www.huffingtonpost.com

Bruce Lacey #conspiracy huffingtonpost.com

[Bernie Sanders fails to win California primary]

Tim Carmain what about the 10's of millions who have been supressed. During this matter? Funny how, even in California, where they expected very high turnout. We still only had what 4 million turn out? Last I looked about 12 to 13 million registered voters, I think almost a million in the last 6 months. What's that If that's high.. I would hate to see low. The real "sketchy" part is Clinton's clear domination of mail-in ballots. She had a 400,000 lead at the start of Cali, and 90% more layer, she is still ahead by just as many votes. They shouldn't even have, so called count the other counties. Until elections are open and transparent.. I put nothing past, no one. What would you do for the highest office in the land?

Victoria Jean Carey, Jennifer Lisa Woods #fundie huffingtonpost.com

As you may have heard, Wilbur Cerate, a Virginia man, claims that last month, two People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals staffers turned up at his home when he wasn't there, loaded his daughter's Chihuahua, Maya, into a van, and then euthanized her.

Three days later -- this is the real kicker -- the PETA workers are said to have then brought the grieving family a fruit basket.

Parts of this were caught on surveillance video.

Accomack County Sheriff Todd Godwin told WAVY -- the first local news outlet to pursue this bizarre, sad story -- he charged the dog-nappers with larceny, only to see the charges dropped by the Commonwealth Attorney because, as the paper put it, "there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute."

On Wednesday, DELMARVA Now got the names of those who were charged: Victoria Jean Carey, who appears to do HR for the group, and Jennifer Lisa Woods, another longtime PETA staffer who seems to have been quoted in a 1997 article advocating for the "compassionate" euthanasia of homeless cats. (Sure, that was nearly 20 years ago -- but PETA still has a web page up entitled "Euthanasia: The Compassionate Option.")

Godwin told the paper that "both individuals were working on behalf of the PETA Community Assistance Program when the theft occurred."

Donald Trump #fundie huffingtonpost.com

President Donald Trump, one of the richest men in America, wants you to believe he can empathize with federal employees who are struggling to make ends meet as the partial government shutdown heads into a third week.
The shutdown, already one of the longest in U.S. history, has left an estimated 800,000 federal workers either furloughed or, if deemed essential, working without pay.
“Mr. President, can you relate to the pain of federal workers who can’t pay their bills?” a reporter asked Trump outside the White House on Sunday.
“I can relate,” the president responded. “And I’m sure that the people that are toward the receiving end will make adjustments, they always do. And they’ll make adjustments. People understand exactly what’s going on.”
“Many of those people that won’t be receiving a paycheck, many of those people agree 100 percent with what I’m doing,” he added, without evidence.

Honey Good #fundie huffingtonpost.com

Why do some adult children cut off their mother? Why can other children with similar struggles stay connected through thick and thin?”

There are two schools of thought...

This is my belief on the subject: I believe that no matter what happens, your mother is your mother. The Ten Commandments state to honor thy father and thy mother. As a daughter, I had many stormy days with my mom, but I would never think to cut her off completely. I would fight, but I would never take flight! And, right or wrong, I was the one who apologized, not my mother. Period.

Keith Thomson #conspiracy huffingtonpost.com

Does the Mossad have Spy Vultures?

True story: Early this week, a griffon vulture flew across the Israeli border and into Saudi Arabia, where it was captured on suspicion of espionage. Local authorities found a GPS transmitter on the bird as well as a leg bracelet emblazoned with TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY. Despite claims by Tel Aviv University scientists that the creature had been tagged as part of a long-term study of area migration patterns using satellite tracking, Saudi Arabian newspaper al-Weeam reported the likelihood of “a Zionist plot.” [read Huffington Post news account]

This concern comes on the heels of recent reports of sharks and jellyfish weaponized by the Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service, then dispatched to wreak havoc on Egyptian tourism. Moreover, as Middle Eastern rumor has it, Israel possesses unmanned aerial vehicles — a.k.a. drones — disguised as barn swallows, so the captured vulture could at least be a decoy. As one al-Qaeda member recently lamented: Step out of your house, you risk being blown up; Stay inside, your house gets blown up too. Whether the vulture innocently flew off course or was in fact part of an elaborate Mossad covert operation, the psychological effect is the same.

And lethal robotic vultures are a possibility.

Kimberly Yam & John Kuo Wei Tchen #moonbat huffingtonpost.com

(You know how Alt-shite always say that only whites have multiculturalism "forced" on them, while other groups are encouraged to have ethnically pure countries? I think those people are trying to support them.)

A White Person Wrote ‘Why Anyone Can Be Chinese,’ And It’s A Checklist In Privilege

A white scholar’s recent op-ed suggests he might need some lessons on his own privilege.

Daniel Bell, a white dean at China’s Shandong University, recently penned a piece in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Why Anyone Can Be Chinese.” In it, he laments how he’s not considered Chinese despite his self-proclaimed dedication to the culture.

China, he argues, should look at identity as cultural rather than racial, concluding the piece with his ultimate hope:

“President Xi Jinping describes his broad agenda for the country as the ‘China dream,’” Bell writes. “My own China dream is more modest: to be viewed as a Chinese not just in my own mind but in the minds of my fellow Chinese.”

Bell claims to have respect for the Chinese. But his piece shows that he’s not looking at identity through the lens of the Chinese, John Kuo Wei Tchen, associate professor and director of Asian/Pacific/American Institute, NYU

Bell begins his piece, making comparisons between himself and a Chinese-American who “doesn’t speak Chinese or identify in any way with Chinese culture,” and “forcefully rejects” the label “Chinese.”

But the connections Bell makes are apples to oranges. Bell, a white man from Canada, ignores the real, human experiences that Chinese people live through, Tchen noted.

Bell isn’t someone whose family has been brought up in China through generations, communicating through insider references. His ancestors haven’t lived through events like the Opium Wars or the Cultural Revolution that have shaped the population’s outlook. Bell is a white man whose roots and values come from elsewhere.

There’s another issue at hand with Bell’s comparison. Ideas of belonging and identity are tied to political environment, Tchen says. These concepts are forged out of history and traditions, constructed over time by cultural and political forces. A western view of these ideas will be different from, say, a Chinese one. Bell doesn’t seem to acknowledge that, though.

“Notions of citizenship and belonging come out of particular political cultures. Just because that’s what he believes in, he wants to apply that to China which doesn’t really make any sense,” Tchen said. “It can’t just be willy-nilly applied to any other place.”

Bell continues his argument, listing several traits of his that he believes somehow underscore his “Chineseness.” Though he brings up possible barriers to acceptance like citizenship, commitment to culture, and lack of language skills, he insists those aren’t problems for him. He points out how he’s often “the only person wearing Chinese-style clothing” at conferences. And earlier in the piece he mentions his marriage to a Chinese woman as if those details help assert Chineseness.

In another line, he even puts down native Chinese people and pretentiously writes, “millions of poorly educated Chinese citizens speak hardly any Mandarin, and yet nobody questions their Chineseness.”

However, identity isn’t so simple as checking traits off a list, Tchen said. Bell’s possession of such qualities does not make him more “eligible” to be Chinese.

To be Chinese is not a mere checklist, just like being black or from any other culture isn’t about hitting a set number of achievements.

