BSO said it was alerted to the situation when, during evening worship services July 1, an 11-year-old boy told his parents that when he went to the restroom he was approached by Fernandes.
People ask why I comment on Christian misbehavior. With each case, people comment less and less. Most emails now provide tips instead of criticism. Except the Christians, they ask me to stop posting because it unfairly prejudices the good Christians do. There is something fundamentally wrong with that.
I like follow of what goes on at Pepperdine. I subscribe to the alumni newsletter and have a news filter setup to track their volleyball and basketball programs. While reading Pepperdine news this morning, I was shocked to find The Malibu Times reporting on an alleged pedophile professor at the university.
A former adjunct professor who taught religion at Pepperdine University for nearly 10 years was arrested last week at his Camarillo home for allegedly molesting and sexually assaulting three girls during an eight-year period. The girls were members of the youth ministry program at Camarillo Church of Christ, where the accused, Markus Holland McDowell, served as the youth minister. McDowell was also accused of possessing child pornography on his home computer, according to Ventura County Sheriff's officials.
My first post on McDowell did not mention his involvement with Pepperdine. I checked my records. I think I met McDowell at a conference hosted at the Graziadio Business School. It gives me the creeps. He is charged with:
McDowell, 46, was arrested and booked at the Ventura County pre-trial detention facility last Thursday. He was released the next day after posting a $50,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court for his arraignment on Friday. The charges McDowell faces, according to the court's Web site, include four counts of "lewd act upon a child," two counts of "lewd act with child," two counts of "oral copulation of a person under 16," two counts of "anal and genital penetration by foreign object" and one count of "possession or control of child pornography."
One of McDowell's friends (or McDowell himself) has been posting snarky comments in the tread of my first post. One of the alleged victims had posted anonymously. In response, McDowell's friend asked:
Miss Anon, I do not want to in anyway disrespect what you've gone through, I'm just not sure what I believe right now, if at all possible are you able to disclose what it is exactly you say he did to you?
What McDowell is charged with is a matter of public record. Wanting to know the details, for whatever reason, is just plain creepy.
Sometimes I write about Atheism, sometimes libertarianism, and sometimes I write about both. Fundie Watch has a great post on religious moral activism. In his case, the local fundies want to ban alcohol sales on Sunday. They managed to piss of The Watcher, and me too.
The Watcher does a great job of rebutting the fundamentalist's moral justification to ban alcohol sales. Our county is a secular democracy. One would hope blue laws would be a thing of the past.
The article, from OneNewsNow's Ed Thomas, illustrates another attempt by fundies to help people lead moral lives--whether they want to or not.
Wichita petition aims for choice on alcohol sales
"Choice?" You mean they don't have a choice now? There is some time when citizens of Wichita have to buy alcohol? I guess it's all those godless liberals trying to force their views down everyone's throats like we keep hearing about.
I have two arguments against banning alcohol sales. One is from the atheist perspective, the other from the libertarian. They both converge on the topic of economics. Since the sale of alcohol is legal, the citizens of Wichita create demand for alcohol on Sundays through their legitimate purchases. If the fundies were actually influential, they would be able to influence the buying habits of other community members. The result would be fewer people buying alcohol on Sundays, which would cause businesses to question the value of selling on Sundays.
Fundies cannot ever hope to convince the 354,865 residents who might like to buy a six-pack on Sunday that it is immoral. Especially if it is moral and legal every other day of the week. Their only hope is to try to artificially manipulate the market through passing a law that limits market access. Of course, they cannot win. The demand will just move to different days. They are not actually affecting supply - people will stock up.
The real question comes down to influence. Their approach shows they have little influence in the community, otherwise. they would not try to implement a meaningless blue law. As an Atheist, I would fight any blue law a fundie might try to pass. As a libertarian, I would fight any law that attempts to limit the free market.
I'll have to watch this one. My bet is it goes down in flames.
Via Psychology Today: Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature. I read the headline about Muslims and thought... well duh! What came next caused me to think about religious prejudices.
Suicide missions are not always religiously motivated, but according to Oxford University sociologist Diego Gambetta, editor of Making Sense of Suicide Missions, when religion is involved, the attackers are always Muslim. Why? The surprising answer is that Muslim suicide bombing has nothing to do with Islam or the Quran (except for two lines). It has a lot to do with sex, or, in this case, the absence of sex.
Absence of sex... Go figure. We are being attacked by men who cannot get laid. Is everything about sex?
