Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli sat down for an interview with CBS 6 reporter Mark Holmberg where he discussed everything from his threat to sue the federal government if health care reform passes to his letter to state universities informing them not to grant anti-discrimination protections to gay employees to his statement that questions about President Obama's place of birth are not "beyond the realm of possibility."
Cuccinelli dismissed the Birther question as a far-fetched wild goose chase, but when the question turned to whether or not he believes "the practice of homosexuality is a detriment to our culture," he was far less dismissive, saying "the acts are" because it is best when everyone is "integrated into society":
WHEREAS, Dr. M.G. "Pat" Robertson, an inspirational televangelist and longtime host of the Christian television program, The 700 Club, is recognized in 2010 for his many contributions to the Commonwealth and his fellow citizens; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Robertson was born on March 22, 1930, in Lexington, Virginia, the son of Absalom Willis Robertson and Gladys Churchill Robertson, graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1950, and served his country in the United States Marines during the Korean War; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Robertson returned home after his military service and married Adelia "Dede" Elmer on August 26, 1954; he completed a law degree from Yale University Law School in 1955 and a master of divinity degree from New York Theological Seminary in 1959; and
WHEREAS, committed to helping people in need both spiritually and by improving their quality of life, Dr. Robertson was active as an ordained Southern Baptist minister for many years; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Robertson founded the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) in 1960, serving as the chairman and the public face of CBN, as well as the host of its religious magazine show, The 700 Club, since 1966; and
WHEREAS, in 1977 Dr. Robertson established Regent University in Virginia Beach as one of the nation's leading academic centers for Christian thought and action; and
WHEREAS, in 1978 Dr. Robertson began Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation, a nonprofit humanitarian organization that has provided hunger relief, disaster relief, medical aid, and community development to 193 million people in 96 countries and all 50 states; and
WHEREAS, in 1988 Dr. Robertson made a run to become the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States; and
WHEREAS, in 1989 Dr. Robertson founded the Christian Coalition, a political organization credited with increasing the influence of conservative Christians in American public policy; and
WHEREAS, committed to protecting religious and constitutional freedom, Dr. Robertson founded the American Center for Law and Justice in 1990; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Robertson has achieved national and international recognition as a broadcaster and was the founder and cochairman of International Family Channel, Inc., which included the Family Channel; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Robertson is a compelling and compassionate spiritual leader, who is guided by Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"; he is devoted to his family, his viewers who are his extended family, his community, and the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend Dr. M.G. "Pat" Robertson, on the occasion of his 80th birthday on March 22, 2010, for his many contributions to the Commonwealth; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Dr. M.G. "Pat" Robertson as an expression of the General Assembly's gratitude for his steadfast service to his fellow citizens and best wishes for a joyful birthday celebration.
In an overlooked recording from the campaign trail, candidate Cuccinelli told a crowd that he was considering not registering his son for a Social Security number because "it is being used to track you." He also claimed that many others are not registering for Social Security numbers for the same reason.
Watch:
We're gonna have our 7th child on Monday, if he's not born before. And, for the very concerns you state, we're actually considering – as I'm sure many of you here didn't get a Social Security number when you were born, they do it now – we're considering not doing that. And a lot of people are considering that now, because it is being used to track you.
If the newly unearthed "birther" comments didn't establish Cuccinelli as a bona fide member of the paranoid, anti-government Tea Party movement, this video should do the trick.
ABC 13 in Lynchburg, VA interviewed Lisa Miller's friends and supporters, who claim that they have no idea where she and Isabella have gone but says that they completely support her actions, noting that offers to hide Miller have come in from as far away as Israel.
They say Miller's kidnapping of her daughter and disappearance, calling it a necessary act of civil disobedience in the face of an unjust law and likening it to using the Underground Railroad to escape slavery:
Friends of Lisa Miller say they don't know where she and her seven-year-old daughter are, but they say they support her decision to leave.
A Vermont court ordered Miller's ex-partner Janet Jenkins custody of their daughter in May, and now it's been six months since Miller's friends say they've had any contact with her.
The case has drawn national attention and has strong ties to Lynchburg. Liberty Counsel is working on filing an appeal to the latest court order, which included handing over Isabella.
Her friends say they understand why she decided to go into hiding. Miller's friends here may have had the last known contact with mother and daughter.
It was January 1 when Linda Wall said she knew for sure her friend Miller and her seven-year-old daughter Isabella had gone into hiding.
"Unbeknowing to any of us... she was doing something behind the scene," Wall said.
Wall has known the mother and daughter since 2004. She had been getting involved as a conservative Christian activist and a self described "former homosexual."
"I was able to leave homosexuality through a miraculous encounter with the Lord," Wall said.
