Clipmarks | wiccantexan's clips

Woman injured by sword in Wiccan ceremony

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:47:23 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

A woman accidentally stabbed herself in the foot with a 3-foot-long sword while performing a Wiccan good luck ritual at a central Indiana cemetery.

Katherine Gunther, 36, of Lebanon, pierced her left foot with the sword while performing the rite at Oak Hill Cemetery, police said.

Gunther said she was performing the ceremony to give thanks for a recent run of good luck. The ceremony involves the use of candles, incense and driving swords into the ground during the full moon.

Gunther said was aiming to put the sword in the ground, but hit her foot instead.

"It wasn't the first time I performed the ritual, but it was the first time I put a sword through my foot," she said.

No charges were filed, police said. The Wiccans were warned that being in the cemetery in the city about 20 miles northwest of Indianapolis after posted visiting hours constitutes trespassing.

Tags: religion, wicca, pagan, humor, ceremony, ritual

Court: Student needn't stand for Pledge

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:43:18 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.miamiherald.com

A former Palm Beach County high school student's desire not to stand during the pledge of allegiance was supported by a federal appeals court this week -- though the court wouldn't go as far as to say that means every student in Florida is exempt from standing during the school-day ritual.

Frazier was a junior at Boynton Beach High in 2005 when he refused to stand during the pledge and spent the rest of the day in the school office after his teacher berated him for his disrespect, according to the original lawsuit.

Frazier did not have his parents' permission to abstain, but the teenager said he had not stood for the pledge since the sixth grade.

The appeals court upheld another Florida law that requires kids to get permission from their parents before abstaining from the pledge, reversing a lower court's ruling on that matter.

South Florida teachers who learned of the ruling Thursday had mixed reactions.

Tags: school, patriotism, legal

In marriage debate, divorce church from state

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:55:17 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.firstamendmentcenter.org

Suddenly this summer, the reality of same-sex couples lining up to get married in California has led some religious leaders to rethink their government role.

In a letter last month, Bishop Marc Handley Andrus of the Episcopal Diocese of California directed his clergy to “encourage all couples, regardless of orientation, to follow the pattern of first being married in a secular service and then being blessed in The Episcopal Church.”

The bishop’s missive illustrates what a tangled web we have woven when clergy intone “by the power invested in me by the state.”

Because the Episcopal Church doesn’t sanction same-sex marriage — but gives the option of blessing the union — the bishop appears to be seeking a way to bless all couples while distancing the church from legal arrangements sanctioned by the state.

“There are a lot of benefits in getting out of the legal marriage business,”

Tags: church, state, marriage, religion, legal, government

'Pull Your Pants Up' Movement Draws Critics, Supporters

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:53:50 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.christianpost.com

For a small but increasing number of Americans, the song “Pull Your Pants Up!” by gospel rap artist Dooney “Da Priest” is not just a song.

“It’s a movement,” as the rapper told the Jackson Clarion Ledger of Mississippi last week after his album “Pull Your Pants Up!” released.

And with new laws recently passed or being considered in a handful of U.S. cities, it might be.

City Councilman Kenneth Stokes, who proposed the sagging ban in Jackson after talking with Young, further told the newspaper: "Young people are emulating the dope boys, gang bangers and criminals they see and the community doesn't want them to go down that road."

There are some, however, who oppose the “movement.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, for example, said the new policy in Flint gives police authority to conduct unconstitutional searches and seizures, promotes racial profiling, violates due process and interferes with individuals' freedom to express themselves in their appearance.

Tags: social, fashion, free speech, music, legal

Skeletal Cartoons

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:58:22 GMT

clipped by: Sheroug

Clip Source: michaelpaulus.com

Charlie (profile)

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Charlie (front)

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Eggbert

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pikachu

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Shmoo

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betty boop

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Blossom

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bubbles

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Dexter

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Baby Huey

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Fred

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Barney

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Linus

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Little Lotta

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Lucy

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Marvin the Martian

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Peppermint Patty

HHS Moves to Define Contraception as Abortion

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:15:23 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

In a spectacular act of complicity with the religious right, the Department of Health and Human Services Monday released a proposal that allows any federal grant recipient to obstruct a woman's access to contraception. In order to do this, the Department is attempting to redefine many forms of contraception, the birth control 40% of Americans use, as abortion. Doing so protects extremists under the Weldon and Church amendments. Those laws prohibit federal grant recipients from requiring employees to help provide or refer for abortion services. In the "Definitions" section of the HHS proposal it states,

Under these new standards there would be no way for a woman to prove she's not pregnant. Thus, any woman could be denied contraception under HHS' new science.

Tags: abortion, birth control, legal, federal, pregnancy, women, science

Graves

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:40:42 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

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Lost beagle back home after 5 years, 850 miles

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:02:40 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Five years ago, a heartbroken 5-year-old girl from Queens, N.Y., was hanging posters for the return of her lost beagle. Today, after years of wishes, little Natalie Villacis has been miraculously reunited with her beloved dog Rocco after he resurfaced some 850 miles away in Georgia — proving that every dog owner can have their day.

Cristina Villacis, Natalie’s mother, said the family was shocked to get a call last week from a shelter in Hinesville, Ga., informing them that their long-lost pup had been found after half a decade. Thanks to a microchip implanted in the dog, an effective form of permanent identification, Natalie’s greatest hopes had been realized.

