As we let that sink in, imagine if Drake was a Muslim cleric uttering this garbage. Do you think the Secret Service, the FBI and Homeland Security would be all over his *ss in a hot minute, bugging the mosque, rounding up his flock for questioning?Imprecatory prayer is agreeing with God, and if people don't like that, they need to talk to God," Drake told syndicated talk-show host Alan Colmes. "God said it, I didn't. I was just agreeing with God."
Asked if there are others for whom Drake is praying "imprecatory prayer," Drake hesitated before answering that there are several. "The usurper that is in the White House is one, B. Hussein Obama," he said.
Later in the interview, Colmes returned to Drake's answer to make sure he heard him right.
"Are you praying for his death?" Colmes asked.
"Yes," Drake replied.
"So you're praying for the death of the president of the United States?"
"Yes."
..."You would like for the president of the United States to die?" Colmes asked once more.
"If he does not turn to God and does not turn his life around, I am asking God to enforce imprecatory prayers that are throughout the Scripture that would cause him death, that's correct."
***
I think People for the American Way's call for the Department of Homeland Security to release its "Rightwing Extremism" report is spot-on.
In the wake of the murder of Dr. George Tiller in Kansas and Stephen T. Johns at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, People For the American Way President Michael B. Keegan called for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to finalize and publish its "Rightwing Extremism" report. The report was released by DHS earlier this year, but retracted after its content became the subject of manufactured controversy from Religious Right groups.Read Keegan's letter below the fold."DHS is charged with protecting the security of all Americans," said Keegan. "And in order to do that it needs to be working with thth the best available information and analysis. When the 'Rightwing Extremism' report was released earlier this year, rightwing groups found it politically convenient to feign outrage. Since then, the essential findings of the report have been tragically confirmed. The killings of Dr. Tiller and Mr. Johns are domestic terrorism, and they should underscore the urgency of addressing the threat of politically motivated violence. Secretary Napolitano should publicly announce the current status of the report and expedite its final release."
June 11, 2009Secretary Janet Napolitano
Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528Dear Secretary Napolitano:
In the past two weeks, our nation has experienced two significant instances of domestic terrorism. The murders of Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider, and Stephen T. Johns, a security guard at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, were intended not only as horrific acts of violence directed at innocent individuals, but as efforts to terrorize and intimidate specific groups of Americans.
In April, the Department of Homeland Security released a valuable report entitled "Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment." The report was met with outrage from right wing groups, many of whose activities were not mentioned or alluded to in the report, but who found protesting the report to be a convenient political stunt. With the support of sympathetic media outlets, these groups managed to exaggerate and distort the report's findings.
Although the report was withdrawn with the intent of being rewritten, the events of the last two weeks show that its core findings are fundamentally correct: "The economic downturn and the election of the first African American president present unique drivers for rightwing radicalization and recruitment." The Department of Homeland Security is charged with protecting the security of all Americans, and it is essential for the American public to have the unvarnished truth about the rise of dangerous extremism in this country.
I urge you to expedite the approval of the "Rightwing Extremism" report and release a final version as soon as possible. Moreover, the report should offer the best available assessment of possible threats from far-right groups and individuals, no matter how politically inconvenient the findings might be to some groups. If the report can not be released immediately, please announce publicly the current status of the repor t and when you expect it to be published.
Ensuring that law enforcement agents and the public have the best possible information about the threat posed by the far right is a crucial step in helping to contain the violence we are now experiencing.
Sincerely,
Michael B. Keegan
President
People For the American Way
The City of Miami Commission voted unanimously, 5 - 0, to adopt a Domestic Partnership Ordinance this morning, becoming the third municipality in Miami-Dade County to do so. Commissioners Sanchez, Sarnoff, Regalado, Gonzalez, and Spence-Jones voted in favor of the Ordinance.Reaction from Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:The new Ordinance will allow the City of Miami to offer health benefits to the declared domestic partners and their children of city employees in the same manner as the city offers such benefits to spouses of married heterosexual employees. The Ordinance was similarly adopted by the City of Miami Beach and the City of North Miami. Miami-Dade County also offers similar benefits to county employees as the result of work done by SAVE Dade and its partners for an ordinance passed in May of last year.
