A private, uber-religious convenience store in Chicago appears to have received a $1,000,00 state grant. Rob Sherman has the story:
Jubilee Market used to be a Christian-themed convenience store, located at 1676 West Ogden Avenue in Chicago, at the northeast corner of Adams (200 South) and Paulina (1700 West). Ogden runs diagonally through that intersection. The location is two blocks east of the United Center.
On May 8th, the store shut down because the owners, Reverends Walter and Mrs. McCray of Black Light Fellowship, ran out of money to operate their Christian convenience store.
On June 30th, the Illinois General Assembly, at Article 9, Section 2605, of the Capital Bill (see page 175 of the 996-page Bill), awarded Jubilee Market a grant of $1,000,000. One million of your tax dollars for a small, private, Christian-themed convenience store!
Last Friday, Godless in Chicago went to Jubilee Market to investigate why the General Assembly was giving a million of your tax dollars to a Christian-themed 7-Eleven type store.
Looks like The Lord The Taxpayers really did make a way somehow. But is it fitting for the taxpayers to be shelling out a million dollars so this guy and his wife (who already have a tax-exempt church) can be pushing religion along with cheese-puffs and soda pop in their for-profit venture?
I went back to my truck to leave. That’s when the phone rang. It was Reverend Walter McCray.
I told Rev. McCray who I was, that I wrote the Godless in Chicago blog for ChicagoNow, and that I was investigating why the State was giving Jubilee Market a grant of one million dollars.
“Is the store open?” I asked.
“I am there occasionally,” he replied.
“But is the store operating?”
“I ran out of money to operate the store due to the economic downturn.”
“What are you going to do with the million dollars?”
“My people said that I’m not allowed to talk about that.”
“Well, are you going to build a new place with the money or re-open here, and if you are going to build new, where are you going to build?”
“I’m not allowed to say.”
“Who is the legislator who sponsored the line item to give you the million dollars?”
“I’m not allowed to talk about that, either.”
“Is this store an extension of your Christian ministry?”
“I’m a reverend. Everything that I do is an extension of my Christian ministry.”
“Thank you for your time, Reverend McCray.”
…..
As far as Reverend McCray was concerned, it’s a secret as to how he is going to spend your tax dollars, and it’s also a secret as to who the sponsor was of the line item in the Capital Bill that would give him the money.
That’s not acceptable to me, and it shouldn’t be acceptable to you.
Surveillance video from the night that Matt Aune and Derek Jones has finally been made available. It doesn’t show the “kiss and hug” listed on the police report as the official reason they were ousted. It doesn’t show the “passionate kissing, groping, fondling” and other lewd behavior LDSinc has since claimed the men were engaged in. What it does show isn’t pretty.
First read the related article from the Salt Lake Tribune, then watch the video:
Matt Aune puts his arm around his partner, Derek Jones, pulling him close as four large men in dark suits gather around them July 9 on the Main Street Plaza.
The couple argue with the LDS Church guards, who yank the two men apart and put them in handcuffs. Jones falls to the ground.
…..
“It’s as violent as I remember them being,” Aune said. “I’m kind of wondering where the kiss is though.”
That much-debated smooch is not in the film the church provided to Salt Lake City prosecutor Sim Gill as part of a city investigation into trespassing charges leveled against the gay couple.
The LDS Church declined to comment on the video or its plans for signs and access to the plaza.
…..
Aune and Jones have said their romantic moment was modest: Aune gave Jones a “side hug” and a kiss on the face. But the LDS Church said “much more” was involved — “passionate kissing, groping, profane and lewd language.” (The couple have acknowledged they swore at the guards after being stopped.)
…..
Gill dropped the trespassing case Wednesday, saying that signs on the downtown plaza did not properly notify visitors that they were entering private property “at will,” meaning they could be ejected at any time for any reason.
The prosecutor said Thursday he asked the church for all audio and video recordings of the incident, including the kiss.
“I assume there’s nothing more because I was provided with everything,” Gill said. “My request wasn’t selective.”
The LDS Church declined to comment on the video or its plans for signs and access to the plaza.
…..
The argument between the guards and the gay couple becomes heated. Two guards gesture emphatically with their hands, and Aune jabs his finger in the air.
