Elder Ravenfire's proboard was taken down for TOS violations a couple of days after my initial review of his board. Since then, he has apparently been rather busy loudly protesting-- among other things, an e-mail he has gotten from an alleged group of witches which took it upon
themselves to "warlock" him. I have copied and pasted said e-mail and "Elder" Ravenfire's response below for your reading and edumacation. By all means, after reading his post or posts on the proboards, please scroll through all of the messages to find the truth of it.
Because "Elder" Ravenfire has taken it upon himself to litter the internet with this hoax of a letter and his response, I am reproducing it as found on a few proboards. If anyone wishes to google Elder+Ravenfire, a host of search results will indicate that this is so. Ergo, since "Elder" Ravenfire has pretty much pitched the content into electronica, I am doing my part to help him in his quest to, as he says it, spread the word of this council.
And just so y'all know, the person behind the e-mail has admitted that it was a hoax. At any rate, here it is as found on one proboard
http://evylynrose.proboards13.com/
index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1163877931&page=1
and another
http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=144833
and a third
http://triplespiral.proboards83.com/
index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1163877685&page=1
in a post attributed to Elder Ravenfire:
Here it is, the end of peace, and love as we know it to be. People go around proclaiming to be protectors of the Craft, and deeming people unfit to be Witches. And spying on Forums, and on people. Is that what the Craft is now? Have we became Jedi? And need the Jedi council like this? What, and who do they think they are? Of course I’m speaking of this so called secret council of guardians of the old ways. Or whatever they call themselves. They go around spying on people and deem them unfit to be Witches because they won’t bend to there will, or believe the same as they do. It is something that needs to be dealt with. If left alone The Craft will be ruined. These people make people think they can banish them from the Craft. Make their magick not work, forever! Here this is what was sent to me
and it's an order I cannot ignore. I tried to warn you RavenFire. I
really did, but this is what you get.
Anyhow, ever obedient to the Guardians... .
We, who are the secret Guardians of the Craft of the Wise for North
America, in Council assembled, have been apprised by our agents of the
conduct of one [omitted by sapphoq], who resides on [omitted by sapphoq] and
who styles himself as "Elder Ravenfire." Having given this matter due
consideration we are now minded to render our judgment.
We find that that this man [omitted by sapphoq] aforesaid has arrogated unto himself
titles, offices, and authority which are in no way his by right or by
accomplishment. Further, we find that he has abused the intelligence,
discretion, and abilities which the Gods have seen fit to grant unto
him, and that in sum, his actions have been of such a nature as to
bring discredit and ignominy upon the Craft of the Wise, which we are
sworn to protect and uphold.
Wherefore we, the Guardians of the Craft of the Wise for North
America, in Council assembled, do hereby banish, expel, and warlock
this man [omitted by sapphoq] aforesaid from the company of all who practice the
Craft of the Wise, to wander the grey mists, alone and friendless. And
we further lay upon said [omitted by sapphoq] a binding and curse, that each and
every work of magic that he may essay from this time forth shall fail
utterly and come to naught. And these penalties both shall lie upon
him for this lifetime and for all lifetimes to come.
So say we all, who have the right, and the authority, and the power to
enforce this, our Will, in this matter. Wherefore we have set unto
this working both our sigils and our signs manual.
So Mote It Be.
This unfortunately is permanent Ravenfire. I'm so sorry.
And they really believe this! They really believe they have this power. Ending with So Mote it Be. With blasphemy. How dare they do this. And some people really think they can do this. I lost one Coven member because of this crap. I think these people need to be stopped. There is no need for liars to be running around telling people they are not Witches, and telling them that they are warlocks. This is stupid. I have the target of attack, after attack. And I have had it. I will spread the word of this council. I will do my best to end there rain of horror. And not let them destroy another person.
My email is [omitted by sapphoq]
Blessed be, Elder RavenFire
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
MORE DRAMA ALA ELDER RAVENFIRE 11/29/06
Monday, November 20, 2006
YAHOO VOODOO 11/20/06
So the vp of e-mail and instant messenging at Yahoo has written a "peanutbutter manifesto" complaining about the corporation's lack of vision, focus, and prosperity. His solution is to dump 20% of the folks who work there. Doing more with less has been the motto of human servitude agencies for quite a few years now. I suppose it was only inevitable that technology would follow suit. I suppose that computers could take over the jobs of some of the near-future missing workers though.
I've been referring to the mysterious folks in charge of censoring the Yahoo 360 bloggers as Y-bots. I wonder how many Y-bots will find their ways into the unemployment lines. And what the average Y-bot curriculum vitae looks like. "Yep, I was part of the crew that threw out such notables as Jeremy Crow and Weezie," should not be anybody's claim to fame.
Will a shake-up occur at Yahoo's famed purple and yellow corporate offices? Will Brad Garlinghouse beat up ol' Tony Semmel and toss him out before his retirement date? Will Yahoo's stock continue its' brief climb upward since the leak? Will Yahoo dump some of its' acquisitions? Will Yahoo be able to magically rejuvenate itself? Will I get my long-awaited chance to tell Yahoo to "Wave this?"
I remember some years ago when an off-hand remark by a school superintendent resulted in readers of the Amsterdam Recorder flooding his office with gifts of pencils. Maybe we should send the author of the leaked internal memo some peanut butter sandwiches. No jelly. Just gloppy peanut butter spread thickly on two slabs of Wonder-ful bread. Now that just might be something that would stick to the roof of Garlinghouse's mouth enough to get him to quit the yapping.
radical sapphoq
I've been referring to the mysterious folks in charge of censoring the Yahoo 360 bloggers as Y-bots. I wonder how many Y-bots will find their ways into the unemployment lines. And what the average Y-bot curriculum vitae looks like. "Yep, I was part of the crew that threw out such notables as Jeremy Crow and Weezie," should not be anybody's claim to fame.
Will a shake-up occur at Yahoo's famed purple and yellow corporate offices? Will Brad Garlinghouse beat up ol' Tony Semmel and toss him out before his retirement date? Will Yahoo's stock continue its' brief climb upward since the leak? Will Yahoo dump some of its' acquisitions? Will Yahoo be able to magically rejuvenate itself? Will I get my long-awaited chance to tell Yahoo to "Wave this?"
