The Keep Athens Beautiful Committee has been putting up the nativity scene since 2002, and County Judge Richard Sanders says it’s not violating any law, according to ABC News affiliate KBMT.
“Because we have all the other decorations, it’s legal,” Sanders said. “Our county attorney has looked into it.”
A Henderson County resident complained to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based atheist group, and the foundation notified the committee that the nativity scene was in violation of federal law. The foundation asked for the baby Jesus to be removed, or for a sign to be put up next to his crib that would read: “At this season of the winter solstice may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.”
But while some believe Santa is “but myth and superstition,” no one has asked for a sign to be placed next to him, clarifying his non-existence. The town has several other seasonal decorations up, such as reindeer, garden gnomes and snowmen, but the nativity scene is the only decoration has been criticized as a religious symbol. As for Santa, he’s more of a tradition than a religious icon, so the foundation has not taken issue with him.
Henderson County Commissioner Joe Hall says he’ll fight to keep the nativity scene in place.
“Don’t come down here and tell me there is no God. This nation is a Christian nation regardless of what those fruit loops and fruitcakes in Washington D.C. say. Hell will freeze over before I vote to have it removed,” Hall said.
Pastor Nathan Lorick of First Baptist Church in Malakoff, about 10 miles from Athens, said it is time to stand up and speak up in defense of Christianity, which is the majority in Athens.
“I hope this is a platform all across the nation that says, let’s take America back,” he said.
YAHOO NEWS--For most Americans, the holidays are a time for happiness and celebration with family and friends--or at least for a few precious days of hard-earned relaxation. But when you're out of work and struggling to get by, the season can make things even harder.
Barry Viprino, a 30-year old financial adviser from Cape Cod, Mass., has been jobless for a year, and his family of five has been living in a one-room apartment. "It is hard looking myself in the mirror, or my kids in the eye," he told us. "For Christmas, they keep asking if we can just get a house. And I have to explain that, Santa cannot give us a house."
Barry Viprino and family
Over the summer, we asked Yahoo News readers to tell us what it's like to be out of work for an extended period. We got thousands of compelling responses, which we used to create an up-close look at the plight of the unemployed -- a project we called Down But Not Out. For the next installment, we put out a call last week for more stories, this time about how the jobless are coping with the holidays. And once again, readers responded with some fascinating, poignant, heartfelt tales, that help create a rich, nuanced picture of prolonged joblessness in America.
We've posted some of them, in full, on the separate Tumblr site we created for the project. And we've excerpted some below.
"We have started writing letters to one another."
It's not all doom and gloom. To enjoy the season, some readers have been forced to get creative --and even have found some unexpected sources of contentment.
Kellie Norton with her son Justin, at his graduation from U.S. Airforce basic trainin …
Still, she's looking on the bright side. "We won't be traveling anywhere this year. I can not afford the gas," she told us. "I will be bundling my son up on Christmas Eve though. We will spend the few dollars in gas to drive around the city and see all the Christmas lights. The heat in my truck no longer works, so it's gloves and hot chocolate to stay warm. But that's OK. If there is one thing my son loves, it is Christmas lights."
"I can't give anybody anything for Christmas," wrote Paul M., 25, who lost his job three months ago with a contractor at Chicago's Midway Airport. "The least I could do is take some of the food stamps I'm expecting soon and buy materials to make homemade pretzels for my family and friends. The only downside is they'll be hard once they get them."
Dina Johnson with her grand-daughter
Heather Yeager, 26, from Tampa, Fla., lost her job at a hospital two months ago, and is facing eviction from her home, along with her four kids, all under the age of 6. "I can't just go out and buy my kids things for Christmas like I would like," she wrote, "so I find myself on the Internet looking at Craigslist ads for things people are giving away for free so that my kids can have some sense of Christmas."
Kevin S., a 48-year-old Californian, told us that last year he was unemployed and couldn't afford gifts for his young son, a big SpongeBob fan. "So I found a yellow and pink sponge in our bathroom," Kevin wrote. "I drew SpongeBob's eyes, nose and mouth on the yellow sponge and cut the pink sponge into a star for the Patrick character. He absolutely loved them and took them everywhere he went. A friend of mine saw them and laughed and said: 'Recession, huh?' 'Yup,' I told him."
"I am always so relieved when Christmas is over"
Still, a lot of readers wrote about the pain of being unable to afford to buy gifts or plan celebrations.
"I always feel like I am missing out on something," wrote Brenda Tlapa, 44, of Bedford Park, Ill., who lost her job at a Fortune 500 design company back in 2008, and is scheduled to lose a warehouse position this Friday. "I see others shopping and spending money, and I honestly get a little upset and resentful. I have absolutely no money to spend on gifts, nothing to give my mother (who means the world to me) and nothing to give my nieces and nephews."
"I am always so relieved when Christmas is over," she added. "It's like a huge weight is lifted off my shoulders."
