Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Jul. 15th, 2006 11:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdConcerned Women for America do not like Senator Barack Obama;
The Culture War extends down to summer camp, where Creationism Camps are teaching children to reject evolutionary theory before they get to science classes in school;
Concerned Women for America "uncovers" the "lies" - and insist that emergency contraception causes abortion. Note that this is not RU-486, this is Plan B, and this is part of the greater war on contraception coming up;
"Liberal Christianity is paying for its sins" - like being GBLT-tolerant;
Zell Miller gives CWA a rhetorical handjob, supporting their cultural warfare efforts;
CWA ACTION ITEM condemning Sen. Graham (R-SC)'s efforts against pro-torture judicial nominee Haynes, asking its members to call and write in support of the nominee;
CWA condemns attempt to form U.N. Women's Rights Agency;
CWA congratulates Senate over resolution supporting "In God We Trust" as the US national motto;
Focus on the Family Canada on Canadian support for "traditional families," noting that in 2005, "only" 39% of Canadian men supported same-sex marriage rights - 56% of Canadian women did, and I'm aware of no indication that support has fallen;
FotF article opposing Canadian policy on embryonic stem-cell research;
Canada Family Action Coalition claims GBLT people don't actually support marriage rights;
"How America Went Gay" calls progress on GBLT rights "brainwashing";
LifeSite: gay-brother study proves homosexuality is "abnormal";
Traditional Values Coalition congratulates Senate on "In God We Trust" resolution;
TVC happy about recent court decisions upholding anti-lesbian and gay marriage bans;
Massachusetts legislature adjourns until November 9th, thus avoiding a vote on a state amendment to ban marriage for lesbian and gay citizens; I believe this kills the effort;
AFA reports on fundamentalist evangelical effort at Gay Games;
AFA: Jews for Jesus to launch renewed NYC effort;
One of the things that continually bothers me is the degree of micromanagement the fundamentalists want over individual lives; one transgendered kid in Florida and they're all over it and what they demand should be done instead of the parents, doctors, and people directly involved;
The AFA continues its propaganda campaign against the Episcopal Church USA;
Family Research Council condemns Massachusetts assembly, asks, "is Massachusetts still a republic?" when it fails to vote on supporting an anti-gay constitutional amendment;
Concerned Women for America's Robert Knight has an audio feature on the Gay Games in Chicago has the usual compliment of red meat anti-gay fun, and also an assertion by Robert Knight that Walgreens is sponsouring the gay games so more people get AIDS and they can sell more anti-viral drugs to infected gay men; there's a fair bit of diseased, perverted queers milage here that they don't type up because then Google can find it, but, well, that's what I'm here for; there's also Peter LaBarbera of the Illinois Family Institute on the recording, talking about perversion centres;
Concerned Women for America's Mike Mears talks about new state laws midway through 2006; complaints about South Carolina's age of consent adjustment, talks about Arizona's anti-marriage signature effort.
----- 1 -----
Obama Defines Christianity to Include Leftist Ideals
He’s putting a religious patina on tired, liberal policies.
Concerned Women for America
7/14/2006
By Janice Shaw Crouse
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11120/BLI/misc/index.htm
Democrat Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, has made headlines recently by talking about religion and politics. In the process, he has alienated Democrats and Republicans alike: Democrats were offended when he said “not every mention of God in the public square is a breach to the wall of separation,” and conservative Republicans were outraged when he kept referring to religious conservatives as “those people” and described them as “heavy-handed.”
[...]
Hardly anyone questions Obama’s faith, but following the axiom that “actions speak louder than words,” we must point out that he has a 100-percent pro-choice voting record, and he argues that Christianity embraces “universal values” such as “inclusiveness and diversity” –– both code words for a liberal agenda.
[More at URL]
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Beliefwatch: Camping
Evolutionary War: Summer camps teach Creationism and evolution
Newsweek
July 17, 2006
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13774258/site/newsweek/
July 17, 2006 issue - The battle over evolution is moving beyond the courtroom and into summer camp. The Christian Camp and Conference Association says 50 percent of its member camps—which include summer camps and year-round after-school programs reaching 6 million kids every year—have a science curriculum about God's Creation. A Christian camping environment "allows us to bring kids to a wonderful knowledge of what's going on in Creation and in God's web of life," says John Ashmen, the group's vice president. At the summer camp at Timber-lee Christian Center in East Troy, Wis., for example, campers can go on a seven-room "Creation Walk," where each room showcases one of the Bible's seven days of Creation. Says Karen Good, outdoor education director at Timber-lee, "The curriculum is designed to open their eyes so when they go back to school [and hear about evolution] they say, 'Oh, that sounds goofy!' "
[More at URL]
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Uncovering Lies
Concerned Women for America
7/13/2006
By Wendy Wright and Jody Porowski
What Pro-abortionists Don't Want You to Know About the Morning-After Pill
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11112/CWA/life/index.htm
On May 6, 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declined to make the morning-after pill, also known as Plan B, available over-the-counter (OTC) without a prescription. Proponents of the morning-after pill fought back, alleging that "politics trumped science." But do their claims stand up to scrutiny?
Claim #1: The morning-after pill does NOT cause an abortion.
Web sites that promote the morning-after pill claim that it "will not cause an abortion." However, they also state that one way that the morning-after pill can prevent pregnancy is by inhibiting implantation in the uterus. They fail to say what is inhibited from implanting. It is an embryo, a human in the earliest stage of life. Embryos contain 23 chromosomes from the mother and 23 chromosomes from the father - the full genetic information of a distinct human being.1 This "inhibition" caused by the morning-after pill terminates a human life.2
Claim #2: The morning-after pill has been adequately tested and is safe for all users.
The FDA declined to approve the morning-after pill to be available over-the-counter (OTC) because it has not been adequately tested to ensure that this high level of hormones can be used safely by adolescents, who constitute a target market for the drug. As the owner of Plan B admits, there are no data on what occurs in an overdose.3 This could occur if a young woman decides to take an extra dose when she experiences the common side effect of vomiting or, in her belief, to increase its effectiveness. It is currently unknown whether a maximum, safe, daily, monthly, or yearly dose exists.
Promoters have not conducted the necessary studies, yet claim that it's been proven safe.
[More at URL]
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Liberal Christianity is paying for its sins
Out-of-the-mainstream beliefs about gay marriage and supposedly sexist doctrines are gutting old-line faiths.
By Charlotte Allen, CHARLOTTE ALLEN is Catholicism editor for Beliefnet and the author of "The Human Christ: The Search for the Historical Jesus."
July 9, 2006
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-allen9jul09,0,2668973.story
The accelerating fragmentation of the strife-torn Episcopal Church USA, in which several parishes and even a few dioceses are opting out of the church, isn't simply about gay bishops, the blessing of same-sex unions or the election of a woman as presiding bishop. It also is about the meltdown of liberal Christianity.
Embraced by the leadership of all the mainline Protestant denominations, as well as large segments of American Catholicism, liberal Christianity has been hailed by its boosters for 40 years as the future of the Christian church.
Instead, as all but a few die-hards now admit, all the mainline churches and movements within churches that have blurred doctrine and softened moral precepts are demographically declining and, in the case of the Episcopal Church, disintegrating.
[More at URL]
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The war for the soul of America
By JARED PUTNAM
The Union Sentinel
July 13, 2006
http://www.unionsentinel.com/news/2006/0713/Community/046.html
"There is not only a war being fought in the middle east, there is a war being fought in this country, for the soul of this country." That, according to Senator Zell Miller, makes an organization like Concerned Women for America of Georgia (CWA), an important force in today's society, as the group stands in the middle of a spiritual and moral battleground.
