I am pleased to update you on the progress of HJR 6, the Texas Marriage Amendment. Last weekend (Saturday the 21st) , the Texas Senate passed HJR 6 by a vote of 21-8. We owe Senator Todd Staples a great debt for carrying this measure in the Senate. Because HJR 6 has already passed the Texas House of Representatives, it will now appear on the ballot for voter approval in November. I prayerfully anticipate that the people of Texas will approve this amendment by a wide margin.

Like you, I believe that marriage is ordained by God as a union between one man and one woman. HJR 6, as passed by both the House and Senate, defines marriage as one man and one woman in our State Constitution and prevents Texas from recognizing civil unions and same sex marriages.

Thank you for your support of this important issue. With your help, the Texas Legislature passed an important piece of legislation that will protect traditional marriage in Texas.

His ruling should elevate the concern of everyone who believes marriage is a sacred union between one man and one woman. The voice of the people--Silenced!

Even though 70 percent of Nebraskans voted in favor of an amendment to the state constitution to protect marriage, Federal District Judge Joe Bataillon ruled that such an amendment violated the rights of homosexuals!

Even more shocking than turning his back on the voice of the people, the judge implied that every resident of Nebraska who voted for the amendment could have only done so because of hatred and bigotry! This is utterly outrageous!

Please call your elected officials in Washington, D.C., today, and ask them to support a federal Marriage Protection Amendment. When our Congress voted on this bill in the last session, numerous senators and representatives who voted against it claimed they were doing so because marriage was a state issue.

This ruling has proven that state-by-state protections of marriage will not be effective in the face of an out-of-control judiciary. Capitol Hill Switchboard: 202-224-3121

Currently, there is only one vehicle left to protect young girls from abortions without parental consent. Rep. Will Hartnett (R-Dallas) and Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) introduced a parental consent amendment to another bill, S.B. 419, The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners Sunset Bill, on the House floor. S.B. 419 has cleared both the Texas House and Texas Senate. It must now pass through a Senate conference committee by Monday, May 30 in order to engross the Hartnett/King amendment. Unfortunately, the amendment does not reform judicial bypass or protect minors from coercion, both of which were part of the introduced versions. Once a conference committee is selected, we will provide the contact information and plan of action.

(LifeSiteNews.com) WACO, Texas, May 19, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Baptist Baylor University’s new interim president, William (Bill) Underwood, is a financial supporter of two Planned Parenthood programs – the Nobody’s Fool sex-ed program for children, and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

Underwood was among a list of 100 “underwriters” for the sex-ed program, according to a promotional flyer, held every summer in Waco. The Nobody’s Fool conference, open to children from grades 4 to 9, or 10 to 14 years old, bans parents from attending. At the outset of the 2004 program, American Life League's STOPP International executive director, Jim Sedlak called the conference a “thinly veiled attack on parental rights, public morality and the health and well-being of our children,” according to a MichNews account.

“Each year that I have sent a child I have made a financial contribution to the program,” Underwood said in an interview with Baptist Press. He said that, although Planned Parenthood is an abortion provider, it does not necessarily mean everything the group endorses is bad.

Children who attend the conference receive a free copy of the book, “It's Perfectly Normal,” an 89-page primer of sexually-explicit illustrations meant to teach children the tools for engaging in sexual acts. “This so-called ‘educational text’ is nothing more than pornography in comic book form,” Sedlak said. The book champions homosexuality and lists nine reasons to have an abortion.

“To me, the Nobody’s Fool program, when I look at it, is about preventing unwanted teen pregnancy,” Underwood, who enrolls his own children in the program, said. “If there’s a program out there that will reduce the number of unwanted teen pregnancies, I’m in favor of it.”

Underwood also told the Baptist Press that he supports another Planned Parenthood program, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a fundraiser that ostensibly helps disadvantaged women obtain breast cancer screening tests. The Komen Foundation raised $154 million in funding for 2003, according to financial reports – $475 thousand of which was donated to Planned Parenthood that same year.

The bill has strong bi-partisan support. It's sponsored in the Senate by Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. Both Hatch and Foley predict its passage and expect the President to sign it into law this year.

From Jessica Lunsford to Dru Sjodin, there seems to be an epidemic of sex offenses against children. The sickening trend is underscored by the number of children abducted and murdered by registered sex offenders who were out of jail or allowed their freedom by activist judges.

There are nearly 550,000 registered sex offenders in the United States, and more than 100,000 of them are unaccounted for.

The Technology Textbook Proposal, which was originally part of H.B. 4, is currently in process of being added to H.B. 2 in a conference committee. This proposal relates to the use of internet as the primary instructional material in public schools. This would be very dangerous because it enables internet companies to supply electronic textbooks, which will not require the same evaluation and adoption process as current print textbooks. Parents and members of the School Board of Education would have no say in what materials children are subjected to in the continually changing internet textbooks.

