Don Walten, evangelist preacher and founder of Truth Ministries, went on a rant this week about Rosie O'Donnell in a Florida magazine called Witness (see the full article). In his bluster, Walten addressed a variety of topics ranging from the national doctorine of seperation-of-church-and-state to Islamic values. He turned each of these topics on their head, shook them out and then used them to accuse O'Donnell of ignorance.
The piece was birthed out of a comment that O'Donnell made on ABC's morning talk-show The View. Apparently, O'Donnell's fellow co-host, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, was in the middle of a speech about the dangers of militant Islamic extremists, when she was interupted by a statement that sent Walten on a writing-spree. O'Donnell compared fundamentalist Islam with fundamentalist Christianity saying, "Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America where we have separation of church and state."
Walten decided to refute that statement in a "humorous way".
"While poking fun at Rosie for her serious gray cell deficiency is tempting, [I limited] myself to poking holes in her absurd assertion," Walten said.
Walten first attacked the notion that there is an actual seperation of church and state in the United States.
"To begin with, there is no such thing as separation of church and state in America," he said. "The words 'separation of church and state' are nowhere to be found in our Constitution."
He quoted the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment to prove it.
While Walten is correct in respect to the Constitution, he failed to recognize that the doctorine is recognized in Supreme Court law and is found in the texts and writings of our Founding Fathers (proof). The doctorine was referred to in numerous cases that have defined our concept of civil rights, and in conjunction with the Fourteenth Amendment, it has been applied to states and localities as well.
An example that Walten should be familiar with is Abington School District v Schempp (1963), which officially banned prayer in public schools. A follow-up case, Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), created the "Lemon test", which established that a publicly sponsored school must have a secular purpose, must neither advance nor inhibit religion, and must not result in an excessive entanglement between government and religion.
A history/ civics lesson:
A government that does not have seperation of church and state would, in fact, have a state sponsored church. For example, in the United Kingdom there is the Church of England - also known as the Anglican Church - which was founded by Henry VIII when the Catholic pope would not grant him a divorce. Henry VIII made himself, as king, the head of the church. Today, Queen Elizabeth II is the "Supreme Governor of the Church of England".
Our government allows room for the practice of any and all religions, and is not directly tied to any religious organizations in order to prevent biases. Although Christian principle's are central to the government and moral structures in the United States, they are not protected by the law any more than those of Jehovah's Witnesses, Jews or even Muslims.
Walten would have us believe that freedom of religion is corrupt. He would have us believe that allowing people to choose for themselves is dangerous. And, he would have us believe that the United States is as much a theocracy as, say, Iran or Saudi Arabia.
"In Rosie O'Donnell's twisted interpretation of the Constitution, our government must never act in accordance with Christian beliefs or convictions. If it does, it is acting in cahoots with the church and in violation of the Constitution," he said. "Thus, if the church condemns homosexuality, the government is constitutionally bound to condone it by legalizing its practice and sanctioning same-sex marriages."
Walten also stated that O'Donnell would be killed for her statements in an Islamic state. He said that "...Rosie O'Donnell, who would be imprisoned or executed for the crime of homosexuality in a Muslim country, to denounce Christianity, the very faith upon which our country's freedoms were established, as tantamount to Islam is more than a little preposterous...In a Muslim country, however, she'd still be in the closet; or worse, she'd be in the gulag or a grave."
(An imporant note: A Muslim Country is one in which the majority of is citizens are Muslim. The majority of these countries have secular governments and are governed by secular laws. An Islamic country is one that is government by Islamic law. The laws against homosexuality are not related to a region, but rather, a religion.)
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights and organizations such as Amnesty International have given numerouse reports on the issues of gender identity and sexual orientation in recent years. Although there are laws prohibiting "homosexual acts" in Islamic nations, the excerise of these laws is dependant on the country itself. For example Iran, a country notorious for its human rights violations, has recently been in the spotlight for the beheading of two homosexual men.
