Random Politics & Religion #00

Four senators have called on the Defense Department to end a practice that involves deliberately inserting false numbers into the Pentagon's accounting ledgers and financial reports.

The senators sent a letter to Defense Department Comptroller Robert Hale urging the Pentagon to stop an accounting practice widely known as "plugging." The letter, dated June 12, 2014, said that plugs are fictitious dollar amounts inserted into financial ledgers to make it appear that the Pentagon’s books balance.

The letter was sent by Charles Grassley, Tom Coburn, Thomas Carper and Ron Johnson. The four senators have been pressing for a solution to severe accounting problems at the Pentagon, whose spending accounts for the largest chunk by far of the annual federal budget approved by Congress. Grassley is the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee; the others hold top positions on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The senators said that plugs, called "reconciling amounts" by the Pentagon, totaled $9.6 billion in 2013 - an 80% increase since 2008. The letter asked Hale and Pentagon Inspector General Jon Rymer to provide the senators with a plan to end the practice, including a specific timetable.

The legislators criticized the Office of the Inspector General - the internal Pentagon unit charged with policing the agency - for using more than $200 million worth of plugs to balance its own accounts. "In order to play a leadership role in financial management reform, the DoD OIG should start by ending the use of plugging in its own financial statements," they wrote.

The Pentagon's practice of faking its budget numbers was the subject of a Reuters investigation last year on accounting malpractice at the Defense Department. The Senate letter to Hale and Rymer cited the findings of the Reuters series.

The Catholic Church is losing younger members, especially among Hispanics millennials, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.

While Hispanics continue to be a pillar of the Catholic Church, the report, “The Shifting Religious Identity of Latinos in the United States,” found that nearly one in four identify as former Catholics.

Millennial adults, Americans 18 and older but born after 1980, are “more detached from institutions” including traditional religion, the report found. Young Latinos are leaving the church and joining the “nones,” people who do not affiliate with any religion.

According to Pew, nearly a third of all millennials (31 percent) are religiously unaffiliated. Twenty-eight percent of Hispanic millennials have no particular religion or are atheist or agnostic. By comparison, the percentages of Hispanic adults overall and American adults overall who are religiously unaffiliated are lower (18 percent of Hispanics, 20 percent of all U.S. adults).

“Everyone was surprised in some way by the findings, the first time the size of the decline in Hispanic Catholics has been measured in depth,” Pew research associate Jessica Hamar Martínez told the National Catholic Reporter.

“If both (immigration and shifting) trends continue, a day could come when a majority of Catholics in the United States will be Hispanic, even though the majority of Hispanics might no longer be Catholic,” the survey said.

The International Monetary Fund cut its growth forecast for the United States on Monday and said the economy would not reach full employment until the end of 2017, allowing interest rates to be held near zero for longer than financial markets expect.

In its annual health check of the U.S. economy, the IMF cut its 2014 forecast to 2 percent from the 2.8 percent it predicted in April, due to a weak first quarter. It kept its 2015 forecast unchanged at 3 percent, as job creation picks up after a harsh winter.

"Recent data ... suggest a meaningful rebound in activity is now underway and growth for the remainder of this year and 2015 should well exceed potential," the IMF said.

Yet the country's potential growth should only be around 2 percent going forward, below historical averages, as the population ages and productivity growth slows, it added.

To help support the economy and fight persistently high poverty, the IMF urged the United States to boost the minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is now at 38 percent of the median wage, below most international standards, it said.

The IMF said its forecasts show the economy would only return to full employment by the end of 2017, with inflation remaining low. "If true, (Fed) policy rates could afford to stay at zero for longer than the mid-2015 date currently foreseen by markets," it said.

At the same time, the IMF warned that financial markets could be too complacent about possible volatility as U.S. rates rise, with the Fund's managing director, Christine Lagarde, citing a "halo of uncertainty" around the outlook.

San Diego activists chuckle when asked about gay Republican Carl DeMaio’s TV ad showing him smiling, waving and walking hand-in-hand with his partner Jonathan Hale in a Pride parade. Daily Beast columnist James Kirchick waxed poetic on the “mere four seconds” of the “groundbreaking” commercial that “made history”—for a Republican at least. He thinks DeMaio’s ad could be the tip of the spear for a new Republican evolution.

