Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta Is Right On Gay Marriage.
Almost three years after the Supreme Court handed down the Obergefell v. Hodges decision that invented a new right of gay marriage in the United States Constitution, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta sat down Friday for an interview with CNN’s Christiana Amanpour and fielded questions about gay rights.
Amanpour framed the questions in the wider context of gay relationships, where there are clear differences between the two countries. But Kenyatta’s answers should fall four-square on the question of homosexual marriage in the United States.
“This is not an issue, as you would want to put it, of human rights. This is an issue of society,” Kenyatta said. “Our own base, as a culture, as a people. Irregardless of which community you come from. This is not acceptable. This is not agreeable …
“This is an issue, that the people of Kenya themselves, who have bestowed upon themselves a constitution, right? After several years (Kenyans) have clearly stated that this is not a subject they are willing to engage in.”
Of course, gay marriage wasn’t a subject Americans were willing to engage in either.
And perceptive Americans might have noticed their country also has a Constitution — one that’s a lot older than Kenya’s — and that for centuries no one assumed the Constitution framed by some of the most brilliant men God ever created guaranteed the right of two homosexuals to marry.
But in June 2015, Justice Anthony Kennedy and four liberals on the Supreme Court decided, suddenly, that right was there after all.
In the short time that has passed since that emotionally rich but logically bereft ruling, the results have been chaotic for liberties that are actually enshrined in the nation’s founding document.
The freedom of religion, for instance — as practiced by a Christian baker in Coloradowho declined to bake a cake for a gay couple’s “marriage” — hinges on yet another Supreme Court case due to be decided this term.
It’s important to make it clear that Kenyatta’s views about gay rights are considerably different from those in the United States — where views were much more tolerant even before the Obergefell decision.
In Kenya, according to Nairobi-based The Star, “Section 165 of the Kenyan Constitution outlaws same-sex marriages and stipulates a five-year jail sentence for any sexual practices between same-sex partners.”
There were still similar laws on the books in the U.S. regarding sodomy and the like until the high court’s 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas. But it’s safe to say that acceptance, if grudging, of gay relationships themselves was the American standard.
But from an American viewpoint, Kenyatta’s words are definitely applicable to the debate over gay marriages.
When the issue was placed on popular ballots, traditional marriage proponents won an overwhelming majority of the contests. In 2004 alone, 11 states passed constitutional amendments defining marriage as between one man and one woman, according to a CNN timeline of the issue.
In 2006, voters in another seven states more did the same.
In 2008, the most liberal Democratic state in the country — California — passed Proposition 8, to amend the state’s constitution to ban same sex marriage (Arizona and Florida approved similar bans the same year). The popular will is clear.
Gay marriage activists like to point out they have won numerous court cases on the issue, but the point is, in a democracy the law is what society, through the electorate, says it is — not a group of well-organized activists, and certainly not a handful of appointed judges.
For the vast majority of Americans — and certainly all true conservatives — individual rights are paramount. And what happens in a home between adults is nobody’s business but theirs.
But when the Supreme Court — led by Justice Anthony Kennedy — issued the Obergefell decision, it changed the course of the conversation, and too many Christian businesses — from a giant like Chick-fil-A to a small-town Michigan farmer — have felt the impact.
A “liberal” statement on gay rights in general is clearly what Amanpour was pushing for in her interview with Kenyatta.
His answers, when applied to gay marriage, could be a lesson for the United States, and especially the Supreme Court.
Can Maxine Try To Tell Anyone They Should Not Be In Politics?
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) reportedly blasted musician Kanye West on Monday evening for talking “out of turn” when asked about West’s recent praise for President Donald Trump.
“Kanye West is a very creative young man who has presented some of the most revolutionary material in the African-American community. … But we also think that sometimes Kanye West talks out of turn and perhaps sometimes he needs some assistance in helping him to formulate some of his thoughts,” Waters reportedly told Politico at an Oakland event with members of the Congressional Black Caucus that pushed for more diversity in Silicon Valley. “We don’t think that he actually means to do harm, but we’re not sure he really understands the impact of what he’s saying, at the time that he’s saying it and how that weighs on, particularly the African American community – and for young people in general. … And I think maybe he should think twice about politics, and maybe not have so much to say.”