Walten's rant had O'Donnell killed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In Riyadh, 250 people in attendence of a gay wedding were arrested in August. However, 230 of them were released the same day. It is believed that the rest of the people were detained for illegal drug use.
As an aside, Honduras, a Catholic country, has been in on the Amnesty International watchlist for killings and discrimination as well.
In truth, Islam as a religion, is evolving on the issue of homosexuality in the same way that Christianity is. There are many unanswered questions, and in countries where civil and human rights are not held to the same standard that they are in the United States, there is still a great deal of intolerance toward homosexuals. However, Muslims are bound by teachings of the Qu'ran to love others as themselves - same as Christians are by the Bible. The right to judge is left to God alone. Don't believe me, read what an imam had to say, or check our what the Qu'ran says.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Daily Martini, Alabama Slammer
The Alabama Slammer. It's beautiful as a shot, on the rocks, or as I am about to purpose a martini. This is a slight variation on the classic recipe, guaranteed to get you where you want to be...
My friend Justin always told me that I could remember the recipe of the Alabama Slammer as:
Southern (SoCo) Sluts (Sloe Gin) Love(Amaretto) Orange Juice.
My Twist, Southern Sluts Love Orange Vodka!
1 oz. Southern Comfort
3/4 oz. Sloe Gin
3/4 oz. Amaretto
3/4 oz. Orange Vodka
3/4 oz. Orange Juice
Serve in a cocktail glass with an orange twist garnish.
Enjoy.
My friend Justin always told me that I could remember the recipe of the Alabama Slammer as:
Southern (SoCo) Sluts (Sloe Gin) Love(Amaretto) Orange Juice.
My Twist, Southern Sluts Love Orange Vodka!
1 oz. Southern Comfort
3/4 oz. Sloe Gin
3/4 oz. Amaretto
3/4 oz. Orange Vodka
3/4 oz. Orange Juice
Serve in a cocktail glass with an orange twist garnish.
Enjoy.
Political ads found unlawful under obscenity laws.
This one is for all of the politicians in this country.
Shut up!
At least that's what this Dissident Voice writter said. Robert Rivkin, San Francisco based author of GI Rights and Army Justice, is actually arguing that he would rather give up some of his own privileges of free speech in order to stop the madness of campaign ads. He wants to create a constitutional amendment that would ban the airing of politically motivated advertisements altogether.
As an advocate of free speech, I find it hard to agree with Rivkin's proposition. But I have to wonder if some of the political ads aired on television today would stand up under obscenity laws.
The Supreme Court has found that, when used in the context of the First Amendment, the word "obscenity" means material that deals with sex. I do believe that there has been an increase in the amount of sex-talk in the media, especially as it refers to the differences in a marriage between homo's and hetero's.
In a legal context, obscenity scrutinized by the "Miller test ". That is to says that sexual content is judged on:
I don't know about the "average person", but I am patently offended whenever a politician misleads or lies, especially when it is in the name of protecting their own image or destroying that of a political opponent.
Considering the fact that political ads are notoriously one-sided, I don't see how they are of any real artistic, literary, political or social value. Especially when the air time that they consume could be dedicated to far more entertaining and education programming such as Dancing with the Stars.
Perhaps Rivkin is on the right track here.
Shut up!
At least that's what this Dissident Voice writter said. Robert Rivkin, San Francisco based author of GI Rights and Army Justice, is actually arguing that he would rather give up some of his own privileges of free speech in order to stop the madness of campaign ads. He wants to create a constitutional amendment that would ban the airing of politically motivated advertisements altogether.
As an advocate of free speech, I find it hard to agree with Rivkin's proposition. But I have to wonder if some of the political ads aired on television today would stand up under obscenity laws.
The Supreme Court has found that, when used in the context of the First Amendment, the word "obscenity" means material that deals with sex. I do believe that there has been an increase in the amount of sex-talk in the media, especially as it refers to the differences in a marriage between homo's and hetero's.
