An evergreen tender spot on the religious-political landscape is homosexuality and gay marriage. When a politician, pundit or gadfly wants to gin up his or her base, an easy tactic is to make a statement about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, says media analyst Paul Hartman.

"It's one of those issues where everyone has an opinion, one way or another," says Hartman, a retired PBS/NPR station executive and author of "The Kairos," (www.CarpeKairos.com) a five-star-rated suspense novel that imagines Jesus Christ as gay.

"One of the many roles that Jesus modeled for us was that of social reformer. He championed the equality of outcasts - prostitutes, beggars, widows, orphans, lepers.  He ignored their 'pre-existing conditions' and just loved 'em. You don't have to be a well-educated liberal today to be on the right side of history, you just have to follow Christ's example."

Currently, there are three American Christian denominations that officially accept homosexuality in their clergy: Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians. In July, the Episcopalian Church became the largest U.S. denomination to officially sanction same-sex unions by authorizing a "blessings" ceremony.

Hartman cites four reasons why American churches should accept homosexuality and gay marriage:

• In support of family and monogamy: The current estimate of U.S. citizens who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) is 12 million. Due to lingering stigmas, that self-reported number is likely only a fraction of the actual. Even 12 million is a significant portion of the population who have been forced to live on the sidelines and denied the rights and responsibilities that other Americans enjoy, including marriage, and the adoption of needy children. Such denial of freedoms for sexual minorities runs counter to the Christian belief in family values.  Indeed, there are many theologians who argue homosexuality is one of God's diverse gifts in His creation of families.

• Avoiding hypocrisy and elitism: Like so many topics in the Bible, its few brief references to same-sex relations beg for intelligent interpretation. The original Bible writings, Hartman argues, never used the word "homosexual." Translators introduced that term.  In context, biblical "clobber passages" condemn "unnatural relations," meaning God finds it an abomination when straight persons ignore their nature and have sex with partners of their own sex.  Logically, people whose natural orientation is toward their own gender would have "unnatural relations" if they're intimate with opposite sex partners.  Another example is when people parrot what they've heard about the sin of Sodom being same-sex relations.  They don't realize that the Bible itself repeatedly and clearly defines that city's wicked sins as inhospitality and unloving acts toward others.  That's a charge some make against churches which discriminate against members of the GLBT community.  "When will we learn?" Hartman asks.  "Christ's message is inclusive, not exclusive."

• Already accepted in three denominations: Episcopalians, Lutherans and Presbyterians - none of them wildly radical sects of Christians - now ordain openly gay as well as openly straight clergy. While it's nothing new for denominations to disagree, it should be noteworthy that three mainstream Christian churches have accepted and embraced gay people.

• Most importantly, "Jesus told us to love our neighbors as ourselves." Modern-day Pharisees love to emulate God's role as judge more than Christ's model of loving caregiver to the littlest, the lowest, the last and the least.

About Paul Hartman

Paul Hartman is a retired PBS/NPR station executive with a passion for biblical history. He is a Presbyterian elder, a lay preacher and a Dead Sea Scrolls aficionado. A father and grandfather, Hartman says he wrote "The Kairos" after serious Bible study revealed two repeatedly-quoted words from God as the answer to his lifelong battle with fear.

CHICAGO - Lt. Governor Sheila Simon will launch a statewide cell phone drive in conjunction with Verizon Wireless' HopeLine campaign on Monday in Springfield. Each donated phone will be entirely erased, and could be given to a domestic violence victim for emergency use.

For each phone donated, Verizon will donate $10 to the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Phones can be donated at the following locations:

·         Lt. Governor's Chicago office - James R. Thompson Center 15th floor

·         Lt. Governor's Springfield office - 214 State Capitol

·         Lt. Governor's Carbondale office - IDOT Facility, 2801 W. Murphysboro Rd.

·         Chicago Bar Association bookstore - 321 S. Plymouth Ct., Chicago

·         Illinois State Bar Association - 424 S. Second St., Springfield

"We have the ability to refurbish old technology in a safe and sensible way," Simon said. "Instead of tossing an old cell phone in your junk drawer or the trash, donate it to someone where one emergency call could save their life."

