When terrorists were Irish Catholics...

Reading stories like this really pisses me off.

NEW YORK -- For several weeks, the Associated Press has reported extensively on the New York Police Department’s secret surveillance of Muslim neighborhoods, including a lengthy report Thursday about an initiative specifically targeting Moroccans where they eat, shop and pray.

New York’s top tabloids, however, aren't applauding the AP’s dogged reporting in the face of early denials from the police department. Instead, they've given support to the NYPD's just-revealed methods for monitoring Muslims.

“The Associated Press has added, unintentionally, to its flattering profile of the NYPD’s anti-terror squad with a report on how a first-rate intelligence unit does business,” the Daily News editorial board wrote Friday.

The editors argued that "to AP's intrepid, if not obsessed, reporters, these basic and benign measures are a scandal." However, the editors continued, “they just don't get it, and, with the exception of the most knee-jerk civil liberties activists, they are essentially alone in not getting that the NYPD is valuably scoping out the who, what and where of neighborhoods by observing little more than activities in public view.”

Let's consider what's going on here. The NYPD, in cahoots with the CIA, has begun investigating Muslims for the simple act of being Muslims. These aren't people who are suspected to be terrorists, these are people who show up to their houses of worship to pray. This is patently unconstitutional, f'ing insane, but because they're Muslims, not only is little being done about it, but all too many people in the country cheer this kind of crap with glee. Most others, including the mainstream media, just don't seem to care.

Let's set the record straight. When Irish Catholics were the best known terrorists in the West and there was legitimate fear in the streets of one of our nation's biggest and most important allies -- people that blew up and maimed god knows how many UK citizens, and killed at least one US citizen -- we obeyed our constitutional obligations, including due process, and didn't resort to something like allowing the NYPD to spy on US citizens who just so happened to be Irish Catholics, who went to mass at Irish Catholic churches in NYC. We even did this knowing that there were sympathizers and those who would directly aid the Irish Republican Army in the US, including someone who now sits in the US Congress. Why? Because we are a nation of laws!

Now that our country is most concerned about extremist terrorists who just so happen to be Muslims, everything's changed. Because they're Muslims -- because they're different from "us" in the view of most Americans -- apparently, it's somehow become okay to ignore constitutional rights obligations, to count them as something less than human.

Well, that sort of thinking disgusts me. Muslims in this country are entitled to ALL the same legal protections, including our constitutionally-guaranteed rights to due process. If we ignore these rights for Muslims, it won't be long before we ignore them for people who are friends with Muslims, and then it won't be long before we ignore them for everyone. As Benjamin Franklin is often attributed for saying, he who sacrifices liberty for security deserves neither.

The truth about adoption services post marriage equality

One of the talking points emanating from Team Homophobia that's been circulating ever since NY passed marriage equality is that religious-based groups that serve the public would be "forced" to shut down if it doesn't recognize marriage equality. That couldn't be further from the truth. These people point to Massachusetts and the fact that the Boston Archdiocese forced the shut down of Catholic Charities adoption services as "proof" of this ridiculous claim, though that's not in fact what happened. Here's what did:

Catholic Charities had, for decades, allowed gay couples to adopt children, predating marriage. The Boston Archdiocese either didn't care about it or didn't know, though given that it went on for twenty years, the latter would be saying a lot.

Meanwhile, while Catholic Charities was a religious charity, it received a tremendous amount of public aid, including from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to process those adoptions. It is true that it would be illegal for any groups that took public funds to discriminate against same-sex marriages post Goodridge decision, but it's equally true it would have been illegal to discriminate against gays or lesbians beforehand -- and two decades of history of Catholic Charities allowing gays and lesbians to adopt shows they never had much of a problem with it before.