In a legal context, obscenity scrutinized by the "Miller test ". That is to says that sexual content is judged on:
- Whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the purient interest,
- Whether the work depicts/describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct or excretory functions specifically defined by applicable state law,
- Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or social value.
I don't know about the "average person", but I am patently offended whenever a politician misleads or lies, especially when it is in the name of protecting their own image or destroying that of a political opponent.
Considering the fact that political ads are notoriously one-sided, I don't see how they are of any real artistic, literary, political or social value. Especially when the air time that they consume could be dedicated to far more entertaining and education programming such as Dancing with the Stars.
Perhaps Rivkin is on the right track here.
Foley artistic sound-off.
Fo‧ley /fo~li/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[foh-lee] –adjective :
of or pertaining to motion-picture sound effects or soundtracks: a Foley artist; the Foley editor.
Apparently the Mark Foley scandal has become a mirror to the media. While many in the American public are standing on the sidelines gasping for the various reasons that they find this scandal offensive, the media is using it for catharsis.
The true political leanings of a newspaper have always been broadcast on the editorial pages, and it is interesting to see the variety of perspectives being taken by papers nationwide. Here is Philadelphia, the opinions range from utter disgust and accusations of hypocracy (The Philadelphia Inquirer), to anger at the fact that Foley is hiding behind "gay" and defaming the gay community (Philadelphia Gay News).
Nationwide, the opinion is even more diverse than that.
Media Matters gave an impressive, comprehensive rundown of what the papers are saying.
Whatever the stance on the Foley scandal is, the fact that these papers are taking a hardline approach on it proves that the public has a plethora of hardline opinions as well. Remember that a paper dies without circulation, and therefore, it will not print material that scares the public away. People are prone to read the papers that they agree with... at least that's the way its supposed to work. In the case of Foley, many issues that divide this country have come to the surface:
-Gay Marriage, the weapon of mass distraction.
-Government corruption, the conspiracy theorists never go away they merely gain different supporters.
-Child pornography, we can't leave out the Catholic Church.
-Obsession with scandal, what will one day be the death of us all.
Now, take a look at that slate. Do you see any real political issues? Anything that shakes the earth? Any discussions of war, Iraq, people dying, soldiers doing multiple tours in at Fort Sandbox, or how the Bush Administration and Congress lied to the American public about its intellegence in order to create a conflict with an old foe? No. Not here.
My dad always says, "The best play in baseball is the sqeeze." (For clarification on the sqeeze, click here.) Mark Foley has laid down the best bunt in recent history, and the Republican Party is giving is on its way to sqeezing the media to another Democratic defeat. Although they are trying to spin it as the "rank hypocrisy" of "GOP leaders" in a scandal that has served as a "hard lesson for a party in which 'family values' has been a political mantra," (Lebanon Daily News) the truth is that the massive amount of attention being paid to Mark Foley is only a distraction from the real issues facing this country in the midst of election season.
Mark Foley. The greatest Foley artist of them all. Creating background music for the Bush Administrations cover of an unfounded war. God forbid that be a topic for election debate.
of or pertaining to motion-picture sound effects or soundtracks: a Foley artist; the Foley editor.
Apparently the Mark Foley scandal has become a mirror to the media. While many in the American public are standing on the sidelines gasping for the various reasons that they find this scandal offensive, the media is using it for catharsis.
The true political leanings of a newspaper have always been broadcast on the editorial pages, and it is interesting to see the variety of perspectives being taken by papers nationwide. Here is Philadelphia, the opinions range from utter disgust and accusations of hypocracy (The Philadelphia Inquirer), to anger at the fact that Foley is hiding behind "gay" and defaming the gay community (Philadelphia Gay News).
Nationwide, the opinion is even more diverse than that.
Media Matters gave an impressive, comprehensive rundown of what the papers are saying.
Whatever the stance on the Foley scandal is, the fact that these papers are taking a hardline approach on it proves that the public has a plethora of hardline opinions as well. Remember that a paper dies without circulation, and therefore, it will not print material that scares the public away. People are prone to read the papers that they agree with... at least that's the way its supposed to work. In the case of Foley, many issues that divide this country have come to the surface:
-Gay Marriage, the weapon of mass distraction.
