November 4, 2005

"Bless me Father, for I have sinned. I have been with a loose woman."
The priest asks, "Is that you, little Tommy Shaughnessy?"
"Yes Father, it is."
"And who was the woman you were with?"
"I can't be tellin' you, Father. I don't want to ruin her reputation."
"Well, Tommy, I'm sure to find out sooner or later, you may as well tell me now. Was it Brenda O'Malley?"
"I cannot say."
"Was it Patricia Kelly?"
"I'll never tell."
"Was it Liz Shannon?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't name her."
"Was it Cathy Morgan?"
"My lips are sealed."
"Was it Fiona McDonald, then?"
"Please, Father, I cannot tell you."
The priest sighs in frustration. "You're a steadfast lad, Tommy Shaughnessy, and I admire that. But you've sinned, and you must atone. You cannot attend church mass for three months. Be off with you now."
Tommy walks back to his pew. His friend Sean slides over and whispers, "What'd you get?"
"Three month's vacation and five good leads."

If you think about it the joke above might pertain to this article:
Court: It does take a village when it comes to sexuality
November 3, 2005 The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday against parents who sued their local school district after their elementary-age children were given a sexually charged survey, saying there is "no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children."

The three-judge panel of the full court further ruled that parents "have no due process or privacy right to override the determinations of public schools as to the information to which their children will be exposed while enrolled as students."

… the School District asked a series of sexual questions in class. They included asking the children about the frequency of:
Touching my private parts too much
Thinking about having sex
Thinking about touching other people's private parts
Thinking about sex when I don't want to
Washing myself because I feel dirty on the inside
Not trusting people because they might want sex
Getting scared or upset when I think about sex
Having sex feelings in my body
Can't stop thinking about sex (because I keep getting surveys asking me about sex!)
Getting upset when people talk about sex

(why do they want to know? Looking for some good leads?)

… the opinion for the court is at http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/E8695945B7C6F6B5882570AD0051320A/$file/0356499.pdf?openelement Referring to the fact the parents lost their case at the district-court level, Reinhardt wrote:

We agree [with the previous ruling], and hold that there is no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children, either independent of their right to direct the upbringing and education of their children or encompassed by it. We also hold that parents have no due process or privacy right to override the determinations of public schools as to the information to which their children will be exposed while enrolled as students. Finally, we hold that the defendants' actions were rationally related to a legitimate state purpose. [emphasis Reinhardt's].Carrie Gordon Earll is director of issue analysis with Focus on the Family Action.

"Anyone who wonders why pro-family organizations like ours have been so concerned about activist courts only has to look at this case," Earll said in a statement. "The 9th Circuit did more than rule against parents who were upset that their elementary-school-aged children were being asked explicit questions about sex in class. They told all parents they have no right to protest what public schools tell their children."

…The lower court had ruled against the parents, saying the right "to control the upbringing of their children by introducing them to matters of and relating to sex in accordance with their personal and religious values and beliefs" does not rise to the level of a fundamental right protected by substantive due process.

Wrote Reinhardt: "As with all constitutional rights, the right of parents to make decisions concerning the care, custody and control of their children is not without limitations. In Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158 (1944), the Court recognized that parents' liberty interest in the custody, care and nurture of their children resides 'first' in the parents, but does not reside there exclusively, nor is it 'beyond regulation [by the state] in the public interest.' For example, the state 'as parens patriae' may restrict parents' interest in the custody, care and nurture of their children 'by requiring school attendance, regulating or prohibiting the child's labor and in many other ways.'"

Reinhardt also cited previous cases that upheld the right of schools to educate children about issues of sexuality.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47195

Statutory rape issue goes to polls
Voter-initiative backers cite exposé of Planned Parenthood
November 3, 2005 Abortion-rights activists are fiercely opposing a measure put before Californians next week on whether parents should be notified before a minor has an abortion.

A backer of the measure, Yes on 73, argues for its passage by pointing to a well-documented survey by Texas-based Life Dynamics revealing virtually all Planned Parenthood affiliates fail to report clear cases of statutory rape to authorities.

Proposition 73, dubbed "The Parents' Right to Know and Child Protection Initiative," would amend the state constitution to require that physicians notify a parent or guardian 48 hours before performing an abortion on a minor.

…The proposed law provides for a waiver if a judge determines there is evidence of domestic physical or sexual abuse.

Some abortion-rights supporters are worried because the proposition includes a definition of abortion. Once established in the constitution, the definition could affect related issues, such as embryonic stem-cell research.

The Los Angeles Daily News, in an editorial endorsing the measure, notes, "Minors in California cannot obtain any medical procedure, body-piercing or tattoo without their parents' permission. They are deemed below the age of consent for sex. They cannot legally smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol or even watch an R-rated movie without an adult. If they are arrested or get in trouble at school, their parents are notified. The reason for such laws and policies is sound: Most minors lack the maturity to make difficult life decisions. And in tough times, they need their parents, even if they don't know it. That's especially so in the traumatic situations of teen pregnancy."

…The Life Dynamics probe has sparked a number of legal investigations across the nation. In addition to the Planned Parenthood investigation, the pro-life group brought about the 1999 congressional hearings on the sale of aborted baby parts. http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47193

Hate words spark biblical search
November 1, 2005 …at Lane Community College …clergy-led panel discussions are in response to an incident last May in which someone scrawled hateful words - and a citation from Leviticus - on a banner at the offices of the Queer Straight Alliance, an LCC student group, said Susan Matthews, the college's Multicultural Center director.

The act of vandalism "was very frightening, and stressed the students tremendously," Matthews said. "It also raised questions about the Bible."

