Today's Cultural Warfare Update
Jun. 20th, 2007 10:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdBut now, this morning's news.
Focus on the Family unhappy with New Hampshire civil unions law; quotes Republican state chair as saying that "New Hampshire voters did not have civil unions in mind when they gave Gov. Lynch a Democratic majority last fall";
eHarmony.com founder says "We don't really want to participate in something that's illegal," referring to not providing matchmaking service to GBLT people;
Focus on the Family reports, "United Methodists to Weigh Transsexuality," and friendly-quotes an opponent calling GRS "mutilation of the body" and opposing the concept of gender identity disorder;
Focus on the Family wants Texas Supreme Court to issue ruling recognising fertilised eggs as "persons," which has very specific and important legal meaning;
FotF condemns opposition to Chief Executive Bush's anti-gay surgeon-general nominee as religious discrimination, subheading their article with, "man of faith is under fire for biblical stance on homosexuality";
Exodus International to try to "grow" its network of "ex-gay"/"conversion therapy" counselors, and its church network; Focus on the Family also promotes its own ex-gay religious-conversion programme;
Focus on the Family, other theoconservative groups, want 10 Commandments postal stamps, quotes Roy Moore;
Catholic Church, Mexican Federal government challenge Mexico City abortion law allowing first-trimester abortion, hope to overturn it;
FotF ad promotes David Limbaugh book Persecution, claiming that Christians are persecuted in the US by the "mythical 'separation of church and state'" and "tolerance"; this is part of the recurring theme, that by not being able to impose their religious beliefs on others via the force of law, they are the ones being persecuted. This recurring theme has been ongoing since at least the mid-1990s, when I started monitoring the fundamentalist movement;
Alliance Defense Fund sues New York State to halt New York State's recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states and/or countries;
FotF: Democratic candidates all support abortion rights, stating that they are all "radical" in "defending the killing of preborn children";
FotF rails against Cannes Film Festival critics for giving "abortion film" the Palm d'Or;
Pro Life Virginia, Children Need Heroes, StreetPreach, and Paul Hill Memorial announce Paul Hill Memorial Tour and a four-day event called "Paul Hill Days"; who is Paul Hill? The assassin of John Britton, a Florida doctor who provided abortion services, and James Barrett, Dr. Britton's clinic escort;
Children Need Heroes, one of the sponsours of the above event celebrating the martyrdom of Paul Hill (their words, not mine) has a chintzy website, but here's a link to their "Three Heroes" page - three anti-abortion-rights activists who either bombed women's health clinics or killed abortion-providing doctors;
LA Times reporter Megan Stack writes on the experience of trying to exist as a woman in Saudi Arabia, and how the high-level theocratic government works to eliminate the existence of women from public life; these are our "allies";
Indiana man beaten to death over a period of several hours and left in a field to die (before they came back and tried to hide the body) for being perceived as gay (reportedly he actually wasn't); the alleged assailants are using the "gay panic" defense; there's been virtually no press coverage, but
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bookshop wrote about it;Concerned Women for America condemn CDC disease-prevention efforts targeting GBLT people, saying, "CDC is sponsoring events that foment the spreading of disease rather than those that prevent disease"; CWA's Matt Barber says, "It is the height of irresponsibility and incongruity for the CDC, which is tasked with disease control and prevention, to actively promote and encourage the very homosexual lifestyle which they admit is most responsible for the spread of preventable, and often deadly, sexually transmitted disease";
Concerned Women for America's Matt Barber condemns lawsuit against eHarmony over eHarmony's refusal to server GBLT people; turns out the founder of eHarmony "has ties to" James Dobson and Focus on the Family. Matt Barber again calls GBLT people "immoral and disordered," and that the intent of the "lefty-lavender-bully-brigade" is "to fill the vacuum with government mandated celebration of deviant, mutable and disordered homosexual behaviors"; this article is also run by townhall.com;
CWA's condemns Massachusetts vote not to eliminate marriage rights for GBLT couples; most of the article is quoting Matt Barber again; he's quite the busy fellow;
CWA's Janet Crouse ridicules the idea that anti-gay harassment and/or pressure has any role on teen suicide; note that CWA is also against anti-bullying and anti-harassment programmes that work to prevent bullying or harassment of GBLT teens, even by teachers and staff at schools; this article also ran on townhall.com;
CWA's Sarah Rode condemns the Equal Rights Amendment;
townhall.com asks "Why Do Gays Hate Religious Freedom?" a question which is, of course, intended to further the association of anti-gay activities with religion; making anti-gay politics a core part of Christian religion has been a continuing de facto project of the theoconservative movement over the last several years;
WorldNetDaily joins the crowd calling emergency-birth-control (Plan B, the "morning after" contraceptive pill") an abortifacient, using the same method of redefining pregnancy to be contraception rather than implantation, which is a meaning nobody outside the theoconservative uses. They even use scare-quotes around the word "contraceptive," which is pretty sad;
Los Angeles Times article on the rift between Focus on the Family (et al) and Colorado Right to Life (et al) over how to work on ending all access to abortion;
Michael Medved, who should have stuck to writing good books about bad movies, blames "TV addiction" for "liberalism"; what's interesting about this is that he credits the "Culture and Media Institute," headed by Robert Knight. Longtime readers will recognise Robert Knight as a CWA wonk; the Culture and Media Institute is a CWA sockpuppet organisation. Also extensively quoted is the CMI's Brian Fitzpatrick, who is also a Concerned Women for America writer.
