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Israeli draft pits secular Jews vs. ultra-Orthodox

Israeli draft pits secular Jews vs. ultra-Orthodox

Associated PressBy ARON HELLER | Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Deep in the heart of Mea Shearim, a Jerusalem bastion of hardline ultra-Orthodox Jews, hundreds of bearded young men in black suits have their noses burrowed into books, immersed in biblical study and oblivious to their surroundings.

They are the creme de la creme of a cloistered community, the Harvard of the ultra-Orthodox world, who are expected neither to work for a living nor serve in the military with other Israelis. But it's not just the students at the prestigious Mir Yeshiva for whom prayer and study of scripture is a full-time job. Nearly the entire community has been granted sweeping exemptions that have infuriated the general public.

These young men, and their sheltered lifestyle, are at the heart of a battle that is tearing Israel apart in a clash between tradition and modernity, religion and democracy. The fight centers on whether ultra-Orthodox males should be drafted into the military along with other Jews, but it really is about a much deeper issue: the place of Judaism in the Jewish state.

The question has come to the fore as the government races to meet a Supreme Court-ordered deadline to revamp the nation's draft law. In its current form, secular males must perform three years of compulsory service when they turn 18. Ultra-Orthodox men, like the young scholars at the Mir Yeshiva, have special exemptions that allow them to continue studying in their isolated enclaves while collecting government subsidies.

For their supporters, seminary students are preserving a tradition that has served as the very bedrock of Judaism for thousands of years.

"Jews need to study the Bible. That is what makes us unique as a people," Yerach Tucker, a 30-year-old spokesman for the ultra-Orthodox community, said proudly as he guided a visitor through the Mir Yeshiva. "It is the essence of our lives."

But polls show the vast majority of Israelis, who risk their lives and put their careers on hold while serving in the military, object strongly to the arrangement, and many see it as the essence of everything that is wrong with their country.

This resentment has fueled a broader high-decibel culture war. In recent months, secular activists have rebelled against what they consider growing religious coercion by the ultra-Orthodox, such as attempts to enforce gender segregation on buses and public places, and a religious backlash by ultra-Orthodox who feel unfairly persecuted.

"It is something so ethical, so basic, that we have all grown up upon: service, giving to the state. Everyone here has to give something to society because we are one society," said Boaz Nol, a reserve officer who is among those planning a massive protest in Tel Aviv this weekend against the continued exemptions.

The Supreme Court earlier this year ruled the draft exemptions illegal and gave the government until Aug. 1 to figure out a new, fairer system. That is proving far more difficult than expected.

Last week, the deep divisions between religious and secular parties inside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government led to the collapse of a special committee formed to draft new legislation.

Netanyahu's largest governing partner, the centrist Kadima Party, is now threatening to quit the government, just two months after joining the coalition with the goal of reforming the draft. Netanyahu has vowed to find a compromise.

A glimpse into the world of the ultra-Orthodox shows just how intractable the issue has become. The draft exemptions date back to the time of Israel's independence in 1948, when founding father David Ben-Gurion exempted 400 exemplary seminary students to help rebuild great schools of Jewish learning destroyed in the Holocaust, when 6 million Jews were murdered.

As ultra-Orthodox parties became power brokers, the numbers mounted. Ultra-Orthodox officials now estimate there are about 100,000 full-time Torah learners of draft age.

The pattern has lasting ramifications. The heavy emphasis on religious study, begun early on in a separate system of elementary schools, has pushed many ultra-Orthodox men to shun the work world, relying on welfare as they spend their days immersed in holy texts. The ultra-Orthodox make up about 10 percent of Israel's 8 million citizens.

Steep unemployment, believed to hover around 50 percent, coupled with a high birthrate has fueled deep poverty in the ultra-Orthodox sector. With families of eight to 10 children commonplace, more than a quarter of all Israeli first graders today are ultra-Orthodox. Experts say if these trends continue, Israel's long-term economic prospects are in danger.

But changing the ways of the ultra-Orthodox will not be easy. Leaders speak proudly of centuries-old traditions of prayer and learning that they believe has allowed the Jewish people to survive such tragedies as the Spanish Inquisition, European pogroms and the Holocaust. Study in Yeshiva seminaries, they say, is no less important than military strength in protecting the country from modern threats in a hostile region.

"You have to understand, we are part of the Jewish army," said Aharon Grossman, a 30-year-old student at Mir Yeshiva. "Some people serve in tanks. We serve in yeshiva."

Ultra-Orthodox leaders insist they will never be forced to serve in the military.

For decades, a string of secular-led Israeli governments have maintained the status quo, either because of their dependence on ultra-Orthodox political kingmakers or out of fear of an angry backlash from a sector that hasn't hesitated to block roads, clash with police or mobilize tens of thousands of activists into the streets when ordered by their rabbis.

With the clock ticking, Netanyahu now faces a near-impossible task as he tries to satisfy the demands of the secular masses, the Supreme Court and various coalition partners all while preventing sectarian unrest.

Before the parliamentary committee collapse, ultra-Orthodox parties boycotted the panel. And in a sign of what may lie ahead, thousands of black-clad ultra-Orthodox took to the streets of Jerusalem last week to protest the committee's work. Some wore sacks in a sign of mourning over the prospect of being forced into service.

Einat Wilf, a lawmaker with the secular Independence party, said the ultra-Orthodox have no right to complain, adding that Israelis are fed up with a system in which they take and give nothing back in return.

"I, for one, do not believe that their prayers are protecting soldiers and they can't force their ways upon me," she said. "If they want to pray, fine, but not at my expense."

She said that despite ultra-Orthodox intransigence, the doomed committee she was a member of had sought a compromise — even if it was not to the liking of secularists like her.

"Will it be better than the current situation? Yes," she said. "Will it be fair and just? Absolutely not."

A day after Netanyahu disbanded the committee, its chairman nonetheless released his recommendations. Among the proposals: that no more than 20 percent of ultra-Orthodox males, roughly 1,500 people a year, be granted exemptions, while others be permitted to defer service for no more than five years. A national service option was also introduced for those who didn't fit into the military.

The details of the debate have dominated political discussion in Israel, handing Netanyahu his biggest challenge yet since he formed a 94-member coalition in early May. His office says he will meet quietly with political leaders in the coming days in order to formulate a fair draft law.

The ultra-Orthodox reject the idea that they are leeching off the state. They say employment numbers are skewed, and that they contribute to public coffers through sales tax on purchases they make for large families. They also note that the government subsidizes areas that they have no interest in, such as culture, sports and the arts.

Unlike other Israelis, who mark graduations, military promotions, and professional accomplishments, the ultra-Orthodox only celebrate study. Later this month, for instance, thousands of believers are scheduled to pack a basketball arena to mark the completion of a full study of the Talmud — a seven-year odyssey in which 2,700 pages of rabbinical debates over Jewish law are meticulously dissected at a pace of one page a day.

Many ultra-Orthodox sects aren't even Zionist and refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state until the coming of the Messiah. Some tiny extreme sects even side with the Palestinians and Israel's archenemy Iran.

Most object to change on much simpler grounds. In Hebrew, the ultra-Orthodox are known as "Haredim," or "those who fear" God. But it's not death they fear in the military — it's immersion in what they see as a secular and hedonistic society.

"The main reason that we can't serve is that the military simply doesn't suit us. The military is a secular melting pot," said Chaim Walder, a well-known ultra-Orthodox author and activist.

It's not clear how much the military even wants Haredi conscripts. While it formally calls for everyone to serve, military officials acknowledge it will be extremely difficult to incorporate them into the army.

Many Haredi men lack basic skills, like rudimentary math, because their independent school systems barely teach them. Their aversion to direct contact with women would require segregation and could undercut the military's record of giving female soldiers equal opportunities.

Insubordination could also grow if ultra-Orthodox men found themselves forced to choose between religious beliefs and commanders' orders. No one can predict what could happen if armed soldiers took their orders from rabbis.

The costs would also be high: Drafting this community would require special arrangements, such as kitchens conforming to the strictest interpretation of Jewish dietary law and a large chunk of the day set aside for bible study. And as those who are married and with children are entitled to higher salaries — the military would face another financial burden.

Inclusion has been successful in some areas however. The army has designed a number of roles specifically for the needs of ultra-Orthodox soldiers, including a segregated infantry unit as well as computer, technology and intelligence units.

A military official involved in the effort said 85 percent of discharged ultra-Orthodox soldiers went on to find jobs in civilian life.

But altogether, the numbers remain small. Fewer than 1,300 conscripts participated in these programs over the past year, military figures show.

Some leading rabbis have ruled that those not cut out for intensive seminary life or those who were already married — and perhaps less susceptible to the lure of the secular world — could be eligible to serve or take part in a range of civil service options being considered.

Still, any arrangement would likely involve inducting thousands of unwilling men over the objection of their rabbis.

Walder, the activist, insists Jewish study is sacrosanct and non-negotiable, saying that state must continue to fund it.

"The only thing that is truly keeping us safe here is bible study," he said. "We are protecting the country with our prayer. We are making sure that there is something here to protect."

____

Follow Aron Heller at www.twitter.com/aronhellerap

Afghan woman accused of adultery apparently executed on video

Afghan woman accused of adultery apparently executed on video

July 8, 2012 | 9:57 am

KABUL — Human-rights activists and Western officials expressed horror Sunday at a video showing a young Afghan woman who had been accused of adultery apparently being shot dead in front of a crowd of jeering men in a village only about an hour's drive from the capital of Kabul.

Authorities in Parwan province, where one of the NATO force’s largest bases is located, said they believed the images, shot in late June, were authentic, and vowed to pursue those who carried out the killing.

The Taliban movement issued a statement denying responsibility for the woman’s execution, but local offshoots of the stridently fundamentalist Islamist movement often carry out harsh punishments without the specific approval of the group’s leadership council.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force condemned the apparent killing, the latest in a series of gruesome attacks against Afghan women to be made public in recent months. The footage came to light on the same day that international donors in Tokyo were approving billions of dollars in development aid to Afghanistan — some of it conditional on a commitment to protect women’s rights.

The 120-second video, which was first obtained by Reuters and later distributed via YouTube, shows a woman in a white shawl kneeling in the dirt. Crouching in terror, she could not speak even a word in her own defense. She then crumples after apparently being shot dead at close range by a gunman before a crowd of more than 100 shouting men arrayed on a dusty terraced hillside.

The Parwan provincial governor, Basir Salangi, said it was believed that the incident had taken place on June 23 in the village of Qimchaq, in Shinwari district. He expressed disgust at the events depicted, which were reminiscent of the harsh public punishments that were commonplace when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan prior to the U.S.-led invasion of 2001.

A provincial spokeswoman, Roshna Khalid, said the victim was a 22-year-old woman named Najiba. She said local police had swiftly reported the incident, and the video was now being treated as evidence. “With this clip we have, we can identify some of the perpetrators,” she said.

Human-rights activists and women’s groups reacted with dismay, saying the killing was part of a pattern of systematic abuse.

“This is horrible,” said Fawzia Kofi, a woman parliamentarian. “There are so many claims of progress on behalf of Afghan women, and then something like this happens, and so close to the capital. If the government is serious about women’s rights, it will take serious action.”

Mohammad Musa Mahmoodi, head of Afghanistan’s Human Rights Commission, said during the last three months alone, 58 murders of women had been documented across the country, most of them so-called honor killings, in which a woman is deemed to have disgraced her family by illicit contact with men, even if she is a victim of rape.

“It’s shocking in terms of the situation of women in Afghanistan,” he said. “Women face so much violence.”

An Interior Ministry spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi, said the case was under investigation.

Iran has the death penalty for drinking liquor!!!!

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Iran confronts its alcohol problem

By Ramin Mostaghim, Los Angeles Times

July 7, 2012

TEHRAN — On most days, Mohsen can be found driving around the capital in his old Peugeot with a hired female relative, trying to pass himself off as a father shopping with his daughter.

But the errands he's running involve delivering homemade beer and wine or smuggled vodka and whiskey to customers across the city. He doesn't work nights; that's when the country's moral police set up checkpoints to catch bootleggers like him.