Spooner, who told us he's spending the holiday alone because he's shamed about being unable to afford gifts, appears to feel the same way this year. "I cannot watch any TV shows or movies that are Christmas themed," he wrote. "I cannot go into any stores during the season because it hurts to see all the Christmas gift wrap, decorations and shoppers. If I am watching TV and a Christmas-related commercial comes on, I immediately have to mute the TV and turn away. I have always loved Christmas and have never missed a Black Friday shopping day, until this year."
Tom H., 57, who lives near Austin, Texas, and has been looking for work for more than two years, is making sacrifices. "My wife asked me for some face wash for Christmas, with tears in her eyes, saying it is something she can't afford to buy anymore," he told us. "I plan on finding something else I can sell to try to order that for her."
K. Smith
Baron, recently retired after almost 40 years of teaching, just released a new ebook, Unraveling the Christmas Star Mystery. In it, she explains how she used ancient astronomy symbols and modern computer programs to uncover events surrounding the birth of Christ.
She told The Christian Post, “I always thought there was one Christmas star and I wanted to find it.” So she started studying the symbols of ancient astronomers.
In her book, Baron claims that her findings reveal there were 10 major, celestial events announcing the birth of Jesus Christ, the last being the position marker over Bethlehem.
She writes, “The sixth significant event of Jesus’ birth announcement occurred on September 1st, 0004 when a spectacular solar eclipse occurred close to Mars, Venus, and Saturn while the Sun was partially eclipsing the slow moving Saturn. The Moon then moved in front of the Sun and totally eclipsed it. To have the Sun eclipsing Saturn and the Moon eclipsing the Sun simultaneously is an extremely rare event at any time, let alone for a dawn sky.”
She told CP that the “Christmas star was, in fact, Saturn.” It was on the other side of the sun during that time and was very bright in the night sky. It was moving right over Bethlehem during a two-week time period.
MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) — Facebook is making it easier for people who express suicidal thoughts on the social networking site to get help.
A program launching Tuesday enables users to instantly connect with a crisis counselor from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline through Facebook's "chat" messaging system.
If a friend spots a suicidal thought on someone's page, he can report it to Facebook by clicking a link next to the comment. Facebook then sends an email to the person who posted the comment encouraging that user to call the hotline or click a link for a confidential chat.
The service is Facebook's latest move aimed at improving safety on its site.
Online evangelism is producing real disciples for Christ, according to a recent study.
Over half of those who made a decision for Jesus over the Internet have subsequently shared their faith with others, Global Media Outreach's study reveals.
Additionally, 34 percent read their Bibles daily and nearly half pray for at least 10 minutes a day.
"These findings are remarkable because they reveal that online evangelism isn’t just an in-the-moment decision, and people continue to grow in their faith after they have indicated a decision,” Global Media Outreach founder and chairman Walt Wilson said in a statement.
The study, called the Christian Growth Index, measured the responses of more than 100,000 people from around the world.
For Wilson, the results of the study indicate "that online evangelism and discipleship is truly measurable and effective."
Fifty-one percent of those surveyed said they shared their faith three times or more and 37 percent said they shared their faith at least once or twice.
An eastern Kentucky church under a firestorm of criticism since members voted to bar mixed-race couples from joining the congregation overturned that decision Sunday, saying it welcomes all believers.
Stacy Stepp, pastor of the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church in Pike County, told The Associated Press that the vote by nine people last week was declared null and void after it was determined that new bylaws can't run contrary to local, state or national laws. He said the proposal was discriminatory, therefore it couldn't be adopted.
Stepp said about 30 people who attended church services voted on a new resolution that welcomes "believers into our fellowship regardless of race, creed or color."
(CNSNews.com) – (Updated) The Senate on Thursday evening voted 93-7 to approve a defense authorization bill that includes a provision which not only repeals the military law on sodomy, it also repeals the military ban on sex with animals--or bestiality.
On Nov. 15, the Senate Armed Services Committee had unanimously approved S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes a provision to repeal Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
Article 125 of the UCMJ makes it illegal to engage in both sodomy with humans and sex with animals.
It states: "(a) Any person subject to this chapter who engages in unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex or with an animal is guilty of sodomy. Penetration, however slight, is sufficient to complete the offense. (b) Any person found guilty of sodomy shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said the effort to remove sodomy from military law stems from liberal Senate Democrats' and President Obama’s support for removing the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.
“It’s all about using the military to advance this administration’s radical social agenda,” Perkins told CNSNews.com. “Not only did they overturn Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, but they had another problem, and that is, under military law sodomy is illegal, just as adultery is illegal, so they had to remove that prohibition against sodomy.”
Perkins said removing the bestiality provision may have been intentional--or just “collateral damage”
“Well, whether it was inadvertent or not, they have also taken out the provision against bestiality,” he said. “So now, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), there’s nothing there to prosecute bestiality."
Former Army Col. Bob Maginnis said some military lawyers have indicated that bestiality may be prosecutable under another section of the military code of justice – the “catch-all” Article 134 for offenses against “good military order and discipline.”
But don't count on that, he said.
“If we have a soldier who engages in sodomy with an animal – whether a government animal or a non-government animal – is it, in fact, a chargeable offense under the Uniform Code? I think that’s in question,” Maginnis told CNSNews.com.
