Wednesday, February 28, 2007

CA Family Group Says Spanking Ban Proposal Not Dropped

From Group Says Spanking Ban Proposal Not Dropped, by Ed Thomas, posted Feb. 26, 2007, by OneNewsNow.com

Family advocates in California are warning that the rewritten version of a controversial bill introduced by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber in the state legislature last week, just ahead of a submission deadline, is just as much a ban on spanking as previously alleged in media reports -- despite claims to the contrary by Lieber and liberal media outlets.

Randy Thomasson, president of California's Campaign for Children and Families (CCF), says Lieber is trying to pass off AB 755, the bill she submitted to the state legislature last week, as something other than a spanking bill -- the controversy over which caused her to delay its introduction. But California residents shouldn't be fooled, says Thomasson.

Introduction of the measure was delayed by nearly a month, according to information from CCF, because of the controversy that erupted when the intent of the proposal was leaked by Lieber to the press. But Thomasson says the results of the rewording of the bill's language still criminalize spanking, and interfere with private discipline in the home.

"So now it's been re-formed and disguised as a -- quote -- 'anti-abuse' bill," explains the CCF leader, "but those 'anti-abuse' provisions are redundant with most of existing law."

Read the rest of this article.


John Quincy Adams and Winston Churchill's Thoughts on Islam

Fundamentalist Muslims have been waging war on civilization for a long time...

From John Quincy Adams and Winston Churchill on radical Islam, by Vik Rubenfeld, posted Jan. 20th, 2006, at The Big Picture blog

John Quincy Adams (excerpted):
"While the merciless and dissolute dogmas of the false prophet shall furnish motives to human action, there can never be peace upon earth, and good will towards men.
Winston Churchill had this to say (excerpted):

No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome.

-- Sir Winston Spencer Churchill (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages 248-50 (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899).

There is more. Read it at The Big Picture

Crisis in India: Millions of Missing Girls Aborted

From There Really is a Crisis Situation" -- India's Millions of Missing Girls Abortion, posted Feb. 22, 2007, by Albert Mohler, for www.AlbertMohler.com

The Associated Press is out with a rather amazing news report. It seems that India is now ready to raise unwanted baby girls in special orphanages throughout the nation. The practice of female infanticide is so widespread in India that a gender imbalance threatens the future vitality of Indian society.

From the report:

The Indian government plans to set up a series of orphanages to raise unwanted baby girls in a bid to halt the widespread practice of aborting female fetuses, according to a senior government official.

Dubbed the "cradle scheme," the plan is an attempt to slow the practice that international groups say has killed more than 10 million female fetuses in the last two decades, leading to an alarming imbalance in the ratio between males and females in India, Renuka Chowdhury, the minister of state for women and child development, told the Press Trust of India news agency in an interview published Sunday.

"What we are saying to the people is have your children, don't kill them. And if you don't want a girl child, leave her to us," Chowdhury told the agency, adding that the government planned to set up a center in each regional district.

"We will bring up the children. But don't kill them because there really is a crisis situation," she said.

Do American abortion rights advocates base that sense of elevated morality only on the reason given for an abortion? Are they against sex-selection abortions only? One must wonder how they can make that argument with a straight face, since the movement insists that a woman should have unrestricted acccess to abortion for whatever reason she chooses -- or no stated reason whatsoever.

Read the rest of this commentary.

Court Says NYC Must Pay for Sex Change

From Court says NYC must pay for sex change, by United Press International

NEW YORK, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A New York judge is ordering city taxpayers to pay for a 21-year-old man's sex-change operation, the New York Post reports.

"I don't think it's hit me yet. The consequences are so far reaching," Mariah Lopez told newspaper after her victory in Manhattan Family Court.

Judge Sheldon Rand said the city's Administration for Children's Services must pay for all "necessary" care for children in its care. Lopez was in ACS care when her legal battle began.

She suffers from a diagnosed gender-identity disorder and that surgery is the recognized treatment, the judge's ruling, which will be released Thursday, read, The Post reported.

"This court has recognized that gender-identity disorder is a real condition and there is a real solution to it and people don't have to suffer from it," Rand wrote.

Lopez told the court the surgery would cost between $15,000 and $20,000.

The city plans to appeal, a lawyer told the newspaper.

Vermont May Be the Next State to Legalize Assisted Suicide

From Vermont May Be the Next State to Legalize Assisted Suicide, by Gudrun Schultz, published Feb. 23rd, 2007, by LifeSite.net

BURLINGTON, Vermont, February 23, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Vermont legislature is set to begin a week of debate on assisted suicide, following the introduction of a House bill that would see Vermont follow Oregon in authorizing doctors to prescribe lethal medication.

A bill mimicking Oregon’s physician-assisted suicide law was presented in the House early in the 2007-2008 legislative session. Entitled “Patient Choice and Control at End of Life,” House Bill 44 was signed by five sponsors including two Democrats, a Republican, a Progressive and an independent.

Debate on the volatile issue will open Friday with presentations from leaders on both sides of the argument before a House committee, the Associated Press reported earlier today, as well as a public hearing to gain a sense of public opinion on the issue.

Advocates for the disabled have been among the strongest objectors, led by the Vermont Coalition for Disability Rights.

Read the rest of this article.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Islamists Protest at UC Irvine (First hand account)

From Islamist protest against freedom of speech at UC Irvine, by Vik Rubenfeld, published on The Big Picture Blog

Last night the United American Committee, and the College Republicans of University of California Irvine, held a panel discussion regarding the Danish Cartoons, including an unveiling of the cartoons themselves.

My friend Laura Wallick and I went in order to support free speech in America, and to support our friend, UAC founder Jesse Petrilla.

It turned out the event was so packed (capacity of the UC Irvine auditorium was 450) that we couldn't get in, which left us free to document the very interesting behavior of the crowd of Islamists protesting the event outside. One police officer we spoke to estimated the Islamist protesters as numbering about 1,000.



They had evidently decided that their PR approach was to accuse the College Republicans of "hate speech."

A very clever ploy. But how dare they, when all over the world, Islamists are cutting off people's heads, killing women and children, taking people hostage and murdering them, threatening genocide against Jews and carrying out genocide against Muslims in Darfur, and regularly broadcasting hate speech on TV in various Arabic countries? These protesters could easily have condemned those actions; then their pretense that they were in favor of peace, and against hate speech, might mean something.

Not one of the Islamist speakers I heard, said a single word against any of the actions I have just itemized. What was particularly shocking was that not one speaker I heard condemned the burning of embassies or the killing of people which took place during the cartoon riots.

Read the rest of this first hand account...

Naperville District 203: Controversial Textbook Approved

Supporters say they trust teachers.

From Controversial science book approved, by Melissa Jenco, published Feb. 21, 2007, by The Daily Herald

The Naperville Unit District 203 school board gave its approval to a controversial science textbook Tuesday after more than 20 impassioned speeches from residents both for and against the book.

The board voted 5-2 to purchase “Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology” by Elaine Marieb for advanced high school science classes despite reservations from several board members on the way contraception is handled by the author. The book was among several dozen approved at the meeting, but it was the only one being challenged.

Board member Jim Caulfield led the charge against the book and said it is unbalanced and inaccurate regarding contraception.

But Superintendent Alan Leis said the advanced class that uses the book focuses on systems of the body, and the issue of contraception is not part of the curriculum for the class, which reassured several board members who said they also do not like the way the subject is handled but approve of the rest of the book.

Those supporting the choice of books donned stickers and pins that read “Sound Science” and “Vote Yes for the Science Book.” They said they trust teachers who chose the book and find it to be an accurate and valuable resource for students.

Read the rest of this article.


Gay Activists Pressure Psychiatrists to Stop Helping People Overcome Homosexuality

From Gay Pressure Threatens Counseling, by Wendy Cloyd, Published Feb. 23, 2007, by CitizenLink.org

Under pressure from homosexual activists, the American Psychological Association (APA) plans to re-examine its policy on therapy for gay men and women seeking change.

At least two homosexual groups--the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute (NGLTF) and PFLAG (Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbian and Gays)—want the APA to get tough on anyone who tries to help gays change.