-Government corruption, the conspiracy theorists never go away they merely gain different supporters.
-Child pornography, we can't leave out the Catholic Church.
-Obsession with scandal, what will one day be the death of us all.
Now, take a look at that slate. Do you see any real political issues? Anything that shakes the earth? Any discussions of war, Iraq, people dying, soldiers doing multiple tours in at Fort Sandbox, or how the Bush Administration and Congress lied to the American public about its intellegence in order to create a conflict with an old foe? No. Not here.
My dad always says, "The best play in baseball is the sqeeze." (For clarification on the sqeeze, click here.) Mark Foley has laid down the best bunt in recent history, and the Republican Party is giving is on its way to sqeezing the media to another Democratic defeat. Although they are trying to spin it as the "rank hypocrisy" of "GOP leaders" in a scandal that has served as a "hard lesson for a party in which 'family values' has been a political mantra," (Lebanon Daily News) the truth is that the massive amount of attention being paid to Mark Foley is only a distraction from the real issues facing this country in the midst of election season.
Mark Foley. The greatest Foley artist of them all. Creating background music for the Bush Administrations cover of an unfounded war. God forbid that be a topic for election debate.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Daily Martini, The Bikini Martini
It's dreary out today. Fall is here. While that is not such a horrible thing for those of us in the northeast, with the change of colors and the leaves, it does mean that summer is officially over and winter is on its way. So, put your swimsuits back in the closet for another nine months. You won't need it.
But, if you want to reminisce about the glory days of summer, I have a solution for you:
The Bikini Martini
1 oz. Parrot Bay Coconut Rum
1 oz. Vanilla vodka
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup
a splash of Sloe Gin (grenadine works too, but its a little weaker)
Serve in a cocktail class with orange slice and cherry garnish.
But, if you want to reminisce about the glory days of summer, I have a solution for you:
The Bikini Martini
1 oz. Parrot Bay Coconut Rum
1 oz. Vanilla vodka
1 oz. Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup
a splash of Sloe Gin (grenadine works too, but its a little weaker)
Serve in a cocktail class with orange slice and cherry garnish.
Temple football called "The Ultimate Scream" by ESPN
ESPN is finally addressing the issue of what an embarrassment Temple football has become:
Spike TV's big Tuesday night program this week is the Scream Awards, which the network promotes as the first awards show for horror, Sci-Fi, fantasy and comic books. While Spike TV celebrates the best in horror annually, the Bottom 10 does it every week.
In honor of the Scream Awards, we'll use the program's award categories to take a look at the most frightening teams in college football...
...Temple, which actually had a first-quarter lead against Kent State, remains in the top spot after losing to the Golden Flashes. But the Owls have a new neighbor. San Diego State jumped five spots to No. 2 following the Aztecs' 47-17 loss to BYU. Duke and Stanford round out the top five.
Temple ranked #1, the Ultimate Scream as we successfully made it to 0-18. At least we are winning at something.
Can someone please forward this to Dr. Ann Weaver Hart. I know they say any press is good press, but come one, is there any accounting for self-respect?
That's my Bucs.
I know I haven't written anything about my Buccaneers yet, but that's mostly because I am ashamed. I am hanging my head low. Still, I have to be ever reminded that the reason I fell in love with the team in the first place was because they were the underdogs. Now my Underdogs in Orange are back.
News on the Bucs:
----They are the first team ever to be embarrassed by Reggie Bush twice on national television. Just in case you missed our fourth loss this season and were eager to see Bush run an 82-yeard punt return in for a touchdown, you can check it out on Wednesday's "NFL Replay" on the nFL Network.
---- With a record of 0-4, the Bucs are in the running to get a great first round draft pick for next season. Perhaps they will start looking for a quarterback... But, before we make any real plans to pick up John David Booty (USC, QB with the perfect name to match Bucs play) or yank Chase Daniel out of Mizzou, we still have to manage to complete the season with a worse record than two other bottom-feeding teams: Oakland (0-4), and Detroit (0-5).
