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

[R'ykandar Korra'ti]

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See the ***** article below for a _very_ interesting article: Focus on  
the Family seems to be trying out it's "impeach judges we don't like"  
idea at the state level, in Maryland. They're throwing their support  
behind a local ex-Constitution Party-now-Republican delegate who is  
trying to get a Maryland judge thrown out over her pro-marriage-rights  
ruling. This is important to watch, I think; if they can get away with  
that kind of thing here, I'm sure they'll be expanding the programme to  
other states, and eventually to the Federal level, until stopped.

Now today's news:

Voltaire becoming a symbol - again - of resistance to calls for  
censorship;

MSNBC: Church fires in south set by college students for fun, as  
pranks; I'm listing this here because Focus on the Family has been  
salivating, hoping that the fires were set by gayfolk - they haven't  
come right out and said it, but the handling and positioning of the  
stories has led me to be on edge about it. It's not, so I imagine this  
story will mostly vanish from their coverage now unless they can find  
it a way to tie it to queers;

Nevada anti-evolutionary-theory state initiative filed;

New Hampshire to vote on anti-marriage-rights amendment; Family  
Research Council pushes for it;

FRC praises special "Faith-based groups" office in Department of  
Homeland Security;

FRC ACTION ITEM - a petition to support their anti-marriage "Marriage  
Protection Amendment";

Concerned Women for America upset with UN Commission on the Status of  
Women for paying too much attention to reproduction rights;

American Family Association/Agape Press's "Origins 101," which calls  
Creationism (not even ID - just plain Creationism) a scientific theory;

AFA/Agape Press: "Christian Medical and Dental Association" not happy  
that the FDA is considering relaxing its absolute ban on gay blood  
donors;

Baptist Press scare story about Soulforce, a pro-GBLT evangelical  
organisation;

***** Focus on the Family applauds Maryland delegate who is attempting  
to remove a judge specifically in response to their pro-marriage  
ruling; includes ACTION ITEM to support; a preliminary vote is coming  
up in the House Judiciary Committee on THURSDAY;

AFA/Agape Press story about the ACLU trying to stop in-class speeches  
about the Bible followed by Bible distribution to all students in  
public schools; obviously, the AFA supports it and is angry at the  
ACLU; they're specifically hoping for a better reception in the courts  
now, specifically siting John Roberts, the new Chief Justice;

Hooboy: Focus on the Family is VERY upset about allegations of links  
between them and disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff; however, there's  
email pointing in that direction; they proclaim complete innocence and  
say it's all just vicious lies;

FotF tries to spread the Korean research scandal into a general attack  
on embryonic stem-cell research in general; "It should be no  
surprise... that if people have
used 'the end justifies the means' to ignore 'Thou shalt not kill,'  
they'll learn to use it against 'Thou shalt not bear false witness' as  
well";

FotF on possible biker boycott of Sturgis (South Dakota) motorcycle  
rally;

Arizona state legislature working on abortion restrictions; governor is  
considered likely to veto, if the bill does pass;

FotF plugging teaching of "Intelligent Design," notes Zogby poll saying  
69% of Americans support teaching ID; this might be a bit high, but  
it's probably not out of the ballpark, the fundamentalists have  
convinced people that something which _is not science_ is a science,  
and the American school system has failed to teach students what  
science is;

Focus on the Family attacks NY Times story saying that parental  
notification doesn't actually affect abortion rates much; then say that  
even if it doesn't, the laws should be kept in place anyway;

FotF cranky that a lesbian got elected Homecoming King at Hood College;

Faith and Freedom Network promotes their series of anti-marriage-rights  
"prayer rallies" and organisational meetings - they're distributing  
anti-GBLT-civil-rights initiative petitions at these things, too;

FF&N blog article about the growing influence of religion in US  
politics, only they think it's a good thing;

Finally, an AP article on the report saying "ex-gay" youth camps are  
harmful.


----- 1 -----
Muslims ask French to cancel 1741 play by Voltaire
Monday, March 06, 2006
By Andrew Higgins, The Wall Street Journal

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06065/666058.stm

SAINT-GENIS-POUILLY, France -- Late last year, as an international  
crisis was brewing over Danish cartoons of Muhammad, Muslims raised a  
furor in this little alpine town over a much older provocateur:  
Voltaire, the French champion of the 18th-century Enlightenment.

