Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Jun. 1st, 2006 12:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdFocus on the Family launches anti-marriage-rights blitz; there are a zillion of these things. They've sent out the special sooper-dooper action items, they're cranking out the anti-gay articles; it's hardcore and will presumably stay that way through the vote next week. James Dobson is also dedicating half this week's regular half-hour broadcasts to drumming up support for the amendment.
Here's the "Targeted Senator" list from one of their items:
Meanwhile, in Canada, the Canada Family Action Coalition and Focus on the Family Canada are ramping up the C-38 revote fight; they're working for a late-summer vote, which they think gives them their best shot of banning same-sex marriage in Canada again.
Locally, the R-65 signature gathering effort is peaking; they need to get enough signatures in by June 6th. I've no idea whether they'll make it. They've had surprisingly few signature-gatherers on the ground; the effort has been almost entirely through mailings and churches, with pastors delivering impassioned sermons against LBGT people, followed by referendum signings in the lobby afterwards. Is their network large enough to get anti-gay initiatives on the ballot without having to step outside? We'll find out in another week.
And now, today's news;
I may have to start reading superhero comics again: Batwoman is a dyke;
Don't look for this to get any fundamentalist coverage, but it appears that the "rhythm method" may, in fact, kill more fertilised embryos than any other form of non-barrier birth control, helping demonstrate yet again that Apparently, Jesus Does Not Give A Rat's Ass About These Cells;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM/"news" story for the anti-marriage-rights Marriage Protection Amendment; vote is next week;
Focus on the Family contentless newsbrief about the New York marriage case, still underway;
Focus on the Family fax-based ACTION ITEM - they're saying faxes are "harder to ignore" than email;
FotF apologises for fax system issues; they say they were "overwhelmed" by the response and that it's fixed now;
FotF ACTION ITEM on the FMA and slightly-less-content-free newsbrief about the New York marriage rights case; basically, Focus on the Family loads up on scare-stories about major issues whenever they're up for a vote and includes action items;
Speaking of which, here's a rerun of the Catholic Charities case, with an urge to support an anti-marriage amendment at the end, and also saying that marriage rights for lesbian and gay couples is inherently oppressive to Christians and that "religious liberty is at stake";
And another one; a fire department board member - a volunteer - who supported the anti-marriage-rights petition in Massachusetts gets questioned on it by a gay member of the local city council; the council as a whole decides not to include him on the new board; Focus on the Family makes it T3H GAY MAFIA;
Maggie Gallagher's latest dark warnings that the Senate had better not leave marriage up to the courts - they should kick it to the curb now, and shut off the whole "new conflicts for neighbours" that it brings up;
Family Research Council's lead item - their front page blurb - is an anti-marriage petition effort, to be delivered to Congress before the amendment vote;
FRC president Tony Perkins's email newsletter includes an ACTION ITEM to support the anti-marriage amendment;
FRC has set up a "Media War Chest" fund to pay for national anti-marriage commercials; they're asking for donations;
Faith and Freedom Network says the fact that marriage-rights supporters also oppose Referendum 65 (to remove GBLT civil rights protections in Washington State) is proof that their referendum really is necessary to preserve marriage; personally, I don't see how you'd expect people who support marriage rights not to oppose a referendum against civil rights law;
American Family Association/Agape Press reports on Catholic League supporting a school for firing a gay teacher on the basis that he was looking for dates with... other gay men;
Former judge Roy "Ten Commandments" Moore is running for Alabama governor as a Republican; current polling shows him with a lead over the Republican incumbent;
LifeNews ACTION ITEM reports that the Oglala Sioux tribe has voted "to ban all abortions on their reservation" and has suspended President Fire Thunder for 20 days pending investigation - however, work on the clinic is proceeding; the action item is to "voice your thoughts on the abortion business to [the] Oglala Sioux Tribe";
Family Research Council applauds Supreme Court for upholding the right of the Boy Scouts to engage in religious discrimination against atheists and agnostics while still getting government money;
Concerned Women for America run article supporting Catholic Charities of Boston's refusal to place adoptive children with legally-married same-sex couples, warns of general doom, talks up Maggie Gallagher;
CWA endorses Marie Waldron for California assembly;
CWA on George Will column against the insipid "Values Voters" label for theoconservatives: our values are real, everybody else's are stupid, broken, or evil;
Focus on the Family Canada, REAL Women of Canada, other anti-marriage groups working on dumping C-38, which legalised marriage in Canada; they want a vote late this summer, which is when they see their best chance at getting the law overturned;
Vote Marriage Canada is still the umbrella group, now working to overturn C-38 and ban lesbian and gay civil marriage;
Focus on the Family Canada ACTION ITEM to lobby MPs to vote to ban lesbian and gay marriage in Canada, and reverse C-38; they're starting now;
Focus on the Family Canada's "Marriage and Homosexuality: A Christian Response" lists a lot of the usual material, tho' much more mildly stated than the American version;
FotF Canada: women are getting abortions in Canada for gender selection;
Focus on the Family USA; "Another Victory for the Boy Scouts," allowing the group to continue discriminating against agnostic and atheist youth while still getting government support;
Focus on the Family USA again, talking about how "both sides" are trying to get abortion initiatives on the South Dakota ballot, but not noting that the pro-rights side already has their signatures in - and the anti-abortion side hasn't; meanwhile, they quote an antiabortion activist against the idea of a public vote; "When the legislators were debating the House Bill 1215, they were overwhelmed with calls and e-mail and letters from the constituents. The people of South Dakota actually already voted";
Focus on the Family USA mocks new Batwoman comic;
Conservative MP Garth Turner (Toronto) calls out Canadian theoconservatives, speaks a bit too bluntly for the Institute for Canadian Values; they're demanding he be disciplined, and imply that he's a racist;
Canada Family Action Coalition has about a zillion items out today; the first is an update on the efforts to rally MPs against marriage rights, and to overturn marriage law in Canada;
CFAC letter on the effort to allow a broad-range of anti-gay discrimination by teachers, other government employees; it failed in Alberta, but they're bringing it back up again next year; this is the bill that I would have supported had it only protected religious groups, but it went well beyond that - which was the point;
CFAC: gay rights and abortion rights lead directly to padeophilia;
CFAC: Canada needs the "bold, honest, and civil kind of leadership" exhibited by California governor Schwarzenegger;
Faith and Freedom Network sent out a Referendum 65 (anti-civil-rights) urgent update on the 28th, calling on pastors to redouble their efforts to get signatures from their congregations and get them in by June 6th.
----- 1 -----
Batwoman is back as a lesbian
By LARRY MCSHANE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 · Last updated 3:11 p.m. PT
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/artandlife/1404AP_Batwoman_Uncloseted.html?source=mypi
NEW YORK -- Years after she first emerged from the Batcave, Batwoman is coming out of the closet. DC Comics is resurrecting the classic comic book character as a lesbian, unveiling the new Batwoman in July as part of an ongoing weekly series that began this year.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
'Rhythm method' may kill off more embryos than other methods of contraception
The rhythm method and embryonic death J Med Ethics 2006; 32: 355-6
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/bsj-mm052306.php
The "rhythm method" may kill off more embryos than other contraceptive methods, such as coils, morning after pills, and oral contraceptives, suggests an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics.
The method relies on abstinence during the most fertile period of a woman's menstrual cycle. For a woman who has regular 28 day cycles, this is around days 10 to 17 of the cycle.
It is the only method of birth control condoned by the Catholic Church, because it doesn't interfere with conception, so allowing nature to take its course.
It is believed that the method works because it prevents conception from occurring. But says Professor Bovens, it may owe much of its success to the fact that embryos conceived on the fringes of the fertile period are less viable than those conceived towards the middle.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Focus Action Launches Marriage-Protection Blitz
Message to grassroots: The vote is only days away. There is no time to lose.by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
May 30, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0040678.cfm
The U.S. Senate is expected to vote June 7 on the federal Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA), and grassroots pro-family groups are stepping up efforts to make sure their constituents weigh in on one of the most important issues of our time.
Focus on the Family Action Founder Dr. James Dobson will focus this week on the MPA during two broadcasts of his nationally syndicated radio show. He is asking Americans to flood the phone lines of some key Senators to let them know how strongly their constituents feel about passing the amendment, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. He said senators need to feel the heat from people all across the country.
[...]
The targeted senators are:
Arkansas — Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, Democrats
Colorado — Ken Salazar, Democrat
Florida — Bill Nelson, Democrat
Indiana — Evan Bayh, Democrat
Louisiana — Mary Landrieu, Democrat
Maine — Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, Republicans
Montana — Max Baucus, Democrat
Nebraska — Chuck Hagel, Republican
New Hampshire — John Sununu, Republican
North Dakota — Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, Democrats
Pennsylvania — Arlen Specter, Republican
Rhode Island — Lincoln Chafee, Republican
South Dakota — Tim Johnson, Democrat
[...]
TAKE ACTION/FOR MORE INFORMATION:
You can help in the battle over the MPA. Visit our Marriage Protection Amendment Action Center. If you are a CitizenLink Daily Update subscriber, click on the blue button in the e-mail to be automatically logged in. Otherwise, click on this link.
----- 4 -----
New York Court to Hear Gay-Marriage Case
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
May 30, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040671.cfm
New York's Court of Appeals will hear cases on Wednesday concerning five same-sex couples who, in 2004, were denied marriage licenses by the city clerk's office, The New York Sun reported.
[...]
According to The New York Daily News, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg supports same-sex marriage.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Action Alert - Pass the Marriage Protection Amendment
Focus on the Family
May 31, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA) early next week -- and now more than ever your voice is crucial to its passage.
We are urging you to let your two senators know today that you expect them to support the MPA and the overwhelming majority of Americans who think marriage should be defined as the union of one man and one woman. To help you make this point quickly and powerfully, we've done a couple of things we don't often do on legislative calls to action. We've written a short, but direct message for you to send to your senators; and we've made arrangements so you can fax it right to their offices.
