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Very Early Iowa Prediction

Dec 16
Posted by kevintracy in 2008 Elections, 2012 Elections, Bachmann, Barack Obama, Cain, Gingrich, Huckabee, Huntsman, Intolerance, Iowa, New Hampshire, Palin, Paul, Perry, Politics, Presidential Race, Religious Intolerance, Republican, Romney, Santorum

I’m proud of myself. I didn’t get sucked into any of the GOP candidates’ campaigns. Granted, it can be fun helping to make a candidate, but none of the GOP field really deserved any support (let alone mine). Still, people get crazy this time of year; and the Iowa contest is right around the corner.

Well, I missed last night’s debate with the exception of a few minutes on the radio where Bachmann was doing her damnedest to make Ron Paul look smart during their argument over Iran. I also heard Newt’s comments about rebalancing power by subpoenaing judges who make controversial decisions. That’s an interesting idea, but it works both ways. What happens when a Democrat-controlled Congress subpoena a conservative judge for an anti-abortion decision? I think there are better ways to reign in the courts.

Anyway, my point is that I don’t know how the last debate will affect the turnout in Iowa. However, I’ve been asked for an early prediction, so here it goes.

1. Mitt Romney
2. Newt Gingrich
3. Ron Paul
4. Rick Perry
5. Michele Bachmann
6. Rick Santorum
7. Jon Huntsman

Here’s why.

Very recent polling has suggested Gingrich’s numbers are slipping in the Hawkeye state. That’s in large part to everyone else attacking the candidate leading the anti-Romney bandwagon with the most momentum. The result of which is that Newt Gingrich is vulnerable in Iowa. Mitt Romney knows that if Newt wins Iowa, Newts strong poll numbers in New Hampshire and South Carolina will propel him to the nomination.

For Mitt Romney to win the nomination, Gingrich has to lose Iowa. It doesn’t have to be Romney that wins Iowa, as long as its anybody but Newt. The problem is that the only candidate in position to beat him is Mitt Romney. Not only does he have the support, but Mitt Romney also has the aged infrastructure he built four years ago.

Aged or not, however, it doesn’t matter. Newt, not having spent enough time campaigning, lacks the infrastructure all together. That’s a tactical advantage for Romney, who hasn’t spent much time in Iowa this time around, either.

That will change. Knowing he can’t let Newt win this first contest, Mitt will probably spend much of the next three weeks in Iowa. Unless there are any enormous events; such as a Huckabee, Palin, or Cain endorsement; I predict Mitt will win Iowa.

Newt will come in second. In the polls, Ron Paul is in a close third place. That tells me one of two things: either Iowans are really stupid or the participation in this year’s contest is really low. I suspect the latter. Ron Paul’s strong showing at the Iowa Straw Poll was in large part because so few people cared enough about the candidates to travel to Ames.

However, low turnout and a close third or not, Ron Paul will come in a distant third (maybe even fourth). There are two major reasons for this. The first is that Iowa is a caucus state. If you don’t know how it works, I’ll make it easy to understand. A room of Iowans gather from the same precinct (1,874 of them). They listen to pitches from the campaigns, make pitches themselves, and then vote. Each room elects a delegate from their county to the state convention, which determines who to send to the GOP National Convention. In other words, unless you win a room, you’re not going to win a delegate. This has a way of separating top tier candidates from bottom tier candidates. Ron Paul’s idiot brigade in Iowa isn’t going to have the majority in many of the precincts, which will deflate his numbers.

THE SECOND REASON why Ron Paul will under preform is because he just does. Ron Paul’s demographic is very vocal and very annoying, but a lot of them are too lazy to register to vote; and if they are registered, they are either too apathetic or stoned to get themselves out to do it. You remember that smelly kid who wore the same two hoodies everyday in school? He still smells and now he supports Ron Paul.

When Iowans Caucus, a few libertarian-minded conservatives considering Ron Paul despite of his wackiness will see the quality (or lack thereof) of the people making a pitch for Ron Paul and decide they don’t want anything to do with these losers. In addition to have never showered in the past year, Ron Paul’s supporters are exceptionally rude, inconsiderate, and just unagreeable “people” in general. Civilized people just don’t like them.

Rick Perry will probably come in fourth, but his traditional conservative message and recent faith-based messages may play well enough to put him over Ron Paul.

Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann are going to be in a battle for 5th place. Rick Santorum probably has the highest “favorable” rating of any candidate, which may make him a lot of people’s second choice if they are convinced not to vote for Romney, Gingrich, or Perry. Bachmann is just riding the Sarah Palin wave. She’s a woman with a big mouth but inferior brain. I still like Elizabeth Dole, so I don’t have a problem with women. It just do happens that these two (Palin and Bachmann) are obnoxious. Luckily for them, obnoxious seems to be the new black (or red?) in the Republican Party. I think Bachmann will win only because her support early in the campaign have her a networking connection Rick Santorum never managed to build for himself.

Jon Huntsman will probably come in last since he’s focused his efforts in New Hampshire.

Tonight, I’ll give my predictions for who will drop out after Iowa.

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Democracy Evolving in Libya, Egypt, and the United States

Oct 25
Posted by kevintracy in Barack Obama, Christianity, Egypt, George W. Bush, History, Intolerance, Islam, Libya, National Security, Politics, Racism, Religious Intolerance, Theology, United Nations

During President George W. Bush’s second inaugural address, the President spoke about his freedom doctrine; which many conservatives correctly tied to the developments in North Africa and the Middle East over the past year. In this address, President Bush (or at least his speech writers) shared some very relevant information with those who were paying attention and cared to remember six years later.

“This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen, and defended by citizens, and sustained by the rule of law and the protection of minorities. And when the soul of a nation finally speaks, the institutions that arise may reflect customs and traditions very different from our own. America will not impose our own style of government on the unwilling. Our goal instead is to help others find their own voice, attain their own freedom, and make their own way.”

It’s like he could see into the future. Maybe Karl Rove has a time machine!

