Just in Case you thought San Francisco wasn't a small town: Charges Dropped In Case where Yalies were "Too Gay" & Were Beat Up

Just in case you thought there was some sort of big city efficiency in San Francisco, here’s the strange case of some prep school boys (with Very Well Connected Parents) whose kids beat up members of a Yale singing club who were visiting our fair city by the Bay.

Seems the SF Preppies felt so threatened by the Yalies that the Preppies called the Yalies Gay and proceeded (after calling for reinforcements) to beat the crap out of the Yalies.

Well surprise, surprise. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a local judge “ threw out felony charges Wednesday against two young San Francisco men in the nationally publicized Baker's Dozen assault case, ruling that prosecutors lacked evidence against them in the New Year's 2007 clash with members of a Yale University singing troupe.

Judge Kathleen Kelly cleared Brian Dwyer, 20, entirely and cut the case against Richard Aicardi, 20, to a single count of misdemeanor assault.

Judge Kathleen Kelly cleared Brian Dwyer, 20, entirely and cut the case against Richard Aicardi, 20, to a single count of misdemeanor assault.

"I simply do not have sufficient evidence," Kelly said following a three-day preliminary hearing in San Francisco Superior Court. "I have very, very carefully considered the evidence and the exhibits."

Dwyer burst into tears and embraced Aicardi, his lawyers and his family. The two defendants - the only men ever charged in the case that may have involved more than three dozen people - left quickly down a Hall of Justice staircase without commenting.”

Understand: the Preppies were said to have called in reinforcements and then beat the preppies so bad one of ‘em had a broken jaw. But none of these kids – the elite sons of San Francisco’s elite, would testify truthfully. Meanwhile, in t he poor neighborhoods of SF (and Oakland and San Jose), men without powerful parents (and a darker skin color) are being sent to jail for life under the three strikes. But the rich kids walk free. That’s what passes for justice in San Francisco.

The only good news form this story is that that the “families of Yale students who have sued Aicardi and Dwyer in civil court.”

More: Charges Dropped In Yale Case

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Anti-gay, Anti-Clinton 'Family Values' Billionaire Revealed as a Fraud: Scaife's Estranged Wife Nets $725,000 Per Month, Claims Newspaper Is A 'Hobby'

The Anti-gay, Anti-Clinton 'Family Values' Billionaire Richard Scaife is a fraud: he spent millions on "investigating" Bill Clinton and has helped bankroll some the the conservatives who want to split apart the Episcopal Church but now he is involved in a nasty divorce - his current wife claims adultery as grounds - this from the guy who tried to ruin Bill Clinton for having oral sex with Monica. Is it unchristian to hope that the current Mrs. Scafie cleans him out? So far, so good: Scaife's Estranged Wife Nets $725,000 Per Month, Claims Newspaper Is A 'Hobby'

Check back for the latest news at the Gay News Blog, - news posts at the Gay Religion Blog; or the Gay Opinion Blog; the Gay Book Blog and the Gay Travel Blog.

The Cameron Group's "Gay Obituary" Study Is Bad Science & Untrue -

The un-religious right likes to claim that Paul Cameron's "study" PROVES (their emphasis - not mine) that gay people have a shorter life span.

Here is another definitive demolition of Cameron's pseudo-science:

"Cameron, Playfair, and Wellum (1994) counted obituaries in various gay community publications and claimed to be able to use them to calculate the average life expectancy for homosexuals.

"Their conclusion – that homosexual men and women have a shorter life span than heterosexual men and women – provides a textbook example of the perils of using data from a convenience sample to generalize to an entire population.

"Most city newspapers include a section containing death notices for community residents. These notices – which can carry a small fee for printing – typically list the name, age, address, and survivors of the deceased, along with information about funeral or memorial services. Funeral directors often assist the loved ones of the deceased in submitting such notices.

"Gay community newspapers do not have sections of death notices. When the AIDS epidemic began to claim the lives of so many gay and bisexual men in the 1980s, however, many gay newspapers began to print obituaries. Except in the case of prominent community figures, these obituaries are typically written by (or based on information from) the loved ones of the deceased.

