BMAT Moral Action Committee Watchman Report #81 04/28/2006

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1. U.S. workers and taxpayers pay heavy price for illegal immigration

2. SOS borders group is calling for Americans to rally: Standing Secure on Borders!

3. Resolution for SBC Annual Meeting Urges Action on Call for an Exit Strategy from Public Schools

4. Houston Hospital to 'kill' sick woman?

5. Strong Pro-Life Bill Passes Louisiana Senate

6. Texas House approves new tax on business, in Special Session, Legislators also OK separate bill to tap the surplus for small tax cut

7. TNT Disappointed by House Sellout on Sharp Vote; Vows Renewed Effort to Stop Tax Bill in Senate

8. A Win for Religious Free Speech in the Supreme Court

9. Conservatives Look to June Vote on Marriage Amendment

10. Congress is spending $80 Million a Minute!

11. Palm Beach County's Proposed Zoning Ordinance Unconstitutionally Restricts Church Size and Location

12. Pro-Family Groups Unveil Homosexuality School Risk Audit as Response to 'Day of Silence'

13. Targeting Youth With 'Silence' and 'Truth'

14. Judge Rules against Campus Christian Legal Society

15. Ten Commandments Displays Roll to Victory in the Courts and the Legislatures

16. Hollywood's Valenti Pledges Avalanche of ads designed to dissuade parents on Broadcast Indecency Enforcement

17. 17. Concerned Women for America Responds to Members' Outcry on Indecency Legislation

18. 18. Howard Dean Issues Ultimatum to Churches: Give up Religion or Stay Out of Politics

19. Dean Tries Comedy claiming: “tough border control” is his party’s top immigration priority for this year

20. The 9th Circuit strikes Christians Again

21. Kudos to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales!

22. Massachusetts Waiting on Gay-Adoption Enforcement

23. Persistent rumors swirling around Washington have it that Justice John Paul Stevens is thinking of retiring

24. It’s about Time some of the Bush Nominated Judges were confirmed

25. Wednesday: Texas Appeals Court Tosses Charge against Tom DeLay

26. School choice would help Texas kids -- and Texas

27. Discovery of Ancient Methane Puts Theory of Evolution 'On the Rocks'

28. FDA Rejects Marijuana for Medical Uses

29. Ask Congress to stop telecoms from undercutting Internet access 

30. Israel’s Maj.-Gen Galant: IDF preparing to reoccupy Gaza

31. Under Fire from the West, Iran and Sudan Cozy Up

 

U.S. workers and taxpayers pay heavy price for illegal immigration

Apr 24 2006 Phyllis Schlafly

Illegal immigrants in this country are threatening a massive boycott on May 1, purportedly to demonstrate they are so essential that the U.S. economy would shut down without their labor. On the contrary, such a boycott will expose the lie expressed by President George W. Bush in Cancun, Mexico, that they are "doing work that Americans will not do."

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, illegal immigrants make up less than 5 percent of the U.S. labor force. If every one of the 20 million illegal aliens in our country plays hooky from his job on May 1, the overwhelming majority of those same types of jobs will be worked by millions of U.S. citizens.

All over America, U.S. citizens will flip hamburgers in fast-food shops, wash dishes in restaurants, change sheets in hotels, mow lawns, trim shrubs, pick produce, drive taxis, replace roofs on houses, and do all kinds of construction work. Americans are quite willing to work unpleasant, menial, tiresome and risky jobs, but not for Third World wages.

An employment service in Mobile, Ala., recently received an "urgent request" to fill 270 job openings from contractors who were hired to rebuild and clear areas of Alabama devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The agency immediately sent 70 laborers and construction workers to three job sites.

After two weeks on the job, the men were fired by employers who told them "the Mexicans had arrived" and were willing to work for lower wages. The U.S. citizens had been promised $10 an hour, but the employers preferred Mexicans who would work for less. Employment agency manager Linda Swope told The Washington Times: "When they told the guys they would not be needed, they actually cried ... and we cried with them. This is a shame."

Swope said that employment agencies throughout Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi all face similar problems because an estimated 30,000 men from Mexico and Central and South America, many in crowded buses and trucks, came into those three states after Hurricane Katrina, willing to work for less than whatever was paid to U.S. citizens.

Meanwhile, President Bush signed the Katrina Emergency Assistance Act extending for 13 weeks the unemployment benefits to U.S. citizens displaced by Katrina. Thus employers get the benefit of cheap foreign labor while you and I provide taxpayer handouts to workers whom the government allowed to be displaced from the jobs they were eager to take.

There is no penalty on employers who replace U.S. citizens with illegal immigrants at lower pay. Homeland Security even announced it has suspended the sanctioning of employers who hire illegal immigrants, and President Bush suspended the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires local contractors to pay "prevailing" wages.

A study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research reported that the surge of immigration in the 1980s and 1990s lowered the wages of our own high school dropouts by 8.2 percent. The surge has accelerated since that report was issued. The Congressional Budget Office reported that 60 percent of Mexican and Central American workers in the United States in 2004 lacked a high school diploma.

The Kennedy-McCain-Bush guest worker plan would import more uneducated, unskilled workers, and thereby deny our own high school dropouts (of whom we have too many) the opportunity to get started in building their lives in the labor force. U.S. citizens are threatened that the cost of lettuce will rise precipitously if we don't continue to import Mexican agricultural workers. But a farm worker gets only 6 or 7 cents out of a $1 head of lettuce, so even if the pay doubles, consumers would hardly notice the difference.

On the other hand, the costs taxpayers are forced to pay for social benefits for low-paid workers are astronomical. The National Research Council reports that an immigrant to the United States without a high-school diploma consumes $89,000 more in government services than he pays in taxes during his lifetime.

Low-paid illegal immigrants obviously pay very little taxes, but they cash in on all sorts of benefits paid by other taxpayers, such as schooling for their children, emergency health care, housing subsidies, Earned Income Tax Credit and law enforcement. If the 20 million illegal immigrants are legalized, they will also become eligible for Medicaid, and that's a real break-the-bank prospect.

These figures don't even count the rapidly growing underground economy, in which millions of illegal immigrants are paid off the books in cash. That enables both employer and employee to avoid paying taxes, and enables employers to avoid paying workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, and assorted other taxes.

If the Internal Revenue Service collected all the taxes that should be paid by the underground economy, our current budget deficit would disappear overnight, according to a Bear Stearns study released in 2005. The Americans who pay taxes are giving a free ride to those who are not paying taxes, and a 7-cent increase in the price of lettuce should not be on our worry list.

Phyllis Schlafly is the President and Founder of the Eagle Forum.

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SOS borders group is calling for Americans to rally: Standing Secure on Borders!