I remember some years ago when an off-hand remark by a school superintendent resulted in readers of the Amsterdam Recorder flooding his office with gifts of pencils. Maybe we should send the author of the leaked internal memo some peanut butter sandwiches. No jelly. Just gloppy peanut butter spread thickly on two slabs of Wonder-ful bread. Now that just might be something that would stick to the roof of Garlinghouse's mouth enough to get him to quit the yapping.
radical sapphoq
Sunday, November 19, 2006
EXITING THE LIFE 11/19/06
Ex-gay ministries have existed for many years. I was first aware of this through literature put out by Teen Challenge Inc. in the late 1970s which featured a man and a woman who self-identified as ex-gay. They got saved, got heterosexualized, got married. In the picture, the woman could have been mistaken for a "butch" I suppose. She had short hair. I learned better later on. I now know that some butches have long hair. And lots of women who aren't lesbian or bisexual have short hair.
There existed in Albany NY for at least one summer Sunday night Christian meetings of a sort housed in a second-floor flat near the gay juice bar. I do not know which organization they represented nor what methods they used nor their success rate. None of my friends or acquaintances disappeared from the scene during the late 80s to take up a new straight life. They must have pulled from different parts of the community than the radical in-your-face activists that I was a part of and hanging out with.
How very odd in this day and age when GLBTIQ activists are protesting the inclusion of non-heterosexuality in a Department of Defense list of defects and conditions [an improvement over being considered as a "mental disorder"?] that the ex-gay movement would remain a source of hatred by those of us who celebrate our non-heterosexuality. Yeah, I am familiar with all of the arguements.
People in ex-gay ministries and counseling outreach services do occasionally wind up in bed with each other or with a wayward staffer. A few? some? folks seeking to get out of the life may feel deep self-hatred. Most? All? ex-gay places are run by fundies and we have suffered prejuidice and discrimination at their hands for eons. And yes, the monosexuals [homosexual and heterosexual] in the population do tend to believe that sexual orientation is static rather than fluid.
The bisexuals among us [that is the tribe I fall into] tend to believe that sexual orientation is fluid and [will at least give lip service to the idea] that one's sexual orientation throughout life can change and all of them are equally valid. AIS [Androgen Insufficiency Females] statistically are 100% either attracted to women or to both women and men. A few transgendered friends going through the procedures to match their external gender to their internal gender have experienced a genuine but unplanned sexual orientation change shortly after the introduction of hormone treatment.
So if seeking to trade in my sexual orientation for another one via the path that some people have chosen is not for me, I still do not have to invalidate those who have made different choices than I have. A campus which allows gay-straight alliances and glbtiq clubs to meet needs also to allow ex-gay groups the same privilege and voice that we experience and expect. A workplace which discriminates on the basis of past sexual orientation ought to be as offensive to the civil rights activist as one which discriminates on the basis of present sexual orientation.
A pastor who has recently confessed to dealings with a hustler [male prostitute for men] deserves respect for seeking to address his failings, regardless of how he chooses to do so. Ted Haggart has admitted to despising that part of himself which engaged in male one-on-one sexual conduct and will be seeking counseling from James Dobson [Focus on the Family leader, for those of you living in a news vacuum] because he wants out. Ted Haggart is married and he has broken his marriage vows. If I broke my marriage vows-- regardless of who I broke them with-- I might hate that part of myself too.
Give the man a break people. He done wrong. He is going to fix it the best he can. If he comes out deciding that he is gay or bisexual or straight I really do not care. I hope for his wife's sake that he is able to remain married to her and faithful to her alone. The GLBTIQ community is not the real victim here. Sure, Pastor Ted Haggard has been identified as someone who has been part of the very vocal system out in Colorado which would deny us civil rights. Should we deny him his right to decide how he wishes to conduct himself in his personal life?
The fact that restorative therapy has been dissed by the American Psychological Association back in August does not mean that it should be outlawed. Other mental health bodies have come out with statements of the dangers inherent in change ministries. Dangers like increased depression and self-loathing were mentioned. Reparative therapy has many uses with varying results-- depending sometimes on who is doing the reporting. Quite frankly, Haggard does not deserve to be on exhibit as "proof" that sexual orientation cannot be changed. And yes, even if he never embraces our struggle for civil rights, I hope he is successful in "exiting the life."
-radical sapphoq
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20061118/NEWS/611180351/1116
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/529619_1
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/
nation/11/19/19haggard.html
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/11/111506soulforce.htm
http://www.pathinfo.org/index2.htm
http://www.progressiveu.org/221844-the-ex-gay-movement
There existed in Albany NY for at least one summer Sunday night Christian meetings of a sort housed in a second-floor flat near the gay juice bar. I do not know which organization they represented nor what methods they used nor their success rate. None of my friends or acquaintances disappeared from the scene during the late 80s to take up a new straight life. They must have pulled from different parts of the community than the radical in-your-face activists that I was a part of and hanging out with.
How very odd in this day and age when GLBTIQ activists are protesting the inclusion of non-heterosexuality in a Department of Defense list of defects and conditions [an improvement over being considered as a "mental disorder"?] that the ex-gay movement would remain a source of hatred by those of us who celebrate our non-heterosexuality. Yeah, I am familiar with all of the arguements.
People in ex-gay ministries and counseling outreach services do occasionally wind up in bed with each other or with a wayward staffer. A few? some? folks seeking to get out of the life may feel deep self-hatred. Most? All? ex-gay places are run by fundies and we have suffered prejuidice and discrimination at their hands for eons. And yes, the monosexuals [homosexual and heterosexual] in the population do tend to believe that sexual orientation is static rather than fluid.
The bisexuals among us [that is the tribe I fall into] tend to believe that sexual orientation is fluid and [will at least give lip service to the idea] that one's sexual orientation throughout life can change and all of them are equally valid. AIS [Androgen Insufficiency Females] statistically are 100% either attracted to women or to both women and men. A few transgendered friends going through the procedures to match their external gender to their internal gender have experienced a genuine but unplanned sexual orientation change shortly after the introduction of hormone treatment.
So if seeking to trade in my sexual orientation for another one via the path that some people have chosen is not for me, I still do not have to invalidate those who have made different choices than I have. A campus which allows gay-straight alliances and glbtiq clubs to meet needs also to allow ex-gay groups the same privilege and voice that we experience and expect. A workplace which discriminates on the basis of past sexual orientation ought to be as offensive to the civil rights activist as one which discriminates on the basis of present sexual orientation.
