Anti-abortion lawmakers in Congress have determined that federal taxpayers poured at least $967 million into family planning organizations such as Planned Parenthood over the last eight years . . .
-- From "Family planning groups' use of U.S. tax money is targeted" by Stewart M. Powell, Hearst Newspapers, posted at San Antonio Express-News 6/16/10
Rep. Pete Olson, R-Texas, who led an effort by 31 Republican lawmakers to obtain the audit by Congress' watchdog Government Accountability Office, said he hopes to use the findings to generate momentum for his proposed legislation to require states and the federal government to provide annual public reports on taxpayer funds that are appropriated to “abortion providers.”
Olson's staff said the public spotlight on federal funding for family planning organizations was designed to give taxpayers a better picture of the alleged “shift” that anti-abortion activists claim takes place within many private nonprofit organizations that receive federal funds and provide abortion services.
The enterprises are not allowed to use federal funds to provide abortions at taxpayers' expense, but they can use other grants and donations for that purpose.
Of the $967 million, $657 million in federal funds was spent by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, an organization that provides exams, screenings, contraception, abortion care and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases to an estimated 3 million patients a year.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Boston Admits Unconstitutional Ban on Bible Study
A children’s Bible study group can return to class in the Roxbury community center that banned religious study, reversing a decision that Christian rights lawyers called unconstitutional and Boston officials acknowledged was an error in enforcement.
-- From "City lifts ban on Bible program" by Sydney Lupkin, Boston Globe Correspondent 4/16/10
"Calvary Kidz" Bible study, which serves children ages 5 to 12, had been meeting in the Thomas L. Johnson Community Center for two years when an official told them they had to cut out the religious content of their program to comply with city policy, said Greg Brace, who oversees the program and is an assistant pastor at Calvary in the City.
In a four-page letter dated April 28, officials from the Alliance Defense Fund warned city officials that the ban was discriminatory and violated the First Amendment, said Joel Oster, an attorney for the national Christian rights group. After the letter went unanswered for more than a month, the alliance threatened to sue, he said.
According to the complaint that the alliance threatened to file, one of the center’s managers told Calvary Kidz officials about the policy and said her orders came from an agency supervisor.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "City lifts ban on Bible program" by Sydney Lupkin, Boston Globe Correspondent 4/16/10
"Calvary Kidz" Bible study, which serves children ages 5 to 12, had been meeting in the Thomas L. Johnson Community Center for two years when an official told them they had to cut out the religious content of their program to comply with city policy, said Greg Brace, who oversees the program and is an assistant pastor at Calvary in the City.
In a four-page letter dated April 28, officials from the Alliance Defense Fund warned city officials that the ban was discriminatory and violated the First Amendment, said Joel Oster, an attorney for the national Christian rights group. After the letter went unanswered for more than a month, the alliance threatened to sue, he said.
According to the complaint that the alliance threatened to file, one of the center’s managers told Calvary Kidz officials about the policy and said her orders came from an agency supervisor.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Advancing Prostitution in D.C.
The "slippery slope" has been exposed in the nation's capital: Having accomplished same-sex "marriage," the sexual revolutionaries move the agenda forward.
-- From "Gay marriage? Check. Now legalized prostitution?" by Mike DeBonis, in Washington Post 6/14/10
Last weekend saw the first Capital Pride festival where same-sex couples were free to marry within city limits. That's more than enough reason to celebrate for the potent gay and lesbian activist community, which was able to cap decades of effort with an overwhelming 11-2 vote to legalize gay marriage.
Now the question for the city's activists is: Now what?
Handily, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance -- the city's longest-running activist group -- just released its "Agenda 2010," laying out its priorities for lawmakers.
It reads, in part:
-- From "Gay marriage? Check. Now legalized prostitution?" by Mike DeBonis, in Washington Post 6/14/10
Last weekend saw the first Capital Pride festival where same-sex couples were free to marry within city limits. That's more than enough reason to celebrate for the potent gay and lesbian activist community, which was able to cap decades of effort with an overwhelming 11-2 vote to legalize gay marriage.
Now the question for the city's activists is: Now what?
Handily, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance -- the city's longest-running activist group -- just released its "Agenda 2010," laying out its priorities for lawmakers.
It reads, in part:
As advocates of the legalization of prostitution, we think it needs neither sanitizing nor glorifying. It is not a profession filled exclusively with people who freely chose it from a host of other options. No doubt there are some in that category, like the college student turning tricks for extra cash. But too many turn to it by necessity. These include gay teenagers who have been thrown out of the house by their parents, and transgender people whom discrimination has left with few options.To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Popular 'Babysitter' Sexualizes Children - TV Hazards
The children's network Nickelodeon is now offering a selection of naughty games that allow players to look up teachers' skirts and perform a variety of sexual acts – prominently linking to the sexy games from its popular websites for young kids.
-- From "Nickelodeon promotes 'naughty' games to kids" by Chelsea Schilling © 2010 WorldNetDaily 6/14/10
Nickelodeon links to AddictingGames.com from its websites for children, including Neopets.com and Nick.com. AddictingGames, a website owned by Nickelodeon parent company Viacom, features the Nickelodeon logo and has approximately 34 million monthly users.
The NewsBusters blog noted that the Nickelodeon website features racy games such as "Naughty Babysitter," "Booty Rider" and "You da Sperm!"
The game, called "Naughty Classroom," begins with three young boys sitting at the front of a classroom and admiring a photo of their female teacher.
A teacher walks into the classroom wearing a mini skirt and spike heels. At one point, she unbuttons her shirt and flashes her undergarments at her students. Players can prompt one of the male students to turn on a fan, and a gush of air lifts the teacher's skirt.
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a national coalition of health-care professionals, educators, advocacy groups and parents, has spoken out against Nickelodeon's promotion of AddictingGames, noting that thousands of parents have written the company to demand it remove links to AddictingGames from its children's websites. Members of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood overwhelmingly chose AddictingGames as 2010's winner of the Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young Children Award, also known as the TOADY, for the worst toy of the year.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Nickelodeon promotes 'naughty' games to kids" by Chelsea Schilling © 2010 WorldNetDaily 6/14/10
Nickelodeon links to AddictingGames.com from its websites for children, including Neopets.com and Nick.com. AddictingGames, a website owned by Nickelodeon parent company Viacom, features the Nickelodeon logo and has approximately 34 million monthly users.
The NewsBusters blog noted that the Nickelodeon website features racy games such as "Naughty Babysitter," "Booty Rider" and "You da Sperm!"
The game, called "Naughty Classroom," begins with three young boys sitting at the front of a classroom and admiring a photo of their female teacher.
A teacher walks into the classroom wearing a mini skirt and spike heels. At one point, she unbuttons her shirt and flashes her undergarments at her students. Players can prompt one of the male students to turn on a fan, and a gush of air lifts the teacher's skirt.
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a national coalition of health-care professionals, educators, advocacy groups and parents, has spoken out against Nickelodeon's promotion of AddictingGames, noting that thousands of parents have written the company to demand it remove links to AddictingGames from its children's websites. Members of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood overwhelmingly chose AddictingGames as 2010's winner of the Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young Children Award, also known as the TOADY, for the worst toy of the year.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Transgender U.S. Passports - Crossdressing Terrorists?
The State Department is marking Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month — a designation instituted by President Obama last year — anyone with a note from a physician is now free to claim any gender on a passport.
Read related story: Mother & Father Deleted from Passport: Obama Administration Gay Agenda
-- From "Surgery not required to change gender on passports" by Associated Press 6/12/10
Transgender travelers no longer will need surgery in order to change their stated genders on U.S. passports, the State Department said Wednesday.
Beginning Thursday, a transgender person applying for a U.S. passport will just need to show a physician's certification that the applicant has "undergone appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition" to declare a new gender on a passport, the department said.
The State Department says the new policy is based on standards and recommendations from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "New Passport Rules Ease Switch for Transgenders" by Katy Steinmetz, Time Magazine 6/12/10
This new, no-surgery-required standard is similar to those in European countries like the United Kingdom, where emphasis is placed on transgender citizens living the life of their "acquired gender" rather than what they anatomically bring to the table. And it's more in line with the progressive, individualistic philosophy of the LGBT community, which has pushed for this change for years.