----- 1 -----
N.H. Governor Signs Civil-Union Law
Focus on the Family
6-01-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004762.cfm
Gov. John Lynch signed a law Thursday establishing civil unions for same-sex couples in New Hampshire, allowing them to apply for the same rights as married people as early as January, The Associated Press reported.
It is the fourth state to offer civil unions and the first to do so without a court order or threat of one.
“New Hampshire voters did not have civil unions in mind when they gave Gov. Lynch a Democratic majority last fall,” Republican State Chairman Fergus Cullen told The Telegraph of Nashua, N.H.
[More at URL]
----- 2 -----
eHarmony Sued for Only Matching Men and Women
Focus on the Family
6-01-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004759.cfm
[...]
Linda Carlson of California sued eHarmony in Los Angeles County Superior Court after she tried to meet a woman on the site this year. The suit claims eHarmony violates a state law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Neil Clark Warren, founder of eHarmony, told USA Today that his site promotes heterosexual marriage, about which he has done extensive research. He said he does not know enough about gay and lesbian relationships to do same-sex matching.
It "calls for some very careful thinking. Very careful research," he told the newspaper. He adds that same-sex marriage is illegal in most states. "We don't really want to participate in something that's illegal."
[More at URL]
----- 3 -----
United Methodists to Weigh Transsexuality
Issue will be discussed at 2008 General Conference.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
6-01-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004764.cfm
The United Methodist Church has reappointed a transsexual pastor in Maryland; once a female, she had an operation to become a man.
Mark Tooley with the Institute on Religion and Democracy said the decision to reappoint "Drew Phoenix" – formerly known as Ann Gordon – to lead St. John’s Church in Baltimore sets a disturbing precedent.
“It is very troubling for the church to give a blessing to what is essentially a mutilation of the body, which is what a sex-change operation is," he said, "rather than to encourage and affirm sexual identity as God gave it.”
[More at URL]
----- 4 -----
Texas Supreme Court May Consider Personhood of Embryos
Are they people or property?
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
6-01-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004765.cfm
A divorced couple is fighting over the future of three frozen embryos and the Texas Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether the embryos are community property or life that should be protected by law.
Randy and Augusta Romans divorced in 2002. He wants the embryos destroyed, she wants them implanted. If the court does not take action, the embryos will likely remain frozen.
David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council, said one item the court will likely not be able to consider is what’s best for the embryos.
“Under Texas law, these embryos aren’t recognized as persons, just as pieces of property," he told Family News in Focus.
[More at URL]
----- 5 -----
Gay Activist Group Opposes Surgeon General Nominee
Man of faith is under fire for biblical stance on homosexuality.
by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor
Focus on the Family
6-01-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004766.cfm
What does faith have to do with being surgeon general? According to Soulforce, a whole lot.
Last week, President Bush nominated Dr. James W. Holsinger to be surgeon general. Now Soulforce, a national gay activist group, says Holsinger needs to check his religion at the hospital doors, the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader reported.
[...]
"Dr. James Holsinger has demonstrated in the past that he harbors religious-based prejudice towards homosexuals," Jamie McDaniel, coordinator of Soulforce Lexington, told the Herald-Leader.
Bob Moffit, director of the Center for Health Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation, said there should never be a religious test for public office.
[More at URL]
----- 6 -----
Exodus International Expands its Reach
The nation's largest Christian outreach to ex-gays is expanding its vision, network and influence.
Focus on the Family
5-31-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004746.cfm
Florida-based Exodus International plans to grow its professional network of counselors, create an online resource center, streamline operations within the organization's national network and increase its influence on public policy issues.
[...]
Last summer, Exodus launched the Exodus Church Network, which includes 40 churches.
"Issues related to homosexuality are some of the most culturally prominent of our day," said Melissa Fryrear, director of the gender issues department at Focus on the Family.
[...]
Focus on the Family's Love Won Out ministry also promotes the truth that change is possible for those who experience same-sex attractions. The next Love Won Out conference is Aug. 4 in Portland, Ore.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit Exodus and Love Won Out on the Web.
----- 7 -----
Faith Groups Press for Ten Commandments Stamp
First request was rejected as "religious."