Assuming that the deceased person wasn't famous, an obituary appears in a gay community newspaper only if (1) a loved one or friend notifies the newspaper about the death (and, in many cases, writes the obituary) and (2) the editor decides to print the obituary.

Consequently, many gay men and lesbians who die never have an obituary in a gay community publication." Check here are just a few examples of who is left out of gay newspapers' obituaries: http://tinyurl.com/3y9nsu.

"Biblical" Balderdash: How Evangelicals Undermine the Bible & Give Christians A Bad Name

Given the upcoming Sept. 30 deadline handed to The Episcopal Church to make an unequivocal pledge not to consecrate another openly gay bishop or bless same-sex unions, the Christian Post has republished this column "by request." It was originally published Wednesday, August 13, 2003.

A Trajectory Away From the Truth By R. Albert Mohler, Jr. Christian Post Guest Columnist:

"The great obstruction in the path of homosexual activists in the church is the Bible. This is not really a limitation on the thinking of the theological elites within liberal churches, but it is a problem at the grassroots. Liberal theologians long ago decided that the Bible is hopelessly homophobic, hostile to women, and that it presents a judgmental deity with all kinds of hang-ups.

"But those unsophisticated laypersons (and their enablers, the conservative clergy) still harbor that quaint notion that the Bible is God's Word, bearing His full authority, and is therefore binding on all Christians. There are only two options for liberal theologians in dealing with the Bible's unconditional rejection of homosexual behavior in any form. The first option for neutralizing the Bible is simply to reject its authority. Some homosexual activists just dismiss the Bible outright and call for the church to liberate itself from bondage to biblical authority," Mohler writes.

The rest of this "Biblical" balderdash can be found here.

Why label this as "Biblical" balderdash?

Simple: it is based on the un-Christian (and highly un-American) notion that a group of people can claim exclusive rights to being the only "true" Christians based on their interpretation of the Bible.

In the Episcopal Church these folks claim to be the "real Anglicans" - which is a new twist for a side of the debate whose evangelical zeal was offended when the word "Protestant" was dropped from the name "Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America." Before the current vogue, "Anglican" was church speak for "high church" or "Anglo-Catholic," and anathema to the "Protestant" evangelicals.

Now these pseudo-Anglicans also call themselves "orthodox," a term heretofore used principally by the Greek Russian, Easter and other Orthodox churches.

But the best self-proclamation of the would-be schismatics is "traditionalists." On the one hand they claim to uphold "Biblical traditions," while on the other they engage in highly nontraditional, unorthodox and un-Anglican tactics. None of the "orthodox" "Anglican" archbishops who are sending bishops to work in other provinces would tolerate that degree of diversity of opinion in their own dominion.

Like George Bush, these neo-conservatives are content to stretch and distort language to suit their momentary needs and objectives. If they think US churches can be used as cash cows, they will continue to violate Anglican protocol and church law, sending bishops to lure away disaffected churches. What they don't realize, of course, is that every parish they lure away is makes the Episcopal Church of the United States of America that much less conservative and that much closer to the values and views of people in this country. By lightening the conservative anchor of our church, they makes us both more liberal and more attractive to younger people.

Like the author cited above, these folks believe there is only one way to read the Bible, and that is their way. What chutzpah: to assume that there is only one way to read the BIble, and that you are 100 percent right. This is the kind of thinking that brought us the Inquisition and allowed the Southern Baptists to wait to apologize for supporting slavery for more than a century.

The Biblical Truth is that none of us can understand God's law 100 percent. If we could, we would be God. Come to think of it, that is just how these folks are acting. Which is how evangelicals undermine the Bible and give Christians a bad name.

Latest pusedo-science lie from far right:"'New Study Finds Early Death in Gay ‘Marriages’"

"On average, in Norway and Denmark – where same-sex marriage is legal – married lesbians lived to age 56 and married gay men to age 52," said one of the study's presenters, Dr. Paul Cameron of the conservative Colorado-based think tank Family Research Institute, in a press statement.

