Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Jul. 19th, 2006 11:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdCheck out the starred articles for how a set of fundamentalist talking points make their way through the various theocon organisations and out to places like Human Events and National Review Online. They key is repetition, repetition, and repetition. The target this time is embryonic stem-cell research, and the intent is to discredit it on every level.
In other news, a fundamentalist attempt to shut down the only remaining clinic in Mississippi providing abortion services has failed - for now. It looks like they're back to doing blockades. Fun.
Meanwhile, here's today's news.
The Washington Post does a story on fundamentalist efforts to turn the Armed Forces into, quoting one organisation's website, "ambassadors for Christ in uniform, empowered by the Holy Spirit";
Christianity Today can't stand the religious bigotry being shown against a Wiccan soldier who died in service in Iraq - the government is still refusing to place the appropriate religious symbol, as he requested, on his plaque;
House of Representatives useless debate on a Federal anti-marriage amendment uses a lot of revealing language;
Focus on the Family to devote Thursday's show to supporting President Bush's veto of stem-cell research expansion;
Focus on the Family reports on Morality In Media's petition to President Bush for more Federal action against "obscenity"; I use quotes because their definitions tend to be awfully broad;
***** Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to support President Bush's veto of stem-cell research expansion;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to support the "Pledge Protection Act," which would attempt to declare that courts cannot hear challenges to it; this is, of course, bizarrely unconstitutional - you cannot repeal the Constitutional right of redress in the courts by legislative action - but that isn't stopping anyone;
***** FotF House and Senate voting information on HR810 (stem-cell research) and other bills;
Federal appeals court rules inmates cannot be denied abortion at their own expense and must be transported to an appropriate facility if necessary;
FotF reruns an ad/promotion for the "Values Voters Summit";
FotF: "IRS Warns Churches and Nonprofits About Endorsing Candidates" - the tone is surprisingly neutral; previous versions of this story have been all about how the IRS is going to CRUSH the FREE SPEECH of the CHURCH!!!1! and so on;
FotF story on the failure of the anti-marriage amendment in the House of Representatives, following a failure in the Senate; the vote was pointless, of course, as the Senate had already outright rejected it; includes ACTION ITEM to thank representatives who voted for it and complain to those who opposed;
FotF reports that the Democratic National Committee has a plan to combat state anti-marriage initiatives; funny, they haven't helped before, so I'd be surprised if they started now, and it'd be nice to hear it from them; includes ACTION ITEM to support a Federal anti-marriage initiative;
Anti-abortion activists are back to trying to physically blockade clinics; "Operation Save America" tried it in Mississippi last weekend, it got broken up; Focus on the Family is outraged, calls it a violation of the first amendment;
FotF, Concerned Women for America jointly demand pro-torture judicial nominiee Jim Haynes be let out of confirmation and onto the Appeals court bench;
FotF reports South Dakota Rep. Roger "no health exemption" Hunt is receiving harassing phone calls; unspecified "lawmakers" claim to have received death threats;
"Pregnancy centres" to have national promotional car washes this September; this at about the same time as stories are reappearing about their misleading and abusive tactics;
Faith and Freedom Network ACTION ITEM to support the "Pledge Protection Act," and gives a URL but the action item isn't online;
***** Concerned Women for America condemn passage of stem-cell research expansion act, calling embryonic stem-cell research supporters "snake-oil salesmen"; note the continual rhetoric: embryonic stem-cell research "has produced no results" (while they simultaneously condemn any research making progress - doublethink is a big thing in fundmentalistland), but "adult stem-cell research" is producing "miracles" every day;
***** CWA article on the "miracle of adult stem-cell research";
CWA pushes "ex-gay" ministry bullshit;
Federal appeals court reinstates Nebraska's comprehensive marriage ban; it bans marriage, civil unions, domestic partnerships, and all recognition thereof;
***** CWA condemns embryonic stem-cell research (again - see above; the repetition of the message is what's important, even more than the content); in this one, they're again saying that it's not only immoral but ineffective and Too Risky and that nobody will fund it (not true; there was an article in the UW Daily about researchers struggling to do as much work as they can within the constraints of the Federal funding ban and getting money, just for example - and even were it true, the Federal funding ban might have something to do with the funding issues); and also, just for laffs, I quote a little of one bit where they're talking about how it's a "triumph of activism over science";
***** CWA condemns "fetus farming";
CWA supports "Pledge Protection Act," which unconstitutionally bans courts from hearing Pledge of Allegiance cases;
***** CWA has yet another iteration of their latest condemnation of embryonic stem-cell research, which uses the "snake-oil salesmen" line again;
***** National Review picks up the Concerned Women for America line on embryonic stem-cell research, calling it "destructive" and "anti-life";
***** National Review picks up the CWA/theoconservative line, Part II: Science, arguably the most respected journal in scientific research, is "pseudoscience" for support of embryonic stem-cell research, asserts that people supporting embryonic stem-cell research are "scientific[ally] and moral[ly] backrupt";
Family Research Council opposes making HPV virus part of the standard set of vaccines required for school;
FRC press release on 8th Circuit Court reinstating Nebraska's anti-marriage/anti-civil-unions/anti-domestic-parnerships ban, and also on Tennessee's anti-marriage effort;
FRC demands action on pro-torture Bush appeals court nominee;
FRC condemns House of Representatives for not passing anti-marriage Federal amendment;
FRC demands immediate Senate action on the unconstitutional (to my opinion, clearly so) "Pledge Protection Act" removing Pledge cases from Judicial purview;
***** Human Events Online also picks up the Concerned Women for America line on stem-cell research, reprinting one of their attack columns on their website; repetition, repetition, repetition;
***** American Family Association outrage at Congressional passage of embryonic stem-cell research act, happiness over the veto;
AFA attacks House of Representatives for not passing anti-marriage Federal constitutional amendment;
A second AFA story about the failed Federal anti-marriage amendment includes lots of quotes from James Dobson talking about how this needs to be remembered in November, and how voters should vote based on this amendment's failure;
***** AFA article: "Curing a disease that wasn't" - on HPV;
***** AFA jumps on the anti-Science bandwagon over the recent article on stem-cell research; they follow the same general route as the other groups above; repetition, repetition, repetition;
AFA reports on the attempt to shut down the only clinic in Mississippi providing abortion services; they're for it, of course;
***** Traditional Values Coalition links to Senator Tom Coburn's summary of the fundamentalist "talking points" against embryonic stem-cell research; repetition, repetition, and co-ordination;
***** Focus on the Family Canada's story on researchers turning stem cells into sperm cells has lots of alarm in it, and, in the email version, includes an ACTION ITEM to tell HealthCanada you're against testing externally-fertilised embryos for genetic defects before implanting them in women trying to get pregnant.
----- 1 -----
Marching as to War
Former Air Force Officer Mikey Weinstein Zeroes In on Proselytizing in the Military
By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 16, 2006
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/15/AR2006071501032.html
Porcelain figurines are perched on the mantelpiece behind Mikey Weinstein. Guests are seated on chintz couches in front of him. It's a nice crowd at a polite fundraising party.
But Mikey -- his friends, his enemies, even complete strangers call him "Mikey" -- has had it with nice.
[...]
Yet one of his favorite lines these days -- right up there with "sucking chest wounds" -- comes from the Officers' Christian Fellowship, a private organization with 14,000 active-duty members on more than 200 U.S. military bases around the world. In its mission statement, the OCF says its goal is "a spiritually transformed military, with ambassadors for Christ in uniform, empowered by the Holy Spirit."
[More at URL]
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Stand Up, Stand Up for Wicca
A war widow rightly wonders: Whose freedom are we fighting for?
by John W. Whitehead
Christianity Today
Posted 06/05/2006 09:30 a.m.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/123/12.0.html
Amidst a sea of memorial plaques at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, one space remains blank.
That space is waiting to be filled by a plaque honoring the life and sacrifice of 34-year-old Sgt. Patrick Stewart, who was killed in action on September 25, 2005, when his helicopter was struck with a rocket-propelled grenade as it flew over Afghanistan. But it may be some time before Sgt. Stewart is remembered with a memorial plaque. That's because his war widow and the Department of Veterans Affairs are at odds over the Stewart family's request to have the Wiccan pentacle, a five-pointed star surrounded by a circle, placed on the plaque. As of May 31, 2006, government officials have refused to allow the Wiccan symbol to be placed on Stewart's plaque.
[...]
Yet by refusing to place the Wiccan symbol on Sgt. Stewart's memorial plaque, while permitting symbols of other religions and non-religions, the government is clearly engaging in viewpoint discrimination—which is a shoddy way to treat someone who has died in service to his country.
[More at URL]
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The Man Upstairs Is in the House
By Dana Milbank
The Washington Post
Wednesday, July 19, 2006; A02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/18/AR2006071801336_pf.html
The House of Representatives could not have been any more obvious if the sergeant-at-arms had wheeled an equine carcass into the well and the speaker had pummeled it with his gavel.
Yesterday's House debate on same-sex marriage was pure dead horse: The Senate last month rejected -- emphatically -- a constitutional amendment that would allow Congress to ban same-sex marriage, so there was zero chance the amendment could be approved this year. But members of the House were answering to a Higher Authority.
"It's part of God's plan for the future of mankind," explained Rep. John Carter (R-Tex.).
Rep. Bob Beauprez (R- Colo.) also found "the very hand of God" at work. "We best not be messing with His plan."
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) agreed that "it wasn't our idea, it was God's."