West created a firestorm last week when he tweeted that the “mob” cannot make him not love his “brother” Trump.
“You don’t have to agree with trump but the mob can’t make me not love him. We are both dragon energy,” West tweeted. “He is my brother. I love everyone. I don’t agree with everything anyone does. That’s what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.”
Trump thanked West for his complimentary tweet soon after Breitbart News White House Correspondent Charlie Spiering asked White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders last week at a press briefing whether Trump had recently communicated with the musician.
Trump also praised West over the weekend, saying that West has done a “very important thing” for his legacy, and touted the record-low unemployment numbers for black Americans under his presidency.
“In all fairness, Kanye West gets it,” Trump said on Saturday at a Washington, Michigan, Rally. “He gots it. He gets it! And he saw that. When he sees that African-American unemployment is the lowest in history, you know, people are watching. That’s a very important thing he’s done for his legacy. It’s a very important thing.”
In a Monday video, West said he finds Trump “inspiring” even though he does not agree with “half the shit Trump does.”
Kanye West has performed a great service to the Black Community – Big things are happening and eyes are being opened for the first time in Decades – Legacy Stuff! Thank you also to Chance and Dr. Darrell Scott, they really get it (lowest Black & Hispanic unemployment in history).
You don’t have to agree with trump but the mob can’t make me not love him. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother. I love everyone. I don’t agree with everything anyone does. That’s what makes us individuals. And we have the right to independent thought.
This Means Barack Obama And John Kerry Should Be In Prison Right?
TEL AVIV — In a dramatic press conference in Jerusalem aimed at the international community, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday unveiled a cache of secret files he says were obtained from inside a hidden Iranian site and clearly demonstrate that Tehran maintained a secret nuclear weapons program despite declarations to the contrary.
Netanyahu explained that the structure of the U.S.-led international nuclear agreement was in part based on deceptive Iranian descriptions of its previous nuclear work. He said Iran’s failure to disclose its secret program while misleading the world shows the nuclear deal is “based on lies based on Iranian deception.”
The Israeli leader presented evidence that Iran continued research for a nuclear weapons program even after signing the 2015 nuclear deal.
“Iran’s leaders repeatedly deny ever pursuing nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu began. “Tonight I’m here to tell you one thing: Iran lied.”
“After signing the nuclear deal in 2015, Iran intensified its efforts to hide its secret files,” he said. “In 2017 Iran moved its nuclear weapons files to a highly secret location in Tehran.”
Netanyahu said the secret nuclear files prove the following:
Iran lied about never having a secret nuclear program. Second, even after the deal it continued to expand its nuclear program for future use. Third, Iran lied by not coming clean to the IAEA. Finally, the nuclear deal is based on lies based on Iranian deception.
The prime minister’s speech was based on 55,000 pages of documents and 183 CDs that Netanyahu said were smuggled out of an “atomic archive” painstakingly preserving Iran’s secretive nuclear program so that the country would have the option of restarting its nuclear weapons activities after the nuclear deal expires or in the case of Tehran prematurely bolting the agreement. Israel’s ability to acquire the archive marks a massive intelligence coup for the Jewish state.
“Iran lied. Big time,” Netanyahu said of the half-ton of material obtained by Israel.
The trove, Netanyahu added, contains “incriminating documents, incriminating charts, incriminating presentations, incriminating blueprints, incriminating photos, incriminating videos and more.”
He said Israel shared the material with the U.S., and that “the United States can vouch for its authenticity.”
The “atomic archive” was compiled by Iran with the express purpose of preserving its secretive nuclear weapons plan known as Project Amad, which aimed to “design, produce and test… five warheads, each with a 10 kiloton TNT yield, for integration on a missile.”
“That is like five Hiroshima bombs to be put on ballistic missiles,” asserted Netanyahu.
