Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Mar. 7th, 2007 06:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdHere's a quick CWU for today; mostly I want it out actually for Andrew Mohlery, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president, and his comments about how GBLT people should be eliminated thorough prenatal intervention if and when that becomes possible, and - probably more importantly, in the long run - how even if there is a biological basis for sexual orientation is found that doesn't matter; fags still must be stopped. The amazing part is that a few days later, he condemns Ann Coulter's comments at CPAC, thus proving that you can say any evil thing you want and it's just fine, just as long as you don't use bad words.
Anyway, here's a bunch of other news.
Equality Florida activist arrested for handing out flyers at Largo, Florida city commission meeting;
New York Sun coverage of CPAC has a bit of the god talk in it;
Ann Coulter at CPAC with her "faggot" remarks;
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
elfs pointed out an article on anti-abortion-rights groups having the phone-company-cobranding thing for donations; I'm bringing it up to the top level in this CWU;
Kentucky Fairness Alliance update on the attempt to ban same-sex health benefits by companies in Kentucky; a vote to take the bill out of committee and onto the floor failed today on an 8-8 tie, which is good, but there's going to be an attempt to get a discharge position passed to revive the bill;
Seattle Times opinion chiding the Army over its refusal (so far) to allow Wiccan soldiers to have the symbol of their faith on their grave markers; this is allowed for various other religions;
First Things writer Peter Leithart condemns Senator Obama's emphasis on health care reform on the basis that in health, suffering is good for you, and "secular humanists" want that suffering to stop, so are bad; he proclaims that "Secular Humanists 'worship the human body itself'" with a focus on health care;
Andrew Sullivan commentary on the whole Ann Coulter / "Faggot" issue - not on the initial commentary, but on her defense of it the day after;
Albert Mohler, head of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, "the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world," endorses complete elimination of GBLT people via prenatal intervention if such a thing becomes possible. He's also doing something else important: laying the groundwork for 'okay, sexual orientation is innate and biologically determined - and no excuse.' He says that rather explicitly: "Christians must be very careful not to claim that science can never prove a biological basis for sexual orientation. We can and must insist that no scientific finding can change the basic sinfulness of all homosexual behavior";
Albert Mohler, just a few days after calling for the elimination of all gay people via prenatal intervention if possible, condemns Ann Coulter's "faggot" commentary, thus proving once again that you can say however evil and vile a thing you want and it's just fine with these people as long as you don't use naughty words;
Focus on the Family is against Barak Obama - he's for abortion rights, domestic partnerships (but against marriage, but they say the two are the same thing), and supports the teaching of evolutionary theory and specifically not creationism/"intelligent design";
New Jersey Assemblyman Michael Doherty (R) and Assemblywoman Allison Littell McHose (R) introduce marriage ban in New Jersey;
Focus on the Family news item/ACTION ITEM to support ban of embryonic stem-cell research in Nebraska;
Okay, so this is weird; Focus on the Family headlines, "University Students Expelled for Expressing Faith - Christianity deemed a threat to others"; once you get to the text, it's apparently a health code issue and they aren't supposed to be washing each others' feet; FotF wonk Bruce Hausknecht asks "Is this university located in Georgia or communist China?"; Google News is not helping, particularly, so I don't really know what's going on, though I did find an article saying that the Alliance Defense Fund was suing the university;
Faith and Freedom Network condemns vote in Washington State for limited domestic partnerships.
----- 1 -----
Equality Florida activist in Largo arrested for handing out anti-discrimination flyers
Published by Pam Spaulding
Pandragon
March 2nd, 2007
http://pandagon.net/2007/03/02/equality-florida-activist-in-largo-arrested-for-handing-out-anti-discrimination-flyers/
Michael at Pushing Rope reports that Nadine Smith of Equality Florida was was taken into custody, allegedly for “resisting arrest” after handing out flyers (saying “Don’t Discriminate”) at the Largo City Commission meeting where City Manager Steve Stanton was fired.
This was additional drama on top of the already insane situation where the highly regarded Stanton, after announcing that he was beginning the process of transitioning to become a woman, was hung out to dry by his colleagues at the behest of fundie pastor Charlie Martin of the First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks and fundies who waged a week-long campaign to destroy Stanton’s career.
Blogger Wayne Garcia was there when Smith was arrested:
Isn’t anyone in Largo ashamed of their police department’s over-reaction in the case of Nadine Smith? The executive director of Equality Florida was arrested for handing out flyers at Tuesday’s commission meeting. Four cops, a felony charge, more than $5,000 bail for handing out flyers? Looks like Largo is putting itself on the map not just for prejudice but for stamping out free speech. Thanks for shining a bright light on the worst of Pinellas, folks.
[...]
Police contend Nadine Smith, executive director of the gay and lesbian advocacy group Equality Florida, became disruptive when they told her stop distributing the fliers in violation of a city ordinance.
…Fliers present a fire hazard; plus, when they end up on the floor, people can slip on them, McMullen said.
Given the already emotionally charged meeting, city officials also thought that fliers could become further disruptive, McMullen said.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Conservative Conference Heralds ‘Mission From God'
By RYAN SAGER
New York Sun
March 2, 2007
http://www.nysun.com/article/49639
WASHINGTON, D.C. — "We're going to get the band back together, and we're on a mission from God."
That was the message out of the first day of the 34th annual Conservative Political Action Conference, taking place yesterday, today, and tomorrow at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The quotation, lifted from the Blues Brothers, came from Richard Viguerie, a direct-mail pioneer known as one of the "funding fathers" of the conservative movement. Speaking on the conference's first panel, "Strategies for a Bold Conservative Future," Mr. Viguerie declared that conservatives "should withhold our support from all of the top-tier candidates" for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination — referring to Mayor Giuliani, Senator McCain of Arizona, and the former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney.
"I feel very angry and betrayed," Mr. Viguerie said. "We, as conservatives, need new leaders."
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Coulter reference to Edwards as "faggot" gives rise to questions for media
Media Matters
Fri, Mar 2, 2007 7:37pm EST
http://mediamatters.org/items/200703030002
In a March 2 speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), right-wing pundit Ann Coulter said she "can't really talk about" Democratic presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards (NC) because "you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot.' " The CPAC audience applauded her comment. Coulter's comments, which aired on CSPAN, were also documented by the weblog Think Progress. It was not the first time Coulter has smeared a prominent Democrat with a homophobic epithet, and it is not the first time that Coulter has ridiculed Edwards. Will the media call on Republican presidential hopefuls attending the CPAC conference to denounce her smear?
