Today's Cultural Warfare Update
May. 15th, 2007 09:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdSorry I'm so far behind on these; it's been a rough quarter. But no time for whingy bits - here's some of today's news.
Survey indicates that 24% of UK GPs refusing to sign abortion forms;
Wisconsin pharmacist repeatedly violates employer rules in refusing not just to dispense birth control (in any form), but refusing referrals, harassing birth-control customers, and more; he's suing on the basis of religious discrimination; so far, he's 0 for 2;
LifeNews's version of the story, of course, supports the pharmacist and blames Wal-mart's decision to stock ECP (which is not specifically related to this; it was for all forms of birth control) on "tremendous pressure from Planned Parenthood";
Rev. Jerry Falwell is dead; he had just been on CNN last week reasserting that it was the fault of GBLT people, the ACLU, abortion rights activists, and liberals in general that the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened;
Focus on the Family says Jerry Falwell "finished well;" James Dobson will honour Rev. Falwell, who spent his entire career making millions of dollars by trying to ruin the lives of others, on Larry King Live; James Dobson pledges to continue the war against LBGT people and others they dislike, stating, "It was Jerry who led an entire wing of Christianity, the fundamentalist wing, away from isolation and into a direct confrontation with culture. It was my honor to share the front lines with him in the battle for righteousness in our nation. We will continue that fight, in his honor, until our mutual goals are achieved";
Focus on the Family: "Decline of Marriage Leads to Decline of Civilization";
Colorado passes bill into law allowing lesbian and gay couples to adopt, and a second bill ending "abstinence-only" sex education funding; FotF is outraged, of course;
FotF's "Gays are After Your Children" propaganda today is a story I'm seeing hopping around the fundamentalist networks - "12-Year-Old Forced to Watch Brokeback Mountain Sues School";
FotF prints the American College of Pediatricians statement that embryonic stem-cell research should be stopped at once. The 2002-founded ACP is a real piece of work; their other positions include condemnations of GBLT people as "inordinately promiscuous... even within what are loosely-termed 'committed relationships'... more likely than heterosexuals to experience mental illness, substance abuse, suicidal tendencies, and shortened life spans" - basically the usual litany of theocon bullshit, filtered through secondary-reference footnotes to hide their original sources. They also, of course, assert that children are harmed by being raised by lesbian and gay parents, that contraception is bad, that the HPV vaccine isn't a good idea, and, of course, that abortion is very bad, even worse than contraception, and compare abortion rights supporters to Nazis ("...Echoing the words untermenschen; Lebens unwertenleben suggested in the 1930s in Nazi Germany"). More with the article;
Here's an example of how these things get used; the article is from 2005, but it still shows how these statement from an impressive-sounding groups end up coming out of, say, George W. Bush's mouth;
Faith and Freedom Network runs FotF's article - not quite verbatim, but close to it - on their website, pushes their "Change the State in '08" theocon-election campaign;
Faith and Freedom Network calls for a crackdown on academics, reprinting a position paper stating that "sometimes the exercise of intellectual dissent under the guise of academic freedom is misguided and just plain wrong," calls for beefing up anti-sedition laws, and generally saying it's time to crack down;
FFN's own column supporting crackdowns on dissident academics;
Focus on the Family reports on international theoconfab, the FourthInternational World Congress of Families (WCF); they're anti-gay, anti-abortion, and so on;
Focus on the Family newsbrief on Connecticut case seeking to open the state marriage law to same-sex couples;
Massachusetts attourney general believes that the proposed anti-marriage amendment (which only needs 25% yes vote in the legislature to go to a popular vote) may be unconstitutional;
"Intelligent Design" professor upset that he didn't get tenure, claims creationists are blacklisted;
FotF's ad yesterday was for "Why You Can't Stay Silent; A Biblical Mandate to Shape Our Culture"; I comment on that a tiny bit below;
From![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cubes, an update on fired city manager and transwoman Susan Stanton;
Focus on the Family's ad for last Friday was for "THE HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today," which is part of their continuing push towards the idea that allowing GBLT people equal treatment under the law is inherently a violation of their religious rights to discriminate against GBLT people. This is an idea they've been working on for some time, of course; the intent is to make rights under the law a zero-sum game, and to declare that Christianity and anti-gay politics are one and the same;
FotF applauds students for "taking a stand" against GBLT anti-bullying efforts an queer students by boycotting school on the Day of Silence protest against anti-gay bullying. One of the interesting things is an outright admission that the plan is to create enough of a stink and mess that the Day of Silence anti-bullying effort gets shut down;
FotF report on the effort to get an anti-marriage amendment on the Massachusetts state ballot;
FotF notes a valid study linking HPV to throat cancer as well as cervical cancer, uses it to describe "how dangerous this activity [oral sex] can be"; and the study is accurate, but you're talking about a difference of 3 in 100,000;
FotF notes that the ACLU is planning a multi-state legal campaign against "abstinence-only" education courses that mischaracterise condoms as ineffective against the spread of STDs;
FotF uses the "special rights" language to describe nondiscrimination law on the basis of sexual orientation; this is a lie, since heterosexuals are included as well;
FotF refers again to a "mandate" that "requires" HPV vaccination in Texas - this in a story about it expiring in Texas. The problem is, it was never a mandate and never required; they just lied about it. What had happened is that the anti-cervical-cancer vaccine had been included in the standard vaccinations list. But you could opt out of it; it wasn't mandatory;
Courtesywytwolf, here's today's Cultural Warfare Update Feature Presentation.
----- 1 -----
GPs 'refuse to sign abortion forms'
The Daily Mail
Last updated at 06:40am on 3rd May 2007
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=452361&in_page_id=1770
Almost a quarter of GPs are refusing to sign abortion referral forms, a survey reveals.
According to the poll by the doctors' newspaper Pulse, nearly one in five GPs do not believe abortion should be legal.
And 55% of the 309 GPs questioned said they wanted the current 24-week limit for abortions to be reduced.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Noeson in the news again
Creature of Mad Enthusiasms
7 May 2007
http://neadods.livejournal.com/481974.html?view=2753462
Back in 2005, I wrote about a man named Neil T. Noeson.
Mr. Noeson is a pharmacist, but he is also a Man of Faith, and he refuses to violate that faith by dirtying his hands (or any clients) with anything involving birth control. He wrote a letter to that effect which never made it into the hands of his supervisors at the "On the Go" pharmacy within K-Mart in Menomonie, Wisconsin.
Which is why when On Saturday, July 6, 2002, the patient, referred to hereinafter as “AR”, went to the K-Mart Pharmacy and requested a refill of her Loestrin FE 1/20 prescription, Mr. Noeson (the only pharmacist on site) asked her specifically if she was using the drug for contraception. When she said yes, "AR" got turned down flat. He refused to aid her, refused to refer her to anywhere else, and (when she went to Wal-Mart and they called for her prescription information) he refused to pass the prescription on.