As much fun as it would be, conspiracy theories about Karl Rove aren’t the reason why I’m writing this post on a train with my iPhone. I’m writing to address conservative and libertarian criticisms of the governments forming in Egypt and Libya (especially Libya); which have adopted elements of Sharia Law in forming their new nations.

It is as though the people of Libya, finally free of Gadhafi, are now expected to instantly form an entirely free and secular society… Or at least a Christian society if they absolutely MUST have a faith built into their national identity.

Well, that’s not who they are. I mentioned in an earlier post that Libya is dominated by varying and often conflicting tribes. The trick is for the National Transitional Council to find a common set of laws that everyone can agree with. Call me crazy, but in a country with such an enormous percentage of Muslims, finding those common laws and a sense of national identity in God through the Qur’an seems like a pretty darn good idea!

Plus, with all this patriotic and self-righteous testosterone running through conservative opinion in the United States, it seems necessary to remind people of America’s history in such matters.

For the first half of our national history, roughly 1/4th to 1/3rd of our total population consisted of slaves. Liberty, indeed.

Until the 20th century, half of our population couldn’t vote because they were women. Democracy in action. It wasn’t even until the latter half of the 20th century that all citizens were guaranteed equal rights.

Oh, and our freedom of religion? Catholics were only allowed to vote in two states when our nation, the champion of freedom, was born.

And I know I needn’t go into all the abuses our government and national founders waged against the native American-Indian population.

It took us 235 years to get where we are as a country today, and we’re still a work in progress. Expecting Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other newly free country to magically turn into a mini-America overnight is ridiculous, arrogant, and condescending.

What we too often fail to realize in our short-sighted political goals and is that liberalism (lower-case “l”) is an experiment. Freedom means many things to many different people and western liberal political ideology isn’t necessarily the path for all the diverse people’s of this world to realize their personal dreams of freedom.

One thing I’m certain of, however, is that overnight libertarianism is far more dangerous to the people of Libya and the world than a moderate and modern approach to Sharia Law.

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A Brutally Honest Assessment of the Republican Field

Oct 12
Posted by kevintracy in 2008 Elections, 2012 Elections, Bachmann, Barack Obama, Cain, Christianity, Economy, France, Gingrich, Homophobia, Huntsman, International, Internet, Intolerance, Islam, Jobs, National Security, Obama, Palin, Paul, Pawlenty, Perry, Politicians, Politics, Presidential Race, Presidential Race, Religious Intolerance, Republican, Romney, Santorum, Tea Party, Texas, Theology

The 2012 Republican candidates during the Politico debate.

It’s October and the Iowa Caucuses are going to be coming right around the corner pretty soon. State by state, the Republican Party will hold primaries, caucuses, and conventions to determine the next Republican Presidential Nominee.  There’s just one problem: All of our candidates suck.

In alphabetical order:

Representative Michele Bachmann

Ask her any question and her answer is that she’s adopted nearly two dozen at risk children and she’s going to repeal Obamacare.  When asked for specifics, she reminds you that she’s adopted nearly two dozen at risk children and she’s going to repeal Obamacare.  The woman makes Sarah Palin look half-way intelligent.  Her response to Cain’s 999 plan last night was to turn it upside down and find out that it’s a 666 plan.  Brilliant (sarcasm).

Former CEO Herman Cain

Let’s put aside the fact that he believes all Muslims should have to take a special loyalty oath before working in government.  Herman Cain simply lacks the understanding of Washington.  For some, that’s a plus.  Practically speaking, however, it means he lacks a fundamental understanding of the underlying problems in Washington.  His prize 999 plan is a perfect example of this.  If implemented, would it work to bolster the economy?  Almost certainly.  If implemented, though, it would likely face the fate Rick Santorum described for it in the Washington Post | Bloomberg online debate: the three taxes wouldn’t stay at 9% for very long.  Cain argues that he would veto any tax hikes, but as one of the candidates pointed out, he won’t be President forever.  If Cain had even a basic knowledge about the workings of Washington, he would know his plan is a bad idea.

To his credit, he’s outperformed the other lower tier candidates during the debates by being forceful at just the right times, making sure he gets his point across.  The Cain train-wreck during the debate last night would have been a lot worse had he been as docile as the other bottom tier candidates.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich

Let’s put aside the fact that he foolishly backed Cain’s idea to require Muslims to take special loyalty oaths.  Newt is easily the most intelligent and capable candidate in the Republican field.  Every time he speaks during a debate, he runs circles around the other candidates.  Some people say his lack of success is due to his being perceived as a Washington insider.  Perhaps that’s true to some extent, but he’s been fighting the good fight before a lot of the candidates even considered themselves Republicans.  The perception of being a Washington insider is really easy to overcome.  The reason why he hasn’t overcome it is because he’s not trying.  Seriously, he shows up for these debates and he’s virtually invisible until the next one comes around.  Newt has next to no ground organization and, just as bad in this day and age, he has no online organization. (He doesn’t even have a .com web address)

A few friends and I all tried to reach out to Newt Gingrich’s campaign to offer our support when he first got in the race.  We received no response.  Since then, in addition to the attempts of other bloggers, I’ve tried reaching out to the Gingrich campaign on at least five different occasions, the last of which being a month ago.  Still, no responses.

Newt is not taking this race seriously, so why should anybody interested in supporting him?

Former Governor and Ambassador Jon Huntsman

I’ve seen video of Huntsman inside and outside of the debate setting.  To be perfectly honest, it just seems like he has a passive personality.  Granted, that perception is probably wrong because you don’t get to be the Ambassador to China and the Governor of Utah by being a passive person.  Still, perceptions are important; and when the economy is this bad, I have to believe the people want a President who is going to be a forceful leader.  That’s not the impression one gets from Huntsman (or Santorum, for that matter).  Obviously, Huntsman’s candidacy also raises the same concerns in me as Mitt Romney, relating to the dangers electing a henotheist as President while we are at war with radical Islam.  I’ll detail that concern more in depth with Mitt Romney since most of you don’t care enough about Jon Huntsman to actually read this paragraph.

