Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Jan. 12th, 2007 10:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdThere's more going on than is covered in this CWA, but I wanted to get this one out, since I've been trying to get it going for a few days. Highlights... well, there aren't really highlights to the World's Worst Webcomic, but I try.
And now, today's news:
Focus on the Family's James Dobson responds to the researchers who went vocally public about his lies about their work, asserting that he did no such thing, and implicitly asserting that he knows their research did better than they do; their headline is "Dobson Rebuffs Gay Activists Over Time Article," trying to divert attention away from the researchers' complaints and to queers;
American Family Association/Agape Press demands Congress excise pr0n from the military, blames "behavior as seen in the Abu Ghraib photos" on "lust" and pornography "addictions";
Daily Mail article on Northern Ireland religious protests against GBLT rights; of course, they have the Let's Scare the Str8s photo up;
Muslim taxi drivers at the Minnesota airport system still refusing to carry passengers based on religious dictate about "cooperating in sin";
Focus on the Family applauds Pope complaints that people in Europe aren't having enough children;
FotF complains about judicial nominations again; ACTION ITEM to declare, this time, "fair treatment" of Bush nominees to the courts; note that they've stopped asking for "up or down votes";
FotF: Georgia legislator Melvin Everson introduces comprehensive abortion ban, decreeing that "life begins at conception"; make that a matter of law and you ban the birth control pill, which is, well, the idea in the long run;
New Kansas AG to dismiss the previous AG's special prosecutor in charge of searching medical records to look for anti-abortion charges to bring against clinics providing abortion services;
Vermont legislator to introduce GBLT marriage bill; Focus on the Family, et al., to oppose; state group also favours Federal anti-marriage bill;
How to change a study's result: a pair of researchers report that Plan B's availability has not had an effect on pregnancy or abortion rates, and state that the methodology for determining field effectiveness of the drug is flawed; Focus on the Family changes that to "proof" that Plan B "doesn't work" and should be made prescription-only. Note that this is emergency contraception, not RU-486, the "abortion pill";
FotF ACTION ITEM against H.R.3, the bill moving through Congress now to support stem-cell research generally;
ADF, Focus on the Family defending a nurse reduced from full-time to part-time status at her hospital for refusing to dispense the morning-after birth-control pill (emergency contraception) because of her religious beliefs; see the taxi issue above for comparison purposes;
FotF notes Washington State Senator Ed Murray's plans to introduce reciprocal-benefits and civil unions bills; they point to our very own set of fundamentalist asshats, the Faith and Freedom Network;
South Dakota law requires doctors to tell patients that "abortion... ends a human life" and other anti-abortion rhetoric; there's a lawsuit against it now;
Focus on the Family launches a major ACTION ITEM campaign against a lobbying reform bill; they seem mostly upset with a reporting requirement; I don't know whether they have a point or not, but they're sure working hard to stop it;
FotF story on the anti-Dr. George Tiller, anti-abortion-clinic special prosecutor appointed by previous attourney general; "Morrison said he would fire me because I was not a 'neutral third party.' That's a smoke screen," McKinney said. "Nobody is neutral about aborting late-term babies. A special prosecutor isn't supposed to be neutral, he's supposed to prosecute the defendant";
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM for an amendment striking section 220 of S. 1, the lobbying reform bill; this section would require disclosure of expenditures; see two items above for more on that; Dobson claims the intent of the section's disclosure requirement is "to hide what goes on from the public... and to punish and silence those of us who would talk about what the Congress is doing";
FotF email-only ACTION ITEM to sign a petition against S.1, or to delete section 220;
FotF attacks National Council of Churches is a purely-political front for liberal causes with no good theological backing; oh the irony;
FotF attacks the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Moderate Baptists as liberal front groups;
FotF short article about African Anglicans snubbing American bishop Katherine Schori; notes also a couple of Episcopalian churches moving to African jurisdiction over GBLT issues; does not talk explicitly about the position of the African Anglican bishop in particular that GBLT people should be illegal, probably because they don't like saying that in those terms, even though that's what they're talking about when they go on about the need to overturn Lawrence v. Texas (2003), which said you couldn't do that anymore;
Faith and Freedom Network campaigns against DP benefits in any form - Ed Murray has a bill in to provide DP benefits for health and hospitalisation purposes - and also against Ed Murray's DOA marriage bill; the DP benefits bill allows old heterosexual unmarried couples to register as well;
FFN news item against GBLT marriage rights, saying God requires opposition ("God requires that we stand up for what matters," which is to say, keeping queers furtive and miserable;
American Family Association ACTION ITEM against Senate Bill 1, specifically section 220, which reportedly requires disclosure of lobbying efforts;
AFA takes credit for Ford Motor's financial troubles, attacks Ford for advertising on TV shows with any GBLT content at all, most recently an episode of Cold Case on CBS; includes ACTION ITEM against Ford Motor and all Ford-related brand dealerships;
American Family Association condemns Sears for advertising on LOGO, a GBLT-themed cable TV channel; includes ACTION ITEM to cease all advertising on LOGO;
AFA/Agape Press news roundup includes all sorts of fun, including allegations that former President Jimmy "Camp David Peace Accords" Carter is anti-semitic for opposing Israeli policy towards the West Bank and Gaza;
AFA pushes support for Georgia blanket abortion ban which also defines "life" as starting at conception - which would ban most forms of hormonal birth control, as well;
Concerned Women for America ACTION ITEM against S. 1, the lobbying reform bill, in its current form; they want it amended to strike the disclosure requirements they oppose;
CWA's Matt Barber condemns any attempt to revisit the military's gay and lesbian service ban; I think they're getting defensive about all the men representing Concerned Women for America - the refer to him as "one of the 'like-minded men' with Concerned Women for America" who "serves as CWA's Policy Director for Cultural Issues";
Concerned Women for America does not understand Japan; result: hilarity;
CWA sends out their "talking points" on "amniotic stem cell research."
----- 1 -----
Dobson Rebuffs Gay Activists Over Time Article
Allegation that the child development expert 'cherry-picked' research is preposterous.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
01-09-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003582.cfm
America's foremost radio advocate for children has fired back against allegations he misused research when he wrote an article in a December issue of Time on the topic of children raised in "alternative" homes.
In his January newsletter to constituents, Focus on the Family Chairman Dr. James Dobson said the criticism he's taken for the piece is because "the views expressed in this article run counter to everything our liberal, politically correct culture holds dear."
[...]
One homosexual activist took it upon himself to convince some of the scientists whose research Dobson referenced to complain.
One of those researchers, Dr. Kyle Pruett of Yale Medical School, wrote Time to complain Dobson had "cherry-picked" -- or used quotes out of context -- when he quoted from Pruett's book, Fatherneed: Why Father Care is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child. Pruett went so far as to demand that Dobson stop referring to this work.
Dobson was stunned at the allegation.
"Something is strange here," he wrote in his newsletter. "Doesn’t the title (of Pruett's book) itself proclaim the significance of fathering in the well-being of children? Of course it does. The phrase that Dr. Pruett said I 'cherry-picked' was this: 'fathers do not mother.' Incidentally, that is the title of the first chapter of his book!"
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Military Porn Addictions Growing
WDC MEDIA NEWS
Christian News and Media Agency
Originally from Agape Press/American Family Association
5 January 2007
http://www.wdcmedia.com/newsArticle.php?ID=2583
(AgapePress) - An increasing number of servicemen and women are confessing to pornography addictions and most government-run military base and post exchanges are only adding to the problem by selling it.
In 1996, Congress enacted the Military Honor and Decency Act, which bans military stores from selling sexually explicit material, but according to Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, the act is not being enforced.
"Congress is going to have to take a look at this," Donnelly said. "Certainly the Pentagon is going to have to enforce those rules. It's a matter of good order and discipline and not just a matter of religion or free speech. It's a matter that the military itself needs to be concerned about."
[...]
Reilly said it's the combination of war stress and being away from loved ones that ignite the lust for pornography. Lust turns to addiction and addiction results in imitative behavior as seen in the Abu Ghraib photos -- made for and by porn addicts.
In The New Republic, Rochelle Gurstein described the Abu Ghraib photos as ones that "speak to the coercive and brutalizing nature of the pornographic imaginations so prevalent in our world today."
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Schools 'will have to promote gay rights'
Last updated at 22:00pm on 9th January 2007
Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=427709&in_page_id=1770
New gay rights laws will force schools to teach homosexual equality, one of the country's most respected judges warned yesterday.
Teachers who tell pupils homosexual sex is wrong will be guilty of breaking the law, former Lord Chancellor Lord Mackay of Clashfern said.
Lord Mackay claimed the Sexual Orientation Regulations mean schools could no longer instruct children in "the importance of marriage for family life" - one of the key platforms of current sex education.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
New in America: Not Muslim, No Taxi
By YOUSSEF IBRAHIM
The New York Sun
January 8, 2007
http://www.nysun.com/article/46220?page_no=1
Islamic taxi drivers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are refusing passengers carrying alcohol and blind folks with seeing-eye dogs because the animals' saliva is sacrilege according to Sharia law.
The enterprising Muslims during the past year have stranded 100 passengers a month, sometimes for more than an hour, according to the Metropolitan Airports Commission, since three-fourths of the 900 taxi drivers servicing the airport are Somali Muslims who have decided to participate in the new discipline.
To make matters worse, a local outreach director of the ever-obliging Council on American-Islamic Relations, Damon Drake, dismissed the issue, saying, "Now that the Muslims are here, they need to be accommodated."