The former Governor Governor and United States Senator was the guest speaker for CWA, at a breakfast held last Saturday in the Fellowship Hall of First Baptist Church of Blairsville.
[More at URL]
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Haynes Takes Heat in Hearing
Appeals Court nominee endures second grilling before Senate committee.
Concerned Women for America
7/12/2006
By Kristen Morgan
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11104/LEGAL/judges/index.htm
While some senators praised and defended William James Haynes II, the President’s nominee to the 4th Circuit, others during his hearing yesterday sought to portray the Department of Defense’s (DOD) general counsel as a zealous advocate of torture.
[More at URL]
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CWA Decries Call for U.N. Women’s Rights Agency
Concerned Women for America
7/14/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11123/MEDIA/misc/index.htm
Washington, D.C. − Concerned Women for America (CWA) calls attention to an ultra-liberal Canadian U.N. Envoy, Stephen Lewis, who is calling for a multimillion dollar Women’s Rights Agency at the United Nations, according to a report today from C-FAM, Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute. Lewis’ long history with the U.N. includes positions as Canadian Ambassador, an official with UNICEF and special envoy for HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse, twice a United States Delegate to U.N. conferences, said, “Lewis’ proposal would dramatically strengthen the already-incredibly-strong radical feminist influence at the U.N., and it would virtually ensure that abortion would become a human right around the world. Plus, having an agency devoted solely to so-called ‘women’s rights’ would require an increase in already exorbitant funding for the U.N. from member nations – especially the United States – and funnel that extra money into the radical feminist agenda.”
[More at URL]
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Senate Passes Resolution Affirming National Motto
50th anniversary of ‘In God We Trust’ approaches.
Concerned Women for America
7/13/2006
By Sarah Kuziomko
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11115/CWA/freedom/index.htm
On the evening of July 12, the Senate unanimously passed the S. Con. Res. 96, reaffirming and commemorating the 50th anniversary of our National Motto, “In God We Trust.”
U.S. Sens. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) and Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) first introduced S. Con. Res. 96 in May of this year.
“As we mark the 50th anniversary of the official adoption of ‘In God We Trust’ as our national motto, we should recognize the past and future role of America’s reliance on divine providence and fight attempts to remove God from the public square,” said Sen. Brownback. “Since the beginning of our nation, America’s citizens have acknowledged how God is very much a part of the founding principles and traditions of our democracy. As stated in the Declaration of Independence, God created man with unalienable rights that civil government is charged to protect.”
[More at URL]
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Traditional family still highly valued
Focus on the Family Canada
Today's Family News
July 12, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/family/stories/071206.html
copy goes hereDespite dramatic changes over the past 30 years in the way Canadians think about themselves and their society, they “still tend to aspire to very traditional lifestyles,” Maclean’s magazine reported earlier this month.
That finding is one of the many revelations contained in a new survey by University of Lethbridge sociologist and author Reginald Bibby.
Bibby found that while Canadians have grown increasingly tolerant, for example, of homosexuality and different family structures, most still aspire to “belong to a traditional nuclear family” – where couples marry, have children, and stay together for the rest of their lives. As he told Maclean’s, “what is changing are the outcomes – not the aspirations.”
[...]
Even Canadians’ approval of same-sex relationships – rising from 28 per cent in 1990 to more than two-thirds today – does not necessarily mean that they approve of same-sex marriage. As Maclean’s reported, it “remains a contentious issue,” with Canadians still about equally divided. In fact, only 39 per cent of men approved of same-sex marriage in 2005, compared to 56 per cent of women.
[More at URL]
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Ethicist rejects "fresh" embryo policy
Focus on the Family Canada
Today’s Family News
July 12, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/life/stories/071206.html
University of Western Ontario medical ethicist Jeffrey Nisker believes the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) was too hasty in granting conditional approval to allowing the use of days-old human embryos for stem cell research, the Vancouver Sun reported.
The decision effectively allows scientists involved in a stem cell project to use both so-called “fresh” as well as frozen embryos in their research.
[More at URL]
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Who does support homosexual marriage?
Canada Family Action Coalition
July 10, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/who-does-support.htm
Not even all homosexual activists are in support of marriage being their number one plank. In fact in the US about 50% do not want to spend energy and money on fighting for so called marriage equality.
One has to wonder if the same is true for Canada. Perhaps it is more true. Considering that less than 2000 Canadian homosexual couple marriages have taken place of 3.4 million homosexuals(if you believe the 10% misinformation) or about 1.02 million( if about 3% have chosen homosexual behavior) then perhaps Canada is even less favorable.
As written in an 'Unmarried America' column," When the push to legalize gay marriage was criticized during a national conference two weeks ago, half of those in the room jumped to their feet in applause while the other half sat there stunned. No, this was not a meeting of Christian fundamentalists or a caucus of conservative Republicans. It was the "Creating Change" Conference of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force held in Oakland, California."
[More at URL]
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How America Went Gay
Leadership U
by Charles W. Socarides, M.D.
http://www.leaderu.com/jhs/socarides.html
Charles W. Socarides, M.D., is clinical professor of psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He is president of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, and author of Homosexuality: A Freedom Too Far (Adam Margrave Books, Phoenix, Arizona).
For more than 20 years, I and a few of my colleagues in the field of psychoanalysis have felt like an embattled minority, because we have continued to insist, against today's conventional wisdom, that gays aren't born that way. We know that obligatory homosexuals are caught up in unconscious adaptations to early childhood abuse and neglect and that, with insight into their earliest beginnings, they can change. This "adaptation" I speak of is a polite term for men going through the motions of mating not with the opposite sex but with one another.
For most of this century, most of us in the helping professions considered this behavior aberrant. Not only was it "off the track"; the people caught up in it were suffering, which is why we called it a pathology. We had patients, early in their therapy, who would seek out one sex partner after another-total strangers-on a single night, then come limping into our offices the next day to tell us how they were hurting themselves. Since we were in the business of helping people learn how not to keep hurting themselves, many of us thought we were quietly doing God's work.
[...]
My wife, Clare, who has an unerring aptitude for getting to the heart of things, said one day recently in passing, "I think everybody's being brainwashed." That gave me a start. I know "brainwashing" is a term that has been used and overused. But my wife's casual observation only reminded me of a brilliant tract I had read several years ago and then forgotten. It was called After the Ball: How America Will Conquer its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 1990's, by Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen.
[More at URL]
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If Gay Brother Research is Correct It Shows Homosexuality is Abnormal
LifeSite
By John-Henry Westen
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jun/06063003.html
TORONTO, June 30, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The mainstream media resurrected the specter of the 'gay gene' theory this week in covering a Canadian study on the origin of homosexuality. "Homosexuality influenced by biological factors, Canadian researcher says," proclaimed the CBC, the first to break the story on Monday. CNN was quick to jump on the bandwagon with "Study: Sexual orientation of men determined before birth."
In reality, however, the study was most intriguing for what the mainstream media failed to cover. Namely that, if true, the study suggests that homosexuality is a congenital abnormality, and shares its origins with other disorders developed in the womb.
[...]
If correct the theories would thus show the opposite of the normalcy of homosexuality, which the mainstream media are attempting to posit with the coverage of the study. "I was born abnormal, and therefore I'm normal is not good logic," concluded Dr. Shea.
[More at URL]
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Senate Unanimously Passes ‘In God We Trust’ Resolution
Traditional Values Coalition
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2790
July 13, 2006 – Yesterday evening, the Senate unanimously passed the “In God We Trust” resolution to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the creation of this slogan as our nation’s national motto.
The resolution was sponsored by Kansas Republican Senator Sam Brownback. The House should also pass this resolution. Contact your U.S. Representative and ask that he or she support this resolution. Use CapWiz to contact your Representative.
