March 21, 2013

University of Tennessee pulls Sex Week funding

Source: Chattanooga Times Free Press

NASHVILLE — Hoping to quell a rising uproar among conservative legislators, UT Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek said Wednesday the campus no longer will use state tax or tuition funds for a controversial event called "Sex Week."
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Sex Week will keep $6,700 in student programming dollars but $11,145 from academic programs and departments no longer will be available.

The annual event seeks to highlight sexual health, sexual identity, preventing sexual assault and gender roles. This year, Sex Week features a lesbian bondage expert and a campuswide hunt for a "golden condom."

Social conservatives have been astir at the news. Sen. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, threatened to haul DiPietro before the Senate Education Committee in a blog post over the weekend.

Read more: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/mar/21/ut-pulls-sex-week-funding/?local

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Stacey Campfield is a RWNJ fwiw

February 9, 2013

thank you for the Valentine Heart

I don't know where best to post so hosts please do not be angry. I jus
wanted to say thank you and it is so nice to be thought of and I appreciate it.

l

February 6, 2013

E-mails show plotting by lawmakers, GOP on Florida redistricting

Source: Tampa Tribune

TALLAHASSEE — Florida legislative leaders appear to have authorized staff members to use private email accounts and had "brainstorming meetings" with Republican Party consultants to attempt to draw favorable political districts, despite a constitutional ban on such coordination.

The allegations arise from a lawsuit challenging the Senate and congressional redistricting that include emails showing how top aides to House Speaker Will Weatherford, Senate President Don Gaetz and several Gaetz consultants were in frequent contact with operatives who drafted and analyzed maps.

Redistricting takes place every decade to redraw legislative and congressional district boundaries to ensure equal representation.

The emails show that a month after voters in 2010 approved an amendment banning coordination between the party and lawmakers, GOP consultant and Gaetz adviser Rich Heffley called a redistricting "brainstorming" meeting at the chairman's conference room at party headquarters in Tallahassee.



Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/e-mails-show-plotting-by-lawmakers-gop-on-florida-redistricting/1273743

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Pretty clear they broke the law

February 5, 2013

Boy Scout families deliver petition urging end to policy banning gays

Source: CBS News

The Boy Scouts of America's national executive board began three days of closed meetings Monday that are expected to include a discussion of its policy excluding gay members and leaders, and Scouts on both sides of the debate are weighing in.


The meetings are getting far more attention since the organization announced last week it would consider allowing individual troops to decide whether to allow gay membership. Police and security guards kept watch at the suburban Dallas hotel where the meetings are being held, and reporters were barred from talking to board members.

Several current and former Scouts, leaders and their supporters rallied outside the organization's nearby national headquarters in Irving, Texas, armed with four boxes of what they said were 1.4 million signatures on a petition opposing the Scouts' current policy. Jennifer Tyrrell, who was removed as a den leader of her son's pack in Ohio because she is lesbian, called the exclusion policy "archaic."

"Countless Boy Scouts and leaders have been removed from scouting just because they are being who they are," Tyrrell said. "I don't want one parent to have to tell their sons they can't be part of Scouts because they're not good enough."

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57567529/boy-scout-families-deliver-petition-urging-end-to-policy-banning-gays/

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This article reports on efforts to change the BSA ban -


If you would like to express your comments or concerns on this matter, you may call the National Office at 972-580-2000 or send an email to pr@scouting.org

February 5, 2013

'Gravely distressed': Religion looms large over Boy Scouts decision on gays

Source: NBC NEWS

If prayer can't sway Boy Scouts board members as they vote whether to end the organization's ban on gays, it won't be for lack of trying.

The Boy Scouts of America announcement last week that it may eliminate the exclusion of gays from membership at the national level, leaving the decision to its local units, has drawn a harsh backlash from some of the organization's more religious conservative members, who are "gravely distressed," even as more liberal churches hailed the move.

With more than two-thirds of Scouting groups affiliated with religious bodies, faith plays a large role in the private youth organization.

"I think it’s clear that the Scouts have made a sea change in who they are and that down the road they will be a different organization than they are today,” said Roger “Sing” Oldham, spokesman for the conservative Southern Baptist Convention. Frank S. Page, head of the convention's Executive Committee, urged for a prayer to be held among congregations on Sunday that the board members would not allow gays.

