News round up - April 30th

The news you may have missed:

• The State Journal-Register reports that a proposed tax in Illinois on sugary beverages "may be falling flat" with legislators. When news of this proposed tax first surfaced, I offered my thoughts on it: a foolish bill that, if passed, would simply backfire.

• President Obama told a gathering of Malaysian youth yesterday that "the world is less violent, it is healthier, it is wealthier, it is more tolerant and it offers more opportunity than any time in human history for more people than any time in human history." If you live in the Middle East or in Africa, you probably haven't noticed a less violent world. You won't have noticed a healthier world if you life in the U.S.A. where childhood obesity continues to rise, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control earlier this month. Likewise, the poor of the world aren't getting any wealthier and Christians throughout the world remain the most persecuted people in a more tolerant world, and face growing persecution besides as John L. Allen, Jr. has recently demonstrated in his book, The Global War on Christianity.

•  Bryan Singer, the director of the forthcoming X-Men movie called a lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a minor some years ago "a sick, twisted, shakedown."

•  After he quoted Sir Winston Churchill in reference to Islam, Paul Weston, who ran for political office, was arrested for racially aggravated crime.

• Tens of thousands of Hungarians marched on Sunday in protest to the growing anti-Semitism in Hungary after the Jobbik party recently won 21% of the national vote.

• Doctors in Britain who object to "any form of contraception" because of their conscience are no longer eligible for specialization as obstetricians or gynecologists. Roman Catholics are particular singled out. In all likelihood, we will see this soon in the U.S.A., as well.

News round up - April 22nd

Here are several news stories you may have missed:

• At least 9 people were killed and 35 people were wounded (including 5 children) in Chicago of the Easter weekend.

• The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - a.k.a. Obamacare - may be responsible for a drop in sales at the Quincy Mall.

• Kenneth and Helen Felumlees were married for 70 years and died 15 hours apart. Not that long ago, doctors would have said that Kenneth, who died after Helen, died of a broken heart.

• Government waste is worse than you thought: The Department of Health and Human Services has spends $123.2 million each year on e-mail for its employees.

• Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood whom President Obama asked God to bless, called for "no more babies" because it is "more practical and more humane" for women not to have babies. And still people support Planned Parenthood.

• More than 50% of babies in France and Sweden are born to unborn mothers; in the U.S., 41% of babies are born to unwed mothers. The percentage is better, but it is still far from good.

•  The Prime Minister of Great Britain, David Cameron, has been accused of fostering divisions after he called Britain a "Christian country." Similar accusations will soon be made within the United States of America.

•  Two school districts in Illinois are being sued for failing to protect a child from sexual abuse.

• Michael Egan, previously a child actor, has filed lawsuits alleging sexual abuse when he was a minor against director Brian Singer and Garth Ancier, Gary Goddard, and David Neuman. Egan says there is a "sex ring" in Hollywood through which minors are abused. You may recall that Corey Feldman made the same claim some years ago. Egan says additional lawsuits will be filed in the coming weeks.

Child sexual abuse: It's not just a Catholic problem

The other day Deacon Kandra linked to an article by the Los Angeles Times about pedophilia in Hollywood (with my emphases and comments):

Advocates and professionals who work with victims of child sexual abuse say predators exploit the glittery lure of Hollywood to prey on aspiring actors or models. They assert that the problem is more widespread than the industry is willing to acknowledge and have called for tougher laws and better screening of those who represent or work with children (where is the author's - and society's - outrage about this?).

"Unlike other settings, such as Little League, Scouts, day care and school volunteers, where adults who have unsupervised access to children are required to comply with fingerprinting requirements, there are no such standards in the entertainment industry (this is simply shocking and inexcusable)," said Paula Dorn, co-founder of the BizParentz Foundation, a nonprofit group for families of child actors.
.... 

The recent arrests prompted a bill, expected to be filed this month with the California Assembly, that would require licensing and criminal background checks for those who work with actors under age 16 (why is the age not under 18, so as to cover work with all minors?  Clearly, Hollywood has learned nothing from what the Church has done). It would prohibit registered sex offenders from serving as child managers, photographers, career counselors or publicists.Experts say addressing the problem is overdue. 

.... 

"This is just like the Catholic Church pretending that priests never molested people in the past," said Dr. Daniel D. Broughton, a pediatrician at the Mayo Clinic and expert on child sexual abuse. "What's surprising to me is why it hasn't come out even stronger and sooner."

Dr. Broughton is right: it's very surprising and inexcusable that this scourge in Hollywood has not yet been addressed, particularly considering the news stories that circulated when Corey Feldman described pedophilia as "Hollywood's biggest problem" in August of 2011.  Curiously, Feldman was not mentioned in the LA Times' article.

Carl Olson isn't surprised that Hollywood has until now done nothing to address the scourge of the sexual abuse of childen:

Part of the problem is obvious: journalists and writers who cover Hollywood rely on connections and relationships with insiders to get scoops, exclusive information and special access. That means, um, cozying up to those who control the doors and corridors of Tinsil Town. Researching stories on abuse, molestation, and related evils surely raises red flags on the part of those with a vested interest in keeping such filth under wraps. There has been much written over the years about the secrecy and stonewalling within the Catholic Church. But that is hardly a trademark of Catholics; covering up sin is the natural instinct of sinners who refuse to admit their sins. The surprise, really, is that any sane person might think Hollywood is somehow free and clear of such sickness.