Angie Jackson is using YouTube, Twitter, etc. to chronicle her abortion experience using the abortion drug RU-486 so that women won't fear such abortions.
-- From "Angie Jackson Live-Tweets Her Abortion on Twitter" by Emily Friedman, ABC News 2/25/10
The posts, which have drawn outrage from abortion opponents online, can be graphic.
"Cramps are getting a bit more persistent," Jackson typed into Twitter on Feb. 21 under her username "antitheistangie."
A few hours later she posted, "Definitely bleeding now."
Already the mother of a 4-year-old son with special needs, Jackson, who lives in Tampa, Fla., with her boyfriend, said that after a difficult and life-threatening first pregnancy her doctors advised her to not get pregnant again.
She found out she was pregnant Feb. 13, a little more than three weeks after she conceived, early enough that she could choose RU-486 rather than a surgical abortion to terminate the pregnancy
"Emotionally, for me, doing this in the open and having the support of my friends has made this immeasurably easier," said Jackson. "This has made me feel like it is an unfortunate experience but not something by which I have to define myself or my life by."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Skirts for Girls in School Discriminatory
Schools which force girls to wear skirts may be breaking the law - because the policy apparently discriminates against transsexuals.
UK Commission: 'pupils born female with gender dysphoria experienced great discomfort being forced to wear stereotypical girls’ clothes — for example a skirt.'
-- From "Schools should not force girls to wear skirts - it discriminates against transsexuals, warns watchdog" by Arthur Martin, UK Daily Mail 2/22/10
Official guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission says the dress code may breach the rights of girls who feel compelled to live as boys.
In a 68-page report on the human rights of transsexuals, the watchdog says that 'requiring pupils to wear gender-specific clothes is potentially unlawful'.
The guidance has been produced ahead of the Government’s Equality Bill which is likely to come into force this autumn.
The bill extends new rights to people who believe they were born into the wrong gender.
They gain this protection 'regardless of whether or not they intend to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment'.
[Schools] must do all they can to ensure transsexual children do not suffer discrimination, or face potential legal sanctions.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UK Commission: 'pupils born female with gender dysphoria experienced great discomfort being forced to wear stereotypical girls’ clothes — for example a skirt.'
-- From "Schools should not force girls to wear skirts - it discriminates against transsexuals, warns watchdog" by Arthur Martin, UK Daily Mail 2/22/10
Official guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission says the dress code may breach the rights of girls who feel compelled to live as boys.
In a 68-page report on the human rights of transsexuals, the watchdog says that 'requiring pupils to wear gender-specific clothes is potentially unlawful'.
The guidance has been produced ahead of the Government’s Equality Bill which is likely to come into force this autumn.
The bill extends new rights to people who believe they were born into the wrong gender.
They gain this protection 'regardless of whether or not they intend to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment'.
[Schools] must do all they can to ensure transsexual children do not suffer discrimination, or face potential legal sanctions.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Leftist Teaching at Wheaton College, Illinois
[T]he current document known as the “conceptual framework” of the education department at Wheaton College [includes] the father of the social justice movement, Brazilian Marxist, Paulo Freire and former Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers.
UPDATE 7/1/13: College officially changes "conceptual framework" back to Christianity
UPDATE 9/12/11: College revises teaching, hopefully for the best
UPDATE 3/11/10: Teaching Social Justice at Wheaton College (from Illinois Family Institute)
UPDATE 3/5/10: Wheaton College's Promotion of Social Justice (includes link to audio quotes from the College)
UPDATE 3/2/10: Wheaton responds, but provides no evidence to refute the accusations below (post dated 2/25/10)
-- From "Billy Graham Meets Bill Ayers" by Sandy Rios, Culture Campaign (posted at Townhall.com) 2/26/10
There’s hardly an evangelical who doesn’t know about Wheaton College. Alma Mater of the Reverend Billy Graham . . .
So imagine the dismay of many to learn that, in an effort to educate its students, Wheaton has moved to the left, so much so that in a survey by the Wheaton Record, 60 percent of its faculty voted for President Barack Obama, the most pro-abortion, pro-homosexual agenda, spiritually confused president the nation has ever elected.
How can this be? Perhaps much of it can be attributed to a movement widely embraced by the campus known as “social justice.”
. . . Why would Wheaton College embrace such a philosophy? “…these are people you can learn from because they’re going to teach us Christians that maybe we have some blind spots here, that we’ve been oblivious to certain areas of injustice,” said President Duane Litfin.
Dr. Jillian Lederhouse, chairman of the department of education defended the conceptual framework by saying “we don’t teach our students to be afraid on an ideology as long as we give them a critical perspective. We do not have a list of people we do not read. Our goal is to produce a thinking Christian teacher.” And that is as it should be in an institution of higher learning, except for one thing. Lederhouse went on to admit that the people who were foundational to Wheaton’s conceptual framework were all on the far left.
To read the entire commentary above, CLICK HERE.
From "Wheaton College Invites Leftist, Pro-Homosexual Evangelical Jim Wallis to Speak" By Peter LaBarbera, AmericansForTruth.com February 2008
[Wheaton College's Center for Applied Christian, CACE, in September 2007 invited] homosexual “gay christian” activist Harry Knox to speak at a panel discussion on “HIV and Morality,” as a representative of the (traditional-Christian-bashing) homosexual activist group Human Rights Campaign.
. . . If I’m not mistaken, Harry talked about his relationship with his male partner at the Wheaton panel discussion, which was titled, “Thy Kingdom Come: Christian Moral Engagement in the World.”
The following excerpt is taken from page 229 of “The Great Awakening” [by Jim Wallis, the Wheaton College CACE speaker of February 2008:]
UPDATE 7/1/13: College officially changes "conceptual framework" back to Christianity
UPDATE 9/12/11: College revises teaching, hopefully for the best
UPDATE 3/11/10: Teaching Social Justice at Wheaton College (from Illinois Family Institute)
UPDATE 3/5/10: Wheaton College's Promotion of Social Justice (includes link to audio quotes from the College)
UPDATE 3/2/10: Wheaton responds, but provides no evidence to refute the accusations below (post dated 2/25/10)
-- From "Billy Graham Meets Bill Ayers" by Sandy Rios, Culture Campaign (posted at Townhall.com) 2/26/10
There’s hardly an evangelical who doesn’t know about Wheaton College. Alma Mater of the Reverend Billy Graham . . .
So imagine the dismay of many to learn that, in an effort to educate its students, Wheaton has moved to the left, so much so that in a survey by the Wheaton Record, 60 percent of its faculty voted for President Barack Obama, the most pro-abortion, pro-homosexual agenda, spiritually confused president the nation has ever elected.
How can this be? Perhaps much of it can be attributed to a movement widely embraced by the campus known as “social justice.”
. . . Why would Wheaton College embrace such a philosophy? “…these are people you can learn from because they’re going to teach us Christians that maybe we have some blind spots here, that we’ve been oblivious to certain areas of injustice,” said President Duane Litfin.
Dr. Jillian Lederhouse, chairman of the department of education defended the conceptual framework by saying “we don’t teach our students to be afraid on an ideology as long as we give them a critical perspective. We do not have a list of people we do not read. Our goal is to produce a thinking Christian teacher.” And that is as it should be in an institution of higher learning, except for one thing. Lederhouse went on to admit that the people who were foundational to Wheaton’s conceptual framework were all on the far left.
To read the entire commentary above, CLICK HERE.
From "Wheaton College Invites Leftist, Pro-Homosexual Evangelical Jim Wallis to Speak" By Peter LaBarbera, AmericansForTruth.com February 2008
[Wheaton College's Center for Applied Christian, CACE, in September 2007 invited] homosexual “gay christian” activist Harry Knox to speak at a panel discussion on “HIV and Morality,” as a representative of the (traditional-Christian-bashing) homosexual activist group Human Rights Campaign.
. . . If I’m not mistaken, Harry talked about his relationship with his male partner at the Wheaton panel discussion, which was titled, “Thy Kingdom Come: Christian Moral Engagement in the World.”
The following excerpt is taken from page 229 of “The Great Awakening” [by Jim Wallis, the Wheaton College CACE speaker of February 2008:]
“I support civil rights laws for same-sex couples. That, for me, is a justice issue. Many Christians, and I include myself, prefer the solution of ‘civil unions’ from the state, and even spiritual ‘blessings’ for gay couples (from congregations prepared to offer them), rather than altering the church’s sacrament of marriage as between a man and a woman, but those differences should not be fundamentally divisive. Gay marriage should not be the primary battleground in the fight for the health and stability of marriage and family in our society. In a pluralistic democracy, we should support civil and human rights for all our citizens, regardless of our different theological and biblical interpretations of the complicated and thorny issues surrounding homosexuality. New evidence and understanding around those issues could cause any of us to alter our views. But we should find common ground by supporting concrete practices and practical policies that strengthen families and nurture all our children.”To read the entire commentary above, CLICK HERE.
Pro-life Movement Exploiting Blacks: New York Times
As 40% of black babies are slain in the womb (per this NY Times article), pro-abortion journalists claim that pro-life advocates are unfairly informing blacks of these statistics. Abortionists fear the message is getting through to the black community, thus risking profits.
-- From "To Court Blacks, Foes of Abortion Make Racial Case" by Shaila Dewan, New York Times 2/26/10
For years the largely white staff of Georgia Right to Life, the state’s largest anti-abortion group, tried to tackle the disproportionately high number of black women who undergo abortions. But, staff members said, they found it difficult to make inroads with black audiences.
So in 2009, the group took money that it normally used for advertising a pregnancy hot line and hired a black woman, Catherine Davis, to be its minority outreach coordinator.
Ms. Davis traveled to black churches and colleges around the state, delivering the message that abortion is the primary tool in a decades-old conspiracy to kill off blacks.
This month, the group expanded its reach, making national news with 80 billboards around Atlanta that proclaim, “Black children are an endangered species,” and a Web site, www.toomanyaborted.com.
Across the country, the anti-abortion movement, long viewed as almost exclusively white and Republican, is turning its attention to African-Americans and encouraging black abortion opponents across the country to become more active.
A new documentary, written and directed by Mark Crutcher, a white abortion opponent in Denton, Tex., meticulously traces what it says are connections among slavery, Nazi-style eugenics, birth control and abortion, and is being regularly screened by black organizations.
Abortion opponents say the number is so high because abortion clinics are deliberately located in black neighborhoods and prey upon black women. The evidence, they say, is everywhere: Planned Parenthood’s response to the anti-abortion ad that aired during the Super Bowl featured two black athletes, they note, and several women’s clinics offered free services — including abortions — to evacuees after Hurricane Katrina. [Similar to actions in Haiti last month.]
But those who support abortion rights dispute the conspiracy theory, saying it portrays black women as dupes and victims. The reason black women have so many abortions is simple, they say: too many unwanted pregnancies.
“It’s a perfect storm,” said Loretta Ross, the executive director of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective in Atlanta, listing a lack of access to birth control, lack of education, and even a high rate of sexual violence. “There’s an assumption that every time a girl is pregnant it’s because of voluntary activity, and it’s so not the case,” Ms. Ross said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "To Court Blacks, Foes of Abortion Make Racial Case" by Shaila Dewan, New York Times 2/26/10
For years the largely white staff of Georgia Right to Life, the state’s largest anti-abortion group, tried to tackle the disproportionately high number of black women who undergo abortions. But, staff members said, they found it difficult to make inroads with black audiences.
So in 2009, the group took money that it normally used for advertising a pregnancy hot line and hired a black woman, Catherine Davis, to be its minority outreach coordinator.
Ms. Davis traveled to black churches and colleges around the state, delivering the message that abortion is the primary tool in a decades-old conspiracy to kill off blacks.
This month, the group expanded its reach, making national news with 80 billboards around Atlanta that proclaim, “Black children are an endangered species,” and a Web site, www.toomanyaborted.com.
Across the country, the anti-abortion movement, long viewed as almost exclusively white and Republican, is turning its attention to African-Americans and encouraging black abortion opponents across the country to become more active.
A new documentary, written and directed by Mark Crutcher, a white abortion opponent in Denton, Tex., meticulously traces what it says are connections among slavery, Nazi-style eugenics, birth control and abortion, and is being regularly screened by black organizations.
Abortion opponents say the number is so high because abortion clinics are deliberately located in black neighborhoods and prey upon black women. The evidence, they say, is everywhere: Planned Parenthood’s response to the anti-abortion ad that aired during the Super Bowl featured two black athletes, they note, and several women’s clinics offered free services — including abortions — to evacuees after Hurricane Katrina. [Similar to actions in Haiti last month.]
But those who support abortion rights dispute the conspiracy theory, saying it portrays black women as dupes and victims. The reason black women have so many abortions is simple, they say: too many unwanted pregnancies.
“It’s a perfect storm,” said Loretta Ross, the executive director of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective in Atlanta, listing a lack of access to birth control, lack of education, and even a high rate of sexual violence. “There’s an assumption that every time a girl is pregnant it’s because of voluntary activity, and it’s so not the case,” Ms. Ross said.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Maryland Now Recognizes Same-sex 'Marriage'
State agencies in Maryland must now recognize out-of-state gay marriages until the Legislature or courts decide otherwise, Maryland's attorney general said Wednesday after issuing a long-awaited legal opinion.
UPDATE 5/11/10: Poll shows residents split on same-sex marriage
-- From "Md. AG: Gay marriage must be recognized" by Associated Press 2/25/10
[Attorney General Doug] Gansler's opinion concluded that the state's highest court likely would rule that legal gay marriages in other states are valid in Maryland, but he noted the matter "is not free from all doubt."
Maryland law defines marriage as between a man and woman, but Gansler wrote that the state generally acknowledges couples married elsewhere. Maryland is one of six states that does not specifically address the validity of same-sex marriages from other states.
Delegate Donald Dwyer, an Anne Arundel County Republican who adamantly opposes recognition of same-sex marriages, said Gansler should be impeached for issuing the opinion, which he said "circumvents and usurps the authority of the Maryland General Assembly."
Recent legislation has failed that would have explicitly stated in law that same-sex marriages valid in other states would not be recognized in Maryland.
Measures to allow gay marriages also have failed, but Maryland lawmakers have extended protections to same-sex couples.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 5/11/10: Poll shows residents split on same-sex marriage
-- From "Md. AG: Gay marriage must be recognized" by Associated Press 2/25/10
[Attorney General Doug] Gansler's opinion concluded that the state's highest court likely would rule that legal gay marriages in other states are valid in Maryland, but he noted the matter "is not free from all doubt."
Maryland law defines marriage as between a man and woman, but Gansler wrote that the state generally acknowledges couples married elsewhere. Maryland is one of six states that does not specifically address the validity of same-sex marriages from other states.
Delegate Donald Dwyer, an Anne Arundel County Republican who adamantly opposes recognition of same-sex marriages, said Gansler should be impeached for issuing the opinion, which he said "circumvents and usurps the authority of the Maryland General Assembly."
Recent legislation has failed that would have explicitly stated in law that same-sex marriages valid in other states would not be recognized in Maryland.
Measures to allow gay marriages also have failed, but Maryland lawmakers have extended protections to same-sex couples.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Outlawing Abortion Past 20 Weeks of Pregnancy
Nebraska legislation (LB 1103, the Abortion Pain Prevention Act) would outlaw abortions of babies more than 20 weeks after conception on the scientific basis that humans past this point of gestation are capable of feeling pain.
-- From "Proposed Abortion Bill Focused on When Fetus Feels Pain" by Emily Ingram, ABC News 2/25/10
The proposed bill would ban abortions after fetuses reach 20 weeks, rather than the current limit that falls around 24 weeks. The only exception on the 20-week limit is if the procedure would "avert serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function" or save the pregnant woman's life.
This would be a marked change because current abortion bans in the U.S. are determined by fetal viability, or the point at which a fetus can live outside the womb -- which usually occurs around 24 weeks.
Abortion rights advocates argue the bill's parameters are unconstitutional and wouldn't be upheld in court, but anti-abortion activists contend that research suggesting a fetus can feel pain should be the basis for new restrictions on abortions. . . . Supporters of the 20-week limit argue that medical research shows fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks.
The bill also specifies only physical health concerns as acceptable reasons for an abortion after the 20-week limit. That would put into place the narrowest health exception in the nation, as mental health isn't included. Interpretation of current law allows for mental health exceptions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Abortion Ban Based on Fetal Pain Could Be Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Followup" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor 2/25/10
The ban on partial-birth abortions brought home the pro-life message that abortion kills an unborn child and was responsible for shifting public opinion on abortion squarely into the pro-life category. . . . Eventually, Congress approved, and President George W. Bush signed, a national partial-birth abortion ban that the high court upheld on a 5-4 vote.
Fetal pain is not a new concept and the leading national expert on the topic confirms unborn children definitely have the capacity to feel intense pain during an abortion.
Dr. Kanwaljeet Anand of the University of Arkansas Medical Center has said he and other specialists in development of unborn children have shown that babies feel pain before birth as early as 20 weeks into the pregnancy.
Nebraska Right to Life director Julie Schmit-Albin previously told LifeNews.com that the bill "will provide medical documentation that unborn babies can feel pain at 20 weeks gestation."
Dr. Jean Wright, an anesthesiologist specializing in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, has also confirmed the existence of fetal pain during Congressional testimony.
“[A]n unborn fetus after 20 weeks of gestation, has all the prerequisite anatomy, physiology, hormones, neurotransmitters, and electrical current to close the loop and create the conditions needed to perceive pain. In a fashion similar to explaining the electrical wiring to a new house, we would explain that the circuit is complete from skin to brain and back," she said.
And Dr. Richard T.F. Schmidt, past President of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, confirms, “It can be clearly demonstrated that fetuses seek to evade certain stimuli in a manner which an infant or an adult would be interpreted as a reaction to pain.”
Why does a typical piece of state legislation have the potential to make a national impact? Namely because it has the potential -- and the desire from pro-life groups -- to go to the Supreme Court and result in another chipping away at the Roe v. Wade precedent that allowed 52 million abortions nationwide.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Proposed Abortion Bill Focused on When Fetus Feels Pain" by Emily Ingram, ABC News 2/25/10
The proposed bill would ban abortions after fetuses reach 20 weeks, rather than the current limit that falls around 24 weeks. The only exception on the 20-week limit is if the procedure would "avert serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function" or save the pregnant woman's life.
This would be a marked change because current abortion bans in the U.S. are determined by fetal viability, or the point at which a fetus can live outside the womb -- which usually occurs around 24 weeks.
Abortion rights advocates argue the bill's parameters are unconstitutional and wouldn't be upheld in court, but anti-abortion activists contend that research suggesting a fetus can feel pain should be the basis for new restrictions on abortions. . . . Supporters of the 20-week limit argue that medical research shows fetuses can feel pain at 20 weeks.
The bill also specifies only physical health concerns as acceptable reasons for an abortion after the 20-week limit. That would put into place the narrowest health exception in the nation, as mental health isn't included. Interpretation of current law allows for mental health exceptions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Abortion Ban Based on Fetal Pain Could Be Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Followup" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor 2/25/10
The ban on partial-birth abortions brought home the pro-life message that abortion kills an unborn child and was responsible for shifting public opinion on abortion squarely into the pro-life category. . . . Eventually, Congress approved, and President George W. Bush signed, a national partial-birth abortion ban that the high court upheld on a 5-4 vote.
Fetal pain is not a new concept and the leading national expert on the topic confirms unborn children definitely have the capacity to feel intense pain during an abortion.
Dr. Kanwaljeet Anand of the University of Arkansas Medical Center has said he and other specialists in development of unborn children have shown that babies feel pain before birth as early as 20 weeks into the pregnancy.
Nebraska Right to Life director Julie Schmit-Albin previously told LifeNews.com that the bill "will provide medical documentation that unborn babies can feel pain at 20 weeks gestation."
Dr. Jean Wright, an anesthesiologist specializing in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, has also confirmed the existence of fetal pain during Congressional testimony.
“[A]n unborn fetus after 20 weeks of gestation, has all the prerequisite anatomy, physiology, hormones, neurotransmitters, and electrical current to close the loop and create the conditions needed to perceive pain. In a fashion similar to explaining the electrical wiring to a new house, we would explain that the circuit is complete from skin to brain and back," she said.
And Dr. Richard T.F. Schmidt, past President of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, confirms, “It can be clearly demonstrated that fetuses seek to evade certain stimuli in a manner which an infant or an adult would be interpreted as a reaction to pain.”
Why does a typical piece of state legislation have the potential to make a national impact? Namely because it has the potential -- and the desire from pro-life groups -- to go to the Supreme Court and result in another chipping away at the Roe v. Wade precedent that allowed 52 million abortions nationwide.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Liberals Posturing on AIDS, with Taxpayers' Money
An upcoming international AIDS conference in Europe should be canceled, says a Republican senator who wants organizers to use money for travel and meetings on treatment and research instead.
-- From "Coburn: Skip Europe AIDS meeting" by Jim McElhatton, Washington Times 2/25/10
In a letter sent last week to the president of the International AIDS Society, which is organizing this summer's 2010 AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria, Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, a doctor, cited statistics showing that tens of millions of people across the world infected with HIV are going without treatment.
It's unclear how many of the roughly 25,000 people expected to attend will be federal employees whose travel and lodging costs will be picked up by taxpayers, but a report by Dr. Coburn's office disclosed that hundreds of thousands of dollars was spent to send more than 100 federal employees to the 2008 International AIDS Conference.
After the 2008 conference, Dr. Coburn issued a 19-page oversight report concluding that taxpayers spend millions of dollars to send federal employees "to talk about a disease, when instead, using the same funds for prevention, treatment or research would almost certainly be a better use of taxpayer resources."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Senator Coburn Blasts Upcoming AIDS Conference As Waste of Cash" by FOXNews.com 2/25/10
"While I recognize the International AIDS Conference can provide a unique forum for networking, reviewing scientific developments and sharing information for many stakeholders, modern technology allows us to accomplish these goals for relatively little cost," Coburn wrote in his Feb. 19 letter.
"While these alternatives may not include the museum and castle tours, the visit to Mozart's birth place, or wine tasting offered by the upcoming gathering in Vienna, they can meet the main goals of the conference," he wrote.
The conference, which is the premier gathering of scientists and doctors working in the field of HIV/AIDS, is set to be held July 18 to 23. Organizers expect an estimated 25,000 participants to attend, including 2,500 members of the media, according to the International AIDS Society's Web site.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Coburn: Skip Europe AIDS meeting" by Jim McElhatton, Washington Times 2/25/10
In a letter sent last week to the president of the International AIDS Society, which is organizing this summer's 2010 AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria, Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, a doctor, cited statistics showing that tens of millions of people across the world infected with HIV are going without treatment.
It's unclear how many of the roughly 25,000 people expected to attend will be federal employees whose travel and lodging costs will be picked up by taxpayers, but a report by Dr. Coburn's office disclosed that hundreds of thousands of dollars was spent to send more than 100 federal employees to the 2008 International AIDS Conference.
After the 2008 conference, Dr. Coburn issued a 19-page oversight report concluding that taxpayers spend millions of dollars to send federal employees "to talk about a disease, when instead, using the same funds for prevention, treatment or research would almost certainly be a better use of taxpayer resources."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Senator Coburn Blasts Upcoming AIDS Conference As Waste of Cash" by FOXNews.com 2/25/10
"While I recognize the International AIDS Conference can provide a unique forum for networking, reviewing scientific developments and sharing information for many stakeholders, modern technology allows us to accomplish these goals for relatively little cost," Coburn wrote in his Feb. 19 letter.
"While these alternatives may not include the museum and castle tours, the visit to Mozart's birth place, or wine tasting offered by the upcoming gathering in Vienna, they can meet the main goals of the conference," he wrote.
The conference, which is the premier gathering of scientists and doctors working in the field of HIV/AIDS, is set to be held July 18 to 23. Organizers expect an estimated 25,000 participants to attend, including 2,500 members of the media, according to the International AIDS Society's Web site.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
No More Christian Beauty Queens, Please: California Mayor
Beverly Hills Mayor Nancy Krasne . . . is outraged over a Miss California USA contestant who . . . spoke out against same-sex marriage in recent media interviews [and] . . . has contacted Miss California USA pageant officials to determine ways to formally prevent any beauty contestants from claiming the title of Miss Beverly Hills in the future.
-- From "Beverly Hills disowns Miss California contestant who says she opposes same-sex marriage" by Associated Press 2/24/10
Less than a year after dethroned Miss California USA Carrie Prejean stirred up controversy with her remarks against gay marriage, a similar war of words is brewing in Beverly Hills.
. . . Krasne said she was shocked to see statements made by a beauty pageant contestant under the name of Beverly Hills, "which has a long history of tolerance and respect."
Ashley recently told Fox News and other media outlets that same-sex marriage goes against God and the Bible.
Ashley's comments came just months after Prejean . . . sued Miss California USA organizers in August for libel, slander and religious discrimination. She accused them of telling her to stop mentioning God even before her controversial remarks against gay marriage.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Beverly Hills disowns Miss California contestant who says she opposes same-sex marriage" by Associated Press 2/24/10
Less than a year after dethroned Miss California USA Carrie Prejean stirred up controversy with her remarks against gay marriage, a similar war of words is brewing in Beverly Hills.
. . . Krasne said she was shocked to see statements made by a beauty pageant contestant under the name of Beverly Hills, "which has a long history of tolerance and respect."
Ashley recently told Fox News and other media outlets that same-sex marriage goes against God and the Bible.
Ashley's comments came just months after Prejean . . . sued Miss California USA organizers in August for libel, slander and religious discrimination. She accused them of telling her to stop mentioning God even before her controversial remarks against gay marriage.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
West Virginians May Soon Vote on Marriage Amendment
With over 70 percent of voters supporting traditional marriage, state senators are moving forward on legislation to put a marriage amendment to a vote.
-- From "Marriage amendment making inroads in W. Virginia" by Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow 2/24/2010
Under the West Virginia constitution, an amendment must first be passed by the legislature before it can be placed before the state's voters. SJR 14 simply states: "Only a union between man and woman is valid or recognized as marriage in West Virginia."
It will take a super-majority vote in both houses -- or 60 percent -- to put the issue on a future ballot.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Gay-marriage ban fails in House" by Alison Knezevich, Staff writer, Charleston Gazette 2/23/10
Democrats in the House of Delegates on Tuesday swiftly shot down Republican attempts to advance a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
GOP delegates unsuccessfully tried to force a floor vote on a bipartisan resolution (HJR5) called the "Marriage Protection Amendment." The proposal calls for a statewide referendum on whether to amend West Virginia's constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.
Republicans also tried to force a vote on the marriage amendment last year, but Democrats blocked the move.
Half of the six of sponsors of this year's "Marriage Protection Amendment" are Democrats, but many Democrats likely do not want to vote on the controversial issue.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Marriage amendment making inroads in W. Virginia" by Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow 2/24/2010
Under the West Virginia constitution, an amendment must first be passed by the legislature before it can be placed before the state's voters. SJR 14 simply states: "Only a union between man and woman is valid or recognized as marriage in West Virginia."
It will take a super-majority vote in both houses -- or 60 percent -- to put the issue on a future ballot.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Gay-marriage ban fails in House" by Alison Knezevich, Staff writer, Charleston Gazette 2/23/10
Democrats in the House of Delegates on Tuesday swiftly shot down Republican attempts to advance a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
GOP delegates unsuccessfully tried to force a floor vote on a bipartisan resolution (HJR5) called the "Marriage Protection Amendment." The proposal calls for a statewide referendum on whether to amend West Virginia's constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.
Republicans also tried to force a vote on the marriage amendment last year, but Democrats blocked the move.
Half of the six of sponsors of this year's "Marriage Protection Amendment" are Democrats, but many Democrats likely do not want to vote on the controversial issue.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Liberal 'Christians' Lobby Against Great Commission
Under the guise of noble embrace of religion, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs is lobbying President Obama to terminate traditional American foreign policy of freedom of religion.
UPDATE 2/25/20: Bush created muslim terrorists; Obama's Cairo speech is improvement
-- From "'God gap' impedes U.S. foreign policy, task force says" by David Waters, Washington Post Staff Writer 2/24/10
American foreign policy is handicapped by a narrow, ill-informed and "uncompromising Western secularism" that feeds religious extremism, threatens traditional cultures and fails to encourage religious groups that promote peace and human rights, according to a two-year study by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
The council's 32-member task force, which included former government officials and scholars representing all major faiths, delivered its report to the White House on Tuesday. The report warns of a serious "capabilities gap" and recommends that President Obama make religion "an integral part of our foreign policy."
The Chicago Council's task force was led by R. Scott Appleby of the University of Notre Dame and Richard Cizik of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good. "Religion," the task force says, "is pivotal to the fate" of such nations as Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria and Yemen, all vital to U.S. national and global security.
"Despite a world abuzz with religious fervor," the task force says, "the U.S. government has been slow to respond effectively to situations where religion plays a global role." Those include the growing influence of Pentecostalism in Latin America, evangelical Christianity in Africa and religious minorities in the Far East.
. . . Obama appointed a special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference and created a new Muslim outreach position in the State Department. In the past year, he said, embassies in Muslim-majority countries have held hundreds of meetings with a broad range of people not involved in government.
. . . Cizik said some parts of the world -- the Middle East, China, Russia and India, for example -- are particularly sensitive to the U.S. government's emphasis on religious freedom and see it as a form of imperialism.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Reach out to all religions, but more carefully with Islam" by Cal Thomas, Syndicated political columnist
One of the truisms I learned in college was that nations have interests. So do religions. Sometimes those interests are mutually exclusive. In most cases, religious interests focus on a "kingdom not of this world," to invoke a biblical analogy. But one -- Islam -- has an interest here on earth and large numbers of adherents to that faith believe not only that they have the only truth -- a characteristic found in most religions -- but that they have been ordered by Allah to impose it by force on everyone else. This imposition also includes the taking of land that can spread the Islamic kingdom on earth. This is not bigotry. This is fact as stated in the sermons of their imams and the media in many Islamic countries.
Any diplomatic "outreach" must understand this truth. It must also include at least some common principles in order for that outreach to produce objectives in the best interests of the nations involved, most especially the United States. The stated objective of the radical Islamists is to destroy America and impose Sharia law. It is hard to find common ground with such belief. Do we agree to less destruction if they will leave us alone? What more is there to understand about "you are infidels and deserving of death"? There doesn't appear to be any diplomatic wiggle-room there.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Related article: Obama Inaction re: Christian Persecution Worldwide
UPDATE 2/25/20: Bush created muslim terrorists; Obama's Cairo speech is improvement
-- From "'God gap' impedes U.S. foreign policy, task force says" by David Waters, Washington Post Staff Writer 2/24/10
American foreign policy is handicapped by a narrow, ill-informed and "uncompromising Western secularism" that feeds religious extremism, threatens traditional cultures and fails to encourage religious groups that promote peace and human rights, according to a two-year study by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
The council's 32-member task force, which included former government officials and scholars representing all major faiths, delivered its report to the White House on Tuesday. The report warns of a serious "capabilities gap" and recommends that President Obama make religion "an integral part of our foreign policy."
The Chicago Council's task force was led by R. Scott Appleby of the University of Notre Dame and Richard Cizik of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good. "Religion," the task force says, "is pivotal to the fate" of such nations as Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria and Yemen, all vital to U.S. national and global security.
"Despite a world abuzz with religious fervor," the task force says, "the U.S. government has been slow to respond effectively to situations where religion plays a global role." Those include the growing influence of Pentecostalism in Latin America, evangelical Christianity in Africa and religious minorities in the Far East.
. . . Obama appointed a special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference and created a new Muslim outreach position in the State Department. In the past year, he said, embassies in Muslim-majority countries have held hundreds of meetings with a broad range of people not involved in government.
. . . Cizik said some parts of the world -- the Middle East, China, Russia and India, for example -- are particularly sensitive to the U.S. government's emphasis on religious freedom and see it as a form of imperialism.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Reach out to all religions, but more carefully with Islam" by Cal Thomas, Syndicated political columnist
One of the truisms I learned in college was that nations have interests. So do religions. Sometimes those interests are mutually exclusive. In most cases, religious interests focus on a "kingdom not of this world," to invoke a biblical analogy. But one -- Islam -- has an interest here on earth and large numbers of adherents to that faith believe not only that they have the only truth -- a characteristic found in most religions -- but that they have been ordered by Allah to impose it by force on everyone else. This imposition also includes the taking of land that can spread the Islamic kingdom on earth. This is not bigotry. This is fact as stated in the sermons of their imams and the media in many Islamic countries.
Any diplomatic "outreach" must understand this truth. It must also include at least some common principles in order for that outreach to produce objectives in the best interests of the nations involved, most especially the United States. The stated objective of the radical Islamists is to destroy America and impose Sharia law. It is hard to find common ground with such belief. Do we agree to less destruction if they will leave us alone? What more is there to understand about "you are infidels and deserving of death"? There doesn't appear to be any diplomatic wiggle-room there.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Related article: Obama Inaction re: Christian Persecution Worldwide
As Homosexualists Enter, the Sacred Leave Episcopal Church
While liberal leaders of the Episcopal Church USA decide how to usher in their new revelation (of sexual deviance), Christians, and their donations, exit the denomination -- often successfully taking church property with them.
-- From "Va. Episcopalians backpedal on gay unions" by Julia Duin, Washington Times 2/22/10
The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia has backed away from recognizing same-sex unions, instead voting over the weekend to form a panel of laity and clergy that will set standards for church-sanctioned blessings of such unions should they be approved by the entire 2-million-member Episcopal Church.
About 346 delegates to the diocese's annual council meeting at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria narrowly voted — by a show of hands — to form the panel, which will also include lawyers who specialize in church law.
The Virginia vote was in response to last summer's decision by the Episcopal General Convention, meeting in Anaheim, Calif., to pass resolution C056, which empowered the denomination to begin "collecting and developing theological resources and liturgies" for same-sex blessings. The denomination is expected to endorse some kind of rite at its 2012 meeting in Indianapolis.
Sixteen Episcopal dioceses — including four since last summer — already allow same-sex blessings.
Diocesan officials also addressed a $4 million line of credit — of which $3.5 million has been spent to date — that it has taken out to fund a three-year lawsuit against 11 conservative churches that left the diocese in 2006 and early 2007. When market conditions approve, the diocese will sell parcels of unconsecrated land to help pay the $3.5 million.
The diocese seeks to win back millions of dollars of property taken by the departing churches, which left over liberal trends in the denomination. After the conservatives won the lawsuit at trial, the diocese appealed. The case will go before the Virginia Supreme Court this year.
The departure of the conservatives, which reduced the diocese's membership by about 10,000, was referred to several times Saturday as causing much "pain" to the remaining Episcopalians. However, a last-minute amendment to form a "reconciliation task force" between Episcopalians and former Episcopalians failed for lack of time to consider it adequately.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Declining membership hurts Episcopal churches in Northern California" by Jennifer Garza, Sacramento Bee 2/22/10
Faced with declining membership and less money to pay salaries and maintain aging buildings, [Bishop Barry Beisner, leading the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California] is calling on staff and laity to come up with new ways of keeping their church doors open.
The bishop said he has no plans to close any of the 72 churches in the diocese. "But everything is on the table," he said.
Many congregations can no longer afford full-time clergy. Some are having trouble paying their bills. In a letter to clergy this month, a diocesan leader said changes must be made soon.
"There are those who feel we are on the brink of a crisis," said Canon Britt Olson in the Aurora Clergy E-News. "This is because this is a crisis – not only for the congregation, but for all churches in the diocese."
Like many mainline Protestant churches, attendance in the Episcopal church has fallen. In the United States, there are 2 million Episcopalians, 1 million fewer than in 1970, according to the Pew Research Center.
The average Sunday attendance throughout the Northern California Diocese, which stretches from Alturas to Galt, has dropped from 7,000 in 1998 to 5,782 in 2008, according to diocesan officials.
Typically, Sunday attendance at churches in the diocese hovers around 100.
Beisner attributes this drop to many factors, including less denominational loyalty, less church attendance overall and the controversy surrounding the 2003 ordination of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire to serve as the Episcopal church's first openly gay bishop.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Va. Episcopalians backpedal on gay unions" by Julia Duin, Washington Times 2/22/10
The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia has backed away from recognizing same-sex unions, instead voting over the weekend to form a panel of laity and clergy that will set standards for church-sanctioned blessings of such unions should they be approved by the entire 2-million-member Episcopal Church.
About 346 delegates to the diocese's annual council meeting at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria narrowly voted — by a show of hands — to form the panel, which will also include lawyers who specialize in church law.
The Virginia vote was in response to last summer's decision by the Episcopal General Convention, meeting in Anaheim, Calif., to pass resolution C056, which empowered the denomination to begin "collecting and developing theological resources and liturgies" for same-sex blessings. The denomination is expected to endorse some kind of rite at its 2012 meeting in Indianapolis.
Sixteen Episcopal dioceses — including four since last summer — already allow same-sex blessings.
Diocesan officials also addressed a $4 million line of credit — of which $3.5 million has been spent to date — that it has taken out to fund a three-year lawsuit against 11 conservative churches that left the diocese in 2006 and early 2007. When market conditions approve, the diocese will sell parcels of unconsecrated land to help pay the $3.5 million.
The diocese seeks to win back millions of dollars of property taken by the departing churches, which left over liberal trends in the denomination. After the conservatives won the lawsuit at trial, the diocese appealed. The case will go before the Virginia Supreme Court this year.
The departure of the conservatives, which reduced the diocese's membership by about 10,000, was referred to several times Saturday as causing much "pain" to the remaining Episcopalians. However, a last-minute amendment to form a "reconciliation task force" between Episcopalians and former Episcopalians failed for lack of time to consider it adequately.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Declining membership hurts Episcopal churches in Northern California" by Jennifer Garza, Sacramento Bee 2/22/10
Faced with declining membership and less money to pay salaries and maintain aging buildings, [Bishop Barry Beisner, leading the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California] is calling on staff and laity to come up with new ways of keeping their church doors open.
The bishop said he has no plans to close any of the 72 churches in the diocese. "But everything is on the table," he said.
Many congregations can no longer afford full-time clergy. Some are having trouble paying their bills. In a letter to clergy this month, a diocesan leader said changes must be made soon.
"There are those who feel we are on the brink of a crisis," said Canon Britt Olson in the Aurora Clergy E-News. "This is because this is a crisis – not only for the congregation, but for all churches in the diocese."
Like many mainline Protestant churches, attendance in the Episcopal church has fallen. In the United States, there are 2 million Episcopalians, 1 million fewer than in 1970, according to the Pew Research Center.
The average Sunday attendance throughout the Northern California Diocese, which stretches from Alturas to Galt, has dropped from 7,000 in 1998 to 5,782 in 2008, according to diocesan officials.
Typically, Sunday attendance at churches in the diocese hovers around 100.
Beisner attributes this drop to many factors, including less denominational loyalty, less church attendance overall and the controversy surrounding the 2003 ordination of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire to serve as the Episcopal church's first openly gay bishop.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
'Higher' Education Indoctrinating Anti-Americanism: Study
College fails to teach civic knowledge - including American history and national institutions - and has an influence on liberal leanings among students, a new study says.
If college graduates aren’t learning about concrete aspects of the American republic, what else might they be picking-up “civics-wise” while on campus?
The study, conducted by the conservative Intercollegiate Studies Institute, specifically cited typically liberal positions on gay marriage and school prayer.
-- From "College Professors Are More Likely to Believe ‘Ten Commandments are Irrelevant Today,' New Study Says" by Pete Winn, Senior Writer/Editor CNSNews.com 2/22/10
College professors are more likely than the average person to believe that the Ten Commandments are irrelevant today -- and to think that America is a corrupting influence on good people, according to a new study released Monday.
Those who teach on American college campuses are more likely to agree with the statements "America corrupts otherwise good people" and "The Ten Commandments are irrelevant today," according to the report, which was unveiled at a news conference at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., conducted by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, an educational organization based in Wilmington, Del.
The survey was designed to find out what impact having a college education makes on people’s beliefs.
College professors, according to the report, were also more likely to agree with the statement: “Educators should instill more doubt in students and reject certainty."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Study finds lack of civic learning in college" by Casey Curlin, Washington Times 2/11/10
Richard Brake, the director of ISI's Culture of Enterprise Initiative, said high schools could be partly to blame for a lack of civic knowledge but college courses should provide more concentrated study.
The study tested 2,508 Americans with various education levels on 33 basic civic knowledge questions that included political literacy, American history and economics. The overall average score was 49 percent. College graduates scored at 57 percent. Respondents also answered questions about 39 social issues. The answers were compared with those from a 2006-07 study that tested more than 14,000 college freshmen and seniors on similar issues.
Mr. Brake said college students scored better on questions relating to the history of the 1900s, including those involving Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr. He added that this is some indication of the focus of study in the classroom.
One portion of the study found that 58 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 compared with 68 percent ages 45 to 64 disagreed that America corrupts otherwise good people.
The study shows a correlation between college education and an increase in liberal opinions on four polarizing social issues.
Of those whose education has not extended beyond high school, 24.6 percent believed gay couples should be allowed to legally marry. That compares with 39.1 percent of respondents with college degrees. More than half - 56.6 percent - of those with a high school education, compared with 39.4 percent of those with a college education, thought public school teachers should be allowed to lead prayer at public schools.
The report also found that 74.2 percent of those with a high school education agreed that the Bible is the Word of God, while 63.5 percent of those with college education agreed.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Dumb and Dumber? What Are College Kids Learning About Our Country?" by Dr. Richard Brake, Co-Chair of ISI’s National Civic Literacy Board, posted at FOXNews.com 2/10/10
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) released its fourth annual national Civic Literacy report today called "The Shaping of the American Mind: The Diverging Influences of the College Degree & Civic Learning on American Beliefs." In past studies, ISI has broken new ground by demonstrating empirically the failures of colleges and universities to effectively teach their graduates the fundamentals of American history, government, foreign affairs, and economics.
On an individual level, less than 60% (sometimes far less) of college graduates can identify on a multiple-choice test the three branches of government; seminal passages from the Declaration of Independence and Gettysburg Address; basic events from the Revolutionary, Civil, and Vietnam Wars; and the primary features of our free enterprise system. Several of these questions are actually required knowledge for new American citizens, signifying their relevance to what we as a nation demand for informed citizenship.
. . . does earning a college degree influence whether a graduate believes that America a) is a model of freedom and justice for the world, or b) corrupts otherwise good people? By graduating from college, are you more or less likely to support abortion-on-demand or same-sex marriage? What about the contemporary relevance of the Ten Commandments or America’s founding documents? Does college make a citizen more certain that economic prosperity depends upon entrepreneurs and free markets, or that global capitalism produces only a few winners and many losers? Finally, does college push a graduate toward identifying more with the conservative/Republican end of the political spectrum, or the liberal/Democrat pole?
. . . the 1999 NAASS survey showed that in terms of partisanship and ideology, humanities faculty broke down 62% Democrat and 6% Republican and 77% liberal and 8% conservative; social science’s breakdown was 55% D & 7% R and 66% L and 8% C. English faculty led the way in ideological imbalance with 69%D vs. 2%R / 85%L vs. 3%C; but they were followed closely by historians (70-4 & 79-7) and political scientists (58-8 & 79-2). Only economists exhibited some kind of ideological equity, with 36% being Democrat and 43% liberal versus 17% Republican and 27% conservative.
Clearly, American colleges and universities need to do a better job teaching the story of America’s free and prosperous representative democracy, and ISI’s civic literacy research would suggest two areas where we should start. First we should return to a tried and true core curriculum. Second, we should support the restoration of intellectual pluralism—ideologically, methodologically, as well as demographically. Otherwise, it will be hard for the wizards of academia to escape the growing perception that all they are producing are a cadre of intellectual munchkins who share the wizards’ political views.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
If college graduates aren’t learning about concrete aspects of the American republic, what else might they be picking-up “civics-wise” while on campus?
The study, conducted by the conservative Intercollegiate Studies Institute, specifically cited typically liberal positions on gay marriage and school prayer.
-- From "College Professors Are More Likely to Believe ‘Ten Commandments are Irrelevant Today,' New Study Says" by Pete Winn, Senior Writer/Editor CNSNews.com 2/22/10
College professors are more likely than the average person to believe that the Ten Commandments are irrelevant today -- and to think that America is a corrupting influence on good people, according to a new study released Monday.
Those who teach on American college campuses are more likely to agree with the statements "America corrupts otherwise good people" and "The Ten Commandments are irrelevant today," according to the report, which was unveiled at a news conference at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., conducted by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, an educational organization based in Wilmington, Del.
The survey was designed to find out what impact having a college education makes on people’s beliefs.
College professors, according to the report, were also more likely to agree with the statement: “Educators should instill more doubt in students and reject certainty."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Study finds lack of civic learning in college" by Casey Curlin, Washington Times 2/11/10
Richard Brake, the director of ISI's Culture of Enterprise Initiative, said high schools could be partly to blame for a lack of civic knowledge but college courses should provide more concentrated study.
The study tested 2,508 Americans with various education levels on 33 basic civic knowledge questions that included political literacy, American history and economics. The overall average score was 49 percent. College graduates scored at 57 percent. Respondents also answered questions about 39 social issues. The answers were compared with those from a 2006-07 study that tested more than 14,000 college freshmen and seniors on similar issues.
Mr. Brake said college students scored better on questions relating to the history of the 1900s, including those involving Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr. He added that this is some indication of the focus of study in the classroom.
One portion of the study found that 58 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 compared with 68 percent ages 45 to 64 disagreed that America corrupts otherwise good people.
The study shows a correlation between college education and an increase in liberal opinions on four polarizing social issues.
Of those whose education has not extended beyond high school, 24.6 percent believed gay couples should be allowed to legally marry. That compares with 39.1 percent of respondents with college degrees. More than half - 56.6 percent - of those with a high school education, compared with 39.4 percent of those with a college education, thought public school teachers should be allowed to lead prayer at public schools.
The report also found that 74.2 percent of those with a high school education agreed that the Bible is the Word of God, while 63.5 percent of those with college education agreed.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Dumb and Dumber? What Are College Kids Learning About Our Country?" by Dr. Richard Brake, Co-Chair of ISI’s National Civic Literacy Board, posted at FOXNews.com 2/10/10
The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) released its fourth annual national Civic Literacy report today called "The Shaping of the American Mind: The Diverging Influences of the College Degree & Civic Learning on American Beliefs." In past studies, ISI has broken new ground by demonstrating empirically the failures of colleges and universities to effectively teach their graduates the fundamentals of American history, government, foreign affairs, and economics.
On an individual level, less than 60% (sometimes far less) of college graduates can identify on a multiple-choice test the three branches of government; seminal passages from the Declaration of Independence and Gettysburg Address; basic events from the Revolutionary, Civil, and Vietnam Wars; and the primary features of our free enterprise system. Several of these questions are actually required knowledge for new American citizens, signifying their relevance to what we as a nation demand for informed citizenship.
. . . does earning a college degree influence whether a graduate believes that America a) is a model of freedom and justice for the world, or b) corrupts otherwise good people? By graduating from college, are you more or less likely to support abortion-on-demand or same-sex marriage? What about the contemporary relevance of the Ten Commandments or America’s founding documents? Does college make a citizen more certain that economic prosperity depends upon entrepreneurs and free markets, or that global capitalism produces only a few winners and many losers? Finally, does college push a graduate toward identifying more with the conservative/Republican end of the political spectrum, or the liberal/Democrat pole?
. . . the 1999 NAASS survey showed that in terms of partisanship and ideology, humanities faculty broke down 62% Democrat and 6% Republican and 77% liberal and 8% conservative; social science’s breakdown was 55% D & 7% R and 66% L and 8% C. English faculty led the way in ideological imbalance with 69%D vs. 2%R / 85%L vs. 3%C; but they were followed closely by historians (70-4 & 79-7) and political scientists (58-8 & 79-2). Only economists exhibited some kind of ideological equity, with 36% being Democrat and 43% liberal versus 17% Republican and 27% conservative.
Clearly, American colleges and universities need to do a better job teaching the story of America’s free and prosperous representative democracy, and ISI’s civic literacy research would suggest two areas where we should start. First we should return to a tried and true core curriculum. Second, we should support the restoration of intellectual pluralism—ideologically, methodologically, as well as demographically. Otherwise, it will be hard for the wizards of academia to escape the growing perception that all they are producing are a cadre of intellectual munchkins who share the wizards’ political views.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Kermit the Abortionist Loses 'License to Kill'
DEA and FBI agents raided the Pennsylvania abortion clinic after allegations of a mother's death, during abortion procedures, and reports of dozens of frozen fetuses within the clinic.
UPDATE 4/10/13 - The Murder Trial the Media Won't Report: Kermit Gosnell
UPDATE 3/7/11: More Abortionists Linked to Murder Cases
UPDATE 1/21/11: Murders by Abortionist are Conservatives' Fault, Says Media
UPDATE 1/19/11: After killing thousands, abortionist charged with only eight counts of murder
-- From "Phila. doctor's license suspended amid abortion concerns" by John Shiffman, Sam Wood, and Marie McCullough, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writers 2/23/10
The [license] suspension, issued by the State Board of Medicine, came after a hours-long search of Kermit B. Gosnell's practice, Women's Medical Society, at 3801 Lancaster Ave. in Powelton Village.
The suspension order says the conditions of the clinic were "deplorable and unsanitary."
It states: "There was blood on the floor, and parts of aborted fetuses were displayed in jars."
The order calls Gosnell's continued practice of medicine "an immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety."
The suspension order also alleges that on or about Nov. 20, a patient died after being treated at the clinic by an unlicensed employee.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Frozen fetuses found at W. Phila. clinic?" by David Gambacorta, Philadelphia Daily News 2/23/10
Few details about the investigation have been made public. Special Agent J.J. Klaver, an FBI spokesman, said he couldn't discuss why federal agents were at the clinic last week because of a sealed search warrant.
According to documents from the New York Department of Health, Gosnell had been authorized to practice medicine in that state in 1970. Those documents show that Gosnell was fined $1,000 in 1996 by the Pennsylvania Board of Medicine for employing an uncertified physician's assistant.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 4/10/13 - The Murder Trial the Media Won't Report: Kermit Gosnell
UPDATE 3/7/11: More Abortionists Linked to Murder Cases
UPDATE 1/21/11: Murders by Abortionist are Conservatives' Fault, Says Media
UPDATE 1/19/11: After killing thousands, abortionist charged with only eight counts of murder
-- From "Phila. doctor's license suspended amid abortion concerns" by John Shiffman, Sam Wood, and Marie McCullough, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writers 2/23/10
The [license] suspension, issued by the State Board of Medicine, came after a hours-long search of Kermit B. Gosnell's practice, Women's Medical Society, at 3801 Lancaster Ave. in Powelton Village.
The suspension order says the conditions of the clinic were "deplorable and unsanitary."
It states: "There was blood on the floor, and parts of aborted fetuses were displayed in jars."
The order calls Gosnell's continued practice of medicine "an immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety."
The suspension order also alleges that on or about Nov. 20, a patient died after being treated at the clinic by an unlicensed employee.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Frozen fetuses found at W. Phila. clinic?" by David Gambacorta, Philadelphia Daily News 2/23/10
Few details about the investigation have been made public. Special Agent J.J. Klaver, an FBI spokesman, said he couldn't discuss why federal agents were at the clinic last week because of a sealed search warrant.
According to documents from the New York Department of Health, Gosnell had been authorized to practice medicine in that state in 1970. Those documents show that Gosnell was fined $1,000 in 1996 by the Pennsylvania Board of Medicine for employing an uncertified physician's assistant.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Boston Globe Explores Obama as Fake Christian
"You can’t be using the church just to get elected and then push the church to the side," said the Rev. Wilfredo De Jesus, a prominent Chicago pastor who had campaigned for Obama among Hispanic evangelicals. . . . "If the president says he’s Christian, then in his narrative, and in his speeches and in his life, that should be displayed."
His Kenyan father had been raised Muslim but was an atheist by the time Obama was born. His mother, whose ancestors were Methodist and Baptist, was nonpracticing.
-- From "Obama’s spiritual life takes more private turn" by Ariel Sabar, Boston Globe Correspondent 2/22/10
He named a best-selling book after [his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s] sermon and was outspoken as a candidate about the value of faith in public life. He infused stump speeches with phrases like "I am my brother’s keeper," and made his journey to Christianity a central theme of the life story he shared with voters.
Obama’s courtship of religious groups in the 2008 race - the most extensive ever by a Democratic candidate for president - paid off on Election Day with strong support among liberal and moderate religious voters. He won 54 percent of the Catholic vote, a stark reversal from four years earlier, when Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, himself Catholic, lost the same group to Bush.
But since President Obama took office a year ago, his faith has largely receded from public view. He has attended church in the capital only four times, and worshiped half a dozen times at a secluded Camp David chapel. He prays privately, reads a "daily devotional" that aides send to his BlackBerry, and talks to pastors by phone, but seldom frames policies in spiritual terms.
But the shift has drawn notice from some religious leaders and political analysts, who say it opens Obama to questions of sincerity and threatens his support among the religious voters his campaign helped peel away from the Republican Party.
A poll last August by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life indicated that the proportion of Americans who saw the Democratic Party as friendly to religion had dropped to Bush-era levels, at 29 percent, after peaking at 38 percent at the height of the Obama campaign a year earlier.
Analysts say that another reason for Obama’s reticence [to appear Christian] may be the sheer number of crises in his first year in office and that a sharper public focus on faith risks becoming a divisive distraction.
"We have a recession, we have the health care agenda - Obama has taken on so much, why add one more thing, especially one that you can’t legislate on?" said Professor Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College.
"It’s only by being part of a church community that he’s going to get his own faith grounded," said Bruce Wall, pastor of Global Ministries Christian Church, in Dorchester. "George Bush did not hide his faith. He was a man of prayer, whether you supported him or not."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
His Kenyan father had been raised Muslim but was an atheist by the time Obama was born. His mother, whose ancestors were Methodist and Baptist, was nonpracticing.
-- From "Obama’s spiritual life takes more private turn" by Ariel Sabar, Boston Globe Correspondent 2/22/10
He named a best-selling book after [his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s] sermon and was outspoken as a candidate about the value of faith in public life. He infused stump speeches with phrases like "I am my brother’s keeper," and made his journey to Christianity a central theme of the life story he shared with voters.
Obama’s courtship of religious groups in the 2008 race - the most extensive ever by a Democratic candidate for president - paid off on Election Day with strong support among liberal and moderate religious voters. He won 54 percent of the Catholic vote, a stark reversal from four years earlier, when Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, himself Catholic, lost the same group to Bush.
But since President Obama took office a year ago, his faith has largely receded from public view. He has attended church in the capital only four times, and worshiped half a dozen times at a secluded Camp David chapel. He prays privately, reads a "daily devotional" that aides send to his BlackBerry, and talks to pastors by phone, but seldom frames policies in spiritual terms.
But the shift has drawn notice from some religious leaders and political analysts, who say it opens Obama to questions of sincerity and threatens his support among the religious voters his campaign helped peel away from the Republican Party.
A poll last August by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life indicated that the proportion of Americans who saw the Democratic Party as friendly to religion had dropped to Bush-era levels, at 29 percent, after peaking at 38 percent at the height of the Obama campaign a year earlier.
Analysts say that another reason for Obama’s reticence [to appear Christian] may be the sheer number of crises in his first year in office and that a sharper public focus on faith risks becoming a divisive distraction.
"We have a recession, we have the health care agenda - Obama has taken on so much, why add one more thing, especially one that you can’t legislate on?" said Professor Alan Wolfe, director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College.
"It’s only by being part of a church community that he’s going to get his own faith grounded," said Bruce Wall, pastor of Global Ministries Christian Church, in Dorchester. "George Bush did not hide his faith. He was a man of prayer, whether you supported him or not."
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
White House Claims Ignorance on Homeland Terrorists
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano urges studies to understand motives of terrorists: "What really is it that draws a young person being raised in the United States to want to go and be at a camp in Yemen and then come back to the United States with the idea of committing harm within the United States?"
-- From "‘Homegrown’ Terrorism Threat Grew in Past Year, Napolitano Says" by Jeff Bliss, Bloomberg, posted at Business Week 2/22/10
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the threat of “homegrown” terrorism increased during the past year and more U.S. citizens or legal residents are “becoming radicalized to the point of violence.”
Napolitano, speaking yesterday during a panel discussion at a meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington, said the U.S. doesn’t have a co-ordinated plan for stopping the spread of militancy.
“We really don’t have a very good handle on how you prevent someone from becoming a violent extremist,” she said. Napolitano recommended studying efforts in foreign countries and states such as Minnesota to expand contacts with Muslim and immigrant communities.
The panel included White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, who discussed the importance of providing state and local officials with access to information about terrorist threats.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Homeland chief: Domestic extremism is top concern" by Eileen Sullivan, The Associated Press 2/21/10
Americans who turn to terrorism and plot against the U.S. are now as big a concern as international terrorists, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Sunday.
The government is just starting to confront this reality and does not have a good handle on how to prevent someone from becoming a violent extremist, she said.
John Brennan, President Barack Obama's homeland security adviser, echoed Napolitano's concerns about violent extremism Sunday.
The White House hosted a meeting to discuss these issues Friday, Brennan said.
"There needs to be community engagement," he said.
The government has been engaged in this sort of outreach for years. Homeland Security officials have periodic meetings with Muslim communities. And FBI agents in certain parts of the country regularly reach out to Muslim communities and leaders.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "‘Homegrown’ Terrorism Threat Grew in Past Year, Napolitano Says" by Jeff Bliss, Bloomberg, posted at Business Week 2/22/10
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the threat of “homegrown” terrorism increased during the past year and more U.S. citizens or legal residents are “becoming radicalized to the point of violence.”
Napolitano, speaking yesterday during a panel discussion at a meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington, said the U.S. doesn’t have a co-ordinated plan for stopping the spread of militancy.
“We really don’t have a very good handle on how you prevent someone from becoming a violent extremist,” she said. Napolitano recommended studying efforts in foreign countries and states such as Minnesota to expand contacts with Muslim and immigrant communities.
The panel included White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan and former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, who discussed the importance of providing state and local officials with access to information about terrorist threats.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Homeland chief: Domestic extremism is top concern" by Eileen Sullivan, The Associated Press 2/21/10
Americans who turn to terrorism and plot against the U.S. are now as big a concern as international terrorists, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Sunday.
The government is just starting to confront this reality and does not have a good handle on how to prevent someone from becoming a violent extremist, she said.
John Brennan, President Barack Obama's homeland security adviser, echoed Napolitano's concerns about violent extremism Sunday.
The White House hosted a meeting to discuss these issues Friday, Brennan said.
"There needs to be community engagement," he said.
The government has been engaged in this sort of outreach for years. Homeland Security officials have periodic meetings with Muslim communities. And FBI agents in certain parts of the country regularly reach out to Muslim communities and leaders.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Abortion Industry Dead, Were it not for Taxpayer Support
A new report asserts the U.S. abortion industry is in significant decline, held together largely through the $300 million-plus that federal taxpayers deliver annually to its major player, Planned Parenthood.
-- From "Report: Taxes prop up 'dying' abortion industry" by Bob Unruh © 2010 WorldNetDaily 2/21/10
"It is very clear that the only abortion group expanding its business is Planned Parenthood, and the only reason it can do so is with the help of our tax dollars," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
His organization last year launched Project Daniel 5:15, which monitors and reports on the status of abortion businesses across the country.
Newman told WND that in the last two decades, two-thirds of the abortion businesses in the nation have imploded.
While Title X funding isn't supposed to go directly for abortions, it does pay the mortgage, light bills, staff salaries and the like, he said.
Stop Planned Parenthood, an effort of the American Life League, promotes a petition demanding that elected officials halt the flow of taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, an organization launched by eugenics advocate Margaret Sanger.
The STOPP organization notes that recent annual federal tax subsidies to Planned Parenthood have been in the $320 million to $330 million range. From 1987 through 2003, the total was $2.7 billion.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Report: Taxes prop up 'dying' abortion industry" by Bob Unruh © 2010 WorldNetDaily 2/21/10
"It is very clear that the only abortion group expanding its business is Planned Parenthood, and the only reason it can do so is with the help of our tax dollars," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman.
His organization last year launched Project Daniel 5:15, which monitors and reports on the status of abortion businesses across the country.
Newman told WND that in the last two decades, two-thirds of the abortion businesses in the nation have imploded.
While Title X funding isn't supposed to go directly for abortions, it does pay the mortgage, light bills, staff salaries and the like, he said.
Stop Planned Parenthood, an effort of the American Life League, promotes a petition demanding that elected officials halt the flow of taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, an organization launched by eugenics advocate Margaret Sanger.
The STOPP organization notes that recent annual federal tax subsidies to Planned Parenthood have been in the $320 million to $330 million range. From 1987 through 2003, the total was $2.7 billion.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
N.C. Teacher Says Bible Gift is 'Hate Crime'
Students placed Bible on teacher's desk; teacher blasts students on Facebook for taunting her
-- From "Teacher may lose job after derogatory comments about her students on Facebook" by T. Keung Hui, McClatchy Newspapers 2/16/10
A middle-school teacher in Wake County, N.C., may be fired after she and her friends made caustic remarks on a Facebook page about her students, the South and Christianity.
Melissa Hussain, an eighth-grade science teacher at West Lake Middle School in Apex, was suspended with pay Friday while investigators review her case, according to Greg Thomas, a Wake schools spokesman. The suspension came after some of Hussain's students and their parents objected to comments on her Facebook page, many of them revolving around her interaction with her Christian students.
Hussain wrote on the social-networking site that it was a "hate crime" that students anonymously left a Bible on her desk, and she told how she "was able to shame" her students over the incident. Her Facebook page included comments from friends about "ignorant Southern rednecks," and one commenter suggested Hussain retaliate by bringing a Dale Earnhardt Jr. poster to class with a swastika drawn on the NASCAR driver's forehead.
On her Facebook page, Hussain wrote about students spreading rumors that she was a Jesus hater. She complained about her students wearing Jesus T-shirts and singing "Jesus Loves Me." She objected to students reading the Bible instead of doing class work.
Parents said the situation escalated after a student put a postcard of Jesus on Hussain's desk that the teacher threw in the trash. Parents also said Hussain sent to the office students who, during a lesson about evolution, asked about the role of God in creation.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Teacher may lose job after derogatory comments about her students on Facebook" by T. Keung Hui, McClatchy Newspapers 2/16/10
A middle-school teacher in Wake County, N.C., may be fired after she and her friends made caustic remarks on a Facebook page about her students, the South and Christianity.
Melissa Hussain, an eighth-grade science teacher at West Lake Middle School in Apex, was suspended with pay Friday while investigators review her case, according to Greg Thomas, a Wake schools spokesman. The suspension came after some of Hussain's students and their parents objected to comments on her Facebook page, many of them revolving around her interaction with her Christian students.
Hussain wrote on the social-networking site that it was a "hate crime" that students anonymously left a Bible on her desk, and she told how she "was able to shame" her students over the incident. Her Facebook page included comments from friends about "ignorant Southern rednecks," and one commenter suggested Hussain retaliate by bringing a Dale Earnhardt Jr. poster to class with a swastika drawn on the NASCAR driver's forehead.
On her Facebook page, Hussain wrote about students spreading rumors that she was a Jesus hater. She complained about her students wearing Jesus T-shirts and singing "Jesus Loves Me." She objected to students reading the Bible instead of doing class work.
Parents said the situation escalated after a student put a postcard of Jesus on Hussain's desk that the teacher threw in the trash. Parents also said Hussain sent to the office students who, during a lesson about evolution, asked about the role of God in creation.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Homosexualists' Action Terminates D.C. Foster Care Program
The [Roman Catholic] Archdiocese of Washington's decision to drop its foster care program is the first casualty of the District of Columbia's pending same-sex marriage law that will obligate all outside contractors dealing with the city to recognize gay couples.
-- From "Catholics end D.C. foster-care program" by Julia Duin, Washington Times 2/18/10
"We regret that our efforts to avoid this outcome were not successful," Catholic Charities Chief Executive Officer Ed Orzechowski said in a statement. "Foster care has been an important ministry for us for many decades. We worked very hard to be able to continue to provide these services in the District."
The transfer of services also means Catholic Charities will discontinue offering public adoption services. The agency processed 12 such adoptions throughout 2009 and including into this year.
"It was a very high-quality program, so this was really hard," archdiocesan spokeswoman Susan Gibbs said of the foster care/adoption service. "We said last fall that we could not continue this program if the bill was passed as written. Well, this has come to pass."
The Vatican has long opposed any church role in aiding homosexuals to adopt. In 2003, it said that placing children into same-sex households was "gravely immoral."
But with more states legalizing same-sex unions, the Washington Archdiocese is the third diocese in the country to leave the adoption/foster care business. The archdioceses of San Francisco and Boston, which had contracts with California and Massachusetts, respectively, ceased their programs in 2006 after each state legalized gay marriages and made it clear that the local Catholic Charities affiliate would have to work with homosexual couples. (California has since repealed its law allowing same-sex marriage.)
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "D.C. Archdiocese Ends Foster Care Program Over Same-Sex Marriage Bill, Which Allows Homosexual Couples to Adopt Children" by Edwin Mora, CNSNews.com 2/19/10
The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. has ended its 80-year tenure as a public foster care provider because of a same-sex marriage bill in the nation’s capital that allows children to be adopted by homosexual couples.
On Feb. 17, Catholic Charities transferred its foster care and public adoption programs in D.C. to the National Center for Children Families (NCCF), a private, non-profit organization that has been serving the less fortunate for 95 years.
The move by Catholic Charities and Archbishop Donald Wuerl came in the wake of the D.C. Council approving a same-sex marriage bill on Dec. 16 by an 11-to-2 vote. The bill, among other things, would require foster care groups under contract with the District to allow and facilitate adoption of foster-care children by homosexual couples.
This policy violates the moral teaching of the Catholic Church, which says that only a man and a woman can be united in marriage and that together with their children they form a family. (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2201-2203.)
If the same-sex initiative clears the 30-day congressional review period, which is expected given the Democrat majority in Congress, the legislation will become law in the next couple of weeks.
While the bill is expected to become law, congressional Republicans and some conservative Democrats have indicated they will try annul the legislation by getting Congress or a court to block it.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Catholics end D.C. foster-care program" by Julia Duin, Washington Times 2/18/10
"We regret that our efforts to avoid this outcome were not successful," Catholic Charities Chief Executive Officer Ed Orzechowski said in a statement. "Foster care has been an important ministry for us for many decades. We worked very hard to be able to continue to provide these services in the District."
The transfer of services also means Catholic Charities will discontinue offering public adoption services. The agency processed 12 such adoptions throughout 2009 and including into this year.
"It was a very high-quality program, so this was really hard," archdiocesan spokeswoman Susan Gibbs said of the foster care/adoption service. "We said last fall that we could not continue this program if the bill was passed as written. Well, this has come to pass."
The Vatican has long opposed any church role in aiding homosexuals to adopt. In 2003, it said that placing children into same-sex households was "gravely immoral."
But with more states legalizing same-sex unions, the Washington Archdiocese is the third diocese in the country to leave the adoption/foster care business. The archdioceses of San Francisco and Boston, which had contracts with California and Massachusetts, respectively, ceased their programs in 2006 after each state legalized gay marriages and made it clear that the local Catholic Charities affiliate would have to work with homosexual couples. (California has since repealed its law allowing same-sex marriage.)
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "D.C. Archdiocese Ends Foster Care Program Over Same-Sex Marriage Bill, Which Allows Homosexual Couples to Adopt Children" by Edwin Mora, CNSNews.com 2/19/10
The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. has ended its 80-year tenure as a public foster care provider because of a same-sex marriage bill in the nation’s capital that allows children to be adopted by homosexual couples.
On Feb. 17, Catholic Charities transferred its foster care and public adoption programs in D.C. to the National Center for Children Families (NCCF), a private, non-profit organization that has been serving the less fortunate for 95 years.
The move by Catholic Charities and Archbishop Donald Wuerl came in the wake of the D.C. Council approving a same-sex marriage bill on Dec. 16 by an 11-to-2 vote. The bill, among other things, would require foster care groups under contract with the District to allow and facilitate adoption of foster-care children by homosexual couples.
This policy violates the moral teaching of the Catholic Church, which says that only a man and a woman can be united in marriage and that together with their children they form a family. (See Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2201-2203.)
If the same-sex initiative clears the 30-day congressional review period, which is expected given the Democrat majority in Congress, the legislation will become law in the next couple of weeks.
While the bill is expected to become law, congressional Republicans and some conservative Democrats have indicated they will try annul the legislation by getting Congress or a court to block it.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Minn. Governor Acknowledges God in America's Founding
“God’s in charge. …I say to those naysayers that try to crowd out God from the discussion, if it’s good enough for the founding fathers it’s good enough for us.”
-- From "Invoking God, Pawlenty tells CPAC crowd Minnesota is ‘the most liberal state’" by Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent 2/19/10
. . . Gov. Tim Pawlenty worked the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Friday. He railed against Democrats, touted Minnesota as the most liberal state in the nation, and told the audience that God should stay in government.
Pawlenty used the snowstorm in Washington, D.C., last week to slam favorite conservative boogeymen House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. “Even the United States Congress was closed, and I say — and I know you agree — any day, any day that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi can’t get to work is a good day for freedom, a good day for liberty and its a good day for people’s wallets.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pawlenty’s Principles: ‘God’s in Charge’" by Adam Nagourney, New York Times (The Caucus Blog) 2/19/10
[CPAC,] a conference where there has not been a lot of talk about social issues, Mr. Pawlenty raised one as he laid out the principles conservatives should follow.
The first one is this: “God’s in charge,” he said. “God is in charge.” Mr. Pawlenty’s remarks drew a wave of applause. “There are some people who say, ‘Oh, you know, Pawlenty, don’t bring that up. You know, it’s politically incorrect.’”
“Hogwash,” Mr. Pawlenty said. “These are enshrined in the founding documents and perspective of our country. In the Declaration of Independence, it says we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights. It doesn’t say we’re endowed by Washington, D.C., or endowed by the bureaucrats or endowed by state government; it’s by our creator that we are given these rights.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Invoking God, Pawlenty tells CPAC crowd Minnesota is ‘the most liberal state’" by Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent 2/19/10
. . . Gov. Tim Pawlenty worked the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Friday. He railed against Democrats, touted Minnesota as the most liberal state in the nation, and told the audience that God should stay in government.
Pawlenty used the snowstorm in Washington, D.C., last week to slam favorite conservative boogeymen House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. “Even the United States Congress was closed, and I say — and I know you agree — any day, any day that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi can’t get to work is a good day for freedom, a good day for liberty and its a good day for people’s wallets.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pawlenty’s Principles: ‘God’s in Charge’" by Adam Nagourney, New York Times (The Caucus Blog) 2/19/10
[CPAC,] a conference where there has not been a lot of talk about social issues, Mr. Pawlenty raised one as he laid out the principles conservatives should follow.
The first one is this: “God’s in charge,” he said. “God is in charge.” Mr. Pawlenty’s remarks drew a wave of applause. “There are some people who say, ‘Oh, you know, Pawlenty, don’t bring that up. You know, it’s politically incorrect.’”
“Hogwash,” Mr. Pawlenty said. “These are enshrined in the founding documents and perspective of our country. In the Declaration of Independence, it says we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights. It doesn’t say we’re endowed by Washington, D.C., or endowed by the bureaucrats or endowed by state government; it’s by our creator that we are given these rights.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Obama's Military Gay Agenda to Muzzle Christians
A team of top-drawer civil and religious rights lawyers is accusing President Obama of establishing a religion for the U.S. military through his demand to promote open homosexuality in the ranks.
-- From "Obama accused of establishing religion for soldiers" by Bob Unruh © 2010 WorldNetDaily 2/19/10
"If chaplains with beliefs that contradict the proposed policy are kept from roles that are likely to generate conflict – like preaching or counseling – then they, the faith groups they represent, and the soldiers whose religious beliefs they serve will all be marginalized," a letter today from the Alliance Defense Fund to Obama said.
"The military would effectively establish preferred religions or religious beliefs," the letter said. "That is a constitutional offense that carries a very pragmatic consequence: just what will happen to recruiting efforts if Christians become second-class soldiers, sailors, airmen, or Marines."
"Military chaplains who have volunteered to defend the liberties protected in our Constitution shouldn't be denied those very same liberties," said [ADF's Kevin] Theriot. "Forcing chaplains to deny the teachings of their faith in order to serve in the armed forces is a grave threat to the First Amendment and to the spiritual health of Marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen who depend on them."
