HuffPo labels Florida the “anti-gay state”! Why?

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In May 2013 the Huffington Post reported, “Florida lawmakers let two important LGBT rights bills languish this year, sealing the state’s reputation as an ‘anti-gay state‘ for another 12 months. One bill created a statewide domestic partnership registry, uniting a patchwork of select municipalities that grant health care visitation, among other rights, to same-sex couples.”

FL Senator Nancy Detert, District 28.

State Senator Nancy Detert (R- District 28)  has become the champion for a statewide domestic partnership registry. She was the swing committee vote on CS/SB 196: Domestic Partners.

The Florida gay rights group pushing for the creation of domestic partnership registries is called “Equality Florida“. Equality Florida issues are: Adoption, Discrimination, Family Recognition, Hate Crimes, Student Safety/GSA and Voter Mobilization.

The Student safety issue for Equality Florida is support for the US Department of Education anti-bullying campaign in public schools. CBS reports, “University of Texas at Arlington criminologist Seokjin Jeong analyzed data collected from 7,000 students from all 50 states. He thought the results would be predictable and would show that anti-bullying programs curb bullying. Instead — he found the opposite. Jeong said it was, “A very disappointing and a very surprising thing. Our anti-bullying programs, either intervention or prevention does not work.”

In 2008 the Florida Definition of Marriage, Constitutional Amendment 2 passed by over 61%. The Amendment reads:

This amendment protects marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife and provides that no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.

The “substantial equivalent of” are domestic partnership registries say critics.

It is expected domestic partnership registries will come up during the 2014 legislative session. This gives many pause, given what has happened in other states where gay marriage has been instituted. Massachusetts, the first state to adopt gay marriage, is perhaps the best example of how the social fabric, schools, businesses, legal system and culture are fundamentally changed when marriage is redefined.

The below video provided by the pro-family group MassResistance.org provides a historical review of changes and their impact:

EDITORS NOTE: Wikipedia lists states, counties and cities that have instituted domestic partnership registries. The following are those listed for Florida.

  • Broward County (Fort Lauderdale): Residents of the county or at least one partner employed by the county. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • City of Clearwater: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • City of Gainesville: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • City of Key West: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • City of Kissimmee: Employees of the city. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • Leon County: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • City of Miami Beach: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • Miami-Dade County: Residents of the county or at least one partner employed by the county. Both opposite- and same-sex couples. The cities of Miami and South Miami also grant additional benefits to domestic partners registered in Miami-Dade County.
  • Monroe County: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples. County employment benefits only.
  • Orange County: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • City of Orlando: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • Palm Beach County: Residents of the county or at least one partner employed by the county. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • Pinellas County: Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • City of Sarasota: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples. City employment benefits only.
  • City of St. Cloud: Employees of the city. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • City of St. Petersburg: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • City of Tampa: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • City of Tavares: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • Volusia County: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.
  • City of West Palm Beach: No residency requirement. Both opposite- and same-sex couples.

Salon.com gets it wrong on Thomas Jefferson’s Quran and Islam

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Denise Speelberg in her column “Our Founding Fathers included Islam” states, “Thomas Jefferson didn’t just own a Quran — he engaged with Islam and fought to ensure the rights of Muslims.” The basis of Speelberg’s column is Thomas Jefferson quoting “A Letter Concerning Toleration” by John Locke who in 1689 wrote, “Nay, if we may openly speak the truth, and as becomes one man to another, neither Pagan nor Mahometan, nor Jew, ought to be excluded from the civil rights of the commonwealth because of his religion.”

Note that Locke groups “Pagan and Mahometan” together. Locke is speaking about civil (legal) rights in England and the Commonwealth.

In Locke’s letter Mahometan is mentioned only once. Jew or Jewish are mentioned fifteen times. Locke was more concerned about tolerance toward the Jews. Locke begins his letter with, “Since you are pleased to inquire what are my thoughts about the mutual toleration of Christians in their different professions of religion, I must needs answer you freely that I esteem that toleration to be the chief characteristic mark of the true Church.” What is the true Church to which Locke refers? The Church of England.

To whom is the letter written? Answer: The members of the English Parliament in 1689.

Parliament of England.

Locke’s letter was directed at the 1689 Convention Parliament, an irregular assembly of the Parliament of England. It was the Convention Parliament, which in 1689, issued a Bill of Rights; established a constitutional monarchy in Britain; bared Roman Catholics from the throne; codified William III and Mary II becoming joint monarchs of England and Scotland (to1694), passed the Toleration Act granting freedom of worship to dissenters in England; and created the Grand Alliance of the League of Augsburg, England, and the Netherlands.

The Toleration Act of 1689 allowed freedom of worship to Nonconformists who had pledged to the oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy and rejected transubstantiation, i.e., Protestants who dissented from the Church of England such as Baptists and Congregationalists but not to Catholics. Nonconformists were allowed their own places of worship and their own teachers, if they accepted certain oaths of allegiance. It purposely did not apply to Catholics, nontrinitarians and atheists. The Act continued the existing social and political disabilities for Dissenters, including their exclusion from political office and also from universities.

Our forefathers were “the dissenters” excluded from public office and universities. They came to America seeking political and religious freedom. All were Christians.

Speelberg writes, “At a time when most Americans were uninformed, misinformed, or simply afraid of Islam, Thomas Jefferson imagined Muslims as future citizens of his new nation. His engagement with the faith began with the purchase of a Qur’an eleven years before he wrote the Declaration of Independence.” The problem is Speelberg’s statement is simply not true. Jefferson engaged the Mahometans alright but not in the way presented by Speelberg. While true Jefferson owned a Qu’ran, it was to fight against the Barbary pirates and Islam, not embrace them.

Gerard W. Gawalt in “America and the Barbary Pirates: An International Battle Against an Unconventional Foe” writes:

Ruthless, unconventional foes are not new to the United States of America. More than two hundred years ago the newly established United States made its first attempt to fight an overseas battle to protect its private citizens by building an international coalition against an unconventional enemy. Then the enemies were pirates and piracy. The focus of the United States and a proposed international coalition was the Barbary Pirates of North Africa.

Pirate ships and crews from the North African states of Tripoli, Tunis, Morocco, and Algiers (the Barbary Coast) were the scourge of the Mediterranean. Capturing merchant ships and holding their crews for ransom provided the rulers of these nations with wealth and naval power. In fact, the Roman Catholic Religious Order of Mathurins [Order of Trinitarians] had operated from France for centuries with the special mission of collecting and disbursing funds for the relief and ransom of prisoners of Mediterranean pirates.

