SALEM, Mass. —It’s a hot summer night, and leaders of the Satanic Temple have gathered in the crimson­-walled living room of a Victorian manse in this city renowned for its witch trials in the 17th century. They’re watching a sepia-toned video, in which children dance around a maypole, a spider crawls across a clown’s face and eerie, ambient chanting gives way to a backward, demonic voice-over. The group chuckles with approval.

They’re here plotting to bring their wisdom to the nation’s public elementary school children. They point out that Christian evangelical groups already have infiltrated the lives of America’s children through after-school religious programming in public schools, and they appear determined to give young students a choice: Jesus or Satan.

“It’s critical that children understand that there are multiple perspectives on all issues, and that they have a choice in how they think,” said Doug Mesner, the Satanic Temple’s co-founder.

On Monday, the group plans to introduce its After School Satan Club to public elementary schools, including one in Prince George’s County, petitioning school officials to allow them to open immediately as the academic year starts. Chapter heads from New York, Boston, Utah and Arizona were in Salem on July 10 talking strategy, with others from Minneapolis, Detroit, San Jose, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Florida participating online. The promotional video, which feels like a mash-up of a horror movie trailer and a “Saturday Night Live” sketch, will serve to promote the new club along with its website — Afterschoolsatan.com.

The Satanic Temple — which has been offering tongue-in-cheek support for the fallen angel in public arenas that have embraced prayer and parochial ceremonies — is bringing its fight over constitutional separation of church and state to the nation’s schools.

But the group’s plan for public schoolchildren isn’t actually about promoting worship of the devil. The Satanic Temple doesn’t espouse a belief in the existence of a supernatural being that other religions identify solemnly as Satan, or Lucifer, or Beelzebub. The Temple rejects all forms of supernaturalism and is committed to the view that scientific rationality provides the best measure of reality.

According to Mesner, who goes by the professional name of Lucien Greaves, “Satan” is just a “metaphorical construct” intended to represent the rejection of all forms of tyranny over the human mind.

The curriculum for the proposed after-school clubs emphasizes the development of reasoning and social skills. The group says meetings will include a healthful snack, literature lesson, creative learning activities, a science lesson, puzzle solving and an art project. Every child will receive a membership card and must have a signed parental­ permission slip to attend.

“We think it’s important for kids to be able to see multiple points of view, to reason things through, to have empathy and feelings of benevolence for their fellow human beings,” said the Satanic Temple’s Utah chapter head, who goes by the name Chalice Blythe.

Lucien Greaves stands outside a courthouse in Salem, Mass. (Josh Reynolds/For The Washington Post)
The emphasis on multiple perspectives is a hint pointing to the Temple’s true foe. The group at first intends to roll out the clubs in a limited number of schools in districts that also host an evangelical Christian after-school program known as the Good News Club.

Good News Clubs, which are sponsored by an organization founded in 1937 called the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), aim to reach children as young as 5 with a fundamentalist form of evangelical Christianity. For most of their history, Good News Clubs were largely excluded from public schools out of concern that their presence would violate the Constitution.

In 2001, in a case that commanded the resources of powerful legal advocacy groups on the religious right, including the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Liberty Counsel, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that to exclude an after-school program on account of the religious views of its sponsors amounted to a violation of free-speech rights. The CEF then went on a tear, and by 2011, it reported 3,560 Good News Clubs, putting them in more than 5 percent of the nation’s public elementary schools.