The previous surgical requirement was based on the notion that gender is all in the genitals, explains Walter Bockting, a clinical psychologist who studies transgender issues at the University of Minnesota. But there is no one-size-fits-all surgery that scientifically constitutes a change in gender — which also made the passport issuing process difficult for State Department employees — and many people can't afford to have elective procedures. He estimates that male-to-female genital reconstruction costs between $12,000 and $25,000, while chest surgery, the most common female-to-male procedure, costs between $4,000 and $8,000. And he ballparks the cost of phallus construction, a much less common and less developed procedure, at between $20,000 and $75,000, depending how far a woman goes in the multi-stage process.
Others simply don't feel they need surgery to assume the gender role they feel is right for them.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Read related story: Mother & Father Deleted from Passport: Obama Administration Gay Agenda
-- From "Surgery not required to change gender on passports" by Associated Press 6/12/10
Transgender travelers no longer will need surgery in order to change their stated genders on U.S. passports, the State Department said Wednesday.
Beginning Thursday, a transgender person applying for a U.S. passport will just need to show a physician's certification that the applicant has "undergone appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition" to declare a new gender on a passport, the department said.
The State Department says the new policy is based on standards and recommendations from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "New Passport Rules Ease Switch for Transgenders" by Katy Steinmetz, Time Magazine 6/12/10
This new, no-surgery-required standard is similar to those in European countries like the United Kingdom, where emphasis is placed on transgender citizens living the life of their "acquired gender" rather than what they anatomically bring to the table. And it's more in line with the progressive, individualistic philosophy of the LGBT community, which has pushed for this change for years.
The previous surgical requirement was based on the notion that gender is all in the genitals, explains Walter Bockting, a clinical psychologist who studies transgender issues at the University of Minnesota. But there is no one-size-fits-all surgery that scientifically constitutes a change in gender — which also made the passport issuing process difficult for State Department employees — and many people can't afford to have elective procedures. He estimates that male-to-female genital reconstruction costs between $12,000 and $25,000, while chest surgery, the most common female-to-male procedure, costs between $4,000 and $8,000. And he ballparks the cost of phallus construction, a much less common and less developed procedure, at between $20,000 and $75,000, depending how far a woman goes in the multi-stage process.
Others simply don't feel they need surgery to assume the gender role they feel is right for them.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Teacher Sues Christian School over Her Immorality
Florida teacher Jarretta Hamilton was fired for breaking the school's morality code by becoming pregnant while not married.
UPDATE 4/20/12: After losing in court in 2011, teacher gets hearing in appeals court
-- From "Teacher Fired for Becoming Pregnant Out of Wedlock" by Russell Goldman, ABC News 6/11/10
In April 2009, Hamilton told her boss at Southland Christian School in St. Cloud, Fla., that she was pregnant and planned to take a six-week leave in October. When asked when she conceived, Hamilton answered honestly: She became pregnant just three weeks prior to her Feb. 20 wedding.
That was enough to get her fired under the school's strict morality rules, which prohibit teachers from "fornication," engaging in sex before marriage.
Now, Hamilton is suing the school in federal court, seeking damages for lost wages and emotional distress.
According to the complaint, Hamilton is suing under federal gender discrimination laws, a state marriage discrimination law and for violations of her privacy.
The school does not dispute the reasons for firing Hamilton, calling sex outside of marriage "an immoral action," but argues that her termination does not rise to discrimination because it employs other pregnant women.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 4/20/12: After losing in court in 2011, teacher gets hearing in appeals court
-- From "Teacher Fired for Becoming Pregnant Out of Wedlock" by Russell Goldman, ABC News 6/11/10
In April 2009, Hamilton told her boss at Southland Christian School in St. Cloud, Fla., that she was pregnant and planned to take a six-week leave in October. When asked when she conceived, Hamilton answered honestly: She became pregnant just three weeks prior to her Feb. 20 wedding.
That was enough to get her fired under the school's strict morality rules, which prohibit teachers from "fornication," engaging in sex before marriage.
Now, Hamilton is suing the school in federal court, seeking damages for lost wages and emotional distress.
According to the complaint, Hamilton is suing under federal gender discrimination laws, a state marriage discrimination law and for violations of her privacy.
The school does not dispute the reasons for firing Hamilton, calling sex outside of marriage "an immoral action," but argues that her termination does not rise to discrimination because it employs other pregnant women.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Pro-life Legislation in Louisiana
ObamaCare won't be paying for abortions in Louisiana, the fourth such state, so far. Also, Louisiana's health secretary will be given expanded authority to revoke licenses of unsafe abortion clinics.
-- From "La. Senate backs abortion regulation bills" by The Associated Press 6/14/10
The measure by Rep. Fred Mills, D-Parks, would allow the head of the Department of Health and Hospitals to immediately suspend a license if he decides there is an immediate health or safety threat at one of a handful of clinics in the state that provide abortions.
The proposal also would increase the health secretary's authority to refuse to renew a license, revoke an existing license or deny a license if an investigation finds any violation of state or federal regulations.
Supporters say the bill would put the health secretary's authority over outpatient abortion clinics in line with the authority he has over other kinds of health care facilities, like pediatric day care, substance abuse and adult day care facilities.
Senators gave unanimous backing to the measure, sending it to the governor's desk. It already had received unanimous approval from the House. Gov. Bobby Jindal supports the bill.
The Senate also approved a proposed ban on coverage for elective abortions in the insurance purchasing pools set up by the federal health overhaul legislation. The 28-3 vote of the Senate sends the measure by Rep. Frank Hoffmann, R-West Monroe, back to the House for approval of changes.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Louisiana to Become Fourth State to Opt Out of Abortion Funding in Health Care" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor 6/14/10
While HB 1247 has already passed the House, it must now receive formal concurrence in the House due to changes made in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Once the House stamps the changes in the next few days, the bill will be sent to Governor Jindal for his expected signature.
Opt-out legislation has been signed into law by three states, Arizona, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and is awaiting action from the governor of Missouri. Governors in Oklahoma and Florida vetoed similar legislation.
Under the new health care law, states will be in charge of their own health care exchanges that are available for individuals and small businesses. The bill will keep any insurance plans on the Louisiana exchange from offering abortion coverage.
Meanwhile, at the Louisiana legislature, the Ultrasound Before Abortion Act, SB 528, will be voted on Wednesday on the floor of the House of Representatives.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "La. Senate backs abortion regulation bills" by The Associated Press 6/14/10
The measure by Rep. Fred Mills, D-Parks, would allow the head of the Department of Health and Hospitals to immediately suspend a license if he decides there is an immediate health or safety threat at one of a handful of clinics in the state that provide abortions.
The proposal also would increase the health secretary's authority to refuse to renew a license, revoke an existing license or deny a license if an investigation finds any violation of state or federal regulations.
Supporters say the bill would put the health secretary's authority over outpatient abortion clinics in line with the authority he has over other kinds of health care facilities, like pediatric day care, substance abuse and adult day care facilities.
Senators gave unanimous backing to the measure, sending it to the governor's desk. It already had received unanimous approval from the House. Gov. Bobby Jindal supports the bill.
The Senate also approved a proposed ban on coverage for elective abortions in the insurance purchasing pools set up by the federal health overhaul legislation. The 28-3 vote of the Senate sends the measure by Rep. Frank Hoffmann, R-West Monroe, back to the House for approval of changes.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Louisiana to Become Fourth State to Opt Out of Abortion Funding in Health Care" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor 6/14/10
While HB 1247 has already passed the House, it must now receive formal concurrence in the House due to changes made in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Once the House stamps the changes in the next few days, the bill will be sent to Governor Jindal for his expected signature.
Opt-out legislation has been signed into law by three states, Arizona, Mississippi, and Tennessee, and is awaiting action from the governor of Missouri. Governors in Oklahoma and Florida vetoed similar legislation.
Under the new health care law, states will be in charge of their own health care exchanges that are available for individuals and small businesses. The bill will keep any insurance plans on the Louisiana exchange from offering abortion coverage.
Meanwhile, at the Louisiana legislature, the Ultrasound Before Abortion Act, SB 528, will be voted on Wednesday on the floor of the House of Representatives.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Sarah Palin Redefines Feminism -- it's Christian: Newsweek Magazine
“You hate to say it, but mainstream feminism has had an antireligious bias for a really long time.”
To white evangelical women, Sarah Palin is a modern-day prophet, preaching God, flag, and family—while remaking the religious right in her own image.
