I will part with the following points:

The bible is the infalible word of God. If was not written by men, monarchs, or royalty. It was handed to man by God and as God’s hand played a role in everything, it has never been wrong.

You cannot compare shaving to homosexuality. There is a huge difference between cultural norms mentioned in The Bible, and things explicitly called sinful abominations. If you think swearing at your parents isn’t a sin, and is an acceptable practice, I’m wasting my breath trying to convince you of something you’re too simple-minded to understand.

Homosexuality is a sin. If you have a true belief in God, you will know that. Otherwise you’re lying to yourself and are a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

No, I did not spell check this. Goodbye.

© Rob Matherly for A Secession of One, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Anyway, Glenn’s been spending a lot of time on this whole Marcus Littrel thing. The guy was a Navy SEAL almost killed in Afghanistan, and was given a dog during his recuperation. I won’t go into the sappy details, but it is a bit heart-touching. This guy caught a couple teenage douches killing his dog. Glenn is friends with the guy, so he’s been spending a lot of radio and TV time focusing on the case. Seems to me like there’s more important things to talk about, but what do I know.

Anyway, on last night’s TV show, Glenn said that anyone who kills an animal needs to be locked up because there’s something wrong with them. This struck me as an odd thing for someone with his other opinoins to be saying, but I assumed he meant killing an animal for fun.

Wrong! On today’s radio show, he said that he hates hunters. He said hunting isn’t a sport and that anyone who kills animals is wrong. He said he’d have Ted Nugent on to debate it… good luck with that.

Well, someone who thinks that would have to be a vegetarian, right? Nope! He admits to eating meat and wearing leather.

Add another one to the hypocryte file. I really liked him too. Dangit.

© Rob Matherly for A Secession of One, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Weight discrimination appears to add to the glass ceiling effect for women, finds a new study co-authored by a Michigan State University scholar.

Overweight and obese women are significantly underrepresented among the top CEOs in the United States, according to the research, which appears in the British journal Equal Opportunities International. However, while obese men were also underrepresented, overweight men were actually overrepresented among top CEOs.

The different results for women and men suggest weight bias may contribute to the glass ceiling on the advancement of women to the top levels of management, said Mark Roehling, MSU associate professor of human resource management.

“The results suggest that while being obese limits the career opportunities of both women and men, being ‘merely overweight’ harms only female executives – and may actually benefit male executives,” he said. “This pattern of findings is consistent with previous research indicating that, at least among white Americans, there is a tendency to hold women to harsher weight standards.”

It’s not like weight is a lifestyle choice or anything.

© Rob Matherly for A Secession of One, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Greetings! Welcome to Iowa, the Midwest’s most progressive state. From far and wide, people look to us as a leader in moral and civic virtue.

Be sure to come to the 80/35 festival this summer! Nothing is more fun than a music festival named after the junction of two interstates!

This year’s headlining act is Public Enemy, the nation’s most well-known “hip-hop” act. Bring the children out for this one, parent/guardian one and parent/guardian two!

While you’re in Des Moines, feel free to stop by the state capitol building. We always welcome new faces with friendly smiles.

We’ve got more than corn and cows in Iowa! We’re a leader in modern American virtue and public relations. Come to Iowa and have a gay ol’ time!

© Rob Matherly for A Secession of One, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

© Rob Matherly for A Secession of One, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Still waiting for change you can believe in? Well, believe this: the White House just declared an intellectual property treaty a state secret and denied Freedom of Information Act requests asking that it reveal the details of an international treaty that could have huge effects on how information is disseminated online.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement was already being negotiated behind close doors under the Bush Administration, under the direction of the Office of the US Trade Representative. Those concerned that all but 10 of the 800-plus page document were labeled classified and clearance was only given entertainment industry lobbyists took Mr. Obama’s words about a more transparent government to heart and filed the FOIA request.

Carmen Suro Bredie, Chief FOIA Officer, issued the Trade Rep’s denial of the request citing Executive Order 12958, a 1995 order stating that material can be considered classified if “damage to the national security and the original classification authority is able to identify or describe the damage.”

The article goes on to state just how they think an IP bill would effect national security. Something about bootleg DVDs being a big money-maker for international crime groups.

Yeah. I couldn’t swallow that one either.

The referenced article had an interesting snippit from the bill, which is probably the real reason behind it’s secrecy:

In effect, the study calls for a Patriot Act on behalf of the entertainment industry. It calls for a joint effort to monitor the Internet to find those who may be counterfeiting intellectual property and justifies it by suggesting there is a link between young Susie downloading a movie at home and human traffickers who help fund Islamic terrorists.

