Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Feb. 9th, 2006 11:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdCANADIANS TAKE NOTE OF THE STARRED ITEM BELOW - Focus on the Family is launching an Ottawa think-tank, the entire job of which will be to churn out fundamentalist propaganda "studies." It won't be pretty and the only guide for whether something is true will be whether it fits the fundamentalist agenda, assuming the American experience is any example. You guys have a wholesale invasion of American fundamentalist organisations going on now. Don't ignore it!
Andrew Sullivan on a Christianist response to the cartoons - there should be press bans on blasphemy;
Muslim Al-Jinnah Foundation in Norway to post charges against a Norwegian newspaper who reprinted the cartoons - the charges are endangerment and blasphemy, which is illegal under Norwegian law, tho' the law has not been enforced in over 70 years - thanks for the pointer,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ravyng_yngvar;
Philosopher Daniel Dennett says science needs to study the evolutionary origins of religion; also touches on the Denmark cartoons issue: "We cannot let any group, however devout, blackmail us into silence by their expressions of hurt feelings whenever they feel that we are getting close to the truth. That is what con artists do when their marks begin to get suspicious, and that is what children do when they can't have their way, and it should be beneath the dignity of any religious group to play that card";
The Stranger, Seattle's alternative weekly, says that cartoons aren't the only thing fundamentalist Islam has problems with; again, everybody, repeat after me: rising fundamentalism is a global problem;
Focus on the Family's report on states passing anti-abortion laws to test Roe v. Wade;
FotF article on lawsuits against the Air Force Academy's new guidelines following their religious-harassment issues;
FotF hates the idea of the .xxx designation - they've got an article on Democratic support for it;
Georgia's special tax exemption for Christian Bibles (but not other religious or spiritual books) struck down;
South Dakota legislature pushes abstinence-only education; Rep. Roger Hunt (R-Brandon) says all other forms are "for the purpose of increasing sexual activity";
Air Force revises guidelines; Focus on the Family is happy with the new set;
FotF: "Community Marriage Policies Reach a Milestone";
FotF reports: don't worry, fag marriage in Massachusetts won't get any support from Bush's $100M "marriage promotion" programme; DOMA prevents it; (Another source says it's $750M in total spending);
Republican delegates re-introduce anti-marriage bill in Maryland;
"Family Institute of Connecticut" asks for permission to intervene in marriage-rights case; they feel the state Attourney General isn't being anti-gay enough in his defense of the current law;
Fundamentalists take credit for stopping stem-cell research bill in Delaware;
Concerned Women for America very upset that Colombia may legalise abortion via court challenge;
Christian Broadcasting Network story pushing the "Biblical Literacy Project" as a way to get Bible instruction back into public schools - as a literary course;
Jan LaRue of Concerned Women for America believes that John Paul Stevens will retire from the Supreme Court this summer;
National Review congratulates Phyllis Schlafly for helping defeat the ERA back in the 70s and help prevent national same-sex marriage now;
Traditional Values Coalition ACTION ITEM against anti-discrimination in California schools, calling it "pro-homosexual" - in fundamentalist rhetoric, anything not explicitly condemnational is "promoting homosexuality"; I have no idea what AB606 actually does - they're billing it as a PLOT by "homosexual groups and their liberal allies to force schools to promote homosexuality";
TVC: "New Report Exposes Collusion Among Mental Health Groups And Homosexuals";
Alabama rejects Bible Literacy Project bill;
Father who complained about Governor's School of North Carolina programme on GBLT students now says his son was "damaged" by "homosexual indoctrination" at the Governor's School;
Canada Family Action Coalition's David Gray says NO to free vote in Parliament, because he can count votes and marriage rights would be sustained; now demands a referendum; says equal treatment for marriage is not a right at all; calls same-sex marriage a "lie";
CFAC links to National Review's Stanley Kurtz decrying same-sex marriage rights; says marriage rights for same-sex couples is part of a PLOT to destroy all marriage everywhere;
CFAC follows lead of US fundamentalist evangelical groups, starts "prayer network"; intent will generally be political; riffs on "America the Beautiful" and invokes Dominionist language - did they not even bother rewriting this from American sources, except to change "America" to "Canada"?
*** Focus on the Family Canada, a division of the US-based fundamentalist Focus on the Family, opens a "think-tank" in Ottawa called "Institute of Marriage and Family Canada"; WATCH THIS ORGANISATION, CANADIANS: It's purpose will be to generate the sort of lie-filled fraud-laden fake "studies" to push the fundamentalist agenda in Ottawa that are seen down here; this is a very effective method of attack on the fundamentalist side of things and they will show no regard whatsoever for truth;
Family Research Council takes Republicans to task for not bringing up more fundamentalist issues in Congress;
FRC applauds Mississippi for it's new ban on "human cloning;" according to the story, it bans somatic cell nuclear transfer(!!), which, if true, pretty much shuts down their genetics research efforts entirely, and also outlaws some fertility treatments; if you do bioscience in Mississippi, I'd suggest moving.
----- 1 -----
Now, a Press Ban
09 Feb 2006 11:38 am
Andrew Sullivan
http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/02/now_a_press_ban.html
There's now a legal injunction in South Africa to prevent publication of cartoons already reproduced in the Muslim nation of Egypt. Here's the Christianist position in defense of banning blasphemy:
"It's blasphemy whether it is Mohammed, Jesus or a figure of any other religion depicted that way," said Rev Cyril Pillay, spokesman for the Global Network of Christian Leaders. Pillay said that while he appreciated that the press should have freedom, it should not be allowed to desecrate other religions. "Religious tolerance is of paramount importance, especially in a democracy. Muslims were offended by this cartoon so I can understand and appreciate their stance," he said.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Caricature publisher reported to police
Aftenposten (Norway)
Thursday February 09 2006
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1218975.ece
The Muslim Al-Jinnah Foundation will charge the editor of the Christian weekly Magazinet, the journal that published the controversial caricatures of the prophet Mohammed in Norway, with endangering Norwegian lives.
Editor Vebjørn Selbekk and Magazinet staff had no immediate comment on Thursday.
[...]
Mohammad said that Selbekk had endangered Norwegian lives and interests around the world by the provocative decision to publish the caricatures.
"It is frightening that one person through so-called freedom of speech can cause such damage that he nearly sets two worlds up against each other. There are limits for what expressions are acceptable, also in a democracy. This is a case for the police, it cannot be solved by the masses," Mohammad said.
Selbekk and Magazinet are also being accused of blasphemy.
"But this is really also treason," Khalid Mohammad said. "He has damaged Norway abroad. Not least, the publication has resulted in Norwegian soldiers in Afghanistan being injured. We feel for them," Mohammad said, and also noted that innocent Muslims in Norway now feel unsafe, and hat they face greater danger.
[More at URL]
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Dissecting God
Philosopher Daniel Dennett argues that America is drowning in religion -- and that faith needs to be analyzed with the tools of science.
By Gordy Slack
Salon
http://www.salon.com/books/int/2006/02/08/dennett/
Feb. 8, 2006 | Daniel C. Dennett is a big man with a big appetite for intellectual fights. A celebrated philosophy professor and the director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University, he is best known for his arguments that human consciousness and free will boil down to physical processes. When theologians, New Agers and other philosophers and scientists complain about scientific reductionism -- the effort to reduce everything, including human behavior and spirituality, to material properties -- they are complaining about Dennett. To which he retorts: "'Reductionism' has become a meaningless code word for 'I don't like that theory.'"
In 1995, with "Darwin's Dangerous Idea," Dennett provoked a firestorm of controversy for insisting that Darwin's ideas are a "universal acid" that "eats through just about every traditional concept and leaves in its wake a revolutionized world-view." Dennett exposed his own worldview in 2003, when he outed himself in the New York Times as a "bright," a fancy new term for atheist. "We brights don't believe in ghosts or elves or the Easter Bunny -- or God," he wrote.
In his new book, "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon," Dennett provokes readers to examine religion as a product of evolution rather than a transcendental force. Research into religion, he says, should be "based on empirical studies with all the controls in place, just like in medicine," and draw from biology, psychology, history and art. "I appreciate that many readers will be profoundly distrustful of the tack I am taking here," he writes. "They will see me as just another liberal professor trying to cajole them out of some of their convictions, and they are dead right about that -- that's what I am, and that's exactly what I am trying to do."
[...]
The political consequences of undermining faith are monumental, spurring riots and killings around the world. Are you -- is science -- willing to take responsibility for these deadly outcomes?
We cannot let any group, however devout, blackmail us into silence by their expressions of hurt feelings whenever they feel that we are getting close to the truth. That is what con artists do when their marks begin to get suspicious, and that is what children do when they can't have their way, and it should be beneath the dignity of any religious group to play that card. The responsibility of science is to safeguard the well-being of those it studies and to tell the truth. If people insist on taking themselves out of the arena of reasonable political discourse and mutual examination, they forfeit their right to be heard. There is no excuse for deliberately insulting anybody, but people who insist on putting their sensibilities on a hair trigger demonstrate that they prefer pity to respect.
[More at URL]
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All the Rage
Islamic Fundamentalists Don't Just Have a Problem with Cartoons, They Have a Problem with Freedom
BY BRUCE BAWER
The Stranger
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=30432
It began last September.
Danish author Kaare Bluitgen couldn’t find an illustrator for his biography of Muhammad. Fundamentalist Muslims frown on depictions of the prophet and—in one of many European cases of self-censorship since the November 2004 murder of Dutch filmmaker and Islam critic Theo van Gogh—artists feared a reaction. Europe, you see, isn’t the liberal paradise you think it is, or knew it to be 10 or 20 years ago. At this very moment, European liberalism is caught in a steadily intensifying struggle with fundamentalist Muslim censoriousness—call it creeping Sharia. Concerned about this trend and eager to make a statement about free speech, Denmark’s largest newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, invited illustrators to submit drawings of Muhammad. On September 30, the paper printed 12 of them.
