“A former congressman from Philadelphia who went to prison over the 1970s-era Abscam scandal was sent back to prison Tuesday at age 79 in a ballot stuffing case.”
Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Michael J. “Ozzie” Myers was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison by a judge who questioned whether he had learned any lessons over the years. Myers admitted he had worked with election officials to pad the vote tallies of his political consulting clients. Some were running for city judgeships.
“Myers would solicit payments from his clients in the form of cash or checks as ‘consulting fees,’ and then use portions of these funds to pay election officials to tamper with election results,” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero said in a statement after the hearing.
“Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. If even one vote has been illegally cast or if the integrity of just one election official is compromised, it diminishes faith in process,” she said.”
“Myers pleaded guilty in June to violations of election law, conspiracy, bribery and obstruction for his work on behalf of Democratic candidates from 2014 and 2018.”
I was totally disgusted to hear that a zoo near us, which has had a Halloween event for years, is now having a drag queen story hour for the children. The zoo spokesperson gushed what a family thing that is. No, no, no. How sad so many people have fallen for this! Sadly, I am sure there will be Christians who will still attend.
My mistake – I didn’t take the time to read the link yesterday. The election fraud was from 2014 – 2018 and the context suggests it was local elections. In any case, he was caught so the system works. As for 2020, it’s still legitimate.
Parents’comfort levels regarding sexuality vary tremendously. When my daughter was young, I had no issue with gay friends or colleagues in social settings with my daughter. and would have thought similarly if I had trans friends or colleagues. However, I would probably have different considerations if was a gay pride event yet other people consider it a family event. In context and with proper parenting, its a non-issue
I will take my instruction from God’s word about what would be good for children. How comfortable any of us are social settings is not the issue. God tells us that sin is bound to come, but woe to those who contribute to making it happen. (paraphrase, of course) He also tells us that we would be better to have a millstone tied around our necks than causing a little one to sin. His word is clear about cross-dressing, btw.
Of course, not everyone believes in the bible or cares. Christians should care. We should also love everyone, but that, too, is a different issue.
Many who live in the gay community would not expose their children to these activities either.
Kathaleena — Your last line is completely correct; the gay community is as a diverse as the rest of society. Some find the gay pride events and politics to be too radical, some are conservative, some don’t accept transgender as part the LGBQT community, others would drop both Q and T.
In the end, its a pluralistic society. And we need to tolerate each other. Toleration does not mean approval, it simply means you won’t impose your ideas on others. (and yes all types of communities are guilty of imposing their ideas on others)
“And, oh, by the way, you can’t define victory as the exclusion of your enemies from the public square. There are going to be Drag Queen Story Hours. They’re going to happen. And, by the way, the fact that a person can get a room in a library and hold a Drag Queen Story Hour and get people to come? That’s one of the blessings of liberty.”
That doesn’t mean that French is advocating for Drag Queen Story Hours though, of course. It sounds more to me like something along the lines of that famous quote (misattributed to Voltaire but really by a biographer of Voltaire putting into words his philosophy of freedom of speech): “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. (We Americans used to embrace that quote. At least, we pretended to.)
Considering other things French has written, I doubt that he is in favor of Drag Queen Story Hours, but rather in favor of liberty.
I also understand what French as quoted by Kizzie is saying as well. We do live in a pluralistic society.
The question for the church and individual believers really becomes more of a cultural one, not so much political (as the culture is driving what’s accepted politically). There are activities and accepted ideas within our culture that believers can’t agree with or participate in. They also have a right in a pluralistic society to withhold approval or participation in those ideas or activities without being punished for doing so (or for thinking or advocating different standards).
HRW also is correct in noting that many in the gay community are of a more conservative and private mindset. I had a gay uncle who had been with his partner for 40+ years at the time of his death. They hosted many of our family holiday dinners which I was part of following my mom’s death. They never spoke openly around family (uncle’s side was pretty strict Roman Catholic) about the relationship, but it of course was understood, and there were at times other gay couples attending the gatherings. Part of it may have been generational — my uncle and his partner were of the WWII generation — but I’m sure the more conservative approach spans the ages. Just like all of us, we represent a variety of political and cultural viewpoints.