“If he were to become an expert on Toni Morrison, if he were to then master African-American cuisine, if he had married an African-American woman, would he feel he can claim being African-American or black?” Tchen questioned.

At one point, Bell attempts to point out the flaws in seeing Chineseness as racial and describes the country’s tumultuous relationship with foreigners.

“When China is powerful and secure, foreigners are welcome and considered employable, including at the highest levels of government,” he wrote in the op-ed. “When China is weak, foreigners are often viewed with suspicion and even hatred.”

Tchen told HuffPost that he agrees that ideally, we “need to reject the very notion of ’race’ and hence racial belonging.” These ideas don’t translate across historical and cultural differences, he says. But again, being part of a culture is dependent on historical context. Identity goes further than today’s politics and culture.

At the end of the day, Bell’s piece begs the question posed by Tchen.

“Are there not deeper shared values that are more important to explore than a European Canadian wanting to be accepted as ‘Chinese?’”

Technobabble Award

Dana Ullman #fundie huffingtonpost.com

It is commonly assumed that homeopathic medicines are composed of extremely small doses of medicinal substances. And yet, does anyone refer to an atomic bomb as an extremely small dose of a bomb? In actual fact, there is a power, a very real power, in having atoms smash against each other. Homeopathic medicines are made through a specific pharmacological process of dilution and vigorous shaking.

However, when skeptics say that there is nothing but water in homeopathic medicine, they are proving their ignorance, despite the incredible arrogance in which they make these assertions. Dr. Martin Chaplin, a respected British professor who is one of the world’s experts on water, has verified that “homeopathic water” and “regular water” are not the same, and his review of almost 2,000 references to the scientific literature on water (!) confirm this fact (Chaplin, 2009). It should be noted that a large number of homeopathic medicines sold in health food stores and pharmacies are made in doses with known physiological doses. In fact, there are several thousand (!) studies in conventional scientific journals showing a wide variety of biological effects from extremely small doses of various substances on specific systems.

Homeopathic medicines can and should be considered to be a type of “nanopharmacology” (Ullman, 2006). Although the word “nano” also means one-billionth of a size, that is not its only definition. In fact, “nano” derives from the word “dwarf,” and “nano” is the only word in the English language that is used on common parlance as denoting extremely small AND yet extremely powerful. Homeopathic medicines are both extremely small in dose and yet extremely powerful in their therapeutic effect. For 200 years now, millions of physicians and hundreds of millions of homeopathic patients have observed and experienced the power and effectiveness of homeopathic medicines.

Precisely how homeopathic medicines work remains a mystery, and yet, nature is replete with mysteries and with numerous striking examples of the power of extremely small doses. For instance, it is commonly known that a certain species of moth can smell pheromones of its own species up to two miles away. It is no simple coincidence that species only sense pheromones from those in the same species who emit them (akin to the homeopathic principle of similars), as though they have developed exquisite and specific receptor sites for what they need to propagate their species.

Likewise, sharks are known to sense blood in the water at distances, and when one considers the volume of water in the ocean, it becomes obvious that sharks, like all living creatures, develop extreme hypersensitivity for whatever will help ensure their survival. That living organisms have some truly remarkable sensitivities is no controversy. The challenging question that remains is: How does the medicine become imprinted into the water and how does the homeopathic process of dilution with succussion increase the medicine’s power? Although we do not know precisely the answer to this question, some new research may help point the way.

The newest and most intriguing way to explain how homeopathic medicines may work derives from some sophisticated modern technology. Scientists at several universities and hospitals in France and Belgium have discovered that the vigorous shaking of the water in glass bottles causes extremely small amounts of silica fragments or chips to fall into the water (Demangeat, et al., 2004). Perhaps these silica chips may help to store the information in the water, with each medicine that is initially placed in the water creating its own pharmacological effect. In any case, each medicinal substance will interact with the silica fragments in its own idiosyncratic way, thereby changing the nature and structure of water accordingly.

Further, the micro-bubbles and the nano-bubbles that are caused by the shaking may burst and thereby produce microenvironments of higher temperature and pressure. Several studies by chemists and physicists have revealed increased release of heat from water in which homeopathic medicines are prepared, even when the repeated process of dilutions should suggest that there are no molecules remaining of the original medicinal substance (Elia and Niccoli, 1999; Elia, et al., 2004; Rey, 2003).

Also, a group of highly respected scientists have confirmed that the vigorous shaking involved with making homeopathic medicines changes the pressure in the water, akin to water being at 10,000 feet in altitude (Roy, et al., 2005). These scientists have shown how the homeopathic process of using double-distilled water and then diluting and shaking the medicine in a sequential fashion changes the structure of water.

One metaphor that may help us understand how and why extremely small doses of medicinal agents may work derives from present knowledge of modern submarine radio communications. Normal radio waves simply do not penetrate water, so submarines must use an extremely low-frequency radio wave. The radio waves used by submarines to penetrate water are so low that a single wavelength is typically several miles long! If one considers that the human body is 70-80 percent water, perhaps the best way to provide pharmacological information to the body and into intercellular fluids is with nanodoses. Like the extremely low-frequency radio waves, it may be necessary to use extremely low (and activated) doses for a person to receive the medicinal effect.

It is important to understand that nanopharmacological doses will not have any effect unless the person is hypersensitive to the specific medicinal substance. Hypersensitivity is created when there is some type of resonance between the medicine and the person. Because the system of homeopathy bases its selection of the medicine on its ability to cause in overdose the similar symptoms that the sick person is experiencing, homeopathy’s principle of similars is simply a practical method of finding the substance to which a person is hypersensitive. The homeopathic principle of similars makes further sense when one considers that modern physiologists and pathologists recognize that disease is not simply the result of breakdown or surrender of the body but that symptoms are instead representative of the body’s efforts to fight infection or adapt to stress.

Using a nanodose that is able to penetrate deeply into the body and that is specifically chosen for its ability to mimic the symptoms helps to initiate a profound healing process. It is also important to highlight the fact that a homeopathic medicine is not simply chosen for its ability to cause a similar disease but for its ability to cause a similar syndrome of symptoms of disease, of which the specific localized disease is a part. By understanding that the human body is a complex organism that creates a wide variety of physical and psychological symptoms, homeopaths acknowledge biological complexity and have a system of treatment to address it effectively.

Although no one knows precisely how homeopathic medicines initiate the healing process, we have more than 200 years of evidence from hundreds of thousands of clinicians and tens of millions of patients that these medicines have powerful effects. One cannot help but anticipate the veritable treasure trove of knowledge that further research in homeopathy and nanopharmacology will bring.

(..)

Quantum physics does not disprove Newtonian physics; quantum physics simply extends our understanding of extremely small and extremely large systems. Likewise, homeopathy does not disprove conventional pharmacology; instead, it extends our understanding of extremely small doses of medicinal agents. It is time that physicians and scientists began incorporating both Newtonian and quantum physics into a better understanding of what healing is and how to best augment it.

The founder of homeopathic medicine, Samuel Hahnemann, MD, rewrote and updated his seminal work on the subject five times in his lifetime, each time refining his observations. Homeopaths continue to refine this system of nanopharmacology. While there is not always agreement on the best ways to select the correct remedy or the best nanopharmacological dose to use, the system of homeopathic medicine provides a solid foundation from which clinicians and researchers exploring nanopharmacologies can and should explore.

