Tennessee Cop Turned Pastor Urges Execution of Gays

A sermon in which a minister who is also a sheriff’s detective called for the execution of LGBTQ people has led to an investigation by authorities in Knox County, Tenn.

Grayson Fritts gave the sermon June 2 at All Scripture Baptist Church in Knoxville, where he is pastor, local TV station WVLT reports.

“The Bible says the powers that be are ordained of God, and God has instilled the power of civil government to send the police in 2019 out to these LGBT freaks and arrest them,” he said in the sermon, which was posted to Facebook. “Have a trial for them, and if they are convicted, then they are to be put to death ... do you understand that? It’s a capital crime to be carried out by our government.”

Tennessee Cop Turned Pastor Urges Execution of Gays

Pastor: I’m OK with gay marriage as long as they get shot in the head · PinkNews

Logan Robertson is a pastor at Westcity Bible Baptist Church in Auckland, New Zealand.

In a clip from a sermon uploaded to the church’s YouTube channel, he makes a shocking jibe about gay couples.

He says: “Someone emailed me, asking, what’s your view on homo marriage?

“My view on homo marriage is that the Bible never mentions it!

“So I’m not against them getting married… As long as a bullet goes through their head the moment they kiss.

“That’s what [the Bible] talks about – not homo marriage but homo death. There’s no such thing as homo marriage.

Pastor: I’m OK with gay marriage as long as they get shot in the head · PinkNews

UPDATED::Notes:: Twatwaffle of the Week for June 7, 2017 (#9)

UPDATE:: Pat Robertson: Nothing In The Bible Says Polygamy Is ‘Against The Bible’

Even the bloviating windbag knows complementarianism is bunk, I don't  know of “anything in the Bible that indicates that polygamy, as such, is against the Bible.”

My only caveat, as Robertson's point may not have been clear, while the OT does not condemn polygamy (without deep study) it appears as if polygamy is verboten in the NT. While the Matt and Mk verses speak to divorce, it talks of adultery - if one divorces one's spouse without valid grounds, the marriage is not truly dissolved and subsequent marriage is adulterous.  Paul, in Romans 7:3 pretty much says the same,"So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man."

Just to note how fucked up the Bile is concerning  polygamy and divorce, the usual song and dance given from an apologetic POV goes thusly,

• God allowed polygamy (Lamech the taking of two wives Gen 4:19; Deuteronomy 21:15-17 made provision in the Law for polygamous marriages; affirmed polygamy through His prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:7-8; and even required such Gen 38:6-10, Deut 25:5-10, Levirite marriage) but this doesn't mean that it is something God wants us to do.
• Divorce was "authorized" in the Mosaic Law (Deut 24), and "demanded" in the case of the returned exiles (Ezra 10). But, divorce is:: hated by God (Mal 2:16), prohibited by Jesus, except in extreme situations (Matt 19), permitted by God because of human failings (Mt 19.8).
•  BUT, the proscriptions above are "only" exceptions to behavioral norms that we are to follow. 

I don't know about you, but that ain't how I read it.  This is why I say that the Bile can not be used as a manual for relationships let alone anything else we face in the modern world.  Like Pat, it speaks from both sides.

_


 
Callie's thoughts
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10155367105709483&id=784114482

Some of DBs bullshit

• http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/david-barton-there-are-so-many-bible-verses-quoted-in-the-constitution/
• http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/david-barton-the-fact-that-there-is-no-mention-of-god-in-the-constitution-is-proof-its-not-a-secular-document/
• http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/david-barton-there-is-a-one-to-one-correlation-between-clauses-in-the-constitution-and-the-language-in-the-bible/
• http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/david-barton-claims-the-founding-fathers-used-the-exact-language-of-the-bible-to-write-the-constitution/

https://resources.christiangays.com/information/biblical-marriage-bad-source-debate/




See also:: http://theweek.com/articles/475141/how-marriage-changed-over-centuries


https://www.au.org/blogs/wall-of-separation/more-than-marriage-obergefell-v-hodges-is-about-women-s-rights-too


http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/gay-marriage-scotus-ross-douthat-oppression-vs-love 

https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/14-556q1_7l48.pdf (10-11, 70-71)

https://thinkprogress.org/justice-ginsburg-eviscerates-the-case-against-marriage-equality-in-just-five-sentences-3dcd28ffd8cd