“When the reader stops laughing, the reader needs to ask the question whether or not this is in the best interests of the government, in the best interests of the military and the best interests of the country? I think not.”
He added: “Soldiers, unfortunately, like it or not, have engaged in this type of behavior in the past. Will they in the future, if they remove this statute? I don’t know.”
The Christmas spirit is alive in Joplin, Mo. Residents of the tornado damaged town have seen their share of hardships this year, but it didn’t stop them from participating in Operation Christmas Child. They more than doubled the number of shoe box donations for the organization that sends gift filled shoe boxes to third world countries every Christmas.
OCC Collection Center Coordinator Della Bergen told The Christian Post that the damage from the tornado didn’t stop people from donating. People who had lost everything still came out and donated boxes because OCC is a yearly tradition for them. She said they told her they’re “not going to miss it this year just because of the tornado.”
In total, the town raised 12,520 shoe boxes, compared with last year’s 5,664. Bergen said one of the reasons for the jump in donations stems from the fact that many tornado victims had people they didn’t even know give them things to survive. In turn, this gave them a deeper understanding of what Operation Christmas Child is all about.
Samaritan's Purse’s rescue efforts after the tornado also helped raise awareness for the ministry, and people wanted to give back.
Those who dropped off boxes told Bergen that even though they were just getting back on their feet, they knew their problems were a temporary situation, but for the kids getting shoe boxes, nothing ever changes.
Many new churches signed on this year to help with the shoe boxes. Harmony Heights Baptist Church was hit by the tornado during a service and three of its members were killed. They lost all of their supplies for OCC in the disaster as well.
Children as young as nine years old are attempting to kill themselves, according to a new U.S. study that probes depression and suicide in youths.
And nearly 40 per cent of those who attempted suicide first tried to kill themselves in elementary or middle school, according to the study published in the November edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health by researchers from the University of Washington.
The data was collected from an ongoing study that asked 883 participants, aged 18 to 19, to discuss their suicidal history. Out of 78 participants who said they have attempted suicide, 38 said they made a single attempt and 40 made multiple attempts.
Those who tried to kill themselves multiple times began their attempts as children.
"Multiple attempters were more likely to have made their first suicide attempt during elementary or middle school compared to single attempters," said the study, titled: An Examination of the Validity of Retrospective Measures of Suicide Attempts in Youth.
Those who tried to kill themselves — especially those who made multiple attempts — reported significantly more depression than their peers. The authors suggest that with students trying to kill themselves at such young ages, suicide prevention programs should focus on elementary and middle school populations as well as high school populations.
The youngest age of a reported suicide attempt in the sample was nine years old. Suicide attempt rates showed a sharp spike when the participants were around 12 years old.
Twice as many girls as boys in the study tried to kill themselves.
"We can say that there is tremendous stress on being a teenager these days or even younger people because of the Internet and the fast pace of society and all sorts of things happening around them with the social interaction," said Grant Wilson, director of Canadian Children's Rights Council.
The Board of Zoning Appeals, reversing an earlier decision, agreed unanimously Wednesday to grant a a variance to the tree house that Mark W. Grapin built earlier this year for his two sons before he had to leave on another tour to Iraq.
Wednesday’s decision was a victory for Grapin, who spent more money defending the tree house in an administrative battle than he did building it. The county’s action against the tree house also led to national media coverage and an online petition defending the Grapins, while county officials said they had no choice but to enforce a law that keeps everyone’s neighborhood safe and orderly.
Grapin, 51, who is with the Army National Guard, constructed a red, 58-square-foot tree house last spring around the only sturdy tree on their Falls Church property.
Zoning officials, responding to anonymous complaints, said the Grapins’ tree house violated a county zoning ordinance that regulates the construction of any accessory structure, such as a shed, in people’s front yards. The Grapins live on a corner lot, so its two yards were both defined under the code as front yards, officials said.
Last month, the Board of Zoning Appeals declined to grant a variance, which requires a showing of hardship. Its decision meant the tree house was in violation of zoning laws and must come down.
On Wednesday, however, the board reversed itself, county spokeswoman Merni Fitzgerald said.
Voting 5 to 0, the board found that because the house’s placement on the unusually shaped, shallow property had limited the functionality of its backyard, the homeowners had little choice but to build it in front.
Fitzgerald said the board also conditioned its approval, saying that the tree house must be screened by trees. The variance also can last no more than five years and cannot be transferred with ownership of the property.
Even though nine out of 10 pastors plan to host Christmas Day services this year, that doesn’t mean their church members will be filling up the scheduled times of worship, leaders of the faith-based LifeWay Research organization said.
A recent LifeWay Research study of 1,000 Protestant pastors shows that 91 percent of Protestant pastors plan to have services on Christmas Day while 69 percent said they plan to host Christmas Eve services.
However, pastors may be fighting an uphill battle in filling seats this year though churches usually see one of their highest attendances during Christmas.
A report done by LifeWay Research last year showed that nearly 70 percent of Americans agree with the statement that “many of the things I enjoy during the Christmas season have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ.”
