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.

Tag, You're Suspended

CitizenLink: Oklahoma Governor Vetoes Pro-Life Bill:

4-19-2007

Oklahoma Governor Vetoes Pro-Life Bill

Gov. Brad Henry has vetoed legislation that would have prohibited the state funding of abortion. Rep. Lance Cargill, speaker of the House, said the governor’s action on Wednesday is not in line with the beliefs of Oklahomans who value the sanctity of life. “It’s especially sad that on a day when the U.S. Supreme Court is advancing the cause of life, Oklahoma is moving backwards -- thanks to the governor,” he said. “The idea that taxpayer dollars could be used to perform abortions is terrible.”

From CitizenLink.org:

Proposed North Dakota Abortion Ban Revised for Second Time

The North Dakota Senate voted Thursday to change a proposed abortion trigger law to a measure that would instead call for a special Senate vote if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns its Roe v. Wade decision, LifeNews reported. Lawmakers introduced an abortion ban in January, but then changed the measure to a trigger law, which would only go into effect if the Supreme Court reversed Roe. But Democratic Sen. Tracy Potter introduced a second revision to the Senate version – one that calls only for a special session if the Court acts. “We want to deal with the issue then," Potter said. "We don’t want to do it beforehand.” Republican Sen. Stanley Lyson said the revised legislation makes no impact on the lives of preborn children.

Good going, Arnold.  Let the people's will stand. From CitizenLink.org

California Lawmakers Consider Gay Marriage

A bill to change the definition of marriage is scheduled to be considered Tuesday by the California Assembly Judiciary Committee. Sabrina Lockhart, a spokeswoman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, told The Associated Press the governor’s position hasn't changed and a veto is planned. Schwarzenegger has said the bill violates Proposition 22, an initiative approved by California voters in 2000 that protects traditional marriage.

From CitizenLink.org

4-4-2007

N.J. Drill Casts Christians as Terrorists

by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor

School district regrets 'perceived insensitivities.'

Two angry Christians storm a school and gun down several students. That was the scene in Burlington, N.J., one day last month. But don't worry — it was just a drill. Two police detectives portrayed the gunmen. Investigators described them as members of a right-wing fundamentalist group called the "New Crusaders" who don't believe in separation of church and state, according to the Burlington County Times. The mock gunmen went to the school seeking justice because the daughter of one had been expelled for praying before class. Chris Manno, superintendent of the Burlington Township School District, told the Burlington County Times: "We need to practice under conditions as real as possible in order to evaluate our procedures and plans so that they're as effective as possible." But is the scenario realistic? "This is an egregious violation and discrimination against Christians," said Len Deo, president of the New Jersey Family Policy Council. "Christians are not the ones that are terrorizing the world. For a school to even portray Christians in that mode, it's just an egregious example of the bias of the administrators in these schools." Candi Cushman, education analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said the high school's mock drill was also a mockery of Christians. "At the very least it was poor judgment, and at the worst, it was flagrant discrimination against socially conservative, Judeo-Christian citizens," she said. "It's ironic — and frightening — that even as high schools across the nation are holding 'diversity' and 'tolerance' programs that exalt homosexuality, they overlook such blatant discrimination against Christian students." Messages left with the school district were not returned. A statement on the district's Web site said: "Any perceived insensitivities to our religious community as a result of the emergency exercise are regrettable. It was certainly not the intent to portray any group in a negative manner." Terry Trippany, editor of Webloggin.com and a political writer, had this to say on his blog: "If the police had portrayed the real-life scenario of gay terrorists or abortion rights activists upset for any contrived reason, you would read about it in every major paper across the United States. …" TAKE ACTION: Tell Superintendent Chris Manno and the Burlington school board that portraying Christians as terrorists is unacceptable. E-mail mailto:cmanno@burltwpsch.org?bcc=citizenlink@family.org or write to Burlington Township School District, P.O. Box 428, Burlington, NJ 08016.

