Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Jun. 26th, 2006 10:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdFocus on the Family sets up a new website - "ivotevalues.org" - aimed at cranking up fundamentalist turnout in the 2006 election;
FotF promotes Priests for Life's "Election Prayer Campaign," focused partly on prayer but mostly on turning out as many anti-abortion voters as possible in 2006;
That weird incident in Florida where a policeman appears to have harassed an anti-gay signature gathering effort has gone to their PD's internal affairs department;
FotF condemns California governor Schwarzenegger for meeting with the Log Cabin Republicans, saying that he has "crossed the line";
FotF promotes bill banning legal fee payments to plaintiffs in successful religious establishment cases; the point is to make it harder to sue to stop state religious support; includes ACTION ITEM to support the bill; they don't even have a single sponsour in the Senate yet, I wouldn't worry too much about this one right now;
FotF reports on Hamilton County (Ohio) judge ordering Planned Parenthood to turn over confidential patient information - they're looking for records that might indicate abortions being performed without adequate legal parental notification;
FotF hopes desperately for an Episcopal schism;
Vatican to Amnesty International: shut the hell up about reproductive rights;
Family Research Council ACTION ITEM to support the anti-marriage amendment in Massachusetts;
FRC ACTION ITEM to support the so-called "Public Expression of Religion Act," which is the bill described above as pushed by Focus on the Family; the number is HR 2679;
FRC attacks Sen. Hagel of Nebraska for not showing up for the anti-marriage Federal amendment vote;
American Family Association/Agape Press: "ex-gay" fundamentalists to have a booth at the NEA annual meeting in Florida;
Local fundamentalists in Michigan get a school to take down all club flag displays because of a Diversity Club's pride flag being in theirs; this is apparently a great victory, as far as they're concerned;
AFA condemns Pennsylvania anti-marriage amendment because its previous ban on all forms of civil unions and domestic partnerships has been stripped out in the state Senate; they want a blanket ban on all forms of recognition;
LifeNews condemns Warren Buffet's donation of money to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation because Bill and Melinda are pro-choice; includes ACTION ITEM to urge the Gates Foundation to stop support for any group which in any way deals with abortion;
Faith and Freedom Network tells the PI they're considering another attempt to overturn the Washington State Basic Civil Rights Code insofar as it applies to GBLT people;
FFN starts work on replacing Washington State Supreme Court justices, in anticipation of a possible marriage-rights ruling;
Canada Family Action Coalition reprints some anti-marriage material from a US anti-marriage-rights group;
Focus on the Family Canada reports on MP Paul Steckle's attempt to create an abortion debate in Canada;
Focus Canada issues a Take Action - unusually, it's not just in email, it's also on their website - on the effort to raise the age of consent;
Focus on the Family Canada reverts to more standard form; on the website, a story about schools needing tighter internet filters; in the email, there's also a Take Action not found on the web page.
----- 1 -----
Explore Importance of Voting Your Values
New Focus on the Family Web site allows you to register to vote, explains the importance of casting a ballot based on the issues you care about.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
June 26, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041022.cfm
"Values voters" heavily influenced the 2004 election, not only returning President Bush to office but passing 11 marriage-protection amendments and electing seven new pro-lifers to the Senate.
To help even more Americans join the influential ranks of these ballot-casters, Focus on the Family has launched its iVoteValues.org Web site. Its goal: to motivate people concerned about the moral issues at play in the culture to be involved in getting values-oriented candidates elected to public office.
[...]
* Church-bulletin inserts that can be easily printed and used to spread the word at each service.
* Sermon notes that offer talking points to church leaders who want to present a godly explanation for involvement in the elective process.
* Graphics and posters files are reproducible and will assist in spreading the word about the importance of voting.
* Legal do's and don'ts that will help you and your church determine what activities are acceptable and what would be deemed illegal.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Election Prayer Campaign Launching
Priests for Life spearheads 18-week effort to seek God's will for November's races.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
June 26, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041018.cfm
With Election Day just a few months away, a pro-family group is launching an 18-week prayer campaign early next month designed to see God's will done when voters go to the polls in November.
"Prayer brings us the grace of a clarity of mind that we can see issues the way God sees them, that we can discern the proper hierarchy of importance," explained Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life.
[...]
"If they commit to say the prayer every day, they're thinking about it everyday," he told Family News in Focus. "That will lead to them talking more about it and doing more about it."
So the call is to activate believers to vote, focusing on the primacy of the right to life as an election issue.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Police Probe Charges Family Advocates Were Harassed
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
June 26, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041032.cfm
Police in Sunrise, Fla., have launched an internal affairs investigation into allegations that an off-duty officer harassed volunteers who were collecting signatures for the proposed Florida Marriage Protection Amendment during a Promise Keepers event in the Ft. Lauderdale suburb two weeks ago.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Schwarzenegger to Speak at Gay-Activist Meeting
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
June 26, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041030.cfm
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will address the Log Cabin Republicans at a fund-raising event later this week — a move that has pro-family groups extremely disappointed, World Net Daily reported.
