Free Republic

Fairfax County middle school student Hal Beaulieu hopped up from his lunch table one day a few months ago, sat next to his girlfriend and slipped his arm around her shoulder. That landed him a trip to the school office. Among his crimes: hugging.

The USCCB and the “Safe Environment” Programs: Safe isn’t Safe Anymore by Elizabeth Schwab   www.desertvoice.org   May 23, 2006 Those who grew up in the 50s and 60s may still remember their first elementary reader about the adventures of Dick and Jane. It was a simpler world back then, and Dick and Jane were as gay as could be. Gay. They were happy, carefree. Today a quite different meaning comes to mind. Amazing, isn’t it, how that one word has changed forever. Another word undergoing a similar transformation today is the word “safe.” Suddenly there is a push for safety in all forms...

We all know the courageous story of a slightly built yet determined football player named Daniel E. (Rudy) Ruettiger who overcame all odds to play in a Notre Dame varsity football game. Rudy was immortalized by Sean Astin in the 1993 movie RUDY. Well here is a story about Ryan Belflower who, against all odds, played in a high school varsity basketball game for Clovis East in Clovis, CA. And just wait to see what he did. Read the touching story HERE. Some may want to have a handkerchief handy.

Just try not to laugh too loud at work... http://www.noedesign.com/dev/KerryEdwards/index.html -- Joe

I couldn't find this posted. It is waaaaaaay too rich to miss. You'll be sorry if you don't. http://www.noedesign.com/dev/KerryEdwards/index.html

We had hoped to comment this morning on the meaning of the Episcopal debate over the nomination of the Rev. Gene Robinson to be bishop of the New Hampshire diocese. Why is it happening now? What does it portend? Is the Episcopal Church, as it often has before, signaling a significant change in the social fabric of American life? That was before Robinson was ambushed, hours before the House of Bishops was to take the final vote on his nomination, by the most scurrilous smear: He was accused of linkage to a porn Web site and of inappropriately touching another...

<p>The Episcopal House of Bishops last night elected the denomination's first declared homosexual bishop, one day after his candidacy was threatened by accusations that he fondled a male parishioner and condoned pornography.</p> <p>By a 62-45 vote at the denomination's session in Minneapolis, the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, 56, was elected bishop of New Hampshire, provoking talk of an Episcopal schism.</p>

The Associated Press LONDON Aug. 5 — The U.S. Episcopal Church's confirmation of the election of a gay bishop may test the limits of the Anglican Communion's proud reputation for diversity.Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams had hoped to avoid an immediate showdown on the issue, urging both sides to refrain from any action which would threaten Anglican unity. But the church's House of Bishops ended up approving the election of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire on Tuesday after dismissing last-minute allegations involving "touching" and "pornography" against the clergyman.The approval was anathema to leaders of...

