Below is a email we received. We don't know when Ben Stein did this interview on CBS but after reading the email, we knew we had to share it.
The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary
My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my
ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when
people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees. I don’t
feel threatened. I don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are,
Christmas trees.
It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say,
‘Merry Christmas’ to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting
ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it.... It shows that we
are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn’t
bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key
intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a rèche, it’s
just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don’t like getting pushed around for being
a Jew, and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being
Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting
pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that
America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t find it in the
Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did
the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren’t allowed
to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting
old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these
celebrities came from and where the Americawe knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one
another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be
a joke; it’s not funny, it’s intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on
the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her ‘How could God let something like
this happen?’ (regarding Hurricane Katrina).. Anne Graham gave an extremely
profound and insightful response. She said, ‘I believe God is deeply
saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to
get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our
lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out.
How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we
demand He leave us alone?’
In light of recent events… terrorists
attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O’Hare
(she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn’t
want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better
not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou
shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t
spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities
would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock’s son
committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he’s talking about.
And we said okay.
Now we’re asking ourselves why our children
have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t
bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard
enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with ‘WE
REAP WHAT WE SOW.’
Funny how simple it is for people to trash
God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell. Funny how we believe
what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you
can send ‘jokes’ through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you
start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.
Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through
cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and
workplace.
Are you laughing yet?
Ben Stein
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JMC Ministries Thoughts
When we tried to search for a video or something about this statement Ben Stein made. We didn't find much. But we did find articles sharing that he did say this and we are happy to be able to share it with you.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
How Swearing At Or Around A Child Is Abuse Posted August 17, 2009
By: Miranda Caverley
Over the past month I have heard people talk about children getting ready to start kindergarten this fall and how worried they are about them. Why? Because, these children have been exposed to their parents constantly swearing at them or around them. These children due to this exposure to swearing only know how to use this kind of language to express themselves and communicate with others. The kind of language that comes from the mouths of these little ones is so horrendous that even their parents (who use that kind of language at them) are embarrassed when they say those kinds of words in public towards strangers. For Example….
I was visiting my neighbors a few days ago and they started talking about this little boy who started kindergarten a week or so ago. All his life his parents have swore and use the most horrible language around him. She said that because of this, that is the only vocabulary the little boy knows and practically every sentence is filled with obscenities. Two days after starting Kindergarten the little boy got into an argument with another child and cussed the other child out. The little boy was then sent to the principles office for punishment. When the little boy came into the principles office the Principle looked at the little boy and said, “You and I are going to become good friends.” Another time the parents took the little boy through the drive thru of a restaurant. While sitting at the window waiting on their food the little boy yelled out the window of the vehicle and called the Manager of the restaurant an obscenity. The mother of the little boy was so embarrassed that she drove away without their food.
If I was that little boy I would be so confused. Because, that would be all I knew how to say to express myself and then I am being punished for it. I go home after being punished at school for saying those words and my parents are using those same words, and aren’t being sent to the principles office and being punished.
How do children learn morals and how to socialize respectfully with others if their own parents won’t teach them the skills they need?
Other times I hear people say, “Oh I just worry about when “so and so” is going to start school with the kind of language he uses.”
I have even watched first hand as a woman called her 3 year old little girl “obscenity” ugly, and stupid. Why? Because, the little girl had cut her hair, and her hair had to be cut short because of it. The woman continued to yell at the little girl and call her names. The little girl started to walk away from the mother and go back home as the mother continued to yell at her. This incident happened while I was visiting a friend of mine. We were standing outside of her house and the woman who was a neighbor came over. My friend told me after the woman left that she is a possible drug user, alcoholic and is always causing trouble in the neighborhood.
Everyone standing there hearing her say those words to that little girl were in shock. Why didn’t I say anything to the woman? Honestly I was so shocked at what I was hearing that by the time I regained my composure and was ready to say something she had already walked away. That was the first time I’d ever seen or heard someone do that to a child in the presence of complete strangers. I will say this if I see this woman again and she repeats this scene I will be sure to speak up and tell her to stop. Then I will find try to find out where she lives and call the police to try and have them do an investigation on her.
If you are still not convinced that this is abuse, here is an article I found. Telling parents to stop swearing at their children
Quotes from the article Stop Swearing In front Of Kids
The study was carried out by research site youngpoll.com showed that 3000 of 11 year olds started using swear words at an earlier age as they were exposed to it by their parents. More than one in three have asked their parents to stop swearing and half admitting it upset them.
We need parents to be the ones to put their children right before they ever get to school with "please" and "thank yous", rather than leaving it to teachers, the Telegraph quoted Peter Foot, chairman of the Campaign for Courtesy, as saying.
"But this is awful, appalling really. There are some age groups now who can't say a single sentence without the F-word in it," he added. A spokesman for research site youngpoll.com, which conducted the study, said: "When youngsters hear their parents use swear words so frequently, it's inevitable that they will pick up bad habits.
"Parents should be aware that children are easily influence and will try to replicate what they say whether it's swear words or not.”When adults hear a young child swear it's very easy to find it humorous, yet any use of bad language should be nipped in the bud at an early age."
After finding this article in a search I looked through all of the other articles the search pulled up about swearing. I came across the below article “Why Do We Swear” written by a psychologist who says that swearing is good for you!
Why we Swear From a psychological view from the article “Why do we swear?” by John M Grohol PsyD
Swearing is beneficial in ways that people may underestimate or take for granted. Swearing is often cathartic — it often frees us of the feelings of anger or frustration we hold and allows expression for them. It can also be a useful substitute to physical violence (who would rather be punched out than to withstand being sworn at?).
Swear words can also be used in a more positive manner, in the form of jokes and humor, sex talk, storytelling, self-deprecation or even social commentary.
Swearing is a natural part of human speech development. We learn which words are taboos and which words are not through our normal childhood development. We also learn that not all swear words are equal.
When I finished reading this article I wanted to know what the bible says about the effects of what comes out of our mouth.
Psalm 52:4
You love every harmful word, O you deceitful tongue!
Psalm 64:3
They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows.
Proverbs 10:31
The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.
James 3:5
Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
James 3:8
but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
After reading the article “Why Do We Swear?” I was shocked that they were actually saying swearing is good for you! It only proves to me that Swearing is a selfish act that only benefits the person using those kinds of words. The article never states that swearing is good for those being exposed to it or being sworn at. The psychologist only states his findings benefit the person using the language.
