The Freedom From Religion Foundation of Madison, WI threatened to sue the Cheektowaga (New York) Central School District if the classroom of science teacher Joelle Silver continued to have a few scripture messages on the wall. The school promptly complied with the atheist demands by threatening to fire the teacher. Silver removed the Christian messages, and has now sued the school for censoring her right of free speech in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York.
On the teacher's wall was a poster of an American flag and school books, with this scripture: “Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. And everything you do must be done in love.” Also, posted were quotes by President Reagan: “without God democracy will not and cannot endure” and “If ever we forget that we are One nation Under God, then we will be a Nation gone under.”
For background, read New Jersey Teacher Investigated for Christian Beliefs and also read Teachers Forbidden Private Christian Lives as well as Teacher Suspended for Christian Beliefs at Home and then read Teacher Fired for Bible Gift at New Jersey School
-- From "Cheektowaga teacher sues over forced removal of religious items" by Jay Tokasz, Buffalo News Staff Reporter 1/10/13
Silver, who lives in Amherst, is being represented by the American Freedom Law Center, a nonprofit law firm that focuses on religious liberty cases.
Attorney Robert J. Muise maintained that constitutional violations occurred when district officials forced Silver to remove the religious materials. “They essentially want her to cease being a Christian once she enters school district property,” said Muise.
Superintendent Dennis Kane said the district was caught in the middle of a dispute between “two big special-interest groups” and was likely to be sued regardless of what it did or didn’t do.
After consulting with a district lawyer and an attorney for the district’s insurance carrier, district officials issued an eight-page “counseling letter” to Silver, said Kane, who is named personally in the suit along with School Board President Brian J. Gould.
The case dates back to last June, when a student alerted the Freedom From Religion Foundation to a poster with a biblical verse in Silver’s class and a drawing of three crosses on a wall near her desk.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Teacher Ordered to Cleanse Christianity From Classroom Under Threat of Termination Files Suit" by Heather Clark, Christian News Network 1/11/13
. . . In addition, a prayer box that sat in the room as part of Silver’s role as the faculty adviser for the student Bible club was also to be nixed. It had been decorated by students and allowed others to place their prayer requests inside so that the club members could pray. According to Silver’s legal representation, the district “pressured Silver into resigning as faculty adviser for the student Bible Study Club, which was formed pursuant to the Equal Access Act.”
“Consequently, if you choose to continue monitoring the Bible Study Club next school year, you must carefully re-examine [district policies], so that you can better protect that club from being disciplined and possibly banned,” the letter admonished. “Under no circumstances should you participate in the club’s meetings or activities. Likewise, under no circumstances should you permit any club activities that could be interpreted as being promoted or sponsored by yourself, or the larger district for which you work.”
“If you need to be able to occasionally glance at inspirational Bible verses between classes during the course of the day, I suggest that you keep such material in a discreet folder that only you will have access to,” the letter stated. “You may keep such a folder in a drawer of your desk, so long as you take precautions not to share it or disclose its content to your students or their parents or guardians.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 1/13/13 From "Teacher Forced to Remove Reagan Quote, Bible Verses" by Todd Starnes, Foxnews.com 1/13/13
“When they launched the investigation, the literally went through her classroom with a fine-tooth comb and removed anything that had anything to do with Christianity,” [Muise] said. “I’ve never seen anything like that. Ms. Silver does not cease being a Christian nor does she shed her constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate.”
Muise filed the lawsuit in federal court. He said his client received a letter saying that if she failed to comply with the school district’s religious cleansing she would face “serious disciplinary consequences, including the termination of her employment.
The AFLC found it ironic that the district allows teachers to promote non-Christian displays in their classrooms – including one teacher who promotes gay rights.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Religious Liberty & Anti-Christian Totalitarianism as well as School Doesn't Back Gay Agenda, Obama Investigates and yet President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
U.S. Military Fights Christians, NOT Jihadists
Browsing news reports demonstrates that the emphasis of a military establishment commanded by President Obama is winning the Gay Agenda battle, rather than defending the nation from foreign enemies.
For background, read Obama Raises Gay Agenda above Religious Liberty and also read Gay Soldiers Battle American Society via Marriage as well as Pentagon Celebrates Sexual Deviancy Down Below
UPDATE 6/8/13: Congress Counters Obama's Military Attack on Christians
-- From "Marine Corps Orders Full Embrace of Same-Sex Couples" by David Crary, Associated Press 1/10/13 January 10, 2013
The [legal] memo noted that spouses clubs and various other private institutions are allowed to operate on bases only if they adhere to a non-discrimination policy encompassing race, religion, gender, age, disability and national origin.
“We would interpret a spouses club’s decision to exclude a same-sex spouse as sexual discrimination because the exclusion was based upon the spouse’s sex,” the memo said.
A Marine Corps spokesman, Capt. Eric Flanagan, said the Marines cannot directly control the actions of independent organizations such as spouses’ clubs, but added, “We expect that all who are interested in supporting Marine Corps Family Readiness would be welcome to participate and will be treated with dignity and respect.”
The club has said it would reconsider its membership policies at an upcoming meeting.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Lesbian wife of female Army officer banned from joining Fort Bragg spouses club ‘because she lacks proper military ID card’" by UK Daily Mail Reporter 12/14/12
The same-sex wife of a ranking Army officer stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, claims that she has been repeatedly denied membership in a club for military spouses only because she is lesbian.
Ashley Broadway married her partner of 15 years, Lt Colonel Heather Mack, in November after the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy banning openly gay service members from the military.
Broadway said that in response to her application to become a member of the Association of Bragg Officers' Spouses, she was told that she cannot be admitted into the club because she lacks a military spouse ID card.
Stars and Stripes reported that because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the Defense Department does not recognize same-sex marriages and does not offer benefits or ID cards to same-sex spouses.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Conservatives Blast Pentagon Deal to Give Full Pay to Homosexuals Booted from Military" by Pete Winn, CNSNews.com 1/9/13
Conservatives are blasting a deal reached by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Obama administration to give full separation pay to more than 180 service members discharged from the military for homosexuality since 2004.
On Monday, the administration reached a settlement with the ACLU on a class-action lawsuit by agreeing to pay approximately $2.4 million in full separation pay – money that was withheld from those veterans who were tossed out of the service for violating the then-existing law against military service by homosexuals.
But Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, told CNSNews.com that the government is catering to homosexual activists with the settlement.
The conservative analysts say that service members who engaged in homosexuality while in the military don’t deserve extra pay, because they did more than run afoul of Defense Department administrative regulations -- they violated a federal law that made homosexuality in the military illegal.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Air Force Engages War on Christianity, Say Lawmakers as well as President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity
In addition, 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.
For background, read Obama Raises Gay Agenda above Religious Liberty and also read Gay Soldiers Battle American Society via Marriage as well as Pentagon Celebrates Sexual Deviancy Down Below
UPDATE 6/8/13: Congress Counters Obama's Military Attack on Christians
-- From "Marine Corps Orders Full Embrace of Same-Sex Couples" by David Crary, Associated Press 1/10/13 January 10, 2013
The [legal] memo noted that spouses clubs and various other private institutions are allowed to operate on bases only if they adhere to a non-discrimination policy encompassing race, religion, gender, age, disability and national origin.
“We would interpret a spouses club’s decision to exclude a same-sex spouse as sexual discrimination because the exclusion was based upon the spouse’s sex,” the memo said.
A Marine Corps spokesman, Capt. Eric Flanagan, said the Marines cannot directly control the actions of independent organizations such as spouses’ clubs, but added, “We expect that all who are interested in supporting Marine Corps Family Readiness would be welcome to participate and will be treated with dignity and respect.”
The club has said it would reconsider its membership policies at an upcoming meeting.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Lesbian wife of female Army officer banned from joining Fort Bragg spouses club ‘because she lacks proper military ID card’" by UK Daily Mail Reporter 12/14/12
The same-sex wife of a ranking Army officer stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, claims that she has been repeatedly denied membership in a club for military spouses only because she is lesbian.
Ashley Broadway married her partner of 15 years, Lt Colonel Heather Mack, in November after the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy banning openly gay service members from the military.
Broadway said that in response to her application to become a member of the Association of Bragg Officers' Spouses, she was told that she cannot be admitted into the club because she lacks a military spouse ID card.
Stars and Stripes reported that because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the Defense Department does not recognize same-sex marriages and does not offer benefits or ID cards to same-sex spouses.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Conservatives Blast Pentagon Deal to Give Full Pay to Homosexuals Booted from Military" by Pete Winn, CNSNews.com 1/9/13
Conservatives are blasting a deal reached by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Obama administration to give full separation pay to more than 180 service members discharged from the military for homosexuality since 2004.
On Monday, the administration reached a settlement with the ACLU on a class-action lawsuit by agreeing to pay approximately $2.4 million in full separation pay – money that was withheld from those veterans who were tossed out of the service for violating the then-existing law against military service by homosexuals.
But Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, told CNSNews.com that the government is catering to homosexual activists with the settlement.
The conservative analysts say that service members who engaged in homosexuality while in the military don’t deserve extra pay, because they did more than run afoul of Defense Department administrative regulations -- they violated a federal law that made homosexuality in the military illegal.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Air Force Engages War on Christianity, Say Lawmakers as well as President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity
In addition, 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.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Liberals Lament: Pro-life Position Prevails
All polls show it: Divine science, reason, and faith has turned America against abortion. Old feminist beliefs are dying, the mainstream media document, most notably on the January 2013 cover of Time Magazine saying “40 Years Ago, Abortion Rights Activists Won an Epic Victory With Roe v. Wade. They’ve been losing ever since.”
For background, read Poll: Most Americans Pro-life; Liberals Desperate and also read 'Higher Education' Indoctrinates Pro-abortion: Poll as well as Pro-life Legislation Floods America
-- From "Poll Finds More than 8 in 10 Americans Favor Significant Abortion Restrictions" posted at Knights of Columbus 1/8/13
[The Marist poll found] Of the 83 percent who support significant restrictions on abortion, 10 percent believe abortion should never be permitted; 12 percent believe abortion should be allowed only to save the life of the mother; 34 percent would restrict abortion only to cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother; and 27 percent would limit abortion to – at most – the first three months of pregnancy.
Just 11 percent would allow abortion at any time, while 6 percent would allow it during the first six months of pregnancy.
“After four decades of legalized abortion in this country, Americans have had ample time to understand that abortion has terrible consequences, said Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. “They understand abortion’s true legacy – a child loses life, and parents lose a child. And after witnessing the effects of abortion for the past 40 years, Americans are not legally or morally comfortable with that legacy. It is time for our country to chart a new course on this issue – a course that protects both the mother and the child.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Has The Fight For Abortion Rights Been Lost?" by Kate Pickert, Time Magazine 1/3/13
In January 1973, the Supreme Court made access to abortion a federally protected right. As I write in this week’s TIME cover story, that seemingly decisive victory 40 years ago kicked off a war that the pro-choice movement has been losing ever since. In many parts of the country today, obtaining an abortion is more difficult than at any point since the 1970s.
There are fewer doctors willing to perform the procedure and fewer abortion clinics open for business. Pro-choice activists have been outflanked by their prolife counterparts, who have successfully lobbied for state-based regulations that limit access. Scores of states now require women to undergo counseling, waiting periods or ultrasounds prior to obtaining abortions. Minors across the country must often get permission from their parents if they want to terminate pregnancies. And pro-life state legislators are passing laws that require clinics to comply with arcane requirements—such as a hallway having to be more than five feet wide— that make it difficult for them to stay open.
