[Active-l] (NEWS) Today's Cultural Warfare Update (2/2)

[Dara (R'ykandar Korra'ti)]

Concerned Women for America claims Plan B doesn't actually work anyway,  
so shouldn't be on the market; they quote Dr. W. David Hagar, who has  
been in these updates before as a source of pro-fundamentalist quotes  
on other issues; they abstract of the study linked to as being one that  
"refutes" claims of Plan B's effectiveness is worth reading; it's a  
study of the methodological difficulties of studying drugs like Plan B,  
and suggests methodological improvements. It does _not_ declare, as  
they imply, that Plan B doesn't work. The "further studies" they link  
to are newspaper articles. Mixing and matching misrepresented science  
and tabloid newspaper articles for fun and profit;

CWA on a Democratic congress; "Religious freedom will be threatened  
with each advance of the homosexual agenda";

CWA links to a Jerusalem Post article about South Africa's parliament  
legalising same-sex marriage;

Another WorldNetDaily article promoting the American Family Association  
action against Wal-Mart, condemning them for working with GBLT-owned  
companies and the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce;

Boston Globe has a story on the anti-contraception activist that the  
chief executive, Mr. Bush, appointed to be deputy assistant secretary  
for Health and Human Services; amoungst other things, he claims that  
sex outside of marriage leads to destruction of a person's ability to  
enjoy things and a heroin-like addiction to oxytocin;

Focus on the Family Canada claims Canadians back anti-abortion laws;

Canada Family Action Coalition report on anti-marriage initiative by  
religious groups in Canada; reportedly, a re-debate on C-38 could start  
in December;

Canada Family Action Coalition puts a whole series of anti-marriage  
videos online, linked to from a single web page;

New York plans to allow ID changes for people with GID without  
requiring genital reconstruction surgery (GRS); CFAC is not amused;

Canada Family Action Coalition reprints a Phyllis Schlaffy article  
against t3h gays who will destroy Christianity;

Washington Post editorial on Dr. Eric Keroack, mentioned above as a new  
Bush appointee to be deputy assistant secretary for Health and Human  
Services; notes that he'll be directing the Federal effort to make  
contraceptives available to low-income women, but doesn't support using  
contraception _at all_, so you can guess how good he'll be at _this_  
job; thanks to Andrew Sullivan (  
http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/11/what_eric_keroa.html ) for the  
URL;

Andrew Sullivan also links to the PDF on abstinence.net - authored by  
Dr. Keroack - in which he claims that premarital sex causes brain  
damage, as per the Boston Globe article above. I link to it below, with  
a sample slide excerpted;

Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM to encourage Mr. Bush to continue  
nominating fundamentalist-law supportive judges. They don't put it that  
way, of course, but c'mon;

FotF short article on US Catholic Bishops saying that gay Catholics who  
aren't abstinent should not take communion; they don't mention that the  
statement also outlined gay people as lessor, even if abstinent, and  
incapable of roles in the Church - again, even if abstinent;

Faith and Freedom network updates and promotes it's "Just Say  
Christmas" petition to retailers;

This is old, but I include it because of one interesting phrase; in the  
Dobson broadcast of November 6th - on Ted Haggard - Southern Baptist  
Theological Seminary President Al Mohler said, "I think one of the  
biggest dangers here is solitude. Someone has to be there to  
interrogate and investigate every aspect of our lives." That's quite  
the statement to be making, isn't it.


----- 1 -----
Study Refutes Claims of Plan B's Effectiveness
Concerned Women for America
11/15/2006
By Cara Cook

Further studies conclude morning-after pill does not reduce pregnancies.

http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11846/CWA/life/index.htm

The manufacturer of Plan B, the morning after pill, claims that the  
drug effectively prevents pregnancy in 89 percent of cases when it is  
taken within 72 hours after intercourse. The Food and Drug  
Administration (FDA) used this high efficiency rate as grounds for  
making Plan B available over the counter.

A meta-analysis1 of the methods used to test the drug's efficiency,  
however, offers evidence that an 89 percent efficiency rate is  
optimistic.

[More at URL]


----- 2 -----
A Democratic Win: So What Does It Mean?
This will be a challenging new Congress for pro-family Christians.
Concerned Women for America
11/10/2006
By Wendy Wright, President

http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11824/CWA/misc/index.htm

Within hours after the election, the post-mortems began, deciphering  
what the voters want and who was at fault for the Republican losses.  
Many people recognized the damage of the scandals and of Republicans  
losing their vision for values and responsible government. Leaders  
admitted their collective faults and committed to pursue conservative  
values.

[...]

This will be a challenging new Congress for pro-family Christians.  
Religious freedom will be threatened with each advance of the  
homosexual agenda. Those at the beginning and end of life will need us  
to protect them, so they are treated as human beings, not material to  
be carved up, denied sustenance, and treated as waste or material for  
research. Our national sovereignty could be handed over, through  
treaties and agreements, to international bodies.

Some Democrat and Republican leaders recognize they cannot win  
elections without courting Christians. But it's up to us to let them  
know what we expect them to do to win our support.

[More at URL]


----- 3 -----
Nov. 15, 2006 11:55 | Updated Nov. 15, 2006 12:13
Historic same-sex marriage bill passed in South Africa
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
CAPE TOWN, South Africa

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite? 
cid=1162378404053&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

ay couples in South Africa can be joined in matrimony under new  
legislation passed by parliament in an unprecedented move in a  
continent where homosexuality is taboo.

Veterans of the governing African National Congress hailed the Civil  
Union Bill for extending basic freedoms to everyone under the spirit of  
the country's first post-apartheid constitution, adopted a decade ago  
by framers determined to make discrimination a thing of the past.

"When we attained our democracy, we sought to distinguish ourselves  
from an unjust painful past, by declaring that never again shall it be  
that any South African will be discriminated against on the basis of  
color, creed, culture and sex," Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe  
Mapisa-Nqakula declared.

[More at URL]


----- 4 -----
Restoring 'Christmas' doesn't redeem Wal-Mart, critics say
American Family Association: Support for 'gays' objectionable
World Net Daily
Posted: November 10, 2006
5:00 p.m. Eastern

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52898

Using "Christmas" for its sales and promotions during this season is  
appropriate, and good, but it doesn't redeem Wal-Mart's sudden lurch to  
the left when it joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of  
Commerce, according to one of the biggest pro-family groups in the  
United States.

"Wal-Mart should remember that the majority of people in this country  
do not support things like same-sex marriage, and don't want the  
company giving money to groups that do support it," American Family  
Association Chairman Donald E. Wildmon said. "Shopping at retailers  
other than Wal-Mart might remind the company of that fact."

His group applauded Wal-Mart's announcement this week that it had  
decided to restore "Christmas" to the holidays, in its advertising, in  
store greetings, and other venues. The company a year ago had  
steadfastly stuck with "Happy Holidays," which ignored the reason for  
the season.

[...]

It was during an interview with WND in August Wal-Mart spokesman Bob  
McAdam said, "It is correct that we have a dialogue with the (gay  
chamber). This is just what businesses do."

Baird said Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton was such a moral man, "he  
wouldn't even allow music to be sold in his stores if it had bad  
language."

Baird now has announced plans to launch a series of protests in front  
of Wal-Marts in her part of the country to let others know of the  
corporation's agenda.

"As Christians we have to take a stand and get the word out because  
most people are not aware of what is happening," she said.

[More at URL]


----- 5 -----
Abortion foe to lead on family planning
Bush taps activist to advise on policy
The Boston Globe
By Bryan Bender and Alan Wirzbicki, Globe Correspondent  |  November  
17, 2006

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/11/17/ 
abortion_foe_to_lead_on_family_planning/

WASHINGTON -- President Bush yesterday appointed a Boston-area  
gynecologist known for his anti abortion work and advocacy for  
abstinence programs in Massachusetts to oversee the federal  
government's family planning efforts, sparking praise from  
conservatives and criticism from abortion-rights activists.

[...]

Dr. Eric James Keroack of Marblehead serves as supervising physician  
for five crisis-pregnancy centers in Massachusetts that seek to  
persuade what he calls "abortion-vulnerable women" to go through with  
their pregnancies.

In his new position as deputy assistant secretary for Health and Human  
Services, Keroack will be responsible for advising Secretary Michael O.  
Leavitt "on a wide range of health topics, including adolescent  
pregnancy, family planning, and other population issues," according to  
a department job description.

[...]

In a 2003 presentation to the International Abstinence Leadership  
Conference in Las Vegas, Keroack wrote in a PowerPoint item that  
"PRE-MARITAL SEX is really MODERN GERM WARFARE." The presentation  
outlined a purported scientific basis for how premarital sex ruins  
later relationships.

Keroack said teenage sexual activity blunts the brain's ability to  
develop emotional relationships. Comparing sex to drug use, he said the  
hormone produced by the brain after orgasm, oxytocin , will eventually  
diminish a person's ability to form emotional attachments. Keroack said  
premarital sex can lead to overproduction of oxytocin.

In the 2001 paper for Abstinence Medical Council that he co authored  
with Diggs, the two doctors concluded: "People who have misused their  
sexual faculty and become bonded to multiple persons will diminish the  
power of oxytocin to maintain a permanent bond with an individual. . .  
. Just as in heroin addiction . . . the person involved will experience  
'sex withdrawal' and will need to move on to a . . . new sex playmate."

[More at URL]


----- 6 -----
Most Canadians back abortion limits
Focus on the Family Canada
November 15, 2006

http://www.fotf.ca/tfn/life/stories/111506.html

A clear majority of Canadians continue to want restrictions on when a  
woman can abort her unborn child, despite the unwillingness of most  
politicians to address the issue.

A new Environics poll commissioned by LifeCanada found that 64 per cent  
of respondents support protecting human life at some point prior to  
birth – whether from conception (31 per cent), after three months of  
pregnancy (23 per cent), or after six months of pregnancy (10 per  
cent). This is up from 60 per cent a year earlier.

“This [increase] may reflect the high-profile murders of pregnant women  
over the past year and the frustration that the police cannot charge  
the perpetrators with two murders,” LifeCanada president Joanne Byfield  
told LifeSiteNews.com. “Our laws do not recognize these babies as human  
beings with rights, so killing them is not a crime.”

[More at URL]


----- 7 -----
Historic Declaration on Marriage Signed by Over 40 Denominations and  
Faith Leaders
For immediate release from The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada
Canada Family Action Coalition
November 10, 2006

http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/DoM-11-16 
-2006.htm

Ottawa - On November 9, Bruce J. Clemenger, president of The  
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, joined Most Rev. Marcel Gervais,  
Roman Catholic Archbishop of Ottawa, Very Reverend John Jillions, Dean  
Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral (Ottawa), Orthodox Church of America,  
and Rev. Ken Bellous, executive minister of the Baptist Convention of  
Ontario and Quebec, in an historic presentation to MPs of a joint  
Declaration on Marriage (PDF) (French version (PDF), signed by over 40  
denominational and religious leaders.

"As different faith communities, we came together to present to  
Parliament and society as a whole, our common view on marriage," said  
Clemenger. "The Prime Minister, by promising to hold a vote to re-open  
the debate on marriage, is giving Canadians an opportunity to have  
sober, second-thought on this issue. As communities of faith, we would  
welcome an opportunity to participate in reasoned and constructive  
public dialogue concerning the nature of marriage."

[More at URL]


----- 8 -----
You can now watch the Internationally acclaimed
documentary on the Bill which redefined marriage in Canada
"C-38: The Search for Marriage"
Canada Family Action Coalition
Online as of 20 November 2k6

http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/family/marriage/c-38- 
utubelinks.htm

Take your time. Learn the truth.

See why Canadian main stream media has refused to touch it,
and pass it on to all your friends.

[More at URL]


----- 9 -----
New York Plans to make Gender Personal Choice
The New York Times
Canada Family Action Coalition
Nov. 7, 2006
By DAMIEN CAVE

http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/sexuality/11-7-2006- 
NYtransgendered.htm

Separating anatomy from what it means to be a man or a woman, New York  
City is moving forward with a plan to let people alter the sex on their  
birth certificate even if they have not had sex-change surgery.

Under the rule being considered by the city's Board of Health, which is  
likely to be adopted soon, people born in the city would be able to  
change the documented sex on their birth certificates by providing  
affidavits from a doctor and a mental health professional laying out  
why their patients should be considered members of the opposite sex,  
and asserting that their proposed change would be permanent.

Applicants would have to have changed their name and shown that they  
had lived in their adopted gender for at least two years, but there  
would be no explicit medical requirements.

"Surgery versus nonsurgery can be arbitrary," said Dr. Thomas R.  
Frieden, the city's health commissioner. "Somebody with a beard may  
have had breast-implant surgery. It's the permanence of the transition  
that matters most."

[More at URL]


----- 10 -----
Gay agenda targets free speech
Nov 6, 2006 - Original Article
By Phyllis Schlafly
Canada Family Action Coalition

http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/issues/sexuality/free-speech.htm

Same-sex marriage is not the only goal of the gay rights movement. It's  
becoming clear that another goal is the suppression of Americans' First  
Amendment right to criticize the gay agenda. The gay lobby tried a  
broadside attempt to censor criticism by passing a national "hate  
crimes" law.

Fortunately, Congress didn't pass that law, but gay activists are  
obviously trying to achieve much the same effect through political  
pressure and intimidation.

Scott Bloch, the head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel in the Bush  
administration, has been targeted for termination because he removed  
"sexual orientation" from the list of anti-discrimination laws  
protecting employment at federal agencies. Bloch discovered that his  
Clinton-appointed predecessor, Elaine Kaplan, had unilaterally inserted  
"sexual orientation" in the list without any statutory authorization,  
so he removed it. The gay lobby retaliated, instigating five  
investigations against Bloch.

[More at URL]


----- 11 -----
To Oversee Family Planning
Someone whose clinics won't offer it
Sunday, November 19, 2006; Page B06
The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/18/ 
AR2006111800817.html

ERIC KEROACK is the medical director of an antiabortion "pregnancy  
counseling" center that refuses to distribute contraceptives or  
encourage their use -- even by married couples. The organization,  
called "A Woman's Concern," says it is "persuaded that the crass  
commercialization and distribution of birth control is demeaning to  
women, degrading of human sexuality, and adverse to human health and  
happiness." It believes -- despite abundant evidence to the contrary --  
that making birth control available, "especially among adolescents,  
actually increases (rather than decreases) out-of-wedlock pregnancy and  
abortion."

These views would be merely bizarre were it not for this additional  
disturbing fact: Dr. Keroack, an obstetrician-gynecologist, is about to  
start work at the Department of Health and Human Services, overseeing  
federally funded family planning programs. To put it simply, the Bush  
administration's choice to direct the federal effort to make  
contraceptives available to low-income women works for a group that  
doesn't support using contraception. What comes next -- a science  
adviser who doesn't believe in evolution?

[More at URL]


----- 12 -----
The Neuroendocrine and Biochemical Basics of Human Sexuality:
The Results of Non-marital Sexual Activity
Eric J. Keroack, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.
June 27, 2003
For the National Abstinence Clearinghouse 2003 Conference
Power-point presentation assistance
by Donna and Rossell Merrick

http://www.abstinence.net/pdf/contentmgmt/ 
EricKeroackPresentation2003.pdf

[...]

REVEALING THE DECEPTIONS OF THE 'SAFER SEX' MESSAGE

* It is not ALL about "PROTECTION" from STDs and UNINTENDED  
PREGNANCY... the resultant PSYCHO-SOCIAL EFFECTS can require a lot of  
time to heal
* Emotions and attitudes can be controlled, changed, developed, and  
matured. Being "responsible" means 'being willing to accept the  
consequences of one's behaviors... with honesty and dignity.
* PRE-MARITAL SEX is really MODERN GERM WARFARE.

[Much more in PDF]

[Ed. Note: All CAPS are as in original. There are a lot more slides at  
the URL, it's... interesting reading. In addition to the other things  
mentioned, it kind of looks like he was implying that premarital sex  
also causes autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder by through  
generation of oxytocin. But the presentation is... strange.]


----- 13 -----
Schumer Vows to Block the President's Judicial Nominees
Family advocates say judges should not legislate from the bench.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
15 November 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

When the 110th Congress convenes in January, Sen. Charles Schumer,  
D-N.Y., will become chairman of the Subcommittee on Administrative  
Oversight and the Courts and he's absolutely saying he plans to reject  
any of President Bush's judicial nominees who appear to be  
conservative.

"There will be no more right-wing judges, period," he told the New York  
Daily News. "(Bush) will have to negotiate with us, because we'll have  
the majority."

According to the New York Sun, Schumer said the single greatest failure  
of the Democrats was allowing Samuel Alito to join the Supreme Court.

“Judges are the most important,” he said. “One more justice would have  
made it a 5-4 conservative, hard-right majority for a long time. That  
won’t happen.”

With more than 50 federal judicial vacancies, Bush has many  
opportunities to place judges who see their job as interpreters of the  
Constitution rather than as makers of law. But every nominee must be  
approved by Schumer and his panel before further consideration. And  
Schumer will control the interview process.

The White House today submitted six nominations. Terrence Boyle of  
North Carolina and William James Haynes II of Virginia were nominated  
to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.; Michael  
Wallace of Mississippi was nominated to the 5th Circuit in New Orleans;  
Peter Keisler was nominated to the D.C. Circuit; and William Myers III  
and Norman Smith, both of Idaho, were nominated to the 9th Circuit in  
San Francisco.

Five of those nominees already have been through the ringer with  
Democrats. Last August, liberals in the Senate charged that the  
nominees were an attempt by the president to appeal to his conservative  
base. Schumer is using that same argument in his threats to obstruct.

''Democrats have asked the president to be bipartisan, but this is a  
clear slap in the face at our request,'' Schumer told The Associated  
Press in response to the news of the nominations. ''For the sake of the  
country, we hope that this is an aberration, because the president  
feels he must placate his hard-right base, rather than an indication of  
things to come.''

Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said  
Schumer is making a huge political mistake by "crying wolf" about  
"right-wing" judges.

"That's what he called Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel  
Alito," he said. "That was before the American public had the  
opportunity to watch them during their confirmation hearings and  
observe otherwise."

Those hearings, Hausknecht said, highlighted the truth that a  
"right-wing" judge is simply someone who believes the Constitution  
should be interpreted according to its original meaning, and that  
judges should use restraint, rather than legislate social policy from  
the bench.

Schumer, a graduate of Harvard Law, should know the role of judges, he  
said, but seems to have forgotten his law-school training and is trying  
to appease Democrats.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., said conservative candidates should have  
placed the issue at the forefront prior to November's election.

"When I was out traveling, that was the primary thing I talked about --  
and it registered with people," he said. "But I don't think we pushed  
it hard enough. We clearly should have, particularly in the Senate  
races."

November's election is over, Hausknecht said, and with a presidential  
election just two years away, Americans need to keep an eye on the  
judicial-nomination process.

"Schumer's rhetoric and planned obstruction of judicial nominees was  
sadly predictable," he said. "If his actions follow his rhetoric, which  
is absolutely contrary to the will of the voters, it will be a short  
two-year stint for the Democrats in control of the Senate."

TAKE ACTION:
If you'd like to encourage President Bush to keep nominating judges who  
properly understand their role, you may contact him 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.


----- 14 -----
U.S. Catholic Bishops: Celibate Gays Welcome
Focus on the Family
November 15, 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

Roman Catholic bishops in the U.S. have adopted new guidelines for how  
the Catholic Church should approach ministry to and by homosexuals.

According to The Associated Press, the bishops said homosexuals should  
not be regarded solely in terms of their lifestyle -- and should be  
welcomed into the Church. But to be considered faithful Catholics, they  
must also remain celibate. Homosexuals who do not should disqualify  
themselves from partaking in Holy Communion.

In addition, Catholic parishes were directed to help people avoid "the  
lifestyle and values" of the homosexual subculture.



----- 15 -----
Just Say Christmas Petition Update
Faith and Freedom Network
November 11. 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

Dear XXXXXX,

The response to our Just Say Christmas campaign has been overwhelming.  
We have received thousands of petitions from every state. Because the  
response has been so great and we have received so many requests for  
more time, we are extending the petition until Wednesday, November 15.

If you have not already signed the Just Say Christmas Petition, please  
do so by using the link at the bottom of this email. Just as  
importantly, there are 4 more days to get as many signatures as  
possible. Please forward this email to all your friends and family in  
your email circle.
Also, don't forget to order your Just Say Christmas Window clings.  
Click here.

Sign Just Say Christmas Petition!
God bless you,


Gary Randall
Faith and Freedom Network & Foundation
email: info at faithandfreedom.us
phone: 1-800-731-5328
web: http://www.faithandfreedom.us


----- 16 -----
The Ted Haggard Movement Airs Its Shame
The Huffington Post
Max Blumenthal
November 7, 2006

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-blumenthal/the-ted-haggard-movement- 
_b_33481.html

Throughout Focus on the Family's broadcast on the Ted Haggard scandal  
this Monday, James Dobson and his guests took special care to distance  
themselves from Haggard while unwittingly empathizing with their  
disgraced former ally's submission to what he called his "dark and  
repulsive" desires.

Syndicated radio host Ravi Zacharias confessed that he had cried  
himself to sleep the night before ("I've been weepy all day," Dobson  
interjected).

[...]

Another guest, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al  
Mohler, insisted, "I think one of the biggest dangers here is solitude.  
Someone has to be there to interrogate and investigate every aspect of  
our lives."

Finally, Dobson's co-host John Fuller piped up. "If you're struggling  
with sexual temptation," Fuller told his listeners, "Focus on the  
Family is here to help, and our number is 1-800-A-FAMILY."

Apparently Dobson and his movement have a lot more to hide than Ted  
Haggard. More seamy scandals are inevitable, but don't expect that to  
stop them from projecting their shame on others.

[Ed. Note: Focus on the Family November 6 show here:
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/Focus_on_the_Family/archives.asp? 
bcd=2006-11-6

Also, James Dobson has bailed on the "recovery" effort, having better  
things to do with his time, or something.]

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