Regarding Thomas Jefferson’s opinion of these Mahometans Gawalt found:

Thomas Jefferson, United States minister to France, opposed the payment of tribute, as he later testified in words that have a particular resonance today. In his autobiography Jefferson wrote that in 1785 and 1786 he unsuccessfully “endeavored to form an association of the powers subject to habitual depredation from them. I accordingly prepared, and proposed to their ministers at Paris, for consultation with their governments, articles of a special confederation.” Jefferson argued that “The object of the convention shall be to compel the piratical States to perpetual peace.” Jefferson prepared a detailed plan for the interested states. “Portugal, Naples, the two Sicilies, Venice, Malta, Denmark and Sweden were favorably disposed to such an association,” Jefferson remembered, but there were “apprehensions” that England and France would follow their own paths, “and so it fell through.”

Paying the ransom would only lead to further demands, Jefferson argued in letters to future presidents John Adams, then America’s minister to Great Britain, and James Monroe, then a member of Congress. As Jefferson wrote to Adams in a July 11, 1786, letter, “I acknolege [sic] I very early thought it would be best to effect a peace thro’ the medium of war.” Paying tribute will merely invite more demands, and even if a coalition proves workable, the only solution is a strong navy that can reach the pirates, Jefferson argued in an August 18, 1786, letter to James Monroe: “The states must see the rod; perhaps it must be felt by some one of them. . . . Every national citizen must wish to see an effective instrument of coercion, and should fear to see it on any other element than the water. A naval force can never endanger our liberties, nor occasion bloodshed; a land force would do both.” “From what I learn from the temper of my countrymen and their tenaciousness of their money,” Jefferson added in a December 26, 1786, letter to the president of Yale College, Ezra Stiles, “it will be more easy to raise ships and men to fight these pirates into reason, than money to bribe them.”

Ambassadors Jefferson and Adam efforts to form an international coalition to fight the Barbary pirates failed. When Jefferson became president in 1801 he refused to accede to Tripoli’s demands for an immediate payment of $225,000 and an annual payment of $25,000. The pasha of Tripoli then declared war on the United States. President Jefferson dispatched a squadron of naval vessels to the Mediterranean.

Today Jefferson and Adams, for their efforts, would be called by some “Islamophobes”. President Jefferson had a Qu’ran in order to understand America’s enemies in North Africa, not to embrace them. Jefferson understood that when tolerance of barbarism becomes a one way street it leads to cultural suicide.

Perhaps Speelberg needs to study English and American history? Or is she trying to rewrite American history to fit her political narrative?

RELATED: President Thomas Jefferson and the Barbary Pirates by Robert F. Turner

“Does God Exist” debate at Florida International University

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On September 15, 2013, at Florida International University, Tom Trento (Christian) debated Ed Tabash (Atheist) on the issue, “Does God Exist?”

This is a very interesting debate in that Trento focus’ on the implications of atheism as a chosen lifestyle. Tabash centers in on atheism as a more valid system than theism. The debate has some very deep philosophical analysis and some very humorous moments.

Please take the time to watch the whole debate, you will not regret it!

RELATED INFORMATION:

The Kalām cosmological argument is a variation of the cosmological argument that argues for the existence of a first cause for the universe, and the existence of a God. Its origins can be traced to medieval Jewish, Christian and Muslim thinkers, but most directly to Islamic theologians of the Kalām tradition. Its historic proponents include John Philoponus, Al-Kindi, Saadia Gaon, Al-Ghazali, and St. Bonaventure. William Lane Craig revived interest in the Kalām cosmological argument with his 1979 publication of a book of the same name.

The argument postulates that something caused the Universe to begin to exist, and this first cause must be God.

Classical argument

  1. Everything that has a beginning of its existence has a cause of its existence;
  2. The universe has a beginning of its existence;

Therefore:

  1. The universe has a cause of its existence.

Contemporary argument

William Lane Craig

William Lane Craig formulates the argument with an additional set of premises:

Argument based on the impossibility of an actual infinite:
  1. An actual infinite cannot exist.
  2. An infinite temporal regress of events is an actual infinite.
  3. Therefore, an infinite temporal regress of events cannot exist.
Argument based on the impossibility of the formation of an actual infinite by successive addition:
  1. A collection formed by successive addition cannot be an actual infinite.
  2. The temporal series of past events is a collection formed by successive addition.
  3. Therefore, the temporal series of past events cannot be actually infinite.

 RELATED:

36 Arguments for the Existence of God: Goldstein on the Cosmological Argument

Palm Beach County official won’t be disciplined for “Qur’an preaches hate” Facebook post

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Robert Spencer from Jihad Watch reports:

John Jamason

Hamas-linked CAIR has been demanding that the county take action against Jamason. I wrote about whether or not what he said was true here. County officials didn’t say what they should have said, which is that noting a demonstrable fact about the Qur’an is not illegal in the United States, and even disliking Islam is not illegal in the United States, as we are not (yet) a Sharia state. Instead, they weaseled out a bit by simply noting that they couldn’t do anything since Jamason didn’t write the post while on the job, but in any case the good news is that he will not be disciplined and free speech survives (just barely) into another day.

I do hope WPTV will get around to correcting that typo in its headline, as entertaining as it is.

“John Jamason: Palm Beach County pubic [sic] information officer won’t be disciplined after Islam post,” from WPTV.com, September 18:

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The administrator for Palm Beach County said there will be no disciplinary action taken against a county worker who posted hateful comments about Islam.County public information officer John Jamason sparked outrage last week on 9/11.

He posted on his personal Facebook page that “all Islam is radical … The Quran is a book that preaches hate”.

The county administrator said Jamason’s comments were personal and not made during work, so his statements did not violate rules.

FL Human Rights Organizations defeat Miami-Dade “Transsexual” Ordinance

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Recently, the Christian Family Coalition (CFC), a Florida based human rights and social justice advocacy organization, with seventeen other civil and human rights organizations held a press conference at Miami-Dade County Hall to permanently defeat the discriminatory “Transsexual” ordinance.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Bruno Barreiro

The ordinance was sponsored by Miami-Dade Commissioners Audrey Edmonson and Bruno Barreiro. The “Transsexual” ordinance would allow men dressed up as women or pretending to be women to use women’s bathrooms, dressing rooms, locker rooms, and showers. Furthermore, in the area of employment, it would legalize the firing of anyone disagreeing with this policy simply because of who they are and what they believe.

