Today's Cultural Warfare Update

[solarbird]

The Vatican: Creationism is stupid, stop it;

IRS investigates liberal church - acknowledges no explicit endorsements were made, but attempts to act against "implicit endorsements" involved in criticising the Iraq war and Bush's tax cuts - yet somehow, the last 20+ years of fundamentalist political activism including 100%/0% "voter's guides" handed out in the church bulletins is okay and this isn't;

Fundamentalist story on Texas's anti-marriage amendment passage - also, failure of parental-notification in California, failure to defeat research funding in Ohio (fought because it didn't specifically ban embryonic stem-cell research), and FAILURE to overturn Maine's civil rights law;

Focus on the Family supports Kansas redefinition of science to include the supernatural, claims the media have "gotten the story wrong";

FotF: attempts to impose broadcast-style "indecency" regulations on cable television continue - Senator Stevens (R-Alaska) is the main force behind it;

Wisconsin legislature passes "fetal pain" bill; governor promises veto;

Alliance Defense Fund wants to intervene in the religious harassment cases in the Air Force, on the side of the evangelical fundamentalists;

Sweden's hate-speech laws invoked against fundamentalist minister - FotF says, "it'll be here next!!!!11!!," which I suppose makes sense if you hold the first amendment in as little regard as they do;

FotF promotes the FCC's new indecency-complaint filing website, notes Kevin Martin has "gone out of his way" to make sure indecency complaints get attention; "He's very welcoming to these complaints";

U. Wisconsin-Eau Claire prohibits RAs from leading Bible-study classes on the floors where they have authority over students; as RAs, they're considered state employees; Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM against this policy;

Concerned Women for America letter of support for anti-civil-rights campaigners in Maine, who failed to overturn Maine's civil rights laws via the initiative process;

CWA congratulates Texas for passing anti-marriage constitutional amendment;

Traditional Values Coalition ACTION ITEM to confirm Alito to the Supreme Court;

Christianity Today: Bush Administration Backs Withholding of Union Dues on Religious Grounds;

Catholic League launches Wal-Mart boycott over use of "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" by door greeters and a redirect on the web page for "Christmas" searches that produces a "Holiday" page;

Washington Times/Bruce Fein: Alito would be a "genuine turning point" for the court, ending "nonsense" like Griswold v. Connecticut, Roe v. Wade, and Lawrence v. Texas;

Traditional Values Coalition tells John Danforth: yeah, we own the Republican party now; get used to it;

Kansas redefines science to include non-"natural" phenomena as science.


----- 1 -----
Evolution in the bible, says Vatican
The Australian
By Martin Penner
November 07, 2005

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17162341-13762,00.html

THE Vatican has issued a stout defence of Charles Darwin, voicing strong criticism of Christian fundamentalists who reject his theory of evolution and interpret the biblical account of creation literally.

Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said the Genesis description of how God created the universe and Darwin's theory of evolution were "perfectly compatible" if the Bible were read correctly.

His statement was a clear attack on creationist campaigners in the US, who see evolution and the Genesis account as mutually exclusive.

"The fundamentalists want to give a scientific meaning to words that had no scientific aim," he said at a Vatican press conference. He said the real message in Genesis was that "the universe didn't make itself and had a creator".

[More at URL]


----- 2 -----
Sermon could cost Calif. church tax-free status
IRS takes issue with anti-war sermon before 2004 election
Updated: 9:43 p.m. ET Nov. 7, 2005

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9962725/

LOS ANGELES - The Internal Revenue Service has warned a prominent liberal church that it could lose its tax-exempt status because of an anti-war sermon a guest preacher gave on the eve of the 2004 presidential election, according to church officials.

The Rev. George F. Regas did not urge parishioners at All Saints Episcopal Church to support either President Bush or John Kerry, but he was critical of the Iraq war and Bush’s tax cuts.

