AFA once again took issue with the actions of the Ford Motor Company, after the automaker added to its growing list of efforts to promote the homosexual agenda.

Prior to the recent 2006 elections, Ford sent an e-mail to salaried employees, encouraging them to vote – including a reminder to cast votes on “the many ballot initiatives which include statewide and local questions.”

For information concerning these ballot initiatives, the e-mail pointed Ford employees to one of the most liberal, anti-family Web sites on the Internet – the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (www.ballot.org).

The Ford-recommended Web site urged voters to vote against constitutional amendments which defined marriage as being between one man and one woman in Arizona, Colorado, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

At the Web site, the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center accused those who favored the marriage amendments of “extreme bigotry” and said the amendments were an “attack on marriage equality, civil unions and all domestic partnerships.”

In response to the Ford e-mail, AFA Chairman Don Wildmon said, “Of the hundreds of voters’ guides Ford could have endorsed, Ford chose Ballot.org. Ford’s endorsement of this site clearly indicates that Ford favored the positions promoted on Ballot.org.”

In March AFA called for a boycott of Ford Motor Company because of the company’s continued support for the homosexual agenda and homosexual marriage.

“We asked Ford to remain neutral in the culture war over homosexual marriage, but the automaker has not only refused, it has elected to throw company resources behind the promotion of  same-sex marriage,” Wildmon said.

AFA petitions U.S. Supreme Court in Okwedy case
In November the AFA Center for Law and Policy (CLP) filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to hear a case involving New York City’s hostility to the Bible.

The case arose when Pastor Kristopher Okwedy rented two billboards and put up a Bible quotation referring to homosexuality as a sin. In a letter to the owner of the billboards, a city official denounced the message as “bigoted,” “intolerant” and “not welcome” in the city.

The owner promptly breached the contract with Okwedy and covered up the quotes with a public service announcement. As the controversy became public, Okwedy received death threats and a bomb threat.

According to a CLP statement, however, instead of trying to protect Okwedy after the threats were reported, the city sent two “Hate Crimes Unit” detectives to the pastor’s church. Once there, the detectives asked “insulting questions and apparently tried to intimidate him from posting similar messages in the future,” said CLP senior litigation counsel Michael DePrimo.

Stephen Crampton, chief counsel for the CLP, said the case “raises the question of whether a city may officially condemn a religious belief in the name of protecting against discrimination.”

While numerous Supreme Court cases “routinely strike down the slightest government act in favor of religion,” Crampton said, “not one has yet found government action against religion inappropriate.”

DePrimo said, “We are asking the court to declare the city official’s comment to be in violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which requires government to remain neutral in religious matters. Clearly these comments reflected a hostility to Pastor Okwedy’s religious beliefs.”

CLP defends sisters’ free-speech rights
The AFA Center for Law and Policy (CLP) successfully defended two home-schooled girls who were charged with disorderly conduct for handing out gospel tracts in front of an abortion mill in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The homeschoolers, 16-year-old Rachael Snow and her 20-year-old sister Talitha, were standing on a public sidewalk offering tracts to women who were entering an abortion center in the Arkansas capital. Their conduct, according to the Little Rock Police Department, was “disorderly.” Neither of the sisters had previously been cited or charged for a violation of the law.

After the CLP got involved, charges against both girls were eventually dropped.

Michael DePrimo, an attorney with the CLP, said the sisters had a strong case because the young women’s conduct was caught on videotape. “There was nothing that was even remotely unlawful,” he said.

The CLP took the case, DePrimo said, because of what is at stake in such circumstances. “What’s always at stake here, first of all, is abortion protest and even the proclamation of the Gospel,” he said. “But any time government is heavy-handed and tries to suppress speech, that’s always a concern of ours.”

A civil lawsuit against the city of Little Rock may be filed for violating the Snows’ constitutional rights.

Fifth Circuit strikes two Waco ordinances
The 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals struck down two Waco, Texas, ordinances used to impede the peaceful activities of a group of pro-life demonstrators outside an abortion clinic. The demonstrators were represented by the AFA Center for Law and Policy (CLP).

The August decision reversed a ruling by a district court judge in Texas that had upheld the ordinances.

The abortion clinic was located across the street from a private school. The Waco School Zone Ordinance prohibited “street activity” during the hours students were going to or coming from school. “Street activity” included any gathering of two or more people, animals or vehicles whenever it was “reasonably anticipated” to “obstruct the normal flow of traffic,” even on the sidewalk.

The 5th Circuit held that the ordinance was not narrowly tailored to serve any legitimate interests the city had in protecting schoolchildren, and was thus an unconstitutional restriction on the First Amendment rights of the pro-life demonstrators.

“This decision is a long-awaited and welcome relief for law-abiding citizens of Waco doing nothing more than exercising their First Amendment rights on the public ways,” said Stephen Crampton, chief counsel of the CLP and lead attorney in the case. “The city of Waco has aggressively attempted to thwart the efforts of these peaceful people,” Crampton said. “Waco owes these folks an apology; they should be ashamed of their actions in this case.”

EDUCATION
Germany persecutes homeschoolers
A U.S.-based homeschool group says homeschooling families in Germany are facing increasing persecution from their government and need help from concerned Americans.

In the latest incident, the European Human Rights Court upheld a German court decision against Fritz and Marianna Konrad, parents who wanted to homeschool their children according to their Christian faith.

The couple had appealed the German court ruling by arguing that the ban on homeschooling allegedly violated their human rights, specifically in regard to their children’s education.

The Human Rights Court stated that public schools represent society, and that it is in the best interests of the children “to become part of that society.” Homeschooling could not meet that goal, the court ruled.

It also said that society has a significant interest in preventing the development of dissent through what it called “separate philosophical convictions.”

The U.S.-based Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) said almost 40 homeschooling families in Germany are involved in such legal battles.

According to WorldNetDaily, the HSLDA is calling on people to contact the German embassy in Washington to protest such laws, which they say began when Adolf Hitler was in power.

Contact: Wolfgang Ischinger, Ambassador, German Embassy, 4645 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC 20007-1998; Telephone: 202-298-4000.

www.lifesite.net, 9/14/06; www.worldnetdaily.com, 9/29/06; www.agapepress.org, 10/4/06

College group sues to protect rights
A Christian organization has filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Wisconsin-Superior (UWS), asking that the campus chapter of the group be reinstated and allowed to apply religious criteria in selecting its leaders.

In February, the campus chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Superior, Wisconsin, was told by school officials that because it required club officers to be Christians, the organization would no longer be recognized officially by UWS.

InterVarsity leaders are required to “sign a statement of faith” and “agree to live in accordance with it,” according to an InterVarsity spokesman. The school claimed that the leadership requirement violated the University of Wisconsin’s anti-discrimination policy.

InterVarsity-Superior, however, contended in its lawsuit that UWS’s position denies any religious organization the ability to maintain its own identity. In an interview with The Associated Press (AP), InterVarsity Christian Fellowship president Alec Hill said the school’s decision might impact other clubs as well – such as vegetarians.

“The Vegans have to accept meat-eaters as leaders?” he asked. “I mean if you’re going to have a meaningful group and [one] that takes a viewpoint, it only makes sense that the student leaders subscribe to that viewpoint.”

Hill said the requirement that officers be Christians is essential to the group’s identity and mission.

“If we were forced to have non-Christian leaders lead our groups, we would no longer be a Christian mission – it’s that simple,” he told AP.

www.agapepress.org, 10/4/06

ENTERTAINMENT
Faith-based films on DVD
Three faith-based films, released in theaters nationwide this past fall, come to DVD in January.

Love’s Abiding Joy is a Michael Landon Jr. film based on the fourth novel in the Love Comes Softly series from best-selling author Jeanette Oke. It’s the fourth film installment in a series that chronicles the triumphant love story of young pioneers Missie and Willie Lahaye. Rated PG for mild thematic elements, Fox Faith plans to release Love’s Abiding Joy on DVD and VHS January 2. It will be available at www.americanfamilyresourcecenter.com.

Also from Fox Faith comes One Night with the King, based on a novel by Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen. The film is an adaptation of the Old Testament story of Esther in which the Biblical narrative is filled in with a complex, but believable, tale of love and intrigue. The film is set to debut on DVD January 23. It is rated PG for violence, some sensuality and thematic elements.

Facing the Giants, a church-made film with a successful theatrical run, comes to DVD January 30. It is a powerful movie about a Christian school’s football team and its beleaguered coach, whose life and team are touched by the life-changing power of Christ.

The film opened in late September in 441 theaters and ranked 12th nationally and fourth in per-screen earnings. To date, more than 1.5 million people have seen the film. It is rated PG for some thematic elements and will be available at www.afastore.net.

For full reviews of these films, see AFA Journal 8/06 and 10-11/06.

‘Veggie Tales’ saved from the knife?
After AFA and other pro-family groups complained to NBC, the network has apparently reversed course and decided not to edit out references to God in a popular children’s series airing on the network.