April 26 2006 www.sosborders.com


Are you tired of being ignored by your elected leaders on the immigration issue? Would you like them to hear you over the roar of the Amnesty crowd? Would you like America’s borders secure? Then you have come to the right place. This is your opportunity to be heard. SOS Borders is a coalition of organizations who have partnered together for this unique project.

SOS Borders is a project where you, the American citizen are given the opportunity to tell your elected leaders that you demand secure borders.

On Monday, May 1, 2006 the Illegal immigrants in America are planning a national “Walk Out” . On Saturday, April 29th we are promoting a National “Speak Out”. We are encouraging citizens and families all over America to invite their families and friends and neighbors to SOS BBQ’s, Picnics and rallies to Secure Our Borders. These rallies can be hosted at Parks, community centers, backyards and courtyards. We are holding these rallies on Saturday so we will not disrupt business, education, communities, traffic or families. We want to send a strong message but in a positive productive way.

We are also encouraging citizens throughout the United States to display White Ribbons beginning April 29th. The white ribbon stands for NO Surrender! Secure our Borders! Display your white ribbons on your car, your house, your lapel, anywhere and everywhere you can and continue to display them until our message is received in Washington. Please email and send us pictures so we can display on website.

We know Americans are frustrated and even angry at what has been going on the last few weeks but please remember that the Nation is watching you as you rally and we must take the higher ground if we want to be heard. Make sure you wear your ribbons and only carry signs with positive messages. We have some suggestions and flyers you can download for your rallies. We are the counter balance to the disruptive, angry protestors. We must show our elected leaders a clear distinct difference between those who have broken the law and the law abiding, tax paying, American citizens who elected them into office.

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Resolution for SBC Annual Meeting Urges Action on Call for an Exit Strategy from Public Schools

April 25 2005 Christian Newswire

SBC Resolution also Asks That Particular Attention be Given to Needs of Orphans, Single Parents, and the Disadvantaged

Leading SBC Grassroots Activist, Dr. Rick Scarborough, and Dr. Voddie Baucham Strongly Endorse Resolution

COLUMBIA, SC, At the 2005 SBC Annual Meeting the messengers adopted a resolution urging churches and parents to investigate their public schools to determine, among other things, whether they are endangering children in their care by collaborating with homosexual activists. Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, weighed in on the controversy stating that “We have no reason to believe that next year will not bring even more urgent concerns related to public education” and declaring that it is time for responsible Southern Baptists to develop an exit strategy from the public schools. http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read. php?cdate=2005-06-17

Roger Moran, a member of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee and a leader in the Missouri Baptist Convention, and Dr. Bruce N. Shortt, co-sponsor of the 2004 and 2005 Christian Education Resolutions and author of The Harsh Truth About Public Schools, have submitted a resolution for consideration at the 2006 SBC Annual Meeting urging churches to heed Dr. Mohler’s call to develop an exit strategy from the public schools that will give particular attention to the needs of orphans, single parents, and the disadvantaged. The resolution also urges the agencies of the Southern Baptist Convention to assist churches as they develop their exit strategies and commends Christians working in government schools.

Dr. Rick Scarborough, Founder of Vision America, the leading Southern Baptist grassroots activist, and author of the recently released Liberalism Kills Kids, strongly endorses the resolution and sees an urgent need for the SBC to plan an exit strategy: “Public Schools have long ceased to be a positive reinforcer of traditional values. In fact, they are not even neutral on many crucial issues which are important to people of faith. Unfortunately, public education has been hijacked by people who reject Biblical teachings on man's origin, the proper role of sex and the acceptability of homosexuality. These are non- compromising issues for Christians.”

Dr. Scarborough also believes strongly that the messengers at the 2006 Annual meeting should have an opportunity to vote on the resolution: “Education in the public sector now aggressively undermines Biblical values. Our children deserve better and Southern Baptists should be given the opportunity to express their feelings about this.”

Roger Moran notes that the worldview promoted by the government’s schools is far from “neutral” and commends Dr. Mohler for his wisdom and courage:

“The last two decades have established beyond doubt that America’s public school system is the “golden calf” of the religious left. Religious and secular Left organizations like the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, People for the American Way, The Interfaith Alliance, the ACLU and the National Education Association have created a unified voice in support of the current course of public education. These far-left organizations understood with absolute clarity that if their version of “separation of church and state” could be implemented by the courts, they could universally prevent the views and values of a conservative Biblical worldview from competing in the public schools with the secular worldview of America’s religious / political far-left.

But not only are the public schools the golden calf of the religious left, they have also become their Trojan Horse, playing a major role in infiltrating and destroying the faith of those we have been commanded to train up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Dr. Al Mohler’s call for responsible Southern Baptists to develop an exit strategy from the public schools was not only wise, but courageous, for multitudes of our own people still don’t see the inherent dangers. The time has come for the debate to begin.”

Dr. Voddie Baucham endorses the resolution because he knows from personal experience how the government school monopoly fails millions of children every day: “I know what its like to be a poor kid trapped in underperforming schools. Being raised by a single mother in the inner city, I had no choice but to accept the inferior education my schools offered. Not to mention the drugs, sex, and violence that we're all part of the package. The SBC needs to have a comprehensive plan to create a new system of Baptist education open to everyone, and that plan needs to take a clear stand on behalf of kids who find themselves in the same predicament I was in. If we stand together on this we can be true to article XII of the BF&M and use education as a missional outreach in Urban America. If we don’t, we will continue to tell poor kids in failing schools that we don’t care that their future is being stolen from them.”

Dr. Shortt argues that this is an issue that must be faced squarely: “The government’s schools haven’t merely failed; they are destroying our children spiritually and morally. Academically, the public school system is as dead as Elvis. Unfortunately, many Christian pastors and leaders still try to evade the cold, hard facts by talking about ‘school reform’ and ‘salt and light.’ Well, we’ve tried that strategy for forty years and more, and, after trillions of dollars of reform, anyone who takes a serious look at the consequences of our government school habit can see that the Church has been hemorrhaging children for more than a generation and that the public schools are stuck on stupid morally and academically. If you approve of a school system that is indoctrinating children with cultural Marxism and dogmatic Darwinism, devoting increasing time and resources to instructing children in the colorful folkways of homosexuality, and preparing them for a future as hewers of wood and drawers of water, by all means continue talking about ‘reform’ and children as missionaries. Responsible Christians, however, will plan so that no child is left behind.”

E. Ray Moore, Jr. USAR Ret CH (Lt. Col.) founder and Director of Exodus Mandate commented: "The recovery of belief in the authority of Holy Scripture by the Southern Baptists in recent decades has inevitably led many of them also to the threshold of discovering K-12 Christian schooling and home schooling as a Biblical means for the discipling the next generation of Christian youth. Exodus Mandate hopes and prays that the SBC continues its long march to the promised land of K-12 Christian education. As goes the SBC so goes the larger Church in the USA and, as goes the Church, so goes the nation.”