[More at URL]


----- 3 -----
TEXAS-SIZED VICTORY FOR MARRIAGE
Pro-family initiatives in three other states are defeated.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
by Pete Winn, associate editor
October 9, 2005

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038529.cfm

Don't mess with marriage in Texas! That was the message millions of voters sent Tuesday when they overwhelmingly approved Proposition 2 — a measure to amend the state constitution to protect marriage from redefinition by state judges.

Proposition 2, which garnered 76 percent of the vote, was a gratifying and necessary victory in the march toward a federal marriage-protection amendment, according Carrie Gordon Earll, director of issues analysis for Focus on the Family Action.

"We are thrilled that the voters of Texas have understood the importance of protecting marriage from radical redefinition by state judges and have taken action at the ballot box," Earll said. "Texas joins the 18 other states that have enshrined the traditional definition of marriage in their constitutions — in each case by an overwhelming margin."

Kelly Shackelford, persident of the Freemarket Foundation, a Texas public policy group, said Christians made the difference.

"What I said from day one was, if we had a small turnout, it could go either way," Shackelford said. "Praise the Lord, we did not have a small turnout. The Church turned out in huge numbers — we got numbers in turnout alone that we haven't seen in decades, so it really was a time when those who know the truth took their responsibilities seriously, and they went to the polls. Boy, did they send a strong message."

[...]

"And yet, without federal constitutional protection, marriage continues to hang in the balance," she said. "We call on Congress to pass the Marriage Protection Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and allow the people to decide how marriage will be defined in our country."

[...]

U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., said today that every state which has voted in favor of protecting marriage has also added support for amending the U.S. Constitution.

[...]

California: Parental Notification Defeated

Other results from Tuesday were not as rosy. In California, an initiative to require parents to be notified before their minor daughter receives an abortion was defeated, with 53 percent voting against the measure, 47 percent in favor. Passignano called the margin disappointing.

"All the early polling indicated that Proposition 73 would probably pass," she said.

[...]

Elsewhere: Other Results from Tuesday

— An effort to repeal Maine's sexual-orientation law was defeated. The vote flies in the face of recent election history — twice before voters have nullified homosexual-orientation laws.

— In Ohio, voters approved an initiative which could open the door to state funding of human embryonic stem-cell research. The bill did not specifically mention such research, but pro-life groups are concerned that it did not specifically exclude such use. Such research always requires the destruction of human life.

[More at URL]


----- 4 -----
KANSAS SCHOOLS TO TEACH THE CONTROVERSY OVER EVOLUTION
Mainstream media are suckered into getting the story wrong.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
by Wendy Cloyd, senior editorial coordinator
November 9, 2005

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038543.cfm

Under a national spotlight, the Kansas Board of Education
voted Tuesday to adopt new science standards for public
schools that include teaching the scientific criticisms of
the Darwinian theory of evolution.

But Rob Crowther, director of communications for the
Discovery Institute, said most media reports about the
vote have incorrectly reported it as intelligent design
versus evolution.

"This has been misreported," he said. "Headlines have said
things like, 'Kansas Adopts Intelligent Design
Curriculum,' or 'Adopts Standards That Favor Intelligent
Design.' The board was very clear. The standards
themselves do not include intelligent design at all.
Included in the standards are the criticisms of Darwinian
evolution -- scientific criticisms right out of scientific
literature."

[More at URL]


----- 5 -----
Senate Considers New Cable Limits
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
November 9, 2005
from staff reports

SUMMARY: The target is indecent programming, but the
approach is still being worked out.

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038527.cfm

Proposed legislation to increase fines on broadcast
indecency may go one step further and place new limits on
cable television channels.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska,
is working on the measure that would add to the Broadcast
Decency Enforcement Act that passed the House earlier this
year. That bill would boost the maximum fine from $32,500
to $500,000.

The specifics of the proposed legislation are still being
worked out, but items under consideration include forcing
cable operators to offer a-la-carte programming, packages
that contain only family-friendly channels and increasing
parental controls over what children can watch using
technology.

