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

Tue Nov 28 22:53:50 PST 2006

Mitt Romney - theoconservative candidate for the Republican nomination  
for President in 2008 - goes to court to force the legislature to put  
an anti-marriage amendment on the ballot in 2008, after they declined  
to do so. Interestingly, Focus on the Family brings up the "zomg he's a  
Mormon" issue on their own;

Fundamentalist leadership starts tearing into Barak Obama in response  
to him trying to talk to religious conservatives; seen courtesy Andrew  
Sullivan ( http://andrewsullivan.com );

Dennis Prager says that incoming Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN)  
should not be allowed to take his oath on the Koran, and that he must  
take it on the Bible; he is, according to a variety of sources, wrong  
about that - there's no law saying what you have to swear on, despite  
what Mr. Prager says; Prager calls not swearing on the Bible an attack  
on American civilisation;

RespectLifeUSA is starting an anti-contraception billboard campaign;

Supreme Court refuses to hear lawsuit by fundamentalist family - they  
wanted to use state vouchers for religious schools; Focus on the Family  
criticises the refusal;

Focus on the Family news article on New Jersey and Maryland marriage  
rights issues; they're trying to avoid legalised marriage rights in  
Maryland by pushing a "Equal Benefits Act" which would be a subset of  
rights and could be used by any two people; mind you, the rest of the  
time these things are called "counterfeit marriage," but when it's the  
best you've got, suddenly it's the reasonable and equal solution;

FotF report on efforts to make it harder to get abortions in Alabama  
via a new route; requiring physicians get more certifications - the  
more, the better;

Focus on the Family article slamming Newsweek claims that the Bible  
considers homosexuality and the murder of children in child sacrifice  
to be equal;

ABC soap opera to have a transgendered character - FotF is not  
impressed; mind you - and this is a personal word - since a soap opera  
(_Days of our Lives_) was the first TV show to ever give me nightmares,  
I'm not impressed either, but it's for different reasons;

FotF: Polygamists are borrowing from "the same-sex marriage playbook";

Indiana legislature to consider a Constitutional amendment banning  
marriage and domestic partnerships/civil unions in all forms;

FotF attacks the idea of church/state separation again - I just like  
the headline, really; "Dr. Dobson Helps Larry King Understand  
'Separation of Church and State,'" mostly by claiming there shouldn't  
be any;

Planned new Christian Coalition head hits the eject button when told  
that he couldn't spread the Christian Coalition message past  
anti-abortion and anti-gay activities; he'd wanted to focus more on  
other issues but was told no, so decided not to take over after all;

An example of the kind of proselysation the fundamentalist movement  
actually wants in schools;

The Thomas Moore Society files a wrongful death lawsuit against a  
fertility clinic which accidentally disposed of four frozen embryos  
without permission; the key point here is that they're suing  
specifically for _wrongful death_;

Focus on the Family ACTION ITEM against Alaska benefits for same-sex  
state employee couples; they want to stop the benefits from ever being  
put into place;

FotF supports anti-contraception/nonmartial-sex-causes-brain-damage  
Bush appointee to Health and Human Services family-planning head  
position;

FotF: Arizona voters voted down a state Constitutional marriage ban  
because they were mislead by gay activists;

Focus on the Family: Wal-Mart to "reconsider" support of National Gay  
and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; includes ACTION ITEM to thank Wal-Mart  
and urge they drop support for any GBLT groups; they've satisfied the  
American Family Association, so you can assume they won't be dealing  
with GBLT business groups anymore;

Anti-gay Alliance Defense Fund sues Ohio university for offering  
same-sex DP benefits;

ABC appeals Janet Jackson "Wardrobe Malfunction" half-million dollar  
fine;

USA Today runs a column by a pastor worried that the anti-gay focus of  
evangelical Christianity may discredit Christianity in a way not seen  
since Galieo; many of the comments at the end of the column are  
_really_ virulent;

Catholic bishops meet, say GBLT people must be closeted,  
straight-acting, and abstinent (not their words, but it cuts to the  
chase); the Baptists in South Carolina are moving to expel any  
GBLT-friendly Baptist church from the Baptist State Convention, and to  
start up investigations into and trials against congregations seen as  
too "gay-friendly"; Presbyterians are trying a minister for being  
involved in a lesbian couple's marriage ceremony.