The Brownback resolution is reprinted here:
[More at URL]
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TVC Executive Director Lauds Court Decisions On Marriage
Traditional Values Coalition
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2789
July 13, 2006 -- In a commentary this week, Traditional Values Coalition Executive Director Andrea Lafferty discussed the recent decisions in Georgia, Massachusetts and New York that dealt with the sanctity of traditional marriage.
The New York Court of Appeals ruled that the state Constitution does not mandate homosexual marriage and that the legal status of marriage is a legislative, not a judicial function. In Georgia, the state Supreme Court ruled that the marriage protection amendment passed by 77% of the voters in 2004 was not unconstitutional. In Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a marriage amendment could be voted on by the citizens in 2008 as long as it is approved by the state legislature.
[More at URL]
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Commentary & News Briefs
July 14, 2006
Agape Press/American Family Association
Compiled by Jenni Parker
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/142006h.asp
...Massachusetts lawmakers have voted 100-91 to adjourn until November 9 rather than take action on a ballot proposal to amend the state constitution to outlaw same-sex "marriage." Democratic State Representative Marie Parente commented that "democracy lost" in this vote, and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins agrees. Although one Bay State representative claimed he voted as he did so that his fellow state legislators could vote their consciences without the pressure of having to face the voters soon afterward, Perkins contends that the lawmaker knows he and most of his fellow "99 spineless politicians" who voted to adjourn are out-of-synch with their constituents on this issue. And with the state's Supreme Judicial Court giving the go-ahead earlier this week to proceed with the amendment that could reverse that court's 2004 ruling creating homosexual marriage, the FRC spokesman says it is becoming "pretty clear that the leadership of the legislature has been hiding behind the courts on this issue." What these lawmakers are doing, Perkins asserts, is effectively denying Massachusetts citizens the right to govern themselves. [Jenni Parker]
[more at URL]
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Illinois Pro-Family Group Plans Christian Outreach at 'Gay Games'
By Mary Rettig
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 14, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/142006d.asp
(AgapePress) - The president of the Illinois Family Institute (IFI) says Christians will be countering the upcoming Gay Games events in Chicago with a "Truth and Love Offensive." The Gay Games, a loose interpretation of an Olympics, strictly for homosexuals, will run from July 15 through July 22 in the Windy City.
Peter LaBarbera, president of IFI, says his organization was determined not to stand by and let the Gay Games pass without telling homosexuals there is freedom in Christ. One of the ways the group hopes to get this message across is by involving individuals who have left the homosexual lifestyle and who now minister to others struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions.
[More at URL]
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NY's Disdain for Campaign Doesn't Deter Jews for Jesus
By Chad Groening
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 14, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/142006g.asp
(AgapePress) - A worldwide ministry dedicated to winning Jewish people to Christ has poured virtually all its resources into New York City this month for its largest evangelistic campaign ever.
Jews for Jesus says it has already passed out more than 650,000 tracts throughout the city's five boroughs and the suburbs of Long Island, Westchester, and northern New Jersey. It has also spent $1.4 million to place illuminated panels in the city's vast subway system that read, "Jews for Jesus" and "Jesus for Jews."
[More at URL]
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Transgendered' Child Set to Enter Florida School System
By Jim Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 14, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/142006a.asp
(AgapePress) - The country's youngest "transgender" child is reportedly set to attend school in Broward County, Florida. The young boy's family is enrolling him as a girl in kindergarten this fall.
Some South Florida newspapers have recently published stories featuring a family that has been allowing their five-year-old son to dress, act, and live as a girl. The kindergartner-to-be is said to rejecting his physical characteristics as a boy. According to the Miami Herald, mental health professionals have diagnosed the cross-dressing boy with "gender dysphoria," or gender identity disorder. The newspaper says the school plans to address the youngster by a unisex name.
Dr. Warren Throckmorton is a prominent mental health counselor who teaches at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. He says the school district is caught in a very difficult situation.
"They're trying to respect the wishes of the parents," Throckmorton notes, "and, given that school professionals are not medical professionals or mental health professionals, they have to rely on recommendations they receive from those people. The school people may not want to do this; maybe it would violate their own belief or what they think would be best."
[More at URL]
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Theologian Says Clergy Marital, Sexual Discipline Lacking in ECUSA
By Jim Brown and Bill Fancher
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 14, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/142006c.asp
(AgapePress) - A conservative Anglican theologian says there's a "complete lack of marital and sexual discipline for the clergy" in mainline Protestant denominations -- namely the Episcopal Church USA.
ECUSA is getting set to ordain a bishop who is twice divorced and in his third marriage. Barry Beisner is to become bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California on September 30, despite concerns raised by some members of the nominating committee. They noted the Bible says a bishop must be "above reproach" and "the husband of one wife."
Dr. Kendall Harmon, canon theologian for the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, says the Episcopal Church is a "very broken church" in the area of leadership standards -- and Beisner's pending appointment, he adds, sends a confusing message.
[More at URL]
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Mass. Delusion
Family Research Council
Tony Perkins, President
July 13, 2006 - Thursday
Please forward this to your Friends and Family!
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU06G07
Massachusetts state lawmakers have voted 100-91 to adjourn until Nov. 9 rather than take action on a ballot proposal to support marriage. "Democracy lost today," said state Rep. Marie Parente, a Democrat. She's right. State Rep. Thomas Sannicandro (D) said he voted for the delay so that state legislators could vote their consciences without the pressure of having to face the voters soon afterward. So much for representative government! He knows that his values and those of most of his fellow 99 spineless politicians are out-of-synch with their constituents on this issue. Sannicandro doesn't want the issue on the ballot at all. "If we do leave it to the people, it is a discrimination vote." With the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court giving the go ahead earlier this week for the amendment to proceed, which will reverse the 2004 ruling of the Court creating same-sex marriage, it is becoming pretty clear that the leadership of the legislature has been hiding behind the courts on this issue. It is hard to believe that this is the same state that gave us great statesmen like Samuel Adams, John Adams, and John Hancock who were not afraid to take a stand and represent the people. What these politicians are doing is effectively to deny the people of Massachusetts the right to govern themselves. Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said it well: "In a democracy, the people are sovereign." The U.S. Constitution guarantees each state "a republican form of government." The question is, is Massachusetts still a republic?
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Gay Games Get Underway in Chicago
Concerned Women for America
Robert Knight
7/13/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11110/CWA/misc/index.htm
The Gay Games will kick-off this Saturday, July 15th, in Chicago. Pro-family activists plan to counter the games’ “non-athletic” attractions to get the truth out about the risks of homosexual behavior. Martha Kleder is joined by Bob Knight, Director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute and Peter LaBarbera, Executive Director of the Illinois Family Institute for this update. Click here to listen.
[Peter LaBarbera: "We're trying to put up an alternative message... some of the media might pay attention, but considering that NBC5, The New York Times, and the Chicago Sun-Times are actually serving as official sponsours of the Gay Games, I don't know if we're going to get very fair coverage."
Bob Knight: "What a great message to send to the schoolchildren in the Chicago area, I mean really, when you think about it, they're promoting behaviour that we know costs lives, cuts them short, spreads disease, does not lead to happy family life, it's tragic to see corporations, governments, media, all pitching in to promtoe this, as if it's something good for people!"
Peter LaBarbera: [Complains about commercials for Gay Games] That's part of the tragedy of the promotion of homosexuality... young people are just becoming desensitized to the idea that there's anything wrong with this behaviour."
Peter LaBarbera: It just keeps getting more depressing [on sponsourship] we've got Walgreens and Krafts, they were early sponspours, now we've got Best Buy; some of the usual suspects like Orbitz, and liquor companies. But Ernst and Young, Gatoraid joined in, I think ESPN is actually going to sponsour part of the opening ceremony or something... it's just a shame that the corporate world now has become probably the biggest promoter of the gay agenda.