The Satanic Temple makes no secret of its desire to use that same approach.
“We would like to thank the Liberty Counsel specifically for opening the doors to the After School Satan Clubs through their dedication to religious liberty,” Greaves explained to the gathering of chapter heads in Salem. “So, ‘the Satanic Temple leverages religious freedom laws that put after-school clubs in elementary schools nationwide.’ That’s going to be the message.” Sign up

Source: An After School Satan Club could be coming to your kid’s elementary school – The Washington Post

Erotic members-only club Snctm — LA’s exclusive “theater of sexuality” — is bringing its “Eyes Wide Shut” parties to New York City and the Hamptons.The private club, which holds monthly erotic parties in the Holmby Hills neighborhood, will start a quarterly party in Manhattan during Fashion Week on Sept. 10.Snctm club owner Damon Lawner is now scouting for locations in New York, and tells us he is looking for a private townhouse or a loft for his members, who he says include A-list actors, models, top lawyers and CEOs of public companies. Lawner also plans to throw a party in a discreet mansion in the Hamptons on Sept. 16. Snctm ClubLawner told Page Six of his parties — which have been profiled on Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop and are the subject of an upcoming HBO doc — “Guests have to be masked when they enter the party; men wear tuxes and women wear elegant gowns or lingerie; but after midnight, masks and other items of clothing fall off. The first few hours are about mystique and intrigue. This is not a sex party — it is erotic theater. We have performances. Some just watch while others want to indulge.”

He continued, “I have never been to a swingers party or a sex party. What interests me is the conversation about sexuality and the artistry of erotica. It’s all consensual.”Lawner, who refuses to name any of his clients, said memberships start at $10,000 and go up to $50,000 for “Dominus members.” He explained, “There are true A-list actors and businesspeople who attend, some who have a hard time leaving the house without being chased by the paparazzi. They prefer to remove their masks in the Dominus chambers. It is a safer place for them.”Lawner personally screens each member application. He said, “The last party, we had over 1,000 applicants on our Web site for 100 places. People send photos and describe their fantasies. I don’t want a room full of bankers, actors or models. I curate each party carefully.” But when asked if a Page Six reporter could ever be permitted inside, he answered, “Definitely not.”

Source: A-list Hollywood sex club is coming to New York | Page Six

Foreign ministers from France and Germany presented the radical proposals to do away with individual member states’ armies, criminal law systems and central banks, it has been reported.

The blueprint suggests the 27 states in the bloc would also lose what is left of their paltry powers to control their own borders, including the procedure for admitting and relocation refugees, according to reports by Polish media.

Instead all powers would be transferred to Brussels under the controversial plans.

In a foreword to the nine-page report seen by the Daily Express, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault said: “Our countries share a common destiny and a common set of values… that give rise to an even closer union between our citizens.

“We will therefore strive for a political union in Europe and invite the next Europeans to participate in this venture.”

The plans have been branded an “ultimatum” designed to create a European “superstate dominated by large nations” by Polish state broadcaster TVP.
Poland’s foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski said: “This is not a good solution, of course, because from the time the EU was invented a lot has changed.

“The mood in European societies is different. Europe and our voters do not want to give the Union over into the hands of technocrats.”

Poland had always been an ally of the UK’s when it came to fighting creeping federalism in the EU.

The spectre of an EU army was raised by Brexiteers as a reason to quit the EU. In the wake of a vote for Brexit, EU chiefs have been more brazen about their desire to form and EU army.

In a document titled ‘EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy’, Europe’s chief diplomat said the Brussels bloc must be able to “repel, to respond and to protect”.

While the paper stops short of explicitly calling for an EU army, it does suggest its members should work more closely on defence matters.

The paper states: “We, as Europeans, need to take on a greater responsibility for our own security.

“We need to be ready and able to repel, respond and to protect ourselves against aggression, provocations and destabilisation.”

Source: EU unveils plans for ‘giant superstate’ just days after Britain voted Brexit – The Sun

China warned people to be aware of what it said are nefarious motives of the Dalai Lama after he met with Lady Gaga on a trip to the U.S. and spoke about love and compassion.
“The purpose of his visits and activities in other countries is just to promote his proposal for Tibetan independence,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Monday.

Beijing regularly vilifies the Tibetans’ spiritual leader as a political figure who advocates splitting the Himalayan region of Tibet from the rest of China. The Dalai Lama says he simply wants a higher degree of autonomy under Chinese rule.

On Sunday, before speaking at a conference in Indianapolis of American mayors, he met Lady Gaga.