As the decision on what to do about marriage equality was cycling through the then-Finneran dominated legislature, the fact that Catholic Charities was already allowing same-sex couples to adopt became a story, embarrassing the Catholic Church and its claims that somehow allowing same-sex couples to raise children would be damaging to those children, so the bishops across Massachusetts forced the board of Catholic Charities to put the kibosh on all their adoptions, despite some pretty vehement resistance from that board.

The Catholic Church then tried to use that decision as a vehicle in the press to curry favor with the public, insisting it was marriage equality's fault that they had to stop the adoptions, but they were, of course, the ones who stopped those adoptions. They were the ones who decided, after allowing gays and lesbians to adopt using Catholic Charities for two decades, they suddenly had to stop.

Furthermore, the Catholic Church still could have banned same-sex couples from adopting children within their Catholic Charities service had it decided to merely stop taking public funds. It would have been difficult for them to make that decision -- Massachusetts practically bankrolled those adoptions to begin with -- but there's no reason for any state to provide public funds to a charity which wants to discriminate against some of those it caters toward.

Far from creating a public rallying cry, the Boston Archdiocese only further embarrassed itself, and alienated the people of this Commonwealth, providing ample evidence to the public that they'd go so far as to put difficult-to-place children at risk for political calculations and/or spite, but it stuck to its guns. It would be a shame today to allow that story to be recycled and reshaped in true Orwellian fashion to fit their meme, now that what happened has been forgotten by most of the public.

If the Catholic Church's charities that use public funds wish to discriminate against same-sex couples (even to this day, most don't), then they have a very simple solution available to them: stop taking public funds. Shutting down shop, trying to score political points, is a very heavy price to pay for the thousands of children across the country who need to find good homes.

---
PS. I wanted to include some links, so I did a little googling and found this blog from GLAD, with this story from the Boston Globe, that confirms most of the facts from above, although there's still some of what was floating around in my head from the way-back machine, coming from a period that predate (most) blogs and links.

Expelling kids for the "sins" of the parents

Two young kids in a Colorado Catholic K-8 school were essentially expelled... because their parents are lesbians. My question: How many of the other parents in that school are divorced or had their kids out of wedlock? Those are all sexual 'sins' on the order of being gay, yet I doubt the school would have enough students to stay open if the church universally applied its intolerance to all parents who were sexual "sinners" and their children. Certainly, the sisters who ran my CCD when I was younger never minded the fact that my parents were divorced.

It's very sad, but the hostility the leadership in the Catholic Church has toward gay people borders on open hatred. While the church is being crushed with its own sexual scandal that is magnitudes worse -- allowing thousands of children to be molested by priests across the Globe, then covering it up -- all it can bother to think about is teh gay. I guess it's easier for one to focus on the problems of others than admit they have problems of their own -- problems that are not only morally repugnant, but totally illegal, too.

On Religion and Off State Politics (for a post)

I attended a Bat Mitzvah over the weekend and had a blast. It was for the daughter of one of the candidates I've worked for in the past. Beyond having the extreme pleasure of seeing the Speaker of this state dancing shoulder-to-shoulder to Hava Nagila, it led me to think a lot about faith for the first time in a long time -- and how it truly can make a positive impact in someone's life.

When it comes to faith, I've ran the gamut: I started as a Catholic true-believer who was confirmed and did the whole shebang. I was on the executive council of my youth ministry and my first paid gig was as a rectory monitor at St. John's the Evangalist -- $14.50 a week for stuffing the occasional envelope and doing my homework for two hours! One of the Sisters actually tried to convince me to go to seminary school - and I considered it for more than a nanosecond before realizing that would have been a bad, bad idea.

After the abuse scandal and the way O'Malley handled the church closings, I became an extremely bitter ex-Catholic. That lasted for a period of several years, some of which were the early days of this blog. I'm no longer a bitter ex-Catholic, but I'm still an ex-Catholic. There are other issues far beyond belief that would prevent me from ever joining again. Moreover, no matter what my personal faith is as it applies to religious matters, I'm a humanist at heart: what happens in the here and now is, if not far more important than the thereafter, at least paramount in determining what actually happens when we're dead and buried (or burned or lost).

