministries offer hope to conflicted parents (usually devoutly religious and conservative) who are unwilling or unable to accept their kids' sexuality or seek traditional counseling.
Youth (and adults) who enter "ex-gay" programs may suffer from genuine self-destructive behaviors that go far beyond their struggle with same-sex attraction, said Wayne Besen, who wrote the book "Anything But Straight" about the "ex-gay" movement.
"To get help they have to swallow the lie that it's because they are gay that they're having these problems. It works by confusing people. It doesn't matter to them that they don't get results. They get a lot of money from people who really believe this stuff."
"Love in Action seems to be the worst of these reckless religious activities," said Craig Bowman, executive director of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition. "These programs are dangerous because they systematically work on a young person's psyche using junk science as a foundation."
Jack Drescher, M.D., a New York-based psychiatrist and chair of the American Psychiatric Association Committee on LGBT Issues, told the PlanetOut Network that such programs do far more harm than good for impressionable teens. "They may delay the child's coming out for many years, but by the time they are ready to come out, there's been a lot of psychological damage."
Shawn O'Donnell spent eight years in and out of therapy to change his sexual orientation. As a depressed and suicidal 18-year-old, O'Donnell was referred by his pastor to a three-year residential program, New Hope Ministry, located 10 miles from San Francisco. O'Donnell said it only made his issues worse.
"It was hell, very controlling. We couldn't be alone. We were always told to pray harder, and it made us feel ashamed that we weren't using the program correctly," he recalled.
Peterson Toscano spent 17 years and $30,000 to get straight as an adult, but nothing worked. Now a "performance activist" in Connecticut, Toscano has toured the United States and Europe with a satirical theater piece about his two years in LIA.
"'Ex-gay' programs use the term 'gay lifestyle,' which to them includes unsafe sex [and] emotionally dependent relationships," Toscano said. "They know they can't really turn anyone straight, but they can make them not live the 'gay lifestyle.' They are purposely deceiving people."
Though relatively few people participate in 'ex-gay' programs, Drescher believes their influence goes far beyond changing individuals. "They are a pawn in the culture war," he said. "They support the idea that homosexuality can be changed, therefore it is a lifestyle and not worthy of civil rights legislation."
Drescher pointed to an 'ex-gay' convention called Love Won Out, organized by the anti-gay Focus on the Family and held in Texas to coincide with the state legislature's biennial sessions.
"The timing is not a coincidence," he said. "Their purpose is to shape public policy."
The "Re-education" camps begin. And this isn't looking like pre WWII Nazi Germany's beginnings ?
PlanetOut Network
Thu Jun 16, 9:34 PM ET
SUMMARY: A youth's online postings about being sent to a rigid "ex-gay" program has troubled LGBT leaders and sparked daily protests at the ministry's Alabama headquarters.
Sixteen-year-old "Zach" is apparently enduring a rite of passage still too common for gay youth: His parents say he must change. When they enrolled him last month in a Christian camp-like program to turn him straight, he documented his fears in his online diary, or blog.
The PlanetOut Network could not confirm Zach's identity or his story, but the blog has sparked a firestorm of protest against the program, known as Refuge, and renewed scrutiny of similar "ministries."
A residential program run by Memphis, Ala.-based Love in Action (LIA), Refuge "ministers to adolescents struggling with broken and addictive behaviors, such as promiscuity, alcohol and drug addiction and homosexuality," according to its Web site.
An estimated total of 150 people -- including parents, children, psychiatrists and other concerned Memphis residents carrying signs that have slogans such as "This is Child Abuse" -- have gathered over eight consecutive days outside LIA headquarters. On Thursday LIA held a press conference in response to the protests.
For LIA, homosexuality is not an orientation but a set of behaviors that lies at the root of all dysfunction. And homosexual desires can supposedly be reprogrammed, through Refuge, at a cost of $2,000 for two weeks, or $4,000 for six weeks.
