U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier's ruling today settled a lawsuit from Planned Parenthood contesting a South Dakota state law requiring abortionists to inform the mother that abortion kills the human in her womb.
-- From "Judge: SD doctors must say abortion ends life" by Carson Walker, Associated Press 8/20/09
[Judge Schreier] upheld part of a South Dakota law that requires women to be told abortion ends a human life, but struck down disclosures that the procedure increases the likelihood of suicide and that they have an existing relationship with the fetus.
She sided with the state in ruling that doctors must make the biological disclosure "that the abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being."
Leslee Unruh, founder of the Alpha Center pregnancy counseling center in Sioux Falls, one of the intervening parties in the lawsuit, said she will appeal the suicide and relationship disclosure decisions.
The human being ruling was significant, she said.
"This is the unraveling of Roe (v. Wade). This is a huge, fatal blow to them," Unruh said of the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
"We take the human being part and go to the Supreme Court and put the human relationship in. That knocks out Roe v. Wade."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Obama Recruits Religious Leaders as Propagandists
President Barack Obama participated in a scripted online discussion of his health care overhaul with a friendly audience of religious voters and pastors Wednesday. It ended with him bemoaning those who bear "false witness" against his plans - and then making a claim of his own that's been widely shown to be false.
UPDATE 8/21/09: Pro-life leader calls President dishonest
-- From "Fighting false health care claims, Obama repeats one of his own" by Steven thomma, McClatchy Newspapers 8/19/09
[President Obama] said the first thing he wanted to correct was the idea that the proposed overhaul would force some people into different health care plans. "If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan," he said, repeating one of his stock lines.
That's not true, however, according to FactCheck.org, an independent truth squad run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
Obama also said that there would be no federal financing of abortion under the plans, a charge made again Wednesday by the Republican National Committee.
"These are all fabrications," Obama said.
He said he'd need help from the people on the call to correct the record, and prod Congress to pass a health care plan.
"I'm going to need the help of all of you," he said. "Knock on doors, speak the truth."
The 40-minute program, on blogtalkradio.com, featured testimonials about the need for health care changes from pastors and members of various churches, mosques, synagogues and temples around the country, all of them apparently supporters of Obama's proposals.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 8/21/09: Pro-life leader calls President dishonest
-- From "Fighting false health care claims, Obama repeats one of his own" by Steven thomma, McClatchy Newspapers 8/19/09
[President Obama] said the first thing he wanted to correct was the idea that the proposed overhaul would force some people into different health care plans. "If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan," he said, repeating one of his stock lines.
That's not true, however, according to FactCheck.org, an independent truth squad run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
Obama also said that there would be no federal financing of abortion under the plans, a charge made again Wednesday by the Republican National Committee.
"These are all fabrications," Obama said.
He said he'd need help from the people on the call to correct the record, and prod Congress to pass a health care plan.
"I'm going to need the help of all of you," he said. "Knock on doors, speak the truth."
The 40-minute program, on blogtalkradio.com, featured testimonials about the need for health care changes from pastors and members of various churches, mosques, synagogues and temples around the country, all of them apparently supporters of Obama's proposals.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Women's Hopes for Carefree Sex Dashed Once More
Three years after the world's first cervical-cancer vaccine was hailed as a public-health breakthrough, Gardasil is facing renewed questions about its safety and value.
UPDATE 5/3/10: New Mexico Woman Sues, Alleges HPV Vaccine Hurt Daughter
UPDATE 9/29/09: FDA delays decision on GlaxoSmithKline's vaccine after teen death
UPDATE 9/17/09: One-third of girls now vaccinated
UPDATE 8/21/09: Virginia schools require sixth grade girls be vaccinated
-- From "Cervical-cancer vaccine Gardasil still faces questions" by Marie McCullough, The Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer 8/19/09
In today's Journal of the American Medical Association, federal researchers analyze 12,424 voluntary reports of post-vaccination "adverse events" ranging from headaches to deaths. They conclude that only two complaints - fainting and dangerous blood clots -- are more common than expected and may be related to the immunization.
But an accompanying editorial points out that many questions about Gardasil remain - key among them, whether it really will reduce the toll of cervical cancer.
Another opinion piece in JAMA looks at Merck & Co.'s marketing strategy, contending the company coopted professional medical societies to promote and recommend the vaccine.
Gardasil, a series of three shots, protects against two strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause 70 percent of cervical-cancer cases. Gardasil also wards off two other HPV strains that cause 90 percent of genital warts in men and women.
Next month, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will consider whether to recommend expanding Gardasil's current approval for females ages 9 to 26 to include males of the same age. Vaccinating men would reduce HPV transmission to women and protect men from very rare HPV-related anal, head, and neck cancers.
The FDA panel will also review data on would-be rival Cervarix, the cervical-cancer vaccine for which GlaxoSmithKline is seeking FDA approval. Cervarix does not protect against genital warts.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 5/3/10: New Mexico Woman Sues, Alleges HPV Vaccine Hurt Daughter
UPDATE 9/29/09: FDA delays decision on GlaxoSmithKline's vaccine after teen death
UPDATE 9/17/09: One-third of girls now vaccinated
UPDATE 8/21/09: Virginia schools require sixth grade girls be vaccinated
-- From "Cervical-cancer vaccine Gardasil still faces questions" by Marie McCullough, The Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer 8/19/09
In today's Journal of the American Medical Association, federal researchers analyze 12,424 voluntary reports of post-vaccination "adverse events" ranging from headaches to deaths. They conclude that only two complaints - fainting and dangerous blood clots -- are more common than expected and may be related to the immunization.
But an accompanying editorial points out that many questions about Gardasil remain - key among them, whether it really will reduce the toll of cervical cancer.
Another opinion piece in JAMA looks at Merck & Co.'s marketing strategy, contending the company coopted professional medical societies to promote and recommend the vaccine.
Gardasil, a series of three shots, protects against two strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause 70 percent of cervical-cancer cases. Gardasil also wards off two other HPV strains that cause 90 percent of genital warts in men and women.
Next month, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will consider whether to recommend expanding Gardasil's current approval for females ages 9 to 26 to include males of the same age. Vaccinating men would reduce HPV transmission to women and protect men from very rare HPV-related anal, head, and neck cancers.
The FDA panel will also review data on would-be rival Cervarix, the cervical-cancer vaccine for which GlaxoSmithKline is seeking FDA approval. Cervarix does not protect against genital warts.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Liberal 'Christians' Predictably Support Democrat Health Care Reform
. . . the religious left is rallying behind the health care package being debated in Congress and decrying the tactics used by the plan’s rightwing opponents.
UPDATE: ELCA Lutherans' own health insurance plan for clergy and church employees covers abortion -- even for sex-selection.
UPDATE 8/19/09: Obama orchestrates his faithful following
-- From "‘Religious Left’ tackles health care reform" by Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent 8/18/09
A new coalition is promising “40 Days of Health Reform” — and it’ll hit Minneapolis in the next few weeks.
The campaign was launched to show the spiritual need for health reform, not to support any one specific set of policies. And it’s seen some immediate success as President Obama will join coalition members on a conference call later this week.
“This isn’t a political issue, it is a deeply theological issue, a biblical issue, and a moral issue,” said Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners magazine in a conference call last week. “So we are not going to at any time during the debate weigh in on the particulars of policy questions…[We’ll] leave the plumbing to the politicians.”
Wallis didn’t mince words in a recent editorial in his publication. “The ’storm troopers’ of political demagoguery, such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck, have mobilized their followers to disrupt town meetings and defeat comprehensive reform by yelling louder than anybody else,” he wrote. “The campaign tactics include lies, intimidation, character assassination, verbal abuse, and even mob behavior against members of Congress trying to conduct town hall meetings on the issues.”
