Disruptive protest: No place in a civilized society

Towleroad.com:

Anti-LGBT Bible-bearing Christians entered Target stores in Tennessee, Illinois, and Oregon this week telling customers they need to repent for shopping there because of the transgender bathroom policy.

Says the man:

“Target this is your wake up call. The Bible says that from the beginning God made them male and female. He didn’t make them transvestites. He made them male and female…Target, this is your warning. You will be judged according to God’s standards. Not man’s, but God’s…You need to repent…You will be judged. And if there are Christians in here, supporting this abomination, shame on you! … But you justify this place. You have to stand by the bathrooms because perverts can go in there. Because transvestites allowed.”

The customers aren’t amused, many of them telling him to “shut up and leave.”

In Bradley, Illinois one of these “Christians” put a mall on lockdown and prompted a massive police response because store shoppers thought the man was an “active shooter”….

So is this what it has come to? This dude obviously doesn’t understand the difference in transgender and transvestite. I seriously doubt that I would be able to detect a transvestite in the bathroom.

It is obviously anyone’s own choice whether to shop at Target or not. If you dislike their policy, write them, tell them, and go elsewhere. No one has the right to go in a store and disrupt the shopping experience for others.

I might also add this is how I feel about political gatherings. No candidate should have to hop a fence to go speak. A rally is not the time to act out, throw objects at cops and disrupt society. We are a nation of laws and not thugs. We aren’t a banana republic.

What if you don’t like the candidate? Protest peacefully or stay home. Political rallies cost the taxpayer a fortune anyway. Let’s not pile on more because of disruptive, criminal behavior.

This “Operation Rescue” approach to politics and ideas we don’t like is just un-American.

 

Trump becomes presumptive nominee of the GOP

Trump has won Indiana.  Ted Cruz has dropped out of the race. Kasich is still in but has no chance of winning.

Where does that leave the Republican Party?  Has Trump changed the face of the traditional GOP?

The pundits and talking heads have gone wild.  The Trumpites have been seen as the usurpers and the new face of what defines a Republican.  Supposedly they want change and feel that ‘the establishment” has been unresponsive to them.

I don’t have an opinion at this point.  I am just sitting back and watching the circus.

Your opinion, por favor.  What is this phenomena?  Has Trump replaced what we normally think of as the GOP?

Israeli killer goes to prison for life

ben david

Washingtonpost.com:

 The ringleader of a group that kidnapped and burned alive a Palestinian teenager two years ago — a revenge killing that shocked many here because of its savagery — was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison plus 20 years.

Yosef Haim Ben-David was convicted of murder and kidnapping last month. Ben-David, 32, the owner of an eyewear shop in Jerusalem, lived in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. He is married with a young daughter and is the son of an ultra-
Orthodox rabbi.

The killing of Mohammed Abu Khdeir in 2014 was part of a summer of violence that contributed to the war between Israel and the Islamist militant movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Before his sentence was read in court Tuesday evening, Ben-David made a brief statement. “I apologize for what happened,” he said. “I ask forgiveness of the family for all that happened.”

Ben-David said he had served as a volunteer for one of the emergency response teams that assist ambulance crews at the scenes of accidents and attacks. “I attended to both Jewish and Arab bodies,” he said. “I always considered the human form and respect for the dead to be holy.”

Good.  Ben-David did a horrible, evil deed.  His country, Israel,  found him, tried him,  found him guilty and sentenced him to prison for killing a Palestinian youth.   He is getting what he deserves.   Can we safely assume that when Palestinians  kill Jews their country will hunt them down, prosecute and sentence them to prison with equal vigor?  That doesn’t seem to be happening.

 

Open Thread………………………………..May 1

Glastonbury Tor at sunrise on Beltane
Glastonbury Tor at sunrise on Beltane

May 1 is significant to people in and around the United Kingdom because  of Celtic folk lore.  Many people celebrate Beltane, or a spring fertility ritual.   Americans tend to celebrate May Day.  That custom has sort of gone the way of the high button shoes.

Regardless, May 1 is a time of great merry-making, especially among the young.

EDINBURGH, UNITED KINGDOM - APRIL 30: Beltane Fire Society performers celebrate the coming of summer by participating in the Beltane Fire Festival on Calton Hill April 30, 2014 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The event celebrates the ending of winter and is a revival of the ancient Celtic and Pagan festival of Beltane, the Gaelic name for the month of May. The festival was first organized in the mid 1980's. (Photo by Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images)
Young stags romp

Indiana: Home of the gay Doritos

Rainbow-Doritos

Huffingtonpost.com:

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed an executive order Wednesday that bans what he called “gay colors” to be worn by boys in public elementary and secondary schools in the state

Pence referred to pink, chartreuse, teal and magenta, in particular, as “gateway colors” for young boys who might have an inclination toward homosexuality.

“Governor Pence believes that if boys wear clothes with colors traditionally worn by young girls, this can cause gender confusion for the boy,” said Hugh Strait, a spokesman for the governor.

Pence’s announcement comes as the state prepares for Tuesday’s presidential primary.

 

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Virginia Republican Convention: WTF?

corey2

Washingtonpost.com:

 Supporters of Ted Cruz dominated a slate of delegates that Virginia Republicans chose Saturday at their state convention, further demonstrating the Texas senator’s mastery of the delegate-selection process.

Of the 13 national delegates picked by party activists here, 10 are Cruz supporters and three support Donald Trump. The tally represents the biggest chunk up for grabs of the 49 total delegates who will represent the state at the national convention in Cleveland this summer.

Despite bruising primary ­losses around the country, Cruz is betting that Trump will not make it to the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the party’s nomination, and he is working to woo delegates who would be loyal to him at a brokered convention.

Cruz came in a distant third in Virginia in the March 1 primary but had enough supporters among the 2,610 party activists who filled an arena at James Madison University on Saturday to win critical delegates.

 

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