[...]
Mona Passignano, state issues analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said Schwarzenegger has crossed the line.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Bill Would Protect Religious Speech
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
June 23, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041004.cfm
Legislation now in the House would ban legal fees being awarded to groups that sue Christians for publicly acknowledging God.
Congress is considering banning the legal fees awarded to groups that sue Christians who express their faith in public.
American Legion Commander Rees Lloyd told a congressional hearing this week that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has taken religious-establishment litigation to a new and absurd level. He was involved in a suit against a 72-year-old veteran's memorial in the Mojave Desert.
[...]
TAKE ACTION
Please urge your congressman to support the Public Expression of Religious Act, and ask your U.S. senators to consider sponsoring the legislation. You'll find contact information, including an easy-to-use e-mail form, in the CitizenLink Action Center. (NOTE: When promoted to suggest a subject for your e-mail, please select "Other.")
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Ohio Abortion Clinic Must Hand Over Files on Underage Clients
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
June 23, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041005.cfm
An Ohio judge has told a Planned Parenthood clinic it must release records on abortion patients under 18 in order to see if the group routinely performs abortions on minors without the parental consent required by state law, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
The parents of a teen who received an abortion in 2004 filed a suit against Planned Parenthood, claiming the organization failed to obtain their consent or notify them before their daughter's abortion. It also charges the abortion provider with failing to notify authorities that a 21-year-old man had been in a sexual relationship with a minor.
Becki Brenner, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, said medical information should not be viewed by outside parties.
"We're very concerned about the exposure of private medical information," she said.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Episcopal Church Split All But Certain
As the smoke clears from the recent general convention, traditional Episcopalians reel at the events of recent days.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
June 22, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041000.cfm
Leaders of the Episcopal Church of the USA have adopted a resolution urging the church's dioceses not to appoint bishops whose "manner of life" would "pose a challenge" to the Anglican Communion.
But The Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner, an orthodox conservative Episcopal theologian, said the statement approved by the church's general convention in Columbus, Ohio, is weak and doesn't come close to what the Worldwide Anglican Communion asked of the American church — that it "repent" for having consecrated a homosexual bishop in 2003 and pledge that it won't elect any more gay bishops.
"They were also asked to deal with the problem of same-sex blessings," Radner said, "and they chose not to deal with that at all, which is a problem."
The statement may — or may not — keep the larger world church from distancing itself from the American branch of Anglicanism.
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Vatican Warns Amnesty International to Stay Away From Abortion
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
June 22, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040995.cfm
Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice, told the human-rights advocacy group Amnesty International (AI) that if the group becomes involved in the killing of preborn babies, it will lose the support of the Catholic Church, LifeSite News reported.
AI has recently proposed using its resources to promote "reproductive rights," a term used by liberals to talk about abortion rights.
[...]
Martino said that if AI supports abortion, it gives up the right to claim to be a human-rights organization.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
ACT NOW!
Call your Massachusetts state senator and encourage him/her to allow the people to vote on marriage!
Effort to allow a vote on marriage in Massachusetts underway
Family Research Council
June 23, 2006 - Friday
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=AL06F04&f=PG03I03
The citizens of Massachusetts are engaged in a lengthy battle to restore traditional marriage in their state through a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Recent polls indicate that 75 percent of Massachusetts voters want to vote on marriage, but legislators with ties to the homosexual lobby are trying to prevent a vote from ever taking place.
In order for the Protection of Marriage Amendment (PMA) to appear on the ballot, it must receive 50 votes at the Constitutional Convention that is scheduled for July 12th. State legislators, and especially the legislative leadership, need to hear from their constituents in Massachusetts.
To have your voice heard on marriage in Massachusetts please call Senate President Robert Travaglini at: 617-722-1500 and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi at: 617-722-2500. Tell them you want a fair up-or-down vote on the Marriage Amendment on July 12 with no procedural tricks or maneuvers to prevent a vote. Then contact your own state legislators by visiting this page where you will find your legislators' names, their direct phone numbers, and talking points for background information.
Please forward this email to your friends and family members immediately and encourage them to take action. Massachusetts is the only state in the nation which legally condones and encourages homosexual "marriage." If we can join together as a nation to defeat it there, it will send a strong message to our political leadership nationwide. Defeating homosexual marriage in liberal Massachusetts will set the tone for the next vote on the federal Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA), and show swing legislators just how out of touch the homosexual lobby truly is.
For more information on additional ways you can contribute to this campaign, please click the link below.
Thank you for your help in defending marriage in Massachusetts.
----- 10 -----
ACT NOW!
Contact your Representative today and tell them to support H.R. 2679.
Support the 'Public Expression of Religion Act'
Family Research Council
June 23, 2006 - Friday
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=AL06F06&f=PG03I03
The "Public Expression of Religion Act," commonly known as PERA, amends 42 U.S.C. sections 1983 and 1988 to prevent the use of the legal system in a manner that extorts money from State and local governments and inhibits their constitutional actions.
