GLSEN Used NY Student Conference to Push Homosexual Agenda, Witness Says
By Jim Brown
(AgapePress) - An eyewitness to a student conference in New York State that was sponsored by a homosexual activist group says parents should be warned about the organization's efforts to indoctrinate and influence young people to accept the homosexual agenda.
The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, or GLSEN, recently hosted the eighth annual "Healing the Hurt Conference" in White Plains, New York. According to Jeanne Sparks, a Christian activist who observed the event, one of the keynote speakers there called on middle school and high school students to rebel against parental and governmental authorities that do not support homosexuality.
Sparks says the speaker, former civil rights attorney Dani Newsum, referred to Colorado's marriage amendment as "obscene violence to the Constitution" and predicted that "Southern Baptists will apologize in 100 years to [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer] people."
However, the Christian activist notes, a homosexual minister who spoke at the conference went even further. "This minister said, 'I'm not waiting a hundred years,'" she recalls. And if the rhetoric heard at the White Plains event is any indication, Sparks points out, homosexuals are clearly pushing for same-sex marriage. "They do not want civil unions," she insists, noting that the homosexual minister who spoke said he was "ordained one year ago, not to be part of an institution but to change it."
Sparks encourages concerned parents to find out whether their local school has a "Gay-Straight Alliance" club of any kind and, if so, to oppose it vigorously. "I really don't believe that parents actually know what GLSEN is all about and what these conferences are all about and what Gay-Straight Alliances in their schools are all about," she says; but she believes the homosexual group sponsors these conferences and student clubs to indoctrination young people.
At the recent "Healing the Hurt Conference," the Christian attendee points out, "There was one workshop where there was an open-mike forum, and one young girl said she forged the papers to be there, so her parents didn't know." And a show of hands revealed that among "almost half of the students in the conference, in this particular workshop, their parents did not know they were there," she says.
The main objective of the GLSEN-sponsored conference, Sparks adds, was to encourage students to take up homosexual activism and "to change laws" to align with the homosexual agenda. Parents would be appalled, she contends, if they knew what their children were hearing at the event.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
Friday, December 8, 2006
Democratic Opposition Buries Fetal Pain Bill -- and Along With It, Likely More Babies
Democratic Opposition Buries Fetal Pain Bill -- and Along With It, Likely More Babies
By Fred Jackson and Jody Brown
(AgapePress) - There's disappointment today in the ranks of the nation's pro-life movement as the House of Representatives has failed to pass a bill that would recognize the pain an unborn baby feels when it is being aborted. An overwhelming number of Democrats led the effort to defeat the bill.
The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (H.R. 6099) would require abortionists to inform women seeking abortions late in their pregnancy (20 weeks or more after fertilization) to be told their baby will experience pain. The bill would not require anesthesia; it would, however, protect a doctor's right to inform the woman of any risks to her according to the doctor's own best medical judgment.
A majority of the House actually voted in favor of H.R. 6099 on Wednesday night by a margin of 250-162. However, the measure -- which was introduced by New Jersey's Chris Smith, an outspoken pro-life Republican -- required a two-thirds majority to pass, and the end result was failure. Of the 162 who voted to defeat the measure, 152 were Democrats. Nine Republicans and one Independent joined them. (See complete roll call vote)
The president of Washington, DC-based Concerned Women for America (CWA) was among the many pro-lifers on Capitol Hill who had hoped the House would pass the bill. Wendy Wright says women deserve to know the facts before making a decision that inflicts "extreme pain" on their baby, ending his or her life in a fashion akin to torture.
"Regrettably," says Wright, "congressmen -- many who denounced the use of torture against suspected terrorists -- have voted to not let women know that abortion will torture their innocent unborn babies. Abortion not only kills a baby, it tortures them."
Douglas Johnson, legislative director for National Right to Life, says it is no small thing that 60 percent of the House endorsed the bill. But he believes that the other 40 percent "will have to explain why they favor anti-pain laws for animals used for research or food, but not for unborn humans."
CWA's Lanier Swann touches on that same apparent inconsistency. "There are strict federal humane slaughter rules which mandate that animals experience death in the least painful way possible," she says in a press release. "Unborn human babies deserve that courtesy times ten."
Swann contends that fewer women would follow through with plans for an abortion if they simply knew their unborn child would experience excruciating pain. "Evidence shows that the baby feels the pain even more acutely than [does] the mother," she says. "An informed mother might think twice before letting an abortionist inflict this inhumane torture on her child."
The defeat may also raise questions about the sincerity of claims from the Democrats that their party also has family values -- a claim that many voters apparently accepted when the party was lifted to majority status in last month's election.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
By Fred Jackson and Jody Brown
(AgapePress) - There's disappointment today in the ranks of the nation's pro-life movement as the House of Representatives has failed to pass a bill that would recognize the pain an unborn baby feels when it is being aborted. An overwhelming number of Democrats led the effort to defeat the bill.
The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (H.R. 6099) would require abortionists to inform women seeking abortions late in their pregnancy (20 weeks or more after fertilization) to be told their baby will experience pain. The bill would not require anesthesia; it would, however, protect a doctor's right to inform the woman of any risks to her according to the doctor's own best medical judgment.
A majority of the House actually voted in favor of H.R. 6099 on Wednesday night by a margin of 250-162. However, the measure -- which was introduced by New Jersey's Chris Smith, an outspoken pro-life Republican -- required a two-thirds majority to pass, and the end result was failure. Of the 162 who voted to defeat the measure, 152 were Democrats. Nine Republicans and one Independent joined them. (See complete roll call vote)
The president of Washington, DC-based Concerned Women for America (CWA) was among the many pro-lifers on Capitol Hill who had hoped the House would pass the bill. Wendy Wright says women deserve to know the facts before making a decision that inflicts "extreme pain" on their baby, ending his or her life in a fashion akin to torture.
"Regrettably," says Wright, "congressmen -- many who denounced the use of torture against suspected terrorists -- have voted to not let women know that abortion will torture their innocent unborn babies. Abortion not only kills a baby, it tortures them."
Douglas Johnson, legislative director for National Right to Life, says it is no small thing that 60 percent of the House endorsed the bill. But he believes that the other 40 percent "will have to explain why they favor anti-pain laws for animals used for research or food, but not for unborn humans."
CWA's Lanier Swann touches on that same apparent inconsistency. "There are strict federal humane slaughter rules which mandate that animals experience death in the least painful way possible," she says in a press release. "Unborn human babies deserve that courtesy times ten."
Swann contends that fewer women would follow through with plans for an abortion if they simply knew their unborn child would experience excruciating pain. "Evidence shows that the baby feels the pain even more acutely than [does] the mother," she says. "An informed mother might think twice before letting an abortionist inflict this inhumane torture on her child."
The defeat may also raise questions about the sincerity of claims from the Democrats that their party also has family values -- a claim that many voters apparently accepted when the party was lifted to majority status in last month's election.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
Archaeologists Unearth What They Think is Apostle Paul's Tomb
Archaeologists Unearth What They Think is Apostle Paul's Tomb
ROME (AP) - Archaeologists at the Vatican have unearthed what they believe is the tomb of Paul the apostle.
The sarcophagus had been buried beneath Rome's second largest basilica and dates back to at least the fourth century. Excavation began in 2002 and was completed last month.
The head of the project says the archaeologists want the apostle Paul's remains to be visible for reasons of devotion and respect.
Two ancient churches that once stood at the site of the current basilica were successively built over the spot where tradition said Paul was buried. The second church had left the tomb visible, first above ground and later in a crypt.
The project's findings will be officially presented at a Vatican news conference on Monday.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. © 2006
ROME (AP) - Archaeologists at the Vatican have unearthed what they believe is the tomb of Paul the apostle.
The sarcophagus had been buried beneath Rome's second largest basilica and dates back to at least the fourth century. Excavation began in 2002 and was completed last month.
The head of the project says the archaeologists want the apostle Paul's remains to be visible for reasons of devotion and respect.
Two ancient churches that once stood at the site of the current basilica were successively built over the spot where tradition said Paul was buried. The second church had left the tomb visible, first above ground and later in a crypt.
The project's findings will be officially presented at a Vatican news conference on Monday.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. © 2006
Conservative Judaism Eases Ban on Gay Rabbis
Conservative Judaism Eases Ban on Gay Rabbis
NEW YORK (AP) - Four of the 25 members of a panel that has opened the door for gay rabbis in Conservative Judaism have resigned in protest.
The movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards adopted several conflicting policies.
One upholds the prohibition against gay rabbis, but another permits gay ordination and allows blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples while maintaining a ban on male sodomy.
Conservative Jewish seminaries and synagogues can decide which policy to follow.
Four committee members who wanted to uphold the ban on ordaining gays, which has thousands of years of Jewish precedent, resigned in protest after the vote.
It's unclear whether any synagogues will break away over the gay issue.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. © 2006
NEW YORK (AP) - Four of the 25 members of a panel that has opened the door for gay rabbis in Conservative Judaism have resigned in protest.
The movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards adopted several conflicting policies.
One upholds the prohibition against gay rabbis, but another permits gay ordination and allows blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples while maintaining a ban on male sodomy.
Conservative Jewish seminaries and synagogues can decide which policy to follow.
Four committee members who wanted to uphold the ban on ordaining gays, which has thousands of years of Jewish precedent, resigned in protest after the vote.
It's unclear whether any synagogues will break away over the gay issue.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. © 2006
Christians Urged to Get Permits for Public Nativity Displays
Christians Urged to Get Permits for Public Nativity Displays
WASHINGTON (AP) - Christians are being urged to apply for permits to set up Nativity scenes in city parks and other public places.
The Reverend Patrick Mahoney says that way, people of faith can combat what he views as a growing anti-religious bias with the Christmas message of peace and good will.
Mahoney heads the Washington-based Christian Defense Coalition, which today is launching what it calls "The Nativity Project: A public witness to keep Christ in Christmas."
He says the public square should be open to all ideas and opinions, including religious ones. Mahoney adds that Christian law firms are available to help any believers who are denied permits for Nativity displays.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. © 2006
WASHINGTON (AP) - Christians are being urged to apply for permits to set up Nativity scenes in city parks and other public places.
The Reverend Patrick Mahoney says that way, people of faith can combat what he views as a growing anti-religious bias with the Christmas message of peace and good will.
Mahoney heads the Washington-based Christian Defense Coalition, which today is launching what it calls "The Nativity Project: A public witness to keep Christ in Christmas."
He says the public square should be open to all ideas and opinions, including religious ones. Mahoney adds that Christian law firms are available to help any believers who are denied permits for Nativity displays.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. © 2006
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
God is Watching, He is watching all the time! Half-Breed Wolf Dog Hero Rescues Elderly Owners From Snowstorm
Half-Breed Wolf Dog Hero Rescues Elderly Owners From Snowstorm
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
By Liza Porteus
NEW YORK — When Eve and Norman Fertig rescued a sick, two-week-old half wolf, half German shepherd puppy from a breeder almost seven years ago, they'd never dreamed that the animal one day would save their lives.
"God is watching; he's watching all the time," Eve Fertig told FOXNews from her home at the Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary in Alden, N.Y.
He apparently was watching on Oct. 12, when the 81-year-old Fertigs were treating injured animals in the forest sanctuary on their property. One such animal is a near-18-year-old raven, while another is a crow who was shot, blind in one eye with two broken legs.
It was routine for the couple to feed and exercise the dozen or so animals there around 7 p.m. every night.
