Thursday, May 23, 2013

Religious leaders, families urge Scouts to stay with tradition as vote on homosexual membership looms

by Kirsten Andersen

IRVING, TX, May 22, 2013 (LifeSiteNews) – As the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) prepare to vote Thursday on whether to allow openly homosexual members, thousands of current and former scouts and dozens of religious leaders are urging the organization to stand up to “intimidation” by gay activists and stay true to its roots.

Nearly 19,000 scouts, former scouts, and members of scouting families signed a petition to the BSA, urging the group to “uphold the values that have defined the organization for over 100 years.”

“The Boy Scouts should once again stand firm on moral principles that have successfully shaped our nation’s boys into leaders for generations,” said Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) spokesman David Cortman, whose group delivered the petition to the BSA. “This is the expressed desire of thousands of Scouts and their families who have signed this petition. The Constitution protects the Boy Scouts’ freedom to promote the values that have defined the organization and to ensure that its leaders and members adhere to those values.”

A group of fifty U.S. religious leaders have also signed a joint statement encouraging the BSA to maintain its current standards.

“We strongly support the Boy Scouts of America current prohibition on open homosexuality and retaining it without revision,” the statement reads. “Nearly 70 percent of BSA troops are hosted by churches and religious institutions. Upholding traditional morality is vital for sustaining this partnership, for protecting Scout members, and for ensuring BSA has a strong future.”

The statement is signed by officials of the Southern Baptist Convention, Assemblies of God, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Anglican Church in North America, Evangelical Presbyterian Church and several Pentecostal denominations, among others. The total membership represented by the signers is over 20 million.

“A proposal from the BSA board to prohibit ‘discrimination’ based on ‘sexual orientation or preference’ for BSA members potentially would open the Scouts to a wide range of open sexual expressions,” wrote the group. “In our current culture, it is more important than ever for our churches to protect and provide moral nurture for young people and for the Scouts. We implore members of the upcoming BSA Council to affirm the BSA's present policy, which the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed, and which has served BSA well."

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Please Sign A Respectful Petition To Disney CEO, Robert Iger

Please Sign
A Respectful Petition
To Disney CEO,
Robert Iger

Petition Background
According to press reports, homosexuals and pro-homosexual activists will soon be celebrating the 23rd annual “Gay Days”, at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

This is something that families and children should absolutely NOT be exposed to.

So, for the good of families and of children, please ask Disney not to allow any and all activities related to Homosexual Day. (We avoid using the word gay since there’s nothing gay about this sin.)

On behalf of the innocence of America’s children and unsuspecting families visiting Disney World over this Memorial Day weekend, please join me in this protest.

Send your instant e-petition now.

P.S. Please send your e-message today so Disney will hear from you and know the reasons why you absolutely object to them hosting a homosexual day at the park.

Also, please say a Rosary for the success of our nationwide protest against “Gay Days” at Disney. The Rosary is far more powerful than most people realize. So, let’s use it to defend the innocence of our children and the moral propriety of our society.

U.S. Democrats target crisis pregnancy centers with new bill

by Kirsten Andersen

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 21, 2013 (LifeSiteNews) – Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) has introduced a bill aimed at marginalizing Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs), which serve women facing unexpected pregnancies with counseling and factual information about parenthood, adoption and abortion. CPCs also offer practical support for women who choose to parent, such as baby equipment, formula, diapers and clothing.

H.R. 2030, which Maloney named the “Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act,” orders the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create regulations restricting CPCs’ advertising practices. The wording of the bill is minimal, leaving the details to be hammered out by the bureaucracy at a later date.

The congresswoman alleges that CPC advertisements claiming to offer information about abortion are misleading because CPCs do not provide or refer for abortions. They also give information about abortion that can be discouraging to abortion-minded women, such as information on fetal development; information about post-abortion trauma; and the physical risks of abortion including infertility, infections, increased risk for breast cancer, and even death.

“Crisis Pregnancy Centers … pose as sources of unbiased pregnancy counseling, using deceptive propaganda to dissuade women from considering comprehensive birth-control options or legal abortion,” Maloney said as she introduced the bill. “Fake reproductive health clinics entice women with unintended pregnancies through their doors under the pretense of providing the full range of reproductive options and services.”