<p>A homosexual clergyman's election as Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire was delayed yesterday as church officials investigated his links to a homosexual youth group and charges that he sexually harassed another man. Episcopal leaders meeting in Minneapolis had been scheduled to vote to approve Canon V. Gene Robinson as the church's first openly homosexual bishop until the 11th-hour accusation by a Vermont man, who said Mr. Robinson's advances toward him at a church convention showed an "alarming weakness of character." That accusation became public the same day Episcopalians learned that Outright, a homosexual youth ministry founded by Mr. Robinson, included links to hard-core pornography on its Web site. Mr. Robinson, 56, was elected bishop by New Hampshire Episcopalians on June 7, but his selection must be ratified by a majority of clergy, laity and bishops at this week's Episcopal General Convention. Conservatives in the church have criticized the nomination of Mr. Robinson, a father of two who divorced his wife in 1987 and has had a homosexual lover for 13 years. Among accomplishments, Mr. Robinson cites his role in founding the Concord, N.H., chapter of Outright, an organization whose mission — described at www.outright.org — is to "create safe, positive and affirming environments for young gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, and questioning people ages 22 and under." As late as Sunday night, the Outright site included links to a pornographic site that features explicit photos of group sex, including close-ups of genitalia. Other links available at the Outright site yesterday included a Web site describing "sexual intimacy for gay men with AIDS/HIV," another link describing "the wonderful world of lesbianism" and another named "polyamory resources," referring to the practice of one person having several mates. "This is youth ministry like you have never seen it," cyber-journalist David Virtue observed. The charges of sexual harassment against Mr. Robinson were made by David Lewis of Manchester, Vt. The Associated Press reported that Mr. Lewis told several Episcopal bishops that Mr. Robinson fondled him at a regional church gathering. "When I first encountered Gene at a Province 1 convocation a couple of years ago, he put his hands on me inappropriately every time I engaged him in conversation," said an e-mail attributed to Mr. Lewis that was widely circulated yesterday at the Episcopal convention in Minneapolis. "No gay man has ever behaved toward me this way," the e-mail said. "If I were a straight woman reporting heterosexual harassment from a straight male priest, would you hesitate to take the matter seriously? Well, I am a straight man, reporting harassment from a gay man from another diocese." Reuters news agency reported that the note also said, "My personal experience with him is he does not maintain appropriate boundaries with men. I believe this is an alarming weakness of character that alone makes Gene unsuitable for the office of bishop." Attempts to reach Mr. Lewis by telephone yesterday were unsuccessful. A staff member of the Manchester Journal confirmed that Mr. Lewis is a contributor to that Vermont weekly. Seth Bongartz, a lawyer in Manchester who told AP that he knows Mr. Lewis "fairly well," said he is married with two children and apparently training to become an Episcopal priest. The harassment accusation fell like a bomb on a gathering of thousands of Episcopal priests, laity and bishops who, along with 300 reporters, were gathered in Minneapolis for what many thought was inevitable approval of Mr. Robinson's nomination by the Episcopal House of Bishops. Bruce Mason, spokesman for the American Anglican Council, a conservative group opposing Mr. Robinson's election, said word leaked out about 1 p.m. that the vote had been postponed. "All the bishops were prepared to march in there and do their thing and then everything just blew up," he said. "We're just sitting here stunned because this has changed the picture here dramatically." The links from the homosexual youth group's Web site to explicit material had been a topic of discussion among delegates for days, he added. "Gene was holding it up as one of his proud achievements," Mr. Mason said. "Well, people started looking at [the Outright.org site] and expressing concern to various bishops. I think Gene's got a lot to answer to right now." After a 45-minute executive session in the afternoon, the Rev. Frank Griswold, presiding bishop for the 2.3-million-member denomination, announced the vote would be postponed while Western Massachusetts Bishop Gordon P. Scruton conducted an investigation. It was not known whether the investigation can be completed by the time the convention ends Friday. But Mr. Robinson's backers in the New Hampshire diocese and in the homosexual advocacy group Integrity said the charges are groundless. Asked whether Mr. Robinson should withdraw until cleared, the Rev. Michael Hopkins, president of Integrity, responded, "Absolutely not," reported Episcopal News Service. All votes at General Convention must be approved by both houses. The Episcopal House of Deputies, including the dioceses of Maryland, Washington and Virginia, approved Mr. Robinson's election by a 2-to-1 margin Sunday. A total of 24 bishops — not nearly enough to mount a serious challenge — were known to oppose Mr. Robinson's nomination. The Rev. Peter Lee, Episcopal bishop of Virginia, yesterday posted a letter on the diocesan Web site, www.thediocese.net, announcing his intentions. "I am convinced of the need to respect the Diocese of New Hampshire's decision, in spite of my personal reservations and our current diocesan policy, which would not permit Canon Robinson to be ordained in Virginia," Bishop Lee said. "His consecration as a bishop does not change Virginia's policy that we believe the normative context for sexual intimacy is lifelong, heterosexual, monogamous marriage." Mr. Robinson, who would have been seated immediately in the House of Bishops, earlier told Agence France-Presse, "If the House of Bishops does not give confirmation ... my election is null and void, and I would never, ever, participate in any kind of move to be consecrated outside the canonical procedures." The conservative American Anglican Council will meet in October to decide whether to leave the church if Mr. Robinson is ordained. Bishops elsewhere in the worldwide Anglican Communion have said they may sever ties in that event. Canon David Anderson, the council's president, said he hoped Mr. Robinson would be rejected regardless of the accusations.</p>

MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 5 — The clergyman seeking to become the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church has been cleared of 11th-hour allegations, church sources have confirmed, NBC News’ Jim Avila reported Tuesday afternoon. The vote by bishops to confirm the elevation of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, which had been postponed Monday for an investigation into the surprise allegations, was rescheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

Episcopal Church Ends Probe of Gay Bishop-Elect Tue August 5, 2003 01:58 PM ET MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - U.S. Episcopal leaders have ended an investigation of sexual misconduct allegations against the church's first openly gay bishop-elect, and will vote on his ratification later on Tuesday, the church's presiding bishop said. The allegations surfaced at the last minute on Monday as the bishops were set to ratify the Rev. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire and forced a delay in the vote. The vote will now take place following a report on the investigation at 3:30 p.m. EDT, presiding Bishop Frank...

<p>A homosexual clergyman's election as Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire was delayed yesterday as church officials investigated his links to a homosexual youth group and charges that he sexually harassed another man.</p> <p>Episcopal leaders meeting in Minneapolis had been scheduled to vote to approve Canon V. Gene Robinson as the church's first openly homosexual bishop until the 11th-hour accusation by a Vermont man, who said Mr. Robinson's advances toward him at a church convention showed an "alarming weakness of character."</p>

The American Anglican Church was in disarray last night after it postponed a vote to confirm Anglicanism's first actively homosexual bishop. The much-heralded vote on whether to endorse Canon Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire was suspended hours before it was due to take place. The delay followed reports linking Canon Robinson with inappropriate sexual behaviour. A church spokesman said the vote would be postponed for at least 24 hours. Canon Robinson, a 56-year-old father of two, divorced his wife and has lived with his male partner for 13 years while assistant to the Bishop of New Hampshire. The...

Allegations throw church's vote into turmoil Minneapolis — Plans by Episcopal leaders to vote on confirming the church's first openly gay elected bishop were thrown into turmoil Monday when allegations emerged that he inappropriately touched a man and was affiliated with a youth Web site that had a link to pornography.Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, head of the Episcopal Church, released a statement announcing the delay as debate was about to start on whether to confirm the Reverend V. Gene Robinson as New Hampshire's bishop. "Questions have been raised and brought to my attention regarding the bishop-elect of the Diocese of...

Charges Stall Confirmation of Gay BishopEpiscopalians Investigate Last-Minute Allegations of Inappropriate Conduct MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 4 -- On the verge of a historic vote, a convention of Episcopalian leaders was thrown into sudden disarray today when opponents raised allegations involving inappropriate touching and pornography against the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, who is awaiting confirmation as the first openly gay bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Church officials said that even though the allegations came at the last minute and might be part of a smear campaign, they would be investigated, forcing the indefinite postponement of a vote on Robinson by the...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Episcopal leaders delayed a vote Monday on whether to confirm the church's first openly gay bishop after allegations involving ``touching'' and ``pornography'' emerged against the clergyman, a church spokesman said. Jim Solheim, the Episcopal spokesman, would not elaborate on the allegations against the Rev. V. Gene Robinson. Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold was expected to make a statement later Monday, Solheim said.

<p>NEW YORK — Alice Kendall may not be able to see the neckerchiefs she folds, but she knows the soft T-shirt material in her hands is protecting U.S. troops from the harsh Middle Eastern desert conditions.</p> <p>Kendall works at Delaware Industries for the Blind (DIB), where workers produce 40,000 military neckerchiefs per month.</p>

Brian Kilmeade is in Kuwait. This is very touching, because he is had a soldier say hi to his wife and kids, and because the guy was so choked up, he could barely get through the sports afterwards. Looks like they are going to have another Joe Military segment again today. Brian interviewed a Dentist, and they showed a sock puppet.