Three guards grab Aune and one pulls on Jones, who then falls out of the shot. Aune is momentarily obscured behind a large tree.
“I looked to my left,” Aune recalled, “and [Jones] was down on the ground with his left cheek on the pavement, looking at me.”
…..
I know the Morg will still support their behavior but who else truly believes those suited thugs were in the right?
Mom, Dad, you can relax. Nothing you did or did not do during my childhood was to blame for me getting Teh Gay. It was learning to crochet, do cross-stitch and draw that did it. Or, at least that’s the latest theory according to Matt “Bam Bam” Barber and his OneNewsNow cronies. Yes, arts & crafts are part of a master plot to give children Teh Gay–and Home Depot is in on it.
Home Depot is helping to introduce children to the homosexual lifestyle.
The Nashville Gay Pride website notes that Home Depot contributed more than $5,000 to help finance the 2009 festival. The retailer also participated by conducting children’s craft workshops at a special booth set up for them. The company has sponsored similar children’s venues at pro-homosexual events in Atlanta, Kansas City, Durham, Portland, and San Diego.
Matt Barber of Liberty Counsel tells OneNewsNow the home improvement store is facilitating the exposure of children to sinful behavior.
Yes, because children would never be at those events if it weren’t for Home Depot luring them in with arts & crafts booths. But of course logic has never been a strong point with Bam Bam or any of the ONN crew.
P.S. Mom, throw away that macaroni angel I made in grade school. It’s obviously infected with Teh Gay.
If everything in this news report is true I’m appalled. Really, we need to avoid stooping to their level. Attacking people just because you don’t like them or their message is never acceptable.
WARWICK –– The weapons included mayonnaise, ketchup and salsa –– but also pepper spray, a glass jar and fists.
A difference of opinion over gay marriage sparked the incident, and emotions escalated quickly. Punches were thrown.
A small group of men visiting Rhode Island this week urging people to support traditional marriage called the police.
Offended by the men’s message, four young women now face charges of assault or battery and disorderly conduct. The youngest, 17, also faces a more serious charge — felony assault with a dangerous substance.
…..
Group member Jose Ferraz Jr., 20, said in an interview Thursday he doesn’t even know what was thrown first, “just a bunch of trash” –– bottles, garbage and some kind of blue paint. Three of the men were sprayed with Mace or pepper spray, he said.
Three of the four women charged spoke yesterday with The Journal.
Amanda L. Zangrilli, 23, of West Warwick, said she and her girlfriend had seen the men in the same spot for a few days, and had “every intention” of bringing opposing signs of their own.
…..
Zangrilli and Scungio said the men yelled at them when they returned, calling them the Antichrist, homosexuals and sinners. The men shouted anti-gay slurs at them, the women said, and one pushed his camera into Scungio’s face; she “pushed it away on instinct.”
“And then the flagpole guy raised his pole to me, and I turned around and punched him because I wasn’t sure what he was going to do,” Scungio said. “I was wicked scared. It turned into, like, a riot.”
Another woman driving by, an acquaintance of the women, jumped into the fray.
…..
On Thursday, the police arrested Zangrilli; Scungio; Melissa Migliaccio, 22, of 506 Phenix Ave. in Cranston, the passerby; and a 17-year-old from Warwick.
“I feel immature,” Scungio said Thursday. “… We obviously shouldn’t have gone up to them at all, because none of this would have happened.”
…..
You read that right. Albania may soon surpass the United States by providing marriage equality for its citizens.
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha has announced his party will propose a law legalising same-sex marriage.
It is an unexpected move in a country that is still one of the most conservative in Europe and where homosexuality was illegal until 1995.
Mr Berisha acknowledged the proposed law might provoke debate but maintained that discrimination in modern Albania had to end.
…..
It has been accepted by Mr Berisha’s Democratic Party and will now come before parliament in the autumn.
In a predominantly Muslim country with almost no open homosexual community, the announcement by a conservative PM has taken people by surprise.
Goran Miletic, a Belgrade-based human rights lawyer, working partly on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues said it was an important step forward for the country.
“(It is) encouraging for the LGBT community in Albania, bearing in mind that they are not visible comparing to some other Balkan states like Serbia, like Macedonia or Croatia.”