The pro-life cause has been winning the abortion war, in part, because it has pursued an organized and well-executed strategy. But public opinion is also increasingly on their side. Thanks to prenatal ultrasound and advanced neonatology, Americans now understand what a fetus looks like and that babies born as early as 24 weeks can now survive. Although three-quarters of Americans believe abortion should be legal in some or all cases, most support state laws regulating the procedure and fewer and fewer are identifying themselves as “pro-choice” in public opinion surveys.
To read the entire series of articles in Time Magazine, CLICK HERE.
From "Pro-Life and Feminism Aren’t Mutually Exclusive" by Emily Buchanan, Executive Director - Susan B. Anthony List, posted at Time Magazine 1/3/13
From its early beginnings, feminism was a young women’s movement. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, Charlotte Lozier and so many others began their suffragist work in their 20s. These women — the original feminists — understood that the rights of women cannot be built on the broken backs of unborn children. Anthony called abortion “child murder.” Paul, author of the original 1923 Equal Rights Amendment, said that “abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women.”
So the pro-life movement hasn’t changed the meaning of feminism, as has been suggested. It was the neo-feminists of the 1960s and ’70s who asked women to prize abortion as the pathway to equality.
Pro-life feminism has captivated a new generation of young women who reject the illusion that to be pro-woman is to be pro-choice. . . .
Not only does this young generation of pro-life women shun the notion that abortion somehow liberates women; it views abortion as the civil- and human-rights cause of our day. Abortion is an injustice that permeates our society. Forty years after Roe v. Wade, we realize that a third of our peers are not here to share our progress and our hopes. It is our loss as well as theirs.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
From "Abortion movement 'losing' ever since Roe" by Alyssa Farah, World Net Daily 1/3/13
Chairmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life, echoed Buchanan’s explanation.
“The cognitive dissonance of having a hospital saving a life of a 24-week-old baby next door to a room where a 23-week-old baby is aborted is very real,” Yoest explained.
“The pro-life movement is on the side of science. We are the ones standing with the scientific advances showing not only the reality of life in the womb, but also being able to push back the day of viability,” Yoest added.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pregnancy Centers Gain Influence in Anti-Abortion Arena" by Pam Belluck, New York Times 1/4/13
With free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, along with diapers, parenting classes and even temporary housing, pregnancy centers are playing an increasingly influential role in the anti-abortion movement. While most attention has focused on scores of new state laws restricting abortion, the centers have been growing in numbers and gaining state financing and support.
Pregnancy centers, while not new, now number about 2,500, compared with about 1,800 abortion providers. [Americans United for Life VP, Jeanneane] Maxon estimated that the centers see about a million clients annually, with another million attending abstinence and other programs. . . .
“Women who come in are constantly telling us, ‘Abortion seems to be my only alternative and I think that’s the best thing to do,’” said Peggy Hartshorn, president of Heartbeat International, which she described as a “Christ-centered” organization with 1,100 affiliates. “Centers provide women with the whole choice.”
Thirteen states now provide some direct financing; 27 offer “Choose Life” license plates, the proceeds from which aid centers. In 2011, Texas increased financing for the centers while cutting family planning [abortion clinic] money by two-thirds, and required abortion clinics to provide names of centers at least 24 hours before performing abortions. In South Dakota, a 2011 law being challenged by Planned Parenthood requires pregnancy center visits before abortions.
To read the entire pro-abortion opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Breast Cancer from Abortion Demonstrated, Again as well as Abortion Seriously Injures Thousands of Women Yearly: Study
For background, read Poll: Most Americans Pro-life; Liberals Desperate and also read 'Higher Education' Indoctrinates Pro-abortion: Poll as well as Pro-life Legislation Floods America
-- From "Poll Finds More than 8 in 10 Americans Favor Significant Abortion Restrictions" posted at Knights of Columbus 1/8/13
[The Marist poll found] Of the 83 percent who support significant restrictions on abortion, 10 percent believe abortion should never be permitted; 12 percent believe abortion should be allowed only to save the life of the mother; 34 percent would restrict abortion only to cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother; and 27 percent would limit abortion to – at most – the first three months of pregnancy.
Just 11 percent would allow abortion at any time, while 6 percent would allow it during the first six months of pregnancy.
“After four decades of legalized abortion in this country, Americans have had ample time to understand that abortion has terrible consequences, said Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. “They understand abortion’s true legacy – a child loses life, and parents lose a child. And after witnessing the effects of abortion for the past 40 years, Americans are not legally or morally comfortable with that legacy. It is time for our country to chart a new course on this issue – a course that protects both the mother and the child.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Has The Fight For Abortion Rights Been Lost?" by Kate Pickert, Time Magazine 1/3/13
In January 1973, the Supreme Court made access to abortion a federally protected right. As I write in this week’s TIME cover story, that seemingly decisive victory 40 years ago kicked off a war that the pro-choice movement has been losing ever since. In many parts of the country today, obtaining an abortion is more difficult than at any point since the 1970s.
There are fewer doctors willing to perform the procedure and fewer abortion clinics open for business. Pro-choice activists have been outflanked by their prolife counterparts, who have successfully lobbied for state-based regulations that limit access. Scores of states now require women to undergo counseling, waiting periods or ultrasounds prior to obtaining abortions. Minors across the country must often get permission from their parents if they want to terminate pregnancies. And pro-life state legislators are passing laws that require clinics to comply with arcane requirements—such as a hallway having to be more than five feet wide— that make it difficult for them to stay open.
The pro-life cause has been winning the abortion war, in part, because it has pursued an organized and well-executed strategy. But public opinion is also increasingly on their side. Thanks to prenatal ultrasound and advanced neonatology, Americans now understand what a fetus looks like and that babies born as early as 24 weeks can now survive. Although three-quarters of Americans believe abortion should be legal in some or all cases, most support state laws regulating the procedure and fewer and fewer are identifying themselves as “pro-choice” in public opinion surveys.
To read the entire series of articles in Time Magazine, CLICK HERE.
From "Pro-Life and Feminism Aren’t Mutually Exclusive" by Emily Buchanan, Executive Director - Susan B. Anthony List, posted at Time Magazine 1/3/13
From its early beginnings, feminism was a young women’s movement. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, Charlotte Lozier and so many others began their suffragist work in their 20s. These women — the original feminists — understood that the rights of women cannot be built on the broken backs of unborn children. Anthony called abortion “child murder.” Paul, author of the original 1923 Equal Rights Amendment, said that “abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women.”
So the pro-life movement hasn’t changed the meaning of feminism, as has been suggested. It was the neo-feminists of the 1960s and ’70s who asked women to prize abortion as the pathway to equality.
Pro-life feminism has captivated a new generation of young women who reject the illusion that to be pro-woman is to be pro-choice. . . .
Not only does this young generation of pro-life women shun the notion that abortion somehow liberates women; it views abortion as the civil- and human-rights cause of our day. Abortion is an injustice that permeates our society. Forty years after Roe v. Wade, we realize that a third of our peers are not here to share our progress and our hopes. It is our loss as well as theirs.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
From "Abortion movement 'losing' ever since Roe" by Alyssa Farah, World Net Daily 1/3/13
Chairmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life, echoed Buchanan’s explanation.
“The cognitive dissonance of having a hospital saving a life of a 24-week-old baby next door to a room where a 23-week-old baby is aborted is very real,” Yoest explained.
“The pro-life movement is on the side of science. We are the ones standing with the scientific advances showing not only the reality of life in the womb, but also being able to push back the day of viability,” Yoest added.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pregnancy Centers Gain Influence in Anti-Abortion Arena" by Pam Belluck, New York Times 1/4/13
With free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, along with diapers, parenting classes and even temporary housing, pregnancy centers are playing an increasingly influential role in the anti-abortion movement. While most attention has focused on scores of new state laws restricting abortion, the centers have been growing in numbers and gaining state financing and support.
Pregnancy centers, while not new, now number about 2,500, compared with about 1,800 abortion providers. [Americans United for Life VP, Jeanneane] Maxon estimated that the centers see about a million clients annually, with another million attending abstinence and other programs. . . .
“Women who come in are constantly telling us, ‘Abortion seems to be my only alternative and I think that’s the best thing to do,’” said Peggy Hartshorn, president of Heartbeat International, which she described as a “Christ-centered” organization with 1,100 affiliates. “Centers provide women with the whole choice.”
Thirteen states now provide some direct financing; 27 offer “Choose Life” license plates, the proceeds from which aid centers. In 2011, Texas increased financing for the centers while cutting family planning [abortion clinic] money by two-thirds, and required abortion clinics to provide names of centers at least 24 hours before performing abortions. In South Dakota, a 2011 law being challenged by Planned Parenthood requires pregnancy center visits before abortions.
To read the entire pro-abortion opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Breast Cancer from Abortion Demonstrated, Again as well as Abortion Seriously Injures Thousands of Women Yearly: Study
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
School Tells Atheists Jesus Portrait Will Stay
The Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation says that a painting of Jesus, hanging in a hallway since 1947 at Jackson Middle School in Jackson, Ohio, is unconstitutional. In response, school Superintendent Phil Howard told a cheering crowd of over 500 people at last night's School Board meeting that the portrait will NOT be removed.
For background, read about myriad atheist attacks on Christianity via public schools
UPDATE 4/3/13: Fearing legal costs, school gives in, removes portrait; atheists win battle
-- From "'Amen' Heard When Superintendent Says Jesus Will Stay" by Felicia Tackett, Jackson County Times-Journal 1/9/13
Estimates of 550 to 600 members of the community showed up at Tuesday night's Jackson City School Board meeting to show their support for the administration's decision to keep the picture of Jesus Christ hanging in its place of honor in Jackson Middle School.
There were eruptions of applause when some of the speakers spoke in support of keeping the picture in place, and in spite of warnings from Board President Randy Evans to be respectful of everyone who spoke, there were some boo's heard from the crowd when the three opposed to the picture had their say.
[Supt.] Howard also showed a framed poster of America's motto, "In God We Trust," and Ohio's motto of "With God, All Things Are Possible," and explained that under ORC 3313.801 it states: If a copy of the official motto of the United States of America 'In God We Trust' or the official motto of Ohio 'With God, All Things Are Possible' is donated to any school district, or if money is donated to the district specifically for the purpose of purchasing such material, the board of education of the school district shall accept the donation and display the motto in an appropriate manner.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "300 turn out to support portrait of Jesus at Jackson school" by Randy Ludlow and Jim Woods, The Columbus Dispatch 1/8/13
The leader of Jackson City Schools said it would take a higher authority than the Freedom From Religion Foundation to force the painting’s removal after 65 years.
Superintendent Phil Howard told the crowd at Jackson High School that “we’re not violating the law and the picture is legal because it has historical significance. It hasn’t hurt anyone.”
Howard earlier told Chillicothe radio station WKKJ that it would take a court order to remove the picture and said that the painting is permissible because it was provided by a student club and is displayed among other pictures in a “hall of honor.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Atheist Group Threatens Ohio School With Suit Over Jesus Portrait" by Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter 1/7/13
A Wisconsin-based atheist organization has threatened a middle school in Ohio with a lawsuit should school officials not remove a portrait of Jesus Christ from a hallway.
Phil Howard, district superintendent for Jackson City Schools, said in an interview with WKKJ that the Jesus portrait was one of several pictures on the "Hall of Honor" display at Jackson Middle. These pictures include a variety of other faces, including distinguished alumni and influential historical figures.
