I hereby give notice that I am formally and publicly disassociating myself from Anonymous Hackers.

 I do not believe in nor do I support the disruption of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press when the exercise of such freedoms does not interfere with the rights of others.  I do not believe in the interference of fundamental freedoms in the guise of protecting those freedoms whether that interference is made by a governmental or non-governmental individual or organization.

 I am not by this notice disassociating myself from, nor am I acknowledging any association with, the Cult of the Dead Cow, Umbra Data and the Dark Side Intelligence, LulzSec, Twitter Anonymous, the Sinister League of Evil Badguys, Hacktivismo, the Illuminati, or Terrorists for Truth.

 Nothing in this declaration shall be construed as indicating participation in any illegal activity, whether in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, or any other country or portion of the world.

 I also hereby give notice that I do not intend to reveal the legal names, pseudonyms, locations, methods, or plans of any members of any of these groups, nor do I acknowledge having any such knowledge whatsoever.

Posted at 23:23 UTC on the 17th of April in the year 2012 CE/Discord 34, Year of Our Lady of Discord 3178

 ’Anonymous should take a leaf out of the IRA’s method of operation and use a cellular structure, with only 3 or 4 in each cell so if there is a snitch in the organization it has minimal damage.’

- Stephen, St. Ives, England, 07/3/2012 02:33

Quote from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2111020/Top-members-hacking-groups-Anonymous-LulzSec-arrested-leader-Sabu-turns-in.html

Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Anonymous_at_Scientology_in_Los_Angeles.jpg

(Remember, this cellular structure is a fundamental part of the origin and success of Discordianism).

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBacks (0)

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A while back I was fascinated by this family photo of two young girls in fancy dresses with two artificial snowmen.  Somehow the image got transformed in my mind.  I imagined them wearing typical winter clothing as they built a snowman in the yard, and linked that image to how sexism begins at birth: "is it a boy or a girl?"

Yahoo was looking for poetry and asked for a poem that was inspired by a photo.  They just published my poem.  You can read it at www.associatedcontent.com/article/8309319/the_creation_of_snowman_in_two_parts.html

Posted by Alden Loveshade at 03:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

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Before you read further, I am not being tongue-in-cheek here; I honestly don't understand this.
 
Back in the day, I believed I had some concept of Liberal vs. Conservative, Democrat vs. Republican.  Now, I'm very confused.
 
I remember several years ago I'd read the Libertarian opinions on propositions in California.  Very quickly I figured out that all I had to do was think, "What would a stereotypical hippie believe?"  That would be the Libertarian position.  It worked every time I tried it.
 
Now, the Libertarian Ron Paul is a favored presidential candidate among white-bread, ultra-conservative Tea Party people.  In fact he's largely credited with being the "intellectual godfather" of the Tea Party Movement.  "According to University of Georgia political scientist Keith Poole, Paul had the most conservative voting record of any member of Congress since 1937." (this from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul).
 
Yes, I know Ron Paul has run for president before, but it wasn't until now I put together the irony.  I'm still trying to figure out how Yippies became Yuppies.  But how did the most conservative congressional voter since 1937 become a Hippie?

The 2007 photo of Ron Paul, as a work of the U. S. federal government, is in the public domain.  The 2005 image of a man at a Russian Rainbow gathering was taken by alexkon from Jerusalem, Israel and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

For details and the original images, see http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ron_Paul,_official_Congressional_photo_portrait,_2007.jpg and http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RussianRainbowGathering_4Aug2005.jpg

An opinion of an individual member of The Loveshade Family does not necessarily reflect the views of the entire family.

Posted by Alden Loveshade at 06:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

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Reverend Loveshade
First Baptist Church of Janustown
Janustown, Texas  

Westboro Baptist Church
3701 West 12th Street
Topeka, Kansas 66604-1730

2 March 2011

Dear Pastor Fred Phelps and members of Westboro Baptist Church,

I offer my heartfelt thanks and blessings to the members of Westboro Baptist Church.  You've won your God-given right to freedom of speech as delivered by the U. S. Supreme Court.  The fact that someone is grief-stricken and mourning the death of their son, brother or father is no reason their family shouldn't be legally harassed.  America is God's nation, and in God's nation no one has the right to deal with their grief or any other pain when homosexuals are allowed to live.