[...]
When artists bait Christians, the Christians (at most) wave signs and send out press releases. When Danish Muslims saw the Muhammad cartoons, they went ballistic. Thousands protested in Copenhagen. Death threats were issued. On October 12, a group of Muslim ambassadors demanded a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. He refused. “It is so self-evidently clear what principles Danish society is based upon,” he said later, “that there is nothing to have a meeting about.”
Now, in today’s Europe—where cultural appeasement by political and media elites of the continent’s largely unintegrated and antidemocratic Muslim minority is standard practice—Fogh Rasmussen’s blunt stance was encouraging. Yet Danish Muslim leaders stepped up pressure—claiming that the cartoons had wounded the delicate sensibilities of a billion of their co-religionists around the world—and won allies. In December, Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, promised that “action” on the cartoons would be forthcoming. (Apparently free speech was not on her list of human rights.) The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers condemned the Danish media’s “intolerance.”
[...]
On the contrary, what’s happening here is that a gang of bullies—led by a country, Saudi Arabia, where Bibles are forbidden, Christians tortured, Jews routinely labeled “apes and pigs” in the state-controlled media, and apostasy from Islam punished by death—is trying to compel a tiny democracy to live by its own theocratic rules. To succumb to pressure from this gang would simply be to invite further pressure, and lead to further concessions—not just by Denmark but by all of democratic Europe. And when they’ve tamed Europe, they’ll come after America.
After all, the list of Western phenomena that offend the sensibilities of many Muslims is a long one—ranging from religious liberty, sexual equality, and the right of gay people not to have a wall dropped on them, to music, alcohol, dogs, and pork. After a few Danish cartoons, what’s next?
Make no mistake, this is no isolated incident. It’s one step in a long-term effort by extreme Muslim forces to erode Western liberties and turn free, affluent countries into mirror images of their own dysfunctional dictatorships. “Muslims have a dream of living in an Islamic society,” declared a Danish Muslim leader in 2000. “This dream will surely be fulfilled in Denmark…. We will eventually be a majority.” (Or as a T-shirt popular among young Muslims in Stockholm puts it: “2030—then we take over.”) Even after the bombings in Madrid and London and the riots in Paris, many European leaders continue to be in denial about this effort; others, as eager as Neville Chamberlain at Munich to “keep the peace,” seem already to have chosen a policy of gradual surrender, accompanied by flurries of sycophantic praise for Islam and apology for Western liberties.
[More at URL]
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STATES LOOK TO BAN OR LIMIT ABORTION
Legislators want laws in place for the day Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
February 8, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039466.cfm
Ohio, Indiana and South Dakota lawmakers plan to introduce
bills to either ban or severely limit abortions during
this year's legislative sessions.
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics for
Focus on the Family Action, said the state level is where
the issue is best decided.
[...]
South Dakota's bill would ban abortion but not prosecute
doctors who perform one to save the life of the mother.
Rep. Roger Hunt said with the confirmations of Chief
Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the U.S.
Supreme Court, now is the perfect time to pursue such
legislation.
"There's likely to be another Supreme Court justice in the
next two to three years," he said. "If this bill is
enacted and signed by the governor, it may very well be
attacked in the federal court system."
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Evangelical Association Intervenes in Religious-Freedom Lawsuit
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
February 8, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) filed a
motion today to intervene in a case that challenges the
religious liberty of students at the U.S. Air Force
Academy.
NAE argued that the plaintiffs in Weinstein v. United
States Air Force have ignored their obligations to seek
solutions outside the courts and are seeking to foist a
narrow and secularist viewpoint upon the Air Force.
Mikey Weinstein has called for the court to prohibit
essentially all religious exercise, expression and speech
from the armed services.
The Rev. Ted Haggard, president of NAE, called it a
watershed case.
"How can we ask our men and women in uniform to give their
lives extending freedom and civil liberties to oppressed
people across the globe while they are denied the very
freedoms they are fighting to secure for others?" he
asked. "The outcome of this case has tremendous
ramifications for the future of religious expression in
all branches of the military. It is our mission to protect
and defend the right of that expression."
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Read the NAE's "Declaration on
Religious Freedom for Soldiers and Military Chaplains" by
clicking the link below.
http://www.family.org/cforum/pdfs/NAE_Declaration_on_Religious_Freedom.pdf
----- 7 -----
Media Giant Supports Gay-Journalist Association
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
February 8, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
Cable news giant CNN made a $100,000 donation to the
National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA), an
endowment to support the Leroy R. Aarons Scholarship
Award, the NLGJA Web site reported.
According to NLGJA, the scholarship fund will give $5,000
a year to a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT)
college student who plans a career in journalism and "is
committed to furthering NLGJA's mission of fair and
accurate coverage of the LGBT community" -- which clearly
would mean writing stories with a pro-gay bias.
Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide, said his company
is investing in its future.
"This donation helps ensure that we not only support an
outstanding organization of journalists," he said, "but a
deep resource for hiring future CNN anchors,
correspondents and producers."
Gary Schneeberger, director of media and constituent
communications for Focus on the Family Action and a
secular newspaper reporter and editor for more than a
decade, said an objective news organization has no
business giving money to an activist organization like the
NLGJA.
"Make no mistake about it: This group exists for one
reason and one reason only -- to advance a pro-homosexual
agenda disguised as journalism through the news media,"
Schneeberger said. "The only bright side for CNN in so
blatantly catering to that agenda is that it isn't like
the network has a lot of credibility left to lose."
----- 8 -----
Tax-Free Bibles Struck Down in Peach State
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
February 8, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
A federal judge in Georgia struck down a state law that
made Bibles and related material a tax-free purchase.
According to the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the
suit was brought by Thomas Budlong, the owner of a
bookstore specializing in metaphysical and philosophical
works. He said the law discriminates against the sale of
other spiritual material.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Story ruled in favor of
Budlong. His opinion said the sales-tax exemption was
unconstitutional because it violated the separation of
church and state.
"The unique and preferential treatment the state provides
to 'religious' literature raises serious constitutional
concerns under the Establishment Clause," he said.
"Regulations which permit the government to discriminate
on the basis of the content of the message cannot be
tolerated."
Gerry Weber, attorney for the American Civil Liberties
Union, said the ruling opens the way for lawmakers to
expand the statute to include all philosophical and
religious texts, or exclude them all.
"The government can't pick and choose which faith it's
going to prefer," he said.
----- 9 -----
Abstinence Education Voted Best by Lawmakers
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
February 8, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The South Dakota House voted Tuesday to require public
schools to teach that abstinence is the only 100 percent
effective way to avoid unwanted pregnancy and sexually
transmitted diseases, The Associated Press reported.
Rep. Edward McLaughlin, R-Rapid City, opposed the bill,
saying it should be up to individual districts to decide
what is taught in sex-education classes.
"The local boards reflect the culture and the mores of the
community," he said.
Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon, told colleagues the current
curriculum focuses too much on contraceptives, with little
mention of abstinence.
"This is done, basically, for the purpose of increasing
sexual activity," he said.
Hunt added that teaching students that abstinence until
marriage is responsible behavior cuts the risk of
pregnancy and disease to zero
The bill now heads to the senate for consideration.
----- 10 -----
NEW GUIDELINES CLARIFY RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION FOR AIRMEN
Air Force says it will protect free exercise of religion.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
February 9, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039484.cfm
The U.S. Air Force released revised interim guidelines
today that clarified its policy regarding religious
expression -- a move that was applauded by pro-family
experts.
Critics claimed the expression of religion on base is
unconstitutional, while religious-liberty supporters said
faith is critical to military strength and effectiveness.
The one-page document is a more concise rendition of the
policy, aimed at clarifying the foundation for the
guidelines in light of the First Amendment -- what it
allows and what it does not.
[,,,]
Tom Minnery, senior vice president of government and
public policy at Focus on the Family Action, said the
proper application of the new guidelines will safeguard
the religious freedom guaranteed to all citizens --
military and civilian.
"We applaud these guidelines," he said. "We hope they will
bring an end to the frontal assault on the Air Force by
secularists who would make the military a wasteland of
relativism, where robust discussion of faith is
impossible."
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
Community Marriage Policies Reach a Milestone
SUMMARY: Two hundred cities now have voluntary guidelines.
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
January 9, 2006
from staff reports
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039481.cfm
Las Cruces, N.M., is the 200th city to establish a
community marriage policy -- agreements among pastors that
they will refuse to perform short-notice weddings, will
provide marital counseling to couples and assistance to
stepfamilies.
Mike McManus, the founder of Marriage Savers, has been
pushing for the policies for 20 years.
"By helping churches create a safety net under every
marriage, the church can reduce its own divorce rate to
near zero," he said. "If you get enough churches involved
in a community, you can push the divorce rate of a
community down 50 percent or more."
That's exactly what happened in Modesto, Calif., the first
city to sign on in 1986. Michael Douglass, a pastor in
Modesto, said the divorce rate dropped 57 percent after
churches agreed to the policy.
"We're not trying to be legalistic. We're just trying to
give you the best preparation -- biblically centered
preparation -- that we can give you so that you have a
lifelong and fulfilling marriage," he said. "The Community
Marriage Policy has really become part of the culture even
in the secular areas of our community."
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
Federal Money Will Not Go to Promote Gay Marriage
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
February 9, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The deficit-reduction bill signed today by President Bush
includes $500 million over five years for secular or
faith-based programs to promote and strengthen marriage --
but only marriage between a man and a woman.
According to The Associated Press, an administration
official made clear the money cannot be used to promote
same-sex marriages in Massachusetts.