She says about two years ago, she began talking to Lisa Miller about what would happen, if she was ordered to give up custody of Isabella. "Just knowing Virginia law wasn't going to defend her."
That school year Miller taught at Liberty Christian Academy. Wall says, while offers came in from as far away as Israel to hide Miller and Isabella, friends say Thomas Road Baptist church didn't play a part.
"There is nothing more outlandish than that," TRBC Pastor Tipton Killingsworth.
"I am supposed to be the number one suspect because I was so involved in this and I don't know where she is," Wall said.
Lisa Miller's friend Janet Stasulli also has no idea of her whereabouts. "We have no idea where she is."
The last time Wall says she had contact with Miller was in late September. Up to that point, she believes Miller was working behind the scenes on her escape. It’s a decision they support.
"I do support what she's done," Wall said. "When the law is wrong, what's a person to do?"
Likening the situation to the underground railroad during slavery, “Was it Harriet Tubman who risked her life for the underground railroad for the black community? Maybe I am committed to this for the children I might be that one voice."
When Ken Cuccinelli was running to become Virginia's Attorney General, he made it quite clear that he was a hard-core right-winger who didn't like gays:
"My view is that homosexual acts, not homosexuality, but homosexual acts are wrong. They’re intrinsically wrong. And I think in a natural law based country it’s appropriate to have policies that reflect that. ... They don’t comport with natural law. I happen to think that it represents (to put it politely; I need my thesaurus to be polite) behavior that is not healthy to an individual and in aggregate is not healthy to society."
So I guess it comes as no surprise that now that he is in office, he's using his position to press his anti-gay agenda:
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II has asked the state's public colleges and universities to rescind policies that ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, arguing in a letter sent to each school Thursday that their boards of visitors have no legal authority to adopt such statements.
In the letter, Cuccinelli (R) wrote that only the General Assembly can extend legal protections to gay state employees -- a move the legislature has repeatedly declined to take, including as recently as this week.
"It is my advice that the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including 'sexual orientation,' 'gender identity,' 'gender expression,' or like classification as a protected class within its non-discrimination policy absent specific authorization from the General Assembly," he wrote.
Colleges that have included such language in their policies -- which include all of Virginia's leading schools -- have done so "without proper authority" and should "take appropriate actions to bring their policies in conformance with the law and public policy of Virginia," Cuccinelli wrote.
Last month, Gov. Bob McDonnell signed a decree taking away protections for gay and lesbian state workers in Virginia, so things are really looking up for equality in Virginia under its Republican leadership.
A few weeks ago I noted how Lisa Miller's lawyers at Liberty Counsel and her supporters at the Protect Isabella Coalition were quietly trying to wash their hands of her after she kidnapped her daughter and disappeared.
Concerned Women for America (CWA) of Virginia joined the Protect Isabella Coalition and other conservatives, who traveled from as far away as Suffolk, Harrisonburg, and Roanoke, and as near as Bedford and Lynchburg, at the Bedford County Courthouse on February 17, to support Lisa Miller and her daughter, Isabella, in prayer.
While we were disappointed not to be allowed in the courtroom — the judge had honored an ACLU request to deny access to the public— it was a privilege to join Pastor Wiley Drake of Buena Park, California, and others across the country on the Telephonic Prayer Line to pray during the court proceedings.
Mat Staver, chief attorney for Liberty Counsel, briefed our group before and after the hearing. The opposition wanted the Virginia court to find Lisa in contempt of court for failing to follow a Vermont court’s order to relinquish custody of her daughter, Isabella, to Janet Jenkins, who was Lisa’s homosexual companion before Lisa’s conversion to Christianity. It should be noted that Miss Jenkins is a Vermont resident who has no biological ties to Isabella and has never sought to adopt her, but has been awarded full custody by a Vermont court merely on the basis of Lisa and Miss Jenkins’ brief “civil union.”
Judge Harrison did not issue an order for Lisa's arrest, because she cannot be found for papers to be served. The judge also denied Janet Jenkins the opportunity to testify by phone, because there was no one present in Vermont to swear her in as a witness.
The next hearing on this case is tentatively scheduled for May 19, 2010. Please continue to pray for the three judges of the Appellate Court of Virginia; pray that their decision will put up a firewall between the laws of Vermont and Virginia to protect Isabella and allow Lisa to return to her home state.
This post contains a relatively important revelation: everybody who has been involved in this case insists that they have no idea where Lisa Miller has gone and that they have had no contact with her since she disappeared ... so why is CWA and the Protect Isabella Coalition praying that she will be allowed to "return to her home state"?
That suggests that she is not in Virginia at the moment ... and how would these supporters know that unless they know where Miller actually is?
