After White House complaints, CBS News censored a column webpost asserting that Solicitor General Elena Kagan, who's on the President's short list for the Supreme Court, is a lesbian. Apparently, she lives in the closet even though "her female partner is rather well known in Harvard circles."
UPDATE 4/23/10: Kagan documented radical supporter of Gay Agenda - from Washington Post
-- From "CBS spreads Supreme Court rumor" by Howard Kurtz, Washington Post Staff Writer 4/16/10
Ben Domenech, a former Bush administration aide and Republican Senate staffer, wrote [on the CBS website] that President Obama would "please" much of his base by picking the "first openly gay justice." An administration official, who asked not to be identified discussing personal matters, said Kagan is not a lesbian.
CBS initially refused to pull the posting, prompting Anita Dunn, a former White House communications director who is working with the administration on the high court vacancy, to say: "The fact that they've chosen to become enablers of people posting lies on their site tells us where the journalistic standards of CBS are in 2010." She said the network was giving a platform to a blogger "with a history of plagiarism" who was "applying old stereotypes to single women with successful careers."
The network deleted the posting Thursday night after Domenech said he was merely repeating a rumor.
A White House spokesman, Ben LaBolt, said he complained to CBS because the column "made false charges." Domenech later added an update to the post: "I have to correct my text here to say that Kagan is apparently still closeted -- odd, because her female partner is rather well known in Harvard circles."
CBS executives at first defended the column, noting that it appeared in an opinion section that contains contributions from blogs and publications on the left and right.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
If this White House supports diversity, why would they want to hide such characteristics? The same goes for Senate candidates.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Tea Party View from a Liberal 'Christian' Journalist
The Washington Post sent their out-of-touch columnist to the Chicago Tax Day Tea Party rally to provide a skewed opinion of those Americans who are foreign to her.
-- From "'Frightened' tea party comes to Chicago" by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, The Washington Post's On Faith 4/15/10
The tea party movement held a rally in Daley Plaza today at noon. A core group of about 300-400 mostly middle and retirement aged white people listened to speeches and carried signs. "Axis of Evil--Obama, Pelosi and Reid," "Abolish the Federal Reserve," "My Favorite Marxist" [with a picture of President Obama as an alien], "Please dispose of socialism carefully," and "Reload and Repeal" as examples. Around them another circle, about half as large, more racially and ethnically diverse, with Chicago police walking between, was made up of the anti-tea party folks. They carried signs like "Teabagging = bigotry," "CHI-town is Obama country," "Support health care," and "Equal rights for Gay Americans." Anti-war signs abounded. At first glance, the whole plaza looked exactly like democracy in action.
I walked around, asking people if they'd talk to me. When I identified myself as a blogger for The Washington Post's On Faith site, quite a few of those with tea party signs or T-shirts refused to speak to me, and two men pointedly turned their backs. A couple of folks were willing to talk, however, and I spent nearly half an hour sitting on benches in the shade with an older couple from Wheaton, Ill.
. . . This couple was of retirement age. I asked them if they were on Medicaid. They both nodded. They also are on Social Security. "Aren't those big government programs?" I asked. "Well, we wish we didn't have to take this money, but we need it," the wife replied.
I asked them if they were Christians and active in their church. They assured me they were. The husband had a copy of the Constitution in his hand, so I asked him about what he thought about the Establishment clause of the first Amendment and political activity like this. "People have been brainwashed about separation of church and state," the husband assured me. "The government's plan is to get rid of religion."
. . . About an hour into the rally, there was a scuffle. I couldn't see, but the crowd became more charged. Chicago Police moved in. "What was that about?" I asked several people closer to the stage. "A guy went crazy and started shouting." "He was just a plant to make us all look crazy." This was debated among the crowd for a short while, and then things calmed down and the drone of the speeches continued.
. . . I also happened upon Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, the long-time anti-war tax resister, peace activist and three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee. She and other anti-war folks were also protesting taxes, only because tax dollars are used to support war. . . .
I wish I could be more like Kathy Kelly, calmly witnessing for peace as the tea party unfolds around her. But I'm frightened too. I'm frightened of the undercurrent of fear that was right below the surface of Daley Plaza in Chicago today.
To read the entire column, CLICK HERE.
-- From "'Frightened' tea party comes to Chicago" by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, The Washington Post's On Faith 4/15/10
The tea party movement held a rally in Daley Plaza today at noon. A core group of about 300-400 mostly middle and retirement aged white people listened to speeches and carried signs. "Axis of Evil--Obama, Pelosi and Reid," "Abolish the Federal Reserve," "My Favorite Marxist" [with a picture of President Obama as an alien], "Please dispose of socialism carefully," and "Reload and Repeal" as examples. Around them another circle, about half as large, more racially and ethnically diverse, with Chicago police walking between, was made up of the anti-tea party folks. They carried signs like "Teabagging = bigotry," "CHI-town is Obama country," "Support health care," and "Equal rights for Gay Americans." Anti-war signs abounded. At first glance, the whole plaza looked exactly like democracy in action.
I walked around, asking people if they'd talk to me. When I identified myself as a blogger for The Washington Post's On Faith site, quite a few of those with tea party signs or T-shirts refused to speak to me, and two men pointedly turned their backs. A couple of folks were willing to talk, however, and I spent nearly half an hour sitting on benches in the shade with an older couple from Wheaton, Ill.
. . . This couple was of retirement age. I asked them if they were on Medicaid. They both nodded. They also are on Social Security. "Aren't those big government programs?" I asked. "Well, we wish we didn't have to take this money, but we need it," the wife replied.
I asked them if they were Christians and active in their church. They assured me they were. The husband had a copy of the Constitution in his hand, so I asked him about what he thought about the Establishment clause of the first Amendment and political activity like this. "People have been brainwashed about separation of church and state," the husband assured me. "The government's plan is to get rid of religion."
. . . About an hour into the rally, there was a scuffle. I couldn't see, but the crowd became more charged. Chicago Police moved in. "What was that about?" I asked several people closer to the stage. "A guy went crazy and started shouting." "He was just a plant to make us all look crazy." This was debated among the crowd for a short while, and then things calmed down and the drone of the speeches continued.
. . . I also happened upon Kathy Kelly of Voices for Creative Non-Violence, the long-time anti-war tax resister, peace activist and three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee. She and other anti-war folks were also protesting taxes, only because tax dollars are used to support war. . . .
I wish I could be more like Kathy Kelly, calmly witnessing for peace as the tea party unfolds around her. But I'm frightened too. I'm frightened of the undercurrent of fear that was right below the surface of Daley Plaza in Chicago today.
To read the entire column, CLICK HERE.
Fed. Judge: National Day Of Prayer Unconstitutional
A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional Thursday, saying the government cannot call for religious action.
UPDATE 4/22/10: Justice Department will challenge WI judge decision
UPDATE 4/16/10: White House says it will, just like last year, minimize Prayer Day
-- From "Federal judge rules Day of Prayer unconstitutional" by Todd Richmond, Associated Press 4/15/10
Congress established the day in 1952 and in 1988 set the first Thursday in May as the day for presidents to issue proclamations asking Americans to pray. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Madison-based group of atheists and agnostics, filed a lawsuit against the federal government in 2008 arguing the day violated the separation of church and state.
President Barack Obama's administration has countered that the statute simply acknowledges the role of religion in the United States. Obama issued a proclamation last year but did not hold public events with religious leaders as former President George W. Bush had done.
Government involvement in prayer is constitutional only as long as it does not call for religious action, which the prayer day does, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb wrote in her ruling.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Federal judge strikes down National Day of Prayer statute" by Dan Gilgoff, CNN 4/15/10
The injunction against the National Day of Prayer will not take effect until the defendants in the case, President Obama and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, have exhausted their appeals, the decision said.
The White House press office referred a question about whether the administration would appeal the ruling to the Justice Department, where a press officer was unavailable for comment.
Conservative religious groups called on the White House to appeal the decision.
