Islam is in the dark ages.

Before you read this any further, ask yourself: Will I change my views if the evidence suggests otherwise? If no, then you might as well leave.

I am going to present some facts about Islam, then give you my conclusion at the end.

Islam. The very name means “submission”. Unlike in Judaism or Christianity, the relationship between god and worshiper is master/slave. You submit to Allah’s will.

Women are inferior to men in Islam:

2:223 Your women are a tilth for you (to cultivate) so go to your tilth as ye willQur’an (4:11) – (Inheritance) “The male shall have the equal of the portion of two females” (see also verse 4:176).

Qur’an (2:282) – (Court testimony) “And call to witness, from among your men, two witnesses. And if two men be not found then a man and two women.”

Bukhari (6:301) – “[Muhammad] said, ‘Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?’  They replied in the affirmative.  He said, ‘This is the deficiency in her intelligence.’“

Bukhari (6:301) – continued – “[Muhammad said] ‘Isn’t it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?’ The women replied in the affirmative. He said, ‘This is the deficiency in her religion.'” Allah has made women deficient in the practice of their religion as well, by giving them menstrual cycles.

Tabari Vol 9, Number 1754 – “Treat women well, for they are [like] domestic animals with you and do not possess anything for themselves.” From Muhammad’s ‘Farewell Sermon’.

(More verses here)

Women do not need to be present at their marriage for their fathers or brothers to marry them away.

Women often do not get to choose who and when they will be married.

They must submit to their husband’s sexual desires whenever he wills. (See 2: 223)

In Saudi Arabia, where Islam is applied to the letter, women are not allowed to leave the house without a male relative escorting them. They are not allowed to drive cars. They are not allowed to be anywhere unless they are being supervised by a man.

An-Nisa verse 34: “Men are the maintainers of women because God has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as God has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely God is High, Great”

Two words: Honor Killings

This is such an important issue in Islam today. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that around 5,000 women are brutally murdered each year by male relatives in an attempt to wash away some shame, usually the shame of the woman being raped. I cannot overstress the importance of this issue. I could write several blog posts on it, but the Middle East Forum did an interesting study here, with statistics and explanations. Some would argue that this has nothing to do with Islam, the evidence says otherwise.

Attacks on Free speech

Islam has a long history of threats, violence, and murder perpetrated against anyone who dare criticize it.  Salman Rushdie, Theo van Gogh, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, just to name a few resent people. Why is it only Islam seems to threaten and kill people over free speech? Why did the Vatican not issue a death warrant on Dan Brown? Why were there not riots in the streets by angry Catholics over The DaVinci Code? Why do Muslims en masse feel they need to riot, destroy buildings, burn books, and kill people over words or cartoons?

Fact: Pakistan shut down Facebook, youtube, and other internet sites over “Draw Muhammad Day”, an exercise in free speech created as a response to death threats for drawing a cartoon.

Fact: 9/11 was carried out expressly for religions reasons. Not for political reasons, not for economic reasons, religious reasons. It was a one way ticket to heaven.

Fact: Islamic countries score very poorly, as a whole, on the Human Development Index.

Fact: Muhammad was a pedophile.

In Islam, Muhammad is infallible. He sets up exact proscriptions on how to live, how to treat women, and what is permissible and what is forbidden. By doing this Islam has sealed itself in the world view of the 7th century Arabian desert.

My conclusion: All this considered, I see Islam as backwards and disgusting. It subjugates women, and violates human rights. Without undergoing its own enlightenment, as the West did, Islam truly is stuck in the dark ages. Unfortunately, people with this medieval mentality now have access to 21st century technology and weapons, developed by the West, with which they  use to wage holy war.

Am I saying Western culture is far superior? Yes and no. My culture has plenty of problems. It is far from perfect and there are many different ways to do things, which is fine. However, Islam has far more serious problems concerning basic human rights.

“Oh but GP, who are you to say that their culture is inferior?” The idea of basic human rights was developed in the West as a product of our combined experiences. We had gone through an enlightenment, where we freed our society from the absolutist shackles of religion, and began to experiment with how to create a better, more just world. The United States Constitution and Bill of Rights were one of the first great answers to that question. Even by the 18th century people in the West began to see that some practices were more conducive to human flourishing than others.  The violation of these practices and the horrendous slaughter of the 20th century only further compounded the importance of these rights. Thus the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was  developed. Human rights, if respected and adhered to, improve the lives of everyone, regardless of nationality, race, or religion.

To argue against human rights is to condemn generations of people in Islamic countries to lives of suffering, poverty, disease, and war. Don’t misunderstand me. The goal is not to eliminate Islam, merely to accelerate it’s enlightenment. Christianity and Judaism were not eliminated by the European enlightenment, and nor will Islam be. What matters is that they be lifted up out of the dark ages in order to free their men and women, and end the violence.

