The Last Great Moral Hypocrisy Scandal Of The Year? Family Values Attorney Charged With Sexual Abuse And Production Of Child Pornography!

Checklist for moral hypocrisy:

• Child Exploitation
• Child Pornography
• Drug Possession
• Illegal Gun Possession

...And Promoting It Child Pornography On Craigslist

But on facebook, she listed the Bible as her favorite book, so all should be forgiven, OK?

"A New Hampshire attorney associated with an anti-gay group of "Christian" lawyers, is facing federal charges that she took a teenage girl to Canada and convinced her to engage in sexual activity and to let it be filmed."

Defending "Family Values" gets tougher with every hypocritical scandal: Lisa Biron, a prominent attorney for the Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund) was recently arrested by the FBI and charged with seven counts of child exploitation, transporting a child for illegal sexual conduct, possession of child pornography and production of child pornography. Witnesses have testified that she has also been in possession of ecstasy, marijuana and cocaine.

Guess the ADF is a bit embarrassed, huh?

Ah, but the Lisa Biron case gets even more embarrassing: she was previously charged with possession of child pornography and while waiting for trial, a gun was discovered in her apartment, prompting the judge to deny bail. She also allegedly sent a threatening text message to one of the witnesses.

Super embarrassed.
By a super sinner...
by a super hypocrite ...and a super idiot: she advertised the child pornography on Craigslist. 

Whether or not she will be defended by the Alliance Defending Freedom remains to be seen, since she is pleading not guilty, but so far it seems as if the ADF wants to forget about her as quickly as possible: her profile and association with Alliance Defending Freedom has been expunged from its website.

Unfortunately, the ADF couldn't expunge everything about Lisa Biron: In Concord, she worked with the ADF in defending a Pentecostal church in its tax fight against the city , and in Manchester, NH, she served on the board of directors at Mount Zion Christian Schools.

On facebook, Biron also cited her favorite book: The Bible.

Hypocrisy At It Best

Not since the outing of Pastor Ted Haggard with a male prostitute (along with alleged possession of crystal meth) has the Christian Right suffered such a set-back in terms of demonstrating "family values." Although the year was laden with scandals and rotten rhetoric* this last jewel in the crown of hypocrisy shines brighter than most. And yet the Christian Right (let alone the Alliance Defending Freedom) has yet to respond sufficiently. The incident, like many others, is being swept under the proverbial moral rug. It may be up to the media to keep it in the public eye - a media that the Christian Right will be quick to blame as "left wind" in its dogged determination to reveal the truth: extreme hypocrisy exists within the realms of the Almighty Right.

The ADF

The hypocrisy, of course, lies in the stance that the ADF (Founded by James Dobson and Focus on the Family) has taken in the culture wars: " ...to keep the door open for the spread of the Gospel by transforming the legal system and advocating for religious liberty, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family." In other words: the high moral road. As the Alliance Defense Fund, it was instrumental in litigating through the morass of appeals for California's Proposition 8 (unfortunately, doing a rather poor job on almost all counts). It was supposedly stocked with the best of Pat Robertson's Regent University School of Law. And it recently proffered advice to clerks in the sates of Maine, Maryland and Washington how to avoid issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples so as not to "violate their consciences."

After this latest situation, however, the ADF has a lot of 'splainin' to do.

It won't, of course.

* - After while introducing Primary Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum, Pastor Dennis Terry tells all of the "naysaying" liberals to "get out!" of the country.
 - Pastor Sean Harris told his congregation to "crack that wrist" of any four-year-old who showed homosexual tendencies.
 - Pastor Charles Worley tells his congregation the country should put homosexuals behind an "electrified fence" to die off.

- Bryan Fischer warned CNN viewers that gays were the founders of the Nazi Party.

Will There Be Salvation For The Executive Director Grinch Who Stole $2M Worth Of Toys ... From The Salvation Army?

Probably not, but subsequent donations vindicate toy makers' greed.
Thefts of Salvation Army kettles during the Christmas season have been rampant for years, but this inside job surely takes the cake for sheer Grinchieness:

"TORONTO – The former executive director of a Salvation Army facility has been charged in the alleged massive theft of thousands of toys and donations from the charity's Toronto warehouse.Staff Insp. Tony Riviere said Monday David Rennie, 51, is charged with theft, possession of stolen goods and breach of trust and will appear in court on Jan. 4.The Salvation Army announced the theft last week, saying up to 100,000 items worth about $2 million were allegedly stolen from the facility in Toronto's North End over nearly two years."

'Tis the season to give..and receive, or so David Rennie thought ... for almost two years. After a devastating disaster and fire hit the Salvation Army warehouse in Toronto, Rennie was hired as executive director to help clean up. Instead, he cleaned out: diverting over 100,000 toys, bikes, strollers and foodstuffs to another warehouse he rented. Over 146 pallets were discovered. Some bikes donated by the mayor of Toronto were discovered among the donations. He wasn't alone in this massive theft, and police are looking for further suspects. He turned himself in to police four days after he was fired and the theft made public.

Poor guy, he was probably just trying to get that ONE Christmas toy his kids were hollering for.

The city of Toronto has been in shock for the last 5 days, with people wondering how many children could have had much needed toys or strollers ...or food. It's the most Grinch-like theft to hit North America in decades. But while the city reeled, two toy makers sprang into action, donating more than $350,000 worth of toys:

"Within days of the theft being made public, several companies offered large donations to the Salvation Army’s annual Christmas toy drive. Spinmaster Toys donated $100,000, while Hasbro Canada pledged $250,000 in toys to CTV’s Toy Mountain, which collects toys that are then passed on to the Salvation Army."

Is There No Soul Left In Christmas?

The massive theft brought out about the risky side of donating to some charities: they may be based on a benevolent Christian God, but they are still subject to human greed, and the officials have to steel themselves for the possibility of theft at all levels. Yes, it is a sad commentary, but the fact is that hypocrisy (saying you are "Christian" while not practicing the tenets of Christianity) has ruled for a very long time in today's religious enclaves and failure to recognize that fact makes all faith-based charities vulnerable. In Catholic circles, priests and bishops have been caught with their hands in the collection box; in televangelist media, fraud is rampant*; scam artists abound in the form of prosperity gospel preachers. 

And for those who want the money, Christmas is just another fruitful holiday.

Keeping It Local

For the donor, the best way to donate, may be to donate as locally as possible. Of course, operations like the Salvation Army have local chapters such as the one for Toronto, but the more local a charity is, the better it can be tracked as to how much of your dollars are actually going directly to the people who need them most. Diligence is the key.

We can't always depend upon big corporations to step in during a crisis. 




*Remember that Pat Robertson almost landed in jail for fraud: asking people to donate for relief operations to Zaire while having Operation Blessing planes ferry his mining equipment.