----Bringing it back to the old school. The Bucs will be pulling out their famous Orange uniforms for Thanksgiving. I can't wait.
News on the Bucs:
----They are the first team ever to be embarrassed by Reggie Bush twice on national television. Just in case you missed our fourth loss this season and were eager to see Bush run an 82-yeard punt return in for a touchdown, you can check it out on Wednesday's "NFL Replay" on the nFL Network.
---- With a record of 0-4, the Bucs are in the running to get a great first round draft pick for next season. Perhaps they will start looking for a quarterback... But, before we make any real plans to pick up John David Booty (USC, QB with the perfect name to match Bucs play) or yank Chase Daniel out of Mizzou, we still have to manage to complete the season with a worse record than two other bottom-feeding teams: Oakland (0-4), and Detroit (0-5).
----Bringing it back to the old school. The Bucs will be pulling out their famous Orange uniforms for Thanksgiving. I can't wait.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Daily Martini, Washington Apple
I am actually pretty humble about my bartending skills.
I can't flare. I don't have any books memorized. And, I can't tell you the difference between a California or Italian chianti. But, I KNOW I make a damn good Appletini.
The Apple Martini takes a special touch to master. It's a gift really. I think I mastered the touch the night that I had to to make 13 of them at one time while working service bar at TGI Friday's up on City Line Ave. For those of you outside of the Philly area, I will tell you that the City Line clientelle is the most difficult to impress in the city, and they are not shy about it.
So, with all of that said, I am not going to try to teach the art of the Apple Martini over the internet, because it would be a disgrace to those of us who have learned the trade secrets.
Instead, I'll give you the perfect subsitute and a great way to get rid of the "rye" whiskey left over from last weeks party -i.e Canadian Club, Seagrams VO, or my personal favorite Crown Royal -mmm, mmm, mmm.
The Washington Apple Martini
1.5 oz. Sour Apple Pucker
1.5 oz. Canadian Whiskey
1 oz. Cranberry Juice
Serve in a cocktail glass with cherry garnish.
Enjoy.
I can't flare. I don't have any books memorized. And, I can't tell you the difference between a California or Italian chianti. But, I KNOW I make a damn good Appletini.
The Apple Martini takes a special touch to master. It's a gift really. I think I mastered the touch the night that I had to to make 13 of them at one time while working service bar at TGI Friday's up on City Line Ave. For those of you outside of the Philly area, I will tell you that the City Line clientelle is the most difficult to impress in the city, and they are not shy about it.
So, with all of that said, I am not going to try to teach the art of the Apple Martini over the internet, because it would be a disgrace to those of us who have learned the trade secrets.
Instead, I'll give you the perfect subsitute and a great way to get rid of the "rye" whiskey left over from last weeks party -i.e Canadian Club, Seagrams VO, or my personal favorite Crown Royal -mmm, mmm, mmm.
The Washington Apple Martini
1.5 oz. Sour Apple Pucker
1.5 oz. Canadian Whiskey
1 oz. Cranberry Juice
Serve in a cocktail glass with cherry garnish.
Enjoy.
This is worse than crack.
I sat down to write a paper this afternoon at 12:30. It is now almost 3:00 and I am still putzing around with blogger. What is wrong with this picture?
I wish wish I had someone to explain things like code, widgets and feeds to me, because while it does make a nominal amount of sense purely on logic alone, I am baffled. This is all a new language to me, and I hope you enjoy my public experiment in learning.
I know I am.
I wish wish I had someone to explain things like code, widgets and feeds to me, because while it does make a nominal amount of sense purely on logic alone, I am baffled. This is all a new language to me, and I hope you enjoy my public experiment in learning.
I know I am.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
The best I've seen.
Hu Jintao, President of China, and Shinzo Abe , the new prime minister of Japan are scheduled to meet in Beijing.
WII FM - What's in it for me?, Right?