AR pitched a bitch to the manager of K-mart, who admitted that K-Mart had been having problems the whole day because women could not get their prescriptions filled. She suggested that AR come in on Monday, which is what eventually happened, as Mr. Noeson refused all weekend long to violate his conscience by dispensing the drug... which means that AR had a lapse in her coverage, as she was due to start taking the next course of pills by then.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Appeals Court Rules Wal-Mart Can Ignore Pharmacist's Conscience Plea
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 5, 2007
http://www.lifenews.com/state2269.html
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday that the giant retailer Wal-Mart is not required to respect the conscience rights of a Wisconsin pharmacist. Neil Noeson cited religious objections to filling birth-control prescriptions in what is one of the latest cases involving their ability to opt out of dispensing drugs.
The court found that under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the accommodation Noesen sought would impose an undue hardship on Wal-Mart.
After objecting to filling the birth control prescriptions, Wal-Mart offered to permit Noesen to assist only male customers and women not of childbearing age.
Noesen also wanted to be relieved of all counter and telephone duties unless customers were first pre-screened by others to ensure that they were not seeking birth control.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
CNN: Just last week, Falwell reiterated his belief that gays caused September 11
by John Aravosis (DC) · 5/15/2007 05:13:00 PM ET
AmericaBlog
http://www.americablog.com/2007/05/cnn-just-last-week-falwell-reiterated.html
He told CNN just one week before his death that he still believes that gays, pro-choicers and other liberals caused September 11. So much for his apology.
[Editor's note: Normally I avoid linking to secondary sources, but in this case, the secondary source links through to a YouTube capture of Falwell's emphatic reassertion that GBLT people caused the 9/11 terrorist attacks.]
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Jerry Falwell ‘Finished Well'
Dr. Dobson scheduled to pay tribute to pioneering leader on Larry King Live.
by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor
Focus on the Family
5-15-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004628.cfm
The Rev. Dr. Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority and Liberty University and pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church since 1956, died today. He was 73.
Falwell was found unresponsive in his office this morning. Attempts to resuscitate him failed.
Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family Action, issued a statement honoring Falwell's life.
"Our hearts and prayers go out to Jerry’s wife Macel, his children Jerry, Jonathan and Jeannie, and his church. This is a tragic loss for them – and for all Americans. Jerry’s passions and convictions changed the course of our country for the better over the last 20 years – and I was proud to call him my friend.
“It was Jerry who led an entire wing of Christianity, the fundamentalist wing, away from isolation and into a direct confrontation with culture. It was my honor to share the front lines with him in the battle for righteousness in our nation. We will continue that fight, in his honor, until our mutual goals are achieved."
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Decline of Marriage Leads to Decline of Civilization
International gathering centers on importance of family.
by Bob Ditmer, Family News in Focus
Focus on the Family
5-15-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004627.cfm
WARSAW, Poland – A primary message at The World Congress of Families (WCF) over the weekend was "marriage is good for society." It may be a simple and obvious statement, but in today’s world it needs repeating and defending.
The best way to show the importance of marriage to society is to point out what’s happened since the institution's global decline. Brad Wilcox, a sociologist from the University of Virginia, said it isn’t hard to prove that marriage is in trouble in the West.
"In the last 40 years, marriage rates have plummeted, illegitimacy and divorce have surged and cohabitation has become fashionable," he said. "Poverty, crime, depression, suicide, et cetera are just some of the consequences that follow when marriage is weakened.”
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Colorado Governor OKs Gay Adoption, Cuts Abstinence-Only Sex Ed
First-year Democratic leader signed 26 bills Monday.
by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor
Focus on the Family
5-15-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004626.cfm
Gay adoption is in. Abstinence-only education is out.
H.B. 1330, which legalizes gay adoption, and H.B. 1292, which bans abstinence-only education, were among 26 bills Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law Monday.
Ritter told The (Colorado Springs) Gazette that H.B. 1330 will “strengthen families and provide children with as stable an environment as possible.”
Jim Pfaff, president and CEO of the Colorado Family Institute, disagreed.
“Both bills show that this was a Legislature that was willing to pay back its benefactors," he said. “Their agenda is to expand rights and legal acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle. What we need to be doing is strengthening the capability of mother-and-father households to adopt.
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
12-Year-Old Forced to Watch Brokeback Mountain Sues School
She claims teacher shut the door and told the class not to tell.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
5-14-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004616.cfm
The grandparents of a 12-year-old student who says she was forced to watch the R-rated, gay-themed movie Brokeback Mountain at school have filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Board of Education, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, the grandparents of Jessica Turner, are seeking close to $500,000 in damages for psychological distress and false imprisonment.
According to court documents, a substitute teacher told students at Ashburn Community Elementary School, “What happens in Ms. Buford’s class stays in Ms. Buford’s class.” The suit claims Buford then shut the classroom door and showed the film about two cowboys involved in a homosexual affair.
“It is very important to me that my children not be exposed to this,” Kenneth Richardson said. “The teacher knew she was not supposed to do this.”
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Pediatricians Call for End to Embryonic Stem-Cell Research
Focus on the Family
5-15-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004623.cfm
The American College of Pediatricians (ACP) is calling for an end to embryonic stem-cell research and recommends exclusive support for adult stem-cell research, LifeSiteNews.com reported.
“Not only does embryonic research require taking the life of human embryos, it also prolongs needless suffering by delaying the development of more promising adult stem-cell treatments and cures,” said Dr. Michelle Cretella, fellow of ACP.
[More at URL]
[Editor's Note: The American College of Pediatricians is a fundamentalist-friendly thinktank founded in 2002 to generate anti-gay, anti-contraception, and anti-abortion papers, and was founded in specific response to The American Academy of Pediatrics finding that children raised by GBLT parents did not differ significantly from children raised by straight parents. Source here. Their material has been quoted by Mr Bush, the Chief Executive, via the Family Research Council, who promotes their material.]
----- 10 -----
Beliefs drive research agenda of new think tanks
Study on gay adoption disputed by specialists
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | July 31, 2005
The Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/07/31/beliefs_drive_research_agenda_of_new_think_tanks/
WASHINGTON -- President Bush had a ready answer when asked in January for his view of adoption by same-sex couples: ''Studies have shown that the ideal is where a child is raised in a married family with a man and a woman," the president said.
Bush's assertion raised eyebrows among specialists. The American Academy of Pediatrics, composed of leaders in the field, had found no meaningful difference between children raised by same-sex and heterosexual couples, based on a 2002 report written largely by a Boston pediatrician, Dr. Ellen C. Perrin.
