One less spot of hate in the world

Looks like Raani/Janine over at baptisthomeschooling blog has decided to make her blog invitation only. Well, good. That's one less spot of hatred, terrorist support, fear-mongering and rabble-rousing to be found by a search engine.

That people weren't willing to put up with that, I believe, is evidence that humanity has grown beyond the morality of the bible.

At least most of us.

Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. Found at www.ou.edu

Continuing our series on Christians Behaving Badly...

It seems that Sarah Palin doesn't believe in Christian terrorists.

Brian Williams: Back to the notion of terrorists and terrorism, this word has come up in relation to Mr. Ayers -- hanging out with terrorist – domestic terrorists. It is said that it gives it a vaguely post uh 9-11 hint, using that word, that we don’t normally associate with domestic crimes. Are we changing the definition? Are the people who set fire to American cities during the ‘60’s terrorists, under this definition? Is an abortion clinic bomber a terrorist under the definition?

Sarah Palin: There is no question that Bill Ayers via his own admittance was um one who sought to destroy our US Capitol and our Pentagon -- that is a domestic terrorist. There’s no question there. Now others who would want to engage in harming innocent Americans or um facilities, that uh, it would be unacceptable -- I don’t know if you could use the word terrorist, but its unacceptable and it would not be condoned of course on our watch. I don’t know if what you are asking is if I regret referring to Bill Ayers as an unrepentant domestic terrorist. I don’t regret characterizing him as that.

Brian Williams: I’m just asking what other categories you would put in there. Abortion clinic bombers? Protesters in cities where fires were started, Molotov cocktails, were thrown? People died.

Sarah Palin: I would put in that category of Bill Ayers anyone else who would seek to destroy our United States Capitol and our Pentagon and would seek to destroy innocent Americans.

(h/t to to Ari at Oxtown Gazette)
In her view the only terrorists are:

a) Muslims
b) People who attack the Capitol and the Pentagon

So to her, the following list, compiled by Dave over at Orcinus, doesn't count.




Eric Rudolph:

Eric Robert Rudolph (born September 19, 1966), also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is an American radical described by the FBI as a terrorist who committed a series of bombings across the southern United States which killed two people and injured at least 150 others.

Rudolph declared that his bombings were part of a guerrilla campaign against abortion and what he describes as "the homosexual agenda." He spent years as the FBI's most wanted criminal fugitive, but was eventually caught. In 2005 Rudolph pleaded guilty to numerous federal and state homicide charges and accepted five consecutive life sentences in exchange for avoiding a trial and the death penalty. Rudolph was connected with the white supremacist Christian Identity movement. Although he has denied that his crimes were religiously or racially motivated, Rudolph has also called himself a Roman Catholic in "the war to end this holocaust" (of abortion).

James Kopp:

James Charles Kopp (born August 2, 1954) is an American citizen who was convicted in 2003 for the 1998 sniper-style murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian, an Amherst, New York physician who performed abortions. Prior to his capture, Kopp was on the FBI's list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. On June 7, 1999 he had become the 455th fugitive placed on the list by the FBI. He was affiliated with anti-abortion group "The Lambs of Christ." He has been referred to as a terrorist by the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism.

The Phineas Priesthood:

Letters left at the scene of an April 1996 bank robbery/clinic bombing in Spokane, Washington, contained Identity propaganda, diatribes against the banking system and were signed with the symbol of the "Phineas Priesthood." [At the time of the robbery, a bomb was set off at a nearby Planned Parenthood clinic as a diversion, with death threats toward abortion providers contained in the note left with that bomb.] The three men arrested, Charles Barbee, Robert Berry and Jay Merrell, were linked to white supremacist and "Identity" groups and were also charged with setting off bombs at a newspaper office and a Planned Parenthood clinic. All three were convicted.

[More here.]



Tim McVeigh:

Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was a United States Army veteran and security guard who bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on the second anniversary of the Waco Siege, as revenge against what he considered to be a tyrannical federal government. The bombing killed 168 people, and was the deadliest act of terrorism within the United States prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Buford Furrow:

Buford O'Neal Furrow, Jr. (born November 25, 1961) perpetrated the August 1999 Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shooting on August 10, 1999, when he attacked a day care center at the North Valley Jewish Community Center. The shooting injured three children, and a receptionist. He also shot dead US Postal Service carrier Joseph Ileto who was Filipino American. Furrow was a member of the white-supremacist group Aryan Nations in 1995.

On January 24, 2001 Furrow pleaded guilty all of the counts against him. In exchange for pleading guilty, Furrow avoided a possible death sentence, but was instead sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. According to the indictment, Furrow expressed no regrets for any of his crimes.

Yes, apparently because Tim McVey was a Christian, and the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was neither the Capitol nor the Pentagon and because he was protesting abortion, his actions were completely acceptable.