Vietnam Veteran Jimmy McMillan

Most of you probably didn’t know that Jimmy “RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH!” McMillan was running for President on the Republican ticket.  That’s probably because he hasn’t been allowed at any of the debates.  I’m assuming that’s also because he failed to make it on any of the ballots.  In other words, it is statistically impossible for him to win.  But that doesn’t change the fact that the RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH!

Representative Ron Paul

Ron Paul isn’t a Republican.  He’s a French Anarchist who twisted his rhetoric to represent what he wants you to believe was the intention of the founding fathers.  Of course, this representation is horrifically false and the vast majority of intelligent Americans recognize that.  Ron Paul is a crack pot and a fraud.

Governor Rick Perry

I had really hoped Rick Perry was going to be the saving grace of the Republican Party this year. Instead, Rick Perry has turned out to be the Fred Thompson of this election cycle.  No, Perry didn’t star on a hit crime drama on NBC.  However, the job figures coming from Texas made him just as popular prior to entering the race.  Like Thompson four years ago, we have seen how Perry can be a great speaker.  Yet, we have also seen how horrible he is at thinking on his feet during debates… like Fred “um” Thompson.

Okay, maybe Perry isn’t THAT bad.  Still, I doubt he could win a debate against President Obama and a lot of voters base their votes on the candidates performances during those debates.

Strangely, Rick Perry doesn’t own RickPerry.com – like Newt, he lacks a .com web address.

Former Governor Mitt Romney

In the midst of this utterly incompetent field, Mitt Romney looks pretty damn good.  Granted, that has as much to do with his excessive use of hair products as it does his silver tongue.  Many of us involved in the 2008 campaign remember all too well how big of an ass Romney is.  The liberal kind of ass.  Sure, he’s been talking like a conservative since deciding to run for President about five years ago; but his record isn’t a conservative record.  Also, there are foreign policy considerations that arise from his faith, as well.  In my opinion, Mormons are no different from protestants.  That point of view, however, isn’t shared by most in the Islamic world.  That’s because Mormonism is a henotheistic faith tradition; which is a pretty big deal from the Islamic point of view.  Despite the rhetoric you read from those bigots see on Facebook, Muslims are directed to protect Christians by the Holy Qur’an.  Henotheism (the belief in the existence of more than one god), however, does not sit well within the Qur’an.  The fear I have is that electing a henotheistic President could potentially serve as an unnecessary tool of propaganda to enlist Muslims, who were otherwise inclined to live in peace, into various terrorist organizations.

As I wrote above, I have as much respect for Mormonism as I do any other protestant denomination.  And I really have no problem being represented by a henotheist or polytheist; whether that person is a Mormon, Hindu, or a worshiper of the Greek god Ares (Greek god worship might actually make politics more entertaining).  However, given the fact that we’re trying to secure a lasting peace between ourselves and the Muslim world, I don’t think it would be prudent to elect a henotheist at this time in our history.

Plus, I really don’t like Mitt Romney, his record, or his excessive use of hair product.

Former Senator Rick Santorum

I really think Rick Santorum should have run in 2008.  With the pain of the 2006 elections still fresh in the minds of conservatives, the image of a man willing to fight and die by his conservative values would have been really attractive in the face of John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney.  Four years later, however, the people have all but forgotten how badly the Democrats slaughtered the Republicans in 2006.  Now, Rick Santorum is operating on the false assumption that we remember how conservative he really was and how much he really did for the conservative cause while in the US Senate.  Rick Santorum’s strength is in a narrative the majority of conservative voters have long since forgotten… a narrative he doesn’t have time to recreate because he’s too busy running for President.  Rick Santorum is what a lot of Republicans are looking for, but they just don’t know it.  Unfortunately for Santorum, he’s been unable to find a way to tell them.

Santorum is also a little bit too homophobic for my personal taste, but he’s done a pretty good job of keeping that rhetoric to a minimum throughout the course of this campaign.

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Photos and Thoughts of the Protest Against Fairhaven Child Abuse

Sep 25
Posted by kevintracy in Christianity, Crime, Indiana, Intolerance, Physical & Emotional Abuse, Religious Intolerance, States, Theology

UPDATE:
Here’s regional media coverage of the protest.
NWI Times
Post-Tribune
Chesterton Tribune

The truth is making its way to regional papers.
================

I just got back home from Sunday’s protest of the 40+ years of systematic child abuse that is continuing at the Fairhaven Baptist church and school.   As you may have noticed, CNN has taken the video of their “Ungodly Discipline” segment on this radical church (some would prefer the term “cult”) offline.  However, if you haven’t seen the video already, you can find a transcript of the show here.  I saved the page, so if that’s taken offline too, there will still be a record of it.

If there’s one thing I saw demonstrated at Sunday’s protest, it’s that no number of lawyers and no level of intimidation is going to quiet their victims or satisfy the outrage of this community that has rallied to support the survivors.  As I was leaving the protest, a woman who had gone there as a child told me, “This was the first time I was able to drive into Chesterton without that disgusting and sick feeling of anxiety.”

In all, over 150 people showed up for this protest, which lasted from 5pm until about 8:30.   Not included in the count of 150 are the hundreds more that drove by honking their horns, flashing their lights, and waving a thumbs-up out their car windows.  The crowd was made up of a diverse group from our surrounding community, ranging from high schoolers to the elderly and conservative to liberal.  In addition to these great people were some of the many survivors and victims, some of whom drove hundreds of miles to make it clear that they were no longer able to be intimidated by this leaders of this church.  What was even more impressive than the group was how well everyone integrated with everyone else.  By that, I mean that there weren’t circles of one group in one place and another group further down the picket line.  There were no cliques.  It was one cohesive group there to protest one thing and one thing only: the systematic abuse of children.

The event was peaceful, although at one point, a Fairhaven security guard (yes, they have security guards) walked right past a mother and tried to give her small daughter candy through an open car window.  The mother exploded with anger for approaching her child.  I found out later that this inappropriate act was also incredibly dangerous because the girl had a serious chocolate allergy.  The guard backed down, realizing he was about to receive a butt whooping from the girl’s mother.  According to both former members of the church and members of the surrounding community, the offer of candy and other sweets is often used by this church’s recruiters to bribe children into coming to the church.