Stevens reportedly is looking for a compromise with cable
operators, but Paul Rodriguez with the National Cable and
Telecommunications Association wants Congress to leave
cable alone.

"Cable does not use the public airwaves," he said. "It
doesn't have those same responsibilities on it. It's a
subscription service that people make a decision to
purchase and to invite into their home."

[More at URL]


----- 6 -----
Badger State Passes Fetal-Pain Bill
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
November 9, 2005

[Received in email; no URL]

Women seeking abortions after their 20th week of pregnancy
would be told that their preborn babies would feel pain
during the procedure, under a bill passed by the Wisconsin
Assembly on Tuesday.

According to The Associated Press, the state Senate had
already passed the bill, but Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat,
promised to veto the legislation.

"Medical decisions should be made by you and your doctor,
not you, your doctor and the Legislature," Doyle spokesman
Dan Leistikow said.

Under the legislation, doctors would have to share that
the fetus has the physical structures necessary to
experience pain and that abortions can cause substantial
pain to a fetus.

"Some of us want people to know so they think before they
do something that they will regret for the rest of their
life," said Republican Assembly Speaker John Gard. "I
don't think it's too much to ask."


----- 7 -----
Pro-Family Legal Group Seeks to Intervene in Air Force Case
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
November 9, 2005

[Received in email; no URL]

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is seeking to intervene
against a lawsuit designed to stop members of the U.S. Air
Force from sharing their religious views.

The motion was filed Monday on behalf of two Air Force
officers, Maj. James Glass, a chaplain, and Capt. Karl
Palmberg, an F-16 fighter pilot. They want to challenge
the suit by Air Force Academy graduate Mikey Weinstein,
who has sought to silence religious speech.

Joel Oster, senior legal counsel for ADF, said the First
Amendment applies to everyone, including members of the
military.

"Our clients wish to intervene in this lawsuit because the
outcome could significantly impair their constitutional
rights," he said.

Glass said Weinstein's suit jeopardizes his ability to
share his faith and candidly discuss religion.

"If there were a place where it is imperative that people
be allowed to share their personal faith, it is in the
military," he said, "where the bravest of men and women
are putting their lives on the line for this country."

FOR MORE INFORMATION: To read the full motion to
intervene, click here:

http://www.telladf.org/UserDocs/USAF_MTI.pdf


----- 8 -----
Swedish High Court to Decide if Pastor Goes to Jail
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
November 8, 2005
by Pete Winn, associate editor

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038518.cfm

SUMMARY: Which is more important -- the right to preach
from the pulpit unhindered, or the ability of gays to
squelch dissent?

A Swedish pastor who preached a sermon to his small
congregation explaining the Bible's position on
homosexuality could go to jail for doing so. Sweden's
highest court will take up the case Wednesday, according
to Benjamin Bull, a senior vice president at the Alliance
Defense Fund.

"Pastor Ake Green faces two years imprisonment," said
Bull, who is in Stockholm for the case and is assisting in
the defense. "He was charged with the crime in Swedish law
of engaging in hate speech against persons based upon
their sexual orientation."

But Green, who is the pastor of small Pentecostal
congregation on an island in the southern part of the
country, did not preach a hate-filled message. His
comments, Bull said, were a straightforward exposition of
the Bible's position on homosexuality.

Green was prosecuted, found guilty and originally
sentenced to jail for 30 days.

"He appealed, and the court of appeals in Sweden
overturned his appeal, but the prosecution appealed to the
Swedish Supreme Court, which is going to hear his case
tomorrow," Bull said.

Bull filed a legal brief on behalf of Focus on the Family
and other religious organizations, which the court
accepted.

The prosecutor is now calling for even tougher penalties
against the rural pastor, Bull said.

The case pits contradictory laws against each other.

"Sweden does have a law protecting religious freedom," he
said, "but they have also passed a law making it a crime
to engage in public statements against persons based on
their sexual orientation."