Read more: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/04/16830205-gravely-distressed-religion-looms-large-over-boy-scouts-decision-on-gays?lite

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This article is well worth reading, it gives some insight in to the issue and includes voices of insiders who favor the change.


If you would like to express your comments or concerns on this matter, you may call the National Office at 972-580-2000 or send an email to pr@scouting.org

February 1, 2013

BATTLESTATIONS!': Call-in war waged over Boy Scouts' ban on gays

Source: nbc news

These are the battle cries made by advocates on both sides of the debate over allowing gays into the Boy Scouts. They are urging their supporters to call or email the private youth organization as it weighs lifting its longstanding, controversial ban, with a vote expected next week.

The new policy, now under discussion, would revise the national organization’s rules to allow local sponsoring organizations to decide for themselves whether to admit gay scouts and leaders. If approved, the change could be announced as early as next week, after the Boy Scouts of America's national board holds a regularly scheduled meeting.

On the Facebook page for George Takei, known for his role as Mr. Sulu in Star Trek, he urged those wanting to end the ban to hit their “BATTLESTATIONS!” and to “Takei Stand.” He gave supporters a step-by-step guide, telling them to call, say they were for the change, and then to like and share the message. As of Thursday afternoon, more than 56,000 people had liked his status and 41,000 had shared it, while another 6,000 left comments.

“Let's FLOOD their lines with thousands of calls. (Believe me, the other side's busy, too...),” he wrote.



Read more: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/01/16796116-battlestations-call-in-war-waged-over-boy-scouts-ban-on-gays

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The hate groups are rallying the nutballs to try to pressure bsa out of decision, they have a lot of campaigns going.

It would be great to drop a quick call or email,

Here are the contacts sent out by our council:

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We should reiterate that a final decision on this matter has NOT been made by the National Executive Board. The regularly scheduled meeting of the Board occurs next week. Once more information becomes available, we will let you know. We do not plan to post any further information until the announcement is made.

If you would like to express your comments or concerns on this matter, you may call the National Office at 972-580-2000 or send an email to pr@scouting.org.

February 1, 2013

people are ringing boy scout

Phones of the wall- I wrote a well reasoned email his morning, but I didn't realize ho swamped they are. Could use some good old DU love st bsa.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/01/16796116-battlestations-call-in-war-waged-over-boy-scouts-ban-on-gays

Has more info

January 16, 2013

The NRA ad

besides involving the kids, is stupid. They are trying to make the point that Obama doesn't support more armed guards in school, when part of today's announcement was:

- Give $150 million to school districts and law enforcement agencies to hire school resource officers, school psychologists, social workers, and counselors. This would put up to 1,000 new school resource officers - specially trained police officers who work in schools - and school counselors on the job.

January 10, 2013

US vs UK Violent crime rates

I'm going to start a new thread about this because I'm hoping to hear some smart folks interpret these data.

I had read on the internet that the UK had a higher violent crime rate than the US. I looked on Google and I think that statistic comes from this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-25671/Violent-crime-worse-Britain-US.html

From that article:

"According to the figures released yesterday, 3.6 per cent of the population of England and Wales were victims of violent crime in 1999 - second only to Australia, where the figure was 4.1 per cent.

Scotland had a slightly lower rate of violence, at 3.4 per cent.

In the U.S., only 2 per cent of the population suffered an assault or robbery."

So that is almost double.

On this forum is a post (http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022168853) that shows a recent report from WHO that compares international death rates in terms of Health Data. From this chart-

http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/CPOP/DBASSE_080393#violence

It shows that the US death rate from violence was a little over 6.47 per 100,000. In the UK the death rate from violence is 1.14 per 100,000. So that is about 5/6 times higher.

So, assuming that both of these reports are based on sound methodology - and there has to be a lot of error in these data, but assuming both are fairly accurate - and remembering that this are descriptive data, no inferences being drawn here, does one conclude:

Individuals are more likely to experience violent crime in the UK, but fatalities from violent crime are much higher in the US?

ETA and also, the first set of data are from 1999, the second from 2008, so there is a decade difference also.

January 4, 2013

OK I found a 12-year old Steubenville

I'm sure a lot of this is fiction - there are not guilty people in prison you know - but it is fascinating that it must have had some grounding in reality that things there have been whacked for a while-

http://www.innocentinmates.org/koniski/stat1.html