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AFA/ACTIVISM
AFA helped unleash a wave
of public displeasure over the scheduled Public Broadcasting System
(PBS) airing of a lesbian-themed show for kids.
Postcards from Buster, a regular children’s
program on PBS about a cartoon bunny who visits real people in different
places, was supposed to include lesbian moms in its March 23 episode.
When she heard of the planned episode, U.S.
Education Secretary Margaret Spellings complained to PBS. The network
backed away from airing the program, although some PBS affiliates
did decide to run it.
When Spellings was criticized in the media
for her stand, AFA encouraged supporters to e-mail her. Spellings
said she received nearly 200,000 e-mails, letters and postcards
— most of which agreed with her stand. AFA Director of Special
Projects Randy Sharp said AFA supporters sent a total of 185,498
e-mails to Spellings.
The public outcry, according to records obtained
by USA Today through the Freedom of Information Act, rivaled the
total number of complaints received by the Federal Communications
Commission in all of 2003, the paper said.
USA Today, 5/2/05
Cross
at center of church-state firestorm
A 43-foot cross has stood atop the Mt. Soledad
Veterans Memorial for 50 years. Now, an almost 16-year legal battle
may determine whether or not it stays there.
The La Jolla, California, memorial in the greater San Diego area
became embroiled in the legal dispute beginning in 1989 when Philip
Paulson, a self-professed atheist, filed suit to have the cross
removed.
Since the memorial was built on property dedicated for that purpose
by the city of San Diego, Paulson, aided by the American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU), charged that the cross was an unconstitutional promotion
of religion by the government. A court agreed and ruled that the
city must remove the cross.
More court battles ensued. Then in 1998, the city sold the property
to the Mt. Soledad War Memorial Association. The sale wound up in
court, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals eventually ruled
that sale unconstitutional because it illegally favored one group
over another. A technicality has apparently left the cross property
in the hands of the association, but that could change at any moment.
The citizens of San Diego appeared to grow weary of the dispute:
Last November, they rejected another attempt to sell the memorial
to the highest bidder.
Then in March, a seemingly last-ditch proposal to transfer the
memorial property to the federal government’s National Park
Service was rejected by the San Diego City Council by a 5-3 vote.
That action, however, incensed many members of the community who
wanted the cross to remain. A petition drive was successfully instigated
which will put the matter before the citizens of San Diego for a
vote July 26.
The vote will determine whether the memorial will be given to the
federal government, in the hopes that — like Arlington Cemetery
and other national memorials, which also contain crosses —
the Mt. Soledad cross could remain in place
Paulson’s attorney, however, insisted, "It doesn’t
make a difference if this piece of land is transferred to the federal
government or not, the cross will be moved."
Some veterans torn over
dispute
The Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial, located in La Jolla,
California, honors military veterans from every branch of service.
Originally consisting only of a towering cross, the memorial has
been expanded to include six concentric walls that will eventually
hold more than 3,000 black granite plaques. Each plaque tells the
story of a veteran’s military service, according to the memorial’s
Web site (www.soledadmemorial.com).
But when it comes to the controversy over the memorial’s cross,
some veterans are concerned that the purpose for the memorial will
be lost. "It truly was created with a purpose of honoring veterans,
and I think our community has had a tendency to forget why that
cross is there over the years," said William J. Kellogg, president
of the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association.
The association itself was created in 1952 by American Legion Post
275 of La Jolla to honor Korean War veterans. During the Vietnam
era, it was expanded to honor veterans from all wars. The cross,
traditionally used to commemorate fallen soldiers, was the initial
memorial. It was placed atop Mt. Soledad because that was the site
from which Easter services were transmitted to the troops in Korea,
Kellogg told the AFA Journal.
Kellogg recognizes that a cross on public property has become a
controversial issue. "But you have to understand that our association
is not a church, we’re a veterans organization," he said.
In the midst of the controversy, Kellogg hopes people will not forget
the men and women who have served the nation.
For those who want to help the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association,
they can purchase a plaque honoring a veteran, donate money for
the memorial’s upkeep or even serve as volunteers if they live
in the San Diego area.