The issue originated 12 months ago when the airports commission received a fatwa, or religious edict, from the Minnesota chapter of the Muslim American Society. It stated that "Islamic jurisprudence" prohibits taxi drivers to carry passengers with alcohol "because it involves cooperating in sin."
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Pope Decries Low Birth Rates
Benedict says lack of children being born in Europe indicates many couples no longer want kids.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
01-09-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003580.cfm
Pro-family groups are applauding Pope Benedict XVI for recent comments on the population decline in European countries. In a Vatican speech, he said low birth-rates in Europe indicate that many couples no longer want children.
On average, European countries like Italy and Spain have little more than one-child per couple. It takes two- to three-child families to sustain a country’s population. [Ed. note: the demographic average needed, iirc, is 2.1 children.]
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Stalled Judicial Nominees Withdraw
Bush court picks have been blocked for years by Senate liberals.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
01-09-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003581.cfm
Three of President Bush's appeals court nominees -- long stonewalled by Democratic filibusters -- today asked to have their nominations withdrawn, according to The Associated Press.
The trio -- William Haynes, William Myers and Terrence Boyle -- have abandoned their quest for confirmation now that Democrats are the majority party in the Senate.
Another nominee, Mike Wallace, last month asked Bush to withdraw his nomination. Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the withdrawals were sad.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Abortion Ban Introduced in Georgia
Focus on the Family
01-09-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003578.cfm
A Georgia lawmaker today introduced a bill that would protect human life from the moment of conception and outlaw the killing of preborn children.
HB 1, sponsored by Rep. Bobby Franklin and co-sponsored by Rep. Melvin Everson, directly challenges Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
The legislation reads, in part: "Justice Blackmun, writing for the majority in Roe v. Wade … wrote: ‘when those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and the theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer (to the question of when life begins).’
"Now, 30 years later, the General Assembly knows the answer to that difficult question, and that answer is life begins at the moment of conception."
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Kansas AG Plans to Fire Prosecutor Assigned to Abortion Inquiry
Focus on the Family
01-09-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003577.cfm
Paul Morrison, chosen to replace Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline in November’s election, used his swearing-in ceremony to announce his intention to dismiss the special prosecutor in charge of reviewing the records of two abortion clinics under investigation, LifeNews.com reported.
[...]
"There is no doubt about the fact that we’re going to get rid of Mr. McKinney," Morrison said. "I’m going to revoke his powers as special prosecutor because I do not view him as being even remotely independent or remotely objective to view that."
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Vermont to Consider Same-Sex Marriage
Focus on the Family
01-09-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003579.cfm
Vermont state Rep. Mark Larsen plans to introduce this month or next a bill to allow same-sex couples to marry, WCAX-TV reported.
Beth Robinson, president of Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, said the bill is a logical next step in a state that legalized civil unions for homosexual couples more than six years ago.
[...]
"If two people of the same sex want to have a relationship privately, that’s their business," he said. "If they want state sanctioning, that’s everybody’s business -- everybody ought to get to vote on it."
Take It To The People is pushing for a statewide vote on the issue as well as a federal marriage-protection amendment that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman in the U.S. Constitution.
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Study: Plan B Doesn't Work
New study -- from advocates of the morning-after pill -- finds it doesn't live up to its promises.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
1-08-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003572.cfm
The morning-after pill does not reduce the rate of pregnancy or abortion, according to a new study published in the January edition of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Elizabeth Raymond and James Trussell, authors of the study found that increased access to emergency contraception did not decrease the number of unintended pregnancies. According to the authors -- who have been outspoken advocates for the morning-after pill -- predictions of the drug's effectiveness have proven false.
[...]
Based on this study, Earll added, it would be appropriate for the FDA to reconsider and reverse the over-the-counter status of the drug.
"This drug should revert to prescription-only," she said, "and this is the time to do that."
[Editor's note: How to change a study's result: if I've connected the dots correctly, this pair of researchers reported that Plan B's availability has not had an effect on pregnancy or abortion rates, and stated that the methodology for determining field effectiveness of the drug is flawed; they point out that there are serious problems with self-reporting on these kinds of issues, since ECP usage is overwhelmingly in nonclinical environments, and many takers may not have needed birth control at all. This is an entirely valid criticism. Focus on the Family, however, changes that to "proof" that Plan B "doesn't work" - and should be made prescription-only. Note also for political agenda note-taking purposes that this is emergency contraception, not RU-486, the "abortion pill"]
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
White House Calls for Ethical Stem-Cell Research
Report outlines the reasons why science -- and Congress -- should focus on methods that do not destroy embryonic life.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
1-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003597.cfm
The White House Domestic Policy Council is calling on Congress to fund stem-cell research that does not destroy human embryos.
The Domestic Policy Council study cites a report in the January edition of the journal Nature Biotechnology by Dr. Anthony Atala of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University that highlights a discovery amniotic fluid is a plentiful source of stem cells.
"While the research is still developing, Dr. Atala and his team believe that these amniotic stem cells may be fully as flexible as embryonic stem cells, while having other medical advantages," the report states. "They are easier to grow than human embryonic stem cells and they do not form tumors (a problem that has plagued embryonic stem-cell use.)"
[...]
TAKE ACTION/FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact your U.S. representative and ask him or her to oppose any bill that supports research that will destroy human embryos. If you are a CitizenLink Daily Update subscriber, click on the blue "Take Action" button in the e-mail to be automatically logged in to our Action Center. Otherwise, click on this link.
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
Louisiana Nurse to Get Day in Court
Health-care professionals are being punished for not handing out the so-called morning-after pill.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
1-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003596.cfm
A Louisiana nurse demoted after refusing to distribute the "morning-after pill" will go to trial soon.
Attorney Brian Arabie said when his client, Toni Lemly, refused to distribute the drug to clients at the St. Tammany Parish Hospital two years ago because of her religious beliefs, officials took away her full-time status -- allowing her to only work three days a week.
"This case is about protecting a person’s freedom of conscience," Arabie said, "particularly when it’s guided by religious beliefs."
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
Washington Lawmakers Consider 'Marriage-Equality' Bill
Focus on the Family
1-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003595.cfm
A Washington state lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would give same-sex couples the benefits of marriage, the Seattle Times reported.
State Sen. Ed Murray, a Democrat, and four colleagues announced plans to introduce what they've termed a "marriage-equality" bill that would create domestic partnerships for homosexual couples.
"The goal is marriage equality," Murray said. "It's an important statement that our eyes are on the prize, and the prize is marriage."
Gary Randall, president of the Faith and Freedom Network, said his group will work to block the legislation.
[Editor's note: It's interesting that they don't note that Ed Murray is gay. Possibly because they don't like showing GBLT people in positions of elected authority? I don't know.]
----- 14 -----
Court Will Rehear South Dakota Informed-Consent Case
Focus on the Family
1-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003594.cfm
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will again hear a challenge to a South Dakota law that requires physicians to tell abortion-minded women the procedure ends a human life, KELO-TV reported.
Doctors would also have to explain that women who have an abortion may experience psychological problems such as depression.
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Petition Congress, Defend Your Rights
Dobson asks listeners to flood Senate with calls on lobbying-crackdown bill.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
1-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003592.cfm
Focus on the Family Action Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., today called on Americans to contact their senators about a measure he said constitutes "a grave threat" to freedom of speech.
"Democrats and a few Republicans are trying very, very quickly to insulate themselves from the public -- and to do it by muzzling people like us," Dobson said on his Focus on the Family radio broadcast.
S. 1, a lobbying-reform bill, is the first to come to a vote in the new Democrat-controlled Congress. One of its many provisions would require grassroots groups to report directly to the secretary of the Senate and clerk of the House any time they spend money to communicate to their constituents on public-policy issues that are before Congress.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said Section 220 would subject such groups to miles of red tape and greatly increase their costs -- difficulties that could critically hamper their ability to rally constituents to contact their elected officials.
"This should be called the 'Silence the Citizens Act of 2007,' " Perkins said.
The bill is so complex that, even though it appears to exempt churches from its provisions, it might not actually do so.
[...]
TAKE ACTION:
We created an urgent petition for you to sign that is addressed to your senators asking them to ensure the unfair grassroots provisions are removed from S.1.
You may read the text of S. 1, including Section 220, on the Library of Congress Web site. Under "Search Bill text" enter "S. 1" and click "Search."
You may also click here to listen to today's Focus on the Family broadcast online.
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
Kansas Abortion Prosecutor Fired by New Attorney General
Focus on the Family
1-11-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003604.cfm
Newly elected Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison fired a special prosecutor Tuesday who was to investigate late-term abortionist George Tiller.
"You are further ordered to cease and desist any further activity in this matter," Morrison wrote in a letter to McKinney.
Don McKinney had been appointed by former Attorney General Phill Kline, who had made investigating the abortion industry a priority.
According to The Associated Press, McKinney said Morrison was acting to "protect the abortion clinics."
"Morrison said he would fire me because I was not a 'neutral third party.' That's a smoke screen," McKinney said. "Nobody is neutral about aborting late-term babies. A special prosecutor isn't supposed to be neutral, he's supposed to prosecute the defendant."
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
Amendment Offered to Protect Grassroots Lobbying
Fax your senators a prewritten message that you support the amendment to strike Section 220 of S. 1
by Stephen Adams, associate editor
Focus on the Family
1-11-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003607.cfm
A legislative fix was offered today that could kill an onerous measure in the Senate that threatens the right of citizens to influence their lawmakers.
It all depends on how the votes line up next week.
The lobbying-reform bill numbered S. 1 contains a provision -- Section 220 -- that would require grassroots organizations and churches to file federal reports on communications that urge people to speak out on public-policy issues.