One of the most disturbing tax increases being considered is the ‘wage tax,’ which penalizes companies for hiring workers. This measure is really just an income tax in disguise and would end the Lone Star State’s status as one of nine states without an income tax. No doubt, the wage tax would hurt Texas’ economy: one study found that the new levy would cost the state about 40,000 jobs.

The legislature should find ways to save and to make government more efficient instead of raising taxes. Indeed, lawmakers in Austin abandoned fiscal responsibility this session and increased spending by an astonishing 14 percent. Legislators need to summon the resolve they had two years ago, when they closed a $10 billion budget deficit without a penny of new taxes.

Unfortunately, the tax hike bill—including the ill-conceived ‘wage tax’—is moving forward and may be passed into law. That’s why it is critical for you to contact Governor Rick Perry and your legislators today, and tell them that you oppose this tax increase.

The Clintons Implicated In A Scheme To Defraud The U.S. Senate And The Federal Election Commission (Tom Fitton President, Judicial Watch)

At the outset of the trial of David Rosen, Senator Clinton’s National Finance Director, prosecutors said that they would present no evidence Hillary Clinton was involved in “any way shape or form.” They were wrong. Of course, when the government shows the video of ABC News “20/20” piece on a huge screen, which included video of Peter Paul with Bill and Hillary Clinton to jurors, there’s no doubt who this trial is about. Government witnesses further implicated the Clintons in a scheme to defraud the U.S. Senate and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by underreporting the cost of a gala fundraising event for Senator Clinton. This is a story that is being largely ignored by the liberal media. Fortunately, Judicial Watch Director of Litigation Paul Orfanedes has been in court everyday to closely monitor the testimony, which began on May 12 in a Los Angeles federal court.

Digging For Dirt Already? (Gary Bauer American Values)

Brace yourselves, my friends. Anticipating a potential Supreme Court vacancy in the near future, the radical Left is getting ready for a massive smear campaign. Last week, columnist Robert Novak reported that former political operatives for Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid are actively investigating the financial records of nine federal judges assumed to be on President Bush's list of potential Supreme Court nominees. In addition to these nine, they are also checking the records of 21 other appellate judges - just in case. And who is currently employing these former Reid operatives? NARAL - the radical pro-abortion lobby! That's right - NARAL is paying Harry Reid's former "hatchet men" to do opposition research on 30 sitting federal judges who may or may not be nominated to the Supreme Court. (Does this constitute an "attack on the independence" of the judiciary?)

I hope our side is taking this fight for control of the federal courts just as seriously as the Left obviously does. We don't need to stoop to its level - we just need to guarantee that the president's nominees are treated fairly and receive an up or down vote on confirmation.

QUOTEWORTHY: ---"Let us have faith that right makes might" -- Abraham Lincoln, Feb. 27, 1860

Porn's Effects Discussed In D.C. (Bill Wilson-Citizen Link)

Illinois Considers Limits To Video Game Sales (Citizen-Link)

The Illinois Senate agreed to a version of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's restrictions on the sale of violent or sexually explicit video games to children, but the legislation is said to be unconstitutional by some, The Associated Press reported.

The bill would call on store owners to decide which games are too violent or explicit for children to purchase. Anyone caught selling them to children could be fined. "Video games are not art or media," state Sen. Deanna Demuzio said. "They are simulations, not all that different from simulations used by the U.S. military in preparation for war." The Senate revised the bill, removing any jail time for offenders, so it will go back to the House for approval.

Saudi Martyrs (Gary Bauer American Values)

The U.S. government intends to transform the way it deals with the Middle East, introducing an interventionist foreign policy that focuses on political and economic reform, Robert Zoellick, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, said Friday before last.

The new policy will replace traditional diplomacy conducted through U.S. embassies, Zoellick said, with pressure to adopt the Bush Administration's ideals of free trade and democracy in the Middle East.
Washington believes the new approach will eventually result in a security payoff for the United States.
"The old days of a foreign policy characterized only by the meetings and machinations of diplomatic statecraft are past," Zoellick said during a keynote speech at the World Economic Forum conference at a Dead Sea resort.

Zoellick said he and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Liz Cheney will oversee the U.S. government-wide strategy, which will bankroll reforms "from Morocco to Afghanistan."

"This will not be an easy transformation," he said. "The pace of change is likely to spark resistance. There will be some who want to maintain the status quo or even drag the region back into a darkness that abhors modernity and tolerance."

The approach integrates the Bush Administration's Broader Middle East and North Africa initiative directly into U.S. foreign policy, providing grant money and diplomatic pressure for countries to call elections and permit political parties, drop trade barriers, allow foreign investment and boost literacy and women's rights.

The United States is already in negotiations on a spate of free trade agreements with Middle Eastern countries.

Israel has enjoyed free trade with the United States for 20 years. Jordan signed a similar pact in 2001. Morocco and Bahrain are in the process of signing further agreements, and Oman and the United Arab Emirates are still in negotiations.

Zoellick said Washington would like to push Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Algeria and Yemen to join the World Trade Organization, a first step before entering a separate trade pact with the United States.
At the same time, Washington will increase pressure for political reforms in the Middle East, calling on countries to organize elections, permit a free press and form human rights groups, give rights to women and minority groups, and protect privacy.

"This broader engagement is the foundation for America's efforts to counter terrorism, forward peace processes and strengthen security," Zoellick said.

Washington will provide money and diplomatic support for reformers in each country, bankrolling grass-roots projects it deems worthwhile, he said.

Israeli officials have granted permission to parents to select the sex of their child through in vitro fertilization.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) necessitates the creation of “excess” embryonic children, who are then sorted using DNA testing to either kill or permanently freeze children of an unwanted gender.

The government, in an attempt to legitimize the gender genocide, has set up a seven-member ethics committee to approve each request on a case-by-case basis, using criteria such as a family history of sex-related genetic disease, age of the mother, social circumstance of the parents, or if the family already contains children of one gender.

Most Americans know that the ACLU is leading the charge of the radical Left to remake America through the power of unelected judges. Generally, its efforts have focused on suppressing religious expression and bullying the Boy Scouts, but it has also played a major role in expanding homosexual rights through judicial fiat. In the past, the ACLU cherry picked its cases carefully, but that is about to change.

Last week, the ACLU announced that it was launching a nationwide campaign to impose same-sex "marriage" through the courts. Its efforts will concentrate on normalizing homosexual adoption and fighting state marriage amendments. According to an ACLU press release, it appears as though an accompanying media barrage will aim to pull at people's heartstrings by showing how "lesbian and gay couples and their children suffer when their families are not recognized by the law."

A Revived Roman Empire? Solana issues warning over French EU vote (Prophecy Watch)

"The French will vote on the European constitution next Sunday -- a date that is decisive for the future of the European Union," according to Solana. "Whether the expanded community of 25 states remains capable of operating depends on this treaty."

"I hope that the French citizens understand how important this constitution is for Europe and for France," Solana said in the article for Sunday's newspaper.

The constitution, intended to streamline decision-making in the expanded EU, faces a major hurdle with the referendum on May 29 in France, where opinion polls show the "No" camp has extended its lead.

The Netherlands also holds a public vote on June 1. Polls show a majority of Dutch want to reject the charter amid a row over the terms under which the euro was introduced and discontent over Turkey's EU entry bid.----------

A federal judge declined an emergency request to compel Frenchtown Elementary School to allow 8-year-old Olivia Turton to sing "Awesome God" at the Friday night show, but allowed the lawsuit to go forward.

School officials in the western New Jersey community had said the performance would be inappropriate at a school event.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Trenton to consider the case later came just hours before Olivia had hoped to sing the pop song by the late Rich Mullins.

One verse has these lyrics: "Our God is an awesome God/He reigns from heaven above/with wisdom, pow'r and love/Our God is an awesome God."

The girl was told May 10 that she could not sing the song. Her mother, Maryann Turton, protested at a school board meeting that night. She was told three days later by Joyce Brennan, the school superintendent and principal, that the religious content made it inappropriate at school, according to the lawsuit filed by the child's parents Friday morning.

The lawsuit charges that the school board violated Olivia's constitutional rights to freedom of speech and due process.

The lawsuit, supported by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal advocacy group based in Scottsdale, Ariz., argues that the constitutional separation of church and state does not restrict an individual's religious speech.

The girl's lawyer, Demetrios K. Stratis, questioned how the Frenchtown school could reject Olivia's choice but allow another act based on the opening scene of "MacBeth." "They've got a scene about boiling animals and witchcraft, but they won't allow a song about God," Stratis said.

Lake County, FL - The state of Florida has now dismissed criminal charges against Jennifer Densmore after finding that she qualifies as a clergy under the Clergy Communications Privilege. Ms. Densmore is represented by Liberty Counsel.

Since 1993, Jennifer Densmore has worked as a Minister of Counseling at GFC Counseling, a ministry of Groveland Free Church. Its founder, Dr. Joseph Nussbaumer, is also the pastor of Groveland Free Church. Through GFC Counseling, Dr. Nussbaumer and those who work under his direction, counsel members of the church; as well as others who seek spiritual counseling.

Although Ms. Densmore is not an ordained clergy, she assists Dr. Nussbaumer in handling the counseling load, and she also provides spiritual counseling. Last year, after Ms. Densmore counseled with an individual, she was subpoenaed by the state of Florida to testify regarding the content of her counseling and to turn over records of the counseling session. When she refused, she was found in contempt and charged criminally. The State took the position that Ms. Densmore was not protected by the Clergy Communications Privilege. Ms. Densmore then obtained the services of Liberty Counsel, which filed a brief on her behalf requesting that the charges be dismissed because the communication was privileged. The State has now dropped all charges, stating that the communications were confidential and that Ms. Densmore "had the right (and the legal obligation)" not to reveal the contents of the session. The dismissal found that Ms. Densmore "is not guilty as a matter of law" for refusing to reveal the counseling.

European Parliament President Says Fighting “Moral Discrimination” Against Homosexuals Is An EU “Duty” (Brussels, May 20, 2005, LifeSiteNews.com)

Mr. Fontelles, the former Spanish minister who went from being the controversial Socialist party leader to the president of the European parliament, took the position that homosexuality is a human right which should be recognized by everyone.

"As we are currently debating the Constitutional Treaty in many countries of the European Union, I wish today to recall one of the major principles of the Charter of Fundamental Rights: the non-discrimination principle. Whatever their origin, nationality, social background, religion or sexual orientation, all citizens of the Union have the same rights.”

Mr. Fontelles makes reference to the decision, made 15 years ago by the World Health Organization (WHO), to de-list homosexuality as a mental disorder. The WHO decision reflects that made by many national organizations, such as the American Psychiatric Association, since the early 1970’s.

(LifeSiteNews.com) True purpose is the complete eradication of traditional Western Culture

May 19, 2005 – “Political Correctness is Marxism, with all that implies: loss of freedom of expression, thought control, inversion of the traditional social order and, ultimately, a totalitarian state.”

So runs the controversial thesis of a collaborative book recently published by the Free Congress Foundation—a US conservative think-tank—on its website, entitled “Political Correctness:” A Short History of an Ideology.

The authors of “Political Correctness” attempt to trace the PC movement back to its origins—Marxism and the Frankfurt school of thought. By so doing they claim to uncover the true and sinister purpose of political correctness—the complete eradication of traditional Western Culture. They also attempt to demonstrate how deeply political correctness has penetrated into every aspect of Western Culture, and how damaging its presence is.

Shortly after the first practical attempts to implement Marxist economic socialism it became clear that the theories of Marx were limited. In order to achieve any notable revolution it was necessary that that revolution should focus not only on the economic order, but also, and firstly, on the cultural. This is the root of cultural Marxism. The Frankfurt school was its most eloquent proponent. According to the Free Congress Foundation, political correctness is one of the ideological offspring of this school.

Wilhelm Reich, one of the early members of the Frankfurt school, wrote a book entitled The Authoritarian Personality. This makes the sweeping claim, according to Raymond Raehn, “that the presence in a society of Christianity, capitalism, and the patriarchal-authoritarian family created a character prone to racial prejudice and German fascism”—that is, everything Western is necessarily prejudiced. The solution according to the Frankfurt academics was that “the patriarchal social structure would be replaced with matriarchy; the belief that men and women are different and properly have different roles would be replaced with androgyny; and the belief that heterosexuality is normal would be replaced with the belief that homosexuality is ‘normal’.”

The idea, then, is the complete eradication of Western civilization to be replaced with something new. That something new is nothing less than “a society of radical egalitarianism enforced by the power of the state.” And yet, as the authors of “Political Correctness” make clear, all such past attempts at enforced equality have ended up with the gulag and the concentration camp. There is no reason for believing it will be any different this time around.

The effects of this philosophy have become strikingly clear in our day. Co-author Dr. Gerald L. Atkinson outlines the proposed tactics of the early cultural Marxists. The immediate goal is to destroy “all barriers to the introduction of more women and minorities throughout the power structure’.” These methods of so doing include “laws and lawsuits, intimidation, and demonizing of white males as racists and sexists.” A strangle-hold on popular media and the universities and what they are allowed to say and teach is a key element of their long-term goals.

To pro-life, pro-family proponents, in an age where a man can be arrested for proclaiming sodomy to be a sin, or who can be fired from a teaching position for daring to discuss God, these tactics will sound eerily familiar.

However, the authors of “Political Correctness” claim that the cultural Marxists, under the guise of tolerance and equality, have not yet won. They urge “open defiance”—that is, an unapologetic confronting of truth and return to traditional Western lifestyles—as a necessary and proper method of defeating political correctness and bringing about a return to the noblest aspects of our Western Heritage.

QUOTEWORTHY: -----------"Steadfast in our faith in the Almighty, we will advance toward a world where man's freedom is secure." -- President Harry S. Truman