[The 40 Days coalition includes the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, as well as] some of America’s largest [liberal 'Christian'] denominations: The Episcopal Church, the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., United Methodist Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association, African Methodist Episcopal Church, the National Council of Churches in Christ, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Church of Christ.
Some [liberal] Catholic groups are also on board: NETWORK, a National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Catholics United, and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good.
For Catholics and many other people of faith, the issue of abortion is an important one, but the coalition is refusing to let it be a stumbling block.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE: ELCA Lutherans' own health insurance plan for clergy and church employees covers abortion -- even for sex-selection.
UPDATE 8/19/09: Obama orchestrates his faithful following
-- From "‘Religious Left’ tackles health care reform" by Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent 8/18/09
A new coalition is promising “40 Days of Health Reform” — and it’ll hit Minneapolis in the next few weeks.
The campaign was launched to show the spiritual need for health reform, not to support any one specific set of policies. And it’s seen some immediate success as President Obama will join coalition members on a conference call later this week.
“This isn’t a political issue, it is a deeply theological issue, a biblical issue, and a moral issue,” said Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners magazine in a conference call last week. “So we are not going to at any time during the debate weigh in on the particulars of policy questions…[We’ll] leave the plumbing to the politicians.”
Wallis didn’t mince words in a recent editorial in his publication. “The ’storm troopers’ of political demagoguery, such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck, have mobilized their followers to disrupt town meetings and defeat comprehensive reform by yelling louder than anybody else,” he wrote. “The campaign tactics include lies, intimidation, character assassination, verbal abuse, and even mob behavior against members of Congress trying to conduct town hall meetings on the issues.”
[The 40 Days coalition includes the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, as well as] some of America’s largest [liberal 'Christian'] denominations: The Episcopal Church, the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., United Methodist Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association, African Methodist Episcopal Church, the National Council of Churches in Christ, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Church of Christ.
Some [liberal] Catholic groups are also on board: NETWORK, a National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Catholics United, and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good.
For Catholics and many other people of faith, the issue of abortion is an important one, but the coalition is refusing to let it be a stumbling block.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Obama Justice Dept.: Same-sex Marriage Fine for Raising Children
Obama administration keeps telling homosexualists that Gay Agenda is top priority, but prefers that American public not be reminded
Justice Department hires homosexualist liaison
-- From "U.S. walks fine line on anti-gay-marriage law" by Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer 8/18/09
The Obama administration tried Monday to defuse anger among gays and lesbians over its defense of a law denying federal benefits to same-sex married couples, criticizing the Defense of Marriage Act as it asked a judge to dismiss an Orange County couple's legal challenge without ruling on the law's constitutionality.
The administration "does not support (the law) as a matter of policy, believes that it is discriminatory and supports its repeal," Justice Department lawyers said in written arguments in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.
They said the administration would defend any federal law if there are "reasonable arguments" to uphold it. But this case "can and should be decided on much narrower grounds," the department lawyers argued - the plaintiffs' failure to show that the law has harmed them.
The couple have not sought any of the benefits the law withholds from same-sex couples. Another suit is pending in Massachusetts by couples who applied unsuccessfully for federal marriage benefits.
The Orange County couple, Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer of Mission Viejo . . . contend the federal law violates their constitutional right of equal treatment. A judge has scheduled a hearing Monday on the government's request to dismiss the case.
Monday's filing [by the Justice Department] disputed arguments by opponents of same-sex marriage that male-female unions are inherently better for children.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Justice civil rights hire to handle gay liaison" by Josh Gerstein, Washington Times 8/17/09
Matt Nosanchuk, a former adviser to Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), will join the [Justice] Department as a senior counselor to the assistant attorney general for civil rights, according to an e-mail University of Pennsylvania Professor Tobias Wolff sent to associates Monday night. Wolff was a top LGBT adviser on the Obama campaign. In the e-mail, obtained by POLITICO, Wolff said Nosanchuk "will be the front office point person on LGBT issues for the DOJ Civil Rights Division" among other duties.
The hire looks like yet another effort by the Obama administration to calm the anger of the gay community over a series of perceived slights . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "White House wages war on marriage act" © 2009 WorldNetDaily 8/18/09
In a written statement, Obama declared:
[T]he Department of Justice has filed a response to a legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged. This brief makes clear, however, that my Administration believes that the Act is discriminatory and should be repealed by Congress. I have long held that DOMA prevents LGBT couples from being granted equal rights and benefits. While we work with Congress to repeal DOMA, my Administration will continue to examine and implement measures that will help extend rights and benefits to LGBT couples under existing law.
The Justice Department said it "does not believe that DOMA is rationally related to any legitimate government interests in procreation and child-rearing" and evidence "that children raised by gay and lesbian parents are as likely to be well-adjusted as children raised by heterosexual parents."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Justice Department hires homosexualist liaison
-- From "U.S. walks fine line on anti-gay-marriage law" by Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer 8/18/09
The Obama administration tried Monday to defuse anger among gays and lesbians over its defense of a law denying federal benefits to same-sex married couples, criticizing the Defense of Marriage Act as it asked a judge to dismiss an Orange County couple's legal challenge without ruling on the law's constitutionality.
The administration "does not support (the law) as a matter of policy, believes that it is discriminatory and supports its repeal," Justice Department lawyers said in written arguments in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.
They said the administration would defend any federal law if there are "reasonable arguments" to uphold it. But this case "can and should be decided on much narrower grounds," the department lawyers argued - the plaintiffs' failure to show that the law has harmed them.
The couple have not sought any of the benefits the law withholds from same-sex couples. Another suit is pending in Massachusetts by couples who applied unsuccessfully for federal marriage benefits.
The Orange County couple, Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer of Mission Viejo . . . contend the federal law violates their constitutional right of equal treatment. A judge has scheduled a hearing Monday on the government's request to dismiss the case.
Monday's filing [by the Justice Department] disputed arguments by opponents of same-sex marriage that male-female unions are inherently better for children.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Justice civil rights hire to handle gay liaison" by Josh Gerstein, Washington Times 8/17/09
Matt Nosanchuk, a former adviser to Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), will join the [Justice] Department as a senior counselor to the assistant attorney general for civil rights, according to an e-mail University of Pennsylvania Professor Tobias Wolff sent to associates Monday night. Wolff was a top LGBT adviser on the Obama campaign. In the e-mail, obtained by POLITICO, Wolff said Nosanchuk "will be the front office point person on LGBT issues for the DOJ Civil Rights Division" among other duties.
The hire looks like yet another effort by the Obama administration to calm the anger of the gay community over a series of perceived slights . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "White House wages war on marriage act" © 2009 WorldNetDaily 8/18/09
In a written statement, Obama declared:
[T]he Department of Justice has filed a response to a legal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act, as it traditionally does when acts of Congress are challenged. This brief makes clear, however, that my Administration believes that the Act is discriminatory and should be repealed by Congress. I have long held that DOMA prevents LGBT couples from being granted equal rights and benefits. While we work with Congress to repeal DOMA, my Administration will continue to examine and implement measures that will help extend rights and benefits to LGBT couples under existing law.
The Justice Department said it "does not believe that DOMA is rationally related to any legitimate government interests in procreation and child-rearing" and evidence "that children raised by gay and lesbian parents are as likely to be well-adjusted as children raised by heterosexual parents."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Women's Clothing not for Ladies Anymore
Finding modest clothing increasingly difficult for women, and mothers shopping for teen girls. Employers, churches and schools vary in response to revealing clothing, from persuasion to mandatory dress codes.