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Houston Hospital to 'kill' sick woman?

April 25 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

St. Luke's Hospital Ethics committee votes to pull the plug against the family's wishes.

An ill woman in Houston could die within days because a hospital ethics committee has voted to take her off life support – this despite the fact the 54-year-old is not in a coma, is not brain dead and wants to go on living, her family says.

On April 30, Andrea Clark is scheduled to be on the receiving end of a Texas law that allows a hospital ethics committee to terminate care with 10 days' notice, giving the patient's family that length of time to find a different facility.

"They just say, 'Well she's miserable.' Well, to me that's a quality of life decision that is up to her and her family," Lanore Dixon told KHOU-TV. "That is not a medical decision."

Dixon recently protested at the St. Luke's Hospital on behalf of Clark, her sister, who has been hospitalized there since November.

In January, Clark underwent open-heart surgery and later developed bleeding on the brain. A ventilator, which the committee voted to remove Sunday, helps her breathe.

Talking about the Texas law, Dixon told KHOU: ""If their ethics committee makes a decision, it doesn't matter what the patient wants. It doesn't even apparently matter what the patient's condition is, because our sister is not in a coma; she's not brain dead."

Clark's family says though she cannot speak, they are able to communicate with her by moving her lips and blinking her eyes.

Columnist and attorney Wesley J. Smith, who wrote extensively on the Terri Schiavo case in Florida, chimed in on his blog:

"Note that the treatment is apparently being removed because it works, not because it doesn't – which means, in effect, that the hospital ethics committee has declared the patient's life to be futile."

Noting that the family wants Clark to live, Smith noted, "It is as if Michael Schiavo and the Schindlers wanted Terri's care continued but the hospital said no."

Smith described the Texas law as allowing "private decision-making that will result in death without even the right to a public hearing, to cross examine witnesses or a formal appeal."

Some have charged the law is meant to benefit insurance companies who want hospitals to get critical patients "off the books."

According to the TV station report, Clark's family is doing all it can to find another facility that will treat Andrea.

The Terri Schindler Schiavo, Center for Health Care Ethics Inc., Throws Support behind Family of Andrea Clark

Houston’s St. Luke’s Hospital is giving the family of Andrea Clark until April 30th to find another facility to take Clark as a patient or doctors, under direction of an ethics committee, will remove her from life support.

The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, Center for Health Care Ethics is appalled at the decision St. Luke’s Hospital has made to give up on a patient, especially on the recommendation of an ethics committee that seems to have more than just what’s best for the patient in mind.

"We at The Foundation, Center for Health Care Ethics are seeing a growing number of hospital ethics committees emerging in our nation at an alarming rate," said Bobby Schindler.

"The story of Andrea Clark demonstrates the dangers of these unelected, self-appointed, and anonymous committees that are rushing to remove the care from patients in private, without a public hearing or any type of appeal.

"This is happening despite the fact that the treatment the patients are receiving, as in Andrea’s case, is working."

Mary and Robert Schindler as well as Suzanne Schindler Vitadamo and Bobby Schindler now work full time for The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation, Center for Health Care Ethics in St. Petersburg, Florida, an organization dedicated to ensuring the rights of disabled, elderly and vulnerable citizens against care rationing, euthanasia and medical killing.

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Strong Pro-Life Bill Passes Louisiana Senate

April 27, 2006 Tony Perkins Family Research Council

My former Louisiana colleague, Sen. Ben Nevers (D), succeeded in passing a strong pro-life measure out of the Louisiana Senate that will restore the right to life for unborn children. S.B. 33 would prohibit abortion except to save the life of the mother. Although the measure passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 30-7, the ever present pro-abortion forces attempted to "gut" the bill with amendments.

The pro-life measure now goes to the Louisiana House, where prospects for passage remain good. This bill would go into effect if and when the U.S. Supreme Court corrects Roe v. Wade and permits the states once again to protect innocent human life. Louisiana's Gov. Kathleen Babineau Blanco (D) is expected to sign it.

In Hawaii, meanwhile, the state legislature has voted for a bill that would expand the current availability of abortion. Opponents of the bill pointed out that by eliminating the residency requirement, Hawaii could become "the abortion capital of the world." Attorney Kelly Rosati heads the Hawaii Family Forum. She is urging Hawaiians to appeal to Gov. Linda Lingle (R) to veto H.B.1242. Gov. Lingle has been pro-abortion, but there is hope that this bill is so extreme she may be persuaded to reject it. I applaud Gene Mills of the Louisiana Family Forum and Hawaii's Kelly Rosati for their labors.

I welcome to our ranks the new family policy council in Tennessee. The Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT) will be headed up by Sen. David Fowler (R) of Chattanooga. Sen. Fowler is a well-respected legislator who is retiring. The vital role played by state family policy councils is clearly seen in these state contests.

Additional Resources
Louisiana Senate Approves Ban on Most Abortions, Rejects Exceptions

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Texas House approves new tax on business, in Special Session, Legislators also OK separate bill to tap the surplus for small tax cut

April 25 2006 JANET ELLIOTT and CLAY ROBISON Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - The Texas House Monday night approved a sweeping new business tax that is the cornerstone of Gov. Rick Perry's proposal to cut school property taxes and meet a June 1 court deadline for avoiding a potential shutdown of public schools.

The $3 billion measure will now go to the Senate, with supporters hoping the two chambers will finally be able to agree on a tax overhaul. Four previous efforts in the past two years failed.

"The (tax) system is broken. It's time to fix it. This is a fair bill," said Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton, a co-sponsor of the measure that passed 80-68.

But Democrats attacked it as under funded and complained that it wouldn't raise any additional funding for the public schools.

"It is the largest tax bill in Texas history, and it doesn't give one penny to the public schools," said Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco.

A procedural problem with the proposed $1 per pack cigarette tax hike caused it to be sent back to the Ways and Means Committee for further consideration.

Perry wants to use the expanded business tax, an increase in the state cigarette tax and a portion of the budgetary surplus to cut school operating taxes by about one-third over the next two years.

The House also approved another bill, a fallback measure that would pay for smaller cuts in school taxes by simply using a portion of the budget surplus and not raising state taxes. The sponsor said it would meet the Texas Supreme Court's order for changes in the state's school finance system

Dozens of amendments

Several dozen amendments, many proposing special tax breaks for an assortment of industries, were offered to the business tax bill. Most were withdrawn or defeated, but one amendment, an accounting provision designed to soften the financial blow for current payers of the franchise tax, could cost as much as $40 million in tax collections in the first year.

Altogether, Speaker Tom Craddick said, amendments that were adopted cut $58 million from the $3.45 billion that the bill, as approved by the House Ways and Means Committee, would have raised for the governor's proposed property tax buy-down.