UPDATE 6/15/10: Article author Lisa Miller interview
-- From "Saint Sarah" by Lisa Miller, Newsweek 6/11/10
To millions of women, Palin’s authenticity makes her a sister in arms—“Sisters!” she called out in Washington, as if at a revival—a beautiful, fearless, principled fighter who shares their struggles. To a smaller number, she is a prophet, ordained by God for a special role in the cosmic battle against the forces of evil. A 2009 profile in the Christian magazine Charisma compared Palin to the Old Testament’s Queen Esther, who saved her people, in this case the Jews, from annihilation.
Palin has been antagonizing women on the left of late by describing herself as a “feminist,” a word she uses to mean the righteous, Mama Bear anger that wells up when one of her children is attacked in the press or her values are brought into question. But while leftist critics continue to shred Palin as a cynical, shallow, ill-informed opportunist, and new polls show her unpopularity rating to be at an all-time high—53 percent—Palin is now playing to her strengths. Even if she never again seeks elected office, her pro-woman rallying cry, articulated in the evangelical vernacular, together with the potent pro-life example of her own family, puts Palin in a position to reshape and reinvigorate the religious right, one of the most powerful forces in American politics. The Christian right is now poised to become a women’s movement—and Sarah Palin is its earthy Jerry Falwell.
With her new faith-based message, Palin gathers up the Christian women that traditional feminism has left behind. . . . Hers is a “mom of faith” movement, a “mom uprising.”
. . . The women who follow Palin will fight against Roe—and support adoption and prenatal health clinics—but they aren't generally focused on birth control, sex education, or gender discrimination. They shrug at the agonies of the overeducated moms who feel forced to choose between work and family (no one had to do that on the farm), and they refute the idea that to succeed in the world a woman must look and act like a man.
. . . These [female] Christians seek a power that allows them to formally acquiesce to male authority and conservative theology, even as they assume increasingly visible roles in their families, their churches, their communities, and the world.
. . . Christian women have long puzzled in their Bible study groups over how she does it, and in Palin they finally have an example—not just for themselves, but for their daughters.
. . . Public Christian prayer makes many Americans squeamish, but in evangelical circles it is the air they breathe. Christian women pray for each other, their families, and their leaders, not just in church but in casual groups, online, and in private all the time.
To read this entire account of a Christian woman, seemingly written by an outsider, CLICK HERE.
To white evangelical women, Sarah Palin is a modern-day prophet, preaching God, flag, and family—while remaking the religious right in her own image.
UPDATE 6/15/10: Article author Lisa Miller interview
-- From "Saint Sarah" by Lisa Miller, Newsweek 6/11/10
To millions of women, Palin’s authenticity makes her a sister in arms—“Sisters!” she called out in Washington, as if at a revival—a beautiful, fearless, principled fighter who shares their struggles. To a smaller number, she is a prophet, ordained by God for a special role in the cosmic battle against the forces of evil. A 2009 profile in the Christian magazine Charisma compared Palin to the Old Testament’s Queen Esther, who saved her people, in this case the Jews, from annihilation.
Palin has been antagonizing women on the left of late by describing herself as a “feminist,” a word she uses to mean the righteous, Mama Bear anger that wells up when one of her children is attacked in the press or her values are brought into question. But while leftist critics continue to shred Palin as a cynical, shallow, ill-informed opportunist, and new polls show her unpopularity rating to be at an all-time high—53 percent—Palin is now playing to her strengths. Even if she never again seeks elected office, her pro-woman rallying cry, articulated in the evangelical vernacular, together with the potent pro-life example of her own family, puts Palin in a position to reshape and reinvigorate the religious right, one of the most powerful forces in American politics. The Christian right is now poised to become a women’s movement—and Sarah Palin is its earthy Jerry Falwell.
With her new faith-based message, Palin gathers up the Christian women that traditional feminism has left behind. . . . Hers is a “mom of faith” movement, a “mom uprising.”
. . . The women who follow Palin will fight against Roe—and support adoption and prenatal health clinics—but they aren't generally focused on birth control, sex education, or gender discrimination. They shrug at the agonies of the overeducated moms who feel forced to choose between work and family (no one had to do that on the farm), and they refute the idea that to succeed in the world a woman must look and act like a man.
. . . These [female] Christians seek a power that allows them to formally acquiesce to male authority and conservative theology, even as they assume increasingly visible roles in their families, their churches, their communities, and the world.
. . . Christian women have long puzzled in their Bible study groups over how she does it, and in Palin they finally have an example—not just for themselves, but for their daughters.
. . . Public Christian prayer makes many Americans squeamish, but in evangelical circles it is the air they breathe. Christian women pray for each other, their families, and their leaders, not just in church but in casual groups, online, and in private all the time.
To read this entire account of a Christian woman, seemingly written by an outsider, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Will GOP Call 'Truce' in Culture War?
Possible GOP presidential hopeful, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, suggests that Christians set aside hot button social issues to turn focus to more critical issues in America.
UPDATE 3/9/11 Gov. Daniels insists truce is warranted (video):
-- From "Right attacks Daniels comment" by Niki Kelly, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette 6/12/10
He was quoted in a Weekly Standard cover story as saying the next president “would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues,” such as abortion and gay marriage, until the economic crisis is resolved.
The response from prominent Republicans concerned about social issues was swift.
First, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, took offense to the statements in a newsletter sent out Thursday, noting many of the social issues at hand are supported by the majority of Americans such as not using federal funding to support abortion.
Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor and 2012 presidential hopeful, followed up Friday in a fundraising plea on his website by saying Daniels’ suggestion of a truce is “absolutely heartbreaking.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "No 'truce' in sight" by Mary Beth Schneider, Indianapolis Star 6/12/10
"For those of us who have labored long and hard in the fight to educate the Democrats, voters, the media and even some Republicans on the importance of strong families, traditional marriage and life to our society, this is absolutely heartbreaking," Huckabee said. "And that one of our Republican leaders would suggest this truce, even more so."
. . .
Although the comment has rankled some national conservatives, it mirrors Daniels' 5 1/2 years as Indiana's leader -- not pushing hot-button social issues but making fiscal matters a priority.
During a 2005 partisan battle over the right to pray to Jesus in the General Assembly, Daniels said prayers in government venues must be inclusive, though he called a court decision mandating inclusion "regrettable." In the same session, property tax reform was the No. 1 issue.
Daniels warned lawmakers in the last legislative session to be wary of making it harder for businesses to hire employees when a measure was proposed that penalized businesses that knowingly hired illegal immigrants.
Of a measure that would have made it illegal for most Hoosier women, including victims of rape and incest, to have an abortion, Daniels said he opposed abortion rights but questioned whether Indiana should devote time and money to overturning the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision that made the procedure legal.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 3/9/11 Gov. Daniels insists truce is warranted (video):
-- From "Right attacks Daniels comment" by Niki Kelly, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette 6/12/10
He was quoted in a Weekly Standard cover story as saying the next president “would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues,” such as abortion and gay marriage, until the economic crisis is resolved.
The response from prominent Republicans concerned about social issues was swift.
First, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, took offense to the statements in a newsletter sent out Thursday, noting many of the social issues at hand are supported by the majority of Americans such as not using federal funding to support abortion.
Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor and 2012 presidential hopeful, followed up Friday in a fundraising plea on his website by saying Daniels’ suggestion of a truce is “absolutely heartbreaking.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "No 'truce' in sight" by Mary Beth Schneider, Indianapolis Star 6/12/10
"For those of us who have labored long and hard in the fight to educate the Democrats, voters, the media and even some Republicans on the importance of strong families, traditional marriage and life to our society, this is absolutely heartbreaking," Huckabee said. "And that one of our Republican leaders would suggest this truce, even more so."
. . .
Although the comment has rankled some national conservatives, it mirrors Daniels' 5 1/2 years as Indiana's leader -- not pushing hot-button social issues but making fiscal matters a priority.
During a 2005 partisan battle over the right to pray to Jesus in the General Assembly, Daniels said prayers in government venues must be inclusive, though he called a court decision mandating inclusion "regrettable." In the same session, property tax reform was the No. 1 issue.
Daniels warned lawmakers in the last legislative session to be wary of making it harder for businesses to hire employees when a measure was proposed that penalized businesses that knowingly hired illegal immigrants.
