Death of the 1st Amendment: Oregon Bakers Who Refused to Bake Homosexual Wedding Cake Found Guilty

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Photo Credit: Family Research Council Make them bake cake! That’s the verdict of an administrative judge in the case of Oregon bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein. The couple, who became the brave face of America’s religious liberty clash, were informed yesterday by the state’s Bureau of Labor and Industries that in the battle over marriage, their First Amendment rights no longer counted.

In the first of what will almost certainly be several rulings, the Kleins were found guilty of violating state law for politely declining an order for a same-sex “wedding” cake. As part of his 52-page order, Judge Alan McCullough claims that “requiring them to provide a wedding cake for Complainants does not constitute compelled speech.” Aaron Klein disagrees. “First Amendment, Constitution. Freedom of religion. I’m free to exercise my religion however I see fit. If I’m told to make a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage, I feel that I’m violating my beliefs. I don’t think I should have to do that.”

Unfortunately for the parents of five, wedding vendors like them may soon have no choice. In the free market, the courts no longer seem to recognize the right to believe what you want. Owners of small businesses like Sweet Cakes by Melissa, Arlene’s Flowers, Simply Elegant Wedding Planning, Hands On Originals, and others are seen as nothing more than tools of the government to think and believe as the state sees fit. If they refuse, as Aaron and Melissa have done, Oregon is threatening to bring the full weight of the government to bear.

A hearing on March 10 will decide exactly how much the Kleins’ courage will cost them. As much as $200,000 could be at stake for a family who’s already been forced to close their shop and scrape together the money they need to make up for that lost income. Anna Harmon, one of the Kleins’ three attorneys, said that although the judge tossed out every claim but one, it’s still a tough loss. “Americans should not have to choose between adhering to their faith or closing their business, but that is what this decision means… The judge ruled wrongly that the Kleins’ right not to design and create a work of art celebrating an event which violates the tenets of their religion is not protected by the Oregon or Federal Constitutions. This is a dangerous result for religious liberty and rights of conscience in Oregon…” (Read more about the suit about the Oregon bakers HERE)

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Top Islamic Authority Calls for Crucifying, Chopping Off Limbs of ISIS Terrorists

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Photo Credit: The Blaze
The institution widely regarded as the premier learning center for Sunni Islam called to brutally punish Islamic State members after the release of the video apparently showing a captive Jordanian pilot being burned alive, an act it described as contrary to the Muslim religion.

The Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayib issued a statement following the burning alive of Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh saying the brutal act “requires the punishment mentioned in the Koran for these corrupt oppressors who fight against God and his prophet: killing, crucifixion or chopping of the limbs,” Agence France-Presse reported.

The head of the Cairo-based institution expressed his “strong dismay at this cowardly act” and referred to the Islamic State as a “satanic, terrorist” organization.

Muslim clerics have emphasized that burning someone to death is considered despicable by the Islamic faith.

Islamic State extremists released a video Tuesday that appeared to show the Jordanian pilot being burned alive in a cage. (Read more about what the top Islamic authority said HERE)

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Teacher Kicks, Slaps and Berates First Grader for Insane Reason

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Photo Credit: The Advocate
A first-grade teacher in St. Francisville resigned this week amid an investigation into allegations she berated, kicked and slapped a student during a lunch break at Bains Lower Elementary School.

West Feliciana Parish sheriff’s deputies issued an arrest warrant for the teacher, Chanel M. Lemelle, on Thursday on a count of cruelty to juveniles after a number of people told deputies that Lemelle struck the student inside the school’s cafeteria on Jan. 23. The incident also was captured by surveillance cameras . . .

A sheriff’s deputy who reviewed camera footage of the incident wrote in a report that as the student walked by Chanel Lemelle in the cafeteria, she could be seen kicking him in the rear. The video also showed her slapping the boy on the back of the head, the deputy wrote . . .

Witnesses told the investigator that Chanel Lemelle forced the student to sit at a lunch table by himself while his classmates went through the food line in the cafeteria. After all his classmates got food, Chanel Lemelle allowed the student to get food, the witnesses said.

But when the student returned, Chanel Lemelle allegedly took one of his tacos and told the student “he only needed one taco,” a deputy wrote in the report. (Read more from “Teacher Assaults, Berates First Grader” HERE)

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Parents Furious After Biology Quiz Question on Abortion

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A local biology teacher’s multiple choice question about abortion is upsetting students’ parents.

Edmond Santa Fe High School officials confirmed Tuesday several biology teachers at the school gave their students a “non graded exercise” – a discussion starter – on human genetic disorders.

“You’ve found out that the child you (or your wife) carries has the gene for dwarfism. A new therapy exists that may repair this gene before the child is born. What do you do?” the first question on the exercise asks.