The official website of the office of the Dalai Lama reported that Lady Gaga interviewed him in an exchange streamed live over Facebook. The singer asked how to help young people with self-esteem issues or who harm themselves and he said “paying more attention to inner values like love and compassion are the right approach.”

Asked about the Dalai Lama’s meeting with Lady Gaga, Hong said: “We hope that people from the international community can be fully aware of his true colors and nature.”

The Dalai Lama also met with President Barack Obama two weeks ago, drawing condemnation from China.

Source: After Dalai Lama met Lady Gaga, China warns of his motives | Page Six

Gary J. Byrne has devoted his life to serving his country, and risked it to do the same — as a member of the US Air Force, a uniformed White House Secret Service officer, and a federal air marshal.

And he believes it is his patriotic duty to do anything he can to prevent Hillary Clinton from becoming president of the United States.

As someone who guarded the Oval Office during the Clinton presidency, Byrne, in an exclusive interview with The Post, tells how he witnessed “the Clinton machine leaving a wake of destruction in just about everything they do.”

He says he has also seen Hillary’s “dangerous,” abusive, paranoid behavior.“It’s like hitting yourself with a hammer every day,” Byrne, pounding a fist into his open hand, says of the former first lady’s explosive anger.

In his new book, “Crisis of Character: A White House Secret Service Officer Discloses His Firsthand Experience with Hillary, Bill, and How They Operate,” out Tuesday, Byrne makes no apologies for his anti-Clinton motivations.“ 

‘America first’ is in my blood,” he writes, sounding very similar to another presidential hopeful.

TriggerByrne says he wants Americans to “vote [their] conscience,” but pledges to make sure “they have all the information that they need.

”For one, he thinks the Clintons’ own behavior bred an immoral White House culture.

Byrne revealed to The Post during the interview that Clinton staffers used cocaine on the job.

“There were some drug issues,” Byrne says. “Some people would come in to work in the morning, and they were barely walking, they would drop stuff off at the office, and go to the restroom where they would come out minutes later happy as a clown.”

He also exposes the “jogging list” for the first time.

“In the beginning of his first administration, when President Clinton was jogging outside, women who were dressed as if they were going clubbing or working out, started showing up at the southeast gate,” Byrne explains. “The agents . . . would get the women’s names, and run them to see who they were. If the women wouldn’t cooperate, they would be ushered out of the jogging group.

“Agents … insinuated that this list was used by President Clinton to try to meet these women,” Byrne says.

The book details how the president had as many as three mistresses during the same time period, including former Vice President Walter Mondale’s daughter, Eleanor, whom Byrne once discovered “making out on the Map Room table” with Bill Clinton.

What bothered Byrne more than the infidelity was the way Bill Clinton programmed the entire White House to accommodate his cheating ways.
Hillary, meanwhile, was a human minefield. The Secret Service was convinced Hillary posed a physical threat to her husband, and even gave him a black eye, Byrne writes.

She also cursed out her security detail, and she and Bill would often try to evade the Secret Service, making it difficult to protect them and putting agents at greater risk, Byrne says.

Modal Trigger
Bill and Hillary Clinton in 1999.Photo: Getty Images
But what sticks most in Byrne’s mind is the personal destruction the Clintons wrought in his own life — the fear and turmoil he had to endure as authorities subpoenaed and harassed him as they investigated the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

It all could have been avoided, Byrne maintains, if Bill Clinton had simply told the truth.

Byrne’s revelations have come under fire recently, with some critics doubting he had the access to the Clintons he claims he had, and that his book details do not align exactly with his testimony to prosecutors nearly two decades ago.

Hillary Clinton’s spokesman has ripped the book, telling Page Six: “Gary Byrne joins the ranks of Ed Klein and other ‘authors’ in this latest in a long line of books attempting to cash in on the election cycle with their nonsense. It should be put in the fantasy section of the bookstore.”
“I know what the public image of the Clintons is and I know what the real image is. And the real one’s dangerous.”
– Former Secret Service agent Gary Byrne

“Anybody who asserts that what I’m saying is not true,” Byrne says, his voice cracking with emotion, “they don’t know any better or they’re flat-out lying.”
Yet, he confesses, “I’m not completely comfortable telling the story, but I am telling it.”

