Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Nov. 21st, 2005 02:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdConcerned Women for America demand Roe v. Wade be overturned, call it "one of the greatest suppressions of truth in Supreme Court history";
Cybercast News Service: Planned Parenthood hires Log Cabin Republican to do Republican outreach; Focus on the Family says this will get nowhere, that both abortion rights and the Log Cabin Republicans both work "in contradiction to the Republican Party platform";
Georgia has a special tax exemption for the Bible; ACLU Georgia sues to get that extended to "all publications dealing with the meaning of life";
Concerned Women for America promotes Wal-mart, says Target has "banned Christmas";
Concerned Women for America's Ben Frichtl attacks the idea of equal gender treatment in classrooms;
CWA attacks the media for not covering the murder of a grandmother as a hate crime committed by a gay man;
Weekly Standard: Blackmun's writing shows need to overturn Roe v. Wade;
Massachusetts considering law requiring charities to open financial records to the state to keep tax exemption; TVC is against, even though it exempts churches from some of the requirements - they want churches exempted from all requirements;
FRC: Dirty fags are getting more AIDS;
National Fatherhood Initiative, pointed to by the Family Research Council, does a marriage survey which I suspect will be used to claim overwhelming opposition to no-fault divorce law - but they never actually asked that, see below;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to support federal funding for "pregnancy support on college campuses" - they don't define what that means;
Missouri passed a bill making it a crime to "intentionally cause, aid or assist" anyone under 18 in obtaining abortion services without parental consent; it's been upheld in a court challenge;
Yet another governmental 10 Commandments case, this one in Oklahoma;
FotF reports on the uptick in HIV infection rates in gay men;
FotF: Presbyterians ordain gay minister;
WNBA star out as a lesbian, but doesn't think she was born that way; Concerned Women for America wonk Warren Throckmorton shops this as vindication;
----- 1 -----
It's Time to Reject Roe v. Wade as Invincible Precedent
Concerned Women for America
11/17/2005
By Jan LaRue, Chief Counsel
Constitutional law should not rest on mythical linchpins.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9491/LEGAL/scourt/index.htm
A U.S. senator appeared on a news show early this month to discuss his meeting with Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito. The topic naturally turned to abortion. The senator said his religious belief is that human life begins at conception. He expressed his hope that someday science will actually tell us when human life begins.
The senator is pro-life, yet he missed a great opportunity to speak the truth. We know when life begins but the tragedy is that our abortion laws are based on one of the greatest suppressions of truth in Supreme Court history, otherwise known as Roe v. Wade.
The lionization of Roe as untouchable precedent, which has become the definitive litmus test for Supreme Court nominees, rests on the fallacy that we do not know when life begins. The myth stems from seven Supreme Court justices who decided that it was unnecessary to know when life begins in order to decide if it may be ended. After implying that judges aren't smart enough to even guess when life begins, the seven decided to decide anyway.
The majority's predetermined outcome exposes an activist court willing to adopt a ridiculous rationale in order to create a new "constitutional right."
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Log Cabin Official to Lead Planned Parenthood's Outreach to GOP
By Randy Hall
CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor
November 18, 2005
Long URL here
(CNSNews.com) - The Planned Parenthood Federation of America has hired an official from the Log Cabin Republicans to head its Republican outreach efforts. One pro-choice Republican leader called the move "very exciting," but conservative opponents of the nation's top abortion provider are not impressed.
Christopher Barron has served as political director of the homosexual advocacy group within the GOP since February 2004. A press release announcing his departure from the Log Cabin Republicans praised Barron for helping the organization "achieve important progress in making the conservative case for gay and lesbian equality."
In the statement, Log Cabin President Patrick Guerriero said that Barron had been "a huge asset" for the organization, which chose not to endorse President Bush in the 2004 election and instead supported "inclusive" Republican candidates for Congress.
"Over the past two years, Chris Barron was on the front lines fighting for an inclusive GOP, fueling Log Cabin's unprecedented growth across America and fighting to defend our families from attacks by the voices of intolerance," Guerriero said.
[...]
While Barron and representatives from Planned Parenthood did not return several calls seeking comment by press time, Ann E. W. Stone, national chairman of Republicans for Choice Political Action Committee, told Cybercast News Service she is "very excited about the possibilities" of Barron's new work with Planned Parenthood.
Stone noted that Planned Parenthood has been striving to mend fences with members of the GOP for at least 15 years. "They've had other people" reaching out to Republicans, Stone said, but those individuals "didn't have the breadth of experience" that Barron has.
Nevertheless, "the rank and file of Planned Parenthood has generally been pretty Republican," she said. "Some state chapters have been very Republican, and a lot of their big donors in the past have been Republican, so having somebody in there who actually is very talented and Republican is a good thing."
Stone added that Barron's open homosexuality will not be a problem for him in his new duties because "the Planned Parenthood Republicans tend to be more moderate, and they're not going to be homophobic."
However, Stone said, the same people who have problems with people being pro-choice will have problems with Barron's sexual orientation. "Being gay is just as bad as being pro-choice in their eyes."
[...]