E-mails are easy to ignore; faxes are not. That's why, when you send the message, it will be sent -- at no charge to you -- not to your senators' inboxes but to their fax machines. When thousands of faxes begin to stack up in their offices, they will know without a doubt the will of the people on this important issue.
So please take a moment, right now, to click the "Take Action" button to the right and send your fax.
[Button URL here]
Thanks for doing your part to defend the family.
----- 6 -----
Your Support for Marriage Overwhelms Our System
Focus on the Family
May 31, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
An incredible number of you who are concerned about protecting marriage and who responded to today's Action Alert to fax your senators overwhelmed our system as well as the vendor that handles sending them out. Our technical staff has fixed several issues and it seems to be working more smoothly now. If you received an error message when attempting to send your faxes, please try it again by clicking on the blue Marriage Protection Amendment button on the right side of this e-mail. We apologize for the inconvenience. We are also highly encouraged that so many of you care so deeply about this issue.
[Marriage Protection Amendment button URL]
[Take Action button URL]
----- 7 -----
New York's Top Court Hears Gay-Marriage Appeal
Five cases challenging a marriage law's constitutionality rolled into one for appeal.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
May 31, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0040688.cfm
New York's highest court — the Court of Appeals — is considering a lawsuit which could bring same-sex marriage to state. Justices today heard oral arguments in the case some two years after it was first filed.
But pro-family groups that have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in defense of state laws on marriage said such challenges should never come before a judge — and wouldn't, if Congress passes the federal Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA) and sends it to the states to be ratified.
[...]
"That's the same type of ruling that we saw in the Goodrich case in Massachusetts," he said, referring to the decision that brought same-sex marriage to that state. "One of the strategies homosexual activists use is to seek to get marriage laws overturned based upon a state's constitution, so that the decisions can't be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court — because it's then not a federal issue."
[...]
"The federal MPA would prevent any judge -- in either the state or federal system -- from legislating from the bench and declaring that there is a 'right' to same-sex marriage," Hausknecht added.
[...]
"Please call and fax your senators today," she said. "Urge them to support the Marriage Protection Amendment."
TAKE ACTION:
The U.S. Senate is about to consider the Marriage Protection Amendment. Send a fax to your senators calling on them to protect marriage. We have a message already written for you that you can send through our Action Center.
If you are a CitizenLink Daily Update subscriber, click on the blue Marriage Protection Amendment button on the right side of the e-mail. It will automatically log you in.
Otherwise, click this link. Enter your address information first and click the "Go" button so the Action Center can identify your senators.
----- 8 -----
Group Shuts Down to Avoid Being Forced to Accept Gay Adoption
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
May 31, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040700.cfm
Catholic Charities of Boston will shut its doors June 30 rather than be forced by the state to serve homosexual couples seeking to adopt.
Each year, between 30 and 40 children are successfully placed in adoptive homes by the group — more than any other agency in Massachusetts. But state law requires adoption agencies to place children with same-sex couples.
Father J. Bryan Hehir, president of the organization, and Jeffrey Kaneb, the group's chairman, in a joint statement said rather than comply with a law they couldn't agree with, the group would shut down.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Man Loses Position for Signing Marriage-Protection Petition
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
May 31, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040699.cfm
A Massachusetts volunteer firefighter was told he was no longer needed after he signed a petition to overturn the state's court-ordered gay marriage, Yahoo reported.
Leo "Skip" Childs said he began volunteering in North Truro five years ago, "because I think everyone that lives in a small community has got to pitch in."
[More at URL]
[Editor's Note: The "report" in question is actually an opinion column by Maggie Gallagher, who has become a major anti-marriage propagandist. As far as I can tell, what happened is that he was confronted about this by a gay member of the town council when he came up for renomination to his fire board position. His response - that he was opposed to "a special interest group with a strong lobby" influencing judges - did not satisfy the councilmember. The town council as a whole then decided not to include him on the new board. Both the article here and Ms. Gallagher's opinion article make it sound very much like this was OMG T3H GAY MAFIA kicking him to the curb. There is also an implicit position that gay people should not consider anti-gay activism when considering the suitability of others for positions; a similar position would be that a black person should not object to someone who, say, considers interracial marriage a sin against god.]
----- 10 -----
GAY MARRIAGE CREATES NEW CONFLICTS FOR NEIGHBORS
By Maggie Gallagher
Tue May 30, 6:21 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucmg/20060530/cm_ucmg/gaymarriagecreatesnewconflictsforneighbors
The story circulating on the Internet was hard to believe at first: A North Truro, Mass., volunteer fireman lost his position because he signed a petition opposing gay marriage?
I was lucky enough to get Leo "Skip" Childs on the phone. Skip is the kind of guy who makes you ashamed of yourself, but very proud to be an American. He volunteers many hours in the tiny town of North Truro, repairing fire trucks, saving lives. "Last month I went on 22 rescue calls, plus 10 to 15 hours of administrative duties," he told me.
[...]
But with that comment, Paul Asher-Best went ballistic. As Asher-Best later told me, "I consider myself one half of a loving couple who has been together 27 years. I don't consider myself a special interest.
"Mr. Childs' explanation, just like I said, amplifies his bias," he pronounced, "and I think for that reason I couldn't support him."
[Editor's note: not the description of Councilman Asher-Best as "ballistic." This may be true. However, no quote is supplied, so it's suspicious at best.]
[...]
Paul Asher-Best is certainly not repentant. "To me, it reminds me of when back in the bad old days when a black man even looking a white man in the eye was an offense. I feel like this 'uppity f------' had the nerve to look a straight guy in the eye and ask him to explain himself. If the issue is interracial marriage, would questioning him on attitudes toward black people be so out of line?"
[...]
Skip Childs is one of the first casualties of this new conflict. But as our senators debate a Marriage Protection Amendment June 5, they should be forewarned: If they leave marriage to the courts, he won't be the last.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
Countdown to Senate Marriage Amendment Vote
Family Research Council
Online as of May 31, 2006
http://www.frc.org
(On front page of Family Research Council website)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Next week the U.S. Senate will vote on S. J. Res. 1, the Marriage Protection Amendment to the Constitution. Marriage is an indispensable institution, and this is a vote of surpassing importance. In the decades to come, our children and our grandchildren will turn to us and ask, "When the issue of marriage was decided, were you involved? Where did you stand?"We need at least 8,000 more signers of our online petition to reach our goal. These petitions will be presented to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on Monday, June 5. Let's all take the actions needed to answer the question the rising generations will ask us: "Where did you stand?"
Please add your name to this petition in support of the Marriage Protection Amendment.
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
Marriage Moves at Home
To: Friends of Family Research Council
From: Tony Perkins, President
May 31, 2006 - Wednesday
Please forward this to your Friends and Family!
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU06E22
Hillary Clinton kicked off her reelection campaign for the United States Senate today amid speculation that she will be a candidate for president in 2008. That gives her at least two commonalities with John McCain, a potential presidential candidate who is giving lip service to marriage while refusing to protect it. Senator Clinton has gone even further, strategizing with homosexual groups to defeat the Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA) when it comes up for a vote in the U.S. Senate next week. There should be no question as to the threat to marriage from the courts.
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
Help Create a Media War Chest to Preserve Marriage
Family Research Council
May 23, 2006 - Tuesday
Forward to a Friend!
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=AL06E08&f=PG03I03
In less than two weeks the U.S. Senate will vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment to the Constitution. It's time for us to make a final push to stop liberal judges at the state and federal level who want to remake the family and end man-woman marriage in the United States. You have helped this effort by signing the petition we will present on Monday, June 5, to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who will lead the fight for traditional marriage on the Senate floor.
Now we need your help, if you are financially able, by contributing to our marriage advocacy project.
Over the next eight weeks Family Research Council's policy experts and media voices will take fresh messages about the sanctity of marriage onto the nation's airwaves, religious and secular alike. We have our work cut out for us as you know. In the past few weeks, the media have been filled with appearances by Mary Cheney and others who are working to undercut the importance of marriage to our survival as a society.
The media have delighted in the fact that Vice President Cheney's daughter publicly opposes the very convictions that brought her father's political party into the White House. But this issue isn't about one family's personal drama. It's about what's best for every family and for our nation's future. Tony Perkins was pleased to record a new television spot to get out the word on the need for the Marriage Protection Amendment. Watch it here and be sure to share this message with as many of your friends and family members as you can.
Click on either picture to watch a TV spot (Windows Media Player) promoting the Marriage Protection Amendment. To see other TV spots by Gary Bauer, Bishop Harry Jackson and Rev. Richard Land click here.
Remember, our opponents come to this with a deep war chest. They are focused on this issue like no other, and they have hour after hour of free media time from their liberal friends at the networks. To counter this effort, we need a media war chest of our own for this major push. Please consider a tax-deductible gift right now to Family Research Council to help us with our media outreach in these last weeks before the pivotal Senate and House votes. Our nation can't afford to lose ground in the fight to save man-woman marriage.
God bless you.
[More at URL]
----- 14 -----
HB 2661 (Ref. 65) is About Gay Marriage
Faith and Freedom Network
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/05/hb-2661-ref-65-is-about-gay-marriage.html
We have heard the media, the gay activists and the liberal, secularist legislators tell us that HB2661 is not about gay marriage. It is about civil rights. It’s about decency and tolerance. But not about gay marriage. The legislators who approved HB2661 even assured us that they had written into the bill words that said it was not about gay marriage.
But it is. We have been saying that all along. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.
Yesterday, our Field Director, Jon Russell, forwarded an email to me sent out by Equal Rights Washington; the organization that is committed to gay marriage in Washington State. While the email was soliciting testimonials to support gay marriage at the recommendation of “many legislators,” the rest of the message was very telling.
It said, “Thank you to the over 1000 ERW [Equal Rights Washington] advocates who have endorsed the Washington Won’t Discriminate Campaign in the Past 72 Hours.”
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Catholic League: Homosexual High School Teacher Was Rightly Fired
By Jim Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
May 31, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/5/afa/312006d.asp
(AgapePress) - The Catholic League is defending a decision by a Nevada Catholic school to fire a homosexual teacher over his MySpace.com profile. Jeff Crouse, a 45-year-old former seminarian, has been fired from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas after school officials learned he was trolling for same-sex dates on the Internet.