“We must make sure that this discriminatory ‘Transsexual’ ordinance never returns,” said Nathaniel J. Wilcox, Director of  People United to Lead the Struggle for Equality (PULSE), a South Florida civil rights organization.

CFC notes, “Even though the ordinance was never approved, it claimed its first victim when Commission Vice-Chair Lynda Bell was threatened and dehumanized by the extremists pushing the ordinance.”

“I am truly grateful to Miami-Dade Commission Vice Chair Lynda Bell for doing her duty as a public servant and voting against a proposed ordinance on its first reading,” Teresita “Tessie” Miglio said at Monday’s press conference. “Unfortunately, she became a victim of discrimination and hate by the very group that was trying to force this discriminatory law on every Miami-Dade County resident. Commissioner Bell, please know that there are numerous human rights organizations that proudly stand by you.”

“Today, we are calling on Commissioners, Edmonson, Barreiro, Jordan and Heyman to sign the CFC Anti-Discrimination Challenge to make sure this discriminatory ordinance never returns to Miami-Dade County,” stated Anthon Verdugo, CFC Founder and Executive Director.

CFC protest against Transgender ordinance. For a larger view click on the photo.

The “transsexual” proposal, passed 11-1 on first reading. Commission Vice Chairwoman Lynda Bell casting the lone vote against it. The proposal then went to the commission’s Health and Social Services Committee, comprised of chairwoman Edmonson, Bell, Commissioners Jose “Pepe” Diaz, Jean Monestime and Javier D. Souto.

After intense lobbying by the CFC and a broad coalition of human rights organizations, ordinance co-sponsors withdrew it on Aug. 13, when they realized they did not have the votes to pass it in committee.

According to CFC, “Now, Miami-Dade residents and human rights activists are asking all four ordinance sponsors to lead by example by signing the ‘NO to Discrimination Challenge‘.”

State Senator Nancy Detert is one of those behind an effort to recognize domestic partnerships (a.k.a gay marriage) in Florida. Many believe Detert would support transgender ordinances like the one defeated in Miami-Dade County. According to the Florida Family Policy Council (FFPC), “On February 20, 2013 at approximately 3:25 p.m. in the Florida Senate Children and Families committee (which Detert is a member), a deceptive and highly controversial bill died. The bill, SB 196, was labeled as a domestic partnership but actually attempted to create a full blown civil union and a form of homosexual marriage in direct violation of the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment passed by Floridians in 2008 by 62%.”

Miami-Dade Commission Transgender Ordinance video:

RELATED:

Firsthand Report on B4U-ACT Conference for ‘Minor-Attracted Persons’ — Aims at Normalizing Pedophilia

Atheist Richard Dawkins makes shocking claim about pedophilia – The Daily Caller

Christian conservatives rally at Miami-Dade County Hall against gender identity non-discrimination law

Florida synagogue to host lobbyist for Islamic Republic of Iran

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Robert Spencer from Jihad Watch reports:

Reza Aslan is a Board member of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC),which has been established in court as a lobbying group for the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

Said Michael Rubin: “Jamal Abdi, NIAC’s policy director, now appears to push aside any pretense that NIAC is something other than Iran’s lobby. Speaking at the forthcoming ‘Expose AIPAC’ conference, Abdi is featured on the ‘Training: Constituent Lobbying for Iran’ panel.”

According to Charles C. Johnson in the Daily Caller: “Iranian state-run media have referred to the National Iranian-American Council (NIAC) since at least 2006 as ‘Iran’s lobby’ in the U.S.” Iranian freedom activist Hassan Daioleslam “documented over a two-year period that NIAC is a front group lobbying on behalf of the Iranian regime.”NIAC had to pay him nearly $200,000 in legal fees after they sued him for defamation over his accusation that they were a front group for the mullahs, and lost. Yet Aslan remains on their Board.

Also, Aslan has tried to pass off Iran’s genocidally-minded outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a liberal reformer and has called on the U.S. Government to negotiate with Ahmadinejad himself, as well as with the jihad terror group Hamas.

Aslan has even praised the jihad terror group Hizballah as “the most dynamic political and social organization in Lebanon,” as well as the anti-Semitic, misogynist, Islamic supremacist Muslim Brotherhood, which is dedicated in its own words, according to a captured internal document, to “eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within.” Aslan wrote: “The Muslim Brotherhood will have a significant role to play in post-Mubarak Egypt. And that is good thing.” Millions of Egyptians obviously disagree.

He has also applauded and called for denying the freedom of speech to those he hates.

So why is a synagogue in Florida giving him a platform?

Temple Judea: (561) 624-4633 Email: contact@gotj.org. Be polite, courteous and informative.

“Member Appreciation Event, Dr. Reza Aslan in honor of Rabbi Joel and Susan Levine,” from Temple Judea, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida:

Help us begin our year long journey of honoring Rabbi Joel and Susan Levine for their 32 years of service and create their legacy…

Kick off event Tuesday, October 8th
4:00 PM at Temple Judea
Our first scholar in residence presenting in honor of Rabbi Levine
Dr. Reza Aslan, an internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions, is the founder of AslanMedia.com, an online journal for news and entertainment about the Middle East and the world. Reza Aslan has degrees in Religions from Santa Clara University, Harvard University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, where he was named the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities, and the Pacific Council on International Policy. He serves on the board of directors of the Ploughshares Fund, which gives grants for peace and security issues; Abraham’s Vision, an educational, conflict transformation organization for Israeli and Palestinian youths; PEN USA, which champions the rights of writers under siege around the world; and the Levantine Cultural Center, which builds bridges between Americans and the Arab/Muslim world through the arts. Aslan’s first book is the International Bestseller, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam, which has been translated into thirteen languages, and named one of the 100 most important books .

Also, recalling Aslan’s recent arrogant and inaccurate touting of his own credentials on Fox, in praise of his even more inaccurate new book, I came across this in the Jihad Watch archives yesterday while working on my own new book. It seems as if Aslan has a long-standing habit of arrogantly citing his credentials as if they themselves proved what he was saying to be correct:

REZA ASLAN: There’s no such thing as values in Sharia law, that is what I was trying to explain, it’s understood in thousands of different ways by tens of thousands of different institutions, who really disagree with each other far more than they disagree with people of other religions, the values that you bring to Sharia are whatever values you yourself have, if you are a bigot, misogynist and a violent person, your interpretation of Sharia will be bigoted, violent and misogynistic, if you are a democrat and a pluralist and someone who is peace loving, that’s how you’ll see the Sharia.JENNY BROCKIE: Nonie, a response from you?