Commissioner Marc Sarnoff said, "Providing employment benefits, including healthcare, to the domestic partners of our City of Miami employees is a common sense idea that has been far too long in coming. This is nothing more than treating people equally. I am proud to say our City is doing the right thing."
Asked about the ordinance, Chairman Commissioner Joe Sanchez replied, "This allows us to recruit and retain the best and brightest workers for the City of Miami by offering benefits to domestic partners. This reaffirms our strong belief that all people are equal in Miami, the City of diversity."
One such employee is Melissa Llera, a City of Miami Firefighter and SAVE Dade volunteer, who has been in a committed relationship with her partner Christie for over 12 years. They have a child together and now both her partner and child will be eligible for health coverage as a result of this Ordinance.
"We thank the Miami's city commission's leadership in recognizing that the families of all city employees deserve fair and equitable treatment," said SAVE Dade's Executive Director, C.J. Ortuno.
"The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force applauds Miami commissioners' unanimous passage today of a domestic partnership ordinance giving employees with same-sex or opposite-sex domestic partners the same rights and benefits as married couples. Passage of this measure marks a step toward fairness and equality in Miami, and will help ensure families of city employees are not deprived of fundamental protections and benefits. We thank the commissioners for their action today, and offer a special thanks to SAVE Dade for its efforts leading to this victory, as well as to the LGBT Adv ocacy Project of the ACLU of Florida and Equality Florida for providing support and assistance."
Cross-posted at: http://www.tips-q.com/1015650-wnd-no-longer-just-moronic-it-dangerously-isly-irresponsible
It would be easy to dismiss Joseph Farah and his WorldNetDaily as the Christian Enquirer (with apologies to David J. Pecker and American Media). However, they are the unofficial headquarters for the "birther" conspiracy theory and the feigned outrage over that now prescient DHS report. They provide a "home" for Janet Porter (a leading proponent of both yarns) and an assortment of crackpots. There, they are free to publish their preposterous polemics, free of fact checking or corroboration.
In recent days, we are all reminded that people not only believe these ridiculous screeds but are willing to act upon those beliefs.The results can be tragic as demonstrated by the muders of Dr. Tiller and the security officer at the Holocaust Museum.
Once again, WND is weighing in on hate crimes legislation. They are entitled to their opinions, no matter how loony or irresponsible. I take issue with the deliberate distortions and lies. Our Brenda Altman posted a complete analysis of the bill here.
At least three senators are speaking out against a "hate crimes" bill critics have called "The Pedophile Protection Act" – and they are letting voters know exactly why they oppose creation of a protected class of crime victims based on sexual orientation.
As WND reported, Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., also confirmed he will fight the "hate crimes" legislation pending in the U.S. Senate and, if necessary, will launch a filibuster against the plan that critics have dubbed the "Pedophile Protection Act."
No responsible critic of the bill would call it the pedophile protection act. I know, you know and they know that pedophilia is not a sexual orientation.
The plan, which was approved 249-175 in the U.S. House, has been sitting for weeks without action in a Senate committee. During that time, more than 560,000 letters have been delivered to members of the Senahe Senate protesting the proposal.
The protest letters are the result of an effort led by Janet Porter, a WND columnist and head of Faith2Action, and specifically target the "hate crimes" bill in the Senate.
There's Porter — again. More on those letters later.
More after the jump.
Opponents say the bill would designate homosexuals and others with an alternative sexual lifestyle choice for special protections under federal law. At the same time, many believe that by criminalizing thought, it would lead eventually to Christian ministers and others being prosecuted for their beliefs and statements, especially biblical condemnations of homosexuality.
Note that the idea of "criminalizing thought" is stated as fact. In no way, whatsoever, does this bill infringe on speech and the proposition of "thought crimes" is a dishonest construction. Current hate crimes laws cover religion, race and national origin. Tell me, where are all of those anti-Semites locked up for espousing their conspiracy theories on everything from 911 (the Jews did it) to the Federal Reserve (which they claim is part of a Jewish cabal to control the world)? While they are at it, where are those Christian Identity pastors incarcerated? After all, they preach that blacks are inferior and that Jews are agents of Satan.
The bill was dubbed by opponents as "The Pedophile Protection Act" after Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, proposed an amendment during the proposal's trek through the U.S. House. He suggested, "The term sexual orientation as used in this act or any amendments to this act does not include pedophilia."
