Infant fatality sparks new Followers case

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Story Published: Sep 29, 2009 at 12:28 PM PDT

Story Updated: Sep 29, 2009 at 6:06 PM PDT

By Thom Jensen, Dan Tilkin KATU News and KATU.com Staff

........Video

Ava the Innocent

(m.shifflett)

When little Ava was finally still,

Her kin could rest  assured-

She was in a better place,

Her departure

Was only God’s Will

No doctor was ever to be found

She went poorly, tumbled down

Faiths Wrath

When the choice wasn’t even hers

Prayers, Oils, , and Penance

When the Cure was plain to both

Ava ,the still innocent

Suffered (from) mad oaths

She held on to her blanket

No protection from what’s to come

And with wonder in her eyes

Never Realized, No Healing had begun

When little Ava was finally still,

Her kin could rest  assured-

She was in a better place,

Her departure

Was only God’s Will

“If we are going to teach creation science as an alternative to evolution, then we should also teach the stork theory as an alternative to biological reproduction.”—Judith Hayes, Author- “In God We Trust, - but Which One?

"It is unbelievable to us that this is still a really hot potato in America. There's still a great belief that He made the world in six days. It's quite difficult for us in the UK. to imagine religion in America.We live in a country which is no longer so religious. But in the US., outside of New York, and LA, religion rules..

--Jeremy Thomas, Producer of the film “Creation”

Charles Darwin film 'too controversial for religious America....'

A British film about Charles Darwin has failed to find a US. distributor because his theory of evolution is too controversial for American audiences, according to its producer.

....Ore..... faith-healing pair acquitted of manslaughter

....OREGON CITY.., ..Ore..... — An Oregon couple who relied on prayer instead of medical care were acquitted of manslaughter Thursday in the death of their 15-month-old daughter

    The prosecution said Ava Worthington failed to flourish through most of her life because of a cyst on her neck that impeded her breathing and eating, contributing to her fatal pneumonia. She died on a Sunday evening after family and church members prayed over her and anointed her with olive oil.

  The state medical examiner said she could easily have been saved with antibiotics.

     She said the father was convicted of criminal mistreatment because the mother wasn't monitoring the girl as closely as he was, so he was more responsible for her condition.During the trial, the defense made a point of noting that in families of the Worthingtons' church, the Followers of Christ, husbands make all important decisions

District Attorney John Foote said Thursday prosecutors were "saddened and disappointed," convinced the facts were clear in this case, and determined to be aggressive in enforcing "laws that require parents to protect their children regardless of their religious faith."

The Followers of Christ shuns conventional medicine in favor of faith healing. The church has been in ....Oregon.. ..City.... since early in the 20th century. Its members, by their own description and that of others, keep to themselves

    Are you fucking kidding me? – It’s the year 2009 , and it’s bad enough that I have to worry about the possibility of  my child getting Polio,Tuberculoses or any other disease that has been eradicated from the planet pretty much , because some new wave Mom or Dad thinks the school  vaccinations might “hurt”  them or cause autism, maybe..

    But now I guess it’s  OK not to call a doctor in when your 15 month old child has been sick and dying for over a month with pneumonia , barley breathing ,the cyst the size of your fist on her neck, and just let her die?

    Oh, right .The parents of this poor helpless child did not just let her die. They had faith that God would let her live if they prayed hard enough- or not. Either way it was Gods Will- no harm , no foul.  Hell, they were even supported by their friends and family not to go to the doctor to get the antibiotics that would have cured the girl.

      You mean to tell me not one fucking person had the common sense to call a doctor? How does this shit work? What twisted belief system could support "Prayer= Healing" in this day and age?  What kind of ignorant mind hell do you have to be in to see a child dying in front of you for weeks, and you do nothing?

     Oh yes, they had a choice. Unfortunately the dead child did not. I really do feel sorry for the parents. They honestly believe they did the right thing,which is common in religious beliefs that have no basis in reality-- and I’m sure they would do it again-   Which actually may be sooner than we think because I believe the mother is pregnant again, so we can assume the worst…

     But- I do blame their Church elders who perpetuate these lies about faith healing to their flock- I blame the “how –ever- many- generations” before these poor kids – for having to hand down these misguided beliefs- It’s what there parents taught them, and those before them, and so on…Do you honestly believe if they called 911 to save there child that they would have been shunned by their friends, Church, God?   