A pastor who has recently confessed to dealings with a hustler [male prostitute for men] deserves respect for seeking to address his failings, regardless of how he chooses to do so. Ted Haggart has admitted to despising that part of himself which engaged in male one-on-one sexual conduct and will be seeking counseling from James Dobson [Focus on the Family leader, for those of you living in a news vacuum] because he wants out. Ted Haggart is married and he has broken his marriage vows. If I broke my marriage vows-- regardless of who I broke them with-- I might hate that part of myself too.
Give the man a break people. He done wrong. He is going to fix it the best he can. If he comes out deciding that he is gay or bisexual or straight I really do not care. I hope for his wife's sake that he is able to remain married to her and faithful to her alone. The GLBTIQ community is not the real victim here. Sure, Pastor Ted Haggard has been identified as someone who has been part of the very vocal system out in Colorado which would deny us civil rights. Should we deny him his right to decide how he wishes to conduct himself in his personal life?
The fact that restorative therapy has been dissed by the American Psychological Association back in August does not mean that it should be outlawed. Other mental health bodies have come out with statements of the dangers inherent in change ministries. Dangers like increased depression and self-loathing were mentioned. Reparative therapy has many uses with varying results-- depending sometimes on who is doing the reporting. Quite frankly, Haggard does not deserve to be on exhibit as "proof" that sexual orientation cannot be changed. And yes, even if he never embraces our struggle for civil rights, I hope he is successful in "exiting the life."
-radical sapphoq
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/
article?AID=/20061118/NEWS/611180351/1116
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/529619_1
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/
nation/11/19/19haggard.html
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/11/111506soulforce.htm
http://www.pathinfo.org/index2.htm
http://www.progressiveu.org/221844-the-ex-gay-movement
Thursday, November 16, 2006
USING A SEVEN YEAR OLD 11/16/06
Parts of the world are all a-raged with the story of Saul Arellano, a 7 year old American second-grader and his illegal Mexican immigrant mother, Elvira. She crossed the border illegally in 1997, was sent back to Michoacan, crossed again, got pregnant at some point or another, and gave birth to Saul in Oregon. Sometime after his birth, she and her son moved to Chicago. She was scheduled to be deported back in August but instead of surrendering to authorities, she and her son began living in a storefront church, the Adalberto United Methodist Church.
The trouble had begun with her job as a cleaning woman at the O'Hare Airport. That is how she was found out. She was arrested in December of 2001. After an appeal or two-- who paid for her lawyer?-- she was ordered to report in August of 2006. That is five years almost, well, four and three/quarters, that she remained illegally in Chicago where she still is. The immigration department has not gone to the church to pick her up. They could. But no one has. Why not? Saul is "in therapy" because he supposedly has nightmares about his mother being sent back to Mexico. Who is paying for that?
Elvira says that her son wants to fight for her to stay in Chicago. Saul says he does not want to live in Mexico because he does not want to leave his school and playmates behind. A small contigent of American let-the-illegals-stay activists were with Saul when he went to the Mexican Congress. Are they the ones who helped him make the journey without his mother? Well, no. There is a man who did. His name is Emma Lozano. Lozano is the executive director of Centro Sin Fronteras, an immigrants-rights group in Chi-town. There is also a "sanctuary movement" to content with over here as well. They help illegals stay. How? By relocating them rather than allowing them to get caught and be deported? Did they buy the new tan suit that Saul was wearing when he was speaking to the 500 deputies in the Mexican Congress on Tuesday? Saul and Elvira were depending upon friends to supply food to them while at the storefront church. Elvira still is at the church as far as we know.
Little Saul spoke to the Mexican Congress [Chamber of Deputies] and the result was that the folks there are now asking President Bush 41 to forget about deporting her. They are also asking, in the interest of fairness of course, that any other illegals who are parents of children born here also be allowed to stay and not be deported. In practical terms, that means the illegal parentals of somewhere between 3 million and 4.9 billion kids [depending upon whose estimate one believes] who are also in Saul Arellano's situation would be allowed to stay.
Mom says that deporting her would deprive her son Saul of his rights as an American citizen. Hmmm. What rights would those be? The right to sponge off of our tax money? Oh, I forgot, she had been working. With a fake social security number but no matter. She was working. I should not pick on her for that. Nor for wanting the best for her son. After all, if she is intent upon little Saul receiving an American education and an American upbringing, she could leave him with one of those oh so helpful friends.
Oh, and before I forget, Elvira is not an illegal immigrant-- she is an uncounted immigrant and also an immigrant activist. Maybe I should relocate to Mexico without being counted and have a kid there while I'm at it.
radical sapphoq
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/11/14/news/nation/08_22_7411_13_06.txt
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4332027.html
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/11/16/2003336580
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/
la-fg-boy15nov15,0,4430315.story?coll=la-home-headlines
http://www.kpvi.com/index.cfm?page=nbcheadlines.cfm&ID=37661
The trouble had begun with her job as a cleaning woman at the O'Hare Airport. That is how she was found out. She was arrested in December of 2001. After an appeal or two-- who paid for her lawyer?-- she was ordered to report in August of 2006. That is five years almost, well, four and three/quarters, that she remained illegally in Chicago where she still is. The immigration department has not gone to the church to pick her up. They could. But no one has. Why not? Saul is "in therapy" because he supposedly has nightmares about his mother being sent back to Mexico. Who is paying for that?
Elvira says that her son wants to fight for her to stay in Chicago. Saul says he does not want to live in Mexico because he does not want to leave his school and playmates behind. A small contigent of American let-the-illegals-stay activists were with Saul when he went to the Mexican Congress. Are they the ones who helped him make the journey without his mother? Well, no. There is a man who did. His name is Emma Lozano. Lozano is the executive director of Centro Sin Fronteras, an immigrants-rights group in Chi-town. There is also a "sanctuary movement" to content with over here as well. They help illegals stay. How? By relocating them rather than allowing them to get caught and be deported? Did they buy the new tan suit that Saul was wearing when he was speaking to the 500 deputies in the Mexican Congress on Tuesday? Saul and Elvira were depending upon friends to supply food to them while at the storefront church. Elvira still is at the church as far as we know.
Little Saul spoke to the Mexican Congress [Chamber of Deputies] and the result was that the folks there are now asking President Bush 41 to forget about deporting her. They are also asking, in the interest of fairness of course, that any other illegals who are parents of children born here also be allowed to stay and not be deported. In practical terms, that means the illegal parentals of somewhere between 3 million and 4.9 billion kids [depending upon whose estimate one believes] who are also in Saul Arellano's situation would be allowed to stay.