"I think God has spoken very clearly on this issue," said Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), a mustachioed gynecologist who served as one of the floor leaders yesterday. When somebody quarreled with this notion, Gingrey replied: "I refer the gentleman to the Holy Scriptures."
[More at URL]
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Focus Broadcast Spotlights Stem-Cell Veto
Focus on the Family
July 19, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
On Thursday's Focus on the Family broadcast, President's Council on Bioethics member Robert George and Focus on the Family Senior Analyst for Bioethics Carrie Gordon Earll join Dr. James Dobson to discuss President Bush's first veto. The legislation he stopped would have expanded federal funding for life-destroying embryonic stem-cell research.
While backers of the bill promised future cures, opponents pointed out the tremendous ethical problems of ending countless human lives in a quest to save others.
To find a station in your area, or to listen online beginning on Thursday, follow this link.
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Pro-family Groups Ask President Bush to Fight Obscenity
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
July 19, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041321.cfm
Pro-family groups, led by Morality in Media (MIM), have asked President Bush to take action against obscenity.
MIM leader Bob Peters sent a letter to the president making the case that outdated obscenity laws make it practically impossible to deal with new technology that is infusing foul material into society.
[More at URL]
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President Vetoes Life-Destroying Stem-Cell Research Bill
Bush tells Congress he's "not going to allow" an unethical bill to become law.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
July 19, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041328.cfm
President Bush today vetoed his first piece of legislation, H.R. 810, which would have dramatically increased the incentive for researchers to kill embryonic human beings to obtain stem cells.
"If we're to find the right ways to advance ethical medical research, we must also be willing, when necessary, to reject the wrong ways," Bush told a White House crowd peppered with pro-life leaders.
"So today, I'm keeping the promise I made to the American people by returning this bill to Congress with my veto."
[More at URL]
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House Votes to Protect the Pledge
Representatives affirm the right of school kids to include "under God."
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
July 19, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041325.cfm
The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Pledge Protection Act — H.R. 2389 — 260 to 167. The act seeks to remove cases involving the Pledge of Allegiance from the jurisdiction of federal courts.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., is in response to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in 2002 that declared the Pledge unconstitutional because of the words "under God." The Supreme Court overturned the decision, stating that atheist Michael Newdow did not have standing to bring the case.
[...]
TAKE ACTION:
Encourage your senators to support the Pledge Protection Act. You may contact them through the CitizenLink Action Center.
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See How Your Lawmakers Voted on Stem-Cell Related Bills
Let your elected officials know you're taking note of their actions.
by Stuart Shepard, managing editor
Focus on the Family
July 19, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041327.cfm
The House and Senate took important votes Tuesday on bills related to embryonic stem-cell research. President Bush vetoed one bill that would have expanded federal funding of life-destroying embryonic stem-cell research.
We encourage you to see how your officials voted, and then go to the CitizenLink Action Center where you may send the president a note thanking him for vetoing H.R. 810, and also write your lawmakers and let them know you have taken note of how they voted on these measures.
[More at URL]
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Federal Court Rules Prisons Must Transport Women for Abortion
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
July 19, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041322.cfm
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that prison officials are responsible for transporting pregnant women seeking an abortion, even if the mother’s life is not in danger.
According to KansasCity.Com, U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple ruled last year that the Missouri Department of Corrections policy restricted the constitutional rights of incarcerated women who would otherwise not have access to abortion facilities.
[More at URL]
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Plan Now to Attend Values Voters Summit
The Washington Briefing, to be held Sept. 22-24, will equip Christians for the 2006 election and beyond.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
June 28, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041058.cfm
A pro-family conference to be held Sept. 22-24 in Washington, D.C., will gather conservative leaders — and everyday believers looking for tips on how to stand up for righteousness — to discuss issues vital to the well-being of faith and family.
Tony Perkins, president of event sponsor FRC Action and a conference speaker, talked with CitizenLink about the summit and why all politically active Christians should consider attending.
[More at URL]
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IRS Warns Churches and Nonprofits About Endorsing Candidates
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
July 18, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041290.cfm
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has sent advisories to churches and other nonprofit organizations warning that improper campaigning could endanger their tax-exempt status.
The Los Angeles Times reported that notices were sent to more than 15,000 tax-exempt groups, numerous church denominations and tax preparers, detailing the IRS' new enforcement program, the Political Activity Compliance Initiative.
The IRS said it will expedite investigations into claims of improper campaigning.
[More at URL]
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House Falls Short on Marriage Protection Amendment
Pro-family leaders say voters will 'remember in November.'
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
July 18, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041294.cfm
A constitutional amendment to protect marriage failed in the U.S. House of Representatives today. The 236-to-187 vote fell short of the 288 needed to pass.
Dr. James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family Action, said the vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA) shows how lawmakers are out of touch with America.
[...]
FOR MORE INFORMATION/TAKE ACTION:
First, click on this link to see how your representative voted on the Marriage Protection Amendment.
Then, if your lawmaker voted in favor of MPA, thank him or her. If he or she voted against the measure, respectfully make it clear you have taken note. You can find contact information in the CitizenLink Action Center.
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DNC Hatches Plan to Combat State-Marriage Initiatives
Gay publication reveals secret strategy.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
July 17, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041275.cfm
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is weighing in on state marriage-protection amendment fights around the country. The nation's oldest political party has reportedly developed a five-point plan to fight ballot initiatives.
The plan's existence was leaked by The Washington Blade, a pro-homosexual newspaper, that quoted a DNC spokesman last Friday saying there is a "five-point-plan."
[...]
"With respect to issues surrounding marriage," he added, "we understand that our country is involved in an important conversation right now, about the best way to ensure equal rights and protections for all American families. We believe that as that conversation continues, we shouldn't scapegoat groups of people or use marriage as a political wedge issue for political gain. We oppose those efforts and we have not made it any secret."
The DNC's involvement on state amendments stands in stark contrast to the GOP. Though the Republican platform supports marriage, that doesn't imply endorsement of any particular initiative.
[...]
"Marriage is not a Democratic issue or a Republican one. It's an American issue," he said. "To see a political party kowtow to homosexual activists like this makes it a really a sad day."
TAKE ACTION:
Congress is debating the federal Marriage Protection Amendment right now. The participation of the Democratic Party in opposing citizen-led marriage-protection initiatives on the state level, makes it all the more clear that an amendment to the U.S. Constitution is needed to truly protect marriage.
[More at URL]
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Mississippi Pro-Lifers Trying to Save Preborn Stifled by Police
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
July 17, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041277.cfm
Grass-roots activists who hoped to close down the single remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi were told to go home, USA Today reported.
Operation Save America (OSA) gathered at the Jackson Women's Health Organization over the weekend to launch a week of planned events aimed at educating the community about the ills of abortion.
[More at URL]
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Judicial Nominee Still Ensnared in Confirmation Process
Focus on the Family
July 17, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041278.cfm
President Bush's nominee to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has been waiting almost three years to receive an up-or-down vote in the Senate.
Jim Haynes was nominated Sept. 29, 2003. For two years the Senate has held up his nomination.
Haynes, a graduate of Harvard Law School, has served as General Counsel for the Department of Defense since 2001 and is legal adviser to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Jan LaRue, chief counsel for Concerned Women for America, called it a "sad state" when a well-qualified candidate such as Haynes is denied a fair vote.
[More at URL]
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South Dakota Abortion-Ban Backers Harassed
Death threats come by phone and e-mail.
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
from staff reports
July 17, 2006
Lawmakers who backed South Dakota's abortion ban now say they're receiving death threats.
South Dakota state Rep. Roger Hunt pushed ahead with the bill in spite of nasty opposition in the House. Now he says he and his family are getting harassing phone calls.
[More at URL]
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Young People Wash Cars to Support Pregnancy Centers
Nationwide Wash for Life project is scheduled for Sept. 16.
Focus on the Family
from staff reports
July 17, 2006
You people [sic] across the country will unite in holding car washes in September to support the sanctity of life.
Every penny earned through the Sept. 16 Wash for Life project will benefit local crisis-pregnancy centers.
John Tonkowich, director of the project, said he hopes the event also raises awareness for the centers.
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
In God We Trust
Faith and Freedom Network
July 17, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
“In God We Trust,” was formally adopted as the U.S. National motto 50 years ago on July 30, 1956.
The reason it was adopted was because it embodies the essence of America from its very inception.
John Quincy Adams said, “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”
Last week the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution affirming, “In God We Trust” as our national motto.
Please contact the U.S. Representatives from your state and encourage them to also take up and pass this concurrent resolution.
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Bioethics Vote Yields Mixed Results for Pro-Lifers
Melanie Mitroff
Concerned Women for America
July 19, 2006
http://www.cwalac.org/article_359.shtml
The heated bioethics debate on stem-cell research concluded yesterday in the Senate with significant victories for the pro-life movement. The Fetus Farming Prohibition Act (S. 3504) overwhelmingly passed with unanimous votes in the Senate (100-0) and the House (435-0). The bill will protect unborn babies from being placed into human or animal wombs to grow for the sole purpose of harvesting their tissue.
The pro-life community vigorously opposed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 810 & S. 471), but the Senate voted to pass the bill 63-37. Nineteen Republicans voted in favor.
To highlight the success of adult stem-cell research (ASCR), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) hosted a press conference on Monday with “snowflake babies” and those who had been treated by adult and cord-blood stem cells. He urged the Senate not to give taxpayer dollars to unethical, destructive embryonic stem-cell research – which has yet to yield results.
[...]
