Obama Allows AIDS immigrants to America

In yet another tip of the hat to his gay supporters, President Barack Obama said Friday the U.S. will overturn a 20-year-old U.S. travel ban against people with HIV early next year. It will allow AIDS infected tourists to visit, as well as immigrants to move to, the USA. Refugees who have AIDS who become citizens will be eligible for taxpayer paid health insurance under the new health care reform, costing Americans billions in added taxes. Any citizens they infect will also add to the cost and death toll.

The U.S. has been one of about a dozen countries that bar entry to travelers based on their HIV status. Obama said the ban will be lifted just after the new year, after a waiting period of about 60 days.

"If we want to be a global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it," Obama said at the White House before signing a bill to extend the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program. Begun in 1990, the program provides medical care, medication and support services to about half a million people, most of them low-income.

In 1987 the Department of Health and Human Services added the disease to the list of communicable diseases that disqualified a person from entering the U.S. However, now common sense has been replaced with political correctness.

The department tried in 1991 to reverse its decision but was opposed by Congress, which in 1993 went the other way and made HIV infection the only medical condition explicitly listed under immigration law as grounds for inadmissibility to the U.S. See Chick's GOING HOME.

Home Depot Fires Christian For Button

A former cashier for The Home Depot who has been wearing a "One nation under God" button on his work apron for more than a year has been fired, he says because of the religious reference. The company claims that expressing such personal beliefs is simply not allowed.

"I've worn it for well over a year and I support my country and God," Trevor Keezor said Tuesday. "I was just doing what I think every American should do, just love my country."

The American flag button Keezer wore in the Florida store since March 2008 says "One nation under God, indivisible."

Earlier this month, he began bringing a Bible to read during his lunch break at the store in the rural town of Okeechobee, about 140 miles north of Miami. That's when he says The Home Depot management told him he would have to remove the button.

Keezer refused, and he was fired on Oct. 23, he said.

"It feels kind of like a punishment, like I was punished for just loving my country," Keezer said.

A Home Depot spokesman said Keezer was fired because he violated the company's dress code.

"This associate chose to wear a button that expressed his religious beliefs. The issue is not whether or not we agree with the message on the button," Craig Fishel said. "That's not our place to say, which is exactly why we have a blanket policy, which is long-standing and well-communicated to our associates, that only company-provided pins and badges can be worn on our aprons."

Fishel said Keezer was offered a company-approved pin that said, "United We Stand," but he declined.

Keezer's lawyer, Kara Skorupa, said she planned to sue the Atlanta-based company.

"There are federal and state laws that protect against religious discrimination," Skorupa said. "It's not like he was out in the aisles preaching to people."

Keezer said he was working at the store to earn money for college, and wore the button to support his country and his 27-year-old brother, who is in the National Guard and is set to report in December for a second tour of duty in Iraq.

Skorupa noted the slogan on Keezer's pin is straight from the Pledge of Allegiance.

"Pro Peace" Jews Organize in Washington

National Security Adviser James Jones gladdened the hearts of this city's newest would-be power lobbying group by saying that "the time has come to relaunch negotiations without preconditions" to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "Nothing is more important" for the United States, he told the group J Street, than to solve the conundrum in the Middle East.

That was just what the new liberal Jewish lobby wanted to hear at its first conference. And while Israel's ambassador didn't show up, Jones told the group, "You can be sure this administration will be represented at all future" gatherings.

That was essentially a vow to give equal time to a group conceived as an alternative to the powerful and right-leaning American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has long held great sway with high-ranking policymakers. AIPAC has a $130 million endowment and nearly 300 staffers. J Street is tiny in comparison and only 18 months old, but its inaugural gathering attracted 1,500 people, half again as many as expected. The overflow crowd jammed meeting rooms at a downtown hotel and forced organizers to repeat a standing-room-only session after dozens were turned away.

The conference marked "the birth of a movement," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street's founder and executive director. "This is the coming-out party for the pro-Israel, pro-peace community, [which] stands for the proposition that there is more than one way in this country to be pro-Israel."