Netanyahu outlined Project Amad as containing five key elements described by the Times of Israel thusly: “Designing nuclear weapons, developing nuclear cores, building nuclear implosion systems, preparing nuclear tests and integrating nuclear warheads on missiles.”
Netanyahu said that in 2003, Iran shut down the version of Project Amad that existed at the time and instead divided its nuclear program into both covert and overt components. Besides archiving the material for future use, Netanyahu said Iran continued to research nuclear weapons.
Netanyahu called on President Donald Trump to “do the right thing” as the May 12 deadline to recertify the nuclear agreement approaches.
“The right thing for the United States. The right thing for Israel. And the right thing for the peace of the world,” he concluded.
Just imagine if you were going through a home robbery or you had an emergency accident
Crenshanda Williams, 44, was found guilty of interference with emergency telephone calls while working at a 911 Emergency center. She only got 10 days in jail and 18 months on probation.
Williams was hanging up on individuals that needed emergency help for over a year. Her lawyer claimed that she was going through a rough time which led to her poor performance: “But punishing her doesn’t do anything to fix the problems that still exist at the emergency center.”
I know her lawyers have to give her the best defense because that’s his job but this woman has to be put away for a long time, it’s only right. Think of the many people that she could have help, was disconnected on purpose.
Williams spent a year and a half taking 911 calls at the Houston Emergency Center until she was caught in August 2016 and fired by the city. A supervisor who oversaw Williams was also placed on one year of internal probation, officials said at the time.
Williams’ misdeeds came to light after HEC officials performing routine monthly audits of 911 calls noticed a high volume of Williams’ calls lasted less than 20 seconds, known as “short calls.” In a news release detailing the sentencing, prosecutors said a review showed Williams hung up on “thousands” of short calls.
The calls included one where a caller tried to report a violent robbery and another where a caller was about two drivers racing in an area on Interstate 45 where people had been killed speeding just weeks earlier.
Williams told investigators she often hung up because she didn’t want to talk to anyone at those times.
“The citizens of Harris County rely on 911 operators to dispatch help in their time of need,” said Lauren Reeder, a Harris County prosecutor.
There’s no excuse for an action like this by a public servant. Imagine if you were going through a home robbery or you had an emergency accident that could be fatal, and you dialed 911 for help and the assistant hung up on you?
That is what this woman did for over a year and a half so I don’t see any reason why she shouldn’t be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Do you think this woman’s life problems should matter if she is tried and convicted? Do you feel her lawyer is going to try to get her off with mental illness? SOUND OFF in the comment section below and at this story to your social media page.
A confident House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) predicted on Tuesday that Democrats will take back the House and immediately push for amnesty for so-called Dreamers and more gun-control legislation.
“When we win and we take over in January, some of the issues that will come up soon are some of the issues that we are asking the Speaker to do right now,” she said at a Georgetown University event.
Democrats will lose every-time if Republicans did what they said.
Pelosi then said Democrats are set to push “gun-violence legislation and background-checks legislation” in addition to “legislation on the Dreamers.”
“Certainly that will be among the things we will do right away,” she continued.
Pelosi also suggested that Democrats would “revisit” President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and push an infrastructure bill to “build the infrastructure of America—housing, schools, bridges, water.”
She also spoke about building the country’s “human infrastructure,” including education and health care for young people and pension security for their families.
She said Democrats will run on “fairness and justice” and tell voters that Republicans in Congress have been there longer than President Donald Trump and are worse on issues left-wing activists care about like gun control, climate change, and amnesty.
If Democrats do take back the House, Pelosi will not be a shoo-in to become Speaker again. After Democrat Conor Lamb’s victory in a Pennsylvania special election, numerous Democrats across the country have distanced themselves from Pelosi, with many top left-wing candidates even in her home state refusing to go on the record to voice their support for Pelosi.
Pelosi, though, is relying on her fundraising ability and political vote-counting skills to regain her Speakership if Democrats take back the House in November.
Update, 7:15 PM Eastern: CBC News posted video of the police confrontation with the suspect, who can be heard yelling “Kill me, I have a gun in my pocket, shoot me in the head!” and brandishing an object at the officers.
