Russia to Deepen Nuclear Cooperation with Iran
Sergei Blagov
Correspondent
Moscow (CNSNews.com) - International consensus on sanctions against Iran remains elusive, but Russia insisted Monday it would deepen economic ties, including nuclear cooperation, with Tehran.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday the new draft of a U.N. Security Council resolution may involve sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, but nevertheless, it would not affect a $1-billion Russian project to build a nuclear reactor for Iran at Bushehr on the Persian Gulf.
"The new draft [resolution] limits supplies for uranium enrichment, fuel reprocessing, and technology transfer to Iran," but there was "no question of any restrictions on this project," Lavrov said in televised remarks here.
An earlier draft by Britain, France and Germany envisaged possible sanctions against Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, including a ban on missile and nuclear technologies sales, a freeze on some bank accounts, and visa restrictions on Iranian nuclear officials. The draft did not seek to ban the Bushehr reactor, but would have restricted fuel supplies to the plant.
Russia and China found the draft far too strong, however, and the European nations drafted new, weaker proposals, with no provisions concerning the Bushehr project.
Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom), traveled to Tehran this week to reinforce Moscow's determination to develop nuclear ties with Iran, despite Western concerns.
"Russia sees no political obstacles to launching the Bushehr nuclear power plant as scheduled," Kiriyenko said. "Russia will complete the nuclear power plant as fast as it is technically possible."
He said the plant would go onstream by the end of 2007. It was originally due to reach that stage this year.
Kiriyenko, who held talks with Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, reiterated Russia's stance that Iran has the right to develop civilian nuclear energy.
The U.S. and its European allies suspect that Tehran's nuclear program provides a cover for an effort to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charge.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as telling the Russian visitor that Iran remained resolved to complete the full nuclear fuel cycle.
But he added that Iran had not ruled out an earlier Russian proposal to establish a joint uranium enrichment venture -- a move Moscow offered in a bid to defuse the international crisis over Iran's program.
Russia has been keen to present itself as a mediator in the dispute between Iran and the West, although Iran's refusal to suspend domestic uranium enrichment has held up any progress on the Russian joint venture proposal.
Kiriyenko's trip to Tehran coincided with the opening of a controversial conference there questioning the Holocaust, an event attended by Mottaki, among others.
In an apparent bid to defuse criticism of the decision to visit Iran at such a time, Russia's state-run RTR television channel broadcast a report Monday critical of the Holocaust conference, and featuring interviews with Holocaust survivors now living in Israel.
Apart from the controversial civilian nuclear cooperation, Russia maintains significant economic and energy interests in Iran.
Russian Deputy Industry and Energy Minister Ivan Matyorov, also visiting the Islamic republic, spoke in Tehran Monday about the possibility of cooperating in developing new oil deposits.
Russian gas giant Gazprom is already developing what is believed to be the world's largest gas field, the offshore South Pars field.
To be developed in up to 30 phases over 25 years, South Pars is estimated to contain around seven percent of the world's proven reserves.
Matyorov said Iranians viewed Gazprom as a "world leader" and hoped to cooperate with the Russian entity in third countries too, including Venezuela and Bolivia.
© Copyright 2006, Crosswalk.com. All rights reserved.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Pentagon Evangelism Called 'National Security Threat'
Pentagon Evangelism Called 'National Security Threat'
Nathan Burchfiel
Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) - Christian military officers who share their faith at work in the Pentagon pose a threat to national security, according to a group that advocates for religious neutrality in the military.
Public displays of faith by high-ranking military officers project an image of a Christian nation waging war on non-Christians, both inside and outside the United States, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation said Monday.
This created an "internal national security issue every bit as great as the one we're fighting outwardly," said the organization's president, Mikey Weinstein.
"The jihadists, the insurrectionists, everybody from the head of Hamas, Hizballah, the Islamic Jihad, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, they see us as invading American imperialists and crusaders," he told a news conference in Washington, D.C.
Weinstein, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy who has been critical of proselytizing at the academy, called for an investigation into several officers who appeared in a promotional video for a Christian organization while in uniform.
In addition to creating a national security threat, Weinstein said, evangelistic efforts by Christian officers directed toward their colleagues or subordinates amounted to "coercion" and "fanatical unconstitutional religious persecution."
"There's a time and place to celebrate your faith or no faith," Weinstein said. "There's so many times and places you can do it ... but there's a few times you can't, one of which would be when you wear your uniform during the duty day and duty night and you outrank somebody else and you're trying to push your religious faith on them."
He called on incoming Defense Secretary Robert Gates to investigate a promotional video for the Christian Embassy, an organization that ministers to members of Congress, ambassadors, presidential appointees and Pentagon officials.
Christian Embassy, established in 1975, works with government leaders "not only because of their personal needs, but also because of their position as decision-makers to influence our families and freedoms," according to its website. At the Pentagon, the group holds weekly prayer meetings and Bible studies every weekday.
In the promotional video cited by Weinstein, four generals and three colonels appear wearing their uniforms. Among them is Lt. Col. Lucious Morton, who says that Christian Embassy-led Bible studies benefit the military as a whole because they create "Godly men" who will lead others into battle.
Maj. Gen. Jack Catton also appears in the video and says he shares his faith with people he meets in his office: "I start with the fact that I'm an old-fashioned American, and my first priority is my faith in God, then my family, and then my country."
Weinstein said the video raises questions about whether the officers followed military regulations that restrict appearances in uniform for non-military purposes.
Their professions of faith violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits Congress from making laws "respecting the establishment of religion," he argued.
The video, which appears on Christian Embassy's website, carries a disclaimer that says "the views expressed by any government officials in this video are their personal views and are not intended to represent the U.S. government nor any department in which they serve."
Catton, director of requirements for Air Combat Command (ACC) at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, has been criticized for sharing his faith before. Last May, he used his military e-mail account to support a retired general who was running for U.S. Congress.
In that e-mail, Catton wrote: "We are certainly in need of Christian men with integrity and military experience in Congress."
Lt. Col Brian Maka, a spokesman for the DOD inspector general, declined to comment Monday on whether an investigation is underway, although media reports in May suggested that there was.
'No evidence of coercion'
Maj. Laurel Tingley, a spokeswoman for ACC, told Cybercast News Service Catton would not be commenting about the video because "it's going to be something bigger than Air Combat Command or even something bigger than the Air Force." She referred further questions to the Department of Defense.
Maj. Stewart Upton said Monday the DOD inspector general's office had received the complaint from Weinstein's group but added that it would be "inappropriate ... for us to speculate as to what, if any, actions will be taken at this point."
Upton added that DOD "does not endorse any one religion or religious organization but we do provide opportunities for military service members to practice their faiths."
Calls placed to Christian Embassy requesting comment for this report were not returned Monday.
Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, criticized Weinstein for asking the DOD inspector general's office to spend time investigating the video.
She said that because the video is accompanied by a disclaimer and does not ask for money, it doesn't raise concern with her.
"The Department of Defense inspector general has an awful lot of issues on their plate, on their agenda, and I don't see this as something so important that everything else should be put on hold," Donnelly told Cybercast News Service after viewing the video. "The DOD IG has a lot more important things to do."
She called it a "stretch to talk about anything coercive," noting that a soldier engaging in religious activity such as prayer "appears to be purely voluntary on the part of anyone who wants to participate."
"I don't see any evidence that this is a coercive type of environment," Donnelly said.
© Copyright 2006, Crosswalk.com. All rights reserved.
Nathan Burchfiel
Staff Writer
(CNSNews.com) - Christian military officers who share their faith at work in the Pentagon pose a threat to national security, according to a group that advocates for religious neutrality in the military.
Public displays of faith by high-ranking military officers project an image of a Christian nation waging war on non-Christians, both inside and outside the United States, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation said Monday.
This created an "internal national security issue every bit as great as the one we're fighting outwardly," said the organization's president, Mikey Weinstein.
"The jihadists, the insurrectionists, everybody from the head of Hamas, Hizballah, the Islamic Jihad, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, they see us as invading American imperialists and crusaders," he told a news conference in Washington, D.C.
Weinstein, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy who has been critical of proselytizing at the academy, called for an investigation into several officers who appeared in a promotional video for a Christian organization while in uniform.
In addition to creating a national security threat, Weinstein said, evangelistic efforts by Christian officers directed toward their colleagues or subordinates amounted to "coercion" and "fanatical unconstitutional religious persecution."
"There's a time and place to celebrate your faith or no faith," Weinstein said. "There's so many times and places you can do it ... but there's a few times you can't, one of which would be when you wear your uniform during the duty day and duty night and you outrank somebody else and you're trying to push your religious faith on them."
He called on incoming Defense Secretary Robert Gates to investigate a promotional video for the Christian Embassy, an organization that ministers to members of Congress, ambassadors, presidential appointees and Pentagon officials.
Christian Embassy, established in 1975, works with government leaders "not only because of their personal needs, but also because of their position as decision-makers to influence our families and freedoms," according to its website. At the Pentagon, the group holds weekly prayer meetings and Bible studies every weekday.
In the promotional video cited by Weinstein, four generals and three colonels appear wearing their uniforms. Among them is Lt. Col. Lucious Morton, who says that Christian Embassy-led Bible studies benefit the military as a whole because they create "Godly men" who will lead others into battle.
Maj. Gen. Jack Catton also appears in the video and says he shares his faith with people he meets in his office: "I start with the fact that I'm an old-fashioned American, and my first priority is my faith in God, then my family, and then my country."
Weinstein said the video raises questions about whether the officers followed military regulations that restrict appearances in uniform for non-military purposes.
Their professions of faith violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits Congress from making laws "respecting the establishment of religion," he argued.
The video, which appears on Christian Embassy's website, carries a disclaimer that says "the views expressed by any government officials in this video are their personal views and are not intended to represent the U.S. government nor any department in which they serve."
Catton, director of requirements for Air Combat Command (ACC) at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, has been criticized for sharing his faith before. Last May, he used his military e-mail account to support a retired general who was running for U.S. Congress.
In that e-mail, Catton wrote: "We are certainly in need of Christian men with integrity and military experience in Congress."
Lt. Col Brian Maka, a spokesman for the DOD inspector general, declined to comment Monday on whether an investigation is underway, although media reports in May suggested that there was.
'No evidence of coercion'
Maj. Laurel Tingley, a spokeswoman for ACC, told Cybercast News Service Catton would not be commenting about the video because "it's going to be something bigger than Air Combat Command or even something bigger than the Air Force." She referred further questions to the Department of Defense.
Maj. Stewart Upton said Monday the DOD inspector general's office had received the complaint from Weinstein's group but added that it would be "inappropriate ... for us to speculate as to what, if any, actions will be taken at this point."
Upton added that DOD "does not endorse any one religion or religious organization but we do provide opportunities for military service members to practice their faiths."
Calls placed to Christian Embassy requesting comment for this report were not returned Monday.
Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, criticized Weinstein for asking the DOD inspector general's office to spend time investigating the video.
She said that because the video is accompanied by a disclaimer and does not ask for money, it doesn't raise concern with her.
"The Department of Defense inspector general has an awful lot of issues on their plate, on their agenda, and I don't see this as something so important that everything else should be put on hold," Donnelly told Cybercast News Service after viewing the video. "The DOD IG has a lot more important things to do."
She called it a "stretch to talk about anything coercive," noting that a soldier engaging in religious activity such as prayer "appears to be purely voluntary on the part of anyone who wants to participate."
"I don't see any evidence that this is a coercive type of environment," Donnelly said.
© Copyright 2006, Crosswalk.com. All rights reserved.
Take Ahmadinejad Seriously, Bolton Urges
Take Ahmadinejad Seriously, Bolton Urges
Patrick Goodenough
Managing Editor
(CNSNews.com) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad must be taken seriously in his statements calling for Israel's destruction and his attempts to acquire the capability to do so, Washington's outgoing ambassador to the United Nations has urged.
"Historians often look back after huge tragedies have occurred and say, 'how is it that responsible policy-makers at the time didn't see this coming?' " John Bolton told an international symposium in New York Thursday.
In many cases, he said, people who were about to commit atrocities, and didn't hide their intentions, were dismissed by politicians and policy-makers, their statements viewed as " "the ravings of lunatics."
However, "there are times in history when people say things like, 'I'm going to do x,' and they say it repeatedly, and they're criticized for it, and they keep saying it - and then someday they actually do it."
The question now, he said, was whether the situation with Ahmadinejad was one such time.
Bolton said Ahmadinejad had repeatedly said that Israel should be wiped off the map, held conferences with names like "A world without the United States," and this week hosted a meeting in Tehran questioning whether the Holocaust took place or was exaggerated.
"He continues to make statements despite what many people in the world say about them ... and he continues to express these feelings as if completely unmoved."
One could say, and hope, that the statements are merely for domestic Iranian consumption, Bolton said, but "it's important that if we are at this stage where we're been given early warning - unambiguously - of what his intentions are, that it's time to take action."
Not only were his statements unacceptable, but "his government is seeking to acquire the capability to carry them out," he continued, in reference to Tehran's controversial nuclear program.
Iran says the program is designed for purely peaceful, power-generation purposes, while the U.S. and its allies believe the program - which Iran hid from the international community for almost two decades before it was exposed by a regime critic - is being used as a cover to develop the know-how to build atomic bombs.