Dr. Warren Throckmorton, associate professor of psychology and fellow for psychology and public policy at Grove City College, said the APA is responding to pressure, not science.

"What we're talking about is the right of clients who are unhappy with their feeling (of same-sex attraction)," he said. "Those people have the right to seek therapy to help them live the way they want to live -- the way they value."

Read the rest of the article.

Illinois Senate Passes Embryonic Stem Cell and Cloning Bill

From Illinois Senate Passes Embryonic Stem Cell and Cloning Bill, published Feb. 23, 2007, by The Illinois Family Institute.

Senators in Springfield vote 35 to 23 to use tax dollars to fund human embryonic stem cell research and cloning. Thirty votes were needed to pass this this bill. It now moves on to the House for further debate.

To see how your senator voted, click here.

Private funding has dried up for embryonic stem cell research because over the last two decades of research NO viable treatments have been developed. It is both immoral and a waste of money.

Please contact your state representative and urge them to vote no.

Gay Rep. Introduces Counterfeit Marriage Bill, HB 1615, in Illinois

From Gay Rep. Introduces Counterfeit Marriage Bill, HB 1615, by Peter LaBarbera, published Feb. 24, 2007, by Americans for Truth

The state’s only “openly gay” representative, Greg Harris (D-Chicago), has submitted a bill to legalize “same-sex marriage” in the Land of Lincoln. Harris sneakily calls his bill the “Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act” –– despite evidence from Massachusetts that legal “gay marriage” leads to stepped-up discrimination against religious institutions opposed to homosexuality.

This bill changes marriage from between one man and one woman to "two people." It also provides that if there is a child which has one of the two parents as a natural parent, the child will be considered the child of both parents.

TAKE ACTION:
If you are an Illinois resident, call your state representative and state senator and politely urge them to:
  • OPPOSE HB 1615, the radical redefinition of marriage proposed by new homosexual State Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago); click HERE to find your legislators (the page works best if you know your 9-digit zip), and click HERE to view the bill, which would strip out the common-sense prohibition in Illinois law against marriages “between two individuals of the same sex.” You can call the Illinois Capitol Switchboard at 217-782-2000.
  • SUPPORT HJRCA 1, the pro-traditional-marriage constitutional amendment offered by State Rep. Dave Reis (R) –– which has languished in the IL General Assembly for years due to the Democrats’ subservience to the state’s powerful “gay” lobby. (In Illinois, a constitutional amendment requires a three-fifths vote by the legislature, followed by a three-fifths popular vote.)

Christian Groups Told They Must Purchase 2.5 Acres of Land to Hold Bible Study

From Miami-Dade County officials: Buy 2.5 acres, or cancel Bible study, press release from the Alliance Defense Fund

MIAMI — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit Friday on behalf of two groups of Christians told they must purchase 2.5 acres of land before meeting for prayer and Bible study. Miami-Dade County officials slapped International Outreach Center and Worldwide Agape Ministries with orders to cease and desist meeting unless members can procure the acreage required, even if only two or three people are in attendance.

“People can gather each week at someone’s home to watch football, but they can’t gather to read the Bible and pray without being forced to buy 2.5 acres of land. I think that would strike most people as ridiculous,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster. “It is unconstitutional for the county to bully these ministries when there is no minimum acreage requirement for other assembly-use businesses, such as pool halls, theaters, convention centers, and private clubs.”

Read the rest of this article

Prayer Oil on Students' Desks Raises Ire

Principal, staff sought God's blessing before state testing

From Prayer oil on students' desks raises ire, published Feb. 23, 2007, by WorldNetDaily.com

Even praying after hours in a Florida classroom is not without hazards and controversy.

In Florida, Christian staff members of a public school did just that – prayed for students facing assessment tests. But leaving behind a residue of anointing oil on desks has caused an uproar.

"We thought it was vandalism. It was greasy. It was oily," Chris Becker, a fourth-grade teacher who was resigning his position at Brooksville, Fla., Elementary to take another position, told the St. Petersburg Times.

"One of my colleagues said she was told by one of the secretaries it was prayer oil," he told the newspaper. "I was very offended by that because I'm not a Christian.
The principal, Mary LeDoux, reported it had been a difficult day with high levels of misbehavior, and the state's standardized assessment test was scheduled to be administered the following week.

She told the newspaper she found nothing wrong with what she and "four or five" colleagues did: they went from classroom to classroom, praying and blessing the students' desks with oil.

It happened late in the evening on Friday, Feb. 2, after the school was closed for the weekend.

Now, I understand people being upset about oil left on their desks. It should have been cleaned up. However, consider the ACLU’s response:

An American Civil Liberties Union spokeswoman said the actions crossed the line, because Christians were imposing their beliefs on others by leaving prayer oil on the desks for others to see.

Here’s my question: How long will it be before praying or even carrying a Bible in public where ‘others can see’ will be seen as ‘imposing one’s beliefs on others?'

Read the rest at WorldNetDaily.com

Witch and Devil Costumes OK. Jesus Not Allowed.

From "Lawsuit Claims School Prevented Boy From Wearing Jesus Costume for Halloween" by The Associated Press 2/22/07

Philadelphia -- A Christian legal group has sued a school district on behalf of a 10-year-old-boy who claims his rights to religion and free speech were violated when he was not allowed to wear a Jesus costume during Halloween activities.

The complaint, filed in federal court Tuesday by the Alliance Defense Fund, says officials at Willow Hill Elementary School in suburban Glenside told the boy Oct. 31 that he could not wear his faux crown of thorns or tell others he was dressed as Jesus.

The principal, Patricia Whitmire, told the boy's mother that the costume violated a policy prohibiting the promotion of religion, according to the lawsuit. Whitmire suggested that the fourth-grader, whose costume included a robe, identify himself as a Roman emperor, the suit states.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

UPDATE 11/1/08: From "Eighth-Grade Boy Sent Home From School for Jesus Christ Halloween Costume" by The Associated Press

Alex Woinski, an eighth-grader at West Brook Middle School in Paramus [New Jersey], was sent home from school on Friday because of his costume.

Alex, who has shoulder-length brown hair, wore a white robe, a red sash, sandals, a fake beard and a crown of thorns.

Alex's mother is Catholic, and his father is Jewish.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

How Gay Bias Has Changed News Coverage for the Worse (commentary)

From Dump the Gay Beat, by Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily.com

I don't know about you, but I've had enough of "gay journalism."

No matter where you turn today in the so-called "mainstream" media (you know, the part of the press losing all the readers and viewers), practically all you see is coverage of people with aberrant sexual practices.

I'm sure this is happening because social activists, including many who just want to feel good about their own aberrant sexual practices, have thoroughly dominated America's newsrooms.

As a newsman of more than 30 years, I actually witnessed this takeover of newspapers, wire services and the broadcast outlets. It started slowly, innocently. Before we knew it, the journalism business had gone as fey as Broadway.

I deal with this subject at considerable length in my upcoming book, "Stop the Presses." But I want you to understand that I witnessed this sea change in my business up close and personal.

I also saw how it changed news coverage for the worst.

Today, no story that reflects negatively on homosexuality can or will be published, disseminated or broadcast because of this internal pressure lobby inside the "gay media complex."

Worse yet, as I pointed out earlier this week, stories that have nothing to do with buggery now must be injected with the topic. The Associated Press story on the American Sociological Review paper on adoption is a great illustration of the problem.

Read the rest of this commentary.



British Study Links Miscarriages to Abortion

From British study links miscarriages to abortion, by OneNewsNow.com, published Feb. 24, 2007

Out-of-wedlock pregnancies, abortion, and artificial procreation appear to be linked to increased rates of miscarriages according to a new study to be published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The results are from research, conducted by Noreen Maconochie and a team from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, in which over 12,000 women ages 18-55 were surveyed.

The study found that women who had had an abortion were 60 percent more likely to be at risk of miscarriage. An increased risk of miscarriage was also found to be associated with women who are unmarried and change sexual partners. However, the study revealed that vitamin supplementation and eating fresh fruits and vegetables daily reduce the risk.

While the authors view the association of miscarriage and abortion as "noteworthy," they recommend further research to confirm the finding.