Pat Robertson #fundie huffingtonpost.com

TV preacher Pat Robertson says the massacre in Las Vegas was caused by lack of respect for President Donald Trump, protests during the national anthem and the country having no “vision of God.”

“There is profound disrespect for our president, all across this nation they say terrible things about him,” the televangelist and former presidential candidate said on “The 700 Club” on Monday. “It’s in the news, it’s in other places.”

Robertson went on:

“There is disrespect now for our national anthem, disrespect for our veterans, disrespect for the institutions of our government, disrespect for the court system. All the way up and down the line, disrespect.”

He also blamed the lack of “biblical authority” and “some controlling authority in our society.”

“When there is no vision of God, the people run amok,” he said in the clip, posted online by Right Wing Watch. “And we have taken from the American people the vision of God, the whole idea of reward and punishment, an ultimate judge of all our actions, we’ve taken that away. When there is no vision of God, the people run amok.”

Donovan Trott #crackpot huffingtonpost.com

[Submitter's note: FSTDT due to incel-grade sexual entitlement. RSTDT is secondary because the racial double-standard is dependent on said sexual entitlement.]

An Open Letter To Gay, White Men: No, You’re Not Allowed To Have A Racial Preference

Dear Gay White Men,

Before I begin, I want you to understand that I’m not calling all of you racist. I’ve never been one to throw that word around casually and even though I’m sure there are some that word would fit like a glove, I’m not talking to them. I’m talking to you ? the cisgendered, white, gay men out there who hold no ill will towards minorities (especially black and brown ones) but somehow have never found themselves in bed with one. You’re good guys, I know this to be true. You mean well when it comes to race relations but, as a white man in... the world, you must admit, you have no clue what it means to be racially discriminated against. As a result, there are often times when you don’t recognize when your behavior towards people of color veers into problematic territory. As a black man within the gay community, I recognize that shit all the time and have a few points I’d like to discuss with you. I’m not here to judge you. There’s only one capital H-i-m and it’s not me. But you may want to take my words to heart if you’d like to live up to those progressive memes you share on Facebook all the time.

Let’s start with the epicenter of your problematic behaviors towards my kind: your dating app profile. I know it can be hard to find the right words while expressing your preferences when it comes to what you’re looking for in a partner. Whether you’re looking for “Mr. Right” or “Mr. Yea Daddy Right There” but I can’t help but notice that a lot of you get lost, like... really lost, when it comes to stating your preferences properly. To be clear, you’re allowed to describe the kind of guy you’re looking for and the things that turn you on but specifying the race of your desired partner is a line that is not to be crossed. It comes off as racist and that’s because it is.

I should point out that I’ve had this conversation with more than a couple of white gays in person and here is where the debate usually begins, so I’m going to assume that you’re rolling your eyes at me right about now. That’s fine and to make you feel more heard I’ll even repeat the most common point used to counter my argument ? “but people like what they like. Can’t change that.” I’ve heard that excuse, or some iteration of it, used many times. Almost as if it’s a magic phrase that just kind of ends the conversation and absolves you of your bullshit. I’ll put aside the fact that broadcasting your distaste for an entire race, or multiple races, in the year 2017 is really dumb in addition to being racist as fuck, and just challenge the reasoning here head on. Yes, people like what they like but sometimes the things people like are racist, like lawn jockeys or the current president of the United States. You can’t say you prefer one race of people as romantic partners, or anything really, to another because all of the people who belong to one race are not the same. No matter how you slice it, it’s racist.

But what if Black and Asian men choose to only date other Black and Asian men? Isn’t that racist too? No... and you tried it. Look, all men are created equal but all men are not valued equally, especially in this country. Every Black and Asian man who grew up on this planet grew up surrounded by positive images of whiteness and white men. Therefore, our desire to date within our own race, when we choose to, is not rooted in any assertion made by society that we’re better than anyone else. I know this is a lot to digest so I’ll just boil it down to this: if your preference for a partner supports an existing racial hierarchy which marginalizes minorities, then your preferences are racist. And yes, that includes you rice queens and chocolate chasers too. Fetishizing me is not a compliment, it’s propping up harmful sexual stereotypes and, it too, is racist.

As I’ve said before, I have had this conversation many times so I know what comes next. You’re saying to yourself “Damn! If I don’t go for men of color I’m racist. If I do, I’m racist.” Well... yes! If you’re making any of your dating decisions with a person’s race in mind, that’s racist. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you have to find all Black and Asian men attractive. I sure as hell don’t. What I’m saying is that men of color are still men, and as such, we want the people making decisions about our desirability to make them based on who and what we are and that doesn’t begin and end with a few layers of melanin.

“Fine, I’m a horrible racist asshole. What do I do about it? I can’t re-program myself to find men of color more attractive,” some of you might be saying. Actually, you can. As you know, the brain is the largest sexual organ in your body and it’s capable of amazing growth. Think of it like learning a new language, better still, think of it like unlearning a racist one. In social psychology there is a theory called The Mere-Exposure Effect. Simply put, the more we are exposed to someone, the more attractive they become to us. See? There’s hope for you after all! You can decide how best to “expose” yourself however you want but please, for the good of us POC who have to share this community with you, get to work. As gay men of color we get more than enough discrimination from the rest of the world. We don’t need the friendly fire from you.

Donald Trump #fundie huffingtonpost.com

Donald Trump Signs Anti-Abortion Executive Order Surrounded By Men

It seems like women might be interested in this policy too.

WASHINGTON ? On Monday, surrounded by other white men, President Donald Trump signed an anti-abortion executive order that has far-reaching consequences for women’s reproductive health access worldwide.

image

Trump reinstated the Mexico City policy, also known as the global gag rule, which was first put in place by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. It prohibits giving U.S. funding to international nongovernmental organizations that offer or advise on a wide range of family planning and reproductive health options if they include abortion ? even if U.S. dollars are not specifically used for abortion-related services.

The United States spends about $600 million a year on international assistance for family planning and reproductive health programs, making it possible for 27 million women and couples to access contraceptive services and supplies.

None of that money is spent on performing abortions. The Helms amendment has prevented U.S. tax dollars from funding overseas abortions since 1973. Proponents of the global gag rule believe the policy is nevertheless still necessary, arguing that Helms isn’t strong enough by itself.

The executive order is one of the first Trump has signed since taking office. Sitting in the Oval Office Monday, he also signed ones freezing federal hiring and withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

A pan of the people standing by his side showed that there were few, if any, women present.

image

Trump’s executive order has severe implications and could be deadly for women and girls in developing countries and conflict zones, who often resort to dangerous methods of ending their pregnancies when they lack access to safe abortion. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 21 million women a year have unsafe abortions in developing countries, accounting for about 13 percent of all maternal deaths.

The policy is rescinded and reinstated based on which party is in power. President Bill Clinton did away with it, President George W. Bush put it back and then President Barack Obama rescinded it again when he took office.

Trump’s Cabinet is more white and more male than any president’s first Cabinet since Reagan.

Leslie Kean, Chilean ufologists #conspiracy huffingtonpost.com

Groundbreaking UFO Video Just Released By Chilean Navy

(Excerpt)
The Navy Captain stated that the object was a “flat, elongated structure” with “two thermal spotlights like discharges that did not coincide with the axel of motion.” The technician described it as as “white with a semi-oval shape on the horizontal axis.”