The bill would replace the loophole-ridden corporate franchise tax with an expanded tax applying to all corporations and limited liability partnerships with more than $300,000 in annual revenue.

As such, it would bring many law firms and other professional service providers under the state business tax for the first time.

GOP lawmakers had been under heavy pressure from conservative, limited government groups not to enact new taxes to pay for a property tax cut. And many Democrats were opposed to the business tax because all of the revenue would be dedicated to property tax reductions, rather than providing a new funding source for education.

The House adopted 141-1 an amendment to prohibit companies from deducting the costs of hiring undocumented immigrants from their taxable income. The provision also would give the state comptroller the authority to enforce the restriction.

Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, the amendment's sponsor and the son of immigrants, said he was attempting to crack down on the "thousands and thousands" of Texas businesses that hire illegal workers.

"Without a demand, there's really no supply," he said.

"I'm tired of hearing the demagoguery out in the marketplace," he said, referring to the current political debate over immigration. "Unfortunately, it's Texas business that is breaking the law on a daily basis."

Otto questioned how effectively the state would be able to enforce the provision, but only Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, voted against it.

The bill would allow a company to deduct either its compensation or production costs from its gross receipts. Wholesalers and retailers would be taxed at one-half of 1 percent on the remaining base. Other companies would pay a 1 percent tax.

All sole proprietors and general partnerships and other companies with less than $300,000 in annual revenues would be exempt.

The House adopted an amendment by Rep. Larry Phillips, R-Sherman that would remove the tax liability from any company owing less than $1,000 in taxes a year.

Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale, R-Tomball, won approval of a provision that would require Texas voters to approve any subsequent increase in the new business tax rate.

The House voted 146-2 to approve a safety net bill that could allow the schools to remain open if Perry's tax plan fails to pass. House Bill 1 would use $2.4 billion of the state's $8.2 billion surplus to cut school operating taxes by 11 percent.

Bill sponsor, Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, said the tax cut would meet the minimum requirements set by the Texas Supreme Court, which found the current school tax system unconstitutional.

Final passage is expected today.

Perry has dubbed the bill the "get outta Dodge" plan because it could allow lawmakers to enact a short-term fix without the broader tax restructuring the governor wants.

The vote on Chisum's bill came after several hours of debate, during which the House stripped a controversial provision that could have allowed a few wealthy districts to keep all of any additional taxes levied for local enrichment.

Two Houston Democrats: Reps. Garnet Coleman and Harold Dutton voted against the fallback bill.

Coleman said it would not do anything to improve the schools.

Chisum's bill would lower school operating taxes by about 17 cents per $100 valuation.

Local school boards could raise them three cents this year and as much as 14 cents next year with voter approval.

Higher tax on cigarettes

That tax reduction is only about one-third of what the governor is seeking.

Perry's deeper, proposed cuts are dependent on passage of the business taxes and higher cigarette taxes, which would go up by $1 a pack.

The House approved another measure — part of a five-piece package of tax legislation — that will dedicate all the revenue from the higher state taxes to pay for the school tax cuts.

Another bill is designed to make sure that buyers of used cars don't lie about the purchase price when calculating sales tax.

It would use the vehicle's "blue book" value as the basis for determining tax.

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TNT Disappointed by House Sellout on Sharp Vote; Vows Renewed Effort to Stop Tax Bill in Senate

April 25 2006 Christian Newswire

HOUSTON, Texas, TEXANS for NO new TAXE$ (TNT)—formed specifically to oppose the Sharp Tax Proposal, and a project of Conservative Republicans of Texas, PAC—is sorely disappointed in the late- night passage of the Sharp Tax scheme by the Texas House of Representatives—an overwhelming abandonment of the Republican Party’s platform.

“Despite this betrayal by House Republicans, the fight is not over and we are confident that we can win this struggle in the Senate,” said Norman Adams, TNT co-chairman. “The members of the Senate understand that a state income tax, which this would be, is illegal and that this revision of the franchise tax would maim our economy. We are particularly hopeful that Lt. Gov. Dewhurst—a businessman who we believe understands the seriousness of this threat—will not support this cockeyed proposal.”

The Sharp Tax Proposal was passed in the House by a vote of 80-69, with only 12 Republicans casting a nay vote. The proposal is now being considered by the state Senate.

“While we are greatly disappointed by the overwhelming defection of state House member, we are equally thankful for those stalwart conservatives who actually stood by their principles on this matter,” stated Steven F. Hotze, M.D., co-chair of TNT and founder of several enterprises in Texas. “In particular, Harris County Republicans Bill Keffer, Debbie Riddle, Robert Talton, Gary Elkins, Dwayne Bohac and Joe Crabb deserve recognition for banding together to battle this travesty. They put to shame their fellow members of the Harris County Delegation, who accounted for a six-vote swing that greatly contributed to our loss on this important vote.

“Passing this proposal will not lighten the average Texan’s tax burdens one bit because foisting a tax increase on small- and medium-size businesses will increase the cost of doing business, eliminate jobs and drive up the cost of goods,” Hotze said. “Texans need to look long and hard at the facts, costs and impact this scheme represents, and then tell their state senators to protect our economy by voting no on this bill.”

TNT will continue its educational campaign, which includes a state-wide petition encouraging Texans and Texas businesses to publicly oppose the Sharp margin tax proposal because of the detrimental effects it will have on the state’s economy.

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A Win for Religious Free Speech in the Supreme Court

April 25 2006 Tony Perkins Family Research Council

The Supreme Court yesterday decided to let stand a ruling by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. A kindergarten student in Syracuse, New York, had drawn a picture of Jesus kneeling and praying to His Heavenly Father.

Baldwinsville School District officials had obscured part of this picture in a display of the children's art work. That hurtful and absurd action was required by no Supreme Court ruling. We welcome the Court's action. And we note once again how important these U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals are. The Second Circuit is the one on which Justice Sam Alito sat for 15 years. You see, the U.S. Supreme Court only takes up around 80 cases a year.

The vast majority of cases are decided by lower courts. The Supreme Court's action should remind us that several of President Bush's excellent nominees are still being blocked by Senate liberals. For today, though, we thank Heaven for this outbreak of common sense.

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Conservatives Look to June Vote on Marriage Amendment

April 26 2006 Monisha Bansal CNSNews.com Staff Writer

Religious conservatives are trying to increase support for a proposed constitutional amendment that would limit marriage to the traditional one man, one woman concept. A vote on a Senate bill dealing with the amendment is expected to take place on June 6.

"The amendment is not against anyone. It's to protect marriage," said Cardinal Justin Rigali, the Roman Catholic archbishop for Philadelphia, during a conference call briefing on Tuesday. He added that the "institution of marriage is suffering."

