The Great Separation

Marriage Protection Act of 2004 (H R 3313) Passed in House.

Protecting one of societies cornerstones. - Larry, over at eSnider.net, posted yesterday asking about something very much under reported in the media over the last week.

It seems the House of representatives passed the Marriage Protection Act of 2004 (H R 3313) on July 22, 2004.

Larry writes:

Did anybody actually see this covered in the news? I sure didn't. Basically, this vote prevents the exportation of homosexual "marriage" to all states through rulings of the federal judiciary.

I haven't seen it covered on the TV news media at all. But that doesn't surprise me. After all, it would be expected to pass in the House. It would only have been news worthy to the media machines if it was expected to fail, because that is the kind of news most editors and broadcasters like to tout. Case in point being the Marriage Amendment Proposal in the Senate.

Larry notes that the Marriage Protection Act passed by a vote of 233 to 194.

Interested to know how your Representative voted? Then swing over the eSnider.net where Larry provides all the yea and nay voters.

I'm happy to see my representative Bill Young (R) voted "YEA."

The only problem is that now the bill moves on to the spineless Senate where activists for the promotion of the sin of homosexuality are soon to set the lobby machine into motion.

Lou Chibbaro Jr. reports for the Southern Voice:

Gay civil rights leaders were expected to turn their attention to the Senate, with the hope of persuading a majority of senators to defeat the bill. President Bush was expected to sign the legislation if the Senate joins the House in passing it.

The Great Separation continues.

Attempts to Capture the Mystery Beast, Hyote.

Haha, woof, haha, woof. - The mystery beast, known as the Hyote by locals in Maryland, continues to mystify and now they are attempting to capture the beast with "humanitarian cages."

WFTV.com reports:

Baltimore County Animal Control is teaming up with a resident to catch the mystery animal. They placed a humane trap in the back yard of Jay Wroe, the man who photographed the creature more than two weeks ago on his property.

Noted in the new report is that someone got a picture of a similar looking creature in the area:

In a comment to my previous post on this beast, doctorroy claims to nearly have run one over in PA:

I HAVE SEEN ONE IN P.A.

My wife and I almost hit one on route 73 near skippack PA She asked me what was that and I said it looked like a sick dog of some kind but now I'm kinda freakin out!

The new photos I've seen and the multiple reports running now, have me wondering if there isn't someone in the area playing a practical joke by shaving the hair of stray dogs and cats.

American Psychologist Association Endorses Same Sex Marriage.

The continued promotion of sin before God. - The normalization of the sin of homosexuality is in large part the result of a minority in the American Psychologist Association (APA). See Marty's post on Vigilance Matters for the time line on the APA acceptance of this act: The APA and Sexlexia.

Now comes the next step by the APA: Psychologists to endorse gay marriage by Marilyn Elias for USA Today:

HONOLULU — Gay couples should be able to marry in civil ceremonies and, if they are parents, they deserve all the legal rights of straight parents, says a policy the American Psychological Association adopted Wednesday at its meeting here.

"We're going out on a limb," says Diane Halpern, president of APA, the nation's largest group of psychologists. "But we're doing what we should be doing." The group already has a policy opposing discrimination against gays, and many members are concerned about political actions to stop gay marriages, she says.

Keeping gays from marrying "puts a particular stress on them just because of their sexual orientation. It's a health issue and a mental health issue," Halpern says.

Also claimed by some of the activists is that by not allowing same sex couples to marry puts undo stress upon their children. Which reminds me of another post on Marty's site: My Mother is a Gay Activist and all I got was this Lousy T-shirt.

Update: Kidnaped Christian Indian Missionaries Released.

Praise God! - On July 27, 2004 I reported about five Christian missionaries who had been abducted in India because of their successful sharing of the love of Christ.

Mission Network News is reporting that they have all been released by their captors:

Gospel For Asia's President KP Yohannan says, "Five of our missionaries were kidnapped by extreme fundamentalists anti-Christian (thugs) and we were really concerned (about) what was going to happen to them."

Yohannan says these Hindu extremists are taking a different approach to their attacks. "Since they can not directly attack Christian workers," says Yohannan, "They are now finding a new way to persecute our missionaries by accusing them of stealing things, or causing trouble or whatever else. This was the disguise they used to kidnap these five missionaries."

They were beaten severely. However, Yohannan says there is good news. "We just got news that the police intervened (the hire authorities) and these brothers were released," he says.

The article goes on to report that the local police, not very helpful, are suggesting to the missionaries that they leave the area.

As fellow brothers and sisters to Christians around the world, we have a duty to uphold them in prayer. We must make it part of our prayer life and communion with God.

The Great Separation continues.

Update: Colin Powell Asked to Intervene for Brian Savio O'Connor in Saudi Arabia.

They hate you because of me - Last month on the 16th of June I posted, Christian Hung Upside Down, Kicked, Beaten, Electrocuted. It was a report about Brian Savio O'Connor who had been arrested in Saudi Arabia because he was a Christian.

I wrote:

Brian is a Catholic who is from India working in Saudi Arabia as a cargo agent for the Saudi Airlines. He was stopped near his home in Riyadh by a religious police officer and asked why he didn't attend the evening prayers. In Saudi Arabia the official religion is Wahhabi-ism, a strict interpretation of Islam.

When Brian showed the officer his papers that said he was a Christian three more men attempted to grab him. Brian escaped into a nearby shop but the men followed him in and beat him then carried Brian off to a religious police office where the torture and threats of death came with the demand to convert to Islam.

AsiaNews.it reported on the July 28, 2004, that Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom has asked US Secretary of State Collin Powell to discuss Mr. O'Connor's detention with the Saudi Arabian government in his visit this week.