But Bush's statement was celebrated at a tiny think tank called the Family Research Institute, where the founder, Dr. Paul Cameron, believes Bush was referring to studies he has published in academic journals that are critical of gays and lesbians as parents. Cameron has published numerous studies with titles such as ''Gay Foster Parents More Apt to Molest" -- a conclusion disputed by many other researchers.
The president's statement was also welcomed at a small organization with an august-sounding name, the American College of Pediatricians. The college, which has a small membership, says on its website that it would be ''dangerously irresponsible" to allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The college was formed just three years ago, after the 75-year-old American Academy of Pediatrics issued its paper.
[...]
Created as counterpoints to large, well-established medical organizations whose work is subject to rigorous review and who assert no political agenda, the tiny think tanks with names often mimicking those of established medical authorities have sought to dispute the notion of a medical consensus on social issues such as gay rights, the right to die, abortion, and birth control.
For example, Cameron's Family Research Institute, with an annual budget of less than $200,000, tries to counter the views of the 150,000-member American Psychological Association, which has an annual budget of $98 million. The tiny American College of Pediatricians has a single employee, yet it has been quoted as a counterpoint to the 60,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics.
Senior Bush aides, asked for the basis of the comment about adoption, now say they are unaware of any studies comparing heterosexual and same-sex adoptions -- by Cameron or by any pediatric association. The president, they say, was probably referring to studies that show children are better off living with both biological parents -- though those studies have nothing to do with adoption by same-sex couples.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
12-year-old Forced to Watch Brokeback in Classroom
Faith and Freedom Network
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2007/05/12-year-old-forced-to-watch-brokeback.html
A suit has been filed on behalf of a twelve-year-old girl who feels she was forced to watch the gay movie, Brokeback Mountain in her classroom.
This suit claims that a substitute teacher introduced herself as Ms. Buford to the class and then said, “What happens in Ms. Buford’s class stays in Ms. Buford’s class.” The teacher then asked a student to close the door and started showing the R-rated movie. (Click here to read story).
Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, the grandparents of twelve-year-old Jessica Turner who filed the suit said, “It is very important that my children not be exposed to this.”
As I regularly scan the news, I’m seeing more and more of this kind of thing. As our government schools continue to be controlled by secularist, activist educators, I believe their encroachment on parental rights will only intensify.
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
ACADEMIC FREEDOM, INTELLECTUAL DISSENT, AND NATIONAL SECURITY
(Jan. 2006) paper by Tom O'Connor,
Department of Justice Studies, North Carolina Wesleyan College,
presentation at International Military Ethics Symposium, Springfield, VA
Reprinted by Faith and Freedom Network
Online as of 15 May 2007
http://faithandfreedom.us/academic_dissent.html
It is time for fresh thought about the role of colleges and universities, especially in time of war, particularly a long war against a temptingly indefinable enemy like terrorism. Colleges and universities, like the institutions of free press and free speech, are supposed to carry out their "need to know" functions in a responsible manner. Practically everyone would agree that the basic purpose of a college or university is to create new knowledge and teach both old and new knowledge. Few would also disagree that academic freedom might be an appropriate tool for accomplishing that purpose. However, sometimes the exercise of intellectual dissent under the guise of academic freedom is misguided and just plain wrong. For example, the news media and blogosphere are filled with stories about some "muddleheaded" professor somewhere (Gross & Levitt 1997), some "moonbat" professor elsewhere (moonbat describing someone who sacrifices sanity for the sake of consistency), those "great pretenders of academe" (Anderson 1996), "flawed eccentrics and exhibitionists" (Schoenfeld & Magnan 1994), and dare we say it -- "terrorist professors" (Cassell 2004), who do nothing less than give aid and comfort to the enemy. Terrorist professors exist, and we'll get into the legal elements later, but for now, let's assume that some kind of patriotism crisis might be afflicting some professors, even well-intentioned ones, where at least something about their outrageousness might call their patriotism into question, and it can be noted immediately that we're on dangerous ground here since calling someone's patriotism into question is the same as calling someone a traitor, which is bad form and may create a backlash doing more harm than good.
[...]
This is not the place to fully discuss First Amendment jurisprudence. Suffice it to say, as De George (1997) makes clear, academic freedom is not a species of free speech protected by the First Amendment (despite some appeals courts which have sometimes confounded the issue). Academic freedom and tenure are not inalienable rights. They exist because they serve ends which presumably benefit society. It makes perfect sense, therefore to discuss these things in the context of grand strategy or the supposed homeland security benefits of academic dissent.
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
Multiculturalism, Tolerance and Free Speech. Another Defining Moment.
Faith and Freedom Network
Thursday, May 10, 2007
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2007/05/multiculturalism-tolerance-and-free.html
You may have heard about Julio Pino, a Kent State University professor who has been stirring controversy about his anti-American teaching while on the tax-payers payroll at a State University.
If you haven't -- you probably will because people across Washington State are receiving calls this week asking for support on an effort to remove him.
[...]
The issue, as I see it, is simply this: Is there too much freedom of speech on university campuses, given the extreme environment of multiculturalism, tolerance, which has become acceptance, and the element of free speech which is a pillar of our freedoms here in America?
[More at URL]
----- 14 -----
International Gathering Affirms the Natural Family
'We see a world restored in line with the intent of its Creator.'
by Bob Ditmer, Family News in Focus
Focus on the Family
5-14-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004617.cfm
WARSAW, Poland – The fourth World Congress of Families (WCF) made a bold statement over the weekend from the capital of a conservative country trying to hold back a tide of secularism.
Allen Carlson, WCF international secretary, said he hopes to counter secular trends with a new vision.
"We see a world restored in line with the intent of its Creator," he said.
That intent, as expressed at the WCF, is for marriage to be between a man and a woman, for the family to be the world’s primary economic unit, for parents to be the first educators and for true happiness to be the result. But Catherine Vierling, general secretary of the European Forum for Human Rights and Family, said that’s not a message EU members want to hear.
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Marriage in Connecticut – High Court and Lawmakers Weigh In
Focus on the Family
5-14-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004615.cfm
The Connecticut Supreme Court is considering a case today to determine the constitutionality of the state marriage law, The Associated Press reported.
In 2004, eight same-sex couples challenged the state's refusal to allow gay marriage. A lower court dismissed the case after the state passed a civil-union law in 2005; the couples appealed, charging that civil unions did not provide enough benefits.
Legislators announced Friday they will not consider legislation to legalize same-sex marriage, saying the measure does not have enough support.
----- 16 -----
Massachusetts Attorney General Says Marriage Amendment May Be Illegal
Focus on the Family
5-14-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004614.cfm
Massachusetts voters could get to vote on the definition of marriage next fall, but Attorney General Martha Coakley said it might not matter.
While the Legislature delayed an important vote on a marriage amendment, Coakley said Friday the amendment may be unconstitutional and could trigger lawsuits.