The Las Vegas Sun reports that Crouse, who teaches philosophy and film studies to high school seniors, posted information in his MySpace.com profile, describing himself as a homosexual seeking "straight-acting single men." This came to the attention of school administrators and, not long afterward, the teacher was terminated.
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
'Ten Commandments' Judge on Alabama's Republican Primary Ballot
By Allie Martin
May 31, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/5/afa/312006e.asp
(AgapePress) - The man who was at the center of a controversy several years ago over the public acknowledgment of God is in a race for governor of Alabama.
Three years ago Judge Roy Moore -- who was then chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court -- made national headlines when he refused a federal judge's order to remove a 5,300-pound Ten Commandments granite monument from the State Judicial Building. A state judicial court removed Moore from office over the incident.
Now Moore is running in the June 6 Republican primary as a candidate for governor. He is opposed by the incumbent, Governor Bob Riley. A recent poll conducted by SurveyUSA for a television station in Mobile showed Moore trailing Riley by more than two-to-one.
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
South Dakota Indian Tribe Bans Abortions, Pro-Abortion Prez Suspended
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 31, 2006
http://www.lifenews.com/state1684.html
Pine Ridge, SD (LifeNews.com) -- The Oglala Sioux tribal council has voted to ban all abortions on their reservation after the council president created a national controversy saying she would thwart a state ban on abortions by building an abortion business in tribal lands.
The vote to prohibits abortions on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation was unanimous, 16-0, with two members of the tribal council absent.
The council also voted overwhelningly to suspend its president, Cecilia Fire Thunder, without pay saying she accepted unauthorized donations for the abortion center without getting the council's approval
"It was unauthorized political activity," Will Peters, a member of the tribal council, told the Argus Leader newspaper.
[...]
TAKE ACTION: Voice your thoughts on the abortion business to: Oglala Sioux Tribe, ATTN: President Fire Thunder, P. O. Box H, Pine Ridge, SD 57770. You can also call 605-867-6074 or fax a letter to 605-867-6076.
Related web sites:
Oglala Sioux Tribe - http://www.lakotamall.com/oglalasiouxtribe
----- 18 -----
Supreme Court Upholds Boy Scouts
Family Research Council
Online as of May 31, 2006
http://www.frc.org
(On front page, below fold)
John Scalise, an atheist father who has been fighting the religious nature of the Boy Scouts since 1998, has finally lost his case as the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his argument. He claimed his son was not allowed to become a scout since he would not say the Boy Scout pledge "to do my duty to God and my country." Scalise even tried to get the Boy Scouts banned from being able to recruit in public schools, claiming religious discrimination. By rejecting the arguments of Scalise, the Boy Scouts are enabled to continue helping raise young people willing to pledge their duty to God.
----- 19 -----
Catholic Charities in Boston Will Close on June 30, 2006
Group Left Without a Choice
Concerned Women for America
Online as of May 31, 2006
http://www.cwalac.org/article_333.shtml
On March 10, 2006, Catholic Charities of Boston announced that it would shut down its adoption services after over 100 years in successful operation. Why? Because it has a policy of not adopting children to homosexual couples, and could not comply with state laws requiring that adoption agencies place children with gay couples seeking to adopt.
"We have encountered a dilemma we cannot resolve," said Father J. Bryan Hehir and Jeffrey Kaneb, the president and chairman of Boston Catholic Charities. Their statement concluded that they could not "reconcile the teaching of the Church which guides our work and the statutes and regulations of the commonwealth."
The charity had successfully placed between 30 and 40 children per year in homes, more than any group in the state.
On June 30, that will end.
[More at URL]
----- 20 -----
CWA ENDORSES WALDRON FOR ASSEMBLY
California Political Desk
May 26, 2006
http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=10263
Concerned Women for America Endorses Waldron for 74th Assembly District Seat Recognize Waldron’s Strong Leadership Fighting for Family Values and Pro-Life Causes.
(Carlsbad) – Concerned Women for American Legislative Action Committee of California today endorsed Escondido Council Member Marie Waldron, Candidate for the 74th Assembly District seat, saying she is the proven candidate who will fight for conservative moral values in Sacramento.
“Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee considers it an honor to support Marie Waldron for California Assembly District 74,” said Cindy Moles, Director, CWA-LAC. “She is a strong pro-life, pro-family candidate who will preserve, protect and promote traditional family values…[She] is a woman of high moral character who we believe will conduct the business of her office with dignity, integrity, and honesty. California needs Marie Waldron.”
[More at URL]
----- 21 -----
George Will and Those Annoying Values Voters
Can just anyone claim that label?
5/30/2006
By Janice Shaw Crouse
Concerned Women for America
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10858/BLI/dotcommentary/index.htm
George Will is at his acerbic best when calling a spade a spade such as when he declared flatly, “Many people have no notion of propriety when in the presence of other people.” Then there was the case where he deliciously sneered at the California Department of Education’s stipulation that when "ethnic or cultural groups are portrayed, portrayals must not depict differences in customs or lifestyles as undesirable"--Slavery? Segregation? Anti-Semitism? Cannibalism?--"and must not reflect adversely on such differences."
[...]
Clever wording, George, but what about the great moral questions of the day that loom as large as slavery, segregation, or anti-Semitism? Surely there is no more significant issue today, no clearer focal point of the struggle between good and evil than the sanctity of human life. Being pro-abortion and embracing the culture of death are not exactly the same as opposing abortion because of deeply held beliefs that life is something precious and dear. Will misses the asymmetry between positive values and negative values which in reality are, from a moral perspective, an absence of values.
[More at URL]
----- 22 -----
Marriage debate to heat up
Focus on the Family Canada
Today’s Family News
May 31, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/family/stories/053106.html
The sunshine will not be the only source of heat this summer. Canada’s political temperature is also expected to rise as both sides in the ongoing debate over the definition of marriage prepare to do battle over an expected free vote in the House of Commons on whether the government should revisit the issue.
Shortly after winning the January 23 federal election, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that he would prefer to have the vote “sooner rather than later” – but likely not before the fall sitting of Parliament at the earliest.
[...]
In fact, defenders of marriage concede that they need more time to get their message across to MPs, especially their concerns as to the potentially harmful effects on children of being raised by two fathers or two mothers.
“If the vote was tomorrow, they [the pro-same-sex marriage side] would probably win it,” said former MP Pat O’Brien. Almost a year ago, O’Brien left the Liberals over the government’s determination to ram a bill redefining civil marriage through Parliament. O’Brien is now a registered lobbyist for Vote Marriage Canada.
[...]
“It’s going to be close, very close,” Gwen Landolt, national vice-president of REAL Women of Canada, told The Hill Times. “We’ve let all our members know and we want them to work on this issue during the summertime.”
[More at URL]
----- 23 -----
Working to Influence Parliament to Protect Our Children's Future
Vote Marriage Canada
Join Us in This Effort!
Online as of March 31, 2006
http://www.votemarriagecanada.ca/index.htm
The very future of Canada, the future we will pass on to our children, grandchildren and generations to come, depends in large measure on protecting and preserving traditional marriage.
The reason is simple. Throughout human history and across societies and cultures, marriage between a man and a woman has been the fundamental and essential foundation of strong families. Strong families have always been the foundation of all healthy and successful societies. Anything that undermines our families threatens our future.
And make no mistake. Legalizing same-sex marriage will undermine our families. Click here for analysis of why this will happen. If you are convinced, as we are, that preservation of traditional marriage in Canada is vital to the good of all, and especially to our children for generations to come, then we urge you to join with us. Help us influence the Canadian Parliament to protect traditional marriage.
[More at URL]
----- 24 -----
Tell Canada Why Marriage Matters
Focus on the Family Canada
May 31, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
Last year, many TFN readers responded to the marriage debate in Parliament by contacting their MP and explaining how they felt about redefining marriage. MPs were amazed at all the mail they received. Unfortunately, most of the public debate in newspapers, on TV, and even in Parliament did not reflect the huge opposition that Canadians showed. The discussion rarely went beyond rhetoric of rights and freedoms.
With a promised vote coming up, now is the time to explain to Canadians and your MP why the changed definition of marriage really does matter. Books like “Marriage on Trial” and the free online publication “Marriage and Homosexuality” will help you explain why marriage should be restored in Canada. Click here for ideas about how you can speak up in your community.
----- 25 -----
Marriage and Homosexuality
A Christian Response
Focus on the Family Canada
Online as of May 31, 2006, but certainly older
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/sexuality/PDF/Marriage_and_Homosexuality.pdf
Who would have thought just a generation ago that same-sex marriage would be one of the most heated social issues of the new millennium? Even within the gay and lesbian community the notion of same-sex marriage was widely rejected until the mid 1990’s. Yet a few short years later we are facing the very real possibility that marriage, the foundational building block of society, may be radically redefined. How are we as Christians to respond?
[...]
----- 26 -----
Canada’s "missing daughters"
Focus on the Family Canada
Today’s Family News
May 31, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/life/stories/053106_01.html
Abortion clinics in Canada are accommodating women seeking to terminate a pregnancies for no apparent reason other than gender preference.
Documents obtained by Calgary’s Western Standard magazine reportedly confirm anecdotal evidence that communities around Toronto and in B.C.’s Lower Mainland with a high proportion of immigrants from China and India have significantly more baby boys than girls. Sons are said to be favoured because they continue the family name and are presumably better able to support their parents.
[More at URL]
----- 27 -----
Another Victory for the Boy Scouts
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
May 31, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040701.cfm
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case brought against the Boy Scouts of America. The father who brought the case objected to the group's presence in public school buildings because of the requirement for members to pledge duty to God, The Associated Press reported.
[More at URL]
----- 28 -----
South Dakota Residents Petition About Abortion Ban
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
May 30, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040672.cfm
People on both sides of the debate over the South Dakota's law banning abortion are petitioning to place the issue before voters in the November election.
Reuters reported that abortion supporters filed a petition today aimed at allowing voters to overturn the ban.