That's the report in New Study Finds Early Death in Gay 'Marriages', published in the uber-right wing "Christian Post.

The "Christina Post" neglects to mention that this is another one of Cameron's pseudo-science reports. To make these "scientific studies," Cameron looks at data from other research reports, reinterpret it to fit his ant-gay agenda and then releases it s "news." This report is aimed at buttressing opposition to gay parenthood.

According to Cameron, as a married gay man I died six years ago.

Cameron's advanced degrees are not in epidemiology or actually any field of medicine. But by missing his PhD, (which is in an area of mental health, not longevity studies), he is able to keep himself bu$y as a right-wing expert.

If he is so good - why aren't right wing not jobs going to their school counselors for open heart surgery? Well when their life is on the line, they don't want Cameron operating on him. He is only good enough to be used in making mischief in misinterpreting research reports.

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A Special Comment: "Pro-Family" Group Urges Parents to Keep Kids Home to Avoid GLSEN's "Day of Silence" April 18

A self-proclaimed “pro-family” group is asking parents to keep their children home from school on April 18 to avoid GLSEN's "Day of Silence." During the annual event, in which students and supportive faculty intentionally remain silent throughout the school day to protest anti-gay bias by people who think Christianity allows their kids to beat up, hassle and terrorize LGBT kids. To avoid this, many LGBT kids are force to live their lives in the silence of the closet while at school. Apparently, one day of silence aimed at fighting bigotry is worse than forcing a kid to be silent at school.

Of course, the good ‘Christian’ people at NotOurKids.org don’t really want their children to beat up LGBT kids at school. They are just out to make the most of GLSEN’s annual Day of Silence. They are out to generate some media attention, raise a few dollars, and capture a few new people to tie into their political machine.

Lets be clear: if beating up on gays was not profitable in terms of media exposure, fund raising and recruitment, the NotOurKids-nicks would not be talking about the Day of Silence.

So these good ‘American Christians’ are out to profit by increasing the misery of LGBT kids, some of whom already face an increased risk of suicide. That pretty much sums up the depth of their commitment to Jesus, his teachings and the idea of a hate-free America.

The NotOurKids-nicks claim this event is “subjecting traditional students to pro-‘gay’ activism that violates their religious beliefs.” In truth, all the Day of Silence Does is give those who have ears to hear a chance to unharden their hearts.

Day of Silence is an annual event promoted by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, and is scheduled for Wednesday, April 18 this year. In 2006, over 4,000 junior highs, high schools, and colleges participated in DOS, according to GLSEN. According to GLSEN, on last year's Day of Silence, over 500,000 students nationwide were confronted with mute homosexual peers and allies wearing stickers and passing out cards, which stated (in part):

"... My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?"

Maybe you should check to see that your local school will have some silence on April 18?

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Lets show that Darwin was right: A Christianity Today editorial explains 'Why mandating the HPV vaccine is not a good idea.'

A Christianity Today editorial explains ‘Why mandating the HPV vaccine is not a good idea.’ Right: better to let those sin-filled harlots die from cancer than to do anything that might protect them from a sexually transmitted cancer. It is one thing if these ‘Christians’ want to sacrifice their own daughters and sisters to their beliefs. It is quite another when they demand 'Safe Sex' for the Whole Nation, and try to force their religion on ‘non-believers.’ Read it and weep: 'Safe Sex' for the Whole Nation

Check back for the latest news at the Gay News Blog, - news posts at the Gay Religion Blog; or the Gay Opinion Blog; the Gay Book Blog and the Gay Travel Blog.

Episcopal Church is “Ripe for schism?" No more than the Roman Church

A Roman Catholic publication called Our Sunday Visitor recently conatined an article by a Dennis O'Connor’s contending the Episcopal Church is “Ripe for schism.” It is worth a read for nothing more than a good example of the man who can't see the log in his own eye but can clearly see the twing in his brother's eye.

