Ian David
Ian David's JournalMaysa - "Have Sweet Dreams" - A Tribute To Michelle and Barack Obama
Maysa - "Have Sweet Dreams" - A Tribute To Michelle and Barack Obama
A loving tribute to Barack and Michelle Obama -- Performed by Maysa, written by Stevie Wonder and Kimberly Brewer (with Stevie on harmonica). From Maysa's "Motions Of Love" album.
Navy atheist required to pray, say “Amen”, and feign hatred of atheists
Navy atheist required to pray, say “Amen”, and feign hatred of atheists
<snip>
Dear Friend,
I am writing today to make you aware of my situation. I am an Atheist, yes, that’s right, an Atheist. I am also an active duty Sailor with the U.S. Navy.
You may be asking why this concerns you.
You might think that because you don’t care, no-one else does.
You may be thinking that I should not be in the military.
You may be telling yourself that Atheists are evil, misguided or deluded.
You may think that Atheists don’t have the courage or the “moral fiber” to be in the military.
I am here to tell you that all of the above is false.
<snip>
I have only been in the military for a short time, a little more than two years, yet in that time I have been in many occasions required to pray in public, required to listen and respond “Amen” after a blessing of food, and been in conversations with my superiors and been forced to respond in agreement to their comments on how Atheists are ruining America due to fear of reprisal based on how hateful their comments were.
More:
http://freethoughtblogs.com/rockbeyondbelief/2012/02/25/navy-atheist-required-to-pray-say-amen-and-feign-hatred-of-atheists/
When I hear about things like this, I am reminded of...
Except I don't think it usually ends this well.
FLORIDA: Church Bans Children to Keep Pedophile Pastor
FLORIDA: Church Bans Children to Keep Pedophile Pastor
A church in Jacksonville, Florida is coming under fire for its controversial decision to ban children from its church services.
According to a local Jacksonville news affiliate, Christ Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church has banned children from attending Sunday services because their new pastor, Darrell Gilyard, is a registered sex offender and cannot have contact with children.
In 2009 Gilyard plead guilty to lewd conduct and lewd molestation of two underage girls. While he was the pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church Gilyard molested a 15-year-old girl and sent a lewd text message to another. Under the conditions of his plea agreement, Gilyard cannot have “unsupervised contact with children under 18 years old,” and his new church has taken extraordinary steps to help Gilyard stick to the terms of his deal.
Despite the seriousness of his offense, Gilyard’s return to the pulpit was swift. After being released from jail on December 28, he resumed preaching in January, and told reporters he hopes he can move past this incident and continue with his work.
More:
http://clergygonewild.com/sex-abuse/34-child-abuse/1424--florida-church-bans-children-to-keep-pedophile-pastor
Mihos, (Republican) former candidate for Mass. governor, under investigation for domestic abuse
Yarmouth Police last night said they have begun an investigation into former Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Christy P. Mihos regarding two possible incidents of domestic violence.
In a statement, Yarmouth Police said they are working with the Martin County Sheriff’s Department in Florida to investigate two alleged incidents that occurred in the last year. The first, police said, allegedly occurred July 7 in West Yarmouth, where the 62-year-old Mihos lives in a gated home on Great Island with his wife, Andrea. The second incident allegedly occurred Monday in Stuart, Fla.
<snip>
He is known across Massachusetts as a quirky public figure and gained a reputation as a political renegade in the late 1990s as a dissenting member of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board. Mihos’s criticism of the management of the Big Dig project caused Jane Swift, then acting governor, to remove him from the board.
Mihos returned to the political limelight in 2006 when he ditched the Republican Party and ran for governor as an independent. He used nearly $4 million of his own money in his campaign, but still lost. He then returned to the Republican Party and was considered a serious contender for the GOP nomination in 2010, but his second gubernatorial campaign was mired by financial wrongdoings, and he failed to earn enough support to qualify for the primary ballot.
More:
http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2012/02/christy-mihos-former-candidate-for-massachusetts-governor-under-investigation-for-alleged-domestic-violence-episodes/T7O6OR4PX411438W4LybcP/index.html
Eric Schwartz - Hattie and Mattie
Eric Schwartz - Hattie and Mattie
STFU Newt Gingrich and STFU Santorum (Language is NSFW)
Also:
STFU Santorum
&feature=channel
Let Women Speak! Rally in Dracut, Saturday Feb. 25th 8:30-9:30 AM
Join us in Dracut to urge Senator Scott Brown to protect women’s health care!
