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Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Focus on the Family claims, without any actual evidence (and indeed in the face of quite a bit of contradictory evidence) that abstinence-only education is a big success;
Government Accounting Office says government-funded faith-based initiatives are engaging in religious discrimination on a regular basis, as any reader of this update will already know; Focus on the Family says the programmes need to be "defended" against this fact-based "attack";
Senate to debate a ban on crossing state lines to get an abortion if you're under 18 and doing so to avoid parental-notification law;
Embryonic stem-cell research supporters will keep trying to get funding blocks lifted;
A local newspaper story on one day's events in the anti-abortion demonstrators trying to shut down Mississippi's last women's health clinic providing abortion services;
Missouri loses court case, repeals ban on GBLT foster parents - but they're still going to make it "difficult" for GBLT people to foster;
Focus on the Family says gay and lesbian divorce is why gay and lesbian marriage shouldn't be allowed to begin with; obviously, this doesn't apply to str8 couples;
FotF attacks Congressional study showing that those "pregnancy centres" the anti-abortion-rights movement sets up all over the place near Planned Parenthood clinics mislead people;
Concerned Women for America's Robert Knight talks with an anti-gay rabbi trying to get World Pride in Jerusalem banned by the Israeli government; includes ACTION ITEM to contact the Israeli embassy to protest;
CWA propaganda interview supporting the embryonic stem-cell research funding ban being continued via President Bush's veto; also the "fetal farming" ban;
Another CWA ACTION ITEM to contact the Israeli government trying to ban World Pride events in Jerusalem;
Family Research Council condemns Congress for not passing GBLT marriage ban; they also want civil unions banned;
American Family Association ACTION ITEM against the National Education Association;
AFA ACTION ITEM to take anti-gay "poll" aimed at Ford Motor Company;
AFA/Agape Press reports on a GBLT march on Focus on the Family's headquarters in Colorado Springs;
AFA/Agape Press runs an article by Concerned Women for America's Robert Knight attacking the late Dr. John Money and the entire idea of gender identity disorder; they did this when he was still alive, too, and CWA also runs regular hit pieces on the late Dr. Alfred Kinsey;
Creationist Dr. Kent Hovind is in trouble - 58 Federal charges of tax evasion! He's claiming religious persecution and the AFA is supporting him;
Fundamentalists outraged over University of Louisville's extension of DP benefits;
Traditional Values Coalition says Massachusetts lesbian couple divorce proves GBLT people are incapable of marriage and should be banned from it; they also want comprehensive bans against domestic partnerships, civil unions, and think transgendered people should be involuntarily institutionalised;
Faith and Freedom Network says the Washington State Supreme Court will issue a marriage ruling any day now - and that they'll be distributing their endorsements and "voter's guide" to replace court members later this summer.
----- 1 -----
CDC: Sexual Activity Among Teens is Dropping
Experts credit abstinence education.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
July 21, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041351.cfm
The Centers for Disease Control reports that the percentage of abstinent teens rose last year to 53 percent, up from about 46 percent the year before.
Linda Klepacki, analyst for sexual health at Focus on the Family Action, said the numbers shows that abstinence education is working.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Faith-Based Initiatives Criticized by Government Report
Advocates say the programs need to be defended from attack.
Focus on the Family
from staff reports
July 21, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041352.cfm
Faith-based groups may soon find their funding being cut, following a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO report charges that faith-based initiatives aren't guarding against religious discrimination.
A recent example of a group being hounded because of its religious connection is the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) in Iowa. The faith-based prison program was ordered shut down by a federal appeals court in June and ordered to repay $1.7 million in government funds. IFI and the state of Iowa are appealing that decision.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Senate Debates Parental Involvement in Abortion Decisions
Focus on the Family
July 21, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041357.cfm
Senate Republicans are pushing legislation aimed at protecting the right of parents to be involved in a teenage daughter's abortion decision.
[...]
The Child Custody Protection Act would make it a crime to circumvent a state parental-consent or parental-notification law by taking a pregnant girl to another state for an abortion.
Among the amendments Democrats want to add is one that would exempt clergy from prosecution under the bill.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Embryonic Stem-Cell Research Supporters Vow to Continue Fight
Focus on the Family
July 21, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041356.cfm
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., vowed to keep fighting "every day" to procure more federal funding for life-destroying embryonic stem-cell research, even after she and other supporters failed to overturn President Bush's veto of her legislation Wednesday, the Rocky Mountain News reported.