Mom says that deporting her would deprive her son Saul of his rights as an American citizen. Hmmm. What rights would those be? The right to sponge off of our tax money? Oh, I forgot, she had been working. With a fake social security number but no matter. She was working. I should not pick on her for that. Nor for wanting the best for her son. After all, if she is intent upon little Saul receiving an American education and an American upbringing, she could leave him with one of those oh so helpful friends.
Oh, and before I forget, Elvira is not an illegal immigrant-- she is an uncounted immigrant and also an immigrant activist. Maybe I should relocate to Mexico without being counted and have a kid there while I'm at it.
radical sapphoq
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/11/14/news/nation/08_22_7411_13_06.txt
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4332027.html
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/11/16/2003336580
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/
la-fg-boy15nov15,0,4430315.story?coll=la-home-headlines
http://www.kpvi.com/index.cfm?page=nbcheadlines.cfm&ID=37661
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
SHOULD WE STAY OR SHOULD WE GO? IRAQ 11/14/06
There is no doubt this morning that Baghdad is a bad place to be. A bunch of men [reports range from 100 to 150] were kidnapped from a Research Building downtown there. [The Research Institute helps Iraqi professors to leave the country]. The men were all thought to be Sunnis. The Minister of Higher Education, having watched the murder of many of Iraq's outspoken professors and academics, decided to close down the universities because of this incident. Apparently, outspoken professors and academics in Iraq live dangerous lives. Over here, a professor can be denied tenure. Over there, a professor can wake up one morning and find himself dead.
Tensions between several key players in the Middle East continue to mount. Over in the UK, Prime Minister Tony Blair sent a secret letter of reconciliation to Damascus. Adding insult to injury, he made a speech yesterday proposing that both Syria and Iran could become his new peace partners. Thanks, Tony. As I used to say at my last job, some people shouldn't have fingers and the rest shouldn't have mouths. Mr. Blair might shouldn't have either.
Meanwhile, back at home, another Tony briefing the press yesterday stated that there is no official timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. He let it be known that we will not leave until the war "is won." President Bush continues his commitment to bringing democracy and freedom from terrorism to the Middle East was the message that the press who were present did not want to hear. After reading the lastest briefing, I understood why my friend JeremyCrow hates the press. If I were Tony Snow, I would hate them too.
Democrats continue to call for withdrawing US troops from Iraq. They are complaining about the whole war thing. Un-notable Cindy Sheehan turned author has fired off another one of her brilliant missives to Senator Pelosi and Senator Conyors [or at least to her e-mail alert list; letter appears nowhere on her website] proposing that "we the American people" want President Bush to be impeached and are offended that now the democrats wish to work with the republicans who naturally are all a bunch of liars and rather immoral for keeping troops in Iraq. Iraqi President al-Maliki meanwhile continues to take advantage of the US military presence in his country to train his own troops and strengthen his police forces.
This is the sixth week of the oops! not-so-secret Pentagon Group which is studying all of the tactics involved with the Middle East military manuevers. That group is also looking at terrorism and possible ways that the United States can deal with it more effectively. The folks gathered as part of the Pentagon Group are considered to possess brilliant minds. So far, they have not had any joint meetings with the Iraq Study Group-- a group that nominee Robert Gates to the Secretary of the Defense position was a part of until his nomination. President Bush had his meeting this week with the Iraq Study Group, a bi-partisan group of which Bush family friend James A. Baker is the co-chair. The President also had a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Olmert who in turn felt it necessary to threaten Iran with fear. Iran threatened Israel back with promises of a crushing nature should Israel dare to take any military action against Iran.
The problem with Iran is that Iran will not do what some other countries want Iran to do. Iranian Madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad indicated recently that when the United States changes its' attitude, then Iran will be ready to talk. The United States demands that Iran cease and desist from its' nuclear highway before negotiations can be arranged. Iran continues to play with uranium enrichment and in fact is "nearly done." The Madman has stated that Iran is going to build up to 60,000 centrifuges and plans a plutonium dumping station, regardless of UN funds or un-funds. A satellite photo published on-line by FOX shows unexplained plutonium by-products. Ahmadinejad also promises to send the American people "a message" regarding his views this week. He maintains a blog at: http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/. [For some reason, the addy refused to be translated into a link so the curious will have to copy and paste the website
http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/ into their own browsers to view the site].
While some folks hold out hope that Syria and Iran will quit their evil terrorist ways in order to bring peace to the Middle East, in fact the Hama and Fatah parties have both come to an agreement over the next Prime Minister of Palestine, Mohammad Shubair has a doctorate from the University of West Virginia. Fatah President Abbas of Palestine is the one who will have the final say in the appointment. Current Prime Minister Hasniya is of the Hama and has agreed to step down from his post in order to end sanctions against Palestine. Even so, the new Palestine Unity government will not recognize Israel as a country in its own right. Or, maybe it will under President Abbat's leadership be able to have a working compromise between the ideology of the Hama and the more moderate position of the Fatah. Or maybe the new combined government will act as a puppet for the Hama. Only time will tell.
Quite honestly, I have no trust that the governments of Iran, Syria, Lebanon, or Palestine will do anything that they say they will. Iran has nuclear capacity which is building and will probably bomb the crap out of Israel, whether Israel makes good on that "fear Israel" threat or not. Palestine will continue to be run by the Hamas covertly. Syria is Iran's buddy, Tony Blair notwithstanding. Lebanon just had several key governmental officials quit and is not stable enough to help in waging war for peace or freedom in any event. And let's not forget that Iran's Madman of the Hour looks incredibly like one of the student-leaders-turned-terrorists of twenty-seven years ago. I only hope that his promised message to the american people is not a bomb, biological warfare, or other such goodie. If it is, he will lose his american fans over at his blog site and no dictator of a bloody regime can afford that.
radical sapphoq
Tensions between several key players in the Middle East continue to mount. Over in the UK, Prime Minister Tony Blair sent a secret letter of reconciliation to Damascus. Adding insult to injury, he made a speech yesterday proposing that both Syria and Iran could become his new peace partners. Thanks, Tony. As I used to say at my last job, some people shouldn't have fingers and the rest shouldn't have mouths. Mr. Blair might shouldn't have either.
Meanwhile, back at home, another Tony briefing the press yesterday stated that there is no official timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. He let it be known that we will not leave until the war "is won." President Bush continues his commitment to bringing democracy and freedom from terrorism to the Middle East was the message that the press who were present did not want to hear. After reading the lastest briefing, I understood why my friend JeremyCrow hates the press. If I were Tony Snow, I would hate them too.