How do we do this? Violence is not the answer. We will not speed up an enlightenment through bombs or guns. This will only harden their ignorance and hatred towards us. We must speed it up through education. Where does education pay the most returns? Women. Educated women will be better able to stand up for their rights. Educated women will educate their children, who will then educate their children in return. It’s exponential. It will take some time, but it is the only way. If we do nothing, we can only expect to see more suicide bombers, more honor killings, more misery.

If only money mattered

Natural selection is the engine that drives evolution, but it is not restricted to just living organisms. In nature, natural selection’s goal is the production of more offspring. The more babies an organism can have, the more successful it is. It’s beautiful and simple.

Yet this engine can be used to drive other things besides making robins redder or deer run faster. Natural selection is at work in capitalism as well. Here the goal is to make more money instead of more babies. Businesses that do well, or make more money, prosper while businesses that don’t make money flounder and die. The whole process works to make businesses more efficient. It cuts off the fat and makes everything leaner.

Yet in a system where only money matters, what about entities whose goal is something other than making money? Museums, libraries, parks, etc. I guess these would fall under “public goods”, or services that can’t be measured in dollars and cents. In order to survive in a system where only revenue counts, these entities would have to be given protection, usually in the form of subsidies and tax exemption. Though I feel there are some who would have a problem with this, like the developer who wants to plow down a park to build another mall.

I guess what I’m trying to say is there are things that are very important to me that don’t make money. I and other patrons of these entities are too few in number when compared to the masses to financially support these institutions. Normally, under the rules of natural selection, that means they should wither and die. What is to be done? Is it right to tax other people to support things that I cherish?

In the US we have a constitutional republic. People vote, but it is not a pure democracy. Our founding fathers knew the dangers of a pure democracy, that it would lead to mob rule, and instituted a republic where, although the majority would rule, the rights of the minority were respected. Can the same thing be applied economically? Should it be applied?

What would an unregulated system where only money mattered look like? I think it’d be a world where museums, libraries, and theaters would die off. Maybe not entirely, but there would be drastically fewer of them than we have now. Educational programs of all kinds would wither and die, unable to compete with “American Idol” or “Dancing with the stars”. Everything would be dumbed down to the lowest common denominator, for that’s where the most money is.

Running tab on Republican sex scandals

The party of “family values” these days seems to be rocked with sex scandal after sex scandal. It’s hard to keep track of so many hypocrites who admonish others about sexual deviance, and then turn around and bend over. To help you keep count I’m compiling a list, which I will update as more anti-gay “pro family” conservatives turn out to either be homosexual or banging their staffers. And trust me, I will have to keep updating this list….

2010

Nikki Haley, SC gubernatorial candidate and Christian conservative has sex with blogger and supporter and then a lobbyist for her opposition.

Mark Souder resigns after it is found out he was banging a staffer who helped him make abstinence only videos. The staffer also resigns.

Right wing Christian leader and homophobic George Rekers caught on vacation with a male prostitute.

Roy Ashburn, the conservative Republican California state senator who was arrested last week (Mar. 2010) for drunk driving after reportedly leaving a gay bar, has acknowledged that he is gay. Ashburn, a divorced father of four, has repeatedly voted in opposition to gay rights, and in 2005 hosted a rally in favor of “traditional marriage.” He has voted against expanding anti-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation, recognizing out-of-state gay marriages and establishing a day honoring gay lawmaker Harvey Milk.

RNC uses party funds to pay rich, young Republican donors to attend a Hollywood night club specializing in lesbians, bondage, and S&M.Washington Post March 30, 2010

NRCC (National Republican Congressional Committee) uses a strip club named Forty Deuce in Las Vegas for fundraiser gatherings with Pete Sessions in attendance. He claims there was no nudity involved.[1][2][3] In Feb. 2009, Tao, another Las Vegas club of questionable family values and clothing requirements, was used.

2009

Mike Duvall, a Republican politician and a former member of the California State Assembly, resigned after his sex comments were broadcast in Sept. 2009. In the video, the married family-values crusader from Yorba Linda talks in graphic detail about women he said he slept with — at least one of whom appeared to be a lobbyist with business before the utilities committee on which Duvall sat as vice chairman. [6][7]

Paul Stanley, Republican former member of the Tennessee Sen., resigned from the state Senate effective Aug. 10, after his affair with a 22-year-old intern and a subsequent extortion attempt was revealed to the public. [8][9]

Mark Sanford, governor of South Carolina, disappears during Father’s Day weekend, returning to confess an extramarital affair in Argentina. [10][11][12]

John Ensign, Senator from Nevada, refuses to resign after confessing to an extramarital affair with a married staffer, claiming she was trying to extort him.[13] Later, it was learned he was attempting to pay her and her husband off through his parents and finding them jobs.[14]