[...]
In announcing his veto, President Bush said the nation needs to resist the temptation to trade life for life.
"As science brings us ever closer to unlocking the secrets of human biology," he said. "it also offers temptations to manipulate human life and violate human dignity."
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Abortion protesters hold memorial for fetus at park
By Joshua Cogswell
And Leah Rupp
July 20, 2006
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060720/NEWS/60720008
A memorial service for an aborted fetus concluded today without the planned burial in Smith Park.
The 11 a.m. service was part of an eight-day protest led by the anti-abortion group, Operation Save America, in an effort to shut down Jackson Women's Health Organization, the state's last remaining abortion clinic.
Counterprotesters showed up toward the end of the hour-long service, causing tempers to flare.
[...]
Father Frank Pavone, director of Priests for Life, said the fetus, which is being preserved in a formaldehyde-like solution, will be buried in Alabama in a few months.
Pavone said he received the fetus from an anonymous pathologist who asked him to give it a proper burial.
Pavone said the fetus was aborted at about 18 weeks. It has been used in demonstrations in New York and Columbus, Ohio, he said, and will be in several more before being buried.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Missouri Allows Gay Foster Parents
Focus on the Family
July 20, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041338.cfm
Five months after a Missouri judge ruled that homosexuals should be allowed to be foster parents, the Department of Social Services has repealed regulations preventing it.
The state originally denied a license to Lisa Johnston based on the fact that she had a same-sex relationship and state law against sodomy meant she was breaking the law. Johnston wanted to raise a child with partner Dawn Roginski.
Citing the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas that ruled existing sodomy law unenforceable, Jackson County Judge Sandra Midkiff said Johnston was not breaking that law, and therefore the state had no basis to deny her the license.
[...]
Brett Shirk, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and Western Missouri, said he doesn't understand why officials would ask about sexual orientation.
"If they're going to comply with the measure," he said, "why do they need to know if people are gay or lesbians?"
Scott said the question is necessary.
"If you have a child who's been abused by someone of the same sex," she said, "then placing them in the home of a couple of the same sex might not be in the best interest of the child." [Ed. Note: Then it would seem to me that it would be in the child's best interest, if you're following this argument, to put them in a single-sex household of the gender opposite that which molested them. No?]
----- 6 -----
Lesbian Couple That Sued for Gay Marriage Separate
Focus on the Family
July 20, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041336.cfm
The Massachusetts couple at the center of the 2003 lawsuit that brought court-sanctioned gay marriage to the state have "amicably separated," Bay Windows reported.
[...]
Carrie Gordon Earll, director of issue analysis for Focus on the Family Action, said it's children who become entangled in such a situation who pay the price.
[...]
"This story is further evidence that the path of same-sex unions and parenting is not one we should venture down."
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Congressional Democrats Say Pregnancy Centers Lie to Women
Pro-lifers say they offer the truth about abortion.
Focus on the Family
July 20, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041333.cfm
A study touted by pro-abortion Democratic members of Congress charges pro-life pregnancy resource centers with giving out misleading information.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who requested the study, said some centers told an undercover caller there may be increased risk of breast cancer and mental distress for women who undergo abortion. The study surveyed just 23 centers out of hundreds in the U.S.
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Rabbi Condemns Upcoming World Pride Event
Concerned Women for America
Robert Knight
7/19/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11162/CFI/misc/index.htm
Rabbi Yehuda Levin, a member of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, is in Israel as a special emissary. The issue of concern is the upcoming World Pride Event, scheduled for August 6-12. Rabbi Levin discusses the political climate he is facing while trying to persuade Israel to cancel the event. Bob Knight, Director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute spoke with Rabbi Levin from Israel. Click here to listen.
The phone number for the Israeli Embassy is 202-364-5500. To contact the Israeli Department of Tourism call: 1-800-514-1188 or the contact information listed on their Web site: http://www.goisrael.com/tourism_eng/tourist+information/contactus.htm.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
White House Celebrates Fetal Farming Ban with Snowflakes
Concerned Women for America
7/20/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11164/CWA//index.htm
In the midst of the serious scientific issues at the center of this week’s legislation on fetal farming and embryonic stem cell research, there was a spark of light and life, as snowflake babies descended on Washington, D.C. Present at press conferences and the White House signing ceremony, these children brought to life the issues we are fighting for. CWA Policy Analyst Martha Kleder spoke with two of those snowflake parents.
