Despite the fact that the First Family has no church home, Michelle is calling on faith-based groups to place their faith in the government by joining her physical fitness agenda.
-- From "Michelle Obama puts faith in exercise" by Amie Parnes, Politico 11/30/10
First lady Michelle Obama asked faith and community leaders Monday to “shake up their congregations” and help her play a “critical role” in helping to eliminate childhood obesity.
“You all play a vital role in so many aspects of people’s lives: offering counseling on family matters, providing comfort and guidance in times of crisis, being there for folks during some of the most important moments of their lives,” the first lady said. “All of you know how to empower people. That’s why you all have an important role to play on an issue you know is near and dear to my heart. You all know how serious a problem this is.
The faith and communities aspect will get support from the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships as well as the Partnership Centers at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a White House aide said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "First Lady launches ‘Let’s Move Faith & Communities’" by Sandra Jordan, The St. Louis American 11/29/10
Mrs. Obama lauded efforts that were underway prior to the Let’s Move campaign and spoke of the crucial role that churches, congregations and community groups play in people’s lives.
“We’ve created a special tool kit on our letsmove.gov website. This toolkit provides all kinds of great ideas and helpful tips for faith and community leaders seeking to promote healthy eating and fitness in their congregations and in their communities,” Mrs. Obama said.
The First AME Church of Los Angeles, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Girl Scouts USA and Catholic Charities are among the first 50 to make a commitment to increase feeding programs for children, encourage exercise and to plant vegetable gardens.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Taxpayers Fund Obscene Homosexual Christmas at Smithsonian
The federally funded National Portrait Gallery (NPG), one of the museums of the Smithsonian Institution, is currently showing an exhibition that features images of an ant-covered Jesus, male genitals, naked brothers kissing, men in chains, Ellen DeGeneres grabbing her breasts, and a painting the Smithsonian itself describes in the show's catalog as "homoerotic."
UPDATE 1/10/12: NPG again held exposition during 2011 Christmas season focused on the homosexual lifestyle (second year in a row).
UPDATE 11/15/11: Ant-covered Jesus now at Brooklyn Museum, which rejected the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn request for it to be removed as it is “disrespectful” to Christians.
UPDATE 1/19/11: Smithsonian leader is apologetic for rapid removal of one item from exhibit
UPDATE 1/13/11: New York Museum of Modern Art purchases ant-covered Jesus video
UPDATE 12/16/10: Art curators label Christians "a hate group and anti-Semitic . . . American Taliban," reminiscent of the 1930s.
Video: "Hide/Seek" curators David C. Ward and Jonathan Katz speak in New York City.
UPDATE 12/3/10 ABC News: Ant-covered Jesus is anti-Christian "hate speech" (view "ant video")
UPDATE 12/1/10 video report:
-- From "Smithsonian Christmas-Season Exhibit Features Ant-Covered Jesus, Naked Brothers Kissing, Genitalia, and Ellen DeGeneres Grabbing Her Breasts" by Penny Starr, CNSNews.com 11/29/10
The exhibit, “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture,” opened on Oct. 30 and will run throughout the Christmas Season, closing on Feb. 13.
The Smithsonian Institution has an annual budget of $761 million, 65 percent of which comes from the federal government, according to Linda St. Thomas, the Smithsonian's chief spokesperson. The National Portrait Gallery itself received $5.8 million in federal funding in fiscal year 2010, according to St. Thomas. It also received $5.8 million in federal funding in fiscal 2009, according to the museum’s annual report. The gallery’s overall funding in that year was $8 million.
A spokesperson for the gallery’s external affairs office said the cost to mount the “Hide/Seek” exhibit is $750,000, the most expensive exhibition to date at the National Portrait Gallery.
Located just seven blocks from the White House, the National Portrait Gallery is a Washington, D.C., tourist attraction because of its permanent collection of portraits of distinguished American figures. These include iconic pieces such as a version of Charles Willson Peale's painting of George Washington after the Battle of Princeton and John Trumbull's portrait of John Adams when he was vice president.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 1/10/12: NPG again held exposition during 2011 Christmas season focused on the homosexual lifestyle (second year in a row).
UPDATE 11/15/11: Ant-covered Jesus now at Brooklyn Museum, which rejected the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn request for it to be removed as it is “disrespectful” to Christians.
UPDATE 1/19/11: Smithsonian leader is apologetic for rapid removal of one item from exhibit
UPDATE 1/13/11: New York Museum of Modern Art purchases ant-covered Jesus video
UPDATE 12/16/10: Art curators label Christians "a hate group and anti-Semitic . . . American Taliban," reminiscent of the 1930s.
Video: "Hide/Seek" curators David C. Ward and Jonathan Katz speak in New York City.
UPDATE 12/3/10 ABC News: Ant-covered Jesus is anti-Christian "hate speech" (view "ant video")
UPDATE 12/1/10 video report:
-- From "Smithsonian Christmas-Season Exhibit Features Ant-Covered Jesus, Naked Brothers Kissing, Genitalia, and Ellen DeGeneres Grabbing Her Breasts" by Penny Starr, CNSNews.com 11/29/10
The exhibit, “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture,” opened on Oct. 30 and will run throughout the Christmas Season, closing on Feb. 13.
The Smithsonian Institution has an annual budget of $761 million, 65 percent of which comes from the federal government, according to Linda St. Thomas, the Smithsonian's chief spokesperson. The National Portrait Gallery itself received $5.8 million in federal funding in fiscal year 2010, according to St. Thomas. It also received $5.8 million in federal funding in fiscal 2009, according to the museum’s annual report. The gallery’s overall funding in that year was $8 million.
A spokesperson for the gallery’s external affairs office said the cost to mount the “Hide/Seek” exhibit is $750,000, the most expensive exhibition to date at the National Portrait Gallery.
Located just seven blocks from the White House, the National Portrait Gallery is a Washington, D.C., tourist attraction because of its permanent collection of portraits of distinguished American figures. These include iconic pieces such as a version of Charles Willson Peale's painting of George Washington after the Battle of Princeton and John Trumbull's portrait of John Adams when he was vice president.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Muslim Terrorists Target Jesus Christ
Politicians may say that America is not at war with Islam, but it's clear that some Muslims have declared war against a Christian America by specifically targeting Christmas.
-- From "Terror and Partisanship" by James Taranto, Wall Street Journal 11/29/10
The war on Christmas continues. Last year it was the "underpants bomber," this year 19-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamud, who allegedly planned to blow up a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony [in] Portland, Ore., but was foiled by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Alleged Christmas Tree Bomber Said He Wanted to Kill Americans While ‘They Were With Their Families Celebrating the Holidays,’ Says Affidavit" by Terence P. Jeffrey, CNSNews.com 11/27/10
Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a 19-year-old Oregon State student who is a Somali-born naturalized U.S. citizen, told undercover FBI agents that he wanted to detonate a bomb near Pioneer Square in Portland, Ore., during the annual lighting of the Christmas tree there on Friday because he wanted to kill Americans while “they were with their families celebrating the holidays,” according to an FBI affidavit.
Mohamud allegedly made the statement in a video- and audio-taped conversation he had with two undercover FBI agents on Aug. 19 of this year in a Portland, Ore., hotel room.
Mohamud, according to the affidavit, explained to the undercover agents why he wanted to specifically target Pioneer Square while they were lighting the Christmas tree.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "It Just Isn’t Christmas without a Muslim Bombing" by Daniel Greenfield, Canada Free Press 11/29/10
Last year’s Christmas terrorist hailed from Nigeria. This year’s mad Muslim bomber comes from Somalia. And they bring with them tidings of a new season. A season in which holiday shopping now comes with massacre plots mixed in with the radio jingles and cheer.
To read the opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Terror and Partisanship" by James Taranto, Wall Street Journal 11/29/10
The war on Christmas continues. Last year it was the "underpants bomber," this year 19-year-old Mohamed Osman Mohamud, who allegedly planned to blow up a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony [in] Portland, Ore., but was foiled by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Alleged Christmas Tree Bomber Said He Wanted to Kill Americans While ‘They Were With Their Families Celebrating the Holidays,’ Says Affidavit" by Terence P. Jeffrey, CNSNews.com 11/27/10
Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a 19-year-old Oregon State student who is a Somali-born naturalized U.S. citizen, told undercover FBI agents that he wanted to detonate a bomb near Pioneer Square in Portland, Ore., during the annual lighting of the Christmas tree there on Friday because he wanted to kill Americans while “they were with their families celebrating the holidays,” according to an FBI affidavit.
Mohamud allegedly made the statement in a video- and audio-taped conversation he had with two undercover FBI agents on Aug. 19 of this year in a Portland, Ore., hotel room.
Mohamud, according to the affidavit, explained to the undercover agents why he wanted to specifically target Pioneer Square while they were lighting the Christmas tree.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "It Just Isn’t Christmas without a Muslim Bombing" by Daniel Greenfield, Canada Free Press 11/29/10
Last year’s Christmas terrorist hailed from Nigeria. This year’s mad Muslim bomber comes from Somalia. And they bring with them tidings of a new season. A season in which holiday shopping now comes with massacre plots mixed in with the radio jingles and cheer.
To read the opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Atheists Declare War on Christmas, Launch Salvo
The American Atheists' billboard in North Bergen, N.J.: “You KNOW it’s a Myth / This Season, Celebrate REASON!”
President David Silverman said, “If the religious right wants a war on Christmas, this is what they’re going to get. . . . we’re going to make sure they know what one looks like.”
By the way, this billboard company refused to sell space for the message "Where's The Birth Certificate?"
-- From "'Celebrate Reason': New Atheist Billboard Calls Christmas a Myth" by Scott Baker at TheBlaze.com 11/28/10
The American Atheists website lays out their mission this way:
From "Atheists’ ad blitz calls Christmas a myth" by Stephanie Akin, Staff Writer, The Record posted at NewJersey.com 11/26/10
The $20,000 campaign, sponsored by a national organization called American Atheists, is timed to preempt annual accusations that liberal groups are waging war on Christmas by asking church adherents to question their holiday traditions, American Atheists President David Silverman said.
The campaign is one of several atheist media blitzes scheduled this holiday season.
It joins a $200,000 national television, newspaper and magazine advertising campaign sponsored by the American Humanist Association and the Stiefel Freethought Foundation meant to challenge biblical morality and fundamentalist Christianity.
Silverman said his group interprets [poll] numbers as a sign that the country is on the verge of an explosive growth in secularism.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "When Jesus' Nativity is a myth and Obama's is gospel" © 2010 WorldNetDaily 11/26/10
. . . when the "birth certificate" billboard campaign was launched by WND founder and CEO Joseph Farah, Lamar [Outdoor] spokesman Hal Kilshaw told WND his company was "just not going to accept that copy."
"We think it's a settled matter," he told WND at the time. "We think it's misleading to indicate there's any question about the president's birth certificate. We looked at it and we made the call."
The slam against God, however, is "not a question of a fact; just a point of view from people," he said.
The "code of industry principles as a guide for content" from the Outdoor Advertising Association of America includes the industry's support for the First Amendment, and calls on companies to "Observe Highest Free Speech Standards."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
President David Silverman said, “If the religious right wants a war on Christmas, this is what they’re going to get. . . . we’re going to make sure they know what one looks like.”
By the way, this billboard company refused to sell space for the message "Where's The Birth Certificate?"
-- From "'Celebrate Reason': New Atheist Billboard Calls Christmas a Myth" by Scott Baker at TheBlaze.com 11/28/10
The American Atheists website lays out their mission this way:
Statistics show that nearly 50 million Americans are atheists. Some use names like freethinker, agnostic or humanist to describe or modify their position, but atheism (the absence of a belief in a deity) is broad, and encompasses all those terms. If you don’t have an active belief in a god, you’re an atheist. It’s a very good thing!To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Millions of atheists are closeted, choosing to go along to get along, and feigning religion to their friends, family, and coworkers. American Atheists understands the pressure to fit in, but we maintain that for people to love you, they must know the real you.
From "Atheists’ ad blitz calls Christmas a myth" by Stephanie Akin, Staff Writer, The Record posted at NewJersey.com 11/26/10
The $20,000 campaign, sponsored by a national organization called American Atheists, is timed to preempt annual accusations that liberal groups are waging war on Christmas by asking church adherents to question their holiday traditions, American Atheists President David Silverman said.
The campaign is one of several atheist media blitzes scheduled this holiday season.
It joins a $200,000 national television, newspaper and magazine advertising campaign sponsored by the American Humanist Association and the Stiefel Freethought Foundation meant to challenge biblical morality and fundamentalist Christianity.
Silverman said his group interprets [poll] numbers as a sign that the country is on the verge of an explosive growth in secularism.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "When Jesus' Nativity is a myth and Obama's is gospel" © 2010 WorldNetDaily 11/26/10
. . . when the "birth certificate" billboard campaign was launched by WND founder and CEO Joseph Farah, Lamar [Outdoor] spokesman Hal Kilshaw told WND his company was "just not going to accept that copy."
"We think it's a settled matter," he told WND at the time. "We think it's misleading to indicate there's any question about the president's birth certificate. We looked at it and we made the call."
The slam against God, however, is "not a question of a fact; just a point of view from people," he said.
The "code of industry principles as a guide for content" from the Outdoor Advertising Association of America includes the industry's support for the First Amendment, and calls on companies to "Observe Highest Free Speech Standards."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Obama Reads Bible, but doesn't Honor Bible
While President Obama was busy telling Barbara Walters that their family says grace at mealtime, and that he reads the Bible, he's overlooked National Bible Week, which has been recognized by presidents since President Roosevelt.
For background, read Is Obama Christian? Few Think So: Poll
-- From "Obama: I pray every night, read the Bible" by Elise Viebeck, The Hill 11/27/10
Praying and reading the Bible are part of his everyday life, President Obama said in a wide-ranging interview broadcast Friday.
"Michelle and I have not only benefited from our prayer life, but I think the girls have too," the president told Walters. "We say grace before we eat dinner every night. We take turns."
Obama has been dogged by criticism about his faith since he took office. A poll released in late August showed that a growing number of Americans — one in five, up from one in ten in March — say he is a Muslim.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "The Obamas' prayer: 'Live long and strong'" by Dan Gilgoff, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor 11/27/10
[Photo at right: Mr. Spock, from Star Trek, "Live long and prosper."]
"It's interesting listening to the girls, what they pray for," the president told Barbara Walters, referring to daughters Malia and Sasha.
"They'll talk about family and thanking God for blessing us, but they'll always add a little twist: 'I hope we have a great Thanksgiving, I can't wait to see the cousins,' " Obama said. "They used to pray for a dog, until we got a dog."
"But in the end," the first lady added, "we always say, 'we hope we live long and strong.'"
The president repeated those words: "Long and strong."
The Obamas have frequently spoken about prayer since arriving in the White House. Last month, Michelle Obama told a nationally syndicated radio show that the Obamas can feel prayers that are said for them.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama Oblivious About Bible Week" by Janet M. LaRue posted at Townhall.com 11/23/10
Ramadan got a White House banquet. “National Bible Week” hasn’t gotten a mention, much less an honorable one, by its Honorary Chairman Barack Hussein Obama.
National Bible Week, founded by the National Bible Association, has been celebrated during Thanksgiving week, Nov. 21-28, since its beginning in 1941. According to the National Examiner:
For background, read Is Obama Christian? Few Think So: Poll
-- From "Obama: I pray every night, read the Bible" by Elise Viebeck, The Hill 11/27/10
Praying and reading the Bible are part of his everyday life, President Obama said in a wide-ranging interview broadcast Friday.
"Michelle and I have not only benefited from our prayer life, but I think the girls have too," the president told Walters. "We say grace before we eat dinner every night. We take turns."
Obama has been dogged by criticism about his faith since he took office. A poll released in late August showed that a growing number of Americans — one in five, up from one in ten in March — say he is a Muslim.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "The Obamas' prayer: 'Live long and strong'" by Dan Gilgoff, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor 11/27/10
[Photo at right: Mr. Spock, from Star Trek, "Live long and prosper."]
"It's interesting listening to the girls, what they pray for," the president told Barbara Walters, referring to daughters Malia and Sasha.
"They'll talk about family and thanking God for blessing us, but they'll always add a little twist: 'I hope we have a great Thanksgiving, I can't wait to see the cousins,' " Obama said. "They used to pray for a dog, until we got a dog."
"But in the end," the first lady added, "we always say, 'we hope we live long and strong.'"
The president repeated those words: "Long and strong."
The Obamas have frequently spoken about prayer since arriving in the White House. Last month, Michelle Obama told a nationally syndicated radio show that the Obamas can feel prayers that are said for them.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama Oblivious About Bible Week" by Janet M. LaRue posted at Townhall.com 11/23/10
Ramadan got a White House banquet. “National Bible Week” hasn’t gotten a mention, much less an honorable one, by its Honorary Chairman Barack Hussein Obama.
National Bible Week, founded by the National Bible Association, has been celebrated during Thanksgiving week, Nov. 21-28, since its beginning in 1941. According to the National Examiner:
December 8 through 14, 1941 was set as the very first National Bible Week. President Roosevelt agreed to host celebratory events at the White House. . . .President Ronald Reagan proclaimed 1983 the Year of the Bible, stating:
The Bible and its teachings helped form the basis for the Founding Fathers' abiding belief in the inalienable rights of the individual, rights which they found implicit in the Bible's teachings of the inherent worth and dignity of each individual.To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
U.N. Says Christians Cause Deaths in Africa
The U.N. Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) met this month in Ghana, Africa insisting that Christians' resistance to legalizing abortion in developing countries worldwide, but particularly in Africa, has resulted in unnecessary deaths of pregnant women.
-- From "To save women's lives in Africa, bring abortion out of the shadows" by Sharon Camp, UK Guardian 11/12/10
While abortion is very safe in countries where it is legal and provided by trained medical professionals, clandestine abortion – the norm in most of Africa – can lead to death and serious injury. Approximately 26,000 African women die as a result of unsafe abortion every year. Another 1.7 million are hospitalised, and many others also suffer serious health complications, but never seek treatment.
Over 90% of African women of childbearing age live in countries with limited or no access to safe abortion procedures. According to the most recent data available, of the 5.6m abortions carried out in the region every year, only 100,000 are performed under safe conditions.
While some African nations have loosened abortion restrictions, 14 countries still prohibit it under all circumstances – even to save the pregnant woman's life.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Church Leaders An Obstacle To Preventing Maternal Deaths" By Christi van der Westhuizen, Inter Press Service 11/12/10
The resurgence in religious fundamentalism and the inordinate influence of certain church leaders over public health policy present major obstacles to the prevention of needless deaths and injuries of women from unsafe abortion on the African continent.
This was one of the issues discussed at a conference with the theme "Keeping our Promise. Addressing Unsafe Abortion in Africa", hosted Nov. 8-11 by Ipas with the support of Ghana’s health ministry in Accra. Ipas is a global, non-profit organisation promoting women’s exercise of sexual and reproductive rights.
More than 230 delegates, including cabinet ministers, parliamentarians and healthcare providers from 20 African countries, attended the conference.
The non-implementation of existing laws is partly due to ignorance and prejudice among healthcare personnel and law enforcement officials and partly due to the negative influence of certain religious leaders, delegates at the conference heard.
Ipas country director for Ghana, Dr Koma Jehu-Appiah, adds that, "Ghanaians tend to confuse religion with everything. Abortion is stigmatised as sinful. But you cannot use religion to solve public health problems."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "UN Partners With NGOs to Push Abortion in Africa" By Samantha Singson, Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute 11/25/10
In addition to legal restrictions, some conference sponsors blamed religion and churches for putting a “stranglehold” on policymakers. Dr. Eunice Brookman-Amissah, Ipas vice-president for Africa, called restrictive abortion laws “archaic” and complained that attempts to liberalize laws “inherited from colonial administrations” have been circumvented by “anti-abortion churches.”
According to a UN factsheet, the legal status of abortion is the sovereign right of each nation and that the United Nations does not provide support for abortion or abortion related activities anywhere in the world.
UNECA's mandate is to promote the economic and social development in and among countries in the region and to promote international cooperation for Africa's development. While the UN is not supposed to take a position on abortion, in 2006 UN agencies including UNICEF and UNFPA came under fire for intervening in Nicaragua’s decision to ban abortion.
While conference organizers argued that legalizing abortion would lower maternal mortality, critics take issue with the abortion focus, pointing out that the lack of modern medicine and quality health care, not the prohibition of abortion, are the biggest contributors to high maternal mortality rates.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "UN pressures El Salvador to legalize abortion" posted at Catholic News Agency 11/3/10
Last week the U.N. commission circulated a memo demanding El Salvador “take measures to prevent women who seek treatment in public hospitals from being reported by health care workers or administrators for the crime of abortion.”
The “Brazilian Consensus” is an international document signed in July 2010 at the 11th Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, which is organized by the U.N. The document, which promotes abortion in Latin America and is constantly cited by feminist organizations, lacks any legal authority to impose the practice on countries in the region. Numerous countries, such as Chile, Costa Rica, Peru and Nicaragua have questioned the legal value of the accord.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Read also, Worldwide Abortion Advanced by IL Sen. Durbin
-- From "To save women's lives in Africa, bring abortion out of the shadows" by Sharon Camp, UK Guardian 11/12/10
While abortion is very safe in countries where it is legal and provided by trained medical professionals, clandestine abortion – the norm in most of Africa – can lead to death and serious injury. Approximately 26,000 African women die as a result of unsafe abortion every year. Another 1.7 million are hospitalised, and many others also suffer serious health complications, but never seek treatment.
Over 90% of African women of childbearing age live in countries with limited or no access to safe abortion procedures. According to the most recent data available, of the 5.6m abortions carried out in the region every year, only 100,000 are performed under safe conditions.
While some African nations have loosened abortion restrictions, 14 countries still prohibit it under all circumstances – even to save the pregnant woman's life.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Church Leaders An Obstacle To Preventing Maternal Deaths" By Christi van der Westhuizen, Inter Press Service 11/12/10
The resurgence in religious fundamentalism and the inordinate influence of certain church leaders over public health policy present major obstacles to the prevention of needless deaths and injuries of women from unsafe abortion on the African continent.
This was one of the issues discussed at a conference with the theme "Keeping our Promise. Addressing Unsafe Abortion in Africa", hosted Nov. 8-11 by Ipas with the support of Ghana’s health ministry in Accra. Ipas is a global, non-profit organisation promoting women’s exercise of sexual and reproductive rights.
More than 230 delegates, including cabinet ministers, parliamentarians and healthcare providers from 20 African countries, attended the conference.
The non-implementation of existing laws is partly due to ignorance and prejudice among healthcare personnel and law enforcement officials and partly due to the negative influence of certain religious leaders, delegates at the conference heard.
Ipas country director for Ghana, Dr Koma Jehu-Appiah, adds that, "Ghanaians tend to confuse religion with everything. Abortion is stigmatised as sinful. But you cannot use religion to solve public health problems."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "UN Partners With NGOs to Push Abortion in Africa" By Samantha Singson, Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute 11/25/10
In addition to legal restrictions, some conference sponsors blamed religion and churches for putting a “stranglehold” on policymakers. Dr. Eunice Brookman-Amissah, Ipas vice-president for Africa, called restrictive abortion laws “archaic” and complained that attempts to liberalize laws “inherited from colonial administrations” have been circumvented by “anti-abortion churches.”
According to a UN factsheet, the legal status of abortion is the sovereign right of each nation and that the United Nations does not provide support for abortion or abortion related activities anywhere in the world.
UNECA's mandate is to promote the economic and social development in and among countries in the region and to promote international cooperation for Africa's development. While the UN is not supposed to take a position on abortion, in 2006 UN agencies including UNICEF and UNFPA came under fire for intervening in Nicaragua’s decision to ban abortion.
While conference organizers argued that legalizing abortion would lower maternal mortality, critics take issue with the abortion focus, pointing out that the lack of modern medicine and quality health care, not the prohibition of abortion, are the biggest contributors to high maternal mortality rates.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "UN pressures El Salvador to legalize abortion" posted at Catholic News Agency 11/3/10
Last week the U.N. commission circulated a memo demanding El Salvador “take measures to prevent women who seek treatment in public hospitals from being reported by health care workers or administrators for the crime of abortion.”
The “Brazilian Consensus” is an international document signed in July 2010 at the 11th Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, which is organized by the U.N. The document, which promotes abortion in Latin America and is constantly cited by feminist organizations, lacks any legal authority to impose the practice on countries in the region. Numerous countries, such as Chile, Costa Rica, Peru and Nicaragua have questioned the legal value of the accord.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Read also, Worldwide Abortion Advanced by IL Sen. Durbin
Pro-life Congress: De-Fund Abortion Industry
Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) vows, if he becomes chair of the House Appropriations Committee, to stop the federal funding of abortions, while Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) plans to re-introduce the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act to strip all funding from Planned Parenthood.
UPDATE 1/20/11: Rep. Chris Smith introduces HR3, the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act"
UPDATE 1/7/11: Rep. Mike Pence Introduces HR 217 to Stop Tax Dollars from Going to Planned Parenthood
-- From "Lewis vows to stop abortion money" by Simmi Aujla, Politico 11/23/10
Lewis told members of the Pro-Life Caucus in a letter late last week that he wants to pass a law that prevents any government funds from going to abortions. He said a statutory fix would stop abortion funding more thoroughly than amendments to appropriations bills that only temporarily address the issue.
He went further, saying he'll work with the Oversight and Government Reform committee to do thorough oversight of funding for organizations like Planned Parenthood. He also promised to encourage the steering committee to pick anti-abortion Republicans for the appropriations panel.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Mike Pence Presses for De-Funding Planned Parenthood, Abortion Biz Upset" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 11/24/10
“Reports show that Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion provider, receives nearly one-third of its $1 billion annual budget from the federal government. And it’s about to get worse, because Obamacare is hiding even more tax dollars in handouts for abortion providers,” Pence explained.
Pence referred to the Pledge With America that House Republicans put forward before the elections promising to dismantle ObamaCare, which contains a full prohibition on abortion funding, and to cut off taxpayer funding for abortions in other areas.
. . . the Indiana congressman wrote. “With a new Republican majority, Planned Parenthood is running scared.”
That appears to be the case as Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards sent a desperate email to supporters of the abortion business today pleading for funds to combat the legislation.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Not all Republicans were on board with Rep. Pence in the past, as indicated in this 2008 article:
IL Congressmen Kirk & Biggert Fight Against Pro-life Effort (it's now SENATOR Kirk)
UPDATE 1/20/11: Rep. Chris Smith introduces HR3, the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act"
UPDATE 1/7/11: Rep. Mike Pence Introduces HR 217 to Stop Tax Dollars from Going to Planned Parenthood
-- From "Lewis vows to stop abortion money" by Simmi Aujla, Politico 11/23/10
Lewis told members of the Pro-Life Caucus in a letter late last week that he wants to pass a law that prevents any government funds from going to abortions. He said a statutory fix would stop abortion funding more thoroughly than amendments to appropriations bills that only temporarily address the issue.
He went further, saying he'll work with the Oversight and Government Reform committee to do thorough oversight of funding for organizations like Planned Parenthood. He also promised to encourage the steering committee to pick anti-abortion Republicans for the appropriations panel.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Mike Pence Presses for De-Funding Planned Parenthood, Abortion Biz Upset" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 11/24/10
“Reports show that Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion provider, receives nearly one-third of its $1 billion annual budget from the federal government. And it’s about to get worse, because Obamacare is hiding even more tax dollars in handouts for abortion providers,” Pence explained.
Pence referred to the Pledge With America that House Republicans put forward before the elections promising to dismantle ObamaCare, which contains a full prohibition on abortion funding, and to cut off taxpayer funding for abortions in other areas.
. . . the Indiana congressman wrote. “With a new Republican majority, Planned Parenthood is running scared.”
That appears to be the case as Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards sent a desperate email to supporters of the abortion business today pleading for funds to combat the legislation.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Not all Republicans were on board with Rep. Pence in the past, as indicated in this 2008 article:
IL Congressmen Kirk & Biggert Fight Against Pro-life Effort (it's now SENATOR Kirk)
Friday, November 26, 2010
Iowans Energized Against Abortion
Hundreds of Council Bluffs citizens jammed the City Hall to stop LeRoy Carhart, the Nebraska late-term abortionist, from spreading his killing fields to Iowa. The council unanimously agreed to forbid construction of an abortion clinic on its property.
-- From "Council vote could stall, but not block, abortion clinic" by Jon leu, Managing Editor, The Daily Nonpareil (Council Bluffs, IA) 11/25/10
The City Council vote Monday night to sell a city-owned 24,393-square-foot vacant lot at North 15th Street and Avenue G – but sell it with restrictions – can be viewed as a delaying tactic, but it will not block LeRoy Carhart’s efforts to build an abortion clinic in Council Bluffs.
Monday’s council vote to sell the Avenue G property came with the stipulation that the property could not be used for an abortion clinic.
Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan said the city can impose deed restrictions on city-owned land that the city wishes to sell, and that is exactly what the council did Monday night.
But [City Attorney Richard] Wade was quick to admit there is relatively little city officials can do to block an effort by Carhart to open a clinic in Council Bluffs.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Abortion foes fill Bluffs meeting" by Tim Rohwer, Omaha World-Herald 11/22/10
If LeRoy Carhart wants to build an abortion clinic in Council Bluffs, it won't come without a fight.
That was made clear Monday evening by those who jammed City Hall as well as by the City Council's action on a vacant piece of ground.
The turnout apparently was prompted by a rumor that the land might be among the parcels that Carhart is considering. There was no indication at the meeting, however, that it was in fact a site he wanted to use.
Mayor Tom Hanafan said that no one has come forward to seek city approval for an abortion clinic.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Iowa Lawmakers to Push Bills to Limit Late-Term Abortion Practitioner" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 11/24/10
When the newly-elected officials take their positions in January in Des Moines, pro-life advocates expect them to push for legislation that would focus on late-term abortion practitioner Leroy Carhart.
Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center Action . . . told the CitizenLink publication of Focus on the Family that Iowa’s incoming Republican leadership in the state House vows to pass pro-life bills in 2011, including legislation related to Carhart.
Jennifer Bowen, the director of Iowa Right to Life, already said the 2010 elections put the pro-life movement in a position to promote legislation like the fetal pain bill in Nebraska that bans abortions after 20 weeks and is prompting Carhart’s proposed relocation.
Because of the problem of Planned Parenthood expanding abortion with the use of the controversial telemed abortion procedure, Bowen says pro-life groups are reinvigorated and ready to work with newly-elected officials on legislation or investigations of abortion practitioners like Carhart.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Council vote could stall, but not block, abortion clinic" by Jon leu, Managing Editor, The Daily Nonpareil (Council Bluffs, IA) 11/25/10
The City Council vote Monday night to sell a city-owned 24,393-square-foot vacant lot at North 15th Street and Avenue G – but sell it with restrictions – can be viewed as a delaying tactic, but it will not block LeRoy Carhart’s efforts to build an abortion clinic in Council Bluffs.
Monday’s council vote to sell the Avenue G property came with the stipulation that the property could not be used for an abortion clinic.
Council Bluffs Mayor Tom Hanafan said the city can impose deed restrictions on city-owned land that the city wishes to sell, and that is exactly what the council did Monday night.
But [City Attorney Richard] Wade was quick to admit there is relatively little city officials can do to block an effort by Carhart to open a clinic in Council Bluffs.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Abortion foes fill Bluffs meeting" by Tim Rohwer, Omaha World-Herald 11/22/10
If LeRoy Carhart wants to build an abortion clinic in Council Bluffs, it won't come without a fight.
That was made clear Monday evening by those who jammed City Hall as well as by the City Council's action on a vacant piece of ground.
The turnout apparently was prompted by a rumor that the land might be among the parcels that Carhart is considering. There was no indication at the meeting, however, that it was in fact a site he wanted to use.
Mayor Tom Hanafan said that no one has come forward to seek city approval for an abortion clinic.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Iowa Lawmakers to Push Bills to Limit Late-Term Abortion Practitioner" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 11/24/10
When the newly-elected officials take their positions in January in Des Moines, pro-life advocates expect them to push for legislation that would focus on late-term abortion practitioner Leroy Carhart.
Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center Action . . . told the CitizenLink publication of Focus on the Family that Iowa’s incoming Republican leadership in the state House vows to pass pro-life bills in 2011, including legislation related to Carhart.
