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Merry meet... Please read the following letter:
"Merry meet, I
just thought all wiccans would like to know what the september issue
of marie claire says about wiccans. They claim that
witchcraft is the cause of aids,
malaria, infant deaths, etc. if you are as outraged by this as i am plaese contact
them
at www.marieclaire.com merry part" I recieved this letter in my box from Earth
Based Spirituality. I think
EVERYONE should fire off a letter to Marie Claire..I
DID and also report them to the ACLU...I DID. They are priting
lies and they ARE
only covered by the First Amendment if it is true...and it is not
so the First Amendment will not
protect them.
Send this to every Wiccan you know. Marie Claire should not be able to get away
with this. Many
Blessings!
Call to action!
Fifteen year old Rachel Sura, a
Wiccan, is being forced to attend church services
and has been
denied access to religous material by Francis Townsdin of Hoisington
Youth Home. The Kansas Courts have
refused to get involved, stating
that "the court cannot order Hoisington Youth Home to accomodate
these requests. The
court suggests that Rachel Sura request only one
or two books at a time and only those dealing with her religion and
suggests
that she request private time to meditate." Jean Sura,
mother, and Paula Hofaker, attorney at law, have appealed the
decision
of the Kansas court system. The Kansas chapter of the Pagan
Unity Campaign and Pagans United, in a joint motion, would
like to
remind the Kansas Courts that Wicca is a federally recognized and
protected religion and that it is the courts
place to get involved
when the child's religious freedoms are being impeded upon by the
group home in question. We would
also like to remind Kansas Child
Protective Services that it is their duty to protect the rights of
children to the
fullest extent of the law. By allowing Francis
Townsdin and Hoisington Youth Home to force Rachel Sura to attend
church
service, and to deny her access to religious materials, they
have neglected their duty to the child, and to the state of
Kansas.
Furthermore, we would like to offer our full support to Jean and
Rachel Sura as they appeal the decision of
the Courts. Both Kansas
PUC and Pagans United will exhaust all possible resources available
to us in our fight for Rachel
Sura. "The right to worship God
according to the dictates of conscience shall never be infringed;
nor shall any person
be compelled to attend or support any form of
worship; nor shall any control of or interference with the rights of
conscience
be permitted, nor any preference be given by law to any
religious establishment or mode of worship. No religious test or
property
qualification shall be required for any office of public
trust, nor for any vote at any elections, nor shall any person
be
incompetent to testify on account of religious belief." Kansas Bill
of Rights, Article 7 "To be a bona fide religious
belief entitled to
protection under either the First Amendment or Title VII, a belief
must be sincerely held, and within
the believer's own scheme of
things religious." USCA Const. Amend 1: Civil Rights Act 1964 701 et
seq., 717 as amended
42 USCA 2000-16 "Wicca is a Federally
recognized religion. Even the military recognizes this and provides
space on military
installations and ships for Wiccans to practice
their religion. The people involved in this case are clearly in the
wrong
and need to review the law and the U.S. Constitution before
they make any further decisions in this case." Laura Wandrie,
Pagans
United President, June 2004 "There were no stipulation placed in the
Constitution about "once you are old enough"
or "as long as you
believe such", the right to freedom of religion should apply to all
ages and all faiths. Rachel Sura
has been let down by the very
state, agencies, and court system which are supposed to be in place
to protect her. Those
involved should rethink their positions and
place themselves back in accordance with the laws they are supposed
to uphold."
Angie Mae, Kansas Pagan Unity Campaign State Chair, June
2004 The Kansas chapter of the Pagan Unity Campaign and Pagans
United
would like to encourage Pagan citizens to get involved by
writing to both the courts and CPS to remind them of their
responsibility
to protect the rights of Rachel Sura by putting a
stop to Hoisington Youth Home violation's of her basic rights. We
ask
you to support and defend the rights of Jean and Rachel Sura's
claim with any and all legal means available to you. You
can contact
CPS at: Children and Family Services 915 S.W. Harrison, Room 551-S
Topeka, KS 66612-1570 Information: (785)
296-4653 Fax: (785) 368-
8159 ###
Express your preference.