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Homosexuals Prepare to March on Jerusalem as Bombs Fly
Concerned Women for America
7/21/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11165/CFI/misc/index.htm
While Israel grapples with violence from Lebanon and the Palestinians homosexuals from around the globe are preparing to march on Jerusalem. Jerusalem WorldPride 2006 is scheduled for August 6-12, but as Bob Knight, Director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute, notes although efforts are underway in the Israel government to postpone or cancel the event, sponsors of that effort need international support from people of faith. Bob spoke with Don Feder, President of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation, about the Middle East tensions and what you can do. Click here to listen.
The phone number for the Israeli Embassy is 202-364-5500. To contact the Israeli Department of Tourism call: 1-800-514-1188 or the contact information listed on their Web site: http://www.goisrael.com/tourism_eng/tourist+information/contactus.htm.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
Congress Fails Americans on Marriage
House, Senate unwilling to stand with the majority of America on marriage. This op-ed originally appeared in Human Events on July 21, 2006.
by: Tony Perkins
Family Research Council
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PV06G01
Abraham Lincoln was fond of asking, "If you call a dog's tail a leg, how many legs does a dog have?
"Five?"
"No," he would politely respond. "The correct answer is four. Calling a tail a leg does not make it a leg."
Today, advocates of same-sex marriage are trying to sell an imitation for the real thing. But no matter what they call it, most Americans recognize that same-sex unions are as counterfeit as a five-legged dog. In fact, voters when given the opportunity have defended the traditional definition of marriage overwhelmingly.
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
The National Education Association: What Kind Of Organization Is This Which Sets The Agenda For Our Children In Public Schools?
American Family Association
ACTION ALERT
July 21, 2006
http://www.afa.net/aa072106.asp
Please help us get this information into the hands of as many parents and educators as possible by forwarding it to family, friends and educators.
The National Education Association: What Kind Of Organization Is This Which Sets The Agenda For Our Children In Public Schools?
Normally when we send out an email we try to make the message as short as possible and still make it easy for individuals to understand and take action. However, this email cannot be short. It deals with the National Education Association, the organization responsible for setting the agenda for our children in public schools.
[...]
Take Action
1. Send your email to the NEA. Express your disappointment that they are putting a political agenda ahead of the education of our children. Click here.
2. Please forward this to other parents and educators so they will have this information.
3. If you are a professional educator and a member of the NEA, here is what you can do. Click Here.
Click Here to Email the NEA Now!
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
Ford Suffers $123 Million Loss In Second Quarter - Take Our Poll
American Family Association
ACTION ALERT
July 20, 2006
http://www.afa.net/ford072006.asp
Would you consider a Ford product when purchasing a new automobile if Ford would honor their agreement to remain neutral in the homosexual marriage battle?
Ford Motor Company has announced they posted an unexpected second-quarter loss of $123 million. While the boycott of Ford was not the sole cause of the loss, it no doubt has affected the sales.
Chairman Bill Ford seems intent to take Ford into bankruptcy to appease a handful of homosexual leaders. In order to show Chairman Ford that people would consider purchasing a new Ford product if the company stopped their promotion of the homosexual agenda, including homosexual marriage, AFA is conducting a poll.
[More at URL]
----- 14 -----
Homosexual Activists Plan March On Focus on the Family Headquarters
By Allie Martin and Jenni Parker
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 21, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/212006a.asp
(AgapePress) - The homosexual activist group Soulforce plans to march on the headquarters of a prominent Colorado-based pro-family ministry this weekend. Organizers, who have dubbed the July 22 event "The 1000-Watt March," expect at least a thousand homosexuals and lesbians to converge on the Focus on the Family campus and pray for its founder, Dr. James Dobson.
Soulforce members claim Focus on the Family, along with other Christian groups, engage in so-called "spiritual violence" against homosexuals and deny them justice. The homosexual group accuses Focus of being "one of the world’s primary sources of defamation against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people and same-gender families" and of disseminating misinformation that encourages bias, discrimination, and violence against homosexuals.