Alan David Berlin, He is an aide for Senator Jane Orie of Pennsylvania. He is also a furry who contacted a fifteen year old boy over the internet, and offered to “yiff” the boy in a panda outfit, while his parents weren’t home. The parents discovered the graphic emails on the boy’s computer and called the attorney general’s child predator unit sometime in May. Police raided his home and discovered various furry outfits such as a wolf costume, as well as a cat outfit; all complete with two holes cut out at the undersides of the costumes. He is now arraigned in Dauphin County jail on a $250,000 bail.[15][16][17][18]

2008

Bruce Barclay, former Cumberland County commissioner, videotaped hundreds of sexual encounters — many with male escorts — using cameras hidden throughout his Monroe Township home.[23]

Matthew Joseph Elliott, former aide to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, was convicted of sexual exploitation of a child.[24]

Vito Fossella, the only Republican member of Congress from New York City, admitted to police to having a child out-of-wedlock when stopped for drunk driving.[25]

Robert McKee, Republican delegate from Western Maryland, announced his resignation after authorities seized two computers, videotapes and printed materials from his Hagerstown home in a child pornography investigation. McKee also resigned his position as executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County.[26]

Daniel Dean Thompson, 31, a Utah retailer of “family-friendly” tapes and DVDs (Hollywood films with the “dirty parts” removed), arrested and booked into the Utah County jail on charges of sexual abuse and unlawful sexual activity with a 14-year-old.[27]

Derek Walker, former Eagle Scout and candidate seeking the GOP nomination in a race for north-central Pennsylvania district, was charged with felony burglary and criminal trespass stemming from an encounter last year with an ex-girlfriend, during which he allegedly broke into her home and used his cell phone to videotape her engaged in an intimate moment with another man.[28]

2007

Robert “Bob” Allen, Florida state Rep. arrested in the afternoon at a Veteran’s Memorial Park for solicitation of prostitution from an undercover male officer inside a restroom. According to the papers, Bob “offer[ed] to perform oral sex for $20”. Bob later claimed that his offer had something to do with his being afraid of black people.[29]

John David Roy Atchison, Republican prosecutor, was arrested for soliciting sex from a 5-year old girl, then killed himself three weeks later. At the time of his arrest, Atchison was an “assistant U.S. attorney” appointed by President Bush’s attorney general.[30]

E. Ozwald Balfour, chairman of the Utah Republican Black Assembly and elected to the Republican State Central Committee in 2007, even though he was awaiting trial on four felony counts of forcible sex abuse dating back to his arrest in February, 2005.[31]

John Bryan, Republican city councilman, killed himself after police began investigating allegations that he had molested three girls, including two of his adopted daughters, ages 12 and 15.[32]

Larry Craig, Republican Senator for Idaho, was arrested on July 11, 2007, by plainclothes police officer investigating complaints of lewd behavior in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport airport men’s room. On August 8 in Hennepin County Municipal Court in Bloomington, Minnesota, Craig entered a guilty plea and paid a $500 fine.[33]. On September 1st, Craig subsequently announced his retirement from the Senate[34]. Five days later, Craig changed his mind, renounced his retirement and began a battle to have his guilty plea overturned.[35] Craig supported the Federal Marriage Amendment, which barred extension of rights to same-sex couples; he voted for cloture on the amendment in both 2004 and 2006, and was a cosponsor in 2008. However, in late 2006 he appeared to endorse the right of individual states to create same-sex civil unions, but said he would vote “yes” on an Idaho constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages when pressured to clarify his position by the anti-gay rights advocacy group Families for a Better Idaho. Craig voted against cloture in 2002, which would have extended the federal definition of hate crimes to cover sexual orientation.[36]

John R. Curtin, Monroe County state Republican committeeman, was convicted of molesting an underage teenage boy and sentenced to serve six to 18 months in prison.[37]

Richard Curtis, Washington State Rep., resigned from the House after reports of his sexual encounter with a male escort became public.[38] Curtis has an anti-gay rights voting record. He voted against domestic partnerships for gays and opposed a bill prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.[39]

Donald Fleischman, Brown County, WI, Republican Party Chairman, resigned his post after he was charged with two counts of child enticement, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child and a single charge of exposing himself to a child.[40]

Larry Dale Floyd, Republican Constable in Denton County, Texas Precinct Two. Arrested for allegedly crossing state lines to have sex with an 8-year old child and was charged with 7 related offenses. Age 62 at time of arrest.[41]

Ted Klaudt, former South Dakota State Rep., found guilty of four counts of second-degree rape of two teenage foster daughters.[42][43]

Ronald C. Kline, Republican Judge in Orange County, CA, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer after six years of legal wrangling. In 2002, charged with child molestation and under house arrest on federal charges of possessing child pornography, political analysts still gave him a 50-50 chance of winning the March 5 primary for the Orange County Superior Court seat. He lost the election to a write-in candidate.