-- From "Fashionable vs. modest apparel becomes an issue in Colorado" by Claire Trageser and Electa Draper, The Denver Post 8/17/09
. . . at Denver Advertising, a Christian-based agency . . . Mike Lash, the agency's director, said the woman [employee] would often wear cropped or low-cut shirts and too- short skirts. Lash had another female employee suggest clothing that might be more appropriate.
"Revealing clothing can be distracting and can send the wrong message," Lash said. "We don't want a client that wants us for our breast size."
Finding fashionable and modest clothing can be difficult for everyone from preteens to middle-aged women.
. . . said Mark Huebner, 27, the head of Motive Branding, a small marketing agency in Denver . . . "I'm not going to tell you what you can and can't wear, but don't make me have to send you home," he said.
At Denver Public Schools, the rules are a little stricter.
Antwan Wilson, the instructional superintendent of DPS and former principal at Montbello High School, said he was the first to implement a high school uniform three years ago. Student dress had become a distracting topic of conversations with parents.
The district has minimum dress standards, and each high school can make them more stringent.
During the June 14 Evening Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput used his homily to address the topic.
"I think the Lord is always displeased if we dress immodestly," Chaput said. "We should be modest in our dress everywhere, especially in church."
Sallie Hurley of Englewood, a former fashion designer, fought back against the trend toward revealing clothes.
Hurley's complaints are echoed by other consumers who are part of the "modesty movement," a backlash, perhaps evident earlier among faith- based groups but spreading in recent years to the wider secular society.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Fashionable vs. modest apparel becomes an issue in Colorado" by Claire Trageser and Electa Draper, The Denver Post 8/17/09
. . . at Denver Advertising, a Christian-based agency . . . Mike Lash, the agency's director, said the woman [employee] would often wear cropped or low-cut shirts and too- short skirts. Lash had another female employee suggest clothing that might be more appropriate.
"Revealing clothing can be distracting and can send the wrong message," Lash said. "We don't want a client that wants us for our breast size."
Finding fashionable and modest clothing can be difficult for everyone from preteens to middle-aged women.
. . . said Mark Huebner, 27, the head of Motive Branding, a small marketing agency in Denver . . . "I'm not going to tell you what you can and can't wear, but don't make me have to send you home," he said.
At Denver Public Schools, the rules are a little stricter.
Antwan Wilson, the instructional superintendent of DPS and former principal at Montbello High School, said he was the first to implement a high school uniform three years ago. Student dress had become a distracting topic of conversations with parents.
The district has minimum dress standards, and each high school can make them more stringent.
During the June 14 Evening Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput used his homily to address the topic.
"I think the Lord is always displeased if we dress immodestly," Chaput said. "We should be modest in our dress everywhere, especially in church."
Sallie Hurley of Englewood, a former fashion designer, fought back against the trend toward revealing clothes.
Hurley's complaints are echoed by other consumers who are part of the "modesty movement," a backlash, perhaps evident earlier among faith- based groups but spreading in recent years to the wider secular society.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Homosexualists Demonstrate by Hours-long Kissing in Public
Saturday, homosexualists held a "kiss-in" in several cities across America in order to gain attention -- mostly, no one noticed (hardly any reporting on the event, other than gay sources)
-- From "Gay-rights supporters hold 'kiss-in' on mall" by Annette Espinoza, The Denver Post 8/16/09
About a dozen people on Denver's 16th Street Mall participated in a nationwide "kiss-in" Saturday to underscore their support for gay rights.
The event drew a tepid response from onlookers.
The genesis of the "kiss-in" was a July 9 Salt Lake City incident in which two gay men were spotted kissing, then were arrested and cited for trespassing in a downtown plaza owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There later were similar incidents in El Paso and San Antonio.
In Washington, D.C., 22 people, many of them strangers to one another, gathered under the scorching sun on Washington's National Mall to participate in the national smooch.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "‘Kiss-in’ staged in protest of gay-marriage ban" By Kristina Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer 8/16/09
Gay and lesbian couples protesting the passage of Proposition 8 publicly showed their affection yesterday as they smooched in front of the Manchester Grand Hyatt.
About 60 gay-rights supporters attended the “Kiss-in for Equality” to demand the right to legally marry in California. Similar kiss-ins were staged yesterday in more than 50 other cities throughout the nation.
In San Diego, same-sex couples of various ages gave speeches. The protest ended with kisses and chants in the hotel lobby.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Gay-rights supporters hold 'kiss-in' on mall" by Annette Espinoza, The Denver Post 8/16/09
About a dozen people on Denver's 16th Street Mall participated in a nationwide "kiss-in" Saturday to underscore their support for gay rights.
The event drew a tepid response from onlookers.
The genesis of the "kiss-in" was a July 9 Salt Lake City incident in which two gay men were spotted kissing, then were arrested and cited for trespassing in a downtown plaza owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There later were similar incidents in El Paso and San Antonio.
In Washington, D.C., 22 people, many of them strangers to one another, gathered under the scorching sun on Washington's National Mall to participate in the national smooch.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "‘Kiss-in’ staged in protest of gay-marriage ban" By Kristina Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer 8/16/09
Gay and lesbian couples protesting the passage of Proposition 8 publicly showed their affection yesterday as they smooched in front of the Manchester Grand Hyatt.
About 60 gay-rights supporters attended the “Kiss-in for Equality” to demand the right to legally marry in California. Similar kiss-ins were staged yesterday in more than 50 other cities throughout the nation.
In San Diego, same-sex couples of various ages gave speeches. The protest ended with kisses and chants in the hotel lobby.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Preacher Threatened with Arrest for Publicly Reading Bible
In the United Kingdom, where hate crimes laws rule the land, as little as reading Bible verses that condemn homosexual behavior can land you in jail. In the U.S., hate crimes legislation is only weeks away from being signed by President Obama.
Such controlling of speech and thought will have a chilling effect on evangelism in the U.S. (the U.K. is essentially post-Christian already).
UPDATE 10/9/09: Hate Crimes passing Congress via defense bill; Obama will sign
-- From "Preacher threatened with arrest for reading out extracts from the Bible in public" by Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter, London Telegraph 8/15/09
Lawyers acting for Miguel Hayworth, 29, have demanded an explanation over the alleged intimidation and abuse of power by three officers.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, the director of the Christian Legal Centre, has written to Peter Fahy, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, over the incident.
She claims that Mr Hayworth and his father, John, 55, were unlawfully and unfairly treated as they preached Christianity in the city at the end of July.
"They were clearly told that reading the Bible and preaching can be offensive and that they could be arrested," she wrote.
He was reading passages from the Old and New Testaments while his father distributed leaflets containing the message of the gospel.
Mr Hayworth said that at about 2.30pm a second officer confirmed that his colleague had accused the preacher of inciting religious and racial hatred and wanted to warn him that this was an arrestable offence.
Some passages in the Bible are regarded as homophobic. For example, sections read out by Mr Hayworth in St Ann's Square included Romans Chapter 1 Verse 27, from the King James Bible, which says: "And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly..."
He also read from 1 Corinthians Chapter 6, Verse 9: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind."
It is against the law to use offensive, threatening or abusive words or behaviour. It is also an offence to incite hatred on grounds of race, religion or sexual orientation.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Such controlling of speech and thought will have a chilling effect on evangelism in the U.S. (the U.K. is essentially post-Christian already).
UPDATE 10/9/09: Hate Crimes passing Congress via defense bill; Obama will sign
-- From "Preacher threatened with arrest for reading out extracts from the Bible in public" by Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter, London Telegraph 8/15/09
Lawyers acting for Miguel Hayworth, 29, have demanded an explanation over the alleged intimidation and abuse of power by three officers.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, the director of the Christian Legal Centre, has written to Peter Fahy, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, over the incident.
She claims that Mr Hayworth and his father, John, 55, were unlawfully and unfairly treated as they preached Christianity in the city at the end of July.