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Sexologist's Death Spotlights Lies Behind 'Gender Identity' Theories
By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
July 21, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/212006f.asp
(AgapePress) - A pro-family leader says the recent death of prominent psychologist and sexologist Dr. John Money, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University highlights the faulty foundations of the so-called "gender identity" movement.
After Dr. Alfred Kinsey, Money -- who died earlier this month, one day before his 85th birthday -- was perhaps the best known and most influential sexologist ever. He is said to have laid the foundation for the transgender movement by starting the gender identity program at Johns Hopkins.
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
Tax-Evasion Charges Baseless, Says Ministry Leader
By Jim Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 21, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/212006b.asp
(AgapePress) - A Florida evangelist recently arrested on tax-evasion charges claims he's been targeted by the Internal Revenue Service because he's a creationist.
Last week a grand jury indicted Dr. Kent Hovind on 58 federal charges, including falsifying bankruptcy documents, filing a false and frivolous lawsuit and complaints against the IRS, destroying records, and threatening to harm IRS investigators. Twelve of the charges are for failing to pay employee-related taxes.
The grand jury alleges Hovind failed to pay nearly half-a-million dollars in federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes on his employees at his Creation Science Evangelism ministry in Pensacola. Hovind, who is known as "Dr. Dino," says even though the 30 people who work for him are paid in cash, he is not a tax protestor and is not violating any laws.
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
Kentucky School Blasted for Plan to Offer 'Domestic Partner' Benefits
By Jim Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 21, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/212006c.asp
(AgapePress) - A Kentucky pro-family group is protesting a decision by the University of Louisville's Board of Regents to award health insurance benefits to so-called "domestic partners" of school employees. Board trustees voted 14-1 to allow unmarried domestic partners, homosexual and heterosexual, to take part in the benefits program.
That vote makes Louisville the first public university in Kentucky, reportedly, to endorse a plan that would allow unmarried homosexual and straight partners of school faculty and staff to take part in the school's benefits plan. Trustee Bill Stone claims the move does not constitute an endorsement of homosexual "marriage"; rather, he says it indicates that Louisville is "an enlightened institution."
However, Family Foundation of Kentucky senior policy analyst Martin Cothran says, contrary to what Stone claims, this plan does endorse homosexual marriage. The pro-family advocate believes any true conservative would recognize that. "This particular trustee portrays himself as a conservative," he notes; "but if marriage is not one of those things that conservatives are trying to conserve, then there's no point of being one."
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
Separation of ‘Goodridge’ Lesbians Confirms TVC Fears About ‘Gay’ Marriage
Traditional Values Coalition
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2802
July 21, 2006 Washington, DC – “It comes as no surprise to me that the two lesbians who were at the center of the gay marriage controversy in Massachusetts have now separated after only two years,” said Traditional Values Coalition Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon today. “Homosexual relationships are notoriously unstable—and many male homosexual activists openly admit they don’t want monogamous marriages.”
Rev. Sheldon is reacting to news publicized on July 20 that Julie and Hillary Goodridge are now separated after having sued Massachusetts for the right to marry in 2003. They were “married” in May 2004. Their ten-year-old daughter served as their ring bearer at the wedding.
“It is well known to those of us who study the homosexual agenda and homosexual behaviors that their relationships are quite often fleeting and anonymous,” said Sheldon. “A study conducted in Amsterdam in 2003 found that homosexuals in what were considered ‘steady’ relationships averaged between six to 10 additional sexual partners outside of the main relationship. Those in casual relationships averaged between 16-28 sexual partners outside of the primary one. Monogamy in a homosexual marriage is an oxymoron.
[More at URL]
----- 19 -----
WA Supreme Court Says Gay Marriage Ruling Imminent
Faith and Freedom Network
Thursday, July 20, 2006
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/07/wa-supreme-court-says-gay-marriage.html
It is clear that the Washington Supreme Court is beginning to feel the heat. Faith & Freedom has been calling for the justices to release their ruling for some time. We have suggested that they may be holding back for political reasons. Ironically, Gov. Gregoire agrees with us. Let’s hope that they find the clarity and courage to release their ruling soon.
Keep in mind there are two highly qualified candidates running for seats on the Washington Supreme Court. Faith & Freedom will be distributing a Voters Guide specifically addressing the judicial races within the next couple of weeks. It will be available on our website.
