Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Oct. 2nd, 2006 10:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdThe best part of today's Cultural Warfare Update is Focus on the Family's utter silence on the Foley scandal. Same with the American Family Association. The Traditional Values Coalition is still headlining Bill Clinton. Meanwhile, the Family Research Council does, but blames, um, gay marriage. Just sayin'. Of course, you can always count on Concerned Women for America to take the opportunity to say that queers == pedophiles, and sure enough, they do.
But now, today's news:
Focus on the Family complains about pr0n in the military;
Family Research Council and blames the whole Foley scandal on tolerance and marriage rights for lesbian and gay people;
American Family Association says the Democrats actually did something - specifically blocked an anti-abortion bill; are they actually alleging the Democrats managed to achieve something? I'm aghast;
The creationist Discovery Institute claims that the media is pushing embryonic stem-cell research;
AFA condemns the ACLU for opposing PERA, the bill that would make it dramatically more difficult to oppose governmental religious discrimination in the courts - see earlier CWUs for many, many details;
Alliance Defense Fund refreshes its demand for passage of anti-marriage Federal amendment, saying how vital it is;
Okay, so there's this whole thing going on in several states about having public schools teach "about the Bible" rather than "about Christianity" in an attempt to dodge the whole government-funding-religious-instruction thing. There were some indications that it could be done sanely, and there's a text for it and such - but this article talks about how the publisher has responded to Southern Baptist Convention complaints about content, making it in alignment with their beliefs;
"The Republican candidate vying to unseat Florida Senator Bill Nelson says the Democratic incumbent claims to be a Christian but has a voting record that is completely contrary to what Christians believe."
Canada Family Action Coalition says GBLT marriage will lead to marriage being illegal;
Faith and Freedom Network: it's vital to replace "secular" judges with religious fundamentalist judges;
Concerned Women for America says they always knew Rep. Foley was gay, and link to a 2003 story by former-CWA wonk Peter LaBarbera (yes, really; he's now President of "Americans for Truth") calling for his outing with the specific intention of keeping him from being an openly gay Republican senator. Then there's seven minutes of Peter LaBarbera guesting back at CWA, saying that paedophilia is a "component of male homosexuality" and wanting to who knew what and when did they know it. Oh, and incidentally, Democrats like perverts and sexual molesters.
----- 1 -----
Porn A Growing Problem in Military
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
October 2, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0042180.cfm
Chaplains report an increasing number of confessions from servicemen and women about addiction.
Pornography is causing a problem in the military, with chaplains overseas and at home reporting that an increasing number of servicemen and women are confessing to their pastors about porn's hold on them.
Father Mark Reilly, a Marine Corps chaplain, recently returned from a tour in Iraq where he heard continual confessions from soldiers addicted to porn.
"People will mail them stuff," he told Family News in Focus, "and the Internet is the biggest source of the spread of this addiction I would say."
The combination of war stress and being away from loved ones is a bad mixture for a porn addiction, he explained, adding that curbing the problem starts at home.
"I have trouble with the fact that you can step into the PX and buy pornography," Reilly said. "I don't think our Post Exchanges need to be in the business of peddling porn."
Congress enacted the Military Honor and Decency Act in 1996 to ban the sale of sexually explicit magazines and videos at military stores. Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, said the law isn't being enforced.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
FRC Statement on Mark Foley
October 2, 2006 - Monday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 2, 2006 CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen, (866) FRC-NEWS
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06J01&f=PG03I03
Washington, D.C. - In response to the events surrounding the resignation of Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL), Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
"We are all shocked by this spectacle of aberrant sexual behavior, but we shouldn't be. This is the end result of a society that rejects sexual restraints in the name of diversity. When a 16-year-old boy is not safe from sexual solicitation from an elected representative of the people, we should question the moral direction of our nation. If our children aren't safe in the halls of Congress, where are they safe? Maybe it's time to question: when is tolerance just an excuse for permissiveness?
"Both political parties need to be more serious about protecting children from sexual predators. We need public policy in our country that protects marriage, respects parental authority and aggressively polices boundaries around our children."
[more at URL]
----- 3 -----
Democrats Kill Parental-Rights Bill as Senate Session Adjourns
By Jody Brown
American Family Association
October 2, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/afa/22006e.asp
(AgapePress) - Pro-life groups are lamenting the demise of a piece of legislation they say is supported by 80 percent of Americans -- a bill that would have required a minor girl's parents to be informed before she had an abortion, and that would have punished individuals who transported a minor across state lines for an abortion in order to circumvent parental notification laws in the girl's home state.