“In two instances it discharged some type of gas or liquid with a high thermal track or signal,” the technician stated.

Why you shouldn't be quick to call Poe

A followup to quote #123059

Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop #fundie huffingtonpost.com

[Article Title: Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop Arrested For Allegedly Assaulting Police]

Beezow explained that his first name represents “the explosion of awareness of the interconnectedness of the infinite love in the universe.” Doo-doo “is the struggle of our daily lives with that awareness, that with love comes chaos,” and Zopittybop-bop-bop “is the outcome of that struggle, which is often ironic, especially because all life ends in death.”

Zopittybop-Bop-Bop appears to run a Facebook page that is full of images of himself and contains numerous anti-gay rants. [...] He’s now facing charges of malicious harassment and malicious mischief as well as 1st- and 3rd-degree assault in connection with the most recent arrest.

Jesse Benn #moonbat huffingtonpost.com

In the face of media, politicians, and GOP primary voters normalizing Trump as a presidential candidate—whatever your personal beliefs regarding violent resistance—there’s an inherent value in forestalling Trump’s normalization. Violent resistance accomplishes this. In spite of this, such resistance is apparently more offensive and unacceptable to societal norms and liberal sensibilities than the nastiness being resisted in the first place.

As a result, a litany of think-pieces and condemnations from liberal media and politicians are making their rounds to make it clear how unacceptable and counterproductive any violence or rioting is, urging people to “listen to the other side,” and to use “legitimate means“ to fight Trump’s rise—ignoring the possibility of fascism in the US rising with it. Those who stray from this nonviolent narrative, like Emmet Rensin, an editor at Vox who tweeted that people should riot when Trump comes to town, face swift and punitive redress, urging them to fall back in line. Amidst the hot takes and denunciations from liberals, they all seem to miss a few key points. First, they misplace the blame. Second, they misunderstand the desired outcome from violent resistance and those protesting Trump in general. And third, they ignore the history of successful violent insurrection in the US, instead favoring the elementary school version of history in which nonviolence is the only means of struggle that’s ever achieved a thing.

Russell M. Nelson #fundie huffingtonpost.com

God authorizes bigotry, sheep rebel . . .

On November 5, 2015 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church) issued a new and extreme anti-gay edict banning same-sex married couples and their children from the Church. During the past 10 months, there have been scores of Mormon LGBT teenagers who have committed suicide because of it.


Mormon Apostle Dallin H. Oaks made matters worse when he said of the dozens of Mormon teen suicides, “I’m aware that those tragic things happen. Those things have to be judged by a higher authority than exists on this earth.”


It became a PR disaster for the Mormon Church. In the months to follow the policy change, so many Mormon families were hurting that Church leaders finally issued a rare acknowledgement on all of the suicides. The Church owned Deseret News covered it with this headline “LDS Church Leaders Mourn Reported Deaths in Mormon LGBT Community.”

On January 10, 2016 the Mormon Church did an about face. Apostle Russell M. Nelson said in a speech at Church owned BYU Hawaii that it was not actually a policy change, but the LGBT ban came directly from God. That hard to swallow bit of damage control two months after the original Church edict led to tens of thousands of more Mormon resignations.(bold not in original)

Church members started going online, talking to their Bishops and lining up by the thousands to fill out the necessary paperwork to officially leave their Church. One estimate is that up to 125,000 Mormons have resigned the Mormon Church in the last 10 months because of it. One attorney in Salt Lake City has personally handled 12,000 resignations alone. This figure is on top of the nearly one million Mormons who have resigned the Church after the it was outed as being the driving force and funder of California’s Proposition 8.

David Hall #fundie huffingtonpost.com

An Illinois man who has worked for his state’s Social Security offices for 14 years says he’d rather get fired from his job than watch an LGBT-inclusive workplace diversity training video.

David Hall, who is employed at the Social Security Administration office in Champaign, Illinois, as an area systems coordinator, told local news station WCIA that he was suspended for two days without pay after refusing to watch a video about LGBT inclusion in the workplace.

Hall’s objection to viewing the video, he said, stems from his belief that it violates his religious views. “I’m not going to certify sin,” he said.

Arguing that the video was “promoting an agenda and a lifestyle that I simply don’t agree with,” the 42-year-old blasted his office’s decision to designate the video as mandatory viewing. “We have never done that for another particular class of people,” he said. “We haven’t done it for veterans, the disabled, blacks, Hispanics, or anything else.”

Supporters of Donald Trump #racist huffingtonpost.com

Any reporter covering presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump knows they risk wading into the cesspool that is his online fanbase. Being trolled by members of the Make America Great Again team is just another part of the job description of a political reporter in 2016.

But his recent promotion, and subsequent defense, of an anti-Semitic image has underscored the particular kind of harassment that Jewish journalists ? and non-Jews who happen to have vaguely Jewish-sounding names ? have faced. He may deny that the image, which featured Hillary Clinton’s face next to a Star of David and a pile of money, had anti-Semitic undertones, but behavior from some of his supporters seems to suggest otherwise. The Twitter feed that Trump social media editor Dan Scavino sourced the graphic from had previously posted pictures of swastikas and other racist imagery.

[...]

In May, HuffPost Senior Editor Sam Stein was told, “I hope someone throws you in a wood-chipper feet first. You lying propaganda spreading liberal jewish sack of shit.”

One person replied to foreign affairs reporter Jessica Schulberg’s story on Trump’s neo-Nazi fans by saying:

If you are going to attack Nazis, at least state their position clearly. If Holocaust Denial is so “abhorrent” why don’t you state the facts that these people trumpet? Oh, because then people would wake up to your Jewish lies.

Reporters outside of HuffPost have also experienced this kind of rampant anti-Semitism. After writer Julia Ioffe profiled Trump’s wife Melania for GQ, she received threats of physical violence, as well as phone calls from someone playing Adolf Hitler speeches and images of her face photoshopped onto Holocaust victims.

Ioffe filed a police report on the abuse. After receiving death threats to her personal Facebook account from Trump supporters, Forward’s Bethany Mandel bought a gun.

Brian Alan #fundie huffingtonpost.com

Nope. Totally disagree. If I get a woman pregnant, that child is half mine. I should have legal rights over it. I will claim legal rights over it, and if the woman aborts without my consent (I would love to have a child), and ends my child's life without consulting me, it isn't like I'm just going to walk away with an "aw shucks" attitude. Various forms of retribution come to mind...

John Martin Roos #fundie huffingtonpost.com

John Martin Roos, a 61-year-old from Oregon, has been charged with communication of a threat in interstate commerce, and additional charges are likely forthcoming. Roos first came onto the federal government’s radar after a “concerned citizen” brought Roos’ Facebook and Twitter postings to the FBI’s attention in February, according to an affidavit from Special Agent Jeffrey Gray. (Excerpts, below, from Roos’ postings contain explicit language.)

In one Jan. 31 Facebook post cited by the FBI, Roos referred to agents as “pussies” and wrote he would “snipe them with hunting rifles everywhere.” (Despite his threats to kill members of law enforcement, he also complained on Facebook earlier this month about the “liberal media ... slamming police.”) In a post in November that was also cited by the FBI, Roos spoke out against accepting refugees and threatened to kill Obama.