PERA will level the playing field against groups such as the ACLU who have won millions of dollars in attorney's fees while extorting state and local governments into suppressing the religious speech and free exercise of religion of private individuals, tearing down veterans' memorials that happen to have religious symbols on them, removing the Ten Commandments from public buildings, booting the Boy Scouts off public property, and blotting out crosses from official county seals.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
Why Did Hagel Vanish for Marriage Vote?
Family Research Council
by: Peter Sprigg
The "conventional wisdom" just can't explain Nebraska.
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PV06F01&f=PG03I03
The "conventional wisdom" (read: liberal media spin) on last week's U.S. Senate vote regarding the Marriage Protection Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was that the vote was scheduled for purely political reasons--to mobilize the Republican Party's conservative base for the November midterm congressional elections. A majority of Democrats opposed the "cloture" motion to bring the amendment to a real vote. They charged that the two days of debate on the measure were a waste of time, given the urgency of issues like rising gas prices.
But if the marriage amendment was brought up to boost Republicans, Nebraska's Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel must not have gotten the memo. He didn't even bother to show up for Wednesday's vote on the amendment. He later issued a statement saying that he would have voted to end debate on the measure (as he did in 2004)--but added that he would have voted against its passage because "it's a state issue and should stay that way," as the Associated Press put it.
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
Former Lesbian Brings Ex-'Gay' Message to 2006 NEA Annual Meeting
By Jim Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
June 26, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/6/afa/262006b.asp
(AgapePress) - A former lesbian who now runs a Christian ministry in Minnesota will be holding the first ever ex-"gay" exhibit at the National Education Association Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.
Janet Boynes lived a lesbian lifestyle for 14 years but later turned her life over to Christ and is now spreading the message that there is hope for homosexuals through a relationship with Jesus. She will be joining members of the NEA Ex-Gay Educators Caucus at the NEA annual meeting and will have a display booth there promoting her outreach, Janet Boynes Ministries.
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
Parents' Persistent Protest Pays Off; Clubs' Flags Removed
By Jim Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
June 26, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/6/afa/262006e.asp
(AgapePress) - A pro-family group is hailing the removal of a "homosexual pride" flag from the wall of a Michigan high school.
For almost two years, conservatives have been protesting the presence of a rainbow flag displayed by the Diversity Club at Howell High School. Students even formed a Traditional Values Club in response to the school's allowance of homosexual activism on campus. Last Thursday (June 22) officials at the school took down the rainbow flag, the Christian flag displayed by the Traditional Values Club, and those of all other campus clubs.
[More at URL]
----- 14 -----
Pro-Family Activist Blasts Penn. Senate's Civil Union Compromise
By Allie Martin
American Family Association/Agape Press
June 26, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/6/afa/262006d.asp
(AgapePress) - The president of the American Family Association (AFA) of Pennsylvania says lawmakers in her state have voted to destroy traditional marriage. The pro-family group is decrying a move by Pennsylvania senators that weakened a proposed state marriage protection amendment by stripping from it a ban on civil unions.
Last week, the state Senate voted 38-12 in favor of a proposed constitutional amendment protecting marriage but removed language prohibiting civil unions. That June 21 vote follows one earlier this month, in which Pennsylvania House members approved a proposed constitutional amendment that not only defines marriage as being between a man and a woman but also outlaws other domestic partnerships.
[More at URL]
----- 15 ------
William Buffett Donation to Bill Gates' Foundation Means Millions for Abortion
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 26, 2006
http://www.lifenews.com/nat2369.html
Omaha, NE (LifeNews.com) -- Investment guru Warren Buffett says he will donate the bulk of his fortune to the pro-abortion foundation set up by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife. That the world's second richest man would leave about 80 percent of his estate to the Gates' foundation is a huge concern for pro-life advocates because of the groups it supports.
[...]
The donation causes huge concerns for pro-life advocates as the Gates Foundation has given the Planned Parenthood Federation of America abortion business almost $12.5 million since 1998, including funds to persuade teenagers to support abortion and to lobby the United Nations to advance pro-abortion proposals.
[...]
ACTION: Contact the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and urge it to stop supporting Planned Parenthood and abortion. Contact: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PO Box 23350, Seattle, WA 98102, (206) 709-3140, info@gatesfoundation.org
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
Anti-bias law still at risk
Initiative's failure isn't end of opposition
By PHUONG CAT LE
P-I REPORTER
Monday, June 19, 2006
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/274421_gayrights19.html
The day after Tim Eyman's referendum bid fizzled, hundreds of supporters of Washington's new gay rights law gathered in downtown Seattle to celebrate the protections taking effect.
"We knew people woke up that morning knowing they couldn't be fired or kicked out of their apartments based on who they were," said John Vezina, campaign manager for Washington Won't Discriminate, which held the June 7 victory party.
It's certainly not the final word on the issue, though.
Evangelical churches strongly opposed to the law -- which bars discrimination against gays and lesbians in housing, employment, insurance and credit -- are weighing other political options.