Although there is speculation among researchers about church attendance on Christmas Day, 74 percent of Americans agree (strongly or somewhat) that “Christmas is primarily a day for religious celebration and observance.”
For most people, an extended stay aboard a luxury cruise liner sounds like a dream vacation.
But Valeska Paris says she was held against her will aboard the Scientology cruise ship "Freewinds" for more than a decade. During her stay on the vessel, she alleges, she was forced into hard labor and never allowed to leave the ship without an escort.
In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC News) Lateline program, Paris claims that Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige sent her to the ship when she was 18 in order to prevent her family from pulling her out of the organization.
"I was basically hauled in and told that my mum had attacked the church and that I needed to disconnect from her because she was suppressive," she said. "He decided the ship, and I found out two hours before my plane left, I was woken up in the morning and I was sent to the ship for 'two weeks.' "
Paris was born into a Scientology family, but her mother quit the group after her husband committed suicide, blaming Scientology for coercing him out of a self-made personal fortune of more than a million dollars.
Instead of the promised two week stay, Paris found herself unable to leave the ship without an official Scientology escort and was often forced into hard labor on the lower levels of the ship for stretches as long as two full days. "It's hot, it's extremely loud, it's smelly, it's not nice. I was sent down there at first for 48 hours straight on almost no sleep and I had to work by myself," she said.
So, why didn't Paris simply escape from the ship when it would take port? The Freewinds has a relatively small sailing route, traveling throughout the Caribbean and occasionally docking at small islands.
"I did not want to be there, I made it clear I did not want to be there and that was considered bad ethics, meaning it was considered not right," she said. "They take your passport when you go on the ship and you're in the middle of an island. So it's a bit hard [to escape] and by that time I was 18, I'd been in Scientology my whole life, it's not like I knew how to escape," she said.
The Church of Scientology calls Paris' claims false but declined ABC requests to make church officials available for interviews for the story. The church, which has a well-known litigious history, threatened Lateline with legal action for taking part in an alleged breach of confidentiality between Paris and the church. In a statement, the Church of Scientology said Ms Paris' claims were false.
A psychologist accused of hypnotizing a woman into believing she possessed multiple personalities and participated in satanic rituals may be sued by several others who say they were also told they had been a part of a satanic cult, according to a Missouri attorney.
Lisa Nasseff, 41, of Saint Paul, Minn., is suing her former therapist, Mark Schwartz, and the Castlewood Treatment Center in St. Louis, Mo., where she received 15 months of treatment for anorexia, according to the complaint.
Instead of improving, the lawsuit alleges Nasseff suffered "great physical pain and suffering and anguish" during her time at the facility, and asserts that she will continue to suffer.
"She was hospitalized multiple times," Nasseff's lawyer, Kenneth Vuylsteke, told ABCNews.com. "One time she tried to commit suicide … she's done much better now that she's been away from there."
The complaint alleges Nasseff's therapist, Mark Schwartz, "carelessly and negligently hypnotized [Nasseff]" while she was under the influence of "various psychotropic medications" to treat depression and anxiety. The hypnosis allegedly created false memories, including the belief that she was "a member of a satanic cult and that she was involved in or perpetrated various criminal and horrific acts of abuse."
One of those acts included "sacrificing her sister's baby on the altar of Satan," according to Vuylsteke.
Nasseff "was in a highly vulnerable physical and mental state due to her pre-existing eating disorder," according to the complaint.
The lawsuit also alleges Schwartz "persuaded and convinced [Nasseff] to become increasingly isolated from her family and friends by leading her to believe said persons were involved in a satanic cult and that they had been and would continue to sexually abuse her and force her to engage in criminal acts and horrific abuse of others."
But then other women receiving treatment at the facility began to realize their stories were very similar to one another's, Vuylsteke said.
"She got together with other women who had been through this with her at Castlewood. And they said, 'How can we all have been members of cults and not know it -- two years ago, three years ago? We all got brainwashed? It can't be right."
Now "multiple individuals" are speaking out about Castlewood, and backing Nasseff's account of what took place there, Vuylsteke added.
"We've got other cases we're looking at right now," Vuylsteke told ABCNews.com, adding the alleged victims' stories, all involving women, look "remarkably similar."
At this stage, he declined to say exactly how many women are claiming false memory implantation.
"All I can tell you is it's several. We're in the process of evaluating them right now," he said.
Schwartz, the therapist who treated Nasseff at Castlewood and still serves as the facility's clinical co-director, denied ever hypnotizing Nasseff.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- With church membership dwindling and more families struggling to afford the cost of college, many private religiously-affiliated colleges and universities are slashing tuition and offering incentives to attract new students -- and to stay afloat.
Some Christian colleges are cutting tuition by double-digit percentages, while others are capping the price of admission for all four years or offering huge discounts based on academic performance.
Brewton-Parker College, a 4-year Bible study school in southeast Georgia, cut its tuition by 22% to $12,290 a year for the current school year to "to offer a quality Christian education to more students." Enrollment has fallen to 778 students in recent years. The school wouldn't say how high enrollment was in the past, but things are looking dire.