See also:  When ‘Redefining Marriage’ Meant That Women Had To Be Treated Like Human Beings https://thinkprogress.org/when-redefining-marriage-meant-that-women-had-to-be-treated-like-human-beings-e9024a86ee44

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/10/the-genesis-code/379341/


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complementarianism  http://thewartburgwatch.com/2016/07/18/history-of-complementarianism-part-1/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danvers_Statement

https://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_ryan_are_we_designed_to_be_sexual_omnivores?language=en

http://jorymicah.com/dismantling-the-falsity-that-complementarianism-is-clearly-biblical/

https://classicalwisdom.com/greek_books/the-symposium/3/

Students asked to remove anti-gay badges 'for now'

School officials have asked a dozen students wearing anti-gay symbols at Shadow Hills High School in Indio to remove the badges “for now” pending further investigation by the Desert Sands Unified School District.

In a letter sent to Shadow Hills staff Monday morning, district Superintendent Gary Rutherford said "recently some information has been brought forward that requires additional investigation and follow-up to determine a proper course of action. Pending further investigation, we are going to ask students who are displaying the symbol showing a rainbow pattern with a circle and a line, at least for now, to remove symbols while at school.

Students asked to remove anti-gay badges 'for now'

UPDATED::West Virginia House approves religious exemptions bill – LGBTQ Nation

UPDATE::  Child abuse victim advocates concerned about 'religious freedom' bill 

HB 4012,  has been defeated!!  "HRC released the following statement after a bipartisan vote in the West Virginia Senate rejected HB 4012, a shameful anti-LGBT proposal that would put LGBT people -- and West Virginians of all walks of life -- at risk for discrimination. This bill failed to advance this afternoon by a vote of 7-27."

But, knowing how the Reich operates, they will not let this matter go especially as the following article notes in regards to a recent Louisiana court ruling, "which held the sincere practice of a religious belief above the safety and well-being of a child abuse victim."

HB 4012 may be a "dead duck" for now but we will see it again which make the concerns of child abuse even ore pressing.

People who work to prevent child abuse and help abuse victims in West Virginia are concerned that a bill up for a final vote in the Legislature on Wednesday could be used to justify child abuse in the name of “religious freedom.”

The bill (HB 4012), which is similar to “religious freedom restoration acts” in other states, establishes a legal process for courts to follow when people or businesses believe the government is violating their religious beliefs.

The law would establish a balancing test for courts to use when determining whether the person is being substantially burdened by government action, and whether the state has “compelling governmental interest” in ensuring the law is followed.

Governmental actions could include civil rights laws, including local LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances, so civil rights advocates fear the law will be used to allow discrimination against the LGBT community and other historically-discriminated against groups.

Proponents of the bill have openly said support stems from opposition to same-sex marriage.

Jim McKay, state coordinator for Prevent Child Abuse West Virginia, is worried about effects on another vulnerable group — children. He wonders if “governmental action” would also include laws to protect children.

__
Amid growing opposition from the business community, West Virginia‘s Republican-led House of Delegates cleared a bill Thursday that proponents say would ensure freedom of religious expression and opponents say would sanction discrimination.

In a 72-26 vote, delegates approved the measure that would let people cite religious objections to state actions in certain court proceedings.

The bill resembles laws in 21 states that are largely modeled off existing federal law. However, newer laws have garnered attention after the Supreme Court ruled to legalize gay marriage.
,,,
On Thursday, more than a dozen Democrats voted with the Republican majority, while a handful of Republicans opposed it.

The proposal moves to the Senate, where Republican Senate President Bill Cole hasn’t taken a position on it.
“That’s going to be a tough one,” Cole told reporters Monday. “There’s no question.”

West Virginia House approves religious exemptions bill – LGBTQ Nation

South Dakota Lawmakers Double Down on Anti-LGBT Discrimination | Advocate.com

South Dakota is making a name for itself as what may be America’s most anti-LGBT state. The Senate Education Committee today passed a new bathroom bill that would adversely impact transgender students. But that was just one measure in a week full of anti-LGBT actions by state lawmakers.

On Monday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed House Bill 1107, which the Human Rights Campaign called “extreme” legislation that if signed into law would authorize recipients of taxpayer funds to discriminate against same-sex couples, transgender people, and single mothers. Specifically, it would prevent the state from taking any punitive action against any entity that discriminates because of religious beliefs about sexuality, gender, and marriage.

The bill, titled “An Act to ensure government nondiscrimination in matters of religious beliefs and moral convictions,”was “disguised as an attempt to protect religious beliefs,” according to HRC.