"While we're in there, the lights go out and I realized something's wrong," Eve Fertig said. "We go outside to see what's happening and down comes one massive tree … the trees came down across us."
The massive storm that hit upstate New York that night felled trees, blocking the Fertig's path to the other sanctuary buildings — such as the school and storage building — and to their home, which was at least 200 feet away.
"We were in big trouble. … I said to my husband, 'I think we could die out here,'" Eve said.
'The Most Heroic Thing I've Ever Seen'
The Fertigs huddled in a narrow alley between the hospital building and the aviary, where they were sheltered from falling trees. They couldn't climb over the trees without injuring themselves. Neither had warm clothes on since it was a clear, crisp fall day just a few hours ago.
They hugged each other for warmth, since by 9:30 p.m., temperatures had dropped.
"I wasn't prepared for this … I thought, 'we're trapped, we're absolutely trapped,'" Eve said.
"That's when Shana began to dig beneath the fallen trees."
The 160-pound dog that habitually follows her owners around — Eve likens it to "Mary had a little lamb," when the lamb went everywhere Mary went — eventually found the Fertigs and began digging a path in the snow with her teeth and claws underneath the fallen trees, similar to a mineshaft, and barking as if to tell them to follow.
A reluctant Norm said, "I had enough in Okinawa in a foxhole," referring to his service in World War II.
"'Norman, if you do not follow me, I will get a divorce,'" Eve said to her husband of 62 years. "That did it. He said, 'a divorce? That would scandal our family.' I said, 'all of our family is dead, Norman!'"
After Shana tunneled all the way to the house — a process that took until about 11:30 p.m. — she came back, grabbed the sleeve of Eve's jacket, and threw the 86-pound woman over her back and neck, which Eve described as "as wide as our kitchen shelf."
Norman grabbed Eve's legs, and the dog pulled them through the tunnel, under the trees and through an opening in a fence to the house, at which they arrived around 2 a.m.
"It was the most heroic thing I've ever seen in my life," Eve said. "We opened the door and we just fell in and she laid on top of us and just stayed there and kept us alive … that's where we laid until the fireman found us."
There was no electricity and no heat in the house, so Shana acted as a living, breathing generator for the exhausted Fertigs until the local fire department arrived the next morning.
Concerned neighbors — many of whom had children Eve taught — who couldn't get hold of the elderly couple via telephone throughout the night had called the Town Line Fire Department.
But when the fire department urged the Fertigs to go to the firehouse to take shelter along with 100 others, they told them they would have to leave Shana behind.
"We said, 'we don't go anywhere without her.' ... I said, 'we'll stay until the people are gone and we'll take Shana,'" Eve said.
So the couple stayed at home with Shana until Sunday, when the firehouse emptied out. During the three days in a house with no power, heat or hot water, Shana slept with her owners to keep them warm.
"She kept us alive. She really did," Eve said.
Also during that time, firefighters not only helped clear trees from their grounds, but they brought food and water for both human and animal.
"They kept looking at that tunnel and said, 'we've never seen anything like it,'" she said. "I can't thank them enough — they're heroes."
When they went to the firehouse Sunday, Shana followed the Fertigs everywhere, even to the bathroom. And she was 'spoiled rotten' by the fire crews there, Eve said.
She said the fire chiefs said her story of being saved by her pet rejuvenated exhausted fire teams. "The story, they said, just gave them new hope."
A Lesson Learned
Last Thursday, Shana received the Citizens for Humane Animal Treatment's Hero's Award for bravery — an award traditionally given to humans. The plaque, complete with Shana's picture on it, hangs in the Fertigs' living room, along with other pictures of wolves the couple has worked with.
Eve, who teaches courses in Saving Endangered Species and Caring for Injured and Orphaned Wildlife at community colleges and trains animal rehabilitators in New York, said she hopes her story will help further her message of humanity toward animals and educate people about how even a wolf, if treated with care and dignity, can be a "kisser and a hugger" like Shana.
"If you're vicious to a human being, they'll become fighters," Eve said, but even wolves, "once you treat them right and raise them in your house, they're magnificent."
Eve has taught 400 adults to be wildlife rehabilitators. She and her husband are volunteers who pay for their own teaching licenses and caring for the sanctuary animals, out of their Social Security checks every year.
"I've never been on a cruise and I don't shop and I haven't seen a movie in two years," Eve said.
The only time the Fertigs go to the movies is, of course, when they are submitting to a higher calling.
"What I do to get signatures for my petitions, I go to [a] movie that's showing a wolf, horse or whale story," and she and her husband camp out outside the theater and get petitions signed to help save various animals, which they send along to wildlife organizations.
"I have a motto ... joint abilities don't create hostilities," Eve said. "I make it my business to talk to all groups, all conservationists, all hunting clubs, to let them know what they're missing out there."
Editor's Note: The Fertigs rely on food donations to help feed the injured animals they try to rehabilitate at their Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary in Alden, N.Y. They told FOXNews.com that the Oct. 12 storm completely wiped out their supply of food. The Fertigs would welcome any donations. Please contact them at 716-681-5918 if you would like to donate or volunteer.
Editor's Note II: After this story was published, Eve Fertig contacted FOXNews.com and said she received phone calls from all over the U.S. with people asking about Shana's story and how they can donate food for the Fertigs animals, toys for Shana, or money for their sanctuary. Mrs. Fertig asked that her address be published so people can send such items to them. Their address is:
Mrs. Eve Fertig
Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary
11380 Cary Road
Alden, N.Y. 14004-9547
© Associated Press. All rights reserved.
© 2006 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
By Liza Porteus
NEW YORK — When Eve and Norman Fertig rescued a sick, two-week-old half wolf, half German shepherd puppy from a breeder almost seven years ago, they'd never dreamed that the animal one day would save their lives.
"God is watching; he's watching all the time," Eve Fertig told FOXNews from her home at the Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary in Alden, N.Y.
He apparently was watching on Oct. 12, when the 81-year-old Fertigs were treating injured animals in the forest sanctuary on their property. One such animal is a near-18-year-old raven, while another is a crow who was shot, blind in one eye with two broken legs.
It was routine for the couple to feed and exercise the dozen or so animals there around 7 p.m. every night.
"While we're in there, the lights go out and I realized something's wrong," Eve Fertig said. "We go outside to see what's happening and down comes one massive tree … the trees came down across us."
The massive storm that hit upstate New York that night felled trees, blocking the Fertig's path to the other sanctuary buildings — such as the school and storage building — and to their home, which was at least 200 feet away.
"We were in big trouble. … I said to my husband, 'I think we could die out here,'" Eve said.
'The Most Heroic Thing I've Ever Seen'
The Fertigs huddled in a narrow alley between the hospital building and the aviary, where they were sheltered from falling trees. They couldn't climb over the trees without injuring themselves. Neither had warm clothes on since it was a clear, crisp fall day just a few hours ago.
They hugged each other for warmth, since by 9:30 p.m., temperatures had dropped.
"I wasn't prepared for this … I thought, 'we're trapped, we're absolutely trapped,'" Eve said.
"That's when Shana began to dig beneath the fallen trees."
The 160-pound dog that habitually follows her owners around — Eve likens it to "Mary had a little lamb," when the lamb went everywhere Mary went — eventually found the Fertigs and began digging a path in the snow with her teeth and claws underneath the fallen trees, similar to a mineshaft, and barking as if to tell them to follow.
A reluctant Norm said, "I had enough in Okinawa in a foxhole," referring to his service in World War II.
"'Norman, if you do not follow me, I will get a divorce,'" Eve said to her husband of 62 years. "That did it. He said, 'a divorce? That would scandal our family.' I said, 'all of our family is dead, Norman!'"
After Shana tunneled all the way to the house — a process that took until about 11:30 p.m. — she came back, grabbed the sleeve of Eve's jacket, and threw the 86-pound woman over her back and neck, which Eve described as "as wide as our kitchen shelf."
Norman grabbed Eve's legs, and the dog pulled them through the tunnel, under the trees and through an opening in a fence to the house, at which they arrived around 2 a.m.
"It was the most heroic thing I've ever seen in my life," Eve said. "We opened the door and we just fell in and she laid on top of us and just stayed there and kept us alive … that's where we laid until the fireman found us."
There was no electricity and no heat in the house, so Shana acted as a living, breathing generator for the exhausted Fertigs until the local fire department arrived the next morning.
Concerned neighbors — many of whom had children Eve taught — who couldn't get hold of the elderly couple via telephone throughout the night had called the Town Line Fire Department.
But when the fire department urged the Fertigs to go to the firehouse to take shelter along with 100 others, they told them they would have to leave Shana behind.
"We said, 'we don't go anywhere without her.' ... I said, 'we'll stay until the people are gone and we'll take Shana,'" Eve said.
So the couple stayed at home with Shana until Sunday, when the firehouse emptied out. During the three days in a house with no power, heat or hot water, Shana slept with her owners to keep them warm.
"She kept us alive. She really did," Eve said.
Also during that time, firefighters not only helped clear trees from their grounds, but they brought food and water for both human and animal.
"They kept looking at that tunnel and said, 'we've never seen anything like it,'" she said. "I can't thank them enough — they're heroes."
When they went to the firehouse Sunday, Shana followed the Fertigs everywhere, even to the bathroom. And she was 'spoiled rotten' by the fire crews there, Eve said.
She said the fire chiefs said her story of being saved by her pet rejuvenated exhausted fire teams. "The story, they said, just gave them new hope."
A Lesson Learned
Last Thursday, Shana received the Citizens for Humane Animal Treatment's Hero's Award for bravery — an award traditionally given to humans. The plaque, complete with Shana's picture on it, hangs in the Fertigs' living room, along with other pictures of wolves the couple has worked with.
Eve, who teaches courses in Saving Endangered Species and Caring for Injured and Orphaned Wildlife at community colleges and trains animal rehabilitators in New York, said she hopes her story will help further her message of humanity toward animals and educate people about how even a wolf, if treated with care and dignity, can be a "kisser and a hugger" like Shana.
"If you're vicious to a human being, they'll become fighters," Eve said, but even wolves, "once you treat them right and raise them in your house, they're magnificent."
Eve has taught 400 adults to be wildlife rehabilitators. She and her husband are volunteers who pay for their own teaching licenses and caring for the sanctuary animals, out of their Social Security checks every year.
"I've never been on a cruise and I don't shop and I haven't seen a movie in two years," Eve said.
The only time the Fertigs go to the movies is, of course, when they are submitting to a higher calling.
"What I do to get signatures for my petitions, I go to [a] movie that's showing a wolf, horse or whale story," and she and her husband camp out outside the theater and get petitions signed to help save various animals, which they send along to wildlife organizations.
"I have a motto ... joint abilities don't create hostilities," Eve said. "I make it my business to talk to all groups, all conservationists, all hunting clubs, to let them know what they're missing out there."
Editor's Note: The Fertigs rely on food donations to help feed the injured animals they try to rehabilitate at their Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary in Alden, N.Y. They told FOXNews.com that the Oct. 12 storm completely wiped out their supply of food. The Fertigs would welcome any donations. Please contact them at 716-681-5918 if you would like to donate or volunteer.
Editor's Note II: After this story was published, Eve Fertig contacted FOXNews.com and said she received phone calls from all over the U.S. with people asking about Shana's story and how they can donate food for the Fertigs animals, toys for Shana, or money for their sanctuary. Mrs. Fertig asked that her address be published so people can send such items to them. Their address is:
Mrs. Eve Fertig
Enchanted Forest Wildlife Sanctuary
11380 Cary Road
Alden, N.Y. 14004-9547
© Associated Press. All rights reserved.
© 2006 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
Somalia Town Threatens to Behead People Who Don't Pray 5 Times Daily
Somalia Town Threatens to Behead People Who Don't Pray 5 Times Daily
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Residents of a southern Somalia town who do not pray five times a day will be beheaded, an official said Wednesday, adding the edict will be implemented in three days.
Shops, tea houses and other public places in Bulo Burto, about 124 miles northeast of the capital, Mogadishu, should be closed during prayer time and no one should be on the streets, said Sheik Hussein Barre Rage, the chairman of the town's Islamic court. His court is part of a network backed by armed militiamen that has taken control of much of southern Somalia in recent months, bringing a strict interpretation of Islam that is alien to many Somalis.
Those who do not follow the prayer edict after three days have elapsed, "will definitely be beheaded according to Islamic law," Rage told The Associated Press by phone. "As Muslims we should practice Islam fully, not in part, and that is what our religion enjoins us to do."
He said the edict, which covered only Bulo Burto, was being announced over loudspeakers throughout the town.
Somalia's Islamic courts have made varying interpretations of Koranic law, some applying a more strict and radical version of Islam than others. Some of the courts have introduced public executions, floggings of convicts, bans on women swimming in Mogadishu's public beaches and on the sale and chewing of khat, a leafy stimulant consumed across the Horn of Africa and in the Middle East.
After complaints about the lack of consistency from residents in the capital, Mogadishu, the umbrella Council of Islamic Courts set up an appeals court with better educated judges in October.
© Associated Press. All rights reserved.
© 2006 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Residents of a southern Somalia town who do not pray five times a day will be beheaded, an official said Wednesday, adding the edict will be implemented in three days.
Shops, tea houses and other public places in Bulo Burto, about 124 miles northeast of the capital, Mogadishu, should be closed during prayer time and no one should be on the streets, said Sheik Hussein Barre Rage, the chairman of the town's Islamic court. His court is part of a network backed by armed militiamen that has taken control of much of southern Somalia in recent months, bringing a strict interpretation of Islam that is alien to many Somalis.
Those who do not follow the prayer edict after three days have elapsed, "will definitely be beheaded according to Islamic law," Rage told The Associated Press by phone. "As Muslims we should practice Islam fully, not in part, and that is what our religion enjoins us to do."
He said the edict, which covered only Bulo Burto, was being announced over loudspeakers throughout the town.
Somalia's Islamic courts have made varying interpretations of Koranic law, some applying a more strict and radical version of Islam than others. Some of the courts have introduced public executions, floggings of convicts, bans on women swimming in Mogadishu's public beaches and on the sale and chewing of khat, a leafy stimulant consumed across the Horn of Africa and in the Middle East.
After complaints about the lack of consistency from residents in the capital, Mogadishu, the umbrella Council of Islamic Courts set up an appeals court with better educated judges in October.
© Associated Press. All rights reserved.
© 2006 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
Terrorists rejoicing over new Iraq 'plan'
Terrorists rejoicing over new Iraq 'plan'
Reaction to Study Group: 'Allah and his angels' responsible, 'era of Islam and of jihad' declared
Posted: December 6, 2006
7:40 p.m. Eastern
By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM – A high level U.S. commission's recommendations for an eventual withdrawal from Iraq and for dialogue with Iran and Syria proves "Islamic resistance" works and America will ultimately be defeated, according to senior terrorist leaders interviewed by WND.
The militants, from the largest Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, welcomed the policies outlined by the Iraq Study Group, which they claim recognizes Islam is the "new giant of the world."
The group is led by former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker.
"The report proves that this is the era of Islam and of jihad," said Abu Ayman, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad in the northern West Bank town of Jenin.
The Islamic Jihad terror group is responsible for every suicide bombing in Israel during the past two years.
"[With the Iraq Study Group report], the Americans came to the conclusion that Islam is the new giant of the world and it would be clever to reduce hostilities with this giant. In the Quran the principle of the rotation is clear and according to this principle the end of the Americans and of all non-believers is getting closer," Abu Ayman said.
According to Abu Abdullah, a senior leader of Hamas' so-called military wing, Baker's report is a victory for Islam brought about by "Allah and his angels."
"It is not just a simple victory. It is a great one. The big superpower of the world is defeated by a small group of mujahedeen (fighters). Did you see the mujahedeens' clothes and weapons in comparison with the huge individual military arsenal and supply that was carrying every American soldier?" exclaimed Abu Abdullah, who is considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas' Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, Hamas' declared "resistance" department.
"It is no doubt that Allah and his angels were fighting with them (insurgents) against the Americans. It is a sign to all those who keep saying that America, Israel and the West in general cannot be defeated on the ground so let us negotiate with them," Abu Abdullah said.
Abu Abdullah said following a withdrawal from Iraq, the U.S. will be defeated on its own soil.
"America must understand that with anti-American governments in Latin America and with Islam growing and reinforcing, including in the U.S. itself, the next step would be a total defeat on their (American) land, not a relative one like they are facing in Iraq," he said.
Abu Nasser, the second-in-command of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group in the West Bank, called the Iraq Study Group report a "great victory" from which other jihadist organizations can learn.
"The Iraqi victory is a great message and lesson to the revolutionary and freedom movements in the world. Just to think that this resistance is led by hundreds of Sunni fighters who defeated hundreds of thousands of Americans, British and thousands of soldiers who belong to the puppet regime in Baghdad. What would be the situation if the Shiites will decide to join the resistance?" commented Abu Nasser.
The Al Aqsa leader said his group learned from the "Iraqi resistance" that jihad will ultimately destroy Israel.
The Al Aqsa Brigades is the declared "military wing" of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party.
"If Israel will not start negotiating its withdrawal we are ready to launch the new stage of the intifada," Abu Nasser said.
Islamic Jihad's Abu Ayman said after the U.S. "defeat" in Iraq is finalized, insurgents there should move to the West Bank and Gaza to help destroy Israel.
"We hope that after chasing the occupation from Iraq, these jihad efforts and experiences will be transferred to Palestine, and yes, I mean that we expect these fighters will come to Palestine as part of a big Islamic army."
The Iraqi Study Group's report called the U.S. position in Iraq "grave and deteriorating," and recommended the withdrawal of most combat troops from Iraq by 2008.
It warned, "The ability of the United States to influence events within Iraq is diminishing."
The report stated the U.S. should engage Iran, Syria and insurgent leaders in Iraq, and said Israel should be pressured into withdrawing from the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
The West Bank runs alongside Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Israel's international airport. The Heights is strategic mountainous territory that looks down in Israeli and Syrian population centers.
President Bush received the report at the White House this morning. Flanked by Baker and other commission members, Bush pledged to treat each proposal seriously and act in a "timely fashion."
The White House said Bush will make key decisions within weeks.
Some terror leaders, though, were unsure whether the Baker report would actually be implemented. They claimed Israel controls U.S. foreign policy and would ultimately block changes in American actions in the Middle East.
"The problem is that I think the political structure of the U.S. and the role of the Zionists in the U.S. turns impossible the possibility that this report would be implemented," said Abu Ayman.
Still the terror leader said the report shows insurgent actions are working.
"It is the dawn of the real Islam what we are seeing now, young people who are leaving everything in their countries and are coming to fight in Iraq," said Abu Ayman.
Reaction to Study Group: 'Allah and his angels' responsible, 'era of Islam and of jihad' declared
Posted: December 6, 2006
7:40 p.m. Eastern
By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM – A high level U.S. commission's recommendations for an eventual withdrawal from Iraq and for dialogue with Iran and Syria proves "Islamic resistance" works and America will ultimately be defeated, according to senior terrorist leaders interviewed by WND.
The militants, from the largest Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, welcomed the policies outlined by the Iraq Study Group, which they claim recognizes Islam is the "new giant of the world."
The group is led by former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker.
"The report proves that this is the era of Islam and of jihad," said Abu Ayman, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad in the northern West Bank town of Jenin.
The Islamic Jihad terror group is responsible for every suicide bombing in Israel during the past two years.
"[With the Iraq Study Group report], the Americans came to the conclusion that Islam is the new giant of the world and it would be clever to reduce hostilities with this giant. In the Quran the principle of the rotation is clear and according to this principle the end of the Americans and of all non-believers is getting closer," Abu Ayman said.
According to Abu Abdullah, a senior leader of Hamas' so-called military wing, Baker's report is a victory for Islam brought about by "Allah and his angels."
"It is not just a simple victory. It is a great one. The big superpower of the world is defeated by a small group of mujahedeen (fighters). Did you see the mujahedeens' clothes and weapons in comparison with the huge individual military arsenal and supply that was carrying every American soldier?" exclaimed Abu Abdullah, who is considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas' Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, Hamas' declared "resistance" department.
"It is no doubt that Allah and his angels were fighting with them (insurgents) against the Americans. It is a sign to all those who keep saying that America, Israel and the West in general cannot be defeated on the ground so let us negotiate with them," Abu Abdullah said.
Abu Abdullah said following a withdrawal from Iraq, the U.S. will be defeated on its own soil.
"America must understand that with anti-American governments in Latin America and with Islam growing and reinforcing, including in the U.S. itself, the next step would be a total defeat on their (American) land, not a relative one like they are facing in Iraq," he said.
Abu Nasser, the second-in-command of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group in the West Bank, called the Iraq Study Group report a "great victory" from which other jihadist organizations can learn.
"The Iraqi victory is a great message and lesson to the revolutionary and freedom movements in the world. Just to think that this resistance is led by hundreds of Sunni fighters who defeated hundreds of thousands of Americans, British and thousands of soldiers who belong to the puppet regime in Baghdad. What would be the situation if the Shiites will decide to join the resistance?" commented Abu Nasser.
The Al Aqsa leader said his group learned from the "Iraqi resistance" that jihad will ultimately destroy Israel.
The Al Aqsa Brigades is the declared "military wing" of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party.
"If Israel will not start negotiating its withdrawal we are ready to launch the new stage of the intifada," Abu Nasser said.
Islamic Jihad's Abu Ayman said after the U.S. "defeat" in Iraq is finalized, insurgents there should move to the West Bank and Gaza to help destroy Israel.
"We hope that after chasing the occupation from Iraq, these jihad efforts and experiences will be transferred to Palestine, and yes, I mean that we expect these fighters will come to Palestine as part of a big Islamic army."
The Iraqi Study Group's report called the U.S. position in Iraq "grave and deteriorating," and recommended the withdrawal of most combat troops from Iraq by 2008.
It warned, "The ability of the United States to influence events within Iraq is diminishing."
The report stated the U.S. should engage Iran, Syria and insurgent leaders in Iraq, and said Israel should be pressured into withdrawing from the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
The West Bank runs alongside Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Israel's international airport. The Heights is strategic mountainous territory that looks down in Israeli and Syrian population centers.
President Bush received the report at the White House this morning. Flanked by Baker and other commission members, Bush pledged to treat each proposal seriously and act in a "timely fashion."
The White House said Bush will make key decisions within weeks.
Some terror leaders, though, were unsure whether the Baker report would actually be implemented. They claimed Israel controls U.S. foreign policy and would ultimately block changes in American actions in the Middle East.
"The problem is that I think the political structure of the U.S. and the role of the Zionists in the U.S. turns impossible the possibility that this report would be implemented," said Abu Ayman.
Still the terror leader said the report shows insurgent actions are working.
"It is the dawn of the real Islam what we are seeing now, young people who are leaving everything in their countries and are coming to fight in Iraq," said Abu Ayman.