NONIE DARWISH: This is very evasive – Sharia law is a Malignant law, it’s totally based on the interpretation of the Koran and the Hajid [sic], and the way Islam and the profit [sic] lived. I don’t know understand why he’s white washing the meaning of Sharia – Sharia is a set of laws…..

REZA ASLAN: I’m a scholar of Sharia, that’s why.

Is there anything this intellectual and moral titan is not a scholar of? We know that Reza Aslan lies without any apparent pangs of conscience about the New Testament, people he hates, Israeli “atrocities” (that will go over big at Temple Judea), the extent of Islamic supremacism in U.S. mosques, and about Muhammad’s career, and so there is no reason to assume that he will ever acknowledge that he is not the master of some subject or other.

EDITORS NOTE: Reza Aslan is the author of ZEALOT: The life and times of Jesus of Nazareth and No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam.

Gay journalists plan to disrupt 2014 Olympics

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Mass Resistance reports:

Homosexual activists in the U.S. are working with media groups, “out LGBT athletes,” and both the US and Canadian Olympic hockey teams in a secret plan to smuggle rainbow flags, homosexual propaganda, etc. into Russia. Their intent is to disrupt the 2014 Winter Olympics with homosexual symbolism, according to a presenter at the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Convention in Boston on August 24. The planned disruption is a retaliation by the homosexual movement to Russia’s recent ban on the public promotion of homosexuality.

They are also talking about “utilizing diplomatic channels” to help smuggle the homosexual flags and other materials into Russia.

Patrick Burke, co-founder of the You Can Play Project, a campaign to “end homophobia in sports,” also referred to plans for athletes to wave rainbow flags on awards podiums and at the closing ceremonies. Burke told the group that “we can’t talk about that publicly” but “there’s a lot going on behind the scenes.”.

MassResistance was present and recorded the presentation.

The Park Plaza Hotel in downtown Boston, during the conference.

Russia’s ban on public promotion of homosexuality

The 2014 Winter Olympics will be held in Sochi, Russia on February 7-23, 2014. This past June, as MassResistance reported, Russia’s parliament overwhelmingly passed a bill which bans the promotion of “non-traditional sexual relations” to minors, and which also includes bans on “gay pride” rallies or other public promotion of “homosexual propaganda.”

The Russian government has made it clear that the ban also covers participants and attendees of the 2014 Olympics. According to Burke, Russian authorities have decided to preemptively confiscate rainbow flags and pins at airports.

Remarks made at “Out on the Playing Field” session at conference

The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) is a powerful national organization of homosexual journalists from major television news, newspapers, radio, and more. Their annual conference was held August 22-25, 2013 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel.

Burke spoke at a conference session titled, “Game Changer: Out on the Playing Field and In the Press Box,” Its description: “Hear from sportswriters and athletes who can tell you what homophobia they still see in sports and where there are areas of real improvement.” Burke apparently thought he was talking to an all-“gay” audience, and was surprisingly candid about what he’s been doing to help organize the disruption at the upcoming Olympics.

Patrick Burke prepares to address his session at the NLGJA conference. Photo courtesy of Mass Resistance.

“Rainbow flag on the podium” and more

Here is what Patrick Burke said in his presentation about the plan to infiltrate the Olympic Games and embarrass the Russian government:

We’re going to have three weeks of sustained media presence there. We are going to have out LGBT athletes there. We are going to have very vocal and visible allies there.

We’ve spoken with the Canadian and U.S. hockey teams. We’re going to be doing work with both of those teams.

The frustrating part right now is we can’t talk about that publicly because if you talk about it publicly, the Russians don’t let you in the country. So when everyone keeps asking us “What are you going to do when you get there? What are you going to do when you get there?” and we keep having to say “We can’t tell you.”

The Russians have said they’ll confiscate rainbow flags if you try and bring them in your regular luggage. They’ve said they’ll confiscate pins. We are talking about utilizing diplomatic channels to get things into the country.

There’s a lot going on behind the scenes that will frustrate people because it won’t be made public until you see an athlete on a medal stand or at closing ceremonies . . .

There’s two types of backlash that we’re concerned about.

One is government. Where a journalist or athlete whoever it might be, is arrested or is, you know, fined, is deported. Not that anyone wants to stay in Russia if the Olympics are over. That’s certainly the type of backlash that we’re concerned about.

The second is non-governmental groups. We looked into securing a pride house in Sochi. One of my very good friends basically runs the Continental Hockey League and he knows every Russian billionaire out there. We said what would it take to get a pride house? He said he’d ‘need security.’ Well yeah, get some security guards. He said ‘no, someone would shoot it up.’ He said ‘you would need ex-KGB to secure it. You guys can’t afford that.’ Well probably not. So there’s concern on my end about non-governmental groups taking matters into their own hands.

I think the athletes are going to be safe. I think if you see an athlete or a journalist do something, unless it’s excessively provocative — and I use that term from the Russian point of view; I wouldn’t consider anything excessive — you’re going to see athletes deported. I don’t think you’re going to see fines. I don’t think you’re going to see arrests. I think you’re going to see, someone waves a rainbow flag on the podium; you go right from the podium to an airplane. You get sent home.

AUDIO: LISTEN to the above comments HERE.

(NOTE: Open recording and video taping of the conference and its sessions were allowed. Some sessions were recorded and/or videoed by several people.)

A diplomatic embarrassment to Americans?

The Russian government’s efforts to protect children and society has attracted support from pro-family organizations around the world, and also from countries such as Nigeria and Uganda who are also dealing with these issues.

If this effort is successful, it will be an embarrassment not only to the Russian government — which is working hard to have a clean, wholesome atmosphere for its Olympic games — but certainly to many Americans, given that American corporations, American athletes, and possibly even our government would be  also involved in the Olympics.

The pro-homosexual Obama Administration has already complained loudly about Russia’s new law. And President Obama himself, while visiting Russia this past week, in a purposeful affront to the Russian government met with Russian homosexual activists in St. Petersburg, along with his national security advisor and the US Ambassador to Russia. So it would not be surprising Obama had the US diplomatic corps involved with this, too.

The international fallout from this, given the wide range of those involved, could be considerable.