Mr. O'Coonr's text reflects a kind of media hysteria that is most unbecoming a publication that is supposedly Christain in nature. For the rrecord, Mr. O’Connor, Episcopal dioceses are not “dropping out like flies.” There are only eight dioceses that have raised the possibility of finding “alternative oversight,” and that is a small minority of the total number of Episcopal dioceses in America. Further, it is far from clear that the Archbishop of Canterbury will actually break with the traditional geographical basis of our denomination’s organization. Organizing the church based on geography has made sense since the earliest days of Christianity. You claim our church has, since Henry VII, “been strewn more with controversy and dissent than miracles.”

Well, as for controversy, a quick look at Roman Catholic history for this same period shows just as much controversy as in the Episcopal Church. Yes we have had our chare of conflict, that’s what happens when you let the people in the pews elect their own bishop. Democracy does lead to diversity of opinions being reflected and expressed at high places. The traditional strength of our church has always been the breath of our diversity, not the adherence to a single view.

As for dissent, we in the Episcopal Church do not ‘silence’ our dissenters. If we did Episcopal Bishop Bob Duncan of Pittsburg would be very, very quiet. Clearly, this much dissent s would never arise among Roman Catholic bishops: popes tend to remove from office those who dissent. The option of removing dissenting bishops is not available to either the Archbishop of Canterbury or the primate of the American Episcopal Church. If it were, this carefully orchestrated conservative maneuver would never have made it tot the news media.

As for miracles, well a look back at Roman Catholic history of the past 500 years shows an equally perplexing mix controversy, dissent, and miracles as one finds in the Episcopal Church. Unless, of course, you maintain that only Roman Catholics really experience miracles. That’s what is most disappointing in your article: you into hyperbole and almost appear to gloat at the problems cause by Henry VIII’s schism.

This approach works both ways. Episcopalians could claim that Roman Catholic prelates have consistently been more interested in limiting financial loss than in healing those who have been abused by priests. We could claim the papacy lost it’s moral authority by cooperating with the Nazi regime. We could point to the conflicts over church closing in urban areas, claiming the Roman Catholic leadership cares more for suburban whites than inner city people of color. There’s more than enough controversy and dissent to go around. Or perhaps we should both try not to cast the first stone unless we, and our church are blameless?

A note to ABC-Disney: We |Won't Forget!

This was sent to the station manager of ABC Affiliate (Channel 7):

I am outraged that your ABC has aired a fake documentary on the 9-11 attacks.

If your – or the nimrods who run Disney - think I am going to watch ABC-7 or go to a Disney movie or visit a Disney resort then you are plumb crazy.

In an election year, the company that refused to distribute Fahrenheit 911 has produced and aired a “documentary” designed to reelect Republicans to the House and Senate. Instead of basing an honest assessment of 9-11 on the Commission’s report, Disney-ABC dropped the claim to presenting the Commission’s report and aired falsehoods as facts. ouse and

That is morally indefensible, un-American and just plain wrong.

And people like me will remind you – and the Disney Corporation – for a long, long time. Just as we still remember that the Supreme Court elected Bush the first time so we will remember that ABC 7 showed this pre-election hype for the GOP.

Please advise me when ABC 7’s license is up for renewal by the FCC so I can make sure this issue is brought to the FCC’s attention during the renewal process.

This is the sickest thing I've heard all year: "Internet hunting"

The idiot idea was the brainchild of Texan John Lockwood, who started the web site Live-Shot.com.

Here’s how it works: morons who are too lazy to go hunting sign up via the web site and pay big bucks ($1,500 or more). They go online at their appointed time and ‘hunt’ at a feeding station.

It gets worse: these morons ‘order’ an animal — from wild hogs to antelope to be released near the aforementioned feeding station. When the animal approaches the feeding station, the “hunter” moves on-screen crosshairs into place. A click of the mouse fires a rifle to kill the animal. Unless he misses.

The moron’s hunter's trophy animal would then be mounted and shipped for display. Louisiana has just joined 21 other states in banning Internet hunting, the practice of using a mouse click to kill animals on a distant game farm. Can you imagine any state would allow this to continue? Or country? It is enough to make ya join PETA.