Patterned after teen drug and alcohol programs, Refuge minimizes contact with familiar things that it claims encourage homosexual behavior: no secular music, no more than 15 minutes per day behind a closed bathroom door, no contact with any practicing homosexuals, no masturbation, no secular music, and -- for reasons not explained -- no Calvin Klein underwear.
The rules above were posted on Zach's blog, which has been inactive since June 3. The policies were confirmed by Alex Polotsky, a spokesman for Queer Action Coalition, a Memphis group formed to provide alternative information for struggling youth.
"Nobody can be straight enough in the program," said Polotsky, whose group staged the protests outside LIA. "We're outraged at the treatment youths receive [in Refuge]."
Exodus International, an umbrella organization for nearly all regional "ex-gay" ministries, provides funding and marketing support for groups such as LIA, Lifeguard Ministries, New Hope Ministries and others. Although "reparative therapy" for homosexuality has been denounced by the mainstream psychological community as tantamount to abuse, "ex-gay" ministries offer hope to conflicted parents (usually devoutly religious and conservative) who are unwilling or unable to accept their kids' sexuality or seek traditional counseling.
Youth (and adults) who enter "ex-gay" programs may suffer from genuine self-destructive behaviors that go far beyond their struggle with same-sex attraction, said Wayne Besen, who wrote the book "Anything But Straight" about the "ex-gay" movement.
"To get help they have to swallow the lie that it's because they are gay that they're having these problems. It works by confusing people. It doesn't matter to them that they don't get results. They get a lot of money from people who really believe this stuff."
"Love in Action seems to be the worst of these reckless religious activities," said Craig Bowman, executive director of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition. "These programs are dangerous because they systematically work on a young person's psyche using junk science as a foundation."
Jack Drescher, M.D., a New York-based psychiatrist and chair of the American Psychiatric Association Committee on LGBT Issues, told the PlanetOut Network that such programs do far more harm than good for impressionable teens. "They may delay the child's coming out for many years, but by the time they are ready to come out, there's been a lot of psychological damage."
Shawn O'Donnell spent eight years in and out of therapy to change his sexual orientation. As a depressed and suicidal 18-year-old, O'Donnell was referred by his pastor to a three-year residential program, New Hope Ministry, located 10 miles from San Francisco. O'Donnell said it only made his issues worse.
"It was hell, very controlling. We couldn't be alone. We were always told to pray harder, and it made us feel ashamed that we weren't using the program correctly," he recalled.
Peterson Toscano spent 17 years and $30,000 to get straight as an adult, but nothing worked. Now a "performance activist" in Connecticut, Toscano has toured the United States and Europe with a satirical theater piece about his two years in LIA.
"'Ex-gay' programs use the term 'gay lifestyle,' which to them includes unsafe sex [and] emotionally dependent relationships," Toscano said. "They know they can't really turn anyone straight, but they can make them not live the 'gay lifestyle.' They are purposely deceiving people."
Though relatively few people participate in 'ex-gay' programs, Drescher believes their influence goes far beyond changing individuals. "They are a pawn in the culture war," he said. "They support the idea that homosexuality can be changed, therefore it is a lifestyle and not worthy of civil rights legislation."
Drescher pointed to an 'ex-gay' convention called Love Won Out, organized by the anti-gay Focus on the Family and held in Texas to coincide with the state legislature's biennial sessions.
"The timing is not a coincidence," he said. "Their purpose is to shape public policy."
The "Re-education" camps begin. And this isn't looking like pre WWII Nazi Germany's beginnings ?
Bush? A Man?? Could have fooled me!!!
Bush, The Spoiled Man-Child What causes the fall of empires? Why, stubborn leaders who speak like toddlers and never admit mistakes
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Friday, June 3, 2005
Know what real men do? They admit their mistakes. Know what real people do in times of great stress and strife and economic downturn? They seek help, understand they don't know all the answers, realize they might not've been asking the right questions in the first place.
