School Officials Make Wise Decision to Protect and Educate Students

Excerpted from School Disinvites Comedy Troupe, by Lisa Black, published Mar 19, 2007, by Chicago Tribune (Hat tip: Americans for Truth)

Highland Park High School officials who fear that a sketch comedy troupe’s material is not appropriate for students have rescinded an invitation for the group to perform during a three-day arts festival in April…

The chairwoman of Highland Park’s Fine Arts Department “was concerned at the point she received a description of their presentation,” said Suzan Hebson, assistant superintendent for human resources. She said the discussions occurred at least a month before the Deerfield controversy erupted.

“I understand they had concerns recognizing this is an educational classroom environment and not a nightclub entertainment sort of function,” Hebson said.

Last week, DeGrazia shared some sketches with administrators, agreeing to cancel a skit that was deemed offensive. The skit portrayed a militaristic high school drum major who is gay but overly defensive in insisting he’s not gay, while none of the other band members care.

Comic Thread performed at the 2005 Focus event, and school officials objected to a skit called “Great Moments in Amish Pornography.” The theme song from “2001: A Space Odyssey” blared as an Amish woman revealed her ankles and an Amish man lowered his suspender straps, DeGrazia said...

Two years ago, school board member Joel Hurwitz took issue with administrators sharing complaints about Comic Thread with the group.

“The material is not new to our students or beyond their maturity level,” wrote Hurwitz, a lawyer, who could not be reached Friday for further comment. “Our Fine Arts Department has not achieved excellence by censoring performances to satisfy the sensitivities of fringe elements within our community who are uncomfortable with mainstream culture.”

Catholic University of San Francisco Promotes Abortion, Same Sex Marriage and Contraception

From "Catholic University of San Francisco Promotes Abortion, Same Sex Marriage and Contraception" posted 3/20/07 at Lifesite.net

SAN FRANCISCO, March 20, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The University of San Francisco (USF), a Catholic college, features on the front page of its website a festival that includes at least two films that promote abortion and same sex marriage, and a report by four USF nursing students that includes recommendations for contraceptive use.

"As a Catholic institution, if the University of San Francisco will not support the Catholic position on issues, at the very least it has an obligation to not promote issues that directly contradict Catholic teachings on some of the most pressing moral issues of the day.

"The Church is very clear that abortion is intrinsically evil, that marriage can only be between one man and one woman, and that contraception use is a sin. It is a scandal that USF, an institution that is not shy about touting its Jesuit heritage in marketing materials, would actively work against these fundamental Catholic truths."

To express concerns to San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer call 415 614 5500 or email
info@sfarchdiocese.org

USF President Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J., may be reached at (415) 422-6762 or by e-mail at privet@usfca.edu

Read the rest of this article.

"Homosexuality Is Not Hardwired," Concludes Head of The Human Genome Project

From "Homosexuality Is Not Hardwired," Concludes Head of The Human Genome Project" by A. Dean Byrd, posted 3/20/07 at Lifesite.net

Reprinted with permission of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH)

Francis S. Collins, one of the world's leading scientists who works at the cutting edge of DNA research, concluded that "there is an inescapable component of heritability to many human behavioral traits." However, he adds, "for virtually none of them, is heredity ever close to predictive."

In reviewing the heritability (i.e., influence of genetic factors) on personality traits, Dr. Collins referenced the research of Bochard and McGue for the estimated percentage of these traits that can be ascribed to heredity.

The heritability estimates for personality traits were varied: General Cognitive Ability (50%), Extroversion (54%), Agreeableness (42%), Conscientiousness (49%), Neuroticism (48%), Openness (57%), Aggression (38%) and Traditionalism (54%).

Such estimates of heritability are based upon unbiased, careful analyses of studies conducted with identical twins. The studies lead to the conclusion that heredity is important in many of these personality traits. It is important however, to note that even in such studies with identical twins, that heritability is not to be confused as inevitability.

As Dr. Collins would agree, environment can influence gene expression, and free will determines the response to whatever predispositions might be present.

Dr. Collins succinctly reviewed the research on homosexuality and offers the following:

"An area of particularly strong public interest is the genetic basis of homosexuality. Evidence from twin studies does in fact support the conclusion that heritable factors play a role in male homosexuality. However, the likelihood that the identical twin of a homosexual male will also be gay is about 20% (compared with 2-4 percent of males in the general population), indicating that sexual orientation is genetically influenced but not hardwired by DNA, and that whatever genes are involved represent predispositions, not predeterminations [emphasis added]."

Read the rest of this article at Lifesite.net

5 'Well-Educated' Kids Put in State Custody

Ruling that sent homeschooler to psych ward expanded to 2nd family

From "5 well-educated' kids put in state custody" by bob Unruh, posted 3/22/07, at WorldNetDaily.com

Five "well-educated" children have been ordered into state custody by a court that applied to a second family a ruling taking a 15-year-old homeschooler from her family and sending her to a psychiatric ward.

The action fulfills a dire forecast from a human rights group that the government's success in the first case would encourage officials to act against other families in Germany.

The newest ruling comes from a court in Saxony and affects five members of the Brause family, according to officials with the International Human Rights Group.
Its president, Joel Thornton, earlier had told WND that, "There is an increased fear among homeschoolers about whether their children are next," after Melissa Busekros, 15, was removed from her home and ordered first to a psychiatric ward, then a foster home, because of her "school phobia."

Thornton told WND the ruling in Saxony means that while the government officials have not yet taken the five children from the family home, they have permission to do so at any time.
"Apparently, Germany has decided that it can determine when and where the children go to school; and where they live while doing so," noted Thornton. "The youth welfare, supported by the police force, can take the children out of the home at any time with or without notice."
The decision, according to the IHRG, said the well-being of the children "can only be achieved by their attendance in the public schools."

According to a CBN report, the legal custody of Rosine, Jotham, Kurt-Simon, Lovis and Ernst Brause was taken away from parents Bert and Kathrin and given to the local youth welfare office.

The parents reportedly can regain custody of their children only by placing them in public school.

In the order, which was based solely on the parents' decision against sending their children to public school, the family also was told to pay court costs estimated at $4,000.

The judge had concluded that the children were well-educated, but accused the parents of failing to provide their children with an education in a public school. The court noted that one of the daughters expressed the same opinions as her father, showing they have not had the chance to develop "independent" personalities.

That circumstance and others echo the case involving Melissa Busekros, a case on which IHRG has been working for several weeks.

"We are gearing up to continue the fight in Germany for the right of parents to control the education of their children in accordance with their sincerely-held religious beliefs. This will be an expensive battle, and we ask you to pray about helping us fight the good fight," the IHRG said.

"Our efforts must be bathed in prayer, so we ask you to please continue praying for Melissa and the Busekros family, as well as the Brauses. No parent should have to watch their children being forcibly removed from their home because of their religious beliefs," the group said.

Read the rest of this article.

Links:
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54817

Cultural Accommodation of Sin Results in the Greatest Suffering for All

Christians better wake up and speak up before we lose the religious freedom we so deeply value. In recent writing, Christian public speaker/author, Chuck Colson, and Georgetown University lesbian law professor Chai Feldblum, both make the same point: legalizing same-sex marriage will necessarily result in the loss of religious freedom for conservative people of faith. One has only to look at events in Canada and Great Britain and our own Massachusetts to confirm this awful truth.

I sadly find myself compelled to point out that we are selfish and irresponsible to bequeath to our children and our children's children the legacy of diminished religious and speech rights. The battle in which we find ourselves now will look like child's play compared to what our children will face a decade or two from now if we remain passive, fearful, ignorant, prideful, and apathetic.

Our concern must not be only about our rights, however. At least as great an injustice is being done to those who experience same-sex desire through no fault of their own and are being told, sometimes even by their church leadership, that there is no reason to resist those impulses. They are being told that sin is righteousness, and the great deceit here is that this heresy masquerades as compassion.

