LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY einatlanta)

Hello, my name is einatlanta, and I'm a librarian. As a result, I have to catalog and organise things. I just can't help it.

Currently as a mod over here I've decided to make it my goal to go back through the dark_christian archives and tag up all the entries. Tags are the little words you see at the bottom of each submission around here. If you click on one of the tags, a page showing all articles tagged with that word will appear. Tagging articles helps everyone searching for information on a specific topic find what they need more quickly.

I plan to tag around six past entries a day until all the old submissions are tagged up for cross-referecing goodness! Anyone who is a mod welcome to help me with the backlog.

Even if you're not a mod, you can help too! Here are some tips for tagging your posts on dark_christian as they are made.

*Try to use tags that already exist in our catalog. The easiest way to do this is *after* you publish up your post, hit the "edit tags" button. On the edit screen a scroll box with all existing tags for this blog will appear. Select as many existing tags as you think you need. This prevents things from getting too subdivided; for instance, we use the tag "military" for all posts about evangelical activities in the USAF and Army here. If you start tagging them seperately, those researching will have to work harder to get the big picture of wider movement in our armed forces.

*Use last names only when tagging a specific person. Not every person mentioned on this blog needs to be indexed, but if you feel that someone is important enough, use their last name only when tagging. For instance, Jerry Falwell is tagged as Fallwell, Ted Haggard as Haggard. This will build pages around specific active individuals.

*Keep it simple. You will rarely need more than three tags for any entry. Most articles can be categorized with one or two tags. Yes, tagging is fun, but don't get over excited.

Tagging new articles as we go along will cut down on the backlog of posts to tag. Having the entries in this community better organized will help newcomers determine if something has been posted before, and what this comm is all about. All help is welcome!

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY sunfell)

It's a small thing, but still significant. The Miami Herald reports that the "Center for Reclaiming America" has closed its doors.

Bringing an end to ambitious goals that included raising $2 million to launch a Capitol Hill lobbying arm, opening a dozen regional offices and recruiting activists in all 435 congressional districts, the Fort Lauderdale-based Center for Reclaiming America has shut its doors.

The conservative organization, part of the Rev. James D. Kennedy's Coral Ridge Ministries, let its eight employees go last week. Coral Ridge also closed its Capitol Hill-based Center for Christian Statesmanship, founded in 1995 to convert lawmakers to evangelical Christianity.

Brian Fisher, executive vice president at Coral Ridge Ministries, said the closings are part of a larger effort to redefine the ministry's mission.

''We believe that by streamlining the operations we will be able to return to our core focus,'' he said.

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY inkedgeekfreak)

The house passed a bill that would add gender and sexual orientation protection to the current Federal Hate Crimes list. It is an expected show down with President Bush and his veto powers.

This wouldn't make the news for this community until you scroll down the article and read James Dobson's comments on this:

Dr. James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, warned that the true intent of the bill was "to muzzle people of faith who dare to express their moral and biblical concerns about homosexuality." If you read the Bible in a certain way, he told his broadcast listeners, "you may be guilty of committing a 'thought crime."

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY vanar_en_daeor)

Wednesday, May 2, 2007
http://hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=36619

RELIGIOUS RIGHT’S DESPERATE LAST ATTEMPTS TO STOP HATE CRIMES BILL

Extremists Embrace White-Supremacist Filmmaker, Invoke Virginia Tech Massacre, Lie About Congressional Record and Use Christ’s Name in Vain

WASHINGTON — As the U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote tomorrow (Thursday) on H.R. 1592, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, anti-gay extremist organizations have embarked on a desperate last attempt to derail passage of the bill. Marking a new low in politics, these groups have embraced the work of a known white-supremacist filmmaker, callously invoked the Virginia Tech massacre, blatantly lied about the congressional record and even used the name and image of Jesus Christ in vain.

The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act would strengthen the ability of law enforcement officials to investigate and prosecute hate crimes when a crime is committed because of a person’s sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability. The current hate crimes law applies only to violent crimes committed due to the victim’s race, color, national origin and religion.

According to the FBI, 25 Americans each day are victims of hate crimes — that means approximately one hate crime is committed every hour. One in six hate crimes are motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation. The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act has broad public and bipartisan support — including 73 percent of the American people and more than 210 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations — and has previously passed both houses of Congress in recent years, but was ultimately derailed by Republican leadership bowing to pressure from Republican extremists.

In recent weeks, religious right leaders have been caught outright lying about the hate crimes bill: claiming that no federal hate crimes law yet exists (it does, has for 40 years and already includes them (i.e., people of faith)) and that the proposed amendment to the hate crimes law would criminalize hate speech (it does not). Some of these same leaders have also been caught disseminating the anti-gay works of a white-supremacist filmmaker. And just last week, the head of the Family Research Council invoked the Virginia Tech victims to argue against the hate crimes bill. Details of these incidents can be found below.
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Note: The good news is, that the bill did indeed pass (see my other posting). A step in the right direction. :)

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY vanar_en_daeor)

Thursday, May 3, 2007
http://hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=36630&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSES HISTORIC HATE CRIMES BILL

Act Would Strengthen Ability of Law Enforcement to Investigate, Prosecute Hate Crimes

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives today voted to pass the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, H.R. 1592, in a vote of 237 to 180. The proposed legislation, which has the endorsement of 230 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations and the support of 73 percent of the American people, was introduced in March by Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., along with more than 100 other members of Congress. The Senate will soon consider an identical companion bill called the Matthew Shepard Act.

“This is a historic day that moves all Americans closer to safety from the scourge of hate violence,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “Today, legislators sided with the 73 percent of the American people who support the expansion of hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

( Read more... )
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Note: This is the good news follow-up to my other post. :)