Amanda Banks, a federal issues analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said Barron's move is not a surprise. "This gentleman has been employed by one organization that works in contradiction to the Republican Party platform, and now he's going to work for another organization that does the same thing."
Banks also told Cybercast News Service that she differs with Log Cabin's goal of an "inclusive GOP." "I think we have a different interpretation of the word 'inclusive,'" she said.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Suit seeks to extend Bible tax break to all spiritual books
KPHO Channel 5, Phoenix
http://www.kpho.com/Global/story.asp?S=4123465&nav=23Ku
ATLANTA The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit arguing that a Georgia law exempting the Bible and other "Holy Scripture" from sale taxes is discriminatory.
The lawsuit says the exemption should be extended to all publications dealing with the meaning of life.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Salvation Army Bells Ring Early at Wal-Mart While Target Bans Christmas
Concerned Women for America
11/18/2005
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9497/CFI/misc/index.htm
Wal-Mart stores are welcoming the Salvation Army’s bell ringers and red kettles earlier than usual this year, in an effort to help the ministry aid this year’s hurricane victims. Meanwhile, Target stores, which last year banned the Salvation Army, are now banning the phrase “Merry Christmas” from their store displays and advertising as well. Bob Knight, Director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute, has more on the good and bad for this year’s Christmas shopping season. Click here to listen.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Can You Say ‘Good Morning Boys and Girls’? Only If You’re a Bigot
Concerned Women for America
11/21/2005
By Ben Frichtl
Prominent ‘civil rights’ group attacks ‘gender stereotypes.’
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9507/CFI/family/index.htm
If the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has its way, teachers won’t be able to acknowledge that there are boys and girls in their classrooms. Or that boys are any different from girls.
Rebecca S. Bigler, Ph.D., reveals the plan in her article “Good Morning, Boys and Girls,” in SPLC’s publication Teaching Tolerance: Fall 2005:
It happens every day across the nation: Teachers welcome their students to class by saying, “Good morning, boys and girls.”… Imagine if a teacher used race labels in similar fashion: “Good morning, whites and blacks.” Or used ethnicity as a way to organize classroom activities: “Latinos, get your backpacks now.”
[...]
The SPLC, founded by author/activist Morris Dees, once was known primarily for civil rights advocacy, but has, in fact, pursued virtually the entire left-wing political and social agenda. According to the official SPLC Web site, “The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded in 1971 as a small civil-rights law firm. Today, the Center is internationally known for its tolerance-education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its tracking of hate groups.”
Some of these so-called “hate groups” include conservative Christian think tanks and public policy research foundations, such as American Vision, Family Research Institute and the Chalcedon Foundation. While not designated as a “hate group,” Concerned Women for America (CWA) is listed as one of the 12 “most influential anti-gay groups,” along with Focus on the Family, Summit Ministries, the Traditional Values Coalition and Coral Ridge Ministries.
“We’re in good company,” said Robert Knight, director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute. “You’re known by the company you keep, but also by the enemies you make. We’re very comfortable being on a ‘hit list’ of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is getting increasingly strident as Americans reject its politically correct, radical agenda and are fighting to reclaim their heritage as a free people.”
Benjamin Frichtl, a student at Patrick Henry College, is an intern in the Culture & Family Institute, an affiliate of Concerned Women for America.
----- 6 -----
Press Ignores Vigil for Grandmother Murdered by Homosexual Man
Concerned Women for America
11/18/2005
By Robert Knight
CWA of Illinois leader attends event memorializing Mary Stachowicz’s death.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9498/CFI/family/index.htm
The national and local press ignored a pro-family vigil last Sunday evening in Chicago on behalf of Mary Stachowicz, the grandmother who was murdered three years ago after sharing her faith with a homosexual tenant.
Mrs. Stachowicz, 51, a devout Catholic, had told her tenant, Nicholas Gutierrez, 19, that she felt he was sinning against God, and she encouraged him to change his ways. This enraged Gutierrez, who allegedly beat and stabbed her to death on November 13, 2002, then hid her body in a crawlspace. His trial is slated for later this month.
Unlike the death of Matthew Shepard, the Wyoming college student murdered by two thugs in a 1998 robbery, the press did not feature Mrs. Stachowicz’s death as a “hate crime,” exposing a liberal double standard in defining “hate crimes.”
“We thought it was important to the public to know that Mary was killed for sharing her faith,” said Kathy Valente, state director of Concerned Women for America (CWA) of Illinois, who attended the vigil. “Equally as tragic as Mary’s death is the death sentence imposed on people who are enslaved in this deadly behavior.”
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Blackmun's Constitution
The former Supreme Court justice's records shed new light on Roe v. Wade.
by Terry Eastland
03/11/2004 12:00:00 AM
Long URL here
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS has just made public the accumulated papers of the late Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, who served from 1971 to 1994. More than a half-million items fill 1,576 boxes. For obvious reasons, the papers on the abortion cases are likely to draw the most interest.
The first case was Roe v. Wade, which arose from Dallas and was decided in 1973, Justice Blackmun's second year on the court. Justice Blackmun wrote the majority opinion declaring a constitutional right of privacy "broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy."