Florida Churches changing bylaws after gay marriage ruling

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Prophecy News Watch reports:

Worried they could be sued by gay couples, some churches are changing their bylaws to reflect their view that the Bible allows only marriage between one man and one woman.

Although there have been lawsuits against wedding industry businesses that refuse to serve gay couples, attorneys promoting the bylaw changes say they don’t know of any lawsuits against churches.

Critics say the changes are unnecessary, but some churches fear that it’s only a matter of time before one of them is sued.

“I thought marriage was always between one man and one woman, but the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision said no,” said Gregory S. Erwin, an attorney for the Louisiana Baptist Convention, an association of Southern Baptist churches and one several groups advising churches to change their bylaws. “I think it’s better to be prepared because the law is changing. America is changing.”

In a June decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as between a man and a woman for purposes of federal law. A second decision was more technical but essentially ushered in legal gay marriage in California.

Kevin Snider is an attorney with the Pacific Justice Institute, a nonprofit legal defense group that specializes in conservative Christian issues. His organization released a model marriage policy a few years ago in response to a statewide gay marriage fight in California. Snider said some religious leaders have been threatened with lawsuits for declining to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies.

Dean Inserra, head pastor of the 1,000-member City Church Tallahassee, based in Florida, said he does not want to be alarmist, but his church is looking into how best to address the issue.

Inserra said he already has had to say no to gay friends who wanted him to perform a wedding ceremony.

“We have some gay couples that attend our church. What happens when they ask us to do their wedding?” Inserra said. “What happens when we say no? Is it going to be treated like a civil rights thing?”

Critics, including some gay Christian leaders, argue that the changes amount to a solution looking for a problem.

“They seem to be under the impression that there is this huge movement with the goal of forcing them to perform ceremonies that violate their freedom of religion,” said Justin Lee, executive director of the Gay Christian Network, a nonprofit that provides support for gay Christians and their friends and families and encourages churches to be more welcoming.

“If anyone tried to force a church to perform a ceremony against their will, I would be the first person to stand up in that church’s defense.”

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia now recognize gay marriage.

Some Christian denominations, such as the United Church of Christ, accept gay marriage. The Episcopal Church recently approved a blessing for same-sex couples, but each bishop must decide whether to allow the ceremony in his or her local diocese.

Read more.

Mind control 2013: Who is really controlling your mind?

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Mind control is the subject of George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four“, which has regained popularity. Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian novel published in 1949. The Oceanian province of Airstrip One (formerly known as Great Britain) is a world of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance, and public mind control, dictated by a political system euphemistically named English Socialism (Ingsoc) under the control of a privileged Inner Party elite that persecutes all individualism and independent thinking as thoughtcrimes.

As George Orwell wrote, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”

Citizens globally are concerned about their governments spying on them. Others are concerned about media pushing an agenda rather than holding government accountable. Recent scandals like the NSA gathering data on hundreds of millions of US citizens and our allies is front page news. In many cases the NSA, FBI and CIA are accessing personal information which is stored by phone companies, web hosts and social media sites such as: Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc. Governments want this data and many of these same media giants will share it based on court orders or voluntarily.

So who controls the present?

Geo-Intelligence posted an infographic (below) to show who controls major print publications, media, Internet sites and entertainment outlets in the United States. These few “privileged Inner Party elite” can influence how you think about everything from the purchase of laundry detergent to your social and political behavior. What you read, hear and watch is controlled by about forty organizations. When they work in concert with government and freely share your information it can violate civil liberties according to the ACLU.

Take a quick look at this infographic, you will be surprised who is involved in “public mind control”.

For a larger view click on the image.

George Orwell wrote, “In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy.”

There is online a free full version of the movie Nineteen Eighty-Four released in 1954, click here to watch it. Below is the trailer to the movie Nineteen Eighty-Four release in 1984 and available on DVD:

Gays declare war on Florida’s bathrooms, Russia and vodka

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No, this column is not satire! Gays across Florida have declared war on Florida’s bathrooms, Russia and vodka. Gays are demanding equal access to all bathrooms in the sunshine state, an end of ties in Florida with Russian Sister Cities and gay bars boycott Russian vodka because of anti-gay laws there.

According to PolicyMic.com, “On June 30 this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill banning the ‘propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors,’ thus opening a new, dark chapter in the history of gay rights in Russia. The law caps a period of ferocious activities by the Russian government aimed at limiting the rights of the country’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people.” The irony is that Russia is the mother of progressivism throughout the world.

Gays declare war on Florida’s bathrooms.

World Net Daily reports:

A well-organized coalition of pro-family and civic organizations in Miami-Dade soundly defeated a measure that would have given transsexuals access to public restrooms and locker rooms used by the opposite sex.

The Miami-Dade Commission gave initial approval in May to adding “gender identity and expression” to the county’s anti-discrimination law by an 11-1 vote but the measure stalled after intense lobbying by opponents – led by the local Christian Family Coalition.

Bill sponsors withdrew it on August 14 because they lacked the votes to get it through committee.

The victory in liberal Miami-Dade “is really landmark,” said Christian Family Coalition executive director Anthony Verdugo of the win 36 years after singer Anita Bryant led the successful repeal of Miami-Dade County’s homosexual rights law.

[ … ]

The Miami-Dade campaigners developed a coalition of 17 Republican, Democrat, human rights and religious organizations and worked with numerous churches to educate and mobilize the opposition.

[ … ]

Nationwide, 17 states and the District of Columbia have embraced the transsexual agenda. Rhode Island added “gender identity and expression” to its anti-discrimination law in June with the support of Gov. Jack Markell, and Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden announced his support in an Equality Delaware video.

Read more.

Gays declare war on Sister Cities in Russia. 

Hanna Marcus, Staff Writer for the Independent Florida Alligator writes:

Although struggles in Russia over anti-LGBT sentiments may seem an ocean away, the backlash has reached Gainesville.

For the past few decades, the city has facilitated the Sister City Program of Gainesville Inc., which pairs Gainesville with cities abroad and allows joint international programs.

Because of the passing of anti-LGBT legislation in Russia, some Gainesville residents have voiced the desire to end the 31-year partnership with the Russian city Novorossiysk.

“Russia has passed several appalling laws aimed at dehumanizing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Russia and abroad,” wrote Mallory Garner-Wells, a public policy director for Equality Florida, in an email to Mayor Ed Braddy.

Garner-Wells wrote that terminating the relationship would reflect that anti-LGBT legislation passed in Russia is considered unacceptable.