I am inspired and reproached by the impassioned and eloquent words of Martin Luther King Junior in "Letter From Birmingham Jail" who should remind us that cultural accommodation of sin results in greater suffering for all. The suffering of African Americans was unconscionably prolonged by the inaction of Christians who allowed fear, ignorance, pride, and apathy to determine their actions. Christians should have, instead, responded with courage to the still, small voice that surely told them that racial discrimination was evil.

Listen to the words of Dr. Martin Luther King in the following excerpts from “Letter From Birmingham Jail:”

One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all."

Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. . . .

First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action". . .

Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with an its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured. . .

But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." . . .

I had hoped that the white moderate would see this need. Perhaps I was too optimistic; perhaps I expected too much. I suppose I should have realized that few members of the oppressor race can understand the deep groans and passionate yearnings of the oppressed race, and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent and determined action. . . .

I have been so greatly disappointed with the white church and its leadership. . . . too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows. . . . I have looked at the South's beautiful churches with their lofty spires pointing heavenward. I have beheld the impressive outlines of her massive religious-education buildings. Over and over I have found myself asking: "What kind of people worship here? Who is their God?. . .

I have heard many ministers say: "Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern." And I have watched many churches commit themselves to a completely other worldly religion which makes a strange, non-biblical distinction between body and soul, between the sacred and the secular.

In deep disappointment, I have wept over the laxity of the church. . . . I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.

There was a time when the church was very powerful in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators"' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide. and gladiatorial contests.

Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Par from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century.

--Clive

Gutsy Teen Bears Witness to the Truth on the Day of Silence

From "Naperville teen sues school over her anti-gay T-shirt" by Meg McSherry Breslin, posted Mar. 22, 2007, at the Chicago Tribune

A student at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville filed suit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, arguing that her school violated her civil rights by refusing to let her wear a T-shirt opposing homosexuality on moral grounds.

The student is represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a national organization based in Arizona that has filed at least eight similar lawsuits across the country, said Gary McCaleb, senior counsel for the group.

McCaleb said the group is trying to "enable Christian students to express a contrasting viewpoint on homosexuality."

According to the suit, Heidi Zamecnik, a 17-year-old Naperville resident and a senior at Neuqua Valley, wore a T-shirt to school last April stating, "Be Happy, Not Gay."

Zamecnik donned her shirt in response to the Day of Silence, a national event recognized by many schools. Students can refuse to speak during the school day--even in response to faculty questions--to bring attention to the harassment of homosexuals.

After seeing students wearing T-shirts, stickers and buttons supporting the Day of Silence, Zamecnik opted to wear her own T-shirt the following day as a counter viewpoint.

The suit claims the school's dean of students pulled Zamecnik aside and asked her to remove the shirt. When she refused, another dean instructed a counselor to mark out the words "not gay" and the shirt then read, "Be Happy," the suit states.

Zamecnik and her parents tried to discuss the incident with school officials, McCaleb said. He said the parents also tried to work out an agreement that would allow their daughter to wear a similar T-shirt following next month's Day of Silence.

Read the rest of this article.


"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." --Jesus Christ, Jn 8:32

May God bless Heidi for her courage and boldness. How many of us adult Christians have that kind of courage and faith?

Coach Dungy Defends Family Values

From "Coach Dungy Defends Family Values" by Steve Jordahl, posted 3/21/07, at CitizenLink.org

Coach Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts spoke strongly Tuesday night in favor of traditional marriage. Family advocates applauded his statement, homosexual groups expressed disappointment and the National Football League has remained silent.

Dungy made his remarks after receiving a Friend of the Family award from the Indiana Family Institute (IFI).

“We’re not trying to downgrade anyone else, hate anyone else, but we’re trying to promote the family, family values the Lord’s way,” Dungy said.

IFI President Curt Smith was pleased.

“Coach Dungy said, ‘I’m with God and I believe IFI has taken the biblical, godly position on marriage and so I’m pleased to stand with it.’”

The Indiana Legislature is considering language defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Smith said Dungy’s appearance was not timed to coincide with legislative action.

Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family Action, said Dungy “is a good and brave man. To defend God’s truth so simply and strongly on what marriage ought to mean is to invite a blitz of hateful attacks from homosexual activists and others on the Left.”

Cyd Zeigler of Outsports.com, a pro-gay group, didn’t criticize Dungy for speaking out, but he insists that Dungy has created a “hostile” work environment in the Colts organization.

Read the rest of this article.

Wheaton Warrenville District 200 Parent Challenges R Movies

From "District 200 Answers Crash Backlash," posted 3/21/07 at the DailyHerald.com

A black couple are pulled over by police who believe they've spotted the pair engaging in sexual activity. Is that appropriate for a teen to see? How about watching a white supremacist force a black man to place his mouth over a street curb before stomping the back of his head?

Those are scenes from two films - "Crash" and "American History X," respectively - with larger messages about racism. They are both under fire as inappropriate learning tools in Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 high schools. School officials will serve as judges in a review of the use of R-rated films in high school classrooms.

The review is prompted in part by Mark Rissman, a district parent who said he feels misled by a permission slip he recently received about the films. Rissman said the permission slip was generic, giving him the impression the R-rated films his son was set to view in a sociology class were harmless. Then he went on the Internet to learn more about "American History X," "Crash" and the unrated documentary "Scared Straight." Rissman has never seen the films.

Web sites described the use of more than 200 "F-words," sex, nudity and violence in the films. All are elements Rissman described as "poison" for young minds. "I don't even know how you'd cut even clips out for students to view," he said. "These are really, really edgy, R-rated movies."

Rissman's son is 16 years old, too young to view the films in a theater without a parent. That's his first objection. The second, he said, is the message sent to students. Rissman said the student conduct manual allows for suspension just for the use of profane language. "It seemed kind of hypocritical to me," he said. "You'd never let a teacher swear in a classroom, but you're letting a surrogate teacher, these films, use that language?"

When Rissman brought his concerns to the district, he said, faculty members were not persuaded not to show the films. His son sat in the library during the film presentations. "They were just adamant about this being very important for our classes to see," Rissman said. "I've really lost a lot of trust for them. "I don't want this school district to go down the path of saying we know better than you how to orient your children to these subjects."

Read the rest of the article.

If you would be willing to support Mr. Rissman on this issue please email feedback@culturecampaign.com.

No Logical Legal Objection Remains to Adult Incest

From "Saw This One Coming" by Chuck Colson, posted 3/21/07, for Breakpoint.org

The BBC recently ran a story about a German couple named Patrick and Susan. The couple has been living together unmarried for the past six years and has four children. In a continent full of unmarried couples with children, this particular pair stands out—because they are brother and sister.

As a young child, Patrick was given up for adoption. He finally met his mother and the rest of his biological family, including Susan, seven years ago. After their mother died, the two became, in the BBC’s words, “lovers.”

As the couple’s lawyer, Endrik Wilhelm, told the BBC, “this law is out of date, and it breaches the couple’s civil rights.” According to the lawyer, the “couple [is] not harming anyone,” and the ban “is discrimination.”

To those like Juergen Kunze, a geneticist at Berlin’s Charite Hospital, who cite the genetic risks to the offspring of incest, Wilhelm replies: “Why are disabled parents” or “people with hereditary diseases [and] women over 40” allowed to have children?

Anyone who claims to be surprised by this case has not been paying attention to American law. In Lawrence v. Texas, the Supreme Court found that “consenting” adults had a right to privacy when it comes to sexual relations—any kind of sexual relations. As Justice Scalia pointed out in his stinging dissent, the logic employed by the majority of the court could be applied to laws against “bigamy, same-sex marriage [and] adult incest.”

If you deny that there’s a “substantial government interest in protecting order and morality,” as courts increasingly are doing, where do you draw the line? Certainly not at same-sex “marriage,” as we have seen. The fact is that, as Dr. Kunze puts it, laws like these “based on long traditions in Western societies” have not been stopping courts lately.

The ugly truth is that, absent a “substantial government interest in protecting order and morality,” the incestuous couple has the better argument. In a culture where personal autonomy trumps long-established moral traditions, our revulsion does look like the kind of prejudice that Lawrence rejected as the basis for laws.

Read the whole commentary at Breakpoint.org

The Myth of Moral Neutrality

From "The Myth of Moral Neutrality" by Greg Koukl, posted 3/16/07, at TownHall.com

Gen. Peter Pace was vehemently denounced and condemned earlier this week for expressing a personal moral judgment that homosexuality is immoral. The criticisms excoriated Pace for making a value judgment, while implying that the denunciations themselves were morally neutral. In reality, Pace’s critics expressed a moral judgment, too. They declared his comments wrong, not just factually but morally – and their moral outrage was palpable.

Let me make this clear up front: All people regardless of their sexual orientation or other differences should be treated fairly. We all have equal intrinsic value and dignity. But the goal of gay rights advocates isn't so much to gain rights they are being denied as to gain societal approval. Thus the loud denunciations when Pace made a moral judgment. All the while, these advocates claim that that theirs is the neutral moral position. It isn't, and really can't be. But their objection conveys a fundamental assumption of many in our society today that one side of the public debate is "pushing its morality" on society, when in fact that is what the nature of their advocacy accomplishes.

It's important to have an informed and civil public dialogue about public policy, and homosexual rights is a delicate subject made more difficult when one side is accused of moral judgment. Both sides are making moral judgments; it's the nature of the issue. The question we should be discussing it which moral judgment makes the best public policy?

Read the whole article.

Well said...

Teaching Our Kids to Lie

From "Teaching our kids to lie", by Hal Lindsay, posted 03/16/07, at WorldNetDaily.com (Hat tip: Mel)

I read a very disturbing report this week in WorldNetDaily regarding an Illinois high school district's decision to subject their 14-year-old freshman classes to a "gay indoctrination seminar."

According to the report, the school's officials required the 14-year-olds to attend a "Gay Straight Alliance Network" panel discussion led by "gay" and "lesbian" upperclassmen during a "freshman advisory" class which "secretively featured inappropriate discussions of a sexual nature in promotion of high-risk homosexual behaviors."

I'm not kidding. I wish I were. But that isn't the half of it.

The school district, knowing full well that disclosure of the program to the student's parents would cause a problem, ordered the children to sign a "confidentiality agreement" that bound them not to tell their parents!

According to the school district's superintendent, the situation was a "mistake." But George Fornero didn't believe that subjecting 14-year-olds to homosexual indoctrination was a "mistake."

Instead, as I understand the story, the "mistake" was in trying to conceal the program from parents. Evidently, the school district couldn't care less if the parents found out. After all, there is nothing they can do about it, as the parents discovered from a similar case in Massachusetts.

In that case, the presiding judge ruled that the "the rights of religious freedom and parental control over the upbringing of children … would undermine teaching and learning. …"

Can you believe it? If I am following this line of reasoning correctly, parents interfere with teaching and learning.

Read the rest of this commentary.

Ronald Reagan, John Wayne Members of 'Hate Group'?

Campus organization smeared for opposing illegal immigration, same-sex 'marriage'

From "Ronald Reagan, John Wayne members of 'hate group'?" posted 3/18/07 at WorldNetDaily.com

One of America's oldest and most mainstream conservative organizations – whose membership has included Ronald Reagan and John Wayne – has been designated a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center for opposing illegal immigration, same-sex marriage and affirmative action.

Young Americans for Freedom at Michigan State University will appear on the list in April along with groups tied to racist skinheads, Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan.
The left-leaning Southern Poverty Law Center says its purpose is to combat racism and promote civil rights.

Kyle Bristow, chairman of MSU-YAF, argues his group simply "supports the sanctity of marriage, the unborn, and opposes illegal immigration and race-preferences." "Our values are not extreme and the SPLC has gone too far by listing us as a 'hate-group,'" he said.

Former members of Young Americans for Freedom, founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1960, include Ronald Reagan; former Sen. Dan Quayle; Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.; and actor John Wayne Bristow called on Morris Dees, head of the SPLC, to "apologize for the character defamation that his organization is waging against us conservative college students."

"Do they honestly not have anything better to do?" he asked.

Read the rest of this article.

The Crime of Conviction

Chuck Colson points out the underlying truth behind the nonsensical attack on Gen. Peter Pace.

From "The Crime of Conviction" by Chuck Colson, posted 3/15/07, at Breakpoint.org

Our nation’s top military officer, a veteran decorated with no less than forty-eight military awards and a very distinguished career, made a startling revelation this week: He has moral conviction. The world gasps, hurls insults, and demands an apology. How dare one of the top leaders of our land have a moral belief and share it when questioned!

But that’s exactly what happened this week when the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—the first Marine general ever to hold that position—General Peter Pace, commented in a wide-ranging interview with the Chicago Tribune, “My upbringing is such that I believe that there are certain things, certain types of conduct that are immoral. I believe that military members who sleep with other military members’ wives are immoral in their conduct, and that we should not tolerate that.”

But then Pace went on to tell the Tribune, “I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts.” Well, stop the presses.

While the world should be applauding a man who proposes that one of the most important institutions in our country should have moral integrity, instead we hammer him for having a conviction.

But I believe this goes far beyond the whole question of homosexuals in the military and the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. This cuts to the core of the question of whether anyone in public office is free to speak his deepest religious or moral convictions. The Constitution says there will be no religious test for office, and yet we are applying one. We are basically saying that if you are the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, you are not allowed to express your moral or religious views—especially on matters of sexual preference and behavior.

This is another sign that we live in an age that no longer believes in objective truth or a moral order. Moral relativism is the rule, and personal preference trumps all. And government is there to ensure that no one place any restraint on the pursuit of our own desires.

I have long said that C. S. Lewis was prophetic when in 1943 he wrote about the irony of our education system, saying, “Such is the tragicomedy of our situation—we continue to clamour for those very qualities we are rendering impossible. . . . In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.”

Read the whole commentary.

NY Upholds 'Marital Status' of Same-Sex Massachusetts Couple

From "New York Upholds Same-Sex Marriage" posted 3/13/07 at Citizenlink.com

The New York Supreme Court has upheld a county official’s recognition of a same-sex marriage performed outside the state.

Last year, Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano issued an order giving privileges to same-sex couples that had been available only to heterosexual couples.

“I don’t see why people, just because they’re the same sex, shouldn’t have the same benefits,” Spano told The Associated Press.

Brian Raum, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, predicted the Supreme Court decision would be overturned.

General Pace and the PC Police

From "Gen. Pace and the PC Police", by Elaine Donelly, posted 3/15/2007, at Human Events.com

Marine Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should not apologize for supporting the law excluding homosexuals from the military. That law, Section 654, Title 10, was passed with veto-proof bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress in 1993. Federal courts have declared it constitutional several times.

Nor should Gen. Pace be intimidated by name-calling gay activists who are berating the general for expressing his personal opinions on immorality. A relentless public relations campaign is promoting their cause and a controversial bill, sponsored by Rep. Marty Meehan (D.-Mass.), which would repeal the 1993 homosexual conduct law.

The statute reflects the views of people who see the issue in moral terms, but it uses secular language emphasizing military discipline. Duly enacted laws, including prohibitions against lying, stealing, and murder, should not be repealed just because they coincide with religious principles and moral codes such as the Ten Commandments.

Read the rest of this commentary...

Cultural Values: 49% of Americans Still Think Homosexuality is Wrong

and 61% still oppose same-sex marriage...