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
5-30-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004739.cfm
Faith-based groups are once again asking the U.S. Postal Service to publish a stamp honoring the Ten Commandments.
An alliance led by Faith and Action and the Christian Defense Coalition today presented petitions from all 50 states asking for the stamp.
[More at URL]
----- 8 -----
Mexico Supreme Court Will Hear Abortion Challenge
Focus on the Family
5-30-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004736.cfm
A Mexico City law that allows abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is being challenged before the nation's Supreme Court. Abortions will continue, pending the ruling, The Associated Press reported.
The debate over abortion pits Mexico City's leftist government against conservative President Felipe Calderón and the Roman Catholic Church. The legal challenges were filed by two federal agencies, according to the report.
[More at URL]
----- 9 -----
Persecution
How Liberals are Waging War Against Christians
David Limbaugh
Hardcover
http://resources.family.org/product/id/101737.do?code=CE07FCZL
Author David Limbaugh exposes the subtle but pervasive discrimination against biblical Christianity in our culture. Using real, sometimes shocking, examples from Hollywood, public schools and other venues, he shows how terms like "tolerance" and the mythical "separation of church and state" have been used to portray Christianity as repressive, ignorant and offensive. This is a call to action for those who want to exercise their right to influence popular culture and find true religious freedom.
[More at URL]
----- 10 -----
Lawsuit Challenges New York's Same-Sex Benefits
Experts say new regulations are part of an agenda coming down from the governor.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004733.cfm
New York's Department of Civil Service broadened the term "spouse" earlier this month to allow gay state employees who were "married" in Massachusetts or in another country to receive health- and life-insurance benefits.
Stephen Hayford, a spokesman for the Coalition to Save Marriage in New York, said it's part of an agenda coming down from the top.
[...]
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has filed a suit challenging the state's position.
"We're asking the court to issue an order finding that the acts of the Department of Civil Service are illegal under New York law, and to void them," said Brian Raum, an ADF attorney. "It's simply an attempt by special interests and political partisans to change the fundamental definition of marriage."
[More at URL]
----- 11 -----
Democratic Presidential Candidates All Favor Abortion
Focus on the Family
5-29-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004729.cfm
A survey of presidential hopefuls by the pro-abortion group NARAL found that all of the Democratic contenders support abortion.
According to LifeNews.com, NARAL President Nancy Keenan wrote in an e-mail to supporters that she was proud her group was the "first pro-choice organization to provide statements directly from these candidates."
[...]
"If you take a closer look at what these candidates stand for, you see how radical they are in defending the killing of preborn children," she said. "Senator Clinton and former Senator Edwards voted against federal bans on partial birth abortion and all three condemned the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding a federal law against that gruesome act. They support unrestricted abortion without limit, and that's not what most Americans want in public policy."
[More at URL]
----- 12 -----
Abortion Film Takes Top Award at Cannes Film Festival
Focus on the Family
5-29-2007
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000004731.cfm
A panel of critics at the Cannes Film Festival in France awarded the coveted Palm d'Or award to a dark film that follows a woman who is trying to obtain an illegal abortion in communist Romania.
4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days is named after the age of the baby when it is aborted.
[...]
"From what I hear, it's very dark and morbid," he said about 4 Months. "It's very telling that the Palm d'Or is given by the critics."
[...]
"It shows the great divide between Americana, the average citizen of the U.S., and what they believe, as opposed to this elite group of critics who love darkness," Severino said. "They want to see the worst of the human condition. I think people want to see the best of the human condition."
[More at URL]
[Ed. Note: a lot of the elided portion of the article are pushing the "life and pro-family theme" of a film called Bella, which apparently did well at the Toronto Film Festival this year. That URL is here.]
----- 13 -----
Paul HIll Memorial
"Well done, thou good and faithful servant." -- Matthew 25:23
May 17, 2007
http://www.ezekielsystems.com/paulhillmemorial/
Dear Friends of Paul Hill,
After much discussion and prayer, Drew Heiss and I are announcing an event to honor Paul Hill on the 13th anniversary of his actions in defense of preborn babies in Pensacola. Memorial events will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to honor him as God’s man and our hero.
Paul Hill Days
July 26th – 29th of 2007
Why Milwaukee? Why not? There are people here who recognize Paul Hill as a hero, and we would love to welcome others from around the country who share our belief. Hopefully, in the future, others will host events in their cities.
[...]
On July 29th, 1994, Paul Hill boldly defended 31 babies from unspeakable violence by killing a paid assassin and his bodyguard. He was arrested, given a sham trial, and executed as a martyr. On the 13th anniversary of Paul Hill’s act of love and mercy, memorial events will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to honor him as God’s man and our hero.
[...]
