Dobson Forced to Edit Radio Show to Comply With Canadian 'Hate' Crimes Law

Laws prevent broadcasting Biblical truth regarding homosexual behavior

From "Dobson Editing Radio Show to Avoid 'Hate Crimes' Laws" by Bob Unruh, posted 3/28/08 at worldnetdaily.com

Now comes confirmation from the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, one of the largest Christian publishing and broadcasting organizations in the nation, that it has been reviewing, and if necessary editing, its broadcasts to avoid complications with Canadian "hate crimes" laws.

..."In particular, our content producers are careful not to make generalized statements nor comments that may be perceived as ascribing malicious intent to a 'group' of people and are always careful to treat even those who might disagree with us with respect. Our Focus on the Family content creators here in the U.S. are also careful to consult with Focus on the Family Canada whenever questions arise. Focus on the Family Canada, in turn, monitors the content produced in the U.S. and assesses this content against Canadian law," the group said.

"Occasionally, albeit very rarely, some content is identified that, while acceptable for airing in the U.S. would not be acceptable under Canadian law and is therefore edited or omitted in Canada," Focus said.

...Wright had told the NRB that the U.S. version of "hate crimes" that was blocked from the 2008 Defense Authorization Bill last year originally would have made religious broadcasters liable for various criminal acts.

The subject of homosexuality, specifically, was provided protections in the U.S. proposal, and is one of the issues that Canadian law addresses.

Read the whole article.

Internet Porn Takes Toll on Crime Investigators

From "Military officer cites detriment of pornography on crime investigators" by Allie Martin, posted 3/31/08 at OneNewsNow.com

A former military investigator says illegal Internet pornography is taking a toll on some government workers.

Chuck Kellum spent 13-years as a computer crime investigator in the Air Force. During that time, Kellum says instances involving illegal porn, such as child pornography, increased dramatically. He also notes many of the investigators who were gathering evidence from government and personal computers were adversely affected because they had to view the evidence as part of their work.

"The long term effects of [that work] typically took [a toll on] an agent that normally would be one of the best and brightest that we had," describes Kellum. "You could tell the psychological impact it had on them tended to drive them toward not having good relationships with people in the office, not [being] able to conduct business as efficiently as they had before, and personal relationships they had tended to wither."

Read the whole article.

Not My Shower

Maryland anti-Transgender discrimination law results in loss of religious freedom and insanity in restrooms and locker rooms...

From "Not My Shower: Breaking Biological Barriers" by Chuck Colson, posted 3/5/08 at Breakpoint.org

Mary Ann Andree was drying her hair in the Rio Sport and Health Club in Gaithersburg, Maryland, last month when the door to the women's locker room suddenly opened. In came a man, wearing a blue ruffled skirt and make-up.

As Andree later told reporters, "I was very upset. There is a lot he could have seen."Andree is far from alone. A lot of other women in Montgomery County, Maryland, are upset over a new law that demands co-ed locker rooms and bathrooms in all public accommodations.

Montgomery County, adjacent to Washington, D.C., passed the law last November to accommodate "transgendered people"—that is, men who perceive themselves to be women, and women who perceive themselves to be men. The law adds gender identity to the list of protected classes to the Montgomery County Code banning discrimination.

...There is no exemption for religious schools, book stores, churches, and daycares. As Turner notes, "The act will use the force of law to make these organizations accept transgenders, transvestites, and cross-dressers as employees."

Read the whole commentary.

California Court Will Reconsider Homeschooling

From "California Court Will Reconsider Homeschooling" by Jennifer Mesko, posted 3/27/08

A California court announced Tuesday it will reconsider what Dr. James Dobson called an "egregious decision" to criminalize home schooling in the state.

The 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles agreed to the request by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) after a nationwide outcry over the Feb. 28 ruling, which said parents without teaching credentials do not have a right to home-school their children.

Read the rest of this article.

Gay Activist Protests Discrimination Against Blood Donations from Homosexual Men

Discriminating is often the right thing to do...

From "Gay' Activists Risk Your Life - Tolerate It!" by Matt Barber, posted 3/27/08 at CNSNEWS.com

...It's sad when people yield to disordered sexual temptations that can literally kill them spiritually, emotionally and physically. Nobody with any compassion enjoys watching others "[receive] in themselves the due penalty for their perversion." But a corollary to free will is living (or dying) with the choices we've made.

That said - it's an entirely different proposition when bad behaviors place others at risk. This should not - and must not - be "tolerated."

...But risking lives is apparently of little concern to radical homosexual activists such as Joe Solmonese, president of the so-called "Human Rights Campaign" (HRC), the nation's largest and most radical homosexual pressure group.

Solmonese recently placed politics over science, falsely declaring this common sense public health precaution to be "discriminatory." He has called for the ban to be lifted, with the wildly irresponsible claim that, "[T]here is no medical or scientific rationale for this discriminatory policy."

...According to the FDA, MSM "have an HIV prevalence 60 times higher than the general population, 800 times higher than first time blood donors and 8,000 times higher than repeat blood donors (American Red Cross).

"[MSM] also have an increased risk of having other infections that can be transmitted to others by blood transfusion. For example, infection with the Hepatitis B virus is about 5-6 times more common, and Hepatitis C virus infections are about 2 times more common in [MSM] than in the general population," according to the FDA.

A recent CDC study rocked the homosexual community in finding that although MSM comprise only one to two percent of the population, they account for an epidemic 64 percent of all syphilis cases.

...In South Africa, militant homosexual activists have been "protesting" by deliberately and surreptitiously violating that nation's blood ban, aiming to flood blood banks with 70,000 units. Who knows how much blood has been contaminated or how many innocent people have been infected. This isn't a protest; it's an act of violence.

Read the whole commentary.

Take a Stand Against the 'Day of Silence"

The stated goal of the Day of Silence is to stop bullying. Their unstated goal is to teach our children to think of homosexual and cross-dressing people as an oppressed minority instead of a group of people seeking validation for their particular sort of sexual behavior. Now hear this: It is not necessary to promote homosexuality in order to oppose bullying.

If you intend to join many parents who will take a stand against this year's Day of Silence (April 25, 2008) by keeping your children home from school that day, here's an easy way to communicate your intentions to your local school district administrators: CLICK HERE to add your name to the list of parents from your local school.

Your name and E-mail address will NOT be shared with anyone other than your own local school district, and you will NOT suddenly receive E-mails from any organization. You know that you can trust Culture Campaign to protect your E-mail address from undesired usage.

This is your chance to really DO SOMETHING practical in response to the Day of Silence.
Protect your child and send a message to educators. School administrators and teachers should NOT permit the public school classroom to be used as a platform to advance the homosexual 'rights' agenda.

Please USE THIS LINK to pass this on to every parent you know who would like to join in this effort.

ABC's Good Morning America Recruits "Gay" Children

Good Morning America is looking for parents who think their young child could be gay or gender-variant

From "Think Your Child Might be Gay?" posted 3/21/08

The advertisement reads:

Do you have a child under the age of 10 who you think might be gay or "gender-variant"?

If you and your child are willing to be profiled on camera for a segment to air on Good Morning America, we want to hear from you.

Please fill out the info below and you might just end up on GMA.

The whole premise of this is completely misguided. Homosexuality is based on behavior - not identity. Even the American Psychiatric Association is now acknowledging that there is no scientific consensus for the notion that people are "born gay." To tell your child that you think he or she is homosexual is nothing less than a tragedy for that child in this world and the next.

In fact, a Christian should NEVER talk about homosexuality in terms of 'orientation.' If we speak about homosexuality in terms of orientation we must also say that liars have a 'dishonest orientation,' people who cheat on their spouses have an 'adulterous orientation,' and people who steal have a 'theiving orientation,' etc., etc., etc.

God says that we ALL have a sinful orientation, so the operative word is TEMPTATION...Something which we should be encouraged to overcome - not embrace as an identity.

But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. - Matthew 18:6

1 in 4 Teens has an STD

From "Study finds 1 in 4 teens has an STD" by Lindsey Tanner, posted 3/11/08 at YahooNews.com

CHICAGO - At least one in four teenage American girls has a sexually transmitted disease, suggests a first-of-its-kind federal study that startled some adolescent-health experts.

Some doctors said the numbers might be a reflection of both abstinence-only sex education and teens' own sense of invulnerabilty. Because some sexually transmitted infections can cause infertility and cancer, U.S. health officials called for better screening, vaccination and prevention.

Only about half of the girls in the study acknowledged having sex. Some teens define sex as only intercourse, yet other types of intimate behavior including oral sex can spread some diseases.

Among those who admitted having sex, the rate was even more disturbing — 40 percent had an STD.

"This is pretty shocking," said Dr. Elizabeth Alderman, an adolescent medicine specialist at Montefiore Medical Center's Children's Hospital in New York.

"To talk about abstinence is not a bad thing," but teen girls — and boys too — need to be informed about how to protect themselves if they do have sex, Alderman said.

Believe it or not, the article goes on to blame abstinence ed for this tragic situation. When are we going to admit that the sexual revolution itself has been a dismal failure?

When the sexual education of kids was left to parents, there was MUCH less disease, emotional destruction and sexual activity among teens in general. Our teens are having sex, in large part, because we seem to expect them to.

The experts still insist that 'safe' sex education is the answer, despite the fact that condoms have an unacceptably high failure rate in protecting users from STDs - even when used properly.

The best thing for our kids would be to teach them that sex outside of monogamous, heterosexual marriage is immoral. Here's a statement that may sound outrageous: Sex outside of marriage should be stigmatized. Stigma protects...

It might also help if we also didn't pressure them to wait until they are practically middle aged to get married...

Is Polyamory (Multiple Partners) Going Mainstream?

From Hollywood to the Chicago Suntimes: new 'family forms' are being normalized...

From "Wedded to variety: Polyamory, one partner not enough for those who practice 'responsible non-monogamy,' or multiple committed relationships" by Paige Wiser, posted 3/18/08 at the Chicago: Suntimes

When Tilda Swinton won the best supporting actress Oscar for "Michael Clayton," there wasn't too much talk about what designer she was wearing.

But people were curious about her date.

Best supporting actress winner Tilda Swinton created a buzz when she arrived at the Oscars with a date that wasn't her husband.
(AP)

Swinton, 47, brought along 29-year-old Sandro Kopp, an actor and artist she met while filming "The Chronicles of Narnia."

Nowhere in sight was playwright John Byrne, 67, her husband and father of her twins.

Both men know about each other. And both are OK with it.

You might call the arrangement "awfully messy." Or you might call it by its proper name: polyamory. That's the practice of having more than one loving, intimate relationship at a time with the full knowledge and consent of everyone involved.

"Tilda's relationship situation is exactly like the relationships of many people I know," says polyamory activist Anita Wagner. "Except for the fame and money."

Some people have the capacity to love more than one person, and somehow they have the energy to work at more than one committed relationship, too. Open marriages probably have been around as long as marriage.

It's not a higher love, says Cunning Minx, an Oak Park polyamorist who hosts a weekly podcast at http://polyweekly.libsyn.com/. Poly people get jealous just like everyone else. "It's not more evolved, it's just a little more complicated," she says. "People do this because it's an orientation. For some, it's a lifestyle choice."

Read the rest of this article.

This Chicago Suntimes article treats polyamory (multiple partners) as if it’s a perfectly legitimate option. It goes on to mention Warren Buffet and Jada Pinkett Smith as having 'open marriages.' A polyamorist is also quoted in the article describing polyamory as an ‘orientation.’ Where have we heard that before?

Remember, many school anti-discrimination policies now include the term "sexual orientation." So, in the not too distant future, can we expect that school administrators, in the service of making polyamorist teens "feel safe" and to stop the abuse and harassment of polyamorist teens will be inviting polyamorist panels to come to share their stories of suffering and woe with our children?

In addition, Oprah and Lisa Ling did an entire show on poly “marriage” that re-aired last night — and it was presented as though it’s all about silly prejudices.

Remember also that mainstream left wing activists came out with a manifesto 2 years ago calling for legal recognition of polygamists, polyamorous and homosexual unions. "Beyond Marriage" was signed on to by all the mainstream major players on the left, including Gloria Steinham, Cornel West, LGBT activists and loads of law professors from very prestigious law schools around the country. Here's a quote from the document:

"We advocate close attention to such efforts to provide material support for the widest possible range of household formations."

Stanley Kurtz has written an excellent article, "Beyond Gay Marriage, the road to polyamory" regarding the inevitability of the slippery slope of legalized same-sex marriage leading to to polyamory (group marriage).

While the public is digesting the idea of “GLBT” the real goal is total “sexual freedom” AKA sexual anarchy...

UK: Royal College Warns Abortions Can Lead to Mental Illness

Further evidence that obeying God's Law protects us. Why are we so slow to believe Him?

From "Royal college warns abortions can lead to mental illness" by Sarah-Kate Templeton, posted 3/16/08 at timesonline.co.uk

Women may be at risk of mental health breakdowns if they have abortions, a medical royal college has warned. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says women should not be allowed to have an abortion until they are counselled on the possible risk to their mental health.

This overturns the consensus that has stood for decades that the risk to mental health of continuing with an unwanted pregnancy outweighs the risks of living with the possible regrets of having an abortion.

...Several studies, including research published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in 2006, concluded that abortion in young women might be associated with risks of mental health problems.

The controversy intensified earlier this year when an inquest in Cornwall heard that a talented artist hanged herself because she was overcome with grief after aborting her twins. Emma Beck, 30, left a note saying: “Living is hell for me. I should never have had an abortion. I see now I would have been a good mum. I want to be with my babies; they need me, no one else does.”

Read the entire article.

UK: Anglican Archbishop Endorses Sharia Law for British Muslims

Multiculturalism gone mad...

From "The Archbishop and Sharia" by Chuck Colson, posted 2/25/08 at Townhall.com

There are an estimated 1.6 million Muslims in Great Britain. By some estimates, more people attend mosque than go to Anglican churches every week. Judging by recent comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury, it is easy to see why.

As most of you by now know, Archbishop Rowan William said in a recent interview that the “UK has to ‘face up to the fact’ that some of its citizens do not relate to the British legal system.” He left no doubt who those “citizens” are: British Muslims.

So according to Williams, British Muslims should not have to choose between “the stark alternatives of cultural loyalty or state loyalty.” Instead, in the tradition of having your cake and eating it too, he proposes finding “a constructive accommodation with some aspects of Muslim law”—in other words, sharia.

British Muslims could choose to have “marital” or “financial” disputes resolved in sharia courts. Sharia courts in Britain? At first I thought the Archbishop misspoke.

But it turns out, no. He calls this “supplementary jurisdiction” unavoidable. He compared it to accommodating Christians in areas like abortion or gay adoption.

With all due respect to the Archbishop, there is no such parallel. The only thing that is unavoidable here is his failure to see sharia as it is practiced in the real world, as opposed to in seminars. As the Asia Times columnist “Spengler” put it, Williams is conceding “a permanent role to extralegal violence in the political life of England.”

In real-world Muslim communities throughout Europe, coercion is so commonplace “that duly-constituted governments there” no longer wield justice among its citizens. The imams do. And where would the Archbishop draw the line? At husbands beating their wives for wearing Western clothes or maybe stoning a woman accused of adultery?

Read the rest of this commentary.

Kid's Movie Lampoons Homeschooling

Villian in "Horton Hears a Who?" is a homeschool mom...

From "Pouch-schoolers be prepared: Horton's writers don't like you" by Fran Eaton, at Illinois Review, posted 3/15/08

Beware, home school moms: be notified beforehand that you've been typecast into the role of villainess in this weekend's children's smash hit "Horton Hears a Who?"

Settled down with our three and five year old grandsons Saturday afternoon, I was eager and prepared to point out the importance of a precious little speck floating throughout the movie's opening frames. It would be a perfect teaching moment to share with them Dr. Seuss' immortal, pro-life theme: "A person's a person, no matter how small."

But just minutes into the movie I gasped as one of the story's key characters was introduced to the story line. An arrogant, snooty, evil, uncaring, and yes, unbelieving female antagonist named Kangaroo is introduced, and her little one pokes his head out of his mommy's pouch. Kangaroo (with Carol Burnett's voice)sniffs and says, "He's pouch-schooled." Pouch-schooled...home-schooled.

Read the rest of this commentary.

Canada: TV Station Yanks Ex-Homosexual Ad for Discrimination

The truth that people can be freed from homosexuality now banned from the public airwaves in Canada.

From "Canadian TV station yanks ex-homosexual ad for "discrimination"" by John Jalsevec, posted 3/10/08

Canadian Television (CTV) has pulled an ad that claims it is possible to leave the homosexual lifestyle, sponsored by a Christian advocacy group, Life Productions, after the station received numerous complaints from pro-homosexual activists.

The 30-second spot is narrated by John Westcott, the founder of Exchange ministries, an organization that seeks to help practicing homosexuals who wish to leave the lifestyle. Westcott is himself a former homosexual, as is his wife Dena.

"You hear a lot about gay rights, gay marriage and the gay lifestyle being taught in our public schools for children," says Westcott in the ad, "but what many people don't realize, and seldom hear, is that many homosexuals don't want to be homosexual. What many who are struggling with homosexuality don't realize, and seldom hear, is that they can change. I should know - for 13 years, I used to be one." Wescott then walks off the camera and an announcer says, "This message has been brought to you by Life Productions." (To see the ad, called "Exchanged Life", go to: http://www.lifeproductions.ca)

Read the rest of this article.

Observation of events in Canada, Great Britain and Europe make it is abundantly clear that LGBT 'rights' activists will stop at nothing to secure validation for their behavior. If allowed to continue, they WILL destroy free speech, the family, and religious freedom here in the U. S. as well.

Homosexual activists are apparently convinced that their comfort (conveniently redefined as 'safety') legitimizes the destruction of basic constitutional freedoms for others. According to LGBT activists, the only 'safe' environment for them is one in which no one will ever hear about God's design for sexuality and the family or the freedom available through Jesus Christ...

Library Fires Worker for Reporting Man Viewing Child Porn

From "Lindsay Librarian Fired for Reporting Man Viewing Child Porn" video clip by KGPE CBS 47 Fresno, Mar. 13, 2008

California library fires a librarian after she defied her supervisor's instructions NOT to report man downloading child pornography on a library computer to the police. View video.

Sex in Their City

By Sandy Rios

Over 60 percent of New Yorkers wanted Governor Eliot Spitzer to resign at the revelation he had solicited sex with a prostitute. What’s wrong with these people? The home of “Sex in the City” doesn’t want their chief executive doing what the natives are doing?

Why are they so upset, so outraged, and for that matter, why are we? Why does it disturb so many to see Silda Spitzer stand next to her husband of 20 years as he made his public, quasi-remorseful apology? Didn’t we learn from Bill Clinton and surrogates that private behavior has no effect on public life? That the judgment and deceit it took to arrange sexual favors from a young intern in the Oval Office had no bearing on the judgment and trust required to conduct the nation’s business or lead the free world? Can’t a brilliant governor of such a forward-thinking state possess superior wisdom on matters of state while privately choosing to betray his wife and children, even putting Silda at risk by engaging in unsafe sex with his trollop? A private matter, said Spitzer, hinting that it was not related to his decisions as a publicly elected official.

“Big deal. Married man goes to a prostitute,” declared Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz. In Europe, it would hardly have made the papers. A “uniquely American” story of our “pandering” and hypocrisy “when it comes to sex,” he concluded. In a Los Angeles Times article published in the aftermath of the revelations about Spitzer, evolutionary biologist David Barash says, “I told you so,” informing us that the only reliable life form practicing monogamy is “a parasitic worm that inhabits the intestines of fish. Before Western colonization, 85 percent of human societies unabashedly favored polygamy.”

So what’s wrong with us?

Could it be that too many of us have suffered the pain of being lied to and betrayed in that most intimate part of our lives? That we have seen in the faces of our children the realization of deep betrayal absorbed by their young, innocent minds? That we have seen mothers and fathers ripped apart, houses disassembled, children shuffled between parents, broken or hardened by the loss of what should be theirs: a loving home with two parents disciplined enough to love and be faithful for a lifetime?

Could it be that we have gazed into the eyes of a loved one knowing that, through the exercise of our own unrestrained appetites, we were the betrayer? Have we, too, known the agony of inflicting pain on those we would once have given our lives for? Could it be that too many of us still long for a “Leave it to Beaver” existence, with parents who love us and each other and the most difficult days are the ones with too much homework or not enough peanut butter and jelly? Could it be that we remember enough to have retained the dream that somehow, some way “happily ever after” is still possible? Why else would no-longer-innocent young girls still long for white dresses and meaningful weddings and dare to pledge their love for a lifetime, in spite of the statistics that mark them for failure? Why would men’s chests still swell at the anticipation of being a father in the fullest sense in spite of a history of multiple conquests offered freely. Could it be that Americans, in spite of the sexual saturation of movies, television, music, art and public school still long for something more … something that requires sacrifice, commitment, hard work and integrity? Marriage, for a lifetime? Alan Dershowitz doesn’t believe in God and I’m thinking most New Yorkers wouldn’t necessarily be comfortable discussing faith in God. But the truth is the Old Testament, shared by Christians and Jews alike, tells us that God, in addition to giving Charlton Heston the Ten Commandments, promised one day to write those laws, firmly, indelibly, in our hearts. Could it be that hard-wired in our souls, all of our souls, is the truth that there is a better way, a faithful way that unleashes love and contentment and human potential through restraint that license and personal indulgence never can? What’s wrong with us? Aren’t we too sophisticated, too progressive to go back to the old morals of the past? Evidently not. That’s why we collectively wish and some of us pray for the restoration of the Spitzer family, for his personal cleansing, for Silda’s strength in the process and for no permanent damage to their precious three girls. And New Yorkers have now resoundingly weighed in on their view of what Sex really should be in their City. Isn’t it amazing?

Sandy Rios is host of the "Sandy Rios Show", heard weekdays from 3 to 5PM on WYLL AM1160 in Chicago and serves as President of Culture Campaign, a non-profit dedicated to awakening a sleeping army of concerned citizens never before involved in public policy.

When Parenting Goes to Pot...

One more sign that Illinois needs to think very carefully before legalizing even medicinal marijuana

From "Medical Pot and Parenting" by Illinois Review Editor, posted 3/10/08, at illinoisreview.typepad.com

Just as the Illinois Senate considering whether or not to legalize medical marijuana this week, this incredible story about the 25 year old Indianapolis mother who forgot about leaving her babies in the bathtub when she got distracted watching the TV show "American Idol."

It was the woman's 7 year old that found her little sister drowning in the tub while her mom stared at the TV screen. Little Sirius Brooks, by God's grace, survived and clings to life six days later. Her mother, Sheila Brooks, hasn't been charged yet because local law officials say little Sirius responds to her mother's voice.

And if that story is not tragic enough, we now learn that police found marijuana in the mother's bedroom where she was mesmerized by "American Idol" . . .

Read more here.