To afford the tuition cuts, the college has had to make sizable cost cuts, including reducing its workweek to four days from five in order to save on operations and staffing.
"Brewton-Parker, like many other Christian-affiliated schools, is private and we have to have new students coming in," college president Mike Simoneaux said. "We recognize that in order to stay competitive we had to find ways to lower our tuition and not our quality."
It's a trend seen among religiously-affiliated colleges across the nation, both big and small. Duquesne University, the largest Catholic university in Pennsylvania with 5,858 undergraduates, is reducing tuition by 50% for students who enroll in its School of Education in 2012. Seton Hall University, a 4-year private Catholic school in South Orange, N.J., is chopping tuition by 61% for applicants who meet certain academic qualifications. And Cabrini College, another Catholic school in Pennsylvania, plans to cut tuition by 12.5% next year and cap it at that level through 2014.
Of the more than 1,600 small private nonprofit institutions for higher education in the United States (which have an average enrollment of 1,900 students), two-thirds have a faith or religious affiliation, many of which are linked to Christian denominations. And while the economy is affecting most schools of this size, faith-based institutions are in the toughest spot.
By keeping tuition as low as possible -- with some schools reducing the amount of financial aid they are doling out at the same time to make this possible -- these schools are taking potential hits to profits as they try to enroll more students, said John Nelson, a managing director at Moody's, which rates the credit worthiness of universities.
One of the biggest issues facing these schools is their value proposition. Some incoming students fear their job and/or earning prospects will be limited should they graduate from a religiously-affiliated school.
In order to appeal to a wider group of students, many of these institutions are removing the "Christian" or "Bible" from their names. Johnson Bible College, in Knoxville, Tenn., for example, changed its name to "Johnson University" earlier this year to "eliminate barriers that our students and graduates often face," the college's president Gary Weedman said in a statement on the school's website.
Meanwhile, other schools are trying to make it easier for students to pursue lower-paying religiously-affiliated vocations post-graduation without being weighed down by student loans.
Davis College, an evangelical Christian school founded in 1900, said it recently reduced tuition for the current year by up to 22% for this reason.
"As a college of Bible and ministry, our niche is preparing students for service vocations that are often in the lower pay range," said Chief Enrollment Officer Rick Cramer. "We were disturbed to find that some of our graduates were not going directly into ministry simply because they felt the need to pay off their loans first."
Cramer said the tuition cut has helped the school retain current students. Now he's hoping it will significantly boost enrollment -- and help the school avoid the same fate as other Bible colleges that have been forced to close their doors.
"We need to attract more incoming students into that ministry development pipeline so that we can continue to impact the world for another 100 years," he said.
Recent tuition cuts have not only been limited to Christian schools. Beis Medrash Heichal Dovid, a Jewish rabbinical school in Far Rockaway, N.Y., slashed tuition by more than 20% for the current school year, while Rabbinical College of Telshe, in Wickliffe, Ohio, cut tuition about 7% for the previous school year, according to the most recent data the colleges reported to College Board.
The city of San Juan Capistrano dismissed its citation against a local couple who held a growing Bible study in their home. Because of complaints from the neighbors, the city initially fined Chuck and Stephanie Fromm $300 for holding the session. Officials had also noted that the couple needed a conditional use permit to hold the gatherings, and they threatened to fine the Fromms $500 per meeting if they continued. So, the pair filed a lawsuit against San Juan Capistrano following an appeal to the city, which was rejected (see earlier story).
Ken Klukowski, fellow and senior legal analyst with The American Civil Rights Union (ACRU), believes the city ultimately made the right decision.
"The city was wise to rescind that citation because otherwise it would have gone to court, and the city would have been beaten badly in court," he suggests.
The Associated Press reports that the city is currently reviewing how its land-use codes apply to churches, but Klukowski tells OneNewsNow the latest move sets an example for future incidents.
"I think it is certainly a political precedent on behalf of the public officials leading the city, that they understand that pursuing families for having a Bible study in their own home is not very wise policy," the attorney concludes.
Perry, writer, actor, director and producer, opened up about being molested as a child. He called the victim courageous for doing the same.
“To think that you, when you were only 11 years old, spoke up – you are my hero,” Perry wrote in a letter that was published in Newsweek. “I’m so proud of you. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I want you to know you didn’t do anything wrong.”
Sandusky was charged earlier this month for sexually assaulting eight boys over a 15-year period. A grand jury investigation suggested that he used his position as the founder of The Second Mile, a foster home designed to help troubled boys, to choose the victims.
Sandusky’s lawyer, Joe Amendola, insists that the case against his client is hearsay. On Monday, Amendola also announced that they are conducting their own private investigation to prove he is innocent.
Nevertheless, Perry – known for his character “Madea” in his stage plays – called Sandusky a monster and assured the victim that he was not to blame for the situation that has led to the overhaul of the Penn State administration.
“Please know that you were chosen by a monster. You didn’t choose him,” Perry wrote. “You didn’t ask for it and, most of all, you didn’t deserve it. What a huge lesson that was for me to learn.”
In the letter, Perry also chastised the Penn State staff who did not speak up for Sandusky’s victims.