Focus on the Family takes aim at California Senate Bill 1437 - bashes gays again to raise money and build its database

“Even if you don't live in California, your voice is needed to protect children” claims Dobson’s ‘Focus on the Family’ website (see Action Needed: Tell California Officials to Oppose Pro-Gay Bill @ CitizenLink.

They have a form to send a ‘letter’ to lawmakers – of course you can’t change the letter (‘Changes to the body of this letter are not permitted.”)

The site urges people to act “no matter what state you live in.”

Why all this action over a bill Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has pledged to veto?

To gather more names for the Focus on the Family database and fund raising program.

Just another example of these self-proclaimed Christians use gay bashing to line their pockets.

BTY all California Senate Bill 1437 would do is mandate that schools include mention of LGBT contributions to society while teaching history. No doubt that would turn millions of straight kids queer, eh?

Shame on CBS

How far CBS has fallen from the days of Edward R. Murrow is clearly shown by the network’s decision to cut and run from Dan Rather, the reporter who carried their banner for so many decades. CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves is right to apologize for the bitter and low-class way he handled Rather’s departure. Moonves approach to CBS News and Rather marks a new low in an industry not known for grace, compassion or integrity.

When Richard Nixon tried to bully Rather (asking the reporter “Are you running for something?”) Rather refused to be intimidated. For that he became the lightening rod for those who claim the media has a left wing bias. That’s right: Bill O’Reilly, Faux News, CNN – all those media giants – have a left wing bias.

Shame on Moonves for capitulating to a long-term campaign launched by the far right to destroy Rather. While it may be true there’s no palace for Rather at CBS these days, that is only because under Moonves’ watch there is no longer a place a CBS for integrity and courage. It is not Rather who became small, but the news giant which once set the standard for television reporting.

As for me, I’ll be watching Keith Olbermann’s Countdown on MSNBC – it is arguably the best newscast on the air these days. And one of which Ed Murrow would be proud.

A Schism By Any Other Name

A Schism By Any Other Name @ Gay Viewpoint Blog

By Thomas C. Jackson

So it has come down to this: the election of a woman to the largely ceremonial post of Presiding Bishop provides an excuse for splitting the Anglican Communion.

The three dioceses in America that still cling to the medieval notion that women are less worthy to serve God than men continue to be the tail wagging the other 97 Episcopal dioceses in this country.

Only now this horrific affront to the holy men who want to keep “their” church a boys only club somehow justifies breaking the American church apart and allowing America’s good old boys to have, in effect, their own province?

This so-called “solution” has been rejected time and again by the Church’s General Convention but now it is justified by the “anarchy” enveloping the Episcopal Church in America?

Time for a reality check.

The overwhelming majority of American Episcopalians support ordaining women as priests, consecrating them as bishops. Electing a woman to serve as Presiding Bishop is a big deal to a tiny minority of American Episcopalians. That’s why the three dioceses that refuse to ordain women have made such a big deal out of gay issues: they know they can’t win if they fight ordination of women. Somewhere between 3 and 10 percent of “the church” seems to be upset about the women/gay thing. That is hardly enough to constitute “anarchy,” in fact that term has been used first and foremost by the British Press. While it may be true that the election of a woman as Presiding Bishop in America has thrown the English Church into a dither, that is nothing new for the Church of England. They have, after all, not yet managed to see their way clear to ordain a single woman bishop.

The experience of the American Church in dealing with the three non-conforming dioceses suggests that any attempt to accommodate these good old boy clerics will only lead to intensifying long term conflict. The American Church would have been better off to simply depose those bishops who – after say 10 years – still refused to ordain women or allow women clergy to serve in their diocese. To allow these bishops to continue disobeying church law does irreparable harm to our people and our church.