From CitizenLink.org

Young People Lobby in Favor of Homosexual Issues from staff reports State capitols are the target. Gay-activist groups are recruiting kids to be the new face of their lobbying campaigns in state houses around the country. In many state capitols, self-identified gay young people are already working to influence legislators. But Dr. Bill Maier, psychologist in residence at Focus on the Family, said most of the kids are too young to state with confidence that they are gay. “Several studies indicate that it’s not until at least the end of the teen years or the early 20s that a person really gets a handle on their sexual orientation,” he told Family News in Focus. They are certainly confused, Maier said, and that makes them east to manipulate by gay activists. It’s a savvy strategy, and with the growing acceptance of homosexuality among today’s youth, uncertain kids are labeling themselves as gay or lesbian at an earlier age, according to Scott Davis, youth manager of Exodus International. “The average age right now for a student to identify themselves as gay is around 13," he said, "long before their sexual identity is really set in stone.” Davis said it’s important for Christian youth to have a godly view of sexuality. “If we don’t pay attention to the youth, we’re going to simply lose anything that we might protect or gain in this decade," he said. "We’re going to lose it in the next decade or two.”

From CitizenLink.org:

U.S. Senate Takes Up Bill to Fund Embryo-Destroying Research by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor Bush plans to veto ‘assault on the sanctity of human life.’ The U.S. Senate is expected to take up a bill Tuesday that would mandate federal funding of human embryonic stem-cell research. President Bush has used his veto pen only one time, but has said he’s ready to use it again on S. 5. Dawn Vargo, associate bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said a veto would protect the lives of tiny humans. “Some politicians and scientists want to open the funding floodgates for this type of embryo-destroying research,” she said. “S. 5 would remove all federal funding restrictions and give scientists access to federal coffers — your tax dollars — for this unproven and unethical research.” Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, said the bill is part of a “larger assault on the sanctity of human life.” “Many of the forces that are pushing this bill have also been pushing for the creation of human embryos by cloning,” Johnson said. S. 5 is similar to one sponsored by Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., which passed the House in January. If S. 5 passes the Senate, it would go to the House. Johnson predicted the Senate to come up with the necessary two-thirds vote to override a veto, but he hopes the House won’t follow suit. “It’s very important lawmakers in both houses hear from pro-life constituents,” Johnson said. TAKE ACTION Urge your lawmakers to protect human life by opposing S. 5. If you are a CitizenLink Daily Update subscriber, click on the blue "Take Action" button in the e-mail to be automatically logged in to our Action Center. Otherwise, click on this link .

From CitizenLink.org (read the full article)

Mass. Governor Stands Against Traditional Marriage Reversing Romney's decision, he orders out-of-state unions to be recorded. As the new sheriff in town, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick isn't wasting any time in taking a stand against traditional marriage. On Friday, he ordered the state to officially record the marriages of 26 out-of-state homosexual couples, reversing a decision by his predecessor, Mitt Romney. Patrick also is seeking to reverse stem-cell research restrictions implemented by Romney, which ban the creation of embryos for the sole purpose of research. In March 2006, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Romney could rely on a 1913 state law to prohibit out-of-state homosexual couples from marrying. "Governor Patrick is placing his personal preference above the law, and that can never be justified, especially as the state's highest constitutional officer," Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute and spokesman for VoteOnMarriage.org, said in a statement.

Read the full article>>

From CitizenLink.org (read the full article)

3-30-2007

Delaware Senate Votes in Favor of Life-Destroying Research

After a debate on the nature of life, the Delaware Senate voted 13-7 Thursday on guidelines for controversial stem-cell research. The News Journal reported that supporters said the bill was intended to "alleviate the pain and suffering of disease." But stem-cell research has so far produced no cures. The guidelines ban "reproductive" cloning, but that leaves the door open for the cloning of human embryos and for in vitro fertilization clinics to donate embryos -- all to be destroyed for research. The Rev. Bowen Matthews Sr., pastor of Brandywine Valley Baptist Church, spoke out for life. "It's human life in the Petri dish," he said. "And it's human life in the womb."

From CitizenLink.org (read the full article →)

3-30-2007

Death Used to Bolster Hate-Crimes Bill Proves Accidental

from staff reports

Autopsy discredits family's account of what happened. A suspicious death that was used to as a call to support a hate-crimes bill has turned out to be accidental. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., leveraged the death of 72-year-old Andrew Anthos, a gay-identified Detroit man, in calling for action on the legislation. On March 2, he told his colleagues in the Senate how someone "struck Anthos in the back with a metal pipe, leaving him critically injured, lying in the snow." Anthos' family, the news media and many other politicians claimed he had been beaten by someone who yelled gay slurs. But an autopsy revealed this week that his death was caused by arthritis that led to a fall -- not an attack. Despite the evidence, Sean Kosofsky with the Triangle Foundation, a gay-activist group in Michigan, said he remains steadfast in his belief that Anthos was beaten. "We stick by the family wholeheartedly in still qualifying this crime as a hate crime," he told Family News in Focus.

From CitizenLink.org (read the full article →)

3-30-2007

U.S. House OKs Largest Tax Increase in History

by Jennifer Mesko, associate editor

Dems’ budget plan allows tax relief to expire. One analyst calls it a “fantasy” plan, but it’s more like a nightmare for America’s families. The U.S. House passed a $2.9 trillion budget Thursday that Republicans say will result in the largest tax increase in history because it does not extend the president’s tax cuts, which are expected to expire in 2010. Pete Sepp, vice president for communications at the National Taxpayers Union, said each taxpaying family would fork out $1,900 more annually under the Democrats’ plan. In addition, the child tax credit would be reduced from $1,000 per child to $500, and the marriage penalty would be brought back into the tax code. “There’s not much for taxpayers to like in this budget,” Sepp said. “The budget plan itself rests on totally unrealistic assumptions, and is an even bigger fantasy than what (the Democrats) accuse Bush” of doing with his budget. “The numbers are crystal clear, and they tell the truth,” Rep. Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, told The Washington Post. The Senate approved a similar proposal last week. Democrats say they hope to work out the differences between the two by early May.

The Way of the Master Radio is reporting that St. Theodore's Catholic Cathedral is taking up a collection to help construct "a new, big mosque" in a nearby town. Both the board and the church council approved the idea, but several parishioners have brought up questions of whether or not it's a good idea, considering a group of local Turks beat a family man into a coma just before Ash Wednesday.

Patrick and Susan Stubing, a brother and sister who have four kids together, are pushing for the decriminalization of incest.  Two of the Stubing's children have developmental problems (all four have been institutionalized), but it is not yet know what the nature or cause of the difficulties may be.  Germany's Green Party is trying to get Germany to become "civilized" like France (and other European countries) which no longer considers incest illegal. Wow. Pray against this.

The German state is increasingly suppressing the rights of parents in educational matters. The German legislators and courts are trying to re-implement Hitler's "The State is a Loving Parent" policy -- there have even been such extreme cases as recent attempts to mandate pre-school for all children of at least 3 years old. Why? So that, by being separated from the mother, the child can grow up under the guidance of the state to be healthier and a better citizen (how do you spell "khmer rogue?"). In another case, a family is being threatened with loss of custody because they have homeschooled their 15-year-old daughter who wasn't doing well in public school. Check out this page for more important information. http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Germany/default.asp Just read it. Call your German Embassy (it does make a difference!): 202-298-4000 Tell them this is a travesty and that you are strongly opposed to it! This is important to Americans! According to the constitution, ratified treaties have the weight of the law of the land, so that if a treaty with Germany requires restrictions on its allies with regards to this, then they have the right (under our constitution) to enforce it! BEWARE THIS DANGER AND SPEAK OUT AGAINST IT NOW. Pray about this!

