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At this writing, 50 young “Equality Riders” from Soulforce are traveling on two buses headed for 32 Christian colleges with policies that silence or exclude lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. Their mission is to “open a dialogue about the painful consequences of discrimination and the religion-based prejudice that sustains it.”

The first stop was at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, where “sexual activity with someone of the same gender” is possible grounds for “an employee’s discharge or a student’s dismissal.”

The Riders knew they were opening themselves to abuse, and it came on the first night out. The bus full of young adults, including former students of conservative Christian colleges, straight allies, and gay evangelical Christians, arrived in Sioux Center in the early evening. On the night of March 7th, three vehicles circled the hotel where the Equality Riders were staying, harassing the young adults who were staying inside. In the morning, anti-gay slurs were found written on the side of the bus, along with a hate-filled message on a piece of cardboard: “God does not love feary f____.”

Last year Equality Riders received a similar welcome in Cleveland, Tennessee. There community members wrote “fags-mobile” on the side of the bus. Katie Higgins, co-director of the Eastbound bus and a rider from last year commented, “This is the reality created by fear and misunderstanding. It saddens me that people have such hatred in their hearts, but this just demonstrates why we feel called to spread our message of the inherent worth and dignity of all human beings.”

It’s easy for many to look at strangers on a bus who publicly identify themselves as gay and make a harsh judgment. But when your own child or brother or sister or close friend says to you, “I’m gay,” it’s frequently a different story. They’re not a stranger. They’re a dear one. And often the most extraordinary steps are taken to protect this dear one from the hatred of society and often of religion, a hatred that can destroy them.

In No More Goodbyes: Circling the Wagons around Our Gay Loved Ones, Tracy Duvalis Kriese, a deeply religious woman in Texas, writes of her loved gay son: “Eric had wanted to die. And oh, hadn’t he died in a way? A thousand times, over and over, as the world told him he was not normal, as we told him that he could change,that he must fight to change,as he told himself that God did not love him. The killing of his spirit had been so nearly complete by the time he was fifteen that the death of his body seemed not far behind. There were the nights of sleeping outside his door, of taking turns with my husband staying awake through those dark hours when our son might take that desperate step he seemed to long for more and more. In the stillness of a house asleep,fitfully, finally asleep,I would lay down at his door and listen for him…. Haunting my thoughts were the whisperings of easy Sunday School lessons about heaven and hell, of memorized scripture references about sin and repentance, exaltation and damnation. Nothing was easy now. Nothing would ever be easy again.”

Tracy’s Eric survived,and thrived. He put away his thoughts of death and devoted himself to life. He became an activist too, not unlike the Equality Riders, fighting for the rights of gay students in the public schools. At Lake Travis High, he founded the school’s Gay Straight Alliance. At nineteen, he was an experienced speaker at congressional hearings, at rallies and marches, with newspaper reporters and television interviewers.

His family, who kept watch outside his bedroom door, are still his greatest fans and friends. His mother says, “How grateful I am that we did not lose him to the death he once thought would be his only freedom. He is here, he is whole, he is my beautiful child to embrace in all his awesome creation.”

Each of the 50 young Equality Riders also has a story, as does each person who bears pain.

Don L. Wright is publisher of “No More Goodbyes: Circling the Wagons around Our Gay Loved Ones,” available at http://www.nomoregoodbyes.com, containing fascinating and compassionate stories on the subject of gays, families, and religious issues.

To think that a random murderous gunman could even possibly appear in your or your child’s classroom is a horrible notion.

And while the rest of the world analyzes what could have been done to forewarn authorities about potential threats like this (including other countries screaming gun control at us), I can’t help but think about how the victims just sat there waiting to be killed.

By discussing the behavior of the victims I don’t mean to disrespect their memory, and I fully understand that they were still young adults, but if a gunman chained the doors and methodically began executing people, would you lie down and wait your turn?

Even without training, I would have imagined that someone in that predicament would have at least tried to stop the shooter. Throw a desk, a textbook, jumped at him, whatever.

Unfortunately, the same conditioning elements (violent
media, video games, etc.) that romanticize these kind of killings (go read On Combat by Grossman) also seem to pacify the “hero” mechanism within most people today.