If arrested, the 59-year-old former high school teacher faces jail, thousands of dollars in fines and possibly lashings for flouting the Islamic Republic's blanket ban on drinking, which is prohibited under Islam. Meanwhile, his customer base continues to grow.

After years of being in public denial over the amount of illegal drinking in the country, officials in Iran are for the first time publicly addressing the issue of alcoholism and the health problems drinking can cause, exacerbated by sometimes dangerous homemade brews.

"We sometimes get reports from hospitals and doctors on the consumption of alcohol from neighborhoods in the south of Tehran; low-income and traditional walks of people live there, which is worrying," Deputy Health Minister Baqer Larijani said in May.

In his comments — the first time such a high-ranking government official had acknowledged widespread drinking in Iran — Larijani, whose brother is the country's powerful parliament speaker, said alcoholism now merits more attention than diabetes or heart disease.

And last month, at a ceremony marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Health Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi announced, "We have prepared a road map to treat alcoholism and reduce the consumption of alcoholic beverages in the society."

But even as officials acknowledge the problem, the government continues to treat drinking as a sin and a crime.

Recently, two men in a northeastern province were given rare death sentences for drinking, as part of the country's three-strikes law. Each man had been convicted of drinking twice before.

Amnesty International urged Iranian authorities to drop the death sentences, saying, "Alcohol consumption cannot reasonably be classified as one of the 'most serious crimes,' the internationally agreed minimum standard for capital crimes."

"They are making examples out of a few to show they are serious about the infractions," said Mehdi Semati, author of "Media, Culture and Society in Iran: Living With Globalization and the Islamic State."

More than 200,000 people in Iran are estimated to be involved in bootlegging, and about $800 million is spent annually on smuggling. The country's leading economic newspaper this year quoted border police as saying that the amount of confiscated alcohol had risen 69% in the last year.

Iran has also long had a serious problem with opium and heroin addiction, with official statistics putting the number of addicts at 1.2 million, a number some call conservative. In Iran, drinking is commonly used as a method to try to break drug addiction.

The increase in alcohol use has political ramifications for the Islamic leadership, said Hosein Ghazian, a sociologist and visiting scholar at Syracuse University.

"If a lot of people use alcohol, it means the people are not as Islamic as the government says, so why should they tolerate an Islamic government?" Ghazian said.

The government's reluctance to openly discuss Iranians' drinking habits — even clerics avoid preaching on the topic in Friday sermons — stems from the belief or eagerness to pretend that Iran's forcefully imposed theocracy is prevailing and only a minority of people are not practicing Muslims.

"These are real social problems, these are not just ideological issues," Semati said. "In some ways it's an admission of the failure of the government … to regulate all aspects of social life, where young people and older people would be willing to live by the code of the state of the Islamic Republic."

In Iran, drinking has long been a deeply rooted part of Persian society, from the upper-class elite who hold discreet parties in their Tehran apartments to the blue-collar workers who drink the sometimes toxic homemade brews. The Islamic Revolution in 1979 attempted to squelch the custom, as part of a greater effort to erase the Persian culture in favor of an Islamic one, Semati said.

Part of the culture that thrived before the revolution celebrated the lifestyle of working-class machismo epitomized in popular action films.

Today, young people are increasingly turning to alcohol as an escape from their lives, which they feel are boxed in politically, socially and economically.

"Young people express that they can't go where they want to go and do what they want to do, and sometimes those things are mundane, like gathering in a park and listening to music," Semati said. "So when all those doors are closed, they will do what they can to create their own leisure time and live a life that is free of constraints by the government."

Mohammad Majidi, a doctor who works in several Tehran clinics, says that each day he sees half a dozen young patients who come in with fatty liver, hypertension and intestinal ailments. He treats and releases them, knowing they might soon return, and lists their illnesses as something other than alcohol-related, to protect them from possibly being branded as criminals.

"I only warn them, but I do not think they take my advice to stop drinking," Majidi said.

Alcohol's health toll in Iran is worsened because many people can't afford to buy what's smuggled in. A bottle of French wine can go for about $40, whereas a bottle of Iran-made alcohol sells for less than $6.

Many rely on what's made in people's basements or gardens in unsanitary conditions. While drinking or making the alcohol, people have suffered from alcohol poisoning, blindness or death. The alcohol content of the homemade liquor is often higher than normal, supplemented with drugs or contaminated.

When Shahin, a sociologist whose clients are often young people who binge-drink, talks to his patients, he stays away from religious precepts and instead speaks to them in terms of the dangers to mind and body.

"The religious education at home and at schools has obviously failed," said Shahin, who asked that his last name not be used.

In the absence of other forms of leisure and amusement, he said, "drinking alcoholic beverages is a way to vent your disappointment at the country's injustice, lack of jobs and decent life and future, and political disappointment."

Mostaghim is a special correspondent.

3 doctors challenge new Arizona law banning abortions after 20 weeks

3 doctors challenge new Arizona law banning abortions after 20 weeks

Posted: Thursday, July 12, 2012 4:23 pm

By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services

Three doctors who perform abortions asked a federal judge Thursday to block the state from implementing a new law which bans terminating a pregnancy after 20 weeks.

The lawsuit contends the statute, set to take effect on Aug. 2, runs directly afoul of prior U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

“Prior to viability, states can’t ban abortions,” said attorney Janet Crepps of the Center for Reproductive Rights. That point at which a fetus can live outside the mother, which is reflected in current Arizona law, is generally considered to be in the 23-week range.

But Cathi Herrod, president of the anti-abortion Center for Arizona Policy, brushed aside those prior rulings.

“That’s not the issue here,” she said. “The issue is whether states have the right to protect the health and safety of women because there’s an increased risk to the health of women having abortions after 20 weeks.”

And Rep. Kimberly Yee, R-Phoenix, the sponsor of the legislation, said lawmakers heard evidence that a fetus at 20 weeks has a sufficiently developed nervous system to feel pain which “can actually be more significant than an adult.”

The outcome of the Arizona case could set some precedents nationwide.

Kate Bernyk of the Center for Reproductive Rights said seven other states also have bans on abortions at 20 weeks. And none have been overturned.

But she said the Arizona law is different. And the key is how the time is counted.

In Arizona, the clock starts running as of the last day of a woman’s menstrual cycle. Bernyk said that includes two weeks before a pregnancy probably has occurred.

By contrast, she said the laws in other states have doctors determine the probable gestational age of the fetus. That adds two weeks to the period where abortions are allowed.

Potentially more significant, the lawsuit says the “medical emergency” exception to the ban in the Arizona law is far narrower than exists elsewhere. That exception covers only conditions which would result in the woman’s death or “serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.”

Challengers said that provides no relief to a woman at or after 20 weeks whose pregnancy simply threatens her health. The result, according to challengers, is denying that woman an abortion — or having her delay the procedure until her condition worsens to the point where she now has a medical emergency.

The lawsuit also charges that a 20-week ban denies women the right to make certain decisions about their pregnancies.

It says many women undergo prenatal testing at about 18 to 20 weeks of gestational age seeking information on the development of their child

“As a result of this testing, some women will be learning that their fetus has a medical condition or anomaly that is incompatible with life or that will cause serious lifelong disability,” the lawsuit said. And under current Arizona law, they have the option to terminate that pregnancy.

That option, the challengers say, is foreclosed under the Arizona law.

“It’s just really an unbelievable display of hostility toward women’s lives and health and fundamental rights,” Crepps said. “And that why we felt we had to challenge it.”

Yee, however, said other doctors told lawmakers that any diagnosis of abnormalities “should occur well before that 20th week.”

Attorney General Tom Horne sidestepped questions of whether he believes the statute is legal.

“Arizonans expect their attorney general to vigorously defend the state’s laws,” he said in a prepared statement. “As attorney general I am committed to doing that, and this law will be no exception.”

In challenging the law, the Center for Reproductive Rights, along with the American Civil Liberties Union, said the law presents the doctors they represent with “an untenable choice: to face criminal prosecution for continuing to provide abortion care in accordance with their best medical judgment, or to stop providing the critical care their patients seek.”

American Christian groups spread religious hate in Africa???

U.S. Christian groups press agenda in Africa

Conservative groups push for anti-gay laws

by Michelle Faul - Jul. 24, 2012 11:32 PM

Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Conservative U.S. Christian groups are setting up fronts in Africa to fight for anti-gay and anti-abortion legislation to promote their fundamentalist convictions, a report by a Boston research group said Tuesday.

It accuses evangelical stars such as Pat Robertson and Rick Warren as well as Catholic and Mormon groups of setting up institutions and campaigns in Africa that are "fanning the flames of the culture wars over homosexuality and abortion by backing prominent African campaigners and political leaders."

Reflecting that, the report from independent think tank Political Research Associates of Boston is called "Colonizing African Values: How the U.S. Christian Right is Transforming Sexual Politics in Africa." Ugandan defends practice

Some of the Africans cited in the report as heading African organizations set up by the U.S. religious right maintain that they are just using funds from foreign friends who share similar beliefs.

Among them is Joseph Okia, nephew of President Yoweri Museveni in Uganda, where proposed legislation would invoke the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality."

"Definitely there is a link between conservative Christians in America and conservative Christian leaders in Uganda," Okia confirmed to the report's researchers. He spoke of "a close intellectual and mentoring relationship."

Several Africans and Americans named in the report could not immediately be reached. A spokesman for Warren said he was too busy to comment. Oversized influence

The report's main author, the Rev. Kapya Kaoma, said that while such evangelical groups are in the minority in the United States, they are able to punch way above their weight in Africa, where many oppose homosexuality.

Here, many believe the religious right's contentions that gay men are "recruiting" in schools, Kaoma said. Others believe American conservatives' argument that overpopulation is a myth propagated by Western forces who support contraception and abortion.

And the ultraconservatives have access to powerful politicians, including the presidents of many countries.

"Those kind of lies, when presented in Africa, become factual, so we need to worry that they are misleading people with these lies," said Kaoma, an Anglican priest from Zambia. How agenda is spread

Kaoma's report identifies groups belonging to a loose network of right-wing charismatic Christians. They include Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice, the Catholic Church's Human Life International and the Mormon-led Family Watch International. All have launched or expanded offices in Africa over the past five years.

Robertson's organization has spawned the Zimbabwe-based African Center for Law and Justice and the East African Center for Law and Justice in Kenya.

"By hiring locals as office staff, ACLJ and HLI in particular hide an American-based agenda behind African faces, giving the Christian Right room to attack gender justice and (the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual people) as a neocolonial enterprise imposed on Africans and obstructing meaningful critique of the U.S. right's activities," the report said.

Success targeting homosexuals

Anti-gay laws passed in Burundi in 2009, Malawi in 2010 and Nigeria in 2011.

Uganda's so-called "Kill the Gays" law, which would levy the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," was thought to have been defeated after Kaoma and Political Research Associates exposed the legislation's American instigators in 2009. But it was reintroduced in Uganda's Parliament this February.

That was a year after the killing of David Kato, of Sexual Minorities Uganda, who was found bludgeoned to death in his Kampala home.

Amnesty International has reported an increasing intolerance in Africa that has resulted in "harassment, discrimination, persecution, violence and murders" against homosexuals in Africa.

The report said the new campaigns also have caused more oppression of women by restricting their reproductive freedoms.

Less inroads on fighting abortion

The American Christian right's efforts have found fertile ground among many homophobic Africans, but they have not been as successful in pushing anti-abortion legislation, according to the report. Illegal abortions are performed without hindrance across most of sub-Saharan Africa, and no efforts are made to prosecute those involved. Attempts to counteract discrimination fail

Efforts by the U.S. and European Union governments and the United Nations to promote anti-discriminatory stances in Africa have backfired.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton threatened last year to withhold aid from countries that persecute sexual minorities. It was followed by a reversal to say U.S. policy is to empower sexual minority groups with funding, which provoked a backlash.

