Salem Political Snark

It's godless Oregon versus godly Liberty University in Fiesta Bowl

I do my best to view sports as a refuge from divisive subjects like religion and politics. But after the bowl pairings were announced for the 2023-24 football season, it's impossible for me to do this.

The main reason is that the University of Oregon, which lost last Friday to Washington (again) by a measly three points (again) was chosen to play on New Year's Day in the Fiesta Bowl. So yay, say we Oregon fans.

(A secondary reason is a Florida senator, Rick Scott, wanting an inquiry into Florida State being left out of the four-team national championship playoff.) 

But the Fiesta Bowl opponent chosen by the College Football Playoff selection committee is Liberty University. So, boo, say we Oregon fans. There's a lot wrong with this, but also one thing I love. First, the wrongness. 

Oregon is #8 in the final college football rankings. Liberty is #23. That's a big difference. By contrast, Oregon State is #19 and their bowl game opponent is Notre Dame, #16. That's a small difference. So Oregon gets a virtually unknown opponent, while Oregon State gets a very well known opponent, even though Oregon is ranked much higher.

Today sports writer John Canzano shared some questions and answers about Liberty University in his Bald Faced Truth column that I subscribe to.

Q: Who the #%$# is Liberty and why are they in the Fiesta Bowl? — @RickBakas

A: Liberty University is a private evangelical Christian university located in Lynchburg, Va. It was founded in the 1970s by Jerry Falwell Sr. The school boasts an enrollment of 16,000 students on campus, but has online courses that enroll another 115,000 students. Be clear, it’s an educational cash cow.

Jamey Chadwell is the team’s head coach. This Fiesta Bowl vs. Oregon will be the highest-profile football game in the university’s brief history.

The Flames play in Conference USA, where they went 13-0 this season playing opponents such as New Mexico State and Western Kentucky. Liberty played the weakest schedule in the country. It didn’t play a single Power Five opponent and half the teams in Conference USA finished with eight losses or more.

Liberty is in the Fiesta Bowl because it’s the highest ranked Group of Five conference champion. Oregon would have played Tulane, but it lost to SMU in the AAC Championship Game. So the Ducks get Liberty. The loser of the Pac-12 Championship game is 0-11 in its subsequent bowl game. Something tells me Oregon breaks that trend.

Q: Does the Fiesta Bowl automatically get the No. 2 team from the Pac-12? — @johnniethek

A: The College Football Playoff selection committee makes the pairings for the six New Year’s Day bowl games. The Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl are semifinal games this season. The Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl and Peach Bowl aren’t semifinals. Those bowl bids go to a handful of highly ranked teams this season (No. 5-11) that missed the semifinal cut and the top-ranked champion from the Group of Five (No. 23 Liberty).

Last year, the Fiesta Bowl was a semifinal (TCU vs. Michigan). Two years ago, the Fiesta Bowl featured Oklahoma State vs. Notre Dame. I wonder if all those ‘home-schooled’ Liberty fans make the trip. I’m skeptical that Oregon fans will bother given the disappointment. If you’re going, tell me in the comment section.

Now, here's what I love about the Oregon-Liberty matchup. Even though many Oregon players are religious (I've heard quarterback Bo Nix praise God in remarks after games Oregon won; I didn't hear that praise after Oregon lost to Washington last Friday), the state of Oregon is highly irreligious. 

Only four states have a majority of residents who identify as "none's." Meaning, atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular. In 2022, Oregon's percentage was 53%, ranking second highest in the country, behind only Maine at 54%. Virginia, where Liberty University is located, is only 35% none's.

But Liberty, as a religious institution, seemingly would be 0% none's. The Wikipedia page for Liberty University says:

Liberty, whose website and officials speak of "training Champions for Christ", requires undergraduate students to take three Evangelical Bible-studies classes. The university's honor code, called the "Liberty Way", prohibits premarital sex, cohabitation, any kind of romantic relationship between members of the same sex, and alcohol use. 

Described as a "bastion of the Christian right", the university played a prominent role in Republican politics under Falwell and his son and successor Jerry Falwell Jr.; in 2021, Liberty interim president Jerry Prevo said getting conservative candidates elected to office was "one of our main goals".

So as a progressive atheist, I can't help but view the Fiesta Bowl as not only a contest between two opposing football teams, but also as a clash between two political persuasions. For while Liberty students and faculty will be doing a lot of praying before the game, Oregon fans are more likely to be doing some serious marijuana imbibing.

Who knows, Liberty might pull off a highly unexpected upset. I sure hope this doesn't happen, because that would be viewed as a miracle by the true believing Liberty fans. My dream is that Oregon crushes Liberty. That would ease the pain of the loss to Washington and give me hope for Oregon's future in the Big Ten.