I disagree

She's at it again

Baptists as a percentage of all residents, 2000. From the website of the Geography 200 class at Valparaiso University

Raani over at baptisthomeschooling blog put up another rant about homosexuals. She didn't call for them all to die this time, just went on and on about perversion and how they're dangerous to everyone and unsavable. The usual.

(Edit: Yesterday her name was Raani, today she has it listed as Janine. It's the same blog. She also changed her location, which is sensible considering she was silly enough to put her home address on her blog. While I don't foresee the liberals storming her house (although I wouldn't want to have to clean out her e-mail box) fixing that was a wise move.

Not to worry someone kept a screenshot of the post that started all this. ( Warning, ads at the top NSFW or kids. Will whoever did it please speak up so I can give credit where due?))

Looks like she copied much if not all of it from a Pastor Stephen L. Anderson over at The Faithful Word Baptist Church in Phoenix. Or so she says on her post. According to the church site

We are an old-fashioned, independent, fundamental, King James Bible only, separated Baptist church and not ashamed to say so.

That's nice.

Let's start simply. (h/t to Dave at The Meming of Life)

According to the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, violent crime rates across the board have declined continuously since 1994, reaching the lowest level ever in 2005.⁷

Child abduction rates—always infinitesimal—continue to fall. Rates of violent crime against children have fallen by nearly 50 percent since 1973. The child murder rate is the lowest in forty years.⁹

Odds of any given child being abducted by a stranger in any given year: 1 in 1,000,000
Odds of that child being killed by a world-ending meteor in any given year: 1 in 20,000¹⁰

⁷www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/gvc.htm#Violence
⁸www.guttmacher.org/pubs/2006/09/12/USTPstats.pdf
¹⁰“A Fistful of Risks,” Discover Magazine, April 1996.

In addition, 90% of child molestations the offender is someone the family knows and trusts. So the chance of some evil stranger, regardless of religion or sexual orientation, going after your kids is rather small.

I couldn't find statistics on the fail of child molesters, but if the population in federal prison is any indication, it's about 70%. I got that by following Dale's research here, and adding up Mainline Protestant, Catholic, Church of Christ, Pentecostal, and Orthodox Christian. Before you ask, I believe the count Baptist as Mainline Protestant. I believe they count Evangelical and Fundamentalist as well, or else I could add in "other". That would bring the percentage up to 73. It's a rough, seat of the pants estimate, I admit.

Now, I also admit that statistics can be hard to follow at times. But I'd put my statistics up against 4-14,000 tales from religious mystics any day. Or better still, actual cases. How about that Raani, show me proof, statistics from non-biased sources or actual cases to back up your claims.

Like these (All from Sara over at Orcinus and StopBaptistPredators.org)

Kevin Ogle, pastor of Northgate Colonial Baptist Church in Camden, GA, pleaded guilty in May to 15 counts of sexual exploitation on the Internet. A deacon for the church said, "A pastor is human just like everybody else is."


Jeff Hannah served for at least three years as the youth minister at The First Baptist Church of Romeoville, IL -- even though the church's leaders knew he was a convicted sex predator. He resigned in August when the Chicago Sun-Times revealed his past. "We believe in forgiveness," said one of the deacons who hired Hannah.


On October 17, Steven Haney, former pastor of the Walnut Grove Baptist Church in Memphis, was indicted for sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy from his church over a five-year period. He told the boy that his attentions were "a test from God."


On November 1, SBC Deacon Roy Long of Victorville, CA was charged with molesting two seven-year-old girls over a four-year period. Police and prosecutors are looking for other victims.


Last week, SBC youth pastor Marshal Seymour confessed to sexually abusing several teenage boys he met through his church in Lakeland, FL. Police discovered he'd been let go from his previous church in Mobile, AL for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy.


The former pastor of Northgate Colonial Baptist Church in Camden pleaded guilty to 15 charges of sexual exploitation of children. The Walton County District Attorney's Office said Friday that 42-year-old Kevin Ogle of Camden pleaded guilty Monday. He was sentenced to 20 years of probation, and five years behind bars. Kershaw deputies arrested Ogle after they say he solicited what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl online.


Minister Shawn Davies, of First Baptist Church of Greenwood, pled guilty to 21 counts of child molestation. "He was allowed to move unchecked from one Baptist church to another, sexually assaulting young boys at almost every stop along the way."


On Oct. 24, the Illinois Attorney General's office charged 35-year-old Leslie Mason with 10 additional counts of criminal sexual assault. Mason had been pastor of Olney Southern Baptist Church in Olney, Ill., for seven years until church members unanimously voted to dismiss him Oct. 24, 2001.


John Puga, former youth minister is the 3rd official from Marquette Manor Baptist Church to be sentenced on child molestation charges. He will serve one year in the DuPage County jail with work release privileges after he pleaded guilty to molesting a 17-year-old girl.


