If you do not agree with their opinions, or do not like all of the information these news releases contain DO NOT post your opinions on my guestbooks, my message boards or send me an Email with your opinions! I did not write these releases! They are here to inform you about what is going on within the U.S. Pagan movement in regards to laws, rallies, etc. If you are in strong opposition to these posts or ideas then you should find yourself a different religion, as you cannot be opposed to what is posted here and still be a pagan.
The ACLU of Michigan and the Lincoln Park school board attorneys have
reached a final settlement today in the case of the school's banning of
pentacles, and declaring that Pagans and Witches were inappropriate to the school setting
(Seifferly v. Lincoln Park High School). These are the basic terms that have been agreed upon, and
have been approved by Judge Rosen:
* The words "Pagans" and "Witches" will be removed from the policy.
* An exception to the policy is made for students wearing "jewelry or other symbols in the profession of their religion".
* Students do not need to initiate the contact informing the administration of their religious preference. If the student is approached by the administration or a security officer, the student simply needs to inform them the symbols are for the professing of their religion.
* The school agrees to pay the plaintiff attorneys fees ($14,000).
* Ms. Seifferly waives civil rights violation damages.
* The school will republish the policy within five school days.
This has been entered as a "consent judgement", enforceable if the school at some point in the future tries to change or reimplement the original policy.
The Witches' Anti-Discrimination League is extremely pleased that the U.S. District Court and the school board and administration of Lincoln Park High School have taken notice of the rights of Pagans and Witches in society and in our schools, and have agreed to uphold the rights of all student's forms of religious preference and expression while attending public schools. We regret that a court action had to be taken, resulting in the expenditure of $14,000 of Michigan taxpayers dollars, but feel that the final outcome has resulted in an increased public awareness and acceptance of Paganism, Wicca, Witchcraft, and other Earth-based religious traditions, and an increased familiarity and affirmation of our religious paths in the United States federal court system.
Hopefully this consent judgement in the Seifferly vs. Lincoln Park case will lead other school boards throughout the country examining their own dress codes and gang policies, and insuring that the religious freedom rights of all their students are supported and respected.
��PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/
-- The empty, crumbling cell blocks of Eastern State Penitentiary will host a dramatically-expanded Halloween tour in 1999. Visitors will be brought into the darkened, abandoned Penitentiary in small groups, and asked to participate in the trial of a modern witch. Their verdict -- guilt or innocence -- will dictate the content of the tour. By the end, visitors may find the tables turned, themselves on trial, here, inside a 170-year-old abandoned prison, at night.
Tours in 1999 will feature interactive, state-of-the-art special effects, lighting and sound designed by Explosion Lighting and Design, with additional special effects installed by Advanced Audio Visual.
Halloween tours will begin on Thursday, October 14, and run through Halloween night, Sunday, October 31. Tickets go on sale September 10, and reservations are strongly recommended.
Special Halloween theme dinners will be available from many area restaurants in conjunction with the tours. For more information the public should call the Eastern State Halloween line at 215-763-NITE, or explore the web site at www.EasternState.com. Eastern State Penitentiary is located at 22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue, just five blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Eastern State Penitentiary was designed to be frightening. With castle-like walls thirty feet high, enclosing eleven acres of cell blocks, the prison was built to intimidate. These crumbling walls, rusting cell doors and vaulted, arched hallways have left thousands of visitors unnerved in previous ghost tours (The Penitentiary was called "perfect for Halloween" by the New York Times). Already Philadelphia's premier Halloween event, Eastern State Penitentiary hosted 17,000 visitors for Halloween tours in 1998.
Eastern State Penitentiary is one of Philadelphia's fastest-growing historic attractions. It is the model for more than 300 prisons world-wide, and former home of Al Capone and Willie Sutton. The site is open for daytime historic tours six months a year.
Halloween tours conclude in the Penitentiary's museum, where visitors can learn more about Eastern State's fascinating history.