Hubbub Continues Over Use of Koran in U.S. Rep's Oath of Office
Hubbub Continues Over Use of Koran in U.S. Rep's Oath of Office
By Jody Brown
(AgapePress) - A pro-Islam group in Washington, DC, says a Jewish columnist's "bigoted and divisive" views should warrant his removal from a panel that oversees a Holocaust museum located in the nation's capital. The controversy centers around recent comments made by the journalist in reacting to an announcement by the nation's first elected Muslim congressman that he intends to use the Koran, instead of the Bible, during his upcoming swearing-in ceremony.
Columnist and talk-radio host Dennis Prager should be removed from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, which oversees the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum -- that's the opinion of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Why? Because in a column last week, Prager stated his opinion that Congressman-elect Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), a Muslim, should take his oath of office on the Holy Bible -- not the Koran.
"Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book -- the Bible," wrote Prager. "If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress."
Continuing, the columnist wrote that "in your personal life, we will fight for your right to prefer any other book. We will even fight for your right to publish cartoons mocking our Bible. But, Mr. Ellison, America -- not you -- decides on what book its public servants take their oath.
Since then, the columnist has offered up a solution he believes would satisfy most Americans: have Ellison bring a Bible with him along with his Koran.
"I have no problem with his bringing the Koran," Prager tells Associated Press, "[but] I have a problem with him denying the Bible its proper place. It's the first time since George Washington that someone has substituted a religious text for the Bible." The journalist adds that he seeks no laws to force use of the Bible in the ceremony, "but I do want public pressure on him to include the Bible."
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for CAIR, says Prager's remarks display an intolerance toward Islam -- and that the columnist should not insist that the nation's first Muslim congressman be sworn in on a Bible. "That excludes Muslims, it excludes Buddhists, Hindus, people in the Jewish community -- and it violates the Constitution in terms of not having a religious test to hold public office," Hooper tells AP.
And such anti-Islam comments, says the CAIR spokesman, deserves appropriate consequences.
"Mr. Prager is a member of the council that governs the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington," notes Hooper, "and we believe that his continued presence on that council would be inappropriate for someone who holds such bigoted and divisive views.
"When you are appointed by the president to a council whose mission is to combat hatred and bigotry, and you hold views that promote hatred and bigotry, there's a problem there ...."
Prager, who is Jewish, dismisses CAIR as a small Saudi-funded interest group. "It's not exactly a dishonor to be vilified by CAIR," he says. "I believe that that's been a destructive organization that has hurt Muslim/non-Muslim relations in America."
And his call for the Bible to be used is not an issue of personal religious preference, he adds. "I'm a Jew -- so the New Testament is not my Bible either. But the Bible ... is what gave [America] its values, and I can recognize that even if it isn't entirely my Bible."
Congressman Ellison's campaign manager contends that Prager's premise is false. Dave Colling acknowledges that the incoming lawmaker from Minnesota would be the first to take the oath with the Koran -- "but most members do not even take an individual oath with any book," he tells the Washington Post. "Keith Ellison will be taking his oath in the chamber [en masse] with the other members of Congress." No Bible or other religious document is used for the oath at that time, says that report.
In addition, notes Colling in the Post, Mr. Ellison has not refused to take an oath on the Bible, because his refusal would imply that such a requirement exists.
When Theodore Roosevelt took his oath of office in 1901, he was the first and only president to do so without a Bible. Sixty years later, John F. Kennedy took his oath on a Catholic version of the Bible. And several Jewish members of Congress have taken their oath on the Torah.
Associated Press contributed to this article.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
By Jody Brown
(AgapePress) - A pro-Islam group in Washington, DC, says a Jewish columnist's "bigoted and divisive" views should warrant his removal from a panel that oversees a Holocaust museum located in the nation's capital. The controversy centers around recent comments made by the journalist in reacting to an announcement by the nation's first elected Muslim congressman that he intends to use the Koran, instead of the Bible, during his upcoming swearing-in ceremony.
Columnist and talk-radio host Dennis Prager should be removed from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, which oversees the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum -- that's the opinion of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Why? Because in a column last week, Prager stated his opinion that Congressman-elect Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), a Muslim, should take his oath of office on the Holy Bible -- not the Koran.
"Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book -- the Bible," wrote Prager. "If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress."
Continuing, the columnist wrote that "in your personal life, we will fight for your right to prefer any other book. We will even fight for your right to publish cartoons mocking our Bible. But, Mr. Ellison, America -- not you -- decides on what book its public servants take their oath.
Since then, the columnist has offered up a solution he believes would satisfy most Americans: have Ellison bring a Bible with him along with his Koran.
"I have no problem with his bringing the Koran," Prager tells Associated Press, "[but] I have a problem with him denying the Bible its proper place. It's the first time since George Washington that someone has substituted a religious text for the Bible." The journalist adds that he seeks no laws to force use of the Bible in the ceremony, "but I do want public pressure on him to include the Bible."
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for CAIR, says Prager's remarks display an intolerance toward Islam -- and that the columnist should not insist that the nation's first Muslim congressman be sworn in on a Bible. "That excludes Muslims, it excludes Buddhists, Hindus, people in the Jewish community -- and it violates the Constitution in terms of not having a religious test to hold public office," Hooper tells AP.
And such anti-Islam comments, says the CAIR spokesman, deserves appropriate consequences.
"Mr. Prager is a member of the council that governs the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington," notes Hooper, "and we believe that his continued presence on that council would be inappropriate for someone who holds such bigoted and divisive views.
"When you are appointed by the president to a council whose mission is to combat hatred and bigotry, and you hold views that promote hatred and bigotry, there's a problem there ...."
Prager, who is Jewish, dismisses CAIR as a small Saudi-funded interest group. "It's not exactly a dishonor to be vilified by CAIR," he says. "I believe that that's been a destructive organization that has hurt Muslim/non-Muslim relations in America."
And his call for the Bible to be used is not an issue of personal religious preference, he adds. "I'm a Jew -- so the New Testament is not my Bible either. But the Bible ... is what gave [America] its values, and I can recognize that even if it isn't entirely my Bible."
Congressman Ellison's campaign manager contends that Prager's premise is false. Dave Colling acknowledges that the incoming lawmaker from Minnesota would be the first to take the oath with the Koran -- "but most members do not even take an individual oath with any book," he tells the Washington Post. "Keith Ellison will be taking his oath in the chamber [en masse] with the other members of Congress." No Bible or other religious document is used for the oath at that time, says that report.
In addition, notes Colling in the Post, Mr. Ellison has not refused to take an oath on the Bible, because his refusal would imply that such a requirement exists.
When Theodore Roosevelt took his oath of office in 1901, he was the first and only president to do so without a Bible. Sixty years later, John F. Kennedy took his oath on a Catholic version of the Bible. And several Jewish members of Congress have taken their oath on the Torah.
Associated Press contributed to this article.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
Life Matters to God -- And Here's How to Live It
Life Matters to God -- And Here's How to Live It
By Tim Wildmon
December 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - Funny how life changes as you go though the years. For most people in America it goes like this.
Childhood is filled with wonder. Everything is a new experience. There is very little sense of time except that it seems like forever until Christmas arrives.
The teen years are filled with friends and fun. We look for and find excitement.
A line from a popular song in the 1980s said of the post-teenage years: "Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone." I don't buy that idea, although there is an element of truth there.
Youth does thrill seek.
Then most of us get married in our 20s, have children until we are 30 and then buy a mini van. I know some wait until they are in their 30s to marry and some even stay single, but generally speaking, what I have described here is how it works here in the good ol' USA.
When you reach my current age of 43, you see that your kids are about to leave the home and become young adults. Pretty soon they will be having families of their own. The thought brings both joy and melancholy.
But this stage in life also makes you think about what lies ahead. You see, 43 is half way to 86. I graduated from Mississippi State -- that's how I know these things. And 86 is nine years above the average life expectancy in America, which is 77 years of age. In other words, even at 43 -- which many of you reading this consider "young" -- actually, I am probably on the downhill side of my time here on Earth.
What I am saying is cliché, but I will say it any way. Life is short. No matter how you cut it, we are here today and we are gone tomorrow. The questions then become: What do we do with the time we do have? And does it all really matter anyway?
For most of us, this is where religious faith speaks. For me, this is where I want to know what God says about these matters -- and since God does not schedule face-to-face question-and-answer sessions in an audible voice, the best place to turn is the Holy Bible. Wait a minute, you might ask, how do you there is a God? And how do you know He is the author of the Holy Bible? And beyond that how do we know that Jesus was the son of God as Christians believe?
These are very good questions -- questions which I don't have the space to go into here. But may I refer you to a short book I have recommended before? It's titled More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell.
But my short answer is that I believe in God because of the order in the universe. From nature, to the stars to the human experience here on Earth, everything points to a creator and is consistent with what the Bible says about life. At least to my satisfaction. The idea that our existence is random without meaning or purpose does not make any sense to me. If you have ever studied the complexities of the human eye, for example, the thought that it could have been put together outside of something supernatural is not logical. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
Which brings me back to the questions I posed earlier: What do we do with the time we have? And does it really matter anyway?
God says both matter.
God desires that I obey Him. He says I am to love Him with everything I am. He says the main way I can demonstrate my love for Him here is to love other people. He says my first love on Earth should be my wife. My second love on Earth should be my children. So it seems to me my time here on Earth is best used doing God's will, which is loving my wife, my kids and my fellow man.
I can demonstrate that love in many ways. I can serve. I can help. I can care. I can work for the things God stands for and work against the things God stands against.
For the Christian, the way we use our time either pleases God or displeases God. And the Bible teaches that we will be rewarded in heaven for the good that we did in His name while on Earth.
Amen.
Tim Wildmon is president of American Family Association and American Family Radio. He leads Spiritual Heritage Tours to Washington, DC, and Mount Vernon twice a year. For more information on the tours visit TimWildmon.com.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
By Tim Wildmon
December 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - Funny how life changes as you go though the years. For most people in America it goes like this.
Childhood is filled with wonder. Everything is a new experience. There is very little sense of time except that it seems like forever until Christmas arrives.
The teen years are filled with friends and fun. We look for and find excitement.
A line from a popular song in the 1980s said of the post-teenage years: "Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone." I don't buy that idea, although there is an element of truth there.
Youth does thrill seek.
Then most of us get married in our 20s, have children until we are 30 and then buy a mini van. I know some wait until they are in their 30s to marry and some even stay single, but generally speaking, what I have described here is how it works here in the good ol' USA.
When you reach my current age of 43, you see that your kids are about to leave the home and become young adults. Pretty soon they will be having families of their own. The thought brings both joy and melancholy.
But this stage in life also makes you think about what lies ahead. You see, 43 is half way to 86. I graduated from Mississippi State -- that's how I know these things. And 86 is nine years above the average life expectancy in America, which is 77 years of age. In other words, even at 43 -- which many of you reading this consider "young" -- actually, I am probably on the downhill side of my time here on Earth.
What I am saying is cliché, but I will say it any way. Life is short. No matter how you cut it, we are here today and we are gone tomorrow. The questions then become: What do we do with the time we do have? And does it all really matter anyway?
For most of us, this is where religious faith speaks. For me, this is where I want to know what God says about these matters -- and since God does not schedule face-to-face question-and-answer sessions in an audible voice, the best place to turn is the Holy Bible. Wait a minute, you might ask, how do you there is a God? And how do you know He is the author of the Holy Bible? And beyond that how do we know that Jesus was the son of God as Christians believe?
These are very good questions -- questions which I don't have the space to go into here. But may I refer you to a short book I have recommended before? It's titled More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell.