It took me a while, but at some point around a year or two ago, I realized I lined up exactly with Unitarian Universalists. I think everyone is as valuable and important whether they believe in Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha or the spiritual kami in the rocks. I don't care if you pray to God or the four corners of the watchtower. I only care if someone's personal faith interferes with another's civil rights, or when people cease regulating at the entryway of their sanctuaries and start trying to do it at the ballot box. As long as people aren't doing those things, I think we all end up in the same or similar happy places when all is said and done, whether that's reincarnation, heaven or simply the positive imprints in the people we leave behind.

I say all this despite the fact that I've only ever attended a Unitarian Universalist service once -- and that was before I actually considered myself in line with Unitarian Universalism. Going to the Bat Mitvah made me realize a few things. I wasn't truly anything because I was not a spiritual being. Faith and spirituality just didn't factor in - and that's not a good thing. It meant I was too wrapped up in the details of my causes, the numbers and figures, and not stepping back, thinking at a broader level - at the inherent value of us all. Our inherent value, my humanism, is the driving force in my life, but I wasn't thinking about it, not in a long time. Life was on automatic, and I was missing the reason behind it - and therefore some of the meaning and fun.

When I looked at what exactly someone had to do to achieve a Bat or Bah Mitzvah, I was astounded. I was back on manual, feeling the engine purr as I shifted gears. As one friend put it, 'they go to Hebrew school, learn a new language, as well as memorize and philosophize in depth on religious tomes.' That's in addition to a large service project they must complete before the ceremony, as well as a paper and accompanying public speech (some would call it a sermon) that examines some particular biblical passage -- with Saturday's being especially deep, despite the fact that the passage was essentially the instruction manual to build a golden menorah. Out of that, I learned that "history" does not exist in the Torah, only "remember." Wow.

Then consider what one must do on the day of the ceremony. A 13-year old (no less) must singularly stand up and lead the service with the Rabbi during the vast majority of the ceremony, in front of a room full of people, leading songs and prayers (in Hebrew), as well as the aforementioned sort-of sermon. That's followed by a large, well-deserved party in the honor of that person's success - the community's collective recognition and celebration of a job well done, as well as the carrot to the hard work's stick. You can boil all of that down to the fact that each and everyone who achieves a Bat or Bah Mitvah is forced to take an introspective look at their beliefs and how that applies to the world, then air it out in a very public and personal forum. All of that is not just a big confidence booster, it's building a better person.

Our spirituality - the source of why we want to be better people and what we think it means to be human - is something easily lost in us all with our hectic schedules, even when those schedules are often filled with the causes that directly apply to our beliefs. For me, it's one thing to know all people deserve good health care, a clean earth and access to high-quality public education. It was another thing to remember why I felt that way. We're all beautiful creatures set upon this earth, whether we think it by some supernatural being or a bloody and very human mess. If we each value the other and respect the consenting decisions others make as it applies to their own individualism, it only enhances this place we live on. There's the one thing I wish people of all faiths could come to live by.

My God: Unitarians Viciously Attacked in Hate Crime

I can't believe this.

An apparent stranger entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Sunday and opened fire during a children's performance based on the musical “Annie,” killing two, according to published reports.

Jim D. Adkisson, 58, has been charged with first-degree murder and on Monday was being held on $1 million bail. Witnesses said some of the male parishioners present tackled Adkisson after he pulled a 12-gauge shotgun from a guitar case and fired at least three times. One of those killed was a burly usher who shielded others from the gunfire.

So, the big question: Why?

One witness said Adkisson shouted “hateful things” before opening fire. At a press conference Monday, the Knoxville police chief said that Adkisson was frustrated at his inability to find a job and blamed liberals and gays.

I wish conservatives could see these incidents and realize the consequences of their hatred and fears. This guy wasn't just an unhinged crackpot, he clearly had his influences.

