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

[Dara (R'ykandar Korra'ti)]

Northwest Airlines won't let a gay employee use the second ticket he  
won at the company Christmas party for his partner; they would for an  
opposite-gender spouse;

Italian embassy in Libya torched over Mohammed cartoons;

Focus on the Family story on anti-marriage votes coming up in 2006;

Nebraska A.G. talks optimistically about keeping queers from being  
married, and the case before the Federal appeals court;

FotF slams Fox News's Geraldo Rivera for making any connection  
whatsoever between Cheney shooting his friend in the face and not  
reporting it for a day or so and Kennedy's deadly car crash at  
Chappaquiddick; I include it mostly because it's interesting watching  
FotF play defense for the Republican party on an issue totally  
unrelated to any of their normal concerns; includes ACTION ITEM to  
complain to Fox News and Rivera himself; the best part is where they  
accuse Fox News's "The O'Reilly Factor" of liberal bias;

Bush wants Supreme Court to hear so-called "partial birth abortion" ban  
case;

**** In case you still think Focus on the Family is somehow a fringe  
group, here's a reminder that they aren't: their daily radio show wins  
the National Religious Broadcasters annual award for best radio talk  
show;

Illinois "is not the Massachusetts of the midwest;" fundamentalist  
group starts signature gathering for an anti-marriage amendment there;  
I don't know whether it includes civil unions, but almost all of them  
do;

Andrew Longman of Alan Keyes's "Renew America" kneels before Z/O/D/  
Dobson, apologises abjectly for criticising him;

Moscow's Gay Pride parade is vetoed by the city government in the face  
of united violence promises from local Muslim and Russian Orthodox  
leadership; Russian Orthodox Church compares homosexuality to leprosy;  
Muslim leaders say gay men should be killed and have no human rights;  
43% of Russians polled last year say gay men should be jailed; city  
government blames the queers, of course. Link swiped from <a  
href="http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/">Andrew Sullivan</a>'s Daily  
Dish;

Alliance Defense Fund's "Day of Truth" anti-gay counter to the "Day of  
Silence" campaign starts getting early plugs from WorldNetDaily; some  
fundamentalist groups are linking to it; this ADF is a legal  
organisation that fights abortion rights, GBLT rights, and for  
Christian religious instruction in schools;

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), who I have historically liked, personally  
disappoints me by introducing a bill to prevent Federal courts from  
"issuing rulings on religious freedom, reproduction, and marriage" - in  
other words, to except various rights from Federal court protection;  
this is one of those things the fundamentalists badly want, and, quite  
frankly, if it's Constitutional, I'm Arnold fucking Palmer;

In an earlier Cultural Warfare Update special edition, I quoted  
fundamentalist leaders talking about how <em>everything</em> would have  
to be reconsidered from a perspective of "Intelligent Design"; one  
example is apparently oil exploration; World Net Daily gives friendly  
coverage to a religious group doing oil exploration in Israel based on  
their interpretation of the Old Testament; now, this is the Middle  
East, so they probably will find some oil, but, well, this is what they  
want to call science, in action; geology isn't important,  
interpretations of Bible verses are, and "and then a miracle occurs" is  
a valid process step. I can't wait to see the first patent for that  
kind of process, can you?

<lj-cut text="Articles and excerpts">
----- 1 -----
Gay airline employee told he cannot use his free tickets
Mother Jones Online
February 15, 2006

http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2006/02/ 
gay_airline_emp.html

Rob Anders of La Mirada, California, is a long-time airline industry  
employee. At his company's Christmas party, Anders won a pair of  
round-trip airline tickets from Northwest Airlines, to be used by him  
and a companion. He chose his partner of fifteen years, and they  
decided to use the free trip to visit Anders' mother and attend a  
family reunion in Florida. The airline, however, refused to accept  
Anders' partner as the other passenger. A Northwest representative said  
that the airline would recognize only a spouse, another airline  
employee, or a dependent child as a "companion."

[...]

Anders and his partner registered as domestic partners in 2004, but the  
airline representative specifically stated that Northwest would not  
accept a domestic partner in lieu of a spouse.

[More at URL]


----- 2 -----
Rioters torch Italian consulate, Libyan officials say
11 reported dead or wounded
Friday, February 17, 2006; Posted: 6:09 p.m. EST (23:09 GMT)
CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/02/17/cartoon.protest.ap/ 
index.html?section=cnn_topstories

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) -- Libyans protesting the Prophet Mohammed cartoons  
set fire to the Italian consulate in Benghazi on Friday in a riot that  
left 11 people dead or wounded, Libyan security officials said.

[More at URL]


----- 3 -----
STATES PREPARE TO VOTE ON PROTECTING MARRIAGE
Efforts are under way nationwide to constitutionally define marriage.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
February 17, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039579.cfm

When Idaho's Legislature passed a measure earlier this
week to place a constitutional amendment to protect
marriage on the ballot in November, it joined the growing
trend among states to put the issue before the people.

Julie Lynde, spokeswoman for the Cornerstone Institute of
Idaho, said she's happy her state will be among those
voting on whether to define marriage as between one man
and one woman.

"This is the first time that the people of Idaho will get
to vote on this issue," she said. "Marriage is so
foundational, and the people of Idaho have wanted to be
able vote on this for four years now."

[More at URL]


----- 4 -----
Q&A: NEBRASKA ATTORNEY GENERAL JON BRUNING
Official explains how the marriage amendment arguments went at the 8th  
Circuit.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
February 17, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/feature/a0039578.cfm

A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in St. Louis recently heard a challenge to
Nebraska's constitutional amendment defining marriage as
between one man and one woman.

The amendment, which passed in 2004 with 70 percent
support of the voters, was defended in court by the
Nebraska attorney general's office. CitizenLink recently
spoke with Attorney General Jon Bruning about the case.

A former Nebraska lawmaker, after the 2002 election,
Bruning became the youngest attorney general in the
state's history as well as the youngest attorney general
in the United States.

Q. How do you think the arguments went?

A. I think arguments went very, very well. Chief Deputy
Attorney General Matt McNair argued the case for the state
of Nebraska. I thought he did a beautiful job. I was there
with him, of course, at counsel table.

I was very pleased with the three-judge panel, and their
questions. It seemed to indicate they had a deep
understanding of the case and of our particular side of
the case. So, I feel very, very good about the way things
went.

Q. It would appear this amendment had a great deal of
support among the people. The position of Nebraskans on
marriage seems to be very clear.

A. It is. Nebraskans have always had a very
straightforward conservative understanding of this type of
relationship. Marriage is the union between a man and a
woman by the definition of the amendment, and Nebraskans
overwhelmingly supported that.

That isn't to insinuate that there was any animus on the
part of Nebraskans. I think to imply that 70 percent of
Nebraskans are angry at gay people is a misstatement. That
simply is not the case. It simply is an incentive that the
people of Nebraska wanted to put into the constitution.

[Much more at URL]


----- 5 -----
GERALDO GOES TOO FAR
Rivera equates Dick Cheney's hunting accident to Chappaquiddick.
by Gary Schneeberger, editor
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
February 17, 2006

SUMMARY: Rivera's equating of Dick Cheney's hunting
accident to Ted Kennedy's Chappaquiddick scandal
spotlights the depth of mainstream journalism's liberal
bias.

http://www.family.org/cforum/commentary/a0039580.cfm

Considering the beating Vice President Dick Cheney has
been taking in the media for the last several days, you'd
think he was the first person in history to be on the
more-fortunate end of a "friendly fire" hunting accident.

He's not, of course, although he is the first person to be
on the more-fortunate end of a "friendly fire" hunting
accident who serves as the No. 2 guy in a presidential
administration that many in the mainstream media hate with
as much crazed vigor as the Joker hates Batman.

The sensationalism of the coverage -- preoccupied mostly
with why Cheney didn't speak out sooner about the
accidental shooting of his hunting buddy Harry Whittington
-- reached its apex the other night on the Fox News
Channel's "O'Reilly Factor," when correspondent Geraldo
Rivera equated Cheney's mishap with the infamous
Chappaquiddick incident that forever doomed Ted Kennedy's
White House aspirations.

[...]

Lumping Cheney's accident in with Chappaquiddick, though,
is beyond the pale even for a guy with Geraldo's resume.
As a refresher, "Chappaquiddick" is the shorthand used for
the 1969 scandal in which already-Sen. Kennedy drove a car
off a bridge in the middle of the night after a party on
Martha's Vineyard, swimming to safety himself but leaving
a passenger, a young woman named Mary Jo Kopechne, inside
the car to drown. Kennedy did not report the incident to
authorities until the next morning, about nine hours
later.

How does Geraldo sum up that scandal? He told O'Reilly on
Wednesday, twice, that it was just "a driving accident."

[...]

TAKE ACTION: Let Geraldo Rivera know what you think of his
equating Dick Cheney's hunting accident with Ted Kennedy's
Chappaquiddick scandal. You can find contact information,
including an easy-to-use e-mail form, in the CitizenLink
Action Center.

http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/dbq/media/? 
command=ind_pages&ind_id=1298&deptid=7457

[More at URL]


----- 6 -----
Bush Wants High Court to Hear Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Case
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
February 17, 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

The Bush administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court
to place a case about the federal partial-birth abortion
ban on the list of cases it will hear this year,
LifeNews.com reported.

Partial-birth abortion is a procedure in which a physician
delivers a preborn child feet first, until only the head
remains inside the mother. A sharp instrument is inserted
into the base of the skull and the brains are extracted,
then the doctor finishes delivering the dead baby.

While experts have testified over and over that the
procedure is never necessary to protect a woman's life or
health, three separate appellate courts have ruled the
federal ban on the procedure unconstitutional because of a
lack of health exception.

The Bush administration supports a ban on the procedure.

The high court is expected to announce which cases will be
heard next week.


----- 7 -----
“Focus on the Family” Broadcast Named Best Radio Talk Show
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
February 17, 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

Dr. James Dobson's “Focus on the Family” radio broadcast
will receive the “Best Radio Talk Show” award from the
National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) organization on Feb.
18.

Jim Daly, Focus on the Family's president and CEO, will
accept the award at the 2006 NRB Annual Convention &
Exposition in Dallas.

In a letter to NRB President Dr. Frank Wright, Dr. Dobson
wrote: “I believe we’re producing some of our best
programming ever these days, and we’ve been especially
heartened that our evangelistically oriented broadcasts
have been so well-received. NRB’s gracious recognition of
our efforts affirms that the Lord is using our radio
outreach to impact lives, and I hope you’re aware that we
don’t take this tribute lightly.”

Heard on more than 2,000 U.S. radio facilities by more
than 1.5 million listeners each day, the “Focus on the
Family” broadcast has been dedicated to informing,
supporting, and encouraging parents and families for more
than 25 years.

For more information: To learn more about the “Focus on
the Family” radio program or to find a local affiliate,
visit this Web site.

http://www.family.org


----- 8 -----
Illinois Gears Up For Marriage Signature Drive
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
February 17, 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

More than 7,000 people in Illinois have volunteered to
gather signatures in order to ensure a constitutional
amendment protecting marriage makes it onto the November
ballot.

Protect Marriage Illinois needs to gather the signatures
of 283,111 registered voters by May 8 to qualify for the
November election.

The amendment states: "To secure and preserve the benefits
of marriage for our society and for future generations of
children, a marriage between a man and a woman is the only
legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this
state."

Peter LaBarbera, executive director of the Illinois Family
Institute, said the momentum of the signature drive is
beyond expectations.

"From African-American evangelicals in Chicago to Muslims
in Villa Park to Catholics in Carbondale," he said, "this
is truly a diverse movement of people who are uniting to
defend marriage in Illinois."

The people of Illinois, he said, believe activist judges
do not have the right to redefine marriage.

"Marriage and family are the bedrock institutions of
society for the raising of children," he said. "Illinois
is not the Massachusetts of the Midwest."


----- 9 -----
Editorial Writer Critical of Dobson Apologizes
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
February 17, 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

Andrew Longman, a writer who contributes to Alan Keyes'
Web site Renew America, has posted an apology on the site
-- expressing regret over his recent editorial that was
filled with scathing criticism of Focus on the Family and
its founder Dr. James Dobson.

Longman originally disparaged Dobson for his support of
Colorado's SB 166, accusing him of helping homosexuals on
the path to gay marriage.

"I apologize most profusely to Dr. Dobson, to Dr. Keyes,
and to the community of believers at large for allowing
angry passion to motivate personal remarks, rather than
keeping a discussion firmly based in ideas," he posted
Thursday. "The ideas are very important, and I have drawn
focus away from them through poor sportsmanship, and I am
sorry."

Longman said Keyes had come down hard on him for his
sarcastic and derogatory explanation of the issue and made
clear his words were not a reflection of Keyes' thoughts.

"I must state forthrightly that my remarks in a recent
column regarding a Colorado Senate bill and Dr. James
Dobson are fully and completely my own imagination and
rendering," he wrote. "It would be impossible for me to
represent the particular thoughts of Dr. Alan Keyes in
that I have not exchanged any substantial dialog with Dr.
Keyes ever."


----- 10 -----
Russia's first gay parade vetoed by 'outraged' city
By Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published: 17 February 2006

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article345947.ece

Plans to stage Russia's first gay pride parade have been vetoed by  
Moscow's city government on the grounds that the idea has caused  
"outrage" in society.

Mayor Yuri Luzhkov's administration said yesterday it would not even  
consider an application for a parade, prompting Russia's gay community  
to threaten legal action in the European Court of Human Rights.

[...]

Earlier this week Chief Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin warned that Russia's  
Muslims would stage violent protests if the march went ahead. "If they  
come out on to the streets anyway they should be flogged. Any normal  
person would do that - Muslims and Orthodox Christians alike ... [The  
protests] might be even more intense than protests abroad against those  
controversial cartoons."

The cleric said the Koran taught that homosexuals should be killed  
because their lifestyle spells the extinction of the human race and  
said that gays had no human rights.

The Russian Orthodox Church has called it "the propaganda of sin".  
Bishop Daniil of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk yesterday condemned the plans as a  
"cynical mockery" and likened homosexuality to leprosy.

The mayor's spokesman, Sergei Tsoi, said a parade would not be allowed.  
"[The plans] have caused outrage in society, particularly among  
religious leaders," he said.

[More at URL]


----- 11 -----
Christians counter homosexual 'Day of Silence'
'Truth' event at high schools nationwide responds boldly but 'in love'
Posted: February 17, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48869

High-school students nationwide will take part in a "Day of Truth" to  
counter homosexual activism and peacefully express a Christian  
perspective.

During school hours, students will wear "Day of Truth" T-shirts and  
pass out cards, said the Arizona-based public-interest group Alliance  
Defense Fund, which is sponsoring the April 27 event.

[...]

Alan Sears, the ADF's president, CEO and general counsel, said the  
event provides an opportunity to express a different perspective than  
the "Day of Silence," a campus activity, he contended, that promotes a  
radical homosexual agenda.

[More at URL]


----- 12 -----
Congress Must Pass ‘We, The People Act’
Traditional Values Coalition
February 16, 2006

http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=2616

February 16, 2006 – Texas Republican Representative Ron Paul has  
introduced the “We, The People Act,” H.R. 4379, a bill that will  
restrict federal courts (including the Supreme Court) from issuing  
rulings on religious freedom, reproduction, and marriage.

The bill was crafted by Rep. Paul with constitutional attorney Herb  
Titus. It is designed to prohibit renegade federal liberal judges from  
violating the will of the American people and state legislatures on  
important moral issues.

[More at URL]


----- 13 -----
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Will Bible lead to oil reserve under Israel?
Company using verses to map out drill sites in Holy Land
Posted: February 18, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48881

JERUSALEM – Does Israel have beneath its surface an enormous oil  
reserve mapped out in the Old Testament that when found will  
immediately change the geopolitical structure of the Middle East and  
confirm the validity of the Bible to people around the world?

So believe the officers of Zion Oil, a company using updated scientific  
methods alongside biblical text to explore for oil north of Tel Aviv.  
The company, which recently filed for an initial public offering on the  
American Stock Exchange, says it is making headway – including locating  
areas conducive to oil storage – and expects interesting finds in the  
very near future.

[More at URL]