Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Jan. 31st, 2006 12:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdTim Eyman to file state initiative to repeal GBLT civil rights protections in Washington State before the governor's ink is even on the paper;
"God's Senator" - Rolling Stone interview with and article about Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas); Brownback is the man lots of the theocons want as the next Republican nominee for president; you should read the whole thing;
Religious groups get "nearly one-quarter" of Bush administration AIDS money;
"More than a dozen states" are considering right-of-refusal for health care workers; about half are aimed at allowing pharmacists to refuse contraception prescribed and abortion services; the others are broad enough to permit refusal of any treatment for any moral reason, including refusal to treat queers; you've seen this before on this update, but now it's making it into the major newspapers;
Faith and Freedom Network asks for "God to STAY this issue from being put into effect"; "this issue" is the bill passed last week to ban anti-GBLT discrimination in housing, hiring, and lending;
Muslim fundamentalist reaction against a page of cartoons continues to grow; fundamentalism is the problem in any religion;
Newer story: Tim Eyman has filed BOTH an initiative AND a referendum to repeal GBLT civil rights protections; I still don't have the language of either, however; the referendum needs fewer signatures but has a shorter deadline; Eyman calls the bill's passage a "disgusting display of arrogance and selfishness";
Focus on the Family article on Alito debate cloture vote today;
Sen. Kent Conrad (D - North Dakota) to vote for Alito confirmation;
Wendy Wright appointed new president of Concerned Women for America;
Indiana house committee passes bill mandating that doctors tell patients that "life begins at conception";
Episcopal Diocese in Washington, DC approves same-sex blessing ceremonies; they're on hold pending a national convention; unofficial ceremonies have been around for a while but this is still a change;
Concerned Women for America story on a boy wearing a skirt to school to protest the dress code turns into a bizarre ramble about women in the military, the false idea of gender equity, a rant against women in sports (particularly Title IX rules), and the ACLU as the "American Sexual Confusion Union";
CWA Announces New President;
Human Events says left's "Culture of Death" gets little traction;
CWA congratulates Senate on cloture vote, calls for immediate confirmation vote on Alito;
Family Research Council's top-of-site page is about expecting President Bush to re-endorse a Federal anti-marriage-rights amendment to the US Constitution;
FRC anti-marriage-rights brochure says marrying your same-sex partner is the same as marrying a horse, will lead to bestiality, goes on to say that "homosexuality is rightly viewed as unnatural"; says lesbians are violent batterers, gay men are incapable of long-term relationships, all the usual things;
FRC attacks Senator Chafee (R-Rhode Island) for planned "no" vote on Alito over executive-power and reproductive choice issues;
Traditional Values Coalition links to WorldNetDaily columnist: homosexuality is "a public health disaster," quotes all kinds of laundered Paul Cameron studies and others of similar bogosity, but filtered - but I recognise these numbers and claims; still, the point is the propaganda: gayfolk are diseased perverts;
Eyman starts using "special rights" language of fundamentalists to define anti-discrimination protection; gets endorsement of Christian Coalition, who will work with him on his anti-gay initiative or referendum or both;
----- 1 -----
Eyman plans to file initiative Monday against gay-rights bill
BY BRAD SHANNON
THE OLYMPIAN
January 29, 2006
http://159.54.227.3/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060129/NEWS/60129061
Tim Eyman says he will file an initiative Monday to repeal the gay-rights bill narrowly adopted Friday by the state Senate.
The longtime initiative promoter said in an e-mail to supporters and the media late Sunday, “Politicians aren’t thinking about what the voters want. Let the voters decide.”
“Politicians are deciding based on special interest group pressure and their own re-election calculations,” Eyman added. “The voters have watched this disgusting display of arrogance and selfishness for weeks. The issue has become hopelessly politicized.”
“It’s sad. It’s appalling. It’s anti-American,” state Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Thurston County, said late Sunday when told of Eyman’s latest ballot proposal. “It’s bullying, and it’s a money-making scheme for his organization. It looks like he expects to make a lot of money from bullying innocent people. I think everybody should decline to sign.”
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
God's Senator
Who would Jesus vote for? Meet Sam Brownback
Rolling Stone
Long URL elided
Nobody in this little church just off Times Square in Manhattan thinks of themselves as political. They're spiritual -- actors and athletes and pretty young things who believe that every word of the Bible is inerrant dictation from God. They look down from the balcony of the Morning Star, swaying and smiling at the screen that tells them how to sing along. Nail-pierced hands, a wounded side. This is love, this is love! But on this evening in January, politics and all its worldly machinations have entered their church. Sitting in the darkness of the front row is Sam Brownback, the Republican senator from Kansas. And hunched over on the stage in a red leather chair is an old man named Harald Bredesen, who has come to anoint Brownback as the Christian right's next candidate for president.
Over the last six decades, Bredesen has prayed with so many presidents and prime ministers and kings that he can barely remember their names. He's the spiritual father of Pat Robertson, the man behind the preacher's vast media empire. He was one of three pastors who laid hands on Ronald Reagan in 1970 and heard the Pasadena Prophecy: the moment when God told Reagan that he would one day occupy the White House. And he recently dispatched one of his proteges to remind George W. Bush of the divine will -- and evangelical power -- behind his presidency.
Tonight, Bredesen has come to breathe that power into Brownback's presidential campaign. After little more than a decade in Washington, Brownback has managed to position himself at the very center of the Christian conservative uprising that is transforming American politics. Just six years ago, winning the evangelical vote required only a veneer of bland normalcy, nothing more than George Bush's vague assurance that Jesus was his favorite philosopher. Now, Brownback seeks something far more radical: not faith-based politics but faith in place of politics. In his dream America, the one he believes both the Bible and the Constitution promise, the state will simply wither away. In its place will be a country so suffused with God and the free market that the social fabric of the last hundred years -- schools, Social Security, welfare -- will be privatized or simply done away with. There will be no abortions; sex will be confined to heterosexual marriage. Men will lead families, mothers will tend children, and big business and the church will take care of all.
[...]
He tells a story about a chaplain who challenged a group of senators to reconsider their conception of democracy. "How many constituents do you have?" the chaplain asked. The senators answered: 4 million, 9 million, 12 million. "May I suggest," the chaplain replied, "that you have only one constituent?"
Brownback pauses. That moment, he declares, changed his life. "This" -- being senator, running for president, waving the flag of a Christian nation -- "is about serving one constituent." He raises a hand and points above him.
Brownback is unlikely to receive the Republican presidential nomination -- but as the candidate of the Christian right, he may well be in a position to determine who does, and what they include in their platform. "What Sam could do very effectively," says the Rev. Rob Schenck, an evangelical activist, is hold the nomination hostage until the Christian right "exacts the last pledge out of the more popular candidate."
The nation's leading evangelicals have already lined up behind Brownback, a feat in itself. A decade ago, evangelical support for a Catholic would have been unthinkable. Many evangelicals viewed the Pope as the Antichrist and the Roman Catholic Church as the Whore of Babylon. But Brownback is the beneficiary of a strategy known as co-belligerency -- a united front between conservative Catholics and evangelicals in the culture war. Pat Robertson has tapped the "outstanding senator from Kansas" as his man for president. David Barton, the Christian right's all-but-official presidential historian, calls Brownback "uncompromising" -- the highest praise in a movement that considers intransigence next to godliness. And James Dobson, the movement's strongest chieftain, can find no fault in Brownback. "He has fulfilled every expectation," Dobson says. Even Jesse Helms, now in retirement in North Carolina, recognizes a kindred spirit. "The most effective senators are those who are truest to themselves," Helms says. "Senator Brownback is becoming known as that sort of individual."
[...]
Every Tuesday, before his evening meeting with his prayer brothers, Brownback chairs another small cell -- one explicitly dedicated to altering public policy. It is called the Values Action Team, and it is composed of representatives from leading organizations on the religious right. James Dobson's Focus on the Family sends an emissary, as does the Family Research Council, the Eagle Forum, the Christian Coalition, the Traditional Values Coalition, Concerned Women for America and many more. Like the Fellowship prayer cell, everything that is said is strictly off the record, and even the groups themselves are forbidden from discussing the proceedings. It's a little "cloak-and-dagger," says a Brownback press secretary. The VAT is a war council, and the enemy, says one participant, is "secularism."