So here is a simple question: Does CWA or the Protect Isabella Coalition know Miller's whereabouts? If so, why aren't they informing the authorities? Are these groups protecting and hiding Miller as she run from the law and violates her court orders?
Here's the video of Ellison's comments on Haiti and introduction of Marshall:
"From a spiritual standpoint, we think the Dr. Robertson was on target about Haiti, in the past, with voodoo. And we believe in the Bible that the practice of voodoo is a sin, and what caused the nation to suffer. Those who read the Bible and study the history know that what Dr. Robertson said was the truth."
It is not an accident that Marshall and Ellison echoed one another and Pat Robertson. They all believe that God exacts vengeance on those who do not follow their peculiar and ultraconservative interpretation of the Bible.
Ellison may like to believe that Robertson's comments merely "angered a lot of the so-called, in my opinion, liberals." But the truth is that Americans overwhelmingly reject such views, just as they reject Marshall's views on disabled children and abortion – including a not-so-liberal Governor named Bob McConnell.
And for those of you who missed it, here’s the video of Bob Marshall claiming that disabled children are God’s punishment for abortion:
Virginia Del. Robert G. Marshall took to the floor of the House of Delegates on Wednesday to dispute reports that he said women who have abortions run the risk of birth defects in later pregnancies as a punishment from God ... Marshall denied saying that disabled children are a punishment from God or even having suggested such a thing. But that notion, he said, "has been repeated endless times in print and in the electronic media without anyone producing the smoking-gun tape."
"Of course, if some wish to make their own inferences, that is their prerogative," Marshall said. "However, they should acknowledge that is what they are doing. Furthermore, it is no one's prerogative to claim I spoke words which never came from my mouth, have never been in my heart and have never been in my public record."
Marshall also called for a correction from Capital News Service, which is produced by journalism students at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Mass Communications and whose report ignited the controversy. Jeff South, an associate professor who oversees the program, said the service stands by its report.
And Marshall has posted video of his statement on his website, which he somehow believes will exonerate him. In his accompanying statement, Marshall insists that he never made this comment, and then provides video and a transcript of his remarks that proves he said exactly what Capital News Service quoted him as saying (emphasis added):
A February 22nd Capital News Service story claimed, “Western Prince William Del. Bob Marshall (R-13th) says disabled children are God’s punishment to women who have aborted their first pregnancy.”
I never made this statement. I believe that all children, no matter their background are a blessing from the Lord, not a punishment. Capital News Service never called me about these alleged comments.
No other reporter who attended the same February 18th press conference regarding Planned Parenthood funding made the same claim for the simple reason that I never made such a statement about disabled children.
A video of the press conference bears this out. (May be accessed in its entirety at the end of this article)
Furthermore, my personal and public life show a respect for unwanted or disabled children, including our adoption of three children, my bills to provide for health insurance for autistic children, and my bill this year requiring that women be informed of possible problems in future pregnancies from abortion.
I acknowledge that my extemporary remarks could have been better chosen to explain the medical research findings which show a high incidence of complications following induced abortions.
I understand how disability groups could react, but they are reacting in part to words I never said, never meant, and don’t believe. But I apologize to all for the misuse of my words especially to disabled Virginians or others offended.
My purpose was to show how authentic medical findings demonstrate that abortion has consequences beyond the death of the child being aborted. That is why I have proposed HB 334, which passed the House of Delegates 95-2, and which requires women undergoing abortion to be offered medical articles concerning possible complications in future pregnancies.
I take my oath of office seriously, and believe it is important to protect my constituents by ensuring full transparency about a procedure that may adversely impact their future reproductive health. That is why I strongly believe that Planned Parenthood, which performs one-fourth of abortions nationwide and opposes protecting women with this vital information, should not be funded by Virginia taxpayers.
Children, whether wanted or unwanted, intended or unintended, “normal” or disabled, are blessings from a loving God, and I will continue to fight on their behalf and on behalf of the courageous families who care for these wonderful children.
Fighting for you,
Delegate Bob Marshall
13th District Delegate
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
Verbatim. The TRT is 2:05:
“Thank you very much for coming here today. We are dealing with an attempt to defund, frankly, a malevolent organization. And I say that because you know people by their fruits. In 1960, 65, the out of wed-lock birthrate for blacks was 25 percent. I think it was about 23 percent in 1960 – it was 5 percent for all races. Now it’s 40 percent. It’s 72% for blacks, 51% for Latinas. These are the fruits of planned parenthood. OK. Nothing else. More heartache. More guys who are completely irresponsible and think that women have one function and one function only for a few minutes. OK. But this just isn’t affecting our families, our inner cities, our communities and our state. This poison animates a world-wide population control program that the United States funds and which is unnecessarily making us enemies overseas. We are attacking traditional family structure in a way that no country should be doing. These aren’t my words. Go read a book by Denesh DeSouza [sic]. Ok. He’s looking at it from a cultural, historical perspective. This organization should be called Planned Barrenhood cause they have nothing to do with families, they have nothing to do with responsibility. One-fourth of all abortions are done by Planned Parenthood in the United States. Ok. The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion who have handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first-born of any, Nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children. In the Old Testament, the first-born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest, and with the knowledge they have from faith has been verified by a study by the Virginia Commonwealth University. First abortions of the first pregnancy are much more damaging to the woman than latter abortions. None of these are good for anybody but this organization has had its time. They have failed in their efforts and we need to defund them and not have them receive a dime of public money.”