…The best response, participants decided, would be a series of free forums in which local clergy and others explore different perspectives on how the Bible should be interpreted in regard to human rights and homo- sexuality… "People are using the Bible to dehumanize LGBTQ folks," said Garcia, referring to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals. "The purpose of the forums is to bring an inclusive vision of what the Bible is stating."

Sally Sheklow, a Religious Response Network activist, said it can be very empowering for people to hear from religious scholars who don't view the Bible as condemning them on the basis of sexual orientation. …"All perspectives are welcome, but we're making no bones about our human rights advocacy bent," she said.
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/11/01/d1.cr.sexbible.1101.p1.php?section=cityregion

Filmmaker finds positive in suicide bombers
November 3, 2005 The man behind a new documentary on suicide bombers opening in San Francisco next week said he found "enormous human depth" within them.

Hany Abu-Assad, who describes himself as a Palestinian, says… "When you do research, you discover two things,'' he says. "You are shocked that there is enormous human depth in these kinds of people. They may make the wrong decision, but there is humanity in their thoughts. And secondly, you are in shock that you were so ignorant. It is obvious that they are human beings! How could I think that they weren't human beings, that they were monsters?''

…The movie has been purchased by Warner Independent Pictures for exclusive distribution rights in the U.S.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47199

County says ACLU prayer lawsuit is unnecessary
Nov. 02, 2005 MARIETTA, Ga. - Saying that invocations made in the name of Jesus have been around for centuries, Cobb County officials said a lawsuit against the county to stop it from making "overtly Christian" prayers before meetings was unnecessary.

"As a matter of historical fact, the exact prayers given in the first Congress explicitly referred to Jesus Christ," according to a 50-page legal brief the county filed Tuesday.

In addition, as recently as July 19, a prayer that said "in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ," was made at the opening of the U.S. House of Representatives, the brief said.

The Georgia Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and seven Cobb County residents filed the lawsuit in August. The ACLU claims the prayers made before commission meetings are too Christian.

….The ACLU is not challenging the commission's right to pray before meetings. (yeah right)
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/local/13062411.htm

College Bans Dormitory Bible Studies
… University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UWEC) has banned resident assistants (RAs) from leading Bible studies in their own dormitories… The university claims the ban is necessary because some students might not feel RAs who lead Bible studies are "approachable.”

….The letter was sent to RAs who were members of the Student Impact religious group and who had been leading Bible studies—not as official residence hall activities, but in their own dorm rooms and on their own time… RAs who did conduct a Bible study in their dorms would face "disciplinary action.”
http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/11/2/142240.shtml

Saddam's 500-ton Uranium Stockpile
Nov. 2, 2005 …Why was Bush's uranium claim so important? Because if true, the mere attempt by the Iraqi dictator to acquire uranium would show that he had clear and incontrovertible plans to restart his nuclear program… Maybe that's why the press seldom discusses the fact that Saddam already had a staggeringly large stockpile of uranium - 500 tons, to be exact… And if his mere intention to acquire uranium was enough to justify fears of Saddam's nuclear ambition, what would the average person deduce from that fact that he'd already stockpiled a huge quantity of the bombmaking fuel?

…In its May 22, 2004 edition, the New York Times confirmed a myriad of reports on Saddam's nuclear fuel stockpile - and revealed a chilling detail unknown to weapons inspectors before the war: that Saddam had begun to partially enrich his uranium stash.The Times noted:

"The repository, at Tuwaitha, a centerpiece of Saddam Hussein's nuclear weapons program, . . . . holds more than 500 tons of uranium . . . . Some 1.8 tons is classified as low-enriched uranium."

Thomas B. Cochran, director of the nuclear program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, told the Times that "the low-enriched version could be useful to a nation with nuclear ambitions."

…The paper conceded that while Saddam's nearly 2 tons of partially enriched uranium was "a more potent form" of the nuclear fuel, it was "still not sufficient for a weapon.Consulted about the low-enriched uranium discovery, however, Ivan Oelrich, a physicist at the Federation of American Scientists, told the Associated Press that if it was of the 3 percent to 5 percent level of enrichment common in fuel for commercial power reactors, the 1.8 tons could be used to produce enough highly enriched uranium to make a single nuclear bomb.

Luckily, Iraq didn't have even the small number of centrifuges necessary to get the job done. Or did it?

The physicist tapped by Saddam to run his centrifuge program says that after the first Gulf War, the program was largely dismantled. But it wasn't destroyed.

In fact, according to what he wrote in his 2004 book, "The Bomb in My Garden," Dr. Mahdi Obeidi told U.S. interrogators: "Saddam kept funding the IAEC [Iraq Atomic Energy Commission] from 1991 ... until the war in 2003."

"I was developing the centrifuge for the weapons" right through 1997, he revealed.

And after that, Dr. Obeidi said, Saddam ordered him under penalty of death to keep the technology available to resume Iraq's nuke program at a moment's notice.

Dr. Obeidi said he buried "the full set of blueprints, designs - everything to restart the centrifuge program - along with some critical components of the centrifuge" under the garden of his Baghdad home.

…Consider: 500 tons of yellowcake stored at Saddam's old nuclear weapons plant, where he'd managed to partially enrich 1.8 tons. And the equipment and blueprints that could enrich enough uranium to make a bomb stored away for safekeeping. And all of it at the Iraqi dictator's disposal.

…One more detail that Mr. Wilson and his media backers don't like to discuss: the reason Niger was such a likely candidate for Saddam's uranium shopping spree.

Responding to the firestorm that erupted after Wilson's July 2003 column, Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters: "In case people should think that the whole idea of a link between Iraq and Niger was some invention, in the 1980s we know for sure that Iraq purchased round about 270 tons of uranium from Niger."
http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/11/2/220331.shtml