DATE: Monday, October 1

TIME: 11 a.m.

LOCATION: Governor's Mansion, 410 East Jackson Street, Springfield

Friday, September 28, 2012

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley is asking Deputy Attorney General James Cole about his office's knowledge about the falling-out between the Reno, NV offices for the U.S. Attorney and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

In a letter sent late last night, Grassley wrote, and provided documents, that ATF agents in Reno notified the Office of Professional Responsibility nearly one year ago, yet the breakdown between the two offices continued.

"It appears the ATF and the US Attorney's Office may finally be stepping up to resolve the problem in Reno, but we need to learn how it got to this point.  It's inexcusable that it festered for more than a year," Grassley said.

Here's a copy of the text of Grassley's letter.  A signed copy can be found here.

September 27, 2012

Via Electronic Transmission

The Honorable James M. Cole

Deputy Attorney General

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20530

Dear Deputy Attorney General Cole:

As you may be aware, I recently contacted both Nevada U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Acting Director B. Todd Jones about allegations from whistleblowers that a breakdown in relations had occurred between ATF and the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) in Reno, Nevada.[1] I have not yet received a briefing from either of their offices.

The alleged breakdown is illustrated in a declination memorandum from the Reno USAO, which indicates that as of September 29, 2011, the Reno USAO categorically refused to accept any cases submitted by Reno ATF.  The declination memo states, "We are willing to consider your cases again when your management addresses and resolves the issues at hand."[2] Apparently as a consequence, ATF's Reno Field Office has only opened one case in 2012, as the attached chart indicates.[3]

I have since obtained documents from whistleblowers which indicate that these issues were raised with ATF headquarters and the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) almost a year ago.  According to one document, ATF agents in Reno notified ATF's Internal Affairs Division of the issue on October 13, 2011.[4] According to a second document, an ATF agent in Reno notified OPR on October 25, 2011.[5] As you may know, because of ATF and the Reno USAO's inability to resolve these issues, three ATF line agents and a supervisor were transferred out of Reno in April 2012.

In light of these facts, I am seeking to understand whether Justice Department management was also notified of the problems between ATF and the USAO in Reno, and if so, what actions were taken to rectify these issues.  Your office, the Office of the Deputy Attorney General (ODAG), is responsible for overseeing both ATF and U.S. Attorneys.  Therefore, please answer the following questions:

1)      Was anyone in ODAG notified in any way of these problems prior to my letters to ATF and U.S. Attorney Bogden on September 17, 2012?

a.      If so, when were individuals in ODAG first notified?

b.      What actions did they take to inquire into the situation?

c.       What actions did they take to address the situation?

2)     Were you aware of these problems prior to my letters to ATF and U.S. Attorney Bogden on September 17, 2012?

a.      If so, when were you first notified?

b.      What actions did you take to inquire into the situation?

c.       What actions did you take to address the situation?

3)     Was anyone in the Office of the Attorney General notified in any way of these problems prior to my letters to ATF and U.S. Attorney Bogden on September 17, 2012?

a.      If so, when were they first notified?

b.      What actions did they take to inquire into the situation?

c.       What actions did they take to address the situation?

Please also provide the following documents:

4)     All emails pertaining to anyone at Justice Department headquarters becoming aware of these issues prior to my letters to ATF and U.S. Attorney Bogden on September 17, 2012.

5)     All emails pertaining to anyone at Justice Department headquarters responding to these issues prior to my letters to ATF and U.S. Attorney Bogden on September 17, 2012.

Please provide a response and produce these documents by Thursday, October 11, 2012.  If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Brian Downey or Tristan Leavitt of my staff at (202) 224-5225.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley
Ranking Member

Attachments

cc:       The Honorable Michael E. Horowitz, Inspector General

U.S. Department of Justice

B. Todd Jones, Acting Director

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

[1] Letter from Senator Grassley to U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada Daniel G. Bogden (Sep. 17, 2012) (Attachment 1); Letter from Senator Grassley to ATF Acting Director B. Todd Jones (Sep. 17, 2012) (Attachment 2).