Of a measure that would have made it illegal for most Hoosier women, including victims of rape and incest, to have an abortion, Daniels said he opposed abortion rights but questioned whether Indiana should devote time and money to overturning the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision that made the procedure legal.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Feds Consider Approving Another Abortion Pill
The French drug (named "ella"), capable of preventing successful impregnation several days after fertilization, challenges "the Obama administration's pledge to keep ideology from influencing scientific decisions."
UPDATE 6/17/10: Federal advisory panel unanimously recommends pill for FDA approval
-- From "New 'morning-after' pill, ella, raises debate over similarity to abortion drug" by Rob Stein, Washington Post 6/12/10
The drug, dubbed ella, would be sold as a contraceptive -- one that could prevent pregnancy for as many as five days after unprotected sex. But the new drug is a close chemical relative of the abortion pill RU-486, raising the possibility that it could also induce abortion by making the womb inhospitable for an embryo.
The controversy sparked by that ambiguity promises to overshadow the work of a federal panel that will convene next week to consider endorsing the drug. The last time the Food and Drug Administration vetted an emergency contraceptive -- Plan B, the so-called morning-after pill -- the decision was mired in debate over such fundamental questions as when life begins and the distinction between preventing and terminating a pregnancy. Ella is raising many of those same politically charged questions -- but more sharply, testing the Obama administration's pledge to keep ideology from influencing scientific decisions.
Plan B, which works for up to 72 hours after sex, was eventually approved for sale without a prescription, although a doctor's order is required for girls younger than 17. The new drug promises to extend that period to at least 120 hours. Approved in Europe last year, ella is available as an emergency contraceptive in at least 22 countries.
Plan B prevents a pregnancy by administering high doses of a hormone that mimics progesterone. It works primarily by inhibiting the ovaries from producing eggs. Critics argue it can also prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the womb, which some consider equivalent to an abortion.
"The difference between preventing life and destroying life is hugely significant to many women," said Jeanne Monahan, director of the Family Research Council's Center for Human Dignity. "Women deserve to know that difference."
For details explaining these drugs, CLICK HERE to read the entire article.
UPDATE 6/17/10: Federal advisory panel unanimously recommends pill for FDA approval
-- From "New 'morning-after' pill, ella, raises debate over similarity to abortion drug" by Rob Stein, Washington Post 6/12/10
The drug, dubbed ella, would be sold as a contraceptive -- one that could prevent pregnancy for as many as five days after unprotected sex. But the new drug is a close chemical relative of the abortion pill RU-486, raising the possibility that it could also induce abortion by making the womb inhospitable for an embryo.
The controversy sparked by that ambiguity promises to overshadow the work of a federal panel that will convene next week to consider endorsing the drug. The last time the Food and Drug Administration vetted an emergency contraceptive -- Plan B, the so-called morning-after pill -- the decision was mired in debate over such fundamental questions as when life begins and the distinction between preventing and terminating a pregnancy. Ella is raising many of those same politically charged questions -- but more sharply, testing the Obama administration's pledge to keep ideology from influencing scientific decisions.
Plan B, which works for up to 72 hours after sex, was eventually approved for sale without a prescription, although a doctor's order is required for girls younger than 17. The new drug promises to extend that period to at least 120 hours. Approved in Europe last year, ella is available as an emergency contraceptive in at least 22 countries.
Plan B prevents a pregnancy by administering high doses of a hormone that mimics progesterone. It works primarily by inhibiting the ovaries from producing eggs. Critics argue it can also prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the womb, which some consider equivalent to an abortion.
"The difference between preventing life and destroying life is hugely significant to many women," said Jeanne Monahan, director of the Family Research Council's Center for Human Dignity. "Women deserve to know that difference."
For details explaining these drugs, CLICK HERE to read the entire article.
Elena Kagan Lamented Public Opposition to Abortion
President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court advised the Clinton administration, “The politics of it have become too good” for opponents, and the partial-birth issue “gives them a wedge into pre-viability abortions.”
-- From "Kagan Played Lead Role in Abortion Rights Fight Under Clinton" by Greg Stohr and Kristin Jensen, Bloomberg - Business Week 6/12/10
[Documents made public Friday expose Kagan's opinions during her tenure as a White House counsel to President Clinton.]
Elena Kagan helped shape the Clinton administration’s fight against a Republican bill to limit abortion, aiming to bolster the rights of women and honing the message of the administration and its allies.
Now President Barack Obama’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, Kagan in 1996 and 1997 immersed herself in both the legal and political aspects of the fight over a procedure opponents termed partial-birth abortion, according to documents released yesterday by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Kagan laid out alternative phrasing for a draft statement by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [ACOG]. Although the medical group said the procedure should be an option, the draft statement also said that an expert panel didn’t believe the method was the only way to save a woman’s life or health.
“This, of course, would be disaster -- not the less so (in fact, the more so) because ACOG continues to oppose the legislation,” Kagan wrote in a Dec. 14, 1996, memo.
Notes in Kagan’s handwriting list “suggested options” for modifying the group’s statement, including that the procedure “may be the best or most appropriate” option.
That language ended up in the final version of the group’s statement alongside the original sentence about the expert panel’s findings.
Many of Kagan’s memos came after Clinton vetoed the ban in April 1996, saying there wasn’t a clear exception for the life or health of the mother. The White House later fought to prevent Congress from overriding Clinton’s veto.
The partial-birth debate put Clinton in a delicate political position, caught between his support for abortion rights and popular opposition to the procedure as characterized by its opponents. Foes said the procedure, typically a late-term technique that involves partially removing a fetus from the mother before killing it, amounted to infanticide.
Kagan suggested in her December 1996 memo that opponents were winning the political battle and positioning themselves to restrict abortion at earlier stages of pregnancy.
In a memo to then-White House Counsel Jack Quinn on June 22, 1996, Kagan said she planned to send talking points on partial-birth abortion to the Democratic National Committee and Clinton’s re-election campaign. Quinn wrote back that the office couldn’t do talking points “just for DNC/campaign.”
“Of course you’re right,” Kagan replied in a handwritten note. “I will make sure the talking points get more general use or aren’t done at all.”
In that same memo, Kagan raised the point that the health exception Clinton sought wouldn’t affect many women. After meeting with members of ACOG, she said there weren’t many cases where the procedure was the least risky or the “necessary” approach.
“No one should worry about being able to drive a truck through the president’s proposed exception,” Kagan wrote. “The real issue is whether anything at all can get through it.”
. . . Congress enacted the partial-birth ban after Republican George W. Bush succeeded Clinton as president.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Also read previous report by CBS News: Kagan Flaming Liberal
-- From "Kagan Played Lead Role in Abortion Rights Fight Under Clinton" by Greg Stohr and Kristin Jensen, Bloomberg - Business Week 6/12/10
[Documents made public Friday expose Kagan's opinions during her tenure as a White House counsel to President Clinton.]
Elena Kagan helped shape the Clinton administration’s fight against a Republican bill to limit abortion, aiming to bolster the rights of women and honing the message of the administration and its allies.
Now President Barack Obama’s nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, Kagan in 1996 and 1997 immersed herself in both the legal and political aspects of the fight over a procedure opponents termed partial-birth abortion, according to documents released yesterday by the William J. Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Kagan laid out alternative phrasing for a draft statement by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [ACOG]. Although the medical group said the procedure should be an option, the draft statement also said that an expert panel didn’t believe the method was the only way to save a woman’s life or health.
“This, of course, would be disaster -- not the less so (in fact, the more so) because ACOG continues to oppose the legislation,” Kagan wrote in a Dec. 14, 1996, memo.
Notes in Kagan’s handwriting list “suggested options” for modifying the group’s statement, including that the procedure “may be the best or most appropriate” option.
That language ended up in the final version of the group’s statement alongside the original sentence about the expert panel’s findings.
Many of Kagan’s memos came after Clinton vetoed the ban in April 1996, saying there wasn’t a clear exception for the life or health of the mother. The White House later fought to prevent Congress from overriding Clinton’s veto.
The partial-birth debate put Clinton in a delicate political position, caught between his support for abortion rights and popular opposition to the procedure as characterized by its opponents. Foes said the procedure, typically a late-term technique that involves partially removing a fetus from the mother before killing it, amounted to infanticide.