From Coulter's March 2 speech:
COULTER: Oh, and I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards. But it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word "faggot," so I'm -- so I'm kind of at an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards. So I think I'll just conclude here and take your questions.
As Media Matters for America documented, Coulter called former Vice President Al Gore a "total fag" on the July 27 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, claiming immediately that the comment was "a joke." At the end of the interview, host Chris Matthews said: "Thanks for coming on. And a smart lady. Her book's called Godless. Sometimes being smart isn't enough for a civil discourse. We'd love to have her back."
[More at URL, including video clip from CSPAN]
----- 4 -----
Faith-based phone company connects in N.H.
By Cindy Kibbe
Published: Friday, Feb. 18, 2005
http://www.nh.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050218/BUSINESSREVIEW01/50216014
Faith-based long-distance telephone companies - a growing trend elsewhere in the United States - are gaining a foothold in New Hampshire. Co-branding technology with theology, several Christian telecommunications firms promise big savings on phone bills while making donations to charities and non-profit organizations all over the world. But is it a case of "doing God's work" or "buyer beware"?
Founded in December 2003, OneChristianVoice, a long-distance phone service of Vancouver, Wash.-based Christian Media Technologies, currently has more than 2,000 subscribers in New Hampshire, according to Jay Jessup, founder and CEO of Christian Media Technologies. "We don't know what it is, but New England and New Hampshire in particular are going like gangbusters," he said.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
From: "Kentucky Fairness Alliance" <info@kentuckyfairness.org>
Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:43:09 GMT
Subject: Celebrate and Stand Strong on Fair Healthcare
Healthcare Discrimination Fails Committee Vote!
Dear Terri,
It's sweet to win a battle as important as today's committee vote, but this win only means we have momentum behind us. Rest assured our opponents will fight back twice as hard after losing this one. We can't let up for a second.
We've had a roller coaster of a week since House Health and Welfare Committee Chair Tom Burch first called hearings on SB 152, the lead Healthcare Discrimination bill, last Thursday. We've fought relentlessly against the anti-fairness industry's attempt to dictate Kentucky policy at the expense of Kentucky families.
Today, we scored a major victory, as the committee remained deadlocked at 8-8 and failed to advance the bill.
Unfortunately the anti-fairness industry will be equally relentless in promoting their agenda. Extremist legislators will probably try a procedural move, to advance the healthcare discrimination bill without the committee's consent. We'll be urging Representatives to vote against this so-called discharge petition.
Please do everything you can to support our Fair Healthcare Lobby Day.
Meet us in Capitol Annex Room 111 any time after 8:00 a.m. tomorrow, and lobby House members face-to-face.
Call the legislative message line at 1-800-372-7181, andleave a message for your Representative and for House leadership.
A live operator will ask (a) your name and contact information, (b) the legislators you want to leave a message for, and (c) your message.
Simply say you want to leave a message for your representative and for House leadership. If you don't know your representative's name you can ask the operator for help or look it up here .
SUGGESTED MESSAGE: "I'm a fair-minded Kentuckian, and I believe in protecting all families. I oppose Senate Bill 152. We should be encouraging employers to expand access to healthcare - not restrict it."
Send an e-mail to every member of the House using ourone-click advocacy.
Encourage all the fair-minded people you know to call and email their representatives using tell-a-friend.
Thank you, and congratulations on everything we've achieved so far!
Keep on fighting,
Christina, Wes, & Misty
Your Kentucky Fairness Alliance Staff
----- 6 -----
A soldier's freedom of religion
Snohomish County opinion
By Gary Clark
Special to The Times
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003604082_snoclark07.html
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been denying surviving family members the right to have a Wiccan pentacle, and possibly other religious symbols, placed on the grave markers of deceased soldiers who were their husbands or wives, sons or daughters.
This has been causing quite an uproar, to say the least, because the soldiers died serving their country. Yet their country, where freedom of religion is one of its basic rights, is denying a deceased soldier's right of religious freedom when the VA denies Wiccan and other religious symbols on his or her military marker. I believe this is due, in part, to well-meaning people who simply do not understand that the Wiccan pentagram is not a symbol of the devil. Instead, it is well known, to anyone who has a computer, that the Wiccan symbol, a five-pointed star in a circle, represents the integration of the body and spirit, and the spiritual mastery of the four elements. This is not satanic worship. The pentagram has a history predating Christianity.
By contrast, my Air Force dog tags (1962-1966) listed my religion as Presbyterian. For those of you who do not know, the Presbyterian cross is allowed as a symbol on the grave marker for a veteran. Researchers state that the Presbyterian cross is actually the Celtic cross, and both are nearly identical. The Celtic cross originated about 5000 BCE, long before the advent of Christianity. In early Scotland, the Druids used the Celtic cross.
[...]
Gary Clark of Marysville is a veteran who retired from the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs, where he worked in Seattle with homeless and incarcerated veterans.
[More at URL]
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Humanism and Health Care
By Peter Leithart
First Things
Tuesday, March 6, 2007, 3:05 PM
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=653
I got a letter, a signed letter, from Senator Barack Obama the other day—me and several million other Americans. He’s running for president, you see, and he wants my support in helping him change the political landscape. What concerns people, it seems, is not the “magnitude of our problems” but the “smallness of our politics.” Americans are “hungry for a different kind of politics,” and Obama’s campaign is “about answering that call.” He really means this. We can tell because he underlined that sentence.
What is not advertising copy is the prioritization of health care in Obama’s agenda. What accounts for the passion this issue generates? The political reasons for putting that at the top of the list are obvious: Health-care costs hit many people very directly, and by prioritizing health Obama demonstrates his compassion.
[...]
The obsession with health care, however, goes deeper, and expresses an outlook best described in theological terms. In his bracing little book on Secularization, Edward Norman, former chancellor of York Minster, describes the conflict between Christianity and what he calls Secular Humanism by contrasting their attitudes toward suffering. Christianity “was founded in an act of expiatory pain, has regarded human suffering as not only inseparable from the nature of life on earth, as a matter of observable fact, but also as a necessary condition in spiritual formation.” Christians seek, of course, to alleviate suffering, but God, not human suffering, is the center of the moral universe.