Assistant Health and Human Services Secretary Wade Horn
notes that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act defines
marriage as "the union of one man and woman" for all
federal programs and services.
Horn said the law would not have been passed without the
pioneering work of Harriet and Mike McManus of Marriage
Savers. The government's Healthy Marriage Initiative is
modeled on Marriage Savers' Community Marriage Policies.
"Today, for the first time, the U.S. will dedicate a
funding stream to strengthen marriages," Horn said. "The
$100 million dollars a year would not be where it is today
if it were not for the work of the McManuses who had a
vision to better America. Their vision is that churches
need to do more to help marriage."
----- 13 -----
Maryland Lawmakers Hope For Second Chance on Marriage Protection
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
February 9, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
Legislators in Maryland may get another chance to vote on
a proposed constitutional amendment that would define
marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Last week,
Democrats shut down the General Assembly, then killed the
first version in committee.
The Maryland Gazette reported that Republican Del.
Adelaide Eckardt said the earlier bill, sponsored by
fellow Republican Del. Donald Dwyer, failed because it
outlawed civil unions. Her version does not include that
language.
"I think most people have no problem with marriage being
between one man and one woman," she said. Without the
civil union language, the bill is "far less onerous."
But critics aren't sure the proposal will get much
momentum following the failed proposal.
Del. Joseph Vallario, a Democrat and chairman of the House
Judiciary Committee, said once a measure has been voted
down, the committee rarely brings it up for discussion
again.
"We will see if there's anything worth having a hearing
on," he said.
Tres Kerns, executive director of VoteMarriage.org, said
voters should be the ones to decide on the issue.
"The bottom line is the real marriage amendment was never
voted on," he said. "There was a lot of trickery and
chicanery done there, but not the vote.
----- 14 -----
Connecticut Sees Fight to Preserve Marriage
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
February 9, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The Family Institute of Connecticut today asked the
Connecticut State Supreme Court to consider its motion to
intervene in a case that could legalize same-sex marriage
in the state.
Kerrigan vs. State of Conn., a suit filed by homosexual
activists, seeks judicial imposition of gay marriage.
Brian Brown, executive director of the institute, said the
Kerrigan case is very similar to the Goodrich case in
Massachusetts that forced same-sex marriage on that state.
"Basically what we're arguing is that we have a direct
interest in the outcome of this case -- in whether
marriage is redefined or protected in the state of
Connecticut," he said. "We're going to offer very specific
and unique arguments in the case that aren't currently
being made by our attorney general. Our attorney general
-- in his motion for summary judgment and in today's
argument -- basically said that he is not going to talk at
all about what is in the best interest of children."
Brown said that a failure to recognize that the rational
basis of marriage is that it is in the best interests of
children is a major mistake.
"We need to be in this case. We need to be representing
the majority of Connecticut," he said. "Our interests
aren't currently being served by an attorney general who
is refusing to argue the really core essentials about what
marriage is."
----- 15 -----
Delaware Refuses to Authorize Embryonic Stem-Cell Research
Concerned Women for America
2/9/2006
Grassroots network opposing the bill earns credit for victory.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10109/CWA/life/index.htm
Opponents of embryonic stem-cell research and cloning forced Delaware Senate Bill (S.B.) 80 to be "gutted" of its most important elements in order to gain passage in blue-state Delaware.
Legislators in the Delaware House of Representatives failed on February 7 to pass S.B. 80 as written, instead passing a severely reduced version of the bill. Struggling to line up the votes for passage, sponsors were forced to remove all references to human embryonic stem-cell research and the destruction of frozen in-vitro embryos from the bill, handing opponents a clear victory.
According to sponsors, S.B. 80 was based on H.R. 810, Delaware Republican Rep. Mike Castle's bill now in the U.S. Senate, but the elements most like H.R. 810 had to be removed from the bill.
Several supporters, including sponsor Rep. Deborah Hudson (R-Fairthorne) said the bill's references to embryonic stem-cell research were removed because of a powerful lobbying and advertising campaign that opposed the bill.
Rep. Hudson referenced "A Rose & a Prayer," a grassroots effort that involved Delawareans of many faiths. More than 2,400 Delawareans signed up for a total of more than 1,500 hours of prayer in opposition to S.B. 80. Also as part of the campaign, state legislators last week received 1,500 roses with cards from individual voters asking them to vote against the bill. In addition, over 10,000 Delawareans contacted their representatives to ask them to vote against the bill.
[More at URL]
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Will Abortion Become ‘Legal’ in Colombia?
Concerned Women for America
2/8/2006
By Colleen Raezler
American groups rally to inform high court of abortion’s tragic results.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10101/CWA/life/index.htm
The Colombian Constitutional Court will soon decide whether to impose abortion on that country.
Concerned Women for America (CWA) and other pro-life groups are providing to the Court information that describes Roe v. Wade’s tragic results in the United States.
“Our submission to Colombia’s Constitutional Court covers the legal fallacies of Roe, debunks the myth that abortion is necessary in the cases of rape and incest, and reveals that abortion can place a woman in jeopardy of breast cancer,” said CWA’s President Wendy Wright.
“Colombia is facing its version of Roe v. Wade. Abortion advocates are attempting to use that nation’s courts to impose abortion. We hope that the lessons learned in the U.S. will persuade Colombia not to follow the path that has led to the death of over 45 million unborn children.”
Monica Roa, a native Colombian, filed a complaint in April 2005 asking the Court to overturn the country’s pro-life laws. The court rejected the complaint in December due to procedural and technical errors, as reported by The New York Times.
Roa filed a second suit, vowing to “show them [the Court] whatever they want to see.” A main argument of this suit claims that Colombia’s pro-life laws violate international treaties.
[More at URL]
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The Bible: Coming to a Classroom Near You?
By John Jessup
Washington Correspondent
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/USnews/060208c.asp
CBN.com – WASHINGTON - The Bible is making a comeback in the classroom.
Several public schools are going to the world's best-selling book to help students learn the basics of art, history, and literature. It is part of an educational movement that is turning a lot of heads.
For decades, the Bible had been shelved from public schools, the result of court rulings on the separation of church and state. But now, the "Good Book" is being resurrected by some who say the Bible and the basics go hand in hand.
For decades, the Bible had been shelved from public schools, the result of court rulings on the separation of church and state.
But now, the “good book” is being resurrected by some who say the Bible and the basics go hand in hand.
[More at URL]
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Commentary & News Briefs
Agape Press
February 6, 2006
Compiled by Jody Brown
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/2/62006h.asp
[...]
...A pro-family activist thinks the battle over the next Supreme Court nominee could be just a few months away. Jan LaRue of Concerned Women for America expects another vacancy on the high court to occur this summer. "The speculation is that Justice John Paul Stevens will announce his retirement for the end of the term in June," she says. Stevens is considered to be one of the four liberals on the court. LaRue believes his resignation could trigger a war over the next nominee, spawning what she calls "the worst kind of desperation politics ever." It is expected that President Bush would nominate another conservative jurist -- and LaRue says she knows what would happen then. "We will see the ugly rise of the filibuster once again," says the CWA spokesperson. Justice Stevens is 85 years old and has been on the U.S. Supreme Court for 31 years. [Bill Fancher]
[More at URL]
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Phyllis Schlafly Was Right
Kathryn Jean Lopez
National Review Online
The woman has earned a few “I Told You So”s.
February 08, 2006, 7:54 a.m.
http://www.nationalreview.com/lopez/lopez200602080754.asp
Most of America's girls typically don't get to celebrate Phyllis Schlafly during "Women's History Month," but they should. Mrs. Schlafly not only had the right idea when she fought the Equal Rights Amendment during the 70s, but predictions she made back then are still accurate today.
[...]
While explaining why the big push for the federal Equal Rights Amendment ultimately failed, in her book Feminist Fantasies Schlafly reprinted some of her old objections: "ERA would put 'gay rights' into the U.S. Constitution because the word in the amendment is 'sex,' not 'women.' Eminent authorities have stated that ERA would legalize the granting of marriage licenses to same-sex couples and generally implement the gay and lesbian agenda."
And guess what? In the latest example of Schlafly's prescience, on Jan. 20, 2006, a Maryland court struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban based on the Old Line State's Equal Rights Amendment. As Jessica Echard, who works with Schlafly at Eagle Forum (the public-policy nonprofit Schlafly heads) points out, "The Maryland ERA language is very similar to the federal ERA, which refers to no discrimination based on 'sex' not 'women,' Using the term 'sex' demands same-sex marriage because banning it would be denying rights based on sex."
[More at URL]
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ACTION ALERT FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS
Traditional Values Coalition
February 2006
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2606
Faithful TVC Friends and Supporters:
We are barely 2 months into the New Year and we already find ourselves in the midst of a battle to protect our children from homosexual teachings in California’s schools! And your help is needed!!
It will be in a matter weeks that Assembly Bill 606 will have a hearing in the State Senate and be voted on by all Senators. Therefore, we must prepare now! Liberal Democrats and their pro-homosexual allies are wasting no time in their attempts to pass AB 606 into law.
In order for us to stop AB 606 we must raise adequate funds to help with our lobby efforts to defeat this bill. Your financial support today will help as we prepare for the battle ahead in the coming weeks.
Please use the link below to help TVC today!
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/pledge.php
If the homosexual groups and their liberal allies are wasting no time to force schools to promote homosexuality, we should not waste time to raise the required funds to engage them in battle as we aim to protect our children and classrooms.
HERE IS WHAT AB 606 WOULD DO:
[More at URL]
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New Report Exposes Collusion Among Mental Health Groups And Homosexuals
American Family Association
February 9, 2006
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2599
February 9, 2006 – Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, author of Homosexuality And The Politics Of Truth, published a paper on the collusion between mental health organizations and homosexual activists. The paper was presented at the National Association for Research and Therapy (NARTH) conference in November, 2005.