A municipal cultural center here on France's border with Switzerland  
organized a reading of a 265-year-old play by Voltaire, whose writings  
helped lay the foundations of modern Europe's commitment to secularism.  
The play, "Fanaticism, or Mahomet the Prophet," uses the founder of  
Islam to lampoon all forms of religious frenzy and intolerance.

The production quickly stirred up passions that echoed the cartoon  
uproar. "This play ... constitutes an insult to the entire Muslim  
community," said a letter to the mayor of Saint-Genis-Pouilly, signed  
by Said Akhrouf, a French-born cafe owner of Moroccan descent and three  
other Islamic activists representing Muslim associations. They demanded  
the performance be cancelled.

Instead, Mayor Hubert Bertrand called in police reinforcements to  
protect the theater. On the night of the December reading, a small riot  
broke out involving several dozen people and youths who set fire to a  
car and garbage cans. It was "the most excitement we've ever had down  
here," says the socialist mayor.

[More at URL]


----- 2 -----
Students say church arsons meant as ‘a joke’
Third suspect arrested in torchings of nine Alabama places of worship
NBC News and news services
Updated: 2:33 p.m. ET March 8, 2006

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11726024/

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Two college students arrested Wednesday in a string  
of nine rural Alabama church arsons told authorities that the first  
fires were set as “a joke” and later blazes were intended as a  
diversion, federal agents said.

[...]

“We are relieved. We were fearful while they were on the loose because  
we did not know their agenda,” said Jim Parker, pastor of the Ashby  
Baptist Church in Brierfield, which was burned to the ground.

[More at URL]


----- 3 -----
Nev. Proposal Raises Evolution Questions
Associated Press
By BRENDAN RILEY, Associated Press Writer Wed Mar 1, 9:51 AM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060301/ap_on_sc/evolution_nevada

CARSON CITY, Nev. - A proposed constitutional amendment would require  
Nevada teachers to instruct students that there are many questions  
about evolution — a method viewed by critics as an opening to teach  
intelligent design.

[...]

The petition says students must be informed before the end of the 10th  
grade that "although most scientists agree that Darwin's theory of  
evolution is well supported, a small minority of scientists do not  
agree."

The plan says several "areas of disagreement" would have to be covered  
by teachers, including the view by some scientists that "it is  
mathematically impossible for the first cell to have evolved by  
itself."

Students also would have to be told some scientists argue "that nowhere  
in the fossil record is there an indisputable skeleton of a  
transitional species, or a 'missing link,'" the proposal says.

Also, the proposal says students "must be informed that the origin of  
sex, or sex drive, is one of biology's mysteries" and that some  
scientists contend that sexual reproduction "would require an  
unbelievable series of chance events that would have had to occur in  
the evolutionary theory."

[More at URL]


----- 4 -----
NH Pushing for state marriage amendment
Family Research Council				
by: Tom McClusky

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WL06C40

Congratulations to Karen Testerman and the Cornerstone Policy Research  
for delivering over 7,000 letters in support of the state  
constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between one man  
and one woman.  The amendment comes up before the House later this  
week.

Be it South Dakota on abortion or New Hampshire (and Minnesota and  
Florida, etc.) on marriage the states have proven to be the true  
battlegrounds on the social issues.  When will Congress get the  
message?


----- 5 -----
FRC Thanks President Bush For Launching Center For Faith-Based Aid
March 8, 2006 - Wednesday
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: JP Duffy or Bethanie Swendsen, (202) 393-2100

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=PR06C04

"A faith-based office will make progress in eliminating the red-tape  
barriers which have plagued FEMA's efforts to coordinate with  
faith-based groups."

~Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council

Washington, D.C. -Yesterday, President Bush ordered the Department of  
Homeland Security to establish a center for faith-based aid which will  
be tasked with integrating faith-based groups into federal disaster  
response efforts.

Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins released the  
following statement:

"I thank the President for acting quickly to establish a faith-based  
office in the Department of Homeland Security. A faith-based office  
will make progress in eliminating the red-tape barriers which have  
plagued FEMA's efforts to coordinate with faith-based groups. I know  
from personal experience during Hurricane Katrina that churches and  
para-church ministries played an important and irreplaceable role in  
the relief and recovery from that unprecedented storm.

