Facebook has become the battleground for workplace issues with the
latest involving a Trinity Broadcasting Network employee who was fired
for a post that was critical of the Christian ministry’s leadership.
Recent workplace dust-ups have involved a variety of issues from employers asking workers to disclose their Facebook username and password
so they can see what the employee or job applicant has posted to
ordering removal of private posts that were perceived as derogatory.
All fell into the murky area of free speech and private activity versus employer rights.
The TBN case is different. Jonathan Rovetto, the now former assistant
station engineer at TBN’s Milwaukee outlet, knew he likely would be
fired but posted a rant on Facebook anyway.
His ire targeted TBN founders Jan and Paul Crouch, who are locked in a
legal battle against their granddaughter, Brittany Crouch Koper, who
accused them and the network of misusing the ministry’s funds.
Rovetto, 53, and a Brittany supporter, had been following
developments in the case online and was becoming more upset with each
revelation about how TBN was run.
He initially just began linking on Facebook to online Orange County Register stories about the litigation. But two weeks ago, he said he decided he had to speak out.
“TBN, why should you care? Many people really dislike TBN and don’t
watch,” he wrote on his Facebook wall. “Over the years people have been
turned off by Jan’s pink hair, screaming preachers during Praise-A-Thon,
and the heavy concentration of ‘Prosperity Teachers’ that fill the TBN
schedule.”
Rovetto acknowledged the Crouches had built TBN into an international ministry.
“However, they have fallen into the trap that many other prosperity
preachers/successful ministers have fallen into,” he wrote. “One word,
ENTITLED. Their hard work and success have given them reason to believe
they have done something to deserve a lifestyle of pleasure
and excess.”
He ended the post asking people to pray for Brittany.
READ MORE
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Study: People tweet more about church than beer
(CNN) – In an effort to look at cultural differences
across the United States, a data analysis company selected two words
that it felt exemplified an American cultural divide and analyzed their
usage on Twitter.
The words: “beer” and “church.”
And according to the study by Floatingsheep.org, Americans tweet more about church than beer, and there is a distinct regional divide between the tweets.
Church tweets were most common in the Southeast United States, while tweets about beer were most prevalent in the Northeast.
“We found out that there is a geography to what people tweet about, and there are some geographic differences to Twitter,” said Dr. Matthew Zook, a geography professor at the University of Kentucky and co-founder of Floating Sheep. “You have these offline cultural differences that are being replicated in information space like Twitter.”
The group went through roughly 10 million geotagged tweets from June 22 to June 29 and found that 17,686 tweets were sent with the word “church,” while 14,405 tweets were sent containing the word “beer.”
READ MORE
The words: “beer” and “church.”
And according to the study by Floatingsheep.org, Americans tweet more about church than beer, and there is a distinct regional divide between the tweets.
Church tweets were most common in the Southeast United States, while tweets about beer were most prevalent in the Northeast.
“We found out that there is a geography to what people tweet about, and there are some geographic differences to Twitter,” said Dr. Matthew Zook, a geography professor at the University of Kentucky and co-founder of Floating Sheep. “You have these offline cultural differences that are being replicated in information space like Twitter.”
The group went through roughly 10 million geotagged tweets from June 22 to June 29 and found that 17,686 tweets were sent with the word “church,” while 14,405 tweets were sent containing the word “beer.”
READ MORE
Internet Evangelist Says 200,000 Promise to Write in Jesus for President
An Internet evangelist who is advocating that Christians vote for Jesus as a write-in candidate says he has more than 200,000 people who have committed to do so. However, a political science expert believes the evangelist's demonizing rhetoric about both candidates is not Christ-like.
Bill Keller, who runs LivePrayer.com and offers a daily devotional read by more than 2.4 million subscribers, said Christians face a difficult dilemma this November."It is literally Satan flipping a two-headed coin with his head on both sides. How can a Christian in good conscience vote for President Obama, who has proven to be the most pro-baby killing, pro-radical homosexual, pro-enemy of Israel President in our nation's history," Keller stated in a "Vote for Jesus" campaign update.
"On the other hand, how can a Christian in good conscience vote for Mitt Romney, a 5th generation member and priest of the Satanic Mormon cult," he added. "His Presidency would give his cult the mainstream acceptance they have always wanted since being founded 200 years ago by a documented con-artist, racist, pedophile, polygamist, and murderer named Joseph Smith."
Amy Black, an associate professor of political science at Wheaton College and author of the newly released book, Honoring God in Red or Blue: Approaching Politics with Humility, Grace, and Reason, said she doesn't agree with Keller's categorization of the election.
"I don't view our choice in November as 'literally Satan flipping a two-headed coin with his head on both sides,'" she told The Christian Post on Monday. "Christians should carefully weigh their choices and evaluate both candidates. Some may decide in conscience that they cannot support either one. But using such demonizing rhetoric does little to encourage God-honoring politics."
READ MORE
Iran leader: We must prep for 'end of times'
Iran’s supreme leader, for the first time, is telling his nation that it
must prepare for war and “the end of times” as it continues to develop
nuclear weapons.