A. Allow the child to be born with the gene, and we will accept the child as is.
B. Attempt the new therapy to repair the gene.
C. Terminate Pregnancy . . .

“This is not a subject I want my child discussing in class,” one person said. “Ethics and beliefs are for home, not school.” (Read more about the disgusting biology quiz question HERE)

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Creationist Leader Slams Cruise Ship Super Bowl Commercial for Promoting Mindless Evolution (+video)

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As usual, Super Bowl commercials caught a fair bit of attention this year, though there was one spot in particular for Carnival Cruise Lines that sparked an evolution debate after catching the attention of creationist leader Ken Ham, founder of the Answers in Genesis ministry, who accused the company of “blatantly using evolution” to advertise its cruises during the big game.

The commercial, which featured a portion of one of President John F. Kennedy’s speeches from 1962, focused on peoples’ supposedly inherent connection to the sea. Images of ships and the ocean were shown as Kennedy’s voiceover described a connection between human beings and water.

“I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it’s because in addition to the fact that the sea changes and the light changes, and ships change, it’s because we all came from the sea,” Kennedy said. “And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it we are going back from whence we came.”

It was these words that led Ham to critique the company for purportedly promoting evolution, as he was heavily critical of the supposed themes presented in the spot.

“Don’t you just feel this ‘personal connection?’ After all, your ancestor came out of the sea and evolved by natural processes to produce you. Don’t you feel the connection?” Ham wrote on his Answers in Genesis blog. “Don’t you just want to go on one of their cruises so you can stand on the deck of a big cruise ship, look at the sea, and contemplate your accidental beginnings — and perhaps worship the sea, because it gave birth to you!” (Read more about what the creationist leader said HERE)

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The Bruce Jenner Story That Went From Gossip to News

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For the last few years, there have been rumors and anonymously sourced tabloid items suggesting that Bruce Jenner, the former Olympic champion and somewhat comically befuddled patriarchal figure on “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” was transitioning from male to female.

The various clues — the growing of his hair into ponytail length, the apparent shaving down of his Adam’s apple, the brightly colored polish on his fingernails — were gleefully reported by gossip websites and some of the more fact-challenged tabloid magazines. One of them, In Touch, even went so far as to superimpose a picture of Mr. Jenner’s head onto the body of the actress Stephanie Beacham, adding red lipstick to his mouth in an attempt to feminize his appearance and better reflect the headline, “Bruce’s Story: My Life as a Woman.”

But, for the most part, the so-called mainstream press has steered clear of this story . . .

Last week, US Weekly put the Jenner news on its cover, with the headline, “Finally, the Truth,” and People magazine is now reaching newsstands with a cover article on Mr. Jenner, headlined, “He Is Finally Happy.” Meanwhile, reports have surfaced that Diane Sawyer of ABC News has lined up an interview with Mr. Jenner for May, shortly before a documentary series about the former athlete’s transformational process is expected to start airing . . .

Mr. Jenner’s mother gave an interview to The National Enquirer this week, saying that she could not be prouder of her son. Kim Kardashian, on “Entertainment Tonight” last week to promote her T-Mobile Super Bowl ad, was thrown a curveball when interviewers asked about what was going on with Bruce. She said that he was the “happiest” she has ever seen him. (Read more about the Bruce Jenner story HERE)

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Amazing Act of Kindness From Kentucky Police Officer

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Photo Credit: WKYTBy Garret Wymer. A London [Kentucky] police officer took it upon himself to help a suspected shoplifter after realizing the man was in a difficult situation.

“As a police officer, it’s not black and white for us,” said Officer Justin Roby. “There’s a lot of gray. And you have to cipher through everything and you really need to figure out the whole story.”

Roby was called to the Kroger on North Main Street in London on Saturday, Jan. 17 after a loss prevention officer stopped a man who was shoplifting.

The suspect was a single father who had fallen on hard times, Roby said. The man was caught stealing baby formula for his six-month-old son, who was with him at the time . . .

The officer bought some formula himself, giving it to the man for his baby. (Read more about what the Kentucky police officer did HERE)

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Police Officer Recognized for His Act of Kindness With an Autistic Woman

By Mike Anderson. A Waukesha police officer is being recognized for a notable act of kindness . . .

A couple of weeks ago, he got a call from Target about an out-of-control 19-year-old woman.

“She was in one of the aisles at the store. She was with a caregiver, and the caregiver was particularly concerned because this particular individual had been lashing out lately and getting violent,” Bukouras said.

Bukouras quickly realized that the woman just wanted to buy a doll. He also learned she has severe autism and did not understand the concept of money.

He calmed her down, and when he found out the caregiver didn’t have money to pay for the doll, he bought it himself and gave it to her. (Read more from this story HERE)

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AllenBWest.com: Was Chris Kyle’s Killer a Muslim?