SOURCE Eastern State Penitentiary CO: Eastern State Penitentiary ST: Pennsylvania
You can e-mail the prison at [email protected]
The above Headlines would be totally accurate and we would now be living in a police state except for the votes of courageous Democratic representatives, and the vetoes of a Democratic president. If the Republicans win a veto proof majority in Congress, you will be seeing these Headlines and even worse.
DO YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT???!!!
The GOP majority in Congress is opposing environmental protection, freedom of choice, tobacco restrictions, school repairs, patients' rights and campaign finance reform. They are attempting to attach anti-abortion amendments on every piece of legislation that is coming out of congress.
Prosecutor Kenneth Starr and Republicans are also using the Monica Lewinski investigation to "bludgeon" Clinton, and get rid of the president of the United States so they can install someone more favorable. They will first try to impeach Clinton. If successful they will then attempt to impeach Vice President Gore on any charge they can find. And once the President and Vice President are out of the way, guess who is next in succession: Mr. Republican, Newt Gingrich, The Speaker of the House of representatives! Newt has been censured and fined by The Ethics committee for lying. Hmmmmmm.
They are trying their best to cripple the President so that they can pass their legislation at will. Although I do not agree with Pres. Clinton's Behavior, I agree even less with the antics of the Christian Right controlled Congress.
WE MUST STOP THIS ATTEMPTED COUP ON OUR GOVERNMENT!!!
The Religious Right also known as the Christian Coalition, says it is ok to shoot doctors and blow up Abortion Clinics with people in them if it will stop abortions. They say it's all right to beat up and even kill Gay people because their god has called homosexuals an abomination. They say It's all right to cut down all the trees and all the habitats for all animals because loggers and saw mills (translation Newspapers and big business) need jobs and money. They say it's all right to protect the Tobacco Industry because they contribute a lot of money to Republican campaigns. They say that the Greenhouse Effect and the Ozone depletion problem are merely whining by Environmentalists. Of course they also get most of their support from the large Republican Corporate supporters who are also responsible for our Environmental problems.
If you were heartbroken when Matthew Shepard was beaten up and left to bleed and freeze to death tied to a fence for no other reason than because he was gay; if you looked with disgust as Prosecutor Kenneth Starr and Republicans spent $40 Million dollars of your tax dollars in order to prove that President Clinton was having sex with a woman not his wife; If you cried in anguish as the Republican Congress let the Tobacco industry off the hook for their criminal actions against our children, then you also know that we can't define our future by putting people down, by ignoring the poor and disadvantaged; and by cutting money for education.
What's all this got to do with this election? Because every fundamental decision in the end is about whether you have a divisive or unifying government in America.
If you were elated by the fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chairman Arafat were able to reach across the great divide of suspicion and prejudice, and agree on peace, then I encourage you to vote for a Democratic Candidate who supports unity and not division, who supports education and not ignorance, who supports a limit to the power of Tobacco over our children, and who will support peace instead of war.
Send a message to the Republican party and the religious right.
VOTE FOR A DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE!!!
Voter turnout, especially in a non presidential election, is historically low. If you want to keep your religious freedom and get rid of those senators and representatives who are responsible for support of anti-gay actions and anti-abortion factions, then get out the vote! Vote for those candidates who support your views. Most of the time these will be Democrats.
Someone once said: "If you do not vote, you deserve to get just what you voted for."
BUT, YOU'VE GOT TO GET EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO SHOW UP!!!
If you don't, allthose Headlines at the beginning of this note are in danger of becoming rue.
Remember:
"First they came for the Astrologers, but I wasn't worried I wasn't an Astrologer; "Then they came for the Jews, but I wasn't worried, I wasn't a Jew; "Then they came for the blacks, but I wasn't worried, I wasn't black; "Then they came for the homosexuals, but I wasn't worried, I wasn't a Homosexual; "Then they came for the Unitarians, but I wasn't worried, I wasn't a Unitarian; "Then they came for the Pagans..."