He says a number of people could vouch for his access, including George Stephanopoulos, the former Bill Clinton communications director; John Podesta, Hillary’s campaign chairman, who worked in the Clinton White House; and Jennifer Palmieri, Hillary Clinton’s current campaign communications director, who worked near Byrne in the White House.

As for his testimony during the Ken Starr investigation, Byrne — who never signed a non-disclosure agreement with the Secret Service — says at the time he gave narrow answers to specific questions, as instructed.

“[I]f my testimony wasn’t true, I would end up doing seven years,” he says.

To prove he’s being truthful, he says, he’s willing to undergo a polygraph test — if Hillary takes one too.

Byrne says he is not committed to Donald Trump, despite sharing his slogans.

“The only thing I’ve ever heard about Donald Trump,” says Byrne, “was that he built a lot of buildings and he gave a lot of money away to charity.”

But, he says, he will never vote for a Clinton.

“I know what the public image of the Clintons is and I know what the real image is,” he says. “And the real one’s dangerous.”

Source: Clinton White House was den of coke, mistresses: ex-Secret Service officer | New York Post

Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the house says the Establishment see’s Donald Trump as a threat because, “He’s an outsider. He’s not part of the club. He’s uncontrollable. Hasn’t been through the initiation rites. He didn’t belong to the secret society.”

Source: Newt Gingrich says Donald Trump not part of secret societies “Hasn’t been through initiation rites” | Alternative

In the wake of the deadly Orlando terrorist attack, radio icon Howard Stern spent part of his Wednesday program berating those calling for gun control as the way to prevent further carnage in the future.
“I’m so upset about Orlando and what went down,” Stern said, “but I can’t believe these people would come out afterward and their answer to Orlando is to take away guns from the public. It’s f***ing mindblowing to me.”
Howard Stern in New York March 24.

Stern then illustrated his point with an analogy equating the public to sheep, the terrorists to wolves and the military and police as sheepdogs. And even as Stern humorously imitated a generally passive, sheep-like populace with bleating noises — baaaa — his analogy was chilling at a deeper level.

“Now, let’s say I walked up literally to a sheep herd, and they know that every night the wolves pick off a couple of them,” Stern said. “What if I went up to the sheep and I said, ‘You wanna have a shot at the wolves? I’m gonna give you a pistol. You can actually even the playing field with these wolves whose fangs are out — you could shoot them and save your family.’”

Stern then took on the role of the passive sheep: “Well, baaaa. We’re not gonna do that. We don’t want to fight baaaack. He didn’t hurt uuuus. He only hurt the family down the streeet. And the shepherd will protect us, the sheepdogs are out there, they’ll protect us.”

Stern’s hypothetical reply? “Well, the sheepdogs are protecting you, but some of them can’t be with you all day. There’s not a sheepdog for every citizen, and a wolf is still eating one of you every night.”

Against that backdrop, Stern continued the analogy with the sheep insisting on their guns being taken away as a way to protect themselves:

Now, why would the sheep — baaaa — say, “Oh, we’ve got an answer to all the terrorism, all these bad wolves that are coming after us. We’ll hand in all our guns. We’re gonna hand ‘em in. Baaaa. You know who’ll protect us? The government. Or the police. Baaaa.”

Stern then declared — now out of sheep mode — “That’s a baaaad f***ing idea.”

“I don’t like violence — I don’t like any of this stuff — but I consider myself a sheep, and I want the police to protect me. I support the police. And I want the government to protect me,” he explained. “But guess what? Most of your politicians … all have private security. … So they’re OK. Those are sheep that are very well protected. You on the other hand, you’re a sitting duck.”

“If you’re a sitting duck,” he asked, “do you want a fighting chance or not?”