Bob Knight: Yeah, I'd have to agree ... We're winning political victories all over the country, over the last week we've had six or seven victories in the courts and elsewhere, and yet corporate America has bought into the homosexual agenda full-tilt and is promoting it at every level, within employee groups, diversity training, sponsouring homosexual activist groups, and sponsouring events like this. It's as if they're determined to change this country radically and turn it into a playground for followers of Alfred Kinsey, the sex research pioneer, who tried to prove that anything goes and anything should go.
Peter LaBarbera: My favourite is Walgreens... we criticised them then they signed on, so now they call themselves - it's right there on the Gay Games website - the official HIV/AIDS prevention sponsour, and yet the Gay Games has refused to drop two homosexual bathhouses, where men go for anonymous sexual liesons with other men, there's two of them, and they're also serving as official sponsours of the gay games. So how ridiculous that Walgreens is saying ti's preventing HIV, and yet two of their official sponsours are perversion centres!
Bob Knight: Well, you know Walgreens has a conflict of interest here, because they provide many of the drugs that are allocated to AIDS patients. We've seen this for years, major drug companies with three, four page ad displays in homosexual magazines. We've seen drug companies buy giant rainbow flags for particular gay pride parades - you know, the equivalent of this would be if a company that made lots of money selling drugs to counteract cancer that was contracted because of tobacco smoking promoted smoke-ins. I mean, really, they're promoting the very behaviour that is causing people to turn to them for multiple-drug regimines every day.
Peter LaBarbera: And then you have the gay circuit parties which are these very extended parties - for grown-up adolescents, basically - and they are supposedly raising money to fight AIDS, when there have been studies that show these parties are ripe with drug use and incredibly dangerous promiscuous behaviour. So, there are all sorts of contradictions in the homosexual movement, and unfortunately they are all coming to the fore here in Chicago, from July 15th through the 22nd.
Peter LaBarbera: Today there's a big story in the Chicago Tribune that's basically trying to shoot down the idea that there's any reason to have a ban on HIV-infected travelers, and the CDC types are saying that this is just outdated and everything, but my point as I tried to make to the Chicago Tribune was look, you've got people coming in, it's one thing if they're going in for experimental AIDS treatment or a seminar on AIDS, it's quite another if they're going to an event which is celebrating promiscuous homosexual behaviour as proven by the fact that the Gay Games has refused to drop the two sex clubs that are severing as official sponsours.
Bob Knight: We're basically putting out a welcome mat to people with HIV/AIDS and hoping they'll attend an event at which they're more likely to spread the illness to Americans and other foreign visitors to the games. I mean, it's just... there doesn't seem to be any sense of protecting Americans and doing the right thing in terms of public health.
Peter LaBarbera: And that's why we're going, we're actually going to have an outreach, and informational outreach at one of these bathhouses. We're not going inside... I refuse to put on a towel in protest, because they make their attendees put on towels, even though they call themselves a gym. But we're going to be out there handing out gospel tracts and also health information to the people coming into the bathhouses.
Bob Knight: You know, that's a good thing; you can't just decry behaviour that's dangerous, you've got to give them the way out of it, and also the consequences so they know that there are risks.
Martha Kleider: And that some of the other people who may be in the bathhouses are HIV infected people from overseas!
Peter LaBarbera: Right. Yeah, it's just scary, the distinguishing characteristic of a bathhouse is that the doors are closed, and nobody knows what's going on - you know, this is the only disease that's politically protected, and it's just very sad.
Peter LaBarbera: Saturday, we have a press conference with lots of people, we've got Linda Jernegen [Ed. Note: spelling uncertain on these names], who is a former lesbian; Greg Crinline, who is a former homosexual who was once a gay activist, but now he works as his own pro-family group; we've got a woman, Janice Cuteure, who has a lesbian daughter; what she's speaking on is how to love your gay or lesbian child without loving their behaviour. ... And I'm really excited about Dr. Robert Gagnin, who's the leading authority on the Bible and homosexuality, who's coming to Illinois for two days, Sunday and Monday, to debunk the gay theology.
Bob Knight: Oh boy, that is wonderful, Peter... Robert Ganyin does his homework, and he's a very good writer, he makes it understandable to the layman. He's a scholar who is easily understood, and there aren't many out there like that.
Peter LaBarbera: He writes well, he's with us, and he understands the danger to Christians of this agenda which is going to silence us if we don't put a stop to it.
Bob Knight: When we look at what as happened over the last few weeks to several mainstream denominations openly embracing homosexuality and mother Jesus and all kinds of other bizarre concepts, it's good to have a solid right-thinking guy like Robert Ganyin offering the alternative.
Peter LaBarbera: I learned ... he published his book about eight months before he had a tenure meeting, and the gay activists went after him and tried to get his tenure denied at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Thank god that other Christians came out and defended him and he ended up getting tenure, but once again we see that this is the most intolerant subgroup in American politics.
Peter LaBarbera: We have pastor Michael Allen, who is a wonderful guy, he's the pastor at Uptown Baptist Church which is leading the gospel outreach; we're gonna have T-shirts... myfreewater.com, which is a Christian website...
Bob Knight: Do you know if Fred Phelps is planning to show up at this? [More annoyance at Fred Phelps' usefulness as a media tool.]
Peter LaBarbera: I hope not... I don't think he even counts as a Christian minister...
Peter LaBarbera: [Theological annoyance at "god made me gay" arguments] Jesus loves you, all sorts of people struggle with all sorts of sins, you can't take your particular sin and wrap it around as your inborn identity.
Bob Knight: Yeah, it's mistake, and it's a lie they've been told for years, that number one they can't change, and number two, God made them this way, and therefore it's okay. It's a deadly lie they've been told and the only way to combat it is with the truth.
Peter LaBarbera: We also have a couple African American speakers, one is named Al Cleveland... is homosexuality, why homosexuality is not a civil rights issue... we're seeing a lot of unity amoung white and black Christians on traditional sexual morality.
[Also, CWA will be at their press conference.]
Peter LaBarbera: Our website is illinoisfamily.org [complete list of speakers is there].
----- 23 -----
The Halfway Point of 2006 Marks Enactment of New Legislation
Concerned Women for America
Mike Mears
7/13/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11111/CWA/misc/index.htm
Every July, new laws take effect across the nation, and this July 1st was no exception. Mike Mears, CWA’s Director of State Legislative Relations, has a list of the good, the bad and the odd laws now on the books. Click here to listen.
[Mike Mears: "Cracking down on sex offenders seemed to be the most popular bill across the nation... at least eight governors have signed bills using global positioning systems to track sex offenders..." [Georgia passed bill posting 10 Commandments in public buildings, but it's another "historical display" bill.] [They're unhappy with: South Carolina lowered the age of consent, they basically passed a Romeo-and-Juliet law. "It really does send a bad message..." They portray it at "college sophomores praying on juniour highers." (The range is 14-15/16-18.)]
Mike Mears: "Pro-family folks in Arizona actually submitted the 300,000 signatures they needed to put the Marriage Protection Amendment on the ballot; it's being certified and looked into right now, hopefully in the next couple weeks we'll know about that."
Mike Mears: [Supports Colorado bill denying services to illegal immigrants... says some conservatives upset because it had broad support, because it exempts minours... calls it "a loophole that has to be looked at." NPR talked about this as being related to American-born children of illegals, who are, by Constitutional decree, citizens. I don't know which version is correct; it might split the middle. I do think it's interesting that any bill with broad support is inherently suspect, though. The only bills they trust are the ones they ram down your throat; if you're okay with it, I guess it's evil.]