“Obama you goat fffing fudgepacker, the refugees are men of fighting age. Black lives matter! Sure we need someone to pick cotton and wash cars. Paris, burn diseased muslim neighborhoods to the ground and start over with human beings. Obama you are on a hit list,” he wrote in a post that appears to have been removed.

Beyond what was mentioned in the affidavit, Roos regularly posted on both Facebook and Twitter about his support for Trump and his hatred for Obama, who he called a “muslim faggot” and other derogatory terms. He indicated he wanted to kill Obama’s family and made other racist and sexist statements about Michelle Obama. He also made negative references to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, singer Beyonce, Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and reporter Michelle Fields, and said he believed that the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was killed by Obama. He praised Ann Coulter and Stacey Dash, and posted several links to posts on Breitbart.com.

He regularly posted about his support for Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate. In one post mentioned in court filings, Roos stated that he believed the establishment “is trying to steal the election” from Trump. “All hail Donald Trump, the savior of America,” he wrote on Christmas Eve. “I’ll bet he was born on Dec 25 just like Jesus.”

When two FBI special agents visited him in March, Roos allegedly acknowledged making the postings on social media, calling the threats a way he “blows off steam.” He said he didn’t intend to harm anyone, but also that he would “punch Obama in the nose” if he had the chance.

After a federal judge signed off on a search warrant, FBI agents searched Roos’ home, where he lives with a roommate. According to the affidavit they found “an AK-47 like firearm,” a rifle and shotgun, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and a .45 caliber Glock hidden under a couch cushion. Four pipe bombs were found in a white bucket next to Roos’ computer workstation. Another weapon was found underneath the floor mat of his truck.

Donald Trump #fundie huffingtonpost.com

(Bolding from the original quote)

BAIER: Mr. Trump, just yesterday, almost 100 foreign policy experts signed on to an open letter refusing to support you, saying your embracing expansive use of torture is inexcusable. General Michael Hayden, former CIA director, NSA director, and other experts have said that when you asked the U.S. military to carry out some of your campaign promises, specifically targeting terrorists' families, and also the use of interrogation methods more extreme than waterboarding, the military will refuse because they've been trained to turn down and refuse illegal orders.

So what would you do, as commander-in-chief, if the U.S. military refused to carry out those orders?

TRUMP: They won't refuse. They're not going to refuse me. Believe me.

BAIER: But they're illegal.

TRUMP: Let me just tell you, you look at the Middle East. They're chopping off heads. They're chopping off the heads of Christians and anybody else that happens to be in the way. They're drowning people in steel cages. And he -- now we're talking about waterboarding.

This really started with Ted, a question was asked of Ted last -- two debates ago about waterboarding. And Ted was, you know, having a hard time with that question, to be totally honest with you. They then came to me, what do you think of waterboarding? I said it's fine. And if we want to go stronger, I'd go stronger, too, because, frankly...

(APPLAUSE)

... that's the way I feel. Can you imagine -- can you imagine these people, these animals over in the Middle East, that chop off heads, sitting around talking and seeing that we're having a hard problem with waterboarding? We should go for waterboarding and we should go tougher than waterboarding. That's my opinion.

BAIER: But targeting terrorists' families?

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And -- and -- and -- I'm a leader. I'm a leader. I've always been a leader. I've never had any problem leading people. If I say do it, they're going to do it. That's what leadership is all about.

Stephen Cohen #fundie huffingtonpost.com

Says you, jerk. I am a Democrat. If you support Bernie the you are a Socialst. If Bernie was the honest and ethical person he pretends to be, he'd run as an Independent and Socialist, which is how he has always described himself. Now calling himself. "Democratic Socialist" is bogus and he's just using the word "Democratic" to confuse the gullible. He has never campaigned for othe Democrats in the past. Why? He hates Democrats but s sucking off the Democratic teat since he'd be nowhere running as an Independent. Why did he latch onto a Party he despises. Let him run as an Independent where he could freely rail against "the establishment" as opposed to joining with it and leeching off it.

Bernie is not a progressive. Hillary is. Bernie is a radical and that's been his claim to fame. Talk about voting your conscience, if Bernie got the nomination would he support all the down ticket Democrats he's demeaned and disparaged over the years? Would he allow the Party to use all the tainted money he rails against to run his national campaign?

Deric Barner #racist huffingtonpost.com

a most insightful read, yet you have not the capacity to understand the plight of blacks, hispanics ( minorities ) in america, first and foremost, white people are created from recessive genes, they are mutations, and there has never been a group unlike the caucasians who have abused this planet and other peoples unlike themselves in history, by the way, blacks are native to earth and the first model of human, ok, rant over --- i do understnd that skin color division must be eradictaed, and we the whole of humanity must unite and treat each other as equals...........

Rush Limbaugh #fundie huffingtonpost.com

Do you know how old John Kerry is? It's tough, you know. You can't tell a horse's age when you look it, and since Kerry looks like a horse, it's tough. But he's 71 years old. Now, would somebody tell me something? What is a 71-year-old man, secretary of state, doing riding a bicycle -- or, alternatively, windsurfing off Nantucket? Why is somebody riding a bicycle while in the midst of sensitive negotiations and attempting to secure nuclear weapons for Iran? Exercise? BS.

Josh Feuerstein #fundie huffingtonpost.com

Some people are angry about Starbucks’ new holiday cups. Really angry.

What is the issue, exactly?

In previous years, Starbucks’ iconic holiday cups, which the chain uses in lieu of white cups in November and December, featured wintry or Christmas-themed designs like snowflakes, ornaments and nature scenes. This year, the cups are more minimalist -- a red ombre design that Jeffrey Fields, Starbucks' vice president of design, said was meant to embrace “the simplicity and the quietness” of the holiday season.

This is a huge problem for some people, who feel that the plain red cups are oppressing Christians by insulting Christmas.

“This is a denial of historical reality and the great Christian heritage behind the American Dream that has so benefitted Starbucks,” Andrea Williams of the U.K.-based organization Christian Concern told Breitbart. “This also denies the hope of Jesus Christ and His story so powerfully at this time of year.”

Others have shared similar thoughts on social media.

To clarify, it's not like the previous cups were decked out in crosses and mangers. It’s unclear why a drawing of a winking snowman or a dog sledding, for instance, is more “Christian” than a plain red and green (you know, Christmas colors) cup.

But either way, angry Starbucks patrons have a solution. Former pastor Joshua Feuerstein claimed in a viral Facebook video that he had “pranked” Starbucks by simply telling them his name was “Merry Christmas” -- thus forcing the surely unimpressed barista to write the words “Merry Christmas” on the cup.

Feuerstein also noted that he brought a gun into the coffee shop, in spite of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz' request that patrons leave their firearms at home.

Russell Moore #fundie huffingtonpost.com

I’m not sure. I think there are cultural factors unleashed in the 1960s that have been working their way out over the past 40 or 50 years in a way that I’m not sure what would have made things different.

