IL School Board OKs Kids' Demands for Dirty Book

Months ago, when parents in Glen Ellyn, Illinois learned that teachers encouraged middle school students to read The Perks of Being a Wallflower (a novel that includes profanity, homosexuality, bestiality, masturbation, incest, and rape) the school board restricted the book at the parents' request, but after a protest by the children, last night a new school board voted 6 to 1 to reinstate teaching the book.  Teachers, librarians, journalists and of course the kids are all ecstatic.

Here are just a few excerpts from the book -- click to read more excerpts (.PDF):

. . . the boy just talked soft to her about how good she looked and things like that, and she grabbed his penis with her hands and started moving it. . . . the boy pushed the girl's head down, and she started to kiss his penis. She was still crying. Finally, she stopped crying because he put his penis in her mouth, and I don't think you can cry in that position.

"There's no condom. So, what do you think happened?" . . . "They did it doggie style with one of the sandwich bags!"

"What the f**k is wrong with you?"..."And I thought Brad was f**ked-up. Jesus"

. . . one day C.B. got so drunk at a party that he tried to "f**k" the host's dog.

-- From "Near unanimous vote puts 'Wallflower' back in Glen Ellyn classrooms" by Krystyna Slivinski, Special to the Chicago Tribune 6/11/13

During the District 41 school board meeting that packed more than 100 students, parents and concerned citizens into the district offices, supporters wore large purple buttons that said "I read banned books" while others held yellow flowers.  More than 25 people addressed the board, many making emotional pleas on the issue.

Several parents and students also spoke in support of the parents who started the debate when they complained about the mature content in the book.

Several board members agreed that a more detailed policy needs to be in place and will be discussed over the summer by members of the board's Policy Committee. For now, board members approved the language in a revised letter that will go out to parents at the beginning of the school year that describes the kinds of books available as a choice for independent reading.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Controversial book headed back to Glen Ellyn District 41 library shelves" by Christopher Placek, Daily Herald (Suburban Chicago) 6/11/13

Parents would have to sign the letter and return it to school before their child could check out books from the classroom library. They could also comment on the letter if there are texts they do not want their child reading.

The letter states, in part, that some of the books students may select as independent reading options from the classroom library may "address a variety of issues, including, but not limited to sex, drugs, mental illness and violence. Some may include strong language."

A district reconsideration committee primarily composed of teachers and administrators recommended the book be retained for independent reading by eighth-grade students and not be used for instructional purposes, but the school board voted 4-2 April 29 to remove the book from the shelves.

The controversy also got the attention of national groups such as the National Coalition Against Censorship and American Library Association, which sent letters to school board members asking them to overturn the ban.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Glen Ellyn Middle School Embroiled in Book Controversy" by Laurie Higgins, Illinois Family Institute 6/3/13

[Earlier in the school year] . . . Principal Christopher Dransoff proposed the option of teachers in the future sending out permission slips about controversial books prior to allowing students to read them, a compromise parents were willing to accept.

Dransoof soon discovered, however, that the majority of 8th grade literacy teachers would not accept such a compromise, apparently believing that such prior notification and parental permission constituted censorship and an implicit indictment of their expert judgment.

This intransigence on the part of the teachers resulted in parents pursuing the issue with the school board which [on April 29, 2013] voted 4-2 to remove the book from the middle school, which, in turn, intensified the community controversy. . . .

In addition to the arrogant unwillingness of teachers to ask for permission to teach such a controversial book, it is reported that three of the teachers, Lynn Bruno, Ali Tannenbaum, and [Tina] Booth, initiated classroom discussions on the topic, ginning up support for their position among students. It’s reported that Booth suggested to students in her class that the school board vote was unfair, that it was censorship, and that students have a “voice.” Apparently, Booth believes that the voices of 14 year-olds should have greater influence than the voices of parents and school board members. Such use of class time to engage students in a public controversy and attempt to manipulate student opinion is unprofessional and an abuse of their power and role as public servants.

Teachers who teach controversial books like The Perks of Being a Wallflower don’t really care about the feelings, beliefs, or values of conservative parents. They don’t really care about the diminished academic experience of kids who are opted out of reading controversial texts and have to spend time alone in another room reading a different book. They don’t care if they create conflict between conservative parents and their children who may resent being set apart from other kids. And they don’t care how these students feel when isolated.

To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.



For background, click headlines below of previous articles:

ACLU Sues to Display Books of Lesbians to Kindergartners

Librarians Hail Kids' Homosexual Indoctrination Books

Parents Challenge Books in Schools & Libraries

New Jersey School Pulls Assigned Obscene Books

Illinois School Drops Gay Agenda Books on Bullying

After Parent Complaints, Schools Drop Sexually Explicit Book Studies

Jesus Slammed in New Hampshire School Required Reading

Gay Recruitment of Kids: Obama's Czar Legacy

President Obama's "Safe Schools" Czar, Kevin Jennings, founded the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which was exposed this week recruiting children through Facebook by promoting the annual homosexual celebration in schools called the "Day of Silence."

WARNING: Explicit sexual language presented with evidence at the bottom of this post.

For background, read Homosexual Indoctrination 'Day of Silence' in Schools and also read Exposed: Obama's Gay Agenda for Schools

UPDATE 6/7/11: White House Says Gay Recruitment of Kids Successful

-- From "Social Conservatives Take Aim at Day of Silence School Event Focused on Gay Issues" by Kevin Derby, Sunshine News (Tallahassee, FL) 4/14/11

According to organizers, more than 20,000 students from some 7,500 schools registered to participate in the 2010 DOS, while hundreds of thousands actually took part. Students will remain silent all day, except when called on during class, to focus on anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) insults, bullying and harassment.