“The Trojan Couch: How The Mental Health Guilds Allow Medical Diagnostics, Scientific Research And Jurisprudence To Be Subverted In Lockstep With The Political Aims Of Their Gay Sub-Components,” is a devastating expose of how homosexual activists inside and outside of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association have used these organizations to promote the homosexual agenda.
Dr. Satinover proves conclusively that the two APAs routinely use pro-homosexual materials that misquote studies on homosexual behavior, use bogus studies that are seriously flawed or claim that studies say exactly the opposite of what they actually say.
[More at URL]
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Alabama House Rejects Bible Literacy Bill, Generating Mixed Reactions
By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
American Family Association
February 9, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/2/afa/92006a.asp
(AgapePress) - The Alabama House has rejected a bill that would have required public high schools offering a Bible elective course to use a controversial textbook published by the Virginia-based Bible Literacy Project (BLP).
The bill, sponsored by Democratic House Majority Leader Ken Guin, would have required public schools offering a Bible course to use the textbook The Bible and Its Influence. However, the measure was voted down 49-42 on Tuesday, with Republicans claiming the bill ignored textbook selection procedures set forth by the Alabama School Board.
Some of the lawmakers, legal analysts, and Christian activists that argued against the Alabama Bible literacy bill asserted the inappropriateness of state lawmakers mandating use of a particular text in the schools.
[More at URL]
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Dad Says His Son 'Damaged' by Homosexual Indoctrination at State-Sponsored Program
By Jim Brown
American Family Association
February 9, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/2/afa/92006e.asp
(AgapePress) - Two Christian parents say their son was a victim of homosexual indoctrination at the prestigious "Governor's School of North Carolina."
The Governor's School of North Carolina describes itself as "program for intellectually gifted high school students, integrating academic disciplines, the arts, and unique courses." But one North Carolina couple is suffering some after effects of their son's involvement in the program. Jim and Beverly Burrows say after their son attended a Governor's School seminar called "The New Gay Teenager," he began telling them he was unsure of his "sexual orientation."
The parents believe the seminar was intentionally scheduled as the last optional one before classes ended in order to leave a strong, lasting impression on the students and bypass any parental notification about the seminar.
Jim Burrows says he noticed a big difference in his otherwise normal son upon his return from the school.
"He [said he] was thinking now that he perhaps was gay -- and of course I was floored by this [pronouncement] and was, like, 'where did this come from?' This kind of came out of left field," the dad says. After questioning his son for an extended period, Burrows says he discovered the source. "I found out that this was as a result of this seminar."
[More at URL]
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Canada Family Action Coalition
February 9, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/referendum-needed.htm
Since marriage definition is not a “rights” issue, nor is it about equality, letting the public decide this issue is VERY appropriate. Even a free vote in Parliament will not likely reflect the wishes of Canadians since there are some MPs who will not vote what the their constituents want but will vote what they themselves want.
A referendum on such a critical social construct is essential.
We need a Referendum on “same-sex marriage”
By Stephen Gray
“Sexual orientation/gay rights is not in the Charter. Attempts to place it in the Charter were rejected by those who framed the Charter. Sexual orientation was not in the 1987 Meech Lake Accord nor the 1992 Charlottetown Accord. The idea of constitutionally enforceable gay rights is judge-made law from start to finish.” (Ted Morton, Winnipeg Free Press, July 3, 2003. “Gay Marriage and the decline of democracy in Canada”)
The imposition of so called “same-sex marriage” has been anti-democratic, a lie, and appears to be a perversion of politics, law and justice. It has been done without the input of ALL the people of Canada. One might say it smacks of an “open conspiracy.”
An editorial in the National Post of March 1, 2000, headlined “An open conspiracy” had a sub - headline saying “Justice Minister too close with gay lobby on same-sex marriages.” The Justice Minister at that time was Anne McLellan.
[More at URL]
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Dissolving Marriage
If everything is marriage, then nothing is.
National Review
Stanley Kurtz
February 03, 2006, 8:05 a.m.
http://www.nationalreview.com/kurtz/kurtz200602030805.asp
Canada, you don’t know the half of it. In mid-January, Canada was rocked by news that a Justice Department study had called for the decriminalization and regulation of polygamy. Actually, two government studies recommended decriminalizing polygamy. (Only one has been reported on.) And even that is only part of the story. Canadians, let me be brutally frank. You are being played for a bunch of fools by your legal-political elite. Your elites mumble a confusing jargon to your face to keep you from understanding what they really have in mind.
[More at URL]
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A Vision of Prayer
by CFAC Prayer Director, Sharon Curtis
February 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/prayer-network.htm
"If My people, who are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer offered in this place." 2 Chronicles 7:14-15.
God is inviting us on a most amazing adventure, having given us the power and the privilege to co-labor with Him to see His Kingdom come and His will be done.
Since the beginning of time it was God's desire, that we His people, would represent His heart, His desire and His rule upon the earth.
One of the most powerful ways we can do that is by agreeing with Him every day in prayer, for the nation of Canada, for those in office over us, and for all that is to come. We are His representatives and His delegated authority on earth. Through our connection with Him in prayer, we are daily interceding, agreeing, and declaring His will throughout this nation.
Won't you join us each day in this exciting adventure to see His dominion established from sea to shining sea?
Let's join together in prayers that intentionally defy the circumstances we see all around us, and let us set our agreement with heaven for God's perfect will to be done. God hears and answers our prayers just as soon as we ask them. He will manifest the answers to those prayers in the exact right time and in the exact right way.
God has Canada in His heart, and all the people of this nation in His hand. Let us stand guard over Canada, our leaders, and her peoples, as His watchmen on the wall, to see His purposes come to pass, and His goodness revealed in all things.
As John Wesley once said, "God does nothing but in answer to prayer.". Let join the heavenly cry, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to see His rule and His reign established throughout our nation.
Coming soon:
• Practical Tips on Prayer
• Current Prayer Focus
• Prayer for Government Leaders
[More at URL]
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Grand opening: Think-tank to launch next week!
Focus on the Family Canada
February 7, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/misc/020706.html
Next Thursday, February 16, marks the official opening of a new Ottawa think-tank that will undertake independent research on a broad range of issues important to Canadian families.
An initiative of Focus on the Family Canada, the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC) is mandated to conduct research and distribute its findings to various decision makers and influencers including MPs and journalists.
Focus on the Family Canada senior vice-president Derek Rogusky says the institute, which has been in the planning stages for about the past five years, will both strengthen and complement what the ministry has been attempting to do in Canada for the past 20 years.
“The IMFC will be devoted to looking at how families interact with society and public policy, and suggesting ideas [for new legislation], and Focus on the Family will continue producing resources for individual families and the challenges they face,” he says.
As IMFC executive director Dave Quist told ChristianWeek, the desire to have a faith-based think-tank located close to Parliament Hill grew out of “a general awakening by the social conservative community across Canada . . . people asking, ‘How did we get here and what can we do to strengthen family in the years ahead through policy?’”
[More at URL]
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FRC'S Tony Perkins Urges Congress To Keep Faith With Values Voters
February 8, 2006 - Wednesday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Amber Hildebrand, (202) 393-2100
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06B06
"Congress must remember that voters will reward those who stand up for those values."
- Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council
Washington, D.C. - Today, The Dallas Morning News published an op-ed by Family Research Council President Tony Perkins addressing the failure of Congress to address the values issues which swept the GOP to victory in the last election.
Family Research President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
"There were multiple factors at work in the 2004 election, but the single most notable element was the Republican Party's campaign platform. That platform energized and mobilized grass-roots America, giving rise to the famed 'values' voters.
"Since 2000, President Bush and the Republican Congress have delivered on legislation protecting the unborn, a historic first vote on a U.S. Constitutional Amendment on marriage, and putting on our courts well-qualified judges. However, many of the issues that brought social conservatives to the voting booth remain unaddressed.
"The Democratic Party's rush to charge the ruling party in Washington with creating a 'culture of corruption' misses the deeper issue that roils American voters: the corruption of culture. Corruption among our elected leaders should not and cannot be tolerated. Embarrassed elephants and dismayed donkeys are racing to reform congressional rules and lobbying laws, as if another statute on the books is the answer. The proposed reforms may very well be necessary to close a loophole or two, but reform efforts alone will not solve the real problem.
"The question that must be answered is this: Are we seeing the results of a major lapse in judgment by key members of the majority party, or are we seeing the symptoms of a much greater, systemic problem?
"2006 may very well be one of the most challenging years ever for the Republican Party. Congress must remember that voters will reward those who stand up for those values."
Visit www.frc.org to read the full op-ed in The Dallas Morning News.
