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

[Dara (R'ykandar Korra'ti)]

Finally, another CWU; there will be another this weekend, as well.  
Sorry for the late; excuses are in the previous post, if you care.  
There isn't too much new in this one; I've got more in tomorrow's  
that has some jucier bits, particularly a nice spot of crankiness  
with fundamentalists complaining about how the UN pressures countries  
to decriminalise lesbians.

But for now, I'll stop wasting time and get to the news!

Woman arrested after reporting rape for an unpaid juvenile-theft  
fine; while in prison, they denied her emergency birth control on  
religious grounds. God damn, Florida's a piece of work, but keep in  
mind: this kind of control over the woman's birth control choices is  
exactly what the theocon movement is demanding. (Courtesy livejournal  
user rmd );

I'm mostly reporting this because it got reported badly by CBS; the  
Snickers ad that created the controversy wasn't so much the one aired  
- I've had it described to me, it seemed kinda funny with the chest- 
hair and all that - but the versions on the web that people were  
voting for next, one of which included double-suicide by drinking  
motor oil and antifreeze, and another of which featured the two men  
brutally attacking each other with car parts and wrenches; there were  
also clips of NFL players talking about queers are disgusting and  
"ain't right" and such;

"Evangelicals Wage Anti-Evolution War" - in Kenya. I reported an  
earlier story on this; they're trying to get natural history museums  
there not to display fossil artifacts;

Islamists get in on the Creationism movement, in France;

Polls show majority support allowing gay and lesbian people to serve  
in the military;

Focus on the Family article condemning attempts to remove 10  
commandments postings from government courthouses;

FotF: man who attacked a woman and caused a miscarrage ("killed her  
preborn child" - she was three months pregnant) gets a murder  
conviction and the death sentence; I'm fine with increased penalties  
for attacks which cause miscarriage, but the real (and stated) point  
here is moving towards abortion bans;

Anti-gay activist gets comment "that amounted to a death threat" on a  
blog comment; omg t3h int4rw3bz!;

Focus on the Family roundup on anti-abortion state legislation;

"Tonia and David Parker" sue a Lexington, Massachusetts school after  
it "equated same-sex unions with traditional marriage" - note that  
same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts, so in the eyes of state  
law, they _are_ equal; they want that stopped and pre-notification if  
"homosexuality was to be discussed";

FotF: "Liberals Protect Chickens Over Children";

University of Georgia changes rules in response to lawsuit, allows  
clubs to engage in religious discrimination - while receiving state  
funds; the club claimed that if they couldn't discriminate on the  
basis of religion that they were being discriminated against, and by  
the way, we demand funding from the university and state. We have two  
versions of this story:

	Focus on the Family's, "University of Georgia Affirms Christian  
Group," and;

	The Augusta Chronicle, which talks about the state funding and  
religious discrimination.

This pair of stories is mostly notable because of the "if we can't  
discriminate against people and get government funding, we're being  
oppressed" line they've been building; OH WAIT - look below; this  
same story happened a few days before in Missouri. _Interesting_;

FotF pleased that Mr. Bush's budget proposal "flatlines"  
comprehensive sex ed education funding while boosting "abstinence  
education" funding;

FotF loves reporting on Episcopalian churches splitting off, because  
of their female US leadership and their generally pro-GBLT policies;

FotF happy about "chilling effect" on speech of increased "indecency"  
fines;

FotF promotes abortion "waiting period," at the end of which women  
would be required to sign a document saying they weren't coerced into  
having an abortion;

FotF reports on anti-abortion-rights legislation in Virginia;

GOP to continue to push theocon-friendly judicial nominee confirmations;

Hm, this is neat; the _same organisation_ that sued the University of  
Georgia to get a club which explicitly discriminates on religious  
grounds recognised and state funded _also_ has this same shtick  
succeed in Missouri;

Court: Michigan State University cannot offer employees' same-sex  
partners health insurance under their new anti-marriage  
constitutional amendment; this was, of course, part of the goal;

Focus on the Family condemns including HPV vaccine in the mandatory  
school vaccination regimen in Texas;

Focus on the Family news report on anti-marriage amendment under  
consideration in the Indiana legislature; the American Family  
Association of Indiana says "the amendment would stop those who want  
to make marriage meaningless" - by participating in it as GBLT couples;

Faith and Freedom Network launches its new Washington State  
legislative strategy;


----- 1 -----
Woman jailed after reporting rape
By PHIL DAVIS, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 51 minutes ago

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070130/ap_on_re_us/jailed_rape_victim

TAMPA, Fla. - A woman who told police she had been raped was jailed  
for two days after officers found an old warrant accusing her of  
failing to pay restitution for a 2003 theft arrest. [Ed. Note: She  
was underage at the time; it was a juvie offense. See below.]