NBC came under fire when Phil Vischer, one of the creators of the beloved animated series Veggie Tales, made public the network’s demand that references to God and the Bible be trimmed before episodes aired on Saturday mornings.

According to CitizenLink, Vischer said he’d heard that NBC had received 600,000 e-mails complaining about its decision to make Veggie Tales more spiritually neutral. AFA supporters alone sent more than 227,000 e-mails.

Vischer said that “the last four or five episodes, most of which had at least as much theistic content as the earlier ones, if not more, came back from the NBC standards and practices department with no requested edits. None. So they’re going to air just the way they were originally written.”

www.citizenlink.com, 11/17/06

FAMILY
Moms demand more ‘moral’ dolls
A new national survey commissioned by AG Properties reveals that mothers are tired of retailers selling sex to their daughters through various lines of provocative dolls.

A total of 1,010 mothers with four- to nine-year-old daughters were surveyed, and 85% said they were “tired of the ‘sexpot’ dolls/characters” now available.

Specifically, the survey found that: “90% of moms believe there are not enough wholesome role models, celebrities, characters and brands for young girls to emulate;” and “Over 80% of moms think there are too many dolls available for young girls today that are inappropriate because they are too provocative and/or over-sexualized.”

Additional findings included:
• 83% of moms believe these types of dolls exert a negative influence on young girls;
• 88% are concerned that young girls seek to emulate the sexy look and style of the dolls; and
• 9 out of 10 want a larger selection of dolls that display positive images for young girls.

AG Properties, 9/25/06

GOVERNMENT
Impromptu foul language allowed on TV news
In a reversal of an earlier decision, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently ruled that profanity is allowable on television news programs.

According to CitizenLink, the commission had previously ruled that a contestant on the CBS reality show Survivor, who used profanity in an interview, had violated indecency rules.  But now, apparently because of the spontaneity of news interviews, those programs are exempt.

The FCC stood firm on its ruling that foul language used by winners and presenters in the 2003 Billboard Music Awards qualified as indecent.

 “Hollywood continues to argue they should be able to say the F-word on television whenever they want,” said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. “The commission again disagrees.”

Alliance Defense Fund attorney Pat Trueman indicated he thinks news programs are allowed more latitude because some comments aren’t planned and can’t be anticipated.

But Bob Peters of Morality in Media expressed concern about the news program exemption. “That doesn’t mean that ABC, CBS [and] NBC can start cursing up a storm, and doing even worse things during so-called news programs.”

www.citizenlink.com, 11/10/06

National motto obscured on new U.S. dollar coins
A new series of U.S. dollar coins coming out in February 2007 will bear the images of deceased U.S. presidents, as well as the national motto, “In God We Trust.”

However, one very important design difference is that the motto will not appear on each coin’s flat surface as always before, but on its thin edge [side]. Also relegated to the edge of the coin will be the year it was minted and the previous national motto, “E Pluribus Unum.”

WorldNetDaily said the U.S. Mint’s explanation for the coins’ change in design is to provide more space for the presidents’ portraits on the face of the coins and the Statue of Liberty on the reverse.  Four presidents will be featured each year, with a new president appearing every three months.

The first U.S. coin to bear “In God We Trust” was the 1864 two-cent piece.  The statement was engraved on American coins until 1956 when, by an act of Congress, it was declared the national motto.  The next year, the motto was permanently adopted for use on U.S. money.      

WorldNetDaily, 11/27/06

Congress hopes to dry up child porn funds
Online child pornography will be virtually non-existent as of 2008 – at least that’s the goal of some child advocates who are working to cut off the money supply to those smut sites.

The initiative began about a year ago when Congress urged child-protection groups to work with bankers to monitor and eliminate financial transactions taking place as part of the online child-porn industry. As a result, the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography was formed.

The Coalition is made up of 18 major banks and credit-card companies that are implementing a zero-tolerance policy in dealing with pornographers posing as legitimate businesses, and thus far, the initiative has been successful.

“Financial industry leaders which represent 87% of the U.S.  payments industry – measured in dollars running through the system – have signed on,” Ernie Allen, of Missingkids.com, recently reported on Capitol Hill.

According to Mark McCarthy, a spokesperson for Visa, this is the credit-card company’s way of being proactive in the fight against child porn.

“In August of this year, our search firm examined over 11 million Internet sites a day and found two child pornography sites that accepted Visa cards,” McCarthy explained. “Of course that’s two too many. Since the beginning of the year, nine such sites have been identified in the Visa system, and all of those sites were quickly expelled from our system.”

Janice Crouse, senior fellow at the Beverly LaHaye Institute, believes the attempt to cut off money to child-porn sites is an effort that could save hundreds, even thousands, of children’s lives.

www.citizenlink.com, 9/20/06

PORNOGRAPHY
Military porn addictions growing
An increasing number of servicemen and women are confessing to pornography addictions and most government-run military base and post exchanges are only adding to the problem by selling it.

In 1996, Congress enacted the Military Honor and Decency Act, which bans military stores from selling sexually explicit material, but according to Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, the act is not being enforced.

“Congress is going to have to take a look at this,” Donnelly said. “Certainly the Pentagon is going to have to enforce those rules. It’s a matter of good order and discipline and not just a matter of religion or free speech. It’s a matter that the military itself needs to be concerned about.”

Such concern is apparent among military chaplains like Father Mark Reilly, who recently returned from a Marine Corps tour in Iraq.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been confronted as much face-to-face with men and women – in and out of confessional – saying, ‘I’m addicted to porn and I don’t know how to get out of it,’” Reilly said. “They’re looking for a life preserver. It’s wrecking their marriages. Like any addiction, they lose control.”

Reilly said it’s the combination of war stress and being away from loved ones that ignite the lust for pornography. Lust turns to addiction and addiction results in imitative behavior as seen in the Abu Ghraib photos – made for and by porn addicts.

In The New Republic, Rochelle Gurstein described the Abu Ghraib photos as ones that “speak to the coercive and brutalizing nature of the pornographic imaginations so prevalent in our world today.”

Archbishop Edwin O’Brien, who leads the U.S. military archdiocese, believes chaplains can play a big role in military porn sobriety by influencing “what is sold in the [exchanges], what’s allowed in a public space, an office or a barracks, and I think a chaplain can have great leverage here.”

The pornography that is sold at military exchanges is part of a $57 billion-a-year worldwide industry.

www.catholic.org, 9/13/06; www.family.org, 10/2/06

RELIGION
Christian leaders: unknown to most
According to a new study from The Barna Group, major Christian leaders are widely unknown – even among fellow Christians.

The findings are from a national survey in which 1,003 random adults were interviewed about their feelings toward 16 public figures, including politicians, entertainers and ministers. Of the figures assessed, actor Denzel Washington received the most positive feelings while pop singer Britney Spears was tagged as the least favorable image.

The study also reports that 72% of adults and 63% of born-again Christians have never heard of Rick Warren, megachurch pastor and author of the bestselling book The Purpose Driven Life.

Approximately 57% adults had never heard of Dr. James Dobson, Christian founder and chairman of Focus on the Family, and nearly half of all born-again Christians did not know who he was.

There were similar findings for T.D. Jakes, African-American clergyman; Tim LaHaye, author of the Left Behind book series; and Joel Osteen, featured television speaker and pastor of one of the largest churches in the nation. 

Despite being widely unknown, all five Christian leaders received a favorable impression from those who actually knew of them. However, George Barna, director of the study, said the low visibility of Christian leaders coincides with other studies that indicate Christianity is losing its hold on American culture.

 “The survey statistics suggest that perhaps Christian individuals are more attuned to matters of culture and entertainment than to matters of faith,” Barna said.

The Barna Group, 11/27/06

Airline allows employees to wear crosses
International outrage and an outpouring of criticism prompted British Airways (BA) to withdraw its controversial ban prohibiting workers from wearing a visible cross while in uniform.

Airline Chief Executive Willie Walsh announced the withdrawal five hours after the Church of England threatened to sell its BA stock worth millions of British pounds. Until that point, Walsh led the airline in standing firm against employee Nadia Eweida’s right to wear a small cross necklace while in uniform, claiming the rule applied to all visible jewelry.

Yet at the same time, the airline allowed Muslim and Hindu employees to wear headscarves and turbans – apparel the airline considered “impractical” to conceal. Critics labeled the policy as a double standard of open discrimination against Christian employees, and church leaders and politicians from all over the world began speaking out against the airline.

“If BA is really saying or implying that the wearing of a cross in public is a source of offense, then I regard that as deeply offensive and, in a society where religious liberty and the expression of religious commitment is free, I regard it as something quite serious,” said Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

As a result of an onslaught of similar criticism, Walsh said the airline would look into changing its rules so as to “allow symbols of faith to be worn openly.” 

www.lifesite.net, 11/27/06