Know what great leaders, great nations do at times of war and fracture and massive bludgeoning debt? All of the above, all the time, with great intelligence and humility and grace and awareness and shared humanity. Or they die.
But not BushCo. This is the hilarious thing. This is the appalling thing, still. How can this man remain so blindly, staggeringly resolute? How can he be so appallingly ignorant of fact, of truth, of evidence, of deep thought? In short, what the hell is wrong with George W. Bush?
Here it is, another bumbling, barely articulate press conference by Dubya, one of few he ever gives because he clearly hates the things and is deeply troubled by them, hates reporters who ask complicated questions and hates people who dare doubt his simple mindset, his effectiveness, his policies, his lopsided myopic one-way black/white good/evil worldview.
Bush hates press conferences because he can't speak extemporaneously and can't form a complete sentence without mashing up the language like a five-year-old and can't express a complex idea to save his life and somewhere deep down, he knows it, and he knows we know it, and it makes him mumble and stutter and wish he could be somewhere else, anywhere else, like sittin' on the back porch in Texas eatin' ribs and dreamin' 'bout baseball. Ahhh, there now. That's better.
But here he is, instead, stuck like a pinned bug in the Rose Garden, struggling to answer tricky, multisyllabic questions from the godforsaken press. Go ahead, read the Q&A, linked above. It's sort of staggering. It's also very impressive, in a soul-stabbing, nauseating way.
Bush is, to be sure and in a word, unyielding. Determined. Immovable. Also, deeply confused. Myopic as hell. Frighteningly narrow minded. Weirdly random. Childish in a way that would make any good parent seriously question whether it might be time to get their child some Ritalin and an emetic.
Unlike you or me or any human anywhere who happens to be in possession of humility or subtlety of mind, Bush, to this day, admits zero mistakes. He refuses help, rejects suggestions that everything is not dandy and swell. He is confounded by questions that dare suggest he might be somewhat inept, or failing. And he absolutely insists that America exists in some sort of bizarre utopian vacuum, isolated and virtuous and towering like a mad hobbled king over our enemies and allies alike.
He is, in other words, our downfall.
Iraq? Going smoothly, Bush says, happy with the progress there, despite huge surges in insurgent violence and endless uptick of the U.S. death toll and the utter wasteland we've made of that poor, shredded nation.
Iran, North Korea and Egypt? Just dandy. No serious problems at all. Gotta talk more with that "North Korean" guy though, sort out the "nukuler" problem. Sneering thug John Bolton for U.N. ambassador? You betcha, still on track, a good man, despite what everybody -- and I do mean everybody -- says.
Overhaul Social Security, despite an enormous lack of support from Dems and Repubs and the vast majority of the American people? "Just a matter of time," Bush mutters, completely blinded to the fact that it's an enormous mistake. His deeply hypocritical stance on stem-cell research that kow-tows to the deeply ignorant Christian Right? No real answer there. Doesn't compute. Just shrug that sucker right off.
Notice, when you read: There is no eloquent, deeply felt defense of ideas. There is no intellectual breakdown of opinion, no multifaceted explanation, no passionate clarification. And there is certainly no reference to outside ideas, a confession that we might need help, input, wisdom from our neighbors, from science, from the wise and the experienced.
It's a fact we've known all along but which keeps hammering at us like a drunk gorilla hammers at a dead mouse: Bush is able to speak only at one level, to one level. The level of a child. The level of a simpleton. The level of a sweet, bumbling, small-town mayor, addressing a PTA meeting, everyone in soft plaids and everyone drinking light beer and everyone wondering about just what the heck to do about the rusty swing sets and the busted stoplight.
Bush is, of course, not talking to you or me or anyone with a remotely active imagination when he speaks at press conferences, or at his staged, pre-screened, sycophant-rich "town hall" meetings, so full of plain, everyday folk hand-selected for their blind love of Shrub and lack of ability to ask hard questions (read this transcript of a recent town hall on Social Security, and come away stupefied at the man's shocking ability to appear just exactly as gullible and uneducated as his questioners).