Wikileaks, an international whistleblower site, has provided links to ACTA documents made available in Japan, the EU, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Korea, Mexico, and New Zealand, and explains one clause that acts as a killer of peer-to-peer networking by criminalizing “the nonprofit facilitation of unauthorized information exchange on the Internet.” This clause would also negatively affect transparency and primary source journalism sites such as Wikileaks.”

Isn’t the expressed purpose of the Internet specifically the nonprofit facilitation of information exchange? That’s the whole reason for this massive world-wide computer network.

Who authorizes information, anyway? I can only assume that the US model for information transmission approval will be in the form of a massive government-sponsored firewall that filters out texts critical of The One, and weeds out its sources for “reeducation” at the local Community Activism center.

The sheer stupidity of this is mind-boggling. You people voted for change. Look what you got - a government millions of times worse than what we’ve ever seen! Now we see that The One and his band of anti-American cronies seek to control what can and can’t be said on the Internet. Gee, why am I not surprised? Next thing you know, they’ll come after our cell phones.

(Side thought - since this specifically mentions the Internet, does that mean I’m still free to download movies off of Gopher and the Hinternet?)

© Rob Matherly for A Secession of One, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Isn’t it odd that the HHS department oversees marriage in Iowa? Especially when you consider the following facts:

The following is a brief review of what is currently known to medical science about the health risks associated with homosexual activity.

HIV/AIDS

Homosexual activity remains a major source of transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus.

A 1997 New York Times article reported that a young male homosexual has about a 50 percent chance of getting HIV by middle age. (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, “Gay Culture Weighs Sense and Sexuality,” New York Times (Late edition, east coast), November 23, 1997, section 4, p.1)

As of 1998, 54 percent of all AIDS cases in America were homosexual men and according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) nearly 90 percent of these men acquired HIV through sexual activity with other men. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1998, June, HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report 10 (1)).

Even more alarming, the Center for Disease Control & Prevention reported in 1998 that an estimated half of all new HIV infections in the United States are among people under 25. Among 13-to 24-year-olds, 52 percent of all AIDS cases reported among males in 1997 were among young men who have sex with men. (CDC Fact Sheet: “Young People at Risk,” Center for Disease Control & Prevention, National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, July 24, 1998

Researchers at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver conducted a study to assess how HIV infection and AIDS is impacting the mortality rates for homosexual and bisexual men. Lead by R.S. Hogg, et al and published in the International Journal of Epidemiology (vol. 27, no. 3, 1997, pp 657-661) they reached an alarming conclusion.

“In a major Canadian center, life expectancy at age 20 years for gay and bisexual men is eight to 20 years less than for all men. If the same pattern of mortality continues, we estimate that nearly half of gay and bisexual men currently aged 20 years will not reach their 65th birthday. Under the most liberal assumptions, gay and bisexual men in this urban center are now experiencing a life expectancy similar to that experienced by all men in Canada in the year 1871.”

Physical Health Risks

In addition to AIDS, there is a long list of maladies attendant upon the homosexually active population. Of particular concern is anal cancer. According to J. R. Daling et.al, “Correlates of Homosexual Behavior and the Incidence of Anal Cancer,” Journal of the American Medical Association 247, no.14, 9 April 1982, pp. 1988-90, the risk of anal cancer soars by 4000 percent among those who engage in anal intercourse.

Other maladies include chlamydia trachomatis, cryptosporidium, giardia lamblia, herpes simplex virus, human papilloma virus (HPV) or genital warts, isospora belli, microsporidia, gonorrhea, viral hepatitis types B & C and syphilis.

Emotional/Mental Health Risks

Two extensive studies published in the October 1999 issue of American Medical Association Archives of General Psychiatry confirmed the existence of a strong link between homosexuality and suicide, as well as other mental and emotional problems.

Youth who identify themselves as homosexual, lesbian and bisexual are four times more likely than their peers to suffer from major depression; three times more likely to suffer anxiety disorders, four times more likely to suffer conduct disorders, six times more likely to suffer from multiple disorders and more than six times more likely to have attempted suicide.

Many homosexual activists point their finger at homophobia as the cause of these disorders, but the most extensive studies have been done in the Netherlands and New Zealand where homosexuality is widely accepted.

In an interview with Zenit News, Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, a child and adult psychiatrist in practice for more than 27 years, said, “Compared to controls who had no homosexual experience in the 12 months prior to the interviews, males who had any homosexual contact within that time period were much more likely to experience major depression, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia and obsessive compulsive disorder. Females with any homosexual contact within the previous 12 months were more often diagnosed with major depression, social phobia or alcohol dependence.”