Jesus did not say, "I bring peace;" HE said HE brought a sword.  HE overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the temple because HE knew the Jews were gay.  And the unnatural closeness of boy-men to their Jewish mothers is a sure sign of incest, which is absolutely forbidden in the Bible.

Now that your church has won this victory, you can expand.  Why not start protests at schools, including elementary schools?  You could march outside classrooms, and tell children they're going to burn in Hell forever.  Another idea is to march outside orphanages with signs saying, "Thank God your Mommy and Daddy are Dead."

Continue reading "God Bless Westboro Baptist Church" »

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (19)

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Posted by Alden Loveshade at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

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A group of anonymous types flooded YouTube with pornographic videos. It was bound to happen sooner or later.  In this case, many of them were hidden. A video might start out as a kid vid, then in the middle switch to porn.

What interests me the most is the debate this started. People said kids can find porn anyway, parents are responsible if they let their kids visit YouTube, and 'welcome to the internet'.  Others strongly disagreed. One said everyone who posted should get 25 years and be a registered sex offender (this one is rather odd as it came from the UK which doesn't publicly register sex offenders).

A few people said why are parents trying to protect their children from sex in the first place?  It goes back to the "keep the kids ignorant and they won't do it" argument that continually falls on its face.

So how do you keep kids safe from unwanted pregnancy?

Continue reading "Pornography on YouTube" »

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

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* The AMERICAN CONGRESS will work very hard to get very little done.

* Something long-lost by a MAJOR ARTIST will be revealed.

* A scandal will rock the BRITISH GOVERNMENT.  The color purple will be involved.

* The AMERICAN ECONOMY will show significant improvement; Democrats will claim it's because of their fine work, while Republicans will claim it's because of improvements made while George W. Bush was still president.

* BARACK OBAMA will once again be shown to qualify to be U. S. President.  Many people, especially those who watch Fox News, won't believe it.

* The BBC will have a major, career-destroying scandal.

* A male BRITISH ICON of purity and wholesomeness will be caught with his hand somewhere people don't think it belongs; i.e., in someone else's pocket.

* A female AMERICAN ICON of purity and wholesomeness will be caught exposing a portion of her anatomy that the prudish will not think should be exposed.

* Former American President BILL CLINTON will receive an award nobody in their right mind would have expected him to receive when e was president.

* The Law that DEATHS ALWAYS HAPPEN IN FIVES will once again be proven this year.  At least of those deaths will be unexpected, a famous singer, and a famous actor.

* A major figure in the MIDDLE EAST will be violently killed.

* A WORLD-KNOWN FIGURE will admit a Discordian connection.

* A long-awaited for DISCORDIAN TOME will finally be published.  There will be much rejoicing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR,

THE LOVESHADE FAMILY

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 07:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

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Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell told voters, "I'm not a witch." What does that mean?

On "Politically Incorrect" in 1999, O'Donnell said she once went on a date and had a midnight picnic on a satanic altar with blood on it. Recently the Tea Party Republican candidate for senator in Delaware asked, "How many of you didn't hang out with questionable folks in high school?"

I am a witch if you want to call me that. I don't call myself that because people think of witches with long noses with warts who cast evil spells on people. Or they think of them as beautiful girls who control people or regularly battle Satan.

I'm Wiccan. I don't try to control anybody. I don't worship Satan and I don't battle Satan. I don't even believe in Satan. I don't pour blood on an altar either. That sounds gross.

I believe in God. I also believe in Goddess. Nature is a balance between male and female, light and dark, life and death. But nature isn't just opposites. It's many things in between. Almost nothing is totally male or totally female, totally white or totally black. You don't have to be Wiccan to know that.

Wiccans believe, "If it harms none, do as you will." We believe in doing good for the earth and for people. Most Wiccans believe some version of the Threefold Law. That means that what you do returns to you, good for good and bad for bad. So it's foolish to do bad! We aren't "questionable folks."

There are many different types of witches. There are some witches and other Pagans who do harmful things. There are some Catholics and Protestants and Buddhists who do harmful things. That doesn't mean their religion is bad. There are many who do good for people.