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FRC Applauds Mississippi House for Approving Ban On All Human Cloning
February 9, 2006 - Thursday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 9, 2006 CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen (202) 393-2100
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06B07
Washington, D.C. - Today the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a ban on human cloning by an overwhelming vote of 108 - 4. The bill (HB 1202) prohibits the creation of cloned human embryos for research or reproduction. The bill accomplishes this by prohibiting the cloning process called somatic cell nuclear transfer, the same process used to create the cloned sheep Dolly. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
"I applaud the Mississippi House for banning the egregious practice of human cloning. The Mississippi House should be commended for recognizing that experiments involving the cloning and destruction of human embryos is unethical and have produced no such treatments. Instead of human cloning, we need to continue to support adult stem research for patients with spinal cord injury, heart damage, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and sickle cell anemia. "
-30-
Andrew Sullivan on a Christianist response to the cartoons - there should be press bans on blasphemy;
Muslim Al-Jinnah Foundation in Norway to post charges against a Norwegian newspaper who reprinted the cartoons - the charges are endangerment and blasphemy, which is illegal under Norwegian law, tho' the law has not been enforced in over 70 years - thanks for the pointer,
ravyng_yngvar;Philosopher Daniel Dennett says science needs to study the evolutionary origins of religion; also touches on the Denmark cartoons issue: "We cannot let any group, however devout, blackmail us into silence by their expressions of hurt feelings whenever they feel that we are getting close to the truth. That is what con artists do when their marks begin to get suspicious, and that is what children do when they can't have their way, and it should be beneath the dignity of any religious group to play that card";
The Stranger, Seattle's alternative weekly, says that cartoons aren't the only thing fundamentalist Islam has problems with; again, everybody, repeat after me: rising fundamentalism is a global problem;
Focus on the Family's report on states passing anti-abortion laws to test Roe v. Wade;
FotF article on lawsuits against the Air Force Academy's new guidelines following their religious-harassment issues;
FotF hates the idea of the .xxx designation - they've got an article on Democratic support for it;
Georgia's special tax exemption for Christian Bibles (but not other religious or spiritual books) struck down;
South Dakota legislature pushes abstinence-only education; Rep. Roger Hunt (R-Brandon) says all other forms are "for the purpose of increasing sexual activity";
Air Force revises guidelines; Focus on the Family is happy with the new set;
FotF: "Community Marriage Policies Reach a Milestone";
FotF reports: don't worry, fag marriage in Massachusetts won't get any support from Bush's $100M "marriage promotion" programme; DOMA prevents it; (Another source says it's $750M in total spending);
Republican delegates re-introduce anti-marriage bill in Maryland;
"Family Institute of Connecticut" asks for permission to intervene in marriage-rights case; they feel the state Attourney General isn't being anti-gay enough in his defense of the current law;
Fundamentalists take credit for stopping stem-cell research bill in Delaware;
Concerned Women for America very upset that Colombia may legalise abortion via court challenge;
Christian Broadcasting Network story pushing the "Biblical Literacy Project" as a way to get Bible instruction back into public schools - as a literary course;
Jan LaRue of Concerned Women for America believes that John Paul Stevens will retire from the Supreme Court this summer;
National Review congratulates Phyllis Schlafly for helping defeat the ERA back in the 70s and help prevent national same-sex marriage now;
Traditional Values Coalition ACTION ITEM against anti-discrimination in California schools, calling it "pro-homosexual" - in fundamentalist rhetoric, anything not explicitly condemnational is "promoting homosexuality"; I have no idea what AB606 actually does - they're billing it as a PLOT by "homosexual groups and their liberal allies to force schools to promote homosexuality";
TVC: "New Report Exposes Collusion Among Mental Health Groups And Homosexuals";
Alabama rejects Bible Literacy Project bill;
Father who complained about Governor's School of North Carolina programme on GBLT students now says his son was "damaged" by "homosexual indoctrination" at the Governor's School;
Canada Family Action Coalition's David Gray says NO to free vote in Parliament, because he can count votes and marriage rights would be sustained; now demands a referendum; says equal treatment for marriage is not a right at all; calls same-sex marriage a "lie";
CFAC links to National Review's Stanley Kurtz decrying same-sex marriage rights; says marriage rights for same-sex couples is part of a PLOT to destroy all marriage everywhere;
CFAC follows lead of US fundamentalist evangelical groups, starts "prayer network"; intent will generally be political; riffs on "America the Beautiful" and invokes Dominionist language - did they not even bother rewriting this from American sources, except to change "America" to "Canada"?
*** Focus on the Family Canada, a division of the US-based fundamentalist Focus on the Family, opens a "think-tank" in Ottawa called "Institute of Marriage and Family Canada"; WATCH THIS ORGANISATION, CANADIANS: It's purpose will be to generate the sort of lie-filled fraud-laden fake "studies" to push the fundamentalist agenda in Ottawa that are seen down here; this is a very effective method of attack on the fundamentalist side of things and they will show no regard whatsoever for truth;
Family Research Council takes Republicans to task for not bringing up more fundamentalist issues in Congress;
FRC applauds Mississippi for it's new ban on "human cloning;" according to the story, it bans somatic cell nuclear transfer(!!), which, if true, pretty much shuts down their genetics research efforts entirely, and also outlaws some fertility treatments; if you do bioscience in Mississippi, I'd suggest moving.
----- 1 -----
Now, a Press Ban
09 Feb 2006 11:38 am
Andrew Sullivan
http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/02/now_a_press_ban.html
There's now a legal injunction in South Africa to prevent publication of cartoons already reproduced in the Muslim nation of Egypt. Here's the Christianist position in defense of banning blasphemy:
"It's blasphemy whether it is Mohammed, Jesus or a figure of any other religion depicted that way," said Rev Cyril Pillay, spokesman for the Global Network of Christian Leaders. Pillay said that while he appreciated that the press should have freedom, it should not be allowed to desecrate other religions. "Religious tolerance is of paramount importance, especially in a democracy. Muslims were offended by this cartoon so I can understand and appreciate their stance," he said.
[More at URL]
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Caricature publisher reported to police
Aftenposten (Norway)
Thursday February 09 2006
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1218975.ece
The Muslim Al-Jinnah Foundation will charge the editor of the Christian weekly Magazinet, the journal that published the controversial caricatures of the prophet Mohammed in Norway, with endangering Norwegian lives.
Editor Vebjørn Selbekk and Magazinet staff had no immediate comment on Thursday.
[...]
Mohammad said that Selbekk had endangered Norwegian lives and interests around the world by the provocative decision to publish the caricatures.
"It is frightening that one person through so-called freedom of speech can cause such damage that he nearly sets two worlds up against each other. There are limits for what expressions are acceptable, also in a democracy. This is a case for the police, it cannot be solved by the masses," Mohammad said.
Selbekk and Magazinet are also being accused of blasphemy.
"But this is really also treason," Khalid Mohammad said. "He has damaged Norway abroad. Not least, the publication has resulted in Norwegian soldiers in Afghanistan being injured. We feel for them," Mohammad said, and also noted that innocent Muslims in Norway now feel unsafe, and hat they face greater danger.
[More at URL]
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Dissecting God
Philosopher Daniel Dennett argues that America is drowning in religion -- and that faith needs to be analyzed with the tools of science.
By Gordy Slack
Salon
http://www.salon.com/books/int/2006/02/08/dennett/
Feb. 8, 2006 | Daniel C. Dennett is a big man with a big appetite for intellectual fights. A celebrated philosophy professor and the director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University, he is best known for his arguments that human consciousness and free will boil down to physical processes. When theologians, New Agers and other philosophers and scientists complain about scientific reductionism -- the effort to reduce everything, including human behavior and spirituality, to material properties -- they are complaining about Dennett. To which he retorts: "'Reductionism' has become a meaningless code word for 'I don't like that theory.'"
In 1995, with "Darwin's Dangerous Idea," Dennett provoked a firestorm of controversy for insisting that Darwin's ideas are a "universal acid" that "eats through just about every traditional concept and leaves in its wake a revolutionized world-view." Dennett exposed his own worldview in 2003, when he outed himself in the New York Times as a "bright," a fancy new term for atheist. "We brights don't believe in ghosts or elves or the Easter Bunny -- or God," he wrote.
In his new book, "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon," Dennett provokes readers to examine religion as a product of evolution rather than a transcendental force. Research into religion, he says, should be "based on empirical studies with all the controls in place, just like in medicine," and draw from biology, psychology, history and art. "I appreciate that many readers will be profoundly distrustful of the tack I am taking here," he writes. "They will see me as just another liberal professor trying to cajole them out of some of their convictions, and they are dead right about that -- that's what I am, and that's exactly what I am trying to do."
[...]
The political consequences of undermining faith are monumental, spurring riots and killings around the world. Are you -- is science -- willing to take responsibility for these deadly outcomes?
We cannot let any group, however devout, blackmail us into silence by their expressions of hurt feelings whenever they feel that we are getting close to the truth. That is what con artists do when their marks begin to get suspicious, and that is what children do when they can't have their way, and it should be beneath the dignity of any religious group to play that card. The responsibility of science is to safeguard the well-being of those it studies and to tell the truth. If people insist on taking themselves out of the arena of reasonable political discourse and mutual examination, they forfeit their right to be heard. There is no excuse for deliberately insulting anybody, but people who insist on putting their sensibilities on a hair trigger demonstrate that they prefer pity to respect.
[More at URL]
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All the Rage
Islamic Fundamentalists Don't Just Have a Problem with Cartoons, They Have a Problem with Freedom
BY BRUCE BAWER
The Stranger
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=30432
It began last September.
Danish author Kaare Bluitgen couldn’t find an illustrator for his biography of Muhammad. Fundamentalist Muslims frown on depictions of the prophet and—in one of many European cases of self-censorship since the November 2004 murder of Dutch filmmaker and Islam critic Theo van Gogh—artists feared a reaction. Europe, you see, isn’t the liberal paradise you think it is, or knew it to be 10 or 20 years ago. At this very moment, European liberalism is caught in a steadily intensifying struggle with fundamentalist Muslim censoriousness—call it creeping Sharia. Concerned about this trend and eager to make a statement about free speech, Denmark’s largest newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, invited illustrators to submit drawings of Muhammad. On September 30, the paper printed 12 of them.
[...]
When artists bait Christians, the Christians (at most) wave signs and send out press releases. When Danish Muslims saw the Muhammad cartoons, they went ballistic. Thousands protested in Copenhagen. Death threats were issued. On October 12, a group of Muslim ambassadors demanded a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. He refused. “It is so self-evidently clear what principles Danish society is based upon,” he said later, “that there is nothing to have a meeting about.”
