Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Oct. 18th, 2005 02:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdChristian Post on FRC's "wait-and-see" reaction to Miers, Bush's defense of her nomination;
WSJ: Miers's judicial friends assured fundamentalist leaders that Miers would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade;
Human Events, regularly cranky about women in the armed services: "Did Miers Allow Armed Forces to Flout Law?"
Baptist Press: queers shouldn't be foster parents, they're all child-molsters;
David Frum spearheads anti-Miers fundraising effort;
LifeNews, an anti-abortion news site: Miers supported anti-abortion Constitutional amendment; also pledged to work to keep pro-choice appointees off of city boards and commissions;
Family News in Focus gives Roberts, courts a pass on Missouri inmate abortion issue;
FotF condemns survey showing widespread support for embryonic stem-cell research;
Yet another article condemning Plan B, the morning-after birth-control pill - includes ACTION ITEM to lobby the FDA against it;
FotF says "Commander in Chief" is a plot to get Americans used to the idea of a female president and is groundwork for the Hillary Clinton 2008 campaign;
FotF: Anti-stem-cell work successful in prompting other forms of research they don't find religiously objectionable;
Credit where due: the Family Research Council officially endorses the HPV vaccine - good for them;
Anti-gay, anti-abortion Alliance Defense Fund to defend "Love in Action," the teen "gay-conversion" camp in Tennessee, against state regulation;
Dust-up over San Diego cross memorial on Federal property;
Viacom pulls down billboards for adult bookstore in Florida in response to AFA, other group pressure.
----- 1 -----
Miers to Face Nomination Process Despite Criticism
The Christian Post
Saturday, Oct. 15, 2005 Posted: 3:29:45PM EST
Long URL elided
Despite the controversy in conservative circles about the qualifications of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers for the office of associate justice, she and the President have not indicated that she will withdraw her bid. Plans are underway to prepare for hearings before senators.
Some Christian leaders active in influencing social policy have already given Miers their support. However, the rest are mostly taking a wait-and-see attitude until the nomination process is complete, saying there is a need for a “dignified” hearing and a quick vote by the senate.
Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, who has taken a “wait-and-see” approach since the nomination was announced nearly three weeks ago, said on Thursday that there was still not enough evidence to make a clear decision.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Did Christian conservatives receive assurances that Miers would oppose Roe v. Wade?
Wall Street Journal
Monday, October 17, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT
http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/%3Fid=110007415
Two days after President Bush announced Harriet Miers's Supreme Court nomination, James Dobson of Focus on the Family raised some eyebrows by declaring on his radio program: "When you know some of the things that I know--that I probably shouldn't know--you will understand why I have said, with fear and trepidation, that I believe Harriet Miers will be a good justice."
[...]
It might, however, have been part of another discussion. On Oct. 3, the day the Miers nomination was announced, Mr. Dobson and other religious conservatives held a conference call to discuss the nomination. One of the people on the call took extensive notes, which I have obtained. According to the notes, two of Ms. Miers's close friends--both sitting judges--said during the call that she would vote to overturn Roe.
The call was moderated by the Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association. Participating were 13 members of the executive committee of the Arlington Group, an umbrella alliance of 60 religious conservative groups, including Gary Bauer of American Values, Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation and the Rev. Bill Owens, a black minister. Also on the call were Justice Nathan Hecht of the Texas Supreme Court and Judge Ed Kinkeade, a Dallas-based federal trial judge.
[...]
Mr. Dobson says he was surprised the next day to learn that Justice Hecht and Judge Kinkeade were joining the Arlington Group call. He was asked to introduce the two of them, which he considered awkward given that he had never spoken with Justice Hecht and only once to Judge Kinkeade. According to the notes of the call, Mr. Dobson introduced them by saying, "Karl Rove suggested that we talk with these gentlemen because they can confirm specific reasons why Harriet Miers might be a better candidate than some of us think."
What followed, according to the notes, was a free-wheeling discussion about many topics, including same-sex marriage. Justice Hecht said he had never discussed that issue with Ms. Miers. Then an unidentified voice asked the two men, "Based on your personal knowledge of her, if she had the opportunity, do you believe she would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade?"
"Absolutely," said Judge Kinkeade.
"I agree with that," said Justice Hecht. "I concur."
[...]
The conference call will no doubt prove controversial on Capitol Hill, always a tinderbox for rumors that any judicial nominee has taken a stand on Roe v. Wade. Ms. Miers meets today with Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Chuck Schumer of New York, both stalwart Roe supporters, who surely will be interested to learn more about her views. After Mr. Dobson's initial comments about "things . . . that I probably shouldn't know," Sen. Arlen Specter, the pro-Roe Judiciary Committee chairman, said, "If there are backroom assurances and if there are backroom deals and if there is something that bears on a precondition as to how a nominee is going to vote, I think that's a matter that ought to be known." He and ranking Democrat Pat Leahy of Vermont threatened to subpoena Mr. Dobson as a witness.