All the more reason why you should never take candy from strangers.

Here are the pictures I took with my iPhone.   If you have photos you would like to share here or a blog post about the event I can link to, don’t hesitate to contact me.

[Gallery not found]

More pictures:

From Nick Pagels 
From The Post-Tribune
From The NWI Times

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Protest Scheduled Against Fairhaven Child Abuse! Sunday at 5pm!

Sep 24
Posted by kevintracy in Christianity, Crime, Health, Internet, Intolerance, Physical & Emotional Abuse, Religious Intolerance, Theology

Concerned citizens from across our community are gathering with victims and former members of the Fairhaven Church in order to publicly protest the decades of child abuse that was finally revealed on national television the other night. Tomorrow, Sunday, at 5pm, people are gathering for what’s being described as a PEACEFUL “Good, Old-Fashioned Protest.”

In case you missed Anderson Cooper’s segment on the child abuse taking place right in our own back yard, here’s the video and transcript if the video doesn’t work:

Roger Voegtlin, the leader of this cult-like church; who won’t even call his daughter by name, forced his son wear a dress in front of his peers, and calls humiliation a “habit;” gives us some idea of what the survivors endured and why this protest is so important. If you want a more full picture of what we’re up against, take some time to read the more than 80 comments left by victims and witnesses on my first post about the abuses at Fairhaven.

And in the interest of clarity, let’s be sure everyone knows that this is NOT a protest against any religion. This is not any kind of political protest. This is a peaceful protest against the regular physical and emotional abuse we’ve been discussing and all those responsible for this “ungodly discipline”.

You can find the Facebook Event Page for this protest here:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=137985006299017

Please share this with all of your local family and friends.  The NWI Times is sending a reporter and photographer and other area news outlets may show up as well. You don’t have to talk to the press or anyone else you’re not comfortable with. Your presence alone will be a loud voice on the part of the all concerned citizens of our community.

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Fairhaven Baptists under scrutiny by CNN for child abuse

Sep 22
Posted by kevintracy in Christianity, Crime, Dehydration, Health, Indiana, Intolerance, Physical & Emotional Abuse, Racism, Religious Intolerance, States, Theology

VIDEO UPDATE:

Here’s the video and transcript of the “Ungodly Discipline” segment aired on AC360 on the night of September 22, 2011.  Kudos to everyone involved who made this story possible.

==================

Tonight (Thursday, September 22) at 7pm Central, Anderson Cooper (host of Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN) is airing a story that takes place in my humble hometown of Chesterton, IN.  Despite all the really awesome things about this town and community that I love so much, the story isn’t going to be a positive one.  Perhaps you’ve seen one of his “Ungodly Discipline” segments before on his show.  Well, after airing the show, former members of the Fairhaven Baptist church are coming forward with some horrifying stories to share with national television.  While I won’t know what is being brought forward in the article until after I watch the segment, I do know that former church members are starting to share their stories on Facebook.

After exchanging e-mails with some of the brave people who left the “cult,” I decided to share some of the shared stories here.  The only editing I’ve done to the paragraphs below are formatting changes to allow for the content to be read easier in this blog format.  (I pressed enter to make paragraphs and added titles.)

In the interest of fairness, I have no way of validating the stories below except to say that the number of witnesses coming forward is alarming.  At the same time, I have no reason to doubt them, either.  If it matters, I believe the victims.  For my own part, I grew up in this town and live here now.  With that said, my contact with this seclusive church has been extremely limited.  That alone is a red flag in a small and friendly town like Chesterton, Indiana.  The contact I and many of my neighbors have had in the past has been from their church’s door-to-door solicitors.   On more than one occasion as children, my younger sister and I were told that we were going to hell if we didn’t go to church with them.

To be honest, their approach of selling God like obnoxious vacuum cleaner salesmen only further strengthened my Catholic faith growing up.  Unfortunately, this type conduct and the horror stories from the rare excommunicated transfer students to our excellent public school also did a lot to enforce the cynicism towards religion as a whole among some of my peers.

Read the stories below and I think you may begin to understand why.

The Mexico Trip:
… This was the first major trip the youth group had taken after Voegtlin and Damron took over the youth group. Whitecar was along for the ride as well… And everyone of these guys had a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. My father was along on this trip as a bus driver along with some other old timers…R.L. Grant and Dean Leslie. These guys looked up to my dad as a sort of source of wisdom I guess…

As is in any youth group the younger kids are immature…thats why they are in 7th grade. A few of the kids made some stupid mistakes, some hardly worth mentioning, yet Damron felt like he needed to come down hard with an iron fist. Darcel McCoy did something silly and stupid in the shower but was accused of deliberately trying to urinate on someones tooth brush…(He didn’t) in case you were wondering… Caleb Stockman and Tom Almanza were seen on the opposite side of the road without permission and had stopped to buy a coke or something silly…nothing really offensive or a deep sin.

The next day we were not allowed to eat lunch or have anything to drink…mind you this is Mexico in summertime 100+ degree temperature in the shade…(and at this point none of us knew why we were being punished) We spent the day knocking on doors and inviting people out to see a film at a mission church that we were there to help…It was nothing more than brick walls with a tin roof, as it got later people began to show up at the church and the girls were allowed to sit down with them…The guys were sent upstairs under the tin roof in a room with no windows or ventilation, we sat up there and waited and waited for about 2-3 hours (still no idea, and pretty hungry and thirsty and PO’d by this time…)

After the service finished we got on the bus to head back to the compound that we were staying at and were told no one was allowed to talk. We wondered if they were finally going to feed us or at least tell us what was going on… But when we got back to the gym where we slept each night we were told to get changed and go to bed…once again, no talking. By this time I knew something was up…and didn’t think for a minute that we were going to be getting a good nights sleep…

Lights had been out for about 30 minutes when the gym doors came crashing open and garbage cans went flying like an opening scene from Full Metal Jacket… And Carl Bain in all his glory yelled for us to square the deck away…now most of these kids weren’t raised in military families and had no clue they just stood there…Finally he got it across that he wanted them to clear out an area in the middle of the floor and form a circle. They then began to berate everyone in the gym, saying “You guys don’t take this serious, ‘You wanna play games?’ fine we are going to play some games!”