"The administration reinforced the conservative narrative that LGBT (sexual minority) groups and the West are flooding the continent with money to impose foreign sexual mores onto the continent," the report said.

Phoenix Police waste tax dollars on parties & unconstitutional activities

Quinceanera, movie nights among Phoenix grant requests

by Connie Cone Sexton - Aug. 8, 2012 10:42 PM

The Republic | azcentral.com

Patrolling streets with flashlights, installing security cameras and publishing newsletters with neighborhood alerts are traditional approaches to fighting crime.

But Phoenix Block Watch funding also is fulfilling unusual requests that some say can be just as effective.

A quinceamera: In 2011, La Familia Neighborhood Association in south-central Phoenix requested and received $9,920 for its "Alcohol-Free Quinceanera." The grant paid for 22 girls and boys ages 12 to 18 to take self-awareness classes, learn about alcohol prevention and clean up the neighborhood for the community quinceanera, a coming-of-age ceremony for 15-year-old Hispanic girls. The grant paid for an event coordinator and instructors in dance, music and sewing; and for a sound system, fabric and sewing supplies.

Youth Bible camp: In 2011, Faith Missionary Baptist Church requested and received $8,895. About $1,900 went to the church for a Bible camp and Community Outreach Day of Celebration. The Block Watch grant also paid for classes on character building, cultural awareness, the criminal-justice system and reducing gang activity.

Movie nights: In 2010, the Canyon Corridor Community Coalition in central Phoenix requested and received $2,685. Most of that paid for a license to put on six multilingual movie events to improve social bonds among neighbors.

Saudi religious police plan industrial city for female workers

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Saudi Arabia plans industrial city for female workers

August 13, 2012 | 4:22 pm

Saudi Arabia is planning a new industrial city for female workers, ensuring that female investors and entrepreneurs can go to work in conditions “consistent with the privacy of women according to Islamic guidelines and regulations,” the Saudi Industrial Property Authority said.

The new industrial city in Hofuf will not be closed to men, but will have sections and production halls reserved for women within factories, the authority said in its recent statement. The city will be located near residential neighborhoods to make it easier for women to get from home to work, it added.

The industrial city near Al Ahsa airport is the first of its kind, according to the authority, and has been approved by the minister of municipal and rural affairs. It could provide as many as 5,000 jobs for men and women.

“Saudi women have the ability to enter the labor market and invest in the industrial sector,” the authority said in paraphrased remarks attributed to acting Director General Saleh Rasheed.

Saudi media first reported the proposed cities this summer, saying as many as four such cities could be in the works. Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry Deputy Chairman Saad Mogil told the Saudi Gazette that the industrial project would “offer comprehensive services to all residents of the city besides opening new avenues of employment for Saudi women.”

The plans appear to be a bid to balance religious strictures with the goal of getting more women into the working world. The kingdom has been tugged between modest reforms backed by the king and the objections of religious leaders who resist reducing the sway of Islam in government and public life.

Women in Saudi Arabia face rigid restrictions. They are in effect banned from driving and required to get permission from a male guardian to work, study or travel. The country sent its first female competitors to the Olympics this year, but women are still shut out of most sports, condemned by some clerics as a slippery slope toward immorality. Only a fraction of women work.

Among Saudi women who do work, nearly two-thirds said they did so to achieve financial independence, according to a June survey conducted by YouGov and Bayt.com. More than a third said their workplaces had both male and female workers, but in separate sections.

Jesus loves you!

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Phoenix Diocese misses abuse-reporting deadline

It said it would detail sex abuse in Phoenix

by Michael Clancy - Aug. 17, 2012 10:01 PM

The Republic | azcentral.com

The Diocese of Phoenix has missed its self-imposed deadline to publish details of how many priests have been accused of sexual misconduct and the associated costs of the scandal.

The diocese, which oversees parishes in Maricopa, Coconino, Yavapai and La Paz counties, promised to publish a comprehensive list of abusive clergy and an accounting of costs associated with the scandal by June 14. That hasn't happened, and diocese officials are refusing to talk about it.

The report as promised would detail the full scope of the church abuse scandal in Phoenix, which lost more than two dozen priests to accusations and arrests. The scandal, which erupted in 2002 with the release of diocesan files in Boston, is believed to have cost the church nationwide an estimated $3.3 billion in court settlements and verdicts to date.

The diocese more than a year ago said the report would be ready in time for the 10th anniversary of the U.S. bishops' Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, known as the Dallas Charter. The charter was the bishops' response to the burgeoning scandal, which caught fire earlier that year.

Two months after the diocese deadline, despite a bishop's suggestion that the diocesan vicar general discuss the details of the report with the media, neither the official nor the diocese communications director will talk about it.

Diocese officials say the full report will be in the fall edition of the diocese newspaper, the Catholic Sun, distributed exclusively to church members.

"We are working on it," said diocese communications director Rob DeFrancesco. "We do not have anything else to add at this time."

Questions about the report came up when Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo Nevares contacted The Republic urging the paper to get in touch with the diocese's vicar general, the Rev. Fred Adamson. The vicar general is the bishops' top-ranking assistant, apparently in charge of assembling the report.

The report potentially could be the first comprehensive accounting of the abuse scandal by any diocese in the country. Several other dioceses, including Tucson, maintain lists of accused or convicted priests.

Adamson would not discuss the report, and Nevares says, "Father Fred does not want to release bits and pieces."

The diocese previously said the report would include a full list of credibly accused clergy in the diocese. In 2004, as part of a report to the national bishops' organization, the diocese listed 18 men, but that list has grown to more than 30, depending on how the counting is done.

The Arizona Republic maintains an updated list, and the website bishopaccountability.org, created by laypeople after the scandal began to keep as many public documents available as they can find, also attempts to list abusive priests.

"Credibly accused" is a term dioceses use to note that a situation of abuse could have happened in the way described by a victim. In many cases, the the "credibly accused" clergy have never been charged by authorities, sued by victims or suspended by diocese leaders.

The count is complicated by several factors:

The diocese has existed for 42 years, and early on, most priests previously had been assigned to the Diocese of Tucson. On its list of accused priests, Tucson lists 10 who served primarily in Phoenix.

The diocese has hosted numerous religious orders, such as Jesuits and Franciscans, to serve as parish priests. More recently, those priests have come from overseas. Such priests may or may not be listed in a diocesan account; their orders are responsible for them, not the diocese.

Several priests from elsewhere may have committed abuses while visiting Arizona; likewise, several Arizona priests were accused of criminal activity elsewhere. Of the seven clergymen the diocese lists as part of community notifications since June 2007, only three spent their careers here. The others either worked here a short time or were regular visitors to the area.

The diocese in 2004 said it had spent approximately $2.7 million in settlements as part of the abuse crisis, but it was never known whether that figure included a full accounting of costs. Such an accounting would include not just legal settlements but also legal, counseling and educational costs, said Terry McKiernan of bishopaccountability.org.

McKiernan notes that nationwide, dioceses have spent about $3.3 billion on abuse-case settlements. Official statements from church officials are so outdated, he says, they are virtually useless.

That is because since 2004, large settlements were reached in several dioceses, including Los Angeles; several bankruptcy filings were completed, including in Tucson; and numerous abuse cases continue to be filed, including one in Kansas City, where the bishop is facing jail time for failure to report criminal sexual activity by a priest, and in Philadelphia, where a diocese official recently was sentenced to prison for his role in moving pedophiles from parish to parish.

The accuracy of the Phoenix Diocese report in 2004 was questioned by Paul Pfaffenberger of Gilbert, who at the time was the local leader of SNAP, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

"The diocese has had a long history of reporting only those cases that have been public through litigation, criminal charges or the media," he said at the time.

Pfaffenberger since has served as victim advocate for the diocese. He steps down at the end of the month after two years in the position.

The list of accused priests and a financial accounting are only part of the picture nationally. A few dioceses have ignored the charter altogether, including Phoenix Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted's home diocese of Lincoln, Neb. Others, like Kansas City and Philadelphia, appeared to be following church rules about suspending suspected pedophiles and reporting them to authorities, only to have faced legal action for failing to do so.

In Gallup, N.M., reports indicate Bishop James Wall, formerly of Phoenix, has failed to talk to or even convene the charter-dictated lay-review board, despite promises of transparency. The Gallup Independent, in an editorial, accused Wall of following "a trail of broken promises" -- including failures to report accused priests to authorities, to publish a comprehensive list of Gallup Diocese abuse cases, and to alert parishes about possible abusers.

Tucson, on the other hand, is one of few dioceses nationally that posts a list of abusive clergy on its website, although it does not provide a full accounting of costs.

List of Tucson priests accused of sexual misconduct involving a minor

This is that list and it was taken from the Diocese of Tucson's website.

List of clergy and other Church personnel identified by the Diocese of Tucson with assignments, employment or ministry service within the Diocese about whom the Diocese is aware of credible allegations of sexual misconduct involving a minor.

Lista de los clérigos y otros miembros del personal de la Iglesia identificados por la Diócesis de Tucson, que desempeñaron funciones, estuvieron empleados o prestaron servicios en un ministerio y sobre quienes la Diócesis tiene conocimiento de acusasiones verosímiles de conducta sexual indebida en la que se involucró a un menor de edad.

Kevin Barmasse (Archdiocese of Los Angeles priest; removed from priesthood 2006)

Assignments:

St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, Sierra Vista (1983-1986)
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Tucson (1986-1988)
Blessed Sacrament Parish, Mammoth (1988-1991)

Rev. Richard Butler, O.P. (Religious order priest; deceased)

Assignment:

St. Thomas More Newman Center, Tucson (1968-1974)

Rev. William Byrne (Diocese of Tucson priest; deceased)

Assignments:

Sts. Peter and Paul Parish, Tucson (1952)
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish, Miami (1952-1953)
Immaculate Conception Parish, Douglas (1953-1956)
St. Ambrose Parish, Tucson (1956)
Regina Cleri Seminary, Tucson (1956-1962)
St. Henry Parish, Buckeye/Gila Bend, Mission Trailer Apostolate (1962-1964)
St. Jerome Parish, Phoenix (1964-1967)
Christ the King Parish, Mesa (1967)
Sacred Heart Parish, Clifton (1967-1971)
St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Yuma (1971-1975)
Our Mother of Sorrows Parish, Tucson (1975-1981)
Vocations, Diocese of Tucson (1981-1985)
St. Ambrose Parish, Tucson (1985-1991)

Rev. Patrick Callanan (Diocese of Tucson priest; deceased)

Assignments:

Holy Angels Parish, Globe (1952-1957)
Sacred Heart Parish, Nogales (1957-1961)
St. Theresa Parish, Patagonia (1961-1963)
Sts. Simon and Jude Parish, Phoenix (1963-1964)

Rev. Carlos Cocio (Diocese of Tucson priest; suspended from ministry)

Assignments:

St. Luke Parish, Douglas (1983-1988)
Our Lady of Fatima, Tucson (1988-1992)
St. James Parish, Coolidge (1992-1993)

Rev. Jorge Washington Cordova Hernandez (Archdiocese of Quito priest)

Last known location: Spain. Sought by law enforcement in U.S.

Assignment:

St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Yuma (1988-1991)

Rev. George A. Costigan, also known as Brother Daniel Eliseus (Diocese of Paterson priest; suspended from ministry)

Rev. Costigan, a priest of the Diocese of Paterson, was removed from ministry in 1994 after an allegation of sexual molestation of a minor dating to the 1960s. In 1970 and 1971, while a member of the Christian Brothers and visiting at St. Bartholomew Parish in San Manuel, Rev. Costigan performed some pastoral work as "Brother Daniel Eliseus" at St. Bartholomew, St. Helen Mission in Oracle, Blessed Sacrament Parish in Mammoth, St. Joseph Parish in Hayden, Infant Jesus of Prague Parish in Kearny and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Superior.

