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The Controversial Westboro Baptist Church comes to Asheville

Westboro Baptist Church, the Topeka, Kansas based Independent Baptist church known for its extreme ideologies came to Asheville on June 12, 2012 to picket a course taught at The Cove.

First, let me give you some information about the church. The church is headed by Fred Phelps and consists primarily of members of his large family. In 2011, the church stated that it had about 40 members. The WBC is not affiliated with any known Baptist conventions or associations.

The church is widely described as a hate group. They are strongly against homosexuality. Some of the church’s protest activities include picketing funerals of American servicemen, desecrating the American flag, picketing funerals of celebrities and public events that are likely to get it media attention. The WBC pickets funerals of American servicemen because their “attitude towards what’s happening with the war is that the Lord is punishing this evil nation for abandoning all moral imperatives that are worth a dime.”  Phelps and his family picket approximately six locations every day. One of Westboro’s followers estimated that the church spends $250,000 a year on picketing!

Notice how young this kid is!

The church runs numerous web sites such as GodHatesFags.com, GodHatesAmerica.com and others expressing condemnation of homosexuality. The group maintains that God hates gays above all other kinds of “sinners” and that homosexuality should be a capital crime.
WBC came to Asheville to picket a course taught at The Cove. The Cove is Billy Graham’s Christian training center. The course that the WBC is against is the Rapid Response Team Training course in which volunteers are trained to go into disaster-stricken areas to spread the word of God.  The WBC nicknamed the course, “How to effectively lie to people about God for money.” This is what was stated on WBC’s website: “Anyone with any sense would not walk, but run away from anything associated with Billy Graham. The truth of God is not in that place. Graham preaches the doctrine of satan.”

I decided to go to the picket to see what it was all about. There were about a dozen WBC protestors waving signs, playing music, singing and making statements accusing Billy Graham of putting profits before preaching the gospel. The protestors used boomboxes to play popular rock and pop tunes, with the words altered to suit their message. There were about 20 counter-protestors. Among the counter-protestors was Tuesday Feral, a self-described gay Christian, who told reporters that Westboro distorts the Bible. “They’re presenting a very inaccurate picture of what Christianity is,” she said. “Their message is, God hates this, and God hates that. God hates everything.”

My thoughts:

Seeing the WBC protestors made me sick to my stomach. It is sad to see and hear people that are so filled with hate. It seemed as if they had all been brainwashed. It is sad to see parents teach their children hate. I couldn’t imagine being gay and being at the protest right across from the protestors. It would be so hurtful. I am in total support of gay rights. I have friends who are gay. In my opinion, I believe that you are born gay and that you are not able to become straight. Embrace who you are.

I don’t understand protesting. Are you actually making a difference? Do you think this is the best use of your time?

Counter-protestors:

The other side wasn't all about love...

It should be illegal to serve pregnant women alcohol

The other day Kyle and I toured the Highland Brewing Company. We noticed a woman who obviously looked as though she were pregnant. And yes, she was drinking beer…every sample and had a pint. This disturbed us. She had to know about fetal alcohol syndrome, right? We also wondered if it was illegal to serve alcohol to pregnant women.

Here is some information about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome if you don’t know about it. Fetal alcohol syndrome is growth, mental and physical problems that may occur in a baby when a mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy. Alcohol use appears to be most harmful during the first three months of pregnancy; however, drinking alcohol any time during pregnancy can be harmful. A baby with fetal alcohol syndrome may experience poor growth, decreased muscle tone and poor coordination, heart defects, delayed development and problems in thinking, speech, movement, or social skills, and problems with the face.

I did some research and found that according to law, a bartender is unable to refuse to serve a certain group of people, unless there is a reason for them not to, such as drunkenness. What this means is that, legally, a pregnant woman would be able to bring up a lawsuit against a bar if they made the decision to refuse serving her alcohol, based on discrimination.  

I would not serve alcohol to a pregnant woman even if it would get me fired. The baby can’t speak for itself and alcohol has negative effects on unborn babies.

There is a lot of controversy. We give service to mothers who feed their obese children fast food and let them buy violent video games for their kids, so why deny service to pregnant women? Some may argue that it would essentially reduce pregnant women to second-class citizens because we are denying them the basic constitutional rights. They may say it is not the waitress’s call to make. It’s not her body. It’s not her baby.

Many of us assume that women know the effects of alcohol on their baby. Unfortunately, there are some who do not. If a bar knowingly serves a pregnant woman alcohol without informing her that alcohol may have a devastating affect on her unborn baby, a pregnant woman very well may have a good lawsuit on her hands.

What do you think? Should it be illegal to serve alcohol to pregnant women?

Newborn Photography: Cashing in on new mothers=immoral

I believe I am a person with good morals. I want to make sure that what I am doing is right.