Bolton said discussions were continuing - "a very difficult negotiation" - at the Security Council aimed at getting Russian and Chinese support for sanctions against Tehran
"We know that China has been a major supplier of ballistic missile technology to Iran, as has North Korea. These are connections that, along with Russian sales of high-tech weapons to Iran, they're very difficult to break.
"But it is a measure, a test of the Security Council - in a sense a test of the entire United Nations system - to see whether in the face of now almost five months of defiance ... whether the Council will enact meaningful sanctions."
He predicted that if a sanctions resolution was passed, Iran may react by withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or expelling International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors - "neither of which makes any sense if the program's really as peaceful as they say."
This would further demonstrate that their program is not peaceful, he said.
Bolton said because of Iran's increasing influence in the region and the world, the regime feels that time is on its side, "and therefore the risks that it faces from threat of sanctions from the Security Council or other actions in the diplomatic sphere don't give it pause."
"The notion here of taking Ahmadinejad seriously, taking seriously that he means what he says and intends to have the capabilities to carry through on it, is critical in our own internal discussions in the United States about what we're going to do about it."
Entitled "Bring Ahmadinejad to Justice For Incitement to Genocide," Thursday's symposium was organized by the Conference of President of Major Jewish Organizations and the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
Before addressing the meeting, Bolton observed that he was "still a federal employee," and would probably have had somewhat different things to say in a fortnight's time. "But I'll get as close as I can as a federal employee."
Bolton has resigned from his post, after critics in the Senate failed to approve his nomination ahead of the expiry of an earlier recess appointment.
© Copyright 2006, Crosswalk.com. All rights reserved.
Patrick Goodenough
Managing Editor
(CNSNews.com) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad must be taken seriously in his statements calling for Israel's destruction and his attempts to acquire the capability to do so, Washington's outgoing ambassador to the United Nations has urged.
"Historians often look back after huge tragedies have occurred and say, 'how is it that responsible policy-makers at the time didn't see this coming?' " John Bolton told an international symposium in New York Thursday.
In many cases, he said, people who were about to commit atrocities, and didn't hide their intentions, were dismissed by politicians and policy-makers, their statements viewed as " "the ravings of lunatics."
However, "there are times in history when people say things like, 'I'm going to do x,' and they say it repeatedly, and they're criticized for it, and they keep saying it - and then someday they actually do it."
The question now, he said, was whether the situation with Ahmadinejad was one such time.
Bolton said Ahmadinejad had repeatedly said that Israel should be wiped off the map, held conferences with names like "A world without the United States," and this week hosted a meeting in Tehran questioning whether the Holocaust took place or was exaggerated.
"He continues to make statements despite what many people in the world say about them ... and he continues to express these feelings as if completely unmoved."
One could say, and hope, that the statements are merely for domestic Iranian consumption, Bolton said, but "it's important that if we are at this stage where we're been given early warning - unambiguously - of what his intentions are, that it's time to take action."
Not only were his statements unacceptable, but "his government is seeking to acquire the capability to carry them out," he continued, in reference to Tehran's controversial nuclear program.
Iran says the program is designed for purely peaceful, power-generation purposes, while the U.S. and its allies believe the program - which Iran hid from the international community for almost two decades before it was exposed by a regime critic - is being used as a cover to develop the know-how to build atomic bombs.
Bolton said discussions were continuing - "a very difficult negotiation" - at the Security Council aimed at getting Russian and Chinese support for sanctions against Tehran
"We know that China has been a major supplier of ballistic missile technology to Iran, as has North Korea. These are connections that, along with Russian sales of high-tech weapons to Iran, they're very difficult to break.
"But it is a measure, a test of the Security Council - in a sense a test of the entire United Nations system - to see whether in the face of now almost five months of defiance ... whether the Council will enact meaningful sanctions."
He predicted that if a sanctions resolution was passed, Iran may react by withdrawing from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or expelling International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors - "neither of which makes any sense if the program's really as peaceful as they say."
This would further demonstrate that their program is not peaceful, he said.
Bolton said because of Iran's increasing influence in the region and the world, the regime feels that time is on its side, "and therefore the risks that it faces from threat of sanctions from the Security Council or other actions in the diplomatic sphere don't give it pause."
"The notion here of taking Ahmadinejad seriously, taking seriously that he means what he says and intends to have the capabilities to carry through on it, is critical in our own internal discussions in the United States about what we're going to do about it."
Entitled "Bring Ahmadinejad to Justice For Incitement to Genocide," Thursday's symposium was organized by the Conference of President of Major Jewish Organizations and the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
Before addressing the meeting, Bolton observed that he was "still a federal employee," and would probably have had somewhat different things to say in a fortnight's time. "But I'll get as close as I can as a federal employee."
Bolton has resigned from his post, after critics in the Senate failed to approve his nomination ahead of the expiry of an earlier recess appointment.
© Copyright 2006, Crosswalk.com. All rights reserved.
Gym teacher accused of same-sex assault on student
Gym teacher accused of same-sex assault on student
Prosecutor says woman used her Catholic school office for attacks
Posted: December 16, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
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A gym teacher and coach has been accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student over a period of 10 months while she worked at a Catholic high school in Somerset, N.J., authorities said.
Pamela Balogh, 39, of Bethlehem, taught and coached the female student, who was subjected to the assaults starting in December, 2004, according to the Somerset County prosecutor's office.
Authorities told The Express-Times that the assaults happened mainly in Balogh's office at Immaculata High School in Somerville.
She's been charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact, fourth-degree criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child.
School officials suspended her from her teaching responsibilities, they said.
Balogh graduated in 1985 from North Hunterdon High School and she was The Express-Times' girls' basketball player of the year in 1985. Balogh is a member of both North Hunterdon's and Temple University's athletic halls of fame.
Teacher 'sexpidemic'
The phenomenon of teachers accused or convicted of having sex with their students has come to the forefront of national and international news in recent years.
Some of the cases involving women have been chronicled by WND, including:
Adrianne Hockett: Accused of having sex with a 16-year-old special-needs student in a Houston apartment she rented for the get-togethers. The boy has testified the pair would "have sex, drink beer and smoke weed."
Amber Jennings, 31: Though Jennings was initially charged with having sex with a 16-year-old, the counts against the Sturbridge, Mass., woman were reduced to a single charge of disseminating harmful materials to a minor. She reportedly admitted e-mailing naked photos of herself to a former student. She received no jail time, only two years of probation after pleading guilty.
Amber Marshall, 23: Northwest Indiana woman allegedly had sexual contact, including intercourse, with several students at Hebron High School, and turned herself into authorities, telling police she knew what she did was illegal.
Amira Sa'Di, 30: Clayton County, Ga., woman remarked she didn't think her relationship was inappropriate based on her Internet research, learning the Peach State's age of consent is 16.
Amy Gail Lilley, 36: Inverness, Fla., woman and softball coach at Lecanto High School charged with a lesbian relationship with a 15-year-old girl. She received no prison time, being sentenced to two years of house arrest and eight more years of probation.
Amy McElhenney, 25: Charged with having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old male student, the 25-year-old Hebron High School Spanish teacher and former Miss Texas contestant will not be serving any jail time after a Denton County, Texas, grand jury refused to issue an indictment. While the age of consent in Texas is 17 years, a state law bans sexual relationships between educators and students even if the student is of legal age and the relationship is consensual. She could have faced 20 years in prison if indicted and convicted.
Angela Comer, 26: Middle-school teacher from Tompkinsville, Ky., fled with her alleged lover, her 14-year-old male student, before being tracked down in Mexico where she reportedly planned to marry the boy. She was indicted for illegal sex acts with a minor and returned to Kentucky. Charges include felony custodial interference, two counts of third-degree sodomy and four counts of unlawful transaction with a minor relating to sexual acts.
Angela Stellwag, 24: Delran, N.J., woman accused of having sex in her apartment with a 14-year-old boy she met in school. She was charged with sexual assault for activity that allegedly took place in August 2004. She pleaded not guilty in August 2006.
Beth Raymond, 31: Private-school employee from Pownal, Maine, charged with risk of injury to a minor and second-degree sexual assault of a juvenile male at Eagle Hill School in Greenwich, Conn. In July 2006, she was sentenced to 18 months prison.
Bethany Sherrill, 24: Daughter-in-law of school-board president charged with molesting a 15-year-old middle-school student. Reports state Sherill allegedly had oral sex with the boy and sent him coded text messages. She resigned her position at Jefferson Elementary School in Farmington, Mo., and eventually received 90 days in jail and two years probation, and was forced to register as a sex offender.
Brandy Lynn Gonzales, 27:The Houston-area teacher and her husband were arrested in December 2006 for sexually assaulting students at an elementary school two years earlier. Prosecutors allege that Gonzales met a student at a local movie theater, where she performed oral sex on the boy as well as another student at the theater. Husband Johnny Gonzales is also charged with having performed sex acts with one teen. Prosecutors told the judge they have sufficient evidence to file further charges.
Cameo Patch, 29: Substitute teacher at Tooele High School in Tooele, Utah, arrested for allegedly performing oral sex on a 17-year-old male student. The sexual activity was allegedly consensual, and reportedly took place off school grounds after the pair had exchanged phone numbers in a restaurant. She was sentenced to no jail time, despite despite comments from the judge that a man would have likely gone to prison.
Carol Flannigan, 50: Boca Raton, Fla., music teacher reportedly slept with 11-year-old former student, and also had a simultaneous sexual relationship with the boy's father. In a deposition, the boy's father said he had the same sort of sexual relationship with Flannigan that ex-President Bill Clinton had with Monica Lewinsky. In February 2006, Flannigan was sentenced to five years prison as part of a plea deal.
Carrie McCandless, 29: The former Colorado social-studies teacher, who also happens to be married to the principal, was charged in November 2006 with having had sexual contact with a 17-year-old male student during an overnight school camping trip. The instructor, who also coaches cheerleading, could be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison for sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Cathy Heminghaus, 46: Special-education teacher from Ferguson, Mo., charged with statutory sodomy involving at least three of her students at Ferguson Middle School. She reportedly told friends she had performed oral sex on the children on several occasions.
Celeste Emerick, 32: Police in Huber Heights, Ohio, say the Wayne High School teacher hosted a party where students were shown pornography. Prosecutors charged her with one count of sexual battery, a felony in Ohio.
Christina Gallagher, 26: Jersey City, N.J., woman received no jail time, but was ordered to pay more than $1,000 in fines, sentenced to a lifetime registration as a convicted sex offender and ordered to attend therapy for having sex with a 17-year-old student in late 2004. The former Rahway High School instructor was banned from teaching and seeing the student with whom she had sex.
Christine Duda, 39: Teacher at the Normandy Alternative School in St. Louis County, Mo., allegedly took a 16-year-old hearing-impaired male student to her home for sex in December 2005. She was charged with two counts of felony statutory rape and fired by the school district.
Christine Scarlett, 36: English teacher at Strongsville High School in Ohio began a sexual relationship with the 17-year-old captain of the football team, Steven Bradigan, in November 2002 and eventually gave birth to Bradigan's son. Scarlett was fired from her teaching job, but insists nothing improper happened during the time she was Bradigan's teacher. She was never charged with any criminal wrongdoing.
Deanna Bobo, 37: Special-education teacher at Raymond E. Wells Junior High School in Greenwood, Ark., allegedly had sex twice in 2005 with a 14-year-old boy in his own bed while his parents were not home. She denied the charge, but was convicted in September 2006 of two counts of first-degree sexual assault and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Debra LaFave, 25: Tampa, Fla., area teacher received no jail time despite having sex with her 14-year-old male student in a classroom and her Hillsborough County home. In another county, Marion, she was accused of having sex with the boy in an SUV. LaFave claimed at a March 2006 news conference she had a bipolar disorder. The boy's father said LaFave should have received prison time in her plea deal, noting, "It's a horrible, ugly thing that she's done."
Diane DeMartini-Scully, 45: Mattituck, N.Y., woman was the school psychologist at East Hampton Middle School on Long Island when she was accused of having sex with the 16-year-old boyfriend of her own 13-year-old daughter. She allegedly had intercourse and oral sex with the boy on a number of occasions in May 2005 in her home and car. She was arrested after allegedly secretly visiting her young paramour at his new home in North Carolina.
Donna Carr Galloway, 33: Married mother of two found naked in a car with a 17-year-old student.
Elisa Kawasaki, 25: Biology teacher from Fresno, Calif., area, pleaded no contest to sex with a teen boy, and prosecutors dropped four other counts.
Elizabeth Miklosovic, 36: Grand Rapids, Mich., teacher at South Haven's Baseline Middle School pleaded no contest to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old female student she "married" in a pagan ritual in June 2004. Miklosovic is also accused of touching the girl's genitals while camping in public parks. She told the judge before sentencing, "The entire ordeal has been blown totally out of proportion for something that was innocent, kind and nurturing in nature." She was sentenced to five to 25 years.
Elizabeth Stow, 26: Tulare Western High School teacher from Fresno, Calif., area convicted of having sex with three of her students was sentenced to nine years, but the judge suspended that sentence and gave her one year, followed by five years of probation. She was also ordered to register as a sex offender.