Some participants in the Oct. 3 conference call fear that they will be called to testify at Ms. Miers's hearings. "If the call is as you describe it, an effort will be made to subpoena everyone on it," a Judiciary Committee staffer told me. It is possible that a tape or notes of the call are already in the hands of committee staffers. "Some people were on speaker phones allowing other people to listen in, and others could have been on extensions," one participant told me.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Did Miers Allow Armed Forces to Flout Law?
Human Events
by Elaine Donnelly
Posted Oct 14, 2005
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?print=yes&id=9670
There is no reason to doubt the integrity of Harriet Miers, a person whom President Bush trusts and has nominated to the Supreme Court. There is reason for concern, however, about her actions as White House counsel on legal matters affecting the military.
Miers does not have a judicial paper trail, but to the greatest extent possible the Senate should consider her record as the President’s chief legal adviser. The Office of White House Counsel sits at the intersection of law, politics and policy. Given this blend of responsibilities, the most essential function a counsel can perform for a President is to be an “early warning system” for potential legal trouble. We wish there were evidence that Miers has been sufficiently vigilant on matters affecting the military.
As I reported in a series of articles in HUMAN EVENTS (here, here, here, here, and here), since 2004 the U.S. Army has been violating Defense Department regulations regarding the assignment of women in or near land combat. At issue are improper assignments of female soldiers to certain combat support units that collocate (operate 100% of the time) with infantry, armor and Special Operations Forces. Current rules require those units to be all male.
Women and Selective Service
By permitting these illicit assignments, the Defense Department has circumvented a law requiring that it formally notify Congress approximately three months in advance of any such policy change. The law also requires an analysis of the effect such changes could have on the exemption of women from Selective Service registration. None has been provided.
There are only three explanations for this disappointing situation. As White House counsel, Miers either approved of the Defense Department’s improper assignments of women to units required to be all-male, without prior notice to Congress, or she was unaware of the long-term legal consequences of that practice, or she gave sound advice that the President did not heed.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
FIRST-PERSON: Homosexuality, child sexual abuse & foster care
Oct 17, 2005
By Alan Sears
Baptist Press
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=21872
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (BP)--For loving parents, the need to protect one’s children from harm -- whether it be from extreme weather, poor nutrition or even "stranger danger" -- registers first on the concern scale. Recent efforts to "normalize" homosexual behavior, however, have left many children exposed to the elements.
Take, for instance, children most at risk -- ones who find themselves in foster care. They all too often face an additional risk stemming from the sexual behavior of those responsible for protecting them in states that allow the placement of children with same-sex couples.
This does not bode well for the already vulnerable, frightened and confused children now circulating through the nation’s foster care system. The results of an Illinois study released in March revealed that 34 percent of child sexual abuse cases by foster parents in the state were committed against children that were the same sex as their molesters.
Think that’s enough to merit trepidation on the part of Illinois’ Department of Children and Family Services, which handles the placement of children in its foster care system? It’s not. When pressed, an agency official noted DCFS classifies potential foster and adoptive parents only on their marital status and that “there is no law that says a gay or lesbian person cannot adopt” in Illinois.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Right ups ante on Miers
By Alexander Bolton
The Hill
October 18, 2005
Long URL elided
Influential conservatives who oppose the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court are raising money to escalate their campaign to persuade her to withdraw from consideration.
The White House has sought to corral conservative support and has succeeded in forging alliances with prominent leaders such as Dr. James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, and Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the Federalist Society.
But many conservative intellectuals and the rank and file remain adamantly opposed to President Bush’s choice to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
David Frum, the former White House speechwriter who helped coin the phrase “axis of evil,” is coordinating the anti-Miers fundraising effort.
The first phase of the campaign is estimated to cost between $50,000 and $100,000. Frum declined to comment on how or when the money might be spent, whether on newspaper, radio or Internet advertisements.
He said underwriters had expressed an interest in putting up the money and he had planned to go back to them when he and other strategists decided the best way to spend it.
He is teaming up with other conservatives behind the scenes to generate opposition to Miers’s nomination, which his former colleagues at the White House are straining to sell to the conservative base.
“My view on this has become that this nomination will not succeed,” said Frum, now a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “Since it will not succeed, the earlier we can end it the less harm it will do the Republican administration. We need to mobilize conservatives and Republicans around the nation to convince the administration that it’s in everyone’s interest to change course.”
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Harriet Miers Backed Abortion Ban in Response to Pro-Life Survey
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 18, 2005
http://www.lifenews.com/nat1705.html
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In response to a questionnaire from a Texas pro-life group when she was a candidate for the Dallas city council, Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers said she supported a constitutional amendment that would ban most abortions. The information comes to light as Miers' nomination is surrounded by controversy as to whether the White House made assurances to pro-life groups that she would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Texans United for Life send a questionnaire to Miers in 1989 which asked, "If Congress passes a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution that would prohibit abortion except when it was necessary to prevent the death of the mother, would you actively support its ratification by the Texas Legislature."