"They were clearly told that reading the Bible and preaching can be offensive and that they could be arrested," she wrote.
He was reading passages from the Old and New Testaments while his father distributed leaflets containing the message of the gospel.
Mr Hayworth said that at about 2.30pm a second officer confirmed that his colleague had accused the preacher of inciting religious and racial hatred and wanted to warn him that this was an arrestable offence.
Some passages in the Bible are regarded as homophobic. For example, sections read out by Mr Hayworth in St Ann's Square included Romans Chapter 1 Verse 27, from the King James Bible, which says: "And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly..."
He also read from 1 Corinthians Chapter 6, Verse 9: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind."
It is against the law to use offensive, threatening or abusive words or behaviour. It is also an offence to incite hatred on grounds of race, religion or sexual orientation.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
City: OK to Denigrate God, but NOT OK to Advocate God
A dispute about bus advertisements seeking to publicize atheist views has touched off a free speech debate after the signs were torn down—then posted again—on the sides of Des Moines city buses.
-- From "Athiest bus ads create free speech debate in Iowa" by Michael J. Crumb, Associated Press Writer 8/14/09
The ads, sponsored by the Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers, pictured white puffy clouds against a blue sky and read: "Don't believe in God? You are not alone." The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority stripped the signs after receiving complaints, then after meeting with the atheist group, reversed course and put the ads back up.
The ad campaign is part of an expanding national effort by Washington D.C.-based United Coalition for Reason, which has placed ads on buses or billboards in several cities, including Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, Phoenix, New Orleans, Charleston, S.C., Philadelphia, Kansas City, Mo., Denver, Boulder, Colo., Long Beach, Calif., and Moscow, Idaho.
The issue with the ads in Des Moines was with the word God, said Elizabeth Prusetti, chief development officer for the bus agency.
"We have never allowed that word in our advertising, promoting a religion," she said. "We've never used the word God in any advertising to maintain some autonomy. We've had churches advertise but it's been for their church and not a belief."
The United Coalition of Reason, which works to raise the visibility of nontheists and to improve the way they are perceived by average Americans, said the ad campaign is fueled in part by the prevalence of mainstream discussion of religious beliefs. Fred Edwords, the spokesman for United Coalition of Reason, said the environment in the country has begun to shift, in part because of President Barack Obama's acknowledgment of nonreligious people during his inaugural address, when he said "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus—and nonbelievers."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Athiest bus ads create free speech debate in Iowa" by Michael J. Crumb, Associated Press Writer 8/14/09
The ads, sponsored by the Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers, pictured white puffy clouds against a blue sky and read: "Don't believe in God? You are not alone." The Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority stripped the signs after receiving complaints, then after meeting with the atheist group, reversed course and put the ads back up.
The ad campaign is part of an expanding national effort by Washington D.C.-based United Coalition for Reason, which has placed ads on buses or billboards in several cities, including Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, Phoenix, New Orleans, Charleston, S.C., Philadelphia, Kansas City, Mo., Denver, Boulder, Colo., Long Beach, Calif., and Moscow, Idaho.
The issue with the ads in Des Moines was with the word God, said Elizabeth Prusetti, chief development officer for the bus agency.
"We have never allowed that word in our advertising, promoting a religion," she said. "We've never used the word God in any advertising to maintain some autonomy. We've had churches advertise but it's been for their church and not a belief."
The United Coalition of Reason, which works to raise the visibility of nontheists and to improve the way they are perceived by average Americans, said the ad campaign is fueled in part by the prevalence of mainstream discussion of religious beliefs. Fred Edwords, the spokesman for United Coalition of Reason, said the environment in the country has begun to shift, in part because of President Barack Obama's acknowledgment of nonreligious people during his inaugural address, when he said "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus—and nonbelievers."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Catholic Bishops Announce Formal Break from Obama, Democrats
In contrast to Obama's liberal "Christian" leaders . . .
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has released a letter condemning the House Democrats' healthcare plan, alleging that the plan's purported prohibition on federal funds for abortion is a "legal fiction."
-- From "U.S. Catholic Bishops: Healthcare Bill Funds Abortion" by Dan Gilgoff, God & Country, U.S. News & World Report 8/13/09
Of course, the House healthcare bill may not be the last word on abortion coverage in the federal healthcare plan, should one pass. But it's unlikely that the Democrats, including President Obama, will heed the bishops' and other social conservatives' call for an outright ban on abortion coverage in health insurance plans that are subsidized with federal funds, including the public option.
And that, along with mounting Democratic support for the Ryan-DeLauro bill on abortion and other reproductive health issues—whose contraceptive funding rules out the U.S. bishops' support—appears to dim prospects for Obama finding common ground with the American Catholic Church on abortion.
Here's an excerpt from the letter [.PDF] that Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, sent to U.S. House members yesterday:
[The House Commerce and Energy Committee] created a legal fiction, a paper separation between federal funding and abortion: Federal funds will subsidize the public plan, as well as private health plans that include abortion on demand; but anyone who purchases these plans is required to pay a premium out of his or her own pocket (specified in the Act to be at least $1.00 a month) to cover all abortions beyond those eligible for federal funds under the current Hyde amendment. Thus some will claim that federal taxpayer funds do not support abortion under the Act.
But this is an illusion. Funds paid into these plans are fungible, and federal taxpayer funds will subsidize the operating budget and provider networks that expand access to abortions.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Refer also to strong statements previously made by Roman Catholic leaders.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has released a letter condemning the House Democrats' healthcare plan, alleging that the plan's purported prohibition on federal funds for abortion is a "legal fiction."
-- From "U.S. Catholic Bishops: Healthcare Bill Funds Abortion" by Dan Gilgoff, God & Country, U.S. News & World Report 8/13/09
Of course, the House healthcare bill may not be the last word on abortion coverage in the federal healthcare plan, should one pass. But it's unlikely that the Democrats, including President Obama, will heed the bishops' and other social conservatives' call for an outright ban on abortion coverage in health insurance plans that are subsidized with federal funds, including the public option.
And that, along with mounting Democratic support for the Ryan-DeLauro bill on abortion and other reproductive health issues—whose contraceptive funding rules out the U.S. bishops' support—appears to dim prospects for Obama finding common ground with the American Catholic Church on abortion.
Here's an excerpt from the letter [.PDF] that Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, sent to U.S. House members yesterday:
[The House Commerce and Energy Committee] created a legal fiction, a paper separation between federal funding and abortion: Federal funds will subsidize the public plan, as well as private health plans that include abortion on demand; but anyone who purchases these plans is required to pay a premium out of his or her own pocket (specified in the Act to be at least $1.00 a month) to cover all abortions beyond those eligible for federal funds under the current Hyde amendment. Thus some will claim that federal taxpayer funds do not support abortion under the Act.
But this is an illusion. Funds paid into these plans are fungible, and federal taxpayer funds will subsidize the operating budget and provider networks that expand access to abortions.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Refer also to strong statements previously made by Roman Catholic leaders.
Florida Town Stands Against ACLU on School Prayer
Students, teachers and local pastors are protesting over a court case involving a northern Florida school principal and an athletic director who are facing criminal charges and up to six months in jail over their offer of a mealtime prayer.
UPDATE 9/18/09: Judge rules against ACLU - school faculty not guilty
-- From "School prayer charges stir protests" by Julia Duin, Washington Times 8/14/09
There have been yard signs, T-shirts and a mass student protest during graduation ceremonies this spring on behalf of Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and school athletic director Robert Freeman, who will go on trial Sept. 17 at a federal district court in Pensacola for breaching the conditions of a lawsuit settlement reached last year with the American Civil Liberties Union.