Pro-life advocates are gathering signatures to place an initiative on the ballot that would uphold the ban — they have until June 19 to do so.
[...]
"When the legislators were debating the House Bill 1215, they were overwhelmed with calls and e-mail and letters from the constituents," she said. "The people of South Dakota actually already voted."
[More at URL]
----- 29 -----
Batwoman Comes Out of the Closet
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
May 30, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040669.cfm
DC Comics has announced that a new Batwoman will appear in its publication 52 — and she's a lesbian, the BBC reported.
[...]
Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman no longer exist in the new, politically correct world of super heroes where the Mexican teen Blue Beetle and the government-sponsored team of Chinese heroes called the Great Ten fight societal ills.
[Editor's Note: Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are off-stage for this miniseries. But the spin is set on "high" here. You're geeks, you can read up on it all you want yourself.]
----- 30 -----
Institute calls on Harper to discipline MP Garth Turner for bigoted comments
Institute for Canadian Values
Date: May 31, 2006
http://canadianvalues.ca/news.aspx?aid=186
OTTAWA - The Institute for Canadian Values is calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discipline Conservative MP Garth Turner for what it calls "bigoted comments" he made on television and on his online blog.
[...]
"Garth Turner's behaviour is a sharp illustration of the vicious and deep-rooted bigotry lurking just below the surface of the secular-left in our society," continued Ben-Ami. "People like him claim to be champions of tolerance, but when their own ideas and positions are challenged, they resort to name-calling and fear mongering, laughably invoking the principle of tolerance to justify their bigotry. What really shocks is that so many are gullible enough to believe them."
[More at URL]
----- 31 -----
Marriage Matters Heating Up
Canada Family Action Coalition
Online as of May 31, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/C38-fallvote.htm
Brian Rushfeldt says “There's probably about 25 MPs that we think are 'iffies' right now.” It is up to local constituents to also pressure their MPs, so they right the wrong done by C38 “any two people” marriage notion. Government can find a way to “reinstall” heterosexual one man one woman marriage as a distinct and unique form of relationship. The uniqueness of one man and one woman marriage does make it unequal to two same sex people be they homosexual or heterosexual.
A healthy nation must do whatever it can to promote and defend marriage, as one man and one woman, and the natural family unit. It is the foundation of continued success and growth of a culture and population. The fact that “traditional “ marriage has not done well is the result of social policy and laws that have not given it the recognition and support it needs. Common law relations, easy divorce and promotion of any form of cohabiting all have led people to discard marriage as a sacred, unique, and crucial form of relationship. And the social and economic consequences are hurting women and children especially.
-- CFAC
Traditional marriage lobby heats up on Parliament Hill
Full Story - The Hill Times
May 29th, 2006
By Simon Doyle
The Defend Marriage Coalition says it is using the summer to target undecided MPs in advance of an expected fall vote, but Canadians for Equal Marriage is doing the same.
The divisive same-sex marriage issue is quietly gaining momentum in Ottawa, as lobbyists for and against same-sex marriage are lining up behind the scenes to target an estimated 25 undecided MPs.
The Defend Marriage Coalition, an alliance of 12 traditional marriage, family and religious advocacy groups, says it will use the summer to mobilize religious congregations and constituents to make their cases to MPs.
[More at URL]
----- 32 -----
Albertans the victim of filibuster
By Ted Morton
MLA, Foothills-Rocky View
May 28, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/filibuster.htm
Dear Brian Rushfeldt, (and CFAC supporters),
I am writing to thank you for helping to rally support for Bill 208 and the protection of freedom of religion and freedom of speech in Alberta. During the first two weeks of May—when Bill 208 was going through the legislative process—I (and other MLAs) received thousands of email, phone calls and letters from Albertans supporting the passage of Bill 208. I know that many of you encouraged this show of support, and it worked!
This public outpouring of support had a very positive effect on members of my PC Caucus, which gave over 85% support for Bill 208 at Second Reading on May 1. Based on that strong showing, we expected to go to Committee of the Whole the following Monday and then Third and final reading on May 15. However, as you read in the papers, on May 8 the Liberals and NDP mounted a filibuster and used up all the time allotted for private member’s bills thereby preventing Bill 208 from even being discussed that day. This basically derailed the time-table for getting Bill 208 enacted this year, as there is unlikely to be a Fall sitting of the Legislature due to the PC Leadership race.
[More at URL]
----- 33 -----
Pedohilia political party – is Canada next?
Canada Family Action Coalition
(05-31-2006)
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/child/pedophilia/pedophilia-party.htm
With the rise of those Canadian groups (see the related article here on CFAC's site) who want the age of consent for sex at 14 ( or lower) it is logical that there will be a move to follow the pedophile party of Netherlands. Alterations to marriage, increased acceptance of child porn, adoption of children into same gender homes, “teaching “ of children to experiment in sexual acts, universities writing about the positives of inter-generational sex, and Hollywood and advertisers depiction of sexualized children, all set the foundation for such a movement here in Canada.
Children in Canada have never been less safe than in the past 3 years. Their future safety is not a bright and positive one.
Federal and provincial governments MUST take every action possible to rescind the “progressive” liberalized actions of the few.
-- CFAC
Pedophilia Party Launched in the Netherlands
by Hilary White - May 30, 2006
LifeSiteNews.com
AMSTERDAM - The newly formed Charity, Freedom and Diversity (NVD) party of the Netherlands has introduced itself to Dutch politics as a champion of children's rights and has vowed, "We are going to shake The Hague awake!"
The NVD is Europe's first political party dedicated to promoting and legitimizing pedophilia. In a press release, the NVD's spokesman and co-founder, Ad van den Berg said among their goals is lowering the age of consent for sexual activity from 16 to 12 and eventually eliminating it completely.
"A ban just makes children curious," van den Berg told the Algemeen Dagblad (AD) newspaper. The party will also be working to decriminalize child pornography and to lower the age for which it is legal to appear in it from 18 to 16. The party suggests that in order to prevent "abuse" a governmental body be appointed to investigate whether children had been forced to appear in pornographic movies.
[More at URL]
----- 34 -----
Bold, civilized leadership
Canada Family Action Coalition
May 29, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/sexuality/schwarzenegger-to-veto.htm
This is the bold, honest, and civil kind of leadership Canadians need from their Premiers. Now that Canada has , for the time being, legal homosexual marriage , there will be a push to “ indoctrinate “ children with false information and even dangerous information in the public education system. In fact it has been happening already with so called AIDs activists going into junior and elementary schools telling kids to try sodomy and other such behaviors.
Will any Premier take a civilized and right stand against this in Canada?
-- CFAC
California Gov Schwarzenegger Will Veto Bill Requiring Mandatory Gay Education in Schools
By Gurdon Schultz
May 26, 2006
LifeSiteNews.com
SACRAMENTO, CA - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he will veto a bill to include mandatory instruction on achievements of homosexual persons in school curriculums throughout the state.
"The governor believes that school curriculum should include all important historical figures, regardless of orientation," governor spokesman Adam Mendelssohn said Wednesday. "However, he does not support the Legislature micromanaging curriculum."
[More at URL]
----- 35 -----
Referendum 65 Alert
Faith and Freedom Network
May 28, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The following message was written by the leaders of many of the faith-based organizations in Washington state and by concerned pastors.
It is in regard to Referendum 65 and is directed to pastors. However, if you are not a pastor, please forward this alert to your pastor.
Dear Pastor:
We are in the final 8 days to gather enough signatures for Referendum 65 to be put before the voters. In January, our legislature passed House Bill 2661 which placed sexual orientation on the same playing field as race. Simply put that being black an “immutable” characteristic the same as being a homosexual. We know this is not true. Promoting the signing of the petition in your church- will place this on the ballot so the citizens of our state in or out of the church can decide the issue. We encourage you to show the 6 (six) minute DVD produced by Sound the Alarm and the link to the website where you can download the petition. Please follow the instructions on printing the petition carefully. It is legal for you to present this information in your church.
Instructions:
1) DVD will explain situation to you and your church. http://www.soundthealarm.com/video.html
2) Have 11 X 17 copies of petitions available immediately following you service http://www.faithandfreedom.us/pdf/Ref65petition2.pd f
3) Follow the mailing instructions very carefully to send them in. (Note you can send in all petitions whether it is completely filled or not.)
All Referendum 65 petitions with one or more signatures on them must be submitted to the Secretary of State's office no later than 5 pm, Tuesday, June 6th.
From now until Friday, June 2, supporters of R-65 should simply mail their partially-filled and fully-filled petitions to our PO Box in Spokane (R-65, PO Box 18250, Spokane, WA 99228 - this is the address that's on the petitions).
On Saturday, June 3rd, Sunday, June 4th, and Monday, June 5th, it's best to mail the petitions directly to the Secretary of State:
If using the Post Office to mail your petitions in (regular mail, Priority Mail, or Express Mail, etc.), it is:
ATTN: Initiative petition(s) enclosed
Tina Clarke, Secretary of State
(Ph: 360- 725- 5780)
PO Box 40237
Olympia, WA 98504
If sending by UPS, Fedex, or others that require a street mailing address, it is:
ATTN: Initiative petition(s) enclosed
Tina Clarke, Secretary of State
(Ph: 360- 725-5780)
520 Union Ave
Olympia, WA 98504-0220
Here's the "Targeted Senator" list from one of their items:
Arkansas — Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, DemocratsThese are the unannounced/undecided Senators they're trying to get on their side in the US.
Colorado — Ken Salazar, Democrat
Florida — Bill Nelson, Democrat
Indiana — Evan Bayh, Democrat
Louisiana — Mary Landrieu, Democrat
Maine — Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, Republicans
Montana — Max Baucus, Democrat
Nebraska — Chuck Hagel, Republican
New Hampshire — John Sununu, Republican
North Dakota — Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, Democrats
Pennsylvania — Arlen Specter, Republican
Rhode Island — Lincoln Chafee, Republican
South Dakota — Tim Johnson, Democrat
Meanwhile, in Canada, the Canada Family Action Coalition and Focus on the Family Canada are ramping up the C-38 revote fight; they're working for a late-summer vote, which they think gives them their best shot of banning same-sex marriage in Canada again.