The VAT coordinates the efforts of fundamentalist pressure groups, unifying their message and arming congressional staffers with the data and language they need to pass legislation. Working almost entirely in secret, the group has directed the fights against gay marriage and for school vouchers, against hate-crime legislation and for "abstinence only" education. The VAT helped win passage of Brownback's broadcast decency bill and made the president's tax cuts a top priority. When it comes to "impacting policy," says Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, "day to day, the VAT is instrumental."
[...]
Since Brownback took over leadership of the VAT in 2002, he has used it to consolidate his position in the Christian right -- and his influence in the Senate. If senators -- even leaders like Bill Frist or Rick Santorum -- want to ask for backing from the group, they must talk to Brownback's chief of staff, Robert Wasinger, who clears attendees with his boss. Wasinger is from Hays, Kansas, but he speaks with a Harvard drawl, and he is still remembered in Cambridge twelve years after graduation for a fight he led to get gay faculty booted. He was particularly concerned about the welfare of gay men; or rather, as he wrote in a campus magazine funded by the Heritage Foundation, that of their innocent sperm, forced to "swim into feces." As gatekeeper of the VAT, he's a key strategist in the conservative movement. He makes sure the religious leaders who attend VAT understand that Brownback is the boss -- and that other senators realize that every time Brownback speaks, he has the money and membership of the VAT behind him.
VAT is like a closed communication circuit with Brownback at the switch: The power flows through him. Every Wednesday at noon, he trots upstairs from his office to a radio studio maintained by the Republican leadership to rally support from Christian America for VAT's agenda. One participant in the broadcast, Salem Radio Network News, reaches more than 1,500 Christian stations nationwide, and Focus on the Family offers access to an audience of 1.5 million. During a recent broadcast Brownback explains that with the help of the VAT, he's working to defeat a measure that would stiffen penalties for violent attacks on gays and lesbians. Members of VAT help by mobilizing their flocks: An e-mail sent out by the Family Research Council warned that the hate-crime bill would lead, inexorably, to the criminalization of Christianity.
[...]
Brownback finds the issue of finances distasteful. He refuses to discuss his backers, smoothly turning the issue to matters of faith. "Pat got me elected," he says, referring to Robertson's network of Christian-right organizations. Sitting in his corner office in the Senate, Brownback returns to one of his favorite subjects: the scourge of homosexuality. The office has just been remodeled and the high-ceilinged room is almost barren. On Brownback's desk, adrift at the far end of the room, there's a Bible open to the Gospel of John.
It doesn't bother Brownback that most Bible scholars challenge the idea that Scripture opposes homosexuality. "It's pretty clear," he says, "what we know in our hearts." This, he says, is "natural law," derived from observation of the world, but the logic is circular: It's wrong because he observes himself believing it's wrong.
[...]
Although Brownback converted to Catholicism in 2002 through Opus Dei, an ultraorthodox order that, like the Fellowship, specializes in cultivating the rich and powerful, the source of much of his religious and political thinking is Charles Colson, the former Nixon aide who served seven months in prison for his attempt to cover up Watergate. A "key figure," says Brownback, in the power structure of Christian Washington, Colson is widely acknowledged as the Christian right's leading intellectual. He is the architect behind faith-based initiatives, the negotiator who forged the Catholic-evangelical unity known as co-belligerency, and the man who drove sexual morality to the top of the movement's agenda.
"When I came to the Senate," says Brownback, "I sought him out. I had been listening to his thoughts for years, and wanted to get to know him some."
The admiration is mutual. Colson, a powerful member of the Fellowship, spotted Brownback as promising material not long after he joined the group's cell for freshman Republicans. At the time, Colson was holding classes on "biblical worldview" for leaders on Capitol Hill, and Brownback became a prize pupil. Colson taught that abortion is only a "threshold" issue, a wedge with which to introduce fundamentalism into every question. The two men soon grew close, and began coordinating their efforts: Colson provides the strategy, and Brownback translates it into policy. "Sam has been at the meetings I called, and I've been at the meetings he called," Colson says.
[Much more at URL]
----- 3 -----
Religious groups get nearly one-quarter of Bush administration's AIDS money
Monday, January 30, 2006 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
By RITA BEAMISH
The Associated Press
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002770853_aids30.html
President Bush's $15 billion effort to fight AIDS has handed out nearly one-quarter of its grants to religious groups, and officials are aggressively pursuing new church partners that often emphasize disease prevention through abstinence and fidelity over condom use.
Award recipients include a Christian relief organization famous for its televised appeals to feed hungry children, a well-known Catholic charity and a group run by the son of evangelist Billy Graham, according to the State Department.
The outreach to nontraditional AIDS players comes in the midst of a debate over how best to prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The debate has activated groups on both ends of the political spectrum and created a vast competition for money.
[...]
The emphasis on abstinence, some longtime AIDS volunteers say, has led to a confusing message and added to the stigma of condom use in parts of Africa. Village volunteers in Swaziland maintain a supply of free condoms but say they have few takers.
"This drive for abstinence is putting a lot of pressure on girls to get married earlier," said Dr. Abeja Apunyo, the Uganda representative for Pathfinder International, a reproductive-health nonprofit group based in Massachusetts.
"For years now we have been trying to tell our daughters that they should finish their education and train in a profession before they get married. Otherwise they have few options if they find themselves separated from their husbands for some reason."
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Health workers may get the right to refuse to act
Monday, January 30, 2006 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
By Rob Stein
The Washington Post
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002770851_refuse30.html
WASHINGTON — More than a dozen states are considering new laws to protect health workers who do not want to provide care that conflicts with their personal beliefs, a surge of legislation that reflects the intensifying tension between asserting individual religious values and defending patients' rights.
About half of the proposals would shield pharmacists who refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control and "morning-after" pills because they believe the drugs cause abortions.
But many are far broader measures that would shelter any doctor, nurse, aide, technician or other employee who objects to any therapy. That might include in-vitro fertilization, physician-assisted suicide, embryonic stem cells, and perhaps even providing treatment to gays and lesbians.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Galleries Explode as HB 2661 - Sexual Orientation Bill Passes
Faith and Freedom Network
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Long URL elided
When the final vote was announced in the Senate on Friday, the gallery exploded in cheers and applause. As the lobbyist for Faith & Freedom, this is the first time I have ever witnessed this type of expression in the gallery.
The Senators that debated the bill were very candid, polite, and cordial to each other. The testimony was very specific. Those in opposition spoke about the Biblical description of "an abomination." Some gave testimony about children who had "chosen" the homosexual lifestyle, and how they loved them but not their chosen lifestyle. Those supporting HB 2661 debated the bill did not endorse same sex marriage, that it wasn't an agenda, and that every human should have the right to live their lives as they see fit.
[...]
This is a sad day for the State of Washington. For 30 years those in favor of giving special rights to the gay community have been pushing for a bill such as this. Until now, it has been defeated every time. Businesses, landlords, and schools could all very well feel the negative impact of this bill as early as Tuesday when the Governor signs the bill into law. It will become effective in 90 days unless someone files a Referendum to stay the implementation.
Please continue to pray for God to STAY this issue from being put into effect.
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Protests Over Muhammad Cartoon Grow
By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer
Associated Press
Mon Jan 30, 1:26 PM ET
Long URL elided
BEIRUT, Lebanon - The controversy over Danish caricatures of Prophet Muhammad escalated Monday as gunmen seized an EU office in Gaza and Muslims appealed for a trade boycott of Danish products. Denmark called for its citizens in the Middle East to exercise vigilance.
Denmark-based Arla Foods, which has been the target of a widespread boycott in the Middle East, reported that two of its employees in Saudi Arabia were beaten by angry customers. Aid groups, meanwhile, pulled workers out of Gaza, citing the threat of hostilities.
The 12 drawings — published in a Danish paper in September and in a Norwegian paper this month — included an image of the prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse. Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet, even respectful ones, out of concern that such images could lead to idolatry.
Danish government officials have expressed regret over the furor but have refused to get involved, citing freedom of expression. The Jyllands-Posten newspaper has refused to apologize for publishing the drawings and has said it did not mean to insult Islam.
[...]
In Gaza, masked gunmen briefly took over an office used by the EU, demanding an apology from Denmark and Norway. The gunmen said citizens of the two countries would be prevented from entering the Gaza Strip. No one was hurt.