The opinion quickly drew criticism from both conservative and liberal scholars, its most evident shortcoming being the failure to identify where the abortion right actually is located in the text of the Constitution. Of course, the ostensible right didn't reside there, nor was it to be found in constitutional history. It had to be forced into our fundamental charter.
The Blackmun papers reveal a jurist prepared to do the necessary forcing. Before the argument in Roe, he wrote to himself: "I may have to push myself a bit, but I would not be offended by the extension of privacy concepts [from recent precedents] to the point presented in the present case."
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Massachusetts Senate Attacks Church Privacy Rights On Finances
Traditional Values Coalition
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2498
November 17, 2005 – A pastor in Massachusetts is organizing opposition to a bill being considered in the state legislature that will force churches to infringe upon the rights of churches in the area of their financial records.
The legislation is being promoted by liberals and directed primarily at the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston over its past clergy abuse scandal. If passed, the bill will require churches to open up their financial records and require churches to apply for a certificate from the Attorney General in order to solicit contributions.
TVC Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon is deeply concerned over this latest attack on religious liberty by the Massachusetts legislature. “If this law passes, churches will have to register all of their property, all of their side assets such as bookstores, day care centers, etc., and can’t even take an offering without registering with the government. This is an unacceptable intrusion into the business of the church and we support efforts to defeat this anti-Christian legislation.”
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
CDC "Can't Explain" Rise in HIV Rate among Homosexuals
Issue No.: 27
by: Tim Dailey
Family Research Council
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=CU05K18&f=PG03I03
The latest Center for Disease Control HIV/AIDS statistics for the years 2001-04 show a slight decline nationally, with one notable exception - the category of "men who have sex with men" (i.e., homosexuals). According to news reports, "Diagnoses among men who have sex with men remained roughtly stable from 2001 to 2003 but climbed 8 percent between 2003 and 2004. CDC officials said they could not explain the recent increase."
The above-quoted CDC officials might find the FRC Insight paper, "The Negative Health Effects of Homosexuality," useful for helping them understand why the promiscuous lifestyle and sexual acts typically engaged in by homosexuals are responsible for the high rates of STDs and HIV/AIDS in the gay community.
[More at URL]
[Editor's note: The FRC is fond of the work of the discredited Paul Cameron, even still using his made-up term "Gay Bowel Syndrome," tho' they disguise him as a source.]
----- 10 -----
National Fatherhood Initiative
November 17, 2005
http://www.fatherhood.org/research.asp
This is a survey result package published in PDF form, here:
http://www.fatherhood.org/doclibrary/nms.pdf
The part that's of political interest to me is this:
"For instance, 94 percent agreed that divorce is a serious national problem and 71 percent disagreed that “Either spouse should be allowed to terminate a marriage at any time for any reason.”
They then change this latter survey phrase into expressed opposition to no-fault divorce, here:
"The latter percentage is especially important, in that it shows widespread disapproval of unilateral no-fault divorce, which exists by law in most states and exists de facto in most if not all of the others."
They note that the term "no-fault divorce" was not mentioned in the survey, but make this leap anyway. Given past history, I would expect that you will be seeing stories soon about now national surveys (or a national survey) shows overwhelming opposition to divorce in general, and no-fault divorce in particular.
----- 11 -----
Congress Considers Reducing Abortions on Campus
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
November 18, 2005
from staff reports
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038655.cfm
SUMMARY: Funding would offer campus support services to
pregnant students.
The Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Students
Act of 2005 would provide $10 million in grants to
encourage institutions of higher education to establish
and operate services for students wanting to avoid an
abortion.
The bill was introduced last week in the House by Rep.
Melissa Hart, R-Pa., as H.R. 4265 and in the Senate by
Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., as S. 1966.
Women 18-25 have the highest rate of abortion in the
country. The legislation is an attempt to counter that by
funding pregnancy support on college campuses.
According to the pro-abortion Alan Guttmacher Institute,
71 percent of 18- and 19-year-olds and 58 percent of
20-to-24-year-olds said having a child would interfere
with their education or career.
Thomas Glessner, president of the National Institute of
Family and Life Advocates, told Family News in Focus that
attitude is leading many young women to seek an abortion.
[More at URL]
TAKE ACTION: Ask your senators and representative in
Congress to cosponsor the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant
and Parenting Students Act of 2005 (H.R. 4265 and S.
1966). You can find contact information in the CitizenLink
Action Center.
Long Action URL here
----- 12 -----
Show-Me State Abortion Law Stands
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
November 18, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
A judge declared constitutional Missouri's state law that
makes it illegal to "intentionally cause, aid or assist" a
minor to get an abortion without parental consent -- but
the judge also sent it on to the state Supreme Court for
further clarification, the Kansas City Star reported.
Circuit Judge Charles Atwell ruled that though the law is
sound, a provision for free speech must be framed in
before prosecution can occur -- and he's asking the high
court to help.
Atwell added that the law does not apply to counselors who
simply provide information.
"The court," he said, "with substantial trepidation, finds
(the law) is constitutional."
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, who fought hard to push the
legislation through, was pleased with the ruling.