The group's founding formalized a longtime struggle within the Jewish community for influence over U.S. policy in the Middle East. On one side are mainstream groups like AIPAC that tilt right and have welcomed support from Christian conservatives and hard-line Republicans. On the other are what J Street calls the "silent majority" of American Jews -- Democrats who voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama last November and who support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

J Street "fills a vacuum" in the American Israel advocacy community, said Meir Sheetrit, one of several opposition members of Israel's Knesset who attended the conference. He said AIPAC's no-questions-asked support for the current right-leaning government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned off younger Jews who are concerned not only about Israel but also about the rights of the Palestinians.

See Chick's SQUATTERS.

Teen Rape Gang Arrested

On Wednesday, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that five people had been arrested for the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl. All but one of the rapists were teenagers from Central America.

The attack over the weekend rattled this crime-ridden city of 120,000 in the San Francisco Bay area, where one police official called it one of the most heinous crimes he has ever seen. Some students have already left the school in response to the attack.

The victim, a sophomore, had left the dance and was drinking alcohol in a school courtyard with a group when she was attacked, police said.

Police said as many as seven ranging in age from 15 to mid-20s attacked the girl for more than two hours at a dimly lit area near benches Saturday night. As many as two dozen people saw the rape without notifying police. Officers found the girl semiconscious and naked from the waist down near a picnic table. She remains hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

"This was a barbaric act. I still cannot get my head around the fact that numerous people either watched, walked away or participated in her assault," Lt. Mark Gagan said Tuesday. "It's one of the most disturbing crimes in my 15 years as a police officer."
Gagan would not comment on rumors that observers took video of the attack on cell phones and may have posted it online.
Manuel Ortega, a 19-year-old former student, was arrested after trying to flee the scene. He is being held on $800,000 bail for investigation of rape and robbery. Attempts to reach Ortega at the jail Tuesday were unsuccessful.

A 15-year-old student also was booked late Monday on one count of sexual assault, Gagan said. A 17-year-old turned himself in late Tuesday, the Chronicle reported. A 16-year-old boy and 21-year-old Salvador Rodriguez, of Richmond, were arrested that night as well.

The citizenship of these young criminals has not yet been disclosed, but Congress is currently gearing up to grant amnesty to all 18 million to 28 million illegal aliens who want US benefits (like taxpayer paid healthcare). The irony is, these young rapists will get all those benefits when the go to prison-- and perhaps a taste of their own medicine as well. See Chick's TRUST ME.

Priest Murdered By Janitor

An arrest in the fatal stabbing of a beloved priest has brought little solace to an affluent Roman Catholic parish in this tiny northern New Jersey community.

Authorities say longtime church janitor Jose Feliciano stabbed the Rev. Ed Hinds 32 times with a kitchen knife after an argument in the rectory of St. Patrick's Church on Thursday. Parishioners and residents said his arrest represents a second blow to the community.

The arrest Saturday came a day after the body of the 64-year-old priest was discovered in the rectory kitchen.

"It's just not believable," said parishioner Dan Langborgh, 47, who lives across the street from the church. "Jose is a very nice guy who has been around for many years. He's the last person I would have suspected."

Parents Claim Muslim God Is Writing On Their Baby

Thousands of Muslims have been traveling to a remote town in a war-torn region of southern Russian hoping to see verses from Islam's holy book appear on the skin of a "miracle baby."

The parents of 9-month-old Ali Yakubov said the word "Allah" appeared on his chin soon after his birth, The Sun reported.

Since then, verses of the Quran in Arabic script have appeared -- and then faded away -- on the infant's back, arms, leg and stomach, his parents and local officials say.

"Normally those signs appear twice a week -- on Mondays and on the nights between Thursdays and Fridays," Ali's mother was quoted as saying. She said that Ali's temperature typically rises before the writings appear.

The parents deny the words, which look like raised pink birthmarks, were inked on. Local doctors have not been able to explain the phenomenon. (Chickcomics editors, on the other hand, can: The parents are painting on the heathen slogans with a substance that causes a rash.)

