Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Apr. 29th, 2005 10:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdAlabama bill would ban books by gay authors or containing gay characters;
Focus on the Family article and action item on filibuster rules change "compromise" suggestion from Frist;
Focus on the Family article and action item on a filibuster rules change support action (yes, that sounds wrong, but it's not);
Focus on the Family action item pleading for more letters to the Senate on filibuster rules changes;
Today's Family News in Focus - includes a story on fundamentalists keeping Wiccans off the list of approved clergy for pre-meeting prayers - and again, one of the summary-listed stories is missing;
Concerned Women for America links to a Yahoo! News story on the Microsoft debacle;
Lexington, MA man objects to gay-parented families being included in discussions about families;
Gov. Haley Barbour (Mississippi) signs bill to hang an assortment of specific Judeo-Christian texts in public buildings, schools, and courthouses;
CWA links to townhall.com editorial railing against women working instead of having babies, comparing "postmodern" thinking (when they actually mean modern) to Hitler and Stalin (no, really);
Traditional Values Coalition demands change in filibuster rules, calls opponents silly names;
TVC rails against two California bills - one as "anti-free-speech" and the other as "homosexual marriage" - the latter of which may, for once, be accurate (includes action item);
Winnipeg Sun columnist against marriage rights rails against "equality tyrants;"
Lodi, California paper on local row involving math teacher calling gayfolk "unnatural" as part of a class lecture;
WorldNetDaily reports on arsonist attack at gay bar in Jerusalem in response to World Pride Day.
----- 1 -----
Alabama Bill Targets Gay Authors
MONTGOMERY, Ala., April 27, 2005
CBS News
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/26/eveningnews/main691106.shtml
(CBS) A college production tells the story of Matthew Sheppard, a student beaten to death because he was gay.
And soon, it could be banned in Alabama.
Republican Alabama lawmaker Gerald Allen says homosexuality is an unacceptable lifestyle. As CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann reports, under his bill, public school libraries could no longer buy new copies of plays or books by gay authors, or about gay characters.
"I don't look at it as censorship," says State Representative Gerald Allen. "I look at it as protecting the hearts and souls and minds of our children."
Books by any gay author would have to go: Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and Gore Vidal. Alice Walker's novel "The Color Purple" has lesbian characters.
Allen originally wanted to ban even some Shakespeare. After criticism, he narrowed his bill to exempt the classics, although he still can't define what a classic is. Also exempted now Alabama's public and college libraries.
Librarian Donna Schremser fears the "thought police," would be patrolling her shelves.
"And so the idea that we would have a pristine collection that represents one political view, one religioius view, that's not a library,'' says Schremser.
----- 2 -----
Frist Pitches Plan to End Judicial Filibusters
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
SUMMARY: Proposal would allow for up-or-down votes on all
nominees but stop short of the need to enact the
"constitutional option."
http://www.family.org/cforum/feature/a0036353.cfm
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist today offered
Democrats a deal on judicial filibusters that would avoid
the need to enact the "constitutional option."
But Democrats appear almost certain to reject it,
considering that Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.,
called the plan "a big wet kiss to the far right."
"This offer will ensure up-or-down votes on judicial
nominees after fair, open, and, some might say, exhaustive
debate," Frist told the Senate in a floor speech. "It's a
compromise that holds to constitutional principles."
The Tennessee Republican also said that never in the
history of the Senate had a judicial nominee with majority
support been denied an up-or-down vote -- until two years
ago, when Democrats began filibustering some of President
Bush's appeals court nominees. However, he added, it was
not unprecedented for either Republicans or Democrats to
block judicial nominees in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
His proposal, which would apply only to appeals court and
Supreme Court nominees, would end the practice of blocking
nominations at committee.
"Whether on the floor or in committee," Frist said,
"judicial obstruction is judicial obstruction. It's time
for judicial obstruction to end no matter which party
controls the White House or the Senate."
Under his plan, the Senate Judiciary Committee will
continue to play its essential oversight and investigative
roles in the confirmation process. But he said all
nominations would have to be passed on to the Senate floor
-- whether the Senate is controlled by Republicans or
Democrats.
Frist also proposes giving each side up to 100 hours to
debate a nomination -- if necessary. Then the Senate as a
whole would weigh in.
"The Senate operated this way before we began to broadcast
debates on television in 1986," Frist said. "This would
provide more than enough time for every senator to speak
on a nominee while guaranteeing that nominee the courtesy
of a vote."
Pro-family groups gave the senator high marks for his
proposal.
"This represents an eminently reasonable and
constitutionally sound approach to break the gridlock over
judicial nominees," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the
American Center for Law and Justice.
The use of a filibuster to prevent consideration of
judicial nominees, he added, is not only wrong, it
"reflects a stridently unfair treatment of nominees."
"No one wants to eliminate debate concerning nominees but
every nominee deserves an up-or-down vote on the Senate
floor," Sekulow said. "That's exactly what Sen. Frist is
proposing."
Focus on the Family Federal Issues Analyst Amanda Banks
said the plan guarantees nominees will be treated with all
the dignity they deserve. Some of the men and women Bush
has tapped for the bench have been waiting up to three
years for a vote on their nominations.
"These are respectable human beings who deserve to be
treated in a respectful way in the U.S. Senate," Banks
said. "I really don't see how the Democrats couldn't
agree, except that their obstructionist tactics would be
put to an end. So of course, if you take that into
consideration, I can't be too hopeful that they will
accept it.
"But I think they'll have a real hard time explaining why
they can't accept it."
Reid didn't seem to agree.
"I don't mean to demean the proposal, because I'm going to
take a close look at it and see if there is any way we
could work with it," he said. "But I would say for lack of
a better description, it's a big wet kiss to the far
right."
Reid had earlier offered a proposal of his own: to allow a
floor vote for two of the 10 blocked nominees if
Republicans would withdraw the nomination of a third.
Frist turned down that proposal because a deal would have
permanently ended consideration for some of the
president's nominees.
Bill Wichterman, a spokesman for Frist, said that the Reid
"compromise" did not include what Republicans want most.
"It wouldn't have guaranteed an up-or-down vote,"
Wichterman said. "This . . . so-called compromise would
not have made any assurances that the Democrats wouldn't
filibuster future nominees or Supreme Court nominees."
(Family News in Focus correspondent Josh Montez
contributed to this report.)
TAKE ACTION: Please take a moment to contact Senate
majority Bill Frist and let him know you appreciate his
diligence in looking for a reasonable way to end judicial
filibusters. For contact information, including an
easy-to-use e-mail form, visit the CitizenLink Action
Center.
http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/bio/?id=540
----- 3 -----
Group Goes Creative in Filibuster Fight
by Aaron Atwood, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
SUMMARY: Faith 2 Action encourages constituents to send
foam hands -- like those waved by sports fans -- to
senators still not committed to ending the blockade of
judicial nominees.
http://www.family.org/cforum/feature/a0036352.cfm
The newest tactic in the battle to end Democratic
filibusters of qualified judicial nominees is taking a
page from the local sports arena.
The pro-family group Faith 2 Action is asking constituents
to send foam hands with blue fingers -- the kind fans wave
when cheering on their favorite teams -- to the offices of
senators who have not committed to support the
"constitutional option," which would restore Senate
tradition by making 51 votes the threshold for confirming
a nominee to the federal bench.
The hands bear a simple message: "Vote, Don't Obstruct."
The woman behind the idea is Janet Folger, president and
founder of Faith 2 Action, who said the idea was also
inspired by the recent Iraqi elections in which voters
were required to dip their fingers in ink as a sign that
they had voted.
"Iraqis were getting blue ink on their hand, courageously
putting their lives on the line to vote," Folger told
CitizenLink. "We aren't asking the senators to put their
life on the line. We're just asking them to be as
courageous as those citizens. If we are going to send
soldiers to fight and die for Iraqi citizens, then our
judges deserve the right to a vote."
Folger previously launched a similar campaign to encourage
President Bush to nominate God-honoring judges to the U.S.
courts. Project Rosebud asked family advocates to send
Bush roses with Ezra 7:25 attached: "In accordance with
the wisdom of your God, which you possess, appoint
magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the
people."