Democrats continue to call for withdrawing US troops from Iraq. They are complaining about the whole war thing. Un-notable Cindy Sheehan turned author has fired off another one of her brilliant missives to Senator Pelosi and Senator Conyors [or at least to her e-mail alert list; letter appears nowhere on her website] proposing that "we the American people" want President Bush to be impeached and are offended that now the democrats wish to work with the republicans who naturally are all a bunch of liars and rather immoral for keeping troops in Iraq. Iraqi President al-Maliki meanwhile continues to take advantage of the US military presence in his country to train his own troops and strengthen his police forces.
This is the sixth week of the oops! not-so-secret Pentagon Group which is studying all of the tactics involved with the Middle East military manuevers. That group is also looking at terrorism and possible ways that the United States can deal with it more effectively. The folks gathered as part of the Pentagon Group are considered to possess brilliant minds. So far, they have not had any joint meetings with the Iraq Study Group-- a group that nominee Robert Gates to the Secretary of the Defense position was a part of until his nomination. President Bush had his meeting this week with the Iraq Study Group, a bi-partisan group of which Bush family friend James A. Baker is the co-chair. The President also had a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Olmert who in turn felt it necessary to threaten Iran with fear. Iran threatened Israel back with promises of a crushing nature should Israel dare to take any military action against Iran.
The problem with Iran is that Iran will not do what some other countries want Iran to do. Iranian Madman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad indicated recently that when the United States changes its' attitude, then Iran will be ready to talk. The United States demands that Iran cease and desist from its' nuclear highway before negotiations can be arranged. Iran continues to play with uranium enrichment and in fact is "nearly done." The Madman has stated that Iran is going to build up to 60,000 centrifuges and plans a plutonium dumping station, regardless of UN funds or un-funds. A satellite photo published on-line by FOX shows unexplained plutonium by-products. Ahmadinejad also promises to send the American people "a message" regarding his views this week. He maintains a blog at: http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/. [For some reason, the addy refused to be translated into a link so the curious will have to copy and paste the website
http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/ into their own browsers to view the site].
While some folks hold out hope that Syria and Iran will quit their evil terrorist ways in order to bring peace to the Middle East, in fact the Hama and Fatah parties have both come to an agreement over the next Prime Minister of Palestine, Mohammad Shubair has a doctorate from the University of West Virginia. Fatah President Abbas of Palestine is the one who will have the final say in the appointment. Current Prime Minister Hasniya is of the Hama and has agreed to step down from his post in order to end sanctions against Palestine. Even so, the new Palestine Unity government will not recognize Israel as a country in its own right. Or, maybe it will under President Abbat's leadership be able to have a working compromise between the ideology of the Hama and the more moderate position of the Fatah. Or maybe the new combined government will act as a puppet for the Hama. Only time will tell.
Quite honestly, I have no trust that the governments of Iran, Syria, Lebanon, or Palestine will do anything that they say they will. Iran has nuclear capacity which is building and will probably bomb the crap out of Israel, whether Israel makes good on that "fear Israel" threat or not. Palestine will continue to be run by the Hamas covertly. Syria is Iran's buddy, Tony Blair notwithstanding. Lebanon just had several key governmental officials quit and is not stable enough to help in waging war for peace or freedom in any event. And let's not forget that Iran's Madman of the Hour looks incredibly like one of the student-leaders-turned-terrorists of twenty-seven years ago. I only hope that his promised message to the american people is not a bomb, biological warfare, or other such goodie. If it is, he will lose his american fans over at his blog site and no dictator of a bloody regime can afford that.
radical sapphoq
Thursday, November 09, 2006
SWINGING THE GATES 11/6/06
One of the most prominent issues among the dem politicians was to be rid of Donald Rumsfeld. President Bush did it for them by announcing Rumsfeld's resignation and replacement with Robert M. Gates. If Gates is confirmed, he will take office most likely in June of 2007.
In spite of accusations regarding the Iran Contra Affair and others regarding his alleged politicalization of intelligence about the former Soviet Union and Nelson Mandela, radical sapphoq regards Robert Gates as an excellent choice for the job of U.S. Secretary of Defense. He has served as an intelligence professional in the CIA for 27 years. He was also appointed to a bipartisan committee, Iraq Study Group; and also has served on SAFE, a group which deals with reducing our dependence upon oil and finding alternative sources of energy. He has extensive knowledge about the Middle East Region and about foreign affairs. Robert Gates will indeed be an asset to the present administration.
radical sapphoq
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6461942
https://www.cia.gov/csi/books/dddcia/gates.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/oral/gates/1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Gates
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_16.htm
http://intellit.muskingum.edu/alpha_folder/G_folder/gates.html
http://intellit.muskingum.edu/cia_folder/ciadcis_folder/dcisgates.html
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/BRZ110A.html
http://www.secureenergy.org/shockwave_bios-Gates.php
In spite of accusations regarding the Iran Contra Affair and others regarding his alleged politicalization of intelligence about the former Soviet Union and Nelson Mandela, radical sapphoq regards Robert Gates as an excellent choice for the job of U.S. Secretary of Defense. He has served as an intelligence professional in the CIA for 27 years. He was also appointed to a bipartisan committee, Iraq Study Group; and also has served on SAFE, a group which deals with reducing our dependence upon oil and finding alternative sources of energy. He has extensive knowledge about the Middle East Region and about foreign affairs. Robert Gates will indeed be an asset to the present administration.
radical sapphoq
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6461942
https://www.cia.gov/csi/books/dddcia/gates.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/oral/gates/1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Gates
http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/walsh/chap_16.htm
http://intellit.muskingum.edu/alpha_folder/G_folder/gates.html
http://intellit.muskingum.edu/cia_folder/ciadcis_folder/dcisgates.html
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/BRZ110A.html
http://www.secureenergy.org/shockwave_bios-Gates.php
ELDER RAVENFIRE PROBOARD 11/9/06
I had the occasion today to visit the proboard run by one elderravenfire, his wife, and a younger relative helping out. If you want to get an idea of what pagans, witches, and wiccans are like, don't go here:
http://elderravenfire.proboards103.com/
Elder Ravenfire is a young man with a good idea and bad execution. His misspellings make it difficult to read his posts. His false ego makes him argumentative when someone in a particular trad tries to correct his misinformation. He and his wife both fall back on the idea that no one should ask him for his sources or correct his misinformation because (a). that is disrespectful, and (b). apparently reality is totally subjective so no one has a "right" to say that anyone's information is not accurate. There are examples of him cussing out posters when their views square his littered all over the board. His antipathy towards research and proofs is astounding.