Deacon Ron DeChant (Diocese of Tucson permanent deacon; deceased)

Assignment:

St. Francis de Sales Parish, Tucson (1981-1984)

Rev. John P. Doran (Diocese of Tucson priest; deceased)

Assignments:

Sacred Heart Parish, Nogales (1945-1947)
St. Augustine Cathedral, Tucson (1947-1948)
Immaculate Conception Parish, Douglas (1948-1949)
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Benson (1949-1950)
St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Phoenix (1950-1969)

Rev. George Dyke (Diocese of Tucson priest; deceased)

Assignments:

Immaculate Conception Parish, Douglas (1946-1949)
Salpointe Catholic High School, Tucson (1951-1953)
St. Cyril of Alexandria Parish, Tucson (1951-1953);
Sacred Heart Parish, Clifton (1953-1961)
St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, Sierra Vista (1961-1965)

Rev. Robert Gluch (Diocese of Tucson priest; deceased)

Assignments:

St. Gregory Parish, Phoenix (1964-1968)
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish, Miami (1968-1972)
St. Joseph Parish, Tucson (1972-1975)
Sacred Heart Parish, Clifton (1975-1976)
St. Andrew Parish, Sierra Vista (1976-1981)
St. Patrick Parish, Bisbee (1981-1983)
St. Odilia Parish, Tucson (1984-1993)

Juan Guillen (Diocese of Tucson priest; removed from priesthood 2005)

Released from prison Oct. 6, 2011. Failed to meet conditions of probation. Sought by law enforcement in Yuma County.

Assignments:

Immaculate Conception Parish, Yuma (1982-1985)
Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Somerton (1985-1986)
Immaculate Conception Parish, Yuma (1986-2002)

Anthony Jablonowski (Diocese of Steubenville priest; removed from priesthood 2006)

Assignments:

St. Margaret Mary Parish, Tucson (1993-1994)
St. Theresa Parish, Patagonia (1994-1997)

Rev. Richard Judd (Deceased)

Employment:

Salpointe Catholic High School, Tucson (1970s)
Ministry at St. Pius X Parish, St. Cyril of Alexandria Parish, Tucson (1970s)

Fernando Manzo (Diocese of Tucson priest; removed from priesthood 2010)

Assignments:

St. Rose of Lima Parish, Safford (1983-1985)
St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Yuma (1985-1986)
Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Somerton (1986-1998)
St. Monica Parish, Tucson (1998-2001)
San Felipe de Jesus Parish, Nogales (2001-2003)

Rev. Francis Miller, O.C.D. (Religious order priest; suspended from ministry)

Assignment:

St. Margaret Mary Parish, Tucson (1955-1963)

Deacon Ray Miranda (Diocese of Tucson permanent deacon; suspended from ministry)

Assignment:

St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, Sierra Vista (1982-1983)

Rev. Lucien Meunier de la Pierre (Canadian diocesan priest; deceased)

Service: Present in the Diocese of Tucson in 1974 and 1975. During this time, he assisted in a limited capacity in various parishes. These included (but were not limited to): St. Joseph Parish, Hayden; St. Christopher Parish, Marana; St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Wellton; St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Yuma; and Our Mother of Sorrows Parish, Tucson.

Msgr. John Oliver (Diocese of Tucson priest; deceased)

Assignments:

Queen of Peace Parish, Mesa (1952-1954)
St. Augustine Cathedral, Tucson (1954-1956)
St. Luke Parish, Douglas (1956)
All Saints Parish, Tucson (1958-1960)
St. Augustine Cathedral (1960-1967)
St. Philip Parish, Payson (1968-69)
Immaculate Conception Parish, Yuma (1969-1981)
St. Theresa Parish, Patagonia (1981-1987)
Sacred Heart Parish, Nogales (1987-1995)
St. Jude Parish, Pearce-Sunsites (1995-2000)

Rev. Ted Oswald, also known as Brother John (Diocese of Santa Rosa priest, deceased)

Rev. Oswald was placed on administrative leave by the Diocese of Santa Rosa in 2009 after allegations of sexual abuse of minors in the 1980s and 1990s were found credible. In 1976 and 1977, prior to his ordination, Rev. Oswald was a member of a lay group, "Brothers of Our Lady of the Poor," that provided charitable services in the Yuma community. He was known then as Brother John.

Rev. George Pirrung (Diocese of Phoenix priest; suspended from ministry)

Assignments:

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish, Miami (1954-1955)
Sacred Heart Parish, Nogales (1955-1957)
Queen of Peace Parish, Mesa (1957-1960)
Immaculate Conception Parish, Douglas (1960-1962)
St. Catherine Parish, Phoenix (1962-1968)
Holy Family Parish, Phoenix (1968-1969)
After the Diocese of Phoenix was formed in 1969, Rev. Pirrung served at Holy Family Parish (1969-1977) and Immaculate Conception Parish, Cottonwood (1977-1997).

Rev. Thomas Purcell (Diocese of Fresno priest; suspended from ministry)

Assignments:

St. Odilia Parish, Tucson (1982-1983)
Sacred Heart Parish, Nogales (In residence, 1983-1984)
Rev. Purcell was a member of the Society of Mary (Marist Fathers) when he was in the Diocese of Tucson.

Rev. Claudio Riol (Diocese of Tucson priest; deceased)

Assignments:

Immaculate Heart Academy, Tucson (1960-1961)
St. Catherine Parish, Phoenix (1961)
St. Bernard Parish, Pirtleville (1961)
Immaculate Heart Parish, Phoenix (1965)
Immaculate Conception Parish, Ajo (1966)

Sister Rosaria Riter, O.S.B. (Deceased)

Employment:

Sacred Heart School, Sacred Heart Parish, Tucson (1949-1953)

Msgr. Walter Rosensweig (Diocese of Tucson priest; suspended from ministry)

Assignments:

Sacred Heart Parish, Nogales (1953)
St. Augustine Cathedral, Tucson (1953-1962)
St. Patrick Parish, Bisbee (1962-1965)
St. Monica, Tucson (1965-1966)
St. Augustine Cathedral (1967-1969)
St. Rose of Lima Parish, Safford (1969-1972)
Sacred Heart, Nogales (Tubac, Amado, Rio Rico) (1972-1996).

Rev. Charles Rourke (Diocese of Tucson priest; deceased)

Assignments:

St. Augustine Cathedral, Tucson (1958)
Immaculate Conception Parish, Douglas (1958-1960)
Queen of Peace Parish, Mesa (1960-1961)
St. Joseph Parish, Tucson (1961-1962)
All Saints Parish, Tucson (1962-1965)
Newman Center, Tucson (1966-1968)
St. Monica Parish, Tucson (1968-1969)
Leave of Absence and Archdiocese of Santa Fe (1969-1973)
Sacred Heart Parish, Nogales (1973-1975)
St. Andrew Parish, Sierra Vista (1981-1984)

Julian Sanz (Diocese of Tucson priest; removed from priesthood 2010)

Assignments:

St. Bernard Parish, Pirtleville (1980-1984)
St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Yuma (1986-1987)
Sacred Heart Parish, Clifton (1987-1990)
St. Joseph Parish, Wellton (1990-1992)
St. Jude Thaddeus Parish, San Luis (1992-2001)
Immaculate Conception Parish, Douglas (2001-2002)

Rev. Clemens Schlueter (Diocese of Tucson priest; deceased)

Assignments:

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Scottsdale (1961-1963)
St. Daniel Parish, Scottsdale (1963-1965)
Arizona State Prison Chaplain, Florence (1965-1969)
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Scottsdale (1970-1975)
Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Tucson (1976-1977)
Sacred Heart Parish, Parker (1977-1982)
Arizona Correctional Training Center Chaplain, Tucson (1982-1985)
St. Helen Mission, Oracle (1986-1990)

Deacon Byron Wayne Schoolcraft (Diocese of Tucson deacon; suspended from ministry)

Assignments:

Our Mother of Sorrows Parish, Tucson (1981-1984)

Phillip Gregory Speers

Employment:

St. Francis of Assisi School, Yuma (1999-2000)

Steven Stencil (Diocese of Tucson priest; removed from priesthood 2011)

Assignments:

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish, Miami (1981-1984)
Sacred Heart Parish, Clifton (1984-1986)
Vocations, Diocese of Tucson (1986-1989)
St. Anthony Parish, Casa Grande (1989-1999)
St. Mark the Evangelist Parish, Tucson (1999-2001)

Rev. Floyd G. Stromberg (Diocese of Tucson priest; deceased)

Assignments:

St. Augustine Cathedral, Tucson (1959-1960)
Immaculate Conception Parish, Ajo (1960-1963, 1970-1980)
St. Gregory Parish, Phoenix (1963-1966)
St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Superior (1966)
St. Ambrose Parish, Tucson (1966-1968)
St. Frances Cabrini Parish, Tucson (1968-1970, 1982-1983)
Our Mother of Sorrows Parish, Tucson (1983-1987)
Our Lady Queen of All Saints, Tucson (1987-2002)

Rev. Daniel Taylor (Diocese of Tucson priest; suspended from ministry)

Assignments:

St. Frances Cabrini Parish, Tucson (1981)
St. Francis Parish, Superior (1984-1985)
St. Rose of Lima Parish, Safford (1985)
Sacred Heart Parish, Parker (1985-1988)
Assumption Parish, Florence (1988-1991)
Holy Angels Parish, Globe (1991-1996)
St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Yuma (1996-1999)

Michael Teta (Diocese of Tucson priest; removed from priesthood 2004)

Assignments:

Our Mother of Sorrows Parish, Tucson (1978-1980)
St. Rose of Lima Parish, Safford (1980-1982)
St. Francis Parish, Superior (1986-1988)

Rev. Robert Thomas (Diocese of Toledo priest; suspended from minsitry)

Assignments:

Our Lady of the Valley, Green Valley (1986-1987)
Our Mother of Sorrows, Tucson (1987-1995)
Ministry at Santa Catalina Mission, Catalina (1995-2002)

Rev. James Thompson, C.M. (Religious order priest; deceased)

Assignment:

St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Phoenix (1964-1965)

Robert Trupia (Diocese of Tucson priest; removed from priesthood 2004)

Assignments:

St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Yuma (1973-1976)
Tribunal, Diocese of Tucson (1976-1992)
(Ministry at various times 1976-1992 at parishes in Tucson, including St. Thomas the Apostle, Our Mother of Sorrows and St. Francis de Sales.)

Gary Underwood (Diocese of Tucson priest; removed from priestoohood 2011)

Assignments:

Our Mother of Sorrows Parish, Tucson (1980-1983)
St. Odilia Parish, Tucson (1983-1986)
St. Anthony Parish, Casa Grande (1986-1987)
Archdiocese of the Military USA (1988-2006)

Rev. Thomas Warren (Archdiocese of Los Angeles priest; deceased)

Assignments:

Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Solomon (1984-1989)
Sacred Heart Parish, Parker (1989-1991)

Congressional junket to Sea of Galilee - drinking and skinny dipping!!!!

Source

FBI probed GOP trip with drinking, nudity in Israel

by Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan - Aug. 19, 2012 05:47 PM

POLITICO.COM

The FBI probed a late-night swim in the Sea of Galilee that involved drinking, numerous GOP freshmen lawmakers, top leadership staff - and one nude member of Congress, according to more than a dozen sources, including eyewitnesses.

During a fact-finding congressional trip to the Holy Land last summer, Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kan.) took off his clothes and jumped into the sea, joining a number of members, their families and GOP staff during a night out in Israel, the sources told POLITICO. Other participants, including the daughter of another congressman, swam fully clothed while some lawmakers partially disrobed. More than 20 people took part in the late-night dip in the sea, according to sources who took part in the trip.

"A year ago, my wife, Brooke, and I joined colleagues for dinner at the Sea of Galilee in Israel. After dinner I followed some Members of Congress in a spontaneous and very brief dive into the sea and regrettably I jumped into the water without a swimsuit," Yoder said in a statement to POLITICO. "It is my greatest honor to represent the people of Kansas in Congress and [for] any embarrassment I have caused for my colleagues and constituents, I apologize."

Travis Smith, Yoder's chief of staff, told POLITICO "Neither Congressman Yoder, nor his staff, have been interviewed by the FBI."