“Anti-equality lawmakers in the South Dakota House of Representatives are sending a shameful message of intolerance and discrimination in the Mount Rushmore State,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow in a statement on HRC’s website.
,,,
Also Monday, a Republican state senator told constituents at a forum in Sioux Falls he considered trans people to be “psychologically damaged,” according to Fusion. Sen. David Omdahl spoke in support of the bill to “restrict access to certain restrooms and locker rooms in public schools” so that trans students would not be allowed to use the facilities that match their gender identity.

“I’m sorry if you’re so twisted you don’t even know who you are,” he said, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, “A lot of people are — and I’m telling you right now, it’s about protecting the kids.”

That bill, House Bill 1008, was denounced by HRC as “a vehemently discriminatory bill that would make the state the first in the nation to pass a law attacking transgender children.”

South Dakota Lawmakers Double Down on Anti-LGBT Discrimination | Advocate.com

UPDATED::James David Manning isn’t pleased that ‘fags’ are trying to buy his church – LGBTQ Nation

UPDATE::  I'll just leave this headline here as it speaks for itself,,,

BREAKING: Ali Forney Center reaches fundraising goal for buying ‘Harlem hate church’

UPDATE::  So close: Ali Forney Center has already raised $186,073 towards buying antigay ‘Harlem hate church’

One nonprofit group, the Ali Forney Center, has raised $186,073 on its website as part of an effort to buy the church and convert the building into transitional housing for homeless gay youths — the very population, its leaders say, that is most harmed by the Atlah church’s message.

“We ask our kids why they weren’t safe in their homes. … The No. 1 reason is because of the hostile religious beliefs of their parents,” said the center’s executive director, Carl Siciliano.
,,,
A second effort to buy the four-story brick and terra cotta church building been organized by the Rivers of Living Water Ministries, which serves mainly African-American LGBT worshippers. The church’s GoFundMe drive had raised more than $23,000 as of Friday morning.

_
If you remember, at the end of January, I posted this tid-bit from Joe.My.God, UPDATE: Ali Forney Center’s Donation Campaign To Buy Harlem Hate Church Tops $75K In First 48 Hours.  It seems that Manning has gone totally bonkers at the thought of a pro-LGBTQI purchasing his house of horrors and turning it into something useful.

This, so-called 'man of god', has such a way with words,,,

“All kind of stuff been spread around,” he blathers, “they’re going to turn this church into a bathhouse, they’re going to turn this church into a homeless building for the sodomites. The sodomites are sick as hell! This is the lord’s house! This ain’t no damn bathhouse! It ain’t no fag house! And before you can ever own this property, hook or crook, men who are fags with testicles will be carrying babies in their testicles and giving birth to them through their anus.”

As though that wasn’t enough food for thought to chew on for the afternoon, he added:

“That’s how impossible it is for you to get this house. When you start carrying a baby in your bags and birthing that baby through your ass… then you can own this house! But until I see you pull a baby out your ass, you ain’t gonna pull this church out from underneath us. Boom shaka-laka goes right there! And all you fags can go to hell!”

James David Manning isn’t pleased that ‘fags’ are trying to buy his church – LGBTQ Nation

See also::  BOOM LOWERED: State Court Orders Harlem Hate Church Be Placed At Public Auction Over Unpaid Bills

Church leader Pastor James Manning said in a phone conversation with DNAinfo New York that the foreclosure was mostly over unpaid water and sewage bills and vowed to fight the order, claiming his church’s tax exempt status means he doesn’t have to pay.

“I assure you, it’s about a water bill and a tax that can’t be levied against this church,” Manning said. “I think it’s a land grab quite frankly.” What Manning didn’t say is that there are nine federal tax liens against him totaling more than $355,000 from as far back as 2002. He also owes New York State for more than $28,000 and other creditors more than $30,000, public records show.

According to city records, the Internal Revenue Service released a federal lien against Manning in 2006 and the Bank of New York Mellon was assigned that lien in 2010. The church does receive $186,000 in tax exemption benefits from New York City, records show.