"This is a battle. It is a spiritual battle. And we are in it to stay," Gary Randall, president of the Faith & Freedom Network, posted on the group's Web site the day after the law took effect.
After Referendum 65 failed to get enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, Randall said his group looked into launching an initiative to the people. That option was ruled out because they didn't think they could get the nearly 500,000 required signatures by the July 7 deadline.
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
Supreme Court: Avoidance is not an option
Faith and Freedom Network
Friday, June 23, 2006
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/06/supreme-court-avoidance-is-not-option.html
While we have been waiting for the Washington State Supreme Court to rule on marriage (DOMA), one thing has become abundantly clear: the Court is politicized. Even the Governor thinks so.
Chief Justice Marshall (U.S. Supreme Court) once spoke to the idea of avoidance in his opinion for the Court in Cohens v. Virginia, 6 Wheat.264, 404 (1821):
"We have no more right to decline the exercise of jurisdiction, which is given, than to usurp that which is not given. Questions may occur which we would gladly avoid; but we cannot avoid them."
This period of avoidance or postponement of publicly announcing their ruling on marriage gives us a perfect moment (or year and a half) to consider who might better serve on our highest State Court.
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
Landmark Report by Scholars is a Powerful Defense of Marriage
Canada Family Action Coalition
www.UnitedFamilies.org
June 21, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/landmark-report.htm
A must read for defenders of marriage and policymakers around the world is a recently released report entitled "Marriage and the Public Good: Ten Principles." An impressive group of U.S. experts and scholars in the fields of History, Economics, Psychiatry, Law, Sociology and Philosophy recently released this powerful defense of traditional marriage which was initiated by the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, New Jersey.
In the report, these scholars share their research and expert perspectives on the value that marriage provides to society. There was a strong consensus among them that the "public goods" flowing from marriage are not being adequately recognized and appreciated by the public, policymakers and most of the media. This is affecting the policy debate in several key areas, including whether or not to radically redefine marriage by legalizing same-sex "marriage."
[More at URL]
----- 19 -----
Abortion bill tabled in parliament
Today's Family News
Focus on the Family Canada
June 23, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/life/stories/062306.html
Liberal MP Paul Steckle is hoping a private member’s bill he introduced Wednesday in the House of Commons will prompt a renewed, and much needed, debate among Canadians on the issue of abortion.
Bill C-338 would make it a criminal offence for someone to abort an unborn child – or in the wording of the proposed legislation, induce “the miscarriage of a female person” – who is known to be more than 20 weeks pregnant.
Those found guilty would be subject to up to five years in prison. The sole exception for performing an abortion would be if the mother’s pregnancy poses a threat to her life.
In an interview with Today’s Family News, Greg McClinchey, Steckle’s executive assistant in Ottawa, insisted Steckle is “not hiding from” his long-held conviction that life is sacred from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.
“This bill is not intended to be a fix-all,” said McClinchey. “But for the first time in years, in a generation nearly, we can have a substantive debate on the subject.”
[More at URL]
----- 20 -----
Age-of-consent bill introduced
Today's Family News
Focus on the Family Canada
June 23, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/sexuality/stories/062306.html
After repeated prompts over the years from pro-family organizations, police, children’s advocates and a majority of Canadians, legislation has finally been tabled to increase the age of consent for sexual activity from a shamefully low age of 14 to a more reasonable age of 16.
Justice Minister Vic Toews tabled the legislation Thursday, in keeping with the Conservative government’s promise made earlier this year. The bill is in response to the prevalence of adult sexual exploitation of young people, which has been only made easier with the popularity of the internet among youth.
[...]
Take Action> The bill will likely be voted on sometime in the fall, once Parliament reconvenes. In the mean time, Canadians are being urged to speak about this with their local MPs to encourage its quick passage. Although it appears that the majority of MPs support raising the age of consent, they still need to hear support from their constituencies. The sooner the legislation passes, the safer Canada will be for young people.
----- 21 -----
Mom shocked by school's net filter
Today's Family News
Focus on the Family Canada
June 23, 2006
Carla Rans, a Calgary, Alberta, mother of three boys, knows from personal experience that no parent with school-aged children can take for granted the assurances of school officials that their classroom computers have adequate Internet filters.
“We just assume because we get that letter that they’re on top of it,” Rans told Today’s Family News. “But as parents, we have to make sure they really are doing what they say they’re doing.”
For six years, Rans and her husband had taken educators at their local public school at their word, trusting that the computers their kids were using for research purposes had been installed with the necessary filters. There was no danger, she claimed they were told, of them being exposed to any inappropriate content.
[...]
Take Action> Talk to your school about Internet filters
Do you know whether your children are protected from inappropriate content on their school computers? One mother’s actions in Calgary, Alberta, led to some significant changes. With summer here, now is a good time to talk to your school district about what protection is in place on the computers and whether that protection is adequately protecting children. Ensure that you are not given just vague promises. Ask for the specific filters that are in place. Click here for more information on making change in the school system.