But if that dream becomes a nightmare of a Liberty victory, I've always got my supply of quality Oregon pot to raise my godless spirits.

A business sent us a Judeo-Christian Thanksgiving card. But we're atheists.

A few days ago my wife and I got a Thanksgiving card from a business that we use regularly. This is the front of the card.

The back said, "We are awed by the blessings God has poured out on us this past year. Thank you for your trust in and support of our business. Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!"

OK. Nice sentiments. Aside from the God parts. That didn't go over well with us, since we're atheists. 

We realize that Judeo-Christianity is the dominant faith in the United States. So we're used to being exposed to all kinds of Biblical messages. It just felt different to have a business assume that we'd enjoy receiving a Psalm verse that we heartily disagree with.

For while we're as thankful as anyone this time of year, we definitely don't give thanks because God is near. If anything, we're thankful that there's no demonstrable evidence of God being either near or far, because there's no convincing evidence God exists.

Further, we live in a pluralistic society. I doubt that the people who sent us the card would enjoy getting a message from us that said "We give thanks for our atheism." And I also doubt that any Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, or followers of other religions who got this card resonated with the Psalm.

It struck me as strange to get a Judeo-Christian Thanksgiving card. I realize that Christmas is about Christ, since the holiday has Christ's name. But when did giving thanks become Judeo-Christian? Guess I missed the memo, since I don't go to a church or synagogue.

And how the heck does any believer in God, know that God poured blessings on them this past year? Not only do I deeply doubt that this is true, I have no idea how good things that come from God can be distinguished from good things that come from natural rather than supernatural causes.

My wife and I wondered about the motivation of the business owners who sent us the card. We don't know them, so have no way of knowing what their politics are. However, these days politics is hard to ignore when it comes to religiosity, given how religious nationalism is being pushed by the far-right.

Anyway, we're happy with the services we get from this business. The card doesn't doesn't change that in the slightest.

We did sent them an email saying that they might want to rethink the wisdom of sending out a Judeo-Christian Thanksgiving card to their customers, given how many different faiths, including no faith, those customers likely embrace. 

A Wikipedia article about "Irreligion in the United States" says:

The percentage of Americans without religious affiliation, often labeled as "Nones", is around 20-29% – with people who identify as "nothing in particular" accounting for the growing majority of this demographic, and both atheists and agnostics accounting for the relatively unchanged minority of this demographic.

Awakening Ministries is The Church at Planned Parenthood

In case you're wondering who The Church at Planned Parenthood really is, wonder no more.

This supposed "church" consists of moralistic busybodies who staged a protest on July 13 at the Planned Parenthood office in Salem, which resulted in a fight between Proud Boys and counterprotestors.

Because, you know, Jesus-loving churches like to have their security provided by a hate group that was part of the insurrection at the nation's capitol on January 6.

Here's a screenshot of where The Church at Planned Parenthood does its thing when it isn't harassing women at Planned Parenthood trying to use their services for cancer screening, birth control, and such.

(Yes, including abortions, which are 100% legal here in Oregon.)

And here's a screenshot of Salem's Awakening Ministries.


Proving that a career as an intelligence analyst awaits me if I wasn't already so damn old, my careful, minute, pixel-by-pixel comparisons of the two screenshots leads me to conclude that The Church at Planned Parenthood and Awakening Ministries are one and the same.

Ergo, a word I like to use when I want to appear even more intelligent than I normally am, we can also conclude that Awakenng Ministries either has ties with the Proud Boys or at the least, welcomed them to their Planned Parenthood protest.

Oh, I'm sorry. I used the word protest for a gathering where, I've heard, three Proud Boys were indicted for what they did at the Planned Parenthood office. 

The Church at Planned Parenthood is a franchise operation of sorts, with churches using that name for their local attempts to hassle clients and staff of Planned Parenthood offices. The main Church at Planned Parenthood web site makes clear what they're all about.

The Church at Planned Parenthood is NOT a protest. It’s a worship service at the gates of Hell. The Church at Planned Parenthood is a gathering of Christians for the worship of God and the corporate prayer for repentance for this nation, repentance for the apathetic church and repentance of our blood guiltiness in this abortion holocaust.

"Abortion holocaust"? I guess the Church at Planned Parenthood needs some educating about the real holocaust, since there's no comparison between women getting safe and legal abortions, and Hitler killing six million Jews. 

The web site also says The Worship is Non-Confrontational Spiritual Warfare. Apparently the Proud Boys weren't told about the non-confrontational part, just the warfare part, since two of them were arrested for assault and disorderly conduct at the Awakening Ministries/Church of Planned Parenthood "worship service."

(The third Proud Boy reportedly was charged with Robbery in the Second Degree, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and Theft in the First Degree.)