Locally, the R-65 signature gathering effort is peaking; they need to get enough signatures in by June 6th. I've no idea whether they'll make it. They've had surprisingly few signature-gatherers on the ground; the effort has been almost entirely through mailings and churches, with pastors delivering impassioned sermons against LBGT people, followed by referendum signings in the lobby afterwards. Is their network large enough to get anti-gay initiatives on the ballot without having to step outside? We'll find out in another week.
And now, today's news;
I may have to start reading superhero comics again: Batwoman is a dyke;
Don't look for this to get any fundamentalist coverage, but it appears that the "rhythm method" may, in fact, kill more fertilised embryos than any other form of non-barrier birth control, helping demonstrate yet again that Apparently, Jesus Does Not Give A Rat's Ass About These Cells;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM/"news" story for the anti-marriage-rights Marriage Protection Amendment; vote is next week;
Focus on the Family contentless newsbrief about the New York marriage case, still underway;
Focus on the Family fax-based ACTION ITEM - they're saying faxes are "harder to ignore" than email;
FotF apologises for fax system issues; they say they were "overwhelmed" by the response and that it's fixed now;
FotF ACTION ITEM on the FMA and slightly-less-content-free newsbrief about the New York marriage rights case; basically, Focus on the Family loads up on scare-stories about major issues whenever they're up for a vote and includes action items;
Speaking of which, here's a rerun of the Catholic Charities case, with an urge to support an anti-marriage amendment at the end, and also saying that marriage rights for lesbian and gay couples is inherently oppressive to Christians and that "religious liberty is at stake";
And another one; a fire department board member - a volunteer - who supported the anti-marriage-rights petition in Massachusetts gets questioned on it by a gay member of the local city council; the council as a whole decides not to include him on the new board; Focus on the Family makes it T3H GAY MAFIA;
Maggie Gallagher's latest dark warnings that the Senate had better not leave marriage up to the courts - they should kick it to the curb now, and shut off the whole "new conflicts for neighbours" that it brings up;
Family Research Council's lead item - their front page blurb - is an anti-marriage petition effort, to be delivered to Congress before the amendment vote;
FRC president Tony Perkins's email newsletter includes an ACTION ITEM to support the anti-marriage amendment;
FRC has set up a "Media War Chest" fund to pay for national anti-marriage commercials; they're asking for donations;
Faith and Freedom Network says the fact that marriage-rights supporters also oppose Referendum 65 (to remove GBLT civil rights protections in Washington State) is proof that their referendum really is necessary to preserve marriage; personally, I don't see how you'd expect people who support marriage rights not to oppose a referendum against civil rights law;
American Family Association/Agape Press reports on Catholic League supporting a school for firing a gay teacher on the basis that he was looking for dates with... other gay men;
Former judge Roy "Ten Commandments" Moore is running for Alabama governor as a Republican; current polling shows him with a lead over the Republican incumbent;
LifeNews ACTION ITEM reports that the Oglala Sioux tribe has voted "to ban all abortions on their reservation" and has suspended President Fire Thunder for 20 days pending investigation - however, work on the clinic is proceeding; the action item is to "voice your thoughts on the abortion business to [the] Oglala Sioux Tribe";
Family Research Council applauds Supreme Court for upholding the right of the Boy Scouts to engage in religious discrimination against atheists and agnostics while still getting government money;
Concerned Women for America run article supporting Catholic Charities of Boston's refusal to place adoptive children with legally-married same-sex couples, warns of general doom, talks up Maggie Gallagher;
CWA endorses Marie Waldron for California assembly;
CWA on George Will column against the insipid "Values Voters" label for theoconservatives: our values are real, everybody else's are stupid, broken, or evil;
Focus on the Family Canada, REAL Women of Canada, other anti-marriage groups working on dumping C-38, which legalised marriage in Canada; they want a vote late this summer, which is when they see their best chance at getting the law overturned;
Vote Marriage Canada is still the umbrella group, now working to overturn C-38 and ban lesbian and gay civil marriage;
Focus on the Family Canada ACTION ITEM to lobby MPs to vote to ban lesbian and gay marriage in Canada, and reverse C-38; they're starting now;
Focus on the Family Canada's "Marriage and Homosexuality: A Christian Response" lists a lot of the usual material, tho' much more mildly stated than the American version;
FotF Canada: women are getting abortions in Canada for gender selection;
Focus on the Family USA; "Another Victory for the Boy Scouts," allowing the group to continue discriminating against agnostic and atheist youth while still getting government support;
Focus on the Family USA again, talking about how "both sides" are trying to get abortion initiatives on the South Dakota ballot, but not noting that the pro-rights side already has their signatures in - and the anti-abortion side hasn't; meanwhile, they quote an antiabortion activist against the idea of a public vote; "When the legislators were debating the House Bill 1215, they were overwhelmed with calls and e-mail and letters from the constituents. The people of South Dakota actually already voted";
Focus on the Family USA mocks new Batwoman comic;
Conservative MP Garth Turner (Toronto) calls out Canadian theoconservatives, speaks a bit too bluntly for the Institute for Canadian Values; they're demanding he be disciplined, and imply that he's a racist;
Canada Family Action Coalition has about a zillion items out today; the first is an update on the efforts to rally MPs against marriage rights, and to overturn marriage law in Canada;
CFAC letter on the effort to allow a broad-range of anti-gay discrimination by teachers, other government employees; it failed in Alberta, but they're bringing it back up again next year; this is the bill that I would have supported had it only protected religious groups, but it went well beyond that - which was the point;
CFAC: gay rights and abortion rights lead directly to padeophilia;
CFAC: Canada needs the "bold, honest, and civil kind of leadership" exhibited by California governor Schwarzenegger;
Faith and Freedom Network sent out a Referendum 65 (anti-civil-rights) urgent update on the 28th, calling on pastors to redouble their efforts to get signatures from their congregations and get them in by June 6th.
----- 1 -----
Batwoman is back as a lesbian
By LARRY MCSHANE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Wednesday, May 31, 2006 · Last updated 3:11 p.m. PT
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/artandlife/1404AP_Batwoman_Uncloseted.html?source=mypi
NEW YORK -- Years after she first emerged from the Batcave, Batwoman is coming out of the closet. DC Comics is resurrecting the classic comic book character as a lesbian, unveiling the new Batwoman in July as part of an ongoing weekly series that began this year.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
'Rhythm method' may kill off more embryos than other methods of contraception
The rhythm method and embryonic death J Med Ethics 2006; 32: 355-6
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/bsj-mm052306.php
The "rhythm method" may kill off more embryos than other contraceptive methods, such as coils, morning after pills, and oral contraceptives, suggests an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics.
The method relies on abstinence during the most fertile period of a woman's menstrual cycle. For a woman who has regular 28 day cycles, this is around days 10 to 17 of the cycle.
It is the only method of birth control condoned by the Catholic Church, because it doesn't interfere with conception, so allowing nature to take its course.
It is believed that the method works because it prevents conception from occurring. But says Professor Bovens, it may owe much of its success to the fact that embryos conceived on the fringes of the fertile period are less viable than those conceived towards the middle.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Focus Action Launches Marriage-Protection Blitz
Message to grassroots: The vote is only days away. There is no time to lose.by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
May 30, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0040678.cfm
The U.S. Senate is expected to vote June 7 on the federal Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA), and grassroots pro-family groups are stepping up efforts to make sure their constituents weigh in on one of the most important issues of our time.
Focus on the Family Action Founder Dr. James Dobson will focus this week on the MPA during two broadcasts of his nationally syndicated radio show. He is asking Americans to flood the phone lines of some key Senators to let them know how strongly their constituents feel about passing the amendment, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. He said senators need to feel the heat from people all across the country.
[...]
The targeted senators are:
Arkansas — Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, Democrats
Colorado — Ken Salazar, Democrat
Florida — Bill Nelson, Democrat
Indiana — Evan Bayh, Democrat
Louisiana — Mary Landrieu, Democrat
Maine — Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, Republicans
Montana — Max Baucus, Democrat
Nebraska — Chuck Hagel, Republican
New Hampshire — John Sununu, Republican
North Dakota — Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, Democrats
Pennsylvania — Arlen Specter, Republican
Rhode Island — Lincoln Chafee, Republican
South Dakota — Tim Johnson, Democrat
[...]
TAKE ACTION/FOR MORE INFORMATION:
You can help in the battle over the MPA. Visit our Marriage Protection Amendment Action Center. If you are a CitizenLink Daily Update subscriber, click on the blue button in the e-mail to be automatically logged in. Otherwise, click on this link.
----- 4 -----
New York Court to Hear Gay-Marriage Case
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
May 30, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040671.cfm
New York's Court of Appeals will hear cases on Wednesday concerning five same-sex couples who, in 2004, were denied marriage licenses by the city clerk's office, The New York Sun reported.
[...]
According to The New York Daily News, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg supports same-sex marriage.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Action Alert - Pass the Marriage Protection Amendment
Focus on the Family
May 31, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA) early next week -- and now more than ever your voice is crucial to its passage.
We are urging you to let your two senators know today that you expect them to support the MPA and the overwhelming majority of Americans who think marriage should be defined as the union of one man and one woman. To help you make this point quickly and powerfully, we've done a couple of things we don't often do on legislative calls to action. We've written a short, but direct message for you to send to your senators; and we've made arrangements so you can fax it right to their offices.
E-mails are easy to ignore; faxes are not. That's why, when you send the message, it will be sent -- at no charge to you -- not to your senators' inboxes but to their fax machines. When thousands of faxes begin to stack up in their offices, they will know without a doubt the will of the people on this important issue.
So please take a moment, right now, to click the "Take Action" button to the right and send your fax.
[Button URL here]
Thanks for doing your part to defend the family.