Some members of Parliament have noticed that the Church of England still enforces a stained glass ceiling by refusing to consecrate women bishops. If the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the name of unity at all costs, breaks apart the American church to rescue a few dioceses from a woman primate, then he sets a precedent that would also apply in the United Kingdom. And that could permanently condemn British women to second class status in their national church. The specter of this continuing injustice could well force political leaders to remind the Church of England that they are the nation’s church and not the private preserve of club populated by tired old white men clinging to pseudo-Victorian values.

The fight – or ‘anarchy’ – in the American Church has never really been about gays. The neo-conservatives have been lathered up for more than 30 years, since women were first ordained in our church. The election of our new Presiding Bishop simply makes clear their true colors – and priorities.

"Opposition to Gay Marriage Is Not Discrimination" the far right claims

The same people who brought us swift boats and Iraq have a new line: “The claim made by advocates of gay marriage and its proponents such as the New York Times and Sen. Teddy Kennedy is that a ban of gay marriage is simply about prejudice and bigotry.” They figure that by focusing on Ted Kennedy and calling him a bigot they can energize the GOP’s base. Right. Read more of this nonsense @ Opposition to Gay Marriage Is Not Discrimination in “Human Events”

Imagine if AT&T and Verizon controlled everything you see and do online.

Big telecom companies like AT&T and Verizon are spending tens of millions of dollars to push a law that would abandon the "First Amendment of the Internet" -- a principle called network neutrality.

As the Internet grows, it's not surprising that the big corporations want to seize control, discriminate against people with alternative viewpoints, favor certain types of content, and set up tollbooths wherever they can.

Without network neutrality, AT&T, Verizon and others will be free to slow down or block emails and Web sites they don't like -- including the Web sites of their critics and of people who don't share their politics.

Today, our free and open Internet allows individuals and organizations to speak truth to power. But if AT&T and Verizon have their way, an Internet provider who objected to the views of Working Assets, MoveOn.org Civic Action, Michael Moore, or Planned Parenthood could slow down our Web sites or even block them altogether.

Here are two things you can do to help save the Internet:

1. Sign the petition to Save the Internet.

Working Assets is cooperating with hundreds of other groups from across the political spectrum to preserve the open and fair character of the net -- and tell Congress to stop the telecom companies' power grab.

Add your name to the petition here. We're working with our coalition partners to get more than a million signatures on the petition and demonstrate to Congress that we won't let them hand over the Internet to private corporate interests without a huge fight.

2. Send a message to Big Telecom by switching to Working Assets

In addition to helping you raise your voice to Congress, Working Assets has a unique role to play in the fight to save the Internet. We're the only phone company participating in the Save the Internet coalition. But we also make it easy for you to stick it to AT&T and Verizon and help organize for Internet freedom with one simple act: switch your mobile phone and long distance service from the bad guys to Working Assets.

The best way to make AT&T and Verizon pay the price for this attack on our Internet is move your dollars to another company. So far, they say recent scandals aren't causing them to lose customers. If you're currently with AT&T, Cingular (AT&T's wireless arm) or Verizon, we can help you send them a message and raise money for the fight to save the Internet.

We're keeping a count of everyone who switches their mobile phone and long distance service in support of net neutrality (or pledges to switch their mobile phone when their contract is up.) And for every phone number you switch in response to this email, Working Assets will make a $50 donation to nonprofit advocacy and organizing for Internet freedom.

Click here to switch your wireless or long distance service, or pledge to do so once your current contract is up.

Follow up: Gov. Gregoire: State Rx Board must change stance

OLYMPIA -- State pharmacy regulators could risk being overruled or worse if they allow druggists' personal objections to interfere with patients' prescriptions, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Monday. See Gregoire: Board must change stance

A must read story over at the Gay Opinion Blog: Board says drugstores can refuse medication

There’s a must read story over at the Gay Opinion Blog – it is titled Board says drugstores can refuse medication.

According to the Seattle P-I, the Washington State Pharmacy Board endorsed a proposal that would allow pharmacists to decline to sell morning-after emergency contraceptive medication but gave “pharmacists the right to decline prescriptions that are in conflict with their beliefs.”