I think having an explanation of our theology from the very beginning, in rich, robust terms, would have been the right way to go. Many people are just ignorant of what Christians and Mormons and Orthodox Jews and Muslims believe about marriage. So for instance, when someone would say 'Well, Christians are just going to have to get over this' -- Christians can’t get over this. It was the same argument used in the late 19th and early 20th centuries about miracles. 'Well, in order to reach contemporary people, Christians will just have to get over virgin births and empty tombs.' But Christians can’t just get rid of the miraculous without getting rid of Christianity. And the same thing is true of sexual ethics.

Pat Robertson #fundie huffingtonpost.com

Here's Why Pat Robertson Insists That Gay Marriage Is Still Illegal

"Your state legislature didn’t pass a law. So you’re not under anything."

Curtis M. Wong
Gay Voices Senior Editor, The Huffington Post

Posted: 10/26/2015 03:52 PM EDT

It's already been four months since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage, yet Pat Robertson just can't seem to move on.

The conservative televangelist once again slammed the court's decision in an installment of "The 700 Club" on Monday, telling a viewer that the ruling was only an opinion and therefore not legally sound, Right Wing Watch reports.

"Congress didn’t pass any law," he said. "Your state legislature didn’t pass a law. So you’re not under anything. It’s a decision of the court having to do with a couple of people. Now they would like to make it bigger than that but, in terms of the Constitution, it isn’t."

Robertson, of course, has previously been critical of the ruling. Earlier this year, he argued that the Supreme Court had used "faulty sociological grounds" in coming to their decision, and suggested polygamy and bestiality weren't far behind.

"Watch what happens, love affairs between men and animals are going to be absolutely permitted," he said in July. "Polygamy, without question, is going to be permitted, and it will be called a right."

Eh, thanks for the detailed analysis, Pat. When it comes to spouting homophobia, you may be a force to be reckoned with, but you are not (and hopefully never will be) a lawmaker.

Indian village council #fundie huffingtonpost.com

Indian Tribunal Orders 2 Sisters Raped As Punishment For Brother's Elopement

The unofficial council says the man ran away with a married woman of a higher caste.

An unelected, all-male village council in India has decided to punish a man who eloped with a married woman by ordering his two sisters to be raped. The two women, ages 23 and 15, fled their village in the Baghpat district after the decision was handed down on July 30.

The Times of India reports that the brother ran away with a woman who belonged to a higher caste.

Now, a petition from Amnesty International is calling on the Indian Supreme Court to help the sisters return home. The NGO has slammed the "disgusting ruling," made by a so-called kangaroo court. These tribunals operate outside of the country's legitimate legal system, Amnesty International said.

"More often than not they are made up of older men from dominant castes, who prescribe rules for social behavior and interaction in villages," the group said.

Other family members who fled with the sisters say they fear for their lives should they return, and their home has already been looted by other villagers. According to Amnesty International, they have filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking for protection, and say they've also experienced harassment from local police.

The petition has garnered more than 40,000 signatures in protest of the rape punishment. The unelected council also mandated that the sisters be paraded naked with blackened faces around their town.

Despite government efforts to address India's high levels of rape, sentences from local tribunals have continued. A similar incident made headlines last year when a 20-year-old woman was ordered to be gang-raped after village elders objected to her relationship with another man. The unofficial court said her actions violated local codes, the BBC reported at the time.

The Washington Post notes the number of reported rape cases in India skyrocketed nearly 900 percent in the 40 years leading up to 2012, when nearly 25,000 incidents were reported. The outlet cites a societal disregard for sexual violence, a lack of police action and familial pressure to keep rape quiet as a trifecta of opposition towards further action against the crime.

Pat Robertson #fundie huffingtonpost.com

Never mind China’s stock market crash. Televangelist Pat Robertson proclaimed Monday that the massive Dow drop is actually divine retribution for the U.S. government supporting abortion access and funding Planned Parenthood.

"Here in America, we have been complicit in terminating the lives of in excess of 50 million precious unborn children, and don't you think almighty God is going to hold us accountable for that?" the "700 Club" host asked after airing a report on Planned Parenthood demonstrations. "It's coming ladies and gentleman. We just have a little taste of it in terms of the financial system, but it's going to get shaken to its core in the next few months, years or however long it takes, and it will hurt every one of us."

James David Manning #fundie huffingtonpost.com

The New York pastor who made headlines last year for arguing that Starbucks flavored its coffee drinks with "sodomites' semen" is back with a fresh set of bizarre claims that we couldn't make up if we tried.

This time, James David Manning of ATLAH World Missionary Church is warning heterosexual women about a "sodomite demon," which can be contracted through sexual intercourse with men who have had sex with other men, Right Wing Watch first reported.

"If a man injects himself in another man and injects his semen into him, and he's crazy, then that's gonna get in his blood as well," Manning told viewers on his "Manning Report" YouTube program this week. Describing a man's semen as the "cream of the blood" that is "even more powerful than blood," he added, "If demons are in him... you're gonna get penetrated by demons."

According to Manning's eyebrow-raising logic, however, abstinence isn't enough.

"Even the kissing of someone who has demons in their blood, their saliva can give you a disease," he noted.

Earlier this year, Manning said he'd witnessed a lot of gay activity and even what he described as a "same-sex marriage" during his years in a Florida correctional facility, Raw Story reported. He even said there was "no doubt" he'd personally experienced same-sex attraction during his incarceration, although he noted that he "didn't yield to temptation."

Si Robertson #fundie huffingtonpost.com

There's no such thing as an atheist, according to one of the stars of the reality TV show "Duck Dynasty."

Si Robertson, known to fans of the show as “Uncle Si,” told the Christian Post that anyone who uses the date is acknowledging Jesus.

"There's no such thing as an atheist," Robertson told the website. "I'm serious, because there's too much documentation. Our calendars are based on Jesus Christ. Whether you believe in him or not, every time you sign your calendar, you add down the day's date, you're saying he's here, OK? That's documented."

While the widely used Gregorian calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 uses years based on the approximate birth of Jesus Christ, the names of many of the months and days of the week retain their pagan origins. March, for example, is named for Mars, the Roman god of war. Tuesday is based on Tiu or Tiw, the Germanic god of war (who shares origins with the Norse god Thor).

Robertson, a Vietnam War veteran, also cited a variation of the maxim, "there are no atheists in foxholes," claiming that people turn to faith when they are in trouble.

"If you get in a serious bind, the first thing you'll do is say [God], please help me," Robertson told the website.

Robertson is promoting the film "Faith Of Our Fathers," which is about two men who served in the Vietnam War, one of whom is devout while the other is a skeptic.

Skeptics, apparently, do exist.

"There's a lot of skeptics," Robertson said.

The movie focuses on the two men as well as their sons, who meet years later. According to IMDb, Robertson has a role in the film as a gas station clerk.

"Faith Of Our Fathers" currently has an 11 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on nine reviews, and a score of 20 on Metacritic based on five reviews.

Pat Robertson #fundie huffingtonpost.com

"Most gays, if they're having a wedding, don't want pizzas -- they want cake," Robertson told "700 Club" viewers, according to Right Wing Watch. "It's the cake-makers that are having a problem."

Still, he warned Christian business owners of all types that gay customers will eventually "make you conform to them."

"You're gonna say that you like anal sex, you like oral sex, you like bestiality," he added. "Sooner or later, you're going to have to conform your religious beliefs to the group of some abhorrent thing. It won't stop at homosexuality."