----- 6 -----
Your Support for Marriage Overwhelms Our System
Focus on the Family
May 31, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
An incredible number of you who are concerned about protecting marriage and who responded to today's Action Alert to fax your senators overwhelmed our system as well as the vendor that handles sending them out. Our technical staff has fixed several issues and it seems to be working more smoothly now. If you received an error message when attempting to send your faxes, please try it again by clicking on the blue Marriage Protection Amendment button on the right side of this e-mail. We apologize for the inconvenience. We are also highly encouraged that so many of you care so deeply about this issue.
[Marriage Protection Amendment button URL]
[Take Action button URL]
----- 7 -----
New York's Top Court Hears Gay-Marriage Appeal
Five cases challenging a marriage law's constitutionality rolled into one for appeal.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
May 31, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0040688.cfm
New York's highest court — the Court of Appeals — is considering a lawsuit which could bring same-sex marriage to state. Justices today heard oral arguments in the case some two years after it was first filed.
But pro-family groups that have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in defense of state laws on marriage said such challenges should never come before a judge — and wouldn't, if Congress passes the federal Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA) and sends it to the states to be ratified.
[...]
"That's the same type of ruling that we saw in the Goodrich case in Massachusetts," he said, referring to the decision that brought same-sex marriage to that state. "One of the strategies homosexual activists use is to seek to get marriage laws overturned based upon a state's constitution, so that the decisions can't be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court — because it's then not a federal issue."
[...]
"The federal MPA would prevent any judge -- in either the state or federal system -- from legislating from the bench and declaring that there is a 'right' to same-sex marriage," Hausknecht added.
[...]
"Please call and fax your senators today," she said. "Urge them to support the Marriage Protection Amendment."
TAKE ACTION:
The U.S. Senate is about to consider the Marriage Protection Amendment. Send a fax to your senators calling on them to protect marriage. We have a message already written for you that you can send through our Action Center.
If you are a CitizenLink Daily Update subscriber, click on the blue Marriage Protection Amendment button on the right side of the e-mail. It will automatically log you in.
Otherwise, click this link. Enter your address information first and click the "Go" button so the Action Center can identify your senators.
----- 8 -----
Group Shuts Down to Avoid Being Forced to Accept Gay Adoption
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
May 31, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040700.cfm
Catholic Charities of Boston will shut its doors June 30 rather than be forced by the state to serve homosexual couples seeking to adopt.
Each year, between 30 and 40 children are successfully placed in adoptive homes by the group — more than any other agency in Massachusetts. But state law requires adoption agencies to place children with same-sex couples.
Father J. Bryan Hehir, president of the organization, and Jeffrey Kaneb, the group's chairman, in a joint statement said rather than comply with a law they couldn't agree with, the group would shut down.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Man Loses Position for Signing Marriage-Protection Petition
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
May 31, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040699.cfm
A Massachusetts volunteer firefighter was told he was no longer needed after he signed a petition to overturn the state's court-ordered gay marriage, Yahoo reported.
Leo "Skip" Childs said he began volunteering in North Truro five years ago, "because I think everyone that lives in a small community has got to pitch in."
[More at URL]
[Editor's Note: The "report" in question is actually an opinion column by Maggie Gallagher, who has become a major anti-marriage propagandist. As far as I can tell, what happened is that he was confronted about this by a gay member of the town council when he came up for renomination to his fire board position. His response - that he was opposed to "a special interest group with a strong lobby" influencing judges - did not satisfy the councilmember. The town council as a whole then decided not to include him on the new board. Both the article here and Ms. Gallagher's opinion article make it sound very much like this was OMG T3H GAY MAFIA kicking him to the curb. There is also an implicit position that gay people should not consider anti-gay activism when considering the suitability of others for positions; a similar position would be that a black person should not object to someone who, say, considers interracial marriage a sin against god.]
----- 10 -----
GAY MARRIAGE CREATES NEW CONFLICTS FOR NEIGHBORS
By Maggie Gallagher
Tue May 30, 6:21 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucmg/20060530/cm_ucmg/gaymarriagecreatesnewconflictsforneighbors
The story circulating on the Internet was hard to believe at first: A North Truro, Mass., volunteer fireman lost his position because he signed a petition opposing gay marriage?
I was lucky enough to get Leo "Skip" Childs on the phone. Skip is the kind of guy who makes you ashamed of yourself, but very proud to be an American. He volunteers many hours in the tiny town of North Truro, repairing fire trucks, saving lives. "Last month I went on 22 rescue calls, plus 10 to 15 hours of administrative duties," he told me.
[...]
But with that comment, Paul Asher-Best went ballistic. As Asher-Best later told me, "I consider myself one half of a loving couple who has been together 27 years. I don't consider myself a special interest.
"Mr. Childs' explanation, just like I said, amplifies his bias," he pronounced, "and I think for that reason I couldn't support him."
[Editor's note: not the description of Councilman Asher-Best as "ballistic." This may be true. However, no quote is supplied, so it's suspicious at best.]
[...]
Paul Asher-Best is certainly not repentant. "To me, it reminds me of when back in the bad old days when a black man even looking a white man in the eye was an offense. I feel like this 'uppity f------' had the nerve to look a straight guy in the eye and ask him to explain himself. If the issue is interracial marriage, would questioning him on attitudes toward black people be so out of line?"
[...]
Skip Childs is one of the first casualties of this new conflict. But as our senators debate a Marriage Protection Amendment June 5, they should be forewarned: If they leave marriage to the courts, he won't be the last.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
Countdown to Senate Marriage Amendment Vote
Family Research Council
Online as of May 31, 2006
http://www.frc.org
(On front page of Family Research Council website)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Next week the U.S. Senate will vote on S. J. Res. 1, the Marriage Protection Amendment to the Constitution. Marriage is an indispensable institution, and this is a vote of surpassing importance. In the decades to come, our children and our grandchildren will turn to us and ask, "When the issue of marriage was decided, were you involved? Where did you stand?"We need at least 8,000 more signers of our online petition to reach our goal. These petitions will be presented to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on Monday, June 5. Let's all take the actions needed to answer the question the rising generations will ask us: "Where did you stand?"
Please add your name to this petition in support of the Marriage Protection Amendment.
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
Marriage Moves at Home
To: Friends of Family Research Council
From: Tony Perkins, President
May 31, 2006 - Wednesday
Please forward this to your Friends and Family!
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU06E22
Hillary Clinton kicked off her reelection campaign for the United States Senate today amid speculation that she will be a candidate for president in 2008. That gives her at least two commonalities with John McCain, a potential presidential candidate who is giving lip service to marriage while refusing to protect it. Senator Clinton has gone even further, strategizing with homosexual groups to defeat the Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA) when it comes up for a vote in the U.S. Senate next week. There should be no question as to the threat to marriage from the courts.
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
Help Create a Media War Chest to Preserve Marriage
Family Research Council
May 23, 2006 - Tuesday
Forward to a Friend!
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=AL06E08&f=PG03I03
In less than two weeks the U.S. Senate will vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment to the Constitution. It's time for us to make a final push to stop liberal judges at the state and federal level who want to remake the family and end man-woman marriage in the United States. You have helped this effort by signing the petition we will present on Monday, June 5, to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who will lead the fight for traditional marriage on the Senate floor.
Now we need your help, if you are financially able, by contributing to our marriage advocacy project.
Over the next eight weeks Family Research Council's policy experts and media voices will take fresh messages about the sanctity of marriage onto the nation's airwaves, religious and secular alike. We have our work cut out for us as you know. In the past few weeks, the media have been filled with appearances by Mary Cheney and others who are working to undercut the importance of marriage to our survival as a society.
The media have delighted in the fact that Vice President Cheney's daughter publicly opposes the very convictions that brought her father's political party into the White House. But this issue isn't about one family's personal drama. It's about what's best for every family and for our nation's future. Tony Perkins was pleased to record a new television spot to get out the word on the need for the Marriage Protection Amendment. Watch it here and be sure to share this message with as many of your friends and family members as you can.
Click on either picture to watch a TV spot (Windows Media Player) promoting the Marriage Protection Amendment. To see other TV spots by Gary Bauer, Bishop Harry Jackson and Rev. Richard Land click here.
Remember, our opponents come to this with a deep war chest. They are focused on this issue like no other, and they have hour after hour of free media time from their liberal friends at the networks. To counter this effort, we need a media war chest of our own for this major push. Please consider a tax-deductible gift right now to Family Research Council to help us with our media outreach in these last weeks before the pivotal Senate and House votes. Our nation can't afford to lose ground in the fight to save man-woman marriage.
God bless you.
[More at URL]
----- 14 -----
HB 2661 (Ref. 65) is About Gay Marriage
Faith and Freedom Network
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/05/hb-2661-ref-65-is-about-gay-marriage.html
We have heard the media, the gay activists and the liberal, secularist legislators tell us that HB2661 is not about gay marriage. It is about civil rights. It’s about decency and tolerance. But not about gay marriage. The legislators who approved HB2661 even assured us that they had written into the bill words that said it was not about gay marriage.
But it is. We have been saying that all along. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.
Yesterday, our Field Director, Jon Russell, forwarded an email to me sent out by Equal Rights Washington; the organization that is committed to gay marriage in Washington State. While the email was soliciting testimonials to support gay marriage at the recommendation of “many legislators,” the rest of the message was very telling.
It said, “Thank you to the over 1000 ERW [Equal Rights Washington] advocates who have endorsed the Washington Won’t Discriminate Campaign in the Past 72 Hours.”
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Catholic League: Homosexual High School Teacher Was Rightly Fired
By Jim Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
May 31, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/5/afa/312006d.asp
(AgapePress) - The Catholic League is defending a decision by a Nevada Catholic school to fire a homosexual teacher over his MySpace.com profile. Jeff Crouse, a 45-year-old former seminarian, has been fired from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas after school officials learned he was trolling for same-sex dates on the Internet.
The Las Vegas Sun reports that Crouse, who teaches philosophy and film studies to high school seniors, posted information in his MySpace.com profile, describing himself as a homosexual seeking "straight-acting single men." This came to the attention of school administrators and, not long afterward, the teacher was terminated.