Judge: Schools Can Teach Homosexuality Without Parental Consent

Parents lose more rights as a result of the gay 'rights' movement...

From Judge: Schools can promote homosexual 'marriage' without parental consent, by Jim Brown, published Feb. 24, 2007, for OneNewsNow.com

WASHINGTON - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by two Massachusetts families who want to remove their elementary school children from their public school classroom during discussions on homosexual "marriage."

U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf has rejected a lawsuit brought by the Parker and Wirthlin families against the Lexington, Ky., school system. The families argued that their constitutional rights were violated when school officials refused to notify them before their children were exposed to pro-homosexual content in the classroom.

In his ruling, Wolf said that, “under the Constitution, public schools are entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.”

One of the plaintiffs, David Parker, says the ruling should be troubling to parents across the country.

"It ignores, really, what we're asking for," he explained. "We're asking for parental notification.

"We're asking for the school not to restrict the flow of information that's critical to enable parents to guide their children," he continued. "And, really, it sets up the situation to usurp a fundamental part of the parental role."

Parker says even parents who support homosexual "marriage" should be concerned about Wolf's decision.

"Taking the position that teachers - behind the backs of parents, to a captive audience of very young children - can indoctrinate any social perspective that they deem right," he argued, "and not even notify the parents, is absolutely unacceptable for all parents on all sides of the issues for all political persuasions.

From Judge dismisses David Parker's federal lawsuit, published by Mass Resistance

According to the 38 page ruling from Judge Wolf:

"An exodus from class when issues of homosexuality or same-sex marriage are to be discussed could send the message that gays, lesbians, and the children of same-sex parents are inferior and, therefore, have a damaging effect on those students," he opined.

Teaching all students that homosexuality is normal is not an appropriate solution to damaging effects on students being raised by homosexuals. Homosexual people are not inferior, but homosexual relationships and behavior ARE. This judge appears to be incapable of making distinctions between people and behavior.

The judge goes on to say:

"Under the Constitution public schools are entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy," the judge wrote. "Diversity is a hallmark of our nation. It is increasingly evident that our diversity includes differences in sexual orientation."

Are we to value all sexual orientation differences? According to the American Psychiatric Associaton there are 23 distinctive sexual 'orientations.' If discrimination against sexual 'orientation' is wrong, then how can we draw an arbitrary line against some 'orientations' and not others? What about bestiality, fetishism and urophilia? Is it OK to discriminate against exhibitionists and sadists or do we teach our children these things are normal too?

On what basis do we 'draw the line?' Of course, the answer to that is, we DON'T. Homosexual activists want to see legal recognition for everything from polyamorous groups to 'queer couples who decide to create and raise a child with another queer person or couple in two households.'

Isn't diversity grand?


Special
Event!
The Gay Agenda? No Child Left Behind...
Sunday, Mar. 11, 7:15 PM, College Church, Wheaton, IL


Deerfield High School: Required Class for Freshmen Advocates Liberal and Pro-Gay Propaganda

As Culture Campaign reported last week, a letter to the editor in the Thursday, Feb. 15 issue of Deerfield Review has prompted some scrutiny of the curriculum being used in a freshman class called Freshman Advisory in District 113 (Deerfield and Highland Park High Schools).

According to Lora Sue Hauser, School Issues Advisor from Illinois Family Institute and parent in the Deerfield High School District, Freshman Advisory is a required class for freshmen in which a vast amount of time is devoted to exposing students to pro-homosexual propaganda:

“This is a whole class designed for the gay agenda during the second semester as well as other liberal causes. In addition to the gay panel, last year’s curricula included movies, (Common Threads, Bloodlines, Philadelphia), displaying the AIDS quilt, promoting Day of Silence, etc.

And even worse, this year parents cannot get even this much information. We have no idea what is actually being taught about sexual orientation. The teachers are not required to give full disclosure as to the content in their lesson plans.

How does this happen? It’s a simple formula; gay activist teachers = liberal curricula. In Deerfield, and other schools around the country, gay activists are in a position to choose curricula and they have no intention of staying neutral on these highly debated topics. They do not present alternative viewpoints even though they claim to welcome diverse views. We have repeatedly asked for a panel to speak on the subject of homosexuality from a moral and medical view but have been denied.

We are trying to get a copy of the 2007 Freshman Advisory Diversity curriculum, with specifics as to what is being taught but we're hitting a brick wall. Last year, there was a whole Diversity Packet including a Heterosexism Unit that was ghastly. It included playing a card game with all the sexually deviant terms (Genderqueer, Intersexual, MSM, Transgender, Transsexual, Sex Reassignment Surgery, Transphobia, Down-Low, Cross Dressers, etc.) and students had to match the definitions.

It was followed by discussions asking such questions as "What questions or confusion do you have around language describing lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people?" or "In your experience, has LGBT terminology been understood and used properly at Deerfield High School." Of course, all this material comes from GLSEN.”

The curriculum also included a Social Justice Education Unit teaching “Power Over & Power Under ” ideologies with Whites, Males, Heterosexuals, Christians/Gentiles, and the Rich being those with “Power Over.” During the lesson plan, they change the wording to be “Non-target” and “Target” stating that the “Power Over” group target people for mistreatment. This kind of teaching sets the ideological stage for anyone who tries to question the curriculum. We are the ones who “Target.” This is nothing short of propaganda to the youngest students in a high school."
According to the North Shore Student Advocacy Group (NSSA):
1. District 113 Superintendent, George Fornero, and school board members have been unwilling to meet with parents and concerned taxpayers. Dr. Fornero, new to District 113, was acting superintendent in Ann Arbor, MI where his school district, Ann Arbor Public Schools, was sued for not allowing a student to present an alternate viewpoint on a panel of those supporting homosexual behavior. The district lost the suit.

2. Last year, adult gay author Alex Sanchez was brought in by the Straight and Gay Alliance (SAGA) to speak to students after school. He promoted his sexually graphic books and website, (which links to forty-five gay bars, fetish groups and even a ‘leather’ group (sado-masochism).

It is a violation of state law and school policy for teachers to promote sexual behavior. It is also a violation of the Equal Access Act for SAGA advisors to be in anything other than a custodial role for non-curriculum extracurricular groups.

Deerfield High School has some explaining to do…

If you would like to get more information on the effort to protect kids in District 113 (Deerfield and Highland Park High Schools), please send us an email at feedback@culturecampaign.com.

Special Event! The Gay Agenda? No Child Left Behind...
Sunday, Mar. 11, 7:15 PM, College Church, Wheaton, IL

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Hate Crimes Legislation: Dems Set to Punish People for What They Believe

House Judiciary Committee ready to vote on HR254 establishing ‘hate’ crimes legislation.

According to Liberty Counsel founder, Matt Staver:
"Christians and pro-family activists ought to be concerned about this hate crimes legislation because, if it is passed, it will certainly restrict free speech," he contends…I think we need to understand that this doesn't apply to just violent crimes. It applies to what would be considered intimidation or threats of intimidation, and oftentimes that is in the eye of the beholder."

Members of the House Judiciary Committee need to hear from concerned Americans this week. A party-line committee vote is anticipated, with Democrats voting for the hate-crimes legislation and Republicans voting against.

If your representative is on the judiciary committee, please contact them and urge them to vote against HR 254 today. For the list of Judiciary Committee members and contact information click HERE.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Colorado Teens May Soon Need Parental Permission to Get a Tan, But Not an Abortion

From CitizenLink.org

Bart Hanks, a Colorado tanning-salon owner, said he goes to great lengths to make sure customers are educated before climbing into a tanning bed.

"For the most part, the parent has to be present," he told Family News in Focus. "And they have to sign for them if they are under 18."

That's good store policy, and the legislative proposal would require such permission.

Jim Pfaff, president of Colorado Family Action, said there's a greater hazard the Legislature ought to be dealing with first.

"A child must obtain parental consent to get a tattoo, to get an ear piercing and now we want to consider doing that for tanning," he said. "But in Colorado we have no consent requirement when a child decides they want to have an abortion."

Pfaff said abortion is a life-altering medical procedure that affects girls for a lifetime.