Robert Childs Jr #fundie huffingtonpost.com

[response to Howard University students counter-protesting Westboro Baptist Church's presence]

I will no longer support Howard University, and will pull all I my resources from this disgraceful institution. They ought to be ashamed of themselves promoting this filth and sexual deviancy, our ancestors are rolling over in their graves.. to see what they were lynched and died for. Howard University, if you're in the business of promoting the effeminization of African American men and woman, we'll work towards shutting this institution down.

Senator Ron Johnson #fundie huffingtonpost.com

A concerted propaganda effort underway in America has created a "cultural attitude" in which people believe "government is good and business is bad," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) told a local reporter for WisPolitics.com.

Johnson said the latest evidence of this propaganda campaign is "The Lego Movie," in which the bad guy is a heartless businessman intent on destroying the world for profit. "That's done for a reason," Johnson said. "They're starting that propaganda, and it's insidious."

The local blog included the comments in its statewide newsletter.

In condemning "The Lego Movie," Johnson may be doing the work of his well-heeled supporters. At a separate event earlier this month, video of which was posted to YouTube Thursday, Johnson recalled a phone conversation with a father who'd recently been assaulted by the same type of propaganda. Typically, when senators are calling people they don't know well -- it's known as "call time" -- they're fundraising. "I actually called a gentleman, it was a couple months ago, he was so upset, he took his children to an animated movie ... guess who the villain was? Evil Mr. Businessperson. It's insidious. That propaganda starts very early," said Johnson.

For Johnson, a self-described "rich guy," the offense is also personal. When he jumped into the race in 2010 against incumbent Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, he said in interviews that his wealth had been called to service by Fox News pundit Dick Morris.

“I was sitting home, watching Fox News, and Dick Morris came on and said— ‘If you’re a rich guy from Wisconsin, step up to the plate,’" Johnson said. "And I kinda looked at [my wife] Jane and go, ‘Is he like talking to me?’”

Johnson has several reasons to be concerned about how people view the rich. While he is often described as a "self-made millionaire," Johnson's wealth actually comes by virtue of marriage. He made his fortune as an executive at a plastics company owned by his father-in-law. Then the company, in a roundabout way, paid for what was referred to in the press as a self-financed campaign in 2010. Johnson spent around $9 million on his campaign; after winning election, the company made a lump sum payment of around $10 million to Johnson.

Requests for comment from Johnson were not returned.

Johnson may still be taking his direction from Fox News, which has repeatedly slammed "The Lego Movie," comparing it to "The Lorax," "The Muppets" and "It's A Wonderful Life" in terms of propaganda value.

One Fox segment, though, suggests that the critique can be taken too far. "I think about 'It's A Wonderful Life,' where Mr. Potter, the banker, is considered the villain," says one Fox host, laughing at the very idea. Off screen, someone reins her in. "You're defending Mr. Potter? Careful."

Gross earnings for "The Lego Movie" totaled nearly $500 million, boosting quarterly earnings for Time Warner, the multinational media corporation that owns the studio that made the film.

Kashif N. Chaudhry #fundie huffingtonpost.com

Impressed by the Koran's call for scientific reasoning, I too adopted science as a career path. And the more I studied science, the more I grew in faith. Everything made sense.

Take the motions of the planetary bodies for an example. The Koran states:

"And He it is Who created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each gliding along in its orbit" (21:33).
This knowledge of planetary motion was unknown in contemporary seventh century Arabia. Although some Greek astronomers -- who had no contact with Prophet Muhammad -- had already suggested the earth were not stationary, the Koran's claim that all celestial bodies including the Sun were moving in orbits was an unprecedented one. This fact was not known for many centuries later. How did the Author of the Koran have this information? And who was this Author?

Take another example -- the Big Bang theory. This theory postulates that matter rapidly expanded from a state of extremely high density and temperature, violently exploding to mark the origin of the universe 13.8 billion years ago. As I studied the theory, words of the Koran came to my mind.

"Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were a closed-up mass, then We clove them asunder?" (21:30).
Reading this verse creates a picture of the Big Bang in one's mind. How did the Author of the Koran have this information 1400 years before the currently accepted theory on the origins of the Cosmos? Was He in fact the Creator He claimed to be? And what is even more interesting is the fact that this verse was addressed to non-believers, as if to convey a prophecy on who would tread upon this great scientific discovery of our cosmic birth.

As my interest in cosmology and basic astrophysics grew, I was even more bewildered. The universe, for far too long, was thought to be static, until scientists in the late 20th century stumbled on a landmark discovery. They discovered that the universe was in fact expanding at an accelerating pace. Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking highlights the significance of this finding in these words:

"The expansion of the universe was one of the most important intellectual discoveries of the 20th century, or of any century. It transformed the debate about whether the universe had a beginning. If galaxies are moving apart now, they must have been closer together in the past. If their speed had been constant, they would all have been on top of one another about 15 billion years ago. Was this the beginning of the universe? Many scientists were still unhappy with the universe having a beginning because it seemed to imply that physics broke down. One would have to invoke an outside agency, which for convenience, one can call God, to determine how the universe began."
This reminded me again of the words of The Koran.

"And the heaven We built with Our own powers, and indeed We go on expanding it." (51:48).
How did the Author of the Koran know the Universe was expanding? It cannot be denied that this Author was aware of the deepest secrets of the Universe - secrets that we are only learning about now.

The Koran mentions a lot more scientific truths that were not known to man over a millennium ago. For instance, we know today that life is dependent on water. This is exactly why we look for water as a surrogate marker for life on other planets. The Koran mentioned this fact:

"It is He Who has created man from water" (25:54)
And in verse 24:45, the Author of the Koran claims all life is dependent on water.

But then I was reminded of this verse in the Koran:

"Indeed, We created man from cohesive clay" (37:12).
How could life originate from water and clay at the same time? Which of the two was it? Was the Koran contradictory? Once again, Science provided the answer to my queries. In a paper published in the prestigious Nature magazine early last year, researchers at Cornell University proved that clay might have been the birthplace of life on earth. The researchers demonstrated the importance of confinement for biomolecules and biochemical reactions in early life evolution and suggested that early life evolution may have occurred in a clay hydrogel environment. I was left awestruck again. Life, as we understand it today, is indeed dependent on water and most likely originated in clay.

The more I pursued science with a religious zeal, the more I grew in faith. There was no option, but to agree that the Author of the Koran is - as He claims - the Creator of the Universe and the life it holds. For if not, how did He know about secrets of the universe and of our origin? Secrets that we have just begun to understand over a millennium after the revelation of the Koran.

Equally significant to me was the fact that not a single scientific principle the Author proclaimed had been proven wrong.

Sen. Elbert Guillory #fundie huffingtonpost.com

A Louisiana state senator recently offered a puzzling rationale for why schools in the state should be allowed to teach creationism.

Last month, Louisiana lawmakers considered a measure to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act, a 2008 law that critics have characterized as a way of giving teachers latitude to introduce creationism and other unscientific theories into state classrooms.

In an April 22 hearing, state Sen. Elbert Guillory (R) made it clear that he would vote against the measure, SB 74. In footage uploaded to YouTube last week, he can be seen using a bizarre tactic to support his argument -- namely, citing a nonexistent version of history where scientific truth reigned supreme and dissent invited brutal consequences.