The Danish Red Cross said it was evacuating two employees from Gaza and one from Yemen.
"There have been concrete threats against our employees. The fact that they are Danish nationals has made the difference," Danish Red Cross spokesman Anders Ladekarl said.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Challenge to gay rights bill filed by Eyman
By Andrew Garber
Seattle Times staff reporter
Monday, January 30, 2006 - Page updated at 01:23 PM
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2002771908_webeyman30.html
Tim Eyman filed an initiative and a referendum this morning aimed at getting rid of the gay rights bill passed by the Legislature on Friday.
[...]
"Politicians are deciding based on special interest group pressure and their own reelection calculations," Eyman said in a statement emailed to reporters. "The voters have watched this disgusting display of arrogance and selfishness for weeks."
[...]
Referendums, intended to give voters a say on laws passed by the Legislature, need 112,440 valid signatures to get on the ballot. The signatures have to be turned in within 90 days after the session ends. March 9 is the final day of this year's regular session.
Initiatives, on the other hand, are generally used to get new laws on the ballot but can be used to change existing law. Eyman would need 224,880 valid signatures to get an initiative to the people on the ballot, but has more time to do so. The signatures for an initiative don't have to be turned in until July 7.
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
SENATE ENDS ALITO DEBATE AND PROCEEDS TO FINAL VOTE
Up-or-down vote on Supreme Court nominee slated for Tuesday morning.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
January 30, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039357.cfm
Members of the U.S. Senate cleared the way this afternoon
for the final showdown over Judge Samuel Alito by voting
72-25 to invoke cloture -- or to shut off debate -- on his
Supreme Court nomination.
Pro-family legal experts like American Center for Law and
Justice Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow applauded the Senate for
clearing the way for the president's pick to replace
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the nation's highest court.
[...]
Those Democrats voting for cloture included some known
quantities, such as Robert Byrd of West Virginia, but also
some surprises, such as Maria Cantwell of Washington;
Daniel Akaka of Hawaii; Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and
Herb Kohl of Wisconsin.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Sen. Conrad Listens, Will Vote for Alito
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
January 20, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
Your comments continue to make a difference. Sen. Kent
Conrad, D-N.D., announced today he will join Sens. Ben
Nelson, D-Neb.; Tim Johnson, D-S.D.; and Robert Byrd,
D-W.Va., and cross party lines to vote in favor of Judge
Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court.
Conrad said he reached his decision after careful
consideration -- acknowledging he had heard loud and clear
from North Dakotans.
"(I)t is clear that both the majority of my constituents
and the majority of the American people are in favor of
Judge Alito's confirmation," he said, in a statement.
Conrad added he will not support a filibuster of the
nominee.
----- 10 -----
CWA Gets New President
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
January 20, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
Concerned Women for America (CWA) announced today the
appointment of Wendy Wright as its new president. She had
been serving as the organization's executive vice
president since September.
"Wendy is an incisive policy strategist and eloquent
spokesman for the issues we all care deeply about. Her
leadership in defense of the family and the most
vulnerable victims of the culture war is well-known," said
Beverly LaHaye, CWA’s founder and chairman. "But, what has
always impressed me most is Wendy’s consistent Christian
commitment and integrity. That combined with a striking
humility make a unique presence in the halls of power here
in Washington and at the United Nations where she has
served with such dignity.
"CWA will benefit from Wendy’s gracious acceptance of this
appointment and I look forward to working closely with
her."
Since she joined CWA in 1999, Wright has specialized in
pro-life issues and worked with all six core areas of
concern to CWA: sanctity of life, definition of the
family, religious liberty, pornography, education and
national sovereignty.
She serves as CWA’s representative at the United Nations
and played a key role in earning CWA’s nongovernmental
organization status there. Prior to joining CWA, Wright
worked at the television outreach arm of the Free Congress
Foundation and as an Operation Rescue spokesman. She also
has worked on political campaigns, volunteered with
community programs, taught English at a national Bible
college in Sri Lanka and served as a short-term missionary
there.
"I am excited about CWA’s future and am honored to walk
side-by-side with Beverly LaHaye in our efforts to make a
difference for all Americans," Wright said. "CWA’s vision
is one I’ve long shared – ‘for women and like-minded men
from all walks of life to come together and restore the
family to its traditional purpose and thereby allow each
member of the family to realize their God-given potential
and be more responsible citizens.’ "
----- 11 -----
State Abortion Bill Would Let Women Know When Life Begins
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
January 20, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
A bill now in the Indiana House would let women know that
abortion ends a life.
According to the Indianapolis Star, House Bill 1172, which
cleared committee last week, would require doctors to
inform women preparing for abortions that life begins at
conception. If it becomes law, Indiana would join South
Dakota as the only states with such a requirement.
The South Dakota law was challenged in federal court, and
a judge prevented it from going into effect.
It would also require abortionists to inform women that
their preborn baby will feel pain.
Roger Evans, a Planned Parenthood lawyer, maintained the
proposed requirement is not based on science.
"The fundamental legal issue is whether or not the state
can compel a physician or anybody to be its mouthpiece for
delivering a message that is fraught with religious and
moral value judgments that are not objective, truthful,
nonmisleading facts," he said.
Richard Stith, a professor at Valparaiso University's
School of Law, predicted the Indiana legislation would
survive a court challenge.
He pointed to Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a landmark 1992
U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the concept of
informed consent, which means states can require women to
receive certain information before they can agree to an
abortion.
"They can't say something that isn't true," he said, "but
the (Supreme Court) has never said that life begins after
conception."
----- 12 -----
D.C. Episcopal Diocese OKs Same-Sex Ceremonies
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
January 20, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The Episcopal Diocese of Washington voted Saturday to
approve same-sex blessing ceremonies at its annual
convention at the Washington National Cathedral.
The Washington Times reported that the diocese
unofficially allowed same-sex ceremonies for years, and
had a same-sex rite on the books since 2004.
However, that rite has been put on hold until a meeting of
the Episcopal General Convention in June in Ohio, when the
denomination's future stance on homosexual clergy and
same-sex blessings will be decided.
A majority of the world's Anglican bishops have partially
or completely sundered ties with the Episcopal Church over
its 2003 consecration of openly homosexual New Hampshire
Bishop V. Gene Robinson.
----- 13 -----
Boy Wins ‘Right’ to Wear a Skirt to School
Concerned Women for America
1/28/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10000/CWA/misc/index.htm
A male Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey high school student has won his battle with the school district to wear skirts to class. Bob Knight, Director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute, says this battle is another feather in cap of the American Civil Liberties Union who took up the boy’s case. It also points to larger issues of gender confusion and a culture that refuses to acknowledge differences between the sexes. Click here to listen.
[Robert Knight: "This is another typical ACLU story... the ACLU brought the case, and bullied the school into letting this boy wear this girl's skirt to class.. the kid is not doing it for the usual reasons... he's doing it to protest the school's ban on wearing shorts... but for whatever reason, it's going to be disruptive..."
"I think he's just kind of using the ACLU and their radical agenda to grandstand for his own cause, but what's most interesting is that he first wore a costume dress, to try to make a point, and he was sent home... the district superintendent then advised him to purchase an everyday dress or skirt to wear. That's their way of accommodating him..."
[In other places, there are even women who are campaigning for the right to go topless.] "In California, last fall, Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, a Democrat from Los Angeles, said she would introduce legislation to end sex discrimination in public displays of the human body. In short, she meant women ought to be able to go topless, because after all, men can go topless and she saw this as discriminatory. She actually gave a press conference on the steps of the capitol building and announced that, 'well, it's legal for men to go shirtless in public in California, women risk being classifed as sex offenders for baring the same body parts. This is not about pornography, this is about the equity of the law of California.'" [etc] "This is the Senate majority leader in California who can't figure out why women should cover their tops!"