----- 1 -----
Romney Files Suit to Support Marriage Amendment
Legislature continues to ignore the will of the people.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
11-28-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003236.cfm

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney made good on a pledge he made before  
Thanksgiving to press lawmakers in his state to vote on placing a  
marriage amendment on the 2008 state ballot.

Romney joined a lawsuit Friday alongside 10 of the signers of the  
original citizen's petition seeking the amendment to define marriage as  
one man and one woman.

Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, said the  
suit seeks to force the Legislature to do its duty. Bay State lawmakers  
voted 109-87 on Nov. 9 to recess a Constitutional Convention without  
taking a vote on the marriage amendment.

[...]

Minnery, meanwhile, said it is really too early in the process to know  
how evangelicals might approach a Romney candidacy.

"He has a huge obstacle to overcome," Minnery said, "and that is the  
immensely deep theological differences between Christians and Mormons.  
It depends on what he says about that as to whether evangelicals would  
vote for him."

[More at URL]

----- 2 -----
Obama's Wooing Of Evangelicals Runs Into Fierce Resistance
TPM Cafe
By Eric Kleefeld

http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2006/nov/28/ 
christian_right_leaders_bash_obama_warren_appearance

Barack Obama's efforts to reach out to evanglical Christians in  
preparation for his possible Presidential campaign is running into very  
stiff resistance from the Christian right. As the Chicago Tribune  
reported recently, Obama is set to attend a huge evangelical gathering  
in California on Dec. 1, at the invitation of megachurch Pastor Rick  
Warren, the evangelical superstar who wrote The Purpose-Driven Life.  
Analysts have interpreted Obama's scheduled appearance as a sign he's  
working much harder than Dems ordinarily do to win over Evangelicals.

But the appearance is now provoking an intense backlash from leaders of  
the Christian right. They are calling on Warren to disinvite Obama from  
the event because of his liberal positions, especially abortion rights  
— or as one of those leaders put it, Obama's support of "the murder of  
babies in the womb."

[More at URL]

----- 3 -----
America, Not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his  
oath on
By Dennis Prager
Tuesday, November 28, 2006

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/DennisPrager/2006/11/28/ 
america,_not_keith_ellison,_decides_what_book_a_congressman_takes_his_oa 
th_on

Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States  
Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the  
Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran.

He should not be allowed to do so -- not because of any American  
hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American  
civilization.

[More at URL]

----- 4 -----
Yellow Snapdragons
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Ridiculous

http://yellowsnapdragons.blogspot.com/2006/11/ridiculous.html

These billboards are all over Tulsa.

[Picture at URL]

----- 5 -----
U.S. Supreme Court Turns Away School-Voucher Case
Parents sought to use vouchers for religious-school tuition.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
11-28-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003235.cfm

The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal Monday to hear a school-voucher case  
out of Maine leaves a confusing patchwork of laws around the country.

Eight families from rural communities without high schools sought to  
use vouchers to send their kids to religious schools, but a state court  
ruled that an impermissible mixing of church and state. All the  
children involved in the suit have since graduated.

Their attorney, Dick Komer of the Institute for Justice, called the  
high court's refusal the "end of the road."

[More at URL]

----- 6 -----
Same-Sex Unions Pending in New Jersey, Maryland
Focus on the Family
11-28-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003233.cfm

While New Jersey lawmakers debate the best way to address a court order  
to provide benefits to same-sex couples, Maryland's Supreme Court is  
preparing to hear arguments concerning a lower-court ruling that struck  
down the state's marriage law.

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in October that the state must  
either allow same-sex couples to marry or create civil unions that  
offer the same rights and benefits.

Republican Sen. Gerald Cardinale introduced a constitutional amendment  
that would preserve marriage -- defining it as the union of one man and  
one woman.

"It is almost an obscenity that the Supreme Court would seize unto  
itself the power to order the Legislature to create legislation," he  
told The Star-Ledger. "That is unheard of in New Jersey.

"That kind of activism requires a reply," he added. "This is not a  
government of appointed justices."

Len Deo, president of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, said his  
organization is prepared to introduce a separate bill, called the Equal  
Benefits Act, that would protect the definition of marriage, but would  
also provide civil benefits not based on sexual orientation.

"There are many families who cannot have access to the benefits of  
marriage because their living arrangements are outside the realm of  
marriage," he said. "For example, two elderly women who are domiciled  
together, or perhaps a grandparent and grandchild."

[More at URL]

----- 7 -----
Abortionists Fight Proposed Rule Change Governing Clinics
Focus on the Family
11-28-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003231.cfm

Alabama abortion providers and pro-life advocates, at a public hearing  
in Montgomery on Monday, debated the need to tighten clinic  
regulations, The Birmingham News reported.

The hearing, held by the Alabama Department of Public Health, discussed  
proposed new regulations that would mandate physicians be board  
certified in obstetrics and gynecology in order to perform abortions.

[More at URL]

----- 8 -----
Newsweek Tells Evangelicals What to Do
The media hit on a new tactic.
by Don Feder
Focus on the Family
11-27-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/clcommentary/A000003203.cfm

After decades of excoriating evangelical Christians as bigoted morons,  
foaming-at-the-mouth fanatics and vile hypocrites -- both  
sexually-obsessed and sexually-repressed (part Elmer Gantry, part Elmer  
Fudd) -- the media have hit on a new tactic.

The cover story (“America’s God Complex – Like George W. Bush, The  
Religious Right Is At The Crossroads”) in the Nov. 13 Newsweek explains  
that evangelicals aren’t really that bad – it’s just that the poor  
fools have been duped by the Republican Party, their energies (which  
should be devoted to more worthwhile endeavors) diverted to sordid  
politics.

[...]

Leaders like Dobson, Falwell and Robertson have “lost their focus on  
the spirit of Jesus and have separated the world into black and white,”  
Hamilton declares. “I can’t see Jesus standing with signs at an  
anti-gay rally.”

Nor can one picture Jesus standing with a sign at a pro-life  
demonstration, an anti-pornography rally or a rally against global  
warming.

There weren’t many leather bars in Jesus’ day. In 1st century Judea,  
“gay rights” was a non-issue. There also weren’t rallies against child  
sacrifice or ritual prostitution – which the Bible puts in the same  
category as conduct of the San Fran persuasion.

[...]

Since their political awakening in the mid-1970s, while evangelicals  
worked to end the scourge of abortion and stay the steady march of  
social decay (the Sodomizing of American culture), they have  
simultaneously raised billions to fight famine in Africa, build homes  
for the poor, rehabilitate addicts and provide aid to the most  
destitute among us.

[Lots more at URL]

----- 9 -----
Soap Opera to Introduce Transgendered Character
Focus on the Family
11-27-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003218.cfm

ABC's All My Children is about to introduce the story of a  
transgendered character on the way from being a man to being a "woman."

According to The Associated Press, rock star Zarf will fall in love  
with a lesbian character later this week, leading to the gender  
confusion.

[More at URL]

----- 10 -----
Polygamists Borrow from Same-Sex Marriage Playbook
The same legal strategies are increasingly being employed.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
11-27-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003201.cfm

Adopting a strategy from the same-sex marriage playbook, polygamists  
are attempting to move into the mainstream by deemphasizing their  
religious beliefs and focusing on personal freedoms. The goal is to  
decriminalize plural marriages.

Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law  
School, told Family News in Focus he does not support polygamy in  
practice, but added, "I believe that the criminalization of polygamy is  
wrong."

[More at URL]

----- 11 -----
Indiana Lawmakers to Consider Marriage Amendment
Focus on the Family
11-27-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003220.cfm

The Democratic majority in the Indiana House of Representatives has  
announced it will bring forward SJR 07 -- a proposed constitutional  
amendment to protect marriage from redefinition. If the measure passes,  
voters will see the amendment on the 2008 ballot, the Indiana Daily  
Student reported.

Incoming Speaker of the House Patrick Bauer, a Democrat from South  
Bend, said his intention of bringing the bill to the floor is to see  
its defeat, but the amendment earned overwhelming approval from both  
chambers in 2005.

[More at URL]

----- 12 -----
Dr. Dobson Helps Larry King Understand 'Separation of Church and State'
Focus founder correctly points out it's not anywhere in a foundational  
document.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
11-27-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003215.cfm

In an interview turned history lesson, Dr. James Dobson, founder and  
chairman of Focus on the Family, helped talk-show host Larry King  
understand -- over his protests -- that "separation of church and  
state" is not found in the U.S. Constitution.

During last week's hour-long conversation on Larry King Live, King  
quizzed Dr. Dobson on myriad topics including O.J. Simpson's rejected  
book, the fall of evangelical leader Ted Haggard and Michael J. Fox's  
TV ad for embryonic stem-cell research. But when the discussion turned  
to attempts to redefine marriage -- the TV host made it an issue of  
separation of church and state.

KING: Why is it a state institution rather than a religious  
institution? Why is the state involved?

DOBSON: Well, it's both. It is both.

KING: But we have a separation of church and state.

DOBSON: Beg your pardon?

KING: We have a separation of church and state.

DOBSON: Who says?

KING: You don't believe in separation of church and state?

DOBSON: Not the way you mean it. The separation of church and state is  
not in the Constitution. No, it's not. That is not in the Constitution.

[More at URL]

[Editor's note: The meme they're propagating here is that because the  
phrase "separation of church and state" doesn't appear in the document,  
there's not actually any such thing. This is a combination of bullshit,  
memetic story-making, and big-lie propaganda, and is related to the  
assertion being spread in similar circles that the 14th amendment only  
applies to racial issues. This is mostly because the leadership knows  
full well that the 1st amendment has this affect, and that the 14th  
amendment spread these protections to the state. The idea appears to be  
that if they can get people to think that the 14th amendment actually  
only applies to race, then they can get more state involvement in  
religion at the state level.]

----- 13 -----
Longwood pastor quits as coalition president
The Rev. Joel Hunter was set to take the reins of the national  
Christian Coalition.
Willoughby Mariano | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted November 23, 2006

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl- 
coalition2306nov23,0,5647938.story?coll=orl-news-headlines-seminole

The Central Florida pastor recently tapped to lead the Christian  
Coalition of America resigned his position in a dispute about  
conservative philosophy -- more than a month before he was to fully  
assume his post, he said Wednesday.

The Rev. Joel Hunter, of Longwood's Northland, A Church Distributed,  
said he quit as president-elect of the group founded by evangelist Pat  
Robertson because he realized he would be unable to broaden the  
organization's agenda beyond opposing abortion and gay marriage.

He hoped to include issues such as easing poverty and saving the  
environment.

"These are issues that Jesus would want us to care about," Hunter said.

[...]

The coalition's rejection of Hunter's approach means it is unwilling to  
part with its partisan, Republican roots, Hunter said.

"To tell you the truth, I feel like there are literally millions of  
evangelical Christians that don't have a home right now," Hunter said.

[...]

Critics called him "liberal," a label Hunter said he rejects. He is  
against abortion and gay marriage.

[More at URL]

----- 14 -----
Public school teacher tells class: 'You belong in hell'
Jim Lippard

http://richarddawkins.net/article,335,Public-school-teacher-tells- 
class-You-belong-in-hell,Jim-Lippard

Reposted from:
http://lippard.blogspot.com/2006/11/public-school-teacher-tells-class- 
you.html

The following is from Paul L. LaClair, a NYC attorney who lives in  
Kearny, New Jersey, and is posted with his permission. David  
Paszkiewicz, the teacher described here engaging in incompetent  
teaching and dishonesty, is apparently a youth pastor at Kearny Baptist  
Church in addition to being a public school teacher. LaClair's son  
Matthew has previously garnered attention for protesting Bush  
administration activities by refusing to stand for the Pledge of  
Allegiance. He seems to be a principled and courageous young man who  
has caught a really bad teacher:

Kearny, New Jersey
November 10, 2006

A history teacher at the local public high school here may have bitten  
off more than he cares to chew this fall. Self-described conservative  
Baptist David Paszkiewicz used his history class to proselytize  
biblical fundamentalism over the course of several days at the  
beginning of this school year.

Among his remarks in open class were statements that a being must have  
created the universe, that the Christian Bible is the word of God, and  
that dinosaurs were aboard Noah's ark. If you do not accept Jesus, he  
flatly proclaimed to his class, "you belong in hell." Referring to a  
Muslim student who had been mentioned by name, he lamented what he saw  
as her inevitable fate should she not convert. In an attempt to promote  
biblical creationism, he also dismissed evolution and the Big Bang as  
non-scientific, arguing by contrast that the Bible is supported by what  
he calls confirmed biblical prophecies.

[More at URL]

----- 15 -----
Pro-Life Attorneys File Briefs in Embryo-Death Case
Focus on the Family
11-22-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003186.cfm

The Thomas More Law Society filed briefs in Illinois Appellate Court in  
a wrongful-death suit against a fertility clinic accused of disposing  
of a couple's frozen embryos without permission.

In 2005 Cook County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Lawrence found that  
Alison Miller and Todd Parrish had cause to sue Chicago's Center for  
Human Reproduction for mistakenly disposing of the embryos four years  
prior.

Lawrence cited the 1980 Wrongful Death Act which allows for lawsuits to  
be filed if preborn babies are killed in an accident or assault,  
regardless of their "state of gestation or development."

"Philosophers and theologians may debate, but there is no doubt in the  
mind of the Illinois Legislature when life begins," he said. "It begins  
at conception."

[More at URL]

----- 16 -----
Alaska Lawmakers Delay Same-Sex Benefits
Focus on the Family
11-22-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003185.cfm

The Alaska Legislature, during a special session called by Gov. Frank  
Murkowski, passed a bill that seeks to postpone the implementation of  
court-ordered same-sex benefits for state employees and retirees, The  
Associated Press reported.

Residents of Alaska voted in favor of a constitutional amendment in  
1998 to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, but,  
shortly after, 14 homosexual couples, represented by the American Civil  
Liberties Union (ACLU), challenged the state, demanding employment  
benefits for same-sex partners.

The state Supreme Court ruled that since same-sex couples can't get  
married, the state is obligated to give them benefits. The  
court-imposed deadline is January 1.

[...]

TAKE ACTION:
If you are an Alaska resident, contact Gov. Frank Murkowski and ask him  
to take the needed steps to ensure the implementation of same-sex  
benefits is delayed until the people and the Legislature have the  
opportunity to weigh in.

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.

[More at URL]

----- 17 -----
Dems in Congress Protest Pro-Life, Pro-Abstinence Nomination
Focus on the Family
11-22-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003183.cfm

Fourteen Democratic U.S. Senators have demanded that President Bush  
rescind his nomination of Dr. Eric Keroack to head the family-planning  
program at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), All  
American Patriots reported.

Keroack, who is pro-life, is currently a member of the Medical Advisory  
Council of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse and serves as the  
medical director for five crisis-pregnancy centers.

[...]

Raymond Ruddy, president of Gerard Health Foundation, said Keroack is a  
pioneer in the use of medical arguments to explain the devastation  
caused by abortion as well as the reasons teens should remain abstinent  
until marriage.

"He was one of the first doctors ever to really get involved in the  
medical aspect of some of these pregnancy-resource centers," he said.  
"For very, very little pay, he sacrificed a lot to help women do  
ultrasounds and do what was right in the abortion decision.

"It's pretty much what he has done all his life."

[More at URL]

----- 18 -----
Defeat of Arizona Marriage Amendment Influenced by Singles, Retirees
Focus on the Family
11-22-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003181.cfm

The Arizona campaign to defeat a constitutional amendment to define  
marriage as the union of one man and one woman used scare tactics to  
sway retired voters. Opponents falsely claimed the amendment would deny  
retirees of some benefits, The Washington Post reported.

Marty Rouse, national field director of the gay-activist Human Rights  
Campaign (HRC), said it's clear the majority of people in the state do  
not support gay marriage -- so his group had to use a different  
argument to sway the vote.

"Once you say 'gay' and 'lesbian,' people hone in on that," he said.  
"We have to focus on the majority of people that will be affected by  
this -- and the majority of people are straight couples."

[More at URL]

----- 19 -----
Wal-Mart to Reconsider Sponsorship of Controversial Issues
American Family Association cancels its boycott.
11-21-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003162.cfm

Wal-Mart has begun to distance itself from organizations that support  
“highly controversial issues” such as same-sex marriage, a company  
official said Tuesday.

The giant retailer had been criticized for making a $60,000 donation to  
Out and Equal, an organization for homosexual employees which deals  
with workplace issues, but which also supports changing the definition  
of marriage. The company also had joined the Gay and Lesbian Chamber of  
Commerce and sent it $25,000 in dues.

The Wal-Mart executive who served as the company's representative to  
the chamber has since left for unrelated reasons and will not be  
replaced.

[...]

“Going forward, we’ll be looking differently at organizations we donate  
to,” the official said. “There are some areas we need to get corrected  
and that is what we’re focused on.”

He emphasized the new direction was not aimed only at the issue of  
homosexuality, but also other social controversies. He was not more  
specific.

[...]

The American Family Association (AFA) canceled its call for a two-day  
post-Thanksgiving boycott of Wal-Mart after hearing the company's  
statement. AFA said it believes Wal-Mart will now remain neutral in  
cultural battles.

[...]

TAKE ACTION:
If you'd like to thank Wal-Mart for reconsidering the sponsorship of  
controversial groups, you can find contact information on the company's  
Web site.

[More at URL]

----- 20 -----
ADF to Appeal Ohio Domestic-Partnership Ruling
Focus on the Family
11-21-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003158.cfm

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) announced today it will appeal a  
decision by the Ohio Court of Common Pleas that declared the plaintiff  
did not have a right to pose a legal challenge to Miami University's  
domestic-partnership program.

In November 2004, Ohio voters passed a state constitutional amendment  
that defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman. In  
addition, the amendment prohibits the state from creating marriage  
substitutes, such as civil unions or domestic partnerships for same-sex  
couples.

Despite the amendment, the university offers benefits to same-sex  
partners if they file an "Affidavit of Same-Sex Domestic Partnership"  
which requires proof that the two share a common residence and are in a  
long-term committed relationship.

[...]

"We knew this would be a case with multiple appeals," he said. "ADF and  
its allies will continue the legal battle to defend the Ohio  
Constitution from this attempted end-run by state officials."

[More at URL]

----- 21 -----
CBS Appeals Fine over Wardrobe Malfunction
Focus on the Family
11-21-2006

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003157.cfm

CBS filed an appeal Monday with the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals  
concerning a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fine levied  
against the network for the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show in which  
Janet Jackson's breast was exposed, MarketWatch reported.

The FCC found that CBS had broken indecency standards and must pay a  
$550,000 fine -- representing 20 stations at $27,500 each.

In the appeal, the network argued it should not be accountable for "an  
unscripted, unauthorized, and unintended long-distance shot of Ms.  
Jackson's breast for nine-sixteenths of one second."

[...]

Clyde Ensslin, a spokesman for the FCC, said the commission stands by  
its findings.

"CBS continues to ignore the voices of millions of Americans, Congress  
and the Commission by arguing that Janet Jackson's half-time  
performance was not indecent," he said. "CBS believes there should be  
no limits on what can be shown on television even during family viewing  
events like the Super Bowl; we continue to believe they are wrong."

[More at URL]

----- 22 -----
When religion loses its credibility
Galileo was persecuted for revealing what we now know to be the truth  
regarding Earth’s place in our solar system. Today, the issue is  
homosexuality, and the persecution is not of one man but of millions.  
Will Christian leaders once again be on the wrong side of history?
By Oliver "Buzz" Thomas

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2006/11/when_religion_l.html#23more

What if Christian leaders are wrong about homosexuality? I suppose,  
much as a newspaper maintains its credibility by setting the record  
straight, church leaders would need to do the same:

Correction: Despite what you might have read, heard or been taught  
throughout your churchgoing life, homosexuality is, in fact, determined  
at birth and is not to be condemned by God's followers.

Based on a few recent headlines, we won't be seeing that admission  
anytime soon.

(Illustration by Adrienne Lewis, USA TODAY)

Last week, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops took the position that  
homosexual attractions are "disordered" and that gays should live  
closeted lives of chastity. At the same time, North Carolina's Baptist  
State Convention was preparing to investigate churches that are too  
gay-friendly. Even the more liberal Presbyterian Church (USA) had been  
planning to put a minister on trial for conducting a marriage ceremony  
for two women before the charges were dismissed on a technicality. All  
this brings me back to the question: What if we're wrong?

Religion's only real commodity, after all, is its moral authority. Lose  
that, and we lose our credibility. Lose credibility, and we might as  
well close up shop.

It's happened to Christianity before, most famously when we dug in our  
heels over Galileo's challenge to the biblical view that the Earth,  
rather than the sun, was at the center of our solar system. You know  
the story. Galileo was persecuted for what turned out to be  
incontrovertibly true. For many, especially in the scientific  
community, Christianity never recovered.

This time, Christianity is in danger of squandering its moral authority  
by continuing its pattern of discrimination against gays and lesbians  
in the face of mounting scientific evidence that sexual orientation has  
little or nothing to do with choice. To the contrary, whether sexual  
orientation arises as a result of the mother's hormones or the child's  
brain structure or DNA, it is almost certainly an accident of birth.  
The point is this: Without choice, there can be no moral culpability.

[... comments section is full of stuff like this:]

In spite of what you try to "prove" and your smear tactics against good  
Christian people, Bible-believing Christians will NEVER accept your  
lies and propaganda for a sinful lifstyle which God Himself in the  
Bible condemns. Homosexulality is sin and no one is born with it. Your  
hatred of the church only reflects your own bias. I you want to promote  
this perversion you have a right to do so, but don't condemn others who  
choose to believe the Bible instead of your lies and distortion!

Posted by: Michael Davenport | Nov 20, 2006 8:23:18 AM

[More at URL]

----- 23 -----
3 Christian Groups Move To Condemn Gay Sex
By Alan Cooperman and Peter Whoriskey
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, November 15, 2006; A01

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/14/ 
AR2006111401337_pf.html

BALTIMORE, Nov. 14 -- Faced with rising public acceptance of same-sex  
relationships, three U.S. Christian denominations are taking strong  
measures this week to condemn homosexual acts as sinful.

The nation's Roman Catholic bishops, meeting in Baltimore, declared  
Tuesday that Catholics who minister to gays must firmly adhere to the  
church's teaching that same-sex attractions are "disordered." Catholics  
with "a homosexual inclination" should be encouraged to live in  
chastity and discouraged from making "general public announcements"  
about their sexual orientation, the bishops said.

The largest Baptist group in North Carolina, meanwhile, moved to expel  
any congregation that condones homosexuality, adopting a policy that  
allows the Baptist State Convention to investigate complaints that  
member churches are too "gay-friendly."

And on Wednesday in Pittsburgh, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a  
mainline Protestant denomination with about 3 million members, will put  
a minister on trial for conducting a marriage ceremony for two women.

[...]

Donald W. Wuerl, Washington's new [Catholic] archbishop, said the  
document should not be seen as a crackdown on pro-gay ministries.  
Rather, he said, "the starting point is the church living in a culture  
in which these things are being promoted, and our task is to keep  
saying: 'Remember, here are the true teachings of the church.' "

Serratelli, summarizing the document, said the church considers  
same-sex attractions to be "objectively disordered" because "they do  
not accord with the natural purpose of sexuality." Although "simply  
experiencing a homosexual inclination is not in itself a sin," he said,  
homosexual acts are "sinful," "never morally acceptable" and "do not  
lead to true human happiness."

[...]

In North Carolina, the state Baptist Convention voted to broaden its  
fight against homosexuality by moving to expel churches that "affirm,"  
"approve," or "bless" same-sex relationships.

The measure targets as many as a dozen Baptist churches in the state  
that position themselves as actively welcoming gays, but it could  
exclude any church that enrolls openly gay members.

[...]

What made the measure extraordinary, church members on both sides said,  
is that for what may be the first time in the convention's 176-year  
history, membership in the group would be contingent upon a specific  
policy -- that is, treatment of gays.

"This issue has emerged as a litmus test," said Andrew Wakefield,  
professor of biblical studies at Campbell University, in Buies Creek,  
N.C., which is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention.

[More at URL]

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