If you want to learn more about Wicca you can see http://lorien.loveshade.org/wicca

To see an article about Christine O'Donnell saying she's not a witch, go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39515132/ns/politics-decision_2010/?GT1=43001

The picture is from http://thewitchdoctor.nl/WiccaRede.jpg No threat to its copyright is intended.

Opinions expressed by an individual member of The Loveshade Family do not necessarily reflect the views of the entire family.

Posted by Lorien Loveshade at 08:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

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A federal judge not only struck down California's Proposition 8 (2008), which disallowed same-sex marriage.  But the ruling not only said that homosexual marriage should be allowed, it challenged the very concept of gay marriage.

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker essentially said that marriage is an established institution.  The genders of each member of the couple are no longer a legal issue.

"The evidence shows that the movement of marriage away from a gendered institution and toward an institution free from state-mandated gender roles reflects an evolution in the understanding of gender rather than a change in marriage. The exclusion exists as an artifact of a time when the genders were seen as having distinct roles in society and in marriage. That time has passed."

The decision is already being challenged in court, and will not have an immediate affect on same-sex marriages in California.  Because a previous decision had allowed same-sex marriage in California, some gay and lesbian couples were married before Proposition 8 passed.

You can see more at http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2008771,00.html

To see our entries on same-sex marriage, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=same+sex+marriage

Photo of lesbian couple is from Queereaster Media Working Group (2006) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Lesbian_Couple_love_in_bed_02.jpg

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 08:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

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You may have read our entry about the discrimination against high school student Constance McMillen who wanted to attend her high school prom. Her situation got even worse.

Constance wanted to go to her Mississippi high school prom with her girlfriend, but the school refused to allow it. After the ACLU filed a lawsuit on her behalf, a federal judge said the The Itawamba County Agricultural High School could not discriminate against her attending a school-sponsored prom as that violated her First Amendment rights. The school board's response? Rather that let her attend with a female, they cancelled the prom for everyone.

But the fight against Constance and personal freedom got even worse. The judge was assured that she would be allowed to attend a private dance that would serve as the school prom. But the only students who showed up were Constance, her date, and five other students. Two of those students had disabilities. The "real" prom was held somewhere else.

We will respect the wishes of Constance and the ACLU and not focus all of our outrage on the cruelty here. James Esseks, director of the LGBT Project, said "there's nothing she wants more than for these kind of hurtful actions to end for students all across the country." We cannot change what happened to Constance, but we can support the Student Non-Discrimination Act to prevent this happening to future prom-goers.

Esseks said, "The Student Non-Discrimination Act would be the first comprehensive federal prohibition against discrimination in public schools based on a student's sexual orientation or gender identity."

You can help by sending an email in support of the act by going to https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2207&s_src=UNW100001ACT&s_subsrc=100409_const_CAN&JServSessionIdr004=8jp5gu9q75.app224a

Read more at http://www.yppo.com/2010/04/09/constance-mcmillen-fake-prom/

Preprom photo taken by Ken Stokes on May 20, 2005 and is released under the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 license as found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Preprom.jpg

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To see all our entries dealing with the ACLU, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=aclu

To see all our entries dealing with the Student Non-Discrimination Act (including our first entry on Constance McMillen), click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=student non-discrimination act

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 07:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

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Israel Mireles, 26, the man convicted of killing and raping the 18-year-old Emily Sander, got life in prison without the possibility of parole.  Had Mexico not refused to deport him unless the United States of "We like to kill people in" America promised not to kill him, he probably would have gotten the death penalty.  Then he would have sat on Death Row for 20 years at a cost of millions of dollars.

Synchronistically, on the same day, 31 March 2010, Zoey Zane (the modeling name of Sander) was declared a Discordian Saint.  Emily Sander had already been named a Discordian American Princess.

As this may be our last entry on Emily Sander/Zoey Zane, I'll let you know we were the first website (other than that of the local Kansas paper) to report that Emily was missing before it was revealed she posed nude as Zoey Zane.  Our friend Perlie the Pony Girl was friends with Emily and knew about the double identity, but didn't want to hurt the family.  But the organized media called Emily a "porn star" and still insists on calling her a "pornography model," even though almost all her poses were relatively tame.