She expects "protracted, hard-fought litigation," according to The Boston Globe.
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
Professor Who Backs Intelligent Design Denied Tenure
Focus on the Family
5-14-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004613.cfm
A professor at Iowa State University said he has been denied tenure because of his belief that science points to an intelligent designer.
Dr. Guillermo Gonzales, an astronomer and author of The Privileged Planet, does not teach about intelligent design in his university courses. Research and advocacy for the theory are done on his own time.
Dr. John West, associate director of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, said “self-appointed defenders of the theory of evolution” are trying to blacklist anyone who disagrees with them.
“The basic freedom of scientists, teachers and students to do scientific research and question the Darwinian hegemony is coming under attack by people that can only be called Darwinian fundamentalists,” West said. “Intelligent design scientists are losing their jobs, and their professional careers are being torpedoed by these extremists.”
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
Why You Can't Stay Silent
A Biblical Mandate to Shape Our Culture
Tom Minnery
Hardcover
http://resources.family.org/product/id/101781.do?code=CE07ECZL
In Matthew 5, Jesus taught a simple parable comparing His believers to salt and light. What does this lesson mean to millions of Christians now? Tom Minnery, a Focus on the Family vice president, shares a compelling case from a biblical perspective on why Christians must actively address social issues within the culture.
[Editor's note: This is an ad, really; but it's the kind of ad they run with their news updates every day. The ads generally push a book or CD series talking about why you have to be more politically active in order to be a true Christian, or why you have to adopt what they call a "Christian worldview," which is generally a worldview removed from empiricism - the observation of that around you to see what works and what doesn't - in favour of their flavour of fundamentalism, wherein the important question is alignment with theology first, everything else second.]
----- 19 -----
Introducing Susan Stanton
In February, Steve Stanton's secret was out. He lost his job as Largo city manager. Then the world came calling. But not for Steve.
By LANE DeGREGORY
St. Petersburg (FL) Times
Published May 13, 2007
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/13/Tampabay/Introducing_Susan_Sta.shtml
LARGO -- She couldn't sleep. She lay for hours in the dark.
In the morning, she would pose for her first portrait, at age 48. All her life, she had dodged and wavered and contemplated every avoidance, even suicide. Now, 12 hours to go.
She got up at 1 a.m., made coffee. She took a mug into the den of her Largo home, pulled out her red journal and started to write:
So here I sit. Alone in the early morning hours. Waiting for the rest of my life to begin.
[More at URL]
----- 20 -----
The Homosexual Agenda
Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today
Alan Sears & Craig Osten
Paperback
http://resources.family.org/product/id/101715.do?code=CE07ECZL
America is not only widely tolerating homosexuality in our schools, in the media and in the corporate world, but is more openly punishing those who disagree. With well-documented and disturbing proof, Alan Sears and Craig Osten expose the great strides homosexuals are making as a result of their concerted strategic activities.
[More at URL]
----- 21 -----
Students Take a Stand for Truth
Nearly a month after the Day of Silence and Day of Truth, controversy continues.
by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor
Focus on the Family
5-11-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004605.cfm
Sophomore Oleg Manzyuk and many of his friends stayed home from San Juan High School on April 18, the Day of Silence. On that day, homosexual students and their supporters wore tape over their mouths in protest.
Two years ago, the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) established the Day of Truth — April 19 this year — to express a Christian perspective. Nearly 7,000 students participated in the third-annual Day of Truth.
But Oleg wasn’t in class that day either; he and about a dozen others were suspended by the Citrus Heights, Calif., school for wearing T-shirts with Scripture verses addressing homosexuality. In four California districts, at least 150 students were suspended.
[...]
The next Day of Silence is just about 340 days away.
“This would all be settled without a Day of Silence,” Oleg said. “It’s a promotion of homosexuality and the homosexual lifestyle. I don’t want that showcased at school.”
[More at URL]
----- 22 -----
Massachusetts Governor: Marriage Vote to Bring ‘Political Circus’
Focus on the Family
5-11-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004602.cfm
Gov. Deval Patrick claimed on Thursday that a vote on a proposed marriage amendment would bring a “political circus” to town.
[...]
Patrick, who supports same-sex marriage, is actively lobbying for “no” votes, according to The Associated Press.
[More at URL]
----- 23 -----
Study Links Throat Cancer to HPV
Focus on the Family
5-11-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004601.cfm
Although previous research had indicated the human papillomavirus (HPV) causes oral cancer, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine is the first to definitively establish a link between the two.
[...]
“We must realize the growing number of children, some down to the elementary school level, who are involved today in oral sex. With this study, we now know how dangerous this activity can be,” said Linda Klepacki, sexual health analyst for Focus on the Family Action. “Many children and teens don’t define oral sex as sex and can acquire and transmit serious infections by these behaviors.
[More at URL]
----- 24 -----
ACLU Announces Multi-State Attack on Abstinence Ed
Focus on the Family
5-11-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004600.cfm
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced Wednesday its intention to target abstinence-only curriculum in at least 11 states.
Julie Sternberg, senior staff attorney with ACLU Reproductive Freedom, said abstinence education endangers the health of teens.
“We are taking action today,” she said in a statement, “because federally funded abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula across the country contain medically inaccurate information about the importance of condoms.”
[...]
Curricula from Planned Parenthood – taught to teens – suggests that anal and oral intercourse can be defined as abstinent behavior and therefore is safe, she said.
[...]
Targeted states include Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas.
[More at URL]
----- 25 -----
Same-Sex Benefits Now Law in Oregon
Focus on the Family
5-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004585.cfm
Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed legislation Wednesday that adds Oregon to the list of states allowing gay couples to enter domestic partnerships, The Associated Press reported.
The domestic-partnership measure will allow same-sex couples to gain many of the legal benefits of marriage.
In addition, Kulongoski signed a bill that gives homosexuals special rights by making sexual orientation a protected class. [Editor's note: Aside from the grammatical incoherence of this sentence, it's also a lie, as "sexual orientation" includes heterosexuality.]
Family advocates say they plan to launch a petition drive to refer both measures to the November 2008 ballot.
----- 26 -----
Texas Governor Lets HPV Vaccine Mandate Die
Focus on the Family
5-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004589.cfm
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who signed an executive order in February requiring all school-age girls to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), is standing down. The Legislature passed a bill that bars a mandate for four years. Perry will allow the bill to become law without his signature.
“It is time to move this issue from the political arena to the court of public opinion where real lives are at stake,” Perry told The Associated Press.
[Editor's note: Focus on the Family is continuing their lie here. The anti-cervical-cancer vaccine was never a mandate and never required; what had happened is that it had been included in the standard vaccinations list. But you could opt out of it at will.]