FotF promotes Priests for Life's "Election Prayer Campaign," focused partly on prayer but mostly on turning out as many anti-abortion voters as possible in 2006;
That weird incident in Florida where a policeman appears to have harassed an anti-gay signature gathering effort has gone to their PD's internal affairs department;
FotF condemns California governor Schwarzenegger for meeting with the Log Cabin Republicans, saying that he has "crossed the line";
FotF promotes bill banning legal fee payments to plaintiffs in successful religious establishment cases; the point is to make it harder to sue to stop state religious support; includes ACTION ITEM to support the bill; they don't even have a single sponsour in the Senate yet, I wouldn't worry too much about this one right now;
FotF reports on Hamilton County (Ohio) judge ordering Planned Parenthood to turn over confidential patient information - they're looking for records that might indicate abortions being performed without adequate legal parental notification;
FotF hopes desperately for an Episcopal schism;
Vatican to Amnesty International: shut the hell up about reproductive rights;
Family Research Council ACTION ITEM to support the anti-marriage amendment in Massachusetts;
FRC ACTION ITEM to support the so-called "Public Expression of Religion Act," which is the bill described above as pushed by Focus on the Family; the number is HR 2679;
FRC attacks Sen. Hagel of Nebraska for not showing up for the anti-marriage Federal amendment vote;
American Family Association/Agape Press: "ex-gay" fundamentalists to have a booth at the NEA annual meeting in Florida;
Local fundamentalists in Michigan get a school to take down all club flag displays because of a Diversity Club's pride flag being in theirs; this is apparently a great victory, as far as they're concerned;
AFA condemns Pennsylvania anti-marriage amendment because its previous ban on all forms of civil unions and domestic partnerships has been stripped out in the state Senate; they want a blanket ban on all forms of recognition;
LifeNews condemns Warren Buffet's donation of money to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation because Bill and Melinda are pro-choice; includes ACTION ITEM to urge the Gates Foundation to stop support for any group which in any way deals with abortion;
Faith and Freedom Network tells the PI they're considering another attempt to overturn the Washington State Basic Civil Rights Code insofar as it applies to GBLT people;
FFN starts work on replacing Washington State Supreme Court justices, in anticipation of a possible marriage-rights ruling;
Canada Family Action Coalition reprints some anti-marriage material from a US anti-marriage-rights group;
Focus on the Family Canada reports on MP Paul Steckle's attempt to create an abortion debate in Canada;
Focus Canada issues a Take Action - unusually, it's not just in email, it's also on their website - on the effort to raise the age of consent;
Focus on the Family Canada reverts to more standard form; on the website, a story about schools needing tighter internet filters; in the email, there's also a Take Action not found on the web page.
----- 1 -----
Explore Importance of Voting Your Values
New Focus on the Family Web site allows you to register to vote, explains the importance of casting a ballot based on the issues you care about.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
June 26, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041022.cfm
"Values voters" heavily influenced the 2004 election, not only returning President Bush to office but passing 11 marriage-protection amendments and electing seven new pro-lifers to the Senate.
To help even more Americans join the influential ranks of these ballot-casters, Focus on the Family has launched its iVoteValues.org Web site. Its goal: to motivate people concerned about the moral issues at play in the culture to be involved in getting values-oriented candidates elected to public office.
[...]
* Church-bulletin inserts that can be easily printed and used to spread the word at each service.
* Sermon notes that offer talking points to church leaders who want to present a godly explanation for involvement in the elective process.
* Graphics and posters files are reproducible and will assist in spreading the word about the importance of voting.
* Legal do's and don'ts that will help you and your church determine what activities are acceptable and what would be deemed illegal.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Election Prayer Campaign Launching
Priests for Life spearheads 18-week effort to seek God's will for November's races.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
June 26, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041018.cfm
With Election Day just a few months away, a pro-family group is launching an 18-week prayer campaign early next month designed to see God's will done when voters go to the polls in November.
"Prayer brings us the grace of a clarity of mind that we can see issues the way God sees them, that we can discern the proper hierarchy of importance," explained Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life.
[...]
"If they commit to say the prayer every day, they're thinking about it everyday," he told Family News in Focus. "That will lead to them talking more about it and doing more about it."
So the call is to activate believers to vote, focusing on the primacy of the right to life as an election issue.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Police Probe Charges Family Advocates Were Harassed
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
June 26, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041032.cfm
Police in Sunrise, Fla., have launched an internal affairs investigation into allegations that an off-duty officer harassed volunteers who were collecting signatures for the proposed Florida Marriage Protection Amendment during a Promise Keepers event in the Ft. Lauderdale suburb two weeks ago.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Schwarzenegger to Speak at Gay-Activist Meeting
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
June 26, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041030.cfm
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will address the Log Cabin Republicans at a fund-raising event later this week — a move that has pro-family groups extremely disappointed, World Net Daily reported.
[...]