What I thought was comical was how they stated swearing is a substitute for violence, and I quote “who would rather be punched out than withstand being sworn at?” To me swearing is like being beaten physically but you have the bruises on you mental and emotional state and that takes longer to heal than a few bruises you might get in a physical altercation.
Even The bible clearly says that our tongue is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. Poison has been proven to kill people. When the bible compares evil words as poison don’t you think using these words would have the same effect?
So what it comes down to is this….
1. Swearing first and foremost is a SIN!
2. Swearing is a form of abuse on anyone who is exposed to it especially children
3. Swearing only benefits the person using those words to empower them
4. Swearing is only used to intimidate others and empower the person using those words
The next time when you may want to use a swear word at someone or around a child, think about the effects those words might have on them in the long run.
Other words to call swear words
Cursing
Swearing
Cussing
Bad Language
Foul Language
Adult Language
Update on Article: Judge sentences man to 6 months in jail for yawning Posted August 16, 2009
Ill. man jailed for yawning freed after 3 weeks
JOLIET, Ill. – An Illinois judge has freed a man who had been in jail for three weeks after letting loose a loud yawn during a sentencing hearing. Thirty-three-year-old Clifton Williams of Richton Park was found in contempt of court and jailed on July 23 after yawning in Will County Judge Daniel Rozak's court. He could have been jailed for six months.
Williams was in court for his cousin's sentencing on a drug charge. A prosecutor in court at the time described the offending yawn as "loud and boisterous."
As Williams stood before the bench in shackles on Thursday, the judge gave him a short lecture. He told Williams he wasn't in custody for simply yawning but for making a sound "that was offensive to the court."
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JMC Ministries thoughts
Well thank the Lord that this man was released. This to us anyway was so ridiculous. However, I find the last line of the article the most ridiculous. That he made a sound that was offensive to the court.
Now we are going to be a little ornery here and ask this question. So what if you are in the court room and have to Fart you can't get out of the court room in time and it slips out, and in that process makes a loud sound? Would that be considered an "offensive sound to the court?" Just wondering.
Judge sentences man to 6 months in jail for yawningPosted August 12, 2009
Clifton Williams arrived at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet and sat in the fourth-floor courtroom where his cousin was pleading guilty to a felony drug charge.
As Circuit Judge Daniel Rozak handed down the cousin's sentence -- 2 years' probation -- Williams, 33, stretched and let out a very ill-timed yawn.
Williams' sentence? Six months in jail -- the maximum penalty for criminal contempt without a jury trial. The Richton Park man was locked up July 23 and will serve at least 21 days.
"I was flabbergasted because I didn't realize a judge could do that," said Williams' father, Clifton Williams Sr. "It seems to me like a yawn is an involuntary action."
Chuck Pelkie, a spokesman for the state's attorney's office, said the prosecutor in the courtroom that day told him that "it was not a simple yawn -- it was a loud and boisterous attempt to disrupt the proceedings."
Jason Mayfield, the cousin of Williams who was pleading guilty at the time, said it was "not an outrageous yawn."
A Tribune review of a decade's worth of contempt-of-court charges reveals that Rozak jails people -- typically spectators whose cell phones go off or who scream or shout profanity during sentencing -- at a far higher rate than any other judge in the county. There are now 30 judges in the 12th Judicial Circuit, but since 1999, Rozak has brought more than a third of all the contempt charges, records show.
And while it is not uncommon for judges to jail people for ignoring subpoenas or court orders or appearing in court drunk or under the influence of drugs, Rozak's charges tend to involve behavior that would not otherwise be criminal.
Judges have broad discretion under the law, which defines contempt as acts that embarrass, hinder or obstruct the court in its administration of justice or lessen its authority or dignity. As long as the sentence is not longer than 6 months, there is no review of the case -- unless the offender appeals to the judge or a higher court.
"We want judges to be able to manage the courtroom ... but we have some concern that when the contempt is personal, judges might react too harshly," said University of Chicago law professor Adam Samaha. "Contempt that happens right in the judge's face is likely to trigger an emotional reaction."
Observers describe Rozak as running the type of strict courtroom that was common a few decades ago. Defense attorneys say Rozak is "tough but fair" and runs particularly well-managed trials. Rozak has been elected in 2000 and 2006, both times with recommendations from the state bar association.
"I think he's terrific -- he understands how the world works," said Joliet defense attorney David Carlson. "Some of the most serious felonies we have are handled in his courtroom, so I think there should be a level of seriousness and decorum."
So far this year, five criminal contempt charges have been brought by Will County judges. Four of them were brought by Rozak, including the case of Derrick Lee, a Joliet man who "resisted" sitting where sheriff's deputies directed him, talked in a "very loud" voice during court and referred to Rozak as "boss," according to the judge's contempt order. Lee, who also was wanted on an outstanding warrant, was sentenced to 30 days but was released two days later after apologizing.
Chief Judge Gerald Kinney said he couldn't comment on the propriety of Williams' case, but said he would have liked a more detailed order from Rozak in imposing the maximum penalty. He was not aware that Rozak brings a high percentage of contempt charges and said he has not received a significant number of complaints about the judge.
Rozak could not be reached for comment.
Rozak's order sentencing Williams to 6 months in jail found that he "raised his hands while at the same time making a loud yawning sound" that caused the judge to "break from the proceedings."
"I really can't believe I'm in jail," Williams wrote his family in a letter. "I done set (sic) in this [expletive] a week so far for nothing."
People in other Will County courtrooms have received less severe sentences for seemingly more flagrant offenses. In Judge Richard Schoenstedt's court last year, a woman was disruptive during closing arguments of a trial; shouted, "This is bull ..." as she was led away; was held to the floor by a deputy; and "continued to be disruptive" after later being brought back before the judge. She received a 7-day sentence for contempt, records show.
Rozak has sentenced more spectators to jail for infractions involving cell phones than any other judge in Will County in the last decade. In 2003, a man who called the judge an "ass" after Rozak ordered him to turn over the phone when it rang in court was sentenced to 10 days but did just 24 hours after apologizing to the judge.
Three years later, a man twice refused to turn over his ringing cell phone to a deputy and then, his phone ringing before the bench, refused to hand it to Rozak. He also received a 6-month sentence, but it was reduced to 18 days after the man apologized, records show.