Jennifer Bowen, the director of Iowa Right to Life, already said the 2010 elections put the pro-life movement in a position to promote legislation like the fetal pain bill in Nebraska that bans abortions after 20 weeks and is prompting Carhart’s proposed relocation.
Because of the problem of Planned Parenthood expanding abortion with the use of the controversial telemed abortion procedure, Bowen says pro-life groups are reinvigorated and ready to work with newly-elected officials on legislation or investigations of abortion practitioners like Carhart.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Lesbianism NOT Genetic: Study
A recently released study shows a link between childhood family structure and the rate of female homosexuality -- undermining the claim that sexual orientation is genetic or biological.
-- From "Lesbianism linked to upbringing" by Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow 11/22/10
Family Research Council (FRC) looked into the family lives and worship rates of 7,643 women between the ages of 14 and 44. Pat Fagan, senior fellow and director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute at FRC, co-evaluated the data and tells OneNewsNow about the findings.
"Once the girl grows up in a home in which her father is not present, it's about three times" more likely she has had or will have homosexual partners, he says -- but when she is raised by parents who are married and "always intact, it's about a four-percent rate." Moreover, he explains that rate is "slightly higher in the always-intact-but-cohabitating parents -- that's parents who never married."
"The big take away from this study is that clearly, this [type of sexual behavior] is not genetic," Fagan points out. "The different rates of homosexuality among women are very reactive to the family structure within which they grow up. If it was genetic, you would find pretty much the same rates all across."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Study Reveals Lesbianism is Not Genetic" by Sandi Shore, Daily Christian News 11/23/10
Fagan shared the following results:
Read also, Women Choose Homosexuality - Not Genetic: Study
UPDATE 3/12/11: Choosing Lesbian Sex in College: Fed Study
-- From "Lesbianism linked to upbringing" by Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow 11/22/10
Family Research Council (FRC) looked into the family lives and worship rates of 7,643 women between the ages of 14 and 44. Pat Fagan, senior fellow and director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute at FRC, co-evaluated the data and tells OneNewsNow about the findings.
"Once the girl grows up in a home in which her father is not present, it's about three times" more likely she has had or will have homosexual partners, he says -- but when she is raised by parents who are married and "always intact, it's about a four-percent rate." Moreover, he explains that rate is "slightly higher in the always-intact-but-cohabitating parents -- that's parents who never married."
"The big take away from this study is that clearly, this [type of sexual behavior] is not genetic," Fagan points out. "The different rates of homosexuality among women are very reactive to the family structure within which they grow up. If it was genetic, you would find pretty much the same rates all across."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Study Reveals Lesbianism is Not Genetic" by Sandi Shore, Daily Christian News 11/23/10
Fagan shared the following results:
- A girl who grows up in a family where her father is not present is about 3 times more likely to have homosexual partners.To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
- Rates continue to rise slightly for step-families and single divorced parents.
- Women who worship regularly, weekly or monthly, have a lower rate of lesbianism.
Read also, Women Choose Homosexuality - Not Genetic: Study
UPDATE 3/12/11: Choosing Lesbian Sex in College: Fed Study
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Christian Orgs. Deemed Hate Groups for Bible Honesty
The [government-funded] Southern Poverty Law Center has released a new list of "hate groups" that includes many highly regarded, mainstream Christian organizations because of their opposition to homosexuality.
Meanwhile, the FBI reports a 15% drop in "hate crimes;" in 2009 there were less than three so-called "sexual orientation hate crimes" per 1,000,000 American citizens
UPDATE 12/24/10: Conservative groups and lawmakers fire back at SPLC
UPDATE 12/20/10 FOX 32 TV Chicago "hit piece" on Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth:
-- From "'Hate' designation irks gay marriage opponents" by Krissah Thompson, Washington Post Staff Writer 11/25/10
The Southern Poverty Law Center this week labeled as "hate groups" several political and religious organizations that campaign against same-sex marriage and, the center says, engage in "repeated, groundless name-calling" against gays and lesbians.
Included on the list released by the civil rights organization is the Family Research Council, a prominent and politically influential group of social conservatives. The report by the law center, which has spent four decades tracking extremist groups and hate speech, accuses the council and a dozen other groups of putting out "demonizing propaganda aimed at homosexuals and other sexual minorities."
"The left's smear campaign of conservatives is . . . being driven by the clear evidence that the American public is losing patience with their radical policy agenda as seen in the recent election and in the fact that every state . . . that has had the opportunity to defend the natural definition of marriage has done so," [Family Research Council President Tony] Perkins said in a statement.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Family Research Council labeled a 'hate group'" by Sean Lengell, The Washington Times 11/24/10
Mr. Perkins added that the timing of the report was "curious" due to current debate in Congress on a proposal to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military, which he called the "crown jewel of the homosexual radical movement."
SPLC was founded in 1971 as a law firm to handle anti-discrimination cases and won notice for fighting against the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups. But conservatives say the group has become nothing more than a liberal money-raising machine, and even some liberals have accused it of financial mismanagement and misleading fundraising practices.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Groups that helped oust Iowa judges earn ‘hate group’ designation" by Lynda Waddington, The Iowa Independent 11/23/10
Several of the out-of-state organizations that played a key role in advocating for the November ouster of three Iowa Supreme Court justices have been labeled as “hate groups” by a national civil rights watchdog.
The Family Research Council, based in Washington, D.C., and the Family Research Institute, based in Colorado, are also organizations that have sought to influence the views of Iowans, especially in the political realm. It was the Family Research Council, a national affiliate of the Iowa Family Policy Center, that sponsored an Iowa bus tour featuring national and state conservative leaders to urge residents to oust the three Iowa Supreme Court justices that appeared on the November ballot.
Also included on the [SPLC] 2011 “hate group” listing are Abiding Truth Ministries (Massachusetts), Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, American Vision, Chalcedon Foundation (California), Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (California), Dove World Outreach Center (Florida), Faithful Word Baptist Church (Arizona), Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment (Illinois), Illinois Family Institute (Illinois), MassResistance (Massachusetts), and Traditional Values Coalition (California).
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Southern Poverty Law Center Defames Mainstream Pro-Family Groups as 'Hate Groups'" by Gary Cass, posted at Christian Newswire 11/24/10
"The Southern Poverty Law Center has utterly discredited themselves by this provocative attack on organizations that promote traditional family values," said Rev. Gary L. Cass, of DefendChristians.Org, a ministry of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission.
"Labeling mainstream conservative organizations as 'Hate groups' is defamatory and is simply an intimidation tactic. We call on Congress to cut off their funding."
"Defend Christians.Org will work to form a coalition of organizations to lobby Congress to withhold funds from SPLC. We will also demand Congress restrict Federal law enforcement from relying on the biased SPLC reports, like the discredited 'Report on Right-Wing Extremism' SPLC wrote for the Department of Homeland Security," said Cass.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "FBI: Hate crime incidents, victim numbers down" by The Associated Press 11/22/10
The number of hate crime incidents and victims declined in 2009 compared with the previous year, the FBI reported Monday.
Nearly half of the crime incidents in 2009 were motivated by racial bias, nearly 20 percent by religious bias and over 18 percent by sexual orientation bias.
There were 6,604 hate crime incidents reported last year, down from 7,783 in 2008. There were 8,336 reported victims, down from 9,691 in 2008. The victim totals include not only individuals but also businesses, religious buildings and other institutions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Meanwhile, the FBI reports a 15% drop in "hate crimes;" in 2009 there were less than three so-called "sexual orientation hate crimes" per 1,000,000 American citizens
UPDATE 12/24/10: Conservative groups and lawmakers fire back at SPLC
UPDATE 12/20/10 FOX 32 TV Chicago "hit piece" on Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth:
-- From "'Hate' designation irks gay marriage opponents" by Krissah Thompson, Washington Post Staff Writer 11/25/10
The Southern Poverty Law Center this week labeled as "hate groups" several political and religious organizations that campaign against same-sex marriage and, the center says, engage in "repeated, groundless name-calling" against gays and lesbians.
Included on the list released by the civil rights organization is the Family Research Council, a prominent and politically influential group of social conservatives. The report by the law center, which has spent four decades tracking extremist groups and hate speech, accuses the council and a dozen other groups of putting out "demonizing propaganda aimed at homosexuals and other sexual minorities."
"The left's smear campaign of conservatives is . . . being driven by the clear evidence that the American public is losing patience with their radical policy agenda as seen in the recent election and in the fact that every state . . . that has had the opportunity to defend the natural definition of marriage has done so," [Family Research Council President Tony] Perkins said in a statement.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Family Research Council labeled a 'hate group'" by Sean Lengell, The Washington Times 11/24/10
Mr. Perkins added that the timing of the report was "curious" due to current debate in Congress on a proposal to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bans gays from serving openly in the military, which he called the "crown jewel of the homosexual radical movement."
SPLC was founded in 1971 as a law firm to handle anti-discrimination cases and won notice for fighting against the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups. But conservatives say the group has become nothing more than a liberal money-raising machine, and even some liberals have accused it of financial mismanagement and misleading fundraising practices.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Groups that helped oust Iowa judges earn ‘hate group’ designation" by Lynda Waddington, The Iowa Independent 11/23/10
Several of the out-of-state organizations that played a key role in advocating for the November ouster of three Iowa Supreme Court justices have been labeled as “hate groups” by a national civil rights watchdog.
The Family Research Council, based in Washington, D.C., and the Family Research Institute, based in Colorado, are also organizations that have sought to influence the views of Iowans, especially in the political realm. It was the Family Research Council, a national affiliate of the Iowa Family Policy Center, that sponsored an Iowa bus tour featuring national and state conservative leaders to urge residents to oust the three Iowa Supreme Court justices that appeared on the November ballot.
Also included on the [SPLC] 2011 “hate group” listing are Abiding Truth Ministries (Massachusetts), Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, American Vision, Chalcedon Foundation (California), Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (California), Dove World Outreach Center (Florida), Faithful Word Baptist Church (Arizona), Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment (Illinois), Illinois Family Institute (Illinois), MassResistance (Massachusetts), and Traditional Values Coalition (California).
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Southern Poverty Law Center Defames Mainstream Pro-Family Groups as 'Hate Groups'" by Gary Cass, posted at Christian Newswire 11/24/10
"The Southern Poverty Law Center has utterly discredited themselves by this provocative attack on organizations that promote traditional family values," said Rev. Gary L. Cass, of DefendChristians.Org, a ministry of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission.
"Labeling mainstream conservative organizations as 'Hate groups' is defamatory and is simply an intimidation tactic. We call on Congress to cut off their funding."
"Defend Christians.Org will work to form a coalition of organizations to lobby Congress to withhold funds from SPLC. We will also demand Congress restrict Federal law enforcement from relying on the biased SPLC reports, like the discredited 'Report on Right-Wing Extremism' SPLC wrote for the Department of Homeland Security," said Cass.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "FBI: Hate crime incidents, victim numbers down" by The Associated Press 11/22/10
The number of hate crime incidents and victims declined in 2009 compared with the previous year, the FBI reported Monday.
Nearly half of the crime incidents in 2009 were motivated by racial bias, nearly 20 percent by religious bias and over 18 percent by sexual orientation bias.
There were 6,604 hate crime incidents reported last year, down from 7,783 in 2008. There were 8,336 reported victims, down from 9,691 in 2008. The victim totals include not only individuals but also businesses, religious buildings and other institutions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Obama Gives Thanks to Indians, then God: Thanksgiving Proclamation
Last year the Obama White House caught heat from some groups when God wasn't mentioned in the president's first Thanksgiving proclamation. It was the first time the yearly proclamation failed to include the religious reference. But this year's uses the word God twice.
-- From "Presidential Proclamation--Thanksgiving Day" posted at WhiteHouse.gov 11/23/10
A beloved American tradition, Thanksgiving Day offers us the opportunity to focus our thoughts on the grace that has been extended to our people and our country. This spirit brought together the newly arrived Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe -- who had been living and thriving around Plymouth, Massachusetts for thousands of years -- in an autumn harvest feast centuries ago. This Thanksgiving Day, we reflect on the compassion and contributions of Native Americans, whose skill in agriculture helped the early colonists survive, and whose rich culture continues to add to our Nation's heritage. We also pause our normal pursuits on this day and join in a spirit of fellowship and gratitude for the year's bounties and blessings.
To read the entire proclamation, CLICK HERE.
From "God Returns to Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation" by Wes Barrett, FoxNews.com 11/25/10
After a one-year absence, God has reappeared in the annual Presidential Thanksgiving proclamation.
"As we stand at the close of one year and look to the promise of the next, we lift up our hearts in gratitude to God for our many blessings, for one another, and for our Nation." the proclamation states. Then just a few lines later it goes on to say, "As Americans gather for the time-honored Thanksgiving Day meal, let us rejoice in the abundance that graces our tables, in the simple gifts that mark our days, in the loved ones who enrich our lives, and in the gifts of a gracious God."
God isn't the only word added to this year's proclamation. The length of 2009's version was 432 words while this year's proclamation is 602 words long. George Washington's original Thanksgiving proclamation [see below] was 472 words long mentioned the word God twice within its first sentence.
This year the first family is expected to spend Thanksgiving together at home in Washington. "... Just as folks have done in every Thanksgiving since the first, we'll spend some time taking stock of what we're thankful for: the God-given bounty of America, and the blessings of one another," Obama said in his weekly address.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama Gives Thanks to God in Thanksgiving Proclamation" by Nathan Black, Christian Post Reporter 11/24/10
Last year, the president received some flak for what some considered a "godless" proclamation. His only mention of God was an indirect one, as he quoted President George Washington who proclaimed the first national day of Thanksgiving to be observed "by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God."
But this year, the media have taken notice of Obama's two mentions of God and continuing the tradition of previous presidential proclamations that attributed blessings to God.
He also called Americans to remember the hungry and to practice generosity by helping fellow citizens in need.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Thanksgiving Day 1789 - By The President Of The United States Of America - A Proclamation
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor - and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be – That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks – for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation – for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war –for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed – for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions – to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually – to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed – to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord – To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us – and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
-- George Washington
-- From "Presidential Proclamation--Thanksgiving Day" posted at WhiteHouse.gov 11/23/10
A beloved American tradition, Thanksgiving Day offers us the opportunity to focus our thoughts on the grace that has been extended to our people and our country. This spirit brought together the newly arrived Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe -- who had been living and thriving around Plymouth, Massachusetts for thousands of years -- in an autumn harvest feast centuries ago. This Thanksgiving Day, we reflect on the compassion and contributions of Native Americans, whose skill in agriculture helped the early colonists survive, and whose rich culture continues to add to our Nation's heritage. We also pause our normal pursuits on this day and join in a spirit of fellowship and gratitude for the year's bounties and blessings.
To read the entire proclamation, CLICK HERE.
From "God Returns to Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation" by Wes Barrett, FoxNews.com 11/25/10
After a one-year absence, God has reappeared in the annual Presidential Thanksgiving proclamation.
"As we stand at the close of one year and look to the promise of the next, we lift up our hearts in gratitude to God for our many blessings, for one another, and for our Nation." the proclamation states. Then just a few lines later it goes on to say, "As Americans gather for the time-honored Thanksgiving Day meal, let us rejoice in the abundance that graces our tables, in the simple gifts that mark our days, in the loved ones who enrich our lives, and in the gifts of a gracious God."
God isn't the only word added to this year's proclamation. The length of 2009's version was 432 words while this year's proclamation is 602 words long. George Washington's original Thanksgiving proclamation [see below] was 472 words long mentioned the word God twice within its first sentence.
This year the first family is expected to spend Thanksgiving together at home in Washington. "... Just as folks have done in every Thanksgiving since the first, we'll spend some time taking stock of what we're thankful for: the God-given bounty of America, and the blessings of one another," Obama said in his weekly address.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama Gives Thanks to God in Thanksgiving Proclamation" by Nathan Black, Christian Post Reporter 11/24/10
Last year, the president received some flak for what some considered a "godless" proclamation. His only mention of God was an indirect one, as he quoted President George Washington who proclaimed the first national day of Thanksgiving to be observed "by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God."
But this year, the media have taken notice of Obama's two mentions of God and continuing the tradition of previous presidential proclamations that attributed blessings to God.
He also called Americans to remember the hungry and to practice generosity by helping fellow citizens in need.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Thanksgiving Day 1789 - By The President Of The United States Of America - A Proclamation
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor - and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be – That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks – for his kind care and protection of the People of this country previous to their becoming a Nation – for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war –for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed – for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions – to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually – to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed – to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord – To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us – and generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
-- George Washington
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
NJ Law to Force Gay Agenda in Schools
The New Jersey legislature's "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights" codifies sexual deviancy for public school students, starting at kindergarten.
-- From "N.J. Legislature advances 'Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights' for Gov. Christie's consideration" by Matt Friedman, Statehouse Bureau, The Star-Ledger 11/23/10
Supporters of the bill (A3466), which now advances to Gov. Chris Christie, said it would give New Jersey the strictest anti-bullying statute in the nation.
The measure fills gaps in the state’s first anti-bullying law, passed in 2002, that encouraged school districts to set up anti-bullying programs but did not mandate it.
The measure would require training for most public school employees on how to spot bullying and mandate that all districts form "school safety teams" to review complaints. Superintendents would have to report incidents of bullying to the state Board of Education, which would grade schools and districts on their efforts to combat it.
The only lawmaker to vote against the bill was Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris), who objected to the fact that it explicitly mentions categories of students subject to bullying, although it also includes a catch-all clause to include any "distinguishing characteristics."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Anti-bullying Bill of Rights sails through N.J. Assembly, Senate education committees" by Matt Friedman, Statehouse Bureau, The Star-Ledger 11/16/10
Gregory Quinlan, director of government affairs for New Jersey Family First, opposed the bill because it lists categories that are subject to bullying, including race, religion, sexual orientation, gender or disability. It also includes "any other distinguishing characteristic."
"The list needs to be removed. It is discriminatory, it is unconstitutional, and that is what is wrong with this bill," Quinlan said, adding the language of the bill should just say "all bullying against all students for all reasons."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Anti-bullying measure goes to Gov. Christie" by Maya Rao and Chelsea Conaboy, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writers 11/23/10
Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, a gay-rights advocacy group that supported the bill [said], "I'm healed with this vote."
The anti-bullying bill got some of the most attention, with applause breaking out in Senate chambers when it passed unanimously with 30 votes. The bill had won 72-1 in the Assembly earlier in the afternoon.
Gov. Christie said Monday night that he had not read the measure but that the state's lawyers had raised concerns over whether its provisions infringed on constitutional rights. He did not say if he would sign it.
Public-interest law firms want to challenge the law if the governor signs it, said Greg Quinlan of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, whose website says it is dedicated to upholding the traditional family.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below for previous articles:
White House Forces Gay Agenda on Schools
White House Exploits Youth Suicide to Advance Gay Agenda
UCLA Finds Bullying Good for Kids
-- From "N.J. Legislature advances 'Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights' for Gov. Christie's consideration" by Matt Friedman, Statehouse Bureau, The Star-Ledger 11/23/10
Supporters of the bill (A3466), which now advances to Gov. Chris Christie, said it would give New Jersey the strictest anti-bullying statute in the nation.
The measure fills gaps in the state’s first anti-bullying law, passed in 2002, that encouraged school districts to set up anti-bullying programs but did not mandate it.
The measure would require training for most public school employees on how to spot bullying and mandate that all districts form "school safety teams" to review complaints. Superintendents would have to report incidents of bullying to the state Board of Education, which would grade schools and districts on their efforts to combat it.
The only lawmaker to vote against the bill was Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris), who objected to the fact that it explicitly mentions categories of students subject to bullying, although it also includes a catch-all clause to include any "distinguishing characteristics."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Anti-bullying Bill of Rights sails through N.J. Assembly, Senate education committees" by Matt Friedman, Statehouse Bureau, The Star-Ledger 11/16/10
Gregory Quinlan, director of government affairs for New Jersey Family First, opposed the bill because it lists categories that are subject to bullying, including race, religion, sexual orientation, gender or disability. It also includes "any other distinguishing characteristic."
"The list needs to be removed. It is discriminatory, it is unconstitutional, and that is what is wrong with this bill," Quinlan said, adding the language of the bill should just say "all bullying against all students for all reasons."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Anti-bullying measure goes to Gov. Christie" by Maya Rao and Chelsea Conaboy, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writers 11/23/10
Steven Goldstein, chairman of Garden State Equality, a gay-rights advocacy group that supported the bill [said], "I'm healed with this vote."
The anti-bullying bill got some of the most attention, with applause breaking out in Senate chambers when it passed unanimously with 30 votes. The bill had won 72-1 in the Assembly earlier in the afternoon.
Gov. Christie said Monday night that he had not read the measure but that the state's lawyers had raised concerns over whether its provisions infringed on constitutional rights. He did not say if he would sign it.
Public-interest law firms want to challenge the law if the governor signs it, said Greg Quinlan of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, whose website says it is dedicated to upholding the traditional family.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below for previous articles:
White House Forces Gay Agenda on Schools
White House Exploits Youth Suicide to Advance Gay Agenda
UCLA Finds Bullying Good for Kids
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Internet Porn Viewed by Most Children: Study
About 1/3 of children consume a flood of pornography by age ten, and 80% of teens regularly pursue Internet pornography.
Campaigners warned that exposure to these images inflicts ‘serious mental harm’ on children and prevents them forming healthy adult relationships in later life.
-- From "A third of pupils aged ten view pornography on the internet" by Gerri Peev, UK Daily Mail 11/23/10
The average age of a child first exposed to pornography is just 11.
Parenting expert Tanya Byron . . . said: ‘The new generation of mobile phones is making accessing pornography easier with two-thirds of children admitting they had accessed explicit material on their handsets.
'Worryingly most parents are oblivious to how easy it is for children to download images.’
The figures were compiled from polls by YouGov, research in America and a study by child behavioural expert Tanya Byron.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Campaigners warned that exposure to these images inflicts ‘serious mental harm’ on children and prevents them forming healthy adult relationships in later life.
-- From "A third of pupils aged ten view pornography on the internet" by Gerri Peev, UK Daily Mail 11/23/10
The average age of a child first exposed to pornography is just 11.
Parenting expert Tanya Byron . . . said: ‘The new generation of mobile phones is making accessing pornography easier with two-thirds of children admitting they had accessed explicit material on their handsets.
'Worryingly most parents are oblivious to how easy it is for children to download images.’
The figures were compiled from polls by YouGov, research in America and a study by child behavioural expert Tanya Byron.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Tea Party Movement vs. 'Gay Agenda Tea Party'
Tea-party activists and conservative allies from across the nation are telling Congress to fight abortion funding and any repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, in spite of a message from the "gay" activist group GOProud suggesting the tea party wants Congress to ignore social issues.
-- From "Tea party group pressures Congress" by Ben Smith, Politico 11/21/10
A group of tea party activists are firing back at a gay conservative group, claiming that they don't speak for the movement.
. . . tea party activists released their own letter . . .
"We, the undersigned, are leaders of mainstream Tea Party groups. We are the people that helped get conservatives elected on November 2. While we do not speak for this movement as a whole, we are a large cross section of this movement and we want to tell you what this movement wants," they write. "We, the members of the mainstream Tea Party movement have a lot of expectations for you in this Congress. We realize the limitations you face. But we also realize the tools you have at your disposal. America is a conservative country. We expect conservative leadership from our country.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Tea party demands social action, too" by Brian Fitzpatrick © 2010 WorldNetDaily 11/22/10
About 185 tea-party leaders and allies from across America have signed an open letter telling Republicans what the movement wants Congress to do, and explicitly rejecting a similar letter circulated last week by a handful of Tea Party Patriots leaders and GOProud.
The letter calls on Congress to pursue social issues in addition to fiscal issues. GOProud's letter asked Congress to ignore social issues.
"We had to define who speaks for the movement," said [Tea Party Nation founder Judson] Phillips. "It's got to be Tea Party groups that speak for this movement, and GOProud is not in the movement. They never have been and are not a part of the movement."
Phillips was eager to emphasize that he is not claiming to be the leader of the tea party himself.
"People in this movement get upset when others claim to speak for the movement or be the leader of the movement."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
The following is an amazing demonstration of the liberal media who simply "don't get it;" here, NPR appears to be either burying their heads in the sand and reporting what they WISH would be reality, OR they are acting as blatant propagandists.
From "Culture War Brewing Within Tea Party?" by Liz Halloran, NPR 11/22/10
Libertarian-minded Tea Partiers accuse social conservatives of trying to co-opt their movement.
Social conservatives who felt shut out of the conversation in the last two elections are banking on a Hill resurgence going into the 2012 presidential campaign.
Tony Perkins [head of the conservative Family Research Council] characterized the assertions as "hilarious," considering, he says, that polls show that a majority of Tea Party adherents who voted earlier this month identified themselves as conservative evangelicals.
His message: Who's co-opting whom?
Says [homosexualist] GOProud: "In this economic environment, people don't want to hear what your position is on gay marriage, abortion, or gay teachers. They want to hear about the bread-and-butter issues of the economy."
For a great laugh, CLICK HERE to read the entire article above.
Click headlines below for previous articles:
'Teavangelical Party' Emerges from 2010 Election Polling
Christians 'Hold Rudder' in Conservative Politics
-- From "Tea party group pressures Congress" by Ben Smith, Politico 11/21/10
A group of tea party activists are firing back at a gay conservative group, claiming that they don't speak for the movement.
. . . tea party activists released their own letter . . .
"We, the undersigned, are leaders of mainstream Tea Party groups. We are the people that helped get conservatives elected on November 2. While we do not speak for this movement as a whole, we are a large cross section of this movement and we want to tell you what this movement wants," they write. "We, the members of the mainstream Tea Party movement have a lot of expectations for you in this Congress. We realize the limitations you face. But we also realize the tools you have at your disposal. America is a conservative country. We expect conservative leadership from our country.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Tea party demands social action, too" by Brian Fitzpatrick © 2010 WorldNetDaily 11/22/10
About 185 tea-party leaders and allies from across America have signed an open letter telling Republicans what the movement wants Congress to do, and explicitly rejecting a similar letter circulated last week by a handful of Tea Party Patriots leaders and GOProud.
The letter calls on Congress to pursue social issues in addition to fiscal issues. GOProud's letter asked Congress to ignore social issues.
"We had to define who speaks for the movement," said [Tea Party Nation founder Judson] Phillips. "It's got to be Tea Party groups that speak for this movement, and GOProud is not in the movement. They never have been and are not a part of the movement."
Phillips was eager to emphasize that he is not claiming to be the leader of the tea party himself.
"People in this movement get upset when others claim to speak for the movement or be the leader of the movement."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
The following is an amazing demonstration of the liberal media who simply "don't get it;" here, NPR appears to be either burying their heads in the sand and reporting what they WISH would be reality, OR they are acting as blatant propagandists.
From "Culture War Brewing Within Tea Party?" by Liz Halloran, NPR 11/22/10
Libertarian-minded Tea Partiers accuse social conservatives of trying to co-opt their movement.
Social conservatives who felt shut out of the conversation in the last two elections are banking on a Hill resurgence going into the 2012 presidential campaign.
Tony Perkins [head of the conservative Family Research Council] characterized the assertions as "hilarious," considering, he says, that polls show that a majority of Tea Party adherents who voted earlier this month identified themselves as conservative evangelicals.
His message: Who's co-opting whom?
Says [homosexualist] GOProud: "In this economic environment, people don't want to hear what your position is on gay marriage, abortion, or gay teachers. They want to hear about the bread-and-butter issues of the economy."
For a great laugh, CLICK HERE to read the entire article above.
Click headlines below for previous articles:
'Teavangelical Party' Emerges from 2010 Election Polling
Christians 'Hold Rudder' in Conservative Politics
Monday, November 22, 2010
Media Blows It, re: Pope on Condoms
In its effort to create news and liberalize the Catholic Church simultaneously, the mainstream media has misled the world concerning the Pope's words about condom usage.
-- From "Pope’s Comments on Condoms Sow Confusion" by Rachel Donadio, New York Times 11/22/10
In a papacy troubled by communications missteps, Pope Benedict XVI’s unprecedented new book of interviews with a German journalist sought to clarify matters by going straight to the source.
But ever since the Vatican’s official newspaper published highlights on Saturday, the book has created the opposite effect: widespread confusion, most notably over the pope’s comments that in select cases, such as those involving male prostitutes, condom use might be a step toward acting responsibly to reduce “the risk of infection.”
AIDS activists are calling the pope’s comments a breakthrough, while members of the church hierarchy and some Catholic commentators say the comments have been misconstrued. The Vatican itself has furiously played down Benedict’s words, or rather contextualized them, noting that the pope was not changing church doctrine banning contraception, or justifying condom use — even though the Vatican newspaper clearly used the phrase “justified in some cases.”
As is often the case with the Vatican, the clarification yielded more ambiguity. Was Benedict, in his book of interviews with the German journalist, Peter Seewald, opening up a conversation on condom use — albeit in specific cases to prevent AIDS between male sex partners — or wasn’t he? And how is the world supposed to consider remarks by the pope that are not official church teaching?
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Analysis: What the Pope really said about condoms" by Alan Holdren, Rome Correspondent, Catholic News Agency 11/22/10
Pope Benedict XVI’s comments on condoms in a new book-interview have whipped the media into a frenzy.
Many reports interpreted the words as a dramatic shift from Church teaching, but experts say that nothing has changed.
On the afternoon of Nov. 20, the Vatican's semi-official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano . . . jumping the scheduled world release [of the book], chose to publish only two paragraphs of what is a more extensive response from the Pope to the question of whether the use of condoms could be justified to confront the problem of AIDS transmission.
This fragmented presentation did not give a full view of the Pope's words. But it said enough to lead some international media sources to conjecture that the pontiff had made a "U-turn" on Catholic teaching against contraception.
The actual text of the Pope’s remarks extends over two full pages.
To read the Pope's comments in context, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Pope’s Comments on Condoms Sow Confusion" by Rachel Donadio, New York Times 11/22/10
In a papacy troubled by communications missteps, Pope Benedict XVI’s unprecedented new book of interviews with a German journalist sought to clarify matters by going straight to the source.
But ever since the Vatican’s official newspaper published highlights on Saturday, the book has created the opposite effect: widespread confusion, most notably over the pope’s comments that in select cases, such as those involving male prostitutes, condom use might be a step toward acting responsibly to reduce “the risk of infection.”
AIDS activists are calling the pope’s comments a breakthrough, while members of the church hierarchy and some Catholic commentators say the comments have been misconstrued. The Vatican itself has furiously played down Benedict’s words, or rather contextualized them, noting that the pope was not changing church doctrine banning contraception, or justifying condom use — even though the Vatican newspaper clearly used the phrase “justified in some cases.”
As is often the case with the Vatican, the clarification yielded more ambiguity. Was Benedict, in his book of interviews with the German journalist, Peter Seewald, opening up a conversation on condom use — albeit in specific cases to prevent AIDS between male sex partners — or wasn’t he? And how is the world supposed to consider remarks by the pope that are not official church teaching?
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Analysis: What the Pope really said about condoms" by Alan Holdren, Rome Correspondent, Catholic News Agency 11/22/10
Pope Benedict XVI’s comments on condoms in a new book-interview have whipped the media into a frenzy.
Many reports interpreted the words as a dramatic shift from Church teaching, but experts say that nothing has changed.
On the afternoon of Nov. 20, the Vatican's semi-official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano . . . jumping the scheduled world release [of the book], chose to publish only two paragraphs of what is a more extensive response from the Pope to the question of whether the use of condoms could be justified to confront the problem of AIDS transmission.
This fragmented presentation did not give a full view of the Pope's words. But it said enough to lead some international media sources to conjecture that the pontiff had made a "U-turn" on Catholic teaching against contraception.
The actual text of the Pope’s remarks extends over two full pages.
To read the Pope's comments in context, CLICK HERE.
U.S. Bishops Battle ‘Lavender Mafia’ Priests
After decades of continual increases of homosexuals in the Roman Catholic priesthood, resulting in significant control of the seminaries, and the much-publicized priest sex abuse scandals, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has refused to elevate the lead homosexualist bishop.UPDATE 2/25/13: Vatican 'Gay Mafia' Reports; Cardinal Resigns
UPDATE 2/22/13: From "'Gay mafia' blamed for Papal resignation in Cardinals’ report" by Hilary White, Rome Correspondent, LifeSiteNews.com
The document is said to identify one of the major divides in the Vatican’s internal culture as one of “sexual orientation”. . . .
The three cardinals – the paper names Spanish cardinal Julian Herranz, Italian cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi and Slovak cardinal Josef Tomko – revealed “a lobby network” identified with the various religious congregations - including the Salesians of Don Bosco and Jesuits – and “geographical origin,” described as “a network united according to sexual orientation.”
In his 2002 book “Goodbye Good Men,” US author and investigator Michael Rose described in detail the machinations of what came to be called the “lavender mafia” in the Catholic Church in the US. It documented the results of the changes made in the period immediately following the close of the Second Vatican Council in the practices of the Catholic institutions, particularly in seminaries and academia.
Rose and many others have pointed out that during this period, many of the seminaries abandoned their former rigor in screening prospective priests, allowing large numbers of morally unstable men to be put on track to ordination. This period also coincides closely with the time during which the great majority of the complaints of sexual abuse are recorded, nearly all by male clerics against adolescent boys and young men. At the same time, the hierarchy of the Church largely ceased emphasising the Church’s teachings on sexuality and the family.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
(End Update 2/22/13)
From "Theologian says much of clergy is gay" by Derek Scally, IrishTimes.com 11/22/10
David Berger, an expert on St Thomas Aquinas and former publisher of a Catholic magazine, has called for Rome to own up to the gay priests in its midst and alter its attitudes and teaching on homosexuality.
“It must be acknowledged that a large number of Catholic clerics and trainee priests in Europe and the United States are homosexually-inclined,” Mr Berger told Der Spiegel magazine.
“The worst homophobia in the Catholic Church comes from homophile priests, who are desperately fighting their own sexuality,” he said. “Obviously, those who follow their urges are repudiated more fiercely when one is so painfully repressing that disposition oneself.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Former Catholic theologian says much of the clergy is gay" posted at The Local, Germany's News in English 11/21/10
Theologian David Berger, was correspondent professor for the Pontifical Academy of St Thomas Aquinas in the Vatican, where he said his academic work was watched and censored where it concerned homosexuality.
Now working as a teacher in Cologne, Berger outed himself as gay this April after the Bishop of Essen Franz-Josepf Overbeck described homosexuality as perverse and a sin during an appearance on a television chat show.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "New York prelate to lead bishops group" by William Wan and Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post 11/17/10
America's Catholic bishops pulled a shocker Tuesday in picking their new president, disregarding tradition and precedent by rejecting the current vice president and instead choosing a man seen as more outspoken and conservative.
Voting 128 to 111, the U.S. Conference of Bishops picked New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who heads one of the nation's most prominent dioceses, to be its president for the next three years.
He defeated Tucson Bishop Gerald Kicanas, who had been vice president and had faced a barrage of last-minute criticism in recent days over how he dealt with a priest who was accused of molesting more than a dozen boys and is now in jail. Victim advocates spoke out against Kicanas, but the more significant opposition came from conservatives, who considered him too moderate in tone.
"It signals that this is a very conservative body that's going to continue to play a major role in this country's culture wars," [said the Rev. Thomas Reese, a scholar at Georgetown University.]
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "U.S. bishops' new president outspoken on moral issues" by Michael Foust, Baptist Press 11/17/10
"The election is important for the pro-life movement because the president of the conference is the spokesman for the nation's bishops on so many important pro-life issues," Steven Ertelt of LifeNews.com wrote. " ... In Archbishop Dolan, the USCCB will be headed by a strong pro-life advocate."
Dolan once criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Joseph Biden as "prominent Catholics" who "publicly misrepresent timeless church doctrine" on life issues. He added, according to LifeNews.com, "We cannot be mute on this premier civil rights issue of our day" -- a reference to abortion.
Kicanas also was viewed by conservatives as having moderate to liberal views on homosexuality. As a rector in Chicago, he had OK'd the ordination of Daniel McCormack, who went on to molest young boys. Critics said Kicanas approved the ordination with the knowledge that McCormack had a past of homosexual relations. Kicanas defended the ordination by saying Kicanas' actions were "experimental and developmental," CatholicCulture.org reported.
Kicanas also was endorsed by a homosexual Catholic group, the Rainbow Sash Movement.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below for previous articles:
Italian Homosexual Priests Exposed
Catholic Sex Abuse is a Homosexual Crisis
Archbishop Blames Pro-homosexual Culture for Priest Abuse
Vatican Study Forces Factual Report on Sex Abuse
Minnesota Archbishop Riles Liberals with Doctrine
'Catholic Tea Party' Smeared by Liberals
Archdiocese of Boston Prints Apology to Homosexuals
Video interview with Dan Savage (a homosexual supported by Obama administration) re: The Roman Catholic Church
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Courts May Legalize Polygamy in Canada
Having legalized same-sex marriage over five years ago, Canada is moving to the next stage. Once marriage is defined beyond one man and one woman, there's no logical argument against re-defining marriage to mean almost anything. Ultimately, marriage becomes meaningless -- that's the Gay Agenda.
UPDATE 11/27/10: The slippery slope of disintegration of society
-- From "Trial puts spotlight on polygamy in Canada" posted at the UPI 11/21/10
Canada's ban on polygamy is about to be tested as never before in a British Columbia trial, lawyers and advocates on both sides say.
The "constitutional reference" proceeding opens in the province's Supreme Court Monday and is expected to last through January at least, The Vancouver Sun reported.
If Chief Justice Robert Bauman rules for legalization, Canada would become the first country in the developed world to allow multiple marriage and a likely magnet for U.S. fundamentalist Mormons, along with Muslims, Wiccans and secular polyamorists.
The decision, whichever way it goes, is likely go on the provincial Court of Appeal and eventually the Supreme Court of Canada. And Parliament could still have the last word.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Polygamy trial starts tomorrow" by Keith Fraser, The Province 11/21/10
The governments of B.C. and Canada, who want to uphold the law, are expected to argue that while some women in multiple marriages may be happy, there are social harms associated with the practice.
Polygamous wives are said to suffer increased family stress, depression, jealousy, lower self-esteem and feelings of disempowerment. Children have lower levels of socioeconomic status and reduced academic achievement, say the anti-polygamy forces.
Ron Skolrood, a constitutional lawyer in Vancouver, said it was "very difficult" to predict the outcome given the volume of evidence and argument expected to unfold during the trial.
But he said the case really boils down to a few consistent themes.
"Does the law address real social evils today? Or is it, as the challengers would say, an antiquated law that really has no relevance today?"
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Polygamy reference case could open door to legalizing multiple marriage" by Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun 11/21/10
. . . the rules are being made up as the case unfolds.
There will also be academics testifying to their research on polygamous communities both in B.C. and around the world. And there will legal experts parsing Section 293 as well as relevant sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Even if the polygamy section limits any of those freedoms, the judge could decide that the breach of those rights is justifiable if the practice is harmful. Or as the B.C. attorney-general’s lawyer describes it, "The main task facing this court will be assessing and weighing evidence respecting harm: the harm of polygamy versus the harm of prohibition."
[Those wanting the change] are: the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Canadian Polyamory Advocacy Association, B.C. Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Association for Free Expression.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Reference previous article from 2007: Is polygamy legal in Canada?
UPDATE 11/27/10: The slippery slope of disintegration of society
-- From "Trial puts spotlight on polygamy in Canada" posted at the UPI 11/21/10
Canada's ban on polygamy is about to be tested as never before in a British Columbia trial, lawyers and advocates on both sides say.
The "constitutional reference" proceeding opens in the province's Supreme Court Monday and is expected to last through January at least, The Vancouver Sun reported.
If Chief Justice Robert Bauman rules for legalization, Canada would become the first country in the developed world to allow multiple marriage and a likely magnet for U.S. fundamentalist Mormons, along with Muslims, Wiccans and secular polyamorists.
The decision, whichever way it goes, is likely go on the provincial Court of Appeal and eventually the Supreme Court of Canada. And Parliament could still have the last word.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Polygamy trial starts tomorrow" by Keith Fraser, The Province 11/21/10
The governments of B.C. and Canada, who want to uphold the law, are expected to argue that while some women in multiple marriages may be happy, there are social harms associated with the practice.
Polygamous wives are said to suffer increased family stress, depression, jealousy, lower self-esteem and feelings of disempowerment. Children have lower levels of socioeconomic status and reduced academic achievement, say the anti-polygamy forces.
Ron Skolrood, a constitutional lawyer in Vancouver, said it was "very difficult" to predict the outcome given the volume of evidence and argument expected to unfold during the trial.
But he said the case really boils down to a few consistent themes.
"Does the law address real social evils today? Or is it, as the challengers would say, an antiquated law that really has no relevance today?"
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Polygamy reference case could open door to legalizing multiple marriage" by Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun 11/21/10
. . . the rules are being made up as the case unfolds.
There will also be academics testifying to their research on polygamous communities both in B.C. and around the world. And there will legal experts parsing Section 293 as well as relevant sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Even if the polygamy section limits any of those freedoms, the judge could decide that the breach of those rights is justifiable if the practice is harmful. Or as the B.C. attorney-general’s lawyer describes it, "The main task facing this court will be assessing and weighing evidence respecting harm: the harm of polygamy versus the harm of prohibition."
[Those wanting the change] are: the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Canadian Polyamory Advocacy Association, B.C. Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Association for Free Expression.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Reference previous article from 2007: Is polygamy legal in Canada?
Iowa Tea Party Win = More Abortion Restrictions
This month's election took the Iowa House from a 56 to 44 Democrat margin to a whopping flip of 60 to 40 in favor of Republicans, so the new House Speaker-elect Kraig Paulsen says the new pro-life majority will be advancing restrictions on abortion next year.
-- From "Top GOP leader says some abortion restrictions under consideration" by O. Kay Henderson, Radio Iowa 11/20/10
“. . . subsequent to election day, we have this [abortionist] doctor moving in from Nebraska who has really elevated the whole discussion. I mean, I have quite a few constituent contacts and quite a few of my members contacting me and saying, ‘This is something we need to look at,’ and I would guess that we do address that issue,” Paulsen says. “…There’s several different ideas being discussed.”
A Nebraska doctor plans to open an abortion clinic in Council Bluffs and another in Maryland because of the state of Nebraska’s new law banning late-term abortions. Dr. LeRoy Carhart has become the nation’s best-known late-term abortion provider after the 2009 murder of Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller.
House Speaker-elect Paulsen says Republicans in the Iowa House may try to address another concern in the pro-life community about doctors who prescribe the so-called abortion pill after consulting with the patient via video [a.k.a. Telemed].
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Iowa speaker-elect predicts debate on abortion issues" by Rod Boshart, The Quad-City Times 11/19/10
Speaking during and after the taping of Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” Paulsen said some of his members are interested in closing a loophole in state law that allows late-term abortions to terminate a pregnancy if a doctor determines the procedure would “preserve the life or health” of the woman.
Paulsen said there also may be interest concerning the future of telemedicine in Iowa as it relates to dispensing RU-486 pills to terminate pregnancies and consideration of an Oklahoma law that would give women the option of having an ultrasound before undergoing an abortion procedure. Any House-passed measure also would have to clear the Iowa Senate, where Democrats hold a 26-24 edge.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Top GOP leader says some abortion restrictions under consideration" by O. Kay Henderson, Radio Iowa 11/20/10
“. . . subsequent to election day, we have this [abortionist] doctor moving in from Nebraska who has really elevated the whole discussion. I mean, I have quite a few constituent contacts and quite a few of my members contacting me and saying, ‘This is something we need to look at,’ and I would guess that we do address that issue,” Paulsen says. “…There’s several different ideas being discussed.”
A Nebraska doctor plans to open an abortion clinic in Council Bluffs and another in Maryland because of the state of Nebraska’s new law banning late-term abortions. Dr. LeRoy Carhart has become the nation’s best-known late-term abortion provider after the 2009 murder of Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller.
House Speaker-elect Paulsen says Republicans in the Iowa House may try to address another concern in the pro-life community about doctors who prescribe the so-called abortion pill after consulting with the patient via video [a.k.a. Telemed].
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Iowa speaker-elect predicts debate on abortion issues" by Rod Boshart, The Quad-City Times 11/19/10
Speaking during and after the taping of Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” Paulsen said some of his members are interested in closing a loophole in state law that allows late-term abortions to terminate a pregnancy if a doctor determines the procedure would “preserve the life or health” of the woman.
Paulsen said there also may be interest concerning the future of telemedicine in Iowa as it relates to dispensing RU-486 pills to terminate pregnancies and consideration of an Oklahoma law that would give women the option of having an ultrasound before undergoing an abortion procedure. Any House-passed measure also would have to clear the Iowa Senate, where Democrats hold a 26-24 edge.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Christians 'Hold Rudder' in Conservative Politics
As homosexualist GOProud presses the Republican establishment to steer clear of social conservatism, Christians step up to maintain course -- viability of GOProud in question.
UPDATE 2/17/11: 2012 CPAC to reach out to 'social conservatives'
UPDATE 1/27/11: New York Times discovers CPAC because of "GOProud division"
UPDATE 1/6/11: Heritage Foundation and others withdraw from CPAC while Focus on the Family is "on the fence."
UPDATE 12/27/10: FRC & CWA boycott CPAC over GOProud
UPDATE 11/25/10: More Conservatives Boycott CPAC
UPDATE 12/31/10 Video:
-- From "CPAC under fire over gay conservative group" by Ben Smith, Politico 11/16/10
A conservative group has backed out of the annual CPAC conservative political conference, citing the participation of a gay Republican group.
The American Principles Project president Frank Cannon wrote an open letter yesterday to CPAC chair David Keene, saying that his group could not participate in the conference because of GOProud's role in the event.
"Having now examined closely GOProud’s mission and its behavior since its inception, we can only conclude that the organization’s purposes are fundamentally incompatible with a movement that has long embraced the ideals of family and faith in a thriving civil society. They have further defined themselves with their attacks on Senator Jim DeMint, one of the key leaders of this year’s conservative victory," wrote Cannon.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Will the Right bring 'gay' agenda into the tent?" by Brian Fitzpatrick © 2010 WorldNetDaily 11/19/10
The Conservative Political Action Conference board of directors is voting whether to permit a homosexual activist group, GOProud, to participate in CPAC again this year.
CPAC's organizer, the American Conservative Union, is under pressure after the American Principles Project issued an open letter announcing its withdrawal from the conference over GOProud's participation.
With several more social conservative groups dropping out or threatening to do so behind the scenes, ACU chairman David Keene called on CPAC's board of directors to decide whether GOProud should be welcomed at the conference for a second straight year, according to a source on the board.
"Well, I guess we're going to have to boycott until they stop embracing homosexuality as a so-called conservative value," said Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality. "The reality is that GOProud is a homosexual activist group that would expand government to accommodate homosexuality."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "GOProud 'never' a part of tea party" by Brian Fitzpatrick © 2010 WorldNetDaily 11/20/10
Tea Party Nation founder and CEO Judson Phillips plans to set the GOP congressional leadership straight about the tea party's legislative demands, after a handful of Tea Party Patriots and a homosexual activist group, GOProud, released an open letter last Monday urging Republicans to ignore social issues.
"There is a battle going on for the heart and soul of the tea-party movement," Phillips told WND. "GOProud has its own agenda. It wants to create credibility for itself by leveraging the tea-party movement, but GOProud has never been a part of the tea-party movement."
Phillips is also taking aim at abortion.
"The abortion industry is a multibillion dollar industry. Why are they getting funding from the government? Cut that off!" said Phililips.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 2/17/11: 2012 CPAC to reach out to 'social conservatives'
UPDATE 1/27/11: New York Times discovers CPAC because of "GOProud division"
UPDATE 1/6/11: Heritage Foundation and others withdraw from CPAC while Focus on the Family is "on the fence."
UPDATE 12/27/10: FRC & CWA boycott CPAC over GOProud
UPDATE 11/25/10: More Conservatives Boycott CPAC
UPDATE 12/31/10 Video:
-- From "CPAC under fire over gay conservative group" by Ben Smith, Politico 11/16/10
A conservative group has backed out of the annual CPAC conservative political conference, citing the participation of a gay Republican group.
The American Principles Project president Frank Cannon wrote an open letter yesterday to CPAC chair David Keene, saying that his group could not participate in the conference because of GOProud's role in the event.
"Having now examined closely GOProud’s mission and its behavior since its inception, we can only conclude that the organization’s purposes are fundamentally incompatible with a movement that has long embraced the ideals of family and faith in a thriving civil society. They have further defined themselves with their attacks on Senator Jim DeMint, one of the key leaders of this year’s conservative victory," wrote Cannon.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Will the Right bring 'gay' agenda into the tent?" by Brian Fitzpatrick © 2010 WorldNetDaily 11/19/10
The Conservative Political Action Conference board of directors is voting whether to permit a homosexual activist group, GOProud, to participate in CPAC again this year.
CPAC's organizer, the American Conservative Union, is under pressure after the American Principles Project issued an open letter announcing its withdrawal from the conference over GOProud's participation.
With several more social conservative groups dropping out or threatening to do so behind the scenes, ACU chairman David Keene called on CPAC's board of directors to decide whether GOProud should be welcomed at the conference for a second straight year, according to a source on the board.
"Well, I guess we're going to have to boycott until they stop embracing homosexuality as a so-called conservative value," said Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth about Homosexuality. "The reality is that GOProud is a homosexual activist group that would expand government to accommodate homosexuality."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "GOProud 'never' a part of tea party" by Brian Fitzpatrick © 2010 WorldNetDaily 11/20/10
Tea Party Nation founder and CEO Judson Phillips plans to set the GOP congressional leadership straight about the tea party's legislative demands, after a handful of Tea Party Patriots and a homosexual activist group, GOProud, released an open letter last Monday urging Republicans to ignore social issues.
"There is a battle going on for the heart and soul of the tea-party movement," Phillips told WND. "GOProud has its own agenda. It wants to create credibility for itself by leveraging the tea-party movement, but GOProud has never been a part of the tea-party movement."
Phillips is also taking aim at abortion.
"The abortion industry is a multibillion dollar industry. Why are they getting funding from the government? Cut that off!" said Phililips.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
School OKs Same-sex Marriage T-shirt
Whereas Christians must battle their schools in court for the constitutional right to wear T-shirts with conservative moral messages, a Colorado school granted an immoral and offensive T-shirt message in a heartbeat.
-- From "'Marriage Is So Gay' T-Shirt Allowed Back In School" by Alan Gathright, ABC-TV7NEWS Content Producer (Denver) 11/16/10
Officials are allowing a Falcon High School student to wear a "Marriage Is So Gay" T-shirt after the American Civil Liberties Union called a principal's ban censorship.
Principal Mark Carara told Senior Kate Cohn to change the T-shirt when she wore it to school on Election Day. He said it was offensive and violated a school dress code banning apparel that is potentially disruptive to the academic environment, the ACLU said in a Tuesday news release.
Later that day, Carara explained to the girl's parents that he told Cohn to change the T-shirt because it was comparable to clothing promoting drug or alcohol use, the ACLU said.
[Then] the district did an about-face, deciding Cohn can wear the gay rights message.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Falcon High allows gay-marriage T-shirt after ACLU heat" By Electa Draper, The Denver Post 11/17/10
"It was determined today the student is entitled to wear it," school district spokeswoman Stephanie Meredith said.
Kate said she asked her principal why he had changed his mind. He told her it was "because lawyers got involved," she said, and that was all he would discuss with her.
The Colorado ACLU sent the letter to school administrators Monday demanding they rescind the prohibition against the shirt by the end of the week or ACLU attorneys would consider the appropriate next steps.
Since 1969, the Supreme Court has held that students don't "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gates."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below for previous articles:
School Loses Lawsuit Against Pro-life Student
MN School Forced to Allow Pro-life T-shirts
Naperville, IL Teen Sues School Over Her Anti-Gay T-Shirt
Judge to Decide Whether School Can Discriminate Against Conservative Message
Fed Judge: Student's T-shirt Slamming ObamaCare OK
-- From "'Marriage Is So Gay' T-Shirt Allowed Back In School" by Alan Gathright, ABC-TV7NEWS Content Producer (Denver) 11/16/10
Officials are allowing a Falcon High School student to wear a "Marriage Is So Gay" T-shirt after the American Civil Liberties Union called a principal's ban censorship.
Principal Mark Carara told Senior Kate Cohn to change the T-shirt when she wore it to school on Election Day. He said it was offensive and violated a school dress code banning apparel that is potentially disruptive to the academic environment, the ACLU said in a Tuesday news release.
Later that day, Carara explained to the girl's parents that he told Cohn to change the T-shirt because it was comparable to clothing promoting drug or alcohol use, the ACLU said.
[Then] the district did an about-face, deciding Cohn can wear the gay rights message.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Falcon High allows gay-marriage T-shirt after ACLU heat" By Electa Draper, The Denver Post 11/17/10
"It was determined today the student is entitled to wear it," school district spokeswoman Stephanie Meredith said.
Kate said she asked her principal why he had changed his mind. He told her it was "because lawyers got involved," she said, and that was all he would discuss with her.
The Colorado ACLU sent the letter to school administrators Monday demanding they rescind the prohibition against the shirt by the end of the week or ACLU attorneys would consider the appropriate next steps.
Since 1969, the Supreme Court has held that students don't "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gates."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below for previous articles:
School Loses Lawsuit Against Pro-life Student
MN School Forced to Allow Pro-life T-shirts
Naperville, IL Teen Sues School Over Her Anti-Gay T-Shirt
Judge to Decide Whether School Can Discriminate Against Conservative Message
Fed Judge: Student's T-shirt Slamming ObamaCare OK
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