According to an Associated Press report, Miers checked the "yes" box in response.
In addition, Miers checked the pro-life response to all of the groups questions, including whether or not to use taxpayer funds to pay for abortions, and whether she would use her position on the city council to keep pro-abortion people off of boards and commissions that might have something to do with abortion.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Missouri Inmate Abortion Allowed
Family News in Focus
Focus on the Family
October 18, 2005
by Kim Trobee
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0038269.cfm
The abortion, stopped by the Supreme Court, will now move forward at taxpayer expense.
A Missouri prison inmate will be allowed to have an abortion, even after the Supreme Court intervened and blocked the procedure over the weekend. Missouri law forbids spending tax dollars to facilitate an abortion, but a federal judge said the prison system could not block the inmate from exercising her rights. Last week, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas granted a temporary stay but that was overturned unanimously by the court on Monday morning. Bruce Hausknecht is a judicial analyst with Focus on the Family Action.
"It's understandable for the courts to move very quickly on these types of petitions. The Supreme Court has deferred to the federal court in Missouri to handle this matter."
While taxpayers in Missouri won't be funding the actual abortion, the woman will borrow money from family members for that, the ruling requires the Department of Corrections to foot the bill for the transportation and two prison guards that must accompany her. Patty Skain with Missouri Right to Life says even that goes too far.
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
STEM-CELL SURVEY CHALLENGED
Poll shows approval of research on embryonic cells.
from staff reports
SUMMARY: Family advocates don't buy poll that indicates
most Americans support research being done on cells
extracted from human embryos.
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038264.cfm
A survey indicating that two-thirds of Americans support
embryonic stem-cell research is being challenged by
pro-family bioethicists.
The supposedly nonpartisan Genetics and Public Policy
Center surveyed more than 2,200 Americans about their
attitudes on the controversial science, in which human
embryos are destroyed so that their stem cells can be used
for medical experiments.
"We asked for overall approval and disapproval for
embryonic stem-cell research and, as you can see, 67
percent approve or strongly approve of this area of
research and 32 percent disapprove or strongly
disapprove," said Kathy Hudson, a spokeswoman for the
center.
But Dr. David Prentice of the Family Research Council
disputed those findings, saying the survey's questions
were skewed to get those results.
"As with many of these polls, the questions tend to be a
little bit slanted," he told Family News in Focus. "They
talk about the potential of embryonic (stem-cell research)
and they don't mention adult stem cells and their
successes already in patients at all."
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Liberals Push for Wider Plan B Availability
from staff reports
SUMMARY: Left-leaning members of Congress pressure the FDA
to approve the "morning-after pill" for over-the-counter
distribution, despite health concerns.
Pro-abortion members of Congress are turning up the heat
on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the agency's
60-day window for public comment on over-the-counter
distribution of the "morning-after pill" draws to a close.
Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Patty Murray, D-Wash.,
are trying to drum up grassroots support for their view
that the FDA is dragging its feet on making the pill --
also known as emergency contraception and Plan B --
available without a prescription. Rep. Louise Slaughter,
D-N.Y., has gone so far as to write a letter to the FDA
demanding quick action on approving the drug for
over-the-counter distribution.
[...]
"If folks feel strongly about this issue," she explained,
"if they do not want to see it over the counter, they need
to be communicating with the Food and Drug Administration
because those comments will be weighed and considered as
they move closer to a final decision on this question."
The FDA's public comment period runs through Nov. 1.
TAKE ACTION: To let FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford know
how you feel about plans to make Plan B available over the
counter, visit the CitizenLink Action Center.
Long URL elided
----- 10 -----
In Geena Davis We Trust?
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
October 18, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
George Washington is losing his place on the dollar bill
-- to the star of the ABC TV series "Commander in Chief."
Stickers of Geena Davis, who stars as the first female
president of the United States in the Tuesday night show,
are being plastered over Washington's face as part of a
promotional gimmick, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Treasury Department has given its blessing to the
promotion, which will involve an undisclosed number of
bills being altered and sent into circulation.
"It's about creating something that you want to tell your
friends about, and show your family members," Michael
Benson, ABC's senior vice president for marketing, told
the Times.
Some TV critics have suggested that "Commander in Chief"
is an attempt to get Americans accustomed to the idea of a
female president -- should Hillary Clinton decide to seek
the Oval Office in 2008.
----- 11 -----
Biotech Firm Claims Ethical Method of Deriving Stem Cells
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
October 18, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
The pro-life message -- and President Bush's refusal to
expand funding for embryonic stem-cell research beyond the
cell lines already authorized -- seems to be having at
least some effect: Scientists are now busy looking for
ways to derive embryonic stem cells they hope can meet the
ethical objections of pro-life activists.