Ellen Garfield, 43: Former student at Solomon Schecter School in Newton, Mass., said his music teacher took him into an empty classroom where she worked, partially disrobed, and coaxed him into having sex with her in 1998. Garfield was acquitted of all charges in September 2005.
Emily Morris, 28: Teacher at Leeds High School in St. Clair County, Ala., faced a possible 20-year sentence, but received one year in jail for having consensual sex with a 15-year-old student.
Erica Rutters, 29: Teacher at Oxford Christian Academy in New Oxford, Pa., allegedly wrote erotic messages to a 16-year-old student and had sexual intercourse with him four times in her apartment. She pleaded guilty to corruption of a minor, and received no jail time, just three years of probation in March 2006.
Georgianne Harrell, 24: Teacher at Holley Elementary School in Sylvester, Ga., charged with performing oral sex on a 9-year-old boy in April 2005, allowing students to gaze down her blouse and slashing her wrists with glass in front of her students. Though she originally pleaded not guilty, she changed her plea to guilty just before trial, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for aggravated child molestation.
Gwen Cardozo, 33: Teacher at Wasson High School in Colorado Springs, Colo., accused of having sex with a 17-year-old male student. Police charged her with sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, and Cardozo resigned her position in March 2005. She pleaded guilty in July 2005 and received a deferred sentence, meaning no jail time if she remains trouble-free for four years.
Heather Ingram, 30: Mathematics, science and business teacher at Chatelech Secondary School in Sechelt, British Columbia, had sex with a 17-year-old student. The relationship cost Ingram her job and reportedly led to the breakup of her 12-year common-law marriage to a man four years her senior.
Jacquelyn Faith Garrison, 19: Substitute teacher at South Central High School in Winterville, N.C., was indicted in January 2006 on charges she was having an improper relationship with a 15-year-old student. The case involves some 50 phone calls and text messages exchanged between Garrison and the boy, who reportedly became uncomfortable when things of a sexual nature came up.
Janelle Marie Bird, 24: Accused of having a two-year affair with a 15-year-old student from East Hill Christian School, in Pensacola, Fla. Declaring her love for the boy, she was charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery and two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. Though Bird could have received 30 years upon conviction, she was sentenced in 2006 to two years in state prison.
Jaymee Wallace, 28: Basketball coach in Tampa, Fla., charged with having an 18-month lesbian relationship with a student. Authorities say the student, who was 15 when she met Wallace, voluntarily had sex with the coach more than 50 times, in a parking lot at Busch Gardens and often at Wallace's own apartment while a fellow classmate was in an adjacent room. According to the police report, the sexual relationship reportedly began in early 2003, after the student received a note from Wallace saying she "found her attractive and wanted to know if she felt the same way."
Joan Marie Sladky, 28: Redwood City, Calif., woman sentenced to six months in county jail for having sex with a 16-year-old student after pleading no contest to four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, oral copulation and penetration with a foreign object. The Spanish teacher's relationship with the boy spanned six months, as she reportedly had sex with him once at his home and three times at her residence, which was on the property of the private Baptist church and school where she taught.
Katherine Tew, 30: Married English teacher from Greenville, N.C., arrested for having sex with a 17-year-old boy. She taught at South Central High School in Winterville, N.C., and was convicted of taking indecent liberties with a child, but found not guilty of the more serious sex charge. She was not given prison time, and lost her teaching license for at least two years.
Kathy White, 39: Teacher at Lumberton High School in Lumberton, Texas, charged with having sex with a 17-year-old student. The victim, Michael Ferguson, alleges: "She just started grabbing me and hormones were on and it just happened." Ferguson provided KBTV-TV with an e-mail allegedly sent by White, in which the teacher told him, "I get these cravings for YOU and that's not NORMAL! If I had it my way, I'd do you once a week just because it's good."
Kelly Lynn Dalecki, 28: Elementary-school teacher from St. Augustine, Fla., pleaded no contest to charges she had sex with a 13-year-old boy in 2003. The boy's parents reportedly found more than 50 sexually explicit e-mails and pornographic pictures allegedly sent by Dalecki on his computer. Dalecki was sentenced to nearly a year in prison.
Kristen Margrif, 27: Mayville, Mich., teacher accused of having sex with a 16-year-old male student in her car or at his summer workplace in June and July 2005. She was given a one-year delayed sentence in June 2006 on three felony counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a student, meaning she'll only have to serve probation if she remains trouble-free for a year.
Kristi Dance Oakes, 32: Teacher allegedly had sex with a 16-year-old boy who was in her biology class the previous year. Oakes resigned from her post at Seymour High School in Sevierville, Tenn., and reportedly lost her home and even the job she took at a grocery store after resigning from the school system because of the charges. In July 2006, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months in jail.
Lakina Stutts, 40: School-bus driver admitted to cops she had sex with a 14-year-old student in her home and in a car outside the boy's home.
Laura-Anne Brownlee, 26: Former music mistress at a top private school in Belfast, N. Ireland, was given a six-month suspended sentence on charges of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
Laura Lynn Findlay, 30: Band teacher at Ricker Middle School in Buena Vista Township, Mich., charged with having sex with at least 5 students, one as young as 14. She was sentenced in August 2006 to at least seven and as much as 25 years in prison.
Lynn Saunders, 38: A former basketball star at the College of Staten Island, the gym teacher at St. Paul's School in New Brighton, N.Y., was arrested in March 2005 for allegedly molesting a 12-year-old girl whose family she had befriended. Saunders admitted to touching the girl's breasts and genital area on several dates in February 2005. She received no jail time, only probation and registration as a sex offender. The family is now suing Saunders and the Archdiocese of New York, claiming the girl became suicidal and still suffers from "severe emotional shock, trauma, embarrassment, anxiety and other psychological injuries."
Margaret De Barraicua, 30: Sacramento, Calif., area woman arrested after police found her having sex with a 16-year-old male student in her car while the woman's toddler was strapped into a seat in the back. She pleaded guilty to four felony counts of statutory rape and was sentenced to a year in jail and five years formal probation.
Maria Saco, 28: Math teacher at Lincoln Middle School in Passaic, N.J., sentenced in 2005 to a year in jail for an intimate relationship with a teen student who was 14 when they first met. Saco reportedly gave the boy a key to her apartment.
Mary Kay Letourneau, 34: Des Moines, Wash., teacher did prison time after having sex with a sixth-grade student, Vili Fualaau, in 1996 and eventually had two children by him. She originally had Fualaau in her second-grade class at Shorewood Elementary School in Burien, Wash. The couple has since married.
Melissa Michelle Deel, 32: Bristol, Tenn., teacher at Virginia Middle School pleaded guilty to crossing the state line into Virginia to have oral sex with a 13-year-old male student. As part of her plea agreement, Deel agreed never to profit from the crime, as well as have no contact with the boy and his family without court permission. She was sentenced to a year and two months prison.
Michelle Kush, 29: Substitute teacher at Boone County High School in Florence, Ky., allegedly had sex with a 15-year-old boy several times during summer break. She was charged with two counts of rape and one sodomy count. In August 2006, Kush was sentenced to 60 days in jail, 30 days on house arrest and five years probation.
Nicola Prentice, 22: British woman from Sheffield, England, given a 12-month suspended jail sentence after she seduced a 16-year-old student and began a 19-month affair.
Nicole Andrea Barnhart, 35: Highlands Ranch, Colo., woman reportedly told police she loves the 16-year-old boy with whom she was having sex. A teacher at Ponderosa High School, she pleaded guilty to felony sexual assault on a child, resulting in a two-year prison sentence and a minimum of 10 years in a sex-offender probation program.
Nicole Long, 29: English teacher at Ayersville High School in Ohio resigned her teaching post after being accused of raping a 17-year-old boy. She pleaded guilty in January 2005 to a charge of sexual battery, and was sentenced in March to three months in jail.
Nicole Pomerleau, 31: English teacher at Olympic High School in Charlotte, N.C., arrested in March 2004 for allegedly having a sexual relationship with her 16-year-old student. The age of consent in North Carolina is 16, but teachers having sex with students is an exception to the law. Though Pomerleau admitted the affair, she got no prison time and did not have to register as a sex offender.
Pamela Smart, 22: Media-services director at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, N.H., had convinced her 15-year-old lover to murder her husband. She was arrested in 1993 and is now serving a life sentence. The Nicole Kidman film "To Die For" is based on her story.
Pamela Rogers Turner, 27: Former model and beauty-pageant contestant also taught at Centertown Elementary School in McMinnville, Tenn. She was arrested in February 2005 for allegedly having a three-month sexual relationship with a 13-year-old boy. She resigned her teaching position and was charged with 15 counts of sexual battery and 13 counts of statutory rape. Originally sentenced to 270 days in August 2005, she got in additional trouble in April 2006 for sending text messages, nude photos, and sex videos of herself to the same boy while using her father's cellphone. In July 2006, she was sentenced to seven years for violating her probation.
Rachelle Vantucci, 32: Ex-substitute teacher from Geneseo, N.Y., admitted having sex with a 16-year-old boy she met at a local riding stable. After pleading guilty, Vantucci agreed to surrender her teaching license and register as a sex offender.
Rebecca Boicelli, 33: Redwood City, Calif., woman gave birth to a baby last year and DNA test results gave prosecutors enough evidence to prove the father is Boicelli's former student, who was 16 at the time of conception. She was sentenced to two years in prison.
Rhianna Ellis, 24: Social-studies teacher at the High School for Health Professions and Human Services in Manhattan, N.Y., allegedly began a 10-month sexual relationship with an 17-year-old player on the school's basketball team, and reportedly gave birth to his baby. The teen boy even introduced Ellis to his parents, never indicating she was his teacher.
Robin Gialanella, 26: Teacher at Silver Bay Elementary School in Toms River, N.J., engaged in kissing, and inappropriate conduct and conversations with two sixth-grade boys, ages 11 and 12, in 2003 and 2004. She was sentenced to 364 days in jail with psychotherapy, must register as a sex offender, will be under lifetime supervision and must surrender her New Jersey teaching certificate.
Robin Winkis, 29: English teacher at Central York High School in York, Pa., allegedly had sex with a 17-year-old boy after giving him alcohol. Authorties accused her of five alleged sex acts during October and November 2005. She pleaded guilty as part of a deal, and was sentenced to two to 23 months in jail.
Samantha Solomon, 29: Guidance counselor at the High School for Health Professions and Human Services in Manhattan, N.Y. was fired after school bosses learned she was having sex with a teenage boy. She denies the allegations, attributing them to rumors gone wild.
Sandra "Beth" Geisel, 42: English teacher at Christian Brothers Academy, an all-boys school in Albany, N.Y., allegedly had sex three times with a 16-year-old male student in May 2005, including once on school grounds in the football stadium's press box. Originally indicted in September for three counts of third degree rape, she pleaded guilty to a single count of rape and was sentenced to six months in jail, and ranked as a Level 1 sex offender, the lowest risk.
Shelley Allen, 35: Teacher's aide from Cherokee County, Texas, was arrested in June 2005. Allen was charged with sexual assault of a child and faces a possible 20 years behind bars.
Shelley White, 24: Geography teacher in Britain had been engaged to be married before she kissed a 15-year-old student on at least three occasions. She avoided jail, but received 12 months community service.
Sherry Brians, 41: Middle-school language-arts instructor in Buttonwillow, Calif., originally arrested in January 2006 on suspicion of engaging in lewd acts with a 12-year-old male student, a felony that involves sexual contact. She pleaded not guilty to two counts of annoying or molesting a child under 18.
Stephanie Burleson: Volleyball coach and teacher at Floresville High School in Texas six years ago, pleaded guilty to all charges for molesting a 16-year-old female student. She was sentenced to 10 years probation, and required to register as a sex offender.
Susan Clickner, 47: The eighth-grade science teacher at Blanchard Middle School in Lowell, Mass., was sentenced to serve 18 months for having sex with one of her students in the back seat of her car. Clickner had been accused of luring the 14-year-old during the summer of 2005 into the back seat of her car and molesting him. He later told his parents, who notified police. She also was ordered to register as a sex offender.
Susan Eble, 35: Former teacher's aide is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy.
Tara Lynn Crisp, 29: Police allege she had sex with a student at least three times beginning when he was 14.
Toni Lynn Woods, 37: Middle-school teacher in Braxton County, W.Va., confessed in 2005 to having sexual intercourse with three juveniles a total of four times and oral sex with one of those juveniles and another juvenile a total of four times. She reportedly described herself as a "monster" when she pleaded guilty. She resigned, surrendered her teaching certificate, and was given consecutive sentences of one-to-five years on four counts of third-degree sexual assault.
Traci Tapp, 28: Gym teacher at Hammonton High School in New Jersey accused of sexual contact with three male students, including having sex in her home multiple times in one night with a 16-year-old. In January 2006, she avoided any jail or probation time by admitting inappropriate touching, but she lost her teaching license.
Prosecutor says woman used her Catholic school office for attacks
Posted: December 16, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
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A gym teacher and coach has been accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student over a period of 10 months while she worked at a Catholic high school in Somerset, N.J., authorities said.Pamela Balogh, 39, of Bethlehem, taught and coached the female student, who was subjected to the assaults starting in December, 2004, according to the Somerset County prosecutor's office.