[More at URL]
Government Accounting Office says government-funded faith-based initiatives are engaging in religious discrimination on a regular basis, as any reader of this update will already know; Focus on the Family says the programmes need to be "defended" against this fact-based "attack";
Senate to debate a ban on crossing state lines to get an abortion if you're under 18 and doing so to avoid parental-notification law;
Embryonic stem-cell research supporters will keep trying to get funding blocks lifted;
A local newspaper story on one day's events in the anti-abortion demonstrators trying to shut down Mississippi's last women's health clinic providing abortion services;
Missouri loses court case, repeals ban on GBLT foster parents - but they're still going to make it "difficult" for GBLT people to foster;
Focus on the Family says gay and lesbian divorce is why gay and lesbian marriage shouldn't be allowed to begin with; obviously, this doesn't apply to str8 couples;
FotF attacks Congressional study showing that those "pregnancy centres" the anti-abortion-rights movement sets up all over the place near Planned Parenthood clinics mislead people;
Concerned Women for America's Robert Knight talks with an anti-gay rabbi trying to get World Pride in Jerusalem banned by the Israeli government; includes ACTION ITEM to contact the Israeli embassy to protest;
CWA propaganda interview supporting the embryonic stem-cell research funding ban being continued via President Bush's veto; also the "fetal farming" ban;
Another CWA ACTION ITEM to contact the Israeli government trying to ban World Pride events in Jerusalem;
Family Research Council condemns Congress for not passing GBLT marriage ban; they also want civil unions banned;
American Family Association ACTION ITEM against the National Education Association;
AFA ACTION ITEM to take anti-gay "poll" aimed at Ford Motor Company;
AFA/Agape Press reports on a GBLT march on Focus on the Family's headquarters in Colorado Springs;
AFA/Agape Press runs an article by Concerned Women for America's Robert Knight attacking the late Dr. John Money and the entire idea of gender identity disorder; they did this when he was still alive, too, and CWA also runs regular hit pieces on the late Dr. Alfred Kinsey;
Creationist Dr. Kent Hovind is in trouble - 58 Federal charges of tax evasion! He's claiming religious persecution and the AFA is supporting him;
Fundamentalists outraged over University of Louisville's extension of DP benefits;
Traditional Values Coalition says Massachusetts lesbian couple divorce proves GBLT people are incapable of marriage and should be banned from it; they also want comprehensive bans against domestic partnerships, civil unions, and think transgendered people should be involuntarily institutionalised;
Faith and Freedom Network says the Washington State Supreme Court will issue a marriage ruling any day now - and that they'll be distributing their endorsements and "voter's guide" to replace court members later this summer.
----- 1 -----
CDC: Sexual Activity Among Teens is Dropping
Experts credit abstinence education.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
July 21, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041351.cfm
The Centers for Disease Control reports that the percentage of abstinent teens rose last year to 53 percent, up from about 46 percent the year before.
Linda Klepacki, analyst for sexual health at Focus on the Family Action, said the numbers shows that abstinence education is working.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Faith-Based Initiatives Criticized by Government Report
Advocates say the programs need to be defended from attack.
Focus on the Family
from staff reports
July 21, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041352.cfm
Faith-based groups may soon find their funding being cut, following a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO report charges that faith-based initiatives aren't guarding against religious discrimination.
A recent example of a group being hounded because of its religious connection is the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) in Iowa. The faith-based prison program was ordered shut down by a federal appeals court in June and ordered to repay $1.7 million in government funds. IFI and the state of Iowa are appealing that decision.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Senate Debates Parental Involvement in Abortion Decisions
Focus on the Family
July 21, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041357.cfm
Senate Republicans are pushing legislation aimed at protecting the right of parents to be involved in a teenage daughter's abortion decision.
[...]
The Child Custody Protection Act would make it a crime to circumvent a state parental-consent or parental-notification law by taking a pregnant girl to another state for an abortion.
Among the amendments Democrats want to add is one that would exempt clergy from prosecution under the bill.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Embryonic Stem-Cell Research Supporters Vow to Continue Fight
Focus on the Family
July 21, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041356.cfm
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., vowed to keep fighting "every day" to procure more federal funding for life-destroying embryonic stem-cell research, even after she and other supporters failed to overturn President Bush's veto of her legislation Wednesday, the Rocky Mountain News reported.