Sponsored By:
Paul Hill Memorial
Children Need Heroes
StreetPreach
Pro Life Virginia
[More at URL]
----- 14 -----
Children Need Heroes
Three American Heroes
Online as of 20 June 2007
http://www.childrenneedheroes.com/ [Click on "Three Heroes" link in sidebar on left]
Three American Heroes
Paul Hill was a Presbyterian pastor who proclaimed boldly the Biblical duty to defend the preborn as we would want to be defended. On July 29th, 1994, he lovingly protected 31 preborn children in Pensacola from a paid assassin, by killing the abortionist who was set on butchering them. He was tried as a murderer in a sham trial, never being allowed to say why he killed the abortionist. He was executed on September 3rd, 2003. His final words were: “May God help you to protect the unborn as you would want to be protected.”
[...]
Shelley Shannon
Shelley Shannon was a veteran of many rescues. In 1994 she became convinced that it was Biblical to use force to protect innocent children from murder. She successfully burned down several abortion clinics. She shot a notorious Kansas child killer in an attempt to disable him from killing innocent children. She was sentenced to 11 years for attempted murder. She was later sentenced to 20 years for arson.
[...]
James Kopp
Known as “The Atomic Dog,” James Kopp was a long-time rescuer. A Roman Catholic, he was a member of the “Lambs of Christ.” Famous for his “lock and block” rescues, he was an inspiration to rescuers across the country. In 1998 a notorious Buffalo NY abortionist was shot and killed. James Kopp was charged and pro-life friends helped him avoid arrest. He was arrested in France in 2001. He was convicted of 2nd degree murder after claiming he was only trying to disable the abortionist from further killing.
[More at URL]
----- 15 -----
In Saudi Arabia, a view from behind the veil
As a woman in the male-dominated kingdom, Times reporter Megan Stack quietly fumed beneath her abaya. Even beyond its borders, her experience taints her perception of the sexes.
By Megan K. Stack, Times Staff Writer
June 6, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-women6jun06,0,5491632,full.story?coll=la-home-center
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — THE hem of my heavy Islamic cloak trailed over floors that glistened like ice. I walked faster, my eyes fixed on a familiar, green icon. I hadn't seen a Starbucks in months, but there it was, tucked into a corner of a fancy shopping mall in the Saudi capital. After all those bitter little cups of sludgy Arabic coffee, here at last was an improbable snippet of home — caffeinated, comforting, American.
[...]
He didn't tell me what I would learn later: Starbucks had another, unmarked door around back that led to a smaller espresso bar, and a handful of tables smothered by curtains. That was the "family" section. As a woman, that's where I belonged. I had no right to mix with male customers or sit in plain view of passing shoppers. Like the segregated South of a bygone United States, today's Saudi Arabia shunts half the population into separate, inferior and usually invisible spaces.
[...]
The rules are different here. The same U.S. government that heightened public outrage against the Taliban by decrying the mistreatment of Afghan women prizes the oil-slicked Saudi friendship and even offers wan praise for Saudi elections in which women are banned from voting. All U.S. fast-food franchises operating here, not just Starbucks, make women stand in separate lines. U.S.-owned hotels don't let women check in without a letter from a company vouching for her ability to pay; women checking into hotels alone have long been regarded as prostitutes.
[...]
ONE glaring spring day, when the hot winds raced in off the plains and the sun blotted everything to white, I stood outside a Riyadh bank, sweating in my black cloak while I waited for a friend. The sidewalk was simmering, but I had nowhere else to go. As a woman, I was forbidden to enter the men's half of the bank to fetch him. Traffic screamed past on a nearby highway. The winds tugged at the layers of black polyester. My sunglasses began to slip down my glistening nose.
The door clattered open, and I looked up hopefully. But no, it was a security guard. And he was stomping straight at me, yelling in Arabic. I knew enough vocabulary to glean his message: He didn't want me standing there. I took off my shades, fixed my blue eyes on him blankly and finally turned away as if puzzled. I think of this as playing possum.
He disappeared again, only to reemerge with another security guard. This man was of indistinct South Asian origin and had an English vocabulary. He looked like a pit bull — short, stocky and teeth flashing as he barked: "Go! Go! You can't stand here! The men can SEE! The men can SEE!"
I looked down at him and sighed. I was tired. "Where do you want me to go? I have to wait for my friend. He's inside." But he was still snarling and flashing those teeth, arms akimbo. He wasn't interested in discussions.
"Not here. NOT HERE! The men can SEE you!" He flailed one arm toward the bank.
[More at URL]
----- 16 -----
Perhaps I could describe what I'm feeling right now as "sudden heat."
Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus
2007-06-19
http://bookshop.livejournal.com/834653.html
I want to tell you all a story.
[...]
90 minutes southeast of Bloomington there is a town called Crothersville, almost literally a four-way stop with its own Stop-In Liquor store. Crothersville, as tiny as it is, made the national news two years ago after a ten-year-old girl was kidnapped, sexually assualted, and murdered. Everyone in Crothersville will tell you that everyone in Crothersville knows everyone else.