State-owned media outlets, in a coordinated effort, all ran a similar story Friday highlighting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s message on the coming of the last Islamic messiah.
Until now, the Iranian media would mostly quote clerics from seminaries on the issue of the last Islamic messiah to avoid the regime being labeled messianic. However, the wide publication of Khamenei’s statements on a need to prepare for the end of times as it confronts the West over its illicit nuclear program is alarming to Western leaders.
“The issue of Imam Mahdi is of utmost importance, and his reappearance has been clearly stated in our holy religion of Islam,” Khamenei said. We must study and remind ourselves of the end of times and Imam Mahdi’s era. … We must prepare the environment for the coming so that the great leader will come.”
Shiite theology holds that great wars must engulf the Earth, during which one-third of the world’s population will die in the fighting and another third from hunger, lawlessness and havoc. Israel is to be destroyed, and only then will the 12th imam, Mahdi, reappear and kill all the infidels, raising the flag of Islam in all corners of the world.
Under the guidance of Khamenei, several centers have been established in Iran on research and information on the coming of Mahdi, and a conference is held annually on Mahdiism.
“Today we have a duty to prepare for the coming. … If we are the soldiers of the 12th imam, then we must be ready to fight,” Khamenei said.
READ MORE
State-owned media outlets, in a coordinated effort, all ran a similar story Friday highlighting Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s message on the coming of the last Islamic messiah.
Until now, the Iranian media would mostly quote clerics from seminaries on the issue of the last Islamic messiah to avoid the regime being labeled messianic. However, the wide publication of Khamenei’s statements on a need to prepare for the end of times as it confronts the West over its illicit nuclear program is alarming to Western leaders.
“The issue of Imam Mahdi is of utmost importance, and his reappearance has been clearly stated in our holy religion of Islam,” Khamenei said. We must study and remind ourselves of the end of times and Imam Mahdi’s era. … We must prepare the environment for the coming so that the great leader will come.”
Shiite theology holds that great wars must engulf the Earth, during which one-third of the world’s population will die in the fighting and another third from hunger, lawlessness and havoc. Israel is to be destroyed, and only then will the 12th imam, Mahdi, reappear and kill all the infidels, raising the flag of Islam in all corners of the world.
Under the guidance of Khamenei, several centers have been established in Iran on research and information on the coming of Mahdi, and a conference is held annually on Mahdiism.
“Today we have a duty to prepare for the coming. … If we are the soldiers of the 12th imam, then we must be ready to fight,” Khamenei said.
READ MORE
Report: 83 percent of doctors have considered quitting over Obamacare
Eighty-three percent of American physicians have considered leaving
their practices over President Barack Obama’s health care reform law,
according to a survey released by the Doctor Patient Medical
Association.
The DPMA, a non-partisan association of doctors and patients, surveyed a random selection of 699 doctors nationwide. The survey found that the majority have thought about bailing out of their careers over the legislation, which was upheld last month by the Supreme Court.
Even if doctors do not quit their jobs over the ruling, America will face a shortage of at least 90,000 doctors by 2020. The new health care law increases demand for physicians by expanding insurance coverage. This change will exacerbate the current shortage as more Americans live past 65.
By 2025 the shortage will balloon to over 130,000, Len Marquez, the director of government relations at the American Association of Medical Colleges, told The Daily Caller.
“One of our primary concerns is that you’ve got an aging physician workforce and you have these new beneficiaries — these newly insured people — coming through the system,” he said. “There will be strains and there will be physician shortages.”
The DPMA found that many doctors do not believe the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will lead to better access to medical care for the majority of Americans, co-founder of the DPMA Kathryn Serkes told TheDC.
The DPMA, a non-partisan association of doctors and patients, surveyed a random selection of 699 doctors nationwide. The survey found that the majority have thought about bailing out of their careers over the legislation, which was upheld last month by the Supreme Court.
Even if doctors do not quit their jobs over the ruling, America will face a shortage of at least 90,000 doctors by 2020. The new health care law increases demand for physicians by expanding insurance coverage. This change will exacerbate the current shortage as more Americans live past 65.
By 2025 the shortage will balloon to over 130,000, Len Marquez, the director of government relations at the American Association of Medical Colleges, told The Daily Caller.
“One of our primary concerns is that you’ve got an aging physician workforce and you have these new beneficiaries — these newly insured people — coming through the system,” he said. “There will be strains and there will be physician shortages.”
The DPMA found that many doctors do not believe the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will lead to better access to medical care for the majority of Americans, co-founder of the DPMA Kathryn Serkes told TheDC.
Texas Is America's Top State for Business 2012
The Lone Star State makes a triumphant return as America’s Top State for Business—its third time at the top of our rankings.
“Listen, there is a reason that Caterpillar [CAT
80.27
-2.87
(-3.45%)
] moved
their hydraulics manufacturing and their engine manufacturing to the
state of Texas,” said Gov. Rick Perry in November during the CNBC
Republican presidential debate.