"The President's orders should improve the government's response in  
future natural or man-made disasters. The order will hopefully replace  
the prevailing mindset in DHS that the wall separating church and state  
prevents government from working with churches and synagogues to help  
our citizens."


----- 6 -----
Support the Marriage Protection Amendment
Family Research Council ACT NOW
March 6, 2006 - Monday
Forward to a Friend!

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=AL06C02

To date voters in 19 states have acted to protect marriage as the union  
of a man and a woman. The message to the rest of the country and to our  
U.S. Senators is clear: citizens everywhere are in strong support of  
this most sacred institution. Despite this progress, the courts still  
pose a direct threat to the democratic process. Consider Nebraska.

Nebraska was one of the first states in 2000 not only to protect  
marriage, but also to do so in its state constitution. While over 70  
percent of Nebraska voters approved amending the constitution, a single  
federal judge overturned everything Nebraskans worked so hard to  
accomplish. The judge's decision makes a mockery of the phrase "We the  
People" that begins the U.S. Constitution.

President Bush, affirming his support for the Marriage Protection  
Amendment, said, "After more than two centuries of American  
jurisprudence, and millennia of human experience, a few judges and  
local authorities are presuming to change the most fundamental  
institution of civilization." An amendment to the U.S. Constitution is  
the only way to curb permanently the power and ambition of judges, who  
discard the work of our Founders and the will of most Americans.

[More at URL]


----- 7 -----
Reproductive Rights Gone Wrong
Concerned Women for America
3/7/2006
By Janice Shaw Crouse, Ph.D.

At the U.N., reading the fine print can send you on a rabbit trail.

http://www.cwfa.org/articles/10264/BLI/nation/index.htm

Two of Concerned Women for America’s (CWA’s) experts are attending the  
50th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), held February 27-March 10  
at United Nations headquarters in New York. Wendy Wright, CWA’s  
President, will be directing efforts of the pro-life, pro-marriage, and  
pro-family citizen lobbyists during the session’s second week. Miss  
Wright has attended and reported on U.N. conferences on women,  
population and cloning since 1997.

Dr. Janice Crouse, who heads CWA’s think tank, The Beverly LaHaye  
Institute, will report on and analyze the current CSW sessions. Dr.  
Crouse has particular expertise on emphases at this year’s CSW:  
violence against women, sex trafficking, Convention to End All Forms of  
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), women’s empowerment, and women’s  
political participation. Her reports follow.

As usual, it’s important to read the fine print –– whether it is a  
contract or a U.N. agreement. This week at the U.N. Commission on the  
Status of Women, some digging into the fine print of old and new  
documents yielded startling discoveries.

[More at URL]


----- 8 -----
Origins 101: Worldviews Begin With Beginnings
Feature by Rusty Benson
American Family Association/Agape Press
March 8, 2006

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/3/afa/82006d.asp

(AgapePress) - Nearly a century-and-a-half after Darwin's Origins of  
the Species was published, and 75 years after the Scopes trial, the  
argument over life's origins still inflames contentious debate.

Today three distinct theories of origins compete for public  
affirmation. Darwinian Evolution remains entrenched as the orthodox  
position of the cultural ruling class. Once challenged by Creationism,  
Evolution's latest contender is a theory known as Intelligent Design  
(ID).

[More at URL]


----- 9 -----
FDA Considers Policy Changes Allowing Homosexual Males to Give Blood
By Mary Rettig
American Family Association/Agape Press
March 8, 2006

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/3/afa/82006f.asp

(AgapePress) - A Tennessee hematologist and spokesman for the Christian  
Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) feels the U.S. Food and Drug  
Administration's decision to revisit bans on certain blood donors based  
on behaviors raises some interesting questions.

The FDA held a conference today to discuss a possible change in policy  
based on better blood testing for diseases. The change could mean that  
homosexual men, who are currently excluded as donors, would be able to  
give blood.

The American Association of Blood Banks has advocated for a policy that  
would allow homosexual men who have abstained from sexual intercourse  
for one year to donate blood. But Dr. Al Weir of the CMDA says the main  
question comes down to how best to protect the public from infected  
blood.

[More at URL]


----- 10 -----
Leaders urge caution as campuses brace for Soulforce
Mar 7, 2006
By Staff
Baptist Press

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22798

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--In a push for broader acceptance of  
homosexuality, a group of about 35 young adults with the homosexual  
advocacy group Soulforce has announced a bus tour of 19 Christian  
colleges and military academies, including some Southern Baptist  
universities.

Dubbed the “Equality Ride,” the group’s goal for the tour is to  
“confront schools that ban the enrollment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and  
transgender students,” and they have requested that the schools offer  
official forums in which the activists can express their views.

“We must cut off the suffering at its source. The source is  
religion-based oppression, and it has taken place for centuries,” Jacob  
Reitan, a Soulforce spokesman, said.

[more at URL]


----- 11 -----
Maryland Lawmaker Calls for Removal of Activist Judge
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
by Pete Winn, associate editor

SUMMARY: Judge who nullified marriage law in favor of
same-sex marriage, faces charges of misbehavior in office.

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039758.cfm

A Maryland legislator undertook an action this morning
that pro-family lawmakers in other states only dream of
doing -- he struck a blow against judicial tyranny.

Del. Don Dwyer, a member of the Maryland House of
Delegates, called for the removal of the judge who
single-handedly nullified Maryland's marriage law and
demanded same-sex marriage.

"Today on the floor of the House," Dwyer told CitizenLink,
"I stood and announced an 'Address for the Removal' of
Judge M. Brooke Murdock, for violating her oath of office,
for violating the public trust. As the guardians of the
trust of the public, I believe it is incumbent upon us, as
legislators, to hold the court accountable."

Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for Focus on the Family
Action, applauded the delegate's action.

"It takes a lot of courage for a lawmaker to call for the
impeachment of a judge," Hausknecht said. "For too long,
legislatures and Congress have shied away from the
constitutional tools given to them to rein in
out-of-control activist courts. I can only hope that his
bold example will catch on elsewhere in the country, where
courts and judges have become super-legislatures dictating
social policy against the wishes of the electorate."

Dwyer said Maryland didn't even have a law defining
marriage as being between one man and one woman until
1973. Up to then, Maryland followed the unwritten law it
adopted in colonial days.

[...]

TAKE ACTION: If you are a Maryland resident, please take
time to contact your House delegate and ask him or her to
support Del. Dwyer's "Address for Removal" bill. For help
in doing so, please see the CitizenLink Action Center.

http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/state/main/?state=MD&view=myofficials

No matter where you live, if you'd like to send an
encouraging note to Dwyer and his family, you can e-mail
him through the Action Center.

http://www3.capwiz.com/fof/bio/?id=135084&lvl=L&chamber=H

[More at URL]


----- 12 -----
ACLU's 'Bible Crusade' Reaches Into Small-Town America
Gideons Latest Target of ACLU's Ongoing Bout Against God's Word
By Jim Brown
March 8, 2006

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/3/afa/82006a.asp

(AgapePress) - A Christian attorney says the ACLU is resorting to "old  
tricks" by filing a federal lawsuit to stop The Gideons International  
from giving Bibles to fifth-graders at a public school in Missouri.

With more than a quarter million members in 181 countries, The Gideons  
-- founded in 1899 -- place and distribute more than 63 million Bibles  
every year. That equates to an average of one million every six days,  
or 120 per minute. With that wide a distribution network by such an  
established ministry, it causes one to wonder why the American Civil  
Liberties Union would worry about distribution of Scripture in a tiny  
Missouri community of slightly more than 300 people.

But that is exactly what is happening. The ACLU is seeking an  
injunction barring South Iron Elementary School in Annapolis, Missouri,  
from allowing The Gideons into the classroom to distribute the Bibles.

[...]

But despite that history of litigation in favor of groups like the  
ACLU, Crampton shares that he is hopeful the Supreme Court, under Chief  
Justice John Roberts, will clearly articulate new guidelines for cases  
involving the Establishment Clause.

[More at URL]


----- 13 -----
LEFT-WING SMEAR TRIES TO TIE DOBSON TO ABRAMOFF SCANDAL
Group unveils negative ad campaign.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
by Pete Winn, associate editor
March 8, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039775.cfm

"Lies" and "wild allegations." That's how Focus on the
Family labels charges made today by a liberal activist
group calling itself the Campaign for Defense of the
Constitution -- or "DefCon."

DefCon, which describes itself as "an online grassroots
movement to combat the growing influence of the religious
right," today unveiled an ad campaign that will run in The
New York Times and other media outlets this week that
reads: "These Religious Leaders Have a Serious Gambling
Problem."