In just three weeks, nearly 4,000 roses were sent.
Such creative approaches to ensuring up-or-down votes for
all judicial nominees are crucial, Folger explained.
"You can only say 'Stop the filibuster' so many times
before it gets tuned out," she said. "This is a fun way to
get senators' attention and help our constituents make
their point. It only takes a few before an office starts
to notice that something is going on."
Faith 2 Action's Web site for the "blue finger" project
highlights Republican senators who have not publicly
signed on to their party's efforts to restore
constitutional propriety to the judicial nomination
process.
"We picked the 12 senators most likely to be wavering --
we just want to give them a hand in making up their
minds," Folger quipped.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about the "blue
finger" campaign, visit the Faith 2 Action Web site set up
to promote it.
http://www.bluefingervote.com
(NOTE: Referral to Web sites not produced by Focus on the
Family is for informational purposes only and does not
necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites'
content.)
----- 4 -----
Time is Running Out to Strike a Blow Against Judicial Tyranny
Focus on the Family
April 28, 2005
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0036344.cfm
Key senators in several states still need to hear from their constituents on the importance of stopping the Senate filibusters that are denying qualified judicial nominees a simple up-or-down.
If you believe in the Constitution, the time is now for you to take a stand to ensure its survival.
You can do so by letting one or both of your senators know — today — that you have had enough of filibusters to stop qualified judges from serving on the federal courts. This obstructionism, unprecedented in U.S. history, is being carried out by Democrats simply because they don't want men and women who believe in strictly interpreting the Constitution to be confirmed to the bench.
What kind of judges do the liberals want? Those like the ones who allowed Terri Schiavo to be starved and dehydrated to death. Those like the ones who don't believe it should be illegal for abortionists to suck the brains out of nearly-delivered children. Those who believe pornography showing women being raped, mutilated and defecated upon is protected by the First Amendment — but the Ten Commandments are not.
Keeping judges like this in power is the real motivation for the blockade of President Bush's judicial nominees. That's why the "constitutional option" for ending this impasse must be enacted: restoring Senate tradition to ensure nominees with the support of a majority of senators are confirmed. That is, after all, the process as it is has been observed for more than 200 years.
Below, you'll find the names of senators in several key states — if both are listed, it's because both are resistant to constitutionally ending Democrats' filibusters. If you live in one of these states, please take a few minutes to call them at all of the district office numbers you'll find when you click on their names — and politely deliver this simple message: "Stop judicial filibusters by enacting the constitutional option."
You might also want to re-emphasize that message in a follow-up e-mail — using the forms you'll find on the contact information page you get when you click on each senator's name.
If you don't live in one of these states, your senators have come down on one side or the other in this debate. You can still make your views known to them, however, by visiting the CitizenL:ink Action Center and typing your ZIP code into the space provided.
Arkansas
Sen. Blanche Lincoln
Sen. Mark Pryor
Colorado
Sen. Ken Salazar
Florida
Sen. Bill Nelson
Indiana
Sen. Evan Bayh
Louisiana
Sen. Mary Landrieu
Maine
Sen. Susan Collins
Sen. Olympia Snowe
North Dakota
Sen. Kent Conrad
Sen. Byron Dorgan
Nebraska
Sen. Chuck Hagel
Sen. Ben Nelson
New Hampshire
Sen. John Sununu
New Mexico
Sen. Jeff Bingaman
Nevada
Sen. Harry Reid
Ohio
Sen. Mike DeWine
Oregon
Sen. Gordon Smith
South Dakota
Sen. Tim Johnson
Virginia
Sen. John Warner
----- 5 -----
Family News in Focus
Friday, April 29, 2005
Focus on the Family
http://www.oneplace.com/Ministries/Family_News_in_Focus/
* Mainstream media says it is only religious conservatives who are politically active
1. "We've heard a lot about religious conservatives trying to turn America into a theocracy.... but religious liberals are politically active too. Why don't we hear complaints about their involvement?" Gary Bauer accuses religious liberals of historical revisionism, claims textbooks are providing historical revisionism. Family Research Council: "It's astonishing how far the left has gone in trying to strip religion from the public square... And yet liberal Christians... are just as politically active as conservatives!"
* New technology and plans by Playboy could soon result in porn on your child's cell phone
2. Calling it cell-phone spam, but then admitting that it's subscription-only. "It can turn something that's so useful into something we would not want them to participate in." Claims cell-phone porn will harm young men. Suggest disabling WEP access on cell phones.
* Cable operators are touting campaign to head off legislation in Washington
3. National Cable and Telecommunications Association propses ratings icons in upper left hand corner of TV be 70% larger and having them show up after each commercial break. Also planning PSA campaign advertising cable and satellite parental controls. American Family Association says it's not enough and that broadcasters et all need to change their programming. "They should be taking responsibility for what they're putting on the airwaves now and clean up TV rather than rubber-stamping it with a rating..." Also supports "ala carte" programming, where you can subscribe to individual cable channels only.
* Saving for a first home or a business and having community suppport makes a huge difference for low-income families.
6. Proposal for "Individual Development Accounts." Deposits to be matched with public and private funds. Republican Rick Santorum and Democrat Joe Lieberman co-sponsours.
* ACLU backs Wiccan priestess for prayer at Va county Board of Supervisors meeting
5. Chesterfield, VA - Wiccans (Cynthia Simpson in this case) are not allowed on the rotating list of clergy authorised to give the opening prayer at Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors meetings. ACLU is saying this is unfair; Rutherford Institute doesn't agree, and also notes so far that the courts do not agree. Note that this is official, state-sponsored discrimination on religious grounds, by government, being supported by FotF and the Rutherford Institute. This should surprise no one, but does give a direct example of the lie of fundamentalist promises of equal access.
* Florida struggles with ACLU to keep a thirteen-year-old girl in custody from aborting her baby
4. Girl in state custody is pregnant - wants an abortion, state is refusing permission; ACLU claims the state doesn't have the right to block her. Florida Family Policy Council says that the state is required to "act in her best interest" and make sure "this pregnancy is properly guided."
* Panel discussion in Washington attempts to define "judicial activism"
NO STORY
----- 6 -----
Microsoft Criticized for Gay Rights Stance
By ELIZABETH M. GILLESPIE, Associated Press Writer
Wed Apr 27, 7:58 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/microsoft_gay_rights&printer=1
Microsoft Corp., one of the earliest companies to extend benefits to gay employees, now finds itself in the crosshairs of angry activists for rescinding support for gay rights legislation in its home state.
Critics say the world's No. 1 software maker caved to pressure from an NFL linebacker-turned-local pastor who had threatened to launch a nationwide boycott, and tried to tiptoe away from a bill it had previously supported.
Last week, the measure failed in Washington state's Senate by a single vote.
Bloggers branded Microsoft a corporate coward, and a prominent gay rights group asked the company to return a civil rights award it had bestowed on the tech giant four years ago.
It's an unusually sticky spot for a brainy company that has taken pride in its progressive employment policies. Sensitive to employees as well as image concerns, the company's top executives were forced to do some very public soul-searching.
"We are thinking hard about what is the right balance to strike — when should a public company take a position on a broader social issue, and when should it not?" CEO Steve Ballmer wrote in an e-mail to employees on Friday. "What message does the company taking a position send to its employees who have strongly held beliefs on the opposite side of the issue?"
A few days later, Chairman Bill Gates said he was surprised by the negative reaction and said the company may rethink its position.
"Well, we didn't expect that kind of visibility for it," Gates told The Seattle Times. "After all, Microsoft's position on a political bill — has that ever caused something to pass or not pass? Is it good, is it bad? I don't know."
Microsoft contends it decided before the just-ended legislative session to take a neutral stance on a gay rights bill it had once championed so it could focus efforts on a shorter list of issues, like computer privacy, education and transportation.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Oregon Supreme Court Upholds Marriage
4/28/2005
Concerned Women for America
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/7998/CWA/family/index.htm
The legal opinion upholding traditional marriage in the state of Oregon was short and to the point, says CWA’s Chief Counsel Jan LaRue. This is a great relief as states across the nation are enacting defense of marriage laws and defending them in court. Click here to listen.