The EU says drop Muslim, Islam, fundamentalist, and Jihad when describing reports of terrorism. The reasoning is interesting. It appears as if they don't want Europe's Islamic populations to feel bad when some of their more fundamentalist brethren blow people up.
EU officials said the “common lexicon’’ aimed to stop the distortion of the Muslim faith and alienation of its followers in Europe. European governments had previously agreed on the need to develop a “non-emotive lexicon’’ for use in discussion to avoid “exacerbating division’’.
If you cannot describe what happened factually, you cannot describe what happened. Political correctness will dumb things down to the point where a terrorist attack will be reported like this:
"A bomb at the train station last night. Ten people were killed. Two British citizens and one tourist were arrested in connection with the crime. They appear to be mad about something".
Upon searching Griffin's personal computer, investigators found 50 pictures, downloaded from the Internet, involving child pornography, according to Strain. They are searching computers he used at Immanuel Baptist and Grace Memorial Baptist Church in Slidell, where he formerly did volunteer work.
I am not sure if he is charged with crimes against children. the news reports seemed to focus on his love for kiddie porn. He was charged with two counts of aggravated sex crimes. It may just be related to the two different churches he worked at while watching kiddie porn. Need I say it? Another week, another Baptist pedophile.
Watch a related video here.
Mari Oye and Leah Anthony Libresco are American heroes. I applauded when they handed President George W. Bush a letter saying the United States should not be involved in torturing people. Mari Oye handed Bush the letter. It reads:
Mr. President.
As members of the presidential scholars class of 2007, we have been told that we represent the best and brightest of our nation. Therefore, we believe we have a responsibility to voice our convictions. We do not want America to represent torture. We urge you to do all in your power to stop violations of the human rights of detainees, to cease illegal renditions and to apply the Geneva Convention to all detainees, including those designated enemy combatants.
Signed
Amy Goodman interviewed Oye and Libresco. I found it posted at AlterNet by Adam Howard. Take a minute to watch the video interview. It manages to capture everything I feel about America on Independence Day in just a few short minutes. These two woman made proud to be an American.
Naugle says that "homosexual activity" is plaguing public restrooms at the beach.
The conservative Christian mayor tells the Sun-Sentinel that the washrooms are pickup places for gays. "They're engaging in sex, anonymous sex, illegal sex," he said.
The police department does not agree.
Sgt. Frank Sousa. tells the Sun-Sentinel that while there may once have been a problem it isn't today.
"There's no evidence, no reports or arrests made for any men having sex in any restrooms," Sousa told the paper.
Why is Naugle asking the city to spend a quarter million dollars of public money? Naugle believes being gay is a sin. He's a fundie who is willing to legislate his religion's moral position through enacting laws and frivolously spending public money. He is targeting the gay community in this case, we already know how he feels about Atheists. I wonder if he knows there are gay Atheists.
Pastor John Willie Knight was arrested for allegedly stealing $3,000 from Samuel Manley. Knight was hired to replace Manley's roof. He took the money but never started the job. Knight is the pastor of William Memorial Church of God. The St. Petersburg police offer this sage advice.
...you should check a contractor’s background before signing a contract, and put down as little money up front as possible.
Knight has been charged with grand theft, I think this qualifies him for membership in the Pastors Gone Wild club.
Barrent was the pastor of Living Waters Assembly. The family of a 14 year old girl reported Barrent's alleged molestation in December of 2006. he promptly fled the country.
I was contacted by a New York theater producer who is currently working on an independent project inspired by the atheist movement that strives to give a voice to atheists, agnostic, and free-thinkers of the world. The project is called Rouse the Masses.
Rouse the Masses is looking for help:
Writers: We are seeking outlines/notes for a full length theatrical production. Submit a scene, an outline, a sample - anything that will knock us off our chairs with your brilliance. We'd love to hear your thoughts even if you've never written for stage before....
Musicians: We are seeking raw, talented musicians who are interested in writing new material for the project. We are interested in loud, mesmerizing rock with catchy hooks and raging riffs...
The Rouse the Masses Project can be contacted at wwww.rousethemasses.com, at rousethemasses@yahoo.com, or by filling in a form at this URL.
I like the idea behind the project. I have volunteered to promote the project here on Deep Thoughts. Watch for more posts on this exciting new effort in the future.
First this:
To prohibit condoms is ridiculous, just think of all the diseases transmitted without them.
Then this:
How is it possible to not want to people to use condoms and also not have abortions? It's impossible, I'm sorry.
So says a supermodel. She is right, it is impossible. That does not stop them from trying though. The Catholic Church in Kenya made this astounding statement two days ago.