[...]
In announcing his veto, President Bush said the nation needs to resist the temptation to trade life for life.
"As science brings us ever closer to unlocking the secrets of human biology," he said. "it also offers temptations to manipulate human life and violate human dignity."
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Abortion protesters hold memorial for fetus at park
By Joshua Cogswell
And Leah Rupp
July 20, 2006
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060720/NEWS/60720008
A memorial service for an aborted fetus concluded today without the planned burial in Smith Park.
The 11 a.m. service was part of an eight-day protest led by the anti-abortion group, Operation Save America, in an effort to shut down Jackson Women's Health Organization, the state's last remaining abortion clinic.
Counterprotesters showed up toward the end of the hour-long service, causing tempers to flare.
[...]
Father Frank Pavone, director of Priests for Life, said the fetus, which is being preserved in a formaldehyde-like solution, will be buried in Alabama in a few months.
Pavone said he received the fetus from an anonymous pathologist who asked him to give it a proper burial.
Pavone said the fetus was aborted at about 18 weeks. It has been used in demonstrations in New York and Columbus, Ohio, he said, and will be in several more before being buried.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Missouri Allows Gay Foster Parents
Focus on the Family
July 20, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041338.cfm
Five months after a Missouri judge ruled that homosexuals should be allowed to be foster parents, the Department of Social Services has repealed regulations preventing it.
The state originally denied a license to Lisa Johnston based on the fact that she had a same-sex relationship and state law against sodomy meant she was breaking the law. Johnston wanted to raise a child with partner Dawn Roginski.
Citing the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision Lawrence v. Texas that ruled existing sodomy law unenforceable, Jackson County Judge Sandra Midkiff said Johnston was not breaking that law, and therefore the state had no basis to deny her the license.
[...]
Brett Shirk, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and Western Missouri, said he doesn't understand why officials would ask about sexual orientation.
"If they're going to comply with the measure," he said, "why do they need to know if people are gay or lesbians?"
Scott said the question is necessary.
"If you have a child who's been abused by someone of the same sex," she said, "then placing them in the home of a couple of the same sex might not be in the best interest of the child." [Ed. Note: Then it would seem to me that it would be in the child's best interest, if you're following this argument, to put them in a single-sex household of the gender opposite that which molested them. No?]
----- 6 -----
Lesbian Couple That Sued for Gay Marriage Separate
Focus on the Family
July 20, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041336.cfm
The Massachusetts couple at the center of the 2003 lawsuit that brought court-sanctioned gay marriage to the state have "amicably separated," Bay Windows reported.
[...]
Carrie Gordon Earll, director of issue analysis for Focus on the Family Action, said it's children who become entangled in such a situation who pay the price.
[...]
"This story is further evidence that the path of same-sex unions and parenting is not one we should venture down."
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Congressional Democrats Say Pregnancy Centers Lie to Women
Pro-lifers say they offer the truth about abortion.
Focus on the Family
July 20, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041333.cfm
A study touted by pro-abortion Democratic members of Congress charges pro-life pregnancy resource centers with giving out misleading information.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who requested the study, said some centers told an undercover caller there may be increased risk of breast cancer and mental distress for women who undergo abortion. The study surveyed just 23 centers out of hundreds in the U.S.
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Rabbi Condemns Upcoming World Pride Event
Concerned Women for America
Robert Knight
7/19/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11162/CFI/misc/index.htm
Rabbi Yehuda Levin, a member of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, is in Israel as a special emissary. The issue of concern is the upcoming World Pride Event, scheduled for August 6-12. Rabbi Levin discusses the political climate he is facing while trying to persuade Israel to cancel the event. Bob Knight, Director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute spoke with Rabbi Levin from Israel. Click here to listen.
The phone number for the Israeli Embassy is 202-364-5500. To contact the Israeli Department of Tourism call: 1-800-514-1188 or the contact information listed on their Web site: http://www.goisrael.com/tourism_eng/tourist+information/contactus.htm.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
White House Celebrates Fetal Farming Ban with Snowflakes
Concerned Women for America
7/20/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11164/CWA//index.htm
In the midst of the serious scientific issues at the center of this week’s legislation on fetal farming and embryonic stem cell research, there was a spark of light and life, as snowflake babies descended on Washington, D.C. Present at press conferences and the White House signing ceremony, these children brought to life the issues we are fighting for. CWA Policy Analyst Martha Kleder spoke with two of those snowflake parents.