…..
The reaction by Islamic and Catholic leaders has been vehement.
…..
Albania, though, has set its sights firmly on the goal of European Union membership, and it seems this proposed law is aimed at showing Brussels a progressive new image.
…..
I certainly hope they get this bill passed. Marriage equality is a fundamental right that should be recognized everywhere.
While I’d never condone theft or dangerous behavior (such as underage driving without training or a license) I can’t say I blame the lad for desperately wanting to avoid religious indoctrination.
While technically a Mormon practice, Lying for the Lord is quite obviously practiced by RRRW individuals outside the LDS church. And of course the people sitting in his church (such as Miss Opposite Marriage) most likely won’t fact-check his statements. Not only do they assume that anything a “clergy person” says is automatically truthful, but certain statements in particular are taken at face value because they feed into preconceived notions that gay people are evil and Christians are being “persecuted” for believing in the Bible.
Thankfully not everybody is a member of his unquestioning, unthinking audience. Here’s the truth; The woman who was allegedly arrested is a complete and utter fabrication. That and much more at Box Turtle Bulletin
Dr. Paul Myers (and the Secular Student Alliance)
Biology Dept.
University of Minnesota-Morris
600 East 4th Street
Morris, MN 56267
Re: Creation Museum Visit - Notice of Policies
Dear Dr. Paul (”P.Z.”) Myers and the SSA:
As the Security Manager for the Department of Public Safety at the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum, I am writing in regard to your planned visit to the museum, along with those associated with the group called the Secular Student Alliance, scheduled for August 7, 2009.
The purpose of this letter is to advise you of our standard policies and requirements concerning guest behavior.
Succinctly stated, and posted on signs at a number of locations at the museum premises, is the following notice:
The Creation Museum is private property, an outreach of Answers in Genesis. Guests at the museum are expected to conduct themselves in a polite, respectful manner at all times. Loud, disrespectful, destructive, obscene, or abusive behavior will not be tolerated, and may result in your removal from the premises. Please be courteous to other guests, security personnel, and our staff while you are here. Thank you!
Also, please be advised that vehicles and all packages, bags, and articles may be subject to inspection when on the premises or when entering or leaving the premises.
In reviewing your blog and website at http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula, we have observed a number of hostile, crude, and profane comments that suggest that some in the SSA group may be using your visit as an opportunity to engage in demonstrations, mocking behavior, wearing offensive clothing, or in other conduct that would be offensive to our staff and to other guests. We note, for example, that you have written that you urge the group to wear “godless clothing.”
We understand that your group (which you have described as a “horde” or “mob”) will consist of over 200 persons, many of whom have posted comments on your Pharyngula blog ridiculing Ken Ham and the Creation Museum, using profane language, and some are indicating that it is their intent to conduct themselves in a manner that is provocative, overtly homosexual in behavior, or otherwise socially unacceptable for guests of this privately owned Christian facility. As I’m sure you’re aware, some of those statements reference intentions to be “loud” and also to wear “armbands” and T-shirts or other clothing with images or wording that would be considered offensive to our staff and others at the museum. Such conduct will not be tolerated.
The Creation Museum is a privately owned facility; there is no legal right to engage in demonstrations, to harass or insult other guests, staff members, or speakers, or to otherwise engage in conduct that would be disruptive or rude. Again, such actions will not be permitted.
So long as you and the SSA group are willing to abide by our policies requiring civil behavior at all times, to include being respectful of others and of our facilities, then you will be welcome as our guests; but if you do not intend to abide by these policies, then please cancel your visit to the Creation Museum.
We request your acknowledgment of receipt of this letter and your agreement to abide by these policies.
We note that, unlike the exchanges posted on the Pharyngula site, communications from Lyz Laddell of the Secular Student Alliance have generally been polite and respectful, which we appreciate.
We remain willing to host you and the SSA group, provided you assure us that your party will remain civil and abide by our policies and that you have addressed those who have expressed contrary intentions for their visit. We request the courtesy of receiving your written response prior to your arrival. If we do not receive your written assurance that your party will abide by our policies, we will have no choice but to turn your group away at the entrance.
Sincerely,
David Blaylock
Security Manager
Department of Public Safety
cc: John Pence, Esq.