They called Darcel, Caleb, and Tommy into the center of the circle and sat them down in chairs next to a fan and fed them steak fajitas and sandwiches, made sure they were nice and comfortable. Then began to make us do PT jumping jacks, sit-ups pushups, bends and thrusts(ask someone who has been in the military, what bends and thrusts are) then leg lifts while Steve Damron ran around the room stepping on each persons stomach saying that if they were doing it right they wouldn’t be able to feel him…

All the while we were told that we were being punished because of the 3 in the middle…this went on for about an hour and a half with no stop. Finally we are told to stand up…and they pulled Darcel into the middle and told us what he had done…or what they thought he had done…And they began to force him to drink liquid…It started out with bottles of arizona tea and then 2 liters of coke and gallons of water…I literally watched his stomach swell up from the liquid he was trying to ingest…and as if this wasn’t enough…Jeff Voegtlin…and I’m quoting him and dare him to dispute it…said “Only a “NIGGER” would do something like what you did butch…” ( Darcel is an African American by the way) then they forced him to drink more water until he literally exploded vomited and urinated all over himself and what not every where…

Then they made him clean it up and we went back to doing more PT while they sat him back down with his compadres…they had shut the air off in the gym as well, to make it more comfortable for us…”How thoughtful” after about another 45 min to an hour of this, they once again clarified they were punishing us as a whole due to the sins of those three guys…and that they were going to go outside for a break and kept saying they trusted that we would take care of it…As soon as they closed the doors behind them the entire 60-70 guys jumped the three in the middle…

Caleb was lucky he was a bit stocky and no one wanted to mess with him…Darcel and Tommy got the brunt of it…I watched tommy’s brother Andy beat the crap out of him…hitting him with his class ring and bouncing his head off of the cement, all the while yelling that tommy had sent some poor mexicans to hell because of his playing around and not being serious… Tommy the next day could not open his eyes they were swollen shut and Im pretty sure he had one if not several concussions…both he and Darcel would have been admitted to any emergency room here in the states , but those Jerks didn’t even have the thought to check them out….(Had they died or had been paralyzed this story would have taken a much different turn)

We were then told to go to sleep and not talk about any of this to the girls the next day…

  • Darcel’s Version of the Story:
    The doors in the shower was broken, and I couldn’t get out. I was 13yrs old and had to pee! So I went in the shower! Since I told them “I couldn’t hold it” I was forced to drink gallons of water and coke and tea until I had to pee, then made to urinate on myself. Again, this is after puking several times all over myself because of all the liquids being forced down. (tea, coke, dirty water)
  • Michael’s Story:
    I remember this day like it was yesterday. Now mind the fact some of things I will say came to my knowledge years after the incident. Earlier in the day when most people were getting ready to go out canvassing, word started to spread around that staff was upset and people were going to be in trouble. So some people do what survival instincts prompted them to do and that was to save their own skin and tell on others. So Don Whitecar stood up and said if anyone has any information about people breaking the rules they need to come forward or everyone in the canvassing group would be punished. So we had people fabricating stories to save their own skin. They compiled a list of about 25 people that had “done wrong.”Since they were experts at making mountains out of mole hills, they said it was a widespread problem and needed to be dealt with. This is when Sam’s story comes into play. We also had gone to Mexico with a missions group that was not affiliated with our group and took their buses and people into chihuahua. So they put us down to bed until thwarting bus kids that came with us and the bearing precious seeds people were asleep out on the bus.While the people in the middle were eating they got the list of people out and one by one called them to the middle of the circle where Jeff Voegtlin was standing with a paddle. They were saying he was the executioner and would be administering swats. after you had been called out, they read the charges against you and decided on the how many swats you were to receive. They even had an algorithm to compute swats for some. For example they would say take the number of charges, multiply it times 3 and divide by 2. If it was an odd number that you divided by then they would ask what butt cheek you wanted half the swat on. Some were told to go butt naked for their swats. After this was done, they focused on darcel and made the kid, whose tooth brush was allegedly peed on, get his toothbrush for darcel to brush his teeth with.At the same time they told all the seniors to get their nice clothes and put them at the feet of darcel so that he would wet himself and the seniors clothes so they would be upset. Now mind touch, fairhaven staff was very good at prompting others to do their physical abuse for them. When darcel drank so much that he peed himself and the seniors clothes, they got in his face calling him names and shouting at him. They then walked out telling everyone they hoped the problem would be solved when they got back. It was not Andy who beat up tom, but I will not say who it was. People need to understand we had so much animosity, hatred and emotions stuck inside of us for so long that when the opportunity for an outlet came it came out with a vengeance. We would take our frustrations of staff out on others. After the beating, they made darcel clean the bathrooms with the toothbrush and was not allowed to pee or sleep that night.

The Cover-Up:
This story took place 15 years ago, but I have people willing to tell their stories from recent years as well. Many of us were too afraid to tell our parents (we had been told not to tell a soul) who had signed consent forms to allow these guys to “be responsible” for us. The staff learned not too long ago Caleb Stockman had a similar picture of Tommy after he had been beaten. They came to Caleb and requested he destroy the evidence in front of them.

My father was and is the Head of the Deacon Board there and I have been forewarned that if I am responsible for getting this story out in the news that all ties will be officially severed…this is a common occurrence among many of my friends. When they speak up against abuse or disagree with the church or Dr. Voegtlin their parents are pressured into disowning them and forbidding their other chidden from speaking to them. I hope you know that I don’t hate the “church” as much as I hate the 40+ years of abuse and ruined lives it has produced…Broken Families, Broken Relationships…

“X” Your Family:
I believe that there is abuse going on at Fairhaven. I was there from 1987 until 1992. I was affected by the way they conducted themselves and my family was affected also. There have been long term affects from the way they have raised children there and from their cruel ways and unforgiving nature. People there are taught that it is o.k. not to forgive and that it is o.k. to turn your back on your family…they say “X your family and that will erase them out of your life forever.” God says “forgive them and I will forgive you.” There is a whole lot more than just physical abuse going on there.