The case will decide which right will triumph -- the right
of pastors to share the Gospel versus the right of those
involved in homosexuality to be free from a church's
biblical teachings.

Green's plight has received a lot of international
attention.

"If Pastor Green is convicted of the crime of presenting
the Bible's position against homosexual behavior, and goes
to jail -- then tomorrow it will be the United States,"
Bull said.

"Christian pastors in the States will have the fear of the
government taking them to court and losing their
tax-exempt status if they speak out against the homosexual
agenda and lifestyle, it will be an open door for Congress
to pass legislation banning biblical criticism of
homosexual behavior and so on. Really, the floodgates will
be opened."

[...]

Yuri Mantilla, director of international government
affairs for Focus on the Family, said this is an important
case concerning international religious freedom.

"We don't need to create new human 'rights' by giving
legal protection to sexual orientation or deviancy," he
said. "We need to focus on implementing true human rights
-- the God-given rights that already exist, like the
freedom to speak your mind or worship as you will.

[More at URL]


----- 9 -----
FCC MAKES FILING AN INDECENCY COMPLAINT EASIER
New form simplifies the process.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
November 8, 2005
by Wendy Cloyd, senior editorial coordinator

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038520.cfm

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has unveiled a
new form that makes it less complicated for people to file
a complaint after hearing or seeing indecent material on
the broadcast airwaves.

The Obscene, Profane, and/or Indecent Material Complaint
Form -- also known as FCC Form 475B -- will reportedly
simplify collecting information about TV and radio
stations that air objectionable material.

Indecent material and profane speech is not allowed to be
broadcast from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. It's allowed during the
overnight hours.

[More at URL]


----- 10 -----
Student Supervisors Told No Bible Studies
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
November 8, 2005
from staff reports

SUMMARY: Become an RA in Wisconsin, give up your free
speech.

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038519.cfm

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire has told resident
assistants (RAs) they can no longer lead Bible studies in
their dormitory rooms. The university considers the
students to be state employees because they receive free
room, board and a small stipend in return for providing
supervision in the dorms.

The controversy began when RA Lance Steiger held a Bible
study in his room. When the university found out, it
threatened disciplinary action if he didn't stop.

Mike Rindo, directory of communications at the university,
said taking an RA position changes the status of the
students.

"They're prohibited from leading or organizing those
events in their rooms or in their residence halls where
they have supervisory authority over other students," he
said.

The penalty ranges from a letter of reprimand to dismissal
and loss of scholarship.

[...]

TAKE ACTION: If you'd like to share your opinion with
UW-Eau Claire Chancellor Vicki Lord Larson, you may e-mail
her at larsonvl@uwec.edu or call her at (715) 836-2327.
Remember to be polite and respectful.

[More at URL]


----- 11 -----
CWA Salutes Mainers Who Worked Hard In Attempt to Overturn Special Homosexual Rights
Concerned Women for America
11/9/2005

http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9420/MEDIA/misc/index.htm

Washington, D.C. – Concerned Women for America (CWA) applauds the pro-family people of Maine who worked tirelessly in an unsuccessful effort to pass a third straight “People’s Veto” of the “gay rights” law imposed by the legislature and governor.

“Homosexual activists poured in resources from out of state, engaged in smear tactics and were aided by a media that routinely engaged in character assassination,” said Robert Knight, a Maine native and Director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute. “The pro-family people were outspent by more than 10 to 1, saw hundreds of yard signs ripped up, and generally were under siege. But having fought the good fight and done all they could, they can hold their heads high.

“This setback means that Mainers must gird themselves for the next assault, which will be on marriage. Homosexual activists hope to force the Pine Tree State to issue counterfeit marriage licenses like Massachusetts is already doing.”

Maine voters rose up twice – in 1998 and again in 2000 – to pass a “People’s Veto” to overturn “gay rights” laws passed by the legislature and backed by the governor.

“This time around, the activists threw the kitchen sink at them, and it finally worked. But Maine’s pro-family movement is as strong as ever, and they’ll continue to work for sound public policy,” Knight said.