Authorities told The Express-Times that the assaults happened mainly in Balogh's office at Immaculata High School in Somerville.
She's been charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact, fourth-degree criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child.
School officials suspended her from her teaching responsibilities, they said.
Balogh graduated in 1985 from North Hunterdon High School and she was The Express-Times' girls' basketball player of the year in 1985. Balogh is a member of both North Hunterdon's and Temple University's athletic halls of fame.
Teacher 'sexpidemic'
The phenomenon of teachers accused or convicted of having sex with their students has come to the forefront of national and international news in recent years.
Some of the cases involving women have been chronicled by WND, including:
Adrianne Hockett: Accused of having sex with a 16-year-old special-needs student in a Houston apartment she rented for the get-togethers. The boy has testified the pair would "have sex, drink beer and smoke weed."
Amber Jennings, 31: Though Jennings was initially charged with having sex with a 16-year-old, the counts against the Sturbridge, Mass., woman were reduced to a single charge of disseminating harmful materials to a minor. She reportedly admitted e-mailing naked photos of herself to a former student. She received no jail time, only two years of probation after pleading guilty.
Amber Marshall, 23: Northwest Indiana woman allegedly had sexual contact, including intercourse, with several students at Hebron High School, and turned herself into authorities, telling police she knew what she did was illegal.
Amira Sa'Di, 30: Clayton County, Ga., woman remarked she didn't think her relationship was inappropriate based on her Internet research, learning the Peach State's age of consent is 16.
Amy Gail Lilley, 36: Inverness, Fla., woman and softball coach at Lecanto High School charged with a lesbian relationship with a 15-year-old girl. She received no prison time, being sentenced to two years of house arrest and eight more years of probation.
Amy McElhenney, 25: Charged with having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old male student, the 25-year-old Hebron High School Spanish teacher and former Miss Texas contestant will not be serving any jail time after a Denton County, Texas, grand jury refused to issue an indictment. While the age of consent in Texas is 17 years, a state law bans sexual relationships between educators and students even if the student is of legal age and the relationship is consensual. She could have faced 20 years in prison if indicted and convicted.
Angela Comer, 26: Middle-school teacher from Tompkinsville, Ky., fled with her alleged lover, her 14-year-old male student, before being tracked down in Mexico where she reportedly planned to marry the boy. She was indicted for illegal sex acts with a minor and returned to Kentucky. Charges include felony custodial interference, two counts of third-degree sodomy and four counts of unlawful transaction with a minor relating to sexual acts.Angela Stellwag, 24: Delran, N.J., woman accused of having sex in her apartment with a 14-year-old boy she met in school. She was charged with sexual assault for activity that allegedly took place in August 2004. She pleaded not guilty in August 2006.
Beth Raymond, 31: Private-school employee from Pownal, Maine, charged with risk of injury to a minor and second-degree sexual assault of a juvenile male at Eagle Hill School in Greenwich, Conn. In July 2006, she was sentenced to 18 months prison.
Bethany Sherrill, 24: Daughter-in-law of school-board president charged with molesting a 15-year-old middle-school student. Reports state Sherill allegedly had oral sex with the boy and sent him coded text messages. She resigned her position at Jefferson Elementary School in Farmington, Mo., and eventually received 90 days in jail and two years probation, and was forced to register as a sex offender.
Brandy Lynn Gonzales, 27:The Houston-area teacher and her husband were arrested in December 2006 for sexually assaulting students at an elementary school two years earlier. Prosecutors allege that Gonzales met a student at a local movie theater, where she performed oral sex on the boy as well as another student at the theater. Husband Johnny Gonzales is also charged with having performed sex acts with one teen. Prosecutors told the judge they have sufficient evidence to file further charges.
Cameo Patch, 29: Substitute teacher at Tooele High School in Tooele, Utah, arrested for allegedly performing oral sex on a 17-year-old male student. The sexual activity was allegedly consensual, and reportedly took place off school grounds after the pair had exchanged phone numbers in a restaurant. She was sentenced to no jail time, despite despite comments from the judge that a man would have likely gone to prison.
Carol Flannigan, 50: Boca Raton, Fla., music teacher reportedly slept with 11-year-old former student, and also had a simultaneous sexual relationship with the boy's father. In a deposition, the boy's father said he had the same sort of sexual relationship with Flannigan that ex-President Bill Clinton had with Monica Lewinsky. In February 2006, Flannigan was sentenced to five years prison as part of a plea deal.
Carrie McCandless, 29: The former Colorado social-studies teacher, who also happens to be married to the principal, was charged in November 2006 with having had sexual contact with a 17-year-old male student during an overnight school camping trip. The instructor, who also coaches cheerleading, could be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison for sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Cathy Heminghaus, 46: Special-education teacher from Ferguson, Mo., charged with statutory sodomy involving at least three of her students at Ferguson Middle School. She reportedly told friends she had performed oral sex on the children on several occasions.Celeste Emerick, 32: Police in Huber Heights, Ohio, say the Wayne High School teacher hosted a party where students were shown pornography. Prosecutors charged her with one count of sexual battery, a felony in Ohio.
Christina Gallagher, 26: Jersey City, N.J., woman received no jail time, but was ordered to pay more than $1,000 in fines, sentenced to a lifetime registration as a convicted sex offender and ordered to attend therapy for having sex with a 17-year-old student in late 2004. The former Rahway High School instructor was banned from teaching and seeing the student with whom she had sex.
Christine Duda, 39: Teacher at the Normandy Alternative School in St. Louis County, Mo., allegedly took a 16-year-old hearing-impaired male student to her home for sex in December 2005. She was charged with two counts of felony statutory rape and fired by the school district.
Christine Scarlett, 36: English teacher at Strongsville High School in Ohio began a sexual relationship with the 17-year-old captain of the football team, Steven Bradigan, in November 2002 and eventually gave birth to Bradigan's son. Scarlett was fired from her teaching job, but insists nothing improper happened during the time she was Bradigan's teacher. She was never charged with any criminal wrongdoing.
Deanna Bobo, 37: Special-education teacher at Raymond E. Wells Junior High School in Greenwood, Ark., allegedly had sex twice in 2005 with a 14-year-old boy in his own bed while his parents were not home. She denied the charge, but was convicted in September 2006 of two counts of first-degree sexual assault and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Debra LaFave, 25: Tampa, Fla., area teacher received no jail time despite having sex with her 14-year-old male student in a classroom and her Hillsborough County home. In another county, Marion, she was accused of having sex with the boy in an SUV. LaFave claimed at a March 2006 news conference she had a bipolar disorder. The boy's father said LaFave should have received prison time in her plea deal, noting, "It's a horrible, ugly thing that she's done."Diane DeMartini-Scully, 45: Mattituck, N.Y., woman was the school psychologist at East Hampton Middle School on Long Island when she was accused of having sex with the 16-year-old boyfriend of her own 13-year-old daughter. She allegedly had intercourse and oral sex with the boy on a number of occasions in May 2005 in her home and car. She was arrested after allegedly secretly visiting her young paramour at his new home in North Carolina.
Donna Carr Galloway, 33: Married mother of two found naked in a car with a 17-year-old student.
Elisa Kawasaki, 25: Biology teacher from Fresno, Calif., area, pleaded no contest to sex with a teen boy, and prosecutors dropped four other counts.
Elizabeth Miklosovic, 36: Grand Rapids, Mich., teacher at South Haven's Baseline Middle School pleaded no contest to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old female student she "married" in a pagan ritual in June 2004. Miklosovic is also accused of touching the girl's genitals while camping in public parks. She told the judge before sentencing, "The entire ordeal has been blown totally out of proportion for something that was innocent, kind and nurturing in nature." She was sentenced to five to 25 years.
Elizabeth Stow, 26: Tulare Western High School teacher from Fresno, Calif., area convicted of having sex with three of her students was sentenced to nine years, but the judge suspended that sentence and gave her one year, followed by five years of probation. She was also ordered to register as a sex offender.
Ellen Garfield, 43: Former student at Solomon Schecter School in Newton, Mass., said his music teacher took him into an empty classroom where she worked, partially disrobed, and coaxed him into having sex with her in 1998. Garfield was acquitted of all charges in September 2005.
Emily Morris, 28: Teacher at Leeds High School in St. Clair County, Ala., faced a possible 20-year sentence, but received one year in jail for having consensual sex with a 15-year-old student.
Erica Rutters, 29: Teacher at Oxford Christian Academy in New Oxford, Pa., allegedly wrote erotic messages to a 16-year-old student and had sexual intercourse with him four times in her apartment. She pleaded guilty to corruption of a minor, and received no jail time, just three years of probation in March 2006.
Georgianne Harrell, 24: Teacher at Holley Elementary School in Sylvester, Ga., charged with performing oral sex on a 9-year-old boy in April 2005, allowing students to gaze down her blouse and slashing her wrists with glass in front of her students. Though she originally pleaded not guilty, she changed her plea to guilty just before trial, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison for aggravated child molestation.
Gwen Cardozo, 33: Teacher at Wasson High School in Colorado Springs, Colo., accused of having sex with a 17-year-old male student. Police charged her with sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, and Cardozo resigned her position in March 2005. She pleaded guilty in July 2005 and received a deferred sentence, meaning no jail time if she remains trouble-free for four years.
Heather Ingram, 30: Mathematics, science and business teacher at Chatelech Secondary School in Sechelt, British Columbia, had sex with a 17-year-old student. The relationship cost Ingram her job and reportedly led to the breakup of her 12-year common-law marriage to a man four years her senior.
Jacquelyn Faith Garrison, 19: Substitute teacher at South Central High School in Winterville, N.C., was indicted in January 2006 on charges she was having an improper relationship with a 15-year-old student. The case involves some 50 phone calls and text messages exchanged between Garrison and the boy, who reportedly became uncomfortable when things of a sexual nature came up.
Janelle Marie Bird, 24: Accused of having a two-year affair with a 15-year-old student from East Hill Christian School, in Pensacola, Fla. Declaring her love for the boy, she was charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious battery and two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. Though Bird could have received 30 years upon conviction, she was sentenced in 2006 to two years in state prison.
Jaymee Wallace, 28: Basketball coach in Tampa, Fla., charged with having an 18-month lesbian relationship with a student. Authorities say the student, who was 15 when she met Wallace, voluntarily had sex with the coach more than 50 times, in a parking lot at Busch Gardens and often at Wallace's own apartment while a fellow classmate was in an adjacent room. According to the police report, the sexual relationship reportedly began in early 2003, after the student received a note from Wallace saying she "found her attractive and wanted to know if she felt the same way."Joan Marie Sladky, 28: Redwood City, Calif., woman sentenced to six months in county jail for having sex with a 16-year-old student after pleading no contest to four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, oral copulation and penetration with a foreign object. The Spanish teacher's relationship with the boy spanned six months, as she reportedly had sex with him once at his home and three times at her residence, which was on the property of the private Baptist church and school where she taught.
Katherine Tew, 30: Married English teacher from Greenville, N.C., arrested for having sex with a 17-year-old boy. She taught at South Central High School in Winterville, N.C., and was convicted of taking indecent liberties with a child, but found not guilty of the more serious sex charge. She was not given prison time, and lost her teaching license for at least two years.
Kathy White, 39: Teacher at Lumberton High School in Lumberton, Texas, charged with having sex with a 17-year-old student. The victim, Michael Ferguson, alleges: "She just started grabbing me and hormones were on and it just happened." Ferguson provided KBTV-TV with an e-mail allegedly sent by White, in which the teacher told him, "I get these cravings for YOU and that's not NORMAL! If I had it my way, I'd do you once a week just because it's good."
Kelly Lynn Dalecki, 28: Elementary-school teacher from St. Augustine, Fla., pleaded no contest to charges she had sex with a 13-year-old boy in 2003. The boy's parents reportedly found more than 50 sexually explicit e-mails and pornographic pictures allegedly sent by Dalecki on his computer. Dalecki was sentenced to nearly a year in prison.
Kristen Margrif, 27: Mayville, Mich., teacher accused of having sex with a 16-year-old male student in her car or at his summer workplace in June and July 2005. She was given a one-year delayed sentence in June 2006 on three felony counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a student, meaning she'll only have to serve probation if she remains trouble-free for a year.
Kristi Dance Oakes, 32: Teacher allegedly had sex with a 16-year-old boy who was in her biology class the previous year. Oakes resigned from her post at Seymour High School in Sevierville, Tenn., and reportedly lost her home and even the job she took at a grocery store after resigning from the school system because of the charges. In July 2006, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months in jail.Lakina Stutts, 40: School-bus driver admitted to cops she had sex with a 14-year-old student in her home and in a car outside the boy's home.
Laura-Anne Brownlee, 26: Former music mistress at a top private school in Belfast, N. Ireland, was given a six-month suspended sentence on charges of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
Laura Lynn Findlay, 30: Band teacher at Ricker Middle School in Buena Vista Township, Mich., charged with having sex with at least 5 students, one as young as 14. She was sentenced in August 2006 to at least seven and as much as 25 years in prison.