"Innocent human life needs to be protected," he said. "Parents should be required to sign off on that if their daughter is deciding to have an abortion, and yet we're quibbling about tanning."

British Columbia: Parents protest gay-friendly classes

VANCOUVER -- Thousands of British Columbians have signed petitions and sent letters to the Education Ministry insisting that parents be allowed to pull their children from public school lessons to avoid gay-friendly messages that conflict with religious or family values.

But Education Minister Shirley Bond said she doesn't intend to change a policy that says parents may remove their students only from specific health lessons in three courses: Health and Career Education for K-7, Health and Career Education 8-9 and Planning 10.

That promise was part of a contract the government signed last spring with gay activists Murray and Peter Corren to end a protracted human-rights case. As part of that deal, the government said it would enforce a policy that limits the ability of families to opt out of classes they find objectionable.

Read the rest at The Times Colonist online

Only 6 school boards out of 60 had the guts to say they would not compel students to attend classes over the objections of their parents. Ours is not an age of courage...

Related coverage:

Gov't Agrees to Mandatory Homosexual Curriculum with No Opt-Out for Students or Parents
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jun/06060101.html

Evangelical schools ordered to teach Darwinism
http://culturecampaign.blogspot.com/2006/10/evangelical-schools-ordered-to-teach.html

American Psychological Association: Remove All Sexualized Images of Women in Media

A report of the American Psychological Association (APA) released today found evidence that the proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media is harmful to girls' self-image and healthy development.

To complete the report, the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls studied published research on the content and effects of virtually every form of media, including television, music videos, music lyrics, magazines, movies, video games and the Internet. They also examined recent advertising campaigns and merchandising of products aimed toward girls.

Sexualization was defined by the task force as occurring when a person's value comes only from her/his sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics, and when a person is sexually objectified, e.g., made into a thing for another's sexual use.

"The consequences of the sexualization of girls in media today are very real and are likely to be a negative influence on girls' healthy development," says Eileen L. Zurbriggen, PhD, chair of the APA Task Force and associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "We have ample evidence to conclude that sexualization has negative effects in a variety of domains, including cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, and healthy sexual development."

According to the task force report, parents can play a major role in contributing to the sexualization of their daughters or can play a protective and educative role. The APA report calls on parents, school officials, and all health professionals to be alert for the potential impact of sexualization on girls and young women.

See the APA's full report online here
http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualizationrep.pdf

Read the entire article at LifeSite.net

This should be a wake-up call to our schools who are intent on sexualizing both girls and boys under the banner of 'excellence in education"...




Children condemned to death and adults detained for years without charge

Thousands of prisoners in jail without charge, children sentenced to death and oppression of women. In a report issued on 17 February, a commission from Human Rights Watch (HRW) detailed serious violations of human rights in Saudi trials and prisons.

During a four-week mission in December, the team observed trials and visited jails, even if under 24-hour “surveillance” and with several limitations. It was able to ascertain that the secret police held thousands of detainees without trial for political reasons, without bringing them before a court, although Article 114 of the Criminal Procedure Code requires that detention without charge cannot exceed six months. The accused often do not have a lawyer and even if they do, it is difficult for the defence to have access to their charge sheet. Trials are usually held behind closed doors although Article 155 of the Code stipulates they should be public. The court of Jiddah did not allow the commission to observe trials. HRW said many sentences were based on minimal evidence and judges often did not write the verdict down, as happened in the political trials of those charged with revolting in Najran in 2000.

Children are jailed for minor offences, even for violating "morals". In prison they are beaten and kept in solitary confinement. Thirteen-year-old children have been sentenced to death because they were considered to be “mature”. But HRW was unable to discover what they had done. Worse still was the situation of women, often subject to constant male guardianship.

Read the entire article at AsiaNews.it

Italy: Judge and Parents Force Girl to Undergo Abortion

TURIN, Italy, February 19, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An Italian judge ordered a 13 year-old girl to undergo an abortion, despite the girl's pleas to let her keep her child reports the Italian news agency, La Stampa.

The girl, Valentina, had become pregnant by her 15 year-old boyfriend, however rather than let her choose to keep her child, her parents demanded she have an abortion on the grounds that she was ruining her life by becoming a mother.

"You cannot hold this child ... you must abort, and father will never have to know,” Valentina's mother told her, saying that she did not have the money to support the child.

Despite Valentina's repeated attempts to make her parents understand she wanted to choose to keep her baby, the case went to the Court of Minors. Judge Giuseppe Cocilovo then issued the ruling to abort Valentina's child.

Under Italian law, a minor may not decide whether to keep or abort her child, and may be forced by her guardians or parents to undergo an abortion.

However, the abortion has meant nothing less than disaster for Valentina, who was confined to the psychiatric unit of Regina Margherita children's hospital in Turin after the abortion for wanting to commit suicide.

“You have made me kill, and now I kill myself, I kill myself”, cried Valentina. "I do not want here to be," Valentina repeated. "I am not crazy, I am only evil like a dog for what my parents and the judges have obliged to make to me."

The case of Valentina is an egregious case of forced abortion in Italy, where one would expect that a woman‘s “right to choose” would mean the possibility of choosing life. However, the silence of purportedly "pro-choice" feminist groups has been deafening thus far over 13 year-old Valentina's forced abortion, despite her very own choice that her body should carry life.

To respectfully protest the Italian authorities:

Italian Embassy in U.S.
3000 Whitehaven Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C., 20008
Tel (202) 612-4400
Fax (202) 518-2154
Italian Embassy in Ottawa

UK: Councillor Accused of “Heterosexism” for Suggesting Family-Sized Homes

CAMBRIDGE, February 19, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A former mayor of Cambridge, England, John Hipkin, is demanding an apology and a retraction after being accused publicly of “heterosexism” for suggesting that more homes need to be built to accommodate families.

Hipkin wondered aloud at a planning meeting last fall whether the preference of housing developers for one and two bedroom homes was not “putting huge pressure of a contraceptive nature on this city.”

Hipkin said at the time, “People presumably start off single or young marrieds and have children, don't they? Where are they going to go?”

The Daily Telegraph reports that a complaint was lodged by a homosexual activist group who said that his remarks betrayed heterosexism, defined as “unintentional discrimination towards or against non-heterosexuals due to cultural bias.”

Hipkin, a Liberal Democrat councillor for the university town reacted with outrage and said his comments in no way were not “a plan to deny gays a home.”

Calling the complaint a “slur on his character,” Hipkin said, “Such an allegation runs contrary to all the things I think I am. I have spent my life opposing homophobia, sexism, racism - all forms of discrimination.”


I guess what goes around eventually comes around...

UK: Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches Back Plan to Reunite Under the Pope?

These are strange days indeed. From the Times:

Radical proposals to reunite Anglicans with the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope are to be published this year, The Times has learnt.

The proposals have been agreed by senior bishops of both churches.

In a 42-page statement prepared by an international commission of both churches, Anglicans and Roman Catholics are urged to explore how they might reunite under the Pope.

The statement, leaked to The Times, is being considered by the Vatican, where Catholic bishops are preparing a formal response.

It comes as the archbishops who lead the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion meet in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in an attempt to avoid schism over gay ordination and other liberal doctrines that have taken hold in parts of the Western Church.

The 36 primates at the gathering will be aware that the Pope, while still a cardinal, sent a message of support to the orthodox wing of the Episcopal Church of the US as it struggled to cope with the fallout after the ordination of the gay bishop Gene Robinson.

Albert Mohler had this to say in his blog yesterday:

If the report had been published in a paper less respected than The Times, we might have reason to doubt it. Gledhill reports that "senior bishops" of the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church are ready to support a proposal for union under the Pope.

The Church of England's doctrinal differences with the Roman Catholic Church are historic and theologically significant -- at least as represented by its own confessional statement. Some of the most significant theological contributions of the Reformation came from the pens and ministries of those associated with the Church of England. Do the names Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer -- all martyred for the faith of the Reformation -- not suffice to make this point? Add to these the names of the Puritans and others who continued that Reformation tradition.

This report is but another indication of the theological confusion that now vexes and threatens the Anglican Communion. Would the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, suggest that Anglican bishops could have a close communion with Rome -- even unified under the papacy -- when they cannot share communion with each other in Dar es Salaam?