Read about it at Americans for Truth.

Germany: Brother and Sister Fight for the Right to Marry

Given popular wisdom today, if it is between two consenting adults, why not incest?

UPDATE 7/20/14: Judge Says Incest OK; It's the New Gay

UPDATE 11/1/14: New York Incestuous Marriage OKd by Unanimous Appeals Court

UPDATE 1/18/15: Teen Girl to Marry Father in New Jersey—Adult Incest is Legal

UPDATE 9/24/14: "Incest a 'fundamental right', German committee says" by Justin Huggler, in Berlin for UK Telegraph

Laws banning incest between brothers and sisters in Germany could be scrapped after a government ethics committee said the they were an unacceptable intrusion into the right to sexual self-determination.

“Criminal law is not the appropriate means to preserve a social taboo,” the German Ethics Council said in a statement. “The fundamental right of adult siblings to sexual self-determination is to be weighed more heavily than the abstract idea of protection of the family.”

The Council said it based its recommendation on extensive research, in which it found many incestuous couples are forced to live in secret.

Incest remains illegal in the UK and most European countries, although France abolished its incest laws under Napoleon I and there has been growing debate over the taboo in Germany.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Incest: an age-old taboo" posted 3/12/07, at BBC News

The phenomenon of genetic sexual attraction - where siblings fall for each other on meeting after an estranged childhood - accounts for some of the high-profile incest cases of recent years.
In the German case, Patrick was brought up in a foster home while Susan remained with the biological parents, meeting for the first time when she was 16 and he 23.
And in the US case of Allen and Patricia Muth, which went to the Supreme Court in 2005, the sister was raised in care, not meeting her brother until she was 18.
Both of them have served prison sentences for incest.
In parts of the US, first cousins may marry if they are beyond reproductive age or ability.

But even in countries where incest between adults is not prosecuted, the rights of both parents and children born of incest are not clear cut.
France dropped incest from the penal code under Napoleon - 200 years ago.
But siblings may not marry, and in 2004, a man who was having a sexual relationship with his half-sister was refused legal paternity of his own child.
In the Netherlands meanwhile, where consensual incest is no longer prosecuted, the legal status of the child born of such a relationship is ambiguous, according to Masha Antokolskaia, an expert in family law at the Free University in Amsterdam.
Sweden is the only country in Europe which allows marriage between siblings who share a parent.
"In many ways society no longer wants the state to intervene in private lives when it doesn't have to," she says. "But it is still not prepared to grant incestuous couples full rights."
There is also debate over how much laws affect behaviour. Some even argue that what is proscribed becomes all the more attractive.
Not according to Joachim Renzikowski, a criminal law professor at Germany's Halle University.
"I don't believe that because incest is banned, there's a certain attraction about doing it," he says.
"But I doubt equally that getting rid of our incest law will result in any measurable increase in cases. Our moral guardians don't need to get too worked up about this."
Read the rest of this article.

9th Circuit Endorses Censoring Christians

From "9th Circuit endorses censoring Christians" posted 3/08/07, at WorldNetDaily.com

A ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded that municipal employers have the right to censor the words "natural family," "marriage" and "family values" because that is hate speech and could scare workers.

The case had developed when two city employees who wanted to launch a group of people who shared their interests posted a notice on a city bulletin board – after a series of notices from homosexual activists were delivered to them via the city's e-mail system, bulletin boards and memo distribution system.

The notice said:

Good News Employee Associations is a forum for people of Faith to express their views on the contemporary issues of the day. With respect for the Natural Family, Marriage and Family values.

If you would like to be a part of preserving integrity in the Workplace call Regina Rederford @xxx- xxxx or Robin Christy @xxx-xxxx

That decision was made even though homosexuals already had been using the city's e-mail, bulletin board, and written communications systems for promoting their views. In fact, one city official even used the e-mail system to declare the Bible "needs updating," but no actions were taken against those individuals.

Read the whole article.

Department of Justice Seeks to Protect Religious Freedoms

From "Department of Justice seeks to protect religious freedoms" by Allie Martin, posted 3/13/07, at OneNewNow.com

A new program has been introduced by the U.S. Department of Justice to educate Americans about their religious liberties. During the past decade, complaints of religious discrimination regarding employment practices rose 69 percent -- which is one reason why the Justice Department has unveiled the "First Freedom Project."

Wan Kim is assistant attorney general with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. He says not only will the First Freedom Project educate citizens about their religious rights and freedoms, but the initiative is being backed up with action. Recently, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asked Southern Baptist Convention leaders to help when it comes to identifying and reporting cases where the rights of Christians have been violated. Kim says there are many common issues that lead to discrimination against believers.

As part of the First Freedom Project, the U.S. Department of Justice has set up a Web site, http://www.firstfreedom.gov, to provide information including how to file a religious discrimination complaint. Also, Attorney General Gonzales has said he plans to create a Religious Freedom Task Force to review religious discrimination cases and policies and help make people more aware of their First Amendment Rights.

Read the rest of this article.

UK: Legislation Set to Destroy Religious Freedom in Favor of Gay 'Rights'

From "Government Finally Publish SORS" posted 3/07/07, at Lawyer's Christian Fellowship (Hat tip: Americans for Truth)

GOVERNMENT PUBLISH LANDMARK INTOLERANT LEGISLATION SETTING GROUND FOR CLASH OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

After spending 9 months drafting the proposed SEXUAL ORIENTATION REGULATIONS (SORs), the Government have today published the final version of the new law without making any significant concessions to protect the rights of Christians and others with deeply held religious beliefs.

The SORs can be found by clicking HERE

The Regulations, which make discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation unlawful in relation to the provision of goods, services, premises, education and public functions, are due to come into force on the 30th April 2007.

Under the Regulations it will be illegal for:

a Christian printer to refuse to print material promoting homosexual sex
a Muslim website designer to refuse to build a website for homosexual dating
a Jewish conference centre to refuse to accept a booking from a Gay and Lesbian society who wish to hold a meeting promoting homosexual practices.

Thomas Cordrey, Barrister and Public Policy Analyst at the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship, commented:

“This legislation is unprecedented in its complete intolerance of those who have religious beliefs. The Government did not put forward a single piece of evidence to justify the need for the Regulations, they have ignored 72% of the public[1] who opposed their approach to this law, and they have ignored the majority of the 3000 responses to their consultation. Despite this weak basis to the law, the Government is prepared to take the landmark step of making it illegal for Christians to hold to the Bible’s clear teaching that God loves everyone and wants all people to know him, but also, that extra-marital sexual conduct (whether homosexual or heterosexual) is wrong.”

Read the rest of this article.

Are you listening America?

NARAL Bullies Kroger over Abortion Drug

Pro-abortion group says pharmacist should dispense Plan B regardless of moral objections.

From "NARAL Bullies Kroger over Abortion Drug" posted 3/12/07, at Citizenlink.com

NARAL Pro-Choice America is trying to force the Kroger chain to carry Plan B, the controversial morning-after pill. They say the medication should be dispensed regardless of a pharmacist’s moral objections.

Kroger’s policy is to allow each store to make its own decision whether to carry Plan B -- based on demographics.

Dionne Vann, director of NARAL Georgia, said pharmacists who won't dispense the drug aren’t doing their job.

“We’re seeing here that somehow these personal values are interfering with medical decisions made between a patient and their doctor,” Vann said.

What a thought -- personal values effecting one's behavior, even on the job...

Third Grader "Health" Curriculum Includes "Same-Sex Parents"

From "Gay Parents Video to be Reviewed in Evesham" by Matt Katz, posted 3/12/07, at Courier-Post Online

The district is set to announce today that it has formed a committee that will make a recommendation about a controversial video featuring gay parents, but committee members' names will remain secret to protect them from harassment.

Nine PTA parents will serve on the committee, district spokeswoman Jeanne Smith said, along with a group of teachers.

Susan Trimble, a parent, said she was initially told that since she spoke out against the video, she would be barred from serving on the special review committee.

Board President Rosemary Bernardi said the board initially interpreted a 1977 board policy and believed that biased parties shouldn't serve.

The controversy, which has garnered national media attention, began in January when a father complained anonymously to a local TV station about That's a Family! after it was shown at Van Zant School.

The film, part of a third-grade health curriculum about different family structures, depicts parents who are divorced, those who are raising children as grandparents and those who are in same-sex relationships.

Read the rest of this article.

House Committee Passes Library Internet Filtering Bill

Good News! The library Internet filtering bill passed out of committee late this morning by a vote of 9 to 5 (8 votes were needed). (Hat tip: Rhonda) Now begins the hard work of convincing 60 House members of the importance of this bill to safeguard our families and children.

The Bill will require Internet Screening in our Public Libraries that will filter obscene material which includes hard core and child pornography. Hopefully, the bill will now go the House for a vote within 3 weeks and then to the Senate.

Efforts to get a law like this have been ongoing since 1998 but the ACLU and ALA have been able to block it. The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled to enforce obscenity laws. They have ruled in the past decade that filters in libraries are constitutional, do not violate First Amendment rights, are not censorship. The Public Library is not an open public forum where anything goes.

Find out how your legislator voted at the Illinois Family Institute website.

Internet Domain Intended to Promote Legalization of Obscenity

Among other Deficiencies, it would appear the XXX domain is intended to promote legalization of obscenity

From "Internet Domain Intended to Promote Legalization of Obscenity," posted 3/13/07, at Illinois Family Institute

Thirty-three pro-decency organizations and individuals have sent a letter to the Department of Commerce opposing a revised proposal to create a Triple-X "domain" for pornographic web sites on the Internet.

The revised proposed .XXX domain, like the original proposal, is being proposed by ICM Registry, the company bidding to provide registry service for the Triple-X domain if it is created.

The letter warns that the porn-only domain will likely lead to more porn sites on the Internet, will not protect children or society from the harmful effects of pornography, and will be used as an excuse to not enforce obscenity laws. The letter also warns that it "would appear the .XXX domain is intended to promote legalization of obscenity."

Read the rest of the article.

Gideons will press for dismissal of charges

From "Gideons will press for dismissal of charges" by Ed Thomas, posted 3/10/07, at OneNewsNow.com

Two members of The Gideons International missionary organization who were arrested for handing out Bibles on a sidewalk outside of a public school are moving to have their cases dismissed in a Florida court. In their defense, the two men are making a case that they were simply exercising their right to free speech.

On January 19, Ernest Simpson and Anthony Mirto were arrested and charged with trespassing for handing out the Bibles on a public sidewalk outside of Key Largo School, even though they did not step onto school grounds. The principal reportedly had called police about the Gideons members' presence.

ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, says the charge is without merit. "The First Amendment protects the right of citizens to distribute Bibles and engage in other religious speech on public sidewalks," he asserts, "and it's certainly a sad day in America when Gideons are arrested for distributing Bibles on a public sidewalk."

Cortman says this is simply a case of an overaggressive government trying to silence Christians. He has filed a motion to dismiss for both plaintiffs in Maricopa County, Florida Court.

Columnist says Obama's church has 'black supremacist' agenda

From "Obama's church has 'black supremacist' agenda," posted 3/13/07, by Jim Brown, at OneNewsNow.com

Presidential candidate Barack Obama's home church in Chicago pushes a black separatist agenda, says columnist, author and speaker Erik Rush. According to the conservative Christian writer, Senator Obama's congregation -- Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago -- "is not simply Afrocentric, it's African-centric."

Rush says when visiting Trinity's website, he was disturbed to learn that Trinity United Church of Christ professes a commitment to the "Black Family," the "Black Community," and the "Black Work Ethic," and "pledge[s] allegiance to all Black leadership who espouse and embrace the Black Values System."

"The first thing that I did was that I went through the list and I substituted the words white for black in it," the columnist notes. " And I, in addition to being disturbed, wondered just how far a white candidate with beliefs like that would get. It looked like it was either being overlooked or excused, and I thought that it needed to be brought to light."

One could argue that Obama's church "worships things African to a far greater degree than they do Christ," Rush contends. Meanwhile, he says the writings and speech of Trinity United's pastor, Jeremiah Wright, appear to be more Marxist than Christian.

Read the rest of this article.

Deerfield Superintendent Calls Confidentiality Agreement a 'Mistake'

From "CWA: School Tells Kids to Hide Pro-'Gay' Propaganda from Parents" by Stacey Holliday, posted 3/13/07, at Concerned Women for America, (Hat tip: Americans for Truth)

Dr. George Fornero, superintendent of DHS' Dist. 113, told CWA that the district "made a mistake" by requiring children to sign the confidentiality agreement and that it would be entirely aboveboard and honest with parents in the future. However, as Barber noted, the damage has already been done: "Until DHS and other government schools across the country are made to stop promoting the homosexual agenda, kids will continue to be exposed to -- and encouraged to participate in -- a lifestyle that places them at high risk for life-threatening disease, depression and spiritual despair," said Barber.

Remarkably, even after the school district's surreptitious actions were exposed, parents were nonetheless told that they were not welcome to sit in on the "freshman advisory" and were not permitted to have access to materials used in compiling its activist curriculum.

Read the entire article.

The Sexualization of Girls – It's Nothing New

From "The Sexualization of girls – it's nothing new," by Judith Riesman, posted 3/13/07, at WorldNetDaily.com (Hat tip: Mel)

...privileged women and men get law and such degrees after stripping for advantage. Once in positions of power, such people commonly purge all honest folks in every profession. Those who fight for morality, justice and human dignity must lose their grants, their jobs, their speech. To protect the greedy and corrupt, the moral must be libeled and slandered.

In "Take Back The Night: Women on Pornography" (1980), I documented how Playboy and Penthouse attacked their consumers' morality. I said Playboy would normalize pedophilia:

One favorite technique is to publish photographs of women simulating children, or imitating children and their behavior … [especially using] fairytale cartoons. … Fairy tales take us back to our childhood. … Common themes in Playboy-genre fairytales are the wolf attacking Little Red Riding Hood, The Seven Dwarfs raping Snow White, Goldilocks having sex with Baby Bear, etc. Fairy tales … block out objections to rape, molestation and violence by defining the imagery as "fantasy." Most men, if confronted directly with a violent sexual image would reject it – and the magazine! The idea is to put these vicious crimes into a context that infers it is "just a joke" or "all in good fun." After all, who can object to a joke – except a woman without a sense of humor?

My U.S. Department of Justice, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention study, "Images of Children, Crime & Violence in Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler" (1989), quantified the pernicious creation of the woman as child and the child as woman (I called the "pseudo-child"). Playboy was outraged by our study findings. The Playboy adviser, James Petersen, wrote:

Reisman has invented a species called pseudo-child and claims that 792 adults were portrayed as pseudo-children in Playboy. ... Reisman claims that by dressing women as children, we get around the obvious child pornography laws. (Petersen in Playboy, October 1988)

Right. Peterson and Playboy knew that their pseudo-child was deliberate. Remember, Playboy Press posed and "trafficked" a nude, oiled, 10-year-old Brooke Shields in 1975 in their pedophile and sadosexual book "Sugar and Spice."

...Still, the elite feign surprise when Ivy League co-eds strip for attention; when mass media "sexualizes" girls and women; when our sex crime rate rivals our male impotence rate; and when governors force little girls to be vaccinated for adult venereal diseases. Like Rieff said, our elites are educated to "bring down the roof of civilization."

Read the whole article.