It seems like I always find major flaws in the jobs that I work. For example, I had a hard time calling people to subscribe to newspapers. We could not put their name on the Do Not Call list unless they specifically said those three words. I disliked bugging people. People were usually very annoyed because they had received several calls or were being called at undesirable times such as in the middle of dinner.

Today I went to an interview with Our365. I applied to be a newborn photographer at Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina. I thought this job sounded interesting because I could gain more experience in photography especially if I wanted to become a professional photographer. I found out that as a newborn photographer you would go to rooms where women had given birth just 8-12 hours ago and try to sell photo packages. This is cold-calling. They haven’t requested you to come and are not expecting you. I think that this is very rude and annoying. The district manager didn’t seem to think so. No new parent is emotionally stable. They are overwhelmed. They are not going to be ready to get pictures taken when you come to their room. If I were a new Mom I would not appreciate having a stranger coming into my hospital room asking if they could take pictures of my baby. Also, their most expensive product is $279. That is insulting!!!

I have read some other reviews and here is what I found:

1.      Uses bullying sales tactics.

2.      Claims to sell sterling silver products that are really made of tin.

3.      They took unauthorized photos claiming they were for hospital use, when they were not.

4.      Some people received blurry pictures.

5.      Don’t refund or replace products.

6.      Cropped wrong.

7.      Misspelled names on baby announcement.

I told the district manager, Kelley Johnson that I was not interested in the job because of the 1 year commitment and the cold-calling aspect.

It is sad to hear that so many businesses are run immorally. It is also sad that it is all about the money. Why can’t they give a quality product?

I WILL NOT TAKE A JOB THAT IS IMMORAL JUST TO MAKE MONEY!!!

Amendment 1: North Carolina Same-Sex Marriage

It is a shame that this amendment passed. It will now be hard to be proud of living here. I am happy to say that I live in Buncombe County where they voted against the amendment.

The measure defines marriage in the state constitution as between one man and one woman, and bans any other types of “domestic legal unions” such as civil unions and domestic partnerships. Same-sex marriage is already illegal in the state of North Carolina. The measure, however, added the ban to the constitution.

I am in total support of same-sex marriage. Everyone should have equal rights.

This amendment will likely strip away many of the legal rights associated with domestic partnerships or legal unions, so this also affects straight, unmarried North Carolina couples. For example, unmarried parents could no longer have the same child custody and visitation rights as married parents.

Just 36 percent of voters answered correctly that it bans both same-sex marriage and domestic partnership. Clearly, voters need to do their research. They need to know what they are voting on. Furthermore, North Carolina law should not be so confusing. It is sort of voting on a double negative. A “yes” on the legislation means a “no” for same-sex unions. It shouldn’t be so confusing. Also, education is key. People should not be allowed to vote if they don’t fully understand what they are voting on.

3 Amazing Songs:)

The Worst Fast Food: What has our world come to?

1.       Burger King Bacon Sundae

Burger King recently unveiled this sundae at a Burger King in Nashville, TN! This sundae is believed to contain vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate and possibly caramel sauce. Bits of bacon are sprinkled on top with a strip of bacon for garnish.  In my opinion, this sounds absolutely disgusting!

2.       Denny’s Mac N’ Cheese Big Daddy Paddy Melt

This melt has twice the calories of a stick of butter! Mac N’ Cheese is stuffed between buttered, toasted bread with a ground beef patty. Sauce and melted cheddar cheese is also added. The sandwich has 1690 calories and 99 grams of fat, 36 of them saturated.

3.       Hot dog stuffed crust pizza available at Pizza Hut UK

4.       Domino’s Oreo Cookie Pizza

A thin crust of cookie layered in vanilla sauce, covered in cookie crumbles, with icing. It contains 32 grams of fat and 960 calories.

5.       Burger King Ultimate Breakfast Platter

This platter contains buttered eggs, fried potatoes, sausage, biscuit, and pancakes with syrup. It contains 1,310 calories, 72 grams of fat, and 2,490 mg of sodium.

6.       Sonic Ring Leader Loaded Burger Double Patty

This burger contains bacon strips, onion rings, half pound of beef, two slices of cheddar cheese, and a double slather of mayonnaise. It contains 1,660 calories, 120 grams of fat and 1,450 mg of sodium.

7.       Baskin-Robbins Fudge Brownie 31 Degrees Below (Large)

It contains 1,900 calories, 80 grams of fat, 1,350 mg of sodium, and 225 grams of sugar.

8.       Chili’s Texas Cheese Fries with Chili and Ranch

Cheese, chili and ranch are piled onto a heap of fries. It contains 2,120 calories, 144 grams of fat, and 5,920 mg of sodium.

Eating frequent fast food meals causes teens and young adults to gain more weight and face an increased risk of developing insulin resistance according to the results of a study funded by the National Heart,Lung, and Blood Institute(NHLBI) and published in the January 1, 2005 issue of The Lancet.

Do your body a favor and don't eat fast food!