Pray for this church, and stay tuned. The news out of Dar es Salaam is likely to be very important this coming week.

Read the rest at Albert Mohler's blog

The Self-Esteem Movement Backfires -- When Praise is Dangerous

By Albert Mohler

The self-esteem movement has transformed much of America, but this is perhaps nowhere more evident than in the schools. A brilliant article in New York Magazine provides a fascinating glimpse into why the movement is crashing and burning.

As writer Po Bronson explains:

Since the 1969 publication of The Psychology of Self-Esteem, in which Nathaniel Branden opined that self-esteem was the single most important facet of a person, the belief that one must do whatever he can to achieve positive self-esteem has become a movement with broad societal effects. Anything potentially damaging to kids' self-esteem was axed. Competitions were frowned upon. Soccer coaches stopped counting goals and handed out trophies to everyone. Teachers threw out their red pencils. Criticism was replaced with ubiquitous, even undeserved, praise.

Author Melanie Phillips offered a devastating critique of the movement in her book All Must Have Prizes. As she revealed, achievement in all areas was being replaced with exercises intended to boost self-esteem. Every player on the team has to receive a prize and all prizes have to be equal. She put it this way in 2003:

Surely, in the immortal words of John McEnroe, they cannot be serious? Alas, the latest pronouncement from those in charge of our exam system is truly beyond satire.

Their new idea for boosting examination success is to abolish the very idea of failure, along with the difference between the right and the wrong answer to a question.

The article indicates that older children and teenagers learn to become cynical about the undeserved praise they receive from parents, teachers, and others. They actually perform better if they receive serious and skilled criticism, rather than empty praise.


Praising effort and achievement yields positive results. Praising for the sake of praising hurts far more than it helps. It is a recipe for individual and social disaster.

Read the whole article at AlbertMohler.com

Monday, February 19, 2007

Defunding the War: How Bad Could it Get?

Almost 37 years ago, long before Congress thought to pass non-binding resolutions as a first step to cut off funding in Iraq, the Senate passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. John Sherman Cooper (R.-Ky.) and Sen. Frank Church (D.-Idaho) to restrict funding for operations in Cambodia.

Senators Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) have said again and again that passage of a non-binding resolution against President Bush’s troop surge would be the first step to withdrawing American forces from Iraq.

How badly could this turn out?

The actions of their predecessors, who de-funded the Vietnam War, give us a big clue.
On June 30, 1970 58 senators voted in favor of Cooper-Church to handcuff President Nixon from sending more troops to Vietnam. The amendment limited the President’s war powers through the budgetary process with a trio of stipulations. First, it ended funding for U.S. troops and advisers in Cambodia and Laos after June 30. Secondly, it banned combat operations over Cambodian airspace to support Cambodian forces without prior congressional approval. Lastly, it cut funding to support Southern Vietnamese forces stationed outside of Vietnam.

Today, liberals have drawn many comparisons between Vietnam and the War in Iraq, but reliably omit the tragic killing fields of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam that were produced after American forces were forced by Congress to exit the region.


From a
July 11, 1970 article

The Cooper-Church proposal does a number of things that can only cause exaltation and hand-clapping in Hanoi and Communist capitals elsewhere….The amendment also tells our Asian allies that they can go hang, for the U.S. Senate, at any rate, has no intention of helping out Asian victims of Red aggression.”

There is nothing really good that can be said of Cooper-Church, for it is aimed at crippling the power of the President at the very time he is successfully extricating us from Viet Nam precisely because he has not had a Cooper-Church amendment to contend with.

*Note: A few senators who voted for Church-Cooper are still in the Senate today. Those voting for it were: Daniel Inoye (D.-Hawaii), Kennedy (D.-Mass.) and Ted Stevens (R.-Ala.).

Read both articles at HumanEvents.com

Our ignorance of history causes us to slander our own times. -- Gustave Flaubert

William and Mary Hides Cross, Welcomes Sex Workers

(Hat tip: The Pearcey Report) A recent "sex workers" art show at the College of William & Mary is prompting more questions about President Gene R. Nichol's leadership of the 314-year-old public university.

Mr. Nichol allowed the "Sex Workers' Art Show" to stop at William & Mary last week as part of its national tour. The event included male and female strippers, escorts and prostitutes in various states of undress expressing their feelings on subjects ranging from their jobs to global politics.

The criticism against Mr. Nichol began in October when he removed a cross from the school's Wren Chapel to make it more open to people of all faiths.

Mr. Nichol said he removed the cross because potential students and their families viewing the chapel on campus tours immediately departed and because a Jewish student required to participate in a program in the chapel vowed never to return.

Though Mr. Nichol has received support from the Faculty Assembly, the Student Senate and the college's governing Board of Visitors, his decisions to remove the cross and to allow the art show has resulted in strong opposition.

A graduate of the college's law school has filed a federal lawsuit to force the school to return the cross, and at least 25 alumni have vowed to withhold donations until the policy is reversed.

Read the rest at Washington Times

Mental Health Expert Highlights Abortion's Impact on Men

A campus psychiatrist at UCLA is drawing attention to the only study she has found on young men's responses to abortion. Those men, she asserts, are part of a group of abortion victims who have been essentially "invisible" to those in her profession. Mental health professionals, she says, need to stop ignoring the reality that abortion leaves emotional scars.

The study on men's responses to abortion was not conducted by a mental health professional, but rather a sociologist and academic by the name of Dr. Arthur Shostak. Shostak surveyed 1,000 men sitting in the waiting rooms of abortion facilities across the U.S. and found that 80 percent of those men indicated that that had been the longest and darkest day of their life.

Dr. Miriam Grossman, a psychiatrist at UCLA's student health service, says Shostak then followed those men for months, and even some for years.

"The numbers went up [over that time]," she observes. "The number of men who reported that day feeling some guilt and some ambivalence about what they were doing; the number of men who were asked 'Do you think that in the future you might have some troubling thoughts about this?' -- the percentages went up." Adds Grossman: "So a few years afterwards, they were reporting that it was worse than they had anticipated."

Read the rest of this report at OneNewsNow.com


Sen. McCain Seeks to Further Stifle Free Speech

A coalition of 18 advocacy groups is opposing Arizona Senator John McCain's plans to introduce legislation to ban so-called "527" groups. McCain is preparing legislation that coalition leaders believe would stifle the political speech of groups that, ironically, were started as a result of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill passed by Congress in 2002.

Groups that fall under the 527 category include left-wing organizations such as MoveOn.org as well as right-wing groups like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which played a large role in Senator John Kerry's defeat in the 2004 Presidential election.

And what that means in layman's terms, Lee says, "is having taxpayers fund politicians who are running for president." And now that McCain is seen as leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, the senator appears to be willing to abandon his commitment to abide by the public financing system, the Center spokesman asserts.

Read the rest at OneNewsNow.com

Deerfield High School: Parent Barred From Observing Pro-Homosexual Classroom Lesson

Parent had become concerned about content of class after daughter mocked, called 'anti-semitic' and 'homophobic.'

A recent letter to the editor [.PDF] in the Thursday, Feb. 15 issue of Deerfield Review reveals a troubling agenda at Deerfield High School. A parent was denied permission for a one-time visit to observe a class called Freshman Advisory. She had become concerned about the content of the class after her daughter was mocked, called 'anti-semitic' and 'homophobic' for openly disagreeing with the pro-homosexual message presented. Student members of the Straight and Gay Alliance (SAGA) drew pictures of her with devil horns on her head...

Here is the letter in its entirety:

Parent Denied Class Visit

I have seven children who have either attended or are currently attending Deerfield High School. As a parent, I have the right to know what they are teaching my kids, how they are teaching my kids, and why they are teaching my kids certain information. I recently asked for the first time to visit a class to hear what they are teaching in Freshman Advisory.

I was surprised to receive a letter informing me that I would not be allowed to visit. They told me that they would send me a taped copy of the class.

First, how would I know if the tape had been edited? Second, I am an adult, I pay taxes for my kids to attend this school, and I should be able to sit in on one class to see what they are teaching my fourteen-year-old.