Bryan Fischer: 'The Proper Christian Response' To A Gay Couple's Wedding Is 'Grief And Sorrow' | Right Wing Watch

"Trump went to a so-called gay wedding himself of a friend in New York," LaBarbera said, "and he was quoted as saying, 'It was a beautiful thing.' Trump said that the gay wedding, so-called, that he went to between two men was a beautiful thing. And you have to ask yourself, Bryan, how many Christians ... would say that a homosexual so-called marriage is a beautiful thing?"
,,,
"If you have a biblical worldview, you'd be grieved for them," he said. "You'd be grieved for what they're heading into, grieved for the way in which homosexual behavior separates them from God, the risks that it's putting them at, the risk that it's going to put children to if they're adopted into that household. So the proper response would not be joy, it would not be celebration; the proper Christian response would grief and sorrow over what these two people are doing to themselves and also to others."

Bryan Fischer: 'The Proper Christian Response' To A Gay Couple's Wedding Is 'Grief And Sorrow' | Right Wing Watch

At Ted Cruz event, Duck Dynasty star says he wants to ‘rid the Earth’ of ‘wicked’ gays – LGBTQ Nation

Is this really a man you want running the country when he has the support of jack-wads like this:

When Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson took to the stage in Iowa at a Ted Cruz campaign event, the reality star argued that evangelical Christian voters should pick the conservative candidate based on his religious values. Robertson was the center of national controversy in late 2013 for his controversial positions on LGBTQ civil rights.

Robertson sold Cruz’s religious bonafides to the crowd in Iowa City saying the Senator would restore Biblical values to the federal government. Arguing that the country’s increasing acceptance of LGBT people is unacceptable, the elderly duck hunter called same-sex marriage “evil” and “wicked.”

“When a fellow like me looks at the landscape and sees the depravity, the perversion — redefining marriage and telling us that marriage is not between a man and a woman? Come on Iowa!” Robertson said. “It is nonsense. It is evil. It’s wicked. It’s sinful. They want us to swallow it, you say. We have to run this bunch out of Washington, D.C. We have to rid the earth of them. Get them out of there.”

At Ted Cruz event, Duck Dynasty star says he wants to ‘rid the Earth’ of ‘wicked’ gays – LGBTQ Nation

See also::   Phil Robertson: 'Rid The Earth Of' Gay Marriage Supporters

Bigoted Bakers Cry Over Backlash After Discriminating Against Same-Sex Couple — For Jesus ‹ Winning Democrats: Winning Hearts and Minds

Another bakery who believes in bigotry for Jesus is crying the blues because they are facing backlash as a direct result of their refusal to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Edie and David Delorme own the Kern’s Bake Shop in Longview, Texas. (Texas. That says it all, I know.) The Delorme’s also consider themselves to be devout Christians and claim to run their business based on their godly beliefs – which is how they know that in the New Testament, Jesus was MUCH more concerned with keeping cupcakes from queers than with that loving your neighbor crap.

On Feb. 17, Ben Valencia and Luis Marmolejo came into their bakery with the intent of buying a wedding cake, so it should have been a happy day. But the Delorme’s, being good Christians, were bound by the Bible to refuse service to these horrible sodomites in search of Satan’s pastries.

Bigoted Bakers Cry Over Backlash After Discriminating Against Same-Sex Couple — For Jesus ‹ Winning Democrats: Winning Hearts and Minds

See also:: Same-sex couple denied cake by Longview bakery

February 12-13, 2016::End of the day round-up (pg 2)

LGBT Students Have a Right to Know What Schools Discriminate Against Them

While it would take new legislation from Congress to narrow the kinds of carte blanche discrimination (e.g. denying campus housing to transgender students that is consistent with their gender identity) that Title IX’s religious exemption permits, the ACLU has urged the U.S. Department of Education to act where it can. As a bare minimum, LGBT students and their families should have a right to know about the kinds of taxpayer-funded discrimination they can be subjected to by their school.

Last week, the head of the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education — in response to a letter from several senators, led by Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — stated that the department would provide greater transparency about requests for religious exemptions by publishing them online for the public to view for themselves. Up to this point, it has often taken FOIA requests and investigative journalism for this information to come to light.

FL anti-abortion hearing turns racist: ‘White culture’ dies if women are ‘outside the home not having babies’

A Florida state House subcommittee heard testimony on Monday that the “white culture” would be destroyed if white women were “outside the home not having babies” while other ethnicities had a higher birthrate.

During a House Criminal Justice Subcommittee meeting on Monday, lawmakers discussed HB 865, a bill that would ban all abortions except in cases where the health of the mother was at risk.

Republican Rep. Charles Van Zant, who sponsored the bill, argued that life began at conception, and that even zygotes were “citizens of Florida.”