On the afternoon of April 12, 2007, a man named Aaron Hall (nicknamed "Shorty" because of his slight build and miniscule stature - he barely topped 5'4" and weighed around 100 pounds) met some fellow Crothersville natives, coming back from their Stop-In at the liquor store. 19-year-old Garrett Gray,18-year-old Coleman King, and 21-year-old Jamie Hendricks picked Hall up and went back to Gray's house, where they proceeded to drink and hang out.
From every indication from sparse news reports and word of mouth, it began as a verbal insult, maybe to Gray's dead mother, maybe to King's heterosexuality, maybe to nothing at all.
The 'why' will probably never be fully known to us. Whatever the details, Hall said the wrong thing. And sparked in Gray and King what the official Initial Hearing report termed a "sudden heat."
A "sudden heat" which would last throughout the next 24 hours.
Note: The following descriptions are graphic and disturbing, and may not be appropriate for sensitive readers.
[More at URL]
----- 17 -----
"Men for Hire" and "Booty Call": The CDC and Your Tax Dollars
Some shocking uses of your money by the CDC.
Concerned Women for America
6/18/2007
By Sara Rode
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/13193/CFI/family/index.htm
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is asking for more of your money but using it for purposes anathema to the majority of the American people. Fortunately for American taxpayers, Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) is demanding responsible spending from legislators and government agencies. Sen. Coburn's hard work in creating oversight in government spending has revealed some shocking uses of your money by the CDC.
[...]
It is counter-productive to encourage homosexual behavior through seminars that teach attendees how to flirt more effectively, encourage homosexual pornography and advise hiring prostitutes rather than going to "sex clubs." The CDC simultaneously reports statistics that reveal homosexual men as the highest risk group for STDs: "Homosexuals comprise the single largest exposure category of the more than 600,000 males with AIDS in the United States. As of December 1999, 'men who have sex with men' and 'men who have sex with men and inject drugs' together accounted for 64 percent of the cumulative total of male AIDS cases."1 This is an outrageous figure considering that homosexual men account for only 1-3% of the male population, but represent 64% of AIDS cases. The CDC also reports, "Studies of MSM (men who have sex with men) treated in STD clinics show rates of infection as high as 36 percent in major cities."2 Unfortunately, the CDC is combating the spread of AIDS by funding homosexually explicit events and telling participants to use a condom. It does not seem to be working.
Matt Barber, CWA's Policy Director for Cultural Issues, found it mind-boggling. "It is the height of irresponsibility and incongruity for the CDC, which is tasked with disease control and prevention, to actively promote and encourage the very homosexual lifestyle which they admit is most responsible for the spread of preventable, and often deadly, sexually transmitted disease," said Barber. "What's next? Is the CDC going to use our tax dollars to sponsor a cigarette smoke-a-thon fundraiser for the American Lung Association? Are they going to encourage people to avoid liver disease by drinking a fifth of Jack Daniels per day? Someone at the CDC needs to be held accountable for this."
[More at URL]
----- 18 -----
Queerly Beloved – “Gay” Activists Sue eHarmony
By Matt Barber
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Send an email to Matt Barber
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MattBarber/2007/06/06/queerly_beloved_–_“gay”_activists_sue_eharmony
Luigi is living the American dream. He’s finally saved up enough money to come to America — the land of freedom and opportunity — to pursue his lifelong goal of owning and operating his own pizzeria. Based on his grandmother’s old family recipe, his pizza pie quickly becomes known as the best in town.
Bruce is hungry. As he strolls down the boulevard, he decides he’s got a taste for Chinese food. Bruce walks past three Chinese restaurants and goes into Luigi’s. Bruce has seen too many episodes of The Sopranos, so he doesn’t like Italians. “I’ll have an order of Egg Foo Yung,” Bruce says to Luigi. “Egg Foo who?” Luigi replies. Bruce promptly sues Luigi for unspecified damages, seeking an injunction to force him to add Egg Foo Yung to his menu.
[...]
Author and clinical psychologist Dr. Neil Clark Warren is founder of eHarmony.com, Inc. Dr. Warren is an evangelical Christian with former business ties to the Christian organization Focus on the Family. eHarmony’s stated goal is to “[build] happy and lasting relationships all over the world.” The company promotes traditional marriage by matching prospective spouses based on “‘29 Dimensions of Compatibility’ found in thousands of successful relationships.” Dr. Warren has indicated in multiple press accounts that his expertise is limited to heterosexual relationships, and for that reason alone, eHarmony focuses on promoting traditional marriage.
[...]