[More at URL]


----- 12 -----
CWA: Texas Voters Protect Marriage and Reject Lies
Concerned Women for America
11/9/2005

http://www.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=9418&department=MEDIA&categoryid=misc

Washington, D.C. – Concerned Women for America (CWA) is proud of the people of Texas for voting to protect and preserve the institution of marriage, despite deception and misrepresentation by the opposition. In a landslide vote of 76% (based on 78.88% precincts reported) Texas sent a strong message that they will stand for traditional marriage.

“Most Texans are down-to-earth folks, which is why the attempt to fool them into thinking a marriage protection amendment was actually a threat to marriage didn’t wash,” said Robert Knight, Director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute. “The snake oil salesmen who came up with that tall tale ought to move on to more congenial environs, say, to Cambridge, Massachusetts, or Santa Cruz, California.”

[More at URL]


----- 13 -----
Traditional Values Coalition
ACTION ALERT
Urge Your Senators To Confirm Judge Samuel Alito To The Supreme Court

Top level alert; http://www.traditionalvalues.org

November 8, 2005 – Send a CapWiz letter to your two U.S. Senators today asking that they support the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court. Click Here.

[More at URL]


----- 14 -----
Bush Administration Backs Withholding of Union Dues on Religious Grounds
Presbyterian elder opposes paying union that supports abortion and gay rights.
by Bill Sloat, Religion News Service | posted 11/09/2005 09:00 a.m.
Christianity Today, Week of November 7

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/145/33.0.html

As a $33.91-an-hour air-pollution control worker for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Glen Greenwood has paid dues or fees since the 1970s to the union that represents state workers.

Greenwood also is an elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Lancaster, a small town on the edge of the state's Appalachian region. He believes the Bible teaches that abortion is the taking of human life and homosexual conduct is immoral.

So when Greenwood learned of the union's stand for abortion rights and its support for gay rights, he sought permission to stop paying the fees. Although he is not a union member, he still pays for the representation he gets under the state contract.

Greenwood offered to donate the money, around $34 every pay period, to charity. The state, which deducts the union fee from his check, rejected his offer.

Now the Bush administration has challenged Ohio's labor contract with 36,000 public employees, arguing in federal court in Columbus that the state violated religious freedoms guaranteed under the 1964 Civil Rights Act by sticking to the contract.

De-funding unions

The case could have national implications. The issue: whether Ohio compels nonunion workers like Greenwood to finance organizations with which they disagree on religious grounds. In 1988, the Supreme Court ruled unions could not use money collected from nonunion workers for political activities those workers opposed. However, the unions could charge those workers for representation.

[More at URL]


----- 15 -----
Wal-Mart faces boycott
for 'banning' Christmas
Top retailer accused of discrimination while promoting Hanukkah, Kwanzaa
Posted: November 10, 2005
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Joe Kovacs
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47330

A Catholic advocacy group has launched a national boycott against Wal-Mart, claiming the world's No. 1 retailer has in effect "banned" Christmas, while promoting other seasonal holidays such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

But Wal-Mart tells WorldNetDaily it has "absolutely not" banned Christmas, but is just "trying to serve all our customers for the holiday season."

According to the New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, the controversy was sparked when a woman recently complained to Wal-Mart that the store was replacing its "Merry Christmas" greeting with "Happy Holidays."

[More at URL]


----- 16 -----
Genuine turning point
By Bruce Fein
Washington Times
November 8, 2005

http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20051107-100012-1331r.htm

Judge Samuel A. Alito's confirmation as an associate justice to replace Sandra Day O'Connor would mark a genuine turning point in U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

With Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, Judge Alito would make the fourth of a band of philosophical brothers schooled to interpret the Constitution and statutes in accord with their original meaning, as the Founding Fathers intended. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and other architects of the Constitution described the judiciary as the least dangerous branch, partly because the court's interpretive power was meant to be circumscribed by the text and manifest purposes.