I have instilled morals and values in my kids, and I believe that some at DHS are trying to change my child's beliefs to conform to theirs.

Tolerance is one of the values that I have instilled in my kids, but it is clear that tolerance is not a value shared by the Straight and Gay Alliance (SAGA) at DHS. I was shocked to learn that when one of my children openly disagreed with SAGA's position on homosexuality, she was called anti-Semitic and homophobic. In addition, certain individuals in SAGA drew pictures of my daughter with devil horns on her head.

Shockingly, none of this was solved, and no one was punished for these intolerant and distasteful acts. I feel certain that if the tables were turned, my daughter would have been punished. Intolerance is clearly an issue at DHS. Unfortunately it is those with a non-traditional agenda who are the intolerant ones. Some students and certain staff members make it uncomfortable for more conservative students to disagree with the belief that homosexual behavior is moral.

I will do whatever I can to ensure that my children and their beliefs are tolerated. Furthermore, I do not want my children taught anything at school that should be taught only at home. Teachers should teach English, math social studies, science, and foreign languages.

The class I asked to observe is a Freshman Advisory class in which gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender DHS students discuss their sexual orientation with all freshmen. If they are allowed to share this information with freshmen, parents should be allowed to hear their presentation also.

If they are uncomfortable with a parent sitting quietly in the back of the class, then perhaps the presentation is not appropriate for the public school.

I do not want teachers having some students announce their sexual orientation to my children as part of a classroom presentation, and I do not want teachers even suggesting that my children accept the view that homosexual behavior is right behavior. This is not what I send my kids to school to learn. Something needs to change.

Ellen Waltz
Deerfield

Deerfield High School has some explaining to do...

If you would like to help support Ellen in her effort to protect kids at Deerfield High School, please send us an email at feedback@culturecampaign.com.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Naperville District 203: SCIENCE Textbook Presents Information on ‘Morning After’ Pill

Lone school board member concerned about ‘politically driven inaccuracies.’ Others accuse him of ‘censorship.’

A science textbook is once again creating a stir in Naperville Unit
District 203.

School board member Jim Caulfield says he objects to a book awaiting board approval because it contains “politically driven inaccuracies” in the way it addresses contraception and abortion.

“It’s got nothing to do with censorship. It’s got everything to do with what’s a world-class education and this … is on its face misinformation
on politically controversially topics,” Caulfield said.

Staff members have recommended the book, “Essentials of Human Anatomy and Physiology,” by Elaine Marieb, for advanced high school science classes. They want to purchase 140 copies for $10,425.

The school board is scheduled to vote on the book along with several dozen others on Tuesday.

Caulfield said it’s the board’s responsibility to carefully review textbooks before voting.

“To me, that’s more than getting a list from the administration and approving them. … It’s more than judging a book by its cover … (or) judging by its title.”

In particular, he’s troubled by the way the science textbook combines discussion of RU-486 abortion pills with contraception and he doesn’t agree with the book’s assertion that the pills have few side effects.

“If death is not a side effect, then that may be right, but the New York Times, which is an abortion rights-supporting newspaper, reported that six women died after taking it,” Caulfield said.

He also said the book’s discussion of the morning-after pill credits abortion provider Planned Parenthood and dehumanizes the life involved by referring to it as a fertilized egg.

Textbooks are put on display at area libraries for 30 days for public review before the board votes on them. Residents traditionally provide very little feedback.

The school board will discuss the latest round of textbooks when it meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the district’s administrative center, 203 W. Hillside

Read the entire article at dailyherald.com

Thursday, February 15, 2007

214 School Board President on Upcoming Election: Challengers are "Far Right Wing" and "Narrow Minded"

You may remember the controversy over required reading in District 214 last spring when lone school board member, Leslie Pinney, objected to the presence of certain books (containing pornographic passages) on a required reading list for District 214 high school students. Ms. Pinney was viciously berated and belittled at a public school board meeting for her concern -- before being outvoted by her fellow school board members.

Well it's nearly election time, and three men have been inspired by that debacle to challenge incumbent School Board President Bill Dussling, Vice President Alva Kreutzer and fellow board member Bob Zimmanck for their seats. An article in the Pioneer Press says:

Challenging the incumbents are Prospect High School parent and businessman Dennis Konczyk, former educator Ken Frizane and recently retired District 214 night school administrator Jim Harbaugh.

But Dussling (incumbent school board president), among others, contend some of these candidates would like to limit District 214's curriculum and impose a "far right" agenda on the district.
Wow. What a thought. "Limiting" the reading material for teenagers to the non-pornographic variety. Certainly it will stunt their intellect...

Dussling went on to say:

"There are people out there with a narrow mindset and the way I see it, the excellence of District 214 is being challenged," he said.

Apparently it takes a "narrow mindset" to believe that academic excellence does not require exposing children to literary depictions of anal intercourse, oral sex, sex with cows, sex with dogs, and even sex with hotdogs...

Oddly enough, the article focused on the amount of money being spent on the campaign. Not surprising I suppose, since I'm certain neither the Pioneer Press nor Bill Dussling care to dwell on the real problem in District 214 which is the sexualization of kids.

Need more proof there is a problem? Just two weeks ago, the
Wheeling High School student newspaper printed an article descriptively titled: "Oral Sex, the New Romantic Norm."

Hmmm. If parents and taxpayers start connecting the dots, they will realize this election is about a lot more than just money.


Ranks of Renowned Scientists Doubting Darwin's Theory on the Rise - 700 Now on Public List

Another 100 scientists have joined the ranks of scientists from around the world publicly stating their doubts about the adequacy of Darwin's theory of evolution.

"Darwinism is a trivial idea that has been elevated to the status of the scientific theory that governs modern biology," says dissent list signer Dr. Michael Egnor. Egnor is a professor of neurosurgery and pediatrics at State University of New York, Stony Brook and an award-winning brain surgeon named one of New York's best doctors by New York Magazine.

Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture announced last week that over 700 scientists from around the world have now signed a statement expressing their skepticism about the contemporary theory of Darwinian evolution. The statement, located online at http://www.dissentfromdarwin.org , reads: "We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life. Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged."

"We know intuitively that Darwinism can accomplish some things, but not others," added Egnor. "The question is what is that boundary? Does the information content in living things exceed that boundary? Darwinists have never faced those questions. They've never asked scientifically if random mutation and natural selection can generate the information content in living things."

Read the rest at Lifesite.net

Use of the Words 'Natural Family' Ruled Hate Speech

...a critical First Amendment case is being argued before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case deals squarely with the issue of whether Christians have a right to use neutral language in the workplace to talk about same-sex marriage and other issues at the forefront of national debate. Attorneys Scott Lively and Richard D. Ackerman will be arguing the case before the Ninth Circuit on behalf of an African- American Christian woman who was threatened with termination at her job with the City of Oakland. The City of Oakland claims that references to the "natural family, marriage and family values" constitute hate speech which is scary to city workers.

According to the lawsuit, gay and lesbian city workers had already been using the city's e-mail, bulletin board, and written communications systems for promoting their views to other workers, including the plaintiffs.

Plaintiffs, Regina Rederford and Robin Christy posted the flier in response to an e-mail to city employees announcing formation of a gay and lesbian employee association. The two responded with a promotion of their own -- the start of an informal group that respects "the natural family, marriage and family values."

But supervisors Robert Bobb, then city manager, and Joyce Hicks, then deputy director of the Community and Economic Development Agency, ordered removal of the flier, stating it contained "statements of a homophobic nature" and promoted "sexual- orientation-based harassment," even though it made no absolutely no mention of homosexuality.

A July 2003 lawsuit by Rederford and Christy claimed the city's anti-discrimination policy "promotes homosexuality" and "openly denounces Christian values."

Messrs. Lively and Ackerman said the case is significant, because a decision against the employees could silence debate about homosexuality and related issues in the entire Western United States since the Ninth Circuit controls a large region of the United States...

Tax dollars support sickness masquerading as art at Sundance Film Festival

AFA reports that tax dollars were used to support the Sundance Film Festival which recently featured a "tasteful film about men fornicating with horses."

