Wal-Mart Sponsors Diversity Week, Includes How To Defeat A Constitutional Ban On Homosexual Marriage
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September 26, 2006 Please help us get this information into the hands of as many people as possible by forwarding it to your entire email list of family and friends. Wal-Mart Sponsors Diversity Week, Includes How To Defeat A Constitutional Ban On Homosexual Marriage
Dear Helen, Wal-Mart has given its full endorsement to the homosexual agenda and homosexual marriage. Boise State University in Boise, Idaho, will observe LGBT Diversity Week October 9–13. One of the sponsors for the Diversity Week is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is joining the Pleasure Boutique (an adult bookstore which bills itself as “Idaho’s largest selection of adult movies and DVDs and largest adult toy selection in Idaho”) and other groups in sponsoring the week. Diversity Week is a week of celebrating homosexuality and promoting the homosexual agenda and homosexual marriage. Among the events being sponsored by Wal-Mart is Idaho Votes No Campaign Update and Information Workshop. Voters in Idaho will be voting on a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage in November. This Wal-Mart sponsored event will inform voters how to oppose the amendment and how to get others to do so. Wal-Mart is putting their money behind the effort to legalize homosexual marriage. Other events being sponsored by Wal-Mart: Gay History of Idaho, Diversity in the Workplace, Women’s/Lesbian Issues, Hate Based Crimes, Heterosexism, Homosexuality and Disabilities, LGBT Youth in Trouble, MCC-Faith and LGBT, and a youth dance for those age 24 and under. We earlier reported on Wal-Mart throwing their clout and cash behind the homosexual marriage effort.
Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman P.S. Please forward this e-mail message to your family and friends! |
Ford supports homosexual marriage groups as a matter of principle, not economics
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September 25, 2006 Please help us get this information into the hands of as many people as possible by forwarding it to your entire email list of family and friends. Ford supports homosexual marriage groups as a matter of principle, not economics
Dear Ric, Ford Motor Company has hired a new CEO. Alan Mulally replaces Bill Ford as CEO, while Ford will remain as chairman. Whether Ford will continue funding groups promoting homosexual marriage is not known. What is clear at this point is that Ford has made financial support for groups promoting homosexual marriage a matter of principle, not economics. Ford supported The Advocate, which bills itself as “The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine,” with two full-page ads in the September 12 issue. One ad, featuring all the different brands of Ford made autos, states: “Standing strong with America’s families and communities.” What an insult to traditional marriage and families! Ford has stated that their support for homosexual groups is an effort to secure sales from the 2% who are homosexual. But in securing one sale from the homosexuals, the company is losing hundreds of sales from those who oppose homosexual marriage. That makes no economic sense at all. It does say that Ford shares the goal of the homosexual groups—which is homosexual marriage—and believes that goal worthy of financial support, even at great financial loss. Incidentally, in a poll by the homosexual magazine, 52% of respondents said that boycotts (such as AFA’s boycott of Ford) can change the pro-gay policies of large corporations. Even the homosexuals are saying our boycott can make a difference. Despite the tremendous amount of money given to the homosexual groups by Ford, not a single homosexual group has publicly supported Ford. How is that for appreciation?
Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman P.S. Please forward this e-mail message to your family and friends! |
No Prayer in School? Millions of Students Will Pray at "See You At The Pole" Gatherings
September 25, 2006
News Release
Will Pray at “See You At The Pole” Gatherings
ORLANDO, FL – Wednesday, September 27, is the official day for the 17th annual “See You At The Pole” prayer rallies. The rallies are student-initiated, student-led events where students gather before school to pray for their classmates, teachers, schools, families, communities, states and nations. Each year approximately three million students from all fifty states and more than twenty countries gathered around school flagpoles to pray. Students in the United States have often met with resistance from school officials who are not educated about constitutional rights. Liberty Counsel has defended the right of students to participate in SYATP events in the past and is available to assist students who encounter problems with school officials regarding SYATP events.
This week is also the ninth annual “Scriptures in Schools Week” (SIS), a week when students bring their Bibles to share and to encourage Bible reading during free time at school throughout the year.
School officials across the country should be aware that students have a constitutional right to participate in SYATP and SIS on public school campuses and may not discourage these events. The United States Department of Education’s “Guidelines on Religious Expression in Public Schools” recognize that students have the right to participate in SYATP as a protected act of religious expression.
Mathew Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, commented, “It is beyond question that public school students have a First Amendment right to participate in ‘See You At The Pole’. The Supreme Court has unequivocally stated that students have a First Amendment right to pray before, during or after the school day.” Staver concluded, “School officials have an affirmative duty to educate themselves regarding the First Amendment rights of students, rather than acting out of bigotry, religious bias or ignorance of the law. If students encounter resistance from school officials about ‘See You At The Pole’, they should contact Liberty Counsel immediately.”
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Iraqi President Talabani’s Letter to America
Courtesy of Multi-National Force – Iraq
(photo: Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. DefenseDept. photo by Cherie Thurlby)
CAMP UR, Iraq, Sept. 22, 2006 — Iraqi President Jalal Talabani traveled to New York this week for the opening of the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly. In a letter to the people of the United States, Talabani describes Iraq’s security situation, challenges and progress, and his country’s special relationship with the U.S.
“Dear Americans,
As I am visiting the United States for the second time representing free and democratic Iraq, I felt it my duty to give you an update on what has been achieved in Iraq over the past year and on the challenges that lie ahead.
The first thing I would like to convey is the gratitude of all Iraqis, who are fighting for a democratic government and a civil society, to the Americans. Without your commitment, our struggle against despotism could not have made the progress that we have achieved. No expression of thanks could be enough for those who lost loved ones in Iraq. We feel your pain, we honor your sacrifice and we will never forget you. To those of you who have family and friends in Iraq today, we say: Your sons and daughters are helping us through a historic transition. We will always remember the enormous sacrifice that America is making for Iraq.
Thanks to the United States, we are transforming Iraq from a country that was ruled by fear, repression and dictatorship into a country that is ruled by democracy and has the values of equality, tolerance, human rights and the rule of law at its heart.
April 9, 2003, the day of liberation, heralded a new era in the history of Iraq and the region. That day triggered a sequence of events that laid the foundation of a modern Iraq that is at peace with itself and the world. All segments of Iraqi society have benefited from liberation.
Under Saddam Hussein, the majority of the Sunni Arabs of Iraq were marginalized; Saddam and his gang were ruling in the name of this community. But in reality, the Sunni Arabs never had the chance to choose their representatives democratically and have a say about their future. Today, they have 58 deputies in Parliament, a vice president, a deputy prime minister and a speaker of Parliament; all were elected by the people of Iraq.
The Shia majority of Iraq was for decades oppressed and discriminated against. They did not even have the right to practice their religious ceremonies. Now, they are equal citizens and hold key posts in government and parliament through their democratically elected representatives.
Kurds were second-class citizens. They suffered from genocide and chemical bombardment; now they are equal members of Iraqi society and active participants in the running of their country, Iraq. The same applies to the Turkomens, Assyrians and other groups of Iraqi society.
Iraq finally has an elected and representative government, a huge contrast to the authority of a vicious tyrant. In other words, Iraq is no longer the property of a gang that ruled by fear and repression. Every Iraqi today feels they have a stake in the new Iraq.
With the regime of Saddam gone, the countries of the Middle East no longer worry about the threat of new adventures by Saddam and his army across Iraq’s international borders.
Every time that I visit the United States, I am convinced anew of the virtues and health of the American idea of government, and of the generosity of its people.
I was here around the same time last year. Here is what has happened between then and now, although I must say that I do not think that our situation can be understood simply by following the latest news. A much broader view of Iraq must be taken. For this, I will start with the economy.
The economic conditions for most Iraqis have improved. The economy was liberated from the control of the state and we are now taking the first steps in creating a vibrant private sector. Thanks to our independent businesspeople, our market places are bustling despite the unsettled security situation. A new investment law is before our Parliament. It will further invigorate our private sector, streamline the procedures for starting a new business, and open the country to greater foreign participation and investment. Salaries of government employees were raised 100 times or more. A policeman under Saddam received $2 to $3 dollars a month. Now a policeman is paid at least $200 a month.
The financial and economic boom is mostly noticed in the safer parts of Iraq. The city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan region now has more than 2,000 millionaires. Before liberation, the city had 12.
Politically, we had an eventful year. For the first time in Iraq’s history, we ratified a constitution that enshrines many of the democratic values of human rights, equality, rule of law and good government. After three historic ballots that remain landmarks in the history of the Middle East, we now have a government that arises out of the people, instead of over the people, to use the words of a great American patriot, Thomas Paine.
Unlike the previous election, last December more people voted – 10.5 million – and a more representative parliament and a national unity government are now in place. Taking part in the national election and referendum on the constitution were the first steps in our national reconciliation efforts; we opted for the ballots and not the bullets to resolve our differences.
We consolidated this by the National Reconciliation Plan of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The plan aims at bringing into the political process all elements of the Iraqi political spectrum that condemn terror and violence.
In the period between the election and the formation of the national unity government, the political blocs – which formed the government later – agreed on the political program for the government and agreed on forming the Political Council for National Security.
An important event that marked the new Iraq over the past year is the trial of Saddam Hussein and his aides for the crimes that were committed against the people of Iraq. We offered him the justice that he denied Iraqis for decades. The trials, the testimonies of the witnesses and those of the defendants are stark reminders and indications of what Iraq was like in the past and what the new Iraq is about.
Through the constitution and other legal means, we are redefining the foundations that Iraq was built on and are rebuilding what the country’s bloody past has destroyed. We have no choice but to succeed. Our enemy attempts to destroy and disrupt any part of the political process, not because they disagree with the tenets of the Iraqi constitution, but because they do not want a constitution.
This contingent of international terrorists and the supporters and beneficiaries of the old regime – the devotees of Saddam Hussein – constitute the driving force of our enemy.They attempt to turn Iraqis against each other, and take Iraq back to its brutal and bloody past. Their tactics of suicide bombings and beheadings make it obvious that they mean to govern by inciting terror and fear, just as Saddam did.
Although portions of Iraq are already safe and secure, certain parts are still coming under attack from the vicious, bloodthirsty enemy. With the support of the citizens of Baghdad, the government started its Baghdad Security Plan. This plan is already showing signs of success, with a marked drop in the reported incidents of violence over the last month.
The battle in Iraq today is not between the various communities. Their elected representatives have agreed on a government of national unity and on national reconciliation. Nor is it a battle between civilizations, as some have seen it. It is a war “about civilization” as Prime Minister Tony Blair has phrased it so well – the conflict is between those who believe in having a civilization and those who don’t believe in having one at all.
As you no doubt already understand, we are fighting a terribly difficult war in Iraq. We are doing everything within our power to protect our people from this clear form of fascism that seduces them into civil war. The calculated crime of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his henchmen in bombing the Shrine of Samarra, one of Iraq’s religious and cultural treasures, is a prime example of their agenda. They wanted to slide the country into civil war. Thanks to the presence of the U.S. forces in Iraq and the wisdom of my colleagues in the leadership of Iraq, that plan was thwarted and the short spate of violence was contained.
I want to be frank here. In order to rid Iraq of the constant threat of violence, we still need your help. As long as we are determent to outlast and outsmart our enemy, we shall reach our common goals.
Iraq is slowly gaining the ability to fight this war with its own soldiers, evidenced recently by the relinquishing of complete control of coalition forces to the Iraqi government. The coalition now employs more soldiers from Iraq than any other nation. Slowly but surely, Iraq will be able to protect itself on its own.
The stakes of Iraq are enormous, world-shifting even. This is why our country should be a point of concern for every democratic country of the world. I can assure you that the immediate departure of coalition forces would only unleash tensions between different communities, the prospect of a safe Iraq wou ld be completely lost, and the previous descriptions of a civil war would seem insufficient and tame compared to the bloodshed of an Iraq that loses its international support.
And although I cannot promise when or how the American presence will completely end in Iraq, I can promise that American soldiers do not fight in vain. We in Iraq recognize that an incredible amount of American resources have been offered to us. And we understand that many Americans are frustrated with the course of the war, and we understand that doubt naturally coincides with difficulty. I realize that many Americans were apprehensive about the decision to go to war. But I ask that you put this behind you in favor of supporting a democratic and free Iraq, and a future for Iraqis that excludes the threat of violence and extremism. I ask that you consider what the terms of failure in Iraq would actually look like, and what they would mean for Iraq, the United States and the international community.
I would venture to say that the interest of Iraq and the United States are one in this matter. The United States carries a heavy responsibility in helping us. As complicated as the relationship may be, America and Iraq are now siblings in the world.”
Jalal Talabani, President of Iraq
Katrina, Rita Actually Helped Wetlands, Study Says
for National Geographic News
A new study makes the provocative claim that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita actually helped stabilize coastal wetlands by depositing tons of silt and sediment—even as the storms devastated dozens of square miles of the low-lying areas.
The new findings contradict long-held theories that rivers are the primary source of the sediment that forms wetlands, says research leader R. Eugene Turner, an ecologist at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge.
The study also counters beliefs that the loss of wetlands—especially on the eastern Louisiana coastline—has been caused by flood-prevention levees on the Mississippi River, he adds.
Coastal wetlands are breeding grounds for many marine animals. They also protect coastlines from hurricane sea swells, or storm surges.
Though sediments are a relatively small fraction of a wetland, such deposits are an important part of the physical framework supporting wetland plants.
In findings that could cause a stir among environmentalists, the LSU researchers ultimately conclude that hurricanes play an important role in maintaining the health of wetlands.
“I don’t think most people expected that,” said Mark Ford, deputy director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL) in Baton Rouge. “It does sound a little counterintuitive.
“I expect it to stir up a lot of conversation. But that’s good.”
The study, which was funded by a $25,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, appears today in the online edition of the journal Science.
Sediment Surprise
Restoring Louisiana’s diminished wetlands has become a major political issue in the state.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that Louisiana lost at least 100 square miles (260 square kilometers) of coastal wetlands because of Katrina and Rita. (Related: “Many Islands ‘Gone,’ Wetlands Gutted After Katrina, Experts Say” [September 2005].)
Turner and researchers Joseph J. Baustian, Erick M. Swenson, and Jennifer S. Spicer conducted their study in November 2005, soon after Katrina and Rita struck (Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita complete coverage.)
Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005, on Louisiana’s eastern coast near the mouth of the Mississippi River (Louisiana map). The storm later made a second landfall on the Mississippi coast (Mississippi map). Hurricane Rita came ashore September 24, 2005, near the Louisiana-Texas border.
Both hurricanes pushed large storm surges onto shore. The surges left behind sand, silt, and dissolved clay.
The research team traveled west from Louisiana’s eastern border with Mississippi to a few miles into Texas, collecting 198 sediment samples.
The samples revealed that the hurricanes had dumped from 1 to 6 inches (3 to 15 centimeters) of new sediment in the Louisiana wetlands—about 144 million tons (131 million metric tons) of new sediment in total, study co-author Baustian says.
“We now have a better appreciation for how much sediment can be added by hurricanes,” Baustian said.
Engineers have tried to increase sediment deposits by diverting the flow of the Mississippi River through coastal wetlands. But the LSU researchers say the two hurricanes last summer brought in 227 times more sediment than the river diversions bring in a year.
“The diversions we have now introduce a trivial amount of sediment compared to hurricanes,” Turner said.
New Approach to Wetlands Loss
The study authors say their findings mandate a new approach to understanding the loss of wetlands and how to reduce that loss.
They say that the loss of plants and other “organics” could be doing more to diminish wetlands than previously realized.
The plants’ roots hold the wetlands in place, Turner says. If the plants are lost, the wetlands lose their stability.
CRCL’s Ford says that the role hurricanes play in helping wetlands has not been extensively studied.
But he thinks ecologists and environmentalists will raise questions about the LSU study’s conclusions, including whether the estimates for the amount of sediment moved by last summer’s storms are too high.
“Turner is very well respected,” Ford said. “But not everyone agrees with him.”
Still, the LSU researchers’ work could prompt more studies of how hurricanes may benefit wetlands, Ford says.
Willie Drye is the author of Storm of the Century: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, published by National Geographic Books.
No Americans should be "clubbed" into submission by the ACLU.
ACLU’s disinformation exposed
Rees Lloyd
Friday 22 September 2006, by Alain
The ACLU is attempting to defeat passage of the Public Expression of Religion Act, or PERA, in the 109th Congress by deceptive disinformation.
PERA, H.R. 2679, sponsored by Rep. John Hostettler, R-Ind., in the House, and S. 3696, sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., in the Senate, would amend all relevant federal laws to rescind the authority of judges to award attorney fees to the ACLU, or anyone else, in Establishment Clause lawsuits against veterans memorials, Boy Scouts, public seals, or the public display of the Ten Commandments or other symbols of our American history of a religious aspect.
ACLU’s disinformation is exemplified by a commentary in the Los Angeles Daily News (Aug. 24) by Ramona Ripston, longtime executive director of the ACLU of Southern California and wife of Ninth Circuit Justice Stephen Reinhardt.
Ripston, defending the ACLU’s lawsuit against the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial – a solitary cross erected by veterans on a rock outcrop in 1934 to honor World War I veterans that was incorporated into the Mojave Desert preserve in 1994 – wrote that the ACLU acted on behalf of “Morris Radin,” whom she describes as a Jewish war veteran offended by the cross.
A touching story. However, “Morris Radin,” if he exists at all, never existed as a plaintiff in the records on file in the case of Buono vs. Norton, Case No. EDCV 01-216-RT (SGLx).
Indeed, the ACLU filed its complaint March 21, 2001, solely on behalf of plaintiff Frank Buono, former assistant superintendent of the Mojave Preserve, who never complained about the cross until he retired, moved to Oregon, then sued. A district court ordered the cross destroyed and awarded the ACLU $63,000 in attorney fees. Appeal is pending.
On Oct. 26, 2001, the ACLU filed an amended complaint joining as plaintiff Alan Schwartz, Jewish war veteran. However, Schwartz admitted that he had never seen the cross before suing to destroy it. Noting that, the Ninth Circuit declined to find he had standing to sue.
It has been widely claimed that a Buddhist was discriminated against by the denial of his application to establish a shrine. The Court found as to the origin of the lawsuit and the alleged Buddhist:
“The controversy surrounding the cross surfaced in 1999, when the NPS received a letter from an individual who identified himself as ’Sherpa San Harold Horpa’ of Jensen, Utah. The person who sent the letter under the alias ’Sherpa San Harold Horpa’ is also known to Buono as Herman R. Hoops (’Hoops’), a retired NPS employee and longtime acquaintance of Buono. Hoops requested permission from the NPS to erect a ’stupa’ (a dome-shaped Buddhist shrine) on a rock outcrop at a trail head located near the cross.”
Thus, it is upon the hoax of “Sherpa San Harold Horpa,” crony of plaintiff Buono, that the controversy began, which led to the ACLU’s lawsuit and claims of discrimination against a Buddhist.
Neither Ripston nor the ACLU have retracted their disinformation. Rather, Ripston, and the ACLU nationally, accuse supporters of PERA of spreading a “myth” that veterans cemeteries are at risk of lawsuit attack. Ripston wrote:
“PERA’s supporters spread the myth that religious symbols on gravestones at military cemeteries will be threatened unless the bill passes. In fact, religious symbols on grave markers in military cemeteries, including Arlington National Cemetery, are entirely constitutional. They reflect the religious conviction of the soldier and his or her family, and they are vastly different from government-sponsored religious symbols.”
The ACLU has claimed nationally that gravestones have been “deemed” constitutional because families, not the government, choose the religious symbols. However, the truth is no court of precedent has ever “deemed” that it is constitutional for the government to allow and pay for gravestones bearing religious symbols at veteran cemeteries, on the basis that families, rather than the government, chose the symbol. The ACLU has cited no such decision; and none has been found to exist.
Second, the ACLU has never taken that position in litigation; rather, it insists that religious symbols are unconstitutional if on public property.
Third, the ACLU has not stated it will not sue the freestanding memorials bearing religious symbols or expressions that exist at veterans cemeteries.
Fourth, there are thousands of grave markers, including 9,000 at the American Cemetery at Normandy Beach, which the government decided upon, not families.
Fifth, the ACLU is hardly the only entity representing a threat of such lawsuits. Nothing in the law currently prevents others, including Islamist fanatics, from filing Establishment Clause lawsuits against veterans cemeteries, and then demanding court-awarded, taxpayer-paid attorney fees.
Thus, all of our veterans cemeteries and memorials on public property are at risk – unless PERA passes.
Finally, the ACLU alleges that passage of PERA will prevent Establishment Clause cases from being filed. Nothing in PERA prevents the filing of Establishment Clause cases. PERA merely re-establishes the American rule that each side pays its own attorneys. If the ACLU has filed these cases pro bono on principle, and not for profit and political purpose, then PERA should have no effect on filing them.
Although ACLU has no actual attorney fees (all cases are handled by staff or volunteer attorneys), it has profited greatly from such cases, including: $950,000 to drive the Boy Scouts out of San Diego’s Balboa Park; $500,00 in the Judge Roy Moore Ten Commandments case; and, most recently, $2,000,000 against the Dover School Board in the Intelligent Design case – even though the law firm representing the ACLU waived all attorney fees.
Further, in hearings on PERA, by the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Marc Stern, the general counsel of the American Jewish Congress, ACLU’s strongest defender, admitted, under questioning, that the ACLU and others are using the threat of attorney fees as “a club” against local elected bodies.
No Americans should be “clubbed” into submission by the ACLU. Period. PERA needs to be passed now, in the 109th Congress, to reform the law and prevent such abuse.
P.S.
Rees Lloyd, a former ACLU attorney, is the commander of American Legion District 21 (California), and director, Defense of Veterans Memorials Project of the American Legion Department of California.
Katrina’s Floodwaters Far Less Toxic Than Feared
Studies show the hurricane did little to contaminate New Orleans’ soil
By Rick Ansorge
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Sept. 11 (HealthDay News) — While a devastated New Orleans still struggles to recover from Hurricane Katrina, the city apparently has avoided one of the storm’s most-feared consequences — “toxic soup” contamination of its soil. That’s the conclusion of dozens of scientific papers that show the hurricane-related flooding did not increase soil levels of heavy metals such as lead and arsenic; pesticides; or petrochemicals such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes, collectively known as BTEX. The papers were presented Monday at the start of the American Chemical Society’s four-day annual meeting in San Francisco. “Overall, there wasn’t an acute health threat,” said Dr. Maureen Lichtveld, chairwoman of environmental health sciences at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans. At least from an environmental health perspective, that means it’s probably safe for most residents to return and rebuild their damaged homes, Lichtveld said. Michael T. Abel, of Texas Tech University, and colleagues presented research showing that Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, did not make a significant difference in soil and sediment levels of heavy metals. “It is ‘good news’ that the city’s scenario did not worsen and metal concentrations are in accordance with other cities of similar size and age,” Abel said. “However, it should be noted that many of the soils/sediments had concentrations of lead and arsenic that exceeded human health soil screening levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.” Of the 77 sites that Abel and his team tested, 14 (primarily in the southern district) had potentially hazardous levels of lead and 12 (primarily in the eastern district) had potentially hazardous levels of arsenic. “Like many old cities, New Orleans has high surface soil levels of lead because of the lead paint that was used,” Lichtveld said. “But that was there before Katrina.” Lead exposure can have adverse effects on the brain, blood, kidneys and endocrine system, particularly in children who play in contaminated soil and don’t wash their hands. So, in areas where high lead levels have been detected, it may be necessary to either strip the topsoil or cover it with uncontaminated topsoil, Abel said. Abel was surprised to find that post-Katrina contamination wasn’t worse. “With the innumerable number of sources for toxic compounds being submerged by floodwaters, such as industrial facilities, gas stations, vehicles and so on, I expected to at least see a dispersion from high concentrations of contaminants to low concentrations across New Orleans,” he said. Although Abel is uncertain why the contamination wasn’t more widespread, he suggested it may be because the brackish floodwater was highly alkaline. “This could explain the floodwaters’ inability to mobilize and disperse metals,” he said. Jianmin Wang, an assistant professor in the School of Engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla, and his colleagues presented research showing that soil and sediment levels of pesticides and BTEX in New Orleans were generally very low and not of great concern. “This research focuses on the extractable or leachable pollutants, which is more meaningful when assessing the practical environmental health impact,” Wang said in a statement. Lichtveld isn’t surprised that chemical contamination wasn’t significant after Katrina. “You have to look at where the flooding originated,” she said. “There was sampling of the