Today's Cultural Warfare Update

[solarbird]

Focus on the Family on expected "attack" on South Dakota - specifically, the upcoming legal challenge to their abortion ban; includes ACTION ITEM to thank governor, two key legislators;

FotF condemns adoption by GBLT people, dismisses research showing children raised by same-sex parents results in the same outcomes as opposite-gender parents;

FotF promotes Ohio library trustee to get gay-topics paper pulled out of library;

San Francisco is not welcoming towards the fundamentalist-organised "Battle Cry for a Generation" rally; the author, an advisor to the Bush administration on youth issues, claims that "Satan is using porn in an all-out war to steal the souls of our young people";

Christian Broadcasting Network story promoting "Battle Cry for a Generation", from which the above quote comes;

Material from the "Battle Cry" website, specifically a section on "GOD'S ARMY: THE BATTLE CRY COALITION"; it actually seems to be mostly about porn and to a lesser degree teen evanglisation, but the website is exceptionally vague in most ways - well, except for its iconography;

FotF attacks medical uses of marijuana in a scare-quote-laden newsbrief;

Concerned Women for America links to WorldNetDaily article condemning report urging laws barring adoption by GBLT people be repealed; CWA's Robert Knight quoted;

CWA attacks Daniel Henninger, who has criticised the political class - particularly social conservatives - for focusing on abortion and GBLT people to the exclusion of everything else, resulting in a general increase in corruption and massive ethical lapses in other moral and ethical areas;

American Family Association ACTION ITEM to demand fines against Fox Sports for not using a seven-second delay at a NASCAR event which resulted in the word "shit" being heard over the air;

Florida State Supreme Court upholds language of an upcoming Florida anti-marriage, anti-civil-unions amendment;

Christian Coalition of Alabama promises full abortion ban to be introduced every legislative session henceforth, hoping to pass it when they have a Republican majority in both the Alabama House and Senate (they currently have neither);

Faith and Freedom Network continues shoveling out anti-GBLT-marriage-rights talking points.


----- 1 -----
S.D. ABORTION BAN SPONSORS BRACED FOR ATTACK
The law's backers say they will not go down without a fight.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
by Pete Winn, associate editor
March 27, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039973.cfm

SUMMARY: The pro-abortion crowd is intent on demolishing
South Dakota's ban on all forms of abortion. But the law's
backers say it did not spring up on a whim -- and it won't
go down easily.

Abortion activists have launched their expected attack on
South Dakota's abortion ban, a law widely considered a
direct challenge to Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court
decision that legalized abortion 33 years ago.

The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, a
pro-abortion group, announced plans last week to place the
issue before voters on the November ballot. The group
needs to get 16,000 valid signatures for a referendum to
overturn the law.

In addition, Planned Parenthood, the state's largest
abortion provider, is expected to launch a legal challenge
in the federal courts soon.

At the same time, a South Dakota Indian tribe, the Oglala
Sioux, said last week it will open an abortion clinic on
tribal lands, one which would not be subject to the ban
because of Indian sovereignty.

These actions are hardly surprising. When Gov. Mike Rounds
signed the bill into law in February, he issued a written
statement saying he expected it to be tied up in court for
years and not take effect at all unless the U.S. Supreme
Court upholds it.

[...]

TAKE ACTION: No matter what state you live in, you can
thank the pro-life South Dakota officials mentioned in
this story for their courage in banning abortion in their
state. Click the links below each name for contact
information, including an easy-to-use e-mail form.

Gov. Mike Rounds
http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/bio/?id=8031&lvl=S&chamber=G

Rep. Roger Hunt
http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/bio/?id=146082

Sen. Lee Schoenbeck
http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/bio/?id=132792

[More at URL]


----- 2 -----
GAY-ADOPTION DEBATE HEATS UP
Group says same-sex adoption should be OK'd -- despite no evidence of effects.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
March 27, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039964.cfm

SUMMARY: Advocacy group says same-sex adoption should be
allowed -- despite absence of evidence of how kids are
affected.

A new report from an adoption-advocacy group says
prohibiting homosexuals from becoming adoptive parents is
bad for the tens of thousands of children who are waiting
for homes.

But while the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
supports the removal of all obstacles to the process,
there is a lack of research on how homosexual households
affect kids.

The group's report concludes that there is no harm in
placing children with same-sex couples. But Adam Pertman,
executive director of the institute, admitted there may
not be enough research to back that up.

"The research into this subject of gay and lesbian
parenting and especially adoptive parenting is really
quite limited," he said.