Thumbs down, along with all of the other fingers.
reposted from http://sapphoq reviews.blogspot.com/
Sunday, November 05, 2006
WHERE ARE THE IRANIAN STUDENT-TERRORISTS NOW? 10/5/06
My friend Jeremy Crow over at:
http://blog.jeremycrow4life.com/2006/11/lets-talk-about-history-baby-volume-5.html
blogged about the 27th anniversary of the American Embassy in downtown Tehran and the notable lack of American media coverage covering it yesterday. On November 4, 1979, Iranian students-turned-terrorists busted through the locked gates of the American Embassy, seizing hostages and holding them until January 20, 1981. The Israeli press mentioned that Iranian students, war veterans, and children celebrated yesterday, as they have every November 4th
by burning the American flag in front of the old embassy building [this year, they also burned the Israeli flag], protesting and marching in the streets, and chanting such enlightened slogans
as, "Death to America!"
This year's "celebration" arrives on the heels of 10 days of war games and Iran nuclear missile testing in defiance of a United Nations order not to. The United Nations is currently talking about the disobedient Iranians. In light of possible sanctions and/or military actions against Iran, last week Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to President Bush via the Swiss Embassy offering an alternative solution to the conflict regarding Iran's nuclear energy program. The sending of the letter is remarkable considering that the United States has broken off all diplomatic ties with Iran since the take-over of the American Embassy in downtown Tehran by a gang of militant Iranian students who were members of the OSU. The OSU [Office of Strengthening Unity] was in favor of a strict Islamic regime as embodied by the spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini and was responsible for the purging of dissident students and profs [read: arrested and/or put to death].
Star Reporter Mark Bowden visited Tehran several times throughout 2004 in order to track down the six, seven, or eight student leaders who were involved in the planning of the storming of the American Embassy on November 4, 1979. He found that all of them were involved in politics and/or journalism, although several of them had switched allegiances to less radical Iranian political parties.
One of them-- Abbas Abdi-- had in fact spent time at the infamous Evin prison where some of the hostages had been held by their student-terrorists for the crimes of criticising the Iranian regime and daring to publish results of a poll that purported to show that 76% of folks in the poll wanted to renew talks with the United States. Abdi had also gone to France in hopes of talking with one of the captives about the events of November 4, 1979 through January 20, 1980. That plan fell apart when he refused to apologize for the hostile takeover of the US Embassy.
Muhammad Hashemi had just retired from the Iranian counterpart to the CIA-- the Ministry of Intelligence and Security. He had hopes of promoting a tourist vacation retreat on the Caspian Sea, even speculating that the hostages would want to return to vacation there a quarter of a century later. That business venture fell through and December of 2004 found him and his spouse [an Iranian student who had lived in Philadelphia, brought in as translator, and referred to as 'screaming Mary' by several of the hostages] living with her mother.
Hussein Sheikh al-Islam was appointed to be Iran's Syrian diplomat and was living in Damascus.
Ibrahim Asghar Zada [or Asgharzadai] is a leader in the Islamic Solidarity Reform Party and the owner of Hambastegi, a conservative Iranian newspaper. His newspaper is thriving today and offers translations in French and English on the web. He was banned from seeking political office in Iran.
Said Hajarian was employed by the Office of Security and Intelligence and may have had an attempt made upon his life.
Hoseyn Shariatmadari was running an Iranian offficial newspaper called the Kayhand.
Ma'ssouma Ibtikar was a parliamentary deputy during the Khatami regime [the president preceeding Ahmadinejad and recognized as being more moderate than Ahmadinejad]. He served as vice-president under Khatami. In 2003, he was quoted as saying that the student protests that occur regularly in Iran are proof that Iran is a democracy.
Seyyed Mohammad Reza Khatami is one of former President Khatami's younger brothers. He had managed a newspaper called Mosharekat until it was banned. He has a wife and two children.
Mohsen Mirdamadi led a protest by some of the Iranian Parliament when all reformed candidates were disallowed from running in the 2005 election. Mirdamadi was among those with thwarted political ambitions. He was attacked in 2004 the night before he was supposed to meet with journalist Mark Bowden, receiving head and chest wounds.
Habibullah Bitaraf became Iran's Minsiter of Energy.
Some of the former hostages specifically remember current Iranian President Ahmadinejad as having a role in their captivity. He was thought to be student-leader-terrorist head of security and chief interrogator. Others of the hostages do not remember him. The OSU students-- and some hastily-trained volunteers-- were also each assigned responsibility of a particular group of captives. The hostages were split into groups and were moved around Iran in a series of private homes as well as stays at Evin and at the Embassy itself. It is highly probable that those with no memory of a younger Ahmadinejad didn't encounter him.
Three of the former student-leader-terrorists also have denied President Ahmadinejad direct involvement with the takeover of the American Embassy. This is also not surprizing considering that during interviews with Mark Bowden, anyone expressing regret at his role in the crisis did so quietly and with hesitation at expression of any criticism of the Iranian's current regime's anti-USA position. An Associated Press picture showing a possible younger version of Ahmadinejad holding a captive by the arm in 1978 was distributed in June of 2005 shortly after he came to power. His own website shows pictures of himself during that period looking quite different. I saw the pictures and read his cirriculum vitae and I believe it is the same man.
President Ahmadinejad had joined the OSU in 1979 as a student. He later was employed as an interrogator at Evin, had a hand in planning the assassination of many people via the elite Guard which he headed up, and considers the United States to be the Oppressor of Islamic nations. He denies the historical accounts of the Holocaust. He wants the nation of Israel to be nuked away or at the very least "re-located" to somewheres in Europe.
President Jimmy Carter failed the hostages and the American people by his inability or unwillingness to take action to end the crisis. The one military attempt to free the hostages resulted in the deaths of eight servicemen when two planes collided over the Iranian desert during a hasty retreat. Fragments of the jets are shown today to Iranian schoolkids who visit the former American Embassy now a museum.