      I also can not help but think of all the hypocrisy in Faith Healing. They would not buy a $10* prescription of antibiotics to save their child.   But.,I would guess they probably drink water daily that is treated that keeps them from getting typhoid, dysentery, and a host of other diseases -- Do they brush there teeth? Hell, why bother!  I will “Pray Away Tooth Decay”!!  What and where do they eat? I assume they eat food, in restaurants and at home, that has been sanitized, spray, neutered, pumped with antibiotics, inspected, tested, refrigerated…

—My point, and there are hundreds more, is that religious nut jobs gladly accept these 21st century luxuries without thinking about arduous tasks by science and technology to have safe healthy foods, and clean environments to sustain and enrich our lives—with ancient religious dogmas dragging along screaming “Blasphemy” the whole time…

      Where do they draw the line with any of the technologies that have been developed over the last century – which they willingly use and accept, but not something as fundamental as care for your own child…?

       OK I’m pissed and almost done…I had to say something- I feel horrible for the parents, in there grief.. I can not imagine their loss…The trial was a no win situation-- All I can say is this: If  my child had a disease and all great doctors of  Western- Eastern medicines –Holistic  methods etc, were not helping my daughter get better and it looked like there was no hope-- I would get on my knees and pray to something- God ,Sun , Zeus , Log , whatever—and that is saying something for someone who has no faith in that type of healing.

                                                                       --   Mark Shifflett

*( I assume $10 because they probably do not have health insurance. Why would they need it?  If they had insurance it would be a whole lot more money to buy the antibiotic..)







 

Myths Lies, and  Childhood minds…

    The other day I was walking to the park with my 10 year old daughter and her friend. They both started comparing notes on how many teeth they have both lost,  by not only  pointing to the blanks spaces in their mouths, but their own war stories on how they lost their teeth through the years.. The subject then came up on the tooth fairy.

   At one point my daughter turned to me and said , “Dad, I know it’s you and Mom”.

   I told her , “No way, we are not the tooth fairy”.

  “Oh, yes you are” she said, with utter conviction , “ and I can prove it!” she said.

 “ Remember the time I put a tooth under my pillow , and the next morning the tooth was still there.. You said the tooth fairy forgot, but she never forgot before..- You and Mom always forget stuff…. I knew it was you from then on!

    “Yeah!” , her friend chimed in, “ I even woke up and caught my Mother putting money right under my pillow one time ,and all my friends say--  

    “OK , OK!” , I said “You are right.”. “Mom and Dad’s are the tooth fairies”…

  They looked at each other with a smirk of disbelief and delight, that they have both finally cracked the mystery!

   “But” I continued, “Do you know why parents collect children’s teeth”

   “No”, they both answered.

  “Well, we recycle them, I said. “All the children’s teeth are sent to a giant recycling center that the parents get money for at he end of the year. The parents then give the children money under their pillows.”

  They both looked at me like I was telling them the long lost secrets of the Tooth Fairy  Code..

  “Recycle. What do they recycle teeth for?” , they both asked.

 “Pianos” , I told them.

“They make pianos out of teeth”, they asked?”

 “No, they make the white part of the piano keys out of teeth”, I said.

       I went and told them years ago we used to kill Elephants to get the ivory for piano keys. At some point people did not want to kill any more Elephants for ivory, so they decided to use kid’s teeth- it worked just as well as Ivory and the Elephants were saved and…..