In the two-story brick home where Williams had been living with his aunt Cheryl Mayfield and caring for his 79-year-old grandmother, family members said they were in shock over the sentence but were unable to afford an attorney to appeal.
"This is ridiculous -- you've got all these people shooting up kids, and here this boy yawns in court [and gets 6 months]. It's crazy," she said. "This could happen to any one of us."
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JMC Ministries thoughts
With our jails and prisons 150% over crowded it upsets us to think that we are placing people in jail for yawning, when those spaces should available to hold murderers, rapist and drug dealers.
Maybe the guy did yawn on purpose to annoy the judge or whoever. He DIDN'T commit a CRIME!
I would love to see the judge be in trouble for FALSE IMPRISONMENT of this person. If there was a crime committed in that court room it was from the judge.
The Heritage Foundation National Survey on the Obama Agenda Posted August 11, 2009
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The Presidency and Governance
1. Do you think President Obama is doing what his supporters expected him to do?
2. Do you think the Obama administration is being open and transparent with the American people?
3. Do you think the Obama administration is acting in the bipartisan way he promised?
4. Do you think President Obama has calmed fears or increased fears about the economy?
The Economy and Taxes
1. President Obama is proposing $1.2 trillion in tax increases on savers, investors, small businesses, and upper-income taxpayers. In addition he is calling for $210 billion in higher taxes on American companies trying to compete in the global economy, and $646 billion in environmental taxes on American industry at home. What do you think the consequences of these tax increases will be?
2. President Obama and the liberals in Congress have been passing spending bills at record levels and racking up the largest deficit in history by far-at least $2 trillion for 2009 alone. What do you think the consequences of this spending will be?
3. The Obama administration is predicting a rate of economic growth of over 3 percent next year, and his economic projections depend on that growth rate. Do you believe that is realistic?
4. President Obama frequently refers to the legacy of the past eight years when he talks about the poor economic situation. Do you think that is fair?
5. How do you feel about the outlook of the American economy in the next two years?
National Defense and Security
1. Do you agree with President Obama’s timetable for withdrawing all combat forces from
2. Do you agree with President Obama’s decision to close the prison at
3. How serious do you consider the threat of Islamist terrorism in the world today?
4. Do you think the Obama administration is treating the threat of terrorism with the seriousness it deserves?
5. Do you think President Obama’s policies provide effective protection against our enemies?
6. Do you agree with President Obama’s readiness to weaken our missile defense system?
7. Do you agree with the plan of President Obama and the liberals in Congress to cut the defense budget?
Freedom of Speech
Do you believe that President Obama and/or Congress will take action to destroy conservative talk radio?
Energy Policy
1. What do you think the consequences will be of President Obama’s policies of large subsidies for renewable energy and research?
2. Do you think renewable energy plans such as solar and wind can replace fossil fuels in the near future, as the Obama administration plans?
3. Do you support President Obama’s plan for a “cap and trade” plan to limit carbon emissions in which businesses would pay a tax for carbon emissions and pass the cost along to consumers?
4. Obama administration officials have taken steps to delay the process of leasing offshore areas for oil and natural gas exploration. What do you think the consequences will be?
Health Care
The Obama administration has begun moving us toward a government-controlled health care system. What do you think the consequences of such a system will be?
MyHeritage.org, a website for Heritage Members and supporters, brings you the latest news and analysis surrounding the
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JMC Ministries thoughts
We received this survey in the mail today. We then sent out a message telling others that we had received this. Our friends and acquaintances started writing us back asking us to post the questions they were asking us to answer.
So here they are.
If we answer these questions and return the survey might this put JMC on Obama's "bad list"? Maybe. But as long as we have freedom of speech in this country JMC Ministries will choose to let our voices be heard and take a stand no matter the cost.
We know that posting these questions, answering them is really putting ourselves out there, but that is a risk we are willing to take for FREEDOM.
Eight Christians burnt to death in Pakistan after Koran is ‘defiled’ Posted August 3, 2009
Paramilitary troops patrolled the streets of a town in eastern Pakistan yesterday after Muslim radicals burnt to death eight members of a Christian family, raising fears of violence spreading to other areas.
Hundreds of armed supporters of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed Islamic militant group, set alight dozens of Christian homes in Gojra town at the weekend after allegations that a copy of the Koran had been defiled.
The mob opened fire indiscriminately, threw petrol bombs and looted houses as thousands of frightened Christians ran for safety. “They were shouting anti-Christian slogans and attacked our houses,” Rafiq Masih, a resident of the predominantly Christian colony, said. Residents said that police stood aside while the mob went on the rampage. “We kept begging for protection, but police did not take action,” Mr Masih said.
Police and local officials said that at least eight people, including four women and a child, were killed in the fires. Two others died of gunshot wounds. Residents said that the casualties were much higher; one claimed that the number of dead could be in the dozens as many bodies were still buried under the rubble.Shahbaz Bhatti, the Minister for Minorities, said that 40 Christian homes were torched in rioting. He said there was no truth to allegations that a Koran had been defiled, and accused the police of ignoring his appeal to provide protection to Christians.
Tension started mounting last week after Muslims accused three Christian youths of burning a copy of the Koran. They denied the allegations, but clerics called for their death. On Saturday hundreds of supporters of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed Sunni sectarian group, poured into the town from surrounding districts. The group is believed to have close links with al-Qaeda and has been involved in several terrorist attacks targeting security forces in recent years.
Television footage showed armed men running through the streets, gunfire, and women and children wailing. Blackened furniture lay outside burning homes, while a group of people rushed a man suffering from burns on a cart through the streets. Rehman Malik, the Interior Minister, said that the paramilitary troops were sent after police and the local administration failed to control the situation. Security forces were also placed on high alert to prevent violence from spreading to other towns of Punjab.
Security in Gojra, which has a Christian population of about 50,000, was tightened yesterday as funerals were held for the eight victims. Christians make up a small minority of Pakistan’s 160 million people and have been the target of attacks by Islamic extremists before, particularly in eastern Punjab.
Christians also face intimidation because of discriminatory blasphemy laws, including one that carries the death penalty for defiling the Koran and images of the Prophet Muhammad. The law is often misused to settle personal scores.