While testifying about the bill, an anti-abortion activist named Paul injected race into the discussion.

“We see the destruction we’re bringing upon ourself as a nation,” Paul opined. “The Muslims, they don’t kill the babies.”

February 26 – Avijit Roy Day Honouring Murdered Atheist Writers in Bangladesh

Please come to this special event in Toronto on Feb. 26th:

February 26th, 2016, marks the passing of one year since the brutal extremist attacks that left Avijit Roy dead and his wife, Rafida Ahmed, seriously injured. CFIC members, friends, and supporters are encouraged to join us as we present the first Avijit Roy Day in honour of murdered atheist writers, publishers, and activists. CFI Canada is proud to work with Mukto Mona (Bangladeshi Freethinking) for this special event. 

Time: 7-9 PM

Venue: Albert Campbell Auditorium (Toronto Public Library)

Address: 496 Birchmount Road, Toronto, ON, M1K 1N8

Bradlee Dean: Gay People Have Never Once Been Victims Of Hate

“Those radicals need to be lawfully dealt with because they are radical, they mean to divide and conquer, they mean to make war against real Christianity.”

“I’ve yet to find a situation where a homosexual could actually verify the fact that they were the victim of someone actually hating on them,” he said. “I have yet to see it.”

Naturopath put breastfeeding mum on water only diet: court

From February to April last year Bodnar, 59, treated the mother, who came to her to help cure her newborn son of eczema.

She allegedly convinced the mother, who cannot be identified, that the only way to help the baby was to adopt a diet of raw vegetables, fruit and seeds.

The court heard the mother was "intimidated by the accused" and made to feel guilty for using steroid creams to treat the eczema "as it was best to use nothing to allow the skin to breathe".

Bodnar allegedly told the mother "Are you 100 per cent raw? You have to be 100 per cent raw if you want to see your son heal."

Police allege that when the baby developed a fever Bodnar told the mother to adopt a water only diet, telling her that her baby would not get better if she ate.

When the child was six months old his mother asked Bodnar if she could feed him vegetable puree but the naturopath allegedly advised her to put raw food in a net and let the infant suck it.

Bodnar is also accused of telling the mother to feed the child goat milk.

City Officials: Evansville property owner possibly blurs the line of free speech

"I personally had not received any complaints on that property, and after I went and looked at it, I was a little surprised that I hadn't."

According to the assessor's office, the property has been owned by Michael J. Williams for 10 years.

We knocked on his door twice today, but no one answered.

But plenty of surveillance camera systems equipped with microphones, were watching us.

" I personally wouldn't like it, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's illegal."

Building Commissioner Ron Beane says the city's legal team is examining this case closely.

Do these phrases violate city ordinances to property maintenance, or is this the owner's right to use his house as a canvas for social issues?

"I think it might be offensive to some people but I think it might be a freedom of speech. We're used to it, we've laughed about it and made comments about it," explains a woman who lives nearby.

You mustn’t ‘engage in sodomy with the sewage system of another’s anatomy’

Staunchly right-wing pundit Larry Tomczak recently unveiled a little challenge he presented to himself: The “30 Day Bullseye Challenge,” to be exact.

The project consists of producing 30 short, blippy videos that demonstrate the proper etiquette and desired worldview of a practicing Christian.

The series touches upon all the hot-button issues one might expect, particularly homosexuality, which Tomczak suggests leads to a lifetime of disease and abject misery should one venture down that shadowy left-hand path:

“With all the hoopla about this one and that one, hey, they’re coming out and it being a time to celebrate gay marriage and gay lifestyles as normal, natural, beautiful. People need to awaken … to the reality that this so-called love story doesn’t have a happy ending.”

Senator seeks protections for same-sex marriage objectors

A Georgia lawmaker says religious adoption agencies, schools and other nonprofits should be able to refuse service to same-sex couples; months after the U.S. Supreme Court effectively legalized gay marriage nationwide.
,,,
Gay rights and civil rights organizations already have bashed the proposal, calling it anti-LGBT and broader than a federal version. Those groups warn Kirk’s bill would let religious nonprofits or organizations deny same-sex couples even if receiving taxpayer money.

February 5-9, 2016::End of the day round-up

Iran’s hypocrisy exposed as scores of juvenile offenders condemned to gallows

Scores of youths in Iran are languishing on death row for crimes committed under the age of 18, said Amnesty International in a damning new report published today. The report debunks recent attempts by Iran’s authorities to whitewash their continuing violations of children’s rights and deflect criticism of their appalling record as one of the world’s last executioners of juvenile offenders.