AsiaNews.it reports:

“In seeking Middle East allies in the war on terror, the Secretary of State must not neglect to mention the terror regional governments inflict on their own citizens, especially in the realm of religious freedom,” said Center director Nina Shea, who in a press release urged Colin Powell “to raise the case of O’Connor.” Ms Shea went on to say: “Restrictive blasphemy laws affect both Muslims and non-Muslims, and governments routinely foment division and sectarian hatred, in addition to routinely violating universal rights of free speech, worship, and association.”

Under the accusation of preaching about Jesus Christ, using drugs and selling liquor Brian O’Connor was taken into custody, tortured many times, and put under strong pressure to abjure his Christian faith. Some Christian internet sites, including AsiaNews, have launched a campaign in favour of his liberation.

As far as I can tell, Powell has already met with the Saudi Arabian officials. It would really be nice if Mr. Powell did intervene and push for reform in Saudi Arabia and the release of O'Connor. We'll have to keep it in prayer.

The Great Separation continues.

Mother Afraid Father will Sacrifice Son if Deported.

Please, please, let me stay in your country. - Tom Godfrey has a disturbing report for The London Free Press News titled: Refugee claimant says son will be sacrificed.

Apparently Canada is attempting to deport a mother and her sons who are refugees from Ghana.

The mother, Evelyn Edna Baisie, has been fighting the deportation in court because she said that her husband, an abusive man and the reason she fled with her children to Canada, had threatened to sacrifice their then yet to be born son in Ghana to the 'fetish priests' in a religious rite titled Trokosi.

Canadian immigration's argument against her claim is:

[That] Baisie and her sons are in no danger since "young female virgins are preferred for servitude to the priests as part of the Trokosi practice."

Oh, well then. Since you put it that way.

Good grief.

Poetry Good for the Heart.

Take one and recite to me in the morning. - Here's some interesting health news that qualifies for the oddity category, because... well, it just odd. And odd can be fun and good and entertaining.

Randy Dotinga reports for ABC News:

In a new study, European researchers suggest that the rhythms of ancient poetry can synchronize the body's heart and respiration rates. Similar positive effects have been linked to the Catholic rosary prayer and the yoga mantra.

It's far from clear if doctors will ever consider prescribing required reading lists to their patients. But the results are definitely intriguing, said Francois Haas, director of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation research at New York University School of Medicine.

"If there's a message, it's that our internal rhythms can be modified by external stimuli," Haas said.

Actually, I don't suppose this all that surprising. There have been a number of people who could modify my internal rhythms just by their external presence, let alone the cadence of their words.

Plus as someone who fancies himself a poet, poetry comes from the heart, so why wouldn't it be good for the heart?

Dog Ravages Sleeping Car.

Woof, woof woof, Woof. - Well, I guess since the dog couldn't run down the moving convertible Ford Mustang, it stocked it home and waited for it to fall asleep.

At least that's what we can surmise from the report on All Headline News: Dog Attacks Parked Mustang Convertible.

Sheriff's deputies reported that a tan dog attacked a silver Ford Mustang convertible parked outside the owner's home.

According to deputies, a woman said she was awakened Tuesday by a noise outside her house and found the canine attacking her car. The animal fled when she walked outside to find a chewed-up windshield wiper, gnarled hood hinge covers and teeth marks on the car's molding.

A deputy also reported finding extensive scratches to the car's body and saliva dripping from the vehicle.

The offender is still on the loose.

More on Northwest Flight 327.

Look who's finally paying attention. - Proving again that she's on top of homeland security issue's - be it ports, skies, or our porous borders - Michelle Malkin points out that the Washington Times is reporting that the Senate and House Judiciary Committee called for federal officials to come and report on the events that took place on Flight 327, which Annie Jacobsen originally reported upon.

Audrey Hudson reports for The Washington Times:

One staffer who attended the briefing said officials were "very cagey" on details, which he described as "very frustrating."

However, the officials confirmed air marshals found the activities unusual and suspicious.

"They are trying to have it both ways and say yes, our people are smart enough to see something and that's why they called for authorities, but they deny it was as scary as it has been portrayed," the staffer said.

Malkin points out:

DHS is also attempting a CYA move on the expired visas issue; a spokesman revealed that the department "learned late Tuesday" that an extension had been granted to the Syrians until July 15. The fact remains that no federal immigration officer was present when the passengers were questioned in Los Angeles and no one bothered to check on their status until after they were released.

This whole incident continues to be really fishy. Maybe, as Malkin notes, the Feds are trying to cover their collective rears for dropping the ball on the visas, but I just don't know. Something continues to bother me, but I can't put my finger on it. I think it goes to the fact that there was more than one marshal on the plane. It's almost as if a chess game were being played and that they were waiting for something to happen before moving into action themselves.

Time will tell.

Related posts on The Great Separation:

Update on Flight 327's & the Tune the Syrian Crooner Sings.
Flight #327 Syrian Musicians Continue To Raise Questions.
Terror Tactics in the Skies: Flight 327 & Others.
A Must Read Domestic Airline Experience: Flight #327.

Best & Worst Quote from Edwards's DNC Speech.

Quoting politicians? Is that wise? - The best quote from Edwards's speech
last night is hands down the one when he refers to the men and woman who have been injured in the securing of freedom (obviously my choice of words and not his choice of words) for Afghanistan and Iraq and securing of safety for America. Oddly he left out those who paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives, an oversight I'm not comfortable with. Here are the two lines I am referring too:

"The stars and stripes wave for them. The word hero was made for them."

That is on it's own an awesome statement.

Now the worst is a difficult choice for me. There are roughly three choices I have in mind.

In order they are: