. . . the attorney general's opinion still held that some instruction on the impact of the Bible on history and literature must be provided in every high school's curriculum.
-- From "Bible study class optional for Texas schools, attorney general says" by Terrence Stutz, The Dallas Morning News 8/29/08
Texas high schools will not be required to offer an elective Bible course to their students under a Bible study bill approved by the Legislature last year, Attorney General Greg Abbott decided on Thursday.
While his legal opinion said schools must include some coverage of the Bible's impact on history and literature in their curriculum, they do not have to offer a separate Bible course unless the local school boards choose to do so.
Lawmakers and various citizen groups had been waiting for the opinion to clear up confusion over what the 2007 law required. Most legislators, including the Republican chairman of the House Public Education Committee, said the Bible course was optional for school districts, but some of the original sponsors of the bill said it was mandatory.
The attorney general's opinion also affirmed the authority of the State Board of Education to approve curriculum standards for "enrichment" courses such as the elective Bible class.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
ACLU Sues Florida School over Christianity
The complaint says administration, teachers, and Board promote prayer at graduation and other events; their Christian faith is simply too visible for the ACLU.
-- From "ACLU sues school district" by Bill Gamblin, Santa Rosa's Press Gazette 8/30/08
Wednesday the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in Pensacola over religion in the Santa Rosa County Schools
According to the lawsuit filed on the behalf of two Pace students identified as John Doe I and John Doe II, Santa Rosa County school officials are using their governmental positions to promote their personal religious beliefs in public schools.
According to the lawsuit graduation ceremonies during the past five years at Central, Jay, Milton, Navarre and Pace High Schools have included prayers by students – often members of groups like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes or the Christian World Order. The graduation ceremonies at Santa Rosa Adult School and Santa Rosa Learning Academy also have included prayers.
School administrators and teachers mix their responsibilities as public officials with their personal religious beliefs, according to the lawsuit, by planning baccalaureates, helping to decide the place of worship at which they would be held, and leading prayers with students. Additionally, school officials interjected their own religious perspectives at elementary school graduations, a middle school Christmas concert, and high school football and cheerleading banquets.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "ACLU sues school district" by Bill Gamblin, Santa Rosa's Press Gazette 8/30/08
Wednesday the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in Pensacola over religion in the Santa Rosa County Schools
According to the lawsuit filed on the behalf of two Pace students identified as John Doe I and John Doe II, Santa Rosa County school officials are using their governmental positions to promote their personal religious beliefs in public schools.
According to the lawsuit graduation ceremonies during the past five years at Central, Jay, Milton, Navarre and Pace High Schools have included prayers by students – often members of groups like the Fellowship of Christian Athletes or the Christian World Order. The graduation ceremonies at Santa Rosa Adult School and Santa Rosa Learning Academy also have included prayers.
School administrators and teachers mix their responsibilities as public officials with their personal religious beliefs, according to the lawsuit, by planning baccalaureates, helping to decide the place of worship at which they would be held, and leading prayers with students. Additionally, school officials interjected their own religious perspectives at elementary school graduations, a middle school Christmas concert, and high school football and cheerleading banquets.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
ACLU,
christianity,
FL,
graduation,
prayer,
public schools
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Police Deny Christians' Freedom of Speech
-- From "Cops kill free speech at 'gay' event" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/22/08
Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed suit against the City of Elmira, N.Y., after police threatened to arrest three Christians if they did not remove a shirt and stop sharing biblical messages during a "gay" pride event at a public park.
John Barnes wore a shirt with the message "Liberated from sin by the blood of Jesus" to the Southern Tier Pride 2008 at Wisner Park – a June 14 event promoted as a celebration of homosexual, bisexual and transgender lifestyles.
According to the complaint filed in a U.S. district court, Elmira police Capt. Michael Marrone ordered Barnes to remove his shirt to prevent a "negative atmosphere" at the event and arouse discomfort in other attendees.
Barnes obeyed the officer and took off his shirt so he could remain at the park without facing arrest.
Another Christian, Julian Raven, carried a Christian newsletter to the event called the Elmira Protestor. Marrone threatened to arrest Raven if he distributed the letter, saying it contained obscene or illegal material, according to the complaint. Raven complied with the order.
Capt. James Wandell and Sgt. Sharon Moyer threatened a third Christian, James DeFerio, with arrest for holding a sign on a public sidewalk adjacent to the park. The sign read: "Thousands of ex-homosexuals have experienced the life-changing love of Jesus Christ" and listed websites for more information about ministry to ex-"gays."
DeFario complied with their demands. However, according to the complaint, officers then told him he was not allowed to talk to anyone at the event about the Bible. Police ordered DeFario to leave the event where Elmira Mayor John Tonello was scheduled to speak about democracy, telling him to cross the street.
Elmira Mayor John Tonello spoke about democracy at the 'gay' pride event.
"Christians shouldn't be discriminated against for expressing their beliefs," ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster said in a statement. "Police cannot threaten to arrest Christians at a city park for sharing their viewpoint at an event open to the general public. Respecting their free speech rights is not optional."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed suit against the City of Elmira, N.Y., after police threatened to arrest three Christians if they did not remove a shirt and stop sharing biblical messages during a "gay" pride event at a public park.
John Barnes wore a shirt with the message "Liberated from sin by the blood of Jesus" to the Southern Tier Pride 2008 at Wisner Park – a June 14 event promoted as a celebration of homosexual, bisexual and transgender lifestyles.
According to the complaint filed in a U.S. district court, Elmira police Capt. Michael Marrone ordered Barnes to remove his shirt to prevent a "negative atmosphere" at the event and arouse discomfort in other attendees.
Barnes obeyed the officer and took off his shirt so he could remain at the park without facing arrest.
Another Christian, Julian Raven, carried a Christian newsletter to the event called the Elmira Protestor. Marrone threatened to arrest Raven if he distributed the letter, saying it contained obscene or illegal material, according to the complaint. Raven complied with the order.
Capt. James Wandell and Sgt. Sharon Moyer threatened a third Christian, James DeFerio, with arrest for holding a sign on a public sidewalk adjacent to the park. The sign read: "Thousands of ex-homosexuals have experienced the life-changing love of Jesus Christ" and listed websites for more information about ministry to ex-"gays."
DeFario complied with their demands. However, according to the complaint, officers then told him he was not allowed to talk to anyone at the event about the Bible. Police ordered DeFario to leave the event where Elmira Mayor John Tonello was scheduled to speak about democracy, telling him to cross the street.
Elmira Mayor John Tonello spoke about democracy at the 'gay' pride event.
"Christians shouldn't be discriminated against for expressing their beliefs," ADF Senior Legal Counsel Joel Oster said in a statement. "Police cannot threaten to arrest Christians at a city park for sharing their viewpoint at an event open to the general public. Respecting their free speech rights is not optional."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
freedom of speech,
gay agenda,
gay pride,
homosexuality,
NY,
police
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Speaker of House Confused on her Religious Beliefs
[Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco], a Catholic who supports abortion rights, said that the question of when life begins has been a subject of controversy in the church and that over the centuries, "the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition."
-- From "Archbishop Disputes Pelosi's Statements; Abortion Comments Spur Swift Denial" by Jacqueline L. Salmon, Washington Post Staff Writer 8/27/08
Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl and several other U.S. bishops are disputing statements by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a "Meet the Press" appearance about the Catholic Church's teachings on abortion. They say she misrepresented the church's longstanding opposition to the procedure and twisted some church teachings.
"Abortion is evil," Wuerl said in an interview yesterday. "It's the destruction of a human life . . . this teaching has not changed and remains unchanged."
Wuerl's objections were echoed by two representatives from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as well as by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver, where the Democratic National Convention is being held. Pelosi's speech to the convention Monday made no mention of abortion.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Archbishop Disputes Pelosi's Statements; Abortion Comments Spur Swift Denial" by Jacqueline L. Salmon, Washington Post Staff Writer 8/27/08
Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl and several other U.S. bishops are disputing statements by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a "Meet the Press" appearance about the Catholic Church's teachings on abortion. They say she misrepresented the church's longstanding opposition to the procedure and twisted some church teachings.
"Abortion is evil," Wuerl said in an interview yesterday. "It's the destruction of a human life . . . this teaching has not changed and remains unchanged."
Wuerl's objections were echoed by two representatives from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as well as by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver, where the Democratic National Convention is being held. Pelosi's speech to the convention Monday made no mention of abortion.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Mega Abortion Mill Opening in Texas
In Houston, Planned Parenthood is planning what could be the largest freestanding abortion facility in the Western hemisphere.
-- From "Everything's bigger in TX -- including abortion mills" by Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow 8/27/2008
Located along a major freeway in a strategic area for an abortion facility, the building stands seven stories high.
Last year Planned Parenthood of Houston performed more than 7,000 abortions, but that number is expected to skyrocket with the new facility. As usual, says [Christine Melchor with Houston Coalition for Life], Planned Parenthood will be located where it will generate the most money. "This mega-abortion center is just right down the street from the main campus of the University of Houston [and] not very far from Rice University and Texas State University -- so a lot of kids from out of state go to school here," Melchor contends.
The pro-life activist is encouraging people nationwide to help in protesting the center. "In fact, we have a website, TexasFamilies.org, and on the front page we have a statement where you can add your name," Melchor adds. "The statement says you oppose Planned Parenthood's expansion here in Houston."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Everything's bigger in TX -- including abortion mills" by Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow 8/27/2008
Located along a major freeway in a strategic area for an abortion facility, the building stands seven stories high.
Last year Planned Parenthood of Houston performed more than 7,000 abortions, but that number is expected to skyrocket with the new facility. As usual, says [Christine Melchor with Houston Coalition for Life], Planned Parenthood will be located where it will generate the most money. "This mega-abortion center is just right down the street from the main campus of the University of Houston [and] not very far from Rice University and Texas State University -- so a lot of kids from out of state go to school here," Melchor contends.
The pro-life activist is encouraging people nationwide to help in protesting the center. "In fact, we have a website, TexasFamilies.org, and on the front page we have a statement where you can add your name," Melchor adds. "The statement says you oppose Planned Parenthood's expansion here in Houston."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Homosexual Adoption Ban Cleared for Arkansas Ballot
A proposal aimed at effectively banning gays and lesbians from becoming foster or adoptive parents was cleared Monday to appear on this fall's ballot in Arkansas.
-- From "Gay Adoption Ban Cleared for Arkansas Ballot" by Andrew DeMillo, Associated Press, 8/25/08
The measure would prohibit unmarried couples living together from fostering or adopting children.
The Family Council campaign is a response to a 2006 Arkansas Supreme Court decision striking down a state policy that specifically banned gays and lesbians from becoming foster parents.
The measure faces the threat of a lawsuit from groups who say that it unfairly discriminates against unmarried couples and limits the number of foster and adoptive homes available for children.
Cox said the Family Council will rely on support from the same network of churches that helped it pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in 2004.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Gay Adoption Ban Cleared for Arkansas Ballot" by Andrew DeMillo, Associated Press, 8/25/08
The measure would prohibit unmarried couples living together from fostering or adopting children.
The Family Council campaign is a response to a 2006 Arkansas Supreme Court decision striking down a state policy that specifically banned gays and lesbians from becoming foster parents.
The measure faces the threat of a lawsuit from groups who say that it unfairly discriminates against unmarried couples and limits the number of foster and adoptive homes available for children.
Cox said the Family Council will rely on support from the same network of churches that helped it pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in 2004.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
adoption,
AR,
Court,
foster parenting,
gay agenda,
homosexuality,
vote
Indiana Town Denounces Loud, Praying Christians
Crown Point church monthlong prayer festival cited ten times by police for cheering Christians
-- From "Crown Point tells church to quiet down" by Kathleen Quilligan, nwitimes.com 8/19/08
At an emergency meeting of the Board of Works on Monday night, the city offered Living Stones Fellowship, 909 N. Pratt St., an ultimatum: Follow our rules or we'll pull your permit.
In July, the city issued a permit to allow the church to erect a tent for a monthlong festival from July 31 to Aug. 31. Daily events run from 5:30 p.m. to about midnight.
Although some City Council members speculated that the Board of Works would pull the permit Monday night, the board voted to allow the church to keep the tent permit if it would agree to hold the nightly meeting indoors Monday through Thursday and keep the noise level below 40 decibels.
The council chambers was so packed with church members and residents who live near the church that Fire Chief Greg DeLor had to usher attendees out of the aisle and around the room after all the seats were full.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Crown Point tells church to quiet down" by Kathleen Quilligan, nwitimes.com 8/19/08
At an emergency meeting of the Board of Works on Monday night, the city offered Living Stones Fellowship, 909 N. Pratt St., an ultimatum: Follow our rules or we'll pull your permit.
In July, the city issued a permit to allow the church to erect a tent for a monthlong festival from July 31 to Aug. 31. Daily events run from 5:30 p.m. to about midnight.
Although some City Council members speculated that the Board of Works would pull the permit Monday night, the board voted to allow the church to keep the tent permit if it would agree to hold the nightly meeting indoors Monday through Thursday and keep the noise level below 40 decibels.
The council chambers was so packed with church members and residents who live near the church that Fire Chief Greg DeLor had to usher attendees out of the aisle and around the room after all the seats were full.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
church,
city council,
freedom of religion,
Indiana,
police,
prayer
Friday, August 22, 2008
Bush Administration Protects Right of Conscience
"People should not be forced to say or do things they believe are morally wrong," Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said. "Health-care workers should not be forced to provide services that violate their own conscience."
-- From "Protections Set for Antiabortion Health Workers" by Rob Stein, Washington Post Staff Writer 8/22/08
The Bush administration yesterday announced plans to implement a controversial regulation designed to protect doctors, nurses and other health-care workers who object to abortion from being forced to deliver services that violate their personal beliefs.
The rule empowers federal health officials to pull funding from more than 584,000 hospitals, clinics, health plans, doctors' offices and other entities if they do not accommodate employees who refuse to participate in care they find objectionable on personal, moral or religious grounds.
The proposed regulation, which could go into effect after a 30-day comment period, was welcomed by conservative groups, abortion opponents and others as necessary to safeguard workers from being fired, disciplined or penalized in other ways. Women's health advocates, family planning advocates, abortion rights activists and others, however, condemned the regulation, saying it could create sweeping obstacles to a variety of health services, including abortion, family planning, end-of-life care and possibly a wide range of scientific research.
. . . But both supporters and critics said the regulation remains broad enough to protect pharmacists, doctors, nurses and others from providing birth control pills, Plan B emergency contraception and other forms of contraception, and explicitly allows workers to withhold information about such services and refuse to refer patients elsewhere.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Protections Set for Antiabortion Health Workers" by Rob Stein, Washington Post Staff Writer 8/22/08
The Bush administration yesterday announced plans to implement a controversial regulation designed to protect doctors, nurses and other health-care workers who object to abortion from being forced to deliver services that violate their personal beliefs.
The rule empowers federal health officials to pull funding from more than 584,000 hospitals, clinics, health plans, doctors' offices and other entities if they do not accommodate employees who refuse to participate in care they find objectionable on personal, moral or religious grounds.
The proposed regulation, which could go into effect after a 30-day comment period, was welcomed by conservative groups, abortion opponents and others as necessary to safeguard workers from being fired, disciplined or penalized in other ways. Women's health advocates, family planning advocates, abortion rights activists and others, however, condemned the regulation, saying it could create sweeping obstacles to a variety of health services, including abortion, family planning, end-of-life care and possibly a wide range of scientific research.
. . . But both supporters and critics said the regulation remains broad enough to protect pharmacists, doctors, nurses and others from providing birth control pills, Plan B emergency contraception and other forms of contraception, and explicitly allows workers to withhold information about such services and refuse to refer patients elsewhere.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
abortion,
Bush,
contraceptive,
right of conscience
Maine City Shuts Down Home Prayer Meeting
“What’s concerning is the precedent of saying to anyone in the city of Portland, ‘How you exercise your religious practices in your home is going to be limited,’”
-- From "Rabbi fights order to halt home prayer meetings" by The Associated Press 8/20/08
PORTLAND, Maine — A Hasidic rabbi is challenging an order by the city of Portland to halt weekly prayer meetings at his home because they violate zoning regulations.
The directive stemmed from a complaint by a neighbor and public works employees that too many cars park along Craigie Street during Saturday worship service and block snow plows and trash trucks during winter.
Noting that 15 to 20 worshippers, most of whom don’t drive, visited his house every Saturday, Wilansky said he couldn’t understand the fuss over a handful of cars on a street where a similar number are parked for Sunday football parties and holiday get-togethers.
“You see Craigie Street, there’s spaces for hundreds of cars on both sides,” he said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Rabbi fights order to halt home prayer meetings" by The Associated Press 8/20/08
PORTLAND, Maine — A Hasidic rabbi is challenging an order by the city of Portland to halt weekly prayer meetings at his home because they violate zoning regulations.
The directive stemmed from a complaint by a neighbor and public works employees that too many cars park along Craigie Street during Saturday worship service and block snow plows and trash trucks during winter.
Noting that 15 to 20 worshippers, most of whom don’t drive, visited his house every Saturday, Wilansky said he couldn’t understand the fuss over a handful of cars on a street where a similar number are parked for Sunday football parties and holiday get-togethers.
“You see Craigie Street, there’s spaces for hundreds of cars on both sides,” he said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
freedom of association,
freedom of religion,
Maine,
prayer
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Researchers Question Efficacy of HPV Vaccine
Sexual revolutionaries desperately want children to be free to have sex at the earliest ages. The HPV vaccine is a key element of the strategy to sexualize children, along with condoms, the pill, the day-after pill, and abortion -- all without parental consent.
Below are excerpts from two articles; note the "media spin" resulting from the same study.
-- From "Study: HPV vaccine by age 21 a sound public health investment" by Liz Szabo, USA TODAY 8/20/08
A new economic analysis shows that the HPV vaccine, which protects against the viruses that cause most cervical cancers and genital warts, could be a good financial investment in public health if given to those who have the most to gain: preadolescent girls and women up to age 21.
Authors of the study, in today's New England Journal of Medicine, measured the Gardasil vaccine's value by calculating the cost of giving one person an extra healthy year of life and balancing the expense of vaccinations with the benefits of avoiding cancer, death and related expenses.
More than half of girls have been exposed to HPV by the time they finish high school, says Carol Baker, professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and a member of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Because some women could still be protected, it makes economic sense to offer "catch-up" shots to women up to age 21, but not to older women, Kim says. The vaccine was approved in 2006 for women up to age 26.
-- From "Researchers Question If HPV Vaccine Is Worth the Risk" by Sharyn Alfonsi, ABC News, 8/20/08
First, Gardasil's long-term effectiveness is unclear. Because cervical cancer takes years to develop, critics say the current information is insufficient to determine whether Gardasil works.
"The overall effect of the vaccines on cervical cancer remains unknown," Dr. Carolyn J. Haug, the Journal of Norwegian Medical Association's editor, wrote in the New England Journal editorial. "The real impact of HPV vaccination on cervical cancer will not be observable for decades."
Gardasil is also expensive, costing about $400 to $1,000 for the necessary three doses of the vaccine. Studies have not proven how long the immunity will last and whether or not additional shots will be needed, which would raise the cost even higher.
And it's not a slam dunk. The vaccine only protects against some of the viruses that cause cervical cancer, so women still need regular pap screenings. And some doctors said that a traditional pap screen may be more effective.
These remaining questions have prompted some doctors to ask if it's worth it for girls to get vaccinated in the first place.
"Most of the information people have right now leads them to believe that if they're vaccinated with Gardasil, they're protected for life, and that's just not true," said Dr. Diane Harper of Dartmouth College.
There is also the issue of side effects. FDA records reveal that, since Gardasil's approval, nearly 9,000 girls had "bad health events" after receiving their shots. These included 78 reported outbreaks of genital warts, 18 deaths and six cases of Guillain Barre Syndrome, which can result in paralysis. It is unknown whether there are unseen side effects, like decreasing the body's ability to fight off other strains of the HPV virus.
Below are excerpts from two articles; note the "media spin" resulting from the same study.
-- From "Study: HPV vaccine by age 21 a sound public health investment" by Liz Szabo, USA TODAY 8/20/08
A new economic analysis shows that the HPV vaccine, which protects against the viruses that cause most cervical cancers and genital warts, could be a good financial investment in public health if given to those who have the most to gain: preadolescent girls and women up to age 21.
Authors of the study, in today's New England Journal of Medicine, measured the Gardasil vaccine's value by calculating the cost of giving one person an extra healthy year of life and balancing the expense of vaccinations with the benefits of avoiding cancer, death and related expenses.
More than half of girls have been exposed to HPV by the time they finish high school, says Carol Baker, professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and a member of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Because some women could still be protected, it makes economic sense to offer "catch-up" shots to women up to age 21, but not to older women, Kim says. The vaccine was approved in 2006 for women up to age 26.
-- From "Researchers Question If HPV Vaccine Is Worth the Risk" by Sharyn Alfonsi, ABC News, 8/20/08
First, Gardasil's long-term effectiveness is unclear. Because cervical cancer takes years to develop, critics say the current information is insufficient to determine whether Gardasil works.
"The overall effect of the vaccines on cervical cancer remains unknown," Dr. Carolyn J. Haug, the Journal of Norwegian Medical Association's editor, wrote in the New England Journal editorial. "The real impact of HPV vaccination on cervical cancer will not be observable for decades."
Gardasil is also expensive, costing about $400 to $1,000 for the necessary three doses of the vaccine. Studies have not proven how long the immunity will last and whether or not additional shots will be needed, which would raise the cost even higher.
And it's not a slam dunk. The vaccine only protects against some of the viruses that cause cervical cancer, so women still need regular pap screenings. And some doctors said that a traditional pap screen may be more effective.
These remaining questions have prompted some doctors to ask if it's worth it for girls to get vaccinated in the first place.
"Most of the information people have right now leads them to believe that if they're vaccinated with Gardasil, they're protected for life, and that's just not true," said Dr. Diane Harper of Dartmouth College.
There is also the issue of side effects. FDA records reveal that, since Gardasil's approval, nearly 9,000 girls had "bad health events" after receiving their shots. These included 78 reported outbreaks of genital warts, 18 deaths and six cases of Guillain Barre Syndrome, which can result in paralysis. It is unknown whether there are unseen side effects, like decreasing the body's ability to fight off other strains of the HPV virus.
Labels:
children,
HPV,
media bias,
physician,
sexual immorality,
vaccine
Hallmark Cards Accommodate Same-sex 'Marriage'
Hallmark's largest competitor, American Greetings Corp., has no plans to enter the market . . .
-- From "Now on the Hallmark aisle: Gay marriage cards" by Sarah Skidmore, AP Business Writer 8/21/08
PORTLAND, Ore. – Most states don't recognize gay marriage — but now Hallmark does.
The nation's largest greeting card company is rolling out same-sex wedding cards — featuring two tuxedos, overlapping hearts or intertwined flowers, with best wishes inside. "Two hearts. One promise," one says.
Hallmark added the cards after California joined Massachusetts as the only U.S. states with legal gay marriage. A handful of other states have recognized same-sex civil unions.
The language inside the cards is neutral, with no mention of wedding or marriage, making them also suitable for a commitment ceremony. Hallmark says the move is a response to consumer demand, not any political pressure. [Oh, give me a break!! With less than 1% of 'couples' being homosexual, this statement is simply a lie.]
Hallmark started offering "coming out" cards last year, and the four designs of same-sex marriage cards are being gradually released this summer and will be widely available by next year. No sales figures were available yet.
The Greeting Card Association, a trade group, says it does not track how many companies provide same-sex cards but believes the number is expanding.
"The fact that you have someone like Hallmark going into that niche shows it's growing and signals a trend," said Barbara Miller, a spokeswoman for the association.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Now on the Hallmark aisle: Gay marriage cards" by Sarah Skidmore, AP Business Writer 8/21/08
PORTLAND, Ore. – Most states don't recognize gay marriage — but now Hallmark does.
The nation's largest greeting card company is rolling out same-sex wedding cards — featuring two tuxedos, overlapping hearts or intertwined flowers, with best wishes inside. "Two hearts. One promise," one says.
Hallmark added the cards after California joined Massachusetts as the only U.S. states with legal gay marriage. A handful of other states have recognized same-sex civil unions.
The language inside the cards is neutral, with no mention of wedding or marriage, making them also suitable for a commitment ceremony. Hallmark says the move is a response to consumer demand, not any political pressure. [Oh, give me a break!! With less than 1% of 'couples' being homosexual, this statement is simply a lie.]
Hallmark started offering "coming out" cards last year, and the four designs of same-sex marriage cards are being gradually released this summer and will be widely available by next year. No sales figures were available yet.
The Greeting Card Association, a trade group, says it does not track how many companies provide same-sex cards but believes the number is expanding.
"The fact that you have someone like Hallmark going into that niche shows it's growing and signals a trend," said Barbara Miller, a spokeswoman for the association.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Fed. Court Allows School to Restrict Religious Liberty
A group of Christian attorneys asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case involving a former Saginaw student who tried to sell candy canes with a religious message.
UPDATE 12/8/08: Supreme Court declines to hear this case
-- From "Supreme Court asked to consider religious class project case" by LaNia Coleman, The Saginaw [Michigan] News 8/12/08
Monday, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defense Fund petitioned the high court to "consider whether a fifth-grade student's religious expression on a classroom project may be categorically identified as 'offensive' and therefore legitimately censored by state school officials."
In December 2003, former Handley School student Joel Curry, then 11, made candy cane-style Christmas ornaments with a note that school officials considered "religious literature." The note attached to the ornaments, titled "The Meaning of the Candy Cane," referred to Jesus six times and God twice.
. . . School officials told the youngster to remove the message.
"Penalizing Christian students for expressing their beliefs in the classroom is unacceptable under the Constitution," said Alliance Senior Legal Counsel Jeff Shafer. "The First Amendment exists to protect private speakers, not to enable religious discrimination by government officials. The court of appeals' unprecedented classification of student religious speech as an 'offense' worthy of censorship should be reversed."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 12/8/08: Supreme Court declines to hear this case
-- From "Supreme Court asked to consider religious class project case" by LaNia Coleman, The Saginaw [Michigan] News 8/12/08
Monday, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defense Fund petitioned the high court to "consider whether a fifth-grade student's religious expression on a classroom project may be categorically identified as 'offensive' and therefore legitimately censored by state school officials."
In December 2003, former Handley School student Joel Curry, then 11, made candy cane-style Christmas ornaments with a note that school officials considered "religious literature." The note attached to the ornaments, titled "The Meaning of the Candy Cane," referred to Jesus six times and God twice.
. . . School officials told the youngster to remove the message.
"Penalizing Christian students for expressing their beliefs in the classroom is unacceptable under the Constitution," said Alliance Senior Legal Counsel Jeff Shafer. "The First Amendment exists to protect private speakers, not to enable religious discrimination by government officials. The court of appeals' unprecedented classification of student religious speech as an 'offense' worthy of censorship should be reversed."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
ADF,
freedom of religion,
MI,
public schools,
Supreme Court
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
CA Christian Doctors Forced to Assist Homosexuality
California Supreme Court rules that homosexual rights trump doctors' rights of religious liberty; Doctors say they denied insemination because woman was single, not because she was gay.
-- From "California doctors can't refuse treatment to gays on religious grounds, court rules" by Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 8/19/08
Doctors may not discriminate against gays and lesbians in medical treatment, even if the procedures being sought conflict with physicians' religious beliefs, the California Supreme Court decided unanimously Monday.
"The 1st Amendment's right to the free exercise of religion does not exempt defendant physicians here from conforming their conduct to the . . . antidiscrimination requirements," Justice Joyce L. Kennard wrote for the court.
The decision stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Guadalupe T. Benitez, an Oceanside lesbian who lives with her partner and wanted to become pregnant with donated sperm.
The state high court said the doctors' constitutional rights to freedom of religion did not trump the state antidiscrimination law because the state has a compelling interest in ensuring full and equal access to medical care.
Robert Tyler, general counsel for Advocates for Faith and Freedom, predicted that the ruling would spur voters "to recognize the radical agenda of our opposition" and support a November ballot initiative that would amend the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage in California. A state Supreme Court ruling in May made gay marriage legal.
-- From "Court: Lesbians' desires trump doctors' religious rights" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/18/08
Justice Joyce Kennard, who wrote the court's decision, said the Unruh Civil Rights Act "furthers California's compelling interest in ensuring full and equal access to medical treatment irrespective of sexual orientation."
But Karen England, executive director for Capitol Resource Institute, a California family policy advocacy group, said in a press release, "The California Supreme Court's decision proves that these activist judges are willing to deny our First Amendment religious freedom in order to create rights for homosexuals."
The ruling has some groups worrying that California will now use its civil rights laws to override the moral convictions of religious people across the state.
"It's implications appear to be far-reaching," said [the Pacific Justice Institute]. "For instance, the ruling probably means that, regardless of their beliefs, everyone in the state's wedding industry must service gay weddings, California family law attorneys must handle gay adoptions and same-sex divorces, and so on."
England added, "If homosexual marriage remains legal, the courts will soon start mandating homosexual marriage ceremonies in all churches."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "California doctors can't refuse treatment to gays on religious grounds, court rules" by Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 8/19/08
Doctors may not discriminate against gays and lesbians in medical treatment, even if the procedures being sought conflict with physicians' religious beliefs, the California Supreme Court decided unanimously Monday.
"The 1st Amendment's right to the free exercise of religion does not exempt defendant physicians here from conforming their conduct to the . . . antidiscrimination requirements," Justice Joyce L. Kennard wrote for the court.
The decision stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Guadalupe T. Benitez, an Oceanside lesbian who lives with her partner and wanted to become pregnant with donated sperm.
The state high court said the doctors' constitutional rights to freedom of religion did not trump the state antidiscrimination law because the state has a compelling interest in ensuring full and equal access to medical care.
Robert Tyler, general counsel for Advocates for Faith and Freedom, predicted that the ruling would spur voters "to recognize the radical agenda of our opposition" and support a November ballot initiative that would amend the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriage in California. A state Supreme Court ruling in May made gay marriage legal.
-- From "Court: Lesbians' desires trump doctors' religious rights" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/18/08
Justice Joyce Kennard, who wrote the court's decision, said the Unruh Civil Rights Act "furthers California's compelling interest in ensuring full and equal access to medical treatment irrespective of sexual orientation."
But Karen England, executive director for Capitol Resource Institute, a California family policy advocacy group, said in a press release, "The California Supreme Court's decision proves that these activist judges are willing to deny our First Amendment religious freedom in order to create rights for homosexuals."
The ruling has some groups worrying that California will now use its civil rights laws to override the moral convictions of religious people across the state.
"It's implications appear to be far-reaching," said [the Pacific Justice Institute]. "For instance, the ruling probably means that, regardless of their beliefs, everyone in the state's wedding industry must service gay weddings, California family law attorneys must handle gay adoptions and same-sex divorces, and so on."
England added, "If homosexual marriage remains legal, the courts will soon start mandating homosexual marriage ceremonies in all churches."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Epidemic of Drinking Problems on College Campuses
Proposed solution: One hundred college and university presidents nationwide recommend LOWERING the drinking age.
-- From "Colleges: Drinking age 'not working'" by Stephen Kiehl, Baltimore Sun Reporter 8/19/08
Top university officials in Maryland - including the chancellor of the state university system and the president of the Johns Hopkins University - say the current drinking age of 21 "is not working" and has led to dangerous binges in which students have harmed themselves and others.
"Kids are going to drink whether it's legal or illegal," said Johns Hopkins President William R. Brody, who supports lowering the drinking age to 18. "We'd at least be able to have a more open dialogue with students about drinking as opposed to this sham where people don't want to talk about it because it's a violation of the law."
Each state has the authority to set its own drinking age, but in 1984 Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which says that states with a drinking age lower than 21 will lose 10 percent of their federal highway money. After that law passed, all 50 states raised their drinking age to 21.
"We have this law that in effect prevents any state from exploring new ways of addressing the issue," said William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the Maryland state university system. "We have a crisis on our hands. We need some new ideas and new thinking."
Advocates of the 21-year-old drinking age say it has saved thousands of lives. They say lowering the age will pass the drinking problem down the line to high school students and that national surveys have found the public supports keeping the age at 21.
[Maybe we should take the advice of an experienced teenager on this issue:]
Katie Buckheit, 19 and also a junior, said if people were exposed to drinking at a younger age, they would be more mature about it. "Maybe I'm being idealistic, but in Europe you can drink once you can see the bar," she said. "I think we should maybe take a lesson from what other countries are doing."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Colleges: Drinking age 'not working'" by Stephen Kiehl, Baltimore Sun Reporter 8/19/08
Top university officials in Maryland - including the chancellor of the state university system and the president of the Johns Hopkins University - say the current drinking age of 21 "is not working" and has led to dangerous binges in which students have harmed themselves and others.
"Kids are going to drink whether it's legal or illegal," said Johns Hopkins President William R. Brody, who supports lowering the drinking age to 18. "We'd at least be able to have a more open dialogue with students about drinking as opposed to this sham where people don't want to talk about it because it's a violation of the law."
Each state has the authority to set its own drinking age, but in 1984 Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which says that states with a drinking age lower than 21 will lose 10 percent of their federal highway money. After that law passed, all 50 states raised their drinking age to 21.
"We have this law that in effect prevents any state from exploring new ways of addressing the issue," said William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the Maryland state university system. "We have a crisis on our hands. We need some new ideas and new thinking."
Advocates of the 21-year-old drinking age say it has saved thousands of lives. They say lowering the age will pass the drinking problem down the line to high school students and that national surveys have found the public supports keeping the age at 21.
[Maybe we should take the advice of an experienced teenager on this issue:]
Katie Buckheit, 19 and also a junior, said if people were exposed to drinking at a younger age, they would be more mature about it. "Maybe I'm being idealistic, but in Europe you can drink once you can see the bar," she said. "I think we should maybe take a lesson from what other countries are doing."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Righting America: The Call to Christians
". . . the problems that this country has are with us, who claim we know the Lord but have not lived it, and we've not been as faithful," [Mike] Huckabee told the crowd. "So, repentance and revival cannot start in the [U.S. Capitol] building behind me until it starts in the temple inside me."
-- From "Evangelicals gather in the nation's capital" From CNN's Kate Bolduan and Eric Marrapodi 8/16/08
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Evangelicals from across the country gathered by the thousands on the National Mall in Washington Saturday in support of returning to core Evangelical issues — but also addressing some political ones.
The event was organized by a religious group known as "The Call." It was described as a time for prayer and fasting. But some participants talked politics as well.
"Those issues have historically not been political, they have been made political. When court imposed abortion, it became a political issue. When courts impose same sex marriage, it becomes a political issue, but those were issues within the realm of the church for years. They become political issues only in terms of how they are being discussed today," Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, told CNN.
Mike Huckabee, former GOP presidential candidate, former Arkansas governor and an ordained Baptist minister, made an appearance, telling the crowd he was appearing as a pastor, not a politician.
-- From "America Needs New ‘Great Awakening,’ Huckabee and Evangelicals Say" by Kevin Mooney, Staff Writer CNSNews.com 8/17/08
Huckabee, a former Republican contender for the presidential nomination, said the “Great Awakening” is needed to help revitalize the nation’s founding principles and cultural standing so that innocent life can be spared.
He told reporters that, in many respects, the notion of “inalienable rights,” as expressed by Thomas Jefferson, is just as radical now as it was in the founding period and must be vigorously defended – especially the right to life.
“Every single life has intrinsic worth and value,” Huckabee said. “No human life is worth more than another and no human life is worth less than another. If we truly believe that, then we have to stand up unapologetically for life against this wholesale destruction.”
The success or failure of the pro-life cause is directly tied to the spiritual health and well-being of American civilization, Huckabee said.
“We should never forget that the manner in which we treat others is the manner in which we invite others to treat us,” he continued. “If we are a society that makes it OK to slaughter innocent life and vulnerable life we are in essence inviting others to feel that way toward us. That’s why this issue has never been a political one for me.”
The separation that exists now between contemporary Americans and the Founding Fathers can be traced in large part to judicial activism and historical revision, Huckabee said in response to a question from CNSNews.com.
Out of the 56 signers to the Declaration of Independence, 26 had biblical or seminary degrees, Huckabee pointed out. This simple fact is routinely overlooked in educational institutions, he lamented.
“Go down to the Mall and look at any of the monuments and you will see that they [the Founders] often spoke of providence,” he said. “There has been a rewriting of history to pretend this isn’t true.”
The cross-denominational assembly scheduled to take place Saturday on the National Mall should not be viewed as a political event, Huckabee observed.
Instead, he said, it is intended to “transcend political ideology” and to raise awareness about issues of life and death that will impact the long-term health of American culture.
Bishop Harry Jackson, meanwhile, said the country is “on the verge of tremendous problems” if certain cultural trends are not reversed.
Jackson also told CNSNews.com that the partnership between evangelicals and Roman Catholics on pro-life issues and other cultural questions is critically important and will figure prominently in the years ahead.
“We would not have as much strength, force and vitality without Roman Catholics,” he said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Evangelicals gather in the nation's capital" From CNN's Kate Bolduan and Eric Marrapodi 8/16/08
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Evangelicals from across the country gathered by the thousands on the National Mall in Washington Saturday in support of returning to core Evangelical issues — but also addressing some political ones.
The event was organized by a religious group known as "The Call." It was described as a time for prayer and fasting. But some participants talked politics as well.
"Those issues have historically not been political, they have been made political. When court imposed abortion, it became a political issue. When courts impose same sex marriage, it becomes a political issue, but those were issues within the realm of the church for years. They become political issues only in terms of how they are being discussed today," Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, told CNN.
Mike Huckabee, former GOP presidential candidate, former Arkansas governor and an ordained Baptist minister, made an appearance, telling the crowd he was appearing as a pastor, not a politician.
-- From "America Needs New ‘Great Awakening,’ Huckabee and Evangelicals Say" by Kevin Mooney, Staff Writer CNSNews.com 8/17/08
Huckabee, a former Republican contender for the presidential nomination, said the “Great Awakening” is needed to help revitalize the nation’s founding principles and cultural standing so that innocent life can be spared.
He told reporters that, in many respects, the notion of “inalienable rights,” as expressed by Thomas Jefferson, is just as radical now as it was in the founding period and must be vigorously defended – especially the right to life.
“Every single life has intrinsic worth and value,” Huckabee said. “No human life is worth more than another and no human life is worth less than another. If we truly believe that, then we have to stand up unapologetically for life against this wholesale destruction.”
The success or failure of the pro-life cause is directly tied to the spiritual health and well-being of American civilization, Huckabee said.
“We should never forget that the manner in which we treat others is the manner in which we invite others to treat us,” he continued. “If we are a society that makes it OK to slaughter innocent life and vulnerable life we are in essence inviting others to feel that way toward us. That’s why this issue has never been a political one for me.”
The separation that exists now between contemporary Americans and the Founding Fathers can be traced in large part to judicial activism and historical revision, Huckabee said in response to a question from CNSNews.com.
Out of the 56 signers to the Declaration of Independence, 26 had biblical or seminary degrees, Huckabee pointed out. This simple fact is routinely overlooked in educational institutions, he lamented.
“Go down to the Mall and look at any of the monuments and you will see that they [the Founders] often spoke of providence,” he said. “There has been a rewriting of history to pretend this isn’t true.”
The cross-denominational assembly scheduled to take place Saturday on the National Mall should not be viewed as a political event, Huckabee observed.
Instead, he said, it is intended to “transcend political ideology” and to raise awareness about issues of life and death that will impact the long-term health of American culture.
Bishop Harry Jackson, meanwhile, said the country is “on the verge of tremendous problems” if certain cultural trends are not reversed.
Jackson also told CNSNews.com that the partnership between evangelicals and Roman Catholics on pro-life issues and other cultural questions is critically important and will figure prominently in the years ahead.
“We would not have as much strength, force and vitality without Roman Catholics,” he said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
Christian citizenship,
Huckabee,
prayer,
vote,
Washington DC
APA Issues Biased Report on Effects of Abortion
The American Psychological Association stacked a panel with abortion advocates to release a new report concluding that abortion causes no mental health problems for the mother; independent research concludes otherwise.
-- From "American Psychological Association Ignores Abortion-Mental Health Problem Link" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor 8/13/08
The panel's report concluded women who have abortions may experience some grief and a sense of loss, but it claimed there is no evidence showing abortion causes significant mental health issues.
The report also claimed that many of the studies concerning abortion and its link to subsequent mental health issues are flawed.
However, those studies, including a recent one from researchers in Norway, are published in peer-reviewed medical journals and none of them appeared to receive complaints about their methodology at the time.
A study earlier this month in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology found 30 percent of women who purchase the abortion drug mifepristone on the Internet experience depression and negative feelings accompanying the abortion.
The New Zealand study found that having an abortion as a young woman raises the risk of developing mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
According to the study, women who have abortions were twice as likely to drink alcohol at dangerous levels and three times as likely to be addicted to illegal drugs.
To read the entire article (above), CLICK HERE.
-- From "Post-Abortion Women Challenge Psychologists’ Claim of ‘Harmless’ Abortions" by Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer CNSNews.com 8/17/08
Women who have had abortions, scientists, and pro-life advocates are joining forces to refute the findings of an American Psychological Association (APA) task force that claims women who have one abortion do not experience any more mental problems than women who decide to give birth.
“The APA should advocate a closer examination of the grief and warn women of the well-documented dangers (of abortion),” Theresa Burke, founder of Rachel’s Vineyard, a Christian recovery program for post-abortive women, said in response to the task force’s finding.
“Instead, the APA continues to censor information, de-legitimize research, prohibit opposing points of view, obstruct discussions, avoid scholarly debates and promote intolerance of those who are negatively impacted by abortion,” said Burke.
Alveda King, niece of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.Alveda King, niece of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., evoked her famous uncle’s call for civil rights for all people, including pregnant women and their unborn children, in reaction to the report.
“(Abortion) violates the civil rights and human rights of the baby in the womb and then it hurts the mother,” King, who has had two abortions and a miscarriage related to those abortions, told CNSNews.com. She added that most post-abortion women she has met say they have suffered irrevocable damage.
“The (APA) wants to say we are the exception to the rule … but for every one woman they can find that says they weren’t harmed by abortion … they could find 10 women who were,” said King.
To read the entire second article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "American Psychological Association Ignores Abortion-Mental Health Problem Link" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor 8/13/08
The panel's report concluded women who have abortions may experience some grief and a sense of loss, but it claimed there is no evidence showing abortion causes significant mental health issues.
The report also claimed that many of the studies concerning abortion and its link to subsequent mental health issues are flawed.
However, those studies, including a recent one from researchers in Norway, are published in peer-reviewed medical journals and none of them appeared to receive complaints about their methodology at the time.
A study earlier this month in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology found 30 percent of women who purchase the abortion drug mifepristone on the Internet experience depression and negative feelings accompanying the abortion.
The New Zealand study found that having an abortion as a young woman raises the risk of developing mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
According to the study, women who have abortions were twice as likely to drink alcohol at dangerous levels and three times as likely to be addicted to illegal drugs.
To read the entire article (above), CLICK HERE.
-- From "Post-Abortion Women Challenge Psychologists’ Claim of ‘Harmless’ Abortions" by Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer CNSNews.com 8/17/08
Women who have had abortions, scientists, and pro-life advocates are joining forces to refute the findings of an American Psychological Association (APA) task force that claims women who have one abortion do not experience any more mental problems than women who decide to give birth.
“The APA should advocate a closer examination of the grief and warn women of the well-documented dangers (of abortion),” Theresa Burke, founder of Rachel’s Vineyard, a Christian recovery program for post-abortive women, said in response to the task force’s finding.
“Instead, the APA continues to censor information, de-legitimize research, prohibit opposing points of view, obstruct discussions, avoid scholarly debates and promote intolerance of those who are negatively impacted by abortion,” said Burke.
Alveda King, niece of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.Alveda King, niece of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., evoked her famous uncle’s call for civil rights for all people, including pregnant women and their unborn children, in reaction to the report.
“(Abortion) violates the civil rights and human rights of the baby in the womb and then it hurts the mother,” King, who has had two abortions and a miscarriage related to those abortions, told CNSNews.com. She added that most post-abortion women she has met say they have suffered irrevocable damage.
“The (APA) wants to say we are the exception to the rule … but for every one woman they can find that says they weren’t harmed by abortion … they could find 10 women who were,” said King.
To read the entire second article, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Pastor Rick Warren Interviews Sens. Obama & McCain
For Christians, in this election year, understanding the faith of the candidates cannot be taken lightly. Posted below are excerpts of an article from MSNBC followed by excerpts from National Review Online concerning last night's event.
-- From "Obama talks religion at forum" by Mark Murray from MSNBC 8/17/08
Obama talked about Iraq, abortion, the Supreme Court, and his greatest moral failure during an hour-long televised talk on faith and politics with pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren here at Saddleback Church.
McCain also attended the event, but he spoke with Warren separately.
Obama has been able to appeal to some religious voters in part, because he seems more open to talking about his faith than McCain does. He has written about finding his faith as a young man and about his work with churches while a community organizer on the streets of Chicago’s South Side. Still, for many conservative Christians, the senator’s views on issues like abortion make him a tough sell.
Two interesting moments came when the pastor asked Obama to define “rich." After joking with Warren about the pastor having sold over 25 million books, Obama said families making up to $150,000 were middle class, if not poor -- depending on where they live -- while those with incomes of $250,000 or more were well off, though he did not use the word “rich”.
When asked which sitting Supreme Court justice he would not have nominated, Obama named first Clarence Thomas and then Antonin Scalia, saying he disagreed with both ideologically and that Thomas had not been a "strong enough jurist or legal thinker" at the time of his nomination.
Warren told the audience at the beginning of the event that the senators would be asked identical questions so that the audience could “compare apples to apples” and said they had “safely placed Sen. McCain in a cone of silence” to prevent his receiving any advantage by being second.
-- From "How McCain Won Saddleback" by Byron York, National Review Online 8/17/08
Lake Forest, Calif. — It’s fair to say that in the hours before John McCain appeared with Barack Obama at the “Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency,” here at Pastor Rick Warren’s famed southern California mega-church, there were at least a few McCain insiders who were a bit nervous about their candidate’s prospects. Obama can be remarkably polished in this sort of situation. Unlike other Democrats, he’s not afraid to hang out with evangelicals. McCain, on the other hand, can at times be cranky and take pleasure in irritating his base. Could he come out ahead in this one?
[The format] brought out something we don’t usually see in a presidential face-off; in this forum, as opposed to a read-the-prompter speech, or even a debate focused on the issues of the moment, the candidates were forced to call on everything they had — the things they have done and learned throughout their lives.
The contrast was striking throughout each man’s one-hour time on stage. When Warren asked Obama, “What’s the most gut-wrenching decision you’ve ever had to make?” Obama answered that opposing the war in Iraq was “as tough a decision that I’ve had to make, not only because there were political consequences but also because Saddam Hussein was a bad person and there was no doubt he meant America ill.” But Obama was a state senator in Illinois when Congress authorized the president to use force in Iraq. He didn’t have to make a decision on the war.
McCain bested Obama . . . when Warren asked for an example of a time in which he “went against party loyalty and maybe even against your own best interest for the good of America.”
“Well, I’ll give you an example that in fact I worked with John McCain on,” Obama said, “and that was the issue of campaign ethics reform and finance reform.” But it turned out that was an issue on which Obama had briefly allied with McCain and then jumped back to the Democratic mother ship, causing McCain to write Obama an angry note about the abandonment of what had been a principled position. As far as bucking your party goes, it wasn’t very big stuff.
McCain’s [response] was his story of opposing Ronald Reagan’s decision to send a contingent of Marines to Lebanon as a peacekeeping force. “My knowledge and my background told me that a few hundred Marines in a situation like that could not successfully carry out any kind of peacekeeping mission, and I thought they were going into harm’s way,” McCain said. But he deeply admired Reagan, and wanted to be loyal to the party; it was a difficult decision.
“At what point does a baby get human rights, in your view?” [Warren] asked Obama.
“Well, I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade,” Obama answered. “But let me just speak more generally about the issue of abortion because this is something obviously the country wrestles with. One thing that I’m absolutely convinced of is there is a moral and ethical content to this issue. So I think that anybody who tries to deny the moral difficulties and gravity of the abortion issue, I think, is not paying attention. So that would be point number one.” Obama went on to say that he is pro-choice. Even for people who agreed with him, it wasn’t a terribly impressive answer.
An hour later, when Warren asked McCain the same thing, he got this: “At the moment of conception. I have a 25-year pro-life record in the Congress, in the Senate, and as president of the United States, I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies.”
-- From "Obama talks religion at forum" by Mark Murray from MSNBC 8/17/08
Obama talked about Iraq, abortion, the Supreme Court, and his greatest moral failure during an hour-long televised talk on faith and politics with pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren here at Saddleback Church.
McCain also attended the event, but he spoke with Warren separately.
Obama has been able to appeal to some religious voters in part, because he seems more open to talking about his faith than McCain does. He has written about finding his faith as a young man and about his work with churches while a community organizer on the streets of Chicago’s South Side. Still, for many conservative Christians, the senator’s views on issues like abortion make him a tough sell.
Two interesting moments came when the pastor asked Obama to define “rich." After joking with Warren about the pastor having sold over 25 million books, Obama said families making up to $150,000 were middle class, if not poor -- depending on where they live -- while those with incomes of $250,000 or more were well off, though he did not use the word “rich”.
When asked which sitting Supreme Court justice he would not have nominated, Obama named first Clarence Thomas and then Antonin Scalia, saying he disagreed with both ideologically and that Thomas had not been a "strong enough jurist or legal thinker" at the time of his nomination.
Warren told the audience at the beginning of the event that the senators would be asked identical questions so that the audience could “compare apples to apples” and said they had “safely placed Sen. McCain in a cone of silence” to prevent his receiving any advantage by being second.
-- From "How McCain Won Saddleback" by Byron York, National Review Online 8/17/08
Lake Forest, Calif. — It’s fair to say that in the hours before John McCain appeared with Barack Obama at the “Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency,” here at Pastor Rick Warren’s famed southern California mega-church, there were at least a few McCain insiders who were a bit nervous about their candidate’s prospects. Obama can be remarkably polished in this sort of situation. Unlike other Democrats, he’s not afraid to hang out with evangelicals. McCain, on the other hand, can at times be cranky and take pleasure in irritating his base. Could he come out ahead in this one?
[The format] brought out something we don’t usually see in a presidential face-off; in this forum, as opposed to a read-the-prompter speech, or even a debate focused on the issues of the moment, the candidates were forced to call on everything they had — the things they have done and learned throughout their lives.
The contrast was striking throughout each man’s one-hour time on stage. When Warren asked Obama, “What’s the most gut-wrenching decision you’ve ever had to make?” Obama answered that opposing the war in Iraq was “as tough a decision that I’ve had to make, not only because there were political consequences but also because Saddam Hussein was a bad person and there was no doubt he meant America ill.” But Obama was a state senator in Illinois when Congress authorized the president to use force in Iraq. He didn’t have to make a decision on the war.
McCain bested Obama . . . when Warren asked for an example of a time in which he “went against party loyalty and maybe even against your own best interest for the good of America.”
“Well, I’ll give you an example that in fact I worked with John McCain on,” Obama said, “and that was the issue of campaign ethics reform and finance reform.” But it turned out that was an issue on which Obama had briefly allied with McCain and then jumped back to the Democratic mother ship, causing McCain to write Obama an angry note about the abandonment of what had been a principled position. As far as bucking your party goes, it wasn’t very big stuff.
McCain’s [response] was his story of opposing Ronald Reagan’s decision to send a contingent of Marines to Lebanon as a peacekeeping force. “My knowledge and my background told me that a few hundred Marines in a situation like that could not successfully carry out any kind of peacekeeping mission, and I thought they were going into harm’s way,” McCain said. But he deeply admired Reagan, and wanted to be loyal to the party; it was a difficult decision.
“At what point does a baby get human rights, in your view?” [Warren] asked Obama.
“Well, I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade,” Obama answered. “But let me just speak more generally about the issue of abortion because this is something obviously the country wrestles with. One thing that I’m absolutely convinced of is there is a moral and ethical content to this issue. So I think that anybody who tries to deny the moral difficulties and gravity of the abortion issue, I think, is not paying attention. So that would be point number one.” Obama went on to say that he is pro-choice. Even for people who agreed with him, it wasn’t a terribly impressive answer.
An hour later, when Warren asked McCain the same thing, he got this: “At the moment of conception. I have a 25-year pro-life record in the Congress, in the Senate, and as president of the United States, I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies.”
Labels:
abortion,
McCain,
media bias,
Obama,
Saddleback,
same-sex marriage,
Warren
South Dakota Grassroots Take Aim on Roe v. Wade
National pro-abortion groups are mobilizing to defeat a South Dakota initiative on the November ballot that would ban abortion except in cases of rape, incest or a threat to the life of the mother.
-- From "Pro-Abortion Groups Mobilize to Defeat Dakota Pro-Life Initiative" by Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer CNSNews.com 8/14/08
These [pro-abortion] groups see the initiative as the potential "first step" in a legal challenge to Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion-on-demand nationwide. The principal pro-life organizer behind the South Dakota initiative, meanwhile, does not dispute this perception.
"Let’s not kid ourselves," Nancy Keenan, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice America, told reporters at a press conference in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. "The people behind this effort (want) to make South Dakota the first step in a long-term campaign to mount a legal challenge to Roe (vs. Wade)."
Keenan was joined by two other national pro-abortion figures, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parent Action Fund, the political arm of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
"It seems desperate to me that they would hold a press conference in Washington, D.C.," Leslee Unruh, leader of the South Dakota organization behind Initiated Measure 11, "Vote Yes on Life," told CNSNews.com. Unruh said that calling national attention to her state's third attempt in almost as many years to ban abortion might backfire on the pro-abortion groups.
"Grassroots always trumps money in South Dakota," Unruh said. "People in South Dakota don't like it if they think someone nationally is trying to tell them what to do."
"Vote Yes for Life" gathered almost 60,000 signatures - more than three times the 17,000 required for inclusion on the ballot - and 48,000 signatures were officially turned in to the state.
To read the entire story, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Pro-Abortion Groups Mobilize to Defeat Dakota Pro-Life Initiative" by Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer CNSNews.com 8/14/08
These [pro-abortion] groups see the initiative as the potential "first step" in a legal challenge to Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion-on-demand nationwide. The principal pro-life organizer behind the South Dakota initiative, meanwhile, does not dispute this perception.
"Let’s not kid ourselves," Nancy Keenan, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice America, told reporters at a press conference in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. "The people behind this effort (want) to make South Dakota the first step in a long-term campaign to mount a legal challenge to Roe (vs. Wade)."
Keenan was joined by two other national pro-abortion figures, Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parent Action Fund, the political arm of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
"It seems desperate to me that they would hold a press conference in Washington, D.C.," Leslee Unruh, leader of the South Dakota organization behind Initiated Measure 11, "Vote Yes on Life," told CNSNews.com. Unruh said that calling national attention to her state's third attempt in almost as many years to ban abortion might backfire on the pro-abortion groups.
"Grassroots always trumps money in South Dakota," Unruh said. "People in South Dakota don't like it if they think someone nationally is trying to tell them what to do."
"Vote Yes for Life" gathered almost 60,000 signatures - more than three times the 17,000 required for inclusion on the ballot - and 48,000 signatures were officially turned in to the state.
To read the entire story, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
abortion,
grass roots,
NARAL,
Planned Parenthood,
Roe v. Wade,
SD,
Supreme Court
Friday, August 15, 2008
Gay Congressman Spins Same-sex 'Marriage'
Rep. Barney Frank says states should decide their own marriage laws, but also wants the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) repealed, which would result in same-sex 'marriage' being forced on every state by one state's liberal laws.
-- From "Feds Shouldn’t Force States to Recognize Same-Sex Marriage, Frank Says" by Josiah Ryan, CNSNews Staff Writer 8/14/08
States that do not allow same-sex marriage should not be forced to legally recognize same-sex marriages contracted in California and Massachusetts where the practice is allowed, says Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who nonetheless supports repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was signed into law by President Clinton in 1996, defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman for purposes of all federal laws. It also prohibits states from being forced under the U.S. Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause to recognize homosexual marriages contracted in other states.
“Whether or not DOMA is repealed has no affect on [forcing states to recognize same-sex unions contracted in other states],” Frank said.
The language of clause itself, however, appears to envision a role for Congress. It says: "Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records, and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof."
The Democratic Party’s 2008 platform draft, which will be submitted to delegates at the Democratic National Convention for final approval in late August, explicitly opposes DOMA.
“We will enact a comprehensive bipartisan employment non-discrimination act,” the draft says. “We oppose the Defense of Marriage Act and all attempts to use this issue to divide us.”
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Feds Shouldn’t Force States to Recognize Same-Sex Marriage, Frank Says" by Josiah Ryan, CNSNews Staff Writer 8/14/08
States that do not allow same-sex marriage should not be forced to legally recognize same-sex marriages contracted in California and Massachusetts where the practice is allowed, says Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who nonetheless supports repeal of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was signed into law by President Clinton in 1996, defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman for purposes of all federal laws. It also prohibits states from being forced under the U.S. Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause to recognize homosexual marriages contracted in other states.
“Whether or not DOMA is repealed has no affect on [forcing states to recognize same-sex unions contracted in other states],” Frank said.
The language of clause itself, however, appears to envision a role for Congress. It says: "Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records, and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof."
The Democratic Party’s 2008 platform draft, which will be submitted to delegates at the Democratic National Convention for final approval in late August, explicitly opposes DOMA.
“We will enact a comprehensive bipartisan employment non-discrimination act,” the draft says. “We oppose the Defense of Marriage Act and all attempts to use this issue to divide us.”
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
Democrat,
DOMA,
gay agenda,
homosexuality,
Obama,
same-sex marriage
China Shuts Churches During Olympics
Pastors forced to sign agreements not to meet for 90 days
-- From "Churches ordered closed during Olympics" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/13/08
An organization founded by a man who escaped from China after being persecuted for his Christian faith says it has uncovered a secret Chinese government document demanding that churches shut their doors for 90 days around the Beijing Olympics.
"Should church members violate these rules they will be subject to the disciplinary actions of the Chinese government," said the report from China Aid Association, an organization dedicated to helping persecuted Christians.
China Aid said the document, drafted by Chinese government officials, specifies that the house churches in China "refrain from organizing and joining illegal gatherings and refrain from receiving donations, sermons and preaching from overseas religious organizations and groups that have a purpose."
The group asserted the discovery of the document "provides further evidence of the PRC's hypocrisy towards creating a 'harmonious society' marked by religious freedom and rule of law."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Churches ordered closed during Olympics" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/13/08
An organization founded by a man who escaped from China after being persecuted for his Christian faith says it has uncovered a secret Chinese government document demanding that churches shut their doors for 90 days around the Beijing Olympics.
"Should church members violate these rules they will be subject to the disciplinary actions of the Chinese government," said the report from China Aid Association, an organization dedicated to helping persecuted Christians.
China Aid said the document, drafted by Chinese government officials, specifies that the house churches in China "refrain from organizing and joining illegal gatherings and refrain from receiving donations, sermons and preaching from overseas religious organizations and groups that have a purpose."
The group asserted the discovery of the document "provides further evidence of the PRC's hypocrisy towards creating a 'harmonious society' marked by religious freedom and rule of law."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
China,
Christian,
communism,
freedom of religion,
human rights,
Olympics
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Mainstream Media Bias Apparent to Most Americans
-- From "Americans View Media Bias As Big Problem, Poll Shows" by Keriann Hopkins, Correspondent, CNSNews.com 8/13/08
A full 55 percent of likely American voters think that media bias is more of a problem than campaign contributions in the presidential race, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday.
This poll follows another Rasmussen poll conducted July 19 which revealed that 57 percent of likely voters think Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has received the best treatment from the media so far, while 21 percent or respondents think Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has received the best media treatment.
Additionally, 49 percent think reporters will try to help Obama win the presidential campaign, while 14 percent think reporters will help McCain.
Among the Republicans surveyed, 81 percent see media bias as a larger problem than campaign contributions, versus 41 percent of Democrats. More Democrats say that campaign cash is the bigger issue (50 percent).
For the conservatives surveyed, 74 percent see media bias as the bigger problem, versus 53 percent of liberals who see campaign contributions as a bigger problem.
More respondents identified as moderates saw media bias as a bigger problem than campaign cash, though with a narrower margin of 49 percent to 42 percent. For those not affiliated with either political party, 47 percent think media bias is the greater problem and 43 percent think campaign cash is more important.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
A full 55 percent of likely American voters think that media bias is more of a problem than campaign contributions in the presidential race, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday.
This poll follows another Rasmussen poll conducted July 19 which revealed that 57 percent of likely voters think Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has received the best treatment from the media so far, while 21 percent or respondents think Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has received the best media treatment.
Additionally, 49 percent think reporters will try to help Obama win the presidential campaign, while 14 percent think reporters will help McCain.
Among the Republicans surveyed, 81 percent see media bias as a larger problem than campaign contributions, versus 41 percent of Democrats. More Democrats say that campaign cash is the bigger issue (50 percent).
For the conservatives surveyed, 74 percent see media bias as the bigger problem, versus 53 percent of liberals who see campaign contributions as a bigger problem.
More respondents identified as moderates saw media bias as a bigger problem than campaign cash, though with a narrower margin of 49 percent to 42 percent. For those not affiliated with either political party, 47 percent think media bias is the greater problem and 43 percent think campaign cash is more important.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
freedom of speech,
McCain,
media bias,
Obama,
poll
47% of Americans Favor Bureaucrats Dictating Media Content
Most liberals prefer government control of information over free flow; Internet freedom threatened
-- From "Nearly half of Americans favor 'Fairness Doctrine'" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/14/08
Counter the propaganda. E-mail your congressman to support The Broadcaster Freedom Act (HR 2905) to permanently bury the 'Fairness Doctrine' - Illinois residents CLICK HERE.
Just under half of Americans believe the government should mandate that all radio and television stations offer equal amounts of "conservative" and "liberal" political commentary, according to a new Rasmussen poll.
Rasmussen noted Republicans have expressed alarm in recent months over congressional Democratic efforts to restore the so-called Fairness Doctrine. The law was abolished in 1987, during the Reagan administration, opening the door to development of a flourishing talk-radio market led by Rush Limbaugh.
The poll also touched on regulation of the Internet, revealing 31 percent believe websites should be forced to balance their commentary.
This week, Rasmussen noted, Robert McDowell, a Bush appointee to the Federal Communications Commission, suggested restoration of the Fairness Doctrine could lead to government regulation of content on the Internet.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Nearly half of Americans favor 'Fairness Doctrine'" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/14/08
Counter the propaganda. E-mail your congressman to support The Broadcaster Freedom Act (HR 2905) to permanently bury the 'Fairness Doctrine' - Illinois residents CLICK HERE.
Just under half of Americans believe the government should mandate that all radio and television stations offer equal amounts of "conservative" and "liberal" political commentary, according to a new Rasmussen poll.
Rasmussen noted Republicans have expressed alarm in recent months over congressional Democratic efforts to restore the so-called Fairness Doctrine. The law was abolished in 1987, during the Reagan administration, opening the door to development of a flourishing talk-radio market led by Rush Limbaugh.
The poll also touched on regulation of the Internet, revealing 31 percent believe websites should be forced to balance their commentary.
This week, Rasmussen noted, Robert McDowell, a Bush appointee to the Federal Communications Commission, suggested restoration of the Fairness Doctrine could lead to government regulation of content on the Internet.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
fairness doctrine,
freedom of speech,
internet,
poll,
talk radio
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
CA Judge: Univ. Discrimination Against Christians OK
Christian high school plans to appeal textbook disqualification decision to the Ninth Circuit Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary.
-- From "Murrieta Christian school loses case against UC" by Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 8/13/08
The University of California did not violate students' freedom of expression and religion when it rejected some classes at a Riverside-area Christian school from counting toward UC admission, a Los Angeles federal judge has ruled.
In a case that has attracted significant attention in religious and academic circles nationwide since it was filed in 2005, the judge upheld the university's decision to disqualify several classes offered by Calvary Chapel Christian School of Murrieta for being too narrow or not academically rigorous enough to fulfill UC's entrance requirements.
In a final ruling issued Friday, U.S. District Judge S. James Otero said UC demonstrated a rational basis for rejecting Calvary Christian's English, history, government and religion courses and did not display any "animus" toward the school or its Christian doctrines.
The decision will be appealed, said attorney Robert Tyler, who represents Calvary Christian, its student plaintiffs and a group of 4,000 Christian schools nationwide. Tyler said Tuesday that he was disappointed by Otero's ruling but was confident a higher court would find that UC violated the law by rejecting the classes for their religious content. The attorney also said the district judge had applied overly restrictive standards to the bias allegations.
"This case is about the future of private religious education and the right to be able to have your kids learn from a religious perspective," said Tyler, who is general counsel for a religious liberty law firm in Murrieta named Advocates for Faith and Freedom.
The case could influence admission practices at public colleges nationwide, said David Masci, a senior research fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life in Washington, D.C. "No one is questioning the right of Calvary Chapel to teach what they want to teach. But what the case says is that when you do that, there may be consequences," Masci said Tuesday.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Murrieta Christian school loses case against UC" by Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 8/13/08
The University of California did not violate students' freedom of expression and religion when it rejected some classes at a Riverside-area Christian school from counting toward UC admission, a Los Angeles federal judge has ruled.
In a case that has attracted significant attention in religious and academic circles nationwide since it was filed in 2005, the judge upheld the university's decision to disqualify several classes offered by Calvary Chapel Christian School of Murrieta for being too narrow or not academically rigorous enough to fulfill UC's entrance requirements.
In a final ruling issued Friday, U.S. District Judge S. James Otero said UC demonstrated a rational basis for rejecting Calvary Christian's English, history, government and religion courses and did not display any "animus" toward the school or its Christian doctrines.
The decision will be appealed, said attorney Robert Tyler, who represents Calvary Christian, its student plaintiffs and a group of 4,000 Christian schools nationwide. Tyler said Tuesday that he was disappointed by Otero's ruling but was confident a higher court would find that UC violated the law by rejecting the classes for their religious content. The attorney also said the district judge had applied overly restrictive standards to the bias allegations.
"This case is about the future of private religious education and the right to be able to have your kids learn from a religious perspective," said Tyler, who is general counsel for a religious liberty law firm in Murrieta named Advocates for Faith and Freedom.
The case could influence admission practices at public colleges nationwide, said David Masci, a senior research fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life in Washington, D.C. "No one is questioning the right of Calvary Chapel to teach what they want to teach. But what the case says is that when you do that, there may be consequences," Masci said Tuesday.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
9th circuit court,
CA,
college,
Court,
freedom of religion,
judge,
parochial schools,
textbook,
university
ACLU Loses as Fed. Judge Allows Ten Commandments in Display
"All law is legislated morality. The only question is whose morality. Because all morality is based on faith, there is no such thing as religious neutrality in law or morality."
-- From "Ten Commandments poster inside courtroom approved" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/11/08
A federal judge has rejected a demand from the American Civil Liberties Union that she censor a document posted in an Ohio courtroom titled "Philosophies of Law in Conflict" because the Ten Commandments are included.
The conflict began when the ACLU sued [Judge James] DeWeese for posting a copy of the Decalogue in his courtroom, resulting in a judge ordering that the document could not be posted by itself.
Subsequently, DeWeese posted the "Philosophies of Law in Conflict," a document that includes the Ten Commandments along with a list of "humanist precepts" and a commentary by the judge about the two conflicting philosophies.
The humanist precepts include: The universe is self-existent and was not created. Man is the product of a cosmic accident, and there is nothing higher than man, Ethics depend on the person and the situation. There is no absolute truth. The meaning of law evolves.
In response, the ACLU requested that DeWeese be held in contempt for posting the Ten Commandments. However, the judge who originally ordered the first Ten Commandments display removed said the current display was perfectly legal.
"The court can find no principled basis upon which to find that, or even fully consider whether, the new display is constitutionally impermissible," wrote U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen O'Malley in her opinion.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
To view photo of the court display, CLICK HERE for .PDF
-- From "Ten Commandments poster inside courtroom approved" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/11/08
A federal judge has rejected a demand from the American Civil Liberties Union that she censor a document posted in an Ohio courtroom titled "Philosophies of Law in Conflict" because the Ten Commandments are included.
The conflict began when the ACLU sued [Judge James] DeWeese for posting a copy of the Decalogue in his courtroom, resulting in a judge ordering that the document could not be posted by itself.
Subsequently, DeWeese posted the "Philosophies of Law in Conflict," a document that includes the Ten Commandments along with a list of "humanist precepts" and a commentary by the judge about the two conflicting philosophies.
The humanist precepts include: The universe is self-existent and was not created. Man is the product of a cosmic accident, and there is nothing higher than man, Ethics depend on the person and the situation. There is no absolute truth. The meaning of law evolves.
In response, the ACLU requested that DeWeese be held in contempt for posting the Ten Commandments. However, the judge who originally ordered the first Ten Commandments display removed said the current display was perfectly legal.
"The court can find no principled basis upon which to find that, or even fully consider whether, the new display is constitutionally impermissible," wrote U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen O'Malley in her opinion.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
To view photo of the court display, CLICK HERE for .PDF
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Academics' Stifling Free Speech Ruled Unconstitutional
A "speech code" that the mainstream media term a "sexual harassment policy" was deemed a prohibition of freedom of speech to counter the university establishment and preach the Gospel.
-- From the secular press "Temple's harassment policy overturned" by Juliette Mullin, The Daily Pennsylvanian 8/7/08
In an opinion authored by Judge D. Brooks Smith on Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled in favor of Temple University student Christian DeJohn in DeJohn v. Temple University. The ruling upheld a previous decision stating that Temple's former sexual harassment policy was unconstitutional.
Temple's original code prohibited, among other things, "generalized sexist remarks and behavior."
According to a university statement, which expressed disappointment at Monday's court ruling, "the former policy, adopted in 1990, tracked the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's definition of sexual harassment."
In February 2006, DeJohn filed suit against Temple, arguing that Temple had violated his first amendment rights when denying him his masters degree due to his politics. This allegation was thrown out by U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell in March 2007.
In the suit, DeJohn also claimed that the harassment policy was violating the first amendment rights of all Temple students.
Dalzell upheld DeJohn's objections to the policy in his ruling and prohibited Temple from reinstating the policy, which the university had replaced in Jan. 2007.
-- From "University's 'Speech Code' ruled unconstitutional" by Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 8/10/2008
Christian DeJohn was a masters degree student at Temple who had some philosophical disagreements with some of his professors. But he knew that if he spoke out, in class or in public, he could be punished by the administration.
Attorney David Hacker, is with the Alliance Defense Fund. He says DeJohn knew about Temple's 'Speech Code,' which, he says, "is a harassment policy that is so vaguely worded and so broad in its language that, really, university administrators were able to punish any sort of speech that they deemed offensive. And Mr. DeJohn was troubled by that [and] felt he couldn't really express his opinions in class and with his friends. And so he felt it was really important to challenge this policy and get it overturned."
. . . he says similar policies are still in force at about three-quarters of the nation's public universities.
-- From the secular press "Temple's harassment policy overturned" by Juliette Mullin, The Daily Pennsylvanian 8/7/08
In an opinion authored by Judge D. Brooks Smith on Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled in favor of Temple University student Christian DeJohn in DeJohn v. Temple University. The ruling upheld a previous decision stating that Temple's former sexual harassment policy was unconstitutional.
Temple's original code prohibited, among other things, "generalized sexist remarks and behavior."
According to a university statement, which expressed disappointment at Monday's court ruling, "the former policy, adopted in 1990, tracked the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's definition of sexual harassment."
In February 2006, DeJohn filed suit against Temple, arguing that Temple had violated his first amendment rights when denying him his masters degree due to his politics. This allegation was thrown out by U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell in March 2007.
In the suit, DeJohn also claimed that the harassment policy was violating the first amendment rights of all Temple students.
Dalzell upheld DeJohn's objections to the policy in his ruling and prohibited Temple from reinstating the policy, which the university had replaced in Jan. 2007.
-- From "University's 'Speech Code' ruled unconstitutional" by Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 8/10/2008
Christian DeJohn was a masters degree student at Temple who had some philosophical disagreements with some of his professors. But he knew that if he spoke out, in class or in public, he could be punished by the administration.
Attorney David Hacker, is with the Alliance Defense Fund. He says DeJohn knew about Temple's 'Speech Code,' which, he says, "is a harassment policy that is so vaguely worded and so broad in its language that, really, university administrators were able to punish any sort of speech that they deemed offensive. And Mr. DeJohn was troubled by that [and] felt he couldn't really express his opinions in class and with his friends. And so he felt it was really important to challenge this policy and get it overturned."
. . . he says similar policies are still in force at about three-quarters of the nation's public universities.
Labels:
academia,
ADF,
Court,
freedom of speech,
judge,
sexual harassment,
university
Christian Clubs OK in Virginia Schools
A federal judge has found unconstitutional a Virginia school district's policies that discriminated against the Child Evangelism Fellowship's Good News Clubs because of their religious nature.
-- From "Good News Clubs welcome in VA school district" by Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 8/12/2008
The Williamsburg-James City, Virginia, School District argued it was required to charge the Good News Clubs rent for after-school meetings . . .
Yesterday (August 11) U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson of Newport News . . . ordered the school to stop charging Good News Clubs for facilities that are made available to secular groups for free.
The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that schools may not discriminate against religion-based extra-curricular clubs when student groups expressing non-religious viewpoints are allowed to operate on campus. Good News Clubs, according to a Liberty Counsel press release, teach children "respect, good citizenship, moral values, and character development from a biblical perspective."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Good News Clubs welcome in VA school district" by Jeff Johnson - OneNewsNow - 8/12/2008
The Williamsburg-James City, Virginia, School District argued it was required to charge the Good News Clubs rent for after-school meetings . . .
Yesterday (August 11) U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson of Newport News . . . ordered the school to stop charging Good News Clubs for facilities that are made available to secular groups for free.
The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that schools may not discriminate against religion-based extra-curricular clubs when student groups expressing non-religious viewpoints are allowed to operate on campus. Good News Clubs, according to a Liberty Counsel press release, teach children "respect, good citizenship, moral values, and character development from a biblical perspective."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Federal Court Upholds Religious Liberty
Granite City, Ill. Ordinance Restricting Distribution of Pro-Life Handbills Found Unconstitutional
-- From "U.S. Court of Appeals Upholds First-Amendment Right to Distribute Religious Materials" posted at Christian Newswire 8/8/08
On Thursday, August 7, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago handed down a decision upholding a federal trial court ruling that an ordinance in Granite City, Ill., regulating the manner in which individuals could distribute religious and other types of handbills was unconstitutional.
By 2-1 vote, the three-judge panel upheld an earlier decision by Federal District Judge Michael Reagan, sitting in East St. Louis. Reagan had ruled that the city violated the First Amendment when it prosecuted Donald Horina, a retired teacher and "born-again" Christian from St. Charles, Mo., for distributing pro-life literature and Gospel tracts near the Hope Clinic for Women, an outpatient surgical treatment center that provides abortions, and in other locations in Granite City.
In July 2003, Horina had placed his literature on windshields of cars parked near Hope Clinic, and was cited for violating the city ordinance prohibiting the "indiscriminate" distribution of "cards, circulars, handbills, samples of merchandise or any advertising matter whatsoever on any public street or sidewalk."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "U.S. Court of Appeals Upholds First-Amendment Right to Distribute Religious Materials" posted at Christian Newswire 8/8/08
On Thursday, August 7, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago handed down a decision upholding a federal trial court ruling that an ordinance in Granite City, Ill., regulating the manner in which individuals could distribute religious and other types of handbills was unconstitutional.
By 2-1 vote, the three-judge panel upheld an earlier decision by Federal District Judge Michael Reagan, sitting in East St. Louis. Reagan had ruled that the city violated the First Amendment when it prosecuted Donald Horina, a retired teacher and "born-again" Christian from St. Charles, Mo., for distributing pro-life literature and Gospel tracts near the Hope Clinic for Women, an outpatient surgical treatment center that provides abortions, and in other locations in Granite City.
In July 2003, Horina had placed his literature on windshields of cars parked near Hope Clinic, and was cited for violating the city ordinance prohibiting the "indiscriminate" distribution of "cards, circulars, handbills, samples of merchandise or any advertising matter whatsoever on any public street or sidewalk."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
CA Court Preserves Right of Parents to Homeschool
Gov. Schwarzenegger praises the reversal by the 2nd District Court of Appeal as a victory for students and parental rights.
-- From "Parents may home-school children without teaching credential, California court says" by Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 8/9/08
Parents may legally home-school their children in California even if they lack a teaching credential, a state appellate court ruled Friday. The decision is a reversal of the court's earlier position, which effectively prohibited most home schooling and sparked fear throughout the state's estimated 166,000 home-schoolers.
[Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said,] "I hope the ruling settles this matter for parents and home-schooled children once and for all in California, but assure them that we, as elected officials, will continue to defend parents' rights."
In February, the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled in a child protection hearing that parents must have a teaching credential to home-school their children. The decision caused a nationwide uproar among home-schoolers, religious activists and others, and the court agreed to reconsider its decision, a move described as unusual but not unprecedented.
The issue arose in part because California's laws do not specifically address home schooling, unlike those of at least 30 other states.
Friday's ruling essentially upheld the position of the state Department of Education and state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, who have traditionally allowed home schooling as long as parents file paperwork with the state establishing themselves as private schools, hire credentialed tutors or enroll their children in independent study programs run by charter or private schools or public school districts.
"As head of California's public school system, it would be my wish that all children attend public school, but I understand that a traditional public school environment may not be the right setting for each and every child," he said. "I recognize and understand the consternation that the earlier court ruling caused for many parents and associations involved in home schooling. It is my hope that today's ruling will allay many of those fears and resolve much of the confusion."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Want to know the public school teacher's opinion? CLICK HERE.
-- From "Parents may home-school children without teaching credential, California court says" by Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 8/9/08
Parents may legally home-school their children in California even if they lack a teaching credential, a state appellate court ruled Friday. The decision is a reversal of the court's earlier position, which effectively prohibited most home schooling and sparked fear throughout the state's estimated 166,000 home-schoolers.
[Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said,] "I hope the ruling settles this matter for parents and home-schooled children once and for all in California, but assure them that we, as elected officials, will continue to defend parents' rights."
In February, the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled in a child protection hearing that parents must have a teaching credential to home-school their children. The decision caused a nationwide uproar among home-schoolers, religious activists and others, and the court agreed to reconsider its decision, a move described as unusual but not unprecedented.
The issue arose in part because California's laws do not specifically address home schooling, unlike those of at least 30 other states.
Friday's ruling essentially upheld the position of the state Department of Education and state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, who have traditionally allowed home schooling as long as parents file paperwork with the state establishing themselves as private schools, hire credentialed tutors or enroll their children in independent study programs run by charter or private schools or public school districts.
"As head of California's public school system, it would be my wish that all children attend public school, but I understand that a traditional public school environment may not be the right setting for each and every child," he said. "I recognize and understand the consternation that the earlier court ruling caused for many parents and associations involved in home schooling. It is my hope that today's ruling will allay many of those fears and resolve much of the confusion."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Want to know the public school teacher's opinion? CLICK HERE.
Labels:
CA,
children,
Court,
homeschooling,
parental rights,
public schools,
Schwarzenegger
Friday, August 08, 2008
CA Legislature Mandates Schools to Celebrate Homosexuality
“[This bill] will mean an official day commemorating homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality in California government schools.”
-- From "California Legislature Approves Gay Day in Public Schools" Campaign for Children And Families 8/7/08
Sacramento, California – Campaign for Children and Families (CCF), a leading California organization protecting parents’ rights and children’s innocence, condemns the passage of AB 2567, which will instruct all California public schools to “conduct suitable commemorative exercises” in support of the anti-religious, sexual-anarchy agenda of the late San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk.
Today, the California Assembly passed AB 2567 on a 43 to 26 vote, Democrats for, Republicans silently against. Earlier this week, AB 2567 passed the California State Senate on a 22-13 vote, Democrats for, Republicans against. AB 2567 now goes to Governor Schwarzenegger, whose position is unknown.
. . . said CCF President Randy Thomasson. “This will harm children as young as children as young as kindergarten. Every May 22, AB 2567 will positively portray to children homosexual experimentation, homosexual ‘marriages,’ sex-change operations, and anything else that’s ‘in the closet.’ Governor Schwarzenegger should say no to this very inappropriate bill, which has nothing to do with academic excellence.”
AB 2567 comes on the heels of last year’s school sexual indoctrination laws. When fully implemented, SB 777 and AB 394 will teach children in California government schools to support homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality via instructional materials, programs and activities, and school “safety” guidelines. In addition, the California State School Board this year implemented SB 71, requiring public schools that provide sex education to promote unmarried sexual activity with no restraints other than mutual consent.
CLICK HERE to read how children will be forced to commemorate the anti-religious, sexual-anarchy agenda of the late San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk.
So, what does a homosexual-celebrating California culture look like? Read the following article that photographically documents the public sex fests, sanctioned by the City of San Francisco.
-- From "California Legislature Approves Gay Day in Public Schools" Campaign for Children And Families 8/7/08
Sacramento, California – Campaign for Children and Families (CCF), a leading California organization protecting parents’ rights and children’s innocence, condemns the passage of AB 2567, which will instruct all California public schools to “conduct suitable commemorative exercises” in support of the anti-religious, sexual-anarchy agenda of the late San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk.
Today, the California Assembly passed AB 2567 on a 43 to 26 vote, Democrats for, Republicans silently against. Earlier this week, AB 2567 passed the California State Senate on a 22-13 vote, Democrats for, Republicans against. AB 2567 now goes to Governor Schwarzenegger, whose position is unknown.
. . . said CCF President Randy Thomasson. “This will harm children as young as children as young as kindergarten. Every May 22, AB 2567 will positively portray to children homosexual experimentation, homosexual ‘marriages,’ sex-change operations, and anything else that’s ‘in the closet.’ Governor Schwarzenegger should say no to this very inappropriate bill, which has nothing to do with academic excellence.”
AB 2567 comes on the heels of last year’s school sexual indoctrination laws. When fully implemented, SB 777 and AB 394 will teach children in California government schools to support homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality via instructional materials, programs and activities, and school “safety” guidelines. In addition, the California State School Board this year implemented SB 71, requiring public schools that provide sex education to promote unmarried sexual activity with no restraints other than mutual consent.
CLICK HERE to read how children will be forced to commemorate the anti-religious, sexual-anarchy agenda of the late San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk.
So, what does a homosexual-celebrating California culture look like? Read the following article that photographically documents the public sex fests, sanctioned by the City of San Francisco.
Labels:
CA,
children,
gay agenda,
homosexuality,
indoctrination,
public schools,
San Francisco
San Fran. Police Observe Sanctioned Public Sex Fest
Photographs document the homosexual event called "Up Your Alley," by those who organized the infamous "Folsom Street Fair"
-- From "San Francisco fest features public sex with no arrests" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/7/08
Nude men engaged in multiple instances of public sex on a municipal street while police officers, on foot and bicycle, congregated nearby making no attempt to enforce public indecency regulations, according to a report on the latest homosexual-fest in San Francisco [by Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth.]
Americans for Truth previously worked to raise the nation's awareness of the Folsom Street Fair, which last fall broke into the headlines with its promotional image mocking the Last Supper scene of Jesus Christ and his disciples, replacing the biblical leaders with leather-adorned men and the bread and wine with sex toys.
LaBarbera, who had to edit photos to conceal full nudity in images from the public street festival before he could post them as part of his report, said there were exhibitionists who "walked around baring their genitals, with no fear of being arrested." Other websites, to which WND is unable to link because of their graphic content, published fully explicit photographs of various public acts of sex and nudity. They featured explicit photographs of oral and anal sex between men and men urinating on each other, among other activities.
"These photos do not fit in with the slick, national 'gay' marketing plan, to be sure," LaBarbera wrote. "Nevertheless, the pathetic and debased spectacle is as much an offspring of the 'GLBT' movement as the current quest for homosexual 'marriage.' The latter radically redefines and corrupts an ancient institution created by God to order relations between man and woman as the basis for family life. Perverse events like 'Up Your Alley' … mock any notion of right and wrong – as the reckless pursuit of anything-goes 'tolerance' leads governmental authorities to enable and promote evil, turning freedom into sexual anarchy while causing a breakdown in law and order."
"One San Francisco policeman told our volunteers that the police were instructed not to make arrests for indecency on the city streets at "Up Your Alley" – but merely to 'contain' the activity to the street fair, which encompassed several city blocks," Americans for Truth reported.
"San Francisco's extreme political correctness has turned cops into impotent Perversion Protectors," the group said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Planned Parenthood Teaches Kids: Abstinence = Masturbation
The latest assault on children is a new website from Planned Parenthood called TakeCareDownThere.org
UPDATE 12/16/11: Planned Parenthood Lures Teen clients via Texting
-- From the Family Research Council 7/31/08
WARNING: This item contains shocking and graphic content funded by your tax dollars.
Given the recent allegations against Planned Parenthood, one would think the organization would play it safe over the next few months and try to exercise some restraint. But the plan to stay under the media's radar is failing dismally in Oregon and Washington, where the local affiliate is making a full-scale assault on the morality of the states' young people.
On its new website, TakeCareDownThere.org, the group posts a series of videos so revolting that members of my staff were visibly shaken. In one clip, a girl tells her friends that she's staying home from a party to masturbate. When her pals look shocked, she says, "What? I like me. I like spending time with me. Tonight I think I'm going to go all the way with me." On another video, a "teacher" interrupts a boy performing oral sex on another boy and asks them where their condoms are. Others include videos called "Threesome" and "Let me do me," and a song about genitalia that reaches a level of vulgarity that would give even crude networks like MTV pause.
This site is nothing more than an online playground for the prurient. The screen promises "the ins and outs about the ins and outs," but the material is highly inappropriate for adults, let alone young children. Sadly, most parents are unaware that garbage like this is targeting their kids, and even fewer realize that they're paying for it! The website is a project of Planned Parenthood of Columbia Willamette, a Title X grantee. This is exactly why FRC has prodded President Bush to change the government's Title X regulations. Each year, Planned Parenthood pockets more than $300 million of your tax dollars. One way to de-fund the group responsible for obscene material like this is to end the meshing of Title X "family planning" funds with abortion mills.
CLICK HERE, IL residents, to E-mail your congressman: de-fund Planned Parenthood
This latest website, as well as its long-standing TeenWire.com, demonstrate that Planned Parenthood (and the public school establishment) believe that children can only be reached via crude, gutter language and pornographic images.
UPDATE 12/16/11: Planned Parenthood Lures Teen clients via Texting
-- From the Family Research Council 7/31/08
WARNING: This item contains shocking and graphic content funded by your tax dollars.
Given the recent allegations against Planned Parenthood, one would think the organization would play it safe over the next few months and try to exercise some restraint. But the plan to stay under the media's radar is failing dismally in Oregon and Washington, where the local affiliate is making a full-scale assault on the morality of the states' young people.
On its new website, TakeCareDownThere.org, the group posts a series of videos so revolting that members of my staff were visibly shaken. In one clip, a girl tells her friends that she's staying home from a party to masturbate. When her pals look shocked, she says, "What? I like me. I like spending time with me. Tonight I think I'm going to go all the way with me." On another video, a "teacher" interrupts a boy performing oral sex on another boy and asks them where their condoms are. Others include videos called "Threesome" and "Let me do me," and a song about genitalia that reaches a level of vulgarity that would give even crude networks like MTV pause.
This site is nothing more than an online playground for the prurient. The screen promises "the ins and outs about the ins and outs," but the material is highly inappropriate for adults, let alone young children. Sadly, most parents are unaware that garbage like this is targeting their kids, and even fewer realize that they're paying for it! The website is a project of Planned Parenthood of Columbia Willamette, a Title X grantee. This is exactly why FRC has prodded President Bush to change the government's Title X regulations. Each year, Planned Parenthood pockets more than $300 million of your tax dollars. One way to de-fund the group responsible for obscene material like this is to end the meshing of Title X "family planning" funds with abortion mills.
CLICK HERE, IL residents, to E-mail your congressman: de-fund Planned Parenthood
This latest website, as well as its long-standing TeenWire.com, demonstrate that Planned Parenthood (and the public school establishment) believe that children can only be reached via crude, gutter language and pornographic images.
Labels:
abortion,
abstinence,
AIDS,
children,
masturbation,
Planned Parenthood,
STD,
taxpayer funding
FL Univ. Ordered to Recognize Christian Fraternity
"All we're trying to do is get a group of guys who share a common bond in Jesus Christ together."
-- From "Appeals court: UF must recognize Christian-only frat" by Nathan Crabbe, Gainesville Sun staff writer 8/1/08
The University of Florida has more than 60 officially recognized student groups that include religion as part of their missions, including groups for Christian pharmacy students and Jewish law students.
Yet the university denied a Christian fraternity, Beta Upsilon Chi, recognition on the grounds its membership policies were discriminatory.
University officials say there's a major distinction between Beta Upsilon Chi, or BYX, and other religious groups on campus. BYX requires members to be Christians, while other student groups are open to non-believers.
The U.S. Constitution requires universities to recognize religious groups, said Isaac Fong, an attorney for the Christian Legal Society's Center for Law & Religious Freedom who represented BYX.
As a recognized student organization, the group can use UF facilities and receive funding from student government. BYX's lawsuit claims that the university, by withholding those privileges from the frat, violated Constitutional rights to free exercise of religion, freedom of association and freedom of speech.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Appeals court: UF must recognize Christian-only frat" by Nathan Crabbe, Gainesville Sun staff writer 8/1/08
The University of Florida has more than 60 officially recognized student groups that include religion as part of their missions, including groups for Christian pharmacy students and Jewish law students.
Yet the university denied a Christian fraternity, Beta Upsilon Chi, recognition on the grounds its membership policies were discriminatory.
University officials say there's a major distinction between Beta Upsilon Chi, or BYX, and other religious groups on campus. BYX requires members to be Christians, while other student groups are open to non-believers.
The U.S. Constitution requires universities to recognize religious groups, said Isaac Fong, an attorney for the Christian Legal Society's Center for Law & Religious Freedom who represented BYX.
As a recognized student organization, the group can use UF facilities and receive funding from student government. BYX's lawsuit claims that the university, by withholding those privileges from the frat, violated Constitutional rights to free exercise of religion, freedom of association and freedom of speech.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
FL,
freedom of association,
freedom of religion,
university
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
CA, FL, & AZ Christians Ready for Marriage Amendment Vote
Pastors and other citizens across denominational lines are organizing to fight for traditional marriage.
-- From "3 states gear up for homosexual marriage fight" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/5/08
Through a series of scheduled "webinars" and conference calls held at churches throughout the three battleground states, religious leaders from a diversity of churches – Hispanic, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Baptist, Presbyterian, Coptic, Orthodox, Catholic and more – are getting together to strategize on mobilizing the Church to oppose the spread of homosexual marriage.
Concerned Women for America recorded over 2,000 pastors registered for the first conference call on July 30, with five more dates scheduled on Aug. 27, Sept. 24, Oct. 8, Oct. 22 and Nov. 6. Currently 9 churches in Arizona, 25 in Florida and 168 in California are signed up as gathering places to join in the next conference call.
. . . Michael Mears, director of state legislative relations for CWA, in a press release: "I often wonder if our Christian leaders really understand the impact on their own churches if we fail."
Penny Harrington, director of legislation for CWA in California stated in a press release, "Proposition 8 is presently the most crucial battle of the culture war here. It is the responsibility of every pro-family individual in this state to understand and share the importance of protecting marriage by supporting Proposition 8 this November."
Additional information on the pastors' conference calls and locations available to participate in each of the three states can be found at the Pastor's Rapid Response Team website.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "3 states gear up for homosexual marriage fight" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/5/08
Through a series of scheduled "webinars" and conference calls held at churches throughout the three battleground states, religious leaders from a diversity of churches – Hispanic, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Baptist, Presbyterian, Coptic, Orthodox, Catholic and more – are getting together to strategize on mobilizing the Church to oppose the spread of homosexual marriage.
Concerned Women for America recorded over 2,000 pastors registered for the first conference call on July 30, with five more dates scheduled on Aug. 27, Sept. 24, Oct. 8, Oct. 22 and Nov. 6. Currently 9 churches in Arizona, 25 in Florida and 168 in California are signed up as gathering places to join in the next conference call.
. . . Michael Mears, director of state legislative relations for CWA, in a press release: "I often wonder if our Christian leaders really understand the impact on their own churches if we fail."
Penny Harrington, director of legislation for CWA in California stated in a press release, "Proposition 8 is presently the most crucial battle of the culture war here. It is the responsibility of every pro-family individual in this state to understand and share the importance of protecting marriage by supporting Proposition 8 this November."
Additional information on the pastors' conference calls and locations available to participate in each of the three states can be found at the Pastor's Rapid Response Team website.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
AZ,
CA,
FL,
gay agenda,
homosexuality,
marriage amendment,
same-sex marriage
Saudi Arabia Deports Christians for Home Worship
Two weeks after King Abdullah calls for reconciliation between Muslims and Christians
-- From "Saudi Arabia to Deport 15 Christians" International Christian Concern 8/4/2008
Saudi Arabia is deporting 15 Christians on Tuesday, August 5, for holding private worship meetings in a house in the city of Taif.
On Friday, April 25, twelve Saudi Arabian police raided a house where 16 Christians were holding a prayer meeting. The first officer to enter the house after breaking down the main gate pointed a pistol at the Christians and ordered them to hand over their resident permits and mobile phones. The other 11 police followed quickly and started searching the entire house. They confiscated an electronic drum set, an offering box with 500 Saudi Riyal in it ($130), 20 bibles, and a few Christian books.
The police initially accused the Christians of preaching the Bible and singing. They later changed the charge to holding a "dance party" and collecting money to support terrorism.
During the raid, the police mocked, questioned and harassed the Christians for four hours. Then they took them to a police station where the head of the station interrogated them. The head of the police then wrote down their "statements" in Arabic and forced the Christians, who are immigrants and not able to read or write Arabic, to sign the statements.
To read the entire aricle, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Saudi Arabia to Deport 15 Christians" International Christian Concern 8/4/2008
Saudi Arabia is deporting 15 Christians on Tuesday, August 5, for holding private worship meetings in a house in the city of Taif.
On Friday, April 25, twelve Saudi Arabian police raided a house where 16 Christians were holding a prayer meeting. The first officer to enter the house after breaking down the main gate pointed a pistol at the Christians and ordered them to hand over their resident permits and mobile phones. The other 11 police followed quickly and started searching the entire house. They confiscated an electronic drum set, an offering box with 500 Saudi Riyal in it ($130), 20 bibles, and a few Christian books.
The police initially accused the Christians of preaching the Bible and singing. They later changed the charge to holding a "dance party" and collecting money to support terrorism.
During the raid, the police mocked, questioned and harassed the Christians for four hours. Then they took them to a police station where the head of the station interrogated them. The head of the police then wrote down their "statements" in Arabic and forced the Christians, who are immigrants and not able to read or write Arabic, to sign the statements.
To read the entire aricle, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
Christian,
freedom of religion,
islam,
persecution,
Saudi Arabia
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Corporate Prayer for America in D.C.
Organizers of a Christian prayer ministry are expecting over a million people will fill the National Mall in Washington, D.C, on Aug. 16 for a 12-hour assembly of fasting and prayer for the country.
-- From "1 million plan to bring prayer to Washington" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/2/08
The group is called TheCall, and according to their website, volunteers are working hard to gather people from every state in the country to fill the massive park between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol on one day to fervently ask God for his undeserved mercy on the nation.
Originally inspired by the 1997 Promise Keepers "Stand in the Gap" assembly at the same location, TheCall held its first D.C. prayer rally on Sept. 2, 2000, counting over 400,000 attendees. Since then, the group has held rallies in several cities in the U.S., including a rally of 70,000 in Nashville and 85,000 in New York City, according to the group's website. The group has also held prayer gatherings oversees, but told television broadcaster GOD TV this year's TheCall DC will surpass all previous gatherings in size.
According to the group's website, their "divinely initiated, multi-racial, multi-generational, and cross-denominational" gatherings are not festivals or conferences, but solemn assemblies of worship and prayer. The site makes it clear in several places that though the event will be attended and led by well-known Christian leaders and artists, the group refuses to publicize any personalities.
For the two days prior to the prayer gathering, however, the group does host a pastors and leaders conference that will feature speakers Ron Luce, Tony Perkins, Mike Huckabee, TheCall founder Lou Engle, and Promise Keepers founder Bill McCartney.
The focus of TheCall's prayer gatherings is repentance and change, praying corporately for spiritual renewal, both in the church and in the society at large.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "1 million plan to bring prayer to Washington" © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/2/08
The group is called TheCall, and according to their website, volunteers are working hard to gather people from every state in the country to fill the massive park between the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol on one day to fervently ask God for his undeserved mercy on the nation.
Originally inspired by the 1997 Promise Keepers "Stand in the Gap" assembly at the same location, TheCall held its first D.C. prayer rally on Sept. 2, 2000, counting over 400,000 attendees. Since then, the group has held rallies in several cities in the U.S., including a rally of 70,000 in Nashville and 85,000 in New York City, according to the group's website. The group has also held prayer gatherings oversees, but told television broadcaster GOD TV this year's TheCall DC will surpass all previous gatherings in size.
According to the group's website, their "divinely initiated, multi-racial, multi-generational, and cross-denominational" gatherings are not festivals or conferences, but solemn assemblies of worship and prayer. The site makes it clear in several places that though the event will be attended and led by well-known Christian leaders and artists, the group refuses to publicize any personalities.
For the two days prior to the prayer gathering, however, the group does host a pastors and leaders conference that will feature speakers Ron Luce, Tony Perkins, Mike Huckabee, TheCall founder Lou Engle, and Promise Keepers founder Bill McCartney.
The focus of TheCall's prayer gatherings is repentance and change, praying corporately for spiritual renewal, both in the church and in the society at large.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
U.N. Grants Status to Homosexual-Rights Groups
Opponents fear loss of sovereignty, ties to pedophilia advocates
-- From "U.N. grants status to homosexual-rights groups" by Matt Sanchez © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/2/08
The U.N. recently accorded two homosexual-rights groups "consultative status," raising opposition from pro-family advocates who see the move as a weakening of national sovereignty that could result in lowering the age of consent for homosexual sex.
U.N. watchdogs also cite homosexual-rights groups' historical alignment with organizations advocating pedophilia.
The U.N.'s Economic and Social Council, the organ facilitating international cooperation on standards-making and problem-solving in economic and social issues, has accepted COC Netherlands and the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transexuals and Bisexuals of Spain.
But members of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute accuse homosexual groups of attempting to weaken sovereignty and impose "gay rights" through a "well-coordinated" international stealth campaign tainted by associations with pro-pedophilia groups.
. . . it's clear that none of the pedophile groups consider sex with a minor "abuse." On the NAMBLA [North American Man-Boy Love Association] website, the association calls itself a "voice testifying to the benevolent aspects of man/boy love."
. . . In Canada, Israel, the UK and Australia, homosexual activists consistently have pushed for lowering age of consent laws, to align the homosexual age for consensual sex with that of heterosexuals.
International advocacy coupled with local activism could pressure governments to lower the age.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "U.N. grants status to homosexual-rights groups" by Matt Sanchez © 2008 WorldNetDaily 8/2/08
The U.N. recently accorded two homosexual-rights groups "consultative status," raising opposition from pro-family advocates who see the move as a weakening of national sovereignty that could result in lowering the age of consent for homosexual sex.
U.N. watchdogs also cite homosexual-rights groups' historical alignment with organizations advocating pedophilia.
The U.N.'s Economic and Social Council, the organ facilitating international cooperation on standards-making and problem-solving in economic and social issues, has accepted COC Netherlands and the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transexuals and Bisexuals of Spain.
But members of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute accuse homosexual groups of attempting to weaken sovereignty and impose "gay rights" through a "well-coordinated" international stealth campaign tainted by associations with pro-pedophilia groups.
. . . it's clear that none of the pedophile groups consider sex with a minor "abuse." On the NAMBLA [North American Man-Boy Love Association] website, the association calls itself a "voice testifying to the benevolent aspects of man/boy love."
. . . In Canada, Israel, the UK and Australia, homosexual activists consistently have pushed for lowering age of consent laws, to align the homosexual age for consensual sex with that of heterosexuals.
International advocacy coupled with local activism could pressure governments to lower the age.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
Age of Consent,
gay agenda,
homosexuality,
NAMBLA,
pederasty,
pedophilia,
U.N.
Michigan Christians Challenge 'Special Rights' for Homosexuals
“Radical homosexual activists have taken over city councils . . . all across the nation [enacting ordinances that] end up being used to bully and prosecute Christians who faithfully practice their religion.”
-- From "No 'Special Rights' for Homosexuals, Transgenders" by Susan Jones, Senior Editor CNSNews.com 8/1/08
A conservative legal group has joined the fight to overturn a Hamtramck, Mich., ordinance that gives "special rights" to homosexuals and transgender individuals.
The Thomas More Law Center said it will act as legal counsel for a coalition of citizens, businesses, and religious groups that are challenging the ordinance, which makes it legal for men who identify as women to use women's bathrooms in any school, business or public facility.
The ordinance provides that no person be discriminated against because of “actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, height, weight, condition of pregnancy, martial status, physical or mental limitation, source of income, family responsibilities or status, educational association, sexual orientation, gender identify, gender expression or handicap.”
At a rally and press conference held in front of the Hamtramck City Hall on Tuesday, July 29, a citizens’ group announced they'd gathered over a thousand signatures -- more than twice the amount needed to place an initiative on the November ballot to overturn the ordinance.
Councilwoman Katrina Stakpoole, who supports the ordinance, called the citizens’ gathering a “hate rally,” the Law Center said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "No 'Special Rights' for Homosexuals, Transgenders" by Susan Jones, Senior Editor CNSNews.com 8/1/08
A conservative legal group has joined the fight to overturn a Hamtramck, Mich., ordinance that gives "special rights" to homosexuals and transgender individuals.
The Thomas More Law Center said it will act as legal counsel for a coalition of citizens, businesses, and religious groups that are challenging the ordinance, which makes it legal for men who identify as women to use women's bathrooms in any school, business or public facility.
The ordinance provides that no person be discriminated against because of “actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, height, weight, condition of pregnancy, martial status, physical or mental limitation, source of income, family responsibilities or status, educational association, sexual orientation, gender identify, gender expression or handicap.”
At a rally and press conference held in front of the Hamtramck City Hall on Tuesday, July 29, a citizens’ group announced they'd gathered over a thousand signatures -- more than twice the amount needed to place an initiative on the November ballot to overturn the ordinance.
Councilwoman Katrina Stakpoole, who supports the ordinance, called the citizens’ gathering a “hate rally,” the Law Center said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Labels:
Christian citizenship,
city council,
gay agenda,
gay rights,
homosexuality,
MI,
Thomas More
Friday, August 01, 2008
Non-liberal Bishops Boycott Anglican Conference
“Even the Pope is elected by his peers. But what Anglicans have is a man appointed by a secular government. Over the past five years, we have come to see this as a remnant of British colonialism, and it is not serving us well.”
-- From "Rowan Williams betrayed churches over gay bishop, says African leader" by Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent, The Times (London) 8/1/08
A leading conservative cleric has launched a devastating attack on the Archbishop of Canterbury, accusing him of “betrayal” and calling his office a “remnant of imperial colonialism”.
Writing in The Times, the Most Rev Henry Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda, says [Archbishop of Canterbury] Rowan Williams has betrayed churches that remain true to the Bible by inviting colleagues who consecrated the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire to the Lambeth Conference.
Archbishop Orombi, a leader of the conservative Global South bishops and one of 230 to boycott the conference, indicates that to ensure long-term unity, future Anglican leaders will need to be more representative of the wider Church.
His comments came as Dr Williams survived the most difficult day of the Lambeth Conference with the communion intact. In closed discussions about homosexuality, bishops agreed to differ peacefully for the sake of unity. Early indications are that his strategy of running a conference without votes or resolutions and based around the African-style indaba process of conflict resolution groups has paid off, at least for the time being.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Rowan Williams betrayed churches over gay bishop, says African leader" by Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent, The Times (London) 8/1/08
A leading conservative cleric has launched a devastating attack on the Archbishop of Canterbury, accusing him of “betrayal” and calling his office a “remnant of imperial colonialism”.
Writing in The Times, the Most Rev Henry Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda, says [Archbishop of Canterbury] Rowan Williams has betrayed churches that remain true to the Bible by inviting colleagues who consecrated the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire to the Lambeth Conference.
Archbishop Orombi, a leader of the conservative Global South bishops and one of 230 to boycott the conference, indicates that to ensure long-term unity, future Anglican leaders will need to be more representative of the wider Church.
His comments came as Dr Williams survived the most difficult day of the Lambeth Conference with the communion intact. In closed discussions about homosexuality, bishops agreed to differ peacefully for the sake of unity. Early indications are that his strategy of running a conference without votes or resolutions and based around the African-style indaba process of conflict resolution groups has paid off, at least for the time being.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)