While she was behind bars, according to the college student's  
attorney, a jail worker refused to give her a second dose of the  
morning-after contraceptive pill because of the worker's religious  
convictions.

[...]

She reported the rape Saturday afternoon, and officers took her to a  
rape crisis center where she was given the first of two doses of the  
morning-after pill, McElroy said. The second dose is supposed to be  
taken within 24 hours.

Later, as she was riding in a patrol car trying to locate the crime  
scene in the dark, police found the warrant stemming from a 2003  
juvenile arrest for grand theft and burglary. It said she owed $4,585.

"They stopped the investigation right there," and put her in  
handcuffs, Moore said.

[...]

Moore said his client believes she paid the fine for what he  
described as a childish mistake. He didn't have details of that  
arrest, but the woman has no criminal history as an adult, according  
to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The sheriff's office, which runs the jail, said in a statement  
Tuesday that it is investigating the complaint and declined to  
comment further.

[More at URL]


----- 2 -----
Snickers Superbowl Web site promotes violence against gays and  
lesbians. Bears & Colts players react in disgust, on camera, to gays.
by John in DC - 2/05/2007 12:37:00 PM
AMERICAblog

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2007/02/snickers-superbowl-web-site- 
promotes.html

UPDATE: Snickers pulled the Web site containing the homophobic ads  
and commentary. Still no word from Snickers about the entire affair.

UDPATE: The largest gay civil rights group has called on Mars to  
remove the offensive content.

UPDATE: The Mars family, that produced the violently homophobic ads,  
is one of the top billionaire Republican activist families in the  
country. More here.

TAKE ACTION: Contact Snickers here.

If you thought the Snickers ad during last night's Superbowl was  
somewhat homophobic, you ain't seen nothin' yet. My good friend Andy  
Towle alerted me this morning to the fact that the Snickers' Web site  
outright endorses violence against gays.

A bit of background. The ad in question showed a mechanic eating a  
Snickers bar. Hi co-mechanic is so desirous of the Snickers that he  
starts eating it from the other end of the same bar that's already in  
the other guy's mouth. The two butch guys eat their way down the bar,  
like the dogs eating the same string of pasta in the Disney movie -  
until they're accidentally kissing. The guys, naturally, recoil in  
disgust - then, oddly, start ripping out their chest hair with their  
hands. Yeah it's homophobic, but it's also kind of funny, though a  
bit weird, so I was going to let it go. Well...

[Much more at URL]


----- 3 -----
Evangelicals Wage Anti-Evolution War
The East African Standard (Nairobi)
NEWS
January 12, 2007
By Eric Wamanji
Nairobi

http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200701120826.html

A bronze sculpture at the entrance of the Museum. It details the  
development of man.

Kenya's world-class collection of hominid bones - primates belonging  
to a family of which the modern human being is the only species still  
in existence - is at the centre of a silent but intense war being  
waged by a section of the evangelical churches.

The priceless National Museums of Kenya (NMK) fossils pointing to  
man's evolution risk being relegated to the abyss as a section of the  
Church renews its war on science insisting that the evolution theory  
contradicts the biblical story of creation.

Bishop Boniface Adoyo of Nairobi Pentecostal Church (NPC), Christ is  
the Answer Ministries, is championing the 'hide-the-fossils'  
campaign, which has left scientists and historians perplexed.

[More at URL]


----- 4 -----
ISLAMIC CREATIONISM INVADES FRANCE (Updated)
February 03, 2007
Direland

http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2007/02/islamic_creatio.html

An article in yesterday's edition of Le Figaro, the conservative  
French daily, brings news  that a new book written from an Islamic  
Creationist perspective, ""L'Atlas de la Création" (cover, right) is  
making waves in France. According to the newspaper, dozens of  
thousands of free copies of this diatribe against Darwinism were sent  
from Turkey and Germany to nearly all French schools and  
universities. The article does not say who paid for this expensive,  
lavishly-illustrated, 770-page anti-intellectual propaganda tome to  
be so massively distributed (although it asks the question.). Nor how  
whomever sent it was able to get a list of the "dozens of thousands"  
in educational establishments to whom it was individually addressed.

The French Education Ministry reacted by advising all educational  
establishments that the book does not conform to the national science- 
based curriculum and "should not be included in the centers of  
documentation and information in scholarly establishments," and  
commissioned a dissection and refutation of the book.

The book's pseudonymous author, a Turk named Harun Yahya ( photo left  
-- real name: Adnan Oktar), makes a number of astonishing claims --  
including that Charles Darwin is "the real source of terrorism." For  
example, a photo of the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers carries a  
caption reading, "Those who perpetuate terror in the world are in  
reality the Darwinists. Darwinism is the only philosophy which  
validates and encourages conflict." Yahya also pretends to portray  
"the secret links between Darwinism and the bloody ideologies of  
fascism and communism."

[More at URL]


----- 5 -----
Gays Should Be Allowed to Serve Openly in Military, Poll Finds
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
February 2, 2007

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117035477766895153- 
tt5sKNkAY6_opz6nqIbr9rTV3Q0_20080202.html?mod=blogs

A new poll from Harris Interactive found that 55% of Americans think  
gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military.

By comparison, 19% of the 2,337 Americans polled said gays and  
lesbians should be allowed to serve "only if they keep their sexual  
orientation a secret," and 18% said they should "not be allowed to  
serve in the military at all."

The survey, conducted online between Jan. 11 and 18, also measured  
American attitudes toward the U.S. military's "Don't Ask, Don't tell"  
policy, which prohibits the military from asking personnel about  
their sexual orientation, but allows homosexuality to be a cause for  
discharge from the military.

[More at URL]


----- 6 -----
Florida Courthouse Ten Commandments Under Attack
The ACLU wants the granite monument removed.
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Focus on the Family
February 8, 2007

[Received in email; no URL]

Florida Courthouse Ten Commandments Under Attack
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor

The ACLU wants the granite monument removed.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida filed a suit  
Tuesday in federal court that claims a Ten Commandments display in  
front of a county courthouse is unconstitutional.

According to the North Country Gazette, the granite monument was  
placed on the steps of the Dixie County Courthouse in November 2006  
with the full endorsement of the County Commission.

But Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU Florida, said the  
Ten Commandments belong only in churches and synagogues.

"The Constitution prohibits the government from endorsing religious  
messages such as this one," Simon said. "In addition to the commonly  
held secular commandments about murder, stealing and honoring one's  
mother and father, the Ten Commandments also include strictly  
religious statements."

Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family Action,  
said even though it has lost several similar cases, the ACLU never  
tires in its relentless campaign to replace hometown values with its  
own rigid vision of a secularized America.

"Since the Supreme Court ruling in 2005 upholding a display of the  
Ten Commandments at the Texas Capitol," he said, "the ACLU has been  
on the losing end of at least six other such court challenges around  
the country."

In one defeat, Hausknecht said, a federal appeals court labeled as  
"tiresome" the ACLU's argument that the displays violate the  
separation of church and state.

David Cortman, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, said  
that's why the ACLU bullies small towns with the threat of expensive  
legal battles.

"Small towns don't have the budget, so rather than fight for  
something they have a right to do," he said, "it's more practical for  
them to cave in to the ACLU's demands and not to fight it."

Cortman said the facts surrounding each case differ, because each  
community has different laws about accepting donated monuments, and  
judges must determine the motive for placement, as well. But the ACLU  
seems to have only one motive in mind.

"One only needs to look at the cases that the ACLU takes across the  
country," he said. "Whether it's opposing Ten Commandments monuments  
like the one we have in this case, war memorials like the one in  
California, opposing the Boy Scouts -- the ACLU stands against  
anything that's sacred. It's an attempt to erase the religious  
history that we have in our country. "

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Learn more about the ACLU's attacks on religious liberty in The ACLU  
vs. America ( http://resources.family.org/product/the+aclu+vs. 
+america.do? 
search=basic&keyword=aclu&sortby=shortdesc&asc=true&page=1&refcd=CE07BCZ 
L&tvar=no )


----- 7 -----
Texas Man Sentenced to Death for Killing Woman and Preborn Baby
Focus on the Family
February 8, 2007

[Received in email; no URL]

A 23-year-old Texas man who killed a teen and her preborn child was  
sentenced to death Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.

Adrian Estrada was convicted of capital murder in the death of  
Stephanie Sanchez and her baby. Sanchez was three-months pregnant  
when she died, Estrada confessed to the murder the next day.

This is the first death-penalty conviction for the murder of a  
preborn child in Texas. In 2003, the state Legislature amended the  
definition of the word "individual" to include an "unborn child at  
every state of gestation from fertilization until birth."

DNA evidence showed Estrada was the father.


----- 8 -----
Family Advocate Target of Online Death Threat
Focus on the Family
February 8, 2007

[Received in email; no URL]

Peter LaBarbera, founder of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality,  
reports that someone posted a comment on a lesbian activist's blog  
that amounted to a death threat.

LaBarbera said the January 13 comment on a blog called Pam's House Blend
apparently gave out his home address and noted, "It's across from a  
park in an area with cul de sacs . . . Snipers take note."

The writer, who reportedly identified himself as "Barry G. Wick,"  
also wrote: “If I were Azerbaijani and living in Russia right now,  
I’d want to advocate violence against skinheads … (LaBarbera) and  
others like him ought to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what  
future awaits them from a cadre of selected defenders willing to give  
up everything in order to protect the lives of gay and lesbian  
citizens. The greatest thing ever to happen to the (Martin Luther  
King) movement was the Black Panthers. Americans were shocked by an  
open display of firearms and Black Pride . . . Pushing back  
verbally . . . or with selected action isn’t dishonorable, it's  
necessary."

Blog owner Pam Spaulding removed the postings, LaBarbera said, and  
indicated she would have removed them earlier had she known they were  
there.

He said he notified the FBI of threat.


----- 9 -----
Roundup: State Pro-Life Legislation Sees Much Success, Some Failure
Focus on the Family
8 February 2007

[Received in email; no URL]

The Mississippi Senate passed three pro-life bills Wednesday, WLBT-TV  
reported. The first would ban abortion except in the case of rape and  
incest or if the mother's life is in danger. Additionally, lawmakers  
approved another that would require abortionists to offer women the  
chance to view an ultrasound image of their babies before the  
procedure. The third requires minors to seek a court order to get an  
abortion if they do not have parental consent.

Oklahoma lawmakers introduced legislation that would restrict  
abortions in state medical facilities and tighten enforcement of  
federal regulations concerning use of Plan B, the so-called morning- 
after pill, the Examiner-Enterprise reported.

Republican Rep. Lance Cargill, speaker of the Oklahoma House, said  
the proposal builds on a state parental-consent law passed last year.

"We're committed to building a culture of life in Oklahoma," he said.  
"Every human life is precious and worthy of protection."

The New Hampshire Senate Health and Human Services Committee rejected  
a bill Thursday that would have stopped Planned Parenthood and other  
abortion providers from receiving federal funding, The Dartmouth  
reported.


----- 9 -----
Mass. School Asks Judge to Drop Case Over Same-Sex Discussion
Focus on the Family
8 February 2007

[Received in email; no URL]

Officials from a Lexington, Mass., school district asked a federal  
judge to dismiss a lawsuit claiming parental rights were violated  
when a kindergarten teacher discussed homosexuality in class, The  
Associated Press reported.

Tonia and David Parker file the suit after their son brought home  
"diversity curriculum" that equated same-sex unions with traditional  
marriage. They had requested the school send notification if  
homosexuality was to be discussed.

Though Massachusetts law requires parental notification when a  
teacher intends to discuss issues of sexuality, Superintendent Paul  
Ash said the school district had no obligation, because the topic of  
homosexuality is not about human sexuality, but about "tolerance and  
respect."

John Davis, attorney for the school district, told U.S. District  
Judge Mark Wolf that teaching diversity is a "legitimate state  
interest."

"The parents do have rights," he said. "But they don't have the right  
to dictate to the public school system what their children can be  
exposed to in the way of ideas."

Parker said parents do not want to dictate curriculum, but do want to  
be able to remove their children from discussions of homosexuality.

"When the teacher puts it forward, it becomes the gospel according to  
the teacher," he said. "The children are so young, they can't reflect  
on that idea. They're too young to put it in context."


----- 10 ------
Liberals Protect Chickens Over Children
Focus on the Family
8 February 2007

[Received in email; no URL]

The House Judiciary Committee considered a bill Monday to increase  
penalties for transporting animals across state lines for fighting --  
largely an effort to oppose chicken fights.

Reps. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and Peter King, R-N.Y., saw it as  
an opportunity to make an important point. They attempted to amend  
the bill with the language of the Child Interstate Abortion  
Notification Act. It would make it a crime to circumvent state  
parental-notification laws by transporting a young girl across state  
lines for an abortion. That bill passed both chambers in the last  
Congress, but failed when Democratic leadership took the unusual step  
of refusing to appoint members to a conference committee to work out  
differences between the two versions.

The Democratic Judiciary Committee leadership ruled the pro-life  
amendment "non-germane" -- leading to a series of three procedural  
votes on whether to allow it. Each vote was down party lines, and, in  
the end, Democrats saw fit to give roosters more protection than  
parents, their daughters and preborn babies.


----- 11 -----
University of Georgia Affirms Christian Group
Focus on the Family
2-9-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003862.cfm

University of Georgia officials approved a policy Thursday to allow a  
Christian fraternity to have members who reflect the organizations'  
beliefs, the Athens Banner-Herald reported.

Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX) -- for Brothers Under Christ -- had filed a  
discrimination suit after the university denied it recognition,  
access to funding and other support because of its membership rules.

[...]

Tim Tracey, an attorney with the Christian Legal Society's Center for  
Law and Religious Freedom who is representing BYX, said his clients  
will drop the lawsuit if the policy change provides a permanent  
exemption for religious student groups.

[Editor's note: I don't know, but I strongly suspect that the  
"membership rules" are discriminatory on the basis of religion, and  
the school had a rule saying clubs can't do that. ... ah, I'm right.  
Their claim is specifically that if they can't discriminate against  
people on the basis of religion, then their freedom of religion is  
being repressed and they are being discriminated against.]


----- 12 -----
Single-faith clubs allowed at UGA
By Rebecca K. Quigley| Morris News Service
Saturday, February 10, 2007

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/021007/met_116017.shtml

ATHENS, - President Michael Adams' cabinet approved a policy Thursday  
that allows religious student groups to restrict membership to people  
of the same faith, a move that likely will prompt a Christian  
fraternity to drop a discrimination suit against the University of  
Georgia.

The cabinet approved a policy amendment at its Thursday meeting that  
will allow faith-based student organizations that restrict membership  
to students of the same faith to register for state funds and other  
support from UGA's Campus Life office.

Beta Upsilon Chi, known as BYX or Brothers Under Christ, sued UGA  
leaders in federal court in December, claiming "religious  
discrimination" because university staff refused to register the  
group because it requires its members to be Christians.

[More at URL]


----- 13 -----
President Proposes More Funding for Abstinence Education
His budget flat-lines comprehensive sex ed.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
2-9-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003859.cfm

If President Bush gets his way, more money will be on the way to  
faith-based groups for abstinence education.

His budget proposes a $28 million increase for abstinence, but no  
boost for comprehensive sex education.

If the President's numbers stand up, the total contribution from the  
government to faith-based abstinence programs would reach as high as  
$191 million.

Many experts thought the president would back off abstinence programs  
in his final two years in office, but Leslee Unruh, president of the  
Abstinence Clearinghouse, said he must see that abstinence works.

"He wants to start really giving more to the grassroots so we can  
continue this," she told Family News in Focus.

[More at URL]


----- 14 -----
Virginia Episcopal Bishop Sues Exiting Churches
Exodus centers on how leadership views Scripture.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
2-9-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000003868.cfm

A  split within the Episcopal Church has begun and is on its way to  
court -- something akin to "divorce court," it seems.

More than 100 Episcopal parishes -- and some dioceses -- have either  
left the denomination or requested alternative oversight within the  
worldwide Anglican Communion. One of them is St. Stephen's Church in  
Heathsville, Va.

"We left the Episcopal Church because we could no longer be under the  
leadership of people who have the attitude that they did about the  
authority of Scripture," said the Rev. Jeffrey Cerar, rector of St.  
Stephen's. "Starting several years ago, the Episcopal Church elected  
and put in place a homosexual bishop and did so in disregard of the  
Scriptures. It was just a symptom of a much larger problem, which is  
that the leadership of the Episcopal Church does not regard Scripture  
as authoritative in the same sense that Christians always have before."

[More at URL]


----- 15 -----
Network Decisions Influenced by Threat of Higher Indecency Fines
Media watchers say that's how it's supposed to work.
from staff reports
Focus on the Family
2-9-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003858.cfm

An increase in maximum fines for broadcast indecency seems to be  
getting the attention of network television executives.

Since Congress raised the maximum fine from $32,500 to $325,000 last  
year, Pat Trueman with the Alliance Defense Fund said he has noticed  
more care being taken by networks.

"What you've got is appropriate screening of the material they put  
out to the public, and that's appropriate," he said. "That's what  
indecency law was supposed to accomplish."

[More at URL]


----- 16 -----
Wisconsin Legislature to Debate Coerced-Abortion Measure
Focus on the Family
2-7-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003842.cfm

If pro-life Wisconsin lawmakers have their way, women seeking an  
abortion would have to sign a statement saying they have not been  
pressured into taking the action, the (Madison, Wis.) Capital Times  
reported.

A bill suggested by Wisconsin Right to Life -- the Coercive Abortion  
Prevention Act -- would require women to sign a statement at the end  
of the required 24-hour waiting period.

[More at URL]


----- 17 -----
Virginia Lawmakers Pass Two Pro-Life Bills
Focus on the Family
2-7-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003847.cfm

The Virginia House of Delegates approved two measures designed to  
ensure abortion-minded women are informed about the risks and  
outcomes of such a decision, LifeNews.com reported.

Republican Del. Kathy Byron sponsored a bill that would require  
abortionists to offer a client the chance to see an ultrasound of her  
preborn baby.

"It's medically responsible. It's logically responsible," she said.  
"It's also very important for women to have this information."

Republican Del. Ben Cline sponsored another pro-life bill that would  
require a doctor to inform women that an abortion after the 20th week  
of pregnancy will likely cause preborn babies to feel intense pain --  
and to offer anesthesia for the baby. [Editor's note: I have been  
informed that this isn't actually true, as pain centres in the brain  
haven't developed yet at the 20th week. However, it is now part of  
the anti-abortion-rights activist mythos.]

[More at URL]


----- 18 ------
GOP Senators Make Judges Top Priority
Republican leader lays out a course.
by Pete Winn, associate editor
Focus on the Family
5 February 2007

[Received in email; no URL]

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he will  
personally lead efforts to make sure Democrats allow confirmation  
votes for President Bush's judicial nominees. He said judges will top  
the Republican legislative agenda.

"I'm deeply interested in this," McConnell told CitizenLink. "I'm not  
going to reveal any tactics, but I've been pressing (Democrats) at  
the beginning of the session to treat us fairly."

He said Republicans set a minimum number of 17 judges to be confirmed  
and added that Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has agreed to that  
number.

"We think that President Bush should be treated just as well as  
President Clinton was and President Bush 41 and President Reagan were  
in their last two years of their terms when the Senate was controlled  
by the opposition party " McConnell said. "Each of them had at least  
17 judges confirmed."

Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst at Focus on the Family Action,  
said McConnell's focus was welcome news to pro-family conservatives.

"One of the key issues for conservatives has been the courts," he  
said. "Ever since President Bush took office in 2001, he has made the  
appointment of 'strict constructionists' -- judicial conservatives --  
a high priority for the federal bench."

Hausknecht said strict constructionists view the Constitution as the  
Founders intended.

"They don't tend to come up with seat-of-the-pants decisions like Roe  
v. Wade, and others which have plagued the nation for decades," he  
added.

Roe v. Wade was the 1973 Supreme Court decision which legalized  
abortion throughout the U.S.

Republican senators also plan to focus on taxes, the budget and  
spending policy, health care, energy, national security and  
immigration reform.

Tom McClusky, vice president of government affairs at the Family  
Research Council, is pleased with the direction they seem to be taking.

"It's a very good start for what's going to be a very defensive  
Congress for social conservatives," he said.

McClusky said the number of judicial nominees blocked by Democrats  
has dwindled, because nominees have either asked to be pulled or the  
president did not renominate them.

Still, there was a lot Senate Republicans could have done to advance  
those nominations, he added.

"They could have allowed for more debate last time around," McClusky  
said. "They could have held hearings for some nominees who had not  
had hearings and not caved into the Democrats by having hearings for  
those who had numerous hearings."

McConnell, meanwhile, said he has good news about one blocked  
nomination. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has blocked Idahoan  
Randy Smith's appeals court nomination for months, claiming the seat  
belongs to a California nominee, rather than one from Idaho.

"We believe that we will get a confirmation of a 9th Circuit judge,  
which has been one of the most liberal and outrageous circuits,"  
McConnell said, "before we take a break for the Lincoln recess at the  
end of next week."


----- 19 -----
Missouri University to Recognize Christian Fraternity
Focus on the Family
February 5, 2007

[Received in email; no URL]

The University of Missouri agreed to allow a Christian fraternity to  
register as a student organization after the Christian Legal Society  
(CLS) contacted campus officials. The fraternity had been denied  
because it would not agree to a religious nondiscrimination policy.

Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX) -- or Brothers Under Christ -- requires  
members to profess faith in Jesus Christ.

Timothy Tracey, litigation counsel for the CLS Center for Law &  
Religious Freedom, said Christian student groups have the same  
constitutional rights as other groups.

"Student groups like BYX are an asset to campus life," he said, "and  
should be encouraged, not discouraged."


----- 20 -----
Court Rules No Same-Sex Benefits in Michigan
Focus on the Family
2-2-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003803.cfm

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled today that public universities  
and state and local governments cannot offer health insurance to  
domestic partners of gay employees without violating the state  
constitution.

According to The Associated Press, a three-judge panel ruled that a  
2004 constitutional amendment protecting marriage also applies to  
such benefits. It defined the union of a man and a woman as the only  
agreement recognized as a marriage "or similar union for any purpose."

[More at URL]


----- 21 -----
Texas Governor Mandates HPV Vaccination
Parents in every state need to speak up to protect their rights.
by Linda Klepacki, analyst for sexual health
Focus on the Family
2-2-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000003806.cfm

Texas Gov. Rick Perry made Texas the first state to require every  
schoolgirl to be vaccinated for the sexually transmitted Human  
Papillomavirus (HPV). The plan takes away the right of parents to  
decide whether their daughters will receive the vaccine.

The HPV vaccine -- marketed as Gardasil -- has the capability of  
saving lives around the world. But mandating vaccination for  
pubescent girls raises several important concerns.

Mona Passignano, state issues analyst for Focus on the Family Action,  
said, as the first in line, Perry had a chance to do this right, but  
instead he chose an 'opt out' provision.

[More at URL]


----- 22 ------
Indiana Legislature Considers Marriage Amendment
Focus on the Family
2-01-2007

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000003792.cfm

A Hoosier State Senate committee approved a constitutional amendment  
that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The  
state Legislature passed the amendment two years ago, but it must be  
passed a second time before going on the ballot for voter approval,  
The Indianapolis Star reported.

As the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony in favor of the  
amendment from Republican Sen. Brent Steele, a group of protestors  
began to loudly sing "We Shall Overcome." After being gaveled, the  
protestors moved to the hall outside the gallery.

Micah Clark, executive director of the American Family Association of  
Indiana, said the amendment would stop those who want to make  
marriage meaningless.

[More on URL]


----- 23 -----
New FFN 2007 Legislative Agenda
Faith and Freedom Network
February 1, 2007

[Received in email; no URL]

Dear XXXXX,

We have revised our 2007 Legislative Agenda.
Our revised Agenda will be addressing the following: Marriage and  
Family, Child Protection Laws, Parental Responsibility, Stewardship  
and Conservation, and Honoring our Soldiers and Veterans.

We have just added to the website a 2-page flyer detailing the bills  
that Jon Russell, FFN Lobbyist is addressing with lawmakers everyday  
in Olympia.

This flyer is designed for you to download and distribute among your  
circle of influence. It is imperative that as many people as possible  
contact elected officials expressing their support or opposition for  
these bills.

If possible, please distribute these in your church this weekend.

To vote in the new FFN poll, click here.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FLYER!

[Ed. Note: I'd include the flyer text in another message, but their  
site is broken right now.]


God bless you,


Gary Randall
Faith and Freedom Network & Foundation