“As a resident of Gainesville, I know our city has always been a leader in ensuring LGBT people are treated fairly,” she wrote. “By continuing a Sister City relationship…we are turning a blind eye to the atrocities that are happening in Russia.”

According to the Sister Cities International policy, members are encouraged to keep “their sister city relationships active, especially when political issues threaten to disrupt” the relationship because of political disputes.

NOTE: Gainesville is a Sister City with the Palestinian National Authority. The Palestinian territories have no specific, stand alone civil rights legislation that protects LGBT people from discrimination or harassment. Same-sex marriages, civil unions or domestic partnerships are not given legal recognition in the Palestinian territories. Some LGBT Palestinians have fled, legally or illegally, mostly to Israel’s urban centers, like Tel Aviv, seeking tolerance there. In Islam, homosexuality is condemned in the story of Lot’s people in the Qur’an (15:73; 26:165) and in the last address of the Prophet Muhammad. Some members of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), which includes the Palestinian National Authority, Saudi Arabia and Iran, execute gays.

Cities in Florida with Sister Cities in Russia include: Jacksonville, Orlando, Palatka, Sarasota and Tallahassee.

Gays declare War on Russian Vodka

Max Fisher from the Washington Post reports:

Russia has been tightening its laws restricting the rights of gay citizens for months, passing legislation that bans “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” such as public marches. But it was the recent violence against gay rights marchers, committed by nationalist counter-protesters as well as police, that seems to have led gay rights activists in the West to say “enough.” A campaign to boycott Russian-made vodkas has been adopted by a number of gay bars in the United States and Canada, as well as, to a lesser degree, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Switching from Stoli to Ketel One, though, is probably not likely to shame the Duma into repealing its laws or persuade far-right Russian nationalists to accept fellow citizens. Russian vodka brands are big enough that the loss of Western gay bar business is not likely to harm them much. Even if it did, the alcohol companies don’t have tremendous political clout in Moscow or economic importance for Russia. But that’s not the real reason that, as activists acknowledge, the boycott is unlikely to improve human rights in Russia. It actually has as much or more to do with issues unique to Russia, its post-Soviet popular ideology and ongoing political divisions.

Read more.

What is most interesting is Russia was where the progressive movement began in 1917 with the Russian Revolution. Progressivism in its many forms (socialism, Communism, etc.) flourished in the former Soviet union. Progressives in America still identify with the works of Karl Marx, Lenin and Trotsky. Looks like what goes around comes around.

WDW – FL wonders what will happen the next time President Obama, America’s first gay president, meets Russian President Vladimir Putin? Will they have a vodka summit?

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VIDEO KIRO TV 7, SEATTLE, WA: Transgender man denied use of female locker room at a Seattle college, but …

RELATED: Marriage Equality Fight Pushes Country Down Slippery Slope of Polygamy, Incest

Florida Pastor to burn 2,998 Qurans on 9/11/2013

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Pastor Terry Jones has bought property in East Manatee County, Florida to where he plans to relocate his church. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

As the Muslim Brotherhood is burning Coptic Christian churches across Egypt, Florida’s Reverend Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center, will burn 2,998 Qurans honoring the fallen of 9/11/2001. Coincidentally, thousands of American Coptic Christians, many who immigrated from Egypt, are protesting across the nation chanting “Obama, Obama, don’t you care? Christian blood is everywhere“. Florida is home to eleven Coptic Christian Churches.

Take our survey at the end of this column: Which is worse burning Churches or burning Qurans?

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has labeled the Dove World Outreach Center a “hate group”. Others feel Reverend Jones is doing the right thing by highlighting the threat of Islamic extremism in America.

The SPLC called Jones “a true fanatical extremist who seems to be drawn mostly by the need for self-promotion and publicity.” In contrast, outrage has grown as the American Muslim Political Action Committee (AMPAC), supported by various National Democratic Party caucuses, plan a “Million Muslim March” [recently renamed the “Million American March Against Fear” (MAMAF)] in Washington, D.C. on 9/11/2013.

To some the SPLC’s accusations against Reverend Jones ring hollow. Some ask when will the SPLC call the Muslim Brotherhood and its American affiliates hate groups?

According to the AMPAC website the following have partnered with and will march in the Million Muslim March:

AMPAC – The American Muslim Political Action Committee AMPAC in cooperation and solidarity with PANDAA – People Against the National Defense Authorization Act, NDPAAC – National Democratic Party Asian American Caucus, NYDPAAC – New York Democratic Party Asian American Caucus, NABAB – North American Bangladeshi Association for Bangladesh, MDPAAC – Missouri Democratic Party Asian American Caucus, CLA – Community Leadership Affairs, SACC – South Asian Chamber of Commerce, Mosque Care, DC Area 9/11 Truth Movement , A&E – Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth Movement, OWS Movement, MAS Freedom – Muslim American Society, MMAT –  Muslim Marching Against Terrorism, MD Rabbi Alam – the Founder of AMPAC, Richard Gage – the Founder of Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth Movement, Dr. Kevin Barrett – the National Spokesperson for Muslim Think Tank, Imam Mahdi Bray the National Executive Director of MAS Freedom, Will Coley National Political Director of Muslim for Liberty and AMPAC organizer of Tennessee and The March Against Drones (MAD) will be gathering on the National Mall, and then launching a march on the halls of power.

In May 1991, the Muslim Brotherhood issued to its ideological allies in the US an explanatory memorandum on “the General Strategic Goal for the Group in North America.”

The memorandum, discovered by the FBI, asserts that the Brotherhood’s mission was to establish “an effective and … stable Islamic Movement” on the continent, this document outlined a “Civilization-Jihadist Process” for achieving that objective. It stated that Muslims “must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands … so that … God’s religion [Islam] is made victorious over all other religions.”

The memorandum outlines a  political tactic called “stealth jihad“. Using stealth jihad the Brotherhood would seek to impose Islamic values and customs on the West in piecemeal fashion — gradually, incrementally gaining ever-greater influence over the culture.

The memorandum listed twenty-nine likeminded “organizations of our friends” which sought to realize the same goal. Members of these organizations will be participating in the Million Muslim March.

To view the responses to this survey click here.

Reverend Jones produced this video titled “The Church Must Stand Up!”:

RELATED:

‘Million Muslim March’ Planned On 9/11 Anniversary Prompts Conservative Freakout – Huffington Post

Two Million Bikers Plan Their Own 9/11 March to Washington D.C.