       This went on for a while, lie after lie, twisting the truth, mixing fact with fiction, and they both believed every word of it. –

--See how easy it is? To perpetuate lies to kids. This true story was  pretty funny (I thought..) and innocent, but think about the not so innocent ones that are left to lie throughout their life:  The Virgin Birth, The Resurrection, The Rapture, Faith Healing, Prayers,  Superstitions , Water into Wine,  Condom use is morally wrong, Stem Cell research is morally wrong..Heaven , Hell, 72 Virgins.. This list of Myths goes on throughout our lives… There are no Muslim Children, - No Christian Children- It was an accident of birth who you are- You are a blank slate until you can think and reason for yourself. Children start school believing in Santa Claus- By the time they are out of school they do not believe in Santa Claus. Why? They figured it out, by reason, knowledge and to always challenge authority …

      Sooner or later my daughter and her friend will figure out what I told them was a pile of crap... They will Goggle it, research it, ask other people more qualified than me (Piano makers for one…) ask their teachers,  and find out what the real truth is: then call me out  on it, which they should—I’ll probably tell them truth  pretty soon actually- I do not like to lie to kids…Mark Shifflett

I posted this blog a while back when I first wrote the song "Franklin". This is just a roughmix of one of the songs we did back in March with a  with Christian Pokorney (Sleep Walk Kid) on Drums ,and Jon (Gooseman)McLaughlin on Keyboards at Audible Alchemy Studio's.Portland --We plan to record a few tracks every couple of months(or as finanaces let us..) and release another CD , maybe by next year-- In the meantime enjoy the roughmix...

  " Civil War ? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?"   -- Victor Hugo ....

          " They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance"  --Union Gen. John Sedgwick spoke these last words moments before being shot dead by a Confederate sniper at Spotsylvania

         "War is cruelty.There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is , the sooner it will be over... " --Union Gen. William Sherman shortly be fore his brutal "March to the Sea"....

                I have been fascinated by the American Civil War ever since I went on a 4th grade field trip to the Gettysburg Battle field in ....Pennsylvania..... The concept of war, only hours from my home, where so many thousands of men died, and ,actually  where I was walking ,  boggled my mind back then.. --I was hooked. I studied and visited as many battlefields as I could  Antietam, Manassas., Fredricksburg... Just about every square block where I lived in Maryland had a monument, a sign, a plaque ,  something, recording and marking the area what had befallen a soilder, a famous speech  or a whole battle had taken place or even where Grant  used to drink and piss. My own family ,the Shifflett's, fought as.Union and Confederate soilders,  which was not uncommon back then. The fact that brother fought brother, familes were torn apart. Both armies  even prayed to the same Bible!  Hell, even Lincolns wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, had 6 close relatives  who fought and died for the Confederacy Now that would screw up a lot of family reunions..

   The sheer number of casualties are staggering even today. From 1860-1864  2% of the entire population died in the war,--more than 620,000. --Just in the 2 days at the Battle of Shiloh (26,000 dead or missing),  more Americans fell than in all previous American wars -combined!.- --In one day in Antietam, 23,000 men died-the bloodiest day of the Civil War.---At Cold Harbor ,Va. 7,000 Americans fell in 20 minutes. At Gettyburg, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, 51,000 Americans died in 3 days.... ....

                  One of the last ,and least known battles of the war was  The Battle of Franklin on Nov.30 1864 .The beginning of the battle has been called  "the bloodiest 15 minutes of American history", and considering what fucking mayhem,  pure destruction , and utter human waste went on with the pervious 3 years , that was really saying something. --  --Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood  commannder of the Army of Tennessee (appox.29,000 strong.) was chasing Gen Schofield of the  Union army(approx 35,000 strong ) through Tenn , to cut him off from reaching Nashville to meet with another 30,000+ Union army. .He narrowly  missed his chance at Spring Hill , where he let the Union army slip away  at night.-- Hood was not going to make the same mistake in Franklin. Gen. John Bell Hood was a bona fide Confederate hero.  . He lost use of his arm in .Gettysburg, later in the war the Battle of Chickamauga he lost his right leg. He was a  proven fighter, a hopeless romantic, a brave soilder,-- but as a General of an entire army, well, some considered him reckless to a fault- let's just say that he was no Stonewall Jackson-- . On that Nov. afternoon Hood  was determined to fight the Yankees before they got to Nashville ,and was really pissed off that he missed his chance at Spring Hill.-Not only was he pissed and angry , but probably high as a kite on laudanum( an opiate) , which he took for the constant pain he was in from his war wounds. Some say he then took it out on his own troops. There was a forced march, and then a suicidal  headlong attach on the entrenched Union army in Franklin .The battle was also  one of the few , riskier , night battles in the Civil War. Even Hood's commanders objected to Hood's orders for a frontal assault.( 15 out of 28 Generals under Hood's command died that day.)--Even the famous "Picketts Charge" at ..Gettysburg.. was nothing compared to what the Confederates faced,  and lost at Franklin  ....