The National Endowment for the Arts gave between $100,000 and $249,000 to help underwrite the festival, and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) gave between $50,000 and $99,999.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) gets millions of dollars to support "art." A few years ago the NEA helped fund a crucifix submerged in urine and named "Pis- Christ." NEA has sponsored similar "art" projects with tax dollars.

PBS gets tax funding from The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Every other non-profit broadcasting station must raise their own funds, but CPB and PBS are funded with hundreds of millions of tax dollars. PBS is probably the most liberal network in America. Hollywood has hundreds of millions of dollars to underwrite the cost of the Sundance Film Festival, but they would rather use your tax dollars than their own money. Together, these two organizations provided upwards of $350,000 of tax money to the film festival.
Read the rest at americanfamilyassociation.com

Scottish Nurses Encouraged Not to Use -- "Mum" or "Dad": Too "Discriminatory"

The following is excerpted from Good LGBT Practice in the NHS, a joint publication from the homosexual activist organization Stonewall Scotland and Scotland’s National Health Service:

Page 7 — “In order to avoid this confusion…”

Partners and “next of kin”
Using the terms “husband”, “wife” and “marriage” assumes opposite sex relationships only and will automatically exclude all LGB people. Using the term “partner” and “they/them” to refer to the partner will avoid this problem. This is also inclusive of all heterosexual couples, regardless of their marital status. Many people hold a mistaken belief that “next of kin” must be a married partner or blood relation. In order to avoid this confusion it may be advisable to use “partner, close friend or close relative”. This allows the patient to identify and choose who is important to them. For example, the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 200310 defines the most important nearest relative (after spouse or civil partner) as a
cohabiting same-sex or opposite-sex partner.

The booklet advocates “a zero-tolerance policy to discriminatory language” for health care workers in Scotland.

Read the entire article at americansfortruth.com

US Supreme Court Asked to Decide Legal Battle Between States Over Same-Sex Unions

The question of whether one state can be forced to recognize the same-sex civil unions of another state -- even when the first state's citizens have voted overwhelmingly against civil unions and homosexual "marriage" -- will come before the U.S. Supreme Court

The Christian public-interest law firm Liberty Counsel is asking the high court to take two cases known as Miller v.Jenkins. They pit Virginia law, which does not recognize same-sex unions, against Vermont law, which does.

The cases involve Lisa Miller, her biological child, and Janet Jenkins, Miller's former homosexual partner. Miller and Jenkins traveled to Vermont to obtain a civil union while living together in Virginia. Miller gave birth to a child through artificial insemination.

The relationship ended when Miller became a Christian and left the homosexual lifestyle, after which Jenkins allegedly became abusive. Miller now lives with her daughter in Virginia.

Vermont courts declared that Jenkins had parental rights over the child equal to those of Miller and ordered visitation. In what she described as an effort to protect her daughter from the immoral influence of her former lesbian partner, Miller defied the order. She is relying on Virginia law, which does not recognize any rights Jenkins claims, because the former couple's Vermont civil union is invalid in Virginia, and because Jenkins made no effort to adopt the child.

Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver says the case is unique.

"These cases involving the same individuals with two different state laws really represent the tip of the iceberg in what's coming down the pipe," Staver said.

Staver points out that the Federal Defense of Marriage Act allows each state to define its own marriage policy.

By Allie Martin and Jeff Johnson for OneNewsNow.com

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

New Study Claiming Adoptive Parents Better Than Biological Parents Neglected to Study the Kids...

Authors' conclusions are not supported by their own research.

CitizenLink.org -- A new study contends adoptive couples, specifically homosexual partners, invest more time and money in their kids than biological parents -- but there's little data to support the claim.

The research from Indiana University and the University of Connecticut seeks to dispute the age-old notion that kids are better off being raised by their natural parents. Far from being just a pat on the back for adoptive parents, the study all but turns into a soapbox for the gay-activist agenda. Instead of staying focused on adoptive parents, the researchers willingly expand the argument to gay couples.

Brad Wilcox, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, analyzed the data.

"This study is yet another academic effort to kind of prepare the way intellectually for the normalization of same-sex families," he told Family News in Focus.

Notably, the study did not look at how well adopted children fared in school or socially. It only measured how parents, adoptive or biological, contributed to the relationship.

The study authors note recent court cases against same-sex marriage that have hinged on what they termed an outdated body of research upholding traditional marriage. But Peter Sprigg, vice president for policy at the Family Research Council, said the study lacks solid evidence to back the claim.

One example of an apparent contradiction: The study indicates stepparents don't invest as much in their kids as do biological moms and dads -- and most gay couples are involved in raising stepchildren.

"Most so-called homosexual parents are actually raising children who are their biological children conceived in a previous heterosexual relationship," Sprigg noted. "Conclusions are offered by researchers which are not supported by their own data. When that happens, you have to assume that the conclusions are driven by an ideological predisposition rather than the research itself."

Interesting note: Although the authors of the study concluded, "Based on both the available research and growing experience...adoption by gays and lesbians holds promise as an avenue for achieving permanency for many of the waiting children in foster care." the study focused on male/female adoptive couples...



Virginia Episcopal Bishop Sues Exiting Churches to Confiscate Property

A split within the Episcopal Church has begun and is on its way to court -- something akin to "divorce court," it seems.

More than 100 Episcopal parishes -- and some dioceses -- have either left the denomination or requested alternative oversight within the worldwide Anglican Communion. One of them is St. Stephen's Church in Heathsville, Va.

"We left the Episcopal Church because we could no longer be under the leadership of people who have the attitude that they did about the authority of Scripture," said the Rev. Jeffrey Cerar, rector of St. Stephen's. "Starting several years ago, the Episcopal Church elected and put in place a homosexual bishop and did so in disregard of the Scriptures. It was just a symptom of a much larger problem, which is that the leadership of the Episcopal Church does not regard Scripture as authoritative in the same sense that Christians always have before."

He added: "One of the symptoms of the church now is that the new presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, (Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schorri) is saying that Christ is not the only way to salvation -- just a way."

Cerar's church is one of 11 that recently left the Virginia diocese. Bishop Peter Lee, in return, filed suit against each of the 11, seeking to confiscate the church properties -- and has taken steps to defrock 27 clergy associated with those churches.

Read the rest of the story at CitizenLink.org

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

When Sex Goes to School

By Mark Early for Breakpoint.org

If you ever want a truly Herculean task, I can’t think of a harder one than diving into the sex education debate in this country and sorting through all the views and claims of both sides. But that’s exactly what sociologist Kristin Luker has done with her new book, When Sex Goes to School: Warring Views on Sex—and Sex Education—Since the Sixties.

Luker deserves full credit for tackling this tough subject and for doing her research so thoroughly that the book took two decades to complete. And she deserves extra credit for coming as close to an objective view of the issue as anyone I’ve ever seen. Although Luker is no conservative on sexual issues, she’s light years away from the pundits and researchers who consider the Christian viewpoint beneath contempt. Instead, she takes both sides seriously and is even willing to acknowledge many of the truths inherent in traditional views of sexuality.

In doing so, Luker gets to the very heart of the sex education debate in a way that few other social scientists have, because she discovers that the debate is not just about sex. What it’s really about is worldview.

“Sexual conservatives,” Luker explains, “ . . . believe that humans are fundamentally capable of the worst, and that it is only the combined power of an internal morality and external constraints that keeps most of us on the straight-and-narrow most of the time.” And this, she shows, is why we argue for “firm structures” and the teaching of moral boundaries. On the other hand, she says, “sexual liberals see a world in which the only way a diverse and heterogeneous group of people can be trusted to make good moral decisions is to ensure that all of them have the maximum amount of information possible.” So sexual liberals fight to give children as much sexual information as possible as early as possible, thinking “that if their children are given education and information, they will grow up to be morally good adults.”

Read the rest of this commentary

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge..." Proverbs 1:7

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Lutherans Propose Ordination of Practicing Homosexual Pastors

CHICAGO, April 13, 2005 - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has put forth a resolution recommending the ordination of actively homosexual ministers - provided they live in committed same-sex relationships. Up until now, homosexuals could be ordained for active ministry as long as they were celibate.

