The Daily Profaner: Putting Snark First, Myths Last!

In the latest news on the religious right’s war on the LGBTQ community, Florida Senator Nan Rich sees no reason Adam and Steve can’t be great adoptive parents and has introduced two bills that, if passed, will repeal the state’s ban on gay adoption.

One would allow gays to adopt; the other would leave it to judges to determine where to place children where both parents are dead.

Now, the second bill? Not such a great idea; you can have homophobia in a judge just as easily as you can have it in a law. Why do we so constantly ignore the wishes of children in reguards to their self-determination? Do these children, even while minors, not have some say over their fates? If two qualified sets of relatives step forward to care for an orphaned child, should the decision not then fall to that child?

Oddly enough, I bet pretty much any kid would rather go live with a nice, gay adoptive family than be homeless - but hey, that’s why we have to make these laws; children need protecting from their own wishes after all.

[Lez Get Real]

Oh lovely ACLU, what can’t you do? You are there when orphaned children need protection from harmful homophobic laws, you are there when the US Navy needs help saying “fuck you” to mandatory lunch prayer, and you are there saying “hold the fuck up” when elementary schools allow children to be taken out of class for ‘religious education‘. If I wasn’t already a monthly doner to the ACLU, I would become one right now (HINT).

The American Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of an offended parent, is suing an elementary school district for allowing its students to attend a non-taxpayer-funded religious education program that meets on campus.

Not only is the program held on campus, it is held during school hours.

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Gee, aren’t some of those Evangelical Christians so pushy with all their proselytizing? Hey, you know what would make it even worse? If they were burning their message into your fucking arm:

Last December she [Jenifer Dennis] and her husband Steve accused a popular 8th-grade science teacher, John Freshwater, of using an electrostatic device known as a Tesla coil to brand a cross into Zachary’s arm [see image above]. They say the burn, which in photos show an 8-by-4-inch mark on his forearm, raised blisters, kept their son awake that night, and lasted for several weeks.

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A Las Vegas judge has ruled that child molestation done for the lord is still child molestation and has given rapey cult leader Wayne Bent the maximum sentence of 18 years (with an 8 year suspension). Apparently Bent needed to be naked in bed with naked teen followers to “heal” them with his touch. Now the only people he will be healing are his big, friendly inmates.

[Religious News Blog]

While most of the nation watched with baited breath as the poll numbers for prop 8 were counted, most missed the other electoral atrocities being committed in Arkansas not only against GLBTQ citizens, but children, unmarried individuals, and anyone living outside of the hetero-normative society. On November 4th 2008, Arkansas took away the right of anyone living with a partner outside of a heterosexual marriage to adopt a child. Notice that if you are a married heterosexual couple you can adopt children even if you are minors yourselves.

This. Is. Monstrous. In their quest to oppress the gay community, the religious right have willingly put foster children - the most helpless members of our society - directly in harm’s way. As of 2006, only 81% of adoptive families in Arkansas were married couples. In one fell swoop Arkansas has eliminated potentially up to 19% of their adoptive families. This means that potentially 19% of these children who would have had homes will now be left to struggle through the brutal foster care system.

So who supported, pushed, and enabled this vile and unconstitutional measure?

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Carl & Rayleene Worthington

Carl and Rayleene Worthington of Clackamas, Oregon are being charged with second degree manslaughter and criminal mistreatment after the death of Ava, their 15 month old daughter.  Ava caught pneumonia earlier this year, and could have been easily cured with common antibiotics.  The Worthingtons, however, put their trust in the power of prayer, hoping that their god’s plan included Ava’s survival.  A more rational person might have thought god’s plan included antibiotics.

The couple’s lawyer has filed a motion to have the case dismissed, claiming:

“Mr. and Mrs. Worthington maintain that their prosecution contravenes their right ‘to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences,’ as guaranteed by the Constitution of the State of Oregon and the Constitution of the United States… Further, Mr. and Mrs. Worthington urge that this prosecution contravenes their fundamental right to raise their children without interference by the State.”

The motion makes no mention of how their “consciences” denied their daughter’s right to basic medical care and freedom from abuse and neglect.

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A Mattock

Trevor Melanson of The Brock Press had a chance encounter with a cab driver who turned out to be of none other than the son Fred “god hates fags” Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church.  Nate Phelps was kind enough to talk about growing up under his father and his life after he escaped.  This is what his childhood was like:

“The mattock, a close cousin of the pickaxe… Its handle is a three-foot wooden shaft, twice the density of a baseball bat, and its dual-sided iron head is comprised of a chisel and a pick.
It was Pastor Fred Phelps’ weapon of choice when beating his children, says his son, Nate Phelps.
“The Bible says: ‘Spare the rod, spoil the child,’ and he would be screaming that out as he was beating us,” said Nate.
One Christmas night, Nate says Pastor Phelps hit him over 200 times with a mattock’s handle, swinging it like a baseball player.”

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The US Sixth Circuit Court of appeals has ruled  the Vatican can held liable for failing to protect children from priest sex abuse.  The ruling could also open the way for other complaints to find their way to St. Peter’s  such as those of holocaust survivors seeking to file suit against the Vatican Bank.  Der Popenator has yet to comment but he’ll no doubt be pleased when the Vatican’s sins come back as lawsuits and bankrupt the church.  Accumulating excess wealth is a Catholic sin now, isn’t it?

[Wall Street Journal] via [Pharyngula]