Without beating around the bush, here’s exactly what you should do (and pass on to your kids and family) if a gun ever presents itself.

1) Run.
Those kids from Virginia Tech who immediately jumped out the window had the right idea. You see a weapon; get as far away as possible. If that means jumping out a 2nd story window and breaking your leg, fine. If it means running as fast as you can to a known safe area, fine too. Get the heck out of there at all costs.

2) Get offline ASAP.
Statistics show an absolutely incredible decline in ability to hit a moving target with a firearm when target reacquisition is necessary. And that’s with highly trained shooters. If you step offline from wherever the gun is pointed, your survival rate just took a HUGE turn for the better.

3) Drive back into him.
Can’t run? Can’t get offline? Good, now take the fight back to him. Drive that psycho back on his heels and edge of hand him into the ground. Don’t worry about stripping the gun or disarming him as it’s almost impossible to shoot (even a close target) while being beat to death.

Let the media play “Monday morning quarterback” and
talk about the “signs” and how the attacks could have been”prevented”.

Your task is to be proactive and go pass this stuff onto someone. And if they pass it on, and so on, perhaps the next time a kid (or terrorist) with a weapon might be put down even before a single person is injured.

For more information on Chris “Lt. X” Pizzo former soldier, cancer survivor, mercenary, barroom bouncer, educator, and hand-to-hand combat instructor, and his incredible FREE Accelerated Battlefield Combatives close-combat learning system, visit http://www.TopSecretTraining.com

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never harm me.”

Look, let’s get things into perspective, shall we?

There’s hate and then there’s hate. There’s simple ignorance which slips out of every human being at times, and then there is deliberate, deadly, strategic hate. The first was perpetrated by a person called Imus, the second was, is and shall be perpetrated by the Bush adminstration and their conscience-less arrogance.

Imus made some stupid insults. He’s been on the air 30 years and said some stupid things. They’ve been recorded.

He has made some racial slurs. So have honorable people like Jesse Jackson (his hate speech about Jews), Al Sharpton (his recent trip to defend a black girl who had supposedly been raped by white boys… turns out she was lying).

Big deal.

If a tape recorder were running several hours a day with everything you or I say, believe me, there would be plenty for everyone you know to howl about.

That’s being human. That’s you, me and every other person, regardless of race, color, creed or origin. We are ignorant, shallow and thoughtless at times, and other times we are wise, deep and thoughtful. Got it?

OK, now let’s go on to deliberate hate.

The Bush adminstration deliberately lies, kills, maims simply because it wants to, and for no other good reason (the other “reasons” stated have all been shown to be false). It appoints people with no competence and makes them wealthy and powerful. It gives influence, power and no-bid contracts to its friends. Because it wants to. It It spins its own lies to the point where maybe it can’t tell itself when it is lying and believes it’s own spew.

It breaks laws and commits acts of terror (invasion of privacy, abuse of national funds and resources and lies of security) against its own citizens. It mentally and financially poisons its own people.

It won’t speak with its enemy, which is everyone who isn’t “with it.” Remember, “You are either with us or you are with the terrorists?,” George Bush’s famous statement. By “us,” he meant “me,” i.e. George W. Bush.

It creates anger, distrust and division among all the countries and peoples in the world. And it doesn’t care. It does it because it wants to.

So be an intelligent citizen and get off Imus (otherwise an extremely caring and thoughtful person) and all this other junk media and back onto where the real harm is being done.

Not where a few ignorant insults are thrown around, but where the real harm — murder, theft, lies and hatred — is being done every second of every day for seven long years; by that “it” called the Bush Adminstration. “It” should be fired and taken off the air.

Dr. Max Vogt opens eyes to inconvenient truths of all kinds at http://www.ImproviseLife.com

Identity theft is a very lengthy and ugly ordeal. It is next to impossible to reverse and it can take several years before credit companies stop bothering you constantly with collection calls. In addition, it may cost you thousands of dollars to fight.