Had she not posed, almost everyone who's read the story would not have heard of her.  And that's a shame.

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LINKS

Emily Sander tribute: http://discordia.loveshade.org/xtra/emily.html

Israel Mireles' sentence: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20001552-504083.html

Discordian American Princesses: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Discordian+American+Princess and http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Discordian_American_Princesses

To see all our entries on Emily Sander, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=emily+sander

Entries by persons who are members or associates of The Loveshade Family do not necessarily represent the views of the whole family.

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 10:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

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Constance McMillen wanted to go to her high school prom with her girlfriend.  She wanted to wear a tuxedo.  The Itawamba County Agricultural High School faced a dilemma.  Their policy said no same-sex couples, and no cross dressing.

The American Civil Liberties Union, however, said that policy was a violation of civil rights.  The ACLU's point had already been decided in Fricke v. Lynch, 491 f. Supp. 381, way back in 1980.  So the school district made a decision: rather than let one girl wear a tuxedo, they cancelled the prom for everyone.

The report didn't actually say it was because of that, but "due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events."

Apparently, in that county in Mississippi, learning about civil rights is a distraction to what they consider a proper education. 

Read the story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_lesbian_prom_date

Image used is at http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13517.html/ and appears at http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-13517.html/ No threat to its copyright is intended.

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To see all our entries dealing with the ACLU, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=aclu

To see all our entries dealing with the Student Non-Discrimination Act, http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=student non-discrimination act

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 08:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

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I know you've all been waiting for this all year, so here it is.

Here are my predictions for 2010 (actually, other members of The Loveshade Family contributed to this; they just don't want to admit it):

* The HEALTH CARE REFORM so praised by Americans (that is, those who don't have health care), will pass, but will not work as planned.  Detractors will say it's a huge waste of money, and will put America in the toilet.  However, supporters will say it's at least better than it was, and it will continue to get better.  Rush Limbaugh will say at least I'm still alive.

* ELVIS PRESLEY will be spotted in a shopping mall in New Jersey.

* The AMERICAN ECONOMY will show significant improvement; Democrats will claim it's because of their fine work, while Republicans will claim it's because of improvements made while George W. Bush was still president.

* An American group will work very hard to prove that BARACK OBAMA DOESN'T QUALIFY AS PRESIDENT.  The group will be suspected of having ties to a dissident group overseas.

* The supposedly dim-witted PARIS HILTON will still maintain the facade of being dim-witted, but will none-the-less cleverly manage to get herself in the news for yet another scandal.

* A male AMERICAN ICON of purity and wholesomeness will be caught with his hand somewhere people don't think it belongs; i.e., in someone else's pocket.

* A female BRITISH ICON of purity and wholesomeness will be caught exposing a portion of her anatomy that the prudish will not think should be exposed.

* The Law that DEATHS ALWAYS HAPPEN IN FIVES will once again be proven this year.  At least of those deaths will be unexpected, a famous singer, and a famous actor.

* QUEEN ELIZABETH I will not die, but will have a significant medical problem.  (Sorry, your Majesty).

* A major figure in the MIDDLE EAST will be violently killed.

* In the United Kingdom, there will be renewed interest in an ANCIENT ACTIVITY.  It will be something that's been popular in North America for years.

* HIP HOP will still be popular with many, and still hated by many others.

* I will perform a legally-recognized DISCORDIAN WEDDING, and there will be much rejoicing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR,

THE LOVESHADE FAMILY

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

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There is a bill being proposed in Uganda that would make homosexuality a capital crime; violators would be hung.  Anyone who failed to report a homosexual in Uganda could be imprisoned for three years.

Apparently, some of the people behind the bill (possibly the author) are associated with The Family, a conservative Christian organization.

See the video at www.loveshade.org/blog/uganda_hang_gays.html

Thanks to Vernon Avaritt for pointing this out to us.

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

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New Hampshire is now the sixth American state (if you don't count California) to recognize same-sex marriage.

Legislators approved a law that lets the state join gay-marriage-accepting states Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Iowa.  California had briefly allowed same-sex marriage, but voters changed the law.