"I was confident when I signed this good pro-life law," he
said, "that it would withstand constitutional scrutiny and
reduce the number of abortions in our state."
----- 13 -----
ACLU Challenges Yet Another Commandments Display
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
November 18, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has challenged
the constitutionality of a Ten Commandments display in
Haskell County, Okla. Liberty Counsel will defend the
county.
The Haskell County Board of Commissioners placed the
marble monument that included the Commandments among
several other memorials in November 2004, but the ACLU did
not file suit until last month.
Mathew Staver, president and general counsel at Liberty
Counsel said there are thousands of Ten Commandments
displays on public property across the nation.
"Public display of the Ten Commandments is consistent with
our nation's history and with the First Amendment," he
said. "If the Ten Commandments were an establishment of
religion, then certainly an established religion would
have occurred by now."
He said he hopes the Supreme Court will soon rule on
public displays of the Ten Commandments to bring an end to
such suits.
----- 14 -----
HIV on the Increase in the Gay Community
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
November 18, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
The rate of newly diagnosed cases of HIV infections has
dropped in the African-American population, but has
increased significantly among homosexuals, The Los Angeles
Times reported.
According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) released Thursday, new diagnoses among gay and
bisexual men of all races rose 8 percent last year.
Infections among blacks dropped 5 percent, though blacks
are still 8.4 times more likely than Caucasians to
contract the disease.
Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, acting director of the CDC's
National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, said
experts aren't sure what's behind the increase in the gay
community. The previous three years had seen little
increase in the percentage of new cases.
The statistics include data from 33 states. Of those
states, 38,685 people were diagnoses with HIV in 2004 --
71 percent of those were men.
----- 15 -----
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ORDAINS GAY MINISTER
The denomination will soon consider the issue at its general assembly.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
November 17, 2005
from staff reports
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038641.cfm
There's an effort aimed for the next general assembly of
The Presbyterian Church (USA) -- known as PCUSA -- that
would allow individual presbyteries to decide whether to
ordain homosexuals to the clergy.
At least one presbytery has already ordained an openly gay
minister.
The Rev. Joseph Gilmore, who presided at the ordination of
openly gay Raymond Bagnuolo, said the members of South
Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., are feeling
enormous pride.
"The struggle around sexual justice is what I mean," he
said. "There's been a long and protracted argument -- it's
almost thirty years old."
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
Becoming Out
by Warren Throckmorton, Ph.D.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
SUMMARY: A WNBA star says she was straight -- and now is gay.
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/commentary/a0038646.cfm
Sheryl Swoopes is arguably the finest female basketball
player ever. No, check that, actually there is no
argument. As a three-time MVP in the Woman's National
Basketball Association (WNBA) and two-time gold-medal
Olympian, she is the best. So when she came out of the
closet recently, there was excitement in the gay and
lesbian community about a high-profile public figure
declaring herself a lesbian.
Her story was featured in a recent ESPN magazine article
where she said about her sexuality: "I didn't always know
I was gay. I honestly didn't. Do I think I was born this
way? No. And that's probably confusing to some, because I
know a lot of people believe that you are."
The notion that people attracted to the same sex might not
be wired that way from birth is more than confusing to
some gay activists. It makes them indignant. When Dr. Bill
Maier, psychologist in residence at Focus on the Family,
suggested the exact same viewpoint to The Washington Times
several months ago, Ron Schlittler, an officer with
Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG),
said in reply that such views advance "baseless fears and
misguided claims about (homosexuals)."
[...]
So she became gay?
Apparently so. As one who studies how people resolve
sexual-identity conflicts, I find her story fascinating.
She told the Houston Chronicle that she and her husband
divorced for the same reasons many people do: "Probably
for about the last year, year and a half of my marriage we
were just going in different directions. It got to a point
to where I knew it was over with and really didn't want to
do anything else to make it work." As she told ESPN, her
divorce was not due to a conflict over being gay.
In fact, she told ESPN that before she fell in love with
her partner, Alisa Scott, she had not entertained any
attractions to women. Before her current relationship,
Swoopes said, "The thought of being intimate with her or
any other woman never entered my mind. I've had plenty of
gay friends I've hung out with, but that thought never
entered my mind."