“Too many senators have bought into and spread outrageous myths on embryonic stem cells, at times sounding like snake oil salesmen,” said Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America (CWA). “Cannibalizing embryos as if they were ‘fountains of youth,’ sacrificing small humans to advance science, exploiting desperate patients for political purposes – and forcing us to pay for it – degrades all of us.”
[More at URL]
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Press Conference: The Miracle of Adult Stem Cell Research
Concerned Women for America
7/17/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11150/CWA/life/index.htm
Senator Sam Brownback held a press conference, Monday, July 17, to highlight the successes of adult and cord blood stem cell research and introduce patients who have received treatments based on such research. Senator Brownback was joined by Cathy Pell, whose daughter was treated with her own cord blood stem cells for brain damage suffered during birth; Stephen Sprague, who was cured from leukemia by a cord blood adult stem cell transplant after being told by doctors that he would not survive; and Ryan Schneider, a three-year-old who received a cord blood adult stem cell treatment for cerebral palsy.
[More at URL]
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Is Your Family Struggling With Homosexuality?
Help is available.
Concerned Women for America
7/19/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11145/CWA/family/index.htm
If you know a friend or loved one who is struggling with homosexual desires, take heart. There are ministries to help him or her turn away from homosexuality and to embrace heterosexuality. We’re not saying that it is always a quick and easy process, but thousands of men and women in the “ex-gay” movement demonstrate that change is possible.
Click here for a list of counseling resources.
[More at URL]
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Federal Appeals Court Upholds Nebraska’s Marriage Amendment
Reverses district court ruling and dismisses case.
Concerned Women for America
7/19/2006
By Kristen Morgan
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11147/LEGAL/family/index.htm
In another victory for traditional marriage, on July 14 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a ruling by the District Court of Nebraska in Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning that Nebraska’s marriage amendment violates the U.S. Constitution.
In 2000, 70 percent of Nebraska voters passed a constitutional amendment stating: “Only marriage between a man and a woman shall be valid or recognized in Nebraska. The uniting of two persons of the same sex in a civil union, domestic partnership, or other similar same-sex relationship shall not be valid or recognized in Nebraska.”
Gay activists then filed suit claiming that the amendment violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and was an unconstitutional bill of attainder. A state bill of attainder, which is prohibited by Article I, § 10 of the Constitution, is a legislative act that singles out a person or group for punishment without a trial. The district court agreed.
However, the 8th Circuit Court didn’t agree. In a unanimous opinion by Chief Judge James Loken, a three-judge panel concluded that the Nebraska amendment should receive rational-basis review, rather than the strict-scrutiny review applied by the district court, meaning it need only be reasonably related to legitimate state interests to pass constitutional muster.
[More at URL]
----- 23 -----
Stem Cell Stampede
The debate should be to find facts, not to push celebrity and cockamamie.
Concerned Women for America
7/18/2006
By Janice Shaw Crouse
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11133/BLI/life/index.htm
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) called the debate over stem-cell research “the first major moral and ethical challenge to biomedical research in the 21st century.” At a press conference kicking off this week’s congressional debate, he admonished everyone, "In discussing this science, we must remember not to check our ethics at the door." Even so, he endorsed H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, which would allow the use of taxpayer funds to pay for unethical embryonic stem-cell research.
[...]
ESCR, for all its hype, is a mirage of myths –– the triumph of activism over science.
[More at URL]
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CWA: Ban on Fetus Farming Puts Moral Limit on Scientific Excess
Concerned Women for America
7/19/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11152/MEDIA/life/index.htm
Washington, D.C. − Concerned Women for America (CWA) commends President Bush and Congress for passing legislation known as The Fetus Farming Prohibition Act (H.R. 5719) introduced by Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Florida). This life-saving legislation will prohibit the creation and development of humans in order to harvest organs, body parts and tissue for research.
“The creation of pre-born children to extract their organs and tissue for experimentation may seem unreal, and yet it has already occurred with animals,” said Wendy Wright, CWA’s President. “Creating human embryos for research was denounced until it was discovered that a fertility clinic was creating embryos solely to experiment upon. Cloning was universally denounced until it was announced that American scientists were attempting it. The time to ban scientific atrocities against helpless humans comes before unethical scientists work up their propaganda machines to claim that destroying human beings is justified to benefit science. Banning the inception of a pregnancy to obtain the baby’s tissues for research also protects women from being exploited, used as incubators.”
[More at URL]
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CWA Praises Passage of Pledge Protection Act
Concerned Women for America
7/19/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11154/MEDIA/misc/index.htm
Washington, D.C. − Concerned Women for America (CWA) praises Congress for voting today to uphold and defend the phrase “under God” in our nation’s Pledge of Allegiance. The passing of The Pledge Protection Act (H.R. 2389), introduced by Rep. Todd Akin (R-Missouri) protects our nation’s most fundamental oath-keeping with our constitutional freedoms.
Lanier Swann, Director of Government Relations, says, “Americans want to preserve our national pledge, which represents our devotion and loyalty to our country. Hand upon heart, little children across the country should be able to continue reciting this pledge without the fear of it being stripped away by activist judges.”
[More at URL]
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CWA Reacts to Senate Passage of Bioethics Bills
Concerned Women for America
7/18/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11139/MEDIA/life/index.htm
Washington, D.C. − Concerned Women for America (CWA) commends the Senate for passing a ban on fetal farming but sharply criticizes the Senate’s spending of tax dollars on destroying human embryos for research. CWA applauds the passage of The Fetus Farming Prohibition Act (S. 3504), a bill that will ban the growing of a pre-born baby in a woman’s or animal’s womb for the express purpose of obtaining tissue, but is disappointed by the passage of The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 810 & S. 471), a bill that will use taxpayer dollars to fund the destruction of human embryos.
“Too many senators have bought into and spread outrageous myths on embryonic stem cells, at times sounding like snake oil salesmen,” said Wendy Wright, CWA’s President. “Cannibalizing embryos as if they were ‘fountains of youth,’ sacrificing small humans to advance science, exploiting desperate patients for political purposes – and forcing us to pay for it – degrades all of us.
[More at URL]
----- 27 -----
Anti-Life, Anti-Science
A Castle of confusion.
National Review
By Richard M. Doerflinger
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZGE1Zjc4YjljYTc2YjI2ZTQzOGQ4YmI1ZGYzZGE3ZWM=
It all seemed so reasonable and straightforward. Congress’s warring factions in the stem-cell debate had agreed on a civilized plan for moving the issue forward. The U.S. Senate would vote on three bills: the bill to fund stem-cell research requiring the destruction of human embryos, already approved by the House last year; a bill to ban the use of fetal tissue from “fetus farming” (implanting human embryos in human or animal wombs in order to develop them further and harvest their body parts); and a bill to fund “alternative” avenues for obtaining versatile stem cells without destroying human embryos. President Bush said he would veto the embryonic-stem-cell bill and sign the other two — and then both sides in the debate would make their case to voters during the midterm elections.
[More at URL]
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Science’s Stem-Cell Scam
It should change its name to Pseudoscience.
By Michael Fumento
National Review
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjliM2MwZTU1MzI5NTc2ZWFhNTE1NmMwNzNhZDA3MGM
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) receive tremendous media attention, with oft-repeated claims that they have the potential to cure virtually every disease known. Yet there are spoilsports, self included, who point out that they have yet to even make it into a human clinical trial. This is even as alternatives — adult stem cells (ASCs) from numerous places in the body as well as umbilical cord blood and placenta — are curing diseases here and now and have been doing so for decades. And that makes ESC advocates very, very angry.
[More at URL]
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Pro-family, pro-vaccine, provided it's voluntary
St. Paul Pioneer Press
July 18, 2006
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/editorial/15059868.htm
As expected, the advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommended that adolescent girls and young women receive a new vaccine with the trade name Gardasil, which targets the human papillomavirus (HPV). Various strains of HPV are sexually transmitted and produce infections that are responsible for virtually all cases of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer kills 10 American women a day. The Food and Drug Administration has already found the vaccine to be both safe and effective.
Development of a vaccine for HPV is a tremendous medical achievement and a boon to public health. It holds the potential to protect the health of millions and preserve the lives of thousands of American women each year. After extensive study, we and other pro-family groups have concluded that the clear benefits of developing an HPV vaccine outweigh any potential costs. The groups welcoming it include leading conservative pro-family organizations such as the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America and the Medical Institute for Sexual Health.
[More at URL]
----- 30 -----
8th Circuit and Tennessee Court Get It Right
Nebraska Marriage Amendment reinstated; Tennessee Supreme Court affirms right of people to vote on marriage
Family Research Council
July 14, 2006 - Friday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 14, 2006
CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen, (866) FRC-NEWS
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06G03&f=PG03I03
Washington, D.C. - Today, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Nebraska's marriage protection amendment, which was overwhelmingly approved by 70 percent of Nebraska voters. The Tennessee Supreme Court also issued a ruling affirming the right of the voters in their state to protect marriage. Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
"Today's rulings indicate the courts are applying the brakes to the runaway activism that has been steering the courts and the nation in a direction that is opposite of the American people. The 8th Circuit decision, affirming the people's ability to defend marriage, mirrored last week's New York ruling which determined that the legislature has a rational basis for promoting the optimal environment for raising children.