"Great news out of the Oregon Supreme Court on Marriage..." Unanimously upheld Oregons heterosexual-only marriage law, citing state Constitutional amendment. "Very encouraging out of this state." "We have concerns in other states..." points out Massachusetts, New York, California, Washington State have held that their state constitution requires equal access to marriage. Again claims that marriage rights for queers means pologamy. "There's a real strong grassroots movement across the states to protect marriage as strongly as the states can..." "We also now, according to recent polling, have nearly 2/3 of Americans who support a Federal marriage amendment - very good news."
----- 8 -----
Arrested father had point to make
Disputed school's lesson on diversity
By Maria Cramer and Ralph Ranalli, Globe Staff | April 29, 2005
Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/04/29/arrested_father_had_point_to_make?mode=PF
CONCORD -- For David Parker, the first alarm went off in January, when his 5-year-old son came home from his kindergarten class at Lexington's Joseph Estabrook School with a bag of books promoting diversity.
Inside were books about foreign cultures and traditions, along with food recipes. There was also a copy of ''Who's In a Family?" by Robert Skutch, which depicts different kinds of families, including same-sex couples raising children.
The book's contents concerned Parker and prompted him to begin a series of e-mail exchanges with school officials on the subject that culminated in a meeting Wednesday night with Estabrook's principal and district director of instruction. The meeting ended with Parker's arrest after he refused to leave the school, and the Lexington man spent the night in jail.
Yesterday, Parker was arraigned in Concord District Court on one count of trespassing, and a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. Bail was set at $1,000, and Parker was freed after being ordered to stay off Lexington school property. He is due back in court June 1.
Parker and his wife, Tonia, 34, who was also in court yesterday, said the dispute arose because they asked school officials to notify them about classroom discussions about same-sex marriage and what they called other adult themes. They also wanted the option to exclude their boy, now 6, from those talks.
Parker said he met with school officials to gain those assurances and then refused to leave until he got them. Parker stayed at Estabrook School for more than two hours, according to Superintendent William J. Hurley, as officials and Lexington police urged him to leave. Finally, they arrested him for trespassing.
Parker, who refused to bail himself out of jail Wednesday night, said he spent the night in custody to prove a point.
''I chose to stay, which I'm not sure was a wise move," he said. ''But I wanted to see how far they would go for asking something simple." Parker said he wanted to control ''the timing and manner" in which his son learned about ''adult themes."
''This is not about creating a forum for hate . . . for any segment of society," Parker said after his arraignment. ''I'm just trying to be a good dad."
...
David Parker said he moved his family from New Jersey to Lexington last year after his employer relocated him. He acknowledged yesterday that he and his wife oppose same-sex unions, but they described themselves as Christians who do not advocate hatred.
''We're not intolerant," said Tonia Parker. ''We love all people. That is part of our faith."
A handful of supporters of the Parker family appeared at the courthouse yesterday, including Brian Camenker, director of Article 8 Alliance. The group, which opposes same-sex marriage, posted e-mail exchanges between the Parkers and school officials on the matter on its website. Camenker said Parker contacted him in January.
...
Governor Mitt Romney, an opponent of same-sex marriage, said: ''Schools under our parental-notification law are required to inform parents . . . of matters relating to human sexuality that may be taught in the classroom and to allow that child to be out of the classroom for that period of the education."
Romney said he supports parents' right to know, though he declined to speak specifically about the Parker case.
Thomas B. Griffiths, Lexington School Committee chairman, said parents of older students are notified in advance when sex education will be taught.
''We don't view telling a child that there is a family out there with two mommies as teaching about homosexuality, heterosexuality, or any kind of sexuality," he said. ''We are teaching about the realities of where different children come from."
...
''The kids don't have to take them [the materials] home," she said. ''Parents can either opt out entirely or use whatever materials they want."
...
David Parker said the topic of Wednesday's meeting was not about the book bag, but about concerns that his son could be exposed to more books and lessons about ''gay-headed" households.
''We're not giving unfettered access to the psyche of our son when he enters the school," said Tonia Parker.
[Full story at URL]
----- 9 -----
Gov. signs religious bill
by Meghan Blalock
The Daily Mississippian
Staff Reporter
April 29, 2005
http://www.thedmonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/29/42720f6c1d32f
A new law signed by Gov. Haley Barbour will allow the hanging of certain Judeo-Christian texts in public buildings, such as schools and courthouses in Mississippi.
The law specifically gives permission for public buildings to post the Ten Commandments, excerpts of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and the motto, “In God We Trust.”
Reactions among students and professionals on campus are mixed, but they seem largely to be in opposition to the law.
William F. Lawhead, professor of philosophy at Ole Miss, cites many reasons why the enforcement of the law is unconstitutional and contradictory to the American standard of democracy.
“It is a government promotion of specifically Jewish and Christian Biblical texts,” Lawhead said. “The first commandment states, ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ Consequently, in posting this text the state government is symbolically forbidding the worship of the gods of any other religion. This comes as close to the government officially establishing a specific religion as you can get.”
He also added that the law in itself seems self-contradictory.
“The third commandment says, ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.’ I think this law is doing exactly that. It is cynically using the name of God to advance a political agenda, and it will have little effect in promoting morality,” Lawhead said.
John W. Winkle III, professor of political science, expressed that many aspects of the state law are questionable in light of the federal law.
“There are two cases currently pending before the Court (one from Texas, another from Kentucky) that raise the question whether the Ten Commandments may be displayed as a part of the heritage of American law. In other words, does context matter? May government include the Commandments in a public display along with other formative legal documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution or even the Magna Carta?” Winkle said. “What the Court answers will go a long way in determining the constitutionality of the Mississippi law.”
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
The cost of 'having it all'
Janice Shaw Crouse (archive)
Townhall.com
April 28, 2005
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GuestColumns/Crouse20050428.shtml
Postmodern thinking offered women the opportunity to “have it all.” Women flocked into the marketplace where they are having unprecedented success. Entry level MBA women now make higher salaries than their male counterparts. Sadly, though, sexual liberation came as part of the post-modern package and gals began rivaling the guys in bed-hopping, too.
Now we are learning the price those women are paying. Turns out sexual “freedom” wasn’t exactly free. This week, the Beverly LaHaye Institute (the think tank for Concerned Women for America) released its latest Data Digest which chronicles a disturbing trend for women: since 1976, the rate of childlessness has gone up between 50 and 90 percent among women in every age bracket, and the rate of singleness among women over age 30 has tripled.
Nobody mentioned in the mid-70s that “having it all” would not include marriage and children. Many young women, now that it is too late, are lamenting the cost of careerism and promiscuity as they discover that marriage and children are not likely in their future. So-called sexual freedom, loudly touted by libertines and radical feminists, has brought soaring rates of sexually transmitted diseases and plummeting rates of marriage. Abortion has eliminated 45 million pregnancies and left behind a host of problems: heartbreak, as well as physical and emotional distress.
Millions of women are finding, through bitter experience, that while the wonders of modern communication technology can distract much of the time, at the end of the day –– when the iPod and cellphone sit in their chargers, when the television’s relentless barrage is finally silent –– there is no hand to hold and no baby to cuddle.
Such loneliness is the sad ending to the promise of “having it all.”
Today in America, we are beginning to reckon with the bitter harvest from the scourge of self-centered “me-ism.” The moral relativism of post-modernism has resulted in a culture that scorns marriage, casually embraces cohabitation, and dismisses divorce; such values have decimated the family for the last 50 years.
Drinking from the springs of a false ideology can steal priceless, irreplaceable elements of life for years before its tragic consequences are evident and its true nature revealed for all to see. For instance, the millions of deaths from Hitler’s Nazi horror or in Stalin’s Gulags, or the bloody massacres of today’s suicidal terrorists, reveal all too clearly the true character and the threat of counterfeit creeds. But for the victims, the exposé comes too late.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
Senator Frist Stands Strong On Ending Democrat Obstructionism
Traditional Values Coalition
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2244
April 28, 2005 – Traditional Values Coalition Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon says that Republicans should move quickly to eliminate the judicial filibuster of President Bush’s judicial nominees. In a recent interview, he noted: “Procrastination is a deterrent to winning Republican primaries. If Frist bellies up and does it, it would be to his favor.”