How Rocco actually got all the way to Georgia from New York remains a mystery.

When her mom told her the amazing news, Natalie just “cried hysterically,” Cristina said. “She actually wanted to go to Georgia to pick him up, but the ride back was too long.”

Tags: child, animal, dog, pet, beagle, family

Prof, college reach settlement after 'Adam and Eve' incident

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:03:57 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.firstamendmentcenter.org

Southwestern Community College has reached a financial settlement with a professor who was fired after telling students the biblical story of Adam and Eve should not be taken literally.

Steve Bitterman taught world civilization at the Creston school. He was fired last September after students complained. Bitterman later sued for wrongful termination.

Bitterman's lawyer, Brad Schroeder, says academic freedom should have outweighed religious concerns.

"What was for him a purely objective, academic exercise in studying the religious beliefs of different Western civilizations became a group of fundamentalist students taking exception when it came time for their God to be put under the microscope," Schroeder said today.

Tags: college, religion, god, history, belief

Simon's Cat: "TV Dinner"

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:15:42 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: video, cat, cats, youtube, humor

World's oldest blogger signs off at age 108

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:50:35 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

An Australian woman renowned as the world's oldest blogger has died at the age of 108, with her last posting talking about her ailing health but also how she still sings a happy song every day.

Olive Riley, of Woy Woy about 50 miles north of Sydney, began blogging in February last year, sharing stories from her life during the two world wars, raising three children on her own, and working as a station cook in the outback.

The physically frail but mentally alert Riley won an international audience with her blog, The Life of Riley (www.allaboutolive.com.au), and series of videos posted on YouTube with her talking and singing.

"She enjoyed the notoriety -- it kept her mind fresh," her great-grandson Darren Stone of Brisbane told local newspapers.

In her last and 74th post (http://worldsoldestblogger.blogspot.com) on June 26 she spoke of moving into a nursing home and of her ill health, saying: "I still feel weak and can't shake off that bad cough."

Tags: blogger, blogging, internet, youtube

Obama downplays satirical magazine cover

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 00:47:35 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan
clipper's remarks: "I've seen and heard worse," he said.

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday called a New Yorker cover that unflatteringly depicts him and his wife an unsuccessful attempt at satire that will probably fuel misconceptions he has long battled over the course of his presidential campaign.

But in an interview with CNN's Larry King, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee downplayed the impact of the illustration,

"It's a cartoon ... and that's why we've got the First Amendment," Obama said. "And I think the American people are probably spending a little more time worrying about what's happening with the banking system and the housing market and what's happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, than a cartoon. So I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it.

"I've seen and heard worse," he said. "I do think that, you know, in attempting to satirize something, they probably fueled some misconceptions about me instead. But, you know, that was their editorial judgment."

Tags: obama, politics, cartoon, satire, first amendment

What We Say Without Words

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:52:28 GMT

clipped by: missjackson
clipper's remarks: How our torsos, hands, feet and legs frequently communicate emotions that are not put into words.

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Former FBI agent Joe Navarro describes how our torsos, hands, feet and legs frequently communicate emotions that are not put into words.

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All of these individuals are carrying on a dialogue in nonverbals. The socially adept will learn to read and interpret the signs accurately. Others will make false steps or pay a high price for not being observant.

This brings me back to my friend and his new wife, who are on this wonderful voyage. They have been on board for four days, and they are a delight individually and together. He lovingly looks at her; she stares at him with love and admiration. When she holds his hand at dinner, she massages it ever so gently. Theirs is a strong marriage. They don't have to tell me. I can sense it and observe it. I am happy for them and for myself. I can see cues of happiness, and they are unmistakable. You can't ask for more.

» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

Dalai Lama defends Islam as peaceful religion

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 03:22:07 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

The Dalai Lama said Sunday that "it's totally wrong, unfair" to call Islam a violent religion.

The Tibetan spiritual leader, appearing at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, offered a defense of Islam in response to a question about the rise of violent religious fundamentalism. He added that he has made a point of reaching out to Muslims since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Tags: islam, muslim, buddhism, dalai lama, religion

Pagan Symbols On Fence Must Go, City Insists

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 00:49:43 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan
clipper's remarks: If it looks like graffiti, depicted like graffiti - it's graffiti. What an idiot.

Clip Source: www.desmoinesregister.com

A Des Moines couple say city officials have attacked their pagan religion and their civil rights after a complaint from a neighbor led to a notice to remove symbols that had been painted on the fence. Officials said the symbols are graffiti and must be removed.

"Those are religious symbols; they're not mean or obnoxious in any way," said Ryle MacPebbles who lives in the 2000 block of Southeast Sixth Street. "I just don't like them telling me my religion isn't anything.

"When they start making it personal with my religion, I'm sorry, we'll take it to court," said MacPebbles, a member of the American Pagan Church.

The MacPebbleses said a city inspector approved the fence earlier this year.

"When he said the fence is OK, he said the fence is constructed correctly," said Ben Bishop, neighborhood inspections administrator. "Our position is this was graffiti and it was inappropriate."

Tags: pagan, religion, belief, legal, civil rights, city, neighborhood