Secular Humanism, by contrast, does not believe in sin and cannot see how any good could emerge from human suffering. Humanity is perfectible, and if we will only work together we will be able to remove “anything that can be represented as an affront or an impediment to the painless existence of men and women.” Morality is reduced to “the palliation of whatever humans themselves regard as the cause of their suffering or deprivation.” Having given up the worship of God, Secular Humanists “worship the human body itself.” Is it any wonder then that politicians, as well as the media, “routinely accord priority to items of health-care policy, critiques of the state of hospital waiting lists, apparent scandals relating to medical practices”?
This is a box outside of which Senator Obama cannot think, and this is why his agenda looks so thoroughly Clintonesque. Here’s a suggestion: If he wants to transform American politics, perhaps his next fund-raising letter should say something along the lines of “Pain may be good for you.”
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Faggot
Andrew Sullivan
06 Mar 2007
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/03/faggots.html
I watched Ann Coulter last night in the gayest way I could. I was on a stairmaster at a gym, slack-jawed at her proud defense of calling someone a "faggot" on the same stage as presidential candidates and as an icon of today's conservative movement. The way in which Fox News and Sean Hannity and, even more repulsively, Pat Cadell, shilled for her was a new low for Fox, I think - and for what remains of decent conservatism. "We're all friends here," Hannity chuckled at the end. Yes, they were. And no faggots were on the show to defend themselves. That's fair and balanced.
I'm not going to breathe more oxygen into this story except to say a couple of things that need saying. Coulter has an actual argument in self-defense and it's worth addressing. Her argument is that it was a joke and that since it was directed at a straight man, it wasn't homophobic. It was, in her words, a "school-yard taunt," directed at a straight man, meaning a "wuss" and a "sissy". Why would gays care? She is "pro-gay," after all. Apart from backing a party that wants to strip gay couples of all legal rights by amending the federal constitution, kick them out of the military where they are putting their lives on the line, put them into "reparative therapy" to "cure" them, keep it legal to fire them in many states, and refusing to include them in hate crime laws, Coulter is very pro-gay. As evidence of how pro-gay she is, check out all the gay men and women in America now defending her.
Her defense, however, is that she was making a joke, not speaking a slur. Her logic suggests that the two are mutually exclusive. They're not. And when you unpack Coulter's joke, you see she does both. Her joke was that the world is so absurd that someone like Isaiah Washington is forced to go into rehab for calling someone a "faggot." She's absolutely right that this is absurd and funny and an example of p.c. insanity. She could have made a joke about that - a better one, to be sure - but a joke. But she didn't just do that. She added to the joke a slur: "John Edwards is a faggot." That's why people gasped and then laughed and clapped so heartily. I was in the room, so I felt the atmosphere personally. It was an ugly atmosphere, designed to make any gay man or woman in the room feel marginalized and despised. To put it simply, either conservatism is happy to be associated with that atmosphere, or it isn't. I think the response so far suggests that the conservative elites don't want to go there, but the base has already been there for a very long time. (That's why this affair is so revealing, because it is showing which elites want to pander to bigots, and which do not.)
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Is Your Baby Gay? What If You Could Know? What If You Could Do Something About It?
Posted: Friday, March 02, 2007 at 3:40 am ET
Albert Mohler
Albert Mohler is head of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=891
What if you could know that your unborn baby boy is likely to be sexually attracted to other boys? Beyond that, what if hormonal treatments could change the baby's orientation to heterosexual? Would you do it? Some scientists believe that such developments are just around the corner.
[Editor's note: the story he's referring to has been rather rebutted by the scientists involved, who say that the MSM misunderstood their research, but that's secondary to the main point.]
For some time now, scientists have been looking for a genetic or hormonal cause of sexual orientation. Thus far, no "gay gene" has been found -- at least not in terms of incontrovertible and accepted science. Yet, it is now claimed that a growing body of evidence indicates that biological factors may at least contribute to sexual orientation.
[...]
More to the point, Gray understands that such a development would reshape the abortion and gay-rights debates in America:
Conservatives opposed to both abortion and homosexuality will have to ask themselves whether the public shame of having a gay child outweighs the private sin of terminating a pregnancy (assuming the stigma on homosexuality survives the scientific refutation of the Right's treasured belief that it is a "lifestyle choice.") Pro-choice activists won't be spared either. Will liberal moms who love their hairdressers be as tolerant when faced with the prospect of raising a little stylist of their own? And exactly how pro-choice will liberal abortion-rights activists be when thousands of potential parents are choosing to filter homosexuality right out of the gene pool?
[...]
3. Given the consequences of the Fall and the effects of human sin, we should not be surprised that such a causation or link is found. After all, the human genetic structure, along with every other aspect of creation, shows the pernicious effects of the Fall and of God's judgment.
4. The biblical condemnation of all homosexual behaviors would not be compromised or mitigated in the least by such a discovery. The discovery of a biological factor would not change the Bible's moral verdict on homosexual behavior.
[...]
8. If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin.
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Recovering Civility . . . and Refusing to Deny the Obvious
Posted: Monday, March 05, 2007 at 4:33 pm ET
Albert Mohler
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=893
Ann Coulter is a woman of many gifts and many right ideas. She can be an eloquent spokeswoman for conservative convictions and a prophetic critic of secular liberalism. Unfortunately, she can also be her own worst enemy.
Last week, as she addressed the American Conservative Union's Political Action Conference, she made a deplorable reference to former Sen. John Edwards. Here are her words, as spoken to the conference:
[...]
Mean? Ann Coulter has turned herself into the evil queen of mean. She has lowered herself to embarrassing theatrics and crude humor. More seriously, she clearly does not mean all insults as a joke. In a recent book, she attacked some 9/11 widows as publicity hounds. She has a tawdry record of cheap shots, crude slurs, and indefensible personal attacks.