Marshall insists that he was making a point based on science and medical findings and that focusing on the "vengence," "punishment" "Old Testament" and "Christians would suggest" language is taking his words out of context in order to make it look like he said something that he never said.
Of course, as Marshall's own video proves, he did make these comments and, in fact, all the "science" stuff at the end is meant to bolster his central point that women who have abortions are subsequently punished with disabled children later on.
But instead of just admitting that that is what he said and apologizing, Marshall continues to insist that he never made this comment and is instead lashing out and attacking those who dared to report it.
Mathew Staver, Miller’s attorney from Lynchburg-based law firm Liberty Counsel, said neither he nor his office has had contact with Miller since last fall.
“We don’t know where she is and we don’t know anybody who does know her whereabouts,“ Staver said in a phone interview Tuesday.
...
Staver said efforts are currently under way to track down Miller through a locator service.
Staver also said that arrest warrant issued for Miller in Vermont will not have jurisdiction in Virginia, Miller's last known place of residence, unless it is recognized by a VA court, which just last week refused to hold Miller in contempt on the grounds that she had not been notified to appear in court due to the fact that nobody can find her.
Amazingly, even while this saga was unfolding, Liberty Counsel was waging the same fight in a similar case out of California ... and losing:
In a case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court, a Bay Area woman has won the right to parental status and visits with the daughter of her former lesbian partner, who moved out when the girl was 3 months old.
The high court denied review Monday of an appeal by the birth mother, identified only as Kristina S., who challenged her former partner's right to be considered a parent. Kristina's lawyers, from the religious conservative group Liberty Counsel, argued that recognizing parental status after a few months of care violated a mother's right to control her child's upbringing.
The court left intact a June 2009 ruling by a state appeals court in San Francisco that said Kristina's partner, identified as Charisma R., had been fully involved in conceiving and taking care of the child and was legally her co-parent.
...
Liberty Counsel representatives were unavailable for comment. The group's chairman, attorney Mathew Staver, told the Supreme Court that the California appellate court had "ordered the breakup of the autonomous, natural family comprised of Kristina and her daughter ... in favor of a new, judicially created 'family.' "
Watch Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall claim at an anti-Planned Parenthood press conference that disabled children are God's punishment for abortion:
After his remarks set off a national controversy, Marshall tried to claim that he had somehow been misunderstood:
A story by Capital News Service regarding my remarks at a recent press conference opposing taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood conveyed the impression that I believe disabled children are a punishment for prior abortions. No one who knows me or my record would imagine that I believe or intended to communicate such an offensive notion[.] I regret any misimpression my poorly chosen words may have created[.]
But the video speaks for itself. Marshall explicitly stated that he believes God punishes women who have abortions by giving them disabled children. And then he backed up his claim with what he evidently considered to be evidence (and the gentleman to his left nodded in agreement).
Marshall is entitled to his offensive views, but he should not run from them.
He said this about abortion in the case of rape: "[T]he woman becomes a sin-bearer of the crime, because the right of a child predominates over the embarrassment of the woman."
And he said this about contraception: "[W]e have no business passing this garbage out and making these co-eds chemical Love Canals for these frat house playboys in Virginia."
Marshall was not the only one at last week’s press conference to say something completely ridiculous and offensive, or as Marshall calls it – creating a “misimpression.”
Rev. Joe Ellison said he agrees with Pat Robertson’s comments that Haitians brought the recent devastating earthquake on themselves by striking a deal with the Devil and practicing voodoo:
From a spiritual standpoint, we think the Dr. Robertson was on target about Haiti, in the past, with voodoo. And we believe in the Bible that the practice of voodoo is a sin, and what caused the nation to suffer. Those who read the Bible and study the history know that what Dr. Robertson said was the truth.
And let’s remember. These guys aren’t just some sideshow attraction in Virginia’s state capital. They hold sway with top Virginia Republicans, including Gov. Bob McDonnell, and are making gains in their war on the reproductive rights of Virginia women.