“Do you know that at the young age of 11 you had more courage than all the adults who let you down? All of the ones who didn’t go to the proper authorities, all of the ones who were worried about their careers, reputations, or livelihoods,” Perry wrote. “I wonder what they would have done if it were their own child.”
The actor opened up about his abuse last year while on the “Oprah” show. He told Oprah Winfrey that he felt like he died as a child after suffering physical abuse from his father and sexual abuse from several other adults.
He credited his mother and God for helping him survive.
Bil Browning, writing on the LGBQT blog The Bilerico Project, said, “As the holidays approach, the Salvation Army bell ringers are out in front of stores dunning shoppers for donations. If you care about gay rights, you'll skip their bucket in favor of a charity that doesn't actively discriminate against the LGBT community. The Salvation Army has a history of active discrimination against gays and lesbians.”
Meanwhile, a Facebook page called “Boycott The Salvation Army” now has over 2,000 likes. The description of the page reads, “The Salvation Army is not only a charity, but an evangelical church promoting conservative Christianity and anti-gay politics.”
But Maj. George Hood, national community relations secretary for the Salvation Army, addressed the LGBT groups’ accusations of discrimination. He said the disagreement between the Salvation Army and gay activist groups comes down to theology.
“The Salvation Army and the gay community are never going to come to an agreement on the topic,” Hood told The Christian Post on Monday.
He went on to say that the Salvation Army will not change its beliefs about theological issues any more than gay groups would change their views.
Andy Thayer, co-founder of Chicago-based Gay Liberation Network, explained to The Christian Post in an email today why his group was participating in the boycott. "We urge people to boycott the Salvation Army and instead give to non-sectarian agencies because it uses its selective interpretation of the Bible to promote discrimination against LGBT people in employment benefits and leadership positions within the Army,” he wrote.
The Salvation Army’s stance on homosexuality is stated on its website. It says the group holds a positive view of human sexuality: “Sexual intimacy is understood as a gift of God to be enjoyed within the context of heterosexual marriage. However, in the Christian view, sexual intimacy is not essential to a healthy, full, and rich life. Apart from marriage, the scriptural standard is celibacy.”
While the Salvation Army as a church does have strong theological beliefs about homosexuality, its main focus as described in its mission statement is “to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.”
Hood pointed out that LGBT groups have boycotted the Christian charity nearly annually in recent years, but they have not had a significant impact on giving in previous years. He said in the past two to three years, the organization actually broke records during their red kettle drive. Last year, Salvation Army raised $142 million, which “was a 5 percent increase over the previous year.”
In the end, Hood said, it’s unfortunate that there is a boycott because it’s not the Salvation Army that will be hurt, but “it’s the people we serve,” including many from the gay community.
Kennedy is just another example of the joy such children and people with Down syndrome bring to the world but who, tragically, see their lives snuffed out by abortion at a 90 percent rate.
From the story:
‘Taya is an incredibly photogenic, warm and smiley child, and that shines through in her photographs,’ says Alysia Lewis, owner of Urban Angels, the prestigious UK model agency that has signed her up.
‘We only open our books twice a year and select just a few new children each season.
‘The standard is high; the desire for places strong. Taya is one of 50 children we chose from 2,000 applicants.
‘That she has Down’s Syndrome did not enter the equation. We chose her because of her vibrancy and sense of fun. Not all children are comfortable in front of a lens and with a photographer looking at them — especially when they are so young. But Taya was so relaxed and happy. She was just what we were looking for.’
Gemma Andre, Taya’s mother, says she is offended when people come up to her and tell her they’re sorry her daughter has Down syndrome.
‘I always believed my daughter was stunning but I thought, “I’m her mum. I’m biased,”’ she says.
President Obama may have created an unholy mess by leaving God out of his Thanksgiving speech.
Conservative pundits are blasting the commander-in-chief for having no religious references in his weekly Internet address -- saying that the Almighty is surely among those we should give thanks to.
"I feel terrible," said Fox News' Eric Bolling on Friday. "I absolutely think should have had some sort of mention. Look, we're thankful for the blessings we've been given…but didn't mention who he was thankful to."
Bolling then argued "86% of Americans believe in some sort of God, whether it's Christianity or Islam or what not."
Conservative columnist Ben Shapiro went further, tweeting Obama is a "militant atheist," adding "Unreal that Obama doesn't mention God in Thanksgiving message…to whom does he think we are giving thanks?"
"Holy cow!" wrote Sherman Frederick at The Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Is that one screwed up view or what?"
Fox News Radio host Todd Starnes was also furious.
"His remarks were void of any religious references, although Thanksgiving is a holiday traditionally steeped in giving thanks and praise to God," he wrote on the network's website.
During the three minute speech, Obama said he and his family -- like a lot of America -- would spend the day "eating great food, watching a little football, and reflecting on how truly lucky we are."
He gave thanks to America's military personnel, volunteers serving the less fortunate, and the pilgrims, pioneers and patriots who helped make the country what it is today.
He acknowledged this holiday may be "more difficult than most' for many, but urges Americans to not lose hope.