Conservative institutions cannot afford any association with this kind of language or attack. The issues are far too serious to be treated in this manner, and the very convictions Ann Coulter often defends are now sullied by association with her.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
The New Name in Liberalism
Barack Obama's building a rep as a different kind of Democrat. But the more you examine him on the issues, the more familiar he looks.
by Matt Kaufman
Focus on the Family Action
http://www.citizenlink.org/citizenMag/A000003989.cfm
Political pundits across the political spectrum think Sen. Barack Obama could be the next president, and they could be right. The young black senator from Illinois comes across as charming and thoughtful, a potential healer for our national divisions. He's “soothing,” writes George Will: “For a nation with jangled nerves, and repelled by political snarling, he offers a tone of sweet reasonableness.” In style, he's the Democrat least like Hillary Clinton, who's definitely not soothing; and as Will says, “Many Democrats who are desperate to win are queasy about depending on her.”
[...]
For all his hand wringing, Obama is basically an across-the-board abortion-rights backer. Even in the case of partial-birth abortion, he insists that any ban contain a “health” exception—and as a trained attorney, he must know that amounts to a blanket license for the practice, determined simply by the claims of the abortionists themselves.
[...]
Like nearly all politicians, Obama claims to oppose same-sex marriage. But he wants to create its virtual equivalent in “civil unions.” And he even says he's “open to the possibility” of one day supporting full-blown same-sex marriage, by name. His professed Christianity won't get in the way, and not just on the usual separation-of-church-and-state grounds. In an aside, he says he's “not willing to accept a reading of the Bible” that gives weight to “an obscure line in Romans.” (That would be a reference to Romans 1:26-27 as “unnatural” and “perversion.”)
[...]
He's pro-evolution and wants to keep challenges to that view, including intelligent design, out of classrooms.
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
Marriage-Amendment Push in Garden State
Focus on the Family
3-6-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004068.cfm
Two New Jersey assembly members have joined pro-family advocates in pressing for a voter-approved constitutional amendment to preserve marriage, the Bridgeton News reported.
Last October, the state Supreme Court mandated that the Legislature offer the rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. Lawmakers responded by passing a civil-unions bill.
Assemblyman Michael Doherty and Assemblywoman Allison Littell McHose, both Republicans, agree it should be up to voters to decide the definition of marriage.
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
Cornhusker State Considers Cloning Ban
Focus on the Family
3-6-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004067.cfm
Nebraska lawmakers will vote this week on legislation to ban human cloning, The Associated Press reported.
Sen. Mark Christensen, sponsor of LB 700, wants the state to ban researchers from cloning human life for use in destructive embryonic stem-cell research.
Opponents of the bill say a ban would stifle research, but Dave Bydalek, executive director of Family First, said there should be limits to what researchers can do.
"We shouldn’t create life for the express purpose of destroying that life for speculative medical research even if it has the possibility -- with a big question mark -- of curing certain types of diseases," he said. "A civil society should not use human beings as commodities."
Dawn Vargo, associate bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the destruction of embryos won’t help those afflicted with incurable diseases.
"Cloning advocates want you to believe this research is necessary to treat sick and injured patients,” she said, “but in reality, this type of research is unethical and unnecessary for treating patients.”
TAKE ACTION:
Nebraska residents can call 1-800-292-2113 or e-mail Family First for more information on LB700.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Visit Nebraska's Family First Web site for up-to-date information on current state legislative matters.
----- 14 -----
University Students Expelled for Expressing Faith
Christianity deemed a threat to others.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
3-6-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004070.cfm
A Georgia university has suspended members of a student group for washing new members’ feet, claiming the ancient Christian practice is a health risk.
[...]
“It’s ridiculous that a public university would kick a ministry off campus simply for exercising its First Amendment right to free speech and to model Christ’s ministry among its members,” said Joseph Martins, an attorney with National Legal Foundation. “The university is essentially saying that Christian groups are okay unless they actually practice Christianity.”
Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the university's actions should shock anyone who values the First Amendment.
"The facts of this case read like a chilling George Orwell novel, where traditional Christian worship, beliefs and practices are suddenly condemned as violations of a new world order as defined by our new enlightened leaders -- the university administration," Hausknecht said. "Is this university located in Georgia or communist China?"
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Washington Lawmakers Move Toward Gay Marriage
March 1, 2007
Faith and Freedom Network Press Release
[Received in email; no URL]
Gary Randall, President of Faith & Freedom said, "By passing the domestic partnership bill today, the Washington Legislature has chosen a path toward gay marriage."
Senator Ed Murray, Rep. Jim Moeller, and other sponsors of the bill have made it clear to both the press and the public that the ultimate prize is "marriage equality" - or gay marriage.
Randall said, "I think a number of legislators who are not comfortable with voting for gay marriage chose this vote as an alternative. Unfortunately, rather than a helpful compromise, this decision will most likely prove to be an enabling step toward same-sex marriage, as we are seeing in New Jersey." Randall also said, "As this plays out over the next year or so, some lawmakers may find themselves at odds with their constitutes, in that a majority of Washington citizens do not favor gay marriage."
Jon Russell, Senior Field Director and lobbyist said, "I think the bill is inherently discriminatory because it extends benefits to homosexuals and elderly unmarried couples living together while excluding many other classes of relationships."
Faith & Freedom is reviewing the viable options of response.
Anyway, here's a bunch of other news.