"I don't like the looks of this fight , as the enemy has good position and is well fortified"--Confederate Gen. Cheatham.

"We will take the works , or fall in the attempt"- Confederate Gen. Cleburne , moments after mounting his horse (which got shot out from under him..) , and seen later waving his hat to rally his troops , and dying in front of the Union breastworks......

Follow me boys, I'm almost home! -Confederate Captain Tod Carter, who, after seeing his home on the battlefield of ....Franklin.... after 3 years of war, was motally wounded yards from his front doorstep.......

                 Hoods army suffered stagerring losses .In less than  5 hours he lost about 7,000 men and effectively destroyed and hopes of defeating the Union army in Nashville. His ultimate goal was to not only defeat the Union army in Nashville, but to then go North and save his hero and mentor Robert E, Lee from a standoff with Grant and the Army of Potamac in Virginia .-Hood was a dreamer with visions of grandeur, a reckless fighter, who in an attempt to right the "fearful blunder" at Spring Hill,   had wrecked his Army of Tennessee.  -Mark Shifflett....

                ....Franklin........

              (M.Shifflett)

When John Bell Hood sent his men

To die in .Franklin

He swore Spring Hills done gone past,

Now it's time to kick some Yankee ass

In Franklin

It was '64 and their cause was lost

But the troops kept marching the last hurrah.

In Franklin

Chorus

One Bible , two swords

Brother fought brother

On Carters door

Both armies knew God was on their side

But the man who shot first came out alive

Headlong the Grey went pouring in
.Cleburne yelled,  "Come on now, let's die like men!"

In Franklin

All hell broke loose on their face

The band , the glory, the pulp of waste

In Franklin

6000 dead souls laid in the ground

Young Tod Carter the first to be found

In Franklin

Guts and courage was plain to see

But ole Hood done wrecked his Army of Tennessee

Chorus

When John Bell Hood sent his men

To die in Franklin..

 --4/5/09 

 

    - I submitted this editorial to the Oregonian ( Oregon's daily newspaper- which if you read anything on the internet is another reason newspapers are a dying breed... ), and they did not publish it...To give you a little background-- Oregon is home of the one of the best Mico-Beer breweries in the world- The State of Oregon ,  in ther infinite wisdom ,want to tax the living shit out of micro-brew beers,( along with all other bottled beer..) which would basically destroy the micro-brew industry in this state---We also have a budget problem with schools in Oregon - always..- My suggestion is to tap into another source of revenue to pay for schools etc.. without destroying a Oregon icon.....

Here it is:

          In my Opinion:

 What is left to Tax? I say Tax the Churches!..

      -- . So we finally, it seem , have run out of things to tax. The answer always seems to  be to increase the taxes of the things we are  already  heavily  taxed on.. Beer is not the answer to our tax woes, especially in Oregon , where a proposed 1,500% tax increase would cripple an already thriving world famous Micro- brewing  industry .  We need to finally look outside the box for more revenue—.  A real helpful solution  to our constant fiscal crisis  is to tax an industry that is probably just as big and powerful as any government or business  in the world- The Church. --.Let’s make no bones about it: The Church is big business in this country. The separation of Church and State today has nothing to do about protecting your right to believe in your flavor of the month(faith)- it’s all about the money..  Churches take in millions of dollars, yet, Churches gets a pass from paying taxes in this country. Any would-be- Prophet or Guru can set up shop and promise everlasting life, free ice cream or eternal ESPN, and be called a “religion”… They get Tax Free Donations, Tax FreeLand, and in some cases Tax Free Commercial Enterprises. If the Church’s in every community were taxed on the property taxes alone it could solve our school funding problems in this state.                  ....