Mona Passignano, state issues analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said Schwarzenegger has crossed the line.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Bill Would Protect Religious Speech
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
June 23, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041004.cfm
Legislation now in the House would ban legal fees being awarded to groups that sue Christians for publicly acknowledging God.
Congress is considering banning the legal fees awarded to groups that sue Christians who express their faith in public.
American Legion Commander Rees Lloyd told a congressional hearing this week that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has taken religious-establishment litigation to a new and absurd level. He was involved in a suit against a 72-year-old veteran's memorial in the Mojave Desert.
[...]
TAKE ACTION
Please urge your congressman to support the Public Expression of Religious Act, and ask your U.S. senators to consider sponsoring the legislation. You'll find contact information, including an easy-to-use e-mail form, in the CitizenLink Action Center. (NOTE: When promoted to suggest a subject for your e-mail, please select "Other.")
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Ohio Abortion Clinic Must Hand Over Files on Underage Clients
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
June 23, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041005.cfm
An Ohio judge has told a Planned Parenthood clinic it must release records on abortion patients under 18 in order to see if the group routinely performs abortions on minors without the parental consent required by state law, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
The parents of a teen who received an abortion in 2004 filed a suit against Planned Parenthood, claiming the organization failed to obtain their consent or notify them before their daughter's abortion. It also charges the abortion provider with failing to notify authorities that a 21-year-old man had been in a sexual relationship with a minor.
Becki Brenner, president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region, said medical information should not be viewed by outside parties.
"We're very concerned about the exposure of private medical information," she said.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Episcopal Church Split All But Certain
As the smoke clears from the recent general convention, traditional Episcopalians reel at the events of recent days.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
June 22, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041000.cfm
Leaders of the Episcopal Church of the USA have adopted a resolution urging the church's dioceses not to appoint bishops whose "manner of life" would "pose a challenge" to the Anglican Communion.
But The Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner, an orthodox conservative Episcopal theologian, said the statement approved by the church's general convention in Columbus, Ohio, is weak and doesn't come close to what the Worldwide Anglican Communion asked of the American church — that it "repent" for having consecrated a homosexual bishop in 2003 and pledge that it won't elect any more gay bishops.
"They were also asked to deal with the problem of same-sex blessings," Radner said, "and they chose not to deal with that at all, which is a problem."
The statement may — or may not — keep the larger world church from distancing itself from the American branch of Anglicanism.
[More at URL]
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Vatican Warns Amnesty International to Stay Away From Abortion
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
June 22, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0040995.cfm
Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice, told the human-rights advocacy group Amnesty International (AI) that if the group becomes involved in the killing of preborn babies, it will lose the support of the Catholic Church, LifeSite News reported.
AI has recently proposed using its resources to promote "reproductive rights," a term used by liberals to talk about abortion rights.
[...]
Martino said that if AI supports abortion, it gives up the right to claim to be a human-rights organization.
[More at URL]
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ACT NOW!
Call your Massachusetts state senator and encourage him/her to allow the people to vote on marriage!
Effort to allow a vote on marriage in Massachusetts underway
Family Research Council
June 23, 2006 - Friday
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=AL06F04&f=PG03I03
The citizens of Massachusetts are engaged in a lengthy battle to restore traditional marriage in their state through a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Recent polls indicate that 75 percent of Massachusetts voters want to vote on marriage, but legislators with ties to the homosexual lobby are trying to prevent a vote from ever taking place.
In order for the Protection of Marriage Amendment (PMA) to appear on the ballot, it must receive 50 votes at the Constitutional Convention that is scheduled for July 12th. State legislators, and especially the legislative leadership, need to hear from their constituents in Massachusetts.
To have your voice heard on marriage in Massachusetts please call Senate President Robert Travaglini at: 617-722-1500 and House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi at: 617-722-2500. Tell them you want a fair up-or-down vote on the Marriage Amendment on July 12 with no procedural tricks or maneuvers to prevent a vote. Then contact your own state legislators by visiting this page where you will find your legislators' names, their direct phone numbers, and talking points for background information.
Please forward this email to your friends and family members immediately and encourage them to take action. Massachusetts is the only state in the nation which legally condones and encourages homosexual "marriage." If we can join together as a nation to defeat it there, it will send a strong message to our political leadership nationwide. Defeating homosexual marriage in liberal Massachusetts will set the tone for the next vote on the federal Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA), and show swing legislators just how out of touch the homosexual lobby truly is.
For more information on additional ways you can contribute to this campaign, please click the link below.
Thank you for your help in defending marriage in Massachusetts.
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ACT NOW!
Contact your Representative today and tell them to support H.R. 2679.
Support the 'Public Expression of Religion Act'
Family Research Council
June 23, 2006 - Friday
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=AL06F06&f=PG03I03
The "Public Expression of Religion Act," commonly known as PERA, amends 42 U.S.C. sections 1983 and 1988 to prevent the use of the legal system in a manner that extorts money from State and local governments and inhibits their constitutional actions.