Maloney’s bill would give broad powers to the FTC to create new regulations barring CPCs from advertising their abortion information services, and enforce those regulations with penalties and fines, even in the case of non-profit CPCs that provide pregnancy-related services for free.

NARAL Pro-Choice America, the National Abortion Federation and Planned Parenthood all back Maloney’s bill.

Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said she is “thrilled that Rep. Maloney is acting to hold these fake ‘clinics’ accountable.”

National Abortion Federation president Vicki Saporta claimed that CPCs “have a long history of intentionally misleading women to prevent them from accessing abortion care.”

Planned Parenthood, the U.S.’s largest abortion provider, has been aggressive in trying to shut down CPCs, which they call “fake clinics run by people who are anti-abortion.”

Recently, Planned Parenthood of Oregon introduced a bill that would require CPCs in the state to post highly visible notices at clinic entrances and on websites and advertisements stating explicitly that abortions and contraceptives are not provided by the clinic.

Similar city laws in Baltimore and New York City have been struck down in federal courts as an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment.

Maloney’s bill currently has fourteen cosponsors, all Democrats. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

Young Christians will be locked out of public professions by homosexual ‘marriage’, ministers warn

by Hilary White

British House of Lords

LONDON, May 20, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Young Christians will be shut out of all public professions, including teachers, doctors, nurses or any kind of public servant if the “gay marriage” bill is passed, a group of religious leaders has warned the government. The ministers issued the warning in a letter to the Daily Telegraph on the same day that the government came to an agreement with opposition parties over amendments. The bill is expected to move past the committee stage and on to the House of Lords after two days of debate today and tomorrow.

Should it be granted Royal Assent “in its present form,” the 17 Christian ministers said, the bill will “isolate hundreds of thousands of young students and workers across the country who hold a fuller view of marriage based on religion or a traditional view.”

“These young people, from teenagers to 30-year-olds, will suffer discrimination and face new risks to their careers, and futures,” they added. The ministers said that many young Christians understand marriage as “the thread that binds generations.” They warned that “without much clearer protections for freedom of speech and freedom of belief, teachers and public-sector workers will have to choose between their conscience and their career, as many will be deterred from a public-service career or from charity involvement”.

“The Bill is supposed to be pro-marriage, pro-equality and pro-diversity, yet, as drafted, it is none of those things. There will be anger and sadness, and this Bill will cause pain for many, without tackling prejudice against the few.”

Signatories said that together they represented about 150,000 congregants, and included Archbishop Peter Smith of the Catholic archdiocese of Southwark, the Rev. John Stevens, the national director of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches and a number of Anglican and Presbyterian ministers. The letter follows a similar call from 500 Muslim Imams who signed a letter to The Sunday Telegraph accusing the Government of attacking “the cornerstone of family life”. The Imams called marriage a “sacred contract between a man and a woman” which “cannot be redefined”.

The “gay marriage” bill is set to be voted on in the House of Commons tomorrow after MPs voted on amendments today. Some MPs are bringing a motion forward to bring the proposal to change the definition of marriage to a public referendum in 2015.

A former defence minister, Sir Gerald Howarth, called the plan “divisive” and warned MPs that there are those “in the aggressive homosexual community who see this as but a stepping stone to something even further”.

Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond has told the government and his own party leaders that the “gay marriage” plan has “upset vast numbers of people”.

Speaking on the BBC’s political television talk show Question Time, Hammond said, “I have just never felt that this is what we should be focusing on.”

“This change does redefine marriage. For millions and millions of people who are married, the meaning of marriage changes,” he said.

There is “a real sense of anger among many people who are married” over the government’s assumption that “it has the ability to change the definition of an institution like marriage”.

A senior member of the House of Lords has vowed to bring a proposal before the Peers to throw the bill out, citing deficiencies in the political process by which it was brought forward. No mention was made of changing the definition of marriage in any party’s manifesto at the last election, and the “gay marriage” bill was not included in any Queen’s Speech, the ceremonial announcement of the government’s plans for the coming year.

