Uganda's "Kill-The-Gays" Pastor Accused Of Extortion And Bribery To Push Bill

"Poo-Poo Pastor" allegedly resorted to extortion several times.
May know who killed activist David Kato

Rev. Martin Ssempa may have a hard time getting his beloved "kill the gays" bill passed, even though he's tried for years to have Ugandan homosexuality criminalized and some gays put to death. Last week, it seemed that, with the help of Ugandan legislator, David Bahati, the bill would surely go through Parliament, but there were rumors that the bill would be killed. Yesterday, taking matters into his own hands, Ssempa brought what he said were two million signatures in support of the bill and even brought two "ex-gays" to testify how they had been indoctrinated by slain gay activist David Kato.


The two "ex-gays," Paul Kagaba and George Oundo summarily spoke to speaker of Parliament, Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi in the company of Ssempa and Bishop Julius Oyet. They both related how they were "indoctrinated" by Kato by being raped by him after which  both became gay activists for a time until brought under the pastoral influence of Ssempa.


Ssempa, it seemed, had made his final, definitive argument for the (now internationally infamous) "kill the gays" bill.


Then an hour later, George Oundo was able to speak to the New York Times:

“David Kato was murdered; it was a plot,” Mr. Oundo said. “I don’t support the bill.”
I’ve always been gay,” Mr. Oundo said, in a timid but growing voice. “I didn’t choose it.”
“David Kato was the first one who taught me to protect my human right,” Mr. Oundo added.
Mr. Oundo said that his presence alongside Mr. Ssempa at Parliament had been to “protect” himself and that he had been contacted only that morning by Mr. Kagaba about the meeting and offered about $42 to attend. He said Mr. Ssempa had offered him about $2,000 in 2009 to repent and switch sides in the debate, but later reneged. Either way, Mr. Oundo became a poster-child for Mr. Ssempa’s anti-homosexuality movement.

Mr. Ssempa declined to comment on the allegations.

Mr. Oundo's last words to the Times: “If I live or die, I am gay, and if I am buried, bury me gay,” he said.


Martin Ssempa is an enigma of sorts: his siblings died of AIDS and he told himself that it was their promiscuity that caused their death. At the time, he was a celebrity: a national break dancing champion. He eschewed fame for membership in a local Baptist Church and performed in plays to educate students about AIDS. He studied sociology and received a Masters of Arts Degree at Philadelphia Biblical University. NOTE: there is no reference to Mr. Ssempa ever receiving a Masters of Divinity from PBU or any other institution. His own website DOES NOT MENTION ORDINATION OF ANY KIND, yet he insists on being called "Pastor" and dons all the trappings of ordained clergy (see picture above).


Ssempa also gained some international influence by working with George W. Bush's PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church. It should be noted that, for some unknown reason, the two had a falling out and Warren has since distanced himself from Ssempa.


While campaigning against homosexuality, Ssempe repeatedly portrayed gays as people who regularly eat feces and practice extreme forms of anal sex, earning him the sobriquet of "Eat Da Poo-Poo" Pastor. He has also been known to accuse his rivals of pedophilia and homosexuality. Such accusations, once substantiated, can lead to catastrophic straits and everyone in Uganda knows that people have been brutally beaten, ostracized and, like David Kato, killed. 


George Ounda's accusations may lead to an inquiry (if Ounda is willing to testify), but any full-blown investigation is doubtful: Ssempa's influence runs as high as President and Mrs. Mousseveni. Ssempa also has connections with the U.S.'s Christian Right: "Prophet" Lou Engle and organizations like Family Research Council and American Family Association. 


I've written before about Rick Warren's influence in Africa, particularly Uganda, so something puzzles me: just what was it that made Warren cut off association with Ssempa? It must have been something quite serious because after all, Ssempa has long held to Warren's motto:


"Whatever It Takes." 

Day Of Silence, Day Of Bigotry: Who Are The Victims, Who Are The Bullies?

It's somehow ironic that this year's Day of Silence falls on TAX Day. One day is looked upon as a necessary evil, while it is sad to think that the other is necessary at all. And to America's school children, it has become a day which separates the bullies and their comrades, from the victims and their friends.