PERA will level the playing field against groups such as the ACLU who have won millions of dollars in attorney's fees while extorting state and local governments into suppressing the religious speech and free exercise of religion of private individuals, tearing down veterans' memorials that happen to have religious symbols on them, removing the Ten Commandments from public buildings, booting the Boy Scouts off public property, and blotting out crosses from official county seals.
[More at URL]
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Why Did Hagel Vanish for Marriage Vote?
Family Research Council
by: Peter Sprigg
The "conventional wisdom" just can't explain Nebraska.
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PV06F01&f=PG03I03
The "conventional wisdom" (read: liberal media spin) on last week's U.S. Senate vote regarding the Marriage Protection Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was that the vote was scheduled for purely political reasons--to mobilize the Republican Party's conservative base for the November midterm congressional elections. A majority of Democrats opposed the "cloture" motion to bring the amendment to a real vote. They charged that the two days of debate on the measure were a waste of time, given the urgency of issues like rising gas prices.
But if the marriage amendment was brought up to boost Republicans, Nebraska's Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel must not have gotten the memo. He didn't even bother to show up for Wednesday's vote on the amendment. He later issued a statement saying that he would have voted to end debate on the measure (as he did in 2004)--but added that he would have voted against its passage because "it's a state issue and should stay that way," as the Associated Press put it.
[More at URL]
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Former Lesbian Brings Ex-'Gay' Message to 2006 NEA Annual Meeting
By Jim Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
June 26, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/6/afa/262006b.asp
(AgapePress) - A former lesbian who now runs a Christian ministry in Minnesota will be holding the first ever ex-"gay" exhibit at the National Education Association Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.
Janet Boynes lived a lesbian lifestyle for 14 years but later turned her life over to Christ and is now spreading the message that there is hope for homosexuals through a relationship with Jesus. She will be joining members of the NEA Ex-Gay Educators Caucus at the NEA annual meeting and will have a display booth there promoting her outreach, Janet Boynes Ministries.
[More at URL]
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Parents' Persistent Protest Pays Off; Clubs' Flags Removed
By Jim Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
June 26, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/6/afa/262006e.asp
(AgapePress) - A pro-family group is hailing the removal of a "homosexual pride" flag from the wall of a Michigan high school.
For almost two years, conservatives have been protesting the presence of a rainbow flag displayed by the Diversity Club at Howell High School. Students even formed a Traditional Values Club in response to the school's allowance of homosexual activism on campus. Last Thursday (June 22) officials at the school took down the rainbow flag, the Christian flag displayed by the Traditional Values Club, and those of all other campus clubs.
[More at URL]
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Pro-Family Activist Blasts Penn. Senate's Civil Union Compromise
By Allie Martin
American Family Association/Agape Press
June 26, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/6/afa/262006d.asp
(AgapePress) - The president of the American Family Association (AFA) of Pennsylvania says lawmakers in her state have voted to destroy traditional marriage. The pro-family group is decrying a move by Pennsylvania senators that weakened a proposed state marriage protection amendment by stripping from it a ban on civil unions.
Last week, the state Senate voted 38-12 in favor of a proposed constitutional amendment protecting marriage but removed language prohibiting civil unions. That June 21 vote follows one earlier this month, in which Pennsylvania House members approved a proposed constitutional amendment that not only defines marriage as being between a man and a woman but also outlaws other domestic partnerships.
[More at URL]
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William Buffett Donation to Bill Gates' Foundation Means Millions for Abortion
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 26, 2006
http://www.lifenews.com/nat2369.html
Omaha, NE (LifeNews.com) -- Investment guru Warren Buffett says he will donate the bulk of his fortune to the pro-abortion foundation set up by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife. That the world's second richest man would leave about 80 percent of his estate to the Gates' foundation is a huge concern for pro-life advocates because of the groups it supports.
[...]
The donation causes huge concerns for pro-life advocates as the Gates Foundation has given the Planned Parenthood Federation of America abortion business almost $12.5 million since 1998, including funds to persuade teenagers to support abortion and to lobby the United Nations to advance pro-abortion proposals.
[...]
ACTION: Contact the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and urge it to stop supporting Planned Parenthood and abortion. Contact: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PO Box 23350, Seattle, WA 98102, (206) 709-3140, info@gatesfoundation.org
[More at URL]
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Anti-bias law still at risk
Initiative's failure isn't end of opposition
By PHUONG CAT LE
P-I REPORTER
Monday, June 19, 2006
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/274421_gayrights19.html
The day after Tim Eyman's referendum bid fizzled, hundreds of supporters of Washington's new gay rights law gathered in downtown Seattle to celebrate the protections taking effect.
"We knew people woke up that morning knowing they couldn't be fired or kicked out of their apartments based on who they were," said John Vezina, campaign manager for Washington Won't Discriminate, which held the June 7 victory party.
It's certainly not the final word on the issue, though.
Evangelical churches strongly opposed to the law -- which bars discrimination against gays and lesbians in housing, employment, insurance and credit -- are weighing other political options.