He said if the military is forced to promote homosexual behavior, "for the first time in American history there will be open conflict between the virtues taught by chaplains and the moral message delivered by the military."
"In such a conflict, it's obvious who will win and who will lose. If the state favors the demands of the homosexual activists over the First Amendment, it is only a matter of time before the military censors the religious expression of its chaplains and marginalizes denominations that teach what the Bible says about homosexual behavior," he said.
If Obama's demands are met, the letter suggested, "chaplains with contrary religious beliefs will be forced to choose 'to obey God or men.'"
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Obama accused of establishing religion for soldiers" by Bob Unruh © 2010 WorldNetDaily 2/19/10
"If chaplains with beliefs that contradict the proposed policy are kept from roles that are likely to generate conflict – like preaching or counseling – then they, the faith groups they represent, and the soldiers whose religious beliefs they serve will all be marginalized," a letter today from the Alliance Defense Fund to Obama said.
"The military would effectively establish preferred religions or religious beliefs," the letter said. "That is a constitutional offense that carries a very pragmatic consequence: just what will happen to recruiting efforts if Christians become second-class soldiers, sailors, airmen, or Marines."
"Military chaplains who have volunteered to defend the liberties protected in our Constitution shouldn't be denied those very same liberties," said [ADF's Kevin] Theriot. "Forcing chaplains to deny the teachings of their faith in order to serve in the armed forces is a grave threat to the First Amendment and to the spiritual health of Marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen who depend on them."
He said if the military is forced to promote homosexual behavior, "for the first time in American history there will be open conflict between the virtues taught by chaplains and the moral message delivered by the military."
"In such a conflict, it's obvious who will win and who will lose. If the state favors the demands of the homosexual activists over the First Amendment, it is only a matter of time before the military censors the religious expression of its chaplains and marginalizes denominations that teach what the Bible says about homosexual behavior," he said.
If Obama's demands are met, the letter suggested, "chaplains with contrary religious beliefs will be forced to choose 'to obey God or men.'"
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Obama Ever-changing on Same-sex 'Marriage'
In 1996, Barack Obama favored same-sex 'marriage' but in 2004 he opposed it on religious grounds (yet his 'church' favors it). Then in 2008 he opposed same-sex 'marriage' while campaigning for the presidency (favoring California's Prop 8), but then after being elected, he opposed Prop 8, and now favors repealing the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act.
UPDATE 10/28/10: Obama says his position on same-sex 'marriage' is evolving (again)
UPDATE 1/26/11: White House won't clarify President's position on same-sex 'marriage'
UPDATE 6/17/11: Obama spokesman challenged by far left on 1996 questionnaire (video):
-- From "Obama elusive on about-face on same-sex marriage" by Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer 2/17/10
He is far from unique among presidents in changing positions he held before his election. But presidents usually attribute their turnabouts to external events or congressional resistance.
Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, [the state's largest gay rights group,] dismissed the president's shifting stance as "pure politics."
"When he was running for office in Chicago and wanted strong support from the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community, he made it clear he supported full equality," Kors said. "Since he has continued to seek higher office, he has changed his position for the worse.
"It's especially appalling that he is citing his religious beliefs as grounds for his public government position on the civil marriage issue because he knows better," Kors said.
Obama attended the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago for 20 years and has said he found his faith there. He resigned in May 2008 during an uproar over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermons that labeled the United States a racist, warmongering nation.
In 2005, the United Church of Christ's governing General Synod passed a resolution endorsing "equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender." The church, with 1.1 million members, is the largest U.S. denomination to support same-sex marriage.
Since becoming president, Obama has attended services at several Washington churches but has not joined one. Asked about the president's current affiliation, the White House press office described him as a "committed Christian" who prays daily.
The White House did not reply to questions about how Obama's religious interpretation of marriage might have changed over the years.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 10/28/10: Obama says his position on same-sex 'marriage' is evolving (again)
UPDATE 1/26/11: White House won't clarify President's position on same-sex 'marriage'
UPDATE 6/17/11: Obama spokesman challenged by far left on 1996 questionnaire (video):
-- From "Obama elusive on about-face on same-sex marriage" by Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer 2/17/10
He is far from unique among presidents in changing positions he held before his election. But presidents usually attribute their turnabouts to external events or congressional resistance.
Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, [the state's largest gay rights group,] dismissed the president's shifting stance as "pure politics."
"When he was running for office in Chicago and wanted strong support from the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community, he made it clear he supported full equality," Kors said. "Since he has continued to seek higher office, he has changed his position for the worse.
"It's especially appalling that he is citing his religious beliefs as grounds for his public government position on the civil marriage issue because he knows better," Kors said.
Obama attended the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago for 20 years and has said he found his faith there. He resigned in May 2008 during an uproar over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sermons that labeled the United States a racist, warmongering nation.
In 2005, the United Church of Christ's governing General Synod passed a resolution endorsing "equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender." The church, with 1.1 million members, is the largest U.S. denomination to support same-sex marriage.
Since becoming president, Obama has attended services at several Washington churches but has not joined one. Asked about the president's current affiliation, the White House press office described him as a "committed Christian" who prays daily.
The White House did not reply to questions about how Obama's religious interpretation of marriage might have changed over the years.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
NH Lawmakers Sustain Same-sex 'Marriage'
"It is quite clear that this Legislature is just completely out of touch with the will of the people, who want the right to have their say on the issue of gay marriage. The bottom line though is they are going to get their say at the ballot box this November when they get to elect new officials who represent their interests and not those of the far left lobby."
-- From "NH House rejects 2 anti-gay marriage measures" by Norma Love, Associated Press Writer 2/17/10
Six weeks after New Hampshire legalized gay marriage, the House overwhelmingly defeated two measures Wednesday that would have taken away their right to marry.
The House voted 210-109 to kill a bill to repeal the law. An hour earlier, the House voted 201-135 to kill a proposed constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as between one man and one woman.
Gay marriage opponents needed 60 percent of the House to send the proposed amendment to the Senate, which would have had to pass it by the same margin. They knew their chances of success were slim of passing either measure. Several said they will look to the November election in hopes voters will elect people who will repeal the law next session and put an anti-gay marriage amendment on a future ballot.
Rep. David Bates, R-Windham, tried unsuccessfully to delay the vote on the proposed amendment until March 17, which would be after most town meetings. A number of towns will consider a nonbinding resolution calling on lawmakers to put an amendment on the ballot. Bates, who helped organize the grass-roots effort, wanted the proposed amendment to be on this November's ballot.
So far, organizers have had mixed success getting towns to put the proposal before voters.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "NH House rejects 2 anti-gay marriage measures" by Norma Love, Associated Press Writer 2/17/10
Six weeks after New Hampshire legalized gay marriage, the House overwhelmingly defeated two measures Wednesday that would have taken away their right to marry.
The House voted 210-109 to kill a bill to repeal the law. An hour earlier, the House voted 201-135 to kill a proposed constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as between one man and one woman.
Gay marriage opponents needed 60 percent of the House to send the proposed amendment to the Senate, which would have had to pass it by the same margin. They knew their chances of success were slim of passing either measure. Several said they will look to the November election in hopes voters will elect people who will repeal the law next session and put an anti-gay marriage amendment on a future ballot.
Rep. David Bates, R-Windham, tried unsuccessfully to delay the vote on the proposed amendment until March 17, which would be after most town meetings. A number of towns will consider a nonbinding resolution calling on lawmakers to put an amendment on the ballot. Bates, who helped organize the grass-roots effort, wanted the proposed amendment to be on this November's ballot.
So far, organizers have had mixed success getting towns to put the proposal before voters.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Iowa Bill Sexualizes Christian School Students
Sexual revolutionaries in the Iowa House of Representatives are pushing legislation that would require all schools, public and private, to drop abstinence-only education in favor of "comprehensive sex education beginning in kindergarten."
-- From "Bill would require sex education starting in kindergarten" by Dar Danielson, Radio Iowa 2/11/10
A bill introduced in the Iowa House would expand what’s required to be taught in schools to include “age-appropriate”, comprehensive sex education beginning in kindergarten. The legislation is being pushed by Mary Mascher, a Democrat from Iowa City, who is a longtime educator.
She says kids need more information than they get in schools where abstinence only is taught.
The Association of Christian Schools is . . . opposed to the bill, while Planned Parenthood is lobbying in favor of it. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland spokesman, Kyle Carlson, says the studies he’s read prove that the abstinence only lessons taught in some schools don’t work to keep young people from sexual activity.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Earlier this month, a research report documented the success of abstinence education.
-- From "Bill would require sex education starting in kindergarten" by Dar Danielson, Radio Iowa 2/11/10
A bill introduced in the Iowa House would expand what’s required to be taught in schools to include “age-appropriate”, comprehensive sex education beginning in kindergarten. The legislation is being pushed by Mary Mascher, a Democrat from Iowa City, who is a longtime educator.
She says kids need more information than they get in schools where abstinence only is taught.
The Association of Christian Schools is . . . opposed to the bill, while Planned Parenthood is lobbying in favor of it. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland spokesman, Kyle Carlson, says the studies he’s read prove that the abstinence only lessons taught in some schools don’t work to keep young people from sexual activity.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Earlier this month, a research report documented the success of abstinence education.
Maine School Girls Locker Rooms Open to Men?
Maine commission considering requiring public schools to permit any male student, feeling like a girl that day, full use of girls' facilities
UPDATE 2/2/14: Maine Supreme Court Opens Girl's Room to Men
UPDATE 4/14/10: Commission backs off Gay Agenda and delays guidance document “Sexual Orientation in Schools and Colleges”
-- From "Transgender rights spark debate" by Christopher Cousins, Bangor Daily News Staff 2/17/10
New guidelines under consideration by the Maine Human Rights Commission designed to clarify the rights of transgender students in Maine has sparked a passionate debate over what some feel are impractical or abhorrent new requirements for public schools.
The commission’s proposed guidelines, which are scheduled for further consideration on March 1, state that transgender students are guaranteed access to public school bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams based on whatever gender they consider themselves to be. That means a boy who identifies himself as a girl is by law allowed to use girls bathrooms, locker rooms and participate on girls sports teams, or vice versa. Being “transgender” means having a gender identity that is opposite a person’s biologically assigned sex at birth.
For some, including the Christian Civic League of Maine, the commission’s guidelines are “the latest outrage by radical homosexual activists” which constitute “an impossible absurdity,” according to a press release.
Paul Vestal, chairman of the Maine Human Rights Commission, told the Bangor Daily News Tuesday that there is nothing new about the requirements for public schools and that the commission’s guidelines do nothing more than clarify a law that has been on the books for five years.
At issue is a document under development by the commission titled “Sexual Orientation in Schools and Colleges.” The document is supposed to inform students, teachers, public schools and colleges about their rights and responsibilities under the Maine Human Rights Act. That act was amended by the Legislature in 2005 to include “sexual orientation” as a protected class, a decision that was upheld by voters during a people’s veto attempt later that year.
The debate was rekindled last year when the Human Rights Commission ruled against the Orono School Department for denying access to the girls bathroom to a biologically male student who identifies as a female. An appeal of that decision is pending in Penobscot County Superior Court.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Maine considers banning biology-based restrooms" by Michael Carl © 2010 WorldNetDaily 2/15/10
Christian Civic League of Maine Administrator Mike Hein said it's worrying because he believes the draft of the proposed regulations was developed in a December closed-door session.
"The Maine Human Rights Commission had a secret, closed-door session in December and the public wasn't notified. But Mary Bonauto (director of the Gay and Lesbian Activist and Defenders) was invited to the meeting and she was allowed to present a legal brief at that meeting," Hein said.
The commission said, in documents obtained through a Freedom of Access Act request by Maine's Christian Action League, the June determination that a school discriminated against a boy by not allowing him access to the girls' restroom was correct.
"The commission has found reasonable grounds to believe that unlawful discrimination occurred in a complaint alleging that an elementary school had an obligation to allow a transgender student access to common bathrooms consistent with that student's gender identity, and the commission is a party to a court complaint in that case," the commission concluded.
Another document obtained in the same request details the proposal: "Transgender students must be allowed access to bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity or expression or, if they prefer, to existing single stall bathrooms."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 2/2/14: Maine Supreme Court Opens Girl's Room to Men
UPDATE 4/14/10: Commission backs off Gay Agenda and delays guidance document “Sexual Orientation in Schools and Colleges”
-- From "Transgender rights spark debate" by Christopher Cousins, Bangor Daily News Staff 2/17/10
New guidelines under consideration by the Maine Human Rights Commission designed to clarify the rights of transgender students in Maine has sparked a passionate debate over what some feel are impractical or abhorrent new requirements for public schools.
The commission’s proposed guidelines, which are scheduled for further consideration on March 1, state that transgender students are guaranteed access to public school bathrooms, locker rooms and sports teams based on whatever gender they consider themselves to be. That means a boy who identifies himself as a girl is by law allowed to use girls bathrooms, locker rooms and participate on girls sports teams, or vice versa. Being “transgender” means having a gender identity that is opposite a person’s biologically assigned sex at birth.
For some, including the Christian Civic League of Maine, the commission’s guidelines are “the latest outrage by radical homosexual activists” which constitute “an impossible absurdity,” according to a press release.
Paul Vestal, chairman of the Maine Human Rights Commission, told the Bangor Daily News Tuesday that there is nothing new about the requirements for public schools and that the commission’s guidelines do nothing more than clarify a law that has been on the books for five years.
At issue is a document under development by the commission titled “Sexual Orientation in Schools and Colleges.” The document is supposed to inform students, teachers, public schools and colleges about their rights and responsibilities under the Maine Human Rights Act. That act was amended by the Legislature in 2005 to include “sexual orientation” as a protected class, a decision that was upheld by voters during a people’s veto attempt later that year.
The debate was rekindled last year when the Human Rights Commission ruled against the Orono School Department for denying access to the girls bathroom to a biologically male student who identifies as a female. An appeal of that decision is pending in Penobscot County Superior Court.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Maine considers banning biology-based restrooms" by Michael Carl © 2010 WorldNetDaily 2/15/10
Christian Civic League of Maine Administrator Mike Hein said it's worrying because he believes the draft of the proposed regulations was developed in a December closed-door session.
"The Maine Human Rights Commission had a secret, closed-door session in December and the public wasn't notified. But Mary Bonauto (director of the Gay and Lesbian Activist and Defenders) was invited to the meeting and she was allowed to present a legal brief at that meeting," Hein said.
The commission said, in documents obtained through a Freedom of Access Act request by Maine's Christian Action League, the June determination that a school discriminated against a boy by not allowing him access to the girls' restroom was correct.
"The commission has found reasonable grounds to believe that unlawful discrimination occurred in a complaint alleging that an elementary school had an obligation to allow a transgender student access to common bathrooms consistent with that student's gender identity, and the commission is a party to a court complaint in that case," the commission concluded.
Another document obtained in the same request details the proposal: "Transgender students must be allowed access to bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity or expression or, if they prefer, to existing single stall bathrooms."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
IL Abortionists Push All-encompassing Legislation
Illinois House Bill 6205 covers the waterfront for sexualization of children and no-holds-barred abortion rights.Read more details about this bill.
Illinois residents, CLICK HERE to E-mail your state legislators.
-- From "Abortion bill filed in Illinois - Reproductive Health and Access Act" by Lynda Ackert, Chicago Examiner 2/13/10
In Illinois, the so-called Reproductive Health and Access Act (RHAA) was re-filed Thursday, (February 11th) by chief sponsor Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-25th), and designated as House Bill 6205.
House Bill 6205, the RHAA, is the most radically pro-abortion bill ever proposed in the State of Illinois. Because of its similarity to the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) favored by abortion advocates in Washington D.C., HB6205 has become known as “Illinois FOCA.”
HB6205 establishes abortion as a fundamental right, sweeping away all state restrictions on abortion. A weak exception is made for parental notification, but that wording could easily be changed at a later time.
HB6205 establishes a regime under which a woman could sue any government entity for “interfering with her access to abortion”. This could mean, for example, that a woman could sue a county hospital for not providing her with an abortion, which could lead to every county hospital in Illinois being forced to provide abortions.
HB6205 rescinds local control over sex-ed, mandating comprehensive sex-ed “condom training” in elementary and high school, even for children as young as kindergarten.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Countering Planned Parenthood Eugenics via Billboards
The message on dozens of billboards across Atlanta is provocative: Black children are an 'endangered species.'"Abortion in the black community is at epidemic proportions. If it shocks people . . . it should be shocking."
UPDATE 3/2/10: L.A. Times blames inadequate health insurance for unplanned black pregnancies
-- From "Anti-abortion billboards try to rally blacks" by The Associated Press 2/15/10
The eyebrow-raising ads featuring a young black child are an effort by the anti-abortion movement to use race to rally support within the black community. The reaction from black leaders has been mixed, but the "Too Many Aborted" campaign, which so far is unique to Georgia, is drawing support from other anti-abortion groups across the country.
The billboards went up last week in Atlanta and urge black women to "get outraged." The effort is sponsored by Georgia Right to Life.
Nationally, black women were more than three times as likely to get an abortion in 2006 compared with white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Anti-abortion activists say the procedure has always been linked to race. They claim Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger wanted to eradicate minorities by putting birth-control clinics in their neighborhoods, an allegation Planned Parenthood denies.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Liberals Fear Texas Social Studies Textbook
A solid conservative majority on the Texas Board of Education has the liberal establishment in a tizzy as a new American History textbook will include the actual Christian heritage of the country's founding.-- From "How Christian Were the Founders?" by Russell Shorto, New York Times 2/14/10
. . . the members of what is the most influential state board of education in the country, and one of the most politically conservative, submitted their own proposed changes to the new social-studies curriculum guidelines, whose adoption was the subject of all the attention — guidelines that will affect students around the country, from kindergarten to 12th grade, for the next 10 years.
Public education has always been a battleground between cultural forces; one reason that Texas’ school-board members find themselves at the very center of the battlefield is, not surprisingly, money. The state’s $22 billion education fund is among the largest educational endowments in the country. Texas uses some of that money to buy or distribute a staggering 48 million textbooks annually — which rather strongly inclines educational publishers to tailor their products to fit the standards dictated by the Lone Star State. California is the largest textbook market, but besides being bankrupt, it tends to be so specific about what kinds of information its students should learn that few other states follow its lead.
The Christian “truth” about America’s founding has long been taught in Christian schools, but not beyond. Recently, however — perhaps out of ire at what they see as an aggressive, secular, liberal agenda in Washington and perhaps also because they sense an opening in the battle, a sudden weakness in the lines of the secularists — some activists decided that the time was right to try to reshape the history that children in public schools study. Succeeding at this would help them toward their ultimate goal of reshaping American society. As Cynthia Dunbar, another Christian activist on the Texas board, put it, “The philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next.”
[Gail Lowe, chairwoman of the board, said,] “Many of us recognize that Judeo-Christian principles were the basis of our country and that many of our founding documents had a basis in Scripture. As we try to promote a better understanding of the Constitution, federalism, the separation of the branches of government, the basic rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, I think it will become evident to students that the founders had a religious motivation.”
Some conservatives claim that earlier generations of textbooks were frank in promoting America as a Christian nation. It might be more accurate to say that textbooks of previous eras portrayed leaders as generally noble, with strong personal narratives, undergirded by faith and patriotism. As Frances FitzGerald showed in her groundbreaking 1979 book “America Revised,” if there is one thing to be said about American-history textbooks through the ages it is that the narrative of the past is consistently reshaped by present-day forces. Maybe the most striking thing about current history textbooks is that they have lost a controlling narrative. America is no longer portrayed as one thing, one people, but rather a hodgepodge of issues and minorities, forces and struggles. If it were possible to cast the concerns of the Christian conservatives into secular terms, it might be said that they find this lack of a through line and purpose to be disturbing and dangerous. Many others do as well, of course. But the Christians have an answer.
Their answer is rather specific. Merely weaving important religious trends and events into the narrative of American history is not what the Christian bloc on the Texas board has pushed for in revising its guidelines. Many of the points that have been incorporated into the guidelines or that have been advanced by board members and their expert advisers slant toward portraying America as having a divinely preordained mission.
One recurring theme during the process of revising the social-studies guidelines was the desire of the board to stress the concept of American exceptionalism, and the Christian bloc has repeatedly emphasized that Christianity should be portrayed as the driving force behind what makes America great.
To read this entire, very lengthy article, CLICK HERE.
School Competition: British Lawmakers Consider Religious Schools (some odd)
The failure of public education has spurred interest in government encouragement of privately-controlled schools, including schools run by any number of religions, such as actress Goldie Hawn's Buddhist school of meditation, where "simple breathing exercises can boost a child’s ability to absorb knowledge."
-- From "Class, say hello to Miss Hawn" by Jonathan Oliver, London Sunday Times 2/14/10
The Conservatives are planning a schools revolution — with the help of the French, the Swedes and Goldie Hawn, the Hollywood actress.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Michael Gove, the shadow schools secretary, disclosed that he was in talks with the French government and a Swedish education chain to set up state schools in Britain.
The Tories have faced criticism that their policies on tackling the budget deficit and recognising marriage in the tax system are ill thought out. However, schools reform is one area where the party is ready to move quickly if it wins the general election.
The idea is that charities, churches and parents’ groups will be given the freedom to set up schools in the state sector. Hundreds of schools, particularly in deprived areas, will be taken out of local authority control and given new management.
The new schools will receive about £5,000 for each pupil they attract and to encourage them to set up in the inner cities they will receive a premium for each pupil from a deprived background. It is understood this extra cash will amount to about £1,000 per child.
Until now it had been assumed that most of the new schools would be set up by the main churches and existing sponsors of city academies.
The third potential new entrant to the British schools market is Hawn, the 64-year-old American comedy actress. Hawn, who was brought up Jewish but turned to Buddhism in mid-life, promotes through her Hawn Foundation charity a teaching programme known as MindUp which incorporates ideas of eastern meditation.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Class, say hello to Miss Hawn" by Jonathan Oliver, London Sunday Times 2/14/10
The Conservatives are planning a schools revolution — with the help of the French, the Swedes and Goldie Hawn, the Hollywood actress.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Michael Gove, the shadow schools secretary, disclosed that he was in talks with the French government and a Swedish education chain to set up state schools in Britain.
The Tories have faced criticism that their policies on tackling the budget deficit and recognising marriage in the tax system are ill thought out. However, schools reform is one area where the party is ready to move quickly if it wins the general election.
The idea is that charities, churches and parents’ groups will be given the freedom to set up schools in the state sector. Hundreds of schools, particularly in deprived areas, will be taken out of local authority control and given new management.
The new schools will receive about £5,000 for each pupil they attract and to encourage them to set up in the inner cities they will receive a premium for each pupil from a deprived background. It is understood this extra cash will amount to about £1,000 per child.
Until now it had been assumed that most of the new schools would be set up by the main churches and existing sponsors of city academies.
The third potential new entrant to the British schools market is Hawn, the 64-year-old American comedy actress. Hawn, who was brought up Jewish but turned to Buddhism in mid-life, promotes through her Hawn Foundation charity a teaching programme known as MindUp which incorporates ideas of eastern meditation.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Media Dismiss the Divine Regarding Sarah Palin
News analyst posits: Either Sarah Palin is lucky, she's savvy, or she's been blessed by God.News analyst conclusion: Since it can't be about God, it must be luck.
-- From "Is Sarah Palin Lucky or Savvy?" by Marc Ambinder, CBS News 2/11/10
How is it best to interpret Sarah Palin's re-emergence onto the political scene -- and its implication for the 2012 presidential race?
Palin herself has said she is following the blueprint that God has laid down for her; her political pathway is being lit by lamps supplied by the divine. Interpreting the diety is above my pay grade, so we're left with asking whether Palin is lucky -- in which case she will find herself in a precarious position when the hard campaigning really starts -- or she is savvy, in which case she has a chance to win the Republican nomination.
The case for luck is simple: the tea-party movement happens to the slice of the American electorate that she talks to -- middle-to-lower class white exurbanites over the age of 30. Folks who feel economic dislocation and blame it on intrusion, either by immigrants, diversity or Washington; folks who distrust elite wisdom and are attracted to people who like to spit in the eye of people who condescend to them.
Given how clear Palin's message is – Obama & Washington = bad / your values = good, and given how fascinated the whole country is with her -- anything she says is going to receive significant attention. The flame burns white hot now -- and the argument from luck suggests that Palin is at the apex of her power.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
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