First rule about the Family is that you don’t talk about the Family….
They prefer to keep things underground. But Jeff Sharlet, Vanity Fair columnist, actually lived among the group for several months, and he’s talking. His book, The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power is an expose on the group that has perked the ears of Christians in both political parties.
The Family is a group of Jesus ‘Followers.” They dislike the name “Christian,” as it’s a loaded word that alienates themselves from Muslims and Jews who, they say, can also follow Jesus. After all, Jesus wasn’t a Christian.
The group lives in a house on C. Street, in Washington DC. It is a bipartisan group that has been described by prominent evangelical Christians as the most politically well-connected fundamentalist organization in the US. Many high profile names have had some connection to the group. Mark Sanford and John Ensign are a few members of note lately.
This group, which is so covert that it sometimes denies whether it is even a group, is just now receiving media attention, after having been in existence since the 30s. Their underground power is a tad disconcerting, to say the least. Their secrecy has caused all sorts of allegations to be laid upon them; Communists, crusaders for a new world order, elitists, to name a few.
It would be an extreme generalization to dismiss the whole organization as “evil,” for the actions of a few of their members. They do a lot of good. For instance, in 1978 it secretly helped the Carter Administration organize a worldwide call to prayer with unlikely pair, Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat. A peace treaty soon followed.
In 2001, it brought together the warring leaders of Congo and Rwanda for a similar meeting, leading to the two sides' eventual peace accord.
This interdenominational [and interfaith] group is responsible for organizing the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, which every sitting president since 1953 has been a part of, as has many dignitaries from other nations.
Founded in 1935, The Family is a group of mostly Republicans, but a few Democrats, which is currently led by Doug Coe. It’s a forum for public officials to hold Bible studies, prayer meetings, worship services, and just a general support system.
Hillary Clinton, though not a member, has said, the group "is a unique presence in Washington,” and Coe is “a genuinely loving spiritual mentor and guide to anyone, regardless of party or faith, who wants to deepen his or her relationship with God."
The group refers to themselves ‘the new chosen,” believing that all leadership is chosen by God. Most Christians believe this. However, The Family seems to have a strange twist on a works-based salvation that they, the “chosen,” are exempt from.
I quickly found out that The Family incorporates a lot of good things that would seem agreeable with most churches, takes them a little too far.
For instance, they are so focused on the “person of Christ.” Saying they worship a person, not an ideology. But how do they define this Christ? They meet in groups, or “cells,” believing that “Christ speaks directly to his anointed,” all but eliminating the need for scripture or church. Focusing on “the person of Christ” is appropriate. The thing is, different people have different notions of Christ. So it is curious where they are gaining their knowledge of their respective “persons of Christ.” There must be a standard by which to measure.
Sharlet writes extensively about the “secrecy” of the group. Indeed, confidentiality is appropriate in support systems. But as, Rev. Rob Schenck who leads a Bible study on the Hill inspired by C Street, wrote on his blog, “all ministries in Washington need to protect the confidence of those we minister to, and I'm sure that’s a primary motive for C Street's low profile.” But he added, “I think The Fellowship has been just a tad bit too clandestine.” Schenck has himself sent a letter to Sanford calling for his resignation.
•Origins
They are affiliated with the Oxford Group, an organization that strives to reach out to the elites, the rich, the powerful; the “Up and Out,” if you will.
He calls attention to Coe’s references to Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. Coe claims he was merely using their model of influence to further the Christ’s message.
The Oxford Group seems to have a strange fetish with Communism. They eschew Communism, while deifying dictators, because getting their message out is all about subversion.
Sharlet tells us, “There was bad subversion, like that of the Vietcong, and good subversion, also like that of the Vietcong, only in the name of Jesus. A subtle practice of persuasion.” They were obsessed with obtaining strength, and gaining a stronghold.
They seem to have a somewhat fascist mentality; strength through numbers. Though when I asked Sharlet how they were different, he was quick to point out three distinctions, “The Family doesn't admire violence, it's internationalist, and it doesn't revolve around a hated either.”
They believe the best way to preserve this strength is to be as “underground” as possible.
Frank Buchman founded the Oxford Group. His ideas to transform the government into "a new social order under the dictatorship of the spirit of God,” Vereide took absolutely literally.
After a little more digging on The Oxford Group, and their shadowy past, I realized that though they invoke Christian morality, and may even have the audacity to call themselves “Christian,’ a source tells me they are more about right and wrong, than embracing the entire Christian ideology. He noted that while The Oxford group was bad, that some of the offshoots of the group were positive and good. One of which is Up With People.
He tells us of founder, Abraham Vereide’s vision for The Family. He wanted to be missionaries that focused on the powerful, figuring that if the more powerful lives in leadership were changed, it would ultimately change many others. Sharlet calls this “trickle-down evangelism”
This is not a bad idea in itself. There are groups and Bible studies for all sorts of groups. It would seem a fantastic idea to narrow in on the most powerful. The Bible tells Christians to pray for their leaders because of their huge position of responsibility.
But it was so much more than this. The group takes shady dealings to a whole new level, with the twisting of economics and theology to promote their agenda. Sharlet calls it “the theology of the dollar,” In which, “First comes capitalism then comes Christ.”
Doug Coe and The Family played an integral part in Watergate felon, Chuck Colson‘s conversion. He has since reformed and been a prominent and respected Christian leader. But Colson told WORLD magazine that he now has concerns about politicians using the C Street group, for example, as a replacement for church. "It's a mistake," he said. "A leading figure ought to belong to a church." He is referring to the accountability that a church would provide, instead of an elite group, which might be inclined to interpret scripture very loosely.
Interview with Jeff Sharlet
• How is their idea of government different from Fascism?
There are three important reasons why I argue that the Family isn't and never has been a fascist organization, even as it has involved a number of traditional fascists (American fascist sympathizer Merwin K. Hart, "Hitler's banker" Hermann Abs) and de facto fascists (Siad Barre, the Somali dictator; Salvadoran general Carlos Eugenios Vides Casanova): The Family doesn't admire violence, it's internationalist, and it doesn't revolve around a hated either.
There are some qualifiers to those points, though: Although the Family doesn't admire violence, it has historically tended to support violent regimes, such as Barre's, Suharto's genocidal regime, the junta of generals that ran Brazil for years, Park in South Korea, etc., etc. These have been for the most part regimes that one faction or the other of the American foreign policy establishment thought worth supporting, which points to a flaw in the Family's internationalist logic: They want to be friends with everybody, so long as "everybody" is defined as those who are useful to an aggressively expansionist view of American power. During the Cold War, that meant they often functioned as sort of para-state religious front for what former Family leader Senator Frank Carlson termed "worldwide spiritual offensive."
There are other distinctions: Fascism generally begins in the working class, while the Family has never been anything but upper crust. Fascism has a vaguely socialist element; the Family has never been anything but laissez-faire. "Free market" isn't a really accurate description, though, since members tend to favor strong state support for big business, a corporatist stand that has some overlap with fascism.
There's one last, very important distinction: There have always been a number of people who work with the Family because they genuinely want to help the poor. Their methods leave much to be desired -- helping a dictator win military aid is not helping the poor -- but their intentions are in keeping with Christian tradition.
• How far do you think they will succeed at achieving their goal? Will exposure stop them, or are they too far gone? What is the next step for the Family?
Depends on how you define the goal, which is tricky with an organization that likes to insist it doesn't exist, tax records be damned. But the clearest statement of their goals is the idea of 200 world leaders bound together through the Family, a "new world order," as founder Abraham Vereide liked to call it, that will lead to peace because we'll all be on the same team -- their team. Call me a cynic, but I don't see this happening any time soon. I think Christian Right leader Rev. Rob Schenck is closer to the mark when he calls their theology a "religion of the status quo." The Family, he says, is into things as they are. They're not some kind of theocratic conspiracy -- they're the religion of power as it is. Which is to say, in the hands of an elite. In that sense, they've been remarkably successful.
Will exposure stop them? Sometimes. A story I didn't get to tell in the book is that of Norway, where a reporter for the national daily Dagbladet noticed that the prime minister was jetting off to private prayer breakfasts on the public dime and decided to investigate. Here in the U.S., he discovered Norway's ambassador taking his policy cues from then Attorney General John Ashcroft at the Family's Arlington mansion, The Cedars. Digging deeper, he discovered a deep linkage between the Family and the faction that briefly ran Norway in the middle of the past decade. He and his colleagues put it on the front page for weeks, a sort of Norwegian Watergate. That government was voted out of power, by conservatives and liberals alike.
Here in the U.S. the Family is currently facing the fiercest scrutiny it's had to endure in 70 years, as local reporters all over the country -- in Michigan, Pennslylvania, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee, and elsewhere -- have begun to ask tough questions of their representatives. The point being that if, say, Rep. Joe Pitts wants to work with this group, as documents show he has since the last 1970s, he should be open with the public about it. Pitts has chosen to deny any links. So now it's not a left/right issue, but a simple transparency issue. (Important to emphasize this isn't just a Republican thing; Democratic Senator Mark Pryor's staff denied that I'd ever spoken to their boss until I offered to make transcripts public.)
•Do you think that this exposure will stop them?
I think it'll change them. For instance, World, a Christian conservative magazine, has been investigating the hell out of them for all the same reasons I do. The difference is that World, as a Christian conservative magazine, will be persuasive to people who won't listen to me. There are a lot of traditionalist Christian conservatives who are as deeply committed to open democracy as anybody else. What I like about them is that they tend to act on their convictions. They're starting to hold the Family accountable.
I've also been impressed with the work of Christian Post writer Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a conservative evangelical in the Roger Williams tradition -- a real man of conscience. Dr. Throckmorton has been very involved with exposing the involvement of some American Christian conservatives with a vicious movement in Uganda -- a major beneficiary of American foreign aid and an increasingly important country on the continent -- to not just criminalize homosexuality but to make it punishable by death. Many of the Ugandans behind this movement are linked to the Family, which has really put the heat on the group. As a result of all this, one Family member, from the "liberal" side of the movement, has decided to be open with me about debates going on within the Family right now. There's a faction that thinks the time has come to go public, to be open about their work.
That faction isn't winning yet, but they might, in the future. Longtime leader Doug Coe is in his early 80s, and his health isn't great. Most Family insiders I've spoken to assume leadership will pass to two of his sons, David and Tim. The problem is that they lack Coe's powerful charisma and his unusual blend of mysticism and golfer's bonhomie. David, in particular, seems like a potential weak link; one person associated with the Family compares David to the emperor's son in "Gladiator." If you haven't seen the movie, trust me: it's scary. So if the Coe family -- there are 11 Coes on the payroll -- loses control, the Family could change pretty dramatically.
• What is the main danger with a group like this? Are they too secretive?