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JMC MINISTRIES THOUGHTS
Matthew 5:10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
2 Timothy 3:12
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Jeremy Caverley JMC Ministries Founder
We must PRAY for the persecuted church! It is only time before this comes to other countries as well. You can see JESUS CHRIST being removed in school and work. God is calling for those that are willing to
Michigan Wrestling School Coach Fired For Sharing his Faith Posted July 29, 2009
By Drew Zahn
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
A high school hall-of-fame and Christian wrestling coach in Dearborn, Mich., claims he was muscled out of his long-tenured coaching job by the school's principal, a devout Muslim, because the administrator was furious over a student wrestler who had converted to Christianity from Islam.
Gerald Marsazalek has coached wrestling for 35 years at Dearborn public school, amassing more than 450 wins and, in addition to being added to the Michigan High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, was named "Sportsman of the Year" by the All-American Athletic Association.
Despite Marsazalek's success, however, Principal Imad Fadlallah of Dearborn's Fordson High School ordered the administration not to renew the coach's contract, allegedly in retaliation over the student's conversion and to continue a campaign of flushing Christianity out of the school.
"We are getting a glimpse of what happens when Muslims who refuse to accept American values and principles gain political power in an American community," said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, which is representing Marsazalek. "Failure to renew coach Marszalek's contract had nothing to do with wrestling and everything to do with religion."
Marsazalek is suing both the principal and the school in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Michigan, seeking back pay, injunctive and declaratory relief, damages, and to be reinstated as coach of the wrestling team.
According to lawsuit documents, Principal Fadlallah's retribution against the Christian coaches serving Fordson High began in 2005, after Marsazalek's volunteer assistant coach, Trey Hancock, led a non-school sanctioned and independent summer wrestling camp. Hancock, who is also pastor of the Dearborn Assembly of God and parent to one of the wrestlers, reportedly shared his beliefs at the camp and baptized a Muslim Fordson student into the Christian faith.
That fall, Fadlallah fired Hancock and ordered the volunteer coach not to have further contact with the student wrestlers.
"Subsequently, in full view of students and faculty," the lawsuit states, "Fadlallah approached the young Fordson student who had chosen to be baptized a Christian at Hancock's summer wrestling camp, punched the student and advised the student he had 'disgraced his family' by converting to Christianity from Islam."
According to a statement from the Thomas More Law Center, Dearborn is one of the most densely populated Muslim communities in the United States. An estimated 30,000 of its 98,000 residents are Muslims, and roughly 80 percent of the student population of Fordson High School is Arabic, many of whom are also Muslims.
Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges, Fadlallah then banned Hancock from entering the school, ordered Marszalek to "keep Hancock out of the building" and even banned the Hancock family from helping out at school concession stands, even though Hancock's son was an All-State wrestler on Fordson's team.
On or about Thanksgiving Day 2007, Hancock came to the school to register his son for an activity, an offense against Fadlallah's orders, the lawsuit claims, which led to a vocal confrontation between the principal and Marszalek, who was allegedly accused of failing to enforce Hancock's banishment.
When the 2007-2008 wrestling season concluded, the lawsuit states, Fadlallah instructed the school's athletic director to be rid of Marszalek too, by refusing to even process the Christian's yearly renewal application for the coaching position, saying, "Gone. I want him gone. No appeal."
Another assistant coach, who had made no application for the head coaching position, was chosen by the school to take Marszalek's place.
According to the lawsuit, however, Marszalek's treatment by Fadlallah isn't isolated, but part of an intentional eradication of Christianity from the school.
"Fadlallah, since assuming duties as Fordsons' principal in 2005, has systematically weeded out Christian teachers, coaches and employees and has terminated, demoted or reassigned them because of their Christian beliefs," the lawsuit continues. "Fadlallah has publicly stated 'he sees Dearborn Fordson High School as a Muslim school, both in students and faculty, and is working to that end.'"
David Mustonen, a spokesman for Dearborn Public Schools, told the Detroit Free Press earlier today that the district had not yet seen the lawsuit and would therefore have to review it before making any comment.
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JMC Ministries thoughts
We first saw this article on the 700 Club and wanted to share it.
Due to the fact that these allegations haven't been proven true or false we aren't going to go too in depth on the article.
If these allegations prove to be true it is only showing us that there really isn't freedom of religion in this country and that no one has the freedom to worship in freedom without being a target of persecution.
Yes there is terrible persecution of Christians in other countries, but rarely do we talk about the persecution going on right here in America. We have laws that uphold that we have a right to freedom of religion but we take it for granted and slowly our freedom is being taken away every year, every day.
We believe everyone has free choice as to what religion they follow whether you be an atheist, muslim, jew, Christian etc. and we must respect those decisions.JMC Ministries chooses to follow the teachings of the holy bible and the Christian faith. But we also have friends of all different beliefs, backgrounds, races, and colors. We all have to live in this world and if we just show each other a little love and respect. It would make this world a little easier to live in don't you think?
"More Than 3 Dollars" Posted July 29, 2009
This is an Article from the "Voice of the Martyrs" August 2009 issue.
I would Like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of God to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please
Written by Wilbur Rees
Driving home one afternoon, I heard someone reading the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 on my car radio. As I crossed the Caney River bridge the radio announcer stopped reading at verse 9, leaving out the blessings from persecution in verses 10-12. I felt like I had been robbed. Sometime later my pastor, Joe Colaw, read us a poem written by Wilbur Rees entitled "Three Dollars Worth of God."
Wilbur Rees' line, "not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep," reminds me of an email we received from a reader, disturbed that his children had seen the photo on our newsletter cover of Namrata, the Indian girl whose face was burned by Hindu radicals. Although we also showed her healed face and printed her victorious story, this reader wrote, "I have two small children at home who see the mail and they do not understand this.... it will be difficult for me to continue to support you if this is what I can expect.... We do not need this kind of cheap, graphic, emotionally driven virtual ploy to get us involved... If you do not want my support, then simply let me know you plan continue with this kind of marketing."
The same day we received an email from another family whose children were affected differently by the same photograph.
"We received the April edition in the mail today. Our five year old son, Gideon, saw the little girl on the front of the magazine with her many burns... Gideon had an eventful night because of seeing it laying on our table top. He and Benjamin (our three year old) brought it to us and asked us what had happened to her. So I told him, 'Well... (big sigh)... this little girl is 10 years old, and she loves Jesus, but where she lives in her country they don't think it is ok to love Jesus. So when the other people found out that she is a "Christian" (and I told him what that means) they tried to hurt her.' We later on prayed before bed.. and he said, 'I think God still wants me to be a missionary doctor... because i could go help these people who love him and get punished for it!'