Still, he said his group's research showed no detrimental
effects. Dr. Bill Maier, psychologist in residence at
Focus on the Family, questioned those findings.

[More at URL]


----- 3 -----
BATTLE BREWS OVER GAY PAPER IN OHIO LIBRARY
One trustee wants the Outlook Weekly removed from shelves.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
March 27, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039963.cfm

SUMMARY: One trustee wants the Outlook Weekly removed from
shelves.

Walk into the Upper Arlington, Ohio, Public Library and
you'll be confronted by a gay newspaper that routinely
contains graphic sexual content. One library trustee wants
the Outlook Weekly thrown out.

Bryce Kurfees is concerned that young eyes could get more
than they can handle from the Outlook. After all, the
library shares its parking lot with an elementary school
just 100 yards away, so he'd like to reduce the
circulation of the paper by at least one.

[More at URL]


----- 4 -----
San Francisco Jeers Teenage Christians
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
March 27, 2006

The City by the Bay is fast becoming America's most
anti-religious and bigoted city.

[Received in email; no URL]

For the second time in as many weeks, San Francisco was
downright unfriendly to Christians.

This time, it was teenagers. More than 25,000 evangelical
Christian teens met in San Francisco on Friday and
Saturday for a two-day rally at AT&T Park. The youth
rally, Teen Mania's "Battle Cry for a Generation," focused
on the sexualization of culture -- and encouraged teens to
stand for virtue.

Apparently that message was so repugnant to the San
Francisco Board of Supervisors that it passed a resolution
condemning the Christian youth rally as an "act of
provocation." The supervisors also called it an "anti-gay,
anti-choice organization" that "aimed to negatively
influence the politics of America's most tolerant and
progressive city."

Assemblyman Mark Leno, the homosexual activist who
represents San Francisco in the California Assembly, also
told an audience of gays protesting the meeting that the
"fundamentalist" teens were "loud," "obnoxious" and
"disgusting" and "should get out of San Francisco."

Teen Mania leader Ron Luce said this was the first time
one of his rallies has been officially condemned.

But this is hardly the first anti-religious act to take
place in a city named for St. Francis of Assisi. Just last
week, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution
condemning the Roman Catholic Church as a "foreign power"
and telling San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer to
flout the Vatican and support homosexual adoption. The
archbishop declined to do so.


----- 5 -----
Fatal Vision: Teens Lured by Pornography
By Wendy Griffith
CBN News Sr. Reporter

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/news/050607a.asp

CBN.com – (CBN News) - Kids today are hit from everywhere with salacious junk -- from video games, to MTV to the Internet. Teens cannot seem to escape trashy pictures, even hard-core pornography. But do today's teens feel as threatened by this sexually-charged world as some of the older generation do? Some young people say sex, even porn, is just part of the culture now.

Teenager Adrien said, “I feel sort of desensitized to it, ‘cause I grew up with it and it's everywhere. And I guess I feel like it doesn't affect me, but I'm sure it does."

[...]

Charlie, who gave his life to Jesus Christ in prison, and now speaks out against porn, and says it is not a coincidence that 85 percent of all sex offenders behind bars used pornography.

But despite this alarming statistic, the media keeps pushing porn in our children's faces, so says Ron Luce of Teen Mania Ministries. In his new book, "The Battle Cry for a Generation,” Luce says that Satan is using porn in an all-out war to steal the souls of our young people.

[More at URL]


----- 6 -----
Battle Cry website (Battle Cry for a Generation)
Online as of March 27, 2006

http://www.battlecry.com/army.php

GOD'S ARMY

GOD'S ARMY: THE BATTLE CRY COALITION
The Battle Cry Coalition is your opportunity to engage, take action and make a difference. Whether you are a senior pastor, youth leader, parent, concerned adult or teen, there is a Battle Plan for you to fully engage. Enlist in the battle today and help the collation reach its goals. Over the next five years the Coalition will:

Have 100,000 registered and engaged churches
Enlist one million registered and engaged individuals
Grow all 100,000 youth groups to 300 teens each
Reach 31 million Teens for Christ

CHOOSE YOUR BATTLE PLAN
You can start helping the coalition by creating your own Battle Plan. Whether you're a teen or a senior pastor, there's a custom Battle Plan for you.

[More at URL]


----- 7 -----
Medical Marijuana in 9th Circuit's Hands
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
March 27, 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

Though the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled against
the "medical" use of marijuana, those who want the right
to freely smoke pot have gone back to court to the 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

A three-judge panel of the notoriously liberal court that
found the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional is hearing
a case today that will determine whether marijuana is
approved if it is the only viable option to keep a patient
alive or free from excruciating pain.

