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

Quote of the Day/Week- Keiko Fujimori

Today, we continue our quips from famous Latin Americans with a quote from Keiko Fujimori (b. 1975) who ran a losing bid for the presidency of Peru this year as her father, the ousted, controversial right-wing former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori (b.1938) remains in jail after being convicted for human rights abuses in 2009. He is scheduled to serve 25 years, but his daughter has vowed to release him if she is elected president herself.

The younger Fujimori is also famous for being the youngest first lady in the Americas as he was promoted to the post in 1994 at age 19 following her parents' divroce. She is also an alumnus of Boston University.

Here is her quote:

"Now, they treat us with respect and flirt with us. But we take these advances with a grain of salt."

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.

DC Diary_ Welcome to Kandahar Province

We are continuing our look at a hectic Day Two of our family DC trip (see "The Daily Vampire" for additional misadventures) with a look at some of the more unusual things that occured on Tuesday.

After visiting a staggering three Smithsonian in one day, we stopped by the Freer Gallery where we saw an art exhibit from avant garde Dutch artist Fiona Tan, which included a video came up of black and white Japanese schoolgirls from the 1960s, as well as a glance into the life of a Turkish immigrant shopkeeper in Amsterdam.

While visiting the gift shop of the gallery, which included many expected things like a cd from Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar, I noticed much to my immediate shock that there was a Lonely Planet Guidebook to.......Afghanistan?!

Of course, like everyone from Dubai to Anchorage, I was wondering what kind of insane lunatic would risk their lives for a frivilous travel adventure, and this coming from someone who went to Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2008!

After doing some web research, I did indeed confirm what everyone knew: there is a State Department advisory against travel to Afghanistan, hmmm....perhaps a war, the resurgence of the Taliban and armed warlords has something to do with that. Additionally, Wikitravel states that one should: Be aware of snakes and insects in Afghanistan, especially scorpions!

But, The Lonely Planet's tourguide for Afghanistan's web site says there are three places which are worth seeing presuming there is a ceasefire in the country for the day. These include the scared sites of Mazar e-Sharif, the caves of Samagan and the ruins of Bamiyan.

Additionally, I found much to my shock that there is an English pub in Kabul called Hare and Hounds (hmmm...I don't think that would be a good place to meet single women, irregradless if they are wearing a burqa or no burqa) and a German restaurant called Deutsche Hof. And, lastly, there is an outdoor cinema in Kabul called the Aina Media Centre where I expect "Brokeback Mountain," "Porky's" and "Debbie Does Dallas" never played.

One can also fly into Kabul from Frankfurt, Istanbul or Dubai, but your travel agent in Toledo, Ohio, might not be sure what to make of your mental state if you tell him your iteniary.