It's also a day that America's moralists oppose by insisting that their children are the real victims - of indoctrination.

Keep your child from being sexually indoctrinated!!

 On this day, students participating in the "Day of Silence" will wear pro-homosexuality T-shirts, buttons, and stickers, refuse to answer teachers' questions in classrooms, make it difficult for other students to concentrate, and generally take over school campuses for the entire day.

Thousands of government high schools and increasing numbers of junior high and middle schools are allowing this propaganda throughout an entire day -- even during instructional time. The purpose of the silent civil disobedience is to promote homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality to other students throughout the entire day.

In the past, some moralists have encouraged children remaining in schools to carry a card that says this:

"True tolerance means that people with differing -- even opposing -- viewpoints can freely exchange ideas and respectfully listen to each other. It's time for an honest conversation about homosexuality. There's freedom to change if you want to. Let's talk."

Interesting. The above statement seems to indicate that a free exchange merely means telling gay teens that they can change. Knowing how virulent some of the rhetoric of moralists can be, it's doubtful that gay teens and their friends would ever be able to get a word in edgewise. 

Be that as it may, more and more groups like the Illinois Family Association and Save California are giving up on the "exchange ideas" concept and encouraging families to keep their children home from school. Other organizations opposing the Day of Silence: American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, Mission America, Traditional Values Coalition, Americans for Truth and Liberty Counsel. Because of the dissemination of false information about homosexuality, some of these groups have been considered hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"We want education, not indoctrination."


So sayeth the Grand High Exalted Mystic Ruler of Hom*phobia, Pastor Ken Hutcherson.* And as you can see from the above, "indoctrination" is now the main issue, with moralists thinking that THEY are being bullied into "acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle". Matt Staver of Liberty Counsel says "Students and staff who disagree with a radical sexualized agenda are demonized and made to feel like outsiders."


Yes, quite an ironic statement, considering that when it comes to demonizing, America's leaders of the Christian Right do it constantly and consistently. 


And yet they constantly deny any responsibility in gay teen suicides. Tony Perkins recently said that there has never been a study linking suicides to religion and society (The Christian Right). Such a disingenuous statement may elicit laughter from most people, but, as I've stated before, it only goes to show that righteous arrogance precludes reality: more than 30,000 Americans commit suicide each year and 5,000 of them are teenagers. A majority of suicides are caused by depression as a result of "not fitting in" or feeling inadequate. Such feelings have been compounded by religion and religious groups for hundreds of years. Events like Halloween "Hell Houses" make the "sinner/outcast" point so stridently that teen suicides spike at that time of year.   


Another irony in telling parents to keep their kids home: Day of Silence is voluntary to students, not matter what moralists say about schools mandating silence. But pulling a son or daughter out of school, is NOT voluntary to the students. A form of bullying is displayed by the parents: righteous bullying. Any form of "demonizing" on the part of participants in the Day Of Silence spreads to the families of the absent students. Keeping kids away from school certainly widens the gap between intolerance and acceptance. 


Bullies. Victims. Intolerance. Acceptance. This day may, more than ever, delineate the kids and families involved.


*Hutcherson is noted for a supposed "joke": "If a man ever opens a door for me, I'll tear his arm off and whip him with the wet end.

More Michael Ensley Pics

OK, I'll be honest: he really does have a good eye for beauty, masculine or otherwise. But let's face it: the pictures show a lot more about who the photographer is than he wants people to know.

Trump And Huckabee: Two More Clowns Of God As Presidential Hopefuls

Can't we dismiss them BOTH "at our own peril."?!!

A recent poll has shown Donald Trump only slightly behind Mike Huckabee in approval for the Republican Nomination in 2012. That's right, "The Donald" has come on surprisingly strong. Huckabee's reaction?


On Laura Ingraham's show:


HUCKABEE: Well, I had a wonderful meeting with Donald Trump. I think he’s a very serious contender. He’s going to get in. I kind of went into the meeting thinking he’s not really going to run. Came out thinking, by gosh, he really is. [...]

INGRAHAM: Could there be a possible Huckabee/Trump ticket in the offing here?