Senate Majority Bill Frist did all he could to bring Senate Bill 403 to a vote before that chamber adjourned this session -- but a cloture vote on the Child Custody Protection Act fell three votes short on Friday, falling victim again to Democratic-led efforts to prevent the bill from being sent along to the White House. (See earlier article) Frist had hoped the procedural move would force a vote on a bill that the Senate had passed earlier on a 65-34 vote -- and the House had passed 264-153 -- but his filing of cloture required at least 60 votes. On Friday, he could only muster 57; fifty-one Republicans and six Democrats (see roll call vote).
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Bias Makes Media Overreact to Embryonic Stem Cell Hype, Researcher Claims
By Mary Rettig
September 29, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/9/afa/292006f.asp
(AgapePress) - Wesley Smith, a senior fellow for the Discovery Institute, says the mainstream media continues to trumpet scientific "non-breakthroughs" involving embryonic stem cells while largely ignoring genuine breakthroughs with adult stem cells.
Last week, Dr. Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technologies published a report in the journal Cloning and Stem Cells, reporting that human embryonic stem cells had been used to partially restore vision in blinded rats. However, the Discovery Institute's Wesley Smith says this is not only not a new discovery, but it was previously done in 2004 with the more ethical adult stem cells. "That breakthrough made very little news," he notes.
On the other hand, Smith observes, "if it's embryonic stem cells and it's a breakthrough, the news media picks it up, plays it up big." And the reason for this tendency in the media, he contends, is "because their main agenda in these issues is to undermine President Bush's federal funding policy -- not necessarily report the news."
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
PERA -- Legislation Bringing 'Religious Expression' to the Forefront
By Jody Brown and Bill Fancher
American Family Association
October 2, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/afa/22006c.asp
(AgapePress) - The ACLU calls it an "attack on religious liberty." But a prominent member from the other side of Congress says it's the first step in drying up what some call the ACLU's "cash cow."
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
ADF: Traditional Marriage Defenders Have Momentum, But FMA Still Needed
By Jim Brown
American Family Association
September 29, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/9/afa/292006b.asp
(AgapePress) - The head of a pro-family legal group says the tide is turning in the fight to defend traditional marriage. Conservatives were eight for eight in court decisions to protect marriage this summer, and 20 states have already passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex "marriage." On average, 71 percent of voters in those states supported passing constitutional marriage protection amendments.
Alan Sears, president of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), says the tide has turned, but just for the moment. His group was involved in eight victories for marriage around the United States since the beginning of July; however, Sears contends, "We have to seize this wind of opportunity to proceed, to go farther." With eight states voting on marriage amendments this fall, he asserts, pro-family voters "must turn out. They must make their position known."
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Publisher Responds to Pastor's Gripes About Bible Textbook
By Jody Brown
American Family Association
September 29, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/9/afa/292006c.asp
(AgapePress) - The publisher of a textbook for use in teaching the Bible in public schools says recent criticisms about the book leveled by an official with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) are essentially no longer valid -- because editorial changes to the latest edition of the book address his concerns.
Earlier this week, Rev. Wiley Drake, a Southern California pastor who is also the recently elected second vice president of the SBC, went public with his concerns about the content of The Bible and Its Influence, a student textbook published by the Bible Literacy Project (BLP). The textbook, according to the BLP, is the basis of Bible course work in more than 80 districts in 27 states, and is being reviewed for similar usage next fall by more than 900 educators.
But Drake says he has several problems with the book. Among Drake's criticisms were: an incomplete statement from The Mayflower Compact that referenced God and the Christian faith; an implication that perhaps Adam and Eve may not have received a "fair deal" from God; and an inference that because bad things happen, perhaps God cannot be described as "good."
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Christians Urged to Examine Candidates' Values, Voting Records
By Chad Groening
American Family Association
October 2, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/afa/22006g.asp
(AgapePress) - The Republican candidate vying to unseat Florida Senator Bill Nelson says the Democratic incumbent claims to be a Christian but has a voting record that is completely contrary to what Christians believe.
Katherine Harris, currently in her second term representing Florida's 13th District, is an unabashed born-again Christian who raised eyebrows in the mainstream media this summer when she told a Baptist publication that if Christians are not elected to office, politicians will legislate sin. Harris says because she was speaking with a Christian audience, she was trying to compare her values with those of her opponent.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
How long before marriage is illegal?