Joseph M. McDade, 75, was issued a summons on a charge of exposure of sexual organs, a misdemeanor that carries up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The longtime Pennsylvania Republican congressman who served for 36 years in the House and now works for a Washington lobbying firm, has been accused of exposing his private parts to two women at a beach resort on Sanibel Island. [44]

Patrick Lee McGuire, former former Flagler County Commissioner, surrendered to police after allegedly molesting girls between the ages of 8 and 13.[45]

Jon Matthews, Republican talk show host in Houston, was indicted for indecency with a child, including exposing his genitals to a girl under the age of 17.[46]

Joseph Monteleone Jr., Elyria city councilman, was found guilty of fondling underage girls and asking them to have sex with him.[47]

Glenn Murphy Jr., chairman of the Clark County Republican Party and president of the Young Republican National Federation, resigned both posts, after the Clark County Sheriff’s Department began investigating Murphy for alleged criminal deviate conduct. A 22-year-old man claimed that Murphy performed an unwanted sex act on him while the man slept in a relative’s Jeffersonville home. During the investigation, a similar accusation from 1998 came to light.[48]

Armando Tebano, Schenectady County Republican Chairman, pleaded guilty to fondling a 14-year-old girl.[49]

David Vitter, junior Senator from Louisiana, became one of the few high-profile politicians to be implicated as a client of “D.C. Madam” Deborah Jeane Palfrey.[50]

2006

Steve Aiken, campaign manager for a Republican candidate for Congress in Arizona, former Quakertown, PA, police officer and self-proclaimed reverend, was convicted of having sex with two underage girls.[51]

Louis Beres, chairman of the Christian Coalition of Oregon. 3 of his family members accuse him of molesting them when they were pre-teens. In August 06, Beres confessed.[52]

Howard L. Brooks, Republican legislative aide and adviser to a California assemblyman, was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography. [53]

Randall Casseday, Washington Times newspaper executive, pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from a 13-year old girl on the internet.[54]

Larry Corrigan, Republican operative and Director of Operations and Budget at King County Prosecutor’s Office, OR, was arrested for soliciting sex from 13-year old girls.[55]

Carey Lee Cramer Political consultant and anti-Kerry ad producer, tried for molesting two young girls, one of whom lived with him, and was 8 yrs old; the other starred in an anti-Kerry commercial. Diary [56]

Mark Foley, Republican Representative, Florida Sixteenth Congressional District. Resigned after trying to solicit sex from male congressional pages via an instant messenger program. The conversations included his asking a sixteen-year-old “stud” whether his penis was erect and requesting that he take out and measure his penis. The cover-up involved Republican House Majority Leader John Boehner, Ohio Eighth Congressional District and Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Illinois Fourteenth District.[57]

Jim Gibbons, then US Rep. and Republican candidate for governor, was accused by a Las Vegas casino cocktail waitress of grabbing her, shoving her against a wall and threatening her after she rebuffed his advances.[58][59] Since elected Governor, Gibbons is under investigation by the FBI on corruption charges and is embroiled in what looks set to become a very messy divorce.[60]

Ted Haggard, was fired as pastor of the New Life Church and resigned from his position as president of the National Association of Evangelicals in November 2006 after a former male prostitute alleged they had a cash-for-sex relationship. The man also said he saw Haggard use methamphetamine. Haggard confessed to undisclosed “sexual immorality” and said he bought meth but didn’t use it.[61] After the scandal was publicized, Haggard entered three weeks of intensive counseling, overseen by four ministers. In Feb 2007, one of those ministers, Tim Ralph, said that Haggard “is completely heterosexual.” As of early 2009, Haggard continues to receive counseling, and now he says that he is a “heterosexual with issues”. [62]

Don Haidl, Assistant Sheriff of Orange Country, in violation of California’s rape shield law, led a smear campaign against the child his son poisoned and then violently gang-raped on videotape, adding up to 24 felony counts. He said that his son “acted accordingly” because the child was a “slut”.[63][64]

Jeffrey Ray Nielsen, Christian conservative activist and lawyer with close ties to Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Scott Baugh, head of the Orange County Republican Party, was arrested for having sex with a 14-year old boy.[65]

Jeffrey Patti, local Republican Committee chairman from Sparta, NJ, was arrested for distributing what experts call “some of the most offensive material in the child pornography world” – a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped.[66]

Brent Schepp, Republican County Board Candidate was charged with molesting a 14-year old girl and killed himself three days later.[67]

2005

Adelphia Communications Corp.: Donated large sums of money to some of the most conservative members of Congress. They are also the first cable company to offer hard-core adult movies to subscribers.[68]