The Senate is set to vote on a bill today that would define the whole of the United States as a “battlefield” and allow the U.S. Military to arrest American citizens in their own back yard without charge or trial.
“The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself,” writes Chris Anders of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.
Under the ‘worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial’ provision of S.1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which is set to be up for a vote on the Senate floor this week, the legislation will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who supports the bill.
The bill was drafted in secret by Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), before being passed in a closed-door committee meeting without any kind of hearing. The language appears in sections 1031 and 1032 of the NDAA bill.
“I would also point out that these provisions raise serious questions as to who we are as a society and what our Constitution seeks to protect,” Colorado Senator Mark Udall said in a speech last week. One section of these provisions, section 1031, would be interpreted as allowing the military to capture and indefinitely detain American citizens on U.S. soil. Section 1031 essentially repeals the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 by authorizing the U.S. military to perform law enforcement functions on American soil. That alone should alarm my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, but there are other problems with these provisions that must be resolved.”
This means Americans could be declared domestic terrorists and thrown in a military brig with no recourse whatsoever. Given that the Department of Homeland Security has characterized behavior such as buying gold, owning guns, using a watch or binoculars, donating to charity, using the telephone or email to find information, using cash, and all manner of mundane behaviors as potential indicators of domestic terrorism, such a provision would be wide open to abuse.
"If they don't see the comparison of the killing of 6 million Jews with the slaughter of nearly 60 million Americans through abortion, it's probably because they don't consider a baby in the womb to be human. That's exactly what Hitler did with the Jews. He said that they weren't human, and then he made billions when he killed them and seized their assets. American abortion makes billions through the slaughter of the unborn, and like the Nazi machine, it is a well-run money-making industry that has been successful in brainwashing millions into believing that a baby is something other than a baby," Comfort said.
Comfort also has handed out some 180,000 DVDs at 100 top U.S. universities to spread the message, and he's working on plans to give away hundreds of thousands of copies outside of high schools.
Comfort, who is Jewish, said, "After being turned down by these companies, we decided to ask the churches of America to put 180movie.com on their church signs. We also produced huge '180' window stickers for cars. These take up the whole back window and act as a moving billboard.
"Millions of Americans are being legally slaughtered in our country, but here is something positive we can do. This short movie is changing minds about abortion and saving lives," he said.
Fox launched Bless Friday in 2010 after hearing a sermon on how Americans are losing sight of the real reason for Christmas.
The message of Bless Friday in a nutshell: It’s a day for service not shopping.
"On the day after Thanksgiving, millions of people started their Christmas celebration at malls and other retail outlets," the website for Bless Friday states. "This can’t be the way that God intends Christians to prepare for the celebration of the coming of the Savior of the World. And what begins poorly also ends poorly."
According to the National Retail Federation, up to 152 million people plan to shop Black Friday weekend, up from the 138 million people who planned to do so last year.
Fox stressed the need to start the Christmas celebration "in a more loving and appropriate manner." He is hoping to spread the word to get more churches involved and more service opportunities scheduled.
Beacon of Light Christian Center in South Houston is participating by offering food and clothing to those in need and hosting activities for the wider community.
"Our community is filled with people who financially overextend themselves at Christmas. We want to show them a more positive and more spiritual way to celebrate," Pastor Anthony Gasery said in a statement.
Congregants from Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston have been encouraged to volunteer at local ministries, fix up a hurricane-damaged home or simply share a meal with neighbors.
"BLESS is not a program," the church says. "Rather, it is a series of practices that we believe will help us live a complete and balanced life in Christ."
According to the letter, Pakistanis have the right to freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but these freedoms are “subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam,” among other things.
The letter and the two lists containing the banned words and phrases were posted on the Bytes For All (BFA) website. BFA, a human rights organization in Pakistan made up of information and communication technology professionals and users, is outraged over the ban.
The letter establishes “harmful, fraudulent, misleading, illegal or unsolicited messages in bulk to any person without express permission of the recipient” as spam, and says it is the responsibility of telecommunications companies to block such messages. The PTA sent each company two lists, which combined contain over 1,600 words in both English and Urdo that the government considers to be impermissible.
Most of the words on the list are vulgar and sexual in nature, but some have drawn attention from critics for either being odd – such as “athletes foot,” “deposit,” “fart,” and “K Mart” – or for appearing to be discriminatory against Christians.
BFA expressed its concerns about the “moral policing” in Pakistan, and how it will affect the nation's citizens, in an article posted to the organization's website Friday.
“It is a matter of utmost concern for Pakistani citizens, for this decision is not just oppressive & hegemonic, but unconstitutional as well,” the BFA article states.
It later says, “Once the authorities are allowed to filter SMS messages to ban abusive words, the restriction shall eventually not be limited to abusive words, rather, further fire the campaign to oppress the society by controlling its access to all kinds of information.”
BFA is also critical of the authority's decision to ban “Jesus Christ.”