[More at URL]
----- 31 -----
FRC: "Gang Of 14" Continues To Hold Judicial Nominees Hostage
Family Research Council
July 17, 2006 - Monday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 17, 2006
CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen, (866) FRC-NEWS
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06G04&f=PG03I03
Washington, D.C. - Last week, the "Gang of 14," a coalition of seven moderate Republican senators and seven moderate Democrat senators, met to discuss the confirmation process of several pending judicial nominations at the office of Senator Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) Tom McClusky, Family Research Council's Vice President for Government Affairs, issued the following statement:
"The presumption by the 'Gang of 14' that somehow their individual vote carries greater weight than the other 86 members of the U.S. Senate is highly offensive and clearly unconstitutional. The self-ordained power these fourteen moderates wield continues to pervert what was for two centuries a timely, fair and decent confirmation process.
[More at URL]
----- 32 -----
House Turns A Deaf Ear To The Voice Of Americans On Marriage
Family Research Council
July 18, 2006 - Tuesday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen, 866-FRC-NEWS
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06G07&f=PG03I03
Washington, D.C. - TODAY - As a result of Congress' vote of 236-187, on the Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA), Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
"Today a House minority voted against marriage and failed in its duty to represent the American people. When the issue is brought at the state level, citizens overwhelmingly vote to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Yet both Houses of Congress have shown again that they are willing to defy the wishes of their constituents and allow a handful of activists to redefine our oldest and most fundamental institution.
"The people have spoken, but many of their Federal representatives continue to turn a deaf ear. Tens of millions have voted to defend marriage, but 187 have instead chosen to serve as ring bearers for same-sex 'marriage.'
[More at URL]
----- 33 -----
House Checks Judiciary on Pledge
Family Research Council
July 19, 2006 - Wednesday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 19, 2006
CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen, (866)FRC-NEWS
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06G09&f=PG03I03
Washington D.C. - Today, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement after House passage of the Pledge Protection Act by a vote of 260 to 167:
"I am pleased to see Congress exercising its constitutional authority to check the power of the courts which have tried to strip 'Under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance.
[More at URL]
----- 34 -----
Stem Cell Stampede in the Senate
by Janice Shaw Crouse
Human Events Online
Posted Jul 18, 2006
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=16092
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R.-Tenn.) called the debate over stem-cell research “the first major moral and ethical challenge to biomedical research in the 21st century.” At a press conference kicking off this week’s congressional debate, he admonished everyone, "In discussing this science, we must remember not to check our ethics at the door." Even so, he endorsed H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, which would allow the use of taxpayer funds to pay for unethical embryonic stem-cell research.
With all the hype and political posturing, it is sometimes difficult to remember that the deliberations should be a fact-finding mission, not a stampede of celebrity and congressional cockamamie; that the debate is, at heart, a discussion of science, not myths.
[More at URL]
----- 35 -----
Pro-Lifers Blast Senate Approval of ESCR Funding; Bush Exercises First-Ever Veto
By Bill Fancher and Jenni Parker
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 19, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/192006a.asp
(AgapePress) - Pro-life and conservative pro-family leaders are livid at the U.S. Senate for voting late on Tuesday to use citizens' tax dollars to fund embryonic stem-cell research. Many of these sanctity-of-life advocates are feeling a deep sense of betrayal and outrage over the senators' approval of H.R. 810/S. 471, the "Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act."
President George W. Bush had promised to veto the measure -- and he has. In a public announcement today, Bush vetoed H.R. 810, his first veto since taking office in January 2001, explaining that "it crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect -- so I vetoed it."
[More at URL]
----- 36 -----
Pro-Family Leaders Blast House for Failing to Protect Marriage
By Mary Rettig and Jenni Parker
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 18, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/182006c.asp
(AgapePress) - Today, in a 236-187 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives has rejected a constitutional amendment to ban homosexual marriage, thereby ending congressional debate on the issue for this year. The vote over a proposal to amend the Constitution of the United States to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman fell 47 votes shy of the two-thirds majority required to advance the amendment.
The vote on H.J.Res 88 comes only six weeks after the Senate likewise defeated the amendment in a decisive vote. Conservative and pro-family leaders are expressing bitter disappointment over the outcome of this bid to protect traditional marriage, and many are predicting that the majority of Americans will be expressing similar feelings at the polls in November.
Dr. Don Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association, says most members of the U.S. House of Representatives believe that homosexual marriage should be outlawed. Those who believe otherwise, he insists, need to be held to account.
[More at URL]
----- 37 -----
Marriage Protection Issue Should Be Non-Partisan, Says Congressman
By Mary Rettig and Jody Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 19, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/192006b.asp
(AgapePress) - In the wake of the U.S. House failing to pass the Marriage Protection Amendment, one Democratic congressman who voted for the measure says the issue of homosexual "marriage" is not one that can be defined by party platforms.
[...]
Dobson: 'Remember in November'
Dr. James Dobson would agree with Congressman McIntyre -- but because not enough of McIntyre's fellow House members agreed with him, the pro-family leader reminds "values voters" they'll have their chance to voice their displeasure in a few months.
"Once again," says Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, "the men and women representing their constituents in Washington have betrayed those who put them in power. Like the Senate did before them, the House has refused to protect the institution of marriage from activist judges bent on redefining it."
[More at URL]
----- 38 -----
From the Home Front
Curing a Disease That 'Wasn't'
By Jane Jimenez
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 19, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/192006jj.asp
(AgapePress) - A bright, bold sweater hangs from the thrift store rack. Beautiful on the hanger, a telltale loose strand of yarn hangs from the hem just under the last bottom bright gold button. At $5.00, the bargain tempts the unwary.
But for those who take time to look, inspecting the spot where the yarn dangles, a trail of empty loops signals a sweater coming undone. One stitch at a time, six inches of hem have disappeared. Scissors have snipped the evidence. But a slow tug pulls another inch of knitted loops off the hem.
Like sweaters, stories can unravel. Consider the recent development of a vaccine for the human papillomavirus virus.
[More at URL]
----- 39 -----
'Scientific' Critique Reveals Another Plus for Adult Stem-Cell Research
By Jody Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 19, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/192006g.asp
(AgapePress) - Leading up to the recent vote in Congress on funding for embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR), proponents of that research took a swipe at a well-known proponent of adult stem-cell research in a scientific journal, hoping to discredit him. Instead, the "accusers" may have inadvertently opened up discussion in an area where ESCR is considerably weak.
Dr. David Prentice is a founding member of the group Do No Harm--The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics, as well as senior fellow for life science issues at the Family Research Council in Washington, DC. He is also a visiting professor at Georgetown University's Center for Clinical Bioethics. The long-time proponent of developing treatments through ethical stem-cell research -- specifically, using adult stem cells -- came under fire recently when a list of "benefits of stem cells to human patients," published by Do No Harm, was purportedly analyzed by Dr. William Neaves, a proponent of ESCR and human cloning.
[More at URL]
----- 40 -----
Embattled Pro-Lifers Rally to Protest Mississippi's Last Abortion Mill
By Mary Rettig and Jenni Parker
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 18, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/182006d.asp
(AgapePress) - Pro-life demonstrators with Operation Save America (OSA) and other groups are rallying to end abortion in Mississippi. Members of that organization and allies from across the U.S. have gathered in the capital city of Jackson for a week-long protest against the last abortion clinic in the state.
A movement OSA calls the "Gentle Revolution" is pausing in Jackson for a series of rallies, demonstrations, and prayer events that began July 15 and is scheduled to run through July 22, 2006. Pro-life leaders and activists from across the nation will be joining OSA at the "last abortion mill" in Mississippi for the stated purpose of "storming the gates of hell in the strong Name of Jesus Christ" on behalf of the unborn.
[More at URL]
----- 41 -----
Major Points For Ethical Stem Cell Research and Against Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Senator Tom Coburn
Right Now
July 17, 2006
http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=RightNow.Home&ContentRecord_id=7db0c154-802a-23ad-4389-de3143c1194b
MAJOR POINTS
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Has Failed to Produce Any Cures or Treatments
Ethical Alternatives to Embryonic Stem Cells Exist
Stem Cells from Ethical Sources Are Now Treating Over 70 Diseases and Afflictions
Ethical Alternatives Should Be Pursued Rather Than Seeking to Save Life By Destroying Life
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Diverts Funding Away From More Promising Research
Embryonic Stem Cells Have Dangerous Side Effects That May Require Other Unethical Practices to Remedy
Adult Stem Cells Have Consistently Outperformed Embryonic Stem Cells for Therapeutic Purposes
Very Few “Surplus” Embryos Are Available for Research
Patients Need Cures Not False Hopes
Major Points For Ethical Stem Cell Research and Against Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Has Failed to Produce Any Cures or Treatments
After nearly a decade of research on human embryonic stems cells, three decades of research on animal stem cells, and over $100 million in federal funding, embryonic stem cell research has yet to deliver any cures or treatments. There are zero human clinical trials or proven therapies using embryonic stem cells.
[More at URL]
----- 42 -----
Researchers turn stem cells into sperm
Today’s Family News
June 19, 2006
A new breakthrough in stem cell research is raising the troubling possibility that someday men will not be needed in the conception of children, Britain’s Daily Telegraph has reported.
Experimenting on mice, scientists succeeded in the laboratory in turning embryonic stem cells into artificial sperm that, when injected into mouse eggs, produced seven offspring. Six lived to adulthood. But as BBC News reported, they all suffered from abnormal growth patterns and had other complications, such as difficulty breathing, and died within five months.
[...]
Action Update> In a related story involving reproductive technology, TFN readers were notified last October about Health Canada’s plans to introduce regulations to govern the use of a controversial test called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). Health Canada is still seeking public comment on an issues paper regarding new regulations governing the genetic testing of in vitro embryos prior to implantation. If you have suggestions or concerns to contribute, now is the time to bring these forward to Health Canada.