The Culture War extends down to summer camp, where Creationism Camps are teaching children to reject evolutionary theory before they get to science classes in school;
Concerned Women for America "uncovers" the "lies" - and insist that emergency contraception causes abortion. Note that this is not RU-486, this is Plan B, and this is part of the greater war on contraception coming up;
"Liberal Christianity is paying for its sins" - like being GBLT-tolerant;
Zell Miller gives CWA a rhetorical handjob, supporting their cultural warfare efforts;
CWA ACTION ITEM condemning Sen. Graham (R-SC)'s efforts against pro-torture judicial nominee Haynes, asking its members to call and write in support of the nominee;
CWA condemns attempt to form U.N. Women's Rights Agency;
CWA congratulates Senate over resolution supporting "In God We Trust" as the US national motto;
Focus on the Family Canada on Canadian support for "traditional families," noting that in 2005, "only" 39% of Canadian men supported same-sex marriage rights - 56% of Canadian women did, and I'm aware of no indication that support has fallen;
FotF article opposing Canadian policy on embryonic stem-cell research;
Canada Family Action Coalition claims GBLT people don't actually support marriage rights;
"How America Went Gay" calls progress on GBLT rights "brainwashing";
LifeSite: gay-brother study proves homosexuality is "abnormal";
Traditional Values Coalition congratulates Senate on "In God We Trust" resolution;
TVC happy about recent court decisions upholding anti-lesbian and gay marriage bans;
Massachusetts legislature adjourns until November 9th, thus avoiding a vote on a state amendment to ban marriage for lesbian and gay citizens; I believe this kills the effort;
AFA reports on fundamentalist evangelical effort at Gay Games;
AFA: Jews for Jesus to launch renewed NYC effort;
One of the things that continually bothers me is the degree of micromanagement the fundamentalists want over individual lives; one transgendered kid in Florida and they're all over it and what they demand should be done instead of the parents, doctors, and people directly involved;
The AFA continues its propaganda campaign against the Episcopal Church USA;
Family Research Council condemns Massachusetts assembly, asks, "is Massachusetts still a republic?" when it fails to vote on supporting an anti-gay constitutional amendment;
Concerned Women for America's Robert Knight has an audio feature on the Gay Games in Chicago has the usual compliment of red meat anti-gay fun, and also an assertion by Robert Knight that Walgreens is sponsouring the gay games so more people get AIDS and they can sell more anti-viral drugs to infected gay men; there's a fair bit of diseased, perverted queers milage here that they don't type up because then Google can find it, but, well, that's what I'm here for; there's also Peter LaBarbera of the Illinois Family Institute on the recording, talking about perversion centres;
Concerned Women for America's Mike Mears talks about new state laws midway through 2006; complaints about South Carolina's age of consent adjustment, talks about Arizona's anti-marriage signature effort.
----- 1 -----
Obama Defines Christianity to Include Leftist Ideals
He’s putting a religious patina on tired, liberal policies.
Concerned Women for America
7/14/2006
By Janice Shaw Crouse
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11120/BLI/misc/index.htm
Democrat Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, has made headlines recently by talking about religion and politics. In the process, he has alienated Democrats and Republicans alike: Democrats were offended when he said “not every mention of God in the public square is a breach to the wall of separation,” and conservative Republicans were outraged when he kept referring to religious conservatives as “those people” and described them as “heavy-handed.”
[...]
Hardly anyone questions Obama’s faith, but following the axiom that “actions speak louder than words,” we must point out that he has a 100-percent pro-choice voting record, and he argues that Christianity embraces “universal values” such as “inclusiveness and diversity” –– both code words for a liberal agenda.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Beliefwatch: Camping
Evolutionary War: Summer camps teach Creationism and evolution
Newsweek
July 17, 2006
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13774258/site/newsweek/
July 17, 2006 issue - The battle over evolution is moving beyond the courtroom and into summer camp. The Christian Camp and Conference Association says 50 percent of its member camps—which include summer camps and year-round after-school programs reaching 6 million kids every year—have a science curriculum about God's Creation. A Christian camping environment "allows us to bring kids to a wonderful knowledge of what's going on in Creation and in God's web of life," says John Ashmen, the group's vice president. At the summer camp at Timber-lee Christian Center in East Troy, Wis., for example, campers can go on a seven-room "Creation Walk," where each room showcases one of the Bible's seven days of Creation. Says Karen Good, outdoor education director at Timber-lee, "The curriculum is designed to open their eyes so when they go back to school [and hear about evolution] they say, 'Oh, that sounds goofy!' "
[More at URL]
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Uncovering Lies
Concerned Women for America
7/13/2006
By Wendy Wright and Jody Porowski
What Pro-abortionists Don't Want You to Know About the Morning-After Pill
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11112/CWA/life/index.htm
On May 6, 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declined to make the morning-after pill, also known as Plan B, available over-the-counter (OTC) without a prescription. Proponents of the morning-after pill fought back, alleging that "politics trumped science." But do their claims stand up to scrutiny?
Claim #1: The morning-after pill does NOT cause an abortion.
Web sites that promote the morning-after pill claim that it "will not cause an abortion." However, they also state that one way that the morning-after pill can prevent pregnancy is by inhibiting implantation in the uterus. They fail to say what is inhibited from implanting. It is an embryo, a human in the earliest stage of life. Embryos contain 23 chromosomes from the mother and 23 chromosomes from the father - the full genetic information of a distinct human being.1 This "inhibition" caused by the morning-after pill terminates a human life.2
Claim #2: The morning-after pill has been adequately tested and is safe for all users.
The FDA declined to approve the morning-after pill to be available over-the-counter (OTC) because it has not been adequately tested to ensure that this high level of hormones can be used safely by adolescents, who constitute a target market for the drug. As the owner of Plan B admits, there are no data on what occurs in an overdose.3 This could occur if a young woman decides to take an extra dose when she experiences the common side effect of vomiting or, in her belief, to increase its effectiveness. It is currently unknown whether a maximum, safe, daily, monthly, or yearly dose exists.
Promoters have not conducted the necessary studies, yet claim that it's been proven safe.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Liberal Christianity is paying for its sins
Out-of-the-mainstream beliefs about gay marriage and supposedly sexist doctrines are gutting old-line faiths.
By Charlotte Allen, CHARLOTTE ALLEN is Catholicism editor for Beliefnet and the author of "The Human Christ: The Search for the Historical Jesus."
July 9, 2006
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-allen9jul09,0,2668973.story
The accelerating fragmentation of the strife-torn Episcopal Church USA, in which several parishes and even a few dioceses are opting out of the church, isn't simply about gay bishops, the blessing of same-sex unions or the election of a woman as presiding bishop. It also is about the meltdown of liberal Christianity.
Embraced by the leadership of all the mainline Protestant denominations, as well as large segments of American Catholicism, liberal Christianity has been hailed by its boosters for 40 years as the future of the Christian church.
Instead, as all but a few die-hards now admit, all the mainline churches and movements within churches that have blurred doctrine and softened moral precepts are demographically declining and, in the case of the Episcopal Church, disintegrating.
[More at URL]
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The war for the soul of America
By JARED PUTNAM
The Union Sentinel
July 13, 2006
http://www.unionsentinel.com/news/2006/0713/Community/046.html
"There is not only a war being fought in the middle east, there is a war being fought in this country, for the soul of this country." That, according to Senator Zell Miller, makes an organization like Concerned Women for America of Georgia (CWA), an important force in today's society, as the group stands in the middle of a spiritual and moral battleground.
The former Governor Governor and United States Senator was the guest speaker for CWA, at a breakfast held last Saturday in the Fellowship Hall of First Baptist Church of Blairsville.