Tens of thousands of phone calls, faxes and e-mails in opposition to the provision flooded Senate offices in response to appeals from groups including Focus on the Family Action.
Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, introduced an amendment to strike the provision according to his communications director, Emily Christensen.
An aide to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he is a co-sponsor of the amendment. That’s significant because not only is McConnell now minority leader in the Senate, but he’s also one of the Republican co-sponsors of S. 1.
Focus on the Family Action Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., termed the legislation a “grave threat” to First Amendment rights. Consequently, Focus Action launched its first-ever petition drive on Wednesday to rally opposition to the provision.
[...]
“Clearly, the objective here is to hide what goes on from the public,” Dobson said of the intent of Section 220. “And to punish and silence those of us who would talk about what the Congress is doing.”
[...]
TAKE ACTION:
Let your senators know you support the Bennett amendment. We've prepared a special prewritten fax that you can send for free through the CitizenLink Action Center.
If you are a CitizenLink subscriber, click the blue "Fax Your Senator" button on the right side of the e-mail to be automatically logged in to the Action Center.
Otherwise, click on this link.
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
Senators Hearing the Grassroots Loud and Clear
Focus on the Family
12 January 2007
[Received in email; no URL]
Opposition to a provision in S. 1 that would hinder the free speech of grassroots lobbying groups, such as Focus on the Family Action, has resulted in a tidal wave of faxes, phone calls and petition signatures from voters.
More than 25,000 faxes have been sent to Senate offices through the CitizenLink Action Center. About 65,000 people have signed a petition asking for the objectionable Section 220 to be struck. And insiders on Capitol Hill have described the number of phone calls as a "deluge" and a "flood."
Focus on the Family Action Founder and Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., is scheduled to be a guest on Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes this evening. Dobson will talk about how the provision would tie him up in miles of red tape whenever he tells people about legislation before Congress.
If you have not done so already, we encourage you to send faxes to your senators via the CitizenLink Action Center. The message is prewritten and the service is free. Just click on the blue "Fax Your Senators" button on the right side of this e-mail to be automatically logged in to the Action Center.
Then sign the petition at www.focuspetitions.com . Please share that link with your likeminded friends.
----- 19 -----
Liberal Groups Fuel the National Council of Churches
A study of funding reveals politics, not theology, is the driving force behind the group.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
01-12-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003620.cfm
The financially troubled National Council of Churches (NCC) has sold its biblical roots for money from secular foundations bent on using it to forward a liberal agenda, according to a report by The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD).
John Lomperis and Alan Wisdom, the report's authors, said for decades the NCC was supported by member denominations -- but not anymore.
"What was founded as a body comprised of churches seeking to come together in Christian unity," Wisdom said, "has become a political-action committee that’s not a creature of the churches anymore.
[...]
Dr. Janice Crouse, senior fellow at Concerned Women for America's Beverly LaHaye Institute, offered a strong warning.
"When you cloak all of those cultural concerns and left-wing agenda items with the cloak of religion and with the mainstream churches, then you are giving them a stamp of approval that they should not have," she said. "Most of the religious left is arguing for positions that are not based in the scripture."
[More at URL]
----- 20 -----
Clinton, Carter Support Liberal Baptist Group
Former chief executives side with renegade Southern Baptists for liberal activism.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
01-12-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003617.cfm
Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton are lending support to next year’s gathering of the self-proclaimed Moderate Baptists. Their aim, they say, is to improve the image of Baptists and to broaden the agenda of Baptist churches.
At a recent gathering at Atlanta's Mercer University, Clinton and Carter told the group to seek unity on issues like religious diversity, ecology and racism.
But Russell Moore, dean of the School of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Family News in Focus it's important to keep in mind the former presidents' audience was comprised of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
"The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is a group of disaffected former Southern Baptists," Moore said. "They have no confessional statement. They’re really united around what they don’t believe and what they don’t believe is essentially everything the Southern Baptist Convention does believe."
He said it's nothing new for left-leaning Baptists to have Carter’s endorsement -- he left the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000. But he said it is news for them to have Bill Clinton's voice.
"I cannot believe that a group of self-professing Baptists would welcome as a participant in a convocation a man who vetoed legislation protecting unborn children from partial-birth abortion," Moore said.
[More at URL]
----- 21 -----
African Anglicans Snub Pro-Gay Bishop
Focus on the Family
01-12-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003615.cfm
Leading African bishops in the worldwide Anglican Communion say they will not meet with their counterpart from the American Episcopal Church during a global church summit set to get under way next month in the African nation of Tanzania, according to Reuters.
U.S. Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the head of the American branch of the church, is a prominent backer of same-sex marriage and the consecration of homosexual V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.
One of the African church leaders, Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, has gone so far as to form a pact with congregations in the U.S. wanting to split from the Episcopal Church over the issue.
----- 22 -----
Strategy for Gay Marriage Begins in Washington
Friday, January 12, 2007
Faith and Freedom Network
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2007/01/strategy-for-gay-marriage-begins-in.html
Senator Ed Murray – D, Seattle, said yesterday at a press conference that he and his colleagues would be advancing two bills next week – probably Tuesday. Both bills are designed to move toward gay marriage or what gay activists are calling “marriage equality.”
In fact, Murray told the press it was the first step toward marriage equality. He and other lawmakers pledged to continue pushing for same sex marriage and said they would work incrementally toward that goal and would not go away.
One of their forth coming bills would legalize same-sex marriage. The other is designed to create a domestic partnership registry designed around healthcare and death benefits.
The “domestic partnership” bill is clearly their fall back position in case the same-sex marriage bill fails.
We will do everything we can do to defeat both bills.
The domestic partnership bill will be difficult because it provides benefits for both homosexuals and un-married couples where one is over 62 years old.
[More at URL]
----- 23 -----
Gay Marriage Bill to be Introduced Today in Olympia
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Faith and Freedom Network
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2007/01/gay-marriage-bill-to-be-introduced.html
As we had predicted, a coalition of gay lawmakers in the state House and Senate plan to introduce legislation that would extend the right to marry to gay and lesbian couples in Washington State.
We understand that the basis of the bill they plan to introduce to the press today will essentially be a “domestic partnership” benefits kind of bill.
Senator Ed Murray told the press yesterday that, “The goal is marriage equality. It’s an important statement that our eyes are on the prize, and the prize is marriage.”
That, of course, would be gay marriage.
I spoke to a number of reporters yesterday and was quoted in the Seattle Times as saying, “We feel it is contrary to our biblical and theological beliefs on marriage and morality.” I also said that we feel civil unions, reciprocal benefits and domestic partnerships all introduce a new class of entitlements to an economic system that is already stretched to capacity. They also serve as a gateway or incremental step toward gay marriage.
[...]
Ten years ago, Rev. H.B. London, Vice President for Clergy Outreach at Focus on the Family, and a longtime friend of mine, told the Minnesota Family Council at a convention convened primarily to discuss the issue of marriage, “Whether the odds are for or against us, we must take a stand, and you pastors must lead that stand. It’s not so much that we have to win, but God requires that we stand up for what matters.”
[More at URL]
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Senate Tired of Your E-mails, Phone Calls; Expected to Pass Bill that Will Keep You From Getting Needed Information.
American Family Association
ACTION ALERT
January 11, 2006
http://www.afa.net/senatebill1.htm
Without a doubt, this could be the most important letter I have written you.
The U.S. Senate is poised to pass Senate Bill 1 (Section 220), which would effectively keep AFA and every other pro-family organization in America from providing you information on bills in Congress. Under Senate Bill 1 (Section 220), we would only be able to provide you information on a bill at a high cost and at great danger of being penalized by Congress.
To put it bluntly, members of Congress are tired of getting your e-mails and phone calls, and Senate Bill 1(Section 220) is designed to keep information from you that might inspire you to call or write your senator.
Click Here to read AFA's review of Senate Bill 1 (Section 220).
[More at URL]
----- 25 -----
Ford Sales Drop 13% in December
American Family Association
January 5, 2007
http://www.afa.net/ford010506.htm
Company sponsors another TV scene of homosexuals kissing. View video clip below.
The AFA boycott of Ford Motor Company continues to impact its sales. December sales dropped 13% compared to the same period a year ago.
In December of 2005, Ford agreed to basically follow the path taken by Wal-Mart — remain neutral in the culture war over the homosexual agenda. However, Ford later reneged on that agreement after meeting with a group of homosexual leaders. AFA has continued to ask Ford to take a neutral stance like Wal-Mart, but Ford has consistently refused.
[...]
Ford also continues to sponsor TV programs promoting homosexuality. On a recent episode of Cold Case on CBS, Ford sponsored scenes depicting two homosexuals passionately kissing each other. Click here to view the scene.
Despite the fact that not a single homosexual group has come to the defense of Ford, the company continues to support that agenda.
It appears that Ford is willing to continue its support of the homosexual agenda even if it means going into bankruptcy.
[More at URL]
----- 26 -----
Sears Supports Homosexual TV Network With Advertising
Focus on the Family
December 7, 2006
http://www.afa.net/aa120806.asp
Two-minute infomercials sponsored explicitly by Sears helps keep the homosexual network on the air.
Sears has thrown its support to the LOGO network. LOGO is the 24-hour cable television network dedicated to programming for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders according to a homosexual advertising website. It is carried on many cable systems around the country. Many of you have been forced to accept it as part of your cable package. Sears is now helping to make it mainstream!
Sear's advertising will help LOGO air shows like "Sex 2K Drag Kings," "The Gayest and Greatest of 2006," and "Transgeneration."