But my short answer is that I believe in God because of the order in the universe. From nature, to the stars to the human experience here on Earth, everything points to a creator and is consistent with what the Bible says about life. At least to my satisfaction. The idea that our existence is random without meaning or purpose does not make any sense to me. If you have ever studied the complexities of the human eye, for example, the thought that it could have been put together outside of something supernatural is not logical. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.
Which brings me back to the questions I posed earlier: What do we do with the time we have? And does it really matter anyway?
God says both matter.
God desires that I obey Him. He says I am to love Him with everything I am. He says the main way I can demonstrate my love for Him here is to love other people. He says my first love on Earth should be my wife. My second love on Earth should be my children. So it seems to me my time here on Earth is best used doing God's will, which is loving my wife, my kids and my fellow man.
I can demonstrate that love in many ways. I can serve. I can help. I can care. I can work for the things God stands for and work against the things God stands against.
For the Christian, the way we use our time either pleases God or displeases God. And the Bible teaches that we will be rewarded in heaven for the good that we did in His name while on Earth.
Amen.
Tim Wildmon is president of American Family Association and American Family Radio. He leads Spiritual Heritage Tours to Washington, DC, and Mount Vernon twice a year. For more information on the tours visit TimWildmon.com.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
PTC Applauds NBC's Airing of VeggieTales, Religious Content Intact
PTC Applauds NBC's Airing of VeggieTales, Religious Content Intact
By Jenni Parker
December 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - A pro-family media watchdog group is commending NBC for its apparent decision to put God and the Bible back into the network's Saturday morning television broadcasts of the popular animated series VeggieTales.
Some critics in the Christian community had denounced NBC for its initial insistence on editing out references to God and the Bible in the scripture-based cartoons before airing them. (See earlier article) However, VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer recently reported on his website that the last few episodes of the animated show have not been edited by the network.
Vischer says most of the last four or five VeggieTales episodes have had "at least as much 'theistic' content as the earlier ones, if not more." Nevertheless, the shows "came back from NBC standards and practices department with no requested edits," he says. "So they're going to air just the way they were originally written."
Musing over what brought about the network's seeming change of heart, the animator observes, "Rumor has it NBC received in the neighborhood of 600,000 e-mails about the Veggie Tales edits (a rumor I can't confirm or deny)." In any event, he says, "It's worth a little celebration ... don't you think?"
And, as for any viewers who may have stopped watching their "veggies" in protest over the edits, Vischer points out, their actions may well have helped to bring "a little more light to TV's 'vast wasteland.'" He urges fans of the cartoon to let NBC know they are thrilled with the network's recent choices by tuning in to watch the show.
In response to the animator's report, Parents Television Council (PTC) president L. Brent Bozell said his organization applauds NBC for apparently reversing its decision to cut the biblical and theistic content from the cartoon. He also commented that it is important for the entertainment industry to realize that "Americans are more willing to watch programming that reflects their values, with VeggieTales being one of those examples."
Bozell feels NBC should be commended for leaving recent installments of VeggieTales unedited and airing the programs as they were originally written. Now, the parents media advocacy group spokesman adds, he and the PTC hope the national network will "continue this upward trend towards including more programming that the entire family can enthusiastically watch and support."
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
By Jenni Parker
December 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - A pro-family media watchdog group is commending NBC for its apparent decision to put God and the Bible back into the network's Saturday morning television broadcasts of the popular animated series VeggieTales.
Some critics in the Christian community had denounced NBC for its initial insistence on editing out references to God and the Bible in the scripture-based cartoons before airing them. (See earlier article) However, VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer recently reported on his website that the last few episodes of the animated show have not been edited by the network.
Vischer says most of the last four or five VeggieTales episodes have had "at least as much 'theistic' content as the earlier ones, if not more." Nevertheless, the shows "came back from NBC standards and practices department with no requested edits," he says. "So they're going to air just the way they were originally written."
Musing over what brought about the network's seeming change of heart, the animator observes, "Rumor has it NBC received in the neighborhood of 600,000 e-mails about the Veggie Tales edits (a rumor I can't confirm or deny)." In any event, he says, "It's worth a little celebration ... don't you think?"
And, as for any viewers who may have stopped watching their "veggies" in protest over the edits, Vischer points out, their actions may well have helped to bring "a little more light to TV's 'vast wasteland.'" He urges fans of the cartoon to let NBC know they are thrilled with the network's recent choices by tuning in to watch the show.
In response to the animator's report, Parents Television Council (PTC) president L. Brent Bozell said his organization applauds NBC for apparently reversing its decision to cut the biblical and theistic content from the cartoon. He also commented that it is important for the entertainment industry to realize that "Americans are more willing to watch programming that reflects their values, with VeggieTales being one of those examples."
Bozell feels NBC should be commended for leaving recent installments of VeggieTales unedited and airing the programs as they were originally written. Now, the parents media advocacy group spokesman adds, he and the PTC hope the national network will "continue this upward trend towards including more programming that the entire family can enthusiastically watch and support."
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
Ministry Leader: DOJ Findings Show Need for Faith-Based Prison Programs
Ministry Leader: DOJ Findings Show Need for Faith-Based Prison Programs
By Ed Thomas
December 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - Mark Earley, president of Prison Fellowship, calls the U.S. Department of Justice's accounting of a record seven-million people either behind bars or on probation or parole at the end of 2005 "staggering" -- but he also sees it as a prime opportunity for the Church to demonstrate the gospel's advantage over the American penal system.
The DOJ's seven-million count represents one in every 32 American adults and breaks down to just over two million individuals in jail in the U.S., 4.1 million on probation, and more than 784,000 on parole, Earley notes. He says there has been a nearly tenfold increase of participants in the justice system, up to 2.3 million, since Charles W. Colson founded Prison Fellowship 30 years ago.
"People who are getting out [of prison] are coming back in at a rate of 50 percent after three years," the prison ministry's current president points out. "And yet," he says, "in many cases the courts and the more liberal elements in our nation don't want to allow faith-based rehabilitation programs that are entirely voluntary to occur behind prison walls because [those programs] are based on the teachings of Christ and might offend someone else."
But as far as Earley is concerned, the latest Justice Department annual report, with its dire statistics -- like the 50 percent recidivism (prisoner return) rate within three years of release -- only confirms the dire need for a spiritually-based approach to inmate rehabilitation.
"It's a huge opportunity for the Church to demonstrate the transforming power of the gospel," the Prison Fellowship spokesman says. "And it's really a huge testimony as well," he adds, "of the current government policies we have around the nation being a real failure -- not only to stem crime but to transform those who have run afoul of the criminal justice system."
Prison Fellowship is currently appealing an Iowa federal judge's order to shut down its InnerChange Freedom Initiative prison program and to reimburse the state for running it.
Earley feels the judge's ruling is bewildering, especially since the voluntary, faith-based program was a success, charting a three-year prisoner return rate of only eight percent.
Ed Thomas, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
By Ed Thomas
December 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - Mark Earley, president of Prison Fellowship, calls the U.S. Department of Justice's accounting of a record seven-million people either behind bars or on probation or parole at the end of 2005 "staggering" -- but he also sees it as a prime opportunity for the Church to demonstrate the gospel's advantage over the American penal system.
The DOJ's seven-million count represents one in every 32 American adults and breaks down to just over two million individuals in jail in the U.S., 4.1 million on probation, and more than 784,000 on parole, Earley notes. He says there has been a nearly tenfold increase of participants in the justice system, up to 2.3 million, since Charles W. Colson founded Prison Fellowship 30 years ago.
"People who are getting out [of prison] are coming back in at a rate of 50 percent after three years," the prison ministry's current president points out. "And yet," he says, "in many cases the courts and the more liberal elements in our nation don't want to allow faith-based rehabilitation programs that are entirely voluntary to occur behind prison walls because [those programs] are based on the teachings of Christ and might offend someone else."
But as far as Earley is concerned, the latest Justice Department annual report, with its dire statistics -- like the 50 percent recidivism (prisoner return) rate within three years of release -- only confirms the dire need for a spiritually-based approach to inmate rehabilitation.
"It's a huge opportunity for the Church to demonstrate the transforming power of the gospel," the Prison Fellowship spokesman says. "And it's really a huge testimony as well," he adds, "of the current government policies we have around the nation being a real failure -- not only to stem crime but to transform those who have run afoul of the criminal justice system."
Prison Fellowship is currently appealing an Iowa federal judge's order to shut down its InnerChange Freedom Initiative prison program and to reimburse the state for running it.
Earley feels the judge's ruling is bewildering, especially since the voluntary, faith-based program was a success, charting a three-year prisoner return rate of only eight percent.
Ed Thomas, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
House Lawmakers Plug Fetal Pain Awareness Bill Before Vote
House Lawmakers Plug Fetal Pain Awareness Bill Before Vote
By Jim Brown
December 6, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC (AgapePress) - Pro-life groups and members of the House are pressing for passage of a bill to require women considering an abortion to be informed of the pain their baby would feel during the procedure.
Today the U.S. House will vote on the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (H.R. 6099), which is sponsored by New Jersey Representative Chris Smith. If passed, the measure require that women considering an abortion 20 weeks or more after fertilization be informed of the pain their child would feel during the lethal procedure so they may request anesthesia in order to reduce or eliminate the child's pain. The bill would not require anesthesia; it would, however, protect a doctor's right to inform the woman of any risks to her according to the doctor's own best medical judgment.
Smith and several colleagues held a press conference earlier this week in support of the legislation. Ohio Congressman Steve Chabot, who authored the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, said the unborn child pain act should cause both Republicans and Democrats to "step back and ask themselves who they are in the human community." Often, he said, the greatest challenge an individual has is to put himself or herself in the place of another.
"I hope that we can put ourselves in the place of these little unborn children who have no voice, no hope, no defense," said Chabot. He added that he is hopeful his fellow House members can ask themselves "who we are as a human family" and "if those men and women lying out in Arlington National Cemetery really died so that we could torturously kill 400 members' late-term babies every day without anesthetic."
One Iowa lawmaker pointed out that unborn children in America are not receiving the same level of protection that livestock are. As a member of both the House Judiciary and House Agriculture committees, Representative Steve King said he has noticed a stark and shocking contrast between the success of pro-life legislation and livestock legislation.
"We've granted authority to the Secretary of Agriculture [through something] called the Animal Welfare Act, where he can regulate the transport, sale, and handling of various animals that are used for research," noted King. "There's other legislation out there that sets up animals above people.
"And I find myself standing here [thinking that] it seems bizarre ... that we're even in this discussion about how to potentially inform the expectant mother of the pain that an unborn child is going through while that baby's being killed."
King noted the Humane Slaughter Act requires that any animal that is to be slaughtered is to be rendered unconscious first -- yet that same provision is not being afforded to unborn children."
Florida Congressman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was among those speaking at the press conference on Tuesday. She said that informing women of the pain felt by their unborn child is "not something to be compromised."
"Medical evidence suggests that an unborn child can feel pain at 20 weeks if not earlier," she commented. "As such, it is our responsibility as legislators to see women throughout America are informed of the intense pain experienced by their unborn child during an abortion and offer them an option to ease their child's pain."
In addition, Arizona Congressman Rick Rienzi shared that during a time of year when people talk of peace on earth and civility in the nation, it is only proper to focus on the suffering felt by unborn victims of abortion. "As a father of 12 kids, seven boys and five girls, I very much love my nation; I love her," Rienzi said. "But I don't revere her when she has a law on her books that allows this kind of pain and suffering, this kind of conflict in our nation."