If you have read this far, you really ought to head over to the Carter Memorial Library on-line at: http://jimmycarterlibrary.org/documents/r_ode/ where at the bottom of the Robert Ode page, you will see three links to his journal that he was allowed to keep during his ordeal as one of the American hostages.
radical sapphoq
Other sources I used were:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iran/2005/iran-050701-rferl01.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iran/2005/iran-050701-irna01.htm
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200512/december-1979
http://www.groveatlantic.com/grove/bin/wc.dll?groveproc~genauth~1479~4110~DESC
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200411u/int2004-11-09
http://www.thememoryhole.org/espionage_den/
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBP/is_4_45/ai_75332515
http://www.netnative.com/news/02/sep/1079.html
http://www.hambastegi.org/english/index.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-11-05-iran-us_x.htm?csp=34
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200510/iran-president-ahmadinejad
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/667/re11.htm
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/717/re81.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6116358.stm
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1439070/posts
http://blog.jeremycrow4life.com/2006/11/lets-talk-about-history-baby-volume-5.html
blogged about the 27th anniversary of the American Embassy in downtown Tehran and the notable lack of American media coverage covering it yesterday. On November 4, 1979, Iranian students-turned-terrorists busted through the locked gates of the American Embassy, seizing hostages and holding them until January 20, 1981. The Israeli press mentioned that Iranian students, war veterans, and children celebrated yesterday, as they have every November 4th
by burning the American flag in front of the old embassy building [this year, they also burned the Israeli flag], protesting and marching in the streets, and chanting such enlightened slogans
as, "Death to America!"
This year's "celebration" arrives on the heels of 10 days of war games and Iran nuclear missile testing in defiance of a United Nations order not to. The United Nations is currently talking about the disobedient Iranians. In light of possible sanctions and/or military actions against Iran, last week Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to President Bush via the Swiss Embassy offering an alternative solution to the conflict regarding Iran's nuclear energy program. The sending of the letter is remarkable considering that the United States has broken off all diplomatic ties with Iran since the take-over of the American Embassy in downtown Tehran by a gang of militant Iranian students who were members of the OSU. The OSU [Office of Strengthening Unity] was in favor of a strict Islamic regime as embodied by the spiritual leader Ayatollah Khomeini and was responsible for the purging of dissident students and profs [read: arrested and/or put to death].
Star Reporter Mark Bowden visited Tehran several times throughout 2004 in order to track down the six, seven, or eight student leaders who were involved in the planning of the storming of the American Embassy on November 4, 1979. He found that all of them were involved in politics and/or journalism, although several of them had switched allegiances to less radical Iranian political parties.
One of them-- Abbas Abdi-- had in fact spent time at the infamous Evin prison where some of the hostages had been held by their student-terrorists for the crimes of criticising the Iranian regime and daring to publish results of a poll that purported to show that 76% of folks in the poll wanted to renew talks with the United States. Abdi had also gone to France in hopes of talking with one of the captives about the events of November 4, 1979 through January 20, 1980. That plan fell apart when he refused to apologize for the hostile takeover of the US Embassy.
Muhammad Hashemi had just retired from the Iranian counterpart to the CIA-- the Ministry of Intelligence and Security. He had hopes of promoting a tourist vacation retreat on the Caspian Sea, even speculating that the hostages would want to return to vacation there a quarter of a century later. That business venture fell through and December of 2004 found him and his spouse [an Iranian student who had lived in Philadelphia, brought in as translator, and referred to as 'screaming Mary' by several of the hostages] living with her mother.
Hussein Sheikh al-Islam was appointed to be Iran's Syrian diplomat and was living in Damascus.
Ibrahim Asghar Zada [or Asgharzadai] is a leader in the Islamic Solidarity Reform Party and the owner of Hambastegi, a conservative Iranian newspaper. His newspaper is thriving today and offers translations in French and English on the web. He was banned from seeking political office in Iran.
Said Hajarian was employed by the Office of Security and Intelligence and may have had an attempt made upon his life.
Hoseyn Shariatmadari was running an Iranian offficial newspaper called the Kayhand.
Ma'ssouma Ibtikar was a parliamentary deputy during the Khatami regime [the president preceeding Ahmadinejad and recognized as being more moderate than Ahmadinejad]. He served as vice-president under Khatami. In 2003, he was quoted as saying that the student protests that occur regularly in Iran are proof that Iran is a democracy.
Seyyed Mohammad Reza Khatami is one of former President Khatami's younger brothers. He had managed a newspaper called Mosharekat until it was banned. He has a wife and two children.
Mohsen Mirdamadi led a protest by some of the Iranian Parliament when all reformed candidates were disallowed from running in the 2005 election. Mirdamadi was among those with thwarted political ambitions. He was attacked in 2004 the night before he was supposed to meet with journalist Mark Bowden, receiving head and chest wounds.
Habibullah Bitaraf became Iran's Minsiter of Energy.
Some of the former hostages specifically remember current Iranian President Ahmadinejad as having a role in their captivity. He was thought to be student-leader-terrorist head of security and chief interrogator. Others of the hostages do not remember him. The OSU students-- and some hastily-trained volunteers-- were also each assigned responsibility of a particular group of captives. The hostages were split into groups and were moved around Iran in a series of private homes as well as stays at Evin and at the Embassy itself. It is highly probable that those with no memory of a younger Ahmadinejad didn't encounter him.
Three of the former student-leader-terrorists also have denied President Ahmadinejad direct involvement with the takeover of the American Embassy. This is also not surprizing considering that during interviews with Mark Bowden, anyone expressing regret at his role in the crisis did so quietly and with hesitation at expression of any criticism of the Iranian's current regime's anti-USA position. An Associated Press picture showing a possible younger version of Ahmadinejad holding a captive by the arm in 1978 was distributed in June of 2005 shortly after he came to power. His own website shows pictures of himself during that period looking quite different. I saw the pictures and read his cirriculum vitae and I believe it is the same man.
President Ahmadinejad had joined the OSU in 1979 as a student. He later was employed as an interrogator at Evin, had a hand in planning the assassination of many people via the elite Guard which he headed up, and considers the United States to be the Oppressor of Islamic nations. He denies the historical accounts of the Holocaust. He wants the nation of Israel to be nuked away or at the very least "re-located" to somewheres in Europe.
President Jimmy Carter failed the hostages and the American people by his inability or unwillingness to take action to end the crisis. The one military attempt to free the hostages resulted in the deaths of eight servicemen when two planes collided over the Iranian desert during a hasty retreat. Fragments of the jets are shown today to Iranian schoolkids who visit the former American Embassy now a museum.