Growing up on death row: The death penalty and juvenile offenders in Iran reveals that Iran has continued to consign juvenile offenders to the gallows, while trumpeting as major advances, piecemeal reforms that fail to abolish the death penalty against juvenile offenders.

“This report sheds light on Iran’s shameful disregard for the rights of children. Iran is one of the few countries that continues to execute juvenile offenders in blatant violation of the absolute legal prohibition on the use of the death penalty against people under the age of 18 years at the time of the crime,” said Said Boumedouha, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“Despite some juvenile justice reforms, Iran continues to lag behind the rest of the world, maintaining laws that permit girls as young as nine and boys as young as 15 to be sentenced to death.”

Iran: Growing up on death row: The death penalty and juvenile offenders in Iran

Iran Still a Leading Executioner of Minors, Report Says

Dan Arel has followed this debacle since day one and provides a very good run down of what has transpired since. Here is another "view" as to what Ham is attempting to pull with the Ark Encounter.

I will have a second, separate, POV from Peter J. Reilly as well!!  Makes for some interesting thinking,,,

Kentucky won't fight tax break ruling for Noah's Ark project
[Please note the original article seems to have poofed but am leaving this as such]

Kentucky officials won't fight a federal court ruling that supports giving a tax incentive to a Christian theme park featuring a 510-foot-long Noah's Ark.

A spokeswoman for Kentucky Republican Gov. Matt Bevin said Tuesday that the state has no plans to appeal and that the new governor's administration is pleased with U.S. District Judge Greg Van Tatenhove's ruling.

A little more than a year ago, state tourism officials under former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear told the Christian group building the ark that it would be blocked from seeking the incentive because of the park's religious themes.

The group, Answers in Genesis, hailed the ruling Monday as a victory for religious freedom. And the tax rebate, which could be worth up to $18 million for the ark, seems likely since its opposition was washed away by Bevin's election win.

The Latest Anti-Gay Oklahoma Bills Are Almost Too Crazy to Believe

Outrageous anti-LGBTQ bills are now a fixture of the American legislative landscape. At the start of each year, extremist legislators come forward with a slew of discriminatory proposals, ranging from cleverly underhanded to openly deranged. Oklahoma’s latest bills fall on the latter side of that spectrum. In addition to some typical “religious liberty” legislation that would let businesses refuse service to gays—par for the course at this point—Oklahoma Republicans have cooked up some fascinatingly cruel bills.

1. HB 1598: Protecting ex-gay conversion therapy.
2. HB 3044: Preventing depressed and suicidal queer youth from seeing a gay-affirmative therapist.
3. SB 733: Forbidding HIV-positive people from getting married.

South Linden man guilty of menacing gay man at North Side gym | The Columbus Dispatch

A Franklin County jury needed only an hour of deliberations on Friday to convict a South Linden man of ethnic intimidation for menacing a gay man at a North Side fitness club.

Michael D. Smith, 41, of E. 21st Avenue, was charged with the offense after he made anti-gay remarks toward the man and had to be restrained by two other gym members on Aug. 23 at Cal Fit 10, 1575 E. Dublin-Granville Rd.

Columbus police became aware of the incident three days later when the gym manager informed Smith through an e-mail that his membership had been terminated, and Smith responded with two brief e-mails filled with profanity and gay slurs.
,,,
Ethnic intimidation is a “seldom-used charge” in the city code, said Lara Baker-Morrish, the city’s chief prosecutor.

The charge requires proof that the defendant assaulted or menaced someone because of, among other things, the victim’s age, race, religion or sexual orientation.

“To prove that was the motivation is difficult,” Baker-Morrish said.

South Linden man guilty of menacing gay man at North Side gym | The Columbus Dispatch

Anti-LGBT Hate on Display at Philadelphia Mummers Day Parade | Advocate.com

An annual New Year’s Day tradition in Philadelphia was marred by at least two anti-LGBT incidents, when a gay man was assaulted during the Mummers Day Parade in which a group also mocked trans former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner.

According to Philadelphia TV station WCAU, the 116th Annual Mummers Day Parade was led by a group of drag queens, symbolizing the folk tradition’s recent efforts to become more inclusive of marginalized groups, including people of color and LGBT residents. Historically populated by straight white people, the Mummers Day Parade has been referred to as “Philadelphia’s version of Mardi Gras,” according to the station.