Striking Babies for Crying:
I personally observed some of the abuse when I babysat for one of the families in the church. It was my nursing home leader and I went home to babysit for them after our service that day. Their 2 year old daughter had fallen asleep during the service and when she got home she got 10 swats: 5 for falling asleep, 2 for crying and making noise when she was awakened, 2 for crying when told that she would be “dealt with” when she got home, and 1 for crying while the first 9 swats were being administered. They made me watch, then made it very clear that I was expected to do the same while they were gone. One of their kids did lie to me while I was there that afternoon, but I was so upset about what would probably happen that I didn’t tell the parents.

Parents Not Protecting Their Children:
I attended from 1977-1991, and to this day, I still become physically ill anytime I am in Chesterton because of this place. I pray that this exposure will finally lead to some justice for those who suffered from this awful place all in the “name of Jesus.” What was so hard to comprehend, was how the parents of these children just stood back and did nothing. Those who have children should know and understand that they are entrusted to us by God to love and protect.

Personally, I did not experience any physical abuse; I did experience emotional and psychological abuse. Like many others, it has taken a long time to get through it.
I pray that something will come from this national exposure. No more children and families should have to continue to suffer.

Drowning:
I remember and still have problems stemming from the treatment I received at Fairhaven. I was physically punished falsely so many times and treated like I was worthless. I remember when my favorite teacher, who never really fit in and was often criticized, suddenly drowned in the lake behind the church. He was an expert swimmer, young and healthy and he knew the lake like the back of his hand. There was much speculation surrounding his death and it still haunts me to this day. My self-esteem has suffered immensely because of this place. Thank God that my mother left when she did.

Gun Violence:
her son suffered physical abuses and was threatened and traumatized with a gun by staff members at Fairhaven. The broadcasts, as it appears has given many courage to come forward. Praise God and may they continue to do so!!!He was held at gunpoint as a young boy by Fairhaven staff member, while they assaulted him to some measure. We are currently gathering facts and seeking a secular teacher whom consoled the boy on the matter years ago.

Satan’s Fabricators:
you know what’s funny? i remember voeglin preaching about people like us. he said we were fabricators of stories and liars. that satan uses us to try to destroy creator’s work there. i guess i now fall into that category.

3rd Place Isn’t Good Enough:
i got the hell beat out of me when i came in 3rd place at a wrestling tournament instead of 1st. can’t remember his name but the youth pastor then (short, italian guy) was also the coach. he had me box 2 9th graders. 2 10th graders. 2 jr. and 1 sr. for losing. i was only in 8th grade. clearly remember that one. i still carry some anger from that time.

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Palestinians taking statehood bid to the UN

Sep 19
Posted by kevintracy in 2012 Elections, Barack Obama, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Britain, China, Columbia, Egypt, France, Gabon, Germany, History, India, International, Intolerance, Israel, Lebanon, National Security, Nigeria, Obama, Palestine, Perry, Politicians, Politics, Portugal, Presidential Race, Religious Intolerance, Republican, Romney, Russia, South Africa, Syria, United Nations

It’s times like these that international politics can be really fun to cover and discuss.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is in New York and has officially requested that the United Nations grant the Palestinians full UN membership; which means Palestine would be a recognized and sovereign state.  The process for this is pretty simple.  First, the United Nations Security Council (United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, Brazil, Colombia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Africa, Nigeria, Gabon, Lebanon, India, Portugal, and Germany) must vote on the matter.  While the vote doesn’t have to be unanimous, the five permanent members of the Security Council (US, UK, FR, RU, CN) each of the power of veto.  From there, the General Assembly of the United Nations; which is highly sympathetic to the Palestinian plight; would vote on the matter.  Obviously, they would vote overwhelmingly to create a Palestinian State based on the 1967 borders).

Yet the UN Security Council will likely stop President Abbas in his tracks because the Obama Administration has constantly said that a Palestinian State must come from negotiations with Israel and not from the United Nations.  While the White House and the State Department haven’t officially said they would veto the Palestinian bid for statehood, the odds are pretty good that the veto is inevitable.  The Obama Administration is probably just hoping that they can convince President Abbas and the Palestinians to withdraw their request so they don’t have to veto it.  After all, the Obama team has made great strides in improving US relations with not only the Arab world, but the rest of the world as well.   Blatantly denying Palestinians statehood would tarnish our international image again.  The US may not be the only veto, however.  France has recently come forward as well, saying the current bid for statehood would not make it out of the Security Council.  It is very probably that the State Department is working behind the scenes to get as many “No” votes and vetoes as possible prior to the vote.

But wait a minute!  According to virtually every Republican politician and conservative news commentator, President Obama is in bed (figuratively) with the Palestinians and secretly hates Israel!  Why on earth would he behave like this?

The truth is this.  Even if the United States allow the UN Security Council to pass the resolution for Palestinian Statehood and the measure passed in the General Assembly of the United Nations, it wouldn’t do a whole heck of a lot.  Israel’s government and military has ignored virtually every United Nations resolution and international agreement it has come across.  Murdering civilians (including Christians), political assassinations (not including the Palestinian terrorists who had it coming), home demolitions, crop destruction, denial of hospital care, illegal settlements, and encroachment on the 1967 borders are just a few of the many violations committed by the Israeli government.

I would like to now make a point that the Israeli people are in no way responsible for all the illegal actions of their government.  My criticism is directed at a government, not at the people.  In fact, many Israelis are openly opposed to the violent and illegal actions of their government.

So, let’s say the United Nations acknowledges a Palestinian State.  Will Israel end its violations of the Palestinian people?  No.

History has proven that to be true.

Will anybody come to their defense?  No.