If you have read this far, you really ought to head over to the Carter Memorial Library on-line at: http://jimmycarterlibrary.org/documents/r_ode/ where at the bottom of the Robert Ode page, you will see three links to his journal that he was allowed to keep during his ordeal as one of the American hostages.
radical sapphoq
Other sources I used were:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iran/2005/iran-050701-rferl01.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iran/2005/iran-050701-irna01.htm
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200512/december-1979
http://www.groveatlantic.com/grove/bin/wc.dll?groveproc~genauth~1479~4110~DESC
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200411u/int2004-11-09
http://www.thememoryhole.org/espionage_den/
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBP/is_4_45/ai_75332515
http://www.netnative.com/news/02/sep/1079.html
http://www.hambastegi.org/english/index.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-11-05-iran-us_x.htm?csp=34
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200510/iran-president-ahmadinejad
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/667/re11.htm
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2004/717/re81.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6116358.stm
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1439070/posts
Saturday, November 04, 2006
MIKE JONES, FORMER GAY ESCORT 11/4/06
Ted Haggard, pastor of New Life Fellowship, a mega-church in Colorado Springs, has voluntarily accepted administrative leave in light of the accusations of a "former" escort worker. He has also resigned from his position as president of the National Evangelical Association.
The "former" escort worker, Mike Jones, claims that Haggard had a three-year paid sex relationship with Haggard. He also maintains that Haggard did methamphetamine frequently during those three years before having sex. Jones denied selling the meth to Haggard, but admits that he "asked around" for it.
Mike Jones says he didn't know who Haggard was until six months ago when he saw him on the teevee during a workout at the gym. Haggard used the name, "Art." Evidence for these goings-ons: one envelope containing money with "Art" scrawled on one corner. Jones had two voice mails from Haggard but these had been erased.
For his part, Ted Haggard claimed he bought meth from Jones and received one massage from him, but no sex. He said he threw away the meth without using it. He said he was referred to Jones by a concierge of a hotel.
What is most intriguing about this newest scandal to me is why Mike Jones decided to come forward now. I doubt that it was out of a sense of public duty. Colorado Springs is noted for its' strong stance against glbt rights [even giving rise to a "Boycott Colorado" campaign several years back which was alleviated by a Coors beer advertising campaign catering to the glbt community]. James Dobson lives there. And Haggard speaks to President Bush or a close advisor once a week. I believe that Mike Jones is chiefly motivated by resentment against the forces in Colorado Springs which are blocking the passage of a gay marriage bill in Colorado. It will also be interesting to see if Mike Jones lawyers up for lawsuit purposes.
A male pastor having gay sex is no big whoop to me. I live close enough to Albany to have gotten to know some gay male priests and ministers who were sexually active with other men. It is probably bigger whoop to the wives of the male pastors who stand accused of the same.
sapphoq's verdict:
Mike Jones probably did sell the meth to Ted Haggard.
They probably did have sex.
The concierge of the hotel probably did refer Ted to Jones for male attentions.
Ted Haggard probably did do some meth, but probably not nearly as often as Mike Jones wants us to believe.
All three of them are minimizing their actions.
The evidence-- so far-- is not substantial.
The Colorado voters will mostly ignore this stuff and vote the way they were going to before the story broke.
radical sapphoq
The "former" escort worker, Mike Jones, claims that Haggard had a three-year paid sex relationship with Haggard. He also maintains that Haggard did methamphetamine frequently during those three years before having sex. Jones denied selling the meth to Haggard, but admits that he "asked around" for it.
Mike Jones says he didn't know who Haggard was until six months ago when he saw him on the teevee during a workout at the gym. Haggard used the name, "Art." Evidence for these goings-ons: one envelope containing money with "Art" scrawled on one corner. Jones had two voice mails from Haggard but these had been erased.
For his part, Ted Haggard claimed he bought meth from Jones and received one massage from him, but no sex. He said he threw away the meth without using it. He said he was referred to Jones by a concierge of a hotel.
What is most intriguing about this newest scandal to me is why Mike Jones decided to come forward now. I doubt that it was out of a sense of public duty. Colorado Springs is noted for its' strong stance against glbt rights [even giving rise to a "Boycott Colorado" campaign several years back which was alleviated by a Coors beer advertising campaign catering to the glbt community]. James Dobson lives there. And Haggard speaks to President Bush or a close advisor once a week. I believe that Mike Jones is chiefly motivated by resentment against the forces in Colorado Springs which are blocking the passage of a gay marriage bill in Colorado. It will also be interesting to see if Mike Jones lawyers up for lawsuit purposes.
A male pastor having gay sex is no big whoop to me. I live close enough to Albany to have gotten to know some gay male priests and ministers who were sexually active with other men. It is probably bigger whoop to the wives of the male pastors who stand accused of the same.
sapphoq's verdict:
Mike Jones probably did sell the meth to Ted Haggard.
They probably did have sex.
The concierge of the hotel probably did refer Ted to Jones for male attentions.
Ted Haggard probably did do some meth, but probably not nearly as often as Mike Jones wants us to believe.
All three of them are minimizing their actions.
The evidence-- so far-- is not substantial.
The Colorado voters will mostly ignore this stuff and vote the way they were going to before the story broke.
radical sapphoq
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
SOME JOKE...NONE OF US ARE LAUGHING, JOHN KERRY 11/1/06
http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2006/11/01/news/update/
doc4548fad08e27b783002350.txt
Kerry said he mangled the delivery of a line aimed at Bush. According to aides, the language was originally written to say that, "If you're intellectually lazy, you end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq — just ask President Bush.''
[end of quote].
radical sapphoq says:
What John Kerry actually said according to published reports was, "If you're intellectually lazy, you end up getting stuck in a war in Iraq--
just ask President Bush."
John Kerry has some nerve excusing his comment as a 'botched joke.' The comment is offensive no matter how he calls it. The addition or deletion of the word "us" does not improve it. John Kerry was wise to cancel his schedule and head back to D. C. Perhaps, he would have been wiser not to have uttered this insulting phrase in the first place.
-radical sapphoq
doc4548fad08e27b783002350.txt
Kerry said he mangled the delivery of a line aimed at Bush. According to aides, the language was originally written to say that, "If you're intellectually lazy, you end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq — just ask President Bush.''
[end of quote].
radical sapphoq says:
What John Kerry actually said according to published reports was, "If you're intellectually lazy, you end up getting stuck in a war in Iraq--
just ask President Bush."
John Kerry has some nerve excusing his comment as a 'botched joke.' The comment is offensive no matter how he calls it. The addition or deletion of the word "us" does not improve it. John Kerry was wise to cancel his schedule and head back to D. C. Perhaps, he would have been wiser not to have uttered this insulting phrase in the first place.
-radical sapphoq
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