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Photo Credit: AllenbWest The “conventional wisdom” says former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle was tragically shot and killed by a former soldier suffering from PTSD.

But perhaps there’s another version of the story no one wants to talk about. What if Routh had been converted to militant Islam in Iraq and sought Kyle out as retribution? . . .

According to The Warfighter Foundation, it is highly unlikely Routh suffered from PTSD because he never served in battle . . .

While Routh never served in battle, he did work as a prison guard overseeing Muslim terrorists at Bilad Airbase. Walid Shoebat posits that Routh could have interacted with the inmates and perhaps converted to Islam.

While there is no proof of any conversion, Shoebat says “During a phone call with his father, Routh expressed sympathy for the detainees and discontent over how the US was conducting the war as well as his reluctance to engage in combat” and “While working as a guard at Balad Air Base, Routh laments his [Muslim] prisoners’ poor living conditions.” (Read more from “Chris Kyle’s Killer a Muslim?” HERE)

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ISIS Releases Horrific Video Burning Jordanian Pilot ALIVE; Jordan Retaliates, Executes Two Including Woman

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By Yahoo News. The Islamic State group released a video Tuesday purportedly showing the burning alive of a Jordanian pilot, in the jihadists’ most brutal execution yet of a foreign hostage.

The highly produced 22-minute video released online showed images of a man purported to be the pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh, who was captured in December, engulfed in flames inside a metal cage.

Jordanian state television confirmed the death and said Kassasbeh had been killed on January 3, before the jihadists offered to spare his life and free a Japanese journalist in return for the release of an Iraqi would-be suicide bomber held in Jordan . . .

Kassasbeh, a 26-year-old first lieutenant in the Jordanian air force, was captured on December 24 after his F-16 jet crashed while on a mission over northern Syria as part of the US-led coalition campaign against the jihadists . . .

The release of the video of the pilot’s purported murder came days after IS beheaded a second Japanese hostage within a week. (Read more about the horrific death of the Jordanian pilot HERE)

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Grieving Father Kills 7 ISIS Terrorists in a Revenge Attack

By Gareth Roberts. An Iraqi man has reportedly gunned down seven Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists in a revenge attack for the death of his son.

A string of reports claim Basil Ramadan, said to be in his 60s, opened fire with an AK-47 assault rifle on a group of ISIS militants at a checkpoint in the city of Tikrit.

He killed seven before he was shot dead on Sunday morning.

Local media say ISIS terrorists executed Ahmed Ramadan, an 18-year-old college student, earlier this year.

He was killed alongside seven other young men who were accused of collaborating with the Iraqi security forces, reports say. (Read more from this story HERE)
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Jordan Executes Two ISIS Terrorists – Including a Woman – In Retaliation

By FoxNews.com. Jordan said it had executed 2 prisoners early Wednesday after a new video surfaced on the Internet Tuesday showing ISIS burning alive a Jordanian pilot the terror group had held since December.

Government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani said that prisoners Sajida al-Rishawi and Ziad al-Karbouli were executed. Al-Rishawi has been on death row for her role in a triple hotel bombing in the Jordanian capital Amman in 2005 that killed dozens. Over the past week, Jordan had twice offered to swap her for the pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh. However, officials have said his captors did not deliver proof he was still alive, and the swap never moved forward.

The 44-year-old Iraqi woman’s suicide belt did not detonate at the time of the Amman attack and she fled the scene, but was quickly arrested. After a televised confession, she recanted, but her appeal was turned down.

Al-Rishawi had family ties to the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda, a precursor of ISIS. Ziad Al-Karbuli was a former aide to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian Al Qaeda operative who was killed in 2006. (Read more from this story about the retaliatory executions for the Jordanian pilot burning HERE)

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GOP Votes to Fully Repeal Obamacare, No Help From Democrats

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The GOP-House voted Tuesday evening to fully repeal Obamacare, sending the bill to a Republican Senate that seems likely to at least try to pass it in the coming weeks.

There was little doubt the bill could pass in a House with a stronger Republican majority, and it passed easily 239-186.

Republicans have held full Obamacare repeal votes in every session of Congress, and have won the support of just a few Democrats. This time around, no Democrats voted with Republicans, and three Republicans voted against the bill: Reps. Bob Dold (Ill.), John Katko (N.Y.), and Bruce Poliquin (Maine).

The debate and vote gave both parties a chance to run through their usual arguments for and against the law. Republicans said said the law is leading to higher healthcare costs and less choice for Americans who have seen many of their insurance plans canceled because they don’t meet new standards under the law.

Republicans also said a repeal is needed so Congress can start over and build a new reform plan that gives people more choice. (Read more about the vote to repeal Obamacare HERE)

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