Kagan suggested in her December 1996 memo that opponents were winning the political battle and positioning themselves to restrict abortion at earlier stages of pregnancy.
In a memo to then-White House Counsel Jack Quinn on June 22, 1996, Kagan said she planned to send talking points on partial-birth abortion to the Democratic National Committee and Clinton’s re-election campaign. Quinn wrote back that the office couldn’t do talking points “just for DNC/campaign.”
“Of course you’re right,” Kagan replied in a handwritten note. “I will make sure the talking points get more general use or aren’t done at all.”
In that same memo, Kagan raised the point that the health exception Clinton sought wouldn’t affect many women. After meeting with members of ACOG, she said there weren’t many cases where the procedure was the least risky or the “necessary” approach.
“No one should worry about being able to drive a truck through the president’s proposed exception,” Kagan wrote. “The real issue is whether anything at all can get through it.”
. . . Congress enacted the partial-birth ban after Republican George W. Bush succeeded Clinton as president.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Also read previous report by CBS News: Kagan Flaming Liberal
Friday, June 11, 2010
Abortion Ultrasound Vetoed by Florida Gov. Crist
Gov. Charlie Crist's veto of a politically volatile abortion bill was hotly denounced by his former party today, even before the governor's office announced the decision.
-- From "Crist vetoes abortion bill" by Bill Cotterell, Florida Capital Bureau posted at The Tallahassee Democrat 6/11/10
Crist has made no secret, all week, that he didn't like the bill requiring abortion providers to do ultrasound examinations and give women an opportunity to view the results before having the procedure. The bill (HB 1143) also included language that legislative Republicans wrote to prevent what they considered the possibility of federal funding being used for abortion in Florida, along with some provisions intended to thwart President Obama's national health care program.
Crist left the Republican Party to run for the U.S. Senate as an independent on April 29. Well before then, House and Senate GOP leaders were warring with him over some major issues -- principally a bill that Crist vetoed, which would have abolished teacher tenure and linked salaries to student performance.
In his veto message, Crist said the bill "places an inappropriate burden on women seeking to terminate a pregnancy." Crist had called himself "pro-life" as a state legislator, Cabinet member and Republican governor but he said "personal views should not result in laws that unwisely expand the role of government and coerce people to obtain medical tests and procedures that are not medically necessary."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Crist vetoes abortion bill" by Bill Cotterell, Florida Capital Bureau posted at The Tallahassee Democrat 6/11/10
Crist has made no secret, all week, that he didn't like the bill requiring abortion providers to do ultrasound examinations and give women an opportunity to view the results before having the procedure. The bill (HB 1143) also included language that legislative Republicans wrote to prevent what they considered the possibility of federal funding being used for abortion in Florida, along with some provisions intended to thwart President Obama's national health care program.
Crist left the Republican Party to run for the U.S. Senate as an independent on April 29. Well before then, House and Senate GOP leaders were warring with him over some major issues -- principally a bill that Crist vetoed, which would have abolished teacher tenure and linked salaries to student performance.
In his veto message, Crist said the bill "places an inappropriate burden on women seeking to terminate a pregnancy." Crist had called himself "pro-life" as a state legislator, Cabinet member and Republican governor but he said "personal views should not result in laws that unwisely expand the role of government and coerce people to obtain medical tests and procedures that are not medically necessary."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Two NY Boys Named Prom 'King & Queen'
Charlie Ferrusi and Timothy Howard, seniors at Hudson High School (upstate New York), are products of the 21st Century American society, as indoctrinated via public schools. Where's THE Church?
-- From "Hudson High School makes history" by Molly Koweek, Hudson High School posted at Albany Times Union 6/11/10
This past Saturday night, June 5, was Hudson High School’s Senior Prom. Almost everything was normal: Girls wore dresses that cost a fortune, boys got tuxes to match, and Prom King and Queen were elected. However, something was different this year. For the first time, two males took the coveted elected positions.
While in class with one of their favorite teachers, Felicia Near, they tossed around the idea of running together as King and Queen. Both are gay, however, they’re not a couple. They wanted to do something that had never been done before, but they didn’t realize how big a deal their election would be. Principal Steven Spicer granted them permission to run together. ”Spicer is so supportive,” Ferrusi explained.
While the overwhelming response to the election results has been positive, there has been a decent amount of negativity surrounding the entire process. Before running, some students asked Howard, “You don’t have a vagina, why are you running for queen?” A handful of parents are outraged with the situation. Some are writing negative posts on Facebook, and others are accusing Spicer of being gay, Ferrusi explained. Still others are convinced that the voting was rigged. ”They’ll say anything to make it look like we lost but they can’t take away our crowns,” he said.
It is a coincidence [sic] that Howard and Ferrusi are making headlines just weeks before Hudson’s first Pride Day. Victor Mendolia, 49, Chairman of the Hudson City Democrats, and involved coordinator for Hudson Pride, is helping the two out with the large media influx. “There were so many media calls coming in and they were overwhelmed,” Mendolia said. As a person who has a lot of experience dealing with the press, he wanted to make them feel comfortable. Ferrusi and Howard will be the Grand Marshal for Hudson Pride on June 20, as well as Capital Pride 2010 Parade in Albany on June 13.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
High School Principal Steven Spicer and gay pride parade organizer Trixie Starr posing for pictures after a press conference Thursday. (David Lee/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers)
From "NEW: The prom story heard around the world" by Jamie Larson, Hudson Register-Star 6/11/10
Hudson High School officials held a press conference Thursday in front of the school to further solidify their support for this year’s prom royalty.
Attending the conference was Hudson Pride parade and celebration head organizer, and drag queen, Trixie Starr, who announced that Ferrusi and Howard will be the parade’s grand marshals. “This is a pivotal moment for Hudson,” Starr said.
“This is indeed an historic and hopefully trend-setting event,” said High School Principal Steven Spicer. “The fact that two gay students were elected by their peers to be the prom king and queen is a response on behalf of our young people to the climate of tolerance, support and acceptance we strive to create every day.”
School District Superintendent Jack Howe said Spicer, the student advisors and the students themselves have the full support from his office and the Board of Education.
Spicer said it is important for people to realize that the students didn’t make their selection to make a statement, news or history but out of love for their friends. The principal added that he saw the election of Ferrusi and Howard as a further realization of the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Hudson Mayor Richard Scalera said Thursday that he couldn’t believe that Hudson was the first city or school district to have this happen. “My first thought was Hudson has a sizable gay community,” Scalera said, “and over the years it has become more and more accepting of gay lifestyles. Obviously those sentiments have gotten to the high school.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Hudson High School makes history" by Molly Koweek, Hudson High School posted at Albany Times Union 6/11/10
This past Saturday night, June 5, was Hudson High School’s Senior Prom. Almost everything was normal: Girls wore dresses that cost a fortune, boys got tuxes to match, and Prom King and Queen were elected. However, something was different this year. For the first time, two males took the coveted elected positions.
While in class with one of their favorite teachers, Felicia Near, they tossed around the idea of running together as King and Queen. Both are gay, however, they’re not a couple. They wanted to do something that had never been done before, but they didn’t realize how big a deal their election would be. Principal Steven Spicer granted them permission to run together. ”Spicer is so supportive,” Ferrusi explained.
While the overwhelming response to the election results has been positive, there has been a decent amount of negativity surrounding the entire process. Before running, some students asked Howard, “You don’t have a vagina, why are you running for queen?” A handful of parents are outraged with the situation. Some are writing negative posts on Facebook, and others are accusing Spicer of being gay, Ferrusi explained. Still others are convinced that the voting was rigged. ”They’ll say anything to make it look like we lost but they can’t take away our crowns,” he said.
It is a coincidence [sic] that Howard and Ferrusi are making headlines just weeks before Hudson’s first Pride Day. Victor Mendolia, 49, Chairman of the Hudson City Democrats, and involved coordinator for Hudson Pride, is helping the two out with the large media influx. “There were so many media calls coming in and they were overwhelmed,” Mendolia said. As a person who has a lot of experience dealing with the press, he wanted to make them feel comfortable. Ferrusi and Howard will be the Grand Marshal for Hudson Pride on June 20, as well as Capital Pride 2010 Parade in Albany on June 13.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
High School Principal Steven Spicer and gay pride parade organizer Trixie Starr posing for pictures after a press conference Thursday. (David Lee/Hudson-Catskill Newspapers)
From "NEW: The prom story heard around the world" by Jamie Larson, Hudson Register-Star 6/11/10
Hudson High School officials held a press conference Thursday in front of the school to further solidify their support for this year’s prom royalty.