2 Letter from Assistant U.S. Attorney Sue Fahami to ATF Special Agent (Sep. 29, 2011) (Attachment 3).

3 "Cases Initiated by Program Area," ATF Reno Field Office (Attachment 4).

4 Memorandum from ATF Internal Affairs Division to ATF Assistant Director for the Office of Professional Responsibility and Security Operations, "Request to Close Investigation" (Feb. 10, 2012) (Attachment 5).

5 Letter from Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility to ATF Special Agent (Dec. 12, 2011) (Attachment 6).

How do you build trust with clients when people have lost their faith in the markets - and advisors, too?

And how do you stand out from the pack when investors can go online and find dozens or even hundreds of advisors from whom to choose, not to mention the Fidelitys and ScottTrades of the world?

For more and more financial advisors, financial planners, and owners of financial services firms, the answer is writing a book.

When you're an author, you're the authority.

But how are you supposed to write a book when you're jammed with taking care of your current clients and prospecting for more?

A process of 10 simple steps involving a minimal investment of your time and money can make you a published author in a matter of weeks. Your book will be full of your own thoughts and ideas, and convey just the tone you want. Best yet, you never have to sit down to write a word.

Keep in mind, you aren't going into the book business ? you're using your own book to build your business.  It doesn't matter if you don't sell a single copy.  The idea is to demonstrate to prospective clients that you are the most trustworthy, knowledgeable authority in your field.  That going it alone is not a great strategy.  And that the value you provide far outstrips anything they could get from a website or from your competition.

You already know far more about your field than you could easily fit into a 150-175 page book (the best size book for today's shortened attention spans).  People need to realize just how much you know about your specific area.  They need to know that you have a plan and a process for protecting and growing their hard-earned money.  That's something only a book can do - not a white paper, not a website, and certainly not a 140-character tweet!

So how do you write a book without bringing in a ghostwriter?

· Step 1. Define your market niche.  Who do you want to reach?  Who can make you the most money?  Don't think about writing a best-selling book - think about a best-earning book.  Your niche will make you rich.  So who's at the heart of your target audience?

· Step 2. What's the biggest problem they face?  Are they retirees, afraid of outliving their money?  Are they parents trying to fund their children's education?  What keeps them up at night?

· Step 3. Ask yourself how you've solved this problem for other clients in the past.  Break down your solution into a multi-step process.  Each step in your process is going to be a separate chapter in your book.

· Step 4. Hire a college or grad student in journalism from a local school ? see some clips first, before you make an agreement ? to interview you for an hour a day on each step in your process.  Tell the person all the war stories, facts and figures, successful client engagements, everything that relates to each specific chapter of the book.  Pay the student $250-300 per chapter for the interviewing and writing.

· Step 5. Fact check the completed manuscript and have it professionally proofread.  You can find proofreaders online.

· Step 6. Have a cover designed for your book on a website like 99Designs.com, which aggregates graphic design work for a remarkably low fee.  You can get a great cover for less than $300.

· Step 7. Upload the book to Kindle Direct - have someone tech-savvy in your office follow the fairly straightforward process.  Within hours, you'll have a book that's available on Amazon as a download for the Kindle.

· Step 8. Offer the book as a free PDF download to people who visit your website in exchange for contact information.

· Step 9. Use Amazon's CreateSpace program to get physical books printed, which you can use as leave-behinds with prospects and as a way of getting lucrative and valuable speaking engagements.

· Step 10. Throw yourself a book launch party - put it in the local news media - and invite current clients to come and bring friends.  Sign books, create amazing new credibility for yourself, .and laugh all the way to the bank!

About Michael Levin: New York Times best-selling author Michael Levin runs www.BusinessGhost.com, which specializes in ghostwriting books for financial services professionals.