Equality Florida activist arrested for handing out flyers at Largo, Florida city commission meeting;
New York Sun coverage of CPAC has a bit of the god talk in it;
Ann Coulter at CPAC with her "faggot" remarks;
elfs pointed out an article on anti-abortion-rights groups having the phone-company-cobranding thing for donations; I'm bringing it up to the top level in this CWU;Kentucky Fairness Alliance update on the attempt to ban same-sex health benefits by companies in Kentucky; a vote to take the bill out of committee and onto the floor failed today on an 8-8 tie, which is good, but there's going to be an attempt to get a discharge position passed to revive the bill;
Seattle Times opinion chiding the Army over its refusal (so far) to allow Wiccan soldiers to have the symbol of their faith on their grave markers; this is allowed for various other religions;
First Things writer Peter Leithart condemns Senator Obama's emphasis on health care reform on the basis that in health, suffering is good for you, and "secular humanists" want that suffering to stop, so are bad; he proclaims that "Secular Humanists 'worship the human body itself'" with a focus on health care;
Andrew Sullivan commentary on the whole Ann Coulter / "Faggot" issue - not on the initial commentary, but on her defense of it the day after;
Albert Mohler, head of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, "the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world," endorses complete elimination of GBLT people via prenatal intervention if such a thing becomes possible. He's also doing something else important: laying the groundwork for 'okay, sexual orientation is innate and biologically determined - and no excuse.' He says that rather explicitly: "Christians must be very careful not to claim that science can never prove a biological basis for sexual orientation. We can and must insist that no scientific finding can change the basic sinfulness of all homosexual behavior";
Albert Mohler, just a few days after calling for the elimination of all gay people via prenatal intervention if possible, condemns Ann Coulter's "faggot" commentary, thus proving once again that you can say however evil and vile a thing you want and it's just fine with these people as long as you don't use naughty words;
Focus on the Family is against Barak Obama - he's for abortion rights, domestic partnerships (but against marriage, but they say the two are the same thing), and supports the teaching of evolutionary theory and specifically not creationism/"intelligent design";
New Jersey Assemblyman Michael Doherty (R) and Assemblywoman Allison Littell McHose (R) introduce marriage ban in New Jersey;
Focus on the Family news item/ACTION ITEM to support ban of embryonic stem-cell research in Nebraska;
Okay, so this is weird; Focus on the Family headlines, "University Students Expelled for Expressing Faith - Christianity deemed a threat to others"; once you get to the text, it's apparently a health code issue and they aren't supposed to be washing each others' feet; FotF wonk Bruce Hausknecht asks "Is this university located in Georgia or communist China?"; Google News is not helping, particularly, so I don't really know what's going on, though I did find an article saying that the Alliance Defense Fund was suing the university;
Faith and Freedom Network condemns vote in Washington State for limited domestic partnerships.
----- 1 -----
Equality Florida activist in Largo arrested for handing out anti-discrimination flyers
Published by Pam Spaulding
Pandragon
March 2nd, 2007
http://pandagon.net/2007/03/02/equality-florida-activist-in-largo-arrested-for-handing-out-anti-discrimination-flyers/
Michael at Pushing Rope reports that Nadine Smith of Equality Florida was was taken into custody, allegedly for “resisting arrest” after handing out flyers (saying “Don’t Discriminate”) at the Largo City Commission meeting where City Manager Steve Stanton was fired.
This was additional drama on top of the already insane situation where the highly regarded Stanton, after announcing that he was beginning the process of transitioning to become a woman, was hung out to dry by his colleagues at the behest of fundie pastor Charlie Martin of the First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks and fundies who waged a week-long campaign to destroy Stanton’s career.
Blogger Wayne Garcia was there when Smith was arrested:
Isn’t anyone in Largo ashamed of their police department’s over-reaction in the case of Nadine Smith? The executive director of Equality Florida was arrested for handing out flyers at Tuesday’s commission meeting. Four cops, a felony charge, more than $5,000 bail for handing out flyers? Looks like Largo is putting itself on the map not just for prejudice but for stamping out free speech. Thanks for shining a bright light on the worst of Pinellas, folks.
[...]
Police contend Nadine Smith, executive director of the gay and lesbian advocacy group Equality Florida, became disruptive when they told her stop distributing the fliers in violation of a city ordinance.
…Fliers present a fire hazard; plus, when they end up on the floor, people can slip on them, McMullen said.
Given the already emotionally charged meeting, city officials also thought that fliers could become further disruptive, McMullen said.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Conservative Conference Heralds ‘Mission From God'
By RYAN SAGER
New York Sun
March 2, 2007
http://www.nysun.com/article/49639
WASHINGTON, D.C. — "We're going to get the band back together, and we're on a mission from God."
That was the message out of the first day of the 34th annual Conservative Political Action Conference, taking place yesterday, today, and tomorrow at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.
The quotation, lifted from the Blues Brothers, came from Richard Viguerie, a direct-mail pioneer known as one of the "funding fathers" of the conservative movement. Speaking on the conference's first panel, "Strategies for a Bold Conservative Future," Mr. Viguerie declared that conservatives "should withhold our support from all of the top-tier candidates" for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination — referring to Mayor Giuliani, Senator McCain of Arizona, and the former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney.
"I feel very angry and betrayed," Mr. Viguerie said. "We, as conservatives, need new leaders."
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Coulter reference to Edwards as "faggot" gives rise to questions for media
Media Matters
Fri, Mar 2, 2007 7:37pm EST
http://mediamatters.org/items/200703030002
In a March 2 speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), right-wing pundit Ann Coulter said she "can't really talk about" Democratic presidential candidate and former Sen. John Edwards (NC) because "you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot.' " The CPAC audience applauded her comment. Coulter's comments, which aired on CSPAN, were also documented by the weblog Think Progress. It was not the first time Coulter has smeared a prominent Democrat with a homophobic epithet, and it is not the first time that Coulter has ridiculed Edwards. Will the media call on Republican presidential hopefuls attending the CPAC conference to denounce her smear?
From Coulter's March 2 speech:
COULTER: Oh, and I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards. But it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word "faggot," so I'm -- so I'm kind of at an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards. So I think I'll just conclude here and take your questions.
As Media Matters for America documented, Coulter called former Vice President Al Gore a "total fag" on the July 27 edition of MSNBC's Hardball, claiming immediately that the comment was "a joke." At the end of the interview, host Chris Matthews said: "Thanks for coming on. And a smart lady. Her book's called Godless. Sometimes being smart isn't enough for a civil discourse. We'd love to have her back."
[More at URL, including video clip from CSPAN]
----- 4 -----
Faith-based phone company connects in N.H.
By Cindy Kibbe
Published: Friday, Feb. 18, 2005
http://www.nh.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050218/BUSINESSREVIEW01/50216014
Faith-based long-distance telephone companies - a growing trend elsewhere in the United States - are gaining a foothold in New Hampshire. Co-branding technology with theology, several Christian telecommunications firms promise big savings on phone bills while making donations to charities and non-profit organizations all over the world. But is it a case of "doing God's work" or "buyer beware"?