Secrecy. I happen to disagree with a lot of what they try to do -- I think Suharto, for instance, responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of his fellow Indonesians, was a monster we should have opposed -- but, then, I disagree with most Christian Right groups. The difference is that it's easy to disagree with, say, the Family Research Council, because they're open about their positions. They're playing the rules of democracy, making their case in the public square. The Family doesn't believe in the public square. Not only do they not want to be accountable to it; they want politics to work outside of it.
• Do you think the people in the Family are evil?
There have been evil men associated with the Family, that's for sure, but no, in general people in the Family aren't evil. In fact, that's the tragedy of this movement: most people get involved with the best of intentions. Too often, they're blinded by their good intentions, unable or unwilling to recognize the consequences to which their actions contribute. Those consequences -- I'm thinking not just of their subversion of open democracy but of their crucial support for lunatic regimes such as those of Siad Barre or Papa Doc Duvalier -- often are evil, by anyone's standards. The lesson we learn from the Family isn't so much about the banality of evil, as Hannah Arendt put it, as about the evil of banality.
• What do you think their level of influence on the Obama administration is? How do you think the Obama administration will affect The Family?
That's a tough question. The only cabinet member with serious ties that I'm aware of is Ray LaHood, and transportation isn't exactly a make or break position. As I write in the book, Hillary Clinton has long been considered a "friend" of the Family; she calls leader Doug Coe a "genuinely loving spiritual mentor and guide," strange words for a man who routinely invokes the leadership lessons to be learned from Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. (When I teamed up with NBC Nightly News to do a segment on her connection, her people told NBC that she'd never given money to the group.) But for her those ties are more about building bridges to conservatives than about the "Jesus plus nothing" agenda of the Family, and I don't think that influence is deep. I'm curious about General James Jones -- he seems to have popped up on the Family's Prayer Breakfast circuit a lot -- but I haven't investigated. That's for some other reporter. My instinct was to say that the level of influence was: Not much. But Family associates have since told me that they have "a lot of friends" in the administration. Bluff? I don't know.
Regardless, I don't think the Obama administration is much of a threat to any powers that be in America. It's a business-as-usual administration. That's the Family's style.
• How do you think the present economy will affect the Family’s efforts ?
Not much. They began in the Depression, as a response to the Depression, and have weathered all the ups and downs -- and political swings -- since. They've endured because they prize power over purity, access over accountability, flexibility over orthodoxy.
That said, if the economy were to get much worse -- or a real populist movement were to develop -- I think a lot of Family politicians would be out of work.
• Why are the foreign policy efforts limited to nations like Uganda, which are under the radar, so to speak? Why not the president of Iraq?
Who says they're not talking to Iraq? The bulk of my book is based on archival records, so it's hard for me to know what's going on right now. Uganda was easy to verify. Maybe Iraq would be too, if someone cared to investigate. But based on their history, they're involved pretty much everywhere. For instance, they're strong in Australia, hardly a country dependent on US aid, like Uganda. But they do tend to look for weaker countries, where it's easier to have an outsized influence. If Senator Jim Inhofe goes to France, he's no big deal. In Uganda, he's a big man. A lot of Family politicians seem to enjoy that. One Family associate spoke of visiting small Pacific nations as being like a "white god," parachuting out of the sky.
• What is the usual response you get from Christians? I would imagine that it kind of transitions between a dubious reluctance to judge them at first, and then a horror of the realization. Have many been reluctant to hear and/or accept your account?
It's been interesting. I've always said that if I'd had my druthers, I would have published my first report on the Family in Christianity Today, the flagship evangelical magazine. But there really has been a "see-no-evil" attitude in some corners. Not all, though. Populist and traditionalist Christian conservatives, including a lot of self-described fundamentalists, were the first to get it. The first organization to buy my book in bulk was a hard right Christian group that is serious about democratic and theological transparency. They sent out copies to their supporters with a note saying that the author is a heathen, but the book is valuable. Leftist Christians and a lot of African American Christians had no problem grasping the facts, either. The biggest resistance has come from the mushy middle, the center-right and center-left folks who are quick to condemn fundamentalism so long as it's poor, tacky, and Southern. They don't like having their cliches overturned. These are folks who like things are they are, people who are constitutionally uncomfortable with democracy, with the idea that neither education nor wealth entitle anyone to "more" citizenship than another.
That changed a bit this summer and fall. First, there were the C Street sex scandals. A lot of folks who tune out when you talk about real abuses of democracy perk right up when you speak of sexual hypocrisy. As my friend JoAnn Wypijewski, a radical journalist put it, "Christians thunder, liberals sneer, but it amounts to the same counting of sins." Be that as it may, that counting of sins led to an accounting for the Family. So now we're starting to see a great Christian response, from the left, right, and middle. Christianity Today still hasn't come around, though.
c. 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Hammer-Time
Tom Delay’s third career as a dancer was short-lived. After a career in pest control, he turned to politics. After 2 years as Republican House Majority Leader, “the Hammer” decided to try a foray into something a little more glitzy.
Decked out in a red outfit with a prominent Republican elephant on his back, he strutted his stuff, showing that conservative politics and the arts do mix. He wanted to show that he is more than just a stuffed suit by being a contestant on Dancing With the Stars. I think he surprised everyone with his moves. He’s actually very light on his feet, even in his high heels.
DeLay said that while it may have surprised many that he was a contestant, it wouldn’t have surprised the people who knew him well. “They know that I like to have fun. I like to push the envelope.”
DeLay was partnered with two-time Dancing with the Stars professional champ Cheryl Burke, who apparently had to Google him to find out who he was.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel asked her if their pairing was a result of her being “punished by the producers.”
“Tom’s a great guy and I learned a lot from him. We had a lot of fun together,” she said.