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) appears to be standing strong in his commitment to using the constitutional option to overturn the 60-vote requirement to end a judicial filibuster.
According to a New York Times report, Frist has stated: “The principle is getting fair, up-or-down votes on judicial nominees. The principle is with respect to future appeals court nominees as well. All nominees who are waiting, as well as for the future.”
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has proposed a “compromise,” which will allow two judicial nominees to receive a fair vote but in return, Reid is asking that Bush withdraw two of his most important nominees: Janice Rogers Brown and Priscilla Owen. Brown is a California Supreme Court Justice and Owen is a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court.
Democrats filibustered 10 of President Bush’s well-qualified nominees in the 108 th Congress and Reid had promised to shut down the federal government if candidates like Brown and Owen were brought to the Senate Judiciary Committee for a vote.
Janice Rogers Brown recently spoke to a group of Roman Catholic legal professionals in Connecticut. In her comments, she observed that people of faith were embroiled in a war against secular humanism who wishes to divorce America from its religious roots. “These are perilous times for people of faith, not in the sense that we are going to lose our lives, but in the sense that it will cost you something if you are a person of faith who stands up for what you believe in and say those things out loud.”
The radical leftist group MoveOn.org claimed it held 180 rallies in all 50 states on April 27. In an email to liberal activists, the group uses the flawed Washington Post poll to claim that most Americans are against the Republican effort to stop the filibustering of judges.
The email features a photo of a gender-vague individual holding a sign that says: “Private Property: RIGHT-WING JUDGES ONLY – by order of Congress.”
MoveOn.org receives significant funding from socialist/atheist billionaire George Soros, who is an enemy of Christianity and national sovereignty. Capital Research Center has published an expose of Soros’ political agenda and his use of MoveOn.org to achieve his anti-Christian, one-world goals: http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/03_04_FW.pdf.
Columnist Thomas Sowell has just written an article on the disinformation campaign being used against Owen and Brown: Thomas Sowell: Disinformation on judges.
----- 12 -----
California Assembly Passes Anti-Free Speech And Homosexual Marriage Bills
Traditional Values Coalition
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2241
April 28, 2005 – The left-leaning California Assembly has just passed two bills that will push forward the homosexual agenda and stifle freedom of speech.
The first is passage of AB 866, which adds “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the California Code of Fair Campaign Practices. This legislation is portrayed as an “anti-gay rhetoric” bill that will ask political candidates to sign a pledge that they will not engage in speech that criticizes homosexuality.
The pledge is voluntary, but those not signing it can be targeted as bigots or homophobes. The legislation is the brainchild of homosexual activist group Equality California. Assemblyman Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) is the main sponsor of this legislation.
AB 866 will stifle freedom of speech and vilify anyone who opposes the homosexual agenda or is critical of homosexual conduct.
The next pro-homosexual bill is AB 19, a homosexual marriage bill that has passed out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee. AB 19 is sponsored by homosexual Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). If passed, AB 19 will change the definition of marriage in California family code from “a man and a woman” to “two persons.”
This legislation is in direct violation of Proposition 22, a Defense of Marriage Act passed by more than 60% of California voters in 2000. The state Constitution prohibits the legislature from overturning a proposition enacted into law by popular vote, but the Assembly is going to do it anyway.
Both of these bills must be defeated!
TAKE ACTION: If you’re a California resident, contact your state Assemblyman and Senator and ask that they vote NO on both bills. Contact information is available here: California State Legislature.
----- 13 -----
Thu, April 28, 2005
Something that's ours, after all
By JOHN GLEESON
Winnipeg Sun
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Winnipeg/John_Gleeson/2005/04/28/pf-1016173.html
The equality tyrants popped up again this week, this time to attack a Defend Marriage rally held on April 17 in a city park in London, Ont.
The rally was organized by a Conservative senator and a Liberal MP -- and, yes, it was staged to protest Bill C-38, the Liberal legislation that would change the definition of marriage to recognize gay and lesbian couples.
Predictably, a group calling itself the London Association for the Elimination of Hate (and funded in part with your tax dollars through Heritage Canada) branded the rally after the fact as a display of discrimination and homophobia -- even though no specific examples of unruly or rabble-rousing behaviour were cited.
No matter. Appealing to London city council to deny future access to public parks to "groups that discriminate," executive director Debbie Lee was quoted in the London Free Press as saying, "I think the city should take a good look at what was promoted and who was hurt."
Lee summed up her view of the rally's participants with this cute catch-all: "Homophobia is as homophobia does."
She also linked the rally to hate groups because white supremacists had apparently posted it on their websites.
Which raised the ire of one London city councillor who'd appeared at the rally. "I was there as Ab Chahbar -- as a citizen," he fumed. "This is not hate. This is my religious point of view. Nobody is going to tell me what to say or not say."
[More at URL]
----- 14 -----
West High math teacher accused of anti-gay remarks plans to resign
By Bobby Wilson
San Joaquin News Service
Lodi (CA) News
http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2005/04/25/news/7_homophobia_050425.prt
After heavy criticism following reports that he said homosexuality is unnatural in class and told a student in a private conversation that associating with homosexuals is as sinful as being gay, West High School math teacher Richard Thompson plans to quit in June, according to the agenda for Tuesday's school board meeting.
Thompson's motivation for quitting is unclear; he couldn't be reached for comment Friday, and Tracy Unified School District officials refused to discuss the matter.
The news took West High student Justin Daley by surprise.
He is the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance, a student group that pressured the district to punish Thompson for his comments.
When he heard the news of Thompson's resignation, Daley said, "That is so pleasant, but I'm scared for the students in which he teaches in the future," the junior said.
He said Thompson's resignation is just one victory in a war to eradicate intolerance for gay, bisexual and transgender students attending Tracy schools.
"Mr. Thompson is a big part of the problem," he said. "There are still issues."
Students fling around words like "faggot" and "homo" at West and Tracy High School, according to Daley and the Tracy High GSA faculty advisor, choir director Matt Netto.
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
'Gay' bar torched ahead of homosexual event
Police investigating arson in holy city slated to host World Pride
Posted: April 29, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Aaron Klein
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44030
JERUSALEM – Unidentified arsonists set fire to Jerusalem's only "gay" bar this week ahead of plans, blasted by top religious figures, to bring a world homosexual event here this August that has been blasted by top religious figures.
Shushan, a homosexual bar near Jerusalem's bustling Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall, suffered significant fire damage earlier this week when a man entered the doorway of the club and threw a burning rag inside. Flames spread quickly but patrons escaped without injury.
A Jerusalem police spokeswoman told WND an investigation is under way to determine whether or not the arson was in protest of World Pride, a mass international gathering of homosexual, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals slated to take place in Jerusalem this summer. Shushan owner Sa'ar Netanel is part of a coalition planning the event.
"The police will investigate and we'll see," said Netanel. "This is the first time the club [has been] attacked, but I already received threats on my life."
Last month, an unlikely alliance of Israel's two chief rabbis, Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, Catholic Archbishop Pietro Sambi and leaders of the Muslim community demanded at a news conference World Pride be canceled.
"We are shocked to have received notice that a worldwide assembly of 10 days, including an immodest parade devoid of minimal propriety, is scheduled to be held in Jerusalem this summer," the top leaders said in a joint statement last month. "It will offend the very foundations of our religious values and the character of the holy city."
The homosexual event, organized by InterPride, the International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Pride Coordinators, was previously held in 2000 in Rome, where it attracted about a quarter of a million participants. Images of the Rome festivities, featured on various homosexual websites, show throngs of shirtless men in shorts and bikini briefs congregated on the streets, some of them holding hands.