Founded in December 2003, OneChristianVoice, a long-distance phone service of Vancouver, Wash.-based Christian Media Technologies, currently has more than 2,000 subscribers in New Hampshire, according to Jay Jessup, founder and CEO of Christian Media Technologies. "We don't know what it is, but New England and New Hampshire in particular are going like gangbusters," he said.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
From: "Kentucky Fairness Alliance" <info@kentuckyfairness.org>
Date: Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:43:09 GMT
Subject: Celebrate and Stand Strong on Fair Healthcare
Healthcare Discrimination Fails Committee Vote!
Dear Terri,
It's sweet to win a battle as important as today's committee vote, but this win only means we have momentum behind us. Rest assured our opponents will fight back twice as hard after losing this one. We can't let up for a second.
We've had a roller coaster of a week since House Health and Welfare Committee Chair Tom Burch first called hearings on SB 152, the lead Healthcare Discrimination bill, last Thursday. We've fought relentlessly against the anti-fairness industry's attempt to dictate Kentucky policy at the expense of Kentucky families.
Today, we scored a major victory, as the committee remained deadlocked at 8-8 and failed to advance the bill.
Unfortunately the anti-fairness industry will be equally relentless in promoting their agenda. Extremist legislators will probably try a procedural move, to advance the healthcare discrimination bill without the committee's consent. We'll be urging Representatives to vote against this so-called discharge petition.
Please do everything you can to support our Fair Healthcare Lobby Day.
Meet us in Capitol Annex Room 111 any time after 8:00 a.m. tomorrow, and lobby House members face-to-face.
Call the legislative message line at 1-800-372-7181, andleave a message for your Representative and for House leadership.
A live operator will ask (a) your name and contact information, (b) the legislators you want to leave a message for, and (c) your message.
Simply say you want to leave a message for your representative and for House leadership. If you don't know your representative's name you can ask the operator for help or look it up here .
SUGGESTED MESSAGE: "I'm a fair-minded Kentuckian, and I believe in protecting all families. I oppose Senate Bill 152. We should be encouraging employers to expand access to healthcare - not restrict it."
Send an e-mail to every member of the House using ourone-click advocacy.
Encourage all the fair-minded people you know to call and email their representatives using tell-a-friend.
Thank you, and congratulations on everything we've achieved so far!
Keep on fighting,
Christina, Wes, & Misty
Your Kentucky Fairness Alliance Staff
----- 6 -----
A soldier's freedom of religion
Snohomish County opinion
By Gary Clark
Special to The Times
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003604082_snoclark07.html
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been denying surviving family members the right to have a Wiccan pentacle, and possibly other religious symbols, placed on the grave markers of deceased soldiers who were their husbands or wives, sons or daughters.
This has been causing quite an uproar, to say the least, because the soldiers died serving their country. Yet their country, where freedom of religion is one of its basic rights, is denying a deceased soldier's right of religious freedom when the VA denies Wiccan and other religious symbols on his or her military marker. I believe this is due, in part, to well-meaning people who simply do not understand that the Wiccan pentagram is not a symbol of the devil. Instead, it is well known, to anyone who has a computer, that the Wiccan symbol, a five-pointed star in a circle, represents the integration of the body and spirit, and the spiritual mastery of the four elements. This is not satanic worship. The pentagram has a history predating Christianity.
By contrast, my Air Force dog tags (1962-1966) listed my religion as Presbyterian. For those of you who do not know, the Presbyterian cross is allowed as a symbol on the grave marker for a veteran. Researchers state that the Presbyterian cross is actually the Celtic cross, and both are nearly identical. The Celtic cross originated about 5000 BCE, long before the advent of Christianity. In early Scotland, the Druids used the Celtic cross.
[...]
Gary Clark of Marysville is a veteran who retired from the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs, where he worked in Seattle with homeless and incarcerated veterans.
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Humanism and Health Care
By Peter Leithart
First Things
Tuesday, March 6, 2007, 3:05 PM
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=653
I got a letter, a signed letter, from Senator Barack Obama the other day—me and several million other Americans. He’s running for president, you see, and he wants my support in helping him change the political landscape. What concerns people, it seems, is not the “magnitude of our problems” but the “smallness of our politics.” Americans are “hungry for a different kind of politics,” and Obama’s campaign is “about answering that call.” He really means this. We can tell because he underlined that sentence.
What is not advertising copy is the prioritization of health care in Obama’s agenda. What accounts for the passion this issue generates? The political reasons for putting that at the top of the list are obvious: Health-care costs hit many people very directly, and by prioritizing health Obama demonstrates his compassion.
[...]
The obsession with health care, however, goes deeper, and expresses an outlook best described in theological terms. In his bracing little book on Secularization, Edward Norman, former chancellor of York Minster, describes the conflict between Christianity and what he calls Secular Humanism by contrasting their attitudes toward suffering. Christianity “was founded in an act of expiatory pain, has regarded human suffering as not only inseparable from the nature of life on earth, as a matter of observable fact, but also as a necessary condition in spiritual formation.” Christians seek, of course, to alleviate suffering, but God, not human suffering, is the center of the moral universe.
Secular Humanism, by contrast, does not believe in sin and cannot see how any good could emerge from human suffering. Humanity is perfectible, and if we will only work together we will be able to remove “anything that can be represented as an affront or an impediment to the painless existence of men and women.” Morality is reduced to “the palliation of whatever humans themselves regard as the cause of their suffering or deprivation.” Having given up the worship of God, Secular Humanists “worship the human body itself.” Is it any wonder then that politicians, as well as the media, “routinely accord priority to items of health-care policy, critiques of the state of hospital waiting lists, apparent scandals relating to medical practices”?
This is a box outside of which Senator Obama cannot think, and this is why his agenda looks so thoroughly Clintonesque. Here’s a suggestion: If he wants to transform American politics, perhaps his next fund-raising letter should say something along the lines of “Pain may be good for you.”
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Faggot
Andrew Sullivan
06 Mar 2007
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/03/faggots.html
I watched Ann Coulter last night in the gayest way I could. I was on a stairmaster at a gym, slack-jawed at her proud defense of calling someone a "faggot" on the same stage as presidential candidates and as an icon of today's conservative movement. The way in which Fox News and Sean Hannity and, even more repulsively, Pat Cadell, shilled for her was a new low for Fox, I think - and for what remains of decent conservatism. "We're all friends here," Hannity chuckled at the end. Yes, they were. And no faggots were on the show to defend themselves. That's fair and balanced.
