Meeks sends kids to 'hell'
Christian fright house depicts abortion, gays
October 31, 2006

BY CATHLEEN FALSANI Religion Reporter
This Halloween, Chicago's Salem Baptist Church wants teenagers to go straight to "hell." Admission is $7 and passengers arrive at its gates on a yellow school bus.

Salem's "Nights of Terror" promises to "scare the hell out of teens" by guiding them on a half-hour tour through Hades -- or at least what passed for it in the don't-call-it-a-haunted-house set up in the church's administrative offices at 109th and Cottage Grove.

So-called hell houses have become popular over the last decade among some evangelical Christian churches that want to provide an alternative to traditional Halloween celebrations.

"YOU HAVE DIED AND GONE STRAIGHT TO HELL!" a tall man wearing a long, black, hooded cloak bellowed over a bullhorn Sunday night as the first busload of about 30 teens and a handful of parents were herded through dark corridors lined in black plastic.

The group ...   more »

Turns out another one of Obama’s spiritual buddies is a racist homophobe. Are you surprised? I’m not. GS

Meet Reverend James Meeks:

Rev. James Meeks
Chicago, Ill.

The Rev. James Meeks is a key member of Chicago's "Gatekeepers" network, an interracial group of evangelical ministers who strive to erase the division between church and state. A stalwart anti-gay activist, Meeks has used his House of Hope mega-church to launch petition drives for the Illinois Family Institute (IFI), a major state-level "family values" pressure group that lauded him last year for leading African Americans in "clearly understanding the threat of gay marriage."

With over 22,000 members, Meeks' congregation was large enough to buoy his successful 2002 campaign for state senator. Last year, he ran for governor as a virtual single-issue candidate, drawing national support from Christian fundamentalists by boldly vowing to fight marriage equality at every turn. Meeks eventually dropped out of the race.

Meeks and the IFI are partnered with Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council and the Alliance Defense Fund, major anti-gay organizations of the Christian Right. They also are tightly allied with Americans for Truth, an Illinois group that said in a press release last year ...   more »

Dallas Voice :: Letters March 28, 2008
Will the conventions be fair?
by Geoff Staples

With the Texas Democratic Party Senate District Conventions being held this weekend (Saturday, March 29), I wanted to alert the community to what happened at the Senate District 23 Democratic convention in 2006.

I am a Democrat because I believe the Democratic Party to be the party of equality, justice, liberty, respect and economic opportunity for all persons. Unfortunately, the 2006 SD 23 convention caused me to doubt this belief.

I was a delegate and a member of the Resolutions Committee. In that committee, we discuss and vote on resolutions covering the gamut of current issues. At the 2006 convention, the Resolutions Committee voted down a resolution calling for universal health care and when it was brought to the floor of the convention, the convention affirmed they did not support universal health care.

Equally appalling, the Resolutions Committee voted down a resolution calling for gay and lesbian families to have equal rights to marriage and the benefits thereof. African-American committee members abused their one-vote majority and block-voted against the resolution while every other person on the committee voted for passage. During the discussion, some of ...   more »

Hey Obama, since you claim the super-delegates should vote the way their state went in the primaries, how come super-delegates Ted Kennedy and John Kerry are supporting you even though Hillary Clinton clocked you in Massachusetts? How come superdelegate Bill Richardson is supporting you even though his state went for Hillary Clinton?

FOXNews.com - Transcript: Govs. Richardson, Rendell on 'FNS' - FOX News Sunday | Chris Wallace

RENDELL: It's very difficult, but it shows an inconsistency in the Obama campaign. First, they say the superdelegates should reflect the will of the people of their states.
Well, we have Senator Kennedy and Senator Kerry saying they're going to vote for Obama even though Senator Clinton won by 13 points in Massachusetts.

Governor Richardson, who I respect — and I reject James Carville's comment. Bill Richardson did what he thinks is right for the country. I disagree with him, but I reject James Carville's comment.

The voters of New Mexico chose Senator Clinton.

If we follow the Obama line, Bill Richardson should be for Senator Clinton.

RICHARDSON: Yes, but, Eddie, by half a percent. Come on.

RENDELL: Bill, it doesn't matter. Senator Kennedy and Senator Kerry said they are voting for...

RICHARDSON: ...   more »

(Note: Can you name another Democrat that has done what Obama has done? If so, post their name and documentation.)

Here’s the only context:

Name another Democratic elected official or candidate who has sat in the pew of a church and listened to his (or her) pastor spew hate for the last 20 years, or, even for the last year – and I will show you someone who is an embarrassment to the Democratic Party.

That is the only context that counts.

We fully expect Republicans to sit in the pews of racist, misogynist, and homophobic churches. Until now, I thought Democrats didn’t do that. Guess I was mistaken.

Don’t expect me to support a Democrat who would do that. In fact, any Democrat who would support a Democratic elected official or candidate who has done what Obama has done should be ashamed and is by definition not a Democrat.