Being the Change I Wish to See

This article is part 8 in a multi-part series about the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill of 2009, better known as the Ugandan kill-the-gays bill. The first 7 articles can be accessed at the following links:

• Part 1: Born in the USA
• Part 2: Horrific Details
• Part 3: American Silence is Deafening
• Part 4: HIV-AIDS Statistics in Uganda
• Part 5: State Dept Must Make US Policy Clear
• Part 6: Richard Cohen and debunking gay cure
• Part 7: Evangelicals were for it before they were against it

Pastor Rick Warren finally spoke out against the kill-the-gays bill on December 10, 2009 (8 min.):

Senators James Inhofe and Chuck Grassley also spoke out against the bill.

If I recall correctly, not bearing false witness is one of the Ten Commandments in Judeo-Christian faiths. If one bears false witness one has committed a sin. Pastor Warren can try to deny his involvement with this Ugandan bill and his strong support of California’s Proposition 8 in 2008, but there are tons of video tapes and news articles that show he is lying.

Chuck Grassley is lying when he denies involvement with The Family. He is associated with the group and has been since the mid 1980’s, and he has been to Uganda as well.

It is really important to listen closely to what leaders of any stripe say, and to check the truth and consistency of their statements. Whether a leader is a religious figure, a politician, etc. listen well and seek facts and dispassionate opinions from other sources. It’s important to know just how far our leaders are willing to go to lie to us.

With such horrible human rights atrocities being weighed in the balance, American religious and political leaders denying their involvement in the creation of this bill and distancing themselves from it by any means necessary is disgusting and shows just how cowardly they are. They tell Ugandans homosexuality is unnatural and must be removed from their society. Whatever is necessary to do that is therefore not a human rights violation, and then they tell Americans who find out what they are telling the Ugandans that they didn’t intend for such harsh measures to be used.

I’m not buying it. I think they didn’t expect to get caught supporting such extremist views and policies in such a far away place as Uganda.

Technorati Tags: Chuck Grassley, Human Rights, James Inhofe, kill-the-gays bill, Rachel Maddow, Rick Warren, The Family, Uganda

written by joubess \\ tags: Chuck Grassley, Human Rights, James Inhofe, kill-the-gays bill, Rachel Maddow, Rick Warren, The Family, Uganda

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As most of you have heard by now, a 7.0 earthquake struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti and has devastated the city. Presently, 140,000 are estimated to be dead. That number may increase over the weekend, as of Friday night at just before 5 p.m. 72 hours had passed. While there is still hope for those trapped, 72 hours is the critical point where people need to be rescued and the rest need to get food, water, medical care and temporary shelter to stay alive.

Many supplies have reached the airport. Now that transport and helicopters are on scene, wide distribution of supplies will be possible as early as overnight tonight. People should begin to see some major relief first thing this morning.

Dead bodies that litter the streets need to be removed much more rapidly, even though that may mean burial in mass graves. Those picking up bodies are now photographing them for later identification and mass graves are beginning to be used. Haiti is a tropical island nation and it is around 80 degrees there. We are at the point where those decaying bodies will begin to cause disease in those who are still alive. Many are dehydrated, hungry and injured. Their immune systems are not strong enough to fight off any illness. We have gotten this far, and we don’t want to begin losing more people to widespread outbreaks of disease.

How can you help?

• Don’t go to Haiti unless you’re a trained worker with one of the response organizations
• Send money to reputable relief organizations
• You can text your donations to these organizations You can text multiple times to as many as you want. The charges will be added to your mobile phone bill.
• Volunteer locally at your Red Cross office, Salvation Army office or other relief organization that is sending trained volunteers and staff. Trained people are needed for ground operations. You may be able to free them up to go by helping here at home.
• Help the families of our deployed military personnel whether they are working in Haiti or deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. These families need your hands and your hearts. Check with local military stations and churches to find families to help. They need help with kids, babysitters, a home-cooked meal delivered to their house, someone to get something in the house fixed, help with kids’ homework, etc.

I sent my donation Tuesday night by text message. It’s fast and easy. Please give what you can. Thank you.

People carry an injured person after an earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010. The largest earthquake ever recorded in the area rocked Haiti on Tuesday. The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 10 miles (15 kilometers) west of Port-au-Prince. (AP Photo/Radio Tele Ginen)
8:54 p.m. ET, 1/12/10

written by joubess