"We reassured him that if God does want him to do this it would be very important... and even if God didn't want him to do this... his job would still be important because he could pray for the persecuted (and we told him what that meant too). He was very open to the idea of praying, for them... and praying for his future, too, regarding what he feels God wants him to do.
We hope this blesses your day! Thank you for all you do for those who are persecuted, and for those of us who are praying and listening to God's will for our lives... even at the age of five!"
Our newsletter is for adults. (We have a children's version published quarterly.) It is up to each family to decide how, if at all, to share portions of our monthly newsletter with their children.
Perhaps how we view published images of persecuted Christians -- some consider them to be too graphic, in poor taste or sensational journalism, while others see an opportunity for fellowship and love -- could depend upon how much of the cross we have been taught to carry. Three dollars worth of the cross does not include the sharp emotions of grief and pain. We can starve ourselves, our congregation and our Christian denominations if our sackful of God is too small.
I thank God for my mother who taught me about suffering for Christ through stories and illustrations before I went to junior high. I realized that our faith does not guarantee us a pain free world. I learned at an early age that our faith will carry us through bad things which will someday work together for our good.
Written by Tom White (Voice of the Martyrs Director)
TO VIEW ENTIRE PIC CLICK ON IT
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JMC Ministries thoughts
When I read this article it brought back memories of an incident that happened about a month ago.
I was talking to a woman and I was telling her about the ministry we do and how we work with underprivileged children in our area. When I started telling her about some of the children we have helped and reached out to. Children who have been abused physically, sexually and how we minister to the homeless. This woman says to stop talking about that kind of stuff because she can't handle it. She then continued to tell me that if ever I wanted to "get away" from that stuff and have a "break" to come to her church!
My first reaction was "she did not just say that" the next was sadness. Because this woman attends a mega church in the community! And I thought, "all those hundreds of people that attend that church and all that they could do to help the community and she tells me to come to her church to get away from Reality?
I didn't respond to the woman and just stopped talking and continued on with my work I was doing. But her words for weeks now keep resonating in my head. "Come to my church if you want a break from that" How can I take a break and walk away from the calling God has placed on my life? How can I not daily take up my cross? How can I deny the will of the Lord? How can I not follow what the scriptures say to help the widows and orphans and those in need? My answer is I CAN'T!!!!! And I won't!
That is why this article hit me and the poem about buying 3 dollars worth of God. And the man that was offended by the picture of the little girl because his children didn't understand it. Everyday there are children in America in your community that are dealing with this kind of abuse it isn't happening in a third world country it's happening right outside your front door! And you want to ignore it as if it isn't happening!
Some Christians today would rather throw money at a problem in their community than go down into the community and get their hands dirty for the Lord! Get into the projects, the Ghettos, the wrong side of the tracks and try to make a difference in their communities. Isn't that what Jesus did? He showed love and compassion to those who no one would go near. Like the song says "All We Need Is Love"
Why do I choose to "get my hands dirty"? Because if I don't who would take my place? Who will bring clothes to a little girl named Sarah who has none. Who will intercede for those children who are showing signs of abuse and call children service. And who will tell them about Jesus and how he loves all the little children of the world "red yellow black or white that they are precious in his sight"
So, do you still want to buy only 3 dollars worth of God?
Pakistani Children Forcibly Recruited as Taliban Bombers Posted July 28, 2009
ISLAMABAD — Security forces have rescued several children forcibly recruited by the Taliban, allegedly to be used as fighters or homicide bombers, and there could be hundreds more like them, an army official said Tuesday.
The claim came as a homicide car bomber rammed his vehicle into a checkpoint in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region, causing an explosion that killed two police and wounded five other security officials, authorities said.
Pakistani troops are engaged in offensives against the Taliban in various areas along the lawless border with Afghanistan, fighting militants often drawn from among the local communities.
Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmed, who heads a special support group tasked with handling the return of people displaced by three months of fighting in the Swat Valley and surrounding areas, said he had met with nine boys rescued from the Taliban.
"They have been brainwashed and trained as (homicide) bombers, but the nine who I met seemed willing to get back to normal life," he told Pakistani state-run television.
He said the children had told him there were many more, possibly hundreds, like them.
"It seems that there are some 300 to 400 such children who the Taliban had taken forcibly or who they were training," Ahmed said.
He did not say how the nine boys he had met had been rescued.
A psychiatrist would examine the children to recommend how they should be reintegrated into society, he said.
"It will be a big challenge" to reverse the indoctrination they received, Ahmed noted.
He said the boys had sometimes been lured by offers of food, but that they had been underfed and some had fallen ill.
Late Monday, North West Frontier Province Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour said security forces had rescued dozens of children aged 6 to 15 who the Taliban were allegedly training as homicide bombers.
"They are prepared mentally. They say that Islam is everything for them. They say they are doing it for Islam. They say they have to carry suicide attacks for the sake of Islam," Bilour told private Geo TV.
Bilour said he did not have a specific number, but that there were dozens and that the government would do its best to help the youths.
"Around 15 of them are already in the process of rehabilitation in an army school in Mardan," he said, referring to a northwestern town. "They are brainwashed to such an extreme that they are ready to kill their parents who they call infidels."
On Sunday, authorities in Swat's main town of Mingora presented several teenagers alleged to have been forcibly recruited by the Taliban. Seven boys, their lower faces covered to prevent them being recognized, were shown to reporters.
One, a 16-year-old Shaukat Ali, said the militants abducted him while he was playing cricket. He said they told him they wanted him to be "a warrior" and offered to pay his family for his services.
The latest homicide attack targeted a checkpoint some two miles (three kilometers) north of Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, local government official Rehmat Ullah said.
North Waziristan is proving to be a trouble spot for the army just as it is in the initial phases of an offensive against Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in neighboring South Waziristan.
A militant leader in North Waziristan, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, recently pulled out of a peace deal with the government, and clashes have occurred since in that region.
On Tuesday, the decapitated body of a Pakistani police constable was discovered in the Swat town of Sangota. The find was a sign that Taliban militants have not given up the fight for the northwestern valley, despite the nearly three-month-old army offensive there.
Police officer Sajjad Qazi said the constable was kidnapped a week ago, apparently by militants.
Rebuilding the police is key to government efforts to regain control of Swat, especially now that hundreds of thousands of refugees are returning home.