Tom got along famously with everyone, despite their differences.
“The thing that surprised me the most were the people on the show … I didn’t know what to expect coming to this show and Los Angeles and being amongst the more creative people. I found that even as liberal as some are, they were very open and very warm. The professional dancers were just amazing. The kind of people they are, their work ethic, how smart they are, how talented they are — I was blown away. I made some very good friends,” DeLay said.
While not the most polished dancer, Tom held his own. It was fun and impressive just to see him in this context. At one point, DeLay admits he panicked when he almost dropped Cheryl – but it was either grab onto her or let her fall “on her rear end.” They say recovery is the most important aspect of talent.
Tom, who had been diagnosed with a pre-stress fracture in his right foot, decided to ignore doctor’s advice not to perform.
“What’s a little pain when we can party?”
He eventually was forced to withdraw due to stress fractures on both of his feet.
“Does that embarrass you at all?” asked Jimmy Kimmel.
“Frankly, a little bit,” answered DeLay. “A boy from Texas breaking his feet dancing?”
DeLay reportedly asked Kimmel, “can you could shake your booty like I can?”
“I want to dance no matter what,” the 62-year-old former House Republican Whip said Monday, but he reconsidered on Tuesday.
His partner, Cheryl said, “I told him over a million times not to dance. I told him you’ve already gone out there and shocked America, showed them what you can do already. But he’s a stubborn man, and he’s very determined!” she added.
A polarizing figure, some just can’t separate politics from entertainment. His elimination sparked some venom from the Left on the Huffington Post’s site. His opponents were celebrating his injuries.
c.2009
Decked out in a red outfit with a prominent Republican elephant on his back, he strutted his stuff, showing that conservative politics and the arts do mix. He wanted to show that he is more than just a stuffed suit by being a contestant on Dancing With the Stars. I think he surprised everyone with his moves. He’s actually very light on his feet, even in his high heels.
DeLay said that while it may have surprised many that he was a contestant, it wouldn’t have surprised the people who knew him well. “They know that I like to have fun. I like to push the envelope.”
DeLay was partnered with two-time Dancing with the Stars professional champ Cheryl Burke, who apparently had to Google him to find out who he was.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel asked her if their pairing was a result of her being “punished by the producers.”
“Tom’s a great guy and I learned a lot from him. We had a lot of fun together,” she said.
Tom got along famously with everyone, despite their differences.
“The thing that surprised me the most were the people on the show … I didn’t know what to expect coming to this show and Los Angeles and being amongst the more creative people. I found that even as liberal as some are, they were very open and very warm. The professional dancers were just amazing. The kind of people they are, their work ethic, how smart they are, how talented they are — I was blown away. I made some very good friends,” DeLay said.
While not the most polished dancer, Tom held his own. It was fun and impressive just to see him in this context. At one point, DeLay admits he panicked when he almost dropped Cheryl – but it was either grab onto her or let her fall “on her rear end.” They say recovery is the most important aspect of talent.
Tom, who had been diagnosed with a pre-stress fracture in his right foot, decided to ignore doctor’s advice not to perform.
“What’s a little pain when we can party?”
He eventually was forced to withdraw due to stress fractures on both of his feet.
“Does that embarrass you at all?” asked Jimmy Kimmel.
“Frankly, a little bit,” answered DeLay. “A boy from Texas breaking his feet dancing?”
DeLay reportedly asked Kimmel, “can you could shake your booty like I can?”
“I want to dance no matter what,” the 62-year-old former House Republican Whip said Monday, but he reconsidered on Tuesday.
His partner, Cheryl said, “I told him over a million times not to dance. I told him you’ve already gone out there and shocked America, showed them what you can do already. But he’s a stubborn man, and he’s very determined!” she added.
A polarizing figure, some just can’t separate politics from entertainment. His elimination sparked some venom from the Left on the Huffington Post’s site. His opponents were celebrating his injuries.
c.2009
Like a Virgin
Here’s one to be filed under the “absurd,” except for it’s frighteningly real. There is now a “solution” for Muslim women that are raped (losing their virginity before their wedding night) and can face death because of it.
For Americans, in our more modern, not to mention, sexually-charged society, this will be hard to fathom. In Egypt, and many Muslim countries, women are expected to stay pure for their wedding night…under threat of death. In fact they are still required to show their blood-stained sheet as proof of their purity.
While Egypt tends to be a little more liberal (though still a constitutional theocracy), a 2005 UN report estimated that 52 out of a total 819 murders in the country in 1995 were, so called, “honour killings.”
These folks take keeping the marriage bed pure to the extreme. While there are many good reasons to stay pure, theirs are for the express purposes of control, which is not love. The fact that this is a huge double standard is notwithstanding. (Men don’t have to do any such thing). But this isn’t even an accurate portrayal of virginity.
Well you don’t even have to be a particularly randy female to have a problem with this. Women have been forced to turn to surgery to repair damage, in many cases, caused by rapes. The surgical procedure is called hymenorraphy. A doctor will recreate the hymen by piecing together its remnants. It can also include inserting a gelatin capsule filled with a blood-like substance that will burst during intercourse, simulating bleeding. If there is not enough hymen left, or if the woman was born without one, part of the vaginal wall is used to recreate this thin tissue.
The operation, which is considered relatively simple and performed on an outpatient basis in western countries, is illegal in Muslim countries. The surgeries tend to be “back alley” procedures in terms of cleanliness and credentials. Though pricey at 1000 Egyptian pounds, the cost of not having it is often far worse.