Case in point: Researchers at a biotechnology company in
Massachusetts say they have come up with a method of
generating embryonic stem cells that they say leave the
embryo viable.
Thus far, the scientists, led by Dr. Robert Lanza at
Advanced Cell Technology, have only conducted experiments
using lab mice. Human studies are being contemplated down
the road.
Whether the extremely complicated techniques actually
preserve life has yet to be established. Pro-life
scientists and groups, who have long objected to embryonic
stem-cell research, say they would welcome any procedure
which truly preserves life, since the procedure that
currently exists always destroys human life in the form of
embryos.
----- 12 -----
FRC Issues Statement on Development of HPV Vaccines
October 18, 2005 - Tuesday
Family Research Council
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 18, 2005 CONTACT: Amber Hildebrand, (202) 393-2100
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR05J04&f=PG03I03
Washington D.C. - Today, the Family Research Council released its statement regarding the development of vaccines against certain strains of the human papillomavirus:
"The Family Research Council welcomes the news that vaccines are in development for preventing infection with certain strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease. We also welcome the recent reports of promising clinical trials for one such vaccine. Any medical advance in this area holds potential for helping to protect the health of millions of Americans and helping to preserve the lives of thousands of American women who currently die of cervical cancer each year as a result of HPV infection. Media reports suggesting that the Family Research Council opposes all development or distribution of such vaccines are false.
"The Family Research Council, along with other pro-family groups, will continue to monitor the development of these vaccines, the FDA drug approval process, the development of recommendations for their use, and the marketing of the vaccines. In particular, we will seek to ensure that there is full disclosure to the public of what these vaccines can and cannot achieve, their efficacy, and their risks (including side effects) and benefits. We believe that adults must be provided with sufficient information to make an informed, free choice whether to vaccinate either themselves or their children for HPV.
"While we welcome medical advances such as an HPV vaccine, it remains clear that practicing abstinence until marriage and fidelity within marriage is the single best way of preventing the full range of sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and negative psychological and emotional consequences that can result from sexual activity outside marriage."
----- 13 -----
ADF attorneys take action for Love in Action
State of Tennessee threatens ministry with closure; ADF counsel files suit to oppose claim that organization is subject to licensure
Friday, September 30, 2005, 11:06 AM (MST)
ADF Media Relations | 480-444-0020
Long URL elided
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund will defend the Christian ministry Love in Action International against claims by the State of Tennessee that it must obtain a license in order to continue operations. ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit on the ministry's behalf today in federal court.
"This is harassment, pure and simple," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Nate Kellum. "There is no legitimate state interest here. There's no health or safety violation, and there's no fire code or overcrowding concern. Love in Action's ministry has nothing to do whatsoever with mental health as defined by law, but the Department of Mental Health wants to regulate it anyway."
Love in Action (www.loveinaction.org), a private 501(c)3 organization, exists to be a Christ-centered ministry for the prevention or remediation of unhealthy and destructive behaviors facing families, adults, and adolescents.
Last month, the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities deemed Love in Action a "mental health supportive living facility" and informed the ministry that it must cease operations by Sept. 30 if it doesn't apply for a license or comply with the department's demands.
[More at URL]
----- 14 -----
San Diego Cross Setback
War Memorial Cross ruled unconstitutional.
by Kim Trobee
Family News in Focus
Focus on the Family
October 18, 2005
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0038265.cfm
The Mt. Soledad War Memorial Cross in San Diego is making headlines again. This time Superior Court Judge Patricia Cowett ruled that allowing the site to become federal property is unconstitutional. Attorney Jim McElroy represents Philip Paulson who disagrees with the display.
"It's pretty clear from both our federal and our state constitutions that the presence of a 40 foot, 20 ton symbol, which is the preeminent symbol of one religion, demonstrates or conveys that the government prefers that religion over all other religions."
McElroy says he thinks they are nearing an end to the lawsuits but Pastor Chris Clark with San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad War Memorial says they aren't backing down.
"We're going to continue to press this as far as we can possibly go."
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Viacom Removes Billboards
Persistence pays off in an effort to get offensive billboards taken down in Florida.
by Josh Montez
Family News in Focus
Focus on the Family
October 18, 2005
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0038266.cfm
Billboard advertising giant Viacom Outdoor has agreed to remove signs for an adult bookstore in Florida. David Caton with the Florida Family Association contacted Viacom Outdoor asking them to discontinue advertising a porn shop. Their persistence paid off.
"Viacom informed us that they would be removing approximately a dozen X-Mart billboards from I-75 and the Florida Turnpike as well as associated tributary roads in that area by October 31st."
Phil Burress with Citizens for Community Values helped the cause by urging the Outdoor Advertisers Association to hold advertisers accountable.
