Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Sep. 15th, 2006 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdThis is only a partial; I'll start the second half tonight and will hopefully get through it tomorrow. There's a lot of ACTION ITEMS in this one, and the local newsradio has picked up on the money being dumped into our courts races - tho' they're focusing mainly on the Supreme Court slots, of course.
But now, the news:
Decency wins out in the case of a Wiccan soldier's memorial plaque - the state pulls a technicality and takes the decision out of the Dept. of Veterans' Affairs hands. The soldier, Sgt. Patrick Stewart, was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan;
Operation Rescue West's 2004 candidate endorsements costs it its tax-exempt status - finally;
Focus on the Family extremely cranky about the Prison Fellowship being forced to repay Iowa - they'd been being paid by the state to convert prisoners to fundamentalist Christianity, for which the prisoners got special treatment and other similar advantages;
FotF: Jim DeMint (R-SC) promises to put a hold on FDA nominee Andrew von Eschenbach unless RU-486 is pulled from the market;
Sens. Brownback and Lieberman co-sponsor a bill to study the effects "of TV, movies, the Internet, video games and cell phones on children's mental and social development";
Illinois will _not_ be facing an anti-marriage initiative on the ballot this fall;
Focus on the Family says "families win one" by getting changes in Maryland's Montgomery County sex education video;
Focus on the Family demands Senator Harry Reed (D-NV) stop bothering with polygamy and start attacking same-sex marriage;
I don't actually know much of anything about this; the FDA is talking about revisions in emergency use of non-approved drugs in certain circumstances; I haven't read the FDA's version of the story yet, but Focus on the Family is quite clear in its condemnation;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to back amendment to Defense Authorisation Bill essentially allowing chaplain proselytization in the military; it's a reaction to changes in military code following religious harassment at the Air Force Academy, which Focus on the Family has extensively defended; an alternative amendment would require chaplains to be sensitive to other faiths, they call that a first amendment violation;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to demand immediate confirmation of all Bush judicial nominees;
Focus on the Family: polls say eight states will pass anti-marriage amendments this fall;
Alliance Defense Fund suing New York State officials who ruled that out-of-state same-sex marriages should be recogised in New York State; their decisions were overturned, as regular readers know, but the ADF is going for the intimidation factor;
Focus on the Family asks Federal employees to give them money via the Combined Federal Campaign;
Americans United for Separation of Church and State sues federal Health and Human Services over grants to a "faith-based" marriage counseling centre;
Focus on the Family promotes "National Church Adopt-A-School," where churches "adopt" public schools to provide "mentoring, tutoring, and family support services";
This is a weird one; collection of fundamentalist groups demand that the Illinois state supreme court do "whatever it takes" to implement a parental notification law that was enjoined by a Federal court;
Focus on the Family claims Pope Benedict has endorsed Intelligent Design creationism;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to support a bundle of bills in Congress, the most important (to them) of which is PERA, which would exempt religious establishment case winners from collecting court costs from the losing side; the intent is to make it much harder to sue in government religious discrimination cases;
Focus on the Family: New York domestic-partner benefits "redefine marriage by fiat"; Alliance Defense Fund is suing, Focus on the Family applauds;
Focus on the Family: Church activism vital in fighting marriage rights for GBLT people; any church not active in politics is "not fulfilling their proper biblical role";
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to demand permanent confirmation of John Bolton as US ambassador to the United Nations;
Faith and Family Network blasts Rosie O'Donnell criticism of American fundamentalists as being akin to Muslim fundamentalists;
Faith and Freedom Network ACTION ITEM to demand immediate passage of PERA, described above, intended to make it harder to sue against religious discrimination.
----- 1 -----
State says Nevada soldier's plaque can include Wiccan symbol
September 13, 2006
By SCOTT SONNER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/sep/13/091310252.html
RENO, Nev. (AP) - The widow of a Nevada soldier killed in Afghanistan a year ago won state approval Wednesday to place a Wiccan religious symbol on his memorial plaque, something the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has refused to do.
"I'm just in shock," Roberta Stewart said from her home in Fernley, about 30 miles east of Reno.
"I'm honored and ecstatic. I've been waiting a year for this," she told The Associated Press.
Sgt. Patrick Stewart, 34, was killed in Afghanistan last Sept. 25 when the Nevada Army National Guard helicopter he was in was shot down. He was a follower of the Wiccan religion, which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize and therefore prohibits on veterans' headstones in national cemeteries.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Anti-abortion group loses tax status
Associated Press
Long URL elided
WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service has revoked the tax-exempt status of the anti-abortion organization Operation Rescue West for prohibited political activity during the 2004 election.
[...]
The laws that permit some organizations to organize as tax-exempt entities also bar them from participating in or intervening in elections, including advocating for or against any candidate.