Just as Bruce doesn’t like Italians, many on the left don’t like Christians. They don’t like that Christians believe that there are clear lines of demarcation between right and wrong. They don’t like that both the Bible and natural law unequivocally condemn homosexual behaviors as immoral and disordered. They don’t like hearing the Good News that a Redeemer loves them so much He offers us freedom from our sin. And for that reason, they don’t like Dr. Neil Clark Warren, and they don’t like eHarmony. Oh, and the fact that Dr. Warren is a Christian with ties to Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family — well, that just drives ‘em plain batty.
So, eHarmony becomes the latest casualty of the lefty-lavender-bully-brigade as they seek to rid the world of contrived and twisted notions of “heterosexism” and “homophobia.” The plan is underway. The intent is to fill the vacuum with government mandated celebration of deviant, mutable and disordered homosexual behaviors. (The terms “homophobia” and “heterosexism” are made up word weapons used by the left against anyone who agrees with the traditional values model of human sexuality or who doesn’t unconditionally accept homosexual behavior.)
[More at URL]
----- 19 -----
Massachusetts Lawmakers Betray Constituents on "Same-Sex Marriage"
Concerned Women for America
6/15/2007
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/13180/MEDIA/family/index.htm
Washington, D.C. — Despite broad support and almost two hundred thousand petition signatures, Massachusetts lawmakers thumbed their noses at constituents on Thursday and voted by just over a three-to-one margin (151-45) to prevent the citizens of Massachusetts from voting on a constitutional amendment in 2008 which, if passed, would have properly restored the definition of marriage to one man and one woman.
Addressing the vote, Matt Barber, Policy Director for Cultural Issues with Concerned Women for America (CWA), said, “In its 2003 Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court circumvented the constitutional process and arbitrarily imposed ‘same-sex marriage’ on the people of Massachusetts through a brazen and contemptuous act of judicial activism. Now members of the liberal Massachusetts state legislature have surrendered to the demands of the radical homosexual lobby and have betrayed their own constituents and the democratic process by precluding them from weighing in on this crucial issue.
“What are they afraid of? Well, we know the answer to that question. They mustn’t allow the voters to decide on marriage because ‘gay marriage’ proponents almost universally lose when the voters have their say.
“Thousands of years of history, every major world religion and good ole’ fashioned common sense dictate that legitimate marriage exists only between a male and a female and that it is a sacred and fundamental cornerstone to any healthy society.
“After the Massachusetts Supreme Court — through judicial fiat — miraculously divined that the framers of the state constitution really intended that Patrick Henry could marry Henry Patrick, many in Massachusetts — embarrassed by the court’s unprecedented leftist extremism — felt that their state had become a laughingstock and initiated the constitutional process in an effort to undo this insanity. Although this ballot initiative wasn’t perfect in that it would have grandfathered existing ‘same-sex marriages’ in the state, the citizens of Massachusetts should have at least been allowed to speak. But instead, Massachusetts lawmakers have arrogantly and disdainfully told their own constituents to shut up and go home. This just underscores the need for a federal constitutional amendment which would protect the true definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman,” concluded Barber.
For Information Contact:
Jennifer Fedor
(202) 488-7000
media.cwfa.org
----- 20 -----
Talking Points: The HPV Vaccine
Concerned Women for America
2/12/2007
By Penny Harrington
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/12333/CWA/misc/index.htm
CWA urges lawmakers to resist mandating this vaccine.
[...]
5. The HPV vaccine offers false security. There is concern that a vaccine involving STDs may give those receiving the immunization a false sense of protection against such diseases, particularly if they are not adequately informed about the vaccine's limitations. It is important, but unfortunately not required, that recipients receive a strong abstinence message so that they understand that the only real protection from the broad range of STDs comes from refraining from sexual activity prior to marriage.
6. The American College of Pediatricians agrees that legislative mandates are inappropriate. The American College of Pediatricians released a statement on January 22, 2007, showing their support for the HPV vaccine but their opposition to measures that would mandate such a vaccine. It reads, "The American College of Pediatricians is opposed to any legislation which would require HPV vaccination for school attendance. Excluding children from school for refusal to be vaccinated for a disease spread only by penetrating vaginal intercourse is a serious, precedent-setting action that trespasses on the right of parents to make medical decisions for their children as well as on the rights of the children to attend school. In addition, this vaccine prevents a disease which is exclusively sexually transmitted; mandating it as early as 9 years of age places the medical provider in an ethical dilemma. First, the administration of the vaccine requires explanation to both the parent and the child. Parents may have chosen not to introduce the subject of sexual activity to their nine year olds due to their physical and emotional immaturity. Also, most 9-12 year old children are not sexually active; many have not entered puberty. Forcing a parent to forsake his/her better judgment and discuss this information with the child would be inappropriate and unnecessarily intrusive."