Reuters created a "Fact File" on the relationship between the two quarreling nations that is the best I have seen yet. It summarizes the history of conflict between the two nations, touches on the utter hatred that they have for one another and manages to explain the reasons why this is important to the rest of the world in 500 words or less.
And where was it published? None other than Aljazeera.
So, what is in it for the average American? According to Reuters, the US should be concerned about the development of a relationship between the two Asian powers. Japan topped the US in trade with China in 2004, and Japan is working to quicken its role as a world policing agent, stepping up its relations with China to create a buffer as North Korea expands it nuclear missle tests.
Great summary. Check it out, here.
If only American journalism could be so informative.
WII FM - What's in it for me?, Right?
Reuters created a "Fact File" on the relationship between the two quarreling nations that is the best I have seen yet. It summarizes the history of conflict between the two nations, touches on the utter hatred that they have for one another and manages to explain the reasons why this is important to the rest of the world in 500 words or less.
And where was it published? None other than Aljazeera.
So, what is in it for the average American? According to Reuters, the US should be concerned about the development of a relationship between the two Asian powers. Japan topped the US in trade with China in 2004, and Japan is working to quicken its role as a world policing agent, stepping up its relations with China to create a buffer as North Korea expands it nuclear missle tests.
Great summary. Check it out, here.
If only American journalism could be so informative.
A harsh reminder.
Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shot and killed in her apartment yesterday. Evidence supports accusation that her murder was a contract hit.
Politkovskaya, 48, was an outspoken opponent of Russian policies against Chechnya. In recent years, she became a leading foreign correspondent and a human rights activists.
News of Politskovskaya's death spawned protests in Moscow. Nearly 500 protestors took to the streets holding pictures of the dead journalist, candlesa and signs that accused the government of "murder" and"facism." Some wore yellow stars to represent the persecution of the Jews during WWII.
Read more.
Politkovskaya, 48, was an outspoken opponent of Russian policies against Chechnya. In recent years, she became a leading foreign correspondent and a human rights activists.
News of Politskovskaya's death spawned protests in Moscow. Nearly 500 protestors took to the streets holding pictures of the dead journalist, candlesa and signs that accused the government of "murder" and"facism." Some wore yellow stars to represent the persecution of the Jews during WWII.
Read more.
Focus on Foley failure.
Focus on Michael Gaynor, a lawyer from New York summed this one up well on renewamerica.us:
Finley Peter Dunne (1867-1936), American writer and humorist, was right:"Politics ain't beanbag." The Mark Foley scandal demonstrates that yet again.
Mr. Foley, a Republican Congressman who rejected some fundamental values shared by the bulk of Republicans, promptly resigned as a Congressman (thereby avoiding expulsion); took the rehabilitation clinic route Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Democrat of Rhode Island, had followed (again) earlier this year; publicly announced that he is gay; and, in addition to claiming an alcohol problem, claimed that forty years ago he was molested for a couple of years by a clergyman he never saw fit to accuse before and whom he still has not named.
Want to read more?
At what point does gay become something other than a freak show?
LGBT community should give Foley a nice big thank you for his contribution to the betterment of their image. Perhaps he will win a lifetime achievement award from GLAAD.
Finley Peter Dunne (1867-1936), American writer and humorist, was right:"Politics ain't beanbag." The Mark Foley scandal demonstrates that yet again.
Mr. Foley, a Republican Congressman who rejected some fundamental values shared by the bulk of Republicans, promptly resigned as a Congressman (thereby avoiding expulsion); took the rehabilitation clinic route Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Democrat of Rhode Island, had followed (again) earlier this year; publicly announced that he is gay; and, in addition to claiming an alcohol problem, claimed that forty years ago he was molested for a couple of years by a clergyman he never saw fit to accuse before and whom he still has not named.
Want to read more?
At what point does gay become something other than a freak show?
LGBT community should give Foley a nice big thank you for his contribution to the betterment of their image. Perhaps he will win a lifetime achievement award from GLAAD.
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