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch, who opposes gay marriage and had threatened to veto a previous version, none-the-less signed the law.  This was after the legislature added a provision that religious organizations would not be forced to officiate or participate in same-sex marriage.

We support both the law and the exception.  We believe that consensual marriage should not be illegal, but also believe in the right of a religious group to stand by its beliefs.

See the story at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/03/national/a120055D33.DTL

See all our entries dealing with same-sex marriage by going to http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=same-sex+marriage

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 11:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

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Gay Marriage in California has been a merry-go-round in just the last year.

On May 15 2008, the California Supreme Court said prohibitions against same-sex marriage violated the law.  Soon after, gay and lesbian couples began getting married.

On November 4, 2008, Californians approved Proposition 8, which changed the law, so that same-sex marriages would once again be considered illegal--if the law held up.

On May 26, 2009, the California Supreme Court upheld the new law, meaning gay marriages would be banned--unless they occurred during the short time in 2008 when they were considered legal.  Those marriages would stand.

On May 26, 2009, about 175 peaceful protesters were arrested in San Francisco for protesting the decision.

Already, the law is facing lawsuits.

And already pro-same-sex marriage groups are planning to get another proposition on the ballot to make same-sex marriage legal again in 2010.  Perhaps not coincidentally, the tree front runners to become the Democratic front-runner for governor all support gay marriage.

California politics hasn't been this much of a circus since several dozen people simultaneously ran for governor.

To learn about the San Francisco arrests, see http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090527/lf_afp/usvotegaymarriage_20090527010456

For information on lawsuits, see http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6194048&page=1

To read about pro-same-sex marriage plans for the ballot in 2010, see http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=7502090&page=1

To see all our entries dealing with same-sex marriage, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=same-sex+marriage

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 03:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

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In 1920, America approved a constitutional amendment that meant the prohibition of alcohol.  In 1929, the stock market crashed into the Great Depression.  In 1933, America revoked the amendment, and made alcohol legal again.  By 1936, the American economy (with the exception of still lower employment) had improved so much it was back to pre-crash levels.

Now, there's a debate about the legalization of marijuana.  Marijuana is already legal for medical purposes in several states, although until recently the federal Drug Enforcement Administration would still raid it.  Possession for non-medical use is only an infraction in a few states.  What if it were generally legal, and the federal and state governments could make money taxing it?  in California alone, the estimate is that taxes could raise $1.3 billion.

And that's not mentioning the money that could be saved.  Approximately a third of all prison inmates are there because of "illegal substance" violations.  In Texas, that percentage is about two thirds.  Billions and billions of dollars are spent enforcing laws and punishing people for victimless crimes.

Opponents are claiming the old "gateway drug" theory.  If you smoke pot, soon you'll be snorting cocaine and then shooting heroin.  Your life will be destroyed.  It's like the still-gasping-for-its-last-breath pornography theory.  If you look at pornographic pictures, whatever you see you'll go out and rape.

Continue reading "Fight the Recession: Legalize Marijuana" »

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 12:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

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Connecticut is set to become the fourth U. S. state (if you don't count California) to legally recognize same-sex marriage.

A spokesperson for Gov. M. Jodi Rell said she will sign it into law.  The state house and senate already approved the proposed law, which came after the state supreme court voted 4-3 that marriage could not be restricted by gender.

The state will join Massachusetts, Vermont and Iowa as the fourth state to recognize same-sex or gay marriage.  The gender discrimination had been rejected by the court in California, only to be overruled by the voters who changed the state constitution.

Same sex couples in Iowa have begun tying the knot.  Some of these lesbians and gay men have been couples for years, but not recognized as married.  But if relatively open-minded California reversed same-sex marriage, how long will it take voters to outlaw it in heartland Iowa?

Marriage is still defined in the United States as being between one person and another, usually restricted to one man and one woman.  But the changing definition leaves another question.  How long will it be before biblical fundamentalists push for biblical marriage, that between one man and multiple wives?

See the Iowa story at http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/6395280.html and the Connecticut story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090423/ap_on_re_us/xgr_gay_marriage_connecticut.