Meanwhile, around 2,000 people per day have been traveling to the family's home in Kizlyar in Dagestan. One woman said she had come all the way from Ukraine to see the baby.

The Russian republic, located in the North Caucasus on the border of Chechnya, has been plagued by violence as security forces clash with militant Islamic separatists.
Believers say that makes the sacred writings on little Ali even more important.

"The fact that this miracle happened here is a signal to us to take the lead and help our brothers and sisters find peace," the head of the Kizlyar region, Sagid Murtazaliyev, told reporters, according to ABC News. "We must not forget there is a war going on here."

Catholics Allow Married (Episcopal) Ministers

The number of married Catholic priests could grow sharply as the result of the Vatican's epochal decision to welcome thousands of disaffected Anglicans and Episcopalians into the Catholic church.

At press conferences in Rome and London on Tuesday, Vatican officials announced that the church would set up a special canonical structure that will ease the conversion of members of the Anglican Communion without them having to give up what the Vatican called "the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony." That means not only a body of prayers and hymns, but also a tradition of married priests and bishops.

"It's a stunning turn of events," says Lawrence Cunningham, theology professor at Notre Dame University. "This decision will allow for many more married clergy in Western churches, and that's going to raise anew the question, 'If they can do it, why can't the priests of Rome?'" says Cunningham. "I can already picture the electronic slugfest on the Internet in coming days and weeks."

The Catholic church already allows clergymen who convert from Protestant denominations to remain married on a case by case basis, and married priests are common in the Eastern Rite, a group that uses Orthodox traditions but is loyal to Rome.

The move comes after years of discord within the Anglican Communion, which unites 77 million Anglicans and Episcopalians under the loose authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The church has been racked by schisms over the ordination of women and its stance pro homosexual drift.

For many traditional Episcopalians, as the denomination is known in the U.S., the last straw was the 2003 election of openly gay Gene Robinson as bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire. In protest, hundreds of churches have broken links with the Episcopal church and declared themselves in line with the conservative Anglican bishops in Africa or South America.

Today's decision marks a milestone in the relations between the Vatican and the church of England, which King Henry VIII established in 1534 after the pope refused to grant him a marriage annulment. Since then, religious and social battles have often marked relations between Catholics and Anglicans. Says Cunningham: "This would have been unthinkable 200 years ago, and barely imaginable in the 19th century."

Obama Ok's "Medical" Pot Use for States Okay With It

Pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers should not be targeted for federal prosecution in states that allow medical marijuana, prosecutors were told Monday in a new policy memo issued by the Justice Department under President Obama.

Under the policy spelled out in a three-page legal memo, federal prosecutors are being told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law.

The new policy is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted it would continue to enforce federal anti-pot laws regardless of state codes.

Fourteen states allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Obama admitted to pot use as a student, and pro-pot use organizations campaigned for him under the slogan, "Yes we Cannabus". See Chick's TRUST ME.

More Planets Discovered

European astronomers have found 32 new planets outside our solar system, adding evidence to the theory that the universe has many places where life could develop.

Scientists using the European Southern Observatory telescope didn't find any planets quite the size of Earth or any that seemed habitable or even unusual. But their announcement increased the number of planets discovered outside the solar system to more than 400.

Astronomer Stephane Udry of the University of Geneva said the results support the theory that planet formation is common, especially around the most common types of stars.

"I'm pretty confident that there are Earth-like planets everywhere," Udry said in a Web-based news briefing from a conference in Portugal. "Nature doesn't like a vacuum. If there is space to put a planet there, there will be a planet there."

What astronomers said is especially exciting is that about 40 percent of sun-like stars have planets that are closer to being Earth-sized than the size of Jupiter. Jupiter's mass is more than 300 times that of Earth's.

Depending on definitions of the size of super-Earths, the discovery suggests that planets that have a mass similar to Earth's are "extraordinarily commonplace," said Alan Boss, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. He was not part of the European team. "The universe must indeed be crowded with habitable worlds."