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JMC Ministries thoughts
The children are the future of tomorrow. And the way the adults in this world are training them there will be no tomorrow. So many millions of children across this world are left to survive on their own or as in this article are forced into a life of war and killing. What will become of our future generations? Will you stand up and show them that there is a different way? A better way? Give them the tools they need to have a future?
It seems more and more that children are obsessed with this kind of violent "Gangsta" lifestyle. Filled with drugs, and violence. More crimes are starting to be committed in America by Minors than adults I read in an article no too long ago. Between not having good role models and allowing the TV, Video Games and today's secular music raise our children this is what we have created.
Will you start today and help make a change in a child's life?
6 week old baby bitten by rats in home posted July 22, 2009
IDAHO, Ohio -- A gruesome tale of apparent neglect ended with the hospitalization of a Pike County infant for rodent bites and the arrest of her mother's live-in boyfriend on charges including neglect of the child. County Prosecutor Rob Junk filed three felony charges Monday against Todd C.
Trent, 18, of 2209 Red Bridge Road, in western Pike County. He is charged with child endangering, obstructing official business and tampering with evidence, all felonies.
Junk said the injuries suffered by the 6-week-old were unreal.
"I've seen autopsy photos of people that have died from bullet wounds, stab wounds, and things like that. They weren't nearly as hard to look at the photos of the infant in this case," he said.
County Sheriff Rich Henderson said the worst bites were on the infant's left foot and back, but bites were found all over the child's body. Two of the girl's toes had to be removed.
The saga began when the sheriff's office received an anonymous tip about the child and went to the Red Bridge Road home early Sunday morning.
Inside, deputies found the child with multiple bite marks and called for medical attention. The child was taken to Nationwide Childrens Hospital in Columbus, where doctors said the injuries were "consistent with rodent bites" and appeared to have occurred during a lengthy period of time, Henderson said.
The girl, whose name was not released, was listed in fair condition late Monday.
Detectives interviewed both doctors and the family at the Columbus hospital, and more charges could result.
"It would be fair to say that we're looking at everyone who was inside that home," said Junk.
Childrens Services representatives took an unknown number of other children out of the home Sunday and placed them in protective custody. Two dogs also were taken from the home by the county dog warden. After earlier reports that the child may have suffered a dog bite, it was unclear whether anything other than rodents had bitten the child.
Trent is being held in the Ross County Jail until his arraignment on the charges.
Link to original Article 6 week old baby bitten by rats in home
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JMC Ministries thoughts
This incident happened only 30 minutes from our home. Reading about it and watching it on the local news it is just horrifying that these people allowed this baby to live in these kind of conditions.
They said the mother is 17 and the father of the baby is an adult. This story just keeps confirming that Teenagers today are not responsible enough to take of children and create a safe environment for them to live in. We are not saying every teen parent is not qualified but many aren't. Also why is the father of the baby not being charged with statutory rape to the 17 year old mother of the child.
As Christians and citizens in our communities we need to get involved if we think a child is being abused. We might just be able to stop something like this from happening and save a childs life.
We must pray that this child has a swift and successful recovery and that the baby will be placed in to a loving and safe home.
The Christian’s Role in Politics by Jeremy Sarber Posted June 30, 2009
The Christian’s Role in Politics
June16
21% of Americans say they are liberal. 41% of Americans identify themselves as conservative. 38% of Americans are moderate or a-political which means they are either riding the fence or not sure where they stand. There is one more statistic I believe I should mention. 77% of Americans identify themselves as Christians. Which one of these stats does not belong?
Every conservative I have met was either a Christian or, at least, believed this country was founded upon Judeo-Christian principles. Gasp! Yes, any reasonable person is willing to admit this is true. The United States was not established as a theocracy but there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the faith of our founding fathers played a great role in all aspects of early government. The only way to ignore this fact is by erasing history.
I also know there are Christians who side with the liberal way of thinking in politics. These are certainly not traditional Christians, though I’m sure some would debate me on that. They are absolutely hypocritical for a multitude of reasons.
Moral relativism is the foundation of liberal thinking and no true Bible-believer would EVER suggest such nonsense. The idea behind Christianity is that God has given us His absolute truth and anything which opposes it is wrong. In other words, the belief that each individual person discerns his/her own right and wrong is ridiculous. This could only lead to total anarchy!
One more thing for the liberal Christians: The secular-progressives of liberalism have a clear goal of destroying Christianity and all traces of it in this country. Siding with them on issues makes you look like an idiot.
I don’t have any real figures but I’m guessing it’s safe to say that most Christians fall into the categories of conservative and moderate. I see a problem here. Let’s do the math. If 77 people are Christian and less than 41 of them are conservative, then up to 36 of them are possibly detached from the reality around them. I realize that probably some within the moderate group are politically sophisticated and know where they stand on the issues; siding with conservatives at times and liberals at others. But I would tend believe that most in the moderate group have no idea where they stand.
These are ultimately the people I am writing to on a daily basis. The conservatives stands fast in traditional, American values and I have no need to convince them of anything. The flaming liberals only see red when they read what I write. Someone who classifies a human being as property and believes jail is not an appropriate punishment for a rapist is not about to listen to reason. They threw reason out the window a long time ago. No, I write to inform the uninformed. Specifically, I write to Christians.
I am a Primitive Baptist preacher. I have never preached politics from the pulpit nor would I ever. But any chance I have to talk about the state of the Union with fellow church members, I take advantage of the opportunity. Some believe Christians have no place in politics. I strongly disagree. Especially when the same folks who say that vote at every election.
Referring back to biblical times, the Apostle Paul went to Thessalonica on one occasion and reasoned with them out of the scriptures (Acts 17). They were likely in the practice of reading the scriptures rather than actually thinking about what they were reading. Well, as was always the case, someone didn’t like what was going on and they went hunting for Paul. They cried to the rulers of the city, “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.†They turned the world upside down! How cool is that?
Another time, Paul preached one Sabbath and only one week later came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God (Acts 13). I think it’s safe to say that Paul made it common practice to turn the world upside down. He had no problem stepping into a world of idolatry and paganism to allow the truth to spread as far as it could go. So long as we, as Christians, live in this country, we have a legitimate voice in this country.
I hear it commonly said that God has abundantly blessed this nation and I believe that’s true. I also believe we reap what we sow. Let’s put two and two together. If the traditional, even Christian values this country has held to for so many years has caused God to bless us with security and prosperity, then isn’t it reasonable that we should continue down the same road? Let me point out that we’re now on some shaky ground. The liberal, secular-progressive movement in this country is gaining speed. It’s not as bad as it seems sometimes because of the limited world view we get from the liberal media, but it’s getting there. Who will stand against it if not us?