[Talks about dress codes in the military] "This false idea of equity is really not about equality, it's about sameness, and we see that it's really taken its toll on things like men's sports. And college after college is canceling men's sports programmes, because Title IX, the Federal law, guarantees equity between the sexes in terms of sports programmes, and even though men are _far_ more interested in sports than women. They historically have been more interested, they have greater need to compete in sports, to work out their greater aggression - instead of having the funds to fund women's programmes, a lot of men's sports are being cancelled, like wrestling, for instances, it's hard to find a good wrestling programme anymore. And Boston University cancelled its football programme, back in 1997, after some women complained that there isn't an equivalent programme for women's sports. So the losers are men, and the universities, because as they've driven men's sports out of universities, in the same time, fewer and fewer men are attending college. They're perceiving there's a less friendly atmosphere for masculine activities. And women are beginning to dominate colleges."
"Because most of these cases centre around breaking down social norms, the ACLU really ought to rename itself the... AC.. no... the ASCU, the American Sexual Confusion Union, because I think that's really what they're all about, everything from forcing homosexual scoutmasters into the boy scouts, to enforcing the right of gay clubs to come into schools that don't want them, to picking on any institution that resists the homosexual lobby in any fashion - that's what they're all about these days."]
----- 14 -----
CWA Announces New President
Concerned Women for America
1/30/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10013/MEDIA/misc/index.htm
Washington, D.C. – Concerned Women for America (CWA) announced today the appointment of Wendy Wright as its new President. The Board of Trustees unanimously selected Wendy Wright, a seasoned activist and a long-valued part of CWA’s team, at its meeting on January 26. Miss Wright had been serving as Executive Vice President since September.
“Wendy is an incisive policy strategist and eloquent spokesman for the issues we all care deeply about. Her leadership in defense of the family and the most vulnerable victims of the culture war is well-known,” said Beverly LaHaye, CWA’s founder and chairman. “But, what has always impressed me most is Wendy’s consistent Christian commitment and integrity. That combined with a striking humility make a unique presence in the halls of power here in Washington and at the United Nations where she has served with such dignity.
“CWA will benefit from Wendy’s gracious acceptance of this appointment and I look forward to working closely with her.”
Since she joined CWA in 1999, Miss Wright has specialized in pro-life issues and worked with all six core areas of concern to CWA: sanctity of life, definition of the family, religious liberty, pornography, education and national sovereignty.
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Left's 'Agenda' Gets Little Traction
by Janice Shaw Crouse
Human Events
Posted Jan 27, 2006
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=11959
Despite all the problems facing President Bush and the leaders of the Republican Party, liberals continue to have difficulty getting traction with their agenda. Perhaps this is because it consists largely of saying little more than "Bush is to blame." Nothing was more pathetic and farcical during the confirmation hearings of Judge Samuel Alito than the sight of aging liberal lions of the Senate misrepresenting the judge’s writings. They only embarrassed themselves and showed how beholden they were to radical special-interest groups.
Does this portend yet another ineffective effort by liberals in the 2006 congressional elections? Perhaps. It depends in part upon how well conservatives respond to the challenges ahead. One thing is certain, however: Liberals will never concede defeat. Politics is their religion, and they are not going to abandon anti-Americanism or their embrace of the culture of death.
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
CWA: On with the Vote-Phony Filibuster Attempt Fails
Concerned Women for America
1/30/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10019/MEDIA/misc/index.htm
Washington, D.C. – Concerned Women for America (CWA) commends the U.S. Senate for invoking cloture this afternoon, thereby halting the left’s attempt at filibustering the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito.
“Senators did what is necessary in order to give Judge Alito an ‘up’ or ‘down’ vote tomorrow morning,” said Jan LaRue, CWA’s Chief Counsel. “The idea of filibustering a fine nominee like Judge Alito is beyond ridiculous—it’s an abuse of the advice-and-consent process and defies the will of the American people.
“There is absolutely nothing in Judge Alito’s past, present or foreseeable future that would justify the first-ever filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee in U.S. history. Everything we have learned about this man confirms the fact that he should be seated on the Supreme Court.
"We look forward to a final Senate vote tomorrow morning so that we can welcome Judge Alito as our next Supreme Court Justice.”
For Information Contact:
Stacey Holliday
(202) 488-7000
media.cwfa.org
----- 17 -----
Eyes on the Prize
Family Research Council
January 30, 2006
http://www.frc.org/ [Top of page]
Permalink: http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA06A75#WA06A75
Beltway pundits are all buzzing about what President Bush will include in his sixth State of the Union Address on Tuesday.
I cannot emphasize strongly enough that the President must reach out to the Values Voters who put him and so many of his congressional allies in office. No better way could be found than to offer his strong support for protecting marriage. Congress needs to approve the Marriage Protection Amendment and send it to the states for ratification.
Read more on FRC Pres. Tony Perkins' Washington Update.
Brochure: The Slippery Slope of Same-Sex 'Marriage'
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
The Slippery Slope of Same-Sex "Marriage"
by: Timothy J. Dailey, Ph. D.
Family Research Council
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=BC04C02&v=PRINT
A Man and His Horse
In what some call a denial of a basic civil right, a Missouri man has been told he may not marry his long-term companion. Although his situation is unique, the logic of his argument is remarkably similar to that employed by advocates of homosexual marriage.
The man claims that the essential elements of marriage--love and commitment--are indeed present:"She's gorgeous. She's sweet. She's loving. I'm very proud of her. ... Deep down, way down, I'd love to have children with her."1
Why is the state of Missouri, as well as the federal government, displaying such heartlessness in denying the holy bonds of wedlock to this man and his would-be "wife"?
It seems the state of Missouri is not prepared to indulge a man who waxes eloquent about his love for a 22-year-old mare named Pixel.
[More at URL]
----- 19 -----
FRC Calls Chafee 'No' Vote on Alito 'Pandering to Liberal Groups'
January 30, 2006 - Monday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 30, 2006 CONTACT: Amber Hildebrand, (202) 393-2100
FOR RADIO: J.P. Duffy
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06A30&f=PG03I03
Washington, D.C. - Today, Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) announced his opposition to the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito as 110th Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council, issued the following statement:
"Senator Chafee's announced opposition to Judge Alito is the worst possible form of pandering to liberal groups. In the mind of Senator Chafee, left-wing talking points take precedence over the highly regarded qualifications of a judicial nominee.
"Judge Alito represents 15 years of judicial experience as well as a fair and restrained judicial temperament. During his service, Judge Alito has sworn loyalty to the Constitution and fealty to the rule of law. In adding a political litmus test, Senator Chafee neglects the standard which has guided the confirmation process for more than 200 years, thus doing great disservice to the independence of our courts.
"Faced with an intense battle for re-election this fall, Senator Chafee must now explain to the voters of Rhode Island why he is allowing their best interests to be undermined by the radical interests lurking in Washington D.C."
-30-
----- 20 -----
Homosexuality: A public health disaster
Posted: January 28, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By David Bass
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48542
The raging debate over homosexual marriage took another interesting turn this week when Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge M. Brooke Murdock struck down Maryland's state law defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The decision, handed down Jan. 20, claimed that Family Law §2-201 unfairly abridged the fundamental marriage rights of the nine homosexual couples who filed the lawsuit.
[More at URL]
----- 21 -----
Eyman files initiative, referendum to reverse gay civil rights bill
BY BRAD SHANNON
THE OLYMPIAN
Long URL elided
Tim Eyman plunked down two $5 bills today to file both an initiative and a referendum that would erase anti-discrimination protections for gays contained in a bill Gov. Christine Gregoire plans to sign into law Tuesday morning.
Eyman, the Snohomish County activist who says he has qualified nine proposals for the statewide ballot, told a morning press conference at the Secretary of State's Office that voters in Washington don't want to allow "special rights" for minorities.
Although Eyman said he hadn't decided yet whether to run a referendum or initiative, which have different signature requirements and deadlines, he said voters rather than lawmakers should make the decision on the underlying law: gay rights.
[...]
He said Eyman, who previously has been known for tax work and a bit of Libertarian, had finally let people "see who he really is" -- an associate and activist with the far-right religious extremists.
Rick Forcier, executive director of Olympia-based Christian Coalition of Washington, said his group plans to support Eyman's efforts and he does not expect other groups to run separate initiatives or referenda. The coalition's help would range from volunteer signature gatherers to sending advocates door-to-door to talk about why the law needs to be overturned.