In 1996, California became one of the first states in the
nation to legalize marijuana for medical usage, but in
2001, the Supreme Court ruled that specially created
medical marijuana "clinics" could not dispense pot. Then,
last June, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal
government could prosecute medical marijuana dealers and
suppliers under federal law.

The current case is an attempt to go through a loophole
that Justice Clarence Thomas left in his 2001 ruling.


----- 8 -----
Homosexual adoption report
written by 'pro-gay advocate'
Associated Press doesn't disclose
bias of controversial policy's author
Posted: March 25, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49434

"Adoption Institute Supports Gay Parents," trumpets the headline of the Associated Press report – followed by "Major Adoption Institute Issues Report That Says Blocking Gay Adoption Keeps Kids in Foster Care."

Quoting the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute as advising adoption agencies to energetically recruit homosexuals and lesbians, the report gives the impression America's adoption industry has turned clearly in the direction of not only accepting, but strongly promoting, homosexual adoption.

"Laws and policies that preclude adoption by gay or lesbian parents disadvantage the tens of thousands of children mired in the foster care system who need permanent, loving homes," the adoption organization said.

However, as J. Richard Pearcey reveals in his Pearcey Report, the pro-homosexual adoption report was written by a well-known pro-"gay" advocate.

[...]

"Homosexual activists' handprints are all over this one," adds Robert Knight, director of the Culture & Family Institute, part of Concerned Women for America. "Take it with a grain of salt. They funded it and will no doubt promote it, hoping the public will be too distracted to check its pedigree."

[More at URL]


----- 9 -----
Sexual Politics and Walking the Line
Concerned Women for America
3/27/2006
By Janice Shaw Crouse

Are moral values a smorgasbord from which you can pick and choose?

http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10402/BLI/dotcommentary/index.htm

I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line

There’s a new theory about the reason for cultural disintegration in America – political preoccupation with sexual boundaries has smothered other ethical formation. Here is the argument: Debating values in sexual relationships shortchanges training about right and wrong in business and politics. Recently, this dichotomy was presented in the Wall Street Journal buttressed by other opinions claiming that the nation’s political focus on abortion and gay rights is detrimental to the formation of other, presumably more essential, ethical and religious principles.

Daniel Henninger’s opinion editorial, “There's more to morality than the politics of sex,” takes a look at the erosion of ethics in business and politics and comes to a very flawed conclusion. He says:

The problem . . . is a generalized weakening of the codes used at least since Moses to keep societies intact, to suppress the virus of rampant lying, cheating and chiseling. People used to learn this stuff; now many don't. Where'd it go? How about this answer: Politics killed ethical formation.

Henninger cites Pew Research to the effect that “all moral life in America [collapses] down to abortion and gay rights because the political class believes those issues move votes. And the result is that anything else important . . . is ignored.” Henninger’s clincher is: “Our political culture's preoccupation with sexual boundaries has smothered the more important ability of religious or ethical formation to function in the U.S.”

What should we make of Henninger’s insinuation, i.e., if the weak-minded rubes who think abortion and homosexuality are such a big deal would get over it, we could concentrate on more important stuff? Apparently in his view, ethics and morality can be truncated so as to leave out troublesome areas like sex and still serve a salutary function in society.

Which raises the question: Are moral values a unified whole or are they a smorgasbord from which you can pick and choose?

[More at URL]


----- 10 -----
American Family Association
ACTION ALERT
March 27, 2006

Fox allows 's' word. Take a stand for our children!

http://www.afa.net/petitions/outgoing/03272006.htm

Tired of all the profanity on TV? Want to do something about it? Here is your opportunity.

File a complaint with the FCC against Fox Network for using the "s" word.

This past Sunday afternoon, Fox network broadcast the NASCAR "Food City 500" race. During the course of the race, driver Martin Truex, Jr. crashed his car after being bumped by another driver.

Fox network aired a conversation between Truex and his crew chief, Kevin Manion. During the course of the conversation, Manion told his driver, "We missed the set-up today. It (the car) was a piece of s**t.

Fox had been warned about allowing the "s" word on the air. The network could have used a delay and bleeped the profanity. But they chose not to. The network chose to air the segment live. Millions of viewers, including children, were offended by the crude profanity.

Also, please forward this to your family and friends. Together, we can make a difference!

