N E W S - December, 1998

Accustomed to picking on women and gays, a group of religious right, anti-Clinton protesters were unprepared for the reaction of a group of Teamsters they confronted. The protestors carried signs that said, "Impeach the Liar," and "Pervert Step Down." The Teamsters were particularly offended when they felt the protestors were attacking Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. They beat up two of them, tore their signs and complained that they were "looking for a fight and they got it."

For the full story (audio file).

SOURCE: NPR, Weekend Edition

+ + +

In a failed effort to win the votes of the Latinos that he alienated during the last Orange County election, former US Representative Bob Dornan announced that he is, "the true Latino," not Loretta Sanchez, the incumbant. Dornan, a Catholic, mailed campaign literature to his constituents with a picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe on the front and graphic photos of abortions on the inside. The Diocese of Orange County was not amused. Dornan lost the election, again.

SOURCE: LA TIMES

+ + +

Flip Benham, leader of a Dallas Operation Rescue franchise writes of the next generation of pro-life activists, "Parents must throw themselves on barbed wire so kids can run on our backs and advance on the gates of hell. If you think we're radical now, you haven't seen anything. Wait until you see our kids."

Operation Rescue, which lost much of its support due to costly litigation and association with violence, hopes to hand the gauntlet to its children. And so Operation Rescue this year sponsored a summer camp called, "Survivor Summer '98." Brenna Sullenger, a 16-year-old camper was quoted, "We have to stand against what is evil. We need to expose the unfruitful deeds of darkness."

What the LA Times failed to note was that the mother of Brenna Sullenger is Cheryl Sullenger, a "convicted bombing co-conspirator" in a failed clinic bombing, according to Pinknoiz (1). In 1987 Cheryl Sullenger provided a "Black woman's wig and...black make-up" to Eric Svelmoe, who was arrested at a San Diego woman's clinic with a .357 magnum, 2 clips of ammunition, and a pipe bomb attached to 2 gallons of gasoline. Randall Sullenger, Brenna's father, had provided Svelmoe with the pipe and explosives to construct the bomb.

1 Various documents from and about Operation Rescue

SOURCE: LA TIMES and PINKNOIZ

+ + +

Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay man, was beaten, burned and left on a fence to die, by 2 young men that lured him out of a gay bar. He died 5 days later.

Fred Phelps, of Westboro Baptist Church, attended Shepard's funeral with a handful of his cronies holding picket signs. Residents of Laramie, WY gathered around the shouting group with opened umbrellas and loudly sang "Amazing Grace," to obscure from mourners the hateful messages and taunts.

The death of Shepard renewed calls for state and federal hate crimes legislation against criminals who target victims based on gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. Religious groups such as Lou Sheldon's Traditional Values Coalition oppose the passage of such laws claiming "that homosexuals are more interested in gaining acceptance than in crime."

The two men charged in the crime have pleaded not guilty. It is uncertain as yet, whether or not they will face the death penalty.

SOURCE: LA TIMES and first-hand reports.

+ + +

A Jewish obstetrician/gynecologist, beloved by his patients, was shot in the back as he sat at supper with his family. The bullet, shot by an unknown sniper from the backyard, narrowly missed hitting Slepian's son as it exited the doctor's body. Dr. Barnett Slepian was also an abortion provider.

Bob Behn, head of Buffalo's Operation Rescue, deflected the blame for the killing from the pro-life movement saying, "I think it was a pro-choice person who took his life. Somebody decided he was expendable and took him out."

A year ago, when Bob Behn was arranging for a group of protestors to target an abortion provider's home, Dr. Slepian invited Mr. Behn to breakfast and offered to talk to his group. Mr. Behn enjoyed the breakfast but declined the offer of a talk as it might "agitate" his followers.

It is commonly believed that the deaths of Matthew Shepard and Dr. Barnett Slepian galvanized the pro-gay and pro-choice vote resulting in the astounding Republican upset in this year's election.

SOURCE: LA TIMES

+ + +

One month after the murder of gay student Matthew Shepard, Bernardo Repreza, a 15-year-old high school student, was beaten and stabbed to death by members of "Straight Edge," a gang of white skinheads who believe in vegetarianism, abstinence from drugs, alcohol and premarital sex.

Officials in Salt Lake City are unwilling to consider the murder racially motivated and claim that it was gang-related. The city will host the Olympics in 2002 and are anxious to protect their image.

Repreza had hoped to become a model and was described by his friends as "always dapper and above the fray, avoiding the gangster lifestyle that swirled around him."

SOURCE: LA TIMES

+ + +

Seven letters were sent to women's clinics in Indiana and Kentucky claiming to contain anthrax bacteria. Thirty-one people were decontaminated.

Ten days later letters claiming to contain the deadly bacteria were sent to a Catholic parish in Indianapolis, the Chicago office of an anti-abortion group and a Roman Catholic Church in Buffalo.

SOURCE: LA TIMES

+ + +

Two men were arrested inside a private dwelling and charged with sodomy. A disgruntled ex-friend, Roger Nance, had told police that there was a "crazed gunman" in their apartment. The false report warranted Nance 15 days in jail.

The two defendants pleaded guilty and, instead of fading into obscurity, immediately filed a challenge to the 110-year-old Texas sodomy law.

Georgia's sodomy law was struck down last month by a nearly unanimous vote by the state's Supreme Court. The LA Times article states that "thirteen states ban consensual oral and anal sex, regardless of sexual orientation; Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas ban homosexual sodomy only."

SOURCE: LA TIMES

+ + +

During a 26-year crime spree Rev. Walter J. Benz blew hundreds of thousands dollars belonging to his church on his secretary, gambling, and other luxeries. The Reverend was a priest at St. Mary's of the Assumption Church in Glenshaw, PN.

And a cleric in England has been sentenced to 9 months in jail for overcharging his parishioners for funerals and weddings. He even charged for the burial of stillborn babies, which is usually free. He's also in hot water for underreporting his income.

SOURCE: South Florida City-Link

+ + +

Many thanks to frederique, our news slave, for sending all the clippings.

	Send E-Mail to editor@postfun.com © PostFun 1998 All Rights Reserved	Home [http://www.postfun.com/pfp/news/archive/1298.html]