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Haynes Takes Heat in Hearing
Appeals Court nominee endures second grilling before Senate committee.
Concerned Women for America
7/12/2006
By Kristen Morgan
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11104/LEGAL/judges/index.htm
While some senators praised and defended William James Haynes II, the President’s nominee to the 4th Circuit, others during his hearing yesterday sought to portray the Department of Defense’s (DOD) general counsel as a zealous advocate of torture.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
CWA Decries Call for U.N. Women’s Rights Agency
Concerned Women for America
7/14/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11123/MEDIA/misc/index.htm
Washington, D.C. − Concerned Women for America (CWA) calls attention to an ultra-liberal Canadian U.N. Envoy, Stephen Lewis, who is calling for a multimillion dollar Women’s Rights Agency at the United Nations, according to a report today from C-FAM, Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute. Lewis’ long history with the U.N. includes positions as Canadian Ambassador, an official with UNICEF and special envoy for HIV/AIDS.
Dr. Janice Shaw Crouse, twice a United States Delegate to U.N. conferences, said, “Lewis’ proposal would dramatically strengthen the already-incredibly-strong radical feminist influence at the U.N., and it would virtually ensure that abortion would become a human right around the world. Plus, having an agency devoted solely to so-called ‘women’s rights’ would require an increase in already exorbitant funding for the U.N. from member nations – especially the United States – and funnel that extra money into the radical feminist agenda.”
[More at URL]
------ 8 -----
Senate Passes Resolution Affirming National Motto
50th anniversary of ‘In God We Trust’ approaches.
Concerned Women for America
7/13/2006
By Sarah Kuziomko
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11115/CWA/freedom/index.htm
On the evening of July 12, the Senate unanimously passed the S. Con. Res. 96, reaffirming and commemorating the 50th anniversary of our National Motto, “In God We Trust.”
U.S. Sens. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) and Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) first introduced S. Con. Res. 96 in May of this year.
“As we mark the 50th anniversary of the official adoption of ‘In God We Trust’ as our national motto, we should recognize the past and future role of America’s reliance on divine providence and fight attempts to remove God from the public square,” said Sen. Brownback. “Since the beginning of our nation, America’s citizens have acknowledged how God is very much a part of the founding principles and traditions of our democracy. As stated in the Declaration of Independence, God created man with unalienable rights that civil government is charged to protect.”
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Traditional family still highly valued
Focus on the Family Canada
Today's Family News
July 12, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/family/stories/071206.html
copy goes hereDespite dramatic changes over the past 30 years in the way Canadians think about themselves and their society, they “still tend to aspire to very traditional lifestyles,” Maclean’s magazine reported earlier this month.
That finding is one of the many revelations contained in a new survey by University of Lethbridge sociologist and author Reginald Bibby.
Bibby found that while Canadians have grown increasingly tolerant, for example, of homosexuality and different family structures, most still aspire to “belong to a traditional nuclear family” – where couples marry, have children, and stay together for the rest of their lives. As he told Maclean’s, “what is changing are the outcomes – not the aspirations.”
[...]
Even Canadians’ approval of same-sex relationships – rising from 28 per cent in 1990 to more than two-thirds today – does not necessarily mean that they approve of same-sex marriage. As Maclean’s reported, it “remains a contentious issue,” with Canadians still about equally divided. In fact, only 39 per cent of men approved of same-sex marriage in 2005, compared to 56 per cent of women.
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Ethicist rejects "fresh" embryo policy
Focus on the Family Canada
Today’s Family News
July 12, 2006
http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/life/stories/071206.html
University of Western Ontario medical ethicist Jeffrey Nisker believes the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) was too hasty in granting conditional approval to allowing the use of days-old human embryos for stem cell research, the Vancouver Sun reported.
The decision effectively allows scientists involved in a stem cell project to use both so-called “fresh” as well as frozen embryos in their research.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
Who does support homosexual marriage?
Canada Family Action Coalition
July 10, 2006
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/who-does-support.htm
Not even all homosexual activists are in support of marriage being their number one plank. In fact in the US about 50% do not want to spend energy and money on fighting for so called marriage equality.
One has to wonder if the same is true for Canada. Perhaps it is more true. Considering that less than 2000 Canadian homosexual couple marriages have taken place of 3.4 million homosexuals(if you believe the 10% misinformation) or about 1.02 million( if about 3% have chosen homosexual behavior) then perhaps Canada is even less favorable.
As written in an 'Unmarried America' column," When the push to legalize gay marriage was criticized during a national conference two weeks ago, half of those in the room jumped to their feet in applause while the other half sat there stunned. No, this was not a meeting of Christian fundamentalists or a caucus of conservative Republicans. It was the "Creating Change" Conference of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force held in Oakland, California."
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
How America Went Gay
Leadership U
by Charles W. Socarides, M.D.
http://www.leaderu.com/jhs/socarides.html
Charles W. Socarides, M.D., is clinical professor of psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center in New York. He is president of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, and author of Homosexuality: A Freedom Too Far (Adam Margrave Books, Phoenix, Arizona).
For more than 20 years, I and a few of my colleagues in the field of psychoanalysis have felt like an embattled minority, because we have continued to insist, against today's conventional wisdom, that gays aren't born that way. We know that obligatory homosexuals are caught up in unconscious adaptations to early childhood abuse and neglect and that, with insight into their earliest beginnings, they can change. This "adaptation" I speak of is a polite term for men going through the motions of mating not with the opposite sex but with one another.
For most of this century, most of us in the helping professions considered this behavior aberrant. Not only was it "off the track"; the people caught up in it were suffering, which is why we called it a pathology. We had patients, early in their therapy, who would seek out one sex partner after another-total strangers-on a single night, then come limping into our offices the next day to tell us how they were hurting themselves. Since we were in the business of helping people learn how not to keep hurting themselves, many of us thought we were quietly doing God's work.
[...]
My wife, Clare, who has an unerring aptitude for getting to the heart of things, said one day recently in passing, "I think everybody's being brainwashed." That gave me a start. I know "brainwashing" is a term that has been used and overused. But my wife's casual observation only reminded me of a brilliant tract I had read several years ago and then forgotten. It was called After the Ball: How America Will Conquer its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 1990's, by Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen.
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
If Gay Brother Research is Correct It Shows Homosexuality is Abnormal
LifeSite
By John-Henry Westen
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jun/06063003.html
TORONTO, June 30, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The mainstream media resurrected the specter of the 'gay gene' theory this week in covering a Canadian study on the origin of homosexuality. "Homosexuality influenced by biological factors, Canadian researcher says," proclaimed the CBC, the first to break the story on Monday. CNN was quick to jump on the bandwagon with "Study: Sexual orientation of men determined before birth."
In reality, however, the study was most intriguing for what the mainstream media failed to cover. Namely that, if true, the study suggests that homosexuality is a congenital abnormality, and shares its origins with other disorders developed in the womb.
[...]
If correct the theories would thus show the opposite of the normalcy of homosexuality, which the mainstream media are attempting to posit with the coverage of the study. "I was born abnormal, and therefore I'm normal is not good logic," concluded Dr. Shea.
[More at URL]
----- 14 -----
Senate Unanimously Passes ‘In God We Trust’ Resolution
Traditional Values Coalition
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2790
July 13, 2006 – Yesterday evening, the Senate unanimously passed the “In God We Trust” resolution to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the creation of this slogan as our nation’s national motto.
The resolution was sponsored by Kansas Republican Senator Sam Brownback. The House should also pass this resolution. Contact your U.S. Representative and ask that he or she support this resolution. Use CapWiz to contact your Representative.