[More at URL]
----- Feature Presentation -----
Here is today's Cultural Warfare Update Feature Presentation. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR0c886hpkY
Survey indicates that 24% of UK GPs refusing to sign abortion forms;
Wisconsin pharmacist repeatedly violates employer rules in refusing not just to dispense birth control (in any form), but refusing referrals, harassing birth-control customers, and more; he's suing on the basis of religious discrimination; so far, he's 0 for 2;
LifeNews's version of the story, of course, supports the pharmacist and blames Wal-mart's decision to stock ECP (which is not specifically related to this; it was for all forms of birth control) on "tremendous pressure from Planned Parenthood";
Rev. Jerry Falwell is dead; he had just been on CNN last week reasserting that it was the fault of GBLT people, the ACLU, abortion rights activists, and liberals in general that the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened;
Focus on the Family says Jerry Falwell "finished well;" James Dobson will honour Rev. Falwell, who spent his entire career making millions of dollars by trying to ruin the lives of others, on Larry King Live; James Dobson pledges to continue the war against LBGT people and others they dislike, stating, "It was Jerry who led an entire wing of Christianity, the fundamentalist wing, away from isolation and into a direct confrontation with culture. It was my honor to share the front lines with him in the battle for righteousness in our nation. We will continue that fight, in his honor, until our mutual goals are achieved";
Focus on the Family: "Decline of Marriage Leads to Decline of Civilization";
Colorado passes bill into law allowing lesbian and gay couples to adopt, and a second bill ending "abstinence-only" sex education funding; FotF is outraged, of course;
FotF's "Gays are After Your Children" propaganda today is a story I'm seeing hopping around the fundamentalist networks - "12-Year-Old Forced to Watch Brokeback Mountain Sues School";
FotF prints the American College of Pediatricians statement that embryonic stem-cell research should be stopped at once. The 2002-founded ACP is a real piece of work; their other positions include condemnations of GBLT people as "inordinately promiscuous... even within what are loosely-termed 'committed relationships'... more likely than heterosexuals to experience mental illness, substance abuse, suicidal tendencies, and shortened life spans" - basically the usual litany of theocon bullshit, filtered through secondary-reference footnotes to hide their original sources. They also, of course, assert that children are harmed by being raised by lesbian and gay parents, that contraception is bad, that the HPV vaccine isn't a good idea, and, of course, that abortion is very bad, even worse than contraception, and compare abortion rights supporters to Nazis ("...Echoing the words untermenschen; Lebens unwertenleben suggested in the 1930s in Nazi Germany"). More with the article;
Here's an example of how these things get used; the article is from 2005, but it still shows how these statement from an impressive-sounding groups end up coming out of, say, George W. Bush's mouth;
Faith and Freedom Network runs FotF's article - not quite verbatim, but close to it - on their website, pushes their "Change the State in '08" theocon-election campaign;
Faith and Freedom Network calls for a crackdown on academics, reprinting a position paper stating that "sometimes the exercise of intellectual dissent under the guise of academic freedom is misguided and just plain wrong," calls for beefing up anti-sedition laws, and generally saying it's time to crack down;
FFN's own column supporting crackdowns on dissident academics;
Focus on the Family reports on international theoconfab, the Fourth
Focus on the Family newsbrief on Connecticut case seeking to open the state marriage law to same-sex couples;
Massachusetts attourney general believes that the proposed anti-marriage amendment (which only needs 25% yes vote in the legislature to go to a popular vote) may be unconstitutional;
"Intelligent Design" professor upset that he didn't get tenure, claims creationists are blacklisted;
FotF's ad yesterday was for "Why You Can't Stay Silent; A Biblical Mandate to Shape Our Culture"; I comment on that a tiny bit below;
From
cubes, an update on fired city manager and transwoman Susan Stanton;Focus on the Family's ad for last Friday was for "THE HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today," which is part of their continuing push towards the idea that allowing GBLT people equal treatment under the law is inherently a violation of their religious rights to discriminate against GBLT people. This is an idea they've been working on for some time, of course; the intent is to make rights under the law a zero-sum game, and to declare that Christianity and anti-gay politics are one and the same;
FotF applauds students for "taking a stand" against GBLT anti-bullying efforts an queer students by boycotting school on the Day of Silence protest against anti-gay bullying. One of the interesting things is an outright admission that the plan is to create enough of a stink and mess that the Day of Silence anti-bullying effort gets shut down;
FotF report on the effort to get an anti-marriage amendment on the Massachusetts state ballot;
FotF notes a valid study linking HPV to throat cancer as well as cervical cancer, uses it to describe "how dangerous this activity [oral sex] can be"; and the study is accurate, but you're talking about a difference of 3 in 100,000;
FotF notes that the ACLU is planning a multi-state legal campaign against "abstinence-only" education courses that mischaracterise condoms as ineffective against the spread of STDs;
FotF uses the "special rights" language to describe nondiscrimination law on the basis of sexual orientation; this is a lie, since heterosexuals are included as well;
FotF refers again to a "mandate" that "requires" HPV vaccination in Texas - this in a story about it expiring in Texas. The problem is, it was never a mandate and never required; they just lied about it. What had happened is that the anti-cervical-cancer vaccine had been included in the standard vaccinations list. But you could opt out of it; it wasn't mandatory;
Courtesy
wytwolf, here's today's Cultural Warfare Update Feature Presentation.----- 1 -----
GPs 'refuse to sign abortion forms'
The Daily Mail
Last updated at 06:40am on 3rd May 2007
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=452361&in_page_id=1770
Almost a quarter of GPs are refusing to sign abortion referral forms, a survey reveals.
According to the poll by the doctors' newspaper Pulse, nearly one in five GPs do not believe abortion should be legal.
And 55% of the 309 GPs questioned said they wanted the current 24-week limit for abortions to be reduced.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
Noeson in the news again
Creature of Mad Enthusiasms
7 May 2007
http://neadods.livejournal.com/481974.html?view=2753462
Back in 2005, I wrote about a man named Neil T. Noeson.
Mr. Noeson is a pharmacist, but he is also a Man of Faith, and he refuses to violate that faith by dirtying his hands (or any clients) with anything involving birth control. He wrote a letter to that effect which never made it into the hands of his supervisors at the "On the Go" pharmacy within K-Mart in Menomonie, Wisconsin.
Which is why when On Saturday, July 6, 2002, the patient, referred to hereinafter as “AR”, went to the K-Mart Pharmacy and requested a refill of her Loestrin FE 1/20 prescription, Mr. Noeson (the only pharmacist on site) asked her specifically if she was using the drug for contraception. When she said yes, "AR" got turned down flat. He refused to aid her, refused to refer her to anywhere else, and (when she went to Wal-Mart and they called for her prescription information) he refused to pass the prescription on.