This is why the Church encourages everyone to live an integral sexuality which means behaving responsibly towards others and oneself," the Catholic Secretariat wrote. "Therefore, the Church does not promote the use of condoms as protection against AIDS because sexual intercourse is for the married alone, and using a condom does not make it right in other situations."
So... the only way to fight AIDS is to marry virgins. I'll take Giselle's position over this idiocy every time.
I have often wondered why it is that the Pope does not say, condom use is recommended to stop the spread of disease and is not considered birth control in this context. How many lives could be saved?
I'll hold my breath. Meanwhile, women in Africa are pissed because they are the ones dying.
Aids continues to claim lives and majority of its victims are women who are at a greater risk of HIV infection because of their physiology and limited bargaining power on safe sex. Because of the inequality in power relations, a woman cannot negotiate with her husband over condom use even if he is infected or has multiple sexual partners.
Reality always gets in the way of the make believe world of our religious leaders. Women want condoms to protect themselves because their husbands step out on them. It happens the world over. Reality dictates we find a way to help these people, not give them a lecture.
It is funny what you don't know. I had to look up the word sodomy this morning. I was not sure of the exact definition. I had thought it referred narrowly to anal sex. It seems to cover a wide range of sins, including pastor Christopher Bennett's alleged inappropriate touching of a 14 year old boy.
Christopher Bennett, 30, of Apt. Z6, 200 Franklin Road NE, Atlanta, was arrested Wednesday in the Atlanta area and charged with second-degree sodomy, said Russell County Sheriff's Lt. Heath Taylor. The charge stems from a Russell County High student's disclosure a few days after graduation that Bennett had inappropriately touched the then 14- or 15-year-old boy in 2004, the lieutenant said.
"In that disclosure, he stated that (Bennett) was befriending him, mentoring him, and that on a particular occasion in Christopher's apartment in Phenix City, that he sexually molested him," Taylor said.
Bennett is the president and CEO of Chris Bennett Ministries and presiding bishop of the Generation Impact Movement, according to kingdompeople.org. The Web site claims that Bennett travels across the country and world to preach about the word of God.
I guess teaching the world of god has a broad definition too.
"Presidential Appointments" is a term I have come to loath. President Bush wrote the blurb below for the White House website.
"The success of the Bush-Cheney administration will depend on the quality appointees we choose to join us to lead this nation in the years ahead. I will look for people who are willing to work hard to do what is best for America, who examine the facts and do what is right whether or not it is popular. I will look for people from across the country and from every walk of life. I welcome all who are ready for this great challenge to apply."
President George W. Bush
What I have come to realize is that Bush is serious about his "...best for America" statement. Of course, it is best as he see it. His appointments follow either a theocratic or a big business agenda. The big business agenda alarms me, the theocratic agenda terrifies me.
In 2005 Bush nominated fundamentalist Janet Parshall to the UN conference on Women. Parshall is famous for comparing same sex adoptions to child abuse and for telling the world that Matthew Shepard's lifestyle was responsible for his murder.
Let's not forget Randall Tobias, former Deputy Secretary of State. He was working with the UN to Stamp out prostitution while at the same time ordering call girls from the D.C. Madam. Tobias is famous for promoting abstinence over condom use in the fight against Aids.
Or how about Eric Keroack? Bush appointed Keroack to head the Department of Health and Human Services. Keroack is famous for believing contraception is ethical. His mandate was to guide young women towards abstanace.
Alberto Gonzales is famous for turning the Justice Department into a politically aligned foot solder in Bush's culture war. Yet his real crime is only now coming to light. Career lawyers are leaving the Civil Rights department in droves because Gonzales refocused them on The First Freedom Project. What is the important priority in The First Freedom Project? Instead of fighting for the rights of the oppressed, they are using the full might of the government to put prayer back in school and the ten commandments back in our public spaces. And lets not forget the case we just lost - Hein v. Freedom from Religion Foundation.
I feel it is my Patriotic duty to express my outrage and discontent at George W. Bush's attempt to turn America into a theocracy. Writing about it is the least I can do.
I looked at my statistics yesterday and found that this post is my 2000th. I think that makes me a real blogger, whatever that is.
My family and friends as my why I do this. I can only answer that I have a compulsion to write, like I have a compulsion to learn, and a compulsion to take pictures.
I've toyed with the idea of stopping. I don't think it will happen. Blogging is my release. I need a release. I think most people do.
I want to thank the people who stop by Deep Thoughts to read and sometimes post comments. I feel a bit like a Pavlovian blogger, comments and links feed my compulsion. Thanks - I guess.