[More at URL]
WSJ: Miers's judicial friends assured fundamentalist leaders that Miers would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade;
Human Events, regularly cranky about women in the armed services: "Did Miers Allow Armed Forces to Flout Law?"
Baptist Press: queers shouldn't be foster parents, they're all child-molsters;
David Frum spearheads anti-Miers fundraising effort;
LifeNews, an anti-abortion news site: Miers supported anti-abortion Constitutional amendment; also pledged to work to keep pro-choice appointees off of city boards and commissions;
Family News in Focus gives Roberts, courts a pass on Missouri inmate abortion issue;
FotF condemns survey showing widespread support for embryonic stem-cell research;
Yet another article condemning Plan B, the morning-after birth-control pill - includes ACTION ITEM to lobby the FDA against it;
FotF says "Commander in Chief" is a plot to get Americans used to the idea of a female president and is groundwork for the Hillary Clinton 2008 campaign;
FotF: Anti-stem-cell work successful in prompting other forms of research they don't find religiously objectionable;
Credit where due: the Family Research Council officially endorses the HPV vaccine - good for them;
Anti-gay, anti-abortion Alliance Defense Fund to defend "Love in Action," the teen "gay-conversion" camp in Tennessee, against state regulation;
Dust-up over San Diego cross memorial on Federal property;
Viacom pulls down billboards for adult bookstore in Florida in response to AFA, other group pressure.
----- 1 -----
Miers to Face Nomination Process Despite Criticism
The Christian Post
Saturday, Oct. 15, 2005 Posted: 3:29:45PM EST
Long URL elided
Despite the controversy in conservative circles about the qualifications of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers for the office of associate justice, she and the President have not indicated that she will withdraw her bid. Plans are underway to prepare for hearings before senators.
Some Christian leaders active in influencing social policy have already given Miers their support. However, the rest are mostly taking a wait-and-see attitude until the nomination process is complete, saying there is a need for a “dignified” hearing and a quick vote by the senate.
Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, who has taken a “wait-and-see” approach since the nomination was announced nearly three weeks ago, said on Thursday that there was still not enough evidence to make a clear decision.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Did Christian conservatives receive assurances that Miers would oppose Roe v. Wade?
Wall Street Journal
Monday, October 17, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT
http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/%3Fid=110007415
Two days after President Bush announced Harriet Miers's Supreme Court nomination, James Dobson of Focus on the Family raised some eyebrows by declaring on his radio program: "When you know some of the things that I know--that I probably shouldn't know--you will understand why I have said, with fear and trepidation, that I believe Harriet Miers will be a good justice."
[...]
It might, however, have been part of another discussion. On Oct. 3, the day the Miers nomination was announced, Mr. Dobson and other religious conservatives held a conference call to discuss the nomination. One of the people on the call took extensive notes, which I have obtained. According to the notes, two of Ms. Miers's close friends--both sitting judges--said during the call that she would vote to overturn Roe.
The call was moderated by the Rev. Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association. Participating were 13 members of the executive committee of the Arlington Group, an umbrella alliance of 60 religious conservative groups, including Gary Bauer of American Values, Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation and the Rev. Bill Owens, a black minister. Also on the call were Justice Nathan Hecht of the Texas Supreme Court and Judge Ed Kinkeade, a Dallas-based federal trial judge.
[...]
Mr. Dobson says he was surprised the next day to learn that Justice Hecht and Judge Kinkeade were joining the Arlington Group call. He was asked to introduce the two of them, which he considered awkward given that he had never spoken with Justice Hecht and only once to Judge Kinkeade. According to the notes of the call, Mr. Dobson introduced them by saying, "Karl Rove suggested that we talk with these gentlemen because they can confirm specific reasons why Harriet Miers might be a better candidate than some of us think."
What followed, according to the notes, was a free-wheeling discussion about many topics, including same-sex marriage. Justice Hecht said he had never discussed that issue with Ms. Miers. Then an unidentified voice asked the two men, "Based on your personal knowledge of her, if she had the opportunity, do you believe she would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade?"
"Absolutely," said Judge Kinkeade.
"I agree with that," said Justice Hecht. "I concur."
[...]
The conference call will no doubt prove controversial on Capitol Hill, always a tinderbox for rumors that any judicial nominee has taken a stand on Roe v. Wade. Ms. Miers meets today with Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and Chuck Schumer of New York, both stalwart Roe supporters, who surely will be interested to learn more about her views. After Mr. Dobson's initial comments about "things . . . that I probably shouldn't know," Sen. Arlen Specter, the pro-Roe Judiciary Committee chairman, said, "If there are backroom assurances and if there are backroom deals and if there is something that bears on a precondition as to how a nominee is going to vote, I think that's a matter that ought to be known." He and ranking Democrat Pat Leahy of Vermont threatened to subpoena Mr. Dobson as a witness.