"I'm certainly not going to run down there and take the picture down because some group from Madison, Wisconsin, who knows nothing about the culture of our community or why the picture is even there, wants me to take it down," said Howard.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
For background, read about myriad atheist attacks on Christianity via public schools
UPDATE 4/3/13: Fearing legal costs, school gives in, removes portrait; atheists win battle
-- From "'Amen' Heard When Superintendent Says Jesus Will Stay" by Felicia Tackett, Jackson County Times-Journal 1/9/13
Estimates of 550 to 600 members of the community showed up at Tuesday night's Jackson City School Board meeting to show their support for the administration's decision to keep the picture of Jesus Christ hanging in its place of honor in Jackson Middle School.
There were eruptions of applause when some of the speakers spoke in support of keeping the picture in place, and in spite of warnings from Board President Randy Evans to be respectful of everyone who spoke, there were some boo's heard from the crowd when the three opposed to the picture had their say.
[Supt.] Howard also showed a framed poster of America's motto, "In God We Trust," and Ohio's motto of "With God, All Things Are Possible," and explained that under ORC 3313.801 it states: If a copy of the official motto of the United States of America 'In God We Trust' or the official motto of Ohio 'With God, All Things Are Possible' is donated to any school district, or if money is donated to the district specifically for the purpose of purchasing such material, the board of education of the school district shall accept the donation and display the motto in an appropriate manner.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "300 turn out to support portrait of Jesus at Jackson school" by Randy Ludlow and Jim Woods, The Columbus Dispatch 1/8/13
The leader of Jackson City Schools said it would take a higher authority than the Freedom From Religion Foundation to force the painting’s removal after 65 years.
Superintendent Phil Howard told the crowd at Jackson High School that “we’re not violating the law and the picture is legal because it has historical significance. It hasn’t hurt anyone.”
Howard earlier told Chillicothe radio station WKKJ that it would take a court order to remove the picture and said that the painting is permissible because it was provided by a student club and is displayed among other pictures in a “hall of honor.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Atheist Group Threatens Ohio School With Suit Over Jesus Portrait" by Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter 1/7/13
A Wisconsin-based atheist organization has threatened a middle school in Ohio with a lawsuit should school officials not remove a portrait of Jesus Christ from a hallway.
Phil Howard, district superintendent for Jackson City Schools, said in an interview with WKKJ that the Jesus portrait was one of several pictures on the "Hall of Honor" display at Jackson Middle. These pictures include a variety of other faces, including distinguished alumni and influential historical figures.
"I'm certainly not going to run down there and take the picture down because some group from Madison, Wisconsin, who knows nothing about the culture of our community or why the picture is even there, wants me to take it down," said Howard.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
Planned Parenthood Kills a Baby Every 94 Seconds
Although most Americans don't want their tax dollars to fund abortion, the annual flow of taxes to Planned Parenthood from the federal government has skyrocketed since President Obama took office -- now over half a billion dollars per year.
For background, read $Billion$ - Nation's Top Abortion Mill $$ and also read Obama Tells Students to Support Planned Parenthood as well as Planned Parenthood Defunded by States and even More States
-- From "Planned Parenthood receives record amount of taxpayer support" posted at FoxNews.com 1/8/13
According to the latest annual report, the $542 million in taxpayer support last year counted Medicaid money. The total represents a steady increase, up 11 percent from $487 million the year before; that amount was up 34 percent from $363 million the year before that.
The funding figures were included in the abortion provider's annual report released Monday. The numbers showed roughly 45 percent of Planned Parenthood's budget now comes from taxpayer dollars.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Planned Parenthood reports record year for abortions" by Charlie Spiering, The Washington Examiner 1/7/13
In its latest annual report for fiscal year 2011 to 2012, Planned Parenthood reveals that it performed 333,964 abortions in 2011 – a record year for the organization.
According to annual reports, the organization performed 332,278 abortions in 2009, 329,445 in 2010, making the total number of abortions in three years to 995,687.
Contraceptive services at Planned Parenthood have dropped by 12 percent since 2009, and cancer screening & prevention services have dropped by 29 percent.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Planned Parenthood Sees Record High Abortions, Taxpayer Funding" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 1/7/13
While the number of abortions reached a record high, only 2,300 Planned Parenthood customers were referred to adoption agencies during the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
“For decades now, Planned Parenthood has operated the most proficient killing machine in the United States,” said Douglas R. Scott, Jr., president of the Planned Parenthood watchdog organization Life Decisions International (LDI), a Planned Parenthood watchdog group. “And the machine has set yet another record.”
“The more access Planned Parenthood has to young people, the higher the rate of sexually transmitted disease,” Scott said. “Abstinent teens do not get such sexually transmitted diseases; abstinent teens do not become customers of Planned Parenthood.”
. . . abortions were estimated to have generated $150 million dollars for the “nonprofit” organization.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Rep. Marsha Blackburn offers bill to defund Planned Parenthood" by Joel Gehrke, The Washington Examiner 1/4/13
“As a woman, I believe America deserves better than abortion,” Blackburn said in a statement on her [U. S. House] bill. “America shouldn’t celebrate abortion and our taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood, who profit from the destruction of human life with taxpayer money. It’s fiscally irresponsible and morally indefensible.”
In 2011, Democrats said they would shut down the government rather than pass an appropriations bill that cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
Republicans ultimately scrapped the provision, but talk of a government shut down is already growing as they prepare to fight for spending cuts when President Obama asks Congress to raise the debt ceiling.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read GOP RINOs Fund Planned Parenthood including reelected Illinois Congressman
“We are so proud of the year’s many successes, and deeply grateful for all the partners, sponsors, volunteers, staff and friends who helped make them possible.”UPDATE 1/1/15: Planned Parenthood Reports Abortions & Profits Up
-- Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards and Chairwoman Cecelia Boone
For background, read $Billion$ - Nation's Top Abortion Mill $$ and also read Obama Tells Students to Support Planned Parenthood as well as Planned Parenthood Defunded by States and even More States
-- From "Planned Parenthood receives record amount of taxpayer support" posted at FoxNews.com 1/8/13
According to the latest annual report, the $542 million in taxpayer support last year counted Medicaid money. The total represents a steady increase, up 11 percent from $487 million the year before; that amount was up 34 percent from $363 million the year before that.
The funding figures were included in the abortion provider's annual report released Monday. The numbers showed roughly 45 percent of Planned Parenthood's budget now comes from taxpayer dollars.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Planned Parenthood reports record year for abortions" by Charlie Spiering, The Washington Examiner 1/7/13
In its latest annual report for fiscal year 2011 to 2012, Planned Parenthood reveals that it performed 333,964 abortions in 2011 – a record year for the organization.
According to annual reports, the organization performed 332,278 abortions in 2009, 329,445 in 2010, making the total number of abortions in three years to 995,687.
Contraceptive services at Planned Parenthood have dropped by 12 percent since 2009, and cancer screening & prevention services have dropped by 29 percent.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Planned Parenthood Sees Record High Abortions, Taxpayer Funding" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 1/7/13
While the number of abortions reached a record high, only 2,300 Planned Parenthood customers were referred to adoption agencies during the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
“For decades now, Planned Parenthood has operated the most proficient killing machine in the United States,” said Douglas R. Scott, Jr., president of the Planned Parenthood watchdog organization Life Decisions International (LDI), a Planned Parenthood watchdog group. “And the machine has set yet another record.”
“The more access Planned Parenthood has to young people, the higher the rate of sexually transmitted disease,” Scott said. “Abstinent teens do not get such sexually transmitted diseases; abstinent teens do not become customers of Planned Parenthood.”
. . . abortions were estimated to have generated $150 million dollars for the “nonprofit” organization.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Rep. Marsha Blackburn offers bill to defund Planned Parenthood" by Joel Gehrke, The Washington Examiner 1/4/13
“As a woman, I believe America deserves better than abortion,” Blackburn said in a statement on her [U. S. House] bill. “America shouldn’t celebrate abortion and our taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood, who profit from the destruction of human life with taxpayer money. It’s fiscally irresponsible and morally indefensible.”
In 2011, Democrats said they would shut down the government rather than pass an appropriations bill that cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
Republicans ultimately scrapped the provision, but talk of a government shut down is already growing as they prepare to fight for spending cuts when President Obama asks Congress to raise the debt ceiling.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read GOP RINOs Fund Planned Parenthood including reelected Illinois Congressman
Monday, January 07, 2013
Christians Oppose ObamaCare, Support Hobby Lobby
Absent even one national mainstream media report, local news outlets are streaming in with accounts of multitudes of Christians flooding Hobby Lobby stores to support its court battle against Obama's War on Christianity. The Christian family-owned retail chain has refused to comply with ObamaCare requirements to provide free abortifacients to its employees, therefore as of January 1, 2013 is being fined $1.3 million PER DAY by President Obama's IRS.
The Oklahoma-based arts and craft chain filed suit against ObamaCare in an Oklahoma district court in September, and the President's Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied an injunction to avoid fines while awaiting the outcome in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
UPDATE 7/1/14: Liberals vs. Supreme Court Rulings Favoring Religious Liberty
For background, read Supreme Court Allows Christians to Sue ObamaCare and also read Judges Rule Against ObamaCare, Favor Christians as well as Bishops Say Catholic Church Will Defy ObamaCare
And read Federal Judge Rules Against ObamaCare, For Catholics
UPDATE 5/13/13: Christians Defeating ObamaCare, DOJ Surrenders
-- From "Hobby Lobby shoppers make statement" by Jack Molitor, The Herald Bulletin (Anderson, IN) 1/5/13
The [ObamaCare free abortifacient] mandate drew the ire of David Green, Hobby Lobby chief executive officer and founder, who said he couldn’t abandon his religious beliefs and would not comply, according to a press release.
The Scatterfield Road Hobby Lobby location bustled with activity Saturday . . . “Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day.”
[Local resident Bob] Stevens, who was shopping with his wife Shari, said business owners shouldn’t be penalized for standing up for their beliefs.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Supreme Court denies emergency injunction in contraception case" by Jennifer Haberkorn and Kathryn Smith, Politico 12/26/12
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday [the day after Christmas] denied Hobby Lobby’s request for an emergency injunction to block the health reform law’s contraceptive coverage requirements and said it will not decide the case before lower courts have ruled.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the store owner doesn't meet the extremely high standards required for a preliminary injunction. It's not "absolutely" clear that they need the injunction and lower courts have been divided on whether to grant similar requests, she wrote, though she adds that the court doesn't have much experience with similar religious-based claims for emergency injunctions.
"Even without an injunction pending appeal, the applicants may continue their challenge to the regulations in the lower courts. Following a final judgment, they may,if necessary, file a petition" for the Supreme Court to hear the case, she wrote.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Thousands to Shop Hobby Lobby to Support Company’s Obedience to God, Rejection of Obamacare" posted at Christian News Network 1/5/13
Former Arkansas governor, pastor and presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, now FOX talk show host, also expressed his support of Hobby Lobby Day.
“This is not just about Hobby Lobby — this is about you!” Huckabee wrote on his official website. “If Hobby Lobby is forced to eat the ‘king’s meat’ and ‘bow on their knees’ to a human government in direct conflict with their fundamentals of faith, then how long will it be before they come for you and your family?”
While Hobby Lobby states that it has been covering, and will continue to cover, birth control for its over 13,000 employees nationwide, it refuses to pay for two pills that are included in Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate: the morning-after pill and the week-after pill.