How do we stand against the liberal whirlwinds? Well, we start by getting informed. We drop that percentage of Christians and others in the a-political group and prove to ourselves through research and reasoning the conservative way is the strong way. Next, we speak out. Blog it. Write it. Talk about it with friends and family. Wherever you find a forum for it, use it. Remember though, we must always build our case with logic and facts. Slander and evil rumors will not help the American cause. Turn off the liberal media and get your news from carefully selected news sources on the Internet and other places where the traditionalists stay tucked away.
Swiss Bust Child Pornography Ring Posted June 28, 2009
Swiss police say they have uncovered an internet child pornography network spanning 78 countries and involving at least 2,000 IP internet addresses.
An inquiry was launched after a tip-off from Interpol about a website based in Switzerland being used as a forum for illegal child pornography films.
The site was officially devoted to hip hop music but was used to access videos of child pornography via secret codes.
The site designer was unaware of how it was being used, Swiss media report.
Swiss federal police spokeswoman Eva Zwahlen said the authorities had been monitoring the website in the south-western canton of Vaud, the Associated Press reports.
She confirmed a Swiss newspaper report that the investigation involved people from the US, Poland, Greece and other countries.
Jean-Christophe Sauterel, a police spokesman in Vaud, told Swiss newspaper Le Matin Dimanche that it was "the biggest concern of its kind dismantled in Switzerland".
According to the newspaper, dozens of arrests and several convictions have been made as a result of the investigation, which began in May 2008.
Speaking about suspected users of the illegal material in Switzerland, Mr Sauterel said none of them were based in Vaud itself.
The website's owner told the newspaper of their shock at being told by police about how it had been used illegally.
The site's designer was not aware what it was being used for and was cleared of any involvement in the ring, police were quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
Link to original story
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi../europe/country_profiles/8..123450.stm
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JMC Ministries THOUGHTS:
When governments and we as citizens of the World take a stand and say no more will our children be used to fullfill perverted, and evil peoples fantasies. They always talk about those being punished for doing this to children but you never hear what happened to the kids or if they are in danger or have been saved from this.
Prayer:
Father God I just pray that you free the children all over the world that are victims of these kind of crimes. Lord you said "suffer the little children to come unto you" please Lord send your angels to protect them and give them a way out of this darkness they have been forced into and give those the strength to help them that you send their way.
Amen
New Form of Birth Control: Bribary! Posted June 25, 2009
GREENSBORO -- A buck-a-day -- that's the incentive being offered to young girls to keep them from getting pregnant.
The group College-Bound Sisters was founded at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro by Hazel Brown, a maternity nurse who thought too many teens were having babies.
Brown said she hopes the program, which pays $1 each day to 12-to-18-year-old girls, will keep them from getting pregnant. In addition to remaining pregnancy-free, the girls must also attend weekly meetings.
The program is funded by a four-year grant from the state.
"Our three goals are that they avoid pregnancy, graduate from high school and enroll in college," Brown said.
Under the program, $7 is deposited into an interest-bearing college fund that the girls can collect once they graduate high school.
Some recent graduates earned more than $2,000 and are an inspiration to those still in the program.
"I might want to be a teacher for a few years and then be a lawyer," said 12-year-old Chelsey Davis. "I might want to be an actor or singer," another girl in the program, Amanda Davis, added.
Program director Laurie Smith said those aspirations are more achievable because of the incentives the program provides and the friendships it helps create.
Smith said nearly 100 percent of the girls who finish the program have gone on to graduate college.
If a girl drops out or gets pregnant, her money is divided among the other girls still in the program.
Link to original article
http://www.wxii12.com/health/19843503/detail.html
Can you pray to father Emil Kapaun??? Posted June 24, 2009
Here is an example of what prayer is NOT!
"Chase survived in part because hundreds of people prayed to Father Emil Kapaun to intercede on his behalf. It was absolutely a miracle." — Paula Kear, Chase's mother
WHO IS Father Kapaun???
Kapaun was a chaplain assigned to the U.S. Army's Eighth Cavalry regiment, which was surrounded and overrun by the Chinese army in North Korea in October and November 1951.
Kapaun became a hero, rescuing wounded soldiers from the battlefield and risking death by preventing Chinese executions of wounded Americans too injured to walk.
He became a hero again in prison camp, stealing food for prisoners, ministering to the sick, saying the rosary for soldiers, defying guards' attempts to indoctrinate soldiers, making pots and pans out of roofing tin so that soldiers could boil snow into drinking water and boil lice out of their filthy clothing.
Hundreds of American prisoners died in the camp of exposure or starvation or illness that first winter. The Chinese guards did nothing to tend Kapaun when he became sick; he died in May 1951, two years before the war ended.
Soldiers who survived have praised Kapaun for decades; some of them have said he deserved not only sainthood but the Medal of Honor, in addition to the lesser Distinguished Service Cross the Army awarded him after his death.
http://www.kansas.com/196/story/861812.html
WRONG!
Chase was given another chance to live through PRAYERS to Jesus Christ interceding on Chase's behalf through the Heavenly Father Almighty Jehovah.
And it is God's ultimate decision for Chase to LIVE or NOT!
You are instructed to pray to your heavenly Father in Heaven NOT MAN!
Psalm 54:2
Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth.
Matthew 6:5-7
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Matthew 6:8-16
8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.[a]' 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
What does the Bible say about consulting the dead, or prayer to "saints"?
Deuteronomy 18:10-12
10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.
Dead people can't be prayed to and expect a response from them.
THAT IS WITCHCRAFT being conceived in your mind.
Father Emil Kapaun died in May 1951!!!
What are the 2 DEATHS people experience in life?
PHYSICAL
SPIRITUAL
Romans 6:11
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 7:4
So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.
How can WE avoid the 2nd DEATH- SPIRITUAL DEATH?
Romans 10:8-10
8But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,"that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
So in conclusion, prayer is intimate, important, and most certainly not for those who are dead. We can't help the dead. There path has already been chosen, and they can't help the living through praying to them.
Los Angeles Suspends DNA Testing on Sexual Assault Cases Posted June 23, 2009
As a rape victim myself this is just appalling that no one is giving justice to these victims so these rapists are still roaming the streets and going to continue their assaults on innocent women. Who will fight to protect them?
