News Briefs

Commentary & News Briefs
December 14, 2006
Compiled by Jody Brown

...The New Jersey Legislature is expected to pass a bill today legalizing civil unions which offer homosexual couples all the rights of marriage without the title. Governor Jon Corzine has said he will sign the bill, which New Jersey's Supreme Court mandated. A Unitarian Universalist minister, Charles Stephens, says his congregation wants lawmakers to legalize same-sex "marriage" -- not just civil unions. Stephens says he does not feel bound by biblical condemnations of homosexuality that were written thousands of years ago. But another New Jersey minister, praying the invocation before the state Senate on Monday, said, "We curse the spirit that would come to bring about same-sex marriage." Moments after Pastor Vincent Fields uttered the prayer, Senate President Richard Codey declared that the pastor is now banned from giving any future Senate invocations. [AP]

...The Anglican Church of Tanzania says it's cutting ties with the Episcopal Church and won't accept any assistance from Episcopalians who condone homosexuality. The Episcopal Church's consecration of an openly homosexual bishop has alienated the American church from fellow Anglicans in much of Africa, Asia and Latin America -- often referred to as the "Global South." The Tanzanian bishops note that they remain "in communion with those who are faithful to biblical Christianity and authority of Scripture who remain in the Episcopal Church." Anglican leaders of the Global South have offered to help conservative Episcopalians set up an alternative structure apart from the Episcopal Church. [AP]

...From Paramount Pictures and Walden Media comes Charlotte's Web, a live-action film adaptation of the classic book by E.B. White that is set to open in theaters on Friday (December 15). The film comes to life through actors of all ages, and both adults and children are likely to be touched by this story of loyalty, trust, sacrifice, self-worth, selflessness, friendship and love. The film not only boasts of positive values and timeless truths, it also plugs reading and writing skills while evoking a number of emotions -- from laughter to crying. Audiences will grow to love the adorable Wilbur the pig who is saved by Fern and befriended by his barnyard gang -- all of whom work together under the leadership of Charlotte the spider to convince others that Wilbur is worth far more than a trip to the smokehouse. Charlotte's Web is rated G and is a top pick for families, especially those with young children. However, it is important to note the film's crude humor that centers on flatulence, belching, and name-calling. Disobedience is seen in Fern's character as well as marital dissatisfaction among a pair of geese who constantly nag each other. But, thankfully, the positive outweighs the negative in this film, and viewers can be sure that the story of Wilbur and his friends will find a special place in their hearts. [AFA Journal]

...If you're a fan of the printed version of Charlotte's Web, yesterday (December 13) was a landmark date as literally thousands of readers around the world joined together to set a new, but as yet uncertified, Guinness World Record for the "Most People Reading Aloud Simultaneously in Multiple Locations." The attempt, which was organized by Walden Media as part of campaign to build awareness of the movie version's release next week, took place starting at 12:00 noon (EST) and included readers who gathered in schools, hospitals, libraries, and community centers to read a passage from the story that celebrates the moment Charlotte (the spider) and Wilbur (the pig) meet for the first time. According to Walden.com, 547,826 readers in 2,451 locations, 50 states, and 28 countries read that passage simultaneously during Wednesday's oral offering. The previous record, reports Walden Media, was an oral reading of William Wordsworth's poem Daffodils in March 2004, in which 155,528 students from 737 students through England participated. Walden Media (Walden.com) is encouraging participants to submit all documentation of their reading by January 3, 2007, so the record can be certified. [Jody Brown]

...A pro-democracy activist says a documentary currently being aired in China is nothing more than an effort by the Chinese Communist Party to justify its continued existence to the Chinese people. The 12-part documentary, which is being aired by China Central Television, describes the reasons why nine countries, including the United States, rose to become great powers, and openly discusses how China intends to be one soon. But D.J. McGuire of the China Support Network says the real agenda of the CCP is convincing the Chinese people that it is the only reason why China is moving toward super-power status. "If China were part of the democratic world, it would be much more powerful and much stronger than it is today," McGuire argues. "The Chinese Communist Party is trying to make the Chinese people believe that it is pushing China forward when, in reality, it's holding China back." McGuire says to achieve its goals, the CCP must overcome one huge obstacle: "To maintain the brutal dictatorship at home, they must expand their geopolitical influence abroad," he explains. "And that means directly and indirectly challenging the United States at every turn." McGuire says it is unfortunate that since the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989, the Chinese communist regime has embarked on a campaign of radical nationalism to keep its power. [Chad Groening]

...A terrorism expert and New York Times best-selling author says U.S. Airways was completely justified in removing six Muslim imams from a recent flight between Minneapolis and Phoenix. Brigitte Gabriel, founder and president of the American Congress for Truth, recently published Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America. Gabriel shares her pleasure that U.S. Airways is defending its action in removing the suspicious imams from the flight after passengers became concerned about their behavior. "USAir has every right to do what they are doing," she states. "As a matter of fact, USAir just became my official airline carrier because of what they did with the imams." The captain of the airplane made the right decision, she says. "When you look at the behavior of the imams -- they took the seating configurations used by the 9/11 hijackers; they talked about al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden; and they moved around the airplane -- I mean, they were asking for attention," says Gabriel. "So, of course, that's going to arouse the suspicion of the airline passengers, who alerted that crew and who alerted the captain." The former Muslim says it is outrageous that five of the six imams are seeking an out-of-court settlement with the airline. She says she is hopeful U.S. Airways will not buckle to political correctness. [Chad Groening]

...Thanks to their own "sweat equity," people who care, and Habitat for Humanity, several families will be spending their first Christmas in a simple, decent home of their own. For example, after fleeing New Orleans the day before Hurricane Katrina struck, Rana Rose and her six-year-old daughter returned to find that everything they owned had been destroyed. Now settled into their new Habitat home in New Jersey -- just in time for the holidays -- Rose plans to complete her degree in accounting while working at her new job. When the Ansahs of New York City were told they would soon be the parents of quadruplets, their one-bedroom apartment suddenly seemed even smaller than before. On Saturday (December 16), the Ansahs and four other families will be in the South Bronx when Habitat dedicates a five-story building that they helped to renovate as part of their sweat equity. The Ansahs' new two-story duplex has plenty of space for their four crawling nine-month-olds, and is located right across the street from a playground. And single mom Angelique Overstreet of Springfield, Missouri, who is a house painter by trade, used her professional skills to help other Habitat partner families build their homes -- and to teach them how to complete a professional paint job. A local Habitat spokesperson says the hard-working Overstreet and her three children were to have closed on their own Habitat home earlier this month. Since it was founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 200,000 houses, providing shelter for more than a million people worldwide. [Jody Brown]

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