Now, in today’s Europe—where cultural appeasement by political and media elites of the continent’s largely unintegrated and antidemocratic Muslim minority is standard practice—Fogh Rasmussen’s blunt stance was encouraging. Yet Danish Muslim leaders stepped up pressure—claiming that the cartoons had wounded the delicate sensibilities of a billion of their co-religionists around the world—and won allies. In December, Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, promised that “action” on the cartoons would be forthcoming. (Apparently free speech was not on her list of human rights.) The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers condemned the Danish media’s “intolerance.”
[...]
On the contrary, what’s happening here is that a gang of bullies—led by a country, Saudi Arabia, where Bibles are forbidden, Christians tortured, Jews routinely labeled “apes and pigs” in the state-controlled media, and apostasy from Islam punished by death—is trying to compel a tiny democracy to live by its own theocratic rules. To succumb to pressure from this gang would simply be to invite further pressure, and lead to further concessions—not just by Denmark but by all of democratic Europe. And when they’ve tamed Europe, they’ll come after America.
After all, the list of Western phenomena that offend the sensibilities of many Muslims is a long one—ranging from religious liberty, sexual equality, and the right of gay people not to have a wall dropped on them, to music, alcohol, dogs, and pork. After a few Danish cartoons, what’s next?
Make no mistake, this is no isolated incident. It’s one step in a long-term effort by extreme Muslim forces to erode Western liberties and turn free, affluent countries into mirror images of their own dysfunctional dictatorships. “Muslims have a dream of living in an Islamic society,” declared a Danish Muslim leader in 2000. “This dream will surely be fulfilled in Denmark…. We will eventually be a majority.” (Or as a T-shirt popular among young Muslims in Stockholm puts it: “2030—then we take over.”) Even after the bombings in Madrid and London and the riots in Paris, many European leaders continue to be in denial about this effort; others, as eager as Neville Chamberlain at Munich to “keep the peace,” seem already to have chosen a policy of gradual surrender, accompanied by flurries of sycophantic praise for Islam and apology for Western liberties.
[More at URL]
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STATES LOOK TO BAN OR LIMIT ABORTION
Legislators want laws in place for the day Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
February 8, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039466.cfm
Ohio, Indiana and South Dakota lawmakers plan to introduce
bills to either ban or severely limit abortions during
this year's legislative sessions.
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics for
Focus on the Family Action, said the state level is where
the issue is best decided.
[...]
South Dakota's bill would ban abortion but not prosecute
doctors who perform one to save the life of the mother.
Rep. Roger Hunt said with the confirmations of Chief
Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the U.S.
Supreme Court, now is the perfect time to pursue such
legislation.
"There's likely to be another Supreme Court justice in the
next two to three years," he said. "If this bill is
enacted and signed by the governor, it may very well be
attacked in the federal court system."
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Evangelical Association Intervenes in Religious-Freedom Lawsuit
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
February 8, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) filed a
motion today to intervene in a case that challenges the
religious liberty of students at the U.S. Air Force
Academy.
NAE argued that the plaintiffs in Weinstein v. United
States Air Force have ignored their obligations to seek
solutions outside the courts and are seeking to foist a
narrow and secularist viewpoint upon the Air Force.
Mikey Weinstein has called for the court to prohibit
essentially all religious exercise, expression and speech
from the armed services.
The Rev. Ted Haggard, president of NAE, called it a
watershed case.
"How can we ask our men and women in uniform to give their
lives extending freedom and civil liberties to oppressed
people across the globe while they are denied the very
freedoms they are fighting to secure for others?" he
asked. "The outcome of this case has tremendous
ramifications for the future of religious expression in
all branches of the military. It is our mission to protect
and defend the right of that expression."
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Read the NAE's "Declaration on
Religious Freedom for Soldiers and Military Chaplains" by
clicking the link below.
http://www.family.org/cforum/pdfs/NAE_Declaration_on_Religious_Freedom.pdf
----- 7 -----
Media Giant Supports Gay-Journalist Association
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
February 8, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
Cable news giant CNN made a $100,000 donation to the
National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA), an
endowment to support the Leroy R. Aarons Scholarship
Award, the NLGJA Web site reported.
According to NLGJA, the scholarship fund will give $5,000
a year to a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT)
college student who plans a career in journalism and "is
committed to furthering NLGJA's mission of fair and
accurate coverage of the LGBT community" -- which clearly
would mean writing stories with a pro-gay bias.
Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide, said his company
is investing in its future.
"This donation helps ensure that we not only support an
outstanding organization of journalists," he said, "but a
deep resource for hiring future CNN anchors,
correspondents and producers."
Gary Schneeberger, director of media and constituent
communications for Focus on the Family Action and a
secular newspaper reporter and editor for more than a
decade, said an objective news organization has no
business giving money to an activist organization like the
NLGJA.
"Make no mistake about it: This group exists for one
reason and one reason only -- to advance a pro-homosexual
agenda disguised as journalism through the news media,"
Schneeberger said. "The only bright side for CNN in so
blatantly catering to that agenda is that it isn't like
the network has a lot of credibility left to lose."
----- 8 -----
Tax-Free Bibles Struck Down in Peach State
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
February 8, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
A federal judge in Georgia struck down a state law that
made Bibles and related material a tax-free purchase.
According to the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the
suit was brought by Thomas Budlong, the owner of a
bookstore specializing in metaphysical and philosophical
works. He said the law discriminates against the sale of
other spiritual material.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Story ruled in favor of
Budlong. His opinion said the sales-tax exemption was
unconstitutional because it violated the separation of
church and state.
"The unique and preferential treatment the state provides
to 'religious' literature raises serious constitutional
concerns under the Establishment Clause," he said.
"Regulations which permit the government to discriminate
on the basis of the content of the message cannot be
tolerated."
Gerry Weber, attorney for the American Civil Liberties
Union, said the ruling opens the way for lawmakers to
expand the statute to include all philosophical and
religious texts, or exclude them all.
"The government can't pick and choose which faith it's
going to prefer," he said.
----- 9 -----
Abstinence Education Voted Best by Lawmakers
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
February 8, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The South Dakota House voted Tuesday to require public
schools to teach that abstinence is the only 100 percent
effective way to avoid unwanted pregnancy and sexually
transmitted diseases, The Associated Press reported.
Rep. Edward McLaughlin, R-Rapid City, opposed the bill,
saying it should be up to individual districts to decide
what is taught in sex-education classes.
"The local boards reflect the culture and the mores of the
community," he said.
Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon, told colleagues the current
curriculum focuses too much on contraceptives, with little
mention of abstinence.
"This is done, basically, for the purpose of increasing
sexual activity," he said.
Hunt added that teaching students that abstinence until
marriage is responsible behavior cuts the risk of
pregnancy and disease to zero
The bill now heads to the senate for consideration.
----- 10 -----
NEW GUIDELINES CLARIFY RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION FOR AIRMEN
Air Force says it will protect free exercise of religion.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
February 9, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039484.cfm
The U.S. Air Force released revised interim guidelines
today that clarified its policy regarding religious
expression -- a move that was applauded by pro-family
experts.
Critics claimed the expression of religion on base is
unconstitutional, while religious-liberty supporters said
faith is critical to military strength and effectiveness.
The one-page document is a more concise rendition of the
policy, aimed at clarifying the foundation for the
guidelines in light of the First Amendment -- what it
allows and what it does not.
[,,,]
Tom Minnery, senior vice president of government and
public policy at Focus on the Family Action, said the
proper application of the new guidelines will safeguard
the religious freedom guaranteed to all citizens --
military and civilian.
"We applaud these guidelines," he said. "We hope they will
bring an end to the frontal assault on the Air Force by
secularists who would make the military a wasteland of
relativism, where robust discussion of faith is
impossible."
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
Community Marriage Policies Reach a Milestone
SUMMARY: Two hundred cities now have voluntary guidelines.
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
January 9, 2006
from staff reports
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039481.cfm
Las Cruces, N.M., is the 200th city to establish a
community marriage policy -- agreements among pastors that
they will refuse to perform short-notice weddings, will
provide marital counseling to couples and assistance to
stepfamilies.
Mike McManus, the founder of Marriage Savers, has been
pushing for the policies for 20 years.
"By helping churches create a safety net under every
marriage, the church can reduce its own divorce rate to
near zero," he said. "If you get enough churches involved
in a community, you can push the divorce rate of a
community down 50 percent or more."
That's exactly what happened in Modesto, Calif., the first
city to sign on in 1986. Michael Douglass, a pastor in
Modesto, said the divorce rate dropped 57 percent after
churches agreed to the policy.
"We're not trying to be legalistic. We're just trying to
give you the best preparation -- biblically centered
preparation -- that we can give you so that you have a
lifelong and fulfilling marriage," he said. "The Community
Marriage Policy has really become part of the culture even
in the secular areas of our community."
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
Federal Money Will Not Go to Promote Gay Marriage
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
February 9, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The deficit-reduction bill signed today by President Bush
includes $500 million over five years for secular or
faith-based programs to promote and strengthen marriage --
but only marriage between a man and a woman.
According to The Associated Press, an administration
official made clear the money cannot be used to promote
same-sex marriages in Massachusetts.
Assistant Health and Human Services Secretary Wade Horn
notes that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act defines
marriage as "the union of one man and woman" for all
federal programs and services.
Horn said the law would not have been passed without the
pioneering work of Harriet and Mike McManus of Marriage
Savers. The government's Healthy Marriage Initiative is
modeled on Marriage Savers' Community Marriage Policies.
"Today, for the first time, the U.S. will dedicate a
funding stream to strengthen marriages," Horn said. "The
$100 million dollars a year would not be where it is today
if it were not for the work of the McManuses who had a
vision to better America. Their vision is that churches
need to do more to help marriage."