[More at URL]
"God's Senator" - Rolling Stone interview with and article about Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas); Brownback is the man lots of the theocons want as the next Republican nominee for president; you should read the whole thing;
Religious groups get "nearly one-quarter" of Bush administration AIDS money;
"More than a dozen states" are considering right-of-refusal for health care workers; about half are aimed at allowing pharmacists to refuse contraception prescribed and abortion services; the others are broad enough to permit refusal of any treatment for any moral reason, including refusal to treat queers; you've seen this before on this update, but now it's making it into the major newspapers;
Faith and Freedom Network asks for "God to STAY this issue from being put into effect"; "this issue" is the bill passed last week to ban anti-GBLT discrimination in housing, hiring, and lending;
Muslim fundamentalist reaction against a page of cartoons continues to grow; fundamentalism is the problem in any religion;
Newer story: Tim Eyman has filed BOTH an initiative AND a referendum to repeal GBLT civil rights protections; I still don't have the language of either, however; the referendum needs fewer signatures but has a shorter deadline; Eyman calls the bill's passage a "disgusting display of arrogance and selfishness";
Focus on the Family article on Alito debate cloture vote today;
Sen. Kent Conrad (D - North Dakota) to vote for Alito confirmation;
Wendy Wright appointed new president of Concerned Women for America;
Indiana house committee passes bill mandating that doctors tell patients that "life begins at conception";
Episcopal Diocese in Washington, DC approves same-sex blessing ceremonies; they're on hold pending a national convention; unofficial ceremonies have been around for a while but this is still a change;
Concerned Women for America story on a boy wearing a skirt to school to protest the dress code turns into a bizarre ramble about women in the military, the false idea of gender equity, a rant against women in sports (particularly Title IX rules), and the ACLU as the "American Sexual Confusion Union";
CWA Announces New President;
Human Events says left's "Culture of Death" gets little traction;
CWA congratulates Senate on cloture vote, calls for immediate confirmation vote on Alito;
Family Research Council's top-of-site page is about expecting President Bush to re-endorse a Federal anti-marriage-rights amendment to the US Constitution;
FRC anti-marriage-rights brochure says marrying your same-sex partner is the same as marrying a horse, will lead to bestiality, goes on to say that "homosexuality is rightly viewed as unnatural"; says lesbians are violent batterers, gay men are incapable of long-term relationships, all the usual things;
FRC attacks Senator Chafee (R-Rhode Island) for planned "no" vote on Alito over executive-power and reproductive choice issues;
Traditional Values Coalition links to WorldNetDaily columnist: homosexuality is "a public health disaster," quotes all kinds of laundered Paul Cameron studies and others of similar bogosity, but filtered - but I recognise these numbers and claims; still, the point is the propaganda: gayfolk are diseased perverts;
Eyman starts using "special rights" language of fundamentalists to define anti-discrimination protection; gets endorsement of Christian Coalition, who will work with him on his anti-gay initiative or referendum or both;
----- 1 -----
Eyman plans to file initiative Monday against gay-rights bill
BY BRAD SHANNON
THE OLYMPIAN
January 29, 2006
http://159.54.227.3/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060129/NEWS/60129061
Tim Eyman says he will file an initiative Monday to repeal the gay-rights bill narrowly adopted Friday by the state Senate.
The longtime initiative promoter said in an e-mail to supporters and the media late Sunday, “Politicians aren’t thinking about what the voters want. Let the voters decide.”
“Politicians are deciding based on special interest group pressure and their own re-election calculations,” Eyman added. “The voters have watched this disgusting display of arrogance and selfishness for weeks. The issue has become hopelessly politicized.”
“It’s sad. It’s appalling. It’s anti-American,” state Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Thurston County, said late Sunday when told of Eyman’s latest ballot proposal. “It’s bullying, and it’s a money-making scheme for his organization. It looks like he expects to make a lot of money from bullying innocent people. I think everybody should decline to sign.”
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
God's Senator
Who would Jesus vote for? Meet Sam Brownback
Rolling Stone
Long URL elided
Nobody in this little church just off Times Square in Manhattan thinks of themselves as political. They're spiritual -- actors and athletes and pretty young things who believe that every word of the Bible is inerrant dictation from God. They look down from the balcony of the Morning Star, swaying and smiling at the screen that tells them how to sing along. Nail-pierced hands, a wounded side. This is love, this is love! But on this evening in January, politics and all its worldly machinations have entered their church. Sitting in the darkness of the front row is Sam Brownback, the Republican senator from Kansas. And hunched over on the stage in a red leather chair is an old man named Harald Bredesen, who has come to anoint Brownback as the Christian right's next candidate for president.
Over the last six decades, Bredesen has prayed with so many presidents and prime ministers and kings that he can barely remember their names. He's the spiritual father of Pat Robertson, the man behind the preacher's vast media empire. He was one of three pastors who laid hands on Ronald Reagan in 1970 and heard the Pasadena Prophecy: the moment when God told Reagan that he would one day occupy the White House. And he recently dispatched one of his proteges to remind George W. Bush of the divine will -- and evangelical power -- behind his presidency.
Tonight, Bredesen has come to breathe that power into Brownback's presidential campaign. After little more than a decade in Washington, Brownback has managed to position himself at the very center of the Christian conservative uprising that is transforming American politics. Just six years ago, winning the evangelical vote required only a veneer of bland normalcy, nothing more than George Bush's vague assurance that Jesus was his favorite philosopher. Now, Brownback seeks something far more radical: not faith-based politics but faith in place of politics. In his dream America, the one he believes both the Bible and the Constitution promise, the state will simply wither away. In its place will be a country so suffused with God and the free market that the social fabric of the last hundred years -- schools, Social Security, welfare -- will be privatized or simply done away with. There will be no abortions; sex will be confined to heterosexual marriage. Men will lead families, mothers will tend children, and big business and the church will take care of all.
[...]
He tells a story about a chaplain who challenged a group of senators to reconsider their conception of democracy. "How many constituents do you have?" the chaplain asked. The senators answered: 4 million, 9 million, 12 million. "May I suggest," the chaplain replied, "that you have only one constituent?"
Brownback pauses. That moment, he declares, changed his life. "This" -- being senator, running for president, waving the flag of a Christian nation -- "is about serving one constituent." He raises a hand and points above him.
Brownback is unlikely to receive the Republican presidential nomination -- but as the candidate of the Christian right, he may well be in a position to determine who does, and what they include in their platform. "What Sam could do very effectively," says the Rev. Rob Schenck, an evangelical activist, is hold the nomination hostage until the Christian right "exacts the last pledge out of the more popular candidate."
The nation's leading evangelicals have already lined up behind Brownback, a feat in itself. A decade ago, evangelical support for a Catholic would have been unthinkable. Many evangelicals viewed the Pope as the Antichrist and the Roman Catholic Church as the Whore of Babylon. But Brownback is the beneficiary of a strategy known as co-belligerency -- a united front between conservative Catholics and evangelicals in the culture war. Pat Robertson has tapped the "outstanding senator from Kansas" as his man for president. David Barton, the Christian right's all-but-official presidential historian, calls Brownback "uncompromising" -- the highest praise in a movement that considers intransigence next to godliness. And James Dobson, the movement's strongest chieftain, can find no fault in Brownback. "He has fulfilled every expectation," Dobson says. Even Jesse Helms, now in retirement in North Carolina, recognizes a kindred spirit. "The most effective senators are those who are truest to themselves," Helms says. "Senator Brownback is becoming known as that sort of individual."
[...]
Every Tuesday, before his evening meeting with his prayer brothers, Brownback chairs another small cell -- one explicitly dedicated to altering public policy. It is called the Values Action Team, and it is composed of representatives from leading organizations on the religious right. James Dobson's Focus on the Family sends an emissary, as does the Family Research Council, the Eagle Forum, the Christian Coalition, the Traditional Values Coalition, Concerned Women for America and many more. Like the Fellowship prayer cell, everything that is said is strictly off the record, and even the groups themselves are forbidden from discussing the proceedings. It's a little "cloak-and-dagger," says a Brownback press secretary. The VAT is a war council, and the enemy, says one participant, is "secularism."
The VAT coordinates the efforts of fundamentalist pressure groups, unifying their message and arming congressional staffers with the data and language they need to pass legislation. Working almost entirely in secret, the group has directed the fights against gay marriage and for school vouchers, against hate-crime legislation and for "abstinence only" education. The VAT helped win passage of Brownback's broadcast decency bill and made the president's tax cuts a top priority. When it comes to "impacting policy," says Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, "day to day, the VAT is instrumental."