Attending the conference was Hudson Pride parade and celebration head organizer, and drag queen, Trixie Starr, who announced that Ferrusi and Howard will be the parade’s grand marshals. “This is a pivotal moment for Hudson,” Starr said.
“This is indeed an historic and hopefully trend-setting event,” said High School Principal Steven Spicer. “The fact that two gay students were elected by their peers to be the prom king and queen is a response on behalf of our young people to the climate of tolerance, support and acceptance we strive to create every day.”
School District Superintendent Jack Howe said Spicer, the student advisors and the students themselves have the full support from his office and the Board of Education.
Spicer said it is important for people to realize that the students didn’t make their selection to make a statement, news or history but out of love for their friends. The principal added that he saw the election of Ferrusi and Howard as a further realization of the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Hudson Mayor Richard Scalera said Thursday that he couldn’t believe that Hudson was the first city or school district to have this happen. “My first thought was Hudson has a sizable gay community,” Scalera said, “and over the years it has become more and more accepting of gay lifestyles. Obviously those sentiments have gotten to the high school.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Archdiocese of Boston Prints Apology to Homosexuals
The Catholic newspaper, The Pilot, issued regrets concerning it's statement about children of homosexual 'parents' in Catholic Schools: "The tone of the piece was strong, and we apologize if anyone felt offended by it."
-- From "Firestorm over column on gays in Catholic paper" by Lisa Wangsness, Boston Globe Staff 6/10/10
In the [original] column, published last week, the writer argued that one reason the children of gay parents should not be admitted to Catholic schools is the "real danger" that they would bring pornography to school.
The controversy began June 4, when The Pilot published a column by Michael Pakaluk, a former philosophy professor at Clark University in Worcester and former visiting scholar at Harvard who now teaches in Virginia. Pakaluk was reflecting on another controversy, regarding the decision by a Hingham priest to rescind the acceptance of a child of a lesbian couple to a local parochial school.
In the column, Pakaluk wrote that pornographic items "go along with the same-sex lifestyle, which — as not being related to procreation — is inherently eroticized and pornographic."
In the column, Pakaluk also expressed concern that by welcoming gay families, Catholic schools could give children the impression that the practice of homosexuality is acceptable, as well as potentially provide an opportunity for a gay parent to "advocate for his lifestyle." He added that gay parents should not be called "parents" unless they are biologically related to their children.
The editor of The Pilot, Antonio M. Enrique, said in a statement to the Globe yesterday that the column did not necessarily reflect the views of the archdiocese or the paper, which he said tries to promote conversation and understanding of the different positions on issues of interest to Catholics.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Inequality and 'iniquity' -- Catholic schools discriminating against the children of gay parents" by Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune 6/10/10
. . . The idea of a school refusing to admit a child not because of anything the child has done or believes but because of who his or her parents are is grotesque though, arguably, Biblical if you believe homosexuality is iniquitous behavior.
. . . Yet I also recognize that there is a certain right to grotesquery inherent in the Constitution, and that if a private group wants to have a private school on private grounds to advance and practice this sort of bigotry and, when it comes to the children, rank unfairness, so be it.
Just don't ask me to support such un-American practices with my tax dollars through, say, school voucher programs.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Firestorm over column on gays in Catholic paper" by Lisa Wangsness, Boston Globe Staff 6/10/10
In the [original] column, published last week, the writer argued that one reason the children of gay parents should not be admitted to Catholic schools is the "real danger" that they would bring pornography to school.
The controversy began June 4, when The Pilot published a column by Michael Pakaluk, a former philosophy professor at Clark University in Worcester and former visiting scholar at Harvard who now teaches in Virginia. Pakaluk was reflecting on another controversy, regarding the decision by a Hingham priest to rescind the acceptance of a child of a lesbian couple to a local parochial school.
In the column, Pakaluk wrote that pornographic items "go along with the same-sex lifestyle, which — as not being related to procreation — is inherently eroticized and pornographic."
In the column, Pakaluk also expressed concern that by welcoming gay families, Catholic schools could give children the impression that the practice of homosexuality is acceptable, as well as potentially provide an opportunity for a gay parent to "advocate for his lifestyle." He added that gay parents should not be called "parents" unless they are biologically related to their children.
The editor of The Pilot, Antonio M. Enrique, said in a statement to the Globe yesterday that the column did not necessarily reflect the views of the archdiocese or the paper, which he said tries to promote conversation and understanding of the different positions on issues of interest to Catholics.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Inequality and 'iniquity' -- Catholic schools discriminating against the children of gay parents" by Eric Zorn, Chicago Tribune 6/10/10
. . . The idea of a school refusing to admit a child not because of anything the child has done or believes but because of who his or her parents are is grotesque though, arguably, Biblical if you believe homosexuality is iniquitous behavior.
. . . Yet I also recognize that there is a certain right to grotesquery inherent in the Constitution, and that if a private group wants to have a private school on private grounds to advance and practice this sort of bigotry and, when it comes to the children, rank unfairness, so be it.
Just don't ask me to support such un-American practices with my tax dollars through, say, school voucher programs.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
Who Owns Church Property in ECUSA?
As apostasy grows in the leadership of mainline denominations, local congregations of Bible-believing Christians withdrawing en masse from the denomination find themselves in court as the denomination seizes the property.
UPDATE 10/3/11: Connecticut Supremes take church property from parishioners, gives to apostate ECUSA
UPDATE 2/21/11: Anglican Parish in Virginia Votes to Settle Land Dispute
-- From "Could battling Anglicans wind up in the same buildings?" by Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post 6/10/10
The three-year-old legal dispute over nine Virginia churches [includes] the credentials of Anglican conservative priests being yanked by the Episcopal Church and conservatives threatening Episcopal leaders with trespass if found on the disputed properties. All this happened after the congregations, mostly in Northern Virginia, voted in 2006-2007 to break away from the Episcopal Church, which conservative congregants believe has strayed dangerously from Christianity.
Since the votes (which launched the legal cases), the small groups of people in some of the churches who wanted to remain Episcopalians have met in other churches and in coffee shops, waiting for the case to be resolved. Today the Virginia Supreme Court ruled against the conservatives, but the case will likely go on for months or years more.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Calif. high court to hear church's property appeal" by The Associated Press 6/9/10
The California Supreme Court has decided to hear an Orange County church's appeal to keep its beachfront church property, despite breaking away from the main Episcopal Church.
St. James Anglican Church, a theologically conservative breakaway church, has waged a nearly six-year fight to keep the church property instead of returning it to the Diocese of Los Angeles.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below for previous articles on this subject:
Episcopal Diocese Boots Christian Congregation in Favor of Muslims
As Homosexualists Enter, the Sacred Leave Episcopal Church
ECUSA Loses Church Property to Exiting Christians
UPDATE 10/3/11: Connecticut Supremes take church property from parishioners, gives to apostate ECUSA
UPDATE 2/21/11: Anglican Parish in Virginia Votes to Settle Land Dispute
-- From "Could battling Anglicans wind up in the same buildings?" by Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post 6/10/10
The three-year-old legal dispute over nine Virginia churches [includes] the credentials of Anglican conservative priests being yanked by the Episcopal Church and conservatives threatening Episcopal leaders with trespass if found on the disputed properties. All this happened after the congregations, mostly in Northern Virginia, voted in 2006-2007 to break away from the Episcopal Church, which conservative congregants believe has strayed dangerously from Christianity.
Since the votes (which launched the legal cases), the small groups of people in some of the churches who wanted to remain Episcopalians have met in other churches and in coffee shops, waiting for the case to be resolved. Today the Virginia Supreme Court ruled against the conservatives, but the case will likely go on for months or years more.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Calif. high court to hear church's property appeal" by The Associated Press 6/9/10
The California Supreme Court has decided to hear an Orange County church's appeal to keep its beachfront church property, despite breaking away from the main Episcopal Church.