Doing a little research on a quote is beneficial, as quotes are often taken out of context. This piece is worth reading as it provides the background of what led to French’s words. This is the intro to this piece:
“Well-taught Christians know that we’ve always been in a battle for truth. Truth is central to who God is (e.g., Ex 34:6, John 14:6; also helpful: this(link is external) and this(link is external)), and anti-truth is fundamental to who the Adversary is (Gen 3:4, Jn 8:44). Given that, can we be reckless about truth on any subject? Can we be reckless about truth concerning fellow Christians who are public figures and targets of misrepresentation?
David French is one such a public figure, and one of the more persistent narratives weaponized against him has to do with his push-back on drag queen story hour (DQSH).
Regardless of whether we believe French is correct or incorrect on this or any other issue, Christians should feel deeply obligated to accurately describe his views. We owe that to every fellow human being (Lk 6:31) and especially every fellow believer.”
Here is a longer quote from French that better explains his position:
“My position was simple — I don’t like drag queen reading hours, but I also want to preserve for all Americans the First Amendment-protected right of viewpoint-neutral access to public facilities when those facilities are opened up for public use. I don’t want the government dispensing access on the basis of its preferred messages or its preferred speakers. Handle bad speech with better speech. Counter bad speakers in the marketplace of ideas, not through the heavy hand of government censorship.
Our present regime that broadly protects viewpoint neutrality in access to public facilities is the hard-won result of decades of litigation from free speech and religious liberty advocates, and it represents both a public good in its own right and a practical blessing for millions of American Christians.
Few American communities benefit more from court-mandated equal-access rulings than the American Christian community. Strike down viewpoint neutrality as a principle (or close public access to public buildings entirely), and you would suddenly find the doors of university classrooms, library reading rooms, and publicly-owned civic centers slammed in Christian faces in cities across the land.
Sohrab ominously mentioned that there are 35 “chapters” of drag queen reading hour across the land. Yet there are thousands of churches that access public buildings. There are tens of thousands of chapters of Christian groups such as Young Life, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Cru, and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship that access public buildings.
Simply put, “free speech for me but not for thee” cannot be an organizing principle of American life. It is unjust and unwise.”
““The fact that a person can get a room in a library and hold a Drag Queen Story Hour and get people to come? That’s one of the blessings of liberty.”
A blessing he says.
“blessing
blĕs′ĭng
noun
The act of one that blesses.
A short prayer said before or after a meal; grace.
Something promoting or contributing to happiness, well-being, or prosperity; a boon.”
He’s quite clear, sure he back tracked and tried to clean it up, but his quote is what it is.
Drag queens telling stories to children and promoting perversion is one of the blessings of liberty.
Nothing you posted of his walk back changes the original quote.
Yeah. Drag show story hours are the same kind of “blessing” of liberty that drug addiction and homelessness are. Which is to say it is not. It is a curse of liscentiousness and misuse of liberty. A blindness in those who don’t, can’t, or won’t see what is decent or right.
I doubt Trump would ever have called it a blessing.
:–)
Wandering Views 
As I said yesterday HRW,
His ABSCAM crimes were in the 70’s-80-s, not the vote fraud, which is much more recent.
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2022-09-27/abscam-figure-sent-back-to-prison-in-ballot-stuffing-case
“A former congressman from Philadelphia who went to prison over the 1970s-era Abscam scandal was sent back to prison Tuesday at age 79 in a ballot stuffing case.”
Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Michael J. “Ozzie” Myers was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison by a judge who questioned whether he had learned any lessons over the years. Myers admitted he had worked with election officials to pad the vote tallies of his political consulting clients. Some were running for city judgeships.
“Myers would solicit payments from his clients in the form of cash or checks as ‘consulting fees,’ and then use portions of these funds to pay election officials to tamper with election results,” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero said in a statement after the hearing.
“Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. If even one vote has been illegally cast or if the integrity of just one election official is compromised, it diminishes faith in process,” she said.”
LikeLiked by 2 people
“Myers pleaded guilty in June to violations of election law, conspiracy, bribery and obstruction for his work on behalf of Democratic candidates from 2014 and 2018.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
OK groomer.
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1577067933854945280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1577067933854945280%7Ctwgr%5Ea3c56f881554e18a826eac1e1cfb6ad80938980d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fbrettt-3136%2F2022%2F10%2F03%2Fheres-the-academic-explanation-for-drag-queen-story-hour-and-its-purpose%2F
https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1577078227050237952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1577078227050237952%7Ctwgr%5Ea3c56f881554e18a826eac1e1cfb6ad80938980d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fbrettt-3136%2F2022%2F10%2F03%2Fheres-the-academic-explanation-for-drag-queen-story-hour-and-its-purpose%2F
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I was totally disgusted to hear that a zoo near us, which has had a Halloween event for years, is now having a drag queen story hour for the children. The zoo spokesperson gushed what a family thing that is. No, no, no. How sad so many people have fallen for this! Sadly, I am sure there will be Christians who will still attend.
LikeLiked by 4 people
My mistake – I didn’t take the time to read the link yesterday. The election fraud was from 2014 – 2018 and the context suggests it was local elections. In any case, he was caught so the system works. As for 2020, it’s still legitimate.
Parents’comfort levels regarding sexuality vary tremendously. When my daughter was young, I had no issue with gay friends or colleagues in social settings with my daughter. and would have thought similarly if I had trans friends or colleagues. However, I would probably have different considerations if was a gay pride event yet other people consider it a family event. In context and with proper parenting, its a non-issue
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I will take my instruction from God’s word about what would be good for children. How comfortable any of us are social settings is not the issue. God tells us that sin is bound to come, but woe to those who contribute to making it happen. (paraphrase, of course) He also tells us that we would be better to have a millstone tied around our necks than causing a little one to sin. His word is clear about cross-dressing, btw.
Of course, not everyone believes in the bible or cares. Christians should care. We should also love everyone, but that, too, is a different issue.
Many who live in the gay community would not expose their children to these activities either.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Kathaleena — Your last line is completely correct; the gay community is as a diverse as the rest of society. Some find the gay pride events and politics to be too radical, some are conservative, some don’t accept transgender as part the LGBQT community, others would drop both Q and T.
In the end, its a pluralistic society. And we need to tolerate each other. Toleration does not mean approval, it simply means you won’t impose your ideas on others. (and yes all types of communities are guilty of imposing their ideas on others)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m with Kathaleena, 100%, on what she said.
LikeLiked by 2 people
And yet some folks continue to give French’s opinion undeserved merit…..
LikeLiked by 1 person
A fuller portion of the quote is:
“And, oh, by the way, you can’t define victory as the exclusion of your enemies from the public square. There are going to be Drag Queen Story Hours. They’re going to happen. And, by the way, the fact that a person can get a room in a library and hold a Drag Queen Story Hour and get people to come? That’s one of the blessings of liberty.”
That doesn’t mean that French is advocating for Drag Queen Story Hours though, of course. It sounds more to me like something along the lines of that famous quote (misattributed to Voltaire but really by a biographer of Voltaire putting into words his philosophy of freedom of speech): “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. (We Americans used to embrace that quote. At least, we pretended to.)
Considering other things French has written, I doubt that he is in favor of Drag Queen Story Hours, but rather in favor of liberty.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree with Kathaleena.
I also understand what French as quoted by Kizzie is saying as well. We do live in a pluralistic society.
The question for the church and individual believers really becomes more of a cultural one, not so much political (as the culture is driving what’s accepted politically). There are activities and accepted ideas within our culture that believers can’t agree with or participate in. They also have a right in a pluralistic society to withhold approval or participation in those ideas or activities without being punished for doing so (or for thinking or advocating different standards).