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
'Ten Commandments' Judge on Alabama's Republican Primary Ballot
By Allie Martin
May 31, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/5/afa/312006e.asp
(AgapePress) - The man who was at the center of a controversy several years ago over the public acknowledgment of God is in a race for governor of Alabama.
Three years ago Judge Roy Moore -- who was then chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court -- made national headlines when he refused a federal judge's order to remove a 5,300-pound Ten Commandments granite monument from the State Judicial Building. A state judicial court removed Moore from office over the incident.
Now Moore is running in the June 6 Republican primary as a candidate for governor. He is opposed by the incumbent, Governor Bob Riley. A recent poll conducted by SurveyUSA for a television station in Mobile showed Moore trailing Riley by more than two-to-one.
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
South Dakota Indian Tribe Bans Abortions, Pro-Abortion Prez Suspended
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 31, 2006
http://www.lifenews.com/state1684.html
Pine Ridge, SD (LifeNews.com) -- The Oglala Sioux tribal council has voted to ban all abortions on their reservation after the council president created a national controversy saying she would thwart a state ban on abortions by building an abortion business in tribal lands.
The vote to prohibits abortions on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation was unanimous, 16-0, with two members of the tribal council absent.
The council also voted overwhelningly to suspend its president, Cecilia Fire Thunder, without pay saying she accepted unauthorized donations for the abortion center without getting the council's approval
"It was unauthorized political activity," Will Peters, a member of the tribal council, told the Argus Leader newspaper.
[...]
TAKE ACTION: Voice your thoughts on the abortion business to: Oglala Sioux Tribe, ATTN: President Fire Thunder, P. O. Box H, Pine Ridge, SD 57770. You can also call 605-867-6074 or fax a letter to 605-867-6076.
Related web sites:
Oglala Sioux Tribe - http://www.lakotamall.com/oglalasiouxtribe
----- 18 -----
Supreme Court Upholds Boy Scouts
Family Research Council
Online as of May 31, 2006
http://www.frc.org
(On front page, below fold)
John Scalise, an atheist father who has been fighting the religious nature of the Boy Scouts since 1998, has finally lost his case as the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his argument. He claimed his son was not allowed to become a scout since he would not say the Boy Scout pledge "to do my duty to God and my country." Scalise even tried to get the Boy Scouts banned from being able to recruit in public schools, claiming religious discrimination. By rejecting the arguments of Scalise, the Boy Scouts are enabled to continue helping raise young people willing to pledge their duty to God.
----- 19 -----
Catholic Charities in Boston Will Close on June 30, 2006
Group Left Without a Choice
Concerned Women for America
Online as of May 31, 2006
http://www.cwalac.org/article_333.shtml
On March 10, 2006, Catholic Charities of Boston announced that it would shut down its adoption services after over 100 years in successful operation. Why? Because it has a policy of not adopting children to homosexual couples, and could not comply with state laws requiring that adoption agencies place children with gay couples seeking to adopt.
"We have encountered a dilemma we cannot resolve," said Father J. Bryan Hehir and Jeffrey Kaneb, the president and chairman of Boston Catholic Charities. Their statement concluded that they could not "reconcile the teaching of the Church which guides our work and the statutes and regulations of the commonwealth."
The charity had successfully placed between 30 and 40 children per year in homes, more than any group in the state.
On June 30, that will end.
[More at URL]
----- 20 -----
CWA ENDORSES WALDRON FOR ASSEMBLY
California Political Desk
May 26, 2006
http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=10263
Concerned Women for America Endorses Waldron for 74th Assembly District Seat Recognize Waldron’s Strong Leadership Fighting for Family Values and Pro-Life Causes.
(Carlsbad) – Concerned Women for American Legislative Action Committee of California today endorsed Escondido Council Member Marie Waldron, Candidate for the 74th Assembly District seat, saying she is the proven candidate who will fight for conservative moral values in Sacramento.
“Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee considers it an honor to support Marie Waldron for California Assembly District 74,” said Cindy Moles, Director, CWA-LAC. “She is a strong pro-life, pro-family candidate who will preserve, protect and promote traditional family values…[She] is a woman of high moral character who we believe will conduct the business of her office with dignity, integrity, and honesty. California needs Marie Waldron.”
[More at URL]
----- 21 -----
George Will and Those Annoying Values Voters
Can just anyone claim that label?
5/30/2006
By Janice Shaw Crouse
Concerned Women for America
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10858/BLI/dotcommentary/index.htm
George Will is at his acerbic best when calling a spade a spade such as when he declared flatly, “Many people have no notion of propriety when in the presence of other people.” Then there was the case where he deliciously sneered at the California Department of Education’s stipulation that when "ethnic or cultural groups are portrayed, portrayals must not depict differences in customs or lifestyles as undesirable"--Slavery? Segregation? Anti-Semitism? Cannibalism?--"and must not reflect adversely on such differences."
[...]
Clever wording, George, but what about the great moral questions of the day that loom as large as slavery, segregation, or anti-Semitism? Surely there is no more significant issue today, no clearer focal point of the struggle between good and evil than the sanctity of human life. Being pro-abortion and embracing the culture of death are not exactly the same as opposing abortion because of deeply held beliefs that life is something precious and dear. Will misses the asymmetry between positive values and negative values which in reality are, from a moral perspective, an absence of values.
[More at URL]
----- 22 -----
Marriage debate to heat up
Focus on the Family Canada
Today’s Family News
May 31, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/family/stories/053106.html
The sunshine will not be the only source of heat this summer. Canada’s political temperature is also expected to rise as both sides in the ongoing debate over the definition of marriage prepare to do battle over an expected free vote in the House of Commons on whether the government should revisit the issue.
Shortly after winning the January 23 federal election, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that he would prefer to have the vote “sooner rather than later” – but likely not before the fall sitting of Parliament at the earliest.
[...]
In fact, defenders of marriage concede that they need more time to get their message across to MPs, especially their concerns as to the potentially harmful effects on children of being raised by two fathers or two mothers.
“If the vote was tomorrow, they [the pro-same-sex marriage side] would probably win it,” said former MP Pat O’Brien. Almost a year ago, O’Brien left the Liberals over the government’s determination to ram a bill redefining civil marriage through Parliament. O’Brien is now a registered lobbyist for Vote Marriage Canada.
[...]
“It’s going to be close, very close,” Gwen Landolt, national vice-president of REAL Women of Canada, told The Hill Times. “We’ve let all our members know and we want them to work on this issue during the summertime.”
[More at URL]
----- 23 -----
Working to Influence Parliament to Protect Our Children's Future
Vote Marriage Canada
Join Us in This Effort!
Online as of March 31, 2006
http://www.votemarriagecanada.ca/index.htm
The very future of Canada, the future we will pass on to our children, grandchildren and generations to come, depends in large measure on protecting and preserving traditional marriage.
The reason is simple. Throughout human history and across societies and cultures, marriage between a man and a woman has been the fundamental and essential foundation of strong families. Strong families have always been the foundation of all healthy and successful societies. Anything that undermines our families threatens our future.
And make no mistake. Legalizing same-sex marriage will undermine our families. Click here for analysis of why this will happen. If you are convinced, as we are, that preservation of traditional marriage in Canada is vital to the good of all, and especially to our children for generations to come, then we urge you to join with us. Help us influence the Canadian Parliament to protect traditional marriage.
[More at URL]
----- 24 -----
Tell Canada Why Marriage Matters
Focus on the Family Canada
May 31, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
Last year, many TFN readers responded to the marriage debate in Parliament by contacting their MP and explaining how they felt about redefining marriage. MPs were amazed at all the mail they received. Unfortunately, most of the public debate in newspapers, on TV, and even in Parliament did not reflect the huge opposition that Canadians showed. The discussion rarely went beyond rhetoric of rights and freedoms.
With a promised vote coming up, now is the time to explain to Canadians and your MP why the changed definition of marriage really does matter. Books like “Marriage on Trial” and the free online publication “Marriage and Homosexuality” will help you explain why marriage should be restored in Canada. Click here for ideas about how you can speak up in your community.
----- 25 -----
Marriage and Homosexuality
A Christian Response
Focus on the Family Canada
Online as of May 31, 2006, but certainly older
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/sexuality/PDF/Marriage_and_Homosexuality.pdf
Who would have thought just a generation ago that same-sex marriage would be one of the most heated social issues of the new millennium? Even within the gay and lesbian community the notion of same-sex marriage was widely rejected until the mid 1990’s. Yet a few short years later we are facing the very real possibility that marriage, the foundational building block of society, may be radically redefined. How are we as Christians to respond?
[...]
----- 26 -----
Canada’s "missing daughters"
Focus on the Family Canada
Today’s Family News
May 31, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/life/stories/053106_01.html
Abortion clinics in Canada are accommodating women seeking to terminate a pregnancies for no apparent reason other than gender preference.
Documents obtained by Calgary’s Western Standard magazine reportedly confirm anecdotal evidence that communities around Toronto and in B.C.’s Lower Mainland with a high proportion of immigrants from China and India have significantly more baby boys than girls. Sons are said to be favoured because they continue the family name and are presumably better able to support their parents.
[More at URL]
----- 27 -----
Another Victory for the Boy Scouts
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
May 31, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040701.cfm
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case brought against the Boy Scouts of America. The father who brought the case objected to the group's presence in public school buildings because of the requirement for members to pledge duty to God, The Associated Press reported.
[More at URL]
----- 28 -----
South Dakota Residents Petition About Abortion Ban
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
May 30, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040672.cfm
People on both sides of the debate over the South Dakota's law banning abortion are petitioning to place the issue before voters in the November election.
Reuters reported that abortion supporters filed a petition today aimed at allowing voters to overturn the ban.
Pro-life advocates are gathering signatures to place an initiative on the ballot that would uphold the ban — they have until June 19 to do so.
[...]
"When the legislators were debating the House Bill 1215, they were overwhelmed with calls and e-mail and letters from the constituents," she said. "The people of South Dakota actually already voted."
[More at URL]
----- 29 -----
Batwoman Comes Out of the Closet
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
May 30, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040669.cfm
DC Comics has announced that a new Batwoman will appear in its publication 52 — and she's a lesbian, the BBC reported.
