Missouri Prayer Amendment Passes, But Critics Fear Unnecessary Lawsuits And Minority Exclusion

Huffington Post 
The Missouri prayer amendment , widely known as the "right to pray" amendment passed on Tuesday, asserting citizens have a right to pray in public and in schools.

The prayer amendment, formally called Amendment 2, had widespread support throughout the state. It passed with 83 percent of the vote, with only two precincts still outstanding, ABC News reported Wednesday morning.

Republican state Rep. Mike McGhee introduced the measure. The General Assembly voted on a ballot that read:

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to ensure:
That the right of Missouri citizens to express their religious beliefs shall not be infringed;
That school children have the right to pray and acknowledge God voluntarily in their schools; and
That all public schools shall display the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution

McGhee and supporters think the prayer amendment is necessary in order to match Missouri's state constitution to the U.S. Constitution, Fox News reports. They also say they hope it will protect Christianity in the state, which they believe is under attack.

McGhee recounted an incident to Fox News in which a teacher told a kindergarten student singing “Jesus Loves Me” to change the verse to “mommy loves me.”

Missouri voters reportedly believe religious liberty is pretty important to them and a high priority,” Kerry Messer, president of the Missouri Family Network, told the Kansas City Star. “The public feels like the Supreme Court took this away from them over 50 years ago” by ruling against mandatory school prayer.

However, some critics say Missouri's prayer amendment is unnecessary and could spawn frivolous lawsuits and minority exclusion.

Tim Townsend, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, previously explained that opponents have emphasized that such religious protections are already protected under the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution. They did not want the Missouri prayer amendment passed for fear "it will open the door to all manner of unintended and costly consequences including endless taxpayer-funded lawsuits."

The Islamic Foundation of St. Louis worries the bill could send a message of exclusion to religious minorities.

Others were concerned the amendment could change school curriculum in Missouri, The Kansas City Star reports. It could have an impact on how topics such as the age of the earth, climate change and evolution are taught in schools.

Messer, on the other hand, says he doesn't think the amendment will have any effect on school lessons.

"Will somebody try to opt out of a class over something like evolution? Probably so," he told The Kansas City Star. "But I don't see the courts applying the amendment that way at all. This is only about religious liberty. If a Christian student is told they must kneel and bow east in a mock Islamic prayer to sensitize students to the Muslim community, that student can refuse to participate." 

HAPPY BOURNE DAY!!!

Just Because Moxie Told Me too...Jeremy Renner, Her Future Ex-Husband

Yes, I know Maeghan Kimball.  

She is gorgeous...

MOXIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

News From Around the World

North America
- Sikh  temple gunman's ex held on weapons charge - CBS


Asia

- Woman killed for practicing witchcraft in Gujarat - The Indian Express

- Malaysia Exorcism: Girl Allegedly Killed By Family Members In Ritual - Huffington Post

Africa


Europe
- The Opening Ceremony Was a Satanic Illuminati Occult Ritual and Other Olympic Conspiracy Theories - Gawker

- Author Jeanette Winterson spellbound by Pendle Witches story - This Is Lancashire


Australia
- Accused killer of 'vampire' gigolo Shane Chartres-Abbott arrives in Melbourne to face murder charges - Herald Sun

BREAKING NEWS - Shooting at Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, WI

USA TODAY 

Police and fire departments were responding Sunday to an evolving incident in Oak Creek, Wis., south of Milwaukee, where at least four people were shot at the Sikh Temple, according to theMilwaukee Journal-Sentinel and other news organizations.

Update at 2:28 p.m. ET:

The four shot include a police officer, who is expected to survive, and the shooter, police have told TMJ4 in Milwaukee.

Members of the p0lice SWAT team have begun removing the injured from the temple's prayer room, the Journal-Sentinelreports. Among those shot was Satwant Kaleka, president of the temple, Greenfield, Wis., Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt told the news organization.

Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee issued a release at 12:40 p.m. local time indicating that the facility was treating three patients with gunshot wounds. All are male and all are critical, according to the Froedtert statement. One was in surgery, according to the hospital.

CAPTION

By Mike De Sisti, Mikwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Original posts by Natalie DiBlasio, USA TODAY:

At least two people have been wounded in a shooting incident at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., just south of Milwaukee, local police said today.

In a brief press conference at the scene, Oak Creek police said at least one officer was shot multiple times but was "expected to survive." Police said one suspect was shot and is down. It was not clear how many other people were wounded or if there are other suspects, police said.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that a SWAT team went into the building and brought out an undetermined number of injured people. AP says there are more than a dozen ambulances parked outside the temple, and that police have corralled media and a handful of bystanders to an area near the temple.