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Homosexuals Prepare to March on Jerusalem as Bombs Fly
Concerned Women for America
7/21/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11165/CFI/misc/index.htm
While Israel grapples with violence from Lebanon and the Palestinians homosexuals from around the globe are preparing to march on Jerusalem. Jerusalem WorldPride 2006 is scheduled for August 6-12, but as Bob Knight, Director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute, notes although efforts are underway in the Israel government to postpone or cancel the event, sponsors of that effort need international support from people of faith. Bob spoke with Don Feder, President of Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation, about the Middle East tensions and what you can do. Click here to listen.
The phone number for the Israeli Embassy is 202-364-5500. To contact the Israeli Department of Tourism call: 1-800-514-1188 or the contact information listed on their Web site: http://www.goisrael.com/tourism_eng/tourist+information/contactus.htm.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
Congress Fails Americans on Marriage
House, Senate unwilling to stand with the majority of America on marriage. This op-ed originally appeared in Human Events on July 21, 2006.
by: Tony Perkins
Family Research Council
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PV06G01
Abraham Lincoln was fond of asking, "If you call a dog's tail a leg, how many legs does a dog have?
"Five?"
"No," he would politely respond. "The correct answer is four. Calling a tail a leg does not make it a leg."
Today, advocates of same-sex marriage are trying to sell an imitation for the real thing. But no matter what they call it, most Americans recognize that same-sex unions are as counterfeit as a five-legged dog. In fact, voters when given the opportunity have defended the traditional definition of marriage overwhelmingly.
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The National Education Association: What Kind Of Organization Is This Which Sets The Agenda For Our Children In Public Schools?
American Family Association
ACTION ALERT
July 21, 2006
http://www.afa.net/aa072106.asp
Please help us get this information into the hands of as many parents and educators as possible by forwarding it to family, friends and educators.
The National Education Association: What Kind Of Organization Is This Which Sets The Agenda For Our Children In Public Schools?
Normally when we send out an email we try to make the message as short as possible and still make it easy for individuals to understand and take action. However, this email cannot be short. It deals with the National Education Association, the organization responsible for setting the agenda for our children in public schools.
[...]
Take Action
1. Send your email to the NEA. Express your disappointment that they are putting a political agenda ahead of the education of our children. Click here.
2. Please forward this to other parents and educators so they will have this information.
3. If you are a professional educator and a member of the NEA, here is what you can do. Click Here.
Click Here to Email the NEA Now!
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Ford Suffers $123 Million Loss In Second Quarter - Take Our Poll
American Family Association
ACTION ALERT
July 20, 2006
http://www.afa.net/ford072006.asp
Would you consider a Ford product when purchasing a new automobile if Ford would honor their agreement to remain neutral in the homosexual marriage battle?
Ford Motor Company has announced they posted an unexpected second-quarter loss of $123 million. While the boycott of Ford was not the sole cause of the loss, it no doubt has affected the sales.
Chairman Bill Ford seems intent to take Ford into bankruptcy to appease a handful of homosexual leaders. In order to show Chairman Ford that people would consider purchasing a new Ford product if the company stopped their promotion of the homosexual agenda, including homosexual marriage, AFA is conducting a poll.
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Homosexual Activists Plan March On Focus on the Family Headquarters
By Allie Martin and Jenni Parker
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 21, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/212006a.asp
(AgapePress) - The homosexual activist group Soulforce plans to march on the headquarters of a prominent Colorado-based pro-family ministry this weekend. Organizers, who have dubbed the July 22 event "The 1000-Watt March," expect at least a thousand homosexuals and lesbians to converge on the Focus on the Family campus and pray for its founder, Dr. James Dobson.
Soulforce members claim Focus on the Family, along with other Christian groups, engage in so-called "spiritual violence" against homosexuals and deny them justice. The homosexual group accuses Focus of being "one of the world’s primary sources of defamation against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people and same-gender families" and of disseminating misinformation that encourages bias, discrimination, and violence against homosexuals.