John Collins, of Eatontown, NJ, former music teacher and city councilman, pleaded guilty to sexually molesting 13 and 14 year old girls.[69]

John Gosek Republican Mayor of Oswego, N.Y.was arrested after paying a confidential informant $250 to introduce him to two 15-year-old girls at a hotel.[70]

Dr. W. David Hager Bush appointee, member of Focus on the Family‘s Physician Resource Council, player in movement to ban the morning-after-pill. Had an adulterous affair, before divorcing his wife he sexually abused her, including sodomizing her in her sleep.[71]

Russell Harding, president of the New York City Housing Development Corp. under then-mayor Rudolph Giuliani, pleaded guilty to stealing more than $400,000 for his personal use and possessing child pornography.[72]

Neal Horsley has called for the arrest of all homosexuals. During an interview with Alan Colmes on the Fox News Radio’s The Alan Colmes Show, he admitted to having engaged in sex with a mule at age 11. “When you grow up on a farm in Georgia, your first girlfriend is a mule,” he said. He then credited Jesus with forgiving and cleansing him of his “sin.”

Horsley put photographs on his Web site of naked men engaging in homosexual acts and a nude woman engaging in bestiality amid shots of grotesquely maimed fetuses

Jeff Miller, (R-Cleveland), Senate Republican Caucus Chairman in Tennessee and the sponsor of Tennessee’s Marriage Protection act, getting divorced (as of April 2005) because of an affair he was having with an office aid. Miller described the Tennessee Marriage Protection Act as a means of preserving the sanctity of marriage. He opposed an amendment, however, which stated that “Adultery is deemed to be a threat to the institution of marriage and contrary to public policy in Tennessee.”

Dennis L. Rader, AKA, The BTK Killer, Republican zoning supervisor, Boy Scout leader and Lutheran church president, pleaded guilty to performing a sexual act on an 11-year old girl he murdered.[73]

Jeffrey Kyle Randall, Republican Mayor of Clarkfield, Minnesota, was sentenced to 275 days in jail for molesting two boys–ages ten and 12–during a six-year period.[74]

Jean Schmidt, OH-2, though not herself implicated, employed a campaign manager (Joe Braun) in her 2005 election who once wrote an article condemning gay men for running sex ad profiles, and who was then accused of running his own sex profile on Collarme, an S&M sex site. The profile called for “submissives” to wear only a collar and handcuffs and to have hot wax dripped on them.[75]

Mark Seidensticker, Republican campaign worker, is a convicted child molester.[76]

Don Sherwood, Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Eventually admitted to an affair with a woman 30 years younger than him, after she accused him of physical abuse and attempting to choke her. [77]

Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr., Republican City Councilman, pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison.[78]

Jim Stelling, Seminole County Republican Party chairman who believes in “family values”, as he told a judge. Filed a defamation lawsuit against Nancy Goettman, a former county GOP executive committee member, for falsely claiming he had been married six times. Stelling has been married 5 times. [79]

Bobby Stumbo, former Floyd County, KY, Republican Party leader, was arrested for having sex with a 5-year old boy.[80]

Jim West, Spokane Mayor. Supported a bill, which failed, would have barred gays and lesbians from working in schools, day-care centers and some state agencies. Voted to bar the state from distributing pamphlets telling people how to protect themselves from AIDS. Proposed that “any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of a person” among teens be criminalized. Had a sexual affair with an 18 year old boy.[81]

2004

Edison Misla Aldarondo, Republican former speaker of Puerto Rico’s house of representatives, was sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of intoxicating his stepdaughter and her 17-year-old friend and attempting to rape the friend.[82]

Paul Crouch Televangelist, Former President of Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). Paid $425,000 in hush money in an attempt to cover up a gay affair.[83]

Richard A. Dasen Sr., Republican benefactor of conservative Christian groups, convicted of sexual abuse of children, promotion of prostitution and several counts of solicitation, enough to add up to a sentence of 126 years in prison. Investigators estimated that he spent at least $5 million.[84][85][86]

Peter Dibble, Republican legislator pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl. [87]

Jeff Gannon, partisan blogger with no journalism credentials and a fake name who got invited to Bush’s Press conferences. Is also a pimp and a gay prostitute.[88]

Mike Hintz, a First Assembly of God youth pastor, introduced by Bush on the campaign trail, and promoted his policies. Says he supports Bush’s values. Two months later, this married father of four turned himself into police, charged with the sexual exploitation of a child.[89][90]

Also signed an ad (that called for criminally prosecuting business that sell porn), along with another pastor who was repeatedly busted for public masturbation.