Now every gay parent I have ever met has been fabulous. They want their children, clearly, love them dearly, and take excellent care in raising them. I would have no problem whatsoever asking any of my gay friends to babysit. I have every confidence they would be well looked after.

However, as a future parent, Baptists scare me nilly.

Ahem

From Wikipedia.com

So it looks like Raani over at baptisthomeschooling decided to first shut off comments, then delete that post all together. You know, the one where she said it would be poetic justice if someone were to blow up a high school that happened to be gay-friendly.

She can pretend she never said it as much as she wants. She can try to erase the proof that she sounded like a Christian terrorist sympathizer and rabble rouser if she wants to, it's her blog. My post is not coming down. And my comments are always open.

Smug

Hello Baptist Homeschooling

© Lisa F. Young | Dreamstime.com

Just leaving a hello to everyone visiting from baptisthomeschooling.com. Feel free to stay and look around for a while. Go ahead and comment, but if you go back past the the ones on the front page odds are I won't see the comment to reply right away. I hope you all do comment, it's kind of like signing a guest book, nice to know who stopped by.

One question, if someone would answer, why today? That post has been up for a few days, but today there's just a flood of people visiting. Did someone post about me somewhere? If so, let me know, if you wouldn't mind. I'd love to know what's being said.

Thanks. Hope you enjoy your visit.

Well, I'm offended

According to Martha Stewart:

Here are some tips to make sure your tribute is a respectful one:

- Display the flag only between sunrise and sunset on buildings and stationary flagstaffs. The flag may be displayed for twenty-four hours if illuminated in darkness.

- Do not display the flag in inclement weather.

- Whether displaying the flag vertically or horizontally, make sure the canton of stars is visible on the upper left-hand side.

- Do not let the flag touch the ground.

- The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.

- Before flying a flag at half-staff, hoist to its peak for an instant before lowering it.

- When displayed against a wall with another flag, their staffs crossed, the American flag should be on the right of the other flag (on the viewer's left), with its staff on top of that of the other flag.

- When flags of states, cities, or localities are flown on the same halyard with the United States flag, the national flag should always be at the top. No other flag should be placed above, or if on the same level, to the flag's right.

- When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they should be flown from separate staffs of equal height. The flags should be of approximately equal size.

- When the flag is displayed from a staff projecting horizontally or at an angle, the canton should be placed at the peak of the staff.

- An unusable flag that is damaged and worn and can no longer be displayed should be destroyed in a dignified way by burning.

- When not on display, the flag should be respectfully folded into a triangle, symbolizing the tricorn hats worn by colonial soldiers in the Revolutionary War.

First Published: July/August 1999

And when not in use, the flag should be folded like so:

When not on display, the United States flag should be folded into a triangle, emblematic of the three-cornered hats worn by Colonial soldiers in the Revolutionary War. It takes two people to do it properly, as the flag should never touch the ground during any lowering or folding.

1. Both people should hold out the flag waist high, with its surface parallel to the ground. Fold the flag in half lengthwise, bringing the striped lower section over the canton (the blue field of stars).

2. Fold it again lengthwise, bringing the canton to the outside.

3. Start a triangular fold by bringing the striped corner of the folded edge up to meet the open edge. The outer point is then turned inward to form a second triangle. Continue folding the flag in this manner seven more times.

4. The last triangular fold brings the red and white stripes into the star-strewn blue field, symbolizing the day's light vanishing into the darkness of the night. When the flag is completely folded, only the blue field and stars should be visible. Tuck the remaining flap into the pocket formed between the stars and stripes.

First Published: July/August 1998

(Images from MarthaStewart.com. I don't think she'd mind)

According to the McCain/Palin kicking the flag and dragging it on the ground is perfectly acceptable, as was witnessed after a rally he held in St. Charles, Missouri:



dakine01 over at Attackerman summed it up:

I learned about care and handling of the US flag in Boy Scouts with reinforcement through years of military HS, college ROTC and active duty in the Air Force. The minimally acceptable handling with this (if unable to actually lower the flag in a traditional fashion), would be to have folks stationed to catch the flag as the pole is brought down, keeping it from brushing the ground.

But lowering it in a traditional fashion and folding it with an honor guard would have been far better. They couldn’t find a local VFW/American Legion/High School ROTC detachment/Police Honor Guard/Boy Scout or Girl Scout Troop to deal with this? Boy McCain folks must REALLY hate America

Once again he nails it

The Daily Show, on being a real American and small town values. It's a must see.

The highlights:

On "real America"



On "family values" in Wasilla

Because I needed more stuff around here

I followed Reclamation Mama's links back to her utterly gorgeous blog, and then to the Christmas counter she uses. Because as anyone who makes their own gifts knows, it's coming up, and it's coming up fast.