-2.87
(-3.45%)
] moved
their hydraulics manufacturing and their engine manufacturing to the
state of Texas,” said Gov. Rick Perry in November during the CNBC
Republican presidential debate.
We can attest to that.
In our sixth annual study, Texas
racked up an impressive 1,604 points out of a possible 2,500, with
top-10 finishes in six of our 10 categories of competitiveness. Texas
has never finished below second place since we began the study in 2007.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Communist Party USA Says Re-electing Obama is "Absolutely Essential"
A writer for the Communist Party USA says that “re-electing Obama is
absolutely essential,” and warns that “divisions among Democrats and a
potential wave of bad economic news can combine to threaten President
Obama’s reelection.”
Marxist John Case, who writes for various CPUSA publications, has written a piece, “The danger of a Romney election,” for the party publication People’s World, which warns that
“Re-electing Obama is not sufficient to bring economic recovery or
even relief to our people. Only a different class configuration in
political power can do necessary minimum reforms to give us a chance.
But re-electing Obama is absolutely essential. Now is not the time for
hand washing the complexities and tactics awayor failing to triage the
most critical questions from those that are less critical. We cannot
win everything at once!”
Marxist John Case, who writes for various CPUSA publications, has written a piece, “The danger of a Romney election,” for the party publication People’s World, which warns that
 Jarvis Tyner |
Has the normalizing of pedophilia begun?
Do people who rape children, or fantasize about sexually abusing them, deserve sympathy – because they were born with the brains of pedophiles?
That’s the question a prominent scientist and a well-known anchor at CNN have asked in the wake of the recent Jerry Sandusky scandal.
CNN recently featured a story by James Cantor, a homosexual psychologist and scientist at the Sexual Behaviors Clinic of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health who serves as associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
“It appears that one can be born with a brain predisposed to experience sexual arousal in response to children,” he wrote in his CNN piece.
He continued, “Cases of child molestation that involve long strings of victims over the course of years illustrate what can happen when someone gives in to, or outright indulges, his sexual interests, regardless of its potential damage on others. It is those cases that dominate headlines and provoke revulsion toward pedophiles.
“But they are rare. An untold number of cases merit sympathy.
“The science suggests that they are people who, through no fault of their own, were born with a sex drive that they must continuously resist, without exception, throughout their entire lives. Little if any assistance is ever available for them.”
According to the American Psychological Association, Cantor is passionate about the neurological underpinnings of sexual behavior and jokes, “I feel lucky to have found a way to stimulate my brain intellectually by indulging myself in thinking about sex all the time.”
He has studied the brains of male pedophiles using magnetic resonance imaging. Cantor explained his findings:
“Pedophilic men have significantly less white matter, which is the connective tissue that is responsible for communication between different regions in the brain. Pedophiles perform more poorly on various tests of brain function, tend to be shorter in height and are three times more likely to be left-handed or ambidextrous (characteristics that are observable before birth). Although nonbiological features may yet turn up to be relevant, it is difficult, if not impossible, to explain the research findings without there being a strong role of biology.”
He explains, from his experience with such individuals, that pedophiles act on their sexual urges and molest children “when they feel the most desperate.”
“Yet, much of what society does has been to increase rather than decrease their desperation,” he wrote.
READ MORE
That’s the question a prominent scientist and a well-known anchor at CNN have asked in the wake of the recent Jerry Sandusky scandal.
CNN recently featured a story by James Cantor, a homosexual psychologist and scientist at the Sexual Behaviors Clinic of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health who serves as associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
“It appears that one can be born with a brain predisposed to experience sexual arousal in response to children,” he wrote in his CNN piece.
He continued, “Cases of child molestation that involve long strings of victims over the course of years illustrate what can happen when someone gives in to, or outright indulges, his sexual interests, regardless of its potential damage on others. It is those cases that dominate headlines and provoke revulsion toward pedophiles.
“But they are rare. An untold number of cases merit sympathy.
“The science suggests that they are people who, through no fault of their own, were born with a sex drive that they must continuously resist, without exception, throughout their entire lives. Little if any assistance is ever available for them.”
According to the American Psychological Association, Cantor is passionate about the neurological underpinnings of sexual behavior and jokes, “I feel lucky to have found a way to stimulate my brain intellectually by indulging myself in thinking about sex all the time.”
He has studied the brains of male pedophiles using magnetic resonance imaging. Cantor explained his findings:
“Pedophilic men have significantly less white matter, which is the connective tissue that is responsible for communication between different regions in the brain. Pedophiles perform more poorly on various tests of brain function, tend to be shorter in height and are three times more likely to be left-handed or ambidextrous (characteristics that are observable before birth). Although nonbiological features may yet turn up to be relevant, it is difficult, if not impossible, to explain the research findings without there being a strong role of biology.”
He explains, from his experience with such individuals, that pedophiles act on their sexual urges and molest children “when they feel the most desperate.”
“Yet, much of what society does has been to increase rather than decrease their desperation,” he wrote.
READ MORE
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)