See Chick's IN THE BEGINNING.

Famous Fornicator's Slated For Satan

If Titans head coach Jeff Fisher is looking for a silver lining, something to motivate his team hours after getting throttled by the Patriots 59-0, maybe this is it: Tom Brady is going to Hell.

At least according to the Amazing Grace Baptist Church, which declared that New England's quarterback is destined for eternal damnation for his sinful existence in this life.

"Tom Brady has an unwed child," the group stated, "but it's okay because he wins Super Bowls. Tom Brady is teaching us to have sex outside of marriage, to commit fornication, don't marry and do the right thing, don't take responsibility for your actions, have a good time no matter who you hurt in this world, go from sex partner to sex partner, and it's okay because of who I am. How many of you dad's (sic) cheer on Tom in the Super Bowl while your kids are watching?"

Brady won't be alone in Hell, however. The church has also identified Matt Leinart and Adam Archuleta among many others. Leinart had a child out of wedlock and worse, he parties with Nick Lachey. Archuleta was disgraced out of the NFL, cut by the Redskins before the Raiders gave up on trying to make him a linebacker. But that wasn't the low point of his professional career. He was recently released by the UFL's Las Vegas Locomotives.

"Engaged to a Playboy Playmate Jennifer Walcott," the group added, "They have one son. This is called fornication, and we all know what their son is called, the same thing the Bible calls him."

Young Christian Convert Returned to Muslim Parents

A Florida judge says he plans to order the teenager who ran away from Ohio to Florida because she feared physical harm for converting from Islam to Christianity sent back to Ohio.

The Orlando judge said Tuesday that he will sign the order when he gets the documents on 17-year-old Rifqa Bary's immigration status.

Bary has been in foster care in Orlando while her case was being reviewed. The judge says he will likely turn over the case to an Ohio court in the next few weeks.

Bary ran away from her parents' Columbus-area home in July, saying she feared being killed for leaving Islam. The strict Islamic parents deny their is any threat, but their is no question that Muslim men have killed women in their own families when they have "disgraced" the family in matters of embarrassing Islam or even flirting with an unapproved male. The so called "honor killings" are one of the more despicable aspects of Islamic culture. See Chick's THE LITTLE BRIDE.

Pope Declaires 5 New Saints

Pope Benedict XVI completed a canonization ceremony at the Vatican Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009. the pontiff gave the Roman Catholic church five new saints Sunday, including Father Damien, born as Jozef De Veuster in 1840, a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium who cared for leprosy victims on the Hawaiian island of Molokai from 1873 to 1889, when the disease killed him. The other new Saints are 19th century polish bishop Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski; Spanish faithful Francisco Coll y Guitart and Rafael Arniaz Baron, and Jeanne Jugan, a Frenchwoman described by Vatican Radio as an "authentic Mother Teresa ahead of her time." See Chick's MAN IN BLACK.

Obama Promises Pro-gay Agenda

President Barack Obama restated his campaign pledge to allow homosexual men and women to serve openly in the military to a gay activist group.

"I will end 'don't ask-don't tell,'" Obama said Saturday night to a standing ovation from the crowd of about 3,000 at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group. He offered no timetable or specifics and he acknowledged some may be growing impatient.

"I appreciate that many of you don't believe progress has come fast enough," Obama said. "Do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach."
Some advocates said they already have heard Obama's promises and now they want a timeline. Cleve Jones, a pioneer activist and creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, said Obama delivered a brilliant speech, but added "it lacked the answer to our most pressing question, which is when."

"He repeated his promises that he's made to us before, but he did not indicate when he would accomplish these goals and we've been waiting for a while now," said Jones, another activist.

Obama also called on Congress to repeal the Defense Of Marriage Act, which limits how state, local and federal bodies can recognize partnerships and determine benefits. He also called for a law to extend benefits to homosexual partners.
He expressed strong support for the HRC agenda of ending discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender.

"My expectation is that when you look back on these years you will look back and see a time when we put a stop against discrimination ... whether in the office or the battlefield," Obama said.