The IRS revoked the group's tax-exempt status last week, and it was reported Friday by The New York Times.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Faith-Based Prison Group to Appeal Judge's Order to Shut Down
Focus on the Family
September 15, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041992.cfm
Prison Fellowship and the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) filed an appeal on Wednesday with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A federal judge had ruled that the Iowa faith-based rehabilitation program violates the separation of church and state.
[...]
"Not just for faith-based organizations like Prison Fellowship and IFI, but also for the two million prisoners in America, and even for public safety," he said. "In a time when states are clamoring for help in fighting crime and reducing recidivism, it is the height of folly to shut down a proven, effective rehabilitation program like IFI."
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Pro-Life Legislator Wants FDA to Get Rid of RU-486
Focus on the Family
September 15, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041995.cfm
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said he will put a hold on the nomination of Andrew von Eschenbach to head the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unless he takes "immediate steps" to remove a dangerous abortion drug from the market, LifeNews reported.
[...]
Wesley Denton, press secretary for DeMint, said it is time for the FDA to protect women.
"Senator DeMint believes that a qualified FDA nominee would publicly discourage RU-486s use and take immediate steps to remove it from the market," he said. "We've reached a breaking point here, and the senator's not going to budge until they wake up over at FDA."
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Senate Passes Media Impact Study Bill
Focus on the Family
September 15, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041994.cfm
Pro-family experts praised the Senate for passing a bill that will fund ongoing research into the effects of TV, movies, the Internet, video games and cell phones on children's mental and social development.
The legislation, which had been awaiting a Senate vote since March, was the brainchild of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn.
Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., a cosponsor, said the Children and Media Research Advancement Act will provide grants to researchers looking at factors such as the format, length of exposure, age of viewers, nature of parental involvement and venue in which children view media.
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
No Marriage Vote for Illinois
September 15, 2006
Focus on the Family
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041993.cfm
A pro-marriage group has decided not to fight last week's decision by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled against the placement of an advisory referendum concerning marriage on the November ballot, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Maryland Parents Win One
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
September 15, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041990.cfm
Group succeeds in balancing sex-education video for public schools with abstinence message.
Maryland parents have succeeded in their efforts to edit a video promoting condoms to public-school students.
Michelle Turner, a spokeswoman for Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, said the first version of the sex-education video promoted condoms and the normalization of homosexuality and degraded ministries that see homosexuality as a sin and a changeable lifestyle.
"The committee that wrote the curriculum," she said, "refused to allow any materials or information related to ex-gays or those who had once been practicing homosexuals."
Turner took the curriculum to court, alleging viewpoint discrimination, and won. As a result, the film has a very clear message about abstinence: "Abstinence from sex is the only way to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Condom use may decrease but does not eliminate the risk of unwanted pregnancy or contracting sexually transmitted infections."
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Democrat Leader Calls for Polygamy Crackdown
Focus on the Family
from staff reports
September 15, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041991.cfm
Family advocates say Sen. Harry Reid is ignoring a larger problem, though: the push to legalize same-sex marriage.
The recent arrest of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs spurred Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid to request a task force to investigate other polygamist activities in Western states.
Jeffs is charged with two felony accounts of rape as an accomplice, and accused of arranging a "spiritual marriage" between an underage girl and an older man.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Proposed FDA Regulation 'Unacceptable,' Bioethicists Warn
Experimental drugs could soon be used without informed consent.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
September 15, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041989.cfm
Should physicians be able to conduct medical experiments on unconscious or dying patients -- without any real oversight? That's the question attorney Rich Ackerman of the Pro-Life Law Center says is at the heart of guidelines the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is contemplating.
The proposal, titled Guidance for Institutional Review Boards, Clinical Investigators, and Sponsors: Exception from Informed Consent for Emergency Research, would allow doctors to use experimental drugs and devices on human beings in "emergency situations" without obtaining their consent or the consent of the patient's representative.
Link to FDA summary
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Your Voice Needed to Protect Chaplains' Right to Pray
by Stuart Shepard, managing editor
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM
Received in email 14 September 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
There is an attempt under way to change language in the Defense Authorization Bill that would protect a military chaplains' right to pray according to his or her conscience.
The bill is currently in a conference committee where differences between the versions that passed the House and Senate are being worked out. The House version contains language authored by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., that would allow chaplains to pray according to their faith.
The Hunter language states: "Each Chaplain shall have the prerogative to pray according to the dictates of the chaplain's own conscience, except as must be limited by military necessity, with any such limitation being imposed in the least restrictive manner feasible."
However, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., and others are pushing for alternative language that reads, in part:
"In situations other than theological services or sectarian ceremonies when a prayer is offered, the policy shall require chaplains to be sensitive to and respect the diversity of faiths represented."
Amanda Banks, federal policy analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the alternative language would clearly violate the First Amendment rights of chaplains.