Mark Pazuhanich, Republican judge, pleaded no contest to fondling his 10-year old daughter and was sentenced to 10 years probation.[91]

Donald Rumsfeld, Republican Defense Secretary, may have authorized the rape of children in Iraqi prisons in order to humiliate their parents into providing information about the anti-American insurgency. See excerpt of one prisoner’s report here and his full report here.[92]

Jack Ryan, 2004 Republican nominee for US Senate from Illinois, pressured his wive, actress Jeri Ryan, to have sex with other men. Tricked her into visiting sex clubs, where he asked her to have sex with him while others watched.[93]

Ed Schrock, two-term republican congressman, with a 92% approval rating from the Christian Coalition. Cosponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment, consistently opposed gay rights. Married, with wife and kids. Withdrew his candidacy for a third term after tapes of him soliciting for gay sex were circulated.[94]

David Swartz, Republican Commissioner, of Richland County, Ohio pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.[95]

Robin Vanderwall, Republican strategist and director of Faith & Family Alliance, (a Christian Coalition spin off), was convicted in April 2004 on five counts of computer solicitation of a minor and one count of attempted indecent liberties with a child.[96]

2003

John Allen Burt, Republican anti-abortion activist, convicted of sexually molesting a 15 year old girl at the home for troubled girls that he ran. [97]

Neil Bush, brother or G. W. Bush, in a March 2003 divorce deposition, admitted repeatedly having sex with strange women who just showed up at his room while on an Asian business trip. (Overshadowing the sex scandal; the business scandal–see link.) [98]

Richard A. Delgaudio, Republican fund-raiser and Bush pioneer, was found guilty of child porn charges. [99]

Jack W. Gardner, Republican Councilman, had been convicted of molesting a 13-year old girl. when the Republican Party, knowing of these crimes, put him on the ballot.[100]

Philip Giordano, Republican mayor sentenced to 37 years for forcing two 8 and 10 year old girls to perform oral sex on him in his City Hall office.[101][102]

Rush Limbaugh, triple-divorcee[103], 30-pill a day drug addict.[104]. In 2006, returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic, Limbaugh was detained by customs agents for several hours after they found a bottle of Viagra prescribed to someone else in his luggage.[105]

Pat McPherson, Douglas County Election Commissioner, resigned a day after being ticketed on suspicion of fondling a 17-year-old girl who was dressed as a restaurant mascot.[106]

Brent Parker Utah State Representative. Arrested for soliciting sex from an undercover officer posing as a male prostitute.[107]

Stephen White, infamous for preaching against homosexuality and sexual promiscuity at Yale and other college campuses, was arrested after allegedly offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him.[108]

2002

Andrew Buhr, Republican politician, former committeeman for Hadley Township Missouri, was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy.[109]

Richard Gardner, a Nevada State Representative (R), admitted to molesting his two daughters. 34% of those who voted in Assembly District 34 preferred Gardner to the Democratic candidate.[110]

Howard Scott Heldreth, anti-abortion activist who gained fame during the Shiavo media-circus, was convicted of two charges of raping a child in 2002.[111]

Tom Randall, Republican petition drive manager of Orange County, CA, pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 14, one of them the daughter of an associate in the petition business.[112]

Keith Westmoreland, a Tennessee state representative (R), was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to minors under 16 (i.e. exposing himself to children).[113] Not long afterwards, Westmoreland committed suicide.[114]

2001

Randal David Ankeney, Republican activist, arrested on suspicion of sexual assault on a child with force. He faces 6 charges related to getting a 13-year-old girl stoned on pot and then having sex with her. [115] Also accused of sexually assaulting another girl. [116]

Parker J. Bena, Republican activist and Bush Elector, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography (including children as young as 3 years old) on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000. [117]

Kevin Coan, Republican St. Louis Election Board official, arrested and charged with trying to buy sex from a 14-year-old girl whom he met on the Internet. [118]

John Fund, of the Wall Street Journal, a prominent anti-abortion columnist and GOP fund raiser. He lost his position after it was revealed that he impregnated the daughter of an old girlfriend and then encouraged her to abort his child.[119]

Donald “Buzz” Lukens, Republican Congressman from Ohio, was found guilty of having sex with a minor – a girl he was accused of sleeping with since she was 13.[120] Lukens was convicted in March, 1996, on five counts of bribery and conspiracy related to actions he took while in Congress.[121]

Nicholas Morency, Republican anti-abortion activist, pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor [122].