Geoffrey Lord Dear, a former head of police, will call for the defeat of the bill in a vote on June 3rd. Lord Dear has previously defeated the Government in the Lords over free speech and a provision that allowed 42-day detentions without charge.

In a letter to fellow Peers, Lord Dear said, “The Government is using its raw power to press ahead as fast as possible. The political parties have no mandate from the public to bring it forward: the redefinition of marriage was not included in any party manifesto.

“The official consultation process massaged the results to downplay opposition and has been widely dismissed as a sham.” He called the process an exercise in “raw power” marked by “guillotined debates and undue pressure from party hierarchies on individual MPs”.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Justice Department: Employees must affirm homosexuality

by J. Matt Barber

May 20, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Under President Obama, “justice” is anything but blind. Neither is it deaf. In fact, based on recent revelations, it appears to be watching your every move and listening to your every word. Still, if you happen to be a federal employee, now it’s even listening for your silence.

The only thing this Obama White House seems to generate is scandal. Well, here’s yet another to add to the growing list. In addition to the Benghazi cover-up, IRS targeting of political dissenters and the illegal seizure of media phone records, whistleblowers within DOJ have contacted Liberty Counsel to express grave concerns over this administration’s latest attack on freedom.

Our sources have provided Liberty Counsel an internal DOJ document titled: “LGBT Inclusion at Work: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Managers.” It was emailed to DOJ managers in advance of the left’s so-called “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month.”

The document is chilling. It’s riddled with directives that grossly violate – prima facie –employees’ First Amendment liberties.

Following are excerpts from the “DOJ Pride” decree. When it comes to “LGBT pride,” employees are ordered:

  • “DON’T judge or remain silent. Silence will be interpreted as disapproval.” (Italics mine)

That’s a threat.

And not even a subtle one.

Got it? For Christians and other morals-minded federal employees, it’s no longer enough to just shut up and “stay in the closet” – to live your life in silent recognition of biblical principles (which, by itself, is unlawful constraint). When it comes to mandatory celebration of homosexual and cross-dressing behaviors, “silence will be interpreted as disapproval.”

This lawless administration is now ordering federal employees – against their will – to affirm sexual behaviors that every major world religion, thousands of years of history and uncompromising human biology reject.

Somewhere, right now, George Orwell is smiling.

The directive includes a quote from a “gay” federal employee to rationalize justification: “Ideally, I’d love to hear and see support from supervisors, so it’s clear that there aren’t just policies on paper. Silence seems like disapproval. There’s still an atmosphere of LGBT issues not being appropriate for the workplace (particularly for transgender people), or that people who bring it up are trying to rock the boat.”

Of course there’s “still an atmosphere of LGBT issues not being appropriate for the workplace.” When well over half of federal employees, half the country and most of the world still believe in objective sexual morality (and immorality), “the workplace,” especially the federal workplace, should, at the very least, remain neutral on these highly controversial and behavior-centric issues.

Still, to borrow from self-styled “queer activist,” anti-Christian bigot and Obama buddy Dan Savage, “it gets better”:

  • “DO assume that LGBT employees and their allies are listening to what you’re saying (whether in a meeting or around the proverbial water cooler) and will read what you’re writing (whether in a casual email or in a formal document), and make sure the language you use is inclusive and respectful.”

Is this the DOJ or the KGB? “[A]ssume that LGBT employees are listening …”? And what are “LGBT allies”? If you disagree with the homosexual activist political agenda, does that make you the enemy?

Yes, in any workplace, language should remain professional, but who defines what’s “inclusive”? Who decides what’s “respectful”? If asked about “LGBT issues,” for instance, can a Christian employee answer honestly: “I believe the Bible. I believe God designed sex to be shared between husband and wife within the bonds of marriage”? Or is that grounds for termination?

Here are some more DOs:

  • DO “Attend LGBT events sponsored by DOJ Pride and/or the Department, and invite (but don’t require) others to join you.”
  • DO “Display a symbol in your office (DOJ Pride sticker, copy of this brochure, etc.) indicating that it is a ‘safe space.’”

Are you kidding? Does this administration really think it’s legal to compel managers to “attend LGBT events,” or to “display pride stickers” against their will? That’s compulsory expression. That’s viewpoint discrimination.

That’s unconstitutional.

Click "like" if you want to defend true marriage.

But there’s more:

  • “DO use inclusive words like ‘partner,’ ‘significant other’ or ‘spouse’ rather than gender-specific terms like ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ (for example, in invitations to office parties or when asking a new employee about his/her home life).”

Oh, brother.

Sorry. Oh, gender-neutral sibling.

  • “DO use a transgender person’s chosen name and the pronoun that is consistent with the person’s self-identified gender.”

In other words, lie. Engage in corporate delusion.

  • “DO deal with offensive jokes and comments forcefully and swiftly when presented with evidence that they have occurred in the workplace.”
  • “DO communicate a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate jokes and comments, including those pertaining to a person’s sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.”

Who gets to decide what’s an “inappropriate joke [or] comment”? I thought we had a Constitution for that. It sure ain’t Big Brother Barack. Sure, I get it, it’s probably better not to start your work day with: “A lesbian, a tranny and two gays walk into a bath house …” but still, “no law … abridging the freedom of speech,” means no law. No matter how much Obama wishes it so, we don’t leave our constitutional rights at the federal workplace door.

The DOJ edict even addresses cross-dressing man woes:

“As a transgender woman [that's a man in a skirt], I want people to understand that I’m real. I want to be recognized as the gender I really am [again, you're a man in a skirt]. Yes, there was awkwardness with pronouns at first for folks who knew me before the transition. But it hurts when several years later people still use the wrong pronouns. And just imagine if people were constantly debating YOUR bathroom privileges. Imagine how humiliating that would be.”

Tell you what, buddy: I won’t “debate YOUR bathroom privileges” if you return to this planet. You’d better stay the heck out of the ladies room while my wife or two daughters are in there; otherwise, we have a problem. Women have an absolute right not be sexually harassed in the workplace – a right to privacy when using the facilities. To constantly worry whether a gender-confused, cross-dressing man is going to invade her privacy creates a hostile work environment.

This “DOJ Pride” directive is but the latest example of the “progressive” climate of fear and intimidation this radical Obama regime has created for Christians, conservatives and other values-oriented folks, both within and without the workplace.

I’m just glad the wheels are finally coming off.

Monday, May 20, 2013

In Search of a Calling

in_search_of_a_callingIt is graduation time and college students from the class of 2013 are assembling on campus greens everywhere to mark the occasion. It is a time of hope, joy and expectation as they enter the next phase of their lives. Yet beyond a climate of optimism that usually prevails, I cannot help but feel a bit afflicted as these students venture into the real world.

The reason for my affliction is that many of these graduates have yet to find what I would describe as their calling in life. In fact, a sizeable number began their college years without really knowing what they should study, constantly changing majors. And now many leave with a degree unsuited to the desires of their hearts.

Read more…

http://www.returntoorder.org/2013/05/in-search-of-a-calling/

Isabella the Catholic: Spain’s Joan of Arc

Statue of the Queen Isabelle the Catholic, in hallway inside the Palacio Real de Madrid (Royal Palace) in Madrid.

Statue of the Queen Isabelle the Catholic, in hallway inside the Palacio Real de Madrid (Royal Palace) in Madrid.

Instead of marching to seize Isabel[la], Alfonso V proceeded to ArĂ©valo…. [I]t gave Isabella the one thing she needed—time.

Queen Isabel of Castile

She pounced upon her advantage with all the energy of an awakening genius. Tireless, seemingly ubiquitous, she was almost constantly on horseback, going from one end of the kingdom to the other, making speeches, holding conferences, sitting up all night dictating letters to her secretaries, holding court all morning to sentence a few thieves and murderers to be hanged, riding a hundred miles or two, over cold mountain passes to plead with some lukewarm nobleman for five hundred soldiers. She knew and understood the word NECESSITY. She did not yet know the meaning of the word IMPOSSIBLE. All things were possible to God, and God was on her side. If she suffered from certain physical miseries, that was only to be expected; the work had to be done, it was necessary. Wherever she went the common people cheered her….

Read more…

http://nobility.org/2013/05/20/isabella-the-catholic-spains-joan-of-arc/