He is not even speaking to conservative Democrats or moderate Republicans. He's certainly not speaking to highly educated people who harbor a sincere curiousity for and tenuous understanding of the complexities of the world.
Bush is, of course, speaking to children. He is speaking to babies. It is a decidedly shallow and hollow and oddly deflated type of language that offers not a single nutritious or substantive thought to the political or cultural dialogue, other than to expand his staggering collection of embarrassing Bushisms.
It's all merely a crayon drawing, an intellectual wading pool, a big messy cartoon world populated by manly white good guys and fanged dark evil guys and we are good and They are evil and that's all there is to it so please stop asking weird tricky polysyllabic questions.
Maybe this is appropriate. Maybe this is as it should be. After all, we are, by and large, a nation that refuses to grow up, refuses to take responsibility for our gluttony and its global effects, refuses to see the world as it is now, a mad tangle of interconnected humanity, a global marketplace, a hodgepodge of variegated religions all stemming from the same source and which therefore all require a nimble and nuanced and deeply intelligent leadership, to navigate. Qualities which our current leadership has, well, not at all.
The U.S. still behaves, when all is said and done, like one of those scared wild monkeys, clinging desperately to a shiny object despite the trap closing in all around us, unable to let go of this old, silly, faux-cowboy mentality of boom boom kill kill God is your daddy now sit down and shut up.
What causes the downfall of empires? What causes the implosion of leadership, the slide of great nations into the deep muck of recession and war and mediocrity and numb irrelevance? That's easy. Stagnation. Refusal to change. Refusal to adapt, to progress. Refusal to grow the hell up, to take responsibility for our shortcomings and failures, as well as our successes.
Indeed, George W. Bush would make a great small-town mayor, somewhere deep in a dusty, forgotten part of Texas. His still-appalling inability to speak with any depth or resonance, coupled with his brand of personable, aww-shucks, none-too-bright simpleton worldview is perfect for some cute, redneck, tiny burg. It really is.
But for a major world power caught in the throes of a desperate need to change and grow and evolve, he is, of course, imminent death, leading us deeper into a regressive ideological tar pit from which we may never emerge.
I think we will emerge, but not for a long time as more of his shit goes through.
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Friday, June 3, 2005
Know what real men do? They admit their mistakes. Know what real people do in times of great stress and strife and economic downturn? They seek help, understand they don't know all the answers, realize they might not've been asking the right questions in the first place.
Know what great leaders, great nations do at times of war and fracture and massive bludgeoning debt? All of the above, all the time, with great intelligence and humility and grace and awareness and shared humanity. Or they die.
But not BushCo. This is the hilarious thing. This is the appalling thing, still. How can this man remain so blindly, staggeringly resolute? How can he be so appallingly ignorant of fact, of truth, of evidence, of deep thought? In short, what the hell is wrong with George W. Bush?
Here it is, another bumbling, barely articulate press conference by Dubya, one of few he ever gives because he clearly hates the things and is deeply troubled by them, hates reporters who ask complicated questions and hates people who dare doubt his simple mindset, his effectiveness, his policies, his lopsided myopic one-way black/white good/evil worldview.
Bush hates press conferences because he can't speak extemporaneously and can't form a complete sentence without mashing up the language like a five-year-old and can't express a complex idea to save his life and somewhere deep down, he knows it, and he knows we know it, and it makes him mumble and stutter and wish he could be somewhere else, anywhere else, like sittin' on the back porch in Texas eatin' ribs and dreamin' 'bout baseball. Ahhh, there now. That's better.
But here he is, instead, stuck like a pinned bug in the Rose Garden, struggling to answer tricky, multisyllabic questions from the godforsaken press. Go ahead, read the Q&A, linked above. It's sort of staggering. It's also very impressive, in a soul-stabbing, nauseating way.