An ACLU official said the school district has allowed "flagrant" violations of the First Amendment for years.
The criminal charges, which carry up to a $5,000 fine and a six-month jail term, originated with a Jan. 28 incident in which Mr. Lay, a deacon at a local Baptist church, asked Mr. Freeman to offer mealtime prayers at a lunch for school employees and booster-club members who had helped with a school field-house project.
The ACLU brought the matter to the attention of U.S. District Court Judge M. Casey Rodgers, who issued a contempt order for the two men.
Meanwhile, members of the small community of Milton, Fla., where Pace High School is located, have contributed more than $10,000 toward a legal defense fund for the defendants.
Anti-ACLU T-shirts are also being sold and the proceeds donated.
Judge Rodgers' order also included Michelle Winkler, a clerical assistant who was attending a school district event in February with other school employees at a local naval base. There, she asked her husband to offer a blessing for a meal, says the ACLU, adding that students were present and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Her trial, which could result in a fine, is scheduled for Aug. 21.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 9/18/09: Judge rules against ACLU - school faculty not guilty
-- From "School prayer charges stir protests" by Julia Duin, Washington Times 8/14/09
There have been yard signs, T-shirts and a mass student protest during graduation ceremonies this spring on behalf of Pace High School Principal Frank Lay and school athletic director Robert Freeman, who will go on trial Sept. 17 at a federal district court in Pensacola for breaching the conditions of a lawsuit settlement reached last year with the American Civil Liberties Union.
An ACLU official said the school district has allowed "flagrant" violations of the First Amendment for years.
The criminal charges, which carry up to a $5,000 fine and a six-month jail term, originated with a Jan. 28 incident in which Mr. Lay, a deacon at a local Baptist church, asked Mr. Freeman to offer mealtime prayers at a lunch for school employees and booster-club members who had helped with a school field-house project.
The ACLU brought the matter to the attention of U.S. District Court Judge M. Casey Rodgers, who issued a contempt order for the two men.
Meanwhile, members of the small community of Milton, Fla., where Pace High School is located, have contributed more than $10,000 toward a legal defense fund for the defendants.
Anti-ACLU T-shirts are also being sold and the proceeds donated.
Judge Rodgers' order also included Michelle Winkler, a clerical assistant who was attending a school district event in February with other school employees at a local naval base. There, she asked her husband to offer a blessing for a meal, says the ACLU, adding that students were present and led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Her trial, which could result in a fine, is scheduled for Aug. 21.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Breaking News: God Created Woman to Give Birth and Breast-feed
The latest conclusion on breast cancer (that is fit to print in politically-correct media) is "that breast-feeding is associated with a lower incidence of breast cancer . . ."
Whereas, the years-long reports of studies showing that abortion leads to an increase in breast cancer risk go unreported in politically-correct media, such as this: " 66% increase in breast cancer risk among women who had induced abortions."
UPDATE 1/29/16: Breast Cancer Solution Includes Breast-feeding, Study Shows
UPDATE 12/7/12: Women Who Give Birth Live Longer and Healthier
UPDATE 12/3/11: Breast Cancer from Abortion Demonstrated, Again
UPDATE 8/16/11: Black women who breast-feed children lower risk of breast cancer
-- From "Breast-Feeding Linked to Lower Cancer Risk" by Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times 8/10/09
Although several studies have found that lactation is protective against breast cancer, the new report found little effect for premenopausal women over all. But for women with an immediate relative, like a mother or a sister, who had breast cancer, those who breast-fed had a 59 percent lower risk of premenopausal breast cancer. That is closer in line with the risk for women who had no disease in the family, the study found.
“I was sort of stunned,” said Dr. Alison M. Stuebe, the first author of the study and an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “It’s an impressive reduction in risk. Other studies either hadn’t looked at this or didn’t include enough women with a family history to find a statistically significant difference.”
Though breast-feeding is promoted primarily because it is linked to better health in babies, mothers seem to accrue long-term advantages. Studies have found that women who breast-fed are less likely to develop osteoporosis and ovarian cancer, as well as high blood pressure and heart disease decades later.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Study: Breast Cancer Risk 66% Higher in Turkish Women with Abortions" by Thaddeus M. Baklinski, LifeSiteNews.com 7/28/09
A study conducted by Dr. Vahit Ozmen and his colleagues at the Istanbul University Medical Faculty reported a statistically significant 66% increase in breast cancer risk among women who had induced abortions. The researchers wrote that their finding is similar to the findings of the "majority" of studies, which have "reported that induced abortion was associated with increased breast cancer risk."
The report was published in the online medical journal World Journal of Surgical Oncology.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 5/2/15: From "Breastfeeding – Study shows chances of cancer risks drops significantly" by Tasnuva Rahim, Benchmark Reporter
The chances of cancer reduce by about 30% when there are records of breastfeeding along with the risk of death coming down by 28%. The longer the duration of breastfeeding, the lesser the chances of cancer risk for the mother.
Marilyn Kwan, the lead researcher from Kaiser Permanente said, “This is the first study we’re aware of that examined the role of breastfeeding history in cancer recurrence, and by tumor subtype. Women who breastfeed are more likely to get the Luminal A subtype of breast cancer, which is less aggressive, and breastfeeding may set up a molecular environment that makes the tumor more responsive to anti-estrogen therapy.”
Co-author Bette Caan said, “Breastfeeding may increase the maturation of ductal cells in the breast, making them less susceptible to carcinogens or facilitate the excretion of carcinogens, and lead to slower growing tumors.”
Now it is proven that breastfeeding helps mothers as well to burn more calories and also lowering risks ovarian and breast cancer.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Whereas, the years-long reports of studies showing that abortion leads to an increase in breast cancer risk go unreported in politically-correct media, such as this: " 66% increase in breast cancer risk among women who had induced abortions."
UPDATE 1/29/16: Breast Cancer Solution Includes Breast-feeding, Study Shows
UPDATE 12/7/12: Women Who Give Birth Live Longer and Healthier
UPDATE 12/3/11: Breast Cancer from Abortion Demonstrated, Again
UPDATE 8/16/11: Black women who breast-feed children lower risk of breast cancer
-- From "Breast-Feeding Linked to Lower Cancer Risk" by Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times 8/10/09
Although several studies have found that lactation is protective against breast cancer, the new report found little effect for premenopausal women over all. But for women with an immediate relative, like a mother or a sister, who had breast cancer, those who breast-fed had a 59 percent lower risk of premenopausal breast cancer. That is closer in line with the risk for women who had no disease in the family, the study found.
“I was sort of stunned,” said Dr. Alison M. Stuebe, the first author of the study and an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “It’s an impressive reduction in risk. Other studies either hadn’t looked at this or didn’t include enough women with a family history to find a statistically significant difference.”
Though breast-feeding is promoted primarily because it is linked to better health in babies, mothers seem to accrue long-term advantages. Studies have found that women who breast-fed are less likely to develop osteoporosis and ovarian cancer, as well as high blood pressure and heart disease decades later.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Study: Breast Cancer Risk 66% Higher in Turkish Women with Abortions" by Thaddeus M. Baklinski, LifeSiteNews.com 7/28/09
A study conducted by Dr. Vahit Ozmen and his colleagues at the Istanbul University Medical Faculty reported a statistically significant 66% increase in breast cancer risk among women who had induced abortions. The researchers wrote that their finding is similar to the findings of the "majority" of studies, which have "reported that induced abortion was associated with increased breast cancer risk."
The report was published in the online medical journal World Journal of Surgical Oncology.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 5/2/15: From "Breastfeeding – Study shows chances of cancer risks drops significantly" by Tasnuva Rahim, Benchmark Reporter
The chances of cancer reduce by about 30% when there are records of breastfeeding along with the risk of death coming down by 28%. The longer the duration of breastfeeding, the lesser the chances of cancer risk for the mother.