These GOP sources confirmed the following freshmen lawmakers also went swimming that night: Rep. Steve Southerland (R-Fla.) and his daughter; Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) and his wife; Reps. Ben Quayle (R-Ariz.), Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) and Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.). Many of the lawmakers who ventured into the ocean said they did so because of the religious significance of the waters. Others said they were simply cooling off after a long day. Several privately admitted that alcohol may have played a role in why some of those present decided to jump in.

The Sea of Galilee, a Christian holy site, is where Jesus is said in the Bible to have walked on water.

The FBI looked into whether any inappropriate behavior occurred, but the interviews do not appear to have resulted in any formal allegations of wrongdoing.

But Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who was the senior most GOP lawmaker in Israel on the trip, was so upset about the antics that he rebuked the 30 lawmakers the morning after the Aug. 18, 2011, incident, saying they were distracting from the mission of the trip.

Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was also on the privately funded excursion, which means two of the three top Republicans were a part of this trip. Neither Cantor nor McCarthy went swimming that night, the sources said. Some of their staff did.

The account of that Aug. 2011 night in Israel was pieced together for the first time by POLITICO based on interviews with more than a dozen sources, including eyewitnesses, as well as public records of the trip.

A Cantor spokesman confirmed that the majority leader dressed down his Republican colleagues and that a staffer was later interviewed by FBI agents.

"Twelve months ago, [Cantor] dealt with this immediately and effectively to ensure such activities would not take place in the future," said Doug Heye, Cantor's deputy chief of staff.

Heye added: "Last year, a staffer was contacted by the Bureau [FBI], which had several questions, the staffer answered those questions and that appears to have been the end of it."

The FBI's questions focused on who went into the water that night, and whether there was any impropriety, according to multiple sources.

The American Israel Educational Foundation, a group related to AIPAC, the prominent pro-Israel advocacy group, sponsored the trip, which ran from Aug. 13 to Aug. 21, 2011. The trip cost AIEF upwards of $10,000 per person, according to records filed with the House Ethics Committee. More than 60 people took part in this AIEF trip.

These trips to the Holy Land are a rite of passage for members of Congress, as they visit the most sacred sites in the Jewish and Christian faiths - while their Israeli government hosts drive home the huge importance of U.S. support of Israel. That's partially why, when the trip devolved into drinking and merrymaking, Cantor was livid.

In a Congress that has already sunk to new lows in public-opinion polls, and seen a bipartisan wave of scandals, this latest controversy could only further damage that image. Since the start of the 112th Congress, former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) resigned following the revelation that he was sending naked pictures of himself to women he met on the Internet. Former Rep. Christopher Lee (R-N.Y.) quickly left office after he was caught sending a topless photo of himself to an online acquaintance. Former Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) stepped down after an "unwanted" sexual encounter with the daughter of a longtime friend. Former Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) resigned after having an extramarital affair with the wife of an aide and then trying to cover it up.

On the Israel trip that included the late night swim, the group of lawmakers on Aug. 18 departed the posh David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem for Tiberias, a historic seaside town located on the banks of the Sea of Galilee. On the night in question, the GOP group checked into Scots Hotel, where rooms could run up to $1,000 each night. At 8:45 p.m., they headed to Decks, a popular restaurant located on the sea, according to an itinerary filed with the House Ethics Committee.

As dinner was winding down, Cantor and McCarthy left the restaurant, but the most of the other lawmakers and staff stayed behind, and the drinking continued, according to several sources who attended the dinner.

After what they describe as a "long, hot day," more than 20 lawmakers and senior aides decided to jump into the sea, sources said. Some went in wearing all their clothes, although others partially undressed.

Yoder removed all his clothes, the only person to do so, according to multiple sources.

Senior aides also jumped into the Sea of Galilee. They include: Steve Stombres, Cantor's chief of staff; Tim Berry, McCarthy's chief of staff; Laena Fallon, Cantor's former communications director and Emily Murray, McCarthy's top health care aide. Kristi Way, a top Cantor staffer, was also on the trip.

Few offices responded to requests for on-the-record comment about the incident. However, numerous Republicans discussed what occurred on the condition of anonymity.

Some of those present took photographs of the group right after the late-night swim, sources said.

After the lawmakers and staff returned to the United States, FBI agents questioned congressional staff about the trip, specifically about what happened in Tiberias.

The FBI declined to comment on its probe, saying its standard policy was not to comment on such matters.

Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for AIEF, defended the group's trip to Israel, saying they're substantive and rigorous.

"As part of the trip, and after of day of meetings including with the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, and briefings on Hezbollah and the border with Lebanon, trip participants traveled to the shore of the Sea of Galilee," Dorton said in an emailed statement.

"This location made it possible to visit a series of Christian holy sites the next day. After dinner that evening, some in the group went swimming in the biblically significant sea. While AIEF has not been contacted by any government agency, we would certainly be willing to answer any questions or respond to any government inquiry on this event or the overall trip."

The AIEF trips to Israel are a fixture of Washington. Both staff and lawmakers travel with the group to the Holy Land, and schedules are filled with boldfaced names.

On this trip, lawmakers met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his office and huddled with his top aide Ron Dermer over dinner at 28 King David, a posh banquet facility in Jerusalem. They ate breakfast separately with the Washington-based Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, and Jerusalem's mayor Nir Barkat. Israeli President Shimon Peres had the group gathered at his residence, and later that day, they met with Tzipi Livni, the opposition leader. Dan Shapiro, the American ambassador to Israel, had the large group to his home in Herzliya for dinner.

On the day of the swimming incident, they met with Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian Authority prime minister, according to the itinerary filed with the House.

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Congressman Todd Akin - Raped woman can't get pregnant???

"If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

Source

Akin apologizes for rape comment, will stay in race

Aug. 20, 2012 11:01 AM

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- Missouri Rep. Todd Akin apologized Monday for his televised comments that women's bodies are able to prevent pregnancies if they are victims of "a legitimate rape," but he refused to heed calls to abandon his bid for the Senate.

Appearing on former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's radio show, Akin said rape is "never legitimate."

"It's an evil act. It's committed by violent predators," Akin said. "I used the wrong words the wrong way."

Calls for Akin's exit from the race grew Monday, with at least two Republican senators -- Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin -- saying he should resign the party's nomination.

But Akin, who has served six terms, pledged to continue the race against Democratic incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill.

"The good people of Missouri nominated me, and I'm not a quitter," he said. "And my belief is we're going to take this thing forward and by the grace of God, we're going to win this race."

During the primary campaign, Akin ran TV ads in which Huckabee praised him as "a courageous conservative" and "a Bible-based Christian" who "supports traditional marriage" and "defends the unborn."

Asked in an interview Sunday on KTVI-TV if he would support abortions for women who have been raped, Akin said: "It seems to me, first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that's really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

Later Sunday, Akin released a statement saying that he "misspoke" during the interview, though the statement did not say specifically which points were in error.

"In reviewing my off-the-cuff remarks, it's clear that I misspoke in this interview, and it does not reflect the deep empathy I hold for the thousands of women who are raped and abused every year," Akin's statement said.

Akin also said he believes "deeply in the protection of all life" and does "not believe that harming another innocent victim is the right course of action."

Brown, considered to be one of the most vulnerable Senate Republicans in the November election, said Akin's comments were "outrageous, inappropriate and wrong,"

"There is no place in our public discourse for this type of offensive thinking," said Brown, who is locked in a tight race with Elizabeth Warren.

Brown said Akin should apologize and resign the Senate nomination.

Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, said in a tweet that Akin "should step aside today for the good of the nation."

Moments after Akin's apology, President Barack Obama said Akin's comments underscore why politicians -- most of whom are men-- should not make health decisions on behalf of women.

"Rape is rape" Obama said. And said the idea of distinguishing among types of rape "doesn't make sense to the American people and certainly doesn't make sense to me."

Akin's comments also brought a swift rebuke from the campaign of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

Romney and Ryan "disagree with Mr. Akin's statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape," Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said.

Romney went further in an interview with National Review Online, calling Akin's comments "insulting, inexcusable and frankly wrong."

"Like millions of other Americans, we found them to be offensive," Romney said.

In an emailed statement Sunday, McCaskill said it was "beyond comprehension that someone can be so ignorant about the emotional and physical trauma brought on by rape."

This month, the 65-year-old congressman won the state's Republican Senate primary by a comfortable margin. During the primary campaign, Akin enhanced his standing with TV ads in which former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee praised him as "a courageous conservative" and "a Bible-based Christian" who "supports traditional marriage" and "defends the unborn."

Ushering Akin from the race is complicated by the fact that he has never been a candidate beholden to the party establishment. Since being elected to Congress in 2000, Akin has relied on a grassroots network of supporters. His Senate campaign is being run by his son.

Behind the scenes, Republican officials were looking for intermediaries trusted by Akin to try to coax him from the race.

Missouri election law allows candidates to withdraw 11 weeks before Election Day. That means the deadline to exit the Nov. 6 election would be 5 p.m. Tuesday. Otherwise, a court order would be needed to remove a candidate's name from the ballot.

If Akin were to leave, state law holds that the Republican state committee has two weeks to name a replacement. The candidate would be required to file within 28 days of Akin's exit.

Akin, a former state lawmaker who was first elected to the House in 2000, has a long-established base among evangelical Christians and was endorsed in the primary by more than 100 pastors.

Teenage girl jailed, accused of blasphemy

Pakistan girl jailed, accused of blasphemy

Associated Press

By REBECCA SANTANA

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Christian girl was sent to a Pakistani prison after being accused by her furious Muslim neighbors of burning pages of the Islamic holy book, the Quran, in violation of the country's strict blasphemy laws.

A police official said Monday there was little evidence that pages of the book had been burned and that the case would likely be dropped. But hundreds of angry neighbors gathered outside the girl's home last week demanding action in a case raising new concerns about religious extremism in this conservative Muslim country.

Some human rights officials and media reports said the girl was mentally handicapped. Police gave conflicting reports of her age as 11 and 16.

Under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad or defiling the holy book, or Quran, can face life in prison or even execution. Critics say the laws are often misused to harass non-Muslims or target individuals.

Police put the girl in jail for 14 days on Thursday after neighbors said they believed a Christian girl had burned pages of a Quran, gathering outside her house in a poor outlying district of Islamabad, said police officer Zabi Ullah. He suggested she was being held for her protection.

"About 500 to 600 people had gathered outside her house in Islamabad and they were very emotional, angry and they might have harmed her if we had not quickly reacted," Ullah said.

Almost everyone in the girl's neighborhood insisted she had burned the Quran's pages, even though police said they had found no evidence of it. One police official, Qasim Niazi, said when the girl was brought to the police station, she had a shopping bag that contained various religious and Arabic-language papers that had been partly burned, but there was no Quran.

Some residents claimed they actually saw burnt pages of Quran — either at the local mosque or at the girl's house. Few people in Pakistan actually speak or read Arabic, so often assume that anything they see with Arabic script is believed to be from the Quran, sometimes the only Arabic-language book people have seen.

But one police officer familiar with the girl's case said the matter would likely be dropped once the investigation is completed and the atmosphere is defused, saying there was "nothing much to the case." He did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the case.

A spokesperson for Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Farhatullah Babar, said the president has taken "serious note" of reports of the girl's arrest and has asked the Interior Ministry to look into the case.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called the case "deeply disturbing".

"We urge the government of Pakistan to protect not just its religious minority citizens but also women and girls," she said.

The Associated Press is withholding the girl's name; the AP does not generally identify juveniles under 18 who are accused of crimes.

The case demonstrates the deep emotion that suspected blasphemy cases can evoke in a country where religion Many critics say the blasphemy laws are often abused.

"It has been exploited by individuals to settle personal scores, to grab land, to violate the rights of non-Muslims, to basically harass them," said the head of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Zora Yusuf.

Those convicted of blasphemy can spend years in prison and often face mob justice by extremists when they finally do get out. In July, thousands of people dragged a man accused of desecrating the Quran from a police station in the central city of Bahawalpur, beat him to death and then set his body on fire.