Sears advertising (two-minute infomercials) will go to help the fledging network get on firm financial ground. Sears advertising is financing LOGO's push to legalize homosexual marriage in addition to promoting the homosexual lifestyle.
Sears is owned by Kmart Corporation.
Take Action
1. Send an email to Sears asking them to cancel their advertising on LOGO.
2. Call your local Sears store and ask why Sears is supporting the homosexual network with its advertising.
3. Forward this email to your friends and family.
[More at URL]
----- 27 -----
Commentary & News Briefs
January 12, 2007
Compiled by Jody Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/1/afa/122007h.asp
...A leading pro-life advocate contends there's one reason that so many politicians support the destruction of human embryos for "research" -- and that reason is not so that a cure for a disease can be found. Judie Brown, president of American Life League, says despite the fact that adult stem cells have already been used to treat diseases and that stem cells derived from the amniotic fluid of pregnant women have shown promise, proponents of embryonic stem-cell research, or ESCR, continue to push the practice for one reason: money. Brown assets that some members of Congress see the substantial amounts of money that biotech firms are investing in ESCR -- and those lawmakers, she believes, want to see more and more money poured into it as well. "Not because it will ever ultimately result in a cure for a disease," she says, "but because there's big money to be made in manufactured hearts, livers, and other body parts." It is evident to her, she shares, that those members of Congress are "more interested in extending their own lives into immortality than they are in honesty." Brown says it is not surprising that these lawmakers would condone the killing of human beings in the embryonic stage, since they also believe in the killing of unborn children right up until birth -- and, in some cases, during birth. [Rusty Pugh]
[...]
...The head of a pro-Israel ministry says reading Jimmy Carter's new book makes it easy to wonder if the former president is anti-Semitic. The former president's book is called Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which is especially critical of Israeli policy. The book has been attacked from several quarters, including some of Carter's fellow Democrats. In fact, 14 members of the advisory board of the Carter Center have resigned over its contents. The Center is a human-rights organization begun by the former chief executive and his wife. Jan Markell of Olive Tree Ministries says one cannot help but wonder if Mr. Carter is anti-Semitic. "Now I don't know; I'm not going to sit here and judge his spiritual condition," says the ministry leader. "But I would have to say that some of the actions and some of the comments in the book itself definitely make you think that he is anti-Semitic." Markell says she is deeply offended by Carter tying the term "apartheid" to the nation of Israel. She comments that Palestinians are treated better there than in any of the Muslim-controlled countries. [Chad Groening]
[More at URL]
----- 28 -----
Pro-Life Leaders High on Georgia 'Personhood' Bill
It's the Best Approach Yet to Stop Abortion, They Say
By Rusty Pugh and Jody Brown
American Family Association
January 12, 2007
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/1/afa/122007b.asp
(AgapePress) - Nationally prominent pro-life leaders are lending their support to a proposed bill in the Georgia Legislature that would define personhood as beginning at conception. They see the measure as a major step toward the landmark Roe v. Wade decision being overturned.
If passed, House Bill 1 (HB1) would make history, say pro-lifers, because it would answer the question that has been at the crux of the abortion debate for more than 30 years. The measure would establish that every human life begins at the moment of conception, eliminating any gray area that currently exists surrounding the definition of "personhood." Read twice before a committee in the Georgia State House earlier this week, the bill now awaits consideration.
Judie Brown, president of American Life League (ALL), explains the significance of HB1 as it pertains to the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion on demand in America. "When Justice Blackmun wrote [for the majority in] the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, he said that if personhood is ever established, the Supreme Court's decision would fall," she notes. "And a bill like the Georgia bill would make it possible for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in such a way that every single abortion in the United States would end immediately."
In other words, she says, if the bill passes and ultimately makes it to Supreme Court on appeal, it will force the high court to "answer the question they've never answered -- and that is, whether or not the innocent child in the womb is a human being, a person, just like you and me."
Flip Benham with Operation Save America appears as enthusiastic as Brown about the legislation. "[W]ithout a doubt, [this is] the very best bill that any state has brought before its legislative body yet," he says in a press release. "It is truly an all-out declaration that human life begins at conception and therefore is due protection under the color of law."
[More at URL]
----- 29 -----
Lobby Reform Legislation to Be Voted on Next Week
Amelia Wigton
Concerned Women for America
January 12, 2007
http://www.cwalac.org/article_398.shtml
The Senate will soon consider and vote on the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007 (S. 1). While Concerned Women for America (CWA) certainly supports efforts by Congress to reform lobbying practices – in light of recent scandals involving corrupt lobbyists such as Jack Abramoff – this bill unfortunately includes a negative measure that CWA is hopeful will be stripped out by a proposed amendment.
Amendment 20, proposed by Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah) and co-sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), will remove the harmful provisions that could severely impair how grassroots organizations communicate with their constituents regarding legislative matters. Additionally, it will help to reform lobbying issues highlighted by the Abramoff scandal while protecting grassroots organizations who alert their constituents to key events and action needed on Capitol Hill. CWA applauds Senators Bennett and McConnell for respecting the rights of the American people while working to reform lobbying practices.
Last year, the 109th Congress worked on similar legislation that aimed to reform lobbying rules, but lawmakers were unable to pass a final version for the President to sign. The bill in the last Congress contained the same dangerous provisions which would cripple the ability of grassroots organizations like CWA to communicate with our members who count on us to provide them with key information they can get from no other source.
CWA urges the Senate to vote for Amendment 20 when the bill (S. 1) comes up for consideration. Transparency and accountability are vital for D.C. lobbyists, but that’s not what America gets when Congress tries to keep grassroots citizen activists from getting information like this newsflash through groups like CWA that they freely support and rely upon. CWA urges its supporters to call their senators and urge them to vote FOR Amendment 20 when the Senate considers S. 1. The Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121.
----- 30 -----
'Gays' in the Military - a Troop 'Surge' Liberals Support
Concerned Women for America
1/11/2007
By J. Matt Barber
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/12158/CWA/family/index.htm
In the middle of the debate on Iraq, liberals plan a push to lift the military's ban on openly homosexual men and women in the service
Liberals in Washington are very vocal in opposition to the president's planned deployment of additional troops to the Iraqi theatre, but in the culture war on the home front, those same liberals are prepared to enthusiastically push for an "escalation" in troop enlistment by repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and permitting openly homosexual men and women to sign up. (Move over National Guard and Green Berets - make way for the avant-garde and Lavender Berets.)
"The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network," the "Human Rights Campaign," and a host of other powerful and extremely well-funded pro-homosexual activist groups are leading the charge. But it's the new Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-California.), who's sounding the shrill bugle call.
According to the Washington Blade, a top 'gay' publication, Pelosi has signed on to the homosexual lobby's top-ten 'gay' wish-list as a "co-sponsor for all 10 gay- and AIDS-related bills that are languishing in Congress." Of those ten bills, the innocuously titled "Military Readiness Enhancement Act" - which would repeal "don't ask, don't tell" - is a top priority.
Other liberals are weighing in as well. On January 2nd, The New York Times fired off a real opinion piece dud. "Second Thoughts on Gays in the Military" was penned by blast from the past, John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the Clinton administration. Needless to say, Shalikashvili's column sorely missed its target.
In the piece, Shalikashvili opines that "don't ask, don't tell" has outlived its usefulness and that it was only "a useful speed bump that allowed temperatures to cool for a period of time while the culture continued to evolve."
[More at URL]
----- 31 -----
CWA Says American Broadcasters Should Learn from Japanese
Concerned Women for America
1/2/2007
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/12089/MEDIA/misc/index.htm
Washington, D.C. –––Prompted by hundreds of complaints from viewers who were offended by scantily-dressed dancers on a New Year’s Eve program, Japanese broadcasters apologized before the program was even over for their indiscretion. Concerned Women for America (CWA) says that U.S. broadcasters should learn a lesson from the Japanese industry’s quick apology and stop pushing the bounds of decency.
CWA’s Chief Counsel Jan LaRue said, “The quick and contrite apology by the Japanese is a stark contrast to the way American broadcasters have handled viewer complaints. CBS, for example, insulted the public’s intelligence with a phony apology for Janet Jackson’s ‘wardrobe malfunction’ and now argues in court that it did nothing wrong by broadcasting the indecency. The networks are continuing to push the bounds of decency to see how much smut they can get away with.
“This incident proves that average people all around the world do not want to be subject to offensive programming. The Japanese who called in and complained after this show did their country and their families a huge service and they saw immediate results. If only American broadcasters would heed the complaints of their viewers, they might actually provide family-friendly entertainment rather than mere shock value.”
