The purge of American Churches, and more fun facts from the Religous Wrong!
Today we will look at some nutty behavior from the “Religious” Right. First, it appears that the great purge of churches in America has begun. It began with a test balloon send out in Waynesville, North Carolina where a Baptist preacher, Rev. Chan Chandler, who ran out nine congregants because they did not support President Bush. The Full story can be found here http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/10/church.politics.ap/index.html. Rev. Chandler was forced to step down and the congregants were welcomed back, however this should not be confused as a victory for those seeking to keep politics out of our faith, it was in fact the first shot in what may develop into a growing movement in America. CNN reports:
In St. Paul, Minnesota for example a Roman Catholic priest denied communion to more than 100 people Sunday, saying they could not receive the sacrament because they wore rainbow-colored sashes to church to show support for gay Catholics. Of course the fact that the priesthood is filled with homosexuals makes this hypocritical, we can also see that politics once again have crept into a house of worship. The Rainbow Sash Alliance says that by wearing the sash, members "publicly claim our place at Christ's table, sacramentally expressing the truth in our lives, and calling the church to embrace a new day of integrity and freedom." Organizer Brian McNeill wrote to Flynn last month, explaining that the sashes are a symbol "to celebrate the gift of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender sexuality."
Flynn wrote back to say the sashes are "more and more perceived as a protest against church teaching," declaring that it has never been acceptable "to use the reception of communion as an act of protest."
Full story available here: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/15/gay.communion.ap/index.html

Imagine if Jesus had only preached to those who agreed with him. What if Jesus refused to preach to sinners? What if Jesus refused to be tolerant to others, or applied a Political litmus test to people he preached to?
This is not to suggest that all religious leaders are preaching hate, quite to the contrary. One church which is reaching out to all people in the spirit of Jesus is the United Church of Christ, you can join there fight against discrimination here http://www.ucctakeaction.org/action/
I would like to point out that I am not affiliated with this church, in fact I am a practicing Jew.
Hungry for more religious nuts? Oh yes you are! The New Scientist reports about a new possible Cervical Cancer Vaccine. The full story can be found here. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/sex/mg18624954.500

It goes on to report that In the US, for instance, religious groups are gearing up to oppose vaccination, despite a survey showing 80 per cent of parents favor vaccinating their daughters. "Abstinence is the best way to prevent HPV," says Bridget Maher of the Family Research Council, a leading Christian lobby group that has made much of the fact that, because it can spread by skin contact, condoms are not as effective against HPV as they are against other viruses such as HIV.

"Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex," Maher claims, though it is arguable how many young women have even heard of the virus.
Wow, all women must suffer outrageous risk because some people don’t like what it might do to you sex life. Who are these people and why are there in our lives? Why do they have such power over us?
The madness does not end there, we finally have Plan B. From the Washington post we find out that:
Soon after the Food and Drug Administration overruled its advisory panel last year and rejected an application to make an emergency contraceptive more easily available, critics of the agency said it had ignored scientific evidence and yielded to pressure from social conservatives.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/11/AR2005051101812.html
Once again Religion trumps good science! Why are we putting up with this nonsense, seriously?

SECULAR AMERICA
Mood:  energetic
I consider myself an average Jew. I keep the High holidays, I fast on Yom Kippur, I pray on Friday nights, and I keep Kosher. I am also a proud secular American. My religion is my business, I don't really need the government sticking it's nose in my religion, and I don't want to force others to my view. In my America nobody has to keep kosher if they don't want to, and it is not a political issue. Being secular does not mean I reject religion, I just think it's personal, I share it with whom ever I wish, and thats the way I like it. As a secular American I believe that I should be able to take care of my own religious faith, and that the government should worry about the business of government.

I believe in the culture of life. By that I mean that as part of the culture of life we should provide condoms to help stop the spread of HIV in the world. I believe as part of the culture of life stem cell research should be moving forward so we can save countless lives, and prevent needless deaths. I believe as part of the culture of life, that pregnant women who may die giving birth, be allowed to terminate their pregnancy. I believe that it is better to have two gay parents and make adoption more open if it means less abortions. I believe that in a culture of life our children should be given the tools to protect themselves from HIV and STD's, and abstinence only isn't going to cut it. I believe that being apart of this culture of life, does not mean that people should be robbed of dignity at death, but should be able to chose to die as they have lived, with dignity and in peace.

I also believe in family values and the sanctity of marriage. I believe marriage is a great stabilizing force in this world, and we should encourage marriage. I don't understand why the same people that trumpet all the good marriage can do, would want to keep it from homosexuals. For what purpose? To what ends? No, I am true believer in the power of marriage, and the more people that are married the better.

I am a true believer in moral values. One that takes care of the poor and least fortunate among us, and does not give tax give aways to the mega-wealthy on the backs of working Americans. I am a true believer in the culture of life, but I already have a rabbi, I don't need another one in the form of a president. The president puts his hand on the bible to uphold the constitution, not the other way around. I have faith and I am a secular American. Are you?

NANNY NATION
What do Gay marriage, Howard stern and Terri Schiavo have in common? They are all part of a new movement that calls itself "Conservative." But is it really? While many people will point out the hypocrisy of a president that says we should "err on the side of life" when he signed into a law a bill that allows a hospital to end care if they deem it futile, and of course there's the whole signing more death warrants in Texas history sometimes only taking 30 minutes of consideration. Strange way for a man to "err on the side of life." One could also point out the hypocrisy of a congress that passed a budget cutting Medicaid funding that funds feeding tubes for people like Mrs. Schiavo.