But finally, now there is an alternative. Muslim women everywhere are breathing a collective sigh of relief. The Chinese company, Gigimo, (a company known for their sex toys.), has invented an artificial virginity hymen kit. For much less money and trouble, the device leaks out a red substance when inserted and broken. So on your wedding night, your husband will think you are a virgin still.
Conservative Egyptian lawmakers, with laws on many female bodies, have banned the product, calling it a “mark of shame.”
Now, I’m the farthest thing from a feminist, but I have a huge problem with the incredible double standard this presents. I’m surprised that more women, and especially the feminists haven’t spoken out about this. I find it so sad to see women abused and reduced to objects. The fact that they don’t know any other way, because, “that’s the way it is” just makes it even worse.
Sheik Sayed Askar, a member of the conservative Muslim Brotherhood political party, said: “This product encourages illicit sexual relations. Islamic culture forbids these relations except within the confines of marriage.”
[Somehow I get the impression that it is more permissible if you happen to be a male.]
Abdel Moati Bayoumi, a prominent Islamic scholar, agrees. He said: “I think this should absolutely not be allowed to be exported because it brings more harm than benefits. Whoever (imports it) should be punished.”
But I ask you, which is more shameful: making a mistake, or the negligent punishment of the mistake. Declaring only one of the two parties involved as guilty, and deserving of death.
Support for the product, includes, Marwa Rakha, an Egyptian blogger and activist for women’s rights, said “the Artificial Virginity Hymen ‘sticks it in the face of every male hypocrite’ in an Arab culture that condemns women’s sexuality but turns a blind eye to male promiscuity.”
I think that about sums it up. Maybe it’s not so absurd after all.
c.2009
For Americans, in our more modern, not to mention, sexually-charged society, this will be hard to fathom. In Egypt, and many Muslim countries, women are expected to stay pure for their wedding night…under threat of death. In fact they are still required to show their blood-stained sheet as proof of their purity.
While Egypt tends to be a little more liberal (though still a constitutional theocracy), a 2005 UN report estimated that 52 out of a total 819 murders in the country in 1995 were, so called, “honour killings.”
These folks take keeping the marriage bed pure to the extreme. While there are many good reasons to stay pure, theirs are for the express purposes of control, which is not love. The fact that this is a huge double standard is notwithstanding. (Men don’t have to do any such thing). But this isn’t even an accurate portrayal of virginity.
Well you don’t even have to be a particularly randy female to have a problem with this. Women have been forced to turn to surgery to repair damage, in many cases, caused by rapes. The surgical procedure is called hymenorraphy. A doctor will recreate the hymen by piecing together its remnants. It can also include inserting a gelatin capsule filled with a blood-like substance that will burst during intercourse, simulating bleeding. If there is not enough hymen left, or if the woman was born without one, part of the vaginal wall is used to recreate this thin tissue.
The operation, which is considered relatively simple and performed on an outpatient basis in western countries, is illegal in Muslim countries. The surgeries tend to be “back alley” procedures in terms of cleanliness and credentials. Though pricey at 1000 Egyptian pounds, the cost of not having it is often far worse.
But finally, now there is an alternative. Muslim women everywhere are breathing a collective sigh of relief. The Chinese company, Gigimo, (a company known for their sex toys.), has invented an artificial virginity hymen kit. For much less money and trouble, the device leaks out a red substance when inserted and broken. So on your wedding night, your husband will think you are a virgin still.
Conservative Egyptian lawmakers, with laws on many female bodies, have banned the product, calling it a “mark of shame.”
Now, I’m the farthest thing from a feminist, but I have a huge problem with the incredible double standard this presents. I’m surprised that more women, and especially the feminists haven’t spoken out about this. I find it so sad to see women abused and reduced to objects. The fact that they don’t know any other way, because, “that’s the way it is” just makes it even worse.
Sheik Sayed Askar, a member of the conservative Muslim Brotherhood political party, said: “This product encourages illicit sexual relations. Islamic culture forbids these relations except within the confines of marriage.”
[Somehow I get the impression that it is more permissible if you happen to be a male.]
Abdel Moati Bayoumi, a prominent Islamic scholar, agrees. He said: “I think this should absolutely not be allowed to be exported because it brings more harm than benefits. Whoever (imports it) should be punished.”
But I ask you, which is more shameful: making a mistake, or the negligent punishment of the mistake. Declaring only one of the two parties involved as guilty, and deserving of death.
Support for the product, includes, Marwa Rakha, an Egyptian blogger and activist for women’s rights, said “the Artificial Virginity Hymen ‘sticks it in the face of every male hypocrite’ in an Arab culture that condemns women’s sexuality but turns a blind eye to male promiscuity.”
I think that about sums it up. Maybe it’s not so absurd after all.
c.2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Girl With Kaleidoscope Eyes
Lucy in the Sky with diamonds has died from an infection stemming from her bout with Lupus.
Lucy began her legacy, unwittingly, when John Lennon’s son, Julian brought home a painting he had done in school in 1966. “That’s Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” he told his dad. The rest is history.
She only recently admitted to being the inspiration for the legendary song, telling BBC radio,
“When I told a couple of friends that Lucy in the sky with diamonds was about me, they said, ‘No, it can’t be, it’s to do with LSD.’ I was too embarrassed to tell them that I didn’t know what LSD was.”
“I remember Julian and I both doing pictures on a double-sided easel, throwing paint at each other, much to the horror of the classroom attendant… Julian had painted a picture and on that particular day his father turned up with the chauffeur to pick him up from school.”
Julian has said, “I don’t know why I called it that or why it stood out from all my other drawings, but I obviously had an affection for Lucy at that age.