Lynn Saunders, 38: A former basketball star at the College of Staten Island, the gym teacher at St. Paul's School in New Brighton, N.Y., was arrested in March 2005 for allegedly molesting a 12-year-old girl whose family she had befriended. Saunders admitted to touching the girl's breasts and genital area on several dates in February 2005. She received no jail time, only probation and registration as a sex offender. The family is now suing Saunders and the Archdiocese of New York, claiming the girl became suicidal and still suffers from "severe emotional shock, trauma, embarrassment, anxiety and other psychological injuries."
Margaret De Barraicua, 30: Sacramento, Calif., area woman arrested after police found her having sex with a 16-year-old male student in her car while the woman's toddler was strapped into a seat in the back. She pleaded guilty to four felony counts of statutory rape and was sentenced to a year in jail and five years formal probation.Maria Saco, 28: Math teacher at Lincoln Middle School in Passaic, N.J., sentenced in 2005 to a year in jail for an intimate relationship with a teen student who was 14 when they first met. Saco reportedly gave the boy a key to her apartment.
Mary Kay Letourneau, 34: Des Moines, Wash., teacher did prison time after having sex with a sixth-grade student, Vili Fualaau, in 1996 and eventually had two children by him. She originally had Fualaau in her second-grade class at Shorewood Elementary School in Burien, Wash. The couple has since married.
Melissa Michelle Deel, 32: Bristol, Tenn., teacher at Virginia Middle School pleaded guilty to crossing the state line into Virginia to have oral sex with a 13-year-old male student. As part of her plea agreement, Deel agreed never to profit from the crime, as well as have no contact with the boy and his family without court permission. She was sentenced to a year and two months prison.
Michelle Kush, 29: Substitute teacher at Boone County High School in Florence, Ky., allegedly had sex with a 15-year-old boy several times during summer break. She was charged with two counts of rape and one sodomy count. In August 2006, Kush was sentenced to 60 days in jail, 30 days on house arrest and five years probation.
Nicola Prentice, 22: British woman from Sheffield, England, given a 12-month suspended jail sentence after she seduced a 16-year-old student and began a 19-month affair.
Nicole Andrea Barnhart, 35: Highlands Ranch, Colo., woman reportedly told police she loves the 16-year-old boy with whom she was having sex. A teacher at Ponderosa High School, she pleaded guilty to felony sexual assault on a child, resulting in a two-year prison sentence and a minimum of 10 years in a sex-offender probation program.
Nicole Long, 29: English teacher at Ayersville High School in Ohio resigned her teaching post after being accused of raping a 17-year-old boy. She pleaded guilty in January 2005 to a charge of sexual battery, and was sentenced in March to three months in jail.Nicole Pomerleau, 31: English teacher at Olympic High School in Charlotte, N.C., arrested in March 2004 for allegedly having a sexual relationship with her 16-year-old student. The age of consent in North Carolina is 16, but teachers having sex with students is an exception to the law. Though Pomerleau admitted the affair, she got no prison time and did not have to register as a sex offender.
Pamela Smart, 22: Media-services director at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, N.H., had convinced her 15-year-old lover to murder her husband. She was arrested in 1993 and is now serving a life sentence. The Nicole Kidman film "To Die For" is based on her story.
Pamela Rogers Turner, 27: Former model and beauty-pageant contestant also taught at Centertown Elementary School in McMinnville, Tenn. She was arrested in February 2005 for allegedly having a three-month sexual relationship with a 13-year-old boy. She resigned her teaching position and was charged with 15 counts of sexual battery and 13 counts of statutory rape. Originally sentenced to 270 days in August 2005, she got in additional trouble in April 2006 for sending text messages, nude photos, and sex videos of herself to the same boy while using her father's cellphone. In July 2006, she was sentenced to seven years for violating her probation.
Rachelle Vantucci, 32: Ex-substitute teacher from Geneseo, N.Y., admitted having sex with a 16-year-old boy she met at a local riding stable. After pleading guilty, Vantucci agreed to surrender her teaching license and register as a sex offender.
Rebecca Boicelli, 33: Redwood City, Calif., woman gave birth to a baby last year and DNA test results gave prosecutors enough evidence to prove the father is Boicelli's former student, who was 16 at the time of conception. She was sentenced to two years in prison.
Rhianna Ellis, 24: Social-studies teacher at the High School for Health Professions and Human Services in Manhattan, N.Y., allegedly began a 10-month sexual relationship with an 17-year-old player on the school's basketball team, and reportedly gave birth to his baby. The teen boy even introduced Ellis to his parents, never indicating she was his teacher.
Robin Gialanella, 26: Teacher at Silver Bay Elementary School in Toms River, N.J., engaged in kissing, and inappropriate conduct and conversations with two sixth-grade boys, ages 11 and 12, in 2003 and 2004. She was sentenced to 364 days in jail with psychotherapy, must register as a sex offender, will be under lifetime supervision and must surrender her New Jersey teaching certificate.
Robin Winkis, 29: English teacher at Central York High School in York, Pa., allegedly had sex with a 17-year-old boy after giving him alcohol. Authorties accused her of five alleged sex acts during October and November 2005. She pleaded guilty as part of a deal, and was sentenced to two to 23 months in jail.
Samantha Solomon, 29: Guidance counselor at the High School for Health Professions and Human Services in Manhattan, N.Y. was fired after school bosses learned she was having sex with a teenage boy. She denies the allegations, attributing them to rumors gone wild.
Sandra "Beth" Geisel, 42: English teacher at Christian Brothers Academy, an all-boys school in Albany, N.Y., allegedly had sex three times with a 16-year-old male student in May 2005, including once on school grounds in the football stadium's press box. Originally indicted in September for three counts of third degree rape, she pleaded guilty to a single count of rape and was sentenced to six months in jail, and ranked as a Level 1 sex offender, the lowest risk.
Shelley Allen, 35: Teacher's aide from Cherokee County, Texas, was arrested in June 2005. Allen was charged with sexual assault of a child and faces a possible 20 years behind bars.
Shelley White, 24: Geography teacher in Britain had been engaged to be married before she kissed a 15-year-old student on at least three occasions. She avoided jail, but received 12 months community service.
Sherry Brians, 41: Middle-school language-arts instructor in Buttonwillow, Calif., originally arrested in January 2006 on suspicion of engaging in lewd acts with a 12-year-old male student, a felony that involves sexual contact. She pleaded not guilty to two counts of annoying or molesting a child under 18.Stephanie Burleson: Volleyball coach and teacher at Floresville High School in Texas six years ago, pleaded guilty to all charges for molesting a 16-year-old female student. She was sentenced to 10 years probation, and required to register as a sex offender.
Susan Clickner, 47: The eighth-grade science teacher at Blanchard Middle School in Lowell, Mass., was sentenced to serve 18 months for having sex with one of her students in the back seat of her car. Clickner had been accused of luring the 14-year-old during the summer of 2005 into the back seat of her car and molesting him. He later told his parents, who notified police. She also was ordered to register as a sex offender.
Susan Eble, 35: Former teacher's aide is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy.
Tara Lynn Crisp, 29: Police allege she had sex with a student at least three times beginning when he was 14.
Toni Lynn Woods, 37: Middle-school teacher in Braxton County, W.Va., confessed in 2005 to having sexual intercourse with three juveniles a total of four times and oral sex with one of those juveniles and another juvenile a total of four times. She reportedly described herself as a "monster" when she pleaded guilty. She resigned, surrendered her teaching certificate, and was given consecutive sentences of one-to-five years on four counts of third-degree sexual assault.
Traci Tapp, 28: Gym teacher at Hammonton High School in New Jersey accused of sexual contact with three male students, including having sex in her home multiple times in one night with a 16-year-old. In January 2006, she avoided any jail or probation time by admitting inappropriate touching, but she lost her teaching license.
Nativity Scene Stolen by Abortion Clinic Worker Returned by Police
WICHITA, December 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An employee of late-term abortionist George R Tiller stole a nativity scene belonging to Operation Rescue that had been displayed among crosses and other religious items on the public property outside the abortion clinic gate.The plastic Nativity Scene, consisting of likenesses of Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, and a donkey were placed outside the notorious abortion clinic, as part of a national campaign called The Nativity Project.
The Nativity Project was launched by the Christian Defense Coalition and Faith and Action for the purpose of affirming the message of Christ's Incarnation as well as the rights to free speech and religious expression. Participants are urged to maintain Nativity Scenes on public property from now until Christmas.
John Rayburn, an employee of Tiller's who supplies security services for the abortionist, told witnesses that the display was "offensive" to him. He picked up the display and placed it behind the fence that surrounds the abortion clinic parking lot.
Operation Rescue President Troy Newman summoned the police and asked for the return of his property. After some investigation, Officer D. L. Hinners returned the property to Newman who replaced it back onto the public grassy strip.
A report was filed (case number 06C96619) requesting that the charge of petty larceny be filed against Rayburn for stealing the religious display. The District Attorney's office will make a determination whether or not to pursue the charges.
Operation Rescue is offering free tickets to the movie "The Nativity" to the first 50 people who volunteer to watch over the Nativity display at Tiller's abortion clinic between now and Christmas.
(c) Copyright: LifeSiteNews.com is a production of Interim Publishing. Permission to republish is granted (with limitation*) but acknowledgement of source is *REQUIRED* (useLifeSiteNews.com).
Silent night for fear of offending Jew
Silent night for fear of offending Jew
By Catherine Elsworth in New York
Last Updated: 1:41am GMT 16/12/2006
A school choir was told to stop singing carols at a show featuring a Jewish ice skater because officials feared she would be offended.
The Rubidoux High School Madrigals in Riverside, California, broke off in the middle of God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman at a rink where Sasha Cohen, a US Olympic medal winner, was performing in front of fans.
Staci Della-Rocco, the director of the choir, said she complied with the request by a city council employee and police officer to silence the children because "I didn't want to have a big old huge scene in front of my kids".
"This request was simply made by a staff member who was attempting to be sensitive to the celebrity guest, without considering the wider implications... or consulting with her supervisor for guidance," said Belinda Graham, the city development director.
Cohen, 22, however, was "stunned" to learn the choir had been ordered to stop singing on her account, her mother said.
The 2006 Olympic silver medallist is half-Christian and "celebrates everything" at this time of year, said Galina Cohen. "Sasha was stunned. We both thought the voices were just lovely, they were doing such a wonderful job. Christmas carols are part of celebrating the holiday season."
Ron Loveridge, the mayor of Riverside, has apologised to the choir. He called the incident "unfortunate".
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2006.
By Catherine Elsworth in New York
Last Updated: 1:41am GMT 16/12/2006
A school choir was told to stop singing carols at a show featuring a Jewish ice skater because officials feared she would be offended.
The Rubidoux High School Madrigals in Riverside, California, broke off in the middle of God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman at a rink where Sasha Cohen, a US Olympic medal winner, was performing in front of fans.
Staci Della-Rocco, the director of the choir, said she complied with the request by a city council employee and police officer to silence the children because "I didn't want to have a big old huge scene in front of my kids".
"This request was simply made by a staff member who was attempting to be sensitive to the celebrity guest, without considering the wider implications... or consulting with her supervisor for guidance," said Belinda Graham, the city development director.
Cohen, 22, however, was "stunned" to learn the choir had been ordered to stop singing on her account, her mother said.
The 2006 Olympic silver medallist is half-Christian and "celebrates everything" at this time of year, said Galina Cohen. "Sasha was stunned. We both thought the voices were just lovely, they were doing such a wonderful job. Christmas carols are part of celebrating the holiday season."
Ron Loveridge, the mayor of Riverside, has apologised to the choir. He called the incident "unfortunate".
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2006.
Hillary hires 'faith guru'
Hillary hires 'faith guru'
Taking cue from Obama, senator gears up spiritual side of presidential campaign
Posted: December 16, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
WASHINGTON – With Sen. Barack Obama being treated like a political rock star, in part because of the ease with which he talks about his Christian faith, Sen. Hillary Clinton, another likely candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination has hired her own "faith guru."
Her pick is Burns Strider, the head of religious outreach for the House Democratic Caucus since 2005, according to the Hotline, the online daily political arm of the National Journal.
Strider, originally from Mississippi, was raised a Southern Baptist. He and his family now attend Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Washington, according to the report.
Clinton, a lifelong Methodist, has been talking more about her faith. She is part of an exclusive women's prayer group. She joined while she was first lady. She is also a member of the Senate prayer group.
Polls list Clinton as the leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. But Obama, another Democrat from Illinois, has been getting rave reviews over his appearances – many of which have allowed him to discuss his faith easily and openly. He was recently a featured speaker at an AIDS conference convened by Southern Baptist megachurch pastor Rick Warren.
Obama has also assigned a staffer to faith outreach, according to the report. In addition, other Democratic and progressive groups have begun to focus staff members on outreach to religious voters -- many of whom had abandoned the party in the past 20 years.
Taking cue from Obama, senator gears up spiritual side of presidential campaign
Posted: December 16, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
WASHINGTON – With Sen. Barack Obama being treated like a political rock star, in part because of the ease with which he talks about his Christian faith, Sen. Hillary Clinton, another likely candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination has hired her own "faith guru."Her pick is Burns Strider, the head of religious outreach for the House Democratic Caucus since 2005, according to the Hotline, the online daily political arm of the National Journal.
Strider, originally from Mississippi, was raised a Southern Baptist. He and his family now attend Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Washington, according to the report.