----- 13 -----
Maryland Lawmakers Hope For Second Chance on Marriage Protection
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
February 9, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
Legislators in Maryland may get another chance to vote on
a proposed constitutional amendment that would define
marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Last week,
Democrats shut down the General Assembly, then killed the
first version in committee.
The Maryland Gazette reported that Republican Del.
Adelaide Eckardt said the earlier bill, sponsored by
fellow Republican Del. Donald Dwyer, failed because it
outlawed civil unions. Her version does not include that
language.
"I think most people have no problem with marriage being
between one man and one woman," she said. Without the
civil union language, the bill is "far less onerous."
But critics aren't sure the proposal will get much
momentum following the failed proposal.
Del. Joseph Vallario, a Democrat and chairman of the House
Judiciary Committee, said once a measure has been voted
down, the committee rarely brings it up for discussion
again.
"We will see if there's anything worth having a hearing
on," he said.
Tres Kerns, executive director of VoteMarriage.org, said
voters should be the ones to decide on the issue.
"The bottom line is the real marriage amendment was never
voted on," he said. "There was a lot of trickery and
chicanery done there, but not the vote.
----- 14 -----
Connecticut Sees Fight to Preserve Marriage
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
February 9, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The Family Institute of Connecticut today asked the
Connecticut State Supreme Court to consider its motion to
intervene in a case that could legalize same-sex marriage
in the state.
Kerrigan vs. State of Conn., a suit filed by homosexual
activists, seeks judicial imposition of gay marriage.
Brian Brown, executive director of the institute, said the
Kerrigan case is very similar to the Goodrich case in
Massachusetts that forced same-sex marriage on that state.
"Basically what we're arguing is that we have a direct
interest in the outcome of this case -- in whether
marriage is redefined or protected in the state of
Connecticut," he said. "We're going to offer very specific
and unique arguments in the case that aren't currently
being made by our attorney general. Our attorney general
-- in his motion for summary judgment and in today's
argument -- basically said that he is not going to talk at
all about what is in the best interest of children."
Brown said that a failure to recognize that the rational
basis of marriage is that it is in the best interests of
children is a major mistake.
"We need to be in this case. We need to be representing
the majority of Connecticut," he said. "Our interests
aren't currently being served by an attorney general who
is refusing to argue the really core essentials about what
marriage is."
----- 15 -----
Delaware Refuses to Authorize Embryonic Stem-Cell Research
Concerned Women for America
2/9/2006
Grassroots network opposing the bill earns credit for victory.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10109/CWA/life/index.htm
Opponents of embryonic stem-cell research and cloning forced Delaware Senate Bill (S.B.) 80 to be "gutted" of its most important elements in order to gain passage in blue-state Delaware.
Legislators in the Delaware House of Representatives failed on February 7 to pass S.B. 80 as written, instead passing a severely reduced version of the bill. Struggling to line up the votes for passage, sponsors were forced to remove all references to human embryonic stem-cell research and the destruction of frozen in-vitro embryos from the bill, handing opponents a clear victory.
According to sponsors, S.B. 80 was based on H.R. 810, Delaware Republican Rep. Mike Castle's bill now in the U.S. Senate, but the elements most like H.R. 810 had to be removed from the bill.
Several supporters, including sponsor Rep. Deborah Hudson (R-Fairthorne) said the bill's references to embryonic stem-cell research were removed because of a powerful lobbying and advertising campaign that opposed the bill.
Rep. Hudson referenced "A Rose & a Prayer," a grassroots effort that involved Delawareans of many faiths. More than 2,400 Delawareans signed up for a total of more than 1,500 hours of prayer in opposition to S.B. 80. Also as part of the campaign, state legislators last week received 1,500 roses with cards from individual voters asking them to vote against the bill. In addition, over 10,000 Delawareans contacted their representatives to ask them to vote against the bill.
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
Will Abortion Become ‘Legal’ in Colombia?
Concerned Women for America
2/8/2006
By Colleen Raezler
American groups rally to inform high court of abortion’s tragic results.
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10101/CWA/life/index.htm
The Colombian Constitutional Court will soon decide whether to impose abortion on that country.
Concerned Women for America (CWA) and other pro-life groups are providing to the Court information that describes Roe v. Wade’s tragic results in the United States.
“Our submission to Colombia’s Constitutional Court covers the legal fallacies of Roe, debunks the myth that abortion is necessary in the cases of rape and incest, and reveals that abortion can place a woman in jeopardy of breast cancer,” said CWA’s President Wendy Wright.
“Colombia is facing its version of Roe v. Wade. Abortion advocates are attempting to use that nation’s courts to impose abortion. We hope that the lessons learned in the U.S. will persuade Colombia not to follow the path that has led to the death of over 45 million unborn children.”
Monica Roa, a native Colombian, filed a complaint in April 2005 asking the Court to overturn the country’s pro-life laws. The court rejected the complaint in December due to procedural and technical errors, as reported by The New York Times.
Roa filed a second suit, vowing to “show them [the Court] whatever they want to see.” A main argument of this suit claims that Colombia’s pro-life laws violate international treaties.
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
The Bible: Coming to a Classroom Near You?
By John Jessup
Washington Correspondent
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/USnews/060208c.asp
CBN.com – WASHINGTON - The Bible is making a comeback in the classroom.
Several public schools are going to the world's best-selling book to help students learn the basics of art, history, and literature. It is part of an educational movement that is turning a lot of heads.
For decades, the Bible had been shelved from public schools, the result of court rulings on the separation of church and state. But now, the "Good Book" is being resurrected by some who say the Bible and the basics go hand in hand.
For decades, the Bible had been shelved from public schools, the result of court rulings on the separation of church and state.
But now, the “good book” is being resurrected by some who say the Bible and the basics go hand in hand.
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
Commentary & News Briefs
Agape Press
February 6, 2006
Compiled by Jody Brown
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/2/62006h.asp
[...]
...A pro-family activist thinks the battle over the next Supreme Court nominee could be just a few months away. Jan LaRue of Concerned Women for America expects another vacancy on the high court to occur this summer. "The speculation is that Justice John Paul Stevens will announce his retirement for the end of the term in June," she says. Stevens is considered to be one of the four liberals on the court. LaRue believes his resignation could trigger a war over the next nominee, spawning what she calls "the worst kind of desperation politics ever." It is expected that President Bush would nominate another conservative jurist -- and LaRue says she knows what would happen then. "We will see the ugly rise of the filibuster once again," says the CWA spokesperson. Justice Stevens is 85 years old and has been on the U.S. Supreme Court for 31 years. [Bill Fancher]
[More at URL]
----- 19 -----
Phyllis Schlafly Was Right
Kathryn Jean Lopez
National Review Online
The woman has earned a few “I Told You So”s.
February 08, 2006, 7:54 a.m.
http://www.nationalreview.com/lopez/lopez200602080754.asp
Most of America's girls typically don't get to celebrate Phyllis Schlafly during "Women's History Month," but they should. Mrs. Schlafly not only had the right idea when she fought the Equal Rights Amendment during the 70s, but predictions she made back then are still accurate today.
[...]
While explaining why the big push for the federal Equal Rights Amendment ultimately failed, in her book Feminist Fantasies Schlafly reprinted some of her old objections: "ERA would put 'gay rights' into the U.S. Constitution because the word in the amendment is 'sex,' not 'women.' Eminent authorities have stated that ERA would legalize the granting of marriage licenses to same-sex couples and generally implement the gay and lesbian agenda."
And guess what? In the latest example of Schlafly's prescience, on Jan. 20, 2006, a Maryland court struck down the state's same-sex marriage ban based on the Old Line State's Equal Rights Amendment. As Jessica Echard, who works with Schlafly at Eagle Forum (the public-policy nonprofit Schlafly heads) points out, "The Maryland ERA language is very similar to the federal ERA, which refers to no discrimination based on 'sex' not 'women,' Using the term 'sex' demands same-sex marriage because banning it would be denying rights based on sex."
[More at URL]
----- 20 -----
ACTION ALERT FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS
Traditional Values Coalition
February 2006
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2606
Faithful TVC Friends and Supporters:
We are barely 2 months into the New Year and we already find ourselves in the midst of a battle to protect our children from homosexual teachings in California’s schools! And your help is needed!!
It will be in a matter weeks that Assembly Bill 606 will have a hearing in the State Senate and be voted on by all Senators. Therefore, we must prepare now! Liberal Democrats and their pro-homosexual allies are wasting no time in their attempts to pass AB 606 into law.
In order for us to stop AB 606 we must raise adequate funds to help with our lobby efforts to defeat this bill. Your financial support today will help as we prepare for the battle ahead in the coming weeks.
Please use the link below to help TVC today!
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/pledge.php
If the homosexual groups and their liberal allies are wasting no time to force schools to promote homosexuality, we should not waste time to raise the required funds to engage them in battle as we aim to protect our children and classrooms.
HERE IS WHAT AB 606 WOULD DO:
[More at URL]
----- 21 -----
New Report Exposes Collusion Among Mental Health Groups And Homosexuals
American Family Association
February 9, 2006
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2599
February 9, 2006 – Dr. Jeffrey Satinover, author of Homosexuality And The Politics Of Truth, published a paper on the collusion between mental health organizations and homosexual activists. The paper was presented at the National Association for Research and Therapy (NARTH) conference in November, 2005.
“The Trojan Couch: How The Mental Health Guilds Allow Medical Diagnostics, Scientific Research And Jurisprudence To Be Subverted In Lockstep With The Political Aims Of Their Gay Sub-Components,” is a devastating expose of how homosexual activists inside and outside of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association have used these organizations to promote the homosexual agenda.
Dr. Satinover proves conclusively that the two APAs routinely use pro-homosexual materials that misquote studies on homosexual behavior, use bogus studies that are seriously flawed or claim that studies say exactly the opposite of what they actually say.