“Pharmacists should have the right to decline work that conflicts with their beliefs as long as they respect the patient, Rod Shafer, executive director of the Washington State Pharmacy Association, said earlier this year,” the P-I story continues. "We are not dispensing machines," Shafer said. "We are professionals who have as many rights as anybody else."

How long will it be before some self-righteous Pharmacists decide not to fill prescriptions for AIDS/HIV medicines? After all the Pharmacist may not approve of the sexual orientation of the customer, and the Pharmacist has “as many rights as anybody else.”

How long will it be before some self-righteous Pharmacists decide not to fill meds that treat STDs? After all the Pharmacist may not approve of the sexual activity of the customer, and the Pharmacist has “as many rights as anybody else.”

How long will it be before some self-righteous Pharmacists decide not to fill birth control prescriptions? After all the Pharmacist may not approve of helping a customer commit a mortal sin, and the Pharmacist has “as many rights as anybody else.”

After all, how can a good Roman Catholic Pharmacist ever dispense birth control pills?

Where do you draw the line?

Not at a place that allows health care professionals to refuse treatment or medication based on their own religious “rights.” The patient – the customer – has an absoluter right to receive their medicine without being judged or intimidated or made to feel less than human.

You think your neighborly Pharmacist would never make anyone feel like they are being judged or intimidated or less than human?

When I was young, you had to ask the Pharmacist if you wanted to get a condom. And the Pharmacist – if he thought you were to young to be having sex – he would refuse to sell you one. Or he’d make sure you knew he thought you were “loose woman.” Men, like him, were allowed to “sew their wild oats.”

The Washington State Pharmacy Board is wrong to pay more concern to the “morals” of Pharmacists instead of worrying about the needs of those who need medicine. They have opened Pandora’s Box in a way that will allow some Pharmacists to exercise their egos by judging some customers as being unworthy of care.

Perhaps it is just as well the Hippocratic Oath only applies to Physicians.

--

You can let the Washington State Pharmacy Board know how you feel about their action by sending a polite e-mail to them  at hpqa.csc@doh.wa.gov.

Green Cards for newborns? Washington State GOP Fighting Against Automatic Citizenship For Immigrants' Children

Unbelievably, the Washington state Republican Party wants to revoke the first section of the  14^th Amendment to the United States Constitution, the one which states: ''All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.''

If enacted, this change would mean that children born of “foreign” parents within the United States would not be born as United States citizens. Instead, they would be “foreigners,” citizens of another country.

This is a new low for the Republican Party, reflecting in dramatic terms how far to the right the “party of Lincoln” has gone in its desperate attempt to hold onto conservative votes.

Not content with gay bashing – as if banning “gay marriage” will save even one “straight marriage” – the GOP now is busy bashing “foreigners.”

The Republican proposal is another step towards creating a permanent underclass in America, one where white males like me hold power and people of color do not. If only I were straight, I’d be an ideal Republican. You can’t get much more white than a Scots-Irish-Celtic mix.

In part, the GOP’s hysteria is based on a growing unease among older straight white Americans with the fact that America is changing. In a few more decades, people of color will outnumber white people. It is OK to let people of color pick our food, fight our wars, and be buried in military cemeteries. But Republicans are scared to death of an America that is not White, Anglo-Saxon, and Evangelical Protestant.

Another part of the problem if that the GOP now needs a new bogyman to scare its base into voting. Bush I had Willie Horton; Bush II had both Osama and gays; now in post-Bush II the GOP sees immigrants (AKA: people of color) as their new Willie Horton. In the long term, this may prod a lot of Latinos and Latinas back to the Democratic Party. Proposals like this prove again that – as Lincoln said – you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.

----

See the AP Story @ Washington State GOP Fighting Against Automatic Citizenship For Immigrants' Children....

FW: 'Connecticut Six' suit stops consideration by Archbishop of Canterbury's Panel of Reference

The self-proclaimed “Connecticut Six” thought they were so clever when they appealed for help from the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Panel of Reference and filed suit against Connecticut Episcopal Bishop Drew Smith.