“DeMaio is now part of a new generation of Republicans, gay and straight, seeking to make the issue of sexual orientation a non-issue in American politics,” Kirchick wrote last February. “Paradoxically, that means DeMaio is forthright about his sexuality in ways that, were it a heterosexual candidate in the spotlight, no one would bat an eye.”

LGBT activists, however, point out that DeMaio was booed by gays on the sidelines as he walked the parade route. They were angry that the then-city councilmember accepted more than $100,000 in contributions for his 2013 mayoral race against now-disgraced Bob Filner from Doug Manchester, owner of the U-T San Diego newspaper. It was Manchester who infamously donated $125,000 to get Prop. 8. on the ballot.

Some gay activists also charged that DeMaio was “silent” during the Prop. 8. battle—a contention refuted by Arlon Staggs on May 5 in an open letter to the LGBT community written for San Diego Gay & Lesbian News, which is published by DeMailo’s partner, Hale.

“To say that Carl DeMaio was anything but 100% on board with the campaign to defeat Proposition 8 is an outright lie, and everyone who was active with any San Diego equality organization during that time knows it,” wrote Staggs, a member of the San Diego Steering Committee with the Human Rights Campaign from 2007 through early 2009. “[Carl] was just as visible and as vocal as any other community leader working to defeat Prop. 8.”

DeMaio may have accepted contributions from Manchester, but so did gay PR crisis management guru Howard Bragman, who Manchester hired to help with the boycott against his hotels. So do people who work on the U-T San Diego. Additionally, if Staggs is to be believed, DeMaio worked more to fight Prop. 8. than Victory Fund-endorsed Democratic candidate Mitch Ward, a married, gay African-American with children—who could have helped reach the black community but was too busy as the mayor of Manhattan Beach to do anything other than post a YouTube video urging a “no” vote on Nov. 3, 2008.

The U-T San Diego endorsed DeMaio’s run for Congress against freshman Democratic incumbent Rep. Scott Peters in the 52nd C.D.—specifically citing DeMaio’s sexual orientation, while the LGBT community seemed intent on defeating him, despite the fact that he would become the first openly gay Republican in Congress if elected. That raised the ire of Fox News contributor Dana Perino.

“DeMaio has been the target of homophobic attacks. But where are those attacks coming from? It’s not always from the far right social conservatives you’d expect. Rather, it’s been from DeMaio’s left—the liberal and Democrat-affiliated groups that you’d think would be proud that an openly gay successful businessman has decided to run for office,” she wrote on the Fox website last May.

Nonetheless, DeMaio defeated his primary challengers, including Kirk Jorgensen, the well-funded candidate of the National Organization for Marriage. Peters won 42.3% of the vote, to DeMaio’s 35.4% and Jorgensen’s 18.3%. Though no votes are guaranteed, the 52nd C.D. appears redistricted in such a way that assumes a win by the Republican candidate. That bodes very well for DeMaio, who is running on his local record of results. And with a “new generation” Republican who is pro-choice, pro-environment, favors background checks for gun purchases and immigration reform that might be acceptable to Latino voters—he could win.

DeMaio says that people “all around the country” are excited and “ready for this change. They recognize that the Republican Party is out of step with the new majority in this country and they want to see someone willing to go into the party and be a change agent,” DeMaio told Frontiers. His candidacy is “about creating a party that is inclusive, reaches out to all communities, offers solutions rather than always being a default to ‘no,’ a party that actually is interested in taking on not only government but big business, where big business encroaches on the freedom of the individual or the opportunity of an individual, and then obviously a government that respects personal freedoms when it comes to what happens in our personal lives, including the social issues.”

The most unique thing about his candidacy, DeMaio said, “is not the fact that I’m gay; it’s the fact that I’ve been able to get major reform done in government” by reaching across the aisle and accepting compromises.

And without compromise in Congress—and without Republican support—the future of LGBT equality will remain a dream on hold.

Comedy gold: GOP Teens

I wish I could take all those teenagers and just ship them over to a third world country for a few months with nothing.

Maybe then they would realize humility.

The new church academies clauses state:

"Clauses 2.43 and 2.44 of the funding agreement... explicitly require that pupils are taught about the theory of evolution, and prevent academy trusts from teaching 'creationism' as scientific fact.

