yallerdawg
yallerdawg's JournalPope Francis tells gay man: 'God made you like this'
Juan Carlos Cruz, who was sexually abused, says pontiff told him God did not mind that he was gaySource: The Guardian, by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
A survivor of clerical sexual abuse has said Pope Francis told him that God had made him gay and loved him, in arguably the most strikingly accepting comments about homosexuality to be uttered by the leader of the Roman Catholic church.
Juan Carlos Cruz, who spoke privately with the pope last week about the abuse he suffered at the hands of one of Chile’s most notorious paedophiles, said the issue of his sexuality had arisen because some of the Latin American country’s bishops had sought to depict him as a pervert as they accused him of lying about the abuse.
“He told me, ‘Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter. God made you like this and loves you like this and I don’t care. The pope loves you like this. You have to be happy with who you are,’” Cruz told Spanish newspaper El País.
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It is not the first time it has been suggested Francis has an open and tolerant attitude toward homosexuality, despite the Catholic church’s teaching that gay sex – and all sex outside of heterosexual marriage – is a sin. In July 2013, in response to a reporter’s question about the existence of an alleged “gay lobby” within the Vatican, Francis said: “Who am I to judge?”
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Read it all at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/20/pope-juan-carlos-cruz
Do you ever get the impression you're being ignored?
You might just be right. 
http://www.pewforum.org/2018/04/25/when-americans-say-they-believe-in-god-what-do-they-mean/
Iconic 'Go to Church or Devil Will Get You' sign is restored to its place along I-65
Source: AL.com, by Kelly Kazek
Sing along, please! "What a friend we have in...wait, what?"
See it all at: https://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2018/05/iconic_go_to_church_or_devil_w.html
"Impeachment: A Guide For Candidates"
https://www.needtoimpeach.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/impeachment_guide.pdf
U.S. Fertility Rate Fell to a Record Low, for a Second Straight Year
Source: New York Times, by Sabrina Tavernise
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Fertility rates are essential measures of a society’s demographic balance. If they are too high, that can strain resources like housing and education. If they are too low, a country can face challenges replacing its work force and supporting its older adults, like in Russia and Japan. In the United States, declines in rates have not led to drops in the population, in part because they have been largely offset by immigration.
The country has been living through one of the longest declines in fertility in decades and demographers are trying to figure out what is driving it. Rates tend to drop during difficult economic times as people put off having babies, and then rise once the economy rebounds. But the rate has not recovered since the Great Recession. A brief uptick in 2014 did not last. The number of births has also declined, and last year was its lowest level since 1987. The fertility rate is the number of births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44.
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It could be that the new generation of millennial women is delaying having children even longer than the women who came before them, as prime childbearing years are also critical years for advancing in a career. A recent study shows that the marital pay gap that springs up after a first child is born typically does not close if the birth happens between age 25 and 35.
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A bright spot was the rate of births to teenagers, which has dropped 55 percent since 2007 — nearly 8 percent a year — a decline Dr. Hamilton called “phenomenal.” The teenage birthrate is down 70 percent since its peak in 1991, he said.
Read it all at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/17/us/fertility-rate-decline-united-states.html
Lynching memorial may be game-changer for Montgomery tourism
Source: Associated Press, by Beth J. Harpaz
Some 10,000 people visited the memorial and museum in the first week. Tourism officials estimate they could attract 100,000 more visitors to this Southern city in the next year. One young man, Dimitri Digbeu Jr., who drove 13 hours from Baltimore to see the memorial, said he thought it had singlehandedly “rebranded” Montgomery.
DuVernay, whose Oscar-nominated movie “Selma” described the 1965 civil rights march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, noted that the memorial and museum were built by legal advocacy group the Equal Justice Initiative . “These people are lawyers fighting for people on death row,” DuVernay added. “They’re not thinking about how to market this to the wider world.”
Some travelers say the new memorial and museum have changed their minds about visiting the Deep South. “As a black American, I’m not crazy about the idea of driving down streets named after Confederate generals and averting my eyes from Confederate flags,” said New Yorker Brian Major. “But reconciliation and peace-making has to begin somewhere and for a project as worthy and important as the lynching memorial, I would be willing to make the trip.”
Much more at: https://apnews.com/1603c370733140bba371032a60a5e858/Lynching-memorial-may-be-game-changer-for-Montgomery-tourism
So beautiful, so sad.
65,000 Fans Break Into a Singalong of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” at a Green Day Concert in London’s Hyde ParkDoug Jones to oppose Haspel as CIA chief
Source: The Hill, by Jordain Carney
Red-state Democratic Sen. Doug Jones (Ala.) said Tuesday that he will oppose CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel's nomination to lead the spy agency.
Jones pointed to Haspel's role in the George W. Bush-era "enhanced interrogation" programs — now widely viewed as torture — as key to his opposition to her.
"There is a legal and moral responsibility that comes with operating in secrecy. Some of Ms. Haspel’s past actions and beliefs did not meet that standard. We must choose leaders that consistently embody our highest ideals, rather than our darkest moments," he said in a statement.
Jones added that Haspel's role is "very troubling."
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Read it all at: http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/387856-doug-jones-to-oppose-haspel-as-cia-chief
This still isn't us.
Black people in NYC are 8 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana than whites
I'm seriously beginning to wonder about those white folk in New York City (says Alabama resident).
Source: Vox, by P.R. Lockhart
The report is just the latest in a growing body of research that highlights a persistent racial gap in marijuana-related arrests.
“Across the city, black people were arrested on low-level marijuana charges at eight times the rate of white, non-Hispanic people over the past three years,” the reporters noted. The Hispanic arrest rate was roughly five times that of whites.
Read it all at: https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/5/14/17353040/racial-disparity-marijuana-arrests-new-york-city-nypd
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