From CitizenLink.com

9-10-2007

California Legislature Sends Same-Sex 'Marriage' Bill to Governor

The California Senate voted 22-15 Friday to redefine marriage as between any "two persons." AB 43 now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto it.

The outrageous measure is among seven bills that soon could be headed to the governor. The legislative session ends Friday. Schwarzenegger needs to be persuaded to veto all seven.

"He should get hundreds of thousands of phone calls. We know that makes a difference," Dr. James C. Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family Action, said at the end of his radio program Friday. (Listen to the program online.)

Specifically, the bills would: teach public school children age 5 and older to be accepting of homosexuality, cross-dressing and bisexuality; end local oversight of school discrimination policies; legalize same-sex "marriages"; and allow HIV-positive men to donate sperm, with no guarantee that the child conceived in the process would be HIV-free.

TAKE ACTION
Call Gov. Schwarzenegger's office and urge him to veto all seven bills. You can contact his office at (916) 445-2841. Select "7" to speak with a staffer. Tell them you want the governor to veto all seven of the bills opposed by Focus on the Family Action. If you call after hours, you can leave a message. You do not need to list the bills by number.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
View our fact sheet on the seven bills.

From CitizenLink.com

9-10-2007

California Legislature Sends Same-Sex 'Marriage' Bill to Governor

The California Senate voted 22-15 Friday to redefine marriage as between any "two persons." AB 43 now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto it.

The outrageous measure is among seven bills that soon could be headed to the governor. The legislative session ends Friday. Schwarzenegger needs to be persuaded to veto all seven.

"He should get hundreds of thousands of phone calls. We know that makes a difference," Dr. James C. Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family Action, said at the end of his radio program Friday. (Listen to the program online.)

Specifically, the bills would: teach public school children age 5 and older to be accepting of homosexuality, cross-dressing and bisexuality; end local oversight of school discrimination policies; legalize same-sex "marriages"; and allow HIV-positive men to donate sperm, with no guarantee that the child conceived in the process would be HIV-free.

TAKE ACTION
Call Gov. Schwarzenegger's office and urge him to veto all seven bills. You can contact his office at (916) 445-2841. Select "7" to speak with a staffer. Tell them you want the governor to veto all seven of the bills opposed by Focus on the Family Action. If you call after hours, you can leave a message. You do not need to list the bills by number.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
View our fact sheet on the seven bills.

After a 12-month audit of "Focus on the Family" and it's founder/leader, James Dobson, the IRS has found that they are guilty of no wrong.

Falsely accused of wrong-doing by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the IRS investigated Focus on the Family for 12 months to see if its tax-exempt status should be withdrawn.  According to the findings, Focus on the Family has done nothing wrong and none of the allegations were substantial.

Shame on CREW and AUSCS.

To read more, go to:
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000005434.cfm

Pray for the woman -- obviously she didn't want a hysterectomy.  The worst part of this is that when she decided (whether for the right reasons or not) not to continue murdering her baby, she was forcibly restrained while the doctor murdered her baby against her wishes.

Pray for everyone who participated in that murder (and the so many others!) that they may see what they have been doing, and repent before the Holy God, who will have justice on the Lamb's Day of Wrath.

From CitizenLink.com -- read the full article here.

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

During this year's National Days of Prayer and Remembrance, we honor the thousands of victims who died in the brutal and ruthless attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Our Nation remembers with gratitude the firefighters, police officers, first responders, and ordinary citizens who acted with courage and compassion to save the lives of others, and we pray for the families whose loved ones were taken from them.

Never forgetting that terrible day, we remain determined to bring our enemies to justice, defy the terrorists' ideology of hate, and work to make our world safer. We honor the members of our Armed Forces who died while taking the fight to our adversaries, and we are grateful for those who continue to protect our Nation and our way of life. Their courage, sacrifice, and dedication help preserve our freedom. We pray for their safety, for all those who love them, and for the peace we all seek.

We remain a hopeful America, inspired by the kindness and compassion of our citizens and our commitment to freedom and opportunity. During these days of prayer and remembrance, we reflect on all we have lost and take comfort in each other and in the grace and mercy of our Creator. May God guide us, give us strength and wisdom, and may He continue to bless our great country.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Friday, September 7, through Sunday, September 9, 2007, as National Days of Prayer and Remembrance. I ask that the people of the United States and their places of worship mark these National Days of Prayer and Remembrance with memorial services, the ringing of bells, and evening candlelight remembrance vigils. I also invite the people of the world to share in these Days of Prayer and Remembrance.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.

GEORGE W. BUSH

Take Action: U.S. Senate Votes to Support Abortion Overseas

Dr. Dobson thanks President Bush for his pledged veto.

Read the full article:  http://christianpost.com/article/20070906/29201_ACLU_Unmoved_by_Jesus%27_Court_House_Companions.htm

A city courthouse in Louisiana recently mounted portraits of 15 of history's preeminent lawgivers alongside its painting of Jesus Christ in an attempt to appease a legal group trying to force the removal of the portrait.

The American Civil Liberties Union, however, has not been persuaded to drop the lawsuit against the city of Slidell and maintains that the display violates the separation of church and state.

"The question of whether Jesus needs to come down is the same question," Marjorie Esman, ACLU's new executive director, said Wednesday, according to The Times-Picayune newspaper of New Orleans. "You can't cure a problem by dressing it up."

Slidell City Court in Louisiana added the framed portraits of famous legislators to its print gallery including those of Confucius, Hammurabi, Moses, Charlemagne, Sir William Blackstone, and others last Friday, one week before a scheduled court hearing at which the Louisiana ACLU will ask a federal judge to remove the Jesus portrait.

"The purpose of the display has always been to use art to emphasize the importance of following the law in order to have a peaceful society. Slidell officials believe this expansion should reassure courthouse users or visitors that this is and always has been the legitimate purpose of the display," said Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) senior legal council Mike Johnson in a statement.

ADF is a legal alliance which defends and advocates for religious liberties. Attorneys at ADF are representing Slidell City Court Judge James Lamz, the city of Slidell, and the parish of St. Tammany.

From the Voice of the Martyrs:

INDIA
Hindu Radicals Turn Church into Hindu Temple - VOM Sources
On August 19, members from the Hindu radical group, Hindu Ikyavedi, attacked a congregation gathered for prayer and vandalized their church building in Bangalore, India. According to The Voice of the Martyrs' contacts in India, prior to the attack, Pastor Koshy Thomas and his family were threatened and told to stop conducting worship services. VOM contacts report, "On August 18, two members of the Hindu radical organization, Hindu Ikyavedi, threatened to burn Pastor Thomas and his family to death if they did not vacate their home and stop worship services. The next day they barged into a prayer meeting, abused the believers using filthy language and assaulted the pastor's wife and another believer. They snatched a Bible from another man's hand and threw it out of the building." After the believers were evicted from the church, the attackers vandalized the building. VOM contacts added, "The radicals vandalized the church building by drawing Hindu symbols, the trishul, swastika, Sanskritic Om and slogans such as 'Jai Shri Ram and Hindu Dharma is ours, who is Yesu?' They also conducted a Hindu religious rite inside the church and locked it." Pastor Thomas has been pastoring the 50-member Indian Pentecostal Church for about a year. Pray God protects and provides for the pastor and believers in this area. Ask God to use the testimonies of Christians in India to draw non-believers into fellowship with Himself. Joshua 1:9; 2Timothy 1:7

From the Voice of the Martyrs:

UZBEKISTAN
Church to Lose Building and Legal Status - Forum 18 News
Grace Presbyterian Church in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, may lose its church building and legal status after authorities filed a lawsuit aimed at annulling the sale of the building. Forum 18 News reports, "Grace Presbyterian Church, led by Pastor Felix Li, bought a former cinema in Tashkent's Khamza District in April 1999 from the city department of the State Property Committee. However, on July 24, 2007, the same department lodged the complaint to annul the sale. On August 13, 'without warning,' Justice Ministry officials arrived for a check-up on the church's financial activity, and whether its activity as a whole is in accordance with the church's statute. If violations are found, the church could be stripped of legal status and the right to conduct any religious activity." Christians in the area believe the "church check-up" is a step towards revoking legal status. Meanwhile, Forum 18 also reported, "Police in Uzbekistan have launched a manhunt for Pentecostal pastor, Masket Djabbaebergenov, who went into hiding after a criminal case was launched against him in early August to punish him for his religious activity." If convicted, the pastor could spend up to six year in prison. Pray for Christians in Uzbekistan. Ask God to protect and provide for Grace Presbyterian Church and Pastor Masket, who is in hiding. Joshua 1:9, Psalm 91