“These abortion-causing drugs go against our faith, and our family is now being forced to choose between following the laws of the land that we love or maintaining the religious beliefs that have made our business successful and have supported our family and thousands of our employees and their families,” CEO David Green wrote in a statement earlier this year. “We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs to comply with this mandate. … By being required to make a choice between sacrificing our faith or paying millions of dollars in fines, we essentially must choose which poison pill to swallow.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Wichitans Participate In 'Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day'" posted at KAKE-TV (Wichita, KS) 1/5/13
Wichita Hobby Lobby stores benefited from "Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day."
The day was called for by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. The effort is similar to Huckabee's call for support for Chick-Fil-A after it received sharp criticism over the owner's opposition to gay marriage.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Shoppers Supporting Hobby Lobby Over Health Care Controversy" by Michael Pickett, WTVW-TV7 (Henderson, KY) 1/6/13
Some shoppers didn't just go to Hobby Lobby stores just to use gift cards they got for Christmas, they were also showing the company and its employees their support as part of Support Hobby Lobby Day.
Several groups were encouraging people to shop at the store today. . . . But for some shoppers, this day of support is more than just about supporting a company, it's about religious freedom.
"We can get our voice heard that religious freedom shouldn't be fringed upon," says Nina Fuller, who participated in Support Hobby Lobby Day. "If the CEO of a business in America has a strong belief, I think that needs to be respected and the government needs to stay out of that.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Shoppers Show Support For Hobby Lobby Saturday" posted at KMID-TV2 (Midland, TX) 1/6/13
Shoppers hit an arts-and-crafts store by storm this weekend, to show their support of "religious freedom."
Shoppers across the county, including in Midland, shopped at Hobby Lobby Saturday to show support of the chain.
This grassroots movement comes as the store is required to provide contraceptive coverage as part of its healthcare benefits package under "Obamacare." But Hobby Lobby is openly opposing the healthcare mandate on religious grounds.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pine Belt residents join 'Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day'" by Charles Herrington, Reporter WDAM-TV7 (Hattiesburg, MS) 1/5/13
Many Pine Belt residents are showing their support for a national retailer which is facing hefty fines for failing to comply with portions of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Dozens of people gathered at the Hobby Lobby on Highway 98 to take part in national, "Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day."
"Hobby Lobby has every right to stand up for their employees, for their rights to either have the insurance or not have the insurance," said Lewis Garvin, whose group, Freedom Fighters of Mississippi, organized the gathering. "They should not be forced to do it by the government," he said.
"This is the first step toward our religious freedom being taken away from us in our country," said Aquilla King, who supports Hobby Lobby. "And I want to do what I can to help preserve that right for all Americans," she said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Shoppers 'Stand By' Hobby Lobby" by Ashley Arnold, WJHG-TV7 (Panama City Beach, FL) 1/6/13
Around the country, thousands rallied behind Hobby Lobby after learning the government was fining the craft chain store $1.3 million per day for refusing to obey parts of the healthcare reform act.
"I think it's wrong that the government, any government, ask a business, a person, an individual to compromise their beliefs," said [local resident Penny] Lovett. "Hobby Lobby does not do that - they don't open on Sunday, there's a reason for that."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Media Almost Silent on Hobby Lobby Battle Against HHS Mandate" by Matthew Philbin, LifeNews.com 1/3/13
Usually when President Obama’s opponents are handed a defeat, ABC, CBS and NBC are quick to crow about it. That’s why their silence on the Supreme Court’s Christmas ruling against retail chain Hobby Lobby is so curious.
NBC’s “Today” got a point for mentioning the ruling in a news brief. But it provided so little information as to be misleading. “Emergency contraceptives will remain part of the federal health care law,” NBC’s Natalie Morales said. “Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied a request to block the morning-after pill and similar contraceptive pills from required employee health plans.” But Sotomayor’s ruling pertained only to Hobby Lobby’s request for a temporary injunction and did nothing to settle the larger legal and religious freedom questions.
At least NBC bothered to mention the ruling at all. ABC and CBS didn’t. Perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising, since they’ve never reported on Hobby Lobby’s suit in the first place.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read ObamaCare Stakes Ground in War on Christianity and yet President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity and also read Religious Liberty & Anti-Christian Totalitarianism
The Oklahoma-based arts and craft chain filed suit against ObamaCare in an Oklahoma district court in September, and the President's Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied an injunction to avoid fines while awaiting the outcome in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“To remain true to their faith, it is not their intention, as a company, to pay for abortion-inducing drugs.”Network news never fails to cover a dozen angry abortion supporters shouting, but entirely ignores polite Christian shoppers.
-- Kyle Duncan, Hobby Lobby attorney
UPDATE 7/1/14: Liberals vs. Supreme Court Rulings Favoring Religious Liberty
For background, read Supreme Court Allows Christians to Sue ObamaCare and also read Judges Rule Against ObamaCare, Favor Christians as well as Bishops Say Catholic Church Will Defy ObamaCare
And read Federal Judge Rules Against ObamaCare, For Catholics
UPDATE 5/13/13: Christians Defeating ObamaCare, DOJ Surrenders
-- From "Hobby Lobby shoppers make statement" by Jack Molitor, The Herald Bulletin (Anderson, IN) 1/5/13
The [ObamaCare free abortifacient] mandate drew the ire of David Green, Hobby Lobby chief executive officer and founder, who said he couldn’t abandon his religious beliefs and would not comply, according to a press release.
The Scatterfield Road Hobby Lobby location bustled with activity Saturday . . . “Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day.”
[Local resident Bob] Stevens, who was shopping with his wife Shari, said business owners shouldn’t be penalized for standing up for their beliefs.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Supreme Court denies emergency injunction in contraception case" by Jennifer Haberkorn and Kathryn Smith, Politico 12/26/12
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday [the day after Christmas] denied Hobby Lobby’s request for an emergency injunction to block the health reform law’s contraceptive coverage requirements and said it will not decide the case before lower courts have ruled.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the store owner doesn't meet the extremely high standards required for a preliminary injunction. It's not "absolutely" clear that they need the injunction and lower courts have been divided on whether to grant similar requests, she wrote, though she adds that the court doesn't have much experience with similar religious-based claims for emergency injunctions.
"Even without an injunction pending appeal, the applicants may continue their challenge to the regulations in the lower courts. Following a final judgment, they may,if necessary, file a petition" for the Supreme Court to hear the case, she wrote.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Thousands to Shop Hobby Lobby to Support Company’s Obedience to God, Rejection of Obamacare" posted at Christian News Network 1/5/13
Former Arkansas governor, pastor and presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, now FOX talk show host, also expressed his support of Hobby Lobby Day.
“This is not just about Hobby Lobby — this is about you!” Huckabee wrote on his official website. “If Hobby Lobby is forced to eat the ‘king’s meat’ and ‘bow on their knees’ to a human government in direct conflict with their fundamentals of faith, then how long will it be before they come for you and your family?”
While Hobby Lobby states that it has been covering, and will continue to cover, birth control for its over 13,000 employees nationwide, it refuses to pay for two pills that are included in Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate: the morning-after pill and the week-after pill.
“These abortion-causing drugs go against our faith, and our family is now being forced to choose between following the laws of the land that we love or maintaining the religious beliefs that have made our business successful and have supported our family and thousands of our employees and their families,” CEO David Green wrote in a statement earlier this year. “We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs to comply with this mandate. … By being required to make a choice between sacrificing our faith or paying millions of dollars in fines, we essentially must choose which poison pill to swallow.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Wichitans Participate In 'Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day'" posted at KAKE-TV (Wichita, KS) 1/5/13
Wichita Hobby Lobby stores benefited from "Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day."
The day was called for by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. The effort is similar to Huckabee's call for support for Chick-Fil-A after it received sharp criticism over the owner's opposition to gay marriage.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Shoppers Supporting Hobby Lobby Over Health Care Controversy" by Michael Pickett, WTVW-TV7 (Henderson, KY) 1/6/13
Some shoppers didn't just go to Hobby Lobby stores just to use gift cards they got for Christmas, they were also showing the company and its employees their support as part of Support Hobby Lobby Day.
Several groups were encouraging people to shop at the store today. . . . But for some shoppers, this day of support is more than just about supporting a company, it's about religious freedom.
"We can get our voice heard that religious freedom shouldn't be fringed upon," says Nina Fuller, who participated in Support Hobby Lobby Day. "If the CEO of a business in America has a strong belief, I think that needs to be respected and the government needs to stay out of that.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Shoppers Show Support For Hobby Lobby Saturday" posted at KMID-TV2 (Midland, TX) 1/6/13
Shoppers hit an arts-and-crafts store by storm this weekend, to show their support of "religious freedom."
Shoppers across the county, including in Midland, shopped at Hobby Lobby Saturday to show support of the chain.
This grassroots movement comes as the store is required to provide contraceptive coverage as part of its healthcare benefits package under "Obamacare." But Hobby Lobby is openly opposing the healthcare mandate on religious grounds.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pine Belt residents join 'Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day'" by Charles Herrington, Reporter WDAM-TV7 (Hattiesburg, MS) 1/5/13
Many Pine Belt residents are showing their support for a national retailer which is facing hefty fines for failing to comply with portions of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Dozens of people gathered at the Hobby Lobby on Highway 98 to take part in national, "Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day."
"Hobby Lobby has every right to stand up for their employees, for their rights to either have the insurance or not have the insurance," said Lewis Garvin, whose group, Freedom Fighters of Mississippi, organized the gathering. "They should not be forced to do it by the government," he said.
"This is the first step toward our religious freedom being taken away from us in our country," said Aquilla King, who supports Hobby Lobby. "And I want to do what I can to help preserve that right for all Americans," she said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Shoppers 'Stand By' Hobby Lobby" by Ashley Arnold, WJHG-TV7 (Panama City Beach, FL) 1/6/13
Around the country, thousands rallied behind Hobby Lobby after learning the government was fining the craft chain store $1.3 million per day for refusing to obey parts of the healthcare reform act.
"I think it's wrong that the government, any government, ask a business, a person, an individual to compromise their beliefs," said [local resident Penny] Lovett. "Hobby Lobby does not do that - they don't open on Sunday, there's a reason for that."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Media Almost Silent on Hobby Lobby Battle Against HHS Mandate" by Matthew Philbin, LifeNews.com 1/3/13
Usually when President Obama’s opponents are handed a defeat, ABC, CBS and NBC are quick to crow about it. That’s why their silence on the Supreme Court’s Christmas ruling against retail chain Hobby Lobby is so curious.
NBC’s “Today” got a point for mentioning the ruling in a news brief. But it provided so little information as to be misleading. “Emergency contraceptives will remain part of the federal health care law,” NBC’s Natalie Morales said. “Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied a request to block the morning-after pill and similar contraceptive pills from required employee health plans.” But Sotomayor’s ruling pertained only to Hobby Lobby’s request for a temporary injunction and did nothing to settle the larger legal and religious freedom questions.
At least NBC bothered to mention the ruling at all. ABC and CBS didn’t. Perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising, since they’ve never reported on Hobby Lobby’s suit in the first place.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read ObamaCare Stakes Ground in War on Christianity and yet President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity and also read Religious Liberty & Anti-Christian Totalitarianism
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Obama Raises Gay Agenda above Religious Liberty
Along with signing the Defense Authorization Act, President Obama again backed the Gay Agenda by saying he will deny enforcement of the provision in the Act ensuring freedom of conscience for chaplains to perform and express their religious beliefs regarding homosexual behavior.
For background, read No Freedom of Religion for Chaplains, Say Obama & Dems and also read Pentagon Celebrates Sexual Deviancy Down Below as well as Democrat Senate Legalizes Bestiality in Military
UPDATE 7/26/13: Senator Ted Cruz Says Gay Agenda Ends Christian Liberty
UPDATE 1/17/13: Obama Redefines 1st Amendment Freedom of Religion
UPDATE 1/20/13: Biblical Prayer Stricken from Obama Inauguration
UPDATE 8/23/13: Lesbian Officer Punishes Airman for Moral Beliefs
-- From "How Defense Act Addresses Military Suicides and Issues of Conscience" by James Dao, New York Times 1/4/13
The provision says that service members’ beliefs cannot be used as “the basis of any adverse personnel action, discrimination or denial of promotion, schooling, training or assignment.” It also says that chaplains cannot be required “to perform any rite, ritual or ceremony that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles or religious beliefs of the chaplain.”
The American Civil Liberties Union asserts that the seemingly uncontroversial language is overly broad and that it could protect service members who discriminate against women, religious minorities and lesbian, gay and bisexual troops.
Mr. Obama [said] . . . that the military already protects the freedom of conscience of chaplains and service members, the president called the new provision “unnecessary and ill-advised.” He added that the secretary of defense would make sure that the new provision did not cause the Pentagon to condone discrimination.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama removes conscience protections for military chaplains from bill, calling them ‘ill advised’" by Brandon Jones, The Global Dispatch 1/6/13
“Section 533 is an unnecessary and ill-advised provision, as the military already appropriately protects the freedom of conscience of chaplains and service members,” he said in his signing statement.
Section 533 of the NDAA provides legal protections for military chaplains, barring the Defense Department from forcing them to perform services which violate their moral or religious beliefs.
“No member of the Armed Forces may — (1) require a chaplain to perform any rite, ritual, or ceremony that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the chaplain; or (2) discriminate or take any adverse personnel action against a chaplain, including denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment, on the basis of the refusal by the chaplain to comply with a requirement prohibited by paragraph,” the section reads.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama Rejects ‘Ill-Advised’ Conscience Protections for Military Chaplains" by Matt Cover, CNSNews.com 1/3/13
President Obama signed the NDAA into law Wednesday, and while he does not have the power to veto particular sections of a bill – known as a line-item veto – he can issue such signing statements indicating how his administration will interpret its duty to enforce the laws he is signing.
Such statements were used widely by former President George W. Bush, earning scorn from Democrats – including then-Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.)
“I disagree with that [issuing signing statements],” Obama said in May 2008 while campaigning for president. “I taught the Constitution for 10 years. I believe in the Constitution and I will obey the Constitution of the United States – we’re not going to use signing statements as a way of doing an end-run around Congress.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Religious Liberty in the Military" by Matthew J. Franck, National Review Online 1/4/13
. . . this paragraph of Obama’s signing statement is fairly gratuitous, since Congress’s power here is complete, and unchallengeable on any separation-of-powers basis. If Section 533 is “unnecessary,” because “freedom of conscience” is already adequately protected in the military, then there is certainly no harm in legislation underscoring this protection–and it can hardly therefore be “ill-advised.” But there is no question that this administration’s push to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has put religious freedom in the military in jeopardy, for chaplains and other service members alike. Section 533 is exceedingly well-advised, and the president’s fit of pique about it in his signing statement is proof of it. One day, perhaps soon, we may see a test of the question whether “protecting the rights of gay and lesbian service members,” as this administration understands those rights, collides with the religious freedom of chaplains or other personnel, to live by their faith and to witness to their beliefs. Then we may be very glad to have this provision in law.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama Criticizes NDAA Conscience Clause Exempting Chaplains From Performing Same-Sex ‘Marriages’" by Heather Clark, Christian News Network 1/5/13
[The Obama administration] stated that the conscience clause was “overbroad,” and that it “would prohibit all personnel-related actions based on certain religious and moral beliefs.” Its general objection to the various proposed amendments in stating that they “inhibit the ability of same-sex couples to marry” also suggested that the Department believed that the protections granted to chaplains left no one to officiate the ceremonies.
Ron Crews of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty told reporters that he feels it is important to ensure that the beliefs of Christians are protected in America.
“Every member of our armed forces should be able to serve without surrendering their beliefs,” he said. “The purpose of these provisions is simply to protect the religious liberties of military chaplains who hold to Biblical views concerning sexuality.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama blasts chaplains' conscience protections" by Bob Unruh, World Net Daily 1/4/13
In an analysis of the president’s statements, [the Center for Military Readiness, a non-partisan public policy organization that supports the U.S. military services] said Obama’s “gratuitous objections indicate that he continues to be primarily concerned about the small minority of professed LGBT personnel, with little regard for the majority of military chaplains and people of faith who serve.”
“Despite the president’s comments, chaplains will have a statutory basis to oppose directives that violate their religious principles. The statutory provision also will give support to chaplains who face disciplinary actions related to LGBT law,” the group said.
In a commentary on WND, R. Neil Farrar, an independent writer, concluded Obama’s goal “is not only to legalize [homosexual behavior], but to inflict terror into the hearts and minds of conservatives and Christians who would dare stand in their way.”
“For years now, our government has used the military as a testing ground for social experiments. This latest change is one of the most nefarious to date, and it is certainly an averment of how out of touch our nation’s leaders are with the American people; perhaps it is simply evidence of how much they no longer care!” he wrote. “The abrogation of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy (DADT) will infinitely impact a chaplain’s capability to provide worship and counseling services to those who are now open with their lifestyle by attenuating effective ministry, muting morality and, finally, creating in them fear of reprisal.”
Obama did not object to the legislation formally when it was before the House/Senate conference last month.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Air Force Engages War on Christianity, Say Lawmakers as well as President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity
In addition, 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.
“My administration remains fully committed to continuing the successful implementation of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”UPDATE 9/29/15 - President Obama Speech: Gay Agenda Trumps Christianity
-- President Obama, January 2, 2013
For background, read No Freedom of Religion for Chaplains, Say Obama & Dems and also read Pentagon Celebrates Sexual Deviancy Down Below as well as Democrat Senate Legalizes Bestiality in Military
UPDATE 7/26/13: Senator Ted Cruz Says Gay Agenda Ends Christian Liberty
UPDATE 1/17/13: Obama Redefines 1st Amendment Freedom of Religion
UPDATE 1/20/13: Biblical Prayer Stricken from Obama Inauguration
UPDATE 8/23/13: Lesbian Officer Punishes Airman for Moral Beliefs
-- From "How Defense Act Addresses Military Suicides and Issues of Conscience" by James Dao, New York Times 1/4/13
The provision says that service members’ beliefs cannot be used as “the basis of any adverse personnel action, discrimination or denial of promotion, schooling, training or assignment.” It also says that chaplains cannot be required “to perform any rite, ritual or ceremony that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles or religious beliefs of the chaplain.”
The American Civil Liberties Union asserts that the seemingly uncontroversial language is overly broad and that it could protect service members who discriminate against women, religious minorities and lesbian, gay and bisexual troops.
Mr. Obama [said] . . . that the military already protects the freedom of conscience of chaplains and service members, the president called the new provision “unnecessary and ill-advised.” He added that the secretary of defense would make sure that the new provision did not cause the Pentagon to condone discrimination.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama removes conscience protections for military chaplains from bill, calling them ‘ill advised’" by Brandon Jones, The Global Dispatch 1/6/13
“Section 533 is an unnecessary and ill-advised provision, as the military already appropriately protects the freedom of conscience of chaplains and service members,” he said in his signing statement.
Section 533 of the NDAA provides legal protections for military chaplains, barring the Defense Department from forcing them to perform services which violate their moral or religious beliefs.
“No member of the Armed Forces may — (1) require a chaplain to perform any rite, ritual, or ceremony that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the chaplain; or (2) discriminate or take any adverse personnel action against a chaplain, including denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment, on the basis of the refusal by the chaplain to comply with a requirement prohibited by paragraph,” the section reads.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama Rejects ‘Ill-Advised’ Conscience Protections for Military Chaplains" by Matt Cover, CNSNews.com 1/3/13
President Obama signed the NDAA into law Wednesday, and while he does not have the power to veto particular sections of a bill – known as a line-item veto – he can issue such signing statements indicating how his administration will interpret its duty to enforce the laws he is signing.
Such statements were used widely by former President George W. Bush, earning scorn from Democrats – including then-Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.)
“I disagree with that [issuing signing statements],” Obama said in May 2008 while campaigning for president. “I taught the Constitution for 10 years. I believe in the Constitution and I will obey the Constitution of the United States – we’re not going to use signing statements as a way of doing an end-run around Congress.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Religious Liberty in the Military" by Matthew J. Franck, National Review Online 1/4/13
. . . this paragraph of Obama’s signing statement is fairly gratuitous, since Congress’s power here is complete, and unchallengeable on any separation-of-powers basis. If Section 533 is “unnecessary,” because “freedom of conscience” is already adequately protected in the military, then there is certainly no harm in legislation underscoring this protection–and it can hardly therefore be “ill-advised.” But there is no question that this administration’s push to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has put religious freedom in the military in jeopardy, for chaplains and other service members alike. Section 533 is exceedingly well-advised, and the president’s fit of pique about it in his signing statement is proof of it. One day, perhaps soon, we may see a test of the question whether “protecting the rights of gay and lesbian service members,” as this administration understands those rights, collides with the religious freedom of chaplains or other personnel, to live by their faith and to witness to their beliefs. Then we may be very glad to have this provision in law.
To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama Criticizes NDAA Conscience Clause Exempting Chaplains From Performing Same-Sex ‘Marriages’" by Heather Clark, Christian News Network 1/5/13
[The Obama administration] stated that the conscience clause was “overbroad,” and that it “would prohibit all personnel-related actions based on certain religious and moral beliefs.” Its general objection to the various proposed amendments in stating that they “inhibit the ability of same-sex couples to marry” also suggested that the Department believed that the protections granted to chaplains left no one to officiate the ceremonies.
Ron Crews of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty told reporters that he feels it is important to ensure that the beliefs of Christians are protected in America.
“Every member of our armed forces should be able to serve without surrendering their beliefs,” he said. “The purpose of these provisions is simply to protect the religious liberties of military chaplains who hold to Biblical views concerning sexuality.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Obama blasts chaplains' conscience protections" by Bob Unruh, World Net Daily 1/4/13
In an analysis of the president’s statements, [the Center for Military Readiness, a non-partisan public policy organization that supports the U.S. military services] said Obama’s “gratuitous objections indicate that he continues to be primarily concerned about the small minority of professed LGBT personnel, with little regard for the majority of military chaplains and people of faith who serve.”
“Despite the president’s comments, chaplains will have a statutory basis to oppose directives that violate their religious principles. The statutory provision also will give support to chaplains who face disciplinary actions related to LGBT law,” the group said.
In a commentary on WND, R. Neil Farrar, an independent writer, concluded Obama’s goal “is not only to legalize [homosexual behavior], but to inflict terror into the hearts and minds of conservatives and Christians who would dare stand in their way.”
“For years now, our government has used the military as a testing ground for social experiments. This latest change is one of the most nefarious to date, and it is certainly an averment of how out of touch our nation’s leaders are with the American people; perhaps it is simply evidence of how much they no longer care!” he wrote. “The abrogation of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy (DADT) will infinitely impact a chaplain’s capability to provide worship and counseling services to those who are now open with their lifestyle by attenuating effective ministry, muting morality and, finally, creating in them fear of reprisal.”
Obama did not object to the legislation formally when it was before the House/Senate conference last month.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Air Force Engages War on Christianity, Say Lawmakers as well as President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity
In addition, 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.