Clinton, a lifelong Methodist, has been talking more about her faith. She is part of an exclusive women's prayer group. She joined while she was first lady. She is also a member of the Senate prayer group.
Polls list Clinton as the leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. But Obama, another Democrat from Illinois, has been getting rave reviews over his appearances – many of which have allowed him to discuss his faith easily and openly. He was recently a featured speaker at an AIDS conference convened by Southern Baptist megachurch pastor Rick Warren.
Obama has also assigned a staffer to faith outreach, according to the report. In addition, other Democratic and progressive groups have begun to focus staff members on outreach to religious voters -- many of whom had abandoned the party in the past 20 years.
Bush lives Christian faith, doesn't impose it, Snow says
Bush lives Christian faith, doesn't impose it, Snow says
But spokesman says he doesn't know if annual 'holiday' greeting is secular
Posted: December 16, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
A spokesman for President Bush says the nation's leader lives his Christian faith, but doesn't impose it, and so it really doesn't matter if the annual Christmas greeting card from the White House is a specifically Christian "Merry Christmas" or a generic "happy holidays."
Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House, asked presidential spokesman Tony Snow about the greeting that is coming from the president this year.
"WorldNetDaily notes that in previous years the president has been criticized for sending out generic holiday cards at this time of the year, and thus downplaying the celebration of Christmas, a holy day celebrated by a majority of Americans," he said. "And my question: Does the president believe that the majority of America's Jews, Muslims or Hindus would be offended if the card sent by this practicing Christian president were to mention Christmas, instead of just the season, unspecified?"
"I don't know, Les," Snow said. "The thing is … he's made no secret of his Christian faith. He also believes in religious tolerance…"
"Doesn't he think that they would be tolerant of him? I mean, as a Christian president sending out a Christmas card…" Kinsolving continued.
"You're always asking me, does the president believe, on wonderfully provocative questions that no sensible press secretary would waste time asking the president about. So the fact is that I don't have the opportunity to ask him about Christmas cards," Snow said.
And he said on the "priority list" of projects to accomplish, Christmas greetings are not a top priority for the limited time he has with the president.
"What the president believes is that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior. He also believes that in this time and age it is important to welcome the freedom of all people to worship in accordance with their faith," Snow said.
Bush has made his Christian faith a public part of his presidency many times, and an analysis of his actions by theologian Wayne A. Grudem said he actually has lived his faith much of the time.
A report by Baptist Press just a few weeks ago quoted the research professor of Bible and Theology at Phoenix Seminary in Scottsdale, Ariz., saying Bush is successful from an evangelical Christian perspective because his work has increased freedom for Gospel proclamation across the globe.
The BP report said Grudem weighed the Bush presidency on 10 issues that include protection of life, marriage/family and the courts, human dignity, the political process, the environment, economics, the war on terror, communication skills and personal character and faith.
Bush "clearly identifies himself as an evangelical Christian" who not only acknowledges the Bible, but reads it and believes it, the report said. Grudem also noted Bush continues acts of kindness and moral leadership aligning with a Christian worldview, despite relentless attacks from political opponents and a secular press.
"I am so very thankful for an outstanding, I think, excellent president," Grudem told BP. "What more could we ask from a president, the man who has the most difficult job in the whole world? I think [he] has continually exhibited personal conduct that is above reproach, giving moral leadership to the nation by example of life and by kindness that amazes me toward those in politics and in the press who continue relentlessly to attack him."
A year ago, when the White House greeting once again did not mention "Christmas," WND founder and Editor Joseph Farah told the Washington Post he threw his out, prompting a media rush to cover the story.
"Because I was quoted in the Washington Post this week as saying I threw my White House Christmas card in the trash upon seeing the "happy holidays" message, I've been accused of being a troublemaker. E-mailers are telling me I should get a life, find something more important to worry about, leave the president alone, find a new country ... You get the idea,"" he wrote.
"Honestly, however, I don't care all that much about the White House Christmas card. I write a daily column and I do a daily three-hour radio talk show. Not once before this week have I ever mentioned the White House Christmas card – even though I have received them annually and been disappointed by them since at least 2002. If the Christmas card issue was that important to me, I had many opportunities to say it," he said in a subsequent column.
The uproar reached the realm of late-night television when NBC's Conan O'Brien opened his monologue with a joke about the controversy.
"President Bush is in hot water," said O'Brien. "He's angered conservatives. He's being criticized by Christian groups because his Christmas cards didn't say 'Christmas.'
"Yeah, in response, the president said: 'You try spelling it!'" O'Brien joked, to a large reception of laughs.
The quote later was picked up by the Associated Press and United Press International, and was published in media outlets across America and the world, including the Scotsman and the Age in Australia.
However, in yesterday's briefing, Snow didn't elaborate on Bush's disagreement with the title of former President Carter's new book, "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid." In promoting that publication on a speaking tour, Carter has explained that it is the Palestinians who are being oppressed and restricted by Israelis in the Middle East and doesn't mention the terrorist attacks on Israel.
"Does the president believe that Israel, which has Arab Muslims as elected members of the Knesset, is guilty of apartheid, as charged in the title of new book by President Carter?" Kinsolving asked.
"No," Snow said.
But spokesman says he doesn't know if annual 'holiday' greeting is secular
Posted: December 16, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
A spokesman for President Bush says the nation's leader lives his Christian faith, but doesn't impose it, and so it really doesn't matter if the annual Christmas greeting card from the White House is a specifically Christian "Merry Christmas" or a generic "happy holidays."
Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House, asked presidential spokesman Tony Snow about the greeting that is coming from the president this year.
"WorldNetDaily notes that in previous years the president has been criticized for sending out generic holiday cards at this time of the year, and thus downplaying the celebration of Christmas, a holy day celebrated by a majority of Americans," he said. "And my question: Does the president believe that the majority of America's Jews, Muslims or Hindus would be offended if the card sent by this practicing Christian president were to mention Christmas, instead of just the season, unspecified?"
"I don't know, Les," Snow said. "The thing is … he's made no secret of his Christian faith. He also believes in religious tolerance…"
"Doesn't he think that they would be tolerant of him? I mean, as a Christian president sending out a Christmas card…" Kinsolving continued.
"You're always asking me, does the president believe, on wonderfully provocative questions that no sensible press secretary would waste time asking the president about. So the fact is that I don't have the opportunity to ask him about Christmas cards," Snow said.
And he said on the "priority list" of projects to accomplish, Christmas greetings are not a top priority for the limited time he has with the president.
"What the president believes is that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior. He also believes that in this time and age it is important to welcome the freedom of all people to worship in accordance with their faith," Snow said.
Bush has made his Christian faith a public part of his presidency many times, and an analysis of his actions by theologian Wayne A. Grudem said he actually has lived his faith much of the time.
A report by Baptist Press just a few weeks ago quoted the research professor of Bible and Theology at Phoenix Seminary in Scottsdale, Ariz., saying Bush is successful from an evangelical Christian perspective because his work has increased freedom for Gospel proclamation across the globe.
The BP report said Grudem weighed the Bush presidency on 10 issues that include protection of life, marriage/family and the courts, human dignity, the political process, the environment, economics, the war on terror, communication skills and personal character and faith.
Bush "clearly identifies himself as an evangelical Christian" who not only acknowledges the Bible, but reads it and believes it, the report said. Grudem also noted Bush continues acts of kindness and moral leadership aligning with a Christian worldview, despite relentless attacks from political opponents and a secular press.
"I am so very thankful for an outstanding, I think, excellent president," Grudem told BP. "What more could we ask from a president, the man who has the most difficult job in the whole world? I think [he] has continually exhibited personal conduct that is above reproach, giving moral leadership to the nation by example of life and by kindness that amazes me toward those in politics and in the press who continue relentlessly to attack him."
A year ago, when the White House greeting once again did not mention "Christmas," WND founder and Editor Joseph Farah told the Washington Post he threw his out, prompting a media rush to cover the story.
"Because I was quoted in the Washington Post this week as saying I threw my White House Christmas card in the trash upon seeing the "happy holidays" message, I've been accused of being a troublemaker. E-mailers are telling me I should get a life, find something more important to worry about, leave the president alone, find a new country ... You get the idea,"" he wrote.
"Honestly, however, I don't care all that much about the White House Christmas card. I write a daily column and I do a daily three-hour radio talk show. Not once before this week have I ever mentioned the White House Christmas card – even though I have received them annually and been disappointed by them since at least 2002. If the Christmas card issue was that important to me, I had many opportunities to say it," he said in a subsequent column.
The uproar reached the realm of late-night television when NBC's Conan O'Brien opened his monologue with a joke about the controversy.
"President Bush is in hot water," said O'Brien. "He's angered conservatives. He's being criticized by Christian groups because his Christmas cards didn't say 'Christmas.'
"Yeah, in response, the president said: 'You try spelling it!'" O'Brien joked, to a large reception of laughs.
The quote later was picked up by the Associated Press and United Press International, and was published in media outlets across America and the world, including the Scotsman and the Age in Australia.
However, in yesterday's briefing, Snow didn't elaborate on Bush's disagreement with the title of former President Carter's new book, "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid." In promoting that publication on a speaking tour, Carter has explained that it is the Palestinians who are being oppressed and restricted by Israelis in the Middle East and doesn't mention the terrorist attacks on Israel.
"Does the president believe that Israel, which has Arab Muslims as elected members of the Knesset, is guilty of apartheid, as charged in the title of new book by President Carter?" Kinsolving asked.
"No," Snow said.
MARRIAGE DIGEST: Obama's opposition to DOMA differs with other Democrats; ... Romney's '94 comments stir controversy
MARRIAGE DIGEST: Obama's opposition to DOMA differs with other Democrats; ... Romney's '94 comments stir controversy
Dec 15, 2006
By Michael Foust
Baptist Press
WASHINGTON (BP)--U.S. Democratic Sen. Barack Obama is drawing a significant amount of interest for a possible 2008 presidential run by portraying himself as a moderate, but on the issue of "gay marriage," at least, he is to the left of many members of his own party.
During his 2004 run for the Senate seat from Illinois, Obama said he opposed "gay marriage" but also opposed the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that gives states the option of not recognizing another state's "gay marriage" licenses. If DOMA is overturned or repealed, then the other 49 states presumably would be forced to recognize "gay marriages" from Massachusetts.
DOMA's repeal also presumably would force the federal government to recognize "gay marriage," leading to federal tax and Social Security benefits applying to homosexual couples in Massachusetts.
DOMA passed the Senate 85-14 10 years ago, receiving a majority of Democratic support. President Clinton signed it into law, and his wife, current U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, said as recently as this fall she still supports DOMA.
Obama reached out to the homosexual community in 2004, giving an interview with the Windy City Times -- a Chicago-based homosexual newspaper -- and also addressing Times readers in a letter to the editor.
"For the record, I opposed DOMA [the Defense of Marriage Act] in 1996," Obama wrote then. "It should be repealed and I will vote for its repeal on the Senate floor. I will also oppose any proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gays and lesbians from marrying. This is an effort to demonize people for political advantage, and should be resisted ... When members of Congress passed DOMA, they were not interested in strengthening family values or protecting civil liberties. They were only interested in perpetuating division and affirming a wedge issue."
After DOMA became law more than 35 states passed their own laws specifically banning "gay marriage." Also, 27 states adopted constitutional marriage amendments, which provide even greater protection than do laws against the redefinition of marriage.
In his letter published in the Windy City Times, Obama also said he supports repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell policy" and supports passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would elevate "sexual orientation" to the status of race. He also said he supports same-sex civil unions, something 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry also supported.
"I know how important the issue of equal rights is to the LGBT community," Obama wrote. "I share your sense of urgency. If I am elected U.S. Senator, you can be confident that my colleagues in the Senate and the President will know my position."
WHERE DOES ROMNEY STAND? -- Massachusetts Republican Gov. Mitt Romney has been a champion of conservative values in recent months, but during his 1994 U.S. Senate campaign, he requested support from the homosexual community and sounded downright liberal on some social issues. Romney's 1994 positions recently were recounted in stories by the Associated Press, The Boston Globe and The New York Times. He is considering a 2008 run for president.
Romney lost in that 1994 campaign against U.S. Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy, one of Congress' leading liberals.
"I think the gay community needs more support from the Republican party, and I would be a voice in the Republican party to foster anti-discrimination efforts," Romney wrote in a letter to Bay Windows, a homosexual newspaper.
In a letter to the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts, Romney wrote, "For some voters, it might be enough to simply match my opponent's [Kennedy's] record in this area. But I believe we can and must do better. If we are to achieve the goals we share, we must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern. My opponent cannot do this. I can and will."
Regarding the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals, Romney told the Log Cabin Club the policy was "the first in a number of steps that will ultimately lead to gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly in our nation's military."
Those positions seemingly stand in contrast to positions Romney has taken in recent months. He has been a vocal supporter of a constitutional amendment in Massachusetts to reverse the state high court's "gay marriage" decision and even recently filed a lawsuit to try and get the amendment on the ballot. He also has been a vocal advocate of a marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
"These old interviews and stories have frequently been circulated by my opponents ever since I took a stand against the Massachusetts supreme-court ruling on same-sex marriage," Romney told National Review Online in an interview posted Dec. 14. "This being the political season, it is not surprising this old news has appeared again. But I have made clear since 2003, when the supreme court of Massachusetts redefined marriage by fiat, that my unwavering advocacy for traditional marriage stands side by side with a tolerance and respect for all Americans.