Marilyn Kwan, the lead researcher from Kaiser Permanente said, “This is the first study we’re aware of that examined the role of breastfeeding history in cancer recurrence, and by tumor subtype. Women who breastfeed are more likely to get the Luminal A subtype of breast cancer, which is less aggressive, and breastfeeding may set up a molecular environment that makes the tumor more responsive to anti-estrogen therapy.”
Co-author Bette Caan said, “Breastfeeding may increase the maturation of ductal cells in the breast, making them less susceptible to carcinogens or facilitate the excretion of carcinogens, and lead to slower growing tumors.”
Now it is proven that breastfeeding helps mothers as well to burn more calories and also lowering risks ovarian and breast cancer.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
CA Homosexualists Admit Losing in Marriage Battle
Bowing to the advice of political consultants and pollsters, officials from a major gay rights advocacy group announced Wednesday that they will wait until 2012 to return to California voters with an initiative legalizing gay marriage.
UPDATE 8/14/09: Homosexualists battle over waiting or not waiting
-- From "Gay rights group will wait until 2012 to challenge Prop. 8" by Jack Chang, Sacramento Bee 8/12/09
The leaders of Equality California, which calls itself the largest gay rights advocacy group in the state, said they won't try to qualify a measure on the subject for the 2010 ballot despite demands from many gay and lesbian activists seeking quicker movement on the issue.
That decision, however, hasn't stopped a liberal advocacy group, Courage Campaign, from collecting signatures for a 2010 ballot initiative on the subject. According to that group's Web site, it has already raised about $136,000 to "invest in research, polling and focus groups to repeal Proposition 8," the ballot initiative passed last year banning same-sex marriage.
Other gay rights groups are also working to put a same-sex marriage initiative on the 2010 ballot.
"Waiting until we're confident we can win is understandable but not acceptable," said [Equality California Marriage Director Marc] Solomon. "We need to start doing the work now until we win marriage back."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 8/14/09: Homosexualists battle over waiting or not waiting
-- From "Gay rights group will wait until 2012 to challenge Prop. 8" by Jack Chang, Sacramento Bee 8/12/09
The leaders of Equality California, which calls itself the largest gay rights advocacy group in the state, said they won't try to qualify a measure on the subject for the 2010 ballot despite demands from many gay and lesbian activists seeking quicker movement on the issue.
That decision, however, hasn't stopped a liberal advocacy group, Courage Campaign, from collecting signatures for a 2010 ballot initiative on the subject. According to that group's Web site, it has already raised about $136,000 to "invest in research, polling and focus groups to repeal Proposition 8," the ballot initiative passed last year banning same-sex marriage.
Other gay rights groups are also working to put a same-sex marriage initiative on the 2010 ballot.
"Waiting until we're confident we can win is understandable but not acceptable," said [Equality California Marriage Director Marc] Solomon. "We need to start doing the work now until we win marriage back."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
L.A. Mayor Sees Privatization as Solution to Failing Public Schools
Mayor Villaraigosa has recognized that public education is failing in its mission as a result of too much control by the institution of education -- the teachers' unions and bureaucracy.
Under a bill introduced by School Board member Yolie Flores Aguilar, private operators could bid for control of 50 new campuses and hundreds of struggling ones.
-- From "Villaraigosa advocates letting outside operators bid for control of L.A. Unified schools" by Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times 8/11/09
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Tuesday he will push the school district to allow outside operators to bid for control of hundreds of campuses, a move he described as the centerpiece of education reform for his second term.
The proposal drew the ire of the teachers union, which has strongly criticized the mayor's own school-improvement efforts at 10 schools, including Roosevelt High in Boyle Heights. Villaraigosa, in turn, called the union "the biggest defender of the status quo."
The mayor's goal, embodied in part in a proposal by Board of Education member Yolie Flores Aguilar, would let charter-school organizations, the mayor's nonprofit and other groups compete to run 50 new schools scheduled to open over the next four years. The school board is scheduled to take up that motion later this month.
Villaraigosa also wants to allow outside groups or the district to shut down and restaff hundreds of existing schools that have long been rated "failing" under federal accountability rules. Supt. Ramon C. Cortines and other officials have said that closing unsuccessful schools is a logical outgrowth of the Flores Aguilar plan.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Under a bill introduced by School Board member Yolie Flores Aguilar, private operators could bid for control of 50 new campuses and hundreds of struggling ones.
-- From "Villaraigosa advocates letting outside operators bid for control of L.A. Unified schools" by Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times 8/11/09
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Tuesday he will push the school district to allow outside operators to bid for control of hundreds of campuses, a move he described as the centerpiece of education reform for his second term.
The proposal drew the ire of the teachers union, which has strongly criticized the mayor's own school-improvement efforts at 10 schools, including Roosevelt High in Boyle Heights. Villaraigosa, in turn, called the union "the biggest defender of the status quo."
The mayor's goal, embodied in part in a proposal by Board of Education member Yolie Flores Aguilar, would let charter-school organizations, the mayor's nonprofit and other groups compete to run 50 new schools scheduled to open over the next four years. The school board is scheduled to take up that motion later this month.
Villaraigosa also wants to allow outside groups or the district to shut down and restaff hundreds of existing schools that have long been rated "failing" under federal accountability rules. Supt. Ramon C. Cortines and other officials have said that closing unsuccessful schools is a logical outgrowth of the Flores Aguilar plan.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Canadian Homosexualists Demonstrate their Control over Commerce - in Rhode Island
Canadian doughnut mogul Tim Hortons has walked away from a plan to sponsor a Rhode Island event promoting heterosexual marriage after word of the company’s involvement caused an Internet dustup that flooded the Canadian news media.
-- From "Tim Hortons drops role in marriage day" by Cynthia Needham, Providence Journal State House Bureau 8/12/09
The flap started when local organizers approached a regional Tim Hortons executive and asked whether the company would sponsor “Rhode Island’s First Annual Celebrate Marriage and Family Day!” on Sunday, Aug. 16, at Warwick’s Aldrich Mansion. Tim Hortons agreed to donate coffee and won itself a mention on the invitation.
Put together by the group known as the National Organization for Marriage, the outdoor rally includes a nuptial-vows renewal ceremony — for heterosexual couples only — Christian music and a barbecue.
It wasn’t long before word of the Tim Hortons sponsorship made its way onto several left-leaning blogs, hitting Twitter feeds and Internet sites in the United States and Canada. Within a matter of days, the mainstream Canadian news media got wind of the controversy involving one of the country’s most popular chains.
Canada legalized gay marriage nationwide in 2005.
Inundated with criticism, Tim Hortons pulled its sponsorship Monday, announcing on its home page that company does not sponsor events “representing religious groups, political affiliates or lobby groups.”
“It has come to our attention that the Rhode Island event organizer and purpose of the event fall outside of our sponsorship guidelines,” the statement read. “As such, Tim Hortons cannot provide support at the event.”
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Tim Hortons drops role in marriage day" by Cynthia Needham, Providence Journal State House Bureau 8/12/09
The flap started when local organizers approached a regional Tim Hortons executive and asked whether the company would sponsor “Rhode Island’s First Annual Celebrate Marriage and Family Day!” on Sunday, Aug. 16, at Warwick’s Aldrich Mansion. Tim Hortons agreed to donate coffee and won itself a mention on the invitation.
Put together by the group known as the National Organization for Marriage, the outdoor rally includes a nuptial-vows renewal ceremony — for heterosexual couples only — Christian music and a barbecue.