“I used to show dad everything I’d built or painted at school, and this one sparked off the idea for a song about Lucy in the sky with diamonds.”
She and Julian had lost touch, as most elementary school friends do, but upon hearing of her illness, Julian was quick to respond. He sent her flowers with a personally written card. He later learned that she enjoyed gardening. So he sent her gift vouchers for a garden centre.
“I wasn’t sure at first how to approach her. I wanted at least to get a note to her,” Julian Lennon told The Associated Press. “Then I heard she had a great love of gardening, and I thought I’d help with something she’s passionate about, and I love gardening too. I wanted to do something to put a smile on her face.”
Vodden developed an infection while on vacation with her husband of eight years. She was rushed to a hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk where she died on September 22, 2009, with her husband, father, sister and brother at her bedside. She was 46, Julian Lennon and his mother, Cynthia, released a statement saying they were “shocked and saddened” by Vodden’s death.
She was in such pain when she was sick, that she found it difficult to go out. Though one time when she did, she heard her song playing in a shop.
“That made me giggle,” she said.
The St Thomas Lupus Trust campaign director Angie Davidson paid tribute to Vodden.
“Everyone at the Louise Coote Lupus Unit was dreadfully shocked by the death of Lucy,” Davidson said. “She was a great supporter of ours and a real fighter. It’s so sad that she has finally lost the battle she fought so bravely for so long.”
c.2009
Lucy began her legacy, unwittingly, when John Lennon’s son, Julian brought home a painting he had done in school in 1966. “That’s Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” he told his dad. The rest is history.
She only recently admitted to being the inspiration for the legendary song, telling BBC radio,
“When I told a couple of friends that Lucy in the sky with diamonds was about me, they said, ‘No, it can’t be, it’s to do with LSD.’ I was too embarrassed to tell them that I didn’t know what LSD was.”
“I remember Julian and I both doing pictures on a double-sided easel, throwing paint at each other, much to the horror of the classroom attendant… Julian had painted a picture and on that particular day his father turned up with the chauffeur to pick him up from school.”
Julian has said, “I don’t know why I called it that or why it stood out from all my other drawings, but I obviously had an affection for Lucy at that age.
“I used to show dad everything I’d built or painted at school, and this one sparked off the idea for a song about Lucy in the sky with diamonds.”
She and Julian had lost touch, as most elementary school friends do, but upon hearing of her illness, Julian was quick to respond. He sent her flowers with a personally written card. He later learned that she enjoyed gardening. So he sent her gift vouchers for a garden centre.
“I wasn’t sure at first how to approach her. I wanted at least to get a note to her,” Julian Lennon told The Associated Press. “Then I heard she had a great love of gardening, and I thought I’d help with something she’s passionate about, and I love gardening too. I wanted to do something to put a smile on her face.”
Vodden developed an infection while on vacation with her husband of eight years. She was rushed to a hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk where she died on September 22, 2009, with her husband, father, sister and brother at her bedside. She was 46, Julian Lennon and his mother, Cynthia, released a statement saying they were “shocked and saddened” by Vodden’s death.
She was in such pain when she was sick, that she found it difficult to go out. Though one time when she did, she heard her song playing in a shop.
“That made me giggle,” she said.
The St Thomas Lupus Trust campaign director Angie Davidson paid tribute to Vodden.
“Everyone at the Louise Coote Lupus Unit was dreadfully shocked by the death of Lucy,” Davidson said. “She was a great supporter of ours and a real fighter. It’s so sad that she has finally lost the battle she fought so bravely for so long.”
c.2009
Singing Obama's Praises
Students in a New Jersey elementary school celebrated this year’ Black History month in an unprecedented way. Elvira James’ second grade class had the internet and news stations abuzz with their rendition of a praise chorus to the great Obama.
A YouTube video was released showing students of the B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, New Jersey singing and cheering, in essence, hymns of praise to our president to the tune of church choruses. Even going as far as referring to him as the Alpha and Omega, which is one of the names of Christ.
Another is reminiscent of the familiar Sunday School tune “Jesus Loves the Little Children.”
“Red and yellow, black or white/All are equal in his sight. Barack Hussein Obama”
And the other to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say “hooray!”
Hooray, Mr. President! You’re number one!
The first black American to lead this great nation!
Hooray, Mr. President we honor your great plans
To make this country’s economy number one again!
Is it just me, or is this really weird? I mean no other presidents had songs written about them, even the well-liked ones. I have said before, sort of half-joking, that his supporters have projected a God complex on him, I guess this just shows the frightening reality of that impression.
It gets even worse. The children go on to sing, “He said we must be clear today/Equal work means equal pay.”
I don’t remember such indoctrination going on in my elementary school when Reagan was president, much less even knowing what saving the economy even meant at that age.
You can imagine the response from the parents, well, the Conservative ones anyway. “I’m stunned — I can’t believe it’s our school,” said Jim Pronchik, who told FOXNews.com his 8-year-old son Jimmy was one of the 18 students in the video. “We don’t want to praise this guy like he’s a god or an idol or a king or anything like that. That’s the wrong message to be sending.”
Now there are people like my dear liberal-ish boyfriend who say what’s the big deal? So they sang a little song about him?
The big deal is that these children are being fed propaganda before they have the means to filter through it. This is the reason that people were so against Obama speaking to the kids in the first place. That was the trick of many dictators. Indoctrinate your followers while they are young.
Robert Bowen, father of two children at Bernice Young Elementary said,
“I felt this was reminiscent of 1930’s Germany, and the indoctrination of children to worship their leader.”