"Like the vast majority of Americans, I’ve opposed same-sex marriage, but I’ve also opposed unjust discrimination against anyone, for racial or religious reasons, or for sexual preference. Americans are a tolerant, generous, and kind people. We all oppose bigotry and disparagement. But the debate over same-sex marriage is not a debate over tolerance. It is a debate about the purpose of the institution of marriage and it is a debate about activist judges who make up the law rather than interpret the law."
As for his current views on "don't ask, don't tell," Romney said, "I trust the counsel of those in uniform who have set these policies over a dozen years ago. I agree with President Bush’s decision to maintain this policy and I would do the same."
Romney also said he opposes the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, saying it "would be an overly broad law that would open a litigation floodgate and unfairly penalize employers at the hands of activist judges."
OHIO COURT LOOKS AT AMENDMENT -- The Ohio Supreme Court heard oral arguments Dec. 12 in a case that will determine whether the state's constitutional marriage amendment prevents domestic violence charges from being brought against unmarried people.
The lawsuit involves a man, Michael Carswell, who was charged under the state's domestic violence law of assaulting his live-in girlfriend. Carswell's attorney contends the amendment prevents such charges being brought.
The amendment text in contention says the state "shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage."
Rachel Hutzel, the prosecutor in the case, told the court the amendment was designed to prohibit same-sex "marriage" and civil unions -- and not to overturn the state's domestic violence laws.
Carswell won at the trial court level but lost at the appeals court.
N.J. PASTOR MAKES STAND DURING PRAYER -- A non-denominational New Jersey pastor likely won't be invited back to deliver the opening state legislative prayer after he criticized "gay marriage" in his moment at the podium.
Vincent Fields, pastor of Greater Works Ministries church in Absecon, N.J., delivered the invocation at the New Jersey Senate Dec. 11.
"We curse the spirit that would come to bring about same-sex marriage," Fields said during his prayer, according to The Star-Ledger newspaper. "We ask you to just look over this place today, cause them to be shaken in their very heart in uprightness, Lord, to do that is right before you."
Senate President Richard Codey, a Democrat, said Fields "will not be back," the newspaper reported. But Fields believes he was doing God's will.
"We're living in a time now where we've got to take a stand spiritually," Fields told the newspaper. "...We're literally setting ourselves up for God to turn his back on us, and if we do, we'll have the chaos in other countries, in this country."
Dec 15, 2006
By Michael Foust
Baptist Press
WASHINGTON (BP)--U.S. Democratic Sen. Barack Obama is drawing a significant amount of interest for a possible 2008 presidential run by portraying himself as a moderate, but on the issue of "gay marriage," at least, he is to the left of many members of his own party.
During his 2004 run for the Senate seat from Illinois, Obama said he opposed "gay marriage" but also opposed the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that gives states the option of not recognizing another state's "gay marriage" licenses. If DOMA is overturned or repealed, then the other 49 states presumably would be forced to recognize "gay marriages" from Massachusetts.
DOMA's repeal also presumably would force the federal government to recognize "gay marriage," leading to federal tax and Social Security benefits applying to homosexual couples in Massachusetts.
DOMA passed the Senate 85-14 10 years ago, receiving a majority of Democratic support. President Clinton signed it into law, and his wife, current U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, said as recently as this fall she still supports DOMA.
Obama reached out to the homosexual community in 2004, giving an interview with the Windy City Times -- a Chicago-based homosexual newspaper -- and also addressing Times readers in a letter to the editor.
"For the record, I opposed DOMA [the Defense of Marriage Act] in 1996," Obama wrote then. "It should be repealed and I will vote for its repeal on the Senate floor. I will also oppose any proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gays and lesbians from marrying. This is an effort to demonize people for political advantage, and should be resisted ... When members of Congress passed DOMA, they were not interested in strengthening family values or protecting civil liberties. They were only interested in perpetuating division and affirming a wedge issue."
After DOMA became law more than 35 states passed their own laws specifically banning "gay marriage." Also, 27 states adopted constitutional marriage amendments, which provide even greater protection than do laws against the redefinition of marriage.
In his letter published in the Windy City Times, Obama also said he supports repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell policy" and supports passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would elevate "sexual orientation" to the status of race. He also said he supports same-sex civil unions, something 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry also supported.
"I know how important the issue of equal rights is to the LGBT community," Obama wrote. "I share your sense of urgency. If I am elected U.S. Senator, you can be confident that my colleagues in the Senate and the President will know my position."
WHERE DOES ROMNEY STAND? -- Massachusetts Republican Gov. Mitt Romney has been a champion of conservative values in recent months, but during his 1994 U.S. Senate campaign, he requested support from the homosexual community and sounded downright liberal on some social issues. Romney's 1994 positions recently were recounted in stories by the Associated Press, The Boston Globe and The New York Times. He is considering a 2008 run for president.
Romney lost in that 1994 campaign against U.S. Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy, one of Congress' leading liberals.
"I think the gay community needs more support from the Republican party, and I would be a voice in the Republican party to foster anti-discrimination efforts," Romney wrote in a letter to Bay Windows, a homosexual newspaper.
In a letter to the Log Cabin Club of Massachusetts, Romney wrote, "For some voters, it might be enough to simply match my opponent's [Kennedy's] record in this area. But I believe we can and must do better. If we are to achieve the goals we share, we must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern. My opponent cannot do this. I can and will."
Regarding the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuals, Romney told the Log Cabin Club the policy was "the first in a number of steps that will ultimately lead to gays and lesbians being able to serve openly and honestly in our nation's military."
Those positions seemingly stand in contrast to positions Romney has taken in recent months. He has been a vocal supporter of a constitutional amendment in Massachusetts to reverse the state high court's "gay marriage" decision and even recently filed a lawsuit to try and get the amendment on the ballot. He also has been a vocal advocate of a marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
"These old interviews and stories have frequently been circulated by my opponents ever since I took a stand against the Massachusetts supreme-court ruling on same-sex marriage," Romney told National Review Online in an interview posted Dec. 14. "This being the political season, it is not surprising this old news has appeared again. But I have made clear since 2003, when the supreme court of Massachusetts redefined marriage by fiat, that my unwavering advocacy for traditional marriage stands side by side with a tolerance and respect for all Americans.
"Like the vast majority of Americans, I’ve opposed same-sex marriage, but I’ve also opposed unjust discrimination against anyone, for racial or religious reasons, or for sexual preference. Americans are a tolerant, generous, and kind people. We all oppose bigotry and disparagement. But the debate over same-sex marriage is not a debate over tolerance. It is a debate about the purpose of the institution of marriage and it is a debate about activist judges who make up the law rather than interpret the law."
As for his current views on "don't ask, don't tell," Romney said, "I trust the counsel of those in uniform who have set these policies over a dozen years ago. I agree with President Bush’s decision to maintain this policy and I would do the same."
Romney also said he opposes the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, saying it "would be an overly broad law that would open a litigation floodgate and unfairly penalize employers at the hands of activist judges."
OHIO COURT LOOKS AT AMENDMENT -- The Ohio Supreme Court heard oral arguments Dec. 12 in a case that will determine whether the state's constitutional marriage amendment prevents domestic violence charges from being brought against unmarried people.
The lawsuit involves a man, Michael Carswell, who was charged under the state's domestic violence law of assaulting his live-in girlfriend. Carswell's attorney contends the amendment prevents such charges being brought.
The amendment text in contention says the state "shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage."
Rachel Hutzel, the prosecutor in the case, told the court the amendment was designed to prohibit same-sex "marriage" and civil unions -- and not to overturn the state's domestic violence laws.
Carswell won at the trial court level but lost at the appeals court.
N.J. PASTOR MAKES STAND DURING PRAYER -- A non-denominational New Jersey pastor likely won't be invited back to deliver the opening state legislative prayer after he criticized "gay marriage" in his moment at the podium.
Vincent Fields, pastor of Greater Works Ministries church in Absecon, N.J., delivered the invocation at the New Jersey Senate Dec. 11.
"We curse the spirit that would come to bring about same-sex marriage," Fields said during his prayer, according to The Star-Ledger newspaper. "We ask you to just look over this place today, cause them to be shaken in their very heart in uprightness, Lord, to do that is right before you."
Senate President Richard Codey, a Democrat, said Fields "will not be back," the newspaper reported. But Fields believes he was doing God's will.
"We're living in a time now where we've got to take a stand spiritually," Fields told the newspaper. "...We're literally setting ourselves up for God to turn his back on us, and if we do, we'll have the chaos in other countries, in this country."
FIRST-PERSON: Remembering the cross at Christmas
FIRST-PERSON: Remembering the cross at Christmas
Dec 15, 2006
By Kelly Boggs
Baptist Press
ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--Festooning home and hearth with lights, garland, mistletoe and other “Christmas” paraphernalia is a long-standing tradition for many. I have participated in the annual decoration festivities, but only mildly.
Rather than go for glitz and glitter or class and sophistication in my decorating scheme, I have always chosen to opt for meaning.
My yearly contribution to the neighborhood kaleidoscope of color has always been rather simple. A couple of weeks before Christmas day, I place an eight-foot-tall cross in the middle of my yard. The cross is wrapped in lights so as to make it visible at night. At the foot of the cross is placed plastic lighted figurines representing Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus.
No other lights have accompanied my display. It has always been a cross and a simple manger scene.
The message I hope to communicate by my display is that the real meaning of Christmas is found only when the manager and the cross are taken together. Without the cross, the manager is meaningless. Of course the lack of many lights indicates my belief that Christmas should be celebrated with simple dignity and not gaudy excess.
Of course, everyone does not always grasp or appreciate my effort to convey meaning at Christmas. One year I cloaked the cross entirely in red lights. It was my attempt to emphasize that the blood of Jesus was shed on the cross to pay for mankind’s sin. A visitor to our home commented that she thought it looked like the flaming cross of the Ku Klux Klan.
I decided that the message I sought to communicate via the red lights was just too esoteric. Hence, they were donated to Good Will.
Others have interpreted my lack of lights as a sign that I am cheap. Among those leveling this charge has been my children. While they understand and appreciate the message of the cross and the manager, they long have argued that God even sent a special star and angels to announce Jesus’ birth, so a few more lights wouldn’t necessarily diminish my intended message.
This year, my children got their wish for more lights.
When we purchased our new home this past summer, little did we know that it was in one of those neighborhoods in which everyone is expected –- err, strongly encouraged, to decorate (and I mean really, really decorate) at Christmas. As December approached, it became clear from conversations with neighbors that dad’s simple but meaningful display was not going to cut it in our new neighborhood.
I was told that Christmas festivities are a “big deal” where I live. I was told that everyone in the neighborhood decorates their homes with luminaries and the displays are simply gorgeous.
“People come from all over the area to drive through our sub-division,” I was told.
When I mentioned that my usual Christmas décor was simple yet meaningful, one neighbor gleefully responded, “Oh, we will be glad to help you.” The zeal in her voice let me know that she was serious.
Upon learning of the high expectations for Christmas decorations in my new neighborhood, I jokingly considered suing my real estate agent for failure to disclose such a vital piece of information. If nothing else, there should have been some sort of clause in the deed -- it could even be called the Santa clause -- indicating the necessity to adorn one’s house during Christmas.
Rather than risk shunning, I decided that adding a few lights wouldn’t be such a bad thing. So, I have added clear lights that run along the roof line and frame the windows. Our Christmas tree is visible through a double window and our lamp post is ringed with garland and lights. Luminaries have also been added that line the drive and the walk.
However, in the center of the yard is a cross draped in lights and at its foot a simple manger scene -- which I hope will communicate the reality of Christmas to those visit our neighborhood. The manger has no meaning apart from the cross.
“There has only been one Christmas,” someone once observed, “the rest have all been anniversaries.”
The observation of Christ’s advent is the anniversary of God’s greatest gift to mankind –- eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Even with the extra lights that seem to accompany Christmas, the cross and the manager should always be the center of our celebrations.
--30--
Kelly Boggs, whose column appears each Friday in Baptist Press, is editor of the Louisiana Baptist Message.
Dec 15, 2006
By Kelly Boggs
Baptist Press
ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--Festooning home and hearth with lights, garland, mistletoe and other “Christmas” paraphernalia is a long-standing tradition for many. I have participated in the annual decoration festivities, but only mildly.
Rather than go for glitz and glitter or class and sophistication in my decorating scheme, I have always chosen to opt for meaning.
My yearly contribution to the neighborhood kaleidoscope of color has always been rather simple. A couple of weeks before Christmas day, I place an eight-foot-tall cross in the middle of my yard. The cross is wrapped in lights so as to make it visible at night. At the foot of the cross is placed plastic lighted figurines representing Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus.
No other lights have accompanied my display. It has always been a cross and a simple manger scene.
The message I hope to communicate by my display is that the real meaning of Christmas is found only when the manager and the cross are taken together. Without the cross, the manager is meaningless. Of course the lack of many lights indicates my belief that Christmas should be celebrated with simple dignity and not gaudy excess.