Some participants in the Oct. 3 conference call fear that they will be called to testify at Ms. Miers's hearings. "If the call is as you describe it, an effort will be made to subpoena everyone on it," a Judiciary Committee staffer told me. It is possible that a tape or notes of the call are already in the hands of committee staffers. "Some people were on speaker phones allowing other people to listen in, and others could have been on extensions," one participant told me.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Did Miers Allow Armed Forces to Flout Law?
Human Events
by Elaine Donnelly
Posted Oct 14, 2005
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?print=yes&id=9670
There is no reason to doubt the integrity of Harriet Miers, a person whom President Bush trusts and has nominated to the Supreme Court. There is reason for concern, however, about her actions as White House counsel on legal matters affecting the military.
Miers does not have a judicial paper trail, but to the greatest extent possible the Senate should consider her record as the President’s chief legal adviser. The Office of White House Counsel sits at the intersection of law, politics and policy. Given this blend of responsibilities, the most essential function a counsel can perform for a President is to be an “early warning system” for potential legal trouble. We wish there were evidence that Miers has been sufficiently vigilant on matters affecting the military.
As I reported in a series of articles in HUMAN EVENTS (here, here, here, here, and here), since 2004 the U.S. Army has been violating Defense Department regulations regarding the assignment of women in or near land combat. At issue are improper assignments of female soldiers to certain combat support units that collocate (operate 100% of the time) with infantry, armor and Special Operations Forces. Current rules require those units to be all male.
Women and Selective Service
By permitting these illicit assignments, the Defense Department has circumvented a law requiring that it formally notify Congress approximately three months in advance of any such policy change. The law also requires an analysis of the effect such changes could have on the exemption of women from Selective Service registration. None has been provided.
There are only three explanations for this disappointing situation. As White House counsel, Miers either approved of the Defense Department’s improper assignments of women to units required to be all-male, without prior notice to Congress, or she was unaware of the long-term legal consequences of that practice, or she gave sound advice that the President did not heed.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
FIRST-PERSON: Homosexuality, child sexual abuse & foster care
Oct 17, 2005
By Alan Sears
Baptist Press
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=21872
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (BP)--For loving parents, the need to protect one’s children from harm -- whether it be from extreme weather, poor nutrition or even "stranger danger" -- registers first on the concern scale. Recent efforts to "normalize" homosexual behavior, however, have left many children exposed to the elements.
Take, for instance, children most at risk -- ones who find themselves in foster care. They all too often face an additional risk stemming from the sexual behavior of those responsible for protecting them in states that allow the placement of children with same-sex couples.
This does not bode well for the already vulnerable, frightened and confused children now circulating through the nation’s foster care system. The results of an Illinois study released in March revealed that 34 percent of child sexual abuse cases by foster parents in the state were committed against children that were the same sex as their molesters.
Think that’s enough to merit trepidation on the part of Illinois’ Department of Children and Family Services, which handles the placement of children in its foster care system? It’s not. When pressed, an agency official noted DCFS classifies potential foster and adoptive parents only on their marital status and that “there is no law that says a gay or lesbian person cannot adopt” in Illinois.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Right ups ante on Miers
By Alexander Bolton
The Hill
October 18, 2005
Long URL elided
Influential conservatives who oppose the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court are raising money to escalate their campaign to persuade her to withdraw from consideration.
The White House has sought to corral conservative support and has succeeded in forging alliances with prominent leaders such as Dr. James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, and Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the Federalist Society.
But many conservative intellectuals and the rank and file remain adamantly opposed to President Bush’s choice to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
David Frum, the former White House speechwriter who helped coin the phrase “axis of evil,” is coordinating the anti-Miers fundraising effort.
The first phase of the campaign is estimated to cost between $50,000 and $100,000. Frum declined to comment on how or when the money might be spent, whether on newspaper, radio or Internet advertisements.
He said underwriters had expressed an interest in putting up the money and he had planned to go back to them when he and other strategists decided the best way to spend it.
He is teaming up with other conservatives behind the scenes to generate opposition to Miers’s nomination, which his former colleagues at the White House are straining to sell to the conservative base.
“My view on this has become that this nomination will not succeed,” said Frum, now a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “Since it will not succeed, the earlier we can end it the less harm it will do the Republican administration. We need to mobilize conservatives and Republicans around the nation to convince the administration that it’s in everyone’s interest to change course.”
[More at URL]
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Harriet Miers Backed Abortion Ban in Response to Pro-Life Survey
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 18, 2005
http://www.lifenews.com/nat1705.html
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In response to a questionnaire from a Texas pro-life group when she was a candidate for the Dallas city council, Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers said she supported a constitutional amendment that would ban most abortions. The information comes to light as Miers' nomination is surrounded by controversy as to whether the White House made assurances to pro-life groups that she would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Texans United for Life send a questionnaire to Miers in 1989 which asked, "If Congress passes a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution that would prohibit abortion except when it was necessary to prevent the death of the mother, would you actively support its ratification by the Texas Legislature."
