Lawmakers cracking down on 'Lost Boys' issue

State lawmakers have passed a bill that appears to crack down on child abandonment in the fundamentalist communities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz.

It appears aimed at the phenomenon of the so-called "Lost Boys" — teens who have been ousted from the Fundamentalist LDS Church. HB23, sponsored by Rep. Lorie Fowlke, R-Orem, makes child abandonment a form of child abuse, and makes it a third-degree felony for anyone or any enterprise to encourage child abandonment.

"We're really focused on the organizations who force these parents to throw away their children in order to be able to to continue to remain part of the community," Fowlke told the Deseret Morning News on Thursday.

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The dark side of faith in Africa

The town of Yelwa sits squarely in the "middle belt" of Nigeria, an area where the Christian majority south and the Muslim majority north grind away at each other in spasms of religious violence that would make an inquisitor blush. An article in the current Atlantic Monthly "God's Country" by Eliza Griswold, recounts one of these episodes of religious violence.

There were bullet-ridden bodies strewn around. A church was set on fire by an arsonist's hand. Then the school and the nursery were set ablaze. Members of the congregation were shot by armed gunman. In all, 78 Christians were killed and placed in a mass grave. Fortunately, the pastor of the destroyed church survived but lost seven members of his family that day. This was the result of a coordinated attack on a Christian church by Muslims in the Nigerian town of Yelwa. A week later, Yelwa was surrounded by hundreds of armed men, some sporting tags identifying them as members of the Christian Association of Nigeria.

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Contradiction in Arab cartoon views

Blatantly anti-Semitic literature is on sale in Cairo, just like many other Arab capitals. The BBC News website's Martin Patience reports on the apparent inconsistency in the Egyptian reaction to the Danish cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad. ^{[BBC News]}

This kind of hypocrisy seems to curse all three of the major Middle Eastern religions. It comes, I think, from their insistence that each is the only one that is right, the chosen ones. They each believe they have the TRUE God and making fun of THEIR God is blasphemy, but it's not blasphemy when they ridicule other folks' beliefs.

This is where the danger comes for a secular, multi-cultural society. We try, because we desire our own freedom, to allow others to do what they believe it right. But what do you do when another person believes that attempting, or even FORCING, you to convert to their belief system is "right".

The article goes on:

While he insists he believes in freedom of speech, he is furious about the cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad.

He argues that slandering any religion should be punishable.

But when it comes to selling the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, he says: "The book is about politics not about religion. I don't have a problem with books criticising politics."

So freedom of speech is only applicable when YOU are talking about other religions? Oh, yeah, call it "politics" but it's still religion and I feel sure the speaker understands that.

Honestly, the more I hear Muslims complain about not being treated as equals the more bemused I am. I want to say to them that being ridiculed is part of being equal.

Beauty queen rejected as pageant judge for being witch

Miss Toronto Tourism officials reject reigning Miss Canada Plus because she reads tarot cards

She might be a witch, but Stephanie Conover says that's no reason for officials at an upcoming Toronto beauty pageant to reject her as a potential judge.

Conover, who was crowned winner of the Miss Canada Plus Pageant last year, said she was recently invited to be a judge at the Miss Toronto Tourism pageant on Feb. 2.

"I said I'd definitely be there," Conover told the Star yesterday.

"Then, last week, on Monday, they asked me for a biography. I told them everything I do, how I'm an entertainer and a singer and a dancer. I talked about my charity work and I said I also have hobbies, including songwriting, knitting, painting, yoga, reiki and tarot cards."

That's where things got sticky.

"We just got her bio a week ago and we don't agree with it," said Karen Murray, Miss Toronto Tourism pageant director. "We want someone down to earth, not someone into the dark side or the occult."

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Teacher crosses line between church, state, say Irasburg parents

IRASBURG — Mel Downs doesn't object to academic discussions over the relative merits of varying religious philosophies.

But when his daughter came home from her public school with a handout titled "Why Jesus Is Better Than Santa Claus," the Irasburg father took offense.

"It isn't about my religion or me being biased in some way," Downs said. "It's about the separation of church and state that is supposed to exist in my daughter's classroom."

Downs' daughter attends seventh grade at Irasburg Village School. She received the "Jesus" handout just before Christmas vacation, and Downs says it reflects a pattern of religious-themed material being taught by Wally Rogers, his daughter's language arts teacher.

When Downs' daughter began the school year in September, he said, the Ten Commandments were mounted to the classroom wall, Christian books filled the classroom bookshelf, and a school-funded Web page, used by the teacher, included links to Christian Web sites.

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