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 »

More problems for Obama

March 30, 2008
Four Stumps in the Water for Obama
By Charles Lipson

As the high-water mark for Barack Obama recedes, his campaign must now confront several dangerous stumps that were once hidden below the surface. The problems began with Obama's long attachment to Rev. Wright, Trinity United Church, and Black Liberation Theology, but they won't end there.

So, what issues are now lurking for Obama?

The first is the volatile mix of race and religion, begun with the Rev. Wright controversy. Videos have now surfaced of virulent race-baiting by yet another Chicago preacher with ties to Obama, the Rev. James Meeks. Obama was not a member of Meeks's church and their connection may be only a tactical alliance between prominent local figures. That's the question: how close are those ties?

Meeks is no ordinary pastor. He is an important political and religious figure in African-American Chicago. He not only leads a mammoth congregation, he is an Illinois state senator and a key player in Jesse Jackson's powerful local political organization, which is squarely behind Obama's run for the Presidency.

Meeks's sermons have called white mayors "slave masters" and denigrated moderate black politicians with the "n" ...   more »

YouTube - Lawrence King Tribute - Very Sad.

More Videos about Larry King

Larry King asked another 8^th grader to be his valentine, the other kid took out a gun and shot Larry dead.

Just remember this: When you cited The Bible to justify your bigotry against gays and lesbians, you put the gun in the hand  of Larry Kings murderer.

Geoff 

Calif gay student's slaying sparks outcry, demands for programs
By GREG RISLING Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 03/28/2008 01:59:38 PM PDT


OXNARD, Calif.—Larry King was a gay eighth-grader who used to come to school in makeup, high heels and earrings. And when the other boys made fun of him, he would boldly tease them right back by flirting with them.

That may have been what got him killed.

On Feb. 12, another student, Brandon McInerney, 14, shot him twice in the head at the back of the computer lab at their junior high school, police say.

The slaying of the 15-year-old boy has alarmed gay rights activists and led to demands that middle schools do more to educate youngsters about discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Police would not discuss McInerney's motive. But the day before the shooting, King told McInerney he liked him, eighth-grader Eduardo Segure told ...   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 »