For Information Contact:
Stacey Holliday
(202) 488-7000
media.cwfa.org
----- 32 -----
Talking Points: Amniotic Stem Cell Research
Concerned Women for America
1/10/2007
By Janice Shaw Crouse
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/12150/BLI/life/index.htm
Benefits:
* Provides a source for stem cells without obtaining them from aborted babies or from lab-created-and-destroyed human embryos
* The amniotic fluid (and placenta) contain "multiple progenitor cell types"
* Definitively shows that there is no need to destroy human embryos in order to treat disease or otherwise benefit mankind
* This method of obtaining stem cells is medically effective, proven and promising without violating any ethical standards
* Can be developed in large quantities and do not develop tumors as embryonic stem cells do
* A research line of 100,000 cells would satisfy 99 percent of all research needs
* Provides every type of stem cell needed for therapy and healing without moral concerns
* Does not depend on "live human embryonic experimentation"
* Scientific research proves that the moral choice is also the healthiest and most effective way to find cures
* Medical science can move forward without costing innocent lives
* Real scientific progress does not threaten or manipulate the sources of life
[More at URL]
And now, today's news:
Focus on the Family's James Dobson responds to the researchers who went vocally public about his lies about their work, asserting that he did no such thing, and implicitly asserting that he knows their research did better than they do; their headline is "Dobson Rebuffs Gay Activists Over Time Article," trying to divert attention away from the researchers' complaints and to queers;
American Family Association/Agape Press demands Congress excise pr0n from the military, blames "behavior as seen in the Abu Ghraib photos" on "lust" and pornography "addictions";
Daily Mail article on Northern Ireland religious protests against GBLT rights; of course, they have the Let's Scare the Str8s photo up;
Muslim taxi drivers at the Minnesota airport system still refusing to carry passengers based on religious dictate about "cooperating in sin";
Focus on the Family applauds Pope complaints that people in Europe aren't having enough children;
FotF complains about judicial nominations again; ACTION ITEM to declare, this time, "fair treatment" of Bush nominees to the courts; note that they've stopped asking for "up or down votes";
FotF: Georgia legislator Melvin Everson introduces comprehensive abortion ban, decreeing that "life begins at conception"; make that a matter of law and you ban the birth control pill, which is, well, the idea in the long run;
New Kansas AG to dismiss the previous AG's special prosecutor in charge of searching medical records to look for anti-abortion charges to bring against clinics providing abortion services;
Vermont legislator to introduce GBLT marriage bill; Focus on the Family, et al., to oppose; state group also favours Federal anti-marriage bill;
How to change a study's result: a pair of researchers report that Plan B's availability has not had an effect on pregnancy or abortion rates, and state that the methodology for determining field effectiveness of the drug is flawed; Focus on the Family changes that to "proof" that Plan B "doesn't work" and should be made prescription-only. Note that this is emergency contraception, not RU-486, the "abortion pill";
FotF ACTION ITEM against H.R.3, the bill moving through Congress now to support stem-cell research generally;
ADF, Focus on the Family defending a nurse reduced from full-time to part-time status at her hospital for refusing to dispense the morning-after birth-control pill (emergency contraception) because of her religious beliefs; see the taxi issue above for comparison purposes;
FotF notes Washington State Senator Ed Murray's plans to introduce reciprocal-benefits and civil unions bills; they point to our very own set of fundamentalist asshats, the Faith and Freedom Network;
South Dakota law requires doctors to tell patients that "abortion... ends a human life" and other anti-abortion rhetoric; there's a lawsuit against it now;
Focus on the Family launches a major ACTION ITEM campaign against a lobbying reform bill; they seem mostly upset with a reporting requirement; I don't know whether they have a point or not, but they're sure working hard to stop it;
FotF story on the anti-Dr. George Tiller, anti-abortion-clinic special prosecutor appointed by previous attourney general; "Morrison said he would fire me because I was not a 'neutral third party.' That's a smoke screen," McKinney said. "Nobody is neutral about aborting late-term babies. A special prosecutor isn't supposed to be neutral, he's supposed to prosecute the defendant";
Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM for an amendment striking section 220 of S. 1, the lobbying reform bill; this section would require disclosure of expenditures; see two items above for more on that; Dobson claims the intent of the section's disclosure requirement is "to hide what goes on from the public... and to punish and silence those of us who would talk about what the Congress is doing";
FotF email-only ACTION ITEM to sign a petition against S.1, or to delete section 220;
FotF attacks National Council of Churches is a purely-political front for liberal causes with no good theological backing; oh the irony;
FotF attacks the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Moderate Baptists as liberal front groups;
FotF short article about African Anglicans snubbing American bishop Katherine Schori; notes also a couple of Episcopalian churches moving to African jurisdiction over GBLT issues; does not talk explicitly about the position of the African Anglican bishop in particular that GBLT people should be illegal, probably because they don't like saying that in those terms, even though that's what they're talking about when they go on about the need to overturn Lawrence v. Texas (2003), which said you couldn't do that anymore;
Faith and Freedom Network campaigns against DP benefits in any form - Ed Murray has a bill in to provide DP benefits for health and hospitalisation purposes - and also against Ed Murray's DOA marriage bill; the DP benefits bill allows old heterosexual unmarried couples to register as well;
FFN news item against GBLT marriage rights, saying God requires opposition ("God requires that we stand up for what matters," which is to say, keeping queers furtive and miserable;
American Family Association ACTION ITEM against Senate Bill 1, specifically section 220, which reportedly requires disclosure of lobbying efforts;
AFA takes credit for Ford Motor's financial troubles, attacks Ford for advertising on TV shows with any GBLT content at all, most recently an episode of Cold Case on CBS; includes ACTION ITEM against Ford Motor and all Ford-related brand dealerships;
American Family Association condemns Sears for advertising on LOGO, a GBLT-themed cable TV channel; includes ACTION ITEM to cease all advertising on LOGO;
AFA/Agape Press news roundup includes all sorts of fun, including allegations that former President Jimmy "Camp David Peace Accords" Carter is anti-semitic for opposing Israeli policy towards the West Bank and Gaza;
AFA pushes support for Georgia blanket abortion ban which also defines "life" as starting at conception - which would ban most forms of hormonal birth control, as well;
Concerned Women for America ACTION ITEM against S. 1, the lobbying reform bill, in its current form; they want it amended to strike the disclosure requirements they oppose;
CWA's Matt Barber condemns any attempt to revisit the military's gay and lesbian service ban; I think they're getting defensive about all the men representing Concerned Women for America - the refer to him as "one of the 'like-minded men' with Concerned Women for America" who "serves as CWA's Policy Director for Cultural Issues";
Concerned Women for America does not understand Japan; result: hilarity;
CWA sends out their "talking points" on "amniotic stem cell research."
----- 1 -----
Dobson Rebuffs Gay Activists Over Time Article
Allegation that the child development expert 'cherry-picked' research is preposterous.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
01-09-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003582.cfm
America's foremost radio advocate for children has fired back against allegations he misused research when he wrote an article in a December issue of Time on the topic of children raised in "alternative" homes.
In his January newsletter to constituents, Focus on the Family Chairman Dr. James Dobson said the criticism he's taken for the piece is because "the views expressed in this article run counter to everything our liberal, politically correct culture holds dear."
[...]
One homosexual activist took it upon himself to convince some of the scientists whose research Dobson referenced to complain.
One of those researchers, Dr. Kyle Pruett of Yale Medical School, wrote Time to complain Dobson had "cherry-picked" -- or used quotes out of context -- when he quoted from Pruett's book, Fatherneed: Why Father Care is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child. Pruett went so far as to demand that Dobson stop referring to this work.
Dobson was stunned at the allegation.
"Something is strange here," he wrote in his newsletter. "Doesn’t the title (of Pruett's book) itself proclaim the significance of fathering in the well-being of children? Of course it does. The phrase that Dr. Pruett said I 'cherry-picked' was this: 'fathers do not mother.' Incidentally, that is the title of the first chapter of his book!"
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Military Porn Addictions Growing
WDC MEDIA NEWS
Christian News and Media Agency
Originally from Agape Press/American Family Association
5 January 2007
http://www.wdcmedia.com/newsArticle.php?ID=2583
(AgapePress) - An increasing number of servicemen and women are confessing to pornography addictions and most government-run military base and post exchanges are only adding to the problem by selling it.
In 1996, Congress enacted the Military Honor and Decency Act, which bans military stores from selling sexually explicit material, but according to Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, the act is not being enforced.
"Congress is going to have to take a look at this," Donnelly said. "Certainly the Pentagon is going to have to enforce those rules. It's a matter of good order and discipline and not just a matter of religion or free speech. It's a matter that the military itself needs to be concerned about."
[...]
Reilly said it's the combination of war stress and being away from loved ones that ignite the lust for pornography. Lust turns to addiction and addiction results in imitative behavior as seen in the Abu Ghraib photos -- made for and by porn addicts.
In The New Republic, Rochelle Gurstein described the Abu Ghraib photos as ones that "speak to the coercive and brutalizing nature of the pornographic imaginations so prevalent in our world today."
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Schools 'will have to promote gay rights'
Last updated at 22:00pm on 9th January 2007
Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=427709&in_page_id=1770
New gay rights laws will force schools to teach homosexual equality, one of the country's most respected judges warned yesterday.
Teachers who tell pupils homosexual sex is wrong will be guilty of breaking the law, former Lord Chancellor Lord Mackay of Clashfern said.
Lord Mackay claimed the Sexual Orientation Regulations mean schools could no longer instruct children in "the importance of marriage for family life" - one of the key platforms of current sex education.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
New in America: Not Muslim, No Taxi
By YOUSSEF IBRAHIM
The New York Sun
January 8, 2007
http://www.nysun.com/article/46220?page_no=1
Islamic taxi drivers at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are refusing passengers carrying alcohol and blind folks with seeing-eye dogs because the animals' saliva is sacrilege according to Sharia law.
The enterprising Muslims during the past year have stranded 100 passengers a month, sometimes for more than an hour, according to the Metropolitan Airports Commission, since three-fourths of the 900 taxi drivers servicing the airport are Somali Muslims who have decided to participate in the new discipline.
To make matters worse, a local outreach director of the ever-obliging Council on American-Islamic Relations, Damon Drake, dismissed the issue, saying, "Now that the Muslims are here, they need to be accommodated."
The issue originated 12 months ago when the airports commission received a fatwa, or religious edict, from the Minnesota chapter of the Muslim American Society. It stated that "Islamic jurisprudence" prohibits taxi drivers to carry passengers with alcohol "because it involves cooperating in sin."