“I’m not for taking away people’s rights. I’m not,” Stern continued. “I think the answer doesn’t lie in taking any kind of ability of the sheep to protect themselves from the wolves. I really don’t. I wish it was that simple.”

“In France they’ve done it very effectively,” he added, “the population is not armed — but unfortunately the wolves are.”Check out the full segment below. (Content warning: Strong language):

Source: Howard Stern Dismantles Calls for Gun Control After Orlando Attack With Chilling ‘Sheep’ and ‘Wolves’ Analogy | TheBlaze.com

Critics are blasting a YouTube star from Staten Island who created a video posted a day after the Orlando massacre that he claimed was meant to gauge people’s reactions to an “Islamic” terrorist compared to a “Christian” one.

The video by Joseph Saladino, known by fans as Joey Salads, shows a man in traditional Arab garb yelling “Allahu akbar!” – meaning “God is great!” – as he throws a silver case at people’s feet.

Their horrified reactions are in stark contrast to those of folks seeing a man wearing a T-shirt and jeans doing the same thing while shouting “Praise Jesus!”

“This isn’t a social experiment, this is stupidity in its purest form,” YouTube user Kurt Arevalo posted.

The video’s “likes” and “dislikes” function was eventually turned off the offending video — which has been viewed more than 670,000 times — after the backlash about the stereotypical depiction.

“You’re doing this at a time where people are still mourning. It hasn’t even (been) a week, but let me get these views up and make some money,” PharmD2be1 wrote.

Salads, whose real name is Joseph Saladino, 22, according to SILive.com, defended the video.“Seems people are disliking before understanding the concept of this video. This video shouldn’t offend anyone, it simply opens up a dialogue to a tragedy. This video will raise questions to why certain things happen, watch the WHOLE video to understand,” he claimed.

He gave a mea culpa on Facebook.

“I apologize if it was too soon cause of the Orlando Shooting, but I had this video filmed for months and I figured now is a relevant time for this topic of discussion,” he wrote.

“It was not an attack on Islam, I was comparing how people react to Islam Extremists vs Christian Extremists. Key word EXTREMISTS, not ALL,” he added.

Source: YouTube star posts terror spoof day after Orlando massacre | New York Post

PARIS (AP) — Some 20 police officers and 6 protesters were injured in Paris Tuesday as demonstrators protesting a contested French labor reform threw projectiles at police officers, who responded with tear gas.

Seven unions and student organizations planned the protests against the proposed law to loosen labor rules which saw crowds in central Paris swell into the tens of thousands.

Paris police official Johanna Primevert said that in addition to the 26 injured, some 21 people were detained during the day’s action against the law that is being debated in the Senate.

Protesters set out from southeast Paris heading for the Invalides plaza.Street protests also took place in other parts of France and rail workers and taxi drivers were on strike.In Paris, the Eiffel Tower was closed Tuesday because the operators said they could not guarantee public safety and taxi drivers temporarily blocked some of the city’s main access roads in the morning.In a separate protest, Air France pilots were striking to demand better working conditions. About 20 percent of all Air France’s flights were canceled, according to the company.At the Eiffel Tower, an electronic board was indicating “Monument closed – National strike.””That’s a shame for tourists because we didn’t just come for the Euros but also the sightseeing,” said Petlev Schultz, a German tourist who came to Paris to attend the European soccer tournament.”We’ve found out there are strikes everywhere,” he added. “We are looking into finding ways to still experience the beautiful city.”

Source: News from The Associated Press

The ex-wife of Orlando mass killer Omar Mateen claimed Monday that she believed he was homosexual — as it was revealed that he frequented the gay nightclub where he staged the nation’s worst massacre in modern times.Sitora Yusufiy, who was married to Mateen in 2009 for three months, made the shocking claim on Brazilian television station SBT Brazil.Her fiancé, Marco Dias, speaking in Portuguese on her behalf, said Yusufiy believed that Mateen had “gay tendencies” and that his father had called him gay in front of her. Dias also claimed “the FBI asked her not to tell this to the American media.”