David Caton, the executive director of the Florida Family Association (FFA), attacked the event on Wednesday, claiming it “politicizes the classroom for ideological purposes.”

“The explicit purpose of DOS is to encourage sympathy and support for students involved in homosexual and cross-dressing behaviors whose voices have been allegedly silenced by the disapproval of society,” added Caton. “The implicit purpose is to undermine the belief that homosexuality and cross-dressing are immoral. Parents should no longer passively countenance the political usurpation of public school classrooms through student silence.”

Caton encouraged parents to monitor their children’s school to see what would happen on Friday -- and pull their children out of school for the day if necessary.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "School not the place for politics" by Bill Bumpas, OneNewsNow 4/14/11

Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute tells OneNewsNow the initiative is really about exploiting legitimate anti-bullying sentiment.

"No one wants students bullied, but they're using that to try to create an environment in which conservatives can't express their moral beliefs," Higgins laments. "Actually, what they want to do is eradicate the belief that homosexual behavior is immoral. Their end goal is not ending bullying; their end goal is the complete normalization of homosexuality and the creation of a social and political environment that makes it impossible for conservatives to speak."

"School is not the place for political action -- at least not political action that interferes with learning in the classroom," the pro-family advocate contends. Her group is encouraging parents to keep their children home on Friday if their schools are allowing students to take part in the Day of Silence.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Parents and Students Protest 'Day of Silence' Agenda" by Liberty Alerts, Liberty Counsel (posted at The Moral Liberal) 4/14/11

The Day of Silence is a project of the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which promotes a radical sexualized agenda, including the promotion of books that encourage sex between adults and minors.

The Day of Silence has been turned into a homosexual and transsexual promotion agenda. Neither students nor public school teachers or staff should be forced to promote homosexual behavior.

School teachers should be aware that students do not have the right to remain silent when they are called upon by teachers. Conduct on the part of a student that causes a substantial disruption or material interference with school activities is not protected under the First Amendment. Students cannot learn if they refuse to participate in class, and they harm other students’ experience by not contributing to a dialogue of learning.

School administrators do not have to promote the Day of Silence. In those states that require abstinence instruction, schools do not have to recognize clubs that promote sexual activities.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Facebook kids campaign links to 'full frontal nudity'" by Bob Unruh © 2011 WorldNetDaily 4/13/11

A Facebook page set up to promote homosexuality to children through the "Day of Silence" organized by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network – which was founded by President Obama's Office of Safe Schools chief Kevin Jennings – has scrubbed its site of links to pornography after several Web-savvy organizations revealed the offending offerings.

The links from the Facebook page also were documented by Linda Harvey of Mission America and the Illinois Family Institute.

Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth edited some of the images, placing blocks over strategic parts of the photographs, but they remained largely too revealing for inclusion in a news report.

"A click on 'Charly's' (from Hammond, Ind.) pornographic thumbnail photo takes the user to his profile page, which describes his 'sexual interests' as: 'Anal, Bi/Straight, Bondage, Chat/Cam/Phone, Feet, Kissing, Master/Slave, Nipple play, Oral, Porn, Rimming, Rough, Suits, Toys.'"

LaBarbera noted that GLSEN promotes homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality in schools across America.

"One of the main ways it does that is through 'Gay-Straight Alliances,' which are de facto pro-homosexual booster clubs and which now exist in thousands of high schools and colleges across the United States."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Click headlines below to read previous articles:

Obama Administration Seeking Homosexual Children

Hypersexualized White House and Sexual Violence in Schools

Obama 'In Bed' with Homosexuals for 2012

Drop Obama's School Homosexual Czar Says Deficit Panel

White House Wants Homosexual Indoctrination in Schools

Obama Appoints 'Fox' to Guard School 'Henhouse'

Part 2: Obama Appoints 'Fox' to Guard School 'Henhouse'

Congressmen Tell Obama to Fire Deviant Sex Advisor

Congressional Power to Obama's Gay Agenda

Obama Education Adviser Recommends Pornography to Children

Schools Celebrate Homosexuality

White House Exploits Youth Suicide to Advance Gay Agenda

Masturbation Legislation in Illinois Senate

While the latest government studies show that abstinence education is effective with children, controlling liberals in Illinois plan to scrap the state's long-standing abstinence-until-marriage education, in favor of explicit sex training/instruction.

UPDATE 3/22/11: Sex education curriculum details

-- From "Bill Status of SB1619" 97th Illinois General Assembly, 3/15/11

The "Personal Responsibility Education Program Act" (SB 1619) passed out of the Senate Public Health Committee by a 6-4 party-line vote. The bill has been "placed on Calendar Order of 2nd Reading March 16, 2011" (on the Senate floor).

From "Sex-Ed Bill in Springfield Would Outlaw Abstinence Programs" by Ralph Rivera, Lobbyst, Illinois Family Institute 3/5/11

SB 1619 mandates that all elementary and secondary public schools that offer sex education or sexual health education programs must choose only programs from a list of curricula approved by the Illinois Department of Human Services. The [effect] of this would be to shut out all abstinence education programs that focus on abstaining from sex until marriage . . .

The only approved curricula would be so-called "comprehensive sex education" programs which include condom-training, teaching "tolerance"(i.e. approval) of homosexual lifestyles; various ways of sexual self-gratification; condom usage; information on how to be close to a person without having intercourse, including "body massage, bathing together, masturbation, sensuous feeding, fantasizing, watching erotic movies, and reading erotic books and magazines [from Focus on Kids - ages 9-15]." Another program for adolescents, "Be Proud Be Responsible," states, "Go to the store together. Buy lots of different brands and colors [of condoms]. Plan a special day when you can experiment. Just talking about how you'll use all of those condoms can be a turn on."

SB 1619 states that approved curricula must be "medically accurate and developmentally and age appropriate." It also states that "medically accurate" means "verified or supported by the weight of research conducted in compliance with accepted scientific methods and published in peer-reviewed journals...or comprising information that leading professional organizations [like Planned Parenthood's Alan Guttmacher Institute]...." Despite the fact that abstinence education programs are both medically accurate and supported by sound research, the pro-comprehensive sex ed proponents reject them for ideological reasons, and it is their voices that the Department of Human Services will hear.

SB 1619 also states that program "instruction must be free from bias in accordance with the Illinois Human Rights Act." Thus, the approved programs will be those that focus on "tolerance," that is, approval, of homosexuality -- one of the bases for a protected class in the Illinois Human Rights Act.

The bill also removes "until marriage" in the requirement that all sex education courses teach "abstinence until marriage" . . . since homosexuals in Illinois cannot marry marriages, some argue that teaching abstinence until marriage is "discriminatory" and in violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Abstinence Education Effective, Fed Study Shows as well as Illinois Schools Consider Children's Recommendation for Sex Instruction

Homosexuals Sue IL Christians over Their Faith

The recently-enacted Illinois civil unions law doesn't take full effect for months, but homosexualists aren't relenting from their agenda to outlaw religious liberty.

For background, read Illinois Civil Unions Law, so Now to "Gay Marriage" and also read Judge Says Judeo-Christian Values Are Obsolete

And read this analysis from the Illinois Family Institute.



UPDATE 6/13/11: IL Civil Unions Not Enough; Must Destroy Marriage

-- From "Gay couple file complaints after refused space to host their ceremony" by James Scalzitti, Chicago Sun-Times Staff Reporter 2/23/11

When civil unions were legalized in Illinois, a pair of downstate men started planning their future, but when they tried to rent a hall for the celebration, they learned discrimination does not end with a stroke of the governor’s pen.

Now the pair has filed complaints against two bed and breakfasts which refused to rent them space for a ceremony and reception, including one in the Kankakee area.

One owner explained he only hosted “traditional weddings” and not civil unions, while the other was more emphatic, telling the men homosexual unions were “wrong” and citing Bible verses to justify his opinion.

They chose the two particular inns because they are natives of southern Indiana and northern Kentucky and it would be easier for family members to drive to Alton or Paxton then to Chicago, Whathen said Tuesday.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Gay couple alleges discrimination by Alton business" by Terry Hillig and Kevin Mcdermott, St. Louis Post-Dispatch 2/24/11

The complaint is based not on the [new] Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act but on the state's Human Rights Act, which has a "public accommodations" section that makes it a violation to "deny or refuse to another the full and equal enjoyment of the facilities, goods, and services of any public place of accommodation" for discriminatory reasons.

Gay rights activists say the law means that Illinois establishments must provide services regardless of the sexual orientation of customers.

Both the civil union law and the Human Rights Act contain exemptions for religious reasons, but neither appears to allow the barring of same-sex couples from accommodations like the ones Wathen was seeking.

The civil union law exempts individual clergy or religious organizations from having to perform same-sex ceremonies if doing so is against their beliefs. The Human Rights Act specifies that the "expression of religiously based views" by the owner of a public accommodation doesn't constitute discrimination, but it doesn't allow that owner to withhold services based on those views.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read 'Gay Rights' Winning, Loss of Religious Liberty Documented - Washington Post writer demonstrates it's a "zero sum" game: Winning homosexual 'rights' means Christians must lose freedom of religion.

Black Pastors Denounce Gay Rights Tie to MLK

Taking the occasion of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, dozens of pastors from across the Chicago area expressed their opposition to homosexualists claiming an analogy between the momentous civil rights movement and the movement to normalize deviant sexual behavior.



-- From "Ministers Denounce Comparison Of Dr. King, Gay Rights" posted at WBBM/CBS Radio Chicago 1/17/11

“When we apply words to things that are as sacred as a movement to free a people – African-Americans – from the stigma of the color of their skin, and then apply that to what I call a lifestyle choice that wants to be made into a law, I find that very disheartening,” [said Rev. Al Cleveland, the pastor of a church in Bensenville, IL].

Cleveland said to equate the gay rights movement with the work of Dr. King perverts a noble cause.

The group [of pastors] said in a news release that comparing the gay rights movement to the civil rights movement is the equivalent of using “the heroic battle to end racial discrimination as a Trojan Horse to eradicate moral judgments about homosexual conduct. All civilized persons — particularly African-Americans — should be outraged.”

“Homosexualist organizations have one goal that reigns supreme over all others: the eradication of the true moral belief that homosexual acts are profoundly immoral,” the news release continues, “and they are willing to exploit the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement in order to achieve their morally dubious and intellectually vacuous goal.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Ill. Church Leaders Reject Gays Misrepresenting MLK's Legacy" by Stephanie Samuel, Christian Post Reporter 1/17/11

The group, which largely consisted of African-Americans, gathered Monday to speak out and commune together at a luncheon. Most of the concerns shared were that of "deep concern" over legislation connecting gay rights to the civil rights movement – which helped secure voting rights and end the discrimination that was rampant in the south.

King, born into a family of reverends, pursued theology studies at Crozer Theological Seminary in 1948 and Boston University in 1955. Following his ordination, King served as assistant pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, his father's. After finishing his doctoral studies at BU, he became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala.

King accomplished all these things before he got involved in the fight for racial equality. As pastor of Dexter, he founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with three other ministers. King and others orchestrated civil right protests in Georgia and Alabama through the SCLC. In 1960, King returned to Ebenezer Baptist Church as co-pastor with his father until his death in 1968.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Christian leaders rally against gay activists 'hijacking' Martin Luther King legacy" by Kevin J. Jones, Catholic News Agency 1/17/11

Dr. Alveda King, full-time director of African-American Outreach for Priests for Life and King's niece, cited her uncle's advice columns written for Ebony magazine in 1957 and 1958.

"In advising men and women on questions of personal behavior 50 years ago, Uncle Martin sounded no different than a conservative Christian preacher does now," she commented. "He was pro-life, pro-abstinence before marriage, and based his views on the unchanging Word of the Bible. Today, Planned Parenthood would condemn Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as part of the 'religious right'."

"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man of peace, justice, and most of all a man of God," Alveda King continued, suggesting that he would be working today to secure justice for those in the womb endangered by abortion.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "King's Legacy and Civil Rights Cause Misrepresented" by Laurie Higgins, Illinois Family Institute 1/16/11

Illinois State Senator Heather Steans (D-Chicago) cited Dr. Martin Luther King's description of "the long arc of the moral universe that bends toward justice," saying that jettisoning the most enduring criterion of marriage -sexual complementarity- is the moral equivalent of "ending Jim Crow segregation laws."

State Senator Michael Noland (D-Elgin) continued by saying dishonestly that "We have come far on this issue of Civil Rights and today good men and woman on both sides of the aisle should be able to unite behind this very straightforward issue." This is dishonest in that the legalization of civil unions for homosexuals is anything but a "straight forward issue."

Both State Representative Careen Gordon (D-Morris) and openly homosexual State Representative Greg Harris (D-Chicago) further exploited the flawed analogy by comparing same sex marriage to interracial marriage. They are in essence saying that opposition to discrimination based on an immutable, non-behavioral, morally neutral condition like race is equivalent to homosexuals' fight to normalize and institutionalize deviant sexual relations. Rep. Gordon expressed a radical and heretical notion in her plea for civil unions, which is merely a more publicly palatable term for same sex marriages. She described the passage of the civil union bill as doing "God's work."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Students Taught 'Vagina Dance' in Illinois

Parents and students from a Crystal Lake, IL high school took exception to a sex education group exercise that taught female anatomy by "pointing to and singing about reproductive parts while prancing around the room, was set to the tune of the Hokey Pokey."

“[T]he teacher used such a cavalier presentation method, and forced a student to participate when he requested to abstain from it.”

UPDATE 1/18/11: Student's father provides inside-the-classroom details, including this description:
[The teacher,] Ms. Levin, who identified the activity as the "Vagina Dance," told her students that "the 'Vagina Dance' is like the Hokey Pokey. It goes along similar to the Hokey Pokey." She then told her students to stand up with legs apart. She demonstrated the dance; then she did it again with the students; and then she had the students do it two more times, while she observed.

First, she raised her arms parallel to the ground and rotated her hands (which represent ovaries) in circles, saying in a sing-song-y rhythm like the Hokey Pokey, "You've got the ovaries."

Then, she started doing arm circles, saying rhythmically, "You've got the fallopian tubes."

Then she placed both palms against her belly button and sliding them up and down her mid-section, she said "You've got the uterus."

Then she placed both palms against the groin area and sliding them from side to side, she said rhythmically, "You've got the cervix."

Then, with her legs apart, she placed her hands on her inner, upper thighs and sliding them up and down to the knees, she said, "You've got the vagina."

She concluded by rising up on her heels and moving the toes of her feet in and out, saying, "You've got the labia."

-- From "Sex ed teaching method questioned" by Larissa Chinwah, Daily Herald 1/12/11

The Illinois Family Institute, a nonprofit ministry based in Carol Stream, [IL,] posted an article on its website this week claiming Jacqulyn Levin, a health and physical education teacher at Prairie Ridge high school, taught students about female anatomy using “the Vagina Dance.”

School officials, however, called the characterization inaccurate.

The district's director of curriculum, Scott Kubelka, said the five-minute activity was used to reinforce information the students had previously learned through textbooks and other lessons.

Kubelka said the activity, which has been used in the past, was a kinesthetic way of explaining the female reproductive organs.

Robert King, a parent who complained to the district and the Illinois Family Institute back in October, said his son asked to be excused from the activity but was denied.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Group: PR health teacher's methods crossed line" by Brett Rowland, Northwest Herald 1/12/11

School officials said the [Illinois Family Institute's] report was incorrect.

“It’s inaccurate, and it’s a misrepresentation of the activity,” said Jeff Puma, a spokesman for Crystal Lake-based District 155. “There is no ‘Vagina Dance.’” [Yet, Principal Paul Humpa, referred to the classroom activity by this name, when he wrote to the parent -- see next article below.]

Laurie Higgins, director of the school advocacy division of the Illinois Family Institute, said she doubted if the activity would have taken place if a parent had been in the room or if the lesson had been videotaped and posted on YouTube.

“We as educators have a responsibility not to lower ourselves to the kind of cultural debasement that we see in the movies and on reality TV,” Higgins said. “That is not to say this reaches the level of ‘Jersey Shore,’ but I don’t think you cultivate modesty with a dance like the ‘Vagina Dance.’ ”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "The 'Vagina Dance' Taught in a Crystal Lake High School" by Laurie Higgins, Illinois Family Institute 1/10/11

[The teacher's] selection of this inappropriate instructional activity demonstrated a lack of empathy for those who may have a degree of modesty and self-respect that [the teacher, Jacqulyn Levin, herself] does not possess. Did she consider that some students might feel uncomfortable participating in or even watching this dance and that they might fear being ridiculed if they chose to opt-out?

Her decision to use this dance as a teaching tool also reveals that she has no commitment to fostering modesty (please don't be deceived by the attempt of "progressives" to conflate essential modesty with some kind of priggish, neurotic prudery). The very fact that a teacher would consider such an activity reflects how debased and immodest a culture we have. And it reveals that she has no regard for the values of all the families who have entrusted their children to her tutelage.

When a father complained about the dance, she defended it as a "kinesthetic" device to help students memorize body parts. The "kinesthetic" argument is simply a rationalization, an obvious and foolish attempt to conceal the inappropriateness and silliness of the activity with a patina of pedagogical legitimacy. Somehow few teachers in math, science, literature, or social studies feel the need to employ "kinesthetic" activities to facilitate memorization. If ever there was a subject in which "kinesthetic" activities would be inappropriate, it would be seem to be female sexual anatomy in a coed class.

Sounding a wee bit like Professor Irwin Corey, Principal Paul Humpa wrote the following non-sense to the concerned father:

I made a commitment to speak to Ms. Loeding, the PE department chairman, and Ms. Levin, your son's Health teacher, about alternative strategies to teach the female reproductive system....My request of Ms. Loeding and Ms. Levin was to investigate a variety of alternative instructional strategies to be used to present the female reproductive system in lieu of the Vagina Dance. Through their efforts, I expect that thorough research of effective instructional strategies and activities designed to address different learning styles will be conducted. These strategies would certainly not exclude the potential use of kinesthetic methodologies.

This is the kind of rhetorical runaround conservative parents regularly experience when challenging inappropriate activities and resources.

Parents often rationalize their silence by saying that an offensive activity, or scene in a film, or passage in book is too trivial to address. They fail to realize that cultural change rarely happens through dramatic single events but rather through the slow accretion of little occurrences we ignore or dismiss.

Click here to read the entire commentary above, which urges citizens to properly engage their local school systems.

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.

Only Pro-life IL Senate Candidate is Libertarian

Democrats are fanning the flames of Christians in Illinois by highlighting the liberal characteristics of the GOP's (RINO) pro-abortion candidate, Mark Kirk, for the U.S. Senate, who also advocates the Gay Agenda. Leading Christian advocacy organizations are telling voters that six more years of a Democrat in the Senate is preferable to being stuck with a pro-abortion RINO in the seat for decades.

-- From "Giannoulias talks up Libertarian in attempt to siphon votes from Kirk" by Kerry Lester, Daily Herald Staff 9/17/10

An Oak Brook Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate got a boost Thursday from an unlikely source - Democrat Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias, who gave props to Mike Labno while predicting his Republican opponent will fall victim to tea party wrath.

Following the loss of a moderate candidate to a tea party activist in Delaware's GOP Senate primary Tuesday, Giannoulias issued a news release calling Republican opponent Mark Kirk the "conservative wave's ... next victim in November, with Mike Labno as the only pro-life, pro-gun candidate running for Senate in Illinois."

The effort is a strategy by Giannoulias' campaign to siphon Republican votes away from Kirk in the extremely close race for President Barack Obama's old seat.

As a five-term 10th District congressman, Kirk has supported stem cell research, several gun control laws and abortion rights, though he opposes federal funding of abortion.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Third-party candidate could roil Ill. ballot" by Shira Toeplitz, Politico 9/2/10

A Constitution Party candidate is going to court to try to regain a spot on the Illinois Senate ballot - an effort that, if successful, could spell trouble for GOP nominee Mark Kirk.

Election officials removed Randy Stufflebeam from the ballot last week, but his attorney filed a suit Wednesday aiming to get his name back on.

Furthermore, after a lackluster performance in the GOP primary downstate, Kirk needs to do well there with Republicans to boost his bid. Not only is Stufflebeam from that region, but he's also more conservative than Kirk on several issues: He is anti-abortion, while Kirk favors abortion rights, and Stufflebeam is against the cap-and-trade legislation that the congressman voted for in 2009.

Doug Ibendahl, an attorney for Stufflebeam, filed a petition for judicial review with the Cook County Circuit Court Wednesday and has requested an expedited hearing. Ibendahl said he was not going to predict a victory, but figured Stufflebeam had a "decent chance" of being reinstated on the ballot.

[Ibendahl] blamed the state Republican Party and Kirk.

"We got the kitchen sink thrown at us because they're so desperate, because there are a lot of conservatives who can't stomach Mark Kirk," said Ibendahl.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Glenn Beck mocks Michelle Obama's healthy food drive at Right Nation convention" by Lynn Sweet; by Abdon M. Pallasch, Chicago Sun-Times Political Writer 9/19/10

Five thousand conservative true believers cheered Fox News host Glenn Beck and other right-leaning firebrands at Right Nation 2010 in Hoffman Estates on Saturday night in a call-to-arms 45 days before Election Day.

Moderates such as Illinois GOP Senate nominee Mark Kirk stayed away from Saturday's event.

But it did attract Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate Mike Labno. His 6-year-old daughter Emily told attendees as they came in that her father is "the only pro-life, pro-gun candidate for Senate."

"Let's face it - there is no Republican in this race," Labno said as he greeted attendees on the way in.

Inside the arena, when conservative commentator Phil Kerpen urged the audience to vote for Kirk, more people applauded than booed.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Leftist Teaching at Wheaton College, Illinois

[T]he current document known as the “conceptual framework” of the education department at Wheaton College [includes] the father of the social justice movement, Brazilian Marxist, Paulo Freire and former Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers.

UPDATE 7/1/13:  College officially changes "conceptual framework" back to Christianity

UPDATE 9/12/11: College revises teaching, hopefully for the best

UPDATE 3/11/10: Teaching Social Justice at Wheaton College (from Illinois Family Institute)

UPDATE 3/5/10: Wheaton College's Promotion of Social Justice (includes link to audio quotes from the College)

UPDATE 3/2/10: Wheaton responds, but provides no evidence to refute the accusations below (post dated 2/25/10)

-- From "Billy Graham Meets Bill Ayers" by Sandy Rios, Culture Campaign (posted at Townhall.com) 2/26/10

There’s hardly an evangelical who doesn’t know about Wheaton College. Alma Mater of the Reverend Billy Graham . . .

So imagine the dismay of many to learn that, in an effort to educate its students, Wheaton has moved to the left, so much so that in a survey by the Wheaton Record, 60 percent of its faculty voted for President Barack Obama, the most pro-abortion, pro-homosexual agenda, spiritually confused president the nation has ever elected.

How can this be? Perhaps much of it can be attributed to a movement widely embraced by the campus known as “social justice.”

. . . Why would Wheaton College embrace such a philosophy? “…these are people you can learn from because they’re going to teach us Christians that maybe we have some blind spots here, that we’ve been oblivious to certain areas of injustice,” said President Duane Litfin.

Dr. Jillian Lederhouse, chairman of the department of education defended the conceptual framework by saying “we don’t teach our students to be afraid on an ideology as long as we give them a critical perspective. We do not have a list of people we do not read. Our goal is to produce a thinking Christian teacher.” And that is as it should be in an institution of higher learning, except for one thing. Lederhouse went on to admit that the people who were foundational to Wheaton’s conceptual framework were all on the far left.

To read the entire commentary above, CLICK HERE.

From "Wheaton College Invites Leftist, Pro-Homosexual Evangelical Jim Wallis to Speak" By Peter LaBarbera, AmericansForTruth.com February 2008

[Wheaton College's Center for Applied Christian, CACE, in September 2007 invited] homosexual “gay christian” activist Harry Knox to speak at a panel discussion on “HIV and Morality,” as a representative of the (traditional-Christian-bashing) homosexual activist group Human Rights Campaign.

. . . If I’m not mistaken, Harry talked about his relationship with his male partner at the Wheaton panel discussion, which was titled, “Thy Kingdom Come: Christian Moral Engagement in the World.”

The following excerpt is taken from page 229 of “The Great Awakening” [by Jim Wallis, the Wheaton College CACE speaker of February 2008:]

“I support civil rights laws for same-sex couples. That, for me, is a justice issue. Many Christians, and I include myself, prefer the solution of ‘civil unions’ from the state, and even spiritual ‘blessings’ for gay couples (from congregations prepared to offer them), rather than altering the church’s sacrament of marriage as between a man and a woman, but those differences should not be fundamentally divisive. Gay marriage should not be the primary battleground in the fight for the health and stability of marriage and family in our society. In a pluralistic democracy, we should support civil and human rights for all our citizens, regardless of our different theological and biblical interpretations of the complicated and thorny issues surrounding homosexuality. New evidence and understanding around those issues could cause any of us to alter our views. But we should find common ground by supporting concrete practices and practical policies that strengthen families and nurture all our children.”

To read the entire commentary above, CLICK HERE.

Gay Agenda: IL School Redefines Family

Suburban public school near Chicago attempts to neutralize citizen backlash to introduction of formal program to enable teachers to indoctrinate the youngest children to normalization of homosexuality

UPDATE 2/7/10: Chicago Tribune advocates normalization of homosexuality

-- From "Gay-awareness lectures at Oak Park school ripped" Sun-Times Media 1/22/10

Recent lectures on gay awareness to parents and faculty at an Oak Park elementary school have drawn criticism from a conservative group's Web site. [See excerpts below.]

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Oak Park school responds to critics of gay awareness talk" by Chuck Fieldman, Pioneer Press Sun-Times Media 1/21/10

Beye School Principal Jonathan Ellwanger said a notice to parents last week was an attempt to "clear up ... a known point of misinformation" about diversity lectures for faculty and parents at the school.

The Jan. 15 e-mail was sent in reaction to critics following the Illinois Family Institute that protested the school's choice in a speaker and her topic, which included gay awareness.

Shannon Sullivan, executive director of the Illinois Safe Schools Network, spoke to faculty in August and in November during a staff development session. She also spoke to about 85 parents at a Jan. 19 PTO meeting. [See video below.]

"Shannon Sullivan came in and talked about all kinds of different family structures, from gay and lesbian parents to divorced parents," [Ellwanger said.]

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Homosexual Activists Exploit Oak Park's Beye Elementary School" by Laurie Higgins, Illinois Family Institute 1/14/10

During her biased presentation, Sullivan showed the film That's a Family . . .

That's a Family implicitly espouses the offensive claim that families led by homosexuals are morally equivalent to those led by guardians, disabled parents, racial minorities, or heterosexuals. Some teachers at Beye are planning on showing this piece of political propaganda to their elementary students, citing the presence of families led by homosexuals in the Oak Park community as justification. But simply because a particular family structure exists does not require public educators either to discuss it or affirm it. Watch an excerpt from the film here.

Also, spend a few minutes wandering around the Illinois Safe Schools Alliance website to see how very busy Shannon Sullivan is in her efforts to use public schools as well as Illinois colleges and universities that train future teachers to promote her socio-political vision. Here's just one of her efforts:

The P Project is a partnership between the Alliance and an advisory board of representatives from Illinois colleges and universities involved in pre-professional preparation of teachers, counselors and social workers. Gathering data on the status of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (GLBTQ) issues in pre-professional education, The P Project aims to support Illinois colleges and universities in further inclusion of diversity issues into their curricula in more meaningful ways. For more information, or to join The P Project, please contact Shannon Sullivan.

"Family Diversity" is a term that obscures the politically incorrect truth that not all family structures are worthy of appreciation or respect. Some differences are good, some differences are bad, and some are neutral. The forms of diversity of which Ms. Sullivan is enamored are, in the view of many people, profoundly wrong; and public schools have no right to use school hours, school resources, and public money to affirm Ms. Sullivan's unproven, divisive theories to children. The administration has no right to impose these unproven, divisive, and often religious beliefs, on teachers through Institute Day presentations or any other professional development workshops that focus on "anti-bullying" or "diversity." And administrators have no right to expect or compel teachers to share Sullivan's subversive ideas with young children, many of whose parents have political, philosophical, moral, or religious beliefs that conflict with them.

Elementary schools should not in any context introduce homosexuality or Gender Identity Disorder to children. I would argue that schools that affirm either implicitly or explicitly the following ideas are engaging in irresponsible, unethical, presumptuous, and perhaps unconstitutional moral indoctrination:

• The theory that homosexuality is ontologically equivalent to skin-color or race

• The theory that homosexuality is morally equivalent to heterosexuality

• The theory that families led by homosexuals are morally equivalent to families led by heterosexuals

• The idea that moral disapproval of homosexuality constitutes ignorance, bias, prejudice, hatred, bullying, or harassment

• The idea that expressions of moral disapproval of homosexuality should be prohibited

Since many who affirm homosexuality attend churches that embrace "gay theology," I would argue that the charge so often leveled at conservative people of faith should be extended to liberal people of faith, which is that schools that affirm homosexuality violate the separation of church and state by imposing the religious views of some on all children.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

While Media Preaches Gay-Agenda Bible, Pastors Silent

"Should believers work to prevent government from foisting the homosexualist agenda on the population? Yes, very definitely so. The withholding of governmental incentives for homosexual practice is as much a civil issue as society's prohibition of incest and polygamy (even of an adult, consensual sort)." -- Prof. Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon

Are Americans hearing the Truth via Christian witness (from the church to the culture), or have Christians abandoned the lost to be led astray by the loudest voice?

Concerning the Newsweek cover story "Our Mutual Joy: Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side."

-- From "Newsweek's Heresy" by Laurie Higgins, DSA Director -Illinois Family Institute 12/9/08

I suppose Illinois Family Institute and numerous other pro-family organizations could respond to this heresy, but why should we when there are scores of church leaders and biblical scholars far better suited to the task than we are? Why are they not correcting the errors in exegesis and logic that permeate this article and will likely prove persuasive to not only the unchurched but the Body of Christ also? Why do we so rarely read editorials in our local press and national media from orthodox biblical scholars? Is it because they submit op-ed pieces that are summarily rejected, or do they simply not bother to submit them? Who better to correct the misinformation or disinformation being propagated at every cultural turn and in every cultural context than those whose vocation is studying Scripture?

An urgent plea to church leaders and theologians should go forth. Church leaders and theologians should be asked by pro-family organizations and Christians to respond to this article in their local press outlets and in major news publications. Orthodox scholars should flood media outlets with responses to this outrageous piece of sophistry. . . . These orthodox theologians and church leaders should then post the letters they send to the press on their church websites and/or personal blogs.

. . . we need an army of church leaders and theologians to leave their pulpits and ivory towers for just a moment and take their wisdom and knowledge to the culture.

From "Turning the Bible on its Head -- Newsweek Goes for Gay Marriage" by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. 12/8/08

The national news media are collectively embarrassed by the passage of Proposition 8 in California. Gay rights activists are publicly calling on the mainstream media to offer support for gay marriage, arguing that the media let them down in November. It appears that Newsweek intends to do its part to press for same-sex marriage. Many observers believe that the main obstacle to this agenda is a resolute opposition grounded in Christian conviction. Newsweek clearly intends to reduce that opposition.

From "More than 'Mutual Joy': Lisa Miller of Newsweek against Scripture and Jesus" by Prof. Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon 12/10/08

Religious proponents of gay marriage routinely ignore or twist the major arguments in Scripture and philosophy against homosexual practice. The cover story by Religion Editor Lisa Miller in the Dec. 15, 2008 issue of Newsweek, wholeheartedly endorsed by Managing Editor Jon Meacham, is a perfect case in point.

Miller’s strategy is to argue three things: first, that the image of marriage in Scripture is so alien to anything that would be acceptable to us today that we should run as fast as we can from any appeal to Scripture against “gay marriage”; second, that Scripture has little if anything to say against caring homosexual relationships; and, third, that Scripture contains “universal truths” (concerning “what the Bible teaches about love” and family) that are serviceable for promoting “gay marriage.” In a statement that can only be regarded as delusional in the extreme, Miller arrogantly declares as if she were some sort of expert on the subject: “Scripture gives us no good reason why gays and lesbians should not be (civilly and religiously) married—and a number of excellent reasons why they should.”

To arrive at her ideological objective Miller makes a number of bad moves. She exaggerates discontinuity and downplays continuity between marriage values in Scripture and our own values. . . She engages in a distorted form of analogical reasoning that elevates distant analogies like slavery and haircuts over close analogies, with far more points of correspondence, like adult-committed incest. She shows little or no understanding of the historical and literary contexts of the texts that she treats. She ignores just about every major argument against the positions that she espouses. And she extrapolates, from certain “universal truths” in Scripture, illogical conclusions that would have appalled the scriptural authors, like assuming that generic love is a sufficient prerequisite for sexual relationships.

Lisa Miller’s article is so poorly researched and so badly (and arrogantly) argued that the editors of Newsweek should be ashamed of themselves for publishing it. But they are not ashamed.

The question must be asked: What is it with the “elite” newspapers and newsmagazines over the past decade? Are they so obsessed with promoting the homosexualist agenda that they have now given up even a pretense to objectivity, balanced research, and good sense? Do they care nothing for destroying their reputation, built up over many years, as credible sources for news and commentary? These news sources are more and more resembling a homosexualist Pravda—a different agenda but the same style of propaganda “news” reporting that would make the old Kremlin leadership proud.