Attempts to revoke or alter the blasphemy laws have been met with violent opposition. Last year, two prominent political figures who spoke out against the laws were killed in attacks that basically ended any attempts at reform.

The girl's jailing terrified her Christian neighbors, many of whom left their homes in fear after the incident. One resident said Muslims used to object to the noise when Christians sang songs during their services. After the girl was accused he said senior members of the Muslim community pressured landlords to evict Christian tenants.

But Muslim residents insisted they treated their neighbors with respect, and said Christians needed to respect Islamic traditions and culture.

"Their priest should tell them that they should respect the call for prayer. They should respect the mosque and the Quran," said Haji Pervez, one of several Muslims gathered at the local mosque less than 100 yards (meters) from the grey concrete house where the Christian girl lived.

"This is what should have happened. We are standing in the house of God. This incident has happened and it is true. It was not good."

"Even a 3-year-old, 4-year-old child knows: "This is Muslim. This is Christian. This is our religion," said shopkeeper Mohammed Ilyas.

___

Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed and Zarar Khan in Islamabad and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Neither Obama nor Romney get that separation of church thing

Obama: Not my job to convince folks I’m a Christian

By Olivier Knox, Yahoo! News | The Ticket

President Barack Obama says convincing doubters that he is a Christian isn't part of his job description. Mitt Romney tells skeptics of his faith: "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind" and pleads for tolerance.

The two White House contenders addressed the issue of persistent questioning of their religious beliefs as part of a wide-ranging exchange with National Cathedral's "Cathedral Age." The magazine asked Obama and Romney to weigh in on the role of faith in public life and politics as well as in their personal lives.

Public opinion polls have repeatedly found large numbers of Americans who say they think Obama, a practicing Christian, is secretly a Muslim. And some conservative Christian groups reject Romney's Mormon faith.

So "how do you respond" to those who "have questioned the sincerity of your faith and your Christianity?" the magazine asked?

"You know, there's not much I can do about it," Obama said.

"I have a job to do as president, and that does not involve convincing folks that my faith in Jesus 
is legitimate and real. I do my best to live out my faith, and to stay in the Word, and to make my life look more like His. I'm not perfect. What I can do is just keep on following Him, and serve others—trying to make folks' lives a little better using this humbling position that I hold."

"I am often asked about my faith and my beliefs about Jesus Christ," Romney said.

"I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. Every religion has its own unique doctrines and history. These should not be bases for criticism but rather a test of our tolerance. Religious tolerance would be a shallow principle indeed if it were reserved only for faiths with which we agree."

Favorite Bible passage? Romney cited Matthew 25:35-36--"For 
I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me."

Obama pointed to Isaiah 40:31 ("But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" in the King James Bible) and Psalm 46.

Asked different questions about the role of religious faith in public life, both men noted its central role in national struggles like the civil rights movement, and in calls for compassion and service. And what do you know about a political leader from his faith?

"A political leader's faith can tell us a great deal or nothing," Romney said. "So much depends on what lies behind that faith. And so much depends on deeds, not words."

"I think it is important that we not make faith alone a barometer of a person's worth, value, or character," said Obama. The president also highlights former president George W. Bush's faith, calling it a factor in his decision to step up U.S. efforts to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa and urging immigration reform.

Can government and religious groups work together while respecting the First Amendment and the principle of separation of church and state?

Obama highlighted cooperation between government, which has the resources religious groups often lack, and religious groups, which understand local needs in a way government often fails to do.

"The constitutional principle of a separation between church and state has served our nation well since our founding—embraced by people of faith and those of no faith at all throughout our history— and it has been paramount in our work," Obama said.

"Clearly the boundaries between church and state must be respected, but there is a large space in which faith-based organizations can do good for the community in which they serve," said Romney.

The former Massachusetts governor warns against those whom he said take the separation of church and state "well beyond its original meaning" and aim "to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God."

"We are a nation 'Under God,' and in God, we do indeed trust," Romney said.

GOP approves anti-abortion language for platform

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GOP approves anti-abortion language for platform

by Catalina Carnia - Aug. 21, 2012 11:47 AM

USA Today

The Republican Party is poised to adopt a platform next week that calls for a constitutional amendment banning abortion, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

The abortion language, approved today by committee, is similar to what the GOP adopted in 2004 and 2008.

Controversial comments by Missouri Rep. Todd Akin about a woman's body being able to prevent pregnancy in the event of a "legitimate rape" brings new attention to the party platform, which will come for a full vote at the Republican convention on Monday in Tampa.

Akin has vowed to stay on as the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, amid denunciations of his comments by GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney and pressure from the Senate GOP campaign committee to step aside. The six-term House member has apologized for his comments about rape, and is seeking forgiveness from Missouri voters in new ad.

Romney has said his administration would not oppose abortion in instances of rape.

CNN reported today that the so-called "human life amendment" was adopted "after a few minutes of discussion" by a 110-member committee chaired by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Here's the abortion language that was obtained by CNN:

Faithful to the 'self-evident' truths enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children.

"This is the platform of the Republican Party," Priebus told MSNBC. "It's not the platform of Mitt Romney."

Library of Congress hates gays????

Gay man sues Library of Congress, alleging discrimination

By Lisa Rein, Published: August 22

Peter TerVeer was an up-and-coming auditor for the Library of Congress’s inspector general’s office. His boss liked him so much that he tried to set him up with his single daughter.

But when the boss discovered that TerVeer was gay, he harassed him with religious-based homophobia — and eventually got him fired, TerVeer alleges in a federal lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed Aug. 3 in U.S. District Court in Washington, claims that TerVeer, 30, suffered discrimination based on “sex stereotyping” and his religious beliefs in violation of Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act.

It charges that TerVeer was subjected to a hostile work environment for more than a year by his supervisor, John Mech, who quoted biblical passages to him condemning homosexuality.

“Aside from creating a hostile environment in which he imposed his religion and sexual stereotypes, Mech began creating a paper trail to support his ultimate goal of driving TerVeer out of the Library of Congress,” the suit alleges.

Library of Congress spokeswoman Audrey Fischer said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. The library has 60 days to file a response to the allegations in court.

Mech, reached at his office Wednesday, declined to comment. Inspector General Karl W. Schornagel also declined to comment.

TerVeer is seeking reinstatement at his job, back pay, compensatory and punitive damages for emotional distress, and an order restraining Mech, lead auditor for Schornagel’s office,from continuing to discriminate against him.

The lawsuit also alleges that TerVeer faced retaliation when he filed a complaint with the agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity office.

“Things got worse and worse,” Thomas J. Simeone, one of TerVeer’s attorneys, said in an interview.

The EEO office concluded that TerVeer had not suffered discrimination, Simeone said, “so we went to court, to get out of the entire administrative process and have a jury figure this out.”

Mech is a religious man who keeps a Bible on his desk at work, the lawsuit says.

In the context of a lighthearted political discussion in June 2009, Mech told TerVeer that “putting you closer to God is my effort to encourage you to save your worldly behind [ ] !!!!!!” the suit alleges.

TerVeer started as a temporary employee in the inspector general’s office in February 2008 and within eight months was hired full time. He received a promotion the following year.

He and his boss developed a close relationship. Mech invited him to a University of Maryland football game with his wife and son, and introduced him to his daughter, Katie. The two became Facebook friends in January 2009.

In August 2009, TerVeer pressed the “Like” button on a Facebook page called “TwoDads.us,” which fosters support for same-sex parents fighting anti-gay bullying. Mech’s daughter saw TerVeer’s page and posted the comment “Don’t tell me you’re weird like that,” the lawsuit says.

The suit alleges that a few days later, TerVeer received an e-mail from Mech mentioning his daughter and containing photographs of assault weapons with the caption, “Diversity: Let’s Celebrate It.”

From then on, religious lectures were routine, the lawsuit alleges, making TerVeer uncomfortable. During an unscheduled meeting, Mech tried to “educate TerVeer on Hell and that it is a sin to be homosexual” and began reciting Bible verses from Leviticus.

TerVeer’s work assignments grew beyond the scope of his experience, leading him to conclude that he was being set up to fail. He received a negative performance review.

“Now, at the beginning of almost every work-related conversation, Mech would engage in a religious lecture to the point where it became clear that Mech was targeting TerVeer by imposing his conservative Catholic beliefs on TerVeer throughout the workday,” the lawsuit states. “TerVeer proclaims a Christian faith, but one that is accepting of his sexual orientation.”

TerVeer complained to Mech’s supervisor, Nicholas Christopher, according to the lawsuit. TerVeer alleges that Mech, with Christopher’s help, “continued to manufacture a negative paper trail” to downgrade TerVeer’s performance ratings. Christopher, who has left the inspector general’s office, declined to comment and referred questions to the agency.

After TerVeer says he was advised by his doctor to take an extended medical leave to deal with his stress, he was ultimately fired for missing 37 consecutive workdays. The lawsuit asserts that library officials had signed off on his request for disability time off.

He has appealed his firing but is not being paid, his attorney said.

American Taliban seeks group prayer in Ind. prison

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American Taliban seeks group prayer in Ind. prison

Aug. 27, 2012 06:59 AM

Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS -- An American-born Taliban fighter imprisoned in Indiana will try to convince a federal judge in a trial starting Monday that his religious freedom trumps security concerns, in a closely watched trial that will examine prisoners' rights in the age of terrorism.

John Walker Lindh was charged with supporting terrorists after he was captured by U.S. troops in Afghanistan and later pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

Lindh, 31, is serving a 20-year sentence at a federal facility in Terre Haute where he and other inmates have severely limited contact with the outside world. The Muslim convert claims his religious rights are being violated because the prison deprives him of daily group prayer.

Muslims are required to pray five times a day, and the Hanbali school to which Lindh belongs requires group prayer if it is possible. But inmates in the Communications Management Unit are allowed to pray together only once a week except during Ramadan. At other times, they must pray in their individual cells. Lindh says that doesn't meet the Quran's requirements and is inappropriate because he is forced to kneel in close proximity to his toilet.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which is representing Lindh, contends the policy violates a federal law barring the government from restricting religious activities without showing a compelling need.

"This is an open unit where prisoners are basically out all day," said ACLU legal director Ken Falk, noting that inmates are allowed to play basketball and board games, watch television and converse as long as they speak English so the guards can understand.

"They can do basically any peaceful activity except praying," he said. "It makes no sense to say this is one activity we're going to prohibit in the name of security."

Joe Hogsett, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said he believes decisions about prison regulations are best made by prison officials, "not by convicted terrorists and other dangerous criminals who reside there."

"Mr. Lindh is allowed to pray in his cell; he's allowed to pray wherever he happens to be as many times every day as his religion suggests to him that he should," Hogsett said. "Where the rules must draw the line is how often must prison officials allow prisoners to congregate together?"

Attorneys for the government maintain that Lindh's own behavior since he was placed in the unit in 2007 proves the risks of allowing group prayer.

The government says in court documents that Lindh delivered a "radical, all-Arabic sermon" to other Muslim prisoners in February that was in keeping with techniques in a manual seized from al-Qaida members that details how terrorists should conduct themselves when they are imprisoned.

Lindh's sermon proves "that religious activities led by Muslim inmates are being used as a vehicle for radicalization and violence in the CMU," the government claims.

Falk said Lindh's speech wasn't radical and was given during the weekly prayer that inmates are permitted. He said Lindh was not disciplined for the speech.

The self-contained unit in which Lindh resides has 43 inmates, 24 of whom are Muslim. Inmates are under open and covert audio and video surveillance, and except for talks with their attorney, all of their phone calls are monitored. Prisoners are not allowed to touch their family members when they come for their tightly limited visits. They must speak English at all times except when reciting ritual prayers in Arabic.

Without such tight security, the government claims, the prisoners would be able to conspire with outsiders to commit terrorist or criminal acts.

According to court documents, daily prayers were allowed from the time the unit opened in 2006 until May 2007, when Muslim inmates refused to stop in the middle of a prayer to return to their cells during a fire emergency.