[Ed. Note: The "American College of Pediatricians" is a fundamentalist proxy organisation with an impressive-sounding name. Their other concerns include - and this is top of their web page today - banning marriage rights for same-sex couples, and banning embryonic stem-cell research. This is a standard tactic of the theoconservative movement. See earlier Cultural Warfare Updates for more on the ACP and on similar sock-puppetry.]
[More at URL]
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Teen Suicide: A Matter of "Sexual Orientation" or Sex Abuse?
Concerned Women for America
6/13/2007
By Janice Shaw Crouse
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/13178/BLI/dotcommentary/index.htm
Some activists claim that issues of confused sexual identity are driving the documented increase in teen suicide attempts. The latest issue of a publication from the Journal of the American Medical Association, Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (APAM), June 4, 2007 begs to differ.
[...]
The activist groups, not letting facts stand in their way, continue to claim, based on a flawed 1989 study that has been totally discredited, that 30 percent of all teens who attempt suicide are homosexuals. Instead, teen suicide reports from the major psychological and pediatric associations either do not even mention sexual identity or mention it near the bottom of a long list of other risk factors associated with teen suicide. Other teen suicide factors - family breakup through divorce, alcohol or drug abuse, and family dysfunction - are mentioned in all the major health organization publications as the main factors in teen suicide.
[...]
Viewing teen suicide through the distorted lens of the homosexual activists puts large numbers of teens at risk. Those who insist that the problem of teen suicide is primarily among teens who struggle over their sexual identity overlook the vast majority of potential teen suicide victims -- those who have other emotional or psychological issues, those who abuse drugs and other substances, and especially those who have suffered sexual violence and abuse. The problems of emotionally and physically battered teens must be faced and their minds and bodies healed; otherwise, the rate of teen suicides will continue to rise.
[More at URL]
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The Equal Rights Amendment: A Case for Rejection
Concerned Women for America
6/8/2007
By Sarah Rode
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/13163/CWA/life/index.htm
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) endeavors to remove all differences, social, biological and sexual, between males and females. The proposed Amendment gives the courts enormous flexibility in interpreting the Amendment as judges deem appropriate. Several states that have ratified a state ERA have been subject to judicial activism on the most contentious issues. It paves the way for homosexual marriage, federally funded abortion, the inclusion of women in the draft and de-segregated prisons. This Amendment is not about rights; it is about suppressing differences between males and females and promoting a gender-neutral agenda.
[...]
Organizations like 4ERA and NOW claim that the ERA would not impact laws regarding the draft, same-sex marriage or federally funded abortion.6 Senator Hatch states the irony of their proposal: "It is inadequate for ERA proponents to argue that all sorts of 'common sense' exceptions will be made to the ERA when this is already the law today. The courts will always assume (properly) that the intent of a new constitutional Amendment is to change the law. If the ERA would maintain in force the 'common sense' exceptions of present law, it would not be needed." The most accurate method of discovering how this Constitutional Amendment would impact law is to look at the impact state ERAs have had on state laws.
Maryland passed a state Equal Rights Amendment in 1972. In the Baltimore Circuit Court, Judge M. Brooke Murdock ruled that the ERA made banning same-sex marriage unconstitutional:
The mere creation of a sex-based classification triggers application of the Equal Rights Amendment, under which distinctions drawn based on sex are suspect and subject to strict scrutiny. Because this Court does not find that section 2-201 is narrowly tailored to serve any compelling governmental interests, this Court must conclude that the statutory ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.7
Hawaii's State Supreme Court also ruled in favor of same-sex marriage after activist Bill Woods "proposed that the state's refusal to issue a license presumptuously violates Hawaii's Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) which bars discrimination on the basis of sex."8 Other state courts, such as Washington and Massachusetts, have ruled that the ERA does not guarantee same-sex marriage. This presents a new problem: The issue of marriage would be determined by the opinions of a few judges, not a higher standard or even the will of the people.
[More at URL]
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Why Do Gays Hate Religious Freedom?
By Harry R. Jackson, Jr.
Monday, June 18, 2007
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/HarryRJacksonJr/2007/06/18/why_do_gays_hate_religious_freedom
I was excited last Friday when I got the word that I was featured in an extensive article in USA Today. The voice on the other end of the phone also informed me that a sizable picture of me would also appear. Needless to say it only took but a few minutes for me to get a copy of the paper in my hand. As I read the article, I was further flattered by the fact that the writer included the story of my father being threatened by a Florida State Trooper in a 1950s hate crime.
[...]
Both gays and blacks should get justice in America, but we cannot allow either group to receive special privileges at the expense of another group of Americans. If the loopholes in this legislation are not closed, Christians and Bible-teaching churches could become victims of a strange brand of reverse discrimination. These actions are tantamount to the gay community saying, ”Freedom for me, but bondage for you.” This attitude is just not consistent with America’s ideals.