The resolution was put forward at an ELCA council assembly meeting Monday. The proposal would require ratification through a vote at a Church wide assembly planned for August.

Read the rest of the article at LifeSiteNews.com

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Adoption, When 'Discriminating' Makes Perfect Sense and Gender is Relevant

The United Kingdom is about to repeat the ill-treatment of the Catholic Church pioneered in Boston. The government of the UK may effectively shut down the nation-wide Catholic adoption services rather than grant a religious exemption to the new law requiring equal treatment on the basis of sexual orientation. The Archbishop of Canterbury along with the Muslim Council of Britain have both stated their support of the Roman Catholic Church.

The churches are correct: non-discrimination in adoption is an adult-centred policy, despite its supporters’ best efforts to depict it as child-centred. The demand that every adoption agency in the UK take no notice of sexual orientation is irrational and incoherent.

The best pro-child argument that proponents have is the claim that children are better off with gay couples than “languishing in foster care”. Notice the tacit admission that gay couples are not the first choice: the first choice is heterosexual, stable, married couples, who are simply too few in number to meet the needs of all the children.

But this claim, even if true, does not justify the new British policy. British law does not permit adoption agencies to line up prospective adoptive parents in order of desirability, and then work its way down the list until all the adoptable children have been allocated. No. Non-discrimination law insists that neither marital status, nor sexual orientation, can even be considered as a factor in placing children with adoptive parents. Besides, Catholic adoption agencies handle about a third of all adoptions of children considered difficult to place.

There are circumstances in which same sex adoption should not be prohibited, including private adoptions and some second party adoptions. Adoption by same sex couples related to the child, when no other suitable relative is available may be the best situation for a particular child.

But these limited circumstances are quite different from the generalised “right” that the state should not discriminate against same sex couples in placing its wards for foster care or adoption. The state absolutely should discriminate in favour of opposite sex, married couples. It is utterly irrational for the state to pretend that there are no differences between opposite sex married couples and cohabiting couples or single individuals or same sex couples. To ban such discrimination by otherwise responsible and reputable private adoption agencies is more than irrational. It is an indefensible violation of the freedom of those private agencies.

The homosexual activists and their allies in the British government evidently hold that gender is an irrelevant category for parenting. They apparently believe that there is no unique contribution of either gender to anything that matters to the well-being of children. But if men and women were really perfect substitutes, the very idea of sexual orientation would make no sense.

Read the rest at mercatornet.com

You can't have it both ways. Either gender makes a difference or it doesn't -- and if it makes a difference to adults, it also makes a difference to kids...

Good News! Network Decisions Influenced by Threat of Higher Indecency Fines

An increase in maximum fines for broadcast indecency seems to be getting the attention of network television executives.

Since Congress raised the maximum fine from $32,500 to $325,000 last year, Pat Trueman with the Alliance Defense Fund said he has noticed more care being taken by networks.

"What you've got is appropriate screening of the material they put out to the public, and that's appropriate," he said. "That's what indecency law was supposed to accomplish."

But some broadcast executives are complaining, saying the higher fines chill freedom of speech. Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS, called them "unfair." He said his network turned away millions of dollars in Super Bowl ads that were deemed unfit for broadcast.

But Trueman pointed out that not all speech is protected.

"It will chill some material," he said, "but not every speech, not every word, not every comment is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution."

Citizenlink.com

They Will Never Know What Hit Them...

The software mogul Tim Gill has a mission: Stop the Rick Santorums of tomorrow before they get started. How a network of gay political donors is stealthily fighting sexual discrimination and reshaping American politics

-- From "They Won’t Know What Hit Them" by Joshua Green, The Atlantic - March 2007

A tough loss can be hard to swallow, and plenty of defeated politicians have been known to grumble about sinister conspiracies. When they are rising stars like Danny Carroll, the Republican speaker pro tempore of Iowa’s House of Representatives, and the loss is unexpected, the urge to blame unseen forces can be even stronger—and in Carroll’s case, it would have the additional distinction of being justified. Carroll was among the dozens of targets of a group of rich gay philanthropists who quietly joined forces last year, under the leadership of a reclusive Colorado technology mogul, to counter the tide of antigay politics in America that has generated, among other things, a succession of state ballot initiatives banning gay marriage. Carroll had sponsored such a bill in Iowa and guided it to passage in the state House of Representatives, the first step toward getting it on the ballot.

Like many other state legislatures last year, Iowa’s was narrowly divided. So all it would take to break the momentum toward a constitutional marriage ban was to tip a few close races. If Democrats took control of the House and Senate, however narrowly, the initiative would die, and with it the likelihood of further legislation limiting civil rights for gays and lesbians. And, fortuitously, Carroll’s own reelection race looked to be one of the closest. He represented the liberal college town of Grinnell and had won the last time around by just a handful of votes.

Over the summer, Carroll’s opponent started receiving checks from across the country—significant sums for a statehouse race, though none so large as to arouse suspicion (the gifts topped out at $1,000). Because they came from individuals and not from organizations, nothing identified the money as being “gay,” or even coordinated. Only a very astute political operative would have spotted the unusual number of out-of-state donors and pondered their interest in an obscure midwestern race. And only someone truly versed in the world of gay causes would have noticed a $1,000 contribution from Denver, Colorado, and been aware that its source, Tim Gill, is the country’s biggest gay donor, and the nexus of an aggressive new force in national politics.

Read the rest at the Atlantic.com

Is it Necessary to Win the Culture War at Home in Order to Win the War on Terror?

According to a new book by Dinesh D'Souza the answer is yes. Some food for thought...

The culture wars and the war on terror are intimately connected. If we want to win the war on terror we have to win the culture war at home. That is the central argument of Dinesh D'Sousa's new book, The Enemy at Home, and it's a point worth pondering.

Why were we attacked on 9/11? Why do they hate us? D'Sousa rounds up and dismisses the usual answers to these questions — "they hate us for our freedom," "they're angry about Colonialism," etc. — and proposes the same answer that the terrorists themselves give: they hate us for our decadence. And they fear that we mean to export our debased values to their traditional societies — not just Britney and Madonna and rap music, but also illegitimacy, easy divorce, abortion, and gay marriage. According to D'Sousa, Muslims feel threatened less by our military, and more by our seductions. They refer to us as the "Great Satan," he observes, because Satan is primarily understood as a tempter, not a conqueror.

There are some problems with this analysis. It doesn't quite explain why radical Muslims attack other traditional people in India or Indonesia, or why traditional Sunni Muslims blow up mosques in traditional Shia neighborhoods. Nor is it useful in explaining why Muslims swept out of Arabia in the seventh century, and subjugated most of the Middle-East, all of North Africa, and most of Spain. Whatever the reason for these conquests it had nothing to do with outrage over images of scantily clad temptresses beamed over satellite TV from stations along the North African coast. D'Sousa slides too quickly over the aggressive, expansionistic side of Islam, and gives too much credit to the notion that the current jihad is motivated solely by fear of cultural subversion. Most Islamic religious authorities hold that jihad is a duty commanded by Allah in good times and bad.

Nevertheless, D'Sousa's argument deserves serious consideration. His thesis may not explain all of Muslim aggressiveness, but it does help to clarify the current situation...

A culture which concentrates on self-gratification is bound to drain life of meaning because meaning is usually found in something outside the self. People will fight and die for God and for family, and for values that are perceived as noble, but not many are willing to sacrifice themselves so that strangers can gratify themselves in strange ways. How many want to die in order that polyamory might live? Or that Britney might expose herself with impunity? Or that Robert Redford might indulge himself by screening films about zoophiles? The cultural left seeks an expansion of rights for the self-expression lobby, and a restriction of rights for those who look beyond the self for moral standards. If they win that fight we all lose, left and right alike.

If you think the culture wars don't matter, take a look across the Atlantic. They never had a culture war in Europe because when the war was declared, only one side showed up. Now they have another kind of fight on their hands for which they are totally unprepared. D'Sousa's analysis is not without flaws, but when the critics urge us not to read it — as Warren Bass does — or dismiss it as beneath discussion, it may be an indication that he's hitting close to home.

Read the rest at Catholic Exchange