AR pitched a bitch to the manager of K-mart, who admitted that K-Mart had been having problems the whole day because women could not get their prescriptions filled. She suggested that AR come in on Monday, which is what eventually happened, as Mr. Noeson refused all weekend long to violate his conscience by dispensing the drug... which means that AR had a lapse in her coverage, as she was due to start taking the next course of pills by then.
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
Appeals Court Rules Wal-Mart Can Ignore Pharmacist's Conscience Plea
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 5, 2007
http://www.lifenews.com/state2269.html
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) -- The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday that the giant retailer Wal-Mart is not required to respect the conscience rights of a Wisconsin pharmacist. Neil Noeson cited religious objections to filling birth-control prescriptions in what is one of the latest cases involving their ability to opt out of dispensing drugs.
The court found that under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the accommodation Noesen sought would impose an undue hardship on Wal-Mart.
After objecting to filling the birth control prescriptions, Wal-Mart offered to permit Noesen to assist only male customers and women not of childbearing age.
Noesen also wanted to be relieved of all counter and telephone duties unless customers were first pre-screened by others to ensure that they were not seeking birth control.
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
CNN: Just last week, Falwell reiterated his belief that gays caused September 11
by John Aravosis (DC) · 5/15/2007 05:13:00 PM ET
AmericaBlog
http://www.americablog.com/2007/05/cnn-just-last-week-falwell-reiterated.html
He told CNN just one week before his death that he still believes that gays, pro-choicers and other liberals caused September 11. So much for his apology.
[Editor's note: Normally I avoid linking to secondary sources, but in this case, the secondary source links through to a YouTube capture of Falwell's emphatic reassertion that GBLT people caused the 9/11 terrorist attacks.]
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Jerry Falwell ‘Finished Well'
Dr. Dobson scheduled to pay tribute to pioneering leader on Larry King Live.
by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor
Focus on the Family
5-15-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004628.cfm
The Rev. Dr. Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Majority and Liberty University and pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church since 1956, died today. He was 73.
Falwell was found unresponsive in his office this morning. Attempts to resuscitate him failed.
Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family Action, issued a statement honoring Falwell's life.
"Our hearts and prayers go out to Jerry’s wife Macel, his children Jerry, Jonathan and Jeannie, and his church. This is a tragic loss for them – and for all Americans. Jerry’s passions and convictions changed the course of our country for the better over the last 20 years – and I was proud to call him my friend.
“It was Jerry who led an entire wing of Christianity, the fundamentalist wing, away from isolation and into a direct confrontation with culture. It was my honor to share the front lines with him in the battle for righteousness in our nation. We will continue that fight, in his honor, until our mutual goals are achieved."
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Decline of Marriage Leads to Decline of Civilization
International gathering centers on importance of family.
by Bob Ditmer, Family News in Focus
Focus on the Family
5-15-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004627.cfm
WARSAW, Poland – A primary message at The World Congress of Families (WCF) over the weekend was "marriage is good for society." It may be a simple and obvious statement, but in today’s world it needs repeating and defending.
The best way to show the importance of marriage to society is to point out what’s happened since the institution's global decline. Brad Wilcox, a sociologist from the University of Virginia, said it isn’t hard to prove that marriage is in trouble in the West.
"In the last 40 years, marriage rates have plummeted, illegitimacy and divorce have surged and cohabitation has become fashionable," he said. "Poverty, crime, depression, suicide, et cetera are just some of the consequences that follow when marriage is weakened.”
[More at URL]
----- 7 -----
Colorado Governor OKs Gay Adoption, Cuts Abstinence-Only Sex Ed
First-year Democratic leader signed 26 bills Monday.
by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor
Focus on the Family
5-15-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004626.cfm
Gay adoption is in. Abstinence-only education is out.
H.B. 1330, which legalizes gay adoption, and H.B. 1292, which bans abstinence-only education, were among 26 bills Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law Monday.
Ritter told The (Colorado Springs) Gazette that H.B. 1330 will “strengthen families and provide children with as stable an environment as possible.”
Jim Pfaff, president and CEO of the Colorado Family Institute, disagreed.
“Both bills show that this was a Legislature that was willing to pay back its benefactors," he said. “Their agenda is to expand rights and legal acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle. What we need to be doing is strengthening the capability of mother-and-father households to adopt.
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
12-Year-Old Forced to Watch Brokeback Mountain Sues School
She claims teacher shut the door and told the class not to tell.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
5-14-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004616.cfm
The grandparents of a 12-year-old student who says she was forced to watch the R-rated, gay-themed movie Brokeback Mountain at school have filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Board of Education, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, the grandparents of Jessica Turner, are seeking close to $500,000 in damages for psychological distress and false imprisonment.
According to court documents, a substitute teacher told students at Ashburn Community Elementary School, “What happens in Ms. Buford’s class stays in Ms. Buford’s class.” The suit claims Buford then shut the classroom door and showed the film about two cowboys involved in a homosexual affair.
“It is very important to me that my children not be exposed to this,” Kenneth Richardson said. “The teacher knew she was not supposed to do this.”
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Pediatricians Call for End to Embryonic Stem-Cell Research
Focus on the Family
5-15-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004623.cfm
The American College of Pediatricians (ACP) is calling for an end to embryonic stem-cell research and recommends exclusive support for adult stem-cell research, LifeSiteNews.com reported.
“Not only does embryonic research require taking the life of human embryos, it also prolongs needless suffering by delaying the development of more promising adult stem-cell treatments and cures,” said Dr. Michelle Cretella, fellow of ACP.
[More at URL]
[Editor's Note: The American College of Pediatricians is a fundamentalist-friendly thinktank founded in 2002 to generate anti-gay, anti-contraception, and anti-abortion papers, and was founded in specific response to The American Academy of Pediatrics finding that children raised by GBLT parents did not differ significantly from children raised by straight parents. Source here. Their material has been quoted by Mr Bush, the Chief Executive, via the Family Research Council, who promotes their material.]
----- 10 -----
Beliefs drive research agenda of new think tanks
Study on gay adoption disputed by specialists
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | July 31, 2005
The Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/07/31/beliefs_drive_research_agenda_of_new_think_tanks/
WASHINGTON -- President Bush had a ready answer when asked in January for his view of adoption by same-sex couples: ''Studies have shown that the ideal is where a child is raised in a married family with a man and a woman," the president said.
Bush's assertion raised eyebrows among specialists. The American Academy of Pediatrics, composed of leaders in the field, had found no meaningful difference between children raised by same-sex and heterosexual couples, based on a 2002 report written largely by a Boston pediatrician, Dr. Ellen C. Perrin.
But Bush's statement was celebrated at a tiny think tank called the Family Research Institute, where the founder, Dr. Paul Cameron, believes Bush was referring to studies he has published in academic journals that are critical of gays and lesbians as parents. Cameron has published numerous studies with titles such as ''Gay Foster Parents More Apt to Molest" -- a conclusion disputed by many other researchers.