But during Friday’s parade, a gay man walking his family dog through Philadelphia’s City Center was allegedly punched in the face, after several assailants hurled antigay slurs at the man and his dog. John Holtz told Philly.com he and a pair of friends were walking near Broad Street at approximately 2 p.m. Friday when they came across a group of Mummers, dressed in red, white, and blue, and with patriotic face paint. The 28-year-old chemist said the revelers appeared “very intoxicated” and were urinating in the alley. 

Anti-LGBT Hate on Display at Philadelphia Mummers Day Parade | Advocate.com

Havoc and Chaos: January 9, 2016::End of the day round-up (pg 2)

Ruqia Hassan: Isis executes first female citizen journalist in Raqqa, confirmed by 'Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently'

Isis has executed what is believed to be the first female citizen journalist for reporting inside its territory, Syrian media has reported.

The execution of Ruqia Hassan marks the fifth journalist who reported on Isis to be killed since October, according to Syrian journalism organisation Syria Direct.

Ms Hassan, who also went by the pseudonym Nisan Ibrahim on social media, was a independent reporter. Her death was confirmed by Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), a group exposing human rights abuses from within Syria.

Abu Mohammed, founder of RBSS, tweeted on Saturday that Ms Hassan’s last words were: “I’m in Raqqa and I received death threats, and when Isis [arrests] me and kills me it’s ok because they will cut my head and I have dignity its better than I live in humiliation with Isis [sic]”

Fourteen days from the "5th Annual International Day of Protest Against Hereditary Religion" which is taking place on January 23, 2016. Here is part 1 of 4 from 2014 to tickle your appetite.

Muslims in America - 24 Famous celebrities who are Muslim - Pictures - CBS News 

From the "pen" of Yvette D'Entremont, aka the "SciBabe"

Why Your Detox Is Bullsh*t

These juice cleanses generally claim to give you more energy, make your skin glow, and help you lose weight by ridding your system of heavy metals, pesticides, and other nefarious yet unnamed toxins … how exactly does apple juice or kale accomplish this, even if it is "cold pressured" or organic? Why couldn't you do this in (much cheaper and more nutritious) salad form? Could any of these websites point me to the mechanism of action or do they just do this via waving their magic wand of organic-iness?

Let me point out: In order to be detoxed, you first have to be, well, "toxed." And you're probably not. If you actually had a build-up of heavy metals or pesticides in your body, you'd be crazy sick. There are specific symptoms to having both of these "toxins" inside of you. In fact, different metals and pesticides have specific symptoms, like muscle spasms and breathing difficulties. Bottom line? Breakouts and feeling a little rundown aren't symptoms of any of them, and you need REAL MEDICINE — dimercaprol chelation and atropine, respectively — for treatment. Not juice.

And why else shouldn't you do a juice cleanse? Suja's three-day program drains you of $162, and that's pretty standard. For that much, I expect perkier boobs, fuller hair, and Republicans and Democrats to act like grown-ups. Instead, you're just getting juice. The only real thing these programs cleanse is the money right out of your wallet.
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More ridiculously, colon hydrotherapy — aka a colon cleanse or a colonic — is a service offered at some spas, during which some 60 liters of water are piped into your bowels and the "toxins" are "plumbed" straight out of you. That sounds nice and cleansing, doesn't it?

Nope. Removing toxins? You're just forcibly giving yourself diarrhea. There's no toxin or waste build-up the water is removing. This is just fecal matter that would have been expelled naturally (in time) by your body anyway, but with added potential complications — like intestinal parasites, bowel perforation, and heart failure. In fact, this article from The Journal of Family Practice reported the following adverse effects due to colon cleansing:

Case reports also have noted back and pelvic abscesses after colonic hydrotherapy, fatal aeroportia (gas accumulation in the mesenteric veins) with air emboli, rectal perforations, perineal gangrene, acute water intoxication, coffee enema-associated colitis and septicemia, and deaths due to amebiasis.

The discovery of a 300-year-old ship at a construction site has archaeologists ecstatic

“It’s very rare. This almost never happens,” said Dan Baicy, the hard-hatted field director for Thunderbird Archeology, the firm watching for historic evidence during construction. “In 15 years that I’ve done this work, I’ve never run into this kind of preservation in an urban environment where there’s so much disturbance.”