Reading and Writing and Ramadan

British Muslim organization makes outrageous demands of British public schools.

From "Reading and Writing and Ramadan," by Irfan al-Alawi and Stephen Schwartz, posted 3/12/2007, at the Weekly Standard (Hat tip: Mel)

London

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is the leading institution representing Sunni Muslim fundamentalism in the United Kingdom. An independent umbrella association of some 400 mosques, educational and charitable institutions, women's and youth groups, and professional bodies, it came into being in 1997. It has generally reflected the ideologies of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, the Saudi Wahhabi cult, and the Deobandi jihadists of Pakistan, whose thinking underlay the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

The council boycotts Britain's Holocaust Memorial Day, observed each January 27, with the argument that an occasion for remembrance should be established for all victims of genocide, and not merely for the Jews killed by Hitler. It produces a steady stream of excuses for suicide terror in Israel and Kashmir. Yet the council professes moderation.

Now, however, its authentic agenda is discernable in its new reommended guidelines for accommodating Muslim students in British state schools...
It's a tall order...

"schools should accommodate Muslim girls so that they are allowed to wear a full-length loose school skirt or loose trousers, a long-sleeved shirt and a head scarf to cover their hair."

A two-page section of the MCB guidelines calls for a Muslim diet at meals.

Then there is the need for time and facilities for prayer by Muslim children at least once a day.

"Schools should be aware that some pupils may request separate prayer facilities for boys and girls, as they may feel more comfortable praying in a single-gender group."

Schools should also provide extra "water cans or bottles" for washing of the hands, mouth, face, arms to the elbow, feet, and private parts before prayer.

On Friday afternoons, Muslims attend collective prayer including a sermon (Muslim males, that is: the guidelines state this is "optional or recommended" for females). The MCB suggests that "a suitable external visitor, a teacher or an older pupil" may lead the observance...

Read the rest of this article.

The Real Solution

From "The Real Solution", by Chuck Colson, posted March 12, 2007, for Breakpoint

It’s an argument that has gone on almost as long as we have had public schools: What makes children succeed in school—and what makes them fail?

In a recent New York Times column, David Brooks offers a big part of the answer: If kids have a chaotic home life, he writes, it is much harder for them to succeed in school.

Brooks mentions programs in which mature women visit mothers under stress to offer “the sort of cajoling and practical wisdom that in other times would have been delivered by grandmothers or elders.” If we want better students, Brooks concludes, the government ought to fund more of these programs. The next president, he suggested, could win on such a platform.

I admire David Brooks, but he is dead wrong on this. He is addressing symptoms, not the sickness: The sickness is broken and unformed families.

Instead of relying on a government program to fix families after they break, wouldn’t it be better to keep families from breaking in the first place? Wouldn’t it be better to find ways to encourage parents to marry before having children, instead of telling them—as our cultural elites often do—that marriage does not matter?

Second, when it comes to families, government itself is often the problem, promoting policies destructive to families. For example, courts that force states to accept same-sex “marriage” are redefining true marriage out of existence. That’s not good for kids.

And many studies have shown that kids do best in married, two-parent families. Yet some states now force adoption agencies to send kids into the homes of homosexual couples. No-fault divorce laws allow one parent to abandon the family with impunity. Welfare programs provide support for moms so long as they do not get married to their child’s father.

Even worse, our political leaders do not support programs that would mean the most to help kids—including kids from healthy families—who languish in bad public schools. If they really cared about kids, they would support school choice—allowing kids to move from failing public schools into private ones.

Read the rest of this article.

Deerfield H.S. -- Freshman Sign Confidentiality Agreement Before Hearing 'Gay' Student Panel

According to Lora Sue Hauser, the head of North Shore Student Advocacy (NSSA), students at Deerfield High School were asked to sign a 'confidentiality agreement' before listening to a panel discussion by homosexual students in a mandatory class known as Freshman Advisory.

Several weeks ago, Ellen Waltz, mother of a freshman girl, was denied permission by the school to quietly sit in on the class and observe. The school instead offered to give her a video tape of the class. When she called to obtain the videotape, she was told it was not available...How convenient.

NSSA filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the Freshman Advisory curriculum. The request was denied by the school.

Is Deerfield High School trying to hide the content of Freshman Advisory class from parents?

Is this even legal?

It gets more outrageous every day...


Ms. Hauser (NSSA) will be speaking this Sunday night at The Gay Agenda? No Child Left Behind...

A Heartfelt Plea to Chicago Area Christians: Be Willing to Get Informed

The following letter is one couple’s effort to motivate their church leaders to become aware of the pro-GLBT indoctrination our kids are facing in the public schools:

Although you will read about this in Sunday’s bulletin, we thought we should personally ask you to consider coming to College Church in Wheaton this Sunday night. You will learn about the “gay” indoctrination that children you know and care about in this church — and this would include your own children — are encountering on a regular basis at area schools…

On Sun, Mar 11, at 7:15 pm Culture Campaign is hosting a God, Sex, and the Culture War Education Series Evening entitled:

The Gay Agenda: No Child Left Behind…

My 16-year-old daughter, who goes to [name deleted] ministries with your kids, has told me that there are a number of kids at our church — right now — who don’t know if they are “gay” or not because of the homosexual speakers who have come into the local schools challenging them with such questions as, “How do you know you’re heterosexual?”

My daughter has said to me,

“Mom, our church needs to be talking about this. There are a lot of confused kids at our church over this issue. It is because of the ‘gay’ speakers who come into their schools and talk about homosexuality. Nothing is being taught about it at church, and they really need to be doing something.”

…You, as church leaders, will not minister as effectively as you could if you understood what is creating this new area of counseling… When people walk through your office door, you’re encountering the fruit of this propaganda. By coming to this meeting, you will gather information to instruct you about the root of the problem. With knowledge comes understanding, and with understanding comes help. From a professional standpoint, you need to come Sunday night.

Who is going to be there? A panel comprised of the following:

A Christian teacher [from] a school district whose administration is peppered with gays and lesbians, so that the school very intensely promotes homosexual lifestyles…
A parent who [will explain] how to find out exactly what is being taught [in your local school] and how to respectfully dissent…
The leader of Americans for Truth who will inform you about legal issues and situations that have or will impact you, your family and your parental authority….

[My spouse] and I had the chance to hear a preview of the teacher on the panel. She read a letter written by a transgender student at her school, which he had posted on a public forum for the school to read. As he spoke in his letter of being “messed up in my head every day”, she had to fight back tears. She excused herself, explaining that she knows this boy personally, and he is crying out for help, and no one is giving him any. He is in need of psychological counseling, not encouragement to continue a physically and emotionally destructive lifestyle.

I say this because you may be picturing a room full of hostile, self-righteous people. No! It is the love of Christ that compels us to want to understand and to do all that we can to help…

To underscore the importance of this, let me tell you about my own experience… I also have a brother who practices a homosexual lifestyle. I love him, and because I love him, I want him to be healed…

Because it is so important, I will say again: You cannot effectively minister to families in our church body who will be or who are experiencing the fallout from this promotion of homosexuality without being fully informed as to what is happening in our schools and communities… It is your duty to light the way for us.

[My spouse] and I will be there Sunday for this purpose. We hope to see some of you there, as well. We’ll be looking for some familiar faces.

PS: Don’t have kids in high school or don’t minister to high school kids? This teaching begins as early as kindergarten — no joke.

UK: Religious Schools May Not Teach Christian Sexual Morals "As if They Were Objectively True"

From UK: Religious Schools May Not Teach Christian Sexual Morals "As if They Were Objectively True", by Hilary White, posted Mar. 5, 2007, by Lifesite.net

LONDON, March 5, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - After this April's implementation of the Sexual Orientation Regulations (SOR's), British religious schools may no longer be allowed to teach school children that the Christian viewpoint on sexual morality is "objectively true," a government report says.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights, made up of members from Parliament and the House of Lords, has issued a report on the implementation of the Regulations recommending that religious schools be required to modify their religious instruction to comply with the government-approved doctrine of "non-discrimination".

Although religious schools will be allowed to remain open and may continue to give instruction in various religious beliefs, instruction must be modified "so that homosexual pupils are not subjected to teaching, as part of the religious education or other curriculum, that their sexual orientation is sinful or morally wrong."

The report says the Regulations will not "prevent pupils from being taught as part of their religious education the fact that certain religions view homosexuality as sinful," but they may not teach "a particular religion's doctrinal beliefs as if they were objectively true".

Published February 26, the report says, "We do not consider that the right to freedom of conscience and religion requires the school curriculum to be exempted from the scope of the sexual orientation regulations."

Read the rest of this article.

The more "tolerance" advances, the less freedom we seem to have...

Related coverage:

Government Program Teaching Four-Year-Olds about Homosexuality
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/mar/07031603.html

Third Grader "Health" Curriculum Includes "Same-Sex Parents"
http://culturecampaign.blogspot.com/2007/03/third-grader-health-curriculum-includes.html

Teacher’s union demands Homosexuality taught to 3 Year Olds
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jul/06072505.html

Boston Cardinal Cites Canada as an Example on Crackdown on Religious Freedom

From Boston Cardinal Cites Canada as an Example on Crackdown on Religious Freedom, by Hilary White, posted Mar. 6, 2007, by Lifesite.net

BOSTON, March 6, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Boston's Cardinal Archbishop, Sean O'Malley has compared Canada's eroding legal protections for religious freedom with the case of a Lexington Massachusetts father who was denied by a school his right to opt his son out of state-prescribed sex-education classes.

Cardinal O'Malley compares the Massachusetts case to the situation in Canada. He wrote, "In Canada . . . They are already seeing the many different ways that people's religious rights are being trampled because of the redefinition of marriage."

In 2005, David Parker of Lexington filed suit when his son's school notified him that he would not be informed when the class would include homosexual or "transgender" information. On February 23, Federal District Judge Mark L. Wolf ruled that children in elementary school must remain in "diversity" classes that include explicit information on homosexual acts.

O'Malley maintains a popular weblog on which he wrote Friday that the Court had overstepped the bounds of the law. O'Malley points out that Massachusetts law allows parents to be notified and have the option of removing children from classes when "human sexual education or human sexuality issues" are presented.

The Cardinal comments that the most disturbing aspect of the case "is that it underscores how, by redefining marriage in Massachusetts, people's religious rights are going to be challenged by the state."

Read the rest of the article.

12 Washington State High School Students Suspended for Public Prayer Group

From 12 Washington State High School Students Suspended for Public Prayer Group, by Gudrn Schultz, posted Mar. 6, 2007, by Lifesite.net

VANCOUVER, Washington, March 6, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A number of students who formed an interdenominational prayer group at a Washington state high school were expelled by the administration last week over their refusal to hold a morning prayer session in a closed room, The Columbian reported March 2.

Twelve students at Heritage High School in Vancouver, WA, were suspended last Friday after continuing to meet for morning prayer in the commons area of the school, despite a faculty order that they stop causing physical "disruption" to student traffic with public prayer.

Several students had complained about the quiet prayer circle--one student who objected was described as "pagan."

A student who participated in the prayer group said the point of holding it publicly was to encourage others to join in.

"We're not bothering anybody. If we're not preaching and passing out fliers, why can't we do it?" 16-year-old Megan Gaultier told The Columbian. "Basically, there are just the pagans who are against it." The group included Baptist, Methodist, Roman Catholic and several Russian Orthodox students, Gaultier said.

"If we're in a secluded room, they can't just join in" Gaultier said, as she had done herself. The small group had attracted more participants over the 1-2 week period the students met, The Oregonian reported.

Read the rest of the article.

Hillary Clinton Promises to Advance Gay Agenda

From Hillary Announces Strategic Partnership With Top Homosexual Group, posted Mar. 5, 2007 at Americans for Truth

In an unpublicized appearance March 2, 2007 speaking for The Human Rights Campaign (one of the nation's most powerful gay advocacy organizations), presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke of her role in defeating the Federal Marriage Amendment and promised to work hard to:

• Expand federal hate crimes legislation
• Pass ENDA (Employment Non-discrimination Act)
• Pass Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act (which would provide benefits for the 'partners' of homosexuals and unmarried heterosexual federal employees
• Gay Adoption -- Pass legislation making it illegal for adoption agencies to prefer to place children in homes with a married mother and father

Read the rest of this article.

UK: Judiciary won't allow Christian beliefs

Magistrate forced out of family court for opposing homosexual adoptions

From Judiciary won't allow Christian Beliefs, posted March 3, 2007 at WorldNetDaily.com

A magistrate judge in Sheffield, England, has been told he cannot serve on the local court's Family Panel, even though he's been recognized as having "an unblemished record and is well regarded by fellow magistrates" because he is a Christian.

"This case is a clear picture of how Christian faith is becoming privatized in society," said Andrea Williams, of the Lawyers Christian Fellowship. "It is yet another example of the repression of Christian conscience and signals the prevalence of a secular 'new morality' and the erosion of Christian values at the expense of our children's welfare."

The case arose when McClintock realized he would be assigned to hear cases involving adoption by homosexual couples, which are allowed now under England's Civil Partnerships Act 2002. Realizing the concerns that might arise, he asked that his religious beliefs be accommodated and he be "screened" from such cases.

He also expressed concern that children would be put at risk by the unproven social experiment of homosexual duo adoptions.

"Andrew McClintock believes that the best interests of the child are served by placing them in a situation where they would have both a mother and a father and therefore he could not agree to participate in gay adoption," Williams said. "The imposition of secular values in every aspect of our lives will force those who hold Christian beliefs out of jobs. It will be to the detriment of the whole of society."

McClintock took his case to the Employment Tribunal in Sheffield, where he'd been a Justice of the Peace since 1988 after he was told in 2004 he must preside over cases that involved homosexual duos proposing to adopt. His lawsuit was against the Lord Chancellor and the Department of Constitutional Affairs, in which he explained that he had suffered discrimination because of his religious beliefs.

His request for accommodation was called for under Regulation 10 of the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003.

The Tribunal, however, said the case did not involve religious freedom or conscience. Further, the Tribunal concluded even if Mr. McClintock had been able to show he made his decision to resign based on his religious beliefs, there still was no case for discrimination.

"If a judge personally has particular views on any subject, he or she must put those views to the back of his or her mind when applying the law of the land impartially," the Tribunal ordered.

Read the rest of this article.

This should be serve as a warning to American Christians. If laws are changed to recognize homosexual behavior as the equivalent of heterosexual behavior Christians will not be allowed to function in the workplace according to biblical truth. They will often be forced to choose between loyalty to Christ and their jobs...

Deerfield High School: Concerned Parents and Taxpayers Take a Courageous Stand...

North Shore Student Advocacy (a group of concerned parents and taxpayers in High School District 113) published the following advertisement in the Deerfield Review last Thursday, March 1, 2007:

Deerfield High School: What's Going on to Freshman Advisory?

FOR MANY YEARS, HOMOSEXUAL STUDENTS HAVE BEEN SPEAKING ON A PANEL TO ALL FRESHMAN ADVISORY CLASSES. IT IS SCHEDULED AGAIN FOR THIS YEAR ON MARCH 6 – 9. WE BELIEVE THESE STUDENTS ARE BEING USED TO FURTHER THE CAUSES OF GAY ACTIVISTS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL.

PLEASE ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1. What teachers are preparing these students to speak? What personal information are they discussing with these students? Is it appropriate to have teachers discussing personal sexual behavior and choices
with students?

2. Why do they target freshman classes? Aren’t most of the students who are speaking upper classmen? Isn’t this a form of “bullying” younger students into thinking a certain way about the moral issue of homosexuality?

3. Where are your panels of “socially awkward kids,” “fat kids”, “kids with speech problems” or “handicapped kids?”

4. Since homosexuality is a high risk behavior, isn’t it irresponsible as educators to promote the “I’m okay, you’re okay” message to your students? Would you have a panel of students who are engaging in and promoting drug use, having oral sex, or underage drinking?

5. What if a freshman is uncomfortable with an “up close and personal” encounter with gay students’ stories? What are they supposed to do? Don’t you think if these students walk out, or opt out, it will cause embarrassment to them? Won’t they be labeled homophobic or heterosexist? Wouldn’t this be hate speech?

6. What about those students who have deeply held religious beliefs that homosexuality is morally wrong? Where is their panel? Do you think it’s your prerogative to teach a one-sided view to these students,undermining the teachings of their church, synagogue, or family?

7. Why have you refused, in writing, to allow a parent of a freshman to observe this class? Why did two school board members, and our superintendent, cancel a meeting to discuss this issue with parents and taxpayers, in August of 2006, and subsequently refuse to meet?

8. Last year, the gay activists in your building brought in an adult gay speaker/author who promoted his sexually graphic books and his web site that links to 43 gay bars and clubs, fetish groups, and worse. Is this a responsible action by educators? www.alexsanchez.com

9. By encouraging gay students to come even further “out,” aren’t you creating the exact situation you’re supposedly trying to prevent – making them look and feel different? Is high school a time when kids naturally want to stand out or blend in? Some of your gay students are troubled and confused. Do you think it helps when you put them on display?

10. Why is there no parental notification being given to offer an opt-out for these gay panel presentations? What else is going on in Freshman Advisory that parents don’t know about?


DHS – REIN IN YOUR STAFF WHO ARE USING THE SCHOOL TO PROMOTE THEIR PERSONAL VIEWS!

If these issues concern you, please contact your District 113 School Board:

Helene Herbstman HEHCUBS@aol.com
Ken Fishbain ken_fishbain@ghr.org
Jeffrey Annenberg jeff@monteropartners.com
Harvey Cohen HCohen4940@aol.com
Joel Hurwitz hurwitz4@aol.com
Marjie Sandlow Msandlow@aol.com
Bonnie Shlensky DBLBadger@aol.com
George Fornero gfornero@dist113.org


NORTH SHORE STUDENT ADVOCACY
NSSAdvocacy@aol.com

These are honest questions, that deserve an answer...

Special Event! The Gay Agenda? No Child Left Behind...
Sunday, Mar. 11, 7:15 PM, College Church, Wheaton, IL

Evangelical Leaders Warn Against Christian Involvement in “Climate Change” Hysteria

Extremists pushing the craze see the elimination of people as the answer...

From Evangelical Leaders Warn Against Involvement in "Climate Change" Hysteria, by Hilary White, posted Mar. 2, 2007, by Lifesite.net

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A group of Evangelical Christian leaders in the US, including Focus on the Family’s Dr. James Dobson, has published a letter urging Evangelicals not to commit themselves to a single interpretation of “climate change”, the term commonly used now in place of “global warming” during the cold, snowy winter.

“Global warming is not a consensus issue,” the letter says, “and our love for the Creator and respect for His creation does not require us to take a position. We are evangelicals and we care about God’s creation.”

The letter is from a group called the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance (ISA), and is in response to a recent imitative by the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) to unite the Evangelical churches to the environmental movement’s policies opposing “climate change”.

“Climate change” is the latest hot issue for the environmental movement that counts among its leadership some of the world’s leading population control activists who are also openly hostile to Christianity. Environmentalist doctrine presupposes that the answer to climate concerns is the elimination of huge portions of the human population through mass abortion, sterilization programs and numerous other means.

Read the rest of this article.

San Diego Grade School Marches Students in Gay Pride Parade

Out of the 1700 churches in San Diego County, only 12 Christians showed up at the school board meeting to protect the children...

From San Diego Superintendent: Parents don't have a problem with their kids being in Gay Pride parade, by Peter LaBarbera, at Americans for Truth

On February 27, 2007 twelve brave men and women stood up for the kids of San Diego who are being abused during the San Diego Gay Pride events. The Bible says that God is looking for men and women who are willing to lay down their lives for the cause of Christ. He may not find many in the church pulpits in San Diego County, but He certainly found twelve on February 27th who decided that the youth of their city are worth fighting for.

If there hadn’t been any witnesses, most people would not have believed what the superintendent of schools for the San Diego Unified School District told a packed audience during a February 27, 2007 school board meeting. In response to complaints that an elementary school in San Diego, California was exposing small children to pornographic imagery when marching the kids in the San Diego Gay Pride Parade last year, school superintendent Carl H. Cohn stated, “We investigated these concerns and did not find any parents who have a problem with their kids in the gay pride parade.”

Cohn’s response came after James Hartline, a local community activist and child protection advocate, issued a stinging speech condemning the school board’s refusal to stop the children from marching in the parade under the banner of the San Diego Cooperative Charter School. Joining Hartline were eleven other supporters including attorney Robert Sutton and his wife Kim Tran, a Republican candidate for the California State Assembly. In his speech, Sutton likened the battle to save kids from the “gay pride” onslaught to that of the struggle to free the slaves during the 1800’s. Ms. Tran, a mother of five children and numerous foster children, is especially outraged that small children are being marched in a parade that openly displays xxx porn companies and male prostitutes. “I cannot believe that this school board doesn’t do anything about what this charter school is doing to these little children. It is so heartbreaking,” cried Tran.

For many weeks prior to the February 27, 2007 school board hearing, community activist James Hartline begged and pleaded for Christians to come and stand up for the kids who are being exposed to the pornography of the San Diego Gay Pride events. Hundreds of San Diego pastors received emails from Hartline. Not one pastor showed up.

There is a reason that the city of San Diego does not have any respect for Christianity. There is a reason that evil people who abuse children do not fear those that name Christianity as their religion. The reason is clear: evil people have no respect for the cowardly.

Read the rest of this article.

Special Event! The Gay Agenda? No Child Left Behind...
Sunday, Mar. 11, 7:15 PM, College Church, Wheaton, IL

Feds Asked to Investigate Pornographic Reading Materials in Public Schools

A pro-family group in Howell, Michigan says the local school district is exposing students to obscene material, including a book that graphically describes the rape of an 11-year-old girl by her father. The Livingston Organization for Values in Education (LOVE) has filed a complaint with state and federal authorities regarding what it says are five sexually explicit books being used in 10th-grade advanced placement English classes in Howell.

LOVE's complaint raises questions about the assignment of The Bluest Eye, a novel written by Pulitzer Prize winning author Toni Morrison, as well as specific works by other authors such as Richard Wright, Kurt Vonnegut, and Erin Gruwell, which the concerned citizens group says contain obscene language and graphic depictions of sex and rape.

LOVE founder Vicky Fyke wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney Stephen Murphy as well as Livingston County Prosecuting Attorney David Morse and Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, asking them whether the books violate state and federal law prohibiting obscenity and the distribution of materials harmful to minors.

Fyke says Murphy told her he is forwarding her complaint on to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “There are laws in place to protect children," the pro-family community activist says, "and because I couldn’t get the school board to do it I had to go higher." Now, she adds, "I'm hoping that the law will say no” to the use of the obscene and sexually explicit books in Howell classrooms.

Read the rest of this article.

Let us pray that decency and common sense prevail in MI. An excellent education does not require that children be exposed to pornographic reading. If this pro-family group prevails, perhaps there is hope for kids in our local District 214 where books containing pornography are on required reading lists for high school students.