The president's statement was also welcomed at a small organization with an august-sounding name, the American College of Pediatricians. The college, which has a small membership, says on its website that it would be ''dangerously irresponsible" to allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The college was formed just three years ago, after the 75-year-old American Academy of Pediatrics issued its paper.
[...]
Created as counterpoints to large, well-established medical organizations whose work is subject to rigorous review and who assert no political agenda, the tiny think tanks with names often mimicking those of established medical authorities have sought to dispute the notion of a medical consensus on social issues such as gay rights, the right to die, abortion, and birth control.
For example, Cameron's Family Research Institute, with an annual budget of less than $200,000, tries to counter the views of the 150,000-member American Psychological Association, which has an annual budget of $98 million. The tiny American College of Pediatricians has a single employee, yet it has been quoted as a counterpoint to the 60,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics.
Senior Bush aides, asked for the basis of the comment about adoption, now say they are unaware of any studies comparing heterosexual and same-sex adoptions -- by Cameron or by any pediatric association. The president, they say, was probably referring to studies that show children are better off living with both biological parents -- though those studies have nothing to do with adoption by same-sex couples.
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
12-year-old Forced to Watch Brokeback in Classroom
Faith and Freedom Network
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2007/05/12-year-old-forced-to-watch-brokeback.html
A suit has been filed on behalf of a twelve-year-old girl who feels she was forced to watch the gay movie, Brokeback Mountain in her classroom.
This suit claims that a substitute teacher introduced herself as Ms. Buford to the class and then said, “What happens in Ms. Buford’s class stays in Ms. Buford’s class.” The teacher then asked a student to close the door and started showing the R-rated movie. (Click here to read story).
Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, the grandparents of twelve-year-old Jessica Turner who filed the suit said, “It is very important that my children not be exposed to this.”
As I regularly scan the news, I’m seeing more and more of this kind of thing. As our government schools continue to be controlled by secularist, activist educators, I believe their encroachment on parental rights will only intensify.
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
ACADEMIC FREEDOM, INTELLECTUAL DISSENT, AND NATIONAL SECURITY
(Jan. 2006) paper by Tom O'Connor,
Department of Justice Studies, North Carolina Wesleyan College,
presentation at International Military Ethics Symposium, Springfield, VA
Reprinted by Faith and Freedom Network
Online as of 15 May 2007
http://faithandfreedom.us/academic_dissent.html
It is time for fresh thought about the role of colleges and universities, especially in time of war, particularly a long war against a temptingly indefinable enemy like terrorism. Colleges and universities, like the institutions of free press and free speech, are supposed to carry out their "need to know" functions in a responsible manner. Practically everyone would agree that the basic purpose of a college or university is to create new knowledge and teach both old and new knowledge. Few would also disagree that academic freedom might be an appropriate tool for accomplishing that purpose. However, sometimes the exercise of intellectual dissent under the guise of academic freedom is misguided and just plain wrong. For example, the news media and blogosphere are filled with stories about some "muddleheaded" professor somewhere (Gross & Levitt 1997), some "moonbat" professor elsewhere (moonbat describing someone who sacrifices sanity for the sake of consistency), those "great pretenders of academe" (Anderson 1996), "flawed eccentrics and exhibitionists" (Schoenfeld & Magnan 1994), and dare we say it -- "terrorist professors" (Cassell 2004), who do nothing less than give aid and comfort to the enemy. Terrorist professors exist, and we'll get into the legal elements later, but for now, let's assume that some kind of patriotism crisis might be afflicting some professors, even well-intentioned ones, where at least something about their outrageousness might call their patriotism into question, and it can be noted immediately that we're on dangerous ground here since calling someone's patriotism into question is the same as calling someone a traitor, which is bad form and may create a backlash doing more harm than good.
[...]
This is not the place to fully discuss First Amendment jurisprudence. Suffice it to say, as De George (1997) makes clear, academic freedom is not a species of free speech protected by the First Amendment (despite some appeals courts which have sometimes confounded the issue). Academic freedom and tenure are not inalienable rights. They exist because they serve ends which presumably benefit society. It makes perfect sense, therefore to discuss these things in the context of grand strategy or the supposed homeland security benefits of academic dissent.
[More at URL]
----- 13 -----
Multiculturalism, Tolerance and Free Speech. Another Defining Moment.
Faith and Freedom Network
Thursday, May 10, 2007
http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2007/05/multiculturalism-tolerance-and-free.html
You may have heard about Julio Pino, a Kent State University professor who has been stirring controversy about his anti-American teaching while on the tax-payers payroll at a State University.
If you haven't -- you probably will because people across Washington State are receiving calls this week asking for support on an effort to remove him.
[...]
The issue, as I see it, is simply this: Is there too much freedom of speech on university campuses, given the extreme environment of multiculturalism, tolerance, which has become acceptance, and the element of free speech which is a pillar of our freedoms here in America?
[More at URL]
----- 14 -----
International Gathering Affirms the Natural Family
'We see a world restored in line with the intent of its Creator.'
by Bob Ditmer, Family News in Focus
Focus on the Family
5-14-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004617.cfm
WARSAW, Poland – The fourth World Congress of Families (WCF) made a bold statement over the weekend from the capital of a conservative country trying to hold back a tide of secularism.
Allen Carlson, WCF international secretary, said he hopes to counter secular trends with a new vision.
"We see a world restored in line with the intent of its Creator," he said.
That intent, as expressed at the WCF, is for marriage to be between a man and a woman, for the family to be the world’s primary economic unit, for parents to be the first educators and for true happiness to be the result. But Catherine Vierling, general secretary of the European Forum for Human Rights and Family, said that’s not a message EU members want to hear.
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
Marriage in Connecticut – High Court and Lawmakers Weigh In
Focus on the Family
5-14-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004615.cfm
The Connecticut Supreme Court is considering a case today to determine the constitutionality of the state marriage law, The Associated Press reported.
In 2004, eight same-sex couples challenged the state's refusal to allow gay marriage. A lower court dismissed the case after the state passed a civil-union law in 2005; the couples appealed, charging that civil unions did not provide enough benefits.
Legislators announced Friday they will not consider legislation to legalize same-sex marriage, saying the measure does not have enough support.
----- 16 -----
Massachusetts Attorney General Says Marriage Amendment May Be Illegal
Focus on the Family
5-14-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004614.cfm
Massachusetts voters could get to vote on the definition of marriage next fall, but Attorney General Martha Coakley said it might not matter.
While the Legislature delayed an important vote on a marriage amendment, Coakley said Friday the amendment may be unconstitutional and could trigger lawsuits.