On Monday, naval archaeologists joined the crew at the site to help dismantle the vessel, timber by timber, looking for artifacts and markings that could identify it and show where it sailed and what it carried. The public is invited to view the findings Tuesday from 10 a.m. until noon, after which the wood will be removed from the site.
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The find has archaeologists surprised and ecstatic. Unlike the warehouse, which was noted in old city records, there was no known documentation of the buried ship’s existence.

Call for police probe of anti-gay hate speech in Malawi

Anti-gay politicians and preachers in Malawi have responded harshly to the government’s decision on Dec. 19 to continue the country’s moratorium on arrests for violations of its law against same-sex intercourse.

In return, the Malawi Law Society has asked police and the Malawi Human Rights Commission to investigate recent anti-gay statements as hate speech, a criminal offense.

Enforcement of the law has been suspended since November 2012 while courts decide whether the law is unconstitutional and politicians decide whether it should be repealed. The law calls for sentences of 14 years for violations by men and five years for women.

Louisville woman accused of assaulting, robbing disabled man after he jokes that he doesn't believe in God

A woman was arrested at the Hall of Justice in downtown Louisville Tuesday afternoon, months after police say she assaulted and robbed a man after he joked that he did not believe in God.

According to an arrest warrant, the incident took place on Oct. 20.

Police say that 49-year-old Laura Reid was visiting a disabled man in his home. At one point, police say, Reid asked the victim if he believed in God, and he jokingly replied that he did not.

According to an arrest warrant, Reid became angry with his response, so she picked up his metal cane and began beating him on the head and body, hitting him so hard that the cane broke.

Warning from the Birding Community to the Terrorists in Oregon: We're Watching You

Just a friendly warning from the birding and wildlife photography community to the Oregon terrorists. We are watching your every move, and we have been watching you for a long time. And yes absolutely you are domestic terrorists of the worst kind, and the truth about your decades of constant poaching of protected wildlife around Malheur and other wildlife refuges, national parks, national forests and BLM lands has been well-documented. For years those of us who are wildlife photographers, birdwatchers and carers of wildlife, have been documenting the activities of you poachers and criminals around many of our nation's wildlife refuges. With our powerful cameras, and ability to move unseen in the wilderness, we have found and documented your illegal hunts, your illegal traps and all sorts of illicit activities, and are constantly feeding that information to law enforcement, and we have finally got many of you poachers on the run and into jails. And I for one am a westerner sick to death of you welfare queens and cheats living off of BLM land, illegally gutting our wilderness and our wildlife,,,

NOM Chairman Defends Uganda Anti-Gay Law, Suggests Gay 'Recruitment' The Real Human Rights Abuse | Right Wing Watch

Maggie Gallagher, Brian Brown and "now" John Eastman. NOM's hatred of all things LGBTQI is shining brightly as usual.  What started out as a religious organization seeking to influence voters and legislatures to limit the civil rights of others based upon the teachings of the Catholic Church, has now "grown" to an international juggernaut of sadistic evil spouting hate wherever they land.

Eastman quoted Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s insistence that the new law was “provoked by western groups who come to our schools and try to recruit children into homosexuality." Noting that US aid restrictions prevent assistance from going to governments that commit human rights violations, including the failure to take “appropriate and adequate measures” to “protect children from exploitation,” Eastman implied that the real “exploitation” was coming from gay rights advocates recruiting children.

He also suggested that US opposition to laws criminalizing homosexuality hinders efforts to fight HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. (In fact, experts say that the criminalization of homosexuality hurts the effort to fight the epidemic.)

What is farcical concerning Eastman's statement, consider the following comments from Joe.My.God:

But what struck me the most is how he waxes outrages about how US aid might be cut off to select African nations because of their tendency to commit genocide against gay people. He becomes emotional as he emphasizes how important these aid programs are. But this man cares not a whit about these aid programs. He never once in his entire public career ever uttered a word about them. And his party generally opposes foreign aid and constantly seeks to cut it.
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A bunch of conservative Christians from US are bemoaning cultural imperialism in Africa? There's a direct connection between US missionaries working within Uganda and the writing and passing of this draconian legislation. The laws that they support are artifacts of cultural imperialism.

Or do they imagine we've all forgotten that? Or do they believe Scott Lively's work time in Uganda doesn't qualify as imperialism? Out-fucking-rageous.

Both of which ring true specially in regards to the British colonial origins of anti-gay laws and Scott Lively.

NOM Chairman Defends Uganda Anti-Gay Law, Suggests Gay 'Recruitment' The Real Human Rights Abuse | Right Wing Watch