According to an Associated Press report, Miers checked the "yes" box in response.
In addition, Miers checked the pro-life response to all of the groups questions, including whether or not to use taxpayer funds to pay for abortions, and whether she would use her position on the city council to keep pro-abortion people off of boards and commissions that might have something to do with abortion.
[More at URL]
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Missouri Inmate Abortion Allowed
Family News in Focus
Focus on the Family
October 18, 2005
by Kim Trobee
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0038269.cfm
The abortion, stopped by the Supreme Court, will now move forward at taxpayer expense.
A Missouri prison inmate will be allowed to have an abortion, even after the Supreme Court intervened and blocked the procedure over the weekend. Missouri law forbids spending tax dollars to facilitate an abortion, but a federal judge said the prison system could not block the inmate from exercising her rights. Last week, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas granted a temporary stay but that was overturned unanimously by the court on Monday morning. Bruce Hausknecht is a judicial analyst with Focus on the Family Action.
"It's understandable for the courts to move very quickly on these types of petitions. The Supreme Court has deferred to the federal court in Missouri to handle this matter."
While taxpayers in Missouri won't be funding the actual abortion, the woman will borrow money from family members for that, the ruling requires the Department of Corrections to foot the bill for the transportation and two prison guards that must accompany her. Patty Skain with Missouri Right to Life says even that goes too far.
[More at URL]
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STEM-CELL SURVEY CHALLENGED
Poll shows approval of research on embryonic cells.
from staff reports
SUMMARY: Family advocates don't buy poll that indicates
most Americans support research being done on cells
extracted from human embryos.
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038264.cfm
A survey indicating that two-thirds of Americans support
embryonic stem-cell research is being challenged by
pro-family bioethicists.
The supposedly nonpartisan Genetics and Public Policy
Center surveyed more than 2,200 Americans about their
attitudes on the controversial science, in which human
embryos are destroyed so that their stem cells can be used
for medical experiments.
"We asked for overall approval and disapproval for
embryonic stem-cell research and, as you can see, 67
percent approve or strongly approve of this area of
research and 32 percent disapprove or strongly
disapprove," said Kathy Hudson, a spokeswoman for the
center.
But Dr. David Prentice of the Family Research Council
disputed those findings, saying the survey's questions
were skewed to get those results.
"As with many of these polls, the questions tend to be a
little bit slanted," he told Family News in Focus. "They
talk about the potential of embryonic (stem-cell research)
and they don't mention adult stem cells and their
successes already in patients at all."
[More at URL]
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Liberals Push for Wider Plan B Availability
from staff reports
SUMMARY: Left-leaning members of Congress pressure the FDA
to approve the "morning-after pill" for over-the-counter
distribution, despite health concerns.
Pro-abortion members of Congress are turning up the heat
on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the agency's
60-day window for public comment on over-the-counter
distribution of the "morning-after pill" draws to a close.
Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Patty Murray, D-Wash.,
are trying to drum up grassroots support for their view
that the FDA is dragging its feet on making the pill --
also known as emergency contraception and Plan B --
available without a prescription. Rep. Louise Slaughter,
D-N.Y., has gone so far as to write a letter to the FDA
demanding quick action on approving the drug for
over-the-counter distribution.
[...]
"If folks feel strongly about this issue," she explained,
"if they do not want to see it over the counter, they need
to be communicating with the Food and Drug Administration
because those comments will be weighed and considered as
they move closer to a final decision on this question."
The FDA's public comment period runs through Nov. 1.
TAKE ACTION: To let FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford know
how you feel about plans to make Plan B available over the
counter, visit the CitizenLink Action Center.
Long URL elided
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In Geena Davis We Trust?
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
October 18, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
George Washington is losing his place on the dollar bill
-- to the star of the ABC TV series "Commander in Chief."
Stickers of Geena Davis, who stars as the first female
president of the United States in the Tuesday night show,
are being plastered over Washington's face as part of a
promotional gimmick, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Treasury Department has given its blessing to the
promotion, which will involve an undisclosed number of
bills being altered and sent into circulation.
"It's about creating something that you want to tell your
friends about, and show your family members," Michael
Benson, ABC's senior vice president for marketing, told
the Times.
Some TV critics have suggested that "Commander in Chief"
is an attempt to get Americans accustomed to the idea of a
female president -- should Hillary Clinton decide to seek
the Oval Office in 2008.
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Biotech Firm Claims Ethical Method of Deriving Stem Cells
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
October 18, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
The pro-life message -- and President Bush's refusal to
expand funding for embryonic stem-cell research beyond the
cell lines already authorized -- seems to be having at
least some effect: Scientists are now busy looking for
ways to derive embryonic stem cells they hope can meet the
ethical objections of pro-life activists.