By the way, Awakening Ministries is a sponsor of Salem Awakening, which has been using the original amphitheater at Riverfront Park without a permit for its summer gatherings. 

A citation finally has been issued by the City of Salem after citizen activist Jim Scheppke kept complaining about the permit-less worship services. Sure, Jesus didn't need a permit for his preaching, but he wasn't doing his thing in a public park, so far as I know.

I've enjoyed comments people have been leaving on the Awakening Ministries web site about their repeated permit infractions. 

 

Two reports of how Broadway Coffee House/Commons discriminates against LGBT people

Someone contacted me about a year ago about how the Broadway Coffee House here in Salem refuses to allow gay people to be employees, because the business is controlled by the Salem Alliance Church.

As you can read below, the pastor of the church believes this gives them a religious license to discriminate, sort of like how Agent 007 had a license to kill, even though under normal circumstances this is illegal. 

According to the Oregon State Bar, it is legal for religiously affiliated businesses to engage in discrimination against LGBT people. But this doesn't make it right.

Here's what the person who contacted me, who wanted to remain anonymous, said. I recall that this message came through Facebook after I'd written a blog post about how Hobby Lobby mixes religion with its business practices. 

I saw your post about hobby lobby, so I think I feel comfortable sharing more ...the "business" I am referring to is Broadway Coffee house. Turns out it is not an actual business and all proceeds go to pay church staff and support the church ministries of Salem Alliance Church .

Seems like something the public should be aware of, especially since I was told gay people would not be able to work there

Yes. I met with the head pastor a year ago to confirm that it was true . The pastor told me that the baristas are church staff and have to be employees of the church and follow church rules to work there . He also said that they do not need to follow non discrimination laws because they are an outreach ministry...not a licensed business. I think the general public should know this.

It feels very underhanded to keep that info from consumers. Myself and about 40 others who live around the coffee shop have been boycotting Broadway for over a year now . We just want them to put up a sign that says the coffee shop supports the ministry of the church and is not an equal opportunity employer. If they do that, we will end the boycott.

Today, the Statesman Journal ran a letter to the editor that made a similar point about how the Broadway Commons, which contains the Broadway Coffee House, discriminates against LGBT people because it is owned by the Salem Alliance Church.

Though Scott Rick focuses on not allowing same-gender couples to marry, I noted that he uses the phrase "discriminating against LGBT members of our community in various ways," implying there are other ways discrimination is happening -- such as not allowing LGBT people to work at the Broadway Coffee House. 

Here's the letter.

Boycotting Salem meeting place sends message discrimination won't be tolerated

By serving as a gathering place for the community, Broadway Commons is a major asset to Salem.

Unfortunately, the owners of Broadway Commons, Salem Alliance Church, are actively discriminating against LGBT members of our community in various ways, including refusing to allow same-gender couples to marry.

Religious freedom is sacred, but when any organization discriminates, we have an obligation to take action to bring an end to such discrimination.

In years past, the Bible was used to justify slavery and opposition to civil rights for African Americans. By discriminating against the LGBT community, Salem Alliance Church is continuing that unfortunate tradition.

Refusing to allow same-gender couples to marry is no different than refusing to allow interracial couples to marry.

By boycotting Broadway Commons, we can send a clear message that discrimination is not tolerated in our community.

Many private and governmental organizations use Broadway Commons for meetings. If you are invited to a meeting at Broadway Commons, please consider letting the meeting organizer know that you cannot attend due to the discriminatory practices of the Salem Alliance Church.

Scott Rick
Salem

Rick's call for a boycott of Broadway Commons, which includes the Broadway Coffee House, should be seriously considered by those in Salem who reject discrimination for any reason, including religious. 

I've never understood why our country tolerates discrimination in the name of religion when the same behavior is illegal for non-religious people to engage in.

What's next, allowing religious people to drive drunk if this is part of their belief system? Allowing anyone with a hateful belief system to discriminate? Why should a collective discriminatory belief system be treated differently than an individual discriminatory belief system?

The City of Salem has held a number of meetings at the Broadway Commons.

But recently public meeting for the Downtown Streetscape and Our Salem projects have been held elsewhere. It'd be good to know if this was because of the Broadway Commons' discrimination policy against LGBTQ members of the Salem community.

If so, great. Kudos to the City of Salem.

If not, then the City of Salem and other government agencies should make it a policy to never hold meetings at the Broadway Commons until the Salem Alliance Church starts acting in the name of love, not discrimination, like religious organizations are supposed to do.

"Jesus loves strippers" sign gets Salem hot and bothered

Over on the Salem Community Vision Facebook page, a post about this illegal sign has gotten a lot of attention.  

The sign is in the public right of way, which violates the City of Salem sign ordinance. So I'm wondering if Jesus loves illegal signs. Here's what the Salem Community Vision post said.