[More at URL]
Focus on the Family article and action item on filibuster rules change "compromise" suggestion from Frist;
Focus on the Family article and action item on a filibuster rules change support action (yes, that sounds wrong, but it's not);
Focus on the Family action item pleading for more letters to the Senate on filibuster rules changes;
Today's Family News in Focus - includes a story on fundamentalists keeping Wiccans off the list of approved clergy for pre-meeting prayers - and again, one of the summary-listed stories is missing;
Concerned Women for America links to a Yahoo! News story on the Microsoft debacle;
Lexington, MA man objects to gay-parented families being included in discussions about families;
Gov. Haley Barbour (Mississippi) signs bill to hang an assortment of specific Judeo-Christian texts in public buildings, schools, and courthouses;
CWA links to townhall.com editorial railing against women working instead of having babies, comparing "postmodern" thinking (when they actually mean modern) to Hitler and Stalin (no, really);
Traditional Values Coalition demands change in filibuster rules, calls opponents silly names;
TVC rails against two California bills - one as "anti-free-speech" and the other as "homosexual marriage" - the latter of which may, for once, be accurate (includes action item);
Winnipeg Sun columnist against marriage rights rails against "equality tyrants;"
Lodi, California paper on local row involving math teacher calling gayfolk "unnatural" as part of a class lecture;
WorldNetDaily reports on arsonist attack at gay bar in Jerusalem in response to World Pride Day.
----- 1 -----
Alabama Bill Targets Gay Authors
MONTGOMERY, Ala., April 27, 2005
CBS News
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/26/eveningnews/main691106.shtml
(CBS) A college production tells the story of Matthew Sheppard, a student beaten to death because he was gay.
And soon, it could be banned in Alabama.
Republican Alabama lawmaker Gerald Allen says homosexuality is an unacceptable lifestyle. As CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann reports, under his bill, public school libraries could no longer buy new copies of plays or books by gay authors, or about gay characters.
"I don't look at it as censorship," says State Representative Gerald Allen. "I look at it as protecting the hearts and souls and minds of our children."
Books by any gay author would have to go: Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and Gore Vidal. Alice Walker's novel "The Color Purple" has lesbian characters.
Allen originally wanted to ban even some Shakespeare. After criticism, he narrowed his bill to exempt the classics, although he still can't define what a classic is. Also exempted now Alabama's public and college libraries.
Librarian Donna Schremser fears the "thought police," would be patrolling her shelves.
"And so the idea that we would have a pristine collection that represents one political view, one religioius view, that's not a library,'' says Schremser.
----- 2 -----
Frist Pitches Plan to End Judicial Filibusters
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
SUMMARY: Proposal would allow for up-or-down votes on all
nominees but stop short of the need to enact the
"constitutional option."
http://www.family.org/cforum/feature/a0036353.cfm
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist today offered
Democrats a deal on judicial filibusters that would avoid
the need to enact the "constitutional option."
But Democrats appear almost certain to reject it,
considering that Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.,
called the plan "a big wet kiss to the far right."
"This offer will ensure up-or-down votes on judicial
nominees after fair, open, and, some might say, exhaustive
debate," Frist told the Senate in a floor speech. "It's a
compromise that holds to constitutional principles."
The Tennessee Republican also said that never in the
history of the Senate had a judicial nominee with majority
support been denied an up-or-down vote -- until two years
ago, when Democrats began filibustering some of President
Bush's appeals court nominees. However, he added, it was
not unprecedented for either Republicans or Democrats to
block judicial nominees in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
His proposal, which would apply only to appeals court and
Supreme Court nominees, would end the practice of blocking
nominations at committee.
"Whether on the floor or in committee," Frist said,
"judicial obstruction is judicial obstruction. It's time
for judicial obstruction to end no matter which party
controls the White House or the Senate."
Under his plan, the Senate Judiciary Committee will
continue to play its essential oversight and investigative
roles in the confirmation process. But he said all
nominations would have to be passed on to the Senate floor
-- whether the Senate is controlled by Republicans or
Democrats.
Frist also proposes giving each side up to 100 hours to
debate a nomination -- if necessary. Then the Senate as a
whole would weigh in.
"The Senate operated this way before we began to broadcast
debates on television in 1986," Frist said. "This would
provide more than enough time for every senator to speak
on a nominee while guaranteeing that nominee the courtesy
of a vote."
Pro-family groups gave the senator high marks for his
proposal.
"This represents an eminently reasonable and
constitutionally sound approach to break the gridlock over
judicial nominees," said Jay Sekulow, chief counsel of the
American Center for Law and Justice.
The use of a filibuster to prevent consideration of
judicial nominees, he added, is not only wrong, it
"reflects a stridently unfair treatment of nominees."
"No one wants to eliminate debate concerning nominees but
every nominee deserves an up-or-down vote on the Senate
floor," Sekulow said. "That's exactly what Sen. Frist is
proposing."
Focus on the Family Federal Issues Analyst Amanda Banks
said the plan guarantees nominees will be treated with all
the dignity they deserve. Some of the men and women Bush
has tapped for the bench have been waiting up to three
years for a vote on their nominations.
"These are respectable human beings who deserve to be
treated in a respectful way in the U.S. Senate," Banks
said. "I really don't see how the Democrats couldn't
agree, except that their obstructionist tactics would be
put to an end. So of course, if you take that into
consideration, I can't be too hopeful that they will
accept it.
"But I think they'll have a real hard time explaining why
they can't accept it."
Reid didn't seem to agree.
"I don't mean to demean the proposal, because I'm going to
take a close look at it and see if there is any way we
could work with it," he said. "But I would say for lack of
a better description, it's a big wet kiss to the far
right."
Reid had earlier offered a proposal of his own: to allow a
floor vote for two of the 10 blocked nominees if
Republicans would withdraw the nomination of a third.
Frist turned down that proposal because a deal would have
permanently ended consideration for some of the
president's nominees.
Bill Wichterman, a spokesman for Frist, said that the Reid
"compromise" did not include what Republicans want most.
"It wouldn't have guaranteed an up-or-down vote,"
Wichterman said. "This . . . so-called compromise would
not have made any assurances that the Democrats wouldn't
filibuster future nominees or Supreme Court nominees."
(Family News in Focus correspondent Josh Montez
contributed to this report.)
TAKE ACTION: Please take a moment to contact Senate
majority Bill Frist and let him know you appreciate his
diligence in looking for a reasonable way to end judicial
filibusters. For contact information, including an
easy-to-use e-mail form, visit the CitizenLink Action
Center.
http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/bio/?id=540
----- 3 -----
Group Goes Creative in Filibuster Fight
by Aaron Atwood, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
SUMMARY: Faith 2 Action encourages constituents to send
foam hands -- like those waved by sports fans -- to
senators still not committed to ending the blockade of
judicial nominees.
http://www.family.org/cforum/feature/a0036352.cfm
The newest tactic in the battle to end Democratic
filibusters of qualified judicial nominees is taking a
page from the local sports arena.
The pro-family group Faith 2 Action is asking constituents
to send foam hands with blue fingers -- the kind fans wave
when cheering on their favorite teams -- to the offices of
senators who have not committed to support the
"constitutional option," which would restore Senate
tradition by making 51 votes the threshold for confirming
a nominee to the federal bench.
The hands bear a simple message: "Vote, Don't Obstruct."
The woman behind the idea is Janet Folger, president and
founder of Faith 2 Action, who said the idea was also
inspired by the recent Iraqi elections in which voters
were required to dip their fingers in ink as a sign that
they had voted.
"Iraqis were getting blue ink on their hand, courageously
putting their lives on the line to vote," Folger told
CitizenLink. "We aren't asking the senators to put their
life on the line. We're just asking them to be as
courageous as those citizens. If we are going to send
soldiers to fight and die for Iraqi citizens, then our
judges deserve the right to a vote."
Folger previously launched a similar campaign to encourage
President Bush to nominate God-honoring judges to the U.S.
courts. Project Rosebud asked family advocates to send
Bush roses with Ezra 7:25 attached: "In accordance with
the wisdom of your God, which you possess, appoint
magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the
people."
In just three weeks, nearly 4,000 roses were sent.
Such creative approaches to ensuring up-or-down votes for
all judicial nominees are crucial, Folger explained.