History has actually proven this to be untrue.  Several times, the Arab nations of the world have attacked Israel and each time, the Israelis counter-attacked and took more Arab land.  However; given the peace overtures of the last 20 years by Jordan and the civil unrest in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt; it is hard to imagine any Arab nation pledging enough military support to defend the Palestinians.  Even more remote is the idea of any of these countries working together given the sharp contrast between their political systems right now.

And with the exception of the Ivory Coast, the United Nations has been  unwilling to engage in any kind of conflict.  Even if they were willing to, the United States would veto any action against Israel, so it’s really pretty pointless to hope they would show up to enforce any of their resolutions.

The truth of the matter is that Israel needs to be included in any talks about the creation of a Palestinian State if the state is going to exist in any practicable way.

Yet, herein exists the problem.  Israel isn’t interested in negotiating seriously.  The closest Israel ever got to creating a Palestinian State was in negotiations with President Clinton.  Yet, Israel insisted that the large water reservoirs under the West Bank would remain the property of Israel.  (If you were ever curious as to why Israel’s settlements are green and land outside of there looks like a desert, this is why).  It’s the equivalent of the British offering the to give sovereignty to the American colonists  in 1776, but insisting that our natural resources will always belong to them.  You can bet your militia clothing allotment that the revolution would have continued.

Furthermore, even if the Israeli government was interested in peace, they wouldn’t dare negotiate now.  They realize that Rick Perry and Mitt Romney would be in their corner while moderating the talks.  Personally, I suspect Obama would be relatively fair in how he negotiates the discussions, but whether he’s fair or working with the Palestinians doesn’t matter.  What matters is that the Israeli government knows they will have an advantage if Obama is voted out of office.   Of course, the negotiations won’t go anywhere because the Palestinians won’t be given a fair offer.  Thus, feeding the false-illusion that the Palestinians don’t want peace.

Of course, this is all assuming the Obama Administration vetoes the proposal for the Palestinian State.  President Obama’s rhetoric on the Israel-Palestine situation has been more in line with the rest of the international community.  It is completely possible that a last minute decision will be made to abstain from the Security Council vote.  Russia and China often abstain from UN Security Council votes for posturing purposes.  In the short term, it is their way of saying, “This doesn’t concern us.  We don’t care what you do.”  In the long term, if things go wrong, Russia will then be critical of whatever action was taken.  If things go well, they’re no worse off than they were before the vote.

If Obama were to decide to abstain, the United Nations would be satisfied that they did their part for the Palestinian people (even though nothing would change).  Israel; which is already under a tremendous amount of international pressure; wouldn’t find the global picture much worse than it already is.  Then, the only thing left to do would be to have peace talks moderated by the United States whenever President Obama leaves office, whether that be in 2013 or 2017.

If Obama abstained, however, the odds of him leaving office in 2013 would be increased.  Abstaining from key votes during his time in the Illinois State Senate was a problem for him in 2008 and this plays into that narrative.  Compounding things for President Obama politically is that abstaining from this key vote would be used to further the illusion that Obama is anti-Israel and antisemitic.

Democracy in action.

 

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Thoughts of the Reagan Library Debate

Sep 08
Posted by kevintracy in 2012 Elections, Bachmann, Cain, Gingrich, History, International, Intolerance, National Security, Obama, Paul, Perry, Politicians, Politics, Presidential Race, Religious Intolerance, Republican, Romney, Santorum

The stage of the Reagan Library Debate (Photo: Media Bistro)

Well, MSNBC sure did a heck of a job encouraging all the candidates to attack the newcomer to the race, Rick Perry.   To Perry’s credit, he defended himself very well despite really getting into things with Mitt Romney.  To Romney’s credit, he elevated the discussion beyond attacks on Perry towards the end of the debate.

Ron Paul is still an idiot.  Seriously, this nut job opposes a border fence because “it might be used to keep us in.”   It’s hard to believe, but there are actually people out there dumb enough to believe him.  To his credit, Ron Paul has brought out of the woodwork many examples of the shortcomings of public education in this country over the course of the last few years.

Of all the candidates, Newt Gingrich once again convinced me that he is the most thoughtful candidate in this race.  I think Gingrich easily the least afraid of discussing specifics with the American people in extemporaneous and impromptu situations.  Of all the candidates, Newt seemed like the one who would most often answer the question he was asked.

Michelle Bachmann, on the other hand, failed to answer ANY question she was asked.  Instead, she was off on her own little imaginary planet where the moderators were asking the questions she wanted to answer.

Rick Santorum reminded my viewing party of Jerry Seinfeld… only really boring and not funny.  I see the resemblance now that they’ve mentioned it.

I have nothing really special to say about Herman Cain.  He didn’t screw up, but he didn’t particularly shine, either.

Huntsman reminded us of your stereotypical 1970s-1980s politician.  Seriously, someone needs to tell him to get a hair cut.  I suspect he had the least time of all the candidates on stage.  I was happy that he denounced that bigoted statement made by Cain and Gingrich at the previous debate, implying that they would require Muslim-Americans to take special loyalty pledge.  The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America is the ONLY pledge anyone and everyone that wants to work for the American people should have to take.

Finally, I want to make a quick comment about the use of our military.  Some of the candidates, including Michelle Bachmann and Mitt Romney, believe that we should never use US armed forces unless it is clearly in the interest of the United States.  Further, they said that we need an exit strategy before we even go to war.

Well golly, Beaver, isn’t this such a swell world we live in!

While it sounds really nice, the idea that even the most brilliant strategist can determine how we’re going to pull our troops out of a conflict before the conflict even starts is simply unrealistic.  Iraq is a great example of that.  The Bush Administration thought the Iraq War would be over in less than a year.  But let’s not focus this entirely on Bush.  Virtually every conflict the United States has been involved in has been entirely unpredictable and unfolded much slower than expected.

Who seriously expected we would have had to pull out all the white soldiers from Cuba during the Spanish-American War because of a yellow fever epidemic, leaving the occupation in the hands of black soldiers?

WWI was supposed to be over by Christmas 1914.  America didn’t even enter that war until 1917.

What brilliant strategist on December 8, 1941 would have guessed WWII wouldn’t have ended with an invasion of Japan and, instead, ended with the relatively simple dropping of two really big bombs?