[...]
Since Brownback took over leadership of the VAT in 2002, he has used it to consolidate his position in the Christian right -- and his influence in the Senate. If senators -- even leaders like Bill Frist or Rick Santorum -- want to ask for backing from the group, they must talk to Brownback's chief of staff, Robert Wasinger, who clears attendees with his boss. Wasinger is from Hays, Kansas, but he speaks with a Harvard drawl, and he is still remembered in Cambridge twelve years after graduation for a fight he led to get gay faculty booted. He was particularly concerned about the welfare of gay men; or rather, as he wrote in a campus magazine funded by the Heritage Foundation, that of their innocent sperm, forced to "swim into feces." As gatekeeper of the VAT, he's a key strategist in the conservative movement. He makes sure the religious leaders who attend VAT understand that Brownback is the boss -- and that other senators realize that every time Brownback speaks, he has the money and membership of the VAT behind him.
VAT is like a closed communication circuit with Brownback at the switch: The power flows through him. Every Wednesday at noon, he trots upstairs from his office to a radio studio maintained by the Republican leadership to rally support from Christian America for VAT's agenda. One participant in the broadcast, Salem Radio Network News, reaches more than 1,500 Christian stations nationwide, and Focus on the Family offers access to an audience of 1.5 million. During a recent broadcast Brownback explains that with the help of the VAT, he's working to defeat a measure that would stiffen penalties for violent attacks on gays and lesbians. Members of VAT help by mobilizing their flocks: An e-mail sent out by the Family Research Council warned that the hate-crime bill would lead, inexorably, to the criminalization of Christianity.
[...]
Brownback finds the issue of finances distasteful. He refuses to discuss his backers, smoothly turning the issue to matters of faith. "Pat got me elected," he says, referring to Robertson's network of Christian-right organizations. Sitting in his corner office in the Senate, Brownback returns to one of his favorite subjects: the scourge of homosexuality. The office has just been remodeled and the high-ceilinged room is almost barren. On Brownback's desk, adrift at the far end of the room, there's a Bible open to the Gospel of John.
It doesn't bother Brownback that most Bible scholars challenge the idea that Scripture opposes homosexuality. "It's pretty clear," he says, "what we know in our hearts." This, he says, is "natural law," derived from observation of the world, but the logic is circular: It's wrong because he observes himself believing it's wrong.
[...]
Although Brownback converted to Catholicism in 2002 through Opus Dei, an ultraorthodox order that, like the Fellowship, specializes in cultivating the rich and powerful, the source of much of his religious and political thinking is Charles Colson, the former Nixon aide who served seven months in prison for his attempt to cover up Watergate. A "key figure," says Brownback, in the power structure of Christian Washington, Colson is widely acknowledged as the Christian right's leading intellectual. He is the architect behind faith-based initiatives, the negotiator who forged the Catholic-evangelical unity known as co-belligerency, and the man who drove sexual morality to the top of the movement's agenda.
"When I came to the Senate," says Brownback, "I sought him out. I had been listening to his thoughts for years, and wanted to get to know him some."
The admiration is mutual. Colson, a powerful member of the Fellowship, spotted Brownback as promising material not long after he joined the group's cell for freshman Republicans. At the time, Colson was holding classes on "biblical worldview" for leaders on Capitol Hill, and Brownback became a prize pupil. Colson taught that abortion is only a "threshold" issue, a wedge with which to introduce fundamentalism into every question. The two men soon grew close, and began coordinating their efforts: Colson provides the strategy, and Brownback translates it into policy. "Sam has been at the meetings I called, and I've been at the meetings he called," Colson says.
[Much more at URL]
----- 3 -----
Religious groups get nearly one-quarter of Bush administration's AIDS money
Monday, January 30, 2006 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
By RITA BEAMISH
The Associated Press
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002770853_aids30.html
President Bush's $15 billion effort to fight AIDS has handed out nearly one-quarter of its grants to religious groups, and officials are aggressively pursuing new church partners that often emphasize disease prevention through abstinence and fidelity over condom use.
Award recipients include a Christian relief organization famous for its televised appeals to feed hungry children, a well-known Catholic charity and a group run by the son of evangelist Billy Graham, according to the State Department.
The outreach to nontraditional AIDS players comes in the midst of a debate over how best to prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The debate has activated groups on both ends of the political spectrum and created a vast competition for money.
[...]
The emphasis on abstinence, some longtime AIDS volunteers say, has led to a confusing message and added to the stigma of condom use in parts of Africa. Village volunteers in Swaziland maintain a supply of free condoms but say they have few takers.
"This drive for abstinence is putting a lot of pressure on girls to get married earlier," said Dr. Abeja Apunyo, the Uganda representative for Pathfinder International, a reproductive-health nonprofit group based in Massachusetts.
"For years now we have been trying to tell our daughters that they should finish their education and train in a profession before they get married. Otherwise they have few options if they find themselves separated from their husbands for some reason."
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Health workers may get the right to refuse to act
Monday, January 30, 2006 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
By Rob Stein
The Washington Post
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002770851_refuse30.html
WASHINGTON — More than a dozen states are considering new laws to protect health workers who do not want to provide care that conflicts with their personal beliefs, a surge of legislation that reflects the intensifying tension between asserting individual religious values and defending patients' rights.
About half of the proposals would shield pharmacists who refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control and "morning-after" pills because they believe the drugs cause abortions.
But many are far broader measures that would shelter any doctor, nurse, aide, technician or other employee who objects to any therapy. That might include in-vitro fertilization, physician-assisted suicide, embryonic stem cells, and perhaps even providing treatment to gays and lesbians.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Galleries Explode as HB 2661 - Sexual Orientation Bill Passes
Faith and Freedom Network
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Long URL elided
When the final vote was announced in the Senate on Friday, the gallery exploded in cheers and applause. As the lobbyist for Faith & Freedom, this is the first time I have ever witnessed this type of expression in the gallery.
The Senators that debated the bill were very candid, polite, and cordial to each other. The testimony was very specific. Those in opposition spoke about the Biblical description of "an abomination." Some gave testimony about children who had "chosen" the homosexual lifestyle, and how they loved them but not their chosen lifestyle. Those supporting HB 2661 debated the bill did not endorse same sex marriage, that it wasn't an agenda, and that every human should have the right to live their lives as they see fit.
[...]
This is a sad day for the State of Washington. For 30 years those in favor of giving special rights to the gay community have been pushing for a bill such as this. Until now, it has been defeated every time. Businesses, landlords, and schools could all very well feel the negative impact of this bill as early as Tuesday when the Governor signs the bill into law. It will become effective in 90 days unless someone files a Referendum to stay the implementation.
Please continue to pray for God to STAY this issue from being put into effect.
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Protests Over Muhammad Cartoon Grow
By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer
Associated Press
Mon Jan 30, 1:26 PM ET
Long URL elided
BEIRUT, Lebanon - The controversy over Danish caricatures of Prophet Muhammad escalated Monday as gunmen seized an EU office in Gaza and Muslims appealed for a trade boycott of Danish products. Denmark called for its citizens in the Middle East to exercise vigilance.
Denmark-based Arla Foods, which has been the target of a widespread boycott in the Middle East, reported that two of its employees in Saudi Arabia were beaten by angry customers. Aid groups, meanwhile, pulled workers out of Gaza, citing the threat of hostilities.
The 12 drawings — published in a Danish paper in September and in a Norwegian paper this month — included an image of the prophet wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse. Islamic tradition bars any depiction of the prophet, even respectful ones, out of concern that such images could lead to idolatry.
Danish government officials have expressed regret over the furor but have refused to get involved, citing freedom of expression. The Jyllands-Posten newspaper has refused to apologize for publishing the drawings and has said it did not mean to insult Islam.
[...]
In Gaza, masked gunmen briefly took over an office used by the EU, demanding an apology from Denmark and Norway. The gunmen said citizens of the two countries would be prevented from entering the Gaza Strip. No one was hurt.
The Danish Red Cross said it was evacuating two employees from Gaza and one from Yemen.
