We Can Learn To Ignore The Bulls**t In The Bible

Dan Savage, founder of the "It Gets Better" project, an anti-bullying campaign, was supposed to be delivering a speech about anti-bullying at the National High School Journalism Conference sponsored by the Journalism Education Association and the National Scholastic Press Association, but it turned into an anti-Christian speech. 

"We can learn to ignore the bulls**t in the bible about gay people, the same way we have learned to ignore the bulls**t in the bible about shellfish, about slavery, about dinner, about farming...about virginity...we ignore bulls**t in the bible about all sorts of things," says Savage. 

Savage's attack on the Christian faith caused many teenagers to walk out during his speech. As they walked out Savage insulted them by calling them "pansy-assed". 

Savage accuses the bible as being a "radically pro-slavery document". He goes on to say, "We ignore what the bible says about slavery because the bible got slavery wrong." He uses this as evidence that the bible got homosexuality wrong. However, Savages accusation about the bible being "pro-slavery" is wrong. What we in Modern America think of as slavery is a system in which people are bought or sold as property. In the bible it is called chattel slavery and the bible does not condone it. Only the pagans had chattel slaves, as found in Leviticus 25.

To watch Savage's Speech, click here.

To read more on the conference, click here. 

Fiscal Cliff

The "Fiscal Cliff" is a popular shorthand term used to describe the conundrum the U.S. government will face at the end of 2012, when the terms of the Budget Control Act of 2011 will go into effect.

The laws set to change at midnight on December 31, 2012 are the end of last year's temporary payroll tax cuts, the end of certain tax breaks for businesses, the end of the tax cuts from 2001-2003, and the beginning of taxes related to President Obama's health care reform. Also, the spending cuts agreed upon as part of the debt ceiling deal of 2011 will begin to go into effect. Over 1,000 government programs -including the defense budget and Medicare - are in for deep cuts.

The clock is ticking for Democrats and Republicans to come to an agreement. One major sticking point with both parties is taxes. In his weekly address, President Obama said there is still some wiggle room on what Democrats are willing to give in negotiations over how to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff" at year's end. But increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans, he stressed, is "one principle I won't compromise on."

Delivering the Republican response, Senator Marco Rubio (Republican - Florida), tried to make a case that tax hikes, even on the wealthiest Americans, are not the answer to reining in the deficit. "Our goal should be to generate new revenue by creating new taxpayers, not new taxes," he said, arguing that closing loopholes in the tax code would free up revenue.

To read more click here.

Hurricane Sandy

On October 29th Hurricane Sandy hit the Northeastern United States. New York City and New Jersey were hit the worst causing millions to be out of power for weeks and resulted in 2 billion dollars worth of damage. Residents throughout New York City and surrounding areas stood in line for hours throughout the weeks after the storm hit at gas stations.

To read more:  http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/25/opinion/goralnick-superstorm-sandy/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

The First Presidential Debate 2012

     The first debate of the 2012 presidential election took place on Wednesday, October 3rd, at the University of Colorado. Mitt Romney went toe-to-toe with President Barrack Obama on the topics of policies of economy, taxes, and the healthcare system.

To watch the debate click here.

To read more on the debate click here. 

Five Teens Charged with Murder

     On Sunday, September 16, Kydaryune Curry was beaten and then shot, in his front yard, by five teens between the ages of 16 and 19. It is said that one of the teens the night before had seen Curry, asked him his name, but Curry wouldn't give it to him. The teen took it as a sign of disrespect. The next day he and four others killed Curry. All five have been charged with first-degree murder in Curry's killing. Two are older than 18 and could face the death penalty if convicted; the other three could spend the rest of their lives in prison.
     Gary McFadden, a former homicide detective, said, “Some of them see it as they’re being disrespected their whole life, by parents, by teachers, by police. You and I don’t see it that way, but … they’re just trying to defend their little bit of honor. For some kids, it’s the only thing that they have.” 

   Curry did not know any of the five teens who killed him.

To read more:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/09/19/3542138/bond-set-on-teens-in-alleged-disrespect.html
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/16-year-old-charged-murder-teens-shooting-death/nSFw5/

After 2012 DNC

     After over a year of planning for the democratic national convention, the politicians, journalists, and protesters have come and gone from Charlotte.
     City leaders were thrilled with the outcome. Mayor Anthony Fox said, "I've never seen anything like it in Charlotte. There were events happening all over featuring some of the brightest minds in public policy and American culture and lots of other topics. The city was just alive in a way that was magnificent." 
    While the convention brought in business and national attention to Charlotte there were some places that did not see the increase in business. According to Rob Nixon, owner of Jackalope Jack’s on East Seventh Street, “Our business was solid on Labor Day weekend with early season college football games. After that we dropped off by fifty percent for the rest of the week. I would have closed down but that would have cost my employees money, so it was pretty much a wash.” (http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/2012-democratic-national-convention-tampa/2012/sep/7/dnc-gives-charlotte-business-or-does-it/)