The lawsuit was originally filed in 2009 by two Muslim inmates in the unit. Lindh joined the lawsuit in 2010, and the case has drawn far more attention since then. The other plaintiffs have dropped out as they were released from prison or transferred to other units.

Thomas Farr, a former diplomat who teaches at Georgetown University and studies religion and terrorism, said Lindh should be able to practice his religion but that prison officials have a responsibility to ensure he can't plan or carry out any attacks.

"That is why he is in prison and if that is not a compelling state interest I do not know what is," Farr said.

Stanford University terrorism expert Martha Crenshaw said prison officials have legitimate security concerns but questioned how dangerous Lindh really was, noting that he was not a leader or an influential cleric. Even the government says Lindh is currently characterized as a minimum-security prisoner.

He had been charged with conspiring to kill Americans and support terrorists, but those charges were dropped in a plea agreement. He is serving a 20-year sentence for supplying services to the now-defunct Taliban government of Afghanistan and carrying explosives for them and is eligible for release in 2019.

"The fact that the charge of conspiring to kill Americans was dropped could be considered evidence that he was not a personally violent jihadist," Crenshaw said in an email.

"Certainly after 9/11 the pendulum has swung toward preventing terrorism at almost any cost," Crenshaw said. "I would like to think that it could be swinging back, but it swings slowly. Once established, routines are hard to change."

San Francisco archbishop-elect apologizes for DUI arrest

SF archbishop-elect apologizes for DUI arrest

By ELLIOT SPAGAT and LISA LEFF

Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Roman Catholic archbishop-elect of San Francisco has apologized for his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving, behavior that he said brought "shame" and "disgrace" on himself and the church, though legal experts said was unlikely to derail his promotion.

The Rev. Salvatore Cordileone said in a statement issued Monday by his office that he was driving home from a dinner with friends in San Diego with his mother and a visiting priest friend early Saturday when he was pulled over at a DUI checkpoint near San Diego State University.

The statement said a sobriety test showed his blood-alcohol level to be above the legal limit, although Cordileone did not reveal by how much.

"I apologize for my error in judgment and feel shame for the disgrace I have brought upon the Church and myself," he said. "I pray that God, in His inscrutable wisdom, will bring some good out of this."

Cordileone, 56, currently serves as bishop of Oakland and is scheduled to be installed as San Francisco archbishop on Oct. 4, five days before his first court date.

Pope Benedict XVI selected him last month to replace Archbishop George Niederauer, who is retiring in October.

Cordileone was stopped around 12:30 a.m. on the outskirts of the campus, a residential area of modest houses, apartment buildings and restaurants where college students mix with the general population.

The archbishop-elect was booked into San Diego County jail two hours later then released at 11:59 a.m. Saturday on $2,500 bond, sheriff's records show. The San Diego city attorney's office, which prosecutes misdemeanor DUI offenses, said it had not received a report on the arrest.

Cordileone took a breath test that confirmed his blood alcohol content exceeded California's legal limit of 0.08 percent, said Officer Mark McCullough, who declined to say by how much.

"He was a driver that was obviously impaired but he was quite cordial and polite throughout," said McCullough, who was at the scene. "He was not a belligerent drunk at all ... There were no problems with him throughout the night.

Cordileone, one of 11 people arrested at the checkpoint that night, identified himself as a priest, said McCullough. An officer did an Internet search and learned he was archbishop-elect.

Canon law experts said a criminal charge would not automatically prompt a delay in Cordileone's installation as archbishop, which is scheduled to take place at St. Mary's Cathedral on Oct. 4, the feast day of San Francisco's patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi.

Because Catholic bishops are answerable only to the pope, any potential discipline would have to come from the Vatican, said Michael Ritty, a canon lawyer in private practice in upstate New York.

"If there was anything, it would be handled in Rome, most likely by the Congregation for Bishops. Depending on the question or type of criminal charge, it might go directly to the pope or as directly as you can get," Ritty said.

Cordileone is a native of San Diego, where he was ordained as a priest in 1982. He has been bishop of Oakland for a little more than three years, and before that, he served as an auxiliary bishop in San Diego.

The Rev. Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, predicted that Cordileone's arrest, while embarrassing, would only draw a response from Rome if it appeared he had a serious substance abuse problem that prevented him from carrying out the archbishop duties.

"The bottom line is there is no real requirement that he resign," Reese said. "If he is an out-of-control alcoholic who can't function, that would be an issue, but obviously he has been the bishop of Oakland all these years and he seems to be able to function. Nobody knows if he has a drinking problem or was one fraction over the (blood alcohol) limit."

Noting that forgiveness is an integral part of the Catholic faith, Reese recalled the 1985 DUI arrest of the late Minneapolis-St. Paul Archbishop John Roach, who pleaded guilty and served two days in jail but remained popular in the post for another decade.

Cordileone will have to "explain this to people, and depending on what he does and how it's perceived, we'll see how it goes" he said. "It could make him more human."

While serving in San Diego four years ago, Cordileone was instrumental in devising an initiative to strip same-sex couples of the right to wed in California. He was part of a statewide network of clergy that promoted the measure, known as Proposition 8. Campaign finance records show he personally gave at least $6,000 to back the voter-approved ban.

Since last year, Cordileone has been chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.

At a news conference last month, he said he thought the Roman Catholic Church had come a long way in addressing the issue of clergy sex abuse and reiterated his opposition to gay marriage.

"Marriage can only come about through the embrace of a man and a woman coming together," he said. "I don't see how that is discriminatory against anyone."

The archdiocese serves more than 400,000 Catholics in the city of San Francisco and Marin and San Mateo counties. In the post, Cordileone would oversee the bishops in Honolulu, Las Vegas, Oakland, Reno, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Santa Rosa and Stockton.

Rev. Sun Myung Moon dies; led controversial Unification Church

Sun Myung Moon dies at 92; led controversial Unification Church

By Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times

September 2, 2012, 12:34 p.m.

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the self-proclaimed Messiah from South Korea who led the Unification Church, one of the most controversial religious movements to sweep America in the 1970s, has died. He was 92.

Moon, who had been hospitalized with pneumonia in August, died Monday at a hospital in Gapyeong, South Korea, church officials told the Associated Press.

Although greeted as a Korean Billy Graham when he arrived in the United States four decades ago, Moon gradually emerged as a religious figure with quite different beliefs, whose movement was labeled a cult and whose followers were mocked as "Moonies." At the height of his popularity, he claimed 5 million members worldwide, a figure that ex-members and other observers have called inflated. Those numbers are believed to have fallen into the thousands today.

Moon offered an unorthodox message that blended calls for world peace with an unusual interpretation of Christianity, strains of Confucianism and a strident anti-communism. He was famous for presiding over mass marriage ceremonies that highlighted Unification's emphasis on traditional morality.

What also made Moon unusual was a multinational corporate vision that made him a millionaire many times over. He owned vast tracts of land in the U.S. and South America, as well as dozens of enterprises, including a ballet company, a university, a gun manufacturer, a seafood operation and several media organizations, most notably the conservative Washington Times newspaper. He also owns United Press International.

Moon was "the object of more suspicion and enmity than almost any other contemporary religious leader," Eileen Barker, an authority on the Unification Church and new religions at the London School of Economics, wrote some years ago.

The short, balding immigrant evangelist was not charismatic in the usual sense. He spoke poor English and gave few interviews. His sermons, delivered through interpreters, rambled on for hours and often exhorted followers against using "love organs" in promiscuous behavior or homosexual relationships.

His ideas often seemed bizarre: He believed in numerology, proposed building a highway around the world and for a while embraced a Zimbabwean man as the reincarnation of a son who had died in an accident.

He courted the powerful with surprising success, at one time counting among his friends and allies Christian right leader Jerry Falwell, who defended Moon when he was tried and later convicted in the U.S. on charges of tax evasion; the Nation of Islam's Louis Farrakhan, who shared pulpits with him; and former President George H.W. Bush, who appeared at Unification Church-affiliated events in the U.S. and abroad.

In 2004, Moon invited guests to a U.S. Senate office building in Washington, where he had himself crowned "none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent." The ceremony was attended by a dozen members of Congress, several of whom later told reporters they had been misled about the purpose of the event.

His religious journey purportedly began 16 years after his birth on Jan. 2, 1920 in what is now North Korea. According to biographical accounts, Jesus appeared to the young Moon on a Korean mountaintop on Easter Sunday in 1936. From this meeting Moon divined that his job was to complete Jesus' mission of creating heaven on Earth.

During high school in Korea and at Waseda College in Tokyo, where he studied electrical engineering, Moon claimed to receive more messages from spiritual figures, including Buddha and Moses. He later said that Buddha told him to seek the unification of world religions "in a common effort to salvage the universe."

After World War II, Moon founded a church and began preaching full-time, often speaking out against communism. His strong political stands caused problems with the North Korean government, which jailed him on charges of bigamy and draft evasion. He was freed in 1950.

In 1954, he founded the Holy Spirit Assn. for the Unification of World Christianity in Seoul. Three years later he published "The Divine Principle," the main text of his church.

Unification theology is complex, but a central tenet is to right the wrongs of Adam and Eve. According to the Divine Principle, Satan seduced Eve, who then had illicit relations with Adam and spawned impure children.

Moon regarded Jesus as the second Adam, but Jesus was crucified before he could marry and bring forth sinless progeny. Thus, according to Moon, mankind's salvation depended on a third savior to appear on Earth and marry a pure woman. Together they would become the "true parents" of mankind and beget pure families to populate the kingdom of God.

The new Christ, Moon prophesied, would be born in Korea.

Moon's beliefs did not go over well with leaders of mainline Christianity. He was turned down when he applied for membership to the major ecumenical organizations, the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches.

"His theology was heretical," said David Bromley, a Virginia Commonwealth University sociologist who co-authored "Moonies in America," a major study of the Unification movement during its peak in the 1970s.

Church members addressed Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han, as the "True Parents," a title that outraged many of the actual parents of Moon's followers. The Moons moved to the U.S. in 1971 and eventually lived in a 35-room mansion on an estate in Irvington, N.Y.

Moon's first marriage, to Choe Sung-kil, ended in divorce in 1957. He had a son with her and another with Kim Myung-hee, who lived with Moon during the 1950s. In 1960 he married Han, then a young disciple. They had 14 children, of whom 10 survive him. He was believed to have more than 40 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.

Had Moon restricted his recruiting to ethnic Koreans, he might have avoided criticism, Bromley said. But the church began targeting white middle-class youths on or near college campuses, a tactic also pursued by two other sects that attained notoriety in the 1970s, the Children of God and the Hare Krishnas.

An anti-cult movement rose in opposition to the groups and created a market for "deprogrammers" who abducted church members and tried to reverse the brainwashing they believed was fundamental to the cults' influence.

Moon promoted interracial and intercultural marriages and arranged thousands of unions. Couples matched by the church were instructed to refrain from having intercourse for 40 days, partly to ensure that the unions were based on "pure love" rather than carnal desire. In one of the church's most publicized events, Moon blessed 6,500 couples in New York's Madison Square Garden in 1988.

Followers were expected to live communally under austere conditions, although the church later moved away from group living as members matured and started their own families. Each member also was expected to raise money for the church, often by peddling flowers or other innocuous items at airports and shopping malls.

In 1978 Congress investigated the church as part of a broader probe into Korean influence-buying. A congressional subcommittee concluded that Moon's organization had violated U.S. tax, immigration, banking and currency laws. In 1982 he was convicted on tax evasion charges and served 11 months in a federal prison in Danbury, Conn.

That year, he launched the Washington Times, which positioned itself as a conservative alternative to the Washington Post. It won loyal readers in the White House and among conservative strategists but has been a chronic money-loser, surviving on more than $2 billion in subsidies from the church. Circulation fell to about 40,000 daily copies in 2010, when a family feud caused the patriarch to repurchase the paper after having given control of it four years earlier to his eldest son, Preston.

elaine.woo@latimes.com

Times special correspondent Jung-yoon Choi in Seoul contributed to this report.