Bush is, to be sure and in a word, unyielding. Determined. Immovable. Also, deeply confused. Myopic as hell. Frighteningly narrow minded. Weirdly random. Childish in a way that would make any good parent seriously question whether it might be time to get their child some Ritalin and an emetic.
Unlike you or me or any human anywhere who happens to be in possession of humility or subtlety of mind, Bush, to this day, admits zero mistakes. He refuses help, rejects suggestions that everything is not dandy and swell. He is confounded by questions that dare suggest he might be somewhat inept, or failing. And he absolutely insists that America exists in some sort of bizarre utopian vacuum, isolated and virtuous and towering like a mad hobbled king over our enemies and allies alike.
He is, in other words, our downfall.
Iraq? Going smoothly, Bush says, happy with the progress there, despite huge surges in insurgent violence and endless uptick of the U.S. death toll and the utter wasteland we've made of that poor, shredded nation.
Iran, North Korea and Egypt? Just dandy. No serious problems at all. Gotta talk more with that "North Korean" guy though, sort out the "nukuler" problem. Sneering thug John Bolton for U.N. ambassador? You betcha, still on track, a good man, despite what everybody -- and I do mean everybody -- says.
Overhaul Social Security, despite an enormous lack of support from Dems and Repubs and the vast majority of the American people? "Just a matter of time," Bush mutters, completely blinded to the fact that it's an enormous mistake. His deeply hypocritical stance on stem-cell research that kow-tows to the deeply ignorant Christian Right? No real answer there. Doesn't compute. Just shrug that sucker right off.
Notice, when you read: There is no eloquent, deeply felt defense of ideas. There is no intellectual breakdown of opinion, no multifaceted explanation, no passionate clarification. And there is certainly no reference to outside ideas, a confession that we might need help, input, wisdom from our neighbors, from science, from the wise and the experienced.
It's a fact we've known all along but which keeps hammering at us like a drunk gorilla hammers at a dead mouse: Bush is able to speak only at one level, to one level. The level of a child. The level of a simpleton. The level of a sweet, bumbling, small-town mayor, addressing a PTA meeting, everyone in soft plaids and everyone drinking light beer and everyone wondering about just what the heck to do about the rusty swing sets and the busted stoplight.
Bush is, of course, not talking to you or me or anyone with a remotely active imagination when he speaks at press conferences, or at his staged, pre-screened, sycophant-rich "town hall" meetings, so full of plain, everyday folk hand-selected for their blind love of Shrub and lack of ability to ask hard questions (read this transcript of a recent town hall on Social Security, and come away stupefied at the man's shocking ability to appear just exactly as gullible and uneducated as his questioners).
He is not even speaking to conservative Democrats or moderate Republicans. He's certainly not speaking to highly educated people who harbor a sincere curiousity for and tenuous understanding of the complexities of the world.
Bush is, of course, speaking to children. He is speaking to babies. It is a decidedly shallow and hollow and oddly deflated type of language that offers not a single nutritious or substantive thought to the political or cultural dialogue, other than to expand his staggering collection of embarrassing Bushisms.
It's all merely a crayon drawing, an intellectual wading pool, a big messy cartoon world populated by manly white good guys and fanged dark evil guys and we are good and They are evil and that's all there is to it so please stop asking weird tricky polysyllabic questions.
Maybe this is appropriate. Maybe this is as it should be. After all, we are, by and large, a nation that refuses to grow up, refuses to take responsibility for our gluttony and its global effects, refuses to see the world as it is now, a mad tangle of interconnected humanity, a global marketplace, a hodgepodge of variegated religions all stemming from the same source and which therefore all require a nimble and nuanced and deeply intelligent leadership, to navigate. Qualities which our current leadership has, well, not at all.
The U.S. still behaves, when all is said and done, like one of those scared wild monkeys, clinging desperately to a shiny object despite the trap closing in all around us, unable to let go of this old, silly, faux-cowboy mentality of boom boom kill kill God is your daddy now sit down and shut up.