Last week Republicans in Congress held a hearing on birth control and refused to let women speak. Out of 10 panelists, only 2 were women –and none of the panelists supported access to birth control. Several members asserted the issue had nothing to do with women’s health.
If women were allowed to speak, here’s one thing we know for sure – we’d be urging the Senate to OPPOSE Senator Blunt’s proposal to undo the birth control benefit. If the Blunt proposal passes, any corporation or insurance company could deny virtually any essential health care service, including birth control coverage.
Unfortunately, Senator Scott Brown has endorsed the Blunt proposal. This is by far one of the most extreme proposals on health care that we’ve ever seen. It totally undermines the whole notion of health insurance.
Join women’s health advocates to LET WOMEN SPEAK outside Senator Brown’s Town Hall at ML Shaws in Dracut this Saturday! We encourage you to get there at 8:15.
This is your chance to tell Senator Brown why birth control matters to YOU.
More:
https://www.facebook.com/events/194324030667515
Elizabeth Warren - Radio Ad: "Wow"
Elizabeth Warren - Radio Ad: "Wow"
Elizabeth Warren speaks out against the Blunt Amendment, a dangerous measure that would allow insurance companies and employers to deny health care coverage to anyone for any reason -- including, but not limited to, blocking access to contraception.
http://www.elizabethwarren.com
Orthodox Jews Come Out for Marriage Equality in Maryland
When most people think of Orthodox Jews and marriage equality they think of opposition to marriage equality. This is no different than the perceptions about devout Catholics or evangelical Protestants. However, as with every other community, there is not uniformity despite the public perception. Last night, I received an email from a friend that lives in Maryland and was a letter written to members of the Maryland legislature by Orthodox Jews that support marriage equality. The text of the letter is below the fold.
Dear Maryland State Senators and Delegates,
As Orthodox Jewish supporters of marriage equality in Maryland, we urge you to support marriage equality for all committed and loving Maryland families. Tens of thousands of gay and lesbian Marylanders deserve to be treated just like everyone else.
The United States and Maryland offer unprecedented freedom for Jews to practice their religion, and as Orthodox Jews we benefit from this on a daily basis. However, as important as our freedom to practice our religion is to us, we are equally committed to the separation of church and state and do not wish to impose our religious beliefs on others.
Marriage is not just a religious institution; it carries significant civil and legal consequences. Disallowing part of Maryland's population access to those civil and legal consequences based on religious convictions represents an unwarranted and unwelcome commingling of religion and politics.
<snip>
This letter does not tiptoe around, or address, any religious arguments for or against marriage equality. Instead, it dismisses them as irrelevant in a secular state where religion and state are separated. It focuses on what marriage equality is — a civil rights issue — and the communal good that comes from guaranteeing equal rights to all citizens.
When it discusses marriage as both a civil and religious institution, and the separation of religion and state, it explicitly rebukes the arguments made against marriage equality. Remember, those arguments are about the "sanctity" of marriage. That, necessarily, grounds itself in religion and disavows a secular purpose. Remember, if the secular purpose is procreation, and the raising of those children, then elderly couples should not be allowed to marry and there should be tests to determine fertility before marriage.
More:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/20/1066802/-Orthodox-Jews-Come-Out-for-Marriage-Equality-in-Maryland
Obama Administration Wouldn’t Defend Blocking Military Benefits From Same-Sex Couples
The Obama Justice Department has concluded that legislation banning same-sex couples from receiving military and veterans benefits violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment and will no longer defend the statute in court, Attorney General Eric Holder wrote in a letter to Congressional leaders on Friday.
“The legislative record of these provisions contains no rationale for providing veterans’ benefits to opposite-sex couples of veterans but not to legally married same-sex spouses of veterans,” Holder wrote. “Neither the Department of Defense nor the Department of Veterans Affairs identified any justifications for that distinction that would warrant treating these provisions differently from Section 3 of DOMA.”
Holder said DOJ would no longer defend the provisions in Title 38 which prevent same-sex couples who are legally married from obtaining benefits. He said that Congress would be provided a “full and fair opportunity” to defend the statues in the McLaughlin v. Panetta case if they wished to do so.
As Holder writes, the benefits in question “include medical and dental benefits, basic housing allowances, travel and transportation allowances, family separation benefits, military identification cards, visitation rights in military hospitals, survivor benefits, and the right to be buried together in military cemeteries.”
President Obama is continuing to chip away at DOMA, one piece at a time.
More:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/02/obama-administration-wouldnt-defend-blocking-military-benefits-from-same-sex-couples.php?ref=fpa
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