"There have been concrete threats against our employees. The fact that they are Danish nationals has made the difference," Danish Red Cross spokesman Anders Ladekarl said.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Challenge to gay rights bill filed by Eyman
By Andrew Garber
Seattle Times staff reporter
Monday, January 30, 2006 - Page updated at 01:23 PM
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2002771908_webeyman30.html
Tim Eyman filed an initiative and a referendum this morning aimed at getting rid of the gay rights bill passed by the Legislature on Friday.
[...]
"Politicians are deciding based on special interest group pressure and their own reelection calculations," Eyman said in a statement emailed to reporters. "The voters have watched this disgusting display of arrogance and selfishness for weeks."
[...]
Referendums, intended to give voters a say on laws passed by the Legislature, need 112,440 valid signatures to get on the ballot. The signatures have to be turned in within 90 days after the session ends. March 9 is the final day of this year's regular session.
Initiatives, on the other hand, are generally used to get new laws on the ballot but can be used to change existing law. Eyman would need 224,880 valid signatures to get an initiative to the people on the ballot, but has more time to do so. The signatures for an initiative don't have to be turned in until July 7.
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
SENATE ENDS ALITO DEBATE AND PROCEEDS TO FINAL VOTE
Up-or-down vote on Supreme Court nominee slated for Tuesday morning.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
January 30, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039357.cfm
Members of the U.S. Senate cleared the way this afternoon
for the final showdown over Judge Samuel Alito by voting
72-25 to invoke cloture -- or to shut off debate -- on his
Supreme Court nomination.
Pro-family legal experts like American Center for Law and
Justice Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow applauded the Senate for
clearing the way for the president's pick to replace
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the nation's highest court.
[...]
Those Democrats voting for cloture included some known
quantities, such as Robert Byrd of West Virginia, but also
some surprises, such as Maria Cantwell of Washington;
Daniel Akaka of Hawaii; Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and
Herb Kohl of Wisconsin.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Sen. Conrad Listens, Will Vote for Alito
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
January 20, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
Your comments continue to make a difference. Sen. Kent
Conrad, D-N.D., announced today he will join Sens. Ben
Nelson, D-Neb.; Tim Johnson, D-S.D.; and Robert Byrd,
D-W.Va., and cross party lines to vote in favor of Judge
Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court.
Conrad said he reached his decision after careful
consideration -- acknowledging he had heard loud and clear
from North Dakotans.
"(I)t is clear that both the majority of my constituents
and the majority of the American people are in favor of
Judge Alito's confirmation," he said, in a statement.
Conrad added he will not support a filibuster of the
nominee.
----- 10 -----
CWA Gets New President
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
January 20, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
Concerned Women for America (CWA) announced today the
appointment of Wendy Wright as its new president. She had
been serving as the organization's executive vice
president since September.
"Wendy is an incisive policy strategist and eloquent
spokesman for the issues we all care deeply about. Her
leadership in defense of the family and the most
vulnerable victims of the culture war is well-known," said
Beverly LaHaye, CWA’s founder and chairman. "But, what has
always impressed me most is Wendy’s consistent Christian
commitment and integrity. That combined with a striking
humility make a unique presence in the halls of power here
in Washington and at the United Nations where she has
served with such dignity.
"CWA will benefit from Wendy’s gracious acceptance of this
appointment and I look forward to working closely with
her."
Since she joined CWA in 1999, Wright has specialized in
pro-life issues and worked with all six core areas of
concern to CWA: sanctity of life, definition of the
family, religious liberty, pornography, education and
national sovereignty.
She serves as CWA’s representative at the United Nations
and played a key role in earning CWA’s nongovernmental
organization status there. Prior to joining CWA, Wright
worked at the television outreach arm of the Free Congress
Foundation and as an Operation Rescue spokesman. She also
has worked on political campaigns, volunteered with
community programs, taught English at a national Bible
college in Sri Lanka and served as a short-term missionary
there.
"I am excited about CWA’s future and am honored to walk
side-by-side with Beverly LaHaye in our efforts to make a
difference for all Americans," Wright said. "CWA’s vision
is one I’ve long shared – ‘for women and like-minded men
from all walks of life to come together and restore the
family to its traditional purpose and thereby allow each
member of the family to realize their God-given potential
and be more responsible citizens.’ "
----- 11 -----
State Abortion Bill Would Let Women Know When Life Begins
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
January 20, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
A bill now in the Indiana House would let women know that
abortion ends a life.
According to the Indianapolis Star, House Bill 1172, which
cleared committee last week, would require doctors to
inform women preparing for abortions that life begins at
conception. If it becomes law, Indiana would join South
Dakota as the only states with such a requirement.
The South Dakota law was challenged in federal court, and
a judge prevented it from going into effect.
It would also require abortionists to inform women that
their preborn baby will feel pain.
Roger Evans, a Planned Parenthood lawyer, maintained the
proposed requirement is not based on science.
"The fundamental legal issue is whether or not the state
can compel a physician or anybody to be its mouthpiece for
delivering a message that is fraught with religious and
moral value judgments that are not objective, truthful,
nonmisleading facts," he said.
Richard Stith, a professor at Valparaiso University's
School of Law, predicted the Indiana legislation would
survive a court challenge.
He pointed to Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a landmark 1992
U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the concept of
informed consent, which means states can require women to
receive certain information before they can agree to an
abortion.
"They can't say something that isn't true," he said, "but
the (Supreme Court) has never said that life begins after
conception."
----- 12 -----
D.C. Episcopal Diocese OKs Same-Sex Ceremonies
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
January 20, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The Episcopal Diocese of Washington voted Saturday to
approve same-sex blessing ceremonies at its annual
convention at the Washington National Cathedral.
The Washington Times reported that the diocese
unofficially allowed same-sex ceremonies for years, and
had a same-sex rite on the books since 2004.
However, that rite has been put on hold until a meeting of
the Episcopal General Convention in June in Ohio, when the
denomination's future stance on homosexual clergy and
same-sex blessings will be decided.
A majority of the world's Anglican bishops have partially
or completely sundered ties with the Episcopal Church over
its 2003 consecration of openly homosexual New Hampshire
Bishop V. Gene Robinson.
----- 13 -----
Boy Wins ‘Right’ to Wear a Skirt to School
Concerned Women for America
1/28/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10000/CWA/misc/index.htm
A male Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey high school student has won his battle with the school district to wear skirts to class. Bob Knight, Director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute, says this battle is another feather in cap of the American Civil Liberties Union who took up the boy’s case. It also points to larger issues of gender confusion and a culture that refuses to acknowledge differences between the sexes. Click here to listen.
[Robert Knight: "This is another typical ACLU story... the ACLU brought the case, and bullied the school into letting this boy wear this girl's skirt to class.. the kid is not doing it for the usual reasons... he's doing it to protest the school's ban on wearing shorts... but for whatever reason, it's going to be disruptive..."
"I think he's just kind of using the ACLU and their radical agenda to grandstand for his own cause, but what's most interesting is that he first wore a costume dress, to try to make a point, and he was sent home... the district superintendent then advised him to purchase an everyday dress or skirt to wear. That's their way of accommodating him..."
[In other places, there are even women who are campaigning for the right to go topless.] "In California, last fall, Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, a Democrat from Los Angeles, said she would introduce legislation to end sex discrimination in public displays of the human body. In short, she meant women ought to be able to go topless, because after all, men can go topless and she saw this as discriminatory. She actually gave a press conference on the steps of the capitol building and announced that, 'well, it's legal for men to go shirtless in public in California, women risk being classifed as sex offenders for baring the same body parts. This is not about pornography, this is about the equity of the law of California.'" [etc] "This is the Senate majority leader in California who can't figure out why women should cover their tops!"
[Talks about dress codes in the military] "This false idea of equity is really not about equality, it's about sameness, and we see that it's really taken its toll on things like men's sports. And college after college is canceling men's sports programmes, because Title IX, the Federal law, guarantees equity between the sexes in terms of sports programmes, and even though men are _far_ more interested in sports than women. They historically have been more interested, they have greater need to compete in sports, to work out their greater aggression - instead of having the funds to fund women's programmes, a lot of men's sports are being cancelled, like wrestling, for instances, it's hard to find a good wrestling programme anymore. And Boston University cancelled its football programme, back in 1997, after some women complained that there isn't an equivalent programme for women's sports. So the losers are men, and the universities, because as they've driven men's sports out of universities, in the same time, fewer and fewer men are attending college. They're perceiving there's a less friendly atmosphere for masculine activities. And women are beginning to dominate colleges."