Atheist goes to Supreme Court in cross challenge

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Atheist goes to Supreme Court in cross challenge

Sept. 5, 2012 11:46 AM

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- A Chicago-area atheist is using his last legal recourse in challenging the use of state funds to renovate a towering southern Illinois cross, but he acknowledges the odds are "pretty slim" that the U.S. Supreme Court will agree to hear the case.

Robert Sherman's filing Tuesday with the high court came three months after the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's finding that Sherman lacks standing to sue over the $20,000 Illinois grant given in 2008 to the 111-foot-high Bald Knob Cross of Peace.

Sherman said Wednesday that it's unlikely the Supreme Court -- commonly considered "the court of last resort" -- will agree to hear his arguments that using taxpayer money for the cross near Alto Pass, Ill., was unconstitutional. The high court last term accepted just roughly 80 of the some 7,500 appeals filed with it.

"The chances of them taking it are pretty slim," Sherman told The Associated Press of the Supreme Court, which could accept or reject Sherman's appeal as early as this fall.

In handing Sherman his latest legal setback in June, the three-judge 7th Circuit panel sided with a federal judge's February 2011 decision to toss out Sherman's case on grounds that the grant was made by the state's executive branch and wasn't a designated legislative earmark, as Sherman alleged.

"Even if he did have standing (to sue), Sherman may seek only an injunction against the state prohibiting the allegedly unconstitutional disbursement, but it is too late for this relief," Judge Diane Wood wrote for the 7th Circuit panel. "Illinois has already disbursed the $20,000 to (the cross' caretakers) and Sherman has no right to insist that they pay it back."

Jeff Lingle, president of Friends of Bald Knob Cross, the landmark's fundraising arm, said Wednesday he found Sherman's latest appeal in the 2-year-old legal saga unsurprising. He argued the grant related to the landmark's tourism and "doesn't have anything to do with the religious aspect of it."

"We face it with hope that everything falls our way," he said. "We just have to go through it. We're not frustrated or disappointed. We're just keeping on."

Sherman sued in August 2010, arguing that efforts to repair the cross using the $20,000 grant "has the primary effect of advancing a particular religious sect, namely Christianity." He noted that the money came from a $5 million pot of money that the state Legislature channeled to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Sherman insisted that the grant was a legislative earmark -- not a discretionary allocation from the executive branch -- and therefore funneled state money to a religious site in violation of the First Amendment's prohibition against the establishment of religion.

The cross, about 130 miles southeast of St. Louis near the Shawnee National Forest, was built largely thanks to local farmers' profits from selling pigs. It has been a fixture on the 1,025-foot-high Bald Knob Mountain for a half-century, a sentry standing over forests and the region's orchards and burgeoning wine country. Easter services have been held on the mountain since 1937.

Over the decades, the cross and its porcelain tiles fell into disrepair, prompting its caretakers' feverish bid to raise funds for a $500,000 restoration. Lingle's Friends of the Cross raised more than $550,000 since that group's inception some four years ago.

Democrats mix religion and government in their platform

Democrats put God, Jerusalem back in platform over objections

By Matea Gold and Michael Memoli

September 5, 2012, 3:11 p.m.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a rare moment of actual convention drama, Democratic officials reinserted language back into their official platform Wednesday evening that invokes God and affirms the role of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, trying to defuse Republican attacks over the party’s stances.

But the maneuver may have backfired, infuriating delegates who objected to the changes.

The new amendments were introduced by former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and put to a vote by convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa, who was forced to call for three voice votes in an effort to pass the changes.

“I, uh, I guess I’ll do that one more time,” Villaraigosa said after a second vote of delegates in the Time Warner Cable Arena resulted equally loud “ayes” and “nos.”

“You've got to rule, and then you've got to let them do what they're gonna do,” a woman standing to his left could be heard saying in a feed carried by C-SPAN.

After a third attempt, Villaraigosa declared that the amendments had passed.

“In the opinion of the chair, two-thirds have voted in the affirmative,” he said, drawing large boos and shouts of objections.

The action kicked off the second night of the Democratic National Convention and came as Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan have seized on the platform omissions.

“I think their having removed purposefully God from their platform suggests a party which is increasingly out of touch with the mainstream of American people,” Romney told Fox News on Wednesday. “I think this party is veering further and further away into an extreme wing that Americans don’t recognize.”

Four years ago, the Democrats included the word God in their official platform, writing, “We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.”

That line was originally omitted from the 2012 document and reinserted Wednesday night.

“As an ordained United Methodist minister, I am here to attest and affirm that our faith and belief in God is central to the American story, and informs the values we've expressed in our party's platform,” Strickland said in introducing the amendments. “In addition, President Obama recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and our party's platform should as well."

The passage added regarding Jerusalem, which had been in the 2008 document, said that the city “is and will remain the capital of Israel. The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths.”

The topic of Jerusalem is a flash point in Israeli-Palestinian relations: While the city is the country’s legal capital, it is also where Palestinians want to locate the capital of an independent state. The matter is an issue to be resolved in final negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Because of the controversy, the United States has maintained its embassy in Tel Aviv, despite a 1995 law passed by Congress that called for it to be moved to Jerusalem. Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama have blocked its implementation, calling the law an infringement on the executive branch’s authority.

Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said the changes to the platform were made Wednesday “to maintain consistency with the personal views expressed by the President and in the Democratic Party platform in 2008.”

“It has been the policy of both Republican and Democratic administrations for decades that Jerusalem is a final status issue to be negotiated directly between the two parties, as part of discussions to achieve a two-state solution that secures the Jewish state and homeland,” she said in a statement. “Our Party platform already expresses strong support for the peace process and makes clear the steps that any Palestinian partner must take to be a part of such a process -- recognizing Israel’s right to exist, rejecting violence, and adhering to existing agreements.”

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matea.gold@latimes.com

michael.memoli@latimes.com

Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa defends vote revising DNC platform on Jerusalem, God

Villaraigosa defends vote revising DNC platform on Jerusalem, God

By Seema Mehta

September 8, 2012, 6:00 a.m.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa defended his performance during a platform kerfuffle at the Democratic National Convention this week, saying that he took the actions called for by President Obama and followed procedure when Democrats realized they had left the words “God” and “Jerusalem” out of the party platform.

Such a change requires a two-thirds vote by delegates, and on Wednesday they were asked to approve language invoking God and affirming Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Villaraigosa, the convention chairman, called for a voice vote three times before declaring the amendments approved. Some delegates and journalists on the convention floor at the Time Warner Cable Arena were adamant that one could not audibly be certain they heard two-thirds of the delegates present say “aye.”

“It was a lot of ado about nothing,” the mayor said Friday. Villaraigosa said that when reporters told him after the vote that they did not clearly hear two-thirds support, he responded, “That’s nice to know. I was the chairman and I did, and that was the prerogative of the chair.”

Villaraigosa noted that any delegate who objected to the process could have made a formal challenge within 10 minutes of the vote.

“Not one person objected. It’s more a media concern than a delegate concern. I can tell you this — the president of the United States said, ‘Wow.’ The president said, ‘You showed why you were speaker of the California Assembly,’” Villaraigosa said. “The president, the vice president, Mrs. Obama, all of them acknowledged the decisive way I handled that.”

Republicans had pounced on the omissions from the platform. They said the failure to mention God showed that Democrats were out of step with the American people, and the omission of Jerusalem raised questions about the administration’s commitment to Israel.

Villaraigosa, in his remarks Friday, added that Obama wanted a platform that reflected his views on God and Israel’s capital, while Republicans adopted a platform that contains a notable provision — forbidding abortion in cases of rape and incest — that their nominee, Mitt Romney, does not believe in.

“The president of the United States and the leader of my party asked me to do this, and so I’m proud I have a president who believes God and Jerusalem should be in the platform, and so do I,” Villaraigosa said.

Overall, Villaraigosa declared the convention a great success.

“I’ve had individual after individual come up to me who have gone to multiple conventions saying this was the best convention ever,” he said. “The messaging was so consistent and strong … and things went smoothly.”

seema.mehta@latimes.com

Mitt Romney Vows God Will Stay in GOP Platform

Mitt Romney Vows God Will Stay in GOP Platform

By Emily Friedman | ABC OTUS News

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Making reference for the first time to the Democrats' about-face on having the word "God" in their party's platform, Mitt Romney said here today that if he is elected, God will not be removed from the Republican platform.

"I will not take God out of the name of our platform," said Romney to thunderous applause. "I will not take God off our coins and I will not take God out of my heart. We're a nation that's bestowed by God."

It was Romney's first reference to last week's awkward proceedings during the Democratic National Convention, in which after one day the platform was amended to include the word "God" and name Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reportedly under the instruction of President Obama.

Romney debuted a new stump speech here today, one that hinged on the candidate leading the crowd of thousands in the Pledge of Allegiance.

"I remember as a boy, I was in the fourth grade, somehow in my mind I remember being there in the fourth grade in front of the blackboard, we had an American flag that was pinned in front of the blackboard. And every day we stood, lined up in front of that blackboard and we recited the pledge of allegiance. Do you remember?" asked Romney, launching into the pledge.

"When I make a promise I intend to keep a promise, and I've done that through all my life. When I made that promise time and time again in my pledge of allegiance to the flag I remembered that flag and I remember it to this day," Romney said.

Then, drawing on each clause of the pledge, Romney ticked down is list of campaign promises.

"One nation indivisible," he said, before vowing not to divide the nation or "apologize for America abroad."

"With liberty and justice for all," Romney continued, saying he will "not forget that for us to have liberty here, for us to be able to protect ourselves from the most evil around the world, for us to share liberty with our friends around the world, we must have a military second to none, so strong no one would ever think of testing it."

And in referring to "justice for all," Romney continued that he does not believe it's just to pass on debts, adding, "I also don't think it's justice for all when a nation as prosperous as ours, the most prosperous major nation in the history of the earth, to have one in every six people below the line of poverty."

And with that, his use of the Pledge of Allegiance as a vehicle to deliver his own promises, had come full circle.

"We believe in a nation under god, a nation indivisible, a nation united, a nation with justice and liberty for all," said Romney reciting the final clause in full. "And for that to happen, we're going to have to have a new president that will commit to getting America working again; that will commit to a strong military; that will commit to a nation under god that recognizes that we the American people were given our rights not by government but by God himself."

Romney senior adviser Kevin Madden said before rally that the campaign anticipates Virginia will be a tight race until November.

"I think those people are very anxious about the direction of the country and I think they represent a pretty unique opportunity for us to win the state," Madden said. "It's going to be a very close race in Virginia, I'd expect all the way through."

Romney notably chose Virginia as the site for the announcement of his choice for running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, in August, but has not been back to the state since, scrapping plans to rally here with Ryan last week to make a stop in Louisiana to visit areas damaged by Hurricane Isaac.

Obama won't remove "In God We Trust" from American money

Source

Obama aides mock Romney talk of taking ‘God’ off currency

By Olivier Knox, Yahoo! News | The Ticket

President Barack Obama smiles during a campaign event at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida …"The president believes as much that God should be taken off a coin as he does that aliens will attack Florida."

That's the response from Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki to Mitt Romney's apparent suggestion at a Virginia Beach, Va., rally on Saturday that Democrats hope to take "In God We Trust" off American money. There is no such effort.

"I will not take God off our coins and I will not take God out of my heart. We're a nation that's bestowed by God," the Republican standard-bearer said.

"Look, this is nothing more than a desperate attack based on a false premise by the Romney team, and it's sad that the debate has been driven to this level of discourse," said Psaki. "It's an absurd question to be raised."

(White House press secretary Jay Carney piled on, saying that, in presidential campaigns, "there's a period when the argument is not going your way… and you begin to see random issues thrown up like spaghetti against the wall to see if anything can stick.")

Romney's riff came after embarrassed Democrats gathered at their national convention in Charlotte, N.C., restored the only reference to God in their party platform after dropping it.

Psaki and Carney's remarks were collected and shared by pool reporter Reid Epstein of Politico.

Other articles on mixing religion and government

More artilces on mixing religion and govenrment.