Update, 7:05 PM Eastern: “Our thoughts are with all those affected by the terrible incident at Yonge and Finch in Toronto. Thank you to the first responders working at the scene – we’re monitoring the situation closely,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said via Twitter.
Sunnybrook Hospital reports that ten victims were brought to its trauma center. Two of them died, five are in critical condition, two are in serious condition, and one is in fair condition.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale described the incident as an “attack,” but would not confirm whether it has been classified as a terrorist attack. As a precaution, security has reportedly been increased at the Air Canada Center in downtown Toronto for the Stanley Cup playoff game tonight.
Update, 7:00 PM Eastern: NBC News reports that Minassian “allegedly researched and chatted online about the Isla Vista killings from 2014.”
The Isla Vista massacre near UC Santa Barbara was a carefully prepared killing spree perpetrated by 22-year-old Elliot Rodger using a vehicle, knives, and firearms. Mental illness, a keen interest in Nazi Germany, and rage at women because he couldn’t get a girlfriend were all cited as motivating factors for Rodger.
Update, 6:45 PM Eastern: CBS news has claimed to have identified the driver of the van as 25-year-old Alek Minassian while U.S. sources have told Reuters that terrorism is the leading theory for the motivation for the attack. Toronto police have not confirmed the identity of the suspect in the attack and a press conference is scheduled for later this evening.
Canadian broadcaster CTV has confirmed that Minassian is the suspect in police custody, though Toronto police claim that he was not previously on their radar.
NEW: 25-year-old Alek Minassian identified as the suspected driver who ran down pedestrians in Toronto, killing at least 9, sources confirm to CBS News. https://cbsn.ws/2vEzXHN
#BREAKING: CTV News has confirmed the driver of the van allegedly involved in this afternoon’s deadly incident is named Alek Minassian. Sources say he is not known to police and motive for the incident is not yet known.
Police in Toronto reported multiple injuries and fatalities after a white van struck pedestrians at the busy intersection of Yonge Street and Finch.
The incident occurred in the early afternoon at the intersection which lies close to the Finch subway and bus station, one of the busiest transport hubs in the city of Toronto. One suspect appears to have been arrested.
Newstalk 1010 reports that up to 9 people are dead following the attack.
Witnesses told local TV crews that the driver was traveling at around 45 miles per hour, “crumbling up people” and taking the action “intentionally”.
Natasha Fatah
✔@NatashaFatah
Eye witness telling local TV the driver was driving at least 70 or 80km an hour on the sidewalk. Witness in tears said driver was “crumbling up people” “this person was intentionally doing this”
Photos, which has been posted online show multiple people on the ground as a result of the incident. The Toronto subway system, known as the TTC, has shut down service to Finch station in response.
Toronto police are now reporting multiple fatalities following the incident which has seen a man, described as being “Middle-Eastern” in appearance, arrested a short distance away.
Natasha Fatah
✔@NatashaFatah
#BREAKING Witness to truck ramming into pedestrians tells local Toronto TV station that the driver looked wide-eyed, angry and Middle Eastern.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave a brief statement to the media in the houses of parliament in Ottawa, sharing his condolences for the victims and their families. “Obviously we’re just learning about the situation in Toronto. Our hearts go out to anyone affected. We’re going to obviously have more to learn and more to say in the coming hours,” he said.
Amanda Ferguson
✔@CityNewsAmanda
#UPDATE: Toronto Police confirm a van mounted the curb and hit a number of pedestrians. The driver fled the scene. Police later located the vehicle at Yonge and Sheppard. Driver is in custody, alive, and no motive at this point @Citynews
Alex Shaker, who was driving at the time of the incident and witnessed the van hit multiple people, told CTV News: “He started going down on the sidewalk and crumbling down people one by one. He just destroyed so many people’s lives. Every single thing that got in his way.” Shaker also claimed that one of the victims had been pushing a children’s stroller.
The Associated Press
✔@AP
BREAKING: Police in Canada say van that struck 8 to 10 people in Toronto found and driver in custody.