He concluded by saying, “Men and women with a history of homosexual contact had a higher prevalence of nearly all psychiatric disorders measured in the study. These findings are the result of a lifestyle marked by rampant promiscuity and an inability to make commitments, combined with unresolved sadness, profound insecurity, anger and mistrust from childhood and adolescence.”

Physical Abuse

A recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health has shown that 39 percent of males with same-sex attraction have been abused by other homosexual men.

A study by Susan Turrell entitled “A descriptive analysis of Same-Sex Relationship Violence for a Diverse Sample,” and published in the Journal of Family Violence (vol 13, pp 281-293), found that relationship violence was a significant problem for homosexuals. Forty-four percent of gay men reported having experienced violence in their relationship; 13 percent reported sexual violence and 83 percent reported emotional abuse.

Levels of abuse ran even higher among lesbians with 55 percent reporting physical violence, 14 percent reporting sexual abuse and 84 percent reporting emotional abuse.

Look at those facts. If you’re gay, you have increased risk of cancer, disease, and being abused. I’m sure this is all entirely unrelated to living the lifestyle of a self-abusing degenerate that exposes themself to health risks.

When was the last time you saw an elderly gay man? Doesn’t happen often. The average life expectancy of homosexuals is around fifty years of age. Countless pro-gay websites try to descredit this, but it’s fact.

I find it quite ironic that the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services is currently in the process of sanctioning a lifestyle choice which leads to disease and premature death. Care to rally for another smoking restriction, HHS?

© Rob Matherly for A Secession of One, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Homosexuality is NOT okay with God. It is NOT compatable with a Christian lifestyle, and it is NOT possible for gay people to get married. If you think I’m a simple midwestern bigot, you’re wrong and STUPID! ARGH!

(A post rehashed 40-times over appears below.)

Ad-Express and Daily Iowegian, Centerville, IA - Can’t spit with out hitting an abomination

There are only five references to homosexuality in the Bible and hundreds and hundreds about loving thy enemy, feeding the poor and taking care of the helpless. Which ones do they focus on?

This is an inaccurate comparison. If you’re going to talk about one particular sin, don’t compare its number of references in the bible (a faulty means of determining relevance anyway) to a whole group of other references. Why don’t you try comparing the number of references to the sins of sexual immorality as a whole? Homosexuality, adultery, incest, etc., to the others you speak of.[/excerpt]

Here is an interesting quote from Episcopalian Bishop John Shelby Spong: “There are few biblical references to homosexuality. The first, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, is often quoted to prove that the Bible condemns homosexuality. But the real sin of Sodom was the unwillingness of the city’s men to observe the laws of hospitality. The intention was to insult the stranger by forcing him to take the female role in the sex act. The biblical narrative approves Lot’s offer of his virgin daughters to satisfy the sexual demands of the mob. How many would say, ‘This is the word of the Lord?’ When the Bible is quoted literally, it might be well for the one quoting to read the text in its entirety.”

This is an oft-stated, yet highly inaccurate response from the pro-gay community. The bible clearly says “man shall not lie with man.” It does not say “man shall not lie with man without offering the other a reacharound.”

He also wrote; “Thus it appears that Paul would not approve of homosexual behavior. But was Paul’s opinion about homosexuality accurate, or was it limited by the lack of scientific knowledge in his day and infected by prejudice born of ignorance? An examination of some of Paul’s other assumptions and conclusions will help answer this question. Who today would share Paul’s anti-Semitic attitudes, his belief that the authority of the state was not to be challenged, or that all women ought to be veiled? In these attitudes Paul’s thinking has been challenged and transcended even by the church. Is Paul’s commentary on homosexuality more absolute than some of his other antiquated, culturally conditioned ideas?

No. “Man shall not lie with man.”

Since I’m tired of writing about the subject, I’ll just reprint this past column

Me too.

Gay clergy to defy bishops over no-sex ‘marriages’

The Church of England’s crisis over homosexuality deepened yesterday after gay clergy said that they would defy their bishops over civil partnerships.

Some told The Daily Telegraph that they had no intention of assuring their bishops that they will be sexually abstinent when they “marry” their partners.

One said he was “furious” with the way homosexual clergy were being treated and gay rights activists predicted a widespread revolt.

Well, it certainly won’t be the church you’re revolting against.

Leviticus 18:22

You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.

Leviticus 20:13

If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.

Judges 19:22-24

While they were celebrating, behold, the men of the city, certain worthless fellows, surrounded the house, pounding the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house that we may have relations with him.”

Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my fellows, please do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of folly.