"You can only say 'Stop the filibuster' so many times
before it gets tuned out," she said. "This is a fun way to
get senators' attention and help our constituents make
their point. It only takes a few before an office starts
to notice that something is going on."
Faith 2 Action's Web site for the "blue finger" project
highlights Republican senators who have not publicly
signed on to their party's efforts to restore
constitutional propriety to the judicial nomination
process.
"We picked the 12 senators most likely to be wavering --
we just want to give them a hand in making up their
minds," Folger quipped.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about the "blue
finger" campaign, visit the Faith 2 Action Web site set up
to promote it.
http://www.bluefingervote.com
(NOTE: Referral to Web sites not produced by Focus on the
Family is for informational purposes only and does not
necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites'
content.)
----- 4 -----
Time is Running Out to Strike a Blow Against Judicial Tyranny
Focus on the Family
April 28, 2005
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0036344.cfm
Key senators in several states still need to hear from their constituents on the importance of stopping the Senate filibusters that are denying qualified judicial nominees a simple up-or-down.
If you believe in the Constitution, the time is now for you to take a stand to ensure its survival.
You can do so by letting one or both of your senators know — today — that you have had enough of filibusters to stop qualified judges from serving on the federal courts. This obstructionism, unprecedented in U.S. history, is being carried out by Democrats simply because they don't want men and women who believe in strictly interpreting the Constitution to be confirmed to the bench.
What kind of judges do the liberals want? Those like the ones who allowed Terri Schiavo to be starved and dehydrated to death. Those like the ones who don't believe it should be illegal for abortionists to suck the brains out of nearly-delivered children. Those who believe pornography showing women being raped, mutilated and defecated upon is protected by the First Amendment — but the Ten Commandments are not.
Keeping judges like this in power is the real motivation for the blockade of President Bush's judicial nominees. That's why the "constitutional option" for ending this impasse must be enacted: restoring Senate tradition to ensure nominees with the support of a majority of senators are confirmed. That is, after all, the process as it is has been observed for more than 200 years.
Below, you'll find the names of senators in several key states — if both are listed, it's because both are resistant to constitutionally ending Democrats' filibusters. If you live in one of these states, please take a few minutes to call them at all of the district office numbers you'll find when you click on their names — and politely deliver this simple message: "Stop judicial filibusters by enacting the constitutional option."
You might also want to re-emphasize that message in a follow-up e-mail — using the forms you'll find on the contact information page you get when you click on each senator's name.
If you don't live in one of these states, your senators have come down on one side or the other in this debate. You can still make your views known to them, however, by visiting the CitizenL:ink Action Center and typing your ZIP code into the space provided.
Arkansas
Sen. Blanche Lincoln
Sen. Mark Pryor
Colorado
Sen. Ken Salazar
Florida
Sen. Bill Nelson
Indiana
Sen. Evan Bayh
Louisiana
Sen. Mary Landrieu
Maine
Sen. Susan Collins
Sen. Olympia Snowe
North Dakota
Sen. Kent Conrad
Sen. Byron Dorgan
Nebraska
Sen. Chuck Hagel
Sen. Ben Nelson
New Hampshire
Sen. John Sununu
New Mexico
Sen. Jeff Bingaman
Nevada
Sen. Harry Reid
Ohio
Sen. Mike DeWine
Oregon
Sen. Gordon Smith
South Dakota
Sen. Tim Johnson
Virginia
Sen. John Warner
----- 5 -----
Family News in Focus
Friday, April 29, 2005
Focus on the Family
http://www.oneplace.com/Ministries/Family_News_in_Focus/
* Mainstream media says it is only religious conservatives who are politically active
1. "We've heard a lot about religious conservatives trying to turn America into a theocracy.... but religious liberals are politically active too. Why don't we hear complaints about their involvement?" Gary Bauer accuses religious liberals of historical revisionism, claims textbooks are providing historical revisionism. Family Research Council: "It's astonishing how far the left has gone in trying to strip religion from the public square... And yet liberal Christians... are just as politically active as conservatives!"
* New technology and plans by Playboy could soon result in porn on your child's cell phone
2. Calling it cell-phone spam, but then admitting that it's subscription-only. "It can turn something that's so useful into something we would not want them to participate in." Claims cell-phone porn will harm young men. Suggest disabling WEP access on cell phones.
* Cable operators are touting campaign to head off legislation in Washington
3. National Cable and Telecommunications Association propses ratings icons in upper left hand corner of TV be 70% larger and having them show up after each commercial break. Also planning PSA campaign advertising cable and satellite parental controls. American Family Association says it's not enough and that broadcasters et all need to change their programming. "They should be taking responsibility for what they're putting on the airwaves now and clean up TV rather than rubber-stamping it with a rating..." Also supports "ala carte" programming, where you can subscribe to individual cable channels only.
* Saving for a first home or a business and having community suppport makes a huge difference for low-income families.
6. Proposal for "Individual Development Accounts." Deposits to be matched with public and private funds. Republican Rick Santorum and Democrat Joe Lieberman co-sponsours.
* ACLU backs Wiccan priestess for prayer at Va county Board of Supervisors meeting
5. Chesterfield, VA - Wiccans (Cynthia Simpson in this case) are not allowed on the rotating list of clergy authorised to give the opening prayer at Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors meetings. ACLU is saying this is unfair; Rutherford Institute doesn't agree, and also notes so far that the courts do not agree. Note that this is official, state-sponsored discrimination on religious grounds, by government, being supported by FotF and the Rutherford Institute. This should surprise no one, but does give a direct example of the lie of fundamentalist promises of equal access.
* Florida struggles with ACLU to keep a thirteen-year-old girl in custody from aborting her baby
4. Girl in state custody is pregnant - wants an abortion, state is refusing permission; ACLU claims the state doesn't have the right to block her. Florida Family Policy Council says that the state is required to "act in her best interest" and make sure "this pregnancy is properly guided."
* Panel discussion in Washington attempts to define "judicial activism"
NO STORY
----- 6 -----
Microsoft Criticized for Gay Rights Stance
By ELIZABETH M. GILLESPIE, Associated Press Writer
Wed Apr 27, 7:58 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/microsoft_gay_rights&printer=1
Microsoft Corp., one of the earliest companies to extend benefits to gay employees, now finds itself in the crosshairs of angry activists for rescinding support for gay rights legislation in its home state.
Critics say the world's No. 1 software maker caved to pressure from an NFL linebacker-turned-local pastor who had threatened to launch a nationwide boycott, and tried to tiptoe away from a bill it had previously supported.
Last week, the measure failed in Washington state's Senate by a single vote.
Bloggers branded Microsoft a corporate coward, and a prominent gay rights group asked the company to return a civil rights award it had bestowed on the tech giant four years ago.
It's an unusually sticky spot for a brainy company that has taken pride in its progressive employment policies. Sensitive to employees as well as image concerns, the company's top executives were forced to do some very public soul-searching.
"We are thinking hard about what is the right balance to strike — when should a public company take a position on a broader social issue, and when should it not?" CEO Steve Ballmer wrote in an e-mail to employees on Friday. "What message does the company taking a position send to its employees who have strongly held beliefs on the opposite side of the issue?"
A few days later, Chairman Bill Gates said he was surprised by the negative reaction and said the company may rethink its position.
"Well, we didn't expect that kind of visibility for it," Gates told The Seattle Times. "After all, Microsoft's position on a political bill — has that ever caused something to pass or not pass? Is it good, is it bad? I don't know."
Microsoft contends it decided before the just-ended legislative session to take a neutral stance on a gay rights bill it had once championed so it could focus efforts on a shorter list of issues, like computer privacy, education and transportation.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Oregon Supreme Court Upholds Marriage
4/28/2005
Concerned Women for America
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/7998/CWA/family/index.htm
The legal opinion upholding traditional marriage in the state of Oregon was short and to the point, says CWA’s Chief Counsel Jan LaRue. This is a great relief as states across the nation are enacting defense of marriage laws and defending them in court. Click here to listen.