"Inside the house, officers found Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder by radio talk show host Michael Savage, Let Freedom Ring by talk show host Sean Hannity, and The O'Reilly Factor, by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly."

Here's the sad thing: while Republicans push for policies that harm the economy and make the working people of this country suffer, they prey (pray?) on the same-old social issues that don't effect anyone else, all to keep the populace in line. The result? There's a lot of poor people in this country looking for people to blame and end up targeting the wrong people - quite literally in this case.

Bent on attacking nearby liberals, Adikkson was suffering under decades of conservative influence on this country's policies. Adikkson shouldn't have tried to shoot all his local liberals and gays; he should have spent his time organizing against the nearest Republican candidate. If this country didn't waste so much time on hot button issues, instead focusing on policies that help the vast majority of Americans, maybe two more people would be alive today and Unitarians everywhere wouldn't feel under siege. Maybe the world would be a much better place.

Ah! Attack of the Boogey Man!!

Magnetars are stars that send out such huge and frantic bursts of energy that they only live for 10,000 years - billions less than our sun will endure.

Never in all of my life have I ever been so frightened of a (self-)interest(ed) group! Not.

Backers of abstinence-only education launched a campaign yesterday urging Governor Deval Patrick to accept a $700,000 federal grant to keep the program alive in Massachusetts.

Note the group is spending $75,000 on the campaign - over 10% of the money Patrick refused to take from the Christianists Moral Majority Minority running D.C. The good news (humor is a good thing, right?) is that the group has taken a page out of Kerry Healey's campaign:

One of the ads says: "Deval Patrick Doesn't Want 11-Year-Olds Taught to Say 'No' to Sex."

This is sure to be one of the least successful campaigns since Vote on Marriage blew up in flames last June. Enjoy it while it lasts, because fires this fierce blaze out all the faster.

There's Money to be Made in Religion

Not that this will surprise a great number of people, but there's a lot of money to be made in selling faith and David Kirkpatrick plans to make as much as he can doing it. Buyers beware.

Still, though, it's an interesting article. Kirkpatrick hopes to start up a rather large media venture; it would include producing movies, commercials, books and even bible versus sent directly to your cell phone. He wants all these things based in his home state, Massachusetts -home of the Puritans and stuff.

Did I mention it would be large?

Kirkpatrick, a former president of Paramount Pictures and a cofounder of the year-old Good News Holdings, whose mission is to produce "spiritainment" that will "please God," is in search of 100 acres in his native Massachusetts to build a $150 million-plus studio to produce films, television shows, and commercials, both religious and otherwise. His ambitious plans call for 14 sound stages, a "huge" back lot for filming and as many as 1,500 jobs. This is phase one, he says, which he wants to have "fully operational" by 2009.

Whatever floats his boat. Good paying jobs are good paying jobs, especially if it's located in a place like Plymouth (which is one location he recently looked at). I'm sure the South Coast and Cape Cod wouldn't mind 1,500 new jobs in the neighborhood. He plans on leasing out a lot of his studios, etc. to anyone who would be interested, because I guess there's only so many movies one can make about Jesus, Moses, Noah & Company - and it's all about making money, you see, just "a hard-boiled business proposition."

Just Ban All Proms Then

So this is interesting.

In Attleboro, high school senior Rosanne Stott wanted to bring a date to the prom, but she can't, because her date would be a woman. At a public school, the administration would have
trouble enforcing such a rule, but this is Bishop Feehan High School, run by the local catholic diocese.

Okay, it's a Catholic School, so there's really nothing anyone can do about it... freedom of religion, blah, blah, blah, blah. I support that principal - people choose to go to Catholic Schools. If that's all there was to this, I probably wouldn't be writing about it. However, there's an interesting little blurb about this all.