Sikhism is a religion founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak Dev in the Punjab region of what is now Pakistan. It is among the largest organized religions in the world, with more than 20 million Sikhs worldwide.

People inside the temple are using cell phones to call people outside, asking for help, says temple committee member Ven Boba Ri who is outside of the temple, the Journal-Sentinelreports.

Update at 2:16 p.m.: Lee Biblo, chief medical officer at Froedtert Hospital, tells CNN that the injured are all adults, all male and all in critical condition.

Update at 1:59 p.m. ET: The police cannot give a victim count or a suspect count.

A police officer on the scene says that one officer was shot multiple times and one suspect was shot and is down. A police officer will give another update at 1:30 CT.

Update at 1:51 p.m. ET: Sukhwindar Nagr says he called his brother-in-law's phone and a priest at the temple answered, telling him that his brother-in-law had been shot, along with three priests.

Nagr says the priest also said women and children were hiding in closets at the temple.

Update at 1:38 p.m. ET: There are more than a dozen ambulances parked outside the temple, and police have corralled media and a handful of bystanders to an area near the temple, AP reports.

Update at 1:25 p.m. ET: Two men have been admitted to Froedtert hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said. One is in critical condition in the surgical intensive care unit; the other has been sent to an operating room, CNN reports.

Update at 1:23 p.m. ET: Fran McLaughlin, spokeswoman for the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department, says a call came in at 10:26 a.m. CT. She says officers are at the scene but she has no other information to report, AP reports.

Update at 1:13 p.m. ET: Two shooters are possibly still inside with children as hostages, according to someone who sent a text message to a Journal Sentinel reporter, the Journal-Sentinel reports.

CNN is reporting that the shooter is at large.

Update at 1:07 p.m. ET: Reports of 20 to 30 shot at Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, possible hostages, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.

There are reports that the head priest was locked inside a restroom with a cell phone and said there were as many as 30 victims in temple, the Journal-Sentinel reports.

As of about noon, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office said it had not been called to the scene.

Meanwhile, Brookfield police officers were dispatched to the Sikh Temple at 3675 N. Calhoun Road as a precaution in the aftermath of the Oak Creek shooting.

At least three squads were at the temple in Waukesha County.

Original post: The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinelis reporting that multiple people, an undetermined number between 8 and 20, have been injured in a shooting incident at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., just south of Milwaukee.

The shooting took place around 11 a.m. local time at the Sikh Temple, 7512 S. Howell Ave., in Oak Creek.

Oak Creek police, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement agencies have responded.

Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani Is First Saudi Woman To Compete In Olympics

**So proud!  Don't let the clerics take you a step back...

CAIRO -- There was no way Alaa al-Mizyen, a 22-year-old Saudi investment consultant, was missing this Olympic match. While her family slept in late Friday morning, she alone was awake and glued to the TV.

It was, after all, her first ever opportunity to cheer a Saudi woman in the world's biggest sporting event.

The participation of Saudi judo player Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani had raised the scorn of the kingdom's ultraconservative Islamic clerics, who said she was dishonoring herself by fighting in front of men, including the male referee and judges. And the match Friday was a swift defeat for Shahrkhani: The teenager was thrown by her Puerto Rican opponent in just over a minute.

But for her supporters, it was an enduring, landmark victory.

Shahrkhani was taking a stand against culture and customs that have little to do with Islam but are used to justify hardline interpretations that restrict women, al-Mizyen said.

"There is a very fine line between religion and culture and customs. People are holding so tightly to customs and traditions and using Islam to defend them," she said, speaking by telephone from the Saudi Red Sea coastal city of Jiddah.

The judo match wasn't shown live on Saudi state TV or many other Saudi-owned satellite channels, though it was unclear if that was because of the controversy swirling around her. Other state-owned stations in the region focused instead on other athletes or regional crises. But the match was shown on several Arab satellite sports channels.

Many in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region missed the fleeting moment altogether simply because the match coincided with the middle of traditional Friday prayers.

But her supporters watched closely.

Colin Farrell is Wild About Yoga

in CELEBRIYOGIS,NEWS

Irish movie star Colin Farrell is a hot yogi after class.

Go on, keep moving. Nothing to see here. Just another Hollywood hunk with a reputation as a potty mouthed wild man all sweaty from getting in a little yoga time in LA.

Yep, even adorable bad boy celebs like Colin Farrell are getting on their mats. Colin was spotted post-yoga class with his mat and sweat towel in tow, and, we could be wrong, mala beads on his wrist?

Though the 36-year-old star (Alexander, In Bruges, Total Recall) has a history of some crazy tabloid-headlining party and drug antics, it seems he’s taking a healthier approach to feeling good as a responsible guy and papa to his two sons.

Sláinte!