[...]
Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman no longer exist in the new, politically correct world of super heroes where the Mexican teen Blue Beetle and the government-sponsored team of Chinese heroes called the Great Ten fight societal ills.
[Editor's Note: Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are off-stage for this miniseries. But the spin is set on "high" here. You're geeks, you can read up on it all you want yourself.]
----- 30 -----
Institute calls on Harper to discipline MP Garth Turner for bigoted comments
Institute for Canadian Values
Date: May 31, 2006
http://canadianvalues.ca/news.aspx?aid=186
OTTAWA - The Institute for Canadian Values is calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discipline Conservative MP Garth Turner for what it calls "bigoted comments" he made on television and on his online blog.
[...]
"Garth Turner's behaviour is a sharp illustration of the vicious and deep-rooted bigotry lurking just below the surface of the secular-left in our society," continued Ben-Ami. "People like him claim to be champions of tolerance, but when their own ideas and positions are challenged, they resort to name-calling and fear mongering, laughably invoking the principle of tolerance to justify their bigotry. What really shocks is that so many are gullible enough to believe them."
[More at URL]
----- 31 -----
Marriage Matters Heating Up
Canada Family Action Coalition
Online as of May 31, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/C38-fallvote.htm
Brian Rushfeldt says “There's probably about 25 MPs that we think are 'iffies' right now.” It is up to local constituents to also pressure their MPs, so they right the wrong done by C38 “any two people” marriage notion. Government can find a way to “reinstall” heterosexual one man one woman marriage as a distinct and unique form of relationship. The uniqueness of one man and one woman marriage does make it unequal to two same sex people be they homosexual or heterosexual.
A healthy nation must do whatever it can to promote and defend marriage, as one man and one woman, and the natural family unit. It is the foundation of continued success and growth of a culture and population. The fact that “traditional “ marriage has not done well is the result of social policy and laws that have not given it the recognition and support it needs. Common law relations, easy divorce and promotion of any form of cohabiting all have led people to discard marriage as a sacred, unique, and crucial form of relationship. And the social and economic consequences are hurting women and children especially.
-- CFAC
Traditional marriage lobby heats up on Parliament Hill
Full Story - The Hill Times
May 29th, 2006
By Simon Doyle
The Defend Marriage Coalition says it is using the summer to target undecided MPs in advance of an expected fall vote, but Canadians for Equal Marriage is doing the same.
The divisive same-sex marriage issue is quietly gaining momentum in Ottawa, as lobbyists for and against same-sex marriage are lining up behind the scenes to target an estimated 25 undecided MPs.
The Defend Marriage Coalition, an alliance of 12 traditional marriage, family and religious advocacy groups, says it will use the summer to mobilize religious congregations and constituents to make their cases to MPs.
[More at URL]
----- 32 -----
Albertans the victim of filibuster
By Ted Morton
MLA, Foothills-Rocky View
May 28, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/filibuster.htm
Dear Brian Rushfeldt, (and CFAC supporters),
I am writing to thank you for helping to rally support for Bill 208 and the protection of freedom of religion and freedom of speech in Alberta. During the first two weeks of May—when Bill 208 was going through the legislative process—I (and other MLAs) received thousands of email, phone calls and letters from Albertans supporting the passage of Bill 208. I know that many of you encouraged this show of support, and it worked!
This public outpouring of support had a very positive effect on members of my PC Caucus, which gave over 85% support for Bill 208 at Second Reading on May 1. Based on that strong showing, we expected to go to Committee of the Whole the following Monday and then Third and final reading on May 15. However, as you read in the papers, on May 8 the Liberals and NDP mounted a filibuster and used up all the time allotted for private member’s bills thereby preventing Bill 208 from even being discussed that day. This basically derailed the time-table for getting Bill 208 enacted this year, as there is unlikely to be a Fall sitting of the Legislature due to the PC Leadership race.
[More at URL]
----- 33 -----
Pedohilia political party – is Canada next?
Canada Family Action Coalition
(05-31-2006)
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/child/pedophilia/pedophilia-party.htm
With the rise of those Canadian groups (see the related article here on CFAC's site) who want the age of consent for sex at 14 ( or lower) it is logical that there will be a move to follow the pedophile party of Netherlands. Alterations to marriage, increased acceptance of child porn, adoption of children into same gender homes, “teaching “ of children to experiment in sexual acts, universities writing about the positives of inter-generational sex, and Hollywood and advertisers depiction of sexualized children, all set the foundation for such a movement here in Canada.
Children in Canada have never been less safe than in the past 3 years. Their future safety is not a bright and positive one.
Federal and provincial governments MUST take every action possible to rescind the “progressive” liberalized actions of the few.
-- CFAC
Pedophilia Party Launched in the Netherlands
by Hilary White - May 30, 2006
LifeSiteNews.com
AMSTERDAM - The newly formed Charity, Freedom and Diversity (NVD) party of the Netherlands has introduced itself to Dutch politics as a champion of children's rights and has vowed, "We are going to shake The Hague awake!"
The NVD is Europe's first political party dedicated to promoting and legitimizing pedophilia. In a press release, the NVD's spokesman and co-founder, Ad van den Berg said among their goals is lowering the age of consent for sexual activity from 16 to 12 and eventually eliminating it completely.
"A ban just makes children curious," van den Berg told the Algemeen Dagblad (AD) newspaper. The party will also be working to decriminalize child pornography and to lower the age for which it is legal to appear in it from 18 to 16. The party suggests that in order to prevent "abuse" a governmental body be appointed to investigate whether children had been forced to appear in pornographic movies.
[More at URL]
----- 34 -----
Bold, civilized leadership
Canada Family Action Coalition
May 29, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/sexuality/schwarzenegger-to-veto.htm
This is the bold, honest, and civil kind of leadership Canadians need from their Premiers. Now that Canada has , for the time being, legal homosexual marriage , there will be a push to “ indoctrinate “ children with false information and even dangerous information in the public education system. In fact it has been happening already with so called AIDs activists going into junior and elementary schools telling kids to try sodomy and other such behaviors.
Will any Premier take a civilized and right stand against this in Canada?
-- CFAC
California Gov Schwarzenegger Will Veto Bill Requiring Mandatory Gay Education in Schools
By Gurdon Schultz
May 26, 2006
LifeSiteNews.com
SACRAMENTO, CA - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he will veto a bill to include mandatory instruction on achievements of homosexual persons in school curriculums throughout the state.
"The governor believes that school curriculum should include all important historical figures, regardless of orientation," governor spokesman Adam Mendelssohn said Wednesday. "However, he does not support the Legislature micromanaging curriculum."
[More at URL]
----- 35 -----
Referendum 65 Alert
Faith and Freedom Network
May 28, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
The following message was written by the leaders of many of the faith-based organizations in Washington state and by concerned pastors.
It is in regard to Referendum 65 and is directed to pastors. However, if you are not a pastor, please forward this alert to your pastor.
Dear Pastor:
We are in the final 8 days to gather enough signatures for Referendum 65 to be put before the voters. In January, our legislature passed House Bill 2661 which placed sexual orientation on the same playing field as race. Simply put that being black an “immutable” characteristic the same as being a homosexual. We know this is not true. Promoting the signing of the petition in your church- will place this on the ballot so the citizens of our state in or out of the church can decide the issue. We encourage you to show the 6 (six) minute DVD produced by Sound the Alarm and the link to the website where you can download the petition. Please follow the instructions on printing the petition carefully. It is legal for you to present this information in your church.
Instructions:
1) DVD will explain situation to you and your church. http://www.soundthealarm.com/video.html
2) Have 11 X 17 copies of petitions available immediately following you service http://www.faithandfreedom.us/pdf/Ref65petition2.pd f
3) Follow the mailing instructions very carefully to send them in. (Note you can send in all petitions whether it is completely filled or not.)
All Referendum 65 petitions with one or more signatures on them must be submitted to the Secretary of State's office no later than 5 pm, Tuesday, June 6th.
From now until Friday, June 2, supporters of R-65 should simply mail their partially-filled and fully-filled petitions to our PO Box in Spokane (R-65, PO Box 18250, Spokane, WA 99228 - this is the address that's on the petitions).
On Saturday, June 3rd, Sunday, June 4th, and Monday, June 5th, it's best to mail the petitions directly to the Secretary of State:
If using the Post Office to mail your petitions in (regular mail, Priority Mail, or Express Mail, etc.), it is:
ATTN: Initiative petition(s) enclosed
Tina Clarke, Secretary of State
(Ph: 360- 725- 5780)
PO Box 40237
Olympia, WA 98504
If sending by UPS, Fedex, or others that require a street mailing address, it is:
ATTN: Initiative petition(s) enclosed
Tina Clarke, Secretary of State
(Ph: 360- 725-5780)
520 Union Ave
Olympia, WA 98504-0220
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-06-01 09:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-01 01:54 pm (UTC)Batwoman, Jesus, and rat rear-ends
Date: 2006-06-06 02:18 am (UTC)the following is meant highly tongue-in-cheek:
Regarding whether Jesus gives a rat's ass about cells - ultimately I think He does. Just not a very large rat's ass.
And truthfully, I think God is more powerful than any birth control method anyway - I personally know people who were conceived while their mothers were using some form of birth control, be it the pill (my own step-daughter), an IUD (a roommate I had in college), or the rhythm method (okay I don't actually know the kid yet - he/she is due in January - but I work with his/her mother). I don't personally know any "the condom broke" babies, but I'm pretty sure they exist too.
I think if God *really* wants a particular couple to conceive, God can do that. Sometimes I wonder if God is a bit lazy about it, though - the difficulty my sister had getting pregnant when she & her husband wanted to indicates this because those two are *definitely* a boon to the gene pool, whereas many other parents should be permanently banned from even approaching the pool but they reproduce like rabbits.
But that's what I think. Not really worth much.
I do sincerely appreciate your CWUs - they remind me that most Christians do not think like I do, and therefore I have to remain active about trying to educate them.
:)
Monica