Glenn Beck says in his column that this is a lot like the way North Korean children are taught to sing the praises of their “Dear Leader.” Any child who refuses to join in is punished. It is not that bad now, the kids are just frowned upon by teachers and classmates. He says that they are called into the principal’s office to say why it is that they aren’t singing. After which, it is “explained” to them why they should. This is just a hop, skip and a jump towards dictatorship. He also compares the similarities between the steps that Obama is taking to the baby steps Hitler took towards dictatorship.
I don’t want to be an alarmist, or a conspiracy theorist. I really do think this says more about Obama’s followers than it does about him. It just shows how loony they are, and how they blindly follow him. How they want so much to believe in him. That is what is so scary about it.
c. 2009
A YouTube video was released showing students of the B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, New Jersey singing and cheering, in essence, hymns of praise to our president to the tune of church choruses. Even going as far as referring to him as the Alpha and Omega, which is one of the names of Christ.
Another is reminiscent of the familiar Sunday School tune “Jesus Loves the Little Children.”
“Red and yellow, black or white/All are equal in his sight. Barack Hussein Obama”
And the other to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say “hooray!”
Hooray, Mr. President! You’re number one!
The first black American to lead this great nation!
Hooray, Mr. President we honor your great plans
To make this country’s economy number one again!
Is it just me, or is this really weird? I mean no other presidents had songs written about them, even the well-liked ones. I have said before, sort of half-joking, that his supporters have projected a God complex on him, I guess this just shows the frightening reality of that impression.
It gets even worse. The children go on to sing, “He said we must be clear today/Equal work means equal pay.”
I don’t remember such indoctrination going on in my elementary school when Reagan was president, much less even knowing what saving the economy even meant at that age.
You can imagine the response from the parents, well, the Conservative ones anyway. “I’m stunned — I can’t believe it’s our school,” said Jim Pronchik, who told FOXNews.com his 8-year-old son Jimmy was one of the 18 students in the video. “We don’t want to praise this guy like he’s a god or an idol or a king or anything like that. That’s the wrong message to be sending.”
Now there are people like my dear liberal-ish boyfriend who say what’s the big deal? So they sang a little song about him?
The big deal is that these children are being fed propaganda before they have the means to filter through it. This is the reason that people were so against Obama speaking to the kids in the first place. That was the trick of many dictators. Indoctrinate your followers while they are young.
Robert Bowen, father of two children at Bernice Young Elementary said,
“I felt this was reminiscent of 1930’s Germany, and the indoctrination of children to worship their leader.”
Glenn Beck says in his column that this is a lot like the way North Korean children are taught to sing the praises of their “Dear Leader.” Any child who refuses to join in is punished. It is not that bad now, the kids are just frowned upon by teachers and classmates. He says that they are called into the principal’s office to say why it is that they aren’t singing. After which, it is “explained” to them why they should. This is just a hop, skip and a jump towards dictatorship. He also compares the similarities between the steps that Obama is taking to the baby steps Hitler took towards dictatorship.
I don’t want to be an alarmist, or a conspiracy theorist. I really do think this says more about Obama’s followers than it does about him. It just shows how loony they are, and how they blindly follow him. How they want so much to believe in him. That is what is so scary about it.
c. 2009
Joe Perry is a Selfish Bastard
According to an AP story, Aerosmith rocker, Joe Perry is pissed off at Steven Tyler for sidelining their tour.
Tyler, 61, is normally quite agile despite his age. Though he apparently fell backwards off the stage onto a couple of fans on Wednesday night during the band’s show in Rapid City, South Dakota. Apparently the sound system malfunctioned during Love in an Elevator performance, and Tyler was amusing the crowd with his dancing when the fall happened.
“He does a lot of dancing on the stage and he does a lot of stuff with his mic stand. He put his stand down and twirled around and stepped backwards off the stage,” said Mike Sanborn, spokesman for the Buffalo Chip Campground, which hosted the outdoor concert.
He was airlifted to the hospital, but was said to be in good spirits, even with a broken left shoulder 20 stitches in his head. He was joking around with the doctors. He was ordered by doctors to take some time off to recover.
After the incident, Perry Tweeted to ticket holders, “Sincere apologies out 2 all Aero Fans regarding the canceled shows. It really bums me out too- you have no idea. Pray 4 Stevens speedy return,”
However, Perry responded to the media a little more candidly, “I was pretty (upset), because right before that, he had pulled a muscle in his leg. And we had to take two weeks off and we missed probably seven dates.”
I’m not sure why Steve Perry is so upset. He has been busy promoting his upcoming , album, “Have Guitar, Will Travel.”
It would seem that he would show a little more concern for his injured co-worker. I can understand being frustrated that the tour is cancelled, but why do you have to being an ass about the whole thing? It’s not like Tyler asked for the injury. I would hope that if Perry were to get injured, Tyler wouldn’t respond in like manner.
It would also not seem uncommon for health issues to be interfering with Aerosmith’s plans. They are in their 60s, after all.
“All I know is he’s got to get his act together. I mean, he and I haven’t written a song together alone in the same room in over ten years, so there’s been some changes in paradigm of what Aerosmith is,” he said.
Perry said that he hasn’t spoken to Tyler recently.
c. 2009
Tyler, 61, is normally quite agile despite his age. Though he apparently fell backwards off the stage onto a couple of fans on Wednesday night during the band’s show in Rapid City, South Dakota. Apparently the sound system malfunctioned during Love in an Elevator performance, and Tyler was amusing the crowd with his dancing when the fall happened.