In other news, a fundamentalist attempt to shut down the only remaining clinic in Mississippi providing abortion services has failed - for now. It looks like they're back to doing blockades. Fun.
Meanwhile, here's today's news.
The Washington Post does a story on fundamentalist efforts to turn the Armed Forces into, quoting one organisation's website, "ambassadors for Christ in uniform, empowered by the Holy Spirit";
Christianity Today can't stand the religious bigotry being shown against a Wiccan soldier who died in service in Iraq - the government is still refusing to place the appropriate religious symbol, as he requested, on his plaque;
House of Representatives useless debate on a Federal anti-marriage amendment uses a lot of revealing language;
Focus on the Family to devote Thursday's show to supporting President Bush's veto of stem-cell research expansion;
Focus on the Family reports on Morality In Media's petition to President Bush for more Federal action against "obscenity"; I use quotes because their definitions tend to be awfully broad;
***** Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to support President Bush's veto of stem-cell research expansion;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to support the "Pledge Protection Act," which would attempt to declare that courts cannot hear challenges to it; this is, of course, bizarrely unconstitutional - you cannot repeal the Constitutional right of redress in the courts by legislative action - but that isn't stopping anyone;
***** FotF House and Senate voting information on HR810 (stem-cell research) and other bills;
Federal appeals court rules inmates cannot be denied abortion at their own expense and must be transported to an appropriate facility if necessary;
FotF reruns an ad/promotion for the "Values Voters Summit";
FotF: "IRS Warns Churches and Nonprofits About Endorsing Candidates" - the tone is surprisingly neutral; previous versions of this story have been all about how the IRS is going to CRUSH the FREE SPEECH of the CHURCH!!!1! and so on;
FotF story on the failure of the anti-marriage amendment in the House of Representatives, following a failure in the Senate; the vote was pointless, of course, as the Senate had already outright rejected it; includes ACTION ITEM to thank representatives who voted for it and complain to those who opposed;
FotF reports that the Democratic National Committee has a plan to combat state anti-marriage initiatives; funny, they haven't helped before, so I'd be surprised if they started now, and it'd be nice to hear it from them; includes ACTION ITEM to support a Federal anti-marriage initiative;
Anti-abortion activists are back to trying to physically blockade clinics; "Operation Save America" tried it in Mississippi last weekend, it got broken up; Focus on the Family is outraged, calls it a violation of the first amendment;
FotF, Concerned Women for America jointly demand pro-torture judicial nominiee Jim Haynes be let out of confirmation and onto the Appeals court bench;
FotF reports South Dakota Rep. Roger "no health exemption" Hunt is receiving harassing phone calls; unspecified "lawmakers" claim to have received death threats;
"Pregnancy centres" to have national promotional car washes this September; this at about the same time as stories are reappearing about their misleading and abusive tactics;
Faith and Freedom Network ACTION ITEM to support the "Pledge Protection Act," and gives a URL but the action item isn't online;
***** Concerned Women for America condemn passage of stem-cell research expansion act, calling embryonic stem-cell research supporters "snake-oil salesmen"; note the continual rhetoric: embryonic stem-cell research "has produced no results" (while they simultaneously condemn any research making progress - doublethink is a big thing in fundmentalistland), but "adult stem-cell research" is producing "miracles" every day;
***** CWA article on the "miracle of adult stem-cell research";
CWA pushes "ex-gay" ministry bullshit;
Federal appeals court reinstates Nebraska's comprehensive marriage ban; it bans marriage, civil unions, domestic partnerships, and all recognition thereof;
***** CWA condemns embryonic stem-cell research (again - see above; the repetition of the message is what's important, even more than the content); in this one, they're again saying that it's not only immoral but ineffective and Too Risky and that nobody will fund it (not true; there was an article in the UW Daily about researchers struggling to do as much work as they can within the constraints of the Federal funding ban and getting money, just for example - and even were it true, the Federal funding ban might have something to do with the funding issues); and also, just for laffs, I quote a little of one bit where they're talking about how it's a "triumph of activism over science";
***** CWA condemns "fetus farming";
CWA supports "Pledge Protection Act," which unconstitutionally bans courts from hearing Pledge of Allegiance cases;
***** CWA has yet another iteration of their latest condemnation of embryonic stem-cell research, which uses the "snake-oil salesmen" line again;
***** National Review picks up the Concerned Women for America line on embryonic stem-cell research, calling it "destructive" and "anti-life";
***** National Review picks up the CWA/theoconservative line, Part II: Science, arguably the most respected journal in scientific research, is "pseudoscience" for support of embryonic stem-cell research, asserts that people supporting embryonic stem-cell research are "scientific[ally] and moral[ly] backrupt";
Family Research Council opposes making HPV virus part of the standard set of vaccines required for school;
FRC press release on 8th Circuit Court reinstating Nebraska's anti-marriage/anti-civil-unions/anti-domestic-parnerships ban, and also on Tennessee's anti-marriage effort;
FRC demands action on pro-torture Bush appeals court nominee;
FRC condemns House of Representatives for not passing anti-marriage Federal amendment;
FRC demands immediate Senate action on the unconstitutional (to my opinion, clearly so) "Pledge Protection Act" removing Pledge cases from Judicial purview;
***** Human Events Online also picks up the Concerned Women for America line on stem-cell research, reprinting one of their attack columns on their website; repetition, repetition, repetition;
***** American Family Association outrage at Congressional passage of embryonic stem-cell research act, happiness over the veto;
AFA attacks House of Representatives for not passing anti-marriage Federal constitutional amendment;
A second AFA story about the failed Federal anti-marriage amendment includes lots of quotes from James Dobson talking about how this needs to be remembered in November, and how voters should vote based on this amendment's failure;
***** AFA article: "Curing a disease that wasn't" - on HPV;
***** AFA jumps on the anti-Science bandwagon over the recent article on stem-cell research; they follow the same general route as the other groups above; repetition, repetition, repetition;
AFA reports on the attempt to shut down the only clinic in Mississippi providing abortion services; they're for it, of course;
***** Traditional Values Coalition links to Senator Tom Coburn's summary of the fundamentalist "talking points" against embryonic stem-cell research; repetition, repetition, and co-ordination;
***** Focus on the Family Canada's story on researchers turning stem cells into sperm cells has lots of alarm in it, and, in the email version, includes an ACTION ITEM to tell HealthCanada you're against testing externally-fertilised embryos for genetic defects before implanting them in women trying to get pregnant.
----- 1 -----
Marching as to War
Former Air Force Officer Mikey Weinstein Zeroes In on Proselytizing in the Military
By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 16, 2006
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/15/AR2006071501032.html
Porcelain figurines are perched on the mantelpiece behind Mikey Weinstein. Guests are seated on chintz couches in front of him. It's a nice crowd at a polite fundraising party.
But Mikey -- his friends, his enemies, even complete strangers call him "Mikey" -- has had it with nice.
[...]
Yet one of his favorite lines these days -- right up there with "sucking chest wounds" -- comes from the Officers' Christian Fellowship, a private organization with 14,000 active-duty members on more than 200 U.S. military bases around the world. In its mission statement, the OCF says its goal is "a spiritually transformed military, with ambassadors for Christ in uniform, empowered by the Holy Spirit."
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Stand Up, Stand Up for Wicca
A war widow rightly wonders: Whose freedom are we fighting for?
by John W. Whitehead
Christianity Today
Posted 06/05/2006 09:30 a.m.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/123/12.0.html
Amidst a sea of memorial plaques at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, one space remains blank.
That space is waiting to be filled by a plaque honoring the life and sacrifice of 34-year-old Sgt. Patrick Stewart, who was killed in action on September 25, 2005, when his helicopter was struck with a rocket-propelled grenade as it flew over Afghanistan. But it may be some time before Sgt. Stewart is remembered with a memorial plaque. That's because his war widow and the Department of Veterans Affairs are at odds over the Stewart family's request to have the Wiccan pentacle, a five-pointed star surrounded by a circle, placed on the plaque. As of May 31, 2006, government officials have refused to allow the Wiccan symbol to be placed on Stewart's plaque.
[...]
Yet by refusing to place the Wiccan symbol on Sgt. Stewart's memorial plaque, while permitting symbols of other religions and non-religions, the government is clearly engaging in viewpoint discrimination—which is a shoddy way to treat someone who has died in service to his country.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
The Man Upstairs Is in the House
By Dana Milbank
The Washington Post
Wednesday, July 19, 2006; A02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/18/AR2006071801336_pf.html
The House of Representatives could not have been any more obvious if the sergeant-at-arms had wheeled an equine carcass into the well and the speaker had pummeled it with his gavel.
Yesterday's House debate on same-sex marriage was pure dead horse: The Senate last month rejected -- emphatically -- a constitutional amendment that would allow Congress to ban same-sex marriage, so there was zero chance the amendment could be approved this year. But members of the House were answering to a Higher Authority.
"It's part of God's plan for the future of mankind," explained Rep. John Carter (R-Tex.).
Rep. Bob Beauprez (R- Colo.) also found "the very hand of God" at work. "We best not be messing with His plan."
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) agreed that "it wasn't our idea, it was God's."
"I think God has spoken very clearly on this issue," said Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), a mustachioed gynecologist who served as one of the floor leaders yesterday. When somebody quarreled with this notion, Gingrey replied: "I refer the gentleman to the Holy Scriptures."