"Great news out of the Oregon Supreme Court on Marriage..." Unanimously upheld Oregons heterosexual-only marriage law, citing state Constitutional amendment. "Very encouraging out of this state." "We have concerns in other states..." points out Massachusetts, New York, California, Washington State have held that their state constitution requires equal access to marriage. Again claims that marriage rights for queers means pologamy. "There's a real strong grassroots movement across the states to protect marriage as strongly as the states can..." "We also now, according to recent polling, have nearly 2/3 of Americans who support a Federal marriage amendment - very good news."
----- 8 -----
Arrested father had point to make
Disputed school's lesson on diversity
By Maria Cramer and Ralph Ranalli, Globe Staff | April 29, 2005
Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/04/29/arrested_father_had_point_to_make?mode=PF
CONCORD -- For David Parker, the first alarm went off in January, when his 5-year-old son came home from his kindergarten class at Lexington's Joseph Estabrook School with a bag of books promoting diversity.
Inside were books about foreign cultures and traditions, along with food recipes. There was also a copy of ''Who's In a Family?" by Robert Skutch, which depicts different kinds of families, including same-sex couples raising children.
The book's contents concerned Parker and prompted him to begin a series of e-mail exchanges with school officials on the subject that culminated in a meeting Wednesday night with Estabrook's principal and district director of instruction. The meeting ended with Parker's arrest after he refused to leave the school, and the Lexington man spent the night in jail.
Yesterday, Parker was arraigned in Concord District Court on one count of trespassing, and a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. Bail was set at $1,000, and Parker was freed after being ordered to stay off Lexington school property. He is due back in court June 1.
Parker and his wife, Tonia, 34, who was also in court yesterday, said the dispute arose because they asked school officials to notify them about classroom discussions about same-sex marriage and what they called other adult themes. They also wanted the option to exclude their boy, now 6, from those talks.
Parker said he met with school officials to gain those assurances and then refused to leave until he got them. Parker stayed at Estabrook School for more than two hours, according to Superintendent William J. Hurley, as officials and Lexington police urged him to leave. Finally, they arrested him for trespassing.
Parker, who refused to bail himself out of jail Wednesday night, said he spent the night in custody to prove a point.
''I chose to stay, which I'm not sure was a wise move," he said. ''But I wanted to see how far they would go for asking something simple." Parker said he wanted to control ''the timing and manner" in which his son learned about ''adult themes."
''This is not about creating a forum for hate . . . for any segment of society," Parker said after his arraignment. ''I'm just trying to be a good dad."
...
David Parker said he moved his family from New Jersey to Lexington last year after his employer relocated him. He acknowledged yesterday that he and his wife oppose same-sex unions, but they described themselves as Christians who do not advocate hatred.
''We're not intolerant," said Tonia Parker. ''We love all people. That is part of our faith."
A handful of supporters of the Parker family appeared at the courthouse yesterday, including Brian Camenker, director of Article 8 Alliance. The group, which opposes same-sex marriage, posted e-mail exchanges between the Parkers and school officials on the matter on its website. Camenker said Parker contacted him in January.
...
Governor Mitt Romney, an opponent of same-sex marriage, said: ''Schools under our parental-notification law are required to inform parents . . . of matters relating to human sexuality that may be taught in the classroom and to allow that child to be out of the classroom for that period of the education."
Romney said he supports parents' right to know, though he declined to speak specifically about the Parker case.
Thomas B. Griffiths, Lexington School Committee chairman, said parents of older students are notified in advance when sex education will be taught.
''We don't view telling a child that there is a family out there with two mommies as teaching about homosexuality, heterosexuality, or any kind of sexuality," he said. ''We are teaching about the realities of where different children come from."
...
''The kids don't have to take them [the materials] home," she said. ''Parents can either opt out entirely or use whatever materials they want."
...
David Parker said the topic of Wednesday's meeting was not about the book bag, but about concerns that his son could be exposed to more books and lessons about ''gay-headed" households.
''We're not giving unfettered access to the psyche of our son when he enters the school," said Tonia Parker.
[Full story at URL]
----- 9 -----
Gov. signs religious bill
by Meghan Blalock
The Daily Mississippian
Staff Reporter
April 29, 2005
http://www.thedmonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/04/29/42720f6c1d32f
A new law signed by Gov. Haley Barbour will allow the hanging of certain Judeo-Christian texts in public buildings, such as schools and courthouses in Mississippi.
The law specifically gives permission for public buildings to post the Ten Commandments, excerpts of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and the motto, “In God We Trust.”
Reactions among students and professionals on campus are mixed, but they seem largely to be in opposition to the law.
William F. Lawhead, professor of philosophy at Ole Miss, cites many reasons why the enforcement of the law is unconstitutional and contradictory to the American standard of democracy.
“It is a government promotion of specifically Jewish and Christian Biblical texts,” Lawhead said. “The first commandment states, ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ Consequently, in posting this text the state government is symbolically forbidding the worship of the gods of any other religion. This comes as close to the government officially establishing a specific religion as you can get.”
He also added that the law in itself seems self-contradictory.
“The third commandment says, ‘Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.’ I think this law is doing exactly that. It is cynically using the name of God to advance a political agenda, and it will have little effect in promoting morality,” Lawhead said.
John W. Winkle III, professor of political science, expressed that many aspects of the state law are questionable in light of the federal law.
“There are two cases currently pending before the Court (one from Texas, another from Kentucky) that raise the question whether the Ten Commandments may be displayed as a part of the heritage of American law. In other words, does context matter? May government include the Commandments in a public display along with other formative legal documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution or even the Magna Carta?” Winkle said. “What the Court answers will go a long way in determining the constitutionality of the Mississippi law.”
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
The cost of 'having it all'
Janice Shaw Crouse (archive)
Townhall.com
April 28, 2005
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GuestColumns/Crouse20050428.shtml
Postmodern thinking offered women the opportunity to “have it all.” Women flocked into the marketplace where they are having unprecedented success. Entry level MBA women now make higher salaries than their male counterparts. Sadly, though, sexual liberation came as part of the post-modern package and gals began rivaling the guys in bed-hopping, too.
Now we are learning the price those women are paying. Turns out sexual “freedom” wasn’t exactly free. This week, the Beverly LaHaye Institute (the think tank for Concerned Women for America) released its latest Data Digest which chronicles a disturbing trend for women: since 1976, the rate of childlessness has gone up between 50 and 90 percent among women in every age bracket, and the rate of singleness among women over age 30 has tripled.
Nobody mentioned in the mid-70s that “having it all” would not include marriage and children. Many young women, now that it is too late, are lamenting the cost of careerism and promiscuity as they discover that marriage and children are not likely in their future. So-called sexual freedom, loudly touted by libertines and radical feminists, has brought soaring rates of sexually transmitted diseases and plummeting rates of marriage. Abortion has eliminated 45 million pregnancies and left behind a host of problems: heartbreak, as well as physical and emotional distress.
Millions of women are finding, through bitter experience, that while the wonders of modern communication technology can distract much of the time, at the end of the day –– when the iPod and cellphone sit in their chargers, when the television’s relentless barrage is finally silent –– there is no hand to hold and no baby to cuddle.
Such loneliness is the sad ending to the promise of “having it all.”
Today in America, we are beginning to reckon with the bitter harvest from the scourge of self-centered “me-ism.” The moral relativism of post-modernism has resulted in a culture that scorns marriage, casually embraces cohabitation, and dismisses divorce; such values have decimated the family for the last 50 years.
Drinking from the springs of a false ideology can steal priceless, irreplaceable elements of life for years before its tragic consequences are evident and its true nature revealed for all to see. For instance, the millions of deaths from Hitler’s Nazi horror or in Stalin’s Gulags, or the bloody massacres of today’s suicidal terrorists, reveal all too clearly the true character and the threat of counterfeit creeds. But for the victims, the exposé comes too late.
[More at URL]
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Senator Frist Stands Strong On Ending Democrat Obstructionism
Traditional Values Coalition
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2244
April 28, 2005 – Traditional Values Coalition Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon says that Republicans should move quickly to eliminate the judicial filibuster of President Bush’s judicial nominees. In a recent interview, he noted: “Procrastination is a deterrent to winning Republican primaries. If Frist bellies up and does it, it would be to his favor.”