The legislation to prohibit homosexual marriage, most recently introduced by Republican Wayne Allard in the Senate and Republican Dan Lungren in the House, has been a favorite issue for religious conservatives for several years. But the legalization of homosexual marriage in Massachusetts and the gender non-specific policies of several other states plus the District of Columbia have increased the stakes of an already intense legal fight.

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which was signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton on Sept. 21, 1996, allows each state to prohibit same sex marriage and 45 states have done so, according to the pro-homosexual Human Rights Campaign, with either laws or state constitutional amendments.

Any amendment to the U.S. Constitution would require a two thirds passage in both the U.S. House and Senate. It would also need to be ratified by three fourths of the nation's state legislatures, but the 45 states that have already banned homosexual marriage on the state level are seven more than the 38 that would be needed to amend the U.S. Constitution and enact a national ban.

However, the federal Constitution has been amended only five times since 1951. The most recent case -- the 27th Amendment, dealing with the pay for senators and House members -- was ratified on May 7, 1992, but had originally been proposed on Sept. 25, 1789.

The language of what is popularly known as the Federal Marriage Amendment states that "marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman."

It further clarifies that "neither this Constitution, nor the Constitution of any State, nor State or Federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups."

The second clause of the amendment could eliminate the legal benefits of domestic partnerships and civil unions for heterosexual and homosexual couples. Vermont is the only state with legalized civil unions that apply to homosexuals.

Bishop Harry R. Jackson, senior pastor of the Hope Christian Church in Lanham, Md., said the various pro-homosexual policies around the country mean that marriage is being "devalued."

"This devaluation needs to not spiral south," he said, urging passage of the amendment.

Rigali argued that it is "not only a question of religious principles," which he said "figure in prominently."

"We're talking also of the tenets of civilization for thousands of years," he added.

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Congress is spending $80 Million a Minute!

April 26 2006 Tony Perkins Family Research Council

Congress is spending $80 million a minute and there is no sign of them slowing down! Congress is currently working on a $100+ billion emergency spending bill for hurricane relief and the war on terror. I'll bet you didn't know that there's an "emergency" that requires Congress to spend $3 million for tourism in Kentucky or nearly $1 million for Dartmouth College. They're pretty far from a hurricane, but too close to the federal trough.

President Bush--at last--is threatening a veto. The Bush administration "strongly objects" to spend $700 million to relocate a "privately owned rail line that runs along the Mississippi Gulf Coast." That's Sen. Trent Lott's (R-MS) pet project. As it just so happens, it would also aid the casino industry in Mississippi. That's doubly offensive.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), chairman of the Republican Study Group, are both calling for the President to unsheathe his veto pen. I completely agree. Sen. Frist made his well-deserved reputation as a cardio-thoracic surgeon. He should wield his scalpel on this bloated spending bill.

He now says he will support a veto--if necessary--to trim out-of-control federal spending. In my view, it's long overdue. And, instead of trying to out-socialist the socialists, Republicans should give up their ill-considered investigation of oil industry executive salaries. If Congress would really like to help us at the gas pump, how about cutting the federal gasoline tax?

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Palm Beach County's Proposed Zoning Ordinance Unconstitutionally Restricts Church Size and Location

April 27 2006 News Release Liberty Council

Palm Beach County, FL – On behalf of a large number of churches in Palm Beach County, Florida, Liberty Counsel wrote a letter to the Commissioners stating that a proposed zoning ordinance which restricts the size and location of churches is unconstitutional and subject to legal challenge.

The proposed ordinance limits the maximum size of churches to 750 seats in residential areas, with even smaller limitations in suburban and rural neighborhoods. The space limitations include meeting halls and daycare centers or other church facilities. South Palm Community Church, where its current 1,200 worshippers (2,200 on Easter) meet in a public school building, purchased an option to buy 38 acres for a planned expansion. The proposed ordinance would limit the church to 250 total seats throughout the facility. Beacon Baptist Church's current building is packed out with 280. Their building project will provide 800 seats on 20 acres, which the Church owns debt free. The Church has spent about $80,000 on zoning and building studies. The proposed ordinance would prevent the church from building. Even though the Church meets all the current zoning laws, the proposed ordinance, which some believe is designed to stop Beacon Baptist, is retroactive and would divest the Church of its property interest.

Liberty Counsel advised pastors, builders and planners that the proposed ordinance violated both federal and state law. The proposal violates the First Amendment, the Florida Constitution, the federal law known as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and the Florida Religious Freedom Restoration Act passed by the Florida legislature in 1998, which was drafted by Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel.

The Commissioners have been flooded with e-mails and phone calls in opposition to the proposal. The overwhelming show of opposition surprised county officials during a public hearing in March. Today county planning officials will be seeking approval to advertise several options to be voted on in May. One option is to pass the ordinance as drafted. Another is to table the proposal, and another is to eliminate the church size restrictions. The letter by Liberty Counsel to the Commissioners warns that the size restrictions are unconstitutional, and, if passed, Liberty Counsel will file suit on behalf of the churches and houses of worship.

Commenting on this situation, Mathew Staver said: "We first want to seek an amicable resolution with Palm Beach County. But make no mistake, we are resolved to stop the county from infringing upon the religious rights of these churches and houses of worship. If the proposed ordinance is passed, we will sue, and we intend to win. The county should do the right thing and abandon the proposed ordinance. Otherwise, the county will face a costly and losing battle."

Knowing your rights is a big part of protecting them. Ignorance and apathy are the primary causes of a loss of religious liberty.

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Pro-Family Groups Unveil Homosexuality School Risk Audit as Response to 'Day of Silence'

April 24 2006 National Desk, Education Reporter Christian Wire Service

In the wake of the SBC’s passage of Education Resolution at its 2005 Annual Meeting, American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, Family Research Council and a pro-family coalition encourage investigation of local school districts

COLUMBIA, SC, Last June the Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention approved a version of a resolution submitted by Dr. Voddie Baucham and Bruce Shortt that, among other things, warned parents of collaboration by public school districts with homosexual activists and urged parents and churches to investigate their local school districts. The Baucham-Shortt resolution was endorsed by over 60 conservative grassroots organizations, including many state chapters of the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, Eagle Forum, and Focus on the Family.

Following the adoption of the resolution by the SBC, Linda Harvey of Mission America developed a survey instrument known as the “Risk Audit” to assist Christian organizations, churches and parents in determining whether their local school districts are placing children at risk by having clubs, programs, policies, or curricula that could influence children to regard homosexual behavior as an acceptable lifestyle.

Today, the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, the Family Research Council and state chapters of pro-family groups such as Eagle Forum have announced that they are following up on their effort with respect to the 2005 SBC Education Resolution by encouraging their state and local affiliates to undertake risk audits in local school districts, especially in the wake of homosexual activist events involving students, such as the “Day of Silence” scheduled for Wednesday, April 26.

According to Concerned Women for America’s Robert Knight, “Far too few pastors and parents are aware of the extent to which many school districts are collaborating with homosexual activists and the risks that poses for our children and our culture. As the recent incidents involving the sex education curriculum in Montgomery County, Maryland, and the ‘Little Black Book’ in Massachusetts clearly demonstrate, homosexual activists are becoming much more aggressive. CWA strongly recommends that concerned citizens consider undertaking a risk audit project.”

Tony Perkins of Family Research Council said, “The insidious alliance between some school administrations and homosexual activists has been hidden from parents for far too long.  Recent events in Lexington, Massachusetts and similar instances across the country demonstrate the next phase in the campaign to normalize homosexual behavior - the capturing of America's youth. American families need to know about the homosexual indoctrination being forced upon young impressionable minds.  Conducting a risk audit in local school districts will help do just that.”

Steve Crampton of AFA Center for Law and Policy said, “Promotion of the homosexual agenda to our children may be the single greatest threat to public schools in America today, but most parents don’t even know it is happening. This risk audit is the right response at the right time.”

Linda Harvey, founder of Mission America notes, "Based on my ten years of tracking and researching the growth of homosexual activism in public schools, I know that very few parents are aware that the majority of public school districts are selling our children the dangerous and false notion that homosexuality is a normal and acceptable lifestyle.”

Eunie Smith, president of Eagle Forum of Alabama, said: "For too long, parents have endured substandard education in our schools, with social engineering dominating the curriculum in many districts. This Risk Audit puts a valuable tool in the hands of communities, enabling them to hold schools accountable for politically-correct agendas."

Dr. Bruce N. Shortt of Exodus Mandate, and author of The Harsh Truth About Public Schools applauds the American Family Association, Concerned Women For America, and the Family Research Council for their effort to protect children and better inform parents: “The leadership shown by these organizations in connection with the passage of the education resolution by the SBC’s 2005 Annual Meeting was courageous and timely. Today, by encouraging their affiliates and other organizations to undertake risk audits of local school districts, these pro-family groups are taking an important step to protect our children from a lifestyle that is profoundly dangerous and that far too many school districts are promoting as acceptable.”

Diane Gramley, president of AFA of PA, said, “This Risk Audit will be an excellent tool for parents to use to discover if their school is promoting the homosexual lifestyle and to what extent it is being promoted.  Those who promote this deadly lifestyle in our nation's public schools have advanced their agenda unimpeded for too many years and too many children are paying the price.  I encourage all parents with children in public and private schools to use this Risk Audit to discover just what their children are being exposed to behind the schoolhouse door."

Dr. Voddie Baucham, Bible teacher and author of The Ever-Loving Truth,  “I have believed all along that if parents knew just how bad things were, we wouldn’t have to ask them to find other educational alternatives; they would come asking us.  However, until now, parents have lacked either the will or the tools to discover the truth.  This risk audit is the right tool at the right time.  I just pray that the results bring about the right response.”

Gary Glenn of AFA Michigan, says, "Many parents have no idea that homosexual activists are allowed to use our public schools as a propaganda forum to indoctrinate and recruit young children and adolescents.  Here in Michigan, the homosexual Triangle Foundation boasts that it has been allowed to use public school classrooms as early as first grade to promote their high-risk agenda.  Parents need to be informed that the behavior and lifestyle homosexual activists are promoting leads to dramatically higher risk of domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse, eating disorders, serious life-threatening disease, and even premature death." 

Cathie Adams of Texas Eagle Forum said, "Parents are responsible for the education and upbringing of their children. That is why it is imperative that parents have full knowledge of what their children are taught in public school classrooms, especially concerning lifestyles that are contrary to societal norms. It is most unfortunate that homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality are embraced by America's largest teachers' unions forcing even unwilling teachers to become conduits for the union's radical agenda in classrooms. Parents do not want their children held captive to that radical agenda, which is why I am grateful that Mission America has designed a Risk Audit to protect parents and their children."

Phil Burress of Citizens for Community Values said, “Most parents do not want their children to be taught that homosexuality is a beneficial and positive option, nor that homosexual marriage is a civil right. We need to find out which schools are promoting these ideas, and the Risk Audit provides grass roots citizens with a valuable tool for doing this.”

Contact: Steve Crampton, Chief Counsel, American Family Association Center for Law and Policy, 662-680-3886; Robert Knight, director, Culture & Family Institute, an affiliate of Concerned Women for America, 202-488-7000; Tony Perkins, president, Family Research Council, 202-393-2100; Eunie Smith, president, Eagle Forum of Alabama, alaeagle@charter.net; Linda Harvey, president, Mission America,614-442-7998, www.missionamerica.com; Dr. Bruce N. Shortt and E. Ray Moore, Jr., Exodus Mandate, 803 714-1744, www.exodusmandate.org; Diane Gramley, president, AFA of Pennsylvania, 814-271-9078; Gary Glenn, president, AFA of Michigan, 989-835-7978; Peter LaBarbera, executive director of the Illinois Family Institute, and president of Americans for Truth, 630-790-8370; Cathie Adams, president, Texas Eagle Forum,972-250-0734; Phil Burress, president, Citizens for Community Values, 513-733-5775; and Hon. Twyla Roman, president, Ohio Eagle Forum, 330-877-8339

Additional information, including the Risk Audit, can be found at:  www.missionamerica.com, and www.exodusmandate.org.

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Targeting Youth With 'Silence' and 'Truth'

April 25, 2006 Susan Jones CNSNews.com Senior Editor

A homosexual advocacy group says half a million students at some 4,000 schools will take part in the tenth annual "Day of Silence" on Wednesday.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, describes the National Day of Silence as an effort to "draw attention to discrimination and harassment faced by gays daily in the nation's schools."

Participating students will avoid speaking during the school day "to symbolize the silencing of LGBT students by harassment and bullying," GLSEN says on its website.

On Thursday, counter-protesters will have their say.

The Alliance Defense Fund, a group that is pushing for passage of a federal marriage amendment, is sponsoring its second annual "Day of Truth" on April 27.

The ADF event is intended to oppose the promotion of the homosexual agenda in the nation's schools and to "express an opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective."

Last year more than 1,100 students from over 350 schools "shared the Truth" with their classmates, the ADF says on its website.

"The Day of Truth provides an opportunity for participating students to express a different perspective than the Day of Silence," said ADF Litigation Counsel Timothy Chandler in a blurb on the ADF website.

"Students can't be expected to make good, well-informed decisions if they're only being told part of the story. Allowing the communication of one viewpoint and claiming it's the only viewpoint is advocating, not educating," he said.

While some advocacy groups fight to make homosexuality normal and accepted, and other advocacy groups fight acceptance of homosexuality on religious and moral grounds, many Americans in the middle think the subject of sex has no place in the nation's schools -- period.