"The National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for all Americans to pray voluntarily according to their own faith and does not promote any particular religion or form of religious observance," said Joel Oster, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund.
The event has been celebrated more ostentatiously by Republican than Democratic White Houses, partly because it has become aligned with religious conservatives. Since 1991, the National Day of Prayer Task Force has been led by Shirley Dobson, wife of conservative evangelical broadcaster and activist James Dobson.
Shirley Dobson criticized the Obama administration last year for forgoing the White House celebrations that marked the National Day of Prayer under President George W. Bush. But Obama did issue an official proclamation designating a National Day of Prayer.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 4/22/10: Justice Department will challenge WI judge decision
UPDATE 4/16/10: White House says it will, just like last year, minimize Prayer Day
-- From "Federal judge rules Day of Prayer unconstitutional" by Todd Richmond, Associated Press 4/15/10
Congress established the day in 1952 and in 1988 set the first Thursday in May as the day for presidents to issue proclamations asking Americans to pray. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Madison-based group of atheists and agnostics, filed a lawsuit against the federal government in 2008 arguing the day violated the separation of church and state.
President Barack Obama's administration has countered that the statute simply acknowledges the role of religion in the United States. Obama issued a proclamation last year but did not hold public events with religious leaders as former President George W. Bush had done.
Government involvement in prayer is constitutional only as long as it does not call for religious action, which the prayer day does, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb wrote in her ruling.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Federal judge strikes down National Day of Prayer statute" by Dan Gilgoff, CNN 4/15/10
The injunction against the National Day of Prayer will not take effect until the defendants in the case, President Obama and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, have exhausted their appeals, the decision said.
The White House press office referred a question about whether the administration would appeal the ruling to the Justice Department, where a press officer was unavailable for comment.
Conservative religious groups called on the White House to appeal the decision.
"The National Day of Prayer provides an opportunity for all Americans to pray voluntarily according to their own faith and does not promote any particular religion or form of religious observance," said Joel Oster, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund.
The event has been celebrated more ostentatiously by Republican than Democratic White Houses, partly because it has become aligned with religious conservatives. Since 1991, the National Day of Prayer Task Force has been led by Shirley Dobson, wife of conservative evangelical broadcaster and activist James Dobson.
Shirley Dobson criticized the Obama administration last year for forgoing the White House celebrations that marked the National Day of Prayer under President George W. Bush. But Obama did issue an official proclamation designating a National Day of Prayer.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Frozen Embryo Custody Lawsuit to Set Precedent
Two couples in Kirkwood [Missouri] and California who had hoped to share frozen embryos to create an unusual extended family instead traded lawsuits . . . in a legal battle that tests the bounds of child custody law.
-- From "Couples wrangle over frozen embryos' fate" by Robert Patrick, St. Louis Post-Dispatch 4/9/2010
Both couples are suing the other for control of two frozen embryos currently stored in a California fertility clinic.
Their dispute raises ethical questions over the definition of family relationships and even the word that should be used for the transfer of embryos — adoption or donation.
The California couple who first created the embryos, Edward and Kerry Lambert, are suing to secure custody of the embryos from Jen and Patrick McLaughlin, a Kirkwood couple.
The Lamberts had signed a contract with the McLaughlins in February 2009, granting them four frozen embryos.
The McLaughlins used two of the embryos to give birth to twin girls earlier this year. Since then, the two families have feuded over the fate of the remaining two embryos.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 5/14/10: "Families settle dispute over frozen embryos" by Nancy Cambria, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The announcement via press release Thursday failed to clarify which party had gained custody of the embryos, stating instead: "The [confidential] settlement provides that the disposition of the embryos will be in accordance with the original intent of the parties with the hope that the child or children born from the embryos will be raised with other siblings of the embryos."
. . . a dispute erupted in late February over the two of the remaining embryos when the Lamberts informed McLaughlin that they planned to exercise a clause in the donor contract allowing them to take back any remaining embryos after one year. McLaughlin, who believes life starts at conception, argued the embryos should remain with her and their siblings and had hopes of another successful pregnancy where she could keep all of the future siblings together. McLaughlin and her husband also have five adopted children, four of them from Russian orphanages.
"Regrettably, from a legal standpoint, we are still in a situation where we have no guidance for a situations like this. Day in, day out, people are dealing with fertility issues of this nature," [McLaughin's attorney, Al] Watkins said. "Our courts are ill-suited to deal with these situations, and that's a pity."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Couples wrangle over frozen embryos' fate" by Robert Patrick, St. Louis Post-Dispatch 4/9/2010
Both couples are suing the other for control of two frozen embryos currently stored in a California fertility clinic.
Their dispute raises ethical questions over the definition of family relationships and even the word that should be used for the transfer of embryos — adoption or donation.
The California couple who first created the embryos, Edward and Kerry Lambert, are suing to secure custody of the embryos from Jen and Patrick McLaughlin, a Kirkwood couple.
The Lamberts had signed a contract with the McLaughlins in February 2009, granting them four frozen embryos.
The McLaughlins used two of the embryos to give birth to twin girls earlier this year. Since then, the two families have feuded over the fate of the remaining two embryos.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 5/14/10: "Families settle dispute over frozen embryos" by Nancy Cambria, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The announcement via press release Thursday failed to clarify which party had gained custody of the embryos, stating instead: "The [confidential] settlement provides that the disposition of the embryos will be in accordance with the original intent of the parties with the hope that the child or children born from the embryos will be raised with other siblings of the embryos."
. . . a dispute erupted in late February over the two of the remaining embryos when the Lamberts informed McLaughlin that they planned to exercise a clause in the donor contract allowing them to take back any remaining embryos after one year. McLaughlin, who believes life starts at conception, argued the embryos should remain with her and their siblings and had hopes of another successful pregnancy where she could keep all of the future siblings together. McLaughlin and her husband also have five adopted children, four of them from Russian orphanages.
"Regrettably, from a legal standpoint, we are still in a situation where we have no guidance for a situations like this. Day in, day out, people are dealing with fertility issues of this nature," [McLaughin's attorney, Al] Watkins said. "Our courts are ill-suited to deal with these situations, and that's a pity."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Calif. Congresswomen Push Aging Homosexual Benefits
Sen. Barbara Boxer and congresswomen supported protesters marching in Hollywood demanding social security benefits for same-sex couples.
-- From "California Protesters Seek Social Security Benefits for Homosexuals" by Associated Press staff 4/12/10
Before the march, U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez told the cheering crowd she would author legislation that would extend survivor benefits to older gay and lesbian couples.
"We now have quality, affordable health care coming to all," Sanchez said. "What good is the quality of our health care in America if Americans are not treated equally under all of our laws?"
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Equal Social Security benefits for same-sex couples urged" by Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times 4/12/10
State and local officials joined hundreds of people outside the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center in Hollywood on Sunday morning to kick off a national grass-roots campaign demanding equal Social Security benefits for same-sex couples.
As of now, people in same-sex relationships are denied Social Security survivor benefits from their deceased partners because the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships as valid relationships.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-El Monte), who also attended the event, offered to coauthor the bill.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "California Protesters Seek Social Security Benefits for Homosexuals" by Associated Press staff 4/12/10
Before the march, U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez told the cheering crowd she would author legislation that would extend survivor benefits to older gay and lesbian couples.
"We now have quality, affordable health care coming to all," Sanchez said. "What good is the quality of our health care in America if Americans are not treated equally under all of our laws?"
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Equal Social Security benefits for same-sex couples urged" by Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times 4/12/10
State and local officials joined hundreds of people outside the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center in Hollywood on Sunday morning to kick off a national grass-roots campaign demanding equal Social Security benefits for same-sex couples.
As of now, people in same-sex relationships are denied Social Security survivor benefits from their deceased partners because the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships as valid relationships.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-El Monte), who also attended the event, offered to coauthor the bill.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Teacher Requires Boys to Cross Dress for a Grade
[A parent] said she also found it "very odd" that the event was scheduled to coincide with an anti-bullying "Day of Silence" organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which is encouraging students nationwide to remain mute during classes on Friday to call attention to verbal and physical abuse of gay students.
UPDATE 4/14/10: "Pushing the gay agenda while feminizing our young boys through a cross-dressing day? This isn't your parent's grade school celebration, for sure."
-- From "N.J. Elementary School Cancels 'Cross-Dressing' Fashion Show After Complaints" by Joshua Rhett Miller, FOXNews.com 4/13/10
A school superintendent in New Jersey says a "misunderstanding" led an elementary school teacher to mandate that all students -- including young boys -- dress as women in a now-canceled fashion show to honor Women's History Month.
Maple Shade Township School Superintendent Michael Livengood said the show, which had been scheduled for Friday at Maude Wilkins Elementary School, has been canceled.
In a 16-page packet sent home with students, teacher Tonya Uibel alerted parents that all students in her third grade class would have to participate in the activity, since it would be graded as an "end of unit" assignment. The packet also included suggestions of how students may dress, including fashions from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s like bellbottoms, poodle skirts and cheerleader outfits. Photographs of fashion icons like Twiggy and Madonna are also included.
"If your child is a young man, he does not have to wear a dress or skirt, as there are many time periods where women wore jeans, pants and trousers. However, each child must be able to express what time period their outfit is from. Most of all, your child should have fun creating their outfit and learning about how women's clothing has changed!"
Livengood said students will now be asked to a draw a picture of a person dressed in clothing from a specific time period as the lesson plan's culminating project.
Calls to the school seeking comment were referred to Livengood.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 4/14/10: "Pushing the gay agenda while feminizing our young boys through a cross-dressing day? This isn't your parent's grade school celebration, for sure."
-- From "N.J. Elementary School Cancels 'Cross-Dressing' Fashion Show After Complaints" by Joshua Rhett Miller, FOXNews.com 4/13/10
A school superintendent in New Jersey says a "misunderstanding" led an elementary school teacher to mandate that all students -- including young boys -- dress as women in a now-canceled fashion show to honor Women's History Month.
Maple Shade Township School Superintendent Michael Livengood said the show, which had been scheduled for Friday at Maude Wilkins Elementary School, has been canceled.
In a 16-page packet sent home with students, teacher Tonya Uibel alerted parents that all students in her third grade class would have to participate in the activity, since it would be graded as an "end of unit" assignment. The packet also included suggestions of how students may dress, including fashions from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s like bellbottoms, poodle skirts and cheerleader outfits. Photographs of fashion icons like Twiggy and Madonna are also included.
"If your child is a young man, he does not have to wear a dress or skirt, as there are many time periods where women wore jeans, pants and trousers. However, each child must be able to express what time period their outfit is from. Most of all, your child should have fun creating their outfit and learning about how women's clothing has changed!"
Livengood said students will now be asked to a draw a picture of a person dressed in clothing from a specific time period as the lesson plan's culminating project.
Calls to the school seeking comment were referred to Livengood.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Recreational-only Sex Increasing in America
"The United States has seen a major shift toward nonromantic sexual partnerships -- people becoming sexually involved when they are just casually dating or not dating at all."
-- From "Casual Sex Increasing in U.S." by Robert Preidt, HealthDay 4/7/10
People in nonromantic sexual relationships today are likely to have multiple partners [according to] study author Anthony Paik, a sociologist at the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences . . .
He and his colleagues asked 783 heterosexual adults, ages 18 to 60, how many people they had been sexually involved with during their most recent nonromantic sexual relationship and found:
-- From "Casual Sex Increasing in U.S." by Robert Preidt, HealthDay 4/7/10
People in nonromantic sexual relationships today are likely to have multiple partners [according to] study author Anthony Paik, a sociologist at the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences . . .
He and his colleagues asked 783 heterosexual adults, ages 18 to 60, how many people they had been sexually involved with during their most recent nonromantic sexual relationship and found:
* 17 percent of the men and 5 percent of the women said they had been with someone other than their relationship partner.To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
* 17 percent of women and 8 percent of men said they'd been exclusive but their partner had not.
* 12 percent of women and 10 percent of men said neither they nor their partner had been monogamous.
Schools Celebrate Homosexuality Friday 4/16/10
GLSEN, the homosexual advocacy organization founded by White House "Safe School Czar" Kevin Jennings, with the help of teachers' unions, has successfully infiltrated thousands of public schools in America with its annual homosexual indoctrination "Day of Silence." As posted previously, homosexualists use an anti-bullying ruse to advance the Gay Agenda in schools.
-- From "Gay Day of Silence a Waste of Tax Dollars, Critics Say" by FOXNews.com 4/12/10
Thousands of public schools nationwide will allow students affiliated with a gay and lesbian advocacy group to sponsor an anti-bullying "Day of Silence" on Friday, a demonstration some socially conservative family organizations say is a disruptive waste of taxpayer dollars and a reason to keep kids out of school.
GLSEN — the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network — is organizing the 15th annual Day of Silence for April 16, encouraging students to remain mute during classes to call attention to verbal and physical abuse of gay students.
GLSEN says students at more than 5,000 middle and high schools are expected to participate, and over 30,000 people have joined a Facebook event promoting the effort. Many sport T-shirts or hand out literature promoting alliances between gay and straight students.
But family advocacy groups warn that GLSEN is using the day to try to indoctrinate kids and force a pro-gay agenda into schools — something they want kept out of class entirely.
"I think that we shouldn't be exploiting public education for this," said Laurie Higgins, director of school advocacy for the Illinois Family Institute. "There are better ways to use taxpayer money. We send our kids there to learn the subject matter, not ... to be unwillingly exposed to political protest during instructional time."
The boycott of classes is a new tactic being urged by conservative groups to hit school officials where they think it will hurt the most: in the wallet.
The family groups also worry that GLSEN's reach into the classroom will continue after the Day of Silence is over. While Higgins agrees that bullying is a problem, she said it would "open a can of worms" to give the group free rein and allow public schools — and public funds — to "transform the moral beliefs of other people's children," she said.
GLSEN does not currently receive any federal or state funding, according to a spokesman for the group. The non-profit is funded by charitable foundations, teachers' unions and a host of corporations.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Also read about this from last year.
-- From "Gay Day of Silence a Waste of Tax Dollars, Critics Say" by FOXNews.com 4/12/10
Thousands of public schools nationwide will allow students affiliated with a gay and lesbian advocacy group to sponsor an anti-bullying "Day of Silence" on Friday, a demonstration some socially conservative family organizations say is a disruptive waste of taxpayer dollars and a reason to keep kids out of school.
GLSEN — the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network — is organizing the 15th annual Day of Silence for April 16, encouraging students to remain mute during classes to call attention to verbal and physical abuse of gay students.
GLSEN says students at more than 5,000 middle and high schools are expected to participate, and over 30,000 people have joined a Facebook event promoting the effort. Many sport T-shirts or hand out literature promoting alliances between gay and straight students.
But family advocacy groups warn that GLSEN is using the day to try to indoctrinate kids and force a pro-gay agenda into schools — something they want kept out of class entirely.
"I think that we shouldn't be exploiting public education for this," said Laurie Higgins, director of school advocacy for the Illinois Family Institute. "There are better ways to use taxpayer money. We send our kids there to learn the subject matter, not ... to be unwillingly exposed to political protest during instructional time."
The boycott of classes is a new tactic being urged by conservative groups to hit school officials where they think it will hurt the most: in the wallet.
The family groups also worry that GLSEN's reach into the classroom will continue after the Day of Silence is over. While Higgins agrees that bullying is a problem, she said it would "open a can of worms" to give the group free rein and allow public schools — and public funds — to "transform the moral beliefs of other people's children," she said.
GLSEN does not currently receive any federal or state funding, according to a spokesman for the group. The non-profit is funded by charitable foundations, teachers' unions and a host of corporations.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Also read about this from last year.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Abortionist Loses License for Killing Healthy Fetus
Mother pays to abort one unborn twin, thought to be Down syndrome, but Florida ob-gyn kills other twin; weeks later, mother aborts second twin as well
-- From "Sarasota doctor loses medical license for aborting wrong fetus" by Letitia Stein, St. Petersburg Times staff writer 4/12/10
After an exceedingly rare and shocking medical error, state officials have taken away the medical license of a Sarasota ob-gyn who aborted the wrong fetus in a woman carrying twins, mistaking a seemingly healthy girl for a boy with congenital defects.
Dr. Matthew J. Kachinas performed abortions but never before had attempted this procedure, known as selective termination, in which a chemical injection terminates one fetus in a multiple pregnancy.
But in January 2006, he agreed to treat a woman identified in state records as K.M. She was roughly 16 weeks' pregnant with twins conceived through in vitro fertilization, a procedure used to help couples who have difficulty reproducing.
Doctors had counseled her that selective termination was an option after learning the male fetus had multiple problems, including a possible heart defect and Down syndrome. The female twin appeared normal.
A week and a half later, K.M. returned to the doctors at Florida Perinatal Associates monitoring her high-risk pregnancy. An ultrasound revealed that the fetus still alive was the one with congenital issues and Down syndrome. She returned to Kachinas several days later to terminate the second twin.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Sarasota doctor loses medical license for aborting wrong fetus" by Letitia Stein, St. Petersburg Times staff writer 4/12/10
After an exceedingly rare and shocking medical error, state officials have taken away the medical license of a Sarasota ob-gyn who aborted the wrong fetus in a woman carrying twins, mistaking a seemingly healthy girl for a boy with congenital defects.
Dr. Matthew J. Kachinas performed abortions but never before had attempted this procedure, known as selective termination, in which a chemical injection terminates one fetus in a multiple pregnancy.
But in January 2006, he agreed to treat a woman identified in state records as K.M. She was roughly 16 weeks' pregnant with twins conceived through in vitro fertilization, a procedure used to help couples who have difficulty reproducing.
Doctors had counseled her that selective termination was an option after learning the male fetus had multiple problems, including a possible heart defect and Down syndrome. The female twin appeared normal.
A week and a half later, K.M. returned to the doctors at Florida Perinatal Associates monitoring her high-risk pregnancy. An ultrasound revealed that the fetus still alive was the one with congenital issues and Down syndrome. She returned to Kachinas several days later to terminate the second twin.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Atheists Call for Pope's Arrest
Accusing the Pope covering up clerical sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens want lawyers to build a case for his arrest when he visits Britain later this year to beatify a 19th century British theologian.
-- From "Richard Dawkins calls for arrest of Pope Benedict XVI" by Marc Horne, The Sunday Times of London 4/11/10
Richard Dawkins, the atheist campaigner, is planning a legal ambush to have the Pope arrested during his state visit to Britain “for crimes against humanity”.
Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens . . . believe they can exploit the same legal principle used to arrest Augusto Pinochet, the late Chilean dictator, when he visited Britain in 1998.
The Pope was embroiled in new controversy this weekend over a letter he signed arguing that the “good of the universal church” should be considered against the defrocking of an American priest who committed sex offences against two boys. It was dated 1985, when he was in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with sex abuse cases.
Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, said: “This is a man whose first instinct when his priests are caught with their pants down is to cover up the scandal and damn the young victims to silence.”
Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great, said: “This man is not above or outside the law. The institutionalised concealment of child rape is a crime under any law and demands not private ceremonies of repentance or church-funded payoffs, but justice and punishment."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Activist Atheist Pair Want Pope Arrested" by Patrick Goodenough, CNSNews International Editor 4/12/10
A senior Vatican legal official, Giuseppe Dalla Torre, earlier told an Italian newspaper that the Pope enjoyed diplomatic immunity as head of state. He was responding at the time to calls by some lawyers representing abuse victims, wanting the Pope to testify.
The move in Britain goes much further, seeking to have the head of the Roman Catholic Church appear not just as a witness but as an accused in a criminal or civil case.
“There is every possibility of legal action against the Pope occurring,” Mark Stephens, one of the lawyers hired by the two campaigning atheists, told the Daily Telegraph.
The other lawyer, human rights activist Geoffrey Robertson, earlier this month published an article challenging the Vatican’s claim to sovereignty – and hence immunity for the Pope as head of a sovereign state – noting that while the United Nations afforded the Vatican a unique special status, it has never agreed to granting it membership.
Robertson said the sovereignty/immunity claim could be challenged in British courts and in the European Court of Human Rights.
An alternative course of action would be to go the International Criminal Court (ICC) route, where immunity would provide no protection.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Richard Dawkins calls for arrest of Pope Benedict XVI" by Marc Horne, The Sunday Times of London 4/11/10
Richard Dawkins, the atheist campaigner, is planning a legal ambush to have the Pope arrested during his state visit to Britain “for crimes against humanity”.
Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens . . . believe they can exploit the same legal principle used to arrest Augusto Pinochet, the late Chilean dictator, when he visited Britain in 1998.
The Pope was embroiled in new controversy this weekend over a letter he signed arguing that the “good of the universal church” should be considered against the defrocking of an American priest who committed sex offences against two boys. It was dated 1985, when he was in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with sex abuse cases.
Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, said: “This is a man whose first instinct when his priests are caught with their pants down is to cover up the scandal and damn the young victims to silence.”
Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great, said: “This man is not above or outside the law. The institutionalised concealment of child rape is a crime under any law and demands not private ceremonies of repentance or church-funded payoffs, but justice and punishment."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Activist Atheist Pair Want Pope Arrested" by Patrick Goodenough, CNSNews International Editor 4/12/10
A senior Vatican legal official, Giuseppe Dalla Torre, earlier told an Italian newspaper that the Pope enjoyed diplomatic immunity as head of state. He was responding at the time to calls by some lawyers representing abuse victims, wanting the Pope to testify.
The move in Britain goes much further, seeking to have the head of the Roman Catholic Church appear not just as a witness but as an accused in a criminal or civil case.
“There is every possibility of legal action against the Pope occurring,” Mark Stephens, one of the lawyers hired by the two campaigning atheists, told the Daily Telegraph.
The other lawyer, human rights activist Geoffrey Robertson, earlier this month published an article challenging the Vatican’s claim to sovereignty – and hence immunity for the Pope as head of a sovereign state – noting that while the United Nations afforded the Vatican a unique special status, it has never agreed to granting it membership.
Robertson said the sovereignty/immunity claim could be challenged in British courts and in the European Court of Human Rights.
An alternative course of action would be to go the International Criminal Court (ICC) route, where immunity would provide no protection.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Employees Coerced into Abortions for Career
A former Novartis saleswoman wept on the witness stand yesterday as she recalled her boss counseling her to get an abortion after she asked for a transfer to move in with her husband-to-be.
-- From "Lawsuit: Drug company Novartis derailed careers of moms-to-be" by Alison Gendar, New York Daily News Staff Writer 4/6/10
Senior sales consultant Christine Macarelli is among the first witnesses who hope to show the drug giant treated women as second-glass citizens.
"Our goal is to make clear the problems these women experienced are systematic of deep problems across the company," said attorney David Sanford.
The class-action suit covers 5,600 Novartis employees who claim the company paid them less than male colleagues and derailed their careers once they became pregnant.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Novartis gal's tale of boss 'abort' pressure" by Bruce Golding, New York Post 4/9/10
"I told Mr. Holstein [abortion] was not an option for me," [Christine Macarelli,] the upstate mother of two testified in Manhattan federal court.
"I was very disturbed. I had to collect myself and decide what to do . . . I felt very alone."
Asked why she never reported Holstein to the company's higher-ups, Macarelli said it was because "I had a co-worker who worked for Bruce, and she complained about him quite a bit, and ultimately she was fired."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Lawsuit: Drug company Novartis derailed careers of moms-to-be" by Alison Gendar, New York Daily News Staff Writer 4/6/10
Senior sales consultant Christine Macarelli is among the first witnesses who hope to show the drug giant treated women as second-glass citizens.
"Our goal is to make clear the problems these women experienced are systematic of deep problems across the company," said attorney David Sanford.
The class-action suit covers 5,600 Novartis employees who claim the company paid them less than male colleagues and derailed their careers once they became pregnant.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Novartis gal's tale of boss 'abort' pressure" by Bruce Golding, New York Post 4/9/10
"I told Mr. Holstein [abortion] was not an option for me," [Christine Macarelli,] the upstate mother of two testified in Manhattan federal court.
"I was very disturbed. I had to collect myself and decide what to do . . . I felt very alone."
Asked why she never reported Holstein to the company's higher-ups, Macarelli said it was because "I had a co-worker who worked for Bruce, and she complained about him quite a bit, and ultimately she was fired."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Embryo Destroyer: Mark Kirk, IL GOP Senate Candidate
Now he'd like a bill making Obama’s endorsement of stem cell research permanent, so it can’t be meddled with by some future right-wing, pro-life president.
-- From "Two-Faced Kirk Actually One-Faced on Stem Cells" by Edward McClelland, posted at NBC-TV5 Chicago 4/8/10
[Pro-abortion] Mark Kirk is in favor of [embryonic] stem cell research.
We've known this for years. Fact, in 2005, Kirk co-sponsored a bill overturning President George W. Bush’s ban on embryonic stem cell research. The bill passed, but was vetoed by the president [Bush].
. . . Kirk made himself look like a fool by promising to repeal health care reform, a promise he couldn’t keep. So now he has to stiff-arm conservatives to demonstrate to mainstream Illinoisans that he’s not a right-wing stooge. And he has to show that he can stay consistent on a controversial issue, in spite of pressure from the GOP’s Tea Party wing.
The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee is mocking Kirk’s ideological flexibility with a pseudo-comic titled “The Adventures of Two-Faced Kirk.”
It’s subtitled “His Position Is Based On Who Flips Him Coin,” and it criticizes Kirk for flip-flopping on health care repeal, federal ear marks, cap and trade and unemployment extensions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Kirk calls for permanent embryo experimentation funding" posted at Illinois Review 4/8/10
Indeed, the Republicans' candidate for U.S. Senate emphasized his support for using embryos in his introductory "Independent" political ad by emphasizing he was one of the few Republicans that opposed President George W. Bush limited experimentation on cell lines to those already existing at the time. It must be that Kirk fears his call for making taxpayer funding permanent would be rejected by a radically pro-abort Democratic Congress and president.
A press release from the Kirk for U.S. Senate campaign states [in part]:
-- From "Two-Faced Kirk Actually One-Faced on Stem Cells" by Edward McClelland, posted at NBC-TV5 Chicago 4/8/10
[Pro-abortion] Mark Kirk is in favor of [embryonic] stem cell research.
We've known this for years. Fact, in 2005, Kirk co-sponsored a bill overturning President George W. Bush’s ban on embryonic stem cell research. The bill passed, but was vetoed by the president [Bush].
. . . Kirk made himself look like a fool by promising to repeal health care reform, a promise he couldn’t keep. So now he has to stiff-arm conservatives to demonstrate to mainstream Illinoisans that he’s not a right-wing stooge. And he has to show that he can stay consistent on a controversial issue, in spite of pressure from the GOP’s Tea Party wing.
The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee is mocking Kirk’s ideological flexibility with a pseudo-comic titled “The Adventures of Two-Faced Kirk.”
It’s subtitled “His Position Is Based On Who Flips Him Coin,” and it criticizes Kirk for flip-flopping on health care repeal, federal ear marks, cap and trade and unemployment extensions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Kirk calls for permanent embryo experimentation funding" posted at Illinois Review 4/8/10
Indeed, the Republicans' candidate for U.S. Senate emphasized his support for using embryos in his introductory "Independent" political ad by emphasizing he was one of the few Republicans that opposed President George W. Bush limited experimentation on cell lines to those already existing at the time. It must be that Kirk fears his call for making taxpayer funding permanent would be rejected by a radically pro-abort Democratic Congress and president.
A press release from the Kirk for U.S. Senate campaign states [in part]:
As a member of the Congressional Stem Cell Whip Team, Congressman Mark Kirk has played a key role in rallying support for pluripotent [embryonic] stem cell research. In 2001, President Bush allowed limited federal research for only 21 adult cell lines. The Executive Order prohibited the use of many pluripotent stem cells and authorized only pre-existing cell lines.To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
In 2005, legislation backed by Congressman Kirk (H.R. 810) passed the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, authorizing federal funding for expanded pluripotent [embryonic] stem cell research. President Bush vetoed the legislation. In 2007, similar legislation passed the House with no action in the Senate.
Congressman Kirk will highlight legislation permanently authorizing President Obama’s Executive Order, ensuring that future administrations cannot overturn federal support for pluripotent stem cell research.
American Pays to Sterilize British Drug Addicts
Addicts are being offered up to £200 cash to be sterilised so they do not give birth to drug dependent children.
-- From "Drug addicts offered cash to stop reproducing" by Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor, London Daily Telegraph 4/9/10
A controversial American charity is now offering the service to addicts in the UK and has set up a helpline for those interested.
Pro-life campaigners said the offer was "inhuman".
Project Prevention claims to have stopped 3,500 drink and drugs addicts from having more children by paying them to be sterilised.
It has now received £13,000 from an anonymous British donor to help launch a similar service in the UK.
But the campaigner behind the scheme, Barbara Harris, from North Carolina, shrugged off concerns that the money will just be spent on buying more drugs.
And anyone in Britain taking up the offer will still be expected to have the treatment done on the NHS at the taxpayer's expense.
Anthony Ozimic, of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), said: "It is inhuman to seek to eliminate human problems by eliminating humans themselves. Such campaigns should have no place in Britain."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "U.S. group paying addicts for sterlization" UPI 4/10/10
Barbara Harris of North Carolina founded the organization in 1997 after she adopted four children who had been born addicted to crack cocaine. She said British addicts must arrange and pay for their own sterilizations and can then get payment by presenting a certificate, The Daily Telegraph reported.
"I've got hundreds of emails from people in the UK saying: 'You need to come here, please come over here, we need your help," she said. "We're going to make this offer to drug addicts, social workers, law enforcement. Anyone who comes in contact with these women can refer addicts to us now we have an 0800 number here in the UK."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Charity that sterilises addicts to come to UK" by Jerome Taylor, UK Independent 4/10/10
Drug addiction experts have reacted with horror at the revelation that a controversial American charity worker who pays addicts to be sterilised is setting up a franchise in Britain.
Andrew Horne, the director of Addaction, one of the UK's largest addiction charities, lambasted the American charity's approach yesterday.
"There is no place for Project Prevention in the UK because their practices are morally reprehensible and irrelevant," he said. "Our first-hand experience shows that people can make positive changes with the right support – both for themselves and for their children. In fact, many of our clients stopped using drugs because they became a parent."
[Mrs Harris said,] "Anyone who comes in contact with these women can refer addicts to us now we have an 0800 number here in the UK. We hope the scheme will grow as much here as it did in the US, and that people will support us financially. We need the cash to pay the addicts."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Drug addicts offered cash to stop reproducing" by Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor, London Daily Telegraph 4/9/10
A controversial American charity is now offering the service to addicts in the UK and has set up a helpline for those interested.
Pro-life campaigners said the offer was "inhuman".
Project Prevention claims to have stopped 3,500 drink and drugs addicts from having more children by paying them to be sterilised.
It has now received £13,000 from an anonymous British donor to help launch a similar service in the UK.
But the campaigner behind the scheme, Barbara Harris, from North Carolina, shrugged off concerns that the money will just be spent on buying more drugs.
And anyone in Britain taking up the offer will still be expected to have the treatment done on the NHS at the taxpayer's expense.
Anthony Ozimic, of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), said: "It is inhuman to seek to eliminate human problems by eliminating humans themselves. Such campaigns should have no place in Britain."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "U.S. group paying addicts for sterlization" UPI 4/10/10
Barbara Harris of North Carolina founded the organization in 1997 after she adopted four children who had been born addicted to crack cocaine. She said British addicts must arrange and pay for their own sterilizations and can then get payment by presenting a certificate, The Daily Telegraph reported.
"I've got hundreds of emails from people in the UK saying: 'You need to come here, please come over here, we need your help," she said. "We're going to make this offer to drug addicts, social workers, law enforcement. Anyone who comes in contact with these women can refer addicts to us now we have an 0800 number here in the UK."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Charity that sterilises addicts to come to UK" by Jerome Taylor, UK Independent 4/10/10
Drug addiction experts have reacted with horror at the revelation that a controversial American charity worker who pays addicts to be sterilised is setting up a franchise in Britain.
Andrew Horne, the director of Addaction, one of the UK's largest addiction charities, lambasted the American charity's approach yesterday.
"There is no place for Project Prevention in the UK because their practices are morally reprehensible and irrelevant," he said. "Our first-hand experience shows that people can make positive changes with the right support – both for themselves and for their children. In fact, many of our clients stopped using drugs because they became a parent."
[Mrs Harris said,] "Anyone who comes in contact with these women can refer addicts to us now we have an 0800 number here in the UK. We hope the scheme will grow as much here as it did in the US, and that people will support us financially. We need the cash to pay the addicts."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Friday, April 09, 2010
Will Obama Nominate Radical Abortion Supporter to Supreme Court?
With the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens, will the most pro-abortion president in American history fight for a like-minded Supreme Court nominee?
-- From "Abortion Could Dominate Debate Over Scholarly Judge" by Nathan Koppel, Wall Street Journal 4/9/10
Judge Diane Wood has an impeccable legal pedigree and is considered a leading scholar on the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the nation's most prominent appellate benches. But one issue would likely dominate any battle over her nomination: abortion.
The judge's best-known and most controversial ruling on the Seventh Circuit—where she was appointed in 1995 by President Bill Clinton—involved a lawsuit by the National Organization for Women.
The suit alleged that various antiabortion activists had engaged in extortion by using aggressive protest tactics, including lying in front of doorways at abortion clinics.
Judge Wood ruled in favor of NOW, but the decision was reversed by the Supreme Court. Her ruling focused primarily on interpreting the scope of federal racketeering law, not whether abortion protests generally are legal.
Judge Wood, 59 years old, is widely perceived by conservatives as falling on the wrong side of the abortion debate, according to M. Edward Whelan III, a judicial-confirmation specialist at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative Washington-based think tank.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Abortion Could Dominate Debate Over Scholarly Judge" by Nathan Koppel, Wall Street Journal 4/9/10
Judge Diane Wood has an impeccable legal pedigree and is considered a leading scholar on the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the nation's most prominent appellate benches. But one issue would likely dominate any battle over her nomination: abortion.
The judge's best-known and most controversial ruling on the Seventh Circuit—where she was appointed in 1995 by President Bill Clinton—involved a lawsuit by the National Organization for Women.
The suit alleged that various antiabortion activists had engaged in extortion by using aggressive protest tactics, including lying in front of doorways at abortion clinics.
Judge Wood ruled in favor of NOW, but the decision was reversed by the Supreme Court. Her ruling focused primarily on interpreting the scope of federal racketeering law, not whether abortion protests generally are legal.
Judge Wood, 59 years old, is widely perceived by conservatives as falling on the wrong side of the abortion debate, according to M. Edward Whelan III, a judicial-confirmation specialist at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative Washington-based think tank.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Planned Parenthood Urges HIV-infected Teens to Freely Have Sex
In a guide for young people published by the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the organization says it opposes laws that make it a crime for people not to tell sexual partners they have HIV.
-- From "Planned Parenthood Guide Tells HIV-Infected Youth to Enjoy Sex, Denounces Laws on Disclosure of HIV/AIDS to Sexual Partners" by Penny Starr, CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer 4/9/10
“Some countries have laws that say people living with HIV must tell their sexual partner(s) about their status before having sex, even if they use condoms or only engage in sexual activity with a low risk of giving HIV to someone else,” the guide states. “These laws violate the rights of people living with HIV by forcing them to disclose or face the possibility of criminal charges.”
Under the heading “Sexual Pleasure and Well-Being,” the guide [“Healthy, Happy and Hot”] declares that it is a human right and not a criminal issue as to whether a person decides if or when to disclose their HIV status, even if they engage in sexual activities.
“You know best when it is safe for you to disclose your status,” the guide states. “There are many reasons that people do not share their HIV status. They may not want people to know they are living with HIV because of the stigma and discrimination within their community.”
The guide continues: “They may worry that people will find out something else they have kept secret, like that they are using injecting drugs or, having sex outside of marriage or having sex with people of the same gender. People in long-term relationships who find out they are living with HIV sometime fear that their partner will react violently or end the relationship.”
“Young people living with HIV have the right to sexual pleasure,” the guide states under the heading “Sexual Pleasure; Have Fun Explore and Be Yourself.”
“It’s a vile and vulgar brochure,” Austin Ruse, president of the United Nations watchdog group Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, told CNSNews.com.
Ruse’s group has been reporting on the “Healthy, Happy and Hot” guide in recent weeks after Sharon Slater, president of Family Watch International, attended an event for the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women and found copies of the guide in a room where Girl Scouts were meeting.
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America receives more than $350 million of taxpayer funding annually, although federal law prohibits those funds from being used for abortion.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Also, read and view as Planned Parenthood Says Plan to Get Sexual Disease
-- From "Planned Parenthood Guide Tells HIV-Infected Youth to Enjoy Sex, Denounces Laws on Disclosure of HIV/AIDS to Sexual Partners" by Penny Starr, CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer 4/9/10
“Some countries have laws that say people living with HIV must tell their sexual partner(s) about their status before having sex, even if they use condoms or only engage in sexual activity with a low risk of giving HIV to someone else,” the guide states. “These laws violate the rights of people living with HIV by forcing them to disclose or face the possibility of criminal charges.”
Under the heading “Sexual Pleasure and Well-Being,” the guide [“Healthy, Happy and Hot”] declares that it is a human right and not a criminal issue as to whether a person decides if or when to disclose their HIV status, even if they engage in sexual activities.
“You know best when it is safe for you to disclose your status,” the guide states. “There are many reasons that people do not share their HIV status. They may not want people to know they are living with HIV because of the stigma and discrimination within their community.”
The guide continues: “They may worry that people will find out something else they have kept secret, like that they are using injecting drugs or, having sex outside of marriage or having sex with people of the same gender. People in long-term relationships who find out they are living with HIV sometime fear that their partner will react violently or end the relationship.”
“Young people living with HIV have the right to sexual pleasure,” the guide states under the heading “Sexual Pleasure; Have Fun Explore and Be Yourself.”
“It’s a vile and vulgar brochure,” Austin Ruse, president of the United Nations watchdog group Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, told CNSNews.com.
Ruse’s group has been reporting on the “Healthy, Happy and Hot” guide in recent weeks after Sharon Slater, president of Family Watch International, attended an event for the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women and found copies of the guide in a room where Girl Scouts were meeting.
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America receives more than $350 million of taxpayer funding annually, although federal law prohibits those funds from being used for abortion.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Also, read and view as Planned Parenthood Says Plan to Get Sexual Disease
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Pediatricians Say 'Safe Schools' Don't Promote Homosexuality
A professional organization for pediatricians has dispatched letters to thousands of school superintendents across the United States with a warning that promoting – or "affirming" – the homosexual lifestyle to young children can damage them.
-- From "Pediatricians warn educators not to promote being 'gay'" by Bob Unruh © 2010 WorldNetDaily 4/8/10
The letter was sent just days ago by the American College of Pediatricians, a nonprofit organization funded by members and donors, to school superintendents that tells them plainly, "It is not the school's role to diagnose and attempt to treat any student's medical condition, and certainly not a school's role to 'affirm' a student's perceived personal sexual orientation."
Further, schools can create a "life of unnecessary pain and suffering" for a child when they reinforce a behavior chosen out of a child's "confusion."
"Even when motivated by noble intentions, schools can ironically play a detrimental role if they reinforce this disorder," said the letter, signed by Dr. Tom Benton, the organization's president.
The group also has created a website called Facts About Youth as a resource for school officials to obtain the facts from a "non-political, non-religious channel."
"Most alarmingly," the College of Pediatricians website said, "the recommendations offered will place young people at increased risk of grave psychological, emotional, and physical harm."
The "Facts" website addresses the science behind the "development of non-heterosexual attractions and gender confusion in youth" as well as the school's proper role with students who has "sexual orientation and gender confusion issues."
"Rigorous studies demonstrate that most adolescents who initially experience same-sex attraction, or are sexually confused, no longer experience such attractions by age 25," the letter to schools said. "In one study, as many as 26 percent of 12-year-olds reported being uncertain of their sexual orientation, yet only 2-3 percent of adults actually identify themselves as homosexual."
Educators should take note, then, that "the majority of sexually questioning youth ultimately adopt a heterosexual identity," the letter explains.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Pediatricians warn educators not to promote being 'gay'" by Bob Unruh © 2010 WorldNetDaily 4/8/10
The letter was sent just days ago by the American College of Pediatricians, a nonprofit organization funded by members and donors, to school superintendents that tells them plainly, "It is not the school's role to diagnose and attempt to treat any student's medical condition, and certainly not a school's role to 'affirm' a student's perceived personal sexual orientation."
Further, schools can create a "life of unnecessary pain and suffering" for a child when they reinforce a behavior chosen out of a child's "confusion."
"Even when motivated by noble intentions, schools can ironically play a detrimental role if they reinforce this disorder," said the letter, signed by Dr. Tom Benton, the organization's president.
The group also has created a website called Facts About Youth as a resource for school officials to obtain the facts from a "non-political, non-religious channel."
"Most alarmingly," the College of Pediatricians website said, "the recommendations offered will place young people at increased risk of grave psychological, emotional, and physical harm."
The "Facts" website addresses the science behind the "development of non-heterosexual attractions and gender confusion in youth" as well as the school's proper role with students who has "sexual orientation and gender confusion issues."
"Rigorous studies demonstrate that most adolescents who initially experience same-sex attraction, or are sexually confused, no longer experience such attractions by age 25," the letter to schools said. "In one study, as many as 26 percent of 12-year-olds reported being uncertain of their sexual orientation, yet only 2-3 percent of adults actually identify themselves as homosexual."
Educators should take note, then, that "the majority of sexually questioning youth ultimately adopt a heterosexual identity," the letter explains.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Cure for Homosexuality? Calif. Doesn't Want to Know
California lawmakers narrowly advanced a bill Tuesday that would repeal a state law designed to find the causes and cures of homosexuality.
UPDATE 8/26/10: Repeal goes to Gov.; Assemblywoman compares to racial discrimination
-- From "Calif. considers repealing law to study, cure gays" by Cathy Bussewitz, Associated Press 4/7/10
The law, written in 1950, classifies homosexuals as "sexual deviants" and requires the state Department of Mental Health to conduct research on "deviations conducive to sex crimes against children." The research would be used to help identify potential sex offenders.
. . . California has not conducted research into homosexuality for decades, but did release several reports that examined hormone levels, physical characteristics and parental relationships of its subjects.
The American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality as a mental disorder until 1973.
. . . Parents and Friends of ExGays and Gays, also known as PFOX, sent a letter to [the Legislature] stating that research into the causes of homosexuality is a legitimate form of science that benefits both ex-gay and gay communities.
[Jeralee Smith, the PFOX California Educational Director,] believes research into the causes and cures of homosexuality should be continued, and called the move to end funding offensive.
Smith said she was molested by a woman when she was 16. She added that she spent most of her life in same-sex relationships, found it very painful, and later reoriented her thought patterns to what she called healthier ways.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 8/26/10: Repeal goes to Gov.; Assemblywoman compares to racial discrimination
-- From "Calif. considers repealing law to study, cure gays" by Cathy Bussewitz, Associated Press 4/7/10
The law, written in 1950, classifies homosexuals as "sexual deviants" and requires the state Department of Mental Health to conduct research on "deviations conducive to sex crimes against children." The research would be used to help identify potential sex offenders.
. . . California has not conducted research into homosexuality for decades, but did release several reports that examined hormone levels, physical characteristics and parental relationships of its subjects.
The American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality as a mental disorder until 1973.
. . . Parents and Friends of ExGays and Gays, also known as PFOX, sent a letter to [the Legislature] stating that research into the causes of homosexuality is a legitimate form of science that benefits both ex-gay and gay communities.
[Jeralee Smith, the PFOX California Educational Director,] believes research into the causes and cures of homosexuality should be continued, and called the move to end funding offensive.
Smith said she was molested by a woman when she was 16. She added that she spent most of her life in same-sex relationships, found it very painful, and later reoriented her thought patterns to what she called healthier ways.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
WI Teachers Face Arrest for Sex Ed
A Wisconsin prosecutor is warning sex education teachers they could face charges if they follow a new state law that allows them to instruct students about proper contraceptive use.
-- From "Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth urges schools to drop sex ed, fearing criminal charges await teachers" by Todd Richmond, Associated Press Writer 4/6/10
A letter sent to five school districts by Juneau County Dist. Atty. Scott Southworth said the instruction could amount to contributing to the delinquency of a minor if teachers know students are sexually active. He said the districts should drop sex education until the Legislature repeals the law.
Southworth also argued that teaching contraceptive use encourages sexual behavior among children, which equates to sexual assault because minors can’t legally have sex in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin school districts aren’t required to teach sex education. But the new law, which took effect March 11, lays out requirements for those that do, including teaching the benefits of abstinence, criminal penalties for having underage sex and the benefits and proper use of contraceptives.
Supporters, including groups representing nurses, health departments and the state teacher’s union, maintain the law will help reduce teen pregnancies. Conservative opponents counter that schools should focus on abstinence.
Southworth’s letter said law would convert sex education classes “into a radical program that sexualizes our children as early as kindergarten. This, in turn, will lead to more child sexual assaults.”
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
-- From "Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth urges schools to drop sex ed, fearing criminal charges await teachers" by Todd Richmond, Associated Press Writer 4/6/10
A letter sent to five school districts by Juneau County Dist. Atty. Scott Southworth said the instruction could amount to contributing to the delinquency of a minor if teachers know students are sexually active. He said the districts should drop sex education until the Legislature repeals the law.
Southworth also argued that teaching contraceptive use encourages sexual behavior among children, which equates to sexual assault because minors can’t legally have sex in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin school districts aren’t required to teach sex education. But the new law, which took effect March 11, lays out requirements for those that do, including teaching the benefits of abstinence, criminal penalties for having underage sex and the benefits and proper use of contraceptives.
Supporters, including groups representing nurses, health departments and the state teacher’s union, maintain the law will help reduce teen pregnancies. Conservative opponents counter that schools should focus on abstinence.
Southworth’s letter said law would convert sex education classes “into a radical program that sexualizes our children as early as kindergarten. This, in turn, will lead to more child sexual assaults.”
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
U.S. Birthrate Below Replacement; Record Unwed Birthrate
As many European nations' experience devastating population declines, despite a drop in the birthrate, America's population continues to rise as a result of immigration.
In addition, the portion of births to unmarried women rose to a historical high of 40.6 percent.
-- From "U.S. birthrate drops 2 percent in 2008" by Rob Stein, Washington Post Staff Writer 4/7/10
After rising to its highest point in two decades, the rate at which women in the United States gave birth declined in 2008 as the economy deteriorated, according to government statistics released Tuesday.
The nation's overall birthrate fell 2 percent from 2007 to 2008, when about 4.2 million babies were born. The dip pushed the fertility rate below 2.1 per woman, meaning Americans were no longer giving birth to enough children to keep the population from declining.
There were 41.5 births per 1,000 teens ages 15 to 19 in 2008, a 2 percent drop from the previous year. After a two-year increase in teen births prompted concern that one of the nation's most successful social and public health efforts was faltering, 2008 marked the return of a decline in which the rate fell 34 percent over many years.
"This is good news," said Stephanie J. Ventura of the National Center for Health Statistics, which released the annual preliminary analysis of birth certificate data. "It might come as a surprise because people were concerned the teen birthrate was on a different course."
"The downward trend is encouraging and gives us reason to believe that the 2006-07 slight uptick in teen births may have been a hiccup, rather than the start of a troubling new trend," said Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association.
"It is a shame that abstinence education opponents too early use any statistics to denigrate an approach that offers teens the best skills to avoid all the consequences of sex, including teen pregnancy," Huber said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Birthrate declines for American teenagers" by Cheryl Wetzstein, Washington Times 4/7/10
The Obama administration and Congress have created a $110 million teen-pregnancy-prevention program to replace the Bush administration's push for abstinence education.
The abstinence education initiative recently won a reprieve, however. A measure by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, Utah Republican, to continue the five-year, $50-million-a-year federal funding for the Title V Abstinence Education grant program was signed into law with the massive health care package.
The new NCHS report also showed that while the birthrate to unmarried women declined slightly (from 52.9 births per 1,000 single women in 2007 to 52.0 in 2008), the actual number of such births went up (from 1,714,643 to 1,727,950, a 1 percent increase) — reflecting an increase in the number of unmarried women. In addition, the portion of births to unmarried women rose to a historical high of 40.6 percent.
Conservatives and traditional values groups consistently decry the rise in unwed childbearing because of its high social costs and negative effects on children's well-being.
"The dramatic rise of unmarried births among 20-, 30- and even 40-something women has been one of the most troubling family-formation hallmarks of the last half-decade," said Glenn T. Stanton, director of global family formation studies at Focus on the Family.
"Many of these are women who would love to get married, but they hear their biological clocks ticking louder than the prospects of wedding bells," he added.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
In addition, the portion of births to unmarried women rose to a historical high of 40.6 percent.
-- From "U.S. birthrate drops 2 percent in 2008" by Rob Stein, Washington Post Staff Writer 4/7/10
After rising to its highest point in two decades, the rate at which women in the United States gave birth declined in 2008 as the economy deteriorated, according to government statistics released Tuesday.
The nation's overall birthrate fell 2 percent from 2007 to 2008, when about 4.2 million babies were born. The dip pushed the fertility rate below 2.1 per woman, meaning Americans were no longer giving birth to enough children to keep the population from declining.
There were 41.5 births per 1,000 teens ages 15 to 19 in 2008, a 2 percent drop from the previous year. After a two-year increase in teen births prompted concern that one of the nation's most successful social and public health efforts was faltering, 2008 marked the return of a decline in which the rate fell 34 percent over many years.
"This is good news," said Stephanie J. Ventura of the National Center for Health Statistics, which released the annual preliminary analysis of birth certificate data. "It might come as a surprise because people were concerned the teen birthrate was on a different course."
"The downward trend is encouraging and gives us reason to believe that the 2006-07 slight uptick in teen births may have been a hiccup, rather than the start of a troubling new trend," said Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association.
"It is a shame that abstinence education opponents too early use any statistics to denigrate an approach that offers teens the best skills to avoid all the consequences of sex, including teen pregnancy," Huber said.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Birthrate declines for American teenagers" by Cheryl Wetzstein, Washington Times 4/7/10
The Obama administration and Congress have created a $110 million teen-pregnancy-prevention program to replace the Bush administration's push for abstinence education.
The abstinence education initiative recently won a reprieve, however. A measure by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, Utah Republican, to continue the five-year, $50-million-a-year federal funding for the Title V Abstinence Education grant program was signed into law with the massive health care package.
The new NCHS report also showed that while the birthrate to unmarried women declined slightly (from 52.9 births per 1,000 single women in 2007 to 52.0 in 2008), the actual number of such births went up (from 1,714,643 to 1,727,950, a 1 percent increase) — reflecting an increase in the number of unmarried women. In addition, the portion of births to unmarried women rose to a historical high of 40.6 percent.
Conservatives and traditional values groups consistently decry the rise in unwed childbearing because of its high social costs and negative effects on children's well-being.
"The dramatic rise of unmarried births among 20-, 30- and even 40-something women has been one of the most troubling family-formation hallmarks of the last half-decade," said Glenn T. Stanton, director of global family formation studies at Focus on the Family.
"Many of these are women who would love to get married, but they hear their biological clocks ticking louder than the prospects of wedding bells," he added.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Americans Advancing 'One-World Religion'
President Obama's Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships has an "interreligious dialogue and cooperation" task force that includes a female Hindu priest, an Orthodox Jewish layman, a female Muslim pollster, a nondenominational evangelical Christian pastor, a pastor and black civil rights leader, and a Muslim youth worker.
UPDATE 4/6/10: Can America export 'interfaith model' to secularized Europe?
-- From "Interfaith movement gains new strength" by Julia Duin, Washington Times 4/5/10
Not since 1950, when the National Council of Churches was founded, has this much energy been aimed toward alliances across religious barriers.
Some say the lessening of fervor among evangelicals — the Southern Baptists, for instance, have been losing members several years in a row — is responsible.
Many point out that it's not American Christians but minority religious groups — Muslims, Mormons and Jews — who are providing the energy and creativity for this movement.
One of the newest interfaith initiatives is the annual "twinning" of synagogues and mosques, an effort sponsored by the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding to build bonds between Jews and Muslims. About 100 mosques and synagogues in North America and Europe "twinned" in November, double the amount that participated in the first Weekend of Twinning in 2008.
Evangelical Christians have been more resistant to interfaith dialogue but are slowly climbing on the bandwagon, especially with Muslims. Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., has had three such evangelical Christian-Muslim dialogues. The last one, an April 2009 gathering, attracted 30 scholars.
In August, the Rev. Brian McLaren, founder of Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville and a leader in the "emergent church" movement among evangelicals, announced on his blog that he and some friends would fast during the Muslim month of Ramadan.
Sometimes evangelicals and Muslims come together for a common cause, as happened in September when about 3,000 Muslims showed up on the Mall just west of the Capitol for a Friday afternoon prayer rally. While most evangelical outlets disparaged or ignored the gathering, the National Clergy Council, the Richmond-based Hillside Missions and the Christian Defense Coalition teamed up for a news conference to celebrate it.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
UPDATE 4/6/10: Can America export 'interfaith model' to secularized Europe?
-- From "Interfaith movement gains new strength" by Julia Duin, Washington Times 4/5/10
Not since 1950, when the National Council of Churches was founded, has this much energy been aimed toward alliances across religious barriers.
Some say the lessening of fervor among evangelicals — the Southern Baptists, for instance, have been losing members several years in a row — is responsible.
Many point out that it's not American Christians but minority religious groups — Muslims, Mormons and Jews — who are providing the energy and creativity for this movement.
One of the newest interfaith initiatives is the annual "twinning" of synagogues and mosques, an effort sponsored by the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding to build bonds between Jews and Muslims. About 100 mosques and synagogues in North America and Europe "twinned" in November, double the amount that participated in the first Weekend of Twinning in 2008.
Evangelical Christians have been more resistant to interfaith dialogue but are slowly climbing on the bandwagon, especially with Muslims. Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., has had three such evangelical Christian-Muslim dialogues. The last one, an April 2009 gathering, attracted 30 scholars.
In August, the Rev. Brian McLaren, founder of Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville and a leader in the "emergent church" movement among evangelicals, announced on his blog that he and some friends would fast during the Muslim month of Ramadan.
Sometimes evangelicals and Muslims come together for a common cause, as happened in September when about 3,000 Muslims showed up on the Mall just west of the Capitol for a Friday afternoon prayer rally. While most evangelical outlets disparaged or ignored the gathering, the National Clergy Council, the Richmond-based Hillside Missions and the Christian Defense Coalition teamed up for a news conference to celebrate it.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
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