These are disturbing facts, but what is really happening here? Congress has passed a law that allows the parents of Terri Schiavo and only applicable to the parents of Terri Schiavo, that is actually written into the legislation, to bring their case to the federal courts. Is it really conservative to have a law that only affects one person and doesn't't affect others in a similar situation? Is there any question that this is not proper nor American in any way?

In the past few years the government has decided that they have the authority to tell us whom we can marry, what can and can't be said on the airways, and even if we can live or die, despite instructions we may have given to our family members. All of this of course is based on the personal faith of the members in congress. Now perhaps I misunderstood conservative values, but isn't this all the complete opposite of what conservatives claim to stand for? Even "No child left behind" institutes a federal test affectively instituting a federal curriculum. Will the day come where the test will ask questions about evolution or sex ed? States rights do have a place in America, is there any reason why moderates in the right cannot join moderates on the left in standing up to this clear abuse of power?

This is a call to action especially to those on the right, moderate republicans have been under siege by their own party, and it is time to push back! The fact is that the republican party is already under the control not of conservatives, but that of hypocrites, religious extremists, and demagogues.

Our democracy is under attack right now, religious extremists and short sited opportunists are reaching for power. Abuse of power, journalists on government payrolls, fake news reports produced but the governments, I just refuse to call this a problem with "Conservatives" as this goes against everything conservatives believe in. Now is the time to stand up and be counted, not because we are republican or democrats, but because we are Americans, and our democracy is under attack. The only question is, are we going to fight back? If we do nothing we are facing a future where the government can keep you alive despite you wishes, ruling by state courts will be all but meaningless, and all that will be on will be Sean Hannity and other government run propaganda.

Full disclosure: I consider myself a left of center moderate.

A new day!
This blog will be updated weekly from this day forward, with issues of political hypocrisy, does the fun ever start!?

IT HAS BEGAN
source:http://money.cnn.com/2004/10/11/news/newsmakers/sinclair_kerry/index.htm?cnn=yes

For those who question the goals of the political right, there can be no question after todays announcement that the Sinclair Broadcast Group, has ordered all of there stations, 25% of all stations in the US, to broadcast the Anti-Kerry film "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" without commercials, on prime time two weeks before election day. You may remember Sinclair as the broadcasting group that would not air the Nightline episode that read the names of all casualties in the Iraq war because it was "not in the interest of the public." The hypocrisy here shines thorough, perhaps the most frightening part of this story is that here we have a media company controlling what we can and cannot see based on a political agenda. We must face, that a dangerous political undercurrent has began to take hold in this nation, one in which political operatives decide what we can and cannot see, one in which huge media companies control all the information and how its is shaped. This goes beyond the conservative slant of Fox News, this goes into pure propaganda. The fundamental freedoms of this country are clearly in danger here, will you take a stand?

AVOIDING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
source:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/10/07/delay.ethics/index.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12933-2004Oct6.html

CNN, among other news agencies reports today, that House Majority Leader Tom Delay, has essentially gotten a slap on the wrist for three admonishments in one week. Thats right count them three.

The Washington Post reports details of one of the most outrageous charges for which he was rebuked.

"The ethics report cited House rules that bar members from taking "any official action on the basis of the partisan affiliation . . . of the individuals involved." It noted that the FAA official later said he felt he "had been used" for political purposes. DeLay's role in the matter "raises serious concerns under these standards of conduct," the report said. "

He used information from the FAA to locate democratic law makers in order to redistrict Texas counties in a way favorable to republicans.

Tom Delay used an essential government agency, using tax payers money, and valuable resources, for political reasons, and all he gets is a rebuke? He used a government agency, which both democrats and republicans pay for political needs, and he doesn't even get a fine? No penalty at all?

Perhaps the most dangerous part of this charge is the idea that a politician can use government agencies for his own purpose, political or otherwise, whenever he wishes, and fear no serious repercussions. Can Delay use the FAA and other government agencies to track down anybody he wishes when he wishes? Can he use the FAA or FBI to track down citizens he has grudges with? How about if his pizza is late, can he use government agencies then to track down the pizza delivery man? What is the limit to which Delay can use government agencies for his own personal use, before he faces serious repercussions from the house ETHICS committee? Obviously subverting democracy is not enough.

"The committee also admonished DeLay for his dealings with top officers of Kansas-based Westar Energy Inc. Some of the officers wrote memos in 2002 citing their belief that $56,500 in campaign contributions to political committees associated with DeLay and other Republicans would get them "a seat at the table" where key legislation was being drafted. " The Washington Post reported.

What did Tom Delay have to say about all this?

The Washington Post reported:

DeLay said in a statement that he believed the complaint "should have been thrown out immediately," but, "I accept the committee's guidance. . . . For years Democrats have hurled relentless personal attacks at me, hoping to tie my hands and smear my name. All have fallen short, not because of insufficient venom, but because of insufficient merit."

Amazing, not even a little remorse, in fact he seems very proud that he got away with his shameful acts.

The same article also reported that Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said "If the Republican Conference wants the American people to believe that it takes ethics seriously," she continued, "it must insist that Mr. DeLay resign his post as majority leader."

Any American who believes in democracy, and the idea that politicians are not above the law, cannot, and should not stand for this kind of behavior, it's time to take personal responsibility Mr. Delay, and all freedom loving Americans should be calling for Delay to step down and resign. And you don't have to be a republican or democrat to see that.