Here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. Please let me bring them out that you may ravish them and do to them whatever you wish. But do not commit such an act of folly against this man.

1 Kings 15:12

He also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols which his fathers had made.

Job 36:14

They die in youth, and their life perishes among the cult prostitutes.

Romans 1:24-27

Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.

For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Timothy 1:8-11

But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.

Now after reading that, tell me how this makes sense:

The petition, which was posted on the internet by the Rev Ian Stubbs, said: “Jesus nowhere teaches that same-sex relationships fall short of God’s purposes. To withhold recognition and blessing of committed same-sex covenants, including civil partnerships, is unscriptural, unlawful and dishonest. We therefore openly commit ourselves to providing, as appropriate, public services of blessing for those who seek them.”

Allow me to repeat myself a moment.

If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death.

Perhaps different translations are in order?

Leviticus 20:13 (New Living Translation):

The penalty for homosexual acts is death to both parties. They have committed a detestable act and are guilty of a capital offense.

LLeviticus 20:13 (New International Version)

If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads

Leviticus 20:13 (The Message)

If a man has sex with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is abhorrent. They must be put to death; they are responsible for their own deaths.

Leviticus 20:13 (Amplified Bible)

If a man lies with a male as if he were a woman, both men have committed an offense (something perverse, unnatural, abhorrent, and detestable); they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Leviticus 20:13 (King James Version)

If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Leviticus 20:13 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman, they have both committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood is on their own hands.

So yeah, I guess you’re right. God was just having a bad day when he sent that bit down with Moses. That’s why Jesus never said anything about homosexuality. Oh, wait a minute…

What was the attitude of Jesus towards the Law of Moses? In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said the following:

“Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” (Matthew 5:27-30)

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 5:31-32)

Thus Jesus invariably upheld the authority and applicability of the teachings and Law of Moses. In fact He interpreted Moses in a manner which intensified the demands of the Law. The Law reveals the moral character and the holiness of God which can not change. The purpose of the Law of Moses is not to produce good moral behavior, but to call all of us to understand our need for God’s mercy and forgiveness:

“…a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)

Now what’s this about God not caring if you’re gay, as long as you love your partner?

© Rob Matherly for A Secession of One, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

He’s kept repeating that “there isn’t time” to deal with matters like keeping federal deductability for state income taxes (his cronies, as I’m sure you’re aware, actually ejected opponents of the measure from a public hearing) and gay marriage.

Well what was there time to work on? A bill stating that it’s okay to take home half-full bottles of wine from restauants.

“The Doggie Bag Bill for Wine” is headed to Governor Culver for his consideration. The Iowa House gave final legislative approval to a bill that outlines how restaurants can bag and seal an opened but not empty bottle of wine for customers so they can cart it home — without fear they’ll be pulled over and accused of driving around with an open container of alcohol in their car.

Representative Doug Struyk, a Republican from Council Bluffs, told his colleagues the bill promotes the idea of drinking in moderation.

“This is a good bill. It seems to promote the policy of go out and enjoy the wine of your choice, not to be limited to just the wine by the glass and be able to take it home instead of forcing yourself to over consume — or allowing yourself to commit alcohol abuse by leaving it behind,” Struyk said during House debate.

I cannot believe an Iowa Legislator used the term “alcohol abuse” in reference to unconsumed alcohol. What is this guy, a drunken frat boy turned politician?

What the hell is this state coming to? Our politicians say they’re too busy to debate an important moral issue, handing it off willingly to a somewhat-unaccountable judicial body. Then they spend time arguing over whether or not you can take home half a bottle of wine. (I’m sure that had nothing at all to do with the burgeouning, taxpayer-subsidized wine industry that’s “brewing” in the state.)

Mike Gronstal, why don’t you do us all a favor and take a leap from the golden dome you have so horribly mocked and defiled?

© Rob Matherly for A Secession of One, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

The National Weather Service conducted a demonstration in the state of Kansas and adjoining County Warning Areas over the past four years, utilizing a hail size criterion for issuance of Severe Thunderstorm Warnings of 1” in diameter, rather than the historical ¾” threshold.

The basis for the change…

Core partners shared concerns about the public becoming desensitized by numerous warnings being issued for marginal hail sizes.

I see one of two things happening. First, people start ignoring the new standard of storm warning. Second, someone who doesn’t know there’s a new “standard” for what sets a storm as severe ignores a warning and gets killed, causing massive public uproar.

Do I ignore most of the warnings issued by NWS? Yeah, so do most people. That’s because I can look out my window and see if I need to head to the basement or not.

© Rob Matherly for A Secession of One, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh