[Active-l] (NEWS) Today's Cultural Warfare Update

Tue Aug 8 00:01:51 PDT 2006

This is really only a partial; it's mostly the Dobson empire (US and  
Canada) and the local Washington State fundamentalists, plus a couple  
of other sources. Hopefully I'll be able to get caught up on the other  
majors tomorrow.

Shi'a death squads continue to target gay men - and now also target  
sexually-molested boys, killing them as "immoral";

Gays and lesbians moving out of Virginia in response to increasing  
anti-gay laws;

Faith and Freedom Network calls Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) "One of  
Us," and is hosting him at a fundraiser;

Radio coverage of the fundamentalist confab, the "Values Voters Summit";

Focus on the Family jumps on the anti-GLSEN bandwagon, attacking  
Gay-Straight Alliance clubs, and GLSEN as an evil plot;

Anti-abortion-rights activist group files request with US Supreme Court  
to overturn <i>Doe v. Bolton</i>, the case that said you had to allow  
abortions to preserve a woman's health; the fundamentalists are already  
on record, of course, of not caring about the health of the women  
involved;

Faith and Freedom Network propaganda piece against the Washington State  
court system;

Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM looking for letters to the editor and  
letters to Congress supporting the "Prison Fellowship" programme, where  
states paid fundamentalist evangelical groups to convert prisoners to  
fundamentalist Christianity; unsurprisingly, it's been ruled  
unconstitutional as a state endorsement of religion; they seem to be  
quite afraid of this case and are desperate to see it overturned;

Anti-abortion-rights activists continue to push for the so-called  
"partial-birth abortion ban" to be retained; they're specifically  
targeting the idea that abortion bans have to include health exemptions  
for the woman;

Focus on the Family outraged that a Vermont woman gets visitation  
rights from her ex-partner;

FotF: "Study Finds Many Homosexuals OK with Infidelity," says health  
professionals should have a responsibility to tell lesbian and gay  
people that their sexuality is "damaging";

Acres of lies: Focus on the Family story on several Kansas state school  
board "intelligent design" backers being voted out; calls it a "vicious  
smear campaign," a defat for "accurate science standards," and so on;  
god, what a load of crap;

Georgetown College in Kentucky is the latest of a series to break off  
with the Southern Baptist Convention over rising fundamentalism;

Vatican key in keeping GBLT groups out of consultant status at UN;  
unnamed Vatican rep quoted as using "special rights" language;

Focus on the Family Canada calls for stepping up the drug war;

Focus on the Family Canada reports on Canadian professor suspended and  
fined for anti-gay comments on his website; I don't know whether this  
involves Canadian speech laws, which I disagree with strongly, or is a  
private matter involving a school website where school conduct rules  
apply, where I still disagree but not as strongly.

----- 1 -----
Gays flee Iraq as Shia death squads find a new target
Evidence shows increase in number of executions as homosexuals plead  
for asylum in Britain
Jennifer Copestake
Sunday August 6, 2006
The Observer

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1838222,00.html

Hardline Islamic insurgent groups in Iraq are targeting a new type of  
victim with the full protection of Iraqi law, The Observer can reveal.  
The country is seeing a sudden escalation of brutal attacks on what are  
being called the 'immorals' - homosexual men and children as young as  
11 who have been forced into same-sex prostitution.
There is growing evidence that Shia militias have been killing men  
suspected of being gay and children who have been sold to criminal  
gangs to be sexually abused. The threat has led to a rapid increase in  
the numbers of Iraqi homosexuals now seeking asylum in the UK because  
it has become impossible for them to live safely in their own country.

[More at URL]

----- 2 -----
Feeling Unwelcome, Some Gays Vacate Virginia
November Ballot Ban Helps Fuel Migration
By Kirstin Downey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 7, 2006; Page B01

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/06/ 
AR2006080600797.html?referrer=delicious

Edel Quinones lived in Virginia for 10 years, but early this year, he  
sold his Arlington townhouse to move to the District.

"It felt like I wasn't welcome anymore," he said.

Quinones and his partner of three years are joining a migration of gay  
people out of Virginia in the face of recent legislative action they  
perceive as hostile.

[More at URL]

----- 3 -----
Santorum Invitation
Monday, August 07, 2006
Faith and Freedom Network

http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/2006/08/santorum-invitation.html

Gary Randall is co-hosting a luncheon for Senator Rick Santorum of  
Pennsylvania. As you know, Sen. Santorum (R-PA), is one of us and has a  
strong allegiance with people of faith.

If you would like to attend, you are invited. Please use the link below  
to view the invitation in pdf format and register for this event.

[More at URL]

----- 4 -----
Radio Shows to Broadcast from the Values Voter Summit
Focus on the Family
August 7, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041552.cfm

Popular radio hosts will broadcast live from the Washington Briefing, a  
Values Voter Summit scheduled for Sept. 22, 23 in Washington, D.C.

Some of those who will broadcast from the event include Carmen Pate of  
USA Radio; Wendy Christian with American Family Radio; Rennie Bishop of  
WWRL; Kevin McCullough with the MuscleHead Revolution on Salem radio;  
the Martha Zoller Show; the Lynne Breidenbach Show; the Armstrong  
Williams Show; the Marc Bernir Show; the Don Kroah Show; and the Kirby  
Wilbur Show.

[More at URL]

----- 5 -----
What GLSEN Doesn't What You to Know
Learn how a leading gay-activist group works to get in public schools.
by C. Sulley Cushman
Focus on the Family
August 7, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/commentary/a0041546.cfm

Few parents send their kids to school to be force-fed pro-homosexual  
messages day in and day out. Yet, that's exactly what's happening in an  
increasing number of schools across the nation. How are gay activists  
getting around parents and into America's classrooms?

[More at URL]

----- 6 -----
Doe v. Bolton Appeal Filed with Supreme Court
Will the court reconsider a case that helped bring abortion on demand?
by Pete Winn, associate editor
August 7, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041547.cfm

Lawyers for Sandra Cano — the "Jane Doe" in the landmark abortion case  
Doe v. Bolton — have filed a request with the U.S. Supreme Court to  
have the 1973 decision reconsidered and overturned.

In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court created a constitutional right to an  
abortion. Doe v. Bolton added the "health of the mother" exception that  
made abortion legal any time during pregnancy — right up to birth.

[More at URL]

----- 7 -----
Judicial Confusion
Friday, August 04, 2006
Faith and Freedom Network

http://www.faithandfreedom.us/weblog/blogger.html

Earlier this year, a Washington State Supreme Court Justice complained  
to the press that confusion was caused because of the "politicizing" of  
the judicial elections by some groups around the state.

[...]

In their attempt to secularize America, activist judges have  
purposefully tried to move society away from the church and religion,  
under the guise separation of church and state, toward what they call  
progressive secularism. In doing so, they have replaced administrating  
justice according to the law, with administering "fairness" according  
to their personal beliefs and agenda.

Pushing the misunderstood and misinterpreted comments of Thomas  
Jefferson in a letter to a group of Baptists regarding the separation  
of church and state, some actvist judges have, in too many cases, moved  
America away from our laws which were based on Judeo-Christian law and  
teaching.

Once they have achieved that "artificial separation" they and they  
alone become as god and decide what is "fair" in every court case.

[More at URL]

----- 8 -----
Prison Fellowship Takes Aim at Judicial Activism
If a ruling by a federal district judge in Iowa stands, the future of  
all faith-based ministries working in the public square is at stake.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
August 4, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/extras/a0041536.cfm

It's been just over a month since a federal judge in Iowa declared  
unconstitutional Prison Fellowship's InnerChange Freedom Initiative  
(IFI), ordered the program booted out of Iowa prisons and told the  
ministry to repay the state.

Prison Fellowship is fighting back in defense of the Christian-based  
prisoner-rehabilitation program, according to president and CEO Mark  
Earley. It's doing so on behalf of all faith-based ministries that get  
funds from the government -- or which work in government facilities  
like prisons.

[...]

TAKE ACTION:
1. Please pray for God's Will to be done in this important legal  
challenge. To learn more about the case and to follow it, please see  
the Prison Fellowship Web site.

2. If possible, consider writing a letter to the editor of your local  
newspaper, especially if you reside in Iowa, Texas, Kansas, Minnesota,  
Arkansas or
Missouri.

3. Please ask your senators to support -- and cosponsor -- S. 3696, the  
Public Expressions of Religion Protection Act.

You can contact them through the CitizenLink Action Center.

If you are a CitizenLink Daily Update subscriber, click on the blue  
"Take Action" button in the e-mail to be automatically logged in to our  
Action Center. Otherwise, click on this link.

----- 9 -----
Briefs are Filed in Partial-Birth Abortion Case
Challenges steadily move toward Supreme Court showdown.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
August 4, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041530.cfm

Liberty Counsel filed a friend-of-the-court brief Thursday with the  
U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood  
Federation of America, Inc., one of the cases challenging the federal  
ban on partial-birth abortion . The brief is on behalf of the  
Association of Pro-Life Physicians and nurse Jill Stanek.

[...]

“(The 8th Circuit) struck down the law saying that it didn’t have a  
health exception," he said, "and therefore it’s unconstitutional.”

[More at URL]

----- 10 -----
Vermont Court Grants Visitation to Lesbian
Focus on the Family
August 4, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041535.cfm

The Vermont Supreme Court today upheld a lower court decision that  
ruled a former lesbian must take her biological daughter from Virginia  
to Vermont for visitation with the woman's former same-sex partner.

[...]

"Today's ruling tramples on parental rights and state sovereignty," he  
said. "Virginia law refuses to recognize same-sex marriage or civil  
unions. Under the federal Defense of Marriage Act, Vermont does not  
have the right to impose its same-sex union policy on Virginia.

"The Vermont ruling illustrates that same-sex marriage or civil unions  
will inevitably clash with other states."

[More at URL]

----- 11 -----
Study Finds Many Homosexuals OK with Infidelity
Focus on the Family
August 4, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041532.cfm

Many homosexuals do not consider infidelity within their relationship  
immoral, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical  
Psychology.

[...]

"It's significant to see the psychological community being honest about  
the lack of long-term monogamous relationships among many men living  
homosexually," Haley said. "The next crucial step would be to put this  
admission into practice and warn gay- and lesbian-identified men and  
women. As professional caregivers, committed to the emotional and  
physical well-being of their clients, they have a moral responsibility  
to make them aware of the damaging repercussions of promiscuous sexual  
behavior."

[More at URL]

----- 12 -----
Kansas Analyzes Loss for Intelligent Design
Conservative school board members voted out.
from staff reports
August 3, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041518.cfm

Advocates of accurate science standards in public schools are looking  
for answers after a defeat in the Kansas primaries. The state board of  
education lost a conservative majority. That almost certainly means  
standards that currently allow open discussion about the pros and cons  
of evolution will be rolled back.

A misleading propaganda campaign was apparently too hard to overcome.

The Kansas science standards were supposed to be the gold standard,  
according to proponents of Intelligent Design (ID), written without  
bias and with no religious entanglements. That made it all the more  
frustrating when the pro-ID majority was voted out of office. Robert  
Crowther of the Discovery Institute said they were up against a vicious  
smear campaign.

[...]

But many people still think the Kansas model is still the way to go.  
Del Tackett, a senior vice president at Focus on the Family, said time  
is no friend of evolutionists.

[More at URL]

----- 13 -----
Colleges Sever Ties with Southern Baptists
The core issue is the integrity of the Bible.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
August 3, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0041517.cfm

More than 50 colleges from coast to coast are affiliated with their  
state’s Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), but half a dozen have  
abruptly severed ties over the past decade.

Georgetown College in Kentucky is the latest school to disassociate  
from the SBC. Dr. Hershael York, former president of the Kentucky  
Baptist Convention, said it all comes down to the Bible.

“They will tell you that the core issue is academic freedom. I will  
tell you that the core issue is the integrity of the word of God,” he  
said. “I cannot help but feel, every now and then, that they think you  
cannot be intellectual and believe that the Bible is literally true.”

[More at URL]

----- 14 -----
Homosexual Groups Seeking Official Status Rejected Again by U.N.
Focus on the Family
August 3, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/briefs/a0041521.cfm

Meeting in Geneva last week, the U.N. Economic and Social Council  
(ECOSOC) rejected three homosexual groups that had applied and been  
rejected earlier for official U.N. status. This despite intense  
pressure from an international coalition of homosexual activist groups.

According to the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, in late  
July, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission  
(IGLHRC) submitted a petition asking a U.N. body to overturn a decision  
made earlier in the year that rejected applications for U.N.  
consultative status from the Danish National Association for Gays and  
Lesbians, the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany and the  
International Gay and Lesbian Association - Europe.

[More at URL]

----- 15 -----
"Harm reduction" vs. "drug prevention"
[Ed. Note: in email, this was referred to as "The Myth of Harm  
Reduction"]
Today’s Family News
Focus on the Family Canada
August 2, 2006

http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/dependencies/stories/080206.html

If you believe that the government supports the parental desire to keep  
children from getting caught up in illicit drugs, you would be wrong,  
says one expert.

“The average parent may not realize that the drug policy in this  
country no longer is supportive of them as a parent,” Dr. Colin  
Mangham, director of research with the Drug Prevention Network of  
Canada, told Today’s Family News.

Since the 1990s, he said, Canada has moved away from funding what had  
been effective drug prevention programs and instead – with little or no  
public debate – adopted a policy of “harm reduction.” In Mangham’s  
view, it is based on the idea that “there isn’t anything that a person  
shouldn’t be able to do, we shouldn’t interfere . . . and that  
therefore we want simply to try to protect people from the consequences  
of their actions.”

[More at URL]

----- 16 -----
Prof suspended for "anti-gay" opinions
Today’s Family News
Focus on the Family Canada
August 2, 2006

http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/sexuality/stories/080206.html

Cape Breton University (CBU) history professor David Mullan is under a  
two-week suspension for publicly stating that “homosexuality is a  
repudiation of nature and the apotheosis of unbridled desire,”  
AgapePress reported last week.

Mullan, who was also fined $2,100, was suspended after an outside  
investigation – in which he refused to participate – convicted him of  
violating the university’s policy on discrimination and harassment.

[More at URL]

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