Mandatory draft for boys and girls
(ages 18-26)
starting June 15, 2005, is something that everyone should
know about. This literally effects everyone since we all have or know children that will ha ve to go if this bill passes. There
is pending legislation in the house and senate (companion bills: S89 and HR 163) which will time the
program's initiation so the draft can begin as early as spring, 2005, just after the 2004 presidential
election. The administration is
quietly trying to get these bills passed now, while the public's attention is on the elections,
so our action on this is needed immediately. Details and links follow.
This plan, among other things, eliminates higher
education as a
shelter and includes women in the draft. Also, crossing into Canada has already been made very difficult.
Actions:
Please send this on to all the parents and teachers
you know, and all the aunts
and uncles, grandparents, godparents. . . And let your children know - - it's their future, and they can be a powerful voice
for change!
This legislation is called HR 163 and can be found
in detail at this website:
http://thomas.loc.gov/Just enter in "HR 163" and click search and will
bring up the bill
for you to read. It is less than two pages long.
If this bill passes, it will include all men and
ALL WOMEN from
ages 18 - 26 in a draft for military action. In addition, college will no longer be an option for avoiding the draft and they
will be signing an agreement with the Canada which will no longer permit anyone attempting to dodge the draft to stay within
it's borders. This bill also includes the extention of military service for all those that are currently active. If you go
to the selcet service web site and read their 2004 FYI Goals you will see that the reasoning for this is to increase the size
of the military in case of terrorism. This is a critical piece of legislation, this will effect our undergradates, our children
and our grandchildren.
Please take the time to write your congressman and let them know how you feel about this legislation.
www.house.govwww.senate.govPlease also write to your representatives and ask
them why they aren't
telling their constituents about these bills and write to newspapers and other media outlets to ask them why they're
not
covering this important story.
The draft $28 million has been added to the 2004
>>selective
service system budget to prepare for a military draft that could start as early as June 15, 2005. Selective service must report
to Bush on March 31, 2005 that the s ystem, which has lain dormant for decades, is ready for activation. Please see
www.sss.gov/perfplan_fy2004.html
to view the Selective Service System annual performance plan, fiscal
year 2004. The pentagon has quietly begun a public campaign to fill all 10,350 draft board positions and 11,070 appeals board
slots nationwide. Though this is an unpopular election year topic, military
experts and influential members of congress
are suggesting that if
Rumsfeld's prediction of a "long, hard slog" in Iraq and Afghanistan
(and permanent state of
war on terrorism) proves accurate, the U.S.
may have no choice but to draft.
www.hslda.org/legislation/national/2003/s89/default.asp entitled the Universal National ser vice Act of 2003, "to provide for the
common defense by requiring that all young persons (age 18-26) in the United
States, including women, perform a period
of military service or a period of civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security, and for
other purposes." These active bills currently sit in the committee on armed services. Dodging the draft will be more difficult
than those from the Vietnam era. College and
Canada will not be options. In December, 200 1, Canada and the U.S. signed
a "smart border declaration," which could be used to keep would-be draft dodgers in. Signed by Canada's minister of foreign
affairs, John Manley, and U.S. Homeland Security director, Tom Ridge, the declaration involves a 30 point plan which implements,
among other things, a "pre-clearance agreement" of people entering and depar ting each country. Reforms aimed at making the
draft more
equitable along gender and class lines also eliminates higher education as a shelter. Underclassmen would only
be able to postpone service until the end of their current semester. Seniors would have until the end of the academic year.
What
to do: Tell your friends, Contact your
legislators and ask them to oppose these bills
Just type "congress" into the aol search engine
and
input your zip code. A list of your reps will pop up with a way to email them directly. We can't just sit and pretend that
by ignoring it, it will go away. We must voice our concerns and create the world we want to live in for our children and grandchildren.
If America were Iraq, What would it be Like?
Informed Comment
Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion
Juan Cole is Professor of History at the
University of Michigan
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
If America were Iraq, What would it be Like?