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Sexologist's Death Spotlights Lies Behind 'Gender Identity' Theories
By Jim Brown and Jenni Parker
July 21, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/212006f.asp
(AgapePress) - A pro-family leader says the recent death of prominent psychologist and sexologist Dr. John Money, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University highlights the faulty foundations of the so-called "gender identity" movement.
After Dr. Alfred Kinsey, Money -- who died earlier this month, one day before his 85th birthday -- was perhaps the best known and most influential sexologist ever. He is said to have laid the foundation for the transgender movement by starting the gender identity program at Johns Hopkins.
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Tax-Evasion Charges Baseless, Says Ministry Leader
By Jim Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 21, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/212006b.asp
(AgapePress) - A Florida evangelist recently arrested on tax-evasion charges claims he's been targeted by the Internal Revenue Service because he's a creationist.
Last week a grand jury indicted Dr. Kent Hovind on 58 federal charges, including falsifying bankruptcy documents, filing a false and frivolous lawsuit and complaints against the IRS, destroying records, and threatening to harm IRS investigators. Twelve of the charges are for failing to pay employee-related taxes.
The grand jury alleges Hovind failed to pay nearly half-a-million dollars in federal income, Social Security, and Medicare taxes on his employees at his Creation Science Evangelism ministry in Pensacola. Hovind, who is known as "Dr. Dino," says even though the 30 people who work for him are paid in cash, he is not a tax protestor and is not violating any laws.
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Kentucky School Blasted for Plan to Offer 'Domestic Partner' Benefits
By Jim Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
July 21, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/afa/212006c.asp
(AgapePress) - A Kentucky pro-family group is protesting a decision by the University of Louisville's Board of Regents to award health insurance benefits to so-called "domestic partners" of school employees. Board trustees voted 14-1 to allow unmarried domestic partners, homosexual and heterosexual, to take part in the benefits program.
That vote makes Louisville the first public university in Kentucky, reportedly, to endorse a plan that would allow unmarried homosexual and straight partners of school faculty and staff to take part in the school's benefits plan. Trustee Bill Stone claims the move does not constitute an endorsement of homosexual "marriage"; rather, he says it indicates that Louisville is "an enlightened institution."
However, Family Foundation of Kentucky senior policy analyst Martin Cothran says, contrary to what Stone claims, this plan does endorse homosexual marriage. The pro-family advocate believes any true conservative would recognize that. "This particular trustee portrays himself as a conservative," he notes; "but if marriage is not one of those things that conservatives are trying to conserve, then there's no point of being one."
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Separation of ‘Goodridge’ Lesbians Confirms TVC Fears About ‘Gay’ Marriage
Traditional Values Coalition
http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2802
July 21, 2006 Washington, DC – “It comes as no surprise to me that the two lesbians who were at the center of the gay marriage controversy in Massachusetts have now separated after only two years,” said Traditional Values Coalition Chairman Rev. Louis P. Sheldon today. “Homosexual relationships are notoriously unstable—and many male homosexual activists openly admit they don’t want monogamous marriages.”
Rev. Sheldon is reacting to news publicized on July 20 that Julie and Hillary Goodridge are now separated after having sued Massachusetts for the right to marry in 2003. They were “married” in May 2004. Their ten-year-old daughter served as their ring bearer at the wedding.
“It is well known to those of us who study the homosexual agenda and homosexual behaviors that their relationships are quite often fleeting and anonymous,” said Sheldon. “A study conducted in Amsterdam in 2003 found that homosexuals in what were considered ‘steady’ relationships averaged between six to 10 additional sexual partners outside of the main relationship. Those in casual relationships averaged between 16-28 sexual partners outside of the primary one. Monogamy in a homosexual marriage is an oxymoron.
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WA Supreme Court Says Gay Marriage Ruling Imminent
Faith and Freedom Network
Thursday, July 20, 2006
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/07/wa-supreme-court-says-gay-marriage.html
It is clear that the Washington Supreme Court is beginning to feel the heat. Faith & Freedom has been calling for the justices to release their ruling for some time. We have suggested that they may be holding back for political reasons. Ironically, Gov. Gregoire agrees with us. Let’s hope that they find the clarity and courage to release their ruling soon.
Keep in mind there are two highly qualified candidates running for seats on the Washington Supreme Court. Faith & Freedom will be distributing a Voters Guide specifically addressing the judicial races within the next couple of weeks. It will be available on our website.
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