“There was a time, sir, when scientists thought that the world was flat. And if you get to the end of it, you’d fall off," Guillory said. "There was another time when scientists thought that the sun revolved around the world. And they always thought to ensure that anyone who disagreed with their science was a heretic. People were burned for not believing that the world was flat. People were really badly treated."

...

SB 74 did indeed eventually fail, likely preserving the LSEA for at least another year.

Guillory has attracted criticism in the past for strange defenses of what should and shouldn't be taught in science class. A few years back, he appeared to express concern that repealing the LSEA would mean that the teachings of a witch doctor he had met -- a man who “wore no shoes, was semi-clothed, [and] used a lot of bones that he threw around” -- would be off-limits.

Efforts to repeal the LSEA have failed five years in a row, with no legislation even making it out of the state Senate Committee on Education, despite support from 78 Nobel laureates. In light of that, Kopplin told The Huffington Post that he's no longer fazed by comments like Guillory's.

"In 2013, Senator Guillory insisted on keeping creationism in science class because of an experience he had with a witch doctor," Kopplin wrote in an email to HuffPost on Monday. "It's no surprise that he has a strong disrespect for historical fact either."

Pat Robertson #fundie huffingtonpost.com

Pat Robertson is at it again.

No stranger to anti-gay remarks, the conservative televangelist advised one of his "700 Club" viewers to forgive her husband of 11 years after he apparently cheated on her with a male friend he'd met at their church when they were drunk, Right Wing Watch first reported.

"He didn't know what he was dealing with," Robertson told the viewer in the April 27 broadcast. "If he were this way all the time, if he's a habitual drunk, if he's a habitual homosexual, if he's a habitual philanderer and all the rest of it, then by all means, take a hike. But one time, 11 years, don't throw all of that away."

In the same broadcast, Robertson told a concerned mother to "pray that God will straighten out" her teenage lesbian daughter, who recently came out of the closet.

Proclaiming that teen girls don't know what dress they're supposed to wear, "much less what kind of sex" they are supposed to be, he suggested, "Maybe get her in a camp, a Christian camp in the summer where they are really on fire for the Lord."

Amir #fundie huffingtonpost.com

Dear Steve,

I had two citi-student loans and at some point in time within the last 5 years they went to Navient (Sallie Mae)

I recently called to ask if I could get a lower pay-off amount as the original loans were 32K and now they are up to about 64K because of deferment and interest. They said no and I believe these may have been private loans.

My conditions have changed. I was born into Islam, but never knew much about my religion. Since 2012 I have been learning more about my faith and it is strictly forbidden in my faith to have dealings with interest.

I am offering to pay off the original amount I owe however due to religious reasons would like them to recognize that my awareness and conditions have changed from the time of originally accepting the loan with Citi-Student Loan Corp and not even with them at Sallie Mae.

Can I get the interest wiped out and close this account and case with just paying the original amount borrowed?

I am in the Seattle, WA area are there attorneys that you can direct me to that can help?

Amir

Michele Bachmann #fundie huffingtonpost.com

Michele Bachmann says the rapture is coming, thanks to President Barack Obama’s policies on Iran’s nuclear program and marriage equality.

In a radio interview last week, Bachmann, the former Minnesota Republican congresswoman, told "End Times" host Jan Markell, “We need to realize how close this clock is getting to the midnight hour.”

“We in our lifetimes potentially could see Jesus Christ returning to earth and the rapture of the church,” Bachmann said. “We see the destruction, but this was a destruction that was foretold.”

Bachmann cited the Obama administration’s nuclear negotiations with Iran as a cause. The U.S. and five partner nations are discussing a deal with Iran that would prevent the country from developing or obtaining nuclear weapons.

“We are literally watching, month by month, the speed move up to a level we’ve never seen before with these events," Bachmann said. "Barack Obama is intent. It is his number one goal to ensure that Iran has a nuclear weapon.”

Later in the interview, Bachmann again tied her rapture prediction to Obama’s foreign policy.

“If you look at the president’s rhetoric, and if you look at his actions, everything he has done has been to cut the legs out of Israel and lift up the agenda of radical Islam,” she said.

Obama has said repeatedly that the goal of the nuclear talks with Iran is to prevent the country from developing a nuclear weapon.

Bachmann also blamed abortion and gay marriage, arguing that God is punishing the United States for “embracing a pagan view.”

“Any nation that accepts God and his principles is blessed, and those who push away are cursed. That’s what we’re seeing happen to the United States,” she said. “We will suffer the consequences as a result.”

Some Christians believe those who are saved will be transported to heaven just before armageddon, which they call the rapture.

This is not the first time Bachmann has predicted extreme consequences from the Iran deal. Earlier this month, she claimed the deal would lead to "World War III." And in a Facebook post, she compared Obama to Andreas Lubitz, the pilot who crashed the Germanwings airliner into the French Alps in March.

Unnamed McGuffey High School Students #fundie huffingtonpost.com

A Pennsylvania high school has come under media scrutiny after a group of students organized an "Anti-Gay Day" in response to the nationally-observed Day of Silence.

The Day of Silence, which has been officially organized by GLSEN (or the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) since 2001, encourages students and young adults to take a vow of silence in an effort to prompt officials to address the problem of anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) bullying and harassment in their schools.

Although the Day of Silence was observed April 17 nationally, McGuffey High School in Claysville scheduled their related activities for Wednesday, April 15 because of a planned field trip, BuzzFeed is reporting. This prompted the group of students to ask classmates to wear flannel shirts and write "anti-gay" on their hands on Thursday, April 16, in protest, according to WPXI-TV.

In addition, participants posted Bible verses on the lockers of students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), the news station noted. Meanwhile, some encounters between students who participated and those who didn't even got physical, The Advocate pointed out, and snapshots of the flannel-clad group appeared on social media.

"We came into school on Thursday and found a lot of people wearing flannel and we couldn’t figure out why,” Zoe Johnson, a 16-year-old McGuffey High School who identifies as bisexual, told BuzzFeed's David Mack. "People started getting pushed and notes were left on people’s lockers. ...I got called a dyke, a faggot. They were calling us every horrible name you can think of."

More troubling still was an alleged "lynch list," which the group was reported to have circulated around the school, according to WPXI-TV.

Sue Kerr, who is the editor-in-chief of Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, slammed the event in a lengthy blog post.

"These kids didn’t just spontaneously pull a homophobic move. They have a plan," she wrote. "They have coordinated outfits. They live and attend school in a county with no discrimination protections based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression."

School officials have been mostly tight-lipped about the incident, but McGuffey High School Superintendent Erica Kolat released a statement to local station WPXI, noting that "allegations of harassment were brought to the attention of our administration."

"We resolve to ensure that all children can grow and learn in a safe, supportive environment free from discrimination," she noted.

Last week, the American Family Association's Tim Wildmon, who has been outspoken in his opposition to LGBT causes, was also critical of the Day of Silence, calling it a "hijacking of the classroom for political purposes."

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu #racist huffingtonpost.com

[Pope Francis Remembers the Armenian Genocide]

"An evil front is being formed before us...Now the pope has joined it and these plots," Davutoglu said.

He said Turkey was willing to confront its history, but added: "We won't allow our nation to be insulted through history, we won't allow Turkey to be blackmailed through historic disputes."