Case in point: Researchers at a biotechnology company in
Massachusetts say they have come up with a method of
generating embryonic stem cells that they say leave the
embryo viable.
Thus far, the scientists, led by Dr. Robert Lanza at
Advanced Cell Technology, have only conducted experiments
using lab mice. Human studies are being contemplated down
the road.
Whether the extremely complicated techniques actually
preserve life has yet to be established. Pro-life
scientists and groups, who have long objected to embryonic
stem-cell research, say they would welcome any procedure
which truly preserves life, since the procedure that
currently exists always destroys human life in the form of
embryos.
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FRC Issues Statement on Development of HPV Vaccines
October 18, 2005 - Tuesday
Family Research Council
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 18, 2005 CONTACT: Amber Hildebrand, (202) 393-2100
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR05J04&f=PG03I03
Washington D.C. - Today, the Family Research Council released its statement regarding the development of vaccines against certain strains of the human papillomavirus:
"The Family Research Council welcomes the news that vaccines are in development for preventing infection with certain strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease. We also welcome the recent reports of promising clinical trials for one such vaccine. Any medical advance in this area holds potential for helping to protect the health of millions of Americans and helping to preserve the lives of thousands of American women who currently die of cervical cancer each year as a result of HPV infection. Media reports suggesting that the Family Research Council opposes all development or distribution of such vaccines are false.
"The Family Research Council, along with other pro-family groups, will continue to monitor the development of these vaccines, the FDA drug approval process, the development of recommendations for their use, and the marketing of the vaccines. In particular, we will seek to ensure that there is full disclosure to the public of what these vaccines can and cannot achieve, their efficacy, and their risks (including side effects) and benefits. We believe that adults must be provided with sufficient information to make an informed, free choice whether to vaccinate either themselves or their children for HPV.
"While we welcome medical advances such as an HPV vaccine, it remains clear that practicing abstinence until marriage and fidelity within marriage is the single best way of preventing the full range of sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, and negative psychological and emotional consequences that can result from sexual activity outside marriage."
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ADF attorneys take action for Love in Action
State of Tennessee threatens ministry with closure; ADF counsel files suit to oppose claim that organization is subject to licensure
Friday, September 30, 2005, 11:06 AM (MST)
ADF Media Relations | 480-444-0020
Long URL elided
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund will defend the Christian ministry Love in Action International against claims by the State of Tennessee that it must obtain a license in order to continue operations. ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit on the ministry's behalf today in federal court.
"This is harassment, pure and simple," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Nate Kellum. "There is no legitimate state interest here. There's no health or safety violation, and there's no fire code or overcrowding concern. Love in Action's ministry has nothing to do whatsoever with mental health as defined by law, but the Department of Mental Health wants to regulate it anyway."
Love in Action (www.loveinaction.org), a private 501(c)3 organization, exists to be a Christ-centered ministry for the prevention or remediation of unhealthy and destructive behaviors facing families, adults, and adolescents.
Last month, the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities deemed Love in Action a "mental health supportive living facility" and informed the ministry that it must cease operations by Sept. 30 if it doesn't apply for a license or comply with the department's demands.
[More at URL]
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San Diego Cross Setback
War Memorial Cross ruled unconstitutional.
by Kim Trobee
Family News in Focus
Focus on the Family
October 18, 2005
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0038265.cfm
The Mt. Soledad War Memorial Cross in San Diego is making headlines again. This time Superior Court Judge Patricia Cowett ruled that allowing the site to become federal property is unconstitutional. Attorney Jim McElroy represents Philip Paulson who disagrees with the display.
"It's pretty clear from both our federal and our state constitutions that the presence of a 40 foot, 20 ton symbol, which is the preeminent symbol of one religion, demonstrates or conveys that the government prefers that religion over all other religions."
McElroy says he thinks they are nearing an end to the lawsuits but Pastor Chris Clark with San Diegans for the Mt. Soledad War Memorial says they aren't backing down.
"We're going to continue to press this as far as we can possibly go."
[More at URL]
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Viacom Removes Billboards
Persistence pays off in an effort to get offensive billboards taken down in Florida.
by Josh Montez
Family News in Focus
Focus on the Family
October 18, 2005
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0038266.cfm
Billboard advertising giant Viacom Outdoor has agreed to remove signs for an adult bookstore in Florida. David Caton with the Florida Family Association contacted Viacom Outdoor asking them to discontinue advertising a porn shop. Their persistence paid off.
"Viacom informed us that they would be removing approximately a dozen X-Mart billboards from I-75 and the Florida Turnpike as well as associated tributary roads in that area by October 31st."
Phil Burress with Citizens for Community Values helped the cause by urging the Outdoor Advertisers Association to hold advertisers accountable.
[More at URL]