What causes the downfall of empires? What causes the implosion of leadership, the slide of great nations into the deep muck of recession and war and mediocrity and numb irrelevance? That's easy. Stagnation. Refusal to change. Refusal to adapt, to progress. Refusal to grow the hell up, to take responsibility for our shortcomings and failures, as well as our successes.
Indeed, George W. Bush would make a great small-town mayor, somewhere deep in a dusty, forgotten part of Texas. His still-appalling inability to speak with any depth or resonance, coupled with his brand of personable, aww-shucks, none-too-bright simpleton worldview is perfect for some cute, redneck, tiny burg. It really is.
But for a major world power caught in the throes of a desperate need to change and grow and evolve, he is, of course, imminent death, leading us deeper into a regressive ideological tar pit from which we may never emerge.
I think we will emerge, but not for a long time as more of his shit goes through.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Your message was sent to the following recipients
Your U.S. RepresentativeI am writing to urge you to protect the civil rights of all Americans by supporting the Freedom to Read Amendment to protect American's freedom to read.
Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act jeopardizes our civil liberties by severely expanding the scope of materials the FBI can access with a warrant from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court. In short, the FBI can demand bookstores and libraries to hand over all lists of all of their patrons and what books they've purchased or borrowed. It also prevents bookstore owners and librarians from telling patrons they're being watched or searched. Far from being theoretical possibilities, these powers are already being used.
The Freedom to Read Amendment would prohibit the Department of Justice from using any money in its budget to search a library or bookseller using the wide-sweeping powers granted under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. The amendment would restore and protect the privacy and First Amendment rights of library and bookstore patrons which were in place before the USA PATRIOT Act.
Passage of this amendment would still allow the FBI to use all constitutionally sanctioned means to obtain warrants and criminal subpoenas to access library and bookstore records pertinent to investigations related to terrorism or criminal acts.
I have just one question. Does any of this remind you of the beginnings of Nazi Germany?
Please vote yes on the amendment to protect American's freedom to read. I look forward to hearing how you address this very important issue.
Sincerely,
Ms. S. J.
Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act jeopardizes our civil liberties by severely expanding the scope of materials the FBI can access with a warrant from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court. In short, the FBI can demand bookstores and libraries to hand over all lists of all of their patrons and what books they've purchased or borrowed. It also prevents bookstore owners and librarians from telling patrons they're being watched or searched. Far from being theoretical possibilities, these powers are already being used.
The Freedom to Read Amendment would prohibit the Department of Justice from using any money in its budget to search a library or bookseller using the wide-sweeping powers granted under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. The amendment would restore and protect the privacy and First Amendment rights of library and bookstore patrons which were in place before the USA PATRIOT Act.
Passage of this amendment would still allow the FBI to use all constitutionally sanctioned means to obtain warrants and criminal subpoenas to access library and bookstore records pertinent to investigations related to terrorism or criminal acts.
I have just one question. Does any of this remind you of the beginnings of Nazi Germany?
Please vote yes on the amendment to protect American's freedom to read. I look forward to hearing how you address this very important issue.
Sincerely,
Ms. S. J.
The People's Email Network PRIORITY Action ALERT
With all the focus on letters going to the president demanding an investigation of the Downing Street minutes and its disclosure of the plan to fix the intelligence on Iraq, it is just as or even MORE IMPORTANT for us to speak out directly to our members of Congress as well. John Conyers needs every member of Congress with integrity to sign on to his letter of inquiry, and your pressure on them can make that a realityhttp://www.usalone.com/warlies.htmWhat we now know is our president was determined to have his war with Iraq, justified or not, legal or not, and whether it would actually INCREASE TERRORISM and the threat to America or not. He conspired with the British government to try to provoke a military response from Iraq with massive bombings in 2002, and even though Iraq did not strike back he invaded anyway. He was gambling Iraq would not cooperate with the weapons inspectors, and in spite of the fact that they were fully cooperating he invaded anyway. The truth has finally come out that Iraq had no weapons threatening us with any kind of destruction, and he had every reason to know that all along.It's time for us to demand that Congress fulfill its constitutional duty to hold the president to account. It's time to investigate why WE WERE LIED TO, who was involved in manufacturing and promoting those lies, and who should now be held responsible for running our military, our budget, and our respect in the world into the ground for this illegal, horrific and endless disaster. The action page below will send your personal message directly to all your members of Congress at once.http://www.usalone.com/warlies.htmTake action NOW on this and post and forward this message everywhere you can to everyone you know.