fish, shrimp and oysters from Lake Pontchartrain that did not find levels that were an immediate health concern.” “Areas that were flooded were not primarily in areas where hazardous waste sites were located,” she added. Ruth A. Hathaway, organizer of the conference symposium “Recovery From and Prevention of Natural Disasters,” said in a statement, “The data shows that there is no real need to ban fish consumption.” More information For more on the impact of flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina, visit the American Chemical Society. SOURCES: Michael T. Abel, Ph.D., Texas Tech University, Lubbock; Maureen Lichtveld, M.D., chairwoman, environmental health sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans; Sept. 11, 2006, presentations, American Chemical Society annual meeting, San Francisco Last Updated: Sept. 11, 2006 |
Rosie’s View Is Out of Focus
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NBC, Madonna Set To Mock The Crucifixion of Christ
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September 18, 2006 Please help us get this information into the hands of as many people as possible by forwarding it to your entire email list of family and friends. NBC, Madonna Set To Mock The Crucifixion of Christ
Dear Ric, Following the lead of Rosie O’Donnell and ABC, NBC has decided to join in the bashing of Christians by airing a Madonna special in November. A specific date has not been released. In the show, Madonna, wearing a fake crown of thorns, descends on a suspended mirrored, disco ball-type cross. When some Christian leaders complained about the mockery, NBC ignored their concerns. Click Here to see a video and photos of the show. Making mockery of the crucifixion of Christ has been a trademark of Madonna for many years. In 1989 she had a video for the hit song “Like A Prayer.” The video featured burning crosses, statues crying blood and Madonna–representing Jesus–freeing a saint from his sexual repression by seducing him. This is the same Madonna who once said, “Crucifixes are sexy because there’s a naked man on them.” Kevin Reilly, an executive at NBC, said Madonna considered the scene mocking the crucifixion of Christ the highlight of her show. “We (NBC) viewed it and didn’t see it as being inappropriate.” Madonna considers mocking the crucifixion of Jesus the highlight of her show and NBC agrees.
Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman P.S. Please forward this e-mail message to your family and friends! |
Explaining Five Years Without Attacks
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Mighty Florida Gators 21, Tennessee Volunteers 20!!! GO GATORS!!!
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Kids’ Kitchen Terms
BOIL: The point a parent reaches upon hearing the automatic “Yuck” before a food is even tasted.
CASSEROLE: Combination of favorite foods that go uneaten because they are mixed together.
DESSERT: The reason for eating a meal.
EVAPORATE: Magic trick performed by children when it comes time to clear the table or wash dishes.
FRUIT: A natural sweet not to be confused with dessert.
REFRIGERATOR: A very expensive and inefficient room air conditioner when not being used as an art gallery.
SODA POP: Shake ‘N Spray.
TABLE LEG: Percussion instrument.
Missouri School Appeals Judge’s Decision Barring the Distribution of Bibles
September 13, 2006
News Release
St. Louis, MO – Today, the South Iron Elementary School in Annapolis, Missouri, appealed a decision of federal Judge Catherine Perry, who issued a preliminary injunction barring the school from allowing the distribution of Bibles. The lawsuit, filed by the ACLU, centered around the Gideons distributing Bibles to fifth graders last year. The Judge’s injunction prohibits any distribution of Bibles on school property during the school day. Liberty Counsel is defending the school.
It has long been the practice of the Superintendent to allow many groups to present information to students at District schools and to treat all requests to distribute literature equally. These groups included, among others, the Army Corps of Engineers, Red Cross, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Iron County Health Department, Missouri Water Patrol, Missouri Highland Healthcare, and Union Pacific Railroad. The District had an unwritten open access policy and had not limited access to any particular groups. In accordance with its policy, the District also authorized access to schools by the Gideons, although the Gideons were only allowed to present information during the last hour of the day, which is a study period. After the lawsuit was filed, the District passed a written policy that explicitly treated all requests to distribute literature on equal terms.
Judge Perry issued an injunction, finding that the distribution of Bibles to elementary school students is unconstitutional. When confronted with the fact that the District had passed a policy treating all requests to distribute literature the same, the Judge stated, “Bibles are different. Bibles are religious literature and many Christians believe that they contain the word of God.” The Judge described the Bible as an “instrument of religion” that was being passed directly to school children who were impressionable and may feel coerced to accept the Bible.
