Special Report: North Carolina Passes Controversial Amendment

It was not a matter that was entirely about gay marriage. One of the opponents to Amendment One, a politically venomous measure which passes on May 8th in North Carolina was the advocate group North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence which said similar bills in other states that passed failed to protect unmarried couples, even ones consisting of a man and woman.

But, many churches in North Carolina, except for progressive congregations such as the Unitarian Universalist Church, were highly in favor of Amendment One. Glen Hope Baptist Church in Burlington,NC, openly endorsed the measure on its web site and cited Corinthians, Verse 7, in the process.

Lots of money was also spent on the ballot initiative with the pro-amendment group Vote for Marriage North Carolina raising $1.2 million and the opposition group Protect All North Carolina Families raising $2.2 million, according to "The Charlotte Observer."

The issue put African-Americans Christians in a bind. While most supported Amendment One, the Rev. T. Anthony Sparman, pastor of the African Methodist Episcopalian Zion Church in Hickory, NC, told NPR that he changed his mind about gay rights when working with gay and lesbian college students.

But, more African-Americans voted for the measure. In a separate NPR segment produced after President Barack Obama said his views on gay marriage had evolved to supporting the cause on Wednesday, the day after the North Carolina vote, the Rev. Patrick Wooden Sr. of the predominantly black Upper Room Church of God in Raleigh said he supported Amendment One and that he was disappointed by Obama's endorsement.

Wooden added that in his view African-Americans should vote according to Christian teachings as opposed to the race of a candidate. The support among African-Americans helped Obama beat Hillary Clinton in the 2008 state primary and later John McCain in the general election.

But, there is also the valid question regarding gay marriage as a human rights issue. Though many might be inclined to think that the notion that "Sesame Street" characters Bert and Ernie were secretly gay started from militant gay activists, it actually is reported to have originated with the Rev. Joseph Chambers of Charlotte, NC. In more recent years, Chambers has even taken on the arguably more radical notion that another PBS children's show figure Barney the Dinosaur was a socialist figure trying to indoctrinate children with extreme left-wing views.

One thing remains certain though: This issue regarding gay marriage will be an issue for quite some time to come irregardless of how it does or does not play out in the 2012 general election.
http://www.glenhope.org

http://www.uufr.org

Things We Learned on Google Today- President of Turkmenistan Has Very Long Name

We don't have a list of every world leader in front of us, but we firmly believe that Turkmenistani President Gurbanguly Berdimukhammedov has the longest surname of them all! He became president of Turkmenistan in 2007 after replacing 'president for life' Sapurmurat Niyazov who died in December of 2006.



The current president, like the man before him, has been cited for human rights abuses by Amnesty International (amnesty.org), but hey we worry more about Republicans here! And, in all seriousness, while human rights abuses are a serious matter, I want to focus on this very remote country that few Americans have probably been to.



The capital of Turkmenistan is Ashagabat, which sounds like a city in a "Harry Potter" book, which has a population of 695,300.



Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan border this former Soviet Republic.



There is apparently lots of unique cuisine in Turkmenistan, including the national dish plov (pictured here) which consists of mutton, rice and carrots.



Blogger Jon Rosenweig visited Turkmenistan and he discovered some other foods there, including chorek, which sounds similar to the Turkish dish borek, both of which consist of baked bread. There is also kohlbasa, a lunch dish made from fried kielbas with onions and boiled eggs.



Turkmenistan is the seventh former Soviet republic we have profiled in this series; Belarus was the pervious one.



SIDEBAR_ He's back. "Independent Weekly" in Durham, NC, is reporting that fringe Republican candidate Vernon Robinson will challenge Cong. Larry Kissel (D-NC), a moderate in North Carolina's 8th district.



Robinson, who has been nicknamed The Black Jesse Helms, challenged Cong. Brad Miller (D-NC) in 2006, even though he does not reside in Miller's 13th district.



To our knowledge, the only political office that Robinson has ever held was in Winston-Salem where he was a city council member who allegedly missed a lot of meetings.



Robinson also managed to get lots of media attention, even outside of North Carolina, for his racist anti-Hispanic ads back in 2006.