“He does a lot of dancing on the stage and he does a lot of stuff with his mic stand. He put his stand down and twirled around and stepped backwards off the stage,” said Mike Sanborn, spokesman for the Buffalo Chip Campground, which hosted the outdoor concert.
He was airlifted to the hospital, but was said to be in good spirits, even with a broken left shoulder 20 stitches in his head. He was joking around with the doctors. He was ordered by doctors to take some time off to recover.
After the incident, Perry Tweeted to ticket holders, “Sincere apologies out 2 all Aero Fans regarding the canceled shows. It really bums me out too- you have no idea. Pray 4 Stevens speedy return,”
However, Perry responded to the media a little more candidly, “I was pretty (upset), because right before that, he had pulled a muscle in his leg. And we had to take two weeks off and we missed probably seven dates.”
I’m not sure why Steve Perry is so upset. He has been busy promoting his upcoming , album, “Have Guitar, Will Travel.”
It would seem that he would show a little more concern for his injured co-worker. I can understand being frustrated that the tour is cancelled, but why do you have to being an ass about the whole thing? It’s not like Tyler asked for the injury. I would hope that if Perry were to get injured, Tyler wouldn’t respond in like manner.
It would also not seem uncommon for health issues to be interfering with Aerosmith’s plans. They are in their 60s, after all.
“All I know is he’s got to get his act together. I mean, he and I haven’t written a song together alone in the same room in over ten years, so there’s been some changes in paradigm of what Aerosmith is,” he said.
Perry said that he hasn’t spoken to Tyler recently.
c. 2009
Eddie Izzard Runs Around Britain
Transvestite stand-up comic, Eddie Izzard, 47 ran 1,100 miles around Britain. This is an especially unlikely challenge for someone who has never run more than 5 miles. It is, as you can imagine, quite the feather in his cap. He had been entertaining the thought for 10 years
It was a charity run for Sport Relief, a fundraising organization that raises and donates money to impoverished people in the UK and abroad. “I wanted to try to run around the whole of the UK. London to Cardiff to Belfast to Edinburgh and back to London, running through as many parts of the UK that lie in between our 4 capitals,” he said, of his “Eddie Iz Running challenge.” He carried flags and ice cream through the capitals. Wales, Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland. The ice cream truck followed him along, giving free ice creams, in hopes for donations.
He Twittered and blogged throughout the whole adventure to keep the public informed and supportive.
Izzard admitted his charity run from London to Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh, in aid of Sports Relief, had become “science fiction” and he was beyond exhaustion. Asked about preparation, Izzard said: “Well, I was told I was supposed to do five months of training, but I don’t like training so I did five weeks of training.”
After the run, by he announced the possibility of running for parliament in either Westminster or Brussels, because he liked to make long announcements.
When asked why he had decided to take on the Eddie Iz Running adventure, Izzard, said, “I think running is very primal. We used to hunt in this way.”
All kidding aside, his reasons for running are purely noble, which he did share on his blog,
The thinking behind his mission was;
WE ARE DIFFERENT
WE ARE THE SAME
WE ARE UNITED KINGDOM
WE ARE AFRICA
WE ARE HUMANITY
The 47-year-old finished his 1,100 mile (1,770 kilometer) odyssey across Britain, telling journalists: “I feel dead.” He is determined not to give up on the running and would like to do at least a couple of long runs every week.
Izzard, sustained a few minor injuries, including one to his hamstring during training, as well as shin problems. When asked how he managed to keep going, with the strenuous schedule of thirty-one miles for 6 days a week, he said that it was all about mind over matter. He compared it to the Second World War, where people had to do extraordinary things. He said, “If you imagine that you are going to do something that is rather extreme you just go ahead and do it.”
c. 2009
It was a charity run for Sport Relief, a fundraising organization that raises and donates money to impoverished people in the UK and abroad. “I wanted to try to run around the whole of the UK. London to Cardiff to Belfast to Edinburgh and back to London, running through as many parts of the UK that lie in between our 4 capitals,” he said, of his “Eddie Iz Running challenge.” He carried flags and ice cream through the capitals. Wales, Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland. The ice cream truck followed him along, giving free ice creams, in hopes for donations.
He Twittered and blogged throughout the whole adventure to keep the public informed and supportive.
Izzard admitted his charity run from London to Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh, in aid of Sports Relief, had become “science fiction” and he was beyond exhaustion. Asked about preparation, Izzard said: “Well, I was told I was supposed to do five months of training, but I don’t like training so I did five weeks of training.”
After the run, by he announced the possibility of running for parliament in either Westminster or Brussels, because he liked to make long announcements.
When asked why he had decided to take on the Eddie Iz Running adventure, Izzard, said, “I think running is very primal. We used to hunt in this way.”
All kidding aside, his reasons for running are purely noble, which he did share on his blog,
The thinking behind his mission was;
WE ARE DIFFERENT
WE ARE THE SAME
WE ARE UNITED KINGDOM
WE ARE AFRICA
WE ARE HUMANITY
The 47-year-old finished his 1,100 mile (1,770 kilometer) odyssey across Britain, telling journalists: “I feel dead.” He is determined not to give up on the running and would like to do at least a couple of long runs every week.
Izzard, sustained a few minor injuries, including one to his hamstring during training, as well as shin problems. When asked how he managed to keep going, with the strenuous schedule of thirty-one miles for 6 days a week, he said that it was all about mind over matter. He compared it to the Second World War, where people had to do extraordinary things. He said, “If you imagine that you are going to do something that is rather extreme you just go ahead and do it.”
c. 2009
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