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Fiscal Cliff: Be UNfruitful and Do NOT Multiply
Besides encouraging sexual deviancy and immorality, schizophrenic American government continues to expand myriad programs that lower birth rates (reducing pregnancy rates through contraceptives/sterilization and advocating abortion) while simultaneously expanding entitlement programs that demand an ever growing population to fund them.
Is there any question America is headed for bankruptcy (both moral and fiscal)?
For background, read To Cut Costs, Lower Birth Rate, Says White House and also read Census Shows Fewer Children - Aborted Ones Missing as well as Abortion Rates Drop as Restrictions Increase (and pregnancy decreases), and get this: Obama's Free Abortifacients Reduce Abortions - uh?
-- From "Uncle Sam’s Ponzi finance" by Norman Poltenson, publisher of The Central New York Business Journal 1/4/13
Our largest entitlement programs — Social Security and Medicare — are both built on [the first German Chancellor, Otto von] Bismarck’s model: current workers support retirees. Today’s politicians, however, ignore the changes that have occurred in the last 123 years. In 2013, life expectancy has doubled, but the retirement age has remained relatively static. Compounding this problem is a declining birth rate that is less than half the rate when social insurance was introduced, and a declining participation rate in the workforce. The iron chancellor also never anticipated politicians, elected to feel the public’s pain, who couldn’t say “no” to the growth of entitlements by putting them on budget autopilot. Nor have our politicians come to grips with the explosion of technology that demands a highly educated workforce. The failure of our public primary and secondary-education system means fewer educated workers to support the retirees.
The impending implosion is seen in the 2012 federal spending numbers. . . .
To see the dismal numbers and the conclusion, CLICK HERE to read the entire opinion column above.
From "Census Bureau Lowers U.S. Growth Forecast, Mainly Due to Reduced Immigration and Births" by D’Vera Cohn, Pew Research Center 12/14/12
The Census Bureau’s new national population projections released this week forecast markedly lower growth for the nation in the coming decades—especially from immigration—than the last official projection in 2008. In fact, the bureau’s new projected population of 420.3 million in 2060 is below its previous projection of 439 million for a decade earlier, in 2050. The bureau’s new projected population for 2050 is 399.8 million.
A comparison of the bureau’s 2008 and 2012 projections for the year 2050 indicates that most of the 39.2 million gap in the total population forecast is due to scaled-back assumptions about the level of new immigration to the U.S. But another notable factor in the lowered population projection was that the bureau also lowered its forecasts for birth levels.
The Census Bureau’s new projections include a population gain from births by 2050 that is 17.8 million lower than it had forecast only four years ago. From 2012 through 2050, the Census Bureau projects a total of 175.4 million births, compared with 193.2 million in its 2008 projections.
The Census Bureau projection included a forecast for the total fertility rate, which is the expected number of children that a typical woman will have during her lifetime, based on current-year birth rates for each age group. The total, 2.0 in 2012, is projected to decline to 1.91 by 2060. By then, the Census Bureau said, but only the Hispanic population will have a rate (2.15) large enough to replace itself.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "America’s demographic squeeze - Double bind" posted at The Economist 12/15/12
The new [population] projections, based on the 2010 census, are based on recent trends in fertility and immigration. The number of babies born per 1,000 women of childbearing age (also called the “general” fertility rate) fell to 63 in the 12 months that ended in June of this year, the lowest since at least 1920, and well below the recent high of 69 recorded in 2007. That is partly because the average age of women of childbearing age has increased. The “total” fertility rate adjusts for the age of the population and extrapolates how many children each woman will have over her lifetime. This, too, has fallen, and at 1.9 it is below the replacement rate of 2.1. America’s fertility rate is still higher than the average for the OECD, but has fallen sharply since 2007.
. . . Structural as well as cyclical factors are at work. Mark Mather of the Population Reference Bureau, a research outfit, notes that couples have been getting married ever later in life; in 2011 the median age at first marriage was 28.7 and 26.5 for men and women respectively, the highest on record. A rising share of women in their early 40s are childless. In this respect America may be following the experience of Europe.
Though it will be two decades before today’s lower fertility affects the ranks of workers, America can ill afford it. Growth in its labour force has slowed dramatically since the recession; in November it was only 1% larger than at the end of 2007, a period in which the working-age population grew by 5%. This is partly because of the weak economy, which has driven many people into early retirement, others on to disability payments, and some out of the job hunt altogether. Nevertheless, the Congressional Budget Office sees the potential labour force (that is, after excluding purely cyclical influences) as growing by only 0.5% a year in the coming decade, largely because the population is ageing. That puts ever more of the burden of supporting old-age benefits on a stagnant population of workers.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "U.S. birth rate falls to record low as immigrant women choose to have smaller families as they aspire to join the upper middle class" by James Nye, UK Daily Mail 1/1/13
The decline in birthrates was seen to be heaviest among Mexican-American women and those women who had immigrated from Mexico, falling as much as 25.7 percent.
Despite enjoying the highest fertility rates in the country, both immigrant and native-born Latinas are choosing to have smaller families - leaving them with bithrates smaller than non-Hispanic Whites, black and Asians.
This is a complete turnaround in a trend which saw immigrant mothers account for a rising share of births within the United States.
. . . interviews with younger Latinas, who said that for them the reasons for having fewer children is because they have greater access to contraception [and government-funded sterilization] and women's health education [such as Planned Parenthood].
The new figures have led in part to the total number of American births for 2011 falling to a record low - and around half of what it was during the baby boom years.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "United States Faces Demographic Bomb, Coming Underpopulation Problems" by Arland K. Nichols, Director of Education and Evangelization at Human Life International, and Executive Editor of the Truth and Charity Forum 11/28/12
Surely a looming demographic explosion justifies the Affordable Care Act, and its oft-critiqued HHS mandate that offers contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs with no out of pocket costs. Supporters of the stimulus plans stated that fewer births would lead to cost savings for financially strapped states, and the HHS mandate was justified by the Institute of Medicine because “cost savings due to contraceptive use [are] estimated to be 19.3 billion.”
. . . Unfortunately, this perception is far from reality. There is no baby-boom – there is a birth-dearth. And, yes, there is economic stagnation and looming long-term economic decline, but this is exacerbated (or perhaps caused by) the decline in birth rates.
We have witnessed this in the disastrous economic situation throughout Europe, which is due in part to extremely low birth rates. Europe’s fate appears increasingly likely for the United States. We are not having enough babies to replace our current population levels. More specifically, married couples are having too few children, and increasingly, babies are being born outside of the stable environment of a home with a mother and father.
. . . Preliminary numbers indicate that 3,953,593 babies were born in the United States in 2011. This is a drop of 1% from 2010 and nearly a 10% drop since 2007. Last year, the general fertility rate was 63.2 births per 1000 women, which is the lowest rate ever reported for the United States.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Abortion Effect: U.S. Seeing Slowest Population Growth Since 1930" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 12/31/12
Abortion has destroyed not only one generation of Americans but a second as well — people who should be boosting the fertility rate in their childbearing years now who were victims of abortions in the 1970s and 1980s. In total, more than 55 million Americans are been victimized by abortions and millions more were never born because their parents were aborted.
. . . At the current pace, the nation’s population will grow by 7.3 percent during the decade, the lowest level since the 7.25 percent increase recorded between 1930 and 1940, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
In population studies, at least 2.1 kids per household are needed to maintain stable population. The average number of kids per household today is about 2.0 in this country, which isn’t even meeting the replacement level of 2.1 needed to maintain the population for future generations to come. The slow growth in the United States population seen in recent years is due to immigration and people living longer.
To read the opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
From "62 percent of U.S. women use contraception" by UPI 12/6/12
Sixty-two percent of U.S. women of reproductive age used contraception, mostly birth control and sterilization, during 2006-2010, officials say.
Jo Jones, William Mosher and Kimberly Daniels of the Division of Vital Statistics, National Health Statistics Reports -- part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- said their report presented national estimates of contraceptive use among women of childbearing ages 15-44 from 2006 to 2010.
Of the women using a contraceptive in the month of the interview, 10.6 million women, or 28 percent, used birth control, while 10.2 million women, or 27 percent, said they used sterilization.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Hospitals, red tape may be limiting tubal ligations" by Trevor Stokes, Reuters Health 12/28/12
Women in California and Texas have varying access to "getting their tubes tied" immediately after giving birth, according to a new study, but the reasons are still unclear researchers say.
Differences in federal funding could explain some of the discrepancies. Federal funds through Title X and Medicaid programs reach more women in California than Texas . . .
Nonetheless, surgical sterilization remains very popular in the U.S. and nearly a third of women with children use it for family planning purposes, according to some estimates.
A 2011 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, found that tubal sterilization was performed following every one in 13 births in the U.S. between 2001 and 2008 . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Now that free sterilizations are being pushed by ObamaCare, the rates will certainly increase.
Also read 44% of 'Middle America' Births are Out of Wedlock
Is there any question America is headed for bankruptcy (both moral and fiscal)?
For background, read To Cut Costs, Lower Birth Rate, Says White House and also read Census Shows Fewer Children - Aborted Ones Missing as well as Abortion Rates Drop as Restrictions Increase (and pregnancy decreases), and get this: Obama's Free Abortifacients Reduce Abortions - uh?
-- From "Uncle Sam’s Ponzi finance" by Norman Poltenson, publisher of The Central New York Business Journal 1/4/13
Our largest entitlement programs — Social Security and Medicare — are both built on [the first German Chancellor, Otto von] Bismarck’s model: current workers support retirees. Today’s politicians, however, ignore the changes that have occurred in the last 123 years. In 2013, life expectancy has doubled, but the retirement age has remained relatively static. Compounding this problem is a declining birth rate that is less than half the rate when social insurance was introduced, and a declining participation rate in the workforce. The iron chancellor also never anticipated politicians, elected to feel the public’s pain, who couldn’t say “no” to the growth of entitlements by putting them on budget autopilot. Nor have our politicians come to grips with the explosion of technology that demands a highly educated workforce. The failure of our public primary and secondary-education system means fewer educated workers to support the retirees.
The impending implosion is seen in the 2012 federal spending numbers. . . .
To see the dismal numbers and the conclusion, CLICK HERE to read the entire opinion column above.
From "Census Bureau Lowers U.S. Growth Forecast, Mainly Due to Reduced Immigration and Births" by D’Vera Cohn, Pew Research Center 12/14/12
The Census Bureau’s new national population projections released this week forecast markedly lower growth for the nation in the coming decades—especially from immigration—than the last official projection in 2008. In fact, the bureau’s new projected population of 420.3 million in 2060 is below its previous projection of 439 million for a decade earlier, in 2050. The bureau’s new projected population for 2050 is 399.8 million.
A comparison of the bureau’s 2008 and 2012 projections for the year 2050 indicates that most of the 39.2 million gap in the total population forecast is due to scaled-back assumptions about the level of new immigration to the U.S. But another notable factor in the lowered population projection was that the bureau also lowered its forecasts for birth levels.
The Census Bureau’s new projections include a population gain from births by 2050 that is 17.8 million lower than it had forecast only four years ago. From 2012 through 2050, the Census Bureau projects a total of 175.4 million births, compared with 193.2 million in its 2008 projections.