"Because most of these cases centre around breaking down social norms, the ACLU really ought to rename itself the... AC.. no... the ASCU, the American Sexual Confusion Union, because I think that's really what they're all about, everything from forcing homosexual scoutmasters into the boy scouts, to enforcing the right of gay clubs to come into schools that don't want them, to picking on any institution that resists the homosexual lobby in any fashion - that's what they're all about these days."]
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CWA Announces New President
Concerned Women for America
1/30/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10013/MEDIA/misc/index.htm
Washington, D.C. – Concerned Women for America (CWA) announced today the appointment of Wendy Wright as its new President. The Board of Trustees unanimously selected Wendy Wright, a seasoned activist and a long-valued part of CWA’s team, at its meeting on January 26. Miss Wright had been serving as Executive Vice President since September.
“Wendy is an incisive policy strategist and eloquent spokesman for the issues we all care deeply about. Her leadership in defense of the family and the most vulnerable victims of the culture war is well-known,” said Beverly LaHaye, CWA’s founder and chairman. “But, what has always impressed me most is Wendy’s consistent Christian commitment and integrity. That combined with a striking humility make a unique presence in the halls of power here in Washington and at the United Nations where she has served with such dignity.
“CWA will benefit from Wendy’s gracious acceptance of this appointment and I look forward to working closely with her.”
Since she joined CWA in 1999, Miss Wright has specialized in pro-life issues and worked with all six core areas of concern to CWA: sanctity of life, definition of the family, religious liberty, pornography, education and national sovereignty.
[More at URL]
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Left's 'Agenda' Gets Little Traction
by Janice Shaw Crouse
Human Events
Posted Jan 27, 2006
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=11959
Despite all the problems facing President Bush and the leaders of the Republican Party, liberals continue to have difficulty getting traction with their agenda. Perhaps this is because it consists largely of saying little more than "Bush is to blame." Nothing was more pathetic and farcical during the confirmation hearings of Judge Samuel Alito than the sight of aging liberal lions of the Senate misrepresenting the judge’s writings. They only embarrassed themselves and showed how beholden they were to radical special-interest groups.
Does this portend yet another ineffective effort by liberals in the 2006 congressional elections? Perhaps. It depends in part upon how well conservatives respond to the challenges ahead. One thing is certain, however: Liberals will never concede defeat. Politics is their religion, and they are not going to abandon anti-Americanism or their embrace of the culture of death.
[More at URL]
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CWA: On with the Vote-Phony Filibuster Attempt Fails
Concerned Women for America
1/30/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10019/MEDIA/misc/index.htm
Washington, D.C. – Concerned Women for America (CWA) commends the U.S. Senate for invoking cloture this afternoon, thereby halting the left’s attempt at filibustering the nomination of Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito.
“Senators did what is necessary in order to give Judge Alito an ‘up’ or ‘down’ vote tomorrow morning,” said Jan LaRue, CWA’s Chief Counsel. “The idea of filibustering a fine nominee like Judge Alito is beyond ridiculous—it’s an abuse of the advice-and-consent process and defies the will of the American people.
“There is absolutely nothing in Judge Alito’s past, present or foreseeable future that would justify the first-ever filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee in U.S. history. Everything we have learned about this man confirms the fact that he should be seated on the Supreme Court.
"We look forward to a final Senate vote tomorrow morning so that we can welcome Judge Alito as our next Supreme Court Justice.”
For Information Contact:
Stacey Holliday
(202) 488-7000
media.cwfa.org
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Eyes on the Prize
Family Research Council
January 30, 2006
http://www.frc.org/ [Top of page]
Permalink: http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA06A75#WA06A75
Beltway pundits are all buzzing about what President Bush will include in his sixth State of the Union Address on Tuesday.
I cannot emphasize strongly enough that the President must reach out to the Values Voters who put him and so many of his congressional allies in office. No better way could be found than to offer his strong support for protecting marriage. Congress needs to approve the Marriage Protection Amendment and send it to the states for ratification.
Read more on FRC Pres. Tony Perkins' Washington Update.
Brochure: The Slippery Slope of Same-Sex 'Marriage'
[More at URL]
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The Slippery Slope of Same-Sex "Marriage"
by: Timothy J. Dailey, Ph. D.
Family Research Council
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=BC04C02&v=PRINT
A Man and His Horse
In what some call a denial of a basic civil right, a Missouri man has been told he may not marry his long-term companion. Although his situation is unique, the logic of his argument is remarkably similar to that employed by advocates of homosexual marriage.
The man claims that the essential elements of marriage--love and commitment--are indeed present:"She's gorgeous. She's sweet. She's loving. I'm very proud of her. ... Deep down, way down, I'd love to have children with her."1
Why is the state of Missouri, as well as the federal government, displaying such heartlessness in denying the holy bonds of wedlock to this man and his would-be "wife"?
It seems the state of Missouri is not prepared to indulge a man who waxes eloquent about his love for a 22-year-old mare named Pixel.
[More at URL]
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FRC Calls Chafee 'No' Vote on Alito 'Pandering to Liberal Groups'
January 30, 2006 - Monday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 30, 2006 CONTACT: Amber Hildebrand, (202) 393-2100
FOR RADIO: J.P. Duffy
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06A30&f=PG03I03
Washington, D.C. - Today, Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) announced his opposition to the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito as 110th Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council, issued the following statement:
"Senator Chafee's announced opposition to Judge Alito is the worst possible form of pandering to liberal groups. In the mind of Senator Chafee, left-wing talking points take precedence over the highly regarded qualifications of a judicial nominee.
"Judge Alito represents 15 years of judicial experience as well as a fair and restrained judicial temperament. During his service, Judge Alito has sworn loyalty to the Constitution and fealty to the rule of law. In adding a political litmus test, Senator Chafee neglects the standard which has guided the confirmation process for more than 200 years, thus doing great disservice to the independence of our courts.
"Faced with an intense battle for re-election this fall, Senator Chafee must now explain to the voters of Rhode Island why he is allowing their best interests to be undermined by the radical interests lurking in Washington D.C."
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Homosexuality: A public health disaster
Posted: January 28, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By David Bass
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48542
The raging debate over homosexual marriage took another interesting turn this week when Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge M. Brooke Murdock struck down Maryland's state law defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The decision, handed down Jan. 20, claimed that Family Law §2-201 unfairly abridged the fundamental marriage rights of the nine homosexual couples who filed the lawsuit.
[More at URL]
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Eyman files initiative, referendum to reverse gay civil rights bill
BY BRAD SHANNON
THE OLYMPIAN
Long URL elided
Tim Eyman plunked down two $5 bills today to file both an initiative and a referendum that would erase anti-discrimination protections for gays contained in a bill Gov. Christine Gregoire plans to sign into law Tuesday morning.
Eyman, the Snohomish County activist who says he has qualified nine proposals for the statewide ballot, told a morning press conference at the Secretary of State's Office that voters in Washington don't want to allow "special rights" for minorities.
Although Eyman said he hadn't decided yet whether to run a referendum or initiative, which have different signature requirements and deadlines, he said voters rather than lawmakers should make the decision on the underlying law: gay rights.
[...]
He said Eyman, who previously has been known for tax work and a bit of Libertarian, had finally let people "see who he really is" -- an associate and activist with the far-right religious extremists.
Rick Forcier, executive director of Olympia-based Christian Coalition of Washington, said his group plans to support Eyman's efforts and he does not expect other groups to run separate initiatives or referenda. The coalition's help would range from volunteer signature gatherers to sending advocates door-to-door to talk about why the law needs to be overturned.
[More at URL]
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Date: 2006-01-31 03:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 05:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 09:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-31 11:59 pm (UTC)Re: Protests Over Muhammad Cartoon Grow
Date: 2006-02-01 08:57 am (UTC)Re: Protests Over Muhammad Cartoon Grow
Date: 2006-02-01 03:52 pm (UTC)Here in the US, we have fundamentalists starting to talk about these same sorts of things, talking about how you cannot "disrespect" Christianity or its symbols. In this afternoon's CWU, you'll see a story about how some groups are starting to talk about things in terms of "blasphemy," too. It's when ideas like that become the motivating factor that things get scary - and cultural-warfare relevant.