Larry Jack Schwarz, Republican parole board officer and former Colorado state representative, fired after child pornography was found in his possession. [123] With his political career over, he went to work in the hard-core pornography industry for Platinum X Pictures, owned by his daughter, porn starlet Jewel De’Nyle (Stephany Schwarz). [124]

Tom Shortridge. Republican campaign consultant, was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl. [125]

2000

Keola Childs, Republican County Councilman, pleaded guilty to sexual assault in the first degree for molesting a male child.[126]

Matthew Glavin, president and CEO of the Southeastern Legal Foundation, big player in the Clinton Impeachment, and many anti-gay jihads, has been arrested multiple times for public indecency, one time fondling the crotch of the officer who was arresting him.[127]

Earl Kimmerling, sentenced to 40 years in prison after he confessed to molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her.[128]

1999

George Roche III president of conservative Hillsdale College, MI, divorced his wife of 44 years (who had cancer) and remarried five months later. Apparently shocked and upset by the presence of a new woman in her father-in-law’s life, Roche’s daughter-in-law Lissa revealed that she and her father-in-law had been off-and-on lovers for 19 of the 21 years she and her husband had been married. Shortly thereafter, Lissa took her own life.[129]

1998

Merrill Robert Barter, Republican County Commissioner, pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy. [130]

Dan Burton, Republican Congressman who, while married, fathered a child by another woman. [131]

Dan Crane, Republican Congressman, married, father of six. Received a 100% “Morality Rating” from Christian Voice. Had sex with a minor working as a congressional page.[132] On July 20, the House voted for censure Crane, the first time that censure had been imposed for sexual misconduct.[133]

Helen Chenoweth, Congresswoman (R-Id.). In 1995, Chenoweth had denied having an affair when asked about it by The Spokane Spokesman-Review. In 1998 she called (in a campaign ad) for Bill Clinton’s resignation saying “I believe that personal conduct and integrity do matter”. Days later she admitted to a six-year adulterous affair with a married associate. but now she claims a pardon from a higher authority: “I’ve asked for God’s forgiveness, and I’ve received it,” she revealed.

Henry Hyde, Judge who oversaw Clinton’s impeachment proceedings, prominent opponent of reproductive rights, who had an extramarital affair with a woman who was married and had three children, during the course of which she and her husband were divorced. [134]

1997

Mike Bowers Former State Attorney General, prosecuted the famous Bowers vs. Hardwick case, based on Georgia anti-sodomy laws. Admitted to a 10-year adulterous affair.[135]

1996

John Hathaway, Republican Senate candidate, was accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media.[136]

I. Lewis Libby, former Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. In 1996 published a novel containing bizarre sexual content, including bestiality and pedophillia.[137]

1995

Newt Gingrich, married three times. Gingrich campaign worker Anne Manning admitted that she gave Newt oral sex while he was still married to his first wife. Informed one wife he was filing for divorce while she was in the hospital recovering from cancer treatments.[138]

Beverly Russell, county chairman of the Christian Coalition and county coordinator of the South Carolina Citizens for Life[139], sexually molested his step-daughter, Susan Smith, who later drowned her two children.[140]. Mr. Russell continued to serve on the executive committee of the state G.O.P. as late as six months after his stepdaughter’s confession of murder had brought their sexual history to light.

1994

Jim Bunn Congressman of Oregon: With his success due in great part to support from the Christian Coalition, Bunn won his congressional seat, then immediately ditched his wife (and mother of his five children), married a staffer, and put his new wife on the state payroll for the unheard-of salary of $97,500. [141]

1993

Ken Calvert, Congressman (R-Ca), champion of the Christian Coalition and its “family values.” Sued as an alimony deadbeat by his ex-wife. Said “We can’t forgive what occurred between the President and Lewinsky.” In 1993 he was caught by police receiving oral sex from a prostitute and attempted to flee the scene.[142]

1990

Jon Grunseth, Republican businessman and candidate for Minnesota governor, withdrew his candidacy after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four underage girls, including his daughter, and tried to grope one. “I’ve made some mistakes,” he said.[143]

1989

Paul Ingram, Republican Party leader of Thurston County, Washington, pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison.

Sue Myrick, Republican mayor of Charlotte, NC, self-described “devout Christian”, during her run for reelection news reports revealed that she committed adultery with a married man in 1973. Myrick admitted the adultery and won reelection. She was later elected as congresswoman for North Carolina’s 9th district.

1988

Jim Bakker, televangelist with Pat Robertson at Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting network. Committed adultery with Jessica Hahn [144] and then used charitable donations to pay her hush money[145]. Fellow televangelists say he’s gay. [146][147] Convicted on 24 federal charges of fraud and conspiracy charges. [148].