HUCKABEE: Never say never. I don’t know. But, whether Donald Trump would ever want to be seen on the same stage with me, I don’t know. But I found him very engaging, and a very smart guy. And I think people will dismiss him at their own peril."


The Clowns of God

In 1981, Morris West (Shoes of the Fisherman) wrote a book titled The Clowns of God. And while it centered around the politics of the Roman Catholic curia during the height of the Cold War, its premise of religion and politics was prescient: never before have we had religion breathing harder down the necks of politicians (and voters) than now - the height of the Culture War. But while West's portrayal of cardinals as a bunch of madcap, wild clowns was meant to be broadly metaphorical, our current crop of  Republican/Tea Party Presidential hopefuls look more like circus clowns than the red-robed kind. 

The ticket of Trump/Huckabee or Huckabee/Trump (whichever one you believe) certainly makes that point. The very possibility of a campaign duo comprised of a former governor/minister and a real estate mogul/media personality conjures up all sorts of images, the least of which is having them lead the other hopefuls out of a bright yellow mini VW bug. Taking anything seriously from them would take an astounding  feat of composure, like trying not to laugh while being cruelly tickled to death. Looked at as a whole, they are more like "Killer Clowns From Outer Space."

Yes, it's unfortunate that we have to take any of them seriously, but the horror of today's religio-political scene is that we must . Why? Simply because other people WILL. And those people vote. The spectrum of clowns is much greater than it was in 2008, going from a former congressman who holds the record for the most charges of ethics violations (84) to a governor who has a hard time explaining his association with a white supremacist group. But as the video of Donald Trump's interview on Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network proves, they all have to have some semblance of religiosity in order to please the Christian Right with its hunger for all ideologies "Christian."

Let's take a look at the Presidential hopefuls in terms of background, policies and religiosity.*

Mike Huckabee:

Big Loser (in weight - 110lbs.) but slowly gaining it back. 

Former Governor of Arkansas (trying to undo what Clinton had done to the state). 

Wanted to quarantine people with AIDS at a time when casual contract as transmission had been medically debunked for years.

Southern Baptist minister from 1980  to  1996  whose sermons for ten of those years  have mysteriously disappeared ("accidentally shredded")

Idolater of Christian "historian" David Barton to the point of saying that everyone should listen to him at gunpoint.

News analyst for FOX News (a rather oxymoronic position)

Famous for having to "re-frame" positions or outright flip-flopping

Religiosity Index: 9

Donald Trump:

Real estate mogul 

Celebrity/personality synonymous with the term "You're Fired!"

Confirmed "Birther"

Condemns discrimination against gays but is definitely not for same-sex marriage

Considers himself a Christian and is Presbyterian, Catholic or something else depending upon the date of the biography.

Religiosity Index: 4

Sarah Palin:

Half-term governor of Alaska

Republican Nominee for Vice President

Darling of the "common man" and Tea Party

"Author"

Founder of the "Pink Elephant" Movement, helping Conservative women to get elected

Baptized Roman Catholic, became a Pentecostal and was prayed over by Thomas Muthee, leading African preacher/witch-hunter

Dropped Assemblies of God for Wasilla Bible Church because it had a "better children's ministries"

A contributor to FOX News

Religiosity Index: 5

Michele Bachmann:

U.S. Representative for the 6th Congressional District in the State of Minnesota

Supporter of the Tea Party

Famous for the quotes "armed and dangerous" and "slit our wrists" 

Profound believer in the existence of "death panels" in the health care reform bill

Supporter of Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage

Supporter of controversial rock band advocating death to homosexuals

Owner of a Christian Counseling Clinic

Mother of five children and foster parent to 23 children over the last several decades

Member of the Wisconsin Lutheran Synod

Religiosity Index: 9

Rick Santorum:

The only politician to have a sexual neologism coined after his last name (google "Santorum")**

Ardent opponent of gay rights, same-sex marriage, and obsessive about priests and pedophilia

Ardent proponent of Intelligent Design

Sponsor of proposed legislation preventing the National Weather Service from issuing warnings where commercial interests could issue alarms.
Firm believer that the Crusades weren't all that bad***

Head of a very Catholic family, and became a Knight of Magistral Grace of the The Knights of Malta

Religiosity Index: 9

Mitt Romney:

Former governor of Massachusetts

Mormon (so, as seen by many in the Christian Right, Romney belongs to a "cult")
Flip-flopper on a number of issues including stem cell research, abortion and some gay rights issues, veering to the Right during his tenure in office as governor.