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Focus Broadcast Spotlights Stem-Cell Veto
Focus on the Family
July 19, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
On Thursday's Focus on the Family broadcast, President's Council on Bioethics member Robert George and Focus on the Family Senior Analyst for Bioethics Carrie Gordon Earll join Dr. James Dobson to discuss President Bush's first veto. The legislation he stopped would have expanded federal funding for life-destroying embryonic stem-cell research.
While backers of the bill promised future cures, opponents pointed out the tremendous ethical problems of ending countless human lives in a quest to save others.
To find a station in your area, or to listen online beginning on Thursday, follow this link.
----- 5 -----
Pro-family Groups Ask President Bush to Fight Obscenity
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
July 19, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041321.cfm
Pro-family groups, led by Morality in Media (MIM), have asked President Bush to take action against obscenity.
MIM leader Bob Peters sent a letter to the president making the case that outdated obscenity laws make it practically impossible to deal with new technology that is infusing foul material into society.
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
President Vetoes Life-Destroying Stem-Cell Research Bill
Bush tells Congress he's "not going to allow" an unethical bill to become law.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
July 19, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041328.cfm
President Bush today vetoed his first piece of legislation, H.R. 810, which would have dramatically increased the incentive for researchers to kill embryonic human beings to obtain stem cells.
"If we're to find the right ways to advance ethical medical research, we must also be willing, when necessary, to reject the wrong ways," Bush told a White House crowd peppered with pro-life leaders.
"So today, I'm keeping the promise I made to the American people by returning this bill to Congress with my veto."
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
House Votes to Protect the Pledge
Representatives affirm the right of school kids to include "under God."
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
July 19, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041325.cfm
The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Pledge Protection Act — H.R. 2389 — 260 to 167. The act seeks to remove cases involving the Pledge of Allegiance from the jurisdiction of federal courts.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., is in response to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in 2002 that declared the Pledge unconstitutional because of the words "under God." The Supreme Court overturned the decision, stating that atheist Michael Newdow did not have standing to bring the case.
[...]
TAKE ACTION:
Encourage your senators to support the Pledge Protection Act. You may contact them through the CitizenLink Action Center.
----- 8 -----
See How Your Lawmakers Voted on Stem-Cell Related Bills
Let your elected officials know you're taking note of their actions.
by Stuart Shepard, managing editor
Focus on the Family
July 19, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041327.cfm
The House and Senate took important votes Tuesday on bills related to embryonic stem-cell research. President Bush vetoed one bill that would have expanded federal funding of life-destroying embryonic stem-cell research.
We encourage you to see how your officials voted, and then go to the CitizenLink Action Center where you may send the president a note thanking him for vetoing H.R. 810, and also write your lawmakers and let them know you have taken note of how they voted on these measures.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Federal Court Rules Prisons Must Transport Women for Abortion
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
July 19, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041322.cfm
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that prison officials are responsible for transporting pregnant women seeking an abortion, even if the mother’s life is not in danger.
According to KansasCity.Com, U.S. District Judge Dean Whipple ruled last year that the Missouri Department of Corrections policy restricted the constitutional rights of incarcerated women who would otherwise not have access to abortion facilities.
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Plan Now to Attend Values Voters Summit
The Washington Briefing, to be held Sept. 22-24, will equip Christians for the 2006 election and beyond.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
June 28, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041058.cfm
A pro-family conference to be held Sept. 22-24 in Washington, D.C., will gather conservative leaders — and everyday believers looking for tips on how to stand up for righteousness — to discuss issues vital to the well-being of faith and family.
Tony Perkins, president of event sponsor FRC Action and a conference speaker, talked with CitizenLink about the summit and why all politically active Christians should consider attending.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
IRS Warns Churches and Nonprofits About Endorsing Candidates
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
July 18, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041290.cfm
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has sent advisories to churches and other nonprofit organizations warning that improper campaigning could endanger their tax-exempt status.
The Los Angeles Times reported that notices were sent to more than 15,000 tax-exempt groups, numerous church denominations and tax preparers, detailing the IRS' new enforcement program, the Political Activity Compliance Initiative.
The IRS said it will expedite investigations into claims of improper campaigning.
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
House Falls Short on Marriage Protection Amendment
Pro-family leaders say voters will 'remember in November.'
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
July 18, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041294.cfm
A constitutional amendment to protect marriage failed in the U.S. House of Representatives today. The 236-to-187 vote fell short of the 288 needed to pass.
Dr. James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family Action, said the vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA) shows how lawmakers are out of touch with America.
[...]
FOR MORE INFORMATION/TAKE ACTION:
First, click on this link to see how your representative voted on the Marriage Protection Amendment.
Then, if your lawmaker voted in favor of MPA, thank him or her. If he or she voted against the measure, respectfully make it clear you have taken note. You can find contact information in the CitizenLink Action Center.
----- 13 -----
DNC Hatches Plan to Combat State-Marriage Initiatives
Gay publication reveals secret strategy.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
July 17, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041275.cfm
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is weighing in on state marriage-protection amendment fights around the country. The nation's oldest political party has reportedly developed a five-point plan to fight ballot initiatives.
The plan's existence was leaked by The Washington Blade, a pro-homosexual newspaper, that quoted a DNC spokesman last Friday saying there is a "five-point-plan."
[...]
"With respect to issues surrounding marriage," he added, "we understand that our country is involved in an important conversation right now, about the best way to ensure equal rights and protections for all American families. We believe that as that conversation continues, we shouldn't scapegoat groups of people or use marriage as a political wedge issue for political gain. We oppose those efforts and we have not made it any secret."
The DNC's involvement on state amendments stands in stark contrast to the GOP. Though the Republican platform supports marriage, that doesn't imply endorsement of any particular initiative.
[...]
"Marriage is not a Democratic issue or a Republican one. It's an American issue," he said. "To see a political party kowtow to homosexual activists like this makes it a really a sad day."
TAKE ACTION:
Congress is debating the federal Marriage Protection Amendment right now. The participation of the Democratic Party in opposing citizen-led marriage-protection initiatives on the state level, makes it all the more clear that an amendment to the U.S. Constitution is needed to truly protect marriage.
[More at URL]
----- 14 -----
Mississippi Pro-Lifers Trying to Save Preborn Stifled by Police
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
July 17, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041277.cfm
Grass-roots activists who hoped to close down the single remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi were told to go home, USA Today reported.
Operation Save America (OSA) gathered at the Jackson Women's Health Organization over the weekend to launch a week of planned events aimed at educating the community about the ills of abortion.
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Judicial Nominee Still Ensnared in Confirmation Process
Focus on the Family
July 17, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041278.cfm
President Bush's nominee to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has been waiting almost three years to receive an up-or-down vote in the Senate.
Jim Haynes was nominated Sept. 29, 2003. For two years the Senate has held up his nomination.
Haynes, a graduate of Harvard Law School, has served as General Counsel for the Department of Defense since 2001 and is legal adviser to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Jan LaRue, chief counsel for Concerned Women for America, called it a "sad state" when a well-qualified candidate such as Haynes is denied a fair vote.
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
South Dakota Abortion-Ban Backers Harassed
Death threats come by phone and e-mail.
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
from staff reports
July 17, 2006
Lawmakers who backed South Dakota's abortion ban now say they're receiving death threats.
South Dakota state Rep. Roger Hunt pushed ahead with the bill in spite of nasty opposition in the House. Now he says he and his family are getting harassing phone calls.
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
Young People Wash Cars to Support Pregnancy Centers
Nationwide Wash for Life project is scheduled for Sept. 16.
Focus on the Family
from staff reports
July 17, 2006
You people [sic] across the country will unite in holding car washes in September to support the sanctity of life.
Every penny earned through the Sept. 16 Wash for Life project will benefit local crisis-pregnancy centers.
John Tonkowich, director of the project, said he hopes the event also raises awareness for the centers.
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
In God We Trust
Faith and Freedom Network
July 17, 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
“In God We Trust,” was formally adopted as the U.S. National motto 50 years ago on July 30, 1956.
The reason it was adopted was because it embodies the essence of America from its very inception.
John Quincy Adams said, “The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”
Last week the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution affirming, “In God We Trust” as our national motto.
Please contact the U.S. Representatives from your state and encourage them to also take up and pass this concurrent resolution.
----- 19 -----
Bioethics Vote Yields Mixed Results for Pro-Lifers
Melanie Mitroff
Concerned Women for America
July 19, 2006
http://www.cwalac.org/article_359.shtml
The heated bioethics debate on stem-cell research concluded yesterday in the Senate with significant victories for the pro-life movement. The Fetus Farming Prohibition Act (S. 3504) overwhelmingly passed with unanimous votes in the Senate (100-0) and the House (435-0). The bill will protect unborn babies from being placed into human or animal wombs to grow for the sole purpose of harvesting their tissue.
The pro-life community vigorously opposed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 810 & S. 471), but the Senate voted to pass the bill 63-37. Nineteen Republicans voted in favor.
To highlight the success of adult stem-cell research (ASCR), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) hosted a press conference on Monday with “snowflake babies” and those who had been treated by adult and cord-blood stem cells. He urged the Senate not to give taxpayer dollars to unethical, destructive embryonic stem-cell research – which has yet to yield results.
[...]
“Too many senators have bought into and spread outrageous myths on embryonic stem cells, at times sounding like snake oil salesmen,” said Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America (CWA). “Cannibalizing embryos as if they were ‘fountains of youth,’ sacrificing small humans to advance science, exploiting desperate patients for political purposes – and forcing us to pay for it – degrades all of us.”