Here it is folks. Lets get rid of the Shrub!!
Here it is folks. Lets get rid of the Shrub!!
Must we endure more of the hidden bush bullshit?
How many people know that this is even in the patriot acts? The patriot acts should be allowed to fade into infamy along with so much of the other things that the Shrub and his shrubettes have and are still trying to do to our country. We don't need the acts, they are serving no usefull purpose and they really are illegal in a healthy society. Saying that of course we haven't had a healthy society since the religious right and shrub co-opted it. Why people are you so complacent on what he is doing? He doesn't speak for so many of us and yet we stand back and say very little to nothing. Why? Is this society so afraid of the mis-spoken individual that holds the title of something that is supposed to be IN SERVICE of ALL of the people of this country and not just the "privalaged few" in other words the rich, the religious right christains, the big corporations?
"If the 1st Amendment means anything, it means that a state has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his own house, what books he may read or what films he may watch." - Justice Thurgood Marshall writing the majority opinion in STANLEY v. GEORGIA
When the "Patriot Act" was first passed just six weeks after the attacks of 9/11 it included several provisions that were, well, un-American. One of the worst allows the government to go before a secret court to get a secret subpoena to access just about any records they want from libraries and bookstores to find out who's reading what. Included in the subpoenas is a gag order for the librarians and booksellers that threatens them with jail time if they tell anyone (you, for example) about the search. And because of the secrecy and gag orders these subpoenas can never be challenged because the victims don't know about them and the librarians and booksellers can't talk about them. [1]
When they finally got around to actually reading the Patriot Act, many Members of Congress were concerned about this intrusion on our liberties. Rep. Bernie Sanders pulled together a coalition from the left and the right to overturn this madness and last year offered an amendment to the budget forbidding any money to be spent on these secret searches, essentially ending them. Miracle of miracles, despite strong pressure from the Republican leadership the amendment passed the House. Then, in another un-American - and unprecedented - move the Republican leadership said that the vote wasn't actually over and then spent hours twisting arms getting Republican legislators to change their votes. They kept this up until they had turned enough votes and then, BANG, voting was ended. Shocking. For those of you keeping score, that's parliamentary hijinks to overturn a majority vote so that secret courts and gag orders could be maintained.
Well, Rep. Sanders and his colleagues are going to try again this week and this time we think they might win. Please take a moment to join with the American Booksellers Association and the American Library Association in telling your Congressmember to support the Freedom to Read Protection Act. If you are a member of TrueMajorityACTION, just click "Reply" and "Send" in your email program to send a message (text below). If this email was forwarded to you or you want to edit the message just click this link:
http://action.truemajority.org/campaign/Freedom_to_Read_Act
To hear a fascinating story about how the system is supposed to work click here and check out an NPR story about one library system that challenged a conventional subpoena and won. [2] The lesson here is that if the FBI had used the Patriot Act instead of traditional laws the librarians couldn't have appealed and the subpoena couldn't have been overturned.
Thanks for helping,
Andrew Greenblatt Online Organizer
P.S. For those of you who may have feared that I was shipped off to Guantanamo, or worse, I was just on paternity leave. Nothing focuses your attention on improving our country quite like having a baby. It's good to be back.
[1] For the record, Attorney General Gonzales claims there have never been any secret searches. This "trust me" is from the same guy who thinks it really isn't torture if all your vital organs are still working.