“We also condemn this fact that while indulging themselves in this hideous task of moral policing, PTA managed to hurt the religious feelings of many Pakistani Christians by adding 'Jesus Christ' in banned word list. If such thing happened in any other country, there would be an outrage already and if it was directed (mistakenly or intentionally) towards Muslims, the amount of an outrage would be uncontrollable,” the article says.
BBC NEWS--Stretched ear lobes are becoming an increasingly common sight in the street. But why has creating a large hole in the ear lobe started to appeal to more and more people?
Ear stretching goes back a long way.
But you don't have to visit a museum or travel to a remote-ish part of the world to see it because the practice has been adopted in many Western countries.
However, it is not so common that it goes unnoticed. Stretched piercings do tend to stick out like the proverbial sore thumb, particularly if the hole is substantial enough to hold a small object.
For many people, there is an "ouch" or an "eugh" factor when they see someone with a substantial ear lobe stretch but for those that have it done, it is a thing of beauty.
This led to remarks on Twitter such as "I like Seb. And he can hang his utensils from his ear lobes so double bonus" and "I would've served my prawns in my ear holes if I were Seb".
Flesh tunnels and flesh plugs, which are solid, have become more visible on our screens. Dougie Poynter from British band McFly is currently sporting some flesh tunnels in the Australian jungle, where he is taking part in ITV1's I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.
American rapper Travie McCoy and American singer Adam Lambert are also stretching devotees. British fashion expert Gok Wan is also partial to large wooden ear plug adornments but it is not known if these are being used to stretch his lobe.
Statistics are not easy to come by but, as with tattoos, there is extensive anecdotal evidence that ear stretching is on the rise. More people are wearing them, DIY kits are more widely available and there is a much greater choice of jewellery.
Marcus Mellor, from the Holier than Thou piercing parlour in Manchester, says ear stretching has become more popular in the last five or six years.
Practising what he pierces, Mellor has stretched both his ears. He says it used to be associated with hippies, punks or the rock crowd but now it is "all walks of life and not just students".
"We get girlie girls, metal kids and middle-aged men," says Julie Howick, the owner of Cold Steel in London's Camden.
"It used to go hand-in-hand with other piercings but now people just come in for ear stretching. It can be discreet and people can hide it behind their hair in work."
Ear stretching is in vogue, says Alix Fox, who writes the body modification section in the British alternative magazine Bizarre.
"It's fashionable and it's easier to find a reputable, clean, knowledgeable place to have this kind of thing done."
Prof Victoria Pitts-Taylor, from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, says ear stretching has become popularised in the same way as other sub-cultural practices, such as tattooing and piercing.
The sociologist, who wrote In the Flesh: the Cultural Politics of Body Modification, says it started in the 1980s and 1990s with the rise of the body art movement and the "modern primitives", who appropriated practices from the "global supermarket" for various reasons such as showing solidarity with other cultures or to set themselves apart.
Ear stretching has became more mainstream in the last decade and different people have become attracted to it because they see it on the catwalks and celebrities.
Hard-core modifiers have to up the ante to defy the commercialization of the practice, Prof Pitts-Taylor suggests.
"It is a slightly more committed body art than temporary practices or ear piercing. The more you stretch the skin, the more commitment you are expressing to a counter cultural look."
People who are obsessed with getting the largest stretch possible are known in the business as a "gauge queen" or "gauge king", according to Fox.
There are many ways to stretch ear lobes. You can gradually stretch the skin using different sized tapers (cone-shaped pieces of jewellery). This requires patience.
For those who want an immediate result, there's dermal punching. This works like a hole punch and will create an instant gap.
Mellor advises customers to take the gradual approach. "Just take it slow and steady - normally a 1mm increase every four weeks - and if the skin does not stretch easily, don't force it."
"The important thing is not to stretch your ear too fast because not only will it be painful but you're not stretching the skin uniformly," explains Fox.
Applying excess pressure can squeeze flesh from the inside of the lobe to the outside, causing what's known as a "blow out", she says. This can leave people with scarring.
There is a point of no return but it varies. A stretched piercing can shrink back to its original size but this depends on several factors including the length of time taken to stretch and the elasticity of the skin.
In some cases, if you stretch too fast or by too much, the lobe can split.
"Most people don't go above 10mm. They are thinking about the future. Once you start going to 20mm/30mm, you would need reconstruction if you changed your mind," says Howick.
As tattoo parlours now offer removals or reworking, there is also demand from people who regret their ear stretching.
Dr Ken Stewart, a member of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, says ear lobes are made of skin and fat but they are sensitive organs - they turn red when people get embarrassed and have an erogenous function. He says the main danger of ear stretching is deformity.
He is used to seeing people with lobes damaged because of bites or big earrings but only in the last few years has he been asked to repair lobes affected by ear stretching - he carried out five operations in the past year.
"They tend to get it done as teenagers and then they have to correct it as they get older for career reasons."
If there is still tissue, he can put it back together again using what he describes as a "Swiss roll technique". This will take about 45 minutes and cost £2,500.
More extensive damage will require taking cartilage from the rib and this surgery will take up to four hours and cost £8,000.
It seems size is all-important when it comes to ear stretching. While some body modifiers like to keep theirs discreet, others want to make a statement.