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Pope Decries Low Birth Rates
Benedict says lack of children being born in Europe indicates many couples no longer want kids.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
01-09-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003580.cfm
Pro-family groups are applauding Pope Benedict XVI for recent comments on the population decline in European countries. In a Vatican speech, he said low birth-rates in Europe indicate that many couples no longer want children.
On average, European countries like Italy and Spain have little more than one-child per couple. It takes two- to three-child families to sustain a country’s population. [Ed. note: the demographic average needed, iirc, is 2.1 children.]
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Stalled Judicial Nominees Withdraw
Bush court picks have been blocked for years by Senate liberals.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
01-09-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003581.cfm
Three of President Bush's appeals court nominees -- long stonewalled by Democratic filibusters -- today asked to have their nominations withdrawn, according to The Associated Press.
The trio -- William Haynes, William Myers and Terrence Boyle -- have abandoned their quest for confirmation now that Democrats are the majority party in the Senate.
Another nominee, Mike Wallace, last month asked Bush to withdraw his nomination. Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the withdrawals were sad.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Abortion Ban Introduced in Georgia
Focus on the Family
01-09-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003578.cfm
A Georgia lawmaker today introduced a bill that would protect human life from the moment of conception and outlaw the killing of preborn children.
HB 1, sponsored by Rep. Bobby Franklin and co-sponsored by Rep. Melvin Everson, directly challenges Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
The legislation reads, in part: "Justice Blackmun, writing for the majority in Roe v. Wade … wrote: ‘when those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and the theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer (to the question of when life begins).’
"Now, 30 years later, the General Assembly knows the answer to that difficult question, and that answer is life begins at the moment of conception."
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Kansas AG Plans to Fire Prosecutor Assigned to Abortion Inquiry
Focus on the Family
01-09-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003577.cfm
Paul Morrison, chosen to replace Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline in November’s election, used his swearing-in ceremony to announce his intention to dismiss the special prosecutor in charge of reviewing the records of two abortion clinics under investigation, LifeNews.com reported.
[...]
"There is no doubt about the fact that we’re going to get rid of Mr. McKinney," Morrison said. "I’m going to revoke his powers as special prosecutor because I do not view him as being even remotely independent or remotely objective to view that."
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Vermont to Consider Same-Sex Marriage
Focus on the Family
01-09-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003579.cfm
Vermont state Rep. Mark Larsen plans to introduce this month or next a bill to allow same-sex couples to marry, WCAX-TV reported.
Beth Robinson, president of Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force, said the bill is a logical next step in a state that legalized civil unions for homosexual couples more than six years ago.
[...]
"If two people of the same sex want to have a relationship privately, that’s their business," he said. "If they want state sanctioning, that’s everybody’s business -- everybody ought to get to vote on it."
Take It To The People is pushing for a statewide vote on the issue as well as a federal marriage-protection amendment that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman in the U.S. Constitution.
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Study: Plan B Doesn't Work
New study -- from advocates of the morning-after pill -- finds it doesn't live up to its promises.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
1-08-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003572.cfm
The morning-after pill does not reduce the rate of pregnancy or abortion, according to a new study published in the January edition of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Elizabeth Raymond and James Trussell, authors of the study found that increased access to emergency contraception did not decrease the number of unintended pregnancies. According to the authors -- who have been outspoken advocates for the morning-after pill -- predictions of the drug's effectiveness have proven false.
[...]
Based on this study, Earll added, it would be appropriate for the FDA to reconsider and reverse the over-the-counter status of the drug.
"This drug should revert to prescription-only," she said, "and this is the time to do that."
[Editor's note: How to change a study's result: if I've connected the dots correctly, this pair of researchers reported that Plan B's availability has not had an effect on pregnancy or abortion rates, and stated that the methodology for determining field effectiveness of the drug is flawed; they point out that there are serious problems with self-reporting on these kinds of issues, since ECP usage is overwhelmingly in nonclinical environments, and many takers may not have needed birth control at all. This is an entirely valid criticism. Focus on the Family, however, changes that to "proof" that Plan B "doesn't work" - and should be made prescription-only. Note also for political agenda note-taking purposes that this is emergency contraception, not RU-486, the "abortion pill"]
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
White House Calls for Ethical Stem-Cell Research
Report outlines the reasons why science -- and Congress -- should focus on methods that do not destroy embryonic life.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
1-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003597.cfm
The White House Domestic Policy Council is calling on Congress to fund stem-cell research that does not destroy human embryos.
The Domestic Policy Council study cites a report in the January edition of the journal Nature Biotechnology by Dr. Anthony Atala of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University that highlights a discovery amniotic fluid is a plentiful source of stem cells.
"While the research is still developing, Dr. Atala and his team believe that these amniotic stem cells may be fully as flexible as embryonic stem cells, while having other medical advantages," the report states. "They are easier to grow than human embryonic stem cells and they do not form tumors (a problem that has plagued embryonic stem-cell use.)"
[...]
TAKE ACTION/FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact your U.S. representative and ask him or her to oppose any bill that supports research that will destroy human embryos. If you are a CitizenLink Daily Update subscriber, click on the blue "Take Action" button in the e-mail to be automatically logged in to our Action Center. Otherwise, click on this link.
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
Louisiana Nurse to Get Day in Court
Health-care professionals are being punished for not handing out the so-called morning-after pill.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
1-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003596.cfm
A Louisiana nurse demoted after refusing to distribute the "morning-after pill" will go to trial soon.
Attorney Brian Arabie said when his client, Toni Lemly, refused to distribute the drug to clients at the St. Tammany Parish Hospital two years ago because of her religious beliefs, officials took away her full-time status -- allowing her to only work three days a week.
"This case is about protecting a person’s freedom of conscience," Arabie said, "particularly when it’s guided by religious beliefs."
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
Washington Lawmakers Consider 'Marriage-Equality' Bill
Focus on the Family
1-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003595.cfm
A Washington state lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would give same-sex couples the benefits of marriage, the Seattle Times reported.
State Sen. Ed Murray, a Democrat, and four colleagues announced plans to introduce what they've termed a "marriage-equality" bill that would create domestic partnerships for homosexual couples.
"The goal is marriage equality," Murray said. "It's an important statement that our eyes are on the prize, and the prize is marriage."
Gary Randall, president of the Faith and Freedom Network, said his group will work to block the legislation.
[Editor's note: It's interesting that they don't note that Ed Murray is gay. Possibly because they don't like showing GBLT people in positions of elected authority? I don't know.]
----- 14 -----
Court Will Rehear South Dakota Informed-Consent Case
Focus on the Family
1-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003594.cfm
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will again hear a challenge to a South Dakota law that requires physicians to tell abortion-minded women the procedure ends a human life, KELO-TV reported.
Doctors would also have to explain that women who have an abortion may experience psychological problems such as depression.
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Petition Congress, Defend Your Rights
Dobson asks listeners to flood Senate with calls on lobbying-crackdown bill.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
1-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003592.cfm
Focus on the Family Action Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., today called on Americans to contact their senators about a measure he said constitutes "a grave threat" to freedom of speech.
"Democrats and a few Republicans are trying very, very quickly to insulate themselves from the public -- and to do it by muzzling people like us," Dobson said on his Focus on the Family radio broadcast.
S. 1, a lobbying-reform bill, is the first to come to a vote in the new Democrat-controlled Congress. One of its many provisions would require grassroots groups to report directly to the secretary of the Senate and clerk of the House any time they spend money to communicate to their constituents on public-policy issues that are before Congress.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said Section 220 would subject such groups to miles of red tape and greatly increase their costs -- difficulties that could critically hamper their ability to rally constituents to contact their elected officials.
"This should be called the 'Silence the Citizens Act of 2007,' " Perkins said.
The bill is so complex that, even though it appears to exempt churches from its provisions, it might not actually do so.
[...]
TAKE ACTION:
We created an urgent petition for you to sign that is addressed to your senators asking them to ensure the unfair grassroots provisions are removed from S.1.
You may read the text of S. 1, including Section 220, on the Library of Congress Web site. Under "Search Bill text" enter "S. 1" and click "Search."
You may also click here to listen to today's Focus on the Family broadcast online.
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
Kansas Abortion Prosecutor Fired by New Attorney General
Focus on the Family
1-11-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003604.cfm
Newly elected Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison fired a special prosecutor Tuesday who was to investigate late-term abortionist George Tiller.
"You are further ordered to cease and desist any further activity in this matter," Morrison wrote in a letter to McKinney.
Don McKinney had been appointed by former Attorney General Phill Kline, who had made investigating the abortion industry a priority.
According to The Associated Press, McKinney said Morrison was acting to "protect the abortion clinics."
"Morrison said he would fire me because I was not a 'neutral third party.' That's a smoke screen," McKinney said. "Nobody is neutral about aborting late-term babies. A special prosecutor isn't supposed to be neutral, he's supposed to prosecute the defendant."
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
Amendment Offered to Protect Grassroots Lobbying
Fax your senators a prewritten message that you support the amendment to strike Section 220 of S. 1
by Stephen Adams, associate editor
Focus on the Family
1-11-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003607.cfm
A legislative fix was offered today that could kill an onerous measure in the Senate that threatens the right of citizens to influence their lawmakers.
It all depends on how the votes line up next week.
The lobbying-reform bill numbered S. 1 contains a provision -- Section 220 -- that would require grassroots organizations and churches to file federal reports on communications that urge people to speak out on public-policy issues.
Tens of thousands of phone calls, faxes and e-mails in opposition to the provision flooded Senate offices in response to appeals from groups including Focus on the Family Action.
Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, introduced an amendment to strike the provision according to his communications director, Emily Christensen.
An aide to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he is a co-sponsor of the amendment. That’s significant because not only is McConnell now minority leader in the Senate, but he’s also one of the Republican co-sponsors of S. 1.
Focus on the Family Action Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., termed the legislation a “grave threat” to First Amendment rights. Consequently, Focus Action launched its first-ever petition drive on Wednesday to rally opposition to the provision.
[...]
“Clearly, the objective here is to hide what goes on from the public,” Dobson said of the intent of Section 220. “And to punish and silence those of us who would talk about what the Congress is doing.”
[...]
TAKE ACTION:
Let your senators know you support the Bennett amendment. We've prepared a special prewritten fax that you can send for free through the CitizenLink Action Center.
If you are a CitizenLink subscriber, click the blue "Fax Your Senator" button on the right side of the e-mail to be automatically logged in to the Action Center.
Otherwise, click on this link.
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
Senators Hearing the Grassroots Loud and Clear
Focus on the Family
12 January 2007
[Received in email; no URL]
Opposition to a provision in S. 1 that would hinder the free speech of grassroots lobbying groups, such as Focus on the Family Action, has resulted in a tidal wave of faxes, phone calls and petition signatures from voters.
More than 25,000 faxes have been sent to Senate offices through the CitizenLink Action Center. About 65,000 people have signed a petition asking for the objectionable Section 220 to be struck. And insiders on Capitol Hill have described the number of phone calls as a "deluge" and a "flood."
Focus on the Family Action Founder and Chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., is scheduled to be a guest on Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes this evening. Dobson will talk about how the provision would tie him up in miles of red tape whenever he tells people about legislation before Congress.
If you have not done so already, we encourage you to send faxes to your senators via the CitizenLink Action Center. The message is prewritten and the service is free. Just click on the blue "Fax Your Senators" button on the right side of this e-mail to be automatically logged in to the Action Center.
Then sign the petition at www.focuspetitions.com . Please share that link with your likeminded friends.
----- 19 -----
Liberal Groups Fuel the National Council of Churches
A study of funding reveals politics, not theology, is the driving force behind the group.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
01-12-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003620.cfm
The financially troubled National Council of Churches (NCC) has sold its biblical roots for money from secular foundations bent on using it to forward a liberal agenda, according to a report by The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD).
John Lomperis and Alan Wisdom, the report's authors, said for decades the NCC was supported by member denominations -- but not anymore.
"What was founded as a body comprised of churches seeking to come together in Christian unity," Wisdom said, "has become a political-action committee that’s not a creature of the churches anymore.
[...]
Dr. Janice Crouse, senior fellow at Concerned Women for America's Beverly LaHaye Institute, offered a strong warning.
"When you cloak all of those cultural concerns and left-wing agenda items with the cloak of religion and with the mainstream churches, then you are giving them a stamp of approval that they should not have," she said. "Most of the religious left is arguing for positions that are not based in the scripture."
[More at URL]
----- 20 -----
Clinton, Carter Support Liberal Baptist Group
Former chief executives side with renegade Southern Baptists for liberal activism.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
01-12-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003617.cfm
Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton are lending support to next year’s gathering of the self-proclaimed Moderate Baptists. Their aim, they say, is to improve the image of Baptists and to broaden the agenda of Baptist churches.
At a recent gathering at Atlanta's Mercer University, Clinton and Carter told the group to seek unity on issues like religious diversity, ecology and racism.
But Russell Moore, dean of the School of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, told Family News in Focus it's important to keep in mind the former presidents' audience was comprised of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
"The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is a group of disaffected former Southern Baptists," Moore said. "They have no confessional statement. They’re really united around what they don’t believe and what they don’t believe is essentially everything the Southern Baptist Convention does believe."
He said it's nothing new for left-leaning Baptists to have Carter’s endorsement -- he left the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000. But he said it is news for them to have Bill Clinton's voice.
"I cannot believe that a group of self-professing Baptists would welcome as a participant in a convocation a man who vetoed legislation protecting unborn children from partial-birth abortion," Moore said.
[More at URL]
----- 21 -----
African Anglicans Snub Pro-Gay Bishop
Focus on the Family
01-12-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003615.cfm
Leading African bishops in the worldwide Anglican Communion say they will not meet with their counterpart from the American Episcopal Church during a global church summit set to get under way next month in the African nation of Tanzania, according to Reuters.
U.S. Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the head of the American branch of the church, is a prominent backer of same-sex marriage and the consecration of homosexual V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.
One of the African church leaders, Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, has gone so far as to form a pact with congregations in the U.S. wanting to split from the Episcopal Church over the issue.
----- 22 -----
Strategy for Gay Marriage Begins in Washington
Friday, January 12, 2007
Faith and Freedom Network
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2007/01/strategy-for-gay-marriage-begins-in.html
Senator Ed Murray – D, Seattle, said yesterday at a press conference that he and his colleagues would be advancing two bills next week – probably Tuesday. Both bills are designed to move toward gay marriage or what gay activists are calling “marriage equality.”
In fact, Murray told the press it was the first step toward marriage equality. He and other lawmakers pledged to continue pushing for same sex marriage and said they would work incrementally toward that goal and would not go away.
One of their forth coming bills would legalize same-sex marriage. The other is designed to create a domestic partnership registry designed around healthcare and death benefits.
The “domestic partnership” bill is clearly their fall back position in case the same-sex marriage bill fails.
We will do everything we can do to defeat both bills.
The domestic partnership bill will be difficult because it provides benefits for both homosexuals and un-married couples where one is over 62 years old.
[More at URL]
----- 23 -----
Gay Marriage Bill to be Introduced Today in Olympia
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Faith and Freedom Network
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2007/01/gay-marriage-bill-to-be-introduced.html
As we had predicted, a coalition of gay lawmakers in the state House and Senate plan to introduce legislation that would extend the right to marry to gay and lesbian couples in Washington State.
We understand that the basis of the bill they plan to introduce to the press today will essentially be a “domestic partnership” benefits kind of bill.
Senator Ed Murray told the press yesterday that, “The goal is marriage equality. It’s an important statement that our eyes are on the prize, and the prize is marriage.”
That, of course, would be gay marriage.
I spoke to a number of reporters yesterday and was quoted in the Seattle Times as saying, “We feel it is contrary to our biblical and theological beliefs on marriage and morality.” I also said that we feel civil unions, reciprocal benefits and domestic partnerships all introduce a new class of entitlements to an economic system that is already stretched to capacity. They also serve as a gateway or incremental step toward gay marriage.
[...]
Ten years ago, Rev. H.B. London, Vice President for Clergy Outreach at Focus on the Family, and a longtime friend of mine, told the Minnesota Family Council at a convention convened primarily to discuss the issue of marriage, “Whether the odds are for or against us, we must take a stand, and you pastors must lead that stand. It’s not so much that we have to win, but God requires that we stand up for what matters.”
[More at URL]
----- 24 -----
Senate Tired of Your E-mails, Phone Calls; Expected to Pass Bill that Will Keep You From Getting Needed Information.
American Family Association
ACTION ALERT
January 11, 2006
http://www.afa.net/senatebill1.htm
Without a doubt, this could be the most important letter I have written you.
The U.S. Senate is poised to pass Senate Bill 1 (Section 220), which would effectively keep AFA and every other pro-family organization in America from providing you information on bills in Congress. Under Senate Bill 1 (Section 220), we would only be able to provide you information on a bill at a high cost and at great danger of being penalized by Congress.
To put it bluntly, members of Congress are tired of getting your e-mails and phone calls, and Senate Bill 1(Section 220) is designed to keep information from you that might inspire you to call or write your senator.
Click Here to read AFA's review of Senate Bill 1 (Section 220).
[More at URL]
----- 25 -----
Ford Sales Drop 13% in December
American Family Association
January 5, 2007
http://www.afa.net/ford010506.htm
Company sponsors another TV scene of homosexuals kissing. View video clip below.
The AFA boycott of Ford Motor Company continues to impact its sales. December sales dropped 13% compared to the same period a year ago.
In December of 2005, Ford agreed to basically follow the path taken by Wal-Mart — remain neutral in the culture war over the homosexual agenda. However, Ford later reneged on that agreement after meeting with a group of homosexual leaders. AFA has continued to ask Ford to take a neutral stance like Wal-Mart, but Ford has consistently refused.
[...]
Ford also continues to sponsor TV programs promoting homosexuality. On a recent episode of Cold Case on CBS, Ford sponsored scenes depicting two homosexuals passionately kissing each other. Click here to view the scene.
Despite the fact that not a single homosexual group has come to the defense of Ford, the company continues to support that agenda.
It appears that Ford is willing to continue its support of the homosexual agenda even if it means going into bankruptcy.
[More at URL]
----- 26 -----
Sears Supports Homosexual TV Network With Advertising
Focus on the Family
December 7, 2006
http://www.afa.net/aa120806.asp
Two-minute infomercials sponsored explicitly by Sears helps keep the homosexual network on the air.
Sears has thrown its support to the LOGO network. LOGO is the 24-hour cable television network dedicated to programming for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders according to a homosexual advertising website. It is carried on many cable systems around the country. Many of you have been forced to accept it as part of your cable package. Sears is now helping to make it mainstream!
Sear's advertising will help LOGO air shows like "Sex 2K Drag Kings," "The Gayest and Greatest of 2006," and "Transgeneration."
Sears advertising (two-minute infomercials) will go to help the fledging network get on firm financial ground. Sears advertising is financing LOGO's push to legalize homosexual marriage in addition to promoting the homosexual lifestyle.