[2] NPR report about a Washington State library that was ability to fight off a standard subpoena: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4676707
Here is the letter we'll send to your Congressmember:
Dear Representative:
I urge you to join with legislators on both sides of the aisle in supporting the Freedom to Read Act. The USA PATRIOT act gave law enforcement officials new powers to conduct searches of bookstore and library records that eliminate the safeguards against unreasonable searches we rely on as a free people.
If the Freedom to Read Act passes law enforcement agencies will still be able to search these records if they receive a valid warrant, but any attempt to overreach can be checked by an appeals process that has protected all of our rights for hundreds of years. As an American I deserve nothing less.
Thank you for supporting freedom.
"If the 1st Amendment means anything, it means that a state has no business telling a man, sitting alone in his own house, what books he may read or what films he may watch." - Justice Thurgood Marshall writing the majority opinion in STANLEY v. GEORGIA
When the "Patriot Act" was first passed just six weeks after the attacks of 9/11 it included several provisions that were, well, un-American. One of the worst allows the government to go before a secret court to get a secret subpoena to access just about any records they want from libraries and bookstores to find out who's reading what. Included in the subpoenas is a gag order for the librarians and booksellers that threatens them with jail time if they tell anyone (you, for example) about the search. And because of the secrecy and gag orders these subpoenas can never be challenged because the victims don't know about them and the librarians and booksellers can't talk about them. [1]
When they finally got around to actually reading the Patriot Act, many Members of Congress were concerned about this intrusion on our liberties. Rep. Bernie Sanders pulled together a coalition from the left and the right to overturn this madness and last year offered an amendment to the budget forbidding any money to be spent on these secret searches, essentially ending them. Miracle of miracles, despite strong pressure from the Republican leadership the amendment passed the House. Then, in another un-American - and unprecedented - move the Republican leadership said that the vote wasn't actually over and then spent hours twisting arms getting Republican legislators to change their votes. They kept this up until they had turned enough votes and then, BANG, voting was ended. Shocking. For those of you keeping score, that's parliamentary hijinks to overturn a majority vote so that secret courts and gag orders could be maintained.
Well, Rep. Sanders and his colleagues are going to try again this week and this time we think they might win. Please take a moment to join with the American Booksellers Association and the American Library Association in telling your Congressmember to support the Freedom to Read Protection Act. If you are a member of TrueMajorityACTION, just click "Reply" and "Send" in your email program to send a message (text below). If this email was forwarded to you or you want to edit the message just click this link:
http://action.truemajority.org/campaign/Freedom_to_Read_Act
To hear a fascinating story about how the system is supposed to work click here and check out an NPR story about one library system that challenged a conventional subpoena and won. [2] The lesson here is that if the FBI had used the Patriot Act instead of traditional laws the librarians couldn't have appealed and the subpoena couldn't have been overturned.
Thanks for helping,
Andrew Greenblatt Online Organizer
P.S. For those of you who may have feared that I was shipped off to Guantanamo, or worse, I was just on paternity leave. Nothing focuses your attention on improving our country quite like having a baby. It's good to be back.
[1] For the record, Attorney General Gonzales claims there have never been any secret searches. This "trust me" is from the same guy who thinks it really isn't torture if all your vital organs are still working.
[2] NPR report about a Washington State library that was ability to fight off a standard subpoena: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4676707
Here is the letter we'll send to your Congressmember:
Dear Representative:
I urge you to join with legislators on both sides of the aisle in supporting the Freedom to Read Act. The USA PATRIOT act gave law enforcement officials new powers to conduct searches of bookstore and library records that eliminate the safeguards against unreasonable searches we rely on as a free people.
If the Freedom to Read Act passes law enforcement agencies will still be able to search these records if they receive a valid warrant, but any attempt to overreach can be checked by an appeals process that has protected all of our rights for hundreds of years. As an American I deserve nothing less.
Thank you for supporting freedom.
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