Uncertainty is simply a part of war.  The idea that you’re going to go in knowing exactly how a conflict will play out and how you will leave is simply absurd.

Furthermore, in case you haven’t noticed, everybody has their own view of what exactly US interests are.  President George W. Bush believed (as I do) that the world would be a much safer, and much more stable place if its most brutal totalitarian dictators were replaced with democratic regimes.   Therefore, US action against the Taliban, Saddam Hussein’s government, and most recently Qaddafi’s regime was in US interests.  If you disagree with that, you’ve proven my point.  Jimmy McMillan would argue that it’s vital to US interest that we immediately find ways to cut the cost of rent for millions of American renters.  The Communist Party of America would have even more extreme ideas of what was in US interests.

Of course, MSNBC failed to ask the question, but why was it in US interests for Reagan to bomb Libya, but not when Barack Obama did it?

The answer to that question, that none of the candidates would have admitted to, was that these debates are simple gimmicks filled with mindless rhetoric geared towards an audience they sincerely hope is too lazy to seriously evaluate anything for themselves.

That’s why Newt’s willingness to discuss specifics impressed me so much.

 

PS. I added several portraits to the Art Gallery.  There’s still a lot more to come, but I spent most of my time re-programming the menus on this website to allow for pretty drop downs, which will make navigation of the site’s features, including the art gallery, a lot easier in the future.

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Religious Oppression Unbearable in China

Aug 17
Posted by kevintracy in Buddhism, China, Christianity, International, Intolerance, Politics, Religious Intolerance, Theology, Tibet

Something interesting happened the other day. Tsewang Norbu of the Nyitso Monastery marched himself down to a local Chinese government office and called for the end of China’s brutal crackdown on Tibetan culture and the Buddhist faith. He pleaded that the Chinese government allow the Dalai Lama to return peacefully to Tibet. Of course, the Chinese government considers the Dalai Lama, a man who has traveled the world preaching the need for individual and social peace, a “terrorist.”

Tsewang Norbu knew his protest wouldn’t amount to anything but his arrest and torture by Chinese authorities. Because the brutal oppression was more than he could live with, he made the decision to take his own life by dousing himself in gasoline and setting himself on fire.

There are those among you that have been honestly swayed by the hateful rhetoric of American politics over the past years. Most Americans have very little interest, let alone awareness, of what’s happening beyond our boarders. Well, when I read something like the story of Tsewang Norbu, it really brings things into perspective.

Despite all the problems we’re facing as a country, things really aren’t all that bad.

We can still say what we want to say, worship as we wish to worship, and travel to where we wish to travel. As I type this blog post on my iPhone, I am retiring for the night in a hotel room in Mackinaw City, MI. I didn’t need a government permit to leave my hometown or my state. My vehicle is not owned by the state and due back by a certain time. When I went to Holy Mass the day before I left, the message of my priest wasn’t given to him by a government officer.

Sure, we’re suffering economically, and we’re suffering badly. But you know things are still actually pretty damn good here in the United States of America because nobody is lighting themselves on fire in front of government buildings.

As bad as things may seem, over 300 million Americans are able to live with it. It would do each of us well to remember that there are places in the world where “living with it” just isn’t bearable.

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Georgia Tea Party Does The Right Thing

Aug 10
Posted by kevintracy in Christianity, Democrat, Georgia, Indiana, Intolerance, Islam, Politics, Racism, Religious Intolerance, Republican, States, Tea Party, Theology

In Alpharetta, Georgia, a group claiming to be the “Milton County Tea Party Patriots Citizens Council” placed fliers in mailboxes, viciously attacking a private charter school.  The reason?  The Amana Academy offers Arabic language classes for kids from kindergarten to eighth grade.  Among other things, the group uses blatant racism by describing Muslims as “camel jockeys” and “rag heads.”  The purpose of the flyer was to warn the community that the school; which is requesting permission to build a bigger facility; is a “terrorist training camp.”

Now, I would like to take a moment to point some things out.  First, there are millions of Christians who speak Arabic, many of who were born in countries dominated by Muslims and still live in those lands – peacefully.  I have found that when dealing with ignorant people about this topic, one of the first errors they foolishly make is assuming Arab is synonymous with Muslim.  In fact, there are many Arabs who are not Muslims and many more Muslims who are not Arabs.

Furthermore, teaching kids about the Arabic language is hardly treasonous.  Do you have any idea how much money the United States government spends to train an Arabic linguist?  Or how much they are willing to pay an Arabic linguist?  I’ll tell you right now, there’s a much greater demand for Arabic linguists than for German, French, Spanish, and Japanese linguists.   Being fluent in multiple languages has in fact been proven to increase academic performance in students in all areas.  However, learning Arabic has the added benefit of being directly applicable to employment right out of school.

I don’t know anybody from my high school who was hired as a German, French, Spanish, or Japanese linguist upon graduating that didn’t enlist in the military.  I’m willing to bet that, as long as these kids are encouraged through high school, that won’t be the case for the students of Amana Academy.

Anyway, back to the reason for this post.  The Georgia Tea Party Patriots immediately jumped on this, insisting they have no knowledge of who this group is and thoroughly condemned the racist flyer.

“… We strongly condemn this type of flyer, its disgusting language and intention.  This group is in no way permitted to use the name of the Tea Party Patriots.”

Part of the reason I got out of politics a year ago was because this kind of leadership was absolutely absent from both politicians and the grassroots leaders on the right.  From my perspective, the right was allowing itself to be identified as the band of ignorant fools and racists the left has always said they were.  I can’t speak for what’s happening in Georgia, but when Republicans tell me that they are blocking the building of a new road; which has already been paid for; because they’re worried it would make it easier for black people to come to their town, there is a serious and disgusting problem on the right.  It’s a problem that won’t be solved until both party and grassroots leadership begins taking a zero-tolerance approach to allowing these people in their ranks.

I’m still waiting for the day that a politician comes out and says, “I would rather lose this election than win with the votes of racists.”  It needs to be made absolutely clear that their disgusting intents have no place 21st century American politics.

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