I'm not going to breathe more oxygen into this story except to say a couple of things that need saying. Coulter has an actual argument in self-defense and it's worth addressing. Her argument is that it was a joke and that since it was directed at a straight man, it wasn't homophobic. It was, in her words, a "school-yard taunt," directed at a straight man, meaning a "wuss" and a "sissy". Why would gays care? She is "pro-gay," after all. Apart from backing a party that wants to strip gay couples of all legal rights by amending the federal constitution, kick them out of the military where they are putting their lives on the line, put them into "reparative therapy" to "cure" them, keep it legal to fire them in many states, and refusing to include them in hate crime laws, Coulter is very pro-gay. As evidence of how pro-gay she is, check out all the gay men and women in America now defending her.
Her defense, however, is that she was making a joke, not speaking a slur. Her logic suggests that the two are mutually exclusive. They're not. And when you unpack Coulter's joke, you see she does both. Her joke was that the world is so absurd that someone like Isaiah Washington is forced to go into rehab for calling someone a "faggot." She's absolutely right that this is absurd and funny and an example of p.c. insanity. She could have made a joke about that - a better one, to be sure - but a joke. But she didn't just do that. She added to the joke a slur: "John Edwards is a faggot." That's why people gasped and then laughed and clapped so heartily. I was in the room, so I felt the atmosphere personally. It was an ugly atmosphere, designed to make any gay man or woman in the room feel marginalized and despised. To put it simply, either conservatism is happy to be associated with that atmosphere, or it isn't. I think the response so far suggests that the conservative elites don't want to go there, but the base has already been there for a very long time. (That's why this affair is so revealing, because it is showing which elites want to pander to bigots, and which do not.)
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Is Your Baby Gay? What If You Could Know? What If You Could Do Something About It?
Posted: Friday, March 02, 2007 at 3:40 am ET
Albert Mohler
Albert Mohler is head of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=891
What if you could know that your unborn baby boy is likely to be sexually attracted to other boys? Beyond that, what if hormonal treatments could change the baby's orientation to heterosexual? Would you do it? Some scientists believe that such developments are just around the corner.
[Editor's note: the story he's referring to has been rather rebutted by the scientists involved, who say that the MSM misunderstood their research, but that's secondary to the main point.]
For some time now, scientists have been looking for a genetic or hormonal cause of sexual orientation. Thus far, no "gay gene" has been found -- at least not in terms of incontrovertible and accepted science. Yet, it is now claimed that a growing body of evidence indicates that biological factors may at least contribute to sexual orientation.
[...]
More to the point, Gray understands that such a development would reshape the abortion and gay-rights debates in America:
Conservatives opposed to both abortion and homosexuality will have to ask themselves whether the public shame of having a gay child outweighs the private sin of terminating a pregnancy (assuming the stigma on homosexuality survives the scientific refutation of the Right's treasured belief that it is a "lifestyle choice.") Pro-choice activists won't be spared either. Will liberal moms who love their hairdressers be as tolerant when faced with the prospect of raising a little stylist of their own? And exactly how pro-choice will liberal abortion-rights activists be when thousands of potential parents are choosing to filter homosexuality right out of the gene pool?
[...]
3. Given the consequences of the Fall and the effects of human sin, we should not be surprised that such a causation or link is found. After all, the human genetic structure, along with every other aspect of creation, shows the pernicious effects of the Fall and of God's judgment.
4. The biblical condemnation of all homosexual behaviors would not be compromised or mitigated in the least by such a discovery. The discovery of a biological factor would not change the Bible's moral verdict on homosexual behavior.
[...]
8. If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin.
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Recovering Civility . . . and Refusing to Deny the Obvious
Posted: Monday, March 05, 2007 at 4:33 pm ET
Albert Mohler
http://www.albertmohler.com/blog_read.php?id=893
Ann Coulter is a woman of many gifts and many right ideas. She can be an eloquent spokeswoman for conservative convictions and a prophetic critic of secular liberalism. Unfortunately, she can also be her own worst enemy.
Last week, as she addressed the American Conservative Union's Political Action Conference, she made a deplorable reference to former Sen. John Edwards. Here are her words, as spoken to the conference:
[...]
Mean? Ann Coulter has turned herself into the evil queen of mean. She has lowered herself to embarrassing theatrics and crude humor. More seriously, she clearly does not mean all insults as a joke. In a recent book, she attacked some 9/11 widows as publicity hounds. She has a tawdry record of cheap shots, crude slurs, and indefensible personal attacks.
Conservative institutions cannot afford any association with this kind of language or attack. The issues are far too serious to be treated in this manner, and the very convictions Ann Coulter often defends are now sullied by association with her.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
The New Name in Liberalism
Barack Obama's building a rep as a different kind of Democrat. But the more you examine him on the issues, the more familiar he looks.
by Matt Kaufman
Focus on the Family Action
http://www.citizenlink.org/citizenMag/A000003989.cfm
Political pundits across the political spectrum think Sen. Barack Obama could be the next president, and they could be right. The young black senator from Illinois comes across as charming and thoughtful, a potential healer for our national divisions. He's “soothing,” writes George Will: “For a nation with jangled nerves, and repelled by political snarling, he offers a tone of sweet reasonableness.” In style, he's the Democrat least like Hillary Clinton, who's definitely not soothing; and as Will says, “Many Democrats who are desperate to win are queasy about depending on her.”
[...]
For all his hand wringing, Obama is basically an across-the-board abortion-rights backer. Even in the case of partial-birth abortion, he insists that any ban contain a “health” exception—and as a trained attorney, he must know that amounts to a blanket license for the practice, determined simply by the claims of the abortionists themselves.
[...]
Like nearly all politicians, Obama claims to oppose same-sex marriage. But he wants to create its virtual equivalent in “civil unions.” And he even says he's “open to the possibility” of one day supporting full-blown same-sex marriage, by name. His professed Christianity won't get in the way, and not just on the usual separation-of-church-and-state grounds. In an aside, he says he's “not willing to accept a reading of the Bible” that gives weight to “an obscure line in Romans.” (That would be a reference to Romans 1:26-27 as “unnatural” and “perversion.”)
[...]
He's pro-evolution and wants to keep challenges to that view, including intelligent design, out of classrooms.