Bikers to counter Muslim march – WorldNetDaily

77% of terror plots are motivated by Islamic jihad doctrine

PETITION: Million Muslim March … Renounce The Hate

Anti-semitism in America: 2004-2011

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As the Million Muslim March is scheduled for 9/11/2013, the Center for Security Policy has released a comprehensive study titled, “Anti-Semitism and Other Bias Crimes in America: 2004-2011 Comparisons.” The premise of the march is that Muslims are being discriminated against. That is addressed in this study, with the FBI data on hate crimes painting a much different picture.

The Center created an online database, with over 17,365 reports for localities showing hate crimes from 2004-2011, as well as 44 reports for US nationwide reports and 5 comprehensive nationwide reports for each broad category of victim groups (bias groups), also from 2004-2011. Read the full report here.

The CSP website states, “In its March 2011 Occasional Paper entitled, “Religious Bias Crimes 2000-2009: Muslim, Jewish and Christian Victims – Debunking the Myth of a Growing Trend in Muslim Victimization,” the Center for Security Policy (CSP) used official annual data published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to debunk the common fallacy spread by “Islamophobia” proponents that Muslims have been the target of an increasing wave of “hate crimes” in the years following the attacks of 11 September 2001. In fact, as the FBI data show, the number of religious bias crimes (or “hate crimes”) against Muslims post-9/11 is actually significantly lower than such crimes against Jews.”

From 2000 through 2009, the Center found that, according to the FBI statistics, Jewish victims of hate crimes outnumbered Muslim victims by about six to one.

Subsequent FBI statistics for 2010 and 2011 show a ratio of Jewish to Muslim victims of about five to one. The study’s presentation of hard data on such “religious bias crimes” (only reinforced by the additional data from the two more recent years) exposed the political agenda of certain highly vocal Muslim lobbying groups, many linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and leftwing activists, which persist in promoting the false narrative of America’s alleged “Islamophobia.” In fact, there is no “rising trend” in hate crimes against Muslim Americans and allegations to the contrary are demonstrably counterfactual as well as “corrosive to community relationships at every level of American society, and a potential threat to national security,” as Center for Security Policy President Frank Gaffney pointed out. 

With that 2011 study as a baseline, the Center for Security Policy expanded the earlier analysis for a second phase of analysis.

Methodology

This second phase of the study has two components:

First, the Center created an online database, with over 17,365 reports for localities showing hate crimes from 2004-2011, as well as 44 reports for US nationwide reports and 5 comprehensive nationwide reports for each broad category of victim groups (bias groups), also from 2004-2011.  The Center has put this database into the public domain in order to provide longitudinal data showing trends to all groups representing historical or potential victim categories, as well as to all localities from the federal to state to city or even university reporting agency level.  Only when the public can see the actual data – and trends – in hate crimes for a significant period of time, in this case from 2004-2011, can they assess the seriousness of the problem and the context to develop policies, if needed, to address it.   The categories of reports in the online database include:

  • 44 Comprehensive Reports: US nationwide data from 2004 – 2011 for incidents, offenses, victims, and known offenders;
  • 5 Comprehensive Reports: US nationwide data for individual bias victim groups, across all types of offenses, from 2004-2011;
  • 17,365 Summary Reports: Locality information for all states, cities, universities, county law enforcement agencies, tribal law enforcement agencies and other entities such as railroads that report hate crimes using the Uniform Crime Reporting protocol to the FBI, from 2004-2011, compared in each local report two other tables: the state’s total for bias categories and agency types.  These localities’ data are provided by the FBI at a summary level (religion, race), not at the detailed level of bias crimes against specific religions (anti-Jewish, anti-Catholic) or specific races (anti-Black, anti-White).

The second component of this analysis is provided in this report, with a selection of graphs showing the findings presented in the online database.  All comparisons were based on the data provided by the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data for hate crimes from 2004-2011.

Read more.

Public schools not protecting the innocence of children!

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true-toleranceFocus on the Family in order to protect the innocence of children has created the parent resource website TrueTolerance.org.

True Tolerance states, “It seems like almost every other day there’s another story on Fox News or CNN about sexually explicit teaching or homosexuality instruction being mandated for children as young as kindergarten—many times against their parents’ will. We’re often seeing these lessons being promoted in the name of ‘tolerance’ or ‘safe school lessons,’ which is extremely misleading and makes it hard for parents to know how to respond or learn what’s really being taught.”

“You may teach your children a biblically based point of view at home—but when they go to school they may encounter something drastically different or even opposed to what they’re learning from you and their spiritual leaders at church. So what’s a parent to do? You might feel like other parents have similar concerns, but they seem silent—and you feel alone and isolated,” notes True Tolerance.

True Tolerance warns, “It seems as if every time you turn on the TV or look at a newspaper lately, there’s a story about bullying. The federal government has had several forums on the topic and there’s been nationwide YouTube and Facebook campaigns addressing it. Unfortunately, many homosexual advocacy groups have been quick to capitalize on all of the national attention–turning the movement into a campaign for more inclusion of  controversial sexual topics in public schools.”

True Tolerance highlights words that alerts parents to programs that may deal with controversial relationships, marriage and sexuality issues—as well as sensitive topics like teen suicide, drug use and risky behaviors, such as:

• family diversity
• social justice
• anti-bullying
• tolerance
• sexual orientation
• comprehensive sex education
• safe schools
• gender identity
• health education

True Tolerance notes, “In general, federal courts have recognized the fundamental rights of parents to direct the “upbringing and education of children.” But the courts have not been helpful in explaining the specifics of that right, beyond the right to choose private or homeschool education over public education.” To assist parents True Tolerance has a page titled, “Parent Bill of Rights for Public Schools“.

Of note is the section on True Tolerance about the Gay, Lesbian Education Network (GLSEN) and the national Day of Silence and Ally Week promoted in some public schools.

True Tolerance provides a free guidebook titled, “Empowering Parents: A How-to Guide for Protecting Your Child’s Innocence and Your Family’s Values in Public Schools.“

Warning: That Jacksonville or Tampa city employee you deal with may be a criminal

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In 2008, the Jacksonville City Council adopted an ordinance reforming both its hiring procedures and its contractor bidding policies. In July 2009, the City’s Human Resources Department released the revised standard. In 2010 Jacksonville revised its screening summary for city employees and contractors.

The directive states that department heads will “not inquire about or consider criminal background check information in making a hiring decision.” Instead, “criminal information disclosure is required as part of the post-offer new hire process.”