President
Bush said Tuesday that the Iraqis are refuting the pessimists and implied that things are improving in that country.
What
would America look like if it were in Iraq's current situation? The population of the US is over 11 times that of Iraq, so
a lot of statistics would have to be multiplied by that number.
Thus, violence killed 300 Iraqis last week, the equivalent
proportionately of 3,300 Americans. What if 3,300 Americans had died in car bombings, grenade and rocket attacks, machine
gun spray, and aerial bombardment in the last week? That is a number greater than the deaths on September 11, and if America
were Iraq, it would be an ongoing, weekly or monthly toll.
And what if those deaths occurred all over the country,
including in the capital of Washington, DC, but mainly above the Mason Dixon line, in Boston, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City,
and San Francisco?
What if the grounds of the White House and the government buildings near the Mall were constantly
taking mortar fire? What if almost nobody in the State Department at Foggy Bottom, the White House, or the Pentagon dared
venture out of their buildings, and considered it dangerous to go over to Crystal City or Alexandria?
What if all the
reporters for all the major television and print media were trapped in five-star hotels in Washington, DC and New York, unable
to move more than a few blocks safely, and dependent on stringers to know what was happening in Oklahoma City and St. Louis?
What if the only time they ventured into the Midwest was if they could be embedded in Army or National Guard units?
There
are estimated to be some 25,000 guerrillas in Iraq engaged in concerted acts of violence. What if there were private armies
totalling 275,000 men, armed with machine guns, assault rifles (legal again!), rocket-propelled grenades, and mortar launchers,
hiding out in dangerous urban areas of cities all over the country? What if they completely controlled Seattle, Portland,
San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Denver and Omaha, such that local police and Federal troops could not go into those
cities?
What if, during the past year, the Secretary of State (Aqilah Hashemi), the President (Izzedine Salim), and
the Attorney General (Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim) had all been assassinated?
What if all the cities in the US were wracked
by a crime wave, with thousands of murders, kidnappings, burglaries, and carjackings in every major city every year?
What
if the Air Force routinely (I mean daily or weekly) bombed Billings, Montana, Flint, Michigan, Watts in Los Angeles, Philadelphia,
Anacostia in Washington, DC, and other urban areas, attempting to target "safe houses" of "criminal gangs", but inevitably
killing a lot of children and little old ladies?
What if, from time to time, the US Army besieged Virginia Beach, killing
hundreds of armed members of the Christian Soldiers? What if entire platoons of the Christian Soldiers militia holed up in
Arlington National Cemetery, and were bombarded by US Air Force warplanes daily, destroying thousands of graves and pulverizing
the Vietnam Memorial? What if the National Council of Churches had to call for a popular march of thousands of believers to
converge on the National Cathedral to stop the US Army from demolishing it to get at a rogue band of the Timothy McVeigh Memorial
Brigades?
What if there were virtually no commercial air traffic in the country? What if many roads were highly dangerous,
especially Interstate 95 from Richmond to Washington, DC, and I-95 and I-91 up to Boston? If you got on I-95 anywhere along
that over 500-mile stretch, you would risk being carjacked, kidnapped, or having your car sprayed with machine gun fire.
What
if no one had electricity for much more than 10 hours a day, and often less? What if it went off at unpredictable times, causing
factories to grind to a halt and air conditioning to fail in the middle of the summer in Houston and Miami? What if the Alaska
pipeline were bombed and disabled at least monthly? What if unemployment hovered around 40%?
What if veterans of militia
actions at Ruby Ridge and the Oklahoma City bombing were brought in to run the government on the theory that you need a tough
guy in these times of crisis?
What if municipal elections were cancelled and cliques close to the new "president" quietly
installed in the statehouses as "governors?" What if several of these governors (especially of Montana and Wyoming) were assassinated
soon after taking office or resigned when their children were taken hostage by guerrillas?
What if the leader of the
European Union maintained that the citizens of the United States are, under these conditions, refuting pessimism and that
freedom and democracy are just around the corner?
posted by Juan @ 9/22/2004 06:53:11 AM
www.juancole.com/
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