[More at URL]
Cybercast News Service: Planned Parenthood hires Log Cabin Republican to do Republican outreach; Focus on the Family says this will get nowhere, that both abortion rights and the Log Cabin Republicans both work "in contradiction to the Republican Party platform";
Georgia has a special tax exemption for the Bible; ACLU Georgia sues to get that extended to "all publications dealing with the meaning of life";
Concerned Women for America promotes Wal-mart, says Target has "banned Christmas";
Concerned Women for America's Ben Frichtl attacks the idea of equal gender treatment in classrooms;
CWA attacks the media for not covering the murder of a grandmother as a hate crime committed by a gay man;
Weekly Standard: Blackmun's writing shows need to overturn Roe v. Wade;
Massachusetts considering law requiring charities to open financial records to the state to keep tax exemption; TVC is against, even though it exempts churches from some of the requirements - they want churches exempted from all requirements;
FRC: Dirty fags are getting more AIDS;
National Fatherhood Initiative, pointed to by the Family Research Council, does a marriage survey which I suspect will be used to claim overwhelming opposition to no-fault divorce law - but they never actually asked that, see below;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to support federal funding for "pregnancy support on college campuses" - they don't define what that means;
Missouri passed a bill making it a crime to "intentionally cause, aid or assist" anyone under 18 in obtaining abortion services without parental consent; it's been upheld in a court challenge;
Yet another governmental 10 Commandments case, this one in Oklahoma;
FotF reports on the uptick in HIV infection rates in gay men;
FotF: Presbyterians ordain gay minister;
WNBA star out as a lesbian, but doesn't think she was born that way; Concerned Women for America wonk Warren Throckmorton shops this as vindication;
----- 1 -----
It's Time to Reject Roe v. Wade as Invincible Precedent
Concerned Women for America
11/17/2005
By Jan LaRue, Chief Counsel
Constitutional law should not rest on mythical linchpins.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9491/LEGAL/scourt/index.htm
A U.S. senator appeared on a news show early this month to discuss his meeting with Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito. The topic naturally turned to abortion. The senator said his religious belief is that human life begins at conception. He expressed his hope that someday science will actually tell us when human life begins.
The senator is pro-life, yet he missed a great opportunity to speak the truth. We know when life begins but the tragedy is that our abortion laws are based on one of the greatest suppressions of truth in Supreme Court history, otherwise known as Roe v. Wade.
The lionization of Roe as untouchable precedent, which has become the definitive litmus test for Supreme Court nominees, rests on the fallacy that we do not know when life begins. The myth stems from seven Supreme Court justices who decided that it was unnecessary to know when life begins in order to decide if it may be ended. After implying that judges aren't smart enough to even guess when life begins, the seven decided to decide anyway.
The majority's predetermined outcome exposes an activist court willing to adopt a ridiculous rationale in order to create a new "constitutional right."
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Log Cabin Official to Lead Planned Parenthood's Outreach to GOP
By Randy Hall
CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor
November 18, 2005
Long URL here
(CNSNews.com) - The Planned Parenthood Federation of America has hired an official from the Log Cabin Republicans to head its Republican outreach efforts. One pro-choice Republican leader called the move "very exciting," but conservative opponents of the nation's top abortion provider are not impressed.
Christopher Barron has served as political director of the homosexual advocacy group within the GOP since February 2004. A press release announcing his departure from the Log Cabin Republicans praised Barron for helping the organization "achieve important progress in making the conservative case for gay and lesbian equality."
In the statement, Log Cabin President Patrick Guerriero said that Barron had been "a huge asset" for the organization, which chose not to endorse President Bush in the 2004 election and instead supported "inclusive" Republican candidates for Congress.
"Over the past two years, Chris Barron was on the front lines fighting for an inclusive GOP, fueling Log Cabin's unprecedented growth across America and fighting to defend our families from attacks by the voices of intolerance," Guerriero said.
[...]
While Barron and representatives from Planned Parenthood did not return several calls seeking comment by press time, Ann E. W. Stone, national chairman of Republicans for Choice Political Action Committee, told Cybercast News Service she is "very excited about the possibilities" of Barron's new work with Planned Parenthood.
Stone noted that Planned Parenthood has been striving to mend fences with members of the GOP for at least 15 years. "They've had other people" reaching out to Republicans, Stone said, but those individuals "didn't have the breadth of experience" that Barron has.
Nevertheless, "the rank and file of Planned Parenthood has generally been pretty Republican," she said. "Some state chapters have been very Republican, and a lot of their big donors in the past have been Republican, so having somebody in there who actually is very talented and Republican is a good thing."
Stone added that Barron's open homosexuality will not be a problem for him in his new duties because "the Planned Parenthood Republicans tend to be more moderate, and they're not going to be homophobic."
However, Stone said, the same people who have problems with people being pro-choice will have problems with Barron's sexual orientation. "Being gay is just as bad as being pro-choice in their eyes."
[...]
Amanda Banks, a federal issues analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said Barron's move is not a surprise. "This gentleman has been employed by one organization that works in contradiction to the Republican Party platform, and now he's going to work for another organization that does the same thing."
Banks also told Cybercast News Service that she differs with Log Cabin's goal of an "inclusive GOP." "I think we have a different interpretation of the word 'inclusive,'" she said.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Suit seeks to extend Bible tax break to all spiritual books
KPHO Channel 5, Phoenix
http://www.kpho.com/Global/story.asp?S=4123465&nav=23Ku
ATLANTA The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit arguing that a Georgia law exempting the Bible and other "Holy Scripture" from sale taxes is discriminatory.