     People willingly donate to the Church, but at the same time complain about paying taxes- ironic since those taxes actually improve their own  communities with  better schools, public roads, parks,  libraries,  public services and safety…I do realize Churches do great things in the community- The comfort of  the assembly of your fellow man is a positive thing- whether  it’s inside your favorite Bar- Pub or a Church- Both have their flock , both have their preachers, and their confessional— but for every  micro brewed beer in this state that is poured in our bars-- money flows back  to our communities- The Churches in our community have no such obligation. –The Churches do give back to their own flock and other members of their community, and around the world  – but they also get to pick and choose those  pet projects-usually with a quid –pro quo—You will hear our belief system , -whether you like it or not., and we will finance you.....- --They support their own private  schools-, again tax- free, with huge tuitions, tax subsidized at the expense of our own  public schools- but are not required to give back to the community that they live in.   There is a Church on just about every street corner (that all taxpayers indirectly pay for –through our own  property tax- no matter your faith...)- yet  our public schools are overcrowded, understaffed , and underfunded…....

.. ..

        We live in a country that taxes our citizens. I have no problem with that . In this great society we are obligated to give back because we all share and benefit from it.... I pay my fair share of taxes…  The Churches of our communities need to step up to the plate and pay their fair share of taxes.. --    ....

-- Mark Shifflett –Local Chef / Musician that lives in Beaverton,Oregon....

   "I am absolutely committed to working with Congress and the auto companies to meet one goal: The United States of America will lead the world in building the next generation of clean cars," President  Obama said in his first extended remarks on the industry since taking office nearly 10 weeks ago. And yet, he added, "our auto industry is not moving in the right direction fast enough to succeed."....

.. ..

                        You think?   God damn it  long enough for someone to finally say it.--.I remember  the gas lines in this country in the 70’s , The  students and teachers talked about how oil was a finite resource in when I was in  junior high school.-- It  was an actual  class project to come up with alternatives fuel sources  in 1974 , over 30 years ago…I always thought, or knew  someone smarter than me would come up with a solution.. Well it turns out they didn’t really have to come up with a solution as long as the greedy oil/ American car makers  bastards kept making money, at the expense of the environment, security, etc… until now- Now that the American tax payer actually owns the fucking car companies  shit will hopefully hit the fan……. Let’s recap=  American Car companies have lost market share to all the other car companies in the world , because of their lack of  innovations and thinking outside the box…The American Car companies refused to stay competitive, redesign, be green, or at least upgrade quality of their vehicles, I think we all would have bought American if the product was good , -- The irony is they not only screwed the pooch – they want us to now  pay for it. –the hell with it- I’m walking – at least until I get my Segway that Obama promised me during the campaign…M....

    (*disclaimer.-- I currently own a Ford 150, which I use to haul yard debis , and if the stars are aligned,  my family to the beach....)

n     March 2009....

.. ..

                   --Got to admit I had never heard of Lee Hazelwood until recently- I did know that that he wrote “These Boots are Made for Walking” , made famous by Nancy Sinatra- but I had know idea that he sang and made some really obscure, country, -psycho tinged videos and had some pretty weird duets with Nancy Sinatra, among other people- Hell, he even made a album called “Cowboy in Sweden”,  which I’m sure is why we have sold 1 RoughCut cd in Sweden to date! – This video is the either the most blatant attempt of a guy singing about morning wood- or it’s just weird  60ish , “anything you can write would be cool” lyrics.   Here is a portion: ....

  Lee:
Some velvet morning when I'm straight
I'm gonna open up your gate
And maybe tell you 'bout Phaedra
and how she gave me life
and how she made it in
Some velvet morning when I'm straight

 Nancy:
Flowers growing on the hill
Dragonflies and daffodils
Learn from us very much
Look at us but do not touch
Phaedra is my name....

.. ..

Well, you get the picture… ....

.. ..

         RoughCuts has some new recordings we finished at Audible Alchemy with Steven Ray Lobdell in the studio. The line up was the always incredible Nick Angelo and Tim Murphy , and also the amazing drumming of Christain Pokorney (Sleepwalk Kid), and fantastic keyboards of  “Goose Man”,Jon McLaughlin (Producer-Stubborn Keys- Sleepwalk Kid).. I will get some rough mixes up on the space soon….Mark S.....  

            (here is the link to the "One Velvet Morning" video...)

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbadg5BAb1E