Monday 25 April 2005

Thousands Overwhelm Justice Sunday Rally
Sick and Infirm Disappointed; Came Seeking Faith Healers

'Justice Sunday', a program by conservative rightwing Christians calling for an end to liberal judges by Democrats, was marred as tens-of-thousands of sick and infirm people - some coming from as far away as Indonesia - overwhelmed the Kentucky megachurch, spilling out into the streets and setting off chaos.

They had mistakenly taken the rally as a faith-heeling session and refused to leave until they saw Dr. Bill Frist.

Sponsored by Tony Perkins and his Family Research Council, 'Justice Sunday' had a theme of "The Filibuster Against People of Faith". Posters for the event depicted a young man holding a Bible in one hand and a gavel in the other.

"I don't understand this" offered a beleaguered Perkins, as he worked with event security and local police in an attempt to control the crowd. "We exploited the rhetoric … We targeted the judges and the Democrats … It was very clear what tonight was supposed to be …"

Shortly after the program began at the Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, with 3,000 already in attendance and speakers defending Rep. Tom DeLay, bashing Democrats and judges, calling the Supreme Court "unaccountable," and "out of control," streams of people began pouring into the church, disrupting the program.

They came with crutches and wheelchairs. One man carried his teenage daughter, who had braces on her legs. There were young children and elderly. They came clutching videotapes and DVD's, crying out for Dr. Frist and asking, begging that he heal them.

Frist, last month had correctly diagnosed the late Terri Schiavo and Pope John Paul II, from watching videotape, and live broadcasts (see The Garlic April 5th - Frist Concurs With Vatican Diagnosis)

As the crowd grew, with bus loads of new arrivals pulling up at that church throughout the evening, local police were called in. Traffic for blocks surrounding the church was gridlocked. Police estimate the crowd at 10,000. Organizers hastily erected a tent awning and rigged up speakers in a section of the parking lot to accommodate the overflow crowd.

Frist, who participated in 'Justice Sunday' via a pre-taped video statement was tracked down by the event's organizers and, through a conference call, broadcast to the attendees, urged those who came seeking healing to be peaceful, and not disrupt the night's program any further.

Frist also offered that those with video's and DVD's could send them to his Washington office, where he will review them and offer his recommendations for treatment and healing.

Some of the sick and infirm left the church and, as of late last night, were camped out at the main post office in Louisville. The rest of the crowd remained at the church, conducting a vigil, and praying. Many of the 3,000 who came for 'Justice Sunday' joined in the vigil. Others left and game back with food and water.

There were unconfirmed reports that Perkins and his Family Research Council were making arrangements to bring in the family of Terri Schiavo to address the crowd. Paul O'Donnell, a Franciscan monk and the spiritual adviser to the Schindler family was said to en enroute to Kentucky.

When reached late in the evening, Perkins looked at the event optimistically.

"Maybe we have a new cause to mount here … We can start bashing the Democrats on healthcare and activist doctors …"



Overweight Protest New Study Results
Says Confused Over Health and Where Self-Esteem Should Be

Many overweight and obese people are protesting the new findings of a study released last week, saying that people who are a little overweight are likely to live longer than people who are underweight or obese. They say they are deeply confused as to where their self-esteem is, as well as what is healthy for them.

Reporting in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a team of doctors from the American Centres for Disease Control U.S. took data from three U.S. surveys about health and nutrition practices that spanned three-decades, from the 70's, through the 90's. The study only looked at how long people lived and not at obesity-related disease.

Using a measurement called Body Mass Index (BMI), with a range of 18.5 to 25 considered normal, that the people who had BMIs higher than 25 but lower than 30, which meant they were moderately overweight but not obese, did not have a reduced life expectancy.

A spokesperson for Jenny Craig, a provider of weight loss programs and diets, was dissatisfied with the findings of the study, saying "it left a lot of overweight people in limbo, not knowing if it was a good thing, or a bad thing". The spokesperson went on to say that it wasn't expected to see any loss of sales because of the study findings

Kirstie Alley, star of the popular cable program, 'Fat Actress, on the Showtime Network worried about the study

"God, what should I do? Should I worry about being a Fat Actress or start boasting that I'm going to live longer and be fine with it …And what's this going to do the show? … We may have to rewrite and reshoot scenes … I suppose we have to address this …"

Alley later stated that, looking at it in a different light, it could mean additionally work for her, perhaps extending the 'Fat Actress' series.

A spokesperson for the American Centres for Disease Control declined to address the concerns, indicating that all persons should maintain the best practices of a balance of healthy diets and exercise, and to maintain their proper body weight.