It wasn’t long before word of the Tim Hortons sponsorship made its way onto several left-leaning blogs, hitting Twitter feeds and Internet sites in the United States and Canada. Within a matter of days, the mainstream Canadian news media got wind of the controversy involving one of the country’s most popular chains.
Canada legalized gay marriage nationwide in 2005.
Inundated with criticism, Tim Hortons pulled its sponsorship Monday, announcing on its home page that company does not sponsor events “representing religious groups, political affiliates or lobby groups.”
“It has come to our attention that the Rhode Island event organizer and purpose of the event fall outside of our sponsorship guidelines,” the statement read. “As such, Tim Hortons cannot provide support at the event.”
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Study Gives Hope to Industrialized Nations Facing Population Declines
The latest research shows that although developed countries are experiencing decreased birth rates, there may yet be hope that "once a nation achieves an especially high level of development, women appear to start having more babies again."
No surprise: The liberal journalists don't even mention that abortion terminates a large share of the unborn in these same developed countries.
-- From "In Reversal, Highly Developed Nations See Rise in Fertility" by Rob Stein, Washington Post Staff Writer 8/10/09
While the trend [of lower birth rates] cheered some environmentalists worried about overpopulation, it stoked increasing concern among policymakers, demographers and social scientists about the long-term impact on societies as their populations aged and sometimes began to shrink.
"This is something like a light at the end of the tunnel for some of these countries whose populations were on the path to decline," said Hans-Peter Kohler, a professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania who helped conduct the research. "We project a more optimistic future where fertility will go up, which reduces fears of rapid population decline and rapid aging."
Other researchers praised the new analysis as a milestone with potentially far-reaching political and social implications.
"This is very significant," said Shripad Tuljapurkar, a biology and population studies professor at Stanford University, who wrote a commentary accompanying the new research in the scientific journal Nature. "This debate has been going on for some time about these amazingly low fertility rates in some of these countries. It's been a classic policy quandary that people tend to sit around and shake their heads and worry about."
The concern has focused on a nation's "fertility rate," which is generally considered desirable by demographers and sociologists when it hovers around the "replacement rate" -- when the average number of babies born to each woman is about two. That means a country is producing enough young people to replace and support aging workers without population growth being so high that it taxes national resources.
Throughout the 20th century, the fertility rate has generally fallen as economic prosperity has risen, sometimes far below the replacement rate in some of the world's most highly developed nations, such as Japan, South Korea, Germany, Spain and Italy.
Resistant to the notion of replenishing their populations through immigration, some countries, such as Sweden and Italy, have become so concerned about their stubbornly low fertility rates that they have tried offering women financial incentives to have more babies, without significant success.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
No surprise: The liberal journalists don't even mention that abortion terminates a large share of the unborn in these same developed countries.
-- From "In Reversal, Highly Developed Nations See Rise in Fertility" by Rob Stein, Washington Post Staff Writer 8/10/09
While the trend [of lower birth rates] cheered some environmentalists worried about overpopulation, it stoked increasing concern among policymakers, demographers and social scientists about the long-term impact on societies as their populations aged and sometimes began to shrink.
"This is something like a light at the end of the tunnel for some of these countries whose populations were on the path to decline," said Hans-Peter Kohler, a professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania who helped conduct the research. "We project a more optimistic future where fertility will go up, which reduces fears of rapid population decline and rapid aging."
Other researchers praised the new analysis as a milestone with potentially far-reaching political and social implications.
"This is very significant," said Shripad Tuljapurkar, a biology and population studies professor at Stanford University, who wrote a commentary accompanying the new research in the scientific journal Nature. "This debate has been going on for some time about these amazingly low fertility rates in some of these countries. It's been a classic policy quandary that people tend to sit around and shake their heads and worry about."
The concern has focused on a nation's "fertility rate," which is generally considered desirable by demographers and sociologists when it hovers around the "replacement rate" -- when the average number of babies born to each woman is about two. That means a country is producing enough young people to replace and support aging workers without population growth being so high that it taxes national resources.
Throughout the 20th century, the fertility rate has generally fallen as economic prosperity has risen, sometimes far below the replacement rate in some of the world's most highly developed nations, such as Japan, South Korea, Germany, Spain and Italy.
Resistant to the notion of replenishing their populations through immigration, some countries, such as Sweden and Italy, have become so concerned about their stubbornly low fertility rates that they have tried offering women financial incentives to have more babies, without significant success.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Mainstream Media Presents Evangelicals as Conflicted about Sex
This Associated Press writer seems to be the one who's confused about sex and marriage.
-- From "Wait for sex and marriage? Evangelicals conflicted" by Eric Gorski, The Associated Press 8/9/09
. . . a number of evangelicals are promoting marrying earlier, nudging young adults toward the altar even as many of their peers and parents are holding them back.
[Christian couples] are caught between two powerful forces - evangelical Christianity's abstinence culture, with its chastity balls and virginity pledges, and societal forces pushing average marriage ages deeper into the 20s.
The call for young marriage raises questions: How young is too young? What if marriage is viewed as a ticket to guilt-free sex? What about the fact that marrying young is the No. 1 predictor of divorce?
Statistics show that few Americans wait [to have sex]. More than 93 percent of adults 18 to 23 who are in romantic relationships are having sex, according to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. For conservative Protestants in relationships and active in their faith, it's almost 80 percent.
Johns Hopkins University sociologist Andrew Cherlin, who studies families and public policy, said young marriage is a tough sell. A half-century ago, when people married earlier, fewer people attended college, high school graduates could get good-paying factory jobs, women became mothers right after school and families were larger, he said.
Skeptics, meanwhile, suspect early marriage backers want to turn back the clock on gender roles.
"There is some rolling of the eyes, especially among women ... 'Why are you giving up your 20s and going back to the 1950s and June Cleaver?'" said Jay Thomas, college pastor at College Church in Wheaton, Ill.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Wait for sex and marriage? Evangelicals conflicted" by Eric Gorski, The Associated Press 8/9/09
. . . a number of evangelicals are promoting marrying earlier, nudging young adults toward the altar even as many of their peers and parents are holding them back.
[Christian couples] are caught between two powerful forces - evangelical Christianity's abstinence culture, with its chastity balls and virginity pledges, and societal forces pushing average marriage ages deeper into the 20s.
The call for young marriage raises questions: How young is too young? What if marriage is viewed as a ticket to guilt-free sex? What about the fact that marrying young is the No. 1 predictor of divorce?
Statistics show that few Americans wait [to have sex]. More than 93 percent of adults 18 to 23 who are in romantic relationships are having sex, according to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. For conservative Protestants in relationships and active in their faith, it's almost 80 percent.
Johns Hopkins University sociologist Andrew Cherlin, who studies families and public policy, said young marriage is a tough sell. A half-century ago, when people married earlier, fewer people attended college, high school graduates could get good-paying factory jobs, women became mothers right after school and families were larger, he said.
Skeptics, meanwhile, suspect early marriage backers want to turn back the clock on gender roles.
"There is some rolling of the eyes, especially among women ... 'Why are you giving up your 20s and going back to the 1950s and June Cleaver?'" said Jay Thomas, college pastor at College Church in Wheaton, Ill.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Univ. Study: Procreation Harmful to Mother Earth
[In the U.S.] each child ultimately adds about 9,441 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the carbon legacy of an average parent – about 5.7 times the lifetime emissions for which, on average, a person is responsible.
-- From "Save the Planet: Have Fewer Kids" by LiveScience Staff, LiveScience 8/3/09
A study by statisticians at Oregon State University concluded that in the United States, the carbon legacy and greenhouse gas impact of an extra child is almost 20 times more important than some of the other environment-friendly practices people might employ during their entire lives — things like driving a high mileage car, recycling, or using energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs.