"The alternate language seeks to establish a right not to be offended, rather than protecting freedom of speech," she said. "It rejects religious liberty and would likely prevent a chaplain from praying 'in Jesus' name' outside of a church service."
She said chaplains must have the freedom to pray according to their conscience.
Take Action:
Call Sen. John Warner at (202) 224-2023 and your two U.S. senators. Ask them to ensure the Hunter language is adopted in the Defense Authorization Bill so chaplains may pray according to their conscience.
Click on the blue "Take Action" button in this e-mail to be automatically logged in to our Action Center where you may contact your senators.
----- 11 -----
Lack of Quorum Forces Postponement of Judicial Nominees' Vote
Delay in hearing could have catastrophic consequences for some nominated to federal appeals courts.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
September 14, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041976.cfm
The Senate Judiciary Committee was supposed to meet this morning to deal with — among other things — four of the president's recently renominated judicial nominees: William Myers, Randy Smith, William Haynes and Terrence Boyle.
It didn't happen.
Kay Daly, head of the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary, said Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., had to "gavel out" — or cancel — the meeting because not enough senators were present to conduct business.
[...]
Four Republicans — Sens. Jon Kyl of Arizona, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jeff Sessions of Alabama — did not show up.
[...]
Concerned Women for America Chief Counsel Jan LaRue said another meeting was set for next Thursday. She called what happened today "inexcusable."
[...]
TAKE ACTION:
If one of the missing senators is from your state, insist that he or she attend the executive session of the committee next Thursday to vote the well-qualified nominees to the Senate floor.
----- 12 -----
Polls Look Good for Marriage Protection
But family advocates stay it's still important for voters to turn out to support traditional marriage in eight states this November.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
September 14, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041974.cfm
Voters in eight states will weigh in on marriage-protection amendments this November, and while polls indicate wide support for defining marriage as only the union of one man and one woman, backers of gay marriage are making every effort to change the tide.
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
September 14, 2006
New York Officials Face Lawsuits After Recognizing Gay Marriages
Two Westchester County officials are now facing court challenges that claim they overstepped their authority by recognizing same-sex marriages performed outside of New York, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported.
[...]
Brian Raum, an attorney affiliated with the Alliance Defense Fund, is representing four people from Westchester County who filed the suits.
"Marriage has become an extremely emotional issue because certain people are trying to reduce it to nothing more than a benefits system for loving couples," he said. "These officials are clearly defying the law, since New York courts have consistently defined marriage in the state as one man and one woman."
[More at URL]
----- 14 -----
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC)
Deploy your dollars for the family!
Focus on the Family
Online as of 15 September 2006
http://www.family.org/stewardship/opportunities/a0017039.cfm/?CFC=CFCFAM
Are you military or a federal employee? Do you believe in the work of Focus on the Family? Now many of you who serve our country can also defend the family — with one easy pen stroke.
Focus on the Family is an active participant in the Combined Federal Campaign. If you are a federal employee, you can designate Focus on the Family as the charity of your choice during this year’s campaign. Simply write in #2067 on your pledge form.
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
HHS Sued for Grant to Faith Group
Leftist Americans United for Separation of Church and State alleges recipient promotes "fundamentalist Christian agenda."
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
September 14, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041973.cfm
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is facing a lawsuit for granting $97,000 to a faith-based marriage counseling center. The suit claims the Northwest Marriage Institute promotes a "fundamentalist Christian agenda" and shouldn't receive federal dollars.
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
Troubled Schools are Getting Help From Churches
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
September 13, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041960.cfm
After a Dallas church helped a high school combat gang activity and disruptive behavior, dozens of schools asked for the same help.
In this era when liberal legal groups are endlessly suing to keep the church out of public schools, principals in Texas are begging for churches to adopt their schools for the sake of the students. The program is now going national.
[...]
As interest grew, it became clear a structured program was needed. Thus was born the National Church Adopt-a-School Initiative.
"What we did was develop a manual to show other churches how they could adopt a school in their community and turn it around and use it to impact the whole community," Evans said. "Because when a church adopts a school, and the school has kids, and the kids have parents — that's church, school and family — that's the hub of a community.
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
Coalition to Illinois Supreme Court: Release Parental-Notice Law
Pro-family groups in Illinois have joined forces to call on the state Supreme Court to put a parental-notice law into effect.
Focus on the Family
September 13, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041964.cfm
The coalition — which includes Illinois Right to Life, Illinois Citizens for Life, Concerned Women for America, the Thomas More Society and the Illinois Catholic Conference — said the law has been on hold for more than a decade. They want the high court to do whatever it takes to implement the law.
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
Pope Says Reason Points to a Designer
Focus on the Family
September 13, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041961.cfm
Pope Benedict XVI, during an outdoor mass in Germany on Tuesday, said that despite those in the scientific community who support evolution, the attempt to prove God unnecessary in the explanation of the universe is futile, Radio Vaticana reported.