The Census Bureau projection included a forecast for the total fertility rate, which is the expected number of children that a typical woman will have during her lifetime, based on current-year birth rates for each age group. The total, 2.0 in 2012, is projected to decline to 1.91 by 2060. By then, the Census Bureau said, but only the Hispanic population will have a rate (2.15) large enough to replace itself.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "America’s demographic squeeze - Double bind" posted at The Economist 12/15/12
The new [population] projections, based on the 2010 census, are based on recent trends in fertility and immigration. The number of babies born per 1,000 women of childbearing age (also called the “general” fertility rate) fell to 63 in the 12 months that ended in June of this year, the lowest since at least 1920, and well below the recent high of 69 recorded in 2007. That is partly because the average age of women of childbearing age has increased. The “total” fertility rate adjusts for the age of the population and extrapolates how many children each woman will have over her lifetime. This, too, has fallen, and at 1.9 it is below the replacement rate of 2.1. America’s fertility rate is still higher than the average for the OECD, but has fallen sharply since 2007.
. . . Structural as well as cyclical factors are at work. Mark Mather of the Population Reference Bureau, a research outfit, notes that couples have been getting married ever later in life; in 2011 the median age at first marriage was 28.7 and 26.5 for men and women respectively, the highest on record. A rising share of women in their early 40s are childless. In this respect America may be following the experience of Europe.
Though it will be two decades before today’s lower fertility affects the ranks of workers, America can ill afford it. Growth in its labour force has slowed dramatically since the recession; in November it was only 1% larger than at the end of 2007, a period in which the working-age population grew by 5%. This is partly because of the weak economy, which has driven many people into early retirement, others on to disability payments, and some out of the job hunt altogether. Nevertheless, the Congressional Budget Office sees the potential labour force (that is, after excluding purely cyclical influences) as growing by only 0.5% a year in the coming decade, largely because the population is ageing. That puts ever more of the burden of supporting old-age benefits on a stagnant population of workers.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "U.S. birth rate falls to record low as immigrant women choose to have smaller families as they aspire to join the upper middle class" by James Nye, UK Daily Mail 1/1/13
The decline in birthrates was seen to be heaviest among Mexican-American women and those women who had immigrated from Mexico, falling as much as 25.7 percent.
Despite enjoying the highest fertility rates in the country, both immigrant and native-born Latinas are choosing to have smaller families - leaving them with bithrates smaller than non-Hispanic Whites, black and Asians.
This is a complete turnaround in a trend which saw immigrant mothers account for a rising share of births within the United States.
. . . interviews with younger Latinas, who said that for them the reasons for having fewer children is because they have greater access to contraception [and government-funded sterilization] and women's health education [such as Planned Parenthood].
The new figures have led in part to the total number of American births for 2011 falling to a record low - and around half of what it was during the baby boom years.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "United States Faces Demographic Bomb, Coming Underpopulation Problems" by Arland K. Nichols, Director of Education and Evangelization at Human Life International, and Executive Editor of the Truth and Charity Forum 11/28/12
Surely a looming demographic explosion justifies the Affordable Care Act, and its oft-critiqued HHS mandate that offers contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs with no out of pocket costs. Supporters of the stimulus plans stated that fewer births would lead to cost savings for financially strapped states, and the HHS mandate was justified by the Institute of Medicine because “cost savings due to contraceptive use [are] estimated to be 19.3 billion.”
. . . Unfortunately, this perception is far from reality. There is no baby-boom – there is a birth-dearth. And, yes, there is economic stagnation and looming long-term economic decline, but this is exacerbated (or perhaps caused by) the decline in birth rates.
We have witnessed this in the disastrous economic situation throughout Europe, which is due in part to extremely low birth rates. Europe’s fate appears increasingly likely for the United States. We are not having enough babies to replace our current population levels. More specifically, married couples are having too few children, and increasingly, babies are being born outside of the stable environment of a home with a mother and father.
. . . Preliminary numbers indicate that 3,953,593 babies were born in the United States in 2011. This is a drop of 1% from 2010 and nearly a 10% drop since 2007. Last year, the general fertility rate was 63.2 births per 1000 women, which is the lowest rate ever reported for the United States.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Abortion Effect: U.S. Seeing Slowest Population Growth Since 1930" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 12/31/12
Abortion has destroyed not only one generation of Americans but a second as well — people who should be boosting the fertility rate in their childbearing years now who were victims of abortions in the 1970s and 1980s. In total, more than 55 million Americans are been victimized by abortions and millions more were never born because their parents were aborted.
. . . At the current pace, the nation’s population will grow by 7.3 percent during the decade, the lowest level since the 7.25 percent increase recorded between 1930 and 1940, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
In population studies, at least 2.1 kids per household are needed to maintain stable population. The average number of kids per household today is about 2.0 in this country, which isn’t even meeting the replacement level of 2.1 needed to maintain the population for future generations to come. The slow growth in the United States population seen in recent years is due to immigration and people living longer.
To read the opinion column above, CLICK HERE.
From "62 percent of U.S. women use contraception" by UPI 12/6/12
Sixty-two percent of U.S. women of reproductive age used contraception, mostly birth control and sterilization, during 2006-2010, officials say.
Jo Jones, William Mosher and Kimberly Daniels of the Division of Vital Statistics, National Health Statistics Reports -- part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- said their report presented national estimates of contraceptive use among women of childbearing ages 15-44 from 2006 to 2010.
Of the women using a contraceptive in the month of the interview, 10.6 million women, or 28 percent, used birth control, while 10.2 million women, or 27 percent, said they used sterilization.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Hospitals, red tape may be limiting tubal ligations" by Trevor Stokes, Reuters Health 12/28/12
Women in California and Texas have varying access to "getting their tubes tied" immediately after giving birth, according to a new study, but the reasons are still unclear researchers say.
Differences in federal funding could explain some of the discrepancies. Federal funds through Title X and Medicaid programs reach more women in California than Texas . . .
Nonetheless, surgical sterilization remains very popular in the U.S. and nearly a third of women with children use it for family planning purposes, according to some estimates.
A 2011 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, found that tubal sterilization was performed following every one in 13 births in the U.S. between 2001 and 2008 . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Now that free sterilizations are being pushed by ObamaCare, the rates will certainly increase.
Also read 44% of 'Middle America' Births are Out of Wedlock
Friday, January 04, 2013
Congress: America No Longer a Christian Nation
Bibles in Congress replaced by myriad other "holy" books.
For background, read 20% in U.S. Have No Religion, yet ARE Spiritual and also read Atheism, Paganism Latest Liberal Media Darling as well as Bishops Hammer ObamaNation, Even with Hitler, Stalin
-- From "Religious diversity in Congress expands list of holy texts" by Stephen Dinan and Tom Howell Jr., The Washington Times 1/3/13
[Rep. Tammy Duckworth Dem-IL,] the first female combat veteran to be in Congress, used the Hindu holy book that she had with her while serving in Iraq.
“I chose to take the oath of office with my personal copy of the Bhagavad-Gita because its teachings have inspired me to strive to be a servant-leader, dedicating my life in the service of others and to my country,” she said.
Her election underscores the growing religious diversity in Congress, where the first Muslim was sworn in six years ago on a Koran, and the first Buddhist senator took office Thursday.
. . . Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Democrat, who is claimed by atheists as one of their own . . . didn’t hold any text for the official swearing-in on the House floor, and did not take part in a ceremonial oath with Mr. Boehner.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "A Hindu moment for Congress" by Stephen Prothero, Boston University (posted at USA TODAY) 1/3/13
When a Hindu priest from Ohio offered the first Hindu prayer in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, the socially conservative Family Research Council denounced the prayer as "one more indication that our nation is drifting from its Judeo-Christian roots." When a Hindu from Nevada offered the first Hindu prayer in the Senate in 2007, protesters from the anti-abortion group Operation Save America interrupted him, calling on Jesus to forgive the nation "for allowing a prayer of the wicked."
But on Thursday, when Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, the first Hindu ever elected to the Congress, took her oath of office on the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita, the nation simply shrugged.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "First Hindu in Congress to take oath on Bhagavad-Gita" by The Associated Press 1/2/13
The first Hindu member of Congress will be sworn in tomorrow on a Bhagavad Gita (BAH'-gah-vahd GEE'-tah) instead of a Bible.
Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a 31-year-old Democrat, succeeds Congresswoman Mazie Hirono, who will become the Senate's first Buddhist.
Hirono, a Democrat elected to succeed the retiring Senator Daniel Akaka, has described herself as a non-practicing Buddhist.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Bera, Tulsi sworn in as US lawmaker" by Press Trust of India 1/4/13
Indian-American physician Ami Bera and the first Hindu US lawmaker, Tulsi Gabbard today scripted history after being sworn in as newly-elected members of the US House of Representatives.
Dr Bera, 47, is only the third Indian American ~ after Dalip Singh Saundh in 1950 and Bobby Jindal in 2005 ~ to have ever been elected to the House of Representatives.
Democratic lawmaker from California's 3rd congressional district, Dr Bera has been made a member of the powerful House Foreign Committee, where he is likely to play an important role in shaping the foreign policy of his country and work towards achieving his goal of strengthening relationship between India and the US.
“Representative Gabbard and Dr Bera serve as an inspiration to Hindu students across the nation. These historic elections have hopefully opened the flood gates to having more members of the next generation with Hindu backgrounds find their voices in America's political system,” said Sohini Sircar, general secretary of Hindu Students Council.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Pastor Says Obama NOT Antichrist, Poll Numbers too Low
For background, read 20% in U.S. Have No Religion, yet ARE Spiritual and also read Atheism, Paganism Latest Liberal Media Darling as well as Bishops Hammer ObamaNation, Even with Hitler, Stalin
-- From "Religious diversity in Congress expands list of holy texts" by Stephen Dinan and Tom Howell Jr., The Washington Times 1/3/13
[Rep. Tammy Duckworth Dem-IL,] the first female combat veteran to be in Congress, used the Hindu holy book that she had with her while serving in Iraq.
“I chose to take the oath of office with my personal copy of the Bhagavad-Gita because its teachings have inspired me to strive to be a servant-leader, dedicating my life in the service of others and to my country,” she said.
Her election underscores the growing religious diversity in Congress, where the first Muslim was sworn in six years ago on a Koran, and the first Buddhist senator took office Thursday.
. . . Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona Democrat, who is claimed by atheists as one of their own . . . didn’t hold any text for the official swearing-in on the House floor, and did not take part in a ceremonial oath with Mr. Boehner.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "A Hindu moment for Congress" by Stephen Prothero, Boston University (posted at USA TODAY) 1/3/13
When a Hindu priest from Ohio offered the first Hindu prayer in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, the socially conservative Family Research Council denounced the prayer as "one more indication that our nation is drifting from its Judeo-Christian roots." When a Hindu from Nevada offered the first Hindu prayer in the Senate in 2007, protesters from the anti-abortion group Operation Save America interrupted him, calling on Jesus to forgive the nation "for allowing a prayer of the wicked."
But on Thursday, when Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, the first Hindu ever elected to the Congress, took her oath of office on the Hindu scripture the Bhagavad Gita, the nation simply shrugged.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "First Hindu in Congress to take oath on Bhagavad-Gita" by The Associated Press 1/2/13
The first Hindu member of Congress will be sworn in tomorrow on a Bhagavad Gita (BAH'-gah-vahd GEE'-tah) instead of a Bible.
Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a 31-year-old Democrat, succeeds Congresswoman Mazie Hirono, who will become the Senate's first Buddhist.
Hirono, a Democrat elected to succeed the retiring Senator Daniel Akaka, has described herself as a non-practicing Buddhist.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Bera, Tulsi sworn in as US lawmaker" by Press Trust of India 1/4/13
Indian-American physician Ami Bera and the first Hindu US lawmaker, Tulsi Gabbard today scripted history after being sworn in as newly-elected members of the US House of Representatives.