"'Creationism', for the purposes of clauses 2.43 and 2.44 of the funding agreement and clause 23E above, is any doctrine or theory which holds that natural biological processes cannot account for the history, diversity, and complexity of life on earth and therefore rejects the scientific theory of evolution. The parties acknowledge that creationism, in this sense, is rejected by most mainstream churches and religious traditions, including the major providers of state funded schools such as the [Anglican] [Catholic] Churches, as well as the scientific community. It does not accord with the scientific consensus or the very large body of established scientific evidence; nor does it accurately and consistently employ the scientific method, and as such it should not be presented to pupils at the Academy as a scientific theory.

"The parties recognise that the teaching of creationism is not part of prevailing practice in the English education system, but acknowledge that it is however important that all schools are clear about what is expected in terms of the curriculum which they need to provide. The parties further recognise that the requirement on every academy and free school to provide a broad and balanced curriculum, in any case prevents the teaching of creationism as evidence based theory in any academy or free school.

"The secretary of state acknowledges that clauses 2.43 and 2.44 of the Funding Agreement, and clauses 23E and 23G above do not prevent discussion of beliefs about the origins of the Earth and living things, such as creationism, in Religious Education, as long as it is not presented as a valid alternative to established scientific theory."

WASHINGTON—Denying widespread claims that the franchise is being offensive or disrespectful, the Washington Redskins’ kike owner announced Monday that he remains steadfast in his refusal to change the team’s derogatory name. “The Redskins represent 81 years of great history and tradition, and it’s a source of pride for our fans,” said the hook-nosed kike, stressing that the team’s insulting moniker is “absolutely not a racial slur by any means.” “‘Washington Redskins’ is much more than just a name. It stands for strength, courage, and respect—the very values that are so intrinsic to Native American culture.” The shifty-eyed hebe went on to assure fans that he will do “everything in his power” to preserve the team’s proud heritage.

UK: Secular triumph as government bans creationism from free schools and academies
grumpycatgood.jpg

I Just have to ask, Is the GOP Teens logo trying to be a Real American, maybe even fighting for what's right?

“They’re externalizing an internal conflict,” said Savage. “When you look at somebody like Marcus Bachmann, Michele Bachmann’s husband — who is gayer sound asleep on the sofa than I am with my *** in my husband’s ***. That man is on fire, right?”

Joe Rogan and Dan Savage agree: Antigay activists are ‘worried that *** are delicious’
*** lol

Who is making this ***up?! Is Arianna Huffington secretly writing these twitter posts lol

Comedy gold: GOP Teens

Oh wow...these can't be real.

Good they aren't. It's a parody account by comedian Daniel Kibblesmith

I find it even funnier that there are people who take it for real, lol.

With the World Cup now into full swing, we could be about to see a first for the tournament: several teams have been threatened with points deductions over the racist and homophobic chants of their fans.

Both Brazil and Mexico are under fire for fans who chanted ‘puto’, which is a term for a male prostitute and a gay slur in both Spanish and Portuguese. Brazilian fans chanted it at Mexico’s goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, while Mexican fans broke it out during their team’s match against Cameroon. Fifa has confirmed that it has opened disciplinary proceedings against the two countries - this will likely initially simply be a warning, but if either team’s fans continue the offensive chants then there could be point deductions made.

Keen to prove that homophobia isn’t the only form of bigotry alive and well, both Russia and Croatia are also under fire for fans who brought neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic banners to their matches. Both teams have been penalized in the past for racist and anti-Semitic chants, including “monkey calls.”

Piara Powar, executive director of Fare and a member of FIFA’s anti-racism task force, told British newspaper The Telegraph that “the levels of homophobic abuse at some matches is also totally unacceptable," adding, "there is some rapid education required before it begins to run out of control."

Both Brazil and Mexico play their next matches on Monday, June 23rd, and if ‘puto’ is heard again then there could be a serious impact on the tournament.

Brazil and Mexico Cautioned Over Homophobic Football Chants


More word/PC policing from the LGBT. This is really absurd. Slang in Spanish takes on different meanings depending on the region/country.

Brazil and Mexico Cautioned Over Homophobic Football Chants


More word/PC policing from the LGBT. This is really absurd. Slang in Spanish takes on different meanings depending on the region/country.