She expects "protracted, hard-fought litigation," according to The Boston Globe.
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
Professor Who Backs Intelligent Design Denied Tenure
Focus on the Family
5-14-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004613.cfm
A professor at Iowa State University said he has been denied tenure because of his belief that science points to an intelligent designer.
Dr. Guillermo Gonzales, an astronomer and author of The Privileged Planet, does not teach about intelligent design in his university courses. Research and advocacy for the theory are done on his own time.
Dr. John West, associate director of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, said “self-appointed defenders of the theory of evolution” are trying to blacklist anyone who disagrees with them.
“The basic freedom of scientists, teachers and students to do scientific research and question the Darwinian hegemony is coming under attack by people that can only be called Darwinian fundamentalists,” West said. “Intelligent design scientists are losing their jobs, and their professional careers are being torpedoed by these extremists.”
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
Why You Can't Stay Silent
A Biblical Mandate to Shape Our Culture
Tom Minnery
Hardcover
http://resources.family.org/product/id/101781.do?code=CE07ECZL
In Matthew 5, Jesus taught a simple parable comparing His believers to salt and light. What does this lesson mean to millions of Christians now? Tom Minnery, a Focus on the Family vice president, shares a compelling case from a biblical perspective on why Christians must actively address social issues within the culture.
[Editor's note: This is an ad, really; but it's the kind of ad they run with their news updates every day. The ads generally push a book or CD series talking about why you have to be more politically active in order to be a true Christian, or why you have to adopt what they call a "Christian worldview," which is generally a worldview removed from empiricism - the observation of that around you to see what works and what doesn't - in favour of their flavour of fundamentalism, wherein the important question is alignment with theology first, everything else second.]
----- 19 -----
Introducing Susan Stanton
In February, Steve Stanton's secret was out. He lost his job as Largo city manager. Then the world came calling. But not for Steve.
By LANE DeGREGORY
St. Petersburg (FL) Times
Published May 13, 2007
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/13/Tampabay/Introducing_Susan_Sta.shtml
LARGO -- She couldn't sleep. She lay for hours in the dark.
In the morning, she would pose for her first portrait, at age 48. All her life, she had dodged and wavered and contemplated every avoidance, even suicide. Now, 12 hours to go.
She got up at 1 a.m., made coffee. She took a mug into the den of her Largo home, pulled out her red journal and started to write:
So here I sit. Alone in the early morning hours. Waiting for the rest of my life to begin.
[More at URL]
----- 20 -----
The Homosexual Agenda
Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today
Alan Sears & Craig Osten
Paperback
http://resources.family.org/product/id/101715.do?code=CE07ECZL
America is not only widely tolerating homosexuality in our schools, in the media and in the corporate world, but is more openly punishing those who disagree. With well-documented and disturbing proof, Alan Sears and Craig Osten expose the great strides homosexuals are making as a result of their concerted strategic activities.
[More at URL]
----- 21 -----
Students Take a Stand for Truth
Nearly a month after the Day of Silence and Day of Truth, controversy continues.
by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor
Focus on the Family
5-11-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004605.cfm
Sophomore Oleg Manzyuk and many of his friends stayed home from San Juan High School on April 18, the Day of Silence. On that day, homosexual students and their supporters wore tape over their mouths in protest.
Two years ago, the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) established the Day of Truth — April 19 this year — to express a Christian perspective. Nearly 7,000 students participated in the third-annual Day of Truth.
But Oleg wasn’t in class that day either; he and about a dozen others were suspended by the Citrus Heights, Calif., school for wearing T-shirts with Scripture verses addressing homosexuality. In four California districts, at least 150 students were suspended.
[...]
The next Day of Silence is just about 340 days away.
“This would all be settled without a Day of Silence,” Oleg said. “It’s a promotion of homosexuality and the homosexual lifestyle. I don’t want that showcased at school.”
[More at URL]
----- 22 -----
Massachusetts Governor: Marriage Vote to Bring ‘Political Circus’
Focus on the Family
5-11-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004602.cfm
Gov. Deval Patrick claimed on Thursday that a vote on a proposed marriage amendment would bring a “political circus” to town.
[...]
Patrick, who supports same-sex marriage, is actively lobbying for “no” votes, according to The Associated Press.
[More at URL]
----- 23 -----
Study Links Throat Cancer to HPV
Focus on the Family
5-11-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004601.cfm
Although previous research had indicated the human papillomavirus (HPV) causes oral cancer, a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine is the first to definitively establish a link between the two.
[...]
“We must realize the growing number of children, some down to the elementary school level, who are involved today in oral sex. With this study, we now know how dangerous this activity can be,” said Linda Klepacki, sexual health analyst for Focus on the Family Action. “Many children and teens don’t define oral sex as sex and can acquire and transmit serious infections by these behaviors.
[More at URL]
----- 24 -----
ACLU Announces Multi-State Attack on Abstinence Ed
Focus on the Family
5-11-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004600.cfm
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced Wednesday its intention to target abstinence-only curriculum in at least 11 states.
Julie Sternberg, senior staff attorney with ACLU Reproductive Freedom, said abstinence education endangers the health of teens.
“We are taking action today,” she said in a statement, “because federally funded abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula across the country contain medically inaccurate information about the importance of condoms.”
[...]
Curricula from Planned Parenthood – taught to teens – suggests that anal and oral intercourse can be defined as abstinent behavior and therefore is safe, she said.
[...]
Targeted states include Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas.
[More at URL]
----- 25 -----
Same-Sex Benefits Now Law in Oregon
Focus on the Family
5-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004585.cfm
Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed legislation Wednesday that adds Oregon to the list of states allowing gay couples to enter domestic partnerships, The Associated Press reported.
The domestic-partnership measure will allow same-sex couples to gain many of the legal benefits of marriage.
In addition, Kulongoski signed a bill that gives homosexuals special rights by making sexual orientation a protected class. [Editor's note: Aside from the grammatical incoherence of this sentence, it's also a lie, as "sexual orientation" includes heterosexuality.]
Family advocates say they plan to launch a petition drive to refer both measures to the November 2008 ballot.
----- 26 -----
Texas Governor Lets HPV Vaccine Mandate Die
Focus on the Family
5-10-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004589.cfm
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who signed an executive order in February requiring all school-age girls to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), is standing down. The Legislature passed a bill that bars a mandate for four years. Perry will allow the bill to become law without his signature.
“It is time to move this issue from the political arena to the court of public opinion where real lives are at stake,” Perry told The Associated Press.
[Editor's note: Focus on the Family is continuing their lie here. The anti-cervical-cancer vaccine was never a mandate and never required; what had happened is that it had been included in the standard vaccinations list. But you could opt out of it at will.]
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Here is today's Cultural Warfare Update Feature Presentation. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR0c886hpkY