Initial report . . .

Hope for California Homeschoolers

Gov. Schwarzenegger says outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts

From "Schwarzenegger Pledges to Support Right to Home School" by Citizenlink Staff report, posted 3/11/08 at citizenlink.com

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for the reversal of a recent appellate court decision banning parents from educating their children at home if they lack teaching credentials, the Los Angeles Times reported. If the state Supreme Court fails to act, the governor vowed to push through legislation guaranteeing families' right to home-school.

"This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts, and if the courts don't protect parents' rights, then, as elected officials, we will," he said in a written statement.

Read more here.

Take action now: the full article includes links for concerned citizens nationwide to sign a petition asking the California Supreme Court to "depublish" the case, and a way to thank Gov. Schwarzeneggar for supporting parents' rights to educate their children as they see fit.

Initial Report:
Judge Orders Homeschoolers into Government Education

Deerfield High School: Who's to Blame for Teaching Porn?

Following up on the initial report . . .

Sources within Deerfield (IL) High School have indicated that, although District 113, Superintendent George Fornero claims that,

“The Board of Education, school administration, and the involved teacher are aware that Angels in America is a provocative work intended for mature and thoughtful readers and support Jeff Berger-White's decision to teach it..."

In reality some in the administration were not aware that Angels in America was being taught, were not aware of its offensive content, and would not support its teaching. In fact, some administrators are angry at the implication that they would support such a text.

Dr. Fornero’s public statement (excerpted above) suggests that all administrators supported the teaching of this pernicious play. His comment fails to mention that some, perhaps many, administrators were excluded from this process, including even the English Department Chair, according to faculty sources. Those administrators who were excluded from the decision-making process and who find the teaching of this play reprehensible are now being portrayed by the Superintendent as having given their stamp of approval to its teaching.

As a result of the District's selective public statements, parents remain largely unaware of how many teachers in District 113 are angry about this indefensible decision but are afraid to speak out. Anyone who pays taxes, whether they have children in school right now or not, should be outraged and speak out now.

Here are some steps that parents and taxpayers can take to ascertain exactly where the blame lies for this unconscionable decision:

- Contact the administration and demand to know specifically who approved this decision, since many administrators were not included and likely would not have approved it. Demand to know names.

- Demand also to know the names of school board members who approved this decision.

- Ask for the names of administrators who were excluded from the decision-making process.

- Ask for the names of administrators who were included but did not approve.

- Ask which teacher has been teaching Angels in America for five years at Highland Park HS.

- Ask what year parental notification letters were first sent out to parents at HPHS and DHS.

- Ask what year an alternative text was formally made available to students at HPHS and DHS ("formally" means, rather than merely providing one after a parent on their own requested opting their child out).

Taxpayers are urged to forward answers to the above, as provided by the school(s), to feedback@culturecampaign.com

Oprah Winfrey: Leading Many Down the 'Wide Road'

700,000 commit to exploring East-West-hybrid mysticism

From "Oprah's class offers a new way to see" by Cathleen Falsani, posted 3/4/08, at suntime.com

Oprah Winfrey has been spiritually educating her viewers for years. On Monday, she began offering formal instruction to more than 700,000 students across the globe.

Before the first session of "A New Earth" -- a free, 10-week online class taught by Winfrey and Eckhart Tolle, the German-born spiritual teacher and author of the current Oprah's Book Club pick A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purposes -- according to Oprah .com, hundreds of thousands had registered to take part in the 90-minute cyber sessions each at 8 p.m. on Mondays.

Read the rest of this article.

Also, check out this video at carringtonsteel.citymax.com. Advance the tuner to 5 minutes 45 seconds.

Oprah claims to be a Christian yet explains that there are many paths to God (other than Jesus Christ) and everyone should do what is right in their own eyes.

In doing so, she sets herself up as God's judge. In her opinion His laws and His provision for our salvation through Jesus Christ is not quite inclusive enough...

Disney CEO Defends Nudity and Profanity on Public Airwaves

From "Disney CEO Defends Nudity and Profanity on the Public Airwaves" press release, 3/6/08

At the Walt Disney Shareholders meeting today, the Parents Television Council™ President Tim Winter requested that the company reconsider its lawsuits against the federal government that assert a “right” to air unedited profanity and nudity on its broadcast network – even in front of children. Disney President and CEO Robert Iger thanked Mr. Winter for his comments but defended the company’s decisions by saying that they do not want the government interfering in what they can broadcast.

“Joining a federal lawsuit that asserts a right to use the ‘F-word’ on broadcast television at any time of the day – even in front of children – is a contemptible step for a company named ‘Walt Disney’ to take. Yet when an actress recently used the ‘F-word’ during a live interview on Good Morning America, that was the course of action ABC chose, instead of offering a commitment to make sure it didn’t happen again. I ask that you reconsider suing for the right to air the ‘F-word’ in front of children on the public airwaves,” said Mr. Winter during the meeting.