The Brownback resolution is reprinted here:
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
TVC Executive Director Lauds Court Decisions On Marriage
Traditional Values Coalition
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2789
July 13, 2006 -- In a commentary this week, Traditional Values Coalition Executive Director Andrea Lafferty discussed the recent decisions in Georgia, Massachusetts and New York that dealt with the sanctity of traditional marriage.
The New York Court of Appeals ruled that the state Constitution does not mandate homosexual marriage and that the legal status of marriage is a legislative, not a judicial function. In Georgia, the state Supreme Court ruled that the marriage protection amendment passed by 77% of the voters in 2004 was not unconstitutional. In Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a marriage amendment could be voted on by the citizens in 2008 as long as it is approved by the state legislature.
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
Commentary & News Briefs
July 14, 2006
Agape Press/American Family Association
Compiled by Jenni Parker
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/142006h.asp
...Massachusetts lawmakers have voted 100-91 to adjourn until November 9 rather than take action on a ballot proposal to amend the state constitution to outlaw same-sex "marriage." Democratic State Representative Marie Parente commented that "democracy lost" in this vote, and Family Research Council president Tony Perkins agrees. Although one Bay State representative claimed he voted as he did so that his fellow state legislators could vote their consciences without the pressure of having to face the voters soon afterward, Perkins contends that the lawmaker knows he and most of his fellow "99 spineless politicians" who voted to adjourn are out-of-synch with their constituents on this issue. And with the state's Supreme Judicial Court giving the go-ahead earlier this week to proceed with the amendment that could reverse that court's 2004 ruling creating homosexual marriage, the FRC spokesman says it is becoming "pretty clear that the leadership of the legislature has been hiding behind the courts on this issue." What these lawmakers are doing, Perkins asserts, is effectively denying Massachusetts citizens the right to govern themselves. [Jenni Parker]
[more at URL]
----- 17 -----
Illinois Pro-Family Group Plans Christian Outreach at 'Gay Games'
By Mary Rettig
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 14, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/142006d.asp
(AgapePress) - The president of the Illinois Family Institute (IFI) says Christians will be countering the upcoming Gay Games events in Chicago with a "Truth and Love Offensive." The Gay Games, a loose interpretation of an Olympics, strictly for homosexuals, will run from July 15 through July 22 in the Windy City.
Peter LaBarbera, president of IFI, says his organization was determined not to stand by and let the Gay Games pass without telling homosexuals there is freedom in Christ. One of the ways the group hopes to get this message across is by involving individuals who have left the homosexual lifestyle and who now minister to others struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions.
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
NY's Disdain for Campaign Doesn't Deter Jews for Jesus
By Chad Groening
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 14, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/142006g.asp
(AgapePress) - A worldwide ministry dedicated to winning Jewish people to Christ has poured virtually all its resources into New York City this month for its largest evangelistic campaign ever.
Jews for Jesus says it has already passed out more than 650,000 tracts throughout the city's five boroughs and the suburbs of Long Island, Westchester, and northern New Jersey. It has also spent $1.4 million to place illuminated panels in the city's vast subway system that read, "Jews for Jesus" and "Jesus for Jews."
[More at URL]
----- 19 -----
Transgendered' Child Set to Enter Florida School System
By Jim Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 14, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/142006a.asp
(AgapePress) - The country's youngest "transgender" child is reportedly set to attend school in Broward County, Florida. The young boy's family is enrolling him as a girl in kindergarten this fall.
Some South Florida newspapers have recently published stories featuring a family that has been allowing their five-year-old son to dress, act, and live as a girl. The kindergartner-to-be is said to rejecting his physical characteristics as a boy. According to the Miami Herald, mental health professionals have diagnosed the cross-dressing boy with "gender dysphoria," or gender identity disorder. The newspaper says the school plans to address the youngster by a unisex name.
Dr. Warren Throckmorton is a prominent mental health counselor who teaches at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. He says the school district is caught in a very difficult situation.
"They're trying to respect the wishes of the parents," Throckmorton notes, "and, given that school professionals are not medical professionals or mental health professionals, they have to rely on recommendations they receive from those people. The school people may not want to do this; maybe it would violate their own belief or what they think would be best."
[More at URL]
----- 20 -----
Theologian Says Clergy Marital, Sexual Discipline Lacking in ECUSA
By Jim Brown and Bill Fancher
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 14, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/142006c.asp
(AgapePress) - A conservative Anglican theologian says there's a "complete lack of marital and sexual discipline for the clergy" in mainline Protestant denominations -- namely the Episcopal Church USA.
ECUSA is getting set to ordain a bishop who is twice divorced and in his third marriage. Barry Beisner is to become bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California on September 30, despite concerns raised by some members of the nominating committee. They noted the Bible says a bishop must be "above reproach" and "the husband of one wife."
Dr. Kendall Harmon, canon theologian for the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, says the Episcopal Church is a "very broken church" in the area of leadership standards -- and Beisner's pending appointment, he adds, sends a confusing message.
[More at URL]
----- 21 -----
Mass. Delusion
Family Research Council
Tony Perkins, President
July 13, 2006 - Thursday
Please forward this to your Friends and Family!
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU06G07
Massachusetts state lawmakers have voted 100-91 to adjourn until Nov. 9 rather than take action on a ballot proposal to support marriage. "Democracy lost today," said state Rep. Marie Parente, a Democrat. She's right. State Rep. Thomas Sannicandro (D) said he voted for the delay so that state legislators could vote their consciences without the pressure of having to face the voters soon afterward. So much for representative government! He knows that his values and those of most of his fellow 99 spineless politicians are out-of-synch with their constituents on this issue. Sannicandro doesn't want the issue on the ballot at all. "If we do leave it to the people, it is a discrimination vote." With the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court giving the go ahead earlier this week for the amendment to proceed, which will reverse the 2004 ruling of the Court creating same-sex marriage, it is becoming pretty clear that the leadership of the legislature has been hiding behind the courts on this issue. It is hard to believe that this is the same state that gave us great statesmen like Samuel Adams, John Adams, and John Hancock who were not afraid to take a stand and represent the people. What these politicians are doing is effectively to deny the people of Massachusetts the right to govern themselves. Gov. Mitt Romney (R) said it well: "In a democracy, the people are sovereign." The U.S. Constitution guarantees each state "a republican form of government." The question is, is Massachusetts still a republic?
----- 22 -----
Gay Games Get Underway in Chicago
Concerned Women for America
Robert Knight
7/13/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11110/CWA/misc/index.htm
The Gay Games will kick-off this Saturday, July 15th, in Chicago. Pro-family activists plan to counter the games’ “non-athletic” attractions to get the truth out about the risks of homosexual behavior. Martha Kleder is joined by Bob Knight, Director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute and Peter LaBarbera, Executive Director of the Illinois Family Institute for this update. Click here to listen.
[Peter LaBarbera: "We're trying to put up an alternative message... some of the media might pay attention, but considering that NBC5, The New York Times, and the Chicago Sun-Times are actually serving as official sponsours of the Gay Games, I don't know if we're going to get very fair coverage."
Bob Knight: "What a great message to send to the schoolchildren in the Chicago area, I mean really, when you think about it, they're promoting behaviour that we know costs lives, cuts them short, spreads disease, does not lead to happy family life, it's tragic to see corporations, governments, media, all pitching in to promtoe this, as if it's something good for people!"
Peter LaBarbera: [Complains about commercials for Gay Games] That's part of the tragedy of the promotion of homosexuality... young people are just becoming desensitized to the idea that there's anything wrong with this behaviour."
Peter LaBarbera: It just keeps getting more depressing [on sponsourship] we've got Walgreens and Krafts, they were early sponspours, now we've got Best Buy; some of the usual suspects like Orbitz, and liquor companies. But Ernst and Young, Gatoraid joined in, I think ESPN is actually going to sponsour part of the opening ceremony or something... it's just a shame that the corporate world now has become probably the biggest promoter of the gay agenda.