May the light of whatever Deity you worship, show you the way! Janet Partin, a concerned citizen and ex-Republican
P.S. I am not even going to talk about the anti Witchcraft Ads by the Republican candidate in Massachusetts: hopefully the good citizens of Mass. will take care of him.
Blessings (Ed) Ithan StarChild mailto: [email protected] WebSite: The Gardens of Avalon III Pagan Activist Site
Also Supported by:
Southern California Pagans for Freedom
http://members.xoom.com/socalwadl
A CALL TO ACTION!!
WHO:--POWER, WLPA, & other pagan & minority religion rights groups. WHAT:--A peaceful assemblage to make our presence and issues known to candidates for public office and the public at-large. WHEN:--DATE: Monday afternoon & evening, Oct 26, 1998. TIME:--Suggested starting from 4:30-5:30 PM. WHERE:--Faneuil Hall, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, downtown Boston, MA. Congress Street near State Street. WHY:--The trivialization of separation of church and state and protecting the rights of minority religions in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
HOW:--Parking nearby and accessible by MBTA Subway. WWW:--WLPA: http://www.celticcrow.com/ --POWER: http://members.aol.com/lorib1818/power.html EMAIL:-Cheryl Sulyma, WLPA: [email protected] --Lori Bruno, POWER: [email protected]
The Massachusetts State Governor, A. Paul Cellucci (R) has maligned Witches and Earth religions by trivializing the separation of Church and State and the defense of the Wicca Religion by candidate for governor, Scott Harshbarger (D) in his capacity as State Attorney General. In a televised negative promotional paid for by the committee to elect A. Paul Cellucci (R) a depiction of a Santa Claus in a police line up with a voice over criticizes Harshbarger for not allowing certain religious displays on public properties at Christmas. This is followed by a stereotypical Witch (pointed hat with cackle) and criticism of Harshbarger's defense of Witches in Salem. The case in question involved the assault and threats on area Wiccans by radical-right televangelist agitators. Harshbarger worked with area police and local Wiccans to see to their protection and make it known to the agitators that they were near violation of state hate crime laws.
In a press release this week the Salem. Ma. Police chief has asked the Cellucci campaign to remove this advertisement from the airwaves as it undermines their efforts at treating this situation with the seriousness that it deserves. Such acts also tend to encourage further endangerment to minority religions throughout the country.
Area Witches intend to make it a point that separation of church and state and the continued protection of minority religions by over zealous agitators is an issue not to be ignored in Massachusetts, now or in the future, and to stand together for the future safety of generations to follow.
You are invited to participate in a PEACEFUL ASSEMBLAGE with the Protective Order of Witches and Earth Religions (POWER) and the Witches League for Public Awareness (WLPA) and numerous other pagan rights representative groups at the next public debate to take place between acting-governor and candidate A. Paul Cellucci (R) and Attorney General and candidate Scott Harshbarger (D) at:
Faneuil Hall Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Congress Street near State Street Boston, Massachusetts. (downtown) Starting at 4:30-5:30 PM The local and national press will be in attendance.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Permission granted to repost this message to other pagan, earth-centered, or minority religion BBS systems, list servers, and other electronic or printed media
===========By Steve Foster President, Witches Anti Discrimination League
While Witches and Pagans are no longer actually Burned At The Stake "The Burning Times" are not over. The recent beating of Runewolf by a group of masked people who claimed he was a "Satanist", Rowan Sterlings Web Page being removed by Tripod after a complaint by Cybersitter, Elizabeth Arno�s problems getting the Pagan Society formed at Rowan University, the teacher fired by The Colorado School System because she wore a Pentacle to work, I could go on and on and on. The only way we will ever stop this discrimination is to stand UNITED, Solitary, Celtics, Druids,Gardnerians, Alexandrians,Strega, Thelemites, Dianeics, Astru, Egyptians, Ceremonial Magicians, Norse, Discordians and all groups that are Pagan/Wiccan/Earth Based Religionists .