The lawsuit says the exemption should be extended to all publications dealing with the meaning of life.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Salvation Army Bells Ring Early at Wal-Mart While Target Bans Christmas
Concerned Women for America
11/18/2005
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9497/CFI/misc/index.htm
Wal-Mart stores are welcoming the Salvation Army’s bell ringers and red kettles earlier than usual this year, in an effort to help the ministry aid this year’s hurricane victims. Meanwhile, Target stores, which last year banned the Salvation Army, are now banning the phrase “Merry Christmas” from their store displays and advertising as well. Bob Knight, Director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute, has more on the good and bad for this year’s Christmas shopping season. Click here to listen.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Can You Say ‘Good Morning Boys and Girls’? Only If You’re a Bigot
Concerned Women for America
11/21/2005
By Ben Frichtl
Prominent ‘civil rights’ group attacks ‘gender stereotypes.’
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9507/CFI/family/index.htm
If the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has its way, teachers won’t be able to acknowledge that there are boys and girls in their classrooms. Or that boys are any different from girls.
Rebecca S. Bigler, Ph.D., reveals the plan in her article “Good Morning, Boys and Girls,” in SPLC’s publication Teaching Tolerance: Fall 2005:
It happens every day across the nation: Teachers welcome their students to class by saying, “Good morning, boys and girls.”… Imagine if a teacher used race labels in similar fashion: “Good morning, whites and blacks.” Or used ethnicity as a way to organize classroom activities: “Latinos, get your backpacks now.”
[...]
The SPLC, founded by author/activist Morris Dees, once was known primarily for civil rights advocacy, but has, in fact, pursued virtually the entire left-wing political and social agenda. According to the official SPLC Web site, “The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded in 1971 as a small civil-rights law firm. Today, the Center is internationally known for its tolerance-education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its tracking of hate groups.”
Some of these so-called “hate groups” include conservative Christian think tanks and public policy research foundations, such as American Vision, Family Research Institute and the Chalcedon Foundation. While not designated as a “hate group,” Concerned Women for America (CWA) is listed as one of the 12 “most influential anti-gay groups,” along with Focus on the Family, Summit Ministries, the Traditional Values Coalition and Coral Ridge Ministries.
“We’re in good company,” said Robert Knight, director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute. “You’re known by the company you keep, but also by the enemies you make. We’re very comfortable being on a ‘hit list’ of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is getting increasingly strident as Americans reject its politically correct, radical agenda and are fighting to reclaim their heritage as a free people.”
Benjamin Frichtl, a student at Patrick Henry College, is an intern in the Culture & Family Institute, an affiliate of Concerned Women for America.
----- 6 -----
Press Ignores Vigil for Grandmother Murdered by Homosexual Man
Concerned Women for America
11/18/2005
By Robert Knight
CWA of Illinois leader attends event memorializing Mary Stachowicz’s death.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/9498/CFI/family/index.htm
The national and local press ignored a pro-family vigil last Sunday evening in Chicago on behalf of Mary Stachowicz, the grandmother who was murdered three years ago after sharing her faith with a homosexual tenant.
Mrs. Stachowicz, 51, a devout Catholic, had told her tenant, Nicholas Gutierrez, 19, that she felt he was sinning against God, and she encouraged him to change his ways. This enraged Gutierrez, who allegedly beat and stabbed her to death on November 13, 2002, then hid her body in a crawlspace. His trial is slated for later this month.
Unlike the death of Matthew Shepard, the Wyoming college student murdered by two thugs in a 1998 robbery, the press did not feature Mrs. Stachowicz’s death as a “hate crime,” exposing a liberal double standard in defining “hate crimes.”
“We thought it was important to the public to know that Mary was killed for sharing her faith,” said Kathy Valente, state director of Concerned Women for America (CWA) of Illinois, who attended the vigil. “Equally as tragic as Mary’s death is the death sentence imposed on people who are enslaved in this deadly behavior.”
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Blackmun's Constitution
The former Supreme Court justice's records shed new light on Roe v. Wade.
by Terry Eastland
03/11/2004 12:00:00 AM
Long URL here
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS has just made public the accumulated papers of the late Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, who served from 1971 to 1994. More than a half-million items fill 1,576 boxes. For obvious reasons, the papers on the abortion cases are likely to draw the most interest.
The first case was Roe v. Wade, which arose from Dallas and was decided in 1973, Justice Blackmun's second year on the court. Justice Blackmun wrote the majority opinion declaring a constitutional right of privacy "broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy."
The opinion quickly drew criticism from both conservative and liberal scholars, its most evident shortcoming being the failure to identify where the abortion right actually is located in the text of the Constitution. Of course, the ostensible right didn't reside there, nor was it to be found in constitutional history. It had to be forced into our fundamental charter.
The Blackmun papers reveal a jurist prepared to do the necessary forcing. Before the argument in Roe, he wrote to himself: "I may have to push myself a bit, but I would not be offended by the extension of privacy concepts [from recent precedents] to the point presented in the present case."
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Massachusetts Senate Attacks Church Privacy Rights On Finances
Traditional Values Coalition
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2498
November 17, 2005 – A pastor in Massachusetts is organizing opposition to a bill being considered in the state legislature that will force churches to infringe upon the rights of churches in the area of their financial records.
The legislation is being promoted by liberals and directed primarily at the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston over its past clergy abuse scandal. If passed, the bill will require churches to open up their financial records and require churches to apply for a certificate from the Attorney General in order to solicit contributions.