[More at URL]
----- 20 -----
Press Conference: The Miracle of Adult Stem Cell Research
Concerned Women for America
7/17/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11150/CWA/life/index.htm
Senator Sam Brownback held a press conference, Monday, July 17, to highlight the successes of adult and cord blood stem cell research and introduce patients who have received treatments based on such research. Senator Brownback was joined by Cathy Pell, whose daughter was treated with her own cord blood stem cells for brain damage suffered during birth; Stephen Sprague, who was cured from leukemia by a cord blood adult stem cell transplant after being told by doctors that he would not survive; and Ryan Schneider, a three-year-old who received a cord blood adult stem cell treatment for cerebral palsy.
[More at URL]
----- 21 -----
Is Your Family Struggling With Homosexuality?
Help is available.
Concerned Women for America
7/19/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11145/CWA/family/index.htm
If you know a friend or loved one who is struggling with homosexual desires, take heart. There are ministries to help him or her turn away from homosexuality and to embrace heterosexuality. We’re not saying that it is always a quick and easy process, but thousands of men and women in the “ex-gay” movement demonstrate that change is possible.
Click here for a list of counseling resources.
[More at URL]
----- 22 -----
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Nebraska’s Marriage Amendment
Reverses district court ruling and dismisses case.
Concerned Women for America
7/19/2006
By Kristen Morgan
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11147/LEGAL/family/index.htm
In another victory for traditional marriage, on July 14 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a ruling by the District Court of Nebraska in Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning that Nebraska’s marriage amendment violates the U.S. Constitution.
In 2000, 70 percent of Nebraska voters passed a constitutional amendment stating: “Only marriage between a man and a woman shall be valid or recognized in Nebraska. The uniting of two persons of the same sex in a civil union, domestic partnership, or other similar same-sex relationship shall not be valid or recognized in Nebraska.”
Gay activists then filed suit claiming that the amendment violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and was an unconstitutional bill of attainder. A state bill of attainder, which is prohibited by Article I, § 10 of the Constitution, is a legislative act that singles out a person or group for punishment without a trial. The district court agreed.
However, the 8th Circuit Court didn’t agree. In a unanimous opinion by Chief Judge James Loken, a three-judge panel concluded that the Nebraska amendment should receive rational-basis review, rather than the strict-scrutiny review applied by the district court, meaning it need only be reasonably related to legitimate state interests to pass constitutional muster.
[More at URL]
----- 23 -----
Stem Cell Stampede
The debate should be to find facts, not to push celebrity and cockamamie.
Concerned Women for America
7/18/2006
By Janice Shaw Crouse
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11133/BLI/life/index.htm
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tennessee) called the debate over stem-cell research “the first major moral and ethical challenge to biomedical research in the 21st century.” At a press conference kicking off this week’s congressional debate, he admonished everyone, "In discussing this science, we must remember not to check our ethics at the door." Even so, he endorsed H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, which would allow the use of taxpayer funds to pay for unethical embryonic stem-cell research.
[...]
ESCR, for all its hype, is a mirage of myths –– the triumph of activism over science.
[More at URL]
----- 24 -----
CWA: Ban on Fetus Farming Puts Moral Limit on Scientific Excess
Concerned Women for America
7/19/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11152/MEDIA/life/index.htm
Washington, D.C. − Concerned Women for America (CWA) commends President Bush and Congress for passing legislation known as The Fetus Farming Prohibition Act (H.R. 5719) introduced by Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Florida). This life-saving legislation will prohibit the creation and development of humans in order to harvest organs, body parts and tissue for research.
“The creation of pre-born children to extract their organs and tissue for experimentation may seem unreal, and yet it has already occurred with animals,” said Wendy Wright, CWA’s President. “Creating human embryos for research was denounced until it was discovered that a fertility clinic was creating embryos solely to experiment upon. Cloning was universally denounced until it was announced that American scientists were attempting it. The time to ban scientific atrocities against helpless humans comes before unethical scientists work up their propaganda machines to claim that destroying human beings is justified to benefit science. Banning the inception of a pregnancy to obtain the baby’s tissues for research also protects women from being exploited, used as incubators.”
[More at URL]
----- 25 -----
CWA Praises Passage of Pledge Protection Act
Concerned Women for America
7/19/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11154/MEDIA/misc/index.htm
Washington, D.C. − Concerned Women for America (CWA) praises Congress for voting today to uphold and defend the phrase “under God” in our nation’s Pledge of Allegiance. The passing of The Pledge Protection Act (H.R. 2389), introduced by Rep. Todd Akin (R-Missouri) protects our nation’s most fundamental oath-keeping with our constitutional freedoms.
Lanier Swann, Director of Government Relations, says, “Americans want to preserve our national pledge, which represents our devotion and loyalty to our country. Hand upon heart, little children across the country should be able to continue reciting this pledge without the fear of it being stripped away by activist judges.”
[More at URL]
----- 26 -----
CWA Reacts to Senate Passage of Bioethics Bills
Concerned Women for America
7/18/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11139/MEDIA/life/index.htm
Washington, D.C. − Concerned Women for America (CWA) commends the Senate for passing a ban on fetal farming but sharply criticizes the Senate’s spending of tax dollars on destroying human embryos for research. CWA applauds the passage of The Fetus Farming Prohibition Act (S. 3504), a bill that will ban the growing of a pre-born baby in a woman’s or animal’s womb for the express purpose of obtaining tissue, but is disappointed by the passage of The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act (H.R. 810 & S. 471), a bill that will use taxpayer dollars to fund the destruction of human embryos.
“Too many senators have bought into and spread outrageous myths on embryonic stem cells, at times sounding like snake oil salesmen,” said Wendy Wright, CWA’s President. “Cannibalizing embryos as if they were ‘fountains of youth,’ sacrificing small humans to advance science, exploiting desperate patients for political purposes – and forcing us to pay for it – degrades all of us.
[More at URL]
----- 27 -----
Anti-Life, Anti-Science
A Castle of confusion.
National Review
By Richard M. Doerflinger
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZGE1Zjc4YjljYTc2YjI2ZTQzOGQ4YmI1ZGYzZGE3ZWM=
It all seemed so reasonable and straightforward. Congress’s warring factions in the stem-cell debate had agreed on a civilized plan for moving the issue forward. The U.S. Senate would vote on three bills: the bill to fund stem-cell research requiring the destruction of human embryos, already approved by the House last year; a bill to ban the use of fetal tissue from “fetus farming” (implanting human embryos in human or animal wombs in order to develop them further and harvest their body parts); and a bill to fund “alternative” avenues for obtaining versatile stem cells without destroying human embryos. President Bush said he would veto the embryonic-stem-cell bill and sign the other two — and then both sides in the debate would make their case to voters during the midterm elections.
[More at URL]
----- 28 -----
Science’s Stem-Cell Scam
It should change its name to Pseudoscience.
By Michael Fumento
National Review
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjliM2MwZTU1MzI5NTc2ZWFhNTE1NmMwNzNhZDA3MGM
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) receive tremendous media attention, with oft-repeated claims that they have the potential to cure virtually every disease known. Yet there are spoilsports, self included, who point out that they have yet to even make it into a human clinical trial. This is even as alternatives — adult stem cells (ASCs) from numerous places in the body as well as umbilical cord blood and placenta — are curing diseases here and now and have been doing so for decades. And that makes ESC advocates very, very angry.
[More at URL]
----- 29 -----
Pro-family, pro-vaccine, provided it's voluntary
St. Paul Pioneer Press
July 18, 2006
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/editorial/15059868.htm
As expected, the advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently recommended that adolescent girls and young women receive a new vaccine with the trade name Gardasil, which targets the human papillomavirus (HPV). Various strains of HPV are sexually transmitted and produce infections that are responsible for virtually all cases of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer kills 10 American women a day. The Food and Drug Administration has already found the vaccine to be both safe and effective.
Development of a vaccine for HPV is a tremendous medical achievement and a boon to public health. It holds the potential to protect the health of millions and preserve the lives of thousands of American women each year. After extensive study, we and other pro-family groups have concluded that the clear benefits of developing an HPV vaccine outweigh any potential costs. The groups welcoming it include leading conservative pro-family organizations such as the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America and the Medical Institute for Sexual Health.
[More at URL]
----- 30 -----
8th Circuit and Tennessee Court Get It Right
Nebraska Marriage Amendment reinstated; Tennessee Supreme Court affirms right of people to vote on marriage
Family Research Council
July 14, 2006 - Friday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 14, 2006
CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen, (866) FRC-NEWS
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06G03&f=PG03I03
Washington, D.C. - Today, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Nebraska's marriage protection amendment, which was overwhelmingly approved by 70 percent of Nebraska voters. The Tennessee Supreme Court also issued a ruling affirming the right of the voters in their state to protect marriage. Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
"Today's rulings indicate the courts are applying the brakes to the runaway activism that has been steering the courts and the nation in a direction that is opposite of the American people. The 8th Circuit decision, affirming the people's ability to defend marriage, mirrored last week's New York ruling which determined that the legislature has a rational basis for promoting the optimal environment for raising children.
[More at URL]
----- 31 -----
FRC: "Gang Of 14" Continues To Hold Judicial Nominees Hostage
Family Research Council
July 17, 2006 - Monday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 17, 2006
CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen, (866) FRC-NEWS
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06G04&f=PG03I03
Washington, D.C. - Last week, the "Gang of 14," a coalition of seven moderate Republican senators and seven moderate Democrat senators, met to discuss the confirmation process of several pending judicial nominations at the office of Senator Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) Tom McClusky, Family Research Council's Vice President for Government Affairs, issued the following statement:
"The presumption by the 'Gang of 14' that somehow their individual vote carries greater weight than the other 86 members of the U.S. Senate is highly offensive and clearly unconstitutional. The self-ordained power these fourteen moderates wield continues to pervert what was for two centuries a timely, fair and decent confirmation process.