Rienzi thanked Rep. Smith for authoring the bill and, in doing so, educating the nation "as we inform women and husbands and partners and doctors of what [is needed] for there to be real justice in the womb." Smith believes he has garnered the support of at least 35 pro-life Democrats to back his measure. The legislation has even drawn the support of the pro-abortion group NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
By Jim Brown
December 6, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC (AgapePress) - Pro-life groups and members of the House are pressing for passage of a bill to require women considering an abortion to be informed of the pain their baby would feel during the procedure.
Today the U.S. House will vote on the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (H.R. 6099), which is sponsored by New Jersey Representative Chris Smith. If passed, the measure require that women considering an abortion 20 weeks or more after fertilization be informed of the pain their child would feel during the lethal procedure so they may request anesthesia in order to reduce or eliminate the child's pain. The bill would not require anesthesia; it would, however, protect a doctor's right to inform the woman of any risks to her according to the doctor's own best medical judgment.
Smith and several colleagues held a press conference earlier this week in support of the legislation. Ohio Congressman Steve Chabot, who authored the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, said the unborn child pain act should cause both Republicans and Democrats to "step back and ask themselves who they are in the human community." Often, he said, the greatest challenge an individual has is to put himself or herself in the place of another.
"I hope that we can put ourselves in the place of these little unborn children who have no voice, no hope, no defense," said Chabot. He added that he is hopeful his fellow House members can ask themselves "who we are as a human family" and "if those men and women lying out in Arlington National Cemetery really died so that we could torturously kill 400 members' late-term babies every day without anesthetic."
One Iowa lawmaker pointed out that unborn children in America are not receiving the same level of protection that livestock are. As a member of both the House Judiciary and House Agriculture committees, Representative Steve King said he has noticed a stark and shocking contrast between the success of pro-life legislation and livestock legislation.
"We've granted authority to the Secretary of Agriculture [through something] called the Animal Welfare Act, where he can regulate the transport, sale, and handling of various animals that are used for research," noted King. "There's other legislation out there that sets up animals above people.
"And I find myself standing here [thinking that] it seems bizarre ... that we're even in this discussion about how to potentially inform the expectant mother of the pain that an unborn child is going through while that baby's being killed."
King noted the Humane Slaughter Act requires that any animal that is to be slaughtered is to be rendered unconscious first -- yet that same provision is not being afforded to unborn children."
Florida Congressman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen was among those speaking at the press conference on Tuesday. She said that informing women of the pain felt by their unborn child is "not something to be compromised."
"Medical evidence suggests that an unborn child can feel pain at 20 weeks if not earlier," she commented. "As such, it is our responsibility as legislators to see women throughout America are informed of the intense pain experienced by their unborn child during an abortion and offer them an option to ease their child's pain."
In addition, Arizona Congressman Rick Rienzi shared that during a time of year when people talk of peace on earth and civility in the nation, it is only proper to focus on the suffering felt by unborn victims of abortion. "As a father of 12 kids, seven boys and five girls, I very much love my nation; I love her," Rienzi said. "But I don't revere her when she has a law on her books that allows this kind of pain and suffering, this kind of conflict in our nation."
Rienzi thanked Rep. Smith for authoring the bill and, in doing so, educating the nation "as we inform women and husbands and partners and doctors of what [is needed] for there to be real justice in the womb." Smith believes he has garnered the support of at least 35 pro-life Democrats to back his measure. The legislation has even drawn the support of the pro-abortion group NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
Fighting Back -- Pro-Family Groups Find Ways to Combat Homosexual Agenda in Public Schools
Fighting Back -- Pro-Family Groups Find Ways to Combat Homosexual Agenda in Public Schools
Feature by Ed Vitagliano
December 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - The influence of homosexual activists within the nation's educational system continues to grow, altering the attitudes of children and teens toward the acceptance of a destructive and depraved lifestyle.
Often without parental knowledge, local schools are instituting policy changes that not only promote respect for homosexuality, but often even celebrate it. From teacher lesson plans to books in the school libraries to special speakers addressing children in school assemblies, activists are touting the "naturalness" of homosexuality.
'Risk Audit' can reveal shenanigansWith so much politically-correct pro-homosexual indoctrination going on, how do parents assess the extent of homosexual activism in their own local schools?
Linda Harvey, founder of the Ohio-based pro-family group Mission America, has developed one common-sense tool. Harvey's "Risk Audit Project" is a comprehensive survey which measures the promotion of homosexuality in a given public school district. (The survey can be downloaded for free at the organization's website.)
The Risk Audit Project measures the extent to which public school districts are collaborating with homosexual activists by determining, among other things, whether schools have adopted pro-homosexual policies or curricula, and whether the school district is sponsoring pro-homosexual clubs, events, or activities.
Harvey said the main thing that the Risk Audit Project offers parents is knowledge. "Once the extent of the homosexual agenda directed to children is discovered, local parents, grandparents and citizens can alert the community, the media and notify the schools themselves," she said. "Parents will then clearly understand their responsibility: hold schools accountable for removing pro-homosexual material; and if this is not done, then move children to a different educational environment."
The Risk Audit Project has been endorsed by a number of pro-family groups, including the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, and the Illinois Family Institute.
Equal Access Cuts Both WaysThe leader in the public school promotion of homosexuality is the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN). Besides having succeeded in framing much of the debate over homosexual issues, GLSEN has also spearheaded the formation of more than 3,000 Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs in schools.
These clubs are often formed without parental notification or input. Kids who consider themselves homosexual -- or straight kids who are sympathetic to the homosexual movement -- simply have to approach school administrators and obtain permission. Because most schools allow the formation of non-academic student groups, federal equal access laws often require schools to allow GSAs.
Once these groups get started, students are allowed to gather regularly at school and promote their meetings and their views using the school's public address system, bulletin boards and copy machines.
Naturally, many parents object to GSAs in school. However, it is legally risky for school officials to refuse to allow their formation simply because the group is oriented around homosexuality.
So what can parents do? David Williams, a mid-Oklahoma representative of the Christian Educators Association International, used to his advantage the very federal equal access laws that allow GSAs in the first place. Williams argued that students who believed that homosexuals can change their sexual orientation must also be allowed to start their own club.
That didn't sit well with those pushing the GSA. Rather than allow an ex-"gay" club, the GSA was voted down -- by the very students who initially wanted it.
Parental Permission Policies TriedMeanwhile, the Washington, DC-based pro-family group Family Policy Network (FPN), is promoting another approach to the problem of GSAs. In August, FPN launched a multi-state campaign to require schools to obtain parental permission before public school children can take part in non-academic clubs -- including GSAs.
The expectation is that such a policy would dampen the number of kids who participated in the homosexual clubs, thus protecting them from the dangers inherent in that lifestyle.
"We think it's going to be really hard for most [GSA] clubs to get much of a participation factor," said FPN policy analyst Alex Mason, "because not many parents are going to want to allow their children to sit in front of a homosexual activist and learn about deviant lifestyles and how they're okay."
As part of the campaign, lawmakers in five states -- North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas -- will be asked to introduce measures requiring parental permission.
"Parents have a right to know that their children are going to be subjected to homosexual activism in the school," said Mason. He concluded, it is just common sense that homosexual activists should not have unfettered access to children, particularly without parent's permission.
Ed Vitagliano, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is news editor of AFA Journal, a publication of the American Family Association. This article, printed with permission, appears in the November/December 2006 issue.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
Feature by Ed VitaglianoDecember 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - The influence of homosexual activists within the nation's educational system continues to grow, altering the attitudes of children and teens toward the acceptance of a destructive and depraved lifestyle.
Often without parental knowledge, local schools are instituting policy changes that not only promote respect for homosexuality, but often even celebrate it. From teacher lesson plans to books in the school libraries to special speakers addressing children in school assemblies, activists are touting the "naturalness" of homosexuality.
'Risk Audit' can reveal shenanigansWith so much politically-correct pro-homosexual indoctrination going on, how do parents assess the extent of homosexual activism in their own local schools?
Linda Harvey, founder of the Ohio-based pro-family group Mission America, has developed one common-sense tool. Harvey's "Risk Audit Project" is a comprehensive survey which measures the promotion of homosexuality in a given public school district. (The survey can be downloaded for free at the organization's website.)
The Risk Audit Project measures the extent to which public school districts are collaborating with homosexual activists by determining, among other things, whether schools have adopted pro-homosexual policies or curricula, and whether the school district is sponsoring pro-homosexual clubs, events, or activities.
Harvey said the main thing that the Risk Audit Project offers parents is knowledge. "Once the extent of the homosexual agenda directed to children is discovered, local parents, grandparents and citizens can alert the community, the media and notify the schools themselves," she said. "Parents will then clearly understand their responsibility: hold schools accountable for removing pro-homosexual material; and if this is not done, then move children to a different educational environment."
The Risk Audit Project has been endorsed by a number of pro-family groups, including the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, and the Illinois Family Institute.
Equal Access Cuts Both WaysThe leader in the public school promotion of homosexuality is the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN). Besides having succeeded in framing much of the debate over homosexual issues, GLSEN has also spearheaded the formation of more than 3,000 Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs in schools.
These clubs are often formed without parental notification or input. Kids who consider themselves homosexual -- or straight kids who are sympathetic to the homosexual movement -- simply have to approach school administrators and obtain permission. Because most schools allow the formation of non-academic student groups, federal equal access laws often require schools to allow GSAs.
Once these groups get started, students are allowed to gather regularly at school and promote their meetings and their views using the school's public address system, bulletin boards and copy machines.
Naturally, many parents object to GSAs in school. However, it is legally risky for school officials to refuse to allow their formation simply because the group is oriented around homosexuality.
So what can parents do? David Williams, a mid-Oklahoma representative of the Christian Educators Association International, used to his advantage the very federal equal access laws that allow GSAs in the first place. Williams argued that students who believed that homosexuals can change their sexual orientation must also be allowed to start their own club.
That didn't sit well with those pushing the GSA. Rather than allow an ex-"gay" club, the GSA was voted down -- by the very students who initially wanted it.
Parental Permission Policies TriedMeanwhile, the Washington, DC-based pro-family group Family Policy Network (FPN), is promoting another approach to the problem of GSAs. In August, FPN launched a multi-state campaign to require schools to obtain parental permission before public school children can take part in non-academic clubs -- including GSAs.
The expectation is that such a policy would dampen the number of kids who participated in the homosexual clubs, thus protecting them from the dangers inherent in that lifestyle.
"We think it's going to be really hard for most [GSA] clubs to get much of a participation factor," said FPN policy analyst Alex Mason, "because not many parents are going to want to allow their children to sit in front of a homosexual activist and learn about deviant lifestyles and how they're okay."
As part of the campaign, lawmakers in five states -- North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas -- will be asked to introduce measures requiring parental permission.
"Parents have a right to know that their children are going to be subjected to homosexual activism in the school," said Mason. He concluded, it is just common sense that homosexual activists should not have unfettered access to children, particularly without parent's permission.
Ed Vitagliano, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is news editor of AFA Journal, a publication of the American Family Association. This article, printed with permission, appears in the November/December 2006 issue.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Maryland high court hears 'gay marriage' case
Maryland high court hears 'gay marriage' case
Dec 5, 2006
By Staff
Baptist Press
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (BP)--Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union asked the highest court in Maryland Dec. 4 to strike down the state's marriage laws and make it the second state in the nation to legalize "gay marriage."
Oral arguments before the Court of Appeal lasted one hour. The seven justices gave no indication as to when they might rule. The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of nine same-sex couples and one homosexual man whose partner is deceased."Despite the fact that plaintiffs have formed committed relationships … the state excludes them and their children from the numerous important protections that come from marriage, solely because the person whom they love is of the same sex," ACLU attorney Kenneth Choe told the justices, according to The Baltimore Sun. "The exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage violates the most fundamental guarantees of equality and liberty for all Marylanders."
But Assistant Attorney General Robert A. Zarnoch said the matter should be left to the legislature. Maryland adopted a law in 1973 defining marriage as being between one man and one woman. Earlier this year a Maryland judge ruled the law unconstitutional, but her decision was appealed."
The court doesn't have to disparage gay parenting to uphold this law, it doesn't have to assess the merits of an armload of studies and it doesn't have to find that the institution of marriage is threatened," Zarnoch said, according to The Sun. "It can uphold the statute without making any of those kinds of determinations.
"Can the court address all the plaintiffs' grievances? Clearly it can't. The General Assembly is the proper forum to deal with these issues."
The justices asked few questions.
"I didn't think the judges' questions helped a lot [in determining how they might rule]," Zarnoch said afterward, according to The Sun. "There weren't as many as you might think there would be. I don't think we can read the court one way or another."
Maryland is one of four states involved in "gay marriage" suits. The others are Iowa, California and Connecticut. The suits in the latter two states have been appealed to those states' respective Supreme Courts, although the courts have yet to decide whether they will hear the cases. Lower courts in both states ruled against "gay marriage."
Massachusetts remains the lone state to recognize "gay marriage." Supreme courts in New York, New Jersey and Washington state all ruled this year that there is no constitutional right to "gay marriage." --30--Compiled by Michael Foust. For more information about the national debate over "gay marriage,"
visit http://www.bpnews.net/samesexmarriage
Copyright © 2001 - 2006 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press
Dec 5, 2006
By Staff
Baptist Press
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (BP)--Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union asked the highest court in Maryland Dec. 4 to strike down the state's marriage laws and make it the second state in the nation to legalize "gay marriage."
Oral arguments before the Court of Appeal lasted one hour. The seven justices gave no indication as to when they might rule. The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of nine same-sex couples and one homosexual man whose partner is deceased."Despite the fact that plaintiffs have formed committed relationships … the state excludes them and their children from the numerous important protections that come from marriage, solely because the person whom they love is of the same sex," ACLU attorney Kenneth Choe told the justices, according to The Baltimore Sun. "The exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage violates the most fundamental guarantees of equality and liberty for all Marylanders."
But Assistant Attorney General Robert A. Zarnoch said the matter should be left to the legislature. Maryland adopted a law in 1973 defining marriage as being between one man and one woman. Earlier this year a Maryland judge ruled the law unconstitutional, but her decision was appealed."
The court doesn't have to disparage gay parenting to uphold this law, it doesn't have to assess the merits of an armload of studies and it doesn't have to find that the institution of marriage is threatened," Zarnoch said, according to The Sun. "It can uphold the statute without making any of those kinds of determinations.
"Can the court address all the plaintiffs' grievances? Clearly it can't. The General Assembly is the proper forum to deal with these issues."
The justices asked few questions.
"I didn't think the judges' questions helped a lot [in determining how they might rule]," Zarnoch said afterward, according to The Sun. "There weren't as many as you might think there would be. I don't think we can read the court one way or another."
Maryland is one of four states involved in "gay marriage" suits. The others are Iowa, California and Connecticut. The suits in the latter two states have been appealed to those states' respective Supreme Courts, although the courts have yet to decide whether they will hear the cases. Lower courts in both states ruled against "gay marriage."
Massachusetts remains the lone state to recognize "gay marriage." Supreme courts in New York, New Jersey and Washington state all ruled this year that there is no constitutional right to "gay marriage." --30--Compiled by Michael Foust. For more information about the national debate over "gay marriage,"
visit http://www.bpnews.net/samesexmarriage
Copyright © 2001 - 2006 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press
Bush ‘deeply disappointed’ with Bolton’s resignation as United Nations ambassador
Bush ‘deeply disappointed’ with Bolton’s resignation as United Nations ambassador
Dec 5, 2006
By Staff
Baptist Press
WASHINGTON (BP)--John Bolton, United States ambassador to the United Nations, has resigned in the face of a Democratic takeover of the Senate in January.
President Bush accepted the resignation “with regret” Dec. 4, 16 months after making the conservative and oft-criticized Bolton a recess appointment to the important diplomatic post. Bush made the appointment during a congressional recess after Senate Democrats blocked Bolton’s confirmation. The appointment was due to expire when the new congressional session begins in January.
“I am deeply disappointed that a handful of United States Senators prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up-or-down vote he deserved in the Senate,” Bush said in a written statement upon receiving the resignation. “They chose to obstruct this confirmation, even though he enjoys majority support in the Senate and even though their tactics will disrupt our diplomatic work at a sensitive and important time. This stubborn obstructionism ill serves our country and discourages men and women of talent from serving their nation.”
In a May 2005 Senate roll call, 53 Republicans and three Democrats voted to invoke cloture but fell four votes short of the 60 needed to end the filibuster.
A liberal Republican senator, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, undermined an effort to confirm Bolton this fall. Chafee withdrew his support for Bolton, preventing a vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. All eight Democrats on the 18-member panel opposed Bolton’s confirmation, meaning Chafee’s “no” vote as a committee member would have resulted in a deadlock.
Bush and others credited Bolton with helping produce some important U.N. Security Council resolutions during his time at the international body, but the ambassador was not a favorite of the U.N. bureaucracy. The president said Bolton’s work brought about resolutions on nuclear developments by North Korea and Iran, as well as a U.N. commitment to peacekeeping in Darfur, the besieged western region of Sudan.
Conservatives strongly supported Bolton, agreeing with his advocacy for the spread of democracy and for U.N. reform. Bolton, who had served four years as under secretary of arms control and international security at the State Department, has openly criticized oppressive regimes.
In 1991, Bolton helped with the successful bid to rescind the U.N.’s resolution condemning Zionism as equivalent to racism, thereby aiding Israel. He has called North Korea’s Kim Jong Il a “tyrannical dictator” and criticized China publicly for permitting its firms to sell missile technology to Iran.
Senate Democrats charged Bolton with mistreating subordinates and misusing intelligence. They also said their opposition was an effort to gain information on Bolton that the White House refused to release.
Copyright © 2001 - 2006 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press
Dec 5, 2006
By Staff
Baptist Press
WASHINGTON (BP)--John Bolton, United States ambassador to the United Nations, has resigned in the face of a Democratic takeover of the Senate in January.
President Bush accepted the resignation “with regret” Dec. 4, 16 months after making the conservative and oft-criticized Bolton a recess appointment to the important diplomatic post. Bush made the appointment during a congressional recess after Senate Democrats blocked Bolton’s confirmation. The appointment was due to expire when the new congressional session begins in January.
“I am deeply disappointed that a handful of United States Senators prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up-or-down vote he deserved in the Senate,” Bush said in a written statement upon receiving the resignation. “They chose to obstruct this confirmation, even though he enjoys majority support in the Senate and even though their tactics will disrupt our diplomatic work at a sensitive and important time. This stubborn obstructionism ill serves our country and discourages men and women of talent from serving their nation.”
In a May 2005 Senate roll call, 53 Republicans and three Democrats voted to invoke cloture but fell four votes short of the 60 needed to end the filibuster.
A liberal Republican senator, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, undermined an effort to confirm Bolton this fall. Chafee withdrew his support for Bolton, preventing a vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. All eight Democrats on the 18-member panel opposed Bolton’s confirmation, meaning Chafee’s “no” vote as a committee member would have resulted in a deadlock.
Bush and others credited Bolton with helping produce some important U.N. Security Council resolutions during his time at the international body, but the ambassador was not a favorite of the U.N. bureaucracy. The president said Bolton’s work brought about resolutions on nuclear developments by North Korea and Iran, as well as a U.N. commitment to peacekeeping in Darfur, the besieged western region of Sudan.
Conservatives strongly supported Bolton, agreeing with his advocacy for the spread of democracy and for U.N. reform. Bolton, who had served four years as under secretary of arms control and international security at the State Department, has openly criticized oppressive regimes.
In 1991, Bolton helped with the successful bid to rescind the U.N.’s resolution condemning Zionism as equivalent to racism, thereby aiding Israel. He has called North Korea’s Kim Jong Il a “tyrannical dictator” and criticized China publicly for permitting its firms to sell missile technology to Iran.
Senate Democrats charged Bolton with mistreating subordinates and misusing intelligence. They also said their opposition was an effort to gain information on Bolton that the White House refused to release.
Copyright © 2001 - 2006 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist Press
Liberty Counsel's 'Naughty' List Names Retailers That Censor Christmas
Liberty Counsel's 'Naughty' List Names Retailers That Censor Christmas
By Allie Martin
December 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - The Florida-based Christian law firm Liberty Counsel has developed a checklist cataloguing retailers who either censor or acknowledge Christmas. The "Naughty and Nice" lists are part of the legal group's "Friend or Foe" Christmas Campaign, a yearly effort to combat those who attempt to curb expressions honoring the true meaning of Christmas.
So far, stores on the "Naughty" list include Lowe's, where employees are not allowed to say "merry Christmas" to customers; Banana Republic, whose website refers to a "Holiday Gift Guide" with no mention of Christmas; and Best Buy, whose spokesperson says the use of "merry Christmas" is disrespectful. Meanwhile, among the stores on the "Nice" list are Dillard's, Hobby Lobby, JC Penney, Jo-Ann Fabrics, L.L. Bean, and Wal-Mart.
Read the current 'Naughty & Nice List' [PDF]
Liberty Counsel president Anita Staver says Christian consumers can play a part in fighting against retailer censorship of Christmas. "They need to be on the lookout when they go to stores," she advises, "and if they wish the people there a merry Christmas, they should expect to hear a merry Christmas in return."
Christian consumers should not have to expect to walk into a store and see "all the trees labeled 'holiday trees' and 'holiday wreaths,'" Staver contends. "They should see 'Christmas trees' and 'Christmas wreaths.'" Still, she points out, stores such as the Gap, Home Depot, K-Mart, and Bed, Bath, & Beyond have all censored the word "Christmas" this season.
"We had a report from Toys 'R' Us that a Pennsylvania guest relations coordinator had written a customer that the store aims to be neutral about Christmas," the Liberty Counsel spokeswoman notes. "But when the corporate division found out about this," she continues, "they said that Christmas is always celebrated at Toys 'R' Us and [that they] disagree with the actions of that store."
Meanwhile, Staver adds, some stores that have had a policy of censoring Christmas are backpedaling, and Liberty Counsel is glad to see the response that its "Friend or Foe" Christmas Campaign is getting. The campaign is having a definite impact, she says, and she encourages Christian consumers to be on the lookout for stores, schools, and other government or commercial entities that try to censor Christmas.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
By Allie Martin
December 6, 2006
(AgapePress) - The Florida-based Christian law firm Liberty Counsel has developed a checklist cataloguing retailers who either censor or acknowledge Christmas. The "Naughty and Nice" lists are part of the legal group's "Friend or Foe" Christmas Campaign, a yearly effort to combat those who attempt to curb expressions honoring the true meaning of Christmas.
So far, stores on the "Naughty" list include Lowe's, where employees are not allowed to say "merry Christmas" to customers; Banana Republic, whose website refers to a "Holiday Gift Guide" with no mention of Christmas; and Best Buy, whose spokesperson says the use of "merry Christmas" is disrespectful. Meanwhile, among the stores on the "Nice" list are Dillard's, Hobby Lobby, JC Penney, Jo-Ann Fabrics, L.L. Bean, and Wal-Mart.