For all our blog entries dealing with same-sex marriage, click on http://www.loveshade.org/blog-mt/mt-search.fcgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=same-sex+marriage.  For entries on other terms, such as "gay" or "lesbian," use our search box.

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)

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Filmmaker George Kalman tried to register the name "I Choose Hell Productions" with the state of Pennsylvania.  It was rejected because of a state law that prohibits names containing profanity or blasphemy.

The ever-vigilant ACLU filed a lawsuit based on the Bill of Rights; freedom of religion/separation of church and state, and freedom of speech.

Someday someone's going to have to go after that obscene and profane unholy book that talks about hell, bestiality, both outlaws and promotes incest, and promotes genocide.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29284648/?GT1=43001

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

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Thankfully, the Texas Supreme Court has crawled out of its Dark Ages hole for a moment to decide that ripping children away from their loving parents may not be a great idea. For a brief moment, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is seeing a brief ray of hope that America may actually, occasionally, value freedom of religion.

Now even Child Protective Services (motto: "We can take children away from anybody") has agreed to actually follow the law for once, and are giving the children back. There's nothing in the agreement that says fathers have to stay away, although the parents are required to take parenting classes (which we think every high schooler should take). But, perhaps worst of all, they have to stay in Texas.

This whole case raises several issues. First, why is polygamy illegal? It's supported in Christian, Jewish and Islamic tradition (try actually reading the Bible and Torah and the Qur’an). And why do the headlines continually speak of the "polygamist group?" That's one part of their belief system, not the defining part. Why don't we called Baptists the "monogamist group?"

Second, why do we insist people aren't adults until they turn 18? Is there some adulthood fairy who magically transforms them at midnight? Consider that Muhammad, father of Islam, had a 12-year-old wife, and Joseph, who early Christian writers said was about 60, married Mary when she was somewhere between 12 and 16. Nowhere does Christian or Jewish scripture specify an age for adulthood or a minimum age for marriage.

People are also upset by arranged marriages. This was the standard in Christian, Jewish, Islamic and many Eastern traditions for millennia. The marriage success rate was generally very high, with families getting together who had similar religious and economic backgrounds.

Am I saying I personally agree with everything this church teaches and practices?  Am I ready to join?  No.  Even though, had all the restrictions that CPS and the American Government want to apply been followed several years ago, I would never have been born.  Of course, that would have made some of you very happy.

What I am asking is this: Where does America get off persecuting people for practicing their religion and loving each other?

See story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_on_re_us/polygamist_retreat

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)

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"A group of up to 300 young men have burned to death 11 people suspected of being witches and wizards in western Kenya — in some cases slitting their victims' throats or clubbing them to death before burning their bodies, officials said."

We like to think that burning, hanging, killing people suspected of being witches is over.  Obviously, it isn't.

Police have little hope of solving the crimes, as villagers have refused to identify who did it.

To read the article from the Associated Press, visit http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/21/africa/AF-GEN-Kenya-Burning.php

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 05:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)

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The Holy Bible says nothing against polygamy--in fact, many of the greatest spiritual leaders and men of God were polygamists.  Even King David, the man after God's own heart in Christian and Jewish faith, practiced it.

Warren Jeffs, head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, promoted it.  And was sentenced to two consecutive five-year to life sentences as a result.  This in the United States of America, which prides itself on following biblical principles.

The Holy Bible also doesn't give a minimum age for consenting to have sex.  And many United States laws insist that the older partner in a sexual encounter is automatically the perpetrator--if the "victim" is under the legal age of consent.

But now, an 8-year-old and two 9-year-old boys are charged with the rape of an 11-year-old girl.  Was this preteen rape by preteen rapists?  If all the participants were 7 years older, a 15-year-old boy and two 16-year-old boys with an 18-year-old female, she might be the suspect.   Certainly she would be, if "she" were the "he."

So why do so many American laws claim that it's impossible for a 13-year-old to consent to sex, when they claim some preteens, or even pre-tens, can not only consent, but force it on another?

In both these cases, America might want to question its current version of reality.