Despite the fact that legal experts like the Alliance Defense Fund and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberties confirm the legal legitimacy of my concerns, gay activists quoted in the US Today article called my concerns "completely bogus.” Their hope is to paint all outspoken leaders of faith as narrow minded Neanderthals and bigots who are out of touch with the will of the nation. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Major Christian ministries around the nation have begun to lift their voices to join in a chorus of concern about the potential muzzling of our pulpits. Radio and television ministries are trumpeting warnings to the faithful. Many have produced special programs to inform the average Christian citizen about the impending dangers to their freedoms. As a result, there is a ground swell of popular opposition to the Senate’s proposed Hate Crimes Bill emerging from grass roots America.
[More at URL]
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MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH
Proposal could fine pharmacists $500,000
Christians ordered to provide abortifacients on demand
WorldNetDaily
June 8, 2007
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56071
Democrats in Congress have proposed a plan to fine pharmacies up to $500,000 if the pharmacists follow their conscience and decline to dispense abortifacient chemicals.
"Pharmacists are professionals, not vending machines," said Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America. "The FDA has been known to make mistakes in approving drugs, and doctors have made mistakes in prescribing. Pharmacists provide a line of defense to ensure that patients' lives and health are protected and can make patients aware of ethical concerns.
[...]
The new plan, called the "Access to Birth Control Act," is being pushed forward by U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.
The CWFA said the bill would simply repeal a pharmacist's fundamental right to make ethical decisions. It already has been referred to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce for action.
"This bill would force pharmacists to distribute the controversial morning-after pill, … trampling on any professional or ethical concerns," the organization said.
[...]
At issue is the Plan B morning-after "contraceptive." It essentially is a very high dosage of birth-control chemicals taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex to prevent ovulation or implantation. If ovulation is prevented, no egg is fertilized and no pregnancy occurs. But if ovulation has taken place and the egg is fertilized, the morning-after pill works to block implantation by the early embryo in the mother's womb. The embryo is aborted, making dispensing prescriptions for the pill a matter of conscience for pro-life pharmacists.
[More at URL]
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For some, antiabortion is all or nothing
Those who want an all-out ban accuse some of the biggest groups in the movement of moral bankruptcy for focusing on incremental change.
By Stephanie Simon, Times Staff Writer
June 6, 2007
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/la-na-abort6jun06,1,2430940.story?track=crosspromo&coll=la-news-politics-national&ctrack=1&cset=true
As they gathered Tuesday for a national strategy session, antiabortion activists faced an unexpected revolt in their own ranks.
Some of the biggest groups in the movement, including Focus on the Family and National Right to Life, are under attack from fellow activists who accuse them of turning a godly cause into a money-grubbing industry.
[...]
They are making their position clear in full-page ads that will run in conservative publications over the next few months. They are urging donors to stop contributing to groups that focus on making it more difficult — but not impossible — for women to obtain abortions.
[...]
However, the ruling also explicitly endorsed other methods of abortion; at one point, the justices explained that doctors could avoid prosecution by killing the fetus with a lethal injection in the womb before suctioning out its brain.
To Rohrbough, president of Colorado Right to Life, that decision was nothing short of evil — an endorsement of murder. He was appalled that his fellow activists not only claimed the ruling as a victory, but also used it as a fundraising tool, appealing to donors for more money to keep the momentum going.
[More at URL]
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Why TV Addiction Links to Liberalism
By Michael Medved
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichaelMedved/2007/06/13/why_tv_addiction_links_to_liberalism
Does heavy TV viewing push people toward more liberal opinions? Or is it the impact of pre-existing leftist attitudes that lead viewers to invest more of their lives on television?
Analysts may argue about causation, but there’s no real doubt about correlation: an important new study from the Culture and Media Institute shows that those who describe themselves as “heavy” TV viewers embrace distinctly liberal attitudes on a range of crucial issues, placing them well to the left of those who report “light” TV viewing. [Editor's note: the Culture and Media Institute is a sockpuppet of Concerned Women for America, headed by CWA wonk Robert Knight.]
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-06-21 03:44 am (UTC)This is more or less the counterexample that every philosopher I've respected has used any time someone tried to defend or promote moral relativism. So now, we just need to all agree on which elements of morality are actually universal, and everyone will be happy, right?
...right?
...
;-)
no subject
Date: 2007-06-21 04:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-21 08:23 pm (UTC)It only really becomes a zero sum system in the extreme case, when someone wants to use their liberty to deprive others of their own. As long as no one's infringing on anyone else's liberties, everything's good. All that should really matter is sorting out the points where what two people or groups want to do directly conflict with each other, or other situations where someone is going to be harmed regardless of the outcome.
no subject
Date: 2007-06-21 08:46 pm (UTC)DUDE, WHAT
Date: 2007-06-21 05:36 am (UTC)Re: DUDE, WHAT
Date: 2007-06-21 05:21 pm (UTC)