St. James Anglican Church, a theologically conservative breakaway church, has waged a nearly six-year fight to keep the church property instead of returning it to the Diocese of Los Angeles.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below for previous articles on this subject:
Episcopal Diocese Boots Christian Congregation in Favor of Muslims
As Homosexualists Enter, the Sacred Leave Episcopal Church
ECUSA Loses Church Property to Exiting Christians
Mass. Strives to Replace Mom with Government
It takes a village: The Massachusetts education department is advocating advanced education for caretakers of pre-school children, furthering a trend of outsourcing motherhood to "big (m)other."
-- From "Asking more of preschool" by James Vaznis, Boston Globe Staff 6/10/10
. . . the state wants more teachers to earn bachelor’s degrees.
Less than a third of early childhood educators who teach in private programs, where the vast majority of the state’s preschoolers are enrolled, hold bachelor’s degrees, and many are at education levels barely higher than a high school diploma, according to a report released this spring by Strategies for Children Inc., a nonprofit advocacy group in Boston.
Nationwide, the report found that 50 percent of early educators have a bachelor’s degree.
A more highly skilled workforce, particularly one well versed in how a child’s brain develops between birth and age 5, could play a pivotal role in identifying gaps in learning and crafting a plan to remedy them before the child reaches elementary school, education specialists say. Better trained preschool teachers could also be in a better position to spot learning disabilities or developmental issues at a younger age.
Boosting the credentials of the early childhood workforce is a key component of the state’s effort to offer universal access to high-quality preschool to all youngsters between the ages of 3 and 5. About 70 percent of the more than 244,000 children in that age bracket attend preschool, but the quality of the programs, which number several hundred, can vary widely.
. . . They say the state needs to do more to bolster the credentials of early childhood workers and compensate them more generously.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Asking more of preschool" by James Vaznis, Boston Globe Staff 6/10/10
. . . the state wants more teachers to earn bachelor’s degrees.
Less than a third of early childhood educators who teach in private programs, where the vast majority of the state’s preschoolers are enrolled, hold bachelor’s degrees, and many are at education levels barely higher than a high school diploma, according to a report released this spring by Strategies for Children Inc., a nonprofit advocacy group in Boston.
Nationwide, the report found that 50 percent of early educators have a bachelor’s degree.
A more highly skilled workforce, particularly one well versed in how a child’s brain develops between birth and age 5, could play a pivotal role in identifying gaps in learning and crafting a plan to remedy them before the child reaches elementary school, education specialists say. Better trained preschool teachers could also be in a better position to spot learning disabilities or developmental issues at a younger age.
Boosting the credentials of the early childhood workforce is a key component of the state’s effort to offer universal access to high-quality preschool to all youngsters between the ages of 3 and 5. About 70 percent of the more than 244,000 children in that age bracket attend preschool, but the quality of the programs, which number several hundred, can vary widely.
. . . They say the state needs to do more to bolster the credentials of early childhood workers and compensate them more generously.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, June 09, 2010
Liberal Media Highlight Christian Support of Immigration Reform
Liberals hope to exploit a minority of Christian leaders of various stripes to divide and conquer the religious right with immigration reform.
-- From "Evangelical leaders make D.C. push on immigration" by Josh Gerstein, Politico 6/9/10
Evangelical and conservative Christian leaders visiting Washington to push immigration reform this year say it's a moral imperative and will also be good for their flocks.
. . . at a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday . . . Conservatives for Immigration Reform organized religious leaders for the lobbying day. The roster included such big-hitters as Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Conference and Leith Anderson of the National Association of Evangelicals.
Organizers conceded that during the last big debate on the issue in 2007 there was a divide between "pew and pulpit"--with ministers supporting the legislation and many rank-and-file churchgoers opposing it. However, they said they think the drive has more support now, especially if combined with strong efforts to secure the border and a "tamper-proof" "biometric" Social Security Card.
. . . speakers spoke about the difficulty of deporting an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. However, they also spoke about background checks for those who remain in the U.S. legally after reform on a path to citizenship. Depending on what rules are part of reform, as many as 4 million immigrants could be deportable because of criminal records in the U.S. or abroad. Deporting 4 million people may be nearly as unrealistic as deporting 12 million, a fact Obama and other reform proponents glossed over during the 2008 presidential campaign.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Evangelical leaders make D.C. push on immigration" by Josh Gerstein, Politico 6/9/10
Evangelical and conservative Christian leaders visiting Washington to push immigration reform this year say it's a moral imperative and will also be good for their flocks.
. . . at a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday . . . Conservatives for Immigration Reform organized religious leaders for the lobbying day. The roster included such big-hitters as Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Conference and Leith Anderson of the National Association of Evangelicals.
Organizers conceded that during the last big debate on the issue in 2007 there was a divide between "pew and pulpit"--with ministers supporting the legislation and many rank-and-file churchgoers opposing it. However, they said they think the drive has more support now, especially if combined with strong efforts to secure the border and a "tamper-proof" "biometric" Social Security Card.
. . . speakers spoke about the difficulty of deporting an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. However, they also spoke about background checks for those who remain in the U.S. legally after reform on a path to citizenship. Depending on what rules are part of reform, as many as 4 million immigrants could be deportable because of criminal records in the U.S. or abroad. Deporting 4 million people may be nearly as unrealistic as deporting 12 million, a fact Obama and other reform proponents glossed over during the 2008 presidential campaign.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
ACLU & Judge Oppose School Graduation in Church
A Connecticut school board voted narrowly Tuesday to fight a court ruling that would keep the town's two high school graduations from being held inside a Bloomfield megachurch, reversing an earlier decision not to do so.
-- From "Conn. School Board Revotes on Church Graduation" by The Associated Press 6/8/10
Last week, Enfield's Board of Education voted by the same 5-4 margin to let stand the temporary injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall. The judge found that holding the June 23 and 24 graduations at the 3,000-seat First Cathedral Baptist Church would amount to an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.
Attorney Vincent McCarthy, who's representing the school district, plans to file the appeal with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. He did not immediately return calls for comment Tuesday night.
David McGuire, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, says he's disappointed by the decision, but believes the injunction will be upheld by the appeals court.
Town officials have said they wanted the graduations at the church, which has hosted a number of them in recent years, citing its lower cost, large indoor crowd capacity and ample parking.
WTIC-AM reports that attorneys for the students who are suing say the board changed its mind after intense lobbying by the Family Institute of Connecticut, a socially conservative religious organization.
Several nearby school districts had changed their plans to hold graduation ceremonies at the megachurch after receiving letters in the fall from groups including the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and Americans United for Separation of Church and State warning they'd sue.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Enfield Will Appeal to Hold Graduations at Church" by Amanda Raus, NBC Connecticut 6/9/10
"If we don’t appeal it, we’re somewhat saying we acknowledge or validate that opinion," said Enfield Board of Education Chairman Greg Stokes.
The lawsuit was brought on by the ACLU on behalf of a few students and their parents. The judge sided with them and ruled that using the First Cathedral Baptist Church was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.
Even with the appeals process, students at Fermi and Enfield High will still be graduating at their two schools. If the graduations are held indoors, it could mean attendance limits, which the students and parents aren’t too happy about.
Many students are hopeful, though, that this appeal will bring change for future classes.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Conn. School Board Revotes on Church Graduation" by The Associated Press 6/8/10
Last week, Enfield's Board of Education voted by the same 5-4 margin to let stand the temporary injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall. The judge found that holding the June 23 and 24 graduations at the 3,000-seat First Cathedral Baptist Church would amount to an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.
Attorney Vincent McCarthy, who's representing the school district, plans to file the appeal with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. He did not immediately return calls for comment Tuesday night.
David McGuire, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, says he's disappointed by the decision, but believes the injunction will be upheld by the appeals court.
Town officials have said they wanted the graduations at the church, which has hosted a number of them in recent years, citing its lower cost, large indoor crowd capacity and ample parking.
WTIC-AM reports that attorneys for the students who are suing say the board changed its mind after intense lobbying by the Family Institute of Connecticut, a socially conservative religious organization.
Several nearby school districts had changed their plans to hold graduation ceremonies at the megachurch after receiving letters in the fall from groups including the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut and Americans United for Separation of Church and State warning they'd sue.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Enfield Will Appeal to Hold Graduations at Church" by Amanda Raus, NBC Connecticut 6/9/10
"If we don’t appeal it, we’re somewhat saying we acknowledge or validate that opinion," said Enfield Board of Education Chairman Greg Stokes.