See the polygamy story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071120/ap_on_re_us/polygamist_leader and the preteen sex story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071120/ap_on_re_us/boys_rape;_ylt=Aj3SaSuhfmz37xFV8fkOfI5H2ocA

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 05:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

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See our March 2007 Snooze Letter, in which: 

• Adam Gorightly, author of The Prankster and the Conspiracy, The Story of Kerry Thornley and How He Met Oswald and Inspired the Counterculture gives us a suggestion.
• Love Your Neighbor/Discordians for Jesus Day may be recognized in church?
• Reverend Loveshade and other "prominent individuals" are being interviewed for a book.
• Wikipedia Wars on Discordian Works heats up--again.
• And much more Insanity!  Check out our Snooze Letter HERE!

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 03:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

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We expose even more Bizarre stuff in our second part!

• Christina Pearson, Robert Anton Wilson's daughter, acknowledges that RAW is Reverend Loveshade's Grandbob!
• We announce two new inductees into the highly exclusive (only given one day a year, on Pat Pineapple Day) Order of the Pineapple!
• We discuss the result of the FBI (American Federal Bureau of Investigation) report on our group!
• We reveal new submissions for our book, Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht!  (To see the submissions, you have to subscribe to our free Snooze Letter--instructions are at the bottom)

See the February 2007 Snooze Letter by going to discordia.loveshade.org/xtra/snooze0702.html

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 05:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

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The Exposure Issue Part One, Discordian Snooze Letter for January and February 2007, is revealed at http://discordia.loveshade.org/xtra/snooze0701.html

In it we expose:

• Our Robert Anton Wilson page and share a post about Grandbob made on our Blog about RAW by daughter Christina Pearson.
• Regress made on our work Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht
• The Wikipedia War over the article Discordian Works

And more!  See it all exposed at

http://discordia.loveshade.org/xtra/snooze0701.html

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 05:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

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I've been trying for three days to come up with something poignant, clever, insightful, and moving about the passing of Robert Anton Wilson. For three days, I've failed. But I would be remiss if I let another day pass and posted nothing.

To es fans, Robert Anton Wilson was the co-author, with Robert Shea, of The Illuminatus! Trilogy, and the author of many other great books that challenged our perspectives and perceptions of society, human relations, and even reality. E was a free-thinker, a friend of Dr. Timothy Leary, and, with Shea, the popularizer of Discordianism, the religion-joke began by Malaclypse the Younger and Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst. According to Wikipedia, e was "a prolific American novelist, essayist, philosopher, psychologist, futurologist, anarchist, and conspiracy theory researcher." E worked to be an agnostic in all things, taking nothing for granted or at face value. To the Church of the SubGenius, e is possibly the model for their "God" Bob Dobbs. According to es former co-workers at Playboy magazine, e was an associate editor with a fresh sense of humor. To es friends, e was a gentle spirit who cared about others. You can read more about RAW at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson, or at es website at http://www.rawilson.com.

But what was e to me? I cannot answer. Es passing is still too close.

I like to imagine that BloodStar, our missing friend who "left Earth" following the paranoia and Government abuses following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States, returned. I can see the space alien picking up Bob on the StarShip Lorelei, and taking Bob back home to planet Eris. There they can discuss conspiracy theories, sex, humanity, the Illuminati, our crazy planet Earth, and, of course, fnord.

But what have I to say about Robert Anton Wilson? I have no pithy comments, no great witticisms. I have just one, very simple, thing to say. Goodbye, Grandbob.

* * * * *

(For information on Memorial Events and other RAW stuff, go to http://discordia.loveshade.org/xtra/raw.html)

Photo by Robert Altman from http://www.altmanphoto.com/robert.anton.wilson.jpeg

You can still leave comments on this entry.  We left comments open for this entry for a long time.  Unfortunately, we got hit with so much spam that we had to stop the usual method.  But if you want to make a comment, send your comment (required), name you want to use for your comment (required), email address (optional), and website (optional) to the email address at http://discordia.loveshade.org.  Do that and we'll try to post it.

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (83)

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On Friday, November 3 2006, a musician and anti-war activist stopped near a 25-foot-tall sculpture called "Flame of the Millennium," and set his gasoline-soaked body on fire.  Even though this happened near the Kennedy Expressway of Chicago, his death received little media attention, and he wasn't even identified until five days later.