Blah blah blah we’re a private CHRISTIAN facility and you all have to abide by our rules or else. Don’t say, do or wear anything we or our guests might consider offensive or that’s the end of you. Period.
The Atheist Bus Campaign has met with considerable public outcry and has even had its ads refused in numerous locations because they were deemed “offensive”. The text ads state, simply, There’s Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Your Life.
Meanwhile Answers in Genesis (spawn of Ken Ham, who also operates the Creation Museum) seems to have no problem getting billboard space for this gem. WTF?
You may have also heard of Matt Derek Jones, the gay couple in the middle of the Utah Temple-Square gay-kiss scandal. Kiss-ins have occurred both at Temple Square and in front of Mormon temples (all on public property) , and there is a nationwide Kiss-in scheduled for August 15th.
While many have been supportive of our protest efforts others insist LGBT people and their supporters are being offensive and unfair to Mormons. Peter LaBarbera goes so far as to describe them as homo-fascist harassment and we’ve even been called “childish” for daring to stand up for our rights.
Now people who spend so much time demanding that others respect their “beliefs” and demanding that everyone revere their personal spaces, events, etc would naturally do the same to others–right? Riiiight.
Translation: Atheists and LGBT people are supposed to stay “in the closet”. Don’t speak of who you are. Don’t wear anything that indicates what you are. Don’t offend anybody’s “beliefs”. And for gawd’s sake don’t behave in a manner that might scare the horses (kissing is only for the straights!) . But religious believers can do whatever they want because they’re acting in accordance with their “deeply held religious beliefs”. They’re “spreading the gospel”. They’re “exercising their First Amendment rights”.
Bull-excrement. Just drop the double standard, RRRWers. Don’t demand what you don’t give and never have. Don’t use “religious beliefs” as both a weapon against others and a magical shield for yourself against anything you dislike. Personal freedoms cannot apply only to you, they must apply to all.
The Bigot Brigade in Washington got R-71 onto the ballot via by lying and even harassing people into signing their petitions. Now that they’re under fire they’re in court begging for a restraining order to keep the 138,000 signatures private.
Funny how they hate the courts when they’re granting rights to LGBT people, yet instantly run to those same courts when they want something. Why do they not put their rights and demands to the “will of the people” like they always insist we should? But back to the story…
Pending a full hearing on the case, state officials said Wednesday they won’t resist a temporary restraining order that would block public release of petition signatures for a referendum trying to throw out the “everything but marriage” same-sex domestic partner law.
The names of everyone who signed Referendum-71 petitions are publicly available under open-government laws.
A gay-rights group says it wants to post all the names online.But the R-71 campaign says that could lead to harassment. So they’re asking a federal judge to keep the petitions secret, until they can make their argument in court.
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle is hearing the request for a temporary restraining order at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in Tacoma. The state will not resist the request, pending a full hearing.
Nick Handy, state elections director, said in a statement: “Referendum petitions become public records under the law once they have been turned over to us by sponsors. Our consistent practice has been to make these available upon public request. By early next week we will be in a position to make these available, and absent a court order, our intent has been to respond to public records requests in a timely way.”
Backers of R-71 turned in about 138,000 signatures Saturday. They need 120,577 valid voter signatures to qualify for the fall ballot.
Election officials suggest submitting about 150,000 signatures to offset any invalid signatures. Dave Ammons, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, said usually about 18 percent of signatures checked turn out to be invalid.
The process of counting and verifying the signatures could go until the last week of August.
If R-71 proponents don’t have enough signatures, the domestic partnership expansion will immediately take effect. If the measure does qualify, voters will be asked to either approve or reject the new law.
A “yes” vote on the referendum would be to sustain the measure; a “no” vote would overturn the law.
…..
I don’t buy the “harassment” bull for a minute. The backers of R-71 are terrified that their duplicity and lies, which have already been exposed to a great degree, will unravel completely. How many of those 130,000 signatures were obtained through lies and/or harassment? How many of those people thought they were signing in support of domestic partnerships?
Bring on the floodlights, I say. Expose the truth and show the Bigot Brigade they can’t continue to eradicate LGBT rights through lies and bullying.
But of course logic has never been a strong point with Bam Bam or any of the ONN crew. 