. . . When an individual produces a child – and that child potentially produces more descendants in the future — the effect on the environment can be many times the impact produced by a person during their lifetime.
Other offbeat environmental impacts have been in the news recently:
The impact of having children differs between countries. While some developing nations have much higher populations and rates of population growth than the United States, their overall impact on the global carbon equation is often reduced by shorter life spans and less consumption. The long-term impact of a child born to a family in China is less than one-fifth the impact of a child born in the United States, the study found.
However, as the developing world increases both its population and consumption levels, this equation may even out.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Also, see other environmentalists' conclusions about the global warming hazards of childbirth.
-- From "Save the Planet: Have Fewer Kids" by LiveScience Staff, LiveScience 8/3/09
A study by statisticians at Oregon State University concluded that in the United States, the carbon legacy and greenhouse gas impact of an extra child is almost 20 times more important than some of the other environment-friendly practices people might employ during their entire lives — things like driving a high mileage car, recycling, or using energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs.
. . . When an individual produces a child – and that child potentially produces more descendants in the future — the effect on the environment can be many times the impact produced by a person during their lifetime.
Other offbeat environmental impacts have been in the news recently:
The impact of having children differs between countries. While some developing nations have much higher populations and rates of population growth than the United States, their overall impact on the global carbon equation is often reduced by shorter life spans and less consumption. The long-term impact of a child born to a family in China is less than one-fifth the impact of a child born in the United States, the study found.
However, as the developing world increases both its population and consumption levels, this equation may even out.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Also, see other environmentalists' conclusions about the global warming hazards of childbirth.
Friday, August 07, 2009
Obama's Liberal 'Christians' Preach for ObamaCare
Following a White House request, the social gospel "Christian leaders" are making the rounds stumping for government-run health care, saying it is a biblical mandate.
The White House wants reports from Americans of anyone who is criticizing the President's health care proposals. You're supposed to watch for "fishy" E-mails be passed around America. Would the White House consider your thoughts/comments as "fishy?" CLICK HERE to tell the White House
-- From "Faith groups unite for health care: Claim it is a fundamental moral issue" by Jacqueline L. Salmon, The Washington Post 7/26/09
Several large coalitions are mobilizing religious communities nationwide in support of overhauling the nation’s health-care system.
In recent weeks, hundreds of clergy members and lay leaders have descended on the offices of members of Congress, urging lawmakers to enact health-care legislation this year. With face-to-face lobbying, sermons, prayer and advertising on Christian radio stations, the coalitions are pressing the idea that health care for everyone is a fundamental moral issue.
The efforts have been coordinated closely with the Obama administration. A group of faith leaders met with President Obama in April, and administration officials took part last month in a rally at Freedom Plaza with representatives of more than 40 denominations and faith groups in support of comprehensive health coverage.
Showing up at the rally were Joshua DuBois, executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and Neera Tanden, senior adviser to the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Your united voice is critical,” Tanden told the gathering. “We are, in the next two months, at the most critical time of trying to get (health-care) legislation passed.”
One coalition of mostly liberal and centrist religious groups was organized by Sojourners, an evangelical group; Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good; Faith in Public Life, a Washington think tank; and PICO National Network, an alliance of 1,000 U.S. congregations. It originally grew out of frustration that conservative Christian groups were dominating the national faith conversation on social issues. The coalition is speaking out on such issues as health-care reform and comprehensive immigration reform.
In August, paid organizers will meet with pastors to help them organize their congregations, develop talking points for meetings with members of Congress and coordinate with other groups and individuals - religious and secular.
Conservative Christian groups say the coalitions are using the common language of faith to disguise unpopular ideas.
“I don’t think they speak for the vast majority of Americans,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, who has debated the Rev. Jim Wallis, executive director of Sojourners, several times on the health-care issue. “They are playing on the sympathies and passions of most Christians.”
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
The White House wants reports from Americans of anyone who is criticizing the President's health care proposals. You're supposed to watch for "fishy" E-mails be passed around America. Would the White House consider your thoughts/comments as "fishy?" CLICK HERE to tell the White House
-- From "Faith groups unite for health care: Claim it is a fundamental moral issue" by Jacqueline L. Salmon, The Washington Post 7/26/09
Several large coalitions are mobilizing religious communities nationwide in support of overhauling the nation’s health-care system.
In recent weeks, hundreds of clergy members and lay leaders have descended on the offices of members of Congress, urging lawmakers to enact health-care legislation this year. With face-to-face lobbying, sermons, prayer and advertising on Christian radio stations, the coalitions are pressing the idea that health care for everyone is a fundamental moral issue.
The efforts have been coordinated closely with the Obama administration. A group of faith leaders met with President Obama in April, and administration officials took part last month in a rally at Freedom Plaza with representatives of more than 40 denominations and faith groups in support of comprehensive health coverage.
Showing up at the rally were Joshua DuBois, executive director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and Neera Tanden, senior adviser to the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Your united voice is critical,” Tanden told the gathering. “We are, in the next two months, at the most critical time of trying to get (health-care) legislation passed.”
One coalition of mostly liberal and centrist religious groups was organized by Sojourners, an evangelical group; Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good; Faith in Public Life, a Washington think tank; and PICO National Network, an alliance of 1,000 U.S. congregations. It originally grew out of frustration that conservative Christian groups were dominating the national faith conversation on social issues. The coalition is speaking out on such issues as health-care reform and comprehensive immigration reform.
In August, paid organizers will meet with pastors to help them organize their congregations, develop talking points for meetings with members of Congress and coordinate with other groups and individuals - religious and secular.
Conservative Christian groups say the coalitions are using the common language of faith to disguise unpopular ideas.
“I don’t think they speak for the vast majority of Americans,” said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, who has debated the Rev. Jim Wallis, executive director of Sojourners, several times on the health-care issue. “They are playing on the sympathies and passions of most Christians.”
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Obama Stimulates Homosexual Violence Counseling
Funds from the $787-billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will be used in Alexandria, Va., where same-sex marriage is not legal, to “train staff who work with sexual/domestic violence victims who identify themselves as member of the gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender community.”
-- From "Federal Stimulus Funds Will be Used to Train 'Domestic Violence' Counselors for Cohabitating Homosexuals" by Penny Starr, CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer 8/6/09
The City of Alexandria posted on its Web site on Aug. 3 an update on the approximately $41.6 million that it and other Alexandria entities, such as the public schools, hope to receive from the economic stimulus bill, signed into law by President Barack Obama in February.
The city was given $36,884 to train staff who work with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault about how to treat people who do not identify themselves as heterosexual.
. . . personnel who deal with domestic abuse and sexual assault cases need to be aware of relationships other than traditional male and female relationships.
Other items on the city’s update that will be paid for with taxpayer money include:
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Federal Stimulus Funds Will be Used to Train 'Domestic Violence' Counselors for Cohabitating Homosexuals" by Penny Starr, CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer 8/6/09
The City of Alexandria posted on its Web site on Aug. 3 an update on the approximately $41.6 million that it and other Alexandria entities, such as the public schools, hope to receive from the economic stimulus bill, signed into law by President Barack Obama in February.
The city was given $36,884 to train staff who work with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault about how to treat people who do not identify themselves as heterosexual.
. . . personnel who deal with domestic abuse and sexual assault cases need to be aware of relationships other than traditional male and female relationships.
Other items on the city’s update that will be paid for with taxpayer money include:
- $240,988 for dental treatment to low-income Alexandrians, utility assistance and “utility management education,” and job training for ex-offenders.
- $810,000 for seven “less polluting diesel buses” for the city’s DASH bus system.
- To make security improvements at the courthouse, purchase equipment for police and mentor programs for at-risk youth.
This is the result of no one in D.C. actually reading legislation before it's passed and signed into law.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
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