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Judge Rules against Campus Christian Legal Society

April 24 2006 staff reports Citizen Link

California Student group loses funding and platform to speak.

A federal judge has decided University of California Hastings College of Law may deny funding to the campus Christian Legal Society (CLS) and any other student group that bars non-Christians or practicing homosexuals.

U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White dismissed a suit last week that was brought by the student group in July 2004.

The law school stopped funding CLS because it requires members to endorse a statement of faith and prohibits those who engage in "unrepentant homosexual conduct."

"The issue at root here is the right to free association, which protects the right of private student groups to select members and officers who share their beliefs and values."

Jeremy Tedesco, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, told Family News in Focus that schools are turning discrimination on its head.

"This is not about funding. This is about access to a speech forum," he said. "What they've prohibited them from participating in is every meaningful form of communication the university provides to student groups."

Two related suits are pending against San Diego State University and California State University-Long Beach.

Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute, said a Christian student group should be free to define itself and its membership.

"Most of what is done by these universities in terms of discriminating against people of faith is done in the name of tolerance," he said. "But one-way tolerance is not tolerance, its tyranny."

Dacus is urging Christians to fight back.

"If students and groups of individuals decide to do nothing," he said, "it's not a matter of 'if' they will lose their freedom. It's only a matter of 'when.'"

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Ten Commandments Displays Roll to Victory in the Courts and the Legislatures

April 25 2006 Liberty Council

Orlando, FL - Public displays of the Ten Commandments have enjoyed unprecedented favor in both the courts and the legislatures since the two Ten Commandments cases were argued at the Supreme Court last year.

Last week, Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue signed a bill that permits the display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings. House Bill 941 says that the "Foundations of American Law and Government" display shall include: The Mayflower Compact, The Ten Commandments, the Declaration of Independence, Magna Charta, Star-Spangled Banner, National Motto, Preamble to the Georgia Constitution, the Bill of Rights and Lady Justice. This is the same display that Liberty Counsel defended last year before the High Court and the same display which was upheld by two federal courts in the past several months.

In Elkhart County, Indiana v. Books, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Foundations of American Law and Government display, which Liberty Counsel defended. This Circuit governs IL, WI, and IN.

On December 20, 2005, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in ACLU of Kentucky v. Mercer County, Kentucky upheld the same Ten Commandments display, which Liberty Counsel also defended. Yesterday, the Court voted 19-5 to allow the ruling to stand. The Sixth Circuit governs KY, OH, TN and MI.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a stand-alone Ten Commandments monument. This Circuit governs AR, IA, MO, MN, NE, ND, and SD. On April 20, 2006, a federal district court in Toledo, Ohio, upheld a Ten Commandments display, which had been on the courthouse lawn for 50 years.

On April 10, 2006, Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher signed a bill allowing the posting of the Ten Commandments.

So far the ACLU has not chosen to ask the Supreme Court to review these cases. The obvious reason is that the ACLU no longer has a majority on the High Court.

Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, stated: "The tide is turning against the ACLU's war on the Ten Commandments. The courts and history are working against the ACLU."

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Hollywood's Valenti Pledges Avalanche of ads designed to dissuade parents on Broadcast Indecency Enforcement

April 25 2006 Tony Perkins Family Research Council

A massive call-in effort to support H.R. 310, the Broadcast Indecency Enforcement Act, lit up the Capitol Switchboard today. To counter this, the former head of the Motion Picture Association of America is pledging an "avalanche" of ads designed to persuade parents that it is your sole responsibility to monitor what your kids watch. In other words, the MPAA wants to continue to pump out the sewage and make you responsible for the cleanup.

"We want to tell American parents that they, and they alone, have total power to control every hour of television programming," says MPAA president Jack Valenti of the $300 million ad campaign he announced. How noble. How empowering for you. How ridiculous. The Federal Communications Act was passed in 1934 by a Democratic Congress and signed by a Democratic President--Franklin D. Roosevelt. That law gives the federal government the power--and the duty--to police the public airwaves.

FRC's Tom McClusky addressed a press conference this noon in which we and other friendly groups publicly called on Congress to give the FCC the powers necessary to enforce the laws that Congress itself has passed. I doubt that Congress would have passed, or FDR would have signed, a law that allows sleaze merchants to broadcast four-letter words into our homes.

Take Action Now
Senators: Support H.R. 310, the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005

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Concerned Women for America Responds to Members' Outcry on Indecency Legislation

April 25 2006 Christian Newswire

WASHINGTON, Concerned Women for America (CWA) acknowledged the frustration of its members over the U.S. Senate’s failure to pass indecency legislation and the audacious acts of the major broadcast networks. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation chaired by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) has continued to prevent broadcast indecency legislation from reaching the Senate floor. The four major broadcast networks’ Good Friday lawsuit protesting the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) recent rulings has only added insult to injury in the eyes of CWA members.

"Our members are tired of hearing Chairman Stevens’ poor excuses for not passing this bill," said Lanier Swann, CWA’s Director of Government Relations. "The networks’ decision to sue the FCC for their ‘rights’ to use whatever language they see fit is a vivid illustration of why we must pass a strong indecency bill now.

"Chairman Stevens and the multibillion-dollar broadcast industry are out of touch with the American public. He believes the ‘market has corrected itself,’ while the networks have declared their right to blanket the airwaves with sex, profanity and even the ‘f-word’ during the Family Hour.

"The networks are picking a fight with American Families, who have made it clear that they are fed up with the offensive trash broadcast on the public’s airwaves.

"The House overwhelmingly passed H.R. 310 over a year ago, but the bill has been languishing at the Senate desk courtesy of Sen. Ted Stevens. The Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 is waiting for a vote. It has been waiting far too long - it is time to vote for final passage on this much- needed legislation."

Concerned Women for America (CWA) is the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization.

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Howard Dean Issues Ultimatum to Churches: Give up Religion or Stay Out of Politics

April 21 2006 Christian Newswire

WASHINGTON, Fidelis, a national Catholic based advocacy group, called on Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, to explain himself after telling the Christian Science Monitor Wednesday that "The religious community has to decide whether they want to be tax exempt or involved in politics."

Fidelis President Joseph Cella responded: "Howard Dean's statement makes it clear that he wants to muzzle America's churches and religious groups from professing what they believe on important issues facing our society. When it comes to debates over public policy and issues, Dean should be welcoming the voice of America's churches, not attempting to silence them. Instead Dean has shown utter disregard for people of faith by threatening the historical and treasured role of religious groups and churches in American public life."

"Under Howard Dean's rules, pastors, priests, and rabbis wouldn't have been able to mobilize people of faith to join the civil rights marches in Selma and Montgomery," said Cella.

Dean's statement is the latest in a series of comments directed toward conservative Christians. Just last year, Dean told the San Francisco Chronicle, "they are not very friendly....they all behave the same, and they all look the same."