Source: Ex-wife’s bombshell claim: Club shooter was gay | New York Post

The 2016 presidential election will soon have its first official party nominee. Not Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. But a Libertarian. The Libertarian National Convention is set for Memorial Day weekend in Orlando, and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is hoping to emerge as the party’s nominee for president. Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson talks to Johnson about his platform, and the viability of a third party candidacy in 2016.Interview Highlights: Gary JohnsonDo you really think you can win the presidency?”I wouldn’t be doing it if that weren’t a possibility but the only possibility that a third party has of winning is to be in the presidential debates. I think significant is the fact that as a third party Libertarian Party is going to be on the ballot in all 50 states. So when you talk about a third party, as the Libertarian nominee, and I hope to be the Libertarian nominee, I’m gonna be the only third party guy on the ballot in all 50 states.”What case would you make to libertarians to consider you as the nominee?“Personally I think I’ve got a really unique package. I’ve been an entrepreneur my entire life, I did serve two terms as governor of New Mexico in a state that’s heavily democratic. I made a name for myself being really a penny pincher. Just being austere with funds. Made a name for myself vetoing legislation, I may have vetoed more legislation than the other 49 governors in the country combined.”So you look at vetoing a bunch of legislation as a badge of honor?”Well, yes, from the standpoint, if at the end of the day all that the legislation does is add time and money to our lives, really is it political? Or, really does it just end up adding time and money?”Why did you pick former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld as your running mate?”I am just ecstatic beyond belief. As governor of New Mexico, we intersected as governors. And Bill was the smartest guy in the room. I held him up as a role model. What he was doing, very simply, was just what I tried to do. Just bring a common sense approach to everything that was going on. And of course getting elected two terms in Massachusetts. And being a self-declared Republican-Libertarian, standing up for gay rights, standing up for a woman’s right to choose, saying that he supported medical marijuana, at that time, and I’m talking about the mid-’90s, that that should have done him in as the potential ambassador to Mexico. I looked at him as my plight within the Republican Party. And the fact that he wants to do this, I just, it’s unbelievable. It’s beyond my wildest dreams.”On the legalization of marijuana and the war on drugs:”It’s an issue that everybody focuses on because in 1999 I was the highest elected official in the United States to call for the legalization of marijuana. I think that was good news in ’99. Bad news is in 2016 I’m still the highest elected official to call for the legalization of marijuana. Though I guess Bernie Sanders has now embraced this in his running for president, which is great. I mean to bring awareness to this.””The war on drugs is insane and it has resulted in my opinion… it’s at the root of Black Lives Matter, it’s at the root of why police forces have militarized themselves, it’s at the root of why we have the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world.””I am not advocating the legalization of other drugs. But starting off at looking at other drugs, and decriminalizing drug use is really a good start. These are health issues, these are not criminal justice issues.”On immigration:”It’s an issue that really has its roots in just misunderstanding, just misinformation. Look, let’s embrace immigration for what it is. It’s really a good thing. We’re a country of immigrants. We should make it as easy as possible for somebody that wants to come into this country and work to be able to get a work visa. And a work visa should entail a background check and a social security card that applicable taxes get paid. They are the cream of the crop when it comes to workers. They’re not murderers and rapists. Statistically they commit far less crime than U.S. citizens.”Do you have a problem with people who have come over illegally?”Well, they shouldn’t have, but they have. So there needs to be a process whereby the 11 million that are here right now can basically show up and get a work visa immediately if they’ve been law abiding for the time that they’ve spent in the United States.”On taxes:”I think we should simplify the tax system. I’m going to sign onto everything that reduces taxes. But ideally we would have reform of the tax system that would eliminate income tax, corporate tax, because we would do that, we could also abolish the IRS. And we can replace it with one federal consumption tax.”On national security:”If we’re attacked, we should attack back. But I am a real skeptic when it comes to our military interventions. I think our military intervention, that would be boots on the ground, that would be dro

Source: Looking For A Third Party Candidate? Meet Gary Johnson, Libertarian | Here & Now