"This is a battle. It is a spiritual battle. And we are in it to stay," Gary Randall, president of the Faith & Freedom Network, posted on the group's Web site the day after the law took effect.
After Referendum 65 failed to get enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, Randall said his group looked into launching an initiative to the people. That option was ruled out because they didn't think they could get the nearly 500,000 required signatures by the July 7 deadline.
[More at URL]
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Supreme Court: Avoidance is not an option
Faith and Freedom Network
Friday, June 23, 2006
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/06/supreme-court-avoidance-is-not-option.html
While we have been waiting for the Washington State Supreme Court to rule on marriage (DOMA), one thing has become abundantly clear: the Court is politicized. Even the Governor thinks so.
Chief Justice Marshall (U.S. Supreme Court) once spoke to the idea of avoidance in his opinion for the Court in Cohens v. Virginia, 6 Wheat.264, 404 (1821):
"We have no more right to decline the exercise of jurisdiction, which is given, than to usurp that which is not given. Questions may occur which we would gladly avoid; but we cannot avoid them."
This period of avoidance or postponement of publicly announcing their ruling on marriage gives us a perfect moment (or year and a half) to consider who might better serve on our highest State Court.
[More at URL]
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Landmark Report by Scholars is a Powerful Defense of Marriage
Canada Family Action Coalition
www.UnitedFamilies.org
June 21, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/landmark-report.htm
A must read for defenders of marriage and policymakers around the world is a recently released report entitled "Marriage and the Public Good: Ten Principles." An impressive group of U.S. experts and scholars in the fields of History, Economics, Psychiatry, Law, Sociology and Philosophy recently released this powerful defense of traditional marriage which was initiated by the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, New Jersey.
In the report, these scholars share their research and expert perspectives on the value that marriage provides to society. There was a strong consensus among them that the "public goods" flowing from marriage are not being adequately recognized and appreciated by the public, policymakers and most of the media. This is affecting the policy debate in several key areas, including whether or not to radically redefine marriage by legalizing same-sex "marriage."
[More at URL]
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Abortion bill tabled in parliament
Today's Family News
Focus on the Family Canada
June 23, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/life/stories/062306.html
Liberal MP Paul Steckle is hoping a private member’s bill he introduced Wednesday in the House of Commons will prompt a renewed, and much needed, debate among Canadians on the issue of abortion.
Bill C-338 would make it a criminal offence for someone to abort an unborn child – or in the wording of the proposed legislation, induce “the miscarriage of a female person” – who is known to be more than 20 weeks pregnant.
Those found guilty would be subject to up to five years in prison. The sole exception for performing an abortion would be if the mother’s pregnancy poses a threat to her life.
In an interview with Today’s Family News, Greg McClinchey, Steckle’s executive assistant in Ottawa, insisted Steckle is “not hiding from” his long-held conviction that life is sacred from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.
“This bill is not intended to be a fix-all,” said McClinchey. “But for the first time in years, in a generation nearly, we can have a substantive debate on the subject.”
[More at URL]
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Age-of-consent bill introduced
Today's Family News
Focus on the Family Canada
June 23, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/sexuality/stories/062306.html
After repeated prompts over the years from pro-family organizations, police, children’s advocates and a majority of Canadians, legislation has finally been tabled to increase the age of consent for sexual activity from a shamefully low age of 14 to a more reasonable age of 16.
Justice Minister Vic Toews tabled the legislation Thursday, in keeping with the Conservative government’s promise made earlier this year. The bill is in response to the prevalence of adult sexual exploitation of young people, which has been only made easier with the popularity of the internet among youth.
[...]
Take Action> The bill will likely be voted on sometime in the fall, once Parliament reconvenes. In the mean time, Canadians are being urged to speak about this with their local MPs to encourage its quick passage. Although it appears that the majority of MPs support raising the age of consent, they still need to hear support from their constituencies. The sooner the legislation passes, the safer Canada will be for young people.
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Mom shocked by school's net filter
Today's Family News
Focus on the Family Canada
June 23, 2006
Carla Rans, a Calgary, Alberta, mother of three boys, knows from personal experience that no parent with school-aged children can take for granted the assurances of school officials that their classroom computers have adequate Internet filters.
“We just assume because we get that letter that they’re on top of it,” Rans told Today’s Family News. “But as parents, we have to make sure they really are doing what they say they’re doing.”
For six years, Rans and her husband had taken educators at their local public school at their word, trusting that the computers their kids were using for research purposes had been installed with the necessary filters. There was no danger, she claimed they were told, of them being exposed to any inappropriate content.
[...]
Take Action> Talk to your school about Internet filters
Do you know whether your children are protected from inappropriate content on their school computers? One mother’s actions in Calgary, Alberta, led to some significant changes. With summer here, now is a good time to talk to your school district about what protection is in place on the computers and whether that protection is adequately protecting children. Ensure that you are not given just vague promises. Ask for the specific filters that are in place. Click here for more information on making change in the school system.