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) appears to be standing strong in his commitment to using the constitutional option to overturn the 60-vote requirement to end a judicial filibuster.
According to a New York Times report, Frist has stated: “The principle is getting fair, up-or-down votes on judicial nominees. The principle is with respect to future appeals court nominees as well. All nominees who are waiting, as well as for the future.”
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has proposed a “compromise,” which will allow two judicial nominees to receive a fair vote but in return, Reid is asking that Bush withdraw two of his most important nominees: Janice Rogers Brown and Priscilla Owen. Brown is a California Supreme Court Justice and Owen is a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court.
Democrats filibustered 10 of President Bush’s well-qualified nominees in the 108 th Congress and Reid had promised to shut down the federal government if candidates like Brown and Owen were brought to the Senate Judiciary Committee for a vote.
Janice Rogers Brown recently spoke to a group of Roman Catholic legal professionals in Connecticut. In her comments, she observed that people of faith were embroiled in a war against secular humanism who wishes to divorce America from its religious roots. “These are perilous times for people of faith, not in the sense that we are going to lose our lives, but in the sense that it will cost you something if you are a person of faith who stands up for what you believe in and say those things out loud.”
The radical leftist group MoveOn.org claimed it held 180 rallies in all 50 states on April 27. In an email to liberal activists, the group uses the flawed Washington Post poll to claim that most Americans are against the Republican effort to stop the filibustering of judges.
The email features a photo of a gender-vague individual holding a sign that says: “Private Property: RIGHT-WING JUDGES ONLY – by order of Congress.”
MoveOn.org receives significant funding from socialist/atheist billionaire George Soros, who is an enemy of Christianity and national sovereignty. Capital Research Center has published an expose of Soros’ political agenda and his use of MoveOn.org to achieve his anti-Christian, one-world goals: http://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/03_04_FW.pdf.
Columnist Thomas Sowell has just written an article on the disinformation campaign being used against Owen and Brown: Thomas Sowell: Disinformation on judges.
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California Assembly Passes Anti-Free Speech And Homosexual Marriage Bills
Traditional Values Coalition
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2241
April 28, 2005 – The left-leaning California Assembly has just passed two bills that will push forward the homosexual agenda and stifle freedom of speech.
The first is passage of AB 866, which adds “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the California Code of Fair Campaign Practices. This legislation is portrayed as an “anti-gay rhetoric” bill that will ask political candidates to sign a pledge that they will not engage in speech that criticizes homosexuality.
The pledge is voluntary, but those not signing it can be targeted as bigots or homophobes. The legislation is the brainchild of homosexual activist group Equality California. Assemblyman Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) is the main sponsor of this legislation.
AB 866 will stifle freedom of speech and vilify anyone who opposes the homosexual agenda or is critical of homosexual conduct.
The next pro-homosexual bill is AB 19, a homosexual marriage bill that has passed out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee. AB 19 is sponsored by homosexual Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). If passed, AB 19 will change the definition of marriage in California family code from “a man and a woman” to “two persons.”
This legislation is in direct violation of Proposition 22, a Defense of Marriage Act passed by more than 60% of California voters in 2000. The state Constitution prohibits the legislature from overturning a proposition enacted into law by popular vote, but the Assembly is going to do it anyway.
Both of these bills must be defeated!
TAKE ACTION: If you’re a California resident, contact your state Assemblyman and Senator and ask that they vote NO on both bills. Contact information is available here: California State Legislature.
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Thu, April 28, 2005
Something that's ours, after all
By JOHN GLEESON
Winnipeg Sun
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Winnipeg/John_Gleeson/2005/04/28/pf-1016173.html
The equality tyrants popped up again this week, this time to attack a Defend Marriage rally held on April 17 in a city park in London, Ont.
The rally was organized by a Conservative senator and a Liberal MP -- and, yes, it was staged to protest Bill C-38, the Liberal legislation that would change the definition of marriage to recognize gay and lesbian couples.
Predictably, a group calling itself the London Association for the Elimination of Hate (and funded in part with your tax dollars through Heritage Canada) branded the rally after the fact as a display of discrimination and homophobia -- even though no specific examples of unruly or rabble-rousing behaviour were cited.
No matter. Appealing to London city council to deny future access to public parks to "groups that discriminate," executive director Debbie Lee was quoted in the London Free Press as saying, "I think the city should take a good look at what was promoted and who was hurt."
Lee summed up her view of the rally's participants with this cute catch-all: "Homophobia is as homophobia does."
She also linked the rally to hate groups because white supremacists had apparently posted it on their websites.
Which raised the ire of one London city councillor who'd appeared at the rally. "I was there as Ab Chahbar -- as a citizen," he fumed. "This is not hate. This is my religious point of view. Nobody is going to tell me what to say or not say."
[More at URL]
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West High math teacher accused of anti-gay remarks plans to resign
By Bobby Wilson
San Joaquin News Service
Lodi (CA) News
http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2005/04/25/news/7_homophobia_050425.prt
After heavy criticism following reports that he said homosexuality is unnatural in class and told a student in a private conversation that associating with homosexuals is as sinful as being gay, West High School math teacher Richard Thompson plans to quit in June, according to the agenda for Tuesday's school board meeting.
Thompson's motivation for quitting is unclear; he couldn't be reached for comment Friday, and Tracy Unified School District officials refused to discuss the matter.
The news took West High student Justin Daley by surprise.
He is the president of the Gay-Straight Alliance, a student group that pressured the district to punish Thompson for his comments.
When he heard the news of Thompson's resignation, Daley said, "That is so pleasant, but I'm scared for the students in which he teaches in the future," the junior said.
He said Thompson's resignation is just one victory in a war to eradicate intolerance for gay, bisexual and transgender students attending Tracy schools.
"Mr. Thompson is a big part of the problem," he said. "There are still issues."
Students fling around words like "faggot" and "homo" at West and Tracy High School, according to Daley and the Tracy High GSA faculty advisor, choir director Matt Netto.
[More at URL]
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FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
'Gay' bar torched ahead of homosexual event
Police investigating arson in holy city slated to host World Pride
Posted: April 29, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Aaron Klein
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44030
JERUSALEM – Unidentified arsonists set fire to Jerusalem's only "gay" bar this week ahead of plans, blasted by top religious figures, to bring a world homosexual event here this August that has been blasted by top religious figures.
Shushan, a homosexual bar near Jerusalem's bustling Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall, suffered significant fire damage earlier this week when a man entered the doorway of the club and threw a burning rag inside. Flames spread quickly but patrons escaped without injury.
A Jerusalem police spokeswoman told WND an investigation is under way to determine whether or not the arson was in protest of World Pride, a mass international gathering of homosexual, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals slated to take place in Jerusalem this summer. Shushan owner Sa'ar Netanel is part of a coalition planning the event.
"The police will investigate and we'll see," said Netanel. "This is the first time the club [has been] attacked, but I already received threats on my life."
Last month, an unlikely alliance of Israel's two chief rabbis, Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, Catholic Archbishop Pietro Sambi and leaders of the Muslim community demanded at a news conference World Pride be canceled.
"We are shocked to have received notice that a worldwide assembly of 10 days, including an immodest parade devoid of minimal propriety, is scheduled to be held in Jerusalem this summer," the top leaders said in a joint statement last month. "It will offend the very foundations of our religious values and the character of the holy city."
The homosexual event, organized by InterPride, the International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Pride Coordinators, was previously held in 2000 in Rome, where it attracted about a quarter of a million participants. Images of the Rome festivities, featured on various homosexual websites, show throngs of shirtless men in shorts and bikini briefs congregated on the streets, some of them holding hands.
[More at URL]
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-04-29 07:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-29 07:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-29 07:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-29 11:04 pm (UTC)http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~27772~2842070,00.html
Colorado Catholic hospitals are requiring rape victims to take an ovulation test, then *refusing* to tell them about morning-after type contraception if they've ovulated and could possibly be pregnant.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-30 02:33 am (UTC)I thank my gods every day that I got my tubes tied last year. Now I can't be forced to be a breeding cow for the religious right when they take over the country and make The Handmaid's Tale into a reality.