HRW also is correct in noting that many in the gay community are of a more conservative and private mindset. I had a gay uncle who had been with his partner for 40+ years at the time of his death. They hosted many of our family holiday dinners which I was part of following my mom’s death. They never spoke openly around family (uncle’s side was pretty strict Roman Catholic) about the relationship, but it of course was understood, and there were at times other gay couples attending the gatherings. Part of it may have been generational — my uncle and his partner were of the WWII generation — but I’m sure the more conservative approach spans the ages. Just like all of us, we represent a variety of political and cultural viewpoints.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Christians, however, will also mourn many of these cultural shifts and how they do impact our neighbors and their children.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Doing a little research on a quote is beneficial, as quotes are often taken out of context. This piece is worth reading as it provides the background of what led to French’s words. This is the intro to this piece:
“Well-taught Christians know that we’ve always been in a battle for truth. Truth is central to who God is (e.g., Ex 34:6, John 14:6; also helpful: this(link is external) and this(link is external)), and anti-truth is fundamental to who the Adversary is (Gen 3:4, Jn 8:44). Given that, can we be reckless about truth on any subject? Can we be reckless about truth concerning fellow Christians who are public figures and targets of misrepresentation?
David French is one such a public figure, and one of the more persistent narratives weaponized against him has to do with his push-back on drag queen story hour (DQSH).
Regardless of whether we believe French is correct or incorrect on this or any other issue, Christians should feel deeply obligated to accurately describe his views. We owe that to every fellow human being (Lk 6:31) and especially every fellow believer.”
https://sharperiron.org/article/truth-about-david-french-and-drag-queen-story-hour
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Here is a longer quote from French that better explains his position:
“My position was simple — I don’t like drag queen reading hours, but I also want to preserve for all Americans the First Amendment-protected right of viewpoint-neutral access to public facilities when those facilities are opened up for public use. I don’t want the government dispensing access on the basis of its preferred messages or its preferred speakers. Handle bad speech with better speech. Counter bad speakers in the marketplace of ideas, not through the heavy hand of government censorship.
Our present regime that broadly protects viewpoint neutrality in access to public facilities is the hard-won result of decades of litigation from free speech and religious liberty advocates, and it represents both a public good in its own right and a practical blessing for millions of American Christians.
Few American communities benefit more from court-mandated equal-access rulings than the American Christian community. Strike down viewpoint neutrality as a principle (or close public access to public buildings entirely), and you would suddenly find the doors of university classrooms, library reading rooms, and publicly-owned civic centers slammed in Christian faces in cities across the land.
Sohrab ominously mentioned that there are 35 “chapters” of drag queen reading hour across the land. Yet there are thousands of churches that access public buildings. There are tens of thousands of chapters of Christian groups such as Young Life, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Cru, and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship that access public buildings.
Simply put, “free speech for me but not for thee” cannot be an organizing principle of American life. It is unjust and unwise.”
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And that French piece that I shared yesterday, or whenever it was, is worth consideration.
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Kizzie, thanks for those posts and quotes. Well-articulated.
LikeLiked by 1 person
““The fact that a person can get a room in a library and hold a Drag Queen Story Hour and get people to come? That’s one of the blessings of liberty.”
A blessing he says.
“blessing
blĕs′ĭng
noun
The act of one that blesses.
A short prayer said before or after a meal; grace.
Something promoting or contributing to happiness, well-being, or prosperity; a boon.”
He’s quite clear, sure he back tracked and tried to clean it up, but his quote is what it is.
Drag queens telling stories to children and promoting perversion is one of the blessings of liberty.
Nothing you posted of his walk back changes the original quote.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah. Drag show story hours are the same kind of “blessing” of liberty that drug addiction and homelessness are. Which is to say it is not. It is a curse of liscentiousness and misuse of liberty. A blindness in those who don’t, can’t, or won’t see what is decent or right.
I doubt Trump would ever have called it a blessing.
:–)
Debra
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