THIS IS WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU DON'T ENFORCE THE CITY SIGN CODE
There are hundreds of illegal temporary signs in the public right of way all over Salem, but this one on Mission Street really takes the cake!

The signs proliferate because for years now the City has stopped enforcing our sign code which prohibits temporary signs in the ROW [right of way]. When small businesses see signs in the ROW all over town, they think its okay. It's not. It's a blight and an embarrassment. Out of towners must think we're a bunch of yahoos who don't give a damn about the appearance of Oregon's capital city.

Do you suppose we could do something about this before we get thousands of visitors for the eclipse in August? How about a volunteer enforcement brigade? We'd send a message: Don't Mess With Salem.

I totally agreed with these sentiments.

My next thoughts were these: (1) asking drivers to "honk if you agree" about anything seems stupid, especially when no one is around to hear the honking (does Jesus also love honking?), and (2) what the heck is PoleGems?

It turns out that this group aims "to support, empower, and equip people working in all facets of adult entertainment, and victims of sex trafficking, to live healthy, flourishing lives."

Well, that sounds good -- aside from the question of why PoleGems seemingly feels the need to butt into the lives of everybody who works in the adult entertainment industry, regardless of whether they feel the need for support, empowerment, and equipment to live healthy, flourishing lives.

A bit of browsing around the PoleGems web site and Facebook page led to a rather obvious conclusion: PoleGems is out to proselytize in the name of their Jesus who supposedly loves strippers.

[Note: I don't believe in God or in any religion. So trying to convert people to Christianity or any other supernatural fantasy strikes me as a waste of time. But I also believe in freedom of expression, so long as it isn't coercive. Along that line, I suspect that many, if not most, workers in the adult entertainment industry view PoleGems as I view Jehovah's Witnesses: people who deserve to hear "No, thanks, not interested."]

Here's a few excerpts from the PoleGems web site:

We have a great team of volunteers at POLE Gems. We are all committed to furthering the mission of Christ by assisting women and men who are involved in the sex industry. We believe that God has called us to this particular field and love to see Him working in the lives of those we serve.

...We have many opportunities to get connected with POLE Gems. First, pray! Our ministry would not be as successful as it is without the covering of prayer from our many supporters! Our volunteers gather once a month to go into the clubs with gifts and love for the staff and dancers.

And the PoleGems Facebook page talks about their connection with Strip Church in Las Vegas.

Strip Church serves, teaches and equips women who share a heart and calling to reach out into clubs. We provide 2-3 Training Conferences each year, developing 20-30 people each time. These leaders are trained to do strip club ministry in their cities across the U.S. Our Strip Church Network is supported through monthly training conference calls, resources, networked websites, blogs, prayer, and branded materials to use inside the clubs.

OK. Like I said, this is a free country.

Christians are free to proselytize in overt and covert ways. Bringing gift bags to women who work in strip clubs and befriending them in hopes they will come to Jesus (and leave the adult entertainment industry) is a totally legal thing to do. 

Personally, though, I feel that Christian efforts to bring people back to the "straight and narrow" would be better served by visiting the head offices of large money-sucking corporations, especially those in the fossil fuel industries that are wrecking our planet. 

I realize that some of the workers in strip clubs are taken advantage of and need help. But so do workers in many other industries, which leads me to suspect that the zeal of PoleGems is founded more in a moralistic judgement that strip clubs are evil, than in a desire to help the most afflicted American workers.

Regardless... let's get back to the illegal sign.

It really is illegal, as Salem Community Vision pointed out to the executive director of PoleGems, Cynthia Shaver -- who commented on the Facebook post, saying she was just trying to draw attention to a July 4 fundraiser and didn't know the sign violated a City ordinance.

Regardless of the content and your good intentions, this sign is illegal. It's in the public right of way. You could be fined $2,000 a day if the City enforced their code. You need to move it back from the street (behind the sidewalk) and then it will be legal. Do it now please. Repect the law.

Disturbingly, even after Shaver was told about the prohibition on temporary signs in the public right of way (which includes the area between a sidewalk and a street), she persisted in her belief that it was OK for the large illegal PoleGems sign to remain standing.

It seems strange to me that a "good Christian" would knowingly flaunt the law, especially when her group is dedicated to helping people who they consider might be at risk of getting involved in illegal activities.

My proud atheism may be speaking here, but I often find that religious people are annoyingly sure that whatever they're doing in the "name of God" is beyond reproach. In this case, PoleGems needs to realize that they are violating the City of Salem temporary sign ordinance.

The fact that many other businesses and organizations also are in violation of the ordinance is no excuse. If PoleGems wants people in Salem to believe that they are out to do the right thing for people in this town, they should start acting like good citizens.

Tear down this sign!, Ms. Shaver. (To kind of quote Ronald Reagan.)