The Daily Telegraph - Oct. 2, 2006
By Philip Johnston
Canada Family Action Coalition
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/marriage-illegal.htm
Here is an advert from a local newspaper. "Retired couple wanted to look after large country home while owners abroad. Small salary payable. Married quarters available.''
As of yesterday, the potential employer has committed an offence. Under the new EU age discrimination rules, it is unlawful to restrict a job to older people, or to younger for that matter. However, you may be surprised to learn that, under separate legislation, the final sentence of this advert will also soon be illegal because it implies that the applicants should be married, and could, therefore, be considered discriminatory against homosexuals.
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Washington State Values Voters
The U.S. Supreme Court officially begins a new term today.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Faith and Freedom Network
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/10/washington-state-values-voters.html
Among the several social issues that are sure to be considered by the High Court is abortion. Specifically, partial birth abortion. This is an incredibly important issue to people who vote for life. We will keep you posted on this issue.
The secularists are already expressing concerns that the Court may not rule as they have in the past on this issue because of the addition of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. – both originalists.
While secularist, progressive judges try to legislate from the bench, ruling as they think the law “should” be, originalist judges try, to the best of their ability, to interpret the existing law. They leave “law making” to the elected lawmakers.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
News of Congressman Mark Foley’s Homosexuality No Surprise (7:02)
Concerned Women for America
10/2/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11595/CWA/misc/index.htm
Over the weekend, news broke about Rep. Mark Foley’s (R –Florida) predatory email exchanges with teenage Congressional pages. It took a full news cycle for mainstream news organizations to specify that those pages were teenage boys. While many are in shock, Peter LaBarbera, President of Americans for Truth, says that Congressman Foley’s sexual orientation was no secret in Washington, D.C. LaBarbera uncovered this news for CWA in 2003. (http://www.cultureandfamily.org/articledisplay.asp?id=4008&department=CFI&categoryid=cfreport) While questions remain about whom in Washington might have been guarding Rep. Foley’s secret, there is no question that the Log Cabin Republicans are now actively distancing themselves from him. Click here to listen.
[Highlights from the audio:
Peter LaBarbera: "I wrote a piece about Mark Foley's alleged homosexuality... it was quite an open secret... he was able to skate by... lo and behold three years later he's charged with making these horrible advances, these disgusting advances he's making to teenage boys... they're revolting... my question is, what did the Republican leadership know about this sort of behaviour, and why were they so willing to cover up for him?" LaBarbera describes the Log Cabin Republicans as a "homosexual activist group that's trying to change the Republican party and try to make it a pro-homosexual party, or at least homosexual-neutral on the issue, which would be bad either way..." Claims the Log Cabin Republicans are Stalinists because they took a photo that included LaBarbera off their website.
CWA asks how can we tell that people "we're" voting for aren't "a closet preditor such as Mark Foley" and (therefore) sexual preditors?
LaBarbera hopes there wasn't widespread knowledge of LaBarbera, but that the pages knew about it. "It was widely known that Mark Foley was a homosexual." "Everybody's in the know in corrupt Washington, but their own constituents aren't in the know." "This is the sort of information that needs to get out... they need to know if there's sort of a secret double life, like we now know Bill Clinton had..." Complains that Republicans get ousted in sexual scandals but Democrats don't. Attacks Barney Frank, Gerry Studds (?), "When it comes to these sexual scandals, it helps to be a Democrat living in a liberal area, and you get re-elected." LaBarbera wants Foley to be ex-gay. LaBarbera claims gay men "there is a higher element of this, what the word is, pederasty, which is adult sexual contact or wanting of these adolescent male boys [sic]. We've seen this throughout the world of homosexuality, saw seen it in the Catholic church scandal with the priests, and actually runs in the whole history of homosexuality going back to Greece. So it's not really, it doesn't do anything to deny it and say that this problem isn't there... this is a component of male homosexuality. It doesn't mean every male homosexual adult is doing this sort of behaviour, but there is, I think, a higher preponderance of it compared to the rest of society."
LaBarbera calls for "cleaning up this page system." Wants to know what various people knew and when they knew it. "This is children being victimised, being drawn into homosexual lifestyle, or if it's another lifestyle, whatever, they're being drawn into sexual relationships with adults, and I think American people have the right to know... what are our elected officials doing to protect these vulnerable teenagers?" Promotes website (www.americansfortruth.org).
[More at URL]
But now, today's news:
Focus on the Family complains about pr0n in the military;
Family Research Council and blames the whole Foley scandal on tolerance and marriage rights for lesbian and gay people;
American Family Association says the Democrats actually did something - specifically blocked an anti-abortion bill; are they actually alleging the Democrats managed to achieve something? I'm aghast;
The creationist Discovery Institute claims that the media is pushing embryonic stem-cell research;
AFA condemns the ACLU for opposing PERA, the bill that would make it dramatically more difficult to oppose governmental religious discrimination in the courts - see earlier CWUs for many, many details;
Alliance Defense Fund refreshes its demand for passage of anti-marriage Federal amendment, saying how vital it is;
Okay, so there's this whole thing going on in several states about having public schools teach "about the Bible" rather than "about Christianity" in an attempt to dodge the whole government-funding-religious-instruction thing. There were some indications that it could be done sanely, and there's a text for it and such - but this article talks about how the publisher has responded to Southern Baptist Convention complaints about content, making it in alignment with their beliefs;
"The Republican candidate vying to unseat Florida Senator Bill Nelson says the Democratic incumbent claims to be a Christian but has a voting record that is completely contrary to what Christians believe."
Canada Family Action Coalition says GBLT marriage will lead to marriage being illegal;
Faith and Freedom Network: it's vital to replace "secular" judges with religious fundamentalist judges;
Concerned Women for America says they always knew Rep. Foley was gay, and link to a 2003 story by former-CWA wonk Peter LaBarbera (yes, really; he's now President of "Americans for Truth") calling for his outing with the specific intention of keeping him from being an openly gay Republican senator. Then there's seven minutes of Peter LaBarbera guesting back at CWA, saying that paedophilia is a "component of male homosexuality" and wanting to who knew what and when did they know it. Oh, and incidentally, Democrats like perverts and sexual molesters.
----- 1 -----
Porn A Growing Problem in Military
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
October 2, 2006
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0042180.cfm
Chaplains report an increasing number of confessions from servicemen and women about addiction.
Pornography is causing a problem in the military, with chaplains overseas and at home reporting that an increasing number of servicemen and women are confessing to their pastors about porn's hold on them.
Father Mark Reilly, a Marine Corps chaplain, recently returned from a tour in Iraq where he heard continual confessions from soldiers addicted to porn.
"People will mail them stuff," he told Family News in Focus, "and the Internet is the biggest source of the spread of this addiction I would say."
The combination of war stress and being away from loved ones is a bad mixture for a porn addiction, he explained, adding that curbing the problem starts at home.
"I have trouble with the fact that you can step into the PX and buy pornography," Reilly said. "I don't think our Post Exchanges need to be in the business of peddling porn."
Congress enacted the Military Honor and Decency Act in 1996 to ban the sale of sexually explicit magazines and videos at military stores. Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, said the law isn't being enforced.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
FRC Statement on Mark Foley
October 2, 2006 - Monday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 2, 2006 CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen, (866) FRC-NEWS
http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06J01&f=PG03I03
Washington, D.C. - In response to the events surrounding the resignation of Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL), Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
"We are all shocked by this spectacle of aberrant sexual behavior, but we shouldn't be. This is the end result of a society that rejects sexual restraints in the name of diversity. When a 16-year-old boy is not safe from sexual solicitation from an elected representative of the people, we should question the moral direction of our nation. If our children aren't safe in the halls of Congress, where are they safe? Maybe it's time to question: when is tolerance just an excuse for permissiveness?
"Both political parties need to be more serious about protecting children from sexual predators. We need public policy in our country that protects marriage, respects parental authority and aggressively polices boundaries around our children."
[more at URL]
----- 3 -----
Democrats Kill Parental-Rights Bill as Senate Session Adjourns
By Jody Brown
American Family Association
October 2, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/afa/22006e.asp
(AgapePress) - Pro-life groups are lamenting the demise of a piece of legislation they say is supported by 80 percent of Americans -- a bill that would have required a minor girl's parents to be informed before she had an abortion, and that would have punished individuals who transported a minor across state lines for an abortion in order to circumvent parental notification laws in the girl's home state.
Senate Majority Bill Frist did all he could to bring Senate Bill 403 to a vote before that chamber adjourned this session -- but a cloture vote on the Child Custody Protection Act fell three votes short on Friday, falling victim again to Democratic-led efforts to prevent the bill from being sent along to the White House. (See earlier article) Frist had hoped the procedural move would force a vote on a bill that the Senate had passed earlier on a 65-34 vote -- and the House had passed 264-153 -- but his filing of cloture required at least 60 votes. On Friday, he could only muster 57; fifty-one Republicans and six Democrats (see roll call vote).
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Bias Makes Media Overreact to Embryonic Stem Cell Hype, Researcher Claims
By Mary Rettig
September 29, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/9/afa/292006f.asp
(AgapePress) - Wesley Smith, a senior fellow for the Discovery Institute, says the mainstream media continues to trumpet scientific "non-breakthroughs" involving embryonic stem cells while largely ignoring genuine breakthroughs with adult stem cells.
Last week, Dr. Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technologies published a report in the journal Cloning and Stem Cells, reporting that human embryonic stem cells had been used to partially restore vision in blinded rats. However, the Discovery Institute's Wesley Smith says this is not only not a new discovery, but it was previously done in 2004 with the more ethical adult stem cells. "That breakthrough made very little news," he notes.
On the other hand, Smith observes, "if it's embryonic stem cells and it's a breakthrough, the news media picks it up, plays it up big." And the reason for this tendency in the media, he contends, is "because their main agenda in these issues is to undermine President Bush's federal funding policy -- not necessarily report the news."
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
PERA -- Legislation Bringing 'Religious Expression' to the Forefront
By Jody Brown and Bill Fancher
American Family Association
October 2, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/afa/22006c.asp
(AgapePress) - The ACLU calls it an "attack on religious liberty." But a prominent member from the other side of Congress says it's the first step in drying up what some call the ACLU's "cash cow."
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
ADF: Traditional Marriage Defenders Have Momentum, But FMA Still Needed
By Jim Brown
American Family Association
September 29, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/9/afa/292006b.asp
(AgapePress) - The head of a pro-family legal group says the tide is turning in the fight to defend traditional marriage. Conservatives were eight for eight in court decisions to protect marriage this summer, and 20 states have already passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex "marriage." On average, 71 percent of voters in those states supported passing constitutional marriage protection amendments.
Alan Sears, president of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), says the tide has turned, but just for the moment. His group was involved in eight victories for marriage around the United States since the beginning of July; however, Sears contends, "We have to seize this wind of opportunity to proceed, to go farther." With eight states voting on marriage amendments this fall, he asserts, pro-family voters "must turn out. They must make their position known."
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Publisher Responds to Pastor's Gripes About Bible Textbook
By Jody Brown
American Family Association
September 29, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/9/afa/292006c.asp
(AgapePress) - The publisher of a textbook for use in teaching the Bible in public schools says recent criticisms about the book leveled by an official with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) are essentially no longer valid -- because editorial changes to the latest edition of the book address his concerns.
Earlier this week, Rev. Wiley Drake, a Southern California pastor who is also the recently elected second vice president of the SBC, went public with his concerns about the content of The Bible and Its Influence, a student textbook published by the Bible Literacy Project (BLP). The textbook, according to the BLP, is the basis of Bible course work in more than 80 districts in 27 states, and is being reviewed for similar usage next fall by more than 900 educators.
But Drake says he has several problems with the book. Among Drake's criticisms were: an incomplete statement from The Mayflower Compact that referenced God and the Christian faith; an implication that perhaps Adam and Eve may not have received a "fair deal" from God; and an inference that because bad things happen, perhaps God cannot be described as "good."
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Christians Urged to Examine Candidates' Values, Voting Records
By Chad Groening
American Family Association
October 2, 2006
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/10/afa/22006g.asp
(AgapePress) - The Republican candidate vying to unseat Florida Senator Bill Nelson says the Democratic incumbent claims to be a Christian but has a voting record that is completely contrary to what Christians believe.
Katherine Harris, currently in her second term representing Florida's 13th District, is an unabashed born-again Christian who raised eyebrows in the mainstream media this summer when she told a Baptist publication that if Christians are not elected to office, politicians will legislate sin. Harris says because she was speaking with a Christian audience, she was trying to compare her values with those of her opponent.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
How long before marriage is illegal?
The Daily Telegraph - Oct. 2, 2006
By Philip Johnston
Canada Family Action Coalition
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/marriage-illegal.htm
Here is an advert from a local newspaper. "Retired couple wanted to look after large country home while owners abroad. Small salary payable. Married quarters available.''
As of yesterday, the potential employer has committed an offence. Under the new EU age discrimination rules, it is unlawful to restrict a job to older people, or to younger for that matter. However, you may be surprised to learn that, under separate legislation, the final sentence of this advert will also soon be illegal because it implies that the applicants should be married, and could, therefore, be considered discriminatory against homosexuals.
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Washington State Values Voters
The U.S. Supreme Court officially begins a new term today.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Faith and Freedom Network
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/10/washington-state-values-voters.html
Among the several social issues that are sure to be considered by the High Court is abortion. Specifically, partial birth abortion. This is an incredibly important issue to people who vote for life. We will keep you posted on this issue.
The secularists are already expressing concerns that the Court may not rule as they have in the past on this issue because of the addition of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. – both originalists.
While secularist, progressive judges try to legislate from the bench, ruling as they think the law “should” be, originalist judges try, to the best of their ability, to interpret the existing law. They leave “law making” to the elected lawmakers.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
News of Congressman Mark Foley’s Homosexuality No Surprise (7:02)
Concerned Women for America
10/2/2006
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11595/CWA/misc/index.htm
Over the weekend, news broke about Rep. Mark Foley’s (R –Florida) predatory email exchanges with teenage Congressional pages. It took a full news cycle for mainstream news organizations to specify that those pages were teenage boys. While many are in shock, Peter LaBarbera, President of Americans for Truth, says that Congressman Foley’s sexual orientation was no secret in Washington, D.C. LaBarbera uncovered this news for CWA in 2003. (http://www.cultureandfamily.org/articledisplay.asp?id=4008&department=CFI&categoryid=cfreport) While questions remain about whom in Washington might have been guarding Rep. Foley’s secret, there is no question that the Log Cabin Republicans are now actively distancing themselves from him. Click here to listen.
[Highlights from the audio:
Peter LaBarbera: "I wrote a piece about Mark Foley's alleged homosexuality... it was quite an open secret... he was able to skate by... lo and behold three years later he's charged with making these horrible advances, these disgusting advances he's making to teenage boys... they're revolting... my question is, what did the Republican leadership know about this sort of behaviour, and why were they so willing to cover up for him?" LaBarbera describes the Log Cabin Republicans as a "homosexual activist group that's trying to change the Republican party and try to make it a pro-homosexual party, or at least homosexual-neutral on the issue, which would be bad either way..." Claims the Log Cabin Republicans are Stalinists because they took a photo that included LaBarbera off their website.
CWA asks how can we tell that people "we're" voting for aren't "a closet preditor such as Mark Foley" and (therefore) sexual preditors?
LaBarbera hopes there wasn't widespread knowledge of LaBarbera, but that the pages knew about it. "It was widely known that Mark Foley was a homosexual." "Everybody's in the know in corrupt Washington, but their own constituents aren't in the know." "This is the sort of information that needs to get out... they need to know if there's sort of a secret double life, like we now know Bill Clinton had..." Complains that Republicans get ousted in sexual scandals but Democrats don't. Attacks Barney Frank, Gerry Studds (?), "When it comes to these sexual scandals, it helps to be a Democrat living in a liberal area, and you get re-elected." LaBarbera wants Foley to be ex-gay. LaBarbera claims gay men "there is a higher element of this, what the word is, pederasty, which is adult sexual contact or wanting of these adolescent male boys [sic]. We've seen this throughout the world of homosexuality, saw seen it in the Catholic church scandal with the priests, and actually runs in the whole history of homosexuality going back to Greece. So it's not really, it doesn't do anything to deny it and say that this problem isn't there... this is a component of male homosexuality. It doesn't mean every male homosexual adult is doing this sort of behaviour, but there is, I think, a higher preponderance of it compared to the rest of society."
LaBarbera calls for "cleaning up this page system." Wants to know what various people knew and when they knew it. "This is children being victimised, being drawn into homosexual lifestyle, or if it's another lifestyle, whatever, they're being drawn into sexual relationships with adults, and I think American people have the right to know... what are our elected officials doing to protect these vulnerable teenagers?" Promotes website (www.americansfortruth.org).
[More at URL]
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 12:33 pm (UTC)Wait.... Did I miss something? XP"