Contact the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association at 6437 Caminito Blythefield,
Suite C, La Jolla, CA 92037-5852; phone: 858-459-2314, toll-free:
877-204-7661
Mary
Kay pulls ads off ‘Housewives’
After being contacted
by OneMillionMoms.com (OMM) supporters, Mary Kay, one of the largest
sellers of beauty care and cosmetic products, pulled its sponsorship
of ABC’s sex-laden Desperate Housewives.
Mary Kay spokesperson Shannon Summers contacted
AFA Director of Special Projects Randy Sharp, who spearheads OMM
(www.onemillionmoms.com),
and said: "We are going to revise our media mix that we are
working on, and we will not have Desperate Housewives in that mix."
AFA Chairman Don Wildmon has described the
ABC drama as "a television show that promotes prostitution,
adult-teen sexual relations, infidelity, deception, seduction, adultery,
promiscuity [and] sadomasochism."
Wildmon applauded Mary Kay’s decision.
"Mary Kay’s philosophy — ‘God first, family
second and career third’ — is what has drawn countless
women to the company in the first place," he said. "We
are happy to see Mary Kay disassociate itself from such a wretched
show."
Kraft
Foods to sponsor ‘Gay Olympic’ games
AFA is encouraging supporters to
contact Kraft Foods over the company’s support of the 2006
Gay Olympic Games in Chicago.
The company is the maker of such popular
items as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, Oreo cookies, Maxwell House
coffee, Ritz Crackers and many other products.
Kraft donated $25,000 to the event and has
authorized its company logo to be placed on the Gay Games official
Web site as a major corporate sponsor.
Although it is not calling for an official
boycott of the company, AFA is asking Kraft to drop its sponsorship
of the homosexual event or risk alienating many of its customers.
"We believe many of Kraft’s customers
would be offended to know a portion of their money from Kraft purchases
is being used to support something they oppose, and we also believe
the Kraft corporation would want to hear from its customers,"
said AFA Director of Media Kathryn Hooks.
Since the company is ignoring e-mails from
concerned customers, AFA has been suggesting that supporters call
Kraft’s toll-free number: 1-800-323-0768.
Additional contact info: Kraft Foods, CEO
Roger K. Deromedi, 3 Lakes Drive, Northfield, IL 60093; phone, 847-646-2000.
CHURCH
Ten
Commandments come to Florida
Regardless of the June ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court concerning
the public display of the Ten Commandments, it is comforting to
know that churches can continue to promote the foundational laws
of the Christian faith.
First Presbyterian Church (Associate Reformed Presbyterian) in
Lake Placid, Florida, is seizing such an opportunity as evident
from the seven-foot, three-and-one-half-ton granite monument that
was recently erected in its front courtyard at the top of a cross-shaped
walkway. The monument was designed by Dick Schild, a church elder,
and sculpted by Michael Baston of Baston Granite Interiors in Elberton,
Georgia. The monument took 10 months to complete and required Schild
to make 10 trips to Georgia where he would advise the sculptor and
make changes.
"I still believe everyone should be able to read them [the
Ten Commandments], whether they are believers or not," Schild
told the Highlands Today. "So I started to design a
commandment monument that could be placed in public places, where
it could be seen by pedestrians."
The monument depicts two large tablets extending from a large rock
split by lightning to indicate the Ten Commandments had been attacked
but survived — a personal allusion to the removal of the Ten
Commandments from the Montgomery, Alabama, courthouse in 2004.
"Chances are that more kids will get to see the commandments
now, anyway," Schild added.
"Every day, people stop to look at the monument and often
take pictures," wrote Ray Cameron, pastor of First Presbyterian
Church, in a letter to AFA. "We anticipate it becoming a stop
on the mural tours of our town as well."
Work is being done to create a simplified version that is more
affordable and easier to ship to the public. For more information
or for design inquiries, contact Dick Schild, 620 Lake June Road,
Lake Placid, FL 33852; 863-465-2611, or call Rev. Ray Cameron at
863-465-2742.
Bible
reading banned during school recess
Luke Whitson, a 10-year-old student at Karns Elementary School
in Knoxville, Tennessee, is at the center of a constitutional squabble
over the right to read his Bible during regularly scheduled recess.