TVC Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon is deeply concerned over this latest attack on religious liberty by the Massachusetts legislature. “If this law passes, churches will have to register all of their property, all of their side assets such as bookstores, day care centers, etc., and can’t even take an offering without registering with the government. This is an unacceptable intrusion into the business of the church and we support efforts to defeat this anti-Christian legislation.”
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
CDC "Can't Explain" Rise in HIV Rate among Homosexuals
Issue No.: 27
by: Tim Dailey
Family Research Council
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=CU05K18&f=PG03I03
The latest Center for Disease Control HIV/AIDS statistics for the years 2001-04 show a slight decline nationally, with one notable exception - the category of "men who have sex with men" (i.e., homosexuals). According to news reports, "Diagnoses among men who have sex with men remained roughtly stable from 2001 to 2003 but climbed 8 percent between 2003 and 2004. CDC officials said they could not explain the recent increase."
The above-quoted CDC officials might find the FRC Insight paper, "The Negative Health Effects of Homosexuality," useful for helping them understand why the promiscuous lifestyle and sexual acts typically engaged in by homosexuals are responsible for the high rates of STDs and HIV/AIDS in the gay community.
[More at URL]
[Editor's note: The FRC is fond of the work of the discredited Paul Cameron, even still using his made-up term "Gay Bowel Syndrome," tho' they disguise him as a source.]
----- 10 -----
National Fatherhood Initiative
November 17, 2005
http://www.fatherhood.org/research.asp
This is a survey result package published in PDF form, here:
http://www.fatherhood.org/doclibrary/nms.pdf
The part that's of political interest to me is this:
"For instance, 94 percent agreed that divorce is a serious national problem and 71 percent disagreed that “Either spouse should be allowed to terminate a marriage at any time for any reason.”
They then change this latter survey phrase into expressed opposition to no-fault divorce, here:
"The latter percentage is especially important, in that it shows widespread disapproval of unilateral no-fault divorce, which exists by law in most states and exists de facto in most if not all of the others."
They note that the term "no-fault divorce" was not mentioned in the survey, but make this leap anyway. Given past history, I would expect that you will be seeing stories soon about now national surveys (or a national survey) shows overwhelming opposition to divorce in general, and no-fault divorce in particular.
----- 11 -----
Congress Considers Reducing Abortions on Campus
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
November 18, 2005
from staff reports
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038655.cfm
SUMMARY: Funding would offer campus support services to
pregnant students.
The Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant and Parenting Students
Act of 2005 would provide $10 million in grants to
encourage institutions of higher education to establish
and operate services for students wanting to avoid an
abortion.
The bill was introduced last week in the House by Rep.
Melissa Hart, R-Pa., as H.R. 4265 and in the Senate by
Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., as S. 1966.
Women 18-25 have the highest rate of abortion in the
country. The legislation is an attempt to counter that by
funding pregnancy support on college campuses.
According to the pro-abortion Alan Guttmacher Institute,
71 percent of 18- and 19-year-olds and 58 percent of
20-to-24-year-olds said having a child would interfere
with their education or career.
Thomas Glessner, president of the National Institute of
Family and Life Advocates, told Family News in Focus that
attitude is leading many young women to seek an abortion.
[More at URL]
TAKE ACTION: Ask your senators and representative in
Congress to cosponsor the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Pregnant
and Parenting Students Act of 2005 (H.R. 4265 and S.
1966). You can find contact information in the CitizenLink
Action Center.
Long Action URL here
----- 12 -----
Show-Me State Abortion Law Stands
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
November 18, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
A judge declared constitutional Missouri's state law that
makes it illegal to "intentionally cause, aid or assist" a
minor to get an abortion without parental consent -- but
the judge also sent it on to the state Supreme Court for
further clarification, the Kansas City Star reported.
Circuit Judge Charles Atwell ruled that though the law is
sound, a provision for free speech must be framed in
before prosecution can occur -- and he's asking the high
court to help.
Atwell added that the law does not apply to counselors who
simply provide information.
"The court," he said, "with substantial trepidation, finds
(the law) is constitutional."
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, who fought hard to push the
legislation through, was pleased with the ruling.
"I was confident when I signed this good pro-life law," he
said, "that it would withstand constitutional scrutiny and
reduce the number of abortions in our state."
----- 13 -----
ACLU Challenges Yet Another Commandments Display
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
November 18, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has challenged
the constitutionality of a Ten Commandments display in
Haskell County, Okla. Liberty Counsel will defend the
county.
The Haskell County Board of Commissioners placed the
marble monument that included the Commandments among
several other memorials in November 2004, but the ACLU did
not file suit until last month.
Mathew Staver, president and general counsel at Liberty
Counsel said there are thousands of Ten Commandments
displays on public property across the nation.
"Public display of the Ten Commandments is consistent with
our nation's history and with the First Amendment," he
said. "If the Ten Commandments were an establishment of
religion, then certainly an established religion would
have occurred by now."
He said he hopes the Supreme Court will soon rule on
public displays of the Ten Commandments to bring an end to
such suits.