The lawsuit was brought on by the ACLU on behalf of a few students and their parents. The judge sided with them and ruled that using the First Cathedral Baptist Church was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.
Even with the appeals process, students at Fermi and Enfield High will still be graduating at their two schools. If the graduations are held indoors, it could mean attendance limits, which the students and parents aren’t too happy about.
Many students are hopeful, though, that this appeal will bring change for future classes.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Public School Ejects Catholic Student over Rosary
A day after a federal judge ordered a New York middle school to reinstate the seventh-grader, who was suspended for wearing the Catholic prayer beads last month, the 13-year-old Schenectady boy is proudly displaying them again.
UPDATE 11/4/10: School required to pay $25,000 for violating 1st Amendment
UPDATE 9/3/10: Ban on rosary dropped, lawsuit ongoing
UPDATE 6/11/10: Judge Extends Order for Boy to Return to School
-- From "Judge Orders School to Reinstate Boy Suspended Over Rosary Beads" by Joshua Rhett Miller, FOX News 6/2/10
[Raymond Hosier wears the rosary beads] in memory of his younger brother, who died while clutching rosary beads following a car accident in 2005.
District officials declined to comment when reached by FoxNews.com, citing pending litigation, but they have contended Hosier violated a policy banning gang-related clothing such as rosary beads, which are sometimes worn as gang symbols. That led the American Center for Law and Justice to file a lawsuit on Tuesday in U.S. District Court arguing that Raymond's suspension last month violated his rights to free speech and religion.
Raymond received a one-week suspension for refusing to remove the beads or hide them under his shirt two weeks ago. He was suspended again last week when he returned to school wearing the beads.
Another school district in New York recently penalized a student for wearing rosaries. In February, a 14-year-old boy in Haverstraw was suspended for a day for wearing the symbol. In late 2008, a high school student in Dallas was told to stop wearing her rosary.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Judge suspends school's ban on rosary" © 2010 WorldNetDaily 6/2/10
The order comes from U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn in federal court in the Northern District of New York.
Kahn's order released yesterday states: "For the time being and until a decision as to plaintiff's application for a preliminary injunction, that defendants … are temporarily and immediately enjoined from preventing plaintiff R.H. from attending public school in the Schenectady City School District while wearing outside his shirt a rosary."
The ACLJ said its lawsuit against the district and its officials, including the principal of Oneida Middle School where the student attends, seeks a jury trial. It alleges the school's actions violated Raymond's constitutional rights of free speech and expression, free exercise of religion and due process under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
The ACLJ complaint also notes that Raymond has been wearing the rosary since September 2009 without causing "any disruption to the school environment."
Officials said this isn't the first time the Schenectady school system has been sued over a dress code issue. They cited a 2005 case involving a 12-year-old girl who had family members serving in Iraq. She chose to wear a red, white and blue beaded necklace that was banished by the school.
Her case was settled out of court, officials said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 11/4/10: School required to pay $25,000 for violating 1st Amendment
UPDATE 9/3/10: Ban on rosary dropped, lawsuit ongoing
UPDATE 6/11/10: Judge Extends Order for Boy to Return to School
-- From "Judge Orders School to Reinstate Boy Suspended Over Rosary Beads" by Joshua Rhett Miller, FOX News 6/2/10
[Raymond Hosier wears the rosary beads] in memory of his younger brother, who died while clutching rosary beads following a car accident in 2005.
District officials declined to comment when reached by FoxNews.com, citing pending litigation, but they have contended Hosier violated a policy banning gang-related clothing such as rosary beads, which are sometimes worn as gang symbols. That led the American Center for Law and Justice to file a lawsuit on Tuesday in U.S. District Court arguing that Raymond's suspension last month violated his rights to free speech and religion.
Raymond received a one-week suspension for refusing to remove the beads or hide them under his shirt two weeks ago. He was suspended again last week when he returned to school wearing the beads.
Another school district in New York recently penalized a student for wearing rosaries. In February, a 14-year-old boy in Haverstraw was suspended for a day for wearing the symbol. In late 2008, a high school student in Dallas was told to stop wearing her rosary.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Judge suspends school's ban on rosary" © 2010 WorldNetDaily 6/2/10
The order comes from U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn in federal court in the Northern District of New York.
Kahn's order released yesterday states: "For the time being and until a decision as to plaintiff's application for a preliminary injunction, that defendants … are temporarily and immediately enjoined from preventing plaintiff R.H. from attending public school in the Schenectady City School District while wearing outside his shirt a rosary."
The ACLJ said its lawsuit against the district and its officials, including the principal of Oneida Middle School where the student attends, seeks a jury trial. It alleges the school's actions violated Raymond's constitutional rights of free speech and expression, free exercise of religion and due process under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
The ACLJ complaint also notes that Raymond has been wearing the rosary since September 2009 without causing "any disruption to the school environment."
Officials said this isn't the first time the Schenectady school system has been sued over a dress code issue. They cited a 2005 case involving a 12-year-old girl who had family members serving in Iraq. She chose to wear a red, white and blue beaded necklace that was banished by the school.
Her case was settled out of court, officials said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Florida Outlaws ACLU Prayer Intimidation of Schools
The new law . . . is a response to a school-endorsed "consent degree" in the Santa Rosa County School District that demanded a student change "God bless" to "good luck."
-- From "Crist signs bill protecting First Amendment rights" by Associated Press 6/4/10
Gov. Charlie Crist has signed a school prayer bill that prevents schools from infringing on the First Amendment freedoms of teachers, staff or students unless they sign a waiver.
The legislation (HB 31) originally would have allowed prayers at noncompulsory school activities including assemblies and sports events at the request of a majority of students.
The bill, which was watered down in its final form, was filed as a result of the American Civil Liberties Union obtaining a federal court-approved agreement from the Santa Rosa County School Board to stop public prayers at school events.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "'God bless' to be banned in schools?" by Bob Unruh © 2010 WorldNetDaily 6/7/10
The state's new HB 31 reads, "District school boards, administrative personnel, and instructional personnel are prohibited from taking affirmative action, including, but not limited to, the entry into any agreement, that infringes or waives the rights or freedoms afforded to instructional personnel, school staff, or students by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, in the absence of the express written consent of any individual whose constitutional rights would be impacted by such infringement or waiver."
Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law, said, "Liberty Counsel will ask the Santa Rosa School District to request the court to reconsider the consent decree in light of this new law. Liberty Counsel will continue to press this case until the consent decree is set aside. Not only is the decree unconstitutional, it is also moot, since the ACLU student plaintiffs graduated three weeks before the order became final.
"This consent decree," he said, "drafted by the ACLU and agreed to by the superintendent, is the most unconstitutional order I have ever read. It was written as though the First Amendment does not exist. It is only a matter of time before this consent decree is overturned."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 3/21/11: Federal judge grants preliminary injunction against school and orders trial
-- From "Crist signs bill protecting First Amendment rights" by Associated Press 6/4/10
Gov. Charlie Crist has signed a school prayer bill that prevents schools from infringing on the First Amendment freedoms of teachers, staff or students unless they sign a waiver.
The legislation (HB 31) originally would have allowed prayers at noncompulsory school activities including assemblies and sports events at the request of a majority of students.
The bill, which was watered down in its final form, was filed as a result of the American Civil Liberties Union obtaining a federal court-approved agreement from the Santa Rosa County School Board to stop public prayers at school events.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "'God bless' to be banned in schools?" by Bob Unruh © 2010 WorldNetDaily 6/7/10
The state's new HB 31 reads, "District school boards, administrative personnel, and instructional personnel are prohibited from taking affirmative action, including, but not limited to, the entry into any agreement, that infringes or waives the rights or freedoms afforded to instructional personnel, school staff, or students by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, in the absence of the express written consent of any individual whose constitutional rights would be impacted by such infringement or waiver."
Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law, said, "Liberty Counsel will ask the Santa Rosa School District to request the court to reconsider the consent decree in light of this new law. Liberty Counsel will continue to press this case until the consent decree is set aside. Not only is the decree unconstitutional, it is also moot, since the ACLU student plaintiffs graduated three weeks before the order became final.
"This consent decree," he said, "drafted by the ACLU and agreed to by the superintendent, is the most unconstitutional order I have ever read. It was written as though the First Amendment does not exist. It is only a matter of time before this consent decree is overturned."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 3/21/11: Federal judge grants preliminary injunction against school and orders trial
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