Day: October 6, 2007

NationalPornSunday – Oct. 7, 2007

Jon Ponder

It’s not what you think:

Over the last two years, almost 200 churches throughout the country have taken part in National PornSunday.
October 7, 2007…

… is your chance to bring hope to those who are struggling with pornography. For some, it is ludicrous to link three X’s with church. For others, it’s long overdue. The one undeniable truth that can’t be ignored is the blatant push for all things sexual in our society. PornSunday seeks to drive the conversation about pornography into our churches, families, and lives. PornSunday wants to bring healing and recovery to those struggling with pornography.

One day. One message. Your voice. Churches across the country have become the strength and hope for those struggling with this dirty little secret, and now it’s your church’s opportunity. PornSunday allows you to begin this conversation and then, be equipped to talk about pornography and be prepared for the events that follow after addressing your congregation.

XXXchurch.com has compiled some of the best resources dealing with pornography and put them all in one PornSunday kit, that equips your church to talk about pornography and prepares your church to deal with the issues after PornSunday is over.

Call me old fashioned but I think pornography ought to be kept out of church.

Two Saudi Men Sentenced to 7,000 Lashes for Being Gay

Jon Ponder

Iranian Pres. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent declaration that there are no gay people in Iran brought attention to the fact gays in Iran who are discovered are sentenced to death, and that a pair of teenaged boys
were executed for being gay in 2005.

American conservatives, many of whom advocate re-criminalizing gay behavior, may have been able to distance themselves from the story because Iran is an enemy of the United States. But now comes word that a major U.S. ally has sentenced two men to be tortured by flogging, and that part of the sentence has already been carried out in public:

Prison authorities in Saudi Arabia have begun administering 7,000 lashes to each of two men convicted of committing “homosexual acts”, a local newspaper reported yesterday.

The Okaz newspaper says that the sentence was being meted out in “phases” and was being conducted in a public square in the southwestern city of Al-Bahah.

Neither man has been named.

The floggings began on Tuesday. The men were dragged into the square, their shirts removed and they were whipped. They were then returned to prison. The process was repeated on Wednesday and will continue daily until all 7,000 lashes have been administered.

Islamic laws prohibiting gay sex are brutal:

Among the Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence (madhahib), the Hanafi school mandates a severe beating for the first offense, and the death penalty for a repeat offender. The Shafi’i school calls for 100 lashes for an unmarried homosexual, death by stoning for a married one. The Hanbali school requires stoning across the board. Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, directed his followers to kill the one who sodomizes and the one who lets it be done to him”(‘Umdat al-Salik, p17.3).

UPDATE:

Contact info:

Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037

Main Number: (202) 342-3800
Information/Press Office: (202) 337-4076
e-mail: info@saudiembassy.net

Romney’s Liberal Views Exposed in New Ad from Gay GOPers

Jon Ponder

Romney Has “Massachusetts Values”

The Log Cabin Club, a gay Republican organization, has an ad up in which they expose Mitt Romney’s egregious flipflops on social issues. Here’s the transcript:

Narrator: For years he’s fought conservatives and religious extremists — Mitt Romney.

Romney: “I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country … I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years that we should sustain and support it.” — Massachusetts Senate Debate, October 25, 1994, Boston, Faneuil Hall.

Narrator: Mitt Romney opposed the gun lobby…

Even Ronald Reagan…

Romney: I was independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I’m not trying to return to Reagan-Bush. — Massachusetts Senate Debate, October 25, 1994, Boston, Faneuil Hall.

Narrator: … a record fighting the religious right … a pro-choice record … Massachusetts values … Mitt Romney.

It’s hard to parse the thinking behind the fact that the LCC decided not to mention Romney’s former support of gay civil rights in the ad — but then it’s impossible to figure why any gay person would be a Republican. There can’t be a more friendless group in politics.

Blackwater Parasite: Contractor Recruits US Troops On Duty in War Zone

Jon Ponder

In addition to receiving an estimated $1 billion in fees from the U.S. government since the Iraq war began, Blackwater is also ripping off U.S. taxpayers by recruiting U.S. soldiers while they are on duty:

Blackwater contractors are allowed to recruit uniformed personnel while they are on duty in Iraq, and they have a powerful recruitment tool: Salaries that are six times what the military pays.

Astonishingly, contractors are free to approach those in uniform, offer them generous salaries to leave their service in wartime, then profit from the skills your tax dollars taught them.

This isn’t just about Navy SEALS or other special operators. In intelligence, for example, we train young soldiers for complex missions and expensively process their security clearances – then contractors bribe them to leave the military, raking in big bucks from your investment in their new employee.

Blackwater contractor salaries are six times military pay:

Blackwater charges the government $1,222 per day per guard, “equivalent to $445,000 per year, or six times more than the cost of an equivalent U.S. soldier,” [according to a congressional report].

And the $445,000 figure probably doesn’t include benefits, perks or bonuses to be awarded upon completion of service.

If the salary of a military security officer is $74,000 (one-sixth of $445,000), the government would save $371,000 in pay for each of the estimated 1,000 Blackwater contractors deployed in Iraq — a total savings of $371 million per year.

Blackwater CEO Erik Prince is a major donor to the GOP and comes from a wealthy family that is highly connected in the Michigan Republican Party. It is unlikely Blackwater’s contracts will be terminated while the Bush regime is in power, but Congress should curtail the company’s practice of recruiting U.S. troops in the war zone.