From the Voice of the Martyrs:

AFGHANISTAN
UPDATE - South Korean Hostages Released - Media Reports
Praise God! On August 30, Taliban extremists released the remaining South Korean hostages they had held for more than five weeks. The Taliban kidnapped 23 Korean aid workers when they were traveling by bus from Kabul to Kandahar. The group's pastor and another male hostage were killed, and two women were later released. Pray for the safety and release of the remaining hostages. Pray the Holy Spirit will comfort the released hostages, especially the families of the two Christians killed. Pray the testimony of these believers will draw others into fellowship with Christ. Isaiah 54:14, Psalm 107:20

From CitizenLink.com

9-6-2007

Take Action: California Legislature Takes Up Batch of Bad Bills

by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor

Dr. Dobson says, 'They have outdone themselves this time.'

The California Legislature is at it again -- trying to coerce schoolchildren to accept homosexuality and overturn voters' support for traditional marriage.

Those outrageous measures are among the seven bills that soon could be headed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk. He needs to be persuaded to veto all seven.

"He should get hundreds of thousands of phone calls. We know that makes a difference," Dr. James C. Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family Action, said on a radio program to be broadcast Friday.

Joining Dr. Dobson on the program are Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and Tom Minnery, senior vice president of government and public policy at Focus Action.

Specifically, the bills would: teach public school children age 5 and older to be accepting of homosexuality, cross-dressing and bisexuality; end local oversight of school discrimination policies; legalize same-sex "marriages"; and allow HIV-positive men to donate sperm, with no guarantee that the child conceived in the process would be HIV-free.

One of the bills, AB 43, is another attempt to force same-sex "marriage" onto the residents of California. In 2000, 62 percent of voters passed a constitutional amendment that states, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

According to news reports, the American Civil Liberties Union dispatched letters to its activists last week, urging them to pressure Schwarzenegger on this year's batch of pro-gay bills. The governor needs to hear from the pro-family side, as well.

The end of the legislative session is Sept. 14. The governor has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto any bills.

"We've got to get the governor to veto these bills," Minnery said.

TAKE ACTION
Call Gov. Schwarzenegger's office and urge him to veto all seven bills. You can contact his office at (916) 445-2841. Select "7" to speak with a staffer. Tell them you want the governor to veto all seven of the bills opposed by Focus on the Family Action. If you call after hours, you can leave a message. You do not need to list the bills by number. You may also send a message through the governor's Web site. (Note: The governor's Web site has been up-and-down for the past day or so.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION
View our fact sheet on the seven bills.

To learn more about these bills and other state issues, visit the California Family Council Web site.

From Concerned Women for America (cwalac.org):

The 110^th Congress has repeatedly taken swings at the cause of life. Concerned Women for America (CWA) previously alerted our members to an effort in the House of Representatives to decimate the pro-life Mexico City Policy, which allows the president to deny "family planning" funds to organizations that perform or promote abortions. Tragically, we lost that battle, and the policy was essentially gutted as Rep. Nita Lowey's (D-New York) amendment passed with a 223-201 vote and Reps. Chris Smith's (R-New Jersey) and Bart Stupak's (D-Michigan) amendment to reinstate the policy failed by a 205-218 vote.

 

The battle has now moved to the Senate! The Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations bill (H.R. 2764) includes new language that would undermine the Mexico City Policy by providing contraceptives for foreign non-governmental organizations (NGO) that promote or perform abortions.

 

The Mexico City Policy has proven successful. In Kenya, groups previously receiving U.S. funding, such as International Planned Parenthood and Marie Stopes, chose to close down "clinics" rather than agree not to promote or perform abortions. Women are safer now from a potentially life-threatening procedure and unscrupulous abortion providers because of the enforcement of this policy.

 

A second pro-life measure is also in jeopardy.  The Kemp-Kasten provision allows the president to discontinue funding to organizations that support or participate in the management of a coercive abortion program. The President has used the Kemp-Kasten provision to discontinue funding for the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) because of its egregious support of China's one-child policy, which includes forced abortions as part of an inhumane effort at "population control." During committee negotiations, senators removed the President's authority to enforce Kemp-Kasten and destroyed its effectiveness.

 

President Bush has promised to veto any appropriations bills that gut pro-life provisions.  That means we have to work hard to defeat those efforts now so that we can be sure to have the votes to uphold the veto later.

 

Action: Contact your Senators! Let them know that the American people support life and that Senators must protect these successful long-standing provisions.

Senate Switchboard: 202-224-3121

 

Thank President Bush for his determination to protect life and for his promise to veto appropriations that gut pro-life policies!  White House Comments Line at 202-456-1111 or comments@whitehouse.gov.

Maryland Parents Move to Halt Student Indoctrination

Teens Protest Planned Parenthood Clinic

Hundreds spend their holiday weekend at Illinois abortion site.

From CNN.com (read the full article here):

Dobbs: Mexican president's blatant hypocrisy

Lou Dobbs' commentary appears weekly on CNN.com.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon Sunday demanded the United States surrender its sovereignty, abandon the rule of law and accede to Mexico's inherent supremacy.

In his state of the union address to the Mexican nation, Calderon established his imperialistic imperatives: "I have said that Mexico does not stop at its border, that wherever there is a Mexican, there is Mexico. And, for this reason, the government action on behalf of our countrymen is guided by principles, for the defense and protection of their rights."

Calderon protested the U.S. government's increased raids on illegal employers of illegal alien employees and work site enforcement. In what is little more than a faint nod to the Bush administration's responsibility to enforce U.S. immigration law, the Department of Homeland Security had planned to send out notices to employers from the Social Security Administration informing them of non-matching records between an employee's name and Social Security number. These employers would then be forced to resolve any discrepancy within 90 days or be required to dismiss the employee or face up to $10,000 in fines for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.

But then, ethnocentric advocacy groups and some labor unions, trying to bolster their membership, sued to stop the crackdown on hiring illegal alien workers. A federal judge in California last week issued a temporary restraining order blocking the plan, giving a victory to the AFL-CIO, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center, all of which brought the suit alleging DHS exceeded its authority in making the rule.

That U.S. District Court judge ruled as if she were an employee of the Mexican government, rather than the U.S. government. Homeland Security was simply enforcing existing immigration laws. Are we not a nation that follows the rule of law? If not, we're no country at all.

Belgium May Prosecute the Church of Scientology

sheean.nl writes "A Belgian prosecutor recommended after a 10-year investigation that the government prosecute the church of Scientology. The church is accused of being a criminal organization involved in extortion, fraud, unfair trading, violation of privacy laws, and unlawfully practicing medicine. Both the Belgian and the European branches of the church should be brought to court, according to the authorities. The investigation was started in 1997 after former Scientologists complained about intimidation and extortion by the church. Other European countries such as Germany have problems with Scientology, but in the US it is officially recognized as a religion. Scientology has 10 million members including high-profile followers such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta." Scientology has long used heavy-handed legal and other tactics to suppress opposition on the Net.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

From Christian Today (read the full article here):

Pakistani Christian Girls Kidnapped, Converted and Forcibly Married

Two Christian girls kidnapped from their families in Faisalabad, Pakistan, have been forcibly converted to Islam and married to strangers.

Two Christian girls kidnapped from their families in Faisalabad, Pakistan, have been forcibly converted to Islam and married to strangers.

After kidnapping the girls, the Muslim men reportedly delivered distorted marriage certificates to their families.

According to one of the certificates, 16 year-old Shamaila Tabassum was married 12 days before her disappearance. Her lawyer, however, has asserted that the dates mentioned in the marriage certificate are falsified as Tabassum was still at home at the time.

The other certificate distorts the age of Zunaira Rasheed as 18, while her actual age is 11.

From the Christian Post (read the full article here):

Reports: China Catering to Religious Guests, Not Citizens

A temporary church will be set up in the Olympic Village during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, a state-backed church official has reported.

Tue, Sep. 04, 2007 Posted: 18:26:40 PM EST

---

A temporary church will be set up in the Olympic Village during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, a state-backed church official has reported.

"All will be arranged in accordance with the practices adopted by other Olympics host cities," said Liu Bainian, vice-president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and a Chinese political adviser, according to the official China Daily newspaper.

Furthermore, Olympics organizers reported that a religious service center will be set up in the Olympic Village with professional religious personnel providing services to meet the needs of athletes from various religious convictions.

A total of 60 volunteers from the five major religions in China - Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Protestantism and Catholicism - recently attended a three-day training session organized by the Beijing municipal administration of religious affairs for providing religious services during the Games.

"The majority of the foreign visitors expected during the 2008 Games have religious beliefs, and we should cater to their needs," said Liu earlier this year, according to China Daily.

China, which is known for heavily restricting all religious activity inside the communist country, has been making massive efforts to clean up its image as it prepares for the influx of visitors it expects to come with the Olympic tide. In addition to the latest development, China is also engaged in a number of other fix-ups, including ridding restaurant menus of mangled English translations, moving heavily polluting industries out of town, shaping up the slack behavior of its police officials, and checking the quality of many foods in a crackdown on unsafe products.

While many of China's clean-up efforts have been welcomed, others have been rebuked.

According to the U.S.-based China Aid Association (CAA), China has witnessed an increase in the number of "illegal" Christian groups that have been arrested across the country after a crackdown ordered by the Chinese government in July.

From The Christian Post (read the full article here):

Pastor: Slain Korean Hostage was Killed for Refusing to Convert

The youth pastor who was leading the group of 22 South Korean aid volunteers in Afghanistan was killed for refusing to convert to Islam, the head pastor of the church revealed after the final 19 former hostages arrived home.

Tue, Sep. 04, 2007 Posted: 11:11:38 AM EST

---

The youth pastor who was leading the group of 22 South Korean aid volunteers in Afghanistan was killed for refusing to convert to Islam, the head pastor of the church revealed after the final 19 former hostages arrived home.

"Among the 19 hostages who returned on the second (of September), some were asked by the Taliban to convert and when they rejected, they were assaulted and severely beaten," reported Park Eun-jo, pastor of hostages' home church - Saemmul Presbyterian Church in Bundang, just south of the South Korean capital Seoul.

"I heard from the hostages that they were threatened with death," he added, according to the Seoul-based Christian Today newspaper. "Especially it is known that the reason Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu was murdered was because he refused the Taliban's demand to convert."

From the Christian Post (Read the full article here):

Taliban Beat Christian Ex-Hostages for Refusing Islam

Some of the 5 South Korean men freed from captivity last week reported being beaten by their Taliban abductors for refusing to convert to Islam or for protecting their female colleagues, a hospital chief said Monday.

"We found through medical checks that some male hostages were beaten," Cha Seung-gyun told reporters, according to Agence France-Presse.

"They said they were beaten at first for refusing to take part in Islamic prayers or for rejecting a demand to convert."

In addition, at least two male hostages were beaten or threatened with death when they refused to leave behind female hostages, the hospital chief said.

All the men were said to have fully recovered and now show no external signs of their beating.

Meanwhile, medical examinations showed no signs of the females being raped and none reported being sexually harassed.

The hospital chief also informed that six or seven female hostages show symptoms of insomnia and depression and continue to worry about their lives even after returning to Korea. Moreover, some of the patients still suffer from shock from news that two of their male colleagues were murdered.

The news came a day after the 19 aid workers - 14 women and five men - returned safely to their homeland where they were quickly taken to Sam Anyang General Hospital south of the capital for examination and treatment.

While many have welcomed the freeing of the hostages - who were held captive for 40 days after their bus was hijacked on July 19 - public opinions in South Korea have mostly been critical of the Christian volunteers, citing lack of preparation and ignoring government warnings of traveling to Afghanistan for their lack of sympathy.

Meanwhile, the Korean government is also under fire over their handling of the hostage crisis. Ally countries such as Canada, Germany and Afghanistan have publicly criticized Seoul for negotiating with the Taliban - which they consider a terrorist group - and seemingly giving into them. They fear that South Korea's dealings with the Taliban will encourage more future kidnappings - a concern which the Taliban have readily confirmed.

"We found this a very effective tactic against the Kabul administration and the invading forces," Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP Tuesday. "We'll continue kidnapping foreigners," he said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

More Families Choose Homeschooling

Academics and safety seen as factors.

Study: No Scientific Consensus on Global Warming Claims

Papers do not support claims that it's human-caused or will have catastrophic impact.