Well here we go again. Did we really just vote for “business as usual” in Washington or did we vote for change? I’m starting to think the former.
It was reported today over at Pam’s House Blend that Rick Warren, the mega-pastor at the mega-church who wrote the mega-best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life, has been asked by the Obama transition team to do the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration on January 20th, 2009.
This is the same Rick Warren who has, on numerous occasions defended the passage of Proposition 8 in California, and compared gays and lesbians to zoophiles, pedophiles and polygamists.
(listen around the 2:10 mark)
The last time the President-elect was confronted with this sort of situation it was almost forgivable because the person was rather obscure. In particular I’m talking about the Rev. Donnie McClurkin, an ex-gay pastor who would sing at Obama campaign rallies.
Yes on this particularly murky rainy day in Washington DC, the Swamps of the Freepi seem murkier, slimier, and ultimately more dangerous as the nasty claws and teeth gnash and gnarl at their prey.
There’s no other way around it: When you accuse someone of perpetrating “ethnic cleansing” in any way, shape or form, you are accusing them of genocide.
Genocide. Let that word work its way around your mind for an moment. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group. Think about that. And then watch the most grotesque public statement made by any elected official in the United States in the last 100 years.
No, I’m not kidding or reaching for the hyperbole. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) in the video below accuses the Bush administration of perpetrating “ethnic cleansing by hurricane” in Louisana after Katrina, in order to make Louisiana more Republican. The video and audio quality aren’t good, but the words are there. Listen a couple of times if you have to.
While I don’t normally find myself agreeing with or liking any of the religious “right” groups, I must agree with the AFA’s stance on the censorship of Brittany McComb’s speech. Her right to free speech and freedom of religion were both violated by school officials and the ACLU. The schools have decided to err too far on the side of “separation of church and state” and forgotten that it is the student’s rights to pray if they want to, or to form student religious organizations. They’ve also forgotten that the student’s rights to free speech is what is important in today’s society.
Schools are sending the message that only secular speech and thinking is allowed in public settings when we all know this simply isn’t true. As a private citizen anyone is allowed to think and talk with religious overtones. She was merely thanking her God for helping her get to where she was in life. She was not speaking on behalf of the school and therefore should have been allowed to say her speech in full and unedited.
Now if only the fundamentalists at the AFA could get it through their thick boulbus skulls to actually practice what they preach and leave others’ alone when they make speeches regarding acceptance of the GLBT community. While I think it’s deplorable what the school and the ACLU have done to this student it is absolutely reprehensible what the AFA and other pro-family organizations do to gay youth who want to start a Gay/Straight Alliance at their school or promote Anti-Bullying laws.
One day the AFA will get it right.
Brittany McComb was one of the valedictorians at Foothill High School recently. She graduated with a 4.7 GPA. She earned the right to address the other graduates at Foothill, located in Henderson, Nevada.
She gave a copy of her graduating speech to the school administrators. It contained some Biblical references and even mentioned (one time) the name “Christ”. The school administrators censored some of the Biblical references. They also censored the single reference to Christ.
Then the school officials handed the speech over to the ACLU for approval and/or more censoring. After getting the OK from the ACLU, Brittany’s speech (minus the censored references to the Bible and Christ) was approved. Brittany was warned that if she deviated from the ACLU approved language, her mike would be cut off.
Then came the moment for the big decision. She would not bow down, she decided. She would go with her original version. She stepped to the mike and began her speech. But just before she could utter the name “Christ”, her mike went dead. School officials silenced her. The crowd of 400 jeered for several minutes, angry at the action of the school officials. The ACLU was happy. They had silenced another Christian.
“I went through four years of school at Foothill and they taught me logic and they taught me freedom of speech. God’s the biggest part of my life. Just like other valedictorians thank their parents, I wanted to thank my lord and savior,” Brittany said.
Because she refused to bow down to the ACLU’s idol of gold, she did not get her wish. She was censored.
This young heroine deserves praise and a thank you from those who believe in free speech.
AFA is up in arms over a scene in CBS show ‘Without A Trace’ where two female cast members embrace in a ‘passionate’ kiss. The kiss is only about 3 or 4 seconds long but of course any sort of homo action is considered offensive by the overly sensitive AFA.
Take a look kissgirl.wmv (Warning: This may be offensive to female homophobes. Men might find it erotic)
AFA is up in arms over a scene in CBS show ‘Without A Trace’ where two female cast members embrace in a ‘passionate’ kiss. The kiss is only about 3 or 4 seconds long but of course any sort of homo action is considered offensive by the overly sensitive AFA. 