How does identity theft occur? It occurs when an identity thief obtains your social security number, bank account numbers, birth date and other pertinent information. After they steal your information, they can easily order your birth certificate online. All numbers lead to you.

The following 12 tips can help save your identity and your sanity.

1. Order your credit report from each of the three credit reporting companies. You are allowed one free credit report from each of these agencies every year. Check your credit report carefully and close any accounts that you no longer use.

2. Avoid carrying your checkbook with you unless it’s absolutely necessary. Many identity thefts occur by stealing checkbooks and forging checks. A thief can take scrapings from the check below the prior check to obtain your signature. (The same rule applies to credit cards.)

3. Guard your social security number, birth date, and your mother’s maiden name with extra care. Without this information, an identity thief will be unable to steal your identity.

4. Avoid putting paid bills and anything that contains personal information and your signature in your home mailbox. Instead, take them to the Post Office or hand them to your mail carrier. If you work outside of your home, bring them to work and drop them in the mail slot at your work. Many thieves pickpocket out of mailboxes. Once a thief has your mail at his / her home, they open it and use special chemical washes over the checks to wipe out all the information with the exception of your signature. Now they have a blank check with your signature on it and can drain your bank account.

5. Purchase a good paper shredder. The cost of a paper shredder is a lot less money than credit card offers stolen and taken out in your name. Shred all old documents that have any information about you, as well as bank records, tax records that are no longer needed and any offers, especially credit card offers that come in the mail. A safe bet is to shred any paper with your information on it that you no longer need.

6. Never trust an email that asks you to click on a link from a company that may have any information about you. Instead, open your browser and hand type in the website URL you are familiar with, not the one in the email, if you believe you need to respond. Better yet, call the institution with the phone number you already have on file. This rule applies to more than just banking information. Never click on links inside an email from eBay, Paypal, your ISP provider, the I.R.S., etc. All of these accounts have your bank or credit card information in them.

7. Forget taking surveys via telephone. If someone calls to ask you to participate in a survey, the person calling is getting a lot of personal information about you that is none of their business. Politely state that you aren’t interested, to please take you off their list and then hang up.

8. The Social Security Administration sends out a statement every year (about four months prior to your birth date) with your information. Check it carefully to make sure it’s accurate.

9. Do not add your social security number, phone number or driver’s license number to your checks. If the information is required by a store, you can always write that information on the check manually. This will help ensure that information is safe should your checkbook be stolen.

10. Always take great care in checking not only your bank statements but also your credit card statements to ensure that everything is correct and all transactions are ones that are familiar to you. If you find something you do not recognize, file a dispute immediately. You can file disputes up to 60 days after something is not correct in most states; but after that, the money is gone forever, even if it was a fraudulent transaction. Many crooks are learning how to make E.F.T. withdrawals from bank accounts by using the swiping machines you have used to purchase items at legitimate companies / stores to make duplicate or larger charges later on.

11. When looking for a job online, it’s always best to visit your desired place of employment in person when it’s necessary to give out your personal information and identification. There are job postings from seemingly well-known companies seeking someone with your job skills. After you contact them via email, a phone call will ensue later on. During the subsequent phone calls, you will be asked to give out more and more personal and financial information, including your social security number. Don’t go there. Always go to the brick and mortar building and into the human resources office to fill out an application. If it’s out-state, then go online to find out the corporate headquarters office and call them directly, without using the phone number the person in the email or on the job site provided. (There are more detailed scams than this one, but you get the picture.)

12. Never pay to recover money you have lost in a scam. There are companies that offer to help you recover money that you’ve been scammed out of for only a small fee. These companies are often headed by the very company that scammed you out of the money in the first place. The facts are that sadly, you will most likely never recover money lost in a scam, but it’s best to leave that up to the authorities. That doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t be proactive, but certainly don’t pay anyone to help you recover the money.

The last tip is to say thank you to the store clerk who asks for your I.D. when you use your credit card. It always amazes me when clerks don’t check for I.D. or signature validation when they accept a credit card or a check.

I have often asked about this and the answer is always the same, “If you have the credit card, you must be the owner.” The thoughtful store clerks who do ask for I.D. are acting as a safety net for you and are watchdogs for your finances. Be thankful and happy they are willing to do their job correctly and take the time to ensure your safety.