“When the FCC recently imposed a fine on ABC for airing a scripted primetime drama with a fully-nude woman, this corporation defended the nudity and initiated a legal action against the FCC. Can you imagine Walt Disney airing a naked woman on primetime television, and then suing the FCC when it found the nudity to violate broadcast indecency laws? I urge this company to admit the wrongdoing, and promise not to do it again.

Read the rest of the press release.

Illinois Bill Legalizing Medical Marijuana Sent to Senate

Here's for hoping clearer heads prevail in a renewed push for legalizing medicinal marijuana

From "Senate Bill Legalizing Marijuana Sent to Senate" by Kartikay Mehrotra, posted 3/6/08 at pantagraph.com

The hazy path to legalizing medical marijuana in Illinois cleared a little Wednesday when a committee on public health sent the legislation to the Senate floor on a 6-4 vote.

The measure, sponsored by state Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, would allow marijuana card holders to receive prescriptions for medical marijuana and the plant it grows on, thus avoiding any illegal means of obtaining the drug.

“Our first obligation should be ensuring that our laws don’t prevent suffering patients from obtaining needed medicine — or make them criminals if they do,” Cullerton said. “This is about the patients, it’s not about somebody abusing this law to illegally obtain marijuana.”

To make his case, Cullerton presented the committee with two women fighting diseases and disabilities with marijuana to relieve their pain and depression.

“I took and tried every pharmaceutical drug my doctors prescribed to me to help with the symptoms of multiple sclerosis,” said Julie Falco, also a member of the Illinois Drug Education and Legislative Reform board. “Every time I used them, I felt worse. It left me flattened, hopeless, very depressed … and contemplating suicide.”

Although she drew sympathy from some, Limey Nargelenas, director of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, says there are better ways to go about legalizing the drug than “hiding behind sick people.”

“I think it’s a shame what they’re doing here,” Nargelenas said. “They’re using sick people here to try to legalize marijuana. I think if the Legislature wants to legalize marijuana, let’s talk about it, debate it and see if that’s what the people want.”

Thank goodness law enforcement knows that this is a bad idea. Be it alcohol, drugs, or homosexual behavior, the more our society says it's okay for some, the more our impressionable youth see them as normal and worthy of experimentation.

Read more.

Illinois Judge Blocks Parental-Notification Law

Potentially lifesaving law again denied by activist judge

From "Illinois Judge Blocks Parental Notification Law" from CitizenLink, posted 3/5/08

An activist judge in Illinois has ruled that teens can continue to get an abortion without telling their parents. Illinois is one of 35 states with parental-notification laws, but the 1984 law has never been enforced.

Joe Scheidler, national director of the Pro-Life Action League, called the inaction an injustice.

“We’re talking here about parents knowing that their minor daughter is having dangerous surgery — sometimes lethal surgery," he said. "And the courts believe that the parents shouldn’t even know about it.”

Sandy Rios, president of the Culture Campaign, said the Parental Notice of Abortion Act is crucial because Illinois is a magnet for women seeking an abortion.

“We have all of these young girls coming from our border states to get abortions because they don’t have to have any parental notification," she said. "There’s just no law, no regulation. And those of us in Illinois are ashamed of that situation.

“The law is very clear. We had a law that was passed by the state Legislature years ago. And we can’t get it enacted because of the judicial activism. It is a disgrace.”

So Illinois parents have the right to inspect their daughter's school curriculum but not to inspect a choice that terminates a life with consequences for a lifetime? "It's a disgrace" is right.

Deerfield High School English Classes Offer Students Homosexual Porn

North Shore Student Advocacy has learned that Deerfield High School is offering the books Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (Part One & Two) -- laced with graphic sexual content, including gay sex, pervasive expletives, religious denigration and mockery --- in English classes this spring .

Read analysis of the excerpts HERE.
View selected photocopy pages HERE.
WARNING: HIGHLY GRAPHIC SEXUAL CONTENT

[Also, see next followup post]

“After almost 15 years of school advocacy and reviewing many objectionable books and curricula, I have never seen anything this vulgar and harmful to students,” says Lora Sue Hauser, Executive Director of North Shore Student Advocacy. “Parents, taxpayers and concerned citizens must force themselves to read these excerpts, as horrific as they are, so you know what kids are being exposed to. The school justifies this egregious choice because of its themes of hope. Evidently, all great literature with themes of hope have already been exhausted so teachers need to start offering pornography. We say – enough.”

