Archive for April 2012
Anti-Bullying Campaign Co-Founder is a Bully
What happens when the editorial director of an alternative news weekly out of Seattle, Washington speaks in front of more than 2000 high school students at a national high school journalism convention?
He turns into a high school student.
But it gets even more ridiculous.
Dan Savage is also the co-founder of the anti-bullying It Gets Better Project, but as he falls into his teenage relapse he morphs directly into that class bully we all knew picking on those he doesn’t like. In this case it happened to be Christians and their “Bible”.
Savage, who was invited to the convention to speak on bullying, and we would hope, denounce it and suggest ways for students to eliminate it, and overcome it, instead took the opportunity to go on a profanity-laced tirade against the Bible (via his interpretation of it’s teachings), and those who follow it.
“We can learn to ignore the bullsh– in the Bible about gay people,” Savage said, “the same way we have learned to ignore the bullsh– about shellfish, about slavery, about dinner, about farming, about menstruation, about virginity, about masturbation. We ignore bullsh– in the Bible about all sorts of things. The Bible is a radically pro-slavery document. Slave owners waved Bibles over their heads in the Civil War and justified it,” Savage preached.
And as one might expect from a crowd of immature 15 to 18 year-old adolescents with little concept of Biblical context or acumen, Savage received a shower of “Duuuude that dude just swore! Sweeeeeeet”, cheers and applause.
But not every student thought the assault on a book of scripture and the thinly veiled knock on those who believe it to be the word of God was appropriate, funny, or worth cheering and applauding. Dozens of students and their advisers stood and walked out on the speaker. To which Savage let loose this bullyfied gem, “You can tell the Bible guys in the hall, they can come back now because I’m done beating up the Bible. It’s funny when someone is on the receiving end of “beatings” that are justified by the Bible, how “pansy-assed” some people react.”
Today Savage joined the long line of leftist elites in the apology parade as he “tried” to convince us that he wasn’t bullying the students and advisers who walked out on him.
“I wasn’t calling the handful of students who left pansies (2,800+ students, most of them Christian, stayed and listened), just the walkout itself,” he said.
“I was not attacking the faith in which I was raised,” he added. “I was attacking the argument that gay people must be discriminated against—and anti-bullying programs that address anti-gay bullying should be blocked (or exceptions should be made for bullying “motivated by faith”)—because it says right there in the Bible that being gay is wrong.”
Here again we have someone on the left defining the argument so as to justify his own bigoted bully pulpit tactics. I don’t know of a single Bible believing, practicing Christian who thinks it’s OK to bully anyone, period. That is not what Christ taught nor what the Bible teaches and Savage, the adult, knows it.
Savage, the teenager, however saw an opportunity to become part of the “cool” crowd and with the punch of a few well-timed expletives he succeeded.
His parents must be so proud!
Related articles
- Dan’s Savage Response to Christian Kids (randythomas.co)
- Dan Savage At Anti-Bullying Event: ‘We Can Learn To Ignore The Bullsh*t In The Bible About Gay People’ (mediaite.com)
- Dan Savage Bullies Christian Teens in Speech at Anti-Bullying Conference, Says to Ignore “Bull****” in the Bible (foxnewsinsider.com)
- “Pansy Ass” Dan Savage’s Bizarre, Bullsh*t, Anti-Bullying, Vulgar, Obscene, Foul Word-Laced Lecture To High School Students (societybytes.wordpress.com)
- Conservative Groups Accuse Dan Savage Of ‘Bullying’ After He Highlights Hypocrisy In The Bible (thinkprogress.org)
The Things They’ll Say Among Friends
“It was kind of like how the Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean. They’d go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw, and they would crucify them. And then you know that town was really easy to manage for the next few years. … So, that’s our general philosophy.” – Environmental Protection Agency administrator Al Armendariz
The statement was made in 2010 with all seriousness as Armendariz spoke to his staff (friendlies). “I was in a meeting once, and I gave an analogy to my staff about my philosophy of enforcement, and I think it was probably a little crude and maybe not appropriate for the meeting, but I’ll go ahead and tell you what I said,” he began. In a video obtained and released by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., Armendariz then shared his bloody analogy.
Now, in an all to familiar pattern from the left in recent weeks, he has come out with a “heartfelt” apology for his “poor choice of words”. Seems those on the left and in particular serving in Obama’s administration make rather poor choices on a regular basis.