----- 14 -----
HIV on the Increase in the Gay Community
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
November 18, 2005
[Received in email; no URL]
The rate of newly diagnosed cases of HIV infections has
dropped in the African-American population, but has
increased significantly among homosexuals, The Los Angeles
Times reported.
According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) released Thursday, new diagnoses among gay and
bisexual men of all races rose 8 percent last year.
Infections among blacks dropped 5 percent, though blacks
are still 8.4 times more likely than Caucasians to
contract the disease.
Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, acting director of the CDC's
National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, said
experts aren't sure what's behind the increase in the gay
community. The previous three years had seen little
increase in the percentage of new cases.
The statistics include data from 33 states. Of those
states, 38,685 people were diagnoses with HIV in 2004 --
71 percent of those were men.
----- 15 -----
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ORDAINS GAY MINISTER
The denomination will soon consider the issue at its general assembly.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
November 17, 2005
from staff reports
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038641.cfm
There's an effort aimed for the next general assembly of
The Presbyterian Church (USA) -- known as PCUSA -- that
would allow individual presbyteries to decide whether to
ordain homosexuals to the clergy.
At least one presbytery has already ordained an openly gay
minister.
The Rev. Joseph Gilmore, who presided at the ordination of
openly gay Raymond Bagnuolo, said the members of South
Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., are feeling
enormous pride.
"The struggle around sexual justice is what I mean," he
said. "There's been a long and protracted argument -- it's
almost thirty years old."
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
Becoming Out
by Warren Throckmorton, Ph.D.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
SUMMARY: A WNBA star says she was straight -- and now is gay.
http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/commentary/a0038646.cfm
Sheryl Swoopes is arguably the finest female basketball
player ever. No, check that, actually there is no
argument. As a three-time MVP in the Woman's National
Basketball Association (WNBA) and two-time gold-medal
Olympian, she is the best. So when she came out of the
closet recently, there was excitement in the gay and
lesbian community about a high-profile public figure
declaring herself a lesbian.
Her story was featured in a recent ESPN magazine article
where she said about her sexuality: "I didn't always know
I was gay. I honestly didn't. Do I think I was born this
way? No. And that's probably confusing to some, because I
know a lot of people believe that you are."
The notion that people attracted to the same sex might not
be wired that way from birth is more than confusing to
some gay activists. It makes them indignant. When Dr. Bill
Maier, psychologist in residence at Focus on the Family,
suggested the exact same viewpoint to The Washington Times
several months ago, Ron Schlittler, an officer with
Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG),
said in reply that such views advance "baseless fears and
misguided claims about (homosexuals)."
[...]
So she became gay?
Apparently so. As one who studies how people resolve
sexual-identity conflicts, I find her story fascinating.
She told the Houston Chronicle that she and her husband
divorced for the same reasons many people do: "Probably
for about the last year, year and a half of my marriage we
were just going in different directions. It got to a point
to where I knew it was over with and really didn't want to
do anything else to make it work." As she told ESPN, her
divorce was not due to a conflict over being gay.
In fact, she told ESPN that before she fell in love with
her partner, Alisa Scott, she had not entertained any
attractions to women. Before her current relationship,
Swoopes said, "The thought of being intimate with her or
any other woman never entered my mind. I've had plenty of
gay friends I've hung out with, but that thought never
entered my mind."
[More at URL]
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-11-21 11:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-22 12:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-22 01:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-22 01:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-22 01:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-22 01:53 am (UTC)Who could argue that women who've fallen victim to an unwanted pregnancy should be given information on options like adoption to consider while they're considering other options? But planned parenthood and other organizations already provide information on those options. If the conservatives want to increase the volume, let's see them fund those organizations better and let them do it.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-22 02:42 am (UTC)She goes on to say they are modeled after the Pregnancy Resourse Forum held at Georgetown University by Feminists for Life in 1997: "Within two years, Georgetown trustees had set aside nearby housing for parents, started Hoya Kids Day Care, established a 24-hour hotline, and cross-trained counselors to address pregnancy resources as well as sexual assault and domestic violence. Every year, Georgetown hosts another resource forum to see what improvements should be made next."
Personally, I am in favor of pro-life forces making live easier on mothers rather than lobbying for laws against abortion. As a mathematician I am also glad to see pro-lifers looking at real statistics to see where true need lies. I could argue against the federal government funding these pilot programs, because if pro-life groups have their heads on straight, then they should be willing to provide private funding.
It also reminds me of hauling my toddlers around Ohio State University in their bike seats and in a red wagon. College campuses have a lot of green grassy spaces for children to play in. (Said former toddlers are home from college for Thansksgiving this week.)
Item 4, "Salvation Army Bells Ring Early at Wal-Mart While Target Bans Christmas," has me shaking my head at Concerned Women for America. I grew up seeing Christmas as Christmas hymns ("Silent Night", "Away in a Manger", "Joy To the World", "Angels We Have Heard on High",...) and Christmas pagents acting out the birth of Jesus. Santa Claus, Christmas presents, Salvation army bellringers, and the phrase "Merry Christmas" are practically secular to me. If Concerned Women for America consider those to be major elements of Christmas, they have forgotten Jesus.
Erin Schram