Cella continued: "Dean's blatant hostility toward any church or religious group calls into serious question his supposed outreach to values voters following the 2004 elections. In essence, Dean is saying that if religious groups want to continue to speak out, then the hand of government is going to exact a penalty. Comments such as these continue to place Howard Dean and the Democratic Party in jeopardy of further alienating religious voters."

Fidelis is a Catholic-based advocacy organization working with people of faith across the country to defend and promote the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and the right to religious liberty by electing pro-life, pro-family and pro-religious liberty candidates, supporting the confirmation of judges, and promoting and defending laws consistent with the Founding principles of the United States.

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Dean Tries Comedy claiming: “tough border control” is his party’s top immigration priority for this year

April 20 2006 Gary Bauer American Values

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean must have decided to leave politics and become a full-time comedian. How else can you explain his laughable claim today that “tough border control” is his party’s top immigration priority for this year? I assume he’s talking about America’s border, thus his claim is simply ridiculous, even by Howard Dean standards. Liberals like Kennedy and Clinton have been the cheerleaders of the “amnesty now!” movement. Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid has used Senate rules to prevent votes on amendments that would toughen border security. Democrat voter registration teams have been blanketing the immigration rallies signing up new voters – all legal, I’m sure.

So what would possess Dean, against all the evidence, to try to claim his party is tough on border control? Polls, even liberal Dean knows the public is sick and tired of illegal immigration and that there is a growing backlash in the wake of national demonstrations demanding that we ignore our own laws. The tougher question to answer is why some Republicans are going all weak in the knees over the issue, allowing Democrats, once again, to appear to be more conservative on another security related issue. As soon as Congress is back in session, Republican leaders should bring up a simple border security bill and get roll call votes in the House and Senate. Then, in a few years if the American people have proof that the border is secure, we can deal with the broader reform issues.

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The 9th Circuit strikes Christians Again

April 21 2006 Gary Schneeberger editor Citizen Link

Infamous anti-Pledge court rules against a high school student's right to wear a T-shirt proclaiming the biblical view of homosexuality.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- which found the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional for its reference to America being one nation "under God" -- has upheld a high school's decision to forbid a student from wearing a T-shirt expressing the biblical view of homosexuality.

In a 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based court, Poway (Calif.) High School student Chase Harper lost his appeal that school officials violated his First Amendment rights by refusing to let him wear a shirt protesting the school's participation in a gay-activist-driven "Day of Silence" in 2004. The day after the event, which was sponsored by the school's pro-homosexual Gay-Straight Alliance, Harper wore a shirt that read "Be Ashamed, Our School Embraced What God Has Condemned" on the front and "Homosexuality is Shameful" on the back.

After Harper refused to remove the shirt, Poway High's principal kept him out of class and ordered him to do homework in a conference room for the rest of the day. He was not suspended.

Judge Stephen Reinhardt, writing the majority opinion for the 9th Circuit panel that considered the case, said it was clear Harper’s T-shirt violated the rights of other students "in the most fundamental way."

"Speech that attacks high school students who are members of minority groups that have historically been oppressed, subjected to verbal and physical abuse, and made to feel inferior, serves to injure and intimidate them, as well as to damage their sense of security and interfere with their opportunity to learn," he wrote. "The demeaning of young gay and lesbian students in a school environment is detrimental not only to their psychological health and well-being, but also to their educational development."

Reinhardt went on to cite not federal laws supporting his assertion -- but a whole host of research that Focus on the Family Action judicial analyst Bruce Hausknecht called "questionable."

"Judge Reinhardt has a nasty habit of going way beyond what is necessary to decide an issue, in a grand scheme to further his left-wing social agenda," he said. "In this case, he goes beyond the pale by comparing Christian opposition to homosexuality with racism and, ironically, religious discrimination, suggesting that discrimination against blacks and Jews was once a popularly held view (which turned out to be wrong) as well.

"In a reprehensible play to emotions, he even cites some questionable and conclusory pro-homosexual studies to create sympathy for the plight of homosexual students, suggesting that they 'may' be dropping out or suffering emotionally because of discrimination and name-calling in schools. What this social science 'data' has to do with his legal analysis, he doesn't really say."

Harper is represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which said it plans to appeal the decision to the full 9th Circuit.

"Students do not give up their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse door," ADF Senior Legal Counsel Kevin Theriot explained. "This panel has upheld school censorship of student expression if it is the Christian view of homosexual behavior. They have essentially determined that student quotation of Scripture can be prohibited."

The third judge on the panel, Alex Kozinski, vigorously dissented. "I have considerable difficulty with giving school authorities the power to decide that only one side of a controversial topic may be discussed in the school environment because the opposing point of view is too extreme or demeaning," he wrote. "The fundamental problem with the majority’s approach is that it has no anchor anywhere in the record or in the law. It is entirely a judicial creation, hatched to deal with the situation before us, but likely to cause innumerable problems in the future."

Hausknecht praised Kozinski for boldly challenging his colleague's passion for legalizing viewpoint discrimination in schools. "In effect, Reinhardt has established a rule that any speech that

opposes homosexuality automatically causes a disruption in school and can be prohibited," he said. "If that's not an attempt to shut up Christians, I don't know what is."

FOR MORE INFORMATION: To learn more about the left-wing leanings of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt, read the Citizen magazine special report "Judge Gone Wild." http://www.family.org/cforum/citizenmag/coverstory/a0039283.cfm

QUOTEWORTHY: "Consent of the people (is the) pure, original fountain of all legitimate authority."
-Alexander Hamilton, the Federalist Papers, 1787

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Kudos to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales!

April 20, 2006 Tony Perkins Family Research Council

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales gave a hard-hitting speech this morning at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children near here. Gonzales warned that most Americans fail to recognize the new dangers in child pornography. "It's not a victimless crime. Most images...of child pornography depict actual sexual abuse of real children. Each image literally documents a crime scene."

Project Safe Childhood is the program the Attorney General is promoting. He explained how pedophiles use collections of images--photos and even videos--as a "license" for entry into the shadow world of abusers.

"Before the Internet, these pedophiles were isolated--unwelcome even in most adult bookstores. [Now] they have found a community. Offenders can bond with each other and the Internet acts as a tool for legitimizing and validating their behavior in their minds. It emboldens them." Well said, Mr. Attorney General! Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) should stop holding up needed legislation.

Reid and his fellow liberals like Ted Kennedy have blocked legislation that would increase penalties for crimes against children and make failure to register with the National Sex Offender Public Registry a felony. They want to attach so-called hate crimes amendments to the bill. Sen. Reid needs to show that he is on the side of concerned parents--and not in the hip pocket of the homosexual lobby.

Additional Resources
Attorney General Announces Legislative Initiative to Combat Child Pornography and Obscenity on the Internet

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