Yeah, I am naked on the Internet,” says Kitty Ostapowicz, laughing. “But I’ve always said I wouldn’t ever put up anything I wouldn’t want my mother to see.” She hands me a Bud Lite. Kitty, 26, is a bartender at Kabin in the East Village, and she is frankly adorable, with bright-red hair, a button nose, and pretty features. She knows it, too: Kitty tells me that she used to participate in “ratings communities,” like “nonuglies,” where people would post photos to be judged by strangers. She has a MySpace page and a Livejournal. And she tells me that the Internet brought her to New York, when a friend she met in a chat room introduced her to his Website, which linked to his friends, one of whom was a photographer. Kitty posed for that photographer in Buffalo, where she grew up, then followed him to New York. “Pretty much just wanted a change,” she says. “A drastic, drastic change.”

...

Clay Shirky, a 42-year-old professor of new media at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, who has studied these phenomena since 1993, has a theory about that response. “Whenever young people are allowed to indulge in something old people are not allowed to, it makes us bitter. What did we have? The mall and the parking lot of the 7-Eleven? It sucked to grow up when we did! And we’re mad about it now.” People are always eager to believe that their behavior is a matter of morality, not chronology, Shirky argues. “You didn’t behave like that because nobody gave you the option.”

...

It’s hard to pinpoint when the change began. Was it 1992, the first season of The Real World? (Or maybe the third season, when cast members began to play to the cameras? Or the seventh, at which point the seven strangers were so media-savvy there was little difference between their being totally self-conscious and utterly unself-conscious?) Or you could peg the true beginning as that primal national drama of the Paris Hilton sex tape, those strange weeks in 2004 when what initially struck me as a genuine and indelible humiliation—the kind of thing that lost former Miss America Vanessa Williams her crown twenty years earlier—transformed, in a matter of days, from a shocker into no big deal, and then into just another piece of publicity, and then into a kind of power.

...

The biggest issue of living in public, of course, is simply that when people see you, they judge you. It’s no wonder Paris Hilton has become a peculiarly contemporary role model, blurring as she does the distinction between exposing oneself and being exposed, mortifying details spilling from her at regular intervals like hard candy from a piñata. She may not be likable, but she offers a perverse blueprint for surviving scandal: Just keep walking through those flames until you find a way to take them as a compliment. This does not mean, as many an apocalyptic op-ed has suggested, that young people have no sense of shame. There’s a difference between being able to absorb embarrassment and not feeling it. But we live in a time in which humiliation and fame are not such easily distinguished quantities. And this generation seems to have a high tolerance for what used to be personal information splashed in the public square.

...

Jakob Lodwick seems like he shouldn’t be that kind of idealist. He’s Caitlin Oppermann’s friend, the co-founder of Vimeo and a co-creator of the raunchy CollegeHumor.com. Lodwick originated a popular feature in which college girls post topless photos; one of his first online memories was finding Susie’s videos and thinking she seemed like the ideal girlfriend. But at 25, Lodwick has become rather sweetly enamored of the uses of video for things other than sex. His first viral breakthrough was a special-effects clip in which he runs into the street and appears to lie down in front of a moving bus—a convincing enough stunt that MSNBC, with classic older-generation cluelessness, used it to illustrate a segment about kids doing dangerous things on the Internet. ... This is Jakob’s vision: a place where topless photos are no big deal—but also where everyone can be known, simply by making him- or herself a bit vulnerable. Still, even for someone like me who is struggling to embrace the online world, Lodwick’s vision can seem so utopian it tilts into the impossible. “I think we’re gradually moving away from the age of investing in something negative,” he muses about the crueler side of online culture. “For me, a fundamental principle is that if you like something, you should show your love for it; if you don’t like it, ignore it, don’t waste your time.” Before that great transition, some Susies will get crushed in the gears of change. But soon, he predicts, online worlds will become more like real life: Reputation will be the rule of law. People will be ashamed if they act badly, because they’ll be doing so in front of all 3,000 of their friends. “If it works in real life, why wouldn’t it work online?”

more at nymag.com (Warning: Explicit Language)

Despite its current financial crisis, the Illinois Senate voted Friday to approve grant funding for embryonic and adult stem-cell research.Senate Bill 4, which passed 35-23, creates the Stem-Cell Research and Human Cloning Prohibition Act. It now goes to the House. Supporters say the research could lead to treatments for several diseases, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. State Sen. Pamela Althoff, R-Crystal Lake, voted against it because she objected to using taxes to fund research grants when the state is six months behind in its bills – and because it is controversial. “I support stem-cell research,” Althoff said. “However, this legislation creates a grant program that utilizes state money at a time when the State of Illinois is having difficulty prioritizing educational needs, pension obligations and is six months behind in paying its bills.” Althoff also said it was inappropriate to use state dollars for a grant program that is so contentious.

more at nwherald.com

Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday angrily defended his relationship with Merck & Co. and his executive order requiring that schoolgirls receive the drugmaker‘s vaccine against the sexually transmitted cervical-cancer virus.Perry, touring cancer centers around the state, said the contributions were just a small share of the $24 million he raised and had no effect on his decision. Pressed on when he decided to issue the Feb. 2 executive order requiring the vaccination for sixth-grade girls, Perry snapped: "I wish you all would quit splitting hairs, frankly, and get focused on ‘Are we going to be working together to find the cure for cancers?‘ No, I can‘t tell you when." The executive order has inflamed conservatives, who said it contradicts Texas‘ abstinence-only sexual education policies and intrudes into families‘ lives.

more at localnewswatch.com

State health officials are expressing concern about proposed legislation that would require most girls in Connecticut's public schools to be vaccinated against the virus that causes cervical cancer. At a hearing before a legislative committee on Wednesday, the head of the Department of Public Health's infectious disease division recommended that lawmakers delay requiring the vaccinations because of limited data on the vaccine. "Some vaccines have been shown to have unanticipated side effects when they go into wide use during the first year," James Hadler told the Public Health Committee. The issue of mandatory vaccinations to guard against cervical cancer has been sweeping the country following the federal government's approval of Merck & Co.'s Gardasil vaccine last June. A federal advisory panel later recommended that all girls ages 11 and 12 receive the immunization.

more at boston.com

From CitizenLink.org:

2-19-2007

Colorado Parental-Involvement Legislation Imbalanced

from staff reports

Lawmakers consider permission to get tans, but not abortions. Colorado teenagers may soon need parental permission to get a tan, but not an abortion. Bart Hanks, a Colorado tanning-salon owner, said he goes to great lengths to make sure customers are educated before climbing into a tanning bed. "For the most part, the parent has to be present," he told Family News in Focus. "And they have to sign for them if they are under 18."

 Read the full article >>

Read on CitizenLink.org about: Civil Unions Not Enough for New Jersey Gays Activists call for marriage. On the day New Jersey made civil unions legal, homosexual activists made clear what they really want is nothing short of "marriage." Garden State Equality Chairman Steven Goldstein announced a campaign to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples within two years. "Civil unions are not marriage," he told the New York Daily News. "Marriage is the only currency of commitment the world understands." Len Deo, president of the New Jersey Family Policy Council, said gay activists are not satisfied with "just getting benefits." "What they want is total acceptance of their lifestyle," he told CitizenLink. "The only way they can get total acceptance is if they can redefine marriage so that it is no longer gender-specific." The move comes as no surprise. Caleb H. Price, an issues analyst for Focus on the Family, said the New Jersey campaign is part of a national strategy mapped out last year. "Basically gay activists are saying openly what we have said all along they were saying," Price said. "They will settle for nothing less than a full-fledged redefinition of marriage to include homosexual couples."