As Lord Acton might have predicted, the court's absolute power to interpret corrupted its intended limits absolutely. In Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857), the court preposterously held that Congress lacked power to prohibit slavery in U.S. territories; and, that blacks, free or enslaved, held no rights white men were bound to respect. The dissenting opinion of Justice Benjamin Curtis thoroughly discredited the nonoriginalist conclusion of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney.

[Ed. Note: I get extremely irritated whenever I hear a supposed supporter of so-called "strict constructionism" criticise Dred Scott. Dred Scott was, from a strict constructionist viewpoint, decided _exactly fucking right_. There was no 14th Amendment. There was no equal protection at the state level. Slavery was all over the original states. The fact that it was horrible and vile doesn't change that.]

[More at URL]


----- 17 -----
Memo To Former Senator John Danforth: Get Used To The Religious Right
Traditional Values Coalition

http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2471

November 3, 2005 – Former Missouri Senator John Danforth, an Episcopalian pastor, recently claimed that the Republican Party had been “taken over by the Christian conservatives, by the Christian right” and expressed concern that this would permanently damage the Party. He made this statement while talking to 16 students enrolled in the Bill Clinton School of Public Service.

Columnist Patrick Hynes with The American Spectator has taken issue with Danforth and criticizes him for misunderstanding the important role the religious right has played in helping the Republican Party gain majority status in America.

Hynes notes that the Republican Party isn’t identified with one sectarian group, but has become a conservative party that attracts conservatives from all denominational backgrounds. The Party has benefited from Catholic and Protestant voters. He observes, “It’s hard to imagine a Republican Party at all without the Religious Right.”

According to Hynes, religious conservatives make up a majority voting block in the U.S. – an estimated 28 million evangelical voters and at least one million conservative Jews in the 2004 election cycle.

Hynes has some final advice for Danforth: “The Religious Right is here. It’s part of who we Americans are. Get used to it.”


----- 18 -----
Kansas School Board Approves Controversial Science Standards
By JODI WILGOREN
Published: November 8, 2005
The New York Times

Long URL here

TOPEKA, Kan., Nov. 8 - A fiercely split State Board of Education voted 6-4 today to adopt new science standards that are the most far-reaching in the nation in requiring that Darwin's theory of evolution be challenged in the classroom.

The new Kansas standards press beyond the broad mandate for critical analysis of evolution that four other states have established in recent years, by citing specific points of contention that doubters of evolution use to undermine its primacy in science education. Among the most controversial changes was a redefinition of science itself so that it is not explicitly limited to natural explanations.

Eugenie C. Scott of the National Center for Science Education, evolution's leading defender in public policy debates, predicted that the new Kansas standards would serve as "the playbook for creationism" in coming years.

[More at URL]

Comments

[cafiorello.livejournal.com]

But Dover, PA threw their ID school board out!

Cathy

[solarbird]

Yay!

[sir-quirky-k.livejournal.com]

Wow, I can't stop laughing. Fundamentalists boycotting Wal-Mart, one of Bush's major donors. That's a fabulous irony.

“The Religious Right is here. It’s part of who we Americans are. Get used to it.”

That makes me proud not to be American, almost. And I really feel for people like you, living in a nation where 'an estimated 28 million evangelical voters' rule over something like 240 million other Americans. 'Majority voting block?'. I think not.

[avram]

It's the Catholic League, whose job seems to be to spend all day looking for inoffensive things to get all lathered up over.

[solarbird]

They didn't come up with this 'saying happy holidays is oppressing Christians' freakshow, tho'. They're just hopping on the bandwagon other fundamentalist groups have started.

[solarbird]

Of people who can be bothered to get off their asses and vote, it's a pretty high percentage.

[sir-quirky-k.livejournal.com]

Agreed, but still not a majority. It's something like 50% of Republican voters (Bush got 59m or so last year, IIRC), which in turn are (for the sake of argument) 50% of all voters. 25% is a large minority but still a minority, in my book.