Take Action

Here is your opportunity to make the networks more sensitive to your concern. The FCC is willing to fine the stations, but viewers must complain! Please file a complaint with the FCC against Fox stations for the broadcast of indecent language.


Click Here to File Your Formal Complaint to the FCC Now!

[More at URL]


----- 11 -----
Optimism Abounds for Marriage Amendment in Florida
By Allie Martin and Jody Brown
March 27, 2006

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/3/afa/272006g.asp

(AgapePress) - A proposed constitutional amendment that would protect traditional marriage is one step closer to being on the ballot in Florida. In addition, the last of eight cases filed in the state by advocates of same-sex unions challenging current marriage laws has been withdrawn.

The Florida Supreme Court has issued a 7-0 opinion clearing the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment for placement on a statewide ballot once the 611,009 signatures in support of the measure are certified. The amendment states that "Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."

Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver, who argued the case for the amendment, explains that the Florida high court rejected arguments by the American Civil Liberties Union.

[More at URL]


----- 13 -----
Alabama Legislators Push For Law to Ban Abortion
By Gudrun Schultz
LifeSite
Monday March 27, 2006

http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/mar/06032704.html

MONTGOMERY, Alabama, March 27, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Alabama will soon join South Dakota in making abortion a felony, if state legislators have their way.

Republican Sen. Hank Erwin and Rep. Nick Williams have each introduced a bill that would ban all abortions in the state unless the mothers’ life was at risk. The bills are similar to legislation banning abortion that passed in South Dakota last month and was signed by Gov. Mike Rounds on March 6.

“I thought if South Dakota can do it, Alabama ought to do it because we are a family friendly state,” Mr. Erwin told the Associated Press on Saturday. The bill he introduced in the Senate would ban abortions in cases of pregnancies that resulted from rape or incest.

“I don’t think you need to penalize the unborn child when something like that happens,” he said.

It is unlikely either of the bills will pass this year. Democrat representatives dominate both the Senate and the House. Supporters of the bill are anticipating a growth in Republican control of the Alabama House and Senate in this year’s elections, however, and say they intend to keep working towards a pro-life victory.

“I think you will see in every session from this day forward a South Dakota-type abortion ban bill,” said John Giles, president of the Christian Coalition of Alabama.

[More at URL]


----- 14 -----
Talking Points: The Case For Marriage III
Monday, March 27, 2006
Faith and Freedom Network

http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/03/talking-points-case-for-marriage-iii.html

The momentum continues to grow as people of faith attend the Sound The Alarm – Faith & Freedom rallies across Washington State.

Pastor Jan Hettinga of Northshore Baptist Church told me there were over 1300 at the rally last night. He also told me he understood there were those who came and left because there were no more seats and little to no standing room.

The overwhelming response we have seen across the state not only tells us that people feel strongly about wanting the voters to decide issues such as special rights for homosexuals, but it also tells us that they see HB2661 as an incremental step toward gay marriage. People of faith feel very strongly about these issues and are willing to involve themselves. Thousands of signatures have been collected and thousands more are being collected.

Please, if you have not already, either download a petition form for Referendum 65 or request a petition form by clicking here.

The following Talking Points continue our series.

Talking Points - The Case for Marriage III

We let couples who are unable to conceive marry. Why not allow homosexuals to marry?


[More at URL]

Comments

[emmacrew.livejournal.com]

On the GOOD news side, SB2922 in Mississippi (their anti-abortion one) was allowed to expire tonight. They'll have to start over again next year.

[solarbird]

roxx0r. ^_^

Howdy

[afatbastard.livejournal.com]

I just wanted to drop you a line as I don’t like it when people friend me and don’t introduce themselves to me. I have been perusing your journal and it seems we have some of the same interests. I recently reformatted my journal and there isn’t much content at the moment. But I invite you to take a look if you feel like it. Either way best wishes.

Mark

Re: Howdy

[solarbird]

Hi ho, welcome to your Daily Dose of Down. ^_^

[adularia.livejournal.com]

I suppose I should do likewise, as I've been reading and appreciating your updates for over two weeks. Hi there.

Do I get to point out the irony of CWA making their point with a Johnny Cash song? sheesh.

[adularia.livejournal.com]

Hmph. Maybe not (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Cash#.22The_Man_in_Black.22), but it remains irksome.

[solarbird]

Eh. Of all the things they do to irk me, that one's pretty far down the queue.

Also, hi, I hope you manage to do something with the CWUs. Knowing's good, doing things about it is better.