The ad specifically tries to link Focus on the Family
founder and Chairman Dr. James Dobson with discredited
lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

[More at URL]


----- 14 -----
STEM-CELL RESEARCH PLAGUED BY BOGUS CLAIMS
Lawmakers want to know what protections the government has against  
fraud.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
March 8, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039767.cfm

A House subcommittee heard Tuesday how the fallout from
the Korean cloning scam is still reverberating through the
scientific and political worlds.

A one-time leading scientist in the field duped the entire
world into thinking he had successfully cloned human
embryos with a goal of destroying them for their stem
cells. In reality, Dr. Woo-Suk Hwang failed to produce
even one stem-cell line despite hundreds of cloning
attempts. He then covered up his failure with falsified
data that was published in major U.S. science journals.

Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of Pro-Life
Activities at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops,
testified before the House Criminal Justice, Drug Policy
and Human Resources subcommittee Tuesday. According to
Family News in Focus, he said the most important lesson to
learn from the scandal is a moral one.

"It should be no surprise," he said, "that if people have
used 'the end justifies the means' to ignore 'Thou shalt
not kill,' they'll learn to use it against 'Thou shalt not
bear false witness' as well."

[More at URL]


----- 15 -----
Abortion Group Wants to Keep Harleys Out of Sturgis
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
March 8, 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

Abortion activists are trying to enlist the help of
motorcycle enthusiasts to protest South Dakota's recent
law that bans abortion by staying away, New Journal Online
reported.

On Monday, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signed the
legislation banning abortion, with an exception for when
the mother's life is in danger.

The pro-abortion Women's Medical Fund in Madison, Wis., is
asking bikers to skip this year's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
as part of a tourism boycott of South Dakota.

"If 500,000 bikers don't show up in Sturgis, it would send
quite a message," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, a board member
of the Women's Medical Fund.

According to Lisa Weyer, director of the rally, Sturgis
has received four angry letters of protest from would-be
attendees.

But Tom Lindsay, spokesman for the American Motorcycle
Association said boycotting is not the "tactic of choice
among bikers."

"More than any group I know," he said, "motorcyclists are
looking to improve things rather than protest things."

Most want that change to occur through the democratic
process, and some are pleased with the abortion ban.

"Praise the Lord," said Jesse Doninguez from Texas, a
member of the Soldiers for Jesus motorcycle club. He's
attended 16 rallies in Sturgis.


----- 16 -----
Pro-Life Bills Gain Momentum in the Grand Canyon State
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
March 8, 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

Arizona lawmakers approved two pro-life bills Tuesday --
one that would require parental-consent forms for a
minor's abortion to be notarized, and another that would
clarify in what situation a judge could exempt a girl from
parental notification.

According to The Associated Press, pro-life advocates said
House Bill 2666, the notarization amendment, would help
guard against forged consent forms. House Bill 2776 would
allow a judge to weigh a girl's age and life experiences
when considering whether to allow her to seek an abortion
without notifying her parents.

Both bills passed the state House with a 39-18 vote and
now head to the Senate.

If the bills make it to the desk of the governor,
pro-lifers are concerned they may die there. Democratic
Gov. Janet Napolitano has vetoed several pro-life measures
since taking office in 2003.


----- 17 -----
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
March 8, 2006

[Received in email; no URL]

Americans Favor Teaching All Scientific Evidence on
Origins

A Zogby International poll found 69 percent of Americans
think students should hear about intelligent design along
with the theory of evolution.

Most people said they want biology teachers to present the
evidence against Darwin's theory. Just 21 percent said
Darwin's theory alone should be taught.

Among those aged 18 to 29, 88 percent said teaching the
theory of evolution along with its flaws, plus the theory
of intelligent design would make the best science course.

Casey Luskin, program officer for public policy and legal
affairs at the Discovery Institute's Center for Science
and Culture, said such widespread support shows people see
the difference between scientific evidence and religious
belief.

"While we don't favor mandating the teaching of
intelligent design, we do think it is constitutional for
teachers to discuss it precisely because the theory is
based upon scientific evidence not religious premises," he
said. "The public strongly agrees that students should be
permitted to learn about such evidence."

FOR MORE INFORMATION: To view the full text of the poll,
please visit:

http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/filesDB-download.php? 
command=download&id=719


----- 18 -----
ABORTION-LAW ANALYSIS CALLED FAULTY
Newspaper asserted that parental involvement does little to stem  
abortion.
Focus on the Family
Family News in Focus
March 7, 2006

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0039755.cfm

Pro-life experts are taking issue with an analysis
released Monday by The New York Times that claimed to show
parental-notification and consent laws concerning abortion
have little or no impact.

Michael New, a professor at the University of Alabama,
said the mainstream media have a tendency to distort
what's going on in the states that have passed such laws.

"They really only tend to use abortion statistics to, I
think, further a very liberal political agenda," he said.
"I just think it's unfortunate."

[...]

Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics at Focus
on the Family Action, said regardless of their impact,
such laws must be kept in place.

"The law is a teacher," she said. "It tells the kids that
this is an important decision and your parents need to be
involved."

[More at URL]


----- 19 -----
Gay Woman Crowned Homecoming "King"
Focus on the Family
Newsbriefs
March 7, 2006

A 21-year-old lesbian has been crowned homecoming "king"
at a Maryland college, prompting officials to review
policy, Fox News reported.

Jennifer Jones, a senior at Hood College, ran against
three men at the private school.

"It's cool that Hood allows people to be themselves," she
said. "If people didn't want me to be king, they wouldn't
have nominated me and voted for me."

Singleton Newman, a student at the school, said not
everyone is pleased with the vote.

"She is not a man," he said. "It is a gender issue, and
she is a woman."

Sonto Provenzano, one of the men in line for king, said to
designate Jones as king made the event into a joke.

"It discourages guys from wanting to take part in the
future," he said.

Donald Miller, student activity director for the college,
said the policies for homecoming will be reviewed and
changed to reflect the will of the students.


----- 20 -----
Faith and Freedom Network
One Year Ago Today
March 8, 2005 was a day to be remembered.

An estimated 10,000 people were in attendance and according to a state  
patrol officer in attendance; it was the largest rally they had ever  
had in Olympia (except for the teacher’s union when they came to get a  
raise in salary).

People from across Washington gathered to make a simple statement:  
Marriage is between one man and one woman. Dr. Joe Fuiten, Chairman of  
Faith & Freedom, was a primary leader of that great rally.

The State Supreme Court heard our case presented before them one year  
ago today and they have still not ruled on traditional marriage.

During this year of Court deliberation, Faith & Freedom has continued  
steadfast in our mission to advance traditional, Biblical values and  
principles.

[...]

Be sure to attend the Faith & Freedom Sound The Alarm rally in your  
area during the month of March. Use the link below to view the  
schedule.

http://www.faithandfreedom.us/schedule.phtml


----- 21 -----
The Growing Influence of Religion in US Politics
Faith and Freedom Network
March 8, 2006

Is the role of religion in the political process increasing? Rabbi  
Michael Lerner, a renowned social theorist, theologian and  
psychotherapist, is the author of The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our  
Country from the Religious Right. He promotes a compassionate,  
progressive spiritual vision and challenges the Democratic Party to  
rethink its relationship to God. As Senior Pastor of Cedar Park  
Assembly of God in Bothell, and Chairman of the Faith and Freedom  
Network, Dr. Joe Fuiten oversees numerous Christian schools and  
churches in addition to a collection of 35 organizations that  
coordinate political activity in Washington State and supports  
expressions of Christian values in public places. So what would these  
two spiritual and political leaders agree upon? Moderator C.R. Douglas  
helps us to find out.

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


----- 22 -----
Report: Gay Prevention Programs Harm Teens
By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ, Associated Press Writer Sat Mar 4, 2:17 AM ET
Associated Press

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060304/ap_on_re_us/gay_teens

MIAMI - A national gay and lesbian group is accusing several religious  
organizations of harming homosexual teens by offering parents what they  
say are bogus therapies to keep children from becoming gay.

In a report released Thursday in Miami Beach, the National Gay and  
Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute questioned whether the therapies  
are ethical or effective and said state and federal authorities should  
provide greater oversight when these programs are aimed at youth.

The report said some Christian-based gay prevention and treatment  
groups have used the First Amendment protection of religion to avoid  
sanctions by state health officials seeking to enforce regulations on  
counselors who offer therapy without a license.

Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman said officials need to  
ensure that those offering such therapies are licensed — as opposed to  
simply being clergy — and that clients and their parents should be  
informed about the programs' long-term success rates.

[More at URL]

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