Sears is owned by Kmart Corporation.
Take Action
1. Send an email to Sears asking them to cancel their advertising on LOGO.
2. Call your local Sears store and ask why Sears is supporting the homosexual network with its advertising.
3. Forward this email to your friends and family.
[More at URL]
----- 27 -----
Commentary & News Briefs
January 12, 2007
Compiled by Jody Brown
American Family Association/Agape Press
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/1/afa/122007h.asp
...A leading pro-life advocate contends there's one reason that so many politicians support the destruction of human embryos for "research" -- and that reason is not so that a cure for a disease can be found. Judie Brown, president of American Life League, says despite the fact that adult stem cells have already been used to treat diseases and that stem cells derived from the amniotic fluid of pregnant women have shown promise, proponents of embryonic stem-cell research, or ESCR, continue to push the practice for one reason: money. Brown assets that some members of Congress see the substantial amounts of money that biotech firms are investing in ESCR -- and those lawmakers, she believes, want to see more and more money poured into it as well. "Not because it will ever ultimately result in a cure for a disease," she says, "but because there's big money to be made in manufactured hearts, livers, and other body parts." It is evident to her, she shares, that those members of Congress are "more interested in extending their own lives into immortality than they are in honesty." Brown says it is not surprising that these lawmakers would condone the killing of human beings in the embryonic stage, since they also believe in the killing of unborn children right up until birth -- and, in some cases, during birth. [Rusty Pugh]
[...]
...The head of a pro-Israel ministry says reading Jimmy Carter's new book makes it easy to wonder if the former president is anti-Semitic. The former president's book is called Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which is especially critical of Israeli policy. The book has been attacked from several quarters, including some of Carter's fellow Democrats. In fact, 14 members of the advisory board of the Carter Center have resigned over its contents. The Center is a human-rights organization begun by the former chief executive and his wife. Jan Markell of Olive Tree Ministries says one cannot help but wonder if Mr. Carter is anti-Semitic. "Now I don't know; I'm not going to sit here and judge his spiritual condition," says the ministry leader. "But I would have to say that some of the actions and some of the comments in the book itself definitely make you think that he is anti-Semitic." Markell says she is deeply offended by Carter tying the term "apartheid" to the nation of Israel. She comments that Palestinians are treated better there than in any of the Muslim-controlled countries. [Chad Groening]
[More at URL]
----- 28 -----
Pro-Life Leaders High on Georgia 'Personhood' Bill
It's the Best Approach Yet to Stop Abortion, They Say
By Rusty Pugh and Jody Brown
American Family Association
January 12, 2007
http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/1/afa/122007b.asp
(AgapePress) - Nationally prominent pro-life leaders are lending their support to a proposed bill in the Georgia Legislature that would define personhood as beginning at conception. They see the measure as a major step toward the landmark Roe v. Wade decision being overturned.
If passed, House Bill 1 (HB1) would make history, say pro-lifers, because it would answer the question that has been at the crux of the abortion debate for more than 30 years. The measure would establish that every human life begins at the moment of conception, eliminating any gray area that currently exists surrounding the definition of "personhood." Read twice before a committee in the Georgia State House earlier this week, the bill now awaits consideration.
Judie Brown, president of American Life League (ALL), explains the significance of HB1 as it pertains to the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion on demand in America. "When Justice Blackmun wrote [for the majority in] the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, he said that if personhood is ever established, the Supreme Court's decision would fall," she notes. "And a bill like the Georgia bill would make it possible for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in such a way that every single abortion in the United States would end immediately."
In other words, she says, if the bill passes and ultimately makes it to Supreme Court on appeal, it will force the high court to "answer the question they've never answered -- and that is, whether or not the innocent child in the womb is a human being, a person, just like you and me."
Flip Benham with Operation Save America appears as enthusiastic as Brown about the legislation. "[W]ithout a doubt, [this is] the very best bill that any state has brought before its legislative body yet," he says in a press release. "It is truly an all-out declaration that human life begins at conception and therefore is due protection under the color of law."
[More at URL]
----- 29 -----
Lobby Reform Legislation to Be Voted on Next Week
Amelia Wigton
Concerned Women for America
January 12, 2007
http://www.cwalac.org/article_398.shtml
The Senate will soon consider and vote on the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007 (S. 1). While Concerned Women for America (CWA) certainly supports efforts by Congress to reform lobbying practices – in light of recent scandals involving corrupt lobbyists such as Jack Abramoff – this bill unfortunately includes a negative measure that CWA is hopeful will be stripped out by a proposed amendment.
Amendment 20, proposed by Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah) and co-sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), will remove the harmful provisions that could severely impair how grassroots organizations communicate with their constituents regarding legislative matters. Additionally, it will help to reform lobbying issues highlighted by the Abramoff scandal while protecting grassroots organizations who alert their constituents to key events and action needed on Capitol Hill. CWA applauds Senators Bennett and McConnell for respecting the rights of the American people while working to reform lobbying practices.
Last year, the 109th Congress worked on similar legislation that aimed to reform lobbying rules, but lawmakers were unable to pass a final version for the President to sign. The bill in the last Congress contained the same dangerous provisions which would cripple the ability of grassroots organizations like CWA to communicate with our members who count on us to provide them with key information they can get from no other source.
CWA urges the Senate to vote for Amendment 20 when the bill (S. 1) comes up for consideration. Transparency and accountability are vital for D.C. lobbyists, but that’s not what America gets when Congress tries to keep grassroots citizen activists from getting information like this newsflash through groups like CWA that they freely support and rely upon. CWA urges its supporters to call their senators and urge them to vote FOR Amendment 20 when the Senate considers S. 1. The Capitol Switchboard is 202-224-3121.
----- 30 -----
'Gays' in the Military - a Troop 'Surge' Liberals Support
Concerned Women for America
1/11/2007
By J. Matt Barber
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/12158/CWA/family/index.htm
In the middle of the debate on Iraq, liberals plan a push to lift the military's ban on openly homosexual men and women in the service
Liberals in Washington are very vocal in opposition to the president's planned deployment of additional troops to the Iraqi theatre, but in the culture war on the home front, those same liberals are prepared to enthusiastically push for an "escalation" in troop enlistment by repealing the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and permitting openly homosexual men and women to sign up. (Move over National Guard and Green Berets - make way for the avant-garde and Lavender Berets.)
"The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network," the "Human Rights Campaign," and a host of other powerful and extremely well-funded pro-homosexual activist groups are leading the charge. But it's the new Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-California.), who's sounding the shrill bugle call.
According to the Washington Blade, a top 'gay' publication, Pelosi has signed on to the homosexual lobby's top-ten 'gay' wish-list as a "co-sponsor for all 10 gay- and AIDS-related bills that are languishing in Congress." Of those ten bills, the innocuously titled "Military Readiness Enhancement Act" - which would repeal "don't ask, don't tell" - is a top priority.
Other liberals are weighing in as well. On January 2nd, The New York Times fired off a real opinion piece dud. "Second Thoughts on Gays in the Military" was penned by blast from the past, John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the Clinton administration. Needless to say, Shalikashvili's column sorely missed its target.
In the piece, Shalikashvili opines that "don't ask, don't tell" has outlived its usefulness and that it was only "a useful speed bump that allowed temperatures to cool for a period of time while the culture continued to evolve."
[More at URL]
----- 31 -----
CWA Says American Broadcasters Should Learn from Japanese
Concerned Women for America
1/2/2007
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/12089/MEDIA/misc/index.htm
Washington, D.C. –––Prompted by hundreds of complaints from viewers who were offended by scantily-dressed dancers on a New Year’s Eve program, Japanese broadcasters apologized before the program was even over for their indiscretion. Concerned Women for America (CWA) says that U.S. broadcasters should learn a lesson from the Japanese industry’s quick apology and stop pushing the bounds of decency.
CWA’s Chief Counsel Jan LaRue said, “The quick and contrite apology by the Japanese is a stark contrast to the way American broadcasters have handled viewer complaints. CBS, for example, insulted the public’s intelligence with a phony apology for Janet Jackson’s ‘wardrobe malfunction’ and now argues in court that it did nothing wrong by broadcasting the indecency. The networks are continuing to push the bounds of decency to see how much smut they can get away with.
“This incident proves that average people all around the world do not want to be subject to offensive programming. The Japanese who called in and complained after this show did their country and their families a huge service and they saw immediate results. If only American broadcasters would heed the complaints of their viewers, they might actually provide family-friendly entertainment rather than mere shock value.”
For Information Contact:
Stacey Holliday
(202) 488-7000
media.cwfa.org
----- 32 -----
Talking Points: Amniotic Stem Cell Research
Concerned Women for America
1/10/2007
By Janice Shaw Crouse
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/12150/BLI/life/index.htm
Benefits:
* Provides a source for stem cells without obtaining them from aborted babies or from lab-created-and-destroyed human embryos
* The amniotic fluid (and placenta) contain "multiple progenitor cell types"
* Definitively shows that there is no need to destroy human embryos in order to treat disease or otherwise benefit mankind
* This method of obtaining stem cells is medically effective, proven and promising without violating any ethical standards
* Can be developed in large quantities and do not develop tumors as embryonic stem cells do
* A research line of 100,000 cells would satisfy 99 percent of all research needs
* Provides every type of stem cell needed for therapy and healing without moral concerns
* Does not depend on "live human embryonic experimentation"
* Scientific research proves that the moral choice is also the healthiest and most effective way to find cures
* Medical science can move forward without costing innocent lives
* Real scientific progress does not threaten or manipulate the sources of life
[More at URL]