Dr Bera, 47, is only the third Indian American ~ after Dalip Singh Saundh in 1950 and Bobby Jindal in 2005 ~ to have ever been elected to the House of Representatives.
Democratic lawmaker from California's 3rd congressional district, Dr Bera has been made a member of the powerful House Foreign Committee, where he is likely to play an important role in shaping the foreign policy of his country and work towards achieving his goal of strengthening relationship between India and the US.
“Representative Gabbard and Dr Bera serve as an inspiration to Hindu students across the nation. These historic elections have hopefully opened the flood gates to having more members of the next generation with Hindu backgrounds find their voices in America's political system,” said Sohini Sircar, general secretary of Hindu Students Council.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Pastor Says Obama NOT Antichrist, Poll Numbers too Low
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Congresswoman Says She'll Have Sex with ANY Gender
Just when you thought Congress couldn't get any more dysfunctional, the 113th Congress will not only have its first lesbian member in the Senate, Tammy Baldwin, but also the first "bisexual" member, Kyrsten Sinema, in the House of Representatives -- meaning she's sexually attracted to either/both/any sex.
. . . wonder if she's also bipartisan? (probably anything but!)
For background, read Texas Lawmaker Says She'll Have Sex with ANY Gender and also read Gay Agenda: Gender Neutrality & Gender Spectrum as well as Homosexual 'Marriage' Not Enough; Next Goal
-- From "Kyrsten Sinema: A success story like nobody else’s" by Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post 1/3/13
Krysten Sinema is also — and it irks her to no end that this is such an object of fascination — an openly bisexual woman. And not just any openly bisexual woman, but the first openly bisexual person to be elected to Congress, an undoubtedly historic figure whose very presence on Capitol Hill could serve as an inspiration when she is sworn in Thursday and joins six openly gay and lesbian members in the most demographically diverse Congress in U.S. history.
In an era when gay men and lesbians getting elected to public office is trending from “oh, wow” to almost ho-hum, it’s a real bummer for this 36-year-old Arizona Democrat that news reports around the world have distilled her to a single distinguishing characteristic based on her sexual orientation (although Sinema has been open about her sexuality for years and welcomed the endorsement and financial support of gay rights groups).
[Sinema was] the architect of a successful campaign to block a same-sex marriage ban in Arizona . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Sinema, First Openly Bisexual Member Of Congress, Represents 'Changing Arizona'" by Peter O'Dowd, National Public Radio NPR 1/1/13
Democrat Kyrsten Sinema marvels at the number of women, minorities and members of the LGBT community who will join her in the freshman class, which will be sworn in Thursday.
Early on, Sinema formed a reputation as an outspoken advocate for women's rights and same-sex marriage.
[Republican state Sen. Frank Antenori said of her perceived shift to the political center,] "She created this transformation ... going from one of the most left-wing leftists of the state House into one of the more moderate Democrats in the state Senate — which was a facade."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "113th Congress Sworn in Thursday: Meet Your Leaders" by Emily Feldman, NBC News WMAQ-TV5 (Chicago) 1/3/13
The 113th Congress will also include the first openly bisexual congresswoman (Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.) who is also the first member of Congress to self-identify as religiously unaffiliated. Ten other members of the 113th Congress did not specify a specific religious affiliation, the Pew Forum points out, yet Sinema is the only to describer her religion as “none.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read More Than Two Genders, Kindergartners Taught
And don't miss reading about the Surgical 'Miracle:' First Genderless Person
. . . wonder if she's also bipartisan? (probably anything but!)
For background, read Texas Lawmaker Says She'll Have Sex with ANY Gender and also read Gay Agenda: Gender Neutrality & Gender Spectrum as well as Homosexual 'Marriage' Not Enough; Next Goal
-- From "Kyrsten Sinema: A success story like nobody else’s" by Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post 1/3/13
Krysten Sinema is also — and it irks her to no end that this is such an object of fascination — an openly bisexual woman. And not just any openly bisexual woman, but the first openly bisexual person to be elected to Congress, an undoubtedly historic figure whose very presence on Capitol Hill could serve as an inspiration when she is sworn in Thursday and joins six openly gay and lesbian members in the most demographically diverse Congress in U.S. history.
In an era when gay men and lesbians getting elected to public office is trending from “oh, wow” to almost ho-hum, it’s a real bummer for this 36-year-old Arizona Democrat that news reports around the world have distilled her to a single distinguishing characteristic based on her sexual orientation (although Sinema has been open about her sexuality for years and welcomed the endorsement and financial support of gay rights groups).
[Sinema was] the architect of a successful campaign to block a same-sex marriage ban in Arizona . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Sinema, First Openly Bisexual Member Of Congress, Represents 'Changing Arizona'" by Peter O'Dowd, National Public Radio NPR 1/1/13
Democrat Kyrsten Sinema marvels at the number of women, minorities and members of the LGBT community who will join her in the freshman class, which will be sworn in Thursday.
Early on, Sinema formed a reputation as an outspoken advocate for women's rights and same-sex marriage.
[Republican state Sen. Frank Antenori said of her perceived shift to the political center,] "She created this transformation ... going from one of the most left-wing leftists of the state House into one of the more moderate Democrats in the state Senate — which was a facade."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "113th Congress Sworn in Thursday: Meet Your Leaders" by Emily Feldman, NBC News WMAQ-TV5 (Chicago) 1/3/13
The 113th Congress will also include the first openly bisexual congresswoman (Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.) who is also the first member of Congress to self-identify as religiously unaffiliated. Ten other members of the 113th Congress did not specify a specific religious affiliation, the Pew Forum points out, yet Sinema is the only to describer her religion as “none.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read More Than Two Genders, Kindergartners Taught
And don't miss reading about the Surgical 'Miracle:' First Genderless Person
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Kansas: Sperm Donor Must Support Lesbians' Child
Responding to an advertisement, Topeka resident William Marotta provided his sperm, free of charge, to lesbians Angela Bauer and Jennifer Schreiner in 2009. Now, after the lesbians have separated, Schreiner has sought public aid for her daughter (age 3), but Kansas insists that the non-regulated exchange of sperm makes the donor-father subject to child support. Marotta, a proclaimed liberal who supports same-sex parenting, believes the Republican-dominated state government is persecuting everyone involved in the immoral debacle -- making those who created the problem pay to solve it, rather than the taxpayers.
-- From "Kansas Wants Sperm Donor to Pay Child Support" by Christina Ng, ABC News 1/1/13
Marotta and his wife met with the [lesbians] and he agreed to donate to them . . . All three signed a sperm donor contract that stated that he would have no paternal rights and would be in no way responsible for any child that resulted from the donation.
"Jennifer and Angie further agree to indemnify William and hold him harmless for any child support payments demanded of him by any other person or entity, public or private, including any district attorney's office or other state or county agency, regardless of the circumstances or said demand," the agreement read.
Marotta donated and Schreiner gave birth to a little girl through artificial insemination, according to court documents. The issue that would later become a legal factor, however, is that the artificial insemination was not performed by a licensed physician . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Kansas Presses Sperm Donor for Child Support" by Makini Brice, Medical Daily 12/31/12
Angela Bauer, 40 years old, and Jennifer Schreiner, 34 years old, have eight children together, many of whom are adopted, ranging in age from 25 years to 3 months. . . .
Bauer and Schreiner have since separated, but they continue to co-parent their children. At the time of the [sperm] transaction, they were financially stable enough for Schreiner to stay at home with their children. Since then, Bauer suffered from what she described as a debilitating illness that has meant that she is unable to work and has been in and out of rehabilitation.
The couple applied for financial assistance to support their family. The state responded by refusing to give further healthcare assistance unless they provided the name of their sperm donor. They reluctantly did so, leading Kansas to pursue Marotta for child support for the couple's three-year-old daughter.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Topeka sperm donor: Child support case politically motivated" by Tim Hrenchir, Topeka Capital-Journal 12/31/12
Angela de Rocha, spokeswoman for the DCF, said Monday the department is proceeding with the case the way state law requires.
She said: “Speaking generally, all individuals who apply for taxpayer-funded benefits through DCF are asked to cooperate with child support enforcement efforts. If a sperm donor makes his ‘contribution’ through a licensed physician and a child is conceived, the donor is held harmless under state statue. In cases where the parties do not go through a physician or a clinic, there remains the question of who actually is the father of a child or children. DCF is required by statute to establish paternity and then pursue child support from the noncustodial parent.”
[Marotta] said: “It’s my understanding that (Bauer) told the department of child services right off the bat, ‘I will be financially responsible for this’ and they in essence told her, ‘No, get lost. You’re not part of this.’ And when somebody’s willing to say ‘Hold it a minute, I’m the one who’s responsible for this’ and another agency says ‘No, get lost,’ whether it’s bureaucratic politics or something more than that — it’s a Republican state, yeah, I think it’s politics.”
Marotta said the degree of national media attention the case has drawn didn’t surprise him because it combines the social issues of same-sex couples, adoptions and sperm donor rights “all wrapped into one.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Kansas Wants Sperm Donor to Pay Child Support" by Christina Ng, ABC News 1/1/13
Marotta and his wife met with the [lesbians] and he agreed to donate to them . . . All three signed a sperm donor contract that stated that he would have no paternal rights and would be in no way responsible for any child that resulted from the donation.
"Jennifer and Angie further agree to indemnify William and hold him harmless for any child support payments demanded of him by any other person or entity, public or private, including any district attorney's office or other state or county agency, regardless of the circumstances or said demand," the agreement read.
Marotta donated and Schreiner gave birth to a little girl through artificial insemination, according to court documents. The issue that would later become a legal factor, however, is that the artificial insemination was not performed by a licensed physician . . .
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Kansas Presses Sperm Donor for Child Support" by Makini Brice, Medical Daily 12/31/12
Angela Bauer, 40 years old, and Jennifer Schreiner, 34 years old, have eight children together, many of whom are adopted, ranging in age from 25 years to 3 months. . . .
Bauer and Schreiner have since separated, but they continue to co-parent their children. At the time of the [sperm] transaction, they were financially stable enough for Schreiner to stay at home with their children. Since then, Bauer suffered from what she described as a debilitating illness that has meant that she is unable to work and has been in and out of rehabilitation.
The couple applied for financial assistance to support their family. The state responded by refusing to give further healthcare assistance unless they provided the name of their sperm donor. They reluctantly did so, leading Kansas to pursue Marotta for child support for the couple's three-year-old daughter.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Topeka sperm donor: Child support case politically motivated" by Tim Hrenchir, Topeka Capital-Journal 12/31/12
Angela de Rocha, spokeswoman for the DCF, said Monday the department is proceeding with the case the way state law requires.
She said: “Speaking generally, all individuals who apply for taxpayer-funded benefits through DCF are asked to cooperate with child support enforcement efforts. If a sperm donor makes his ‘contribution’ through a licensed physician and a child is conceived, the donor is held harmless under state statue. In cases where the parties do not go through a physician or a clinic, there remains the question of who actually is the father of a child or children. DCF is required by statute to establish paternity and then pursue child support from the noncustodial parent.”
[Marotta] said: “It’s my understanding that (Bauer) told the department of child services right off the bat, ‘I will be financially responsible for this’ and they in essence told her, ‘No, get lost. You’re not part of this.’ And when somebody’s willing to say ‘Hold it a minute, I’m the one who’s responsible for this’ and another agency says ‘No, get lost,’ whether it’s bureaucratic politics or something more than that — it’s a Republican state, yeah, I think it’s politics.”
Marotta said the degree of national media attention the case has drawn didn’t surprise him because it combines the social issues of same-sex couples, adoptions and sperm donor rights “all wrapped into one.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
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