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
Marriage-Amendment Push in Garden State
Focus on the Family
3-6-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004068.cfm
Two New Jersey assembly members have joined pro-family advocates in pressing for a voter-approved constitutional amendment to preserve marriage, the Bridgeton News reported.
Last October, the state Supreme Court mandated that the Legislature offer the rights and benefits of marriage to same-sex couples. Lawmakers responded by passing a civil-unions bill.
Assemblyman Michael Doherty and Assemblywoman Allison Littell McHose, both Republicans, agree it should be up to voters to decide the definition of marriage.
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
Cornhusker State Considers Cloning Ban
Focus on the Family
3-6-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004067.cfm
Nebraska lawmakers will vote this week on legislation to ban human cloning, The Associated Press reported.
Sen. Mark Christensen, sponsor of LB 700, wants the state to ban researchers from cloning human life for use in destructive embryonic stem-cell research.
Opponents of the bill say a ban would stifle research, but Dave Bydalek, executive director of Family First, said there should be limits to what researchers can do.
"We shouldn’t create life for the express purpose of destroying that life for speculative medical research even if it has the possibility -- with a big question mark -- of curing certain types of diseases," he said. "A civil society should not use human beings as commodities."
Dawn Vargo, associate bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the destruction of embryos won’t help those afflicted with incurable diseases.
"Cloning advocates want you to believe this research is necessary to treat sick and injured patients,” she said, “but in reality, this type of research is unethical and unnecessary for treating patients.”
TAKE ACTION:
Nebraska residents can call 1-800-292-2113 or e-mail Family First for more information on LB700.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Visit Nebraska's Family First Web site for up-to-date information on current state legislative matters.
----- 14 -----
University Students Expelled for Expressing Faith
Christianity deemed a threat to others.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
3-6-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004070.cfm
A Georgia university has suspended members of a student group for washing new members’ feet, claiming the ancient Christian practice is a health risk.
[...]
“It’s ridiculous that a public university would kick a ministry off campus simply for exercising its First Amendment right to free speech and to model Christ’s ministry among its members,” said Joseph Martins, an attorney with National Legal Foundation. “The university is essentially saying that Christian groups are okay unless they actually practice Christianity.”
Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the university's actions should shock anyone who values the First Amendment.
"The facts of this case read like a chilling George Orwell novel, where traditional Christian worship, beliefs and practices are suddenly condemned as violations of a new world order as defined by our new enlightened leaders -- the university administration," Hausknecht said. "Is this university located in Georgia or communist China?"
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Washington Lawmakers Move Toward Gay Marriage
March 1, 2007
Faith and Freedom Network Press Release
[Received in email; no URL]
Gary Randall, President of Faith & Freedom said, "By passing the domestic partnership bill today, the Washington Legislature has chosen a path toward gay marriage."
Senator Ed Murray, Rep. Jim Moeller, and other sponsors of the bill have made it clear to both the press and the public that the ultimate prize is "marriage equality" - or gay marriage.
Randall said, "I think a number of legislators who are not comfortable with voting for gay marriage chose this vote as an alternative. Unfortunately, rather than a helpful compromise, this decision will most likely prove to be an enabling step toward same-sex marriage, as we are seeing in New Jersey." Randall also said, "As this plays out over the next year or so, some lawmakers may find themselves at odds with their constitutes, in that a majority of Washington citizens do not favor gay marriage."
Jon Russell, Senior Field Director and lobbyist said, "I think the bill is inherently discriminatory because it extends benefits to homosexuals and elderly unmarried couples living together while excluding many other classes of relationships."
Faith & Freedom is reviewing the viable options of response.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-03-08 02:53 am (UTC)But Wait, they are Anti-Abortion. And if a woman with a baby with a genetic disease or gross malformation wanted to get an abortion, they would prevent it. In fact they want a National Law preventing just such a thing.
But it's ok if the baby MAY grow up gay.
Talk about hypocrites.
Well, actually if their anti-abortion laws pass then this actually would be prevented too. The glorious irony. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-03-08 02:59 am (UTC)I'm happy that Christians are making the argument "suffering is good for you." Very few people are going to buy that argument. It's doom for them, and they're welcome to make it all they want.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-08 04:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-08 04:08 am (UTC)And I'm very happy that they're making the "health care bad, suffering is God's Will." I mean, the reason I do these CWUs is because I want it known what these people say when they aren't being filtered, and what they really stand for, and what that really means - all in their own words.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-08 04:19 am (UTC)It really helps us to prepare for the fights these idiots are planning. Especially since so many of them are shaping the Bush Agenda.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-08 04:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-08 07:30 am (UTC)(Note that the sarcasm in the above is primarily directed at the Swedish; I hesitate to pass too glib a judgement on 300 000 000 people.)
So, hopefully your reporting reaches a few more people than the hits indicate.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-08 09:06 am (UTC)here God's voice became very small, and echoed only in one of the seven chambers of the heavens, while the singing of the cherubim grew faint,
"you shall provide me with yaoi and yuri that I may watch from Heaven, in addition to that heterosexual perversion to which sin has occasioned you;"
and the voices of the cherubim swelled up and the heavens turned roseate as God thundered,
"and the slurpees shall freeze thy brain verily unto the last days upon the Earth, and you shall grow hair in thy armpits, and the ecstaxis dinosaurian shall vanish from the world."
On the fifteenth day, God added, "Also, I'm giving you all appendixes."
no subject
Date: 2007-03-08 09:12 am (UTC)Appendix (ii) In Soviet Russia, judgment Gods YOU!
no subject
Date: 2007-03-08 01:24 pm (UTC)http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/07/Tampabay/350_rally_to_protest_.shtml
no subject
Date: 2007-03-08 03:28 pm (UTC)b0rk b0rk b0rk
Date: 2007-03-09 12:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-09 12:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-09 02:24 am (UTC)False ideas infesting a religion is an age-old problem. One ironic example is the 1910's Fundamentalist movement. It wanted to return to an emphasis on Bible scholarship and reject non-Biblical influences, such as liberal theology and secular culture. Unfortunately, over the decades, opposing secular ideas became the sole point of Fundamentalism and most Fundamentalists seem to know less about God's actual teachings than the average Christian.
Erin Schram
no subject
Date: 2007-03-10 05:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-10 06:09 pm (UTC)