In May the school’s principal reportedly told the boy and
his friends to quit reading, put away their Bibles, and stop bringing
them to school. The principal’s instructions, which were in
response to a parental complaint, put him at odds with the Alliance
Defense Fund (ADF).
"A school official cannot tell a student that he can’t
bring his Bible to school or study it with friends during non-classroom
time," said Charles Pope, an ADF-allied attorney who wrote
a letter addressing the situation to Knox County School District
officials. "The Constitution does not prohibit Bibles during
recess; it prohibits the wholesale banning of Bibles during recess."
"Children have rights of speech and association during their
non-instructional time, and the school may not curtail those rights
because of their age," added ADF Senior Counsel Joseph Infranco.
"The school district should immediately issue a statement
addressing the unconstitutional actions and policy and alerting
all personnel to permit Luke and other similarly situated students
to exercise their constitutional rights," Pope concluded.
Alliance Defense Fund, 5/11/05
‘God
Gap’ reveals exodus from Democratic Party
People who attend church more than once a week voted for President
George W. Bush over John Kerry by a margin of 64% to 35%, according
to polling data from the Pew Research Center. Voters who are in
church once weekly revealed a 58% to 41% edge for Bush. Voters who
never attend church went for Kerry big time, 62%, contrasted with
Bush’s 36%.
Political pundits and culture analysts are using the phrase "God
Gap" to define the phenomenon of the exodus of conservative
voters from the Democratic Party. The Pew study, "Religion
& Public Life: A Faith-Based Partisan Divide," suggests
that the move began decades ago with two U.S. Supreme Court decisions
— the 1962 decision banning organized prayer in public schools
and the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision upholding a woman’s
right to abortion.
This new data also indicates that the depth of one’s personal
faith is a more important indicator of how he will vote than is
his specific religion or denomination. In the past, the latter has
been a better clue to voter decisions.
The study concludes that polarizing issues such as abortion, prayer
in schools and same-sex marriage have "pushed the religiously
observant into one political corner and the more secular into another."
www.culture-of-life.org, 5/3/05; www.pewforum.org
CULTURE
Institute
offers online Biblical worldview training
The Worldview Weekend Online Institute (WVWOI), an Internet-based
education program, is now offering Biblical worldview training to
students of all ages, including parents, homeschool coordinators
and Christian educators.
The purpose of the Institute is to help today’s Christian
understand and develop a comprehensive Biblical worldview in such
areas as law, science, education, government and philosophy. WVWOI
features keynote presentations by authors and experts such as Josh
McDowell, Ken Ham, David Barton, David Noebel, Kerby Anderson, Frank
Harber, David Jeremiah, Bill Brown, Sean McDowell and Norm Geisler.
The Institute’s Web site can be accessed by visiting
www.afr.net and clicking on the banner or at www.worldviewweekend.com.
Parental Advisory
Mainstream
publisher pushes oral sex novel aimed at teens
Simon & Schuster (S&S) recently released Rainbow
Party, a novel about an oral-sex party. The book is aimed at
teens 14 and older. The teen title has generated mixed reviews even
among librarians and booksellers, in addition to much negative response
from the general public.
"Parents count on us to have books that are appropriate for
their children," retailer Monica Holmes told USA Today. "We’re
not a conservative group, but this one is outside our safe area."
Holmes is with Hicklebee’s Books in San Jose, California.
A quick scan of 20 readers’ comments posted at www.simonsays.com
reveals about a 90% negative response, with readers calling the
book dangerous, pornographic or irresponsible. A number of those
comments are by parents, and some announce their personal boycott
of S&S. Those who defend the book argued that it will scare
teens away from sexual experimentation. However, others said that
one doesn’t have to wallow in the gutter to recognize filth.
USA Today, 5/23/05
A&F
shirts promote teen drunkenness
Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is again in
the crosshairs of parents and others who decry the retailer’s
blatant promotion of teen drunkenness with vulgar T-shirt slogans.
Previous A&F controversies have cited the Ohio-based company’s
pornographic catalogs and store displays.
San Francisco Chronicle columnist Joan Ryan called A&F a marketing
mercenary. Her May 5 column was written in the context of a story
about a teen binge drinker.
The story prompted her to explore A&F’s current T-shirts,
where she says she found these slogans: "Don’t Bother,
I’m Not Drunk Yet"; "Bad Girls Chug. Good Girls Drink
Quickly;" and "If You Can Read This, You Need Another
Cocktail."
Later reports say public outrage has already prompted A&F to
withdraw the offending slogans from their shelves.
www.sfgate.com, 5/5/05
EDUCATION
Maryland
sex-ed now on hold
Parents in Maryland are celebrating a judge’s
decision to temporarily halt plans by the Montgomery County School
System to institute a controversial sex-education curriculum.
U.S. District Court Judge Alexander Williams, Jr., issued a temporary
restraining order against the school district after two groups,
Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum and Parents and Friends of
Ex-Gays and Gays, filed a lawsuit. They complained that the curriculum
was clearly biased.
"In this case, defendants [Montgomery Co. Schools] open up
the classroom to the subject of homosexuality, and specifically,
the moral rightness of the homosexual lifestyle. However, the Revised
Curriculum presents only one view of the subject — that homosexuality
is a natural and morally correct lifestyle — to the exclusion
of other perspectives … ," the judge said.
The curriculum drew widespread criticism from around the nation
for making outlandish and unsubstantiated claims. (See AFA Journal,
5/05.) For example, the curriculum said that "sex play
with friends of the same gender is not uncommon during early adolescence."
As a result of the judge’s decision, officials with the school
district said they would review and evaluate the curriculum.
www.drthrockmorton.com, 5/5/05; www.washtimes.com,
5/6/05
ENTERTAINMENT
Study
finds rating system to be faulty
Yet another study highlights the inaccuracies in the
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rating system.
According to findings recently released by the School of Public
Health at the University of California at Los Angeles, there appears
to be a similarity in the amount of violence contained in PG- and
R-rated movies.
For example, after analyzing 100 top-grossing movies from 1994,
researchers found up to 97 acts of violence in PG-rated films as
compared to the finding of up to 110 violent acts in R-rated films.
Researchers concluded that the MPAA ratings may convey the degree
of violence but fail to effectively indicate the number of violent
acts.
"Parent and other organizations have been calling for meaningful
content rather than age-centered ratings for years, and now there
is scientific evidence to support that argument," said Lucille
Jenkins, director of the study.
Reuters, 5/2/05; The Washington Times,
5/3/05
Best
Buy regulatesviolent game sales
Retailer Best Buy has implemented strict policies
to prevent sales of mature-rated video games to children and teens.
Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS) said Best Buy’s
new rules may be the toughest policy in place among major retailers
in the U.S.
New provisions include: programming cash registers to prompt cashiers
to ask for ID; a "mystery shopper program" to monitor
cashiers for compliance; an agreement by employees to enforce store
policies; and disciplinary action against employees who sell violent
games to minors.
CBIS was joined by Trinity Health, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet
in New York, and Dominican Sisters in Michigan, in a resolution
addressing the issue. CBIS spokeswoman Julie Tanner said, "CBIS
is encouraged by this important first step at Best Buy."
CBIS manages almost $4 billion, combining faith and finance in
stewardship of Catholic financial assets.
The steps taken by Best Buy are not simply a good thing in the
abstract, said AFA Chairman Don Wildmon. "AFA and other pro-family
groups, as well as medical and mental health organizations, have
been warning for years about the effects of violent media on kids,"
he said.
Wildmon said what CBIS has done should encourage other Christians
to get involved. "Activism can work when responsible people
address critical issues in a reasonable manner," said Wildmon.
www.cbisonline.com, 5/19/05
FAMILY
Moms
concerned about kids’ future
A new study released by the Institute for American
Values shows that mothers have deep concerns about the impact of
negative cultural influences on their children.
Called "The Motherhood Study," the survey of more than
2,000 moms was led by researchers Martha Farrell Erickson of the
University of Minnesota and Enola G. Aird of the University of Connecticut.
The survey found that 95% of moms said they "wish American
culture made it easier to instill positive values in children."
Almost 90% expressed concern about the power of the media to influence
their children, and specifically noted their concerns about the
influence of advertising.
Eighty-six percent of moms said they felt that "childhood
should be a time when children are protected from large parts of
the adult world."
The entire study is available at www.americanvalues.org.
HOMOSEXUALITY
GLSEN
apologizes for explicit sex book
The Boston chapter of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight
Education Network (GLSEN) was forced to apologize for an explicit
"how-to" homosexual sex manual that was distributed at
a gathering of middle and high school students April 30.
The manual, titled Little Black Book, states flatly: "You
have the right to enjoy sex without shame or stigma!" It also
gives advice on seven different types of sexual activities (too
repulsive to mention here), contains photos of aroused men, and
provides a list of "Boston area bars and clubs for the discerning
queerboy."
Little Black Book was made available at GLSEN Boston’s
15th Annual Conference, held at Brookline High School. As is typical
of such GLSEN conferences, the purported theme was "Challenging
Intolerance."
The availability of the offensive material was made public by the
Article 8 Alliance, a pro-family group that has been combatting
the promotion of homosexuality in Massachusetts’ schools. An
Article 8 Alliance member was undercover at the conference.
When initial charges were raised by the group, GLSEN Boston said
in a press release that they strictly forbid sexually-explicit materials
at all their conferences, and "assign monitors to every workshop
and event to assure that all policies are strictly enforced."
Sean Haley, executive director of GLSEN Boston, called the Article
8 Alliance allegations "simply lies."
However, witnesses came forward to corroborate the pro-family group’s
charges. Eventually, officials from Fenway Community Health, the
local group that handed out the copies of Little Black Book,
admitted that they had done so.
AgapePress, 5/18/05
Same-sex
marriage drive gets boost
A federal judge and a mental health organization
have lent a helping hand in the effort to legalize homosexual marriage.
On May 12, U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon struck down a constitutional
amendment overwhelmingly passed by Nebraska voters in 2000. The
amendment defined marriage as being between a man and a woman.
Brian Fahling, senior trial attorney for the AFA Center for Law
& Policy, said in response: "The outrageous character of
the decision is summarized in the court’s assertion that the
‘intent and purpose of the amendment is based on [hostility]
against homosexuals.’ Not only is Judge Bataillon’s assertion
demonstrably wrong, it is saturated with an all-too-familiar judicial
contempt and antipathy for the moral norms of our culture."
Fahling said that such decisions continue to threaten the very
nature of the republic. "We are no longer permitted to govern
ourselves in the most fundamental areas of life," he said.
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning said he will appeal the decision.
Then on May 22, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) voted
at their annual convention to approve a proclamation supporting
same-sex marriage, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Without the right to marry, the APA said, homosexual couples "experience
several kinds of state-sanctioned discrimination that can adversely
affect the stability of their relationships and mental health."
www.afa.net/clp, 5/13/05; www.cnn.com,
5/12/05; www.ajc.com, 5/23/05
PORNOGRAPHY
AFA
meets with FCC
After receiving nearly 800,000 e-mails from AFA members
concerned about the new trend of cell phone pornography, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) contacted the family-interest group
to discuss wireless porn protection.
Representatives from AFA, Family Research Council and Morality
in Media met May 9 in Washington, DC, with the FCC to express their
concerns about the availability and harm of downloadable pornography
on cell phones.
According to Randy Sharp, AFA director of special projects, "Our
concern is that this is a new media unlike TV, unlike computers
that are in homes where parents can monitor their use. All of the
kids are going to have cell phones that can download graphic images."
Not only were AFA and its fellow pro-family advocates able to share
their concerns, but they also discussed various means of prevention
needed to put an end to the trend altogether.
"We feel our meeting with the FCC was productive," Sharp
said. "Their attentiveness to concerns for protecting our children
from cell phone pornography will hopefully result in an industry-wide
standard of technology which, by default, blocks inappropriate material
to cell phone users."
In the meantime, there are already plans of prevention in the making.
For example, the installation of special chips in cell phones is
being considered, while the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet
Association is continuing to develop a content rating system that
will function as a filter by using age-appropriate blocking.
"The FCC realizes that this is a potentially serious issue
for America’s youth," Sharp explained, "and they
also recognize that only by working together within the FCC and
with concerned parents can something be done."
AgapePress, 5/11/05; RCR Wireless
News, 5/13/05
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