[More at URL]
----- 32 -----
House Turns A Deaf Ear To The Voice Of Americans On Marriage
Family Research Council
July 18, 2006 - Tuesday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen, 866-FRC-NEWS
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06G07&f=PG03I03
Washington, D.C. - TODAY - As a result of Congress' vote of 236-187, on the Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA), Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
"Today a House minority voted against marriage and failed in its duty to represent the American people. When the issue is brought at the state level, citizens overwhelmingly vote to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Yet both Houses of Congress have shown again that they are willing to defy the wishes of their constituents and allow a handful of activists to redefine our oldest and most fundamental institution.
"The people have spoken, but many of their Federal representatives continue to turn a deaf ear. Tens of millions have voted to defend marriage, but 187 have instead chosen to serve as ring bearers for same-sex 'marriage.'
[More at URL]
----- 33 -----
House Checks Judiciary on Pledge
Family Research Council
July 19, 2006 - Wednesday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 19, 2006
CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen, (866)FRC-NEWS
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06G09&f=PG03I03
Washington D.C. - Today, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement after House passage of the Pledge Protection Act by a vote of 260 to 167:
"I am pleased to see Congress exercising its constitutional authority to check the power of the courts which have tried to strip 'Under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance.
[More at URL]
----- 34 -----
Stem Cell Stampede in the Senate
by Janice Shaw Crouse
Human Events Online
Posted Jul 18, 2006
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=16092
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R.-Tenn.) called the debate over stem-cell research “the first major moral and ethical challenge to biomedical research in the 21st century.” At a press conference kicking off this week’s congressional debate, he admonished everyone, "In discussing this science, we must remember not to check our ethics at the door." Even so, he endorsed H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, which would allow the use of taxpayer funds to pay for unethical embryonic stem-cell research.
With all the hype and political posturing, it is sometimes difficult to remember that the deliberations should be a fact-finding mission, not a stampede of celebrity and congressional cockamamie; that the debate is, at heart, a discussion of science, not myths.
[More at URL]
----- 35 -----
Pro-Lifers Blast Senate Approval of ESCR Funding; Bush Exercises First-Ever Veto
By Bill Fancher and Jenni Parker
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 19, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/192006a.asp
(AgapePress) - Pro-life and conservative pro-family leaders are livid at the U.S. Senate for voting late on Tuesday to use citizens' tax dollars to fund embryonic stem-cell research. Many of these sanctity-of-life advocates are feeling a deep sense of betrayal and outrage over the senators' approval of H.R. 810/S. 471, the "Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act."
President George W. Bush had promised to veto the measure -- and he has. In a public announcement today, Bush vetoed H.R. 810, his first veto since taking office in January 2001, explaining that "it crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect -- so I vetoed it."
[More at URL]
----- 36 -----
Pro-Family Leaders Blast House for Failing to Protect Marriage
By Mary Rettig and Jenni Parker
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 18, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/182006c.asp
(AgapePress) - Today, in a 236-187 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives has rejected a constitutional amendment to ban homosexual marriage, thereby ending congressional debate on the issue for this year. The vote over a proposal to amend the Constitution of the United States to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman fell 47 votes shy of the two-thirds majority required to advance the amendment.
The vote on H.J.Res 88 comes only six weeks after the Senate likewise defeated the amendment in a decisive vote. Conservative and pro-family leaders are expressing bitter disappointment over the outcome of this bid to protect traditional marriage, and many are predicting that the majority of Americans will be expressing similar feelings at the polls in November.
Dr. Don Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association, says most members of the U.S. House of Representatives believe that homosexual marriage should be outlawed. Those who believe otherwise, he insists, need to be held to account.
[More at URL]
----- 37 -----
Marriage Protection Issue Should Be Non-Partisan, Says Congressman
By Mary Rettig and Jody Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 19, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/192006b.asp
(AgapePress) - In the wake of the U.S. House failing to pass the Marriage Protection Amendment, one Democratic congressman who voted for the measure says the issue of homosexual "marriage" is not one that can be defined by party platforms.
[...]
Dobson: 'Remember in November'
Dr. James Dobson would agree with Congressman McIntyre -- but because not enough of McIntyre's fellow House members agreed with him, the pro-family leader reminds "values voters" they'll have their chance to voice their displeasure in a few months.
"Once again," says Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, "the men and women representing their constituents in Washington have betrayed those who put them in power. Like the Senate did before them, the House has refused to protect the institution of marriage from activist judges bent on redefining it."
[More at URL]
----- 38 -----
From the Home Front
Curing a Disease That 'Wasn't'
By Jane Jimenez
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 19, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/192006jj.asp
(AgapePress) - A bright, bold sweater hangs from the thrift store rack. Beautiful on the hanger, a telltale loose strand of yarn hangs from the hem just under the last bottom bright gold button. At $5.00, the bargain tempts the unwary.
But for those who take time to look, inspecting the spot where the yarn dangles, a trail of empty loops signals a sweater coming undone. One stitch at a time, six inches of hem have disappeared. Scissors have snipped the evidence. But a slow tug pulls another inch of knitted loops off the hem.
Like sweaters, stories can unravel. Consider the recent development of a vaccine for the human papillomavirus virus.
[More at URL]
----- 39 -----
'Scientific' Critique Reveals Another Plus for Adult Stem-Cell Research
By Jody Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 19, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/192006g.asp
(AgapePress) - Leading up to the recent vote in Congress on funding for embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR), proponents of that research took a swipe at a well-known proponent of adult stem-cell research in a scientific journal, hoping to discredit him. Instead, the "accusers" may have inadvertently opened up discussion in an area where ESCR is considerably weak.
Dr. David Prentice is a founding member of the group Do No Harm--The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics, as well as senior fellow for life science issues at the Family Research Council in Washington, DC. He is also a visiting professor at Georgetown University's Center for Clinical Bioethics. The long-time proponent of developing treatments through ethical stem-cell research -- specifically, using adult stem cells -- came under fire recently when a list of "benefits of stem cells to human patients," published by Do No Harm, was purportedly analyzed by Dr. William Neaves, a proponent of ESCR and human cloning.
[More at URL]
----- 40 -----
Embattled Pro-Lifers Rally to Protest Mississippi's Last Abortion Mill
By Mary Rettig and Jenni Parker
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 18, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/182006d.asp
(AgapePress) - Pro-life demonstrators with Operation Save America (OSA) and other groups are rallying to end abortion in Mississippi. Members of that organization and allies from across the U.S. have gathered in the capital city of Jackson for a week-long protest against the last abortion clinic in the state.
A movement OSA calls the "Gentle Revolution" is pausing in Jackson for a series of rallies, demonstrations, and prayer events that began July 15 and is scheduled to run through July 22, 2006. Pro-life leaders and activists from across the nation will be joining OSA at the "last abortion mill" in Mississippi for the stated purpose of "storming the gates of hell in the strong Name of Jesus Christ" on behalf of the unborn.
[More at URL]
----- 41 -----
Major Points For Ethical Stem Cell Research and Against Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Senator Tom Coburn
Right Now
July 17, 2006
http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=RightNow.Home&ContentRecord_id=7db0c154-802a-23ad-4389-de3143c1194b
MAJOR POINTS
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Has Failed to Produce Any Cures or Treatments
Ethical Alternatives to Embryonic Stem Cells Exist
Stem Cells from Ethical Sources Are Now Treating Over 70 Diseases and Afflictions
Ethical Alternatives Should Be Pursued Rather Than Seeking to Save Life By Destroying Life
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Diverts Funding Away From More Promising Research
Embryonic Stem Cells Have Dangerous Side Effects That May Require Other Unethical Practices to Remedy
Adult Stem Cells Have Consistently Outperformed Embryonic Stem Cells for Therapeutic Purposes
Very Few “Surplus” Embryos Are Available for Research
Patients Need Cures Not False Hopes
Major Points For Ethical Stem Cell Research and Against Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Embryonic Stem Cell Research Has Failed to Produce Any Cures or Treatments
After nearly a decade of research on human embryonic stems cells, three decades of research on animal stem cells, and over $100 million in federal funding, embryonic stem cell research has yet to deliver any cures or treatments. There are zero human clinical trials or proven therapies using embryonic stem cells.
[More at URL]
----- 42 -----
Researchers turn stem cells into sperm
Today’s Family News
June 19, 2006
A new breakthrough in stem cell research is raising the troubling possibility that someday men will not be needed in the conception of children, Britain’s Daily Telegraph has reported.
Experimenting on mice, scientists succeeded in the laboratory in turning embryonic stem cells into artificial sperm that, when injected into mouse eggs, produced seven offspring. Six lived to adulthood. But as BBC News reported, they all suffered from abnormal growth patterns and had other complications, such as difficulty breathing, and died within five months.
[...]
Action Update> In a related story involving reproductive technology, TFN readers were notified last October about Health Canada’s plans to introduce regulations to govern the use of a controversial test called pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). Health Canada is still seeking public comment on an issues paper regarding new regulations governing the genetic testing of in vitro embryos prior to implantation. If you have suggestions or concerns to contribute, now is the time to bring these forward to Health Canada.