After all, Bishop Smith was unworthy to be their bishop – he had voted in support of making Gene Robinson our church’s first gay bishop – and clearly Anglican ‘orthodoxy’ allows parish priests to select their own bishop. Of course,  the idea of priests selecting their own bishops is bupkis, it is in fact just about as unorthodox as notion as one can  advance in the Anglican Communion. The geographical nature of a Bishop’s diocese has been clear since the earliest days of the Apostolic succession. But tradition is not the same as the new forged “orthodoxy” of the “Connecticut Six.”

Unfortunately for these six priests, Connecticut state law does not allow a priest or parish to take their building or endowment with them if they leave the Diocese of Connecticut. Worse the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Panel of Reference has a simple rule: they won’t consider cases that are also the subject of civil suits. Until the legal action against Bishop Smith and the diocese of Connecticut is resolved, the panel cannot consider the plight of the “Connecticut Six.”

The "Connecticut Six" are, of course, appalled/enraged/upset that the panel is actually following its own rules. They think the Archbishop of Canterbury should interceded on t heir behalf, should demand that his panel help them.

Which is all to the good: let the Archbishop spend some time with these men and see what they are really like and what they really want.

The decision of the Archbishop’s panel in this case is as follows:

“The second reference relates to the Diocese of Connecticut in the Episcopal Church USA, and to an appeal by six parishes against the oversight of their Bishop.  In January of this year, however, civil proceedings were initiated in respect of matters connected with these situations.  The Panel decided last year as a matter of principle that it should not normally consider references where civil cases are proceeding.  The Panel is not a court, and its recommendations, which may be published with the consent of the Archbishop of Canterbury, have moral and pastoral force.  Civil proceedings should either have come to completion or be stayed if the work of the Panel is to have space in which to operate.  On this basis, the Archbishop of Canterbury has withdrawn the reference to the Panel until such time as the matter of the civil cases has been resolved.” Full statement here.

Hurricanes, but snow, wind, rain, fire, tornadoes and flood - all cuz "America has turned its back on God!"

You really have to read this to believe it: America has turned its back on God @ Central Maine Morning Sentinel, ME

 

Was that why the winter in Connecticut was so mild? Gay Civil Unions? ;-))

Far right frets, new Episcopal Church rules could let church discipline them

The far right of the Episcopal Church is in a dither over a proposed church rule (or cannon) that would – in their view – allow Bishops to ‘discipline’ lay people.

Of course the far right applauds when the Roman Catholic Church silences a pro-gay rights priests or nun. And they call on the Roman Catholic Church to deny communion to political leaders who are Roman Catholic but still support a women’s right to choose abortion.

This, of course, is different. This time the discipline could be exerted against lay leaders who break church policy.

“Laity, including chancellors, church lawyers, bloggers, wardens, vestry members, treasurers, secretaries, clerks, lay activists, or even the directress of the parish altar guild would be subject to punishment by bishops which can include removal from any church position or office,” complains Raymond Dague @ vitrue.org.

So let me get this right: people like ray should be able to break church rules without any consequence. They should be bale to steal away buildings built for the purpose of housing congregations of the Episcopal Church of the United States (ECUSA) without any impediment.

They should be able to use their office in the Episcopal Church to damage the church without any consequence.

They should be able to refuse women the ordained role granted by church law.

“This is church discipline from hell. They are the product of a siege mentality by an institution which seeks to stomp out opposition to the agenda of the higher-ups by removing any laity who stand in their way. The very threat of this process will make all but the most stout-hearted soul acquiesce,” Dague rails.

Wrong again Ray. First, Episcopalians are a much more sturdy breed than that. Second, the only “siege mentality” is the one envisioned by writers like you and virtue.org. Third, violating church rules has consequences. You can’t praise Roman Catholic Cardinals and Priests as they exclude people from their church who support women’s rights at the same time protest the Episcopal Church’s efforts to protect itself from the hired guns of the far right (see This Schism Is Brought to You by the IRD at the Oasis News Blog).

‘Aint it awful Ray, you might actually be held accountable?