"Rules are made by schools that anyone can call discrimination if they want," he said in a telephone interview. "The school has the right to make rules in the best interests of the students. We teach tolerance towards people who may be gay. That is not the issue at all. That's the confusion. It's against gay sexual activity."

Now, I left the Catholic Church about 2-3 years ago, but I'm fairly familiar with basic Catholic catechism. Last time I heard, sex before marriage was banned. I would especially think Catholics would want teenagers in general to avoid sexual activity.

I confess myself confused. If having sex before marriage is bad - why have any prom at all. Or do only those heathen homosexuals have sex before marriage? After all, straight people could have sex with straight people, right? Wouldn't the Captain of the football team possibly want the popular cheerleader? So, what's it gonna be? Why have any prom at a Catholic School at all if potentially any of those dirty men could do the bad deed to any woman? The Catholic School claims to be worried about sexual activity - and they don't care about the whole 'gay' thing - so shouldn't they be consistent?

Or is only gay sex wrong? Or at least the only sex wrong enough to ban certain people from going to the prom?

I didn't know this was possible, but apparently the Catholic Church can become even more hypocritical than it already was. Wow.

Soulforce, Gordon College and BYU: Kudos to Who?

Soulforce is an organization that just so happens to be sending bus loads of glbt students across the country to protest against Christian colleges for warping Christianity to persecute against them. In great part because of their nonviolent actions, some of the colleges acted in ways that didn't exactly make them look good and show that good 'ol fashioned protesting is still effective. How do we know that? Well, several Christian colleges have taken a step in the right direction - in large part because of the actions of Soulforce.

The Globe had an interesting article about a trip Soulforce planned for at Gordon College in Massachusetts. Unexpectedly, the school agreed to allow the protesters on campus - and for really good reasons. One big complaint against these colleges is the suffocation of ideas and beliefs - by not even allowing a group like Soulforce on campus, they don't allow students the same kind of opportunity to think for themselves as they would at any non-religious college or university. It's something that Gordon got.

"We present lots of ideas in the classroom that we don't agree with -- that's part of education," said Barry J. Loy , the dean of students. "I'm hopeful that they will come here to learn, and we will do the same. We're not keeping our students from them."

Loy e-mailed the entire Gordon campus about the visit, declaring that, "Gordon College affirms the historic, orthodox Christian position that homosexual practice is incompatible with the teaching of Scripture. However, the college plans to provide a gracious welcome to our Equality Ride visitors and views this occasion as an important educational opportunity."

Clearly, Gordon College is trying to make it a place that students may actually want to go to.

What's even more shocking is the likely effects of Soulforce on a far crazier slightly more unique school and situation - Brigham and Young University. For whatever reason - and I'm sure Soulforce's role in this made an impact - BYU has changed it's policy on gay and lesbian students. Basically, for the first time ever, students are actually allowed to be gay at BYU. Granted, the policy is still draconian - homosexual activity is still banned and people aren't allowed to advocate for the 'gay agenda' - but, students can be "out" and apparently, it's already had an impact to some at the school.

One current student told the paper that the changes "remove a lot of the Gestapo atmosphere from the campus."

Things are far from perfect, but it's important for Christian colleges to move toward the direction of equality and it's nice to see that it just may be happening. It's too early to tell if things are getting better for sure, but hopefully progress is inevitable. Colleges are meant to be the last learning bastion that prepares an adult for the "real world" and that just can't happen in today's society if students are indoctrinated to hate gay people. Furthermore, colleges are supposed to be liberal - as in open-minded - institutions that allow students to make up their own damn minds. An institution can't claim that if they ban gay advocacy and gay students. Most importantly, there are a lot of religious gay people in this country - and they deserve the right to go to a religious college if that's their choice. Schools would do well to accept and encourage them, as they're just the same as straight people and have a desire to learn about religion, instead of alienating them. After all, turning away the sheep isn't a very good way to keep them in the flock. Kudos to Soulforce for being the change they want all across this country.