McDonald's, Media Give Christians the Silent Treatment

Chicago media team up with McDonald's to shield the public from what McDonald's spokesman terms the 'hate' of Christians who oppose the Gay Agenda

Photo from Illinois Review (CLICK HERE to read article)

Read Sandy Rios' address to McDonald's at the press conference (CLICK HERE)

-- From "Very Sad But Not Surprising" by Dave Diersen of GOPUSA Illinois 7/17/08

It is very sad, but not surprising, that the Combine [Chicago politicians of both parties] got its news media members to keep the boycott off their websites.

The boycott was announced at an outstanding 10:00 AM press conference yesterday at the McDonald's restaurant across from McDonald's world headquarters in Oak Brook.

Because the Illinois Democrat Party Platform promotes homosexual activity and the Illinois Republican Party Platform discourages homosexual activity, the boycott is a political story. I was hoping to see Mary Ann Ahern, David Beery, Mike Flannery, Rick Preason, Andy Shaw, and other political reporters at the press conference, but I did not.

Speakers at the outstanding press conference included Matt Barber, Peter LaBarbera, Sandy Rios, and David E. Smith.

Sadly, McDonald's is a member of the Combine. Hopefully, Illinois Republican Party (IRP) Chairman Andy McKenna Jr. will get his father, Andy McKenna Sr., the President of McDonald's, to get McDonald's to stop promoting homosexual activity.

Also, read the WorldNetDaily article of 7/19/08 (CLICK HERE).

Contact McDonald's:

Andrew J. McKenna, President
McDonald's Corporation USA
McDonald's Plaza, Oak Brook, IL 60523
Phone: 1-800-244-6227
or: 630-623-3000
Fax: 630-623-5004

CLICK HERE for commenting via McDonald's website

Indecent Commercials During NFL Games

What's a parent to do when you can't even watch a football game with your children without worrying about inappropriate content?

From "IFI E-Alert: Sign the Petition -- Ask the NFL to Prohibit Indecent Commercials During Games" posted 11/29/07 at Illinois Family Institute

A few months ago, I wrote an open letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, asking him to please help "raise the standard and do what [he] can to eliminate the indecent content aired during NFL games."

As you may remember, my original letter pointed to the sad fact that a number of advertisements and network promotional spots that are aired during NFL game breaks are completely inappropriate -- especially for the younger members of the viewing audience. The fact is, far too many of these ads are indecent and/or sexually suggestive.

With more than half the season behind us now, I am again openly appealing to Commissioner Goodell: please consider your entire fan base when licensing your programs to television networks.

Here are just a few examples of indecent commercials that have aired on the FOX and CBS networks during NFL game broadcasts:

On September 9th, FOX broadcast the season opener of the Chicago Bears vs. San Diego Chargers. During the game, FOX aired a promo for the season premier of their program "'Til Death." The discussion in this promo centered on a woman's cleavage. Ironically, the clip used to promote this program has the husband complaining about his wife's exposure saying, "I've noticed that it is hard for people to focus when having a conversation with you, what with the two bald-headed gentlemen struggling to get out of your chest." He also points directly at her breasts and says, "Let's talk about Mt. Inappropriate.

[Click HERE to view actual footage of the latter two examples. **Not recommended**]

Read the rest of this article and please consider taking some action.

Police Psychologist Fired at the Behest of Pro-homosexual Activists

UPDATE 9/7/10: Minneapolis City Council pays Christian psychologist $210,000 settlement

Taking discrimination against Christians to a new high (low?), the Minneapolis Police Department has fired a highly rated psychologist for his past affiliation with Illinois Family Institute.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that despite the fact that the Minneapolis PD gave Campion “high marks” on his “general procedural goodness and specific cultural fairness” of his testing procedures; Campion was suspended soon after liberal city activists told Police Chief Don Harris about the psychologist’s past IFI affiliation. (Campion, whose firm Campion, Barrow & Associates is based in Champaign, Ill., sat on IFI’s Board of Directors from 1998-2005.)

Sgt. John Delmonico, president of the police federation, admitted that “it never had any complaints about Campion.” Despite that fact, Delmonico told the Star-Tribune “…Any issues that have been raised should be looked into.”

IFI reports that “this is not the first time Dr. Campion has suffered discrimination after having his character assassinated by liberal activists. Last year, the City of Springfield, Illinois, fired Campion as psychological reviewer for police and firefighter candidates after the left-leaning weekly Illinois Times ran an article about his role with Illinois Family Institute.”

“The message from Minneapolis is clear: The Constitution be damned! If you work for the city, and you happen to be a person of faith belonging to a church or public policy organization that advocates traditional family values, then you might as well clean out your desk now — because as soon as we find out…you’re done.”

Mr. Campion is not the first American to be fired for support of Christian values. In 2005 an employee of the Allstate insurance company was fired from his job for comments that appeared in a men’s journal denouncing same-sex “marriage,” even though the statement was penned in the employee’s own spare time and from home, and in June a Baltimore, Maryland Metro transit board member was fired for expressing opposition to homosexuality. Christian pharmacists in Illinois have been fired for refusing to fill prescriptions for abortifacient drugs - not because their employers objected, but because Governor Blagojevich issued an order MANDATING that all pharmacists fill these prescriptions.

Where is the moral outrage from the Church in America? What will it take for us to stand up? -If not for our own sake then for the sake of others? For if the freedom to dissent is lost for Christians, it's only a matter or time until it is lost for all Americans.

To those brothers and sisters who admonish us to simply 'concentrate on evangelism' I say this: If we lose the right to speak the truth about moral issues, losing the right to proclaim the Gospel will shortly follow. For the Gospel is surely the greatest offense of all - being the 'smell of death' to those who are perishing. (I Cor. 2:16) Our pulpits will be silenced, by legislation or lack of interest. People who do not understand God's Law have no need for a Savior.

Apathy is NOT a virtue.

This is our battle.