As it now stands we will be torn apart more and more by Inter Denominational squabbles and again fade away to nothing without the Xians ever having to lift a finger, unless we begin to accept each for what we are, a Person, or Group that follows Our Lady and Our Lord. The Christian Right Wing movement is able to gain support and money, the real reason that they exist IMHO is to get the money not to do "The Lords Work", because they present a UNITED front, the reason the have success in attacking us is because we are DIVIDED, everyone is trying to "protect their own turf".
At this time in History we need to pull together UNITE and let the Xtian attack against us meet a solid front. By this Editorial I am asking the Leaders of ALL Pagan/Wiccan/Earth Based Religion Rights Groups to meet, before before Samhain, to form a Coa lition that can coordinate Education, Defense and help us put differences behind us so we may live in harmony as Our Lady and Our Lord intended.
Let the Methodists fight the Baptists fight the JW's fight the Mormons fight the Catholics and so on. We must stand "Heart in Hand" ready to aid our Sister/Brother, Solitary, Celtic, Druid, Gardnerian, Alexandrian,Strega, Thelemite, Dianeics, Astru, Egyptian, Ceremonial Magician, Norse, Discordian or what ever other Denomination we are in moving on toward the Millennium.
I ask each person that is on a Mailing list for any of the many Rights Groups to forward this Editorial to the list coordinator for consideration.
Opposing view points will be published in The WADL News'N Views Newsletter. Please use your spell checker before sending as I will publish as received, along with your Email address.
Send any Editorial comments to : [email protected], in the Subject line put Editorial.
A Neo-Pagan high school student is suspended under the "Zero Tolerance Policy" for being accused of "hexing" a fellow classmate. Her parent's claim that the school district has been harassing them and their daughter because of their neo-pagan religion. They state that they will fight the suspension in court.
The "Zero Tolerance Policy" which has been instituted in many school districts accross the country is a means to punish those students with "Gang" affiliations, causing widespread violence, brining weapons to school, wearing gang dress, and intimidating students and staff. The other side of "Zero Tolerance" forbids sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, gender bias, and intolerance of the religious beliefs of others, including discrimination or bias because of race, religion, or national origin.
Apparently the Baltimore School District failed to read the text of the "Zero Tolerance Policy". As of this date, casting spells, or hexing, including unproven allegations of such are not in the text of "offenses". Therefore, the Baltimore school district is in violation of their own policies on campus!
"In testimony submitted to the committee today, the American Civil Liberties Union said the section of the Watts-Talent legislation that deals with substance abuse "would violate the religious liberty rights of those seeking drug treatment." In addition, the ACLU said that by providing government funding for overtly religious treatment, the billwould violate the separation of church and state.
ACLU Legislative Analyst Terri Schroeder said the Watts-Talent legislation would threaten the independence of houses of worship and other religious institutions. "All Americans should be deeply concerned about a law that would allow the federal government the power to rifle through the receipts of our houses of worship," Schroeder said. "This bill calls for mandatory and unprecedented audits of the financial records of religious institutions. "Schroeder said that the Watts-Talent proposal would strip constitutional rights not just from the communities the bill seeks to empower, but for all Americans. "Financial rewards for a community cannot come at the price of waiving First Amendment rights," she said.
Go to http://congress.org/elecmail.html. At this site you can find out who your representatives are by typing in your Zip code. The site also provides pre-formatted forms for you to write your Congress person with an option of printing the form with the address for delivery by Snail mail or you can request that your letter be sent by Email directly from the site.
A. Send a FAX from the ACLU�s website at
:http://www.aclu.org/action/school_prayer.html
AND
B. Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202/225-3121 during the first week ofJune,
AND
C. Call your member's district offices.
The American Trial Lawyers Association opposse this amendment. In our eyes, this amendment would pave the way for a major war between religions. Also, we must ask, if we go back to State sponsored school prayer ... What denomination shall it be? Will we be able to say a prayer for the Goddess as oppossed to the God? Can we call our Animal Guides during this prayer? In our eyes, this amendment just will not work. The LAST thing that we need is 1 religion becoming the "religion of the US".
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