[More at URL]
----- 22 -----
Alabama House Rejects Bible Literacy Bill, Generating Mixed Reactions
By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
American Family Association
February 9, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/2/afa/92006a.asp
(AgapePress) - The Alabama House has rejected a bill that would have required public high schools offering a Bible elective course to use a controversial textbook published by the Virginia-based Bible Literacy Project (BLP).
The bill, sponsored by Democratic House Majority Leader Ken Guin, would have required public schools offering a Bible course to use the textbook The Bible and Its Influence. However, the measure was voted down 49-42 on Tuesday, with Republicans claiming the bill ignored textbook selection procedures set forth by the Alabama School Board.
Some of the lawmakers, legal analysts, and Christian activists that argued against the Alabama Bible literacy bill asserted the inappropriateness of state lawmakers mandating use of a particular text in the schools.
[More at URL]
----- 23 -----
Dad Says His Son 'Damaged' by Homosexual Indoctrination at State-Sponsored Program
By Jim Brown
American Family Association
February 9, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/2/afa/92006e.asp
(AgapePress) - Two Christian parents say their son was a victim of homosexual indoctrination at the prestigious "Governor's School of North Carolina."
The Governor's School of North Carolina describes itself as "program for intellectually gifted high school students, integrating academic disciplines, the arts, and unique courses." But one North Carolina couple is suffering some after effects of their son's involvement in the program. Jim and Beverly Burrows say after their son attended a Governor's School seminar called "The New Gay Teenager," he began telling them he was unsure of his "sexual orientation."
The parents believe the seminar was intentionally scheduled as the last optional one before classes ended in order to leave a strong, lasting impression on the students and bypass any parental notification about the seminar.
Jim Burrows says he noticed a big difference in his otherwise normal son upon his return from the school.
"He [said he] was thinking now that he perhaps was gay -- and of course I was floored by this [pronouncement] and was, like, 'where did this come from?' This kind of came out of left field," the dad says. After questioning his son for an extended period, Burrows says he discovered the source. "I found out that this was as a result of this seminar."
[More at URL]
----- 24 -----
Canada Family Action Coalition
February 9, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/referendum-needed.htm
Since marriage definition is not a “rights” issue, nor is it about equality, letting the public decide this issue is VERY appropriate. Even a free vote in Parliament will not likely reflect the wishes of Canadians since there are some MPs who will not vote what the their constituents want but will vote what they themselves want.
A referendum on such a critical social construct is essential.
We need a Referendum on “same-sex marriage”
By Stephen Gray
“Sexual orientation/gay rights is not in the Charter. Attempts to place it in the Charter were rejected by those who framed the Charter. Sexual orientation was not in the 1987 Meech Lake Accord nor the 1992 Charlottetown Accord. The idea of constitutionally enforceable gay rights is judge-made law from start to finish.” (Ted Morton, Winnipeg Free Press, July 3, 2003. “Gay Marriage and the decline of democracy in Canada”)
The imposition of so called “same-sex marriage” has been anti-democratic, a lie, and appears to be a perversion of politics, law and justice. It has been done without the input of ALL the people of Canada. One might say it smacks of an “open conspiracy.”
An editorial in the National Post of March 1, 2000, headlined “An open conspiracy” had a sub - headline saying “Justice Minister too close with gay lobby on same-sex marriages.” The Justice Minister at that time was Anne McLellan.
[More at URL]
----- 25 -----
Dissolving Marriage
If everything is marriage, then nothing is.
National Review
Stanley Kurtz
February 03, 2006, 8:05 a.m.
http://www.nationalreview.com/kurtz/kurtz200602030805.asp
Canada, you don’t know the half of it. In mid-January, Canada was rocked by news that a Justice Department study had called for the decriminalization and regulation of polygamy. Actually, two government studies recommended decriminalizing polygamy. (Only one has been reported on.) And even that is only part of the story. Canadians, let me be brutally frank. You are being played for a bunch of fools by your legal-political elite. Your elites mumble a confusing jargon to your face to keep you from understanding what they really have in mind.
[More at URL]
----- 26 -----
A Vision of Prayer
by CFAC Prayer Director, Sharon Curtis
February 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/prayer-network.htm
"If My people, who are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer offered in this place." 2 Chronicles 7:14-15.
God is inviting us on a most amazing adventure, having given us the power and the privilege to co-labor with Him to see His Kingdom come and His will be done.
Since the beginning of time it was God's desire, that we His people, would represent His heart, His desire and His rule upon the earth.
One of the most powerful ways we can do that is by agreeing with Him every day in prayer, for the nation of Canada, for those in office over us, and for all that is to come. We are His representatives and His delegated authority on earth. Through our connection with Him in prayer, we are daily interceding, agreeing, and declaring His will throughout this nation.
Won't you join us each day in this exciting adventure to see His dominion established from sea to shining sea?
Let's join together in prayers that intentionally defy the circumstances we see all around us, and let us set our agreement with heaven for God's perfect will to be done. God hears and answers our prayers just as soon as we ask them. He will manifest the answers to those prayers in the exact right time and in the exact right way.
God has Canada in His heart, and all the people of this nation in His hand. Let us stand guard over Canada, our leaders, and her peoples, as His watchmen on the wall, to see His purposes come to pass, and His goodness revealed in all things.
As John Wesley once said, "God does nothing but in answer to prayer.". Let join the heavenly cry, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to see His rule and His reign established throughout our nation.
Coming soon:
• Practical Tips on Prayer
• Current Prayer Focus
• Prayer for Government Leaders
[More at URL]
----- 27 -----
Grand opening: Think-tank to launch next week!
Focus on the Family Canada
February 7, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/misc/020706.html
Next Thursday, February 16, marks the official opening of a new Ottawa think-tank that will undertake independent research on a broad range of issues important to Canadian families.
An initiative of Focus on the Family Canada, the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC) is mandated to conduct research and distribute its findings to various decision makers and influencers including MPs and journalists.
Focus on the Family Canada senior vice-president Derek Rogusky says the institute, which has been in the planning stages for about the past five years, will both strengthen and complement what the ministry has been attempting to do in Canada for the past 20 years.
“The IMFC will be devoted to looking at how families interact with society and public policy, and suggesting ideas [for new legislation], and Focus on the Family will continue producing resources for individual families and the challenges they face,” he says.
As IMFC executive director Dave Quist told ChristianWeek, the desire to have a faith-based think-tank located close to Parliament Hill grew out of “a general awakening by the social conservative community across Canada . . . people asking, ‘How did we get here and what can we do to strengthen family in the years ahead through policy?’”
[More at URL]
----- 28 -----
FRC'S Tony Perkins Urges Congress To Keep Faith With Values Voters
February 8, 2006 - Wednesday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Amber Hildebrand, (202) 393-2100
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06B06
"Congress must remember that voters will reward those who stand up for those values."
- Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council
Washington, D.C. - Today, The Dallas Morning News published an op-ed by Family Research Council President Tony Perkins addressing the failure of Congress to address the values issues which swept the GOP to victory in the last election.
Family Research President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
"There were multiple factors at work in the 2004 election, but the single most notable element was the Republican Party's campaign platform. That platform energized and mobilized grass-roots America, giving rise to the famed 'values' voters.
"Since 2000, President Bush and the Republican Congress have delivered on legislation protecting the unborn, a historic first vote on a U.S. Constitutional Amendment on marriage, and putting on our courts well-qualified judges. However, many of the issues that brought social conservatives to the voting booth remain unaddressed.
"The Democratic Party's rush to charge the ruling party in Washington with creating a 'culture of corruption' misses the deeper issue that roils American voters: the corruption of culture. Corruption among our elected leaders should not and cannot be tolerated. Embarrassed elephants and dismayed donkeys are racing to reform congressional rules and lobbying laws, as if another statute on the books is the answer. The proposed reforms may very well be necessary to close a loophole or two, but reform efforts alone will not solve the real problem.
"The question that must be answered is this: Are we seeing the results of a major lapse in judgment by key members of the majority party, or are we seeing the symptoms of a much greater, systemic problem?
"2006 may very well be one of the most challenging years ever for the Republican Party. Congress must remember that voters will reward those who stand up for those values."
Visit www.frc.org to read the full op-ed in The Dallas Morning News.
----- 29 -----
FRC Applauds Mississippi House for Approving Ban On All Human Cloning
February 9, 2006 - Thursday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 9, 2006 CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen (202) 393-2100
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06B07
Washington, D.C. - Today the Mississippi House of Representatives passed a ban on human cloning by an overwhelming vote of 108 - 4. The bill (HB 1202) prohibits the creation of cloned human embryos for research or reproduction. The bill accomplishes this by prohibiting the cloning process called somatic cell nuclear transfer, the same process used to create the cloned sheep Dolly. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
"I applaud the Mississippi House for banning the egregious practice of human cloning. The Mississippi House should be commended for recognizing that experiments involving the cloning and destruction of human embryos is unethical and have produced no such treatments. Instead of human cloning, we need to continue to support adult stem research for patients with spinal cord injury, heart damage, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and sickle cell anemia. "
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![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-02-10 01:36 pm (UTC)I've often wondered about the coincidence that humans developed religion and culture during the narrow slice of time (geologically speaking) when the Moon is the right distance from Earth to exactly block the sun and produce spectacular solar eclipses.
I suspect having the daytime sky turn dark for several minutes would have a stimulating effect.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-10 01:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-10 04:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-10 05:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-10 05:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-10 09:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-12 03:29 pm (UTC)It's a very good read, pretty hilarious, but also just as applicable today as when it was written back in 1931 (I've been a bit confused by the different years I've found, but I assume that the speech was held in 1931, and the acquittal was in 1933).
It's a bit long to translate it all, but I've been working on Part I. After my finishing touches, I'll put it in my LiveJournal.