His comments appeared to throw the weight of the Catholic Church behind intelligent design, the theory that some aspects of biology are too complex to be explained by evolution.
[More at URL]
----- 19 -----
More Action on American Values Agenda in Congress
A package of bills designed to address pro-family issues continues to advance.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
September 12, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041949.cfm
The American Values Agenda is steadily moving through the House of Representatives, but it's become a race to the recess.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, bundled 10 pro-family bills into a legislative package in June. Amanda Banks, federal policy analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the House has been working to pass the agenda ever since.
[...]
Hostettler's bill would reform civil-rights laws that enable groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to file so-called Establishment Clause cases against cities and counties and, if it wins, to collect hefty attorneys' fees with tax-payer dollars.
While the suits would continue, the bill would eliminate a provision of the law concerning attorneys' fees.
[...]
In addition to PERA, the American Values Agenda consists of the Pledge Protection Act; the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act; the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act; the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act; the Human Cloning Prohibition Act; Permanent Tax Relief for Families, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATFE) Reform and the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act.
[...]
TAKE ACTION:
Contact your representative and ask him or her to support and cosponsor the American Values Agenda bills. Especially ask for support of the upcoming vote on PERA.
For help in contacting your lawmakers, please see the CitizenLink Action Center.
[More at URL]
----- 20 -----
New York Officials Attempt to Redefine Marriage by Fiat
Pro-family legal group to challenge grants of benefits.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
September 12, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041947.cfm
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is helping New York taxpayers stop two state officials from going beyond their authority by extending benefits to out-of-state and foreign homosexual couples.
New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi and Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano have been effectively redefining marriage. Hevesi extended retirement benefits intended for spouses to out-of-state homosexual couples. Spano issued an executive order giving gays from Canada all the benefits of married couples in New York.
[...]
Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, applauded ADF for heading off the efforts to bring about gay marriage.
"There will always be those bureaucrats who are friendly to the gay agenda," he said, "who will try to accomplish what they can't do legally or formally through the state Legislature."
[More at URL]
----- 21 -----
Policy Education OK for Churches
Voter-registration drives are just one thing houses of worship are allowed to do with Election Day approaching.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
September 11, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041932.cfm
Churches that take seriously the need to get involved in public-policy information campaigns make a difference on Election Day, but they need to keep a few rules in mind.
Randy Wilson, a pastor at Mountain Springs Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., considers it one of his duties to equip church members to make their voices heard.
"We are going to have a voter-registration drive the middle of this month," he told Family News in Focus. "If we stay informed, we can better keep our leaders in line and in tune with what we feel is best for our country."
Churches like Wilson's will play a significant role in getting eight states, including Colorado, to pass marriage-protection amendments this fall. Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel for the Liberty Legal Institute, said when it comes to involvement, there are a couple of things churches need to keep in mind.
[More at URL]
----- 22 -----
Rhode Island Senator Blocking Bolton Nomination
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM
September 11, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041937.cfm
Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-RI, is blocking the confirmation of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations —and your help is needed to urge Chafee to let it through.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee was scheduled to discuss, and vote on, the nomination last Thursday, but that plan was postponed after Chafee said he intended to oppose Bolton, who has already served in the position for a year since receiving an appointment from President Bush during Congress' recess.
[...]
TAKE ACTION
Please take a moment to contact Sen. Chafee and ask him to please confirm Ambassador Bolton.
Phone: 202-224-2921
----- 23 -----
Rosie Says Radical Christianity is like Radical Islam
Faith and Family Network
Friday, September 15, 2006
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/09/rosie-says-radical-christianity-is.html
Rosie O’Donnell shocked viewers and some of her colleagues on Barbara Walter’s show “The View” this past Tuesday by describing radical Christian and radical Islamists as the same.
She said, “Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America where we have separation of church and state.”
[...]
Had Rosie (a gay activist) or someone else made similar comments about minorities, homosexuals, or some other religion, there would have been outrage, apologies by Walters and ABC, and would have probably resulted in her being fired.
[...]
This next Tuesday, in Washington State, is a great opportunity to create change. Please participate.
[More at URL]
----- 24 -----
Religion in the Public Square
Faith and Freedom Network
Thursday, September 14, 2006
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/09/religion-in-public-square.html
The American Legion, a national veteran's group which has been around since World War I, has thrown its support behind PERA (Public Expression of Religion Act) which will be coming up for a vote in Congress within the next week or so.
Joe March, national spokesman for the American Legion, said their organization is calling on all members of Congress to make sure the bill gets a vote right away.
[...]
Please contact your Representative today. Click here to find contact information.
Ask them to support the Public Expression of Religion Act (PERA) H.R. 2679 and ask them to call of House leadership for a vote.
Also, please ask the two Senators from your state to co-sponsor Senator Sam Brownback's companion bill to PERA, S. 3696. Click here to find contact information.
This is extremely important. Thank you for acting.
[More at URL]
But now, the news:
Decency wins out in the case of a Wiccan soldier's memorial plaque - the state pulls a technicality and takes the decision out of the Dept. of Veterans' Affairs hands. The soldier, Sgt. Patrick Stewart, was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan;
Operation Rescue West's 2004 candidate endorsements costs it its tax-exempt status - finally;
Focus on the Family extremely cranky about the Prison Fellowship being forced to repay Iowa - they'd been being paid by the state to convert prisoners to fundamentalist Christianity, for which the prisoners got special treatment and other similar advantages;
FotF: Jim DeMint (R-SC) promises to put a hold on FDA nominee Andrew von Eschenbach unless RU-486 is pulled from the market;
Sens. Brownback and Lieberman co-sponsor a bill to study the effects "of TV, movies, the Internet, video games and cell phones on children's mental and social development";
Illinois will _not_ be facing an anti-marriage initiative on the ballot this fall;
Focus on the Family says "families win one" by getting changes in Maryland's Montgomery County sex education video;
Focus on the Family demands Senator Harry Reed (D-NV) stop bothering with polygamy and start attacking same-sex marriage;
I don't actually know much of anything about this; the FDA is talking about revisions in emergency use of non-approved drugs in certain circumstances; I haven't read the FDA's version of the story yet, but Focus on the Family is quite clear in its condemnation;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to back amendment to Defense Authorisation Bill essentially allowing chaplain proselytization in the military; it's a reaction to changes in military code following religious harassment at the Air Force Academy, which Focus on the Family has extensively defended; an alternative amendment would require chaplains to be sensitive to other faiths, they call that a first amendment violation;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to demand immediate confirmation of all Bush judicial nominees;
Focus on the Family: polls say eight states will pass anti-marriage amendments this fall;
Alliance Defense Fund suing New York State officials who ruled that out-of-state same-sex marriages should be recogised in New York State; their decisions were overturned, as regular readers know, but the ADF is going for the intimidation factor;
Focus on the Family asks Federal employees to give them money via the Combined Federal Campaign;
Americans United for Separation of Church and State sues federal Health and Human Services over grants to a "faith-based" marriage counseling centre;
Focus on the Family promotes "National Church Adopt-A-School," where churches "adopt" public schools to provide "mentoring, tutoring, and family support services";
This is a weird one; collection of fundamentalist groups demand that the Illinois state supreme court do "whatever it takes" to implement a parental notification law that was enjoined by a Federal court;
Focus on the Family claims Pope Benedict has endorsed Intelligent Design creationism;
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to support a bundle of bills in Congress, the most important (to them) of which is PERA, which would exempt religious establishment case winners from collecting court costs from the losing side; the intent is to make it much harder to sue in government religious discrimination cases;
Focus on the Family: New York domestic-partner benefits "redefine marriage by fiat"; Alliance Defense Fund is suing, Focus on the Family applauds;
Focus on the Family: Church activism vital in fighting marriage rights for GBLT people; any church not active in politics is "not fulfilling their proper biblical role";
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to demand permanent confirmation of John Bolton as US ambassador to the United Nations;
Faith and Family Network blasts Rosie O'Donnell criticism of American fundamentalists as being akin to Muslim fundamentalists;
Faith and Freedom Network ACTION ITEM to demand immediate passage of PERA, described above, intended to make it harder to sue against religious discrimination.
----- 1 -----
State says Nevada soldier's plaque can include Wiccan symbol
September 13, 2006
By SCOTT SONNER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/sep/13/091310252.html
RENO, Nev. (AP) - The widow of a Nevada soldier killed in Afghanistan a year ago won state approval Wednesday to place a Wiccan religious symbol on his memorial plaque, something the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has refused to do.
"I'm just in shock," Roberta Stewart said from her home in Fernley, about 30 miles east of Reno.
"I'm honored and ecstatic. I've been waiting a year for this," she told The Associated Press.
Sgt. Patrick Stewart, 34, was killed in Afghanistan last Sept. 25 when the Nevada Army National Guard helicopter he was in was shot down. He was a follower of the Wiccan religion, which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs does not recognize and therefore prohibits on veterans' headstones in national cemeteries.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Anti-abortion group loses tax status
Associated Press
Long URL elided
WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service has revoked the tax-exempt status of the anti-abortion organization Operation Rescue West for prohibited political activity during the 2004 election.
[...]
The laws that permit some organizations to organize as tax-exempt entities also bar them from participating in or intervening in elections, including advocating for or against any candidate.
The IRS revoked the group's tax-exempt status last week, and it was reported Friday by The New York Times.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Faith-Based Prison Group to Appeal Judge's Order to Shut Down
Focus on the Family
September 15, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041992.cfm
Prison Fellowship and the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) filed an appeal on Wednesday with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A federal judge had ruled that the Iowa faith-based rehabilitation program violates the separation of church and state.
[...]
"Not just for faith-based organizations like Prison Fellowship and IFI, but also for the two million prisoners in America, and even for public safety," he said. "In a time when states are clamoring for help in fighting crime and reducing recidivism, it is the height of folly to shut down a proven, effective rehabilitation program like IFI."
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Pro-Life Legislator Wants FDA to Get Rid of RU-486
Focus on the Family
September 15, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041995.cfm
Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said he will put a hold on the nomination of Andrew von Eschenbach to head the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unless he takes "immediate steps" to remove a dangerous abortion drug from the market, LifeNews reported.
[...]
Wesley Denton, press secretary for DeMint, said it is time for the FDA to protect women.
"Senator DeMint believes that a qualified FDA nominee would publicly discourage RU-486s use and take immediate steps to remove it from the market," he said. "We've reached a breaking point here, and the senator's not going to budge until they wake up over at FDA."
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Senate Passes Media Impact Study Bill
Focus on the Family
September 15, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041994.cfm
Pro-family experts praised the Senate for passing a bill that will fund ongoing research into the effects of TV, movies, the Internet, video games and cell phones on children's mental and social development.
The legislation, which had been awaiting a Senate vote since March, was the brainchild of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn.
Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., a cosponsor, said the Children and Media Research Advancement Act will provide grants to researchers looking at factors such as the format, length of exposure, age of viewers, nature of parental involvement and venue in which children view media.
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
No Marriage Vote for Illinois
September 15, 2006
Focus on the Family
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041993.cfm
A pro-marriage group has decided not to fight last week's decision by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled against the placement of an advisory referendum concerning marriage on the November ballot, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Maryland Parents Win One
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
September 15, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041990.cfm
Group succeeds in balancing sex-education video for public schools with abstinence message.
Maryland parents have succeeded in their efforts to edit a video promoting condoms to public-school students.
Michelle Turner, a spokeswoman for Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, said the first version of the sex-education video promoted condoms and the normalization of homosexuality and degraded ministries that see homosexuality as a sin and a changeable lifestyle.
"The committee that wrote the curriculum," she said, "refused to allow any materials or information related to ex-gays or those who had once been practicing homosexuals."
Turner took the curriculum to court, alleging viewpoint discrimination, and won. As a result, the film has a very clear message about abstinence: "Abstinence from sex is the only way to prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Condom use may decrease but does not eliminate the risk of unwanted pregnancy or contracting sexually transmitted infections."
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Democrat Leader Calls for Polygamy Crackdown
Focus on the Family
from staff reports
September 15, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041991.cfm
Family advocates say Sen. Harry Reid is ignoring a larger problem, though: the push to legalize same-sex marriage.
The recent arrest of polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs spurred Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid to request a task force to investigate other polygamist activities in Western states.
Jeffs is charged with two felony accounts of rape as an accomplice, and accused of arranging a "spiritual marriage" between an underage girl and an older man.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Proposed FDA Regulation 'Unacceptable,' Bioethicists Warn
Experimental drugs could soon be used without informed consent.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
September 15, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041989.cfm
Should physicians be able to conduct medical experiments on unconscious or dying patients -- without any real oversight? That's the question attorney Rich Ackerman of the Pro-Life Law Center says is at the heart of guidelines the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is contemplating.
The proposal, titled Guidance for Institutional Review Boards, Clinical Investigators, and Sponsors: Exception from Informed Consent for Emergency Research, would allow doctors to use experimental drugs and devices on human beings in "emergency situations" without obtaining their consent or the consent of the patient's representative.
Link to FDA summary
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Your Voice Needed to Protect Chaplains' Right to Pray
by Stuart Shepard, managing editor
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM
Received in email 14 September 2006
[Received in email; no URL]
There is an attempt under way to change language in the Defense Authorization Bill that would protect a military chaplains' right to pray according to his or her conscience.
The bill is currently in a conference committee where differences between the versions that passed the House and Senate are being worked out. The House version contains language authored by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., that would allow chaplains to pray according to their faith.
The Hunter language states: "Each Chaplain shall have the prerogative to pray according to the dictates of the chaplain's own conscience, except as must be limited by military necessity, with any such limitation being imposed in the least restrictive manner feasible."
However, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., and others are pushing for alternative language that reads, in part:
"In situations other than theological services or sectarian ceremonies when a prayer is offered, the policy shall require chaplains to be sensitive to and respect the diversity of faiths represented."
Amanda Banks, federal policy analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the alternative language would clearly violate the First Amendment rights of chaplains.
"The alternate language seeks to establish a right not to be offended, rather than protecting freedom of speech," she said. "It rejects religious liberty and would likely prevent a chaplain from praying 'in Jesus' name' outside of a church service."
She said chaplains must have the freedom to pray according to their conscience.