Obama's political energies are focused on many issues, including managing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economic crisis and socializing health care.

The HRC holds out hope of seeing more action. "We have never had a stronger ally in the White House. Never," Joe Solmonese, the group's president.

Most Americans, however, are still unaware of Obama's pro-gay agenda. They only heard he was against gay marriage in the campaign, as are most voters. Whether he'll officially change his stance on that issue remains unclear, but one thing is certain: The gay agenda is more ambicious now than ever before. See Chick's DOOM TOWN.

Evangelical Leaders Throw in with Amnesty for Illegals

Leaders of most of the nation's evangelical Christians made a shocking endorsement of illegal-alien amnesty Friday in Senate testimony. This follows other Obama examples of getting liberal leaders of organizations to promote agendas that are not in their followers interests, like they did with AARP and the AMA when they endorsed Socialized Medicine. (National Health Insurance would take money away from Medicare, hurting AARP members, and it would take money away from doctors, hurting the AMA, yet they were able to convince the leaders to suggest their followers were FOR the legislation in public testimony, even though polls show over 40% of doctors will consider quitting their practice if the measure passed.)

Likewise, the pro-Amnesty Evangelical spokesman said high immigration is increasing membership in evangelical churches and is good for the economy. Yet Polls have shown that evangelical Christians in the pews are the MOST likely to OPPOSE amnesty. If you're one of them, you should contact your church leaders and express your outrage. See Chick's SCREAM.

Gays March On Washington

Rep. Barney Frank, the first openly gay member of Congress, says he'd rather see gay rights supporters lobbying their elected officials than marching in Washington this weekend, calling the demonstration "a waste of time at best." Frank , in an interview with The Associated Press, said he considers such demonstrations to be "an emotional release" that does little to pressure Congress.

"The only thing they're going to be putting pressure on is the grass," the Massachusetts Democrat said Friday.
Thousands of gay men and women are expected to gather for Sunday's Gay March.

Many gay rights advocates have criticized President Barack Obama for not moving faster to keep his campaign promises to extend gay rights, and Congress has also drawn flak for not doing more. Obama plans to speak Saturday at a dinner hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights group.

Frank's comments underscore divisions in the gay community over the pace of progress on the gay agenda. Obama's election, coupled with the Democratic control of the House and Senate, boosted hopes in the gay community for breakthroughs on sweeping measures to promote pro gay legislation for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Congress is on the verge of making it a federal crime to assault people because of their sexual orientation. Any assault is already illegal, but the new law will seek to punish those who hurt gay people (or other minorities) more than those who hurt non-minorities. The so-called hate crimes legislation was attached to a major defense bill approved by the House.

See Chick's SIN CITY.

Another Fallen Priest (but at least he's straight)

The scandals for the Catholic Church in Florida seem to have no end. A priest who served in the same parish as Alberto Cutié has admitted he fathered a baby with an exotic dancer.

The story came to light a few weeks ago when Beatrice Hernández, a former exotic dancer at a Miami strip club called Porky's, claimed child support and filed a restraining order against David Dueppen, a Catholic priest

Hernández said they had met each other seven years ago in Porky’s, at which time Dueppen was not dressed as a priest. Hernández quit stripping in 2008 and is now the owner of a dollar store in Miami.

Dueppen took an indefinite leave of absence in August after reporting to his Archdiose that he had father a daughter with Hernández. .

Dueppen, 42, now wants custody of the little girl, Marilyn Epiphany Hernández. His attorney, Raymon Rafool indicated that Dueppen should have custody of the child at least 70 percent of the time and said "He has never denied paternity for the child and he would like to be very involved in the child's life."

The former priest, who at first denied being the father of the girl, rejected the domestic abuse allegations through his lawyer and is reportedly looking for a job.

Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

In a decision that even has liberals struggling to justify, President Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize for promising to unilaterally disarm America's nuclear deterrent. Obama was nominated for the million dollar prize during the first twelve days of his presidency (when the deadline for nominations ended). So far, he hasn't done anything concrete to actually earn it, but why sweat details? He joins other Democrats who have won the prize, including Al Gore and Jimmy Carter... but no Republicans. Since Bill Clinton hasn't won yet, don't be surprised if Hillary wins sometime in the next four years. The prize announcement made no mention of the fact that Obama seems to have rolled over on Iran's determination to build nukes and threaten Israel and Europe. The good news is that Norway is out of Iranian missile range, so even if Europe turns radioactive, we'll still be able to enjoy plenty more Nobel Peace prizes. See Chick's THE MAD MACHINE.

Obama Plans On Giving Gays Military Victory

President Barack Obama will focus "at the right time" on how to overturn the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays serving openly in the military, his national security adviser said Sunday. "I don't think it's going to be — it's not years, but I think it will be teed up appropriately," James Jones said.

The Democratic-led Congress is considering repealing the 1993 law. Action isn't expected on the issue until early next year.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., recently wrote Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked to share their views and recommendations on the contentious policy. In Sept. 24 letters, Reid also asked for a review of the cases of two U.S. officers who were discharged from the military because of their gay relations with other men.

"At a time when we are fighting two wars, I do not believe we can afford to discharge any qualified individual who is willing to serve our country," Reid wrote. Reid did not address the effect overturning the ban would have on damaging troop morale, since the vast majority of the military is strongly against the change. It would also energize Muslim resistance to the military, as Homosexuality is considered a deadly sin in Islam.

As a candidate, Obama signaled support for repealing the law, but in a vague way that left most American unaware of his intentions. In fact, Obama made a big deal of being "against gay marriage", something most Americans thought signaled he would not be a gay activist.

Last year, 634 soldiers were discharged for being openly gay, or .045 percent of the active-duty U.S. force, according to an Aug. 14 congressional report. The largest number of gays who were ousted under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy came in 2001, when 1,227 were discharged, or .089 of the force.

The House is considering legislation to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" and allow people who have been discharged under the policy to rejoin the military. It would likely result in bonanza for lawyers as well, who would then sue for those discharged for damages and full back pay, plus interest and money for emotional distress. See Chick's SIN CITY.

Letter Pulls a "Clinton"

In a stunning admission during his show on Thursday night, David Letterman admitted that he has had sexual relationships with female employees of his show, and that someone tried to extort him by releasing information about the relationships. A CBS employee has since been arrested for the alleged extortion plot.

During the taping of his CBS late-night show in New York, Letterman discussed receiving a threat to either pay $2 million or risk the relationships being made public.

"In the back seat of my car, there's a package that I don't recognize. What this is is a guy is going to write a screenplay about me and he's going to take all the terrible stuff that he knows about my life and he's going to put it into a movie unless I give him some money," Letterman explained to the audience. "What was all the creepy stuff that he was going to put into the screenplay and the movie, and the creepy stuff that I had ... sex with women who work for me on the show. Now, my response to that is yes, I have," he continued, to a laughing crowd of supporters. However, it was no joke. Letterman had been sexually exploiting the females who worked for him and the man who tried to blackmail him is now in jail... probably getting sexually exploited as well.

See Chick's CAUGHT!

Iranian President and Holocaust Critic may be Jewish?

According to a story that broke over the weekend in London's Daily Telegraph, a photograph of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad holding up his national identity card during the recent Iranian elections provides evidence that he is Jewish.

That document reveals that his original last name - Sabourjian - is a well-known Jewish surname in Iran, one that even connotes that his family was once observant. A note scribbled on the card also shows that his parents changed their last name to "Ahmadinejad" after they converted to Islam when he was born. Although Ahmadinejad has never denied that his name was changed, he has never offered an explanation.

Ahmadinejad has outraged Jews by suggesting the Holocaust was exaggerated to benefit the creation and expansion of Israel. If it turns out he's Jewish, it could either embarrass him, or worse yet, make it easier for him to criticize Jews since he's Jewish himself. See Chick's WHERE'S RABBIE WAXMAN?