Erik W. Stanley, Chief Counsel of Liberty Counsel, stated, “The Bible is not a radioactive device that harms children when they are exposed to it. The District in this case has an equal access policy for literature distribution. Singling out the Bible for censorship is patently unconstitutional. We are hopeful that the Eighth Circuit will reverse this unconstitutional injunction and treat the Bible on equal terms with all other literature that is distributed in the District.”
Anita L. Staver, President of Liberty Counsel, stated: “We are pleased to defend the actions of the South Iron School District against unfounded attacks by the ACLU. The District is providing equal access. The ACLU might not like the fact that equal access means equal access for religious speech, but equal treatment is required by the Constitution.”
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Restoring the culture one case at a time by advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life
and the traditional family
Christian Faces Trial Over Bible-Based Pamphlets
By Patrick Goodenough
CNSNews.com International Editor
September 12, 2006
(CNSNews.com) – Evangelical Christians in Britain are concerned about the prosecution of a protester who was arrested at a homosexuality rally while disseminating leaflets quoting the biblical view about homosexuality.
Stephen Green, who heads a small but active lobby group called Christian Voice, is scheduled to appear before a Cardiff court on September 28, after pleading not guilty to a charge of “threatening, abusive or insulting behavior.”
Although some Christian Voice campaigns and tactics have caused unease among some Christians, Green on this occasion won support.
The Evangelical Alliance, a 160-year-old group representing more than a million British evangelicals, said it was worried that the case may “erode” Christians’ freedom to proclaim their faith, as well as freedom of speech and religious liberties.
It would be watching the Green case closely, the alliance said.
Green was arrested after allegedly refusing to stop handing out pamphlets to people arriving at a “Mardi Gras” event in the Welsh capital.
The leaflets he was handing out were entitled “Same-sex love, same-sex sex: What does the Bible say?”
The text, which is available on the Christian Voice website, included verses from Leviticus in the Old Testament and Romans in the New Testament, characterizing homosexual acts as sinful.
It also contained a basic gospel message, including the promise of God’s forgiveness and eternal life for those who turn from their sins and “call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Reports in homosexual media described the leaflets as “offensive” and “anti-gay.”
Green was arrested by “Minorities Support Unit” of the South Wales Police. The force told London’s Daily Mail that he had been arrested because of the content of the leaflets, not because he had behaved in an aggressive or violent manner.
In a statement, Green said although homosexuals may be upset by his message, “should the police have a partisan unit whose job is to round up Christian dissidents, treat them like thought criminals and trample on freedom of speech?”
After his first appearance, he said the case appeared to have “struck a chord” among British Christians.
“They, like me, are fed up with seeing the police engaging in crude social engineering, going around trying to intimidate Christians into silence. Our faith requires us to preach the gospel.”
Writing in the Daily Mail earlier, columnist Melanie Phillips wondered how long it would be before Christianity was outlawed in Britain.
“The Bible is the moral code that underpins our civilization. Yet the logic of the police action against Mr. Green surely leads ultimately to the inescapable conclusion that the Bible itself is ‘hate speech’ and must be banned.”
Phillips cited other recent incidents, including one late last year in which an author on children’s rights was contacted by London police after she said during a radio interview that same-sex couples were not ideal adoptive parents.
The police said they were following up a complaint about a “homophobic incident.” No criminal charge was laid against author Lynette Burrows, who described the episode as “sinister.”
Earlier this year, the British government proposed the introduction of new “sexual orientation regulations” which have prompted concern among Christians.
The move aims to outlaw “homophobic” discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services.
Critics argued that the regulations could pressurize Christians to compromise their beliefs.
“A bookshop would be as happy to sell a Bible to a homosexual as to anyone else,” said the pro-family Christian Institute in a briefing on the regulations.
“But should the law force Christian B&B [bed-and-breakfast] owners to give homosexuals a double bed? Should it become illegal for a church to refuse to hire out its hall to gay rights activists?”
The Christian Institute said the regulations would also be applicable in schools, where they could be used by homosexual campaigners to stop Christian organizations’ activities among students.
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