Of course, everyone does not always grasp or appreciate my effort to convey meaning at Christmas. One year I cloaked the cross entirely in red lights. It was my attempt to emphasize that the blood of Jesus was shed on the cross to pay for mankind’s sin. A visitor to our home commented that she thought it looked like the flaming cross of the Ku Klux Klan.
I decided that the message I sought to communicate via the red lights was just too esoteric. Hence, they were donated to Good Will.
Others have interpreted my lack of lights as a sign that I am cheap. Among those leveling this charge has been my children. While they understand and appreciate the message of the cross and the manager, they long have argued that God even sent a special star and angels to announce Jesus’ birth, so a few more lights wouldn’t necessarily diminish my intended message.
This year, my children got their wish for more lights.
When we purchased our new home this past summer, little did we know that it was in one of those neighborhoods in which everyone is expected –- err, strongly encouraged, to decorate (and I mean really, really decorate) at Christmas. As December approached, it became clear from conversations with neighbors that dad’s simple but meaningful display was not going to cut it in our new neighborhood.
I was told that Christmas festivities are a “big deal” where I live. I was told that everyone in the neighborhood decorates their homes with luminaries and the displays are simply gorgeous.
“People come from all over the area to drive through our sub-division,” I was told.
When I mentioned that my usual Christmas décor was simple yet meaningful, one neighbor gleefully responded, “Oh, we will be glad to help you.” The zeal in her voice let me know that she was serious.
Upon learning of the high expectations for Christmas decorations in my new neighborhood, I jokingly considered suing my real estate agent for failure to disclose such a vital piece of information. If nothing else, there should have been some sort of clause in the deed -- it could even be called the Santa clause -- indicating the necessity to adorn one’s house during Christmas.
Rather than risk shunning, I decided that adding a few lights wouldn’t be such a bad thing. So, I have added clear lights that run along the roof line and frame the windows. Our Christmas tree is visible through a double window and our lamp post is ringed with garland and lights. Luminaries have also been added that line the drive and the walk.
However, in the center of the yard is a cross draped in lights and at its foot a simple manger scene -- which I hope will communicate the reality of Christmas to those visit our neighborhood. The manger has no meaning apart from the cross.
“There has only been one Christmas,” someone once observed, “the rest have all been anniversaries.”
The observation of Christ’s advent is the anniversary of God’s greatest gift to mankind –- eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Even with the extra lights that seem to accompany Christmas, the cross and the manager should always be the center of our celebrations.
--30--
Kelly Boggs, whose column appears each Friday in Baptist Press, is editor of the Louisiana Baptist Message.
Religion gets short shrift on television, study shows
Religion gets short shrift on television, study shows
Dec 15, 2006
By Staff
Baptist Press
WASHINGTON (BP)--Depictions of religion on broadcast television plummeted during the latest season, according to a new study by the Parents Television Council.
In addition, negative portrayals of religion surpassed positive ones slightly, the PTC reported Dec. 14.
The analysis of prime-time programming on the six commercial broadcast networks for the 2005-06 season showed there were only 1,425 depictions of religion, a 39 percent drop from 2003-04, when there were 2,344 portrayals.
During that timeframe, the portrayals of religion were 35 percent negative, 34 percent positive and 27 percent neutral or mixed, according to PTC. The context of four percent of the treatments did not enable a judgment to be made, PTC reported.
The startling box-office returns for the 2004 movie “The Passion of the Christ” has not had the effect on television programming predicted after that phenomenon, PTC President Brent Bozell told reporters in a conference call.
After that movie’s success, “we saw a slew of stories about how ‘Hollywood has gotten religion’ and how Hollywood was seeing the value of programs that had religious themes,” Bozell said. “If you look at the study that we’re releasing today on the state of prime-time broadcast television, you will see that not only did that message never reach the executive suites of the television networks but that, in fact, the television networks have gone in the completely opposite direction from the public mood."
Bozell said the “television entertainment industry is completely disconnected with American public opinion.”
The type of programming often was an indicator of how religion was treated, PTC reported. Reality shows, such as “The Amazing Race” and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” were much more positive in their treatment of religion than scripted dramas and comedies. Reality shows contained 58 percent of the positive portrayals on the networks. Scripted programs had 96 percent of the negative depictions.
Other findings in the study of ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, WB and UPN included:
-- Fox dominated in the negative portrayals of religion, with 50 percent of its depictions in that category. That was more than 10 percent higher than the runner-up, NBC. WB, which featured the religion friendly “7th Heaven,” had the lowest rate of negative portrayals at 21 percent.
-- CBS led in positive depictions, with 47 percent favorable toward religion. UPN was last, with only 19 percent positive portrayals.
-- ABC had by far the most overall depictions of religion at an average of slightly more than one per hour. UPN had the fewest at one for every five hours. The overall average was one for every 1.6 hours.
The study covered programming from Sept. 1, 2005 to Aug. 31, 2006.
The report, titled “Faith in a Box 2005-2006,” is available online at www.parentstv.org.
Copyright © 2001 - 2006 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press
Dec 15, 2006
By Staff
Baptist Press
WASHINGTON (BP)--Depictions of religion on broadcast television plummeted during the latest season, according to a new study by the Parents Television Council.
In addition, negative portrayals of religion surpassed positive ones slightly, the PTC reported Dec. 14.
The analysis of prime-time programming on the six commercial broadcast networks for the 2005-06 season showed there were only 1,425 depictions of religion, a 39 percent drop from 2003-04, when there were 2,344 portrayals.
During that timeframe, the portrayals of religion were 35 percent negative, 34 percent positive and 27 percent neutral or mixed, according to PTC. The context of four percent of the treatments did not enable a judgment to be made, PTC reported.
The startling box-office returns for the 2004 movie “The Passion of the Christ” has not had the effect on television programming predicted after that phenomenon, PTC President Brent Bozell told reporters in a conference call.
After that movie’s success, “we saw a slew of stories about how ‘Hollywood has gotten religion’ and how Hollywood was seeing the value of programs that had religious themes,” Bozell said. “If you look at the study that we’re releasing today on the state of prime-time broadcast television, you will see that not only did that message never reach the executive suites of the television networks but that, in fact, the television networks have gone in the completely opposite direction from the public mood."
Bozell said the “television entertainment industry is completely disconnected with American public opinion.”
The type of programming often was an indicator of how religion was treated, PTC reported. Reality shows, such as “The Amazing Race” and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” were much more positive in their treatment of religion than scripted dramas and comedies. Reality shows contained 58 percent of the positive portrayals on the networks. Scripted programs had 96 percent of the negative depictions.
Other findings in the study of ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, WB and UPN included:
-- Fox dominated in the negative portrayals of religion, with 50 percent of its depictions in that category. That was more than 10 percent higher than the runner-up, NBC. WB, which featured the religion friendly “7th Heaven,” had the lowest rate of negative portrayals at 21 percent.
-- CBS led in positive depictions, with 47 percent favorable toward religion. UPN was last, with only 19 percent positive portrayals.
-- ABC had by far the most overall depictions of religion at an average of slightly more than one per hour. UPN had the fewest at one for every five hours. The overall average was one for every 1.6 hours.
The study covered programming from Sept. 1, 2005 to Aug. 31, 2006.
The report, titled “Faith in a Box 2005-2006,” is available online at www.parentstv.org.
Copyright © 2001 - 2006 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press
N.J. legislators pass same-sex civil unions bill
N.J. legislators pass same-sex civil unions bill
Dec 15, 2006
By Staff
Baptist Press
TRENTON, N.J. (BP)--The New Jersey legislature passed a same-sex civil unions bill Dec. 14, sending the legislation to the governor and moving the state one step away from becoming the third nationwide to legalize such unions for homosexual couples.
Passage came nearly two months after the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered legislators either to legalize "gay marriage" or civil unions, which grant same-sex couples all the legal benefits of marriage except the title. The General Assembly and the Senate chose civil unions, and New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine, a Democrat, has indicated he will sign the bill into law.
It passed the Assembly 56-19 and the Senate 23-12.
Adoption of the new law would be both a win and a loss for homosexual activists, who had asked the high court to legalize "gay marriage" outright. Once the court declined, they hoped to persuade legislators to do so. Justices gave legislators six months to act. In the end, legislators needed less than a third of that time.
“The court’s decision in Lewis v. Harris gave the New Jersey legislature an historic opportunity to deliver equality, dignity and fairness to families," David Buckel, an attorney with the homosexual group Lambda Legal, said in a statement. "There is no reason to enact civil unions other than to send the message that our families are not worthy of equality. That unprincipled message harms same-sex couples, their children and ultimately all of New Jersey.”
Corzine's signature would cap what has been a disappointing year for homosexual activists. Three state supreme courts -- New Jersey's, New York's and Washington's -- all declined to legalize "gay marriage." Another eight states adopted constitutional amendments protecting the natural definition of marriage.
Nevertheless, the New Jersey bill would place the state alongside two others -- Connecticut and Vermont -- that also recognize civil unions. California has a similar law but calls it domestic partnerships.
New Jersey legislators rushed the bill through committees with the goal of passing it before year's end. Conservatives labeled the civil unions bill a "fake marriage" bill and called for alternatives, but to no avail. The high court's decision, in fact, was both a win and a loss for conservatives, too. Although justices didn't legalize "gay marriage" -- which many conservatives feared they would -- they nonetheless forced the legislature to pass a bill further redefining the family.
The conservative New Jersey Family Policy Council (NJFPC) asked the legislature instead to adopt a bill that would grant marital benefits to any two people living together, such as two sisters.
"This was done in Hawaii as the first marriage battleground state and it appears to have worked quite well," NJFPC President Len Deo told legislators during a committee hearing. "Why shouldn’t we have the ability to debate both solutions to a very complex problem?"
Deo further said any bill should include provisions protecting religious freedom and protecting the natural definition of marriage. Republicans failed Dec. 14 to amend the civil unions to protect marriage.
"As the bill currently stands, without a clear definition of what marriage is, the union of one man and one woman, ultimately this will invite this legislation to return to the [New Jersey] Supreme Court, because it offers no reason for protecting marriage as a separate legal status," he said.
Lambda Legal, which was part of the original lawsuit, said the legal battle is far from over. Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, a homosexual group, agreed.
“Mark my words, New Jersey will see the marriage equality law passed by this legislature within the next year or two," he said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Copyright © 2001 - 2006 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press
Dec 15, 2006
By Staff
Baptist Press
TRENTON, N.J. (BP)--The New Jersey legislature passed a same-sex civil unions bill Dec. 14, sending the legislation to the governor and moving the state one step away from becoming the third nationwide to legalize such unions for homosexual couples.
Passage came nearly two months after the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered legislators either to legalize "gay marriage" or civil unions, which grant same-sex couples all the legal benefits of marriage except the title. The General Assembly and the Senate chose civil unions, and New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine, a Democrat, has indicated he will sign the bill into law.
It passed the Assembly 56-19 and the Senate 23-12.
Adoption of the new law would be both a win and a loss for homosexual activists, who had asked the high court to legalize "gay marriage" outright. Once the court declined, they hoped to persuade legislators to do so. Justices gave legislators six months to act. In the end, legislators needed less than a third of that time.
“The court’s decision in Lewis v. Harris gave the New Jersey legislature an historic opportunity to deliver equality, dignity and fairness to families," David Buckel, an attorney with the homosexual group Lambda Legal, said in a statement. "There is no reason to enact civil unions other than to send the message that our families are not worthy of equality. That unprincipled message harms same-sex couples, their children and ultimately all of New Jersey.”
Corzine's signature would cap what has been a disappointing year for homosexual activists. Three state supreme courts -- New Jersey's, New York's and Washington's -- all declined to legalize "gay marriage." Another eight states adopted constitutional amendments protecting the natural definition of marriage.
Nevertheless, the New Jersey bill would place the state alongside two others -- Connecticut and Vermont -- that also recognize civil unions. California has a similar law but calls it domestic partnerships.
New Jersey legislators rushed the bill through committees with the goal of passing it before year's end. Conservatives labeled the civil unions bill a "fake marriage" bill and called for alternatives, but to no avail. The high court's decision, in fact, was both a win and a loss for conservatives, too. Although justices didn't legalize "gay marriage" -- which many conservatives feared they would -- they nonetheless forced the legislature to pass a bill further redefining the family.
The conservative New Jersey Family Policy Council (NJFPC) asked the legislature instead to adopt a bill that would grant marital benefits to any two people living together, such as two sisters.
"This was done in Hawaii as the first marriage battleground state and it appears to have worked quite well," NJFPC President Len Deo told legislators during a committee hearing. "Why shouldn’t we have the ability to debate both solutions to a very complex problem?"
Deo further said any bill should include provisions protecting religious freedom and protecting the natural definition of marriage. Republicans failed Dec. 14 to amend the civil unions to protect marriage.
"As the bill currently stands, without a clear definition of what marriage is, the union of one man and one woman, ultimately this will invite this legislation to return to the [New Jersey] Supreme Court, because it offers no reason for protecting marriage as a separate legal status," he said.
Lambda Legal, which was part of the original lawsuit, said the legal battle is far from over. Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, a homosexual group, agreed.
“Mark my words, New Jersey will see the marriage equality law passed by this legislature within the next year or two," he said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Copyright © 2001 - 2006 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press
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