North Shore Student Advocacy (NSSA), an organization to help parents and students when they run into problems in public schools, was made aware of these books last fall when a parent complained. The books were part of required reading until NSSA filed a formal complaint with the school, asking the books to be reviewed by committee. The committee decided to remove the books from required reading but continued to offer them in the classroom as an optional title. “Optional Title,” according to the principal, means that the student may select the books to study with peers and be guided by the adult, male teacher. A parental permission slip will be required but without full disclosure of the sexually explicit content. This conclusion is unacceptable to the complaining parent and to NSSA. They are asking that this pornographic book be removed from curriculum completely.

After contacting the State’s Attorney’s office of Lake County, Illinois, they deemed the books “obscene” according to Illinois obscenity laws, violating the “distributing harmful materials to minors” statute. But, state and federal obscenity laws exempt schools and libraries under “affirmative defense” so it becomes impossible to prosecute a teacher or school.

Deerfield High School, an upscale suburban community on the North Shore of Chicago, has had a long history of presenting inappropriate curricula to students. They continue to have faculty who push their own personal agendas and are unresponsive to parents and taxpayers in the community. Not surprisingly, the administration has a very high turnover rate; 4 principals and 3 superintendents in 6 years.

Please contact Deerfield High School, District 113 and the Lake County District Attorney to give your opinion on yet another violation of trust.

Principal, Dr. Sue Hebson: (224) 632-3000
shebson@dist113.org
Superintendent, Dr. George Fornero: (224) 765-1000
gfornero@dist113.org
Lake County State’s Attorney: Mr. Mike Waller: (847) 377-3000
StatesAttorney@co.lake.il.us

For more information, contact North Shore Student Advocacy at NSSAdvocacy@aol.com or
(847) 651-8646.

IMPORTANT: Judge Orders CA Homeschoolers Into Gov. Education

What choices will soon be left for faithful Christian parents?

From "Judge orders homeschoolers into government education", by Bob Unruh, posted 2/29/08

A California court has ruled that several children in one homeschool family must be enrolled in a public school or "legally qualified" private school, and must attend, sending ripples of shock into the nation's homeschooling advocates as the family reviews its options for appeal.

The ruling came in a case brought against Phillip and Mary Long over the education being provided to two of their eight children. They are considering an appeal to the state Supreme Court, because they have homeschooled all of their children, the oldest now 29, because of various anti-Christian influences in California's public schools.

The decision from the 2nd Appellate Court in Los Angeles granted a special petition brought by lawyers appointed to represent the two youngest children after the family's homeschooling was brought to the attention of child advocates.

"We find no reason to strike down the Legislature's evaluation of what constitutes an adequate education scheme sufficient to promote the 'general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence,'" the court said in the case. "We agree … 'the educational program of the State of California was designed to promote the general welfare of all the people and was not designed to accommodate the personal ideas of any individual in the field of education.'"

So what are the choices for faithful Christian parents in CA?

• Allow our children to be taught in public schools that homosexual conduct is normal and moral (See Families Flee CA Public Schools After Pro-Gay Mandate)
  
• Get a teaching degree so that we will be allowed to homeschool our own kids
• Spend a lot of money on private schools
  

The government is making it more and more difficult to live, work, and raise our children according to Biblical truth.

Read more.

UK: Another Couple Rejected as Foster Parents Because of Christian Beliefs

Council insisting parents positively discuss homosexuality with foster kids.

From "Another UK Couple Rejected for Fostering Children over Religious Beliefs on Homosexuality" by Hillary White, posted 2/27/08 at Lifesite.com

OAKWOOD, Derby, UK, February 27, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In November 2007, LifeSiteNews.com reported that a Christian couple in Somerset, UK, was being forced to retire from fostering needy children on conscientious grounds after the local council imposed rules requiring them to discuss homosexuality with the children. Now a similar case is reported in Derby, in which the local council is being sued after rejecting an application from a Christian couple to assist foster children under ten years old. The Telegraph reports that Eunice and Owen Johns refused to talk to children about homosexuality as though it were an acceptable "lifestyle".

The Labour-controlled council adoption panel was also reportedly "upset" that the couple insisted that children in their care would be required to accompany the family to church on Sundays. The Johns have been married for 39 years and have four adult children of their own. Mrs. Johns is a retired nurse and Sunday school teacher.

The adoption panel admitted in internal documents that Mr and Mrs Johns of Oakwood, in Derby, might have grounds to feel that they had been "discriminated against on religious grounds".

In the Somerset case last year, Vincent and Pauline Matherick were able, after their case caught national media attention, to reach an agreement with their local council authorities and keep their current child, a ten year-old boy, in their home. They had made almost identical complaints and told media that they intended to retire from fostering children after the council insisted that they participate in discussions about homosexuality.

Read more.

Hat tip: AFTAH