Bob Knight: Yeah, I'd have to agree ... We're winning political victories all over the country, over the last week we've had six or seven victories in the courts and elsewhere, and yet corporate America has bought into the homosexual agenda full-tilt and is promoting it at every level, within employee groups, diversity training, sponsouring homosexual activist groups, and sponsouring events like this. It's as if they're determined to change this country radically and turn it into a playground for followers of Alfred Kinsey, the sex research pioneer, who tried to prove that anything goes and anything should go.
Peter LaBarbera: My favourite is Walgreens... we criticised them then they signed on, so now they call themselves - it's right there on the Gay Games website - the official HIV/AIDS prevention sponsour, and yet the Gay Games has refused to drop two homosexual bathhouses, where men go for anonymous sexual liesons with other men, there's two of them, and they're also serving as official sponsours of the gay games. So how ridiculous that Walgreens is saying ti's preventing HIV, and yet two of their official sponsours are perversion centres!
Bob Knight: Well, you know Walgreens has a conflict of interest here, because they provide many of the drugs that are allocated to AIDS patients. We've seen this for years, major drug companies with three, four page ad displays in homosexual magazines. We've seen drug companies buy giant rainbow flags for particular gay pride parades - you know, the equivalent of this would be if a company that made lots of money selling drugs to counteract cancer that was contracted because of tobacco smoking promoted smoke-ins. I mean, really, they're promoting the very behaviour that is causing people to turn to them for multiple-drug regimines every day.
Peter LaBarbera: And then you have the gay circuit parties which are these very extended parties - for grown-up adolescents, basically - and they are supposedly raising money to fight AIDS, when there have been studies that show these parties are ripe with drug use and incredibly dangerous promiscuous behaviour. So, there are all sorts of contradictions in the homosexual movement, and unfortunately they are all coming to the fore here in Chicago, from July 15th through the 22nd.
Peter LaBarbera: Today there's a big story in the Chicago Tribune that's basically trying to shoot down the idea that there's any reason to have a ban on HIV-infected travelers, and the CDC types are saying that this is just outdated and everything, but my point as I tried to make to the Chicago Tribune was look, you've got people coming in, it's one thing if they're going in for experimental AIDS treatment or a seminar on AIDS, it's quite another if they're going to an event which is celebrating promiscuous homosexual behaviour as proven by the fact that the Gay Games has refused to drop the two sex clubs that are severing as official sponsours.
Bob Knight: We're basically putting out a welcome mat to people with HIV/AIDS and hoping they'll attend an event at which they're more likely to spread the illness to Americans and other foreign visitors to the games. I mean, it's just... there doesn't seem to be any sense of protecting Americans and doing the right thing in terms of public health.
Peter LaBarbera: And that's why we're going, we're actually going to have an outreach, and informational outreach at one of these bathhouses. We're not going inside... I refuse to put on a towel in protest, because they make their attendees put on towels, even though they call themselves a gym. But we're going to be out there handing out gospel tracts and also health information to the people coming into the bathhouses.
Bob Knight: You know, that's a good thing; you can't just decry behaviour that's dangerous, you've got to give them the way out of it, and also the consequences so they know that there are risks.
Martha Kleider: And that some of the other people who may be in the bathhouses are HIV infected people from overseas!
Peter LaBarbera: Right. Yeah, it's just scary, the distinguishing characteristic of a bathhouse is that the doors are closed, and nobody knows what's going on - you know, this is the only disease that's politically protected, and it's just very sad.
Peter LaBarbera: Saturday, we have a press conference with lots of people, we've got Linda Jernegen [Ed. Note: spelling uncertain on these names], who is a former lesbian; Greg Crinline, who is a former homosexual who was once a gay activist, but now he works as his own pro-family group; we've got a woman, Janice Cuteure, who has a lesbian daughter; what she's speaking on is how to love your gay or lesbian child without loving their behaviour. ... And I'm really excited about Dr. Robert Gagnin, who's the leading authority on the Bible and homosexuality, who's coming to Illinois for two days, Sunday and Monday, to debunk the gay theology.
Bob Knight: Oh boy, that is wonderful, Peter... Robert Ganyin does his homework, and he's a very good writer, he makes it understandable to the layman. He's a scholar who is easily understood, and there aren't many out there like that.
Peter LaBarbera: He writes well, he's with us, and he understands the danger to Christians of this agenda which is going to silence us if we don't put a stop to it.
Bob Knight: When we look at what as happened over the last few weeks to several mainstream denominations openly embracing homosexuality and mother Jesus and all kinds of other bizarre concepts, it's good to have a solid right-thinking guy like Robert Ganyin offering the alternative.
Peter LaBarbera: I learned ... he published his book about eight months before he had a tenure meeting, and the gay activists went after him and tried to get his tenure denied at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Thank god that other Christians came out and defended him and he ended up getting tenure, but once again we see that this is the most intolerant subgroup in American politics.
Peter LaBarbera: We have pastor Michael Allen, who is a wonderful guy, he's the pastor at Uptown Baptist Church which is leading the gospel outreach; we're gonna have T-shirts... myfreewater.com, which is a Christian website...
Bob Knight: Do you know if Fred Phelps is planning to show up at this? [More annoyance at Fred Phelps' usefulness as a media tool.]
Peter LaBarbera: I hope not... I don't think he even counts as a Christian minister...
Peter LaBarbera: [Theological annoyance at "god made me gay" arguments] Jesus loves you, all sorts of people struggle with all sorts of sins, you can't take your particular sin and wrap it around as your inborn identity.
Bob Knight: Yeah, it's mistake, and it's a lie they've been told for years, that number one they can't change, and number two, God made them this way, and therefore it's okay. It's a deadly lie they've been told and the only way to combat it is with the truth.
Peter LaBarbera: We also have a couple African American speakers, one is named Al Cleveland... is homosexuality, why homosexuality is not a civil rights issue... we're seeing a lot of unity amoung white and black Christians on traditional sexual morality.
[Also, CWA will be at their press conference.]
Peter LaBarbera: Our website is illinoisfamily.org [complete list of speakers is there].
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The Halfway Point of 2006 Marks Enactment of New Legislation
Concerned Women for America
Mike Mears
7/13/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11111/CWA/misc/index.htm
Every July, new laws take effect across the nation, and this July 1st was no exception. Mike Mears, CWA’s Director of State Legislative Relations, has a list of the good, the bad and the odd laws now on the books. Click here to listen.
[Mike Mears: "Cracking down on sex offenders seemed to be the most popular bill across the nation... at least eight governors have signed bills using global positioning systems to track sex offenders..." [Georgia passed bill posting 10 Commandments in public buildings, but it's another "historical display" bill.] [They're unhappy with: South Carolina lowered the age of consent, they basically passed a Romeo-and-Juliet law. "It really does send a bad message..." They portray it at "college sophomores praying on juniour highers." (The range is 14-15/16-18.)]
Mike Mears: "Pro-family folks in Arizona actually submitted the 300,000 signatures they needed to put the Marriage Protection Amendment on the ballot; it's being certified and looked into right now, hopefully in the next couple weeks we'll know about that."
Mike Mears: [Supports Colorado bill denying services to illegal immigrants... says some conservatives upset because it had broad support, because it exempts minours... calls it "a loophole that has to be looked at." NPR talked about this as being related to American-born children of illegals, who are, by Constitutional decree, citizens. I don't know which version is correct; it might split the middle. I do think it's interesting that any bill with broad support is inherently suspect, though. The only bills they trust are the ones they ram down your throat; if you're okay with it, I guess it's evil.]