Take Action:
Call Sen. John Warner at (202) 224-2023 and your two U.S. senators. Ask them to ensure the Hunter language is adopted in the Defense Authorization Bill so chaplains may pray according to their conscience.
Click on the blue "Take Action" button in this e-mail to be automatically logged in to our Action Center where you may contact your senators.
----- 11 -----
Lack of Quorum Forces Postponement of Judicial Nominees' Vote
Delay in hearing could have catastrophic consequences for some nominated to federal appeals courts.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
September 14, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041976.cfm
The Senate Judiciary Committee was supposed to meet this morning to deal with — among other things — four of the president's recently renominated judicial nominees: William Myers, Randy Smith, William Haynes and Terrence Boyle.
It didn't happen.
Kay Daly, head of the Coalition for a Fair Judiciary, said Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., had to "gavel out" — or cancel — the meeting because not enough senators were present to conduct business.
[...]
Four Republicans — Sens. Jon Kyl of Arizona, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jeff Sessions of Alabama — did not show up.
[...]
Concerned Women for America Chief Counsel Jan LaRue said another meeting was set for next Thursday. She called what happened today "inexcusable."
[...]
TAKE ACTION:
If one of the missing senators is from your state, insist that he or she attend the executive session of the committee next Thursday to vote the well-qualified nominees to the Senate floor.
----- 12 -----
Polls Look Good for Marriage Protection
But family advocates stay it's still important for voters to turn out to support traditional marriage in eight states this November.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
September 14, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041974.cfm
Voters in eight states will weigh in on marriage-protection amendments this November, and while polls indicate wide support for defining marriage as only the union of one man and one woman, backers of gay marriage are making every effort to change the tide.
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
September 14, 2006
New York Officials Face Lawsuits After Recognizing Gay Marriages
Two Westchester County officials are now facing court challenges that claim they overstepped their authority by recognizing same-sex marriages performed outside of New York, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reported.
[...]
Brian Raum, an attorney affiliated with the Alliance Defense Fund, is representing four people from Westchester County who filed the suits.
"Marriage has become an extremely emotional issue because certain people are trying to reduce it to nothing more than a benefits system for loving couples," he said. "These officials are clearly defying the law, since New York courts have consistently defined marriage in the state as one man and one woman."
[More at URL]
----- 14 -----
Combined Federal Campaign (CFC)
Deploy your dollars for the family!
Focus on the Family
Online as of 15 September 2006
http://www.family.org/stewardship/opportunities/a0017039.cfm/?CFC=CFCFAM
Are you military or a federal employee? Do you believe in the work of Focus on the Family? Now many of you who serve our country can also defend the family — with one easy pen stroke.
Focus on the Family is an active participant in the Combined Federal Campaign. If you are a federal employee, you can designate Focus on the Family as the charity of your choice during this year’s campaign. Simply write in #2067 on your pledge form.
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
HHS Sued for Grant to Faith Group
Leftist Americans United for Separation of Church and State alleges recipient promotes "fundamentalist Christian agenda."
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
September 14, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041973.cfm
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is facing a lawsuit for granting $97,000 to a faith-based marriage counseling center. The suit claims the Northwest Marriage Institute promotes a "fundamentalist Christian agenda" and shouldn't receive federal dollars.
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
Troubled Schools are Getting Help From Churches
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
September 13, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041960.cfm
After a Dallas church helped a high school combat gang activity and disruptive behavior, dozens of schools asked for the same help.
In this era when liberal legal groups are endlessly suing to keep the church out of public schools, principals in Texas are begging for churches to adopt their schools for the sake of the students. The program is now going national.
[...]
As interest grew, it became clear a structured program was needed. Thus was born the National Church Adopt-a-School Initiative.
"What we did was develop a manual to show other churches how they could adopt a school in their community and turn it around and use it to impact the whole community," Evans said. "Because when a church adopts a school, and the school has kids, and the kids have parents — that's church, school and family — that's the hub of a community.
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
Coalition to Illinois Supreme Court: Release Parental-Notice Law
Pro-family groups in Illinois have joined forces to call on the state Supreme Court to put a parental-notice law into effect.
Focus on the Family
September 13, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041964.cfm
The coalition — which includes Illinois Right to Life, Illinois Citizens for Life, Concerned Women for America, the Thomas More Society and the Illinois Catholic Conference — said the law has been on hold for more than a decade. They want the high court to do whatever it takes to implement the law.
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
Pope Says Reason Points to a Designer
Focus on the Family
September 13, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041961.cfm
Pope Benedict XVI, during an outdoor mass in Germany on Tuesday, said that despite those in the scientific community who support evolution, the attempt to prove God unnecessary in the explanation of the universe is futile, Radio Vaticana reported.
His comments appeared to throw the weight of the Catholic Church behind intelligent design, the theory that some aspects of biology are too complex to be explained by evolution.
[More at URL]
----- 19 -----
More Action on American Values Agenda in Congress
A package of bills designed to address pro-family issues continues to advance.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
September 12, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041949.cfm
The American Values Agenda is steadily moving through the House of Representatives, but it's become a race to the recess.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, bundled 10 pro-family bills into a legislative package in June. Amanda Banks, federal policy analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the House has been working to pass the agenda ever since.
[...]
Hostettler's bill would reform civil-rights laws that enable groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to file so-called Establishment Clause cases against cities and counties and, if it wins, to collect hefty attorneys' fees with tax-payer dollars.
While the suits would continue, the bill would eliminate a provision of the law concerning attorneys' fees.
[...]
In addition to PERA, the American Values Agenda consists of the Pledge Protection Act; the Freedom to Display the American Flag Act; the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act; the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act; the Human Cloning Prohibition Act; Permanent Tax Relief for Families, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATFE) Reform and the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act.
[...]
TAKE ACTION:
Contact your representative and ask him or her to support and cosponsor the American Values Agenda bills. Especially ask for support of the upcoming vote on PERA.
For help in contacting your lawmakers, please see the CitizenLink Action Center.
[More at URL]
----- 20 -----
New York Officials Attempt to Redefine Marriage by Fiat
Pro-family legal group to challenge grants of benefits.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
September 12, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041947.cfm
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) is helping New York taxpayers stop two state officials from going beyond their authority by extending benefits to out-of-state and foreign homosexual couples.
New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi and Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano have been effectively redefining marriage. Hevesi extended retirement benefits intended for spouses to out-of-state homosexual couples. Spano issued an executive order giving gays from Canada all the benefits of married couples in New York.
[...]
Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, applauded ADF for heading off the efforts to bring about gay marriage.
"There will always be those bureaucrats who are friendly to the gay agenda," he said, "who will try to accomplish what they can't do legally or formally through the state Legislature."
[More at URL]
----- 21 -----
Policy Education OK for Churches
Voter-registration drives are just one thing houses of worship are allowed to do with Election Day approaching.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
September 11, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041932.cfm
Churches that take seriously the need to get involved in public-policy information campaigns make a difference on Election Day, but they need to keep a few rules in mind.
Randy Wilson, a pastor at Mountain Springs Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., considers it one of his duties to equip church members to make their voices heard.
"We are going to have a voter-registration drive the middle of this month," he told Family News in Focus. "If we stay informed, we can better keep our leaders in line and in tune with what we feel is best for our country."
Churches like Wilson's will play a significant role in getting eight states, including Colorado, to pass marriage-protection amendments this fall. Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel for the Liberty Legal Institute, said when it comes to involvement, there are a couple of things churches need to keep in mind.
[More at URL]
----- 22 -----
Rhode Island Senator Blocking Bolton Nomination
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM
September 11, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041937.cfm
Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-RI, is blocking the confirmation of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations —and your help is needed to urge Chafee to let it through.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee was scheduled to discuss, and vote on, the nomination last Thursday, but that plan was postponed after Chafee said he intended to oppose Bolton, who has already served in the position for a year since receiving an appointment from President Bush during Congress' recess.
[...]
TAKE ACTION
Please take a moment to contact Sen. Chafee and ask him to please confirm Ambassador Bolton.
Phone: 202-224-2921
----- 23 -----
Rosie Says Radical Christianity is like Radical Islam
Faith and Family Network
Friday, September 15, 2006
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/09/rosie-says-radical-christianity-is.html
Rosie O’Donnell shocked viewers and some of her colleagues on Barbara Walter’s show “The View” this past Tuesday by describing radical Christian and radical Islamists as the same.
She said, “Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America where we have separation of church and state.”
[...]
Had Rosie (a gay activist) or someone else made similar comments about minorities, homosexuals, or some other religion, there would have been outrage, apologies by Walters and ABC, and would have probably resulted in her being fired.
[...]
This next Tuesday, in Washington State, is a great opportunity to create change. Please participate.
[More at URL]
----- 24 -----
Religion in the Public Square
Faith and Freedom Network
Thursday, September 14, 2006
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/09/religion-in-public-square.html
The American Legion, a national veteran's group which has been around since World War I, has thrown its support behind PERA (Public Expression of Religion Act) which will be coming up for a vote in Congress within the next week or so.
Joe March, national spokesman for the American Legion, said their organization is calling on all members of Congress to make sure the bill gets a vote right away.
[...]
Please contact your Representative today. Click here to find contact information.
Ask them to support the Public Expression of Religion Act (PERA) H.R. 2679 and ask them to call of House leadership for a vote.
Also, please ask the two Senators from your state to co-sponsor Senator Sam Brownback's companion bill to PERA, S. 3696. Click here to find contact information.
This is extremely important. Thank you for acting.
[More at URL]