Read the current 'Naughty & Nice List' [PDF]
Liberty Counsel president Anita Staver says Christian consumers can play a part in fighting against retailer censorship of Christmas. "They need to be on the lookout when they go to stores," she advises, "and if they wish the people there a merry Christmas, they should expect to hear a merry Christmas in return."
Christian consumers should not have to expect to walk into a store and see "all the trees labeled 'holiday trees' and 'holiday wreaths,'" Staver contends. "They should see 'Christmas trees' and 'Christmas wreaths.'" Still, she points out, stores such as the Gap, Home Depot, K-Mart, and Bed, Bath, & Beyond have all censored the word "Christmas" this season.
"We had a report from Toys 'R' Us that a Pennsylvania guest relations coordinator had written a customer that the store aims to be neutral about Christmas," the Liberty Counsel spokeswoman notes. "But when the corporate division found out about this," she continues, "they said that Christmas is always celebrated at Toys 'R' Us and [that they] disagree with the actions of that store."
Meanwhile, Staver adds, some stores that have had a policy of censoring Christmas are backpedaling, and Liberty Counsel is glad to see the response that its "Friend or Foe" Christmas Campaign is getting. The campaign is having a definite impact, she says, and she encourages Christian consumers to be on the lookout for stores, schools, and other government or commercial entities that try to censor Christmas.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
Ohio Citizens Reject Casino Plan Re-Packaged as Education Measure
Ohio Citizens Reject Casino Plan Re-Packaged as Education Measure
By Ed Thomas
(AgapePress) - A pro-family activist says Ohio gambling interests, despite developing a promotion campaign designed to be more successful than previous initiatives, failed to sell the state's citizens on Issue 3, a new effort to legalize casino gambling. The proposal, which included money allocated for education, was dubbed the "Earn and Learn" initiative.
David Miller of the Ohio-based group Citizens for Community Values (CCV) says pro-gambling interests thought they had designed a better approach for winning support of the gambling proposal this time around. He believes supporters thought they were improving on past strategies to win voter approval by making college scholarships for students bound for Ohio schools part of the gambling measure.
Nevertheless, the so-called "Earn and Learn" ballot initiative was defeated by a 57-to-43 percent margin. Miller says statistical information from studies about the effects of casino gambling on other U.S. communities in the past were too plentiful, and Ohio voters were not fooled.
"There are plenty of casinos around the country, plenty of states that have already done this," the pro-family advocate notes. "We have research that tells us what happens to our communities [when gambling is allowed in]."
Among the typical results of legalized gambling, Miller points out, is increased incidence of gambling addiction, bankruptcies, divorce, and other harmful fallout that results in loss of revenue and hurts local economies.
"And so voters are saying 'no' very consistently when they understand the impact of gambling," the CCV spokesman observes. "I think it says a lot that when the voters understand the facts about gambling and the impact on the individuals -- the people, the citizens of Ohio -- they continue to turn it down," he adds.
Obviously, Miller contends, the state's citizens are smart enough to keep rejecting the same repackaged offer. He says last month's failed "Earn and Learn" ballot measure was the pro-gambling interests' third attempt to legalize and expand casino gambling in Ohio.
Ed Thomas, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
By Ed Thomas
(AgapePress) - A pro-family activist says Ohio gambling interests, despite developing a promotion campaign designed to be more successful than previous initiatives, failed to sell the state's citizens on Issue 3, a new effort to legalize casino gambling. The proposal, which included money allocated for education, was dubbed the "Earn and Learn" initiative.
David Miller of the Ohio-based group Citizens for Community Values (CCV) says pro-gambling interests thought they had designed a better approach for winning support of the gambling proposal this time around. He believes supporters thought they were improving on past strategies to win voter approval by making college scholarships for students bound for Ohio schools part of the gambling measure.
Nevertheless, the so-called "Earn and Learn" ballot initiative was defeated by a 57-to-43 percent margin. Miller says statistical information from studies about the effects of casino gambling on other U.S. communities in the past were too plentiful, and Ohio voters were not fooled.
"There are plenty of casinos around the country, plenty of states that have already done this," the pro-family advocate notes. "We have research that tells us what happens to our communities [when gambling is allowed in]."
Among the typical results of legalized gambling, Miller points out, is increased incidence of gambling addiction, bankruptcies, divorce, and other harmful fallout that results in loss of revenue and hurts local economies.
"And so voters are saying 'no' very consistently when they understand the impact of gambling," the CCV spokesman observes. "I think it says a lot that when the voters understand the facts about gambling and the impact on the individuals -- the people, the citizens of Ohio -- they continue to turn it down," he adds.
Obviously, Miller contends, the state's citizens are smart enough to keep rejecting the same repackaged offer. He says last month's failed "Earn and Learn" ballot measure was the pro-gambling interests' third attempt to legalize and expand casino gambling in Ohio.
Ed Thomas, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
The Option of Adoption
December 5, 2006
The Option of Adoption
by Steve Jordahl
There are 112-thousand foster kids waiting to be adopted in the U.S. Can your family help fill the void?
Adam Pertman gets a little tired of hearing well-meaning adults commiserate with him about his family.
“Adoptive parents were told, and still sometimes are, ‘Oh, I’m sorry you couldn’t have any real children.’ Well, I’m an adoptive dad, and my kids look real.”
Pertman is head of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and hears hundreds of stories just like his everyday. He says adoption has been shrouded in secrecy, and for no good reason.
“Adoption for most of its modern history was a secretive process, right? I mean people couldn’t even tell their own kids they were adopted. That’s pretty secretive. And it is stigmatized.”
He advocates raising children with the knowledge that they were chosen to be a part of the family.
Janice Goldwater of Adoptions Together says there are millions of children waiting for that chance.
“Really there’s no such thing as somebody else’s child. We all need to reach out to children, and not just at the holiday time.”
For those who have a concern for the family, adoption holds special attraction.
“Children grow best in families and under no circumstances should children grow up outside of family units when it’s at all possible.”
Worldwide, there are about 125-million orphaned children in need of a home.
© 2006 Focus on the Family. CitizenLink is a registered trademark of Focus on the Family. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.
The Option of Adoption
by Steve Jordahl
There are 112-thousand foster kids waiting to be adopted in the U.S. Can your family help fill the void?
Adam Pertman gets a little tired of hearing well-meaning adults commiserate with him about his family.
“Adoptive parents were told, and still sometimes are, ‘Oh, I’m sorry you couldn’t have any real children.’ Well, I’m an adoptive dad, and my kids look real.”
Pertman is head of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute and hears hundreds of stories just like his everyday. He says adoption has been shrouded in secrecy, and for no good reason.
“Adoption for most of its modern history was a secretive process, right? I mean people couldn’t even tell their own kids they were adopted. That’s pretty secretive. And it is stigmatized.”
He advocates raising children with the knowledge that they were chosen to be a part of the family.
Janice Goldwater of Adoptions Together says there are millions of children waiting for that chance.
“Really there’s no such thing as somebody else’s child. We all need to reach out to children, and not just at the holiday time.”
For those who have a concern for the family, adoption holds special attraction.
“Children grow best in families and under no circumstances should children grow up outside of family units when it’s at all possible.”
Worldwide, there are about 125-million orphaned children in need of a home.
© 2006 Focus on the Family. CitizenLink is a registered trademark of Focus on the Family. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.
Uncertainty Surrounds Canadian Parliament's Upcoming Vote on Same-Sex 'Marriage'
Uncertainty Surrounds Canadian Parliament's Upcoming Vote on Same-Sex 'Marriage'
By Chad Groening
December 5, 2006
(AgapePress) - The head of a Canadian pro-family organization says he believes Wednesday's vote to restore traditional marriage in Canada is going to be close -- but he hopes Parliament will ultimately follow the wishes of the vast majority of Canadians.
Same-sex "marriage" was legalized in Canada three years ago; since then, thousands of homosexuals from Canada and other countries have been legally married there. But when Stephen Harper campaigned for prime minister in the subsequent election, he promised voters that he would bring the marriage issue back before Parliament for a free vote.
Tomorrow (December 6) Harper -- who is reportedly a born-again Christian -- will fulfill that pledge, as members of Parliament (MPs) decide if they want to restore the traditional definition of marriage as only a union between a man and a woman. The question contains a provision that, if passed, the new position would not affect civil unions and would not reverse existing same-sex marriages.
Brian Rushfeldt, co-founder and executive director of the Canada Family Action Coalition (CFAC), is impressed with the way Harper has kept his campaign promise. He describes the new prime minister as "a man of integrity."
"If he promises that he will do it, he will do it," says the pro-family leader. "And I think the timing of it, in our estimation, is perhaps not the best timing, although I don't know that there's a good timing."
Rushfeldt hopes the MPs will follow the wishes of most Canadians. He expects the vote to "reasonably close" and is hearing that just a few votes either way could decide the final outcome.
"Certainly, members of Parliament clearly know what their constituents want, and that's to reopen and revisit and redefine marriage," he says. "So if they vote following the wishes of their constituents, I believe we'd win this hands down."
But if pro-family forces come up short on the vote, the CFAC spokesman says his fellow countrymen are going to have to "fire a bunch of members of Parliament and put some pro-marriage people in government [come] next election."
Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper indicates doubt over whether the measure will pass. But Dr. Charles McVety, CFAC president and one of the key proponents of restoring traditional marriage, says his group expects Parliament to study the impact on same-sex marriage on religion, regardless of the results of the free vote.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
By Chad Groening
December 5, 2006
(AgapePress) - The head of a Canadian pro-family organization says he believes Wednesday's vote to restore traditional marriage in Canada is going to be close -- but he hopes Parliament will ultimately follow the wishes of the vast majority of Canadians.
Same-sex "marriage" was legalized in Canada three years ago; since then, thousands of homosexuals from Canada and other countries have been legally married there. But when Stephen Harper campaigned for prime minister in the subsequent election, he promised voters that he would bring the marriage issue back before Parliament for a free vote.
Tomorrow (December 6) Harper -- who is reportedly a born-again Christian -- will fulfill that pledge, as members of Parliament (MPs) decide if they want to restore the traditional definition of marriage as only a union between a man and a woman. The question contains a provision that, if passed, the new position would not affect civil unions and would not reverse existing same-sex marriages.
Brian Rushfeldt, co-founder and executive director of the Canada Family Action Coalition (CFAC), is impressed with the way Harper has kept his campaign promise. He describes the new prime minister as "a man of integrity."
"If he promises that he will do it, he will do it," says the pro-family leader. "And I think the timing of it, in our estimation, is perhaps not the best timing, although I don't know that there's a good timing."
Rushfeldt hopes the MPs will follow the wishes of most Canadians. He expects the vote to "reasonably close" and is hearing that just a few votes either way could decide the final outcome.
"Certainly, members of Parliament clearly know what their constituents want, and that's to reopen and revisit and redefine marriage," he says. "So if they vote following the wishes of their constituents, I believe we'd win this hands down."
But if pro-family forces come up short on the vote, the CFAC spokesman says his fellow countrymen are going to have to "fire a bunch of members of Parliament and put some pro-marriage people in government [come] next election."
Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper indicates doubt over whether the measure will pass. But Dr. Charles McVety, CFAC president and one of the key proponents of restoring traditional marriage, says his group expects Parliament to study the impact on same-sex marriage on religion, regardless of the results of the free vote.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
© 2006 AgapePress all rights reserved.
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