1986

Roy Cohn, continually condemned gays and gay rights. Was a closet gay who died of AIDS. [149]

1982

John Scmitz, right-wing republican congressman, who had had his committee chairship taken away from him in the California State Senate after issuing a press release attacking Jews, feminists and gays. Forced out of office in 1982 for having an adulterous affair and fathering two children out of wedlock with one of his students. He was caught because his baby was admitted to hospital for having hair tied so tightly around his penis that it was almost severed. His daughter, Mary Kay LeTourneau, was convicted of having an adulterous affair with one of her students, and giving birth to two of his children. [150]

1980

Robert Bauman, Republican congressman and anti-gay activist, was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar. [151]

1973

Ted Bundy, the notorious serial rapist who murdered 16 women. Bundy worked on the re-election campaign of Washington’s Republican Governor Dan Evans. Evans was elected and he appointed Bundy to the Seattle Crime Prevention Advisory Committee.[152]

1925

Strom Thurmond, Republican senator, aged 22, fathered a child on 16-year old African American maid working for his family.[153

Original SOURCE for all entries 1925-2010

Your religion doesn’t apply to me

In retrospect over the first annual “Draw Muhammad Day” it occurred to me that one of the fundamental problems with some people is that they expect their religion applies to other people. “I’m a muslim, therefore you cannot draw Muhammad.” “I’m a christian, therefore you cannot buy certain things before I get out of church.”

It’s ridiculous. Your religion applies to you and only you. It, and its laws, do not apply to anyone who does not subscribe to your set of beliefs. “Oh, GP, what about murder? My religion says “thou shall not kill* ”  is it alright then for you to go around killing people?

No, because I ascribe to a country which has laws prohibiting murder. (Not that I need a law to keep me from doing it)  A lot of countries have the same types of laws. However, just like in religions, one country’s laws do not apply in another country. It would be ridiculous for someone from Iran to come over to the US and try to enforce the ban on dancing. This is not their country, they have no right to try and enforce their laws here. The same is true of religious people trying to enforce their religious laws on other people. Everyone should see it for how ridiculous it is.

*except when I feel I’m doing god’s work

May 20th, Draw Muhammad

May 2oth is Draw Muhammad Day! Will you stand up and exercise your freedom of speech? Or will you cower in the shadows and allow barbaric fanatics to take away you inalienable rights? Do you have the courage to do what is right?

At a crossroad in life

Hey everybody. As you might have noticed, I haven’t posted in a while. Last Saturday was my graduation from college. I was already nervous about it and then the Thursday before I got a call from my mother that my grandmother, the only one I have left, had cancer. My grandmother was subsequently hospitalized and could not make it to my graduation. My parents came up, my mother was extremely stressed, and we went through the motions. Afterwards we packed up all of my things into a little U-haul and I lost my academic hood.

One of the most difficult things for me was having my sanctuary, my little apartment room, invaded and packed away. My parent’s didn’t mean to “invade” it, and I’m not upset at them for it, but still, it was my little space where I could feel secure. Having to pack it all away without regard to the memories I have in that room hurt. And so I left my home of four years, my girlfriend of nearly three years, and both my best friends to drive down to a state I hate to visit my favorite, and last, grandparent who was now dying of pancreatic cancer.

Here I have no friends, no job, nothing. I don’t even have a space of my own. I’ve been moving around from room to room in the house, depending on where each uncle is going to sleep. One night I was in the frog over the garage, now I’m in my sister’s room. (She left for VaBch) All of my belongings are packed in boxes, cold in the garage. I have only some clothes and my computer that I move from room to room. I’m all alone here, and my parents are really stressed out. We don’t get along well normally, and now everything is really straining.

I want to get a job, what type of job, I don’t know. I want my own apartment, someplace I can feel safe and decorate. Getting a job takes time, and unfortunately that’s time I don’t have. My dad just lost his job, and so now he’s looking for a new one. He flew up to NY to network, but we’re thinking his best lead is in Dallas, TX. Years and years of work and he’s right back to where he started. It’s not fair. Nothing is. Regardless, we’re being kicked out of our house on July 15th. Our rent period runs out then and the people we rent from want to sell the house. I have no idea where I will be after that date. It kinda makes getting a job hard when you don’t know where in the country you will be in the next month. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s being alone.

While all this is going on, I’m trying desperately to start my life. I’m just now starting to figure out who I am. I realize that there will always be people who disagree with me, there will always be people who criticize me. The only thing I can do is try, try to not take it personally, which is very hard, and decide if their criticism is valid or not. I would really like to have a fun and adventurous job in some distant country. I’m thinking about gradschool a few years down the line. Getting my master’s in political science might help me get that job. The problem is they say that you should have a job that’s relevant to what you want to study before you apply to gradschool. The other day I applied for a management job at Waffle House…. The economy is so bad I can’t afford to be picky. I just hope I get a job that will help me get into gradschool.

My world is falling apart and I’m alone. I even started posting in the “strictly platonic” section of Craigslist, just so I could have somebody to talk to, maybe even go see a movie with. No luck. I’m just so scared that I’m going to get a job at the Home Depot and be stuck there for years. I’ll be working at a shitty place for too long and gradschools won’t take me. I’ll be passed over in favor of new, fresher graduates who enter a better economy.

I’d really like a job that would make me feel like I’m contributing to the good of the world, but it’s a little hard to focus on that when you’re not sure if humanity is worth saving.