If you feel you have fallen victim to identity theft, fraud or have been ripped off by a company, always file a dispute with the Better Business Bureau (BBB); and if it’s fraud related, contact your local police department as well as the F.B.I.

Then be sure to add fraud alerts to all of your bank and credit card accounts. You can also add a fraud alert with the credit monitoring services such as TransUnion and Experian. You only need to add this information to one of the services, as they will forward your information to the others.

The best way to help avoid identity theft, rip-offs and scams is to be alert and on the lookout. Punishment for identity thieves seems to be next to impossible to achieve. The only way you can really protect yourself is by taking the steps needed to help prevent identity theft from occurring.

Jaci Rae is a No.1 Best Selling author who tours around the world. See her at the Learning Annex in May and June. Her latest book is, Shop for a Day With Jaci Rae – How to get Almost Anything for Fre-e. http://www.shopforaday.com

Some people think that the only solution to violent crime is to take guns off the streets.

To appease potential voters politicians eagerly create new laws they say will prevent crime.

Proof of how futile these efforts are can be seen in the United Kingdom, which although has very strict gun laws the UK youth are cutting each other down in the streets with knives.

The problem has gotten so out of hand that some families are even purchasing costly body armor for their children. The government is taking steps to reduce the number of knife crimes, but it is up to the average citizens to defend themselves.

British police have only now begun to report incidences involving knives, but even so, the statistics are disturbing.

In London alone, 52 teenagers a week are victims of knife violence. Also according to the Metropolitan police, knives are the weapon of choice in a third of the murders.

Another growing problem is the 169 gangs that call London home.

Nationwide a child is stabbed to death every two weeks. Knife homicides outnumber gun homicides three to one, and this figure has only increased over the last five years.

In the summer of 2006, a knife amnesty program brought in over 100,000 knives with more being confiscated and turned into police regularly. This March has seen several violent stabbings including one attack in a wealthy neighborhood where boys and girls chanted, “Kill him,” as 16 year old was stabbed to death.

The majority of these crimes are being committed by children who do not understand the consequences of their actions.

Some children treat knives as a fashion accessory and carry them to be cool. Others in fear for their lives carry them for protection. Boys have been caught bringing machetes, knives, sharpened screwdrivers, and even swords to school.

Carrying knives is not restricted to boys alone and girls have been caught with blades hidden in items like lipstick tubes. In one case, one girl stabbed another in the eye because she didn’t like her music.

Multiple arms of the British government are working to deal with the problem, but for the child confronting an armed attacker they are on their own.

Authentic close combat training is necessary for good kids who want to be safe and not break the law. If they are unable to get away, they need to know how to fight off an armed attacker without getting hurt.

Being able to handle an attacker is also something any schoolteacher should know so they can protect themselves and students until police or security arrive. Teachers are a regular target of youth offenders and last year there was an attack on a teacher every day of the school year.

The British public has to stand up and protect themselves from violent armed offenders.

Once a knife has been pulled, the situation has become life and death regardless of age, sex, or reason.

Hollywood-esque knife fighting, taught by most martial disciplines, is a ridiculous solution and sometimes walking (or running) away isn’t an option.

Even with body armor, knife attacks can still be fatal. The best way to stop from being stabbed is the same as stopping any attack. Take ground and brutally beat down your attacker until they aren’t able to fight back.

The government is taking this problem seriously, but even with all of their programs and new laws, knife attacks have only increased. Soon laws will be in place banning samurai swords and allowing knives sales only to eighteen year olds. I predict that it won’t make a damn shred of difference.

It is up to parents to educate their children on the harsh reality and consequences of violence, and up to the average citizen to defend themselves and their family.

The techniques designed to fight criminals and enemy troops in the past can help protect citizens today.

For more information on Chris “Lt. X” Pizzo former soldier, cancer survivor, mercenary, barroom bouncer, educator, and hand-to-hand combat instructor, and his incredible FREE Accelerated Battlefield Combatives close-combat learning system, visit http://www.TopSecretTraining.com