The third reference to pedophilia. The reason that this amendment was voted down is simple. It is dishonest. Even King knows that pedophilia is not a sexual orientation.
"Having reviewed cases as an appellate judge, I know that when the legislature has the chance to include a definition and refuses, then what we look at is the plain meaning of those words," explained Gohmert. "The plain meaning of sexual orientation is anything to which someone is orientated. That could include exhibitionism, it could include necrophilia (sexual arousal/activity with a corpse) ... it could include urophilia (sexual arousal associated with urine), voyeurism. You see someone spying on you changing clothes and you hit them, they've committed a misdemeanor, you've committed a federal felony under this bill. It is so wrong."
No. That is a lie. The definition of "sexual orientation," as is generally accepted, is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, both genders, neither gender, or another gender."
[Rick] Scarborough said James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, also has agreed to work against the "hate crimes" plan, and it may be addressed on a portion of his radio program soon. Scarborough said the campaign will contact pastors in coming days, asking them to preach about the possible loss of their right to preach on biblical truths and what that would mean.
Except that the bill explicitly states that First Amendment rights cannot be infringed by the measure. It is a "pants on fire" lie to suggest that this law will have any effect on preachers.
Gohmert warned Porter during the interview that even her introduction of him, and references to the different sexual orientations, could be restricted if the plan becomes law.
"You can't talk like that once this becomes law," he said.
&lp>
That is not only a lie — it is a stupid lie. Simply stated, Gohmert is a liar. That is just not in the bill and Gohmert knows it.
"When you base a law on lies, you're going to have a bad law," he said. "This 'Pedophilia Protection Act,' a 'hate crimes' bill, is based on the representation that there's a epidemic of crimes based on bias and prejudice. It turns out there are fewer crimes now than there were 10 years ago."
Fourth reference to pedophilia!
But Gohmert pointed out that if an exhibitionist flashes a woman, and she responds by slapping him with her purse, he has probably committed a misdemeanor while she has committed a federal felony hate crime.
"That's how ludicrous this situation is," Gohmert said.
That is just how ludicrous this situation is. Gohmert and WND are battling a bill that doesn't exist. At least not as they have portrayed it.
But it gets better.
The article concludes with a link to a "special offer." Readers can Send 100 overnight letters to all 100 U.S. senators in protest of "The Pedophile Protection Act" for only $10.95. Draw your own conclusion about the economics scam.
A: The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act will extend the same employee and health benefits that married couples have to all federal employees regardless of their sexual orientation and that includes employees at the DOD. However, the bill does not extend health and employment benefits to members of the military because it’s in conflict with Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I believe it is long past time to get rid of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and allow members of the military to receive the same benefits married couples have as well as be able to serve openly in the military.Q: What are your thoughts on the recent California Supreme Court ruling on the state's Proposition 8? In light of this ruling, what do you feel is the future of marriage equality in Oregon?
A: As a supporter of gay marriage, I am very disappointed that Prop 8 was allowed to stand, but glad that the couples who married while gay marriage was allowed in California had their marriages upheld. But the court decision in California shouldn’t overshadow the tremendous gains that have been made in just the last few months. It was exciting to see Iowa become the first state in the heartland to end marriage discrimination. In addition, a number of states decided that the politics of division weren’t strong enough to prevent them from doing the right thing. Moreover, polls show an ever-increasing number of Americans support extending marriage rights to same sex couples. While Oregon’s constitutional amendment defining marriage is a significant obstacle to the establishment of equality in Oregon, I am hopeful that the conversation in Oregon will continue and that Oregon will eventually choose to support marriage equality as the only right course under our U.S. constitutional guarantee of equality under the law for all Americans.
On the eve of the 40th Anniversary of Stonewall, come join us in celebrating the achievements of the LGBT equality movement:
I'll Toast to That
chievements of the LGBT equality movement:
I'll Toast to That
Thursday, June 25th, 2009 6:00pm Charles Froelick Gallery 714 NW Davis $40 beforehand, $50 at the door (tickets available here)
Attire: Pizazzulous
A special thank you to our sponsors: Organic Nation Spirits Devil's Food Catering Raptor Ridge
Music by: DJ Scotty D
Ticket price qualifies for the Oregon Political Tax Credit which means you can get every penny of your ticket price back at tax time! Click here for more information on the Oregon Political Tax Credit. Questions? Call 503/222.6151