But he's being recognized now.  His death wasn't just a suicide, it was a political protest against corruption, cruelty, and what he perceived as murder by the American government and, by extension, the American people.  Ritscher felt the guilt, and wrote that he could no longer live with it.  Some view him as a matyr for peace like the Buddhist priests who immolated themselves in protest against the war in Viet Nam, and some as a seriously mental ill man who died without cause.

But the Mission Statement he left behind makes some powerful and controversial points about war, greed and corruption, and America's part in it.  You can read it below.

Continue reading "Malachi Ritscher: Burn to Death for Peace" »

Posted by Alden Loveshade at 06:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

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The Ek-sen-trik Discordian Snooze Letter for October/November 2006 is up and posted!

We had some delays due to some technical problems (Beware the Elppin!), but you can see:

Proposed Submissions for our book Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht!

Info on The Illuminatus! Trilogy co-writer, ex-Playboy editor and Conspirator, Robert Anton Wilson!

News about our new Ministers of Deviant Art and how you can submit!

Notes on Planet Eris!

And some bits about our continuing Fight for Freedom!

See the Ek-sen-trik Discordian OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 200 SNOOZE LETTER!

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 04:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

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Dancasso, art editor for our book-in-progress Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht, was disposed in a violent coup. (At least that's the way we're telling it.) Danacasso escaped with es life and the title Ars Ministeralis Deviantis, which e claims e owns as a registered trademark. This leaves us without a leader or a title for the head of our Ministry of Deviant Art.

As the writing portion of Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht is nearing completion, we have a serious need for artwork and for someone to get us art. The Art Editor (by whatever title) doesn’t have to be an artist, but does have to be able and willing to find art for us. This could include works with expired copyrights or that were released into the public domain, and art that the artist will let us use in our book and/or on our site. Email us at ed_submit@loveshade.org with your resume' if you’re interested in this no-pay but lots-of-bragging-rights position.

To get an idea what we're all about, visit us at discordia.loveshade.org

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 06:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)

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Sgt. Patrick Stewart may be the first American Wiccan ever killed in combat. He was honored with the bronze star and the purple heart. But he was the only veteran in a whole cemetery without a memorial plaque because they refused to put up anything with the Wiccan pentagram. ( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/03/AR2006070300968.html)

Now they have, even though the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs still refuses to accept Wicca. The state of Nevada learned they didn't have to do what Veterans Affairs said, so they honored him. (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20060913-1728-nv-wiccansoldier1stld-writethru.html)

How can they say you can fight and be killed for your beliefs, but if you die for them and for America they'll refuse to recognize your religion?

Continue reading "Wiccan War Hero Patrick Stewart is Finally Accepted" »

Posted by Lorien Loveshade at 07:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

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Who will be the next Ruler of the World?  Who are Discordians for Jesus?  Will Planet X be named Eris?  Did a prostitute really get named as a saint?  And do we really need a new Art Editor?

Find out by checking out our Ek-sen-trik Discordian Snooze Letter September 2006.

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 06:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

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In this issue you'll find:

* Information about the planned Aug. 25 to 27 Summit Meeting/Battle for World Rulership between the Discordian Division of the Ek-sen-triks CluborGuild and Mythics of Harmonia.

* Coming Holydays (Weird and Fun)

* Reverend Loveshade in Hospital--and back out again

* Special Message from Untroubled Teen and Princess Unicornia

* Mega Cool New and Coming Entries for Ek-sen-trik-kuh Discordia: The Tales of Shamlicht

See Ek-sen-trik Discordia Snooze Letter -- August 2006 at http://discordia.loveshade.org/xtra/snooze0608.html

Warning: contents may open your mind

Posted by Reverend Loveshade at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

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Much of the world is in a time right now of paranoia.  Paranoia is an irrational fear, in this case the fear that "somebody" is out to get you. You know "they" are very different than you, and thus dangerous, even if you really don't understand what "they" are.

In today's world, people of various skin colors and hair and body types are increasingly living near each other. In much of the world, we're starting to get used to this, and "racial discrimination" is losing popularity, although by no means has it disappeared.

Continue reading "Modern Day Paranoia: Five Blind Men and an Elephant" »

Posted by The Loveshade Family at 05:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

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