The application instructions even encourage people with a criminal record to apply for city jobs.

The criminal background check screening is centralized in the City of Jacksonville Human Resources Department. Moreover, the screening process requires taking into account the specific duties of the job, the age of the offense, and rehabilitation. Denied applicants may appeal to Human Resources. Contractors are required to tally job opportunities for people with criminal records and report back to the City.

On January 14, 2013 Bob Buckhorn, the Mayor of Tampa, signed the ban the box ordinance approved by the City Council which covers city employees. Advocates in Tampa continue to work on expanding the ordinance to include city contractors. The Tampa Ordinance 2013-3 may be viewed by clicking here. The Tampa ban the box program is administered by Sharon Streater HOPE lead organizer, from the Direct Action & Research Training Center.

This effort is part of the Ban the Box project and National Employment Law Project. The ordinance only applies to the City Jacksonville employees. As of April 2013 there are fifty cities in twenty-one states that have implemented some form of Ban the Box ordinances. California, Illinois, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, Connecticut and Massachusetts have statewide Ban the Box legislation.

For a larger view click on the map.

According to its website, “Ban the Box is a nationwide effort to remove criminal history inquiry; i.e. ‘the box’ from employer job applications. All employers have the right to know an applicant’s conviction history but the inquiry should be deferred until later in the interview process and not utilized as an automatic bar to employment at the application stage.” [Emphasis mine]

WDW – FL contacted both the City of Tampa and Jacksonville to determine how many people with criminal records have been hired as city employees and in the case of Jacksonville by contractors. According to Sharon Streater who administers the program for Tampa she has no data as the program is new. However, Streater did state that the disclaimer in the city announcements for job openings saying those with criminal records need not apply has been deleted.

The City of Jacksonville Civil Service and Personnel Rules and Regulations (revised in 2010) states:

The following are examples of extraordinary situations in which an employee may be immediately suspended without pay:

1. Being under the influence of alcohol or drugs on the job.
2. Use of alcohol or illegal drugs on the job or during the employee’s work day, to include breaks and lunch period.
3. Commission of an act which constitutes a felony offense or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude under the criminal laws of the State of Florida or Federal Government. [Emphasis added]

The question: Are those Jacksonville public employees and contractors with criminal records given access to sensitive citizen information?

As Milton Friedman wrote, “A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither. A society that puts freedom before equality will get a high degree of both.”

Tipping the public sector job market to favor convicted criminals is problematic at the least and dangerous at the worst.

But, voters, like in the case of Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, re-elect criminals from time to time but that is another story. BTW Washington, D.C. passed a ban the box ordinance in 2010.

EDITORS NOTE: WDW – FL contacted the City of Jacksonville and is awaiting a reply on how many city employees and contract employees have been hired since 2008 who have a criminal background. When that information is made available this column will be updated.

Are welfare recipients becoming Florida’s “new middle class”?

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In 1995, the CATO Institute published a groundbreaking study, The Work vs. Welfare Trade-Off, which estimated the value of the full package of welfare benefits available to a typical recipient in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

It found that not only did the value of such benefits greatly exceed the poverty level but, because welfare benefits are tax-free, their dollar value was greater than the amount of take-home income a worker would receive from an entry-level job.

Since then, many welfare programs have undergone significant change, including the 1996 welfare reform legislation that ended the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program and replaced it with the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program administered by the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The CATO Institute examined the current welfare system in the same manner as the 1995 paper in their The Work vs. Welfare Trade-Off: 2013 report.

According to CATO, “Welfare benefits continue to outpace the income that most recipients can expect to earn from an entry-level job, and the balance between welfare and work may actually have grown worse in recent years.”

“The current [2013] welfare system provides such a high level of benefits that it acts as a disincentive for work,” states the CATO report.

CATO Institute Senior Fellow Michael D. Tanner discusses his latest report on welfare:

Welfare currently pays more than a minimum-wage job in 35 states, even after accounting for the Earned Income Tax Credit, and in 13 states it pays more than $15 per hour. If Congress and state legislatures are serious about reducing welfare dependence and rewarding work, they should consider strengthening welfare work requirements, removing exemptions, and narrowing the definition of work.

The top ten states where welfare payments have increased are: 1. Hawaii, 2. District of Columbia, 3. Massachusetts, 4. Connecticut, 5. New Jersey, 6. Rhode Island, 7. New York, 8. Vermont, 9. New Hampshire and 10. Maryland. For those wondering, California is ranked number eleven. Florida ranks 46th. Mississippi is ranked last.

CATO recommends, “[S]tates should consider ways to shrink the gap between the value of welfare and work by reducing current benefit levels and tightening eligibility requirements.”

In 1995 Florida ranked 30th in the nation with a pre-tax welfare wage equivalent of $18,200 or an hourly wage of $8.75. In 2013 Florida ranks 46th in the nation with a pre-tax welfare wage equivalent of $12,600 or an hourly wage of $6.06.

However, Florida ranks 9th in providing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cards, with a monthly benefit of $526 or $6,312 annually. Florida is ranked 16th in providing housing benefits, with a urban monthly benefit of $1,095 and a non-urban benefit of $814. Florida housing benefits average monthly $955 or $11,455 annually.

In Medicaid benefits Florida ranks 48th with an annual expenditure of $6,196, which is the equivalent of an insurance premium of $6,408. Percent of TANF Households Receiving Housing Assistance in Florida in 1995 was 17.4%, today it is 7.7%. TANF adult recipients participating in work activities in Florida is 54.2%.

In terms of welfare benefits packages with housing included for all states Florida ranks 26th overall. In Florida for 2013 the benefits add up to $29,576 or an increase over the original 1995 package adjusted for inflation of $3,484. Florida is 45th in utilities assistance at $19 a month or $225 a year. For the Women, Infants, and Children Program Florida ranks 20th with a monthly payment of $90, annual payment of $1,077.

The bottom line:

Florida pays out in welfare benefits: TANF – $3,636, SNAP – $ 6,312, Housing – $11,455 (avg.), Medicaid – $6,196, WIC – $1,077, LIHEAP – $600, TEFAP – $300 for a total of $29,576. 

The median salary in Florida is $30,695.

Welfare is now a big government business paying more than entry level jobs in 70% of the states. Since Congress enacted welfare reform in 1994, America has become more of the welfare nation.

Milton Friedman wrote, “One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.”

Is Florida is on the path with the result that it will become a “welfare state”?

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