Michelle Malkin opined on this newest revelation from the Obama camp:
“Echoing President Obama’s “punch back twice as hard” treatment of his political enemies, Armendariz explained to his underlings that “you hit them as hard as you can, and you make examples out of them, and there is a deterrent effect there. And, companies that are smart see that, they don’t want to play that game, and they decide at that point that it’s time to clean up.”
In other words: Suck up, fly left, or face prosecution. The goal isn’t a cleaner environment. The goal is political incitement of fear. The record shows that Obama environmental overlords run amok.
It was Obama’s Interior Secretary Ken Salazar who vowed to keep his “boot on the neck” of BP after the Gulf oil spill in 2010. Salazar and former eco-czar Carol Browner colluded on a fraudulent report — condemned by federal judges — that completely distorted a White House-appointed expert panel’s opposition to the administration’s job-killing, industry-bashing drilling moratorium.
It was Obama’s EPA that railroaded a senior government research analyst for daring to question the agency’s zealous push to impose greenhouse gas rules. When Alan Carlin asked to distribute an analysis on the health effects of greenhouse gases that didn’t fit the eco-bureaucracy’s blame-human-activity narrative, he was gagged and reprimanded: “The time for such discussion of fundamental issues has passed for this round. The administrator and the administration has decided to move forward on endangerment, and your comments do not help the legal or policy case for this decision. … I can only see one impact of your comments given where we are in the process, and that would be a very negative impact on our office.” Public relations management trumped truth in science, the deliberative process and fairness.
It was Obama’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in cahoots with the witch hunters at the Department of Justice, that raided Gibson Guitar factories in Memphis and Nashville three years ago over an arcane endangered species of wood. The guitar police have yet to bring charges, leaving the company in costly legal limbo.
And as Inhofe pointed out in response to Armendariz’s “apology”: “Not long after Administrator Armendariz made these comments in 2010, EPA targeted US natural gas producers in Pennsylvania, Texas and Wyoming. In all three of these cases, EPA initially made headline-grabbing statements either insinuating or proclaiming outright that the use of hydraulic fracturing by American energy producers was the cause of water contamination, but in each case their comments were premature at best — and despite their most valiant efforts, they have been unable to find any sound scientific evidence to make this link.”
Indeed, Armendariz the Executioner tried nailing a drilling company — Texas-based Range Resources — to the cross in 2010 with an emergency declaration that its fracking work in the Lone Star State had contaminated groundwater. The Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the oil and gas industry, found no scientific evidence of the Obama EPA’s claims.
Forbes magazine reported: “In recent months a federal judge slapped the EPA, decreeing that the agency was required to actually do some scientific investigation of wells before penalizing the companies that drilled them. Finally in March the EPA withdrew its emergency order and a federal court dismissed the EPA’s case.”
Vice President Joe Biden is right about Obama’s “big stick.” Too bad he’s using it to beat down America’s domestic energy producers and wealth creators instead of our foreign enemies.
Malkin’s piece plays nicely into this video.
Does anyone see a trend here?
Related articles
- Senator wants EPA ‘crucify’ threat investigated (wnd.com)
- EPA Regional Administrator’s Real Philosophy: ‘Crucify’ First, Intimidate Challengers Later (papundits.wordpress.com)
- EPA Official’s ‘Philosophy’ On Oil Companies: ‘Crucify Them’ – Just As Romans Crucified Conquered Citizens (cajunconservatism.wordpress.com)
- EPA official apologizes for ‘crucify’ comments (washingtontimes.com)
- ‘Crucify’ Slip ‘Revealing’ Of Obama Energy Policy? (foxnews.com)
- Epa Update……pulls Video From You Tube (icanbeatobama.com)
He Is Risen –
The empty tomb that first Easter morning was the answer to Job’s question, “If a man die, shall he live again?”
More than 2,000 years ago, Christ, our Savior, was born to mortal life in a stable in Bethlehem. The long-foretold Messiah had come.
There was very little written of the boyhood of Jesus. I love the passage from Luke: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” And from the book of Acts, there is a short phrase concerning the Savior which has a world of meaning: “[He] went about doing good.”
He was baptized by John in the river Jordan. He called the Twelve Apostles. He blessed the sick. He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He even raised the dead to life. He taught, He testified, and He provided a perfect example for us to follow.
And then the mortal mission of the Savior of the world drew to its close. A last supper with His Apostles took place in an upper room. Ahead lay Gethsemane and Calvary’s cross.
No mere mortal can conceive the full import of what Christ did for us in Gethsemane. He Himself later described the experience: “[The] suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit.”