Full Article BelowOut of cash and understaffed, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has suspended its faltering effort to analyze DNA evidence from thousands of rape and sexual assault cases.
The department halted shipments of the genetic evidence to private crime laboratories at the end of May after funds allotted for the testing ran dry, according to a report submitted by Sheriff Lee Baca to the county Board of Supervisors late last week.
Sheriff's Department officials said they expected to receive federal grant money next month, and more funds in the fall, that would allow them to continue testing for four or five months. After that, however, the department will have to rely on an uncertain stream of state funding, officials said.
The haphazard approach underscores the trouble Baca has had delivering on a promise he made in November to clear the decades-old backlog of evidence from roughly 4,600 cases and to keep pace with testing evidence from all new cases. Late Monday afternoon, a spokesman for Baca said that Marshall University in West Virginia had agreed to do a small amount of testing for free each month, adding to the sense that the Sheriff's Department is scrambling to find help anywhere it can.
To date, the department has sent evidence from 676 cases to outside labs, according to the report. About three-quarters of those were not dispatched until recently and have not yet been processed, department officials said. Moreover, though testing has produced usable results in 98 cases so far, the genetic profiles of the suspected attackers in only six of the cases have been compared with state databases. The rest are awaiting a final review by the Sheriff Department's in-house laboratory. In one of those six cases, the alleged attacker was identified, raising the likelihood that the answers to several other rapes and sex crimes lie in the department's untested evidence.
"The lab must be given the resources it needs to do this work," said Gail Abarbanel, director of the Rape Treatment Center at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center. "There are rapists walking the streets of Los Angeles, who, if they tested evidence that is sitting on shelves, could be taken off."The haphazard approach underscores the trouble Baca has had delivering on a promise he made in November to clear the decades-old backlog of evidence from roughly 4,600 cases and to keep pace with testing evidence from all new cases. Late Monday afternoon, a spokesman for Baca said that Marshall University in West Virginia had agreed to do a small amount of testing for free each month, adding to the sense that the Sheriff's Department is scrambling to find help anywhere it can.
To date, the department has sent evidence from 676 cases to outside labs, according to the report. About three-quarters of those were not dispatched until recently and have not yet been processed, department officials said. Moreover, though testing has produced usable results in 98 cases so far, the genetic profiles of the suspected attackers in only six of the cases have been compared with state databases. The rest are awaiting a final review by the Sheriff Department's in-house laboratory. In one of those six cases, the alleged attacker was identified, raising the likelihood that the answers to several other rapes and sex crimes lie in the department's untested evidence.
Because of funding problems, the amount of untested evidence has actually grown. Sheriff's officials said the department's lab cannot keep up with the more than 330 new sexual assault cases and the preparation and review work that must be completed on outsourced evidence kits.
Victims of sexual assault are taken to medical specialists who swab their bodies for sperm, saliva or other genetic samples left by the attacker. The evidence, packaged in so-called sexual assault kits, hold potentially crucial information. DNA analysts can extract a person's genetic code from the collected samples and compare it with the DNA profiles of known felons in state and federal databases. When the DNA sample matches a DNA profile in the database, it can offer prosecutors nearly irrefutable proof of the person's guilt. The evidence can also be used to confirm that someone has not falsely confessed to a crime or to link someone to other unsolved cases.
Since the advent of DNA testing, however, the Sheriff's Department -- as well as the Los Angeles Police Department and other agencies -- had followed a policy of testing evidence only when such a request was made by detectives working the case. Late last year, under pressure from watchdog groups and politicians, Baca and LAPD Chief William J. Bratton changed course, saying they would test all the evidence kits. Inventories of the backlogged cases in both departments revealed that evidence had gone untested in hundreds of cases in which detectives had no other leads and could have possibly benefited from the DNA analysis. Dozens of those cases were found to be too old for prosecutors to pursue under the statute of limitations.
LAPD Deputy Chief Charlie Beck said his department is continuing to outsource evidence from old cases at a rate of about 115 a week and has the funding to continue doing so for most of the next fiscal year.
But L.A. County is hardly alone in its predicament. A state legislative budget committee recently recommended that funding for the California Department of Justice lab be slashed by $20 million next fiscal year -- a move that, if approved by lawmakers, would force the lab to stop providing free DNA testing to 47 of the state's 53 county governments.
In the months after Baca's November announcement, sheriff's officials indicated repeatedly that the department did not have sufficient resources to make good on the promise. Early hopes that the county would provide an infusion of cash for testing were quickly dashed as the economic recession worsened, said Cmdr. Earl Shields of the department's Technical Services Division. The full extent of the funding shortfall became clear last month when Baca told county officials his department needed about $4.5 million to outsource old sexual assault kits to private labs and a similar amount to add 30 more people to the Sheriff's Department lab. With those resources, the DNA backlog could be cleared in 18 months, Shields said.
Facing nearly $500 million in budget cuts, county officials made it clear that there was no money to be had.
"That was never realistic," Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said. "He's got a $2-billion budget. If this is his No. 1 priority, he should be able to find resources within his own department."
Sheila Williams, an analyst with the county's chief executive office, added that sheriff's officials never alerted anyone in her office that there could come a time when funds would be gone and testing suspended.
Mexico Legalizes Illegal Drugs Posted June 23, 2009
I was shocked when I saw this on the news Late last night. Mexico thinks that the killings and violence will drop dramatically if they legalize small amounts of drugs like marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and meth.
To read the whole article click on the link below
Mexico Legalizes Illegal Drugs
When people are hooked on drugs they will do anything to get their drugs whether they legalize it or not it is the same with prescription medicines. People get hooked on those too and they will break into pharmacies rob them, write fake prescriptions or even steal prescriptions to get the drugs and these ones are legal. It doesn't matter!
Also when people are hooked on drugs they can become violent and assault or even kill people. It happens with alcohol a drunk gets into a vehicle and drives away they are more than likely going to kill or injure someone. A person gets drunk and becomes violent and either assaults or murders someone. Even though we have legalized alcohol since the prohabition. It doesn't matter!
Crimes are still being commited even though we have legalized prescription drugs and have legalized alcohol in this country. Thousands of people every year are still being arrested for crimes they commit while under the influence of priscription drugs and alcohol. Will this really stop the violence?
This just shows that we are not only becoming a lawless society but a lawless World. We as Christians really need to start praying and taking a stand against the evils of this world before it is too late.
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