Religiosity Index: 3

Newt Gingrich:

Record-holder of the most ethics charges against any Congressman (84) and the only Speaker of the House to be disciplined ethhics violations (at a cost to Gingrich of $300,000)

Convert to Catholicism from the Baptist denomination

Dinosaur enthusiast (does not touch the subject of evolution)

Serial adulterer who explained that his "love for his country" made him work too hard and as a result "things happened in my life that were not appropriate."

Supporter of tougher immigration laws and believes Islam has too many radical elements

Religiosity Index: 6

Haley Barbour:

Governor of Mississippi

Influential lobbyist for firms like R.J. Reynolds and Microsoft

Questionable attitudes on racism****

Most notable quote about eliminating the subject of slavery from Confederate History Month: "...it's trying to make a big deal out of something doesn't amount to diddly"

Supports the White Citizens Council (a white supremacist group)

Presbyterian

Religiosity Index: 4

Add more clowns to the rostrum and the Republican Presidential hopeful lineup may rival anything Ringling Bros. has ever produced. 

Seriously, progressives should be praying for more clowns to weaken the Right and its chances of gaining the Executive Branch of government. A recent poll by Polling for Public Policy indicates that 3 months into the "new" Congress people are already dropping away from Republicans at an alarming rate: things like budget cuts at national and state level and open contempt for unions have not endeared voters to the GOP:

Voters may not love Obama as once they did but they're finding him to be more reasonable than the alternative and that means it will be hard for the GOP to knock him off next year without a top notch nominee.

So, send in the Clowns of God. With the way things are going in the country, we need laughter to help us through all the self-righteousness and hypocrisy that last November has enabled. 

* Yes, I realize this is totally arbitrary on my part, but it's rather difficult to rate politicians on their supposed thoughts as opposed to their deeds. 

**Rick Santorum seems to be a magnate for anal sobriquets: after sharing the floor of the Senate with him for three weeks, Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska said: "Santorum — That's Latin for assh*le."
*** This prompted us to respond with a Christian Crime Line
**** In a recent poll, Mississippi Republicans were asked about interracial marriage. A majority thought that interracial marriage should still be illegal.

Homoerotic Pics By A Homophobic Self-styled "Youth Analyst": Why Catching Hypocrites Is Sooo Sweet!

Truth Wins Out Wayne Besen's latest discovery is a pip! Former "Youth Analyst" for Exodus International (the ex-gay "pray away the gay" group), Michael Ensley, is now a photographer in Orlando, Fla with a penchant for homoeroticism like you wouldn't believe!


This is why I like exposing hypocrites, because he really deserves an outing: while in his job at Exodus, he told parents to "distance" themselves from their children and to eschew legitimate therapy for Exodus, where everything would be made right with God. The crock of BS never stops overflowing with people like Ensley. 

The End Of The World Will Be May 21st - According To A Venerable, Old Crackpot

But give him money, anyway!

I consider myself old. Maybe that's why this man's message is so jarring and funny at the same time. True, he's 25 years my senior, but he makes me feel like the age-difference is more like 60 years. 


Harold Camping has been carping about the end times for the last 4 decades, coming up with his own arithmetic as to the exact time and the age of the universe (11,013 B.C.). He is also into annihilationism (no hell, no earth, but heaven only after Judgment Day).

One interesting facet of his end-times theory: God created Gay Pride to signal the end of the world.


Go figure.

Pink Toenails Will Turn Him Gay!!

The folks at New American are up in arms about the President of J. Crew painting her toddler's toenails pink. They see it as another gender identity controversy. 


From FOX News:


"This is a dramatic example of the way that our culture is being encouraged to abandon all trappings of gender identity."
- Dr. Keith Ablow in FoxNews.com Health Columns