Following the agony of Gethsemane, now drained of strength, He was seized by rough, crude hands and taken before Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, and Herod. He was accused and cursed. Vicious blows further weakened His pain-racked body. Blood ran down His face as a cruel crown fashioned of sharp thorns was forced onto His head, piercing His brow. And then once again He was taken to Pilate, who gave in to the cries of the angry mob: “Crucify him, crucify him.”
He was scourged with a whip into whose multiple leather strands sharp metals and bones were woven. Rising from the cruelty of the scourge, with stumbling steps He carried His own cross until He could go no farther and another shouldered the burden for Him.
Finally, on a hill called Calvary, while helpless followers looked on, His wounded body was nailed to a cross. Mercilessly He was mocked and cursed and derided. And yet He cried out, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
The agonizing hours passed as His life ebbed. From His parched lips came the words, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”
As the serenity and solace of a merciful death freed Him from the sorrows of mortality, He returned to the presence of His Father.
At the last moment, the Master could have turned back. But He did not. He passed beneath all things that He might save all things. His lifeless body was hurriedly but gently placed in a borrowed tomb.
No words in Christendom mean more to me than those spoken by the angel to the weeping Mary Magdalene and the other Mary when, on the first day of the week, they approached the tomb to care for the body of their Lord. Spoke the angel:
“Why seek ye the living among the dead?
“He is not here, but is risen.”
Our Savior lived again. The most glorious, comforting, and reassuring of all events of human history had taken place—the victory over death. The pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary had been wiped away. The salvation of mankind had been secured. The Fall of Adam had been reclaimed.
“In our hour of deepest sorrow, we can receive profound peace from the words of the angel that first Easter morning: “He is not here: for he is risen.”
President Thomas S. Monson – President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Related articles
- He Is Risen! (gibsongirl247.wordpress.com)
- Jesus Has Risen! (primaryinzion.wordpress.com)
- Resurrection Day (jonahzsong.wordpress.com)
- He lives (ivanildotrindade.com)
An Easter Message
I did not write this but I concur with it whole-heartedly!
Can you guess who wrote it? Leave your guesses in the comments. I’ll reveal the author next week.
Happy Easter!
April 6, 2012
Many of us grew up celebrating Easter as the holiday where a cute little bunny rabbit brought chocolate and other delicious treats for everyone to eat. All we had to do was look diligently for the eggs hidden around the house and eventually it would lead us to the only thing we cared about: that giant basket of goodies.
Many are still celebrating Easter in a similar fashion. It’s become tradition – it’s just what we do. This year I have a radical suggestion: start a new tradition. Something that goes much, much deeper than a furry rabbit & candy.
Now don’t get me wrong – I’d be lying if I told you there was no chocolate involved in my Easter weekend. I’d also be lying if I told you there were no Peeps or other marshmallow-y related food products. Or jelly beans. Or Twizzlers. There’s nothing wrong with having a little egg hunt & candy at Easter – it’s fun. But there is something wrong when Easter becomes allabout the bunnies and the eggs and the chocolate.
Easter is actually the greatest love story ever told – yet mankind has managed to water it down to an opportunity to devour a few extra M&M’s and are actually ‘offended’ when they hear it. How could that be? What’s offensive about this: The very first Easter weekend – three days that changed the world forever – took place over 2,000 years ago. Mankind was lost, floundering – headed for destruction. But because God so loved the world, He gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him will never die & have eternal life. And like the good Shepherd, Jesus laid down His life for the flock – and suffered greatly in doing so. He didn’t have to – but He did. That is why we celebrate.
And that is why we need to start a new tradition this Easter – whether you’re Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Wiccan, still thinking about it (come on already!), etc – because the holiday has nothing to do with chocolate. It’s about showing love. Instead of just pounding some creme eggs & jelly beans – reach out to a friend or neighbor or total stranger. Get to know them – and look for ways you can help them. Donate your time. Donate some food. Whatever it is, just find a way to help someone in need.
America’s woes are easily solvable with that one, powerful, incredible word: love. That is why we are gathering this summer for Restoring Love in Dallas at Cowboys Stadium – to remind people of our greater purpose and stir us to action. It’s also why I have great hope – because I know the American people & what we are capable of when we put our minds, and more importantly our hearts, to something.
I look forward to hearing about your new Easter tradition – one that I believe will save the country.
Have a great Easter!
Laus Deo
Related articles
- It’s Not About Easter (goldengatecathedral.wordpress.com)
- Good Friday – Happy Easter … (point4counterpoint.wordpress.com)
The Long Version 